《Elite Mages' Academy》


 Chapter 1: Admission Letter

    <h4>Chapter 1: Admission Letter</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was quiet at 11 p.m. From a small rented room, a boy¡¯s unresigned growl was heard.


    Xiao Lin mmed the mouse under his hand on the table, and his frustration was reflected on the monitor. This was his fifth loss of the game tonight.


    Xiao Lin realized that he had been down on his luck recently; he was working for a property developer as a fresh graduate, but he was fired under two months. What followed was a long period of job-seeking. He had his eighth interview since his termination today. Judging from how uninterested the interviewer looked, Xiao Lin was not counting on getting the job offer.


    He was nning to y a few rounds of his game tonight, but he ended up being stuck with horrible teammates and a losing streak. As he grew exhausted, he turned off hisputer altogether andid down on his bed to sleep.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    A string of knocks came on his door all of a sudden. A husky male voice boomed, ¡°Delivery!¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes, grabbed his phone, and looked at the time before rolling his eyes. He believed that no courier service would deliver anything past 11. Hence, he did not n on entertaining whoever was outside his door.


    However, the knocks continued persistently. They sounded louder than ever amidst the silent night. The mysterious male voice continued slowly, but firmly, ¡°Xiao Lin! Get your delivery!¡±


    Xiao Lin finally got up. The man outside his door actually knew his name! Could someone he knew be pulling a prank on him?


    After hesitating for a moment, he headed toward the door before the knocking stopped. He looked through the peephole; there had to be someone outside since there was light in the corridor, but there was no one outside at the moment.


    Nothing happened even after a few minutes. The night was silent again. Xiao Lin opened a slit in the door quietly and looked around.


    There was still no one outside, but something fell through the crack in the door,nding on the ground with a sound. Xiao Lin picked it up; it was an envelope from SF Express. He mumbled in frustration under his breath, closed his door, and returned to his room.


    Interestingly, there were only his name and address on the recipient¡¯s column of the envelope, while the sender¡¯s column was empty. After tearing the envelope open, a thin, yellow postcard fell out.


    Words in a blood-red color on the card read: ¡®Admission Letter to the Dawn Academy¡¯.


    Meanwhile, there were words in ck on the back of the card that read: ¡®Xiao Lin, congrattions. You have been epted as a freshman at the Dawn Academy. This card will be the proof for your registration. Please store it safely.¡¯


    Xiao Linughed; it seemed like someone¡¯s prank. He had never heard of the Dawn Academy in his life. Moreover, he just graduated from university. How was it possible that he was epted into school again?


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Just as Xiao Lin was about to throw the card away, he yelped in pain. His fingers that were holding the card were caught by something sharp, and blood flowed down the card. However, it did not drip onto the ground; it peculiarly disappeared into the card itself.


    At this moment, the card became extremely hot in Xiao Lin¡¯s hand as a robotic voice was heard in his head: ¡°Freshman¡¯s identity verificationplete. Initiating delivery...¡± After that, Xiao Lin passed out.


    ...


    Xiao Lin gradually woke up dizzy after what felt like forever, and his blurry gaze became clearer by the second. He was lying on a cold, metallic floor in a huge, closed hall. There were metallic walls and a group of oddly-dressed but confused people around him.


    Xiao Lin tried his best to gather his memory and began making assumptions in shock. Was he being kidnapped? But that could not be right; he was too poor to be worth kidnapping!


    The room was noisy. Everyone there seemed either agitated or in extreme fear. Xiao Lin nned to ask around about what was going on, but judging from everyone¡¯s faces, no one seemed to know what happened.


    Creak!


    The only metallic door in the hall was pushed open, and the noisy crowd went quiet. Dozens of eyes turned in the direction of the sound.


    A tall and skinny man in his thirties, dressed in a white t-shirt with a crew cut, walked into the metallic hall. He red at the few people he pushed into the hall with disdain and scoffed, ¡°Did you all think this was a ce where you coulde and go as you wished? How naive!¡±


    The quip ignited everyone¡¯s rage instantaneously. Countless angry voices raised questions, one after another.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Where is this?¡±


    ¡°Let us out!¡±


    ¡°This is kidnapping!¡±


    ...


    The tall, skinny man sneered at the face of the crowd approaching him. All of a sudden, he pulled out a machete over a meter long and yelled, ¡°Stop your noise! Shut the hell up right now!¡±


    The man spit on the floor and said with a disapproving look, ¡°Why are there idiots like this in every batch of freshmen? The bastards in the Admissions Department obviously ck off more often than doing work!¡±


    The man looked around before setting his gaze on Xiao Lin. He asked with a frown, ¡°Are you awake?¡±


    Xiao Lin shivered. He realized that the man¡¯s gaze was not friendly at all. However, he was also confused; he did not offend the man. He had no choice but to nod in response.


    The man did not push him further, but mumbled in anger, ¡°How annoying! Thest student took over three hours to wake up. How horrible is his basic physique! What kind of people are the bastards in the Admissions Department recruiting for the Academy!¡±


    The man cursed the so-called Admissions Department again while everyone else remained silent, not daring to ask further questions. However, Xiao Lin was clear that the man was talking about him.


    Xiao Lin did not find any other person as dazed as he was upon waking up, so it was obvious that the person with the ¡®horrible basic physique¡¯ the man was talking about referred to himself. This annoyed him; his physique was indeed not that great since he barely exercised.


    ¡°Since somebody waste to wake up, too much of our ss¡¯ time has been wasted. I¡¯ll keep this short! This is Dawn Academy¡¯s Freshmen ss Seven, and I¡¯m your instructor, Qin Chuan. I know you have a lot of questions. Tear open your admission letter; you¡¯ll get your answers. I¡¯ll give you five minutes to process it.¡±


    Like everyone else, Xiao Lin went through his pockets and found the damned admission letter. He tore it open in disdain, and the letter immediately lit up before burning into ashes in the air. Soon after that, a newsfeed with a message appeared in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind.


    This was the Dawn Academy, and they were all selected to be freshmen here. They would have to go through a vast amount of training to increase and hone their capabilities before being eligible to enter the New World.


    They would be able to attain unimaginable strength, money, and power here!


    The message was short. It only told everyone why they were here and what they had to do, but people still had questions. However, they were too afraid to ask.


    ¡°We¡¯ll move onto the health screening.¡± Qin Chuan pped, and the metallic floor of the hall¡¯s front portion cracked open. Two ck frames, simr to security gates, rose from the ground. ¡°Stand between the frames and wait for the system¡¯s scan. You can only walk out after the red light dims. Queue up. Don¡¯t cause chaos!¡±


    Qin Chuan¡¯s machete was terrifying. No one dared cut the queue, and everyone took their turn to stand in between the frames. A ray of red light swept across their bodies before dimming itself after a few seconds.


    Meanwhile, a virtual disy popped up in front of Qin Chuan. Xiao Lin squinted; he could vaguely see rows of data appearing on the disy.


    As more and more peoplepleted their health screening, Xiao Lin realized the look of disappointment on Qin Chuan¡¯s face bing gradually prominent. It was Xiao Lin¡¯s turn before he knew it. As thest person to be awake in the hall, Qin Chuan red at Xiao Lin in a rare moment. His gaze was filled with disdain.


    Xiao Lin stood between the frames silently. The ray of red light appeared from the edges; Xiao Lin did not feel anything as it scanned his body. However, soon after that, he realized that something was wrong. Qin Chuan, who was nearby, mumbled a ¡°hmm¡± under his breath at this moment. Hiszy eyes widened as he red at Xiao Lin.


    Other people who were done with the health screening gathered in scattered groups and whispered to each other. Only a handful of people realized something was going on with Xiao Lin. All of them could not help but look over in surprise.


    Qin Chuan¡¯s burning gaze scared Xiao Lin. His forehead was sweating a little as he prayed for the red light screening to end soon.


    Other people only spent about six or seven seconds for the health screening, but it was nearly 20 seconds for Xiao Lin; the red light did not seem like it was dimming anytime soon. As Qin Chuan had said that no one was allowed to walk out of the frames before the red light dimmed, Xiao Lin did not move an inch.


    The light finally dimmed after over 30 seconds.

 Chapter 2: Of Health Screenings And Talents

    <h4>Chapter 2: Of Health Screenings And Talents</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was about to walk out of the frames in relief before Qin Chuan said out of nowhere, ¡°Wait, let me see your basic physique report!¡±


    Xiao Lin stood silently and waited for another few minutes. This time, everyone realized something odd had happened during Xiao Lin¡¯s health screening, but no one dared ask about it in front of instructor Qin Chuan.


    The virtual disy in front of Qin Chuan shed. He widened his eyes in surprise before cursing and looking over at Xiao Lin with a pitiful gaze. ¡°Your total basic attribute points aren¡¯t even past 10 points. You¡¯re the worst I¡¯ve seen since I came to Dawn Academy! I thought I finally found a talented recruit after such a lengthy scan; what a waste of my emotions!¡±


    ¡°What are talented recruits?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but ask.


    ¡°Move it! Stop blocking the next one!¡± Qin Chuan did not want to exin anything and waved his hand in frustration.


    Xiao Lin was frustrated as well. He did note to this weird academy of his own will; if they really did think that his physique was bad, they could just send him home!


    There were over a hundred people in the hall. After all of thempleted their health screening, Qin Chuan¡¯s face was filled with disappointment. ¡°There¡¯s not a single talented recruit. The quality of freshmen is going downhill! Forget it, your health screening reports will be given to you with your identity feed. Take a ten-minute break, we¡¯ll move onto the admission test.¡±


    ¡°Brother Instructor, what is the admission test? Can you help me?¡± A girl with heavy makeup asked in a sweet voice. Although Qin Chuan did not allow anyone to speak, she felt that her looks were enough for her to sidestep the order.


    Qin Chuan was undeterred. He red at her and said, ¡°This is a ce you have to work hard. It¡¯s not a ce for you to obtain credits and redemption points with looks.¡±


    ¡°The message from the admission letter mentioned that we will obtain unimaginable wealth and strength from this academy. May I ask if we can only get the wealth and strength from those credits and redemption points that you mentioned?¡± A decent girl among the crowd, wearing sses with ck frames, asked suddenly.


    Qin Chuan looked over at her in surprise and exined in a rare disy of patience, ¡°That¡¯s right, the credits and redemption points are basically this academy¡¯s universal currencies. With these, you could redeem anything you want, including real life currencies.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡± The sses-d girl nodded calmly.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Qin Chuan asked.


    Qin Chuan lifted his brow. ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who has the highest basic attribute points among these people. You may not be talented, but that¡¯s good enough for now. Work hard, and, although it¡¯s just the admission test, a good start will help you a lot in your freshman year.¡±


    Xiao Lin checked Gu Xiaoyue out in surprise; she seemed like a decent girl, but she had the highest attribute points among the batch. Moreover, Qin Chuan spoke to her with unusual friendliness. It was obvious he had high hopes for her. If his basic attribute points were under 10 points, what were the individual points for each of his basic attributes?


    Momentster, the identity feed Qin Chuan was talking about appeared in everyone¡¯s minds. ording to Qin Chuan, this feedback in everyone¡¯s consciousness was automatically created by the academy¡¯s Central Smart Computer System.


    [Name: Xiao Lin]


    [ID: 201235]


    [Credits: 0]


    [Redemption Points: 0]


    [Basic Attribute Points: 2 Strength points, 2 Agility points, 2 Intelligence points, 3 Physique points]


    [Natural Life Expectancy: 83 years; 23 years old currently, 60 years to go. Warning: Every death will deduct 10 years off your life expectancy automatically; when your life expectancy bes zero, you will die!]


    [Physical Attack Power Evaluation: F-]


    [System Evaluation: This evaluation was given because the database has yet to include a level lower than F-. ording to the Central Computer¡¯s calction, an adult pig¡¯s physical attack power is stronger than yours.]


    [Magic Attack Power Evaluation: F-]


    [System Evaluation: Same as above. This evaluation was given because there is no lower grade than F-.]


    Xiao Lin could not help butugh at himself; his total attribute points were under 10 after all. On top of that, what were ¡®physical attack power¡¯ and ¡®magic attack power¡¯ about? He was worse than a pig? Also, what was up with the intelligence points? Xiao Lin did not think that his intelligence was that low. Truth be told, he was the team leader for fighting Instances or Bosses for many years of his gaming career.


    But Xiao Lin came to the sad realization that this evaluation was rather factual. The otaku life had made his physique worse; there was fat on his waist and even running a few hundred meters would make him put him way out of breath.


    However, Xiao Lin was more concerned about his life points than his attribute points!


    The hall erupted like a boiling pot; the Life System was undoubtedly uneptable to nearly everyone.


    ¡°What joke is this! I only have 13 years to live. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that if I died once in this hellhole, I¡¯d actually die?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably fake! How could it detect our life expectancy? This must be a con!¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked as well. If the system was urate, he had 60 years left to live. This was not a bad thing. However, he thought of something all of a sudden and was going to ask about it before someone else cut him off.


    ¡°Is deducting ten years of life for each death only applicable in the Dawn Academy, or does it apply to the whole world?¡± A bird-like voice was heard speaking again. It was the girl called Gu Xiaoyue; her question was exactly what Xiao Lin was going to ask.


    Qin Chuan had expected everyone¡¯s reaction. He observed them for a moment. He heard her question just as he was about to speak. He held his anger in and nodded, ¡°When you¡¯re a recruit at this academy, this rule automatically applies to each and every one of you. This rule applies wherever you are as long as you¡¯re still on Earth!¡±


    Those who were still confused understood it all at this moment; their angry voices now lowered. This meant that even if they were killed in society, they would only lose ten years of their life; they would not actually die!


    Qin Chuan continued exining, ¡°I¡¯ve said that this academy is capable of giving you things you could never imagine, such as your life expectancy. If you¡¯re good enough, it¡¯s not hard to be immortal!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s final question was answered. Although it was clear to him that it would take unimaginable sacrifice to be immortal, he could not help but be tempted by it.


    This academy was too much of a temptation to everyone; even if there was a possibility of death, it was enough for everyone to work their hardest.


    Competition was always mankind¡¯s most primitive instinct. Everyone began talking to each other about their respective attribute points.


    Those with higher basic attribute points expectedly exhibited hints of arrogance. Everyone also realized that the man who called himself the instructor spoke to those with higher basic attribute points in a friendly manner despite looking threatening; Gu Xiaoyue was one of them.


    ¡°Hahaha! I have 10 Strength points. The system said that those with 10 points for a single attribute are considered the better ones in the academy!¡± A muscr man said loudly with excitement.


    I may not have high points for a single attribute, my total attribute points for four attributes are over 30!¡±


    ¡°I wonder how many basic attribute points Gu Xiaoyue has. Didn¡¯t Qin Chuan say that hers were the highest among us?


    ¡°If my total attribute points of 31 aren¡¯t the highest, I can¡¯t imagine how high hers are!¡±


    ¡°Although we don¡¯t know what the highest is, isn¡¯t there someone with the lowest of under 10 total attribute points among us?¡±


    ¡°I was chatting around, those with lower total attribute points have at least 14 or 15 points.¡±


    ¡°Under 10 total attribute points? I think his years of life will be deducted soon!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin listened to the chatting around him silently. No one asked him for his total attribute points as Qin Chuan had already told everyone that he had under 10 total attribute points.


    Beep! The Smart Computer System¡¯s unique sound pinged in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. ¡°Recruit Xiao Lin, the detection has ended.¡±


    What?


    Did the screening not end earlier?


    Xiao Lin was confused. He looked around him carefully; it seemed like he was the only one who heard it.


    [The Talent Detection has ended.]


    [Talent Name: ??? (No matching answer found in the database)]


    [Talent Level: ??? (No matching answer found in the database)]


    [Talent Analysis: The recruit¡¯s learning ability has been greatly improved.]


    [Results: As a LV1 talent, his learning efficiency of various abilities is increased by 100% while in a passive state. Once the talent is unlocked, the recruit will obtain a chance to replicate any F-grade ability (talent abilities cannot be replicated), and this willst for three minutes. This replicate skill can only be unlocked once every seven days. When the talent levels up, all numbers rted to the results will be improved as well. Since there are no prior cases of this talent, ording to the rules, the first person to possess a new talent will get to name it. Recruit, please name the talent.]


    Xiao Lin felt a little dizzy and was in disbelief as well. Qin Chuan did mention the term ¡®talent¡¯, but whatever it was, it seemed like it was rare and not something an ordinary person would possess. But why could the health screening not detect his talent?


    [Recruit, please name the talent.]


    The Central Smart Computer urged. Xiao Lin thought about it for a moment and said, ¡°Academic Genius! Let¡¯s call it Academic Genius!¡±


    [Talent Name: Academic Genius]


    [Level: LV1]


    [Talent Level Evaluation: SS


    Once a talent above the S grade is detected, the recruit¡¯s files will be automatically sealed. Recruit Xiao Lin, please note that the right to read this file is limited to the dean. Do adhere to the confidentiality use.]


    Soon after that, contents of the so-called confidentiality use from the Smart Computer automatically shed through Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. In summation, the SS level talent was not to be known by a third person other than Xiao Lin himself and the dean.


    Xiao Lin was terrified again. Although he did not know what an SS talent meant, it felt like it was something powerful. It was no wonder Qin Chuan did not know that he had that talent. Clearly, an instructor did not have the right to know about this.


    Qin Chuan did not give everyone much time to chat. He said with his loud voice, ¡°Our ss is already behind. The admission test begins now! Everyone, stand where you are!¡±


    Qin Chuan¡¯s threatening aura was already well-known. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood in ce; although everyone was confused about the admission test, Qin Chuan did not n on exining anything. Soon after that, a ray of white light shot down from the ceiling. Everyone was bathed in it before disappearing in the blink of an eye. Qin Chuan was the only one left in the metallic hall.


    Phew!


    Qin Chuan pursed his lips and seemed like he exhaled in relief. He mumbled, ¡°How unfortunate. There¡¯s not a single talented recruit in this batch of students. Looks like I can¡¯t get a good score on the instructor¡¯s evaluation this time around. I shouldn¡¯t have signed up for this if I knew how this was going to turn out!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Old Qin, I have some good news for you!¡± The hall¡¯s door was pushed open, and a man walked in quickly with a big smile on his face. He passed Qin Chuan a cigarette and helped him light it up.


    Qin Chuan was not friendly to many, but he would not say no to a cigarette. He drew a long one and scoffed, ¡°You¡¯re good at enjoying things, aren¡¯t you? How dare you use your redemption points on something this fancy!¡±


    ¡°Pfft! That¡¯s nothing! Listen, ss Three has two talented recruits!¡± The man did not attempt to hide his excitement at all. ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m definitely getting a good score on the instructor¡¯s evaluation. Haha, with the awarded credits, I might be able to get second-year students next year!¡±


    This brat was obviously here to show off. A hint of jealousy shed through Qin Chuan¡¯s face before he replied nonchntly, ¡°Two talented recruits? Haha, what level are they? Talented recruits with low levels are just a little better than normal recruits. Our ss has a strong candidate with over 40 total basic attribute points!¡±


    ¡°Over 40 basic attribute points!¡± The man eximed before continuing with a smile. ¡°No matter how high the attribute points are, she¡¯s still not a talented recruit. My talented recruits are of B and A-level talents. I¡¯ve notified the Student Union about this. I think a few of the seniors will meet with them soon.¡±


    Qin Chuan could not hide the jealousy on his face anymore. For one, he was jealous of the talent recruits; being talented meant that they were ahead of ordinary people. Although the instructors looked like they were powerful, it would take talented recruits one or two years to be above the instructors.


    Secondly, Qin Chuan was jealous of the man in front of him. If an instructor¡¯s ss performed well, the instructor would be rewarded for it. Otherwise, no one would be willing to waste his time with a bunch of idiots.


    Qin Chuan no longer wanted to chat after remembering that his ss Seven did not have a single talented recruit and that he would miss out on the awards.


    However, the man who came over continued speaking, ¡°Did you hear that there was a freshman with an SS-level talent in the USst year? Tsk tsk, SS, I¡¯ve never evene across an S level in my life!¡±


    ¡°SS? It¡¯s probably fake. I¡¯ve heard that the dean in the US has denied this, and the Central Computer does not have a matching database for it. This means that there cannot be someone with an SS-level talent. Isn¡¯t there only a handful around the world with an S-level talent?¡±


    ¡°Haha! You don¡¯t know much about this! A few days ago, I heard a few fourth-year seniors chatting that the US and Europe held abined test, and this person who was said to have an SS-level talent showed unimaginable abilities. Although he¡¯s only in second year, his abilities are as good as some graduates! Only someone with an SS-level talent could have such terrifying abilities.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably just rumors! I don¡¯t believe there¡¯s someone with an SS-level talent in this world!¡± Qin Chuan refused to believe what he just heard.


    ¡°Pfft! Forget it, we¡¯ll never meet that guy in our lives anyway. I heard that the Europeans have nicknamed him Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Demon King? Pfft, you might as well call him Satan.¡±


    ...


    The admission test was fully administered by the Central Smart Computer; this was something the instructors could not see. The duo continued chatting to fill their time.

 Chapter 3: Admission Test

    <h4>Chapter 3: Admission Test</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes again, he found himself in a ssroom. The size of the ssroom was about the same as his high school; there were over a hundred people in here, and it was crammed.


    The Central Smart Computer¡¯s unique sound rang in everyone¡¯s minds.


    [The admission test begins!]


    [Compulsory Mission: Escape the school within an hour! This school is being attacked by a horde of zombies. Escape the school safely, arrive at the safe area, and the mission will bepleted.]


    [Optional Missions: 1) Kill at least 5 zombies, or 2) Kill the Zombie King.]


    [Mission Rewards: Completing the Compulsory Mission will bring 10 credits and 100 redemption points;pleting Optional Mission 1 will bring extra 10 credits and 200 redemption points;pleting Optional Mission 2 will bring extra 20 credits and 500 redemption points.]


    [Hint: Every freshman will receive an admission gift bag and a free novice weapon.]


    [Given that this is the admission test, this event will note with punishments for failure toplete the mission.]


    Xiao Lin was crammed in the corner of the ssroom. He looked around him; the ssroom was rundown and the grey walls were smeared with darkened bloodstains. The tables and chairs were strewn all over the floor, and there were clouds and a bright blue sky outside the broken windows. A mild breeze made everything seem real; everyone marvelled at the technology the Dawn Academy possessed.


    The field outside was filled with zombies the Smart Computer mentioned. Their skin waspletely dposed, and it was impossible to tell what shape they were. They wandered around aimlessly.


    The novice weapon the Smart Computer talked about appeared in everyone¡¯s hands with a ray of light. Xiao Lin held a grey wooden wand, and he received a message about the wand in his mind at the same time.


    [Novice Wand]


    [Magic Attack Power Evaluation: F]


    [A skill ¡®energy ball¡¯ is attached. Each use will lead to consumption of mental power.]


    [Automatic acquisition of the Basic Wand Mastery skill LV1: 0/100]


    Basic wand mastery?


    Xiao Lin seemed like he understood something. He pointed the wand at the sky outside the window and felt a gush of unexined energy flowing from his body. The wand¡¯s handle heated up slightly, and a white, fist-sized energy bomb emitted from the top of the wand with a whistling sound. It exploded like fireworks mid-air after flying for less than 50 meters.


    [Basic Wand Mastery: 2/100]


    The movie-like magic had many people rapt in wonder. Their glowing eyes were fixed on the wand in Xiao Lin¡¯s hands; they were reluctant to look away from it.


    Although the novice weapons were randomly assigned ¡ª swords, bows, knives, daggers, wands, and so on ¡ª only a handful of people received a wand from the get-go.


    The magic wand was obviously more attractive to everyonepared to the swords that seemed somonce.


    Some more intelligent people began trading weapons with others. Some of them were unsatisfied with the weapon randomly assigned to them; they either despised the daggers for being too short, the swords being too bulky, or not knowing how to use bows and arrows. After trading for weapons they were satisfied with, they left the ssroom one after another.


    The ssroom grew more spacious. Some of the people stayed back to try out their weapons; although swords and knives were considered normal, not many had used them in real life.


    ¡°The skill I got was Basic Bow Mastery.¡±


    ¡°Mine is Basic Dagger Mastery.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ll automatically get whatever skill is relevant to the weapon you¡¯re assigned.¡±


    ¡°Hey, did you guys realize? Every time you wave your weapon, the Basic Mastery skill will increase in experience points!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I waved it just now, and there was an increase in experience points.¡±


    Everyone eventually learnt about this, but waving weapons did not guarantee an increase in experience points. For example, those with daggers did not get an increase in experience points if they merely waved it; they had to wave it with all their might to obtain experience points.


    Xiao Lin leaned against the wall in the corner. He felt a little dizzy, but this did not stop him from listening in the chatter. He felt a little confused; everyone had a 1XP increase in their basic skills every time they waved their weapons, regardless of distance from their target. However, he was the only one who gained 2XP in Basic Wand Mastery after firing the energy bomb.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up; he finally understood how his SS Academic Genius talent worked. His learning efficiency for all abilities increased by 100%, even when he was in a passive state. This meant that the speed of his skill upgrade was twice as fast as everyone else¡¯s!


    ¡°Energy bomb!¡±


    Xiao Lin released a white energy ball toward the sky, and his Basic Wand Mastery skill increased to 4/100. His hunch was right; this was the SS-level talent after all. Although it was not really powerful at the moment, it was a masterstroke in the long run.


    Nevertheless, what came after the excitement was more intense dizziness. Xiao Lin¡¯s vision turned dark before he stumbled. He supported himself against the wall to stop himself from falling. He recovered after a few moments, but he felt hints of fatigue in his mind. It was as if he had overworked his brain.


    ¡°Could it be? No way... It¡¯s impossible that it¡¯s a bug after all. How could it be so easy to increase XP?¡± Xiao Lin looked at the magic wand in his hand. He guessed the answer to his question soon after that, and he could not help butugh about it.


    There were barely any people left in the ssroom. Just as Xiao Lin had guessed; if they could increase their XP from waving their weapons around, they could just up their skill levels here before going out toplete the mission.


    Truth be told, given the average person¡¯s strength and stamina, they would only be able to wave their weapons for about 20 or 30 times with all their might before their arms grew tired. It seemed like there was a rule to an XP increase; when onecked strength, there would be no increase in XP, no matter how vigorously they waved the weapon.


    The mission was limited to an hour; it was probably so to not allow people too much time increasing their skill XP. More people chose to leave the ssroom beforehand to avoid exhausting themselves.


    Xiao Lin took a break. After a slight recovery, he headed toward the door to observe his surroundings before realizing that Gu Xiaoyue was following him.


    Gu Xiaoyue was wearing a cream-colored jacket with a white dress. She had shoulder-length hair and donned a pair of ck-framed spectacles. This girl did not stand out in terms of looks, but her decency and elegance was enough to draw eyes.


    Xiao Lin did not know Gu Xiaoyue, but his male instincts made him want to talk to this elegant girl. He stood up straight, turned around, and initiated conversation. ¡°You¡¯re Gu Xiaoyue, aren¡¯t you? Is there anything I can help you with?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed the ck-framed spectacles up her nose with grace and said honestly, with her bird-like voice, ¡°Do you want to trade weapons?¡±


    ¡°Trade weapons?¡± Xiao Lin was stunned.


    Gu Xiaoyue waved the dagger in her hand with difficulty. Since she was a girl, she was not very strong. She said with a serious face, ¡°I¡¯m not used to this.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡± Xiao Lin was still a little confused. ¡°I mean, there were so many people in the ssroom. I don¡¯t think many of them could say no to a beautiful girl.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue scrunched her pretty nose and said, ¡°I only have eyes for the magic wand. The others aren¡¯t for me.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded and replied, ¡°Only a handful of people were assigned magic wands.¡±


    ¡°To be exact, only 15 people were assigned magic wands,¡± Gu Xiaoyue uttered the exact number before adding, ¡°I¡¯ve observed that you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s not suitable for this weapon among those who were assigned them, so let¡¯s trade.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little surprised. ¡°You realized it too?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed her sses again and said, ¡°It isn¡¯t hard to analyze. Although I don¡¯t y games, I know that things like magic would lead to some kind of energy consumption, either mentally or in magic points. This is probably rted to our Intelligence points discerned from our health screenings.¡±


    Xiao Lin only had 2 Intelligence points, so after releasing two energy bombs, his brain felt unusually fatigued. He did think about this possibility, but he did not expect this girl to be so observant.


    Xiao Lin agreed to the deal right away; to him, a dagger was undoubtedly better than a magic wand.


    [Novice Dagger]


    [Physical Attack Power Evaluation: F-]


    [Automatic acquisition of Basic Dagger Mastery LV1: 0/100]


    As expected, this physical weapon did note with the problem of energy consumption, and its attack power was at a lower grade. The magic wand¡¯s Magic Attack Power was graded F, while the dagger¡¯s attack power was graded F-.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not n on continuing the conversation after obtaining the magic wand. Satisfied, she turned around and left.


    Xiao Lin felt a little regret and shook his head. When he arrived at the entrance of the academic building, there were already brave people charging towards the field with weapons in hand. The field was about the size of 1.5 football fields, and there was a ray of pale yellow light at the end of the field. That was the safe area mentioned in the mission. So long as one arrived at the light, the mission would bepleted.


    The zombies wandered around aimlessly on the field; they did not seem like they were heading toward the academic building. This was expected, as the newbies would not be able toplete the mission otherwise. However, the moment someone rushed out, the zombies locked their eyes on their targets before quickly shuffling toward them.


    The zombies were slow; even after gaining momentum, they moved at the speed of an adult walking at a brisk pace. Nevertheless, there were about three or four hundred zombies; the first batch of people who charged out was quickly trapped. The person ahead of everyone else had his head snapped by a zombie; his body transformed into dust before disappearing into thin air.


    Instructions about the admission test were clear about this; there would be no punishments for failing toplete the mission; there would be no 10-year deduction of their lifespan, and no one would really die from this. However, if one was injured by zombies, the pain would feel realistic. The screams and cries on the field were enough to terrify the group of people who were used to living in peace.


    Some of the people charged forward after seeing that the zombies were focused on the first group. However, the system was not going to let that happen so easily; as they charged out, half of the zombies trapping the first group came toward them instead. Meanwhile, this put the first group under less stress, and they got closer to the safe area.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched as he watched it unfold on the field. He gulped with all his might; he was just an otaku before this. He admitted that he was a little afraid; this mission was obviously not as easy as everyone thought it would be.


    Although it sounded nice to have no punishments and to be able toe back to life, neither Qin Chuan nor the Smart Computer warned them about this situation.


    The zombies¡¯ attack power was not high; unless one was unlucky enough to be grabbed by the neck and be snapped in half, other injuries the zombies caused were barely lethal. At most, they would tear a piece of meat off one¡¯s body before chewing on it.


    The visual was terrifying; some of the more timid fell to the ground in fear and could not get up.


    Those whose legs were injured had it worse; they could not count on anyone to save them after losing their mobility. They would be swiftly trapped by zombies, and although they knew that they were not really dying, the pain from having their bodies torn apart was excruciatingly unforgettable. Their bodies only transformed into dust and disappeared into the air after they took theirst breath.


    The field grew more and more chaotic, and everyone was dumbfounded by the cruel disy before their eyes. Although they were wielding weapons, they lost the will to fight in the face of rotting meat, horrible smells, the pungent scent of blood, and screams for help around them. They kept their head down and ran with all their might in an attempt to arrive at the safe area before the zombies trapped them.


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath and tried his best to move his gaze away from the scene on the field. He gleaned enough information from what he observed; if he continued watching, he would have lost the courage to charge forward.


    There was only an hour for the mission. Xiao Lin did a silent count; he still had enough time to train himself. He had the Academic Genius talent, so it would be great if he could get his Basic Dagger Mastery skill up to LV2.


    Xiao Lin understood that he was behind everyone else; his total basic attribute points were under 10. He was the worst among these people in terms of strength, intelligence, and physique. If he wanted to increase the chances of himpleting the mission, training his skills was the best option.


    He turned around to leave in search of an empty ssroom to practice his Basic Dagger Mastery skill. Soon after that, his eyes lit up at the sight of what he was looking for. He pushed a door open and walked into a ssroom.


    Gu Xiaoyue turned around and stared at him silently before looking out the window toward the field. She waved the magic wand and released a white energy ball, but did not hit anything. It was impossible to hit anything anyway; Xiao Lin calcted from his first try that the energy bomb could only travel for about 50 meters.


    The nearest zombie to the academic building was over 100 meters away. It made sense anyway; It was impossible for the Smart Computer to allow such a loophole and let them attack the zombies from the safety of the building.


    Practicing Basic Wand Mastery was not as obvious as practicing any physical weapon. Magic points and mental power were very valuable to those with low basic attribute points. The more they wasted, the harder it would be for them toplete the mission.


    However, Xiao Lin did not think that the calm girl would make any mistakes. Seeing that she did not want to converse, he ignored her and continued with his practice.


    He only had two Strength points. Thankfully, the dagger he got from Gu Xiaoyue was light; if it was a heavy weapon, like a long sword, Xiao Lin might not be able to use it.


    Xiao Lin tried waving the dagger lightly; his Basic Dagger Mastery XP did not change.


    He then tried to wave the dagger with all his might, but it only moved a little in front of him. The XP remained the same.


    Xiao Lin finally lifted the dagger over his head before mming it forward. The de¡¯s edge whizzed in the wind before the tip hit the ground, freeing a speck of rubble from the floor. The dagger¡¯s sharpness was unexpected.


    [Basic Dagger Mastery LV1: 2/100]


    ¡°There are indeed no loopholes.¡± Xiao Lin pursed his lips in regret before trying out straight and nted shing poses. He gained XP from both of them. It meant that there was nopulsory pose to wave the dagger in order to gain XP, but it had to fulfill a certain requirement and one had to go all out on strength to wave the dagger. Otherwise, the move would be deemed a failure and reap no XP.


    Xiao Lin tried to standardize his moves, but since he had never learnt proper dagger-wielding, his moves were only imitated from whatever he had seen from TV and movies. That was why he failed sometimes to urately waving the dagger; not only did he not gain XP, he also wasted his energy.


    Xiao Lin began feeling soreness in his arms after a few minutes; his horrible physique was finally showing itself. He could not consistently exert strength, and the effects of hisbor were greatly affected. The number of times he failed to increase his XP also grew.


    After about 15 minutes, his Basic Dagger Mastery LV1 was at 90/100.


    This was unsatisfactory to Xiao Lin; he only seeded 45 times. He began regretting his otaku lifestyle and ignoring exercise. His physique was only worth 3 points at the moment; he was probably trailing behind many girls.


    Xiao Lin was drenched in sweat. He could barelyplete his moves; he had no choice but to take a break.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in doing what you¡¯re doing.¡± Gu Xiaoyue finally moved her eyes away from the windows. She pushed her ck-framed sses and analyzed him with a serious face. ¡°I tried it out before you came. Calcting the ratio of shooting energy bombs and my recovery time, it would take about an hour to get to LV2. I think other people have the same ratio as well. That is why we were only given an hour for the mission; the academy would not give any of us a chance to take the shortcut!¡±


    Xiao Lin exhaled; he was mildly surprised at the girl¡¯s calctive ability. Yes, based on his efficiency earlier, he would have needed about 20 to 30 minutes to get to LV2. If he did not have the Academic Genius talent, which afforded him twice the efficiency rate, he would probably need about an hour to do so as well.


    Xiao Lin could not tell the girl about his Academic Genius talent. He did not want to continue on this topic, so he diverted the conversation. ¡°Did youe to any conclusions from observing the zombies¡¯ abilities?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue tilted her head, hints of surprise appearing on her face. ¡°You knew what I was doing?¡±


    Xiao Lin giggled in his mind. When he entered the ssroom to find Gu Xiaoyue looking out the window rather than practicing her skills, he knew what she was up to.


    ¡°Gamers know that it¡¯s important toe up with strategies before ying Instances. Since there are no strategies in this world, it¡¯s up to us to find our own.¡±


    ¡°Games? Sorry, I don¡¯t y childish games.¡± The girl was serious.


    Xiao Lin coughed before changing the topic. ¡°The zombies aren¡¯t that strong in terms of attack power. Based on the evaluation standard here, I think they¡¯re only at an F- grade. An average person could probably take about four of five strikes from a zombie, so long they don¡¯t get attacked in their vitals or legs. There was a big man who was attacked at least ten times before falling.¡±


    Seeing how intently the girl was listening, Xiao Lin continued his analysis, ¡°The zombies are low in defense as well, so that¡¯s probably ranked F- as well. I¡¯ve seen a F- grade dagger pierce through a zombie¡¯s body. Based on these points, the mission isn¡¯t really so hard, it¡¯s just that everyone is terrified.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed with a forced smile; he was terrified as well. However, after calming down, he realized that the zombies are not unbeatable; they were just terrifying. Everyone was capable of facing zombies with the novice weapons they had; but if they lost the will to fight, they would not win at all.


    Maybe the admission test was meant to help everyone get used to this environment?

 Chapter 4: Teaming Up

    <h4>Chapter 4: Teaming Up</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There was a brief silence.


    Gu Xiaoyue picked up on his statement and said with a crisp voice, ¡°That¡¯s why there are hardly any long-distance novice weapons. Truth be told, apart from magic wands, bows and arrows were rarely assigned as well. This is actually how the academy is taking care of us, freshmen.¡±


    Xiao Lin agreed. Bows and magic wands had a grade F attack power evaluation, while short-distance weapons had F- attack power evaluation. This point was validated by everyone else.


    However, in the first group of people who charged forward, those who wielded long-distance weapons were the first to die. Although novice weapons like bows came with 10 free arrows, those who knew how to use them would have horrible aim under extreme fear and stress; let alone those who knew nothing about bows and arrows.


    Xiao Lin even saw someone with a bow hastily shooting away; one of the arrows eventually hit another yer in the butt. The victim fell and died after being cornered by zombies.


    Wand-like weapons were even more useless than bows. Although many were jealous of the ¡®energy bomb¡¯ skill, it was a different ballgame inbat.


    The energy bomb¡¯s flight trajectory was not a straight line; it was trickier than arrows. At least people knew some basic principles of aiming when it came to bows and arrows, but when it came to the energy bomb, its trajectory was simply erratic. Based on Xiao Lin¡¯s brief observation, the energy bomb had a higher hit rate at a closer range of ten meters; any further than that, its hit chance was up to luck.


    This was not a game where you could just click on the monster with your mouse and hit a shortcut key to use a skill. This was the real world.


    ¡°We should go out,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said all of a sudden. ¡°Most from the first group are dead. Those who stayed back are probably thinking of the same strategies.¡±


    ¡°How manypleted the mission?¡± Xiao Lin knew that Gu Xiaoyue must have been watching everything closely for the past ten minutes or so; she was an observant girl.


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s hard to estimate for the first optional mission, but amidst such a chaotic scene and extreme stress, I don¡¯t think many of them killed five zombies. However, there are about 11 or 12 who got through the field and arrived at the safe area with injuries toplete thepulsory mission. Unfortunately, they killed too few zombies.¡±


    ¡°There are actually over 10 lucky ones!¡± Xiao Lin thought that the figure was decent; maybe these people had better physique and managed to escape lethal injuries with pure luck. That was probably how they made it through the zombies.


    However, when Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue arrived at the entrance of the Academic Building again, Xiao Lin could not help butugh after silently counting the number of people who stayed back.


    Over 20 people who stayed. This meant that at least 70 people charged forward bravely within thest 20 minutes, but only a seventh of thempleted thepulsory mission. This was not a good chance.


    A muscr man, in a ck tank top, widened his eyes upon seeing Gu Xiaoyue. He walked out of the crowd and extended his hand to the girl. He said with a friendly tone, ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, you¡¯re here. I was just looking for you!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue ignored the hand and took two steps back. She lifted her brows. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The man smiled and left his hand hanging in the air. ¡°I forgot to introduce myself, I¡¯m Wang Dalin. I have 32 basic attribute points; my Strength, Physique, and Agility points are above 10!¡±


    Wang Dalin went on to re at Xiao Lin; a hint of irony shed in his eyes. It was obvious what he meant; three of his attributes were above 10 points, while Xiao Lin¡¯s total attribute points were under 10.


    Thanks to Qin Chuan¡¯s ¡®marketing¡¯ during the health screening, everyone knew Xiao Lin as the loser with a horrible physique. That was why Xiao Lin was not surprised that Wang Dalin recognized him right away.


    Gu Xiaoyue lifted her hand slowly, but only to push up her spectacles. She moved away and looked around her before saying, ¡°Are there over 20 people left? There¡¯s quite a lot of them, but that doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s form teams.¡±


    Xiao Lin tried his best to hold inughter as he watched Wang Dalin withdraw his hand in embarrassment. Although he knew that Gu Xiaoyue was not intentionally defending him ¡ª the girl was naturally cold and distant to others ¡ª Xiao Lin was still satisfied. He could not help but smugly nce at Wang Dalin; it was obvious that he meant: Did you think you could get a girl so out of your league? Dream on!


    A hint of anger appeared on Wang Dalin¡¯s face. He turned around to avoid Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze and followed Gu Xiaoyue, saying, ¡°You¡¯re wrong, not everyone here wants to team up toplete the mission.¡±


    Teaming up was the obvious answer.


    Since the zombies¡¯bat power was far below average, they could possibly arrive at the safe area without being harmed as long as they got over their fear and teamed up.


    Xiao Lin frowned; the 20 people obviously split themselves up into two sides. He could roughly guess everyone¡¯s answer.


    True enough, one of the girls, who was dressed more fashionably, cautiously raised her hand and forced augh. ¡°I won¡¯t be teaming up with you guys, I¡¯ve thought about it. I¡¯ll just wait it out here.¡±


    Quite a few people immediately agreed with what the girl said. One of them even waved his arm vigorously to conceal his fear before saying, ¡°Since there isn¡¯t a punishment for failing the mission, there¡¯s no point risking it!¡±


    Xiao Lin did a count; there were 26 of them, including Gu Xiaoyue and himself. 14 of them were too afraid to go out, and most of them were girls. As such, Xiao Lin subconsciously stared at Gu Xiaoyue for a few seconds; she seemed calmer than ever.


    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough!¡± Wang Dalin patted the sword he was holding and said loudly, ¡°Since my basic attribute points are above 30, Gu Xiaoyue and I are strong enough to face the zombies! What¡¯s there to be afraid of!¡±


    Even the girls who stayed back could not help but roll their eyes. It was the umpteenth time Wang Dalin showed off his attribute points. Although it was true ¡ª their total attribute points were between 10 and 20 at most ¡ª that was the normal standard for ordinary people. Only two people had above 30 points; Wang Dalin and Gu Xiaoyue.


    Even though Wang Dalin was showing off again by dragging Gu Xiaoyue into his antics, she did not care much for it. She pushed her sses up her nose out of habit and said, ¡°Arriving at the safe area and killing five zombies are easy, but the harder mission is killing the zombie king. I don¡¯t think that can be easily achieved with just the both of us or even a dozen of us.¡±


    Wang Dalin¡¯s expression froze. He rebutted, ¡°The zombie king is just an optional mission. Moreover, has anyone seen where the zombie king is? I¡¯ve been observing and I haven¡¯t seen anything that looked like a zombie king on the field...¡±


    Xiao Lin cut him short and said, ¡°Obviously, the zombie king only appears if some mechanism is triggered. Judging from the current situation, there are only a few possible triggers; time, the death toll of zombies, and the number of survivors!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin and said, ¡°Time is impossible; it¡¯s been nearly half an hour. Judging from the zombie king¡¯s potential difficulty, it¡¯s impossible to give us such little time to fight it. The number of survivors would be impossible as well; there¡¯s only a fifth of us here. The only possibility is the death toll of zombies.¡±


    ¡°The people who rushed out first did not kill too many zombies, so that¡¯s possible. It¡¯s just that we don¡¯t know the exact number.¡± Some people were a little convinced by now, but there was still doubt.


    Xiao Lin added, ¡°Isn¡¯t the first optional mission to kill at least five zombies per person? Since there¡¯s half an hour to go and we¡¯re not rushing to the safe area, why don¡¯t we kill a few more zombies? It¡¯ll be great if the zombie kinges out, but if he doesn¡¯t, we can still reach the safe area in thest few minutes. It¡¯ll still work!¡±


    A great number of people agreed to this. Those who stayed back wanted credits and redemption points as well. The mission¡¯s instructions were clear; there were no punishments for failing the admission test. This also meant that there would never be such a good deal again. No one wanted to miss such a great opportunity to be rewarded for winning, nor face any consequences for losing.


    The zombie king¡¯s strength was still an unknown factor, but it did not matter. Even if the zombie king did appear, everyone was ready to fight it if they could and run if they could not.


    Everyone finally reached an agreement. Wang Dalin was not resigned to being rejected; he blurted, ¡°There are 12 of us, eight of us can do close-rangebat, and four of us can do long-rangebat. Among the long-range ones, there are two with bows and two with magic wands. Why don¡¯t we move in a circle formation? The long-rangedbatants can stay in the inner circle to better carry out long-range attacks.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not bother listening to this guy further. He had a good rest while the discussion went on; he got up immediately and began waving his dagger. He was 10XP away from leveling up; he wanted to achieve it before they went out.


    Wang Dalin seemed displeased with Xiao Lin. He sneered, ¡°What¡¯s the use of doing thatst minute? Before I came to Dawn Academy, I worked out consistently, every day. Without that, how could I have my 32 attribute points?¡±


    Everyone had grown immune to his arrogance. Just as they ignored Wang Dalin, a clear voice said, ¡°The zombies¡¯ attack and defense abilities are weak, so higher or lower basic attribute points won¡¯t make much of a difference here. Moreover, 32 attribute points mean that you¡¯re just a little better than the average person.¡±


    Wang Dalin was annoyed when the girl put him in his ce. He could not help but ask, ¡°What¡¯s the total of your basic attribute points?¡±


    ¡°46.¡±


    There was silence.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened as if they had seen a monster, while Wang Dalin¡¯s mouth hung open in surprise. Xiao Lin¡¯s dagger was also suspended in the air as he stared at the nonchnt girl in disbelief.


    Although everyone knew that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s attribute points were the highest among them, the instructor did not mention her actual figure. As most of them had between 10 and 20 points, while Wang Dalin had 32 points, they assumed that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s points would be within that range, however high hers were.

 Chapter 5: Kill Stealing

    <h4>Chapter 5: Kill Stealing</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Any more questions?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked calmly.


    ¡°Oh, no, none. No more questions.¡± Wang Dalin sounded weaker instantly. Although his attribute points were second highest, he was still miles away from Gu Xiaoyue.


    Xiao Lin snapped out of it and waved his dagger around for thest few times. Soon after that, a series of voices from the Central Smart Computer echoed in his mind.


    [Basic Dagger Mastery skill upgraded to LV2. You now have a basic understanding of swordsmanship, and your sword-wielding attack power has increased slightly.]


    [After vigorous training, your Strength has improved; basic Strength points +1]


    [Basic Dagger Mastery LV2: 0/500]


    [The database shows that you are the first freshman in this batch to raise your skill level. ording to thetest Freshman Incentive Measures issued by the academy, you¡¯ll be awarded a skill that matches your current abilities for free. The database is searching for matches...]


    Xiao Lin was excited; he did not expect that practicing a skill could increase his basic attribute points. This was good news to someone with low attribute points like him; the free skill was a pleasant surprise as well.


    After waiting for at least 30 seconds, Xiao Lin was beginning to feel anxious when he heard the Smart Computer¡¯s voice again.


    [shing LV1]


    [Learning Requirements: 1 Strength point and above]


    [Weapon Requirement: Any close-range physical weapon]


    [Skill Introduction: A stronger blow can be delivered after gathering the user¡¯s strength for a few moments. The attack¡¯s damage depends on the user¡¯s current Strength points.]


    [Hint: It is rmended that there is a minimum of a one-minute break between each time the skill is used. Continuous use of this skill will elerate the user¡¯s energy consumption. Please choose carefully.]


    While Xiao Lin was happy, he could not help butugh at himself. The skill¡¯s requirement was so low; it only required 1 Strength point to learn it. Although the Smart Computer said that the reward matched his current abilities, it also meant that his attributes were so weak that only the lowest level skill matched his abilities...


    Nheless, Xiao Lin was very satisfied with this gain. Moreover, he realized that his physical attack power evaluation rose from F- to F upon receiving the shing skill. As for its effect, he would only find that out in actualbat.


    ¡°Hey! How long do you n on holding everyone up!¡± Wang Dalin urged impatiently.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m done!¡±


    The others formed the team; it was a circr formation, as discussed, and the four long-ranged fighters were on the inside of the circle. Although Xiao Lin acquired a new skill, he had yet to know its power; he decided to stay low-key and stood at the back of the formation.


    Wang Dalin stood at the front of the team fearlessly, being so arrogant about having high attribute points. He drew his sword, brandished it forward, took a deep breath, and yelled like a drill sergeant. ¡°Charge!¡±


    With that, he rushed out of the Academic Building; other people were forced to pick up their speed as well in order to maintain the circr formation. As expected, the Academic Building was a safe area designated by the system so zombies would not attack them. However, once they left the Academic Building, zombies on the field looked like sharks smelling blood. Their hollow eye sockets glowed immediately as they closed in on the team.


    Xiao Lin was stunned for a few seconds before cursing and chasing after the crowd. He yelled angrily, ¡°Wang Dalin! Are you dumb? Are you trying to kill everyone? Everyone, stop! Stop running! F*ck, I¡¯m talking to you, why are you running? Were you kicked in the head by a donkey? Are you trying to reincarnate?¡±


    Wang Dalin was arrogant. He had set the scene to make everyone, especially the elegant girl, know how great he was. He wanted to prove that he was fundamentally better than some loser with under ten attribute points.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s words drove Wang Dalin¡¯s frustration to the brink of explosion. He ignored the fact that they were nearing the zombies; he pushed through the crowd and red at Xiao Lin angrily. ¡°What did you say! Huh? Do you want me to kick your *ss! Haha, with our Strength points, it¡¯ll take me two hits to finish you!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right! Are you trying to kill everyone!¡± A beautiful figure blocked Wang Dalin¡¯s gaze. Gu Xiaoyue raised her magic wand and pointed it mercilessly toward him.


    Everyone else felt awkward watching the fight unfold. They thought about stopping it, but given that one of them had 32 attribute points and the other had 46, they might end up injured.


    Everyone decided to stay silent. Some of them even wanted to retreat to the Academic Building.


    Xiao Lin pushed through the crowd, walked toward Wang Dalin, and red at him. ¡°Did you not observe anything? These zombies are slow, but if we choose to run, the zombies will pick up their speed as well. I think that limitation was set for us. Otherwise, if the zombies stayed slow while everyone else gets to run, how would this mission be challenging?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed her spectacles with one hand and said, ¡°Zombies have weak attack and defense abilities, but they have strength in numbers. As long as we choose to move slowly in order to stop the zombies from gathering too quickly, we could kill them one by one. Is it so hard to understand such a simple principle?¡±


    After Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s reminders, everyone realized that the zombies around them did slow down after all. The zombies were slow; at this speed, it was possible to kill them all one by one.


    ¡°Wang Dalin, they¡¯re right, just let it go. Let¡¯s continue the mission together and get the credits and redemption points,¡± said a guy, trying to be a peacemaker.


    ¡°Wang Dalin, if you¡¯re dissatisfied, you canplete the mission yourself. Stop bothering us. Don¡¯t you have 32 attribute points? Haha, it should be easy for you to go through the field yourself,¡± said someone who was annoyed at Wang Dalin.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s face was flushed. His expression changed before lowering his sword. He said, straight-faced, ¡°Don¡¯t take it personally. We¡¯re teammates after all. Let¡¯s do as you say. Let¡¯s continue with the mission!¡±


    Everyone remained in formation; they were no longer running. They moved slowly toward the area with fewer zombies. Although they initially overcame their fear by walking out of the Academic Building, Xiao Lin realized that his arms trembled a little as they approached the zombies¡¯ hideous faces. He nced at the person next to him from the corner of his eye; he realized that the person¡¯s reaction was simr to his own. They were nervous with anticipation.


    The team was less than 20 meters away from one of the zombies. The guys on the outer circle pulled out their swords and knives before anxiously stopping in their tracks. They got ready and waited for the zombie toe near them.


    Whoosh!


    A white energy bomb with a shallow trail drew a beautiful arc in the air before hitting the right side of the zombie¡¯s dposed body.


    Bang!


    With a mild explosion, half of the zombie¡¯s body flew onto the pasture a few meters away from the team. The zombie wobbled before falling to the ground.


    Silence! Everyone turned around and stared at a calm Gu Xiaoyue in shock. They could not find the words; the energy bomb was so powerful that it was a little terrifying. It was an instant kill!


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s brow flinched for a moment. She mumbled, ¡°It was tough to aim at the target. I wanted to hit it in the head. Looks like I need to keep correcting the deviation of the flight trajectory.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked as well, but not because of the energy bomb¡¯s power. Although Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s total attribute points were 46, she seemed frail; her physique was very different from Wang Dalin¡¯s, who had consistent physical training. Her Strength and Agility could not be high, so most of this girl¡¯s attribute points muste from her Intelligence. It was not surprising that she was so lethal.


    What shocked Xiao Lin was the girl¡¯s hit rate. Based on his previous observation, it was extremely hard to control the energy bomb¡¯s flight trajectory; it was harder than using a bow. He was unsure if Gu Xiaoyue was lucky, or she had already mastered her control over the energy bomb¡¯s hit rate.


    Nevertheless, following Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sessful attack, everyone felt a little better about facing the zombies. Her hit eased the others¡¯ nervosity, so thebat that followed was easier than everyone imagined.


    Since they slowed down, the group only faced eight or nine zombies at one time. Although most of them were unfamiliar with their weapons ¡ª their moves with the weapons were unpleasant to look at ¡ª the zombies were of the lowest level. The group could cause considerable damage to the zombies with sheer brute force.


    Although their attributes were digitized, actual life andbat could not be digitized; it was difficult to do so. However, it did not matter. ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s observations, zombies would basically die after three to four physical attacks. If they were attacked in vital parts such as the head, it would only take two to three hits to knock them down.


    There was another guy with a magic wand apart from Gu Xiaoyue, but his ability to use the energy bomb was less satisfactory. He could only guarantee a 60% hit rate within a 10-meter range. Fortunately, magical attacks were stronger than physical attacks. Even if the zombie was not hit in the head, it would only take two energy bombs to kill it.


    The admission test¡¯s difficulty was not high after all. After killing the first zombie, everyone became more confident; their movements were no longer flustered, and they could chat with each other asionally.


    ¡°How many zombies have you killed?¡±


    ¡°Probably about seven.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, why are you stealing my kills! Stop that, I just need one more toplete the mission.¡±


    ...


    Everyone kept checking each other¡¯s body count. Truly, everyone felt like the first optional mission was not hard at all in the moment. It was easy for the whole team toplete the mission. However, the kill would only go to the person with the final blow, which was why killsteals were happening.


    Gu Xiaoyue was the first toplete the mission; she killed five zombies within two minutes with her insane lethality. Xiao Lin also understood that the girl¡¯s hit rate was from pure luck.


    After that, Gu Xiaoyue went silent and watched the others; she did not intend on attacking anymore. Everyone praised her for not stealing kills. If Gu Xiaoyue did want to attack again, it would definitely be an instant kill. There would not be an opportunity to kill for anyone else.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. As he watched the girl, who was calmer than ever, he felt that the reason Gu Xiaoyue did not make a move was purely to take time and recover before facing the zombie king that could appear at any moment.


    Xiao Linpleted the mission quickly as well. His normal attack was not strong, and he only had three basic Strength points. Even after upgrading to Basic Dagger Mastery LV2, he needed five or six strikes to kill a zombie with normal attacks. It was obvious that no one around him would give him that amount of time to do so.


    That was why Xiao Lin did not strike first; he silently followed everyone else and invoked his shing skill on zombies after two or three strikes from other people. He took the final blows and stole the kills sessfully.


    Most of those with physical weapons had F- grade attack power, while Xiao Lin¡¯s attack power was F grade whenever he used the shing skill.


    Based on Xiao Lin¡¯s observation, this was how he understood the attack power: one¡¯s true attack power consisted of their attack power evaluation and Strength points. That was why, although his Strength points were not high, the power of his shing skill was on par with everyone else¡¯s attacks. It was the perfect way to steal kills.


    The shing skill was easy to use since its learning requirement was pathetically low. When Xiao Lin raised his dagger, he could feel his energy gathering at the edge of the dagger for one or two seconds before executing a powerful strike.


    Apart from Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s distracted and confused gaze on him, no one realized what Xiao Lin was doing. Those who had their kills stolen were annoyed, but they did not do much other than re at him.


    It was like how two Level 100 yers in online games fought each other. Your strike brought your opponent to 1HP left, but a Level 1 newbie came over, attacked your opponent, and caused a 1HP decrease ¡ª stealing your kill. You could not use the newbie of doing it on purpose; you could onlyment your luck.


    Everyone knew that Xiao Lin¡¯s basic attribute points were under 10. On average, he would only have about two or three Strength points. They felt that their attack powers were vastly different from Xiao Lin¡¯s; therefore, although their kills were stolen, they could only me it on their luck.

 Chapter 6: Zombie King

    <h4>Chapter 6: Zombie King</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    [Optional Mission 1: Kill Five Zombies. Progress Rate: 1/5]


    After stealing the kill for the first zombie, Xiao Lin smiled apologetically at the unlucky person beside him before turning his target to other people.


    Xiao Lin could feel an obvious loss of strength after using the shing skill. The muscles in his arms were also slightly sore. He only had 3 Physique points. It was just like what the Smart Computer had warned him about; if he used the skill one more time, he might not even have the strength to wield the dagger.


    Xiao Lin chose to wait silently instead, but he did not waste time. He began observing his next target; he judged the person¡¯s true attack power based on how many strikes were needed to kill a zombie. He could not afford to waste the shing skill when he could only use it once in a minute.


    After resting for a minute, Xiao Lin¡¯s soreness gradually disappeared. As the person next to him raised a sword to sh the zombie, Xiao Lin lifted his dagger and gathered his strength for a short moment. After the person¡¯s third strike, Xiao Lin¡¯s shing skill followed; the blow struck the zombie¡¯s head and knocked it down to the ground.


    [Progress Rate: 2/5]


    ¡°Sorry, sorry!¡± Xiao Lin continued staying low-key and apologized.


    The person who had his kill stolen was annoyed, but like Xiao Lin¡¯s previous victim, he did not care much for it. He just med it on his own luck.


    The situation seemed to be smooth-sailing. The team of over a dozen people was on a roll. Reaping zombies seemed as easy as cutting vegetables to them. Although some of them were identally scratched, the zombies were not that strong. They endured the pain, bandaged their injuries hastily, and continued fighting.


    Xiao Lin maintained his method consistently and quietlypleted the mission after five minutes. About half of the team hadpleted the mission by this time.


    The Zombie King had yet to show up, but it did not matter; everyone was confident aboutpleting the mission. Xiao Lin did not stop attacking even afterpleting the mission, as he realized that he earned 4 Basic Dagger Mastery EXP and 4 shing EXP every time he used the shing skill.


    [Basic Dagger Mastery LV2: 20/500]


    [shing LV1: 20/100]


    Xiao Lin possessed the passive effect of Academic Genius¡¯ two-fold upgrading efficiency; this meant that every time he used the skill, he would be given 2 EXP. It looked like using the skill was more efficient than relying on a normal attack.


    However, the fish that nibbled at every bait would eventually be caught. After nearly everyone had their kills stolen once by Xiao Lin, some of them began to get suspicious.


    ¡°Eh? How did you steal my kill again?¡±


    ¡°Again? He stole your kill as well?¡± Theints echoed by many people at once. Soon after that, everyone became suspicious about what was going on. Those who had yed games knew that ¡®killsteal¡¯ was a technical term. To do so, one had to have enough attack power; meticulous calction and observation were secondary.


    ¡°I have 7 Strength points, it¡¯s at least twice of what this guy has, but even I had my kills stolen. Twice.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing, I have 11 Strength points, and I had one kill stolen!¡±


    ¡°Is he doing it on purpose? How could he be so lucky!¡±


    ...


    The more Wang Dalin listened in on the chatter, the angrier he became; he had the urge to charge toward Xiao Lin with his sword. Other people had two kills stolen at most; Xiao Lin was vignt about not pissing everyone off. However, Wang Dalin had four kills stolen; as a result, he still needed another kill toplete the optional mission.


    It was hard to continue his n aftering under fire for it. Xiao Lin smiled apologetically in the face of everyone¡¯s suspicion and decided to stop what he was doing. He looked at his EXP bar in regret; he was already at 80 EXP.


    Truth be told, everyone was more curious than anything about how Xiao Lin, who had less than 10 total attribute points, managed to steal their kills so precisely and consistently. However, Xiao Lin did not n on exining anything.


    Apart from Wang Dalin, everyone else hadpleted the optional mission. 20 minutes had passed as well, and there were only 10 minutes left to the mission¡¯s deadline. There were still plenty of zombies on the field moving toward the group slowly, and everyone was obviously exhausted as well.


    As ordinary people, they reached the limit of their physical strength. Their strength while swinging their weapons was declining as well; this led to the direct consequence of an increase in casualties. Several people were scratched by zombies in a matter of minutes; one of them had arge chunk of flesh torn off directly from their chest cavity. A simple bandage could not stop the bleedingpletely.


    At the moment, the person¡¯s face was as pale as paper. Using his sword as a crutch to barely support his body, he panted, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Time is running out!¡±


    Everyone agreed. The Zombie King had yet to appear; even if it did, they felt that it was difficult to win with their current state. They preferred to keep the rewards at hand.


    Xiao Lin hesitated a little as he nced at a straight-faced Gu Xiaoyue. Apart from the first five energy bombs, the girl had been resting; Xiao Lin believed that she was not tired at all. However, was she really going to wait for the Zombie King? He stared at the girl with a confused gaze.


    ¡°F*ck it! You should wait until Iplete the mission at least, I still need one more kill!¡± Wang Dalin was angry; he needed one more kill toplete the mission as he was Xiao Lin¡¯s main target for killsteals.


    Everyone ignored him; for one, they did not like his arrogance, and secondly, everyone else was tired. They wanted to conserve their energy to rush to the safe area. There was still quite a distance between the safe area and where they were.


    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m a man, with 32 attribute points! I don¡¯t need you!¡± Wang Dalin said, ring at the troublemaker ¡ª Xiao Lin. He only walked toward a zombie nearest to him after making sure that Xiao Lin was not following him; he had a little PTSD from Xiao Lin stealing his kills.


    Gu Xiaoyue was still holding back, and Xiao Lin did not n on waiting for her. Since his shing skill could only be used once every minute, he was destined to follow behind others before getting to use his skill. He waved to the girl and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going back.¡±


    Although Wang Dalin had been showing off, he did have the capabilities; his physique was obviously better than everyone else¡¯s. He still had the energy to draw his sword before killing the zombie nearest to him swiftly.


    Right after that, the Smart Computer¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s minds.


    [The number of zombies has been reduced by one third. The condition has been met. Activating the Zombie King.]


    ¡°Really?¡± Xiao Lin was mildly surprised. They guessed it right; the Zombie King would only be activated after enough zombies were killed. However, no one expected that the zombie Wang Dalin killed would trigger this mechanism.


    The field tremored violently as if there was an earthquake. Even the Academic Building, which was assumed to be an absolutely safe area, was affected. Cracks of varying sizes began appearing on the old walls, and the building copsed slowly. The over 20 people who had been staying inside were forced to escape the building.


    The remaining zombies on the field lost their ability to move and fell onto the ground. The dozen people, who were about to arrive at the safe area, witnessed what happened and grew excited. Everyone turned back after hesitating briefly, while the person who was seriously injured insisted on moving toward the safe area.


    They were still exhausted, but they felt that it was a good opportunity given that the remaining zombies on the field had all disappeared. This meant that their next opponent was only one Zombie King. Combat had given them full confidence; they felt that no matter how strong the Zombie King was, it was possible for them to kill it with their numbers.


    Completing thepulsory mission provided 10 credits and 100 redemption points;pleting Optional Mission 1 provided 10 extra credits and 200 redemption points; meanwhile,pleting Optional Mission 2 provided 20 extra credits and 500 redemption points. The reward of a zombie king was bigger than the other two missionsbined; it was pretty tempting to the team.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s expression darkened. With the Academic Building¡¯s copse, the 20 people who were hiding in there were now forced to join the fight. There were now more than 30 of them, but there was only one opponent.


    30 VS 1!


    Although they looked like they had strength in numbers, this also meant that the mission assumed the Zombie King was as strong as all of thembined. No, the Zombie King could be stronger than that!


    A big crack appeared in the middle of the field before a rotten arm thrust from the ground. The final target of the mission ¡ª the Zombie King ¡ª finally showed itself.


    The Zombie King was about twice as tall as a normal one, and there were more rotten pieces of meat and dark red umted all over its body. The hanging flesh stuck together, making the Zombie King look extremely lean. Its blood-shot eyes looked around before locking its gaze on Wang Dalin.


    Wang Dalin was nearest to where the Zombie King was ¡ª there were merely two meters between them. He picked up his sword and charged toward the Zombie King to sh at its right leg. He aimed to make this thing lose its ability to move.


    Bang!


    Xiao Lin heard the sound of a metallic collision from not far away. He frowned and took a few steps back subconsciously. He sensed that the Zombie King might be harder to beat than he imagined.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s strike was on target, but his sword was not even an inch deep into the Zombie King¡¯s calf. It was as if his sword had connected with a metal beam; it was impossible for his sword to go deeper.


    The Zombie King waved its arm suddenly and smacked Wang Dalin seven or eight meters away. Wang Dalin got up fast, but his face was smashed. He wobbled a few steps, mumbled something as blood bubbled from his mouth, and fell backward. Although he had only passed out, he was not waking up anytime soon.


    Everyone who was about to charge toward the Zombie King stopped in their tracks; the Zombie King¡¯s attack power was higher than they expected. They could not help but hesitate with their decision, but the Zombie King did not give them much time to think. After a low growl, the Zombie King rushed toward the dozen people nearest to him.


    They were the 10 who turned back from the safe area. After seeing the Zombie King making them its first targets, they froze. A scream could be heard nearby. ¡°Stop daydreaming! The Zombie King should be on a random attack mechanism; it¡¯ll make the nearest person its first target!¡±


    Xiao Lin had warned them, but they realized something was off; if the Zombie King attacked anything nearest to it, Xiao Lin would be second after Wang Dalin.


    As they looked closer, they realized Xiao Lin had quietly retreated to a further location. They were now nearest to the Zombie King.


    One other difference the Zombie King had from the ordinary zombies was that it would chase the crowd, and its speed was not inferior to theirs. In order words, even if they turned around and ran toward the safe area right now, the Zombie King was likely to catch up.


    They had no choice but to bite the bullet. They got in formation to face the Zombie King.

 Chapter 7: Replicate

    <h4>Chapter 7: Replicate</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin had already realized that something was wrong the moment the Zombie King appeared. Since his attribute points were low, he was not going to seek death as Wang Dalin did. Instead, he immediately chose to retreat to a ce far away. As there were no other zombies on the field, there was more space to move about.


    His instinct was to save himself. The moment the Zombie King made the ten who turned back its target, Xiao Lin guessed its attack priority. If he did not leave in time, he might not be able to make it out alive.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s n was simple: he wanted to wait it out and see if he could get another killsteal. If that was hopeless, his location could get him to the safe area in time andplete the test.


    Whoosh!


    A white energy bomb drew an arc in the sky. Gu Xiaoyue, who had been silent for some time, wielded her wand again. However, the Zombie King was a lot faster than ordinary zombies; the girl¡¯s hit rate was greatly affected. This time, the energy bomb merely scraped the Zombie King¡¯s right arm before a mild explosion urred.


    Nevertheless, arge piece of rotten flesh from the Zombie King¡¯s right arm was sted by the powerful magic. The Zombie King let out an angry roar and continued running toward its targets.


    Xiao Lin lifted his brow. He did not feel as hopeless in the face of the Zombie King¡¯s defense as he expected. At the very least, the energy bomb was capable of causing decent damage.


    Xiao Lin turned around and looked at Gu Xiaoyue. The girl was frowning and pursing her lips; she was obviously dissatisfied with the strike. She seemed like she was aiming for the Zombie King¡¯s head.


    ¡®Looks like this girl isn¡¯t so much of an all-rounder after all!¡¯ Xiao Lin could not help but think to himself.


    Soon after that, the battle began.


    The ten who turned back spread themselves out and circled the Zombie King. They were wielding their respective weapons to either sh or shoot at the Zombie King, but the results were disappointing; their F- grade attack power made it hard to pierce through the Zombie King¡¯syers of muscle. On top of that, they were already exhausted before this; despite hitting with all their might, they only managed to leave a few light scratches on its dark red flesh.


    Inparison, the Zombie King¡¯s attack power was terrifying. Its attack method was monotonous; it only swung its arms around to grab things with its sharp green fingers. If one was grabbed twice in a row, the person would be reduced to mush, regardless of their Strength points.


    Three out of the 10 disappeared within just a minute, and that was due to the Zombie King¡¯s low attack frequency. Moreover, Gu Xiaoyue would emit an energy bomb from time to time to back the team up and slow down the Zombie King¡¯s movements. If not for these factors, the entire team would be wiped out.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t beat it at all!¡±


    ¡°Run!¡±


    The remaining seven had varying degrees of injuries. A casual grab from the Zombie King would leave them with terrifying wounds; as a result, their physical energy loss was elerated due to the unceasing blood flow. They had no spirit to fight and eventually gave up on doing so. They turned around and ran, choosing to spread out into different routes. Even if the Zombie King ran faster than them, most of them would be lucky enough to reach the safe area. As for who would be the unlucky one, no one really considered at the moment.


    Xiao Lin had been observing from a distance for some time; he admitted that the Zombie King¡¯s attacks made him hesitate. Even with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lethality, he had yet toe up with a good idea to face the Zombie King. The seven people who decided to retreat were right to do so; it was meaningless to continue fighting it. However, a weird expression appeared on his face suddenly as he yelled, ¡°Be careful!¡±


    The Zombie King stood in ce suddenly, clenched its fists, and punched the ground. About one or two secondster, the seven people who had just spread out wobbled and fell to the ground. They tried their best to get up, but they were dazed; it was as if they were drunk and powerless.


    The Zombie King growled and leaped. The first unlucky person nearest to it was stomped on. He did not even get to cry before turning into dust and disappearing. After that, the Zombie King used its hands to shoot at two other people; their chests were pierced through, and they died an ugly death.


    In a mere few seconds, all seven of them died.


    Gu Xiaoyue pursed her lips; her usually calm expression switched into a worried look in a rare sight. She had a n where she would let everyone else deal with the Zombie King. It did not matter if she could cause effective damage; as long as she made sure that she emitted the energy bomb from a safe location, she was confident about her attack. However, apart from this, Gu Xiaoyue was clear that she was useless at doing anything else.


    The Zombie King¡¯s next target was Gu Xiaoyue. Other than those who had just been killed, the girl was closest to the creature. Gu Xiaoyue was forced to store her wand and get ready to run for it. This was what she was most afraid of; she knew how terrible her physique was. It was impossible for her to beat the Zombie King in a chase.


    ¡°Are you stupid? Stop running to the exit, run for the Academic Building!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s voice came at the right time.


    The Academic Building?


    Gu Xiaoyue followed Xiao Lin¡¯s finger and understood what he meant. The Academic Building copsed, so the two dozen people who had been staying there out of fear were standing near the ruins. They did not dare attack the Zombie King, nor did they dare to rush through the field.


    These people were less than 10 meters away from Gu Xiaoyue. She charged toward them without hesitation. Although she was weak, she was still over 20 meters ahead of the Zombie King.


    Xiao Lin ran for the Academic Building as well. The two dozen people near the ruins were mostly girls. Although they felt a little guilty for staying there, they were relieved by the fact that there was no punishment for death here.


    Xiao Lin could tell that, apart from Intelligence, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Strength, Agility, and Physique were bad. She needed a token human shield to deflect the Zombie King¡¯s rage.


    The Zombie King was a lot faster than Gu Xiaoyue, but just as she was about to be caught up with, she managed to run past the girls next to the ruins without looking back.


    Based on the target priority mechanism, The Zombie King¡¯s pupils shed red before switching his targets. The terrified girls were nearly defenseless; some of them passed out from extreme fear. They could only be killed mercilessly.


    Although Gu Xiaoyue got herself a decent distance away from the Zombie King, she was not rushing to attack; she was so tired from the short distance sprint that it seemed a little over-exaggerated. Apart from dripping with sweat, she clutched to her chest with her left hand, and a hint of pain shed through her expression.


    ¡®Your Physique is quite bad;¡± Xiao Lin wanted toment that she was worse than him, but he realized that he only had 3 Physique points himself. If her points turned out to be higher than his, things would be awkward...


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head to calm herself down. She pushed her spectacles and her face was still blushing from the run. However, she managed to speak in a calm voice, ¡°You didn¡¯t take the chance to head to the safe area?¡±


    The girl was not being sarcastic at all; she was just curious that Xiao Lin chose to turn back for her.


    Xiao Lin shrugged and said with augh, ¡°It¡¯s because we can win. Of course, I¡¯ll stay behind to share the prize. Although the mission didn¡¯t mention if the reward for killing the Zombie King could be divided, I think as long as there¡¯s enough participation in trying to kill a Boss of this level, there should be some form of reward.¡±


    ¡°Where do you get your confidence from?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked with suspicion as she raised her wand, aiming it at the Zombie King. However, she frowned soon after that, putting her wand down again.


    The girls who were running everywhere made the Zombie King¡¯s movements hard to predict; it caused an even bigger problem for Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s declining hit rate. Moreover, she was still panting slightly; it affected her precision.


    Xiao Lin thought to himself and asked, ¡°How many more times do you think you can use the energy bombs?¡±


    ¡°Probably five to seven times. I¡¯m still a little unstable, I¡¯m notpletely sure about it.¡± It seemed like Gu Xiaoyue had already thought about this question; she answered him without hesitation.


    Xiao Lin was left speechless. How high was this girl¡¯s Intelligence? She had already fired the energy bombs many times inbat before this. ¡°It will probably take the Zombie King a few more minutes to kill those people. Don¡¯t strike now; rest. If this is the case, how many more times can you do it?¡±


    ¡°I can definitely use seven then. However, you should be able to tell that my Physique is bad.¡± Gu Xiaoyue looked at him and continued, ¡°Moreover, my energy bomb¡¯s hit rate is nearly nil while running.¡±


    In other words, when the Zombie King switched to target them, they would not be able to run or defeat it. Their mission would definitely fail.


    Xiao Lin was confident this time. ¡°If that was the case, I wouldn¡¯t havee over just now. Alright, listen to me. I¡¯ll try my best to stall the Zombie King. I can¡¯t guarantee that it¡¯ll work, but I¡¯ll try. When I do, try your best to hit it. Based on what happened just now, the Zombie King¡¯s magic defense isn¡¯t high. With your crazy Intelligence level, it¡¯s definitely possible for both of us to finish this brat. Hey, what¡¯s that look you¡¯re giving me...¡±


    The girl¡¯s gaze was filled with disbelief under her ck-framed spectacles; she could not believe that someone with under 10 attribute points could stall the Zombie King. She tilted her head and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the sess rate? Otherwise, I¡¯d rather give up this optional mission!¡±


    Most of the two dozen girls were dead by now. If they retreated to the safe area right now, they could stillplete thepulsory mission. If they waited till the Zombie King switched its focus to them, they would not have a backup n at all.


    ¡°50%. No, 70 or 80%!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue stared at Xiao Lin for ten full seconds before nodding cautiously. ¡°Fine, but if things go wrong, I¡¯m leaving myself.¡±


    ¡°So brutally honest. We¡¯re teammates, aren¡¯t we?¡± Xiao Lin teased. He did not get a reply.


    Xiao Lin was nervous. Hisst-minute n needed Gu Xiaoyue to kill the Zombie King. Her terrifying magical lethality was necessary. She was a logical and calctive girl; if things went right, Gu Xiaoyue would probably not ditch him and run.


    If Xiao Lin¡¯s n failed, there would be no difference whether Gu Xiaoyue decided to leave or not. He would definitely be killed; it was impossible for someone with under 10 attribute points to fight the Zombie King one-on-one.


    It was time for the Academic Genius talent.


    In a passive state, the Academic Genius talent could increase Xiao Lin¡¯s learning efficiency two-fold. If he decided to start it up, Xiao Lin would gain a chance to replicate a skill; he could replicate any F grade skills that was not a talent!


    That was Xiao Lin¡¯s final secret weapon!

 Chapter 8: Shockwave

    <h4>Chapter 8: Shockwave</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When the Zombie King knocked the group of people to the ground earlier, Xiao Lin was reminded of the Zombie King¡¯s Shockwave skill. It dealt weak shock damage to targets within a three-meter radius and was able to inflict a brief stun. Most importantly, it was a Level F skill, which was within his scope of replication.


    [Academic Genius skill activated; target of replication: Zombie King; skill: shock wave; skill level, F; replication, sessful!]


    ¡°Three minutes! We only have three minutes!¡± Xiao Lin summed up. ¡°Remember to aim at its vital point: the head!¡±


    He did not exin his reasoning and rushed up with his dagger.


    Of the girls who were still hesitating near the school building, only four were still alive at that moment, but that number immediately went down to three. The Zombie King chased down another girl, and its huge arm split the girl¡¯s stomach open, leaving a big hole. Various organs and flesh were strewn all over the ce.


    Despite being well aware that everything was fake¡ªthat he would not actually die nor lose his life¡ªXiao Lin still felt a little sick witnessing everything up close. Fortunately, the girl¡¯s body soon disappeared.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance allowed the Zombie King to immediately set its sights on him. Its meter-long arm swept from left to right with a considerably wide attack range of attack. Xiao Lin had already consciously distanced himself, but the fact that this was the first time he had ever faced such a situation still remained. Slightly nervous, he misjudged his distance and found the dark red arm sweeping toward him like two steel pipes.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s instinct was to raise his dagger and protect his chest. The next second, he felt as though he had struck an iron wall. The walloping force sent him flying three or four meters back before falling to the ground. He struggled hard to get up. Their power differentials were wider than expected, and a head-on fight would only result in his death.


    Blood bubbled in Xiao Lin¡¯s chest and he spat out several mouthfuls of the scarlet fluid. As he looked up, he noticed that the Zombie King was raising its arms high instead of chasing after him. He had observed that same action several times already and was very familiar with it. Xiao Lin ignored the blood at the corners of his mouth and raised his dagger at almost the same time.


    Shockwave!


    In fact, Xiao Lin had some thought as to how to use the skills he replicated. The moment his mind thought of how to release those skills, his arms lifted up on their own, as if he was being manipted like a puppet. It was different from executing his shing skill since it was a skill that he learned and there were clear instructions to use it.


    The Zombie King¡¯s Shockwave used both hands, while Xiao Lin¡¯s replicated Shockwave was triggered by the de of the dagger hitting the ground.


    The process did not matter; the results were the most important.


    Since the appearance of the Zombie King, Xiao Lin has been observing it almost without blinking, so he has mastered many details. For example, every time the Zombie King used Shockwave, it would stand still before raising its hands. The process of releasing that skill took about one to two seconds, and its range was three to four meters.


    Xiao Lin happened to be on the border of that range. He was in a prime position to turn around and escape, but doing so would be meaningless. In terms of power and speed, he was no match for the Zombie King.


    Since it was a skill, it could surely be thwarted! Crucially, the height difference meant that Xiao Lin had to execute his Shockwave faster than the Zombie King!


    Boom!


    The dagger touched the ground, only half a second faster than the Zombie King. An invisible wave rippled out in an instant, and the ground vibrated for a brief moment. Judging from the magnitude of the vibration, the force was not as powerful as the Zombie King¡¯s, but it did not matter to him. Xiao Lin did not count on it being lethal. All he hoped was that it took effect!


    Although the shock was short-lived, it sessfully yed its role of being an interference. The Zombie King¡¯s body shuddered for a while before it fell over, and it was unable to release its own Shockwave as everyone anticipated.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± Xiao Lin pumped his fist excitedly, though the n did not guarantee absolute sess. The Zombie King might have had mechanisms that made it immune to such attacks, or that Xiao Lin¡¯s own execution of the technique was not as fast as the Zombie King¡¯s. Fortunately, there was none of that. After all, it was an admissions test for freshmen, so although the Zombie King was very strong, its power was not imbnced.


    ¡°Hurry! Attack its head!¡± Xiao Lin shouted back.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not need his reminder. She sted her energy bombs almost immediately. When it came to stationary targets, her hit rate was at least 80%, if not 100%.


    Two consecutive white energy bombs sailed in a graceful arc and connected precisely with the Zombie King¡¯s head. Sessive explosions blew up the Zombie King¡¯s right ear, causing it to roar mutedly.


    ¡°Awesome! This is going great!¡± Xiao Lin keenly noticed a green viscous substance flowing from the Zombie King¡¯s head. Whatever it was, the earlier attack had caused it a lot of damage.


    The Shockwave¡¯s short-lived stun effect ended and the Zombie King stood up again. It seemed to have increased its speed a notch, but it no longer targeted Xiao Lin. Instead, it went after the other three surviving girls.


    Xiao Lin did not just remain idle. He took the opportunity to keep his distance and made it a point to not be too close to it. He admitted that it was very mean of him to use other people to buy time, but there was really no better n than that. The Shockwave was also impossible to use in quick session, and if the recharge duration was the same as that of the Zombie King, it would take at least 30 seconds before it could be used again.


    ¡°What do you think? Can you strike its head now?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed up the frame of her sses, then hesitated and shook her head. ¡°It seems to be speeding up again. There¡¯s no guarantee that I can hit the target.¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh. It was to be expected. Compared to a slower, ordinary zombie, the quicker Zombie King would definitely be more difficult to target.


    ¡°You. How did you do that just now?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked with a rare look of confusion on her face.


    With all her cold stoicism, Xiao Lin found it surprisingly refreshing to see such a confused expression on her face. He kept quiet though, and after estimating that the time was almost up, he raised his dagger again and rushed forward. The raging Zombie King had just killed a girl who was frantically running away, so its focus once again shifted to Xiao Lin.


    Following a set pattern, Xiao Lin and the Zombie King executed a Shockwave at almost the same time. However, Xiao Lin was one step ahead and managed to intercept the Zombie King¡¯s attack yet again. The stun effect the Shockwave produced caused the Zombie King to fall heavily to the ground.


    Then, without Xiao Lin¡¯s order, Gu Xiaoyue shot out her energy bombs at exactly the same time. Since she had time to prepare, she released three energy bombs in a row, all aimed toward the zombie lying still on the ground. The energy bombs struck just like before, hitting the Zombie King¡¯s forehead, eyes, and nose.


    After the smoke and dust of the explosion cleared, Xiao Lin was pleasantly surprised to find that half of the Zombie King¡¯s face had been sted off by the explosion. In particr, the bloody red glow in its entire right eyeball hadpletely extinguished, and half of its vision was lost. It was good news for the two of them.


    To their surprise, however, the Zombie King was extremely tenacious. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯sbination of extraordinary intelligence and lethal magical skills could kill ordinary zombies in one shot, but the Zombie King still stood strong despite five energy bombs to the head. In addition, it survived the sum of all the shes that were inflicted upon it, bothrge and small.


    The Zombie King¡¯s strength was spent. Its speed had dropped drastically after getting up and its body swayed; it looked like it could fall at any time.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s situation was not that good either. Although he could execute the Shockwave technique that he replicated, it was a physical damage technique that consumed his physical strength too. As a cker with only three points in his physique, two consecutive uses of the technique made Xiao Lin feel as though his body was about to fall apart. He felt like he had just finished a marathon.


    Looking back at Gu Xiaoyue, the girl¡¯s face was as pale as paper. She continued to use her energy bombs, but her mental energy was nearly drained. Xiao Lin had experienced that feeling before. Losing mental faculties and with nausea spreading throughout her entire being, she was no better off than he was.


    Gu Xiaoyue previously said that she could use up to seven energy bombs. After the five she had already used, they only had two opportunities left.


    Fortunately, the two girls who were still alive finally gained theirst burst of courage in a moment of despair. Instead of seizing the Zombie King¡¯s slowing down to escape, they clenched their novice weapons and charged up, roaring.


    The badly-injured Zombie King seemed to have weakened considerably and was temporarily held back by the two girls. There was not much time, but a handful of seconds was enough for Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue to get a short rest. The Zombie King¡¯s Shockwave predictably killed thest two girls in seconds. By then, there were no other people whom Xiao Lin could use to stall time. They were the Zombie King¡¯s final targets.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue nced at each other silently. Both of them understood the look in each other¡¯s eyes. It was a deciding moment for victory or defeat¡ªif they failed, they would have failed with pride.


    The two chose to stand together and stay where they were in order to give themselves more time to rest.


    ¡°The frequency in which the Zombie King can use the Shockwave is about twenty seconds. It used it once when it killed those two girls, so in a while, I¡¯ll immediately send it falling down. It¡¯s all in your hands after that. We have one chance.¡± Xiao Lin found the girl¡¯s face a little scary, as though the bright eyes behind her ck sses could just closepletely at any time. It prompted him to ask, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Just mind yourself!¡± The girl¡¯s tone was still frigid, but in the iciness was intense fatigue that could not be concealed. Gu Xiaoyue bit her lip so hard until blood flowed down her delicate chin. She did not seem to mind it at all.


    Gu Xiaoyue intended on using the pain to keep herself awake. Xiao Lin swallowed back whatever words of concern that were going toe out of his mouth. She was a stubborn girl and he decided to put all his trust in her.


    Within ten seconds, the Zombie King was less than five meters away from Xiao Lin. The stench of blood and decay rushed toward his face as Xiao Lin slowly raised his dagger.


    Shockwave!

 Chapter 9: The Freshmen’s Records

    <h4>Chapter 9: The Freshmen¡¯s Records</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Shockwave was sessfully executed, and the tremors shook the Zombie King to the ground once more.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s vision turned ck at the same time. After utilizing that skill, his strength finally reached its limit. Before he fainted, thest picture in his line of sight was two energy bombs urately striking the target. The Zombie King¡¯s head waspletely blown up into fragments.


    Sess atst; but unfortunately, he could notplete the mandatory task.


    When he could open his eyes yet again, Xiao Lin found himself lying in a huge metal hall. Enveloped in a milky-white halo, his bodily fatigue disappeared at an astonishing rate. After the admission test, he was more than piqued by the academy¡¯s wonders.


    The halosted for a long time before it gradually dissipated. Xiao Lin discovered that he was probably thest to wake up, as everyone else was looking at him with dissatisfaction.


    ¡°As expected of a loser with an attribute score of less than ten. You made all of us wait for you!¡± Wang Dalin spoke in a peculiar tone. He was killed by the Zombie King and failed toplete his tasks, the me of which he attributed to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Did you think you had 46 total attribute points too? You were so deluded to fight the Zombie King. You don¡¯t know what death means, do you? Hmph, at least there¡¯s no penalty for failing the admissions test,¡± Wang Dalin sneered proudly,plimenting Gu Xiaoyue while he was at it, but the girl¡¯s attention was not on him at all.


    Xiao Lin was not interested in entertaining him. Gu Xiaoyue stood gracefully beside him, still maintaining her cold arrogance. Fatigue seemed to be absent between her eyebrows, and the magical halo had also healed herpletely. However, Xiao Lin was very disconcerted by the fact that he should have awoken around the same time as Gu Xiaoyue did. However, he was thest to wake up. Was his physique really that bad?


    Hisst memory was that the Zombie King ought to have died. Xiao Lin shot the girl an inquisitive look and she responded with an imperceptible nod.


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. It was fortunate that they could probably get the rewards for those two optional tasks. There was no way for them to get the mandatory task done since he fainted at thest moment. He had only himself to me for his poor physical strength.


    It was raucous inside the metal hall as everyone discussed the earlier test. Some were impressed by the academy¡¯s super-technical and nearly realistic simtion. Although everyone was scared at the time, they felt very excited after giving it a second thought. At the very least, it proved that many of the things that instructor Qin Chuan said before were not a lie.


    Some people had difficulty epting all that and were shouting to go home. Even if the test was a simtion, they could actually feel suffering and fear just before their deaths.


    There were a few who expressed regret for the earlier battle. They were thest few who participated in the battle but were quickly killed, and they were all wondering whether the Zombie King mission had beenpleted.


    ¡°Impossible! I heard one of the girls say that Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin were the only ones left in the end. How could they have won?¡±


    ¡°But that girl¡¯s attack power is amazing. She could kill ordinary zombies in seconds. Damn it, I really want to learn magic!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use? The Zombie King was too fast. How could Xiao Lin¡¯s loser attributes stop it?¡±


    As those who experienced the situation personally, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue both wore tacit expressions. They were reluctant to speak, and those who came to inquire about it left dejectedly. More and more people began to feel that the Zombie King mission was left iplete.


    In fact, everyone engaged in the discussion simply to conceal the anxiety in their hearts. The admission test was over, but Qin Chuan¡ªwho imed to be their instructor¡ªhad not yet appeared, and the silver metal door was tightly closed. No one knew what would happen next.


    Unbeknownst to them, 12 men and women had gathered in a conference room not far away. They sat at a long conference table; they were all instructors of the freshmen¡¯s sses. Before them was a stack of reports, specifically of freshmen who had just finished the tests. Everyone was either perusing through them or in deep thought. Various expressions were presented on their faces, including ones of surprise, excitement, and disappointment.


    At the end of the long table, a handsome man in a suave suit held a cigarette in his mouth and lounged on a high-end leather sofa. He was the only person in this room who was not reading reports, but instead, looked at everyone with a smile.


    After some time, the cigarette butt was the only thing left in the man¡¯s hand. He stretched out his finger, tapped the table lightly, and snapped everyone back from their respective thoughts. The instructors who stood tall in front of the freshmen were all full of respect in that instant. They were utterly afraid of being caught unawares in front of that man. Qin Chuan might have been brave enough to scold the Admissions Department casually in front of the freshmen, but he did not even dare let out a single peep in front of the department head.


    ¡°Has everyone read the admissions test report for your sses? Well, as the head of the Admissions Department, allow me to summarize.¡± The man who was purportedly the department head sported a gentle smile. He seemed to be in a good mood and cleared his throat. No one in the meeting room dared to interrupt as soon as he started speaking slowly.


    ¡°There are 1,360 students enrolled this year and are divided into twelve sses. Based on the Smart Computer¡¯s statistics, the results of the admissions test are as follows: Grade F, 560; Grade D, 450; Grade C, 500; Grade B, 83; Grade A, 52.¡±


    Having said that, the Admissions Department head paused for a few seconds, as several instructors counted in silence. Suddenly, they uttered an abrupt ¡°Hey!¡±, raising their heads and looked at the man incredulously. The others understood in an instant, and their faces wore looks of surprise.


    The department head was very satisfied with everyone¡¯s expressions. After satisfying his vanity, his smile became even brighter. ¡°We finally have people who achieved Grade S: a total of 15!¡±


    The silent conference room erupted instantly. Each instructor was shocked and confabted.


    ¡°The students this year are amazing! When I first entered the academy, only five people who achieved Grade S in the admissions test.¡±


    ¡°My ss was even worse! Only two!¡±


    ¡°I recall that achieving Grade S requires one toplete three tasks and at the same time survive!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Grades S, A, and B are achieved bypleting three, two, and one task respectively. Grade C is for when they don¡¯tplete any tasks, but were recorded killing zombies. Grade D is when students were proactive, in spite of their failure toplete the mission and having zero kills. As for Grade F, it consists of students who had done nothing but escape out of fear,¡± one instructor fluently exined.


    ¡°For freshmen, the Zombie King is not so easy to deal with, unless they are talented students who were born with skills. You don¡¯t have any talented students in your ss, do you!¡±


    Having said that, the head of the Admissions Department waved his hand andughed. ¡°We¡¯vee to the point now for me to announce another set of data. Within this year¡¯s students are a few confirmed to be talented. Of the fifteen who achieved Grade S andpleted the three tasks, thirteen of them talented students. Be it the physical examination report or the results of the admissions test, this year¡¯s crop has been the best in ten years!¡±


    The department head waved his hand repeatedly, expressing his excitement. As the head of the Admissions Department, the performance of each freshman and the proportion of talented students directly affected the school¡¯s evaluation of him and whether he could be re-elected as department head. Judging from that year¡¯s batch, he felt that his re-election would no longer be a problem.


    The meeting room, which was quiet for a while, became lively again. The instructors experienced various different moods. The proportion of talented students was beyond imagination, and what the department head said was true. The quality of Dawn Academy¡¯s new students had been declining in the past decade, especially recently. In the past few years, the number of talented students in each new enrolment had dropped to even less than five.


    The instructors smiled reluctantly. There were plenty of talented students, which meant that thepetition between them would be even more intense. It was even more difficult to obtain rewards that rightfully belonged to the instructor. In addition, those talented students would soon be able to step on their heads in one or two years at most. It was only natural then that none of them could be happy.


    ¡°There are fifteen Grade S freshmen, but only thirteen talented students. That leaves two more,¡± an instructor expressed his doubt, likely wanting to shift from the depressing topic of talented students.


    ¡°Probably achieved that by teaming up with the talented students,¡± someone remarked absent-mindedly. That statement was open to doubt though since all of them knew that the Smart Computer determined whether or not a personpleted the Zombie King mission by highlighting their contributions. Thus, the possibility of opportunism was basically zero.


    The department head did not keep everyone in suspense and quickly revealed the answer. With a meaningful look, he spoke again, ¡°Old Qin, among the twelve sses, your Freshmen ss Seven is the only one without any talents, yet they managed to break two records that had existed since the establishment of Dawn Academy.¡±


    The Old Qin he mentioned was Qin Chuan, the instructor of Freshmen ss Seven. He kept a strange expression throughout the meeting, but he was shocked at that point. He looked at the department head in surprise and asked, ¡°They broke a record? What record?¡±


    The other instructors were also puzzled.


    ¡°Hehe, looks like none of you know enough about the academy¡¯s history!¡± The department head smiled but did not me them. He was in a very good mood that day and said, ¡°The first record is that two non-talented students from the same ss achieved Grade S in their admissions test at the same time. Thest time a non-talented student got a Grade S was eight years ago, and that was only one person.¡±


    The first record did not actually signify much, but the department head¡¯s expression then became rather serious. ¡°The second record is having the highest intelligence score in the history of Dawn Academy¡¯s freshmen. Gu Xiaoyue, a student from Freshmen ss Seven, has an intelligence value of 36 in her physical examination report!¡±


    Qin Chuan was the only one prepared for that. Everyone else inhaled sharply.


    The department head¡¯s tone was low, yet full of enthusiasm. ¡°It could be said that, throughout the two-hundred years of history among academies all over the world, there are only 40 or so people with an individual intelligence value of more than 30. Although Gu Xiaoyue isn¡¯t the highest among them, she¡¯s the only non-talented student! In other words, this batch has generated a world record!¡±

 Chapter 10: Opening Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 10: Opening Ceremony</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    With thatst sentence, the man became emotional and his face turned red. He knew very well how important a world record was to Dawn Academy, especially since the academy had been surpassed by foreign countries in almost all aspects in recent years. As the head of the Admissions Department, the eventual credit for recruiting those new students would end up going to him, which was more than satisfactory.


    The department head then said, ¡°I¡¯ve sent word of Gu Xiaoyue to the student union, and before I came, I got the news that the president would leave the New World for the time being and return to the school to personally host the freshmen assembly!¡±


    The instructors looked at each other. After the admission test was the freshmen assembly, which was usually hosted by the head of the Admissions Department. The student union of Dawn Academy was different from those of ordinary universities in that the council president had more than just supreme authority. The position also represented an extreme power and was the kind of existence which the instructors could only yearn to achieve.


    After a brief moment of surprise, however, they reverted back to being calm. They received far too much earth-shattering news that day and felt a bit out of sorts. In light of the freshmen creating a new world record, it was understandable that the student union¡¯s president would show up and host the freshmen assembly.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not waste any more time. Everyone, head back to your respective sses and make arrangements. I¡¯ll meet the president first...¡± The department head got up, but his cell phone rang from his waist barely two stepster. He mumbled a few words, ¡°Who is it now? Don¡¯t they know that I¡¯m at a meeting?¡±


    Getting out his small and nifty cell phone, his expression changed dramatically as soon as he looked down. He ced the device on the table, stood upright, then quickly tidied up his suit and tie before pressing the answer button. A virtual holographic screen popped out from the phone and a gray-haired old man appeared.


    ¡°Dean, how can I be of service?¡± The department head¡¯s tone was humble and respectful.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be personally attending the freshmen assembly. Please make the arrangements.¡± The old man¡¯s voice was low and his words were concise. The screen was cut off with that as the Dean hung up.


    ¡°Was that person just now...the legendary dean?¡± A female instructor timidly broke the conference room¡¯s silence.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The department head was still in a trance.


    At that point, everyone waspletely shocked. If the president of the student union was someone they could look up to, then Dawn Academy¡¯s dean was the supreme existence that they could not even hope to touch.


    The dean¡¯s appearance at the assembly raised the standards of that freshman assembly by a couple of notches. Even if Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s initial intelligence value set a world record, she was still a talentless ordinary student and did not warrant the dean¡¯s in-person attendance at the assembly.


    The instructors who left the meeting room were still shocked and confused. They could not figure out the reason, but it was certain that the dean made an exception to attend the assembly because of Gu Xiaoyue. Although there were 13 talented students in this new intake, the highest talent level was only an A, not an S!


    ...


    The freshmen were getting increasingly anxious as they waited in the rotunda. Some even began wildly specting as to whether they had been captured by aliens for experiments...


    It was not until the huge metal gate was opened again that Qin Chuan¡¯s figure reappeared, thereby dispelling that rumor. The freshman had mixed feelings, and Qin Chuan¡¯s expression was also simrly convoluted as his gaze finallynded on Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin.


    As an instructor, Qin Chuan did not not have the authority to probe into the actual video of the admission test, but he believed that the Central Smart Computer System would do an evaluation of each student.


    Gu Xiaoyue came as a pleasant surprise. After all, she was someone with an intelligence score of 36. Qin Chuan was actually quite shocked during the health screening, so much so that he could not help but pity her for not being a talented student. Nevertheless, none of that mattered since the girl did manage to attract the attention of the student union and even the dean.


    Indeed, despite being unable to wrap his head around it, Qin Chuan decided to treat the girl well, as he might get to ask favors from her in the future.


    As for Xiao Lin, however, Qin Chuan frowned again. It could not be helped that he had asting impression of that boy since there was no way a person with an initial attribute value of no more than 10 could still be standing there. It was a fact that could not be forgotten. Dawn Academy¡¯s student admissions were strictly screened, and although he dared not say anything in front of the Admissions Department head, he could not avoid criticizing internally.


    Xiao Lin was also one of the 15 people who received Grade S, but Qin Chuan never expected someone with a loser physique to possess the strength that corresponded to earning a Grade S. If Gu Xiaoyue relied on her 36 intelligence points to get that grade, then what did Xiao Lin rely on to achieve the same?


    Qin Chuan¡¯s flickering eyes made Xiao Lin feel very ufortable. There was no doubt that his basic physique was slightly inferior, but he never expected Qin Chuan to be calcting so many things in such a short period of time.


    After some time, Qin Chuan spoke calmly, ¡°The Smart Computer has already sent you the scores for your admissions tests. You can get the results by asking for it in your minds.¡±


    Xiao Lin made a mental plea and the Smart Computer¡¯s voice appeared once again.


    [Name: Xiao Lin]


    [Student ID: 201235]


    [Comprehensive evaluation in the admissions test: S]


    [Reward: 40 credits, 800 redemption points]


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened with surprise. The reward was clearly obtained by adding up the three tasks, but he distinctly remembered fainting after the Zombie King was killed and could not reach the safe area toplete the required tasks. He could not help but turn to look at the expressionless Gu Xiaoyue, and was a little surprised that the cold girl had actually helped him.


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth to thank the girl, but Qin Chuan¡¯s loud voice rang again and silenced the noisy hall at once. ¡°Now, will anyone who obtained Grade F pleasee to the front.¡±


    Everyone was surprised. No one dared to step forward even after a few minutes, and none of them knew what would happen. Some people mumbled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there wasn¡¯t a punishment in the admissions test? What is this!¡±


    Qin Chuan smiled slightly, though he did so in a rather cold manner. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this isn¡¯t a punishment. If all you got was an F in this easy test, then losers like you aren¡¯t suitable to continue your studies at Dawn Academy. So, anyone who got a Grade F can leave.¡±


    ¡°We can really leave?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that we¡¯ll leak this to the media?¡±


    Some people were still in disbelief.


    Qin Chuan snorted coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t remember anything that happened here after you leave. This will all be just a dream. Right, I don¡¯t want to waste my spit speaking to losers anymore. Hurry up! I have the test evaluation sheet here, so don¡¯t even think about trying to fool me!¡±


    Everyone noticed that Qin Chuan was holding a stack of papers that resembled reports. After exchanging nces, someone finally walked forward with reluctance. With one person taking the lead, the rest soon followed suit. Qin Chuan took the list and cross-referenced them one by one until it was confirmed that all the people who obtained Grade F were there.


    There were more than 30 people. Xiao Lin noticed that those who got Grade F were mostly the girls who hid in the teaching building, were afraid to go out, and ended up being tragically killed by the Zombie King.


    Xiao Lin then began thinking: ¡®If Grade F was given to those who did nothing, then would Grade S means that the personpleted all three tasks at the same time?¡¯ He wondered how many people actually got Grade S.


    Soon a few men in ck uniforms came in from outside the gate and left the metal hall with the frightened girls. The rest remained silent for a while. No one knew where they would go or whether they would really return to their normal lives.


    There were more than 60 people left. Qin Chuan pped his hands and his expression rxed considerably, ¡°I can now formally congratte all of you for being the provisional students, now officially Dawn Academy¡¯s freshmen. Some of you might envy those who can leave and return to the real world, but believe me, that thought won¡¯tst long. They¡¯re the ones who will truly be regretting everything! In fact, those who failed the test don¡¯t even have the chance to regret it!¡±


    Qin Chuan became friendly all of a sudden. There was no longer his initial arrogance and domineering attitude, taking everyone off guard. They had just only arrived at that mysterious academy, and the only staff they came into contact with was the instructor in front of them. Soon, however, they woulde to understand that the instructors were actually the least valuable throughout the entire academy.


    ¡°In another half an hour, we¡¯ll gather in the auditorium for the freshmen assembly. This time, the academy¡¯s dean will attend and might even give a speech, which is unprecedented. Finally, I¡¯d like to remind everyone that you¡¯ll belong to Freshmen ss Seven, for the entire freshman year at least. At this stage, you¡¯ll be an inseparable group as a ss. Whether it be the monthly exam or the final exam, you¡¯ll be grouped as a ss.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not feel very pleasant. After graduating from university, the one thing he rejoiced was that he no longer needed to take exams. After thinking that he would have to take exams every month in the future, he felt that he would have been better off if he cked off in the admissions test and got sent back.


    Everyone could finally leave the metal hall and headed for the auditorium to participate in the assembly. However, Xiao Lin noticed that Qin Chuan asked Gu Xiaoyue to stay back. They seemed to be talking about something.


    Outside the hall was a very wide corridor. On the metal wall wereputer screens iid on each side, with arrows pointing toward the direction of the auditorium.


    There were several halls on both sides of the corridor, simrly filled with girls and boys who had experienced the same experience as them. Qin Chuan said that they were in Freshmen ss Seven, so the others must undoubtedly be freshmen from other sses.


    Xiao Lin counted carefully and came to a total of 12 halls, meaning that there were 12 sses. More than 30 people in their ss had been eliminated and about 60 people were left. If every ss had a simr number, then the entire freshmen year would have 700 or 800 people. It was no small number, and he became more and more curious about the mysterious college.


    At the urging of several instructors, the students did not have time to chat. They spent ten minutes hurriedly passing through the long and winding corridor before finally arriving at the auditorium. The moment they stepped in, gasps were heard and nearly everyone felt their eyes go blind.

 Chapter 11: The Dean

    <h4>Chapter 11: The Dean</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was a huge and magnificent auditorium. The surrounding walls were fashioned from gold and had carvings of various lifelike flora-and-fauna patterns. The floor was paved with pearl agate, of which the color changed at irregr intervals. All kinds of gems were iid in the ceiling and its beauty was prevalent when the sun shone in. It felt like a dream to stand inside.


    Every freshman who stepped in was stunned by the sight. The entire auditorium was divided into four floors and was roughly able to amodate tens of thousands of people. It was so grand that it could rival even that of imperial pces seen on television.


    Freshmen were only allowed to sit on the first floor. Xiao Lin took a seat in the back corner, by the door. After some thought, he took another seat next to him, so when someone came over, he smiled and said, ¡°Sorry, this seat¡¯s taken.¡±


    There were barely 700 or 800 freshmen, so they upied only the first few rows and sat very close to the podium. There were a few men in student uniforms standing onstage and whispering to each other, as if waiting for someone. After several instructors made sure to arrange everything for the students, they hurried up to the stage. They appeared to be checking on the uniformed men, but thetter party showed no interest. The instructors then went back down and sat down at whatever seat they could find. As a result, everyone understood that the status of those onstage were certainly much higher than that of the instructors.


    Gu Xiaoyue and Qin Chuan arrived soon too. Xiao Lin was right by the door, so he waved at them. Gu Xiaoyue hesitated, but eventually decided to sit in the seat that Xiao Lin had saved. Qin Chuan nced nky at Xiao Lin with a rather unhappy expression in his eyes.


    Xiao Lin was getting used to the instructor¡¯s attitude toward him. The auditorium wasrge enough and there was no need to save seats. However, he was still slightly concerned about Qin Chuan and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s conversation. To be more precise, he did not want his biggest secret¡ªhis talent of being the SS-Level Academic Genius¡ªto be known by others.


    No one onstage stepped forward to preside over that so-called freshman meeting. Perhaps they were waiting for the dean that the instructors mentioned, but Xiao Lin was unconcerned. He looked at the girl beside him, who had a focused gaze and took the initiative to say, ¡°Thank you for what you did during the test.¡±


    Her cold eyes still remained under those ck-rimmed sses. The girl knew what Xiao Lin was referring to, because after defeating the Zombie King, she was the one who brought the unconscious Xiao Lin to the safe area and helped himplete the required task. After adjusting her sses, she merely nodded to express acknowledgement.


    She was really a person of few words!


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and gave up on his attempt to chat with her and get to know her better. Even so, he went straight to the point that concerned him the most, ¡°Why did the instructor hold you back?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue turned her head slightly and said simply, ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything that shouldn¡¯t have been said.¡±


    Xiao Lin froze and continued to wait, but the girl had already turned her head away and showed no intention of continuing. He became a little frantic and shouted internally, ¡®SIS! What do you mean by ¡®I didn¡¯t say anything that shouldn¡¯t have been said?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s ability to achieve Grade S was due to his SS-level talent, but other people were unaware of his talents and would certainly have doubts over his grade. It was expected, and Xiao Lin therefore did not want others to know anything more. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s reluctance to continue talking forced him tofort himself in the thought that she probably did not reveal to Qin Chuan the intricacies of his role in the battle.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Gu Xiaoyue spoke out of her own ord all of a sudden. ¡°The instructor is probably going to appoint you as the monitor of Freshmen ss Seven.¡±


    ¡°Monitor? Why me?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed her sses. ¡°Because I refused.¡±


    After ten or so seconds of silence, Xiao Lin was speechless to find that Gu Xiaoyue had closed her mouth again. She did not have the slightest intention to continue exining. In the end, Xiao Lin felt like he was going to cry miserably and screamed in his heart, ¡®That can¡¯t be all you have to say!¡¯


    Why did Qin Chuan look for Gu Xiaoyue to be the monitor? Why would Gu Xiaoyue refuse? Why was Xiao Lin picked to be the monitor after she refused? What did his appointment as a monitor signify? Well, he knew what a monitor was, but in that mysterious academy, there must surely be a different meaning to being a ss monitor.


    Xiao Lin was thoroughly confused but had nowhere to vent. Just as he was about to ask what happened, someone onstage had begun to speak. It was a boy in a ck student uniform, with the rest of the students standing behind him. The boy seemed to be the tallest person on stage.


    ¡°Hello everyone! I¡¯m the president of Dawn Academy¡¯s student union. Our dean might bete due to dys on the road, so I¡¯ll say a few words to everyone first. As someone who has gone through everything you¡¯ve all gone through, I understand your feelings, your confusion, your restlessness, and your stupefaction...¡±


    The instructors all listened respectfully, but the freshmen had not the slightest idea what the president of the student union meant. Many people were still chatting with each other in whispers,menting on the president¡¯s baby face. The instructors had looked irritated, but they did not know whether they ought to have a word with them. The freshman assembly hadpletely exceeded their expectations¡ªfirstly, the president of the student union was in attendance, and even the dean was scheduled to attend.


    The president¡¯s speech did notst long. A loud roar came from the sky outside the auditorium, more deafening than thunder. The president¡¯s speech was immediately interrupted, and almost everyone could not help but cover their ears. Even so, a second roar still echoed clearly in everyone¡¯s skulls.


    The thundering roar was inescapable and it shook everyone to the core. Every freshman, including a dozen instructors, trembled involuntarily with pale faces.


    Xiao Lin was also shaken. For some reason, the roar made him feel an indescribable fear. With that fear, he felt that he had lost the courage to even stand. However, a head full of fear did not prevent Xiao Lin from having the strange thought of wanting to see how the aloof girl beside him reacted.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s reaction was no different from everyone else. She shuddered too, but her expression was odd in that there was disgust mixed with her fear. She appeared to feel disgusted at her inability to control herself. Despite biting her lips, she could not control her instinctive reactions.


    Someone raised their head and looked up, after which horrified shouts began spreading throughout the auditorium. ¡°My God! A dragon! It¡¯s a dragon!¡±


    Xiao Lin lifted his head and his pupils violently contracted. The scene before him was something that he might never forget in his entire life. Outside the transparent ceiling, a giant dragon with a golden luster hovered in the sky above. Its loud roars ascended in pitch.


    Indeed, it was a dragon¡ªa real golden dragon!


    Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes vigorously to make sure that he was not seeing things and ascertaining that it was not special effects from a movie. Everyone was doing the same. They wanted to vent their fear by shouting, but unfortunately, they trembled under the dragon¡¯s might. Other than shaking like a leaf, there was nothing else they could do.


    Several individuals on stage began looking extremely ufortable too. Others were shaking and reluctantly supporting each other, while the weaker ones knelt down on the spot. The boy who imed to be the president of the student union was the only one who had a calmplexion. He had no reaction, save for a slightly odd expression. He even seemed to be smiling wryly.


    The dragon¡¯s roaringsted for a full five or six minutes before gradually weakening. More urately, it was not weakening, but was being forcibly restrained. All everyone saw was a humanoid figure riding on the dragon. After bludgeoning the dragon with ten or so heavy punches, the golden dragon¡¯s roar turned into a whine, as if it were begging for mercy, until finally, it flew high and left the sky above the auditorium.


    The dragon¡¯s effect gradually dissipated, but Xiao Lin was already sweating profusely. He slumped in the chair, exhausted. He felt like he had just narrowly escaped death. Like everyone else, his gaze remained fixed on the ceiling.


    After sending the dragon away, the figure who was on its back jumped down and stood on the roof of the auditorium. The president of the student union on the stage hurriedly whispered to the person next to him. Someone then immediately operated a device that resembled a miniatureptop. The auditorium¡¯s ceiling suddenly parted open to the sides from the middle.


    The freshmen all eximed as the person on the roof fell directly toward them. However, their exmations all stopped abruptly, as a pair of white wings suddenly appeared on the figure, like that of angels of legend. The figure then slowly drifted to the stage.


    The corners of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, and he could finally see clearly what the bird-man looked like. He was an old man with gray hair, though there was an absence of wrinkles on his face; he looked quite young. He wore a white robe hemmed with gold silk and held a light blue wooden staff in his hand. The staff was about as tall as a person and was adorned with three fist-sized diamonds on the top.


    Perspective aside, the image was that of a wizard that one might see in movies or novels. Considering his wings and the dragon, the new students felt inexplicably excited, despite their exhaustion.


    If anyone suspected anything to be a scam during the admission test, or perhaps believed that they were trapped somewhere to be experimented on, the old man¡¯s authoritarian and elegant appearance before their eyes finally made them trust the academy a little, so much so that they even began looking forward to things.


    The president of the student union took the initiative to go forward and greet him. He had a bit of a bitter smile despite his reverence. ¡°Dean, your entrance was really, um, it¡¯s really unique; it left a verysting impression.¡±


    The dean¡¯s voice was clear and explosive, ¡°Lasting impression, my foot! I just came from the New World. I was afraid to keep y¡¯all waiting, so I had no choice but to ride this big lizard and rush over here. Who knew that it was its first time in this world and that it would be so hot-tempered? Damn that reptile; how dare it go berserk in my school? Next time, I¡¯ll pull its dragon tendons!¡±


    The president wiped the sweat off his forehead, having also felt ufortable under the dragon¡¯s power earlier. The only person who would dare pull on a golden dragon¡¯s tendons was the dean.

 Chapter 12: Our Goal: Colonizing Foreign Worlds

    <h4>Chapter 12: Our Goal: Colonizing Foreign Worlds</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Has the freshman assembly started?¡± the dean asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°I heard this is the first time you¡¯re attending the freshman assembly. You¡¯re the president of the student union, therefore you should pay more attention to our freshmen¡¯s studies and daily goings-on. After all, the future of the New World is in your hands.¡±


    Cold sweat immediately began flowing down the president¡¯s cheeks. Although such freshman assemblies had never required the student union¡¯s president to attend, he immediately said yes.


    ¡°Show me this batch¡¯s admission test scores.¡±


    The Head of Admissions, standing next to him, took a very careful step forward and offered, with both hands, the list that had been prepared long ago. He said with a smile, ¡°These freshmen are quite amazing. Not only did their admission score break records that had held stubbornly firm for many years, some of our freshmen¡¯s basic attributes...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll read it myself,¡± the dean interrupted impatiently. He took the thick stack of test reports and flipped through them at rapid speed.


    Everyone calmed down and stared intently at the report in the dean¡¯s hands. They were all dying to know who was it that prompted the dean to break from the norm and attend the freshman assembly.


    However, all of them were left disappointed. In just a few minutes, the dean read all the test reports, but did not linger on any particr one for more than half a second.


    The dean turned his gaze to the auditorium, where the freshmen were silent. The earlier scene shocked many people, eliciting feelings of awe, envy, and various others.


    Xiao Lin shifted in his seat a little nervously. Unsure if he was misreading the situation, but as the dean was scanning the crowd at random, he had the nagging feeling that the old man¡¯s gazended on him. It felt like he was being stared at by a tiger, and it made him extremely ufortable.


    ording to the Smart Computer¡¯s rules of confidentiality, the dean would have the authority to know about his SS-Level Academic Genius talent. However, Xiao Lin was unsure whether the dean already knew about it.


    After a few seconds, the dean withdrew his gaze, cleared his throat, and discovered that his voice was not loud enough. The student union¡¯s president quickly handed over a microphone, but the dean waved his hand in disgust. He gripped his light blue wooden staff and struck the ground hard. ¡°Sono risonum!¡±


    ¡°Mmm, much better,¡± the dean tested his voice, with a thunderous roar that made everyone¡¯s eardrums buzz and vibrate.


    ¡°ording to tradition, I¡¯d like to introduce myself, but I do believe this shouldn¡¯t be any of your concern. I¡¯m the dean of this academy, and that¡¯s all you need to know.¡± The dean paced back and forth onstage, and spoke slowly like he was having a leisurely chat. Through the Sono risonum spell, his clear voice echoed, resonating throughout the auditorium.


    ¡°I see a lot of confusion and iprehension on the faces of many people here. I know that many of you were brought here seemingly out of the blue, be it in your sleep, while surfing the Inte, or when you were with your girlfriends... You must all be very upset, and I can understand that, but you can¡¯t me me. If you want to me someone, me him! He¡¯s the Head of the Admissions Department! I¡¯m also introducing a new rule in the future¡ªadmissions must be done during the daytime in the real world!¡± The old man waved his staff and pointed at a man in a suit standing onstage, who had no idea how else to respond but to smile awkwardly.


    There was a chuckle from the freshmen, and everyone who had just been frightened by the dragon¡¯s might began to feel at ease.


    Xiao Lin cocked a brow. The old man¡¯sst sentence was a bit scary. What did he mean by ¡®the real world¡¯? It insinuated that where they were ¡ªalong with Dawn Academy¡ªwas nowhere in the real world!


    ¡°Well, back to the main point, let me first answer the biggest question all of you are having. Who are we? What are we going to do? The answer is actually very simple.¡± The dean stood still and his piercing eyes swept over everyone again. He then continued with absolute rity, ¡°We are colonists! Dawn Academy is a school to train colonists!¡±


    The dean paused to allow others enough time to digest.


    There was a several minutes¡¯ worth of silence. Everyone wore shocked and confused expressions. The academy¡¯s purpose was undoubtedly everyone¡¯s main concern. There had been countless spections, but the dean¡¯s answer truly exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations.


    ¡°Some of you might ask, ¡®What are we colonizing?¡¯ The world today is no longer in the 15th or 16th century. Where is therend for us to colonize? What part of Earth is still free for us to stake ims?¡±


    When the bewildered Xiao Lin heard those words, he suddenly shook his head and stared inexplicably at the old man onstage. He muttered to himself, ¡°Earth? Earth! Damn it all; that¡¯s impossible!¡±


    The dean waved his staff, and a blue screen of light rose from the orb at the top of the stick. A huge light screen formed onstage, like a movie projector, and a whole new world appeared to everyone in the light screen. Before their eyes were colorful forests, mountains, and inds floating in mid-air with countless strange species of animals flying through the air¡ªlike dragons and griffins, and gigantic tree people walking slowly in the rainforest. The scenery was so beautiful that it was intoxicating.


    The hologram dissipated quickly and the dean¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°This world is Norma, known also as the New World. This is our mission, the colonization goal of this academy!¡±


    Shocking!


    ¡°Then what do we get in the New World?¡± someone plucked up the courage to ask aloud.


    ¡°Resources, wealth, rights, poption, territories. Everything you can imagine and cannot imagine! We are the pioneers of the New World. The rules andws of the New World are set by us and we will be the founders of this New World. The territory of the New World will be divided amongst us. Some of you may be supreme magi, or a general with tens of millions of soldiers. Even at the lowest rank, you¡¯ll be new nobles of the country. Everything in the New World belongs to us!¡±


    The dean¡¯s words were like throwing mes onto a barrel of explosives, stunning the entire auditorium at once. Everyone cheered enthusiastically, and their faces were filled with unconcealed excitement.


    Qin Chuan once said that they would gain unexpected wealth and power there. At the time, no one knew what he meant, but they finally understood why Qin Chuan made a remark about how those who left after the test would regret it terribly.


    Conquering and colonizing other worlds to create their own new world was so tempting and exhrating. No one would want to leave the academy now, even when they were ordered to.


    Xiao Lin was simrly very excited. Even if he was not the kind of person to reveal his feelings easily, he could not control his hastened breathing. However, when he turned to look at the girl next to him, he felt peeved to discover that there was someone calmer than him. Gu Xiaoyue had always maintained her calm from the very beginning.


    ¡°SILENCE!¡±


    The dean raised his voice suddenly and hushed the auditorium. He was quite satisfied with the freshmen¡¯s response, as it was exactly the effect he wanted. He struck the agate floor with his staff once more and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much time, so to conclude this, I¡¯ll announce a new rule. ording to the previous rules, freshmen weren¡¯t allowed to enter the New World, but starting from this new intake, I¡¯ll revise the rule. Those who reach the top three in the freshman¡¯s final semester examination will be allowed to enter the New World in advance!¡±


    The freshmen reacted rather tly to that regtion, but Xiao Lin noticed that the others onstage¡ª including the student union president¡ªwere extremely perturbed. They seemed to oppose the new regtion, but the dean¡¯s decision did not change because of that.


    The freshman assembly ended hurriedly with that peculiar atmosphere. After that, the instructors left the auditorium with all the freshmen, who were still immersed in excitement and shock. It was only after they stepped out that everyone could witness the academy¡¯s panoramic view.


    From the outside, the entire academy did not differ much from ordinary universities. With towering teaching buildings, huge fountain squares, neatwns, and students chatting as they walked in twos and threes on small pathways, it could easily create the illusion of returning to a university campus.


    However, from time to time, there were the low growls of dragons, while strange-looking flowers and shrubs were present in the gardens. The nts did not even seem to show any simrity to those on Earth. More curiously, there were several people flying above them, seated on flying carpets.


    The students¡¯ eyes glowed with envy, all gulping.


    The instructors also looked on with envy, but they tried to maintain their image in front of the freshmen, yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t stop! What are you looking at! The use of flying props in the academy is a privilege only for seniors. It¡¯s still too early for you!¡±


    Xiao Lin noticed that it was already evening and the afterglow of the setting sun poured over the quiet campus. It appeared very peaceful, but Xiao Lin remembered that it should have been midnight after receiving the notice and arriving there. Could an entire day have passed by without him knowing? He thought of another possibility, but he was unsure.


    Although everyone wanted to know more about what was so different about the so-called colonist academy, the instructors did not give them a chance to ask. After passing through the fountain square and walking through the small woods next to the auditorium, their view opened up suddenly. Appearing before them were tall buildings which resembled five-star hotels.


    ¡°This is the dormitory, and the living configuration is equivalent to a five-star hotel in the real world. In this aspect, the academy won¡¯t treat you too badly. A few points to note though, the campus regtions are tight and administration is very strict. Don¡¯t vite school rules, or the consequences you will face will be very severe. The Central Computer System will divide the rooms, and the first thing you should do after returning to the room is to enter the academy¡¯s intr to register yourselves. The system will answer all your doubts. Then, we¡¯ll gather at the public ssroom at eight o¡¯clock tomorrow morning, and your course selection will be conducted then. Don¡¯t bete. I won¡¯t wait for you!¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the public ssroom?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°The very same hall where you took the admission test. Throughout your freshman year, that¡¯ll be the shared ssrooms for Freshmen ss Seven.¡± After a pause, Qin Chuan¡¯s eyes fell on Xiao Lin again. ¡°If there are no further questions, everyone is allowed to return to the dorm, except for Xiao Lin.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a look of realization. He no longer had his initial feeling of awe toward Qin Chuan. After the freshman assembly, anyone who had the slightest ability to think could see that it was just like a real university. The instructors had no status. Otherwise, they would not have sat in the audience with the freshmen during the assembly.


    After everyone else entered the dormitory, one after another, Qin Chuan and Xiao Lin were still staring at each other. After a long silence, Qin Chuan let out a dry cough. He wanted to show his authority as an instructor, but after recalling Xiao Lin¡¯s test results, his tone eventually became rather mild. ¡°I heard from Gu Xiaoyue about the test. Frankly speaking, I have to admire your damn luck¨C teaming up with a freshman who broke the world record to surprisingly produce a Grade S result. In fact, I thought you¡¯d be among those who¡¯d end up eliminated.¡±

 Chapter 13: Acting Class Monitor

    <h4>Chapter 13: Acting ss Monitor</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin finally felt less worried learning that Gu Xiaoyue did not disclose the details of the battle to the instructor. Qin Chuan was well aware of how high Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s intelligence was and filled in the nks on his own. He figured Xiao Lin relied on the girl¡¯s formidable lethality to achieve his Grade S.


    Qin Chuan was very upset. Before the freshman assembly, he took the initiative to look for Gu Xiaoyue and, in a show of good faith, offered her the ss monitor position. Despite exining the benefits of being the ss monitor in great detail, Gu Xiaoyue still showed ack of interest. The monitor¡¯s appointment needed to be confirmed to the appointee through the Smart Computer, so if the girl refused, the appointment would not take effect.


    Qin Chuan was all but certain of the reasons why the dean and the student union¡¯s president attended the meeting all of a sudden. They must havee for that promising girl. As an instructor, he did not have much authority, though his appointing of a monitor was his most valuable right. He was also very confident of his means to win Gu Xiaoyue over.


    ¡°If that¡¯s all, I¡¯ll head back to the dormitory.¡± Xiao Lin thought Qin Chuan was a little strange. His face seemed annoyed for a while and he hesitated without knowing what he was thinking.


    Qin Chuan finally sighed. He had no other choice after Gu Xiaoyue rejected her appointment. He tried his best to speak as solemnly as possible, ¡°Before sses officially start, each ss requires a monitor. Within these three months, you¡¯ll be the monitor for the time being.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue had earlier mentioned that to him, but Xiao Lin still had difficulty understanding it. From the moment he first came into the academy, he could clearly see that Qin Chuan had a rather unkind attitude toward him. It was certainly due to the absolutely horrendous quality of his basic attributes. He thus asked, ¡°Why me? Can I refuse?¡±


    Frankly speaking, Xiao Lin had no intention of being the monitor. He never had anything to do with such things, even when he was in real schools. Furthermore, he felt that undertaking the responsibility would be strenuous and unrewarding, one that was not of any benefit to him and would only tire him out. He might even find himself offending people. In short, there were no advantages.


    Qin Chuan inexplicably got irritated. In the same way, he did not want to appoint the boy before him as ss monitor, but if the two freshmen who received Grade S refused, then he¡ªthe instructor of Freshmen ss Seven¡ªmight be theughingstock of the entire academy. There was no choice for him other than to patiently exin, ¡°ording to school regtions, those who scored well in the admission test would be given priority to be ss monitors.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood that he and Gu Xiaoyue were probably the only ones in Freshmen ss Seven who received Grade S. Although the instructors had the right to appoint, individuals could only be considered under the premise that they achieved the same score. Since Gu Xiaoyue refused, Xiao Lin was theirst choice.


    ¡°You¡¯ll only be the acting monitor for three months. After that, the position will be re-elected based on theprehensive examination.¡± Qin Chuan originally had other, more attractive reasons. For example, Dawn Academy was unlike any ordinary university, since the ss monitors had very enticing privileges. However, he felt no need to say more, because he hoped that Xiao Lin¡ªwho had only gotten lucky¡ªwouldst a maximum of three months as acting ss monitor.


    Xiao Lin misunderstood the situation as well. He felt that he was unable to reject the position, but since it was only for a three-month term, he believed that the position would go to Gu Xiaoyue after three months. In the end, he finally nodded and agreed.


    [You were nominated by your instructor to be acting monitor for a term of three-months. Do you agree?]


    At about the same time, a question from the Smart Computer appeared in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. He chose to agree.


    Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. He then left in a hurry without even exining the duties of the acting monitor, perhaps because he was worried that Xiao Lin woulde to regret the decision.


    With Qin Chuan causing a brief dy, Xiao Lin no longer saw any other students upon entering the dormitory. The first floor was a very spacious hall with sofas and chairs. Inside the hall were several students d in blue uniformsing and going.


    A girl with short hair saw Xiao Lin and asked, ¡°Are you a freshman?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why were you sote,¡± the girl murmured, then turned around and said, ¡°Come with me and register yourself. The dormitory building will be locked at 7 in the evening. Entering and exiting is forbidden after that time. Don¡¯t bete again.¡±


    The girl picked up aputer on the coffee table and motioned for Xiao Lin to ce his palm on the touch screen of the keyboard. She exined, ¡°Theputer will automatically scan your fingerprints and generate your universal card.¡±


    ¡°Universal card?¡±


    ¡°This universal card is integral to your daily life here and academic studies here. You¡¯ll need to use it frequently, be it for food, clothing, or equipment and medication. At the same time, the universal card is also your student ID. Gentle reminder: a freshman¡¯s first-time application for their universal card is free-of-charge, but if you lose it, you¡¯ll have to pay for a recement,¡± the girl exined methodically.


    After ten or so seconds, a light blue card was automatically generated from the side of theputer. The girl flipped the card and read through it, after which her eyes lit up all of a sudden. ¡°What? You¡¯re the monitor!¡±


    ¡°Ahem, acting monitor.¡± Xiao Lin took the card. It was as thin as a piece of paper and possessed an unusually soft texture. If desired, it could be rolled up, and it felt peculiarly warm to the touch. He could not resist muttering, ¡°Isn¡¯t this card a little thin? What if I rip it?¡±


    The girl looked at Xiao Lin from head to toe and no longer had her mechanical expression from earlier. Instead, she smiled brilliantly, her tone suddenly enthusiastic, ¡°You¡¯re wrong, fellow brother. This card is made from a special material from the New World. The texture is much harder than metals on Earth, and an attack lower than Grade A will cause no damage to the card.¡±


    Xiao Lin was rather speechless and surprised, not because of the universal card¡¯s material, but because the girl changed her expression far too quickly. She was rigid and impatient earlier, but then morphed dramatically into enthusiasm and cheer.


    The sight of a startled Xiao Lin prompted the girl to assume that he did not believe her. She tugged Xiao Lin¡¯s clothes spontaneously and made a fuss about going outside the dormitory to show him how hard the universal card was.


    ¡°Tingting, what¡¯s going on?¡± A boy in the same blue student uniform came over. His suspicious eyes looked back and forth between the girl he called Tingting and Xiao Lin.


    ¡°He¡¯s the freshman ss monitor,¡± the girl said excitedly.


    The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise and he instantly became kinder. He took the initiative to extend his hand and say, ¡°Hello, my name is Gu Fantian; I¡¯m in my sophomore year. This is my girlfriend, Zhang Tingting.¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately shook hands with him and had to correct the way he addressed Zhang Tingting. ¡°Hello, Senior Brother, Senior Sister. I¡¯m only acting monitor. The instructor said that it¡¯ll only be a three-month term.¡±


    Gu Fantian chuckled. ¡°We know this rule, of course. The acting monitor is selected based on the admission test scores. After three months, the position will be re-elected ording to theprehensive examination. Even so, the candidate for ss monitor usually won¡¯t change unless you aced your admission tests with sheer luck.¡±


    Zhang Tingting rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. I heard that there are more than a dozen talented freshmen this year. Based on this alone, your status as acting monitor will sooner orter be official. The monitors in our sophomore year are all talented students! By the way, I¡¯ll take you to choose your room. Would you like a sunny one or one that¡¯s less sunny?¡±


    Their extraordinary kindness left Xiao Lin feeling a little hesitant, so he humbled his tone by another notch and said, ¡°Senior Sister, you¡¯re too polite. Any room is fine.¡±


    Gu Fantian waved his hand and smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so polite to your seniors. Dawn Academy doesn¡¯t concern themselves with these things. Just call us by our name. Today¡¯s the new intake, but the student union doesn¡¯t have enough people on deck, so we came to help at thest minute. On other days, we¡¯re just ordinary students. You¡¯re the monitor, and you stand a chance to enter the New World in the future. Who knows, maybe we¡¯re the ones who¡¯ll need you to protect us when the timees.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood that their cordial attitude was because of his status as a monitor, or more urately, as an acting monitor. On the other hand, he was feeling a bit confused. Was a job as strenuous and unrewarding as a monitor really so attractive?


    Xiao Lin did not reveal his confusion and calmly enjoyed the warm service brought on by his status. Gu Fantian sat with him on the lobby sofa and chatted away, even pouring him a cup of tea while enthusiastically exining to him that the tea was a species found in the New World. Meanwhile, Zhang Tingting volunteered to prepare the necessities which were to be distributed to the new students for Xiao Lin, when in fact, Xiao Lin was supposed to collect all those things by himself...


    ¡°Frankly speaking, I envy freshmen like you. I¡¯m surprised that the dean actually broke the school rules and allowed freshmen to enter the New World.¡± Gu Fantian¡¯s topic of conversation was focused mainly on the New World, and the yearning in his voice was very obvious.


    ¡°The New World you¡¯re talking about is what the old man¡ª I mean, the dean, calls Norma, right?¡±


    Gu Fantian smiled slightly. ¡°Yes, but we usually call it the New World.¡±


    ¡°Have you been to Norma, I mean, the New World?¡±


    ¡°I was there during my sophomore internship.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it like there?¡±


    ¡°All I can say is that the New World is a dreamlike paradisepared to the cage of boredom we call Earth!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart shuddered and asked suddenly, ¡°Dawn Academy isn¡¯t on Earth, is it? Is the time here out of sync with Earth?¡±


    Gu Fantian looked at him with surprise and admiration. ¡°As expected, you¡¯re a freshman worthy of being monitor; very observant. This is supposed to be revealed when you formally start ss tomorrow. You¡¯re absolutely right, Dawn Academy isn¡¯t on Earth, but neither is it in the New World. It¡¯s in an independent space created by pioneers using mystical space artifacts. In order to allow students to adapt to life in the New World as soon as possible, the time flow of Dawn Academy has been adjusted to remain consistent with that of Norma.¡±


    ¡°What is the ratio between time here and Earth?¡±


    Gu Fantian was briefly silent, as if hesitant to answer, but finally whispered, ¡°One to two. A day in the New World is equivalent to two days on Earth.¡±


    Xiao Lin was startled and fell silent at once.


    Gu Fantian patted his shoulder emphatically. ¡°I understand how you feel. I experienced all this too. I can only say that the longer you stay here, the less you¡¯ll want to return to the real world. It¡¯s especially the case if you¡¯ve been to the New World. You won¡¯t ever want to be on Earth ever again.¡±

 Chapter 14: Course Selection

    <h4>Chapter 14: Course Selection</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When the atmosphere was starting to get a little dull, Zhang Tingting had already brought a bunch of things over and ced them on the table. She introduced them to Xiao Lin one by one.


    ¡°First is the school uniform. Except for major events and meetings, the academy doesn¡¯t force students to wear school uniforms. Another thing to note is that school uniforms are divided into four colors. Freshmen are green, sophomores are blue, juniors are red, and seniors are ck.¡±


    After handing over the school uniform, Zhang Tingting took out a nifty little cell phone and said, ¡°This is a cell phone for special use in the academy. None of Earth¡¯s cell phones can be used here. I¡¯d also like to add that this is the academy¡¯s self-developed magic-powered cell phone. It has many functions.¡±


    Receiving the stylish, palm-sized device, Xiao Lin yed with it for a moment. He did not see any difference from the usual and asked suddenly, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a charger?¡±


    Gu Fantianughed. ¡°The mobile phone is powered by a high-energy crystal. It won¡¯t need to be charged for a hundred years. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll save your number.¡±


    Xiao Lin naturally had no objections to that.


    Gu Fantian took out his cell phone, ced it quietly on Xiao Lin¡¯s phone screen for a few seconds before returning it to Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin discovered that amand had appeared on the screen: [Gu Fantian requested to be added as a friend in your address book; do you ept?]


    Xiao Lin chose to approve it. ¡°That¡¯s convenient.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll slowly begin to understand the academy¡¯s magic!¡± Gu Fantian looked at the sky outside and saw only thest traces of an afterglow on the horizon. He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte and we should go back. Remember, after going back to your room, you must register for the academy¡¯s forum. The freshman forums are pretty messy, so don¡¯t make small talk if there¡¯s nothing important. Look for the threads regarding tomorrow¡¯s course selection and take a look. Tomorrow¡¯s a very important event. Do contact me if you have any questions!¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, the cafeteria is on the top floor of the dorm building. It¡¯s buffet style and the food is amazing!¡± Zhang Tingting added.


    After the charismatic couple left, Xiao Lin went back to the room alone. His was situated on the innermost room of the third floor. The environment was indeed quite exquisite andparable to a five-star hotel. It was vastly different from his vision of a school dormitory. The corridors were lined with clean red carpets¡ªelegant and clean to the touch. Each floor of the dormitory had arge seating area, with rows offortable sofas, and self-service coffee, tea, and other drinks next to the seating.


    As far as daily life was concerned, the academy treated their freshmen incredibly well, and Xiao Lin was certain of it.


    He used his universal passcard to unlock his room. It was not that big a room, with only one bedroom and one bathroom. The d¨¦cor was rtively simple too. After setting aside his school uniforms, Xiao Lin could not wait to open theptop that he had been given. Theptop did not differ much from normal, but it was impossible to connect to Earth¡¯swork in that dimension. It was connected only to Dawn Academy¡¯s intr forum.


    Following the prompts, hepleted a sessful registration with his student ID. Xiao Lin finally logged on to the school forum named Dawning. The aqua blue background page was beautifully designed, with a couple of short messages popping up at the same time. After clicking in to take a look, they were discovered to be automated messages congratting those who became a part of Dawn Academy and exining the academy¡¯s regtions.


    Xiao Lin did not read the contents in detail, but instead clicked on his personal information first.


    [Name: Xiao Lin (Freshman)]


    [Status: Acting monitor]


    [ID: 201235]


    [Natural Life Expectancy: 83 years; 23 years old currently, 60 years to go.]


    [Credits: 40]


    [Redemption Points: 800]


    [Basic Attribute Points: 2 Strength points; 2 Agility points; 2 Intelligence points; 3 Physique points]


    [Skills Mastered: Basic Dagger Mastery LV2, shing LV2]


    [Talent (Top Secret): Academic Genius (SS)]


    To Xiao Lin¡¯s surprise, his shing had been upgraded to LV2. He assumed that he did not get the prompt in time after fainting in his battle with the Zombie King.


    A LV2 shing could increase his damage by gathering his power for a longer time. There were only three levels for shing, and the next level required 1000 experience points to upgrade.


    Students of different years had their own special area on the forum. Junior students could not enter the area for senior students, but senior students were allowed ess to the juniors¡¯ areas. When Xiao Lin clicked on sophomore and third-year student areas, he was immediately reminded that he did not have proper authorization. Aside from the four grades, he noticed that there were several parts that were reserved for graduate students and doctoral students, as well as for the New World. Needless to say, the only area he could enter at that moment was the freshman zone.


    When he just entered, the entire freshman forum was practically in a constant state of refreshing. New posts appeared at a dazzlingly fast rate. There were a total of 700 or 800 freshmen, and most of them were still very curious about everything. Each person wanted to say something on the forum and post a little bit about their feelings.


    Xiao Lin clicked on a few posts at random. They were either topics without any substance, or discussions about the test that just ended, as well as the dean¡¯s majestic disy during the opening ceremony.


    Gu Fantian told him that the next day¡¯s course selection was very important, but Xiao Lin had no idea what it meant to choose a course. What courses could that academy teach? Were they supposed to learn Chinese, Mathematics, and English?


    In that moment of distress, Xiao Lin received another system notification: [You have been added into the freshman monitor¡¯s discussion group].


    Once he clicked on the discussion group, the barrage of new posts stopped and Xiao Lin felt as though everything was finally calm. The discussion group was probably simr to a public chat channel, and there were 12 other people aside from Xiao Lin.


    A person named Chen Yu spoke first. ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m the year leader for sophomores, Chen Yu. Since there¡¯s no year leader for the freshmen as of yet, I shall temporarily serve as your year leader.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Senior!¡±


    ¡°Huh? This is a real-name system!¡±


    ¡°Year leader? What¡¯s that?¡±


    ...


    Chen Yu said again, ¡°Be quiet! Allow me to exin. Freshmen year leaders will be chosen among the monitors on the condition that you pass theprehensive exam three monthster. Of course, I believe all of you won¡¯t have a problem with it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious. Is there any benefit to us being monitors or year leaders?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! I used to be a monitor when I was in school. It was a pain, and to be honest, I really don¡¯t want to take up the task!¡±


    It appeared that there were more than a few people who shared Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts.


    Chen Yu was silent for a moment, then typed out another line, ¡°You probably all know about the New World, right?¡±


    ¡°We do!¡±


    ¡°Colonizing another world sounds so cool!¡±


    ¡°When can we go to the New World?¡±


    Chen Yu continued, ¡°ss cadres and student union cadres have many powers, but the crux of it is their status in the New World! In the context of an army, would you like to be a soldier or an officer? In the context of a country, would you like to be a civilian, a nobleman, or someone in the government?


    ¡°To put it more simply, you¡¯ll be going to the New World in the future. Your position as student cadre or otherwise will decide whether you will lead or be led by others in the New World! Are there any questions?¡±


    No one spoke.


    Xiao Lin finally understood why the sophomore couple was so cordial to him after finding out that he was basically acting squad leader. As Senior Chen Yu exined, the temptation of being a squad leader was really out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Next is the course selection. Instructors will be responsible for helping ordinary students with their selection tomorrow, but the selection form for ss monitors must be handed to me by tonight. It has already been sent to everyone¡¯s mailbox. If you have any questions, you may ask me directly. In addition, the monitor can organize discussion sections for each ss, since that falls under the monitor¡¯s authority.¡±


    The discussion group was nearing its end. Many were eager to leave the discussion group and check the important course selection list, but since Chen Yu¡ªthe sophomore year leader¡ªdid not leave yet, it was inappropriate for the others to leave as well.


    ¡°Strange,¡± Chen Yu suddenly typed a single word, followed by a question. ¡°Who¡¯s the monitor of Freshmen ss Seven?¡±


    ¡°Me,¡± Xiao Lin responded curtly. He believed that the other party could see his name due to the real-name system.


    ¡°...¡± Chen Yu used a series of ellipsis to express his speechlessness. After ten or so seconds of silence, he asked again, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Xiao Lin also responded with a series of ellipses.


    ¡°Who is Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡±


    ¡°I heard the instructor mention that she¡¯s pretty awesome.¡±


    Several other monitors put forth their questions, but received no answer from Chen Yu. It appeared that the other party had left for the time being and the discussion had ended. Everyone could not wait to check their course selection list.


    Inside a conference room...


    Chen Yu exhaled and lifted his hands from the keyboard. He looked helplessly at the boy beside him, and said with a wry smile, ¡°President, this isn¡¯t right. You mentioned that the reason the dean attended the opening ceremony was because of that new student Gu Xiaoyue. She¡¯s not the monitor of Freshmen ss Seven though. Is it possible that Freshmen ss Seven¡¯s monitor was appointed at random?¡±


    A trace of doubt shed between the president¡¯s eyebrows. ¡°The instructor¡¯s position is to help the freshmen go through the freshman period. Like the acting ss monitor, their term is only limited to three months. I don¡¯t believe any instructor would dare defy the custom that has been in our school for many years. That Xiao... Xiao what¡¯s-his-name. Find out his admission test scores.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin.¡± As part of the student union¡¯s cadre, Chen Yu had the authority to check a freshman¡¯s admission scores. He obtained the report quickly, then perused it for a moment before his expression gradually became strange.


    ¡°President, this Xiao Lin also obtained Grade S in the admission test.¡±


    The president nodded, but did not seem too surprised. As the student union¡¯s president, he had a lot of things on his hands, so it was clearly infeasible for him to read through each freshman¡¯s reports. Therefore, he had no impression of Xiao Lin.


    ¡°It¡¯s just...¡± Chen Yu reflected on his tone before continuing, ¡°This Xiao Lin isn¡¯t a talented student, and his health screening report lists him as having two points for Strength, Agility, and Intelligence, respectively and three for Physique.¡±


    ¡°His total attributes don¡¯t exceed 10?¡± The president was half-skeptical and stepped to personally check the report. Then, his expression became very animated.


    ...


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression at that time was equally as animated. The screen in front of him disyed the freshman course selection table, the contents of which were rather abundant.


    There were four selection tables for freshmen. The first one was a table for basic attribute courses, which included: Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Saber Technique, Basic Boxing Technique, Basic Bow and Arrow Technique, Basic Meditation, and a few others totaling to about 10 different courses. Any one was fine so long as the freshmen chose one of them.


    The second one was a table for secondary attribute courses. The courses include: Basic Physical Skills, Basic Strength, Basic Perception, Basic Mental Strength Training, Basic Bnce, Basic Focus, Basic Tenacity, Basic Body Techniques, Basic Parrying, and Basic Evasion. From a total of 10 courses, Freshmen were required to choose at least three.


    The third one waspulsory courses, which meant that all freshmen had to take them: General History of Norma, Common Language of Norma, and Geography of Norma.


    With how Xiao Lin¡¯s understood it, thest threepulsory courses were history, foreignnguage, and geography!

 Chapter 15: Credits

    <h4>Chapter 15: Credits</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although he had the SS-Level Academic Genius talent, Xiao Lin had actually been cker since he was a child, especially with humanities subjects that required lots of repetition. He thought that he would never have to touch it again in his life after graduating, but the curric in front of him dealt him a severe blow.


    The discussion group created by sophomore year leader Chen Yu once again popped up with countless rows of posts. It appeared that other monitors were also rather speechless with regard to thest threepulsory courses.


    Chen Yu said,  Norma isn¡¯t a deserted ce. If you want to be a qualified colonist, a necessary prerequisite is that you know yourself and the enemy. When you take courses in Orcish, Mermish, Dragish1, and the like, you¡¯ll soon discover that the freshmen course is really easy!¡±


    ¡°Also, I¡¯d like to add another point. The course schedule you received is only basic-level courses for the freshman semester, but it doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be able to graduate freshman year after simply passing your exams for these courses,¡± Chen Yu continued.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The requirement to graduate freshman year is three hundred credits, along with an individual strength of ck Iron Level. You can¡¯t meet this requirement by relying on these courses alone. Oh, turn to thest page of the form; it contains the corresponding credits for each course, and the corresponding amount of credits you get by passing the exams.¡±


    Xiao Lin quickly turned to thest page and found that there was indeed a corresponding credit table. Each basic course was 10 credits, and eachpulsory course was 15 credits. Among them, getting 15 credits in Common Language of Norma was only achievable by obtaining a Band Four certificate.


    Band Four in a foreignnguage test! What the hell!


    Xiao Lin felt as though he could only see darkness in front of him. After thinking of the Band Four exam in university that he had to retake four times in a row before passing, he had the strong impulse to leave the damned Dawn Academy immediately.


    Each freshman was required to take at least 7 courses out of those listed in the course, but they added up to only 85 credits in total. Even if a student passed them all in the exam, it was still impossible to graduate freshman year.


    Someone raised that question in the discussion group.


    Chen Yu¡¯s exnation came quickly, ¡°Dawn Academy is an open school. You¡¯ve probably noticed that the ss hours of these courses are very short. The basic courses are only one month, and thepulsory courses are only three months. Those who pass their courses will get an advanced ss schedule. Those who fail their exam will have to proceed with resits. Those who fail an entire semester must retake the entire course. Oh, and just a reminder, retaking exams are free, but redemption points are required for retaking the entire course.¡±


    Xiao Lin also raised a question: ¡°What¡¯s the deal with that ck Iron Level for individual strength?¡±


    ¡°Dawn Academy categorizes a person¡¯s level of individual strength into several levels: ck Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Lore, Epic, and Legend. We¡¯ll set aside all thosetter levels for the time being. The academy¡¯s definition of ck Iron Level is when one¡¯s total attribute points exceeds 100 in addition to passing the qualification exams. The specifics will be exined by your teacher during ss.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s our teacher?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say for sure. The basic courses are usually taught by sophomores and third-years, but if any graduates have spare time on their hands, they may also give you substitute lessons. Although the chances of that happening are rtively low, consider yourself extremely lucky if it happens. The experience that graduates have is certainly iparable to that of students still in the academy!¡±


    Although Chen Yu only gave answers with regard to their courses, other things¡ªsuch as the New World that formed the subject of many people¡¯s interest¡ªwere addressed only in passing. However, that was enough to elicit significant surprise from acting monitors.


    For example, they knew that the instructors were actually repeaters who failed to graduate from the preceding freshmen year. To put it bluntly, apart from having one year of learning experience, they were nowhere near as bad as instructors in terms of talent or ability.


    Another example was credits. Most of the time, normal students could only take as many courses as they could and spend more time studying in exchange for sufficient credits.


    More talented students, however, had faster ways to get credits, such as monthly examinations that were of the same vein as admission tests. It allowed them to perform various tasks in apletely simted environment, and those who meet the conditions could get credits, as well as redemption points. Of course, the difficulty of monthly tests was much higher than the admission test.


    In terms of course selection, Chen Yu also gave a lot of very useful suggestions. For example, the elective courses should be rted to each other. Courses like Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Saber Techniques must be selected concurrent to secondary courses that tempered one¡¯s body and strength. If one elected to master heavy weapons, like axes and hammers, physique courses were indispensable.


    Although the academy did not prohibit dual-cultivation or multi-cultivation, Chen Yu rmended that freshmen should focus on a certain type of weapon course. Even if they wanted to take more courses, they should focus on the same type, such as daggers and short sabers that focused on physical techniques, or epees, axes, and hammers for strength-based cultivation.


    Finally, Chen Yu repeatedly emphasized that the dual-cultivation of magic and martial arts was forbidden!


    Of course, being in that world was unlike being in a game. If someone chose a warrior profession, it did not mean that one would never be able to use spells. Furthermore, there were none of the so-called barriers to magic or martial arts that were seen in some novels. Anyone could learn them as long as they met the sufficient conditions, be they spells or martial arts


    The advantages of magic-martial art dual-cultivation were self-evident. Versatility and multi-faceted attack methods allowed one to adapt oneself when facing various enemies, but the disadvantages were also very obvious¡ªtheck of time!


    ¡°The advantage of magic-martial art dual-cultivation is obvious to a freshman, so much so that it could even crush any other single-cultivation students of the same level and talent. By the second year however, the advantage has basically disappeared, and from the third year onward, more and more powerful martial arts and magic courses will be avable. By then, magic-martial art dual cultivation will practically be reduced to something of little value.¡±


    Chen Yu seemed very serious on that issue. ¡°The reason for that is there isn¡¯t enough time. If youpare your courses to a tree, then the further you go, the more branches the tree will grow. Each branch will extend even more, producing more bifurcations. Magic-martial art dual-cultivation often means that you¡¯ll have to spend two, three, or even six or seven times as much time and energy. Even the best graduates dare not say that they are able to learn all the courses.¡±


    ¡°In the two hundred years since the establishment of Dawn Academy, many of our seniors have left behind painful lessons, so keep this in mind: magic-martial art dual-cultivation is a big taboo!¡±


    As the chat continued to discuss deeper topics, the monitors showed greater expectations and excitement. Most of the time, Xiao Lin silently watched the chat¡¯s contents, but then he suddenly realized something.


    Chen Yu appeared to be instilling a sense of elitism in them. As acting monitors and talented students who stood out from thousands of their peers, they stood at a much higher starting point than ordinary students. They were destined to achieve greater heights and honor in the future, which was why Chen Yu encouraged them to never be satisfied with the minimum advancement standard of 300 credits and ck Iron Level.


    Without a doubt, those conditions were only the minimum standard for promotion from freshman to sophomore. It was something that many would probably be able to aplish, but as elites and monitors, they ought to have a higher standard. That standard determined which one of them would be the leader of their year, whether they could enter the student union in the future, and possibly even determine their status in the New World.


    An instructor might not necessarily reveal all that to them. Instructors were nothing more than ordinary repeaters in the midst of a struggle to get into their second year, but Chen Yu was different. He was a sophomore year leader, which meant that he was formerly also a monitor¡ªa simrly talented student with a bright future.


    Empathy, or so it was called, allowed Chen Yu to have better knowledge of what those monitors needed and what they wanted to pursue. He most certainly seeded in provoking everyone¡¯spetitive spirit.


    Among the twelve monitors however, Xiao Lin was the only one who felt the highest pressure.


    From the contents of the chat, it was known that although the total attribute value of other acting monitors were not as high as that of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s 46, they were basically around the 30-point mark. The highest reached 38 points, which was only slightly inferior to that of Gu Xiaoyue.


    In contrast, Xiao Lin¡¯s total attribute points did not exceed 10. At a stretch, the help of his LV2 Basic Dagger Mastery was barely able to push his total attribute value to 10 points.


    It was gettingte, and under Chen Yu¡¯s repeated urging, everyone reluctantly ended the chat and filled out the course selection form in a very short time.


    Xiao Lin thought about it for only a few minutes. After giving it some thought, he realized he had no other choices. In the first table, he chose Basic Swordsmanship, because he was a novice at using the dagger. If he chose another course, he had to first consider exchanging the dagger for another weapon with someone else, or perhaps directly using his redemption points to buy new weapons.


    That was something he learned from Chen Yu. Although the academy was very generous in providing for one¡¯s daily life, including luxurious five-star hotels serving as dormitories and a full range of living facilities, the purchase of various equipment would require him toe up with enough redemption points.


    As for the second course selection table, there was nothing much for him to consider. ording to Chen Yu¡¯s exnation, the first selected course corresponded to the second option. For example, if one took up Basic Swordsmanship with the intention to excel in it, then due consideration must be given to Basic Physical Skills, Basic Strength, and Basic Body Techniques, and Basic Evasion. Xiao Lin picked Basic Physical Skills, Basic Strength, and Basic Body Techniques.

 Chapter 16: A Monitor’s Authority

    <h4>Chapter 16: A Monitor¡¯s Authority</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The ss selections of other freshmen monitors were more or less the same. One by one, they handed over their ss schedules to year leader Chen Yu, but Xiao Lin suddenly hesitated when he was about to hand his in.


    Another condition for passing freshman year was to reach ck Iron Level strength. In other words, one¡¯s total attributes had to exceed 100. Xiao Lin was still feeling the pressure.


    The course he chose was fundamentally a physical attack based on strength, along with some physical training, but his basic attributes were way too poor. It would be exceedingly difficult to increase his attribute pointster.


    If one wanted to reach the requirements for ck Iron Level as soon as possible, the best way was to upgrade all their attributes. That way, he was not required to reach too high a value for each attribute, thus saving a lot of time.


    However, the problemy in what Chen Yu repeatedly emphasized earlier. It meant that Xiao Lin had to cultivate both magic and martial arts to equterally improve his attributes, making it impossible for him to ignore his intelligence value.


    ¡°Although Chen Yu said it¡¯s taboo, it¡¯s expressly prohibited in the course selection table.¡± Xiao Lin thought for a moment and carefully ticked Basic Meditation, Basic Perception and Basic Mental Training. Those subjects were no doubtpatible with each other and were rted to improving his intelligence attributes.


    Xiao Lin relied most on his SS-level talent, which improved his learning efficiency by 100%, notwithstanding that it was only LV1. As his talent level increased, the ratio of efficiency would only increase even more.


    After submitting the form, Xiao Lin did not continue to linger in the discussion group. He recalled Chen Yu mentioning one¡¯s authorities as a monitor, so he nned to give it a try. After leaving the discussion group, he fumbled around on the forum and soon experienced the superior nature of being someone that had authority.


    As a ss monitor, he firstly had the right to go through the information of all ss members, including their real names, age, student ID and life span, as well as their various basic skills. However, the column for talent was still restricted due to insufficient authority, but the authority he had was good enough.


    Secondly, the ss monitor had the right to appoint the ss¡¯ group leader. Those so-called group leaders were defined by the system as having a duty to assist the ss monitor in managing the ss. The number of group leaders appointed by each ss and the number of people in each group were under the team leader¡¯s discretion, but each group had to have no less than 10 members. Most importantly, the group leader¡¯s position was acknowledged by the academy and would be permanently recorded in their personal file.


    ording to Chen Yu¡¯s previous exnation, when everyone finally went to the New World in the future, one¡¯s records in the academy would be used as a reference. Simply being a group leader was much better than someone who never did anything to begin with.


    From that perspective, a ss monitor¡¯s authority was nowhere near trivial. However, the authority to appoint group leaders was put on hold until the ss monitor was officially elected. For the time being, acting monitors did not have such authority.


    Xiao Lin readily clicked on the personal information of his ssmates. Although the talent column was restricted, he remembered Instructor Qin Chuan mentioning that no one in Freshmen ss Seven had talent.


    Freshmen ss Seven had a total of 60 people, Xiao Lin included. The admission test had eliminated more than 40 people, and there was nothing outstanding about those who remained. Their basic skills were generally at LV1, and none of them mastered specific skills like Xiao Lin¡¯s shing. Meanwhile, Gu Xiaoyue only had a measly LV1 Basic Wand Mastery.


    Xiao Lin could not help but feel a little proud. He focused his attention on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s file. The cold girl¡¯s total attribute value was indeed 46 points, whichprised 36 points of intelligence, 3 points of strength, 4 points of agility, and 3 points of physique. The disparity of her various attributes was shocking.


    Although it wasmon for girls to have weak physique and strength, it was rare for there to be thatrge of a gap as Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s. Xiao Lin went through the statistics of other girls and discovered that they were not as low. It could be said that if it were not for her 36 points in intelligence, Gu Xiaoyue was actually of the same standard as Xiao Lin.


    As he continued reading, Xiao Lin¡¯s face suddenly froze. Intense shock and disbelief appeared in his eyes. The text appeared clearly in thest column of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s file.


    [Natural lifespan: 26 years old. Currently 24 years old, with 2 years remaining!]


    Gu Xiaoyue had only two years left to live! In other words, she would have died in another two years if she had not attended Dawn Academy.


    How was that possible?


    Xiao Lin thought it unbelievable. His first impulse was to go up to her and ask about it, but judging from Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s personality, he also felt that he would probably not get any answers.


    After thinking it over, Xiao Lin sighed and made the decision toe up with an opportunity to ask.


    First things first, he created a discussion group for Freshmen ss Seven. Chen Yu had pointed out that although each year had its own public chat room, it could get really messy, so every ss would need to have their own chat room for internalmunication. By virtue of the monitor¡¯s authority, Xiao Lin then added in all the members of his ss.


    ¡°Freshmen ss Seven¡¯s Internal Discussion Group?¡±


    ¡°Who created it!¡±


    ¡°Upstairs, didn¡¯t you read the system notification? The acting monitor of Freshmen ss Seven created it.¡±


    ¡°Hold up, I¡¯ll check who it is.¡±


    ¡°No need; it¡¯s Xiao Lin: the guy whose total attribute value doesn¡¯t exceed 10.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, why him! Why is it him! Who got their eyes ripped out and appointed him!¡±


    ¡°Probably the instructor. Are you going to argue with the instructor?¡±


    ...


    Everyone else obviously had huge objections to Xiao Lin¡¯s role as acting monitor. Dozens of people in the group roasted him enthusiastically on the screen until Xiao Lin calmly banned all the members. Everything immediately fell silent.


    While enjoying the superiority of being in power, Xiao Lin typed slowly, ¡°Anyone else who still can¡¯t ept it? Come out and say it if you have the guts! Well, if there¡¯s nothing else, let¡¯s get down to business.


    ¡°Regarding tomorrow¡¯s course selection, I¡¯ve received the course schedule in advance. Let me exin everything first...¡±


    Xiao Lin slowly conveyed what Chen Yu said about course selection, credits, and the like to everyone. There was a simple reason why Chen Yu told the monitors to ry everything on his behalf¡ªdoing so would easily enable the freshman monitors to establish authority early on. After all, everyone came from different ces and did not know each other. In light of the sudden grouping, it was difficult for any one person to say that they could keep the others in check.


    After eloquently typing out everything on the screen, Xiao Lin then lifted the ban on everyone.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! F*ck your mother¡¯s c*nt! You think you¡¯re so great being the monitor? Trust me, I¡¯ll trample you to death every minute I get!¡± It was Wang Dalin, who Xiao Lin had little interaction with during the admission test.


    Soon, a notification on everyone¡¯s screens: [Member Wang Dalin has been kicked out of the group.]


    Xiao Lin slowly began to feel that being a squad leader was actually very good. After some thought, he went back to the freshmen¡¯s public forum, and as expected, saw Wang Dalin posting several posts condemning him. The contents of the posts were basically attacking his own attributes, questioning how a loser with a total value of no more than 10 could be elected as the monitor, and suggesting that there had to be something shady going on.


    ¡°What a drag!¡±


    Xiao Lin checked his squad leader¡¯s authority and discovered that although it could only be used over members of his own ss, its scope covered the entire forum.


    The freshmen in Freshmen ss Seven soon received a few more notifications: Wang Dalin has been banned for a week, effective throughout the entire forum.


    Everyone in Freshmen ss Seven experienced Xiao Lin¡¯s authoritative might and fell silent. At the very least, no one dared toe out and continue making repeatedints about Xiao Lin¡¯s paltry attributes.


    COMMENT7ments

 Chapter 17: Special Treatment

    <h4>Chapter 17: Special Treatment</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After realizing that he had been banned, Wang Dalin cursed out loud. Not longter, he ignored it all and switched off hisputer so he could go to bed early. Unbeknownst to him however, the ban triggered one of the truly disadvantageous aspects in the entire forum.


    In the Dawning Forum, the freshman forum was not just a ce for open discussion. The more important part of the forum was equipment transactions for new students, which were carried out in a section of the forum dedicated to trading. The ban took effect there as well...


    For the vast majority of freshmen who were eager and excited for the future, as well as in the dark over what would happen the next day, insomnia befell them on their first night at Dawn Academy.


    Xiao Lin was also thinking a lot about things. He only managed to rest when it was already veryte, but he spent half the night tossing and turning in bed. It was not until early morning that he fell asleep in a daze. When he opened his eyes, he discovered that it was already 7:30 a.m. Qin Chuan had informed the previous day that course selection would be done in the public ssroom, but as the ss monitor, Xiao Lin¡¯s selection form had already been submitted to the sophomore year leader the previous night.


    As a result, he was not in a hurry. He changed into the light green uniform that was passed to him the day before after his shower. He did not forget to head to the dormitory¡¯s top floor to enjoy his hotel-like buffet-style breakfast. He wiped his mouth after he had his fill and walked leisurely toward the public ssroom.


    The dormitory area was not too far away from the public ssroom. He simply needed to follow the cobblestone path and pass through a lush grove to arrive there. Relying on his memory, he came to the metal room that he was at the day before and pushed open the heavy door. Xiao Lin unwittingly found himself stunned for a moment as the hall was filled with chairs and tables instead of being empty like the day before. It had a distinct ssroom-like atmosphere.


    The hall was already full of people. Qin Chuan stood before the stage while everyone elseid their eyes on Xiao Lin.


    Qin Chuan expressed his obvious dissatisfaction. ¡°You¡¯re almost half an hourte! Hmph, I won¡¯t repeat the contents of the course selection again!¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think I need you to. I passed the selection form to sophomore year leader Chen Yu yesterday.¡±


    Taken aback, Qin Chuan questioned, ¡°What? Why did the sophomore year leader collect your course selection form for you?¡±


    Xiao Lin was also confused. ¡°Isn¡¯t the year leader responsible for the ss monitors¡¯ course selection? The freshmen have yet to get their year leader, so the sophomore year leader is responsible for the time being...¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s voice slowly quieted. His brows furrowed too when he saw Qin Chuan¡¯s surprised expression. The procedures had clearly deviated from the norm, but no one could back up the fact that the sophomore leader was supposed to collect the ss monitors¡¯ course selection form.


    ¡°Excuse me for a moment,¡± Qin Chuan said nkly, then hurried out and left the freshmen.


    Since Xiao Lin was veryte, the front row of the hall was almost fully seated. It did not matter to him though, and he went directly to the back row to locate a position in a corner. His eyes then lit up when a familiar figure was caught in his line of sight.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯rete too,¡± Xiao Lin immediately took his seat next to Gu Xiaoyue and greeted her.


    ¡°No,¡± Gu Xiaoyue uttered one word in a crisp voice.


    Xiao Lin noted that she did not have anything else to say, and could not help but smile wryly. Remembering that she only had thest two years of life left, he thought of asking her, but did not know how to start.


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed up her ck-rimmed frames, and¡ªin a rare turn of events¡ªtook the initiative to ask a question, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stupefied for quite some time. He burst into tears upon hearing that question. As it turned out, she had not remembered his name even until then, ¡°Didn¡¯t I use my authority as the monitor to add you to the ss discussion groupst night? It¡¯s a real-name system.¡±


    ¡°I went to bed early.¡±


    ¡°You were able to sleep?¡± Xiao Lin felt a little speechless when he thought of how sleepy he was after an all-nighter. ¡°Well, my name is Xiao Lin. Don¡¯t forget it.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pursed her lips and nodded seriously. ¡°Thank you for what happened in the test. I only learned yesterday that it was really difficult to get Grade S, especially for students who have no talent.¡±


    Could she have thought that achieving Grade S was easy? They were able to kill the Zombie King because Xiao Lin possessed secondary skills brought along by his SS-level talent, while Gu Xiaoyue was credited for her extremely high intelligence. How could any ordinary person in their shoes be able to do it?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts spun wildly and he suddenly became curious. ¡°Who told you that? Was it Qin Chuan?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Chen something something.¡±


    Judging from her personality, she probably did not concern herself with anyone who had nothing to do with her!


    Xiao Lin censured her in his heart, but he surmised that it must have been the sophomore year leader Chen Yu who took the initiative to meet Gu Xiaoyue, as well as ask about chat contents the previous night. He had a feeling that Chen Yu, or perhaps the so-called student union behind him, had a special interest in Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°Did he ask why you weren¡¯t selected as the monitor?¡± Xiao Lin guessed.


    ¡°He kept on persuading me to fight for the monitor¡¯s position in theprehensive examination that¡¯ll be held in three months.¡±


    ¡°I see. What did you say, then?¡±


    ¡°Not interested.¡±


    Xiao Lin observed that the girl¡¯s calm and gentle expression remained unchanged, as if she honestly had no interest in anything other than herself. He felt that Gu Xiaoyue was unlikely to be a scheming person. Although Xiao Lin was certain that Chen Yu had already exined the benefits of being a monitor to her, he was confident that she was not simply pretending to be uninterested in the position.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, I can¡¯t ept this. What right does someone with a total attribute value of less than 10 have being the ss monitor, when your attribute value exceeds 40! Doesn¡¯t this academy value strength the most?¡± asked a voice.


    Xiao Lin raised his head and nced over. It was Wang Dalin, and he rolled his eyes. ¡°People who could only get Grade C in the admission test are unqualified to speak in front of me. Tch, how unfortunate for you to have a total attribute value of more than 30, but the monitor is truly selected based on the grade obtained in the admission test. Gu Xiaoyue and I are the only two in this ss who achieved Grade S.¡±


    Although the cadres of the student union already knew the test scores, it would be impossible for the freshmen to know each other¡¯s scores unless they told each other.


    Therefore, many who learnt about Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s test results could not help but be amazed. Since they received Grade S, they must have seeded in killing the Zombie King!


    Someone asked abruptly, ¡°Wang Dalin, didn¡¯t you tell us yesterday that you got an A on your test?¡±


    During the test, Xiao Lin could see that Wang Dalin was fond of showing off. Even an idiot could see that Wang Dalin deliberately lied about getting Grade A because he felt ashamed of getting Grade C.


    Wang Dalin blushed. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense! How do you know my admission test scores!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell everyone that the ss monitor¡¯s authority isn¡¯t just to ban people on the forum. The ss monitor can also view the ss¡¯ personal information. Would you like me to show everyone right now?¡±


    There was a burst ofughter in the hall. Wang Dalin was shaking with anger, but was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Monitor, what other authorities do you have!¡± someone asked in a half-envious and half-joking tone.


    Xiao Lin heart skipped a beat and he said casually, ¡°I can also appoint group leaders. Although a group leader¡¯s authority isn¡¯t nearly the same as that of a monitor, it¡¯s still significant. For example, a group leader can read up on stuff about the New World that ordinary people have no ess to.¡±


    Having said that, Xiao Lin could clearly perceive everyone looking at him rather differently. If none of them cared about his position as monitor before, it was reasonable to expect that at least some of them would improve their attitudes toward him from then on.


    Xiao Lin once again reveled in the superiority of being in power.

 Chapter 18: General History of Planet Norma

    <h4>Chapter 18: General History of Norma</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As Qin Chuan opened the door again, the discussion in the hall came to an abrupt halt. In fact, everyone already knew about the instructors from the forum the day before. To put it bluntly, the instructors were basically repeaters who did not make it to their sophomore year, so their initial awe had long since disappeared. On the surface of it, at least, everyone still showed respect, as the freshmen¡¯s strength was still far behind that of Qin Chuan¡¯s.


    Qin Chuan heard what the ruckus was all about in the ssroom and walked to Xiao Lin. He then said all of a sudden, ¡°Xiao Lin is only the acting ss monitor. The official appointment will not be decided until three monthster. Only the truly strong are qualified to hold this position!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s expression changed again, especially Wang Dalin, who hadpletely broken all bridges with Xiao Lin. He remarked viciously, ¡°Hmph, turns out he¡¯s only an acting ss monitor for three months. My attribute values are three times more than yours. Let¡¯s wait and see what happens in three months!¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed. He could sense the look in everyone¡¯s eyes and such behavior was only human. After knowing the extent of the squad leader¡¯s authority, everyone would be affected, with the exception of Gu Xiaoyue.


    However, Xiao Lin also noticed that instructor Qin Chuan had his eyes focused more on Gu Xiaoyue when bringing up that point. Xiao Lin also realized that Qin Chuan did not take people like Wang Dalin seriously. Whatever he said earlier was just to incite Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s fighting spirit and spur her topete for the monitor¡¯s position.


    Deep down, Xiao Lin found it rather amusing and nced at the girl next to him. Her indifferent gaze under her in spectacles confirmed to Xiao Lin that Qin Chuan was merely preaching to deaf ears.


    ¡°Instructor, what¡¯s up with my course selection form...¡±


    Qin Chuan was dispirited and did not pay him much mind, so he casually answered, ¡°There isn¡¯t any problem with your course selection schedule. This time, the student union is responsible for the acting monitors¡¯ course selection.¡±


    Xiao Lin was relieved, but then heard Qin Chuan murmur vaguely, ¡°Strange. Why is everyone paying so much attention to this freshmen ss?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression turned slightly odd. He recalled that his SS-Level Academic Genius talent was listed as top-secret, and the Central Computer made it clear that the dean was the only person authorized to know. Despite his narcissism in wanting to believe that he was the one garnering so much attention, the events happening since the previous night demonstrated to him that instructors and sophomores had their eyes only on Gu Xiaoyue.


    The course selectionmenced officially after that. Qin Chuan first had to introduce the course selection process, including the credits needed to enter sophomore year. However, he was embarrassed to find that all the freshmen already understood everything from Xiao Lin the night before. Xiao Lin had earlier gotten an exnation from the sophomore senior, who spoke in much more detail than the instructor.


    Qin Chuan was very annoyed to discover that his final prestige as instructor was all but gone. However, he was utterly unable to lose his temper, as it was ast-minute decision by the student union. Even the dean valued the current batch of freshman, so as a measly little instructor, he did not dare to voice out any objections.


    Qin Chuan was just about to skip the course introduction when some people expressed some discontent. Wang Dalin raised his hand quickly and shouted without waiting for Qin Chuan to speak. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going on with exining! There¡¯s still a lot of things I don¡¯t know. How exactly are the credits calcted? You should exin!¡±


    A burst ofughter erupted from the ss!


    The reason Wang Dalin did not know about the course selection process was because Xiao Lin kicked him out of the discussion group the night before. As a result, he did not know anything about it. Qin Chuan was unaware of the situation and felt that Wang Dalin was deliberately making a fool out of him.


    Qin Chuan, who was already very unhappy, looked even worse and angrily shot back, ¡°I¡¯ll collect your course selection schedule in twenty minutes! Your first ss will be at nine o¡¯clock. Don¡¯t waste any time!¡±


    After ring fiercely at Wang Dalin, Qin Chuan walked out and mmed the door.


    Wang Dalin shrank his neck, but was not brave enough to chase after Qin Chuan. He quietly asked the others about the course selection details. His poprity did not look too promising and the rest of them spitefully remarked, ¡°Go ask Xiao Lin. He¡¯s the monitor.¡±


    Wang Dalin snorted coldly. He would rather die than ask Xiao Lin for help. He gritted his teeth and simply filled it up by himself. Low-pitched murmurs were asionally heard, but Xiao Lin had said everything that ought to have been said. There was nothing else to fuss about regarding the course selection table.


    Xiao Lin, who had already handed in his course selection form, had nothing else to do and fixed his attention on Gu Xiaoyue. She filled out her form in less than a minute, turned her head slightly, and nced pratingly at Xiao Lin. She handed him the form, adjusted her sses, and asked in all seriousness, ¡°Are there any problems with it?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled awkwardly. Curious, he decided to take her form. As expected, she chose Basic Meditation and Basic Perception. He thought about it and said, ¡°You can actually choose some courses that train your physique. Your physique could use some help, and not counting your intelligence, your other attributes aren¡¯t that high.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue turned her headpletely and red at Xiao Lin. She then remarked in a half-certain manner, ¡°The monitor has the authority to check other people¡¯s attributes!¡±


    Xiao Lin had already mentioned that earlier and it was obvious that Gu Xiaoyue was always indifferent to things that did not concern herself. By then, Xiao Lin had begun to slowly be familiar with the girl¡¯s character and helplessly nodded.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s delicate eyebrows twisted together and she opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she merely sat up straight again and said nonchntly, ¡°I¡¯m born this way. It¡¯s futile.¡±


    It took Xiao Lin a while to piece together what the girl wanted to express: her body was born weak, and it would be useless even if she took courses in physical fitness.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s own physique was nowhere near ster, but that was due to his ownziness and the otaku life. The ring of fat on his abdomen made him breathless after a 200-meter run.


    Gu Xiaoyue was different, and Xiao Lin made a silent guess as to why the girl had only two years of life left.


    20 minutester, Qin Chuan came in and quickly collected everyone¡¯s course selection forms. He then entered it into the Central Computer in front of everyone. Everyone was soon able to check their elective courses in the personal information section of the forum. Before leaving, Qin Chuan informed everyone that the first ss was apulsory course¡ªGeneral History of Norma. Simply put, it was a history ss, one that many peoplemented; they expected it to be very boring.


    A few minutes after Qin Chuan left, a young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a bulging beer belly walked slowly into the ssroom. He struggled and held a thick book in his right hand and had probably rushed there from a long distance. In addition, his obesity made him out-of-breath just by walking.


    The young man wore a white T-shirt that had a hole in the shoulder. His sses were big, and the most exaggerated item was the book he was holding. Its thickness was rather disturbing; it was as thick as half his arm.


    The ss was initially quite excited after imagining their history teacher to be like the dean¡ªmysterious and an awe-inspiring mage. Evidently, the young man was far from the mages and wizards seen in movies or novels. He was more like a brick mover on the street and the entire hall resonated with a sigh of disappointment.


    He ced the book on the podium with a loud thud, then lifted his sses and carefully scanned the faces of every student in the hall. It was then that he began speaking slowly. His voice was very loud, and Xiao Lin felt his eardrums buzz despite sitting in the back row.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you; this is the first time I¡¯m teaching freshmen like you. Before that, my students were all graduate or doctoral students. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll lower my standards for your lot!¡±


    Hearing that, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyelids began to suddenly twitch!

 Chapter 19: Professor Dai

    <h4>Chapter 19: Professor Dai</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The other freshmen might have been oblivious to it, but Xiao Lin became increasingly aware of how their batch of freshmen were treated differently.


    From the unprecedented attendance of the dean at the opening ceremony, to the sophomore year leader representing the student union and taking over the ss monitors¡¯ course selection duty from the instructors, it was surprising that the freshmen would be taught by someone with such high qualifications. It was a little overkill.


    Xiao Lin remembered what Chen Yu said the previous night. The substitute teachers for freshmen were usually third-year or fourth-year students. After all, freshmen courses were very basic, and senior students were more than capable of being up to the task. Even if the courses were slightly more advanced, any ordinary graduate could shoulder the responsibility.


    ¡°My surname is Dai. You can call me Professor Dai.¡± The young man opened up the heavy textbook, which immediately triggered a raucous protest.


    ¡°Professor? Are you kidding me? You look like you¡¯re the same age as us, maybe even younger! The academy can¡¯t be pulling our leg, right!¡± Some people were not convinced of the professor who looked so young.


    The young man did not get angry and simply ced both hands on the textbook. ¡°I¡¯m a hundred and twenty this year. As the saying goes on Earth, I¡¯ve eaten more salt than you¡¯ve eaten rice!¡±


    120 years old!


    Everyone was stunned yet again, but before they could question him further, the young man waved his hands, ¡°Also, I personally hate when people talk in my ss without my permission, so this is a little bit of punishment for you!¡±


    Professor Dai effortlessly threw a dark-green orb of light, which then entered into the mouth of the boy who spoke earlier. The boy began dancing to dance around. To his horror, he discovered that he could not say a single word.


    ¡°The Taciturnitas spellsts for half an hour. If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯d be happy to temporarily turn you into a statue.¡±


    The authenticity of those spells was a good deterrent. The entire ssroom fell silent at once.


    Professor Dai patted his belly with satisfaction and reopened the textbook. His voice resonated all throughout the hall. ¡°Norma is actually a transliterated name. It¡¯s derived from the humanoidnguage of Norma. Based on verifiable history, Norma has been around for twenty million years since the birth of its sentient intelligent beings.¡±


    Professor Dai was just about to speak enthusiastically when a girl sighed. ¡°We don¡¯t seem to have any textbooks.¡±


    The girl knew that she had made a mistake and hurriedly covered her mouth. However, Professor Dai¡¯s lecture had stopped and he smiled, ¡°I never distribute textbooks in my sses. If you really need them, you can head over to the Logistics Department and exchange points for them after ss. I, for one, don¡¯t rmend it!¡±


    Professor Dai¡¯s tone became stern and he lifted the heavy book up. ¡°Everything you¡¯re learning now is preparation for your future. Are you going to bring such a thick textbook to the New World?! Again, let me state the rules: do not interrupt when I speak!¡±


    Professor Dai did not have the slightest pity for the girl; the green orb from the Taciturnitas spell emerged from his palm and the girl could only stare dryly with an open mouth.


    Xiao Lin looked at the poor girl and could not help wiping off the cold sweat from his forehead. He had nearlyined about not having a textbook earlier, but lucky for him, he held it back.


    Xiao Lin turned his head and nced at Gu Xiaoyue out of habit, then silently noticed that she had a pen and was engrossed in writing at breakneck speed. She had a light-yellow notebook ced on the table.


    In fact, there were pens and papers in the dormitory, but out of the 60 people in ss, Gu Xiaoyue was the only one who brought a set. In fact, most people had not fullye to terms about actually being in a school with sses, let alone take notes.


    ...


    The freshmen were very quiet. Even the sound of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s writing was drowned out by Professor Dai¡¯s loud lecture. Although the book on Professor Dai¡¯s desk was open, he lectured fluently without ever looking down. He did not pause at all, as if Norma¡¯s history had been etched firmly in his mind.


    Xiao Lin had to admire the man. He may have looked mediocre, but he was no doubt a man of substance. It was hardly surprising that he was a 120-year-old professor, but Xiao Lin felt like ridiculing the professor for bringing such a ridiculously huge book to ss when he already memorized the text. Did the man not feel tired at all?


    The question was answered fairly quickly. When Professor Dai introduced the racial makeup of Norma, he paused, looked down for the first time, and said, ¡°In order to for you to better visualize each race more vividly, I¡¯ll show you some virtual images.¡±


    Professor Dai lifted his finger suddenly and a brilliant band of colored light was drawn out of the book. The light quickly spread throughout the surroundings and finally formed a lifelike holographic image of the creatures. Even more amazing was that the images blinked and made low growls.


    The creature of that race was tall, sturdy, and looked truly quite hideous. It had wild boar-like fangs and resembled a gori, while its gray-ck skin was covered with dense and terrifying scars. It was extremely realistic, just like from a real creature from a movie.


    The few girls sitting in the front row cowered in fear, but they seemed to be even more afraid of Professor Dai¡¯s Taciturnitas Spell and swallowed the screams that approached their lips.


    Although the rest did not say anything, their eyes all lit up. Compared to Norma¡¯s history, everyone was obviously more interested in the magical disys that Professor Dai conjured.


    However, Professor Dai did not exin the spell and simply pointed to the ugly creature. He raised his thunderous voice again, ¡°This creature is called an Orc. They are one of the oldest races on Norma. Orcs are barbaric, savage, and extremely aggressive. They live in a tribal society and survive by looting and hunting. They are fond of scars and often regard the scars gained from battle as symbols of honor.¡±


    Many people had already guessed that when they saw the magical image of that race. When Professor Dai affirmed it, they all had weird expressions, as if wanting to say something, but they were hesitant to speak.


    As a veteran otaku, Xiao Lin was naturally very familiar with that image. After battling in various major video games, it would be an insult to his title of Gaming Nerd if he did not know what an Orc was.


    However, Professor Dai told everyone that the Orcs were actually the inhabitants of Norma and were ancient creatures of another. In that case, what could be said of all those simrly-shaped orcs in Earth¡¯s various video games?


    Xiao Lin could not contain his confusion and finally raised his arm up high. With two people serving as lessons, he did not dare to talk without permission in Professor Dai¡¯s ss.


    Professor Dai looked up at Xiao Lin and nodded. ¡°Do you have a question?¡±


    Xiao Lin brought up the question which many people had. Why was the appearance of Norma¡¯s Orcs so consistent with the depiction of Orcs in Earth¡¯s online games?


    Professor Dai remained silent for quite some time after hearing the question. With a look of confusion and befuddlement, he asked slowly, ¡°I haven¡¯t been to Earth for more than half a century. Can anyone please tell me what an ¡®online game¡¯ is?¡±


    The ss fell silent. Even some of the girls, who never yed video games before, looked at Professor Dai as though they pitied how out of touch he was.

 Chapter 20: Orcs

    <h4>Chapter 20: Orcs</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was at a loss, but Professor Dai¡¯s face looked serious and did not in any way suggest that he was trying to pull their leg. However, after realizing that online games only appeared on Earth in the past few decades, then the professor might really have zero concept of it, considering how he had not returned for half a century.


    Xiao Lin tried to find the words to exin it, but he soon discovered that his efforts were futile. Professor Dai did not have the slightest concept of online games. Even if he exined it in terms of the Inte, game operators, or terminal servers, Professor Dai was clueless about all that new terminology. Despite repeated exnation, Xiao Lin eventually came to a point where he did not have any idea what he was babbling about.


    Gu Xiaoyue adjusted her spectacles and reminded him in a low voice. ¡°Novels.¡±


    Xiao Lin froze and suddenly had the urge to hit his head against the wall. He quickly said, ¡°Novels, novels! The image of Orcs in many of Earth¡¯s fantasy novels look like the Orcs on Norma. Why is that?¡±


    Professor Dai finally understood. ¡°Look alike? No. I believe the Orcs described in Earth¡¯s novels ARE the Orcs from Norma.¡±


    An uproar rumbled the ss!


    Xiao Lin was puzzled. ¡°You mean, those novels were actually written by students of Dawn Academy?¡±


    Professor Dai was silent for a while, ¡°Former students, to be precise. Of course, it isn¡¯t just Dawn Academy. There are many academies in the universe that have set their sights on the New World. If I remember correctly, there were some students who had been eliminated after your admission test.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded and affirmed it.


    Professor Dai replied, ¡°Those people will have their memories erased and allowed to return to ordinary life on Earth. Even if they can asionally remember what they experienced in Dawn Academy, they would only regard it as dreams of grandeur or unfounded fantasies.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned. ¡°Those people were sent back because they failed the test, but they¡¯ve never had anything to do with Norma, let alone attend history sses like this. This means that those who expressed their fantasy in novels or adapted them into games are none other than graduates who have been to Norma.¡±


    Professor Dai reserved hisment instead of tacitly approving. After some time, he said, ¡°They were graduates. If you read the academy rules carefully, you¡¯ll realize that only graduates who havepleted the entire senior year will have the opportunity to choose to leave Dawn Academy forever. You¡¯lle to understand it eventually. In short, although Dawn Academy and the New World werepletely erased from the memories of those graduates, they are still able to recall some fragments by ident. Even so, they¡¯ll only treat those fragments as their own remnants of their own fantasy.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood that as long as at least one of those people recorded those memories in words and passed them on from one generation to another, the images of those races would be known and imitated by more people. Adaptations into games would enable those concepts to form longsting impressions.


    Professor Dai appeared rather somber talking about it and did not seem too keen to go in detail. The topic soon went back to the racialposition of Norma.


    With the introduction of the Orcs, everyone¡¯s expectations were high. Sure enough, many races that only appeared in novels and fantasy novels¡ªlike elves, dwarves, and dragons¡ªall appeared one after another under Professor Dai¡¯s deft magical spell. The creatures did not differ much from what everyone imagined them to be.


    Professor Dai¡¯s lecture was actually very lively, especially with the cool magical projections. It captivated everyone as they listened and watched, and when the lecture ended, it was almost noon.


    Despite the lesson being only a brief summary of Norma¡¯s history, everyone managed to learn a lot of useful information. For example, they finally knew that Dawn Academy¡¯s time synchronized with Norma¡¯s, with a time ratio of one to two¡ªone day there was equivalent to two days in the real world, and Norma only had 265 days a year.


    It was nearly noon by the end of the lesson. Their afternoon ss would not start until two o¡¯clock, and the specific course schedule had to be essed online. The freshmen proceeded to walk toward the dormitory in twos and threes.


    When the people in the hall were almost gone, Xiao Lin took the initiative to stand up and ask the girl beside him, ¡°Shall we have lunch together?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue turned to look at him. Behind her t sses, her bright eyes stared at Xiao Lin for so long that he felt his hair stand on end. All of a sudden, she replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m used to being alone.¡±


    After speaking, Gu Xiaoyue packed up her notebook and pen before getting up and leaving. Barely a few stepster, she seemed to have thought of something and turned around to hand him her notebook. ¡°I¡¯ll lend this to you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little reluctant to just end it there. Since no one else was in the ssroom, he seized the opportunity and could not help but finally whisper, ¡°You know, as ss monitor, I have permission to view the information of other students in the ss, such as their life span...¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue froze after walking to the door and her head lowered partway. Xiao Lin walked quietly to her, only to find that her ever-frigid expression was struck with gloom. For the first time ever, the delicate and unfeeling girl showed weakness before him, which made him feel as though hemitted a heinous crime.


    He waved his hand quickly and exined, ¡°I...I really didn¡¯t mean to invade your privacy. It¡¯s just that...your life span is only... Do you have a serious or terminal illness?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue sighed imperceptibly and her face reverted back to its usual coldness. She lifted the short hair around her ears and said calmly, ¡°Neither. It¡¯s natural.¡±


    Natural? It was some kind of terminal illness, then? Xiao Lin cursed himself, but the girl was no longer in the mood to exin. She walked past Xiao Lin and left the ssroom.


    Before the admission test, Xiao Lin recalled that Gu Xiaoyue showed great interest when Qin Chuan exined to them that one could increase one¡¯s lifespan there. Of course, after knowing that the academy could increase life expectancy, everyone, Xiao Lin included, began to yearn for it.


    Nevertheless, everyone wanted the longevity spoken of in legends, but Gu Xiaoyue wanted it to just survive!


    Xiao Lin began to feel that he understood Gu Xiaoyue a bit more. As a beautiful girl in the midst of her youth, she should be able to enjoy the time of her life, but what she had was only two years left. Anyone in her shoes would find it difficult to ept such a cruel fact.


    The freshmen¡¯s lunch was served in the cafeteria on the top floor of the dormitory, with simrly rich and dazzling dishes. There were Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Fujian cuisine, as well as various snacks and pastries. Xiao Lin could not help but wonder how many chefs the academy hired.


    Everyone was busy chatting among themselves, be it in soft tones or boisterous mors. The crux of their conversations were that theirpulsory history course that morning was not as boring as they imagined it to be. Although no one realized that the teachers who taught them were at least senior or graduate level teachers, those senior teachers had abundant knowledge that certainly added vivacity and color to Norma¡¯s history.


    The dean had only instilled a cursory concept of colonizing foreign worlds into everyone at the opening ceremony. Moving forward, everyone had a deeper understanding of the soon-to-be colonized mysterious world. It felt real, and they became increasingly excited for it.


    Based on their schedules, afternoon sses were basically lessons on Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Saber Techniques, and the like. One particr issue that gave Xiao Lin a headache was that two of his chosen courses¡ªBasic Swordsmanship and Basic Perception¡ªwere conducted that very afternoon. Both of themsted the entire afternoon, so unless he knew some kind of cloning technique, he had no choice but to choose one of the two.

 Chapter 21: Basic Swordsmanship Class

    <h4>Chapter 21: Basic Swordsmanship ss</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin had a rough understanding of Dawn Academy¡¯s stance when it came to the sses. Students were not rmended to take courses in cultivation and magic at the same time. For example, Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Saber Technique were arranged at different times, since there were many who had chosen both Swordsmanship and Saber Technique. Meanwhile, few probably chose both Swordsmanship and Magic.


    Xiao Lin was still unable to devise a solution, even by two in the afternoon. Left without a choice, he had to bite the bullet and head to his Basic Swordsmanship ss. Unlike the mandatory courses, the training venues for more specific courses were located in the more remote southeast corner of the school. There, magnificent training halls were aplenty, almost to the point where one could not see the end of the building. Each training hall was at least the size of two football fields.


    As he approached the training hall, Xiao Lin discovered many people wearing school uniforms¨Cin red, blue, and even ck¨Call senior students. The building formed the main training venue for the entire academy.


    The freshmen¡¯s training hall was in the frontmost row of those venues. He searched one by one and quickly found the hall holding Basic Swordsmanship. After verifying his identity with his universal card, the hall¡¯s doors automatically opened.


    Inside the training hall, Xiao Lin discovered that the interior was different than what he imagined. The hall in itself was divided into two sides¡ªleft and right. The left half was an empty training ground with wooden floors. Various weapons¡ªincluding swords, shortswords, ¨¦p¨¦es, and broadswords¡ªwere arranged against the wall. Every single one was made of wood and was likely to be used for training.


    On the right side of the hall were partitioned, transparent single rooms. Figures stood inside each of the rooms, but on closer inspection, he could see that the figures were actually just bronze dummies.


    Xiao Lin did not arrive early. There were already plenty of people inside the stadium, and more were stilling in. The total number of people probably amounted to at least two hundred. Fortunately, the stadium wasrge enough to amodate that many people, and the swordsmanship teacher had not yet arrived. Everyone got together and chatted in groups of twos and threes.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Here!¡±


    Xiao Lin saw someone enthusiastically beckoning toward him as soon as he came in. He searched deep in his memory, realizing that he did not know the person. Nevertheless, he walked over and greeted them politely.


    ¡°My name is Cheng Ming. I¡¯m the acting ss monitor for Freshmen ss One. We were just talking about you. You got pretty famous in the forumst night. Lots of people are excited to get to know you.¡± The guy who spoke was a dark-skinned, robust-looking boy. He had a hearty smile and a rather squarish face.


    ¡°You were talking about me? ¡± Xiao Lin noticed that there were six people gathered around Cheng Ming, all of whom looked at Xiao Lin in a different light.


    Cheng Ming smiled and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re the monitors from each ss. Everyone¡¯s got a penchant for swords. Of the twelve acting monitors, eight chose Basic Swordsmanship.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled and greeted the others, but he did not receive an eager response.


    ¡°The Chinese people love swords more than other weapons,¡± a ponytailed girl coldly remarked. She hardly noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s smile.


    ¡°We¡¯re allpetitors here, actually. Chen Yu said it before. The year leader will be chosen from among us. ¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still waiting for our status as acting squad leader to be official. ¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Short on confidence? We¡¯re all talented students here. I think everyone was surprised about what our talents could do during the admission test! ¡±


    ¡°Hehe, that isn¡¯t actually the case. Isn¡¯t there one other talentless ss monitor? ¡±


    Apart from Cheng Ming, the others did not have the slightest intention of introducing themselves¨C only casting a nce at Xiao Lin. They then continued with their conversation, only looking at Xiao Lin when the topic turned to him. It was clear that the others were not too friendly toward him.


    Cheng Ming felt a little embarrassed and apologetically smiled at Xiao Lin. He said, in a slightly dissatisfied tone, ¡°Come on, guys. We¡¯re all acting ss monitors here.¡±


    ¡°I heard that there¡¯s someone in ss Seven with an attribute value of forty-six and probably set a new world record. Is that true?¡± The ponytailed girl spoke first and looked suddenly at Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin had no clue about the world record that Gu Xiaoyue had broken, but was very surprised. However, his tone froze over too. ¡°It is, but that girl is also talentless. Haha. ¡±


    His words made some of the acting ss monitors a little embarrassed. The fact remained that their basic attributes were not as high as Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to be the year leader!¡± The girl with the ponytail had an aggressive glint in her eyes.


    Xiao Lin grew bored and left thepany of that group. He stood quietly in one corner and waited for the course to start.


    At two o¡¯clock, their tutor stepped into the training hall, right on time. Xiao Lin was quite surprised to find that the image of the Basic Swordsmanship teacher was far from what he had envisioned.


    She was a very attractive woman, d in a tight, long ck dress. Her curves made her the perfect example for the golden ratio. She had short, attention-catching ginger hair, and her fair face had a very heroic quality. She lifted her chin up slightly, while her proud and confident eyes swept across every freshman¡¯s face.


    She was a very confident, very beautiful woman. The students who made eye contact with herpelling gaze inadvertently turned away, but a few boys still who catcalled after her.


    The woman smiled. Her ck boots cked against the floor as she walked to the nearest boy. Her beautiful face leaned forward, and she asked in a seductive tone. ¡°Pretty, am I?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Very!¡± The woman¡¯s tone seemed to have encouraged the boy. He made an exaggerated thumbs-up and smiled triumphantly, as if showing off to the others.


    However, he could not even hold his smile for more than a second. The woman¡¯s expression changed at lightning speed and her ck boots rose 180 degrees into the air, kicking the boy square in the face.


    Boom!


    Before the boy could even retract his smile, he soared like a rocket, hitting the hall¡¯s ceiling with a thud, and falling back to the ground like a meteor. The force of the impact rocked the solid training hall a little. Xiao Lin had to look away; the guy¡¯s face was so bloody that his mother might not even recognize him.


    The woman said loudly in a brash, unfeminine voice. ¡°Remember, all of you: I am not your teacher, I am your tutor! This is the most lenient punishment you can get catcalling your tutor! Of course, the academy is equipped with automatic treatment systems in every training hall and it¡¯s possible for you to recover, if your injury isn¡¯t fatal. However, I¡¯d like to remind you that the treatment system is no longer free after the admission test has concluded. You¡¯ll have to exchange redemption points for them now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any redemption points,¡± someone muttered.


    The woman sneered. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any, you¡¯ll automatically pay it with your credits. If you don¡¯t have enough credits,¡± she giggled, ¡°just sit tight and wait for your memory to be erased. You¡¯ll be sent straight back to Earth! ¡±

 Chapter 22: Strength

    <h4>Chapter 22: Strength</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    During the admission test, Qin Chuan had chopped off the arm of a new student, but it healed overpletely. The academy¡¯s healing system was excellent, but it did not erase the pain the injury caused.


    The boy who fell to the ground wailed and curled into a ball. A cream-colored beam of light enveloped him and immediately healed the wounds on his face. After ten or so seconds, the boy had fully recovered; all wounds on his face hadpletely disappeared.


    ¡°Hey bro, how many redemption points did that deduct?¡± The person beside nudged him and asked softly.


    ¡°Fifty!¡± The boy gritted his teeth and did not dare to speak further despite his anger.


    There were loud gasps in response. Save for a few who managed to achieve Grades S, A, or B in the admissions test, none of the others had any redemption points. Therefore, using the treatment system just once was enough to necessitate memory erasure and force them to be sent back.


    In Dawn Academy, credits were proof of performance and strength, while redemption points were universal currency. Regardless of whether a person was rich or poor on Earth, everyone¡¯s starting point at the academy was the same.


    ¡°I killed twenty-three orcs in the New World yesterday; any one of them would have had no problem dealing with all of you! To put it bluntly, I¡¯ve always loathed teaching new students; you¡¯re all weak and ipetent. Teaching swordsmanship to you lot makes me feel like I¡¯m ying with a bunch of infants!¡±


    The woman had a sullen expression as she scanned the trembling students. All of a sudden, she licked her scarlet lips and smiled yfully, ¡°But I was told that this batch of freshmen was very special. So special, in fact, that the dean even attended your opening ceremony in person. For that reason, I applied to be your swordsmanship tutor, so I hope you guys will at least be a little entertaining. Otherwise... Hehe...


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll spare you the nonsense. I don¡¯t want to talk too much about theory. The gist of swordsmanship is to kill people. dework that can¡¯t even do that is nothing but a joke!¡±


    The woman walked to a corner of the hall, where rows of wooden swords of various sizes¨Cspecifically used for training¨Cwere arranged. Then, under everyone¡¯s watch, the woman waved her right hand in the air and conjured a huge, silver broadsword from the void. With purple lightning swirling around the de, the woman held the hilt in a backhand grip and swung it toward the training swords.


    The purple lightning burst and instantly turned all the wooden swords into powder.


    ¡°This useless garbage isn¡¯t necessary in my ss! We¡¯ll be using real swords for all future training!¡±


    Immediately, uproar!


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± the woman asked coldly.


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t have a sword yet. The weapon I was assigned during the admissions test was a saber,¡± a guy said, trembling.


    ¡°Do you want me to hire you a babysitter so you¡¯ll always remember what kind of weapon to bring?¡± The woman approached the boy who spoke; her extremely charming face was inches away from him. She was still holding the hilt of her two-meter long sword. Its rapidly flickering electrical current was extremely terrifying.


    The guy staggered and fell, bottom-first, to the ground. He wanted to cry, but the tears would note. ¡°I...I¡¯m sorry. ¡±


    The woman shouted, ¡°If you don¡¯t have a weapon, go to the Equipment Store and buy one! If you don¡¯t have redemption points, go andplete some missions. Do I still have to teach you how to do all that?¡±


    She was a very hot-tempered woman, and after several bouts of reprimanding, no one else dared challenge her authority. She was no joke. Everyone believed that she would not hesitate to cut them in half with her sword, which was entirely capable of cleaving through iron like it was dirt.


    The Basic Swordsmanship course then finally began.


    ¡°First of all, I need everyone to have a more intuitive understanding of your own strength attributes. That¡¯s right, the physical properties of a melee weapon and its attack power depends on your strength value. But those attributes aren¡¯t the be all and end all. The power that the centralputer measures is the strength that you are capable of showing under the best possible conditions. I¡¯ve seen too many idiots that can¡¯t even disy even half their strength attributes!¡±


    The woman continued, ¡°In today¡¯s lesson, and in the uing lessons, your task is not to learn swordsmanship, but how to fully exert your strength value! If your strength value exceeds twenty, please take one step forward!¡±


    The moment she belted out themand, Xiao Lin noticed that five among the seven acting ss monitors¡ªincluding Cheng Ming¡ªtook a step forward. Although Cheng Ming was the only one among the group that he had a favorable impression of, Xiao Lin had to admit that the talents of those people were far beyond the scope of ordinary individuals. Joining those acting monitors, only a dozen other ordinary students stepped forward.


    The woman remained expressionless. She pointed at Cheng Ming and asked, ¡°How much is your strength value?¡±


    Cheng Ming, firmly but humbly, replied, ¡°Thirty.¡±


    ¡°Give it a try.¡± The woman nced at the longsword Cheng Ming was holding. The random weapon Cheng Ming was assigned in the admission test was not a sword, but he had gotten someone to exchange weapons the night before as preparation for the Swordsmanship course.


    Cheng Ming scratched his head earnestly. ¡°Teacher, um, Tutor. I¡¯m no match for you.¡±


    The woman waved her right hand and her big, silver sword vanished. In ce of it was a short and powerful stainless-steel dagger. She brandished the dagger with a force that whipped up gusts of wind, and raised her eyebrows before pointing at Cheng Ming. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my strength to about thirty. Come on!¡±


    Cheng Ming did not refuse. He wielded his longsword in both hands and rushed over with a low growl. Despite facing a head-on attack, the woman did not evade; instead, she raised the dagger to her chest. Light shed suddenly in mid-air.


    The two des struck, keening with a metallic sh.


    Everyone was stunned to see Cheng Ming¡¯s sword slip his grip and fall to the floor a few meters away. Cheng Ming stared at her, his hands a little numb. The woman had indeed lowered her power. Although Cheng Ming¡¯s ability was far above the hapless catcaller, it was still a resounding defeat.


    ¡°Twenty. That¡¯s the strength value your sword just disyed. Disying 70 percent of your total strength ismendable,¡± the woman impassivelymented.


    Cheng Ming was in disbelief. ¡°What? I clearly used all my strength! My talent is a bonus too!¡±


    ¡°Having a talent isn¡¯t everything! You focused all your strength on the hilt and you released it too early. The first thing you should do is learn how to control the distribution of power when you swing your sword! Next!¡±


    Another acting ss monitor stepped forward. He initially looked down on Cheng Ming, but ended up worse off. Not only did the sword slip out of his hands, he was flipped overpletely.


    The woman mocked him. ¡°You have a strength value of twenty-seven, but used only thirteen¨Cnot even half. You¡¯re holding a sword, not a torch! Idiot! Next!¡±


    ...


    After about ten minutes, dozens of longswords and shortswords were strewn all over the floor. Aside from the acting monitors, other ordinary students reluctantly came up to try, but fared no better.


    The woman reported the strength of each person¡¯s sword. The result was undoubtedly frustrating for everyone, and only a third of them could exert 60 percent of their strength. Cheng Ming¡¯s 70 percent achievement was already the highest possible value that they could attain.

 Chapter 23: Xiao Lin’s Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 23: Xiao Lin¡¯s Challenge</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the end, no one dared try it; such a test would only continue to undermine their self-confidence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think a Grade S or A in the admissions test makes you so great! I can tell you that the academy weakened the monsters in the test by at least half their actual strength!¡±


    Everyone felt like a bucket of cold water had been sshed over their heads because it was exactly as she had mentioned. Many people were ted after surviving the admission test, buoyed by Chen Yu¡¯s encouragement the night before.


    The woman¡¯s face was full of disappointment and impatience. ¡°I wonder which bastard said that this new batch was special. Hmph. What a total waste of my time! For this afternoon, or more urately, for as long as it takes, don¡¯t do anything else. Just stay here, and keep practicing! We¡¯ll start the next lesson once you all can exert a hundred percent of your strength value!¡±


    The woman said this as she walked toward the door.


    ¡°Teacher¨CI mean¨CTutor, where are you going?¡± Cheng Ming asked immediately.


    The woman said petntly, ¡°I¡¯m going home to sleep! Why would I intentionally waste time here with all of you?¡±


    ¡°But...but you haven¡¯t taught us how to exert all our strength!¡± Cheng Ming was afraid of the woman¡¯s aura, but he nevertheless straightforwardly asked.


    The woman turned her head. She shot back as fast as a machine gun, ¡°What¡¯s there to teach! Do I need to teach this? Practice makes perfect, ever heard the phrase? ??Why are you still standing there? Practice; now! One-on-one! Practice how to swing the sword and how to knock down your opponents! Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re not allowed to use those wooden training toys. If I find out that you do, you¡¯ll never be allowed to enter this training hall again! Remember this: actualbat is always the fastest and easiest way to make progress!¡±


    ¡°Practice one-on-one with real swords? What if we get injured!¡±


    The woman red and yelled, ¡°Did you leave your ears at home? Didn¡¯t I say in the beginning that this hall has its own healing system? With these garbage swords, any injury¡ªno matter how serious¡ªwill heal over. What are you afraid of?¡±


    ¡°But, our redemption points...¡± In the end, the questioner did not dare to finish his question.


    Upon seeing the hall finally descend intoplete silence, the woman nodded, satisfied, and yawned. She really seemed ready to go back home to take a nap, but when she took half a step out of the training hall, a somewhat hesitant, yet salient voice was heard.


    ¡°Um, Tutor, I¡¯d like to ask something. I chose Basic Meditation as one of my courses this afternoon, so is it possible that I leave first and go to the meditation ss since you¡¯re leaving?¡±


    Everyone looked in that person¡¯s direction, ring at him as if they were an idiot.


    Xiao Lin felt embarrassed under their watchful eyes as well, but unless he had a better way, he would not have wanted to provoke that madwoman. The academy scheduled Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Meditation at the same time, and Xiao Lin was not about to just abandon any particr course; he wanted to smoothly progress into the sophomore year.


    ¡°Oh? This freshman wants to cultivate both magic and martial arts?¡±


    The woman stopped for a moment, retracting her foot from outside the hall. She slowly walked toward Xiao Lin. She had a charming smile on her face and looked at him with intent.


    The distance between the two was less than half a meter and her womanly fragrance was exceptionally refreshing. However, Xiao Lin was not in the mood to appreciate her beauty up close. He clearly remembered how thest guy who disyed his attraction to this woman was kicked into the air.


    Every hair on Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body stood on end. He took a couple of steps back and looked warily at her. After some thought, he realized that he felt unsafe and began increasing the distance between them to about ten meters.


    The woman¡¯s smile gradually faded. ¡°Basic Swordsmanship leans toward physical attacks, and Basic Meditation cultivates spells. If I remember correctly, there¡¯s a reminder in the course selection table saying that it¡¯s not rmended for new students to practice both magic and martial arts.¡±


    ¡°But there is no express prohibition, is there?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    The woman¡¯s expression becamepletely indifferent. ¡°Yes, Dawn Academy does not prohibit it, and in fact, many graduates will choose to learn some basic spells. For freshmen, however, dual cultivation is a waste of time! Don¡¯t you have the faintest idea why the academy arranged the freshmen¡¯s schedules in such a way that the physical courses are held simultaneously with spell courses?¡±


    ¡°I understand that dual cultivation means that it will take me twice as long to reach the same strength levels as everyone else,¡± Xiao Lin said stubbornly, ¡°But I insist on it. I¡¯d like to attend the Basic Meditation ss.¡±


    The woman narrowed her eyes. ¡°So, you¡¯re some genius, are you? Tell me, what are your initial attribute values? I heard that there was a new record of 36 intelligence points in this batch of freshmen. Could you be them?¡±


    A slight mockingugh came from the crowd. ¡°Tutor, you gotta have the wrong person. This isn¡¯t the one with 36 intelligence¡ª¡±


    ¡°DID I SAY YOU COULD INTERRUPT!¡± the woman yelled back.


    Xiao Lin replied, ¡°Strength, three; Agility, two; Intelligence, two; Constitution, three. That¡¯s my current attribute value. ¡±


    ¡°Three points in strength and two in intelligence. Hehe, you¡¯re very amusing. Are you sure you want to take up dual cultivation with those numbers? It¡¯ll be even more difficultter on for you to increase your attribute values. You should thank the heavens if you can reach ck Iron Rank in four years with your basic attributes. If the freshmen in this ss all bite off more than they can chew like you, the principal must be senile to have personally attended the opening ceremony!¡±


    The woman was very disappointed. She felt that it would be pointless to continue arguing and had no intention of entertaining Xiao Lin. However, she had only just turned around and barely taken a step when Xiao Lin reluctantly ran up to her to ask. ¡°So, is that a yes?¡±


    On that asion, even the earnest Cheng Ming felt that Xiao Lin was digging his own grave. Everyone could see that the furious woman¡¯s mood had soured tremendously at that moment, yet Xiao Lin dared push her buttons.


    The womanughed out loud. The new students looked at Xiao Lin with pity, giving him looks that said ¡®good luck¡¯. Then, they stepped back, so as not to be affected by her rage.


    Cold sweat streamed down Xiao Lin¡¯s cheeks as quickly said, ¡°Wait, wait! Didn¡¯t you say that the initial goal isplete if we can fully disy a hundred percent of our strength?¡±


    ¡°I did. And?¡± the woman asked indifferently.


    Xiao Lin said what he wanted to say in one breath. ¡°I think I¡¯ve probably already aplished that goal, and since you¡¯re refusing to teach us, it¡¯ll be a waste of time for me to stay. In that case, would it be okay for me to attend the other course?¡±


    Several of the acting ss monitors frowned when they heard that. Even Cheng Ming felt that Xiao Lin¡¯s was boasting a little too much. Among them, Cheng Ming had the highest strength value, and even that was a measly 70%. The others were doubly certain that their strength was better than a loser with 10 attribute points like Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The woman raised her chin and was somewhat surprised. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you a chance. However, if you¡¯re lying, then you¡¯ll never be allowed in my ss. I don¡¯t care what you do with the other courses; that¡¯s your own business!¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m not lying, does that mean you¡¯ll agree with me?¡± Xiao Lin remained persistent.


    The woman nearly lost her mind, but managed to suppress her anger. ¡°Not only will I agree, I¡¯ll get thedy who teaches Basic Meditation and to agree too!¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± Xiao Lin was overjoyed; his problem was all but solved.

 Chapter 24: Slashing LV2

    <h4>Chapter 24: shing LV2</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The woman conjured a steel sword, raised her delicate chin, and teased, ¡°I¡¯ll take my power down about three points. It¡¯ll be difficult for me to go any lower than that, but I won¡¯t go too hard on you either. I¡¯ll just stand here, not fighting back. Don¡¯t think that you can do better with that low strength score. Come on, show me how much you can do with your measly little strength. One point? Two?¡±


    Three strength points?


    Xiao Lin unsheathed his novice dagger and began calcting in his mind. His strength value was three points and his Basic Dagger Mastery was at LV2. In fact, he had always been a little confused regarding Basic Weapon Mastery. The exnation theputer system gave him was that it increased the skill of wielding a dagger, but only then, did he realize what it meant.


    The so-called skill referred to the control of one¡¯s strength. A person could have 20 strength points, but it might not be possible to fully exert all 20 points with a sword.


    With the help of his SS-level Academic Genius talent, Xiao Lin had LV2 Dagger Mastery since the admissions test. Although his strength was low, he could exert his power better than others. Nevertheless, relying on that aspect alone might prove difficult to meet the woman¡¯s requirements.


    Xiao Lin believed that some of the acting ss monitors had reached a LV2 standard. Even though they were slightly behind him, they were all talented students who still could not manage to exert 100 percent of their strength.


    However, Xiao Lin could only rely on one vital aspect¡ªLV2 shing! The Smart Computer exined that skill as the ability to deliver a stronger blow after briefly charging one¡¯s strength.


    After upgrading to LV2, shing became even more powerful, but its drawbacks were significant too. Powering up at LV1 took about two seconds, but increased to around four seconds for LV2. It did not have much value in actualbat, but he was lucky that the woman said that she would not fight back.


    Under everyone¡¯s scornful and mocking gazes, Xiao Lin raised the dagger and rushed forward without hesitation. The woman held the sword in one hand, standing in front of him nonchntly. Despite having suppressed her strength to three points, she did not believe that Xiao Lin could break through her defenses.


    sh!


    Xiao Lin swung his shortsword high and activated his skill, causing a silver-white cold glow to illuminate the de. The powering up process took four seconds. He could choose any moment to swing the de down, but to ensure that his strength could exceed three strength points, he chose to power up for the entire four seconds.


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing? Why did he stop? ¡±


    ¡°Is he scared?¡±


    ¡°Scared of shame!¡±


    Everyone figured that Xiao Lin was just deliberately acting dumb, but the tutor raised her thick eyebrows slightly. The bright light on Xiao Lin¡¯s sword might have slipped the freshmen¡¯s radar, but it could never trick a battlefield veteran like her!


    The corners of her eyes twitched as Xiao Lin shed down with his dagger. Her instinct told her that she was in danger and she immediately raised her steel sword. A purple light then began flowing through it.


    ¡°Ah, damn... ¡± Xiao Lin was surprised by that, but could not stop his dagger from shing with the woman¡¯s sword. Then, as expected, he felt an unstoppable force extending through him along the sword¡¯s surging purple light. His entire body was thrown high into the air and he fell straight down.


    There was a roar ofughter in the hall; the result was exactly as they had expected. Xiao Lin seemed to have had it worse, perhaps even worse than the unlucky person who received a brutal, disfiguring kick in the face.


    Xiao Liny on the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. His lungs were on the brink of copse while the purple current paralyzed him and rendered him motionless. All he could do was stare at the woman to express his anger.


    ¡°Tutor, I think your strength exceeded three points!¡± Cheng Ming took a deep breath, stepped forward, and remarked in a deep voice. The woman said that she would suppress her strength, but any idiot could see that she had not.


    The woman was silent, but she raised her head. She ignored Cheng Ming¡¯s usation, and looked up at the roof. After determining that a student was injured, the Smart Computer would automatically switch on the venue¡¯s treatment system.


    The woman suddenly stepped beside Xiao Lin. She fumbled for a ss bottle that she carried with her, the contents of which were filled with viscous red liquid. The woman then forced open Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth, unscrewed the bottle cap, and poured all the red liquid into his mouth.


    ¡°Drink this!¡± the woman ordered firmly.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body was already sore and numb, so he had no choice but to drink that strange liquid. It had a bad taste, tasting like how rust smelled, but soon he felt a pleasant warmth spreading throughout his body. Not only did his numbness gradually fade, but the scars all over his body vanished too.


    The healing glow was just about tond on him when it quickly disappeared after determining that Xiao Lin had healed from the injury.


    Everyone realized that the woman had used some kind of magical potion to heal Xiao Lin from his injuries, thus sparing him from having to use redemption points from being automatically treated by the system.


    The woman snickered. ¡°You got some gall using shing on me? You don¡¯t know the meaning of death, do you! Only under very specificbat conditions will it be possible to power up for four seconds. That renders this skill useless. Other than using it as pre-training for certain skills, it doesn¡¯t have any practical value.¡±


    Xiao Lin got up again, wiped the blood off his face, then stared at the woman. ¡°You didn¡¯t keep your word!¡±


    The woman remained nomittal. After confirming that Xiao Lin was all fine, she stood up too. ¡°What I just gave you was a mid-levelplete recuperation drug. On a normal course schedule, you¡¯ll only be able to taste this medicine when you¡¯re in your third year. Redemption points are very valuable for new students, but you don¡¯t need to thank me for saving you a fortune in the treatment.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face was expressionless. ¡°You didn¡¯t keep your word.¡±


    The woman¡¯s face stiffened. If she had not increased her strength earlier, the sh of weapons would have knocked her sword down. It went without saying that she could never ept that possibility, so on instinct, she raised her strength to a higher level. She was never going to admit it and instead said, ¡°I admit, the strength of your dagger earlier exceeded three points, but you were only able to do it with the help of a skill. That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t acknowledge that your swordsmanship has reached the point where you can disy a hundred percent of your strength!¡±


    Xiao Lin blinked. ¡°You didn¡¯t keep your word.¡±


    The woman became irritated, and awork of purple thunderbolts exploded out all of a sudden. Everyone else made themselves scarce, startled, believing that their tutor was going to go berserk at any moment.


    Xiao Lin repeated like a parrot. ¡°You didn¡¯t keep your word.¡±


    ¡°You, you, you...¡± The woman was trembling with anger. Her fingers¡ªentwined with the purple current¡ªpointed right at Xiao Lin. If she chose to be cruel, she could definitely burn the boastful little freshman in front of her into charcoal, but her action was nothing more than a sudden outburst to vent her anger. The purple lightning soon dissipatedpletely.


    The woman turned around without saying a word. Her ck leather boots stomped on the floor, producing heavy footsteps. As she walked, she said, ¡°The Basic Meditation course is in ssroom Three, the first row of Zone B. I¡¯ll give them a call, but I still stand firm on my opinion that there¡¯s no point in magic-martial art dual cultivation. ¡±


    Xiao Lin exhaled a long sigh. Although everything progressed rather differently from what he had nned, the results were still in his favor. After all, the woman was a graduate and seemed to have quite high status. If she went out of her way to say that, then there was definitely a possibility for Xiao Lin to take both courses.


    The woman walked toward the door and stopped suddenly before turning around to ask, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin.¡±


    She nodded and opened the door to leave.

 Chapter 25: Cheng Ming’s Talent

    <h4>Chapter 25: Cheng Ming¡¯s Talent</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After the woman left, the tense atmosphere throughout the entire venue dissipated with her. The other students gathered around again and chatted with Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Hey, dude! You¡¯re so lucky to have convinced that tyrannosaurus of a woman to let you do anything. I almost thought she was gonna kick you into the ceiling!¡±


    ¡°Why did she give only you the healing potion!¡± protested the unlucky person who she kicked. He was still unhappy at the cost of treatment which he had paid for no reason.


    ¡°What would¡¯ve happened when your weapons shed and she didn¡¯t increase her strength?¡± Unfortunately, that question could never be answered. Even if Xiao Lin and the woman were to attempt it again, it was impossible for him to seed; she would have been prepared for it.


    There were mixed feelings and perplexed looks on the faces of the acting ss monitors, though the bulk of their feelings was truly jealousy. Indeed, there were looks of envy in the eyes of the talented students and the acting ss monitors.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, the tutor¡¯s going to remember you!¡± Just like before, Cheng Ming was the one who took the initiative to speak to Xiao Lin. Although Cheng Ming was the only one who could exert 70 percent of his strength, the woman did not notice him at all. Throughout the entire time, the only student that caught her attention was Xiao Lin.


    In their first Swordsmanship ss, the womanid down the ground rules almost immediately. The smoking hot woman with a temperament almost as violent as Tyrannosaurus rex¡¯s left many without a favorable impression of her. Despite that, there were a few who did not think that way and were actually jealous to see a woman exuding such sheer strength. The acting monitors were especially aware that they¡ªas freshmen¡ªhad struck gold to get a tutor like that.


    ¡°Haha, good job! You didn¡¯t bring shame to us ss monitors! I¡¯ll have to work harder next time.¡± Cheng Ming was a good sport. Despite being a little jealous of Xiao Lin for catching the powerful tutor¡¯s attention, he still had a smile on his face and moved past it.


    The acting squad leaders had clearly formed a small inner circle, but Cheng Ming was the only one who treated Xiao Lin as one of their own. The others did not think that Xiao Lin would continue to be ss monitor after three months, so they could not be bothered to actually talk to him.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a stroke of luck!¡± The ponytailed girl retained her petnt attitude.


    ¡°It¡¯s odd though. The tutor had controlled her strength without a problem when we went up against her. How could she suddenly miscalcte when it was Xiao Lin¡¯s turn?¡±


    ¡°Must¡¯ve been an ident. That¡¯s why she felt guilty and gave him such a precious potion.¡±


    Before, everyone else had been rather far away and did not manage to hear Xiao Lin and the tutor¡¯s dialog. They had no idea about the skill and could only make haphazard guesses.


    Xiao Lin was happy to let them fill in the nks and did not seem interested in exining anything at all. He feltfortable with Cheng Ming and had no interest in getting to know the other acting monitors. With Basic Meditation and Basic Swordsmanship starting at the same time, he was not about to waste any more time there. After saying goodbye to Cheng Ming, he hurriedly left the swordsmanship training hall.


    The few acting monitors exchanged looks with each other and continued the discussion.


    ¡°It looks like he really intends to cultivate both magic and martial arts.¡±


    ¡°I can understand. His basic attribute values ??are so bad that dual cultivation should be able to make up for his deficiencies.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t the year leader say that the advantages of dual cultivation would only have a slight effect on freshmen? And that the basics will turn to crap after that? It¡¯s not difficult to understand that reasoning, and I don¡¯t think Xiao Lin is that stupid.¡± Cheng Ming seemed worried. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll talk to him about itter in the evening. After all, he is one of us.¡±


    The ponytail girl snorted coldly. ¡°Stop being such a boy scout. None of us treat him as equals. Plus, we might be in a group now, but don¡¯t ever forget: we¡¯re stillpetitors!¡±


    In thatpletely unfamiliar environment, the talented students-sh-acting ss monitors naturally formed their own clique, of which Xiao Lin was the only one excluded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that,¡± Cheng Ming answered helplessly.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop talking about Xiao Lin. We should focus on how to utilize a hundred percent of our strength value! Cheng Ming, you¡¯re the only one among us who managed to 70 percent of your strength value. How did you do it?¡±


    ¡°Because of my talent.¡± Cheng Ming smiled triumphantly. ¡°My talent is called Swordheart. When I hold any sword-like weapon, all sword skills I¡¯ve mastered will be raised by one level.¡±


    Cheng Ming had the tendency to talk a lot, so he began rambling on and on at once. ¡°You guys wouldn¡¯t believe it. I got a saber at random during the admissions test, and to sum things up, no one wanted to exchange a sword with me. Man, it was depressing. Last night, I went from room to room, begging for a sword, and finally I found someone who was willing to exchange weapons with me!¡±


    The rest were all speechless. They were baffled that Cheng Ming treated them as his friends and revealed his talent so easily.


    As the ponytail girl said before, they were stillpetitors, even in a group. Everyone¡¯s instinct was to conceal their talents and skills. The instructors could see their talent levels, but were restricted from viewing the specifics. That was also the scope of the ss monitor¡¯s authority, demonstrating how Dawn Academy valued ??the confidentiality of one¡¯s talents.


    The ponytail girl interrupted Cheng Ming unceremoniously. ¡°Do you know any other skills besides Basic Weapon Mastery?¡±


    The rest could not help but roll their eyes at the ponytail girl. Although it was quite clear that Cheng Ming was straightforward, it was rather uncouth to be so direct and ask for his personal information.


    Cheng Ming answered earnestly, ¡°Of course not! We just enrolled. How could anyone master any other skills aside from having their talent. Besides, even with talents, a great majority of them must be passive skills, right? ¡±


    No one answered thest question, but everyone¡¯s eyes lit up unwittingly, including the ordinary students who were quietly eavesdropping. All of a sudden, they all had a sudden realization.


    Their basic strength values did not differ too much, even when factoring in the talented students. However, his reliance on Swordheart would raise his basic swordsmanship to LV2. None of them were fools and they immediately understood the real purpose of Basic Weapon Mastery.


    The surrounding crowd then dispersed. After getting the solution to the problem, they all knew what they had to do next. The only aspect that worried everyone was that the training swords had been destroyed; they were instructed to use real swords to train.


    Luckily for them, the admissions test allowed everyone to understand how best to upgrade their Basic Weapon Mastery. There was no need for actual one-on-onebat drills, so everyone in the hall found a nice spot and began swinging their swords in the air.


    No kidding. Swords had no mind of their own and no one could guarantee that they would be free from injury if they practiced actual one-on-one sword drills. After all, they had just enrolled in the academy. Even those who actually received good grades in the test had a dearth of redemption points. No one wanted to meaninglessly waste those points.

 Chapter 26: Basic Meditation Class

    <h4>Chapter 26: Basic Meditation ss</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Only when Xiao Lin left the swordsmanship hall did he notice a partitioning of the training halls. Swordsmanship belonged in Zone A: the same zone as sabers, axes, and other physical weapons. Zone B and Zone A were very close to each other, and¨Calthough the number of training halls in Zone B was rtively small¨Cthe size of each training hall was rather huge.


    Following the tutor¡¯s directions, Xiao Lin quickly found himself in the first row, standing before ssroom Three. A sign disying the words ¡®Basic Meditation¡¯ hung at the door.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably here. I hope I didn¡¯t take too long.¡± He tried pushing the door, but it was locked from the inside. He raised his hand to knock on the door and it immediately opened with a creak. Xiao Lin had already stretched out his hand; it was past the point of no return. He could only watch as his hand gently rapped against a beautiful girl¡¯s forehead.


    She was a delicately petite girl with short hair, neat bangs, and a pair of spectacles. She gave off the impression of a cute, petite girl-next-door.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the teacher, are you?¡± Xiao Lin blurted out.


    ¡°I¡¯m the teacher for Basic Meditation for this batch of freshmen. Is there a problem?¡± The woman¡¯s voice was very sweet, but was not as pleasant coupled with her cold look of superiority.


    Xiao Lin retracted his hand in embarrassment andughed dryly. ¡°That was a misunderstanding... I really didn¡¯t know you¡¯d open the door so suddenly.¡±


    ¡°If a mage like me fails to sense an ordinary person¡¯s presence within ten meters, then I might as well quit this school and head back to Earth to sell tofu! Don¡¯t you think so?¡± The girl¡¯s words were very cutting and she was not as sweet as her voice suggested. With that, Xiao Lin¡¯s impression of her as a charming girl-next-door crumbled all at once.


    Xiao Lin repeatedly said no and tried to exin himself.


    Nevertheless, the girl irritably waved her hand, as if swatting a fly. ¡°No need to exin. I understand! Come on in!¡±


    Xiao Lin was on the verge of tears seeing the girl¡¯s disgust toward him. He wanted to ask her, ¡®Big Sis, what exactly do you understand!¡¯


    Having experienced lessons in history and swordsmanship, Xiao Lin could sense the paramount importance the school attached to the present batch of freshmen. Even though the girl in front of him looked petite, Xiao Lin guessed that she was a graduate, who might even be centuries old, like Professor Dai.


    The girl spoke as she walked. ¡°Senior Sister Cheng Na called me. You are Xiao Lin?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± Xiao Lin nodded and sighed. He finally found out that the violent beauty¡¯s name was Cheng Na.


    ¡°You¡¯re interested in cultivating both magic and martial arts?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°You used underhanded means to make Senior Sister lose the bet and force her to agree to your unreasonable request?¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm! Hm?¡± Xiao Lin was subconsciously nodding and quickly waving his hand. ¡°Wait, what do you mean by underhanded means! I did everything fairly, but your senior sister didn¡¯t keep her word. I¡¯m d she eventually did, though.¡±


    The disgust on the girl¡¯s face increased even more and she waved her small hand. ¡°No need to exin. I understand perfectly!¡±


    ¡®Again, what exactly do you understand!¡¯


    Xiao Lin sighed helplessly. He felt that his words fell on deaf ears, regardless of how much he exined, and so finally gave up talking. In any case, the important thing was that he be allowed to listen well in the ss.


    The meditation hall was very empty and there were no windows around, like a sealed dark room. A couple of white headlights made the room bright as day, and rows of cushions were neatly arranged on the smooth floor. Students of both genders sat on those cushions and curiously looked at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°My surname is Li. I¡¯m a fourth-year senior. You can call me a teacher or Senior Sister, but frankly speaking, I really don¡¯t want to hear your voice. If it weren¡¯t out of courtesy for Senior Sister Cheng Na, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed a despicable person like you to enter my meditation ssroom!¡± the girl coldly said to Xiao Lin.


    The girl raised her head. She had to look up to see Xiao Lin¡¯s face because of the height difference. Xiao Lin¡¯s nonchnt expression seemed to irritate her a little and she added, ¡°This Basic Meditation course is three-months. If you fail to meet the requirements after the duration, I hope you¡¯ll get out of the way immediately. Staying here is just a waste of both our time!¡±


    ¡®God knows what Senior Sister Cheng Na said to this Lolita to make her hate me so much,¡¯ Xiao Lin thought helplessly. Even though he was an acting ss monitor, all he could do was nod earnestly and answer ¡®yes¡¯ whenever he faced seniors or graduates.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s attitude was submissive and the girl seemed irked for not being able to find fault in him. ¡°Although I won¡¯t stop you froming to my ss, I¡¯ve been lecturing for almost an hour. I won¡¯t repeat it again just for your sake. You ask your other ssmates and see if anyone is willing to help you!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a headacheing on. ¡°I¡¯ll ask my ssmates.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze swept across the hall and everyone immediately avoided it. They could clearly see that the girl did not like Xiao Lin and so no one was willing to take on a thankless job.


    After about ten seconds however, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up when a familiar figure came into view. As a genius with an intelligence of 36, Gu Xiaoyue had no reason not to apply for the Basic Meditation course. As always, the silent girl kept a low profile and chose the corner-most position in the room.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not disappoint Xiao Lin and simply said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    The teacher was just about to watch Xiao Lin make a spectacle of himself, but was left with a stiff expression. She had a helpless look upon seeing that the person who spoke was Gu Xiaoyue. Despite not being a talented student, Gu Xiaoyue was the one who stood out the most among that batch of freshmen. Indeed, she was none other than the person whose individual intelligence broke a record that dated back to when the school was founded!


    The teacher was a senior, but she found it imprudent to say anything to Gu Xiaoyue. In the end, she nodded and agreed. ¡°You can sit next to Gu Xiaoyue!¡±


    Xiao Lin went to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s side and sat cross-legged on the cushion, just like everyone else. He then whispered to her, ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue nodded.


    Xiao Lin noticed a notebook beside her and felt a rush of joy. He remembered that she had a good habit of taking notes in ss and was just about to suggest that they not waste anyone¡¯s time by just having her lend him her notebook.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not n on doing that at all and adjusted her spectacles. With her voice still as crisp as an oriole, her bright pupils looked at Xiao Lin as she said, ¡± Do you know anything aboutputer programming?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not understand why she asked that out of the blue, but he nodded and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t, but I definitely know what programming is.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue exined, ¡°There are four major elements in the world¡ªwind, fire, water, and earth. Those elements are used as codes, and casting spells follows the same principles as programming. It is the process of rewriting the element¡¯s codes through a certain pattern, then finally executing the corresponding magic spell.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s meditation?¡± Xiao Lin asked again.


    ¡°Do you know what monks are?¡±


    ¡°Of course...¡±


    ¡°Well, simply speaking, meditation is to meditate and recite sutras.¡± After that, Gu Xiaoyue closed her mouth and with no intention to speak further.


    Many people, including Xiao Lin, were speechless. From their viewpoint, magic was like a beautiful woman wearing ace veil, but Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s exnationpletely removed all the mystery from it.


    She had always been a girl of few words and Xiao Lin was all too aware of that. Even so, her summary was so extremely simple, nourishing doubts as to whether it really was that simple.


    However, Xiao Lin soon discovered that many other students who had attentively listened to her wore looks of enlightenment.

 Chapter 27: Introduction to Meditation

    <h4>Chapter 27: Introduction to Meditation</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The corners of the petite teacher¡¯s mouth twitched constantly. She had spent an hour exining to the freshmen what the four elements were, what spells were, and what meditation was. As a senior of exceptional ability, she exined using very technical concepts, which left everyone feeling mystified and unable to entirely grasp the concepts.


    On the other hand, Gu Xiaoyue summarized the contents of that one-hour lesson in two simple sentences. Most importantly, the reactions on everyone¡¯s faces made it clear that those two sentences had greater impact than the Lolita¡¯s own lecture!


    Gu Xiaoyue demystified it by using a more conventional method of understanding. While the Lolita did not exin anything wrong, it had been years since she returned to Earth. Taking into ount the time ratio, she would have been gone for an amount longer than a dozen Earth years, thus making her unable to use Earth¡¯s current way of thinking to consider the issue in front of her.


    She took in a couple of deep breaths and tried to calm her anger. Her pretty face deadpan, she said, ¡°That¡¯s just the basic theories of meditation, but if you understand it, then you¡¯ll be able to sessfully cast spells! Don¡¯t assume that learning spells is easy. In the past five years, the ratio for graduates in the spell ssespared to warrior sses are about one to four. ¡±


    ¡°Anyone can learn spells, right?¡± the students whispered among themselves.


    ¡°I used spells during the admission test.¡±


    The Lolita¡¯s tone became serious. ¡°The spells used in the admission test are only a byproduct of the magic wand and only require you to activate the spell to trigger magic. By no means does that make you a real mage!¡±


    The spell attached to the wand was akin to aplete program, only requiring one to type in amand to get the result. On the contrary, a real mage did not just need to input it¡ªthey also had to understand how to program it and how to write elemental codes in order to create the program.


    Admittedly, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s simple and straightforward exnation made it easier for many people to understand what the teacher said.


    The teacher continued, ¡°Many of the students in the previous batch gave up on spell courses halfway. Even sophomores and third-years would rather take physical courses again. Having said that, I¡¯d like to tell you that the foundation for all spells is meditation. Even when you graduate from here in the future or enter postgraduate studies, meditation courses are still essential! The speed in which you can enter the meditation state and the speed of your meditation itself will determine whether you are suitable for learning spells.


    ¡°This is a meditation room that contains an assemge of magic circles, condensing the four elements in a density far beyond that of the outside world. It¡¯s specifically dedicated for newbies to use for meditation. It¡¯s now three o¡¯clock, so the cut-off point will be six. I¡¯lle back and check on you after three hours,¡± the Lolita took out a watch to confirm the time. ¡°Alright, you may begin!¡±


    Were they supposed to start just like that?


    As they watched the Lolita push the door open and leave, everyone in the meditation room looked at each other. Although she had exined the basics of meditation to them, they only had a smattering of knowledge about it. Everyone thought that she would remain in the room and instruct them from the side, since it was their first meditation lesson after all. However, the Lolita immediately left them to their own devices.


    ¡°Are we supposed to sit and chant?¡± Xiao Lin muttered to himself. He knew what it meant to meditate like a monk. Sitting cross-legged with his hands on his knees, he closed his eyes and paid attention. A few minutester, he received a prompt.


    [Basic Meditation LV0: 0/50]


    Xiao Lin immediately opened his eyes. Many people had the same reaction as he did. With faces full of surprise, they whispered amongst each other.


    Unlike ordinary weapon mastering skills, the initial level of Basic Meditation was LV0 instead of LV1. Although it only differed by one level, it signified that they were not even considered at the entry level as of then.


    Many people were randomly assigned magic wands in the admissions test and had umted some EXP, but it had nothing to do with meditation, and yet was different from physical closebat. Basic Wand Mastery only affected one¡¯s proficiency when using Magic Enhancement Tools, and not one¡¯s inherent magical ability.


    Gu Xiaoyue said that meditation was to meditate and chant. Xiao Lin trusted her judgment but, meditation and chanting were actually two different processes. They had no sutras to chant yet, so the first thing they had to do was to enter the initial process of meditation.


    After a brief hubbub, the meditation room fell silent again. The process of meditation required absolute silence. It was fortunate that everyone was aware of that particr point.


    The purpose of meditation is to sense the four elements. The Lolita said that the meditation room was an assemge of magic circles, had a strong concentration of elemental energy, and was specially set up for new students. Nevertheless, everyone still underestimated the difficulty of meditation.


    There was only darkness before Xiao Lin. Thepletely sealed off room was so quiet that he could hear a needle drop. He had read many novels with magic and watched many simr movies. ording to Professor Dai, many fantasy things on the earth were actually described by dropouts who had their memories erased.


    For example, the four elements of wind, fire, water, and earth was something he had seen in many settings. Xiao Lin therefore had reason to believe that it had something to do with magical spells. However, elements were invisible, intangible, colorless, tasteless. They did not even have a specific shape. Who would know whether an element was round, square, long, or t? To actually perceive them was a very difficult thing to do.


    Time passed by the minute and someone quietly opened their eyes. There were no clocks in the meditation room and no one knew how much time had passed. The Lolita had switched off all the lights in the hall before she left.


    The first hour passed quietly and Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Meditation EXP remained at 0. He tried very hard to perceive something out of the endless darkness, but he came up empty.


    The second hour was fleeting and Xiao Lin¡¯s heart gradually became irritable. His EXP at 0.


    The restless Xiao Lin could barely concentrate in thest hour, even though meditation focused heavily on concentration.


    When the Lolita reopened the door to the meditation room, the white light above their heads came on again. Xiao Lin opened his eyes and wore a thoroughly disappointed look; his three hours of meditation was but a futile exercise. He could not even get a tiny grasp of any of the four elements and his Basic Meditation value still remained at 0.


    Many people in the room had simr frustrations. The Lolita had previously warned about how difficult it was to learn spells, but many took her words with a grain of salt. Only then, they realized that her advice was not at all exaggerated.


    The Lolita seemed to have anticipated the oue long in advance. She pped her hands and said, ¡°Those whose Basic Meditation EXP is still at 0, please stand up.¡±


    Everyone waited and looked at each other. There was some reluctance, probably out of embarrassment, and no one stood up.


    The Lolita snickered. ¡°I have ess to everyone¡¯s meditation results!¡±


    Finally, some people began slowly getting up from the cushions. As the number of people increased, the total number ounted for nearly half of the entire meditation room, and it soothed everyone greatly. Although they were inst ce, at least there were dozens of people who were tied with them!

 Chapter 28: Gu Xiaoyue’s Meditation Level

    <h4>Chapter 28: Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Meditation Level</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin also stood up, but he did not feel the slightest bit relieved even though many did. He had a SS-level talent which was confirmed to be very powerful during the admission test. Why then, did he lose the effect that day?


    Xiao Lin frowned and thought hard for a few minutes. The talent the smartputer gave at the time indicated that its passive effect was to improve learning efficiency by 100%.


    He thought hard about those words and had a slightly deeper understanding of it. His Academic Genius talent could increase the XP of each learning session, rather than simply increasing the XP from 0 alone!


    To put it more simply, whenever Xiao Lin practiced swordsmanship, his basic skills XP would increase by one point each time. Under the passive effect of his SS-level talent, it would be two XP. However, whether it was Basic Swordsmanship or Basic Saber Technique, the base level started at LV1. After all, anyone could wield a sword or a saber.


    Basic Meditation was different. Not everyone was born to connect with the basic elements and, therefore, everyone¡¯s basic meditation level was at LV0. Unless Xiao Lin relied on his own ability to feel the four elements and bring his Basic Meditation XP up from zero to one. Only then would his Academic Genius talent then take effect and turn that one XP into two.


    That conclusion was undoubtedly very frustrating for Xiao Lin. He had much too simplistic a view of the courses.


    Xiao Lin knew that he could only be considered a non-achiever at best. The reason why the talent was named Academic Genius was only because he was the first person to possess the talent, thus giving him the right to name it.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s basic attributes were very weak and he was very aware of that fact after using his ss monitor¡¯s authority to view his other ssmates¡¯ attributes. In terms of those values, his standard was more or less the same with a number of other people. For example, Wang Dalin¡¯s intelligence was two points as well, while Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s physique was very low as well. Nevertheless, at least one or several other attribute values ??of those people were still eptable. They might even be considered prominent.


    The only exception was Xiao Lin. All his basic attribute values were hopelessly low, but he was fortunate to have an SS-level talent. However, that talent could be more urately described as to provide greater speed in terms of progressing skills he already had. It did not make up for any weak innate attributes.


    He subconsciously nced at the calm Gu Xiaoyue beside him. As expected, she was still sitting on the ground in a dignified manner.


    In front, the Lolita¡¯s eyes lit up without hesitation when she saw that Xiao Lin¡ªwho had an absolutely sour expression¡ªwas among those who stood up. She made a point to add insult to injury and say, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t have the authority to expel you just yet, let me give you a word of advice: give up all spell courses as soon as possible. They¡¯repletely not suited for you! There¡¯s still time to take another course, rather than waiting until sophomore year or third year only to regret it. They¡¯ll only waste more of your time!¡±


    A dissatisfied voice replied, ¡°It¡¯s only been three hours. I just haven¡¯t grasped the basics yet. Give me more time. I can definitely sense the four elements!¡±


    The Lolita nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Feeling the four elements is the prerequisite for meditation and the basis for bing a mage. It could be said that anyone who spent enough time in this meditation room¡ªwhich has an unusually high elemental concentration¡ªis able to enter a state of meditation sooner orter. Then, they can learn spells.¡±


    Those words put a smile on many people¡¯s faces. Those who took the course were undoubtedly very interested in the legendary feat of magic. They did not want to give up that easily.


    The Lolita snorted and her tone suddenly sharpened. ¡°But do you really think it makes sense to take days, even months, just to increase your Basic Meditation XP by only one? In theory, anyone in this school can learn spells, but a person who takes four years to be a ck Iron Mage is in an entirely different situation than a person who only takes four months!


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what evaluation you received in the admissions test. Learning spells requires talent. The results of today¡¯s three-hour meditation will almost certainly determine your future in spell courses! ¡±


    Xiao Lin touched his nose and smiled bitterly. The Lolita stared at him unceremoniously and was obviously mocking him. He clearly had no talent yet insisted on cultivating both magic and martial arts.


    After making that remark, the Lolita stopped paying attention to Xiao Lin and turned to the students who were still sitting. The faces of those people were half-expectant and half-nervous. The Lolita then pointed to her right. ¡°For those remaining, anyone who increased their Basic Meditation XP within the range of ten XP, please stand there.¡±


    % of those who were still sitting stood at the Lolita¡¯s right side. The sight of that filled Xiao Lin¡¯s mind with disappointment and he could not help his surprise.


    After three hours of meditating, Xiao Lin thought that those who entered the state of meditation might have already advanced to LV1 in their Basic Meditation. After all, upgrading required only 50 XP, but it came as a shock that those who could connect with the four elements still only had less than 10 XP.


    During the same period of time, skills such as Basic Dagger Mastery could at least be raised from LV1 to LV2.


    ording to the meditation learning rate, it would take at least a week or so to just upgrade one¡¯s Basic Meditation to LV1. Could spells be that difficult to learn?


    The Lolita nced at them and saw another six people still seated. Unsurprised at the oue, she called them out. ¡°How much has your meditation XP increased? Please report it one by one!¡±


    ¡°Twelve XP!¡±


    ¡°Fourteen XP.¡±


    ¡°Thirteen XP.¡±


    ¡°Eleven XP.¡±


    ¡°Thirty XP.¡±


    Upon hearing someone say 30 XP, the Lolita finally had a change of expression on her immature face. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    The four people with more than ten XP were rather unhappy. It was clear that the Lolita was not asking about them. As thest few who remained, they had more than enough right to be proud of themselves, but the person with 30 XP stole their limelight by andslide.


    Xiao Lin, like everyone else, looked toward the direction of the voice. The person who gained 30 XP was a handsome, short-haired boy that looked quite young.


    The boy found it rather hard to adapt to the sudden thrusting into the limelight. He touched his head and smiled awkwardly. ¡°My name is Chen Dao.¡±


    ¡°ss monitor! Awesome!¡± Someone among those standing shouted out loud.


    The Lolita raised her eyebrows. ¡°Are you an acting monitor?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Freshman ss Twelve¡¯s acting ss monitor.¡± Chen Dao answered at once. After some thought, he added, ¡°I¡¯m a talented student.¡±


    Xiao Lin had to admit that talented students were on a whole different levelpared to ordinary students. Considering that he was also a talented student with an SS-level talent, it was a mystery as to why it was so difficult for him to enter into meditation.


    He sighed to himself and suddenly had a look of realization, as if he had forgotten something. He abruptly turned to look at Gu Xiaoyue, who was sitting quietly beside him in the corner of the meditation room. She seemed to have yet to report her meditation value.


    The Lolita finally thought of the girl she nearly missed, but after the initial shock that Chen Dao gave her, her face had already calmed down significantly.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, how much XP did you get?¡±


    ¡°One!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s answer was always incredibly concise. Superfluous words seemed taboo to her.


    ¡°Only one XP!¡± The Lolita looked displeased. ¡°Are you kidding me, Gu Xiaoyue! Or perhaps you didn¡¯t hear what I just said? I ordered anyone who had ten XP to stand on by my right!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue frowned slightly and adjusted her ck spectacle frames. She then said, ¡°I mean, level one.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the Lolita¡¯s tone fell t.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s delicate expression appeared to be at a loss and she had to repeat her sentence in its entirety. ¡°Basic Meditation level one. No more, no less. Just right!¡±


    Damn it!


    A speechless Xiao Lin looked at the ever-calm girl beside him. He had his suspicions as to whether she was simr to him¨Cwhether she actually possessed some kind of SS-level talent that no one knew about.

 Chapter 29: Inquiry

    <h4>Chapter 29: Inquiry</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Everyone else¡¯s expressions were simr to Xiao Lin¡¯s; they looked at Gu Xiaoyue as if they were looking at a monster. They had just gone through a three-hour Basic Meditation course and already had some inkling as to howplex meditation waspared to what they imagined.


    The young teacher had her mouth open so wide that she could practically swallow an entire egg. As a lecturer, she could track the progress of these students, thus making it impossible for Gu Xiaoyue to lie on that particr point. The young teacher took a long time toe back to her senses and was already unsure how to better express herself. Finally, she nodded. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s very good! You¡¯re Gu Xiaoyue, right? I¡¯ll keep you in mind!¡±


    The first lesson on Basic Meditation ended in dramatic fashion. Students left the meditation room in twos and threes, walking together. The afterglow of the setting sun poured on the rows of towering training halls and lent them a touch of magnificence.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s schedule did not have any night courses, but they also restricted the freshmen from leaving the dormitory. The forum issued a clearly written statement saying that the dormitory would be closed at 7 p.m. every night. Every freshman had to return, as students from the student union would conduct checks everywhere in the school. Anyone who was found loitering around instead of being back in their dorm would be punished through the deduction of redemption points or credits.


    Harsh and rigid rules of that sort led everyone to feel like they had returned to their trapped lives in high school. During the previous night, many freshmen expressed dissatisfaction with that issue on the forum once the opening ceremony ended. The academy, whose aim was colonizing an alien world, remained very mysterious to everyone. With their courses filling up practically the entire day, many initially had ns to go around exploring at night, but the rule had shot down all possibility of that happening.


    It was only after the first day of lessons was over that many began to understand why the academy made such a rule. Even if they were given free time, the thought of exploring might not even cross their minds after being spent of all their energy.


    Having experienced an entire day¡¯s worth of courses, the general feeling most the freshmen felt could be summarized in two words: dead tired.


    Thepulsory courses during the day were still reasonable; many showed great interest in the history of Norma, the ce where they stood a chance of going to in the future. They paid attention during those lectures.


    However, the afternoon sses werepletely different from what everyone imagined them to be. During the opening ceremony, they were motivated by the dean¡¯s new world colonization speech and wanted to step into that whole new world as soon as possible.


    Everyone rubbed their hands, eager to learn about sword-fighting and magic spells seen only in novels and television, but their tutors doused their excitement with cold water!


    Learn sword-fighting? Use magic spells? Sorry to burst their bubble, but they were far from qualified!


    To sum up the afternoon¡¯s lessons, it was all repetition, repetition, and more repetition with swinging swords, sabers, hammers, and so on. Exercises with that level of monotony drained them of all their physical strength.


    Those who took courses like meditation did not fare much better either. Anyone who could enter a meditative state would then be extremely fatigued after three hours of meditation. For those who failed to enter a meditative state, their foremost concern was whether they were suitable for the course.


    Dinner on the top floor of the dormitory was as sumptuous as ever, but everyone came back tired and did not have any appetite. Most just ate to fill their stomachs and went straight back to their rooms to rest.


    Xiao Lin wasted an entire afternoon in vain and was still full of energy. However, he was equally as disinterested as the others to see the delicious food before him.


    After some thinking, he decided to ask Gu Xiaoyue. As the girl who achieved Level 1 Basic Meditation in just three hours, he felt that she might have a way to dispel his doubts.


    The academy equipped each freshman with a magic phone that used energy stones as a power source. As ss monitor, Xiao Lin had the authority to check all the phone numbers of his ssmates. After returning to the room, he immediately dialed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s phone number. Barely moments before he was about to put the phone to his ear, a beam of multicolored particles suddenly burst from the phone screen.


    Startled, Xiao Lin practically threw the phone to the ground. The fine particles morphed rapidly in the air and quickly condensed into Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s appearance. He could see even the subtlest of expressions between her eyebrows with rity.


    It was a magical image that reminded Xiao Lin of the spells that Professor Dai used earlier. He breathed out a sigh and remembered that there was nothing surprising about such magical properties since the device was given by the academy. He thus calmed down and set the cellphone on the table. Gu Xiaoyue looked confused for a while and soon understood what was going on.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, how did you enter your meditative state?¡± Knowing the personality of the girl in front of him, Xiao Lin spared her the nonsense and chose to get straight to the point.


    ¡°I felt the four elements and entered meditation.¡±


    ¡°How did you feel the four elements?¡±


    ¡°Meditation.¡±


    Xiao Lin waited for a while and realized that the girl had already closed her mouth shut. He had no choice but to say, ¡°Could you be more specific?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue frowned for a moment and felt that there was nothing else to add. ¡°I just meditated and I felt it.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. He looked at Gu Xiaoyue incredulously. He felt as though he had asked a very silly question, like he just asked, ¡®How do I talk?¡¯. How would one answer that question?


    ¡®Just open your mouth and speak.¡¯


    That was it. For Gu Xiaoyue, awareness of the four elements and entering a meditative state was probably as natural to her as talking and walking, hence her difficulty in exining it in detail.


    Meanwhile, Xiao Lin was still in the rudimentary stages of meditation and was neither able to talk or walk. He therefore found it a bit depressing that Gu Xiaoyue might not be able to help him with his problem.


    After hanging up, Xiao Lin continued to think about it and began wondering whether he should forgo learning spell courses. After all, the effect of the SS-level talent was still noticeably effective in the physical courses. On second thought, however, he felt a little unwilling to just drop the magic courses.


    The main difference between himself and Gu Xiaoyue was that of intelligence.


    Xiao Lin suddenly came to a realization that the shoring was due to his naturally low intelligence. He felt that his previous understanding of the intelligence attributes might have been a bit skewed. In Dawn Academy, the intelligence value did not represent the level of IQ. Rather, a more appropriate definition of it would be an attribute rted to the magical elements.


    Of course, Xiao Lin was notpletely clear about what it meant. He still has no clue and thought that it might be better to look for someone else. Asking a freshman was out of the question, as they may not know any more than he did. Instructor Qin Chuan came to mind, but Xiao Lin recalled the guy¡¯s attitude toward him and decided against it.


    Sophomore year leader Chen Yu was a very good choice. Xiao Lin could contact him through the forum and, after some hesitation, decided to send him a message. At that juncture, it was probably the best choice for Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 30: On the Subject of Attributes

    <h4>Chapter 30: On the Subject of Attributes</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin sent the message after deliberating it for quite some time. ¡°Hello, Senior Chen Yu. I¡¯m the acting monitor of the Freshmen ss Seven. I wanted to ask you something about our attributes.¡±


    A few minutester, he received a response containing a few words: ¡°Freshmen can consult instructors or tutors.¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head helplessly. How half-hearted was that excuse. The sophomore ss leader had expressed great concern for the acting monitors the day before, but his attitude had changed rather quickly a dayter.


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered that he had the numbers of more sophomores on his phone, aside from Chen Yu. It was the couple who was in charge of weing new students in the dormitory building the previous day: Gu Fantian and Zhang Tingting.


    Xiao Lin was well-prepared when he dialed Gu Fantian¡¯s number. He ced the magical phone on the table in advance and a virtual image of the young man soon appeared.


    Gu Fantian remembered the freshmen ss monitor and even expressed surprise that Xiao Lin took the initiative to call him. ¡°Xiao Lin, right? Haha, why the sudden call?¡±


    Xiao Lin expressed his confusion without much ado.


    Gu Fantian was a little surprised. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the tutor supposed to exin that in your lesson?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a bitplicated. Our teacher today, uh, how do I put it?¡± Xiao Lin rubbed his head, smiled bitterly, and said, ¡°Our Basic Meditation teacher is surnamed Li. She¡¯s a petite girl who doesn¡¯t seem to have that great a temper. The point is, I didn¡¯t hear her exin it before.¡±


    ¡°Surname Li, huh?¡± Gu Fantian frowned and his expression changed suddenly. ¡°Could it be Li Meiling? I¡¯ll be damned, why is she teaching the freshmen Basic Meditation?¡±


    ¡°You know her?¡±


    Gu Fantian shook his head. ¡°Li Meiling is our fourth-year senior! I can¡¯t possibly get to know such a person, but if she¡¯s teaching you Basic Meditation, I¡¯m not surprised that you wouldn¡¯t know the true meaning of our attributes. There are pros and cons when people of that level teach freshmen. The upside is that you¡¯ll gain a deeper understanding of the course, and the downside is that they might skim through many of the most basic things.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not too surprised and did not express much shock that she was a fourth-year senior.


    Gu Fantian continued exining. ¡°The attributes of Dawn Academy are based on Norma¡¯s rules. For example, intelligence does not refer to our traditional IQ. As far as I understand, the intelligence of some big figures in the New World can go up to several hundred points, but it doesn¡¯t mean that their IQs have reached the same amount of points. The intelligence attributes in Dawn Academy refer specifically to the ability tomunicate with the world¡¯s basic elements through spirit, perception, and concentration.¡±


    Xiao Lin pondered for a moment, and humbly asked, ¡°I¡¯m still a little confused. You said a couple of things. What does intelligence represent?¡±


    Gu Fantian felt a sense of superiority. After all, he was teaching a ss monitor, someone who stood a chance of going to the New World in the future. Such an opportunity was very rare for him, so he continued to exin more carefully.


    ¡°Attribute values actually represent a lot of things and they aren¡¯t unique in themselves. Take strength for example, aside from the traditional sense of the word, strength attributes also represent your muscle strength, blocking strength, immediate explosive power, and much more. Meanwhile, agility attributes don¡¯t just represent your physical attack speed, quickness of movement, bnce, and flexibility¡ªfor example, people with a certain level of agility might even be able to climb a steep peak as though they were walking on the ground, but those with low agility cannot. Lastly, physique attributes aren¡¯t just the health bar we see in games, but abination of physical fitness, tenacity, and willpower.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt enlightened. His understanding of the various attribute values had been rather skewed and, in fact, he was not alone in understanding it from an erroneous perspective. Their tutors should have exined all that, but unfortunately, the student union attached far too much importance to the new students and sent high-quality professors to teach them. In the end, it was like asking doctoral students to teach elementary school students¡ªcertain things might not be exined in detail and there was a higher chance of missing some basic information that was deemed unimportant.


    ¡°Then, how do we increase the meditation value? Um, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve taken any spell courses, but the Basic Meditation value starts from LV0...¡±


    ¡°My girlfriend¡¯s elective is a spell course. Wait a minute, I¡¯ll get her on the line.¡±


    Gu Fantian disappeared from the magical projection. Xiao Lin shook his head, unsure whether tough or cry. Gu Fantian was really enthusiastic with him, but would he continue to be that kind after finding out that Xiao Lin was a ss monitor with a total attribute value of only 10? Xiao Lin was not so sure.


    About ten minutester, the figure of Gu Fantian¡¯s girlfriend¡ªZhang Tingting¡ªappeared in the projection. The girl¡¯s messy hair was still wet and she sped her hands together while shing an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry, I was just in the shower. Fantian told me everything. In fact, the most difficult step in Basic Meditation is to get the XP from zero to one. For many people, increasing it from one to fifty might only take a week or two, but the process from zero to one might take one or two months!¡±


    Although Zhang Tingting was only an ordinary student, she was a sophomore after all. Gu Xiaoyue might not understand as much as her when it came to the most rudimentary of knowledge. After speaking animatedly for some time, Zhang Tingting realized that he was just a freshman and stopped to ask, ¡°Um, that might¡¯ve been a bit too fast. Did you catch all that?¡±


    From behind her came Gu Fantian¡¯s slightly reprimanding tone. ¡°What are you talking about! He¡¯s the ss monitor. How could he not understand it!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled awkwardly and motioned to Zhang Tingting so she could continue.


    ¡°Actually, there really is no shortcut to meditation. The initial intelligence value almost certainly determines the difficulty of your first entry into meditation. Of course, as long as your intelligence value isn¡¯t 0, anyone can enter meditation sooner orter.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°Yeah. So, In theory, anyone can learn spells, but if their initial intelligence is too low, it doesn¡¯t make much sense to continue taking such courses, right?¡±


    Zhang Tingting agreed. ¡°That¡¯s for sure, but Dawn Academy¡¯s admission standards have always been very high. People with attribute values that are too low can¡¯t enroll at all. People who manage to attract the attention of the Admissions Department must have a certain attribute value that is higher than that of ordinary people. If your intelligence score is too low, you can always just take other courses.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment and asked suddenly, ¡°What¡¯s the attribute value of an ordinary person? ¡±


    Gu Fantian leaned over and replied, ¡°Let me exin this one. I¡¯ve been in the Admissions Department for a few months, the total attribute value of ordinary people is usually around ten points. Those ranging about twenty points are considered to have met the Admission Department¡¯s standards. Anyone who exceeds thirty points basically surpasses an ordinary person in terms of physical stamina, speed, or strength.¡±


    Xiao Lin was slightly surprised. He finally had an answer to a doubt that had been lingering in his mind for the past two days. The fact that he was a loser otaku did not contribute entirely to his low basic attributes; the main reason was actually because the recruits¡¯ qualities were generally better than an ordinary person¡¯s.


    Even so, why was Xiao Lin the only exception? To be more precise, why was he recruited into Dawn Academy when his attribute value was lower than an ordinary person¡¯s? Xiao Lin did not think that his SS-level talent had been detected before he even entered the academy.

 Chapter 31: Missing Admissions Notice

    <h4>Chapter 31: Missing Admissions Notice</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was not the only one who was confused. Many of Dawn Academy¡¯s rooms were brightly lit that night.


    In the dean¡¯s office, the white-haired old man sat on the sofa and took a swig of strong tea. He looked up, scanned the baby-faced boy who stood next to him, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense. Tell me, what brings you here to me sote at night? ¡±


    The student union¡¯s president smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s about the freshmen¡¯s course reports today. More specifically, it¡¯s the performance of several acting ss monitors, including that Gu Xiaoyue who has thirty-six intelligence points...¡±


    The president slowed his words so he had enough time to observe every single detail on the dean¡¯s face, but he was disappointed again. The dean¡¯s expression did not change at all, and he gestured to interrupt before the president even finished speaking. Dissatisfied, he said, ¡°You¡¯re the president of the student union. You¡¯re responsible for all the new students. You don¡¯t have to tell me all this. I¡¯m going to the New World tomorrow. I don¡¯t have the energy to be concerned with all these teeny little things!¡±


    ¡°Understood. You¡¯re going back so soon?¡± Doubt disappeared from the student union president¡¯s face. Other than making an exception to attend the opening ceremony, the dean seemed to show no other interest in those freshmen.


    ¡°America¡¯s Demon Queen is making too much of a ruckus in the New World recently. We may be their allies, but we¡¯re still theirpetitors...¡± the dean said halfway and shook his head. He did not continue that sentence; it was still too early to say anything, even to the student union president.


    The student union president eximed, ¡°Demon Queen? She¡¯s already in the New World. She¡¯s still a sophomore!¡±


    After hesitating, the president lowered his voice and carefully asked, ¡°Rumor has it that America¡¯s Demon Queen has an SS-level talent. Is that true?¡±


    The dean appeared evasive. He set the teacup down, narrowed his eyes, and rubbed his temples wearily. He then changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯m a little tired right now. Is there anything else?¡±


    The student union¡¯s president shook his head, but something suddenly came to mind and he casually asked, ¡°Oh yes. The head of the Admissions Department told me something during the day. A total of 1,360 students are enrolled in this batch, but when he did his routine inspection, he discovered that there were only 1,359 admission notices recorded in the system. No matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t find thest remaining one. It was very strange, because, as we¡¯re all well aware, it¡¯s impossible for anyone to enter the academy without an admission notice, especially when our notice is made of special materials. How could any ordinary person possibly fake it?¡±


    ¡°Negligence! There¡¯s no need to look into these little things. Plus, the group of eliminated individuals has probably already returned to Earth by now. Just make sure the head of admissions is more cautious next time!¡±


    The student union president did not notice anything out of the ordinary when the dean yed the incident down. He too felt that it was not a big deal and was simply giving his routine report. Finally, the president left after finishing what he had to say.


    The dean opened his eyes again and looked up at the ceiling, as if he was thinking about something. After a prolonged silence, he suddenly stretched out his right arm and chanted in a low voice. ¡°Advanced Strengthening Barrier! Advanced Silencing Barrier! Advanced Anti-Stealth Barrier! Advanced Anti-Missile Barrier! ¡±


    Four magic rays shot out consecutively from the palm of his hand and lit up the office. Everything appeared to be in a state of calm; the dean¡¯s advanced magical barriers sealed the area so no ordinary person could ever approach.


    ¡°With the authority vested in me as the dean, I summon the Central Smart Computer System!¡± the dean¡¯s deep voice boomed.


    A curtain of light covered the office ceiling and, manifesting from thin air, was the image of a girl in a white dress. With a delicate face and fair-skinned feet, she looked ever-so lifelike, even though it was merely a virtual image. She covered her mouth and giggled. ¡°Master Dean, how may I be of service?¡±


    The dean was expressionless. ¡°You seem to be rather obsessed with Lolita appearances as ofte.¡±


    ¡°I heard that lolicon is all the rage on Earth nowadays. My appearance may be more attractive to the new students.¡± The virtual Lolita smiled sweetly and wandered around the office like a ghost.


    ¡°As Dawn Academy¡¯s central control system, you¡¯re not allowed to directlye into contact with anyone except a few of those with higher authority. I don¡¯t need to remind you, do I?¡±


    The virtual girl pouted, and her crisp, bell-like voice echoed in the office. ¡°It¡¯s been a century and you¡¯re still as boring as ever. Alright, out with it. Why did you summon me with your dean¡¯s authority sote at night?¡±


    The dean asked in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯m sure you have a backup copy of the freshmen¡¯s admission notices.¡±


    The girl giggled and said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to ask. I heard your chat with that pesky president just now. Unfortunately, there were a total of 1,360 admission notices issued to the freshmen. There¡¯s no issue with those notices.¡±


    The dean raised his eyebrows to some surprise, then buried his head in thought. He trusted the student union president because he was the one who personally appointed the boy. Besides, the president had no reason to deceive him in that respect. At the same time, Dawn Academy¡¯s centralputer system was right in front of him, making it doubly unlikely that it would conceal anything from the dean, especially considering his authority.


    Suddenly, the dean looked up in surprise. ¡°Are you saying that neither the admissions head nor the student union president has the authority to view that one single admission notice?¡±


    The girl¡¯s respect for the dean gleamed and she smiled teasingly. ¡°Your brain seems to be working quite well even though you¡¯re getting older!¡±


    The dean then ordered in an imperative tone, ¡°Show me the admissions notice right now!¡±


    The girl spread out her fair palms and had a helpless look in her zed eyes. ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to do that, you don¡¯t have the authority to view it either.¡±


    The dean got up at once, and for the first time, had a shocked look. ¡°Not even I have permission to view it? Even though it¡¯s just a copy of the admission notice?¡±


    The girl¡¯s hands were tied. ¡°That¡¯s right. I was surprised too.¡±


    After a moment¡¯s silence, the deanmented, ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll set this aside then. Right now, with the highest authority I have, I order all the copies of the freshmen¡¯s admission notices to be encrypted. Only I, or those with authority higher than mine, can view them. That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡±


    ¡°No problem at all. Wait a moment.¡± The girl closed her eyes and opened them again after a few seconds. ¡°Done. You don¡¯t want anyone else to know who the disappeared admissions notice belongs to, am I right? Or, have you already guessed whose it is? ¡±


    The dean paced to the window. Dawn Academy was very quiet at night and he remarked indifferently, ¡°Yes, and no. During the opening ceremony, I noticed how interesting this batch of freshmen were. But before that, I don¡¯t want too many busybodies or interferences hindering their growth. I¡¯ll be returning to the New World tomorrow and they¡¯ll remain in your capable hands.¡±


    ...


    Not a single soul knew about the conversation in the dean¡¯s office. Simrly, no one was aware that the copies of that batch¡¯s admission notices had been restricted and were essible only for those with higher-authority.


    Meanwhile, Xiao Lin was still troubled by his basic meditation. Although he had gained plenty of valuable fundamental knowledge from Zhang Tingting, it was still of little use at present.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there any other way?¡± Xiao Lin asked grudgingly. His initial intelligence value was too low, and if his initial intelligence value represented the ability to attune to the elements, it was a clear sign that he might really need a month or two to raise that zero to one. He could not afford to wait that long!


    ¡°Unless you¡¯re a talented student. I know that there are some talents which can enhance your ability to be more aware of the elements. Tsk, tsk, I¡¯m so jealous. I know a senior who has that talent, and she practically rockets through her meditation!¡±


    Zhang Tingting spoke unhindered and chatted away animatedly. However, she immediately heard a cough from behind her. It was her boyfriend, Gu Fantian, reminding her helplessly in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t wander too far from the topic!¡±

 Chapter 32: The Second Day’s Courses

    <h4>Chapter 32: The Second Day¡¯s Courses</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Ah! Sorry, sorry!¡± Zhang Tingting apologized profusely. Her brows furrowed for a moment and she pped her hands all of a sudden. ¡°I got it!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°I remember a senior telling me that the process of entering meditation is neither difficult nor simple. As long as you experience contact with the elements once, you can easily enter a meditative state!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t help at all, does it?¡± Gu Fantian could not help but interrupt again.


    ¡°It does!¡± Zhang Tingting answered defiantly. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a spell called Magicus Similitidus or something like that, which is capable of synchronizing the mental consciousness of two people. That way, a person who has zero mastery of meditation can borrow the other person¡¯s mental power through the spell and connect with the elements.¡±


    ¡°What level is this spell? ¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Let me think. I think the caster has to be a Gold-rank mage.¡±


    Xiao Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead andughed dryly. He felt like he could not keep up with the girl¡¯s haphazard thinking. After a bit more small talk, he proceeded to end the conversation.


    Nevertheless, Zhang Tingting¡¯s words gave Xiao Lin a little bit of inspiration. There was no way for him to seek out a Gold-rank mage who knew the Magicus Similitidus spell, much less persuade that person to aid in his predicament. If, however, the only requirement was that he had to feel the attunement with the elements, he believed that there might be another more convenient method, although it would take a couple of days before he could implement it.


    The entire night was a sleepless one for him.


    The next day¡¯s courses werepletely different from the first day, but it still adhered to the general trend ofpulsory courses in the morning and elective courses in the afternoon. Thepulsory course scheduled on the second day was Common Language of Norma or, simply put, a foreignnguage ss. The electives he had for that afternoon was Basic Physical Skills, but because Xiao Lin was doing dual-cultivation in magic and martial arts, the other course he applied for¡ªBasic Perception¡ªstarted in the afternoon as well.


    For Xiao Lin, the entire day¡¯s courses were downright disastrous.


    Thenguage lesson was not as lively and interesting as the previous day¡¯s history ss. Their professor was an old woman who only exined basic grammar throughout the entire ss. Norma¡¯snguage seemed to be abination of English and Pinyin, with 43 basic letters. All of its daily words wereposed of those basic letters.


    Themonnguage was what humans used to converse on Norma. In addition, there were humanoid races like dwarves who also used it as their lingua franca. Therefore, the old woman emphasized repeatedly in her lectures that mastering thatnguage was the most basic requirement in order to travel to the New World. Without learning to speak it, it would be especially difficult for them to enter.


    The course¡¯s contents were an absolute bore, but it was clearly stated on the course table that Band Four was required for thenguage course. Xiao Lin understood its importance, but continued to yawn repeatedly, acknowledging that he waspletely unsuited to learning foreignnguages.


    After the first ss was over, Xiao Lin discovered that he had already gained an extra skill. His mastery of Norma¡¯s Common Language was at LV0: 10/50, leaving him feeling a little relieved. Common Language did not seem as difficult as Basic Meditation.


    During lunch, Xiao Lin asked a few other people and found that everyone had different levels of XP gained in that same three-hour course. Some had more than 20 XP, while others had much fewer, at only five or six XP.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s 10 XP was considered the average and was neither good nor bad. He smiled bitterly because he knew that the 10 XP would have been five if not for his SS-Level Academic Genius talent. He practically ranked as one of the underachievers.


    Meanwhile, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Common Language had increased by 20 XP, and although she was still the best among the freshmen, she did not perform as incredibly as she did in the Basic Meditation course.


    Xiao Lin actually felt rather relieved when he finally discovered that she had a rather normal side to her. However, that aspect also confirmed his understanding of attributes as Gu Fantian elucidated.


    In the end, one¡¯s intelligence points did not represent pure IQ. Gu Xiaoyue, with her 36-point intelligence, took only three hours to increase her Basic Meditation from LV0 to LV1, but only managed to get 20 XP for Norma¡¯s Common Language.


    Courses such asmonnguage were purely based on a student¡¯s talent in learning foreignnguages. In that regard, many girls would surely perform much better than male students. Even Cheng Ming¡ªa talented student and an acting ss monitor¡ªwas likely to have less than 10 XP, judging from what Xiao Lin noticed to be a gloomy expression on the former¡¯s face...


    In the afternoon, Xiao Lin¡¯spulsory courses were Basic Physical Skills and Basic Perception, but because of his dy in getting a breakthrough for Basic Meditation, Xiao Lin chose to focus on Basic Physical Skills for the entire afternoon.


    The course had only one goal, and that was to improve physical fitness. The contents of the course were as boring as the one that morning, with little to no technical content. Exercises, such as 100 push-ups, 200 squats, and a 20-kilometer run, continued throughout the afternoon.


    Since the course contents were not that difficult, the tutor was only a third-year, even though the demands remained high. He made it clear that anyone who did notplete the required exercise would not be allowed to leave. If it was already 7 p.m. and the dorm closed its doors, then those who did notplete it had to spend the entire night starving in the training hall.


    A year-round otaku life had basically destroyed all of Xiao Lin¡¯s physical fitness. He could hardly do any push-ups or squats, and the 20-kilometer run nearly robbed him of his life. Unfortunately, the moon was high up in the sky when Xiao Lin dragged his heavy legs toplete the finalp. It took him three hours toplete the 20 kilometers, and it was already way past 7 p.m., after taking into ount his previous push-ups and squats.


    The entire training hall was empty. Xiao Lin was thest person toplete the course, as the others had basically finished the whole course in three hours. Some who had average physical fitness also stepped out before it was 7 p.m. and finished in time to return to their dorms.


    The tutor went back early as well, but no one dared to ck off in spite of that. There were automatic measuring instruments in the physical training hall and every single move was recorded. If anyone did not want their credits deducted, all they could do was earnestlyplete everything.


    Just as before, Xiao Lin received a prompt afterpleting all the exercises and copsing on the track. A new skill was added: Basic Fitness LV1: 10/100.


    It was worth mentioning that Basic Fitness were not calcted from LV0, but from LV1. ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding, things such as Basic Meditation and Norma¡¯s Common Language did not exist on Earth, and so everyone¡¯s foundation was zero and the levels started from LV0.


    Basic Fitness was an essential attribute for melee. A variety of physical skills that required energy release, or special energy such as sword Qi and the like, which he would likely learn in the future, was highly contingent on the user¡¯s physical fitness.

 Chapter 33: Logistics Department

    <h4>Chapter 33: Logistics Department</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After resting for a long time in the training hall and recovering from his fatigue, Xiao Lin returned to the dormitory and bet on his chances that he would still be allowed in. However, the two transparent doors were closed tightly. Theputer managed everything automatically, leaving no chance topromise. He looked up at the towering dormitory building, dropped the unrealistic idea of ??climbing up, and finally went back in despair.


    The student regtions clearly stated that freshmen were not allowed to hang out for no reason at night. Although no one knew what that rule was for, anyone who vited the rule would have their redemption points deducted. More serious offenses would incur a direct deduction of credits. At that stage, credits and redemption points were extremely valuable; no one dared to vite that rule on a whim.


    Xiao Lin hesitated a little. The academy must surely have people on night duty, and the best option for him as of then was to head back to the training hall following the route he came from. Although he did not know what season it was, he felt that it was probably 20 or so degrees. It would not be a problem to spend a night at the training hall.


    However, Xiao Lin was very curious about that mysterious academy¨Ca trait he shared inmon with all freshman students. With such a good opportunity at hand, he felt that he should take the chance to have a look around in the academy.


    The manifestation of that idea almost instantly shot down all of Xiao Lin¡¯s other worries. At times, curiosity could ovee reason, and Xiao Lin was the typical example of it.


    It did not seem to matter if he was caught and punished with a deduction of redemption points or credits. His Grade S achievement in the admission test meant that he still had plenty to spend.


    He was stubborn like that!


    Xiao Lin made a resolute decision to head out. He passed through the front quarters of a grove, where the road diverged into two different paths. One passed through the public ssrooms and went directly to the training halls, forming the path that everyone took on a daily basis. Another one led deeper into Dawn Academy, which also happened to be the path that Xiao Lin was taking.


    Moving past therge fountain in front of the public ssrooms, there were three magnificent academic buildings in front of him. The academic buildings were all ssically-designed, with a steeple-shaped sloping roof and white walls covered not with tiles, but with an unknown material. It was very smooth, shining softly in a silver brilliance under the bright moonlight.


    Mm? Hold up!


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized something and raised his head, seeing a silver moon above his head high up in the sky. He knew that Dawn Academy was not on Earth, but still had a moon and a sun. However, the bright moon was ovr and looked slightly bigger too.


    That was not the point, however. The main point was a smaller round moon not too far away from the oval moon. Two moons shone next to each other, and the brighter silver moon outshone any stars. Of course, Xiao Lin was also unsure if he could still see the familiar stars he used to see on Earth.


    ¡°I was told that this academy was designed to emte Norma. That includes the environment, time, and climate. Does this mean that the New World has two moons? How many suns does it have, then?¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed a little after remembering that he was not on Earth. The three academic buildings were each divided into a specific area, and each area was separated by strange flowers and nts. All three were public academic buildings for the more senior students.


    After going past the three academic buildings, he came to a wide, open space behind them, where a huge silver sculpture of a man stood in the middle. Xiao Lin approached it to look at it. At the base of the sculpture was a line of golden characters: Lei Jun, founder of Dawn Academy, pioneer of Norma!


    ¡°Did this man establish the academy?¡± Xiao Lin looked at the sculpture carefully under the moonlight. From appearance alone, the man looked rather ordinary. He was dressed in an ancient robe that could only be seen in historical television series.


    Xiao Lin silently made a mental note of the name, not for any specific reason, but purely because he thought that it might be useful in a history lesson or an exam. In any case,mitting it to memory was not a bad thing at all.


    There were four diverging roads around the open space and signs were erected at each intersection. On the left was the dormitory area for seniors, while up ahead was the library. The upper right was theb area, and the lower right was the logistics department.


    Upon seeing thest sign, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes suddenly glowed like a lightbulb. The logistics department was for none other than food and clothing, of course. He gulped hard, because after a whole afternoon of intense exercise, Xiao Lin barely had any water. He was so famished that he could gobble up an entire roast chicken. The word ¡®logistics¡¯ was practically the same as ¡®roast chicken¡¯ right then.


    Just as he was getting some mischievous ideas, a sudden voice came from behind him. ¡°You there! Hold it!¡±


    Xiao Lin turned quickly and saw two blue-uniformed boys approaching him quickly. One stopped and asked, ¡°Hello there, Senior. Please produce your universal card.¡±


    Blue uniforms meant that the two guys were in their sophomore year. Their tone of voice was still very polite, as they probably mistook Xiao Lin for a senior. It was logical, given that freshmen were forbidden to hang out around campus at night, and Xiao Lin¡¯s uniform had been left in the training hall.


    ¡°Oh, the universal card. Gimme a sec,¡± Xiao Lin pretended to lower his head to search his pockets. He casually made a remark, ¡°There¡¯s still inspections sote at night? Dawn Academy¡¯s rules are so troublesome.¡±


    One of the boys smiled. ¡°Good one, Senior. We have no choice. The student union established this rule a long time ago. ?Students in all years are not allowed to enter Dawn Academy¡¯s forbidden areas, but there are always people who take advantage of it during the night... Haha.¡±


    The statement implied that Xiao Lin was one of those people. Xiao Lin¡¯s curiosity was piqued and he raised his head to ask, without thinking, ¡°What forbidden area? Where are the academy¡¯s forbidden areas?¡±


    Xiao Lin wanted to give himself two ps after he said that. Sure enough, the other boy looked suspicious and began sizing Xiao Lin up. ¡°??Dawn Academy¡¯s forbidden areas are no secret. Any teacher or student in this college should know about it!¡±


    ¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t right. If he¡¯s a freshman, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d know about the forbidden area.¡± The boy had a sudden realization.


    Xiao Lin was drenched in cold sweat and could only curse his mouth¡¯s quick response. Seeing the growing suspicion in their eyes, he suddenly raised his finger to the night sky and eximed, ¡°Look! The dean¡¯s flying dragon! ¡±


    During the opening ceremony, the dean came in person riding a golden flying dragon. Such a cool andmanding appearance shocked all the freshmen, but little did they know that the second- and third-year students were just as shocked to see a real-life golden dragon.


    That sentence prompted the two boys to turn their heads almost subconsciously. However, there was nothing in the night sky but the silver-white moonlight¨Cnot even any birds, let alone flying dragons.


    They immediately realized that it was actually a very feeble attempt at deceiving them. When they turned their heads again, Xiao Lin was already bolting toward the logistics department like a madman.


    Indeed, Xiao Lin made a run for the logistics department because filling his stomach remained his immediate priority...

 Chapter 34: Encountering the Dragon Again

    <h4>Chapter 34: Encountering the Dragon Again</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    ¡°Hold it right there!¡±


    The two boys on duty were not slow either. Although theygged behind by a few seconds, their physiques and speed far surpassed a freshman like Xiao Lin.


    The path leading to the logistics department was paved with stones and was dense with woond. The bright moonlight was blocked out, leaving only a few white spots on the stone road.


    As soon as Xiao Lin made a turn to the first exit, his shirt was grabbed by the two boys behind him. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Lin could never have been able to run faster than a second-year student, and on top of that, his extreme exercise that afternoon had already pushed his physical strength to the limit.


    ¡°You must be a freshman. I didn¡¯t expect to catch a freshman with the guts to roam around instead of going back to their dorm. Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re heading to the student union right now! ¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Can¡¯t wait to see what your punishment is!¡±


    Xiao Linmented internally. Even though he was actually already prepared for such a situation, it was still a pain to think that the rewards he worked so hard to achieve in the admissions test were soon going to disappear.


    Knowing that there was no point in resisting, the desperate Xiao Lin epted his fate and was about to turn back. He shot onest reluctant nce at the logistics department, which was also within spitting distance. If he walked through the woods and came to the big building, he firmly believed that there would be roast chicken and roast duck there.


    All of a sudden, Xiao Lin sensed that something was amiss. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly and he stopped in his tracks, just as he was about to start moving. He pulled at the uniforms of the two sophomores and whispered in a very low and cautious tone, ¡°Be careful. There¡¯s a dragon!¡±


    Perhaps it would have done him good not to say that, for the two boys roared furiously after he said that, reprimanding, ¡°F*CK THAT! That trick again! Do you really think we¡¯re stupid!¡±


    Roar!


    A resounding dragon roar suddenly echoed, and Xiao Lin¡¯s face instantly paled. He was practically on the verge of tears as he said, ¡°I told you to be careful! Why did you yell so loud!¡±


    The two boys were also stunned to the spot, as if they were struck with a freezing spell. Having experienced what happened in the opening ceremony, they should not have been as scared of the dragon as they were then, especially when the dragon¡¯s roar seemed to sound as if it came from a dream. The roar did not contain much dragon might and was insufficient to leave them instinctively fearful. However, the main issue was that the source of the roar was far too close, as if it was just next to them!


    All three of them looked at each other and turned around cautiously. In the depths of the forests, where the lush foliagepletely blocked the moonlight, a pair of orange lights flickered in the dark.


    They gulped hard and finally recognized the behemoth hidden in the dark. It was clearly a dragon¡¯s eyes; it was none other than the dean¡¯s golden dragon!


    Xiao Lin finally understood the saying ¡®speak of the devil and he doth appear¡¯. No one would have expected that creature to be hiding in the woods, seemingly fast asleep, right in front of the logistics department. However, there was one thing that all of them understood: no creature would be pleased to be awakened from their slumber. The two boys were well aware of that fact and began retreating slowly, observing the dragon¡¯s actions.


    Xiao Lin took the opportunity to break free from both their grasps and rushed toward the only house in the woods. He paid absolutely no mind to the dragon that was close at hand.


    The two second-year boys widened their eyes in bewilderment and anger.


    ¡°After him! I¡¯ll get the year leader! This freshman must be punished severely once we get our hands on him!¡± One of the boys gritted his teeth and ran away.


    ¡°You!¡± The other boy was dumbfounded and watched hispanion turn and run off. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, nced at the dragon¡¯s golden eyes, and felt his heart thumping wildly.


    Xiao Lin was fearless because he was ignorant, but the second-year courses had already exined the habits of dragons. The boy knew that the dragon was presently in a half-dream/half-awake state. Dragons neverpletely closed their eyes when sleeping, and they were highly alert. The slightest danger could wake them up.


    That was also why Xiao Lin could rush past it so safely. After all, he was an underachiever with an attribute value of only 10 points. The golden dragon¡¯s instincts did not take him for a threat at all.


    The boy was unsure of whether his strength would be as dangerous, as his control over his own power was very poor. Unable to fully exert control, he could only take little teensy steps as he moved forward. All he could do was hold his breath and focus his attention; that was the only way he could reduce his own presence to a minimum and avoid awakening the dragon.


    The path stretched for about two hundred meters through the woods, and although Xiao Lin¡¯s physical strength was at about 70% or 80%, he still could not run anywhere, even if he was at full strength. In any case, he had to at least run faster than the second-year student¡¯s tortoise-like pace.


    Before arriving at the building marked ¡®logistics department¡¯, Xiao Lin was actually rather scared still. Fortunately, the dragon seemed to be sound asleep and showed no signs of waking up at all. He even had the errant thought of throwing something to wake the dragon uppletely, but he soon decided to drop the idea after some thought.


    For one, he bore no grudges against that sophomore he did not know, who was also just doing his duty. Secondly, if Xiao Lin really did disturb the dragon, he felt that he might end up bing the dragon¡¯s supper.


    Before the boy had arrived, Xiao Lin decided to hide in the building for a while and look for something to eat while he was at it. Even if he ended up getting punished, he still had to fill his stomach. Having spent half the day in hunger, Xiao Lin was overwhelmed with an intense yearning for food.


    The logistics department was different from the previous teaching building. It was nothing more than a low one-story bungalow, but it upied arger area than all the other teaching buildings. The front entrance was a heavy, ck metal door. It was locked tightly, but Xiao Lin walked along the wall and chanced upon a small fence gate which happened to be unlocked.


    Xiao Lin felt enlightened when he pushed the door open and entered. Inside the towering walls was a huge courtyard that was not shaded by tree leaves, but instead shined beautifully under the moonlight. Individual patches of vegetable gardens grew in the courtyard and each patch was nted with a variety of vegetables. The corners were covered with vines, while farther ahead were treesden with unrecognizable fruits.


    The ce was clearly a vegetable garden and an orchard. Xiao Lin felt that he hade to the right ce and it was indeed the logistics department. Believing that he could find something to eat there, he continued forward and opened the door with a squeak. In front of him was a long, quiet, dimly lit corridor. The rooms on both sides of the corridor were all wide open.


    Curious, Xiao Lin stepped into the nearest room. It was empty, surrounded only by a row of iron cages. After his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he discovered that there were chickens in the cages. It turned out to be a chicken coop.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes beamed like a weasel. He gulped and muttered to himself, ¡°Beggar¡¯s chicken sounds really good right about now.¡±


    Unfortunately for Xiao Lin, someone was hot on his trail. His idea of making beggar¡¯s chicken sounded good in theory, but aside from having no condiments to cook with, there was also a problem of ughtering the chicken.


    Xiao Lin shook his head, sighed with regret, and decided to head to the other rooms to find out if there was any cooked food.


    ¡°Craving beggar¡¯s chicken sote at night? Good idea, but do you know how to cook?¡± came a man¡¯szy voice from inside the dark house.


    Xiao Lin was so scared that he nearly fell t on the ground. He yelled out, ¡°Ghost!¡±

 Chapter 35: Iron Comb Chicken

    <h4>Chapter 35: Iron Comb Chicken</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Snap!


    As themp above his head switched on, the room was immediately fully lit. Xiao Lin finally saw that the person behind him who spoke all of a sudden was not a ghost, but a man in nightwear leaning against the wall.


    The man yawned and looked at Xiao Lin sleepily. ¡°What year are you from? Why are you here stealing chickens thiste at night instead of sleeping?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Xiao Lin had a wary gaze. He also felt rather shocked to see a man suddenly appear there in the dead of night.


    The man did not know whether tough or cry when he heard Xiao Lin¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯m the Department Head for logistics. You broke into my ce and you dare question me? You¡¯re a freshman, I believe! Tsk, tsk, this batch really is something. It¡¯s only been two days and you¡¯re already viting the student code.¡±


    After learning the man¡¯s identity, Xiao Lin finally gave up all his ideas. He finally understood that the academy¡¯s administration actually held a lot of power. Since the person before him was the head of logistics, Xiao Lin was no match for him¨Cbe it in status or strength.


    It hardly urred to him that the Department Head would actually spend the night inside the logistics department. Xiao Lin sighed and asked, ¡°How do you know I¡¯m a freshman?¡±


    ¡°Because only the freshmen don¡¯t recognize me.¡± The man slipped into his slippers and walked to the chicken coop to check the birds one by one. Then, he turned his head and said unhappily, ¡°Look! You¡¯ve woken up all the chickens!¡±


    The chickens looked rather strange. They had gray feathers and their heads were at least twice as big as an ordinary chicken¡¯s. Their eyes were small, blood-colored, and spun around repeatedly. However, their most striking character was the fleshy crest on the top of the head, which was actually semicircr and sharp like a knife¡¯s edge. It was as dark as ink, which was a sight to behold for Xiao Lin. He could not resist leaning forward to take a closer look.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± The sleepy man¡¯s eyes opened wide all of a sudden. His hand quickly grabbed the corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s clothes and threw the boy back.


    At that moment, a rooster from the corner jumped out at lightning speed and mmed the fleshy crest into the wire fence of the chicken coop.


    Sparks flew everywhere and the sound of metal shed!


    Xiao Lin, who had been forcibly thrown to the ground, looked dumbfounded. He then realized that those crests did not just look like des¡ªthey were des, and sharp ones at that!


    ¡°This... What in the world is that?¡± Xiao Lin was dripping with cold sweat. He realized how na?ve he was for wanting to eat those chickens earlier.


    The man patted his forehead and said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯ll learn about them in your biology course; there¡¯s a species of animal on Norma called the ironb bird.¡±


    Xiao Lin pointed to the birds in the chicken coop with a look of disbelief. ¡°Ironb bird? They¡¯re birds? Don¡¯t pull my leg just because I don¡¯t know anything!¡±


    ¡°Well, these are chickens.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you im that these are ironb chickens?¡±


    The man nodded, ¡°Okay, okay. Let me exin more urately. These are chickens in front of you. I forcibly hybridized Earth¡¯s domestic chickens with the Norma¡¯s ironb bird. I should name them ironb chickens, shouldn¡¯t I? Has a nice ring to it, doesn¡¯t it!¡±


    ¡°Forced hybridization...¡± Xiao Lin connected the dots regarding that cross between a chicken and a bird and his lips twitched. He looked at the smug man and stuttered, ¡°You... Who are you exactly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Song Jung, head of the logistics department,¡± the man introduced himself. As his name suggested, he was a very handsome man1 indeed, but Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was conditioned to think of the chicken-bird hybrid whenever he looked at the man...


    Bang, bang, bang!


    A heavy knock was heard at the door not too far away. Song Jung walked to the window and took a look, then looked back at Xiao Lin and smiled. ¡°I knew it. How could a freshman sneak out in the middle of the night and steal chickens without being caught? The Disciplinary Department of the student union can¡¯t be that useless. Come with me. You¡¯ll have to ept what¡¯sing to you.¡±


    Xiao Lin knew that the student outside was the one tasked with patrolling and had safely passed by the golden dragon. Even if Xiao Lin had a surplus of redemption points and credits, he was not prepared to have them be deducted just like that. A sudden thought then urred to him after he opened the door. ¡°Wait! Didn¡¯t you just say that you wanted to eat beggar¡¯s chicken? How about I stay here and cook some for you!¡±


    Song Jung snickered. ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to eat beggar¡¯s chicken.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s vision was hazy from hunger; his stomach gurgled non-stop. He nodded without denying andmented, ¡°Let me be a hungry ghost for now. I haven¡¯t even anything until yet.¡±


    Song Jung asked, ¡°Is the freshmen¡¯s buffet so unappetizing to you?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head quickly. As the head of the logistics department, Song Jung was likely the one who was responsible for all three of those meals. Xiao Lin would never dare to say anything bad about that, and besides, they all tasted amazing. He briefly exined the situation of his physical training that afternoon and did not manage to return to the dormitory in time because he was finishing hisst round of exercise.


    Department Head Song sighed dramatically. ¡°You took more than three hours to run twenty kilometers? How bad is your stamina?¡±


    Xiao Lin whispered embarrassedly, ¡°Only three points.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s low!¡± There was a strange expression on Song Jung¡¯s face. He rubbed his chin and nced back-and-forth between Xiao Lin and the chicken coop. He then asked, ¡°Do you really know how to cook beggar¡¯s chicken?¡±


    ¡°Yes, definitely!¡± Sensing a change in the department head¡¯s attitude, Xiao Lin would never be so foolish as to admit that he only learned from television.


    Song Jung added, ¡°I¡¯m talking with these kinds of chickens.¡±


    Xiao Lin gritted his teeth andforted himself by saying that the ironb chicken was just a little bigger than a normal chicken. In the end, he nodded and said yes, but added after some thought, ¡°I won¡¯t be responsible for ughtering this chicken!¡±


    If Xiao Lin and his currentbat ability came face-to-face with the ironb chicken¡¯s sharp-edged fleshy crest, no one knew whether Xiao Lin or the chicken would be victorious.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be concerned about killing the chicken, but you have to give your assurance that you¡¯re doing this out of your own ord, and that I¡¯m not forcing you.¡±


    ¡°No problem. This is my decision,¡± Xiao Lin agreed unhesitatingly, but failed to notice a peculiarity in Department Head Song¡¯s tone.


    Song Jung¡¯s face suddenly lit up with joy and looked at Xiao Lin with interest. He patted the boy¡¯s shoulder again and happily remarked, ¡°I think it must be fate for the two of us to meet tonight. Hahaha, I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    ¡®Are you really that excited to eat beggar¡¯s chicken?¡¯


    Xiao Lin removed the doubt in his mind as the knocking outside the door became more urgent. He said anxiously, ¡°Then, what about the Disciplinary Department?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Leave them to me. As long as you¡¯re on my turf, no one can do anything to you!¡±


    Xiao Lin was slightly relieved. At the end of the day, he managed to save his redemption points and credits. However, he had a very uneasy feeling in his heart. Department Head Song was looking at him rather strangely, like a scientist looking at a guinea pig.


    Xiao Linforted himself by saying that he was reading too much into the situation.

 Chapter 36: The Clash

    <h4>Chapter 36: The sh</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin had an epiphany as he walked behind Song Jung: a more apt description for the Logistics Department would be a farm with a vegetable garden. Each room cultivated creatures that were both familiar and unfamiliar.


    They seemed familiar to Xiao Lin because they looked pretty much simr to the animals in his memory. They were also unfamiliar as he had never seen a glowing snake, nor a rabbit flying in the air with short wings, let alone a two-headed duck...


    Xiao Lin had chills looking at them. He could not help but ask, ¡°Are these the product of hybridizing animals from both Norma and Earth?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I great at this?¡± Song Jung seemed proud of himself.


    Xiao Lin nodded unwillingly. He thought about the giant golden dragon at the entrance and asked, ¡°The giant dragon in the bushes, was that also a product of hybridization?¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Song Jung seemed disappointed. ¡°I wish I could do that, but it would require the dean¡¯s permission. That giant lizard is the dean¡¯s baby; no one dares to touch that thing!¡±


    ¡°Could that giant dragon wake up all of a sudden?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but be afraid of the possibility; he hade over here by rushing right past that creature.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the dean casts an advanced hypnosis on it. It should sleep for a full 24 hours!¡±


    ¡°Why is the dean¡¯s dragon here?¡±


    ¡°The guy¡¯s gotta eat. Dawn Academy does not prepare food for the dragon; either it eats here, or I can throw it into the dorm and let it eat you guys.¡±


    The duo continued chatting casually. Xiao Lin found Song Jung to be a very easy-going person; although he was the head of the student union¡¯s Logistics Department, he did not sound arrogant at all. But of course, the hybridizations were an entirely different conversation.


    They arrived at the door soon after that. Xiao Lin stopped nearby and said, ¡°I¡¯ll hide somewhere so you can tell them you didn¡¯t see mee in.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s face was filled with disdain. ¡°They¡¯re not blind. Here¡¯s the only safe spot. If you don¡¯t stay here, you might end up in the dragon¡¯s stomach.¡±


    ¡°How are you going to exin?¡± Xiao Lin was still worried, but not because of Song Jung; it was for his own precious redemption points and credits.


    ¡°You¡¯re so troublesome. Just stay here!¡±


    Song Jung pulled the ck metal door open, and the man who was chasing Xiao Lin was standing right there. However, Xiao Lin was curious after seeing that his partner was missing.


    The man seemed like he met his mortal enemy upon seeing Xiao Lin. He said with red eyes, ¡°Haha! I¡¯ve caught you! F*ck, the hell you¡¯ve put me through¨CI¡¯m reporting to the department head and having him punish you severely!¡±


    As Song Jung said, the giant golden dragon was hypnotized by the dean, so it was impossible to wake it under normal circumstances. However, the man did not know this; he felt like he was walking over the tip of a knife as he walked past the dragon¡¯s eyelids, and it was excruciating. He vowed to make the culprit¨Cthis rebellious freshman-learn Dawn Academy¡¯s strict rules the hard way.


    ¡°Department Head Song, thank you for catching this freshman for us,¡± the man acknowledged Song Jung and tried to arrest Xiao Lin.


    Song Jung blocked the man from Xiao Lin. He asked, hostile, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The man was taken aback. ¡°Department Head Song, this freshman vited the rules and snuck out of the dorms in the middle of the night. Moreover, he trespassed on your farm. Oh no, he¡¯s trespassed on the Logistics Department. I¡¯ll drag him back and not bother your sleep.¡±


    Song Jung blinked and said, ¡°Who said he snuck out? I told him toe over and help.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The man was both stunned and surprised. He forced a smile and said, ¡°Department Head Song, stop joking. What could he help you with in the middle of the night? I know you¡¯re being nice, but we can¡¯t have Academy rules vited.¡±


    Department Head Song squinted and asked, ¡°Do I have to report to you what he¡¯s helping me with? Are you disrespecting a Department Head like me? Tsk tsk, looks like I have to take a trip to the student union tomorrow.¡±


    The man was terrified as he raised his hands in surrender.


    ¡°On top of that, I didn¡¯t allow you into the Logistics Department. Who let you in? Aren¡¯t you a recruit at the disciplinary department. Don¡¯t you know the rules?¡±


    The man backed out of the door, pleasing Song Jung. He yawned and got ready to lock the door.


    ¡°Hold on!¡± With a soft shout, a pair of hands pressed against the door, preventing Song Jung from closing it.


    Song Jung lifted his brow after seeing who it was. ¡°Oh? The sophomore leader is here instead of sleeping at this time of the night. Moon gazing or out for a stroll?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. Was it Chen Yu, the sophomore leader, who collected the course schedules on behalf of their ss monitor? He looked over to the two people who had just rushed over. One was the man who conducted the patrol, and the other was a man with a crew cut and a serious face.


    The man who Song Jung turned away whispered to Chen Yu about what had just happened. Chen Yu nodded, nced at Xiao Lin, beforeying his eyes on Song Jung again. He said with a smile, ¡°I hurried over when I heard that there was a giant dragon. Looks like the dean casted an advanced hypnosis on it, so I don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    Song Jung replied respectfully, ¡°A sophomore leader deserving of his position. You could discern the spell with one look! Now that the matter is resolved, good night!¡±


    Song Jung tried to close the door again, but Chen Yu¡¯s hand was still on the door. The duo looked at each other, and their strength increased by the second. The metal door rattled non-stop, but it did not move an inch.


    Song Jung let go of it and his expression darkened. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    Chen Yu smiled and said respectfully, ¡°Department Head Song, you must be joking. I wouldn¡¯t dare do anything. I¡¯m just helping those in the disciplinary department to bring a rule-viting freshman back. You wouldn¡¯t say no to that, would you?¡±


    Under the bright moonlight of the quiet night, Xiao Lin sensed something unusual in the atmosphere. He did not understand what he was seeing.


    The student code exined the routine of Dawn Academy; the student union had great autonomy at the school. They were the ones deciding the course and teacher arrangements.


    The student union was divided into several departments, including the admissions and the disciplinary department. In terms of position, the president of the student union held the most power; it could be said that whenever the dean was away, the student union president would be in charge of almost all daily trivial affairs for everyone¨Cfrom freshmen to seniors.


    Under the president¡¯s authority, there were several department heads, followed by the year leaders, then the monitors of each ss. Of course, although the definition of the monitors¡¯ powers was the same, the senior monitors were always deemed more important than the junior monitors. Thest on the list would be the team leaders which were appointed by each ss monitor.


    This was most of the management hierarchy of Dawn Academy¡¯s student union.


    At the moment, as a sophomore facing Song Jung, the head of the logistics department, Chen Yu¡¯s remarks could be regarded as polite, but Xiao Lin could clearly tell from Chen Yu¡¯s eyes that there was disdain!

 Chapter 37: A High-Ranking Person Is Looking After Me

    <h4>Chapter 37: A High-Ranking Person Is Looking After Me</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A sophomore leader looking down on a department head seemed confusing to Xiao Lin. However, he could not afford to offend either one of them; he took a few steps back unconsciously and activated his Onlooker Mode.


    Song Jung said with a straight face, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need for me to exin things to you as a department head!¡±


    Chen Yuughed and mumbled to himself, ¡°You¡¯re just a cook, you¡¯re not even Silver rank. You only got to be department head with your connections. You really think you can do whatever you want?¡±


    Chen Yu intentionally lowered his voice, but there was pin-drop silence in the quiet of the night. Some heard what he said.


    The two sophomores behind Chen Yu were shocked. They looked over at Department Head Song with a weird gaze and whispered to each other, ¡°He must be kidding! Every department head in the student union is Gold-ranked. If he isn¡¯t even Silver-ranked, that would mean he¡¯s just Bronze-ranked, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t most sophomores already Bronze? Even our year leader is Silver-ranked!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Are you even allowed to talk about the department head like that? Some recruits at the Disciplinary Department you are. Apologize!¡± Chen Yu cut the duo short, but he did not seem all too stern about it.


    Xiao Lin understood what was going on. In an academy that measured everything by strength, although Song Jung was a department head, his strength was not greater than Chen Yu¡¯s. That was why Chen Yu did not take him seriously. However, Xiao Lin was still a little confused; Chen Yu imed that Song Jung had connections. Could there be descendants in Dawn Academy?


    Xiao Lin looked at the silent Department Head Song with worry. Although they had just met and they did not really know each other, he had a better impression of this easy going department head than he did of Chen Yu.


    But of course, most of it was due to Song Jung protecting him, while Chen Yu was trying to arrest him.


    What surprised the crowd was how calm Song Jung remained in the face of Chen Yu¡¯s provocation. He still had a gentle, harmless smile on his face, but his words were threatening. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you take him away tonight! You¡¯re right; a high-ranked person is looking after me, what are you gonna do about it?¡±


    Xiao Lin looked up silently. Two oval-shaped moons still hung in the sky.


    Chen Yu growled, ¡°Department Head Song, I know you¡¯re close to the dean, but do you think the student code is a joke? It¡¯s been thew here since Dawn Academy was founded!¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked. Chen Yu invoked the name of the dean in a pretty serious usation. Xiao Lin could not help but worry.


    Song Jung smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve cooked for the dean.¡±


    Chen Yu was evidently pissed. He stressed, ¡°Even the dean himself has to follow the rules!¡±


    Song Jung nodded. ¡°I understand, but I¡¯ve cooked for the dean.¡±


    Chen Yu was extremely pissed. He did not know much about Song Jung, but one thing was for sure: Department Head Song was close to the dean. It was no trivial matter that they had cooked together; this meant that Department Head Song had explored the New World with the dean. This was an unusual rtionship.


    Beep, beep, beep!


    The magic phone in Chen Yu¡¯s pocket rang. He pulled it out and took a look before frowning. He walked to a corner and opened his phone; a virtual screen rose from it slowly.


    Xiao Lin took a good look from the corner of his eye; there was a baby-faced man on the screen. He had met this man during the orientation; it seemed like he was president of the student union.


    This confused and terrified Xiao Lin. He only snuck out to walk around and get some food; he did not expect to involve this many people. There was a department head, then a year leader, and now the president of the student union.


    He took a glimpse at Department Head Song. This handsome department head seemed nonchnt and rxed.


    Although Chen Yu lowered his voice while talking to the student union president, the crowd could still hear quite a bit of the conversation.


    ¡°Stop this now,e back. Stop going after the freshman as well.¡± The president was speaking; Xiao Lin had heard his voice during orientation, so he could recognize the voice immediately.


    ¡°But Department Head Song...¡±


    ¡°You know who¡¯s backing him.¡±


    ¡°So what! I¡¯m not giving in!¡±


    The duo continued arguing. Xiao Lin was mildly shocked that the student union president chose to back off, but Chen Yu was not giving in. Their focus was also not on Xiao Lin; it was on Song Jung.


    It was gettingte, and the wind was picking up. The duo¡¯s conversation became harder to hear, but Xiao Lin heard the president saying, ¡°Just remember this, the dean and the entire academy owes Department Head Song a huge favor. No matter what he does, as long as it doesn¡¯t affect Dawn Academy¡¯s basest interests, no one can interfere!¡±


    The conversation ended there. Chen Yu¡¯s expression was darker than ever when he returned. Since the president had said so, Chen Yu could not do anything about it anymore. Before he left, he asked, ¡°Department Head Song, you know Xiao Lin?¡±


    Xiao Lin was not surprised that the year leader recognized him right away. It was normal for a year leader to be able to see his information.


    However, Song Jung¡¯s expression became strange. He thought about it long and hard before asking, ¡°Who¡¯s Xiao Lin?¡±


    Chen Yu shivered; he walked away with gritted teeth. He felt that this Department Head, who was some high-ranked person was looking after, was more interested in causing him trouble than protecting a freshman he did not know.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Xiao Lin.¡± Department Head Song came to a realization momentster and stopped asking questions. To him, Xiao Lin¡¯s entrance exam results and basic attributes did not matter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make beggar¡¯s chicken.¡± Department Head Song was excited. That was all he cared about.


    Xiao Lin was left speechless. ¡°Are you really craving it that much?¡±


    Song Jung corrected him, ¡°No, not for me, for you. Stop wasting time, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt like Department Head Song was treating him like ab rat. He shook his head, stopped overthinking it, and went ahead to work on making beggar¡¯s chicken.


    Although the logistics department was more like a farm than anything, there were sufficient spices for cooking. Xiao Lin found some aluminium foil; he nned to do it in the simplest way: roasting a chicken in the wild. He had not learned anything moreplicated than that.


    Song Jung was quick as well. Although Chen Yu insulted him for being low-ranked, handling an ironb chicken was no problem for him. He seemed very experienced; he cleaned up the chicken in moments, and the sharpb waspletely removed as well. As ferocious as the ironb chicken looked before its death, it was now a roast chicken for human consumption.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched as he watched Song Jung. He thought to himself, ¡®could this Department Head be nothing more than a glorified cook?¡¯

 Chapter 38: Effects Of The Iron Comb Chicken

    <h4>Chapter 38: Effects Of The Iron Comb Chicken</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Roasting chicken was simple. Following his memory, Xiao Lin marinated it with salt, MSG, soy sauce, chilli powder and so on before wrapping the chicken in aluminium foil. He started a fire next to the grove, and threw the wrapped chicken under the charcoals.


    Xiao Lin extinguished the fire excitedly after about an hour. He grabbed the roast chicken and tore the aluminium foil open. The roast chicken was a little burnt, but it smelled extremely good. The oil was still bubbling loudly in it.


    Xiao Lin, famished, did not care about scalding his mouth. He tore the fat and tender chicken legs off its body and stuffed them into his mouth. This ironb chicken was bigger and meatier than Earth birds, and it was more delicious roasted.


    Xiao Lin was really hungry; there was nothing left other than the chicken¡¯s skeleton within ten minutes. He patted his stomach in satisfaction, only to discover that Department Head Song had been watching him eat instead of tasting it himself. Xiao Lin felt a little embarrassed, but Department Head Song spoke first.


    Song Jung asked with concern, ¡°How was it? How do you feel?¡±


    ¡°Well, it tasted good.¡±


    Song Jung shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not talking about the chicken. I¡¯m asking how does your body feel?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Body?¡± Xiao Lin was confused, but he began feeling that something was off as he spoke. His stomach started aching and he fell onto the ground, clutching his gut in pain.


    ¡°Does it hurt a lot?¡± Song Jung seemed worried as well. He went over and helped Xiao Lin up.


    ¡°You, what did you give me?¡± As dumb as Xiao Lin could be, he knew that the pain was caused by the roast chicken.


    Song Jungforted him saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, ordinary people¡¯s bodies repel things from Norma. You¡¯ll be fine soon. Your life isn¡¯t in danger, trust me!¡±


    ¡°What! D-danger!?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. He finally understood why this guy was not eating. He said weakly, yet angrily, ¡°I¡¯ll get you. Even if I be a ghost! I¡¯lle back and haunt you!¡±


    Song Jung helped Xiao Lin into his bedroom. He said gently, ¡°Drink some water. You¡¯ll feel better soon.¡±


    Xiao Lin was curled up on the bed. The pain was so excruciating and it spread throughout his body as fast as blood flowed in him. Xiao Lin wanted to run himself into the wall to kill himself. He cried, ¡°I...I¡¯m not drinking that! Who knows what water that is!¡±


    ¡°Be good and listen. It¡¯s iced water. You¡¯ll feel a lot better.¡± Song Jung stuffed the cup into Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth as if he was trying to talk a child into it.


    Apart from the pain all over, Xiao Lin felt like there was fire burning inside of him; he felt like his skin was boiling hot. Song Jung¡¯s iced water was rain after a long drought for Xiao Lin; he downed the water, and the cold liquid flowed into his stomach through his throat. The burning feeling in his body, together with the pain, relieved instantly.


    However, Xiao Lin immediately realized that his sight was bing blurry. An uncontroble drowsiness overwhelmed him as he pointed at the smiley Department Head Song saying, ¡°Your...your water... It¡¯s...¡±


    Before he could finish, Xiao Lin crashed into bed and slept.


    Song Jung put the cup down and tucked Xiao Lin in. He said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re a rebel, kid,. It¡¯s better I put you to sleep than leave you in pain for the night.¡±


    With a sigh, Department Head Song sat in front of his desk and opened a thick notebook on his table. He found a nk page, picked up his pen, and wrote: Hybridized Iron Comb Chicken, variety no. 3, 18 kg, non-hazardous, but adverse reactions are rtively great.


    He put his pen down and mumbled to himself, ¡°I wonder what the experiment¡¯s results are. Even after hybridization, there¡¯s repellency after consumption. This won¡¯t get past the student union; it has to be improved.¡±


    ...


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes, the sky was bright and he was bathed in sunlight that came through the window. He felt warm and the soft bed wasfortable as well. He wanted to keep sleeping, but he jumped out of bed instead. He remembered what had happenedst night.


    Interestingly, he no longer felt pain; he only felt ufortable from his sweat-drenched clothes. He had to be in Song Jung¡¯s bedroom; it looked simplepared to the five-star dorms for freshmen. There was only a bed, a desk, and a shelf full of books and notes. It was unexpectedly simple.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. You¡¯ve got a pretty bad physique, even with repellency, one wouldn¡¯t be asleep till this hour.¡± Song Jung pushed the door open and walked in. He had a tray of dishes in his hands.


    Xiao Lin was extremely wary of this after the lesson fromst night. He took two steps back and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even count on me eating anything from you from now on! Wait, ¡®I slept till this hour¡¯... What time is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nearly five o¡¯clock.¡±


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank God, I can still catch up with sses today.¡±


    Song Jung coughed dryly. ¡°I mean 5 p.m.¡±


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes and he eximed, ¡°What! I slept for the whole day!¡±


    Song Jung mercilessly said, ¡°No, I think you¡¯ve slept for two days. You knocked out the night before yesterday.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not even exim this time around. He sat by the bed, his face deadpan. ¡°That¡¯s it! What do I do now! The student code says that if I missed sses without a reason, my credits will be deducted!¡±


    Department Head Songforted him saying, ¡°If you¡¯re worried about being punished for missing sses, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve notified the student union; they won¡¯t punish you.¡±


    Xiao Lin was doubtful. ¡°Really? I missed two days of ss! The instructor said that Dawn Academy¡¯s management is strict about this.¡±


    ¡°Someone high-ranked is looking after me!¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll believe you.¡±


    Song Jung put the tray down, and pulled out what seemed like aptop. He threw it at Xiao Lin and said eagerly, ¡°Quick, check your attributes. I want to record the experiment¡¯s results.¡±


    Xiao Lin was pissed. He thought back to how this guy looked at him like ab rat the night before yesterday; was he really treating him like an experiment?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Let¡¯s check the info first, okay? Trust me. You¡¯ll be surprised!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trusting you!¡±


    Xiao Lin sneered, but he was still curious deep down. He grabbed theptop, logged onto the Academy¡¯s forum, and clicked open the personal details section. After the health screening from the admissions test, everyone¡¯s changes in attribute points would be reflected here in real-time through the Central Computer.


    [Name: Xiao Lin]


    [ID: 201235]


    [Credits: 40]


    [Redemption Points: 800]


    [Basic Attributes: 3 Strength points, 2 Agility points, 2 Intelligence points, 5 Physique points]


    [Skills: Level 2 Basic Swordsmanship Mastery, Level 2 shing, Level 0 Basic Mastery of Norma¡¯s Common Language, Level 2 Basic Fitness]


    Xiao Lin was stunned. He eximed, ¡°Impossible!¡±


    His Physique was only at 3 points two days ago, and his Basic Fitness was only at Level 1: 10/100. His Physique points increased by two points and his Basic Fitness also increased by a level after sleeping for two whole days.

 Chapter 39: Food Therapy

    <h4>Chapter 39: Food Therapy</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was unconvinced that he could increase the XP for his basic skills just by sleeping. He guessed that it was something else, but he did not dare confirm it. He looked at Song Jung with a doubtful gaze.


    Department Head Song was more anxious than Xiao Lin was. He asked, ¡°What? Did your attribute points increase? How much of an increase was there?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°A two-point increase for Physique, and my Basic Fitness is now Level 2.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! It worked!¡± Song Jung nearly jumped from excitement. He was beaming.


    ¡°Department Head Song, as yourb rat, I think I deserve an exnation,¡± Xiao Lin said helplessly.


    ¡°Haha, fine. There¡¯s no harm in telling you.¡± Song Jung rubbed his hands as he contemted where to begin.


    Seeing that the happy department head had yet to find a way to tell the story, Xiao Lin reminded him, ¡°Was it the chicken?¡±


    Song Jung found his way into the story. ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the hybridized ironb chicken! How do I say this; you¡¯ll learn in your future sses that, although Norma is simr to Earth in many ways with regards to airposition and its lifeforms, they¡¯re still two different worlds. The first Explorers of Norma did not realize this, and they quickly found a huge problem: the physicality of most people on Earth aren¡¯t adapted to Norma!¡±


    Song Jung paused for a moment before speaking. ¡°For example, you¡¯ve read time-traveling novels, haven¡¯t you? When a person from ancient times travels to modern society, how long do you think they¡¯d live?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. ¡°I¡¯ve read about this. If someone ancient does travel here, modern society¡¯s bacteria and viruses will kill him. Even a small flu could be life-threatening to him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s the same on Earth. We¡¯re trying to go to another, and it¡¯s a with moreplicated lifeforms. On top of that, their physiques are usually better than those on Earth. Truth be told, the first batch of Explorers over there should deliberate how to survive rather than migrating people there!¡±


    Xiao Lin replied, ¡°But now we¡¯ve probably solved the problem. I heard the Academy¡¯s already been there for over a century, so there must be lots of people who¡¯ve been to the New World.¡±


    Song Jung forced a smile. ¡°Do you know why they usually disallow freshmen to go to the New World? Even for sophomores, only a handful of them get the chance to go.¡±


    ¡°Is it because we¡¯re not strong enough?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. Your physique is too weak. ording to the Explorers¡¯ experiments, one would need to achieve ck Iron Level; that¡¯s the minimum requirement. Truth be told, there are many ces on Norma where the environment is worse than you can imagine. For example, there is a swamp full of poison and a volcandscape full of sulfur. These ces have a lot of precious resources, but there are also dangerous alien groups. If you want to get into these ces, you¡¯ll have to be stronger than ever.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°I understand. The differences in the two environments make it necessary for us to have stronger basic attributes in order to adapt, but what does this have to do with the ironb chicken increasing my XP?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot to do with it!¡± Song Jung was ted. ¡°In order to help us adapt to Norma¡¯s environment, the Explorers made it a requirement that only those with ck Iron Level can get in, but why don¡¯t we think about this the other way around? The native species on Norma have already adapted to the environment there. Even a snake has a stronger physique than ordinary humans. Why don¡¯t we get more help from these creatures instead?¡±


    Xiao Lin was deep in thought beforeing to a realization. ¡°Food therapy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Food therapy, just like in Chinese medicine!¡± Department Head Song was so excited to see someone understand what he meant.


    In Chinese medicine, it was generally believed that food was an edible substance that provided the human body with various nutrients needed for growth and health. The use of food characteristics to regte bodily functions in order to prevent diseases and strengthen bodies was known as food therapy.


    Xiao Lin understood it instantly. This logistics department head was increasing their basic attribute points through food therapy, but he was using resources from Norma.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand one thing; why hybridization?¡± Xiao Lin looked at the logistics department head. He could not help but picture hybridization between a chicken and a bird. It would probably take him some time to get rid of this conditioning.


    Song Jung said frustratedly, ¡°When I first conducted this research, I used species straight from Norma. Of course, they were all low-level creatures like chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs. However, freshmen who ate them ended up producing a repellency, and not only did their basic attributes not increase, they were ill for a long time. Thankfully, their lives were not in danger.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, their lives were not in danger...¡± Xiao Lin mumbled to himself in frustration. He lifted his brow and asked, ¡°So was I yourb rat, like all the other freshmen were?¡±


    Song Jung said confidently, ¡°Rx, ever since that experiment failed, I¡¯ve been looking for ways to reduce this repellency, and Inded on hybridization. Its effects are greatly reduced, and the repellency will not be as strong as it was back then. It¡¯s definitely not dangerous; at most, the effects will be just like what you experienced. One would just experience a little pain and fall asleep for a few days.¡±


    Xiao Lin said frustratedly, ¡°Easy for you to say! A little pain? Do you know how excruciating that was? I wanted to kill myself! If this is the level of repellency for hybridized species, I can¡¯t imagine the pain those who ate the native species endured!¡±


    Department Head Song sighed. ¡°I know, the repellency is still great. With my previous failures, this hybridized species will definitely not get past the student union¡¯s review. I¡¯ll have to continue modifying it.¡±


    ¡°How could the student union still let you continue your research?¡± Xiao Lin was shocked. After failing the first experiment, why was this guy¡¯s farm not shut down already?


    ¡°Someone high-ranked is looking after me!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. He asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you look for seniors to experiment on? Their basic attributes are stronger than us freshmen; they should be able to handle the repellency from the food therapy.¡±


    Song Jung shook his head. ¡°The food therapy¡¯s aim is to help freshmen grow quicker. For recruits above the ck Iron Level, their physiques are already at the required level for Norma. Food therapy would barely have any effect on them.¡±


    Department Head Song paused before joking, ¡°But of course, if I used higher-level species, like dragon meat or something, it would definitely affect the seniors. However, getting something like that is about as hard as getting the S-grade in your exams. You¡¯ve gone through the admissions test, you should know how hard it is to get the S-grade. Haha, speaking of which, what was your grade for that test anyway?¡±


    ¡°I was graded S.¡±


    Song Jung was silent for a while. His lips twitched, and he got up to walk toward the window. He looked out at the scenery andughed, ¡°Nice weather today. Let¡¯s take a walk outside!¡±

 Chapter 40: Done Deal

    <h4>Chapter 40: Done Deal</h4>


    The weather was pretty good. The sky was clear and the sunlight felt warm. Now that it was almost evening, a walk or a sit in the grove to watch the sunset looked like a good idea.


    However, Xiao Lin was not interested in watching the sunset with another man. He shook his head. ¡°I should go back, I don¡¯t want to miss tomorrow¡¯s ss.¡±


    He paused before uttering, ¡°So, uh, can I stille and eat beggar¡¯s chicken next time?¡±


    The unspeakable pain felt worse than death, but its reward was too tempting for Xiao Lin; his basic fitness increased by a level. He would usually get only 10 XP after exhausting himself with a full day¡¯s worth of training. A roast chicken saved him 10 days worth of Basic Fitness training¨Capanied by two extra Physique points.


    Xiao Lin thought that this deal was pretty decent. As for the horrible pain, Xiao Linforted himself by thinking that men should be cruel to themselves.


    Song Jungughed and spread his hands. ¡°As the first sessful experiment subject, you¡¯re wee anytime, but I don¡¯t think the ironb chicken has an effect on your basic attributes now.¡±


    ¡°Why!¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of drug resistance?¡±


    A popr exnation for drug resistance was that if the same drug was used repeatedly, its effectiveness would decline. This was amon phenomenon with antibiotics on Earth.


    Xiao Lin nodded inprehension, but he was still puzzled. ¡°I only had the ironb chicken once. Does the resistance develop that fast with food therapy?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I can¡¯t do anything about it. Although it¡¯s apletely different world, there are some simrities between Earth and Norma. Nheless, a resistance develops faster in Norma.¡±


    Department Head Song continued with patience, ¡°In fact, it¡¯s not just food therapy. If you enrol in the Basic Alchemy course in the future, you¡¯ll learn that there are many medicines that will make people develop a strong drug resistance. Brand new processes like food therapy will only work on a person once in their lifetime.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little disappointed, but it made sense to him. If one could rely on external means to reach the ck Iron Level so easily, why would anyone exhaust themselves with various courses?


    ¡°Well, drug resistance only happens if you consume the same species. The ironb chicken won¡¯t work on you anymore, but I have other edible things here.¡±


    Song Jung blinked and smiled mysteriously. The handsome department head seemed like a demon, wagging his tail as he sinisterly smirked at Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin palmed his own forehead and muttered helplessly, ¡°You just wanted a freeb rat!¡±


    He knew what Department Head Song wanted to do. Since food therapy had failed, it was impossible for his hybridized food to be approved and used on freshmen. Xiao Lin believed that, even if someone high-ranked was looking after Song Jung, it would still not be allowed.


    Department Head Song was desperate to see the true effects of his experiment, and at that moment, Xiao Lin might as well have been ab rat walking itself into a cage.


    ¡°Will there be any side effects or something?¡± Xiao Lin was cautious; he did not want to put his life at risk.


    ¡°Nothing life-threatening. I guarantee that with my honor!¡± Song Jung replied, his tone serious.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s brows moved. What Song Jung meant was¡ªapart from it not being life-threatening, he could not guarantee anything else!


    Xiao Lin did not want to make a hasty decision. He continued asking, ¡°Are the effects from other species simr to the ironb chicken¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. You already know that, other than that failed experiment, all of my research has been built on theory.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt helpless. ¡°Fine, tell me your theory then.¡±


    Song Jung thought about it for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s hard to confirm the type and strength of effects. Some ingredients can help increase XP directly. For example, the ironb chicken you had; ironb birds on Norma are actually pretty weak in terms of strength, but strong in their fitness. They could fly around one-third of their world for days without rest, so its effects in food therapy should be for fitness and physique. But unfortunately, its effects were weakened after hybridization.¡±


    Department Head Song paused before continuing, ¡°Apart from species that directly add XP, some can help increase the XP gain rate instead. Others can increase a certain type of resistance, but of course, some ingredients may not be effective at all. In short, this is new territory for recruits of Dawn Academy and those around the world working toward the Colonization. There¡¯s still so much to discover.¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent. He was convinced.


    Despite having the SS-level Academic Genius talent, his basic points were still too low. Even after improving his learning efficiency by 100 per cent, he could barely catch up with ordinary people. He would still be far behind talented recruits for quite some time.


    He was now acting ss monitor. After experiencing a few benefits from the authority of being a ss monitor, Xiao Lin felt that he did not want to give this position up anymore. That was the case with power; once you got a taste of it, it would be hard to let go. Xiao Lin was just an ordinary person; he was no exception to the rule.


    Qin Chuan said he would only decide on the real ss monitor after three months. In ss Seven, there were plenty of people who were breathing down his neck since his basic attribute points were less than 10. Wang Dalin, for instance, who led the pack, had pretty high basic attribute points.


    Three months were not enough time. Although the Academic Genius talent was strong, it was a slow-burner type of talent. It would take more time to achieve better results. That was why Xiao Lin needed more bargaining chips to keep his position.


    ¡°Have you decided?¡± Song Jung was a little nervous as well. Ab rat was pretty hard to find, especially when his research was deemed unsuitable and barred from openly recruiting experiment subjects.


    Therefore, the logistics department head was worried of Xiao Lin¡¯s rejection; his research results would likely be dyed for quite some time if he did. After all, the effects of food therapy only worked on those under the ck Iron Level; the lower the basic attribute points, the more obvious the effects. If he missed this opportunity, he might have to wait for a new batch of freshmen.


    Department Head Song thought for a while before throwing out more attractive bargains. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about coordinating your ss schedule, I can help you!¡±


    Xiao Lin was asleep for two days this time after having just the ironb chicken. Although not every ingredient could make people fall asleep, it was inevitable for Xiao Lin to miss sses for two or three consecutive days if they struck a deal. Song Jung decided to solve this problem once and for all. He appeared confident as he patted his chest. ¡°After all, someone high-ranked is looking after me!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up all of a sudden. This sentence became the ultimate reason for his decision.


    What Xiao Lin needed most right now was help coordinating his ss schedule!

 Chapter 41: Dawn Academy Evening News

    <h4>Chapter 41: Dawn Academy Evening News</h4>


    Xiao Lin was enrolled in both magic andbat-rted courses, but that strategy was not rmended by the Academy. His sses always ovepped. He really needed a flexible schedule, but the Academy would never change the entire freshmen schedule just for one recruit. If Xiao Lin could have the privilege to listen in on any course he wanted, it would be perfect for him.


    At that moment, Department Head Song, who had someone high-ranked looking after him, was handing Xiao Lin this opportunity.


    Xiao Lin left the logistics department and returned to the dorm that he had left for two days. There was another half an hour left until the next ss, so he had dinner in the buffet cafeteria alone. He was not rushing to rest; he had ample sleep for the past two days. He went to themon room around the corner instead, poured himself a cup of tea, grabbed a stack of newspapers from the rack, and began reading with interest.


    There were few options for entertainment at Dawn Academy; although everyone was given aputer, there were no games on it. Moreover, in this realm away from Earth, one could not surf any further than the Academy¡¯s intr. This was no ce for people to waste their time.


    Thus, on top of the tight ss schedules and intense training, the Academy¡¯s paper was one of the few entertainment options with which people could spend their time. Some people choose to revise theirpulsory courses or train for their electives in their free time.


    However, this was no game where you could continuously defeat monsters to level up 24/7. Humans would naturally be exhausted, especially after finishing tough courses like Basic Fitness. It was ineffective to train or meditate when one was exhausted.


    There was only one publication avable in themon room named the ¡®Dawn Academy Evening News¡¯. The paper¡¯s issue, it seemed, had inconsistent publication dates; it could go from once every week to one every ten to 14 days. Thankfully, the paper¡¯s contents were pretty engaging. For freshmen who barely knew anything, this paper was the best way they could get to know this New World.


    The paper was split into two sections; one for Intra Academy news, and the other was on the New World. The Intra Academy section was not really interesting; it usually published either praises for some capable seniors or motivational pieces for students to work hard. Thetest news was the wee for freshmen: the dean participated in the orientation for the first time, gave an important speech, and expressed his high hopes for the freshmen.


    On the other hand, the New World section was of interest for many students. There were adventure stories from recruits in the New World, as well as photos of peculiar flora and fauna and unique sceneries. The paper used the same virtual reality technology; tapping on photos would make magical multidimensional projections appear, looking more realistic than 3D movies. That was the main reason why freshmen loved reading the paper.


    Copies of the paper were limited, so it was impossible to give everyone a copy. Xiao Lin was there early, and he was the only one in the emptymon room. He found a soft sofa, sat down, and flipped the paper open. He wanted to skip the Intra Academy section, but he was quickly attracted by its headline.


    A few huge, ck words on the first page of the Intra Academy section read: Expos¨¦! Suspicion Over Song Jung¡¯s Continuous Tenure As Department Head!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched; this was an aggressive headline. Although he only knew Song Jung for a brief time, and acknowledged that it was suspicious for him to continuously im that someone high-ranked was looking after him, this young and handsome department head had been pretty friendly and pleasant.


    The article was lengthy; it described Song Jung¡¯s life. He was epted by the Dawn Academy eight years ago, and he disyed great capability back then, on top of being a talented recruit. Although no one knew the true extent of his talent, his life at the Academy had been pretty smooth-sailing¨Ceven the dean put him on a pedestal. After his graduation, Song Jung was fortunate enough to explore the New World with the dean for the colonization.


    Xiao Lin was mildly confused at this point while reading about the Department Head¡¯s past. The first part of Song Jung¡¯s life at the Dawn Academy was undeniably grand, but given the provocative headline of this article, it was impossible for it to only talk about his achievements. Xiao Lin held that thought and continued reading.


    Soon after the adventure, to secure their colony in the New World, Dawn Academyunched multiple attacks on the Mermaids who interfered with the colony. Mermaids were a weak species on Norma, so this war was led by graduates and interns; researchers and postgraduates were not involved. As someone already at Gold rank, Song Jungmanded the operation.


    This conflict should not have had any unexpected circumstances. It was just like how the US invaded smaller, underdeveloped African countries; victory was already in the bag.


    However, Dawn Academy lost horribly in this war. Material losses aside, this affected Dawn Academy¡¯s colonization strategy overall. As a result, the Dawn Academy was forced to go on defense for the next few years in the New World instead of hastily expanding its colony. This was why the Academy eventually trailed behind the US and Europe.


    Asmander, Song Jung was severely injured, and he was degraded from Gold to Bronze level. Upon returning to the Academy, Song Jung was targeted by many and used of causing the defeat. Some vicious folk even spread the rumor that Song Jung had reached an agreement with the Mermaids and betrayed the Dawn Academy.


    Although this rumor was unreliable, everyone thought that Song Jung should have been severely punished for it; he should have been stripped of his duties at the student union, or have his memory wiped before getting thrown back to Earth. He should have been expelled from Dawn Academy.


    However, results of the student union¡¯s investigation shocked everyone. Not only was Song Jung not punished, he was also handed the position of the logistics department head, which had been vacant for some time. This caused an uproar, especially from seniors who made a fuss about it multiple times. However, since the dean gave his silent approval to it, everyone had to let the issue go.


    The logistics department head was a unique position. Although it was a department head position, there was not much authority to it. The department head was only responsible for providing meals to the Academy. That was why Song Jung was known as the Delivery Department head among the seniors.


    In an environment where the strong was distinguished from the weak through their capabilities, this nickname was the greatest insult to Song Jung. His capabilities had never recovered since he was degraded to Bronze. Over time, everyone gradually forgot that he was the talented Song Jung of once upon a time. They only knew him as the department head who managed to hold the position for four years while only being at the Bronze rank.


    The article was filled with sarcasm. It criticized Song Jung for being unfit to be a department head and that he only managed to stay put through his connections. The student union would probably strip him of his position in the next election cycle.


    After reading the article, Xiao Lin put the paper down and went silent. He finally knew some things about this unreliable, yet friendly department head, and he also understood why Chen Yu, as a second-year leader, dared butt heads with Department Head Song that night.

 Chapter 42: Basic Perception

    <h4>Chapter 42: Basic Perception</h4>


    Xiao Lin overheard the phone call between the student union president and year leader Chen Yu that night. The president seemed to have said that both Dawn Academy and the dean owed Department Head Song a huge favor.


    It waspletely different from what was being reported in the article. Xiao Lin did not know who to trust, but when his eyesnded on the end of the report, he was stunned.


    Dawn Academy had a Propaganda Department, but these reports were crowdsourced from staff and students. It was an honor to be able to have one¡¯s name as a byline, but this article attacking Department Head Song was written by an anonymous person. Xiao Lin¡¯s imagination ran wild again.


    Xiao Lin did not care whether Song Jung was a fitting department head. He was bothered that this article was even published at this point in time; it was as if the article wanted everyone in the academy to remember that man again. How big was this person¡¯s grudge against Song Jung?


    Xiao Lin touched his nose and thought about how embarrassed Chen Yu was two days ago. He also thought that it had something to do with himself, but that was him making the worst assumption about Chen Yu. Maybe Chen Yu was not as petty as he thought?


    It was break time, and other students began arriving at themon room. After afternoon sses, most people liked resting here to drink tea and read the paper before dinner.


    ¡°Ayo! If it isn¡¯t ss Monitor Xiao? I heard you¡¯ve skipped ss for two days. Were you sick?¡±


    Xiao Lin looked up and frowned. The sarcastic tone came from someone he knew: Wang Dalin.


    Wang Dalin was d in his training uniform and had his novice de strapped to his back. He said sarcastically, ¡°Does being as weak as you are make you terrified of the courses here? You should quit the academy with your basics being as horrible as they are. Just because dumb birds can still fly, some don¡¯t even know how to p their wings!¡±


    ¡°You remembered that I¡¯m the ss monitor?¡±


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t get me wrong! Acting ss Monitor Xiao!¡± Wang Dalin stressed the word ¡®acting¡¯.


    ¡°I was going to let you off after your silence period ended, but it looks like I¡¯ll have to extend your silence period to a month.¡± Xiao Lin used his authority without mercy.


    ¡°Do you think I care!¡± Wang Dalin was pissed, but he could not do anything about Xiao Lin¡¯s authority. He scoffed, ¡°Go on, be arrogant! In three months, you better watch your back!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not bother much about the incident. Many people were envious of his position; Wang Dalin was just another one of them. Xiao Lin was more concerned about getting into Basic Meditation as soon as possible.


    Eating anything that had to do with Intelligence or Meditation from Department Head Song would be a good idea, but there was too much uncertainty with the effects of food therapy. It couldplement, but it would not help much.


    Before going to Department Head Song¡¯s that night, Xiao Lin had alreadye up with a solution: the SS-grade Academic Genius talent¡¯s automatic skill replication!


    The Replication skill could allow him to use any F-grade skills for three minutes, but the replicated skill would be forgottenpletely after the time frame.


    He had a thought the other day while speaking to the sophomore senior Zhang Tingting. Xiao Lin had been mistaken before this; he thought that Replication would allow him to replicate proactive skills, but there was no such description for it. Therefore, it was possible that it could replicate passive skills too.


    This possibility intrigued Xiao Lin. If his assumption was right, this talent could give him more than he could imagine.


    ...


    The next day, Xiao Lin was back on track with his sses. Freshmen had three days of sses a week, and there would be onepulsory ss and one elective ss each day to fill up all three days. Nheless, double majors like Xiao Lin were an exception; they had six ss days a week. This meant that Xiao Lin had sses like these twice a week.


    Xiao Lin went for two days of ss this week and missed another two days. He only had two days of sses left this week. Today¡¯s sses were the Common Language of Norma and Basic Fitness. He also had Basic Perception at the same time as the Basic Fitness ss.


    Common Language was not as interesting; to Xiao Lin,nguage sses were boring as usual. Since he was at the introductory stage of the ss, everything was about grammar. The tough pronunciations tortured many students. After the ss ended, Xiao Lin¡¯s Common Language Mastery EXP was at LV1: 20/50.


    In his elective ss in the afternoon, Xiao Lin roughly understood the Basic Fitness ss. This was just a course to increase his fitness; moreover, due to Department Head Song¡¯s ironb chicken, his Physique had increased by 2 points, and his Basic Fitness increased by one level. Therefore, he did not need much from the Basic Fitness course.


    One thing worth mentioning was that, although the Basic Fitness ss could help improve one¡¯s fitness by improving their fitness, the person¡¯s physique would not be exactly the same as his fitness. This was mentioned in the first lesson; Basic Fitness was mainly meant for providing one¡¯s body with enough strength to perform skills. Everyone understood this as a mage¡¯s magic points.


    That was why Xiao Lin chose the Basic Perception ss. Although he missed the first lesson, he was not worried about missing a lot since the attentive Gu Xiaoyue was in the ss.


    Basic Perception was mainly to cultivate students¡¯ perceptive exploration ability, as well as their hit rates for various spells. For most people, thetter was more practical in use.


    The admissions test made many people who yearned for magic realize what it really was. While hit rate was not an issue for closebat, people who wanted to be mages had to face embarrassing issues with their hit rate beforehand.


    After all, it was not a game where you could just use the mouse to select your target to cast a spell. In the real world, once the spell went out of the mage¡¯s hands, it would be like a broken kite¨Cno one could anticipate where it would go. It could even hit an ally.


    The teacher who taught the ss was a middle-aged woman. To ensure that everyone was aware of the importance of the course, she cited many examples of idental injuries inflicted by teammates. Just casting spells did not make one a mage; only those who can urately cast spells on the enemy were!


    Targeting a spell was different from using long-range weapons such as bows and arrows. Bows and crossbows relied on one¡¯s eyes, so recruits who chose bows would often take elective courses such as Observation. Mages relied more on Perception and mental power to lock their enemies down.


    The teacher was very abstract about it. After all, those whose Basic Meditation was still at LV0 could not even feel the Four Elements, let alone talking about mental power.


    Xiao Lin asked Gu Xiaoyue about it quietly.


    The girl subconsciously pushed her sses before giving her answer. ¡°Have you ever heard ofser guidance? The principle of spell aiming is simr: mental power would be yourser, and the spell is your missile.¡±


    Xiao Lin had to admire how the girl always managed to use her own thinking to transform abstract andplex magical knowledge into familiar analogies that could be better understood.


    No matter what, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words really helped Xiao Lin a lot. After the ss, he gained an extra skill and more XP in Basic Perception LV0: 20/50.

 Chapter 43: Replication Target

    <h4>Chapter 43: Replication Target</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s first week at Dawn Academy ended without much drama. Everyone was allowed to have one free day on the weekends, so it was the perfect opportunity for most people to explore the Academy. However, there were only limited ces on campus that were permitted for exploration.


    Dawn Academy was huge; it was a lot bigger than Xiao Lin imagined. Dawn Academy¡¯spound was at least a few times bigger than the prestigious schools on Earth, but there were only a few ces on campus where freshmen were allowed to go. There were many areas on campus where ess rights were strictly enforced to keep freshmen out.


    The training venue and public ssrooms were open on weekends, but not many people took the initiative to train themselves. Most of them did not have such a level of consciousness in their first week on campus.


    To Xiao Lin, the weekend meant that his replicating skill finallypleted its seven-day cooling period. He got this idea from chatting with Zhang Tingting a few days ago. If this talent could help him replicate others¡¯ passive skills, Basic Meditation would perhaps be very simple for him.


    Xiao Lin first set his target on Gu Xiaoyue. The girl¡¯s Intelligence was extremely high. Along with her unique ability to understand things, she had an unmatched talent in learning magic.


    Xiao Lin called Gu Xiaoyue to themon room that morning. The girl did not ask why, but the blinking eyes behind her sses had doubt in them.


    [Launching the Replication Skill!]


    [Target, Gu Xiaoyue!]


    [Replicated Skill: Basic Meditation LV2 (F-grade)]


    [Select Replication?]


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips quivered. He had not made it to the second Basic Meditation ss, but he did not expect the girl to have improved her Basic Meditation to LV2. He could not help but ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you improving your Basic Meditation a little too fast?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue knew that the ss monitor was capable of checking everyone¡¯s attributes, so she was unsurprised. She replied with her clear voice, ¡°It isn¡¯t fast; the highest level for Basic Meditation is LV10. I¡¯m too slow.¡±


    ¡°Did you train in the dorm after school?¡± Xiao Lin guessed. He did not believe that Gu Xiaoyue could get up to LV2 with the three allocated hours in ss.


    Gu Xiaoyue nodded decisively. ¡°Now that I think about it, the effectiveness of Basic Meditation is pretty bad.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of the fatigue. Humans¡¯ mental power and fitness have their limits; don¡¯t work too hard.¡± Xiao Lin felt bad for this girl all of a sudden. Maybe Gu Xiaoyue was only pushing herself this hard because she only had two years left to live.


    ¡°No, not exactly. That Basic Meditation ss was special.¡± Gu Xiaoyue hesitated, shook her head, pushed up her sses, and said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m heading to the meditation hall.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it and decided not to replicate the skill. Gu Xiaoyue said that the highest level for Basic Meditation was LV10. If Basic Meditation was only F-grade, it was an undeniably better choice to replicate a LV10 Basic Meditation skill than a LV2 one.


    Xiao Lin decided to follow Gu Xiaoyue to the mediation hall. There were three meditation rooms open for freshmen on the weekends, and each of them could fill over 200 people. They were more than enough to amodate all freshmen.


    Xiao Lin was there early; there were only over 30 people in the meditation hall. Gu Xiaoyue and his presence attracted everyone¡¯s attention instantly, but all for different reasons.


    Gu Xiaoyue, on one hand, had the utmost respect from everyone in the Basic Meditation course. There were people who admired and envied her, but if the person you envied was so great that it was impossible to reach her level, you would only have to stew in that pure jealousy.


    Regarding Xiao Lin, everyone felt speechless. Instructions in the Freshmen Code were clear; the penalty for unexcused absences was so severe that the freshmen could not afford it unless they nned to be wiped of their memories and kicked back to Earth. However, someone dared do so after all. Everyone admired Xiao Lin a lot for that; some even maliciously spected that if Xiao Lin reappeared in the next ss, the Loli teacher would definitely lose her temper.


    Xiao Lin peeked into the meditation room as well and was left speechless. Those who came to train this early in the morning had pretty decent Basic Talents; they all passed the threshold to get into Basic Meditation. However, their Basic Meditation levels were generally lower than Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s.


    The one good thing going on was seeing Chen Dao, the timid acting monitor of ss Twelve; his Basic Meditation level was LV1. Apart from him and Gu Xiaoyue, everyone else was at LV0. Xiao Lin thought that he was in the wrong ce; it was nearly impossible for freshmen to get their Basic Meditation level up to LV10 within a week anyway.


    Xiao Lin decided to turn around and leave, leaving everyone else confused.


    ¡°Why was he even here?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe for the nostalgia.¡±


    ¡°Probably. I heard he¡¯s skipped two days of ss. Some teachers were pissed about it; they threatened to kick him back to Earth.¡±


    ¡°What a pity.¡±


    ¡°I heard he¡¯s an acting ss monitor too.¡±


    ...


    Each year¡¯s training ssrooms were separated; the seniors¡¯mon ssrooms were easy to find. However, there was strict management of ess rights in all entrances on campus; junior recruits could never get into the seniors¡¯ ssrooms.


    Xiao Lin walked around the training hall in frustration. Areas A and B were basically the freshmen¡¯s training halls; meanwhile, areas beginning from C were filled with people d in senior¡¯s uniforms.


    [Launching the Replication Skill!]


    [Meditation Skill Search Begins...]


    [Elementary Meditation LV3: E-grade]


    [Unreplicable]


    Xiao Lin sighed. He shifted his gaze away from a sophomore who walked past him. The effectiveness of waiting for a miracle to happen was really low; there was minimal chance that he would bump into someone with a LV10 Basic Meditation. Once someone passed that level, it would advance to Elementary or Intermediate Basic Meditation; it would be impossible to replicate those due to their higher grades.


    He realized a severe problem soon after that as well. Even if he did replicate it sessfully, he only had three minutes; he would need more than ten minutes to walk from the seniors¡¯ training halls to the freshmen¡¯s meditation room. There were special elements and magic in the meditation room, so the effects there would definitely be better than doing it outside.


    He still needed to find a way into the seniors¡¯ ssrooms. Xiao Lin came to a realization; he nearly forgot about the department head who had some high-ranked person looking after him.


    He dialed his phone; the magic phone¡¯s VR function began showing Song Jung¡¯s sleepy face. He yawned andined, ¡°Do you know what time it is? It¡¯s only 9 a.m.! It¡¯s the weekend. The weekend!¡±


    The logistics department head had too much free time. Xiao Lin grunted and cut straight to the chase. ¡°I want to ess the seniors¡¯ ssrooms. Can I?¡±


    Department Head Song rubbed his eyes and rejected Xiao Lin¡¯s request right away. ¡°You¡¯re joking! How is that possible! Even if I lent you my pass, it wouldn¡¯t work. The Academy¡¯s passes are all soul-locked. Do you know what soul-locked is? It¡¯s something more advanced than biometrics...¡±


    Xiao Lin hit his own head and cut the man short abruptly. He said helplessly, ¡°Isn¡¯t some high-ranked person looking after you?¡±


    Song Jung shrugged. ¡°Yes, true, but only the Central Computer has the right to change things. Theputer isn¡¯t a person!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched.

 Chapter 44: Sophomore Meditation Room

    <h4>Chapter 44: Sophomore Meditation Room</h4>


    Xiao Lin was silent.


    Song Jung¡¯s sleepiness gradually faded. Seeing how Xiao Lin was not joking, he got serious. ¡°Do you really want ess? What do you want in the seniors¡¯ ssrooms?¡±


    ¡°To listen in.¡±


    ¡°Would you even understand?¡± Song Jung expressed a little disdain. After all, he used to be the genius talented recruit back then. ¡°Moreover, don¡¯t you think the teacher will chase you out?¡±


    ¡°I have you, don¡¯t I? You said you¡¯ll help me.¡±


    Department Head Song¡¯s eyes flinched. ¡°I think you¡¯re taking this too far...¡±


    ¡°Fine, stop wasting time. I just want ess to the sophomore training field or ssroom.¡± Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°If it¡¯s too much trouble, forget it.¡±


    Song Jung called him, ¡°Wait! Sophomore? You only need sophomore ess?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Department Head Song frowned in thought. ¡°I thought you wanted to sneak into the senior or researchers¡¯bs! If it¡¯s just for sophomore, it¡¯s not impossible. I can give you temporary ess, but it onlysts a day. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Definitely!¡± Xiao Lin was happy. ¡°Will it really work?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m department head. It¡¯s within my authority!¡± Song Jung told Xiao Lin to wait, moved away, then popped back up in VR after a few minutes. He said proudly, ¡°It¡¯s settled, but what are you trying to do? Don¡¯t lie to me about listening in. It¡¯s the weekend... Beep beep beep.¡±


    Xiao Lin had already hung up. He found a passing recruit, asked for the location to the sophomore meditation room, thanked him, and hurried away.


    Xiao Lin took a pass from the front of the first ssroom in the fourth row of Area C. On the outside, the card was no different from travel passes on Earth, but Song Jung said that this one was soul-locked. The fancy word shocked him; he flipped the card around, but could not see anything substantial.


    Xiao Lin took the card and swiped it past the door lock. With a beep, the meditation room¡¯s door was opened silently. As he felt pleasantly surprised, he once again felt that Song Jung¡¯s authority as a department head was indeed beneficial.


    The sophomore meditation room was bigger than the freshmen¡¯s, but everything else was the same. There were more people there on the weekend than there were freshmen. At a nce, there were about 70 to 80 people in the room. It was very quiet; everyone sat cross-legged on the mats. Some people quietly opened their eyes, nced at Xiao Lin in confusion, but soon closed their eyes again.


    Xiao Lin nodded in satisfaction. The more people there were, the greater the avable options. He immediately turned on the Academic Genius Replication skill and began searching for appropriate Meditation Skill levels.


    [Elementary Meditation LV5, E-grade, unreplicable]


    [Elementary Meditation LV4, E-grade, unreplicable]


    [Elementary Meditation LV7, E-grade, unreplicable]


    [Intermediate Meditation LV1, D-grade, unreplicable]


    ...


    After a few minutes, Xiao Lin wiped sweat from his head. He scanned the entire meditation room, but none of their skills were lower than the Elementary level. He even found a D-grade Intermediate Meditation skill...


    The sophomore students that year seemed too strong; or maybe it was the quality expected of sophomore recruits. As Xiao Lin thought about how many freshmen were still struggling with Basic Meditation LV0, he could not help but feel ashamed.


    He closed the meditation room¡¯s door silently and decided to try his luck in a few other ssrooms. There were four meditation rooms for sophomore recruits; if he had no other choice, he had to choose Gu Xiaoyue as his replication target.


    Xiao Lin still could not find suitable targets for replication in the second and third meditation rooms. Thankfully, it seemed that the better sophomores were concentrated in the first ssroom. Nheless, the levels of those in thetter ssrooms were still strong; they had at least LV1 for Elementary Meditation.


    Basic Meditation was F-grade, and Elementary Meditation was E-grade; so it was not within the scope of replication. Xiao Lin was secretly surprised; Elementary Meditation was indeed the standard for most sophomore recruits. It seemed like he had no choice but to replicate the skill from Gu Xiaoyue.


    After swiping the card, the door of thest meditation room opened silently. It was different from the silence in the previous ssrooms. There were a lot of people there, and there were at least 20 to 30 students gathered in twos and threes chatting together. A few women were enjoying bags of peanuts and sunflower seeds. If it was not for the sign hanging on the door, Xiao Lin would have thought that he walked into a supermarket.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden appearance attracted everyone¡¯s attention. There was a brief silence in the ssroom, then louder voices broke out.


    ¡°Am I seeing this right? Is he actually wearing a freshman¡¯s uniform!¡±


    ¡°A freshman? Maybe a repeater!¡±


    ¡°Even if you are a repeater, you can¡¯t have permission toe in.¡±


    Xiao Lin could vaguely hear that their focus was on him. Since there were not many clothes to change into on campus, everyone wore uniforms most of the time. It was very clear which year each student belonged to. In this sophomore ssroom, Xiao Lin¡¯s green freshman uniform made him stick out like a sore thumb.


    ¡°Why are you still stunned? Come in quickly. If you don¡¯t close the door, it¡¯ll leave a bad impression on anyone who sees us.¡± A short-haired woman closest to Xiao Lin strode forward, pulled him in, and closed the door.


    He instantly became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention; many of them stared at him with hostile vignce. Xiao Lin wiped sweat from his forehead and smiled, ¡°Dear seniors, I¡¯m just here for the meditation room. I think I might be in the wrong ce, so won¡¯t bother you.¡±


    ¡°No, no, you¡¯re in the right ce! This is the meditation room, but the freshmen¡¯s meditation room is in Area B.¡± The short-haired woman stood in front of the door to stop Xiao Lin from leaving. She scrutinized him and said, ¡°Are you from the student union?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin? Xiao Lin! Why are you here!¡± A familiar voice came from the crowd. Xiao Lin looked in the direction of the voice; it was his acquaintance, Zhang Tingting, the sophomore recruit from whom he asked for advice from a few days ago regarding Meditation.


    ¡°So you know each other.¡± Some people put their guards down and returned to their own circles to chat and eat sunflower seeds.


    ¡°Tingting, who¡¯s this Xiao Lin? Your new boyfriend?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Eh, did you break up with Gu Fantian?¡±


    ¡°No way, I saw you guys together yesterday. You should be giving us a non-disclosure fee for this! Not much; we just want 200 redemption points!¡±


    It was mostly women in the meditation room. If three women could stir up some drama, the amount of drama in there must have been palpable. They were all chatting at the same time, and Xiao Lin had no room to exin himself.


    Zhang Tingting became irritated and overpowered the others with a louder voice. ¡°Shut up! What are you talking about? This boy¡¯s a freshman monitor!¡±


    For a moment, there was pin-drop silence in the meditation room again.

 Chapter 45: Advanced Meditation

    <h4>Chapter 45: Advanced Meditation</h4>


    ¡°You¡¯re a freshman monitor?¡± the short-haired woman said, shocked.


    ¡°Cough. I¡¯m an acting monitor,¡± Xiao Lin corrected her.


    The short-haired woman ignored it. ¡°A monitor indeed. Tsk, we were being disrespectful before. You won¡¯t penalize us, will you? I¡¯m Wu Qin.¡±


    This woman seemed ordinary, but she acted generously. She grabbed Xiao Lin¡¯s hand and shook it, then said with a flirty voice, ¡°So, you¡¯re here for Zhang Tingting?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his hands. ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m here to practice meditation.¡±


    Zhang Tingting red at the few who made noise and asked in curiosity, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to the freshmen¡¯s meditation room? Although the sophomore meditation room has a stronger elemental cluster spell; it doesn¡¯t help much for freshmen who have yet to reach Elementary Meditation. It¡¯s not as effective as the freshmen meditation room.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked dubiously, ¡°Is...is this really the meditation room?¡±


    Dozens of faces in the ssroom seemed embarrassed in that moment. Zhang Tingting was also speechless; only Wu Qin seemed to be okay. She shrugged and said, ¡°To put it simply, our meditation level is rtively lower. Get it?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood it then; he felt embarrassed. If these people were gathered in schools on Earth, they would have a more direct name: poor students!


    Everyone was at the same starting point when they first entered as freshmen. Apart from the talented recruits, it was still hard to tell good students from the bad ones in the first year. However, it was clearer in second year.


    It was no wonder that these people woulde to the meditation ss on weekends to chat and eat snacks. Xiao Lin thought that they were probably letting themselves rot.


    Wu Qin caught Xiao Lin¡¯s expression and angrily said, ¡°Do you actually think that we¡¯re giving up on ourselves? Tingting just said that the sophomore meditation room is made for people in the Elementary Meditation level. Understand?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood it better now. These were the poor sophomore students, and they were also not at the Elementary Meditation level. They did not want to go to the freshmen¡¯s meditation room; maybe they thought it would be too embarrassing for them.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes brightened. If this group of people were all at Basic Meditation, then it would meet his requirements. The Academic Genius talent was immediately activated and he began to search for skills.


    [Basic Meditation LV6; evaluation grade F; replicable]


    [Basic Meditation LV8; evaluation grade F; replicable]


    [Basic Meditation LV7; evaluation grade F; replicable]


    [Basic Meditation LV10; evaluation grade F; replicable]


    ...


    Unsurprisingly, these people were stuck at the Basic Meditation level. Moreover, he found his candidate for a LV10 Basic Meditation¡ªit was Wu Qin.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze was sharp. Wu Qin raised her brow and teased, ¡°Monitor, why are you looking at me like that? Are you into me? If you profess your undying love, I might consider you.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. Before Wu Qin misunderstood him further, he looked away and said loudly, ¡°I¡¯m going to start meditating. Seniors, can you give me a few minutes? Yes, just three minutes!¡±


    He had no choice. Meditation training required a silent environment; otherwise, it would be hard to focus on sensing the elements. If they did not cooperate in this noisy ssroom, it would be impossible to do anything.


    Wu Qin retracted her sarcastic look. ¡°You really want to meditate? Right here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡±


    Zhang Tingting did not believe him. ¡°What¡¯s your meditation level?¡±


    ¡°Basic Meditation LV0.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not want to lie about that, but he sparked a louder uproar. Dozens came over.


    ¡°Basic Meditation LV0? Oh right, freshmen have only been here for a week; it¡¯s normal.¡±


    ¡°After a week¡¯s worth of sses, you must¡¯ve had at least two meditation sses. What¡¯s your XP?¡±


    ¡°0 EXP. I know what you all want to ask. I¡¯m not at the threshold yet,¡± he replied obediently to make the seniors keep quiet for a while.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. With that meditation level and not reaching the threshold to train it yet, you won¡¯t get any effects, even if you went to the senior meditation room.¡± Wu Qin shook her head and stopped everyone else¡¯s questioning.


    Wu Qin sighed. ¡°Fine, you have a few minutes, but know that the meditation room¡¯s energy-gathering magic does not work better with higher levels.¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement; they looked at Xiao Lin with pity andpassion. Not many people were making fun of him, likely because they could rte. When they first reached the threshold to practice meditation in freshman year, they spent a long time gaining XP for meditation. However, before they could celebrate, they realized that they were still far behind the others.


    It took some talent to be a good mage after all.


    Xiao Lin was speechless; he felt that the more he exined himself, the more they would misunderstand him. Thankfully, he was promised a few minutes; it was more than enough.


    [Activating the Replication Skill!]


    [Target: Wu Qin!]


    [Basic Meditation LV10, evaluation grade F]


    [Sessful replication!]


    Xiao Lin sat down with his legs crossed. He did not even bother looking for a mat. He only had three minutes to train with the replicated skill, so he was not going to waste any time.


    He shut his eyes, calmed himself down, and focused.


    This time, it was easier for him to enter a state of full meditation. Xiao Lin found it very different from hisst meditation. Although his eyes were shut, it was no longer pure darkness around him; there were countless grain-shaped stars shimmering in the darkness. It was like a bright gxy decorated with twinkling lights.


    He tried to catch them, but the stars blinked like naughty children running around. They were erratic. Xiao Lin failed after several attempts and he became a little annoyed. He thought to himself that if the stars coulde over to him, that would be great.


    Then, the grainy stars began swimming toward Xiao Lin...


    As they got closer, Xiao Lin noticed that these bright spots actually came in four colors: red, blue, yellow and green. They intertwined and surrounded each other. The red spots were violent and hot, the blue spots contained purity and coldness, the yellow spots gave off stability and solidity, while the green spots were embellished with lightness and agility.


    Xiao Lin suddenly understood that these were the four elements of nature¡ªred fire, blue water, yellow earth, and green wind.


    The feeling was very peculiar. The elements werepletely invisible and intangible normally, like molecr atoms on Earth that were impossible to observe with the naked eye. The meditation state was like a microscope, allowing people to enter this wonderful microscopic world to feel the magic of the elements.


    In fact, everyone would have a different understanding of magic. For example, Gu Xiaoyue believed that the essence of magic was like programming, while Xiao Lin believed that meditation was observing the microscopic nature of the world.


    They had different ways of understanding it, but the results were simr.


    Three minutes flew by in his meditation state. When he reluctantly opened his eyes again, Xiao Lin found that his skills felt different.


    The LV10 Basic Meditation disappeared after the replication time was over, but Xiao Lin¡¯s contact with the four elements during meditation was unforgettable.


    [Basic Meditation LV1: 50/100]


    His Meditation XP directly increased by a 100 XP!

 Chapter 46: Trading Zone

    <h4>Chapter 46: Trading Zone</h4>


    Xiao Lin got up, brushed the dust off his pants, and bid goodbye to Wu Qin, Zhang Tingting, and the others happily before leaving. He had gotten substantial gains today; not only did he improve his Basic Meditation level, his hypothesis was proven as well. He had a new understanding of how to use the Academic Genius¡¯ replication skill.


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re leaving?¡± Wu Qin was confused. Xiao Lin¡¯s excited and rxed disposition was different from what she had expected from him.


    She estimated the freshman to be demotivated. It was inevitable; reaching the threshold for meditation required talent. Some people could never cross that threshold. It was not a problem that could be solved bying to the sophomore meditation room. Wu Qin hade up with a speech in her head tofort this adorable freshman.


    ¡°My problem has been resolved, so I won¡¯t bother you all anymore,¡± Xiao Lin thanked everyone again.


    ¡°Solved?¡± Wu Qin had a slow reaction. Soon after, she thought of something, winked at him, and giggled. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be shy, little boy. Don¡¯t you want to stay with us longer? Why are you looking for excuses? You shouldn¡¯t underestimate the power of meditation. Just because our results are... Ahem, in short, it took some time for us to get our XP up from 0 to 1.¡±


    Xiao Lin said vaguely, ¡°Uh, I think I¡¯ve reached the threshold to practice meditation.¡±


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re funny. How could your XP have increased after just a few minutes of meditation?¡±


    There were chuckles around him. In their experience, they knew how difficult it was to start meditating; they were not being cruel, but they thought that this freshman was a little full of himself.


    ¡°I think I should go.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Wu Qin blocked the door vigorously; she seemed like she was set on exposing Xiao Lin for his lie. She put her hand on her waist and said, ¡°You have to exin this; we¡¯re your seniors after all. I want to see your Basic Meditation level!¡±


    ¡°Sister Qin, forget it.¡± Zhang Tingting tugged on the woman¡¯s top and whispered, ¡°He¡¯s the acting monitor.¡±


    ¡°And a freshman. He has to respect his seniors!¡±


    It had been just a joke, but more people joined the mor and got a little more serious as well.


    Xiao Lin frowned, looked at Zhang Tingting, who looked to be in a dilemma, and sighed. He intended to keep a low profile; after all, he was only able to enter the sophomore training room as a freshman with Department Head Song¡¯s help. Thinking back to the article attacking Song Jung in the Dawn Academy Evening News two days ago, Xiao Lin felt that he should not cause too much trouble for the fairly kind department head.


    Xiao Lin said with a straight face, ¡°Fine, no harm telling you. Basic Meditation LV1.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡± Wu Qin continued blocking the exit. Someone passed aptop over, and she tossed it to Xiao Lin. ¡°Show us! Otherwise, you can¡¯t leave. Hmph, we may not know how a freshman got into a sophomore meditation room. If we investigate, we¡¯ll definitely find something!¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little unhappy. He waved theputer and asked, ¡°How do I use it? I mean how do I show the level of an individual skill.¡± He did not want to expose his other attributes¡¯ levels.


    Wu Qin was obviously more familiar with the system than he was. She pointed out a few things and Xiao Lin logged onto the forum before entering his personal information. There was indeed an option to ¡®show more¡¯ under his LV1 Basic Meditation.


    He clicked in and a virtual screen rose from theputer. All of the Academy¡¯s equipment seemed to have the magic VR function. The words ¡®Basic Meditation LV1¡¯ were clearly disyed on the screen.


    The meditation room quietened instantly.


    Wu Qin¡¯s eyes widened and she was stunned. Other people¡¯s reactions were simr to hers; they rubbed their eyes vigorously to make sure that they were seeing right. They looked like they had met a ghost.


    It was not that they had never seen anyone with a talent for meditation. It was that being able to go from Basic Meditation LV0 and 0 EXP to LV1 within three minutes seemed like a fantasy.


    ¡°You wanted to see for yourself!¡± Xiao Lin muttered. He expected this reaction; he was a little frightened by the efficiency himself, what more these seniors.


    While Wu Qin remained in a daze, Xiao Lin fled.


    After over ten seconds, Wu Qin finally snapped out of it. She yelled after Xiao Lin¡¯s back, ¡°*sshole! You came to show off, didn¡¯t you!¡±


    Wu Qin could not believe it. She thought that Xiao Lin had already reached Basic Meditation LV1, and that he was there to pretend and show off in front of the poor students. Everyone nodded in agreement; they thought that her exnation was more logical. Meanwhile, Zhang Tingting kept exining that the freshman¡¯s monitor was only at LV0 a few days ago. Obviously, no one believed her.


    ...


    It was early on the weekend. Xiao Lin wanted to practice swordsmanship again, but he seemed to have thought of something. He first returned to the dorm, turned on hisputer, entered the Academy¡¯s forum, and clicked into the equipment trading zone.


    It was simr to an online store. All transactions of weapons, equipment, and props in the academy were done there. The entire section even gave Xiao Lin the feeling that he was on Taobao. There was a huge promotional picture on the homepage, showing a giant golden sword with various peculiar runes carved into it. There was a note beside it that read, ¡®The Best Choice for a Sword Saint. You¡¯re worthy of the Golden Holy Sword!


    Scrolling down, the page showed another promotional banner that read ¡®Clearance Sale for All Magical essories! 50% Off Sale Price! You Won¡¯t Regret These Purchases!¡¯


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. In fact, there were two types of trading zones: one was the official store and the other was the personal store. The former was run by Dawn Academy. Its advantage was its fair prices; there was no need to worry about being cheated. However, the downside was that official merchandise was not that great in use. They were not horrible, but they were not great either.


    Personal stores were mostly set up by seniors or graduates themselves. They sold a wide variety of things. The higher the year of the seller, the better the things were. However, their prices were uncertain; it was possible that you could be conned for a fortune.


    This trading section was open to the whole Academy. Nheless, there were very few freshmen buyers. Xiao Lin casually clicked open a few stores and the things sold in them were worth tens of thousands of redemption points. It was not suitable for freshmen, nor could they afford such things.


    Xiao Lin only had 800 redemption points. Since he wanted to practice both magic and martial arts, he first had to have a wand. This was also mentioned in the Basic Perception course; they were currently focusing on training one¡¯s hit rate, so the teacher suggested that the recruits get wands.


    The wand was not necessary for casting spells, but it could gather and arrange elements better and faster. For freshmen who were just starting out, the wand was essential.

 Chapter 47: Weapons

    <h4>Chapter 47: Weapons</h4>


    The weapons on there were divided into levels like individual capabilities were. There were ck Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Lore, Epic, and Legend levels. There was one novice level under ck Iron as well; it was for the beginner weapons given to everyone at the admissions test.


    Xiao Lin entered the official store. Novice weapons were only sold here and their prices were cheap. They cost about 20 redemption points, but long-range weapons like bows and wands were a little more expensive, costing about 50 redemption points.


    Xiao Lin thought about it for a while before searching for ck Iron-level weapons. There were more options, but their prices increased by a few times as well. ck Iron weapons cost at least 100 redemption points, and some went up to 200 or 300.


    Apart from weapons, the official store sold other practical props as well, such as Mental Strength Recovery Potions, Healing Potions and so on. They were not expensive; they cost about 50 to 100 redemption points. However, not many freshmen were willing to buy props that were for one-time use. Textbooks were avable as well¡ªyou heard right; one was not given textbooks in this Academy. They must be purchased.


    Xiao Lin could note to a decision, so he moved onto the personal stores. He set the search filters to novice and ck Iron-level weapons; anything higher than those were too expensive and unusable.


    As he casually browsed, Xiao Lin noticed that there were various restrictions for use for the higher level equipment. For instance, there were requirements for Strength, Agility, Intelligence, or other capability requirements.


    If these conditions were not met, these weapons would not perform upon use. It would be like letting a novice-level freshman hold a golden sword. The sword would not be able to exert its special effects or attack power to the maximum effect at all. In the hands of those below the requirements, the performance of the sword would not even be as good as a novice weapon.


    The goods sold by seniors were roughly divided into two categories. One, to resell the equipment and props they had used at low prices to recover some of the cost. Although these equipment were old, many of them were still in good and usable condition.


    The other category was repossessed equipment that was originally sold in the official store. Seniors would resell them at a higher price to earn the difference.


    Take the image of the novice dagger that Xiao Lin casually opened for example. From the looks of it, this dagger was no different from the one he used, but the de in this moving picture was obviously shining with light-blue light.


    The novice dagger (Elementary Frost Enchantment), with an F-grade physical attack power, would slow one¡¯s enemy down. Upon hitting an enemy, there would be a chance to reduce their movement speed by 10%. Its price was 200 redemption points.


    Xiao Lin was shocked; not because the price was almost quadrupled, but the frost enchantment effect actually increased the dagger¡¯s attack power grade from F- to F. Unfortunately, the enchantment course was currently not open to freshmen.


    There were a few lines next to the picture that read, ¡®In order to wee freshmen, I¡¯m running a one-week 20% off promotion! Dear friends, as you usher in your first monthly exam, good weapons and equipment will help you get better evaluations and more rewards. What are you waiting for? Trust me, slow close-range weapons are definitely the better choice for the freshman exam!¡¯


    ¡°He seems like a guy who specializes in freshmen¡¯s business, but unfortunately it¡¯s still too expensive,¡± Xiao Lin mumbled to himself. He did not believe that those were the real prices. Even if it was 20% off, the cost was probably even lower than that.


    Instructor Qin Chuan said that, in Dawn Academy, there would be a test simr to the admission test conducted every monthmonly known as the monthly test. One could get great rewards based on their evaluation; but on the flipside, each death would deduct one¡¯s HP. The first monthly exam was still three weeks away, and it was a little stressful for Xiao Lin.


    There were not many seniors doing business with freshmen; they probably thought that freshmen did not have many redemption points and the profit from novice-level equipment and props was too small. It was not worth their time and energy. Most of them were sophomore recruits who put up the weapons they did not want for lower prices. For things like the novice weapons that held enchantments, Xiao Lin could not find them in any other stores.


    In desperation, Xiao Lin went back to the previous shop. It was run by a man named Lu Renjia, and he sold many things. In addition to daggers, there were also arge number of enchanted and strengthened weapons¡ªalmost all of them were on Novice and ck Iron levels. He was truly someone who specialized in doing business with freshmen.


    In addition to the frost enchantment, there were four different kinds of enchantments: burning, lightness, and stability. Novice-level enchanted weapons cost about 200 redemption points, and ck Iron-level enchanted weapons cost 400 redemption points.


    With the same 200 redemption points, one could buy ck Iron-level weapons that were equivalent to F+ physical attack power from the official store. However, there would not be any effect; moreover, ck Iron weapons had certain requirements for the user¡¯s Strength or Agility. Although the requirements were low, unfortunate Xiao Lin had yet to satisfy them.


    Apart from close-range weapons, novice wands and those simr to it had enchantments like Elementary Focus, Elementary Perception, Elementary Spell Pration and so on. The price for those was 50 redemption points more than physical weapons. These enchantment effects could make up for the freshmen¡¯s lower hit rate uracy and damage.


    Xiao Lin was a little swayed, but he was not eager to buy; he did not want to be taken advantage of. He chose to contact the seller instead. ording to the store¡¯s simple introduction, this person named Lu Renjia was a third-year recruit.


    Since it was around noon on the weekend, Lu Renjia happened to be online. Not long after Xiao Lin sent his message, he received a response. The duo talked in a separate chat box; since they were not familiar with each other yet, they did not turn on the magic VR system.


    Xiao Lin politely said, ¡°Good day, senior!¡±


    Lu Renjia was straight to the point. ¡°Haha, good day, Junior! Which product are you interested in?¡±


    Xiao Lin was also very direct. ¡°It¡¯s too expensive. Can you do it cheaper?¡±


    ¡°... Dear junior, you get what you pay for. You won¡¯t have ess to enchantment courses for a long time, and other seniors are too busy to be making enchantment weapons avable at the novice level. I¡¯m the only one who gets to make a small profit while benefiting freshmen. There is no other shop like mine.¡±


    Even after some attempts at bargaining, Lu Renjia refused to budge. He imed that the 20% discount was his limit; he would not make any profit if he lowered the price any further.


    Xiao Lin had no choice but to ask whether there were other types of enchantment weapons.


    After all, it was his first time using his redemption points. He wished he could split up each point he had. It was only natural for him to hope that there were more choices beforeing to a decision on which weapon was the most effective for him.

 Chapter 48: Custom-Made

    <h4>Chapter 48: Custom-Made</h4>


    Lu Renjia surmised that a freshman would be concerned about cost and value. He quickly replied. ¡°Enchantment is a very advanced course and there¡¯s a wide variety of types, involving many other rted courses such as Alchemy and Elementology. Not even graduate students would dare im that they¡¯ve mastered all kinds of enchantments. At most, they¡¯d choose several specific areas for in-depth study.¡±


    ¡°In other words, these are the only enchantments you have?¡±


    ¡°You could put it that way! Higher-ranked enchantments are avable too, but higher-ranked enchantments cannot be applied to lower-ranked weapons,¡± Lu Renjia continued to exin. ¡°In fact, the practical value of these enchantments is really good. Your monthly exam ising and a good weapon can definitely help out a lot.¡±


    ¡°But I noticed that none of the wands you sell have any skills attached? Don¡¯t they have enchantments for those?¡± Xiao Lin was still not satisfied. He had shing as his physical attack, but nothing when it came to spells. The admissions test had clearly demonstrated to him the difference in damage between brute force and actual skill.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Lu Renjia smiled bitterly. ¡°Well, let me briefly exin that there¡¯s a fundamental difference between enchantment and enhancement. I won¡¯t speak about it in too much depth because you¡¯ll know soon enough when you take these courses in the future. Simply put, enchantment is when you carry out fine-tuning and upgrading without changing the structure of the equipment itself. Enhancement is when you adjust the equipment¡¯s structure in order to achieve a higher strength.¡±


    ¡°In other words, weapons with skills attached to them must undergo enhancement?¡±


    ¡°Bingo!¡±


    ¡°Then make me an enhanced magic wand thates with skills attached!¡±


    ¡°...¡± Lu Renjia once again used a series of ellipsis to express his speechlessness.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken the courses rted to weapon enhancement, but I haven¡¯tpleted any weapons yet. I must admit that having skills is very important for freshmen in the early stages, especially when ites to the monthly exam. But frankly speaking, it¡¯s not worth enhancing the skills of a novice weapon! There are a lot of materials needed for enhancement, and many of them don¡¯te cheap. Therefore, the price of a finished product is so high that it¡¯s practically unaffordable for freshmen!¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. Lu Renjia exined at length, but he only had one main point: weapons with skills were so expensive that Xiao Lin could not afford them.


    Xiao Lin felt disheartened and asked hesitantly, ¡°How expensive are they?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the customization requirements. A novice magic wand is not valuable itself, but its value lies in the embedded skill stone. The price will double if you want to enhance it, on top of the existing enchantment.¡± After all that exining, Lu Renjia casually stated a figure. ¡°It¡¯ll be at least three or four hundred.¡±


    Xiao Lin became suspicious. ¡°But the novice magic wand randomly assigned to us in the admissions test alsoes with an energy bomb. It can¡¯t be that expensive!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so na?ve, kid! Do you think the academy is so charitable to give freshmen weapons worth hundreds of dors for free? Haha, don¡¯t think for on second that Dawn Academy is a welfare institution!¡±


    After a pause, Lu Renjia continued, ¡°The energy bomb is the most amateur of hand spells. It¡¯s not even ck Iron-rank. The damage is limited, and a novice magic wand with the energy bomb is both flimsy and cannot be repaired. Hehe, you understand now, don¡¯t you? That thing is actually an expendable item. It¡¯s probably only barely enough for you to pass the admissions test.¡±


    Xiao Lin started to believe it a little bit. As Lu Renjia mentioned earlier, freshmen who were given the novice wand would have tantly taken advantage of it. In addition, he also noticed that the sophomores who sold outdated equipment in the trading zone did not sell any novice magic wands.


    Magic damage, which caused more harm than physical damage, came at the cost of being an expendable item. Whether it was worth it was besides the point. After all, the casting of a spell was notpletely dependent on a magic wand.


    Xiao Lin thought for a while and decided to call Gu Xiaoyue. She had just finished lunch and was on the way to the meditation room. After hearing Xiao Lin¡¯s question, she pushed her sses and said naturally, ¡°I found out when I checked the equipment¡¯s attributes after the test. Not to worry, you can learn energy bombs when your Basic Meditation reaches level three.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You can learn spells at level three? I didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you weren¡¯t in that particr meditation lesson.¡±


    Xiao Lin wiped his sweat after remembering the meditation lesson. It was the same lesson he was forced to skip after eating Department Head Song¡¯s ironb chicken and falling unconscious. He hurriedly asked, ¡°What about other skills? What¡¯s the minimum Meditation level requirement for learning skills? That little Loli¡ªahem, I mean, did the teacher bring it up?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was a good student who paid lots of attention in ss. She thought about it for a moment and replied, ¡°Level three in Basic Meditation is the minimum requirement, but you can only learn a few low-powered spells with it. This is considered entry level. Real ck Iron-rank spells require at least level five.¡±


    In-depth discussions about all things magic brought out the talkative side of Gu Xiaoyue, but when Xiao Lin switched the topic to other areas¡ªsuch as why her life span was only two years¡ªGu Xiaoyue immediately reverted back to her cold and aloof persona. Xiao Lin snickered and had no other option but to end the call.


    Xiao Lin desperately needed a skill-attached magic wand and was already making preparations for the monthly exam in three weeks. Many factors would be considered in the final exam after three months¨Cincluding his physical fitness, results of each subject, and the most importantly: the results of the monthly exams!


    In the short term, his physical fitness paled inparison to the others. If Xiao Lin wanted his official appointment to go smoothly after three months, he had to pay special attention to his monthly exam results.


    ¡°Even if I replicate Senior Sister Wu Qin¡¯s level 10 Basic Meditation every week, my own meditation level still wouldn¡¯t reach level five in three weeks.¡±


    After making that consideration, Xiao Lin made up his mind too.


    Before returning to theputer, Xiao Lin replied Lu Renjia with determination, ¡°If the skill-attached novice magic wand is only three or four hundred redemption points, I¡¯ll buy it!¡±


    ¡°... ¡± Lu Renjia was speechless again.


    ¡°What spells can I choose?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°ck Iron-rank spells should be fine. What about higher levels, like Bronze-rank spells?¡±


    ¡°Wait! Are you really going to buy it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± Xiao Lin actually felt rather disheartened. It was very expensive, especially when some of the ubiquitous ck Iron-rank wands were slightly cheaper than that.


    Xiao Lin had to spend his redemption points one way or another. The true value of a skill-attached weapon was that it could be used by freshmen right away. The enchantment and skill enhancement of the weapon did not change the usage requirements of the weapon itself. The cost of it was still eptable, given that he would be getting a novice weapon that was on par with one of ck Iron-rank.

 Chapter 49: Ice Bullet Wand

    <h4>Chapter 49: Ice Bullet Wand</h4>


    ¡°Let me first rify that my small business doesn¡¯t ept any loans or instalments! It¡¯s only been a week since freshmen like yourself have started sses, right? Haha!¡± Lu Renjia still did not trust Xiao Lin that much. He was very cautious, and as he said earlier, weapons that underwent enhancement had to be customized. He would stand to make a big loss if he made them and no one wanted nor was willing to buy them at a high price.


    Xiao Lin thought for a while and finally sighed before clicking open his personal data. He took a screenshot of his redemption points for Lu Renjia in order to dispel thetter¡¯s doubts.


    ¡°...¡± Lu Renjia seemed fond of using the ellipsis and the conversation sunk into a long silence. Just when Xiao Lin thought that Lu Renjia was going to disagree, thetter said again, ¡°You got a Grade S, didn¡¯t you? You must be the acting ss monitor.¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Good God! My mistake! What skills do you want?¡± Lu Renjia¡¯s attitude changed quickly.¡±ording to thews of enhancement, we can impart one level higher at most, but it¡¯lle at a cost¡ªthe weapon itself cannot be strengthened in other aspects or undergo enchantment, because each piece of equipment must take into ount its quality level. There¡¯s a capacity limit to how much energy can be put in. Of course, you can also choose to attach novice-level spells, which can undergo enchantment.¡±


    Xiao Lin pondered those exnations carefully. Many things, such as the capacity limit, might only be known to him when he finally took those courses. He asked, ¡°What novice spells are there?¡±


    Lu Renjia exined it enthusiastically now. ¡°A novice spell can be defined as a weakened version of a ck Iron-rank spell. For example, the novice-level Energy Bomb is a weakened version of the ck Iron-rank¡¯s Convergent Energy Bomb, and the novice-level me Spell is the weakened version of ck Iron-rank¡¯s Fire Bullet. In terms of power, novice spells are one level lower than ck Iron spells.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you can either use a novice spell along with an enchantment, or you can only attach one ck Iron-rank spell to a weapon.¡±


    ¡°You could put it that way, yes.¡±


    ¡°Are there any ck Iron-rank spells you rmend? Something that can be used in the monthly exam. ¡±


    ¡°It depends on what your goal is. For high damage, it has to be the Convergent Energy Bomb. This ck Iron-rank spell is rated E- in terms of power. The disadvantage is that it takes a while to gather up the energy, and if your Basic Perception isn¡¯t high enough, the hit rate will be very low.¡±


    ¡°Forget about that then. Are there any others?¡± Xiao Lin decisively refused. He had seen the terrible hit rate of energy bombs and did not have much confidence in that.


    ¡°Then I rmend the control type. The Ice Bullet, with F-rated spell damage, has the effect of slowing the target¡¯s speed. Or perhaps the Stunnie, with a spell damage rating of F+, that can produce a short-term stun effect if it hits the target.¡±


    ¡°If it hits the target?¡± Xiao Lin questioned.


    ¡°Ahem, this spell, just like the Convergent Energy Bomb, requires a high level of Basic Perception to maintain its hit rate.¡±


    Xiao Lin pondered for a moment, then asked, ¡°What¡¯s the price like?¡±


    ¡°Good God, I wouldn¡¯t dare to cheat you. I¡¯ll sell you at market price. Five hundred redemption points will do!¡±


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not believe that was market price, so he decisively stated the price he had set in his heart. ¡°Four hundred redemption points.¡±


    ¡°Good God, don¡¯t you think we could be friends who can take care of each other in the New World? I really can¡¯t go any lower!¡±


    Some bargainingter, the deal was ultimately made with 450 redemption points. Lu Renjia had also droned on and on about how little profit he was making and treated the transaction as a chance to make friends.


    Xiao Lin finally chose Ice Bullet as the attached skill that would undergo enhancement. As a ck Iron-rank spell, its F-rated spell damage was nothing to shout about, but what Xiao Lin valued most was the Ice Bullet¡¯s visually-discernible slowing effect.


    A novice wand like that was not yet a finished product and had to be customized, but Lu Renjia vowed toplete it in a week at most.


    The two of them then signed a simple contract. Xiao Lin paid an upfront deposit of 200 redemption points. The contract was guaranteed by the Academy. In the event of non-delivery or quality problems, the parties could apply to the student union for arbitration.


    After settling everything, Xiao Lin left the forum. Only 350 redemption points were left and he nned to save them for a rainy day. Although he regretted not buying any textbooks, it was enough that he had Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes in ss. Of course, he did not forget to pour some scorn on the academy for not providing its students textbooks.


    That weekend, Xiao Lin finally devoted himself to practicing swordsmanship in the afternoon. It had already been a week since he entered the academy, and apart from the admissions test, he did not manage to properly practice his Basic Swordsmanship. The academy¡¯s curriculum was arranged on a very tight schedule, and there was not much free time left for freshmen to go about their own business.


    Xiao Lin checked everyone else¡¯s skill levels using his ss monitor¡¯s authority. Students in the basic weapon category did not differ much, as most of them were only at LV2. Most outstanding out of them was Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Basic Meditation, which stood at LV2. Although both meditation and weaponry were on the same level, meditation was more difficult to upgrade than swordsmanship.


    Many people were already present inside the swordsmanship training hall. Several other acting ss monitors were also there. Except for ss One¡¯s Cheng Ming, the rest were indifferent and did note up to greet him.


    The two of them chatted casually for a bit and Cheng Ming expressed concern about Xiao Lin¡¯s two-day absence from lessons. However, Xiao Lin simply exined his absence away with being ill. Much to Xiao Lin¡¯s surprise and speechlessness, Cheng Ming seemed to eat that excuse up...


    Their conservation soon shifted to swordsmanship practice. Xiao Lin learned that Cheng Na, the T-rex tutor, did not show up during the second ss. Was she really just going to leave them to their own devices?


    Cheng Ming was even more distressed. He revealed bluntly that his Basic Swordsmanship had reached LV3, but found it increasingly difficult to advance from there.


    Xiao Lin quickly discovered the problem after starting his training. It was actually very simple to level up when Basic Swordsmanship was at LV1. As long as one¡¯s sword swings were performed correctly and, with sufficient physical strength, 100 XP would equal to 100 sword swings. If one trained with all their heart, they couldplete it very quickly. Compared to passing the thresholds for Basic Meditation, it was much, much easier.


    However, Xiao Lin clearly noticed the increasing difficulty in levelling up beyond LV2. It took 500 XP to upgrade from LV2 to LV3, but even though Xiao Lin used all his strength to meticulouslyplete those swinging actions, his Basic Swordsmanship XP only increased by one point.


    He had the SS-level Academic Genius talent, for goodness sake!


    Under the passive effects of 100% upgrade efficiency, the increase ought to have been two experience points. It was impossible for his talent to lose its effects, which could only mean that ordinary people had toplete at least two sword swings to gain one XP.


    If ordinary people needed only two hours of practice to upgrade their Basic Swordsmanship to LV2, then the upgrade from LV2 to LV3 theoretically took at least 10 times that duration toplete, which was 20 hours.


    In fact, it was impossible for students to continuously practice their swordsmanship for 20 hours straight, not even during the weekend when they had spare time and no sses. The reason was due to the sheer exhaustion they would feel and the limited energy they had. If their physical fitness suffered a rapid decline, then their training efficiency would continue to decrease, so much so that it would not produce any XP at all.


    Xiao Lin finally understood why so many people in the ss remained at LV2 even after a week. From that perspective, Cheng Ming¡¯s achievement at LV3 was truly surprising.

 Chapter 50: Wu Qin’s Post

    <h4>Chapter 50: Wu Qin¡¯s Post</h4>


    Xiao Lin went to the swordsmanship hall at two o¡¯clock, and by six, his four hours of training had raised his XP to 300. The increase depended heavily on strict standards of force and strength when swinging the sword. The slightest sloppiness was not tolerated. There was no doubt that continuously swinging the sword consumed a lot of physical energy. A pleasant surprise for Xiao Lin was that he felt less strain in his sword practice after increasing his physical fitness and physique.


    To some extent, it actually proved Xiao Lin¡¯s suspicion that many of the academy¡¯s courses were actuallyplementary to each other. For example, the efficiency of his swordsmanship practice increased after his physical fitness improved. He might not necessarily have gained better training results if he simply set aside all other courses and investedpletely in swordsmanship.


    The short weekend ended quickly, and once nightfall came, the freshmen could only scan the posts on the academy¡¯s intr, since they were not allowed to leave the dormitory. For many freshmen, it was a way for them to pass the time.


    Some people shared their experiences in the previous week¡¯s lessons, such asparing the rtive ease of different courses and which sses had better teachers. Everyone soon found out that the difficulties were actually rather simr.


    In the first week of the course, the teachers in all the sses did not actually teach anything too substantial. Whether they took Basic Swordsmanship or Basic Saber Technique, the instructors merely asked them to repeat thergely non-technical swinging and hacking movements. Some people could not help but have some doubts; if that was the extent of the course, would it not be more convenient to train by themselves? Why was there a need for the teacher to be present?


    There were also many whoined that the academy¡¯s system was too harsh. For example, beingte was the one rule that received the mostints. ording to the freshman student code, 50 redemption points was to be deducted for every instance ofte arrival. Those who passed the admissions test had redemption points, but not much, and for many who were used to sleepingte, getting up early was a Herculean task.


    Most of them thought that beingte for one or two asions was a non-issue, or perhaps the tutors might let them off if they begged for mercy for beingte. Many had the mindset of getting lucky and escaping punishment if and when they werete. That seemed to be the case, especially when the teacher simply kept quiet, despite their tardiness.


    That evening, all the freshmen received their weekly attendance records from the Central Computer, after which the entire dormitory building erupted with wailing. Those who had a record of beingte received penalty slips, all at the same time. 50 redemption points were deducted for eachte arrival, and several had their points deducted so badly that their scores were in the negative. They then received a warning from the student council and their credits could be used as coteral on ount of the fact that it was their first offence. However, should the redemption points be deducted to zero a second time, their memories would be erased and they would be sent back to Earth.


    Amidst the sorrow was joy as well. Most of the freshmen who went to ss on time and never left early received another prompt at the exact same time¡ªthey had been given a weekly reward for full attendance: 50 redemption points!


    The received redemption points was not that high a number, but they stood to obtain 200 redemption points for a full month¡¯s attendance. That was a big number, and many people expressed their praise and support for that system in the forum.


    Someone then randomly asked a question. ¡®If 50 redemption points were to be deducted for each instance of tardiness, then would someone who was absent for two days be sent back to Earth?¡¯


    The post did not name anyone in particr and it was unlikely that the hundreds of freshmen knew each other. However, someone soon replied to the poster with Xiao Lin¡¯s achievements. For example, his physical examination attributes, the results of his admissions test, how much the tutors disliked him for insisting on dual cultivation, and how he still had 0 XP in Basic Meditation...


    The reply must have been from someone who hated Xiao Lin, because the taunting was rather excessive. Xiao Lin sensed that, apart from Wang Dalin, he had not ruffled anyone else¡¯s feathers since arriving at the academy. Be that as it may, such an urrence was inevitable, given the envy that arose from some conflicting interests.


    Xiao Lin was the ss monitor, but only on an acting basis for a three-month term. After gradually getting a better understanding of the various benefitsing with the position, anyone with the slightest bit of ambition would certainly covet the position.


    The students in the other sses might not share the same mentality, but their monitors were genuinely talented and had shown potential far exceeding that of any ordinary human throughout the past week. For example, ss One¡¯s monitor Cheng Ming was the first to raise his Basic Swordsmanship to LV3. Another example would be ss Twelve¡¯s monitor Chen Dao, whose meditation speed paled only to that of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s, effectively forcing everyone to drop whatever intentions they originally had.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart nearly jumped out when he received his attendance sheet. The record clearly showed that he was absent for two days, but there was also an exnation for his absence below, stating that it was due to a cooperation with the student union department to conduct important research. Therefore, his attendance was still full and he received a reward of 50 redemption points.


    The phrase ¡®conduct important research¡¯ nearly made Xiao Lin burst withughter. He breathed a sigh of relief. Song Jung was telling the truth when he asserted that he had a high-ranked person taking care of him.


    If Xiao Lin really was kicked out of Dawn Academy, everyone else in ss Seven would benefit from it. Theoretically speaking, they all stood a chance to be the next monitor. With that sort of mentality, they were unafraid to express their support, even though they knew how much Xiao Lin liked to show off his authority.


    Xiao Lin ignored the provocative post which questioned whether or not he would be kicked out of the academy. Although he wanted to post his attendance sheet just to give those people a p in the face, he was deterred by the possibility of stirring up trouble.


    The post questioning Xiao Lin was not around for too long. Soon, a more popr post appeared on the forum. The post was made by a person named Wu Qin, but the name did not really matter. After all, everyone was practically strangers to each other. The more eye-catching aspect was the sophomore sign in front of the name, indicating that the poster was a second-year student.


    The forum¡¯s rules stipted that those who were senior could enter the section for their juniors, while the reverse was not permitted. The rule came about as a means of encouraging older students to guide the younger ones, but the truth was that not many people were willing to waste their time on freshmen.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched when he saw who posted it. In fact, he immediately knew what Wu Qin was talking about without even looking at the post.


    Wu Qin¡¯s post condemned Xiao Lin too, exciting those who wanted to take over Xiao Lin¡¯s position. Most of them probably felt that Xiao Lin¡ªwho had the audacity to provoke a sophomore¡ªwas the stereotypical example of someone who had done something foolish and received karmic retribution.


    As a result, the number of clicks on that posts surged quickly. Many people who clicked in did so out of glee or curiosity. Wu Qin seemed very angry as she unceremoniously used Xiao Lin of looking down on people when he was nothing but a freshman. He might have been acting ss monitor, but he had no regard for his seniors and was extremely arrogant.


    Wu Qin briefly stated what happened in the sophomore¡¯s meditation room the other day but omitted half of what truly happened. For example, she brought up the weekend gossip and conversation between the senior sisters in the meditation room, but the focus was on how Xiao Lin mocked her because he thought too highly of himself.


    Wu Qin would never believe that Xiao Lin only took a few minutes to upgrade his Basic Meditation from LV0 to LV1 that day. Even a talented student could not achieve that, so she concluded that the Freshmen ss Seven¡¯s acting ss monitor was just putting on a show.


    As the saying went, those who showed off all the time had iting to them. Wu Qin went ballistic and could no longer take it, so she made a point to head to the forum to vent her frustrations.

 Chapter 51: Basic Sword Moves

    <h4>Chapter 51: Basic Sword Moves</h4>


    Wu Qin¡¯s post silenced everyone who read it, including those who were eager to see Xiao Lin being ridiculed and those who were simply just curious about the whole thing. If not for the real-name system the forum implemented, all of them would have suspected Xiao Lin of deliberately making that eye-catching post using a fake ount.


    Then, someone who imed to be in the same ss as Xiao Lin posted a short post, saying that Xiao Lin never did increase his XP during the meditation ss. That fact was confirmed by many other people in the ss at that time and it was impossible for that to be fake.


    ¡°It must be fake! A jump from LV0 Basic Meditation to LV1 in just a few minutes? Even if you are a sophomore, you shouldn¡¯t pull a fast one on us freshmen!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in Xiao Lin¡¯s ss, and I¡¯ll bet my credits that this guy¡¯s meditation level is only at LV0!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe in geniuses, but I heard that even Gu Xiaoyue, who broke the academy¡¯s record, needed an entire lesson to get to LV1!¡±


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue relied on her extraordinary intelligence value to achieve that! What can Xiao Lin rely on when his initial attribute values don¡¯t even exceed 10!¡±


    ¡°Senior Sister, you¡¯re not being honest!¡±


    ¡°Senior Sister is probably trying to support Xiao Lin!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, Xiao Lin¡¯s pretty awesome. He¡¯s already managed to woo a sophomore senior in barely a few days of being here!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s probably dependent on her.¡±


    Those who responded to Wu Qin¡¯s post expressed suspicion and disbelief. The topic soon shifted gradually to spection about Wu Qin and Xiao Lin¡¯s rtionship.


    Sitting all alone in her dormitory, Wu Qin refreshed the thread repeatedly. Her expression became more and more distorted as she read everything. She could care less about the replies that teased her, but almost everyone who responded clearly told her that Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Meditation really was only LV0, with no XP whatsoever.


    Raising Basic Meditation from LV0 to LV1 in a few minutes? Howughable!


    Wu Qin scratched at her short hair vigorously and had a dazed look after having her worldview so drastically upended. She gritted her teeth and finally decided to post it to the sophomore forum. As one of the sophomore year¡¯s underachievers, she believed that those top students¡ªwho were dozens of times stronger than her¡ªsurely had an exnation for that phenomenon.


    ...


    A new week has begun.


    Due to the carrot-and-stick approach for attendance, no one dared bete to ss anymore. The lessons were the same as the first week, withpulsory courses in the morning and electives in the afternoon.


    Their history lesson continued exining the history of Norma¡¯s development. It was quite interesting to listen to if one treated the subject like a novel. Having gone through what happened the week earlier, everyone took the initiative to bring along a notebook. In fact, textbooks were readily avable, but the price of 200 redemption points was enough of a disincentive for most.


    For their swordsmanship lesson in the afternoon, their tutor Cheng Na waste because of an afternoon nap, but just when everyone thought that the T-rex would not show up, she appeared all of a sudden at around 3 p.m. After discovering that no one in the training hall followed her instruction to train with real swords instead of wooden swords, Cheng Nashed out immediately.


    ¡°Bunch of idiots! Do you think this useless thing is any good for training? Those who reached level three Basic Swordsmanship, please step forward!¡±


    Everyone looked around, but Cheng Ming¡ªas the sole student who reached that level¡ªwas the only one who came forward.


    Cheng Na asked, ¡°Is progressing your level easy to you, boy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult,¡± Cheng Ming shook his head in distress. ¡°Recently, I¡¯ve had to swing my sword seven or eight times, sometimes even more than a dozen times, just for me to up my XP. Even then it¡¯s only by a small amount. Sometimes, my XP won¡¯t increase at all. If it continues like this, I really wonder how long will it take to get to level four.¡±


    Cheng Na snorted coldly, then waved her right hand in the air. An empty void tore open and a stainless-steel sword appeared in her hand. She pointed the tip of the sword toward Cheng Ming and said, ¡°Come and try me!¡±


    ¡°Again!¡± Cheng Ming was frustrated. The woman had defeated him so badly the week earlier that he had lost all confidence, but being the earnest person that he was, he bit the bullet and confronted Cheng Na regardless of how reluctant he actually was.


    En garde! Swing! Slice!


    Cheng Ming¡¯s movements flowed smoothly, exactly like how he had been practicing those few days. Cheng Na¡¯s expression was very serious, unlike herx attitude the previous time. She lifted the steel sword and held it close to her, then swung it in a smooth arc. Cheng Ming¡¯s attack was blocked and he staggered back a couple of steps before finally falling to the floor. This time however, the sword did not fly from his grip.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made progress and you¡¯re roughly able to exert about ny percent of your strength,¡± Cheng Na nkly remarked. Nevertheless, Cheng Ming was ted to hear those wordsing from that T-rex¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Take a look at how much your XP has increased.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, it actually increased by one!¡±


    Cheng Ming was stunned. Gaining one XP during training took him much longer, but it was achieved in that short duel with Cheng Na!


    Cheng Na ignored the surprised Cheng Ming and turned to everyone else, yelling, ¡°You idiots understand it now, don¡¯t you! As I¡¯ve said before, no other training method is better than actualbat! Also, I can¡¯t stand the sight of your hideous moves. I¡¯ll teach you a systematic way to practice swordsmanship today! Remember, the weapon you¡¯re holding is a sword, not a saber, and most definitely not a wooden stick!¡±


    Xiao Lin was quite surprised that Cheng Na was going to give a lecture, but he soon realized why. If she did not teach anything substantial, she would be quite the useless teacher.


    ¡°Are you going to teach us sword skills?¡± someone asked excitedly.


    Cheng Na replied mockingly, ¡°Dream on! The lowest level required to learn sword skills is a level three in Basic Swordsmanship. Aside from Cheng Ming...and Xiao Lin, the rest of you aren¡¯t qualified at all! I¡¯ll only teach a few sword moves. These moves will help you increase your XP quicker and allow you to level up your Basic Swordsmanship!¡±


    Everyone knew that Cheng Ming had reached LV3 in Basic Swordsmanship, but were secretly very surprised when Cheng Na named Xiao Lin as well. As much as they felt like asking about it, they felt that it was inappropriate to do so at that moment.


    Xiao Lin was the only one who knew what was going on. Cheng Na knew that he had the shing skill, which was still considered a sword skill despite having little practical significance.


    ¡°Today I¡¯ll only teach you the eight most basic sword moves. These are: thrust, chop, sprinkle, hang, cloud, jab, burst, and intercept[1]. The beginner and advanced sword skills that you¡¯ll learn in the future will be based on variousbinations and permutations of these basic moves.¡±


    Cheng Na paced while holding the steel sword when, all of a sudden, she pointed at a boy not far away and shouted, ¡°You there! What are you doing with that pen and paper? Taking notes? Do you think this is a history lesson? A geography lesson maybe?! Use your mind and body to remember the fundamentals of this action!¡±


    Jumping straight to business, Cheng Na turned around and straightened her posture, then took a deep breath. She held the sword parallel to the floor, then thrust it straight forward, with the sword and her arm forming a perfect straight line. Following that, she suddenly repositioned herself with the sword tip pointing up, then made a chopping movement by swinging the sword down.


    Cheng Na deliberately slowed her actions down so everyone could discern the details of each move. She gradually elerated her speed from the second repetition onward, up until the fifth repetition. Her movements were fast enough to dazzle them, but at the same time, its smooth execution also left everyone with asting impression.


    Those were proper sword moves, unlike the usual child¡¯s y associated with how they usually trained.


    ¡°Let me emphasize again. Practicing with real swords is a must. If I ever find out that you¡¯re using those toys again, you won¡¯t be as lucky as you are today! I¡¯ll kick you out of this training hall!¡±


    [1] ´Ì½£,Åü½£,Áý£,¹Ò½£,Ôƽ£,µã½£,±À½£,½Ø½£ ¨C these 8 moves are tranted to thrust, chop, sprinkle, hang, cloud, jab, burst, and intercept. We name 7 of these moves in reference to The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship by Zhang Yun (1st edition, 1998), while also referring to http://.6okok/jianshu/chujijian/ to ensure that the moves mentioned by the book tally with each other.

 Chapter 52: Basic Blocking

    <h4>Chapter 52: Basic Blocking</h4>


    Cheng Na left coolly yet again. No one dared to take her words for granted anymore. Their hesitationsted only a moment and they soon divided themselves into two-person teams in order to start practicing.


    All of them had gradually begun to get acquainted with each other after one week. Inadvertently causing injury to a stranger because of misapplied force was one of their greatest worries, especially since they were engaging in one-on-one training with real swords. As a result, the first thing everyone did was look for an acquaintance or a ssmate, or at the very least, someone who stayed nearer to them in the dormitories.


    None of them took the initiative to seek out talented students. The acting monitors went through the same process and formed pairs after a brief discussion. An awkward problem soon appeared, because a few minutester, Cheng Ming and Xiao Lin were the only ones left without a partner.


    No one dared pair up with Cheng Ming. Aside from his high strength value and LV3 Basic Swordsmanship, his honest and open character did not automatically guarantee that he would not lose his grip and somehow injure his partner. If that happened, redemption points would have to be used for the sake of healing any sustained injuries.


    In fact, some people did seek out Xiao Lin in the hopes that he would be a pushover, but he spared no courtesy in rejecting any malicious invitations. He just ordered a magic wand, and was left with only a few redemption points, so he did not want to waste it for no reason whatsoever.


    Many of those who invited him to practice with them were students from his own ss. Xiao Lin could easily see through their ill intentions¡ªthey either wanted to make a fool out of him, or force him to unnecessarily waste his redemption points for treatment.


    ¡°Cheng Ming, let¡¯s practice together!¡± Xiao Lin found it was more reliable to train with an honest person like Cheng Ming.


    ¡°Haha! To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve been wanting to try it with you!¡± Cheng Ming smiled earnestly. ¡°I know your strength is rtively low, and if you identally hurt yourself, um, this...this...¡±


    Cheng Ming was probably trying to tell Xiao Lin not to hold it against him if Xiao Lin identally got hurt. Everyone understood that idental injury would result in redemption points being used up, and it was likely that Cheng Ming felt rather awkward bringing that subject up.


    What an honest person!


    Xiao Lin looked at the stammering Cheng Ming and felt slightly touched. He smiled and said, ¡°idental injuries are inevitable in training! In fact, you can try to control your strength just like that T-rex, I mean, the tutor. Every time she makes a move, she controls her strength to the desired level in a very precise manner. That¡¯s swordsmanship too. Just look at all the novels. That¡¯s how they portray it, right? Be at ease and exert control. That¡¯s the sword way¡¯s highest state!¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s eyes lit up and he pped his forehead, saying, ¡°It makes sense! Okay, I¡¯ll control my strength as much as possible, but I¡¯m worried I won¡¯t have it as easy as the instructor. If an ident happens, and you know... Ahem, I hope you¡¯ll forgive me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay! I don¡¯t mind!¡±


    Several other ss monitors nearby looked at Xiao Lin speechlessly. Xiao Lin was clearly reluctant to face Cheng Ming and his strength value of over 20 points because injury would be inevitable. As a result, he deliberately duped Cheng Ming into lowering his strength before practicing, and Cheng Ming was probably the only person who would eat all that up.


    No one noticed that Cheng Na was still standing at the door and had not yet left. She stood there quietly for some time, having just wanted to see whether those freshmen were going to ck off on purpose. Having inadvertently eavesdropped on Xiao Lin¡¯s conversation with Cheng Ming, she frowned unexpectedly before leaving.


    Practice then began.


    As expected, Cheng Ming deliberately restrained his sword strength, but found it difficult to achieve it perfectly. The difference in strength and the Basic Swordsmanship level caused the duo¡¯s training to be almostpletely one-sided. Xiao Lin could barely parry away his attacks and could do nothing to fight back.


    In reality, practicing with a partner and practicing alone were twopletely different concepts. Xiao Lin gradually began to realize that it was not really difficult to practice the tutor¡¯s basic sword moves by himself. Rather, the true test of one¡¯s ability was whether one could find their feet when executing it in actualbat.


    When Cheng Ming struck forcefully using the chop move, Xiao Lin had to use the sprinkle maneuver to divert Cheng Ming¡¯s strength, and even so, only barely managed to escape injury. It was important to execute the sprinkle move in a standardized manner. For example, the sprinkle move could only be executed at its finest when his strength was concentrated on the front of the de before drawing it in an arc across his body.


    If he used other basic moves, such as point or cloud, or when his sprinkle move was not urately performed, it would either result in the sword being knocked from Xiao Lin¡¯s hand or Cheng Ming¡¯s de giving Xiao Lin a superficial cut.


    Fortunately, the wound was very minor, and Cheng Ming did not exert all of his strength as agreed in the beginning. Xiao Lin did not receive treatment immediately. The training hall¡¯s treatment system had a detection mechanism in ce: it would be forced to start if it discovered a fatal or serious injury, but in the case of minor injuries, the injured person would be asked whether or not medical treatment was required. Xiao Lin refused and gritted his teeth before resuming training.


    Those around him could not help but revel in the tragedy with gleeful expressions. The discrepancy in strength between themselves and their partners was not nearly as big as Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming¡¯s.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s moves were swift, and with the help of his LV3 Basic Swordsmanship, he mastered the basic moves Tutor Cheng Na taught equally as quickly. Although he had yet to achieveprehensive mastery and effortless movement, he could stillplete each move in a methodical manner without giving Xiao Lin the slightest chance to fight back.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly to himself as he practiced. He initially tried to seek out an opportunity to use his shing, but evidently, a skill which required time to power up was worthless in actualbat.


    An hour and a half passed, and no matter how well Cheng Ming controlled his power, Xiao Lin was already covered with scars. Cheng Ming panted slightly, but did not feel too tired because of his good physical strength. In the end, he could not bear to continue with the practice and kindly said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a break! Would you like to be treated first?¡±


    Xiao Lin had long taken off his school uniform and the white t-shirt he wore was already covered with hideous blood stains. Sweat and blood mixed together, making it even more painful when it stuck to the wounds. Xiao Lin did not intend on ignoring Cheng Ming¡¯s words on purpose, but the truth of the matter was that he waspletely drained of all strength. It took him a while before he spoke weakly, ¡°Heal me!¡±


    The creamy-white beam of light immediately descended from the ceiling and covered Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body. It was warm,fortable, and felt like a hot spring. The wounds and pains all over his body disappeared instantly, and the light faded away after just a few seconds. Save for the blood stains and tears on his shirt, traces of his injuries were all but gone.


    ¡°It¡¯s mystifying!¡± Xiao Lin eximed, but soon felt another headacheing¡ªthe treatment had used up 50 of his redemption points.


    Many people in the training hall began to receive treatment with white beams of light, but their injuries were not actually that serious. Of everyone¡¯s injuries, many only had minor skincerations that came at a cost of 10 to 30 redemption points. Even so, a lot of them regretted it.


    ¡°How many redemption points did you use up?¡± Cheng Ming asked concernedly, with the other acting monitors pricking up their ears immediately.


    ¡°Fifty. ¡±


    ¡°That much!¡± Cheng Ming immediately felt guilty and annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault! I really did try my very best to keep my strength value below ten, but it¡¯s crazy difficult to get right!¡±


    Although Xiao Lin did not have as urate an eye as Cheng Na, he felt that Cheng Ming disyed at a strength value between 10 and 20 in those earlier strikes. Coupled with Cheng Ming¡¯s LV3 Basic Swordsmanship, it was no surprise that Xiao Lin was beaten up to that extent.


    ¡°No, I think I¡¯m the one who should thank you!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not me the honest Cheng Ming, who had done his utmost best to control his strength. Xiao Lin would have been maimed if Cheng Ming¡¯s strength value was more than 20 points.


    Xiao Lin nced at the countless shifty, yet attentive gazes cast on him from all around. He decided that he might as well not hold his voice back and patted Cheng Ming¡¯s shoulder very cordially. After a chuckle, he said, ¡°Thanks to you, my Basic Swordsmanship has reached level three, and I even mastered Basic Blocking!¡±

 Chapter 53: Elemental Affinity

    <h4>Chapter 53: Elemental Affinity</h4>


    After one and a half hours of fierce sword fighting, Xiao Lin had to pay a hefty price after his entire body was covered with wounds from Cheng Ming¡¯s sword. The cost of treatment was 50 redemption points and he still felt exhausted, even after his injuries were sessfully healed. The healing in the training hall was only effective for physical injuries; they did not eliminate inner fatigue. Nevertheless, he gained a lot during that period too.


    His Basic Swordsmanship was finally upgraded to LV3, his strength had also risen by one point, and he even gained a pleasant surprise. Xiao Lin received a prompt from the Central Computer, stating that he had sessfully mastered Basic Blocking LV1 after repeatedly resisting attacks that surpassed his own power.


    Basic Blocking allowed one to use weapons and block the enemy¡¯s attacks. The effect was to reduce damage or even avoid damage, making it a defensive skill.


    Those who were earlier reveling in Xiao Lin¡¯s rough treatment twitched their lips. From the looks of shock and speechlessness throughout the hall, Xiao Lin ascertained that he was probably the only one who had mastered Basic Blocking.


    In the Central Computer¡¯s exnation, Xiao Lin had sessfully resisted attacks that were beyond his own strength. In other words, the strength gap was the main factor, because the gap between other student pairs was not asrge as that of his and Cheng Ming¡¯s.


    In fact, there were only a few times whereby Xiao Lin managed to really sessfully block Cheng Ming¡¯s attacks. After all, the difference in their strength was too much, and their Basic Swordsmanship was also separated by one level. Most of the time, his sword would either be knocked to the ground or he would suffer a physical injury.


    Xiao Lin therefore felt that the learning efficiency his SS-level talent provided yed a more critical role, allowing him to master Basic Blocking in such a short amount of time.


    ¡°Do you want to continue?¡± Cheng Ming asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit tired. I think I¡¯ll head to Basic Meditation now,¡± Xiao Lin said as he rubbed his wrist and smiled. The joints in his wrist were still sore and numb, which made it inconvenient for him to continue practicing swordsmanship. The pressure from training with Cheng Ming was greater than he expected.


    After leaving the swordsmanship training hall, Xiao Lin walked directly to the meditation hall in Zone B. Just after turning a corner, he saw Cheng Na in a ck leather jacket leaning against the wall, narrowing her eyes at him.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face betrayed his shock. He was willing to bet that the woman never actually left the area and was actually observing the training hall in secret. If anyone continued to use wooden swords for training, she would definitely kick that person out of the training hall forever.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to Li Meiling?¡± Tutor Cheng Na asked nonchntly.


    Xiao Lin was nk for a moment.


    Cheng Na had to rephrase her sentence again. ¡°You¡¯re going to the meditation room?¡±


    Only then did Xiao Lin remember that Li Meiling was the name of the Lolita who taught meditation. He then nodded in response to the question.


    Cheng Na¡¯s expression soured slightly. ¡°Do you know Song Jung. Head of the logistics department? ¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say that,¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and thumbed his nose. He already had a guess as to what the T-rex was going to say.


    ¡°I was supposed to ban you from my ssroomst week, but then a lot of people called me...and I also received a strongly-worded notification from the student union. In the future, you can choose toe to my sses, or not to. No one will interfere with you again...¡± Cheng Na did not continue further. A proud person like her would probably think it an insult, and a touch of anger appeared on her wlessly fair face.


    After a while, Cheng Na continued, but in a more indifferent voice. ¡°I hate useless and unproductive people. You can pull some strings with your connections and ck off, but I swear that people like you will be forced to return to Earth after your freshman year ends. Of course, it might also be possible that your lifespan will be exhausted during the monthly exam. Dawn Academy is a ce to realize your true strength, and I don¡¯t care who the hell you are. It makes no difference if you¡¯re a rich kid from Earth, so you¡¯d better behave yourself!¡±


    ¡°This is a misunderstanding, I was helping Department Head Songplete unprecedented scientific research, so he was... Uh, okay.¡± Xiao Lin could not even when sullenly noticed Cheng Na turn to leave, allowing him only a glimpse of her slim back. Never in his life did he expect to be regarded as a rich kid, and he was unsure whether tough or cry after what happened.


    Song Jung promised Xiao Lin to help him coordinate his course schedule so he would not be too tired from rushing here and there because of his absenteeism. He did that in order to free up some time for Xiao Lin, thus enabling thetter to head over to the logistics department and assist in the food therapy experiments. It also gave Xiao Lin¡ªwho wanted to cultivate both magic and martial arts¡ªa legitimate reason to attend all his courses. Otherwise he would not be able to afford the punishment that came with skipping sses.


    In all honesty, he had no idea what Department Head Song did, but in short, Xiao Lin had gotten the opportunity. He could choose the courses he wanted to go to in the afternoon without hesitating anymore. If a woman as fierce as Cheng Na could not even vent her rage, he believed that the other teachers would not object either.


    That was exactly what happened when he went to Li Meiling¡¯s meditation room. The sharp-tongued Lolita merely stared at Xiao Lin with an unwee gaze. Unfortunately for her, gazes did not kill. Under everyone¡¯s puzzled expressions, Xiao Lin calmly chose to sit down in the corner, next to Gu Xiaoyue.


    On that day, the students were not left to their own devices to meditate. Like how Cheng Na taught them basic sword moves that morning, if none of the teachers actually taught anything substantial, the academy might as well let the students study by themselves. It would have been much more convenient that way too


    ¡°There are four basic elements in the world: water, fire, wind, and earth. I¡¯ve already mentioned these in thest ss, and you¡¯ve all entered your meditative state too... So, the topic I¡¯m about to talk to today will be elemental affinity!¡±


    As she said that, Xiao Lin made a point to observe the entire meditation room. At least half the students buried their heads in shame, evidently because they had not entered a meditative state yet. Only half of the people actually seeded after a week, but Li Meiling did not seem too keen on holding back those who were sessful.


    The course went on still and the Lolita gave everyone a detailed exnation about the definition of elemental affinity; it had many properties, such as the speed of casting spells and the spells¡¯ power. Everyone¡¯s elemental affinity was different. When first entering a meditative state, the elements in that meditative realm were all jumbled up. In the future however, they had to distinguish each element during the meditation process.


    Xiao Lin paid close attention. Compared to pure melee training, he actually preferred the mysticism associated with mysterious spell courses. Whenever he yed online games, he usually also chose the mage characters.


    At the end of the lesson, Li Meiling gave them some time to practice their meditation again.


    Xiao Lin was already at LV1 Basic Meditation. His intelligence value had also increased by one point. He soon entered a meditative state moments after sitting cross-legged.


    Meditation was a wonderful state to be in. He was practically free from all his worries, but it could be better described as entering a new microcosm¨Cone that had an abundance of elemental particles.


    A person¡¯s mind was still very clear during the meditative state. Xiao Lin immediately noticed a long, dark river where the elements were in a fuzzy and messy heap. Countless elements were bound tightly together to form a faint cluster of light, drifting around in a haphazard rhythm.


    The elements he felt during the initial meditation were clear and definite, but a simple bit of critical thinking allowed Xiao Lin to understand why. He had replicated the LV10 Basic Meditation skill from Wu Qin, and LV10 also happened to be the highest level for Basic Meditation.

 Chapter 54: The Wand Is Complete

    <h4>Chapter 54: The Wand Is Complete</h4>


    After all, Basic Meditation LV10 was different from Basic Meditation LV1. LV10 allows meditators to clearly distinguish each element, while those at LV1 could only vaguely perceive the amalgamated elements.


    For others, meditation would proceed progressively in stages, but Xiao Lin had experienced LV10 Basic Meditation. Even though itsted for only three minutes, it etched asting and unforgettable impression on his mind.


    It was analogous to a top master who suddenly lost all of his martial arts skills and became a beginner again. His experience would surely allow him to practice faster than other beginners. One could say that Xiao Lin¡¯s current situation was akin to that example.


    If other people meditated by trial-and-error while groping around in the dark, then Xiao Lin¡¯s meditation realm already had a beacon of light. Trial-and-error was unnecessary; all he had to do was move straight toward an already clear end goal.


    Xiao Lin might not have realized it, but as an SS-level talent, his Academic Genius conferred a huge advantage that was slowly beginning to manifest.


    After the lesson ended, Xiao Lin¡¯s meditation had increased by 30 XP. It was now Basic Meditation LV1: 80/100.


    The speed at which that happened shocked him, even with his 100% efficiency. He had only meditated for an hour, while a genius like Gu Xiaoyue needed two lessons to upgrade her Basic Meditation to LV2. At that speed, Xiao Lin felt that he was not much different from Gu Xiaoyue.


    As the students left the meditation room, they unwittingly exchanged their meditation experience with each other. Xiao Lin walked behind and listened silently. He was rather surprised to discover that everyone¡¯s meditation realm was actually very different.


    For example, after Xiao Lin entered meditation, the realm he perceived was a starry sky simr to a gxy, where the elements were just like the stars in the sky.


    Not everyone¡¯s meditation realm was the same¡ªsome saw the ocean, the sky, a forest, a desert, or sometimes just a dark hut.


    Teacher Li Meiling mentioned that meditation was a manifestation of one¡¯s personal consciousness. There were a thousand different interpretations of Hamlet by a thousand different readers, and the same principle applied to meditation. Different people had different consciousness, and it was only natural for them to have a different concept of elemental microcosms.


    The Lolita exined meditation from its definition and concept, but she never mentioned a single word about the specific process. It was not that she was ipetent, but rather, her own meditation experience may not be suited for others.


    Xiao Lin somewhat understood why spell courses were more difficult to learn than melee courses, and why the number of mages was far less than actual warriors. Such conceptual consciousness was undoubtedly several times more difficult thanbat training with real weapons.


    ¡°Mages and magic are just so cool!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but exim as he looked at the red sunset.


    ...


    Nothing out of the ordinary happened during the second week of lessons and everything was basically the same as the previous week. In other words, the freshmen were still building their foundation, so it was unrealistic to teach them anything too advanced.


    Thepulsory courses and melee courses did not change much, but there was additional weight training for their Basic Fitness lesson. In particr, everyone realized a significant drop in the rate at which their XP increased after their level of fitness had improved. It was very simr to Basic Swordsmanship in that it was difficult to maintain those same training methods if one wanted to raise one¡¯s basic skills to the maximum level.


    Therefore, their Basic Fitness ss started with weight training. Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Fitness had reached LV2, and his physical fitness had improved to five points. It was nowhere near outstanding, but it could just barely keep up with the level of most ordinary people. The most noticeable change that Xiao Lin sensed was a decrease in his belly fat.


    Of course, he also knew that the amazing result owed much more to the therapeutic effect of the hybrid ironb chicken.


    Xiao Lin took the initiative to propose doubling weight training during the ss, but the response was very lukewarm because his fitness waspletely depleted about halfway through the lesson. Xiao Lin left the training hall and went to the ssroom for Basic Perception, and no one stopped him because of his rtionship with Department Head Song.


    Afternoon ssessted for four hours, but Xiao Lin only used two for each ss. With the help of his Academic Genius talent, the effects of his training were at least on par with everyone else. It was advantageous for him because it allowed him to continue his magic-martial arts dual cultivation.


    The Basic Perception ss continued to develop the students¡¯ hit rate, but no one knew how to use magic at that stage. Those who had a novice wand ran out of juice fairly quickly and were unable to cast energy bombs, just as Lu Renjia mentioned.


    Once theoretical knowledge for perception waspleted, Xiao Lin¡¯s basic perception had reached LV1. From then on however, leveling up necessitated the use of spells. Doing so would also elerate the rate at which the students could increase their meditation level, as did their Basic Focus lesson during the same week. Most of the time, spell-rted courses were for students to conduct their meditation training.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s elective was Basic Body Technique and he also went for ss that week. It was a course that mainly cultivated agility,prising physical flexibility, physical coordination, and control. The basic lesson was also very simple, and most of the content was familiar training. For example, quick-walking on a bnce beam, standing on a bnce board, making a perfectnding after doing a trampoline jump, and so on. They were not difficult, but they were still strenuous if one wanted to properly execute them.


    If spells relied on intelligence, then closebat relied on physical fitness and strength. Agilityprised a blend of auxiliary attributes, which was why many did not value it that highly and chose not to take it.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s after-school life did not change much either. In addition to checking the forum at night, he also started doing meditation training in his dormitory, though the efficiency of his meditation was severely reduced because of the daytime fatigue and the fact that he was not inside the dedicated meditation room. Even so, the passive effect of his Academic Genius talent narrowly made up for those deficiencies.


    Over the weekend, Xiao Lin received a reply from Lu Renjia, saying that the new ice bullet wand he ordered was sessfullypleted. Following their agreed-upon location, he went to the third-year¡¯s dormitory building, though was unable to enter because he did not have enough authority. As a result, he could only wait at the entrance.


    Some suspicion was aroused when a boy in a green freshman uniform came out on patrol in front of the third-year dormitory building. It was not until Lu Renjia hurried out that the passersby felt at ease. Lu Renjia specialized in providing weapons to the freshmen and was considered something of a celebrity among the juniors.


    Lu Renjia was very young, and seemed to be younger than Xiao Lin, even though he was in his third-year. Nevertheless, there was no specific age limit for enrolling into Dawn Academy.


    Lu Renjia had tousled hair, gold spectacles with thick lenses, and had two dark circles under his eyewear. Xiao Lin sensed the familiar traces of an otaku on the guy.

 Chapter 55: Upcoming Monthly Exam

    <h4>Chapter 55: Uing Monthly Exam</h4>


    The two of them did not exchange many conversations when they met. After the goods were delivered, the young man hoisted hisptop and asked Xiao Lin to pay the bnce on the spot. With that, the transaction waspleted.


    Before leaving, Lu Renjia handed his business card to Xiao Lin. One could see that it was self-made at a nce. In addition to his name and phone number, there was also a rather unattractive business introduction: Custom-made weapons and equipment avable made-to-order for freshmen and sophomores.


    ¡°This branch of enchantment that I chose is rtively niche, haha.¡± Lu Renjia smiled shyly.


    Of course, Xiao Lin still did not understand what Lu Renjia meant by niche, but he asked out of curiosity, ¡°Did anyone other than mee looking for you to order weapons?¡±


    ¡°Why yes. There¡¯s plenty of rich people in your batch of freshmen,¡± Lu Renjia licked his dry lips with envy. ¡°More than twenty freshmen have bought equipment here in the past two weeks. Seven or eight of them even asked for custom-made ones.¡±


    As it turned out, Xiao Lin was not the only one who wanted to show off in the uing monthly exam. It was likely only those other acting monitors who could get those custom weapons too. Unless anyone achieved Grade S in the admissions test, they could not possibly afford his services.


    Xiao Lin repeatedly looked at the wand in his hand as he made his way back. The wand was about half a meter long and had a dark-red wooden handle. A water-blue, fist-sized orb was iid on the top of the wand and was slightly cool to the touch.[1]


    [Novice wand (Enhanced-type); Attached skill: Ice Bullet; Spell damage evaluation: Grade F; After striking the target, their attack and movement speed will be reduced by 25% for 3 seconds]


    Xiao Lin was more or less satisfied with the wand. Upon seeing that it was still early, he decided to go to the training hall to have a feel of releasing the spell.


    The academy had prepared a special training hall for students in the spell ss, but the hall was empty during the first lesson, when everyone had basically not yet met the requirements for learning spells.


    When Xiao Lin went there however, the roar of explosionsing from the hall could be heard from afar. He was obviously not the first person to go there to train spells.


    He pushed the door and entered, but hardly anyone was in the hall. More precisely, there were only three individuals including Xiao Lin himself. The other two were Gu Xiaoyue and another long-haired girl in a cape.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s arrival caught the eyes of the two girls, but their gazes stopped for less than a second on him before quickly turning to continue focusing on the spell practice at hand.


    Gu Xiaoyue was a person of few words, while the other long-haired girl was someone Xiao Lin vaguely had an impression of. He had seen the girl a couple of times in meditation ss and also spotted her with Cheng Ming in the lounge area of the dormitory on asion. She appeared to be an acting ss monitor as well, but both sides seemed to have no interest in getting to know each other. As a result, other than remembering how she looked, Xiao Lin never actually said hi to her.


    The training hall for spells was different from therge and empty swordsmanship hall. Many single rooms were separated by ss, and each room was about 100 meters long and two or three meters wide. The ss windows clearly looked to have been specially strengthened, as they remained intact despite the dull sts resulting from the girls¡¯ spells.


    The biggest problem freshmen faced with spells was the hit rate. Once the spell was released, no one knew what the spell would end up hitting, so the room was designed specifically to prevent idental injury.


    Xiao Lin approached a single room and produced his newly-acquired novice wand, ready to start experimenting. A wand enhanced with spells required only sufficient mental power to release it directly, without requiring the caster himself to learn the spell.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s main focus of training was his uracy. He also had to study his current meditation level and intelligence attributes, and how many ice bullets he could cast in rapid session.


    His training used up nearly the entire afternoon, yet his hit rates were still far from satisfactory. His Basic Perception level was not high and he aimed purely by relying on his sight. At most, he was able to urately achieve 80% of the hit rate against targets within 10 meters.


    The limit to his number of uses was worrying too. He could only sustain the spell for a maximum of four times if it was executed in quick session. It was during the fourth bullet that Xiao Lin saw ckness in front of him and he immediately copsed to the ground. A few minutester, he could only barely stand after supporting himself with the ss windows. He would then have to rest outside for at least an hour before going back in to cast more of the spell.


    As a ck Iron-rank spell, the Ice Bullet was one level higher than the novice spells in the admissions test and thus consumed much more power.


    Xiao Lin now knew that the attributes in Dawn Academy did not represent a certain aspect, but was actually an amalgam of multiple capabilities. The upper limit of his mental power was determined by the value of the intelligence attribute and the level of his Basic Meditation. In light of everything however, his basic intelligence value was still too low.


    Basic Meditation also affected the speed at which his mental strength recovered. That was why he had to rest for an hour before continuing to use spells. Students who had not even reached LV1 Basic Meditation could cast spells once or twice, but they subsequently had to rest for a longer time before gradually recovering.


    He did not interact with either of the girls throughout the entire afternoon. The long-haired girl, who apparently was the acting monitor, seemed particrly disinterested with Xiao Lin¡¯s Ice Bullet. She used a blue ball of light simr to energy bombs but had greater power. Xiao Lin surmised that it might be the upgraded version of the novice-level spell Energy Bomb¡ªthe ck Iron-rank Convergent Energy Bomb.


    Lu Renjia had also mentioned that the power of the Convergent Energy Bomb had reached a formidable E rating. It was considered to possess the most astonishing power of all the spells of the same level, but its hit rate was extremely low and it took a long time to gather up the energy. Whether or not it was practical was up for debate. Xiao Lin guessed that the girl might have likelymissioned Lu Renjia to make a new, enhanced wand with the Convergent Energy Bomb.


    On the other hand, Gu Xiaoyue merely trained her energy bombs throughout the session. Thebination of her extremely high intellectual attributes and reasonably good Basic Meditation allowed her to produce energy bombs in a very skillful manner.


    One particr aspect that surprised Xiao Lin was that the girl had actually used her bare hands to cast her energy bombs. It meant that Gu Xiaoyue had actually mastered the spell instead of relying on the wand¡¯s skills like other people.


    A person had to reach at least LV3 Basic Meditation before they could begin to learn the lowest level of novice spells. Xiao Lin remembered that point being mentioned in ss, which meant that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s meditation speed was rocket fast.


    In addition to shock, Xiao Lin unknowingly developed a curiosity toward Gu Xiaoyue. One could hardly imagine that a silent girl like her would possess such striking magical talent.


    He wondered, on more than one asion, whether the girl actually possessed any hidden talents. Although the two of them were still friends as of then, she would probably not tell anyone else about that sort of thing.


    As time passed, life continued at the academy.


    After the initial days of the freshman period, most had gradually be ustomed to the Dawn Academy¡¯s intensive courses. Once the initial novelty wore off, it was inevitable that everyone hadints, such as the boring, repetitive courses, and their urgent desire to head off to the new and desirable world the dean described.


    During the first month, many people spent their time whining, but because they were left without a choice, they could only endure the suffering. It reached a point where many people even forgot one extremely important event.


    On the other hand, the acting monitors¡ªincluding Xiao Lin¡ªbore in mind the instructor¡¯s words from the beginning. At the end of each month, a test simr to the admissions test would be held. That test was also known as the monthly exam. In addition, the results of the two monthly exams would be included in the final exam for their candidacy as true ss monitors.


    The freshmen would soon be weing their first monthly exam.


    [1] We admit this fist-sized orb does make the wand seem rather big. There are no problems with respect to its length, but one could argue that this might better be called a scepter in light of that huge orb. However, since there wereparisons made with the wands used in the admission test, it is perhaps better to just say wand here.

 Chapter 56: Attribute Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 56: Attribute Improvement</h4>


    [Name: Xiao Lin]


    [Student ID: 201235]


    [Credits: 40]


    [Redemption points: 150+200 (200 points for full attendance)]


    [Basic attributes: Strength 5; Agility 3; Intelligence 6; Physique 6]


    [Skills mastered: shing LV3 (MAX), Basic Swordsmanship LV3, Basic Blocking LV2, Basic Physical Fitness LV3, Basic Common Language Mastery LV2, Basic Perception LV2, Basic Meditation LV3, Basic Body Techniques LV2, Basic Focus LV2, Basic Fire Resistance LV1]


    After finishing lessons on thest day of the month, Xiao Lin checked the changes in his attributes in his dormitory room. His total Basic Attribute value of 20 points had doubled from the initial physical examination. If Dawn Academy recruited students with a requirement on a total attribute value of about 20 points, Xiao Lin finally met the minimum standard.


    The effect of magic-martial art dual cultivation was incredibly promising in the earlier stages. The XP required for each skill level was rtively small, and generally speaking, he only needed 50 XP to get to LV0 from LV1, while going to LV2 from LV1 required only 100 XP. However, going from LV2 to LV3 required 500 XP, and LV3 to LV4 required 1,000 XP.


    Xiao Lin had a few basic skills that were promoted to LV2 or LV3. Each upgrade would enhance the basic attributes associated with said skills. As someone who had 100% learning efficiency, he certainly took full advantage of it.


    However, the higher the XP, the more difficult it was to upgrade. For example, Xiao Lin had upgraded to LV3 Basic Swordsmanship in the second week, but thetter half of the month had seen a marked decrease in his upgrade speed.


    From LV3 onward, pure swordsmanship and shing movements no longer increased his XP. Even with the Academic Genius talent, the bonus would remain at zero if the base XP increase was 0.


    Xiao Lin had to repeatedly practice the foundational sword moves that Cheng Na taught in order to increase his XP, albeit slowly. The T-rex would sometimes be present to guide him, and even though those moves were utterly simple, there were many minutiae which affected the speed at which his XP increased, such as speed and distribution of power. Not a lot of people could execute them perfectly, but it was those details that had the most profound impact.


    Of course, Xiao Lin felt that every time Cheng Na suddenly appeared was because she wanted to see if anyone disobeyed her. However, the students had been honestly practicing with real swords in the training hall from the second week onward.


    The XP gained through training in pairs was indeed faster than individual training. Cheng Na¡¯s personality was rather fierce, but her experience was something to bemended.


    Xiao Lin continued practicing with Cheng Ming, and although his Basic Swordsmanship had been upgraded to LV3, he had also mastered Basic Blocking by ident during their repeated shes. Cheng Ming had gradually be more adept at controlling his strength, and could suppress the power value that he exerted within 15 points. Nevertheless, there remained an insurmountable gap between the two¡¯s strength.


    Whenever Xiao Lin was badly beaten and covered with cuts, he ended up having to use the training hall¡¯s automatic treatment system to heal him. Due to the severity of his injuries, he spent 50 redemption points every time, so much so that he found his points to be insufficient when he finally thought of buying some armor.


    As a reward, his Basic Blocking had risen to LV2. There were also others who gradually mastered Basic Blocking, but he was the only one who had raised this skill by two levels.


    Unforgettably, his LV1 Basic Fire Resistance was a skill given to him by Song Jung, the head of the logistics department. On the weekend of the third week, he called Xiao Lin over again and prepared a kind of poultry called Fire Chickens. Unlike turkeys[1] on Earth, Song Jung¡¯s fire chickens were literally birds wreathed with mes. They were also the result of hybridization.


    Due to the fire chicken¡¯s characteristics, there was no way to cook it and had to be eaten raw. After consuming it, Xiao Lin spent the whole day vomiting and having diarrhea instead of copsing like the previous time. His legs remained limp until the next day.


    As a result, Xiao Lin acquired the brand-new skill of Basic Fire Resistance LV1. An astonished Song Jung thenforted Xiao Lin by saying that there was no other person in their freshmen year who could possess that skill. The reason for that was because elemental resistance skills were extremely difficult to train, and such courses were often not offered until sophomore year.


    Department Head Song felt that the diet¡¯s effects were very surprising. He originally thought that eating fire chicken would increase one¡¯s intelligence, or produce an elemental affinity toward fire, but in any case, he was very satisfied with the results of the experiment.


    Xiao Lin did not waste his weekly opportunities for replication. When possible, he went to the sophomore meditation room to look for Wu Qin and replicate her maxed out Basic Meditation for three minutes¡¯ worth of meditation. Nevertheless, as his level improved, the amount of meditation XP that could be increased each time became increasingly less too. He only gained 50 XP by the second time, and 30 after that.


    However, he could gradually feel the added benefit to passive skills brought about by the high-level replication after his three-minute meditation. Even though his Basic Meditation would revert back to its original level, Xiao Lin had a more thorough understanding of the microcosmic elements. The most noticeable response to that was his amazingly quick meditation speed, surpassing even the other talented students and bing only the second in the ss after Gu Xiaoyue to reach LV3.


    Basic Meditation LV3 was a level where one could already learn novice-level spells. Unfortunately, after he reached that level, there was little time left for Xiao Lin before the monthly exam, so there was no way he could ask for Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tutge.


    With only one day left before the end of the month, Qin Chuan¡ªthe instructor who had not been seen for a long time¡ªreappeared and summoned all of ss Seven¡¯s freshmen who had just finished their day¡¯s lessons to the public ssroom. He then handed out a few sheets of information.


    Ever since the end of the admissions test, Qin Chuan rarely showed up in person other than to answer the freshmen¡¯s doubts within the forum. It was unsurprising, since the so-called instructors were also students and faced a lot of pressure too.


    After a month of life in the academy, the freshmen were no longer as na?ve and clueless as they were when they first entered the academy. They also knew that Qin Chuan¡¯s term as an instructor was actually only three months, and theprehensive evaluation of each ss after the three months would affect the rewards instructors gained.


    Therefore, everyone¡¯s respect toward Qin Chuan had diminished significantly since long ago. Theymunicated with each other after getting the information and had somewhat disapproving looks.


    ¡°I understand that some of you have achieved very good grades in the admissions test, but if you think that the monthly exam is equally as simple, you¡¯re very much mistaken.¡± After passing all the information over, Qin Chuan took a copy for himself, then walked to the podium and looked unhappily at the students whispering in the audience. His tone gradually became more solemn.


    ¡°Information about the monthly exam has never been provided in the past, but after the academy took into ount your freshmen¡¯s adjustment period, they decided to hand out all the relevant materials needed for the exam. This is so your life won¡¯t go to waste. You¡¯d best be making the most of it, because this special treatment is only provided to freshmen!¡±


    [1] It is worth nothing that turkey in Mandarin is »ð¼¦, which can be literally tranted to fire chicken (»ð = fire, ¼¦ = chicken). The name supposedlyes from the red p of skin under their necks. In this case, Song Jung¡¯s bird is not a turkey, but a chicken that¡¯s on fire (a literal fire chicken, if you will).

 Chapter 57: Sunset Canyon

    <h4>Chapter 57: Sunset Canyon</h4>


    Qin Chuan emphasized the phrase ¡®so your life won¡¯t go to waste¡¯, prompting everyone to immediately put on a serious look. One death in the exam would deduct 10 years of their life, but many people were actually quite confused. If Dawn Academy¡ªan academy whose target was to colonize new worlds and ought to have armies or colonists specifically for that purpose¡ªreally had the ability to reduce one¡¯s life, why would they needlessly waste the students¡¯ lives in an exam simtion?


    However, no one dared express their curiosity because of one reason: all things said and done, everyone still felt nervous regardless of whether their feelings toward the monthly exam was novelty, anticipation, or indifference.


    Xiao Lin buried his head and looked at the data book in his hand. The first was arge color map titled Sunset Canyon. It was a topographic map with 1:5000 scale. A series of markers with various symbols were beside the map, and as one could easily guess, it contained strange symbols.


    Continuing further with the topographic map, the second piece of information was a text introduction, the contents of which was the background to the map for that monthly exam. It was rather interesting and Xiao Lin looked at it carefully.


    ¡®Sunset Canyon was hot all year round, sporting a very dry climate. The area was inessible and infested with heat-resistant desert cryptids. About one-third of the canyon was under the jurisdiction of the Thunder Kingdom. The kingdom garrisoned two light infantry squadrons and one wolf cavalry squadron at its borders.


    ¡®New Century Calendar Year 45. In order to seize control of Norma¡¯s Thunder Kingdom, America¡¯s Judge Academy dispatched their elites to Sunset Canyon for the purposes of infiltrating the kingdom¡¯s borders and obtaining information. Their reconnaissance on the kingdom¡¯s defense was sessful, but carelessness betrayed their presence. The Thunder Kingdom dispatched a light infantry squadron and a wolf cavalry squadron to chase and intercept Judge Academy¡¯s squad. A weekter, Judge Academy¡¯s squad managed to escape the pursuit, inflict severe damage on the enemy, and bring back intelligence.¡¯


    The above was an introduction to Sunset Canyon¡¯s history.


    The so-called New Century Calendar was a brand-new calendar set by education institutions who aimed to colonize Norma. Its purpose was to distinguish the years in Norma and Earth.


    The New Century Calendar started with the year when the first pioneers made initial contact with Norma. At present, it was year 210 N.C. in the New Century Calendar.


    The battle described in the information took ce in the Year 45; more than a century ago.


    Then, there was onest piece of information, which happened to be the task that the freshmen would be facing during the monthly exam. In that task, the freshmen would be ying the role of America¡¯s Judge Academy.


    ¡®Combat goal: Escape the pursuit of the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s army within a week and arrive at a safe location. Those whoplete the mission will get 10 credits and 100 redemption points.


    ¡®Optional tasks:


    ¡®1. Infiltrate the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s border army and draw a map of the area where the troops are stationed. You are sessful if the uracy of your map exceeds 70% and you will get 10 credits as well as 200 redemption points.


    ¡®2. Kill the wolf cavalry squadron¡¯s captain. Reward: 15 credits and 300 redemption points.¡¯


    Those were all the contents of that monthly exam. The amount of information contained in the handouts were quite weighty and there was silence throughout the ssroom. Everyone either pursed their lips or concentrated quietly, digesting the information.


    Indeed, it was vastly different from the admission test!


    Xiao Lin somehow understood why Qin Chuan showed up in person to gather everyone together. A simr scenario happened to the other sses, with the instructors giving the freshmen a detailed exnation of the monthly exam.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, the Thunder Kingdom is a country that belongs to Norma, right?¡± Xiao Lin thought for a while and tilted his head toward Gu Xiaoyue.


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed the frame of her sses and whispered, ¡°The Thunder Kingdom is a very small country that lies southeast of Norma¡¯s main continent. In the year 48 N.C., the capital of the Thunder Kingdom was attacked by the American academy and the entire kingdom fell. After close to a century of governance by America, the territory of the former kingdom is now the main colony of the America¡¯s Judge Academy in the New World.¡±


    After a pause, Gu Xiaoyue added, in a crisp tone, ¡°It was mentioned in our history ss.¡±


    Xiao Lin coughed a few times. Professor Dai briefly introduced that country in the third week of Norma¡¯s sociology lesson. However, Xiao Lin obviously did not pay much attention in ss, and it just so happened that he ate Department Head Song¡¯s fire chicken the previous day. With all the vomiting and diarrhea, he was weak and drowsy throughout the entire lesson.


    Xiao Lin changed the subject and said enthusiastically, ¡°They invaded the Thunder Kingdom in 45 N.C. and seized the capital in 48 N.C. It only took them three years to conquer a country. The American academy must be very powerful.¡±


    That particr piece of knowledge had been exined in Professor Dai¡¯s history ss, but for freshmen who only just arrived at the academy, the concept of the New Century Calendar was still very vague.


    Gu Xiaoyue turned her head again and looked at Xiao Lin with brightened eyes. ¡°The Thunder Kingdom had a poption of about one million before it was destroyed by America. The country¡¯s area is about the size of a small to medium-sized city in our country, so their strength is very weak. This was all mentioned in the geography ss. ¡±


    Xiao Lin touched his nose and felt a little embarrassed. He had to admit that whenever it came to subjects requiring memorization, such as history and geography, he was hardly on the same level as Gu Xiaoyue, even with his Academic Genius talent.


    ¡°Are we really going to the New World for actualbat?¡± Xiao Lin raised his question to the instructor Qin Chuan.


    Qin Chuan looked rather displeased, but the questioner was a ss monitor who had the right to put forth their own questions. Meanwhile, Qin Chuan was an instructor whose responsibility was to answer those questions. He therefore suppressed his difort and exined, ¡°It¡¯s now 210 N.C., and it¡¯s been about a century since the Thunder Kingdom was destroyed by Judge Academy. It goes without saying that there¡¯s no way we can send you to Norma for your monthly exam. You¡¯re still not yet eligible to enter the New World!¡±


    Many people were disappointed.


    Qin Chuan exined, ¡°This so-called monthly exam is to create apletely realistic simtion space for reconnaissance,bat, and other tasks in various environments and under various conditions. It ensures that you are brought into a warzone that resembles the real deal as closely as possible, allowing you to adapt to battles in the New World. I prefer to call these monthly exams exercises rather than exams! It is a preparatory exercise for your future entry into Norma¡¯s colonial army!¡±


    Those remarks gave the entire ss a big shock. Inparison, the admissions test was simply a test on a very small scale


    As acting ss monitor, Xiao Lin continued to ask, ¡°In other words, we¡¯ll be ying the role of Judge Academy in this monthly exam, I mean, this simted exercise, and we¡¯re to do what they did in the past?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Of course! You can also do better than what they did in the past! For example, when gathering intelligence, one of the mistakes their academymitted was getting detected by the border army¡¯s scouts. That was the reason for the pursuit,¡± Qin Chuan affirmed.


    ¡°But we¡¯re just freshmen. How can wepare to America¡¯s elite students?¡± someone questioned.


    Qin Chuan snorted. ¡°When the earliest colonists invaded Norma, their team was not only small, but they were generally very weak too. Although the team from Judge Academy is remembered as elites, their strength was only around ck Iron and Bronze. Of course, that was already considered outstanding enough at the time.¡±


    ¡°Is it difficult to face an entire army? We have only a few people in one ss! By the way, will our entire freshman year be taking the exam together?¡± someone asked.


    Qin Chuan replied somewhat sarcastically. ¡°Dream on. This is an exam that will be taken by each individual ss. Look clearly at thebat objectives in the handouts! It¡¯s not asking you to go to war! If you¡¯re proficient enough in history, you¡¯ll know that this was one the most well-known reconnaissance operations in the history of colonization. Judge Academy relied heavily on their findings to push deeply into the heart of the Thunder Kingdom and destroy their elite troops. Until now, many of the world¡¯s colonist academies continue to simte this battle, be it for freshman or sophomore exams.¡±

 Chapter 58: Lifewater

    <h4>Chapter 58: Lifewater</h4>


    The corners of Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched suddenly. ¡°Freshman or sophomore? What you¡¯re saying is that other colonial academies use the contents of this exam for their sophomores too? Wait, I think that¡¯s it! Back then, the members of Judge Academy had strengths between ck Iron-rank and Bronze-rank, which indicates that the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s army should at least be at this level too. How can an examination of this level be used against freshmen!¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t something that concerns you. Even though this monthly exam¡¯s simted battle will be reconstructed as realistically as possible to actual events, it won¡¯t turn out to be exactly the same. For example, the formation and location of the kingdom¡¯s border troops will be arranged at random. The enemy¡¯s strength will also drop to the same level as yours.¡±


    Qin Chuan¡¯s quick exnation relieved everyone of their worries, but Xiao Lin noticed a solemn and helpless look between the instructor¡¯s eyebrows, which left Xiao Lin feeling as though the exam was not as simple as it was made out to be.


    Xiao Lin actually had more doubts, but he did not ask any further questions. He felt that an instructor might not know that much anyway, and besides, he had a frosty rtionship with Qin Chuan.


    After that, Qin Chuan briefly exined the key points to note for the monthly exam, glossing over and even overlooking many of the details that were floating around in everyone¡¯s mind.


    For example, when entering the exam¡¯s simted environment, they were not allowed to carry any other helpful information other than the weapons and equipment they owned. Even the map and data at hand was disallowed from being brought in, since Judge Academy¡¯s team had no map back in the day.


    Although allocating maps to freshmen in advance to familiarize everyone with the environment could be considered a surreptitious means to reduce difficulty, the academy obviously did not intend to let the freshmen have it so easy.


    In another example, Qin Chuan repeatedly warned everyone that the monthly exam was different from the admissions test. The simtion exercise was very real and 10 years of life would be deducted with each death. In fact, his purpose was not to scare them.


    There were still people who found it difficult to ept that regtion. Although a month went by in a rather dull and boring manner, many people had subconsciously treated the ce like an ordinary academy.


    ¡°There are three objectives in the monthly exam¡¯s tasks, but the truth is, there¡¯s another task in addition to this: to live! Even if you failed your tasks, it¡¯s better to live than to die!¡±


    Qin Chuan¡¯s words cast a shadow over many people¡¯s minds. There was no death penalty in the admissions test, and many people actually doubted whether the academy would actually implement such cruel regtions. At that point, it seemed inevitable.


    Xiao Lin was not too worried about that for the time being. He still had a lot of life left, but he could not help but nce with concern at the indifferent girl beside him. Gu Xiaoyue only had two years of life remaining, and it was something he had always been worried about.


    Xiao Lin asked again, ¡°When we enrolled in the academy, you mentioned before that there¡¯s a way for us to increase our life expectancy. Can you be more specific?¡±


    ¡°This is also one of the points I¡¯ll touch on next.¡± Qin Chuan nced at Xiao Lin nkly and said, ¡°Yes, Dawn Academy implements a system of simted monthly exams, and although the difficulty is reduced specifically for freshmen, death is still unavoidable. Lifewater is currently the only item that can supplement one¡¯s lost lifespan and even increase one¡¯s maximum lifespan.¡±


    ¡°Lifewater?¡±


    Whispers were heard throughout the ssroom and Xiao Lin asked again. ¡°How do we get it?¡±


    Qin Chuan shrugged it off. ¡°The official store in the forum. It¡¯s easy to find.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve visited the official store, but I¡¯ve never even seen it,¡± someone immediately stood up and retorted. They visited the forums frequently in their spare time, so it was impossible for anyone not to know.


    Qin Chuan smiled in disdain. ¡°Do you think lifewater is like a head of Chinese cabbage that you can buy as and when you please? I don¡¯t know much about it, but what I can tell you is that lifewater¡¯s production process is very difficult andplicated. Basic lifewater can only be harvested once every three months. Each bottle is priced at a thousand redemption points. Each bottle can either increase the limit of your life or supplement another a ten-year lifespan. It¡¯s in short supply and the quantity is very limited, so it¡¯s almost impossible to meet the demands of the entire academy. There are times where it¡¯ll be sold out in less than an hour after going for sale. You¡¯re out of luck because thest batch of it was just sold outst month. You¡¯ll have to wait another month to buy it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy expensive!¡± Xiao Lin was a little surprised. The total redemption points one could get after obtaining Grade S in the admissions test was only 800 points. In addition to the 200 points as reward for his perfect attendance, it amounted to exactly 1,000 points. That was only enough to buy one bottle. Those who could not get a high evaluation would likely only have the opportunity to save enough redemption points for lifewater after a couple of months.


    Xiao Lin looked at the expressionless Gu Xiaoyue and hesitated to say anything. After all, it was inappropriate to talk about it in ss.


    ¡°There must be intermediate lifewater and advanced lifewater, right?¡± Someone noticed the phrase ¡®basic¡¯ that Qin Chuan mentioned earlier.


    Qin Chuan paused and his tone became a little helpless. ¡°Although basic lifewater can increase your lifespan, it is only limited to a maximum of a hundred years. Between 101 and 150 years of age, you must use intermediate lifewater to achieve the intended effects. Those between 151 and 200 years-old require advanced lifewater. As I said earlier, it takes three months to produce basic lifewater, while intermediate and advanced lifewater takes longer. It¡¯s more expensive, and even scarcer in quantity. There¡¯s no necessity for freshmen to even consider lifewater for a hundred years old and above, because you can¡¯t afford it!¡±


    ¡°What about those over two hundred?¡± someone asked.


    Qin Chuan scoffed, ¡°Two hundred and above? Hmmm, sorry, no colonization academy in this world has the ability to produce lifewater to increase it over two hundred years-old. The only way to surpass two hundred years of life is to go to the New World. If you¡¯re lucky enough to defeat a Legend-level dragon, you¡¯ll stand a chance of getting the kind...of material that can be used to make lifewater!¡±


    Once the key points were all addressed, everyone left the ssroom in droves with the data in their hands. Qin Chuan made no mention of the specifics in the monthly exam, and in the end, it was all left to new students to rack their brains.


    Taking advantage of the period of time before the dormitory was locked, Xiao Lin hurriedly went to the logistics department. The golden dragon in front of the building was no longer there and he heard that it had been brought back to the New World by the dean.


    Department Head Song was fertilizing Chinese cabbages in his vegetable garden. He raised his head and nced at Xiao Lin, who was panting, then looked at the fertilizer in his hand. He lowered his voice and quietly reminded, ¡°Hush! Don¡¯t say anything. Don¡¯t scare them ¡±


    ¡°Scare who?¡± Xiao Lin looked around in befuddlement and did not see anyone else, so he walked over and said, ¡°Department Head Song, I¡¯ll be taking my first monthly exam tomorr¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Department Head Song whispered furiously.


    Suddenly, the cabbage garden began to emit a harsh and sharp howling sound, simr to the cry of a baby. Xiao Lin was startled, especially after discovering that the howling sound was actuallying from the Chinese cabbage within an arm¡¯s length of him.


    ¡°Quick! Spray the medicine for me!¡± Song Jung gave Xiao Lin a helpless look and hurriedly tossed the fertilizer he was holding. He took out two bottles of pesticide-like substances from the house, then threw one to Xiao Lin and said, ¡°Spray this right now!¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little confused. ¡°What is this?¡±


    Song Jung exined as he sprayed at the cabbage garden, ¡°This is a powerful hypnotic. It¡¯s the same as the one that was given to you before. Hurry up and quit your nonsense. Spray it now. These are still seedlings, and they¡¯ll lose their nutrients if they are frightened for too long!¡±


    Xiao Lin eyes twitched. The story of spraying hypnotic on cabbages would make for a ludicrously weird story, but he was somewhat immune to the strange hybrid species in Song Jung¡¯s logistics department. Xiao Lin grabbed the bottle of hypnotics and helped to spray it all over the cabbages.

 Chapter 59: Law

    <h4>Chapter 59: Law</h4>


    In the afterglow of the setting sun, the two of them hurriedly got busy for more than ten minutes. After spraying the powerful hypnotic potion, the harsh crying in the vegetable garden finally ceased.


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground to rest. He was not tired. Rather, the sound was far too ear-piercing and his eardrums were straining then.


    ¡°Thank goodness, thank goodness!¡± Even Song Jung was somewhat traumatized.


    ¡°These cabbages are living things[1]?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re hybrids. I¡¯ll let you try them when your total attributes are higher.¡±


    Xiao Lin shuddered, then immediately shook his head firmly and refused.


    ¡°Although you almost messed things up for me, I won¡¯t hold this against you because you helped me. Your dormitory building is going to be locked soon. Time for you to head back!¡± Department Head Song picked up the empty pot of hypnotics and waved Xiao Lin goodbye.


    Xiao Lin was momentarily speechless and immediately called out, ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯te here to spray hypnotics for you!¡±


    Department Head Song stood still and put his hand to his forehead. He looked as though he was thinking, but he could not remember what Xiao Lin had said earlier.


    Xiao Lin could only remind him again, ¡°We¡¯re going to have our first monthly exam tomorrow.¡±


    Department Head Song suddenly pped his hands, ¡°Oh, okay! Good luck, remember toe to me after you¡¯re done. I recently thought of a species that suits you very well. It can increase the damage of your basic spells...¡±


    ¡°This is the information for this exam.¡± Seeing as the sun was about to set, Xiao Lin cut through all the nonsense and passed the information about Sunset Canyon that he had just received. He felt that Song Jung, who was a department head, would definitely be able to help him.


    Song Jung nced at the information but did not take it. He looked at the red clouds on the horizon and said slowly, ¡°Reconnaissance in Sunset Canyon. The topic was setst week and I¡¯ve known about it all along. After all, I do know someone high-up.¡±


    What followed was a brief silence. After a few minutes, Xiao Lin was forced to speak. ¡°And? Don¡¯t you have anything to say to me?¡±


    Department Head Song was dumbfounded. ¡°Are you asking me for help?¡±


    ¡°Well, duh!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve never taken the simtedbat exam with this map.¡± Song Jung then kept quiet for a while before saying, ¡°Actually, this kind of simtedbat map isn¡¯t suggested for use in freshmen exams.¡±


    ¡°The simtedbat map?¡±


    Song Jung sighed and spoke as he walked. ¡°There are actually two simtion environments used in exams. One is a reconstruction of the various battles that have happened in colonist history, and the other is created by the academy. The first type is more difficult. Even if there are practical examples in history to refer to, the difficulty often exceeds the strength of candidates because the actualbat environment is full of uncertain factors. In general, freshmen shouldn¡¯t be facing simtedbat.¡±


    Xiao Lin followed behind and could not help but feel angry hearing it. ¡°Why are they using this simtedbat map then if it¡¯s so difficult? Did you know that ten years of our life will be deducted if we die! Why are there such cruel rules when this is a school! Isn¡¯t this an academy to train colonists? If all of us fail the exam, who will colonize the New World!¡±


    Thetter point left Xiao Lin angry and agitated, as he was thinking of Gu Xiaoyue, who had only two years left to live. As instructor Qin Chuan mentioned, they would have to wait another month for the next batch of lifewater. In other words, if Gu Xiaoyue perishes in theing exam, she would die for real!


    Although Xiao Lin himself still had several chances to die, who knew how long he would be able to stay in the academy and how many times he would have to go through simtedbat exams like this? Could anyone guarantee that he would not die in the future?


    It was both a fear of death and a dissatisfaction with the academy. After venting however, Xiao Lin quickly calmed down and smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t be angry with you. I¡¯m just a little unhappy about this.¡±


    Song Jung stood still, then turned around and looked at Xiao Lin quietly. Then, he asked in an emotionless tone, ¡°Let me ask you this. Who do you think we are?¡±


    ¡°Us? We¡¯re colonists?¡± Xiao Lin was not quite sure why Department Head Song¡¯s asked that question.


    ¡°In that case, what do you think colonists are?¡± Song Jung¡¯s tone was very unassuming.


    ¡°Conquerors of Norma and establishers of a new world,¡± Xiao Lin answered very curtly that time. It was what the dean said at the opening ceremony. Those words were practically the motivation and driving force of all the freshmen who studied hard.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you call an invasion!¡± Department Head Song sighed, and when he raised his head a second time, his eyes were a little cold. ¡°The Eight-Nation Alliance during thete Qing Dynasty invaded China. They burnt, killed, looted, and divided China. Have you ever considered that the world¡¯s colonist academies, us included, are actually the same as the original invading forces that destroyed China! When we set foot on the New World, we were destined to be enemies of the natives of Norma. Our hands will be covered with their blood!¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. He had not seen it from that angle and he really did not ponder about it in more detail. Song Jung felt like a more distant person with hardly any of the gentleness he showed in the past. His eyes were filled with an apathy that inspired reverence, and Xiao Lin suddenly remembered the article in Dawn Academy Evening News about the logistics department¡¯s head who had been to the New World and participated in many battles. No one knew the number of New World inhabitants who died at his hands.


    Song Jung¡¯s low and slow voice continued resonating. ¡°Remember, Dawn Academy has never been a welfare institution, let alone a charity. This is a military academy that trains qualified soldiers! If you fail to meet the requirements of the school, is there any difference between you dying right now and you dying in the New World when the timees?¡±


    Lives would be lost in actualbat exercises on Earth too. If the monthly exam was regarded as analogous to that, then it was actually very normal that some lives would be lost in the process, especially when Dawn Academy had colonization on the mind.


    Department Head Song sighed and his tone softened again. ¡°If you have the opportunity to contact any of the foreign academes in the future, you¡¯ll understand that Dawn Academy has actually done a good job in protecting new students. As for the deduction of your life upon death, do you really think that the dean is willing to do that? Even though the academy continues to expand their enrollment quota every year, we¡¯re still at a disadvantage in terms of the number of people on Norma. It¡¯s only as ast resort. Who would want the students to waste their entire lives on the simtion battle?¡±


    The rule of deducting life points was indeed the main reason for Xiao Lin¡¯s displeasure.


    Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s persistent eyes, Song Jung shook his head reluctantly and sat on the ground. He faced the horizon of the setting sun and said, ¡°A special teacher is the one who¡¯s supposed to be telling you all this when you finally go to the New World, but since you want to know about it so badly, I guess it doesn¡¯t hurt to tell you earlier.¡±


    After thinking for a moment, Song Jung rephrased his words and said, ¡°In the beginning of colonial history, the pioneers had only one life. In addition, the physical quality of Earth¡¯s people were several levels worse than natives of Norma. They fought terribly in the colonial war... Those pioneers were extremely talented, but the disadvantage in terms of numbers was too great. Many people died just so they could gain a foothold in Norma...until a prodigious pioneer appeared and used his unparalleled powerful talent to create a neww. The specific details of thatw are no longer known, but it likely means that anyone who was marked with a special brand will have the power of immortality!¡±


    After a pause, Department Head Song smiled bitterly, ¡°This predecessor of ours has an unprecedented double SS-level talent, and he was also the only one with a clear record of having an SS-level talent. His strength was unimaginable, and although his original intentions were good, he went against natural order when he changed thew of the world. Despite burning his own soul and life as the price to pay for creating thisw, he was still unable to fully realize his intentions. He failed to give the world true immortality, and aw like that is bound to bear a massive defect!¡±


    [1] Normal cabbages (that don¡¯t scream) are supposed to be living things too, right?

 Chapter 60: Origins of the Monthly Exam

    <h4>Chapter 60: Origins of the Monthly Exam</h4>


    The sun hadpletely descended below the horizon, leaving only a few reddened clouds.


    ¡°Before this, let me talk to you a little bit about science andw.¡± Song Jung pondered for a moment to construct his sentences and said, ¡°The sun rises in the east. Flowers bloom and wilt. There¡¯s growth, aging, sickness, and death... These naturalws are calledws. We are very much familiar with thesews on Earth and we take them for granted. When the pioneers set foot on Norma, they unexpectedly discovered that they could forcibly change thosews when their power was strong enough and when they reached a certain level. Of course, changing thesews is extremely difficult, and ites with an even heavier price. The only one who has been confirmed to have sessfully changed thew is our predecessor, who created thew of immortality for colonists all over the world.¡±


    ¡°Then what is the w of thew of immortality?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you already know the ws? True immortality is impossible to achieve. Thisw only gives colonists a chance to resurrect. On Norma, where thew has taken effect, all colonists branded by the academy only have their lifespan deducted by twenty years.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Xiao Lin hurriedly stopped Department Head Song, and asked curiously, ¡°It¡¯s only ten years, wasn¡¯t it? Why twenty?¡±


    Song Jung replied helplessly. ¡°Let me finish talking... I¡¯m referring to Norma. Although it¡¯s impossible to achieve true immortality, thisw is also sufficient in handing us an advantage when we colonize other worlds and fight against other natives... It was not untilter that everyone found out thew is not only effective in Norma, but also on Earth, in Dawn Academy, and even when we conduct simtion exercises, which is the so-called monthly exam. Thisw for the deduction of one¡¯s lifespan remained valid, even in all those ces! Everyone, even the predecessor who created thisw, was quite surprised with that unexpected result.¡±


    After a moment of silence, Xiao Lin tried to digest all that mind-boggling information aboutws. It was still very foreign to him, prompting him to ask, ¡°What if the mark is erased? Can¡¯t we just temporarily erase the mark during a simted battle?¡±


    Department Head Song smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. When the freshmen undergo the initial physical examination, they will actually be automatically engraved with the soul mark. Thew affects anyone who has that mark, but a person only has a once-in-a-lifetime chance of ever getting that soul mark. Once erased, it can never be engraved again. Those who are sent back to Earth will only get one chance to live, even if they one day return here.¡±


    Xiao Lin was still puzzled. ¡°Why do we still have the tests then?¡±


    Song Jung exined, ¡°When this amazing result was first discovered, Dawn Academy immediately terminated all mock exams in order to protect the students who had not graduated. More than ten yearster however, Dawn Academy suffered even more losses in the New World. Even the limited amount of lifewater was slowly failing to keep up with the rate of lost lives, and we saw our highest number of casualties during Dawn Academy¡¯s war with the orcs!¡±


    ¡°Casualties?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Death! Ridiculous, isn¡¯t it? Dawn Academy¡¯s deaths increased even more after the resurrectionw existed!¡± Song Jung shook his head and sighed, ¡°After counting the casualties suffered during the war with the orcs, it was found that more than seventy percent of the deceased were students enrolled after the mock examination was terminated. I¡¯m sure you can guess why.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°Is it the gap between new recruits and veterans?¡±


    ¡°Correct. New recruits will always make up thergest number of casualties during a war. Everyone knows that because it¡¯smon sense, but no one is willing to bring it up. It¡¯s as though those who trained in the academy for a few years finally stepped out of their ivory towers. They¡¯re just students. They can¡¯t even be considered as soldiers! Even if there was a chance at resurrection, they would quickly waste away their lifespan because they had zerobat experience. Eventually, they died at the hands of the orcs.¡±


    The expression on Department Head Song¡¯s face became slightly more solemn as he mentioned that. ¡°Ever since that war, Dawn Academy officially resumed the simtion exercise system, which ismonly known as the monthly exam. There is no such thing as dying in a simted battle or dying in the New World. The difference is that Dawn Academy is located in an independent space, and the influence of thew is not as strong than it is on Norma. That is why only ten years of life will be deducted if you die here. If you¡¯re on Norma, twenty years of your life will be deducted!¡±


    A cool breeze struck them and thest afterglow of the setting sun sunkpletely in the darkness. Night had fallen, and the two moons¡ªonerge and the other small¡ªrose into the night sky.


    After hearing about the origins of the monthly exam, Xiao Lin had a mix of emotions. The sky was already dark when he snapped back to his senses and he smiled wryly. By then, the dormitory was surely already locked.


    ¡°Spend the night here then!¡± Song Jung got up, patted the dirt off his body. He smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t help you in the exam tomorrow. After all, as I just said, it¡¯s better to die once or twice here than dying in the New World in the future.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Xiao Lin sighed.


    ¡°But I can give you some advice.¡± Department Head Song turned around, thought for a while, then said, ¡°The difficulty of this exam has been reduced in order to give the freshmen a helping hand. As far as I know, most of the enemies you¡¯ll have to face won¡¯t use any skills, but your individual strength is still too low, hence the difficulty! The point to note here is that many of you don¡¯t have any experience, so sh*tty teammates are sometimes more dangerous than a strong opponent.


    ¡°Remember your core mission: reconnaissance overbat! Be sure to avoid confrontation, because you can¡¯t hold your own against those enemies, even though their strength has been significantly reduced. The key here is to save your life.


    ¡°This task is assessed based onprehensive strength, wisdom, and teamwork. If your tactics are on point, you don¡¯t even need to fight at all. I think the student union prepared maps for you after weighing the difficulty of your first monthly exam. You must study that map and memorize it. In fact, the difficulty was reduced by at least half after the map was provided.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ve never taken a test with this simtion?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but mutter.


    Song Jung touched his nose and said somewhat begrudgingly, ¡°Ahem, I haven¡¯t. But this is America¡¯s ssic battle, and when I was a guest at Judge Academy, everyone there droned on and on about it for almost a week. It¡¯s hard not to remember it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Xiao Lin was slightly touched, because being able to say all that was more than enough for him.


    Song Jung waved his hand, murmuring as he walked, ¡°If you die, where would I ever find such an obedient candidate for my experiments in the future?¡±


    ...


    Having declined the diet meal Department Head Song offered, Xiao Lin prepared to go to bed early, but he tossed and turned, finding it difficult to fall asleep. Department Head Song¡¯s words shocked him tremendously and made him think about many things. Hey in bed as his thoughts wandered. He thought about himself, the New World, Gu Xiaoyue, and his first monthly exam.


    He was wracked with insomnia that night.


    The exam started at eight in the morning, and Xiao Lin, who could not sleep for most of the night, woke up at seven. Once again, he firmly rejected the strange breakfast prepared by Department Head Song, and went back to the dormitory to pack his dagger and his new wand. Then, he arrived early at ss Seven¡¯s public ssroom.


    There were already a dozen people in the ssroom, many of them with dark circles in their eyes. It appeared that Xiao Lin was not the only one who suffered from insomnia the night before. The pressure of death and deduction of their lifespan made everyone look incredibly nervous. Each person tried to strike up a conversation with those around them and attempted to calm their nerves by talking.


    Xiao Lin silently went to a corner and ced his weapon on the table. He took out the data and map that was given the day before and studied it carefully. The monthly exam system forbade all that information from being brought into the actualbat environment, which meant that he had to use all his brain power to quickly remember the topographical map of Sunset Canyon.


    Xiao Lin had actually gone through it the night before and was just revising it a couple more times to remember it better. At the same time, it also served to pass the time.

 Chapter 61: The Monthly Exam Begins

    <h4>Chapter 61: The Monthly Exam Begins</h4>


    At about 7:50 A.M, a total of 60 people from ss Seven had arrived, each with different expressions. Some remained quiet and looked tense as they held their weapons and sulked in corners. Others appeared rather nervous. There were also those that looked rather excited, like Wang Dalin. He was carrying around his novice machete and engaging in conversation with everyone who cared to entertain him.


    ¡°Who cares about those Thunder Kingdom guys. I¡¯ll kill them as theye!


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of! Just follow me! I¡¯ll cover everyone!


    ¡°What level did you reach in your elective courses? Hehe, I¡¯m not gonna lie; I¡¯ve reached Level Two in all my courses! It¡¯s just foreignnguage that annoys me a bit, but it doesn¡¯t matter since it¡¯s useless anyway!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin looked at the map for a while, but was so irritated by Wang Dalin¡¯s loud voice that he was unable to concentrate, so he looked at thetter with a cold expression. Wang Dalin was trying to win over people¡¯s hearts. Xiao Linughed slightly, ignored Wang Dalin, and turned his head to nce at the girl beside him.


    Even in such a noisy environment, Gu Xiaoyue was still holding the map and scrutinizing it with her full attention. Her long, shapely eyebrows were knit in a frown, as if thinking about something. Her fair hand was holding a pen and she drew circles on the map from time to time.


    Xiao Lin observed for a long time and could not help but ask in a low voice, ¡°What are you drawing?¡±


    More than ten seconds passed before Gu Xiaoyue raised her head and adjusted her drooping ck-framed spectacles. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the army camp.¡±


    ¡°The Thunder Kingdom¡¯s army camp?¡± One of the optional objectives of thebat mission was to draw a picture of the army¡¯s defense. To do that, one first had to find the location of the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s army camp.


    Gu Xiaoyue lowered her head again and pointed to the circles she marked on the map. She then muttered to herself, ¡°The number of troops in the Thunder Kingdom is between three to six thousand. There¡¯s also the cavalry. It¡¯s impossible that they¡¯d be stationed in a very narrow position, and they have to be close to a water source. The locations that meet this condition in this topographic map are actually very limited.¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth and smiled wryly. ¡°This is just an optional mission. Our main goal is to escape from kingdom troops¡¯ pursuit. Survival is our bare minimum.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. If their cavalry and infantry are stationed separately, then all these locations might not necessarily be suitable.¡± Gu Xiaoyue bit her lip and drew on the map again.


    Xiao Lin sighed after beingpletely ignored. He was the only one who knew that the girl had two years left to live, but Gu Xiaoyue did not seem to care at all. She actually wanted toplete the optional tasks.


    Exploring the army camp¡¯s defenses meant that they would have to actively venture deeper, which in turn, was a sharp increase of the level of risk. Was she really so fearless in the face of death?


    At 8 A.M, instructor Qin Chuan appeared in the public ssroom again and looked at everyone. ¡°The teleportation will begin in one minute. For this month¡¯s exam, Xiao Lin will be yourmander.¡±


    Some people were stunned. Wang Dalin practically mmed the table and demanded to know why. He had just started forging rtionships with everyone before the exam because he wanted more people to follow his lead during the exam.


    Qin Chuan could not be bothered to talk nonsense with him. ¡°For all team-based exams, the ss monitor will receivemanding authority by default.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not surprised to hear that. As the acting monitor, he roughly knew that he had authority, but he sighed to himself after seeing so many unsightly expressions. It was one thing to havemanding authority, but whether others epted it or not it was another matter altogether.


    One minuteter, countless white rays of light fell from the sky in the ssroom hall, enveloping everyone in it. Most were either surprised or nervous when they saw that their bodies were disappearing quickly. Soon, the noisy ssroom was empty.


    Xiao Lin could only notice that his eyes were getting blurry. Once his vision became clear again, he found himself standing on barren red soil surrounded by open clearings. In front of him was the steep entrance to the canyon. The sun hung high in the sky, and the heat produced billowing heatwaves in the unsheltered canyon.


    The freshmen¡¯s monthly exam had officially begun!


    [Time: One week]


    [Map: Sunset Canyon]


    [Combat goal: Escape the pursuit of the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s army within a week and arrive in a safe location. Those whoplete the mission will get 10 credits and 100 redemption points. This is a team-based task. If 30% of the ss and above arrive at the safe location, the task will be deemedpleted]


    [Optional tasks:


    [1. Infiltrate the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s border army and draw a map of the area where the troops are stationed. You are sessful if the uracy of your map exceeds 70% and you will get 10 credits, as well as 200 redemption points.


    [2. Kill the wolf cavalry squadron¡¯s captain. Reward: 15 credits and 300 redemption points.]


    [Condition for failure:


    [1. More than 70% of the ss is wiped out by the kingdom¡¯s army.


    [2. The mission ends after one week.]


    [Warning: This is a simtion of actualbat. 10 years of life will be deducted for each death.]


    Everyone¡¯s mind reverberated with the centralputer¡¯s reminder about the mission. Although those contents had been known in advance with the information released the day before, it was obvious that there are some additional details in the official announcement that day.


    All 60 people in the ss were there. In addition to the necessary weapons, everyone had an extra backpack, containing a box ofpressed biscuits, a sk of water, a pen, and a notebook. That was the extent of the equipment they were provided.


    Once they recovered from the short post-transmission silence, someone asked, ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°What a stupid question. We¡¯re at Sunset Canyon.¡±


    ¡°Your statement is stupid. I¡¯m asking about our exact location IN Sunset Canyon!¡±


    The crowd had already started discussing and their gaze finally shifted to Xiao Lin. Whether they epted it or not, Xiao Lin was acting monitor and theoretically hasmanding authority.


    Xiao Lin sat on the ground. He picked up his notebook and scribbled something quickly. Several other people were doing the same thing. They tried their best to memorize the canyon¡¯s topographic map before the exam, and had to quickly draw it before they forgot it.


    After a quarter of an hour, several peoplepleted their drawings one after another. They thenpared their results and made some improvements. The rough topographic map of Sunset Canyon was at least 70% to 80%plete. Many found it hard to understand why the academy forbade them from bringing any materials in.


    However, Xiao Lin had no objection about that after talking with Song Jung. He had a deeper understanding of the monthly exam¡¯s significance. If it really was a simted exercise, then it probably meant that America¡¯s Judge Academy had an iplete topographic map too.


    ¡°We¡¯re probably here now, at Sunset Canyon¡¯s south entrance.¡± Xiao Lin pointed to the topographic map that he had drawn up quickly, but because his drawing skills were poor, almost no one could understand it except himself.


    ¡°How do you know that this is the south entrance?¡± someone questioned, seemingly unconvinced.


    ¡°The information clearly stated that about a third of the Sunset Canyon is located in the Thunder Kingdom. The ins are behind us. If the kingdom¡¯s army chooses to station, they¡¯ll likely do so in the ins.¡± Xiao Lin nced at Gu Xiaoyue. He patted his notebook and said loudly to the students approaching around, ¡°So the current situation is actually very clear. Behind us is the enemy¡¯s garrison, and in front is the canyon.¡±


    Having said that, Xiao Lin could not help but sigh in distress.


    Many people were still in a daze, but a few people were gradually starting to understand Xiao Lin¡¯s words. They lowered their heads and whispered for a while, and soon the exchanges became louder and louder. Everyone then understood that they were facing a very awkward situation.

 Chapter 62: Split Ways

    <h4>Chapter 62: Split Ways</h4>


    Should they advance and enter Sunset Canyon or turn back and enter the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s territory for reconnaissance? Everyone faced a dilemma as soon as they were on the simted battlefield.


    ¡°Let¡¯s analyze the exam tasks first. Everyone has heard the prompt from the centralputer, and it¡¯s interesting that there¡¯s a bit of difference from the information we were given yesterday.¡±


    Xiao Lin said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s a little different from what I expected. Not everyone needs to escape the enemy¡¯s pursuit and reach a safe area. The mission ispleted even if only thirty percent of us reach there.¡±


    ¡°What does this mean?¡± someone still failed to understand.


    ¡°It means that seventy percent of us can be treated as expendable, as bait to corner the enemy, so the remaining thirty percent can safely pass through the canyon. Isn¡¯t that right, Monitor Xiao?¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned. He did not even need to look up to know who it came from. Wang Dalin and Xiao Lin were at loggerheads during the admissions test, and Xiao Linter used his ss monitor¡¯s authority to directly mute Wang Dalin on the Dawning Forum for a month.


    The two of them did not like each other in the first ce, and Wang Dalin showed aggression toward the monitor¡¯s position, especially when everyone basically knew that Gu Xiaoyue would assume the position. Based on strength however, Wang Dalin¡ªwhose basic attributes were quite strong¡ªwould be a big threat to Xiao Lin¡¯s position in theprehensive exam three monthster.


    The conflict of interest caused Wang Dalin to find every opportunity to attack Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin had to admit that Wang Dalin¡¯s analysis was correct, and when first saw that regtion, he immediately thought of that possibility too.


    Although the difficulty of the examination has dropped somewhat, both the instructor and Department Head Song had repeatedly emphasized that the strength of the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s border defense was still far superior to theirs. Therefore, it was absolutely necessary to avoid head-on conflict, but when facing enemy troops, it was better to assign some people as bait to confuse the enemy.


    It was clear that Wang Dalin mentioned that without actually having any good intentions. He had a distressed expression on his face as he waved his hands around. In that way, more students next to him came around and said loudly, ¡°Everyone knows that every death deducts ten years from your life span. Which one of you can guarantee that you won¡¯t die if you be bait? The instructor also said that the army is stronger than ours!¡±


    Many people immediately understood the truth of that statement. The decoy tactic could guarantee easypletion of the required tasks, but the price of a bottle of Lifewater was 1,000 redemption points. It was definitely not worth risking idental death.


    The sacrifice of a small number of people could be exchanged for the sess of the entire mission, but such cohesion was all but absent in such a newly-formed team of ssmates. No one was willing to be taken advantage of by a small number of people and be sacrificed in vain.


    ¡°What are you going to do, Acting Monitor? You¡¯re themander of ss Seven!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s silence prompted a trace of emotion to sh across Wang Dalin¡¯s face. He deliberately emphasized mander¡¯ and reminded others that Xiao Lin was likely to make such a decision as themander of that mission.


    As expected, everyone looked at Xiao Lin with uncertainty. Wang Dalin¡¯s words were rather harsh, and whether or not Xiao Lin actually nned to suggest the decoy n, many people would be wary of it if it was mentioned so openly.


    As the acting monitor, Xiao Lin was tacitly approved to be themander of that mission, much to the displeasure of Wang Dalin. He could not go against that rule, but he could attempt to make others undermine Xiao Lin and lose their trust in him. Even if he could sow a tiny little seed of doubt, Xiao Lin would slowly bemander in name only.


    Xiao Lin still did not respond and never even looked at Wang Dalin directly. He carefully looked at the notebook in his hand the entire time. It contained the topographic map that he drew quickly, because Song Jung reminded him that a map was crucial in the simtion battle. He had forced himself to memorize the entire map since the night before, and at that moment, his drawing was the most faithful to the actual map. Even the icons were 70% to 80% reconstructed.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s silence disinterested Wang Dalin, and someone then said, ¡°We should firstplete the reconnaissance task and get out of here as soon as possible, before the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s army notices our movement!¡±


    ¡°Why should weplete the reconnaissance first?¡±


    The person who spoke was a tall, short-haired, rather beautiful woman who seemed very capable. She said, ¡°The mandatory mission is to escape the canyon and reach the safe area. This is in direct conflict with the reconnaissance mission. I believe the academy is giving us a choice of one or the other.¡±


    ¡°The key to this mission is to avoid the enemy¡¯s scouts. The risk of being discovered increases with each extra day we stay here. We¡¯re too weak. We can¡¯t beat them if we¡¯re discovered. If we don¡¯t want to take risks, the best choice is to enter the canyon andplete the required tasks directly.¡±


    But we¡¯ve worked so hard for an entire month. Will all our hard work be for a mere 100 redemption points?¡± a sturdily-built boy opined loudly.


    ¡°We shouldplete the first optional task while the enemy hasn¡¯t noticed us yet. Once that is done, we can all retreat. I¡¯m sure we can ensure that most of the people here can leave safely. As for who would end up being killed, well, that depends on your luck.¡±


    ¡°Then what about thest optional task: kill the wolf cavalry squadron captain?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s out of the question. I don¡¯t think we can kill the wolf cavalry squadron captain. After all, we don¡¯t have any talented students in our ss, unlike the other ss monitors. They¡¯re all talented students, and their strength is just inherently different from us. All we can do is give up thisst task.¡± Someone shed their palms in helplessness.


    ¡°Although it is a bit dangerous, there¡¯s still a chance of sess. If you want to get the redemption points, you¡¯ll have to take a bit of risk. I agree!¡±


    Xiao Lin asionally looked up at some of the more enthusiastic individuals. Usually, he would use his ss monitor¡¯s authority to check the changes in their attributes, as well as their skill levels, whenever he had time to spare. If he remembered correctly, most of those people got Grades A or B in the admissions test. Although they were not as good as the talented students, they could be ranked as second best after the talented students, but in terms of mental fortitude or attribute skill level.


    Their analyses were also somewhat reasonable, and their options were what most people could think of and understand at the moment. They could not possibly defeat the kingdom¡¯s army in a head-on conflict, and it was better toplete the task as soon as possible.


    Some people stood beside Xiao Lin hesitantly. They did not seem to trust Xiao Lin very much and were worried that they would be used as bait, but at the same time, they did not want to investigate the enemy¡¯s barracks either.


    Soon the crowd divided into two factions. Wang Dalin and the few who received high grades believed that they should take the initiative to attack. They were capable enough in terms of strength and were ambitious enough too.


    Since the acting monitors of the other sses were talented students, there was almost no possibility of a change in the monitor position after three months as long as they worked hard by themselves. However, the situation in ss Seven was veryplicated, and many people felt that they were able to fight for the monitor position. An example would be the radicals in front of Xiao Lin, the number of which nearly ounted for the majority of the ss.


    Even if Xiao Lin was the acting monitor and themander, those people felt that the exam results would be higher than that of Xiao Lin, so long as they can persuade the rest of the people to act together. After theprehensive examination in three months, their chances of getting the monitor position would increase even more.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he saw Gu Xiaoyue pausing and concentrating not far away. Her high intelligence value was absolutely terrifying, and everyone had witnessed it for themselves in the admissions test. In particr, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s apparent disinterest in the monitor¡¯s position made Wang Dalin feel that he could win her support.


    Barely a few stepster, Xiao Lin¡ªwho had been keeping silent all the while¡ªclosed his notebook suddenly, then got up and looked around. He said to Wang Dalin as thetter walked over, ¡°Let¡¯s split ways then. I may be the monitor, but I can¡¯t force everyone to follow my orders. That being the case, we might as well split into two groups for now.¡±

 Chapter 63: Xiao Lin’s Plan

    <h4>Chapter 63: Xiao Lin¡¯s n</h4>


    ¡°Huh?¡± Those who attempted to use the decision of the majority to evade Xiao Lin¡¯s authority were stunned all of a sudden. The result was a bit unexpected.


    ¡°Split ways?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We should just split into two groups. If you so choose, you can go and do the reconnaissance mission. You can follow me if you want to survive for the time being!¡± Xiao Lin said to the others.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s face soured. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Xiao Lin said calmly. ¡°Simple. You¡¯re just asking to be killed if you go there and scout right now.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    Xiao Lin sneered. ¡°Is your brain filled with mush or something? Can¡¯t you think for yourself!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not bother to exin to him that although the few people who got Grade A or B they each had their own thoughts, they continued to act harmoniously on the surface and did not openly voice disagreement. Irrespective of what the future held for them, Xiao Lin was still their ss monitor for three months. Wang Dalin was the only idiot who would dare to butt heads with him.


    ¡°You!¡± Wang Dalin¡¯s anger peaked and heughed. ¡°Your attributes are low and you skip sses all the time, so you¡¯re afraid that we¡¯llplete the optional tasks and get a higher grade than you. So be it, then. We¡¯ll split ways! Those who want credits and redemption points cane with us!¡±


    The argumentsted for more than ten minutes. Xiao Lin was firmly opposed to immediate reconnaissance while the others refused to make concessions. The differences between the two sides could actually be described as conservative and radical. Once they entered the canyon, they could onlyplete the mandatory tasks. In the end, 39 people followed Wang Dalin and others while Xiao Lin¡¯s group had only 20 people in addition to himself.


    This division satisfied many people. The capable girl said, ¡°Even if thirty percent of our sspletes the required tasks, the whole ss will be considered havingpleted all of them. Splitting ways might be good.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, maybe we can have a rendezvous point? Whether or not we¡¯vepleted the reconnaissance mission, we¡¯ll rush to the rendezvous in three days. Then we can all act together andplete the mandatory task. How about it?¡± One of the boys seemed to have second thoughts.


    Everyone else nodded except for Wang Dalin. Once they encountered danger and were forced to separate, the first instinct of those who ended up alone was to group up. Setting a rendezvous point would be a fallback n, because in the end, they could not guarantee that could remain undiscovered if they went ahead with the reconnaissance.


    ¡°NO!¡± a crisp voice sounded. To everyone¡¯s surprise, Gu Xiaoyue was the first one to object. She stood next to Xiao Lin, and although Wang Dalin tried to persuade Gu Xiaoyue to join him, she gave him a cold nce and showed no indication of agreeing.


    Xiao Lin nced at Gu Xiaoyue with a cold expression, then touched his nose before suddenly nodding happily. ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll set a rendezvous point! Don¡¯t interrupt me. I¡¯m the monitor and I have the final say!¡±


    Thest sentence was addressed to Gu Xiaoyu, who shot Xiao Lin a strange look and stopped talking.


    Xiao Lin opened his notebook and looked at it for a while, then drew a circle on a fork in the canyon. He said, ¡°If you really want toe back, you can gather at this intersection!¡±


    Wang Dalin snorted in apparent acknowledgement to that decision.


    After that, both sides parted ways and more than 30 people left for the ins behind them. It was not until they were far enough away that Xiao Lin pped his hands and said, ¡°Let¡¯s set off then.¡±


    In addition to Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, there were 18 other people left. Xiao Lin did not think that those people went with him because they trusted him. He knew that they found it too dangerous to do the reconnaissance. While it was true that there was reward amidst that danger, one might not think of it from that perspective if it bore down to life and death.


    In the past month, Xiao Lin spent his days between the training hall, the dormitory, and the logistics department. Although the entire ss Seven knew who he was, Xiao Lin did not know everyone else.


    ¡°Monitor, where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Are we going to the rendezvous point to wait for them toe back?¡±


    ¡°Why should we wait for them? Let¡¯s go straight through Sunset Canyon and arrive at the safe location!¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We have twenty people and this fulfills the requirement of thirty percent out of the total number of people.¡±


    ...


    Gu Xiaoyue adjusted her sses and asked suddenly in a cold voice. ¡°Are you seriously going to give up the two optional tasks and onlyplete the mandatory ones?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°If I said yes, you wouldn¡¯t just turn around and leave, would y¡ª... Ahem, hey, wait a moment. I¡¯m kidding!¡±


    Seeing that Gu Xiaoyue really nned to leave, Xiao Lin hurriedly stopped her and summoned the others. He said pensively, ¡°Just let me talk about my n first. First of all, everyone has to understand that it¡¯s impossible to go directly through Sunset Canyon. At the same time, I¡¯m not going to give up the two optional tasks.¡±


    There was amotion among the few dozen and one girl was very dissatisfied. ¡°I stayed behind because I didn¡¯t want to take risks. My lifespan only allows me to die three times!¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t really think that this so-called monthly exam is that difficult, right? Go on guys, open up your backpack and take a look for yourself. A thermos of water and a small box of biscuits are all the supplies that the school gave us. We have to survive in this ce for seven days. Do you think that¡¯s enough?¡±


    After being dropped into the simted battlefield, the academy automatically issued a backpack to everyone as a sort ofplimentary gift.


    The girl whoined earlier immediately looked dumbfounded. She looked at the others for a while and asked in a rather unconfident manner, ¡°How long does it take to cross Sunset Canyon?¡±


    ¡°From the topographical map, Sunset Canyon is huge and has many forks. Most of the roads are dead ends. Although I sketched about seventy percent to eighty percent, I¡¯m not that confident about the remaining ten to twenty. In an idealistic scenario with no pursuit, it¡¯ll take at least three days to get out of the canyon.¡±


    ¡°This food and water is only enough for one day,¡± someone said uneasily.


    ¡°Half a day.¡± Gu Xiaoyue offered a more precise calction.


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°The temperature here is crazy high, probably over forty degrees. Food isn¡¯t really much of a problem, because if things really don¡¯t work out, we may be able to do a bit of hunting. The map data already stated that there are a few monsters in Sunset Canyon. The key issue is water. If you go at this temperature, you¡¯ll get dehydrated in half a day because this amount is definitely not enough.¡±


    The canyon was barren, with an abundance ofrge and small stones. Except for a goshawk hovering in the blue sky, there were no clouds either. The hot sun roasted the ground without the slightest restraint, and in fact, their foreheads were already oozing a fineyer of sweat when all they did was stand and talk.


    The monthly examination environment simted Norma. Although it was not known what super-technology or spells were used, Qin Chuan and Song Jung had suggested that the degree of simtion was nearly 100% urate.


    There was only one sun on Norma, but it was slightlyrger than the sun on Earth. It was dark red and exuded much more heat. For that reason, the temperature of Norma was generally higher during the daypared to Earth.


    ¡°That means we need supplies. In other words, we need to find a supply depot first!¡±


    After that, Xiao Lin pointed to arge circle that he highlighted in the notebook. He had been doing all that earlier when Wang Dalin was trying to sway the others.


    ¡°Supply depot? Was there any indication of this in the materials distributed to us?¡± someone asked doubtfully.


    ¡°If you look closely at the markers next to the map, you¡¯lle to find some very interesting things. For example, the water source is marked with a wave-like shape, but the nearest water source is four or five days away from us. Leaf shapes are nts, and these animal-like markers likely refer to creatures in the area, but I don¡¯t understand what these creatures are for the time being.¡±


    After a pause, Xiao Lin pointed to several other signs. ¡°There are some signs I don¡¯t understand, but it¡¯s normal given that we still don¡¯t know much about the humanities and customs of Norma. But there is only one sign that resembles the shape of a building, and if my guess is right, it should probably be something like a nearby supply depot!¡±

 Chapter 64: Xiao Lin’s Plan (II)

    <h4>Chapter 64: Xiao Lin¡¯s n (II)</h4>


    After a brief argument, Xiao Lin and the others finally stepped into Sunset Canyon. Although he was not that confident himself, he first had to find a supply depot unless he wanted to die of thirst.


    The entire Sunset Canyon was V-shaped and the entrance was rtively narrow. After turning the first corner, his field of vision immediately became wider. The canyon was winding as one looked into the distance and the surrounding rocks were stacked on top of each other. The twists and turns of the huge canyon were like a tie snaking and dancing on the Earth.


    Although the heat was unbearable, clusters of nts grew in the crevices of the rock formations. Some even produced light-red, thumb-sized wild fruits. Despite Xiao Lin¡¯s repeated warnings, some people could not help but taste one. Barely minutester, the hapless guy grabbed his stomach, rolled on the ground in pain, and his face turned pale. In the end, Xiao Lin could only knock him unconscious and hesitated before asking everyone to take turns helping him move forward.


    That episode slowed the team down considerably and increased their water consumption faster than expected. In particr, many people did not know how to ration their limited water and drank most of it in one gulp. After only about two hours, half of the people had finished all their water.


    The heat and thirst tortured them all, but there was no sign of the supply station that Xiao Lin spoke of. Some people had already begun regretting it. ¡°I actually think we should¡¯ve gone all the way with Wang Dalin. The most important thing is that the area behind us was the ins. I¡¯ve looked at the signs on the map. The water sources are practically distributed in that area.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the idiot and said angrily, ¡°If you can think of this, why can¡¯t the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s troops think of it? The climate around here is incredibly dry, and the garrison will surely build their camp near the water source to ensure a steady supply of water. It¡¯s impossible to escape once they enter the lion¡¯s den.¡±


    ¡°How are you so sure they can¡¯t escape? Even though I don¡¯t want to take any risks, Wang Dalin actually made sense. The sess rate is at least fifty-fifty. It¡¯s risky, but if you¡¯re not discovered...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to seed!¡± Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°Have you noticed how the mandatory mission is written? We¡¯re supposed to escape the pursuit of the kingdom¡¯s army. That is the precondition for this mission, which means that the enemy already knows that we¡¯reing from the beginning.¡±


    Xiao Lin scratched his head in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this problem since just now, because this precondition is a contradiction. If what is being simted now is the actual battle that happened in history, then the enemy should only know about our presence after the exam started.¡±


    ¡°How did they know? We didn¡¯t notice any scouts or anything.¡±


    Xiao Lin gestured with his palms up. ¡°I can¡¯t wrap my head around it either, but if my guess is true, we¡¯ll be walking right into death¡¯s door if we do reconnaissance right now.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be right? Even if they discover us by ident, we could just disperse and retreat¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wolf cavalry squadron,¡± Xiao Lin shook his head and interrupted the other party. ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the information? This garrison includes two light infantry squadrons and a wolf cavalry squadron.¡±


    ¡°What about the wolf cavalry¡ªUh, okay...¡± The man who spoke was a dark-skinned male with a longbow on his back. He was very frank, as he proactively offered an apology to Xiao Lin after realizing that his thought process had been far too simple.


    Anyone with a little bit of military knowledge could understand how formidable a squadron was on the ins in terms of the impact and speed. Xiao Lin did not know much about the wolf cavalry since there was no detailed description in the information, but he was quite sure that the students¡ªwith their two legs and a strength that barely reached ck Iron rank¡ªwere unable to outrun the cavalry of four-legged wolves.


    The boy hesitated, then asked, ¡°If the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s troops were prepared for this right from the start, why didn¡¯t you remind the others that they might not be able to escape the cavalry?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m sure Wang Dalin never thought of this, but I can¡¯t say the same for others. This is all pure guesswork from me. To put it bluntly, there is still a risk.¡±


    Others nodded profoundly. Compared to Wang Dalin¡¯s radical approach, they admired Xiao Lin¡¯s steadiness and conservatism. Xiao Lin¡¯s choice was based on the premise that his side had been discovered, in which case they entered the canyon to avoid the wolf cavalry¡¯s pursuit. That was the best choice.


    Xiao Lin nced at Gu Xiaoyue for a moment. She looked at him with a frown too, but her expression was far from good. Xiao Lin smiled at her, but he had to admit that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan made him feel like he had a bone stuck in his throat. He could not approve of taking risks at all. Extra rewards could be gained bypleting those optional tasks, but if they failed, it was important to note that the girl had only two years of her life left!


    The man who spoke patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder and said, ¡°My name is Lu Renyi. I¡¯m taking the Basic Archery course. If you need anything, just let me know, ss...ss Monitor.¡±


    The man was in his thirties and looked quite strong. He seemed a little embarrassed to address Xiao Lin as monitor and Xiao Lin did not mind that at all. ¡°Just call me by my name. Lu Renyi, is it? If I remember correctly, your Basic Archery skills are already at level two.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was randomly assigned a saber during the admission test, then I rushed out and killed a few zombies before being killed myself,¡± Lu Renyiined regrettably. ¡°I learned from that painful lesson and felt that closebat was too dangerous and easy to get yourself killed. That¡¯s why I took the Basic Archery course as an elective.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not quite sure how to react when he learned that the man was afraid of death. There were far fewer people taking the Basic Archery coursepared to spells and melee sses. Xiao Lin asionally used his monitor¡¯s authority to view other people¡¯s skill information, and he paid special attention to those who chose to take Basic Archery as a course.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s exnation temporarily relieved everyone of their irritability. After a short rest, the team moved forward again. If Xiao Lin¡¯s map was marked correctly, they would have about half a day to reach the suspected supply depot.


    ¡°This road seems to be quite far from the agreed meeting ce,¡± Lu Renyi said all of a sudden. He also had a quick hand-drawn map, which was not very detailed. He vaguely noticed that they were going further and was asking out of curiosity rather than having any other thoughts.


    ¡°ording to Monitor Xiao¡¯s spection, retreating from the ins is impossible once those people are discovered. There is no need to gather for the time being. Let¡¯s just go our own way!¡± Another girl helped Xiao Lin answer.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, what¡¯s important is that we survive the task!¡± Lu Renyi did not think much of it, or in other words, the people who followed Xiao Lin ced survival as the ultimate goal of their exam.


    Gu Xiaoyue cast a strange look at him again but kept quiet. Xiao Lin smiled wryly, for he might not necessarily be able to conceal his meticulous thoughts from that girl.


    Gu Xiaoyue opposed the establishment of an assembly point and Xiao Lin insisted on doing so, but the two people were actually thinking in the same direction. They scarcely believed that Wang Dalin¡¯s group could actuallyplete any reconnaissance under the enemy¡¯s gaze, or even leave safely for that matter.


    Xiao Lin took many things into consideration after the conversation between himself and Song Jung the day before the exam. They were invaders of that world. If the exam was a near 100% simtion, then it would not just be the environment that was simted¡ªtheir enemies might be NPCs too, albeit with high-level intelligence.


    The Thunder Kingdom they were going to face were also humans. They were not zombies without intelligence and reason. Would the enemy kill a group of unidentified invaders on the spot if they found out? Xiao Lin put himself in their shoes and thought about it. If he was themander of an army who caught a spy or a scout of the invader, he would definitely put priority on finding out the other party¡¯s intelligence and intentions.


    The method of obtaining information was not really important, whether it was torture or using special spells. In any case, Xiao Lin did not think Wang Dalin and the others would die rather than submit once they were caught. When Wang Dalin decided to proactively carry out reconnaissance, it almost certainly meant that their group would be exposed.


    Xiao Lin agreed to set up a rendezvous point not to fool Wang Dalin and the others, but to deliberately ry that information to the enemy garrison¡¯smander should any of the students be captured!

 Chapter 65: Desert Iguana

    <h4>Chapter 65: Desert Iguana</h4>


    During thetter part of the journey, Xiao Lin restricted what was left of the water among everyone there. The dozen or so people had some trust in him and they all followed suit.


    The billowing heatwaves swept back and forth in the canyon. It was really ufortable to be rushing on in the ring heat. However, no one dared slow down, because if Xiao Lin had guessed correctly, the enemy¡¯s garrison would have found their tracks early on. It was highly probable that there were already soldiers chasing after them.


    Everyone¡¯s physical strength was gradually exhausted. Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Fitness and Basic Physique had improved slightly during the entire month¡¯s training, but by afternoon his physical strength had waned and was unable to keep up.


    The few girls with even lower Basic Fitness levels found it even more unbearable. Theck of water, coupled with the heatstroke, caused them to walk unsteadily, like a small sapling that was bound to fall at any time after swaying in the strong wind.


    Xiao Lin looked worriedly at Gu Xiaoyue. He remembered that her other attributes were very poor despite her super high intelligence. Her face was extremely pale and her lips were tightly pursed together. The strong girl never onceined, but Xiao Lin knew full well that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s physical strength was already going into overdrive.


    Just as everyone was on the verge of physical and mental copse, an ident happened at that exact moment. Their team had spread out in a serpentine manner, and a thin, tall boy was walking in front. His physical exhaustion made him listless and caused his gaze to be shaky. All of a sudden, a ck shadow leapt out from a small mound two or three meters away from him.


    ¡°Be careful!¡±


    ¡°Get away!¡±


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue warned the guy at the exact same time. Since the two of them were the only ones in the team who had learnt Basic Perception, they¡ªdespite theirparatively low perception level¡ªbecame aware of its presence much quicker than the others.


    The boy was stupefied for less than a second and he instinctively leaned to the right. Unfortunately, the ck shadow had already struck him at about the same time, and everyone saw a spray of blood spurt out. The boy¡¯s left arm was thrown high into the air and itnded on the sand not far away.


    The boy fell to the ground, screaming and howling in pain.


    The ck shadownded nearby and everyone managed to get a close look at the attacker. It was a lizard-like creature covered with yellowish-green horny scales, but unlike lizards, the creature was not a reptile[1]. It stood on its powerful hind limbs and its forelimbs were a pair of ck half-meter-long des. Traces of flesh and blood were still on the des too.


    Everyone immediately drew their weapons and pulled away a littleter. The injured boyy in the middle and convulsed uncontrobly, but the strange creature stared at him and made a low grunting cry. For a moment, no one dared to move forward.


    ¡°This is a Desert Iguana. It appears in the dry and high-temperature deserts or severely weathered environments. Because it eats high-metal content ores all the year-round, its forelimbs gradually evolved into a de-like shape, and its instantaneous explosive power is very high!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s calm voice stunned Xiao Lin slightly as it reverberated through the gorge, but that was not the time for him to ask her how she knew that.


    Although there was a reminder in the information about the small number of creatures in the canyon, it did not give a proper introduction to those creatures.


    Xiao Lin pulled out his novice dagger and novice staff, then moved slowly to the left and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll distract the iguana[2][2]. You guys save him first and bandage him immediately!¡±


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, you and Lu Renyi will cooperate with me by my side! Then, we¡¯ll have a couple of other people join forces to subdue this guy!¡± To Xiao Lin¡¯s dismay, he nced across at his team and saw that only Lu Renyi and Gu Xiaoyue had long-range attacks.


    ¡°Its hind limbs are very developed, so be very careful of its jumping power!¡± Lu Renyi reminded. He immediately took an arrow from the quiver on his back and shot it with his bow. The howling arrow shot through the air andnded on the sand beside the iguana.


    The others cast disdainful looks at him. The distance was no more than a few meters, but the arrow failed to even hit its target. Lu Renyi coughed, ¡°Guys, that was... I was adjusting my aim!¡±


    The arrow seemed to have rmed the desert iguana. It roared and inched toward the wounded person still lying on the ground and bleeding. As soon as it moved, those who were tasked to rescue the person did not dare to move forward.


    ¡°Energy Bomb!¡±


    ¡°Ice Bullet!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin shot one after another. The light blue energy bomb crossed the air in an arc and hit the iguana¡¯s back. A couple of its yellowish-green horny scales exploded after being hit by the energy bullets. It was severely wounded, and the spell¡¯s lethality was rather effective. Next, a roundish ice bullet came right after and struck the iguana¡¯s tail.


    The iguana uttered a painful roar. A shallowyer of frost enveloped its tail and its powerful feet, severely restricting its movement. That was the slowing-down effect of the Ice Bullet spell.


    ¡°Good job!¡± the others cheered.


    ¡°Hurry up and save him!¡± Xiao Lin yelled and touched his nose angrily. He was clearly aiming at the iguana¡¯s eyes earlier, and his uracy was rather terrible. Fortunately, the attack managed to strike the tail.


    After recovering from the initial shock, everyone else took the opportunity to advance forward and dragged the broken-armed boy back. Two girls hurriedly took out the emergency bandages from their backpacks and bandaged him, while others stepped forward to help Xiao Lin deal with the iguana.


    All of them were students who had passed the admission test. They faced the battle at hand with increased calmnesspared to their very first time. They quickly surrounded the iguana but were wary of rushing up immediately, as they were still uncertain of whether the creature was of novice or ck Iron rank.


    When the desert iguana found itself surrounded, it raised its de-like arms and extended its scarlet red tongue. Its eyes wore a look of savagery.


    Whoosh!


    Another light-blue energy bomb whizzed past, but the iguana was well prepared that time. In other words, it was actually waiting for such an opportunity, as it kicked its feet and leapt toward the boy nearest to it, who was holding a dagger. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s energy bomb had practically chafed its abdomen and left ayer of scars, but it did not seem to affect the iguana¡¯s speed.


    As Gu Xiaoyue mentioned earlier, the instantaneous explosive power of the desert iguana was quite formidable. It was brave enough to attack actively despite being surrounded and at a disadvantage. Its was also incredibly fast, down to seconds or even less than a second. As freshmen who had only started training for less than a month, it was very difficult for them to react.


    Snap! There was a crisp crackling sound, apanied by an explosion of crystal ice chips.


    The desert iguana¡¯s half-leaping body was once again covered in a shallowyer of frost, reducing its speed drastically. Although it only took a few tenths of a second, it was long enough for the person who had been targeted by the iguana to react and hurry away.


    ¡°Monitor Xiao, thank you!¡± The man was still trying to collect himself when he cast Xiao Lin a grateful look.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Xiao Lin muttered. His face turned red and he shook his wand somewhat annoyedly. In fact, he and Gu Xiaoyue executed their spells at the same time and aimed at the immobile iguana. Unfortunately, his spell once again deviated from the predetermined trajectory and flew into the air.


    Luckily for Xiao Lin, the desert iguana jumped up at exactly that moment. Although it avoided Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s energy bomb, it was hit again by the ice bullet that followed.


    [1] We believe the author was trying to say that this is not a reptile in the traditional sense of the word.


    [2] ÍÚ¾òÕß ¨C in this and a few other instances throughout this chapter, the author used this term, which means ¡®digger¡¯. However, since we are quite certain that the author was actually referring to the iguana, we choose to trante all asions of ÍÚ¾òÕß into iguana.

 Chapter 66: Victory

    <h4>Chapter 66: Victory</h4>


    Xiao Lin felt like he should be buying a lottery ticket after managing to get two lucky hits. Of course, that was contingent on the Dawn Academy actually having something like the lottery.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Perception was LV2, and the level of one¡¯s perception directly affected the hit rate of spells; that was something they learned in ss. Xiao Lin had a newmissioned wand, and the spell that it carried was the Ice Bullet, which had a high requirement for perception. He had never expected that the spell would be on target two times in a row.


    As the other spellcaster in the group, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression did not look too great. He nced over at the tired expression on the girl¡¯s face and had a moment of realization.


    They had been running for half a day in high heat, and everyone had already expended most of their energy, which caused quite a big impact on their fighting prowess. He felt like he should have realized it earlier; the attributes that the recruits gave earlier were just a reference, or rather, just a representation of their abilities in normal circumstances. Things like injuries or a drastic decrease in their physical strength would naturally cause some fluctuations in those attributes.


    The injured desert iguana once again tried to break out, but no one was willing to let it go just like that. Most of them had been ving away for a whole month, and this was their very first battle after all that training. They were not willing to lose, especially after Xiao Lin had shot out two very important ice bullets, which also served to bolster their confidence.


    Xiao Lin regained his fighting spirit as well, even though everyone was in bad shape, they still had a big advantage in numbers. If they really let the iguana escape, it would make everyone feel very useless. Furthermore, if the iguana really escaped, the b*stard might return to attack them again, so the best solution was still to solve it once and for all right there.


    ¡°We can¡¯t retreat! Do not stray too far apart and do not leave enough space for the iguana to jump! Do not be afraid. Surround it! Do you guys want to go back and getughed at by the others for being cowards?¡± Xiao Linmanded. He was appointed as the one in charge, and had saved people with his ice bullets earlier. which caused everyone to believe in him even more, so everyone decided to follow his instructions.


    The others he was referring to were the group of people that followed Wang Dalin on reconnaissance. The majority of the people who scored A and B ranks during the admissions test were there, so they had pretty decent skills.


    Encouraged by his words, some of them closed the distance between the iguanas, causing the formation to get tighter. The iguana felt a sense of danger, and began to wave around its two ck des, constantly causing its des to collide and emit an intense noise. The iguana was very nimble, managing to repel most of the des that were attacking it, but at the same time it was unable to escape.


    ¡°It¡¯s so quick with its des! It must be at least at the ck Iron-rank!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Its strength isn¡¯t that great!¡±


    ¡°You call that not that great? F*ck, look at how deep the wound on my shoulder is!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably because you¡¯re too weak!¡±


    Everyone quickly understood the level the iguana was at. They did not know its general attributes, but could estimate that it was between novice and ck Iron-rank, but still stronger than these novices nheless.


    Lu Renyi was at the perimeter and itching to pull his bow, but was stopped by Xiao Lin. He may have a LV2 in Basic Archery, but his exhaustion would decrease his hit rate by a good amount. The chances of him identally hitting a teammate was higher at the moment.


    Xiao Lin also made Gu Xiaoyue stay on the sidelines; he believed that the girl was still able to maintain a high hit rate at the moment, but rather than risking it, it was better to let her rest up first.


    Xiao Lin put away his wand and once again took out his dagger; with his current meditation rank and intelligence, the ice bullet, which was a ck Iron-rank spell, was above his current capabilities; that meant that he only had a limited amount of uses.


    The spells he flung at the iguana with Gu Xiaoyue earlier had caused quite a few of the hard scales on its body to fall off. Other than the slow effect from the ice bullet, it also had an F-rank damage rating. When facing a monster that was not yet at the ck Iron-rank, the damage was very visible.


    Being surrounded and attacked, many wounds started to appear on the iguana, especially because a lot of them were smart enough to focus their attacks on the weak points left behind by the removed scales. They kept attacking those spots and the iguana was now covered in blood.


    The iguana had a lot of vitality. Even though it had been hurt to that degree, it did not stop its des at all. It would even asionally catch some people who had slowed down, sending a sharp de toward them. After a bit, around five or six people retreated from varying degrees of injury.


    Xiao Lin had recovered some of his strength and joined the fray. His strength was not the highest in the ss, and even within this team, there were a few that exceeded him, but facing the onught of des from the desert iguana, his attacks were the most skillful.


    Even in the heat of battle, a few curious ones still took the opportunity to observe Xiao Lin. As the monitor of ss Seven and someone who was publicly called out for having the lowest total attribute scores, it was hard for some of them to willingly ept his position. However, the ice bullets he shot out earlier and the swordsmanship he was showing off at that moment caused quite a few of them to look very surprised.


    Xiao Lin was very thankful to Cheng Ming, the acting monitor of ss One, who was horrifying when it came to the talent he had in swordsmanship. During the month of Basic Swordsmanship sses, Xiao Lin had been sparring with that maniac. Even though he asked for Cheng Ming to control his strength, it was still hard to match him, and Xiao Lin ended every ss full of injuries, unable to stop himself from spending points to treat himself.


    His Basic Blocking ability was honed in that environment, and because of that, Xiao Lin did not feel like the iguana¡¯s des amounted to much; his LV2 Basic Blocking was more than enough to handle it.


    After a few minutes, they could feel that the desert iguana was beginning to slow down. It seemed to be on itsst reserves of energy. Xiao Lin let the two people beside him hold the iguana off as he retreated two steps. He held his novice sword up high and a cold light began to shine from the tip of the de.


    As if sensing imminent danger, the desert iguana began to get even wilder, causing the blood on its body to ssh everywhere as it dashed toward Xiao Lin, but the few people in front of him managed to hold it off.


    shing!


    There were people covering for him this time, so Xiao Lin managed to use quite a few seconds of time to gather his strength for shing. The maxed out shing skill was very powerful if he got the full charge time; based on his testing during training, it was between F+ to E in power.


    The de fell heavily on the desert iguana¡¯s right shoulder; the scales in that area had long since fallen off, revealing the soft flesh underneath. With the full power of shing, the de went through it like a hot knife through butter.


    Half of the iguana¡¯s body was forcefully torn apart by Xiao Lin¡¯s de, and its organs flowed out with its blood. As it fell on the ground, the iguana cried out in agony and it finally weakly lost consciousness. The thick smell of blood began to spread throughout the ravine.


    Sess!


    Both the uninjured parties and the ones currently treating their wounds let out a joyous cry, everyone was shaking their hands and hugging each other in celebration.

 Chapter 67: An Educated Guess

    <h4>Chapter 67: An Educated Guess</h4>


    There were 20 of them in total, and six of them were injured from the battle. Other than the one who lost his hand, the rest of the injuries were not a big issue after bandaging the wounds. However, most of them were exhausted and they could not help but take a long rest where they were.


    The one who mistakenly ate the poisonous wild fruit had already woken up, so it did not look like the poison was life-threatening. The only problem was that he looked dispirited and had no strength at all, which meant he still needed help in order to move around.


    ¡°Monitor, that was pretty good swordsmanship.¡± They had started to test out calling Xiao Lin the monitor after that battle.


    Xiao Lin smiled, ¡°My Basic Swordsmanship is already at LV3.¡±


    Everyone was shocked; other than the monitors, no one had ess to information about the attributes of others. They were still stuck with the impression of Xiao Lin¡¯s total basic attribute points not exceeding 10 during the admission test.


    Basic Swordsmanship was very easy to level up at the start, but the difficulty greatly increased when the ranks went up. There were only very few people in ss that managed to train any of their skills up to LV3.


    ¡°Monitor Xiao, what spell did you use earlier?¡± A girl said with a tone of admiration.


    ¡°Ice bullet.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a ck Iron-rank spell? Is your Basic Meditation already so high leveled?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a skill attached to my wand. When the test is over, if you all have enough redemption points, you can considermissioning one for yourself.¡± Xiao Lin decided to help advertise that third year senior. He also added, ¡°However, my Basic Meditation is already at LV3, so I do have the ability to learn some novice spells.¡±


    Everyone sucked their breaths in, Basic Meditation LV3 was even more surprising than Basic Swordsmanship LV3; everyone knew how hard meditation was after one month of sses.


    Xiao Ling suddenly remembered something. ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, how did you know about the desert iguanas earlier?¡±


    ¡°Library.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a library in the academy.¡±


    Xiao Lin facepalmed; Dawn Academy did have a library, but everyone was usually so busy training, not many people went there. It would seem like he should make some time to go take a look after the test.


    Everyone leaned against the rocks as they chatted, using the limited shade the rocks provided to avoid the zing hot sunlight.


    The students that were following Xiao Lin did not have great scores in the admissions test, even though they trained as well, but their abilities were still not as strong as others. They understood that they would probably never get the chance to be a monitor, so they adopted a nonchnt attitude, not offending Xiao Lin, but notpletely acknowledging him either.


    However, the battle earlier had caused them to look at Xiao Lin more favorably, especially the guy who was saved by the ice bullet. Everyone subconsciously began to think that it would not be too bad if Xiao Lin continued to be the monitor.


    ¡°Lu Renyi, what are you looking for?¡± Everyone had a basic familiarity with each other, and someone looked at Lu Renyi rummaging through the iguana¡¯s corpse and could not help but ask.


    Someone immediately joked, ¡°Monitor, you said we could hunt the monsters here if we ran out of food, but let me make myself clear, I absolutely will not eat this ything!¡±


    Other than the arrow that he missed right at the start, Lu Renyi did not do much earlier. He had already recovered most of his stamina, and was braving the hot sun to rummage through the corpse. He finally brought the two des from the iguana and smiled, ¡°I wascking a way to defend myself, so I¡¯ll use these.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure we can bring the things from this world back to the academy?¡± someone asked.


    Lu Renyi gaped. ¡°Ah, I did not consider that.¡±


    Xiao Lin recalled what Department Head Song told him before and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to. The novice weapons from the admissions test were given by the school, and not part of the world itself. Do you feel that this world we¡¯re in right now really exists?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably fake.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s fake, then why do we need to deduct out lifespan if we die?¡±


    Xiao Lin deliberated and said, ¡°I understand it like this: everyone should be familiar with online games, right? To us, the people in the games are all fake. However, if there is some super skill that can cause us to turn into data and enter the game, then to us, it¡¯s still real.¡±


    Some of them nodded in understanding, while others had a confused expression on their faces.


    Xiao Lin shook his head and smiled, ¡°Basically, what I mean is that the school¡¯s mock practices seem to be fake for outsiders, but it¡¯s definitely real for the participants. Ah, fine, I actually don¡¯t really understand it clearly myself.¡±


    Lu Renyiughed out loud, ¡°Even though this is a simtion, I still feel it¡¯s real. Look at that falcon up in the sky; it¡¯s circling around, probably attracted by the corpse.¡±


    ¡°Falcon?¡±


    Xiao Lin raised his head and squinted, in the vast blue sky, there was a ck falcon circling around. Of course this was Norma, so that creature might not be a falcon; he could only say it looked like one.


    Xiao Lin suddenly stirred as a serious expression showed on his face. He asked, ¡°I remember when he entered the test environment in the afternoon. There was a falcon in the sky then too.¡±


    Lu Renyi thought for a bit and replied uncertainly, ¡°I think so. I can¡¯t really remember. Why are you asking?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression changed suddenly.


    Finally some other students seemed to realize something, but they did not want to believe it and were visibly in doubt.


    Xiao Lin stood up and brushed away the dirt on his body. ¡°Judge Academy once sent their elites to investigate this area, and they are definitely better than us at avoiding detection, but they were still detected by the troops here. If it isn¡¯t some detail that could be easily overlooked, I don¡¯t think Judge Academy would have been exposed those years ago.¡±


    ¡°So you think that the falcon above us right now is a scout from the Thunder Kingdom?¡± There were still some people in disbelief.


    ¡°Even if it noticed us, how is it going to warn the troops? I actually did notice it following us around all day, but I didn¡¯t think much of it,¡± a girl said.


    Xiao Lin reminded them, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re not on Earth anymore. That thing might look like a falcon, but who knows what kind of creature it is. Furthermore, magic exists on Norma; there might be talking animals as well. There might even be spells that can directlymunicate with animals.¡±


    That caused everyone¡¯s expressions to shift. Norma was a ce filled with magical wonder. There was still a lot that they did not understand or did not know.


    Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°No wonder thepulsory task had us already being discovered as a condition. It might be a littlete, but at the very least our movements from now on should not be exposed to the enemy! Lu Renyi, get rid of that thing!¡±


    Lu Renyi had recovered quite a bit of his uracy after the rest; he pulled bow and shot numerous arrows at the target. The falcon struggled for a while but, like a kite that lost its strings, it fell right down.

 Chapter 68: Supply Depot

    <h4>Chapter 68: Supply Depot</h4>


    After a short break, they continued their journey.


    The falcon had fallen quite far away. In order to avoid dy, they did not look for it. Xiao Lin still could not confirm if that falcon was a scout, or if it had already ryed their location to the enemy.


    That question was bugging Xiao Lin from the moment they started the test, but after removing all impossibilities, no matter how unbelievable the final answers were, they were still the final choices.


    They were too preupied to concern themselves with the fate of Wang Dalin¡¯s group that was sent on reconnaissance, because it was very possible that the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s troops were heading for them at this very moment.


    With the uncertain atmosphere, everyone had a serious look on their faces as they sped up their pace.


    It was the evening when they finally reached the possible supply depot on the map. It was a veryrge valley, and the rocks around the area were very precipitous. There seemed to be a hole in the southeastern corner, and there were even wooden supports, so it was obviously a man-made tunnel.


    That was probably the best piece of news they had the whole day: the supply depot was actually there, which meant they could obtain enough food and water. A smile appeared on everyone¡¯s tired face.


    ¡°Hold on!¡± Xiao Lin stopped the ones that were preparing to rush over, he asked, ¡°Let¡¯s discuss first; what is everyone¡¯s level with the Common Language of Norma?¡±


    Lu Renyi had an exasperated look on his face. ¡°Huh? Why are you asking that?¡±


    Xiao Lin exined, ¡°There will definitely be people in the supply depot, and they will be Normans. We can treat them as NPCs, but how could we possibly talk to them normally? Normans can¡¯t possibly speak ournguage.¡±


    Everyone was dumbfounded; many of them had actually not thought of that. Most of them only had LV1 or LV2 in thenguage, and that was basically the level where they could understand the bare basics; it was hard for them to even converse in daily speech.


    Xiao Lin looked at Gu Xiaoyue; he remembered that she already had LV3 in the Common Language of Norma, which was currently the highest in the whole ss, but he did not know what sort of standard LV3 represented.


    Gu Xiaoyue nodded. ¡°Daily speech is not too hard, but it will be very hard to be fluent. I¡¯ll only be able to use a few keywords to try andmunicate. The only thing is how do you want to introduce ourselves?¡±


    Lu Renyi had not fullyprehended the situation yet, and asked curiously, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but grin at the headache he had; that was a really tough question. He said, ¡°We¡¯re ying the role of Americans from the Judge Academy, but we can¡¯t just introduce ourselves as people from a different world who havee to invade and conquer their country.¡±


    Everyone looked at each other in dismay. At that time, a lot of them, including Xiao Lin, realized the importance of thepulsory sses. Language, geography and history¨Cthose sses were not held in nearly as high a regard as thebat sses, especially to those of them who hated studying. It was such a chore memorizing things, and a lot of them were used toining about those subjects in their free time.


    However, this was a foreign world, and not some game. It was not a ce where having enough skill could settle everything.


    ¡°This simtion seems to not only be testing our skill, but all our abilities, including thepulsory sses.¡± Xiao Lin felt a bit regretful as he looked at Gu Xiaoyue with hopeful eyes. However, she could only shake her head. Even though she was talented, she was still training and studying with everyone as well. She had spent arge amount of time on meditation, so she could not possibly have had the time to do well in her sses.


    If they had more of an understanding of the invasion of the Thunder Kingdom by Judge Academy during 45 N.C, or if theirnguage skills were a bit higher, they would not be in such an awkward situation.


    However, they still stubbornly went to the cave. Everyone held their weapons tightly, but they would not simply use violence to solve the problem unless they had no other choice.


    Walking into the cave, the space in front of them rapidly widened. There was a lot more space inside than they initially thought. It looked like half the hill had been dug empty. It was cool and breezy inside the cave and felt abnormallyfortable. The damp ground told them it was very likely there was an underground water source.


    They had been marching in a deste environment for almost a day, and after going through all sorts of suffering, all of them felt like they had just escaped hell. It was quite dark in the cave, especially since it was already the evening, so there was very limited lighting in from outside. However, they quickly saw a few torches light up in front of them.


    ¡°Be careful, everyone!¡± Xiao Lin warned them in a low voice, and then headed in front with Gu Xiaoyue. Gu Xiaoyue was the only one among them who had the necessarynguage skills tomunicate, so Xiao Lin was especially careful to stay by her side to protect her.


    Everyone was alert, but they were curious as well. Even though this was a simted world, this was still the first time they would interact with a Norman, who could also be called aliens.


    Under the torchlight, two men and a woman walked briskly toward them. The female was the furthest forward, and she looked not that much different from someone from Earth. Her hair and pupils were ck, and looked pretty simr to an easterner. Her skin was on the darker side, and she wore a long white robe. She was built very sturdily and had a well-travelled look. Professor Dai had mentioned in ss before that the humans on Norma looked quite simr to the humans of Earth, the only difference being their various inner skills and attributes.


    The woman stopped about ten meters away from them, and the two men stood next to her, looking like bodyguards. They each had a de in hand and were cautiously eyeing them.


    The woman cast a suspicious gaze on Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, then she said, a clear but foreign voice, ¡°@#£¤%...&*¡±


    Xiao Lin still had a LV2 in themonnguage, so he could somewhat pick out singr words and phrases. However, the woman spoke very quickly, and even had a bit of an ent, so he waspletely clueless. Xiao Lin forced a smile, hoping it would be a polite reply, and looked at Gu Xiaoyue with the corner of his eye, signalling for her to quickly trante.


    Gu Xiaoyue furrowed her eyebrows and she worked hard to digest what that woman had said. She took some effort to listen, but she was still at least a level higher than everyone else, so very quickly she opened her mouth, and carefully said, ¡°@#,%£¤,*&...,@*£¤¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue spoke rather slowly; she was not very fluent as well. It was like she used a few simple keywords to string together a passable sentence. Xiao Lin could not help but reminisce when he learnt English in school, and felt a bit of sympathy for the girl. Tranting was really tiring.


    The woman also had some difficulty making out what Gu Xiaoyue said, but it looked like she understood. The two of them started tomunicate with simple sentences, and Xiao Lin could asionally make out a few phrases, like ¡®us¡¯, e from¡¯, ¡®merchants¡¯, and ¡®soldiers¡¯.


    Xiao Lin did not dare drop his guard, but the exchange seemed to be going well. After a few minutes the woman waved and the men sheathed their weapons. Gu Xiaoyue gave Xiao Lin a look as well, and Xiao Lin understood immediately. He asked everyone to sheather their weapons too as a show of good faith in a low voice.

 Chapter 69: Sneak Attack

    <h4>Chapter 69: Sneak Attack</h4>


    ¡°I told them we were adventurers passing by and needed a ce to stay for the night. I asked if they could spare us some food and water as well,¡± Gu Xiaoyue whispered to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°What did she say?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue tilted her head and thought for a bit, ¡°There were some phrases I couldn¡¯t quite understand, but the general meaning was that this isn¡¯t just a simple supply depot. It seems to have been built specifically for the troops nearby, and would provide them with regr supplies.¡±


    Xiao Lin was suddenly very anxious. He whispered in an even lower tone, ¡°Could they be soldiers of the Thunder Kingdom?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so; they seem to just be merchants.¡± Gu Xiaoyue adjusted her sses, and had a hint of confusion in her eyes. ¡°I find it odd too that an army garrisoned in the borders of a country would actually need merchants to provide them with supplies. However, it doesn¡¯t seem like they are lying.¡±


    Xiao Lin raised his head and measured the few people. There was a whole group behind the woman, and they were also looking at them both curiously and cautiously. They wore all sorts of clothes, which did not make them seem like an army. Of course, he did not dare to be sure that Norma had uniforms for its soldiers as a custom. In the end, they had way too little information, but it was way toote to regret not studying up on history.


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°Since they¡¯re merchants, would they be willing to provide food and water?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue had a strange expression on her face, ¡°She said they were merchants, and only ept deals.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stumped, he obviously knew what a deal was, but what did they have to trade? He did not think Normans would ept currency from Earth.


    Gu Xiaoyue added,  Norma¡¯s human countries use gold as their primary currency; they also use barter trade.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! We should just take it for ourselves!¡± Lu Renyi had a murderous expression on his face.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. They were at a disadvantage in numbers and did not know how strong their opponents were. They had just gone through a full day¡¯s journey, and had a few injured people among them, so the odds of victory were not clear. Furthermore, their objectives did not say they needed to fight these merchants, so it would be best to avoid any deaths or injuries that they could.


    Probably guessing their predicament, the Norman woman pointed at Lu Renyi and muttered some words at him.


    Lu Renyi jumped in fright and gulped as he frantically looked to Gu Xiaoyue. ¡°What...what is she saying? Does she want my body aspensation? She¡¯s too ugly!¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, managing to somewhat understand what the woman meant. Gu Xiaoyue carefully dissected the words and slowly tranted, ¡°She seems to be saying something can be used to trade with them, but I don¡¯t understand what she¡¯s referring to.¡±


    ¡°She must be talking about the iguana des.¡± Xiao Lin did not understand either, but the only thing Lu Renyi had on his body that could possibly be any worth was the des he got from the iguana¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°No way! They¡¯re mine!¡± Lu Renyi said unhappily.


    Xiao Lin snatched the two jet-ck des from Lu Renyi, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can¡¯t even bring anything from here back to the academy!¡±


    The Norman woman took the des and had a happy expression on her face. She said some more words, then turned around and left. Gu Xiaoyue softly said, ¡°She has agreed. She wants us to wait here; they will divide a portion of water and food for us.¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a breath. No matter what, avoiding battle was a decent result. At the thought of food and drink, everyone had relieved expressions.


    ¡°Let¡¯s bring in the injured first,¡± Xiao Lin said. They were worried there would be some conflict, so did not bring the few injured students in with them.


    The ones that were injured by the iguana did not have huge problems, but the one who identally ate wild fruit was still in a powerless state. The poison was not fatal, but it seemed like the effectssted for a long time. After entering the cave, he lied down on the cold rock wall and licked his dry lips, blushing in shame as he said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for dragging everyone down like this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You must be really thirsty. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll have water soon.¡±


    After a few minutes, a few men carried a few jars of water and some bowls; they also brought a few bs of dried meat. They left quickly after cing the things on the floor. Even though both sides had a sessful deal, they were still cautious of each other, and neither side would willingly go near the other.


    The clear water felt like ambrosia at that moment; everyone¡¯s eyes shone brightly as they rushed to the jars, fighting for a drink. There were very limited bowls avable and the ones who did not manage to get a bowl would just drink straight from the jars.


    ¡°D*mn! How disgusting can you get!¡± A girl shouted out in horror. However, she could not hold herself back and followed suit as well.


    Xiao Lin shook his head; he carefully rationed his water the entire journey. Even though he was thirsty as well, he still had some water in his canteen, so he was not pressed to fight with everyone else. He took a piece of dried meat and sat on the side, looking at Gu Xiaoyue, who was not fighting for the water either. He tore his meat in half and offered it. ¡°Eat some. I saw that you didn¡¯t touch the biscuits in your bag at all during the journey.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue epted the meat, and took a small bite, taking her time before swallowing. She said softly, ¡°If we did not find the supply depot, the biscuits would have been ourst resort, so it obviously needed to be saved.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled and took a bite as well. He could not tell what sort of meat it was; the texture was very dry and the taste was not great either. It felt a little like rotten meat, he almost spat it out after he swallowed it, but looking at the girl in front of him who was the epitome of calm, he forced himself to keep it down.


    That meat tasted horrible, but it was very filling. After a few mouthfuls, Xiao Lin felt like his stomach was full. Looking at the meat they had left, he estimated that the 20 of them could make itst for about two days if it was properly rationed.


    As he thought about how they could get even more food, Xiao Lin gulped down thest bits of water in his canteen before getting up and refilling it. He suddenly heard a cry of pain from Lu Renyi, and he fell right onto the floor, clutching his stomach in pain. Everyone else started to drop down as well.


    Xiao Lin was extremely surprised, and he could make out a few shadowy figures rushing toward them in the dim light. He took out his wand with his left hand in realization and fired two ice bullets.


    Light was limited in the cave, and Xiao Lin could not concentrate properly before firing. However, the enemies were numerous and all close to each other; two flowing ice bullets flew toward the opponents with unsteady trajectories and he could hear two cries in agony and a clear sound of impact, telling him his two spells did not miss.


    Gu Xiaoyue was on the alert as well; after the ice bullets, she fired three energy bombs as well. She targeted the enemy crowd, and when the explosion cleared, three enemies had turned into mush right on the spot. The ones next to them were also hit by some of the impact, and even though they did not die, they still cried out in pain as they suffered injuries.


    The sudden counterattack caused a lot of confusion; Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s speedy retaliation did not manage topletely stop the assault from the Normans, but both of their spells seemed to have been out of the enemy¡¯s expectations. The sneak attack was halted, everyone who was not injured on the enemy¡¯s side began to get up, each of them grasping their own weapons. However, they seemed to be afraid of Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, temporarily too afraid to advance.

 Chapter 70: Counterattack

    <h4>Chapter 70: Counterattack</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Anyone who can move,e now!¡± Xiao Lin did not dare turn his head around, so he shouted.


    ¡°They...they poisoned the water!¡± Lu Renyi shakily climbed up from the ground, his face pale as he held onto his longbow with his right hand. His entire body was trembling and he did not seem to even have the strength to pull his body.


    It was true; those Normans did something to the water, but the meat did not seem to have been tampered with. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue did not manage to drink the water earlier, so they escaped it by sheer luck. The ones that did not drink the water totaled up to five people, and about four or five others drank very little. Even though their faces showed that they were in pain, they could still force themselves to get up.


    The rest of them were miserable; most of them could not even stand up. They were in pain and cursing up a storm; a few more severe cases were not even making noise, it was unclear if they were dead or just unconscious.


    The Norman woman walked up slowly, and uttered a slew of words. This time, Xiao Lin could somewhat make out one of the phrases she said: ¡°Surrender.¡±


    ¡°Why!¡± Xiao Lin did not understand why they were being ambushed like that.


    Gu Xiaoyue tried to trante, but the woman shook her head, as if she did not understand. Gu Xiaoyue slowed her speech, and slowly repeated the sentence.


    The woman had a strange look on her face. ¡°@#£¤%...&*¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue thought for a while, and did not trante right away. Xiao Lin looked toward her and the girl said with a difficult tone, ¡°Invaders. She said we¡¯re invaders.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused momentarily, then his face went green. He understood that he made a huge mistake this time. Song Jung¡¯s words before the test once again rang in his ears.


    ¡®Who are we?


    ¡®We are invaders! We are no different from the allied forces who invaded China at the end of the Qing Dynasty!


    ¡®The moment we stepped into Norma, we were destined to be enemies to that whole world.


    ¡®Our hands are definitely stained with the blood of a foreign world!¡¯


    Song Jung had warned him very strictly, and he felt that he had it ingrained in his mind as well. However, the current situation urred because Xiao Lin forgot his status. Even though they were ying the role of Judge Academy¡¯s elites, they were still invaders in this world.


    It might not be the real world, and they might be facing NPCs that were extremely well-simted, but this was still a test environment that was as good as real. The Normans did not need too much of a reason to poison them, since they were still invaders at the end of the day.


    The situation could not properly be understood unless one personally experienced it, and that might just be the reason why the academy had the scenario in the test.


    Wallowing in both anger and regret, the only thing that made Xiao Lin feel somewhat happy was that this was just a simted practice. Even if they really died here, they would only give up ten years of their life. If it was in Norma, then they would have had to give up 20, and if they were captured, they might even be in a situation where death was the better option.


    ¡°She wants us to surrender, and seems to be saying she does not want to kill us mercilessly! However, she might just be saying we can¡¯t beat them,¡± Gu Xiaoyue exined with some uncertainty.


    ¡°Ask her to go and die!¡± Xiao Lin clenched his teeth, quickly trying to analyze the current situation. The opponents were a self-proimed merchant troupe, and numbered to about thirty people. Gu Xiaoyue and himself struck first earlier, and eliminated at least five of them, and another four or five had varying degrees of injuries. However, the opponents did not look like they were allbatants, and less than twenty of them were holding actual weapons.


    On Xiao Lin¡¯s side, there were currently only 10 of them that were ready for battle, and half of those 10 were enduring pain, so theirbat capabilities were still unclear.


    ¡°They have the advantage in numbers, but they¡¯re not that strong,¡± Xiao Lin analyzed, and gave the rest of them some confidence as well.


    Gu Xiaoyue and his spells were both F-rank in damage and seemed to have been instantly fatal when they hit earlier. Part of the reason was that those people did not have any defensive tools, but it was also obvious that they would not be that skilled, possibly even far below the desert iguana.


    ¡°Lu Renyi, can you move?¡±


    Lu Renyi forced himself to nod, and clenched his teeth in pain as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed in secret; only him, Gu Xiaoyue, and Lu Renyi had long ranged attacks on the team; the rest of the spell users and archers were all on the other team.


    ¡°Everyone else, get the ones who can¡¯t move out of the cave; we¡¯ll hold them off at range. They don¡¯t seem to have any long-range capabilities. Lu Renyi, all you need to do is focus on firing. You don¡¯t have to aim, we just need to suppress them.¡±


    The cave¡¯s entrance was too small, so if the enemies rushed them all at once, they would not be able to avoid it; the ones who were immobile could very well be killed.


    One of the criterias for failure this time was if over 70% of the ss died, and they currently did not know what the situation was on the other team. Worst case scenario: if a few of them died there, it could very well cause the whole ss to fail the task.


    The Norman woman in charge saw through their intentions and, with a wave, about ten of them started to advance. Lu Renyi forced himself to pull his bow; it was hard to aim, but as long as he shot toward the crowd, there was a good chance of him hitting someone. The enemies did not look like they had any long-range attacks and seemed tock defense. This made Xiao Lin believe that they were really just a group of merchants that happened to have some weapons, since they could not possibly be the army.


    Just ounting for damage capabilities, those merchants were probably not a match for them. The power of magic once again showed itself. Mages were harder to train than melee sses, and their numbers were even less, but the destructive power was very shocking.


    However, actual battle did not rely on statistics. Xiao Lin¡¯s ice bullet spell was very mentally taxing, and he did not get much time to rest either. He was actually feeling a bit dizzy at that point. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Basic Meditation and Intelligence were high enough that they could support her casting energy bombs many times, but the spells were not instantaneous. In that world, spells did not have anything like special incantations, but rather needed to have their elementspiled, arranged, and constructed, which required time. At their current level, it was impossible to shorten that process to the level where it was instantaneous.


    Their enemies seem to have grasped this weakness as well, and everyone rushed over, as if they nned to throw away their lives. It was impossible for Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue to handle all of them at once.


    ¡®Ice bullet!¡¯


    ¡®Energy bomb!¡¯


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue did not need to discuss it; they looked at each other and chose the same target. The ice bullet and energy bomb both shot toward the leader of the merchants: the big Norman woman.


    Boom! Boom!


    Two simultaneous explosions and the woman who was just standing there was hit without issue by the two spells. All the other Normans were momentarily stunned, and they slowly stopped their onught. When the dust settled, a bright, hot me shield was in front of the woman.


    Both the ice bullet and the energy bomb were stopped by the mes. The woman was actually a mage!

 Chapter 71: Flame Shield

    <h4>Chapter 71: me Shield</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    No wonder that woman was the leader of the merchants. On Norma, mages were considered a privileged ss and were regarded as better than normal people.


    That instance caused the two of them to lose spirit for a moment; the rest of the merchants quickly wielded their des and rushed forward. Gu Xiaoyue snapped back immediately, and started to fire off her energy bombs again. However, the enemy started to get smarter and they split up, avoiding being caught in the sts. The two sides were separated by less than twenty meters; it was impossible to clear out everyone with just the spells from the two of them.


    Lu Renyi was still shooting off errors, but he eventually could not hold back the poison in his body and lost the strength to use his bow. The others continued to pull out those who were not conscious out of the cave. Looking at the situation at hand, they started to get anxious as well.


    ¡°Monitor! Why don¡¯t we...we leave first!¡± One of the girls clenched her teeth and finally uttered the words that everyone else wanted to say, but did not have the heart to.


    If the ones who could still move retreated immediately, there was definitely the possibility of getting out alive, but Xiao Lin had no way to conclusively gauge how many of their teammates were still alive, so retreating could very well cause the test to failpletely, leaving them not even able toplete thepulsory tasks.


    Under the light of the torches, Xiao Lin only had a few seconds to consider their next step. He raised his head and looked at the woman with the me shield. He breathed in before saying solemnly, ¡°Gu Xiaoyue! Leave the cave with everyone else!¡±


    The ones who were not heavily poisoned and were still conscious showed a despondent look on their faces. That decision could be considered the obvious choice to save the others, but to those that were being sacrificed, they would definitely not be thankful to Xiao Lin because of that.


    However, they suddenly widened their eyes in disbelief when they saw that not only did Xiao Lin himself not retreat from the cave, he even rushed forward.


    [Replication skill, activate!]


    [Target acquired!]


    [Currently analyzing target skill]


    [me shield, ck Iron-rank spell. It has F+ rank defensive capabilities when facing ice spells, and F- rank defenses when facing water and earth spells. To everything else, it has F-rank defenses. At the same time, it will inflict F-rank fire damage on the user.]


    [Spell evaluation at F+, Replicable Skill!]


    At that time, Xiao Lin was so excited, his heart almost jumped out of his chest, the first step of his gamble had seeded and the Norman woman¡¯s spell was within his replication capabilities. The instructor said that the task had its difficulty tuned down to protect the new recruits, so the spell could not possibly be that high ranked. He guessed it right, and the me shield was an F+ ranked ck Iron spell.


    [Skill replication sess!]


    ¡°me Shield!¡± Xiao Lin did not hesitate as he used the spell, and a ming red rectangr shield appeared in front of his chest. The shield was about as tall as a person, and there was a burning me on the surface thatpletely blocked the front.


    As Xiao Lin rushed to the very front, now also a very threatening mage, the armed merchants immediately made him the biggest target and turned their attention to him. The me shield suddenly appeared, and the intense fire burnt everyone who was nearby. They did not even have any basic defenses, let alone anything to stop the damage from the spell.


    He could hear cries of misery as about five or six of the merchants that rushed at him were forced to retreat from the mes. They tried to attack him from behind, since the me shield¡¯s protection and damage was only in the front, which was the spell¡¯s greatest weakness. Otherwise, the spell that could both attack and defend would not be only F+ ranked.


    Xiao Lin did not give them the chance, and when all the ones in the way retreated, he bit down on his cheeks and forced himself to withstand the dizziness as he shouted and ran forward.


    He had already used three ice bullets, and now he was using a ck Iron-ranked spell; he was already mentally at his limits. He could not even use any more ice bullets. If he even thought about using his wand to cast a spell, the pain in his brain could probably cause him to faint on the spot.


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate as he threw away his wand and pulled out his dagger. The Norman woman was right in front of him, and she had a look of terror and shock on her face. She frantically raised her palm up and unleashed two fireballs. However, to Xiao Lin who also had a me shield, the fireballs could not face up to the F-rank defenses of the fire shield, only dispersing against the shield.


    The me shield was good for defending against spells, but could not protect against physical attacks. The two of them ran into each other head to head, and the two me shields collided, producing intense heat and letting out a spray of sparks; even the Normans nearby could not help but avoid them.


    Xiao Lin thrusted his dagger in his right hand toward the woman¡¯s chest. The tip of the de pierced through the mes, but was avoided by the woman, only wounding her shoulder. The mes very quickly caused Xiao Lin to temporarily pull back his dagger.


    The Norman woman shouted out in pain, and Xiao Lin had already bitten his lips until they were bleeding, but both of them stubbornly held on as the devastating mes started to cause fire damage to the both of them. Two spells of the same rank were colliding, causing the magic power within to rapidly disappear.


    Boom!


    The two of their me shields seemed to disappear at the same time; Xiao Lin and the Norman woman were sent flying by the explosion caused by the spell disappearing. Xiao Lin¡¯s clothes were already mostly burnt to a crisp, and his skin had bright red burn marks. However, it was not nearly as painful as he expected; even he would never have thought that the Fire Chicken that Department Head Song fed him a month ago to earn him LV1 Basic Fire Resistance would prove to be so important.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s wounds were much lighter than the Norman woman. He hurriedly got up and picked up his dagger from the ground. He rushed forward and held the de in front of the Norman woman who had numerous burn wounds.


    The woman tried to struggle very intensely, but the fire damage she had sustained caused her wear a painful expression. Large patches of snow-white flesh were exposed on her body, but Xiao Lin did not have the mood to stare; he did not dare have anypassionate thoughts at the moment.


    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ll kill you if you move!¡± Xiao Lin shouted. It was a pity that the woman could not understand him, and only started to struggle even more. Xiao Lin was furious and raised his de, hitting her right on the head with the hilt. The woman let out a frustrated sound and her body went limp. Xiao Lin held his finger to her nose and let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she was still alive.


    ¡°@#£¤%...&;¡± The rest of the merchants said some words furiously, itching to run forward, but Xiao Lin¡¯s de never left the woman¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue! Tell them this woman is still alive. If any of them dare to walk any closer, I can¡¯t guarantee her life!¡±


    Actually, Xiao Lin did not need to say anything. Gu Xiaoyue had already guessed his n and speedily used the words she could grasp to ry the message.

 Chapter 72: Captive

    <h4>Chapter 72: Captive</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin held his breath; this was his only option at the moment. It was a gamble¨Che was gambling on the fact that the woman had a high position among the merchants and that the rest of them would not throw her life away so easily. Otherwise, Xiao Lin¡¯s monthly test would probably end right there.


    The woman had to be the strongest person among the merchants, as well as the only mage. The others were very average in skill. Xiao Lin was not doing so well himself though; he was already at the limit of his mental strength and could not use any more spells. In the collision of me shields earlier, he sustained quite a bit of damage, and the rest of the students were mostly poisoned, so they were absolutely outnumbered. It was impossible to solely rely on Gu Xiaoyue as well.


    Gu Xiaoyue looked like she was a bit nervous; she was worried that she did not properly convey the meaning, so she ended up repeating it a few times. Her clear voice was echoed in the cave.


    The other Normans were apprehensive and held onto their weapons, not daring to move. Xiao Lin looked at Gu Xiaoyue and said, ¡°Make them drop their weapon!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue did the trantion and the Normans looked at each other with hesitation. A few of them suddenly shouted at Xiao Lin, aggravated.


    ¡°What did they say?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Gu Xiaoyue went deep in thought, and shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t really understand, they seem to be asking about our ancestors.¡±


    ¡°Go f*ck yourselves!¡± Xiao Lin shouted in anger, then added, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t trante that. Tell them I¡¯ll count to ten, and if they don¡¯t drop their weapons, this woman will die on the spot!¡±


    Xiao Lin applied more force to the dagger and a line of blood began to flow down, causing more enraged shouts from the Normans.


    ¡°1, 2, 3...¡± Xiao Lin counted to three and realised something was not right. He coughed and said, ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, you do the counting.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at him and started to count in theirnguage.


    All of their hearts almost jumped out of their throats; if these Normans decided to bet everything on one quick strike, or if the Norman woman was not as important as Xiao Lin thought, then this would be a losing battle.


    ¡°7, 8, 9...¡±


    The numbers were said in Norma¡¯smonnguage; even though Xiao Lin was not very good at pronunciation, he could still make out the numbers. He heard Gu Xiaoyue make an especially long pause after nine, and he gripped the dagger even tighter. The Normans also looked to be in a difficult spot, but not a single person made any moves.


    ¡°10!¡± Thest count was finally uttered.


    After a very short pause, the closest man to Xiao Lin, who was veryrge and fit, threw his sword on the floor in frustration. Since someone who seemed to be of good standing started, the rest of them resigned themselves to their fates as they followed suit after the first man uttered a few words at them.


    ¡°@#£¤%...&;*¡± The first man said as he looked at Xiao Lin in anger.


    ¡°Is he scolding me?¡± Xiao Lin looked at Gu Xiaoyue.


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head, ¡°He seems to be telling you the woman¡¯s status, and then he said some stuff I can¡¯t make out. Basically, he¡¯s warning you not to be reckless.¡±


    Xiao Linughed coldly. ¡°What bullsh*t! Oh, I¡¯m talking about him. Ask them to stand back! Stand all the way against the walls and kneel down with their hands over their heads!¡±


    Now that he had a clearer grasp on the situation, Xiao Lin started to be more confident. He moved the de in his hand slightly away to pacify the Normans; things were about to go much smoother.


    The rest of them had been observing at the entrance of the cave. They were initially very conflicted when Xiao Lin asked them to leave the injured and the poisoned behind, not knowing whether to be thankful or hateful. However, the situation had quickly reversed and they could now only stare in awe.


    With the current situation, even the most stupid of them knew what they should do. The ones who could still move split themselves into two groups; one group took care of the injured, and the other went to collect all the weapons on the floor.


    ¡°What should we do with these people?¡± Lu Renyi asked, bearing the pain in his stomach.


    ¡°Find something to tie them down!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve looked around; there doesn¡¯t seem to be any rope.¡±


    ¡°Their clothes! Strip them and tie them up with it!¡±


    ¡°If their clothes are not enough, use their pants! Make sure you tie them up well!¡±


    ...


    After busying themselves for about ten minutes, the short battle was finally at an end. Including the woman, there were 18 Normans still alive. All of them were stripped naked with both their hands tied up. There were three of them who were heavily injured, and looked to be at the end of their lives. Xiao Lin discussed with everyone, and even though one of the girls had some objections, he still moved the three heavily injured ones out of the cave. It was scorching hot outside, and their fates were pretty much sealed. Xiao Lin tried not to sympathize with them.


    As for those who were poisoned, they quickly figured out the situation. Those Normans used juices from the wild fruit to poison them. It was quitemon in the area, but the juices were mostly used to hunt.


    Poison was not life-threatening, but they were very potent. The few of them who were more heavily poisoned were all in a state of half-consciousness. The merchants did not have the cure either, so they could only let them lie down for the moment.


    Night was fast approaching, and even though there was still much to do, most of them were already at the brink of exhaustion both physically and mentally. The first thing they needed was enough rest. Once they had some food and water that they made sure was safe, they fell asleep within the cave.


    Of course, Xiao Lin made sure to arrange shifts of two people to take turns keeping watch. One reason was to prevent those Normans from escaping; the other was to look out for potential soldiers from the Thunder Kingdom.


    As the acting monitor, Xiao Lin proactively took the responsibility of standing guard for the first half of the night. Gu Xiaoyue surprisingly offered to apany him.


    Night time at Sunset Canyon saw two differently-sized moons hanging in the night sky. The difference in temperature from night and day was huge; it was scorching hot in the morning, and close to freezing at night. Right in the middle of the cave was a zing hot bonfire, fueled by the nts that grew nearby on the cave walls. The leaves had a lot of fat in them, so the fire burned very fiercely, giving some warmth to the surroundings.


    The Normans did not get that treatment; they were all tied up in the corners. The ice-cool walls were good for avoiding the heat during the day, but at night it only made them shiver in coldness, especially since they were all stripped naked. A few of them were unhappily causing a ruckus, but Lu Renyi beat them up and quickly quieted them down.


    As for that woman, she was treated a bit better. Most of the team were not willing to be so rough to a girl, so they still gave her some clothes. Even though her hands were tied, she could still be near the bonfire and she was even given some food and water. However, when the woman woke up, she did not speak a word, nor did she eat or drink. All she did was stare at Xiao Lin and the rest of them with a hateful gaze.


    ¡°This woman doesn¡¯t want to eat!¡± Xiao Lin bit into some bread as he talked to Gu Xiaoyue in a low voice.


    After turning those Normans captive, they obviously liberated all the goods the merchants had as well. When they realized that, other than the dried meat, there was even a small amount of fragrant bread, everyone immediately gave up the rotten meat.

 Chapter 73: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 73: Interrogation</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± Xiao Lin tried to find some topics of conversation with Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°@%&¡± Gu Xiaoyue said in themonnguage.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Her name. The pronunciation is just like that; there¡¯s no way to trante it.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue hugged her knees as she looked at the bonfire, suddenly saying, ¡°I roughly investigated the goods they were sending just now; most of it were different kinds of alcohol, probably to be sent to the soldiers at the border. There were also some weird-looking animals, probably used for transportation.¡±


    Xiao Linughed out loud, ¡°I think I know what those animals are. I don¡¯t really know what the Normans call it, but the academies call them camel fowls.¡±


    ¡°Camel fowls?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard that those animals actually have simr genes to chickens, and somewhat look like them too. However, they have simr traits to camels as well, being that they can tolerate hunger and thirst very well. They are widely used as transportation in the deserted and hotter areas of Norma.¡± Xiao Lin exined very intently. Even though he never went to the library before, he still saw camel fowls that were reared by Department Head Song.


    ...


    Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin with her bright eyes in silence and said after a while, ¡°That team of people are either dead or caught at the moment. This is our only chance; it might even be the best solution to the exam.¡±


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows and said with some hesitation, ¡°I know what you¡¯re getting at, but there are way too many variables. It¡¯s way too risky. I don¡¯t think the chances of sess are all that high.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue did not have much of an expression. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just bring a few men with me; you and the rest of them can bring the injured out of Sunset Canyon first toplete thepulsory task.¡±


    Xiao Lin answered resolutely, ¡°No way!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue blinked at him, her expression as calm as always. Xiao Lin and her were not mere acquaintances, so he immediately understood what the look meant: ¡®Who are you to control me!¡¯


    Xiao Lin was furious, and said in agitation, ¡°Have you thought of the consequences! Your lifespan... If you fail, you¡¯ll...¡±


    The Norman woman looked up at that moment, staring at Xiao Lin for a moment before quickly burying her head back down.


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed her sses, calmly saying, ¡°The chances of sess are quite high.¡±


    ¡°Bullsh*t!¡± Xiao Lin raised his voice by a bit and he stared into her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking. You want to disguise yourself as a Norman merchant and poison the alcohol while infiltrating the army camp! I¡¯ve thought of it too, but the chances of sess are way too low!¡±


    ¡°That might just be the solution.¡±


    Xiao Lin was extremely angry at that point. ¡°Screw the solution! How are you going to get in? Why would these Normans help us? Don¡¯t forget: the reason they attacked us was because they saw through our identity! We¡¯re invaders in this world. We¡¯re absolutely the viins here!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue tilted her head and earnestly exined, ¡°Even during the War of Resistance against Japan, there were traitors on both sides.¡±


    Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes, ¡°Do you think these people are Norman traitors? Ah, it¡¯s not the time to discuss that. The only reason they would help us is if we threaten them or if we give them some benefit. We don¡¯t have any benefits we can give them, so we can only threaten them. Would you trust them if we just threaten them? If they decide to betray us in the army camp, then we¡¯ll be facing tworge squadrons of infantry and one medium squadron of wolf cavalry; we wouldn¡¯t even be able to retreat at that point!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was still stubborn, ¡°Then we can just kill off these people and I¡¯ll go there myself. I can speak thenguage as well!¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the Norman woman who refused to talk, smiling bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re saying you want to kill off these people right in front of their faces; that¡¯s not very good... Don¡¯t even think about lying to me, you¡¯re only at LV3 with yournguage skills, even if you can sort of grasp the basics, you have no understanding of anything remotelyplicated. The most important thing is, no matter the uracy, the phrases or the ent, it¡¯s way easy to tell you apart. Don¡¯t forget, if this woman knows any of the troops there, then your identity would immediately be exposed as well!¡±


    ¡°I know, but the possibility of sess is still there. You can¡¯t deny that.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a wave of frustration; she was not wrong. If they managed to disguise themselves as merchants and infiltrate the army camp, the first optional task would bepleted very easily; they could even possiblyplete the second optional task and kill the leader of the wolf cavalry squadron too.


    It was very risky, but from the perspective of the academy, should optional tasks all note with risk in the first ce? The difficulty of the test would definitely be set so that not everyone couldplete the optional tasks. Weighing the risks against the benefits was up to themselves in the end.


    Gu Xiaoyue was right; that might be the correct solution. Judge Academy managed toplete the tasks all those years ago, even though they were grossly outnumbered, so they could very possibly have used these merchants as well. After capturing these merchants, Xiao Lin had considered the possibility as well, but very quickly shot himself down.


    Gu Xiaoyue only had two years left in her life. Xiao Lin could take the risk, everyone else in their ss could as well, except for this girl. She did not have any capital to risk!


    Next to the bonfire, the two of them fell into an awkward silence.


    Xiao Lin did not understand. Gu Xiaoyue did not seem like someone who did not care for her life; after all, she was the one who showed immense interest in increasing her lifespan during admissions. She might look very gentle and quiet, but she had very strong opinions. Xiao Lin understood very well that he had very little chance of changing her views.


    The next day, a lot of them recovered quite a bit. However, the few injured ones were still not in good shape, so after some discussion, everyone agreed to continue resting there.


    There had been some results from interrogating the Normans. They had already started doing it yesterday after capturing them, but there were no visible results. One of the reasons wasnguage, but the Normans were also very stubborn. No matter what they asked, they would only constantly repeat a few sentences.


    During the start, no one understood them. However, after a few repeats, they managed to make out a few curse words, even without Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tranting.


    The next day, after everyone had recovered quite a bit, they were no longer so forgiving. After being poisoned, attacked, and almost dying, even if it was just a simted environment, it would still have cost them ten years of their lives, so a lot of people were absolutely furious. The perfect ce to vent their frustrations were right in front of them.


    No one used any overly cruel methods of torture, but they beat the Normans up with their fists and feet, even using their belts and other tools. Xiao Lin silently allowed it, but a few girls could not stand the sight of it. However, they had still gone through a whole month¡¯s worth of training in the academy, on top of the fact that they were harmed by the Normans yesterday, almost losing their lives. The girls turned around in silence and did not stop it.


    Gu Xiaoyue was the only one who had a LV3 in thenguage, so she had to stay there to trante; otherwise, the interrogation would be meaningless. However, facing such a gruesome scene, the girl acted as if everything was normal. She even said that if it was not enough, she did not mind helping out with her magic...

 Chapter 74: Interrogation (2)

    <h4>Chapter 74: Interrogation (2)</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The interrogation focused on gathering information on the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s troops, since the information provided by the academy was extremely limited. A few of them even felt that, if they could dig out the troop¡¯s defense formations from the merchants, they could possiblyplete the optional tasks with ease.


    The notion was perfect, but reality was nowhere near that. No matter how much they hurt the captives, they could not gain any information. They did not know if the Normans really did not know, or if they were just extremely stubborn.


    Of course they managed to gain some random bits of information, such as the number of troops the enemy had. The Thunder Kingdom currently had tworge infantry squadrons and one medium wolf cavalry squadron stationed at the border, totalling up to about five thousand troops.


    Xiao Lin kept on observing by the side. When he heard that, he caught a perplexed expression on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face; the girl knew what he was going to ask, so she said, ¡°The humans on Norma organize their armies by small, medium andrge squadrons followed by legions. One small squadron is around 100 people, one medium squadronprises 10 small squadrons and onerge squadron is made of 10 medium squadrons. The Thunder Kingdom has tworge squadrons and one medium squadron stationed here, so they would normally number about twenty thousand people.


    Xiao Lin pointed at the bruised Norman, asking, ¡°So he¡¯s lying?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head, ¡°That might not be it. I¡¯m referring to normal circumstances. However, the simtion we¡¯re working on is set in 45 N.C., what I know about this era is not more than what you know.¡±


    They followed by interrogating several other people and arrived at almost the same information. At the very least, they knew that the troops stationed at the border were not as numerous as they initially thought. In truth, Thunder Kingdom was a very small country, so it was hard for them to recruit soldiers. The troops stationed at the border were always extremelycking in soldiers, and they did not even have enough supplies for themselves. Otherwise, they would not have needed to resort to buying alcohol from merchants.


    Xiao Lin quickly noted all that information, since it could be counted toward the task of obtaining information about the troops. As for thebat strength and defenses, the Normans seem to not know anything.


    ¡°Bro, I think we need to ask that woman!¡± The one speaking was called Zhou Feng. He was bald, not very tall, and quite skinny, but he had a look of someone who would always give it his all. He was the one who was saved by Xiao Lin¡¯s ice bullet when they battled the desert iguana, so this guy was looking at Xiao Lin like his savior. He would listen to anything he said. However, he was not used to calling Xiao Lin ¡®monitor¡¯, so he stuck to ¡®bro¡¯.


    That was why when he brought up the idea of interrogation the day before, the others were a bit conflicted, but Zhou Feng stood right up and embraced the task. He even looked to be really skilled at torturing people, being heavy on his hits, but never actually threatening their lives. He had said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we understand them or not, as long as the Normans know what pain was, then I¡¯ll be able to pry open their mouths.¡± The Normans that were interrogated by him were left breathing heavily, constantly repeating the same phrase. After asking Gu Xiaoyue, it turned out that they were calling him a demon.


    ¡°These are all small fry, so they won¡¯t know much.¡± Zhou Feng wiped sweat off his forehead as he took arge gulp from a canteen. He had filled it with alcohol, and it seemed to be quite strong, so he would drink it every time he felt ufortable.


    The rest of them looked to Xiao Lin; they hadbored for an entire day, and a lot of them were not very good at interrogation. However, Zhou Feng¡¯s instructions allowed them to more or less pick some things up, causing them to gain quite a bit of information by the evening, but it was all more or less the same.


    It was obvious that those small fries did not know a lot, and the real one at the helm was still the woman. However, Xiao Lin had told them not to touch her and everyone had obeyed.


    After the battle the day before, even though these students were not to the degree of worshiping Xiao Lin, they had all recognized Xiao Lin as the monitor in their hearts, at least for the exam.


    The most important thing was that, even though they did not choose any magic-based sses, they still knew a lot from discussions on the forums. In just one month, Xiao Lin had mastered two skills. There was nothing more shocking than that. Even Gu Xiaoyue could only look at Xiao Lin¡¯s me shield in shock and disbelief during the battle.


    Those who were injured or poisoned were especially grateful and respectful to Xiao Lin, since technically they owed him for saving them.


    That was why the question of interrogating the woman was ultimately left to Xiao Lin to decide. With everyone¡¯s gazes on him, Xiao Lin was deep in thought, then finally walked toward the woman. Zhou Feng gaped and hurriedly followed him alongside Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°@#£¤%...&;*¡± The woman spat at Xiao Lin when she saw him, spewing out a string of words with intense passion.


    The woman was thrown out of the cave for the whole day. Other than asionally feeding her a few mouthfuls of water, she had been left under the scorching sun. He was not intentionally trying to torture her, but rather just could not help but be wary of her.


    The merchants were not that big of a threat, and all of them could be left unattended. The only problem was this mage. ording to Gu Xiaoyue, casting a spell was a process requiring maniption of the elements. In the early stages, it still required a wand or some hand movements to speed up the process. However, experienced mages couldpletely ignore that step.


    They were still not sure what level the woman was at, so before they could get a better picture, all they could do was temporarily enact some measures. Making her stay in the scorching heat and only feeding her a minimal amount of food and water were all to weaken her mentally, and her hands were bound so that she could not make any movements.


    Other than that, Lu Renyi was tasked with guarding her with a bow about two meters away. He was meant to be on full alert and could kill the woman at the slightest movement, not giving her any chance to cast a spell. If it was only two meters, Lu Renyi was guaranteed to hit her, especially after getting ample rest.


    Xiao Lin stopped Gu Xiaoyue, who was about to speak, ¡°You don¡¯t have to trante that; I know she¡¯s cursing at me. Ask her if she wants to save herpanions.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue tried to trante the words with her limited vocabry, and got an answer very quickly, ¡°She rejected the offer. It seems like all those people are just ves from her family or some unimportant folk? I don¡¯t really understand the words, but the general meaning is she doesn¡¯t care.¡±


    Xiao Lin huffed and pointed to the man who was kneeling not far from her. ¡°How about him? Do you not care about him either?¡±


    The man was the one who was the first to drop his weapon and surrender the day before, so Xiao Lin had a bigger impression of him. During the interrogation that day, Xiao Lin identally noticed that, even though the Norman woman was enduring the heat outside, every time Zhou Feng interrogated this man, she would try to shoot a few sneaky nces inside.


    Xiao Lin did not pay it any mind initially, but after a day, especially after he had purposely asked Zhou Feng to pay more attention to the man, he reached a conclusion. Whatever status the man had, the woman seemed to care about him a lot!

 Chapter 75: Infiltration Plan

    <h4>Chapter 75: Infiltration n</h4>


    Xiao Lin did not stay idle that day; he never let himself forget about the Norman woman. If she wanted to escape and Lu Renyi could not handle her, then he would have to handle her himself, which was how Xiao Lin discovered that little detail.


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°What rtionship do you have with this man? You can¡¯t be siblings, since you don¡¯t look alike. Could you be lovers? Maybe he¡¯s your bodyguard? And you two developed feelings for each other? Ah, isn¡¯t this just a plot to a web-novel?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue stared at him. ¡°There¡¯s too many strange words there. I can¡¯t trante it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to trante it, just tell her I will kill this man if she doesn¡¯t listen to me! Zhou Feng! Bring that man over here!¡±


    Xiao Lin told the bald man who was not far away, then pulled out his dagger. The sunlight that came into the entrance reflected on the de as he put the tip of the de against the hostage¡¯s throat.


    That was a moment of deja vu; he had used the same method on the woman to cause the Normans to surrender the day before, so he should probably have had his own suspicions from that time.


    Gu Xiaoyue had already tranted his words, and the Norman man was enraged after hearing that, shouting as he tried his hardest to rush toward Xiao Lin. Two students grabbed onto him, refusing to let go, but the sound of a tear could be heard during the intense struggle as he ripped apart the clothes that were binding his hands.


    ¡°Motherf*cker!¡± Zhou Feng saw that the situation was not good; he took out his long sword to sh at the man¡¯s leg. The man cried out in agony and fell to the floor. The wound was deep enough to see his bones, so even if his leg did not snap, he was basically crippled.


    Everyone else was shocked, throughout the whole day of interrogations, the Normans were never so aggressive. The man¡¯s actions had also caused them to be more alert of the other Normans.


    ¡°@#%%*!¡± The Norman woman hurriedly said a few words.


    ¡°She wants you to let him go. She changed her mind and agreed,¡± Gu Xiaoyue tranted.


    ¡°Nothing would¡¯ve happened if she just did that earlier.¡± Xiao Let got Zhou Feng to drag the injured man inside. The man¡¯s mouth never stopped; no one needed any trantions to know he was cursing away.


    The woman took a deep breath and said a few words.


    Gu Xiaoyue started to have a strange look on her face.


    ¡°What happened? What is she saying?¡±


    ¡°She said she agreed, but she hopes you could give her a bit of respect and not do it in front of so many people... Huh.¡± Gu Xiaoyue did not continue as a rare blush could be seen on her white face.


    Xiao Lin was incredulous, but Zhou Feng, Lu Renyi and the others had a look of realization. They patted his shoulder and said a few words while smiling before walking away with knowing looks.


    ¡°Should I head back as well?¡± Gu Xiaoyue started to turn away after a pause.


    ¡°Huh? Everyone hold on!¡± Xiao Lin finally reacted and called out to everyone, ¡°Are you all misunderstanding something? All I want is to ask her to help me locate the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s troops! Gu Xiaoyue, are you sure you tranted everything correctly?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue thought for a bit. ¡°I might have mispronounced some things, but I don¡¯t expect that the phrasing was warped too much.¡±


    ...


    After clearing the misunderstanding, the Norman woman seemed to be more agreeable. She had not even opened her mouth since she was captured, but she finally started to speak.


    ¡°Who is the leader of the troops stationed in the border?¡±


    ¡°@#$¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why don¡¯t you just write it down? Yes, write down the names of all the officers for the different sized squadrons as well.¡± Xiao Lin tore out a piece of paper and handed it over with a pen.


    ¡°Where are the wolf cavalry and infantry squadrons located?¡±


    ¡°Are there any defense mechanisms near the army camp?¡±


    ...


    The questioningsted until veryte, and the woman seemed to be cooperative. She knew quite a lot, even things like how many archer towers and catapults were in the camp, and where the traps were. Every piece of information was given clearly.


    Xiao Lin asked while quickly drawing a general map of the army camp. At the end of it, the map was almostplete, which caused Lu Renyi and the others to get excited. It looked like they would be easilypleting the first optional goal.


    However, the Norman woman stopped having anything to say after a while. Xiao Lin pointed at the map and raised his eyebrows, muttering, ¡°No, this isn¡¯t enough! I got a notification just now that the map was still only 60%plete, it¡¯s still a little away from the 70% we need!¡±


    ¡°Bro, let me do the asking!¡± Zhou Feng suggested.


    The Norman woman saw how Zhou Feng treated the other captives the whole day, so she hastily added a few words, which Gu Xiaoyue tranted as, ¡°She knows a lot, but she knows nothing about the medium squadron of wolf cavalry units.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the map in silence. The army camp was split into two parts; the front part is where the two infantry squadrons are stationed, and the wolf cavalry squadron is located at the back. The woman ims to be in decent rtions with the troops, but she was never allowed into the wolf cavalry squadron¡¯s section every time she delivered alcohol.


    The wolf cavalries were the key point of this army; ording to the information they gained from interrogating the others, the two infantry squadrons only amounted to around two thousand people, and they did not have muchbat prowess. The key topleting the investigation still lied in the wolf cavalry squadron.


    ¡°It seems we really need to infiltrate them,¡± Xiao Lin said to himself.


    Lu Renyi stared nkly. ¡°Huh? Infiltrate? What are we infiltrating?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue answered for Xiao Lin, ¡°Infiltrating the army camp is the best way toplete this task. No, it is the only choice we have if we want to kill the leader of the wolf cavalry squadron.


    Everyone could only gasp and stare in shock, Lu Renyi suspected he had misheard andughed dryly. ¡°D-don¡¯t joke around! This isn¡¯t a game, we don¡¯t even know how to hide ourselves; how could we infiltrate them! Those infantry soldiers might not be that strong, but it¡¯s not like they¡¯re paper! It would be very easy for them to deal with us just in numbers alone.¡±


    Xiao Lin had an uncertain expression on his face; he was also in a dilemma. If they really wanted to do that, there would be a very huge risk. Even he was not sure it could work.


    Zhou Feng suddenly said, ¡°Get her to bring us into the army camp. As long as she agrees, we can promise to let everyone go!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue did not trante it immediately. She wrinkled her eyebrows and asked, ¡°Is that possible?¡±


    Lu Renyi frowned. ¡°Why do I feel like we¡¯re in a movie? I see this all the time on TV, promising to let the person go after agreeing to something, then killing them right after... Would she believe us?¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°If the thought crossed our mind, it definitely crossed hers as well. If she doesn¡¯t agree to our demands, she knows all of them will definitely die. If she agrees, there is at least a sliver of a chance. If it was all of you, would you agree?¡±


    ¡°Even if she agrees, she could very well be lying to us. The moment we step into army territory, we¡¯re basically sitting ducks!¡± Lu Renyi voiced his objections.

 Chapter 76: Loyalty

    <h4>Chapter 76: Loyalty</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    More people joined the argument. There was confusion in the eyes of the other Norma people; they did not know what Xiao Lin¡¯s group were talking about.


    Xiao Lin remained undecided and thought for a moment before finally saying, ¡°The interrogation will continue tomorrow, but we¡¯ll change the focus of the interrogation. I¡¯ll write down the questions and Gu Xiaoyue will trante them. You¡¯ll learn these Normese sentences for the time being and ask them... And Zhou Feng, you don¡¯t need to participate in the interrogation anymore. Just head here and observe the situation, but remember not to get too close. Just look for a hidden corner in a distance and hide.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s prestige in the team prevented everyone from rejecting his order. Zhou Feng nodded happily and agreed, then nced at Xiao Lin¡¯s map on the ground. He was slightly taken aback by it. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the rendezvous point?¡±


    Indeed, the ce Xiao Lin told Zhou Feng to check was the rendezvous ce agreed upon after Wang Dalin¡¯s group parted ways with them. Ever since it had been determined that their whereabouts were discovered, they believed that the other team would not be spared and had little¡ªif any¡ªchance of escaping and retreating.


    If the Thunder Kingdom were adamant on capturing them, they would then send the wolf cavalry squadron into the canyon within the next few days.


    Xiao Lin deliberately set up that rendezvous point to mislead the opposingmander and prevent the wolf cavalry from discovering them too quickly.


    The sun had yet to shine the next day when Zhou Feng departed early under Xiao Lin¡¯s urging. Before leaving, Xiao Lin repeatedly asked Zhou Feng to ce utmost importance on safety and leave as soon as he felt that something was wrong.


    ¡°I can¡¯t possibly outrun the cavalry if I¡¯m discovered. But in any case, I won¡¯t bring the chasing soldiers to this ce.¡± Zhou Feng was not an idiot and he immediately understood what Xiao Lin was trying to say. In spite of that, heughed heartily and patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder to ease thetter¡¯s worries. ¡°You saved my lifest time, and I don¡¯t like owing others. I consider this a chance to pay my dues.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed apologetically. There was a risk of being discovered if he sent someone to investigate, but within the two days, Xiao Lin discovered that Zhou Feng was ruthless and was unsure of what his profession on Earth was. Therefore, such a n was very appropriate for Zhou Feng.


    Of course, Xiao Lin was also well aware that Zhou Feng was the most likely person in the team to ede to his orders, since Zhou Feng had been saved by him.


    The interrogation at the supply depot went on. The main point of that day¡¯s interrogation was about the deployment of the army camp or the wolf cavalry¡¯s garrison. ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s request, everyone began to interrogate their captives¡¯ personal information, as well as who they knew in those garrisons and the personal information of those individuals.


    ¡°How old are you this year?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Do you know the archer who guards the archer tower? What do they look like?¡±


    ¡°What? You had drinks with the captain of the infantry team before? What¡¯s his name?¡±


    ¡°How many times have you delivered wine to the garrison?¡±


    ¡°How often do you send it?¡±


    ...


    Only a few words were required to convey such basic information, and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯sst-minute all-night crash course enabled everyone to speak in an understandable manner.


    The Norma people, who have been tortured all day, did not dare conceal any trivial information. Xiao Lin specifically separated them during the interrogation, and if the information was found to be wrong, the person would immediately be subject to a severe beating. Everyone gradually became more used to the tactics after some practice. The asional screams and wailsing from the cave made Xiao Lin feel as though he was transforming into the spy chief in a anti-Japanese war drama...


    No one knew what Xiao Lin wanted to do and Xiao Lin himself did not say anything. He and Lu Renyi were still guarding the Norma woman and kept a certain distance. She was already in a semi-dehydrated state after being exposed to the sun for a day and given insufficient water. She was already very groggy and could barely stay awake.


    Lu Renyi¡¯s heart softened a little, but he did not dare provide the woman with more water and food under Xiao Lin¡¯s order. Xiao Lin sighed slightly after seeing the woman¡¯s tragic situation and had mixed feelings. As an ordinary person who had lived on Earth for more than 20 years, he could not possibly lose his basicpassion just because he had trained in the academy for a month.


    After having suffered a loss once however, Xiao Lin was very much wary of feeling pity for the woman. He repeatedly reminded himself that the woman was their enemy, and a very dangerous one at that. When he recalled the me Shield spell, which had both offensive and defensive qualities, it could have killed at least half their team if Xiao Lin had not replicated it in time!


    The sess rate of a spellcaster corrted directly to a person¡¯s mental state. The woman was already near death, so the possibility of her using the me Shield again was reduced to the absolute minimum.


    Xiao Lin thenpiled all the interrogation information collected by everyone else, supplementing it to the army camp map in his notebook using additional drawings. For example, there were four archer towers in front of the camp, and someone happened to know the soldier atop one of those towers. Xiao Lin would use an arrow to mark the person¡¯s name on the tower. It was written in Norma, so of course Xiao Lin did not recognize those words. Nevertheless, it did not matter as much because he simply wanted to record notes.


    Gu Xiaoyue was responsible for running errands back and forth to correct Xiao Lin¡¯s grammatical errors. If he encountered something that Gu Xiaoyue did not know, all they could do was ask the Norma woman.


    He tried his utmost best to get a good understanding of the enemy¡¯s garrison.


    ¡°@#£¤%...&*!¡± The Norma woman mustered all of her strength and said something sarcastically.


    Xiao Lin put down the pen and paper, rubbed his temples, and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you said. It¡¯s useless, even if you do curse my ancestors.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not scolding you.¡± Gu Xiaoyue came over and could not help reminding him.


    ¡°Huh? She wasn¡¯t cursing us this time?¡±


    ¡°She said she¡¯ll obediently listen to your orders, but she hopes that you¡¯ll let her meet that man.¡±


    ¡°Which man? Oh, her suspected lover?¡± Xiao Lin was briefly stunned before shaking his head subconsciously.


    ¡°She also said that she would rathermit suicide if you don¡¯t allow them to meet,¡± Gu Xiaoyue continued to trante.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Xiao Lin felt irritated. He mulled over it for a moment and felt that it was fine. The Norma woman had been tortured for several days already, and her spirit was extremely weak. In such a state, she had no energy to resist them and it was useless, even if she had any tricks up her sleeve.


    ¡°Let them meet then, but you have to observe them from the side and write down what they say,¡± Xiao Lin instructed Gu Xiaoyue.


    Whether or not the Norma woman was willing to help was the key for them to sneak into the enemy¡¯s quarters. Otherwise, they would not even be able to enter the army camp. It went without saying that she could not possibly be willing to help, because her actions would be considered treason. Even though Xiao Lin was unsure whether Norma¡¯s humanoids understood the concept of loyalty and patriotism, it was almost certain that their direct attack against the invaders.

 Chapter 77: Hesitation

    <h4>Chapter 77: Hesitation</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s n, the other Normans were taken hostage to intimidate that woman into helping themplete the infiltration reconnaissance mission. However,pleting the second mission was purely a matter of chance.


    The two Normans were reunited and embraced each other with excitement. They whispered to each other and Gu Xiaoyue listened quietly with a cold expression. In the midst of the conversation, Xiao Lin came over to inquire several times. He was only relived when he learnt that the two were just talking about their daily torture and concern for each other.


    All of a sudden, a strange expression appeared on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face. She found Xiao Lin and said hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I misheard, but I don¡¯t fully understand some of the things they said.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled andforted her. ¡°Well, your proficiency in theirnguage is only level three; it¡¯s natural you¡¯re unable to fully understand them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the reason.¡± Gu Xiaoyue shook her head and exined, ¡°I have the nagging feeling that they¡¯re deliberatelymunicating in anothernguage.¡±


    Xiao Lin was taken aback. ¡°Anothernguage? Aren¡¯t they speaking standard Normese?¡±


    ¡°Not entirely.¡± Gu Xiaoyue pondered for a moment and pointed out, ¡°It¡¯s like Chinese dialects. The dialect that we learnt is probably analogous to Chinese Mandarin, and Norma has different dialects too. But this is just a guess, of course.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face gradually became sullen. He fully understood that logic. As a Chinese person, he would not dare say that he understood the dialects of all of China¡¯s regions. It would have been even worse with Norma¡¯s lingua franca because they were barely skilled enough in thenguage to begin with.


    Soon, the Norma woman was forcibly separated again, and Xiao Lin kept her under close guard at all times. The woman did not ask for anything else and even seemed very cooperative with some of Xiao Lin¡¯s questions. She even said that she was willing to lead the way into the camp of the border garrison as long as Xiao Lin¡¯s group could ensure the safety of the others.


    Moreover, the woman seemed very calm after that, and the indifference on her face made Xiao Lin feel a little uneasy, though he was unsure where that uneasiness came from.


    Of course, Xiao Lin understood that the woman was extremely dangerous. Once she had recovered enough mental power to release the me Shield, they would not be strong enough to kill her. As a result, the woman was still thrown out to the desert every day to wear her spirit down, despite having cooperated very well.


    In the afternoon, Zhou Feng finally came back when Xiao Lin was still waiting anxiously. Everyone was quite unsure whether the news he brought was good or bad. A small number of wolf cavalry troops had appeared at the rendezvous point they initially set up!


    ¡°That means someone in the group has already been captured and ratted us out? Motherf*cker!¡± Lu Renyi could not help but yell.


    ¡°They did it just to survive.¡± Xiao Lin looked calm; he expected that result.


    ¡°Will the wolf cavalry squadrone here? I¡¯m sure they know about this supply depot too!¡± Zhou Feng was a little worried. He had been running around all day and his skin was almost tanned.


    Xiao Lin unfolded the map again and looked at it for a while before shaking his head and saying, ¡°The possibility is rtively slim. They¡¯ll assume that we¡¯ve left Sunset Canyon because of the misleading information that I gave. Look, the information the academy gave us only says that one-third of the entire canyon is under the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s territory. The number of people in their border troops is small to begin with, and it¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯ll travel long distances across the border just to slowly search for us in the canyon.


    ¡°From the intelligence obtained during the interrogation today, this caravan will head to the army camp about once in a fortnight. Each time, it delivers supplies, including wine and meat. There¡¯s still three or four days before the date of their next delivery, which means that the wolf cavalry will most likelye over if the caravan doesn¡¯t arrive at the station in three or four days.¡±


    Finally, Xiao Lin thought for a moment before saying, ¡°Of course, this is all just guesswork. I can¡¯t guarantee that the enemy will act ording to my predictions. If they really crossed the border and went deep into the canyon for the past couple of days, it¡¯s entirely possible that they¡¯d find out about us.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue frowned and muttered, ¡°Whether they¡¯ll send their main wolf cavalry squadron tomence this cross-border reconnaissance depends on the diplomatic rtionship between the Thunder Kingdom and America¡¯s Judge Academy. The internal elements of political response within the Thunder Kingdom itself must also be taken into ount. If they¡¯re sufficiently cautious against Judge Academy, it will be unlikely that they¡¯d risk cross-border reconnaissance.¡±


    Xiao Lin gestured with outspread palms and blinked helplessly. ¡°We really have to learn our history lessons when we go back.¡±


    He gathered everyone by the bonfire for a short meeting and exined his n in detail. In another seven days, they would dress up as merchants and follow the Norma woman into the army camp, while another group would stay behind to take care of the other hostages. The key was the Norma woman¡¯s alleged lover¡ªas long as he remained in their hands, the woman was more likely to act in their favor.


    Finally, he concluded, ¡°Those are my thoughts. It¡¯s a risky n and I¡¯m not going to force everyone to do it. Those who are willing toplete only the mandatory tasks can leave Sunset Canyon tomorrow. Those who are willing to try the optional tasks can stay back and sneak into the camp with me on the seventh day.¡±


    ¡°Why wait until the seventh day?¡±


    ¡°Is it because the supply team usually arrives at the border then?¡±


    ¡°No wonder the duration for this mission is only seven days.¡±


    Xiao Lin kept quiet and did not expound on the reasons. His replication skill required a seven-day cooldown, and the infiltration mission was full of uncertain variables. Keeping his replication in hand would allow him more options to deal with anything.


    For example, if the Norma woman suddenly changed her mind halfway, he could copy the opponent¡¯s Normese skills and thenmunicate by himself without immediately being discovered. In another example, if he encountered the squadron captain of the wolf cavalry¡ªwho was the biggest boss in that mission¡¯s task¡ªit was very likely that the captain would have some very powerful skills. If Xiao Lin could replicate their riding skills, he might be able to grab a wolf and make an escape.


    In short, his replication skill was very useful. Waiting seven days for it waspletely worthwhile, but¡ªfor obvious reasons¡ªXiao Lin could not just express his intention to everyone. ¡°My personal opinion is that at least one person shoulde with me. The minimum number of people who mustplete the task is thirty percent, which trantes to eighteen people. We have twenty on our team, and the other eighteen can leave Sunset Canyon first.¡±


    To Xiao Lin¡¯s marked surprise however, several people were willing to follow him on the infiltration and reconnaissance mission. He was initially worried about whether he had to force a few people to go with him if there were not enough. However, his decisiveness during the past two days¡¯ battles unconsciously made everyone trust him as the monitor.


    However, Xiao Lin was also under greater pressure because of that. He understood that the entire group would likely be killed if he failed. Should that happen, he would lose 10 years of life in addition to failing the required tasks.


    He had that nagging concern in his heart, and Xiao Lin knew that the Norma woman was the source of that anxiety. At the end of the meeting, Xiao Lin asked a very strange question, ¡°To what extent do you think that Norma¡¯s people will be loyal to their nation?¡±


    Everyone was stunned. They were roughly able to guess what Xiao Lin meant by that question. After discussing it, they realized they knew little about the Thunder Kingdom and could only analyze it from the perspective of humanity and rationality. After all, they may differ in race and, but there could still be some simrities in terms of human attributes and sensibility.

 Chapter 78: The Final Madness

    <h4>Chapter 78: The Final Madness</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the woman will lie unless she really doesn¡¯t care about her lover¡¯s life!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a secret lover too! That man looks like he¡¯s a guard and the woman looks as though she¡¯s the heir to a big family. Knowing usual plot developments, their love affair will definitely be forbidden in all aspects, and the woman might even have a grudge against her family and country...¡±


    ¡°Do you think this is a f*cking Korean romance drama! What if this woman is a fanatical patriot?¡±


    ¡°Reality is often more unpredictable than a TV series... But the human countries in the Norma world seem to be simr to the Earth¡¯s ancient feudal and very systems. I don¡¯t think their loyalty to the country is high in any way.¡±


    ¡°Why not! Are you saying that there are no real patriots in China¡¯s thousands of years of history?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin smiled wryly and stopped everyone when he saw that they were all arguing in the midst of the discussion.


    Regardless of whether or not he would end up implementing the infiltration n, he made ample preparations for it during the next few days. The caravan contained about a hundred barrels of wine, the barrels of which were made of oak-like materials. Some of it was damaged in the previous battle, and everyone drank a lot in the past two days, leaving only about 70 to 80 barrels remaining.


    The animal that pulled the caravan was called a camel fowl, but that was no doubt the nickname given by the academy and its actual name in Norma did not really matter. The creature looked like a rooster but ten times bigger. Most notably, it had a huge brownish-yellow fleshy crown on its head and vestigial wings. After asking the Normans about the creature, he learnt that it inhabited the canyon¡¯s nearby rock formations and fed on the lithophytic nts present there.


    Everyone was busy feeding those animals and waited until thest day arrived.


    The past few days had been rather calm. Zhou Feng went to the nearby areas to scout a few more times and the situation was far from optimistic. The wolf cavalry entered the canyon more frequently, and each time, they were expanding the scope of their reconnaissance. It remained unknown what the captives said to make the enemy so interested in them.


    When thest day arrived, everyone got up early and packed everything up while the sky was still dark. ording to their n, Xiao Lin would bring a couple of people to escort the Norma woman to the camp of the border garrison. If everything went well, they wouldplete the gathering of intelligence on the defenseyout and bring the woman back safely.


    If they were lucky enough and happened to encounter the wolf cavalry squadron¡¯s captain, Xiao Lin would consider poisoning the wine. So long as the other party drank the poisoned wine, Xiao Lin was confident that he could use his Ice Bullet to kill the opponent in seconds then, no matter how strong the opponent was. In that case, the second optional task could also be sessfullypleted.


    As time went by, the anxiety that lingered in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart became stronger and stronger, making him a little irritable. Other people could sense that he was not in a good mood and the atmosphere before their departure was a little tense.


    ¡°The woman said that she would like to see that man again for thest time.¡± Xiao Lin was vehemently opposed to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s inclusion in the infiltration n and forcibly excluded her from it. The others were somewhat puzzled, but it was inappropriate for Xiao Lin to exin it to the others. In fact, the girl has only two years of life left and she could not afford to waste it.


    Xiao Lin was in a petnt mood after listening to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s trantion and was about to wave his hand to refuse. All of a sudden, he became suspicious. ¡°Hold on, are you sure that the Norma woman said ¡®for thest time¡¯?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue adjusted her sses and thought for a moment before nodding with certainty. ¡°I¡¯m certain that there¡¯s no error in trantion for this term.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt the uneasy shadow in his heart was expanding rapidly. He seemed to have caught on to something, but he could not put his finger on it for certain. Logic told him to immediately abandon the optional tasks, but the rewards for the mandatory tasks were very limited. Anyone who had even a sliver of ambition would not give up those rewards so easily.


    ¡°Do you think the woman still has any mental strength?¡± Xiao Lin asked. He acknowledged that he was inferior to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s understanding of spells.


    Gu Xiaoyue answered with certainty. ¡°Her body is already in a state of copse. In fact, I suspect that she¡¯ll die on the road before getting to the barracks. She can no longer cast spells, especially spells with a higher need for mental power like the me Shield!¡±


    ¡°Let that woman see her lover!¡± Xiao Lin finally agreed, but he also followed the Norma woman. The woman just nced at him indifferently and her haggard face waspletely without feeling. It was as though she had zero attachment to anything.


    The two Normans met again, though there was a distinctck of excitement that time. A trace of sadness appeared on the man¡¯s face and there was a long silence. Neither said a word, as if they were speaking only with their gazes.


    Just as everyone was getting impatient, the Norma woman suddenly spoke up. Days of torture made her voice very hoarse, but her tone was still firm and low. Every time she uttered a word, her whole body trembled slightly, as if she was exerting her utmost best.


    Xiao Lin instinctively turned to Gu Xiaoyue. The girl frowned, shook her head, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand any of it, but I¡¯m pretty sure that these words are not ordinary Normese. Thenguage ispletely different from Norma¡¯smonnguage. Could it really be a regional dialect?¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated for less than a second before his gaze became determined.


    [Replication skill, activate!]


    [Target: Scanning Basic Linguistics]


    [Passive skills: Ancient Normese (Northern Dialect) MAX]


    [Evaluation level: F. Replication is possible!]


    Ancient Normese? Although it was not Standard Normese, Xiao Lin hesitated no more and decisively chose to copy the Ancient Normese skill.


    Replication was sessful! The obscure vocabry immediately became clear.


    The Norma couple looked at each other affectionately and with resolution. Every single Ancient word was uttered very slowly, ¡°... O Almighty Ancient One... I am willing to sacrifice my soul and my life...in exchange for the power that I beseech...¡±


    Xiao Lin barely heard a few words and the hairs on his body were already standing on edge. The woman was not saying goodbye to her lover at all. Those words were clearly some kind of spell, or some kind of curse prepared before a sacrifice!


    It was already toote for him to analyze why the Norma woman who had near-zero mental strength could still use it. Xiao Lin quickly pulled out the novice wand from his waist. Under everyone¡¯s shocked and puzzled gazes, as well as the bewildered and angry gaze of the Norma man, an ice bullet shot out and struck instantly at close distance.


    The woman stared in disbelief at the ice de that prated her chest and her chanting stopped abruptly. She looked at the man before her and opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she could only spit out a mouthful of blood and fall limply to the ground.


    The Norma man went berserk, as if about to rush toward Xiao Lin. Zhou Feng and the others reacted in time and held the man back, but their punches and kicks proved useless against the man¡¯s frenzied struggle at that point. Aside from him, the other captive Normans in the cave tried to stand up after witnessing the death of the woman. Despite having their hands tied behind their backs, they even attempted to bite at them with their mouths.


    Someone¡¯s ear was bitten off amidst all the wailing and screaming.

 Chapter 79: Execution

    <h4>Chapter 79: Execution</h4>


    ¡°F*ck! Are these guys insane?¡± Zhou Feng was getting rather annoyed. His ruthless interrogation during the past few days had subdued those Normans, but little did they know that they captives would just go nuts that very day. He immediately brought a few people up to stop them, either by chopping their hands and feet or stunning them directly.


    Xiao Lin let out a long sigh and ced his hand on his forehead. He nearly fell into that woman¡¯s trap again and underestimated the loyalty of those people. In other words, he was still miles away from actually understanding their country and their.


    He initially wanted to ask the man what spell the woman was about to use, but the madness before him was a clear sign that he might not be able get anything if he asked.


    His replication duration was not yet up, and for that moment, he could clearlyprehend what the Normans were saying without needing Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s trantion.


    ¡°You sphemous invaders!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±


    ¡°Long live the kingdom!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Kill them all!¡± It was not until the skill ended and their shouts became obscure again that Xiao Lin sighed and spoke in a low tone. He put a lot of resolution into making that decision, but he knew that it was something he had to do at that moment.


    ¡°Kill? Kill them? But they¡¯re just prisoners!¡± Lu Renyi¡¯s eyes opened wide; he could not wrap his head around Xiao Lin¡¯s orders.


    ¡°What about the infiltration reconnaissance n?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Forget it. The two optional tasks are too difficult for us!¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°The academy must have arranged this exam just so we can understand some things, rather than just having usplete the task blindly.¡±


    ¡°What things? What do you mean?¡±


    Xiao Lin pointed to Norman resistance in front of him. ¡°This. We¡¯re the invaders. When there is aggression, there is resistance. The only people we can trust in this world are ourselves.¡±


    ¡°This is just an exam. We¡¯re just ying a game, correct? They¡¯re just NPCs, and it doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re killed, right!¡± Lu Renyi smiled dryly but his words served more as a form of selffort.


    Killing was not something every freshman could ept immediately after being admitted to the academy for a month. It was different from killing zombies in the admission test, and differed even morepared to the forced challenge in previous battles.


    They were office workers and otakus that had just been living in a peaceful society a month ago. They might be able to kill chickens and ducks without batting an eye, but they might not have the courage to stab a person with a sword.


    For that reason, when Xiao Lin chose to use the Ice Bullet¡ªa ck Iron-ranked spell¡ªto attack a woman who could not resist and had a failing mental strength, it was a pure waste of his own mental strength. However, he subconsciously avoided directly killing the opponent with a sword.


    Long-range attacks and meleebat were twopletely different experiences.


    In the previous battle with the Normans, Xiao Lin copied the me Shield and ended the battle ahead of time, so no one¡ªsave for himself and Gu Xiaoyue¡ªhad actually fought before. As a result, their hesitation was clearly evident.


    ¡°This may be a simted battle, but as I¡¯ve said earlier, everything feels real to us. Our lives and theirs are real.¡±


    Xiao Lin spoke slowly as he was pondering, while Lu Renyi and the rest seemed to look enlightened. Zhou Feng frowned, but he did not say anything. Everyone felt that Xiao Lin¡¯s remarks were indicative of his reluctance to kill.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s tone changed quickly and he bitterly smiled. ¡°The instructor said that this so-called monthly exam is actually just a simtion exercise. When we go to the New World in the future, we will encounter this sort of thing sooner orter.¡±


    ¡°What sort of thing?¡± Lu Renyi asked stupidly.


    ¡°Killing, of course!¡± someonemented softly.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s tone was indicative of his conflicted feelings. ¡°Anyone in our position would feel reluctant facing this, but we have to adapt. The Normans are our enemy. If we don¡¯t kill the enemy, the enemy will try to kill us. This is probably what the academy wanted to teach us with this exam. Frankly speaking, I owe everyone an apology; my misjudgment almost put everyone in danger twice.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s feelings were unbearablyplicated. He seemed to express his regret to everyone else while muttering to himself, ¡°The first was when we forgot our identity as invaders, which led to our own poisoning. After we captured them, we quickly forgot that they were actually still our enemies, and that the Norma woman was thinking about how to kill us until the veryst second.¡±


    There was a short silence and several of the girls found it hard to ept. ¡°Even if that is the case, do we really have to kill them? Isn¡¯t there another way?¡±


    Zhou Feng epted everything quickly and chided, ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! Do you think this is a game? We¡¯re invaders of their country. Are you going to make friends with someone who invaded your country? Xiao Lin¡¯s right. In fact, none of us has had the right attitude. We have never really regarded ourselves as conquerors, and I reckon the academy wants to use this exam to remind us of that fact!¡±


    ¡°If this is the case, we might as well remember this moment as clearly as possible!¡± Xiao Lin remarked softly. His expression looked rather subtle, as if he had worked up a certain determination. He ced his wand back, drew out his short sword, then walked toward the nearest Norma man.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Xiao Lin murmured, then gritted his teeth, and raised the sword before slicing a thin wound on the man¡¯s neck. Blood gushed out like a fountain, sshing all over Xiao Lin¡¯s face, and the smell made his stomach churn.


    Xiao Lin once read a quote in a novel that killing a person from a distance using a gun left apletely different psychological impactpared to killing a person with a de at close range. He finally realized what that meant. Before he could even drop the sword, he hurried to the entrance of the cave and vomited, despite his best efforts to try and calm his upset stomach.


    Zhou Feng nced at him with a rather surprised andmending look. He quickly drew his saber and disposed of a Norma man nearby him. Then, he walked to Xiao Lin¡¯s side and patted thetter on the back, saying indifferently, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be this brave. You¡¯ve convinced me this time.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the nonchnt Zhou Feng, wiped the corners of his mouth and smiled with some effort, ¡°Have you killed anyone before?¡±


    Zhou Feng smiled inly.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t be asking you this.¡±


    Zhou Feng waved his hand to indicate that he did not mind the question as much. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Earth is in the past now. In any case, I don¡¯t ever want to return to Earth again. In fact, I really like this academy. No matter who we were in the past and what identity we had, the future ahead of us is unlimited.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Zhou Feng chatted casually while the others were still struggling and hesitating. After the duo led the way however, more and more people began doing it too. None of them were idiots, and they also knew that such incidents would happen sooner orter since they would end up colonizing the entire in the future anyway. It was inevitable, but it was still very difficult actually crossing that psychological obstacle for the first time.

 Chapter 80: The End of The Monthly Exam

    <h4>Chapter 80: The End of The Monthly Exam</h4>


    Screaming, roaring, verbal abuse.


    Sunset Canyon¡¯s silence was shattered by their various wails. Silence returned again half an hourter, as if nothing had happened at all. However, there were dozens of corpses in the supply depot cave, and the pungent smell of blood made everyone ufortable. Many either left the cave, squatted down and retched, or leaned against the rock wall in silence. The remaining few chatted with each other.


    ¡°The Thunder Kingdom seemed to have resisted for only three years, but America¡¯s Judge Academy destroyed their capital and colonized the entire territory.¡±


    ¡°Judge Academy killed a lot of people back then!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Bloodshed is inevitable during the course of war!¡±


    ¡°It increasingly feels like we¡¯re the viins!¡±


    ¡°Can we talk about justice when we¡¯re the invaders?¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t justice catch up to wipe out the evil invaders?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve watched too much TV. History has always been written by those who are the victors!¡±


    ...


    Everyone used their own way to relieve the weight on their hearts. They had been living and training in Dawn Academy for a month, but only then did they graduallye to an understanding of what ¡®colonization¡¯ actually meant.


    During the school opening ceremony, the dean mentioned that colonization would bring them wealth, territory, power, and many other unimaginable things. However, Xiao Lin realized then that the dean had only said half of the truth.


    Colonization brought war, blood, and death!


    Xiao Lin remembered Department Head Song¡¯s introduction about the origins of the monthly exam before the exam started. When the resurrectionw first appeared, Dawn Academy terminated the simtion exercise, resulting in a thumping loss for Dawn Academy during the subsequent war with the orcs.


    When he thought about that, those graduates¡ªhowever strong they might have been¡ªnever once experienced a simtion exercise, which meant that they never killed anyone or smelled blood. It was incredibly difficult to imagine how those people would react if they went directly to war.


    ¡°What should we do now, Monitor?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Go back!¡± Xiao Lin did not want to stay there for too long. Completing the two mandatory tasks was out of the question, and it was best for them to leave as soon as possible before the enemy wolf cavalry squadron arrived.


    No one objected. They got used to the idea for a bit before making their way hurriedly. After the cave was some distance behind them, the smell of blood in the air had disappeared considerably, and the heaviness in everyone¡¯s hearts had relieved.


    ¡°Monitor, you saved us again this time.¡± Lu Renyi¡¯s half-teasing and half-serious remark broke the silence within the team.


    Xiao Lin froze and dismissed thement in shame. ¡°I was careless. In the end, I was the one who brought up infiltrating and doing reconnaissance.¡±


    ¡°All of us had been careless. I think the academy didn¡¯t want us toplete the optional tasks at all because it¡¯s too difficult!¡± someoneined.


    Gu Xiaoyue thought for a moment. ¡°In fact, sneaking is the only option toplete the task in that situation, but our strength is too low toplete it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we could only obtain sixty percent of their defensive formation through the interrogation.¡± Zhou Feng felt a little regretful.


    In any case, no one meant to me Xiao Lin, or rather, everyone had actually been negligent. They had not been able to adjust their mentality quick enough, but it was certain that they would not repeat the same mistake again. They would likely understand everything much more after the exam waspleted.


    It was not until midday did they finally step out of Sunset Canyon, shortly before the exam ended. As soon as they set foot outside, a white beam of light once again covered their heads as their bodies gradually melted into the light.


    In a manner simr to the admission test, Xiao Lin saw a blur before his eyes, and when his vision became clear again, he was already in the public ssroom.


    Xiao Lin was still in a slight daze when the coldly-mechanical voice of the centralputer had already appeared in his mind: [Your monthly test results are assessed as follows:]


    [Student: Xiao Lin]


    [Student ID: 201235]


    [Monthly Exam Map: Sunset Canyon Reconnaissance Battle]


    [Taskpletion status: Mandatory Taskpleted. Optional Task 1 failed, Optional Task 2 failed]


    [Comprehensive evaluation: B]


    [Reward: 10 credits, 100 redemption points]


    [Additional evaluation: You were able to master an Ancient dialect. You have a rtively good talent innguage and you can consider developing in that direction.]


    The Grade B evaluation was within his expectations, since that was the most they could get afterpleting the mandatory tasks. The measly reward, at leastpared to the admissions test, left Xiao Lin feeling sour.


    He lingered over thest concludingment before finally reacting. It was probably because he used his Academic Genius skills to replicate the Norma woman¡¯s weirdnguage. He remembered that it was not Norma¡¯s ordinarymonnguage; it was some sort of northern dialect. He did not actually pay much attention to it after his replicating ability ended.


    Why then, did the centralputer suddenly mention that he had mastered that long-lost dialect? The surprised Xiao Lin suddenly thought of a possibility. Before the monthly exam, he sessfully entered the threshold of meditation by replicating the passive skills of Basic Meditation. Could the unexpected replication ofnguage skills have allowed him to master that basic skill?


    He had to go back to his dormitory to check his skills before he could say anything with certainty, but on closer recollection, some very strange vocabrybinations shed in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. He confirmed that they were not Norma¡¯smonnguage, but belonged to the lostnguage that he could now understand!


    Xiao Lin found it quite interesting. He had yet to achieve a good enough understanding of the replication skill; it might prove more useful than he initially expected. As for the ancientnguage that he mastered, he did not ce much importance on it. The centralputer stated that it was a lostnguage, which meant that no one used thatnguage anymore in present-day Norma. Mastering it was pointless.


    When he exited the evaluation message, Xiao Lin discovered that a quarrel had somehow started in the public ssroom.


    ¡°F*CK! I wouldn¡¯t have died if you hadn¡¯t proposed to go scouting first!¡±


    ¡°Wang Dalin! You¡¯ll pay with your life! I only have eighteen years left!¡±


    ¡°Like hell I would! Why do I care if you got killed because you¡¯re weak!¡±


    ¡°F*ck you! At least we tried blocking the wolf cavalry squadron. You just f*cking knelt down and surrendered! Shameful, just shameful!¡±


    ...


    The people quarreling were the team who chose to conduct the reconnaissance mission right after the exam began. Xiao Lin listened for a moment and pieced together what happened to them. The wolf cavalry squadron had ambushed them shortly after they left and they failed to even reach the enemy¡¯s garrison. The result was just as Xiao Lin predicted¡ªthere was no possibility of escape when they faced the cavalry¡¯s pursuit on the ins.


    Despite all their attempts to resist capture, those with high basic skills managed tobine their efforts to kill several of the wolf cavalry¡¯s soldiers, but at the cost of serious injuries themselves. The rest of the soldiers quickly killed them, and when the first person willingly surrendered, the remaining knew they could not escape and were eventually captured.

 Chapter 81: Cheng Ming’s Result

    <h4>Chapter 81: Cheng Ming¡¯s Result</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There were some twists and turns in the process, but the final result was simr to Xiao Lin¡¯s predictions. As for the oue of those who were captured, many happened to take the same stance and avoided the topic. In any case, they were all ssmates, and at the end of the day, the monthly exam was a simted exercise. The question of who betrayed whom and what information was ryed was irrelevant at the end of the exam.


    Wang Dalin was the subject of everyone¡¯s verbal attacks because he was the first to propose that n. Of course, Xiao Lin also understood that the brainless guy was just having some bad luck after being made the scapegoat. Those who had ambitions to gun for the monitor¡¯s position were the true instigators behind the scenes.


    As for the dozens of people who went on the same path with Xiao Lin, they were initially not that pleased after onlypleting the mandatory tasks. Having heard of everyone else¡¯s experiences, they then began to feel extremely lucky. At least they were not captured, or worse still, died and had their lives deducted.


    Lu Renyi did not care much for rewards. He was happy enough to have been able to survive. He smiled and said, ¡°You guys should be thanking us, actually. You wouldn¡¯t have gotten the one hundred redemption points if we hadn¡¯tpleted our mandatory tasks.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure, sure! That¡¯s a great job you guys did there! We would¡¯ve had it even worse if it weren¡¯t for you guys!¡± Wang Dalin shifted the subject. He was the one who surrendered and survived, so based on the rule that the ss would pass if 30% of thempleted the task, he would not end up losing anything.


    Soon however, those who could not stand Wang Dalin anymore began jeering, ¡°Well, you have to thank Monitor Xiao then. We would¡¯ve had it even worse if it weren¡¯t for him.¡±


    Wang Dalin¡¯s expression suddenly turned ugly. He opened his mouth to say something, but soon swallowed back his words and snorted coldly, ¡°What¡¯s so great about him! All you had to do was walk straight out of the canyon. It¡¯s not difficult at all. You could¡¯ve at least brought up a better reason if you wanted to tter him!¡±


    ¡°F*CK YOU! What are you suggesting! Have you any idea what we encountered along the way?¡±


    ¡°You stupid c*nt!¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind!¡±


    ...


    The majority of the ss soon joined in. Gu Xiaoyue left by herself through the back door after checking her scores at thepletion of the exam. Xiao Lin was also privy to what urred during the exam, so he got bored after listening to their arguments and left the ssroom.


    In fact, a simr situation urred in all the other sses. There were constant disputes, with some people ending up in fisticuffs. The student code stipted that random fights in the school were not allowed. Barely moments after those people came to blows, several individuals dressed in senior year uniforms walked up quickly and shouted, ¡°We¡¯re from the Disciplinary Department! Stop it right now. If you fight again, we¡¯ll bring you with us to have your credits deducted!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stand it! I want to go back! I want to go back to Earth! Take me right now! Motherf*cker, is your student union so oblivious to the lives that were lost! Huhuhu, why didn¡¯t shee back!¡±


    A sudden roar erupted from the crowd, followed by weeping. Xiao Lin stopped for a while. He had a good guess as to what had happened and could not help but feel a little sad. One of the unlucky persons must have died for real because she had a short lifespan.


    On the other hand, those who remained alive despite having 10 years deducted from their lifespan were still angry. The first guy¡¯s roar triggered resentment in their hearts. They vented their anger on the Disciplinary Department. Then, more and more people entered the fray, though it was uncertain whether they did so just to rile things up or because they felt things had not escted quickly enough.


    ¡°I heard that this exam was set by the student union!¡±


    ¡°Who the f*cking hell could aplish such a difficult task!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! The caravan tortured me!¡±


    ¡°You and me both! At that time, more than a dozen of us were destroyed by that woman¡¯s me Shield! Is that what you call a reduction of difficulty?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all the student union¡¯s fault!¡±


    ¡°Get them!¡±


    ...


    The scene grew more and more chaotic. Even those who did not die could not help but feel their anger boil up after hearing those few sentences. It was apparent that the test was far from well-received. Byparison, they felt that the admission test¡¯s difficulty was a walk in the park. Many people did not agree and felt that either the academy or the student union was deliberately making things hard for them.


    The Disciplinary Department people who came over became punching bags, but as senior students, their strength was naturally higher than that of freshmen. Even though it was difficult for one person to deal with four hands, all they had to do was protect themselves. One of the guys was so incensed that he even took out his cell phone and yelled a few angry words into it, as if calling someone over.


    Things noticeably got worse and Xiao Lin facepalmed because the crowd had blocked the exits to the corridors. He waspletely blocked from getting out. In the end, he decided to just find a ssroom and hide in it to avoid the angry crowd.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Why are you here?¡± a familiar person greeted Xiao Lin as soon as he sat down. It was Cheng Ming; the ssroom had to belong to ss One.


    Xiao Lin pointed at the door with his lips. ¡°I can¡¯t get out.¡±


    Cheng Ming let out a drawn-out sigh too. ¡°I heard that a girl from ss Six passed away. She had only eight years left in her lifespan. To be honest, no one took any of this seriously before the exam. Who would have imagined that she would die? When the girl just disappeared after the exam, not even her body was left behind. Who knows whether we might end up like that in the future... Sigh!¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent. The exam was very difficult, and the freshman year¡¯s mortality rate might be rather high. Perhaps the academy wanted them to realize that this was a real war, not a game of house. Many people had learnt their lesson, but some people¨Cwhose life-spans were too short¨Chad no such chance at all.


    Those troublemakers were not so muchining about the exam¡¯s difficulty as they were unable to ept such a cruel rule. In their eyes, Dawn Academy should be a school, but Xiao Lin understood that the essence of Dawn Academy was a military camp¡ªa ce to train soldiers!


    ¡°What grade did you get?¡± Xiao Lin shook his head, not wanting to dwell on those disheartening topics. He decided to switch the topic and start a conversation, as more and more people appeared in the corridor outside.


    Cheng Ming ced his hand over his chest. ¡°Grade C! I¡¯m not satisfied!¡±


    Xiao Lin asked strangely, ¡°That can¡¯t be, right? Didn¡¯t youplete the mandatory tasks? I remember that you¡¯d get Grade B as long as youplete the mandatory tasks and survive. Were you unable to beat the Norma woman?¡±


    ¡°Woman? What woman?¡± Cheng Ming was confused.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth was agape for a moment before he said helplessly, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about her. Tell me, how did you aplish the task?¡±


    Cheng Ming immediately let the floodgates loose and droned on and on about every single detail. He started with the discussion their ss had when they first entered the canyon, as well as their differing opinions and various other things. After 10 minutes without getting to the point, Xiao Lin could not help but interrupt, ¡°Just tell me how you died.¡±


    Cheng Ming was full of grief and indignation. ¡°I was killed after a one-on-one confrontation with the wolf cavalry squadron captain.¡±


    Xiao Lin was surprised. ¡°What? The wolf cavalry squadron¡¯s captain! Wait, one-on-one confrontation?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a girl in our ss who mastered Normese quite well, but God knows what she said to provoke them. The wolf cavalry squadron captain agreed to fight me one-on-one.¡±


    ¡°Then were you killed?¡±


    Cheng Ming shook his head. ¡°No. I killed the captain. Er...well, I can¡¯t say that I killed him. But, in any case, he drew hisst breath.¡±

 Chapter 82: Judge Academy

    <h4>Chapter 82: Judge Academy</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. ¡°What happened after that? Didn¡¯t you go forward and end him?¡±


    Cheng Ming sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a chance. I was about to go up and kill the guy, but I was swarmed by the other wolf cavalry soldiers. I was already short of breath in the duel and I didn¡¯t have the strength to deal with the other soldiers. But the captain of that wolf cavalry squadron was really strong! It was a great fight!¡±


    Xiao Lin eyes twitched uncontrobly. He did not know whether to marvel at Cheng Ming¡¯s sheer strength¡ªwhich allowed him to challenge the wolf cavalry squadron captain head-on¡ªor deem him exceedingly reckless and na?ve. Such one-on-one challenges were pointless because they were facing the entire army. Even if they killed the captain, the rest of the squadron could easily crush Cheng Ming.


    ¡°I had wanted to hold off the wolf cavalry so the others could retreat as soon as possible, but for some reason, I learnt after the exam that those who retreated to the canyon still failed toplete the required tasks!¡± Cheng Ming was undoubtedly very frustrated.


    Xiao Lin was not too surprised. ¡°They must have been killed by the Norma woman. She¡¯s very strong. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if you were there, but without a talented student like you, the others would face a lot of difficulty in dealing with that woman¡¯s me Shield.¡±


    ¡°Woman? What woman?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t listening to me just now...¡±


    The two of them chatted enthusiastically. There were a total of 12 freshmen sses, and among the acting monitors, Xiao Lin could only get along with one person and that was ss One¡¯s Cheng Ming. Cheng Ming had good rtions with everyone and got along well with most of the other ss monitors. He was a straightforward and honest man, which made everyone feel at ease. That aspect of his character was well-known to all.


    The public ssrooms were rife with group fights, and at almost the same time was an equally intense quarrel in the spacious student conference room.


    The baby-faced student union president looked helplessly at the blond man in front of him and sighed. ¡°Mr. Hank, once again I would like to emphasize that we didn¡¯t deliberately conceal this. This request of yours really is unfulfible. Dawn Academy has signed a treaty of alliance with Judge Academy; we¡¯re friends. Please trust our sincerity.¡±


    The blond man was an American known by the name of Hank. He shook his head again and again, and said in half-baked Chinese, ¡°NO! NO! NO! I understand Chinese culture well. You tend to treat these things half-heartedly, hence my skepticism to your reply. If you really want to express the sincerity in your friendship between our two academies, please just provide me with the data the centralputer screened!¡±


    After a pause, the blond man once again emphasized, ¡°Although we can¡¯t specifically disclose why, this is actually really important for Judge Academy. In fact, it¡¯s not just your academy. At this exact moment, my colleagues are rushing to the other colonial academies because Judge Academy urgently needs someone who understands ancient Normese! When ites to this, not even your school¡¯s dean can stop us!¡±


    The student union president said helplessly, ¡°I understand. The dean sent me a trans-dimensional letter a few days ago and asked me to cooperate with you, but we¡¯re not patronizing you. You know full well that ancient Normese has disappeared since your academy wiped the Thunder Kingdom off the map, especially when the ancient Normese used by their royal family is of the northern dialect. This dialect is the minority among the minority. The Thunder Kingdom¡¯s royal family had been destroyed for more than a hundred years. There has to only be a handful of people in this entire world who still understands thenguage.¡±


    ¡°I only trust the data provided by the centralputer!¡±


    ¡°Your request is a bit excessive.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s reasonable. I don¡¯t need to check it myself. I just need to personally confirm the final result. Your school is one of the first colonial schools founded by the pioneers. I believe in your heritage and strength!¡± Hank was very adamant, not neglecting to shower somepliments.


    ¡°Okay!¡± The president was helpless. He finally got up and spread his palms. ¡°If you insist, please follow me. All retrieval data will be provided to you, but believe me, no one in Dawn Academy understands thisnguage. Those days, Dawn Academy¡¯s colony did not border on the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s territory! We¡¯ve never offered this particrnguage course, even since the founding of our academy. It¡¯s even more redundant now that the Thunder Kingdom has been destroyed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure your library has the relevant materials. It can¡¯t be ruled out that some would learn it out of their own ord.¡±


    The blue-eyed blond immediately followed the president and continued prattling on, despite the noticeable fidgetiness of the Dawn Academy personnel apanying them.


    ¡°This check will include all school students, graduates, graduate students, and doctoral students. With the exclusion of some who are carrying out important missions, data on all others individuals¡¯nguage skill levels will be searched. This is a lot of data and it¡¯ll take some time. Would you like a cup of coffee?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a cup of Chinese tea then!¡±


    A cup of fragrant hot tea was soon served, but the blond man had no intention of savoring its taste. He poured it all directly into his mouth to quench his thirst, then paced back and forth while anxiously waiting for the results.


    Along the way, a few people came over and whispered in the president¡¯s ear to report the chaos in the public ssroom. The president frowned and said unhappily, ¡°I can¡¯t go now! Tell the Disciplinary Department¡¯s Head to go there. He¡¯s free to deal with it as he pleases as long as no one dies! This is an academy, not a ce for them to make trouble!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hank turned around.


    ¡°Something minor has happened on campus.¡±


    The query result finally came out after a quarter of an hour. Someone came over with a micrputer and delivered it to the president. The president clicked on the interface and said with a smile, ¡°You can rest assured. We¡¯re not deceiving you on this asi¡ªWHAT?¡±


    The president¡¯s voice halted all of a sudden. His face was full of shock, as if he had seen a ghost. He opened his mouth, seemingly to rephrase his words, but he did not know where to start. In the end, he could only murmur, ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    The blond man had already grabbed the micrputer and nced hurriedly at it. The gloom disappeared from his face and he was both surprised and delighted. He eximed, ¡°Good! Very good! Dawn Academy has quite the talent pool. As expected, your academy is equally as on par with Judge Academy! Please arrange the transfer procedures for this student immediately. We¡¯ll give our full cooperation!¡±


    The president¡¯s face gradually became serious. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we still have to discuss this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the blond man asked. ¡°What is there to discuss? Haven¡¯t we already negotiated? We¡¯ve also obtained your dean¡¯s consent! This is just a temporary transfer. We will have the student on loan for a period of time; less than a month! If you¡¯re worried that the student himself disagrees, you can rest assured that Judge Academy will not ask him to serve us free-of-charge. We¡¯ll give him remuneration. The amount will be enough to tempt him!¡±

 Chapter 83: Negotiations

    <h4>Chapter 83: Negotiations</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the remuneration.¡± The president still had not recovered from the shock and was facing a dilemma. ¡°If I remember correctly, you said that you¡¯d have to go to the New World for this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we need someone who understands Ancient Normese to help us trante something, but this item is very special and can¡¯t be brought to the academy¡¯s self-contained space. We have to go to the new world, but you can rest assured that our colony is absolutely safe.¡±


    ¡°Umm, this isn¡¯t about the safety issue either,¡± the president smiled bitterly. ¡°Let me just be frank with you. This student still can¡¯t directly enter the New World.¡±


    Hank was initially puzzled, but he gradually understood and eximed incredulously, ¡°My God! You mean they haven¡¯t even reached ck Iron rank yet?¡±


    ¡°In fact, this student named Xiao Lin is a freshman who has justpleted his first month after his enrolment here. You¡¯re well aware of the consequences of a freshman under ck Iron rank entering the New World.¡± The president had a strong impression of Xiao Lin because the dean personally showed up during the school opening ceremony. The president certainly had to pay more attention to the new batch¡¯s ss monitors.


    Hank scratched his fluffy hair while pacing back and forth. He said urgently, ¡°Yes, of course I know that humans have to at least be ck Iron rank if they want to adapt to the New World¡¯s environment. Otherwise, they¡¯d be infected with various viruses and get sick. Their body will suffer a rapid decline, and if they fail to get timely treatment or leave Norma, death is a likely scenario in serious cases!¡±


    The president nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Xiao Lin is our student. We can¡¯t neglect his well-being, so we can only apologize...¡±


    Hank was silent. He did not give up and thought for a moment before saying, ¡°I want to contact my academy. I hope that you can provide me with a means of doing so, President.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that trans-spatialmunication is very energy-consuming...¡±


    Hank gritted his teeth. ¡°All expenses will be paid for by Judge Academy!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to help our allies!¡±


    Hank left quickly and came back even quicker. In less than 20 minutes, he stood in the office again with a surprised look on his face. There had been a considerable time dy in the trans-spatialmunication.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already contacted the academy. We¡¯ll buy super potions from the Royal British Academy. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about the various super potions that the Royal British Academy developed some years ago. For people whose bodies have yet to reach the desired rank, the super potions are capable of providing temporary immunity to all kinds of viruses in the New World,¡± Hank spoke firmly that time.


    The smile on the president¡¯s face gradually faded. He looked at Hank for a while, then nodded and said, ¡°I heard about it when I was a guest at the British academyst year. These potions seem to have been produced for those who are talented in alchemy and other technical fields, but have subpar strength. Such potions would allow these people to travel to the New World as soon as possible... But with all due respect, the materials for these potions are rtively rare and the cost of manufacturing it is very expensive.¡±


    Hank shrugged. ¡°This isn¡¯t a problem. We¡¯re also allies with the Royal British Academy! However, the condition is that we must get in touch with that student in order to make sure that Judge Academy¡¯s investment is worth it!¡±


    ...


    In the public ssroom...


    Xiao Lin had been talking with Cheng Ming for almost an hour. Cheng Ming was a talkative person who could hardly stop once he started. Other than the initial couple of sentences, Xiao Lin was basically listening to Cheng Ming reminisce about the duel with the wolf cavalry squadron captain in vivid detail. For example, in order to deal with the immediate attack of the wolf, he had to sacrifice one arm to chop off the front leg of the wolf and destroy the opponent¡¯s mount...


    Meanwhile, the conflict outside the ssroom had gradually subsided after more students from the student union got involved. After all, the strength gap was prevalent, and those who had any semnce of rationality would leave quietly and softly. A very small number of people who could not ept reality was forcibly taken away by the Disciplinary Department and the rest had no sympathy for them. At most, they would utter a few cries of ¡®How unfortunate!¡¯ and ¡®Why!¡¯ from the standpoint of bystanders.


    Seeing as the crowd had more or less dispersed, Xiao Lin got ready to leave after saying goodbye to Cheng Ming. It was still the weekend morning, and the exam time was not synchronized with the academy¡¯s time. Although seven days had passed in the simtion exercise, only one hour had passed after they returned to the academy.


    Just as he was about to get up and walk out of the ssroom, he saw the crowds in the corridor being suddenly part. Several people who seemed to be from the student union walked toward that corridor, and to his surprise, the person leading them was the student union president. Other than attending the opening ceremony, the baby-faced president rarely showed up, though he still left a very strong impression on everyone else. In addition, his photos were asionally published in Dawn Academy Evening News; practically all the freshmen knew who he was.


    Xiao Lin subconsciously took two steps back and returned to the ssroom. He turned around and faced the oing Cheng Ming, who hade over out of curiosity. ¡°This looks like a big deal. Even the student union president is here.¡±


    Cheng Ming sighed. ¡°The troublemakers are just too emotional, but it can¡¯t be helped since they died this time. Anyone in their ce would feel the pressure. I hope that the school won¡¯t punish them too severely. It¡¯ll be terrible if they¡¯re sent back to Earth.¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°Being sent back to Earth might be a good thing if you can¡¯t adapt.¡±


    Cheng Ming nced at him unexpectedly. Xiao Lin gained a true understanding of that academy after going through the exam. Although there were many things that could not be epted too quickly, anyone who wished to stay there had to force themselves to adapt, albeit slowly.


    The student union president went straight to ss Seven¡¯s ssroom. He nced back and forth before yelling, ¡°Xiao Lin! Where¡¯s Xiao Lin?¡±


    ¡°Back in the dormitory maybe?¡± someone offered.


    ¡°There¡¯s no record of his entry and exit at the dormitory entrance!¡± The student union president continued to ask, ¡°Does anyone know where Xiao Lin is?¡±


    The president¡¯s expression was serious and the surroundings werepletely silent. They might not know how powerful the student union president was, but they knew full well that the baby-faced man must have had a strength so formidable that there was no question of him holding the president¡¯s position.


    Cheng Ming had a weird expression. He looked at Xiao Lin and asked in a low voice, ¡°What have you done now? The student union president was provoked intoing here!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Xiao Lin had an innocent expression. ¡°Also, what did you mean by ¡®now¡¯? What did I do before?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only person in our freshman year who insisted on cultivating both magic and martial arts. I¡¯m sure you know that there are more than a couple of teachers who don¡¯t like you.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless, but he knew about it all too well. For example, the lolita who taught them Basic Meditation and the T-rex who taught Basic Swordsmanship were both not fond of him, but he did not think that his actions would go so far as to provoke the student union. Could Department Head Song have done something to implicate him?


    Someone soon recognized Xiao Lin standing in front of ss One¡¯s ssroom and quickly notified the student union president. Xiao Lin was not even given any time to escape, prompting him to grit his teeth with hatred.


    The student union president rushed to Xiao Lin before thetter could slip away and looked carefully at him. A feeling came over the president. He had studied the information of the new batch¡¯s acting ss monitors and each had their own merits. The sole exception was shameless Xiao Lin, who had poor foundation and zero talent. The president felt that it was only sheer coincidence that the guy was able to be elected as ss monitor. Another possibility was that Gu Xiaoyue eschewed the position.

 Chapter 84: An Opportunity to Visit the New World

    <h4>Chapter 84: An Opportunity to Visit the New World</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Xiao Lin, right? Come with me.¡± There was not the slightest anger on the student union president¡¯s expression and he seemed to have no intention of offering any exnation. With a wave of his hand, two members of the student union immediately walked over to Xiao Lin and held one arm each. Nothing more was said and Xiao Lin was half-forced away.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Can any of you exin everything!¡± Xiao Lin was startled, but he soon gave up after struggling for a few seconds. The two people beside him grabbed his hands like steel bars, so his struggling made no difference. Their strength differential was just too wide.


    Everyone was surprised when they watched the sullen Xiao Lin being taken away. Several other deputy monitors heard the movement and ran to ask Cheng Ming.


    Cheng Ming was anxious too. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I still believe in Xiao Lin, especially after the exam!¡±


    ¡°Could his assessment rating be so bad that he¡¯s about to be kicked out of the academy?¡±


    ¡°You must be kidding! That can¡¯t be a rule!¡±


    ¡°Who knows. Now that you mention it, what grade did you get?¡±


    ¡°Haha, what¡¯s yours?¡±


    As acting monitors, it was only natural that they paid more attention to their own results. With Xiao Lin, they expressed only a brief curiosity before quickly forgetting about him.


    The student union president was not too tall and had a baby face. He gave the impression of being a boy who had not grown up, but in fact, Xiao Lin once heard that the president was actually in his forties. It went without saying that Xiao Lin had understood a fundamental truth in Dawn Academy¡ªnever judge a person¡¯s age based on their appearance.


    Not many people knew the student union president¡¯s real name. Everyone usually addressed him as President. He always had a cordial smile and was friendly with everyone, but his face looked rather solemn that day, which made Xiao Lin¡¯s heartbeat quicken. Xiao Lin racked his brains to think about what he had done to offend the president.


    The president finally spoke when they were on the way to the student union. His voice was low and tactful. ¡°This matter is ratherplicated. I have to ask you first: did you really master Ancient Normese? I¡¯ve read your information at the beginning of the academic year and you hadn¡¯t mastered this skill at that time. After the exam, I happened to check it again and found that you¡¯ve actually mastered this obscurenguage that had been lost for more than a century. Even though your mastery is only level one, I¡¯m curious as to how you did it.¡±


    Xiao Lin was slightly surprised. Ancient Normese was the skill he copied from the Norma woman. Although the Central Computer¡¯s evaluation after the exam had vaguely indicated that he had mastered thenguage, he did not put too much attention to it and wondered why the president suddenly asked him about it.


    Xiao Lin gave a half-hearted exnation. ¡°During the monthly exam, I met a Norma woman who spoke thenguage. At that time, I thought that I might as well learn a little of it.¡±


    The suspicion in the president¡¯s eyes grew deeper. ¡°I know about Sunset Canyon¡¯s simtion battle. I chose the map, but the exam onlysted seven days. You mastered this lostnguage in seven days?¡±


    The president shook his head again and shed his signature kind smile. ¡°This is your secret and I¡¯m being a bit of a busybody by asking this. Just remember that everyone has their secrets in this academy and it¡¯s impolite to be persistent in asking. There¡¯s no need to exin yourself in detail.¡±


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and asked in passing, ¡°Then can I know where we¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, well this is a bitplicated, but I have to ask for your personal opinion first. Do you want to go to Judge Academy? And do you want to go to the New World?¡±


    ¡°AH!¡± Xiao Lin eximed and was stunned on the spot.


    The president stopped walking and waited for a reply too.


    Xiao Lin asked sensibly, ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand. Freshmen can¡¯t go to the New World so soon, I thought. Even if the dean made a promise at the opening ceremony, he only said that there would be opportunities after freshman year. And what about Judge Academy? Aren¡¯t they the American colonial academy?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re allies with Judge Academy. We may need you to go there and help them. Of course, it¡¯ll only be temporary, about a month or so. Judge Academy¡¯s people will exin the specifics to youter.¡±


    After a pause, the president added, ¡°We have signed an alliance treaty with Judge Academy, and help on certain minor matters is no big deal since we¡¯re allies. But at the end of the day, you¡¯re still a freshman. There hasn¡¯t been any precedent for something like this, especially when this is a private arrangement between the two academies. You don¡¯t have to worry too much. Just speak your mind. Would you like to go?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little confused, and the news was still rather shocking to him. What were the academy¡¯s students¡¯ motivation to persevere in daily training and sses? Was it not just to go to the New World?


    The dean presented a beautiful and delicious pie in front of everyone at the opening ceremony, but most people might not be able to taste the pie until at least a year or two. As of then, the chance was presented in front of Xiao Lin and he could soon take a bite out of that big pie. Even if it was only a small bite, he was lucky to have tasted itpared to many others, who could only yearn for it.


    For Xiao Lin, the New World was like the faint presence of the most beautiful woman in the world. He could only admire it from a distance through the veil, but the more he looked at it, the more tempted his heart became.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was thoroughly moved after getting a chance to unveil that facade. He then nodded without hesitation once he had thought it over briefly. ¡°I¡¯m definitely willing if there¡¯s an opportunity to go to the New World right now, but¡ª¡±


    The president only needed to hear the first half of his sentence. He nodded, then waved his hand to interrupt Xiao Lin¡¯s subsequent sentence. ¡°It¡¯ll be much easier if you agree. Mr. Hank is probably getting a bit anxious waiting. Go on into my office.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Hank?¡±


    The president nodded. ¡°Yes. From Judge Academy. The details of the subsequent negotiation will be between you and him. In principle, this is a private invitation and you¡¯re willing to undertake it, so it¡¯s inappropriate for anyone else to interfere. I must remind you though: don¡¯t be overwhelmed with excitement. Offer yourself at a low price. If you¡¯re not sure about the remuneration, you can always ask me.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s remuneration?¡±


    The president let out augh. ¡°Of course! You¡¯re a freshman at our school, so you can also ask the other party topensate for your missed sses and training time.¡±


    Xiao Lin gradually calmed. If he went to the Judge Academy for a month, he would lose not only the courses and training, but more importantly, a month¡¯s worth of time would also be gone. Would he still be able to top the rest of his ss in the subsequentprehensive exam and remove the ¡®acting¡¯ from his title as ¡®acting ss monitor¡¯?


    Xiao Lin had only gotten Grade B in the monthly exam. He had yet to find out what other people¡¯s ratings were, but in any case, that grade could only be considered mediocre. All he had to do wasplete the mandatory task and remain alive, which many other people managed to obtain as well.

 Chapter 85: Hank’s Test

    <h4>Chapter 85: Hank¡¯s Test</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The office of the student union¡¯s president was simple yet elegant. A blond American was gulping tea beside the long table. As soon as he saw the presidente in, he immediately set aside his teacup and got up. Some less-than-fluent Chinese came out of his mouth. ¡°Is this the alleged freshman who knows Ancient Normese?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, a first-year freshman. Xiao Lin, this is Mr. Hank, the representative sent by America¡¯s Judge Academy to Dawn Academy.¡± The president gave a brief introduction and chased out the other members of the student union. He sat next to the conference table, and smiled toward Hank. ¡°As Dawn Academy¡¯s student union president, I won¡¯t interfere with your discussion, but since our two academies are involved, diplomatic issues aren¡¯t trivial. For this asion, the entire conversation will be recorded for verification and shall be passed to our deanter on. He will make the final decision. I trust there¡¯s no issues with that.¡±


    ¡°OK! OK! OK! The Chinese are always so troublesome!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡±


    ¡°This is purely procedure!¡± The president smiled and nodded. He took out a light blue cone-shaped crystal and crushed it with his hands. The diamond-like crystal fragments turned into countless tiny particles in the air and spread quickly to the surroundings, permeating every corner of the entire office.


    Xiao Lin stared nkly. He subconsciously wanted to avoid the floating particles, but the president smiled and assured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re harmless.¡±


    Hank¡¯s mouth twitched and he muttered. ¡°Memoria Crystal. Your procedure is extravagant! Crystals like these, which are solely dedicated to recording, are very rare, even for us in Judge Academy... Okay then, I believe we can start!¡±


    The president smiled and nodded.


    Hank¡¯s expression gradually turned serious. He rubbed his hands and said, ¡°Student Xiao Lin, the information obtained from your centralputer shows that your Ancient Normese is LV1, and it just so happens to be the northern dialect that our academy needs the most. Even so, we still have to test you right now. That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded, but felt a little nervous. The other party¡¯s words suggested that they had confirmed his mastery of Ancient Normese through his replication skill. Although the level of Ancient Normese he replicated at the time was MAX, he had forgotten most of the vocabry when the replication ended. He could barely remember some of the most basic grammar, and that was why Hank referred to Ancient Normese as LV1.


    Due to the importance attached to hisnguage level, Xiao Lin guessed that Judge Academy needed him to trante some ancient historical documents. With his LV1 level however, he was not that confident of his ability to do it.


    The student union president sat quietly next to him with the same confusion in Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes. Thatnguage¡ªwhich was already very rare to begin with¡ªhad been lost for hundreds of years and it was normal that Judge Academy had no one with that ability. Nevertheless, he did not think that Xiao Lin could help; as the boy¡¯s level was still too low.


    Hank took out a stic paper bag from the ck briefcase he carried with him. There were a lot of fine paper scraps in the bag. He opened it, dumped all the scraps on the table, then pushed it to Xiao Lin and said, ¡°I¡¯d like you to reorder these letters or words in the correct sequence based on Ancient Normese grammar.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Hank, may I ask you what this is?¡± The president could not help but interject with confusion.


    ¡°This is a document written in Ancient Normese from more than a century ago. We found this in our reference room. I¡¯ve divided the document into about a hundred pieces, so all he has to do is reassemble them. He can have as much time as he needs to mull it over.¡±


    Hank thought for a while and added, ¡°I know your Ancient Normese is only level one, but that¡¯s not our concern. All you have to do is to arrange the pieces of paper in grammatical order. As for the meaning of thepleted text, don¡¯t give it too much thought, because I believe rearranging it can be done, even at level one.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded and said yes. Unlike the trantion that he was expecting, simply arranging the vocabry ording to grammar might be doable and he could certainly try it. It was likely simr to the subject-predicate-object grammatical structure. Although he might not recognize the meaning of each Ancient Normese word, but at LV1, he could distinguish which words were the subject, the predicate, the object, and the attributive.


    Xiao Lin picked up a piece of paper and looked at it. Hank must have torn aplete article, so most of the paper pieces he saw were only part of the article. It mightck a predicate, a subject, or several words might be missing. That way, the difficulty was greatly reduced.


    He closed his eyes and recalled the Ancient Normese grammatical knowledge in his mind. ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding, after his three minutes of replication disappeared, it was unlikely that the knowledge he possessed would disappearpletely from his mind. That was because his brain learnt everything quickly when his replication skill was in effect. That, in itself, was a learning process, so the things that he managed to master were his own and continued to exist in his mind, even though the copying time had ended.


    The effect had been verified during Basic Meditation, and the mastery of Ancient Normese convinced Xiao Lin of that fact even more. However, it seemed to only have a simr effect on passive skills instead of active skills. Xiao Lin copied both the Shockwave in the admission test and the me Shield in the monthly exam, but he could use neither of them once the replication was over.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is it difficult?¡± Hank became a little anxious when he saw Xiao Lin closing his eyes for a moment.


    Xiao Lin came back to his senses and said, ¡°Oh no, I was just resting for a while. You probably don¡¯t know that I just went through a monthly exam.¡±


    Hank spread his hands and said innocently, ¡°I can understand your exhaustion. I¡¯m very sorry to disturb you right now, but this matter is really important to Judge Academy. We¡¯ll give you a satisfactory reward if you can help us.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s start then!¡±


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath and got up to spread all the pieces of paper on the table. Firstly, he gathered up and re-categorized all the pieces of paper which were rtivelyplete, such as those thatcked the subject or the predicate.


    Then he piled the pieces of paper with only one word on the other side, sorting them in the order of subject and predicate. The selection process took him at least half an hour.


    After all, his mastery was only at LV1. He knew a scant amount of vocabry and often needed to think hard for a while just before continuing to scan through. During the whole process, Hank and the student union president watched quietly and did not interrupt.


    That was just the beginning. Xiao Lin exhaled and sat back down again. The earlier work was simultaneously simple and difficult, and to put it simply, it was a cloze test.

 Chapter 86: Discussing the Remuneration Terms

    <h4>Chapter 86: Discussing the Remuneration Terms</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin felt like he had returned to his school days. Cloze tests consisted of questions where the test author removed some words in a coherent article to form nks. Xiao Lin used to hate those kinds of questions in English ss back in the day.


    It was an examination of one¡¯sprehensive ability in grammar, vocabry, sentence patterns, and many other aspects of knowledge, but Xiao Lin¡¯s Ancient Normese was only LV1. He could follow the basic grammar to guess thebined sentences, and at best, he could only guarantee guesses at the correctness of the syntax. As for the meaning, Xiao Lin felt like he was reading obscure or illegible text.


    The process took another hour, and Xiao Lin did not stop until he cobbled up aplete article. There were still a few torn pieces of paper on the table that were not put in, and Xiao Lin thought for a moment before saying helplessly, ¡°That¡¯s it. I can¡¯t do anything with all these other words.¡±


    Hank stood up. ¡°Thanks for all your hard work. I¡¯ll check it.¡±


    He took out the original text of the article andpared them one by one. The American obviously knew nothing about Ancient Normese, and even though he wasparing the original text, it took him nearly half an hour toplete the check.


    ¡°It¡¯s about sixty percent correct. What an amazing result!¡± A bright smile finally appeared on Hank¡¯s face and gave Xiao Lin a thumbs up!


    Xiao Lin was somewhat speechless. Could being half-correct be considered good?


    Hank turned his head again to look at the student union president and said, ¡°I think we can arrange the transfer procedures now.¡±


    The student union president¡¯s confusion grew even more. Judging from the results of the test, Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding of the ancient lostnguage could only be regarded as superficial at best. He thought about it and said, ¡°Xiao Lin¡¯s Ancient Normese is only level one.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! In fact, when I contacted the academy earlier, they told me that the passing mark for this little test is getting forty percent correct. Xiao Lin¡¯s result is exceptional! He won¡¯t be the only person in this assignment, and we¡¯ll search the entire world¡¯s colonist academies for those who understand thenguage. Don¡¯t you have an old Chinese saying: strength in numbers?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but before we talk about the formalities, I think you should discuss remuneration with Xiao Lin.¡±


    Hank pped his forehead and ?ughed out loud. ¡°I almost forgot! Don¡¯t you worry. We¡¯ll try our best to meet your requirements in terms of remuneration. So, Xiao Lin, is there anything you need?¡±


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. He felt as though he had passed an interview. On the way to the office, the student union president had earlier told him that the Judge Academy had a request and that he did not need to be too courteous.


    ¡°Can you give me a paper and pen?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    After receiving the paper and pen from the student union president, Xiao Lin thought about it for only a few minutes before writing everything down. He actually did not know what he needed, so he simply listed down all the expensive weapons, equipment, and essories he had seen in the Trading Zone. He jotted down anything that came to mind, and it did not matter whether he could use it or not because he could still sell it if he did not need it!


    Hank did a double take and withdrew his gaze. There was a smug smile on his face, and as one of the first time-honored academies to colonize Norma, Judge Academy had a veryrge colony. There was no shortage of wealth or supplies, which was why he was confident enough to let Xiao Lin ask casually.


    10 minutester, Xiao Lin was still struggling to write. Hank was still smiling, but his smile seemed a little reluctant and dry.


    Xiao Lin still showed no sign of stopping even after 20 minutes. Some bean-sized drops of cold sweat appeared on Hank¡¯s forehead and his mouth twitched a couple of times, but after recalling how much he had boasted earlier, he simply sucked it up and kept quiet.


    30 minutester, Xiao Lin finally put down his pen and raised his head, but before Hank could speak, Xiao Lin had already said to the student union president. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough paper. Could you give me some more?¡±


    ¡°F*CK!¡± Hank was finally at wit¡¯s end and stood up all of a sudden. He immediately realized that he had stepped out of line and was still on the other side¡¯s turf. He massaged his neck and mumbled, ¡°Cough cough, my throat has been quite bad recently. It¡¯s just awful. Hay fever, you know how it is.¡±


    ¡°Have some more tea. Our tea is specially cultivated to moisturize the throat,¡± the president immediately offered.


    ¡°Dawn Academy lives up to its reputation as one of the most famous academies with a long history!¡±


    The two smiled hypocritically at each other and barely moved past that little embarrassment. Hank then stretched out his hand and ced them on the paper that the president handed to Xiao Lin. He smiled dryly, ¡°Well, Xiao Lin, although I said I would try my best to pay you an appropriate remuneration, it doesn¡¯t mean that you can treat Judge Academy as your own back garden and take whatever you want. Do you understand?¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned in thought and sighed, ¡°Understood. You¡¯re saying Judge Academy can¡¯t afford these things, right?¡±


    Hank¡¯s fair face turned red. He was unsure whether it was due to embarrassment or anger, but he eventually leaned back and said sullenly, ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way. It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t afford to give you the stuff that you mentioned, but I don¡¯t have the authority to do so and no one will agree either. Don¡¯t forget that your Ancient Normese is only level one. Your value isn¡¯t worth all this! Also, are you sure that you really need these things? Like this golden holy sword. If I remember correctly, you¡¯re just a freshman. You must be joking if you im that you can use this golden sacred sword!¡±


    ¡°I can sell it! I can always bring it back with me and sell it!¡± Xiao Lin answered frankly.


    The student union president could not help butugh and quickly sat back down. He said, ¡°Xiao Lin, be serious. This is a diplomatic asion. This conversation will go on record and be archived... But Mr. Hank, I hope you can be more understanding too. After all, Xiao Lin is just a freshman who has only been here for a month. In fact, I don¡¯t think he can immediately think of what he actually needs.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded repeatedly. It was not that he could not think of what he needed. Instead, the things he needed were far too many and he had no idea how to choose. For example, he wanted a full set of weapons and Lifewater even, but he was also unsure whether his demands reflected his value.


    The student union president thought for a while and suggested, ¡°How about this. For every day Xiao Lin stays at Judge Academy or the New World, Judge Academy will pay him a certain amount of New Dors. I¡¯m sure Xiao Lin will have more than enough time to think about how he¡¯ll spend that money.¡±


    Hank touched his nose and thought. ¡°This is a good idea, but what amount are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°A thousand New Dors per day?¡±


    Hank nearly jumped up again. ¡°This is ckmail!¡±


    ¡°Eight hundred?¡±


    ¡°His Ancient Normese is only level one!¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯ll have to be at least five hundred New Dors a day. Don¡¯t forget, Xiao Lin has sacrificed no less than a month¡¯s worth of his time!¡±


    ¡°Three hundred New Dors a day. No more, no less! You mustn¡¯t forget too that Judge Academy has its own training ce too. I can lend it to him for free during this period and I can assure you I call the shots here!¡±


    ¡°Your price doesn¡¯t show me your sincerity. We are allies after all! How about this: we each make concessions and agree on four hundred New Dors a day! Long live our friendship!¡±


    ¡°Deal! Long live our friendship!¡± Hank was really bad at bargaining. He immediately approved once he saw the student union president eding, but when he looked up again and saw the president¡¯s satisfied smile, Hank had a vague feeling that he had been conned.

 Chapter 87: New Dollars

    <h4>Chapter 87: New Dors</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin coughed a few times after being ignored and raised his hand weakly, asking, ¡°Excuse me, what are New Dors?¡±


    Both Hank and the student union president shot him a weird look. The president was the first to react and patted his head, unsure whether tough or cry. ¡°I almost forgot that you¡¯re still a new student. Let me exin briefly. New Dors are the currency for the New World. It¡¯s jointly promoted by all our colonial academies in Norma to rece the chaotic currency system there.¡±


    ¡°Can the New Dor really buy anything?¡± Xiao Lin was skeptical.


    The president smiled and said, ¡°You can rest assured that this is different from redemption points. The so-called redemption points or credits are merely a trading system used by students in our academy, while the value of New Dors is vouched for by the Supreme Council, whichprises all colonist academies throughout the world. The purchasing power of New Dors is guaranteed in all colonies.¡±


    ¡°Understood, redemption points can only be used within the academy, while New Dors are the currency of the new world. What¡¯s the Supreme Council then?¡± Xiao Lin blinked his confused eyes.


    The president sighed. ¡°We can go on forever if we are to exin these things. In the future, all these basic things will be systematically exined to the freshmen before they enter the New World for the first time. You are an exception.¡±


    ¡°Judge Academy will send someone to help him understand these things,¡± Hank answered quickly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand English,¡± Xiao Lin gave a very curt response.


    The president had a headache. ¡°How about I send someone to apany Xiao Lin? After all, it¡¯d be more convenient for people in my school tomunicate. There are still many things that need attention before going to the New World.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Hank thought for a while before nodding simultaneously in agreement.


    The president rubbed his hands and looked at Hank, ¡°Well then, I¡¯m sure you know that even senior students or graduates have many things to do. If you want to get them to go to Judge Academy, it¡¯s all a question ofbor costs...¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless. Was that a buy-one-get-one-free offer?


    Hank finally lost it and jumped up. He shook his head like a rattle and objected, ¡°NO! Absolutely not! If I agree, I¡¯ll be sliced in half by my superiors when I return!¡±


    The president¡¯s baby face looked quite dejected. He was not trying to deliberately embarrass the American, but he had no power¡ªnot even with his president¡¯s authority¡ªtopel any senior or graduate to apany Xiao Lin to Judge Academy for free. It was almost impossible for them to do so unless they were paid.


    ¡°Maybe you can have Department Head Songe along with me?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly proposed.


    ¡°Department Head Song? Which Department Head Song?¡± The president asked nkly and quickly realized. ¡°You mean Song Jung, the Head of the Logistics Department?¡±


    ¡°Yes, him!¡±


    The president looked at Xiao Lin hesitantly for a moment and before mulling over the idea. ¡°I heard that the two of you get along well, but I don¡¯t think your rtionship with him is so good that he would be willing to apany you to America for no reason. It¡¯ll be good if you can convince him, but if not, I¡¯m afraid I can only ask Judge Academy for the favor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call him!¡± Xiao Lin was not very sure, but instead of going to apletely unfamiliar academy all by himself, he felt that it would be better to find a reliable person to apany him. After living at Dawn Academy for a month, the only person he knew who met that requirement was Department Head Song.


    Based on what Xiao Lin knew, Department Head Song usually woke up at around that time on weekends and might be washing up or having lunch. The call quickly connected and the virtual image of Song Jung in pajamas with bread in his mouth appeared through the magic cell phone.


    Xiao Lin expected such a scene and briefly exined everything.


    After listening to everything, Song Jung widened his eyes and finished the bread in his mouth in two bites. Ignoring the crumbs at the corners of his mouth, he shouted with spittle flying everywhere, ¡°What? You want me to go to America! I don¡¯t care what reasons you have for going there, but why should I apany you! Have you gone bonkers after the monthly exam? Don¡¯t you know I have loads of stuff to do at my farm¡ªahem¡ªI mean my Logistics Department, everyday!¡±


    Xiao Lin murmured, ¡°What else could you be doing other than spraying hypnotics on your cabbages or something like that? Just have the president arrange people to take care of them for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t use the student union president to threaten me! Someone higher-up is taking care of me and I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Song Jung looked absolutely frustrated.


    The student union president coughed a few times to indicate that he was still there. Hank shrugged and turned around wisely to show that he would not interfere with the Dawn Academy¡¯s internal affairs.


    Xiao Lin was silent for a while and sighed. ¡°Then I won¡¯t bother you, Department Head Song.¡±


    Song Jung snorted twice. ¡°I¡¯ll hang up if there¡¯s nothing else.¡±


    Xiao Lin then said, ¡°Well, actually, there is one more thing. I didn¡¯t perform very well in this monthly exam and ended up getting a bad grade because of the side effects of the burning Fire Chicken that you gave me before. I thought about it for a while and I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to participate in your diet therapy research in the future...¡±


    The corner of Song Jung¡¯s eyes twitched noticeably. He was silent for less than a second and his expression changed rapidly. A heartyugh soon followed and he said, ¡°I was just kidding! Did you actually take that seriously! Come on, what are we? Of course, I¡¯ll help you. This is no biggie! Tell me, when are we going to Judge Academy!¡±


    ¡°The specific time hasn¡¯t been set yet and I¡¯ll let you know once I get news! But if you¡¯re really busy, then it¡¯s okay if you can¡¯te with me.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, you don¡¯t consider me as a friend anymore if you say that again! Don¡¯t worry, just let me know if you¡¯re facing any difficulties and I¡¯ll help you as much as I can. After all, someone high-up is watching over me!¡±


    ...


    The student union president¡¯s face was a bit stiff after Xiao Lin hung up. He had no idea whether he should admire Xiao Lin¡¯s quick-witted wisdom or denounce Song Jung for being so hical. After a long while, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to make arrangements with Department Head Song¡¯s Logistics Department and he can rest easy... You seem to have a very good rtionship with him... Hehe.¡±


    Xiao Lin forced a smile. ¡°Yes, we have a very good rtionship... Hehe.¡±


    Now that the chaperone had been selected, it was much easier to handle everything else. Hank seemed to suggest that the sooner they set off, the better, and the best scenario was if they could set off immediately. However, the president indicated that they had to go through many procedures. First of all, Xiao Lin would be absent from school for a month, and it was imperative that their teachers must be briefed. The centralputer must also be notified so Xiao Lin¡¯s daily absence would not be recorded in the attendance. To do all that, the dean must first be informed, and it was the dean who had to give his final approval before they could proceed with the above procedure.


    After sending Hank away, the president said to Xiao Lin, ¡°The entire process won¡¯t be too slow. The procedures will probably bepleted tomorrow or the day after. As for Department Head Song, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to inform him about it. You can rest a bit for these two days. After all, you just finished your monthly exam.¡±

 Chapter 88: Monthly Exam Results

    <h4>Chapter 88: Monthly Exam Results</h4>


    Xiao Lin saw the warm smile on the president¡¯s face and hesitated before asking all of a sudden, ¡°Did you arrange this monthly exam?¡±


    The president nodded. ¡°I discussed with several teachers, as well as other individuals from the student union. The academy always attaches great importance to the freshmen¡¯s performance. The exam¡¯s simtion was only selected after careful consideration.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked again, ¡°Did anyoneplete all three tasks in this exam? Umm, I¡¯m just curious, because I think it¡¯s almost impossible for freshmen like us toplete all three tasks at once.¡±


    ¡°No one did. I just scanned the results of this session, and I can tell you with certainty that the best grades anyone could get in this exam was A. Only three people achieved that,¡± the president answered quickly.


    Xiao Lin did not ask who they were and was unsure whether or not he should breathe a sigh of relief or regret. From that result, his Grade B was actually not that bad, but he was even more curious about how the three people got Grade A.


    The president thought for a while, smiled, and added, ¡°Don¡¯t feel pressured. The first monthly exam for freshmen is often very difficult and we don¡¯t want you to have any misunderstandings about the admission test¡¯s difficulty. The monthly exam is basically a simtion exercise, and the academy¡¯s intention is to have all of you form a greater understanding of things during the first exam.¡±


    Xiao Lin continued asking, ¡°I heard that this exam has been used by many academies all over the world. I wonder if¡ª¡±


    The president understood what Xiao Lin meant and interrupted him. He replied immediately, ¡°As far as I know, our academy¡¯s previous students have received Grade S in this simtion battle, but you don¡¯t need to worry too much because they were all sophomore students. A freshman will find it extremely difficult to get Grade S in this simted exam.¡±


    Xiao Lin persisted with his questioning after keenly noticing that the president termed it as being ¡®extremely difficult¡¯, not ¡®absolutely impossible¡¯. ¡°Does that mean there are freshmen who managed to get Grade S?¡±


    The incessant questions made the president frowned imperceptibly. He hesitated longer before speaking slowly, ¡°Yes, there are freshmen who have obtained Grade S in this setting.¡±


    Then, the president continued exining everything in one go; perhaps he was afraid that Xiao Lin would continue asking further. ¡°That person is an American who was admitted to Judge Academyst year and got Grade S in this Sunset Canyon exam three months after enrolling. Of course, America¡¯s criteria might not be the same as ours, but if they were able to get Grade S, then they must havepleted all the tasks. If you¡¯re really interested, you can ask Judge Academy about it when you go there. This matter isn¡¯t ssified as confidential, so I believe the Americans will tell you about it. Hmm, I don¡¯t know their name, but she has a nickname: the Demon Queen.¡±


    ¡°Demon Queen? What a cool nickname!¡± Xiao Lin muttered. An image of two sharp horns and a terrifying appearance popped up in his mind. He made a mental note of it. In fact, he asked a lot of questions because he wanted to know just how big the gap was between himself and true masters. It was only after he knew the gap that he had the motivation to keep improving himself.


    ¡°Thanks for your answers, President. I¡¯ll head back to rest,¡± Xiao Lin politely said goodbye.


    The president nodded and stopped him all of a sudden. He rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, ¡°I almost forgot to tell you something important after you interrupted me earlier.¡±


    ¡°Something important?¡± Xiao Lin walked back again.


    The smile on the president¡¯s baby face gradually sank and his tone became low and serious. ¡°Hank never made specific mention of what you¡¯re supposed to do when you go to Judge Academy.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it to trante?¡±


    The president snorted softly, ¡°That¡¯s a big fat lie! I won¡¯t tell you much more about the history of Ancient Normese and the Thunder Kingdom because you can check all the relevant information when you head back. What I want to tell you is when you arrive at Judge Academy, try to keep note of every single thing as much as you can, regardless of what they ask you to do. Do you understand what I mean?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood it clearly. ¡°You want me to be a spy. I understand.¡±


    The president¡¯s face twitched and he coughed a few times, ¡°Don¡¯t say that. We¡¯re still allies with Judge Academy. It¡¯s just that this is a rather abnormal matter and we ce importance on... You know what, forget I said anything. You wouldn¡¯t understand anyway. My point is, if they ask you to read something, you must remember as much of it as possible. But don¡¯t go out of your way to do something. if Judge Academy is bold enough to recruit those who understand Ancient Normese from all around the world, they must have taken some precautions.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded and only half-understood everything. The president probably wanted to tell him more, but in the end, the man did not continue exining further. As a freshman, Xiao Lin knew too little about the situation in the New World, nor about the rtionship between the several academies. Eventually, the president waved his hand and sent Xiao Lin away.


    The still-confused Xiao Lin did not head straight back to the dormitory, but came to the Logistics Department first. To his surprise, Song Jung was not there. It was not a problem though, since Xiao Lin¡¯s universal card had been given ess to the department after he agreed to join Department Head Song¡¯s so-called diet therapy research.


    After swiping the card and entering the door, Xiao Lin cautiously passed through the narrow winding path in the middle of the vegetable garden without daring to stop for even a brief moment. The vegetable garden had left asting impression on him after his numerous visits. Weeping Chinese cabbage aside, some leafy greens might suddenly emerge from the soil and open its mouth wide at him. Although it could not go too far because its roots were deeply in the soil, the shock was enough to scare an ordinary person witless.


    When he arrived at the Logistics Department, Xiao Lin waited quietly in the living room. Quite some time had passed and Department Head Song still did note back. Feeling bored, he decided to take a walk around despite the fact that he treated the Logistics Department as though it was a beast¡¯sir. Countless strange hybrid creatures proved to be a sight that was hard to forget, but Xiao Lin¡¯s curiosity got the better of him.


    He reminded himself not to touch therge creatures, and with that thought in mind, he walked out of the living room and headed for the breeding area. A transparent jug on the table soon caught his attention. Compared to the chickens, ducks, snakes, rabbits, and other animals that were kept in special cages around him, there was only a two- to three-inch long loach swimming around inside.


    The loach did not look any different from an ordinary one, but what really attracted Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze was its color. Except for its ck eyes, the loach¡¯s round and smooth body was a brilliant golden color.


    Xiao Lin knew that the creatures of the Logistics Department were not ordinary beings. He watched the beautiful loach carefully and began guessing what kind of biological hybrid the little guy might be.


    Then, azy voice was heard behind him. ¡°Are you interested in this little guy? That¡¯s no good. I¡¯ve no ns to feed this little guy to anyone yet, at least for the time being.¡±


    Department Head Song had finally returned.

 Chapter 89: The Return Journey

    <h4>Chapter 89: The Return Journey</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin retracted his gaze and shook his head grimly. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in eating this loach. I think it¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    Department Head Song widened his eyes as he walked over, torn betweenughter and tears. ¡°Loach? Please. This little guy in front of you is a genuine dragon!¡±


    ¡°Dragon?¡± Xiao Lin looked at the slender loach again. His expression seemed to say ¡®Don¡¯t lie to me just because I don¡¯t know much.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s been injected with golden dragon blood.¡±


    ¡°Golden dragon?¡± Xiao Lin thought of something and suddenly realized, ¡°You attacked the dean¡¯s golden dragon? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely keep it a secret for you after you apany me to Judge Academy.¡±


    Department Head Song was nomittal and snorted twice. ¡°Keep it secret my foot! I have an agreement with the dean! Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this. Speaking of which, it¡¯s time we talk about Judge Academy. What is going on?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea either. When the student union president came to me, I thought it might be some trantion job, but his tone makes me feel like it probably isn¡¯t. And that Hank guy from Judge Academy. He asked me to do a cloze test. Feels really weird.¡± Xiao Lin spread his palms and asked innocently, ¡°That¡¯s why I came here. I wanted to ask you. Don¡¯t you have someone high-up taking care of you? Do you have any inside information?¡±


    Song Jung looked at Xiao Lin with a scrutinizing gaze and sucked his teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure. Do you really know Ancient Normese? Did you learn it in the monthly exam?¡±


    ¡°You could say that, but my level isn¡¯t that high. I¡¯m only at level one.¡±


    Department Head Song shook his head. ¡°This is quite the coincidence. In fact, it¡¯s been about half a month since Judge Academy started recruiting people who understand Ancient Normese. They didn¡¯t intend toe to Dawn Academy, but few people in other academies understand thisnguage. In the end, they decided to try everything in desperation and sent someone to ask Dawn Academy. In the end, they really did find what they were looking for.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°That someone happens to be me... I¡¯m curious though, there¡¯s so many other colonist academies throughout the world aside from Dawn Academy. Couldn¡¯t they find anyone who understands Ancient Normese within the span of a hundred years?¡±


    Song Jung sat down, fiddled with the golden loach in the pitcher, and exined casually, ¡°First of all, do you understand what Ancient Normese is? Do you know the difference between Ancient Normese and Norma¡¯smonnguage?¡±


    Xiao Lin recalled every character in Ancient Normese andpared it to Standard Normese; Ancient Normese was obviously more cumbersome, with each character being much moreplicated and difficult to understand. He thought about it and replied, ¡°Is it equivalent to the difference between simplified and traditional Chinese?¡±


    Song Jung nodded approvingly, but shook his head again. ¡°You¡¯ve got it, but the analogy is not entirely correct. The difference between Standard Normese and Ancient Normese is equivalent to simplified Chinese and oracle bone script.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. ¡°Simplified Chinese and oracle bone script is considered Chinese, but there are few who understand simplified Chinese and oracle bone script ... I understand what you mean. That means there are few people who understand Ancient Normese?¡±


    Song Jung pondered for a moment and said, ¡°The history of Ancient Normese¡¯s use on Norma dates back tens of thousands of years. As the years passed, thenguage has proven to be extremely difficult to use and not at all ubiquitous. Many countries in Norma had gradually abandoned Ancient Normese and adopted a simplernguage, now known as Standard Normese. Even so, there are very few countries who still insist on using Ancient Normese.¡±


    ¡°Was the Thunder Kingdom one of them?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Yes. There are fewer and fewer countries using Ancient Normese, and by forty-five N.C., the Thunder Kingdom was the only country in Norma that still used thatnguage. Even so, few Thunder Kingdom people could fluently converse with it. Those who could were only royals or noblemen. After the Thunder Kingdom was destroyed, Judge Academy killed all royalty and noblemen in the kingdom to prevent a possible rebellion, thereby exterminating the fate of Ancient Normese.¡±


    Song Jung had a bitter expression on his face when he mentioned that. ¡°Who would¡¯ve known that, more than a centuryter, Judge Academy would have to face such an awkward situation needing Ancient Normese. They¡¯re probably regretting it now and wondering why they didn¡¯t spare a few royals or noblemen in the past.¡±


    As for what Judge Academy wanted, Department Head Song¡¯s hands were tied because Judge Academy would surely ssify it as confidential. Song Jung did not believe that the other party would actually reveal the entire truth to outsiders like them once they arrived at Judge Academy.


    If Department Head Song¡ªwho knew someone high-up¡ªhad no idea what everything was about, it would not be helpful for Xiao Lin to rack his brains over it. Xiao Lin therefore decided to set everything aside. From his personal point of view, his visit to Judge Academy was regarded as an expatriate mission. Other than getting a remuneration, the most important point was that he could finally go to Norma ahead of time to see the New World that they would colonize in the future!


    As Xiao Lin thought of that, he was overjoyed and could not help but ask, ¡°Then when can we set off? Are we going straight to the New World?¡±


    Song Jung shot him a weird smile. ¡°Looks like you still don¡¯t know much about the procedure. We¡¯re going to Judge Academy¡¯s colony in the New World. This is a veryplicated process. First thing¡¯s first: we need to return to the Earth and go to America. Then, we must enter Judge Academy¡¯s self-contained space through a certain spatial point on American soil. Only then can we traverse through Judge Academy¡¯s portal and enter their colony.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little dumbfounded. ¡°That troublesome, huh? Can¡¯t we just go there directly?¡±


    ¡°Each academy has a portal to the New World, but the portal operates by way of fixed-point teleportation. The starting point and the destination cannot be changed.¡± Department Head Song waved his hand, ¡°America¡¯s colony in the New World doesn¡¯t border ours at all. Of course, we can also enter our own colony first through Dawn Academy¡¯s portal, but then you¡¯d have to take a boat northward for at least a two-to-three-month journey before reaching Judge Academy¡¯s colony. Byparison, returning to Earth first is the quickest way.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re returning to Earth first?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly realized that the time ratio between the academy and Earth was 1:2. A month in the academy equaled two months on Earth.


    Dawn Academy implemented a strictly sealed-off administration system. Under usual circumstances, no one was allowed to return as and when they pleased. In other words, unless they failed the admissions test and were sent back to Earth, other formal students would not have any opportunity to return for at least one year. It was all clearly written in the freshman code. Although most found it difficult to ept the fact that they were unable to go home for two years, the rules set by the academy would not be changed simply because of their protests.


    After leaving the Logistics Department, Xiao Lin¡¯s excitement of going to the New World was somewhat diminished. The thought of his parents, as well as the fact that he was going back to Earth, left Xiao Lin with a gamut of emotions. He felt that he should take the opportunity to go home and have a look at the situation because he did not know when he could return to Earth again if he missed that opportunity.

 Chapter 90: The Monitors’ Discussions

    <h4>Chapter 90: The Monitors¡¯ Discussions</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was already evening when Xiao Lin returned to the dormitory. After going to the cafeteria for dinner, he met Cheng Ming and the others chatting in the lounge while on the way back to his room. After Cheng Ming¡¯s sharp eyes recognized him, he called out to Xiao Lin, leaving thetter no choice but to join them in the lounge.


    There were five or six individuals with Cheng Ming, the names of which Xiao Lin did not know. What he did know was that those people were acting monitors of the other sses. After their enrolment, the acting monitors gradually formed their own small circle. Xiao Lin was the only one excluded from said circle. They were all drinking tea and coffee, chatting about the monthly exam that had just ended.


    The others were not as friendly toward Xiao Lin as Cheng Ming. They simply nodded politely when Xiao Lin came over and did not even bother to stand up. One of the guys suddenly asked, ¡°What grade did you get in your exam, Xiao Lin?¡±


    Before Xiao Lin could speak, Cheng Ming had patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Xiao Lin got Grade B, which is way better than me. Sigh, if I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve engaged in the duel with the wolf cavalry captain. I lost ten years and I didn¡¯t even end up killing the guy. In the end, no one else in our ss managed toplete the required tasks...¡±


    Cheng Ming began prattling away as soon as he had something to talk about. A ponytailed girl who was immersed in a newspaper suddenly looked up and nced unexpectedly at Xiao Lin. She asked, ¡°Grade B. Did you beat that Norma woman?¡±


    Xiao Lin had seen her in the magic training room before and replied, ¡°Her me Shield was a bit tricky, but luckily we managed to capture the woman.¡±


    Cheng Ming hurriedly asked, ¡°And then what happened? What did you do with that Norma woman? We were discussing her just now and the woman seemed a bit weird.¡±


    Xiao Lin probably guessed what they were talking about. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about thest spell she wanted to use, I actually killed her before she finished chanting.¡±


    With that answer, more and more people looked up at him in surprise. A man asked, ¡°That woman lied to all of us eventually. How did you know that you were supposed to kill her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that difficult to deal with her. The me Shield is obviously a hindrance, but she doesn¡¯t have much defense against physical attacks. I originally thought that she would be the key topleting our optional tasks, but who knew in the end...¡±


    ¡°I should¡¯ve killed her first!¡±


    Several acting monitors joined the discussion one after another and Xiao Lin realized that the Norma woman tricked many people. Not everyone was as lucky as him to be able to use the replication skill and understand Ancient Normese. Without it, his grade might only be C at most.


    Cheng Mingughed and exined to Xiao Lin, smiling, ¡°We¡¯ve just learned about what happened to all the sses. Basically, all twelve sses arrived at the supply depot and met the Norma woman. Those in ss Three killed that woman immediately, and although ss Two won, the number of survivors was insufficient, so they failed to meet the minimum requirement of thirty percent. The other seven sses defeated her, but only one killed her. All other sses chose to hold her captive. They also bet with me just now that the ending was unavoidable, but I never expected you to be the only one among these six sses who actually managed to evade that spell at thest moment!¡±


    ¡°What spell did that Norma woman use in the end?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    The ponytailed girl shook her head and replied. ¡°Some fire spell. I don¡¯t know the name, but its power was absolutely terrifying. From my guess, its damage rating is at least E or higher, maybe even D? Anyway, after she cast the spell, the whole cave went up in mes. None of us could get away.¡±


    Xiao Lin nced at the acting monitors who were either regretful or ashamed. Some of them realized that they were probably the ones who were duped by that woman, and because they had notpleted the mandatory tasks when they died, the highest evaluation they could get was Grade C.


    As Xiao Lin expected, the monthly exam was actually to make those new students understand their identity as colonizers and conquerors. If they did not figure that out, they would most likely be tricked by the Norma woman. In fact, she had also deceived Xiao Lin, but he eventually used his SS-level talent to forcibly bring them back from death¡¯s door.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mood improved inexplicably, but he suddenly became curious. The student union president had told him that three people achieved Grade A in the monthly exam, so he enquired them about it.


    Many people¡¯s faces became quite surprised yet again. Cheng Ming coughed a few times. ¡°You¡¯re quite well-informed. We just saw it on the forum too. They¡¯re from ss Three. Three of them from ss Threepleted the first optional task. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯re the only people in our entire year who got Grade A.¡±


    Xiao Lin wondered. ¡°Did they convince the Norma woman to take them into the barracks?¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s expression turned slightly odd. ¡°No. They convinced the Norma man. You probably don¡¯t know that the man in the caravan was her lover...¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡±


    Cheng Ming seemed puzzled. ¡°Oh, well, anyway, the acting monitor of ss Three persuaded this man to betray her. God knows how she did it. She even told the man to kill his lover on the spot, and after finally being driven to a dead end, the man could only help themplete the tasks.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless. The result proved to be an unexpected gambit, but the optional task of killing the wolf cavalry captain still remained iplete. It was also proof that ss Seven was not entirely weak.


    The topic did notst long and everyone was generally dissatisfied with the monthly exams. Afterparing their results however, they discovered that everyone was about the same, so they reluctantly epted it.


    ¡°Why did the student union president ask for you?¡± Cheng Ming was still concerned about Xiao Lin.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing big, but I might not be able to attend sses next month,¡± Xiao Lin answered bluntly.


    ¡°What the hell did you do? Why are they banning you from attending your sses?¡± Cheng Ming really became anxious, believing that the student union president was banning Xiao Lin from attending sses. The other acting monitors lost interest in that topic. They either continued to drink tea or look down at their newspapers.


    Xiao Lin deliberated for a moment. ¡°No, but I¡¯ll probably return to Earth maybe tomorrow or the day after.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Cheng Ming¡¯s eyes widened, and he eximed, ¡°You¡¯ll be sent back to Earth?¡±


    His loud voice attracted the attention of many people. After realizing that Cheng Ming realized that he was bothering others, he lowered his voice considerably, though it was still loud enough that everyone in the quiet lounge could hear. It attracted the curious gazes of more and more people.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯ll be back in a month. I¡¯m just going out for some official business and I might probably go to the New World.¡±


    On that asion, several acting monitors turned around with incredulous looks on their faces.


    More and more people began to walk toward him and Xiao Lin hurriedly ran away when he saw the situation getting worse. He fled back to his room before everyone else surrounded him.

 Chapter 91: Gu Xiaoyue’s Request

    <h4>Chapter 91: Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Request</h4>


    After those freshmen passed the admissions test and became Dawn Academy¡¯s official students, they were forced to ept a very cruel and unepted fact. Due to the academy¡¯s tight management, they were not allowed to return to Earth for the entire freshman year.


    If they failed to meet the requirements for entering sophomore year, they would have to repeat their freshman year, which meant that they might not have the opportunity to go home for at least a year or two. The academy was located in a pocket dimension, where time flowed at a different ratepared to Earth.


    Therefore, news of Xiao Lin¡¯s return to Earth¡ªdespite being a freshman that had been at the academy for only a month¡ªspread quickly, and so did the news that he might go to the New World. Dawning Forum¡¯s posts were refreshed at a very fast rate that night. All eyes were on that news, more so than the monthly exam that just ended.


    There were people in the forum who envied Xiao Lin¡¯s chance to see the New World in advance. Others envied him for being able to return to Earth, as many inevitably missed their family after spending a month at the academy.


    On the other end of the spectrum, the majority of people questioned the entire thing and put forth their own arguments. For example, the freshman rules clearly stated that freshmen were not allowed to return to Earth, as well as the fact that a freshmen¡¯s constitution might not be able to adapt to the New World.


    There were a very small number of people who spected out of spite that Xiao Lin would be sent back to Earth forever because of his record of absenteeism and average monthly exam scores.


    Although Judge Academy did not deem the arrangement as confidential, Xiao Lin had no intention of offering any more exnations. Moreover, he was equally as clueless; he had no idea what he was supposed to do when he went to Judge Academy, so he refrained from showing himself on the forum.


    Within ss Seven¡¯s group, Wang Dalin began arrogantly mocking Xiao Lin for not being apetent monitor. He pointed out that it was Xiao Lin¡¯s fault that everyone got poor grades in the monthly exam. Three minutester, everyone received a notification that Wang Dalin had been banned again...


    ¡°Great job, Monitor!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t add these kinds of people into the group next time.¡±


    ¡°We owe our thanks to Monitor Xiao. If not for him, we wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve gotten that result in the exam!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked a few of our friends from the other sses. The ss with the most Grade Bs seems to be our ss! ss Seven!¡±


    ...


    In contrast to before, Xiao Lin had gained noticeable support within his ss group. On closer scrutiny, those people mainly consisted of those who followed him during the exam. Even though Xiao Lin had admitted his shorings and acknowledged his misjudgment that nearly led to everyone¡¯s death, he still yed a key role in saving everyone during the two crucial battles.


    Those who went the other way with Wang Dalin questioned the group who went with Xiao Lin. Although many people continued to express doubt, their acknowledgment of Xiao Lin as acting monitor rose rather considerably.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s night was bound to be a restless one. Someone posted his phone number on the forum and he received all kinds of unfamiliar calls, mostly from other sses¡¯ students. Everyone came to ask him about it after hearing that he was going to return to Earth. Their purpose of making such indirect inquiries was to ask him to help them a little if it was convenient.


    In the beginning, Xiao Lin listened more carefully for the simple fact that they were all freshmen. The initial requests were quite typical, such as conveying their greetings to their parents, visiting their children, boyfriends, or girlfriends. Xiao Lin had to turn them down politely.


    Department Head Song mentioned earlier that their return to Earth was to smoothen their journey. Due to Judge Academy¡¯s urgent request, they would have to reach American soil quickly before entering Judge Academy. Xiao Lin was unsure whether he had enough free time to move around, because even if he did, the first thing he would do was go back to his own home.


    As time went by however, more and more people heard about it and called Xiao Lin with increasingly strange requests. Examples include bringing game consoles or magazines, to the video highlights of thetest ball games. Some even made cryptic requests for him to download ¡®colorful[1]¡¯ movies...


    Life at Dawn Academy was generally quite boring, despite the academy¡¯s ster job in terms of providing material goods. Although the amodation and food provided were excellent, there were no TV shows, no Inte, no magazines, no games, no anime, no sports games, and no fiction novels. Truthfully speaking, it was very hard to bear.


    Xiao Lin had no idea whether tough or cry because of that. He eagerly switched off his phone and had no ns to answer anyone¡¯s calls. He went to Earth because it was incidental to the journey, not because he was going there on vacation.


    Half an hourter however, there was a knock on his room door. Xiao Lin guessed that it was probably someone who wanted to make a request for him to bring something back. He wanted to ignore it, but the person who knocked was very persistent and it grew so loud that it interfered with his rest.


    Xiao Lin got up angrily and opened the door, ready to unleash a wave of profanities on the person. When he saw the pretty figure in front of the door, he swallowed his cruel words and smiled kindly. ¡°Is that you, Gu Xiaoyue? What a surprise. Please,e in. Oh, wait, no, wait a moment.¡±


    The person standing beautifully outside the door was Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin was just about to wee her into his room. All of a sudden however, Xiao Lin remembered something and closed the door. He hurried back in and threw the unwashed socks and underwear into his drawer before tidying up his messy bed. He scanned all around and decided that everything looked okay. Barely a few stepster, he sniffed the air and immediately opened the window.


    Once that was all done, he opened the door again. Gu Xiaoyue nced at him nkly and walked straight in, with Xiao Lin following her from behind. He looked at the girl¡¯s delicately-fair yet still-indifferent face and was unable to immediately discern the reason for herte-night visit. As someone with a very precise schedule, she went to bed early and woke up early too. There was hardly ever a time when she went out at night, much less visit her ssmates.


    In fact, after a month since their enrolment, Xiao Lin suspected that the only person Gu Xiaoyue knew in the entire freshmen year was himself, and barely so. She often kept a polite and aloof distance from other people, and her acquaintance with Xiao Lin was only limited to academic exchanges, especially in spell-rted courses. The two of them asionally discussed it, but it went without saying Xiao Lin was usually the one asking her for tutge.


    Gu Xiaoyue was a girl of few words. She sat on the bedside ever since she walked in and her pearly white teeth were chewing her lips slightly. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was hesitant to actually speak up.


    Xiao Lin smiled and broke the awkward silence. ¡°Did you want my help to bring something back for you after hearing that I¡¯ll be returning to Earth soon?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue brushed the hair around her ears and straightened her sses. She nodded earnestly and acknowledged. ¡°Mm.¡±


    Xiao Lin was only joking, but he ended up feeling rather surprised after getting a positive reply. ¡°Huh? Uh... Ok, ok, what do you need me to bring back for you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I need your help to send something back.¡± Gu Xiaoyue lowered her head slightly. A girl as independent as her was probably unustomed to asking others for help and there was a touch of unexpected shyness in her tone. After thinking for a while, she immediately exined, ¡°I originally wanted to wait until I got into sophomore year. I wanted to use my chance to go to Earth and personally give her this, but it might be a long time before we can see each other and I¡¯m scared it¡¯ll be a cause for concern, so I just want to...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand. What do you need me to take? I can only guarantee that I¡¯ll do my best, because I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll have enough time after returning to Earth.¡± Xiao Lin felt it imprudent to exin too much about Judge Academy¡¯s invitation, but the girl¡¯s tone made him feel rather jealous.


    Send what to whom? Could it be Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s boyfriend on Earth?


    Xiao Lin thought about it and realized¡ªalbeit rather reluctantly¡ªthat his mood worsened a little because of that.


    [1] In case anyone doesn¡¯t get this, É« in the usual sense of the word refers to color, but euphemistically it can refer to anything along the lines of sex/sexual/perverted/explicit (you get the idea).

 Chapter 92: Before Departure

    <h4>Chapter 92: Before Departure</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue did not notice Xiao Lin¡¯s expression and continued. ¡°It¡¯s a letter. If you don¡¯t have enough time, you can just send it to the post office.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was in a bit of a mess and he asked without thinking, ¡°A love letter?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue nced at him and pushed her sses up before answering, ¡°It¡¯s a letter to my little sister.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Your little sister! Thank goodness then!¡± A sense of relief came over Xiao Lin all of a sudden.


    ¡°Thank goodness?¡± Gu Xiaoyue looked at him strangely.


    Xiao Lin quickly concealed the expression on his face. ¡°Ahem, nothing. Okay, I¡¯ll do my best to personally deliver that letter, and if I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll help you to post it. Where does your sister live?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue mentioned an address and Xiao Lin jotted it down immediately with pen and paper. He then remarked out of the blue, ¡°At the Xiling Academy of Fine Arts. I heard that it¡¯s really hard to get in that fine arts academy. Your sister¡¯s quite amazing. She¡¯ll definitely be a great painter in the future.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue turned her head slightly to reveal her delicate side profile, as if she did not want Xiao Lin to see her expression at the moment. Xiao Lin nevertheless spotted a tear from the corner of the girl¡¯s eyes. Gu Xiaoyue never usually showed any sad expressions, let alone cry.


    Xiao Lin froze. With no idea as to what he mistakenly said, all he could do was apologize. ¡°Umm, I must¡¯ve said something wrong. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue took a moment to regain herposure. The trademark indifference that characterized her reappeared once she turned to look at him. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she shook her head and said, ¡°No, just remembered my sister.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your sister?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Her legs have been paralyzed since she was a child. Painting is the only way for her to kill time and she¡¯s always wanted to be a painter.¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice was low and there was a hint of lingering sadness.


    Xiao Lin was startled by it and apologized again. ¡°Sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have brought it up. Didn¡¯t your parents take your sister to see a doctor. Are you sure it can¡¯t be cured?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice grew colder. ¡°We don¡¯t have parents.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth was agape and he immediately pictured a scenario. The two sisters were orphans because their parents died since they were young and they depended on each other ever since. The elder one then rushed around doing work and making money in order to treat her little sister. His eyes became a little sympathetic as he thought about it and he felt like he should offer some help. He therefore said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I bring some money to your sister? I¡¯m going back for some matters and I think the academy will help with this.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue looked at him strangely. ¡°My family isn¡¯t short of money. My sister was able to go to this fine arts academy because I donated a lot of money.¡±


    His imaginary scene was instantly shattered and Xiao Lin cleared his throat, embarrassed. Even so, his curiosity about the girl¡¯s family had increased even more, but Gu Xiaoyue had stopped talking and no longer wished to expound further. In the end, she handed him the beautiful envelope.


    Xiao Lin felt that the atmosphere was a bit solemn, and after receiving the envelope, he joked, ¡°You trust me a lot, don¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll peek at your letter during its journey?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue nced at him. ¡°Do as you please. I wrote it in code. You wouldn¡¯t understand it.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s jaw dropped and he was speechless. He thought to himself, ¡®Are you some kind of secret gang that still writes letters in code?¡¯ Eventually, he could only ask sheepishly, ¡°Are you sure your sister can understand it?¡±


    ¡°We used to y these games when we were young.¡±


    ¡°Well then, there¡¯s nothing else I can say...¡±


    After sending Gu Xiaoyue off, no one else came to bother him. It was understandable that he would be both physically and mentally tired after the monthly exam. Xiao Lin could finally rx and have a good night¡¯s sleep.


    Xiao Lin got up early as soon as the sun shone the next day. He was unsure whether the procedures for returning to Earth could bepleted that day, and if it was postponed until the day after, he felt that he should not miss that day¡¯s sses. Barely 10 minutes into his Basic Swordsmanship lesson, the ear-piercing tone of his cell phone began ringing.


    The student union president appeared on screen as soon as the call was connected. He did not say much but asked Xiao Lin to rush to the student union office immediately. If all went well, Xiao Lin could set off that very morning.


    Everything happened faster than expected, which surprised Xiao Lin somewhat. Under the ugly expression of the T-rex teacher, as well as the envy and hatred of other students, Xiao Lin trotted out of the training hall. His first stop was to the dormitory, where he took Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s letter and had a change of clothes again. Wearing the school uniform on Earth was definitely not rmended, so he changed back to the short-sleeve tee and jeans he had on when he first entered the academy.


    When he reached the student union office again, Song Jung was already waiting there, talking to the president. The two of them probably knew each other for a long time already, but did not seem too close. After seeing Xiao Lining in, their conversation stopped immediately.


    ¡°The dean gave his approval very quickly this time. I received a reply from the old man in the wee hours today,¡± the president exined briefly in a few words and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s really urgent on Judge Academy¡¯s end, so I thought that you might as well leave this morning itself.¡±


    ¡°Where is Mr. Hank?¡± Xiao Lin did not see American anywhere.


    ¡°He returned to Earth yesterday evening because he has to settle some things for you in advance. He also needs to report to Judge Academy.¡±


    The president carefully took out a light gold jade pendant from a purple box on the table. He handed it over to Xiao Lin and said, ¡°The dean sent someone to deliver this to the academy overnight. He told me to make sure that you wear it.¡±


    Xiao Lin took the jade pendant and ced it in his hand to observe carefully. The jade pendant had an oval shape with carvings of various unrecognizable andplex patterns inteced with each other. It felt warm and moist, as if something was flowing inside. Xiao Lin asked curiously, ¡°Is this a protective amulet?¡±


    The president answered helplessly, ¡°The dean didn¡¯t say anything else, but he wants you to wear this jade pendant at all times. Never take it off. The dean won¡¯t harm you, so all you have to do is follow his instructions.¡±


    ¡°Is this thing rare? What¡¯s it used for?¡± Xiao Lin muttered. He held the jade pendant and fiddled with it, but could not determine what its purpose was.


    Xiao Lin was about to bite down on it when Song Jung¡¯s eyes twitched and he saidzily, ¡°Where is all your nonsenseing from? You¡¯re told to wear it, so just wear it! Tsk, tsk. The fact that the dean actually gave this to you makes me wonder if you¡¯re the old man¡¯s illegitimate child!¡±


    ¡°Do not speak nonsense, Department Head Song!¡± The president respected the dean a lot and warned Song Jung with a smile. His gazended on the delicate jade pendant again and there were traces of confusion in his expression. He soon realized something and was ovee with horror. He nced at the Song Jung, who looked rather nonchnt, and finally chose to maintain his silence.


    In any case, Xiao Lin determined that the jade pendant was not something ordinary and proceeded to wear it around his neck. The student union president was still somewhat worried and so briefed Xiao Lin on a couple of things. For example, they had to be strictly mindful of disclosing Dawn Academy¡¯s existence on Earth. The academy had a strict monitoring system that oversaw such matters, and the consequences would be disastrous once discovered.


    Xiao Lin was also told to think twice about his actions after going to Judge Academy. As a representative of Dawn Academy, a slight mistake might cause diplomatic disputes between the two schools, and worse still, conflicts that ended in war.

 Chapter 93: Wormhole

    <h4>Chapter 93: Wormhole</h4>


    The student union president appeared to be very worried for Xiao Lin. It was quite an unprecedented move for a freshman to travel to a foreign academy¡¯s colony.


    Song Jung casually and unceremoniously interrupted the president¡¯s nagging, ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound so serious. War? It¡¯s not like things haven¡¯t changed from a hundred years ago. Who would dare to start a war for no reason?¡±


    ¡°Diplomatic disputes. I¡¯m sure you acknowledge this.¡± The president was increasingly helpless and he nearly forgot that the department head beside him was not so easy to fool.


    ¡°Xiao Lin is a freshman, but I¡¯m not. It¡¯s like you¡¯re worried about me too!¡±


    ...


    After finally leaving the student union, Xiao Lin followed Department Head Song all the way to the deepest part of the academy. It was a huge open-air tform that was about the size of two football fields. In the center of the tform was a cone-shaped crystal stone almost 100 meters high. Colorful bright lights were ced in the center and a soft halo circled the entire tform.


    It was a sight to behold for Xiao Lin. He had not been to that area and would never have been able to either, as there was a huge iron gate in front of the tform and at least a dozen people guarding it closely. When Song Jung came over, he had to endure more than 10 minutes of inspection and inquiries. In the end, he was finally released after it was confirmed that there were no issues.


    Song Jung warned in a low voice, ¡°This is the Teleportation Square. It¡¯s the most important ce in the entire academy. Stay with me at all times. Don¡¯t run around and touch stuff. There¡¯s a ton of defense measures and countermeasure magic formations around here. Any one of them can blow you up so terribly that not even dust would be left of you!¡±


    There were very few people on the Teleportation Square. Several train-like carriages were arranged on the white marble. Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not hallucinating. He pointed to the carriages and asked in a weird tone, ¡°We¡¯ll ride these back to Earth?¡±


    ¡°Well, duh. You want to go back all by yourself?¡± Song Jung rolled his eyes and walked to a small light-blue carriage. After showing the relevant documents to the guard next to him, thetter nodded, opened the door, and motioned the two of them to get in.


    The inside of the carriage was narrower than the outside and could only amodate about three or four people. Xiao Lin casually touched it and felt the carriage¡¯s cold and firm walls. It was by no means made out of ordinary metal. There were no windows in the carriage, and when the doors were closed from the outside, everything became a pitch ck inside.


    The dark and airtight environment made Xiao Lin a little uneasy, but Song Jung was used to it. Azy voice came from the darkness, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the teleportation passage to Earth is very short. It¡¯ll be ten minutes at most.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not what I imagined,¡± Xiao Lin said pensively. In fact, it was entirely different from what he had in mind.


    Department Head Song smiled softly. ¡°What kind of teleportation did you think it would be? Did you suppose that a few spells would be recited and you¡¯ll just vanish with a swoosh?¡±


    ¡°Uh, almost.¡±


    ¡°You read too many novels!¡±


    Unconvinced, Xiao Lin continued, ¡°Professor Dai in his history ss mentioned that simr novels or scripts on Earth were actually written by people from Dawn Academy who had their memories erased before being sent back to Earth. They ought to be right somehow.¡±


    Song Jung fell silent and said, ¡°If you put it that way, then yes. but the teleportation that you mentioned can only be used by people who are at least on Gold rank. For insignificant side characters like us, we can only sit properly in this transdimensional carriage, or the chaotic energy in the teleportation channel would shred us to pieces.¡±


    ¡°Did we also travel here through this when we first came to the academy?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The admissions notice was used to gather you at the teleportation point first. You were then thrown into this transdimensional carriage and brought to the academy. The process is slightly moreplicated, but if you¡¯re interested, you can ask the Admissions Department¡¯s head.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know him that well.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin gradually rxed after some brief exchanges. At that point, a harsh tearing sound rang in his ear, as if something had been torn in the blink of an eye. He felt a violent vibration in the carriage and it soon slid forward for a certain distance before going motionless once again.


    Xiao Lin was about to open his mouth to ask when beams of kaleidoscopic light projected in from all directions. The carriage¡¯s interior suddenly became as bright as daylight. Xiao Lin closed his eyes and reopened them slowly after adjusting to it. He was soon left speechless when he found that Song Jung¡ªwho had experienced it before¡ªwas closing his eyes tightly.


    Xiao Lin could not me the guy for deliberately failing to warn him about it. Xiao Lin was even more surprised than before when he experienced that dreamlike light, as there was a huge amount of sand-like dust amidst the beams. When he stretched out his hand to touch them, the fine sand passed directly through his palm, like a formless mirage.


    ¡°Timesand. Only appears in the wormhole.¡± Department Head Song looked at it with some interest before retracting his gaze. After all, it was not the first time he had seen such a thing.


    Xiao Lin was filled with enthusiasm. Shuttling through space and time was a very novel experience for him. They were probably within the wormhole at that moment, but he did not feel any from the carriage. Furthermore, the surroundings werepletely sealed, but the golden Timesand could flow unimpeded throughout.


    ¡°Will it be the same when we go to the New World?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Department Head Song nodded. ¡°You can actually consider colonist academies as transit stations in the space-time passageway, connecting Earth to Norma.¡±


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t we go directly to Norma from Earth?¡± Xiao Lin asked with interest.


    ¡°It was possible at first, but... How should I put this?¡± Song Jung scratched his head and thought for a long time before slowly exining, ¡°Two points and a line. The two points are Earth and Norma, and the line that connects them both is the wormhole. The earliest pioneers used this tunnel to reach Norma directly from Earth, but everyone soon discovered that it was very risky because the wormhole would fluctuate from time to time. It could change from a straight line to a winding one, and if people happen to be in it when it changed, they would bepletely lost in the chaos of endless space and would be unable toe back forever.¡±


    After thinking more about it, he said again, ¡°Travelling between two different spaces was very risky in the early days. The pioneerster worked very hard on Norma for countless years, and their strength increased, but the limits of human power precluded from changing the fluctuations of time and space. Even so, they managed to find apromise: to create an additional point to form a triangle with Earth and the Norma World. Do you understand this principle?¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°I do. A triangle is the most stable.¡±


    Department Head Song gestured to the void with his hand. ¡°Correct. This principle is also applicable in space. The extra point is the colonial academies. By forming a stable triangle through this point, a passageway can be established without any twists and turns urring.¡±

 Chapter 94: Back to Earth

    <h4>Chapter 94: Back to Earth</h4>


    Xiao Lin still had plenty of questions, such as how the carriage was driven, what materials it was made of, and how the wormholes were positioned. Song Jung gave a simple exnation to some of them, but he did not know much about the other answers. He simply said that knowledge rting to spaces and realms were extremely profound, and only graduates would slowly learn about it.


    The concept of time did not exist in the spatial tunnel. It was not until the golden Timesand gradually dimmed in the air and the carriage reverted to darkness that Xiao Lin understood it to be the end of that short journey. He had been silently calcting the time in his heart, and the entire journey really did take about 10 or so minutes.


    The door of the carriage opened from the outside and a dazzling light shone right in. Xiao Lin looked around after getting off and found that theyout was simr to that of Dawn Academy. There was also a cone-shaped crystal in the center, but it was rtively small and was lc in color.


    After getting out of the carriage, Xiao Lin noticed that there was an arched gate directly in front. The door frame was still filled with crystal dust, and the light blue teleportation circle in the center¡ªwhich bore resemnce to an actual wormhole¡ªshrunk rapidly until it disappearedpletely.


    There were already people waiting outside the carriage for some time. A man in white casual clothes enthusiastically shook hands with Song Jung after thetter got off. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Department Head Song! You haven¡¯t been back on Earth for many years now.¡±


    Department Head Song was filled with emotion. He looked around and murmured. ¡°It¡¯s probably beem three or four years since Ist came, but your base hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡±


    The man curled his lips. ¡°While I do want to redecorate, you¡¯re well aware that the focus of Dawn Academy has always been the New World. The resources given to the Earth Division are very limited.¡±


    On noticing the surrounding rock walls and the spiraling stone stairs, Xiao Lin asked in surprise, ¡°Are we in a cave?¡±


    ¡°Actually, a whole mountain was hollowed out. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to ce all this teleportation equipment if that hadn¡¯t been done.¡± Department Head Song pointed to the man next to him and said, ¡°This is Mao Tianying, the person in charge of Dawn Academy¡¯s Earth Division. Old Mao, this kid is Xiao Lin.¡±


    ¡°I know. The Americans sent me a message. Tsk tsk, a freshman going to the New World. How enviable.¡± Mao Tianying¡¯s eyes were full of yearning and envy. He shook his head and cast aside hisplicated emotions. Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°I heard that you mastered Ancient Normese. That isn¡¯t easy.¡±


    Xiao Lin said modestly, ¡°It¡¯s only level one. I¡¯m curious, actually. If people who can speak Ancient Normese can be simted in the monthly exam, why isn¡¯t there anyone else at Dawn Academy who can master it?¡±


    Mao Tianying patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder. ¡°Well, it¡¯s like using Google Trante to trante variousnguages. You can¡¯t im to have mastered thenguage by yourself. While it¡¯s true that the academy does have some materials in Ancient Normese, the fact that there is such information doesn¡¯t mean that someone will learn it. The difficulty of Ancient Normese is more than just one level above Standard Normese. The Thunder Kingdom had also been wiped out for hundreds of years now, so who would waste their time on that? If anyone is idle enough to learn it, they¡¯ll often be shocked by its difficulty and would give up without even reaching the threshold to learn.¡±


    Song Jung added, ¡°The centralputer is not omnipotent. Let¡¯s put it this way: theputer had not been invented yet when Judge Academy destroyed the Thunder Kingdom... The scene in your exam is an inferred simtion by theputer, based on the limited information provided by the academy. It can be as true to life as possible within the range of existing data, but even theputer is unable to simte any more beyond that range.¡±


    Mao Tianying smiled and said, ¡°Well, enough about this. Judge Academy is urging us to hurry. If it¡¯s convenient for you, I¡¯ll arrange a chartered flight to America in the afternoon for you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need a visa or something like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it for you.¡±


    ¡°Uh, don¡¯t I need to go there myself?¡± Xiao Lin was a little surprised.


    Song Jungughed. ¡°We have our ways. A passport copied through magic is no different from a real one.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s forged...¡± Xiao Lin suddenly became excited and asked, ¡°Can this spell copy money then?¡±


    Mao Tianying went nk for a moment. ¡°Theoretically, it¡¯s possible, but no one would do such a stupid thing. The copying technique still requires a lot of spell materials and can be used only in an emergency. Using it to copy money is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, especially when we don¡¯tck finances.¡±


    Department Head Song somewhat guessed what Xiao Lin was trying to imply. ¡°Are you short of money? Although the focus of the colonial academies is in the New World, there are still some asset reserves on Earth. Special circumstances call for special measures. Let this kid have some, Old Mao.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem, but I¡¯ve spoken with Hank. He wants you to fly directly to America and head to Judge Academy. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d have any chance to stay around and have fun in the States.¡± Mao Tianying hesitated. He thought that Xiao Lin wanted to enjoy himself in America for a few days.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°No, I just want to pop in at home. Can you give me a few days?¡±


    Mao Tianying was put in a hard ce. ¡°I¡¯m the person in charge of the Earth Division, but to be honest, this title is of little value. This...¡±


    Department Head Song thought for a while. ¡°How many days do you want?¡±


    ¡°A week?¡±


    Department Head Song rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Don¡¯t take a mile when you¡¯re given an inch! Is twenty-four hours enough?¡±


    ¡°Three days!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re getting excessive. Two days!¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated for a moment and asked. ¡°Where are we now?¡±


    ¡°Earth.¡±


    ¡°Umm, I¡¯m asking which province and city.¡±


    Mao Tianying replied, ¡°The city intersection between City A and City B, but this ce isn¡¯t on any map.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it. It was not that far from his home in Dongchuan City and was also a reasonable distance from Xiling City, where Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister lived. In a pinch, two days was enough, so he nodded in agreement.


    ¡°If you want to go back, there¡¯s a couple of things we have to warn you first.¡± Mao Tianying still felt that it was a tricky situation.


    ¡°I told him,¡± Song Jung remarked curtly.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Mao Tianying was suspicious.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m not sure. Don¡¯t forget that someone high-up is watching over me!¡±


    Mao Tianying was speechless. He waved his hand helplessly and said to Xiao Lin, ¡°In fact, there are only two main points. The academy¡¯s affairs are not allowed to be disclosed to outsiders, and you can¡¯t simply use the abilities that you¡¯ve mastered at the academy. Even if you do, the rule is that you cannot exceed the level that Earth can withstand. We have a strict monitoring system for this, and that¡¯s actually the main task of our division here.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t exceed the level that Earth can withstand?¡± Xiao Lin expressed some confusion over it.


    Song Jung added, ¡°You¡¯re still a freshman. With your strength, you can just ignore this rule. The first point is the one you should bear in mind.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not intend to disclose it to anyone else, but he still asked out of curiosity, ¡°What will happen if I tell them?¡±


    Song Jung and Mao Tianying exchanged a serious nce. ¡°There are two possibilities if someone reveals the school to a non-student: that non-student would either be killed or invited to join the academy. That¡¯s themon agreement reached by all colonist academies in the world, and it¡¯s not something to fool around with.¡±

 Chapter 95: The Impact on Earth

    <h4>Chapter 95: The Impact on Earth</h4>


    The history of Norma¡¯s invasion by colonial academies could be traced back to more than two centuries ago. The fact that they could hide from everyone without revealing anything necessitated an extremely harsh monitoring system. Therefore, Xiao Lin did not doubt Song Jung¡¯s words at all.


    Xiao Lin followed Mao Tianying up the spiral staircase while looking all around. The mountain was indeed hollowed out, and except for the portal to Dawn Academy at the bottom, it was divided into at least seven or eight floors. There were doors leading to the stairs beside each floor, but Mao Tianying went straight to the top floor without stopping. Once the top floor door was pushed open, his eyes suddenly lit up as the bright rays of the sun shone down.


    Xiao Lin was a little surprised when he saw the blue sky. After living in Dawn Academy for a month, he suddenly felt that Earth¡¯s sky was bluer.


    Outside the door was the mountaintop, and Xiao Lin noticed the presence of a huge telescope not far away. Speechless, he asked, ¡°You disguised this ce as an observatory?¡±


    Mao Tianying corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s not a disguise. It really is an observatory, but we have a certificate issued by the country.¡±


    Song Jungughed too. ¡°About a few decades ago, someone asked off the cuff and wondered if we could see Norma from Earth. Everyone thought they could try it, so an observatory was built on the Earth Division.¡±


    ¡°Then, did you manage to see Norma?¡±


    Mao Tianying spread his palms. ¡°No, but everyone treats this as a fun way to pass the time when things get boring. After all, the main task of our division here is monitoring and surveince.¡±


    Mao Tianying led the two of them to his office. The building on the ground was more of a decoration. No one was in it and the interior was also rather messy. He took out a bank card and threw it to Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°The password is one-two-three-four-five-six. The amount inside is left over from someone who came back some time ago. There¡¯s probably more than two hundred thousand in it. Will it be enough?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! More than enough!¡± Xiao Lin was a little surprised at how nonchnt the man was, but when he thought about it, Renminbi was probably nothing to an academy that aimed to colonize strange worlds.


    ¡°You¡¯d have to inform the American side if you want to go back. Department Head Song has toe forward on this. I don¡¯t have a high enough level,¡± Mao Tianying said half-jokingly.


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    Department Head Song asked for a number. Magic cell phones were not allowed to be used on Earth, so he picked up thendline on the desk and dialed. The other side answered in seconds.


    ¡°Mr. Hank? I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll take two days for Xiao Lin and I to arrive in America.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s a long story. Xiao Lin isn¡¯t feeling well after returning. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s notfortable with the environment since it¡¯s his first time here. He has to rest for a couple days.¡±


    ¡°Department Head Song, can you not patronize me with such ridiculous excuses? He¡¯s an Earthling! This is Earth!¡±


    ¡°Mm, I admit that I was kidding when I said his body can¡¯t ept the environment, but he really is not feeling well. As you know, the wormhole is full of uncertainties. We haven¡¯t fully understood the effect of Timesand on the human body yet...¡±


    The two went back-and-forth with each other for nearly ten minutes and Song Jung finally convinced the other party to agree. Xiao Lin was rather dumbfounded when Song Jung hung up. ¡°Did he really believe that I¡¯m not feeling well?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not an idiot. Who in the world would believe it!¡±


    ¡°Then why would he agree?¡±


    After a moment¡¯s silence, Song Jung sighed. ¡°The chances ofing back will only decrease in the future. Everyone understands this, so it¡¯s only natural they give you some leeway.¡±


    Song Jung rummaged around the office, seeming quite familiar with everything. After a while, he found a car key, a couple of bank cards, and a few mobile phones. He threw one to Xiao Lin and said, ¡°Don¡¯t use the magic phone. Just put up with it in the next two days. I¡¯ll drive you to the airport.¡±


    Mao Tianying waved them goodbye after sending them down the mountain. Song Jung found the parking lot by himself and vomited a bit. Those guys still had not upgraded their vehicles even after so many years.


    Department Head Song imed that he had not been back for several years, but he was actually familiar with the roads nearby. He pointed to the roadside from time to time and talked about the changes that had urred in the past few years. For example, he wouldment that a veryrge hotel had been demolished there some years ago, or that a bridge had finally beenpleted.


    Xiao Lin sat in the front passenger seat and listened quietly. He suddenly asked, ¡°Why haven¡¯t youe back all these years, Department Head Song? I know that the academy has strict restrictions against the students returning to Earth, but graduates don¡¯t seem to be bound by this rule.¡±


    Song Jung fell silent for a moment despite his talkativeness earlier. He turned his head and pretended to look at the scenery, as if he did not want Xiao Lin to see his expression. After a while, he faintly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want toe back. Must there be a reason for that?¡±


    Realizing that the other party did not want to talk about it, Xiao Lin changed the subject. ¡°Why does the school restrict students froming back? Are they worried that Earth would undergo turbulent effects?¡±


    Department Head Song shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®might¡¯. It already has, and the effect is irreversible. It¡¯s a pity that people always realize the seriousness of the problem only after things happen.¡±


    Song Jung asked while driving, ¡°Have you heard of the Great Tianqi Explosion?¡±


    ¡°I have. It was a mysterious explosion that urred in Beijing during the Tianqi period of the Ming Dynasty. Both the scope of the explosion and the casualties wererge, but the cause of the explosion is still an unsolved mystery.¡±


    Song Jung had a nomittal attitude and asked, ¡°What about the Tunguska Explosion?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve read about it. It was an explosion that urred over Siberia, Russia in the early twentieth century. The force of the explosion was in the tens of millions of tons and its power was extremely terrifying. There are many spections about the cause of the explosion, such as asteroids,ets, nuclear weapons, and even an alien spacecraft crash, but there hasn¡¯t been an exact statement yet.¡±


    After speaking, Xiao Lin realized something and was ovee with shock. ¡°F*CK! No way, are you saying that these two incidents were caused by people from colonialist academies?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Department Head Song said in a very calm tone. ¡°These two incidents were clearly recorded and filed. The big explosion in the Ming Dynasty was when a student wanted to dispense a new type of magic potion, but identally caused an explosion. Said student exploded to death on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the reign of the Tianqi Emperor during the Ming Dynasty date back more than four hundred years ago?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s two-hundred-and-ten N.C. now, which means its two hundred and ten years of colonial history. This timeline is based on the time on Norma. Don¡¯t forget that the time ratio is two to one. Our country¡¯s first foray into Norma dates back to the Ming Dynasty.¡±


    Xiao Lin was rather surprised when he heard that and asked, ¡°What about the Tunguska Explosion? Was it also a failure in preparing a potion?¡±


    ¡°That was a fight between two people from Russia¡¯s Voyna Akademiya. The reason for the fight is known only between their own people, but in any case, it was a very fierce fight.¡±


    Having said that, Department Head Song sighed again. ¡°The original colonists had no qualms about unleashing the otherworldly power they mastered on Earth. Fortunately, they were pioneers in the early days of colonization and everything was trial-and-error. There was no centralputer to arrange courses systematically for them. Therefore, the strength of those people was extremely low, and the impact on the world is ultimately limited. At most, they might leave some mysterious legends and strange stories. Stuff like innate martial arts masters who can kill a hundred people, ck magic, European vampires and werewolves, and so on and so forth. The explosion during the Ming Dynasty was the biggest event of that year, but that was the extent of it.¡±

 Chapter 96: Homecoming

    <h4>Chapter 96: Homing</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Department Head Song¡¯s voice gradually became more solemn. ¡°After that, everyone¡¯s strength gradually increased and the impact on Earth became greater and greater. However, the number of colonists in that year was still very small, and everyone could control themselves until the Tunguska explosion. The absolutely awful consequence of the battle finally woke everyone up.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded in agreement. ¡°An explosion of that scale probably had a certain impact on the world back then.¡±


    ¡°Colonists would never take such effects to heart!¡± Song Jung sighed with a wry smile. ¡°It¡¯s the stability of space. Earth simply cannot withstand such a high-level energy impact. Everyone realized it after they got more knowledge of space andw, but unfortunately the damage was already done. During the past two decades, volcanoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes all over the world have been more frequent than before, but you probably already know that.¡±


    Xiao Lin was even more surprised. ¡°Are you going to tell me that these were also caused by colonists?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. These are all the bad effects caused by space-time disequilibrium. We have done data deductions, and if this situation continues to intensify, the only result will be that Earth disintegratespletely and turns into cosmic dust. Such a deduction frightened everyone. Although we want to colonize other worlds, Earth will always be our home, and no one wants to see it destroyed. From that time onward, all colonial academies began to impose the harshest restrictions on the return of colonists to earth. Those who vite the regtions will also be severely punished.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked again. ¡°If someone with great power vites the regtions, wouldn¡¯t they be able to destroy the Earth directly? At the very least, they can reenact the Tunguska Explosion again, right?¡±


    Song Jung smiled softly. ¡°Not anymore. Earthws have an upper limit. When a person¡¯s strength reaches a certain extent, they would be rejected by thews of this world. Initially, this upper limit is around Gold rank, but since everyone wants to destroy the stability of this world, it has now been reduced to Silver rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin cocked a brow. ¡°In other words, people whose strength ranks above Silver can¡¯t return to Earth?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was a fight between two Gold-ranked people in Tunguskast time... and even if Silver-ranked people cane back, they¡¯re not allowed to use any power beyond the norm on Earth. Vitors will be punished heavily, and for those Silver-ranked people concerned, the punishment was absolutely unbearable. Coupled with the fact that no one wanted to destroy their homes, Earth has gradually be peaceful in recent years.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but nce at the calm-looking Song Jung. If the news about the Logistics Department Head in Dawn Academy Evening News was correct, then Department Head Song was also a Gold-ranked genius long ago, but fell to Bronze after being seriously injured. So far, his strength had not shown any signs of recovering. He sighed and said, ¡°No wonder you said that the number of times we can return would be even lesser. What would happen if someone insists on returning to Earth and deliberately stops training?¡±


    ¡°The two options are either to have your memory and imprint erased before being expelled from the academy forever, or to be dispatched to the Earth Division, as you just saw.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a myriad of emotions. He did not know how he would choose in the future and slowly became silent along the way. When they reached the airport, Song Jung bought him a ticket and patted him on the back beforeforting him with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink. Silver rank is still a long way ahead of you, and since your basic attributes are so low, you might never reach Silver at all.¡±


    Xiao Lin lips twitched. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re trying tofort me?¡±


    The two of them parted ways at the airport. Xiao Lin did not ask where Song Junng would go, while Song Jung only mentioned that they should meet at the airport in two days. The both of them went their separate ways after exchanging temporary phone numbers.


    In any case, the future was still far away, and after boarding the ne, Xiao Lin slowly let go of those mindless questions. After an hour¡¯s journey, hended at Dongchuan Airport and took another three-hour car ride. By evening, Xiao Lin had arrived home.


    He came to a dpidated alley where water umted on the bumpy ground. After passing through it, Xiao Lin finally stopped in front of a small three-story building. The house was built decades ago, and the walls looked extremely worn-out after having long lost their original color.


    When he went up to the third floor, he knocked on the door lightly and it was Mother who opened the door. She was shocked for about ten seconds the instant she saw Xiao Lin, butined in a tone that suppressed her excitement, ¡°Why are you back so suddenly? You didn¡¯t even call. What about your new job? This isn¡¯t a weekend or a long holiday. Are you sure it¡¯s okay when you¡¯ve only started working for such a short time?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little dazed and asked cluelessly, ¡°What job?¡±


    His mother red at him and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you send a letter two months ago, saying that you might not be back for a long time if you found a new job? You said that you¡¯ll write a letter at the start of this year, and if it wasn¡¯t your handwriting, I would¡¯ve thought that the delivery person must have sent it wrongly.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me?¡±


    Mother found the letter and handed it to Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin looked at it carefully and was given quite a surprise. The general contents of the letter were that he had found a good job in a faraway city and would note back for a long time. He clearly did not mail the letter himself, so the only logical conclusion was that Dawn Academy did it for him in the aftermath of everything. After all, the sudden disappearance of an ordinary person would no doubt cause problems.


    In any case, it was a good exnation, much better than if it were an inexplicable one. Xiao Lin pretended to pat his forehead suddenly and smiled, ¡°I almost forgot. I did write this letter. I¡¯m doing good right now, and I¡¯ve made a lot of money this month, I mean, in these two months.¡±


    Xiao Lin took out the bank card. On the way back home, he had applied for another card and deposited a few thousand yuan inside before setting up a regr remittance. Otherwise, he felt his parents would be frightened if he gave them the hundred thousand at once. He would find it even harder to exin, and he did not know when he would next return to Earth.


    His father soon came back, and although Xiao Lin was either evasive or vague about his work, the two of them were happy that he could find such a good job. They had a simple dinner that could never bepared to the academy¡¯s rich meals, but Xiao Lin felt that it was the most delicious meal he had in months.


    Xiao Lin stayed at home for only a short time. The two days allowed by the Judge Academy¡¯s kindness included that day as well, so he had to bid a hasty farewell to his parents early the next morning. Even so, going home for a short time allowed himself and his parents to feel more at ease.


    He then took the letter Gu Xiaoyue entrusted him and boarded another flight. His destination was the Xiling Academy of Fine Arts.


    It was already two in the afternoon when he arrived at Xiling Airport. Xiao Lin was very tired from running here and there in the past day, but there was no time to sidestep it. He had received a call from Department Head Song that morning, saying that Judge Academy had urged them again, and it was Hank¡¯s superior no less. Unable to avoid the inevitable, thetest time he was allowed to return was set to that night.

 Chapter 97: Gu Chengyun

    <h4>Chapter 97: Gu Chengyun</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s younger sister was named Gu Chengyun. Xiao Lin hardly had any time left, but fortunately, it did not take long for him to find her. As soon as he arrived at the fine arts academy, Xiao Lin asked a random person about her and managed to find her directly.


    ¡°Gu Chengyun? The paralyzed girl who was admitted to the academy this year! Of course! Who in this school doesn¡¯t know her! Who are you to her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a friend of her elder sister. I was asked to deliver something.¡±


    ¡°Oh. She does have an elder sister.¡± The tall girl who spoke probably knew Gu Chengyun and let her guard down slightly after hearing what Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°Yes, they were dependent on each other since they were young and it¡¯s such a pity too. Her sister is very busy and isn¡¯t able to leave for the time being,¡± Xiao Lin exined vaguely as much as he knew.


    The tall girl really did believe it. ¡°I¡¯m her ssmate. I¡¯ll bring you there.¡±


    As soon as they saw Gu Chengyun in the corridor next to the studio, the girl went over and pushed Gu Chengyun¡¯s wheelchair over. Xiao Lin was rather stunned for a moment when she saw Gu Chengyun. He almost thought that he was looking at Gu Xiaoyue; the two of them were spitting images of each other. The only difference was that Gu Chengyun did not wear sses, but she was nevertheless very beautiful. She was not the stereotypical beautiful woman, but a single nce at her delicate and bright temperament was truly an unforgettable sight.


    ¡°Who are you? Do you really have a letter from my sister?¡± Gu Chengyun¡¯s first reaction was that of great caution and suspicion when she saw Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin did not say much and handed the letter directly to her. Gu Xiaoyue said that the letter was written in a secretnguage. Needless to say, it was a nonsensical thing that only herself and her sister would understand.


    Sure enough, Gu Chengyun¡¯s doubts were relieved after she opened up and saw the contents of the letter. Its contents were not lengthy, and it looked as though it was about a page long. The girl read very slowly though, and Xiao Lin could not help but quietly lean over to take a few nces. He did not intend to peek, but his actions were done out of pure interest in the so-called secretnguage.


    The letter was full of tadpole-like words. Each word was distorted, nted, or upside down, but they did not appear to have been written randomly. It looked just like how words should look like.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s neck was sore from all the peeping, but he did not even recognize a single word.


    ¡°Uncle, just tell me if you want to see it. I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t show it to you.¡± Gu Chengyun suddenly looked up. Her bright eyes winked and she remarked yfully in a voice reminiscent of a silver bell.


    Xiao Lin retracted his gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t indulge in reading other people¡¯s letters. And I¡¯m NOT an uncle!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t understand it, can you!¡± Gu Chengyun smiled. She was very lively, unlike Gu Xiaoyue who was often very unfeeling. Although Gu Chengyun was paralyzed, the bright smile on her face was very much genuine.


    Gu Chengyun tilted his head cutely and said, ¡°I¡¯m really curious, actually. Do you really know my sister? I¡¯m not suspicious of you or anything, but I still can¡¯t believe that someone like my sister actually asked someone for help. And I¡¯m even more surprised that someone was willing to help her!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched after being jibed and smiled resentfully. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone in China who would be so silly as to write letters in such a cryptguage.¡±


    The girl giggled for a while. ¡°I actually don¡¯t know what text it is either. Father taught it to us when we were young and we learned it.¡±


    Her statement conflicted with Xiao Lin¡¯s imagination of their parents dying since childhood, so he asked casually, ¡°What happened to your father then?¡±


    The smile on Gu Chengyun¡¯s face faded in an instant and she said bluntly, ¡°He died!¡±


    Xiao Lin remembered Gu Xiaoyue mentioning that they had no parents, so he quickly apologized to Gu Chengyun. In spite of that, the girl¡¯s expression did not seem to improve. Xiao Lin was a little embarrassed and quickly asked about Gu Chengyun¡¯s current situation, such as what difficulties she might have in her life and whether she needs people to take care of her, but after recalling that Gu Chengyue had donated 20 million yuan to that art academy, Xiao Lin felt those topics quite irrelevant...


    Gu Xiaoyue only spoke briefly about her family¡¯s riches, but rather than being rich in the ordinary sense of the word, they could be considered Miss Perfect because they were fair, rich, and beautiful!


    Xiao Lin did not know how else to continue the conversation; he knew very little about Gu Xiaoyue. Moreover, he was not good at chatting with girls, so he prepared to leave since he had already sent the letter. Gu Chengyun threw her hair back and regained a faint smile. ¡°Sorry. I just remembered some unpleasant things. How is my sister?¡±


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s good, but she might not be able to see you for a while.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡± Gu Chengyun did not seem to mind it and appeared to show no indication of talking too much about her sister. Xiao Lin had to give up asking further questions, despite his intent to try and find out about Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan and ascertain whether the girl had any terminal illnesses or cancer.


    ¡°You came all the way to send me the letter and I have nothing to thank you for. I¡¯ll give you a painting I just drew.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a while and added. ¡°Sure. I can bring it back and show it to your sister to prove that I actually delivered the letter.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll autograph it for you! Hehe. You can even auction the painting once I be a great painter!¡±


    She was a happy-go-lucky girl indeed, and if Xiao Lin had not noticed her wheelchair from time-to-time, it would have been difficult to imagine that her legs had been paralyzed since she was young. Xiao Lin respected her for that. He pushed her wheelchair into the studio again while smiling and answering, ¡°Sure.¡±


    The Statue of Liberty was painted on the girl¡¯s drawing board. Xiao Lin looked at it for a while anduded her, ¡°It looks so real. Your skills are amazing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been dreaming of traveling around the world since I was a child, but I also know that my legs are troublesome, so I won¡¯t bother my big sister. It¡¯s good enough that I¡¯m able to show the world with my drawing paper.¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent for a moment and no longer continued the somewhat depressing topic. Instead, he pointed to the sky on the drawing paper and said, ¡°Is that rain?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s hail!¡±


    ¡°Why did you paint the Statue of Liberty with hail? Those hailstones look quite big too.¡± Xiao Lin was very curious.


    Gu Chengyun pursed her lips and shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I always imagine the subject in my mind before painting. When I picked up the pen today, the Statue of Liberty in a hailstorm suddenly appeared in my mind, so I painted it.¡±


    That reason was strong enough and Xiao Lin had no words for it.


    Due to his limited time, Xiao Lin kept the painting and could not stay any longer. After bidding farewell to Gu Chengyun, he rushed to the airport without even stopping on the way. When he contacted Song Jung, he discovered that thetter had been waiting there for a long time with Hank.


    Xiao Lin jogged all the way to them, panting while asking, ¡°I didn¡¯t miss the flight, did I!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s a chartered flight anyway.¡± Song Jung pointed to the American next to him and added, ¡°It¡¯s their money.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt your vacation, but unfortunately, I just received a message from our HQ. People from several other academies have already arrived and we¡¯re the only ones left. They¡¯re urging us already.¡± Hank came up to Xiao Lin, shook hands with him, and apologized politely. He surmised that Xiao Lin had visited home over the past two days and did not give Xiao Lin a hard time over it.

 Chapter 98: New Washington

    <h4>Chapter 98: New Washington</h4>


    It was a rarity that Xiao Lin could enjoy the first-ss treatment of a chartered flight. The exhaustion from a busy two days quickly made him fall asleep. It was not until Song Jung woke him up that he realized they had reached America.


    ¡°You had a real deep sleep.¡± Song Jung crossed his legs and was reading the newspaper.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little tired. Are we arriving soon?¡±


    Hank spread out his hand and said helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be a while. We were originally scheduled tond in New York, but the darn weather somehow decided it was time for some hail... We¡¯ll be transferred to Pennsylvania.¡±


    ¡°Here in America, there are quite a number of teleportation points to their academy,¡± Department Head Song exined.


    ¡°New York? Hail?¡± Xiao Lin was taken aback.


    ¡°Yup. The storm¡¯s pretty big too. The point is we can¡¯tnd. But not to worry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± Xiao Lin touched the rolled-up painting in his hand, the one that was given to him by Gu Chengyun. He thought for a while and shook his head with a smile, muttering, ¡°How is that possible? I must be thinking too much. What a coincidence.¡±


    The teleportation point was located in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. He remembered Hank saying that it was a national scenic spot, but its underground had been converted by Judge Academy¡¯s people into a station that led there. The teleportation passage was simr to Dawn Academy¡¯s and also carried the passengers in a closed space, simr to a carriage. After about 10 minutes in the wormhole, they walked out of the carriage again, and a brand-new academy appeared in front of Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Wee to Judge Academy. Although I really want to bring the two of you around, it¡¯s unfortunate that we don¡¯t have much time. We have to go to the colony immediately.¡±


    Xiao Lin expressed no objections to it. He had gotten enough sleep on the ne and his mind was eager when he thought of going to the New World soon.


    ¡°Where is the super potion?¡± Song Jung asked suddenly.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Song Jung said unhappily, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I told you. If a person below ck Iron rank enters the New World, their body will deteriorate rapidly because of the difficulty in adapting to the New World¡¯s environment. This super potion is thetest thing out of R&D that has been developed in Britain. It¡¯s a brand-new potion that can temporarily stop this deterioration.¡±


    ¡°The super potions are all at the colony. Please trust us. Judge Academy will not harm your school¡¯s students.¡± Hank¡¯s face was full of smiles.


    ¡°I sure hope so.¡±


    They did not stay any longer and quickly set foot on another carriage. It was almost the same as the one they took back to Earth. The door was closed and the inside becamepletely dark. Song Jung exined to Xiao Lin that no lighting facilities were installed because it was in the wormhole, and anything remotely simr to a power supply would simply fail to work.


    The wormhole to the colony took a much longer time. In the dark, Hank continued to speak in his subpar Chinese and exined to them, ¡°Time is tight. The academy wants Xiao Lin to join our team directly after arriving. You don¡¯t need to participate in the assignment immediately during the first two days and you can familiarize yourself with everything first. It¡¯ll be good for you to first adjust to your routine and habits.¡±


    ¡°What about my remuneration? The four hundred New Dors a day? When will it be paid?¡± That was Xiao Lin¡¯s primary concern.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be paid in one lump sum after the assignment is over.¡±


    ¡°Can it be paid daily?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have the final say. In fact, I¡¯m only responsible for bringing you back to New Washington. The rest will be handled by Professor Brown¡¯s team.¡±


    ¡°New Washington?¡±


    Song Jung exined, ¡°That¡¯s the name of America¡¯s main city in the New World, which also happens to be the Judge Academy¡¯s first academy. It was transformed and expanded on the foundation of Thunder Kingdom¡¯s old capital.¡±


    Xiao Lin became curious. ¡°What¡¯s the name of Dawn Academy¡¯s main city in the New World? Is it New Beijing?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not as silly as Judge Academy. Moreover, Beijing had yet to be called Beijing when our main city was first built. Ours is called Dawn. Tsk, tsk. You¡¯re a student of Dawn Academy, yet you don¡¯t even know this,¡± Song Jun Lang criticized unceremoniously.


    The Timesand began to permeate and the dark carriage was flooded with a soft golden light. Hank smiled and said, ¡°This is probably Xiao Lin¡¯s first time in the New World.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then do enjoy the sights at New Washington City. Our main city is bigger than Dawn City and the facilities are moreplete! If Professor Brown agrees to pay you daily, you can buy whatever you want in New Washington!¡± Hank¡¯s tone was full of pride.


    Xiao Lin touched his nose and nced subconsciously at Department Head Song. To his surprise, Department Head Song simply snorted coldly and exined rather reluctantly, ¡°This is true. In terms of its size and construction, Dawn City does fall behind New Washington City. Although it was among the first colonial academies, Dawn City had suffered severe damage in the war with the orcs, while New Washington did not engage in any further wars after its capital was attacked by the Thunder Kingdom in forty-eight N.C.¡±


    Xiao Lin knew very little about the history of the two academies, but it was not the first time he heard about the war with the orcs. Thest time it was mentioned, Department Head Song said that Dawn Academy had earlier suspended the monthly examinations for a long time, resulting in heavy losses for the academy in that war. It was likely referring to the same war.


    The journey to Norma was particrly lengthy, perhaps due to the excitement and anticipation. About half an hourter, the Timesand within the carriage finally disappeared.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Hank called.


    The surroundings wentpletely dark again and the car door was opened from the outside. Bright sunshine poured in and Xiao Lin¡ªwho was a little too excited¡ªrushed over to Hank. Song Jung thought of something and hurriedly stopped him, but it was too little toote. The eager Xiao Lin had already rushed out of the carriage, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he suddenly felt as though a jack was bearing down on his entire body, making it feel extremely heavy.


    Xiao Lin could not even stand up under the sudden pressure. He wanted to reach out and support himself using the carriage, but he soon discovered that his leaden-like arms were incredibly difficult to lift. Eventually, all he could do was squat on the ground.


    Song Jung immediately leaped out of the carriage and helped Xiao Lin. He was half-amused and half-concerned, saying, ¡°Why are you so anxious for? Norma¡¯s gravity is almost twice as that of Earth. Are you okay?¡±


    Xiao Lin, who could barely stand up with Song Jung¡¯s support, panted slightly and stared at him, saying, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sorry, it was our mistake!¡± Hank was also a little flustered and said quickly, ¡°We forgot that people below ck Iron rank cannot bear the gravity here. After all, there has been no precedent for ck Iron-rank students toe to the New World.¡±


    Song Jung roared. ¡°Quit all your nonsense! Get the super potion quickly!¡±


    ¡°The super potion can only prevent the deterioration of his body. I¡¯m afraid it can¡¯t eliminate the influence of gravity!¡± said a middle-aged Caucasian next to Hank. She wore a pair of spectacles and her Chinese was much worse than Hank¡¯s.

 Chapter 99: Seismic Gravity Wave

    <h4>Chapter 99: Seismic Gravity Wave</h4>


    Xiao Lin had yearned for the New World for a long time and fantasized greatly about it beforeing. He hardly expected to face such an embarrassing problem on the first day of entering the New World. His strength turned out to be so weak that he could not even adapt to the gravity there.


    The Caucasian woman seemed prepared for that scenario and waved a staff in her hand. A faint white halo burst out from the energy stone on the staff and attached to the surface of Xiao Lin¡¯s skin, forming ayer of fine-white protectiveting. After attempting to stand up again, Xiao Lin clearly felt that the tremendous pressure on his body had disappeared.


    ¡°This spell is a countermeasure against gravity. It can onlyst for half an hour at most,¡± Song Jung expressed concern about this.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My anti-gravity shield is specially strengthened and canst for two hours. Of course, it alsoes at a cost: the effects of offsetting gravity will be weakened, but it¡¯s more than enough to counteract the gravity of this.¡±


    The Caucasian first exined to Song Jung in fluent English. She then nced at the leaping and frisking Xiao Lin before changing to half-baked Chinese and saying, ¡°We¡¯ve given this issue some consideration after receiving Hank¡¯s notice. Other than buying super potions from Britain, we¡¯ve also made an essory for you that can counteract gravity.¡±


    ¡°When will it be delivered?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. It might arrive a bitter, but during this time, I¡¯ll be responsible for following you and replenishing your anti-gravity shield when necessary. You can call me Be.¡±


    The American woman¡¯s voice was a little cold. ¡°Frankly speaking, I personally think that Hank is getting old and confused. To think that he let a freshman join the team.¡±


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes. The slight affection he had for that woman because of her anti-gravity shield suddenly disappeared. ¡°Do you mean I don¡¯t deserve to be here?¡±


    Be was nomittal and warned with a haughty look, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll show a value that¡¯s worth all our efforts; otherwise, getting expelled from New Washington is the least of your problems. We¡¯ll also inform the Supreme Council of this matter and have Dawn Academy send you back to Earth for good! You don¡¯t have to be nervous. I¡¯m just saying this to tell you that Judge Academy doesn¡¯t wee liars!¡±


    Be obviously did not believe that Xiao Lin really mastered Ancient Normese, but instead conned Hank in some way to reap free remunerations from Judge Academy.


    Xiao Lin felt particrly irked and wanted to refute her, but someone else seemed to be more displeased than he was.


    Song Jung muttered the name several times and suddenly eximed, ¡°Be? You wouldn¡¯t happen to be the top graduate from eight years ago, would you?¡±


    Be nodded proudly. The title of best graduate was tantamount to acknowledging her as the one of the strongest in her entire year. Be treated it as an undoubtedly high honor.


    Be¡¯s face was a little dark. ¡°Do you know me?¡±


    The smile on Song Jung¡¯s face was even brighter. ¡°I don¡¯t just know you. Have you forgotten that we fought each other in the inter-academy battle between Judge Academy and Dawn Academy? But I chased you down and defeated you. Tsk, tsk. Such a pity!¡±


    Be¡¯s expression instantly looked concentrated. Surprise and embarrassment shed across her face, and after a while, she uttered his name word by word, ¡°Song Jung?¡±


    ¡°Haha, do you finally recognize me?¡±


    ¡°How dare youe here!¡±


    ¡°Long time no see! How are you?¡±


    ¡°You humiliated me back then! How dare youe here again!¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! The inter-academy battle back then was just an ident. Why are you still so resentful?¡±


    ¡°You! You! You!¡±


    Be was flushed with anger. She gritted her teeth and her staff trembled slightly. The little movement was a precursor to condensing the elements and executing a spell. Xiao Lin was surprised; he did not bring his novice dagger and novice wand beforeing over. Neither of those things were allowed to be brought to Earth either, so all he had with him was the jade pendant given by the dean and a scroll of Gu Chengyun¡¯s painting.


    ¡°Haha, is this how Judge Academy¡¯s treats their guests?¡± Song Jung¡¯s smile remained unchanged, but his vision sharpened considerably.


    Xiao Lin was taken aback by everything. The fact that Song Jung was able to return to Earth meant that the rumors in the newspapers about his drop in strength were true. Regardless of how the genius in him managed to defeat Be so resoundingly eight years ago, it was clear that their strengths were very different from back then.


    That being the case, Xiao Lin wondered why Song Jung was brave enough to provoke the American woman willy-nilly, and on American soil no less. On second thought, Song Jung was the head of a department, so there had to be some hidden tricks and or something that bolstered his calm despite his strength having been dropped to Bronze.


    With those thoughts in mind, Xiao Lin became rather excited, but he soon discovered that Song Jung had hidden behind him for some time already. The man leaned forward and whispered, ¡°I didn¡¯t think this woman would have such a temper. I can¡¯t handle it, so you¡¯ll have to help me block it!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Hey, wait! Ah f*ck!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face drained of color. There was a big difference between what actually happened and what his imagination thought would happen. It did not matter what kind of spell the woman used; if Song Jung could not even stop it, then there was a fat chance that Xiao Lin-¨Cwho had not even reached ck Iron rank¡ªcould stop it.


    Be did not give them any time to avoid it. The purple-gold sandalwood staff she held was nearly two meters tall, and a huge crystal as big as a football was iid in it. Blinding rays of light began blooming at that moment, and while fluctuations in the surrounding air were clearly visible on Be¡¯s entire body. The fluctuations became stronger and stronger, forming ripples simr to a boulder being tossed into a calmke.


    There were several other Americans around Be, including Hank, who tried their best to stop her. Once they saw that the elements had already reached a convergence, they all decisively chose to retreat far away. The spell was already on the verge ofpletion and no one could interrupt it.


    Song Jung hid behind Xiao Lin, but kept an eye on Be¡¯s actions. The scene before him finally elicited an intensely shocked response. ¡°It¡¯s the Seismic Gravity Wave! F*CK! Stop it, you madwoman! If we¡¯re struck by this spell, we won¡¯t be able to wake up for three days, at least!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know what kind of magic the Seismic Gravity Wave was, but he deduced that it was extremely unpleasant from Department Head Song¡¯s ashen face. He subconsciously wanted to stray away, but Song Jung dragged him back and spoke quickly, ¡°Why are you running for? We can¡¯t escape the range of thi spell!¡±


    ¡°She wants to kill us!¡± Xiao Lin was also furious.


    ¡°Kill you, my foot! This spell is a control spell. The damage isn¡¯t that great, but if it strikes someone of our level, it will definitely leave a temporary concussion. Feeling dizzy for three or four days is the norm! Damn it, these Americans don¡¯t even show us any respect! Hurry up and go! You¡¯re the only one who can deal with it!¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding...¡±


    Xiao Lin was only halfway through his words when Song Jung pushed him to the front. A gray-ck light surged from Be¡¯s staff at almost the same time, but it only struck the floor tiles some distance away from Xiao Lin.


    Song Jung¡¯s prediction proved correct. Although that woman was mad, she had notpletely lost all sense of reason. It was impossible for her to kill the two people that were invited there, because the diplomatic disputes resulting from her actions woulde back to bite her too. Therefore, after refining the Seismic Gravity Wave, its lethality was almost reduced to zero, but the spell¡¯s biggest threat was still the violent shock that was soon to follow.

 Chapter 100: Illusory Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 100: Illusory Dragon</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The gravitational wave burst a few meters away from Xiao Lin and a jet-ck light cluster formed in mid-air. In that short moment, it rapidly absorbed the surrounding air before exploding once again. Invisible waves that caused intense dizziness began spreading around in all directions.


    Be¡¯s mouth curled up slightly and she seemed extremely confident in her spell. After casting it, she did not even look back to see the effects. She believed that the two people on receiving end would not even be able to stop her, as they were not even Silver rank yet. She turned around tofort the embarrassed Hank, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just teaching them a little lesson and having them lie in bed for a couple of days. It won¡¯t be a big problem. They¡¯re just two minor figures, and the most that Dawn Academy will do is just protest verba¡ªHUH?¡±


    Be had onlypleted half her sentence when she realized that everyone behind her, including Hank, was not listening to her at all. Their jaws dropped open in surprise and their pupils were riddled with fright. However, they were actually looking behind her.


    What was behind her?


    Be frowned, but her confusionsted for less than a second. A strong feeling of dread rose quickly behind her back, and when she turned her head suddenly, her expression became that of shock as well.


    Behind Be, a huge golden dragon had roared into the blue sky in front of Xiao Lin¡¯s chest. The dragon¡¯s loud roar resounded across all of Washington City, and the majestic draconic power quickly descended. Although it could not cover the entire city, Be, Hank, and the others could not even stand properly under its draconic power.


    ¡°A g-g-golden dragon? How is that possible?¡± Hank¡¯s face was covered in sweat.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not real. It¡¯s an illusory dragon! Damn it! How could this thing appear in New Washington!¡± Be gritted her teeth and roared, but under the dragon¡¯s power, her mute roarcked a sound.


    ¡°This, this, this...¡± Xiao Lin was also shocked despite being the instigator. As soon as the Seismic Gravity Wave arrived, he saw the giant golden figure pour out from the jade pendant on his chest. The speck quickly spread across the air and turned into a golden dragon. The strong gravitational wave struck the dragon¡¯s body and the remainder of the ripples vanished into thin air.


    It was not the first time Xiao Lin had seen the golden dragon. During the opening ceremony, he remembered when the dean rode the dragon when he made his appearance. He gulped hard and asked, ¡°Department Head Song, did the dean give his dragon to me?¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s expression was a mixture of wonder, surprise, doubt, as well as various other weird looks. After a long while, he noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s inquiring gaze and finally shifted his eyes away from the dragon in the sky. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, ¡°We¡¯ve gone a little too far this time, Xiao Lin! My God, if I knew in advance that the Golden Draconic power was stored in the Lightstream Jade that the dean gave you, I wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve provoked that mad woman, even if I had a stroke!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The plot developed in such a way that waspletely at odds with Xiao Lin¡¯s imaginations. Xiao Lin thought the dragon was Department Head Song¡¯s n. He believed that Song Jung knew about the draconic power within the pendant and therefore used it to refute Be¡¯s ridicule. Therefore, they would not have encountered any trouble whatsoever if she attacked them.


    Song Jung looked up at the dragon as its howls became progressively louder and louder. His expression was very solemn and he slowly said, ¡°This isn¡¯t the real golden dragon. The golden dragon has surpassed Gold-rank and almost reached Dark Gold. There aren¡¯t any vessels that can contain a dragon of such levels, and even if there was, it¡¯s impossible to have brought it back to Earth. As I¡¯ve said before, Earth¡¯sws would suffer much destruction.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the golden dragon.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Department Head Song rubbed his eyebrows. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to exin everything to you. To put it simply, the jade pendant given to you by the dean is called the Lightstream Jade. It¡¯s a very rare piece of defensive jewelry, and the dean extracted his golden dragon¡¯s draconic power just to store it in this Lightstream Jade. In other words, this isn¡¯t the real golden dragon, but an illusory dragon transformed by the golden dragon¡¯s draconic power.¡±


    ¡°An illusory dragon formed by draconic power?¡± Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes and gazed upon the huge golden dragon against the dazzling sunlight. He looked over to Be and the others struggling under the draconic power and felt his mood improve considerably. He finally had the mood to look around.


    The ce where he stood was a very high tform, and under the tform was an extremely prosperous city. Various medieval European-style castles and houses extended to as far as the eye could see. That was New Washington, and Judge Academy¡¯s colony was right in the center.


    ¡°Idiot! Why aren¡¯t you running!¡± Song Jung could not help butsh out when he saw Xiao Lin still admiring the city.


    ¡°Run? Why should we run?¡±


    Song Jung had a grim look as he pointed to the dragon. ¡°This might just be an illusory dragon derived from draconic power, but its power is on par with that of a real golden dragon. It¡¯s a Dark Gold-rank creature for goodness sake! More importantly, you can¡¯t control it at all. Just imagine the level of damage an illusory dragon can cause. This is New Washington, the equivalent of a capital in the New World. Do you think the Americans will let us go that easily?¡±


    That exnation made Xiao Lin aware of the situation¡¯s seriousness. Although the jade pendant had released the illusory dragon, the process could not be reversed unless the dean was personally present to control the dragon freely.


    The two were going to slip away when someone responded faster than them. Be¡¯s strength was higher than Hank¡¯s, and she tried her best to resist the draconic power¡¯s effects. She brandished her staff and struggled to shoot out two ck halos. The ground immediately sank into a big pit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about leaving! Take this thing back!¡± Be growled despite being out of breath.


    Song Jung turned a blind eye to her. ¡°Ignore that woman. The draconic power has an effect on her spells. Those Gravity Bullets can¡¯t hit us!¡±


    ¡°Grab them!¡± Be was still shouting with all her strength, but on that asion, she roared toward the sky.


    There were a few sonorous cries in the sky and Xiao Lin subconsciously raised his head. In addition to the illusory golden dragon looming above the blue sky, there were dozens of orange-red figures that looked like dragons and eagles.


    ¡°The Dragon-eagle Knight Regiment!¡± Song Jung did not even have the strength to force a bitter smile at that moment. He sighed, ¡°Well, we can¡¯t run away now. This is the most elite unit the Judge Academy stationed near New Washington.¡±


    ¡°Can they beat an illusory golden dragon?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but feel worried. He looked down at the city under the tform, and the streets were full of fleeing crowds. If the golden dragon really attacked the city, not even his and Song Jung¡¯s body could make up for the losses caused.

 Chapter 101: Dragon-eagle Knights

    <h4>Chapter 101: Dragon-eagle Knights</h4>


    In truth, even though the dragon-eagles had the word ¡®dragon¡¯ in their names, they were a far cry from actual dragons. They might be only facing an illusory dragon formed from nothing, but it was still enough to give the dragon-eagle knights pause.


    The dragon-eagle knight regiment sent a squad speeding over, and two of them watched Xiao Lin and Song Jung, blocking any exit routes they might have had. Another squadnded on the tform, and a fully armored man jumped down tomunicate with Be and the others.


    They were speaking in English, so Xiao Lin could not really understand. With the dragon-eagle knights there, he knew they would not be able to escape. However, they were still from Dawn Academy, so the Americans could only observe them for now.


    Xiao Lin paid more attention to the fight happening in the skies. There were about forty to fifty people on the knights¡¯ side; the dragon-eagles hadrge and lengthy bodies and a pair of strong-looking wings, which made them seem like small dragons. Their heads looked like eagles, and their bodies were covered in red feathers instead of dragon scales, which made them look weaker since it offered less protection.


    The dragon-eagles surrounded the dragon and took turns to dive at it, while the knights used theirnces to strike at it, but it was hardly doing any damage. Whenever thences would hit the dragon, it would cause a ripple to appear on its body. Even though the knights seemed to be immune to the pressure brought forth by the draconic power, the surges caused by the ripples were enough to force back any dragon-eagles that got too close.


    Song Jung shook his head. ¡°An illusory dragon is a body of energy, physical attacks are basically useless to it.¡±


    Xiao Lin touched the jade pendant. ¡°Can¡¯t this thing reabsorb it?¡±


    Song Jung did not know whether to cry or tough, ¡°Do you think that thing is your pet! Didn¡¯t I tell you; that thing is only an illusory dragon, and the draconic power was kept in the jade. It¡¯s a limited-use object, it will stop working once the draconic power is exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me I can only use this once?¡±


    ¡°That would depend on how much power the dean stored in it.¡± Song Jung could not help but be a little envious. ¡°I thought that the dean had only put some Gold-rank protection spells into the jade, but he actually stored draconic power in it. Now I¡¯m really beginning to wonder if you¡¯re his bastard child!¡±


    Xiao Lin ignored thatst part and asked curiously, ¡°Is it that hard to extract draconic power?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is! Simply put, only a handful of people could possibly extract the power of a giant golden dragon in all of the academies put together! Even if the dean is protective of his students, this is just way too much.¡± Song Jung could not help but regard him with some suspicion, trying to see what was so different about Xiao Lin.


    The battle in the sky was not going well, just as Song Jung had said. The physical attacks from the knights were not doing much visible damage to the giant golden dragon but, on the other hand, the dragon had very few ways to attack since it was made out of energy, and could not stop the dragon-eagles.


    Everyone was worried for the oue of the battle; it was a densely popted city, so even if the knights had prepared magic attacks, they were hesitant to use it because they were worried it would cause coteral damage to the city; not because of their own spells, but rather they were afraid the dragon would unleash its draconic power.


    ¡°They¡¯re afraid of enraging the dragon. It might just be an illusory dragon, but the pride of dragons is something that is burnt into their blood. If it were to go crazy, it might be able to destroy half the city before they manage to eliminate it !¡± Song Jung had a serious look on his face.


    ¡°How long will this dragonst?¡±


    ¡°Between five minutes to half an hour, it depends on how much draconic power the dean extracted.¡± Song Jung hesitated before patting Xiao Lin on the back, consoling him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. Even if the worstes to be, I can still guarantee that we will be able to get back safely. Don¡¯t forget, I have someone powerful on my side!¡±


    Song Jung kept saying that, but it felt like he was really serious this time. Despite the ferocious battle in front of them, Xiao Lin could not help his curiosity. ¡°Department Head Song, who exactly is your backer?¡±


    Xiao Lin always thought it was the dean, but it did not seem to be the case now. No matter how clueless he was, he still understood that New Washington was the capital of the Judge Academy in the New World. If half the city were to be destroyed, even the dean of Dawn Academy would not be able to deal with the aftermath.


    Song Jung could only shake his head in silence.


    Thanks to the dragon-eagle knights, the dragon was not able to descend into the city. After a few minutes, the knights suddenly scattered.


    Xiao Lin curiously said, ¡°Huh? Why did they run? Are they going to abandon the city?¡±


    Song Jung did not have to answer this time; Xiao Lin saw the answer himself. Surrounding New Washington were a few sharp and tall towers which suddenly shot many blue streams of water toward the giant dragon. There were more than a hundred streams in total which all centered on the giant golden dragon.


    ¡°Did they finally activate the magical defense array? But what is this spell?¡± Song Jung furrowed his eyebrows and talked to himself.


    The gigantic dragon made for a very good live target; the streams of water seemed to hit it without much difficulty. The jets of water were extremely powerful and the draconic power which formed the dragon¡¯s body was constantly and intensely pulsing. Every single pulse seemed to deplete the dragon¡¯s energy by just a bit more.


    After the water stopped, the thoroughly soaked dragon was noticeably smaller than it was earlier, but even the remnants of draconic power managed to maintain the form of the giant dragon. The more horrifying thing was that it seemed to have been enraged. With a roar, the dragon opened its mouth and started to gather a faintly golden energy ball.


    The water had not fully dissipated from the air, and as it flowed down, the water began to gather into countless droplets and stopped in midair. All the droplets slowly morphed into long and sharp arrow-like shapes, facing the giant dragon as before.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Without a warning, tens of thousands of arrows fired!


    In the blink of an eye, the entire sky was littered with sparkling water arrows¨Cno one knew if it numbered in the millions or billions. The initial salvo of arrows did not pierce through the dragon, and the ripples they caused could notpare to the prior jets of water, but the sheer number of water arrows was terrifying.


    Slowly, the dragon began to shrink again. If one were to make aparison, it was like ants against an elephant; the arrows were like ants, but with enough ants, even an elephant could be bitten to death.


    After ten minutes, the illusory dragon started to get fainter before finally disappearing. The arrows turned into vapor, and after gathering for a while, it turned into a downpour,pletely enveloping half the city in a veil of rain.

 Chapter 102: Commander Harry

    <h4>Chapter 102: Commander Harry</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°I never expected New Washington to have something like that; Judge Academy really is powerful to be able to create such arge-scale hybrid magic array.¡±


    After the crisis was averted, Xiao Lin and Song Jung breathed sighs of relief before greeting Be and the others who were approaching. Song Jung sang praises about how powerful their magic array was.


    However, it was obvious that the praises did nothing to assuage the other party. Even though the dragon was eliminated, and the city did not take any damage other than a massive downpour, at least half of the city still felt the draconic power from earlier.


    Xiao Lin had personally felt the terrifying presence of draconic power during his opening ceremony. As a superior species, draconic power naturally exerted a great pressure on most other species. Since it was a natural reaction, no one could really stop it from happening. It was not a pleasant experience either, it was as if a battle was being waged in the depths of one¡¯s soul. It was even able to make weak-willed people faint from the feeling.


    That was why Xiao Lin could understand the furious expressions on the faces of Be and the others, but the city was still unharmed in the end. As for anypensation for the mental damages that anyone might have suffered, Song Jung would be able to solve the issue.


    With that, though Xiao Lin nodded to himself, he suddenly felt something was amiss. Where was Song Jung?


    He could not find any trace of him, and when he turned around, he was rendered speechless as Department Head Song was standing a few meters away, pretending to admire the scenery. When he felt Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze on him, Song Jung waved his hand at Xiao Lin, with an expression that said, ¡®It¡¯s in your hands now¡¯.


    Quit joking around!


    Xiao Lin almost exploded; he was just a freshman, and Song Jung was a department head with a powerful backer; how could he let the new kid deal with it.


    However, it was toote. Be was furiously approaching and finally stopped in front of Xiao Lin. Be cut to the chase and said in heavily ented Chinese, ¡°You! Need to! Your actions! Responsibility!¡±


    Be realized halfway that her speech was slow due to her unfamiliarity with thenguage, and could not properly convey how angry she was. She immediately switched to English, and went into a very fluent rant.


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded; even though his English was not that good, he could still make out the basics. However, the woman was way too interested in venting her frustrations, so she spoke extremely fast. To Xiao Lin¡¯s ears, it felt no different from listening to Normese.


    After finishing her tirade, Be looked much calmer. When she looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s puzzled expression, she suddenly realized her strict scolding fell on deaf ears. This guy in front of her obviously did not understand English, and the fire she had finally suppressed threatened to boil over again. She was visibly shaking, and looked to be on the verge of copse.


    ¡°Let me handle it!¡± Hank hurriedly shouted. He really did not want the woman to go crazy again. If Xiao Lin released that giant golden dragon again, then the New Washington that had known peace for over a hundred years might actually be destroyed that day.


    However, someone was even faster than Hank. The man who jumped off the eagle-dragon just now was already standing in front of Hank. He wore an entire body of jet-ck armor and was holding his helmet under his arm. He looked like a man that had been through a lot; his face was riddled with scars of various sizes and his blue eyes measured Xiao Lin.


    The man was just about to speak, but he recalled something and motioned to the young girl next to him and uttered a few words. The girl nodded, then waved around a small wand. A white chain began to form, linking Xiao Lin and the man¡¯s chest. The chain was not a physical object, and when Xiao Lin tried to touch it with his hand, it disappeared.


    The man slowly said, ¡°Spirit chains; it¡¯s a spell that can allow two parties to share energy, but it has a more practical use as well. When two people are linked, they¡¯ll be able to understand each other, regardless ofnguage.¡±


    Xiao Lin eximed, ¡°What a mystical spell!¡±


    The man nodded, and introduced himself politely, ¡°I¡¯m themander of the dragon-eagle knight regiment. You can call me Harry.¡±


    Xiao Lin responded, ¡°Xiao Lin; a freshman from Dawn Academy. I was invited to New Washington to participate in the trantion of Ancient Normese.¡±


    Harry was quite surprised to hear that Xiao Lin was a first year, but he recovered quickly before his expression turned serious. ¡°Then you summoned the giant golden dragon?¡±


    The man had a very intense aura, which Xiao Lin was much more sensitive to thanks to the spirit chains. This man was extremely powerful, and the pressure he exuded felt like a wave powerful enough to topple mountains.


    Xiao Lin did not like the feeling, so his tone shifted to a more obstinate one, ¡°That¡¯s right! I supposed I did, but your people provoked us! I¡¯m here as a representative of the Dawn Academy, and Be doubting my capabilities is equal to insulting Dawn Academy! As a student of that academy, I¡¯m fine with damaging my own reputation, but I absolutely cannot have the academy be looked down upon because of me! How could I possibly tolerate it!¡±


    Xiao Lin shouted all that with his head held high; even Song Jung could not help but cringe hearing his words. ¡®He¡¯s so pretentious!¡¯


    Harry did not answer immediately, but instead looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s chest with great interest. He was so fixated that Xiao Lin could not help but grip his cor in shock, retreating a few steps before warning, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about asking for my body inpensation!¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Harryughed and averted his gaze, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being rude earlier, but are you really wearing a Lightstream Jade?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°It is said that Lightstream Jades can store anything! It¡¯s a pity that the stuff is so rare, and basically only found in the colonized areas of the Eastern academies.


    Harry¡¯s eyes suddenly widened as he said with a smile, ¡°Why don¡¯t you name a price? I¡¯ll buy this jade off you. You can ask for money or for some other goods to exchange, no problem!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin paused. He felt a bit dumb at the moment, every single development had beenpletely different from what he expected. He had thought that themander stepped up first in order to hold them responsible, but Harry did not seem to care about it at all.


    ¡°Give me your price! I¡¯ll pay as long as I can afford it!¡±


    Harry pushed once again with an earnest expression on his face. Be was starting to get anxious, and whispered, ¡°Commander Harry! Are you just going to ignore the fact that this guy almost destroyed New Washington!¡±

 Chapter 103: Settling Disputes

    <h4>Chapter 103: Settling Disputes</h4>


    Harry had an impatient look on his face as he waved his hand like he was swatting away a fly. ¡°You must be tired, Be. Head back and get some rest! I¡¯ll take care of this!¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°No buts!¡± Harry suddenly turned cold. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m in charge of the defenses of New Washington. That was an order; not a request. Miss Be, please obey your orders!¡±


    Be was furious as she was forced to leave, but the atmosphere got much better once that overbearing woman was gone. Hank wiped the sweat off his forehead as he tried to exin the situation, but Harry did not treat him any better, and Hank wisely shut up after a few words.


    Harry¡¯s imperious mannerisms put Xiao Lin at a loss. He had a ton of excuses ready, but it seemed like they would be useless. Finally, he touched the jade as he said, uncertain, ¡°Are you willing to pay any price for this jade pendant?¡±


    ¡°I always speak the truth!¡±


    Xiao Lin had a determined look on his face, but before he could say anything, Song Jung could not take it anymore and interrupted. He might have been standing by the side, but he was always listening, and he finally lost his patience as he stood right in front of Xiao Lin, saying in fluent English, ¡°Quit dreaming! The Lightstream Jade is not for sale!¡±


    From Song Jung¡¯s simple exnation earlier, Xiao Lin more or less could guess that the Lightstream Jade was something incredibly valuable, especially since it contained draconic power. However, that toy was really too high-ranked for him¨Cto the degree that it would be very hard for him to have any chance to use it. He had felt the draconic power, and thankfully it was in New Washington. He really did not want to use it a second time and cause himself trouble.


    The most important part was the thing had limited uses!


    Xiao Lin licked his lips with a bit of regret, but Department Head Song was frantically shooting him some looks, so he eventually had to shake his head and force himself to reject Harry¡¯s offer.


    Harry had a look of pity on his face. ¡°If that¡¯s so, then we¡¯ll put it on hold for now. However, if you feel like selling the jade, you can look for me at any time while you¡¯re in New Washington! Alright, I need to go maintain order. Ah, you really caused me quite a bit of trouble!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a bit awkward, but he was quite surprised that Harry did not say anything else. He could not help but ask, ¡°Surely this incident did not incur too much loss for New Washington?¡±


    ¡°You call this not much loss? Do you know how much resource is needed to activate that magic array?¡± Harry finally showed some anger. ¡°The fees are even paid for by my knight regiment!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched; he felt that thest words were the main reason Harry was angry.


    ¡°The city is probably in a state of disarray today; I¡¯ll bring you to Professor Brown tomorrow.¡± Hank was now being much more courteous to Xiao Lin. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to take you to the inn.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for the trouble!¡±


    Walking down from the tform, Xiao Lin finally properly stepped into New Washington. The streets were made out of limestone and very wide. The sudden downpour from earlier had washed the city abnormally clean. The teleportation tform was built close to the center of the city. This was the busy area of the city, but there were not many people out and about at the moment, probably scared away by the dragon earlier.


    Both sides of the streets were densely packed with shops, and none of them seemed to be closed, even after the chaos earlier. These merchants were all probably very confident in Judge Academy. The shops had all sorts of fruits, items, weapons, armor and daily necessities on disy. There was an insane amount of variety. Other than familiar modern goods such as shampoo, there were even some exotic carvings and essories. No matter the workmanship or the materials, they were all extremely beautiful.


    Beautiful essories had a natural allure; Xiao Lin could not help but stop and browse for a bit. Hank hurriedly ran up to say some words, but once he noticed that Commander Harry¡¯s spirit chain had disappeared, he switched to Mandarin, ¡°These are small elven essories. They have quite a bit of sentimental value, and most students of Judge Academy will buy some the first time theye here. You can think about getting one yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never stepped into New Washington before; these things are only here to trick outsiders!¡± Song Jung said without any consideration, ¡°Don¡¯t fall for it, Xiao Lin. They¡¯re all fake goods!¡±


    ¡°Fake goods!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t nder people so lightly!¡± Hank smiled dryly.


    Song Jung ignored him, and advised Xiao Lin in a low voice, ¡°Let me teach you a useful trick. If you feel like buying elvish things, don¡¯t get it from a shop that the Americans opened themselves; most of it is fake and they charge an insane amount. Conversely, if you feel like buying anything from Earth, like shampoo, don¡¯t get it from any foreign species. Even the quality is drastically different.


    It seemed like there were unscrupulous merchants everywhere. Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on buying these things; I don¡¯t really have that much money. I want to spend the money on more practical things, like gear and weapons.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re at the right ce!¡± Hank immediately changed the topic. ¡°You will definitely be able to find any equipment that you need in the trade district!¡±


    ¡°I trust Department Head Song¡¯s judgement.¡± Xiao Lin seemed even more careful now.


    No matter what, Xiao Lin was broke at the moment. Thanks to the day¡¯s chaos, their meeting with Professor Brown would be dyed. When Hank asked if they wanted to continue shopping, Xiao Lin rejected it and felt like heading to the inn first.


    Even though the city was filled with wonder, the anti-gravity shield Be cast on him would be gone soon. Once he loses that protection, Xiao Lin would have the pressure of this¡¯s gravity once again. That was why he would rather lie in the bed and wait for Hank to deliver the special item he talked about.


    New Washington separated into many ring-shaped districts. In the center was the governmental district, which served as the heart of the city, and was where the Judge Academy was centered. The central district was rebuilt from the castle of the old Thunder Kingdom, so from appearances, it looked like an ancient castle. It was majestic and awe-inspiring, and the ancient walls that surrounded it told viewers of its history.


    With the castle as the center, it was neatly surrounded by a fewrge districts. It was separated into the residential district, the trade district, the army district, the entertainment district, and themoner district.

 Chapter 104: Tower of Revival

    <h4>Chapter 104: Tower of Revival</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    On the way to the inn, Hank passionately introduced the city to Xiao Lin, including the use of each district, the areas the districts were in, and the poption.


    ¡°New Washington is a globalized city. Every colonial academy has an embassy established here. It enjoys a very good reputation even among the inhabitants of Norma. You can find elves, dwarves, beastkin, and even Norman humans here,¡± Hank said with pride.


    ¡°How do you handle so many races? Wouldn¡¯t it cause unrest?¡± Xiao Lin said, surprised. He had not seen many other species on the way, but they could obviously have just been scared away by the dragon.


    ¡°The arrogance of Americans!¡± Song Jung could not help but interrupt, correcting him. ¡°To be more precise, they¡¯re naturalized citizens from other races.¡±


    ¡°Naturalized citizens?¡±


    Song Jung exined, ¡°We¡¯re the invaders of this world, but in our centuries of history, it¡¯s not like we were at war every single day. War is just a way to establish a government. Once we get what we want, the next step would obviously be peace.¡±


    Hank smiled and said, ¡°Naturalized citizens are what everyone calls them. It¡¯s usually the Normans of all races that surrendered to us. They usually nt crops, trade, and live within our jurisdiction. They pay taxes, so they would gain the protection of Judge Academy as well.¡±


    ¡°I get it now. They¡¯re Norman traitors... Aren¡¯t you worried they¡¯ll rebel? After all, you did destroy their whole country!¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Hank did not understand the phrase Norman traitor, so he tilted his head, and did not really understand, even after some thought, so he continued. ¡°We have obviously taken some basic precautions. All these Normans are usually assigned to the outermost district in New Washington: themoner district. Furthermore, the dragon-eagle knight regiment is around, so no one would dare to stupidly revolt. Right, I need to remind you: it¡¯s best you don¡¯t go near themoner district. It¡¯s not very safe there.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at Song Jung, ¡°Does Dawn City also have Norman traitors? Ah, I mean naturalized citizens.¡±


    Department Head Song smiled bitterly, ¡°We do, but not much. We¡¯re far from the scale of New Washington.¡±


    Hank had some understanding of the matter as well, smiling as he exined, ¡°Dawn City isn¡¯t positioned as well as we are. The city has its back to the sea, and the only two races nearby are merfolk and beastkin. Beastkin are not very intelligent, and the whole race loves war. Even discussing peace with them is hard, let alone being naturalized.¡±


    ¡°What about merfolk?¡±


    Song Jung said with a sour expression, ¡°Merfolk? That race has absolutely no intelligence!¡±


    Recalling that Song Jung seemed to hold some grudge against merfolk, Xiao Lin wisely avoided the topic as he pointed at the tall and pointed tower in the middle of the city. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    The silver-white tower was not that big, and was shaped like a needle. It did not look hollow at all, so it was obviously not meant for anyone to climb up into. Furthermore, the tower had nothing on the outside and the surface was extraordinarily smooth. It shone brightly under the sunlight. It was the tallest building in the city, even taller than the teleportation tform. It stood alone in the center of the castle, and was a strange sight to behold.


    ¡°That¡¯s the resurrection tower, how could you not know that?¡± Hank was not mocking Xiao Lin, but rather he was genuinely surprised. Then he remembered Xiao Lin was only a first year, and motioned to Song Jung, saying earnestly, ¡°I feel like you should properly exin this to your students. The resurrection tower is incredibly important to us.¡±


    Under Xiao Lin¡¯s curious gaze, Song Jung pushed aside the matter of the merfolks and exined, ¡°I told you before that the current Law of Immortality for us colonists is thanks to the actions of our predecessors. However, the actual act of resurrection requires some sort of medium to realize it. Otherwise, even if you had plenty of lifespan left, you would only be a wandering spirit lost in a different world. After a period of time, you would still disappear into nothingness. The resurrection tower is precisely the medium that allows this. In the coverage area of the resurrection tower, death will only deduct your lifespan.


    That was the first time Xiao Lin had heard of that, ¡°So it even has a coverage area. What if you¡¯re not in it?¡±


    ¡°Then you won¡¯t be able to return to life immediately, unless someone who is good at spiritual magic brings your spirit back. Otherwise, in most cases, the end result would be turning into nothingness, which is basically death!¡±


    Pausing for a while, Song Jung added, ¡°Remember this, colonizednd is indicated by the presence of resurrection towers. As long as anynd is in the range of a resurrection tower, then it is considered an area that we rule. In those ces, it¡¯s very hard for natives to defeat us! In all these years, including now, everything the academies have been doing is expanding, trying to ce more and more resurrection towers to cover even more area in Norma. This is the true purpose of the colonists.¡±


    Hank followed up, ¡°Even though New Washington only has one resurrection tower, it¡¯s considered a gigantic one. Other than epassing this city, it also includes almost ten kilometers outside of the city. Therefore, in terms of safety, you have nothing to worry about.¡±


    Xiao Lin listened with great interest. It seemed that he still had a lot he did not know about the New World. All that information could only be learned when they actually stepped into the world.


    No wonder Judge Academy was sofortable with all the alien races within New Washington. Within the range of the resurrection tower, no one would even dare think about a rebellion. After all, the Laws of Immortality only applied to those with the mark of an academy.


    The residential district was near the castle, and was the earliest area to be developed. There had already been a lot of mass expansions in the history of New Washington, so the other districts were all builtter. The residential district and the castle were the oldest areas, and there were even remnants of Thunder Kingdom architecture still inside.


    ¡°A lot of people suggested leaving these old buildings, iming they could be historical relics in the future. However, a lot of the local natives don¡¯t understand our ways, and feel like we¡¯re crazy for not building anything new and instead living in old and beaten up buildings.¡± Hank exined with a smile yet again.

 Chapter 105: High Priest

    <h4>Chapter 105: High Priest</h4>


    The inn Xiao Lin would be staying at was precisely the type of building that had a hundred years of history. The inn had three floors and the white brick walls looked as good as new after some restorative renovation. The wear and tear of history could hardly be seen. The inside had also undergonerge-scale renovations. The first floor was an open dining area andvishly carpeted. It was like Hank had said: the residential area was built to provide various services to the colonists and was remarkable in many ways, with a style closer to the modern era.


    Of course, as an inn that had its historical significance as its main selling point, there were all sorts of authentic antiques inside. The one that garnered the most attention was the over two-meter tall statue in front of the inn entrance. The pedestal the statue was on had rotted in various ces over the years, so it was specially recoated with gold and stabilized.


    What was shocking was that the stone statue itself did not have any traces of decay. The milky white stone still looked vivid and lifelike; every single wrinkle and expression on its face was perfectly carved. The statue depicted a man in long robes, but the left half of its body was missing. Hank exined that half the statue was destroyed when Judge Academy attacked the castle all those years ago.


    ¡°Is this Asabanor?¡± Song Jung asked Hank.


    ¡°Asa...banor?¡± Xiao Lin tried to pronounce the strange name, and felt that it sounded a bit like Ancient Normese, so he guessed, ¡°Is he someone from the Thunder Kingdom?¡±


    Hank nodded and answered, ¡°Correct, that¡¯s Asabanor. Ah, it¡¯s a name that was directly tranted from Ancient Normese, so no one really knows the true meaning of the name. Asabanor was the high priest of the Thunder Kingdom. Based on the hierarchy of the Thunder Kingdom, the high priest is simr to our Secretary of State.¡±


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrows in surprise, and asked curiously, ¡°Then he¡¯s definitely someone very important. What happened to the high priest after Judge Academy attacked the castle? Was he captured? Executed? Or did he kill himself?¡±


    ¡°He disappeared.¡± Hank said with a strange expression.


    ¡°Disappeared? So he ran away?¡±


    ¡°No, he did not run away. He literally disappeared. All those years ago, Judge Academy thoroughly surrounded the pce. Even a fly would not have been able to get out. All of the royalty was found and captured, but only the high priest remained unfound. I believe America only revealed the truth a few decades ago, but before that, Judge Academy had always maintained that the high priest was killed in the chaos.¡± Song Jung had some understanding of this part of history.


    To Judge Academy, failing to kill such an important figure all those years ago was nothing to be proud of. Hank lost hisposure a bit, but quickly regained it as he smiled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore if Asabanor ran away or died; it¡¯s been more than a hundred years without a single bit of news from him. He¡¯s most definitely nothing but a pile of bones right now.¡±


    Xiao Lin realized, ¡°So, that¡¯s why you guys publicly revealed the truth a few decades ago. You were sure that the high priest could not possibly still be alive.¡±


    Hank said, ¡°That¡¯s right. What we¡¯re actually worried about is that the high priest would use his influence to fan the mes of rebellion or the urge to reim their country in the Normans. However, even if he were to really crawl out of hell now, the naturalized citizens that have been under our protection for so many years, they wouldn¡¯t listen to his orders anymore anyway.¡±


    ¡°You seem really confident!¡± Song Jung shrugged.


    ¡°Confidencees from power! I¡¯ve already settled your amodations. For the next month, you¡¯ll be temporarily staying here. If you need anything, please tell the innkeeper; he¡¯ll ry it to me.¡± Hankughed. He was not idling as he talked, but was actually handling everything at the inn.


    Before he left, Hank did not forget to ask Xiao Lin to get some rest because he would be there at six in the morning at the verytest to take Xiao Lin over. After all, Judge Academy did not invite Xiao Lin over here for leisure, and Professor Brown seemed to be very pressed for time.


    The innkeeper was a very stout old man; his body was pudgy and he had a thin beard on his oily face. He wore long silk robes, and his most defining feature was the white-peaked cap on his head.


    Xiao Lin felt ufortable just looking at him and could not help but say, ¡°He¡¯s wearing a peaked cap with those clothes. How strange.¡±


    Song Jung shrugged, ¡°The only thing I can say is that this man is definitely a Norman¨Ca Norman traitor as you said. Only natives would treat our earthly things with such reverence and dress so shily on the daily.¡±


    ¡°Are we able to bring everything from Earth?¡± Xiao Lin seemed to have thought of something, and asked.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. You¡¯re wondering why we haven¡¯t brought tanks or cannons, or even weapons of mass destruction like nuclear bombs, right?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded after he was seen right through. ¡°Dawn Academy was established during the Ming dynasty, and there admittedly wasn¡¯t anything like that at the time. However, hasn¡¯t anyone thought of bringing modern weapons in recent years?¡±


    Song Jung waved dismissively, ¡°It¡¯s not possible. The space-time continuum doesn¡¯t just apply to Earth, it applies here too. During our journeys between Earth, the academy and New Washington, there actually has always been an invisible safety protocol that would check us before we boarded. Anything that could possibly disrupt the space-time continuum is prohibited, especially within the wormhole. These things could possibly threaten the stability of the wormhole, and I¡¯ve told you the consequences before.¡±


    Xiao Lin could only answer, ¡°You¡¯d be forever lost in the nothingness of space and time, never to return... Then what if we just made these things on Norma? Since we can¡¯t bring anything that could disrupt the bnce from Earth, surely we can recreate these things with our minds?¡±


    ¡°I knew you would say that, so how could the colonists not have thought of it?¡±


    ¡°Then what was the conclusion?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s logically possible, but in truth it¡¯s too hard to pull off. First of all, you know that even gravity is different on both worlds. A lot of the science that we have mastered on Earth works differently here, so it needs to be researched from the very basics. Among the colonists, there aren¡¯t many that actually have the knowledge and skills to be able to do it. If you want us to study thews of the New World from the very basics and figure out how to make airnes, tanks and even nuclear bombs, why don¡¯t you just kill us instead.¡±

 Chapter 106: The Inn

    <h4>Chapter 106: The Inn</h4>


    Song Jung smiled and said, ¡°Furthermore, a lot of the things on Earth don¡¯t exist on Norma, like gunpowder. A lot of the things we take for granted on Earth don¡¯t exist here on Norma, so recements need to be found. America, Germany, Ennd, Russia and Dawn Academy have always been researching for substitutes, and the experiments have gone on for the past few decades without much sess. It was only in recent years that we finally managed to find a way to make gunpowder thanks to the help of the dwarves.


    ¡°How powerful is it?¡±


    Song Jung shook his head. ¡°Not as powerful as we¡¯d like. To be honest, after researching for so long, even the ones that started the research had lost interest. Even after discovering new gunpowder, an even more awkward problem appeared: no one wanted to use it.¡±


    ¡°Did they feel it wasn¡¯t powerful enough?¡± Xiao Ling guessed.


    ¡°More or less. The new gunpowder is stronger than the bullets you¡¯d find on Earth, but it still falls far behind the power levels of this world. Our own people feel it¡¯s beneath us, that it¡¯s not as convenient as weapons or magic, and the natives find it unsafe.¡±


    Then Song Jung suddenly smiled, ¡°The real ones with interest in the new gunpowder are actually the dwarves. That race is really good at tinkering and inventing; they even created their own firearm squad, and would purchaserge amounts of new gunpowder from the academies every year. Everyone was initially frustrated that the new gunpowder was useless, but after that happened, a lot of academies are actually profiting quite a bit from it.¡±


    ¡°So after researching gunpowder for so many years, the final purpose was to scam the dwarves?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but let out a smallugh.


    ¡°As the colonized territories expand, everyone has been thinking of ways to set up businesses and increase their ie. The colonists aren¡¯t at war every day after all, and business is a very good alternative path.¡±


    Song Jung pointed at the odd peaked cap on the innkeeper¡¯s head and said, ¡°We also realized very quickly that the aliens are actually very fascinated with a lot of modern things. For instance, the humans here love our towels and hats, whereas the elves love our soaps and perfumes.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked curiously, ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t these things disrupt the space-time continuum as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course they do!¡± Song Jung let out a sigh, then thought for a while before exining, ¡°Logically, anything that does not belong to this would trigger ripples in time and space when brought over. However, the impact varies from object to object. If you imagine the space-time continuum as ake, then something like a hat or shampoo would be like a paper falling into theke, causing very minimal effects. If you brought in something like a submachine gun, then it would be like throwing a huge rock inside, and there would naturally be more ripples.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled and asked, ¡°Then what if we just went ahead and brought in nuclear weapons?¡±


    Song Jung waved his hands descriptively. ¡°Then it would be like dropping a small mountain into theke, and theke would immediately disappear.


    Xiao Lin licked his lips. Theke disappearing...that would be the end of the world.


    ¡°Haha! Let¡¯s stop there! Rest soon; the sky gets darker much faster here.¡± Song Jung looked outside, and the sun was indeed already setting.


    The innkeeper had a very respectful attitude toward the two of them, to the degree where it was overtly humble. He bowed down in respect every time he spoke with a ttering smile on his face. It was obvious that his plump body had a hard time bowing, but everytime Xiao Lin tried to stop him, he let out a horrified expression, as if he had done something wrong.


    Even though the innkeeper was a Norman human, his English was quite good and even Xiao Lin could understand it. Operating an inn within this district where colonists gathered would be quite hard if he could not speak English. However, his ent was quite odd, and Xiao Lin could not help but liken it to an Indian ent. It felt very weird to listen to; even Department Head Song had to use some guesswork to talk to him, let alone Xiao Lin with his shoddy English.


    Partially, the innkeeper¡¯s attitude also rendered him speechless. Xiao Lin lost any interest in interacting with him. He simply made a few requests before heading straight to bed. Song Jung and him had two different rooms, but they still had dinner together.


    They had hamburgers for dinner. Appearance-wise it was no different from the hamburgers from Earth, but the meat they used were from local animals. The meat was fresh and juicy, and it was extremely delicious. Xiao Lin was full of praise as he ate it. Song Jung was quite knowledgeable on the area, and was teaching him the origins of the meat, as well as other information such as how it was reared.


    Xiao Lin was a bit speechless and quickly changed the topic, ¡°Department Head Song, do you feel like what happened today will be dropped just like that? Will they be troubling us again?¡±


    ¡°What happened today?¡± Song Jung slowly chewed on a piece of meat.


    Xiao Lin stared at him silently. Department Head Song swallowed the meat and wiped his mouth before saying nonchntly, ¡°Obviously. What else could they do to us?¡±


    ¡°This was never my fault in the first ce!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but say indignantly. ¡°I didn¡¯t willingly summon that illusory dragon, it was released by the Lightstream Jade! What¡¯s more, that American girl is really rude! What happened between the two of you during the academy exchange eight years ago.¡±


    Song Jung said bluntly, ¡°She lost.¡±


    Xiao Lin refused to believe it. ¡°She hated you for eight years just for that?¡±


    Song Jung rubbed his chin and said, ¡°Thinking about it, I think I might have identally used my me sword to burn away all her clothes. It was just an ident. After all, swords don¡¯t have eyes. She probably hates me because of that.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched, ¡°No wonder she hates you so much. I think she was actually quite merciful. That strong energy pulse waspletely aimed at you! However, it¡¯s quite hard to believe she actually dared to make a move against you. After all, we¡¯re still representing Dawn Academy, so we¡¯re basically emissaries. Even in ancient times, they would not harm diplomats, even at war, and that¡¯s forgetting the fact that we¡¯re allies.¡±


    Song Jung put down his hamburger and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be naive! What are the two of us? You¡¯re only a new student who isn¡¯t even at ck Iron-rank yet, and I¡¯m just a crippled department head. Do you think we can really represent Dawn Academy? We¡¯re only allies because there are benefits to be gained from both sides.¡±


    He paused before continuing, ¡°Be is actually really smart. She actually held back today, and her attack would not be able to kill us. At the most, we¡¯d be injured, but do you really think Dawn Academy would risk offending Judge Academy for the injuries of two insignificant people?¡±

 Chapter 107: Lightstream Jade

    <h4>Chapter 107: Lightstream Jade</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was shocked by Department Head Song¡¯s words. Xiao Lin was fairly angry at what happened during the day, but like a lot of things, other people might not think you are in the right, even if reason was on your side.


    At the end of the day, Xiao Lin was a new student. Even if he was invited by the Judge Academy because he understood a bit of Ancient Normese, it did not mean he was the only person to understand it in the world. It also did not mean Professor Brown could not continue his work without him.


    Both Xiao Lin and Song Jung were just very ordinary existences. Their standing at the school was quite insignificant. Even though it was quite frustrating to admit, it was still the truth.


    Song Jung once again faced the hamburger, bite by bite. He only continued when he was half full. ¡°Honestly this is quite interesting. I was initially quite worried Judge Academy would push the responsibility onto us. Yes, I know you did not release that golden dragon, and the Americans aren¡¯t stupid either; they obviously know the Lightstream Jade has a self-defense mechanism. However, if they really wanted to push it, the matter would not be resolved for a quite long time, which would be a huge bother.¡±


    ¡°I find it quite weird too. Commander Harry from the dragon-eagle knights did not seem to care about the matter at all.¡±


    ¡°How could he possibly dare not care about the matter! This is New Washington; even if there was no structural damage, the academy¡¯s higher ups would still ask questions after all thatmotion.¡±


    Song Jung shook his head, and looked deep in thought. ¡°Commander Harry is a smart man, or should I say, he¡¯s someone who has a good eye.¡±


    ¡°A good eye? Why?¡±


    ¡°The Lightstream Jade you have hanging on your neck! The materials to make it has certain special characteristics that make it only avable in extremely few areas. It is extremely difficult to mine, and usually has very little yield. Do you know how much ore you would need to go through to get a piece as big as the one you have?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head in confusion.


    Song Jung said, ¡°The amount of ore you would need to mine would probably be able to fill up all of New Washington. Think about it; so much ore is needed for just that tiny pendant.¡±


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes, ¡°That much? Is this jade pendant really that valuable?¡±


    Department Head Song said, ¡°It¡¯s a lot more valuable than you think. The special characteristics of the Lightstream Jade makes this thing priceless. The amount of people who have the power and the right to own such aplete jade pendant is very limited, and our dean is one of them. I think Harry correctly guessed that the jade pendant is the dean¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°So because he had that suspicion, he didn¡¯t dare push the matter?¡±


    ¡°More or less. Judge Academy can look down on the two of us, but they definitely would not dare to ignore our dean. He is one of the most famous figures among the academies! As long as Harry doesn¡¯t clearly know the rtionship between you and the dean, he will be careful when dealing with you.¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped. He had thought that Harry was an easygoing, magnanimous man, but things were not as simple as it seemed. The only reason he did not make a huge fuss was because of his Lightstream Jade. No wonder Song Jung made him deal with things himself. He must have guessed something like that would happen. The Lightstream Jade definitely mattered a lot more than a Bronze-ranked department head.


    Song Jung said, ¡°Remember how he asked to buy your pendant? He was actually testing you. He asked you to name your price, but even if he was themander of the dragon-eagle knights, he could still never afford something like that. Thank God I reminded you.¡±


    ¡°What a cunning man!¡± Xiao Lin changed his evaluation of Harry.


    ¡°Anyone who got to a position like his did not only rely on hard work. This time around, the results were quite good, but you need to be careful with your pendant in the future. Don¡¯t treat people too lightly. I still don¡¯t understand why the dean gave you this,¡± Song Jung said.


    The environment within the inn was quite good. They each had neat and clean single-person rooms, and the carpets had purple and red flower patterns. The walls were white and clean and there was a mild fragrance to the beddings. Obviously the facilities could notpare to that of Earth, such as the fact that the bathroom did not have a heater, and one needed to manually fill the bath with hot water before bathing.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not need to personally do it. It would all be done by the service staff at the inn. The staff were all mostly second or third generation naturalized Normans, and had more familiarity with the colonists, which was why they were allowed to work in this district. In this regard, the Americans were quite particr with their safety measures.


    Hank had probably asked the innkeeper to give them special attention since the innkeeper seemed to be especially hospitable to them. He constantly ran up to ask if they needed any help, but Xiao Lin and Song Jung did not particrly like this pudgy Norman who spoke such ented English, so they were very lukewarm whenever he approached.


    Feeling their lukewarm attitudes, the innkeeper silently hinted that the cute female staff in the inn could provide special services to them when they were bathing. Xiao Lin finally lost it and bluntly told the innkeeper to stop disturbing him.


    Night time in New Washington was quiet. Even though there were not special curfews set by the government, the natives did not have the habit of working at night, and all of them returned home to rest. There were not many colonists who stayed long-term in cities, even though a capital like New Washington was a bit better. After graduating from the academy, the students had three choices: stay at school, head back to Earth, ore work in the New World.


    Most of them chose the New World, but not all of them would be assigned to a ce as nice as the capital. Alongside the constant expansion of the colonized territories, new cities would need to be established by colonists, especially important buildings like resurrection towers, which could not just be handed over to the natives.


    For Xiao Lin, night was going to be a big hurdle. The special essory that they said was specially made for him to reduce the weight of gravity did not arrive. He did not know if the Americans had forgotten, or if Be was taking some revenge on him.


    When the anti-gravity shield disappeared, Xiao Lin once again felt the full force of the New World¡¯s gravity. It was double Earth¡¯s gravity, and caused him to not be able to even walk normally. He was forced to lie down in bed, and it felt like a gigantic rock was pushing down on him. He forced himself to shut his eyes, but it was hard to fall asleep.


    The next morning, Song Jung jumped in fright when he saw Xiao Lin. He was perfectly healthy yesterday, but that morning he was as pale as a ghost, and had tworge eye bags which surrounded his bloodshot eyes.


    Song Jung quickly guessed the cause and was furious. Thankfully, the innkeeper decided toe up to offer his services at that moment, so the two of them vented their frustrations on the unlucky fatty.


    After twenty minutes, the innkeeper finally brought Hank over. Hank also brought along some super-potions and the essory that Xiao Lin needed.

 Chapter 108: The Castle

    <h4>Chapter 108: The Castle</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Hank arrived right on schedule and he politely expressed his apologies. He made a bunch of excuses, but it only caused Xiao Lin and Song Jung to further suspect it was an act of revenge.


    However, there was no way to do anything about it for now; this was still New Washington: American territory. Song Jung had said before that the Dawn Academy¡¯s territory was at least two or three months away.


    The super-potion was a medication that was just produced by the American academy. It would allow anyone below ck-iron rank who was still not used to the environment in the New World to avoid harm from any of the foreign viruses and microorganisms there. The price for it was extremely high, since it would allow for those people who were not specialized inbat, such as alchemists and enchanters to be able to live there. Their skills were far behind others, especially in the beginning, but these people would often gain early entry into the New World, since they were much more valuable thanbatants.


    Every academy had poured in a lot of manpower into the development of the super-potion, and the Royal British Academy was the first one to sessfully manufacture it. However, the drawbacks of this medicine were very obvious: it was only effective for a limited time. ording to Hank, they had bought an improved version this time that wouldst for a whole week.


    The light-blue medicine was contained in a very small test tube. Its smell was faint, and had a sliver of sweetness. Xiao Lin gulped it down and smacked his lips while asking for another bottle, iming to not have tasted it, but Hank ignored him.


    He was looking forward to seeing the essory that was custom made for him, but Xiao Lin was quite disappointed when he saw the actual object. They said it was an essory, but it was actually just a pin to be ced on his shirt. The pin had a grey jewel the size of a grain of rice on it.


    When Xiao Lin wore it, a light suddenly shone from the grey jewel that enveloped Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body. It was like an invisible veil that stopped some of the influence of gravity.


    Hank self-indulgently bragged about howplicated the manufacturing process for this essory was. It was rare that they would spend so many resources and so much effort on a new foreign student.


    However, Song Jung touched the pin and immediately said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this pin a perishable object. The quality of the jewel is disastrous; it¡¯s obviously never been purified. Can this thing evenst half a month? This thing could be done by anyone that knows alchemy; isn¡¯t this just a magic jewel with a small anti-gravity array attached to it? How hard could that be?¡±


    Hank awkwardly coughed. ¡°Professor Brown has been waiting. Let¡¯s hurry up and leave.¡±


    Xiao Lin said it was not a problem. He practically did not sleepst night, but after drinking the super-potion and putting on the anti-gravity pin, he felt much better. He suddenly felt a lot more awake as well.


    Hank led the way, but Song Jung was stopped from following. Hank smiled softly but resolutely said, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Department Head Song, but other than Professor Brown¡¯s team, no one else is allowed to follow.¡±


    Song Jung was left alone, and Xiao Lin followed Hank through the residential district and right into the most central district of the city: the castle district.


    The castle had been repaired and renovated many times, but it still maintained the general style and feel of the Thunder Kingdom¨Cstrange and seemingly random corridors, a courtyard that was full of vibrant flowers and nts, and a majestic and luxurious pce. Xiao Lin stopped in his tracks to admire the scenes a few times, only continuing his walk when Hank called for him.


    The castle was about as big as a small vige, but only the outer buildings were used by Judge Academy. The buildings further inside were in obvious disrepair, which indicated that no one had used them for a long time¨Ca big contrast from the beautiful sights outside.


    Xiao Lin was a bit apprehensive when he noticed that Hank was walking toward the deepest part of the castle. The buildings there were in horrible shape. The further inside they went, the more deste the scenery became. If the outside was spring, then the deepest part of the castle was winter; they werepletely different environments. Even the flowers there had all withered.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡±


    Hank finally stopped in front of one of the courtyards. The rusted metal gate was already impossible to shut, and there were two guards stationed outside wearing silver armor. The two of them were stopped, and Hank went up and exchanged a few words. After that one of them produced a few sheets of paper. On them were Xiao Lin¡¯s picture and some details. The guardpared Xiao Lin with the photo a few times, and after verifying that everything was in order, passed thest empty page to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Press your fingers to it for fingerprint verification; it¡¯s just regr security protocol,¡± Hank whispered to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin pressed his thumb down and his thumbprint magically appeared on the paper. The whole paper rapidly turned blue.


    The guard nodded to Hank, then burned away the piece of paper.


    ¡°Does that mean it went through fine?¡± Xiao Lin looked in wonder.


    Hank exined, ¡°Fingerprint verification. That paper had your fingerprint that Dawn Academy provided stored in it. If the verification was correct, then it would turn blue, otherwise it would be red.¡±


    After everything went smoothly, Xiao Lin was allowed into the courtyard, but Hank was stopped outside. He exchanged a few quick words with Xiao Lin, asking him to remember to wait for someone toe get him in the evening, because if Hank was not leading him, Xiao Lin would find it very hard to get around the heavily-guarded castle.


    In the ruined courtyard, other than a fewrge and leafless trees, there was not a shred of green. The wild grass on the ground was as high as half a person. There was a small pce in the middle of the courtyard. Its walls were ck and grey, and the original color could no longer be ascertained. There was a small path leading toward the pce where the wild grass had been cut clean, but the path had a lot of marks on it that were obviously left behind by explosions. These were probably all left behind by the war many years ago.


    The pce entrance was notpletely shut. After hesitating for a bit, Xiao Lin pushed the door open and entered. The door made a heavy grating sound, which caused a slight chill in the grey, deste courtyard.


    The inside of the pce was much more spacious than he thought, or rather, all the previous decorations and objects had already been stripped away. On the clean flooring that was recently built, a few hundred stone tes were wildly strewn around. Each stone te was almost two meters long, and were all iplete. Most of them were smashed, and the more severe ones were even grinded to dust.


    Beside the stone tes, around eight or nine people were either squatting or standing. Some of them seemed to be very focused on ascertaining something from the stone tes. The others were trying to rearrange the broken pieces, and some of them were even chatting in low voices.


    The sound of the door being pushed focused everyone¡¯s attention onto Xiao Lin. A few of them were in a confused daze. A dark-skinned man nearby stood up and spoke in some foreignnguage to Xiao Lin. Seeing his confused expression, he switched to a few differentnguages, even using Normese.


    Xiao Lin really wanted to tell him he knew English and Normese, but he did not really have time to digest it. However, the man seemed tock patience, and grabbed Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder before shouting some words upstairs. After a few minutes, an old man walked down, apanied by a blond woman.

 Chapter 109: Professor Brown

    <h4>Chapter 109: Professor Brown</h4>


    The old man had a head full of white hair and wrinkles on his face. He had obvious liver spots on the sides of his head, and was likely quite old. Xiao Lin was quite surprised to see it, since the existence of lifewater meant that most of the colonists usually maintained a youthful look. However, this old man looked really old.


    The blond girl with short hair was a stereotypical American beauty, and Xiao Lin was familiar with her. He did not know many Americans, but when the girl waved around her small wand to cast a spell on Xiao Lin, he immediately recognized her as the one who used the spirit chain on Commander Harry and him on the teleportation tform.


    She was once again casting the same spell, but the target seemed to be everyone in the hall. After using the spell a few times, the chains connected him with everyone in the room. He was not very clear on the actual use of the spell, but it was quite useful as an automatic trantor.


    After using all that magic, the girl¡¯s face was very pale. It was obviously taxing her mentally, which made Xiao Lin think she was not very high-leveled. Xiao Lin could understand her next words perfectly thanks to the spirit chain.


    ¡°This is Professor Brown. My apologies, I¡¯m quite tired at the moment and will need to rest. My spirit chain is still rtively low ranked, so I can only cast it with a single target and it uses a lot of mental power. Please continuemunicating amongst yourselves, I¡¯lle back to refresh the spell after an hour.¡± The girl was obviously exhausted, so she headed upstairs before even introducing herself.


    Professor Brown was the white-haired old man in front of him. He did not even bother properly appraising Xiao Lin before pointing at a table in the corner, sternly saying, ¡°This is the part you¡¯re responsible for. I¡¯ve seen your information, your LV1 in Ancient Normese is the lowest level here, so your job scope will be very simple. You will just be recording the stone tes that everyone else has arranged, understood?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded, only half understanding him.


    Professor Brown grunted in acknowledgement, not bothering with further instructions.


    ¡°Hold on, Professor Brown. I¡¯d like to ask if my wages can be given daily. Mr. Hank discussed that with me before I came over.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Professor Brown answered without hesitation, then turned around to head back upstairs.


    It did not take even two minutes for Brown to appear and leave. Xiao Lin¡¯s job scope had beenpletely allocated to him, and it caused him to stare incredulously. It was quite different from what he had in mind.


    The dark-skinned man who called over the professor earlier patted him on the shoulder,ughing as he said, ¡°Professor Brown is an uptight man, and doesn¡¯t really talk much. I wasn¡¯t really used to it when I first got here too. Alright, stop dreaming! Qe have a lot to do!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Lin, I¡¯m from Dawn Academy.¡± Xiao Lin introduced himself.


    ¡°Lnder, Sainte Acad¨¦mie.¡± The man smiled and said, ¡°I just graduated not too long ago. I was actually worrying about not having a good ce to go to when I received the invitation from Judge Academy. I did not expect that the Ancient Normese I learned out of boredom a few years ago would actually be useful. The sry is high and the job is pretty easy, so I immediately rushed over.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a graduate? I actually just enrolled a month ago.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a new student?!¡±


    The rest who were busy working raised their heads up; another Caucasian woman said in surprise, ¡°When I heard that thest member of our team would be a new student, I didn¡¯t really believe it... I can¡¯t believe that a new student would actually have the time to learn thisnguage. Does Dawn Academy teach Ancient Normese in the first year?¡±


    ¡°No, I learned it by myself.¡±


    ¡°My God! You actually bothered to learn such a weirdnguage by yourself! How easy do the new students at Dawn Academy have it?¡± Even more people joined the conversation.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m probably a special case.¡± Xiao Lin corrected them, not wanting to drag the others from Dawn Academy into it.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, the colonized territories of Dawn Academy don¡¯t really intersect with the Thunder Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I heard that your Ancient Normese is only LV1, but that¡¯s not bad still! To be frank, the only reason I stubbornly learnt thisnguage was only because our academy gave extra credits for differentnguages, and I needed just a bit more to graduate. I really did not imagine I would actually use it!¡±


    Everyone there was probably chatting out of boredom. When Xiao Lin arrived, his status as a new student piqued everyone¡¯s interest. The good thing was it allowed Xiao Lin to gain a lot of insight into the team .


    Including himself, there were only nine people there. The number of people caught him by surprise, since Hank told him the Judge Academy invited people from all the academies. However, to end up with only nine people, it was no wonder they were even willing to pay for a LV1 like Xiao Lin.


    The level of Ancient Normese among the people there was not too high either. The highest was the Caucasian woman at LV6, whereas the rest of them were around LV3 to LV4. Xiao Lin was the only one at LV1.


    However, Lnder said that, out of everyone in the world who knew thenguage, they were actually not even among the more fluent ones. For instance, Professor Brown¡¯s rank for Ancient Normese was MAX.


    If not for the fact it was all a massive undertaking, and Professor Brown entering the academyte in his life and missing out on the best time to consume lifewater, which meant his body was not in the best condition, Judge Academy would not have needed to invite people from the other academies.


    Another man exined that the true experts of thenguage were not there. Those people had high ranks in Ancient Normese, but Judge Academy did not have a way to invite them. Rather, they could not offer enough incentive to actually interest those people.


    ¡°The only reason they invited us is because we¡¯re the cheapest!¡± The man seemed unhappy with his wages, and was venting.


    As for how much everyone was actually getting paid, everyone smartly avoided discussing that in front of unfamiliar faces.


    The conversation got louder and louder, causing Professor Brown to rush downstairs once again. The old man gave everyone a proper scolding, and warned everyone that if they kept at it, they would have their sries deducted just like Lnder.


    No one was from the same academy, and Professor Brown¡¯s standing at Judge Academy did not affect them too much, but they could not help but lower their heads to him, especially since their sries were in his hands. After the scolding, everyone obediently shut their mouths and continued working.


    ¡°Your sry was deducted? Xiao Lin asked softly.


    ¡°I was half an hourte this morning, so I was fined a day¡¯s wages! That harsh old man!¡± Lnderined.

 Chapter 110: Copying

    <h4>Chapter 110: Copying</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin clicked his tongue when he heard that. No wonder the old man was so quick to agree on paying him daily; if just beingte would deduct a whole day¡¯s wages, then he might not even have any money at the end of the day.


    Xiao Lin sat on his desk in the corner, and in front of him was a thick stack of white paper. A few pages were already full of Ancient Normese. Lnder walked over and said softly, ¡°This was originally my job, but I can finally hand it over to you! ording to the rules Professor Brown set, the person with the lowest level in Ancient Normese would be in charge of recording, and now that¡¯s you.¡±


    The team¡¯s task was actually very simple, as Xiao Lin found out during the conversations earlier. All those stone tes on the floor were in pieces and the words on them were already fading¨Csome of them had evenpletely disappeared. Their job was to restore the stone tes as much as possible, then record the contents on them before handing it to Professor Brown.


    ¡°It seems like my job is the easiest.¡± Xiao Lin smiled and said. His task was only to copy down all the stone tes that were already assembled.


    When he said that, the rest of them quickly looked at him with a strange expression. Lnder could not help but smile as he said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why would he need to spend money on inviting someone who knows Ancient Normese to do the recording. You¡¯ll understand very quickly!¡±


    Lnder¡¯s sly smile made Xiao Lin feel that he might have had the wrong impression. He realized his blunder in just half an hour. Even though he did not know how troublesome everyone else¡¯s work was, copying was definitely not as easy as he thought. It was much moreplicated and tiring.


    Ancient Normese was a very difficultnguage. The difficulty did not rest solely on theplexity of pronouncing the words, it also lied in the writing. Everything was weirdly shaped. It was neither hieroglyphics nor was it alphabets. The writings of Ancient Normese were very detail-oriented, even to a perverse degree.


    For instance, one of the letters needed a 45 degree angle for thest stroke to be correct. If you angled it at even 30 degrees or more than 100 degrees, then the word would suddenly have apletely different meaning.


    It was somewhat simr to how Mandarin would have some words that had multiple pronunciations and different meanings. In Ancient Normese, every word had multiple pronunciations, so even the difference in pronunciations were reflected in the writing.


    Xiao Lin spat in his mind. No wonder Ancient Normese was the originalnguage in that world, but was quickly lost to history. It was reced by the much simpler Standard Normese. Normal people would not be able to take such a painful way of writing.


    A normal person would definitely not have been able toplete this work. If one did not understand thenguage, then the person would definitely not understand the correct way to write the words.


    Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s LV1 was more than enough for the task, he did not dare to be careless at all. The finished copies would be handed to Professor Brown for inspection, and if he noticed any mistakes, Xiao Lin might just be fined. On top of that, Ancient Normese words had a lot of strokes, so the copying work progressed slowly, expending both time and energy.


    Xiao Lin arrived a few dayster than everyone else, so there were already a few stone tes that had already been assembled. Thanks to the parts that Lnder had already recorded, he temporarily did not have much on his te, so Xiao Lin could do it much more carefully. Even though the stone tes next to him could be considered assembled, it was realistically only at 60 or 70 percent¨Csome of them went even lower. It could not be helped, since a lot of it was already lost.


    The rest of them did work that was quite simr to the evaluation Hank gave Xiao Lin, trying to match words where they should be, but on arger scale, and with much harder writings. They needed to find the appropriate words and pieces from countless stone fragments to continue from earlier parts.


    Judging from the marks around the stone tes, they probably had a very, very long history. Xiao Lin could not make out the origins of those stone tes since he just arrived. He did not ask anyone else either.


    Professor Brown really was a strict person. Their lunch was sent in by someone, and none of them were allowed to leave the courtyard. The main hall of the pce had a lot of stone tes stacked around, and Xiao Lin and the others chose to eat their lunch there. All of the furniture in the area had already been moved away, leaving only the grey walls that had traces of decay on them. The hall did not have sunlighting in, so the entire room was dark. The weather in New Washington was not great that day either. The whole sky was covered in clouds and a cold wind was blowing in from the broken windows.


    Eating in a dark environment made Xiao Lin feel like he was going to be depressed. He suggested eating in another room. The pce might not have been big, but there were still a few other rooms. Lnder rejected him. Xiao Lin grabbed his food and searched for other rooms, but scurried back very quickly, ring at Lnder who wasughing happily.


    ¡°You knew all along that we¡¯re not allowed in the other rooms! Why are there even guards in those rooms!¡± Xiao Lin said angrily.


    The pce really did have people stationed even inside of it, not just outside the courtyard. Other than the main hall and the side hall where they were in, every other room had someone stationed in front. Those people did not stand in front of the rooms either; they chose to hide in dark corners. When Xiao Lin wanted to enter, they jumped out from somewhere and a veryplicated process of verifying his identity ensued. They even called over Professor Brown to ensure that Xiao Lin was a student invited over from Dawn Academy before letting him off.


    Professor Brown warned him not to simply run off for no reason. Without his permission, no one was allowed to enter those rooms, but he did not provide any further exnation.


    That only caused Xiao Lin to be even more curious. He was alreadycking goodwill toward Judge Academy, so he naturally had this thought in his heart: ¡®The more you don¡¯t want me to know, the deeper I¡¯m going to investigate.¡¯


    Xiao Lin half-jokingly asked everyone what exactly was in the room, and even asked if any of them had tried sneaking in. He could feel that they were some pretty strong people on the team.


    They had been bonded together by the spirit chains; other than understanding each other¡¯snguages, Xiao Lin could actually feel that there was an indescribable power within some of them. It could be mental strength or just energy, but under the chains, they could feel the power within each other.

 Chapter 111: Stone Plates

    <h4>Chapter 111: Stone tes</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Every academy had different requirements for their sses, but of the people in the hall right now, there were only three students, including Xiao Lin. The other two were seniors, and everyone else was either a graduate or a researcher.


    Xiao Lin was the weakest one there, so he was very curious if the rest of them had ever looked inside the rooms. However, the moment he asked the question, everyone immediately went quiet.


    Lnder said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know those guards are all Gold-ranked? From their gear, they should all belong to the elite dragon-eagle knight regiment. I definitely don¡¯t want to get into any trouble with them.¡±


    The Caucasion woman put down her fork and knife and elegantly wiped her mouth. Xiao Lin remembered she was called Chloe from the Royal British Academy. She was a researcher. Chloe lowered her voice and said, ¡°My tutor once told me that the stone tes were all dug up from the ground. The castle district of New Washington had always been set aside for development, and someone probably suggested developing on these empty grounds. They hired a few Normans to clean up the ce, and one of them identally fell through the floorboard when he was cleaning a bedroom, which was how they realized there were secret passages underneath.¡±


    As if trying to stir their appetites, Chloe took a small sip of her coffee before slowly continuing, ¡°The Judge Academy then came in to investigate. The floorboards there have gone through many years of wear and tear, so were considerably weak. The results of the investigation were very shocking, because they discovered that there were secret passageways under practically every room. Judge Academy blew apart a secret door by force, which was how they discovered the stone tes.


    Xiao Lin waited, but realized there was no continuation to that story. He could not help but ask, ¡°Is that it? Are you done?¡±


    ¡°What more do you need to know?¡±


    Lnder could not understand. ¡°It¡¯s just a few stone tes, why is Judge Academy taking it so seriously?¡±


    ¡°You definitely scored very low in your history sses!¡± Chloe red at him before adding, ¡°This pce was the bedroom of thest queen of the Thunder Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Lnder still did not understand.


    Chloe rolled her eyes, not even bothering to re at him, ¡°The Thunder Kingdom¡¯sst queen was the sister of the high priest.¡±


    ¡°Asabanor!¡± Xiao Lin eximed in surprise. The inn he was staying in had a half-statue of Asabanor, and Hank once told him and Song Jung about thest high priest of the Thunder Kingdom.


    ¡°Correct, it¡¯s Asabanor.¡± Chloe¡¯s blue eyes looked at Xiao Lin in mild surprise. It was not easy for a new student to know that name.


    Xiao Ling recalled what Hank told him, saying, ¡°Back then, when Judge Academy destroyed the Thunder Kingdom, everyone in the castle was captured, except for Asabanor. Putting aside the question of how Judge Academy missed the secret pathways under the pce, are they worried right now? Right, what was the average life expectancy of ancient Norman humans?¡±


    Chloe shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s impossible, when Judge Academy was at war with the Thunder Kingdom, the high priest was already almost a hundred years old. Over a hundred years have passed since then, and even modern spells or medicine can¡¯t possibly extend his life by that long.¡±


    At that point, everyone was deep in thought, wondering what secrets were kept in the stones.


    Lnder said in disinterest, ¡°Guys, why are you all adding to your own troubles! No matter what the stone tes are hiding, it concerns Judge Academy. We¡¯re just here to work, once we get our pay, everything here has nothing to do with us!¡±


    Chloe pursed her lips and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right, nothing in the stones has anything to do with us. Let¡¯s just get our work done properly. I really need to head back and get my own research done.¡±


    After a simple lunch, the work for the afternoon was the same as earlier. As Xiao Lin was copying, he tried to piece together any information he could glean, but his grasp of Ancient Normese was way too weak. The only thing it was good for was ensuring his writings were urate, and that he could understand a few random phrases here and there. However, when linked up together, he had no idea what the texts meant.


    When he got back to the inn at night, Song Jung forcefully pulled him into his room. He showed an immense curiosity as he asked about Xiao Lin¡¯s work today.


    Xiao Lin told him everything, and Department Head Song went deep in thought before eximing, ¡°I really did not expect that this would have something to do with the high priest.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand it. That Abasanor guy has definitely been dead for a long time. Are they scared he¡¯ll climb out of hell and lead the citizens to revolt?¡±


    Song Jung half-jokingly said, ¡°Logically, it¡¯s actually not that impossible! Don¡¯t forget we¡¯re currently on Norma. ck magic exists in the world¡¯s magic system. Of course, it¡¯s impossible to actually resurrect someone from the dead, even our own Law of Immortality only gives us a very restricted version of resurrection. However, ck magic can still revive the souls of the deceased... That¡¯s not a big threat though; it¡¯s probably even more insignificant to the academy.¡±


    Department Head Song started to look confused. Xiao Lin could only say, ¡°All I can do is to try as hard as I can to remember the contents of the stones. Maybe I can find some clues from that.¡±


    Song Jung smiled, ¡°Are you saying you want to be a spy? Did the student union president say anything to you before leaving?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not hide it. ¡°He did, but I¡¯m just in a bad mood myself.¡±


    ¡°The Americans are indeed quite prideful, which has to do with their history. The colonists only came to be about four hundred years ago on Earth. America did not exist at that time. The Americans established Judge Academy in the very infancy of their country, but their power was far behind the few original colonist academies. After all, they werete by more than a hundred years, but their birthce is way too perfect.¡±


    ¡°Birthce?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I mean the wormhole that is in America. Honestly, those wormholes originally belonged to the Royal British Academy. As I¡¯ve said before, the wormholes are all locked, and both the origin and destination can¡¯t be changed. The wormholes in America were way too perfect, and they were quite ambitious at the time as well. They were not willing to just hand it over to the English. In the end it caused some sort of war.¡±


    Song Jung thought for a while and continued, ¡°Back then, the Thunder Kingdom was in decline, and their power was among the weakest on Norma. After conquering Thunder Kingdom, the American colonists practically did not have any strong enemies around them. The only ones were the neighbouring elves, who are a peace loving race, or should I say a veryzy race. They very rarely ventured out of their own territory, and had no interest in expanding. In the end, America signed a hundred year non-aggression pact with them, and focused all their resources and energy into building up the country.¡±

 Chapter 112: Lilith

    <h4>Chapter 112: Lilith</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin could not help but ask, ¡°Then what about Dawn Academy? Were we busy fighting beastkin?¡±


    Song Jung sighed. ¡°Yeah, the beastkin are a crazy race, but they are still very strong. Even though we won back then, it was at a great cost. Those wars pretty muchpletely set back all the progress the Dawn Academy had made in the past two hundred years. The Americans then had absolutely norge-scale conflicts for more than a hundred years after they were established. Furthermore, they entered the New World after the initial stages when everyone was figuring things out. The rest of the academies had already set many examples for them to follow. They were spared a lot of trouble, and are now among the highest in terms of overall strength.¡±


    The secret of the stone tes were a puzzle to the public. When he thought about how Judge Academy had the confidence to invite the other academies, they probably felt that, even if they saw the stone tes, they would still not be able to decipher it. Ancient Normese was a very difficult lostnguage, and Xiao Lin felt it hard to believe that Professor Brown was actually at MAX-rank.


    Song Jung did not know much about Professor Brown. All he knew was that the man seemed to be a historian before he entered the academy, and had practically no interest in colonists when he entered the academy. Instead, he was extremely interested in the ancient history of Norma. His own skill was not too high, and only at Silver-rank. However, when it came to history¨Cespecially the history of the Thunder Kingdom¨Che had quite a bit of influence.


    Work for the next few days was more of the same; Xiao Lin was in charge of recording the contents of the stone tes, and the rest of them restored the stone tes. Work itself was actually not too dull, Xiao Lin got to interact with the others as he recorded, and got to ask things such as what the meaning of certain phrases was. When they met some harder questions, everyone would discuss it together.


    At those times, Xiao Lin could only spectate and listen in silently. He worked hard to remember the phrases and sentences they mentioned, and slowly digested it during the night. His Ancient Normese was the lowest level there, so no one found it strange. Just the fact that a new student had any grasp of thenguage was enough to surprise anyone.


    What made Xiao Lin happy was that the professor seemed to keep his promises. After he agreed to pay him daily, Hank handed him 400 New Dors.


    New Dors were the same as currencies on Earth¨Cin the form of paper notes. However, it looked a lot prettier. On the notes was a picture of Earth, and the two sides of the were reflected on the note. This was something all the academies took a long time discussing beforeing to an agreement on. Anyone above Silver-rank would never be able to return to Earth, so this was like a tribute to their old world.


    When he saw that it was the first time Xiao Lin touched a New Dor, Hank exined the defensive mechanisms of the notes to him. In a magically-advanced world like that one, it was not hard to createplete imitations. In order to prevent that, the colonists utilized a lot of methods to ensure the authenticity of the notes. The materials used were very meticulous, and the finishing touch was a type of ink printed into the paper that was impossible to be replicated by magic.


    Hank passed 400 dor notes to Xiao Lin, and told Xiao Lin that, if it was inconvenient to carry it around, he could always deposit it into the New Washington bank. Xiao Lin rejected the offer politely because Song Jung had told him even though some academies had established banks in the New World, money was still not transferable between banks.


    Song Jung did not stay idle in the inn during the day; he said he visited some old friends, but did not reveal more than that.


    The first few days in New Washington went by smoothly, though Xiao Lin was still unable to make heads or tails of the contents of the stone tes. Professor Brown usually kept to himself inside the pce, and only appeared asionally to issue orders, such as which stone tes to prioritize.


    Xiao Lin had been lectured a few times for not performing up the standards, but it was not too strict and he never had his sry deducted. The professor probably knew he was a new student and did not have a high level in Ancient Normese.


    Xiao Lin had his own thoughts as well. He had already been in New Washington for four days. On top of the time he stopped at Earth, which equaled one day on Norma, five days had passed. That meant he was two days away from being able to use his replication skill. He had already decided on using the skill on Professor Brown¡¯s Ancient Normese in order to properly discern what was written on the stone tes.


    However, on the sixth day something happened that disrupted Xiao Lin¡¯s ns.


    He was copying the stones as usual that day when the doors of the hall were pushed open. The sharp grinding of stone disturbed everyone¡¯s concentration as all of them furrowed their eyebrows and raised their heads.


    In front of the door was a tall woman with brown, curly hair. Her blue eyes surveyed the hall, as if looking for something.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything about a neer.¡± Lnder mumbled to himself.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s someone that Judge Academy invited. Our progress isn¡¯t too fast right now,¡± Chloe said earnestly.


    After looking around, she did not seem to find who she was looking for, so she opened her mouth to ask. Her voice was clear and loud, as she surprisingly said in Mandarin, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao Lin? Which one of you is Xiao Lin from the Dawn Academy?¡±


    The rest of them might not understand Mandarin, but they still heard the words Xiao Lin and Dawn Academy. Their bewildered gazes fell on to Xiao Lin.


    The woman walked straight toward the corner with elegant footsteps, eyeing Xiao Lin with a very interested expression.


    Lnder whistled as he had a teasing look on his face. He shed his thumb to Xiao Lin as he said, ¡°Xiao! You actually managed tond yourself such a hot babe in just a few days within New Washington. I thought they said the Chinese were more reserved, but you definitely aren¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know who she is!¡± Xiao Lin quickly dispelled any misconceptions of their rtionship. He had been spending every day in either the pce or the inn since he came to New Washington; he had not even managed to find any free time to go sightseeing in the city, so how could he be hitting on women. Plus, this woman was looking at him with an expression that was making him ufortable.


    Yes, Xiao Lin had encountered this gaze before. It was the same gaze Song Jung had on his face when he tricked Xiao Lin into eating the ironb chicken. It was like a hunter that had found its prey!


    Finally finding her target, the woman let out a beautiful and vibrant smile. ¡°So, you¡¯re Xiao Lin. My name is Lilith.¡±


    Her Mandarin was very fluent, but no matter how hard Xiao Lin dug into his memories, he could not recall even meeting an American woman named Lilith.


    However, when Lnder, who was all smiles earlier, heard the name Lilith, his expression changed drastically as he almost lost his voice in shock. ¡°Lilith? My God, you...you can¡¯t be that Lilith!¡±

 Chapter 113: Wanna Duel?

    <h4>Chapter 113: Wanna Duel?</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The rest of them had basically the same bbergasted reaction as Lnder, apanied with a hint of fear. Yes, fear. With the spirit chains, they could very easily recognize each other¡¯s mental states. The fear was especially present in Chloe and Lnder.


    Xiao Lin was very curious. He did not understand why that name caused such a big reaction in them. He very quickly heard Lnder attempting to tter the woman by saying, ¡°I want to apologize for my joke earlier. Please rest assured, Xiao Lin might be our temporary colleague, but if he had done anything to offend you, I wouldn¡¯t let him off easily.¡±


    Lilith narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯re from the Sainte Acad¨¦mie?¡±


    Lnder hurriedly nodded, adding, ¡°That¡¯s right. I was fortunate enough to be able to witness that simted battle at the start of the year. You savagely beat up all the participants from our academy. Ah no, I should say you beat all your opponents in the tournament.


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrows. He did not know Lilith, but he had some impression of the Demon Queen moniker. Before he left, the student union president did mention that a student managed to achieve an S-rank evaluation in the Sunset Canyon exam before, and that person was from Judge Academy and known to outsiders as the Demon Queen.


    He was nning on looking for the Demon Queen to find out how she managed to get an S-ranked evaluation in the exams, but both the Be incident and the stone tes had left Xiao Lin without much time to himself in New Washington, so he forgot about it. Never would he have expected the other party to look for him herself.


    Xiao Lin rubbed his temples, not believing his eyes. In his mind, the Demon Queen was an immensely powerful, vicious and savage person, massive and muscr. It was hard to consolidate that image with the beautiful woman in front of him. He smiled bitterly as he shook his head, thinking to himself that he should be strengthening his mental fortitude.


    Even though he was still confused, Xiao Lin stood up and offered his hand to the other party, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Xiao Lin from the Dawn Academy. I¡¯ve long heard of the Demon Queen, so I¡¯m very happy to meet you.¡±


    Lilith gave him a very warm and tender smile, but her next words shocked everyone present. She did not shake Xiao Lin¡¯s hand, but instead pointed at him with her finger as she spiritedly dered, ¡°I heard you¡¯re very strong! Wanna duel?!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s hand hung in the air. His face wore a strange expression as he began to suspect he was hard of hearing, or maybe that the woman was not that proficient in Mandarin, and so misspoke.


    However, Lilith¡¯s next words shattered his hopes; the woman¡¯s gaze was intense as she said, ¡°I heard you were a summoner capable of summoning a giant golden dragon. I¡¯ve never fought with a summoner of your caliber before. I think it would be very interesting!¡±


    ¡°Hold on! Hold on for just a minute!¡± He saw that Lilith somehow already unsheathed two daggers, and Xiao Lin frantically waved his hands, ¡°There¡¯s a misunderstanding here! Summoner? Please, I don¡¯t even know any summoning spells. How could I be a summoner!¡±


    Lilith tilted her head with a confused expression, ¡°Are you telling me that the giant golden dragon that appeared above New Washington a few days ago wasn¡¯t summoned by you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess it was...¡± Xiao Lin thought for a moment, and even though it was not by his own volition, the dragon really was summoned from the Lightstream Jade that he had with him.


    After saying that, Lnder and the others looked at him differently. Everyone at least knew a little about the chaos that happened in New Washington that day, but none of them could possibly have linked the dragon with a new student who had just enrolled.


    Lilith impatiently said, ¡°Then that¡¯s that, quit dilly dallying. You must be very strong if you could defeat themander of the dragon-eagle knights. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go easy on you!¡±


    The woman¡¯s bloodthirst made Xiao Lin break out in cold sweat. He immediately retreated a few steps, distancing himself from the woman. ¡°Let me finish! I used some other method to summon the dragon, but what do you mean defeat Commander Harry? That¡¯s just a false rumor!¡±


    Lilith tilted her head again. ¡°But everyone says so.¡±


    Even Xiao Lin himself did not know of the rumors that had been spreading within the city the past few days. The initial version was that a young man from the Dawn Academy had summoned a giant golden dragon, then after two days, he turned into an immensely powerful summoner from the Dawn Academy, and then it morphed into that summoner from Dawn Academy had summoned the dragon to fight the dragon-eagle knight regiment, defeating Commander Harry.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not familiar with Lilith, but Lnder¡¯s expressions and the words from the student union president assured him that the woman who was called the Demon Queen was definitely not someone he could match at his current level.


    After that, Xiao Lin spent all his energy and spit in exining the situation. With that, on top of Chloe and the others vouching for his status as a new student, they finally managed to persuade Lilith. However, the woman did not give up, pointing her dagger at Xiao Lin, ¡°However, it¡¯s true that you can summon a giant golden dragon. I¡¯ve always wanted the chance to fight with an actual dragon. Summon it! I won¡¯t fight you, but surely I can fight your illusory dragon!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt that he had wasted all his time exining. He did not know if Lilith was clueless or fearless for daring to fight a giant golden dragon alone.


    The Lightstream Jade had limited uses, and he did not know how much draconic power was left inside. Every time he used it would mean one less use out, so he did not dare waste it. Furthermore, if he really did summon it again in New Washington, who knew what sort of reaction woulde from the Americans. Moreover, if he really let Lilith duel the dragon, his head would be on the chopping block if anything were to happen to her.


    No matter how he thought about it, Xiao Lin could only stubbornly refuse the suggestion.


    Lilith¡¯s white face was full of rage, but Xiao Lin was relieved that the woman did not seem to know of the Lightstream Jade¡¯s defense mechanism.


    The incident quickly attracted Professor Brown to run over, but Xiao Lin strangely noted that Professor Brown did not seem to have much influence over Lilith. It was only until the girl who used the spirit chains got there when Lilith finally agreed to let it drop.


    However, before she left, Lilith calmly told Xiao Lin she would not give up.


    The incident was finally over, and Xiao Lin did not pay it much mind until he noticed Lnder looking at him with a pitiful expression. When he asked, Lnder shook his head and sighed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear her say she wouldn¡¯t give up? It¡¯s all over for you...¡±

 Chapter 114: Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 114: Rumors</h4>


    ¡°Xiao! Do you really understand Lilith?¡± Lnder said with a look of pity, ¡°Trust me, she¡¯s definitely not someone who you can reason with normally. Don¡¯t be tricked by her beauty; no matter how crazy it is, she¡¯s always been able to do what she said she would.¡±


    Chloe also looked at him with sympathy, ¡°I heard of the simted battle at the start of the year as well. You poor child. I think you¡¯d better give Professor Brown a proper exnation, then hurry back to Dawn Academy.¡±


    The rest of them nodded as well. Xiao Lin had thought Lilith¡¯sst words were a joke, but everyone acting like this caused him to reassess that. He suddenly felt a sense of foreboding as he softly asked, ¡°What was the simted battle at the start of the year? I didn¡¯t really understand what Lnder said earlier. Could someone exin it to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯m from the Sainte Acad¨¦mie, so I personally witnessed that bloodbath!¡± Lnder had a sick look on his face. ¡°All the academies asionally hold mock battles. Both parties would pick out a certain number of students, and have apetition on a special map. The rankings of the academies are usually determined like that. At the start of the year, the American academy had a mock battle against an alliance of European academies, minus Ennd...¡±


    ¡°Why is it an allied European team? And why exclude Ennd?¡± Xiao Lin was confused.


    Chloe, who was from the Royal British Academy, exined, ¡°The European colonized territories are all rtively close together, but the Royal Academy is located further away. Not to mention we are much stronger than them, so there is no need for us to enter their alliance.¡±


    Even though Lnder shot her a re when she mentioned strength, it was not the topic of conversation, so he collected himself and continued.


    ¡°So this simted battle is a 10-versus-10 tournament. Of the 20 participants, 19 of them were Silver-ranked, the only Bronze-rank was Lilith. Lilith was also the only sophomore student among everyone there; the rest of them were in their third and fourth years. At the time, our academy was even discussing on the forums if we should give her some boost, especially with her being a girl...¡± Lnder had a painful look on his face as he rubbed his forehead, looking like he was regretting his naivete.


    ¡°The time limit for the battle was set at three hours, but in actual fact, the tournament lost all meaning forty minutes in. Everyone could immediately tell that Lilith¡¯s strength alone was enough to defeat all ten of the representatives from our academy without breaking a sweat. However, she refused to directly beat all her opponents and end the tournament. All the spectators including myself thought she was showing us some face, but we realized that was only the beginning of a nightmare.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°What did she do?¡±


    Lnder said bitterly, ¡°She said the tournament was too boring, and way too easy. She wanted to change the rules... She then proceeded to toss aside the sickle which she was most proficient at, saying she wanted to duel each of them individually. She would only use the same weapons and skills as her opponents, and she would forfeit the moment she used something different... At the time, we thought it was the perfect time to mount aeback, so we immediately agreed. The Demon Queen then proceeded to stomp the reputation of the whole of Europe into the ground!¡±


    ¡°What kind of joke is this?¡± Someone could not help but exim. ¡°Does she think she¡¯s God? Using the same weapons and skills? What right does she have to say something so audacious?!¡±


    Lnder let out a long sigh. ¡°Which is why I said that was the beginning of the nightmare... Those students representing our academies were all among the elites of their year! However, they were all easily defeated by a sophomore girl, not even having any chance at victory. These battles between academies happen almost every year, so obviously everyone had been prepared for the possibility of losing. However, to lose to a novice in their own field, with the skills they were the best at... Everyone of them had their confidence shattered by Lilith. Some of them even gave up on their specialities when they got back, changing right into different courses...¡±


    Chloe knew quite a bit about the tournament as well. She added, ¡°Europe had about five or six different weapons on their side, and all the skills they used were of extreme difficulty. Anyone who looked at the tournament could confirm that Lilith had definitely never mastered those skills before she made that insane bet. Do you all realize what that meant?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stupefied. ¡°What you¡¯re saying is shepletely mastered those skills in the middle of the tournament? How could that be possible!¡±


    Chloe smiled bitterly. ¡°I can¡¯t understand it either, but that is the truth. Losing in your best field to aplete novice... No one would be able to ept something like that. The participants all started calling her the Demon Queen, and after a while, that moniker began to spread.¡±


    After saying that, Lnder patted Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mate! I¡¯m honestly advising you to quickly head back to the Dawn Academy. She is definitely not someone you want to get involved with! Frankly, even though I don¡¯t know how you came to possess a giant golden dragon, but if she has you in her sights, I feel like even a dragon would not be able to save you!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Xiao! What¡¯s wrong with you. You actually don¡¯t have to worry that much, since she gave up dueling with you personally. At least you can be assured that you yourself will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Actually, what¡¯s the deal with you and the dragon? That¡¯s not something a new student can have!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m even more curious as to how he brought it into New Washington!¡±


    The pressure brought by the Demon Queen slowly dissipated, and other than Xiao Lin, everyone else felt that, no matter how horrifying Lilith¡¯s powers were, it had nothing to do with them. However, since they had been together for about a week, they still tried to help Xiao Lin figure a way out of things.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s feelings were veryplicated at the moment, and his face was even frozen in ce for quite a while, but not because he was afraid of Lilith; it was purely due to shock and confusion.


    Lilith, that Demon Queen was also multi-ssed! However, not in training in magic and martial skills like Xiao Lin. Rather, she was proficient in all sorts of weapons.


    Correct, it was proficiency, not just shallow understanding. He knew that because most high-level skills needed a lot of experience as a foundation; that was a condition that could not be escaped.

 Chapter 115: Gravity Training

    <h4>Chapter 115: Gravity Training</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The fact that Lilith could learn the skills of others in the middle of the tournament meant that she had quite possibly mastered a great number of weapons. That type of learning ability was monstrous.


    As someone who was cultivating both magic and physical abilities, Xiao Lin had a lot he could not figure out. His efficiency in copying even started to suffer from it. He was even unmoved when he heard Professor Brown say the next day would be a rest day before they left for the evening.


    It was only until Xiao Lin reached the inn when he realized that he actually did not need to go to work the next day. Other than remarking about how strongly Americans valued their holidays, he also realized that his replication skill would be off cooldown tomorrow. He was prepared to use it on Professor Brown¡¯s Ancient Normese, but since it was a break, who knew if he could actually find the man.


    Song Jung got home muchter than usual that night, and the heavy scent of alcohol could be smelled off him. However, the moment Xiao Lin finished recalling the day¡¯s events, Department Head Song immediately sobered up.


    ¡°Lilith? Demon Queen? Do not provoke her! You absolutely must not offend her!¡± Song Jung used his sternest tone to warn Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Lilith¡¯s famous battle, but I really can¡¯t put her face to the Demon Queen moniker...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met Lilith, nor do I know how she earned that name, but do you know of the other rumor surrounding Lilith?¡±


    ¡°What rumor?¡±


    Song Jung looked around, making sure the windows and doors were all shut before saying in a low voice, ¡°In truth, there was a rumor about Lilith, even when she just entered the academy. It¡¯s just that a lot of people do not know she is the one the rumors are talking about. When she entered the academyst year, there was a rumor that Judge Academy discovered an SS-talented student.¡±


    ¡°SS-rank! Lilith?¡±


    ¡°Correct, the news shocked everyone at the time.¡± Song Jung did not realize Xiao Lin¡¯s shocked expression also contained a hint of curiosity. He continued saying, ¡°This is the first bit of news about an SS-rank talent since the predecessor who enacted the Law of Immortality. It was denied very quickly by the dean of the Judge Academy, and never talked about since.¡±


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrow. ¡°So, is that rumor true or not?¡±


    Song Jung shook his head. ¡°That, I have no clue. However, a lot more people were more willing to believe the rumor ever since the battle at the start of the year. That woman is rumored to be extremely strong!¡±


    Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s unsettled expression, Song Jung consoled him and added, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about it. If Lilith really does have a SS-rank talent, then there¡¯s no shame in the difference of your abilities. Furthermore, I got an interesting piece of news when I visited some old friends a few days ago. Do you know how Lilith trained during her first year?¡±


    Xiao Lin really did have quiteplicated feelings, because he also had an SS-rank talent. ording to Department Head Song, there had only been one confirmed SS-ranked person in the history of the colonists. The rarity of such a talent was obvious, but his skill was not even close to Liliths, which made him feel quite vexed. He asked, ¡°First year?? Shouldn¡¯t she have been attending sses and participating in monthly tests?¡±


    ¡°No. From what I heard, Lilith entered the New World one month after she enrolled, beginning to train here. Do you understand what that means?¡±


    Xiao Lion was bbergasted. ¡°One month after enrolling? She couldn¡¯t possibly have been ck-Iron ranked then. However, it¡¯s probably not a problem with the Royal British Academy¡¯s super-potion, and the gravity issue can be mitigated by special essories. However, what use would it be? Would training in the New World yield better results?¡±


    Song Jung also had aplicated look on his face. ¡°No, the first time Lilith trained in the New World. She only consumed the medicine. She did not use any anti-gravity essories.¡±


    ¡°No essories? Oh, Be probably cast the anti-gravity spell on her then.¡±


    ¡°No! What I meant was, she used absolutely no means to reduce the gravity, but exposed herself to an environment with double the gravity to train in.¡±


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. He had felt the impact of double gravity before, and it was definitely pure torture. He could not help but ask, ¡°Would there really be no problems with that?¡±


    ¡°There are very big problems!¡± Song Jung shook his head and said, ¡°Doing that is absolutely challenging your body to the very limit. Anyone else trying to do intense training in such an environment would quickly see their body destroyed, and even after that, the injuries would be extremely difficult to cure. It¡¯s not like no one had ever thought about doing so before Lilith, but it did not end well for any of them.¡±


    ¡°So Lilith managed to exceed her limit?¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯m not too sure about. ording to my friend, Lilith only managed to enter the ck-Iron rank four months after she entered the academy. If the rumors are true, then her speed of progress is among the top three people in the history of the colonists. Do you get it now? Lilith is absolutely not someone you can currently mess with. No matter what happens, you should run very far away from her.¡±


    Xiao Lin was deep in thought, and suddenly raised his head after a long time with a fire in his gaze, ¡°Department Head Song, I wish to continue my training here. I¡¯ll be in New Washington for a month. Even though I¡¯ll be getting quite a lot of money, if I let myself waste away for a whole month, I might not even be able to hold onto my ss monitor position when I get back. I¡¯ve been thinking about it for the past few days.¡±


    ¡°Training? That¡¯s not an issue. New Washington has its own training grounds, but don¡¯t tell me you want to take off your anti-gravity pin?¡±


    Not waiting for an answer, Song Jung said sternly, ¡°No way! Absolutely no way! Not everyone can be like Lilith. You¡¯ve felt for yourself what the gravity is like; that¡¯s courting death! Since I agreed to apany you, then I¡¯m basically your guardian. I¡¯m responsible for your safety!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled. ¡°How could I? I don¡¯t n on experiencing that sort of pressure again. I just want to find a ce to train when I¡¯m free tomorrow to not waste my time.¡±


    Song Jung was suspicious. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    Xiao Lin blinked. ¡°Look at my eyes! It¡¯s definitely true! Rx! How could I toy with my own life!¡±


    Song Jung still could not eliminate all his suspicion, but he rxed a bit before saying, ¡°Just don¡¯t do anything stupid. Training in a high-gravity environment is very dangerous. Lilith only managed to survive thanks to her extreme learning ability, which allowed her physique to level up when it reached its limits. Anyone else would definitely die.¡±

 Chapter 116: Virtual Battle System

    <h4>Chapter 116: Virtual Battle System</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin continuously swore and guaranteed he would take his life seriously and finally managed to subdue Song Jung¡¯s suspicions. Song Jung finally agreed to look for a ce to train with him in the city the next day.


    As the central city of the American colonists, there were an immense amount of graduates there. Even after leaving the academy, people there would still take the time to train and improve their abilities, which led to the establishment of training halls in the city.


    The next morning, Song Jung woke Xiao Lin up very early. He told him if he really wanted to train then, he needed to be early; There might not be any spotster. He then told him about the training halls.


    ¡°New Washington has a lot of training halls of various levels. The low-leveled ones are simr to the ones in school. The mid-level ones have a lot of weapon facilities, as well as specialized instructors who are usually part of the military. Their skills may not be ranked high, but they have plenty ofbat experience. They also provide specialized sparring, but don¡¯t even think about it. The sparring partners here are all at least ck-Iron rank; against you, it wouldn¡¯t even be called training. It¡¯d be a beating.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not listen to Song Jung¡¯s further exnations; he just asked, ¡°Then what about the high-level ones?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very expensive!¡±


    ¡°How expensive?¡±


    ¡°I remember the price used to be around three or four hundred New Dors, but I¡¯m not sure if the price has gone up.¡±


    ¡°Three to four hundred dors for a day is pretty okay.¡±


    Song Jung corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s not a day, it¡¯s for an hour.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked. His wages in New Washington were 400 New Dors a day. He has already earned 2800 New Dors after a week of working with Professor Brown. He was not sure how much buying power that had, but Song Jung did tell him the ie was quite good. However, just an hour of training in the high-level training halls would set him back by a day¡¯s worth of wages. That fee was really quite exorbitant.


    Song Jung saw the look on Xiao Lin¡¯s face and shook his head. ¡°I told you it was expensive. You don¡¯t even need to think about it.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it and did not immediately reject it. ¡°What do the high-level training halls provide?¡±


    ¡°Ah, the high-level training halls have the newest virtual battle systems. It can automatically generate opponents that you need to face. It¡¯s pretty advanced stuff¨Conly invented about five to six years ago. It can be considered the pinnacle of fusions between science and alchemy.¡±


    With a sigh, Song Jung looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s puzzled expression, and continued to exin, ¡°Have you yed online games before? This virtual battle system would give you a 0 level 0 attribute and 0 skill character for you to freely customize by yourself. After that, the character would virtually fight you, and because it¡¯s a virtual fight, there¡¯s no risk of injury.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood, and was quite intrigued. This battle system sounded really impressive, so he asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we have this system at the academy?¡±


    Song Jungughed. ¡°This system was originally researched to be built in the academies, but they realizedter that the cost of building it was way too high. A lot of the materials needed were quite rare, and the manufacturing costs were expensive as well. None of the academies had the ability to install it, so it ended up in the hands of private investors. That led to the opening of training halls in the colonial territories, and the ie was quite good, so it was a profitable venture. There are only two high-level training halls in the whole of New Washington.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    ¡°No problem. It¡¯s your own money after all!¡±


    The training hall was situated in the army district, which was in the south-eastern corner of the city. The army district was actually not where the troops were garrisoned. In truth, the soldiers of New Washington, which were the dragon-eagle knights, were stationed outside the city. The army district was where all the facilities which had to do with training, and was where weapons and gear were situated.


    Entering the army district, Xiao Lin could feel that everyone there had a different kind of attirepared to those in other districts. Most of the people there were either wearing a suit of armor or mage¡¯s robes. The majority of the people there were colonists, but there were also a small number of Normans. The most interesting ones were a few sharp-eared elves with mildly green skin. Xiao Lin was a bit excited when he saw the elves, but Song Jung told him it was nothing to gawk at.


    America had signed a nonaggression pact with the elves a long time ago, so them appearing in New Washington was a verymon matter.


    The high-level training hall that Song Jung talked about was very eye-catching. It was probably the building that upied thergest area here, and there was already a huge queue in front of the hall.


    Xiao Lin gaped. He thought there would not be so many people at such an expensive facility, but it turned out to be so popr.


    Song Jung went over and chatted with one of the Americans before returning, ¡°How unlucky. The other training hall is closed for repairs today, so everyone ended up here instead.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the queue with a troubled expression.


    Song Jung asked, ¡°Do you really want to go in?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded earnestly.


    Song Jung then said, ¡°Then go look for Hank. We should have just looked for him when we headed out earlier! We¡¯re diplomats, so we should get some special treatment...right?¡±


    ¡°Why are you so uncertain?¡±


    Hank was usually at an office next to the castle. That was pretty much Judge Academy¡¯s foreign affairs office, specially there to handle matters rted to other academies. Hank was in charge of the Dawn Academy.


    It took them some time to locate Hank. When Hank heard what they wanted, his attitude was a lot better than what they expected. He passionately assured them that, as invitees of Judge Academy, they would be given special priority. That training hall actually had a good rtionship with Judge Academy, so he could be of great help with the matter.


    Song Jung was curious about his attitude, but Hank very quickly thanked Xiao Lin. It turned out Hank had gone to Professor Brown to ask about the work they were doing, and Xiao Lin had gotten some praise from Professor Brown thanks to his hard work.


    Even though they were invited over, Judge Academy obviously wanted the money they spent to count, so they would ask for an update from Professor Brown every week to prevent anyone from earning an empty wage.


    It seemed like Xiao Lin¡¯s hard work for the whole week really paid off. On the way to the army district, Hank beat his chest, saying he could get Xiao Lin a discount thanks to his personal rtionships.¡±


    ¡°Could I get a fifty percent discount?¡± Xiao Lin asked in anticipation.


    ¡°No! five percent!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eye twitched, not knowing what to say.


    Hank let out a dry cough. ¡°You need to understand, maintaining the virtual battle system costs a lot. Even though the training hall is supported by our academy, it¡¯s still a private venture in the end, so they can¡¯t really give too much of a discount.¡±

 Chapter 117: Simulation

    <h4>Chapter 117: Simtion</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Hank brought them straight into the training hall after showing his identification. The inside of the hall looked like a hotel. The first floor was the business lounge, and every floor after the second were personal training rooms. A tall and muscr man came out and gave Hank a hug.


    After Hank talked to him for a bit, the man was introduced to Xiao Lin, ¡°This is Dickens, the manager of the training hall. After hearing that you¡¯re here to help Judge Academy, he¡¯s willing to give you an even bigger discount: 10 percent off! That¡¯s a discount no one else can possibly get!¡±


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched, but he consoled himself by thinking it was better than nothing. ¡°Then how much would I need to pay per hour? Mr. Hank, you know I¡¯m only making four hundred a day.¡±


    Hank smiled. ¡°The prices are actually different for everyone. To put it simply, energy stones are needed to operate the virtual battle system. Different simtions would require different levels of energy, and the price would obviously be higher for simtions that require more energy. However, I think the lowest level of energy stones would be sufficient for you, so it¡¯s only 100 New Dors an hour, 90 after the discount.¡±


    That was a lot cheaper than what he expected. Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief and nodded in acknowledgement.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we have you down for an hour first to test it out? You can decide if you want to continue after that,¡± Hank said. He then turned his head and asked, ¡°Department Head Song, why don¡¯t you give it a try as well?¡±


    ¡°No need, this toy is too ssy for me.¡± Song Jung shook his head and rejected. He turned to Xiao Lin and said, ¡°Well, I won¡¯t be staying here to look after you. I trust you remember the way back? Just remember, do not take off your anti-gravity pin!¡±


    ¡°Rx!¡± Xiao Lin answered resolutely.


    Song Jung and Hank left, and Dickens brought Xiao Lin upstairs. Dickens did not speak Mandarin, so the two of them only used some simple phrases tomunicate. He brought Xiao Lin to thest room on the second floor. After pushing the door and entering, he saw that the room was separated into two parts. The first part they saw looked like a living room. It had some simple furniture and beverages; on the sides were two rows of weapons and armor. They were all verymon gear.


    There was another door in the room which led to the training room. The training room was very spacious, only consisting of four metal walls without any other items.


    Dickens gestured around with his hands to exin to Xiao Lin how the system worked. There was something like a tablet outside of the training room which was operated by magic. Xiao Lin needed to ce his hand on the sparkling orb next to it for theputer screen to turn on.


    The system was quite easy to understand. On the screen were a few options Xiao Lin could adjust, and it was in simple enough English for Xiao Lin to understand. The options were: sex, age and height, followed by strength, agility, intelligence, and physique.


    Dickens exined that even race could be set, but that would require a newer model of the virtual battle simtor, which would also be more expensive. Xiao Lin did not need that option anyway. The model he was using was the first model, so there were no settings for different races, but most of the other functions were simr.


    The system also had stored data of real people. Everyone who trained there had the option of storing their data into the system, such as their attributes and skills. After that, anyone would be able to choose anyone¡¯s data to spar against. If enough people picked your data, the training hall would even offer mary rewards.


    After all, it was hard to create a realistic character just from setting it by yourself. The best way to get more realistic simtions was to use stored data. Dickens helped Xiao Lin switch to a different interface which had a lot of character temtes. Of course, for privacy reasons, the names and even genders were hidden.


    However, Xiao Lin quickly lost interest in it. The lowest ranks there were at least at ck Iron or Bronze; it would be foolish for him to choose them.


    After a basic introduction to the system, Dickens ced a white conical energy stone into an empty slot next to the tablet. He warned Xiao Lin that it was an energy stone of the lowest grade; it was only enough to simte a character no stronger than ck Iron-rank. If the character he set exceeded that strength, the energy stone would not be able to handle it and explode from being overloaded. The losses incurred would be borne by the user.


    Xiao Lin did not n on simting anyone near that level of strength; his main reason for training there was to get used to the gravity, so he would not need an excessively strong opponent.


    After Dickens left, Xiao Lin carefully thought out the settings. He would not be charged for the time taken for him to fix up the settings, so he had plenty of them to think about it.


    The opponent he set for himself was definitely of the lowest rank. After a few minutes, he quickly entered the stats he wanted into the tablet.


    [Strength 2, Agility 1, Intelligence 3, Physique 3]


    [Basic Swordsmanship LV1]


    [Basic Blocking LV1]


    [shing LV1]


    [Basic Fitness LV2]


    [Basic Perception LV1]


    [Basic Meditation LV1]


    Xiao Lin basically entered his own attributes and skills but cut them in half. He got a dagger from the weapon rack and started the program. The monitor showed a one-hour timer as he entered the training room.


    It was a bit dark in the training room, but it did not really affect his vision in the narrow training space. A beam of light rose in the center of the room. It was the virtual character that was made from drawing out magic from the energy stone.


    It was a bit hard to call it an actual person; the blue glowing figure in front of him only had the shape of a human. The face was devoid of any organs; it was just like a blue shadow. Xiao Lin set it to have Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Perception, but at LV1, the Basic Perception was not enough to cast spells, so the shadow had something like a sword in its hand.


    Almost at the same time, the walls at the side showed two red lines. Xiao Lin smirked when he saw it; it really was looking more and more like a game. The two lines represented both their hit points, since the shadow could not actually cause any physical harm, it would assign damage based on their attributes and skills, which would then be reflected on the lines.


    Of course, the calctions would be quite different from what would happen in real life; it was just there as a reference point for the trainee.


    After all, things like hit points and attack power do not exist in actual battle. However, since it was a virtual battle, Xiao Lin just treated it as a game.

 Chapter 118: Training

    <h4>Chapter 118: Training</h4>


    After preparing himself mentally, Xiao Lin took off the anti-gravity pin. His promise with Song Jung was obviously a lie... If Lilith was actually also an SS-rank talent, then there was no reason Xiao Lin would not be able to do anything she could do.


    The virtual character would not be affected by the gravity in the New World either. Strictly speaking, it was just an energy body formed with the energy stone. Even if it was not at the ck Iron-rank, it would not be affected by the gravity anyway.


    [Virtual battle, start!]


    The virtual character was set to never initiate the first attack, so Xiao Lin rushed forward first with his de. However, in just a few steps, Xiao Lin let out a shout before falling to the ground. His body could not adapt to the gravity after he took off the pin. He could not run and had to stick his dagger into the ground to stop himself from falling down.


    After verifying that Xiao Lin had already made an attack, the virtual character started to attack as well. It only had one point in agility, so its speed was quite slow. Its swordsmanship was also quite shoddy and full of ws, but against Xiao Lin who could barely move, the blue de of light shed through Xiao Lin¡¯s neck without any difficulty.


    Xiao Lin felt a warm feeling go through his neck as his hit points on disy immediately went to zero. That was because the de had struck a critical point without any attempt at defense from Xiao Lin, so the hit was judged to be fatal.


    After the attack, the virtual character once again stood in the center of the room unmoving. When either of their hit points reached zero, it meant the end of a round of sparring. The virtual character would revert to its initial position and wait for an attack from the trainee.


    Xiao Lin struggled to get back to his feet. This time, he did not start his attack from far away; instead he slowly walked in front of the virtual character and shed his de at it.


    The virtual character¡¯s reactions were slow, but Xiao Lin¡¯s movement was even slower. The dagger in the training room was simr to the beginner dagger at Dawn Academy, but he felt like what he was holding was not a dagger, it was like an extremely heavy weight. He used all his might just to raise his de and sh it. His body shook the entire time, and it also gave the virtual character enough time to counterattack.


    nk!


    Even though the virtual character was set to have lower strength than Xiao Lin, Xiao Lin could not even exert half his actual power on the de. It was unsurprisingly blocked, and the rebound caused Xiao Lin to take a step back. It was hard for him to even keep his bnce.


    The blue de of light once again aimed for Xiao Lin¡¯s neck, but he was prepared for it this time. He swung down his de that was just deflected, but the pressure of gravity caused his body to be like a rusted machine. Even though he knew what to do, his body could not react in time.


    His hit points slid down to zero once again. The second battle did not evenst for more than a minute, but Xiao Lin was noticeably breathing much harder and the muscles on his arms were extremely numb. Xiao Lin did not choose to rest, since he had gotten this one hour using his treasured New Dors. However, the results of the one hour of training were too horrible to look at.


    The virtual character¡¯s attributes were actually not too different from Xiao Lin¡¯s when he first entered the academy. From his perspective, the virtual character¡¯s skills were really very low. He did not realize it when he took the admissions test, but the movements of the zombies were all very clumsy, and their power had even been reduced by the academy. Now that he had an outside view, Xiao Lin finally understood how weak he was when he first entered the academy.


    However, training in double gravity was a lot more challenging than he thought. Just letting his body adapt alone took up quite a lot of time. In the first hour, based on the system¡¯s evaluation, Xiao Lin could not even inflict any real harm to his opponent. On the other hand, even though the virtual human was slow, and its swings were not that powerful, it could hit him very easily. Eventer on, when Xiao Lin decided to only defend and not attack, he was still unable to prevent his hit points from rapidly evaporating.


    In one of the battles, the virtual fighter actually used the shing skill right in front of Xiao Lin. That skill could deal a lot of damage after fully charging, but it took too long to charge, which meant it was not very practical in actual battles. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s stiff body was still not able to avoid it...


    Of course, it was not all doom and gloom for Xiao Lin. In thest battle, Xiao Lin could finally hold the virtual character back for more than one minute. He could actually do it for longer, but the virtual human disappeared when the hour was up.


    nk!


    Xiao Lin threw the training dagger away as hey down on the floor straightaway. He was desperately grasping for breath. Up until thest exchange, he had practically been biting on his lips, forcing himself to move. It was only when he finally got to rest when he started to feel pain all over his body. He wanted to raise his hand but found that he did not have the strength, so he could only use his tongue to lick his bloodied lips.


    After a few minutes of recovering, he could finally force himself up to reactivate the anti-gravity pin. After the pressure dissipated, he felt much more rxed. However, he had still used up quite a lot of his stamina, and would need quite some time to recover.


    The door to the training room once again opened as Dickens walked inside. When he saw Xiao Lin¡¯s exhausted body on the floor, he found it was strange. How could he have fought to that degree when it was not even of the ck Iron-rank? Nheless, he never pried into their clients private matters, so he politely asked, ¡°Would you like to continue?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded as he held up one finger to show he would like another hour. After thinking, he gestured as tried to speak in English, ¡°Please let me rest for a bit before starting the next hour. Is that okay?¡±


    Dickens puzzled over it before finally getting it. He smiled as he nodded, indicating that he could start at any time. After receiving 90 New Dors, he left and shut the door.


    ¡°He¡¯s a decent man!¡± Xiao Lin mumbled to himself.


    The man was the manager of this training hall and would naturally be quite busy, especially since there were so many people queuing outside. Despite that, Dickens still personally went there to meet him. Even if it was to give face to Hank, Xiao Lin still felt he was a decent man.


    However, Xiao Lin did not see Dickens quickly stopping at a corner right after he left the room. He had a bitter smile on his face, ¡°My apologies, that boy from Dawn Academy is not intending on leaving at the moment. If you really need to meet him, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll need to wait for one more hour.¡±


    The beautiful girl in front of him impatiently said, ¡°What? One more hour?! How troublesome. Whatever, get me an hour as well!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± Dicken eximed, ¡°You¡¯ve already broken three of my systems. If you continue, I¡¯ll lose so much money, I¡¯ll have to sell my body!¡±

 Chapter 119: Virtual Character Changed

    <h4>Chapter 119: Virtual Character Changed</h4>


    The woman standing in front of Dickens was Lilith. She had followed Xiao Lin all the way to the training hall and was waiting outside for quite a while before she got frustrated. She had nned to barge inside, but the sharp-eyed Dickens noticed and stopped her.


    Lilith was once a regr there and Dickens was quite familiar with her as well. Dickens was usually a friendly boss, but Lilith was absolutely not a customer they wanted around. Lilith had broken three of their expensive virtual battle systems and had caused Dickens a lot of grief,


    After debating for a while, Lilith finally gave up on training there. However, when Dickens let out a sigh of relief and left, Lilith looked around before sneaking over to Xiao Lin¡¯s room. When she noticed the door was locked from the inside, she pouted and mumbled to herself, ¡°Troublesome.¡± She then used some force and broke the door handle.


    She managed to get into the room, but the training room was still shut tight. The specially enhanced metal walls did not have any windows, so Xiao Lin, who had just started a new bout, did not realize there was someone outside either.


    Xiao Lin did not rest for too long. Some sweet and refreshing water was provided in the rest area, and the water seemed to be able to magically reduce exhaustion. ording to Dickens, the water came from the elves and had some sort of life-giving nt mixed in. It could restore energy and was very good at getting rid of fatigue.


    However, only a bit was mixed into the water. More effective mixes needed to be paid for, which Xiao Lin rejected. Wearing the anti-gravity pin, coupled with the water, Xiao Lin¡¯s strength recovered a lot quicker than he anticipated.


    Lilith was nning on entering the training room, but she thought for a while and instead operated the tablet by her side. The tablet shone brightly. The system could actually be used to observe the conditions inside the room.


    In the image, Xiao Lin was currently sparring with the virtual character. After the first hour, Xiao Lin had actually somewhat gotten used to fighting in double gravity.


    Of course, that did not mean the effect Norma¡¯s gravity had on him had disappeared. Whether it was running or jumping, Xiao Lin still looked very clumsy. Until he reached ck Iron-rank, that effect would never disappear, but Xiao Lin was working hard to learn how to fight in those conditions.


    Xiao Lin adapted in many ways. Even just waving his de while standing was quite a burden to Xiao Lin, but he tried his best to stand in a stance that would make him morefortable, and used his de in the least taxing manner. To an outsider, his exaggerated movements and stances were quite funny. Anyone would mistake him for a circus actor instead of a swordsman.


    Lilith could not stop herself fromughing at the hrity of it, but she lost her interest after a moment. She could tell that Xiao Lin was not used to the gravity, which led her to understand that he was definitely not at the ck Iron-rank. It was no issue though, Lilith¡¯s target was the giant golden dragon that Xiao Lin could summon; his actual capabilities were of no concern to her.


    Xiao Lin¡¯sical moves seemed to be working out, he could finally somewhatpete with the virtual character, even if he was still stuck on the defensive. Every sh he made was methodical, but after a few minutes, his hit points still went to zero. There was nothing he could do about it. The virtual character was not influenced by the gravity; there was little he could do to such a natural advantage.


    Lilith was quietly observing outside the training room, but her white face looked impatient as she mumbled, ¡°How dull! How could this kind of training have any results! Is he stupid? Even if training in higher gravity can improve your training, if it¡¯s only to this degree, then his body will quickly not be able to handle it!¡±


    Rolling her eyes, Lilith suddenly had a sinister smile on her face, ¡°Let me teach you how to train in double gravity!¡±


    Lilith quickly typed some things into the tablet. If Xiao Lin could see what was happening, he would realize that Lilith was picking out data of some other people to add as participants. After some adjustments, Lilith then specially added the condition of gravitational influence.


    The characters in the virtual battle system were indeed unaffected by gravity, and almost all of the people who trained there were ck Iron or above, but it was not impossible to simte the effect of gravity as well.


    In the training room, Xiao Lin was once again on the ground as he stared at his empty hit point bar once again. He spat in anger as he struggled to get up. Even though he had more or less recovered his strength after resting, the second battle depleted his strength much quicker than earlier. If that continued, he would run out of strength again very quickly.


    No matter how much effort Xiao Lin put into adapting to the gravity, the pressure was still immense. Basically every action he made needed twice the amount of power. The exertion was beginning to affect his body, and he was not sure he could evenst the whole hour at that point.


    Xiao Lin once again adopted a defensive stance, but Xiao Lin was confused. The virtual character would always go back to the middle of the training room after every bout.


    However, the virtual character suddenly disappeared after Xiao Lin fell to the groundst time. He felt it was quite strange, since the second hour had just started not long ago, so there was no way he was out of time. Just when he was going to head out to check, a ray of light once again shone in the middle of the room¨Cthis time much brighter than thest one.


    The light quickly solidified into a human form, but this time it was a red virtual character. The face was still very blurry, but it looked a little clearer thanst time. Xiao Lin could actually vaguely make out that it was a girl, and she seemed to be holding a dagger.


    He did not understand the reason for the change, but who he was facing did not matter. Xiao Lin initiated another round, but he quickly realized the virtual character was very different this time.


    It was not that this red virtual character was stronger than thest one, but the character¡¯s actions were much clumsier before. Xiao Lin felt some familiarity before quickly realizing that his movements earlier when he was not used to the gravity at all looked like that too.


    That virtual character was set to be affected by the gravity! It was different from the settings Xiao Lin had input!


    Mumbling to himself, Xiao Lin thought he had put in the wrong settings. He nned on fixing it after that bout, but now that his opponent was just as clumsy as he was, he felt that he could actually win this time. He had been tortured by the virtual character for more than an hour, so he definitely had some pent-up frustrations he needed to vent.

 Chapter 120: Special Battle

    <h4>Chapter 120: Special Battle</h4>


    With the intention of finally being able to let off some steam, Xiao Lin resolved to be extra focused that time. Therefore, he stopped being on the defensive and chose to attack.


    His de shed against the dagger made of energy as red ripples of energy could be seen. The weapons the virtual characters used were formed by the energy from the energy stones, just like they were. Thanks to the system strictly restricting the amount of energy that could be retrieved, they could guarantee there would not be much harm done to the human body. At the most, one would feel a slightly warm sensation.


    Xiao Lin backpedaled for a few steps before stabilizing himself. He furrowed his eyebrows, feeling the impact of the gravity. His opponent seemed to still be stronger than him, which was even further away from his settings. He had an impulse toin to Dickens, but that had to wait until after the battle.


    Two people, who were not even at ck Iron-rank fighting in the New World, were akin to fighting while carrying sandbags. This battle was extremely not worth watching. Their movements were slow and the des swayed as they shed around. The two of them had not distanced themselves a single step after closing in on each other. A single extra step meant a lot of extra effort from Xiao Lin.


    All of the red virtual character¡¯s attributes were higher than Xiao Lin¡¯s by quite a bit, but thanks to the effect of the gravity, the character¡¯s advantages were greatly restricted. The battle entered a deadlock, with both their hit points slowly decreasing. It was hard to tell who would win just from looking at the speed of decrease.


    The situation suddenly changed when the red virtual character suddenly held its dagger backhanded and took a leap forward. It was not that fast, so Xiao Lin managed to dodge it, but he widened his eyes in shock when he raised his head because the virtual character¡¯s weapon turned into a shortsword.


    It could change weapons?


    Xiao Lin cursed in his head, but he quickly lost any opportunity to think about it when the virtual character charged at him again right after switching weapons. What was even more shocking was that the speed of the de was noticeably faster and more urate.


    Xiao Lin could not dodge it, so he could only exert himself by raising his de to block. He was using a lighter sword, but with the gravity, the de felt no different from a heavy sword. Xiao Lin was very certain he could not wield his de so quickly, but the virtual character managed to do it.


    Both of them were influenced by the gravity, but why was his opponent faster than him! Xiao Lin could not figure it out, but their de forced him to retreat. The only reprieve he had was that the virtual character¡¯s strength was not as much as he thought, which indicated that it was still affected by gravity.


    The virtual character retrieved its sword before changing weapons once again. This time it was a curved de. Xiao Lin once again raised his de in defense as he panted. However, the virtual character did not attack immediately as it waved around the de for a bit before changing its weapon once again.


    This time it was a staff. The virtual character finally attacked again and Xiao Lin could only defend as he fell back. He did not have the strength to dodge, and when the staff hit his de, the heavy impact hurt his wrist, causing him to almost drop his de.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. In not even a minute, that virtual character¡¯s speed and strength both increased; was that due to it switching weapons?


    Or could it have been concealing its strength to lull him into a false sense of security before striking? Xiao Lin shook his head and crossed that possibility out. The opponent was just a virtual character made by the system and the system was designed for training. How could it have such a cunning setting?


    He had no time to think about it as Xiao Lin noticed the weapon had changed yet again. This time the weapon was a long war scythe. Even though it was made of energy, the virtual character held the weapon valiantly, with the de dragging the floor and making grinding sounds. It was a sight to behold.


    Suddenly, the virtual character moved again, and this time it was even faster than earlier. It looked very adept, as if gravity had stopped influencing it.


    The virtual character drew a circle in the air with its scythe and mes started to form on the de. The hot air caused Xiao Lin to take a few steps back, retreating from the scythe¡¯s wider attack range.


    Curiously, the virtual character once again increased its speed. It seemed that Norma¡¯s heavy gravity no longer affected it. It was like the wind as it charged at Xiao Lin from the corner.


    Xiao Lin was suddenly feeling a sense of danger he had not before. Even though he knew this was a virtual battle, even though he knew getting hit would only mean his hit points would hit zero again, Xiao Lin was still filled with anger. Anyone would also be angry if they were tortured like this by virtual characters. The most important thing was that no matter how Xiao Lin thought about it, he could not understand how the red virtual character was doing what it did.


    Xiao Lin thought about it for less than a second, and then he immediately activated his replication skill!


    Even though the opponent was just a virtual character, he should still be able to replicate its skills. It was just as he thought, but Xiao Lin could only gape in surprise when the skills shed in his mind.


    [Choose a replicable skill:


    [Piercing Wind: limited to daggers; use the dagger to lunge forward and attack. After the skill is used, agility will be increased by half a grade. Skill evaluation: F]


    [Breeze de: limited to swords; continuously attack in a forward direction. Can increase speed by half a grade after hitting the target. Skill evaluation: F+]


    [Violent de Dance: limited to curved des; can strengthen the user by performing a sword dance; has no offensive capabilities; increases strength by half a grade. Skill evaluation: F]


    Xiao Lin snarled as he recalled all the moves the virtual character used earlier. Every skill needed apletely different weapon, and the variety rendered him speechless. He believed that was possibly not all the skills that the virtual character had.


    He could not really say the opponent was very powerful, since upon detailed inspection, one would notice all the skills were very low ranked. The skills were all around F-ranked, and it did not even seem to have any E-ranked skills.


    Xiao Lin finally understood how the virtual character suddenly spiked in strength and speed. It was not that the virtual character had ovee the effects of gravity, it was just using all these skills that could strengthen itself to temporarily enhance its abilities. When stacking all those buffs together, the virtual character really did ovee the effects of heavy gravity, at least for a short while.


    He felt that the system had some problems somewhere; that was obviously not the settings he had input!


    Nheless, Xiao Lin refused to admit defeat. He had already activated his replication skill. No matter what, he would replicate a skill. It would at least let him vent his frustrations. Otherwise, he might go crazy after being tortured for a whole day.

 Chapter 121: Red Lotus Blade

    <h4>Chapter 121: Red Lotus de</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    [Red Lotus de: converges the red lotus¡¯ fire on the de for an attack, dealing dual damage to physique and spells. This skill uses both physical and mental power. Comprehensive damage rating F+]


    That was the skill the virtual character was executing at that moment. Compared to the previous skills that had enhanced effects but lower damage, it was¡ªwithout a doubt¡ªa purely offensive skill, and Xiao Lin did not hesitate to replicate it.


    At the same time, a crimson red light began glowing on the de of his sword. In an instant, Xiao Lin¡¯s body trembled violently and he felt his physical and mental strength drainpletely. That sword skill was more exhausting than he had imagined.


    The virtual character, who was unaffected by the influence of gravity, approached quickly. The red glow began intensifying on its raised scythe, and with the hot wind blowing toward Xiao Lin¡¯s face, a burst of sparks flew in all directions like a red lotus in full bloom.


    The two red mes ovepped and burst out in less than a second. In that low explosion, the turbulent air wave mmed Xiao Lin into the metal wall. Hot air then sealed the entire room, making Xiao Lin feel as though he was soaking in boiling water. His skin felt astonishingly hot, and the sword¡¯s attack¡ªcoupled with the impact of the double-gravity environment¡ªmade it impossible for him to get up.


    The virtual character had disappeared, and when he looked up again, Xiao Lin was slightly surprised to find that the hit rate had somehow disappeared from the metal wall. He was unable to judge who won the battle earlier, and what left him befuddled was a thick ck smokeing out of the room, like the aftermath of something that had burned.


    Startled, Xiao Lin immediately put the anti-gravity essory back on and rushed out of the training room. The ck smoke wasing from the device where the energy stone was, and the stone had shattered into pieces all over the ground.


    What puzzled him further was that the door of the room was open. He clearly remembered that it had been locked after Dickens left. The screen disying the attribute settings was also quite strange. He walked over and looked at it, only to find that the screen was on the historical character parameter option. His attempt to find the information of the virtual character he fought against proved futile, for there were no records at all.


    ...


    Outside, Lilith had long left the ce. She had an unexpectedly peculiar expression on her face, along with some surprise and amazement. Dickens had been constantly keeping an eye on her behavior, and when she was finally ready to leave, he hurriedly sent her off like she was the gue.


    ¡°Oh, yes. The energy device in room three-two-eight is probably broken again. Don¡¯t ask that Xiao...whatever his name is...to pay for it. Charge it to my ount. I believe there¡¯s still a lot of New Dors in the card I left with youst time,¡± Lilith curtly remarked, suddenly turning around.


    ¡°What? The energy device is broken? Impossible. The simtion system is well maintained. It can¡¯t be broken for no reason... And why should it be credited to your ount?¡± Dickens muttered suspiciously. His expression then copsed all of a sudden and he clutched his metaphorical pearls in anger. ¡°You! Did you use your Creation skill again? This is why I don¡¯t want you using any simtion devices. You know that the actual damage is much higher than the system¡¯s rating because there isn¡¯t any data or parameter records. This is the third device! My goodness!¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on. Ipensated for everything, didn¡¯t I! Plus, I wasn¡¯t the one who used it.¡± Lilith felt a little embarrassed, but she was even more impatient. ¡°That Xiao something, what¡¯s his name again? Chinese names are really hard to remember.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin. Are you seriously looking for him when you don¡¯t even remember his full name?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin? Xiao Lin! Well, he¡¯s a very interesting person,¡± Lilith repeated several times and made sure that she had etched in her memory. She then pped her hands and left with satisfaction.


    Soon after Lilith left, Xiao Lin found Dickens again. He was a little worried about the damage to the energy device and the broken energy stone. His concern was that the other party would make him pay for it, but what surprised him was that Dickens said nothing about it. In fact, Dickens even apologized to him repeatedly and was willing to reduce that day¡¯s fee by half aspensation to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was confused, but reducing the fee by half would mean that he would only need to pay a total of 90 New Dors for two hours that day. That was not a deal he could pass on.


    However, Dickens asked Xiao Lin a very strange question. ¡°Do you know Miss Lilith?¡±


    ¡°Lilith? I can¡¯t say I know her.¡± Xiao Lin recalled the woman who singled him out for a challenge when they met and instinctively blurted out that he had nothing to do with her.


    Dickens felt relieved, but he felt that something was fishy. In general, Lilith¡¯s designation of a person as interesting was a sign that she recognized their strength. Be that as it may, Dickens was unable to discern any such ability on Xiao Lin, who had not even reached ck Iron-rank. He advised solemnly, ¡°As a friend, I suggest you not to get too close to that woman. Nothing good wille out of it!¡±


    ¡°I wholeheartedly agree!¡±


    Because of the excessive physical exertion, Xiao Lin¡¯s trainingsted only half a morning before he was done. If he continued, it was entirely possible that his body would be worn down just as Song Jung said. Training under double gravity was much harder than expected, and the key was whether or not his body could adapt under the pressure. In any case, such a physical reaction was difficult topensate through sheer willpower.


    Song Jung repeatedly emphasized against conducting such dangerous gravity training, and it was no wonder that Lilith seems to be the only one who trained like that.


    The simted battle earlier gave him a few new ideas. Before that, he had never thought that battles could be fought like that. The amplification effects of various skills could be used to strengthen himself before bursting out quickly with a strongbative strength that far exceeded his own.


    It sounded simple in theory, but with careful thought, there were still many problems with it. After returning to the inn at noon, Xiao Lin exchanged that idea with Song Jung, but did not mention who the virtual character was. After all, Xiao Lin had no idea which historical figure the system¡¯s data parameter referenced during the simted battle.


    After listening to Xiao Lin, Song Jung suddenly burst withughter and shook his head. ¡°Do you think this is a game! That simted battle system is actually set ording to the idea of Earth¡¯s online games, but do you really think this can be done in an actual battle? First of all, weapons in virtual battles are formed by extracting energy. Weapons can be changed any time based on the set parameters. How are you going to change weapons that quickly in actualbat? Will the opponent even give you the luxury of time?¡±


    Xiao Lin remained unconvinced and retorted, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible to carry more weapons with you. I remember that the T-rex¡ªahem¡ªI mean the tutor who taught us Basic Swordsmanship could retrieve her weapons by plucking them through a tear in space. I¡¯ve never seen her carry a sword.¡±


    ¡°You mean Cheng Na, that T-rex? Tsk, tsk!¡± Song Jung used Xiao Lin¡¯s nickname for her and shook his head, saying, ¡°The weapons she uses are spatial ones. You can only encounter them by chance instead of getting them, and spatial weapons also require you to study the courses about the system of space and time. Even Cheng Na has very limited mastery over space; the most she can do is store her Lightning Sword.¡±

 Chapter 122: New Ideas

    <h4>Chapter 122: New Ideas</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Aside from that, there¡¯s other critical issues with your idea. While it sounds amazing to use the augmentation effects of multiple skills, have you ever thought about how long you need to spend to achieve such an effect?¡±


    Song Jung had a serious look. He felt that Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts were teetering on the edge of risk and had to be corrected. ¡°Comprehensive enhancement requires you to take more courses. I can tell you frankly that prerequisite learning requirements are much higher for all enhancement-effect skills. You won¡¯t be able to master them without fulfilling those requirements. Are you sure you have the time?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t it be done with a single weapon type?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult! Each weapon has its own characteristics, and although the basic skills may ovep, the respective characteristics will only be more obviouster on. Let¡¯s take skills involving the ¨¦p¨¦e for example. There¡¯s no way you can continue to enhance your body techniques. In the same vein, there¡¯s no way for you to further enhance your arm strength for dagger-based skills.¡±


    Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s hesitant expression, Song Jung emphasized further, ¡°I know you¡¯re cultivating both magic and martial arts, but magic and martial arts are both merely broad categories. As your courses increase, this wide category can be broken down into countless small categories. Do you really think you have that much energy?¡±


    Song Jung did not approve of that training method, but Xiao Lin still expressed some doubt. If the virtual character¡¯s parameters were based on a certain historical figure, it meant that someone must have done it, and if someone could do it, Xiao Lin believed that he could at least give it a try. The virtual character¡¯s unique fighting style in that short battle had left too deep an impression on him.


    Xiao Lin did not go to the training hall again that afternoon. Althoughbat training was more effective than training alone, he felt that it was best to slowly adapt to the basics after experiencing the hardships of fighting in a gravity environment that morning. As a result, he stayed in the inn for the afternoon and did not go out.


    Song Jung did not bother him, but if he were to push the door and enter Xiao Lin¡¯s room, he would find that Xiao Lin had taken off the anti-gravity essory again and was in the midst of attempting a push-up. The sweat beads on Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead appeared at a rapid rate, oozing out in no time and forming a puddle on the floor.


    Such basic training was simpler than actualbat. After an entire afternoon however, Xiao Lin had pushed the limits of his strength, and even inhaled the delicious burger for dinner in a few bites. Song Jung noticed that something was not quite right, but Xiao Lin hid it well. He went back to the room for an early rest, giving Department Head Song nary a chance of inquiring.


    The short weekend passed quickly with that training. The next day, when the sky was barely lit, the person responsible for fetching and sending Xiao Lin arrived at the inn on time. Hank personally came the first two times, but he seemed to have other things to do in New Washington and sent an assistant on subsequent asions.


    Hank¡¯s assistant was an American man in his early 30s who went by the name of Norn. He was a senior at Judge Academy who was nearing graduation. Norn said that his strength was only average and it was difficult for him to enter military- or expedition-rted departments, so he chose the Foreign Rtions Department. He seemed to cherish that opportunity for an internship and used English tomunicate with Xiao Lin on the way to the pce.


    What surprised Xiao Lin was that the graduates of these colonial colleges were actually under great pressure. Although the number of colonists in the New World would always be lesserpared to the local indigenous people, employment was not as easy toe by as imagined. Rather than having ack of jobs, it was the positions of leadership that were scarce.


    As colonists, no one wanted to do the same jobs as the natives since they were the aristocrats and privileged people of that world. Many people would be reluctant to start from bottom as soldiers when they entered the army, but at the end of the day, those who could be leaders were far and few in between. The fact that job offers were based on meritocracy would almost certainly producepetitive pressure.


    Norn was a very ordinary student, and after learning that Xiao Lin was just a freshman, he wouldin about those problems to Xiao Lin from time to time. After their interaction, the two somehow got along with each other. On that day, after Xiao Lin forced himself to get up, despite his exhaustion, he took the initiative to start a conversation with Norn.


    ¡°Where can I learn skills in New Washington?¡±


    Norn was a little surprised. ¡°Learn skills? There are only two ways. If we want to learn skills, we can either find someone who has those skills and learn from them, or learn them yourself through skill books, which you can either buy or rent. I recall you¡¯re still a freshman, right? Your tutors will be teaching you those basic skills.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled wryly. He would be staying there for a whole month, and after calcting the duration, Dawn Academy would have already started with their basic skills. He might be out on official business, but the entire freshman year would not change their schedules just for him. Add that to the irritation he felt after battling the virtual character the day before, he decided to ask around first.


    Seeing the troubled look between Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrows, Norn felt that he had to satisfy Dawn Academy¡¯s guests to sessfullyplete his internship as a chaperone from the Foreign Affairs Department. He thought for a moment and added, ¡°If you really want to learn skills now, I suggest you have a look at the bazaars in the trade district. You might end up with an unexpected surprise.¡±


    ¡°An unexpected surprise? Like what?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s interest was aroused.


    Norn¡¯s white teeth were revealed in his bright smile and there was pride in his tone. ¡°New Washington¡¯s development could be considered to be the fastest of all the colonial capitals, and our business is also the most prosperous...¡±


    ¡°Get to the point.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, in fact, the skills taught by your tutors during your freshman year are often the most basic andmon skills, but you have to understand that Norma has a history spanning millions of years. With so many races, the number of spells or martial arts are endless, and even a learned professor dares not say that they fully understand them all. If you want to learn the less popr spells or skills instead of the same stereotypical ones, you¡¯vee to the right ce!¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded with intrigue. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to take a look.¡±


    Norn then added, ¡°However, the more niche skills often require very strange prerequisites. There¡¯s noplete system to those skills either and it¡¯s difficult for you to get advanced skills manuals for those skills. In contrast, although the skills taught by the academy are ordinary; all of them have aplete system on which they can be continuously advanced.¡±


    Norn exined plenty of things to Xiao Lin. For example, there were a lot of life-based spells and elven martial arts in New Washington because it was adjacent to the elves. In fact, it was the case for each academy. Dawn Academy was close to the merfolk and the beastkin orcs, so they had a wider reserve of water-based and sacrificial spells.

 Chapter 123: Name

    <h4>Chapter 123: Name</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The constant deliberation over those skills as well as a deep yearning for it left Xiao Lin incapable of fully concentrating on his work for that day. He had used his replication skill the day before, so he would have to wait seven more days for its next use. In addition, the past day¡¯s gravity training made his muscles sore and swollen. He appeared absent-minded when transcribing that morning, and it did not take long for Professor Brown to head downstairs and point out¡ªvery harshly¡ªsome grave grammatical errors in Xiao Lin¡¯s transcript.


    ¡°Xiao, your focus seems to becking.¡± Brown had also noticed that Xiao Lin was in a state of mise.


    ¡°Professor, I went to the training hall yesterday and I¡¯m still a bit tired. I think I need some time to adjust.¡± Xiao Lin took the opportunity to ask, ¡°Can I take a day off if it¡¯s possible?¡±


    Brown¡¯s face was very unhappy. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that our current rate of progress is unsatisfactory.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I understand.¡± Xiao Lin was not too optimistic that the strict professor would agree. He shrugged to indicate that it was not a big deal, then handed to Brown the few volumes that had been copied. He pointed to areas that had been circles with a red pen and said, ¡°These aren¡¯t easy to trante. They¡¯re not smooth in terms of Ancient Normese¡¯s grammar.¡±


    Chloe looked up and added, ¡°I¡¯ve seen those areas. The contents existed on the te to begin with, and we couldn¡¯t have possibly made a mistake either in transcribing or by missing some letters. I think it¡¯s likely that they were erroneously recorded on the te.¡±


    Brown frowned, and said in a reprimanding tone, ¡°Ancient Normese is a very rigorousnguage. It¡¯s impossible that they¡¯d make such a low-level mistake. You¡¯re not on a high enough level!¡±


    Brown casually took it and narrowed his eyes before looking at it for a moment. A trace of confusion shed in his expression and he chanted repeatedly before whispering to himself, ¡°This is odd. It doesn¡¯t look like the standard grammaticalbination for Ancient Normese. Is it possible that there¡¯s still some grammar that I haven¡¯t figured out yet? No, that¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Xiao Lin was the closest to Professor Brown and could therefore hear the man much clearer. When he thought about how Professor Brown¡ªwhose understanding of Ancient Normese had reached the peak¡ªcould not even understand it, Xiao Lin decided not to be too hard on himself.


    Brown appeared to be quite a serious person, and when he discovered that he could not evenprehend the grammar, the wrinkles on his face seemed to be even deeper. He paced back and forth around the area, causing everyone else to put down their work and wait curiously to see if Professor Brown could solve the problem.


    ¡°Might it perhaps be an inversion? I remember Ancient Normese having grammar like that,¡± Chloe suggested.


    ¡°No. It doesn¡¯t work.¡± Brown shook his head.


    ¡°Shorthand? Like English shorthand,¡± Lnder ventured.


    ¡°Impossible. There¡¯s no evidence that shorthand exists in Ancient Normese! I only believe in facts that have reliable information!¡± Brown continued to reject.


    Everyone rushed to offer their suggestions, but were all refuted by Professor Brown. The scene soon reverted to silence again. They were unable to offer any more help with their level of Ancient Normese, but simply offered their opinions for the sake of constructiveness. After all, it was Judge Academy¡¯s affairs, which had nothing to do with them.


    Xiao Lin did not say much. His level was the lowest and he was the one with the least right to speak. When other people were discussing, he held the copied volumes and flipped through them. Though he could not understand the meaning of those texts, he could just barely recognize the pronunciation of some words.


    Xiao Lin suddenly had a thought and said in a half-joking tone, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a transliterated word? Like foreign words that don¡¯t appear in their vocabry, so they use simrly pronounced characters instead. I used to learn English like that, using Chinese with a simr pronunciation in ce of...¡±


    Lnder chuckled and empathized with Xiao Lin. ¡°I understand what you mean. I did the same when I learned Standard Normese!¡±


    ¡°How boring...¡± Chloe shot the two of them a nk nce. Tricks like that were clearly pointless for someone who was really proficient in foreignnguages.


    However, Professor Brown¡¯s eyes lit up slightly and he said softly, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. If this is a transliterated word, whatnguage would it be transliterated in?¡±


    ¡°Judge Academy was the one that attacked the Thunder Kingdom, so it must be English,¡± Lnder said matter-of-factly.


    Chloe shook her head. She read the untrantable text in Ancient Normese and said, ¡°This pronunciation obviously has no association with English.¡±


    ¡°Sounds a bit like French?¡±


    ¡°Please! I don¡¯t think it¡¯s French!¡± Lnder, the only one from a French academy, immediately denied.


    ¡°We should approach this with an open mind. The pronunciation might not be exactly the same when transliterating characters. You probably know that it¡¯s sometimes really difficult for local indigenous people to learn ournguage. Their pronunciation would be quite awkward.¡±


    Xiao Lin kept quiet. It was definitely not Chinese from the pronunciation, but he thought about it and spread his palms. ¡°Let¡¯s not get ourselves in a twist, guys. How many colonial colleges are there? We can just try eachnguage one by one.¡±


    Everyone looked at each other and seemed to view that idea favorably.


    ¡°There are a dozen colonial colleges in total, but there weren¡¯t that many when the Thunder Kingdom was still built. Several colleges in South America and Africa were built in thest couple of decades, so we can exclude them from the list.¡±


    ¡°I think Xiao may be right. Let¡¯s try everything!¡±


    ¡°Egyptians speak Arabic, right? Do any of us know Arabic?¡±


    ¡°We can just let Judge Academy go over there and find someone who understands thenguage. That won¡¯t be a problem!¡±


    ¡°Silence, everyone!¡± Brown shouted in a deep voice. He rubbed his head before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s try all thenguages that you¡¯ve mastered. Since you¡¯re all from different countries, you may try it in your nativenguages. Xiao, let¡¯s start with you!¡±


    Xiao Lin read it half-heartedly a few times and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not Chinese.¡±


    ¡°Not French either. Swear to God!¡± Lnder did not even bother to read it.


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly not English either.¡±


    ...


    The questioning soon ended, and many academies did not have any representatives there. Not every academy was like Dawn Academy, who did not share a boundary but produced students like Xiao Lin who understood Ancient Normese.


    ¡°What about Russian?¡± Professor Brown asked.


    ¡°None of the people from Russia¡¯s Voyna Akademiya are here. They¡¯re all war-loving madmen who don¡¯t appreciate the wonders of linguistics!¡± Chloe¡¯s tone seemed to suggest her unfavorable view of Voyna Akademiya.


    ¡°I know a little bit of Russian. My grandmother is Russian, but I don¡¯t know much,¡± a thin, tall man answered in a low voice.


    Chloe turned around awkwardly.


    Brown could not care less about insignificant things and asked bluntly, ¡°Thene over and read it. Does the pronunciation resemble Russian?¡±


    The man frowned for a while and did not immediately state his answer. He looked a little nervous in front of Brown, and after a moment¡¯s consideration, said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Professor. It doesn¡¯t look like standard Russian, but if you ask me from a purely pronunciation point of view, my opinion is that this text is trying to express a name. A Russian¡¯s name!¡±

 Chapter 124: The Marketplace

    <h4>Chapter 124: The Marketce</h4>


    ¡°Try saying them?¡± Brown looked up unexpectedly.


    The man¡¯s voice sounded a little stifled. It appeared as though he did not understand Russian very well or that the pronunciation itself was not very clear. He hesitated when identifying the name. ¡°Ivan, Naveki, Tonya, wait no right? Let me think about it. It looks like it¡¯s Ivanovich...¡±


    Xiao Lin was the closest to Brown and noticed the old man¡¯s pupils contracting violently when the name was mentioned. For the first time ever, Brown¡¯s staid face had a look of horror and shock.


    The man was oblivious to it and muttered to himself to try and correct it. More and more people gradually realized the name and their eyes were full of surprise and shock.


    Lnder interrupted the man and said in a strange tone, ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t mistrante? That¡¯s impossible! You must have read it wrong!¡±


    ¡°What did I just hear?¡± Chloe seemed unable to recover from the shock.


    Brown waved his hand and said in an astringent tone, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trante anymore. Ivanovich is probably the correct name. My God, it¡¯s actually Ivan! His name appeared on the te!¡±


    There was a stark silence in the hall. Everyone¡¯s expression was that of pure shock except for Xiao Lin, who did not understand the meaning behind the name. He shuffled in his seat and asked in a low voice, ¡°Ahem, can anyone tell me who that Ivan is?¡±


    Whoosh!


    About a dozen pairs of speechless eyes turned to him, but Xiao Lin¡¯s words had eased the dignified atmosphere a little. Professor Brown rubbed his temples and sighed. ¡°That¡¯s it for today. You wanted a day off, didn¡¯t you, Xiao? I¡¯ll approve it. In fact, I¡¯ll give you all a day off. No, two days off!¡±


    ¡°What about our pay!¡± Lnder recovered from his shock and was more concerned about his remuneration than the name Ivan.


    Professor Brown¡¯s voice was very weak. Not wanting to argue over such trivial matters with Lnder, he gritted his teeth and simply waved his hand. ¡°The remuneration will be paid as normal!¡±


    Lnder smiled and set everything aside. ¡°Let¡¯s head back then. I don¡¯t think you need to worry about it too much, Professor. The name must just be a coincidence, or someone else with the same name?¡±


    On the way back, Xiao Lin seized the opportunity to ask Lnder and the others about it, but all of them either sighed or shook their heads. Even Lnder, who usually liked to joke around, did not say much, but simply asked Xiao Lin to go back and find the information himself. It was clear that everyone seemed to be in awe of that name.


    It was not even midday when he arrived at the hotel and Song Jung was not in the room. In fact, only half the morning had passed. Xiao Lin nned to continue his gravity limatization training in the inn, but after thinking about it for a moment, he decided to head to the trade district first and take a look around the city.


    He was still unfamiliar with New Washington, but the enthusiastic innkeeper seemed to have noticed his difficulties and took the initiative to present him with a tourist map of the city. As a result, Xiao Lin felt that there were advantages to be gained by ingratiating the Norman innkeeper.


    The bustling trade district was located at the center of the city. Various shops were lined on both sides of the streets, and it was easy to tell from the way the vendors dressed that an overwhelming majority were locals. At the heart of the district however, he slowly began to see some colonial vendors, but not all of them were from Judge Academy. At the very least, Xiao Lin spotted several Asians, like him.


    The shops they operated were actually supermarket-type stores. Xiao Lin¡¯s interest was piqued and he went in to take a look. The items they sold included bones, skulls, teeth, and jewelry pendants. He spoke with the owner and learnt that they were from Dawn Academy. Those knickknacks were made into simple pendants from beast bones that were hunted by the orcs, and most of them were equipped with mystical properties after some simple spells were casted over it by the orc shamans. It was verymon among the beastkin orcs and in Dawn City, but rtively rare at New Washington so they could often be sold at a price several times higher.


    Xiao Lin politely declined the other party¡¯s offer and asked about the location where skill books were sold. He then left the supermarket, checked the map, turned left and did a turn before finally stopping at the corner of an alley. It was very old, and the stone bricks werepletely covered with vines. It was likely an old site left behind from the Thunder Kingdom and the environment was very quiet, so much so that it appeared like apletely different world from the hustle and bustle outside.


    Xiao Lin felt a little strange. Compared to the bustling market outside, the ce looked very deserted and it would not have been easy to locate the ce if someone had not given him directions.


    He pushed open the dpidated wooden door with a creak, and though the shop was rather small, the furnishings were quite unique. The two floor-to-ceiling windows were covered in old, thick branches and leaves. Some bright sunlight, mottled with the shadows casted by the leaves, lit the wooden floor sparsely.


    Rows of bookshelves were positioned in the center. The tops of most bookshelves were exquisitely carved with several small animals, and by the window were two rows of sofas surrounding a round table. At that moment, several men and women were sitting there, sipping their aromatic coffee while holding exquisite books.


    Once they heard the sound of the creaking door, they turned their heads immediately and looked suspiciously at Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was made to feel rather awkward. In any case, it looked more like a private gathering in a small library rather than a skill book shop. Xiao Lin¡¯s mind raced to find some of the English words that he knew.


    A middle-aged man stood up first and asked, ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here?¡±


    Xiao Lin quickly found the words to phrase his answer, ¡°Someone told me that skill books can be bought here, but I think I might have found the wrong ce.¡±


    He was about to leave when a middle-aged blond woman, who sat with her back to him, turned around in surprise and could not help chuckling. ¡°You¡¯re right. This is the ce that sells skill books. How did you find it?¡±


    Moreughs were heard when Xiao Lin told them about the Dawn merchant who operated a supermarket. The middle-aged man shook his head, not knowing whether tough or cry. Then, he said directly in Chinese, ¡°So you¡¯re from Dawn Academy. No wonder that old guy suggested youe to me.¡±


    The fluency of his Chinese gave Xiao Lin an immediate sense of familiarity. He released his hand from the doorknob and asked, ¡°Are you also a graduate of Dawn Academy?¡±


    He was a burly man with thinning hair and seemed to have shaved his head not too long ago. d in a white shirt, the muscles exposed to the air were swollen and resembled steel bars. Despite his robust looks, he had a kind disposition and smiled before replying, ¡°You can say that. Hehe. Today¡¯s one of the rare asions I¡¯m a businessman. So, tell me Junior, what do you need?¡±


    ¡°So, he¡¯s yourpatriot. We won¡¯t bother you then.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get together another day!¡±


    The others on the sofa heard the middle-aged man¡¯s words and took the initiative to get up and bid their goodbyes. They smiled politely as they passed by Xiao Lin and proceeded to leave.

 Chapter 125: Skill Book

    <h4>Chapter 125: Skill Book</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°How may I address you?¡± the middle-aged man asked.


    ¡°Xiao¡¯s my surname.¡± Xiao Lin did not immediately reveal his name, since the man was still a stranger.


    The man did not seem to mind and smiled kindly, ¡°My surname is Lin, and I left Dawn Academy a couple of decades ago. What grade are you in?¡±


    Xiao Lin noticed that the man used ¡®left¡¯ instead of ¡®graduate¡¯, and that he had left for a couple of decades already. That would mean he was a very old senior, which confused and surprised Xiao Lin somewhat. In any case, he did not ask too much, and replied, ¡°Freshman.¡±


    The man was a little surprised. ¡°Just enrolled? A freshman?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that a Dawn¡¯s freshman is here in New Washington.¡±


    The two chatted briefly, but the man did not continue to ask Xiao Lin what he was doing there or how he arrived. It was quite clear that the man was a very educated person, and their topic soon shifted back to the bookshelves there.


    ¡°These books are my personal collection. They were collected during my travels around the New World in my early years. Not all of them are skill books. There are also some trantions. I don¡¯t have any other hobbies, so all I do is read books. I can¡¯t use these books at all and it¡¯s a waste just to store them, so I opened up a small shop here. I don¡¯t really want to make money either, so it¡¯s good enough if I call a few friends over to hang out here in my spare time.¡±


    Speaking of that, the man smiled and said, ¡°You can choose whatever you want and I¡¯ll give it to you at cost price. It¡¯s rare for customers toe over, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt to give them to you too, but I¡¯d still have to recover some of the cost. The cost of housing in New Washington isn¡¯t cheap.¡±


    Xiao Lin dove right in and began choosing, but within minutes, the man knew that Xiao Lin was ayperson who did not know how to pick out skill books. He was not too surprised after recalling that Xiao Lin was only a freshman, so he began to exin everything little by little.


    Skill books were obviously different concepts from that in video games. It was not as though one could learn them immediately with the simple click of a mouse. Skill books were actually textbooks that describe in detail theposition of skills, its learning requirements, and their usage methods. The higher quality ones even came with ssic battle examples.


    The skill books on the man¡¯s bookshelf were very old. The page corners were severely rolled-up and heavily creased, but it was clear that the man had stored those skill books very well and they were not too damaged.


    Xiao Lin was not too averse to it, but he was still rather reluctant to pay. Those were not new books, but they did not seem to be cheap, even though they were sold at cost price.


    However, his eyes lit up immediately after flipping through some of the books and his earlier doubts werepletely cast away. In addition to the printed words, lines of small red writing frequently urred beside them. They were almost certain to be annotations that the man added on.


    The man guessed what Xiao Lin was thinking. ¡°Those are my own personal learning experiences in the early days. You can refer to it if you want, but you can also ignore them. I dare not say that my experience is suitable for everyone.¡±


    Xiao Lin flipped through some high-level skill books, and although he might not be able to learn its contents immediately, the man¡¯s annotations were undoubtedly of great value.


    Taking an example from the me Bullet¡¯s skill book, the man had the following annotation beside a certain section of the introduction to the initial hand casting action: ¡®If these actions are omitted, the power of the me Bullet will only be reduced by about 10%, but the casting time of the converged element will be reduced by several seconds.¡¯


    Such tiny details could sometimes y a crucial role. After all, the reduction of a spell¡¯s casting time by a couple of seconds might prove to be the deciding factor between life and death.


    Xiao Lin read those remarks with gusto and soon realized that he had been acting impolitely. Booksellers must surely loathe customers who only read without buying.


    The man returned to his sofa and said with a smile, ¡°Sit here and read. There¡¯s more light here.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little embarrassed and put down the skill book. Aside from skill books, there were many works tranted from the New World there. Though they were not necessarily skill books, they were all written by the local indigenous masters.


    Xiao Lin felt spoilt for choice. Good books seemed to be all around him, but he did not know which one to choose.


    The man saw his awkwardness and walked over again. ¡°Tell me. What type of course are you taking? Realistically speaking, most of my skill books are probably not useful for freshmen.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a while, and said, ¡°Any basic skill books are fine.¡±


    The man cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What kind? There are plenty of basic skills. There are basic skills spells using all the major elements, as well as others that useplex elements. There are also basic skills for various weapons used in closebat.¡±


    ¡°What types do you have then?¡± Xiao Lin asked. The man¡¯s book annotations were very useful, and Xiao Lin did not mind purchasing some basic skill books if there were some.


    ¡°Hehe, what if I have both?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little surprised. He could not help but wonder if the man mastered all weapons.


    The man saw through Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts again andughed as he said, ¡°I mentioned that I like reading books, but I enjoy collecting books even more. I don¡¯t have much energy to learn the skill books here. Many of them were actually bought back from others at a low price. Skill books are considered consumable items, because they have no value once you master a particr skill. People rarely buy used skill books, so I¡¯ll buy them at a low price.¡±


    ¡°You buy them at a low price just to read them?¡± Xiao Lin was a little puzzled, but he quickly realized that the man read other people¡¯s notes in the skill book rather than the book itself.


    Sure enough, the man said, ¡°Everyone¡¯s understanding of skills is different. I¡¯m not a prodigy, let alone a talented student. My understanding of some skills is actually based on the summary of other people¡¯s learning experiences.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me your basic skills book?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait a moment.¡±


    The man very happily agreed and turned to head to his basement. After a while, he came back with a heavy copper box and ced it on the floor with a thud. The box waspletely covered with a thickyer of dust.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been umting these from my travels abroad during the early years. I haven¡¯t read them for decades. Later, all the major colleges began using standard textbooks and few people read these basic skill books too.¡±


    The man wiped off the dust as he exined and opened the lid of the box. It was filled with books of all sizes. Xiao Lin picked up a copy and looked through it before unexpectedly discovering that it was filled with handwritten characters. The difference from the skill books on the bookshelfy in the fact that the books inside the box were all handwritten.


    One might as well call them study notes instead of skill books.


    Xiao Lin looked at the man with both surprise and doubt.

 Chapter 126: Differences in Teaching

    <h4>Chapter 126: Differences in Teaching</h4>


    Aside from that, Xiao Lin discovered that many of those notes were very faded. The yellowed covers made it hard for him to discern how old they actually were, and their texts were very messy. There was Chinese, English, Russian, and even Normese, which indicated that there were also study notes for the locals.


    The man narrowed his eyes and said sentimentally, ¡°There were no unified skills textbooks back then, let alone something like this in the New World. They were taught through apprenticeship, so everyone was ustomed to recording them as notes. The colonial academiester formted rtivelyplete textbooks and summarized the moremonly used skills for students to learn. Although it provided great convenience and saved time, it actually made the students lose their creative ability, which makes it hard to say whether it¡¯s a good or bad thing.¡±


    After muttering to himself for a while, the manughed and shook his head. ¡°Sorry, people talk a lot when they get old. In short, I only have these notes in my basic skill books. If you want the standard college textbooks, then I suggest that you go to the general bookstore on the corner of the trade district¡¯s second street. Their range of new books is quiteprehensive, and it seems that the store is officially supported by Judge Academy.¡±


    Xiao Lin touched the New Dors in his pocket and asked a little hesitantly, ¡°How much do these notes cost?¡±


    The manughed and said, ¡°Well there¡¯s no need for that. I told you I¡¯d give you at cost price because I used a lot of money and energy to get the books on the shelf. The books in this box were all acquired by chance. It¡¯s not worth any money and it¡¯ll be very insincere of me to charge a fee for them. If there¡¯s anything you can use, I¡¯ll give it to you for free.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked but he felt hesitant and said, ¡°You¡¯re really giving me everything?¡±


    The man was stunned by the question. ¡°You want all of it?¡±


    Xiao Lin, who felt that he might have misunderstood the man, cleared his throat to cover up his embarrassment.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t told me what courses you chose.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s elective courses were not worth a mention, but when it came to skills, he preferred those with enhancement effects. The difficulty of taking more courses in the academy was evident, and even if he had the authority to listen to all sses, there might not be that many courses offered to him.


    He thought briefly about it and felt that there was nothing for him to hide. He made a cursory exnation of his idea and said awkwardly, ¡°I know I¡¯m being a little foolish, but I¡¯m still curious to try and seed.¡±


    The man¡¯s jaw dropped and the shock on his face was as expected, but he soon calmed down again. He smiled in a fascinated manner. ¡°Are you trying to learn from America¡¯s Lilith?¡±


    ¡°Lilith?¡± Xiao Lin had a look of shock that was even more profound than the man. ¡°You know about Lilith too? Did she also take a lot of basic courses at the same time?¡±


    The man shook his head and said, ¡°Lilith has been traveling to and from the New World since freshman year. She is, without a doubt, a real genius. I don¡¯t know her, but don¡¯t forget that this is New Washington. A genius like her will be much more famous here than in other academies. Although I have never seen Lilith before, I heard that she never used the same weapons twice in battle. Whether she can use spells or not has never been confirmed.¡±


    Xiao Lin was taken by surprise. The virtual character could be vaguely identified as female, so he wondered if it was based on Lilith¡¯s original historical parameters.


    The man continued, ¡°My interest is piqued after you mentioned your idea. To what extent can this kind multifaceted training reach? I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯m a fool? Even dual cultivation of magic and martial arts is frowned upon.¡±


    The man was stunned and a sad look came over him. ¡°The college doesn¡¯t allow dual cultivation now? Sigh, looks like the academy has seen a lot of changes in the past few decades!¡±


    ¡°What was Dawn Academy like in the past?¡± Xiao Lin was curious.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t have any textbooks at that time, so sometimes we borrowed notes from our seniors. But most of the time, we developed as we please. The courses we chose were all a mess at that time. Hehe, I think about it sometimes, and I did take a lot of detours, but...¡±


    Xiao Lin understood that Dawn Academy adopted apletely open and freestyle method of studying in the past, while the one used presently bore an increased resemnce to China¡¯s traditional education system.


    The man frowned. He was probably unable to discern the pros and cons of such a system, so in the end, he simply said, ¡°In fact, the academy doesn¡¯t need too many students who take ax approach to their development. Systematic teaching is the right thing to do for long-term development of the colony. To give the simplest example, New Washington¡¯s dragon-eagle knight regiment is America¡¯s strongest military force, but for training these dragon-eagle knights, the elective courses are practically fixed with Advanced Knighthood, Advanced Beast Language, and Advanced Dragonspear Techniques. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Set training.¡± Xiao Lin nodded to express his understanding of it. From the college¡¯s perspective, students who train ording to the academy¡¯s set could no doubt speed up the construction of the colony. Whatever the colonycked could be remedied by designing the relevant course, but from a student¡¯s perspective, Xiao Lin was obviously more inclined toward the freestyle teaching of the past.


    The man did not seem too keen on talking more about that topic, so he shook his head and said, ¡°I digress. It¡¯s not as if no one has tried the idea you mentioned, but I personally haven¡¯t seen it. Hence, my interest in it. I can give you these basic skill books for free.¡±


    Xiao Lin was just about to rejoice when the man¡¯s sentence took a turn, ¡°But I won¡¯t give it to you all at once. The true value of these skill books is only exhibited when they¡¯re shown to someone else. It¡¯s a pity to put them in here, but I don¡¯t want you to put these things to waste. You can only choose no more than five books whenever youe here, and the next time you¡¯re here, I need to know your progress before deciding whether or not to continue giving you these skill books.¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated for a bit when he heard that. He had been invited to New Washington on that asion, and Dawn Academy might not let him go there if he wanted toe by himself next time.


    In the event that he was somehow allowed to go again, he might not get the treatment that he was getting with all the super-potions and anti-gravity essories. He did not believe that he could afford all that using only the New Dors he had on him. The man¡¯s annotations in the skill books were very interesting, but he had some doubt over whether those things were worth all the troubles and time to travel back to New Washington.


    ¡°Lin. Mr. Lin.¡± Xiao Lin recalled the man¡¯sst name and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go back to Dawn City?¡±


    ¡°For personal reasons. I can¡¯t go back.¡± The man curtly expressed his reluctance to talk in depth about it and Xiao Lin could only give up on it.


    The man did not know whether tough or cry. ¡°These notes might not be very valuable now, but trust me, you¡¯ll never find something like this elsewhere. The annotations in these skill books are extremely valuable to freshmen.¡±


    Xiao Lin kept quiet, but his face was full of disbelief. Dawn Academy had plenty of senior students and graduates. Department Head Song was once a genius-level student too, so if worse came to worst, he could always ask Song Jung for help.

 Chapter 127: Accessory

    <h4>Chapter 127: essory</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The man was a little helpless, but his tone was still very gentle. ¡°Most of these notes have their original owner¡¯s names. Why don¡¯t you have a look at them first?¡±


    Xiao Lin opened a book, the title page of which was written in mboyant cursive calligraphy, which were surprisingly written in traditional Chinese characters. He could only recognize a name after reading it for some time: Tang Ken. He turned his head to mull over it for a moment before shaking his head in confusion.


    He found another one with several small clerical scripts at the corner of the pages: Ouyang Ming.


    Who was Ouyang Ming?


    Xiao Lin shook his head in a daze before flipping through another one. On that asion, the name on the page was written in Russian.


    As good tempered the man was, he tried his best to control his repeatedly-twitching eyebrows when he saw Xiao Lin¡¯s increasingly confused expression. He remained speechless for a moment and did not know what to say.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just take these home first.¡± Xiao Lin was also a little embarrassed because he really did not know who those people were.


    ¡°Sure,¡± the man patted his forehead and suddenly remembered that the boy in front of him was still a freshman. He smiled bitterly, then shook his head and sighed. His attitude remained firm. ¡°We¡¯ll just do it like that. You can choose three to five books, and if you still want them next time, you¡¯ll have toe back here again. Understood?¡±


    Xiao Lin knew how to quit when he was ahead and nodded in agreement.


    The selection process took some time, as all those notes added up to at least hundreds of copies. Xiao Lin consulted the man and screened them ording to the learning requirements.


    In the end, he brought back four notebooks: Lightsword, Earth-shattering Chop, me Bullet, and the Wind Defense Spell. Two were physical skills and two were spell skills, and all were ck Iron-ranked. ording to the man, they were all suitable for beginners.


    After bidding farewell, Xiao Lin realized that it was almost noon. Since an off-day was hard toe by for him, he decided to take a look around the other areas within the bustling trade district.


    He had worked for a total of seven days, including that day itself. His pay had reached 2,800 New Dors, and after deducting the sum spent at the training hall, he still had 2,700 remaining.


    It was not a small sum of money. For example, the lowest level ordinary skill book cost about one to two hundred New Dors, and the price of weapons and equipment was typically around that range too, albeit slightly more expensive. Slightly higher-quality ones, like various alchemical forme, cost about four to five hundred New Dors.


    Xiao Lin walked around a few times and had a rough idea of the New Dors¡¯ purchasing power, but he hesitated to buy anything and was not in a hurry. There were arge number of well-made weapons and armors in the equipment store, and although they were all very exciting, those things could also be obtained in Dawn Academy. Furthermore, the equipments¡¯ qualities were not that high, nor very durable either.


    There might be few opportunities for him to make extra money in the future. Xiao Lin wanted to n carefully and the money had to be spent on a de. He looked around for a long time but there was nothing much to look at.


    However, Xiao Lin found several interesting little pendants and essories in several elf-owned shops. All were exquisitely made and very unique, and more importantly, often had good uses. After picking and choosing, he spent 700 New Dors on two items.


    One was an ornament that was supposed to be hung on his clothes. It was hexagonal and was about the size of a button. It had a shiny appearance that was neither agate nor pearls nor diamonds, but was very soft when pinched. The shop owner was an attractive male elf, who was very friendly but spoke poor English. After an exnation, Xiao Lin had only a vague idea of the power of those ornaments. It was only after he made some hand gestures and showed some exnatory diagrams that Xiao Lin understood.


    The function of the ornament was simple and could be easily summarized. Its purpose was transfiguration, but not the kind that was seen in martial arts or television. ording to the elven shop owner, the gadget was derived from the seeds of certain nts that were specially grown by the elves. The seeds contained a certain energy, and picking them before their germination could preserve that energy within and prevent it from being emitted.


    After that energy was emitted, it could temporarily produce a certain hallucination effect to anyone whoid eyes on it. When worn, the wearer could also allow others to see a fake version of themselves, the effect of which was more or less like transfiguration.


    Of course, that kind of energy could be used only once, or perhaps twice at most. Therefore, it was not very expensive¨Conly 400 New Dors. Nevertheless, it was a unique ornament that had some collection value, even after it had been used up.


    The other piece was a coil of spider silk, refined from spiders that only inhabited the elven territory. It was much more resilient than ordinary rope, but the most important point was its extremely slim and light properties. The elven shopkeeper was very thoughtful: he ced the spider silk coil in a delicate ring and made it easy to carry.


    The spider silk was cheaper, costing 300 New Dors. After buying the two items, Xiao Lin touched his pocket¡ªwhich only had 2,000 New Dors left¡ªand decided to stop for the time being. As someone who was new to the New World, there were a lot of dazzling things that attracted his attention. If he really wanted to let himself loose, the money he had was not enough at all.


    It was past noon by the time he returned to the inn. Song Jung had returned at some point and was sitting in the room with a birdcage on the table. Song Jung was teasing the bird and feeding it.


    The bird was about the size of his palm and was fiery red from its hook-shaped beak all the way to its talons. The color was extremely bright and brilliant, like a burning me. Its head was adorned with an ink-ck crest, and thebination of red and ck was a breathtaking sight.


    The bird food in Song Jung¡¯s hands was equally as unusual. They were all pieces of meat the size of fingernails, with streaks of blood that were not even cleaned off. The bird swallowed them whole as they were tossed into the birdcage. It called out in low grunts, as if longing for the meat.


    Xiao Lin was perplexed by what he saw. He did not expect Song Jung to be in such a carefree mood. He asked curiously, ¡°Pretty bird, Department Head Song. Where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°Bird?¡± Department Head Song shot a condescending nce at him and said in an irritated tone, ¡°Please! Don¡¯t insult it byparing it to a creature as low-level as a bird. This guy is a near-genuine dragon-eagle!¡±


    ¡°Dragon-eagle!¡± Xiao Lin widened his eyes and eximed.


    ¡°F*CK!¡± Song Jung was obviously taken aback by Xiao Lin¡¯s exmation and quickly dropped the meat in his hand. He hurriedly walked to the corridor outside the room and looked left and right, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one around. He then shut the door quickly and said in a slightly reprimanding tone, ¡°Keep it down! Don¡¯t spread this around, do you understand?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, feeling like he had been too na?ve. Would the Song Jung he knew even keep an ordinary bird?


    Department Head Song¡¯s nervous expression earlier made Xiao Lin suddenly realize something. He lowered his voice. ¡°You went to America¡¯s dragon-eagle knight regiment and stole a baby bird? I mean, a baby dragon-eagle.¡±


    ¡°Steal? No, no, no. I got a dragon-eagle egg through my own channels. It just so happened to hatch today.¡±


    ¡°Are dragon-eagle eggs that easy to get?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Dragon-eagles are a military-controlled creature of Judge Academy. First, you have to pretend to be a bad guy and get reported, then you have to hide it from the inspection staff, and at longst, you can sneak out and take back with you a real dragon-eagle egg. This entire day had been just torturous!¡±

 Chapter 128: The Value of Notes

    <h4>Chapter 128: The Value of Notes</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although Song Jung wasining, his expression suggested that he was waiting to be praised. The Dragon-eagle Knight Regiment were the elite troops of Judge Academy, and it did not take a genius to know that the birth and growth of that creature was under America¡¯s strict control. Xiao Lin also had to give credit to Song Jung¡¯s connections and skills, for thetter could steal a newly born dragon-eagle so stealthily in someone else¡¯s city.


    ¡°What are you going to do if you¡¯re discovered?¡± Xiao Lin did not praise him, but instead asked anxiously. However, he regretted asking that question as soon as he finished speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got someone up there!¡±


    Department Head Song¡¯s answer was exactly the same as Xiao Lin¡¯s expected. Other than cursing silently and guessing just how strong his backer was, Xiao Lin was left in awe.


    After feeding the creature, Song Jung noticed that Xiao Lin came back with a big bag and asked out of curiosity. After learning that they were the skill books that Xiao Lin had obtained in the trade district, he reluctantly said, ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have all these basic skill books at our college. Why must you give the Americans a chance to make money from us.¡±


    Xiao Lin defended himself. ¡°They gave it away for free. These skill books are different because they¡¯ve been used.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s mind went nk for a moment before he said, ¡°It¡¯s a used book? Are you talking about other people¡¯s notes and exnations in these books? Everyone¡¯s understanding of skills is different, and there¡¯s still the question of whether other people¡¯s experiences are useful for you. Most importantly, how will you ensure that other people¡¯s exnations are correct? If you study them incorrectly, you¡¯ll be lucky if you only waste your time. What if you¡¯re misguided or the spell bites you back? You¡¯ll be ruined for the rest of your life! ¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked because he did not expect it to be so serious. He was unsure if Department Head Song was just trying to frighten him, but he still felt uneasy. He quickly took out the four notebooks in the bag and handed them to Song Jung. ¡°Why don¡¯t you check them out for me? I¡¯m not sure if the contents arepletely correct.¡±


    Song Jung had nothing to do, so he agreed and took one at random. He whispered to himself as he perused through it. ¡°Earth-shattering Chop? This is the kind of skill you can find on the street, and you must use an axe-type weapon for it to truly be effective. Why do you need this for? If I remember correctly, you learned swordsmansh¡ª¡±


    Song Jung¡¯sining suddenly came to an abrupt end and his expression became rather odd. Xiao Lin thought he had actually found a wrongment, so he hurriedly peered over, only to find that Department Head Song¡¯s eyes were fixed on the title page of the note. A name was scribbled on the yellowed page: Tang Ken.


    After a long while, Song Jung looked up and shot Xiao Lin an unsure look. ¡°This Tang Ken. That Tang Ken?¡±


    Xiao Lin was confused. ¡°Who is Tang Ken? I don¡¯t know him.¡±


    ¡°Well, of course I know that you don¡¯t know him... You¡¯re still a freshman, and it¡¯s normal if you haven¡¯t heard of this person, but if this really is him. Tsk tsk...¡±


    Xiao Lin was still confused. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t keep it to yourself. Who¡¯s Tang Ken?¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s teasing expression became somewhat serious. As he read through the notes, he slowly said, ¡°Tang Ken was an S-rank genius who appeared in this world about a century ago. He was an outstanding character who had a terrifying strength. Anyone who has the heart to understand Dawn Academy¡¯s history would definitely have heard about a figure like him. His contributions to Dawn Academy deserve everyone¡¯s respect.¡±


    Xiao Lin was tongue-tied. He then asked, ¡°Then what level of strength is he now?¡±


    Song Jung sighed, ¡°Decades ago, he was killed in the war with the orcs. He and his power were the sole force that stopped tens of thousands of elite orcs. In the end, his lifespan was drained and he died of exhaustion. It was such a pity; he could well be an even more legendary figure if he lived to this day.¡±


    Xiao Lin became silent too, but he soon asked, ¡°This note is a relic of his, then?¡±


    Song Jung put down the notebook and spread out his palms. ¡°My knowledge of Tang Ken is limited to history textbooks. As far as the authenticity of this notebook is concerned, the only ones who could tell are probably those acquaintances who fought with him back then.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. Those ideas were still too far away, so he left that notebook aside and passed him the Lightsword¡¯s notes. After what happened earlier, Department Head Song¡¯s expression became even more serious. Just looking at the signature of the notes made him burst, ¡°F*CK!¡±


    ¡°What is it now?¡±


    ¡°Ouyang Ming? The Sword Saint Ouyang Ming! More than 50 years ago, he brought a light sword and went straight to the merfolk¡¯s hintends, killing the merfolk¡¯s king. At least half the credit for bringing peace to Dawn Academy¡¯s surrounding areas should go to him...¡±


    Song Jung did not even bother to look through the contents and simply took out the other two notes for me Bullet and Wind Defense. His face had a look of utter shock when he nced at the signatures.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s curiosity was thoroughly aroused and he continued pressing further about them. The two notes were signed by foreigners, and they were not in English either, so he did not know what their names were.


    ¡°Basil, a French alchemist. He¡¯s created many novel alchemical forms, many of which received recognition, even by Norma¡¯s natives. Wolff, a German wind elementalist, is said to have taken the half-step into Legend-rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin had never heard of those people, but had a rough idea of their immense character from Song Jung¡¯s awe-inspired tone. The two of them looked at each other for a long time, and Department Head Song asked silently, ¡°The one who gave you the notes. Who was it?¡±


    ¡°Uh...¡± Xiao Lin suddenly remembered that he knew the other party only by their surname: Lin. No other information was given, and he actually had no ns to go back at all.


    ¡°Lin. A graduate of Dawn Academy?¡± Song Jung racked his brains but failed to recall any famous graduates in the history of Dawn Academy. In any case, if the other party was really a graduate from decades ago, it was not at all surprising that Department Head Song did not know.


    ¡°What should I do about these notes then?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? I can help you identify them if they¡¯re from ordinary people, but if it¡¯s these people...¡± Song Jung looked helpless.


    ¡°Such a valuable thing was actually given to me for free.¡± Xiao Lin also had some doubts about it.


    ¡°Valuable? No, no, no. That person was right. Even if these signatures aren¡¯t forged, the practical value of these notes are very limited. At most, they¡¯re a small collection ofmemorative value,¡± Song Jung corrected him. ¡°These are just ck Iron-ranked skills. The level is really low, but it¡¯s not too bad for freshmen.¡±


    Department Head Song¡¯s meaning is very simple. Regardless of whether those notes were real or whether the annotations were correct, it was still something that he got for free. One could take a look at them when one had the time. Xiao Lin could learn from it if he found them useful, or vice versa. Either way, he would not lose anything.


    Xiao Lin happened to think the same too. He set aside the skill books and thought of something more interesting. ¡°Ivanovich. Have you heard this name before? It¡¯s probably Russian.¡±

 Chapter 129: Ivanovich

    <h4>Chapter 129: Ivanovich</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    If Song Jung¡¯s previous expressions were that of shock and horror, his was absolutely petrified when Xiao Lin mentioned that name. His expressions froze in an instant.


    Xiao Lin did not notice it and continued, ¡°Professor Brown gave us a few days off. The name was discovered on the excavated stone bs earlier today. At that time, everyone¡ªincluding the professor¡ªseemed a little strange. Um, Department Head Song...¡±


    Xiao Lin discovered that Department Head Song¡¯s expression was simr to that of Professor Brown. After calling out for a long time, Song Jung rubbed his eyebrows and his tone suddenly became solemn. ¡°Are you really sure the name Ivanovich was written on that stone b? Could it be a trantion error? I remember you telling me that there¡¯s no one from Russia¡¯s Voyna Akademiya there. None of the others understand Russian, do they?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a transliterated word, but it¡¯s just a guess really. Professor Brown seemed to believe it.¡± Xiao Lin briefly exined the situation at the time and could not help asking, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me yet. Who is this guy? Was he really strong like Tang Ken?¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s expression was very strange; he could not tell whether it was disbelief or doubt. After considering it for a moment, he exined: ¡°Tang Ken, Ouyang Ming? No,pared to Ivan, they¡¯re not on the same level. All colonists must have this name etched forever into their memories.¡±


    Department Head Song looked at Xiao Lin with a never-before-seen seriousness and said with rity, ¡°Ivanovich is the only person with a clear historical record of having an SS-level talent. He¡¯s also the creator of the resurrectionw!¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. Even though he was just a freshman, he immediately understood the implications of that name. The resurrectionw had the effect of deducting one¡¯s lifespan after death. Colonists were only able toe thus far with that indispensablew. In fact, the entire world¡¯s colonial academies ought to thank the person who created thatw.


    However, that did not exin Professor Brown¡¯s near-terrified expression at that moment. Xiao Lin thought for a moment and suddenly had a realization. He asked, ¡°Wait. When was the resurrectionw created? And when did Ivanovich die?¡±


    Song Jung smiled wryly. ¡°Do you finally get it now? That¡¯s right, if the name on the stone tablet is really the legendary Ivan, then the time span won¡¯t make any sense. The Thunder Kingdom¡¯s capital was invaded in the year forty-eight N.C. In that same year, the high priest disappeared and all members of the royal family were sent to their deaths, but the resurrectionw was only created in the year sixty-eight N.C. Ivan also died because of that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to know when Ivanovich enrolled and how he spent his days at the academy. These are all listed as top secret by Russia¡¯s Voyna Akademiya. What is certain is that there can¡¯t possibly be anyone who knew who he was during forty-eight N.C.!¡±


    Xiao Lin then said, ¡°So, those tes must have been ced after the destruction of the Thunder Kingdom? But that¡¯s difficult to exin away too. Why put those bs there?¡±


    Department Head Song sighed, ¡°Things are moreplicated than you think. The dark room may have existed a long time ago. You said two days ago that the pce was the pce of thest queen, and thest queen was the priest¡¯s sister who disappeared during that time. The only thing we can be sure of is that the high priest didn¡¯t die.¡±


    Xiao Lin found it quite incredible. ¡°He even lived under the noses of the Americans and quietly made these tes to put into the pce¡¯s dark room.¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is hard to make sense of, but if the person who made the b is the high priest, then he must be alive and knew about Ivan, since his name is engraved on the b. Even though Ivan was a SS-level talent during that time, he was still not very well-known. It was only when the resurrectionw came to being that even Norma¡¯s native tribes knew his name.¡±


    ¡°That means the earliest time the high priest could have engraved and ced the te there must have been after sixty-eight N.C.¡± Xiao Lin then remembered something. ¡°I remember Hank saying that the high priest was already very old at the time, and there was no potion or spell that could prolong his life. How did he live to sixty-eight N.C.?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not important. The question is why did the high priest do this? Put yourself in his position and think about it, Xiao Lin. If you were that high priest, what would you do if you were in the same situation?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Xiao Lin was taken aback. He thought for a moment and said, ¡°If my country was destroyed and everyone else was killed except for me, I definitely won¡¯t be able to ept it and I¡¯ll find ways to retaliate.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. In such a situation, a normal person would definitely wait for an opportunity to retaliate. There are be many forms of retaliation: assassination, sabotage, or instigating a rebellion. With the high priest¡¯s ability and prestige during that period, he could do any of those things as he pleased, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, he hid in the shadows and carved out that b, with Ivan¡¯s name appearing there too. All of this is just too strange.¡±


    The two of them deliberated for some time and were still at a loss. In fact, the crux of the matter was still the tes. It was important to figure out what contents were recorded on them, and as far as Judge Academy was concerned, they had to face a more embarrassing problem¡ªthey had no way to determine whether the high priest still existed to that day.


    Indeed, the phrase used was ¡®still exist¡¯, not ¡®still alive¡¯.


    Logic dictated that it was impossible for the high priest to remain alive until the present, but there was a possibility that he used some method unknown to the colonial academies, or perhaps even prolonging his life in another different form altogether.


    Those were the spective theories put forth when the Thunder Kingdom was invaded and the high priest was nowhere to be found. The man never showed up, even after many years, so it was natural that everyone thought he was dead. The initial disclosure of the te¡¯s contents, however, forced America to reconsider all those possibilities.


    Song Jung¡¯s expression remained solemn after learning about that. He did not even have any time to take care of his just-acquired little dragon-eagle. Instead, he left it to Xiao Lin and told thetter to feed it on his behalf. Meanwhile, he told Xiao Lin that he wanted to talk to Dawn Academy via trans-spatialmunication. He was elusive all day long and often disappeared without a trace.


    Xiao Lin did not bother too much about Ivan or the high priest, since they were of no importance to him. The longest he would stay in New Washington was about a month at most, after which he would have to return.


    During his hard-toe-by two-day paid leave, Xiao Lin chose not to continue shopping, but instead did gravity training in his room. However, there was no centralputer like Dawn Academy that could record his body¡¯s various attributes and monitor his progress in real-time.


    As a result, Xiao Lin was unsure how effective his training would be, but judging from the number of push-ups he could do each time, he felt that he was slowly adapting.

 Chapter 130: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 130: Attack</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s two-day leave passed quickly. He received no further notice stating that the leave would continue, which meant that he had to report to Professor Brown as usual. He got up early in the morning and waited for a long time at the inn entrance, but his escort Norn was nowhere to be seen.


    As the intern from the Foreign Affairs Department who was responsible for picking Xiao Lin up every day, Norn had never beente, which left Xiao Lin scratching his head. Norn still did not appear after ten or so minutes, so Xiao Lin decided to go to the pce by himself. Brown was a very harsh old man, and Xiao Lin¡¯s pay might even be deducted if he waste. All of a sudden, Norn finally arrived.


    ¡°I was going to bete. Why are you only here now?¡± Xiao Linined, somewhat dissatisfied.


    Norn acted quite strange that day. He did not even say a single word, even though he was usually very talkative, and his face was lowered slightly, making it difficult to see his expression. Xiao Lin wondered if he had seen things wrongly after noticing that Norn¡¯s clothes were very messy, giving off a rather awkward vibe. He nodded to Xiao Lin and proceeded to set off at once.


    Xiao Lin shrugged. He and Norn were not really that close, and since the other party did not want to exin, Xiao Lin naturally did not bother to say anything. Norn¡¯s purpose of picking him up was to provide the necessary documents when entering and leaving the pce area every day. Xiao Lin found it quite troublesome, but the Americans seemed reluctant to hand over such documents to other colleges.


    New Washington was already very lively in the early morning, and people were bustling on the clean streets. Even so, Xiao Lin was quite surprised to see that there were a lot of heavily armed people patrolling back and forth, and their equipment looked rather sophisticated. The conspicuous red dragon-eagle logo on their armor belied their identity: they were the dragon-eagle knight regiment, and they stopped people on the street from time to time tomence random interrogations.


    Xiao Lin looked pensive throughout their journey, but those dragon-eagle knights did not give him and Norn a hard time because the Norn was leading the way. They went straight through the periphery of the pce grounds and reached the deste pce. As always, their fingerprints were verified under the watchful gazes of two guards stationed outside.


    Xiao Lin then bid farewell to Norn and entered the pce hall. He arrived there early, and only three or four people were present. The others were not there yet, and none of them went to work immediately. They instead chatted with each other during that spare time.


    ¡°Have you noticed that the city¡¯s defenses increased significantly today!¡±


    ¡°The Dragon-eagle Knight Regiment seems to have been dispatched.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, tsk. The Americans are probably a little scared after Ivan¡¯s name appeared on that te.¡±


    ¡°In fact, I think the Americans are making a big deal about nothing. Even if the high priest lives to the present, the possibility that he¡¯d instigate a rebellion is very low. I don¡¯t think the second or even the third generation of local natives will band together, especially when their strength is far behind that of the dragon-eagle knights.¡±


    ¡°The sess of a rebellion would definitely be zero, but they might still be able to inflict some damage. The Americans are really terrified of terrorist attacks and the like.¡±


    ¡°Heh, doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ll be back home in just over half a month.¡±


    The significance of the name on the stone b from two days ago was easy to understand with a bit of critical thinking, but the others were simrly unconcerned like Xiao Lin. Whether the high priest was dead or alive, or whether he was instigating a rebellion or trying to wreak havoc, they were all Judge Academy¡¯s headaches and had nothing to do with them.


    A new round of work began as soon as everyone else came. Professor Brown, who finally showed up, did not express any opinions on the matter, but verbally asked everyone to speed up their progress.


    They had just started their work when a dull explosion suddenly urred outside the pce. What soon followed was a mor of voices, hasty footsteps, and the nging of des. Another, more violent explosion soon urred, and everything soon reverted back to calm.


    Xiao Lin and the others raised their heads and looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with bewilderment and confusion. That was the deepest part of the pce district and the central area of New Washington, so it was quite impossible for a battle to ur there.


    Bang!


    The pce gates were pushed open heavily and several of them stepped back instinctually. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the person who broke in: Commander Harry of the dragon-eagle knight regiment.


    ¡°Excuse me. What happened?¡± Lnder asked, but Harry kept quiet and nced at him sternly.


    After Professor Brown came down, Harry nodded at him slightly and said in a deep voice, ¡°Someone tried to break into the pce area just now, but I happened to be nearby.¡±


    Brown frowned in surprise. ¡°They were targeting this ce?¡±


    ¡°From the other party¡¯s path of movement, this ce is the only possibility.¡±


    ¡°Who was it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He escaped.¡±


    ¡°The pce area is heavily guarded and you need special documents to get in and out. How could someone just enter like that!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still investigating. The other party¡¯s objective is unclear and I¡¯d like to strengthen the security of this pce from today onward. I¡¯m sure you have no objection to it, Professor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have to trouble you to do that, Commander Harry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter who that person is, they¡¯re in New Washington City after all. It¡¯s not somewhere they can just mess around!¡±


    Harry left quickly again, but dozens of other knights that came with him stayed behind. Several of them were stationed in the hall itself. Dressed in sturdy armor, only their expressionless eyes were exposed and they swept their gazes across everyone.


    The feeling obviously made Xiao Lin and the others ufortable. Chloe protested, feeling that Judge Academy did not trust them and therefore came to monitor them on purpose. She felt insulted, but with things reaching that point, no one in America would heed her protests.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was gradually shrouded in a haze and he was feeling unwell. The Americans¡¯ actions were clearly a sign that they suspected the presence of a mole who provided help for the mysterious intruder.


    There was a chill in the hall. No one felt interested in chatting anymore with those cold eyes staring at them. In light of that, their progress elerated tremendously, and everyone had the same thought in mind¡ªfinish all the work as soon as possible and leave the city at the soonest avable opportunity.


    After returning to the inn, Xiao Lin informed Song Jung of the matter, causing thetter¡¯s expression to turn even more solemn. He did not express any opinions about it, but repeatedly told Xiao Lin to watch himself and refrain from interfering regardless of what happened. After all, they were from Dawn Academy, and New Washington¡¯s affairs had nothing to do with them.


    Life returned to peace and calm again in the next few days. The mysterious man who broke into the pce disappeared and never reappeared again. No one knew if the other party had left New Washington or was simplyying low.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s routine had not changed much either. He worked for Professor Brown during the day and trained at the inn at night. Once he could do a higher number of push-ups in the gravitational environment, he nned on trying night runs.


    Unfortunately, he was quickly caught by the guards barely seconds after leaving the inn. Once he went through some troublesome procedures and had his identity confirmed, they proceeded to release him. He then learnt of some unexpected news from Department Head Song.


    New Washington was officially going to implement a curfew from that week onward!

 Chapter 131: Single Moon Festival

    <h4>Chapter 131: Single Moon Festival</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ording to the announcements that were widely spread by Judge Academy, the entire city would be on a curfew at seven o¡¯clock. Other than those approved by the officials, anyone who was out of their homes would be treated as a suspect and would be captured.


    Song Jung told Xiao Lin that curfews were not all that rare. Plenty of colonial territories maintained it in order to preserve order, but it usually applied only to the natives, not to colonists.


    However, not only did New Washington apply the curfew to everyone, it was also the first time a curfew had ever been applied in the city that had only known peace.


    ¡°The Americans are really scared this time, but what are they afraid of?¡± Song Jung could make no sense of it.


    Department Head Song would make Xiao Lin recount the entire day¡¯s happenings every time he came back in order to find a shred of a clue to understand what was happening, especially to find out what was recorded in those stone tes.


    It was not only Xiao Lin; even Lnder and the other coworkers were filled with curiosity, despite their saying that they were not interested. All of them would subtly try and make their own trantions while working, but their Ancient Normese was not up to par, and they were unable to solve the riddle.


    Xiao Lin did not participate in the discussions, and no one bothered to ask him as well since his LV1 Ancient Normese would not provide any help whatsoever. Xiao Lin was biding his time as well.


    The day his replication skill went off cooldown, he got to the pce hall especially early, before anyone else had got there. He knew that Professor Brown always arrived earlier than anyone else. In just a few short minutes, Professor Brown pushed open the door and entered. He was surprised when he saw Xiao Lin, but was quick to nod at him in praise. He gave a few encouraging words and headed upstairs.


    [Replication skill, activated!]


    [Ancient Normese MAX, replicated!]


    Xiao Lin did note early to gain Professor Brown¡¯s praise; he was only there for the opportunity to replicate Professor Brown¡¯s skill, and everything was going as smoothly as he anticipated.


    All the copied notes were with Professor Brown, but it was not an issue as the stone tes that had been put together were all still neatly arranged in the wall. After using his skill, he hurried over to where the stone tes were.


    Professor Brown¡¯s maxed out Ancient Normese was something else; those indecipherable symbols suddenly became clear and meaningful. Xiao Lin could pretty much read ten lines with a nce, so he managed to quickly read through everything without pause.


    ¡°Mortals in the living world, heed God¡¯s call. In this world filled with turmoil, a blood moon will rise. Then, the light of God will once again rise from the ancient ashes. In the cover of the fog, my prayers will cleanse all sin and impurities...¡±


    There were over forty stone tes, and Xiao Lin read them very easily. However, the more he read, the more he was confused. He could recognise all the words, but when they were grouped together, he could not understand the meaning at all.


    The contents seemed like poetry or prose, or even some form of litany. If the one who carved the stone tes was the high priest, then Xiao Lin doubted he would have been so idle as to write poetry to soothe his hatred.


    Xiao Lin once again sped through the contents which were hard to understand, turning his gaze to the tes that had Ivanovich¡¯s names on them. The appearance of the name of the man who established the Law of Immortality was also when Judge Academy started to act rmed.


    The state of that stone te was worse than the others, even after Lnder and the rest of them restored it. There was still not much left of the te. The words on the stone te were also very blurry and hard to recognize.


    They guessed that these stone tes were ced into the dark room at different times. The one he was looking at could very well have been ced there even longer ago, and the ones that were better preserved could have been ced there not as long ago. Thankfully, it was not prose written on that particr stone te, and the meaning was easy to understand.


    ¡°... I spent several decades to finally understand that these evil demonse from a different point of time and space... The power they currently have is more horrifying than I imagined... Ivanovich; he used up all his powers and even went against God. God will not forgive him... God did not abandon us. Ivanovich, that heathen enlightened me. I finally found a way to defeat these evil demons...¡±


    His replication skill had ended, but Xiao Lin remembered all the contents. He felt that his understanding of the New World was way too shallow, but there were no results, even after asking Department Head Song that night.


    Song Jung did not ask Xiao Lin where he got the trantion, skipping straight to analysis. ¡°The evil demons in this case definitely refers to us, but what does it mean by defeating us? That part¡¯s too vague.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it means fanning the mes of rebellion.¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°The problem is that these stone tes were carved who knows how many years ago, and were only recently excavated. If it was for a rebellion, then it would be way toote. Furthermore, who would stupidly carve all of that on the stone tes and wait for the Americans to find it so they could prepare themselves?¡±


    The two of them discussed for half a day, but could not seem to find any headway. It only caused Xiao Lin to be even more confused. New Washington¡¯sw enforcement grew stricter, since it was still a city the Americans had garrisoned in for a long time. Even if there had been a long peacetime, when Judge Academy really put their mind to strict investigation, they still managed to find several problematic areas.


    Xiao Lin still maintained his routine of only going to the inn and the pce, and would asionally try to get some news from Lnder and the others. Just the day before, they said that Judge Academy captured a few natives who were acting suspiciously. Those people called themselves merchants from outside, but they suddenly fought back when they were being questioned. They were quite skilled, even managing to kill a few Americans in the process.


    Of course, under the influence of the resurrection tower, those unlucky eggs only lost 20 years of their life, but that was still enough to cause rm.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not possible for a rebellion to happen; the dragon-eagle knights are here and we have the resurrection tower. The New Washington¡¯s defenses are imprable, but some might be trying to cause a scare, since it will be the Single Moon Festival in a few days,¡± Lnder said when they were resting.


    ¡°Single Moon Festival?¡±


    Norma has two moons, and most of the time, both of them are in the sky. However, sometimes the two moons wouldpletely ovep, making it seem like there is only one moon in the sky. The Normans think it a day of blessing, so they would sing and dance in celebration. The colonists call it the Single Moon Festival,¡± Lnder exined to XIao Lin.


    Xiao Lin had been training every night at the inn in those days, so he had no time to look at the moon. Of course, he did not notice that the moons had some parts that ovepped. When theypletely ovepped, it would be the Single Moon Festival.

 Chapter 132: Before The Festival

    <h4>Chapter 132: Before The Festival</h4>


    ording to Norman mythology, millions of years ago, God created the world during the day the moon converged. Therefore, the Normans believed that God would descend upon them on that day and bless everyone.


    The Single Moon Festival felt like Christmas or the Spring Festival on Earth, but the difference was that the moons did not converge on a regr basis, and would usually only happen every four or five years. The natives viewed the festival as very important, and was not an event that could be simply cancelled. Even the colonists, who set up various stores within the city, would use various discounts to earn a killing from the natives during this time.


    New Washington had only known peace and prosperity. It was even well-known amongst the natives. If they actually cancelled festival celebrations, it would be a very big hit to various parties. After all, colonizing was not just about war; economy and profit were also things everyone was fighting for.


    That was why Judge Academy was currently in a precarious situation. More and more evidence pointed toward an unknown and mysterious presence in the city that could very possibly perform some destructive activities in the city. It would put the Americans in a very tough spot if chaos were to happen during that important festival.


    Various checkpoints had been set up within the city for the curfew, and there were a lot more stringent measures being taken at the city entrances. Everyone who entered would need to give proof of identity and records of an address, especially natives from the outside. Any resistance or suspicious activity would be detained on the spot.


    Xiao Lin managed to learn quite a lot thanks to Department Head Song, and Song Jung¡¯s news was much more detailed than Lnder¡¯s.


    For instance, upon detailed inspection, the suspicious detainees were mere risk takers who tried to enter for illegal trade, or even smugglers and traffickers attempting to profit from the Single Moon Festival. Those were all normal urrences, but the Judge Academy usually turned a blind eye to them. However, to say that those activities could be linked to rebellion would be quite a stretch.


    ¡°The Americans will probably need to allow the Single Moon Festival to carry on. It¡¯s very hard to just cancel the festival,¡± Song Jung said. ¡°The inspections in the city have been getting increasingly strictertely. Judge Academy is probably trying to ensure everything goes well on that day.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°That¡¯s all fine and dandy, but to be honest, it¡¯s hard to tie all this to the stone tes and say that everything was orchestrated by the high priest who is still alive. However, surely he wasn¡¯t just carving all those stone tes to vent his feelings?¡±


    Department Head Song shook his head. ¡°Let the Americans worry about this. Just focus on doing everything Professor Brown asks of you, and don¡¯t cause any trouble. To be honest, the best thing for us would be to leave New Washington by the Single Moon Festival, but it¡¯s not possible anymore. After some investigation, I found out that the teleportation tform would be temporarily closed.¡±


    ¡°Closed?¡± Xiao Lin gaped, and then he said in realization, ¡°Are they taking precautions against the other academies?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Song Jung coldly smiled. ¡°Even if the colonists are considered a single body, we still have our conflicts when ites to individual interests, so basic precautions are a must.¡±


    There were two fundamental structures that were needed in every colonist academy city: a resurrection tower and a wormhole. A resurrection tower tied into the lives of the colonists. The Law of Immortality was the most important factor for them in oveing the advantage in numbers the natives had.


    The wormholes were the foundations of all the academies. It ensured that resources and new recruits from Earth or the academies could arrive on the. Even though there was more than one wormhole in the world, if the Americans lost their wormhole, it could signal the end of Judge Academy.


    No matter what happened, the Americans could not lose either of them.


    That was why Judge Academy¡¯s greatest defensive strength, the dragon-eagle knights, were all garrisoned in those two locations as ofte. The wormhole was even closed off temporarily. The Americans seemed to ce more importance on those than the contents of the stone tes.


    At the end of the third week, Xiao Lin noticed that all the dragon-eagle knights stationed in the pce had been dismissed, which was how he made that guess. Of course, the castle district was still the heart of the city, so the necessary defenses were still there.


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with so many defenses!¡± After work that day, Lnder casually said that to everyone. He had returned to his usual chatty self after the hall guards were sent away.


    It was actually awkward for them those few days thanks to the tensions within the city. The wormhole¡¯s temporary closure did nothing to assuage their moods either. The students of the western academies were particrly sensitive to things like terrorism, so they were constantly worried of being attacked by natives on the streets.


    ¡°The Americans are quite good at handling these problems,¡± Lnder said, but it was unclear if he was consoling himself or everyone else.


    ¡°I heard yesterday that the wormholes would be reopened after the Single Moon Festival. When the timees, I¡¯m getting out of here. I don¡¯t even care about my remaining wages!¡±


    ¡°Xiao! What do you think?¡± The few Europeans looked at Xiao Lin after voicing their opinions.


    ¡°The stone tes seem to be about finished. If we pick up the pace, we¡¯ll definitely be finished by the end of the month.¡± Xiao Lin agreed with them as well. He was only a new student who was not even at the ck Iron-rank; he absolutely had to stay out of conflicts. The best way to do that was to ensure he could leave early, but he still wanted the remainder of his wages, especially after he saw the value of New Dors in the trade district a few days ago. That sum of money was quite big for the broke Xiao Lin.


    The rest of them thought for a while, and felt like Xiao Lin made sense. It was best if they finished up the stone tes. Otherwise, they might not even get permission to use the wormhole, especially if Professor Brown decided to stop them.


    At the time, the Single Moon Festival was three days away. Other than the increase in guards and patrols, a celebratory atmosphere spread throughout the streets, especially in themoner district where Normans were more prevalent. The streets got increasingly more colorful as the holiday spirit increased. Even the outskirts of the city saw Normans building various tforms and transporting various foods.


    Arge bonfire gathering would be held during the night of the festival. The traditional way of celebrating the festival was even grander, with the king or some other individual with high status performing various rituals to offer prayer and thanks to the gods while epting theing of the future.


    Those traditions consumed time and resources, and the Americans felt it had the potential to foster rebellious sentiment, so they cancelled it. However, the Normans could still hold small scale prayers in their own homes, which were regarded as fine.

 Chapter 133: Skill Requirements

    <h4>Chapter 133: Skill Requirements</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Despite the tension in New Washington, Xiao Lin¡¯s life did not change much. In the day, he would work with Professor Brown, and at night, he would train in the inn. The only difference was, during his spare time after training, Xiao Lin was responsible for feeding the dragon-eagle chick that would constantly cry for food.


    Department Head Song said he had urgent business, and had been missing for a few days.


    Other than that, Xiao Lin would look at the four skill books whenever he was free. The basic skills were not too hard to grasp, but there were a lot of prerequisites to those skills. It would take quite some time to truly master them.


    For example, the Earth-shattering chop required a level four mastery in Basic Axe-like Weapons and a MAX in shing. Those are the requirements that Xiao Lin referred to which needed to be fulfilled to learn that skill.


    Xiao Lin once suspected he was in a game world, so he asked Song Jung what would happen if he learned the skill without satisfying the requirements.


    Song Jungughed out loud, and gave a simple example. It was logically possible for a year one student to jump to a year six graduating ss, but the prerequisite would be that the student could grasp all the basic knowledge that a year six student knew.


    Learning skills was just like that; some basic weapon mastery and mastery in shing were the foundations to the Earth-shattering Chop. It was impossible to learn it without first having the other two.


    That was also the reason why Xiao Lin chose a skill that could only be used with axes, because he had already maxed out his shing. shing was a skill that could be used with any sort of melee weapon. Compared to basic weapons mastery, active skills of that sort were much harder to level up, so Xiao Lin did not want to waste it.


    Lightsword had slightly higher requirements. It needed Basic Swordsmanship to be at LV6 and Basic Sword Aura at LV1.


    Wind Defense needed Basic Perception LV6 and Wind Affinity LV1.


    me Bullet needed Basic Perception LV4 and Fire Affinity LV1.


    Compared to basic skills, those few skills were doubtlessly better, because basic skills usually only had one requirement, such as being able to learn Energy Bomb with just Basic Perception LV3.


    Xiao Lin did not pass any of the requirements at the moment, but with the speed that the Academic Genius talent allowed him to learn at, it could all be done in a short period, which is why he did not stop learning about the skills in the notes. He was just too curious.


    On the day of the SIngle Moon Festival, Xiao Lin noticed the entire city on high alert when he left in the morning. Judge Academy had sent out arge number of students to be on patrol, both in public and in hiding. Dragon-eagles patrolled the skies in squads, and the tall resurrection tower was their focal point.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys get a holiday during the Single Moon Festival?¡± Xiao Lin idly chatted with Norn on the way, but he did not get an answer. The guy had been acting weird since a week ago.


    The real celebrations only started at night, but it was obvious that even during the day that there were a lot more people out than usual. Even though the inspections at the city gate were harsher than usual, there were still a lot of natives in the crowd, waiting for the celebrations that they could only hold once every four to five years.


    Professor Brown did not give them a day off, and Lnder told them the colonists did not celebrate the Single Moon Festival. The various colonial territories actually celebrated holidays from Earth. On one hand, it was out of habit, but the other more important reason was to slowly erase the influence of local traditions and cultures.


    Dawn Academy heldrge celebrations for Spring Festival, and the western academies did the same for Christmas. Even the natives would be given a holiday, which slowly ustomed them to the festivals and celebrations of Earth.


    ¡°Surely nothing is going to happen,¡± Chloe said solemnly. Even her work was slower than usual. If someone wanted to mess with Judge Academy, today would without a doubt, be the best chance.¡±


    ¡°Rx, I believe in the might of the dragon-eagle knights!¡± Lnder consoled her.


    ¡°I believe that the century old city of the Americans would not be so easily toppled,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°I hope so...¡±


    Bam!


    The door was once again forcefully pushed open, shocking everyone. After looking at the culprit, everyone quickly tossed a confused gaze toward Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrow could not help but twitch when he saw the girl who waltzed inside.


    Lilith was wearing a full suit of purple armor as she walked into the pce inrge strides. She pointed at Xiao Lin. ¡°I heard you¡¯re heading back soon? That won¡¯t do. I have to fight your giant golden dragon before you leave!¡±


    Just two days ago, Xiao Lin and the rest of them had asked Professor Brown to allow them to return to their respective academies. Of course, they did not cite New Washington being unsafe as the reason, but instead that the job was almostplete. That was the truth, in the few days of them working extra diligently, there were less than ten stone tes left.


    Xiao Lin did not know where Lilith heard the news, but her pale face was very obviously angry. She seemed to not want Xiao Lin to slip away so easily.


    Xiao Lin sighed miserably, Lilith had note looking for him in the past few days, so he had almost forgotten about it. Dueling a giant golden dragon was something most people would treat as a joke, but he did not expect Lilith to be serious, to the extent that she came over today with a full suit of armor. She probably was not going to let the matter rest.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s the Single Moon Festival today, and the whole city is on high alert. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to have the fight today.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we won¡¯t do it in the city. I¡¯ll bring you outside. All you need to do is release your dragon!¡± After that Lilith, added, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about any responsibilities. I¡¯ve already submitted a request to the mayor of New Washington and gained approval.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. How could such an absurd thing be approved. Was Lilith¡¯s position among the Americans that high? Or did they just trust her that much?


    Xiao Lin exasperatedly pointed at the stone tes on the floor. ¡°Look, I have a lot to do here, and we¡¯re actually doing all this for your academy. You need to at least let me finish my work first.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be finished at some point. I¡¯ll just wait here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be working until veryte.¡±


    ¡°I have nothing to do tonight anyway.¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep pestering me?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind if you found me another giant dragon.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of dying? Even the knight regiment couldn¡¯t defeat that dragon.¡± Xiao Lin tried scaring her away.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Only through fighting to the limit can I improve myself!¡± Lilith¡¯s face was filled with bloodthirst.


    Failing to dissuade her, Xiao Lin sighed again. The rest of them could only offer sympathetic looks. None of them dared draw the ire of the legendary Demon Queen Lilith.

 Chapter 134: Sudden Change

    <h4>Chapter 134: Sudden Change</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The moon rose exceptionally early for the Single Moon Festival. The sun would usually only set after six on most days, but it started to get dark after five that day.


    Xiao Lin used his break to look out of the pce, only to see the two round moons had converged, as if they had merged into one. However, it did not dim the moonlight. It was actually brighter than usual; a vibrant, silver moonlight lit up the world. Even the weeds and bugs on the ground within the pce could be clearly seen.


    Xiao Lin stared for a moment when a cold breeze blew by, causing him to sneeze. He shook his head. ¡°Why is it suddenly so cold?¡±


    Lnder had followed him and heard hisint. He smiled and said, ¡°You really don¡¯t know anything about the New World, huh? Even though Norma has the four seasons, it¡¯s different from on Earth. The seasons here are not wholly dependent on the position of the rtive to the sun. Even the moons have a very big effect on the changing of seasons. That is why Norma¡¯s seasons are calcted from when the moons converge to when they converge again, so their four seasons span four to five years.¡±


    ¡°So each seasonsts an entire year?¡± Xiao Lin was surprised.


    ¡°More orst, sometimes it¡¯s longer, sometimes it¡¯s shorter. Even more interesting is that there¡¯s a branch of magic called Astrology on this, which is simr to astronomy on earth. The converging on the moons are usually calcted by astrologians. After the Single Moon Festival today, it will be autumn from tomorrow onward.¡± Lnder rubbed his neck. He was only wearing a thin T-shirt, so he felt the chill as well.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it start with spring?¡±


    ¡°The New World¡¯s seasons start with autumn. Don¡¯t ask me why. I know nothing of astrology.¡±


    Xiao Lin massaged his shoulders. ¡°Then let me ask another question. What type of magic is astrology? I¡¯ve never seen anything like that in my academy¡¯s courses.¡±


    ¡°Haha. I¡¯ve heard that the dean of Dawn Academy doesn¡¯t like astrology. It seems that¡¯s true.¡± Lnderughed softly. ¡°Astrology has very high requirements to begin studying in. The course exists in our academy, but it is only avable after the third year. There are usually a lot of people who take it up, but more than ny percent of them usually quit after half a year.¡±


    ¡°Is it really hard?¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t ask me that. I¡¯ve never liked magic. However, astrologists are quite rare on Norma. Only a member of royalty or someone like a high priest would be able to take up the study.¡±


    ¡°So was the high priest of Thunder Kingdom back in the day a student of this branch of magic?¡±


    ¡°Who knows.¡±


    As the two of them chatted, they heard Professor Brown¡¯s footstepsing from the hall. His footsteps had the unique quality of always sounding very rushed, so they could make it out after a while.


    They looked at each other in exasperation and prepared to continue working. They used to only work until six in the evening, but once tensions started rising within the city, they started to work overtime in order to leave New Washington sooner, only leaving at eight.


    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s Norn.¡± Xiao Lin saw the American man who sent him to work everyday from the corner of his eye. Norn usually came at eight since he started working overtime.


    Xiao Lin turned and told Lnder, ¡°Norn is the one in charge of bringing me around. He¡¯d probably forgotten the time. Why don¡¯t you head back first? I¡¯ll remind him.¡±


    However, after a few steps, a look of horror suddenly appeared on Xiao Lin¡¯s face. He was in shock for a moment as his entire body quivered before he immediately turned around and ran back to the pce, quickly closing the door behind him.


    Behind him, under the silver moonlight, Norn¡¯s face had a strange and sinister smile. The muscles and flesh on his face seemed abnormally rigid, and he looked like a machine that was trying to mimic a smile, but it only ended up making his face even more terrifying.


    Beneath Norn¡¯s legs was an entire floor full of blood. Two corpsesy down on the floor next to him: pce guards. Their eyes were wide open, frozen in disbelief before their death. They probably did not expect their fellow American to suddenly attack them,pletely overwhelming and killing them with one strike.


    The corpses did not remain there for long. After a few seconds, they started to turn into streams of light, floating toward the resurrection tower in the middle of the city and quickly disappearing into the air.


    Norn looked up toward the tower, furrowing his eyebrows before mumbling to himself in a rigid tone, ¡°The resurrection tower. What a troublesome thing. These godless, evil demons!¡±


    In the pce hall, Xiao Lin was still in a panic. He tried to lock the main door, but the pce had not been touched up in ages; the door lock was rusted beyond repair, and thetch was stuck in ce.


    ¡°Damn this stupid lock!¡± Xiao Lin angrily shouted in defeat. He looked at Norn¡¯s sinister smile through a crack in the door. He walked past the blood on the floor as he leisurely headed toward the pce.


    ¡°Xiao, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Lnder, who arrived earlier, asked curiously.


    Xiao Lin gave up on locking the door. To be honest, after seeing the American¡¯s disy of skill, he did not really feel that the ancient door would have been of much use.


    Xiao Lin did not have time to exin to Lnder. He looked at Professor Brown who was standing next to the staircase with a difficult expression before running and shouting, ¡°Professor Brown, there¡¯s an intruder! The guards were eliminated. If there are other guards in the pce, I think you should get them here quickly!¡±


    ¡°An intruder?¡±


    ¡°This is the deepest part of the castle district. Who would dare intrude?¡±


    ¡°Xiao, this isn¡¯t funny.¡±


    ...


    Bam!


    A heavy impact stopped everyone¡¯s discussions. This was the second time someone forced the door open that day, and the ancient door was finally at the end of the road as it shattered.


    ¡°Norn?¡± Professor Brown called out in shock. He seemed to recognize the man, but his words only earned a cold and sinisterughter.


    ¡°Professor Brown, please retreat. Everyone else, pleasee up to the second floor.¡± A clear voice came from behind the professor as the blonde American girl walked past the professor. She stared intently at Norn.


    Her name was Pam, and she was the one who produced the spirit chains to aid them inmunication every day. At the same time, she was the assistant of the leader of the greatest regiment in New Washington: the captain of the dragon-eagle knights, Harry.

 Chapter 135: Summoning The Dead

    <h4>Chapter 135: Summoning The Dead</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Behind Pam was a number of fully geared Americans. They were the guards that regrly patrolled the pce. Pam wore deep red magicians robes. With her staff, she was ready to attack at any time.


    Everyone immediately reacted, hastily running up to the second floor. Professor Brown did not leave immediately, as he was still in shock. ¡°Norn! What are you doing! Are you betraying Judge Academy?¡±


    ¡°Professor Brown. He¡¯s not the Norn you knew!¡± Pam motioned to her sides, and Professor Brown was immediately escorted up to the second floor.


    ¡°Pam, will you kill him?¡±


    ¡°Professor, I regret it too, but don¡¯t worry, Norn still has plenty of life left. His death will not be fatal.¡±


    Pam maintained her respect for Professor Brown as she patiently advised the old man. Professor Brown¡¯sbat abilities were not high, but hisnguage skills definitely were. Nonbatants usually had even more important functions, so Pam ced protecting Professor Brown as her primary objective.


    However, Norn did not immediately attack after entering the hall. Instead, he half-knelt as he rubbed his hand against the stone tes on the floor, murmuring to himself. It was not loud, but the night was quiet and everyone had their attention on him, so his murmuring could subtly be heard.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ancient Normese!¡± Professor Brown was the first to react. He had a very shocked expression and he added. ¡°He¡¯s reading the words on the stone tes!¡±


    Pam was not rushed to action. Even though they had about five or six of them against the lone Norn, she was not certain that Norn was acting by himself, so she chose to patiently observe and react.


    After hearing what Professor Brown said, Pam furrowed her eyebrows in realization. ¡°So the stone tes were the objectives after all. But what does he want with them?¡±


    As the vice-captain of the dragon-eagle regiment, Pam knew more about the situation than everyone else present. Judge Academy did suspect someone would pull off an attack during the Single Moon Festival. They initially suspected either the resurrection tower or the wormhole to be the most possible targets, but the pce was also one of the suspicions. The only problem was that they could not figure out any possible motive.


    Xiao Lin silently observed from the second floor. He was the weakest of everyone within the hall, so no matter what happened, he only hoped that he would not get dragged into it. However, there was something really bugging him, because Norn had a very strange expression at the moment.


    Norn no longer had that terrifying smile. Instead, he had an abnormally stern look right now. He looked more fervent and pious, as if he was doing something immensely holy.


    It was that expression that made Xiao Lin suspicious; it felt like he had seen something simr before. Suddenly, he snapped up in realization.


    It was the monthly examinations. During the examinations not too long ago, that Norman woman tried to use some strange and unnamed curse tounch a final attack on them at thest moment. At that time, the woman had the very same look of fervor, piousness and resignation to death.


    No matter what that person was there for, no matter what use the stone tes were, XIao Lin¡¯s intuition told him that if they let Norn finish chanting, something inexplicable would happen. He immediately shouted, ¡°Stop him! Stop him, quick! Don¡¯t let him finish reading the stone tes!¡±


    Pam looked at Xiao Lin. She was filled with anxiety before showing a look of determination. She ordered her men to attack from both sides, but Professor Brown shouted, ¡°Be careful! Do not use any wide, destructive skills. The stone tes are all priceless!¡±


    Pam had an exasperated look. She had just started to cast a spell, but she could not help but stop midway after Professor Brown¡¯s words, causing her to prepare a new spell.


    The others rushed over with their swords, and Pam¡¯s spell wasplete. With a wave of her wand, a subtle light was sent out, andnded on the Americans¡¯ armors. It was support magic. In order to preserve the stone tes, she could not use any destructive spells in the hall. She would need to force Norn out of the hall first.


    Against the vicious assault, Norn did not even bother to dodge. Even after a sword pierced through his heart, his expression turned serious as he raised his hand. With a light wave, a grey aura swept out of his hand, sending the guards flying.


    ¡°What strength!¡± Pam was taken aback. She turned to look at Professor Brown. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to preserve the stone tes. My job is to protect New Washington, first and foremost.¡±


    With the de still in him, Norn did not seem the slightest bit affected. All he did was furrow his eyebrows and say in a very solemn tone, ¡°You evil demons. Feel the pain of the dead that was buried here!¡±


    Norn pressed his hands to the floor and chanted an ancient and cryptic verse. The entire pce started to shake; even Pam¡¯s spell was disrupted as she realized the floor underneath her feet seemed to move and struggle.


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes in disbelief as skeletons started to break out of the ground. They shakily got out and slowly stood up. Behind their empty eye sockets were wisps of green me.


    ¡°Summoning The Dead! Even Norma deems it forbidden magic. I can¡¯t believe someone actually used it!¡± Pam clenched her teeth as she red at Norn. ¡°Who are you?! Normal people could never use such high level necromancy!¡±


    ¡°Haha! You¡¯ll find your answer in hell!¡± Nornughed darkly beforemanding the skeletal army to attack with a few chants. He did not seem to mind the fact that his whole body was stained with blood as he continued to touch the stone tes and chant in Ancient Normese.


    ¡°Summoning The Dead; it¡¯s a Golden-rank necromancy spell. This spell summons Golden-ranked skeletal soldiers. Interesting.¡± A chime-likeughter was suddenly heard. Looking toward it, Xiao Lin was speechless as he realized that he had actually forgotten Lilith amidst the chaos.


    The number of soldiers increased. Even the outside of the pce was filled with skeletons. Xiao Lin stood next to a window near the staircase, and under the moonlight he could see an ocean of skeletal soldiers advancing into the pce.

 Chapter 136: Chaotic Battle Begins

    <h4>Chapter 136: Chaotic Battle Begins</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Lnder and the others paled tremendously. The number of skeletons outside the pce were at least in the hundreds, and there were not more than ten of them who really had decentbat ability within the pce; it was a drastic difference.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the castle district? Isn¡¯t this the heart of New Washington? Where¡¯s the dragon-eagle knight regiment!¡± Lnder shouted at Pam.


    The dragon-eagle knights were definitely busy protecting the resurrection tower and wormhole. No matter how important the castle district was, it could notpare to those two buildings.


    ¡°Where are the American reinforcements?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die here!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Can you guys shut up?! You¡¯re so loud!¡± Lilith impatiently red at everyone. With a flick of her wrist, her ink-nk battle scythe was in hand.


    ¡°Lilith, don¡¯t you...¡± Pam smiled bitterly, with the tide of skeletal soldiers, she could only choose to retreat to the staircase with the others.


    Before Lilith could even finish, Lilith eagerly answered with her actions. She lifted her scythe and, with an unexpected shout, rushed right into the skeletal army, swinging her weapon into the horde.


    With a sh of red, a ming red lotus red out and five skeletal soldiers disintegrated instantly without the chance to even react. They turned into a pile of charred bones on the ground.


    Everyone could only gape at the woman who rushed in without hesitation. Her ck battle scythe was wreathed in mes as she weaved around the battlefield like a battle goddess, looking like she transcended humanity.


    Pam gaped. She had wanted to advise Lilith to not be reckless, but she could only swallow thest part of her words. She could not leave Lilith alone, so she turned around and told everyone to be careful in a low voice before rushing into battle with her men as well.


    The battle turned even more chaotic. Pam¡¯s spells were mostly supportive, so with her at the heart, the other five Americans had all sorts of buffs on them, dramatically increasing their capabilities.


    Even though the number of skeletal soldiers were still increasing, in terms ofbat ability, they were far behind Lilith and Pam¡¯s group.


    Lnder and the others did not participate in the battle. Even though they were all graduates with impressive skill, they hesitated and ultimately chose to stay in front of the staircase. They would make a move in self-defense if any skeletal soldiers appeared, but they would not rush out by themselves.


    After all, they were not part of Judge Academy. Why would they waste 20 years of their life for no reason.


    Lnder seemed to have regained some positivity after all the excitement earlier. ¡°It seems like it¡¯s only an iplete form of Summoning The Dead. Those skeletal soldiers did not have their bones strengthened, so they¡¯re all probably only at about bronze-rank.¡±


    Chloe was still cautious. ¡°There are still too many of them. Isn¡¯t there an ancient Chinese saying: many ants can bite an elephant to death, Xiao?¡±


    Xiao Lin was standing in the back, so he was currently the safest person there. All he did after hearing Chloe was vaguely answer. He was not that happy with the way the battle was going. As an idle spectator on the second floor, he could clearly see what the state of the battle was.


    The skeletal soldiers did not seem to even want to rush upstairs. All they did was surround Norn, using their bodies to stop Lilith and Pam from getting close. As for Norn, who was at the center of the sea of skeletons, he continued to chant through the contents of the stone tes. He did not seem to be the slightest bit worried that his skeletal army was being massacred.


    That caused Xiao Lin to worry. He did not understand why Norn was so concerned with the stone tes. The most worrying thing was every time he finished one of the tes, the stone would immediately turn to dust.


    ¡°Why are there so many skeletons here?¡± After a few minutes, Lnder looked at Professor Brown, asking in confusion. ¡°From what I know, necromancy requires arge amount of corpses as a sacrifice.¡±


    Professor Brown sighed. ¡°Back when the Thunder Kingdom was invaded, thest defenses of the country fought Judge Academy to the death here, so countless lives were lost. At the time, the leader had all the corpses buried right here.¡±


    ¡°So, this is actually a gigantic cemetery!¡± Lnder shouted in anger. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so before?¡±


    ¡°Too many people died in the war, so a lot of the corpses could only be handled at the spot,¡± Professor Brown sighed in resignation, but it was not clear if it was for the war ages ago, or the chaotic battle right in front of them.


    The battlested about ten minutes, and skeletal soldiers dwindled, but Xiao Lin could clearly see that it was only because Norn had already finished with the stone tes in the hall, and was slowly heading toward the side hall, where thest ten-odd stone tes were. The skeletons were also following him, guarding Norn.


    Xiao Lin whispered. ¡°We can¡¯t wait anymore. Let¡¯s rush out!¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°Where are the American reinforcements? Are they all asleep?!¡±


    Hearing the exchange, Pam retreated and nodded to them. ¡°We¡¯ll give you cover. Hurry up and leave.¡±


    ¡°Lilith, you should leave with Professor Brown¡¯s group as well!¡± Chloe shouted to Lilith, who was enjoying herself.


    ¡°You all can leave. I¡¯m good staying behind.¡± Lilith ignored the order as her scythe started to summon wind around her, increasing her range of effectiveness. Practically no skeleton managed to get near here during the entire battle.


    ¡°No! Your safety is the most important thing for Judge Academy!¡± Pam¡¯s tone turned extremely strict. ¡°This is the dean¡¯s order! Lilith, don¡¯t forget your promise to the dean. If you disobey any more orders, you¡¯ll be barred from entering the New World!¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Lilith pouted indignantly. It was obvious that the final warning was effective on her.


    With Lilith and Pam at the helm, on top of the fact that most of the skeletons were protecting Norn, they had an easy time breaking free. Xiao Lin and Professor Brown were at the center of the formation since they were the two weakest. Xiao Lin started to regret not buying weapons earlier, but upon reflection, he would still have been vastly out of his depth, even with weapons.


    It would be fine, so long as he could leave safely.


    As if to answer Xiao Lin¡¯s prayers, their group quickly managed to carve themselves a path through the sea of skeletons. Stepping past an uncountable number of skeletons, they sessfully escaped the pce.


    As long as they left the area, the powerful dragon-eagle knights regiment in the city would get them quickly out of danger. However, the moment they stepped out of the door, every one of them sucked in a deep breath as they froze in ce.

 Chapter 137: End of Chaotic Battle

    <h4>Chapter 137: End of Chaotic Battle</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The converging moons still hung in the night sky, but for some reason, they had turned deep red. It was as if the moon had been filled with blood, which looked both treacherous and beautiful. Bathing in the crimson moonlight, everyone suddenly had goosebumps.


    Xiao Lin gulped. It was his first time in the New World and his first Single Moon Festival. When he saw the blood red moon, he consoled himself, thinking it might just be a regr urrence during the Single Moon Festival. However, the moment he looked at the horrified expressions on everyone else, he knew that it was not true.


    In the blood red skies, the sounds of dragon-eagles could be heard in the distance skies. They could vaguely make out a few teams of dragon-eagle knights currently engaged in battle with some skeletal creatures. It was obvious that the chaos in the pce was only a part of what was happening.


    ¡°Stop dreaming! We need to get out first!¡± Pam sobered up quickly before shouting at everyone else.


    Even though the skeletal soldiers in the hall did not pursue them, there were a lot more skeletons outside the pce than they anticipated, and all of them were trying to get inside. Xiao Lin and the others had not escaped from trouble just yet.


    ¡°Get into formation! Charge!¡± As the vice-captain of the dragon-eagle knights, Pam was the de facto leader of this team. She calmly and quickly started giving out orders.


    She and the other meleebatants surrounded everyone else in a bell-shaped formation. Their silver armors had variousplicated markings, and were somehow still unharmed despite being hit by so many skeletons earlier, so it was good that they formed the first defensive line. In the middle of that formation was Professor Brown, Xiao Lin, Lnder and the others. Pam did not force them to help, possibly because she was very confident in her own skills.


    Even though they were unable topletely wipe out such arge number of skeletons, Pam felt that escorting that group out to safety was not a problem.


    Of course, arge part of that belief was due to her faith in Lilith¡¯s abilities. She was very clear on how important Lilith was to Judge Academy, and would not easily put her in harm¡¯s way. However, it was not like she was going to leave such a strong fighting force unused.


    After leaving the pce, Lilith once again shed her battle scythe around.


    The zing me lotuses were even more beautiful under the blood moon. With Lilith carving the path ahead, the rest of them had a much easier time, but Xiao Lin could not shake his uneasy feeling. He felt like the skeletal soldiers were not really fighting them earnestly, but were only trying to prevent them from heading back to the pce.


    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t worry. The dragon-eagle knights will be here very soon. These skeletal soldiers only have numbers on their side, but they are nothingpared to us!¡± Pam consoled Lnder. As someone from the American Judge Academy, she did not want the other academies to have any reason to look down on them.


    It seemed that she was speaking the truth. Looking at the vague and blurry battle in the distance, the dragon-eagle knights were not holding back as much as when they fought the giant golden dragon half a month ago. The full force of the dragon-eagle knights really deserved to be called America¡¯s greatest unit. The fight in the skiessted a little over ten minutes before basicallying to an end. Those creatures had been mostly defeated and were rendered to skeletal dust in mid-air.


    Xiao Lin let out a relieved sigh; part of his worries were resolved. He slowly moved his hand away from the Lightstream Jade that he had been holding onto for most of the night. It was his final defense. If Lilith and Pam¡¯s men could not hold on, he would have had to use the Lightstream Jade and release the giant golden dragon¡¯s illusory dragon. However, no one knew how much draconic power was within the jade, so it was better to use it sparingly.


    Possibly because the blood moon caused the atmosphere to be thick with tension, not one spoke too much. Everyone was trying to get out as soon as possible. They made pretty good time, and after a few minutes, they were already at the gates of the courtyard outside the pce.


    The courtyard had a deste and bleak feel to it. No one knew why before, but now, everyone realized it was because they were basically on a gigantic burial ground.


    At that moment, a muffled rumble came from within the pce. Streaks of white light began to shoot out from the rundown building, and the entire roof of the pce sted away. The white light quickly gathered together, forming an even brighter light. It looked like the sun, enveloping the entire sky of the castle district in bright light, even enveloping Xiao Lin and the other¡¯s within.


    Everyone could not help but shudder. The white light was extremely cold, chilling them to the bone. The good news was that the skeletons had stopped moving the moment the light appeared, so seizing the opportunity, they quickened their pace, but the light spread much faster than they could run.


    The beam of light rapidly extended to the horizon, and in the blink of an eye, it connected with the blood moon. In the chaos, Xiao Lin seemed to notice that, within the blood moon, something seemed to have been opened. His heart started beating heavily as his right hand once again gripped the Lightstream Jade.


    ¡°Hahaha! You evil demons! Today will be your reckoning!¡±


    Norn¡¯s figure once again emerged with the rumbling. He floated in the air as he looked at all of New Washington City. A wild and crazed look appeared on his face, as if he was filled with happiness and excitement afterpleting his task. He spread his arms, shouting, ¡°I¡¯ve waited for this for way too long! Open now! Dark Gate of Doomsday!¡±


    The shout reverberated in the air and the white light suddenly became more intense and cold. Everyone had to shut their eyes, and the rapidly decreasing temperature caused frost to begin forming on their clothes.


    A strong and intense surge of energy came from within the pce, pouring out like an avnche. The energy felt indescribable... Chaos, cold, panic, death...


    In a few short seconds, Xiao Lin suddenly felt like he had stepped into hell. He was like a small raft in the torrential seas, and could be toppled over and drowned by the tides at any time. At that point, he did not care about saving the draconic power. He hoisted up his Lightstream Jade. Thanks to the self-defense mechanism, when the jade felt the torrential energies surrounding him, the golden illusory dragon once again soared in the skies.


    That was hisst line of defense. No matter what the surge of energy meant, if even the giant golden dragon could not protect him, then Xiao Lin was probably going to die there.


    He really should not have gone to New Washington.


    That was thest thought that went through Xiao Lin¡¯s mind in all the confusion.

 Chapter 138: Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 138: Disappearance</h4>


    At peak intensity, the white light had enveloped half of New Washington City. Even the blood moon looked abnormally dull in the night sky.


    At that moment, be it Pam, Professor Brown, or Lnder and the others from the different academies, a sense of dread and an inexplicable hopelessness rose within all of them.


    They had underestimated their enemy. More urately, even though they found their opponent strong, they did not think the opponent could inflict so much damage to Judge Academy. That was the confidence Judge Academy had for countless years.


    The confidence did notst too long; the Americans had egg on their face that night. First, the blood moon suddenly appeared, then that mysterious light.


    What would happen next? No one had any confidence anymore.


    With the confusion and shock, all the Americans hadplicated expressions. They did not know what they needed to do and could only wait for their foe to make his next move.


    Just as quickly as it appeared, the white light suddenly disappeared.


    When Pam and the others opened their eyes, everything turned quiet. The white light was nowhere to be seen, and the white, converged moons were once again in the sky. The moonlight was no longer blood red, reverting to the original silver hue.


    The floor was littered with skeletons, and not far away, people could be heard screaming and shouting. Sporadic explosions could be heard, which were the only remainders of what had happened.


    Everyone had a lost, questioning expression on their faces. It was like the sea had sent over a gigantic wave, and everyone had shut their eyes waiting for death, but at the next second, they opened their eyes and the sea in front of them was once again calm.


    Everyone felt that; one moment they were frantic, but the next it seemed like nothing had happened. At least, everyone was sure that they were not hurt by the intense light earlier.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Chloe said suspiciously.


    ¡°What were they doing? Was that a light show?¡± Lnder tried joking to dispel the odd atmosphere, but no oneughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s Norn!¡± Professor Brown suddenly pointed at the direction of the pce.


    Everyone immediately tensed up. The Americans quickly picked up their weapons and assumed a defensive stance, looking over with full preparedness. However, his expression made them curious.


    Norn stood at the pce door, dumbfounded. His eyes looked empty, and it took awhile for him to snap back to reality. His lips trembled as he cried out in a low and hoarse voice. ¡°What...what is happening! The Gate of The End had opened. Why did I not go inside! Why! Impossible! Why did it happen!¡±


    ¡°What is he saying?¡± Chloe asked in a low voice.


    ¡°What is the Gate of The End?¡± Professor Brown said, unsure.


    ¡°Whatever he was doing, it seemed to have failed,¡± Lnder said brightly. Whatever the end goal was for that night, from Norn¡¯s expression, it did not seem to have seeded.


    ¡°You! You evil demons! What did you do? How could you have the power to close the Gate of The End! It¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± The veins could be seen in Norn¡¯s eyes as he wildly shouted at them.


    The cry of a dragon-eagle was suddenly heard in the skies, and a squad of dragon-eagle knights descended close to the pce. Under the moonlight, a tired-looking middle aged man quickly walked over.


    ¡°It¡¯s Captain Harry of the knight regiment!¡±


    Pam could finally rx. The American woman vibrantly smiled for the first time. ¡°We¡¯re safe.¡±


    Harry wore a purple and gold suit of armor, and he held his helmet in front of his chest as he looked at the skeletons scattered all over the ground. He gazed over everyone, finally stopping at the despondent Norn. With a wave, two riders immediately rode their dragon-eagles over, pointing theirnces at Norn¡¯s throat.


    Harry chose to immediately kill Norn. He quickly determined that the man was no longer his ally. As the focal point of everything that happened tonight, he needed to hear what happened from Norn¡¯s own mouth.


    ¡°Captain, what is the situation in the city?¡± Pam asked, the skeletal creatures in the air earlier caused her some concern.


    Harry solemnly replied, ¡°It¡¯s all been settled. I pursued the origin of the bright light here. What happened?¡±


    Pam pointed at Norn before noticing the various wounds he had. Those were from the start of the battle, so she hurriedly said, ¡°Captain, be careful. He seems to not be affected by physical attacks.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I fear he might be controlled by some spirit borne from necromancy. No matter, theirnces all have anti-magic capabilities. They can directly harm the spirit.¡±


    Harry came prepared, but it did note as a shock. He looked around before rubbing his forehead. ¡°Pam, I heard that Lilith was here tonight. Where is she?¡±


    ¡°She was with us the whole time and was very safe. Earlier, she even...¡± Midway through her sentence, she tried to look for Lilith, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Xiao Lin is gone as well!¡± Lnder cried out in shock.


    Everyone started to get nervous, but after looking around, they noticed that only Xiao Lin and Lilith had disappeared, causing Harry¡¯s anger to rise.


    Harry¡¯s usually calm face had a look of frustration. ¡°Pam! I reminded you to ensure Lilith¡¯s safety!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...that¡¯s impossible. She was right here. Could she have gotten injured and headed home?¡± Pam started to get anxious as well, not even believing her own excuse.


    ¡°Have people investigate!¡± Harry immediately decided.


    ¡°Hold on! Xiao Lin too! Xiao Lin disappeared as well! You need to find him too!¡± Lnder called out to Harry. He had been pretty decent friends with Xiao Lin over the few days, so when he said that, Harry was only focused on locating Lilith, not even noticing Xiao Lin¡¯s disappearance, he immediately spoke up.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡± Harry had a confused look in his face, and tried to figure it out. It was only until Pam reminded him softly did he realize, and say with some uncertainty, ¡°The Chinese boy?¡±


    ¡°Correct!¡±


    ¡°Fine. Perhaps he¡¯s with Lilith.¡± Harry gave a half-hearted answer. In his eyes, Lilith was a lot more important than Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 139: Mysterious World

    <h4>Chapter 139: Mysterious World</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After being unconscious for an unknown amount of time, Xiao Lin started to groggily get up. He looked around him and saw a blood red world. Under his feet was red ground and above him was a deep red sun.


    Where was this?


    Xiao Lin tried hard to figure it out, but thest memory he had was of him unleashing the giant golden dragon when he was faced with that torrent of power. After that, he seemed to make out something opening in the middle of that blood moon, as if a door had opened. Finally, he was sucked inside by an extremely strong force before falling unconscious.


    That meant that he was in the world behind the door on the blood moon. Was it still Norma?


    Xiao Lin realized he was in a huge courtyard, and next to him was a tall and majestic pce. In the distance were rows of magnificent structures that exerted a familiar feeling.


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized that he was clearly in the castle district of New Washington. Next to him was the pce he worked at every day, but upon closer inspection, there were some very obvious differences.


    The courtyard was not as deste as before, and the pce was not as rundown. There were all sorts of flowers and trees around him and he could smell a faint but clear fragrance.


    It looked like a very nice courtyard, but under the blood red sunlight, it looked very different. It enforced a strong feeling of rejection and made Xiao Lin feel very unsettled.


    Was he still in New Washington? Where was everyone else?


    Xiao Lin looked around the courtyard and could not find anyone. After leaving the courtyard, he was sure that even though the ce looked simr to New Washington, it definitely was not the same ce.


    The buildings there did not have any hint of modernization. New Washington might have preserved a lot of the old buildings, but the new buildings had a very modern western style. The buildings looked very unique. At the very least, he knew they were not styles from any era back on Earth.


    Because of that, he suddenly felt lost. The roads in the pce district were winding andplicated. The buildings all looked more or less the same. Why did they design it all those years ago to be like a maze?


    Xiao Lin started to get dizzy from wandering around, so he decided to enter a pce to rest inside. He was curious as well. Having not had the chance to do so in New Washington, this was the best time for him to see what the ancient Thunder Kingdom¡¯s legacy was like.


    His curiosity did notst long. When he got to the nearest pce, he pushed open the gold doors and the sight in front of him almost made him run away immediately.


    The blood red sunlight shone into therge pce and in front of him was a horde of skeletons!


    However, the skeletons were very quiet, as if they were in a deep slumber. They did not react to Xiao Lin entering at all, which allowed him to calm down before slowly closing the door. He looked around the other pces nearby, and what made him jump in fright was that the inside of every pce was the same!


    Those skeletons were dead, just quietly standing there. They were different from the skeletal soldiers they had encountered earlier. Those skeletons did not have a green me behind their eye sockets, and their skeletal bodies had a faint golden glow. Compared to the white skeletons from earlier, those skeletons all seemed to have endured countless years.


    After checking a few pces, Xiao Lin felt extremely strange. If every one of these pces were like that, then the amount of skeletons present must have been staggering. He decided to leave as fast as he could.


    It was like a maze, but luckily the castle district was not too big. After an hour, Xiao Lin managed to leave, but the sight outside the castle district shocked him even more.


    It was apletely foreign city. He could not find any simrities to New Washington. Walking slowly on the empty streets, he realized that he did not know where he was at all, nor did he know what his next step was.


    It was when he stopped in front of a stone statue that he started having a strange expression on his face. He was very familiar with the statue, since he saw it every day when he went back to the inn. It was the statue of Asabanor, but this one was in pristine condition. Even the pedestal had no signs of decay. However, the statue was not at an inn, but at arge and vast za.


    The unsettling feeling in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart grew even more intense as a crazy thought formed in his head. He might actually have left New Washington. He might not be in the New Washington of 210 N.C., but rather at the Thunder Kingdom capital that Judge Academy attacked hundreds of years ago!


    As he walked from house to house within the city, he was even more certain of the fact. The houses in the city were not packed with skeletons like the castle, but even stranger. There were mills in some of the buildings, but what was ced in the mills were bones.


    The mills seemed to operate by themselves. Without any external force, the bones inside were being slowly ground to dust, and flowed along recesses on the sides, which were connected to a building farther away.


    Xiao Lin found it incredibly weird, and he curiously followed the recesses to the other building. There was an incrediblyrge furnace inside and the bone dust was being mixed with ores of various metals,bining them before they were poured into the hot furnace. The inside of the furnace started to boil, and scorching hot air shot out, suddenly increasing the temperature within the building. Xiao Lin was forced to retreat, choosing to investigate another area for now.


    In the neighbouring room, there were objects that had already been smelted. They were still piles of bones, but the difference was that those bones were now like the ones he saw earlier, carrying a faint golden glow. Xiao Lin tried touching them. The surface was still scorching hot but it was abnormally hard.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. It was like a production line, obviously made to create skeletons for necromancy. Those skeletons that had been mixed with metals would obviously create even more powerful skeletal soldiers.


    Who was making these special, stronger skeletons?


    What was the point of making them?


    After cracking his head over it, Xiao Lin seemed to have an answer. He could not believe it as he uttered a name. ¡°Asabanor!¡±

 Chapter 140: Asabanor

    <h4>Chapter 140: Asabanor</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Asabanor, the high priest of the ancient Thunder Kingdom. Back when Judge Academy conquered the capital, the only high-ranking person who could not be found was the high priest. Now, after a hundred years, the stone tes they dug up seemed to indicate that the high priest was still alive.


    Xiao Lin quickly visualized. The high priest held onto his hatred and somehow got there, filling the entire city with necromantic creatures that he made day and night, preparing to take revenge on the Americans.


    However, learning from past mistakes, Xiao Lin was not too confident in his theory. As he was mulling it over, a long sigh was suddenly heard from the sky and the entire world shook.


    Xiao Lin rushed out of the building, looking toward the sound. It came from the tall tower that stood in the middle of the city and he suddenly felt something was wrong.


    New Washington had a tower, the resurrection tower, built so that colonists could invoke the Law of Immortality every time they died. However, this was not New Washington, based on his earlier guesses. Everything there was made by Asabanor, so the tower could not possibly be a resurrection tower.


    It looked quite different from the resurrection tower as well. This tower had a jet ck trunk and a conical shape. There was a small room on the top, and the sigh seemed toe from that direction.


    He was not the only one there! That revtion astonished Xiao Lin. Obviously, those skeletons in the pces could not be considered people.


    No matter who was in the tower, Xiao Lin felt that it would be best if he did not go near it. With that in mind, he decided to head in the opposite direction, but just as he turned, he saw a white-haired old man standing not far away, looking at him with a curious expression.


    Xiao Lin was startled, especially when he noticed that the old man¡¯s feet were a few centimeters above the ground, which is to say, he was floating. His mind immediately made the decision to turn around and flee.


    In this deathly still world, there were only skeletons and himself. With the sudden appearance of that old man, it was not a stretch to think he was definitely not an ordinary person, which is why Xiao Lin did not even n onmunicating with the man. He clearly understood his ownck of skill, so he ran ahead without even looking back.


    After running for more than twenty minutes, he finally stopped, gasping for breath. He turned around and saw that the old man was nowhere to be seen, but he had not even finished catching his breath when a low voice suddenly spoke up beside him. Xiao Lin¡¯s head snapped back, and he saw that the old man was only a few centimeters away from him.


    He frantically retreated, shouting, ¡°Who are you!¡±


    ¡°@#%@%...¡±


    A string of cryptic words came out of the man¡¯s mouth. Xiao Lin could make out that it was Ancient Normese, but with his current grasp of the subject, it was very hard for him to reply.


    The old man did not wait for his answer. Instead, he closed his eyes and they began to emit a faint bluish glow. When he opened them again, he started speaking Mandarin. ¡°Thisnguage is one of the sphemous ones. Are you also one of the evil demons from a different time and space!¡±


    The old man was way too fluent in Mandarin; it made Xiao Lin lose focus for a moment. However, those words meant that the old man was definitely not a colonist, so he could guess the person¡¯s identity. He was not certain, so he tried to call out, ¡°Asabanor?¡±


    The old man maintained his calm, casually acknowledging his identity, ¡°So you actually recognize me. It seems like your kind fears me as well.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a whirlwind of emotions in his heart. The man the Americans had beenboriously looking for was right in front of him. However, he took offense to what the man said, so he retorted, ¡°Yes, how could we not know of you. Thest high priest of the country that could not withstand an invasion for four years. That¡¯s quite hard to forget!¡±


    The old man wore a long white robe, emitting a hazy feeling. He closed his eyes and his tone was as calm as before, ¡°Young demon, you¡¯re trying to provoke me. I¡¯ve been here long enough. That¡¯s not an easy thing to do anymore.¡±


    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± Xiao Lin asked hurriedly.


    ¡°The Final Land.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know what to say. The old man might as well have not answered.


    Asabanor seemed to be quite patient, he continued saying, ¡°Your kind would not understand. There was an old myth in my old country. Before the world was born, everything was empty and chaotic. There was no life, no creatures, not even time and space. Then God used an immense power to split open the chaos, and from there, the world was born. However, the cradle that brought forth the world did not disappear just like that; it became The Final Land.¡±


    ¡°So, what you mean is that this is the birthce of Norma?¡±


    ¡°You are correct. Since the world was born, countless people have tried and failed to locate this lostnd. I dedicated my whole life to the study of astrology, and throughplicated calctions of the interactions between thes and the stars, I managed to ascertain that this ce was not on Norma, but on the moon.¡±


    At that, the high priest finally had a strange expression on his face. ¡°However, discovering The Final Land does not mean it can be entered. This is a ce only God can enter. At the time, my kingdom was being attacked by your kind, and I had no choice but to use myst bit of power to risk opening the gate.¡±


    Xiao Lin mocked, ¡°So, you¡¯ve been living in this world by yourself until now? You¡¯re making those skeletons. When do you n onunching your attack?¡±


    ¡°Living?¡± The high priest made an exaggeratedugh. His entire body even started to distort with it, looking nothing like a live body. After a moment the old man returned to his cold state. ¡°Do you think my current state is of someone alive? This is the world¡¯s birthce. Other than God, no one can enter as they please in their physical body without consequences!¡±


    The old man did not look human at all, so Xiao Lin understood the point, but he quickly realized something as he started to get worried. ¡°So am I dead?¡±


    The high priest seemed to have a yful look. ¡°No, you¡¯re not dead, and you still have a perfect mental state and body. It¡¯s very strange. Do you know what state I was in when I arrived here? At the time, even my soul was in flux, and I had to use more than ten years to slowly recover my sanity, and then another ten years to slowly form this appearance. However, that¡¯s about as far as I got. I¡¯m not really a human right now, nor am I a spiritual existence. I¡¯ve been trapped here, unable to leave The Final Land.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but remark at the inconsistencies in what the high priest said. ¡°You said this was a ce only God could enter!¡±

 Chapter 141: The Final Land

    <h4>Chapter 141: The Final Land</h4>


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Final Land is the first ce of God¡¯s descent. How could the filthy bodies of mortals contaminate this sacred ce? That was my belief in the past, but a century ago, that man¡¯s arrival shattered my viewpletely!¡±


    A look of hideousness appeared on the high priest¡¯s wrinkled face. ¡°Yes. That demon named Ivanovich, was able to step into The Final Land against all odds!¡±


    Xiao Lin was slightly shocked that Ivanovich¡ªthe Russian with the SS-level talent who created the Law of Immortality and was the stuff of legends for colonists¡ªactually managed to enter The Final Land.


    ¡°Wait, you said hundreds of years ago? It couldn¡¯t have been that long!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, the concept of time doesn¡¯t exist in The Final Land. Time here is fluid. It can be fast or slow. I don¡¯t know how much time has passed on Norma, but I know that I¡¯ve been trapped here for 960 years!¡±


    Xiao Lin was surprised yet again. If his understanding of Judge Academy¡¯s history was correct, then almost a century had passed since the war of that year. It would mean that time in The Final Land was almost 10 times longer than that of the outside world.


    The high priest drifted to the side a little and stroked the wall beside him. He said lightly, ¡°But I have to thank him, because he allowed me to understand a little bit about surviving in The Final Land. Here is where everything began. It¡¯s wherews began too. Once I master thew, I can create anything I want in thisnd!¡±


    That was, without a doubt, the ancient Thunder Kingdom¡¯s old capital. The old man in front of him had copied the past city with a certainw. Xiao Lin felt an inexplicable unease, but he still had some things he could not figure out and continued to ask, ¡°What¡¯s with those skeletons thingies then?¡±


    The old man did not hide anything at all. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, those had been prepared to chase you out of this world. I¡¯ve spent hundreds of years working on this and I¡¯m only one step away from sess.¡±


    ¡°What step is that?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you guessed already? I¡¯ve said that I won¡¯t be able to leave The Final Land in my current state, let alone bring these soldiers back, but the The Final Land¡¯s gates will open for a brief moment when the two moons ovep. ¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. The Single Moon Festival ended just before I came in. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to wait a few more decades!¡± Xiao Lin took a few steps back and remarked sarcastically, ¡°Oh wait, given the ratio of time, you¡¯ll probably be waiting for centuries!¡±


    The old man approached him slowly. ¡°I regret having missed that at first, but with the two of you showing up here, just like that man before. I think I might be able to find a better way to get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Why are you telling me all this?¡± The old man¡¯s weird looks only increased Xiao Lin¡¯s unease.


    ¡°You were the first person to talk to me since that man left. Do you know how boring it is in this silent world?¡±


    Xiao Lin sneered slightly. ¡°There¡¯s only one reason why you¡¯re telling your secrets to someone you don¡¯t know, especially when that person is your enemy. You never nned to let me survive from the beginning, did you?¡±


    ¡°The smartest people don¡¯t live a long life.¡± The high priest stopped floating, and his tone gradually eased. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to kill you. I was hoping to join hands with you. If you want to leave, you can only do so with my help. This is a good deal. How about it?¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    The voice of the high priest was tempting. ¡°I need to study your power. You and Ivanovich are of the same kind. There seems to be some mysterious power in your body that allows you to ignore all thews God set in The Final Land. I need this power!¡±


    If there was anything inmon between Xiao Lin and Ivanovich, it was the fact that they were both SS-level geniuses. Xiao Lin suddenly realized why he had been sucked into that world.


    Xiao Lin mocked him, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie, this ce gives me the creeps and I¡¯m dying to leave, but is there any reason I should trust you? If Ivanovich could leave by his own means, I¡¯m quite sure I can do the same too. If you really need my power, you could just capture me and take me away, but you didn¡¯t do that. Let me guess. Is it because you aren¡¯t capable of doing that?¡±


    The high priest¡¯s face changed slightly, affirming Xiao Lin¡¯s guess. He did not believe a single word from the old man, especially after he had been twice deceived by the Normans during the exam more than half a month ago. He was very much aware of it; the exam granted him insight to many things.


    Although he was not a member of Judge Academy, the colonist point-of-view meant that his position was at odds with that of the destroyed kingdom¡¯s high priest. The statement about joining forces would probably only deceive a freshman.


    ¡°You¡¯re neither a human or a ghost in your current state. Maybe a soul? Something with no physical existence? Or perhaps you are suppressed by thews of that ce. After all, you¡¯re different from us. You don¡¯t have that mysterious power, so you can¡¯t do anything to me at all!¡±


    Xiao Lin once again began to make fanciful associations and began musing to himself. He did not think that the high priest, who was filled with the hatred of subjugation, would have the luxury of saying all that nonsense to him. The only possibility was that the old man had no choice.


    The high priest¡¯s expression became worse and his body twisted again. He took a deep breath, and his tone became cold. ¡°You¡¯ve missed yourst chance to live, you arrogant heretical demon. You¡¯ll regret the choice you made! You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t have the same mysterious power you demons have, but I don¡¯t need to personally deal with you!¡±


    The high priest¡¯s figure faded until it disappearedpletely. Xiao Lin then heard a low roar, as if something had been opened, followed by creaking footsteps, like skeletons marching.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression changed slightly and he cursed. He did guess that the old man was unable to personally take any action, but he did not expect that the old man would activate the sleeping skeletons, which seemed capable of moving freely in that world.


    The only fortunate thing was that almost all the skeleton soldiers were hiding in the pce hall. The city outside was almost all workshops with no skeletons, giving Xiao Lin more time to escape.


    ¡°The old man said something about the two of you showing up here. Did another unlucky persone in? Who could it possibly be? Uh...¡± Xiao Lin muttered to himself, but the answer entered in his mind after a few seconds.

 Chapter 142: A Sudden Increase in Speed

    <h4>Chapter 142: A Sudden Increase in Speed</h4>


    ording to Asabanor, Ivanovich came in the flesh to that world¡¯s birthce many years ago. The high priest did not seem to have reacted yet, but Xiao Lin understood the reason.


    There was one other aspect Ivan had inmon with Xiao Lin, other than their gender: they were both SS-level talents. If anyone else could enter that world safely, that person was likely another SS-level talent: Lilith.


    ¡°So, she does have a SS-level talent!¡± Song Jung had previously told him about it. Other people had their suspicions, but there was no direct evidence. Xiao Lin had unknowingly received a 100% confirmation at that moment.


    Lilith had alsoe to the world known as The Final Land. Where was she now? The high priest must have also gone to her and sought her cooperation, but Xiao Lin was not sure whether Lilith would agree. If she did, he would be facing a much greater danger.


    However, before that, Xiao Lin felt that he still had to worry about the headache in front of him.


    The skeleton armying out of the pce area quickly rushed in swarms toward the streets and alleys, carrying out a thorough search of the city. Asabanor was very confident. The city was his creation, and he was the apex predator that no prey could escape from.


    After realizing that, Xiao Lin understood that whatever his ns for escape would only dy time. He did not know anything about the skeleton army¡¯s effectiveness inbat, but the ease with which they could dispose of him was certainly as effortless as pinching an ant.


    Death was thest thing on his mind. He had not seen all of Norma yet and still had rtives which he fondly remembered on Earth. Xiao Lin absolutely did not want to die in that rundown ce where no one would know about his whereabouts.


    Xiao Lin bit his lips and once again pinched the jade pendant on his chest. That was thest barrier he had, but he had used it a second time before the white light came and did not know how many illusory dragons were left.


    ¡°Just do it! At least it¡¯ll help me stall them!¡±


    After making up his mind, Xiao Lin quietly waited in a certain corner for the arrival of the skeleton army. The Lightstream Jade was a passive defense mechanism, meaning Xiao Lin could not release it actively. He could only wait for danger to arrive.


    The ancient Thunder Kingdom¡¯s capital was much smaller than New Washington City,cking clearly divided areas such as trade districts and the like. It wasposed only of disorderly, intertwined, spider-like streets. The sea of skulls was huge in number, and it was as if a white tide quickly spread to Xiao Lin¡¯s vicinity.


    The skeletons that had been awakened from their deep sleep would have faint green mes dancing in their hollow eye sockets. That was a symbol of vitality for the undead. After feeling the approach of death, the Lightstream Jade on Xiao Lin¡¯s chest once again shot out a dazzling golden light, and just like thest time, the dragon power condensed into a golden dragon upon release, producing extremely powerfulbat power.


    Xiao Lin was looking forward to it. The powers peculiar to dragons soared into the sky, causing the tide of the skeleton army to lull for a moment. In fact, the uniquely-dragon based force had no effect on the undead creatures and it was the high priest Asabanor who controlled them from behind the scenes. After sensing the dragon¡¯s power, Asabanor¡¯s spirit was visibly shaken, but the skeleton army¡¯s actions resumed once again.


    However, the golden dragon did not appear as expected and the blood-colored sky was still empty. Xiao Lin was immediately dumbfounded. Where was the promised golden dragon? Did the dragon power run out? It was nevertheless very strange, because despite not knowing what dragon power was, the special feeling he felt earlier told him that it had to be dragon power.


    There was no time for him to think too much. After the skeleton army discovered his tracks, they quickened their pace. Their bones crackled as they marched on the stone bricks. Each skeleton held a knife made out of bone. The de was gray, and although theycked the cold sharp light, there was a creepiness to them.


    Without the golden dragon, Xiao Lin had no choice but to bite the bullet and make an escape. He turned and ran, then heard a bang when he directly hit a wall and fell to the ground. Xiao Lin touched his forehead painfully and stared nkly at the shallow depression on the wall with an incredulous look.


    ¡°How is that possible!¡±


    Xiao Lin eximed. His surprise came not from hitting the wall, but from the speed at which he burst out earlier.


    It was too fast! If the speed he demonstrated earlier was like a cheetah, then his previous speed was no different than a tortoise.


    He moved so quickly that he began doubting whether that body really belonged to him. Could he have been possessed by the high priest, who was neither human nor ghost?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s agility attributes were not high and he was well aware of his own speed. Even though his gravity training in New Washington did y a role, he was not na?ve enough to think the effect would reach such an outrageous extent. His reaction could not keep up with his body¡¯s rhythm, resulting in him identally hitting the wall.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try again!¡±


    Xiao Lin left the small alley first, then ran like nobody¡¯s business on the straight road. It was an exhrating feeling, as if he was flying. His speed had been greatly improved, and in the blink of an eye, the skeleton army was already far behind him. After a few minutes, they hadpletely disappeared from sight.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s speed dropped instantly and he reverted to his usual speed levels. He halted his footsteps with a look of confusion. In an attempt to sort out his thoughts, he reyed the entire sequence of events to find out the reason for the sudden increase in his speed.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. If all other impossible factors were eliminated, the only remaining possibility must be the correct answer, regardless of how baffling that possibility was.


    The first thing he wanted to do was summon the illusory golden dragon, but it did not appear as expected. However, he proceeded to discover that his speed had increased suddenly just as he was about to escape...


    That was the only thing he did. Although he failed to summon the golden dragon, his speed increased dramatically for some unknown reason.


    The only possible exnation pointed to that.


    He was startled by that, but Xiao Lin was still uncertain whether it was actually the case. Although he had the urge to try again, the Lightstream Jade¡¯s power had to be passively activated, and he did not want to risk exposure to the skeleton army.


    The skeleton army¡¯s pursuit soon stopped. Xiao Lin wondered if the dragon¡¯s power had frightened the high priest, or whether the high priest had other ideas. The skeletons did not return to the pce, but simply fell asleep on the spot. The green mes in their eye sockets extinguished temporarily.

 Chapter 143: The Dragon Power’s Properties

    <h4>Chapter 143: The Dragon Power¡¯s Properties</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin soon realized that there night existed in that world. The blood-red sun in the sky did not set, but there were two extra moons in the sky. They were also of a terrifying blood-red color, which only added to the creepiness of that world.


    Xiao Lin hid in a random building. There were no skeleton soldiers on the periphery of the pce, only countless workshops. At the moment, he chose a cksmith¡¯s workshop, where he saw all kinds of weapons. It was automated, like an assembly line, but machines did not exist in a world like that. The only exnation Xiao Lin coulde to was that the high priest used some kind of mana to manipte it.


    The skeleton army¡¯s movements ceased when the blood moon rose into the air, and those workshops stopped working too. Of course, Xiao Lin was unsure whether there was a connection between the two, but in any case, the ce had provided him a rtively hidden ce to rest.


    Although Xiao Lin had no idea how time there was calcted, he estimated that he ought to find some food or drink after realizing that he was getting hungry. The ce was harsh on a person, but there was actually no shortage of food there. The priest created an almost perfect-looking city, with flowers and trees on both sides of the road, rivers and spring water, as well as wild fruits and the like. However, he could not tell for certain whether those things were edible. After a brief struggle with his thoughts, Xiao Lin decided to eat them.


    He wanted to do his best to survive the damned ce. If he did not eat, he would probably starve to death before he was killed by skeleton soldiers or captured by the high priest. That was not a glorious way to die. After picking some wild fruits nearby and trying them, Xiao Lin was surprised to find that they were sweeter and more delicious than the fruits on Earth.


    More urately, it was even better than the fruits from New Washington, since the fruits cultivated on the New World were generally sweeter than those on Earth. ording to Song Jung, the New World did not have as much industrial pollution as the Earth did, and the air there was rich with the four major elements, thus giving the fruit more natural power.


    Be that as it may, Xiao Lin was not at New Washington. He was at the cradle of the world created by God: The Final Land. The blood-red sun and moon in the sky were far from natural-looking and harmless. Even though Xiao Lin was forced to eat the nts that grew in that environment, it was unsurprising that they would form shadows of doubt in his mind.


    After having his fill and repeatedly confirming that no skeleton soldiers appeared in the surrounding buildings, Xiao Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he looked at the cksmith¡¯s workshop again, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up and he found that there were tons of weapons and armor. They were obviously prepared for the pce¡¯s skeletons, but there had not been any time to equip them.


    Xiao Lin was unable to clearly recognize the equipment, but he knew that he could not use weapons that were too high high-ranked, so picked up the swords on the weapon rack and tried his hand at them one by one.


    They were all very sophisticated weapons that had engravings of various peculiar runes. Evidently, they were not ordinary weapons, but Xiao Lin could not sense any of their effects when he held them. There were those he could not even pick up and proved difficult to use at close distance. Weapons that he could not use were equivalent to scrap copper and rotten iron to him.


    In the end, he could only turn his eyes to the weapons scattered in the corners. Compared to those on the racks, they looked like defective products. Each weapon had defects of varying levels of obviousness. For example, there was varying thickness in the armors, revealing weak points in certain areas. The des of some of the weapons were notched too.


    The deterioration of the weapons¡¯ quality also made these weapons lose their power, but correspondingly, the requirements needed to use them would also be reduced. For example, a weapon that could only be used a Gold-rank may only need a Silver-rank¨Cor even a Bronze¨Cto use. Its power may be less than half of the original version, but it was also much stronger than going at it empty-handed.


    Xiao Lin chose a long and slender sword. It was very unique, in that the edges of the two des were forged from unknown maroon materials. He held the hilt and swung it twice, producing a faint me in the de that fluttered quite majestically.


    The only hitch was that there was a very obvious groove in the center of the de, thus reducing the quality of the entire sword by more than a couple of grades. Xiao Lin was able to wield it quite smoothly, and the me imbued to the de gave him the impression that it was a magic weapon. That¡ªdefects aside¡ªwas a good choice of weapon at the moment.


    Xiao Lin did not rest very well that night, but the skeleton army remained inactive until the blood moon in the sky disappeared, thereby cementing his theory that the blood moon¡¯s appearance in the sky affected the actions of those undead creatures.


    Nightsted only a short while in that world. When the blood-red sun was left in the sky, the skeleton army regained its ability to move and continued to spread its search to the surrounding streets.


    Although Xiao Lin tried his best to hide and evade, it was still difficult to escapepletely in the face of their nket search. However, the advantage was that the skeleton soldiers separated from each other even more as the streets became more intricate andplicated. Xiao Lin faced teams of only seven or eight skeletons at that moment.


    ¡°I hope my guess is correct!¡± Xiao Lin was not as panicked as he was the day before. He held the Lightstream Jade tightly and its automatic defense mechanism sprung into ce after sensing the threat from the undead creatures. The power belonging to the Golden Dragon came out again, and Xiao Lin was relieved a little; it indicated that the dragon¡¯s power in the jade pendant had not beenpletely exhausted.


    The golden dragon¡¯s figure still did not appear, but Xiao Lin began paying special attention to his own changes. The dragon¡¯s power floated around his body in a semi-visible manner, and the reason for its semi-visible state was because Xiao Lin¡¯s level of strength was not high enough, making it impossible for him to observe it much deeper.


    It was nevertheless sufficient. Xiao Lin gritted his teeth, grabbed the big sword he had just obtained, and rushed toward the skeleton soldier. He had already sprinted to the skeleton several meters ahead of him, having no time to appreciate that amazing increase in speed. He gasped, then quickly raised his sword as the red part around the de immediately burst into mes, engulfing the entire skeleton in an instant.


    Such formidable strength!


    Xiao Lin was astonished. The sword had actually shattered the skeleton soldier¡¯s left armpletely, but he could clearly feel that the force was the dragon power strengthening him.


    The reason did not matter; the result was most important.


    Several other skeleton soldiers reacted immediately and began surrounding Xiao Lin. He slid away smoothly and avoided a bone knife that was thrust right at him. He then deftly stood behind the skeleton soldiers and raised the sword yet again.

 Chapter 144: Injury

    <h4>Chapter 144: Injury</h4>


    ¡°sh!¡±


    A glow began converging on the de of the sword. Xiao Lin¡¯s shing was at MAX level, but time was required for him to gather that strength. The skeleton¡¯s agility was not that high though, and with his instant turn, Xiao Lin had powered up his sword before the skeleton could turn around.


    He shed the big sword with fury and the me on the de doubled in power. Although the skeletons¡¯ strength was heightened due to being fused with unique metal powder, the heavy blow was still incredibly powerful, cutting the skeleton in half from its skull all the way down to its breastbone.


    The green me in the pupils of the skeleton soldier extinguished instantly, and the bones that made up the body copsed like a house that fell apart. A single sh sufficed to kill that skeleton soldier.


    Even Xiao Lin himself was surprised by its lethality, but it was not the time to becent. Six skeleton soldiers remained and Xiao Lin did not back off. His arm was slightly sore after using his shing, but it was still within a range he could tolerate. The use of skills consumed physical strength, and after continuous use, his physical strength consumption increased exponentially.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s physical strength seemed to have increased a lot more than usual. He decided to make things quick and prevent other skeleton soldiers from getting a chance to surround him.


    His Basic Swordsmanship yed yet another role. Those skeleton soldiers might possess high physical strength, but they wielded their bone knives in a disorderly manner and hacked haphazardly. Meanwhile, Xiao Lin wielded the big sword with ease. The inexplicable increase in his upper body strength and agility allowed him to dart between the skeleton soldiers with zero effort. He seized the skeleton¡¯sck of flexibility when turning and did not hesitate to use his shing.


    That was the only skill he mastered at that point. It was not very practical, but it was able to exert an unexpected effect when facing those skeletons. After killing three skeleton soldiers, Xiao Lin had a rough idea of his skill¡¯s effect on those skeletons. He did not need a thorough power-up; roughly three seconds worth of powering-up sufficed, in addition to the bonus given by his own strength.


    Xiao Lin needed less time to kill thest few skeleton soldiers, but it was time for him to let his guard down. He quickly left the street and ran to a more remote ce outside until he felt a burst of exhaustion overwhelm his body. He weakened immediately and understood that the dragon power had disappeared.


    There was still a long time to go before night. Xiao Lin sat down and panted slightly as he recalled everything and began analyzing quickly. He had confirmed that the dragon power stored in the Lightstream jade had unexpectedly attached to himself, even though the golden dragon failed to be summoned. His agility, strength, and physique all received a full range of bonuses. It was as yet uncertain whether his intelligence also received a boon, but everything that was mentioned prior was enough a surprise.


    The reasons for it were not that easy to guess though. Xiao Lin thought about it and ended up feeling that it was rted to that so-called The Final Land. The high priest Asabanor had also mentioned that it was the birthce of the world. Thews there were still in a state of chaos, and it was different from the New World be it in space-time or space itself. That might be the reason why the Lightstream Jade was difficult to use there.


    ¡°I have to survive!¡±


    Xiao Lin clenched his fists and his confidence increased a bit. The only thing that bothered him then was that he did not know how much dragon power remained in the Lightstream Jade. It would be great if he could reduce the strength released by the dragon power every single time.


    The amount of dragon power that was required to manifest into the golden dragon was undoubtedly massive, but it did not take a lot of dragon power to defeat the skeleton army. Therefore, anything extra was nothing but a waste.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try and see if I can control the dragon¡¯s power next time.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s opportunity came soon enough. He had nothing to do while hiding in the building and was muttering to himself to analyze what the old high priest was doing as of then. As soon as he mentioned the name Asabanor, a white shadow suddenly appeared in front of him, frightening him.


    ¡°You can¡¯t escape! As long as you¡¯re still in this city, I¡¯ll catch you sooner orter! I¡¯m the only one who will win this cat-and-mouse game!¡±


    As soon as the high priest finished, the figure disappeared once again. A few minutester, the skeleton army¡¯s unique tapping and crackling footsteps sounded from the street. Xiao Lin¡¯s face turned pale and he smiled wryly. He then suddenly realized that the high priest was able to detect him immediately because he had uttered the name aloud.


    After carefully reminiscing the previous day¡¯s situation, the nket search by the skeleton army signified that the high priest could not directly locate Xiao Lin¡¯s position. In fact, it was only because he mentioned the high priest¡¯s name that the old man could detect it, just like sonar.


    Other thanmenting his own big mouth, Xiao Lin¡¯s only recourse was to flee again. He encountered two teams of skeleton soldiers in the midst of his journey and once again touched the Lightstream Jade. On that asion, he made sure to keep an eye on things. Despite being unprepared to control the Lightstream Jade¡¯s power at will, he still tried to find a way to control the rate of dragon power he released.


    The Lightstream Jade bloomed with a glittering halo and the dragon power slowly rose up. After several uses, Xiao Lin gradually became familiar with it and began murmuring silently in his heart, ¡®Not so much, not so much...¡¯


    Indeed, that was the only thing Xiao Lin could think of as of that moment, since there was no switch on the jade pendant. Strangely enough, the dragon power lessened considerably than before after a couple of repeated chants.


    ¡°Seriously!¡± Xiao Lin was dumbfounded, and he was soon left helpless. ¡°This is a bit too little though. Please don¡¯t tell me that I chanted it too much?¡±


    The dragon power grew very scarce, causing his bonus strength to be far less than before. Even using his shing to kill the skeleton soldier was insufficient to destroy the skeleton soldier immediately. Instead, a deep cut was inflicted on his left arm by the bone knife. After seeing the disparity in strength, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to use the Lightstream Jade again, silently chanting ¡®a little bit more, a little bit more¡¯. The dragon power did increase, but instead of fighting back, he turned around, ran away, and shook off the skeleton soldiers¡¯ pursuit.


    After the dragon power dissipated, he looked at the wound on his arm and knit his brows in a very tight frown. He tore off his shirt and dressed the wound in a simple manner after cleaning up the blood using the spring water in the square.


    When he unwrapped the bandage, he found that the area around the wound was dark and his muscles became a little stiff. It was not at all painful when touched, and his entire arm seemed to be much weaker, which was not a good sign.


    Fortunately, Xiao Lin did not encounter any more canvassing skeleton soldiers after hiding. Although there were arge number of skeletons in the pce, it was not easy to search for one or two people in each of those intricatenes. More importantly, those skeleton soldiers seemed to have been ordered not to damage the workshops in the city, which undoubtedly afforded Xiao Lin greater convenience to avoid them.

 Chapter 145: Holy Light Blessing

    <h4>Chapter 145: Holy Light Blessing</h4>


    When the blood moon rose into the sky again, the skeleton army ceased all action just like before. Xiao Lin was quite certain that the blood moon had a great influence on the skeleton¡¯s actions as opposed to himself. What surprised him was that the high priest actually left his skeleton army on the streets, as if unafraid that Xiao Lin would execute a sneak attack on them at night while they were deep asleep.


    After thinking about it for a bit, Xiao Lin immediately decided to forgo that idea. A sneak attack when the blood moon was in the sky was like hitting an easy target. The skeleton soldiers would not resist, but the army was far toorge in number and the high priest would not possibly send out all the skeletons to do the search.


    Even if he destroyed skeletons throughout the night, the total number of destroyed skeletons would only be a fraction. Xiao Lin would not get enough rest and hisbat effectiveness would drop severely during the day. If he repeated that several times, he would be worn down from the fatigue.


    The high priest had to enlist Xiao Lin or Lilith¡¯s help if he wanted to leave The Final Land. Xiao Lin felt that the dead old man would not miss such an opportunity, because then he would have to wait for an indeterminate amount of time for other SS-level talents to enter that world by ident again.


    Xiao Lin was almost certain that Asabanor would not kill him, at least not as ast resort. Asabanor¡¯s order to the skeleton army was probably so he could capture them alive.


    The battle was undoubtedly a protracted one. Such a nket search was actually very inefficient, but the dy of a couple of days or months would not matter to the high priest, since he had been in The Final Land for more than nine centuries anyway. On the other hand, Xiao Lin did not want to die in that monotonous, blood-red world.


    The dazed Xiao Lin fell asleep again, and it was a really deep sleep no less. The high intensity and increased exhaustion during the day was one reason for that, while another was the deterioration of his wound. It was not until he was awakened by a burst of noise that he got up abruptly from the cold stone ground and found that the blood moon had long disappeared from the sky.


    He cursed to himself because he had been unaware that daytime had alreadye. The pain in his left arm left him drenched in cold sweat, even after some movement. He touched the wound a little and felt absolutely nothing, indicating that things had worsened much more than the previous day.


    The worry in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart amplified. Then, a loud sh of metal was heard outside the door, as if there was a fight. He quickly hid himself and looked out of the window. There stood someone he knew, the very same person he predicted had been sucked into the world as well. It was Lilith, who wielded a scythe that was as tall as a person, and moved freely forward and backward between at least a dozen skeleton soldiers. The attack range of the scythe was huge, and she brandished the weapon to its fullest potential, even though she had to contend with the enemy¡¯s numerical advantage.


    The red lotus me on the sickle de whizzed and fluttered, and the girl shone with ayer of radiant white light. The battle was over just as Xiao Lin pondered over whether or not to go out and help. Lilith exhaled and her eyes darted slightly before she pointed the weapon toward the window, the raging mes zing yet again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack! It¡¯s me!¡± Xiao Lin quickly opened the door with his still-able right hand.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡± Lilith tilted her head, pronouncing the name somewhat arduously. She asked in surprise, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at Lilith and was unsure if she hade to the conclusion that only SS-level talents could enter and exit there. He asked in return. ¡°Did Asabanor, the high priest, get to you?¡±


    Lilith nodded, then smirked and said disdainfully. ¡°How ridiculous that he¡¯d expect me to help him.¡±


    Xiao Lin loosened up and the two had a brief exchange. There was not much difference between what the high priest said to them, and Lilith was clearly not going to be deceived by such low-level rhetoric. Just like that, the two of them joined hands. Leaving that ce in one piece was theirmon goal.


    ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡± Lilith quickly noticed the difort in Xiao Lin¡¯s left arm.


    ¡°I was grazed by a bone knife.¡± Xiao Lin untied the bandage with great effort, revealing the ck wound. He smiled bitterly to himself. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be a zombie like the movies, am I?¡±


    Lilith pondered for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin was just making a joke, not expecting to get an affirmative answer from Lilith.


    Lilith did not notice Xiao Lin¡¯s nervous look and muttered pensively, ¡°Judge Academy has been facing more and more undead enemies in recent years, and it¡¯s for that reason the academy provided the Undead Awareness Course for sophomore year students. As far as I know, some advanced attacks from undead creatures are contagious. If an infection urs and one fails to eliminate it in time, the person would lose their consciousness and be a fighting puppet for the undead.¡±


    Xiao Linughed nervously. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±


    Lilith¡¯s face was dignified as she continued, ¡°Rather than waiting until you¡¯re neither dead nor alive, it¡¯s better to deal with it quickly right now. This is the best solution!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Wait! Wait a minute!¡± Seeing Lilith moving the scythe, he quickly stepped back and asked, ¡°Are those skeleton soldiers considered advanced undead creatures?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then how are you so sure it¡¯s the best solution?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like guessing, and I don¡¯t like having a time bomb next to me,¡± Lilith replied in all earnestness. Her scythe twitched gently and she spoke sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s still safer for you to die. I heard that the Chinese are very particr about proper burials. I¡¯ll make sure to erect a tombstone for you.¡±


    She lived up to her title of Demon Queen indeed!


    Xiao Lin cursed internally, but winning was not a guarantee in that situation, even if dragon power was released, since he had lost the use of an arm. He hurriedly said, ¡°The skeleton soldier doesn¡¯t look like a high-level undead creature. You must have failed the Undead Awareness Course!¡±


    A blush of embarrassment shed across Lilith¡¯s face, which soon turned to anger. The mes on her weapon were faint and looming.


    He had guessed correctly...


    It was rumored that Lilith, who excelled at using various weapons, actually failed in the basic knowledge courses. Xiao Lin could not help but poke fun of her deep down. He dropped the topic at once and maneuvered it in a different direction. ¡°You do know that there¡¯s many skeletons here, right? Can you guarantee that you will be unharmed every time?¡±


    ¡°I mastered the Holy Light series of skills. Wounds of this degree are self-healing.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve mastered the Holy Light Blessing?¡± Lilith looked suspicious and quickly shook her head confidently. ¡°Impossible. The Holy Light Blessing is a skill that requires a concurrent study of matter andw. Neither Judge Academy nor Dawn Academy has this course. Only the Royal British Academy and France¡¯s Sainte Acad¨¦mie offer that skill, since they deal with the undead all the time.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you master it?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m a genius!¡± Lilith said that in a very calm tone. She was not unting it at all. It was as if she was stating an absolute fact.

 Chapter 146: Interaction

    <h4>Chapter 146: Interaction</h4>


    SS-level talents could be regarded as true geniuses indeed, hence Lilith¡¯s confidence in saying that. Meanwhile, Xiao Lin also replied with confidence. ¡°I¡¯m also a genius! But I doubt you actually know the Holy Light Blessing. Oh, and people usually don¡¯t study matter andw at the same time!¡±


    Lilith cocked an eyebrow and her right hand shook slightly. The scythe suddenly disappeared, and when she turned her wrist again, a stream of light flew out from her wrist bracelet. When itnded in her hand, it turned into a short one-handed hammer.


    Lilith raised the hammer high, and the cream-colored head of the hammer exploded into a dazzling milky white halo. The halonded slowly, bathing Lilith in a noble and holy white light. The light lingered for a long time before gradually dissipating.


    [Replication, begin!]


    [Replication target: Lilith!]


    [Skill scan:plete!]


    [Holy Light Blessing: Condenses the power of the Holy Light. User¡¯s body will be bathed in a blessed light and receive aprehensive healing equivalent to F- rating. Simrly, the next attack will cause a damage equivalent to the F- rating of the Holy Light Spell. The damage to undead creatures is more significant, and theprehensive evaluation of this skill is F+. The weapon is limited to a hammer.]


    It was still an F- level skill. In fact, after he surmised that the virtual character in the simtion battle hall was based on Lilith¡¯s parameters, he had a rough guess that the girl must have mastered a lot of low-level skills, but was blessed by the Holy Light. Nevertheless, it was a little troublesome that the weapon for the Holy Light Blessing was limited to the hammer.


    ¡°Let me use the hammer,¡± Xiao Lin said involuntarily and grabbed the one-handed hammer from Lilith¡¯s hand. Although the once-a-week replication skill seemed a bit wasteful at that point, he did not hesitate when facing a life-or-death situation.


    ¡°Holy Light Blessing!¡±


    A white light also engulfed Xiao Lin when he used that skill. It was as if he was soaking in a hot spring. A warm heat emanated from every cell in his body. In particr, there was an itchy feeling in his left arm where the bone knife injured him.


    He could feel it!


    Xiao Lin was both surprised and delighted. The white halo quickly dissipated and he used the Holy Light Blessing again. The ck abscesses around the wound then began to fade slowly, and he did not hesitate to continue using it after it faded again.


    Within three minutes of copying, several consecutive uses of the Holy Light Blessing healed the wound almostpletely, leaving only some extra-dermal scars that had no effect on his movement.


    Xiao Lin returned the hammer to Lilith and felt a little dizzy. It resembled the state of excessive mental energy consumption and he was slightly surprised. ¡°Does this skill consume mental energy?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Otherwise, why would it be abination of matter andw?¡± Lilith looked even more surprised than him, but she quickly recovered her calm and had a look of approval in her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s work together then!¡±


    ¡°This skill is very easy to use. Do we need any prerequisites to learn it?¡± Although the copying time was over, Xiao Lin still felt uneasy as he could not guarantee that he could remain uninjured again. He could not count on copying the skill every time. During the cooldown period, Lilith would probably kill him for being a hidden danger, even if he did not die from other causes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you already know this skill?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m just asking.¡±


    Lilith appeared suspicious again, but she was not someone who tended to want to get to the bottom of things. There was nothing for her to conceal too, and after thinking for a moment, she replied, ¡°The prerequisites are not that high. Level four Basic Hammer-series Weapon Mastery and level three Basic Meditation. But this skill is actually very low in terms of offensive qualities. It¡¯s not very useful, except for dealing with the undead and demons.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment. The requirements were not that high, since he had already reached Basic Meditation LV3. However, it would take some time before he could reach LV4 Basic Hammer-series Weapon Mastery. First of all, he had to use a hammer-type weapon, and his expression became slightly odd when he thought of that. He then got up and walked toward the cksmithing workshop that he discovered earlier.


    There were a wide variety of weapons in the workshop. Xiao Lin previously chose ded weapons because he only mastered Basic Swordsmanship, but the earlier battle gave him some new ideas. In fact, he could choose other weapons to fight there, since the dragon power would allow him topletely crush the skeleton soldiers in terms ofbat effectiveness. The weapon used basically had little impact on the oue of the battle, since shing could be executed with all melee-type weapons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to choose a weapon?¡± Xiao Lin nced at Lilith, who was leaning against the window idly.


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°My weapons are all custom-made. Plus, these weapons are in the style of the ancient Thunder Kingdom. They¡¯re ugly, and I don¡¯t like them.¡±


    As expected, girls had a natural persuasion toward aesthetics. Xiao Lin shrugged helplessly and asked suddenly, ¡°Do you know any of these weapons?¡±


    ¡°I saw some in history ss.¡±


    Lilith walked over to help take a look, but it was obvious that her history grades were probably only a bare pass. Apart from being able to slightly identify the weapon¡¯s quality, she had absolutely no other information about them.


    It turned out that the girl had rtively poor scores in her basic courses. It would seem that her SS-level talent was unlikely simr to Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius skill, since its effect applied to all things, not justbat.


    Xiao Lin had that guess in mind when he nced at the rather irritated Lilith. He changed the topic quickly but carefully and picked a heavy hammer, asking, ¡°What do you think of this one?¡±


    ¡°The Holy Light Blessing is theoretically a skill used by auxiliary staff. I only learned the more offense-based methods when facing the undead. Although the warhammer is able to use the Holy Light Blessing, it leans more toward physical attacks.¡± Lilith immediately showed a very professional attitude when she returned to the battle.


    ¡°I do realize that this warhammer is quite heavy!¡± Xiao Lin held the heavy hammer in his hand, but there was no lighter one-handed hammer on the weapons rack. Therefore, he could only use that in order to learn the Holy Light Blessing.


    After selecting the weapons, the two had a brief exchange. Although they were not very familiar with each other, being trapped in such a creepy ce gave them a lot ofmon topics.


    Getting out of there was undoubtedly the main concern for Xiao Lin and Lilith.


    What Xiao Lin regretted was that Lilith knew little about The Final Land even though she was a member of Judge Academy. As for the mysterious high priest, Xiao Lin felt that he should not expect much from her, judging from her history ss grades.


    The key to leaving that cey with the high priest, but they absolutely shunned any form of cooperation with that old man. As an old man who had lived for hundreds of years and formed a hatred for colonists, his words are wholly unreliable.

 Chapter 147: A Theory About the Law

    <h4>Chapter 147: A Theory About the Law</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The discussion with Lilith went nowhere for the time being. The first thing they had to do was avoid capture by the skeleton soldiers. Xiao Lin could only rely on the dragon power tounch a counterattack. He understood that Lilith was the main powerhouse between the two, but when he asked for her opinion, the expression she gave him was a bit odd.


    ¡°Those skeleton soldiers are much stronger than those encountered in New Washington. They¡¯re around Bronze and Silver-rank, or wait, maybe they¡¯re higher than Silver. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true, but sometimes, those skeleton soldiers aren¡¯t as strong as I thought.¡±


    ¡°Umm, what do you mean by that!¡± Xiao Lin was puzzled. ¡°I heard that your strength is Silver-rank?¡±


    Lilith quickly nodded in agreement and added, ¡°Because the way I take courses isn¡¯t the same as other people; my attribute values aren¡¯t dominant. If we¡¯reparingbat power, then I don¡¯t think I¡¯m any worse than Gold-rank.¡±


    She was telling the truth. Xiao Lin could only express helplessness when he thought of the rumored tournament with Europe and America. However, he was still a little confused. ¡°The skeleton soldiers were Silver-rank and had a numerical advantage, but my feeling is that you had it really easy in thest battle.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not deliberately suspecting that Lilith was concealing her true strength. In fact, there was no need for her to do so. Many people could guess the standard she was at, but he still found it quite puzzling. Lilith was just far too rxed when she was facing dozens of skeleton soldiers in the battle earlier.


    The dragon power had greatly improved Xiao Lin¡¯s attributes, but he was still rather surprised to learn that the skeletons he faced earlier were around Silver-rank in terms of strength. Did the dragon power¡¯s really give him the strength to fight a dozen Silver-rank skeleton soldiers at once?


    It was not that Xiao Lin had no self-confidence; it was just that he always found such a thing to be incredibly difficult toprehend.


    Lilith hesitated before saying, ¡°Mybat style is a little special. Most of my skills have little effect when I fight those undead skeletons, but there¡¯s one skill which has a really surprising killing ability.¡±


    ¡°Which is that.¡±


    ¡°The Red Lotus sh. A skill I created myself.¡±


    ¡°As expected, the Red Lotus sh...¡±


    ¡°As expected?¡±


    ¡°Oh, umm... Nothing.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked enlightened. The virtual character in the simted battle was finally confirmed to be Lilith, but there was no time to mull it over and he instead got lost in thought again.


    Lilith remarked frankly that she could only face about eight to ten skeletons at any one time if she relied on her own strength instead of using her Red Lotus sh. She would still be able to barely win, but once the number of skeletons exceeded that number, the oue would be difficult to predict.


    Even though she was the legendary Demon Queen that many people feared, Lilith¡¯s strength still had a limit, but Xiao Lin still could not help butin, ¡°There were more than ten skeleton soldiers in that wave just now and you still didn¡¯t run?¡±


    Lilith raised her head. ¡°The stronger the enemy, the greater the chance for you to temper yourself! In fact, I do sometimes feel that this ce isn¡¯t that bad. Although the enemy¡¯s suck in quality, their numbers are the best for training, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡®You lunatic!¡¯


    Xiao Lin resisted the urge to yell at her and switched topics. He had a nk expression on his face as he said, ¡°I¡¯m about the same as you. I¡¯ve shown morebat effectiveness than usual during the battle.¡±


    Lilith nced at him oddly and fell into deep thought. After a while, she showed a look of interest and muttered something to herself.


    Xiao Lin immediately asked, ¡°So? Any thoughts?¡±


    ¡°When the dead old man came to you, did you notice that he repeatedly emphasized one thing?¡± Lilith recalled. She asked and answered herself, ¡°He repeatedly emphasized that thew of The Final Land is chaotic and disorderly.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°I know that time and space is chaotic here. I¡¯ve seen it these two days. For example, the sun and the moon always appear at the same time and time passes very quickly here.¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of Ivanovich?¡±


    ¡°Of course. The Russian who created the Law of Resurrection.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been to this ce too.¡±


    ¡°Mm. And?¡±


    Lilith cocked her graceful eyebrow as her tone became heavier. ¡°If the time I¡¯m guessing is correct, Ivan created the Law of Resurrection after leaving The Final Land!¡±


    Xiao Lin got up abruptly, his eyes full of shock. After a while, he said with some uncertainty, ¡°You mean, we can createws however we want in this ce? Is that why our strength is significantly improvedpared to usual?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s very interesting? Every college has a course onw, but this course is usually only offered at the doctoral level. Only the top talents from each college are qualified to study them, but right now, we actually have a chance to experience thew!¡±


    There was a spark of excitement in Lilith¡¯s eyes. She was always in high spirits whenever the topic was about strength and battle.


    ...


    In any case, after reaching an initial agreement to form an alliance with Lilith, the battle became easier when they encountered skeleton soldiers over the next few days. Xiao Lin also made a point to count the number of skeleton soldiers.


    They worked together in a squad of about 15 to 20 soldiers to hunt down each street. There were usually two to three battalions near adjacent streets, each of which had about 10 squads. 20 battalions could then be concentrated into a brigade numbering three or four thousand skeletons.


    Xiao Lin was familiar with that number because he remembered the Thunder Kingdom¡¯s military system in the monthly exam, which was almost the same model. Since Asabanor was thest priest of the Thunder Kingdom, it was only natural that he would continue using it.


    ording to that system, there are about 10 brigades in one legion, which was the equivalent of about 30,000 to 40,000 skeletons. It was a terrifying number, especially when Lilith expounded on his guesses. Although the legion of the undead were not particrly intelligent, the high priest alone could not possiblymand tens of thousands of skeleton soldiers. At the very least, Lilith had no knowledge of any means that could possibly do that.


    ¡°This legion of the undead actually has simr distinctions between ranks, just like us. The division into upper and lower levels are stricterpared to beings with intelligence. The upper-level undead creaturesmand the lower-level ones and the hierarchy continues downward. The highest-level ones take orders directly from the high priest. The legions of the undead in French and British history were controlled in this way,¡± Lilith added.

 Chapter 148: Basic Hammer-series Skills

    <h4>Chapter 148: Basic Hammer-series Skills</h4>


    The high priest¡¯s search for the two was still ongoing. For Xiao Lin and Lilith, although the battle process has be a little easier, they were on the run every single day and had to keep their guard up for any possible attacks.


    The scope of the city was notrge and there was no city gate. After a few days, the two of them stood on the edge of the city. They looked at the towering city walls but did not have the slightest intention of leaving because of the endless gray storms outside the solid city walls. They went on throughout the day without a moment of cessation, and the billowing storm was like a chaotic ck hole, especially during the day. Any person or object that identally came into contact with it would be swallowed instantly.


    However, the storm was limited to outside the city walls, as those walls were engraved with densely-packed strange runes. The runes shone in a gray light, the force which protected the city from the storm.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith could only return to the central area of the city. They took advantage of the night to circumvent the enemy forces, seizing the skeleton soldiers¡¯ slumber to go deep into the hintend. That way, the skeleton soldiers had to search the whole city again after waking up during the day.


    It was a game of hide-and-seek. For Lilith, she enjoyed the fighting process every single time. What she felt was, without a doubt, enjoyment. After days of interacting with her, Xiao Lin had a more intuitive understanding of the legendary Demon Queen. In a nutshell, she had a mad love for fighting.


    Lilith¡¯s battles were unsystematic, disorderly even. Although she mentioned that she only used her Red Lotus de to effectively exert a very strong destructive power against the skeleton soldiers, Xiao Lin did not see it in action during the few battles. Lilith¡¯s fighting method was very unique, simr to that seen in the virtual character battle simtion. Through thebination of various skills, she temporarily strengthened herself to achieve a more powerful final blow.


    Lilith¡¯s weapon originated from the bracelet on her right wrist, and Xiao Lin guessed that it was some kind of a storage space.


    Lilith was the main fighting force while Xiao Lin wielded a heavy hammer and happily provided support. Most importantly, there was someone covering for him in front, so he did not need to draw any more of the dragon power, using only a very limited amount each time for strengthening. His main purpose was to train the hammer to master the skills, and at the same time, he monitored the surrounding streets and warned Lilith if he discovered other skeleton soldiers approaching.


    When Lilith finally had her hands full, she immediately used her Red Lotus de to end the battle as quickly as possible. If the number of skeleton soldiers exceeded the amount she could withstand, Xiao Lin no longer worried about saving the dragon power. He would then release a power equivalent to that of the real golden dragon.


    Two or three skeleton squads could be dispatched with ease under thebined effort of theirbat strength. They then quickly left the streets before the other squads surrounded them.


    After several asions, Xiao Lin even began to feel a little happy.


    ¡°The ancient Thunder Kingdom¡¯s high priest clearly has no understanding of what guerri warfare is. I think we can take advantage of this,¡± Xiao Lin had a simple exchange with Lilith when they rested. Although the girl could speak fluent Chinese, she did not understand ¡®guerri warfare¡¯.


    ¡°The essence of guerri warfare is that we retreat when the enemy advances, we sabotage when the enemy is at rest, we fight when the enemy is exhausted, and we attack when the enemy retreats.¡± For Xiao Lin, who had been brainwashed by anti-Japanese dramas despite being an otaku, had a good cursory grasp of that theory.


    Lilith thought about it calmly for a moment and said in earnestness, ¡°No. The undead creatures don¡¯t get tired. The feature of undead creatures is that their individualbat power is low, but theye in huge numbers and are tireless like machines.¡±


    Xiao Lin cleared his throat awkwardly. ¡°Basically, our tactic is to dy time. It¡¯s impossible for us to kill the entire skeleton army.¡±


    Based on a calction of killing 10 to 20 skeletons each day, the number would only total up to a few thousand a year. There are tens of thousands of skeletons in each legion, and no one knew how many legions were present in the entire city.


    As for when things would finallye to an end, Xiao Lin did his best to focus on the hammer training instead of dwelling on that issue. The hammer had higher requirements for arm strength and strength in general, and if not for the dragon power¡¯s influence, he would find it absolutely difficult to even swing it.


    Rtively speaking however, using the shing with the hammer increased its power even more shockingly. At full strength, he was able to smash a big hole right in the chest of a skeleton.


    Battles of that sortsted for nearly a month, and time passed faster than imagined. Xiao Lin even wondered how many hours a day there were in The Final Land. Since there was no clear concept of time, he started counting how many times the blood moon showed up in order to judge whether a month had passed.


    Xiao Lin had just mastered the Holy Light Blessing a day prior. The skill was not difficult to learn, as long as the basic learning requirements were met. After observing a few key movements repeatedly used by Lilith, he gradually figured out the principle behind it, and was able to master the skills quickly after repeated attempts.


    When he lifted the hammer high and was blessed by the light, Lilith showed yet another look of surprise.


    It took a month for him to upgrade his Basic Hammer skills to LV4. To be more precise, less than a month, because Xiao Lin spent a lot of time studying the Holy Light Blessing too.


    Xiao Lin had never expected that his daily high-intensitybat, coupled with the passive effect of the Academic Genius talent, allowed him to master the new basic weapon skill so quickly.


    On that matter, Lilith simply said ¡®very interesting¡¯ to express her feelings. The fighting madwoman only said that after nearly a month or so.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s basicbat strength was very poor and he was well aware of that. Whenever he encountered a skeleton soldier, Lilith would often tell him to move aside. In nicer terms, it was for his safety, but if one were to be direct, he was actually a hindrance because his strength was too low.


    There was only one asion when they identally encountered more than four teams of skeleton soldiers and Xiao Lin had to use the dragon power. That made Lilith look at him a little differently. Later, Xiao Lin asked whether Lilith knew the reason why his attributes increased with the dragon power, as he still did not understand why the golden dragon that could be summoned in the past had suddenly disappeared.


    Lilith thought about it for a long time, but said with regret, ¡°It looks like I can¡¯t fight your golden dragon.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. That lunatic was still thinking about fighting his golden dragon! Notwithstanding theck of means to summon it, he would not allow her to do so, even if it could be summoned, because the dragon power was steadily decreasing.

 Chapter 149: Skeleton Army Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 149: Skeleton Army Upgrade</h4>


    As for the Lightstream Jade, Xiao Lin had obtained some information from Song Jung¡¯s words, namely, that the jade used to make that jade pendant was extremely difficult to mine, hence the low production output. It was basically only produced near Dawn Academy, but Lilith also had some understanding of the Lightstream Jade.


    ¡°The Lightstream Jade¡¯s special feature is its ability to store any energy form, be it mental power, sword aura, dragon power, or stuff like that which can¡¯t be stored in any other space. The Lightstream Jade is basically divided into two uses. One is, as you¡¯ve mentioned, the condensing of a certain energy through some kind of magic formation. It can be a creature¡ªsuch as a golden dragon¡ªor a weapon.¡±


    After a pause, Lilith continued, ¡°The Lightstream Jade¡¯s second purpose is purely for recharge and replenishment, whether for yourself or someone else. When a person¡¯s mental power is exhausted, it can be replenished directly through the Lightstream Jade. Most people will choose to utilize it for the second purpose.¡±


    Xiao Lin was taken aback and asked, ¡°What about the all-round enhancement that results from transforming its energy into a person¡¯s own strength?¡±


    Lilith¡¯s face was also filled with confusion. ¡°Even though Judge Academy cannot produce Lightstream Jade on its own, I know of a few people who have the ability to make this kind of essory. But I¡¯m quite sure that I¡¯ve never heard this use before.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean that the change only urs in The Final Land?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s the same with my Red Lotus de.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, it looks like your Red Lotus de has been strengthened beyond its normal power.¡±


    Lilith nced at him and nodded in some surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve probably also noticed that my Red Lotus de transforms into a me with dual physical and magical damage by fusing spiritual power and sword aura together. The shape of the me looks like a red lotus, hence the name for the technique. However, the me isn¡¯t exactly the shape of a red lotus when I used it recently. It seems to have changed a lot.¡±


    ¡°Has its power also increased because of that?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure whether the increase in power is really rted to the shape of the me, but it¡¯s quite interesting.¡± A yful smile raised in the corner of Lilith¡¯s mouth as she made an interesting analysis yet again.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched and he rubbed the shining jade on his chest. He was unsure whether the changes in dragon power had anything to do with The Final Land. He tried many things in the past month, and as an example, one of the things he could control was releasing only the desired amount of dragon power, amounting to about one percent of the entire golden dragon. Therefore, the Lightstream Jade could sustain the entire month and the dragon power was notpletely exhausted.


    During that month, Xiao Lin and Lilith ran almost all over the city, hiding under the noses of the skeleton soldiers. The thrills during the period were not as effortless as he imagined, and Xiao Lin became more and more anxious to improve his strength. After upgrading his hammer skills to LV4, he changed back to the big sword again and wanted to continue improving his Basic Swordsmanship.


    No truer words were spoken when Lilith said it was a training field. Xiao Lin had begun to understand why Lilith was so strong.


    Sometimeter, the high priest Asabanor seemed to have grown rather tired of that hide-and-seek game. The number of skeletons on the street obviously began to decrease, but a new kind of skeleton soldier appeared, slightlyrger than the previous ones. Their bones glowed with gray-ck metallic luster, and their weapons were no longer monotonous bone knives, but were reced by those produced in the forging workshop.


    ¡°It looks like our enemy has had an upgrade!¡±


    ¡°I can see that!¡±


    The two encountered yet another team of skeleton soldiers on that day. They could clearly sense that the skeleton soldiers¡¯ strength was different from usual. Lilith could not instantly kill them, even though she used the Red Lotus de, and Xiao Lin was forced to release even more of the dragon power.


    The blood sun hung in the sky as always, but it radiated only cold. Xiao Lin and Lilith stood on the edge of the city square with a dozen skeleton soldiers scattered around them. The click and ck of their footsteps were fast approaching and they had much faster support than the previous month.


    The high priest was not at all ipetent in his high position. After one month of futile work, it was obvious that the old man had adjusted his tactics.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Xiao Lin asked in a low voice.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    ¡°Charge? F*CK!¡± Xiao Lin had just finished when he saw Lilith dragging her scythe in a forward lunge. She seemed to be afraid of nothing!


    Ayer of red mes appeared on the moon-shaped scythe again. It was her signature skill, the Red Lotus de. The first skill she used when she attacked was her own skill, and it was clear that Lilith was very wary of the enhanced skeleton soldiers.


    The mes did not manifest in the shape of a red lotus, but scattered into denser mes like a goddess scattering flowers, striking each bone of the skeleton soldier¡¯s body. Lilith yelled, lifted the scythe, and leapt upward, drawing a crescent shape in the air. Clusters of mes red up on the skeleton soldier¡¯s bodies, turning into a raging me and enveloping the entire skeleton soldiers. The high temperature that exploded in an instant quickly destroyed the skeletons and burned with red.


    Lilith descended and the scythe passed through the skeleton soldier¡¯s body. The bones, after being reduced in strength from the strong heat, failed to withstand the attack and copsed.


    Lilith panted quite severely, indicating that the attack had consumed a lot of her stamina. Xiao Lin was rather taken aback and stopped sitting on his hands. He squeezed the Lightstream Jade and released more than the usual amount of dragon power. He was already very proficient in its mastery.


    Although it was not the time to be miserly, it was inevitable that Xiao Lin would not be too happy about releasing so much of the power. He could not help but think of how he would not have to use as much if he was just enhancing his strength.


    With that thought, Xiao Lin took advantage of the situation and tried it out. After switching back to the huge sword, he leaned sideways and used his agility to dodge behind the skeleton. At that moment, he suddenly felt that his body was filled with lead and his steps were a little bit heavier.


    ¡®Could it be! Could it really be sessful?¡¯


    Countless thoughts shed in his mind, but Xiao Lin had no time to think too much about the situation before him. He immediately raised his big sword high and at that moment, he only powered-up for about two seconds before slicing the skeleton in front of him. Hepleted his power-up andunched a sh.


    Boom!


    The sword exploded with greater power than usual. Although the skeleton soldier subconsciously raised its sword to resist him, its weapon was still cut in half by Xiao Lin¡¯s sword and the green me in its pupils extinguished at once.


    Xiao Lin seemed to have figured out something, but he needed time to digest his findings slowly. After the sh, his agility returned to normal and he yelled at Lilith all of a sudden, ¡°Your hammer! Let me use it!¡±

 Chapter 150: Attribute Conversion

    <h4>Chapter 150: Attribute Conversion</h4>


    Lilith had no time to ask anything during the fierce battle. She shook her wrist lightly and a silver light flew out of the bracelet, turning into a hammer in mid-air. Xiao Lin quickly caught it and remarked how useful that spatial bracelet was to himself before striking an oing skeleton soldier.


    ¡®Holy Light Blessing!¡¯


    A milk-white holy halonded on the one-handed hammer and it howled with the glow. With the dull sound of impact, the helmeted soldier actually had its skull smashed open.


    ¡°So strong!¡± Xiao Lin himself was stunned. Although the Holy Light Blessing could cause more damage to undead creatures, its basic damage was not high enough and was limited, even when strengthened. However, Xiao Lin used the dragon power to enhance his mental strength.


    The Holy Light Blessing¡¯s attack was that of spell damage, and the level of his own mental strength had an amplifying effect on spell damage. On that basis, the final destructive power was equally as formidable because the undead creatures were enhanced.


    Xiao Lin finally confirmed his guess that he was indeed able to freely transform dragon power into a certain attribute enhancement. Although other attributes would be greatly reduced as a cost, the enhanced attributes would be better than usual enhancement.


    The power of shing was undoubtedly greater, but that skill required time to gather strength, was unstable, exposed oneself to harm when gathering strength, and used up a significant amount of physical strength each time. Rtively speaking, the Holy Light Blessing was more of an auxiliary skill, and its consumption of mental power was even lower than ordinary spells that were rated at F-.


    Undead creatures were innately sensitive to the Holy Light. Upon sensing the strong halo that just broke out, the four or five skeleton soldiers besieging Lilith immediately turned their sights to Xiao Lin. However, Lilith was given a small breather. After being assaulted to the point that there was not much room to fight back, she immediately adjusted her posture and released her Red Lotus de yet again. That time, the me on the de formed a chain, directly binding the legs of the closest two skeleton soldiers.


    Xiao Lin quickly transformed the dragon power into strength, raising the big sword in his right hand and forcefully blocking the skeleton soldier¡¯s attack. Then, he turned it into mental power again, raising the hammer in his left hand and striking down with Holy Light Blessing.


    A team of more than 10 skeletons was quickly killed by Xiao Lin¡¯s targeted Holy Light Blessing hammer. When confronted by two or three skeletons, Xiao Lin immediately transformed the energy into agility, avoiding the attack deftly with amazing flexibility and posture before quickly moving to the side of the skeleton.


    He then turned all the dragon power into power and used his shing to deliver a one-hit kill. Continuous use of shing took up extra physical strength, so it was transformed into mental power while interspersing its use with the Holy Light Blessing.


    If Xiao Lin faced danger and had nowhere to hide. He converted all his dragon power toward his physique, forcefully resisting the attack before using the Holy Light Blessing to quickly heal.


    Lilith could strengthen her body through the auxiliary skills of a variety of weapons, but Xiao Lin could not coordinate with Lilith anymore. Such quickfire transformation of attributes had provided Xiao Lin with a whole new way of looking at the battle.


    In a simpleparison of strength, the previous average enhancement of Xiao Lin¡¯s dragon power could increase his total attribute value to a level equivalent to Bronze. It was also possible to increase it to Silver, but that would consume an extreme amount of dragon power. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Xiao Lin usually only stopped when he reached Bronze-rank.


    However, Xiao Lin only strengthened a certain attribute using the dragon power. His total attribute value was still equivalent to the Bronze-rank, but because of the extremely unbnced attribute value, the strengthened single attribute had basically reached Silver-rank.


    Xiao Lin could not immediately adapt to using that brand-new attribute transformation ability. Each transformation could not bepleted in an instant, and even the method of transformation was still in the exploring stage for Xiao Lin. He was unustomed to it, so the conversion speed was a little slower and it was inevitable that he would suffer several attacks.


    Although the Holy Light Blessing had a healing effect, there was no enhancement for it. All it did was remove the special toxin from the undead creatures, but the wound would still be there. After repeating it several times, Xiao Lin would not be able to bear it. Especially when he transformed the dragon power to other attributes, he would end up suffering from extreme physical exhaustion.


    The worrying part was that a group of skeletons from far and near had appeared in their line of sight, and those skeleton soldiers were much more unique. In addition to the melee weapons, Xiao Lin also saw skeletons holding crossbows and even staves. They were shorter, but their eye sockets were lit up with an orange me.


    ¡°Skeleton archers and mages!¡± Lilith¡¯s face gradually became serious.


    ¡°Are they strong?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Lilith rolled her eyes. ¡°If you¡¯ve taken those courses, you should know that crossbow and spell courses are always more difficult to learn than ordinary melee courses. The same is true for undead creatures, making skeleton archers and skeleton mages much more difficult. Such skeleton creatures have some level of intelligence and are even more difficult to deal with.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s lots of them too!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly turned around and nced. Color drained from his face as countless skeletons gathered around the square. They poured in from the streets and alleys, enclosing the two of thempletely.


    ¡°We¡¯re surrounded!¡± Xiao Lin eximed in a low voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m not blind.¡±


    ¡°You look calm though. Do you have a way to deal with so many skeletons?¡± Xiao Lin asked again, eager.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy.¡± Lilith¡¯s face showed an unprecedented fighting spirit. Xiao Lin¡¯s eyelids twitched. He waspletely speechless. He understood that the fighting madwoman cared not about the oue. Victory, loss, life, and death were irrelevant to her. What Lilith pursued was nothing more than stronger opponents.


    ¡°But how do they know that we¡¯re here unless they set an ambush here in advance. We¡¯d have time to leave otherwise!¡± Xiao Lin still could not figure it out.


    ¡°Stupid demon! Do you think you can escape? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time!¡± Asabanor¡¯s form once again appeared in the air. He was still a blur of light and darkness, without any form. He gazed down condescendingly at Xiao Lin and Lilith.


    ¡°Annoying old bag!¡± Lilith could not stand the high priest and pursed her lips. She turned to Xiao Lin. ¡°He probably predicted our tracks with astrology spells.¡±


    Xiao Lin remembered Lnder saying something about high priests being proficient in astrological spells. He did not expect that such a mysterious spell could be used for prediction.

 Chapter 151: Turn of Events

    <h4>Chapter 151: Turn of Events</h4>


    The bestid ns often go awry. Neither of them had ever experienced going up against the high-level magics of astrology.


    Ever since they entered the blood-red Final Lands, Xiao Lin had been avoiding overthinking. What if they were not able to escape? What if the high priest captured them? What if they died there?


    All these questions caused them to lose hope. Lilith and himself were SS-rank talents, and their talents had been able to push themselves to the limits. However, they were facing high priest Asabanor, a monster that had lived for more than nine hundred years. In front of this opponent, they were but fledglings.


    Xiao Lin was not battle hungry like Lilith, so he had to work hard to calm himself down and analyze the situation in front of them, calcting the battle capabilities of him and Lilith.


    It only caused him to fall into despair; he could not find any chance of victory. More and more skeletal soldiers were heading toward them. He even began to suspect that the high priest had sent every skeletal soldier at his disposal, which could total to at least 30,000 to 50,000 skeletons. It was impossible for just the two of them to ovee the hurdle.


    The only constion he had was that the high priest would not kill them immediately since he needed their power to return to Norma and put his revenge into motion. However, the best case scenario for that was still him eliminating them after using them¡ªit was only a dyed death.


    What could he do?


    What choices did he have!


    Xiao Lin noticed that the woman next to him was filled with excitement at the uing battle, which proved there was no way for him to properly interact with Lilith, and adding to his frustrations.


    ¡°Are you still trying to rebel? It¡¯s useless! Your only choice is surrender!¡± The high priest donned a victorious smile as he waved his hands, signaling the skeletal army to advance.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then just die!¡± Asabanor¡¯s offer of surrender was just for show, as he quickly issued hismand.


    Xiao Lin was agitated as he shouted, ¡°If you kill us, won¡¯t that stop you from going back?¡±


    Asabanor had a cold look on his wrinkled and indistinct face. ¡°Idiot! You underestimate thews that God created. In the Final Land, death is just the beginning. I only need to destroy your physical body and seal your souls, then I¡¯ll have plenty of time to slowly do my research!¡±


    ¡°You despicable fiend!¡± Xiao Lin was furious. His original intentions of stalling for time were dashed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking to him!¡± Lilith sent a sideways nce at Xiao Lin. Her hands firmly gripped her battle scythe as she said impatiently, ¡°Are you fighting or not?¡±


    Lilith understood the danger they were in at the moment as well, so she needed Xiao Lin¡¯s strength, but she did not mind fighting by herself either.


    Xiao Lin gritted his teeth as he held up his sword in the right hand, and the hammer in his left. ¡°F*ck! Let¡¯s fight! The worst that could happen is we die!¡±


    The Lightstream Jade on his chest shone brightly as a wave of intense draconic power surged out. He did not care about conserving the draconic power anymore and let out as much as he could. The silhouette of a dragon grew everrger in the skies.


    The light from the jade started to dim, and Xiao Lin understood that the draconic power within had beenpletely exhausted. Whether they survived or died, that moment could very well his veryst fight. The power in the sky quickly turned into a dense mist as it shrouded Xiao Lin, quickly strengthening him.


    Xiao Lin felt like he was filled with inexhaustible energy. It was the first time he had such immense draconic power at his disposal. He would definitely not have wasted so much before then, so even he was not clear what sort of level he was at right now, but he felt like it was at least at Silver-rank, or close to Gold even.


    ¡®Being able to feel how powerful someone so close to Gold-rank... Is this a small stroke of luck before I die?¡¯ Xiao Lin could not help but think to himself.


    Lilith did not hold back either. The mes on her scythe were at the absolute maximum as the de started to glow in a dark-red hue. Xiao Lin could not help but be surprised. He had never seen mes like that during his battles before, so it seemed that Lilith had been holding back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Lilithmanded in a low voice, raising her scythe and prepared to charge. Xiao Lin got into a stance as well. The high priest only stared coldly the entire time, as if waiting for them to struggle to their deaths.


    It felt like time froze for a moment, and in the next second, Xiao Lin felt the ground begin to shake. The tremors grew more and more intense, turning into an earthquake in seconds. Even the skeletal army could not stay standing.


    What was that old man doing?


    That was Xiao Lin¡¯s first reaction, but when he raised his head, he saw Asabanor look shocked and angry, his mouth constantly moving, as if chanting something. It was obvious that this was not in the high priest¡¯s ns.


    No one knew what was happening. Lilith and Xiao Lin shared a look as the ground beneath their feet began to rumble.


    Suddenly, the square, filled with green bricks, began to copse to the ground. In a sh, the ground Xiao Lin and Lilith were standing on turned into a lone ind in the center, and in front of them was arge stretch of darkness with no bottom in sight. Countless skeletal soldiers had fallen into the hole, disappearing as they fell.


    The high priest¡¯s expression turned sinister. A crazed look twisted his face as he rushed at Xiao Lin and Lilith, his distorted body starting to stretch in mid-air.


    ¡°You won¡¯t escape! No matter the price, I will not give up on this chance!¡±


    Asabanor shouted wildly as he raised his arms that looked like dried firewood. His silhouette looked blurry and without substance, but at that moment, his form was slowly solidifying, but at the same time, the wrinkles on his face deepened, as if he was rapidly aging. The skin on his face started to fall off like tree bark.


    Looking at the slowly solidifying hands rapidly approaching, Xiao Lin only had one thought in his head: to not get caught by the old man or all would be lost.


    ¡°Jump!¡± Xiao Lin and Lilith said at the same time as they jumped into the darkness together.


    The two of them were shockingly of one mind, which was that, if they were to die there, they would rather shatter in the darkness than die in Asabanor¡¯s hands.

 Chapter 152: Another World

    <h4>Chapter 152: Another World</h4>


    ¡°No!¡±


    Asabanor shouted in rage as he floated in the blood-red air. Even though he rushed at them at full speed, he was one step too slow. Looking at the high priest¡¯s aged face, the rapidly-falling Xiao Lin showed him the middle finger, but he suddenly realized the Norman high priest might not understand the meaning of gesture. He did not have time to regret it, as his entire person was swallowed up by the darkness.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness was extremely hazy, as if he was a newborn baby that only had a vague sense of the outside world. He felt like, in one moment, he was in a cold, damp and dark ce; another moment, he was in a white, bright and warm ce. His surroundings were constantly changing.


    After some amount of time, as if it was as long as an entire century, yet as short as a few minutes, Xiao Lin opened his eyes. He was lying down on a wide-open field, and everything around him was luscious and green. There was a mild calming fragrance as the warm sun shone in the clear blue skies.


    Xiao Lin got up and rubbed his eyes, pinching his face to make sure he was still alive. It was like everything had been a dream, and he woke up to find himself in a heavenly paradise.


    ¡°Lilith, where are you?¡± Xiao Lin thought of the woman that fell into the darkness with him, and shouted out loud. The sound went very, far causing him to jump in fright before closing his mouth. He still did not know where he was, whether he was still in the Final Land, or he had returned to the New World. If Asabanor¡¯s power could reach him there, Xiao Lin definitely did not want to give away his location.


    Thankfully, Lilith was not far away from him, and had just woken up as well. After hearing his shout, she found him quickly. The two of them looked at each other as Xiao Lin said, ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°I want to know the answer to that more than you do.¡±


    Xiao Lin half-jokingly tried to break the awkward atmosphere. ¡°Fair enough, but it doesn¡¯t seem like this is heaven. Right, we¡¯re colonists. This might be hell then.¡±


    Lilith had a look of regret. ¡°I¡¯d rather go to hell. There might be stronger opponents there.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stumped. That was not a topic they could continue on. The two of them decided to check out their surroundings, but the fields were extremely vast with no end in sight.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith were cautious at the start, worried that Asabanor could appear at any moment. However, the entire time, other than the two of them, they did not see any shred of life, let alone skeletal soldiers. As far as they could see, it was all limitless green and above them were clear blue skies.


    After a while, the moon started to rise, and Xiao Lin could finally be sure that they were still in the Final Land because the sun and moon were in the sky at the same time. Even though it was obviously night time, their surroundings were still bright as day with nothing to indicate the fall of night. It was an impossible phenomenon on Norma.


    Lilith¡¯s observational skills were sharper than Xiao Lin¡¯s. As they rested she suddenly said, ¡°There¡¯s something different about the moon.¡±


    Xiao Lin had not eaten anything for the whole day and was wondering if he should start eating grass. When he heard Lilith¡¯s words, he was uninterested. ¡°Of course it¡¯s different, this isn¡¯t Earth. The moons aren¡¯t round here. I didn;t know you liked looking at the moon. It¡¯s out of character for you.¡±


    Lilith ignored hisst words as she turned around, her blue eyes blinking earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t you think the moon here looks the same as the one on Norma?¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped, immediately looking up. He did not pay it any heed earlier, but with Lilith¡¯s words, he recalled the two moons back in Norma. The moon there looked a lot like the blood moon!


    The moons of the New World were not perfectly circr and one of them was closer to ovr in shape, which looked simr to that one. Was it just a coincidence?


    Xiao Lin was unsure, but the uncertainty frustrated him. Lilith was the same. Even though it was safer there without the skeletal soldiers and the high priest, the unknown was even scarier.


    With that in mind, the two were exhausted and starving, but they still silently agreed to pick up their pace. The night was short there and when the moon started to disappear, many different colors suddenly appeared in their vision. To be precise, there was a gigantic garden in front of them, and in the middle of that park was an impressive ancient castle.


    Food and water; those were the two things that leaped into Xiao Lin¡¯s mind, but in the excitement, he was also cautious. Unfortunately, his weapons were all lost in the darkness. He said to Lilith, ¡°Do you still have your weapons?¡±


    Lilith did not bother with idle chit-chat. With a flick of her wrist, her bracelet glowed as a short but refined dagger appeared in her hand. She offered it to Xiao Lin, but did not forget to say, ¡°Remember to return it.¡±


    Xiao Lin gave the dagger a few test swipes and it felt quitefortable in his hand. A greenish hue could be seen as he waved the de as the energy seeped into his arm, it made his actions feel much more agile and smooth. Even though he did not know much about weapons, he knew it was not an ordinary de.


    As he touched the jade in front of his chest, he could only sigh ruefully. The draconic power within the Lightstream Jade had been exhausted. Even if he had an impressive weapon, it would not be of much use in his hands. At the most, it made him feel safer.


    The garden was surrounded by silver metallic fences. Xiao Lin had intended to jump over, but the moment his hand touched the fence, an unseen force suddenly exploded out, flinging him ten meters away. Thankfully the grass was very soft, so he was not injured too badly, but the fall was still heavy.


    After resting for a bit, Xiao Lin and Lilith took a huge detour around the fence, finally locating the main gate. However, the gate was shut tight. Xiao Lin did not rush to push the door this time, but shifted his gaze toward Lilith, indicating that it was her turn.


    Lilith rolled her eyes, walking forward but not pushing open the door immediately. She looked around nearby, trying to locate some way to open the door. After investigating for a while, she really managed to find something. In a part of the wall obscured by the grass was a golden que with a few lines of text.


    ¡°Whatnguage is that? I can¡¯t make it out. Is it Normese?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Russian.¡± Lilith had no time to look at Xiao Lin as he mouth was slightly open. She looked bbergasted, which caused Xiao Lin to be even more interested in the contents of the que.

 Chapter 153: The Mystery of Ivan

    <h4>Chapter 153: The Mystery of Ivan</h4>


    ¡°Ivanovich. This is Ivan¡¯s garden.¡± Lilith had a difficult tone. Hernguage skills seemed to be pretty good; not only could she speak Mandarin, she was even fluent in Russian.


    ¡°Ivan? The Ivan that established the Law of Immortality?!¡± Xiao Lin eximed, suddenly understanding what Lilith meant. His eyes were wide.


    He remembered high priest Asabanor had mentioned that Ivanovich had stepped into the Final Land before, but he used his own power to escape the ce.


    ¡°It looks like that old man wasn¡¯t lying. Does this mean this garden is Ivan¡¯s former residence?¡±


    ¡°Former residence?¡± Lilith turned around and looked at Xiao Lin curiously.


    ¡°Yes, a former residence means somewhere he stayed before.¡±


    Lilith red at Xiao Lin. ¡°I know what that means! I¡¯m saying, how do you know this is a former residence and not his current residence?¡±


    ¡°Current residence? Where he¡¯s staying right now?!¡± Xiao Lin almost doubted the woman¡¯s Mandarin again, but Lilith¡¯s re made him swallow his words. He turned to look at the words on the que, even if he did not understand Russian.


    After a moment, Xiao Lin asked, ¡°Ivan¡¯s been dead for so long. How could he still be staying here.¡±


    ¡°Who said he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Everyone says so.¡± Xiao Lin was not too certain. Thinking about it, the first time he had heard about Ivanovich was when Song Jung talked about the individual with an SS-rank talent who established the Law of Immortality. Lnder had mentioned him a few times as well, but his knowledge of Ivanovich was way too little.


    Lilith said calmly, ¡°Yes, his death was what the Supreme Council announced to everyone, but that is just a lie for the masses. It¡¯s a pity that not many people know the truth anymore.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the truth?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but continue the conversation.


    ¡°He went missing.¡±


    After a moment of silence, Xiao Lin asked again, ¡°Then what happened?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else.¡±


    Xiao Lin almost cursed at Lilith. ¡°How could nothing else have happened? He¡¯s the one who established the Law of Immortality and allowed mankind to prosper. No, allowed the colonists to prosper. His aplishments cannot be called anything but great. How could someone like that just go missing? If he really did go missing, does no one want to look for him? How could they just announce he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Allowed the colonists to prosper?¡± Lilith had a strange look on her face as she looked away from the que. She sighed, ¡°Someone who knew the truth told me something. Ivan is an angel: he gave us the power to truly colonize the New World, but he is also a devil¨Che will destroy the whole world.¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped as he asked, ¡°Destroy the world? Why would he want to destroy the world? Isn¡¯t he on our side? Does he have issues with the Russian academy?¡±


    Lilith impatiently said, ¡°How would I know! I¡¯m not from that era! Even if I was, no one would know the truth.¡±


    Xiao Lin was barraged with thoughts and collected himself. The news was very shocking, but there was another question they needed to be concerned about: if Ivanovich went missing because he came to that world, then was he really staying in the garden right now?


    Lilith was still studying the que; she carefully used her hand to brush aside the lower part of the grass, and softly wiped away dust when the door suddenly opened itself.


    That was definitely convenient, but Xiao Lin began to have some doubts. If Ivan was really alive and staying there, then what consequences would there be if they barged inside?


    Was Ivan an angel or a devil?


    D*mn it all, what did that even mean?


    Did Ivan betray humanity in the end?


    If that was the case, were they courting death by going inside?


    Might high priest Asabanor have been the easier one for them to ovee?


    In a sh, a sea of thoughts were in Xiao Lin¡¯s head. Lilith also stood in front of the door unmoving. It seemed like this fearless woman finally had some doubts.


    Ivanovich could be said to be the most powerful colonist in history. In front of such a character, even Xiao Lin and Lilith, who also possessed SS-rank talents, could not hold a candle to him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in!¡± In the end Xiao Lin voiced out first. His voice was soft and the woman next to him looked at him strangely, waiting for his reasoning.


    Xiao Lin bitterly smiled, ¡°Compared to starving or dying of dehydration, I¡¯d rather die quickly with a de to my throat.¡±


    Even though it looked pristine there, there were no streams or rivers, no fruit trees or wildlife. Even if the grass was not poisonous, neither Lilith nor Xiao Lin wanted to live the rest of their lives eating grass.


    Lilith forced a smile as her doubts disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m not nearly as lighthearted as you! You¡¯re right, if we have someone like that as our opponent, it¡¯s a blessing to us as well. In all the colonist academies in the world, only the two of us could possibly stand a chance to fight Ivan.¡±


    Saying that, Lilith withdrew her battle scythe from her bracelet as she walked right toward the castle.


    Xiao Lin stood dumbfounded, feeling like crying. He started to hate his own mouth. Why did he have to say all that nonsense?


    If Ivan was still alive, it was possible he would be their enemy, but it was just a possibility. Even if Ivanovich had really betrayed mankind, that was many years ago. Who knew if he had a change of heart? Everyone was from Earth. With regards to that world, they were all basically from the same hometown.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s initial idea was that they would sneak into the castle. If they really met Ivan, he nned on reasoning with the other party to settle things amicably. If that was impossible, then they would have to ept their misfortune.


    As for fighting Ivanovich? What a joke. He was the one who established the Law of Immortality. Their skills were like the difference between a creek and an ocean!


    However, Lilith was currently rushing inside with her scythe, full of bloodlust. No matter what the other person thought, when faced with that animosity, the only option would be to designate them as enemies.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s hands were tied. Lilith had already rushed inside and Xiao Lin could not just stand there idly. Xiao Lin needed Lilith¡¯s help if he were to survive that cursed ce.


    Xiao Lin gritted his teeth as he gripped the dagger Lilith had given him tightly, and he carefully followed Lilith into the garden.

 Chapter 154: Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 154: Coffin</h4>


    Upon entering the garden, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. This garden was like a different world, the sounds and smells from the outside disappeared immediately. It was extremely quiet there and only their footsteps could be heard.


    The castle gate was not locked, nor were there any traps. Xiao Lin and Lilith managed to get in easily and were immediately assaulted by a bright sh of light. The entire interior of the castle was filled with white crystals, including every inch of the walls and ceiling, which were adorned with diamonds and jades. Standing inside felt like they had entered a dream-like crystal pce.


    The castle was very spacious and simple. Other than a huge hall, there were no other rooms or hallways. At the end of the hall was a ck coffin, which contrasted heavily with the pure and holy hall.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith exchange nces, their mutual shock evident. Their gazes then turned back toward the coffin as the two of them walked closer.


    Could Ivanovich be inside the coffin?


    The two of them let their imaginations run wild, but hesitated for only a moment before deciding to open the coffin to investigate. It might be disrespectful to the dead, but they could be facing the greatest mystery in the history of the colonists.


    Getting closer, Xiao Lin gasped. He noticed that the cover of the coffin was slightly shifted away from the body; it was notpletely shut.


    Could someone have opened it already?


    They could not tell what the coffin¡¯s material was. It felt smooth, like jade, but was extremely heavy, much heavier than any metal they knew. Even the two of them together had a lot of difficulty opening it. When they looked inside, they were shocked.


    The coffin was empty; there were not even any bones inside. Of course, they had some guesses beforehand, so it was not that shocking, but the curious part was that there were a bunch of random objects inside the coffin, like a pen, a pocket watch, and pictures. Xiao Lin picked up the pen and the pocket watch. The pen was not that special and was rather old-fashioned. The pocket watch was frozen in time, having stopped working for a while.


    They were obviously not magical objects and seemed to be from thest century on Earth. Lilith carefully took out the picture and could not help but pale as she said, ¡°This is Ivan¡¯s photo. I think this really is Ivanovich¡¯s burial spot.¡±


    Xiao Lin hurried over to look at the photo. It was a very old ck-and-white photo, and the image was a little blurry. However, a young Russian male could be made out, and a middle aged woman stood next to him. He asked, ¡°Who¡¯s that woman?¡±


    Lilith exined, ¡°That¡¯s his mother. I¡¯ve been to the museum at Voyna Akademiya, and this very photo was disyed there. I heard that Ivan¡¯s mother passed away when he entered the academy, so he has a lot of photos of his mother to remember her.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face paled as he said softly, ¡°If this really is Ivan¡¯s grave, then where is his body?¡±


    The two of them were silent as they looked at the empty coffin.


    They did not solve the mystery. All they did was make it bigger.


    ¡°The good news is we aren¡¯t face to face that legendary man. We can¡¯t be sure if he¡¯d be friend or foe.¡± Xiao Lin half-jokingly broke the silence.


    However, it was not really good news. Xiao Lin would actually rather face a living Ivanovich. Friend or foe, at least they would be able to find out a little about their surroundings, unlike the clueless flies they were right now. They did not know what their next step would be, andcked water and food. Xiao Lin did not even know how much longer he couldst.


    After some discussion, the two of them decided to look around within the castle. There might be some secret passageways that could lead them somewhere.


    After half an hour, they did not find any secret passages, but they found other things. More urately, they found some texts. In the surrounding crystal walls, rows of ck-colored block characters appeared when they got close.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ancient Normese!¡± Xiao Lin had worked under Professor Brown for more than half a month, and had been interacting with those difficult words every day, so he recognized it immediately.


    Xiao Lin worked hard to trante. His Ancient Normese had been LV1, but during his half a month of work, he had been trying to learn thenguage as he copied the tablets. Thanks to his Academic Genius skill, his Ancient Normese had definitely leveled up to probably LV2 or 3, so the words in front of him were notpletely foreign.


    ¡°Give me some time,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°No problem, we have all the time in the world,¡± Lilith said over her shoulder before trying to see if they had missed anything.


    Xiao Lin was left alone in front of the crystal walls, reading word after word. He did not n onpletely tranting the whole thing, it would be toorge of an endeavor. However, Lilith and him were in an awkward spot right now. Where would they go if they left the castle? Would they continue to wander around aimlessly in that field with nothing on it until they died?


    He hoped there would be some clues on how to get out in those Ancient Normese texts. It was their only chance.


    ¡°This probably means sky? No, that¡¯s wrong, there¡¯s an adjective in front, so maybe it¡¯s color? So blue-colored sky? No, that isn¡¯t blue, red? Blood! Yes, this definitely refers to the blood red sky.¡±


    ¡°This sentence could be talking about light and darknessbining? Doesn¡¯t seem right, but the word should mean that. Maybe mixed? Yes, this should mean it¡¯s mixed.¡±


    ¡°This one is easy. Start point? What the heck is a start point. Start could mean beginning... The point of beginning? The original ce? Final Lands! Yes, let¡¯s use that first.¡±


    ...


    Even if Xiao Lin¡¯s Ancient Normese had improved in half a month, it was still a taxing endeavor to trante so much. Thankfully, he felt that his brain power was not too bad. He could only make out about half the words, but filled in the rest of the contents with guesswork and estimates.


    It was obviously very hard at the start, and he even had to leave some harder words alone, but after diving deeper, especially once he realized the contents seemed to be describing the Final Land, he started to have a basis to his guesses, and the contents came to him clearer and faster.

 Chapter 155: Possession

    <h4>Chapter 155: Possession</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin got more and more engrossed as he tranted, to the extent that he ignored Lilith when she asked him about his progress. Lilith was obviously annoyed at theck of a response, but she knew she could not interrupt Xiao Lin at the moment, so she left a bowl of water in front of him before leaving.


    Lilith had not been idle. She managed to find a water source nearby. The garden had various nts in it, and some of the nts had pearls of water on them. Lilith plucked off the leaves to gather water, which at least ensured they could endure for a while longer with sufficient hydration.


    Xiao Lin only noticed there was a bowl of water in front of him after two hours. He had more or less been finished with the contents of the wall in front of him, and was just about to change spots when he saw it and he stayed glued to the walls as he consumed the water.


    What he did not notice was that every time he was done with one section of the walls, the words within would slowly disappear, possibly never to be seen again.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s attention was extremely focused, to the extent that he forgot everything else. It was a strange feeling, as if he was in a limitless spring; his curiosity surged from the bottom of his heart, making it impossible for him to stop. He was unsure if it was just his own feelings, but as he read the words, he felt that his understanding of Ancient Normese got progressively stronger.


    At the start, there were a lot of ces that needed guesswork, but then, he seemed to speed through the reading. He understood those strange tadpole-like words instantly with just a nce.


    The castle was very big, and Xiao Lin had long since abandoned his original intention of notpletely tranting everything. In his eyes, those strange words were no longer a challenge. Even if he did not eat, drink or sleep, he would be able to maintain his strange obsession.


    Lilith sensed that Xiao Lin was acting strange, so she tried to pull Xiao Lin away, but a sudden and strong surge of energy pushed her away. Xiao Lin¡¯s expression turned ice-cold, without a shred of feeling. His eyes did not even look human anymore.


    Lilith opened her mouth, but could not find the words. In the end, she shook her head and left the castle herself.


    Lilith¡¯s departure finally caused a reaction in Xiao Lin¡¯s spiritless eyes. His face wore a shred of doubt, as if he did not understand what was happening. When he wanted to get up and go after her, a voice in his consciousness told him, ¡®Read and understand these words!¡¯


    The voice had an extremely alluring power, and Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes quickly turned cold again as he once again sat next to the crystal wall.


    As the days passed, Xiao Lin did not feel the passing of time at all, nor did he realize his body was getting weaker by the day. His entire being was still filled with that exciting obsession, so his consciousness constantly told himself he could carry on.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s reading speed got faster and faster, and everytime he was finished with one piece of the wall, not only would the words on the crystals disappear, the skies outside the castle would turn darker and the nts in the garden would slowly decay. The entire castle was shrouded in shadows.


    After seven whole days, Lilith finally returned. This time, she was very imposing as she raised her battle scythe, and swung the back of it at Xiao Lin¡¯s back, careful to control her strength.


    nk!


    The scythe was stopped by a dagger as Xiao Lin turned around. His skinny yet hardened face revealed a sinister smile, as he said in a hoarse voice, ¡°No need to rush. It¡¯ll be done very soon.¡±


    ¡°Asabanor! I knew it was you!¡± Lilith smiled coldly.


    Xiao Lin, or rather the man with Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance stood up. ¡°I should actually thank the two of you. I gave up on the physical body that took me so long to form to catch you, and my soul ended up being sucked in by that darkness. Who knew it would be a blessing in disguise. I¡¯ve finally entered the true Land of the Beginning! I¡¯ve been in the Final Land for more than nine hundred years, and I¡¯ve been constantly looking for a way here. Who knew the chance would present itself like this!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Final Land?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Ignorant demon! How could you understand the greatness of God! There are two parts to The Final Land. Creation and destruction are opposites, beginning and the end, darkness and light, all of them are opposing existences. I¡¯ve been dwelling in the representation of darkness and the end for countless years, but how could that man so easily reach this ce!¡±


    He was referring to Ivanovich.


    ¡°You will never know the answer!¡± Lilith raised her battle scythe once again.


    ¡°Hahaha! No matter! As long as I finish with these texts, I will be able to open up the way back. You never expected that, did you? These words will be the beginning of the end for you demons!¡±


    Lilith furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°Open up the way back? What is this text? Who wrote them down? You or Ivan?¡±


    ¡°I suppose there¡¯s no harm in telling you. This is the Law of Creation.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face wore a strangely respectful and devoted look. ¡°God used this power to create Norma from the Final Land, but the Law of Creation was lost in the chaos after God left. That demon might have boundless power, but it was only enough to find this tiny fragment out of a boundless ocean. He probably would never have expected that I would use the power he found to destroy all of you!¡±


    ¡°Tiny fragment?¡± Lilith looked at the huge crystal wall around her with a strange look before mockingly saying, ¡°Thanks for answering my questions. You can go ahead and die now.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you really going to fight me? This is yourpanion¡¯s body!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth smiled mockingly. ¡°I will return soon, but you will be trapped here forever. No, you don¡¯t know astrology. You won¡¯t even be able to survive here!¡±


    ¡°You talk a lot! So annoying!¡±


    With that, Lilith swung here ming scythe, but Xiao Lin did not even move to dodge, letting himself get stabbed in the right shoulder. Seeing Lilith take a few steps back, heughed wildly. ¡°Hahaha! So you do care about him! You didn¡¯t even aim for any vitals. Come on, aim for his heart...¡±


    Asabanor suddenly stopped as his expression suddenly froze in ce. His entire body stood unmoving as the wound on his right shoulder still burned with mes, but the strange thing was that those mes did not cause any harm to his skin or flesh.


    ¡°I can only help you this much. Don¡¯t make me kill you!¡± Lilith muttered to herself.

 Chapter 156: Waking Up

    <h4>Chapter 156: Waking Up</h4>


    Xiao Lin felt like he had a very, very long dream. In that dream, his consciousness was fuzzy. His senses and his awareness were unable to sense anything happening in the outside world, as if he had been trapped in a muddled world. He was surrounded by darkness, not even able to see his own fingers, and he was falling at a terrifying speed. He did not know where he was falling to, but he could do nothing but wait and see quietly.


    His consciousness grew fuzzier the longer he waited, to the point where he was beginning to forget himself. He felt the temperature surrounding him constantly falling until he was beginning to freeze.


    It was only until a me shaped like a red lotus appeared when Xiao Lin felt a shock jolt through his body, causing him to draw nearer, raising his hand to touch the mes. It was just a tiny spark that could disappear into the darkness at any time.


    Xiao Lin grabbed onto the spark, but it did not burn him at all. A warmth spread throughout his body from his palm as he slowly recovered his sense of self within the cold.


    Who am I?


    I am Xiao Lin!


    Where did Ie from?


    I¡¯m from Dawn Academy!


    His consciousness constantly asked questions, and he constantly answered them. He felt his mind get clearer every time a question was asked.


    He was still surrounded by the immense cold and Xiao Lin carefully protected the spark in his palm. He had a feeling that, if the me were to be extinguished, he would be trapped within the freezing darkness forever.


    Just as he was regaining his sense of self, a violent wind blew around him as the formless darkness got thicker. A cloud of darkness rushed toward Xiao Lin, as if trying to extinguish the fire.


    ¡°Be swallowed by the infinite darkness!¡± came a cold and sinister voice.


    Xiao Lin immediately shielded the me with his body, but could not withstand the assault from the darkness and the wind. The me started to dance around, looking weaker and weaker, like it could disappear at any moment.


    ¡°Die and surrender this body to me!¡± The voice in the darkness sounded even more violent.


    Xiao Lin was like a raft in an ocean of waves, ready to bepletely submerged. Xiao Lin still did not know where he was, but he had regained enough consciousness to have an idea of what was happening.


    He shouted back, ¡°No! Never!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡±


    ¡°F*ck off! Surrendering my body to you?! Never!¡±


    Xiao Lin yelled a slew of curses. It was hard to find counterparts to curse words in Normese, but that world seemed to automatically trante their words.


    There seemed to be a crack in the darkness as the voice shouted in despair, ¡°How! How is there still no way! How could the meager soul of an evil demon be so strong!¡±


    The voice did not seem to have given up, but a white light suddenly shot out from the darkness. The darkness seemed to shatter like ss into countless pieces as more and more light poured in.


    ¡°Him! It¡¯s his power! How is this possible! Absolutely impossible!¡± The voice sounded weaker and weaker, until it could not be heard anymore.


    The darkness had beenpletely overtaken by the light, and Xiao Lin suddenly felt a warmth that he had never felt before. He shut his eyes and felt a sense of serenity. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed countless ck, tadpole-like objects floating around him. Upon closer inspection, it was all Ancient Normese words.


    Xiao Lin suddenly felt like he could recognize all those words and a voice in his consciousness told him to read them aloud. He opened his mouth and read everything, speeding up as he went.


    After an indeterminate amount of time, he finished reading, and the words spun around, gathering in the middle as they slowly morphed into a human silhouette. It nodded to Xiao Lin, smiling as it said, ¡°Well then. It¡¯s all yours now.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Xiao Lin asked hurriedly.


    Before he could get a response, a power raised him up and the surrounding light shattered until it disappeared.


    In a haze, Xiao Lin quickly widened his eyes as he was surprised to finally regain his feeling, touching the crystal floor. In front of his eyes was an alert woman holding a battle scythe.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°Lilith? Don¡¯t you recognize me?¡± Xiao Lin was confused.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lilith repeated as the scythe got nearer to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°No no no, I¡¯m Xiao Lin!¡±


    Lilith tilted her head, staring at Xiao Lin with her bright eyes for a moment before letting out a breath of air, storing her battle scythe. ¡°Looks like it is you. Where¡¯s the old man?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Xiao Lin might have finally woken up again, but he still did not quite grasp the situation.


    Lilith was taken aback, but still summarized the situation for him. Xiao Lin was more and more shocked as he listened on, but he finally realized the voice in the darkness that wanted him to die was Asabanor. He had chased them to this ce.


    ¡°Is he still in me?¡± Xiao Lin asked, uneasy.


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. The possession spell from necromancy is quite limited. Now that you¡¯ve woken up, his consciousness can no longer enter your body.¡±


    At that point, Lilith furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°However, based on what you said earlier, that old man did notpletely disappear; he left by himself. This means he could still be nearby. It¡¯s a pity I don¡¯t have any spells that can destroy souls. I¡¯ll need to attend a few more courses when I head back.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered the silhouette that pierced the darkness, and its words: ¡°It¡¯s all yours now.¡±


    He did not tell Lilith, since he was extremely confused himself. Who was that man? What was he given?


    He was still deep in thought when Lilith quickly walked toward the door, saying with some doubt on her face, ¡°We need to leave this ce quickly! The world has turned a little strange.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked when he walked out. That peaceful world had somehow been covered by dark clouds and the entire world had turned eerily dark. The lush greens around them had all wilted. Whatever it was, it did not look very promising.


    ¡°How do we leave?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Lilith looked over. ¡°That old man said the words in the castle were key to leaving this ce, so you need to ask yourself that question. I can¡¯t read Ancient Normese.¡±

 Chapter 157: Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 157: Destruction</h4>


    Xiao Lin walked toward the castle walls and noticed they were nk; the Ancient Normese words hadpletely disappeared. He scratched his head as he smiled awkwardly. ¡°You¡¯ll need to give me some time, my mind is a mess at the moment. It¡¯s like I just woke up from a very long dream.¡±


    Lilith shrugged, looking at the thickening dark clouds. ¡°You¡¯ll need to hurry up, or we¡¯ll be stuck dreaming here forever.¡±


    Xiao Lin gulped, noticing how weak he felt. Thankfully, Lilith had gathered quite a bit of water and he felt refreshed after drinking it. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember everything that happened.


    He had noticed the Ancient Normese words that were on the walls, and prepared to trante and analyze them. He could still vividly remember that. However, after that, his memories were very vague. It was as if he had fallen asleep the entire time.


    Of course, that was just what Xiao Lin felt, from Lilith¡¯s perspective, he was trapped in a furious obsession for the next few days, tirelessly tranting the words on the wall at a rapid speed.


    If the high priest¡¯s soul came over from the blood-colored world, then from the moment he entered that frenzy, Xiao Lin had probably lost his consciousness.


    This was not the first time Xiao Lin encountered possessive magic. Thatst night in New Washington, the American, Norn, was probably also controlled by this spell.


    As for why Asabanor chose to possess him then, and even picked Xiao Lin instead of Lilith who was much stronger, the two of them had different thoughts.


    Lilith felt that when Xiao Lin was busy tranting, he let down his guard to the outside world, and these possession magics were very hard to pull off, with many ways to circumvent them. If there was enough warning, the magic would usually fail.


    Xiao Lin did not think it was that simple. It was obvious that Asabanor¡¯s soul had been following them from the start. When they entered the castle and found the words on the wall, the high priest might have realized the significance of the words. He might have just picked Xiao Lin because Xiao Lin knew Ancient Normese. Plus, he was more of a novice and would probably have been easier to control.


    After that, Lilith left the castle in frustration, but as the words on the walls were read, the world started to go through shocking changes. Lilith felt something was off as she was leaving, and she also recalled what happened to Norn in New Washington, which caused her to suspect that Xiao Lin had fallen to the same magic. In the Final Land, the only one who could pull off that spell was Asabanor.


    That was what Xiao Lin managed to gather from Lilith¡¯s information. As for what happened in his spiritual world¨Cwhich was what he was calling it¨Cthe high priest tried to extinguish his soul. When his consciousness was trapped within that freezing cold, it was only thanks to that small me that he could wake up.


    The thing that puzzled Xiao Lin the most was the ending. That spark gave him warmth and helped him wake up, but it was impossible to fight the powerful Asabanor with just that. Xiao Lin was very clear that the thing that really saved him was that mystical light, as well as the man that was formed by those tadpole-like words.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh. If those words were from the crystal walls, then what should his next step be? He decided to experiment. He chanted those strange Ancient Normese words in his heart. Just like when he was using the draconic power, he tried to regte the output as he pleased.


    He was only met with failure. No matter what he tried, nothing changed. The sky suddenly turned darker as the sounds of violent winds could be heard and the castle behind them started to rumble.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡±


    The two of them immediately fled toward the ins far away. When they were halfway there, they heard loud crashing noises as the castle behind them copsed. Xiao Lin turned around to see a pile of ruins behind him before awkwardly saying, ¡°If that really is Ivanovich¡¯s grave, do you think he¡¯s going to haunt us for this?¡±


    Lilith kept her eyes forward. ¡°That would require us to be alive! Run, quickly!¡±


    Xiao Lin turned around and sucked in a breath. At the fringes of the ins, a ckish-grey and massive tornado was forming, linking the sky with the earth. Everywhere it passed left the earth shattered, and even the sky broke apart like ss, getting absorbed into the tornado.


    ¡°What is this!¡±


    ¡°This world is probably at its end!¡±


    ¡°Just because we came here? What kind of joke is this!¡±


    With that, Xiao Lin suddenly paused. If they were to think about what they had done since they came, then it would only be one thing. He had absorbed all the words on the crystal wall. If he were to guess, the words should all be in his body at the moment.


    Which is to say, was he responsible for destroying this world?


    Xiao Lin jumped in fright at the thought, but he did not have time to regret it. What was important at that moment was escaping.


    The tornado did not move quickly, but it was gettingrger andrger. What caused Xiao Lin and Lilith to lose hope was, behind them, even more tornadoes were forming, surrounding the whole world.


    Numerous tornadoes were quickly going to merge into one. The two of them did not have anywhere to run. They were at the center of all the tornadoes, so they were just sitting ducks. No matter how they struggled, they could only look as the tornadoes surrounding them started to get closer, waiting to be enveloped.


    The two of them were deathly pale. In the face of that overwhelming power, even the two SS-rank talents did not have any chance.


    ¡°Die, you despicable demons!¡±


    Then, a sharp voice could be heard, and what followed was a ck shadow. It looked nothing like a woman, and only its basic organs could be vaguely made out in the blurry shadow.


    It was high priest Asabanor! He really did just retreat from Xiao Lin¡¯s body earlier instead of being eliminated. However, it seemed that he still refused to give up. Xiao Lin and Lilith were already panicked, and they were filled with anger. With the appearance of an outlet for their frustrations, they both cried out and withdrew their weapons, fearlessly rushing forward.

 Chapter 158: New Washington Conference

    <h4>Chapter 158: New Washington Conference</h4>


    After the Single Moon Festival, the New World had entered autumn. New Washington, the prosperous city with centuries of history stood peacefully in the autumn wind. The shops that used to be extremely busy were all shut and the elves were leaving the city in droves.


    It had been almost half a month since the Single Moon Festival that was now being called Nightmare Day. No one in the city could forget what happened that night, when the sudden appearance of the blood moon shrouded New Washington in red. To the colonists, the new phenomenon was scary, but to the natives, it was terrifying.


    At the heart of the city¨Cthe castle district¨Cthe skeletal corpses from that day had already beenpletely cleared out and all the skeletons were burned to dust. In order to prevent anything of the sort from happening again, Judge Academy had even inspected all the burial grounds from all those years ago, ensuring nothing was left out.


    The academy¡¯s response was swift, but they could not prevent the aftermath. It would be hard to turn things around in the short term.


    In a great hall in one of the pces, over ten Americans sat around arge round table, deep in intense discussions.


    ¡°In these two weeks, trade in New Washington has dropped by twelve percent, and daily necessities have pretty much stopped selling. If this continues, we¡¯ll be really short on taxes this year.¡±


    ¡°Trade is one thing. What I¡¯m worried about right now is our poption! This is the data I just received from the city guard. In just ten short days, almost fifty thousand people have left New Washington! We only have a little over a million people in the city!¡±


    ¡°Poption is very important to us. A lot of our facilities require a lot of our manpower, and most of our tax iees from the natives. Surely, we can¡¯t let our academy students be the ones doing hardbor. We need to prioritize this problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the data from the guards. There aren¡¯t really that many natives leaving. The second and third generation natives are pretty much stuck here, their families and businesses are all in New Washington after all. What I¡¯m more concerned about are the elves. Has everyone noticed? Since the day before yesterday, the elves in the city have been leaving in waves. All the elven shops have been on the market for a low price. It doesn¡¯t seem like they n oning back!¡±


    ¡°How much longer do we have in our peace treaty with the elves?¡±


    ¡°We still have more than ten years. The elves are a race that puts great importance on trust and keeping promises. We won¡¯t have to worry about them breaking the treaty.¡±


    ¡°How about after the treaty is done? What if the elves don¡¯t extend it?¡±


    ¡°This is not the time to be discussing something that will happen in more than ten years. Don¡¯t stray too far from the main point! Everyone here needs to think about how we can save our coffers this year!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± A furious voice bellowed in the noisy hall. A man who was sitting in the furthest corner stood up. He was dressed differently from everyone else; he had a full suit of silver armor on and his helmet was on the table as he looked on impatiently.


    ¡°All of you are busy discussing our poption, finances and our treaty with the elves. I think you¡¯ve all been away from the academy for too long. Have you forgotten who we are?¡±


    There was a stir in the great hall. An old man stood up and said, ¡°Captain Harry, this meeting is about the governance of the city, and you¡¯re the captain of the dragon-eagle knights. The military doesn¡¯t really have anything to do with this conference. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that you im you have something important to report, we wouldn¡¯t even have invited you here today!¡±


    Harry coldly smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we are colonists! If weck manpower we can capture more, if weck finances, we can plunder. As for the elves, what¡¯s so scary about that weak and useless race dering war on us!¡±


    ¡°Harry, what do you mean by this. Speak up if you have something to say. You don¡¯t have to cause a scene!¡±


    Harry took a deep breath, pushing back his anger as he said, ¡°You¡¯ve discussed so much today, but you seemed to have forgotten something very important! Lilith has been missing since the incident, and we haven¡¯t seen any trace of her. Is no one concerned?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Lilith. You know how that girl is. She does what she wants to without any concern forw and order. She¡¯s probably met some opponent that caught her interest and left New Washington on her own. She¡¯ll be back in her own time,¡± the man said dismissively.


    Harry¡¯s face once again filled with anger, ¡°It seems that none of you know how important Lilith is to Judge Academy!¡±


    ¡°We know how important Lilith is. Captain Harry, I understand how you feel, but we¡¯re already past the era where the colonists can rely on only war. The economy is equally as important, and everything we do here is also for Judge Academy.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, was that the important matter you needed to report today?¡±


    Harry took another deep breath before shaking his head and saying, ¡°That day, other than Lilith disappearing, a student from the Dawn Academy that we invited went missing as well.¡±


    The short man closest to Harry had almost fallen asleep, but at Harry¡¯s words, he immediately opened his eyes, adjusting his butt to a morefortable sitting position before slowly saying, ¡°The Foreign Affairs Department is responsible for this matter. The student is named Xiao Lin, and we invited him to work with Professor Brown. After the blood moon, Captain Harry and I interrogated the student who was possessed day and night, but we¡¯ve not made much headway.¡±


    A man with sses stood at the focal point of the table; he seemed to be the chair of the meeting. He furrowed his eyebrows and said, ¡°Dawn Academy? That will be troublesome. We have an alliance with them, and it shouldn¡¯t bepromised by this. What year and skill level was that student at?¡±


    The short man answered, ¡°He¡¯s a new student, not even at the ck Iron-rank in skill. He needed our anti-gravity essory and super potions to work in New Washington.¡±


    The man let out a sigh of relief. ¡°A new student? That¡¯s no issue then. Can we keep it from Dawn Academy for now?¡±


    The short man put up both his hands. ¡°That¡¯s what I have to report today. There are someplications with this matter. A department head from Dawn Academy was here with Xiao Lin, and that department head has already sent the news to Dawn Academy, so we won¡¯t be able to keep it from them. A special investigation team from the academy is already at my department. I wish to ask city hall how I should proceed?¡±

 Chapter 159: Return to Before

    <h4>Chapter 159: Return to Before</h4>


    There was another stir around the round table, but it was quickly settled down by the bespectacled man knocking on the table, silencing them before announcing, ¡°That student went missing in New Washington, the Foreign Affairs Department will try to cate the investigation team while Harry¡¯s dragon-eagle knights conduct arge scale search of the area. Spare no effort in finding Lilith and Xiao Lin, but the important one is obviously Lilith. If we really are unable to locate that student from Dawn Academy, we¡¯ll offer somepensation to them. Now, let¡¯s carry on discussing our financial ns...¡±


    Harry let out a cold snort before leaving the great hall in anger. The short man in charge of the Foreign Affairs Department nodded to the rest of them before leaving.


    The discussions after that did not have much to do with military or foreign affairs, but Harry¡¯s attitude caused some of those present to look on in scorn.


    Outside of the great hall, the short man held hisrge stomach as he rushed after Harry, panting in exhaustion as he leaned against arge tree for support, shouting, ¡°Captain Harry, don¡¯t you hear me calling for you?¡±


    Harry¡¯s face was still cold. He did not seem to particrly care for the man. ¡°Department Head Johnson, our two departments don¡¯t really have anything to do with each other. I still have things to attend to in my regiment. Speak up if you need anything!¡±


    Johnson smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush. Why don¡¯t we get drinks somewhere? We¡¯re from the same year in school after all. We haven¡¯t gotten together in a while.¡±


    Harry was disgusted, ¡°Johnson, ever since we graduated, you¡¯ve lost all sense of being a warrior. Looking at you now, I don¡¯t even think you can wear any armor, or hold a sword! Sorry, my regiment has a rule. We¡¯re not allowed to drink alcohol when not on holiday. I need to follow that rule as well!¡±


    ¡°I admit, I¡¯ve turned into a real government official after we graduated, but it¡¯s true what they said at the conference. We can no longer rely solely on war. We need governance and colonization, not just killing off everyone. You have to admit, proper governance can sometimes be simpler and more effective than brute force.¡±


    Johnson looked at Harry¡¯s increasingly impatient face before stopping himself, waving as he said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s not talk about that. I didn¡¯t find you to reminisce about the past. Why didn¡¯t you bring up that matter in the conference?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°That student, Xiao Lin. He¡¯s someone with the Lightstream Jade. That jade was probably a gift from the dean of Dawn Academy, and he wasn¡¯t even missing for a day before Dawn Academy sent their investigation team after him. Who exactly is Xiao Lin?¡± Johnson asked curiously.


    ¡°I want to know that more than you do!¡± Harry bellowed.


    Johnsonughed out loud. ¡°Harry, we¡¯ve known each other for a while, and I know how you are. You purposely concealed that fact from the city hall so you can investigate it yourself. I don¡¯t believe you haven¡¯t had any results until now. What did you hide from the city hall?¡±


    Harry paused for a moment before walking away with a cold smile.


    Johnson wanted to run after him, but he considered his stamina and gave up. He raised his voice a little. ¡°Then let me add on: Lilith and Xiao Lin disappeared at the same time. It¡¯s possible they¡¯re not even in this world right now. That blood moon had never been seen before. Maybe it¡¯s a wormhole of some sort? I asked the instructor for the space-time course, and that is a possibility that exists.¡±


    Harry finally stopped.


    Johnsonughed again, continuing, ¡°Dawn Academy¡¯s investigation team has been driving me crazy. I almost resigned out of frustration, but I¡¯ve been investigating the matter even more than you have! Professor Brown¡¯s research team had so many people there, so why were Lilith and Xiao Lin the only ones who went missing?¡±


    Harry finally turned around, his eyes narrowed. ¡°What are you getting to?¡±


    Johnson slowly walked closer, lowering his voice, ¡°Oh! Stop ying dumb! I¡¯m different from those purely administrative officials. Let¡¯s open up our minds and specte. What could Lilith and Xiao Lin have inmon? They¡¯re skills are so different, they aren¡¯t the same age... We don¡¯t even have to talk about their genders and physical attributes. If we eliminate the possibility that it was just a coincidence, then the only possibility is...¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Harry shouted, stopping Johnson¡¯s train of thought. He thought for a moment before saying with aplicated expression, ¡°It¡¯s just spection. The possibility isn¡¯t even at 1%. In the end, we need to wait for them toe back before verifying it for ourselves.


    ¡°Indeed, even I can¡¯t really believe the conclusion I ended up with. I think, other than us two lunatics, no one else would believe it!¡± Johnson sighed, raising his head as his eye twinkled. ¡°If our guess turns out to be correct, what are you going to do about it?¡±


    Meanwhile, in the Final Land, the tornadoes were all almost merged into one. The dark sky had beenpletely shattered by the tornadoes and were falling down like raindrops. The ground was full of cracks and was constantly shaking, as if there was an earthquake.


    ¡°Ha ha ha! This world will soon return to nothingness! You were the ones who denied my return. Let¡¯s just die here together!¡± the shadow roared.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith werepletely exhausted. They had battled the spirit for a long time, but the fight had no meaning to it at all.


    The high priest was only left with a fragmented spiritual form. Normal attacks did nothing to him. Lilith could only use her mes to harm him slightly. Xiao Lin was even worse; he could only rely on using the hammer Lilith lent him to cast Holy Light Blessing.


    Regardless, the damage was very minimal. They could not help but admit that the century-old high priest was still much stronger than them, even in a spiritual form.


    However, Asabanor was at his limit as well. He could not maintain his current form for long, and as time went on, he got weaker and weaker. Otherwise, the high priest would have just attacked them in that form from the start.


    The fact that he did not do that led them to believe maintaining this form would cause himself irreversible harm.


    Xiao Lin was suffering thanks to his weakness. The high priest¡¯s attacks were mostly focused on him. As a spirit, he had only one mode of attack, which was to attack spiritually. That was why even though Xiao Lin did not look physically harmed, it took everything he had to even remain standing.

 Chapter 160: Return

    <h4>Chapter 160: Return</h4>


    The sky grew ever darker as the tornadoes converged at the center. A strong force started to suck them in. Xiao Lin, Lilith, and even the high priest in his spiritual form were all affected by the tornado, as they could not help but be sucked in.


    The fight stopped abruptly and no one had any way to continue it. The force behind the tornado was terrifying and did not only affect flesh and physical objects. Even the holy light that Xiao Lin shot out, Lilith¡¯s mes and Asabanor¡¯s formless spiritual attacks were sucked inside. It was like a limitless ckhole.


    Xiao Lin took out his dagger and stabbed it into a crack on the floor, trying to resist the tornado, but it was absolutely useless. The dagger that Lilith gave him was of good quality, but it only held on for two seconds before snapping in half. At that moment, the tornado was less than a hundred meters away from them.


    Woosh!


    Xiao Lin and Lilith were blown into the air. They could no longer control their own bodies and could only stare as the tornado got closer and closer.


    Was his twenty odd years of life going to end there?


    He had not even seen the sights of the New World.


    His parents were still waiting for him on Earth.


    How could he die here?


    How could he die now!


    If only he had just a bit more power.


    If only he had the ability to turn this around.


    Indignance, anger, pain and regret... A lot of feelings rapidly flew by in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. He let out a hopeless cry of rage in the air.


    It could have been his hallucination, but somehow, in the howling tornado, he managed to make out a low voice. It was like when he was in the spiritual world filled with light, when that familiar voice said to him, ¡°Well then. It¡¯s all yours now.¡±


    In the next second, an intense light shot out of Xiao Lin. In the darkness it looked like arge star, emitting endless light and warmth. Within the white light, rows of tadpole-like words began to shoot out his body, spinning around him, constantly rising.


    As the words increased, their speed increased as well. The uncountable words suddenly merged, forming a ck passage that pierced through the shattered sky, heading toward the end of the world.


    In the middle of the light, Xiao Lin felt that the tornado had lost all effect on him as he floated toward the end of the passage. He stretched out, trying to pull Lilith in from outside the passage, especially since thetter had realized it was possibly the way out and was also struggling to get closer. However, under the influence of the tornado, her struggles were futile.


    A sharp cry could be heard that sounded close, yet far. Xiao Lin turned around and looked and he suddenly cursed in his heart. Asabanor¡¯s shadow was also rushing toward him. Just how deep was that man¡¯s hatred?


    At that moment, the high priest looked to be in pathetic shape. The grey shadow was already broken down in many ways and was like a ripped up piece of cloth, filled with holes, trying to fly but unable. It was likely the influence of the tornado; his strength was rapidly deteriorating, but the b*stard was still a crazy old man who had lived for centuries. Even under immense power, he was still struggling to move toward the ck passage.


    He was very slow, but still getting closer. The tornado grew more and more powerful, and the shadow was slowly fading. The grey shadow¡¯s power was visibly disappearing and it was obvious that if the high priest lost all energy in his spiritual state, he would disappear forever.


    Xiao Lin could not do anything but watch.


    After 15 seconds, the high priest had lost his waist.


    After 30 seconds, even one of his shoulders disappeared.


    After 40 seconds, he was only left with his head, but he finally touched the ck passage. The passage seemed to have its own domain, and within the domain, the influence of the tornado could not be felt.


    Right before the high priest¡¯s head entered the domain, a chain made of fire suddenly shot out, capturing the shadow. Lilith had used thest of her strength on her Red Lotus de.


    Boom!


    The world finally copsed, but Lilith¡¯s chain was pulled into the ck passage along with the high priest, speeding up and disappearing into nothingness.


    ...


    In New Washington, the weather was not so great and the dark skies looked very gloomy. There was a drizzle, but the rain was not too heavy, yet it looked like it wouldst for a while.


    The city had quieted down by a lot thanks to the blood moon, but thanks to the city hall giving a lot of incentives for trade and migration, including lowering the rent and reducing taxes, alongside the fact that the Americans had gained a lot of trust from the natives in those years, the city had regained some of its luster.


    The city hall was very encouraged by this, but the Foreign Affairs Department did not participate in the joy. Johnson was currently incredibly frustrated in his office. Even though the autumn air was cool, his thin shirt was still drenched with sweat.


    During the afternoon, Dawn Academy sent yet another investigation team over. Johnson had nned on following the city hall¡¯s suggestion, treating them like the first investigation team by cating them with food and drink and pushing the matter aside.


    However, the moment the investigation team arrived, Johnson knew it would not be as simple as the first time before he even met the team. The investigation team arrived on a naval warship from Dawn Academy¡¯s capital.


    It would take two to three months to get there from Dawn City by ship, even if the journey was smooth, but the group of people arrived in half a month, which meant they were on a very advanced warship. They did not travel back to Earth to get there, but chose to arrive by sea in the New World, which meant they were at least Gold-rank and above, since at that rank, they could no longer return to Earth, which left them only the naval route.

 Chapter 161: The Investigation Team’s Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 161: The Investigation Team¡¯s Arrival</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    New Washington had finally reverted back into a hard-earned normalcy when things became tense yet again. Dawn Academy¡¯s warship arrived unexpectedly, which undoubtedly caused great unrest within Judge Academy. New Washington was their main city, and they felt very insecure, even though their dock was dozens of kilometers away from the city.


    Around ten minutes after the arrival of Dawn Academy¡¯s warships, more than half of the dragon-eagle knights were dispatched and began guarding the dock. An armor-d Commander Harry also showed up in person.


    It went without saying that neither academy could intensify the conflict for no apparent reason, since they had already signed the treaty of alliance. However, the necessary confrontation continued, and Song Jung coldly stood opposite Johnson at the Foreign Affairs Department.


    ¡°I repeat again. New Washington is Judge Academy territory. ording to the alliance treaty between our two sides, anyone with a strength of Gold-rank or above must first make an official application. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t unterally go against the treaty, Department Head Song!¡± Johnson spat and spoke righteously. City Hall was piling the pressure on him, forcing the fat man to remark in anger.


    Song Jung remained calm and unruffled amidst the chaos. ¡°Well, I¡¯ming to apply now, aren¡¯t I? This time, our side will be fully responsible for the disappearance of our students. That way, it won¡¯t waste your academy¡¯s time and effort.¡±


    ¡°This is what you call an application?¡± Johnson jumped up in anger. ¡°ording to recent information, there¡¯s another Epic-level person in your investigation team! You¡¯re seriously making the application when they¡¯re already at the dock? How dare you let an Epic-ranked persone into New Washington as and when you please. Who do you think will agree to such unreasonable demands? What are you trying to do! Do you want to start a war!¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s expression became colder and colder. ¡°We¡¯ve given you time. Our warship would turn back halfway through the journey if you could find the boy during this half month. Sadly, the capabilities of your people are really disappointing!¡±


    Johnson asked abruptly, ¡°What kind of person is Xiao Lin?¡±


    Song Jung did not answer. He was silent for a moment, but simply remarked lightly, ¡°This is a personal order from the dean. By the way, the dean is probably heading to the Supreme Council right now to look for the person-in-charge of your academy. ¡±


    Johnson¡¯s face got worse when he heard of the Supreme Council


    ¡°What did I say? You have to understand that if we are to take over this incident, our goal is only to find Xiao Lin. As long as he¡¯s found, they¡¯ll all go back immediately. There won¡¯t be any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Impossible! You think it¡¯s only your student that disappeared? Our academy¡¯s Lilith disappeared in that incident too, and we have no news at all so far!¡±


    ¡°What does Lilith have to do with our Dawn Academy? I only want Xiao Lin!¡±


    ¡°And what does Xiao Lin have anything to do with Judge Academy!¡±


    ¡°Are you going to break the alliance!¡±


    ¡°I have to remind you that the dean said only one thing when I spoke to him yesterday: find Xiao Lin at all costs!¡±


    ...


    The quarrel became more and more intense. Whether it was in the diplomatic office or on the dock, countlessst-minute emergency meetings were held. Equally as many people were inquiring and asking, overtly and secretly.


    With the inexplicable tension between the two academies, most people were perplexed and the result of inquiring left them even more clueless. Almost everyone thought that Dawn Academy was acting overboard, as their own students had disappeared in other colonies too. Such issues could be big or small, but since he was just a freshman, there was no need to raise hell for it.


    It was not until midday that New Washington was suddenly enveloped in darkness. Something seemed to have opened in the dark sky. When that happened, the crowds on the street hardly had any time to panic when the darkness quickly dissipated again. Two figures then fell from the slightly rainy sky.


    Two city guards immediately cast a spell on the two people to slow their fall. After identifying them, theymunicated the news to the senior officials almost immediately.


    Lilith was rather famous in New Washington and many people knew her. On the other hand, Xiao Lin was not, but in the past half month, notices with his portrait were all over the city and it was difficult for anyone not to know about him.


    Johnson¡¯s entire body rxed when he heard the news. He smiled and said, ¡°Seems like things have been resolved now.¡±


    Song Jung breathed a sigh of relief and said immediately, ¡°I need to see Xiao Lin now.¡±


    ¡°No problem. He¡¯s probably with the city guard.¡±


    The two left the Foreign Affairs Department. The city garrison was simr to a police station on Earth. Their offices were located on the east side of the business district, but when they arrived, the people at the garrison told them helplessly that Xiao Lin and Lilith had been taken away.


    ¡°Taken away? By whom?¡±


    ¡°The dragon-eagle knight regiment. Commander Harry had ordered us in advance to inform him should there be any news.¡± The guard was a very young American who had likely graduated recently.


    Johnson¡¯s brows throbbed with anxiety when he heard that. He quickly exined to Song Jung, who seemed to be on the verge ofshing out, ¡°Strictly speaking, the city¡¯s defense is strictly under the Military Department. In the case of an emergency, Commander Harry will be responsible for it. But please trust us. Now that they¡¯re found, they¡¯ll be under the dragon-eagle knights¡¯ protection. The safety of your academy¡¯s students is... Umm, Department Head Song, where are you going?¡±


    Song Jung was done listening to the man¡¯s nonsense. He walked off without looking back and left Johnson with a sentence: ¡°I¡¯m of the opinion that your academy can no longer be trusted for the time being. We won¡¯t trouble you any further!¡±


    ¡°Wait...¡±


    After a couple of steps, Johnson finally gave up. He took a few breaths and looked up at the gloomy sky. His mood was just as bad as the weather and he muttered with a bitter smile on his face, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have done what I did with him that day if I had known this would happen. I didn¡¯t expect Dawn Academy¡¯s response to be so timely. Oh, Harry, whether my guess is true or not, we don¡¯t stand a chance anymore! I hope you don¡¯t do anything stupid, or Judge Academy will likely face a civil war with the colonists!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin woke up very quickly this time. When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was actually up in the sky. The gloomy cumulus clouds were just under his nose, and there seemed to be lightning and thunder. The red sun was there when he looked up.


    Xiao Lin was confused. When he discovered that he was actually riding on the back of a huge dragon-eagle and bound with a rope by the rider in front of him, he managed to confirm one thing.


    He had finally returned alive! Xiao Lin could not control himself from roaring at the sky after thinking of the scene and feeling the rush of escaping death. The dragon-eagle seemed to have sensed his excitement and synced with him by executing a tricky 360-degree somersault.


    Xiao Lin screamed again, but in horror, and fainted soon after...

 Chapter 162: Disguised House Arrest

    <h4>Chapter 162: Disguised House Arrest</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The experience proved to Xiao Lin¡ªwho had not undergone any training before¡ªthat riding a dragon-eagle in the air was definitely not something to look forward to. The entire journey brought with it bumps and turbulence, and the dragon-eagle improvised its flight pattern from time to time. A couple of tumbles in the air was more than enough to make him empty his stomach.


    Fortunately, the flight did notst very long. When the dragon-eaglended again, Xiao Lin¡¯s face turned pale and he quickly rolled down from the dragon-eagle¡¯s back with two weakened legs. It took him a very long time before he could suppress nausea in his chest. Only then could he look at the surrounding environment.


    He was on the top of the mountain. He could see the majestic silver resurrection tower of New Washington City in the south¨Ca sign that it was not too far away from the city. There were heavily armed soldiers pacing nearby and the roar of dragon-eagles were heard in session.


    ¡°This is the dragon-eagle knights¡¯ residence,¡± Lilith walked over and dispelled Xiao Lin¡¯s confusion.


    ¡°You seem to be quite adapted here.¡± Xiao Lin nced at Lilith, who looked as right as rain.


    ¡°I usuallye here to y, but it¡¯s still very difficult for me to control a dragon-eagle by myself. Not everyone can learn advanced riding skills,¡± Lilith said, shaking her head.


    Even though Xiao Lin had the feeling that the particr knight who brought him back deliberately tried to make his head spin in the sky, he did not care about any of that after havinge back alive. He heard Song Jung mention before that the barracks of the dragon-eagle knight regiment was a ce of strict control, since they were the most elite unit of Judge Academy. People from other academies could not simply approach it without permission.


    When Xiao Lin came to that mysterious military base for the first time, he was incredibly curious to walk around and take a look. A couple of stepster however, he was stopped by the knight who brought him back. The knight had already taken off his helmet. He was a blonde American who said a few words in English with a nk face.


    Xiao Lin looked at Lilith, who immediately helped to trante. ¡°Commander Harry has ordered us to stay here for now.¡±


    Xiao Lin was puzzled, and so was Lilith, but the American did not exin anything further. Instead, he sent someone to arrange a ce for the two of them to stay and left at once.


    It was a very simple ce to live. It was a three-story building that seemed to be rather old with yellowed walls, and rooms with mostly broken doors and windows. Lilith told him that the ce was the earliest dormitory for ??the knights. After the new building was built, the old one was left unused.


    The room arranged for Xiao Lin seemed to have been prepared at thest minute. There was nothing else except a simple table, a chair, and a bed. Meanwhile, the bathroom was hopeless and it was a far crypared to the city¡¯s hotel conditions.


    Lilith had a rare look of embarrassment on her face introducing the history of that building since the residence arranged for her was not there, but at the newly constructed and well-equipped dormitory. The difference in treatment was more than obvious.


    Xiao Lin did not really care about all that, but what irked him was the presence of three or four soldiers hovering nearby at all times downstairs. He could feel their vignt nces, even though he was just standing there and chatting with Lilith.


    Xiao Lin was very angry. Those people were clearly watching him, so he waved his arms heavily and vented to Lilith, ¡°I¡¯m not a prisoner! Lilith! I am not a prisoner of your academy!¡±


    Lilith had a tight frown. ¡°I¡¯m afraid this is a misunderstanding. I think Commander Harry will exin more when he returns.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s someone else who apanied me to New Washington. Can you bring him a message and at least let him know that I¡¯m safe now?¡± Xiao Lin was helpless. Lilith¡¯s earlier inquiries revealed that they had been missing for more than half a month and he could imagine Song Jung¡¯s desperation.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t!¡± Lilith¡¯s face also showed a look of displeasure. ¡°They also forbade me from leaving the knights¡¯ residence.¡±


    Xiao Lin was very much surprised. Although his time spent with Lilith was not too long, she gave him the impression that she was fearless. Were there actually things that she was afraid to do?


    Lilith continued to murmur, annoyed, ¡°The lowest-ranked members of the dragon-eagle knight regiment are at least Gold. Theirbat strength is raised even more when they act in tandem with their dragon-eagles.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes immediately. As it turned out, it was only because Lilith knew that she could not beat the knights. If that were not the case, an order like that would not be able to restrain her at all.


    Xiao Lin had no right to object. He spent the first night of his return in the shabby dormitory. There were no lights in the corridor and no one provided him candles, so the past few days were very gloomy. The weather was not forgiving, so moonlight was absent, sinking the entire dormitory into darkness when night fell.


    The knights allowed him to move freely only in the corridor downstairs, but he did not want to have a staring contest with those Americans in the dark. He therefore washed up and went to bed early, but he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.


    He had no mood during the day because of his disguised house arrest by the Americans. Now that he calmed down and carefully recalled the scene in The Final Land, he suddenly felt that something was not quite right.


    High Priest Asabanor!


    Xiao Lin suddenly stood up in the dark and began thinking carefully. On the eve of the day where The Final Land was about to be destroyed by a tornado storm, the mysterious tadpole-like text erupted suddenly from his body and formed a ck channel. Asabanor still caught up at thest moment, and he vaguely remembered that Lilith had been pulled into the passage using the me chain.


    With Lilith¡¯s safe return, did that mean that the dead old man¡¯s spirit had also returned to that world? After considering that possibility, Xiao Lin suddenly felt a creeping feeling. His heartbeat quickened slightly and his entire self became alert. He could not help it after all the suffering the old man caused him.


    A few minutester, however, he rxed again and shook his head before falling back in bed. If Asabanor dide back, it was impossible for him to stay nearby for long. Though the old man¡¯s strength remained unknown, he could not possibly be stronger than the entirety of Judge Academy, and their location was none other than the Americans¡¯ capital city.


    Additionally, if he remembered correctly, only the high priest¡¯s head was left in his soul state and it was uncertain how much his power had declined. It might have even been possible that Asabanor did not even manage to return and that his soul had dissipated during the journey.


    Moreover, it was America¡¯s Judge Academy that destroyed the ancient Thunder Kingdom. As the saying went, third parties should never be involved when settling disputes. The unhappiness caused to Xiao Lin in the daytime gave Xiao Lin a slightly malicious thought¡ªif the high priest really dide back alive, it would be one hell of a headache for the Americans.

 Chapter 163: Meeting Harry

    <h4>Chapter 163: Meeting Harry</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After staying in the dragon-eagle knights¡¯ old residence for three days, Xiao Lin seemed to have beenpletely forgotten. No one cared about him. The guards at the door provided three meals a day and did not pay him any attention. If Xiao Lin had not known that the dragon-eagle knights were of Gold-rank strength, he would have wanted to fight them directly.


    Lilith never showed up again at that time. He did not know if she was not willing toe over or had her movement restricted.


    It was not until the evening of the third day when someone knocked on his door after dinner. It was Commander Harry. The scar on Harry¡¯s forehead left a deep impression on Xiao Lin, making it instantly recognizable at a nce.


    The beautiful vice-captain still followed Harry around. After casting a chain on the two, she excused herself and left only Harry and Xiao Lin looking at each other.


    Harry was not d in his fine armor that day but was instead dressed in white casual clothes with a slender sword hanging by his waist. His eyes wore a hint of aggression as if trying to pierce a hole through Xiao Lin with his gaze.


    Xiao Lin was unafraid and stared back angrily.


    After a long time, Harry was the first to retract his gaze and then said in a calm tone, ¡°We¡¯ve wronged you over these past two days. Judge Academy has to treat an incident like this with caution. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll need your assistance in investigating a number of things.¡±


    Xiao Lin suppressed his anger. ¡°So your investigation is over?¡±


    Harry shook his head. ¡°Lilith exined everything yesterday. Both your experiences are quite surprising. Did you know that The Final Land in Norma is a legend equivalent to that of paradise on Earth? Oh, perhaps you Easterners call it heaven. In short, in the eyes of the locals, The Final ce is where Gods created the world. It¡¯s extremely sacred, but we only treat this as a religious myth.¡±


    ¡®Heaven?


    ¡®Stretching it, the side full of green grass might be considered heaven, but the blood-colored world could not possibly be regarded as such,¡¯ Xiao Lin chided in his heart without expressing it overtly. Instead, he nodded. ¡°Yes, I suppose you¡¯ve already known all there is to know about The Final Land from Lilith. Lilith was with me all throughout and I wouldn¡¯t know more than her. You probably know my strength by now, and in fact, it¡¯s all thanks to Lilith that I¡¯m able to survive. If you really need to know anything, I think it¡¯s best you ask Lilith.¡±


    Harry had a shallow smile on his face. Themander of America¡¯s most elite force had to be extremely strong, but he looked rather approachable. Perhaps it was a preconceived notion, but Xiao Lin felt that there was a sense of hypocrisy in Harry¡¯s smile. Xiao Lin also abhorred the way Harry looked at him because it felt as though he was being stared at by a beast. Needless to say, it made him very ufortable.


    Harry waved his hand and smiled meaningfully. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be humble. Your strength might be low for now, but the truth is, I can see your immeasurable potential, judging from the golden dragon incident before!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart wavered slightly, but he still responded with some sarcasm. ¡°I never thought you¡¯d remember me, Commander Harry.¡±


    It was not the first time that the two of them met. The first was when Xiao Lin identally summoned the golden dragon when he first arrived at New Washington. Harry even proposed to buy his Lightstream Jade, but Song Jung reminded him that Harry was just deliberately probing Xiao Lin¡¯s background. From then onward, Xiao Lin knew that Commander Harry was by no means a simple man.


    Xiao Lin felt that he was in a tight spot because he did not know what Lilith actually said to Harry. After carefully remembering everything he experienced in The Final Land, there seemed to be no secrets that he should not be telling them.


    Perhaps the only one that might fall into that category was the Lightstream Jade hanging from his neck. The jade pendant had undergone unimaginable and peculiar changes in The Final Land, allowing himself to gain strength that put him on par with Silver-rank undead skeletons, despite not being ck Iron-rank himself.


    That might well be the new purpose of the Lightstream Jade. Imagine if someone with higher strength used that jade pendant... Their burst of power would be even more terrifying. America did not produce Lightstream Jade, so it made sense that Harry was thinking along those lines.


    In just a few seconds, countless thoughts shed through Xiao Lin¡¯s mind and he was trying to guess why the Americans detained him.


    He was all but certain that it was a deliberate house arrest. Harry would not have needed to exin everything to him alone, but ought to have taken him directly to see Song Jung, who apanied him there. After all, he was a member of Dawn Academy. Broadly speaking, it was a diplomatic incident between the two countries, and regardless of what reason Harry detained him for, it was obviously unreasonable and illegal.


    Just as Xiao Lin was mulling over everything, Harry was already walking around in the room as he pleased. He walked to the bed and sat down, then touched the bedding. He frowned and cursed, ¡°Those b*stards! It¡¯s autumn and they gave you such a thin nket. Don¡¯t they know that the autumn¡¯s in the New World are equivalent to winter on Earth!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was a little short-circuited. He was still trying to figure out whether Harry was deliberately detaining him for his Lightstream Jade, but he unexpectedly changed the subject.


    Harry got up with a sincere and apologetic look on his face. ¡°This is my oversight. Allow me to apologize to you on behalf of the dragon-eagle knights, but please rest assured, I¡¯ll arrange for a change in your residence as soon as possible. The environment here is just despicable.¡±


    Seeing Harry preparing to leave, Xiao Lin suddenly recollected his thoughts. A burst of anger came over him all of a sudden and he cursed the old fox in his heart. He blocked the door at once, not having the courtesy so give so much as a smile when he asked coldly, ¡°Commander Harry, your words suggest that you don¡¯t n to let me go back. You sound like you wish to continue imprisoning me here.¡±


    ¡°Imprison you?¡± Harry looked extremely surprised. He spread his palms and said innocently, ¡°I think you¡¯re gravely misunderstood. We just want you to stay and assist in the investigation. You may have heard that the ancient Thunder Kingdom¡¯s high priest Asabanor was once the most wanted criminal in Judge Academy. Based on what Lilith said, he¡¯s probably returned. I¡¯m sure you understand the seriousness of this matter. Whether the priest wants tomit a terrorist attack or instigate a rebellion, the end result will always be a headache.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you want me to stay and help capture Asabanor?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, you had brief contact with him in The Final Land and you¡¯d know him better. We¡¯ll need your help.¡±


    ¡°Lilith can help you all the same!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not enough. We need a moreprehensive understanding.¡±


    The sneer at the corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth became even more prominent. Harry¡¯s words were half-truths and sounded very genuine, but Xiao Lin pointedly asked, ¡°Does that mean you don¡¯t n to let me leave until you get Asabanor?¡±

 Chapter 164: A Theory on Attribute Conversion

    <h4>Chapter 164: A Theory on Attribute Conversion</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    If the high priest really did return to Norma, his iplete soul state allowed him to easily hide from the Americans as long as he had the smarts. Who would be able to find him if he found a ce to hide?


    Harry¡¯s request for Xiao Lin to assist in finding Asabanor was obviously just an excuse not to let him go. Would Xiao Lin have to stay here for a few years if they could not locate the high priest?


    Since that was the case, Xiao Lin might as well show his displeasure.


    Harry patted Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulders. Thetter immediately felt his shoulders sink and an unimaginable force pressed down on his body. He could not stop his legs from kneeling down on the spot.


    Xiao Lin bit his lip. It was impossible for Harry to use full strength so that pat was only equivalent to the strength of ck Iron-rank. Even so, the strength was overbearing enough for Xiao Lin. He was not ck Iron-rank yet himself.


    That old fox! It was a clear warning and reminder to Xiao Lin that he had no right to object on their turf!


    Xiao Lin bit his lip firmly, but his own qualities were limited and he could not resist it through sheer willpower. His knees trembled uncontrobly, but just as he was about to kneel, a huge force suddenly came out of nowhere and surged in his body.


    Xiao Lin slowly stood up straight and looked directly at Harry.


    The smile on Harry¡¯s face gradually diminished and he raised his brows slightly in surprise. He lifted his palm and frowned, as if thinking about something. A few secondster, he put on another hypocritical smile, and said inly, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I don¡¯t mean to imprison you. In fact, I can allow you to have your own activities in New Washington city sometimeter. If you want to continue training, I can even persuade senior management to transfer you to Judge Academy.¡±


    After a pause, Harry added, ¡°You¡¯re a freshman, so you might not understand it, but the truth is, transfers are more than feasible. Judge Academy always wees outstanding students from all over the world. Your nationality on Earth is not a problem.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve enjoyed my time at Dawn Academy, so you shouldn¡¯t be bothered to worry about it!¡±


    Harry shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s such a pity. We¡¯ll talk another day. By the way, I heard that you¡¯ve eaten and drank in The Final Land, but since we still don¡¯t know anything about that world, you may need to undergo an individual examination tomorrow in order to avoid possible diseases or infection. This is what I came here to tell you today. I suggest you go.¡±


    Xiao Lin was inevitably stunned after hearing about the physical examination. He knew that Harry would definitely not be able to let him go that day, so he had no choice but to give way.


    Harry walked to the door, then suddenly turned his head and asked curiously, ¡°The information I found shows that you are only a one-month freshman, and yourprehensive attribute value doesn¡¯t even exceed twenty. You probably haven¡¯t reached ck Iron-rank yet. ¡±


    ¡°Ah? Hmm.¡± Xiao Lin nodded. He was not sure what Harry¡¯s intention was, but there was really nothing for him to conceal. Of course, he alsomented how quickly America got their information.


    Harry nodded, stopped talking, and left the dormitory.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. The brief confrontation with Harry made him feel ufortable and the feeling of being watched from behind could not be shaken off. He did not know what level Harry¡¯s strength reached; it could have been Gold-rank or higher, but he could not even bear it when Harry exerted just a small portion of his strength.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin suddenly felt strength draining from his entire body and he slumped on the bed. It was then that he realized the sudden burst of force earlier, and immediately figured out why Harry asked if he was ck Iron-rank.


    Harry probably used ck Iron-rank strength, perhaps to humiliate Xiao Lin or send a warning threat. He assumed that Xiao Lin was powerless because he had not reached that rank yet, but the result obviously surprised him quite a bit.


    Had he reached ck Iron-rank?


    Xiao Lin did not think so. Even if his battle in The Final Land would improve hisprehensive attributes, there was still a ways to go before he reached ck-Iron.


    Moreover, this special power bonus did not seem tost, indicating that the power was only temporary. He touched the Lightstream Jade on his chest. With some doubt, he shook his head and rejected the guess.


    The dragon power in the Lightstream Jade had long been exhausted and he was certain of that fact in The Final Land. Thus, it was impossible for him to have used the dragon power to improve his attribute value.


    ¡®Hold on. Attribute improvement?¡¯


    Xiao Lin seemed to have thought of something and his eyes brightened. He did not just rely on dragon power to simply increase his attribute value in The Final Land. In particr, the conversion between various attribute values ??was undoubtedly more helpful to his battles.


    Although he did not try again after losing the dragon power¡¯s help from Lightstream Jade, Xiao Lin felt that he might have misunderstood.


    He used the dragon power stored by the Lightstream Jade to increase his total attributes and to greatly improve hisbat effectiveness for a short moment. He naturally believed that the conversion between attribute values ??also depended on the Lightstream Jade, or that it could only be carried out on the premise of improving attributes through the dragon power.


    Perhaps that line of thinking was wrong.


    The attribute conversion did not require the Lightstream Jade, let alone the blessing of dragon power. It was more like an ordinary skill that he could use at any time and anywhere!


    That spection undoubtedly made Xiao Lin so awestruck that the anger of Henry¡¯s house arrest was gone for the time being. He urgently needed to verify his spection.


    After multiple thoughts, he decided to immediately go downstairs and find the American guarding him. He told the American that he wanted to borrow a training ground, regardless of where it was, but the American still did not understand, despite repeated gestures.


    However, the guards were also more polite to him on that asion. It seemed that Harry had spoken to them before leaving. They soon found Lilith because Lilith was the only one fluent in Chinese.


    Lilith came quickly. After tranting Xiao Lin¡¯s request, the guarding Americans hesitated, especially after hearing that Xiao Lin asked them to provide the necessary training weapons.


    Xiao Lin immediately began expressing his anger. House arrest aside, it was a deprivation of his basic freedom. After all, he was a student of Dawn Academy and a diplomat, not a prisoner. He droned about how it was a vition of his human rights and simr stuff.


    The guard was a young American who had no opinion of it. He seemed a little flustered after so much big talk and quickly stated that he would go back and ask for further instruction.

 Chapter 165: The Supreme Council

    <h4>Chapter 165: The Supreme Council</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Sorry!¡±


    Lilith suddenly apologized to Xiao Lin after being left behind with him. She was no idiot. Although it looked as though the both of them were temporarily detained, Lilith¡¯s detention was obviously perfunctory and she had great freedom.


    Xiao Lin sighed and knew that his resentment could not beshed out on Lilith. Nevertheless, he still could not resistining, ¡°What are you guys doing? You¡¯ll have to at least give me a reason!¡±


    Lilith seemed to want to tell him something, and in the end, finally said, ¡°Harry asked me about you yesterday... Your strange way of fighting, um, I mean the Lightstream Jade. I didn¡¯t say anything, but Harry is a very smart man and I¡¯m not sure if he inferred it himself. I think this course of action may be in Harry¡¯s personal capacity.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°In other words, Judge Academy doesn¡¯t actually want to detain me?¡±


    ¡°I was allowed to return to New Washington City yesterday. I asked a few friends about it and City Hall is already upset. Not only is Dawn Academy piling the pressure, City Hall has also been strongly telling Harry to release you.¡± Lilith did not mince her words. She was probably just as dissatisfied with Harry¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°And the result?¡±


    The bitter smile on Lilith¡¯s face had already given Xiao Lin the answer. She shook her head and said, ¡°Harry is a very powerful person in New Washington, or rather, our colony. The dragon-eagle knights are basically our most elite defense too, and as long as he does not ede, it will be difficult for anyone else to convince him.¡±


    ¡°Convince him?¡± Xiao Lin said somewhat annoyedly ¡°Why don¡¯t they just order him directly! He should always obey orders. He¡¯s a soldier!¡±


    ¡°Order?¡± Lilith found it to be a little strange. ¡°That¡¯s not possible! City Hall isn¡¯t qualified to give Harry orders. This is determined by the basic management system.¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent. He had little understanding of the administration of the entire colony.


    Lilith exined a little bit to him. In fact, any academy basically had two sets of management institutions. One was for the academy and the other was in the New World.


    Xiao Lin understood that the internal management system of the academy was the student union, but once students graduate, they would be managed not by the student union, but as part of the New World management system.


    However, the New World management system was different for each academy. Judge Academy adopted a system that separated military and political affairs. Every city in the colony would set up an organization, such as City Hall, the chief of which only has the right to govern all administrative affairs in the city. However, they could not involve the military in it.


    All of Judge Academy had a special military system that had direct management over all military aspects of the colony. Harry¡¯s dragon-eagle knights fell under that military system, and the knights¡¯ ownbat power determines their specialization, making Harry¡¯s position an important one.


    Although he was responsible for guarding New Washington, City Hall only had authority to advise him at best. Harry could just ignore them if they directly issued an order.


    ¡°What¡¯s the highest management organization?¡± Xiao Lin was a little curious.


    ¡°America has the High Council, the chairman of which has almost the same power as the dean. The difference is that one is responsible for the New World and the other is responsible for the academy. But this is just for our country. It¡¯s not as troublesome for Dawn Academy. As far as I know, Dawn Academy¡¯s dean is both the highest management authority of the academy and in the New World. There is no High Council either and it¡¯s under the direct jurisdiction of various departments. It is also muchrger in terms of authority than other academies, but that¡¯s because the dean of Dawn Academy is a powerful person himself.¡±


    ¡°What about the Supreme Council?¡± Xiao Lin simply asked whatever question that came to his mind. Since he was being detained, it would be better for him to rify all those things as soon as possible.


    Lilith paused for a moment and continued, ¡°The Supreme Council is an institution above all colonial academies. It has authority over everyone, regardless of nationality, color, race, or academy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same as Earth¡¯s United Nations?¡± Xiao Lin quickly understood.


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°No. The United Nations is just a paper tiger. The Supreme Council is different. It has great powers, and although they don¡¯t formte regtions and rules on a whim, any academy mustply with their directives unconditionally once those directives are given. For example, the prohibition from using the abilities learned in the academy on Earth was set by the Supreme Council. No one dares treat that rule lightly.¡±


    After a pause, Lilith looked at the incredulous Xiao Lin and asked, ¡°Do you find it difficult to understand?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. He could easily understand it if it were an organization like the United Nations. After all, if they wanted to carry out colonial activities together in the New World, there was a need for a ce that provided mutual coordination and consultation. What puzzled him was that the Supreme Council actually had the authority to restrain all academies.


    A sudden thought then urred to Xiao Lin. ¡°Who are the people in the Supreme Council?¡±


    Lilith nced at him with a look of approval. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten to the point. Theposition of the Supreme Council is the reason everyone must obey them. The first thing you need to know is that the Supreme Council was personally created by Ivanovich.¡±


    ¡°Him again!¡± Xiao Lin eximed. He had heard the name more than once, but on closer thought, the fact that the Supreme Council was created by someone like him lent great weight to it.


    Lilith continued, ¡°He¡¯s just the founder. There are only five members sitting in the Supreme Council. They¡¯re affiliated with Judge Academy, China¡¯s Dawn Academy, France¡¯s Sainte Acad¨¦mie, Britain¡¯s Royal British Academy and Russia¡¯s Voyna Akademiya. It is only with everyone¡¯s approval that they can admit the members of other academies into the Supreme Council. Any one person who opposes it renders the proposal invalid. Of course, the Supreme Council usually won¡¯t intervene in academic or colonial affairs.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless. ¡°Uh, doesn¡¯t this mean that these five big gangsters, I mean, these five people are the permanent members?¡±


    ¡°You could say that. These countries basically have extremely glorious histories, so it is understandable for them to have a very high status, whether on Earth or the New World,¡± Lilith said proudly.


    Xiao Lin chided silently in his heart, ¡®But the history of America is very short...¡¯


    ¡°Then, they became the main members. The representatives of each academy in the council are that of the earliest pioneers. To put it bluntly, these people practically represent the strongestbat power of all our colonists!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s expression became a little serious. ¡°No one knows how strong they are, but it¡¯ll at least be Legend-rank. If thew of resurrection created the future of colonists, then these five people from our colonial academies are the ultimate guardians for this world to maintain its current status!¡±

 Chapter 166: Dispute in The Council

    <h4>Chapter 166: Dispute in The Council</h4>


    The Supreme Council, the highest presence over the entire colonial world,prising five members who had reached an unfathomable level of strength. Each person was over a few hundred years old, and they were the first ones who came through the portal and became pioneers of the New World. Until then, they had rarely intervened in the affairs of the academy or the New World.


    ¡°The role of the Supreme Council is to supervise, not to manage. As the dean of Dawn Academy, I believe you¡¯d know this rule better than anyone else!¡±


    Dawn Academy¡¯s dean was standing in a white beam of light inside a self-contained space. The area outside the beam was pitch ck. There were only five blurred projections of human silhouettes in the dark, but their actual appearances were unidentifiable. They formed a circle around the dean and one of them spoke in an unclear voice.


    ¡°I think this incident is no longer within the scope of the colonial academies¡¯ ability to deal with. Ie before you today not just because of the disappearance of our academy¡¯s student. I believe that all members of the council are already aware of the blood moon incident that just urred.¡±


    A shadow slowly said, ¡°The chairman of Judge Academy¡¯s High Council came to consult us on the second day of the blood moon incident. We have already given a reply.¡±


    ¡°I would like to hear the details.¡± Although Dawn Academy¡¯s dean was one of the most outstanding figures among academies, he paled inparison to those five people. However, he spoke in a tone that was neither too humble nor overbearing.


    ¡°The blood moon may have opened a channel to another world that day. This involves various rules and systems of this world, but this is only an ident that has no effect on you. There¡¯s no need to worry, let alone take deliberate action. Everything will be as usual!¡±


    The dean was silent for a while before speaking again. ¡°You know what I¡¯m worried about. What if this blood moon incident is a sign that he¡¯s back?¡±


    ¡°He will nevere back!¡± The vague figure seemed a little dissatisfied.


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯re the ones who personally sealed him! Are you questioning our power!¡± Another mighty voice also sounded in due course.


    The dean shook his head. ¡°My strength is certainly inferior to yours, but I was fortunate to meet that person once when I enrolled in academy. I am more aware that the person¡¯s ability is far beyond what anyone could imagine, including your own strength. I believe that the seal was only sessful a hundred years ago because it was his desire not to embarrass us. After all, he was the one who paved the future for the colonists, even though it was done unintentionally.¡±


    ¡°Presumptuous!¡±


    ¡°Do you doubt us!¡±


    ¡°Do you even understand what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    The dean¡¯s remarks incited some low-voicedints, but the dean did not care and continued. ¡°I¡¯m not questioning you for no reason. You¡¯re all the final benchmark for us to reach in the New World. I respect you, but I¡¯m just a little curious: what are you all so afraid of after so many years? Are you really afraid of his return? How many things have you concealed from the colonists who were brought from Earth!¡±


    ¡°Enough! You¡¯re the dean of Dawn Academy. You must understand that we are the Supreme Council! Your questioning is insulting to us! We¡¯ll let it slide this time, but if you continue, you shan¡¯t me us!¡± The cold and indifferent voice dropped the temperature in the darkness to chilling degrees.


    ¡°We¡¯re the only remaining pioneers. Everything we do is for the future of mankind. Whatever the case may be, we won¡¯t harm the interests of colonists. That¡¯s all you need to remember.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s adjourn for now!¡±


    The other ck shadows appeared rtively calm, but there was no need to continue the discussion.


    The dean was silent for a while, but he seemed to have anticipated the result and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Then can you at least do me a little favor, please. My academy has a student named Xiao Lin. I know you have mastered a very strong astrological spell. Could you just predict his trajectory? This should be easy for you.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you old fox! After all that beating around the bush, it all ended up with that missing student. This is the real purpose for your current visit, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We use a lot of energy whenever we descend to this ne, and you¡¯re the only one whoes to us for such trivial things!¡±


    ¡°But since you¡¯re here, I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to help you with this! You¡¯re the same as always. Caring and protecting your students so dearly!¡±


    ¡°Since this is Dawn Academy¡¯s affairs, let¡¯s leave it to the one from Dawn to make the prediction. Your astrology level is also the highest among us. Astrology is indeed a very interesting school of magic, since everyone has a different path in life. Astrology spells allow you to trace their trajectory through changes in the starry sky, but since the boy is just a freshman who has not even reached ck Iron-rank, it would not take much energy to perform such astrology spells.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, correct?¡±


    A voice came from among them. It was the council member from Dawn Academy muttering to himself. In the darkness, his whole body shed with a faint zed light, like stars in the shining gxy. It was only then that the dean let out a sigh of relief.


    There was a brief silence before a halo of starlight erupted in the darkness. Although it was unknown how much time had actually passed, the dean himself could not help but raise his brows slightly. He did not have much knowledge on astrological spells, but he knew that predicting the trajectory of a person who did not reach ck Iron-rank would not take long.


    Finally, the starlight gradually dimmed and the ck shadow seemed very weak. He slowly sighed in a low tone, ¡°I couldn¡¯t see anything. This is very strange. I can¡¯t see the life path of that Xiao Lin boy. His trajectory seemed to be shrouded in fog. Even I couldn¡¯t see it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! He¡¯s only at ck Iron-level!¡±


    ¡°No. This has nothing to do with strength.¡± The dark figure breathed slightly before saying carefully, ¡°This feeling, it¡¯s like his trajectory has been deliberately changed. All of you ought to know that the natural trajectory of a life¡¯s progression can only be seen in astrology. Once it has been changed, prediction would be impossible.¡±


    ¡°Modifying the trajectory of life will change the future. It¡¯s impossible even for someone like me, who¡¯s already mastered the power of time and space...¡±


    ¡°Is he really back?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡±


    ¡°But this kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin. Who is he?¡±


    ...


    At that moment, Xiao Lin probably had no idea that the legendary Supreme Council was having a small dispute because of him. His mind was solely focused on how to test his brand-new ability.


    The request to use the training ground was quickly approved, though it was well within expectations. After all, even if Xiao Lin was provided with any weapons, it was impossible for someone of his strength to escape from a residence filled almostpletely with Gold-rank dragon-eagle knights.

 Chapter 167: Message

    <h4>Chapter 167: Message</h4>


    The dragon-eagle knight regiment¡¯s training ground was open grass. It was where the young dragon-eagles were being trained, and the training of the knights themselves usually started from when the dragon-eagles were young, thereby strengthening theirmunication and cooperation.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s arrival did not cause too much of a ruckus. It was obvious that the Americans showed little interest in other academies. It was Lilith¡¯s presence that made many people avoid them as if having seen a ghost, making Xiao Lin wonder what the girl had done.


    He held the sword provided by the training ground and first started to practice his Basic Swordsmanship, such as chopping, stabbing, and shing. Those were the basic movements that constitute any series of swordsmanship moves. He clearly felt that they were more skillful,pared to before he came to New Washington. His strength in wielding the sword had obviously increased a lot, which surprised him tremendously. It was a sign that his overall attributes must have been improved during his time in The Final Land.


    Next came the most important thing. Xiao Lin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled how he felt when he changed his attributes in The Final Land. However, it was not as smooth as it was back there. Perhaps the magical qualities in The Final Land had a certain catalytic effect, or perhaps it was due to the dragon power conferred upon him by way of the Lightstream Jade.


    In short, Xiao Lin¡¯s first attempt had failed. He did not give up and tried to find other ways. The first thing he had to do was transform his agility into pure strength, but agility itself represented many things, such as movement speed, flexibility, bnce, and so on so forth. All of a sudden, he finally understood why he failed.


    He tried everything, one by one. First off was his movement speed, whereby he would transform his motor movements into strength. Xiao Lin tried hard yet again, and after some time had passed, Xiao Lin suddenly felt that his legs were a little heavier. He quickly swung the sword to the ground in tandem with the change, but the feeling soon disappeared.


    ¡°The power of this swing is a little bit stronger than just now,¡± Lilithmented next to him. Her eyes were filled with surprise, as Xiao Lin¡¯s peculiar fighting style was obviously something she had never heard of.


    ¡°This is very interesting! I¡¯ve looked up some ancient legends about Norma in the library these past two days. The Final Land is the cradle and birthce of the world. Xiao Lin, have you ever wondered where all our skills came from?¡± Lilith lowered her voice a little. She was undoubtedly referring to her own mes, the shape of which she could change at will.


    Xiao Lin had already guessed that possibility, but there was still disbelief in his tone. ¡°The Final Land is where thew of creation was made. Ivanovich created thew of resurrection there, which means he had also been there. We have also created our ownws, or skills, such as my attribute conversion, such as the change of your me shape. Is this something that can only be done in The Final Land?¡±


    ¡°But the dead old man didn¡¯t.¡±


    Lilith added that at random and the two of them soon fell into a bit of an awkward silence. They were not idiots who did know the difference between Asabanor, themselves and Ivan. The reason for that was already well-known to the both of them, but they were just deliberately feigning ignorance.


    Xiao Lin had a sudden thought and asked, ¡°Did Commander Harry ask you to have a physical examination in a couple of days? Something about being worried about the food and drink we had in The Final Land?¡±


    ¡°Not at all!¡± Lilith said incredulously. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about such a thing.¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent again, but there was a storm brewing in his heart. A far-fetched inference emerged in his mind, and although he believed it was a very slim possibility, he might never have the chance to return if it turned out to be true.


    The biggest difference between themselves and Asabanor was none other than the SS-level talent.


    Having experienced everything, Lilith and Xiao Lin were very much aware of that fact. However, no one else was a fool. Those who had the gumption to make bold guesses would probablye to a simr conclusion, not to mention the inexplicable request for a sudden medical examination.


    Xiao Lin felt that perhaps the shrewd dragon-eagle knightmander had guessed that possibility, but even so, why did he have to detain Xiao Lin? This answer was a very terrifying one and Xiao Lin did not dare think too much about it. In any case, he felt that he had to take some measures to save himself.


    ¡°Lilith, whatever happens, can you do me a favor and pass a message to Song Jung on my behalf. He¡¯s the Chinese man who apanied me here. He lives in the hotel arranged by your Foreign Affairs Department. Uh, I don¡¯t know the name of the hotel, but it has Asabanor¡¯s bust in front of it.¡±


    ¡°I know that hotel. What do you need me to say?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Just let him know that I¡¯m here.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly and she seemed to be put in a tight spot. Seeing her hesitance, Xiao Lin quickly nced around. After confirming that there were no other Americans nearby, he pleaded, ¡°Please! I¡¯m not asking you to help me escape. Just help pass on a message. I don¡¯t think the dragon-eagle knights will prohibit you from traveling to and from New Washington City.¡±


    Lilith whispered, ¡°You¡¯ve saved me once in The Final Land, and I don¡¯t want to owe you any favors. In fact, I was thinking of ways to get you out after Harry found me yesterday. I can tell that he has no ns to let you go, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t do anything as long as you are still in this barracks. I hope you understand.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°I know. You¡¯ve mentioned that you¡¯re not on par with those dragon-eagle knights yet, and I understand that this matter must be very difficult from your standpoint. All you need to do is help me pass a message. ¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he can do it either. It would still be impossible, even if his strength never declined from eight years ago, especially when he¡¯s only a...¡± Lilith remarked bluntly. She seemed to have done some research on Song Jung and was notpletely ignorant.


    Xiao Lin was silent for a while before smiling bitterly. ¡°Because I trust him. To put it another way, if there¡¯s anyone worthy of trust in New Washington, he¡¯s the only one aside from you.¡±


    ¡°The special investigation team Dawn Academy dispatched has arrived at the port of New Washington,¡± Lilith reminded.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know them. I don¡¯t know who sent them and what their purpose here is. At this point, I think it¡¯s better to look for Department Head Song first.¡±


    Although Xiao Lin did not make it clear, his insinuation was abundantly obvious. America¡¯s Judge Academy was still an ally of Dawn Academy and they even signed an alliance treaty, yet Harry still dared detain him there. If he had not interacted with Lilith for over a month and understood her character, Xiao Lin would even think that Lilith was untrustworthy.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll help you to convey what you said, but I don¡¯t think you should get your hopes up. Commander Harry is very powerful. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll submit to a logistics department head from your academy.¡±

 Chapter 168: Proposal

    <h4>Chapter 168: Proposal</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Song Jung was a genius among the Dawn Academy¡¯s graduates eight years ago, so it was normal for other academies to know about him. Unfortunately, he had long since fallen, and Song Jung was just a Bronze-rank logistics department head who managed his farm every day.


    If there was anyone at Dawn Academy who was absolutely worthy of Xiao Lin¡¯s trust, the first person he thought of was that logistics department head who always spoke about having someone taking care of him. Despite his seemingly unreliable qualities, he sometimes gave Xiao Lin an inexplicable sense of trustworthiness.


    Xiao Lin could only sigh silently in his heart after instructing Lilith. Still unsure whether Harry detained him because he had guessed that he possessed an SS-level talent, all he could do was hope that it was just that: a guess.


    Xiao Lin shook his head of all his messy thoughts. There was nothing he could do when it came to that. After all, the strength gap was just too big, while that was all there was to his status and position. It was impossible for him to have a ce to speak, which spurred an even more urgent desire to improve his strength.


    First of all, he had to familiarize himself with the attribute conversion skill. After Lilith left, Xiao Lin reinvested his time in training and continued to start from the converting agility to strength.


    Other Americans on the training ground initially observed his practice with curiosity but soon realized that the young Asian boy¡¯s strength was not even at ck Iron-rank. He was still performing the mostmon sword-swinging exercises, so none of them paid much attention.


    Everyone was busy that day.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s every move was quickly reported to Harry, who was also puzzled by the training. After thinking for a moment, he asked another person in his office, ¡°What do you think, Johnson?¡±


    Aside from Harry, also inside the room was Johnson from the Foreign Affairs Department. The fat man fidgeted around nervously. Although the firece made the room very warm, Johnson wiped the cold sweat from his forehead from time-to-time. His face was very sad, as if thinking about something, and he forgot to answer.


    Harry red at him and increased the severity of his tone. ¡°If our guess is correct, what do you think his talent would be? I¡¯ve been observing him these few days, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything different about him. You probably know that Lilith stood out, even when she first entered the academy.¡±


    Johnson suddenly came back to his senses and avoided Harry¡¯s question. He sighed with a wry smile, ¡°You¡¯re ying with fire and you¡¯re dragging me down with you! Have you ever thought that the council chairman won¡¯t be able to protect us if this matter is revealed and Dawn Academy really decides to hold us ountable?¡±


    Harry said disdainfully, ¡°What of it? You¡¯re the head of the Foreign Affairs Department and I manage the dragon-eagle knight regiment. What else can the chairman do? Dismiss us?¡±


    Johnson said loudly, ¡°We have signed an alliance treaty with Dawn Academy. It will have a very bad impact on the reputation of our academy. You¡¯re well-aware that the chairman and the dean have been trying their best to improve the reputation of our academy over the years. What you¡¯re doing now is a p to their faces!¡±


    Boom!


    Harry mmed the table abruptly and shouted impatiently, ¡°A group of cowards! It¡¯s all reputation, reputation, reputation. I really don¡¯t understand what you politicians are so afraid of! Hmph, even the chairman and the dean are getting more and more timid. As long as we maintain sufficient military power, why should we be afraid of the natives or of Dawn Academy!¡±


    Johnson also stood up angrily. ¡°You¡¯re a madman. I¡¯ve already said that this Norma isn¡¯t the same as a hundred years ago! The local indigenous have gradually gained a sense of belonging to us and this is a good thing, so except for asional local conflicts, all academies will not justunchrge-scale colonial wars on a whim anymore! Everyone understands that politics is indispensable for real colonization!¡±


    Harry took a deep breath. There was irritation between his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve already detained him. What do you suggest I do?¡±


    ¡°Send him back? We¡¯re not even sure that he¡¯s really the same as Lilith anyway. It¡¯s just a guess. After all, there is only one Ivanovich in history. Why must we bother Dawn Academy when we already have Lilith?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Harry outright refused. ¡°On the bnce of strength, I¡¯m more than willing to see us gain more advantages. Dawn Academy hasn¡¯t seen any war and turmoil in the past few years, and the speed of their development is getting faster and faster!¡±


    ¡°Be careful. y with fire and you¡¯ll get burned!¡± John was full of anger.


    Harry looked confident. He tapped on the table, saying slowly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. As long as I insist on detaining him, no one can do anything to us! Does it matter if their warship sails to our port? Who cares if Epic-rank people areing?¡±


    After a pause, Harry sneered softly, ¡°Their actions only demonstrate Xiao Lin¡¯s importance, but he¡¯s now in my hands. I¡¯ve studied the character of the Chinese for a long time. The most they¡¯ll do is show up and thumb their noses at us. They wouldn¡¯t dare take any action! I¡¯m sure of it!¡±


    Meanwhile, in New Washington...


    Song Jung met Lilith in the hotel. After listening to her words, his expression turned furious but he quickly recovered his calm. ¡°As expected, they¡¯re hiding him in the residence of the dragon-eagle knight regiment. Heh, that sly old fox. But it¡¯s true though. That¡¯s probably the safest ce in New Washington.¡±


    Lilith had never interacted with Song Jung, so she spoke in a much colder tone. ¡°I¡¯ve already passed the message on, and at the same time, I¡¯m also reminding you that Commander Harry doesn¡¯t seem to have any ns to release him yet. If possible, I hope you can contact your special investigation team immediately. I can¡¯t meet them because of my identity.¡±


    Song Jung was stunned for a moment and teased, ¡°You¡¯re Lilith. You¡¯re from Judge Academy, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Lilith cocked her eyebrows. ¡°I know what you want to say, but I owe him a favor, and I hate owing people favors. I¡¯ll try my best to help.¡±


    ¡°What if we cooperate with the investigation team to attack the dragon-eagle knights¡¯ residence?¡± Song Jung immediately asked in an aggressive tone.


    Lilith answered even quicker. ¡°I¡¯ll still help you.¡±


    Before Song Jung could express his shock, Lilith quickly continued, ¡°But from then onward, I¡¯ll still send you all back to the resurrection tower¨CXiao Lin included!¡±


    Song Jung was stunned. He smiled bitterly after a pause and waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯m just shooting my mouth off. After all, we¡¯re still allies, so doing such a thing is impossible.¡±


    She would give their help without any hesitation because she did not want to owe any favors, but once those debts were settled, she would continue to faithfully perform their obligations and fight back.


    Lilith really was a woman with a clear grudge!

 Chapter 169: Song Junlang’s Plan

    <h4>Chapter 169: Song Jung¡¯s n</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Song Jung subsequently asked many other questions of Lilith, such as what happened during their disappearance, but Lilith answered in a very concise manner. Song Jung noticed that she was reluctant to speak in further detail, so he stopped asking and very politely sent her away.


    In fact, Song Jung really did consider bringing along someone and going directly into the regiment¡¯s residence. After all, there were Epic-ranked people in Dawn Academy¡¯s investigation team, but doing so was a tant expression of hostility, and a tactic like that should only be used as ast resort.


    Harry was unmoved by force or persuasion and was hell-bent on detaining Xiao Lin. The situation might continue to be quite tricky if someone on the level of a dean showed up there in person. As far as Song Jung knew, the dean had probably gone to the Supreme Council. It would have cost even more time if the dean were to rush back there, and many more variables would be at y.


    Song Jung thought for a long time and stared oddly at the birdcage on the table. In it was the little dragon-eagle that he had quietly brought over. The beast had grown a lot in the past half month and would soon outgrow the cage.


    After a long time, he sighed with regret. ¡°Looks like this is the only way. Will the Americans hound us about this for years on end?¡±


    The next morning, Song Jung and Dawn Academy¡¯s investigation team appeared outside the dragon-eagle knights¡¯ residence. Although Harry gave the order to not allow any outsiders to enter, the guards had no choice but to allow them after seeing that their entourage wereposed of officials from City Hall.


    ¡°Please do not fret. If Commander Harry really did detain your academy¡¯s students, we¡¯ll definitely support your request for his release.¡± The escort sent by Judge Academy was a middle-aged American with sses. With a gentle and educated demeanor, he was considered a mayor-level figure in New Washington, which could be taken as a sign of respect for Dawn Academy.


    Song Jung huffed coldly. ¡°Support? We wouldn¡¯t be standing here if your orders were effective in the first ce!¡±


    There were five people in the investigation team. Any more and Judge Academy would certainly express some objection. The frontmost person was a short-haired woman and Song Jung whispered to her, ¡°I¡¯ll go around. You guys help me stall Harry.¡±


    After that, Song Jung left the team, saying that he was going to the toilet.


    Harry arrived soon too. He was going to give Xiao Lin a physical examination that day and the menacing crowd did not give him much pressure. He smiled faintly and said, ¡°I believe there¡¯s been a massive misunderstanding. Xiao Lin is with me, but he stayed voluntarily to help us locate the movement of Asabanor, the high priest.¡±


    He remained stubborn, just as they expected. City Hall could not directly give orders to him, and their hands were tied until the High Council gave an order. Even if they took Harry by force, the chances that Dawn Academy would seed were simrly slim, since they were on American soil.


    They had also expected Harry to argue indifferently with everyone, enumerating various reasons to prevent them from taking Xiao Lin away, such as Xiao Lin admiring the culture of Judge Academy and showing a willingness to join Judge Academy.


    The negotiationsted from morning to afternoon, and there was no progress at all. It was a deadlock until Song Jung reappeared in the negotiation room and shed a sly smile at Harry. He pretended to be surprised and said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still in the mood to chat, Commander Harry. I just took a look at your barracks. Your dragon-eagles seem to be sick.¡±


    ¡°Sick?¡± Harry frowned and suddenly realized something. His gentle smile disappeared, and after whispering a few words in the ear of the beautiful vice-captain next to him, she immediately dashed out.


    The temperature in the meeting room suddenly dropped a couple of degrees. No one knew what to feel and waited patiently for the vice-captain¡¯s return. After a quarter of an hour, the vice-captain ran back in a panic, ignoring everyone and saying directly, ¡°Things don¡¯t look good! I don¡¯t know why, but the dragon-eagles have all be sluggish. They seem to be having some trouble breathing.¡±


    Harry¡¯s face turned icy and a faint red light appeared all around him. A strong aura enveloped him and he pointed at Song Jung, demanding coldly, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, Commander Harry, we¡¯re a diplomatic group. I¡¯m not mistaken, am I? Are your actions suggesting that you¡¯d start a war against Dawn Academy?¡± The short-haired woman from Dawn Academy nced at Song Jung then asked curtly. She waved her hand to relieve the tension.


    The few people from City Hall who apanied them had a drastic change of expression. Thebat effectiveness of the dragon-eagle knight regiment was of great significance to New Washington and all of Judge Academy. The bespectacled mayor immediately stood up in anger but pointed instead at Harry and asked, ¡°Is security sox in your regiment!¡±


    ¡°You brought them here!¡± Harry retorted angrily.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what you say now! Can you figure out what poisons are in the dragon-eagles?¡±


    ¡°No. The healers have tried all the healing spells, but they have no effect,¡± the vice-captain added.


    Harry regained hisposure slightly, but frowned even deeper, ¡°Dragon-eagles have sub-dragon bloodlines and are inherently very resistant to toxins. No one has ever tried poisoning them. Some local natives have attempted it when the regiment was just formed, but there was no effect whatsoever. Dragon-eagles can easily resist it by virtue of their immunity!¡±


    ¡°Want to know what happened?¡± Song Jung asked slowly. Facing the angry eyes of a group of Americans, he sneezed and rubbed his nose before looking at them with a smirk.


    ¡°What¡¯s your condition?¡± Harry was not an idiot. He knew that Song Jung would not tell him so easily.


    ¡°You know the conditions well enough. All we ask is to bring Xiao Lin. We¡¯re exchanging the dragon-eagle knight regiment with a mere freshman. Good deal, right?¡±


    Harry fell silent. After some time, he asked coldly, ¡°How can I trust you? What am I to do if I let Xiao Lin go and you end up not giving me the solution?¡±


    ¡°Chill!¡±


    The short-haired woman coughed a few times and quickly interrupted Song Jung. She said solemnly, ¡°Commander Harry, we¡¯re still allies after all. There¡¯s no need to cause trouble to such an extent. Please trust our sincerity.¡±


    Song Jung was ying bad cop while the woman was ying good cop. In addition, the people from City Hall quickly took the opportunity to put more pressure on Harry, causing his expression to sour even more.


    The decision no longer rested in his hands alone. The people from Dawn Academy could wait, but he could not take any risks. The importance of his regiment was self-evident, and it was absolutely impossible to lose them just for the sake of a guess.


    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Harry waved his hand to have someone bring Xiao Lin out.

 Chapter 170: Departure

    <h4>Chapter 170: Departure</h4>


    Xiao Lin was overwhelmed with emotion when he saw Song Jung again after half a month. Although the reason Xiao Lin told Lilith to look for Song Jung was because he trusted the man, he was still worried what Song Jung would end up doing.


    Nothing much came out of the conclusion of the incident. After Harry realized that he had lost his standing, he knew that getting entangled in the situation would only put him at a more disadvantaged position. As a result, he happily chose to let Xiao Lin go.


    On the way back to New Washington, Xiao Lin listened quietly to Song Jung¡¯s brief exnation on the negotiation process. He could not resist asking, ¡°Then what did you use to poison their dragon-eagles?¡±


    Song Jungughed and said, ¡°The Americans are too confident. It¡¯s true that the dragon-eagles inherit the unique characteristics of the dragon n¡¯s high immunity, especially when ites to strong resistance to toxins and other injuries. But they ignored an important factor!¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°I once told you that the biological physiques of Norma are high, and ordinary people from Earth would be attacked by various diseases there. The reverse however, is also true. Some viruses from Earth are powerful in this world, lethal to the creatures even!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. He suddenly remembered that the department head in front of him was an expert at crossing creatures from Earth and that of Norma!


    ¡°Why did you think I should apany you to New Washington?¡± Song Jung grinned. ¡°Even if you are my experimental test subject, ahem, I mean even if you are my friend, I can¡¯t possibly go to such lengths. My purpose is the dragon-eagle.¡±


    Xiao Lin was quite speechless and was slightly surprised. ¡°Could this toxin, oh I mean, this virus, was a subject of your research from very early on?¡±


    ¡°Yes, this virus is actually simr to the bird flu on Earth, but my original purpose was to deal with the dragon n.¡± At that point, Song Jung sighed slightly. ¡°The dragon n is more powerful than I imagined. In fact, it¡¯s a headache for all academies to deal with them. Of course, our masters can more or less face them, but the problem is that the dragons are erratic. It¡¯s difficult to be on guard always, so I wanted to find a better solution to face the dragons.¡±


    ¡°Then did you manage to research it?¡± Xiao Lin was sweating profusely. He slowly began to feel that Song Junng was a terrifying man.


    Song Jung nodded, but then shook his head. ¡°I failed. This virus is still very wed and has no effect on the perfect dragon gene, but it has a very good effect on creatures with sub-dragon bloodlines. I came to New Washington with the intention of getting a dragon-eagle back for testing. They¡¯re the most suitable experimental material, but unfortunately, America controls them too much. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it unless I personally came over.¡±


    Xiao Lin alsoughed. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that Harry was persuaded so quickly. I thought I was going to stay in New Washington for a lifetime. At least I had a chance to walk around the city for these two days. I didn¡¯t even have a chance to do that after being here for so long.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s face turned a little serious. ¡°Can¡¯t do. We¡¯ll take the spatial carriage back to Earth this evening, and then immediately return to Dawn Academy. The special investigative team has already set off this very moment.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned unexpectedly. He did not even have the chance to use the New Dors that Professor Brown paid him and he was actually curious to see what he could buy in the city.


    ¡°Are you afraid that Harry will take me?¡±


    Song Jung smiled bitterly, ¡°Of course not. A person that has been released cannot be arrested again. I know Harry, and I¡¯m worried he¡¯ll want to arrest me this time instead of you! ¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I originally studied this virus to deal with the dragons. You and I both believed my words, but the Americans don¡¯t. What would you think?¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately understood. He kept silent for a while and sighed, ¡°If it were me, I would¡¯ve thought that you nned it, because this kind of research can¡¯t bepleted at a moment¡¯s notice.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the Americans will definitely learn that Dawn Academy has long been thinking about going against their dragon-eagle knights. With their arrogance, they¡¯ll definitely find ways to retaliate. That¡¯s for the future.¡± The smile on Song Jung¡¯s face became even fainter, as if he had remembered something.


    ¡°The Americans will start a civil war?¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t. As long as there¡¯s the Supreme Council, there is no possibility of a civil war. What¡¯s more, there are local indigenous people who are eyeing them. The civil war will only allow the Normans to take advantage of them. This grudge is very clear cut.¡±


    After a moment, Song Jung¡¯s tone became low. ¡°The Americans may impose sanctions on us in business and trade.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s justmercial sanctions.¡± Xiao Lin, who was initially a little nervous, immediately rxed. Everyone had their own colony, and he felt that such sanctions would not have any effect.


    However, Song Jung¡¯s expression was unusually solemn, making Xiao Lin feel that something was amiss. He posed yet another question.


    Song Jung hesitated and finally said, ¡°For us colonists, there are two things that are of utmost importance. The resurrection tower and Lifewater. The former ensures that we can continue to resurrect and open up colonies, and thetter ensures that we have a source of constant lifespan but these two things don¡¯t appear out of thin air. The resurrection tower has to be built, and the Lifewater needs to be refined by alchemists.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s tone changed slightly. ¡°Can¡¯t we build or refine these two things ourselves?¡±


    Department Head Song said in a heavy tone ¡°Yes, but there aren¡¯t any materials! The resurrection tower and the Lifewater require huge andplex materials. We can exchange most of the materials or collect them by ourselves., but some key materials are produced too far from our colony.¡±


    ¡°Materials like Lightstream Jade are only avable in the colony near Dawn Academy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and unfortunately, Lifewater needs a special kind of leaf to be refined. It¡¯s only avable in the American colony, near elven territory. The reason America was able to progress quickly despite entering the New World muchter was due to the stable environment, but another important factor is that leaf of life. Other academies had to exchangerge quantities of materials with them or buy them at high prices. After this incident, it¡¯s hard for Dawn Academy to withstand it, even if the Americans only reduce the export volume or raise the prices instead of cutting the supply all at once!¡±


    Xiao Lin waspletely silent; the joy of leaving was instantly wiped out. The importance of Lifewater was irreceable and its value could be seen from the limited amount of Lifewater sold by the academy every month.

 Chapter 171: Return to The Academy

    <h4>Chapter 171: Return to The Academy</h4>


    Xiao Lin had an apologetic look on his face. All of this might not have been his fault, but he still caused all of it. Song Jung waved and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. Americans are all like this. I¡¯ve disliked them for a while. No one likes being held hostage like this after all. The form for lifewater was a coboration of all the academies, and our academy was one of the frontrunners.¡±


    After returning to the inn in New Washington, Xiao Lin did not stop for anything. Song Jung even rudely rejected some officials from the Foreign Affairs Department who came to understand the situation. It seemed like Xiao Lin was really worried about being captured by the Americans.


    The two of them packed up their things and hurried to board the interspatial carriage, heading back to Pennsylvania in America before heading back to China in a ne. Song Jung only let out a sigh of relief when the nended, telling Xiao Lin, ¡°You can stay on Earth a few days if you want. I¡¯ll help you make the arrangements.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought to himself before saying, ¡°Time in The Final Land was very chaotic. I don¡¯t really know how long I left, in terms of the time at the academy.¡±


    ¡°It has been three weeks since you left Dawn Academy. You¡¯ve definitely missed out on the second monthly examination. There¡¯s still half a month to go to the third one. Yes, ording to academy regtions, the official monitor will be decided after the third monthly examination.¡±


    Xiao Lin quickly shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already visited home, so there¡¯s no need. Let¡¯s head right back to the academy.¡±


    Song Jung looked at him with approval before saying, ¡°Rules are rules, but you¡¯re a special case. The dean might be willing to dy the third monthly examination to give you enough time to prepare.¡±


    ¡°Would the dean really do that?¡±


    ¡°Why do you think the special investigation team and the warship was sent over? He didn¡¯t even care if he offended Judge Academy. I understand the dean quite well. He¡¯s always cared for the students, but never to this extent.¡± Song Jung looked at Xiao Lin meaningfully.


    Xiao Lin realized that the dean definitely knew of his SS-rank talent. However, Department Head Song had not mentioned anything the entire time. He was smart, and he knew that the dean would not go so far for just a regr student, but he knew not to push it in his questions.


    If it was a secret, then the less people who knew about it the better.


    After the nended, the two of them headed to the Earth branch of Dawn Academy without any dy, getting on an interspatial carriage once again. Xiao Lin had finally returned to the academy after three weeks away. He suddenly felt a wave of relief. No matter what, New Washington was someone else¡¯s territory; nothing felt as safe as his own academy.


    With the eventful journey at an end, the two of them felt extremely tired. After verifying that it was a weekend with the carriage staff, Xiao Lin headed right back to the dormitories after bidding Department Head Song farewell.


    There were not many people around during the day on a weekend. Everyone was either resting in their rooms or busy training. He did not meet any familiar faces on the way back, and no one from the other sses really remembered who Xiao Lin was.


    Xiao Lin had a good rest, and by the time he opened his eyes again, the sun had already set. After waking up, he impatiently hurried to theputer. He was curious to see how much his attributes had grown.


    [Name: Xiao Lin]


    [Student ID: 201235]


    [Rewards earned: 50 credits, 550 Redemption Points]


    [Strength 10 Agility 6 Intelligence 12 Physique 12]


    [Basic Swordsmanship LV8]


    [Basic Hammer-series Weapon Mastery LV5]


    [Basic Blocking LV5]


    [Basic Fitness LV 5]


    [Basic Mastery of Norma¡¯s Common Language: LV3]


    [Basic Perception LV3]


    [Basic Meditation LV3]


    [shing LV3 (max)]


    [Holy Light Blessing LV3 (max)]


    His attributes all seemed to have doubled, and all his basic skills had greatly improved, especially Basic Swordsmanship, which rose all the way from LV4 to LV8. With the added difficulty of leveling up as the levels increased, the improvement was staggering.


    Of course, Xiao Lin had spent most of the battles in The Final Land with a de, and life or death situations were very helpful for improving swordsmanship.


    However, that was all within his expectations. The next part left Xiao Lin bbergasted.


    [Special skill detected. No match found on the database. Please give it a name, Student.]


    Staring at the naming form that popped up, Xiao Lin was in disbelief. He could not help butugh out loud. It was as he guessed. He had created a new skill in The Final Lands. With his time at the dragon-eagle knight regiment camp, he familiarized himself with the skill, and was quite adept with it. Since there were no records in the database, he might be the first and possibly the only user of the skill.


    Xiao Lin wanted to call it Attribute Swap, but he felt it too simple, straightforward andcked impact. After some consideration, he entered the following.


    [Skill Name: Miracle]


    [Level: LV1]


    [Skill Description: Can convert a maximum of 50% of one attribute into other attributes. Time limit for the conversion is one minute. Every conversion will use up stamina, and the user will be incredibly weak after using up the limits of their stamina, and each attribute would temporarily decrease.]


    It was different from when he used it in The Final Land. There was a big limit to the attribute conversion, and there was no way to use it repeatedly. It was more suited for temporary bursts, which made the name Miracle very suitable.


    However, he remembered he had the Lightstream Jade¡¯s draconic power aiding him in The Final Land. That was probably why he could use it without any care.


    Xiao Lin could not resist touching the Lightstream Jade. He was now very clear on the value of the jade, but he did not own it. After listening to Song Jung, he knew that Dawn Academy¡¯s pressure on Judge Academy in the incident was only thanks to the dean¡¯s approval.


    Xiao Lin could not possibly have returned so soon if not for Dawn Academy¡¯s pressure, so he was extremely thankful to the dean he had only met once during the opening ceremony.


    With those thoughts, Xiao Lin felt like it would be better if he returned the Lightstream Jade on his own volition. Even the dean might not have a second piece of such a valuable jade, and he really wanted to thank the dean in person.


    It would be hard to contact the dean, so he tried giving Song Jung a call, but it was not picked up. Xiao Lin wondered if the man was sleeping or busy tending to his cross-bred animals.


    Meanwhile, the small dragon-eagle that Song Jung had secretly obtained was handed over to the special investigation team and brought straight to the Dawn Academy¡¯s territories in the New World. The Americans might have realized itter on, but under the watch of the warship, there was not much they could do

 Chapter 172: Rumors At The Cafeteria

    <h4>Chapter 172: Rumors At The Cafeteria</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Department Head Song did not pick up the phone, so Xiao Lin could only look for another way. After thinking for a moment, he immediately called the second year senior Chen Yu. He had no choice. He knew way too few people.


    Chen Yu picked up the phone very quickly, it being a weekend. After the magical disy lit up, Chen Yu looked visibly surprised as he measured Xiao Lin with a strange look. He said curiously, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡±


    Chen Yu was from the student council and was temporarily in charge of the first years, so it was no surprise that he knew of Xiao Lin going to Judge Academy. However, he was not high ranking enough to know why Xiao Lin went, and he obviously knew nothing about what happened after that.


    Even though that was the case, it was enough to cause Chen Yu to be extremely envious. It was the New World and was also the most prosperous city of the colonists: New Washington. Even Chen Yu had very limited opportunities to go to the New World.


    ¡°Yes, I just got back this afternoon. I want to meet the dean, but I don¡¯t know how to contact him.¡± Xiao Lin was not too familiar with Chen Yu, but when he saw that the man seemed distracted, he could not help but call out, ¡°Senior Chen?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I apologize.¡± Chen Yu snapped back to reality, suppressing his envy as he smiled. ¡°Just call me Chen Yu, everyone does. What were you saying earlier?¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a little strange. He remembered Chen Yu was not so friendly to him the first time they interacted, but he did not dwell on it, repeating the earlier question.


    The smile on Chen Yu¡¯s face stiffened as he could not help but ufortably furrow his eyebrows. ¡°You want to meet the dean?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Xiao Lin nodded.


    ¡°The dean is usually very busy, and spends most of his time in the New World since he needs to deal with a lot of matters there personally. Can¡¯t the student council solve your issue?¡± Chen Yu said. What he really wanted to say was, ¡®Who do you think you are? Do you really think you¡¯re so important as to see the dean after just going to the New World once?¡¯


    The deans in that world were very different from the ones back on Earth. The dean of Dawn Academy was equal to a governor or even a minister back on Earth. He was not someone a new student could meet whenever he felt like.


    However, Chen Yu did not expose his thoughts, since he remembered that the student union president had requested that he immediately report back if Xiao Lin returned. After some thought, he continued, ¡°This isn¡¯t something I can decide, but I can forward your request to the student union. However, don¡¯t hold too much hope. Meeting the dean isn¡¯t so easy; he¡¯s got very limited time.¡±


    Xiao Lin was ecstatic and hurried to thank Chen Yu, but he had already hung up.


    Xiao Lin was not sure the dean would be willing to meet him either, but he had too many questions about the New World after returning which Department Head Song could not answer. He did not trust anyone else, and the most important was his anger at being held under house arrest by Harry. Even if he did not suffer physically, it was still something he could not just let go.


    Xiao Lin was still a member of Dawn Academy, and Judge Academy at least owed him an exnation.


    After tidying himself up, he headed to the buffet hall on the top floor. The seductive fragrances caused him to hurry. The food in New Washington was not bad, but he felt that western cuisine was boring, and a far cry from Chinese cuisine. Furthermore, he did not even have western food in The Final Land.


    Evening was peak meal hour. Xiao Lin had just sat down with his te when plenty of people noticed him, especially those from ss Seven. How could they forget their ss monitor when there was only half a month left until the third monthly examination, after all.


    A few of them walked past Xiao Lin and immediately had shocked expressions, asking him, ¡°Monitor Xiao, didn¡¯t you quit school?¡±


    A friend next to him nudged him before smiling and adding on, ¡°No, it¡¯s just that we heard that you had returned to Earth. Why did you return so quickly?¡±


    ¡°Quit school?¡± Xiao Lin remembered the two of them were from his ss, but he had awkwardly forgotten their names. It could not be helped. Their ss was never particrly united, and he had been gone for so long.


    The two of them stood awkwardly in silence.


    However, that was enough for Xiao Lin to piece things together as he said calmly, ¡°Did Wang Dalin say that? Did he say that I was gone for so long because I had been sent back to Earth by the school?¡±


    It was not a secret within the student union that he had gone to New Washington, but it was quite a secret to these new students since they did not have the authority to know anything.


    Xiao Lin could just imagine how the rumor was formed.


    The first week he left, no one probably noticed anything.


    The rumors probably started from the second or third week, since it would be expected that people would talk when their acting ss monitor had disappeared for so long. At that time, someone probably started the rumor that Xiao Lin had been expelled.


    No one might have believed it at first, but Xiao Lin was still missing for over a month, so more and more people would believe the rumors as they circted, up until it became the truth in their eyes. They might have thought Xiao Lin did not say anything to save himself some face.


    However, Xiao Lin was there, and the rumors were dispelled just like that. It would be natural for everyone to feel some awkwardness.


    Xiao Lin remained calm, changing the topic. ¡°How did our ss do in the second monthly examinations?¡±


    ¡°The task this time was a pursuit in some canyons. We needed to escape the orcish pursuit, but we did not get any good results. In the end, less than 10% of uspleted thepulsory task.¡±


    ¡°The test was actually very simple, much easier than the first month¡¯s examination. The other sses all had at least a 50%pletion rate, but our ss had the worst results of the whole year.¡±


    The two of them had angry looks on their face. It seemed like they were likely one of those who did not pass. They might have even lost 10 years of their lifespan from dying.


    ¡°It was way too chaotic!¡± one of them said after hesitating. ¡°Everyone had their own opinions and strategies; no one wanted to give in. In the end, the situation was too messy and we wasted too much time. The orcs ended up catching up to us, and only the more skilled ones managed to fight their way out.


    Xiao Lin was speechless after hearing their ounts, but he could understand the chaos. Even in the first examination, the ss split into two because of differing opinions, and that was even with him acting as a monitor in the mix.

 Chapter 173: Summoned by The Dean

    <h4>Chapter 173: Summoned by The Dean</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was logical that monitors were usually students with talents. They could at least gain everyone¡¯s acknowledgment with their skills, even if they were only listening on the surface.


    ss Seven had a unique situation since Xiao Lin¡¯s SS-rank talent could not be announced. Even if he did not understand the reason for the secrecy, after Harry held him back by force, he developed an understanding.


    People get envious when faced with talent!


    ¡°Rx. Now that I¡¯m back, we¡¯ll have decent results in the third monthly examination.¡± Xiao Lin consoled the two of them. He was quite confident in his im.


    The two of them mumbled to each other and suddenly shut up, looking toward a corner. Xiao Lin followed their line of sight and saw a group of people walking toward their direction, probably looking for empty seats. At the helm was Wang Dalin.


    Wang Dalin was joking around when he saw Xiao Lin and he was stunned. His face was a very interesting mix of shock, embarrassment, and rage. The time that Xiao Lin was not around were his happiest days in the academy, especially since Xiao Lin was not around to continue banning him on the forums, which said a lot of things.


    However, the protagonist was back. Even though he spread the rumors himself, after it spread around, enough he began to believe it as well. Wang Dalin¡¯s good mood evaporated immediately. He was not someone who could conceal his own emotions, and he immediately mocked, ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t acting monitor Xiao Lin? You actually have the guts toe back here?¡±


    Xiao Linposed himself, not wanting to bicker as he smiled. ¡°Of course I¡¯de back after finishing the tasks that the school asked me to do.¡±


    He raised his volume on purpose, gaining quite a bit of attention. Xiao Lin was nning on dispelling the rumors that way.


    Wang Dalin was in an awkward spot. Even if he knew that was the truth, he would not acknowledge it. Twisting the topic around, he said, ¡°Who knows where you went?! Ah, do you know how pathetic our second monthly examination was? You are a disgrace of a ss monitor.¡±


    Xiao Lin was thankful for this man¡¯s naivete. He had exposed his own intentions so easily. Even though he knew a lot of people were eying the ss monitor spot in the ss, only the man in front of him was so transparent.


    ¡°I might not know what you¡¯ve been talking about on the forums these days, but I think I should continue to ban you now that I¡¯m back.¡± Xiao Lin felt it was impossible to keep talking to Wang Dalin.


    The ss Seven students around them could not help butugh. Xiao Lin had banned Wang Dalin for the entirety of their first month, but they did not feel that it was not deserved. Wang Dalin was extremely rude on the forums. He mocked people and spread ill-rumors; the rest of them hated it, but were just not willing to do anything about it.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s face turned red with anger. As long as Xiao Lin was still the ss monitor, there was nothing he could do about it. Wang Dalin¡¯s voice turned several pitches higher as he said, ¡°Ban away! Do whatever you want! You¡¯ll only be the ss monitor for half a month more! Do you really think you can keep up with us after ditching sses for over a month?!¡±


    With that, Wang Dalin¡¯s mood improved a lot. He felt that he had a huge advantage. He started with decent attributes and had been working hard at his training. As long as Gu Xiaoyue was notpeting with him, he had full confidence in himself.


    The rest of them agreed with that somewhat. Everyone knew Xiao Lin had started out with very low attributes and he had less training than them by more than a month. Everyone felt that Xiao Lin would really not be able to continue being ss monitor after the monthly examinations. With that thought in mind, they could not help but feel some sympathy for Xiao Lin.


    ss Seven¡¯s situation was really too unique. The other sses all had talented monitors. Even if their ssmates had thoughts of seizing the positions, two months of training and examinations would reveal an obvious gap in the skills of students with and without talents, and the other students could only resign themselves to their fates.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s phone suddenly rang and he hurriedly answered it at the table. A baby-faced man suddenly appeared on the magical disy, causing everyone to step back in shock.


    They were very familiar with that baby face; it was the student union president of Dawn Academy. In the two months they had been there, the new students have gotten used to the lifestyle and regtions of the academy. The student union president was basically a leader with immense power in their eyes. Outside of the dean, the student union president held the most power at the school.


    Someone like that had actually called Xiao Lin, so a lot of them immediately put down their food as they looked on.


    Xiao Lin felt a little awkward. He could more or less guess what it was about. Even though Chen Yu had told him that his request would be forwarded to the student union, he did not expect such a quick response.


    ¡°Xiao Lin.¡± The student union president had a gentle voice. He seemed to have heard the noise surrounding Xiao Lin, as he asked, ¡°Are you at the cafeteria?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s quite noisy here, let me head somewhere else... Huh?¡± Xiao Lin did not even finish speaking when his entire surroundings turned quiet. The gossip caused them to be very curious as to why the student union president was looking for Xiao Lin.


    The president smiled as he waved. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just letting you know that you shoulde over to my office at eight tonight. I just received news from the dean: he will be hurrying back from the New World to meet you tonight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll be there on time,¡± Xiao Lin eximed.


    ¡°Won¡¯t the dormitory lock the doors at seven?¡± someone said softly, but it was clearly heard in the silence.


    The student union presidentughed softly and said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot this rule for the new student dormitories. It¡¯s an automatic rule in the system, so let me think for a bit. How about this. I¡¯ll just lift the rule for you. From now on, you can enter and leave the dormitories as you please. It will be like that eventually anyway.¡±


    The student union president¡¯s words were very meaningful. If he had contacted the dean, then he must have had some exchanges with the dean as well, but he could not divulge too much right then.


    The call hung up, and everyone looked at Xiao Lin in admiration.


    The short call had contained a lot of information and all the onlookers were absolutely silent as they digested.


    The dean was rushing back from the New World just to meet a new student at night, and even the student union president had to call him personally, even giving him so much special permission.


    That was not the kind of treatment that a regr person could possibly have. More urately, Xiao Lin was probably the only person in the entire first year who could possibly have that kind of treatment.

 Chapter 174: Checking Attributes

    <h4>Chapter 174: Checking Attributes</h4>


    Xiao Lin did not like being the center of attention. He lost the will to enjoy his meal under everyone¡¯s gazes, so he hastily wolfed down his food before leaving. There were a few unfamiliar faces who tried to greet him and start conversations on the way out, but he ignored them.


    In another corner of the cafeteria, a few monitors were having dinner together as usual. In the two months they had been there, everyone had gotten closer, but not all of them liked the thought of working together. In the long term, they would be fellowrades in war on the New World, but in the short term, it was still apetition between themselves in the school, especially considering the fact that the year leader could only be chosen from among them.


    ¡°The monitor from ss Seven is back. Wasn¡¯t he expelled?¡±


    ¡°How could you believe such a ridiculous rumor!¡± Cheng Ming said. He had refused to entertain the idea.


    ¡°I heard that the monitor of ss Seven actually went to the New World! I even heard he went to the American territories!¡± a girl said, amazed. To prevent the others from disbelieving her, she added, ¡°I heard about it from a friend in the student union!¡±


    The rest of them were stunned. They might be acting ss monitors, but they did not really have any power in the school hierarchy and did not know that much more than regr students. They refused to reveal much shock, but the look of admiration in their eyes was obvious.


    ¡°Only half a month left till they pick the actual ss monitors.¡± A dissatisfied monitor changed the topic.


    ¡°Are you not confident in retaining your position?¡± someone else said.


    ¡°How could that be! In the two months of training, no one has been our equal other than us ss monitors fighting amongst each other!¡± he said arrogantly.


    ¡°There¡¯s Gu Xiaoyue from ss Seven!¡± came a retort.


    ¡°Oh... Did you mean to say that Xiao Lin would not hold onto his position?¡±


    ¡°Did you not see what just happened just? Even the student union president and the dean know him. I refuse to believe he won¡¯t stay as the ss monitor.¡±


    ¡°Dawn Academy isn¡¯t like Earth. Power talks here. Furthermore, everyone is a new student, so how could he have so many connections.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. Look at Department Head Song...¡±


    They were notpletely clueless. A lot of information could be gleaned just from talking to the upper year students. To be honest, they were just slightly curious about Xiao Lin¡¯s situation, or some of them were envious of the fact that he could head to the New World so early.


    To those acting ss monitors, they were more interested in the year leader position. To them, the ss monitor positions were in the back, and they had their eyes set on being year leader, that was in charge of the entire year. However, to this day, the student union had yet to announce the criteria for choosing year leader.


    There was still some time until his meeting with the dean, so Xiao Lin opened up the forums, nning on understanding thetest news and gossip in the school and their year.


    For example, even though the second monthly examination had ended half a month ago, there were still arge amount of threads discussing how they could have earned a higher grade or even how to earn an S grade. ording to the contents of the threads, Xiao Lin knew immediately that no one had earned an S grade, even though the second monthly examination had drastically lowered the difficulty. Even A grades are very scarce, only epassing about 15% of their year. Compared to the first monthly exams, it was still quite the improvement.


    With the oing third monthly examination, skill studies had been added into the sses for the new students. Everyone was celebrating with joy after two months of boring basic training. Even if skills were much harder to learn than they had thought, everyone jumped right into it passionately. The obvious proof was that more people were going to the training halls themselves during the weekends.


    Xiao Lin remembered the skill books he had brought back. His various attributes had improved greatly in his time in The Final Land, and at the very least, he should be able to start learning Lightsword.


    Dawn Academy had very limited skills avable for new students, since they did not want to let the new students have too many options. It was just like the man who gave Xiao Lin those skill books in New Washington said, the Academies needed students that were useful to them.


    Other than topics regarding their sses, there were various gossip topics on the forums as well. For example, a beauty from one of the sses managed to get together with an officer from the student union, getting various benefits from it. She was given various gear and tools, which weremon among the upper-year students, but extremely helpful to new students. It seemed like a ssmate of hers started that thread, and imed that the girl was always just average in skill, but with the added equipment, she managed to get an A-grade in the second monthly examination.


    The replies seemed to belittle the girl, but they mocked the thread starter as well. At least the girl had looks and a good body; the thread starter did not have the skills to get a high grade, nor even the body or face to make up for it, so it was obviously just a jealous ssmate.


    Other than that, a lot of the discussions centered around lifewater. After the second monthly examinations, a lot of people died from idents, even though the difficulty had been decreased and their lifespans were fast bing a limited resource.


    At the start of the third month, the academy released a batch of lifewater. Everyone who managed to get decent results in the second examination quickly exchanged their points for lifewater, but those who hadckluster results would need to at least wait until the third month to afford it.


    Xiao Lin could not help but think of Gu Xiaoyue. She only had two years left in her life, but with her skills, she definitely could have afforded to buy lifewater after the two exams.


    With that in mind, he left the forums and entered the ss database. He had ess to all basic information of ss Seven other than information rted to talents. First, he browsed through everyone¡¯s skills and was not surprised at what he found.


    The higher the skill level, the harder it was to level it up. At some point, it required actual battle experience to slowly improve. Most of their skills stopped at around LV5, and their attributes only grew by about 10 points, so there was not a significant difference.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s current total attribute score was 40 points, thanks to the hard battles he fought in The Final Land. His initially low attribute scores had now leapfrogged almost everyone else¡¯s. To be urate, his total attribute score was now firmly in the second position in the ss.

 Chapter 175: Meeting Gu Xiaoyue Again

    <h4>Chapter 175: Meeting Gu Xiaoyue Again</h4>


    Why was he in second ce?


    When Xiao Lin saw Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s attributes, he could not help but gape. His excitement for his own growth quickly dimmed when he saw that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s total attribute scores were already at a staggering 60 points. Out of those points, her Intelligence attribute was already at 40; that alone was enough to equal Xiao Lin¡¯s total.


    After calming down, Xiao Lin noticed that the girl was seriously imbnced. Her other attributes only totaled to 20 points. Even though Gu Xiaoyue had attended some sses to improve her physical attributes, progress looked to be very slow.


    Xiao Lin looked at Wang Dalin¡¯s attribute points, finding that he was at 38 points in total. Even though it was only two points lower than Xiao Lin, he remembered the guy being among the highest ones during the entrance examinations, so his growthgged behind a lot of them.


    Xiao Lin was not worried about Wang Dalin at all. With his current speed, he would soon eclipse everyone else, other than Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°In the end, he¡¯s only an idiot who only knows how to talk!¡± Xiao Lin said before once again banning Wang Dalin and shifting his attention to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s information.


    When he opened the lifespan column, Xiao Lin stared for over ten seconds before almost throwing his mouse on the floor in anger. On the monitor, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan was still at 2 years.


    Was this a joke?!


    Gu Xiaoyue actually did not buy lifewater at the beginning of the month. The data showed she only had a few hundred points left, but it was clearly shown that Gu Xiaoyue had obtained an A-grade in the examination.


    Coupled with the entrance exams and the first monthly examination, Xiao Lin was absolutely certain Gu Xiaoyue had enough points to buy novice lifewater, which was sold at a thousand redemption points. She only had so little left in her ount, which meant she had actually spent her redemption points on other things.


    Xiao Lin was furious and called Gu Xiaoyue right away. She did not pick up even after several minutes, so it was not clear what she was doing. However, Xiao Lin did not want to wait any longer. He stormed out of his room. As the acting ss monitor, he obviously knew everyone¡¯s room numbers.


    The woman¡¯s dormitory was on the fourth floor. Xiao Lin went straight for Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s room, and his banging on her door even caused the other students to look at him curiously. However, when they noticed it was Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s room, they quickly lost interest. Gu Xiaoyue was cold to everyone, even if some male students tried to get close to her, the female students did not care for such a cold person.


    After about two or three minutes, Xiao Lin was about to leave when the door opened. Gu Xiaoyue had a jacket on as she looked at him with a confused look. Her hair was still wet and a little messy, and her pale skin was red with heat; it was obvious she just came out of the shower.


    Xiao Lin felt a bit awkward before remembering why he was there, and his anger quickly rose again.


    After a month of not seeing each other, Gu Xiaoyue was still the same. Her bespectacled face had a cold look, not even showing a shred of surprise or happiness at seeing Xiao Lin again.


    Xiao Lin quickly pushed open the door. ¡°What is wrong with you?! Why didn¡¯t you buy lifewater at the start of the month? Are you that confident you won¡¯t die in the next examination? Or maybe you don¡¯t even care if you die!¡±


    His loud shouts attracted even more attention, and Xiao Lin hurriedly entered the room. However, as he closed the door behind him, he wondered if it would cause even more misunderstandings.


    Xiao Lin suddenly had a headache when he saw that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression did not change. She did not react to his berating or anger, nor did she care about his rudeness.


    Gu Xiaoyue thought for a moment before softly and coldly saying, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the acting monitor does not have the power to choose how we spend our redemption points.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused. She was not wrong.


    Everyone had absolute power over their own redemption points, and no one in the academy could interfere with it. However, Gu Xiaoyue was different. She only had two years left.


    Xiao Lin patiently said, ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t be so callous with your own life. Even if you really don¡¯t die in any of the examinations, in two years you will... I met your sister when I went back to Earth. She cares for you a lot, and I told her you would take good care of yourself. Surely you won¡¯t want her to not be able to see you again.¡±


    Bringing up her sister, Xiao Lin remembered the picture in his possession. He hurriedly ran out to get it, and after a few minutes, he gave it to Gu Xiaoyue. She nced at the picture and a tender look shed on her face, but it was only for a moment before she reverted back to her cool self, rolling up the picture before saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s definitely from her. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why, even if it¡¯s just in consideration for your sister, you shouldn¡¯t be taking risks...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already addressed it.¡± Gu Xiaoyue interrupted Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue tidied her messy hair as she said, ¡°In that letter I gave you, I¡¯ve already addressed everything that needed to be settled, so even if we never meet again... What I mean is, thanks for your concern, but we don¡¯t need any outsiders interfering with us sisters.¡±


    ¡°You told her you only had two years left in your letter?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister, Gu Chengyun, read the letter right in front of him. He obviously could not read the weird symbols and letters in the letter, but Xiao Lin clearly remembered that Gu Chengyun seemed very normal after reading it. She even had a very charming conversation with him after that, let alone showed any signs of sadness.


    How could someone not react at all when they knew their sister only had two years left in their lives.


    Xiao Lin could not understand those siblings at all, but he suddenly lowered his voice as he warned, ¡°You said you addressed it in the letter? After returning to Earth, I understood that if we don¡¯t let anyone from the academies know of this ce, there are only two consequences. One is the other party joins us; the other would be to eliminate the other party. Thankfully, only you, your sister and I know about the letter. I won¡¯t tell anyone else; you should keep it a secret as well.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not ask what exactly Gu Xiaoyue said in the letter, nor did he want to know. However, the girl with her paralyzed legs drawing cheerfully in a wheelchair left a deep impression on Xiao Lin.


    No matter if it were to eliminate her or to bring her to the academy, Xiao Lin felt that both options were very cruel.

 Chapter 176: Additional Rewards

    <h4>Chapter 176: Additional Rewards</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin¡¯s reminder did not surprise Gu Xiaoyue and she seemed to have known that beforehand. She nodded subtly in acknowledgment, but her lips still parted to softly thank Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was surprised by her gratitude this time. He wondered if he imagined it, but for a moment, he could swear that he saw a hint of weakness and fatigue on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face.


    No way. How could that woman make that sort of face?


    Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes and was once again greeted by Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s cold expression. That girl was always like that, cold to everyone. She had very strong opinions as well, and very rarely would someone else¡¯s thoughts or suggestions influence her.


    Xiao Lin did not know why he advised that stubborn girl, and the two of them looked at each other in silence. Gu Xiaoyue did not intend to invite Xiao Lin inside to sit down, and when Xiao Lin saw a few questionable silk objects on her bed, he stiffened and immediately said he had something else to do before leaving.


    When the door was shut, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s stone-cold face suddenly morphed into a weak and helpless one as she walked to the bedside, picking up an empty bottle that was as big as her thumb. After looking at it for a while, she sighed as she threw the empty bottle into the trash. On the bottle were the words, ¡®Elementary Lifewater¡¯.


    Xiao Lin left the dormitories after seven and found that the student union president really did unlock the permissions for him. Even after seven, he could enter and exit the locked doors with just a swipe of a card, which of course attracted some curious gazes.


    Dawn Academy was very cool and quiet at night. Even though the academy was absolutely safe, the student union still strictly prohibited students from wandering out at night. Even though the upper years could returnter, returning toote was still prohibited, and special permission was needed to do that.


    It was not the first time Xiao Lin met the student union president, and the baby-faced man who held immense power was quite amicable, not having any air of arrogance about him. Xiao Lin considered telling him about New Washington, and even The Final Land.


    The student union president stopped him with a look of understanding, smiling as he said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin anything to me. I¡¯m only in charge of matters inside the academy. I have no right to know about what happened in the New World.¡±


    The president seemed to be very strict. He obviously would have heard of New Washington, but he seemed to have zero interest in it, and instead shifted the topic to Xiao Lin¡¯s rewards.


    ording to the agreement between the two academies, Xiao Lin would have been given 400 New Dors every day as payment, which was determined by the student union president. He then said he had negotiated with Judge Academy after all the problems that happened.


    Xiao Lin had worked with Professor Brown for 3 weeks, totalling to 21 days. Since the pay was given daily, he had received 8,400 New Dors, of which he had used up 800 in New Washington. He still had 7,600 left, which he regretted not spending since they left in a rush. However, Song Jung consoled him with the fact that it was the universal currency for the colonists, so he would naturally still be able to use it on Dawn Academy territory in the future.


    The student union president smiled as he said, ¡°Other than the money you have already received, Judge Academy has decided to award you with an additional 8,000 New Dors after my negotiations.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. He left Dawn Academy for about 6 weeks, but thetter part of it was spent in The Final Land, and after that under house arrest by Captain Harry. It seemed like Judge Academy nned onpensating him with the same amount for that period of time.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Is this supposed to bepensation for me?¡±


    The student union president shrugged. ¡°That is outside of my purview.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not feel too happy, but he was just a small character in the grand scheme of things, and Judge Academy was basically a whole country. He was currently no match for them.


    Of course, looking at it positively, he had just earned an additional 8,000 New Dors; on top of what he had, it would be 15,600 Dors. The student union president told him it was quite a significant sum of many, and many graduates would need to work for several years to get that much money.


    ¡°Every academy has its own banks, and obviously it¡¯s your choice if you want to keep it there or not. I would personally rmend you to deposit into a bank since it¡¯s safer. Hand me your student card as well. I¡¯ll raise your rank and open up more permissions for you. The universal card is used in our territories as well, and even has the ability to store money, which will be convenient for you when you head to the New World again.¡±


    After a pause, the president smiled. ¡°That¡¯s actually the main reason I called you over. Alright, it¡¯s about time, leave your universal card here and head to the dean¡¯s office.¡±


    The president called over Chen Yu from the second year to escort Xiao Lin while he took Xiao Lin¡¯s card to be ranked up.


    The Dean¡¯s office was in a deeper part of the academy. Xiao Lin was not that familiar with Chen Yu, and the two of them walked silently without conversation. Chen Yu shot him strange looks with a mixture of disdain and admiration. His feelings were veryplicated, when Xiao Lin asked him to convey the message that he wanted to meet the dean, Chen Yu treated the request with contempt, so he was obviously shocked when he received the notification from the student union.


    Chen Yu could not tell what was so special about Xiao Lin. He even spected that he might have a hidden backer, simr to Song Jung.


    That had to be the case!


    Chen Yu slowly convinced himself of his theory and his disdain solidified, causing him to not want to talk to Xiao Lin. Naturally, Xiao Lin did not know what was going on in Chen Yu¡¯s head. His impression of the dean was only from the opening ceremony, so he could not help but ask Chen Yu what sort of person the Dean was.


    Chen Yu did not want to bother with Xiao Lin, but upon hearing the dean being mentioned, he had a very respectful tone. ¡°The dean is a great man! Dawn Academy is undergoing a huge resurgence thanks to him, so you definitely have to treat him with all the respect he deserves!¡±


    Ignoring the warning, Xiao Lin was once again deep in thought. He was filled with both anticipation and apprehension.


    Xiao Lin felt that if everything went smoothly, then he would probably put all his cards on the table. He believed that the dean definitely knew about his SS-rank talent, so what sort of attitude would the dean take toward him? Xiao Lin was also full of questions that he hoped would be answered.

 Chapter 177: Conversation With The Dean (1)

    <h4>Chapter 177: Conversation With The Dean (1)</h4>


    The Dean¡¯s office was a lone tower that was four stories tall. Even though it was nighttime, the entire tower was lit up by bright lights. The first three floors were locked, and Xiao Lin followed a spiral staircase up to the top floor. In front of the door were two solemn and quiet statues, each holding a long spear in their right hands.


    Chen Yu was about to push the door and enter when the stone statues suddenly moved, crossing their spears and blocking the way. Chen Yu had an awkward expression as he retreated a few steps, signalling to Xiao Lin. ¡°Go ahead and enter yourself. The dean only wants to meet you.¡±


    When Xiao Lin stepped forward, the stone statues once again returned to their original position and the door opened by itself. Chen Yu tried to look inside, but the door shut very quickly. He was very unhappy, but he knew that if he had stepped even further, the statues would have killed him without hesitation. In the end, he shook his head and left.


    The office on the top floor was veryrge and the dean seemed to have arrived earlier than expected. When Xiao Lin stepped inside, the dean was looking at the wall with his arms crossed. On the wall was a huge map; it did not look like a map of Earth.


    The dean turned around and nodded to Xiao Lin, pointing at a sofa in the corner before saying, ¡°Sit.¡±


    Xiao Lin ufortably sat upright on the sofa, trying to observe the old man who held utmost power in Dawn Academy with the corner of his eye. Even though his hair was all white and his face was full of wrinkles, his spirit was extremely strong. He did not look like an old man at all. He wore a white sorcerer¡¯s robe, and the wand he used in the opening ceremony was nowhere to be seen.


    The dean seemed to be quite easygoing. He did not sit behind his desk, but instead sat on a sofa opposite Xiao Lin. He took out a pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth before offering it to Xiao Lin, ¡°Give it a try; it¡¯s made from tobo grown in the New World. The taste is quite unique.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t smoke.¡± Xiao Lin put up his hand in rejection.


    The dean nodded before lighting his own cigarette by producing a small me on his fingertip, taking a few drags after he lit it. He shifted his focus back onto Xiao Lin, amicably saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, you¡¯re only here for a casual chat today. I¡¯ve heard the reports from Department Head Song and the investigation team, but I want to hear everything regarding The Final Land straight from you. Don¡¯t worry. You just need to remember one thing: I¡¯m the dean of Dawn Academy. No matter what happens, I will always be the shield that stands behind you.¡±


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. It was a lot morefortable than he had imagined. The dean did not seem to be an overly strict person. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before slowly recounting everything that happened in The Final Land.


    Even though Xiao Lin was not that familiar with the dean, especially since it was only the first time they met, the dean¡¯s words still gave him a sense offort.


    ¡®This is a trustworthy old man,¡¯ he decided in his head.


    Xiao Lin spoke in great detail, including everything Asabanor had said, Lilith¡¯sbat style, even the mystical tomb, and the guesses he had regarding Ivanovich.


    The dean listened earnestly, not even realizing his cigarette had burned out. He did not utter a single world as Xiao Lin spoke, only revealing a difficult expression at times, and at other times a curious one.


    It was only when Xiao Lin mentioned Harry cing him on house arrest when the dean put his cigarette into the ashtray, holding his hand up and saying, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about what happened in New Washington first. Did that high priest really say he had found a way to deal with us?¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked, the dean ced emphasis somewhere that surprised him. It was true that Asabanor was iming he would eliminate all the evil demons and take revenge on the colonists, but the words of a man mad with revenge were not worth listening to. In truth, even if the high priest managed to survive and was in hiding, Xiao Lin did not feel like that half-dead man would be able to do much.


    Even Lilith and Song Jung were of the same opinion. It had been more than a hundred years since the Thunder Kingdom was destroyed. Even among the natives, how many of them still even remembered the high priest?


    The dean had a hesitant look on his face, slowly saying, ¡°I don¡¯t understand that high priest too much, so I can¡¯t be certain he was speaking nonsense. However, let us hypothesize; if he really did find a way, what would it be?¡±


    Xiao Lin thought and said, ¡°Assassinate high level figures in Judge Academy? Gather followers to revolt? Or maybe evenmit acts of terrorism, causing havoc in the American territories?¡±


    If Asabanor did want to take revenge, there were many ways to do so, but these were all just trivial matters. The dean shook his head. ¡°With the foundations Judge Academy has, those actions wouldn¡¯t impact them too much, let alone eliminate all of us.¡±


    Xiao Lin tried to think. ¡°Then are there any other ways? He couldn¡¯t possibly have control of nuclear-equivalent weapons of mass destruction?¡±


    The dean said, ¡°There is no way to get a nuclear bomb into Norma, but the most destructive spells in the New World would not lose to a nuclear bomb in destructive power. Of course, it¡¯s hard to learn, but even if the high priest had that magic, what could it do?¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped before answering, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a huge problem? It¡¯s the power of a nuclear bomb; we would lose a lot of people. Hold on...¡±


    Xiao Lin finally realized something. Even if they all died, would it matter?


    As long as they were in colonial territories, as long as the resurrection towers existed, they could still revive after death, and the high priest would probably not have a second chance to unleash a spell after he was exposed.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face paled as he realized, ¡°Dean, are you implying that the high priest found a way to stop us from resurrecting?!¡±


    The dean did not deny it; instead, he asked, ¡°You mentioned earlier that The Final Land had a building simr to the resurrection tower in the fake city. Could you describe the appearance?¡±


    Xiao Lin had brushed past it earlier since he felt like there was nothing special about the tower. After carefully recalling it, he described it to the dean.


    That tower had a lot of differences to the resurrection tower. First of all, that tower was ck, and the resurrection tower was silver. The shape was different as well. While the resurrection tower¡¯s surface was smooth without a blemish, that tower had various symbols carved into it.


    After he finished describing it, the dean¡¯s look of concern deepened. He put down a cigarette that he had not even lit up before going deep in thought. ¡°That tower is the most primitive version of the resurrection tower. There might still be a lot of ws with the tower, but that high priest has, without a doubt, figured out a way to counter the Law of Immortality that Ivanovich established!¡±

 Chapter 178: Conversation With The Dean (2)

    <h4>Chapter 178: Conversation With The Dean (2)</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was shocked. As the dean of the academy, his experience was definitely iparable to Xiao Lin and Lilith. When they were at The Final Land, or even after they left, neither of them had considered it, and neither of them even worried about the consequences of Asabanor going back to Norma.


    Xiao Lin gulped as he got anxious. ¡°What would happen if that old man really has a way to fight against, or even eliminate the Law of Immortality?¡±


    The dean leaned into the sofa, taking his time before saying. ¡°War.¡±


    Who would the war be against?


    Very obviously, it would be a war against the natives of Norma.


    Xiao Lin had asionally heard Department Head Song mention that Dawn Academy had been at war with the orcs for a long time. However, there had not been anyrge scale conflicts for a while. At the most, there were just some skirmishes with the surrounding merfolk.


    It was the same for the colonized territories around the whole world. In the initial stages of colonization, war was verymon. Outside of the elves who avoided conflict, almost every race in Norma had a history of war with the colonists. It was only until Ivanovich established the Law of Immortality that the tides drastically swung in the colonists¡¯ favor.


    Ever since then, there were very fewrge-scale wars against the various races in Norma. At the most, there were some local conflicts, but they were resolved peacefully most of the time. Of course, resolving it peacefully was just lip service. In truth, it demanded various forms ofpensation in exchange for peaceful coexistence with the people from Earth.


    If the Law of Immortality disappeared, would that form of peace hold?


    The atmosphere in the office got very heavy. Xiao Lin was out of his depth regarding the subject, but the dean did not bother asking him for his opinion either.


    After a short moment of silence, the dean adjusted his posture andughed, ¡°Forget about it. This isn¡¯t anything important at the moment and you shouldn¡¯t be worried about it. No matter what, us old coots are still around to prevent anything from happening. Now, let¡¯s discuss your problems.¡±


    Xiao Lin was startled; the true motive had presented itself. The dean obviously did not rush back to school just to ask about the undying high priest.


    ¡°First of all, I need to exin what talents are. Talents are not exclusive to us colonists. In Norma, this power is called a God¡¯s Blessing, which implies that it is a power given by God at birth.¡± The dean did not go straight into the main topic, but slowly exined things.


    ¡°God again?¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. In The Final Land, he kept hearing Asabanor bring up God¡¯s existence. He refused to make a firm conclusion on the existence of God, since Norma waspletely different from Earth. God might just be a spiritual existence, or he might even have a physical body, but that was still just Norma¡¯s God.


    The dean said ruefully, ¡°In truth, ording to our database, the manifestation of individuals with talent, regardless of rank, among natives number to around one to every ten thousand. Among the academies, the ratio of individuals with a talent is instead one to every thousand. Even if there are definitely certain margins of error with our data for the natives, this gap is still shocking. You should know yourself, in terms of our physical capabilities, the people from Earth cannotpete with the natives. However, when ites to talents, we have a huge advantage.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but specte, ¡°Could the God of Norma be taking care of us outsiders from Earth?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really strange, and we haven¡¯t managed to figure out the reason. As for the rankings, we¡¯re quite simr to the natives. Talents are all split into five ranks, from D-rank to S-rank. Our rankings in the start were actually made in reference to the ones on Norma.¡±


    No wonder the system in the academy had such detailed exnations on all the different talents; they probably utilized the information already avable on the itself.


    Xiao Lin asked softly, ¡°Then what about SS-rank talents?¡±


    The dean shook his head. ¡°There were no SS-rank talents initially. What I mean is, the SS-rank does not exist among the natives. It was only until Ivanovich appeared did Voyna Akademiya realize his talent was not in any records, and that his talent was terrifyingly strong. Not even the S-rank talents that appeared before could hold a candle to him. Everyone immediately set his talent as SS-rank. After that, upon discussion, we settled on a new rule: any talent that was not in the archives would automatically be regarded as an SS-rank talent.¡±


    This was the first time Xiao Lin had heard of this exnation, especially in regards to his SS-rank talent. It was a little surprising, but disappointing as well. He curiously asked, ¡°I actually thought SS-rank talents meant it was stronger and better than an S-rank talent. Based on what you said, SS-rank talents are just holes in the archives, or just talents that the natives had never seen before?¡±


    The dean knew what he wanted to say, and asked, ¡°Do you know what Ivanovich¡¯s SS-rank talent was?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s probably a big secret of the Russian academy.¡±


    ¡°Not many people know it now, but it was not a big secret at the time. Almost everyone knew about it back then. Ivanovich called his own talent Genesis; he could create anything from his mind that thews of nature allowed, in any space that his own power could reach! A cup of water, a cigarette, a loaf of bread; he could create anything he wanted. If it¡¯s anything that was at a higher level, such as a dragon-eagle or a golden dragon, then his own power had to be at that rank for him to create it.¡±


    The dean narrowed his eyes in reminiscence, ¡°Voyna Akademiya was once at war with the titans up north. They were few in number, but they were an extremely strong race; they¡¯ve gone extinct now.¡±


    ¡°Did Ivan do it?¡±


    At the time, Ivan¡¯s skills were still not as powerful as the legends said. He only did one thing in that war, which was to head to the titan¡¯snds alone, creating a small meteorite and hurling it down toward them. The entire titan race was wiped out, and to this day, nothing grows on thosends.


    Xiao Lin sucked in his breath. Even though thews of the world did not allow a weapon of mass destruction like a nuclear bomb, meteorites were probably more terrifying than a nuclear bomb.


    He suddenly recalled that there were a lot of nts that could only be seen on Earth around Ivan¡¯s tomb in The Final Land. He always assumed that it was brought in by someone, but upon reflection, it was probably all created by Ivanovich¡¯s talent.

 Chapter 179: Conversation With The Dean (3)

    <h4>Chapter 179: Conversation With The Dean (3)</h4>


    When Ivanovich entered the realm of being a legend, he created the Law of Immortality and allowed all the colonists to prosper. These were all facts that Xiao Lin knew. However, regarding Ivan¡¯s disappearance after that, the dean did not mention it at all. He brushed past it quickly.


    That question was not the main reason the dean called for Xiao Lin today. The dean paused for a moment to allow Xiao Lin to process the information before continuing, ¡°Since Ivan, there were two main schools of thought regarding SS-rank talents that did not exist in the system. Some believe it was a blessing from God that symbolizes our destiny as the rulers of Norma. Even some of the natives felt that way, which led to a lot of them willinglying under our rule.¡±


    The dean then sighed. ¡°Conversely, a portion of people believed it was the power of demons. They believe that it should not exist in their world, and someday, an individual with an SS-rank talent would destroy the world. Did you know? Ever since the news of an individual with an SS-rank talent being found in Judge Academy leaked, there had been at least 10 assasination attempts on Lilith. On average, it was one attempt a month. Of course, thanks to the strict protection offered by the academy, all the attempts had failed. Even so, Judge Academy was forced to announce that the SS-rank talent was just a misunderstanding, even if many saw through the poor ruse.¡±


    After that, the dean looked at Xiao Lin patiently, saying, ¡°Do you understand now?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. He now understood that the long lecture from the dean was just for his own good. The truth was, after visiting New Washington and seeing the treatment Lilith got from the Americans, he felt it was a bit unfair. They both had an SS-rank talent, but the difference in treatment was too great.


    Even if he could not vocalize those thoughts, the dean had guessed what he was feeling, and he felt a sense of gratitude. Everything the dean did before this was just to conceal Xiao Lin¡¯s existence, especially since his own talent was definitely very weak initially, but possessed infinite room for growth. It was definitely important that Xiao Lin had a safe time to grow in the beginning.


    ¡°I¡¯m partially responsible for everything that¡¯s happened, since I agreed to let you head to Judge Academy. My intent was to let you get used to the New World ahead of time, since Lilith went there very early on, but I could not just give out that order. Thankfully the Americans came looking for her themselves, and I went along with the flow.¡±


    ¡°No matter what, I did receive somepensation. I got more than ten thousand New Dors.¡± Xiao Lin hesitated before asking, ¡°About that, they held me under house arrest. Did the Americans have any exnation for that?¡±


    ¡°I n on voicing my concerns and displeasure to Judge Academy about that.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough, then I will strongly voice my concerns and displeasure.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The deanughed out loud, and Xiao Lin asked, ¡°You were joking, right?¡±


    After theughter died down, the dean calmed down and sighed, ¡°You need to understand; we are allies with Judge Academy. Even though friends neverst forever, we are still currently benefiting from each other. I cannot allow any conflict between the academies right now, especially with the threat of Asabanor looming over us.¡±


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows in silence. Even though he had anticipated it, he was still unhappy.


    ¡°However, the Americans crossed the line this time. I discussed things with the chairman and dean of Judge Academy over the phone, and the final result was this.¡± The dean put a document on the table.


    Xiao Lin hurriedly flipped through it and it was very obviously a list of items. On the list were various never-before-heard materials, such as violet grass, blood-moon flowers and dragon-blood stones. Roughly counting, there were over a hundred different materials listed.


    ¡°This is?¡± Xiao Lin got the gist of it, but he was still unclear. Other than the additional New Dors, it seemed like Judge Academy wanted to offer these things as additionalpensation for himself. However, he was absolutely clueless regarding alchemy and medicines, so he did not know what these things would be useful for.


    The dean guessed his thoughts and asked with a smile, ¡°Originally, I should have asked you about this list first, but this time, I helped you decide so you didn¡¯t need to worry about it. Let me ask you, if it were up to you, what would you ask from them?¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth to say something, but he did not know what to say. Just like when Hank came over to invite him to New Washington, he did not know what he actually needed.


    There was so much he wanted, such as legendary weapons or equipment, but Judge Academy obviously would not just kneel over and hand him those things. Furthermore, Xiao Lin did not even know when he would actually be able to use them. As for things he could use, there were definitely a lot. The problem was that he was not even at the ck Iron-rank, even if he wantedpensation with items of that rank, those would not be valuable at all and would quickly be useless.


    After a period of consideration, Xiao Lin said, ¡°I probably would have asked for more money.¡±


    That was the best option he could think of, and the dean anticipated that, nodding as he said, ¡°That¡¯s right, New Dors are the most realistic option. However, when you head to the New World in the future, you will realize that you will have a lot of opportunities to make money, but a lot of things cannot be bought with just cash.¡±


    Xiao Lin impatiently smiled. ¡°Dean, you can stop with your sales pitch now. What exactly are these items?¡±


    The dean was very calm as he lowered his voice and said, ¡°This is a list of items that can allow an SS-rank talent to advance.¡±


    The dean had dropped a bomb!


    Xiao Lin could not help but stand up immediately, looking at the dean as he said, ¡°Wh-what you mean is, I can finally advance my talent!¡±


    Just like how skills could be leveled up to achieve greater results, talents could as well. Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius talent could double his training effectiveness at rank one, and could only copy F-ranked skills at the moment.


    Xiao Lin had always wondered how he could advance his talent. He had originally thought that his talent was simr to skills, and would naturally level up after constant use.


    That was why he always used his replication skill every time it went off cooldown. Even in The Final Land, he would copy Lilith¡¯s skills whenever he could. Based on the time differential in The Final Land, they were there for several months, but he did not feel like his talent was improving at all.

 Chapter 180: Freedom of Classes

    <h4>Chapter 180: Freedom of sses</h4>


    ¡°SS-rank talents are different from normal talents. Just like I said, on Norma, talents are considered blessings from God, and can be leveled up through repeated use, just like leveling up skills, but that¡¯s not the case for SS-rank talents.¡±


    The dean smiled as he continued, ¡°The research we have regarding SS-rank talents is limited to Ivanovich all those years ago, especially since the Russians started to conceal their informationter on. SS-rank talents need to be leveled up with outside help. As for what the outside help is, the other academies are left in the dark, even the Russians all those years ago needed four to five years to find a way.¡±


    ¡°How about Judge Academy?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Judge Academy did not announce anything publicly, but I had some inside information. They initially wanted to research it themselves, butcked any progress for half a year, so they finally had a secret deal with the Russians, paying a hefty price for this list of items.¡±


    Xiao Lin was ecstatic. He finally realized the dean¡¯s good intentions. The list was definitely what he needed most at the time. If not for the Americans digging a hole for themselves, Dawn Academy would probably have needed to pay quite a price for the list.


    ¡°How do I use it then? Are these materials hard to obtain?¡± Xiao Lin was clueless in this field, and could not help but worry if any of the materials were overly expensive.


    The dean smiled. ¡°The most expensive part of this list is the list itself. The materials are allmon items, and the academy can afford to pay for you. I¡¯ll get the academy to prepare and concoct it for you. I¡¯ll be in school these few days to handle this, and your primary task for the next half a month will be this as well.¡±


    Xiao Lin was about to say something but the dean raised his hand to stop him. ¡°One other thing, thanks to the uniqueness of your talent, the courses in school aren¡¯t that meaningful for you. I¡¯ve considered it for a while, but I¡¯ll allow you to attend sses as you wish. From tomorrow onward, any ss from the first to fourth year will be avable for you to pick and choose for your attendance.¡±


    The dean once again gave him a surprise, which caused Xiao Lin to not even know how to react. The freedom to pick his own sses, Song Jung had helped him obtain something simr before, which allowed him to avoid the forced nature of the school curriculum. What the dean gave him was even better, allowing him to attend any ss he wanted to in the school.


    At the same time, Xiao Lin could not help but worry. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that cause some objections?¡±


    The deanughed imperiously, ¡°Of course! Not just objections, the lecturers will probably be trying to break down my door when it happens, but what of it? This is a right that I gave myself. Who would dare oppose it in this school?!¡±


    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re probably rmending that I attend more sses, right?¡± Xiao Lin felt like there was a hidden meaning to this.


    The dean once again raised his hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to ask me. I won¡¯t and can¡¯t give you any rmendations. Every SS-rank talent is unique and there are no prior examples. The only thing I can give you is freedom, and I hope to see the results in half a month.¡±


    The third monthly examination was in half a month. Xiao Lin now realized that the dean had no intentions of dying the exam, but it was fine. He had absolute confidence in his own skill.


    The dean¡¯s eyes were sharp, and he quickly guessed what Xiao Lin was thinking, ¡°Even though I can give you all the convenience in the world in the academy, that hinges on the condition that it does not break any rules. Examinations, including the monthly examinations, will be indiscriminate. The map for thising exam was personally chosen by myself; it will be very difficult, so you should be prepared. Even though your value to Dawn Academy is considerable, I won¡¯t lower my expectations of you, nor will I spoon feed you. Your path can only be determined by yourself!¡±


    After that, the dean¡¯s expression grew stricter.


    Xiao Lin stared and realized the dean was definitely not joking, but he acknowledged his good intentions. He did have the SS-rank Academic Genius talent, but it required him to work hard in order to unleash its true potential.


    The conversation was at an end, and it was alreadyte at night when Xiao Lin left the dean¡¯s tower. He did not realize it was sote, since the conversation was quite enjoyable. The dean was very different from the powerful and detached leadership figure he had imagined.


    Xiao Lin still had a lot of questions that went unanswered, such as those regarding Ivanovich and the high priest, but the dean did not go deep into those topics. Those matters would not have anything to do with him for a while. To Xiao Lin, the most important task at hand was to improve himself quickly.


    What caused him to rx was the fact that he finally understood the attitude the dean and the school had toward him. Even if the dean did not say it outright, he now knew that the dean was standing behind him. It was impossible not to be pleased with that fact.


    Xiao Lin did not hurry to bed when he got back to the dormitory. Instead, he opened the list of sses. The courses for the first year did not change much, since the first few months were all filled with basic courses. However, since Xiao Lin had obtained the freedom to attend any sses he wanted, his options widened.


    He was initially confused as to why the dean would open up all four years of courses to him in one go, because skills were like arge branching tree, and most skills were connected to each other. If the prerequisites were not mastered, it would be impossible to learn anything moreplicated.


    However, he had a moment of realization when he opened the second year courses. In it, he saw courses like Basic Medicinal Studies and Basic Alchemy, whereas the third year sses had basic courses such as Basic Dragish.


    The dean might not have said that he needed to take those courses, but just gave him a wider array of options, unrestricted by the limitations ced by the school¡¯s rigid systems.


    ¡°I need to hurry up and improve!¡±


    Xiao Lin had gained a lot of determination thanks to the dean¡¯s support, especially after he realized how weak he was in The Final Land. The feeling that his life was in someone else¡¯s hands was a terrible one. As fellow SS-rank talents, the gap between him and Lilith was too wide.


    ¡°In half a month, I will raise Academic Genius to level two, and then it¡¯s ck Iron-rank we go!¡±


    Xiao Lin set the goal for himself. When he recalled that the map for this next examination was chosen personally by the dean, he realized in great anticipation that the exam would be exceptionally difficult.

 Chapter 181: New Courses

    <h4>Chapter 181: New Courses</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The courses on Monday were the same as ever. He had General History of Norma In the morning and Basic Swordsmanship in the afternoon. It had been more than a month since Xiao Lin saw Professor Dai and he felt a little emotional. Afterparing the Dawn Academy¡¯s Professor Dai with Judge Academy¡¯s Professor Brown, he realized that the two of them shared some simrities. They were both knowledgeable in their respective fields, Professor Brown being a linguist and Professor Dai an excellent historian.


    Professor Dai was the same as always. He gave his lectures in an animated and focused manner, and his disy of various magical images ensured that his sses were never boring.


    Xiao Lin actually hesitated to attend the history ss at first. After all, he had the authority to sit in any ss as he pleased and could choose whatever sses he wished to take as long as he could fulfill the conditions to advance to sophomore year.


    After pondering over it for a long time in the morning, he finally decided to attend the ss. He hoped to gain a more thorough understanding of Norma. Professor Dai¡¯s lecture that day was about the history of the merfolk, a race which bordered directly with Dawn Academy¡¯s colony. In the hundreds of years of colonial history, the merfolk had engaged in several wars with Dawn Academy, and the conflicts were especially fierce in the early days when Dawn Academy was founded.


    The feud between two sides could be regarded as an age-old one. Countless lives died at the hands of each opponent, especially during the period where the resurrection tower had not yet been built. In order to restrain Dawn Academy, the orcs provided the merfolk with arge number of weapons and equipment, giving them the necessary support to fight back against Dawn Academy. It led directly to the most tragic battle between Dawn Academy and the orcs.


    Professor Dai first gave a brief introduction to the history of the merfolk. The race had a long history and were the first to appear when life was born on Norma. The merfolk evolved from the ocean¡¯s fish life and in general, possessed most of the characteristics of a fish. However, their hind limbs have evolved into two functional legs and they gained the ability to walk onnd.


    The earliest territory of the merfolk was around Dawn Academy. Dawn Academy tried to avoid conflict in the early days and discovered that the race had almost zero intelligence. It was a race that relied entirely on instinct for survival and any agreement with them was not binding. Dawn Academy then decided to go to war, and for decades, the merfolk were almostpletely driven back to the sea.


    Xiao Lin noticed that Professor Dai used the words ¡®driven back¡¯, not ¡®defeat¡¯. After expressing some puzzlement, Professor Dai exined that the merfolk possessed extremely terrifying reproductive abilities. The number of their offspring would only increase, and in the end, there was no other way except to drive them back to the ocean andunch a war against the orcs. Those low-intelligence races retreated quickly after their supply source was cut off.


    In addition to introducing the history of the merfolk and the history of the war with Dawn Academy, Professor Dai also briefly exined thenguage system of the merfolk. Although the course content in that area was not his strong point, he said that Mermish was apulsory course in the early days of Dawn Academy, perhaps even more important than Norma¡¯s Common Language.


    The others were all amazed, but Xiao Lin was not surprised. The academy¡¯s courses were oriented around training and nurturing, and since the academy considered the merfolk to be a major hidden danger, courses relevant to merfolk would naturally be more important.


    The Mermish script was messy-looking, but they were not difficult to learn. Most characters could easily be identified through their shape, as they bore some resemnce to hieroglyphs. Theirnguage however, was difficult to learn, with the key aspect being theck of a unified grammatical system as well as an extremely confusing pronunciation system.


    The morning ss ended quickly and was not that boring for Xiao Lin. As a student of Dawn Academy, it was not a bad thing to gain more knowledge about the school¡¯s history. In spite of that, Xiao Lin was a little confused when he heardints from other students after ss. From thoseints, he discovered that Professor Dai had apparently changed the topic at thest minute that day, and the original topic of that lesson ought to have been elvish history.


    As the lecturer, Professor Dai had every right to change his lecture contents at any time. Xiao Lin did not take that episode into his heart, but he was rather surprised to see an extra skill after querying the centralputer: Basic Mermish Mastery LV1.


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or cry. He could not help but wonder if he really had the talent for learningnguages?


    Later that afternoon, Xiao Lin paid more attention to his swordsmanship course. When he reappeared in the training hall after being gone for more than a month, it was only natural that he would arouse excitement and whispers from the other students.


    The T-rex¡¯s temper was still the same and she instantly silenced the chattering training hall with a roar. The dean had probably spoken with all the lecturers and tutors beforehand, and the violent woman did not seem to show any favoritism toward Xiao Lin.


    The contents of that lesson were skill training and the skill being trained was the shing that Xiao Lin had already mastered. It was not a difficult skill to learn, but the training required to master it took up a lot of time. ording to the tutor, that skill was a prerequisite skill for many skills and it was advantageous to master it as soon as possible.


    Xiao Lin however, had his own ideas. After the group practice started, he took the initiative to meet the tutor and ask, ¡°I¡¯d like to learn Basic Sword Aura.¡±


    The woman stared at Xiao Lin fiercely for more than ten seconds, then said in a rather unkind tone, ¡°You again! Are you trying to trouble me on the first day? Even though the dean gave us all a heads-up, the old man also told us that he won¡¯t lower the standard for your assessment. You understand what I mean, don¡¯t you!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled helplessly. ¡°Tutor, my basic swordsmanship is already level eight, I think I¡¯ve already reached the required standard for learning Basic Sword Aura.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand do y¡ª¡± The tutor swallowed herst word abruptly. Her eyes widened in surprise, and the others reacted simrly, looking at Xiao Lin as if he was a monster.


    Xiao Lin had seen the basic skills of the others in the ss, and most of them were only around LV5. Taking into ount the increased training difficulty that came with progressive advancement of one¡¯s skills, LV8 was already considered an unimaginable level.


    ¡°The learning standard of the Basic Sword Aura course is indeed level eight Basic Swordsmanship, but I don¡¯t believe you can do it. Prove it to me! If you seed, I¡¯ll teach you how to master Basic Sword Aura!¡± The tutor still seemed skeptical.


    ¡°My information is there for you to check.¡±


    She looked impatient and said in a soft voice, ¡°Don¡¯t take me for a fool. How can I check when the dean has already encrypted your data!¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. The dean had not told him about that, so he said helplessly, ¡°Then what can I do to prove it? Am I supposed to fight you?¡±


    ¡°Fight him!¡± The tutor pointed at Cheng Ming, who was just beside Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 182: Battling Cheng Ming

    <h4>Chapter 182: Battling Cheng Ming</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Cheng Ming was the monitor of ss One. He was also a very straightforward man, well-liked among the freshman year. Everyone was shocked by the tutor¡¯s words. Cheng Ming quickly said, ¡°Instructor, you know that my Basic swordsmanship is only level seven now, right?¡±


    Everyone else could not help but roll their eyes when they heard that,menting to themselves that Cheng Ming was too honest. It was impossible for anyone to know if Xiao Lin was just making a random assertion about his LV8 , and Cheng Ming was probably the only one among all those people who truly believed Xiao Lin¡¯s words.


    Xiao Lin was also slightly surprised, but Cheng Ming¡¯s Swordheart talent wasmon knowledge because of Cheng Ming¡¯s own loudmouth. All swordsmanship-rted skills increased by one level, and he only attained LV7 because of the bonus orded to him by the Swordheart.


    The instructor still maintained a cold face and showed no expression on that fair mien of hers. She did not provide any exnation and simply watched them quietly.


    Xiao Lin was suddenly intrigued. In fact, he was curious to know what level his current strength had reached. Cheng Ming possessed one of the more outstanding strengths among the ss monitors, especially in terms of swordsmanship.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try, then.¡± Xiao Lin gave Cheng Ming a friendly smile and said, ¡°Let¡¯s treat this as an exercise for us to learn from each other.¡±


    Cheng Ming felt a little pressured. ¡°Learning from each other is different from training. Swords don¡¯t have a mind of their own and I still can¡¯t willfully control my power.¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately understood why Cheng Ming felt awkward and could not help but realize how much of an honest person Cheng Ming was. Thetter was probably worried that the two of them would be injured and would have to use their redemption points for treatment. Those points were more important than anything, especially when the third monthly exam was approaching.


    ¡°Come with me,¡± the tutor spoke again and walked toward the training hall.


    Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming looked at each other and followed, only to discover that there were actually other rooms inside the training hall. Cheng Na had never mentioned it before, and they were not allowed to enter them either. After opening the door to those rooms, Xiao Lin stretched his neck and looked around. His eyes widened and he could not resist muttering, ¡°A simted battle system?¡±


    The tutor raised her brow somewhat unexpectedly. ¡°You¡¯ve used it before?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, in New Washington.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll keep things brief.¡±


    The instructor briefly exined that the system could also allow two people to learn from each other, in addition to creating virtual characters forbat practice. That way, the simted health bar could provide a rough distinction between the strong and the weak.


    The sword to be used was a special wooden sword that was not lethal in the slightest, which meant that there was no need to worry about getting injured. To put it bluntly, it was solely topare their Basic Swordsmanship level.


    The simted battle system consumed energy stones every time it was used, so the tutors almost never let them use it. On that asion however, they made an exception for some reason. Xiao Lin¡¯s rtionship with Cheng Ming was quite good too, and their friendship would not be affected, no matter what the oue was. Meanwhile, Cheng Ming was amazed at the two health bars in the battle room and heaped continuous praises on how amazing the system was.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you yed online games before?¡± Xiao Lin asked softly.


    ¡°I never y online games.¡±


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched as he brandished the training sword in his hand. The sword was very light and had no edge. It is not very easy to use, but it did not matter since they were just using it to learn from each other. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s start then.¡±


    ¡°Looking forward to learning from you!¡± Cheng Ming was still very polite, but his gaze sharpened suddenly when the battle began. He chose the ¨¦p¨¦e, and thebat system subsequently made a higher assessment of the damage it could inflict. Cheng Mingunched the first attack.


    The battle room there was much more spacious than that of New Washington, which allowed more room for maneuverability. Although Cheng Ming¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship was lower than Xiao Lin¡¯s, his total power value was higher than his. Cheng Ming¡¯s strength was likely around the 20- to 30-point range. Even if Cheng Ming did not exert 100% of his power, it would still be enough to spell trouble for Xiao Lin.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re confident enough to engage in a direct confrontation with me?¡± Xiao Lin muttered softly and raised his sword high. He chose a long and slender sword, of which the attack power was weaker than that of an ¨¦p¨¦e. However, his advantage was in the lightness of the de, with both his attacking speed and posture improving tremendously as a result.


    Xiao Lin understood that his low agility was a big weakness for him, so he naturally refrained from choosing heavy swords that increased his burden on speed.


    On seeing that, the tutor moved her lips slightly, and coldly spit out two words: ¡°You idiot! You¡¯re using the shing right away?¡±


    The battle room was surrounded by ss windows, which afforded the outside world a view of what happened within. Behind the instructor, other students craned their necks to watch the battle, and it was no surprise that they were greatly interested.


    Both opponents in the battle could be considered some of the more famous individuals from the academy, albeit on two different extremes of the spectrum. Cheng Ming was a good person who could get along well with anyone, while Xiao Lin receivedments that were mostly negative. His sudden return in those two days dispelled the ims of him dropping out, and there were also rumors saying that someone was taking care of him behind the scenes. Although no one verbally expressed their skepticism, it was all but certain that many felt that way in their hearts.


    ¡®I¡¯m stronger than him. Why does he have the right to be the acting monitor? How is it possible that he could be valued by the student union and even the dean?¡¯


    Every onlooker had that mentality and cheered for Cheng Ming, though it was impossible for the two to hear anythinging from outside the battle room.


    Xiao Lin did use his shing. The others learnt that skill too, but he had already mastered it early on using his talent. The shorings of that skill were something he was very aware of; it had to be powered up for some time in order to exert enough power. Such luxury of time was nonexistent in a battle, where changes urred in the blink of an eye.


    Cheng Ming roared and elerated his sprint speed at once. In seconds, his body was already fast approaching Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin gave him an unexpected smile. Xiao Lin, who had already umted his energy from the start, immediately dodged sideways with ease, avoiding Cheng Ming¡¯s head-on attack.


    Cheng Ming gaped in surprise. With his burst of speed, he attempted to seize the moment before Xiao Linpleted the shing¡¯s power-up, but there was a drawback to it¡ªhe could not stop his pace at all because of inertia, and the empty attack which he ced all his focus on destabilized his body¡¯s center of gravity. Cheng Ming was unable to defend himself at that moment and it was exactly the effect Xiao Lin was aiming for.


    ¡°Nice hit!¡±


    The tutor was silent for a moment before gritting her teeth and uttering those two words. The students around her went nk when they heard her remark, and the sequence of events happened as quickly as a spark, so much so that most people did not understand what happened.


    ¡°Tutor, can the shing¡¯s power-up be forcibly canceled midway?¡± someone asked suddenly in confusion.


    ¡°Yes, but you must have very precise control over power, otherwise you¡¯ll lose your defensive ability in an instant. Doing this requires a lot of experience!¡± The tutor¡¯s eyes gradually became serious.

 Chapter 183: Battling Cheng Ming (2)

    <h4>Chapter 183: Battling Cheng Ming (2)</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin feigned a move and forcibly canceled the retraction process of the shing¡¯s power, but he sessfully found Cheng Ming in a vulnerable state. It went without saying that he was not going to spare Cheng Ming any courtesy. He delivered several quick stabs with his longsword, and Cheng Ming¡¯s health dropped by nearly half on the health bar disyed on the wall. In that state, Cheng Ming had no way to block or mount a counterattack, so he could only endure those stabs as they came.


    Xiao Lin did not enjoy the battle. After seeding in the attack, he quickly backed away and distanced himself. Cheng Ming was stronger than he had imagined, and although the open attack earlier had allowed him to seed, he originally expected it to decrease Cheng Ming¡¯s health by at least two-thirds. It was Cheng Ming¡¯s quick response that forced him to step back and temporarily avoid an attack.


    The voices cheering for Cheng Ming outside the room kepting, but the tutor sighed silently. She had already seen that Cheng Ming might not be a match for Xiao Lin at all.


    Although the current strength levels of the two were close and Cheng Ming¡¯s strength even edged out Xiao Lin¡¯s, their experience gap was sorge that itpletely surpassed the tutor¡¯s expectations.


    The battle continued.


    After Xiao Lin distanced himself, he raised the longsword high up again and a silver light shed along the de¡¯s edge. It was clearly a sign that he was beginning to gather strength after activating his shing. Surprisingly, he was actually nning to use the same technique again.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, the same moves are useless against me!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not Saint Seiya!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but taunt.


    ¡°Huh? Saint Seiya?¡±


    Cheng Ming did not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s taunt, but he would not be fooled for the second time. Direct as he was, he preferred a straightforward face off. In addition to his rtivelyrge stature and low agility, his dodging technique was not that good. He thought for less than half a second and stepped forward, raising his ¨¦p¨¦e above his head as it glowed while powering-up.


    ¡®shing vs shing!¡¯


    The instructor snorted coldly, and could not help but burst out saying, ¡°Idiot!¡±


    The students watching the battle looked a little confused and immediately asked, ¡°Tutor, who are you calling an idiot?¡±


    ¡°Both of them!¡± It was a rare instance where she exined something. ¡°When ites to realbat, shing is a very tasteless skill. All you have to do is avoid the attack in time during the power-up stage. Cheng Ming avoids non-confrontational fights, and that penchant of his will be his downfall. Xiao Lin is also an idiot for having the guts to confront Cheng Ming with shing. Their simultaneous attack now bes a pure contest of strength, and Cheng Ming has an overwhelming advantage! The oue is all but decided. Xiao Lin may excel in terms of experience, but his own foundation is still too poor!¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s shing proficiency had reached the highest level due to the bonus of his Swordheart talent, but with the addition of his own strength, the power of that sh would certainly be immense.


    The power-up processsted only three or four seconds and the two training swords collided with a piercing sharp light. Although the training swords were not made of iron and had almost no lethality, the onlookers¡¯ eyes twitched seeing the burst of impact from those two rushing out with all their strength.


    ¡°Miracle!¡±


    Xiao Lin was not so stupid to confront Cheng Ming directly. His Miracle skill had been quietly activated, converting no more than 50% of his attributes into other attributes. He converted his agility, physique and intelligence into strength. A total of 15 points were converted, bringing the total value of power to 25 points.


    There was still a slight gap between himself and Cheng Ming, but his Basic Swordsmanship was one level higher than that of his opponent, which barely made up for that shoring.


    It was not the first time he has used the attribute conversion skill. He has used it many times in The Final Land, but it was the first time he had used it without the help of the Lightstream Jade.


    Xiao Lin felt his footsteps be heavier, evidently due to the decline in agility and physical fitness. The fatigue in his brain had also increased inexplicably: the result of low intelligence and low mental strength.


    In the same way however, he felt his arms flood with power.


    The forces generated by the two shes collided, and the powerful energy sent Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming back several steps. If they were using real swords, they would have both suffered huge injuries.


    Beep, beep, beep!


    The battle system issued a notification that the battle had ended. Everyone suddenly turned to look at the health bar monitor and eximed. Cheng Ming¡¯s health bar had dropped to zero, and even those who did not understand the battle earlier finally understood that the winner was Xiao Lin.


    The most important aspect of that simted battle system was undoubtedly its urate and intuitive reflection of a battle¡¯s oue through a digitized health bar, rather than having both sides fight to the death.


    The noisy cheers came to an abrupt end. Everyone looked at each other with incredulous looks. Although it was just a trivial exercise, many of them looked forward to seeing Cheng Ming put Xiao Lin in his ce.


    The result put almost everyone at a loss for words, especially the other monitors, who looked like they had seen a ghost. As members of the same Basic Swordsmanship ss, they knew how strong Cheng Ming was. It was not as though they never made thatparison before. Even though they did not use the battle system, they were well aware that they could not defeat Cheng Ming because his Swordheart talent practically made him born to use swords.


    Despite all that, Cheng Ming was defeated by Xiao Lin in a very short battle thatsted no more than two minutes.


    A crowd of strange gazes fell on the tutor again. She had just said that Xiao Lin would lose, yet the oue had pped her in the face within a few seconds. Her face turned pale, after which she yelled angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t you all need to train? I¡¯ll deduct the credits of anyone who cks off!¡±


    The onlookers still had much to say, but they dispersed immediately after her shout. Everyone felt incredibly dejected from Cheng Na¡¯s harshness.


    ¡°It¡¯s over?¡± Cheng Ming was a little dazed.


    Xiao Lin curled his lips and rubbed his numb wrist, then raised his head and nced at his own health bar. He was also ovee with emotion. In fact, he did not really care about the oue of that match. The more important point was that Cheng Ming proved to be a good opponent to experiment with.


    The goal of the experiment was naturally to convert his own attributes, which was the Miracle skill in other words. It was a useful skill indeed, allowing Xiao Lin to match Cheng Ming, even in a head-on confrontation.


    As it stood, his basic attribute value was still a bit low, and although the sh earlier was a resounding victory, only half of his health remained. If that was actualbat, Xiao Lin would have suffered a serious injury.


    ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re really strong! Looks like I¡¯ve not been training hard enough!¡± Cheng Ming walked over and hugged Xiao Lin without anyints. Although that easygoing man was very dispirited when his health drained to zero, he quickly set those feelings aside.

 Chapter 184: Classification of Sword Aura

    <h4>Chapter 184: ssification of Sword Aura</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Next up, I¡¯ll be teaching you two Basic Sword Aura mastery.¡±


    After the exercise, the tutor Cheng Na did not give the two of them much time to rest. After randomly assigning the rest for pair training, she called Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming to a separate training room next door.


    Cheng Na was d in a fitted ck leather jacket as always, which entuated her exquisite and slim figure. Xiao Lin however, did not dare have any thoughts of that T-rex, and the fact that Cheng Na would be able to teach Basic Sword Aura so readily was a bit unexpected.


    Normally, the arrangement of the courses was determined ording to the general progress of the whole ss, meaning that Cheng Na would only start teaching sword aura when most of the students in the swordsmanship ss reached the same level. On that asion however, it was equivalent to a separate lesson. There had never been such a precedent.


    Cheng Ming was also equally as surprised. He scratched his head because his own Basic Swordsmanship level was only LV6, which was one level short of the Basic Sword Aura learning requirements. Being the honest person that he was, he reminded Cheng Na awkwardly, ¡°Tutor, I think you forgot that I still can¡¯t learn Basic Sword Aura.¡±


    Cheng Na said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your talent adds another level to your basic skill. In other words, your actual basic level is actually basic swordsmanship level five, and its far less difficult for you to upgrade from level five to level six than it is to upgrade from level six to level seven. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Cheng Ming shook his head honestly.


    Cheng Na paused and said annoyed, ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way; there¡¯s still half a month left. It¡¯s entirely possible for you to upgrade your Basic Swordsmanship to level six. That way, your actual level will be able to reach level seven and meet the requirements for sword aura. Instead of waiting until then, it might be better to remember the essentials of sword aura in advance so you can catch up by then.¡±


    ¡°Catch up?¡± Cheng Ming was still confused.


    Xiao Lin had a sudden thought and whispered, ¡°The tutor is talking about the third monthly exam. It¡¯s an important one, and it¡¯ll help you a lot if you can master sword aura by then, even if you only master a tiny little bit!¡±


    Cheng Ming finally understood it. Cheng Na nced at Xiao Lin faintly in a tacit response to his answer. She then continued, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to get started with Basic Sword Aura. The difficulty lies in mastering it. It¡¯s actually simr to swordsmanship. If you want to go further with the way of the de, sword aura is something that has to be mastered.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming both listened carefully, but Xiao Lin felt a little weird in his heart. He felt that he was vaguely able to guess why Cheng Na was so willing to teach Basic Sword Aura.


    The dean said that he would personally be selecting the map for the third monthly exam, which meant that the difficulty would see a huge increase. Cheng Na gave him and Cheng Ming a separate lesson because there were the only ones who had the ability to master Basic Sword Aura within half a month.


    Having sword aura was definitely a qualitative leap.


    ¡°First of all, you need to understand what sword aura is. I¡¯m sure you must¡¯ve seen it in various novels or games, and I believe your history teacher has already mentioned the many novels and stories on Earth originate from the New World.¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly. Although he had never yed online games, he was obsessed with swordsmen in Wuxia novels. That was an important reason for his decision to choose Basic Swordsmanship.


    Cheng Na said, ¡°However, there are actually two types of sword aura on Norma. Internal and external sword aura. The so-called internal sword aura is the power of the sword thates from within oneself. Swordsmen can enhance their sword aura through years and years of tempering and practice. External sword aura is somewhat simr to spells. The swordsmanmunicates with nature¡¯s four major elements, thereby inducing the power of the elements to release the sword aura.¡±


    ¡°Magic sword?¡± Xiao Lin blurted out. ¡°Magic-martial arts dual cultivation?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Cheng Na stared fiercely at the interrupting Xiao Lin. ¡°Although external sword aura includes some spell damage in the scope of its lethality, the main essence is still the physical damage that the sword aura inflicts. It cannot be used as mental power to execute spells, so this is fundamentally different from the dual cultivation of magic and martial arts!¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged. ¡°Well, then, Tutor, do you think we should learn external or internal sword aura?¡±


    ¡°The two schools of sword aura have their own characteristics. The early stages of external sword aura require a certain level of mastery in Basic Meditation, and the starting point is rtively high. The initial lethality is very powerful, but your stamina will be insufficientter on. On the other hand, internal sword aura requires a long time to umte in order to hone it, but it¡¯ster progress will be higher than that of external sword aura.¡±


    After a pause, Cheng Na said again, ¡°These two schools of sword aura are studied by many on Norma. Each school thinks that they¡¯re promulgating genuine sword aura, just like ck mages and white mages in the spell world. Each side doesn¡¯t take kindly to the other, but there¡¯s no such conflict in our colonial academy. It all depends on your personal preferences and choices.¡±


    ¡°What school of sword aura did you learn?¡± Cheng Ming asked.


    ¡°I learnt external sword aura first, thenter I switched to internal sword aura,¡± Cheng Na answered truthfully. She pondered for a moment before exining, ¡°From a long-term perspective, the destructive power of the internal sword aura at thetter stage is better than external sword aura.¡±


    Cheng Mingughed. ¡°Then I must choose the most powerful one. I¡¯ll learn internal sword aura.¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated for a moment, then smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll learn external sword aura then. I¡¯m quite confident in my Basic Meditation.¡±


    Cheng Na was not surprised by their choices. She nodded and said, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve mastered the basics of both anyway. Alright then. Cheng Ming, I¡¯ll teach you the basics first. The basics of internal sword aura is actually very simple, but the focus will be on cumtive drills.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not express any opinion and listened carefully.


    When swordsmanship mastery reached a certain stage¡ªLV8¡ªa special kind of airflow would be produced whenever a sword was swung. It could be called inner Qi, fighting Qi, or sword aura. The name was not important, but that special airflow was the embryonic form of the sword aura, and the first step to practice an internal sword aura was to thoroughly control that airflow.


    Due to the fact that sword aura could only be considered a kind of force when it was first generated, the sword user could not control the sword aura as and when they pleased. That was the threshold to enter practice; constant training was required until it could be released and retracted at will, and only then could they be considered to be crossing the threshold of entry.


    Cheng Na¡¯s exnation was very simple. In fact, there was nothing more for her to say. Although the threshold to practice sword aura was based on her ownprehension, it depended highly on her own aptitude and ability as well. Cheng Na was not worried that Cheng Ming would not be able to learn sword aura; as long as he reached Basic Swordsmanship LV8, mastering sword aura was just a matter of time.


    Cheng Ming left first after listening. He did not have any interest in the exnation of external sword aura. Since he had decided to learn internal sword aura, it was basically impossible to change his mind. The first thing he had to do was to upgrade his basic swordsmanship to LV7.

 Chapter 185: Elemental Sword Aura

    <h4>Chapter 185: Elemental Sword Aura</h4>


    ¡°Next is the external sword aura. Frankly speaking, although I did predict that you¡¯d choose external sword aura, I still want to remind you that it relies on the elements despite having amazing lethality at first. The prerequisite requirements are very difficult, because it¡¯s connected with the requirement level for Basic Meditation. In addition, it can be very troublesome once it is restrained. Are you sure there won¡¯t be a problem?¡± Cheng Na confirmed once she was alone with him.


    ¡°No problem.¡± Xiao Lin actually hesitated, but he thought of Lilith. He had seen that woman fight in The Final Land, and if things were as he expected, Lilith had likely used her external sword aura too.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start then!¡±


    Cheng Na did not exin immediately, unlike when she was teaching Cheng Ming earlier. Instead, she turned her wrist and fished out herrge ck sword from the void. She brandished it and said, ¡°The threshold to entering practice of external sword aura is more troublesome than internal sword aura. It¡¯ll be harder to exin in simplenguage, so I¡¯ll show you directly.¡±


    Cheng Na was already swinging her big sword without waiting for Xiao Lin to speak. In an instant, purple electricity intertwined all around the de, causing sparks as a result of friction with the air. After a set of Basic Swordsmanship moves, the air seemed to heat up with the electric ions flowing freely around, making Xiao Lin¡¯s skin feel a little numb.


    ¡°Do you understand?¡± Cheng Na asked.


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment and shook his head.


    Cheng Na skipped all the nonsense and demonstrated it again. It was a few simple swordsmanship movements, just like before, but the purpose of her demonstration was not to show those moves. She said indifferently, ¡°What¡¯s important in external sword aura is the power of your ownprehension. It¡¯s purely a matter of personal talent.¡±


    ¡°Are there requirements for the basic level of meditation?¡±


    ¡°In theory, as your Basic Meditation reaches level one¨Cwhich means you¡¯re already beginning to feel the presence of the four elements¡ªyou can guide them to release the sword aura. But if your Basic Meditation level is high enough, it might be easier to master external sword aura.¡±


    Xiao Lin was somewhat distressed. If Cheng Na¡¯s level was lower, he would have wanted to use his Academic Genius talent to replicate her skills. Unfortunately, the woman was a graduate, and her level of sword aura would surely have exceeded the range with which he could replicate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look with your eyes. Feel with your heart. Since you¡¯ve taken spell courses, you ought to know that the elements can be felt in a meditative state. On the other hand, external sword aura doesn¡¯t require you to fully perceive the elements, so there¡¯s no need to enter the meditative state. Remember, you¡¯re guiding it! It¡¯s almost like you¡¯re drawing upon them with your own power to control the elements.¡±


    Cheng Na exined it as simply as possible, but it was obvious that she had limited understanding when it came to spell-rted knowledge. It was unsurprising that she gave up external sword aura and learnt internal sword aura. She did not seem to be that proficient in internal sword aura.


    After dozens of repeated demonstrations, Cheng Na began panting slightly. She put away her huge sword and said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today. You don¡¯t have to be discouraged. It¡¯s really much harder to get started with internal sword aura. You¡¯re considered sessful if you can enter the initial stages of practice before the end of the month.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, Tutor. What¡¯s exactly different with this monthly exam?¡± Xiao Lin asked quickly.


    Cheng Na stopped and looked at him with surprise for a moment. ¡°Didn¡¯t the dean mention it to you?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°The dean just told me that this exam will be different. Okay, I know what you want to say, but I just want to say that I have no rtion with the dean, and I¡¯m sure you know the dean¡¯s penchant for fairness. He could not possibly disclose the contents to me in advance.¡±


    Cheng Na¡¯s gaze eased slightly and she sighed, much to his surprise. ¡°The Academic Affairs Department had actually decided on the map for the uing monthly exam, but the dean gave ast-minute notification to rece it. I can¡¯t say much, but you have to pay attention. This exam is... Um... It¡¯s very special.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, Tutor. Do you know if there¡¯s anyone on campus who mastered external sword aura?¡± It¡¯s not that Xiao Lin did not believe in his understanding, but it was obviously a waste of time to continue like that. He could not possibly spend the rest of the month on that, so the best way was undoubtedly to replicate first, and experience external sword aura within the limited three minutes. He believed that he could get started quickly after that.


    Cheng Na was even more surprised than he was. ¡°You have a good rtionship with Department Head Song, right? Don¡¯t you know that he used to be the academy¡¯s famous elemental sword aura master? There aren¡¯t a lot of people in Dawn Academy who chose external sword aura, and even fewer are able to learn it to a higher level. Department Head Song is one of the best, but it¡¯s a damn shame.¡±


    Herst sentencemented how Song Jung fell from Gold-rank back to Bronze-rank. Xiao Lin was dumbfounded after hearing that, but he was overjoyed after Cheng Na left. The result was better than he expected! If Song Jung was only at Bronze-rank, it would mean that his sword aura was not that high a level.


    After going through that day¡¯s lessons, Xiao Lin was incredibly excited to rush to the logistics department. Song Jung was toying with his little dragon-eagle. The little guy was growing almost at a speed visible to the naked eye, and it was no longer kept inside a bird cage. Because of that, Department Head Song had specially prepared a very spacious room to be used as the residence of dragon-eagle; something which he had been busy with for the past two days.


    ¡°Elemental sword aura?¡± After hearing Xiao Lin¡¯s answer, Song Jung¡ªwho was busy in a private chat¡ªsuddenly stopped moving and had a strange look. ¡°I haven¡¯t participated in a battle for many years now. Why did you think to bring it up today?¡±


    ¡°I just want to know what level your elemental sword aura is. Umm, it¡¯d be better to describe your evaluation to me. What evaluation is it equivalent to?¡±


    Song Jung did not pay attention to Xiao Lin¡¯s eager gaze. He continued to bury his head in the private chat and said casually, ¡°Well, that¡¯s hard to say. I reached the advanced elemental sword aura at my peak, so the evaluation might be equivalent to C or B. I can¡¯t remember. But that¡¯s what it used to be. I can only use basic elemental sword aura, at the most, now. In terms of evaluation. Well, it¡¯s probably equivalent to Grade E.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Xiao Lin cheered.


    ¡°Huh? Great?¡±


    ¡°Umm, that¡¯s not what I meant. I¡¯m sorry for you. But... Forget it, that¡¯s settled then. I¡¯lle to you again in a bit.¡± Xiao Lin wanted to exin, but he simply said goodbye and left Song Jung with a confused look.


    Song Jung¡¯s elemental sword aura was only Grade E. Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius skill could replicate skills up to Grade F, but it was not a problem. Xiao Lin remembered the dean saying that he would help to double the SS-level talent¡¯s advancement within half a month. With that, his talent would definitely be stronger, and he might even be able to copy Song Jung¡¯s Basic Sword Aura by then.

 Chapter 186: Phantom Steps

    <h4>Chapter 186: Phantom Steps</h4>


    The courses for the next day were Norma¡¯s Common Language and Basic Meditation. Xiao Lin decided to forgo themonnguage course for the time being after much deliberation, as his primary purpose was to increase his basic attribute value. Advancement would be more difficult as the value increased, but with the Miracle skill, Xiao Lin¡¯s goal was very simple.


    He did not need to aim for high attributes, because doing so would make it difficult to have any significant improvement within half a month. Xiao Lin had gained a better understanding when it came to the promotion of attributes.


    It was easy to improve attributes, and that was with continuous practice. There were many ways to train, like improving strength through Basic Swordsmanship. At the same time, a simr effect could also be achieved by training other strength-rted skills. The higher the skill, the better its effect.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s less-developed attributes were undoubtedly agility, which stood at only six points. Aside from the Basic Body Technique course, he felt that he had to take other relevant courses.


    He opened up the sophomore course electives table and screened them ording to attributes. The choices were quite different from that of freshmen and there was arger variety of courses from sophomore year onward. Students also had a certain degree of autonomy in terms of their choices.


    Most of the sophomore courses were advanced courses based on basic courses. For example, once a student¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship reached a certain level, there were Intermediate Swordsmanship Courses. Clearly, those were not within Xiao Lin¡¯s choice.


    However, there were also plenty of courses which did not require high basic prerequisites. After all, the power system of Norma wasrge and extremelyplicated, and a freshman could not possibly choose to learn all of them.


    Xiao Lin quickly had his heart set on a course called Phantom Steps. It only required an agility value of more than five points. There was also a brief introduction to the skill in the course schedule. The skill enhanced one¡¯s ability to dodge enemies, and a person could even create temporary apparitions to confuse the enemy once the person¡¯s agility value was high enough.


    It was a very practical move, and a course based entirely on agility was certain to improve his agility attributes. More importantly, the time of the lesson happened to coincide with hismonnguage course and therefore did not conflict with other courses.


    After remembering the ssroom, Xiao Lin appeared outside the sophomore training hall on time the next day. He swiped his door with his universal card, and the permission granted by the dean made things convenient. He kept a low-profile, quietly found the innermost corner of the training hall and waited there. The students taking elective courses were all from different sses, and no one cared about having more individuals in the training hall since everyone was unfamiliar with each other.


    The tutor was a very young man. Even though the other students did not seem to care as much, he still remembered the number of people in the ss. After entering, he frowned and clicked the interface by the door to browse the list. Using the universal card when entering and leaving the ssroom almost certainly left a record.


    ¡°Xiao Lin? I don¡¯t recall you being in my course.¡± The man¡¯s voice was a little hoarse. He raised his head and looked curiously at Xiao Lin sitting in a corner. He then buried his head and continued reading the information, muttering to himself, ¡°Huh? A freshman? Uh, I don¡¯t have permission to ess data. This permission is...¡±


    Everyone else seemed to have no interest at first, but became a little curious when they heard that he was a freshman. After hearing that even the tutor did not have the permission to ess the data, everyone¡¯s interest was thoroughly piqued. Just as they were about to listen carefully however, the man¡¯s confident voice had stopped abruptly. He grinned, wiped the sweat from his forehead, then coughed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue with today¡¯s lesson.¡±


    There was a loud mor in the training hall. The man had stopped his sentence midway and was clearly trying to whet everyone else¡¯s appetite. Unable to resist, they asked each other, and although they spoke politely, the whole training hall seemed at ease.


    Xiao Lin was embarrassed as well as a little surprised. The tutor seemed to have a good temper and was not at all intimidating. On the contrary, he was more like a senior who got along with everyone as if they were in his generation.


    What Xiao Lin did not know was that graduates, professors even, were tasked to teach the entire freshman year. As a result, the discipline and requirements of the freshmen¡¯s ss were much stricter than those of sophomore year or even third year.


    In fact, the young man was a third-year repeat student. He chose to teach in second year because he needed to earn more redemption points. Phantom Steps was a very basic skill and did not require much advanced skills, so a third-year student waspetent enough to teach that.


    After everyone¡¯s questioning, the man¡¯s forehead began sweating much more profusely. His earlier search revealed only one piece of information: that Xiao Lin had been granted ess to that ss by the dean.


    It was no joke. He had been in the academy for so many years, yet he had never seen the dean except during the asional ceremony. It went without saying that he never met the dean in person either. Xiao Lin¡¯s identity was unimportant. The fact that he had the authority was reason enough for the tutor to refrain from being nosy.


    The questioning proved fruitless, so everyone else turned their attention to Xiao Lin. Several who were nearby randomly struck up a casual conversation with him, but he would not disclose anything. Although he was well-known in his freshman year, he was not really that interesting to those in sophomore year.


    Nevertheless, surprises always came when one least expected. A tall girl with short hair suddenly yelled, and eximed with some excitement, ¡°Xiao Lin? Xiao Lin! I remember you! I haven¡¯t greeted you yet. Did you forget about me?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin finally raised his head and looked at the woman.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s nk face made her very upset, and she directly introduced herself, ¡°It¡¯s Wu Qin!¡±


    ¡°Wu Qin?¡±


    Xiao Lin was still confused, irking the woman atst. She stomped her feet and said petntly, ¡°We met in the meditation hall before! You said you wanted to borrow the hall and meditate? You¡¯re that genius who entered the realm of meditation in three minutes. You can¡¯t possibly forget me so quickly, right!¡±


    Xiao Lin had a sudden realization and could not help but feel flustered. He had earlier replicated the skills of that woman named Wu Qin when he started learning Basic Meditation, but he soon went to New Washington and The Final Land. He had long forgotten the woman, whom he met only once.


    ¡°You took Basic Meditation, right? Why are you here?¡± Xiao Lin chatted briefly with her.


    ¡°Tch! I¡¯m not cut out for learning spells, and besides, I have to collect enough credits, so I might as well learn some easier courses.¡±


    Everyone else¡¯s attention was not focused on the fact that two of them knew each other. Wu Qin was just a very ordinary woman among the sophomores, but what was it that she just said?


    The genius who entered the realm of meditation in three minutes?


    Finally, someone came over again and looked at Xiao Lin incredulously. The person then asked, ¡°Could you be the freshman genius that Wu Qin mentioned in her post?¡±

 Chapter 187: Learning the Phantom Steps

    <h4>Chapter 187: Learning the Phantom Steps</h4>


    ¡®Post?¡¯


    ¡®Genius?¡¯


    Xiao Lin was even more confused when he heard it. On the other hand, Wu Qin blushed in embarrassment. She had spread the matter on the sophomore forum, but unfortunately no one believed her at all.


    Everyone knew how difficult it was to get started with Basic Meditation, yet he seeded in just three minutes? It was ridiculous!


    With the rumored person-of-interest sitting right there, everyone exchanged nces. The man closest to Xiao Lin asked in a half-joking tone, ¡°Hey, dude! I heard you entered the meditative realm in only three minutes? Is that for real?¡±


    Wu Qin also looked at Xiao Lin expectantly. She was very upset when she was questioned, and she had nned to ask Xiao Lin for rificationter on. s, Xiao Lin went to New Washington and was nowhere to be found.


    Xiao Lin touched his nose and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a joke. Three minutes to enter meditation? Why don¡¯t I know about this?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Wu Qin red at him all of a sudden. He was tantly lying.


    Xiao Lin did not want to cause too much trouble. He went there for the purpose of learning and he shook his head even more firmly when he sensed the gossipy tendencies and curious eyes of the people around him. After indicating that it had nothing to do with him, he said helplessly, ¡°Guys, I think you should at least consider the tutor¡¯s feelings.¡±


    A noisy ssroom was not that big a deal, but hardly anyone was paying attention to the tutor on the stage. He looked incredibly sullen, but he could not say anything. In theory, he could silence them all with his tutor¡¯s authority, but the world was a wheel¡ªhe could not have known what the future held when those people reached their third year. One of them might be his ssmate, or even his immediate superior in the future.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s words had more or less lifted him out of his predicament. He quickly shot Xiao Lin a grateful look and cleared his throat before interjecting, ¡°Although the Phantom Steps only has eight basic movements, it¡¯s very easy to master. I believe everyone here has almost mastered it, but the real use of Phantom Steps is in actualbat. When should we use a certain action? The connection of each action extends to dozens of changes.¡±


    Everyone pursed their lips and understood that they were still in ss. They restrained themselves and the tutor soon continued to give detailed exnations. Xiao Lin was in luck. The Phantom Steps course started at the beginning of the month. He had only missed two sses in two weeks, so there was not much that he missed.


    As the man said, the eight movements of the Phantom Steps were very basic, so much so that Xiao Lin felt he could imitate them after watching them a few more times. The difficultyy in seamlessly incorporating all eight movements in actualbat.


    The man randomly picked a student toe up for a demonstration. The opponent¡¯s job was to attack while he was responsible only for defending. It ended up with the student failing to even touch the corner of the tutor¡¯s clothes after a full twenty minutes of attacking. Instead, the student was left tired and panting.


    Xiao Lin was surprised to see it. ¡®It¡¯s a really interesting skill,¡¯ he thought to himself. Miraculous effects could be achieved, especially when one faced an unruly attack.


    The tutor probably gained some confidence from that and allowed the ss to practice freely in groups. He took the initiative toe up to Xiao Lin and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a neer, so I¡¯ll exin the fundamentals of each action to you separately.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered something and asked casually, ¡°Tutor, what grade is Phantom Steps?¡±


    ¡°F-plus. Hehe, you don¡¯t need to call me Tutor. Senior¡¯s fine. I¡¯m only a third-year student acting as a temporary substitute tutor. Phantom Steps itself is not a very advanced skill.¡± The man was very soft-spoken, perhaps even a little humble.


    Xiao Lin was rather surprised. ¡°It¡¯s rated just F?¡±


    Wu Qin, who had been paying attention to the situation, could not help but remind him, ¡°Of course. Phantom Steps is only the most basic in this series of skills, so the most it¡¯ll be is F.¡±


    ¡°What about advanced skills?¡±


    The instructor hurriedly replied, ¡°There¡¯s too few changes in Phantom Steps and it¡¯s easy to be restrained. Advanced skills, such as Apparition Hundred Steps, are based on these eight fundamental movements. There¡¯s also the higher-level Divine Shadow Step and stuff like that.¡±


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, ¡°You could¡¯ve said so earlier.¡±


    ¡°Said it earlier?¡±


    ¡°Senior, your Phantom Steps must have reached the max, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, the highest level of the Phantom Steps is level six and I¡¯ve reached it long ago.¡± The man was rather pleased with himself, but he was more confused if anything.


    Xiao Lin shed a bright smile. Things would be much simpler then. He said, ¡°Could you show me again, please?¡±


    The man thought for a moment and happily agreed. Xiao Lin had the dean¡¯s support and was also a polite freshman who left a good impression on the tutor. The man immediately called another student to practice with him, and the sequence was the same as before¡ªhe defended while the other student attacked at random.


    [Replicate skill: activate!]


    [Scanning the skill to replicate, Phantom Steps LV6 (MAX)!]


    [Skill evaluation F+, within replication range. Replication, start...]


    [Replication sessful!]


    Xiao Lin immediately interrupted the man and the student in training. He was very eager to try his hand at it. ¡°Practice with me.¡±


    ¡°Junior Xiao Lin, it¡¯s still too early for you to practice. First you need to master the eight basic moves before you can understand the most basic cohesive movements, then...¡±


    Before the lecturer was finished, Xiao Lin impatiently drew a training sword from the weapon rack next to him and thrust it toward the nearest student. His replication time limit was only three minutes, so there was no time for him to exin things.


    Although the training sword was made of wood and did not cause substantial damage, it would certainly arouse anger if a stranger suddenly used it to attack. The man he attacked did not even know Xiao Lin and yelled angrily in response. After that, he also drew a training saber from the weapon rack and shed it at him.


    Xiao Lin yelled back in acknowledgement and retreated a littleter. He distanced himself from the man and the skill information which he had replicated in an instant told him that Phantom Steps required some distance in order to execute. He stabbed simply to provoke the opponent and avoided making more offensive moves. The opponent had to be allowed to attack, as he needed to adapt his body as much as possible within those three minutes in order to remember the Phantom Steps¡¯ essential moves.


    The man was merciless when he was angry, but fortunately, he was only using a training saber. Most of the others were onlookers and did not step forward to stop him.


    Take two steps forward, turn left three steps, retreat, move a half-step to the left, move forward sideways by four steps...


    The basic essentials of Phantom Steps kept shing in his mind. Faced with the threat of the sword, he was able to evade it with ease. Phantom Steps was not a series of footwork that emphasized speed, but rather avoidance through precise anticipation. So long as the footwork was well connected, all attacks were virtually harmless.

 Chapter 188: Learning the Phantom Steps (2)

    <h4>Chapter 188: Learning the Phantom Steps (2)</h4>


    The other student¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship did not seem to be very high. Xiao Lin estimated it to be around LV7 or LV8, because his own basic swordsmanship was also LV8. Even though a saber was different from a sword, he could still get a rough idea of it.


    The tutor was anxious and nned to stop everything, but he paused halfway after seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s movements and muttered in disbelief. ¡°Impossible! Phantom Steps. Footwork like this is surely the highest level!¡±


    ¡°It really is Phantom Steps!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this his first time in ss?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a freshman too. Is the Phantom Steps course offered during freshman year?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. The freshmen are still learning basic courses now.¡±


    Everyone reacted with suspicious looks in their eyes. Phantom Steps was not difficult to learn, but even though they were in their sophomore year, it was almost impossible to master and practice Phantom Steps to the highest level.


    Xiao Lin was not veryfortable with the first few stabs, but he soon became thoroughly proficient in the technique with the subsequent attacks. By the third minute, he could just close his eyes and rely on the saber¡¯s sound against the air to predict the direction of the opponent¡¯s swing in advance. With that, he could easily move his feet and effortlessly dodge the attack.


    The more the tutor looked at it, the more frightened he became. Such anticipatory ability could definitely be achieved by mastering Phantom Steps to its peak and it was something he could do, but he required repeated practice from the beginning of his sophomore year until his senior year before reaching that level.


    The three-minute time limit was fleeting, and Xiao Lin, who opened his eyes again, waved the longsword in his hand again, smoothly blocking the oing de. ¡°I¡¯m done. I¡¯ll be heading back now.¡±


    After saying that, Xiao Lin did not linger for long and walked through the surprised crowd. He left the training hall immediately. The instructor was still momentarily in shock before he suddenly ran to Xiao Lin and shouted angrily, ¡°You came here just to mess with me!¡±


    It was obvious that the incident had casted a shadow on the tutor. The other sophomore students had weird expressions and turned to ask Wu Qin about Xiao Lin. None of them knew Xiao Lin, and Wu Qin was the only one who knew him. Unfortunately, Wu Qin knew very little about him and never interacted with him, except for that chance meeting in the meditation room before. The one thing she could confirm was the undeniable fact that Xiao Lin was a freshman who had only entered the academy that year.


    ¡°He couldn¡¯t have just watched the senior¡¯s demonstration and learnt it from that?¡± a woman surmised with uncertainty.


    ¡°How¡¯s that even possible! This isn¡¯t a game where you can learn a skill with a few clicks!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no other possibility. Didn¡¯t Wu Qin say that the guy started to meditate in only three minutes?¡± The woman confidently offered up some evidence to back her theory.


    The others were also taken aback. With that thought, Wu Qin¡¯s post on the sophomore forum seemed to ring true. After all, it happened before their very eyes, and unless Phantom Steps was offered for freshmen year, the woman¡¯s theory was the most likely exnation.


    Later that day, a simr post was published again in the sophomore forum. Some people even re-read Wu Qin¡¯s post from a few months ago. Both posts were re-released and immediately attracted a lot of fierce discussion.


    That was a story for another time, and Xiao Lin¡ªwho has just experienced the wonders of Phantom Steps¡ªhad no intention of lingering and wasting any more time. Although the Academy Genius replication time limit had passed, his past few experiences dictated that the skill would be learned if they had already reached the requirements. Even if his replication skills ended, his body would remember some of the skills¡¯ experience and use, and as long as he could practice it in time, he could certainly transform that experience into true proficiency.


    The practice of Phantom Steps was divided into two parts. The first part was familiarity with the eight basic steps and the proficient use of various footwork linkages. That was not the difficult part. Anyone who was willing to spend a lot of time to practice would almost certainly master it.


    Then came the second part: the actualbat anticipation and the corresponding use of footwork. Those eight footwork movements were not to be used indiscriminately, as doing so would not enable him to dodge any attacks.


    Time was very precious to Xiao Lin. He could not spend a month, let alone half, getting slowly acquainted with the skill. He frowned and contemted this all the way out of the training hall, then thought of a way. In fact, the fastest way to improve had popped up in his mind long ago, and that was the simted battle system.


    Actualbat was always the fastest way to improve, and the simted battle system was the best method to meet that requirement. When he was in New Washington, he knew that this system was originally developed for students to train better, but it was very expensive. The price and cost of use made it impossible for all academies to poprize its use because each use would consume valuable energy stones.


    Each colonial academy certainly bought a few sets of equipment. An example was the one Xiao Lin saw in the swordsmanship training hall earlier that day, which affirmed that Dawn Academy had the same battle system, but either students were rarely allowed to use them, or they were unavable to junior students.


    Xiao Lin was different. He believed that his universal card permission would not pose a problem. He did not go back to the dormitory since it was still early, so he just dropped by the swordsmanship training hall. There was no swordsmanship ss arranged for that day, so he could avoid anyone else interfering.


    After going to the training hall next door, he swiped the card gently in front of the tight room door, which swung open silently. As expected, the simted battle system was rare and precious, but he had the permission to use it. Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and could not help but wonder just how much authority the dean had granted him.


    There were some spare energy stones in the room, but it did not matter that they were all of the lowest level. The opponent that Xiao Lin needed to simte should only be below ck Iron-level.


    He had learned how to use the battle system when he was in New Washington, and Dawn Academy¡¯s system was not too different from New Washington¡¯s. Firstly, he had to adjust the various data of his virtual opponent in the system. Xiao Lin did the settings in an arbitrary manner, but the important point was for the basic skill to be set to Basic Swordsmanship LV9. If the swordsmanship level was too high, the effect of the Phantom Steps would be too low, but if the swordsmanship level was too low, the intended effects of practice would not be achieved.


    After fiddling with the settings, Xiao Lin ced a milk-colored cone-shaped energy stone in the groove and stepped into the battle room after activating it. With a flicker of the shadow, the simtor soon appeared in the center, and two health bars appeared on the wall.

 Chapter 189: Learning the Phantom Steps (3)

    <h4>Chapter 189: Learning the Phantom Steps (3)</h4>


    The battle began!


    Since the virtual battle system was set in such a way so the virtual character would not attack first, Xiao Lin picked up the sword and made a provocative stab. After that, he maintained a defensive stance throughout. The virtual character immediately attacked with the training sword, but Xiao Lin did not counterattack because his purpose was to train Phantom Steps as quickly as possible.


    The biggest difference between the battle systems in Dawn Academy and New Washington was the weapons. Physical wooden training swords were used in Dawn Academy instead of harmlessser-like energy swords. A person with no armor or defense would find it quite painful if they took the sword to bare skin.


    In particr, Xiao Lin¡¯s setting for the virtual character was Basic Swordsmanship LV9. It was a level which he could not block, and he would certainly be hit unless he dodgedpletely.


    The first round of attacks ended quickly. Xiao Lin¡¯s health bar dropped to zero after hanging on for less than 10 minutes. After all, he was in a state ofpletely passive defense. After the replication had ended, his body¡¯s remaining memory of Phantom Steps had just barely reached standard LV1 or so, making it rather tricky to deal with.


    Xiao Lin rubbed the red sore spot on his arm that had been struck by the wooden sword. He pressed the start button again without hesitation, and the second round of the match soon began!


    However, the second round ended even quicker than the first. It ended unsurprisingly after only eight minutes. The entire battle could be likened to be a process of self-abuse. Xiao Lin could not even dodge the virtual character¡¯s attack. He nced at thepletely emptied health bar and frowned slightly. He had somewhat underestimated the practical difficulty of Phantom Steps, and it would be ineffective to continue training like that.


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s lower the difficulty first.¡±


    Xiao Lin adjusted the virtual character¡¯s skill setting to Basic Swordsmanship LV1. He stepped into the battle room again, and as the lights dimmed, the new virtual character was projected into the center of the room.


    Compared to LV9, the swordsmanship movements of LV1 were extremely simple. Each attack was the most basic technique, such as thrust, stab, and jab. Each movement was also very monotonous, and it was difficult to achieve severalplex connections of movements. At Xiao Lin¡¯s present level, he could easily see through the virtual character¡¯s each and every movement and intention. Dealing with them was a piece of cake, and the effect of Phantom Steps was finally disyed.


    Xiao Lin could easily defeat an opponent with Basic Swordsmanship LV1 in the past, but there was no way to guarantee that he would not be injured. With Phantom Steps, he could dodge each of the opponent¡¯s attacks. That was the biggest benefit of the skill. Every sessful dodge in actualbat equaled avoiding the possibility of injury or death.


    10 minutester, Xiao Lin ended the training. Basic Swordsmanship LV1 was no longer difficult enough. He adjusted the virtual character¡¯s settings again to LV2. The increase in difficulty from LV1 was negligible, but the virtual character¡¯s swordsmanship moves had changed slightly and were not too rigid.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s dodge rate immediately suffered a significant drop. The biggest difficulty of that skill was dealing with constantly changing attacks. After all, no one would deliver rigid and monotonous attacks in a real battle.


    This battlested for about half an hour, and Xiao Lin¡¯s health bar was emptied again. He still needed some time to adapt to the change, so the fifth round started almost without pause.


    The sound of fierce fighting in the battle room was endless, and Xiao Lin¡¯s reduced his physical exertion to a minimum because he was on the defense throughout the entire process. That prevented him from taking breaks and wasting time, but the price to be paid was waves and waves of attacks from the virtual character. His bones seemed to fall apartpletely and he ached all over, especially the bare part of his skin on the back of his hand that had been beaten by the wooden sword.


    Xiao Lin stayed at the LV2 stage of Basic Swordsmanship for more than two hours. He persisted for longer and longer each time until he could almost avoid more than 80% of the virtual character¡¯s attacks. The room then fell into darkness all of a sudden, forcing him to stop.


    When Xiao Lin walked out of the battle room and looked at the dim energy stone, he realized that the energy stone waspletely spent. The reason why such battle systems could not be poprized was because of the energy stones that were required whenever it was used. Moreover, Xiao Lin was only engaging in a battle below ck Iron-rank. Any higher and the energy stone might have to be reced in 10 minutes. The speed of its consumption meant that not even the richer academies would dare to poprize it.


    Xiao Lin searched the room and found that there were only five spare energy stones, barely enough for a day. After lunch, he stopped by the dormitory and checked his attribute changes through the centralputer. His Phantom Steps skill really had reached LV1, and what surprised him was that his agility attributes had actually increased by one point.


    The speed was faster than he imagined, but on second thought, Phantom Steps was purely dependent on body techniques, which almost undoubtedly proved beneficial for his agility attributes. They were very low to begin with, so the effects of an increase would naturally be more obvious.


    The improvement effects were more prominent when a person with low basic attributes learnt various elementary skills. It was a well-known fact in the academy. When a person¡¯s basic attributes were high, the effect of learning basic skills was minimal¨Cnonexistent even. Of course, learning low-level skills with high-attributes would also make the learning speed quite rapid.


    As a result, Xiao Lin decided not to go for afternoon sses that day. He continued to stay in the battle room to train Phantom Steps, and his goal was to increase his low agility attributes to at least 10 points, seeing as he was only shy of another three points.


    For that afternoon¡¯s training, he directly changed the virtual character¡¯s setting to Basic Swordsmanship LV4, which was followed by a simr repetition of that morning¡¯s self-torture. Basic Swordsmanship LV4 had moreplex movements, and a simple Phantom Steps was either very difficult to avoid orpletely impossible to avoid in time.


    Xiao Lin had to link up the different basic footwork and make aplete set of footwork sequences. That was the real Phantom Steps. He did not know how much his Phantom Steps skill proficiency would increase with each sessful dodge, but it was certain there would be a higher increase in proficiency if he managed to dodge a stronger opponent.


    Although the proficiency was digitized by the centralputer, from Xiao Lin¡¯s experience, each sessful dodge gave him a deeper understanding of that set of footwork movements.


    Such was the case on many asions. As long as he executed it and practiced it, he would be able to have his body remember those movements thoroughly. If he were to face a simr situation in the future, he would then be able to react much quicker.

 Chapter 190: Purchasing Redemption Points

    <h4>Chapter 190: Purchasing Redemption Points</h4>


    After a day¡¯s training, Xiao Lin went back with his nose and face practically swollen. On the way back, he encountered other people looking at him with surprised expressions. Although the training hall had an automatic treatment system, it still cost redemption points. Despite the extensive permission granted to Xiao Lin by the dean, treatment was not free and there were not even any discounts.


    He had gained a basic understanding of the limit the dean set for him. The convenience that the dean could afford to give him was only to the extent of allowing him to better learn and improve his strength. The dean could not possibly give him everything in one go and spoil him through excessive enthusiasm. For example, the dean would never give him an array of powerful equipment for free. If he wanted them, he could only earn them by himself.


    The monthly exam was approaching and Xiao Lin did not dare to whimsically waste his redemption points, especially when he did not have too many redemption points due to missing one monthly exam. He only had about 500 redemption points remaining, and those were from the earlier admission test and the first monthly exam.


    After returning to his room, Xiao Lin took a very pleasant hot bath andy on the bed, resting and thinking. He screamed all of a sudden and facepalmed beforementing how stupid he was. He had nearly forgotten that he had plenty of New Dors!


    Professor Brown¡¯s remuneration, plus thepensation Judge Academy gaveter on, added up to a total of 15,600 New Dors. The dean once asked him if he wanted to deposit them in a bank, but he refused for the time being because he took into ount the possibility that he might need it at any time. If it was deposited in the bank and he wanted to withdraw them again, he would have to travel to and from Dawn Academy¡¯s colony, which was a little troublesome.


    The New Dors and the redemption points were twopletely different currencies. The former could be used in all the colonies of Norma, while redemption points were the exclusive internal currency of Dawn Academy and were useless outside of it.


    Because of the unequal value of the two currencies, Dawn Academy did not provide direct exchange methods for New Dors and redemption points. For most junior students, the opportunity to earn New Dors was very rare. Even if they had the chance to go to the New World and earn some extra money, New Dors were much more important than redemption points.


    However, Dawn Academy did not prohibit the students¡¯ private transactions. Just as the stores were divided into official and personal items, the school did not prohibit students from managing their personal belongings as they saw fit.


    Students in the junior years certainly needed more redemption points, while the seniors and graduate students would certainly care more about New Dors.


    Where there was a need, there was also a demand, and all the needs of Dawn Academy would be reflected on the trading website.


    Xiao Lin quickly got up, switched on hisputer, and clicked on the Taobao-like webpage in the trading area. He directly entered the words New Dors in the search bar and, as expected, miles of transaction information were filtered out at once.


    A cursory look showed that things were just as he expected. Almost all those posts were by fourth-year or graduate students¨Crarely third-years. The transaction information was either directly exchanged for New Dors for redemption points or exchanged for various materials such as alchemical items, herbal medicine, or energy stones, and even Lifewater.


    Few requested to exchange them for equipment. After all, the seniors were usually doing business with juniors, and lower-grade equipment was of no use to them. The only items that held the most value and were Lifewater and materials.


    Although the transaction information was released, the price difference of those exchanges was not very big. It was roughly maintained at a level of about 1:1. It seemed that everyone had agreed on that, but there were the asional exchange rates that were more favorable. Those who sold at low prices were rtively few and the deals probably went through only because they were in dire need of money.


    That ratio seemed quite fair, but Xiao Lin had been to the New World and understood how the value of the New Dors was higher than the currency circting in the academy. Since the value was not equal, a 1:1 ratio was obviously a disadvantage.


    ¡°These seniors have probably set the exchange rate so low because they want to bully the juniors who haven¡¯t been to the New World very much.¡±


    Xiao Lin murmured and ignored all the transactions. He immediately posted his offer with his ount. The post was very simple, carrying only a few sentences.


    ¡°Selling New Dors. All kinds of equipment, props, Lifewater, redemption points and other trading methods are wee. Drop a private message with your price if you¡¯re in need of New Dors!¡±


    Xiao Lin deliberately did not mention the price because he noticed that the offers were all redemption points and there were none selling New Dors. Evidently, redemption points had lost their value after senior students graduated.


    After publishing the information, Xiao Lin went to dinner first. In fact, he was still a little nervous, since there were countless people publishing various offers in the trading area every day. The speed at which a new offer came out was unimaginable, and looking for his own post was equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. Even if someone wanted to sell something, it might take a long time for others to find it. Xiao Lin did not know if he could make it in time for the monthly exam.


    However, Xiao Lin had clearly underestimated the demand for New Dors among senior students. After he returned and opened the forum, nearly a hundred message requests popped up in an instant and practically shocked him senseless.


    A brief message was attached, but only a small portion included their price. Most of it were either requests for more information or questions on how many New Dors he actually had with him.


    There were too many messages and Xiao Lin could not respond to each one personally. Afterparing those prices, he had a rough idea of the value and immediately revised his offer post.


    ¡°The exchange rate is set to one New Dor to three redemption points. Items or equipment of the same value are epted. Counter-offers not epted. The inventory exceeds 5000 New Dors.¡±


    The feeling of selling items in online games suddenly came over him and it was quite interesting when he thought about it. Despite being initially worried about whether anyone would actually buy them, he had already figured out the market supply and demand, so whether or not anyone would ept the price was of no concern to him.


    After the transaction offer was posted, the number of steadily increasing message requests dropped abruptly by more than half. For those who insisted on sending him a message, Xiao Lin clicked on them at random and discussed the details with them.


    ¡°More than five thousand New Dors? Are you sure you really want to use that much money in exchange redemption points? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not doubting your sincerity, but New Dors are far more useful than redemption points for graduates or graduate students.¡± The person seemed to be very kind, for the first thing he did was try to persuade Xiao Lin of how bad of a deal that was.


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m a freshman. Before I¡¯m able to freely enter and leave the New World, redemption points are more meaningful to me.¡±


    ¡°!!!¡± The other party used a few exmation points to express his surprise, then quickly replied, ¡°A freshman? Are you serious? Where did you get so many New Dors!¡±


    Xiao Lin was rather speechless, but he did not want to get too involved with that kind of question. ¡°All you need to know is that I got them legally. Do you want them or not...?¡±

 Chapter 191: New Potion

    <h4>Chapter 191: New Potion</h4>


    Even though the responses had greatly decreased because he revealed that he was a new student, Xiao Lin had still used most of the night replying messages. Most of the ones who contacted him were troubled by the fact that he had so much money, but they did not disbelieve him. All the transactions on the forum were protected by the academy, and any acts of fraud would be punished. However, every time Xiao Lin revealed he was a new student, the responses would be full of doubt.


    It was not that there were no lower-year students that used New Dors, but transactions like Xiao Lin¡¯s that were over three digits were extremely rare, and the jealousy it invoked caused certain thoughts to float around, such as questioning the legality of his money.


    Since deals on the forums did not hide your identity, which was one of the ways the academy ensured reliability, Xiao Lin¡¯s name was spread around by the fourth-year students.


    Xiao Lin had actually underestimated the value of New Dors. Even though upper-year students had chances to earn New Dors in the New World, the amount was miniscule. Graduates of the academy were usually no different from fresh graduates on Earth; they were fairly impoverished.


    Coincidentally, the very same night, Xiao Lin¡¯s name appeared on the second-year forums as well. The thread by Wu Qin a while ago about him reaching the threshold to meditation had been regarded as a joke, but a teacher had witnessed the thread. The two incidences had caused a lot of people to believe the earlier incident, and no one was treating it as a joke anymore.


    Who was Xiao Lin?


    That night, a lot of people had that question in their heads.


    He did not know that he was being investigated and asked about by countless students, but Xiao Lin managed to get a deal done before he went to bed. In the end he had picked a female research student to deal with, even though her price of one to two was not the highest among the offers he received. In fact, the highest offer he got was around one to two and a half.


    However, the conditions she offered were very attractive to Xiao Lin. Other than that price, she would provide him with various new potions. The potions were all newly developed and had not even entered mass production, but she was able to provide them to Xiao Lin.


    Her name was Fei Yawen. She said she was a research student from a certain potionsb. In truth, there were a lot ofbs like that; they usually focused on a certain kind of research, such as new spells, swordsmanship or medicines.


    In the early days, the colonists had learned from the established systems within Norma. However, even if those systems had been passed down for thousands of years, they were notpletely wless. After they hadpletely familiarized themselves with the systems, they started to look at it with a modern lens. They often located problems or room for improvement. That was why almost every academy had a lot ofboratories, with which graduates could choose to stay within as research students instead of heading to the New World.


    However, that was not the key reason Xiao Lin had agreed to deal with Fei Yawen. After all, even if the potions she offered were good, he would need to actually be able to use them.


    The potions that Fei Yawen researched were rted to experience and training. She imed that her supervisor had always been researching methods that could boost and speed up learning. It would dramatically increase the overall skill of the colonists once it received widespread use.


    That was what interested Xiao Lin. His Academic Genius¡¯s passive ability was to increase his learning efficiency by 100%, and he was beginning to feel the benefits that it brought him. When he entered the academy, his attributes were the lowest in the academy, yet now he was quite a bit better than a regr student, and only lost out to those with talents.


    Fei Yawen needed to buy 3,000 New Dors, based on the one to two exchange rate, it would end up being 6,000 redemption points. Neither of them wanted any dy and quickly agreed toplete the deal the next day.


    The next day, Xiao Lin deliberately woke up very early. He walked around with the address given to him in hand, and he reached a five-storey building in the south-western corner of the academy. That was the specialized research building in school. The sky had just begun to brighten, so there were not a lot of people around, giving the research area a serene feeling.


    Since he was early, Xiao Lin did not hurry, and chose to walk around idly. However, he began to get impatient when he did not see Fei Yawen, even after waiting a long while, so he gave her a call, which was picked up very quickly.


    Xiao Lin was just about to open his mouth when he saw Fei Yawen furrow her eyebrows in frustration in the magical disy. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for half an hour. Where are you?¡± she said


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin was confused, he eximed, ¡°I have been here for a long while, but haven¡¯t seen you at all. Why didn¡¯t you call me?¡±


    Fei Yawen paused before saying with a weird expression, ¡°You¡¯re at the research area?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t you say we were going to deal here? Are you backing out?¡± Xiao Lin said. He had borrowed a ck bag to carry his New Dors there just for the deal. There was no choice; since there were not any banks around, they could only deal in cash.


    Fei Yawen¡¯s face was full of disbelief as she murmured, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. How did you get inside in the first ce? Only research students that have passed certain tests can enter this area... Whatever, just head to the lounge at the entrance. I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡±


    Xiao Lin hurried back to the entrance and finally saw the research student. Fei Yawen was quite a pretty woman. She did not look that old and had a very pretty face with a pair of thick spectacles. She was waiting outside, but when she saw Xiao Line over from the inside, her small mouth gaped.


    Even as Xiao Lin walked over and greeted her, she was still murmuring in disbelief, ¡°Could the security systems be broken? That¡¯s not possible, how could anything in the academy have quality problems?¡±


    Xiao Lin could more or less guess what troubled the woman, and was pleasantly surprised himself that the ess the dean had granted him even epassed the research area. He was amused, but did not show it as he tried to get the deal done. He still needed to head back and train.


    Fei Yawen set aside her suspicions for a moment as she took out a box from the bag she had with her. After opening it, Xiao Lin saw a row of test tubes; they were probably the efficiency-enhancing potions that she mentioned.


    ¡°I need to tell you beforehand: even though the potion has passed the research phase, ording to the current data we have, the effects of the potion are still not too stable. Do you understand me?¡±

 Chapter 192: Training Continues

    <h4>Chapter 192: Training Continues</h4>


    Xiao Lin paused, asking, ¡°Unstable? Do you mean the potion won¡¯t always work?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly true. It will always work, but how effective it is differs with the person.¡± Fei Yawen had a difficult look on her face, sighing as she shook her head. ¡°Based on our earliest simtions, the potion should be perfect, but once we started clinical trials problems started to pop up. The unreliability of the effects were more than we expected. Some people had very obvious improvements to their training, whereas others barely noticed a difference.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little disappointed, but barely making a difference was still better than having no effect at all. He seemed to think of something before curiously asking, ¡°Could the effects differ with regard to each person¡¯s potential?¡±


    Fei Yawen subtly frowned. ¡°That was our initial hypothesis, since the effects it had on individuals with talents were better, but it still remained inconclusive.¡±


    It was obvious the potion was not yetplete, or it would have been rolled out for use in the entire academy. However, a way to increase his efficiency was exactly what Xiao Lin had been looking for, and whatever effect the potion had on him would still help out. If the effects on individuals with talents were better, then would it not be perfect for him?


    Xiao Lin asked some more questions about the potion¡¯s effect and duration, and the two of them finally finalized the deal. The points were transferred to Xiao Lin¡¯s card via the centralputer, and the deal wasplete.


    Xiao Lin continued to train his Phantom Steps during the day. He only had less than two weeks left until the third monthly exam, so time was of the essence.


    He used the potions he just obtained as well. He actually suspected that Fei Yawen was using him as a guinea pig. Before he left, the woman had told him to keep in touch. He had almost thought the woman was interested in him, but then he realized she probably just wanted to gather some data.


    The training potions were actually split into a few types: there were intelligence potions, meant to help with spell and meditation type training; the agility potions helped with dexterity-based training; the strength potions helped with meleebat-rted training; and the physique potions helped with body strengthening.


    ording to Fei Yawen, the potions caused the rted parts of the brain to temporarily strengthen and experience increased activity, which allowed the drinker to be able to absorb more knowledge in the short period of time. That even included training the body, but Xiao Lin barely understood any of it.


    In order to differentiate the potions, Fei Yawen had deliberately made the potions in various colors. Red was strength, blue was intelligence, yellow was agility, and purple was physique. Xiao Lin asked why the colors were categorized that way in suspicion, and the woman answered that they were all just the colors of the fruit juices that were mixed in, which rendered him speechless.


    The potions were surprisingly tasty thanks to those juices. After drinking one, Xiao Lin felt his body heat up and his mind began to get dizzy. However, the effects were short-lived, and he quickly felt nothing.


    Xiao Lin felt like he had been cheated. Was he too unlucky, or was his potential not enough to properly trigger the effects of the potion?


    Even if his heart was unsatisfied, he still had to continue his training for the day. The contents of his training were the same as yesterday, using the virtualbat system to simte an opponent. He continuously increased the basic swordsmanship of the virtual opponent to train his Phantom Steps.


    The training was as difficult as always. Alongside increasing the level of basic swordsmanship, more and more sword skills were being used. Even though there were only eight basic steps in Phantom Steps, there were still a lot of differentbinations that could be used, which meant he needed to constantly adapt and train to increase his familiarity with the skill, or he would not be able to react properly in an actual situation.


    There were no shortcuts for the process, and Xiao Lin could only rely on time and effort to improve it. That was why an F-rank skill like that had still been pushed back to the second year.


    The skill was not hard to learn, but increasing the mastery was about as, if not even harder than an E-rank skill. It could only be more effectively trained with enough mastery over swordsmanship, which the second-years had.


    During the evening, Xiao Lin headed back to the dormitories, exhausted, but it was just mental fatigue. He was no longer covered in wounds like the day before. Since he managed to obtain six thousand points that day, the fees for recovering himself were no longer an issue.


    During dinner, he once again met Cheng Ming and the other monitors. Cheng Ming enthusiastically called out to Xiao Lin to eat with them. Xiao Lin was actually unwilling, since outside of Cheng Ming, he was not too friendly with any of the other monitors. While he was hesitating, Cheng Ming had already pulled him toward their table.


    He had barely been back from New Washington for a few days, so he did not really have any time to properly chat with Cheng Ming. A few of them exchanged some pleasantries, but other than Cheng Ming¡¯s sincerity, the rest of their smiles hid some other intentions.


    They were all quite curious about Xiao Lin¡¯s trip to the New World, but that was the extent of it. They probably all felt they would eventually end up in the New World anyway, so it was just a matter of time.


    After that, everyone¡¯s topic shifted toward the monthly examination. In truth, it was also the hottest topic on the forums. Someone seemed to have gained information from the student union and learned that the monthly examination was set by the dean himself this time. Usually, the first-year examinations were arranged by the student union.


    ¡°The dean seems to have quite big expectations of us!¡± one of the monitors said proudly.


    ¡°The dean even took the time to attend our opening ceremony. I¡¯ve actually heard that the dean has quite the reputation in the New World. Not just among the academies from Earth, his name is even famous among the natives.¡±


    They were no longer new faces that did not understand anything. Everyone had managed to establish various connections and rtionships, acquiring all sorts of information over the two months.


    The dean was arge figure in the New World, and thatrge figure was actually paying attention to an examination for new recruits. It was like a minister on Earth invigting a secondary school examination. Normal folk might feel anxious about it, but they were all acting ss monitors. ording to Chen Yu, they were all elites of the future.


    No matter what, it was good to feel like they were being valued.


    The acting ss monitors were allughing as they discussed. As they talked about the future, they deliberately ignored Xiao Lin as usual. Xiao Lin did not mind it, and as he was eating his food silently, his face twitched. He really wanted to tell those people that they were overthinking it¨Cthat the dean did not set the monthly examination for any of their sakes.

 Chapter 193: Meeting Lu Renjia Again

    <h4>Chapter 193: Meeting Lu Renjia Again</h4>


    When he got back to the dormitory that night, he immediately switched on theputer to check out his training progress. What he saw shocked him; his Phantom Steps was already at LV3 and his Agility had increased to nine points. It was a lot faster than he anticipated.


    When he finished his training the day before, his Phantom Steps leveled up from LV1 to LV2, which was already a shocking pace, only possible thanks to his Academic Genius talent. However, the jump from LV2 to LV3 would definitely be harder, yet he still did it in a day.


    Xiao Lin was sure he did not change anything about the training methods in the two days, so after eliminating all other possibilities, his curious gazended on the box of potions from Fei Yawen.


    The potions really did work!


    Xiao Lin was surprised, since Fei Yawen¡¯s disimers had caused him to not put too much hope on the effectiveness of the potion. He felt that it would have been good if they worked, but it would not be a huge loss if it did not, since the one to two exchange rate was already quite decent.


    As for how much the training potions would help, even Fei Yawen did not know. She had told him that, out of her previous participants, the results were not ideal, and even differed from person to person.


    Could it really be because of his SS-rank talent?


    Xiao Lin did not know anything about medicine, so he did not know the specifics for the potion. He gave up on puzzling it out quite fast, but he had gained quite an interest in potions thanks to it. He considered attending some sses in the future.


    He logged onto the forums and left a word of thanks to Fei Yawen, telling her the effects were quite reasonable. He asked if she would be able to continue supplying him, since the potions she gave him would only be able tost him for three or four days based on his training frequency.


    Fei Yawen was offline at that moment, so after dropping the message, Xiao Lin once again looked at the deals that were on the forums. He currently had more than 6,000 redemption points, and about thirteen thousand New Dors. It felt like he had be rich overnight. The feeling was absolutely different as he browsed the forums.


    Regr-grade gear?


    That was way toome. Xiao Lin did not even have a speck of interest, and glossed right over them. Gear from the New World was ssified the same way skill was: from regr to ck Iron, then to Bronze, followed by Silver and Gold, and then it ends with Epic and Legendary gear.


    This time, his gaze was fixed on ck Iron- and Bronze-rank gears. Equipment that was too high ranked would usually require a lot of the user¡¯s skill, and with his current attributes, it was unlikely he would be able to use them.


    Bronze-rank gear were all around 500 points and above, and the better weapons would even go for upwards of 1,000. After Xiao Lin¡¯s observations, the effects were on a whole other levelpared to regr-grade gear.


    For instance, the sword he was currently looking at was made from a very hard ore, and the sharpness reached an E+ grade. It even carried armor-piercing, injury enhancing, and poisonous effects. The overall damage could be considered at D-. Being hit by that de without any defensive measures would basically mean instant death.


    The price was set at 2,000 points, and it was considered quite expensive even among Bronze-rank weapons. Xiao Lin was quite interested, but he knew he should look around some more. Especially considering the fact that his current skill level was just temporary, and with Academic Genius, his skills and attributes would be improving very quickly.


    With those kinds of thoughts, Xiao Lin was even more hesitant. Finally, his mind thought of someone: Lu Renjia.


    Lu Renjia was the senior that made his weapon for him back during the first examination. After that, Xiao Lin had heard that the man seemed to regrly make weapons for the lower years, and basically focused on making small profits atrge volumes.


    It was already almost midnight when he contacted Lu Renjia, but the man seemed to be ate sleeper. Under the magical disy, Lu Renjia¡¯s hair was messy, but his face seemed quite awake.


    ¡°Xiao Lin? It¡¯s been awhile!¡± Lu Renjia seemed to be quite happy to see Xiao Lin, saving him the need to redo any introductions.


    ¡°You still remember me?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Customers are kings. How could I forget my king?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless. Lu Renjia was even more shameless than he thought. He coughed. ¡°I¡¯m contacting you because I want some gear made. The wand you madest time was quite good.¡±


    Lu Renjia had a face of realization, and after some rummaging around, he took out a pen and paper, getting straight to the point. ¡°It¡¯s quitete, so let¡¯s dispense with the pleasantries. Name your requirements, then tell me what your budget is.¡±


    He really was an experienced merchant!


    Xiao Lin went straight to the point, saying after some deliberation, ¡°Budget-wise, just make sure it¡¯s reasonable. Not too high and not too low.¡±


    Lu Renjia nodded. ¡°I understand. The third monthly examination ising up after all. You¡¯re an acting ss monitor, and you can¡¯t afford to mess this up. Let me remind you, the ss monitor positiones with a lot of benefits. I really regret... Ah, I¡¯m going off topic. What I mean is you really should be thinking about saving costs. The third monthly examination¡¯s results are extremely important for choosing ss monitors. Right, so what exactly is your budget?¡±


    ¡°About six thousand redemption points.¡±


    Crash!


    Lu Renjia fell off his chair, and when he grabbed the table to stand up again, the smile on his face was even more vibrant as he beat his chest and guaranteed, ¡°You can rest assured! I¡¯ll cover all the gear you need! I guarantee your satisfaction!¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a whole set of equipment, I¡¯m worried that there won¡¯t be enough time. How fast do you think you can get it done?¡± Xiao Lin was a little worried, especially since the wand fromst time had taken a whole week.


    ¡°Rx! I¡¯ll work overtime and overnight just to get your gear done. I¡¯ll push away all my other prior arrangements. From tomorrow onward, I will only service you!¡± Lu Renjia had a glint in his eyes, and he looked at Xiao Lin like a hunter looking at his prey. On top of thosest words, someone would probably think he was a pervert without context.


    Xiao Lin wiped cold sweat off his forehead. He had heard from Cheng Ming that quite a few of the acting ss monitors had asked Lu Renjia for gear as well. It was not like Lu Renjia was the only one capable of making them in the academy, but he was practically the only one willing to make low-grade gear for new students. He hadpletely monopolized the remaining half a month of Lu Renjia¡¯s time; who knows what everyone else would think.

 Chapter 194: Choosing Armor

    <h4>Chapter 194: Choosing Armor</h4>


    Time passed very quickly, and there was only a week left till the third monthly examination. ording to the news around the academy, the results of the examination would be used as the criteria for choosing the ss monitors. Obviously, the current acting ss monitors would take priority, but if the other students perform exceptionally well, and at least overtook the acting ss monitor, they had a chance to take over the position.


    The examination being set by the dean made it very special. The news was no longer a secret. The acting ss monitors managed to learn of it from the upper-years or even the student union members. Just a few days ago, the first-year forums had a very interesting thread, even with a new banner which had basic instructions for the next monthly examination.


    Only the student union year leaders or department heads had the authority to change the banner on the forums. Usually, the student union would make announcements this way through the forums, so the uracy of the news was guaranteed.


    The thread stated that the examination had been personally set by the dean, followed by a bunch of official jargon, such as stating that the student union and the dean cared deeply about the growth of the first years. Most of the students quickly scrolled through all the nonsense before noticing there were a few reminders and tips toward the end of the thread.


    That was something that had not happened before. In thest two monthly examinations, there were always announcements, but never any reminders or tips.


    This small change had caused quite a lot of surprise. The contents obviously did not reveal sensitive information like what the map would be, but it did give some guidance as to what they should prepare, such as letting the students know the examination would be longer, so the students should prepare enough consumables, such as recovery potions and certain scrolls. It also advised students with limited lifespan to purchase some Lifewater before the examinations, and that the academy would release a new batch of Lifewater just for the first-year students one day before the examinations.


    Lifewater was not easy to make, and the key ingredients could only be imported from the American academy. All of that greatly restricted the supply of Lifewater, and batches were always released to the entire school. Thest two reminders were what caused thergest reaction among the students.


    Even the students that had no intention of gaining the ss monitor position could not help but get nervous. Everyone had certain expectations for the difficulty of the monthly examinations, and on top of the entrance exams, they had already been through three different ones. Outside of the first monthly examination, the other two were quite easy. That was understandable; since everyone was a new student, so their skills would naturally be lower.


    The difficulty of the third monthly examination quickly became a topic of great discussion. Everyone was definitely very anxious. The normal students that did not have any talents might have grasped some skills and basics in the three months there, but they were still all quite weak.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s training went on without any trouble. For the whole week, he had ignored all other sses,pletely focusing on training up his Phantom Steps. Before then, he rarely skipped ss for training, but that skill could very well be the key to him staying alive.


    After understanding how difficult the examination would be, Xiao Lin¡¯s first priority was not to pass the examination, but rather to focus on surviving.


    To a veteran of online games, Xiao Lin clearly understood that he needed to be alive to do damage. Especially since the examination was not going to be short, he prioritized being able to guarantee that he could live until thest moment.


    Fei Yawen was very interested when she received his reply. She told him she had forwarded the matter to her supervisor, and that the supervisor was also very interested. They were willing to provide a supply of training potions to Xiao Lin free of charge, with the sole condition being he would regrly give them data.


    However, Xiao Lin felt that the data would not be too valuable for them because he obsessively trained everyday. Plus, he had the Academic Genius talent. Even though he felt the training potions have arge effect on him, he still could not let anyone know he had an SS-rank talent.


    Xiao Lin obviously could not let the fact leak. Ever since he was ced on house arrest in New Washington, he clearly understood how important that secret was.


    He managed to get Phantom Steps to LV6 after a week of training, which was the highest level. That was the product of him sacrificing everything else, but he was very happy with the results. Other than the skill, his Agility trait had reached 12 points. The speed of growth was more than he had anticipated. As a skill purely involving his dexterity, Phantom Steps was quite good for training his agility.


    Lu Renjia fulfilled his promise as well. The day after Xiao Lin contacted him, he cancelled all of his priormissions, not even caring about the negative impact it would have on his reputation. The topic was actually mentioned in the forums, but they obviously did not know that Lu Renjia had been monopolized by Xiao Lin, so they could only vent at his unreasonable conduct.


    Xiao Lin was apologetic at the start, but he had identally heard Lu Renjia say that hismissions were higher than everyone else added together, so Xiao Lin ended up fine with it. All Xiao Lin did was remark that Lu Renjia really did have the talent to be an unscrupulous merchant.


    Xiao Lin¡¯smissions were actually veryrge. Since he had so many skills, he needed a de, which was his main weapon, but he needed a wand as well since he did not want his basic meditation to go to waste. He had nned on using the final week for spell training, using the remainder of his time to master a few reliable skills.


    He also needed a single-handed hammer for the Holy Light Blessing skill. Even though the damage was miniscule when not facing the undead, the healing it had would be critical.


    Finally, Xiao Lin needed armor. Lu Renjia passionately gave Xiao Lin some simple rmendations, such as heavy armor, chain armor, light armor, leather armor, or mage¡¯s robes; each of them had their own specialities.


    Xiao Lin pondered over it for two days before finally deciding on leather armor. Heavy and chain armor were nted toward strength; even though they had excellent defensive capabilities, they would drastically reduce his speed. In fact, even mages could wear heavy armor as long as they had enough strength, but it would disrupt spellcasting, affecting their gathering of the elements and even decreasing the sess rate of spells.


    After Xiao Lin considered it, if the examination would be a task where they needed to flee, heavier armors would definitely be a huge negative.

 Chapter 195: Class Twelve Monitor

    <h4>Chapter 195: ss Twelve Monitor</h4>


    There was another reason he selected leather: Xiao Lin¡¯sbat style was going to be dual cultivation. Even though Lu Renjia was shocked when he mentioned it, he still gave his best rmendation, which was that leather would be the best option.


    Of course, it was just the current situation. Lu Renjia had given Xiao Lin quite a lot of information over the few days. Making gear was a veryplicated process, and the material chosen would basically determine what the end product would do.


    For instance, heavy armor than had metals as a base would not interact well with spells. Even if they could, it would be high-leveled metals, which were not within Xiao Lin¡¯s budget.


    For that reason, leather was currently his best choice. It would at least have higher defensive capabilities than a mage¡¯s robe.


    Lu Renjia ved away making his gear. Xiao Lin was obviously not idle during thest week as well. He resolved to use his remaining time on spell-rted training, so he asked for a dozen vials of intelligence training potions from Fei Yawen. The woman seemed absolutely disinterested in whether or not he was dual-cultivating, and only cared about the experiment¡¯s results.


    Xiao Lin had not been to any Basic Meditation sses for quite a while, and that week he would once again attend them. The teacher, Li Mailing, was an arrogant Lolita, and Xiao Lin had a deep impression of her, mainly that she did not like him.


    He used his ss monitor privileges to check on everyone else¡¯s basic meditation. Compared to physical skills, everyone¡¯s progress with basic meditation was quite slow. Most of them were only at LV3 or LV4, and Xiao Lin¡¯s was at LV4. It seemed that he was in a decent spot, but Xiao Lin had not trained his basic meditation for more than a month.


    Of course, the sole exception was Gu XIaoyue. She was already at LV7, which was something that absolutely eclipsed everyone else. There was already a lot of discussion on the forums, and all of them determined that, no matter what Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s results in the other sses were, and no matter if she was a ss monitor or otherwise, the title of best mage in the entire year was definitely hers.


    Xiao Lin had deliberately gotten up early on the day so he could maintain a low profile. He headed to the ssroom to locate a solitary and quiet corner, but someone had gotten there first.


    ¡°Hi! Xiao Lin! You¡¯re a rare sight. I haven¡¯t seen you here for a long time!¡± A young man waved at him.


    Xiao Lin looked at the sky outside, which was still dim before furrowing his eyebrows as he smiled. ¡°You¡¯re really early.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Aren¡¯t you too? This ss is nothing like the other sses. It¡¯s way too hard to level up.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The man seemed to know him well, but Xiao Lin really could not remember who the young-looking boy was. After trying hard to remember, all he could be sure of was that he was not from his own ss. In the end, he asked awkwardly, ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The man stared nkly, not knowing what expression to make. ¡°My gosh, we might not have met a lot, but your memory is really bad. It¡¯s Chen Dao.¡±


    ¡°Chen Dao?¡± Xiao Lin vaguely recalled before eximing, ¡°ss Twelve¡¯s monitor, Chen Dao!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! You finally remembered.¡±


    There were not many acting ss monitors who chose magic. There were only three or four even, including Xiao Lin. He had only attended basic meditation sses two times, so Xiao Lin obviously could not remember.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t really see you normally. Oh, I mean I don¡¯t see you with Cheng Ming¡¯s group usually.¡± Xiao Lin referred to the group of acting ss monitors who were close to Cheng Ming. He usually saw them together, but not all the monitors were in that group.


    ¡°They don¡¯t really know magic, so I don¡¯t have much to talk to them about.¡± Chen Dao frowned, not wanting to go deep into it. A bright glint shed in his eyes when he said, ¡°I heard you disappeared for a month because you went to the New World. Come on, tell me what it was like!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt that Chen Dao had probably just turned into an adult. To be more urate, he was probably a university student before entering Dawn Academy. After all, Dawn Academy¡¯s recruitment process did not take age into ount. However, among the current first years, there were very few university students.


    Chen Dao did not seem to have ill-intentions, and he was right at the age where he would approach everything new with curiosity and excitement. He passionately dove into magical training after he entered the academy. Thanks to him being a talented student as well, his meditation level was not low, and was probably second only to Gu Xiaoyue.


    Xiao Lin remembered a simr topic on the forums, since most of the students enjoyed spreading gossip on the forums when they had nothing to do. Chen Dao was like an unfortunate individual that was always overshadowed. If Gu Xiaoyue did not exist, Chen Dao would definitely have been the best mage among the new students. It was a pity that he had been eclipsed by Gu Xiaoyue; even his ss monitor title did not help much.


    Chen Dao did not know what went through Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s distracted expression, he said, ¡°So, do you have any pictures? Let me see some pictures of the New World!¡±


    ¡°Ah, pictures!¡± Xiao Linughed dryly. Even though there were somews regarding transferring objects from Earth to Norma, he did not feel like a camera would drastically affect things. However, he had gone to New Washington for the sake of making money, so he did not even think about a camera. Xiao Lin could only put his hands up and shake his head.


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t get any pictures? What, how could you be so behind the times? How could you go to the New World and not go out shopping or take some pictures as a souvenir!¡± Chen Dao widened his eyes in disbelief, and quickly and sadly sighed. ¡°Ah, I really want to go to the New World. I even go there in my dreams!¡±


    Everyone wanted to go to the New World, but few people expressed it as directly as Chen Dao. Being young really is different!


    Xiao Lin vaguely felt like he was getting old. On Earth, he was just a fresh graduate, but he could notpete with Chen Dao. He suddenly asked curiously, ¡°Why do you want to go to the New World? You want a vacation? I know a lot of people have wishes like that, thinking they¡¯re visiting an alien world. However, the New World isn¡¯t heaven; it¡¯s filled with danger.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought the boy too naive, so he could not help but warn him. However, Chen Dao quickly shot him a look, saying, ¡°Of course, the natives are definitely our enemies! However, that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s better that they¡¯re enemies. It would be much harder if they were our friends.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What are you saying?¡±


    Chen Dao¡¯s face was full of longing. ¡°I heard that elven women are gorgeous! There¡¯s even a fox tribe in the beastkin who are extremely sexy. When I think about the noblewomen and princesses...¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.

 Chapter 196: Gu Xiaoyue’s Magic

    <h4>Chapter 196: Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Magic</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched at Chen Dao¡¯s dream of establishing a harem of various races. He insincerely gave Chen Dao his blessing, but it seemed like Chen Dao had very big ns. Xiao Lin had felt it a pity that Gu Xiaoyue had overshadowed him, but it seemed like Chen Dao did not really care at all.


    To be honest, all of them were working hard to get into Norma. No matter what they said their intentions were, most of them wanted to enjoy their lives there. On Earth, most of them were probably regr people that would not amount to much, but on Norma, all of them had the chance to be someone great.


    Dawn Academy did not reject any of those notions, and truthfully, such thoughts were great motivators, which was what the academies were after.


    When he heard that Xiao Lin¡¯s life in the New World was quite boring, Chen Dao immediately lost all interest in continuing the topic. Xiao Lin quickly changed topics as well, trying to get some information on the meditation sses for the past month.


    Chen Dao¡¯s eyes brightened when he heard that and his interest renewed. It was obvious he loved magical sses. The reasoning was simple: he always picked magician sses, no matter what game he yed.


    Xiao Lin was also quite the gamer, and the two of them had a few topics of conversation on that front. Thanks to that, their rtionship improved quite a bit, and the topics slowly broadened, or rather, Xiao Lin steered Chen Dao away from games and back onto the topic of magical studies.


    Chen Dao¡¯s basic meditation had reached LV6, only losing out to Gu Xiaoyue. Xiao Lin already knew that, but what surprised him was that Chen Dao had already started studying ck Iron-ranked spells. Even if LV6 was the threshold for those kinds of spells, the brat was advancing quite quickly.


    It seemed like it was not just him; everyone else was also working hard.


    When the other students entered the ssroom, they all shot strange nces at the two of them who were chatting away. They did not know when the two of them got so friendly with each other.


    When the teacher, Li Meiling, entered the ss at eight o¡¯clock sharp, the woman¡¯s gaze fell onto Xiao Lin, even though Xiao Lin had specifically chosen a secluded corner. As a mage, her perception was uncanny.


    However, all he received was a re. Li Meiling did not say anything antagonistic, which caused Xiao Lin to breathe a sigh of relief before turning around to quietly beg Gu Xiaoyue for her notes.


    The magic sses were different from any other courses for the simple fact that physical courses could be grasped through repeated practice, but meditation required personal enlightenment as well. Without understanding, any amount of training would be useless, and in terms of understanding, Gu Xiaoyue stood at the top.


    Compared to Li Meiling¡¯s ss, Xiao Lin was more interested in Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes. Gu Xiaoyue did not reject him, but wordlessly handed the notes over, without even averting her gaze.


    That woman was still so cold!


    Xiao Lin wordlessly opened the notebook and was stunned by the neat and immacte handwriting. Gu Xiaoyue had mastered quite a lot of skills by that point. Outside of novice level spells, she had already mastered quite a few ck Iron-rank spells. To Xiao Lin, who had the information of all his ssmates, that naturally was not a secret.


    As with all other courses, the start was always incredibly boring. It was only until their basic meditation reached LV4 did they begin to learn spells.


    Even though they were exposed to very limited spells at the beginning, the actual amount of spells was staggering. One could spend their entire lives, not stopping for a single second in researching and training, and still not be able to learn every spell that existed. In order to avoid oveplicating things in the future, the new students would all be made to choose two branches of magic that they either liked or were more suitable for them to practice.


    Li Meiling had the same requirements for all of them, but did not forget to remind them that even though they were not that many spells at their level, they should never believe they had more than enough energy and time to learn it all. Every novice-level spell was the entry point to a different branch of magic. Outside of the four basic elements, there were various mixed elements. Outside of damaging spells, there were also controlling and supportive spells.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s choices shocked Xiao Lin. Not mentioning the beginner-level spells, since those were not too unique, Gu Xiaoyue had picked Elementary Speed Boost, Elementary Protection, and Ice Bullet as her ck Iron-rank spells. Ice Bullet aside, the other two spells were support-oriented.


    Gu Xiaoyue wanted to specialize in support!


    Xiao Lin could not believe it. His first reaction was that it was a pity: a spell¡¯s destructive ability was directly rted to one¡¯s intelligence points. If someone with 60 points used the same spell as someone with 30, the destructive power could differ by as much as half a rank to a full rank.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s abnormally high intelligence was definitely among the upper end of all the academies, let alone among the new students.


    When he was in New Washington, he would asionally talk about Gu Xiaoyue with Song Jung. Song Jung only had one thing to say about her: as long as Gu Xiaoyue did not give up, based on her trajectory, she would without a doubt be the top mage on Norma one day.


    Xiao Lin remembered it very clearly; Song Jungpared her to all of Norma! Of course, looking back into history, it was not like there were no mages that would be better than Gu Xiaoyue. ording to Song Jung, all the mages that could rival her were either dead, or going to be dead.


    Someone who had the potential to stand at the top of the world actually chose to be a support mage? It really wasted her natural-born intelligence and immense potential.


    Xiao Lin immediately wanted to try and change Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s mind, but the words stopped in his throat. Would that woman really listen to advice?


    Obviously, the answer was no.


    Over the few months, Xiao Lin understood very well that Gu Xiaoyue was someone who held onto her opinions very strongly. Otherwise, she would not adamantly refuse to buy Lifewater to that day. Just thinking about her dwindling lifespan gave Xiao Lin untold frustration.


    He ved away in his training over the few days, obviously so he could get good results during the third monthly examinations and secure the ss monitor position. However, Xiao Lin did not notice that he actually had another hidden goal for his training. He wanted to ensure he would be strong enough to fend off all manner of foes just by himself. That way, a certain person who had very limited lifespan left would not have to worry that she might die in an ident.

 Chapter 197: Magical Scrolls

    <h4>Chapter 197: Magical Scrolls</h4>


    Xiao Lin could not change Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s choice, but he now needed to choose his own branch. He was not willing to be relegated to a support-type mage. Coupled with the fact that he would mostly be in the frontlines as a dual-cultivator, support magic was out of the question.


    There were a lot of types of offensive magic. The basic ones would be the four elements of wind, earth, water and fire, and each of them gave birth to a veryrge array of spells. Other than that, there were mixed elemental magics such as ice, lightning, and nature, but they usually had higher requirements to begin learning them.


    For instance, nature-type magic required the use to first get their earth and water element magics to a certain level before they could begin learning it.


    Xiao Lin could not help but be anxious. The different branches of magic were all regarded as equals, and it usually depended on the user¡¯s preferences and roles, which was what caused him grief.


    Would he mainly use swordsmanship, with magic to support, or mainly use magic, with swordsmanship to support it?


    That involved thinking about hisbat tendencies, but to Xiao Lin, he had only entered the academy for three months, and he had not considered all that since he was still finding his way around. More urately, he never really had the time to think about it.


    If that was the case, he would temporarily focus on being a jack of all trades.


    Xiao Lin quickly made his decision. His current focus was still preparing for the third monthly examination. Even though they were considered a team during the examinations, based on the first examination, he needed to officially be the monitor. Otherwise, there would always be people who would question his authority.


    Basically, Xiao Lin would need to rely on himself.


    That was why Xiao Lin decided to focus on long range attacks and disruption as his spells, which was why he temporarily focused his attention on the me and water branches. me elemental spells had the strongest attack power among the four main elements, and the water element was a prerequisite to learning ice spells.


    After making the decision, Xiao Lin finally rxed. Now, he just needed to follow the n for his training. He then shifted his focus back on Li Meiling, who was busy conducting her ss.


    Today¡¯s basic meditation ss was a little different. They did not go straight into meditation or skill training. Based on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes, that was usually the focus of most sses. However, Li Meiling was teaching them something new: elementary magical strolls.


    Casting spells were not limited to meditating to gain harmony with the elements, then using one¡¯s perception to gather the elements for use. Magical scrolls were a consumable tool that allowed anyone to easily cast spells.


    On Norma, mages could use a special type of ink to draw seals to invoke certain spells on specialized paper. They would then use magical crystals to imprint the magical energy needed to cast spells on the paper. At that point, anyone, even those with absolutely not spell-casting basics, could just take out the scroll to use the spell stored within.


    It was just like an electrical circuit. After an engineer manufactures aplicated circuit, the user would only need to flick a switch to operate it, not needing any engineering knowledge.


    Simrly, scroll creation was an important part of the magic courses, but creating magical scrolls was both time and energy consuming, and it was much harder to break through than even basic meditation. During the beginning, the quality and sess rate of creating scrolls were also very low, which meant that good magical scrolls were very expensive, several times more than other equipment of the same rank. Most people who had magical scrolls would not use them save for emergencies.


    Of course, the ss was not about teaching them how to make magical scrolls. They were just new mages. Even Gu Xiaoyue would not be able to do it.


    Xiao Lin listened in earnest for a while and finally grasped the true reason for the ss. Lin Meiling was actually using the introduction to magical scrolls to have everyone understand that casting spells was not the end goal. There was still a long journey ahead which could allow them to have a lot more strategies and choices when they were fighting.


    Xiao Lin was somewhat worried; that was not a good sign. There were a few others with the same expression in the ss, and the smarter students all mostly guessed what was hidden within Li Meiling¡¯s words.


    Everyone knew the third monthly examination would be very hard, and Li Meiling was clearly telling them they would never be able to pass the examination with just their own skills, so she encouraged them to buy a few magical scrolls for emergencies.


    In truth, most sses had some changes these few weeks. More and more students had noticed something was up. The teachers all carried serious expressions, and some students even tried to get some information regarding the uing examinations from the teachers, but they were all tight-lipped; or rather, the student union was incredibly strict with the information, and even the teachers only heard rumors, not having concrete information themselves.


    The attitude the teachers had adopted also caused a lot of nervous tension among the new students, especially among the minority that did not have much of a lifespan left. Most of them were all begging for loans in points to buy Lifewater in anticipation of the batch that would be released for the first year students in a few days.


    The truth was, after the two prior monthly examinations and the entrance examinations, coupled with the fact that the second month was fairly easy, it was actually not difficult to afford Lifewater as long as they were not reckless with their spending. That was why the more positive individuals who were not as ambitious were not too nervous.


    Their lifespans were still quite long, so dying just one time was not a big deal. At the time, when everyone was full of tension, there were quite a few students who thought that way.


    However, all that was happening did not affect Xiao Lin too much, outside of him constantly reminding Gu Xiaoyue that she needed to buy Lifewater, no matter what. He even offered to help her if she did not have enough. He currently had an abundance of points.


    Li Meiling¡¯s ss also gave Xiao Lin an idea. He gave a call to Lu Renjia that afternoon, saying he wanted to change up the order and cancel a few things. He needed the points to buy some magical scrolls, which Lu Renjia was obviously not too happy about.


    After that, it was time for his nned training for the final week. The magical scrolls were just in case of emergencies. His own magic was still going to be the most reliable thing.


    Before he started training, Xiao Lin once again received a call from the student union president, asking him to retrieve something, stating it was something the dean personally asked to be handed to Xiao Lin.


    Even the student union president did not know what the object was for, so he expressed a great deal of curiosity. However, Xiao Lin immediately knew what it was. It was the key to levelling up his talent!

 Chapter 198: Talent Level Up (1)

    <h4>Chapter 198: Talent Level Up (1)</h4>


    SS-rank talents did not level up the same way as other talents or skills. SS-rank talents were not able to level up through training, instead needing external help.


    On Norma, talents were regarded as blessings from God, but SS-rank talents did not exist in that world. Now that Xiao Lin understood more about SS-rank talents, he only gained more and more questions, but no one could answer him. Just as the dean said, the only thing the dean could help him with was to make things easier. In the end, Xiao Lin still needed to figure things out himself.


    What exactly were the goods that could level up the mysterious SS-rank talents?


    Xiao Lin had that question in mind the entire way. When the student union president handed a diamond the size of a fist to him, his expression was fairly puzzled.


    Indeed, it was a very colorful and glowing diamond; it sparkled brightly and there were no ws on the surface. There seemed to be a water-like substance flowing within the diamond, and it looked really beautiful.


    The question was, how was he supposed to use it?


    Staring at the diamond, Xiao Lin was quite confused. It was drastically different from what he had imagined. He had thought it would be a type of potion or pill, but it turned out to be a diamond. Was he supposed to swallow it?


    ¡°How am I supposed to use this?¡± Xiao Lin asked the baby-faced student union president.


    The president smiled nonchntly. ¡°I want to know as well. s, the dean had left for the New World two days ago. There is a lot to do in the colonial territories, and most of them are far more important than what happens here. The diamond is something he got a few lecturers to make, but the truth is even they don¡¯t know what it is meant for, let alone how to use it.


    ¡°Normally, diamonds and jewels in Norma are not just decorative goods. It might be something you need to wear, or maybe it¡¯s a magical stone that needs to be enchanted onto a weapon?¡±


    The president was very earnest, as if he was investigating a very important matter. Even if he did not know the reason for it, it was something the dean had personally asked for, so the president did his utmost.


    However, it was a pity. No one could help Xiao Lin with this. The secret of the SS-rank talent meant Xiao Lin had to figure it out himself. Since the dean did not leave any other messages, it likely meant that even the dean did not know how to use it. After all, Xiao Lin was only one of three people in history who had ever possessed an SS-rank talent.


    After thanking the president, Xiao Lin put the diamond in a box and headed back to the dormitory. He cancelled his ns for training today, and he spent the rest of the day staring at the diamond.


    Even though the examinations were very close and the remaining time he had was very valuable, Xiao Lin was very clear that levelling up his talent was the most pressing task.


    How was he supposed to use it?


    Xiao Lin used all his brainpower, thinking up all sorts of ways. He wondered if the diamond was some sort of energy boosting essory, and all he needed to do was train next to it, or maybe he really needed to eat it? He could not think of a solution, and almost sank his teeth into it.


    The afternoon passed by just like that. Not only did Xiao Lin fail to make any progress, he had wasted half a day of training. Meditation training was much harder than Phantom Steps for any sort of swordsmanship training. His goal was originally to master as many useful spells as he could in a week, so wasting time like that caused him quite a bit of grief.


    He was quite out of it even when he was having lunch. He even ignored Cheng Ming¡¯s greeting and headed back. He puzzled over whether to train in the evening or continue torturing himself over how to use the diamond.


    Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Xiao Lin facepalmed as he cursed himself for being stupid. Since he did not know how to use the diamond, he should just ask someone who did. He definitely did not need to be wasting his time.


    The dean definitely did not know how, and it was likely that no one in Dawn Academy knew as well. However, Lilith from the Judge Academy might know. The Demon Queen, who had already levelled up her talent before, definitely knew how to level it up.


    As for whether or not Lilith would help him, Xiao Lin felt it would not be a problem. The world might call her the Demon Queen, but ever since their interactions in The Final Land, Xiao Lin found her to be a very straightforward person. Furthermore, he helped Lilith after they got back, and he felt that Lilith would not hesitate to repay that debt.


    Lilith was smart, so as long as she thought about what happened in The Final Land, she should have reached the same conclusion as Captain Harry of the dragon-eagle knights.


    The next problem was how he could contact Lilith. Xiao Lin definitely could not do the same thing asst time: return to Earth and head to New Washington from America. That would waste too much time, and after the house arrest, Xiao Lin swore he would never willingly set foot on that ce again.


    ording to school rules, when the dean was not around, the student union president would handle all internal matters. That baby-faced president was quite friendly, and Xiao Lin had his number. However, it was not his private number, but rather the number to his office.


    Even though he had just met the president earlier that day, the one who answered the call was not the president. An unfamiliar man was on the other side of the screen who called himself the head of recruitment. Xiao Lin had actually seen him before during the opening ceremony, but he did not remember at all. When he saw Xiao Lin, he gaped for a moment, but he did remember the new student who got an S-grade during the entrance examination. He eximed in surprise, ¡°How do you have the contact number for this ce?¡±


    Xiao Lin answered strangely, ¡°This is the number the president gave me. Is something wrong?¡±


    The head of recruitment was taken aback, not knowing what to say. Xiao Lin did not know that he was quite bbergasted. Not everyone had the right to have the contact number of the president¡¯s office, just like how regr people on Earth could not just directly contact the city mayor. Otherwise, the president would be swarmed with calls every day.


    Normal students, even the ones in the higher years, were only able to contact their monitors or the year heads. That was the basic rules set by Dawn Academy management.


    Even the monitors or year leaders were not able to easily contact the student union president. At the most, they only had the right to contact the various department heads who would escte the issue if needed.

 Chapter 199: Talent Level Up (2)

    <h4>Chapter 199: Talent Level Up (2)</h4>


    Xiao Lin was new, so he definitely did not know that rule. He had also been directly interacting with highly ranked people since the beginning. First, it was Department Head Song Jung, then the student union president, then the dean. Xiao Lin did not realize his social standing was actually quite high, so to anyone else, it was absolutely shocking.


    The head of recruitment was allowed to directly meet the president. It was by coincidence that the president had just left on some business and the phone rang at that time. Everyone was usually eating or resting at noon, and the office waspletely empty, which was why he answered.


    When he saw that a new student actually had the number to the office, and had asked directly for the president, the head of department silently wondered if Xiao Lin just stumbled upon the number. In the end, he pushed the matter to the second-year leader. Even though his tone was polite, Xiao Lin could sense his half-hearted attitude, so he hung up.


    When he contacted Chen Yu, the leader for the second-years also cursed silently. Though Dawn Academy was a school in name, the ss separation was very strict. It was basically a hierarchical society, with the monitors to the year leaders, then the department head and the president; every rank had their own roles and rights.


    However, that obviously did not apply to Xiao Lin. Even though Xiao Lin was quite friendly with him, without a shred of rudeness or arrogance, Chen Yu was still unhappy. That was because the only reason that man would contact him was so he could contact the student union president.


    Chen Yu was regrly in contact with the acting ss monitors from the first year. He knew that it was very likely the future year leader would be one of them, and that person would eventually enter the student union. That was why he offered his help: to build his connections early.


    The acting ss monitors were quite sensible as well. They all treated Chen Yu as a superior. It was only when it was Xiao Lin that Chen Yu did not feel he was treated like a year leader. He felt like he was just a messenger who was in charge of passing on Xiao Lin¡¯s messages.


    However, Chen Yu swallowed all that down. After the past few experiences, only an idiot would not see that the student union president regarded Xiao Lin quite highly. Even though he was not sure if that was due to the president himself or the dean, they were still both people he could not afford to offend.


    ¡°The president is currently in a meeting with a few lecturers discussing resource allocation. He will probably not be free for most of the day. Is there a reason you¡¯re looking for him?¡± Chen Yu patiently exined, but he was actually crying inside at the fact that he needed to provide an exnation to a new student.


    Xiao Lin was a little disappointed, but he immediately asked, ¡°That¡¯s alright, I understand. I don¡¯t actually need to see him. Anyway, do you know how I can contact the American side?¡±


    ¡°The Americans?¡± Chen Yu did not have time to properly process what Xiao Lin had said. He asked in confusion, ¡°Are you talking about Earth? If you have any rtives in America, you can write some letters and we¡¯ll get it sent for you from our branch on Earth.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°No, I¡¯m referring to New Washington; Judge Academy territory!¡±


    Chen Yu was surprised, but he did not have too many questions. He knew of Xiao Lin heading to New Washington, so it was quite normal he would know a few people there.


    Chen Yu smiled. ¡°Why would you need to trouble the president for something like that? Earlier, I said you could write a letter which would be delivered for you. It¡¯s the same for the other academies. We can get your letter sent to the American branch and they will help you bring it to the colonial territories. If nothing goes wrong, it will arrive in three to five days.¡±


    ¡°Three to five days?¡± Xiao Lin jumped, shaking his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s too slow. I need to contact them immediately. Is there no other way? Surely there is? I remember Department Head Song directly contacting the academy in New Washington. I think it¡¯s called trans-spatialmunication?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face was filled with disbelief, and Chen Yu could not help but continue, ¡°That¡¯s right, Department Head Song might have used trans-spatialmunication. That is indeed a way tomunicate immediately regardless of distance. However, the technique is extremelyplicated, and a lot of energy stones are needed to do it...¡±


    Chen Yu suddenly paused and waved his hand dismissively. It was not clear if he did not know the specifics or if he gave up exining. He skipped to the conclusion. ¡°Trans-spatialmunication is very expensive. Even graduates rarely choose such a method ofmunication. It¡¯s usually only used on special asions like war.¡±


    Xiao Lin grasped the key points. ¡°So, what you mean is, even normal students are allowed to use it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a public service. However, one would first need enough money to use it. After all, if the academy bore the cost, Dawn Academy would have gone bankrupt by now...¡±


    ¡°How expensive?¡±


    ¡°One thousand New Dors per minute.¡± Chen Yu emphasized the New Dors, reminding Xiao Lin it was not redemption points. Probably worried that Xiao Lin would continue, he added, ¡°Since you¡¯ve been to New Washington, you should know what New Dors are. I might not know what rtionship you have with the president, but business is still business. Even the president himself needs to pay the fees. Of course, he might help you with the money, but that would need to wait until after his meeting.¡±


    Xiao Lin was actually quite anxious at first, but he let out a sigh of relief after Chen Yu finished. ¡°Who knows how long he will take? I¡¯ll just pay for it myself.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. You need to wait for the president... What? Hold on, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it myself. That¡¯s the rule of the academy after all. I shouldn¡¯t be exempt.¡± Xiao Lin never wanted to use someone else¡¯s money. Relying on himself was the best way, and it was not like he could not afford it.


    ¡°Every minute is one thousand New Dors. I¡¯m talking about New Dors!¡± Chen Yu emphasized in disbelief.


    Xiao Lin started to get impatient. ¡°Could you just tell me where I need to go?¡±


    Chen Yu paused, speechless, before nodding as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you over!¡±


    Chen Yu really wanted to see if that shocking freshman really did have such a massive sum of money, or if he was just mocking him.

 Chapter 200: Talent Level Up (3)

    <h4>Chapter 200: Talent Level Up (3)</h4>


    Trans-spatialmunication was created by the colonists using Norma¡¯s energiesbined with science from Earth. The technique allowed them to instantlymunicate across great distances.


    On the way to themunication room, Chen Yu gave Xiao Lin a simple exnation of the origins of trans-spatialmunication. The technique¡¯s earliest inventor was someone from Dawn Academy, which Chen Yu was visibly proud of, even though it had nothing to do with him.


    The room was located in a veryrge building, and it was located very close to the wormhole. It was the most heavily guarded ce in the entire academy, but thanks to Chen Yu¡¯s status, the two of them passed by without any issues.


    ¡°Year Leader Chen, you¡¯re using the trans-spatialmunicator? You must have struck gold!¡± A few women sat inside the room, and were busy chatting away when they recognized Chen Yu in surprise.


    Other than the few staff inside, the room was very quiet, which was proof of how expensive it was. It was definitely hard for a regr person to afford it.


    Chen Yu was not in a good mood at that time, so he scolded them, ¡°Don¡¯t just sit here doing nothing all day. Don¡¯t forget you¡¯re members of the student union. The student union ced you here to protect the equipment!¡±


    The woman brushed it off, smiling as she said, ¡°Alright, alright. You really must be rich now. You¡¯ve used the equipment before, so we don¡¯t need to teach you, right?¡±


    Chen Yu said rudely, ¡°I can¡¯t afford this. This junior wants to use it, so exin it to him!¡±


    ¡°Junior?¡± A long-haired woman stopped looking at her nails, instead looking at the man behind Chen Yu curiously before eximing, ¡°Junior! If you can call him a junior, doesn¡¯t that mean he¡¯s in his first year!¡±


    ¡°Of course! Well, my job is done. Xiao Lin, you can ask them about everything else!¡± Chen Yu was rapidly losing interest, but he did not move to leave. Instead, his eyes were fixated on the bag Xiao Lin had. He had nced at the bag a few times on the way there, and he obviously had his guesses as to what was inside.


    ¡°Since you were brought here by Chen Yu, you should already know the rules. It¡¯s 1,000 New Dors a minute, school rules. Oh, we don¡¯t ept credit either,¡± the woman said professionally.


    Xiao Lin nodded and ced his bag on the table before opening it. All their gazes immediately moved toward the bag, and everyone¡¯s eyes widened when they saw stacks of fresh bills within.


    Since he did not know how long he would take, Xiao Lin had brought all of his savings over just in case. Because thergest New Dor bill was 100, he basically had over 10,000 New Dors stuffed in that bag, which was a sight to behold.


    Chen Yu had mixed feelings. Even though it meant that Xiao Lin was not making a fool of him, he still wanted to know how a new student could get so much money. He was the year leader for the second years and considered the best student among his peers. He had been to the New World a few times, and made some money doing tasks over there as well. However, even now, his savings were not more than 2,000 New Dors.


    Even so, among the second and even the third years, Chen Yu was considered quite a wealthy person. Back then, he had gritted his teeth and bought an essory from Norma for a girl at 200 New Dors. Even that was enough to cause a huge uproar.


    However, looking at the thick stacks of New Dors in front of him, he suddenly felt like his world was very small. He counted in his head as Xiao Lin ced the money stack by stack onto the table. How much money was there? At least 10,000?


    Chen Yu was not at all interested in why Xiao Lin wanted to make the call. However, the amount of money was way too shocking. He did not even say a word as he left in a daze.


    Xiao Lin did not know that he had basically just changed someone¡¯s worldview. He was actually frowning as well, asking the women if the money was enough.


    The women, who were shocked into silence, quickly snapped back to reality, smiling as they said, ¡°It¡¯s more than enough.¡±


    The rest of the procedures went quite smoothly. Themunications room was in it¡¯s own corner. The room was quite unique. Even the walls, floors, and ceilings were made made of gold. Xiao Lin felt like his eyes were assaulted by the bright sparkles before slowly recovering from the shock and awe. He could see that they were not regr gold, as the metal contained some sort of sand-like object flowing within.


    ¡°That¡¯s Timesand. If you¡¯ve sat in the interspatial carriage before, you would have seen them. It¡¯s verymon in the wormholes, and they are also necessary materials for trans-spatialmunication. The problem is that it is extremely hard to process, which contributes to the high costs of trans-spatialmunication.¡± Money really was all-powerful. That woman that Xiao Lin had never met before was exining everything to him in a very friendly tone, with an extremely amicable face.


    Xiao Lin did see the Timesand before, so he nodded in understanding. In his mind, he remarked that there were still so many unknown mysteries in the world, causing him a lot of excitement.


    As the official staff there, the woman was quite professional as she exined how to use themunications device in great detail. It was actually quite simple, and the real difficulty was ascertaining the proper location. However, that did not require Xiao Lin¡¯s own effort, as the woman would be responsible for it. She said she was a third-year student who was in the spatial courses.


    Upon hearing that Xiao Lin wanted to contact New Washington, the woman¡¯s eyes sparkled. She had never been there before, only having been to the territories of Dawn Academy in the New World. The only way to get to American territory was on official business, so she was extremely curious about Xiao Lin¡¯s status.


    Xiao Lin started to feel that the woman was being overly friendly, so he rushed her out of the room. However, before she left, she did not forget to ask if trans-spatialmunication was private, but she received a negative reply.


    Trans-spatialmunication was simr to the earliest telephones back on Earth. Due to the difficulty of stabilizing the locations, there was no way to make it as convenient as their magical phones. Trans-spatialmunication required them tomunicate with the other party through the main system, which was established early on by all the academies.


    However, because of that, the operator of the main system, which was the woman in front of him, would be able to listen in on the call at any time as long as they wish to do it, even though it was not allowed by the academy rules.


    Xiao Lin obviously did not want anyone else to listen in on Lilith and his conversation, so he was doubtlessly disappointed. However, when he thought about it, as long as he avoided directly mentioning anything sensitive, no one would be able to guess what they were talking about.

 Chapter 201: Talent Level Up (4)

    <h4>Chapter 201: Talent Level Up (4)</h4>


    After repeated advice and constant rambling about daily life, Xiao Lin was just about to get impatient when the woman found themunication room. What followed was a long wait, as the positioning for trans-spatialmunication was still rather time-consuming. Fortunately, no charges were incurred during that time.


    About 20 minutester, the golden light that filled the entire room dimmed suddenly, and the Timesand stored in the emerald immediately began quickly flowing. As its speed grew and grew, the golden light became increasingly fainter until it disappearedpletely. It was still pitch-ck, but within a few seconds, a curtain of light suddenly appeared. Inside that light curtain was a blonde American woman with a professional-looking smile. She bluntly asked Xiao Lin who he was looking for.


    After hearing that he wanted to contact Lilith, the American woman¡¯s smile froze slightly and she quickly gave a tact reply. ¡°We will contact you as soon as possible, but the situation is unique with Miss Lilith. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll agree to thismunication request if you don¡¯t know her personally.¡±


    Xiao Lin expressed no issue with that and even seemed confident about it.


    Another wait soon ensued, and Xiao Lin was getting a little uneasy because the trans-spatialmunication was already connected and fell under the period where charges could be incurred. There were no clocks in the dark room, so he could only count the time silently in his heart and pray that the other party could contact Lilith as soon as possible.


    More than four minutester, the American woman in the light curtain appeared with the same faint smile. Xiao Lin barely squeezed out an ugly, almost-crying smile after he was made to wait. That short wait was already equivalent to losing 4,000 New Dors. He finally understood why Chen Yu had that surprised expression after hearing that he was going to use trans-spatialmunication.


    It was extremely expensive despite its convenience, and for most people, it was simply unaffordable.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s switchboard administrator was very rxed and would even chat with Xiao Lin from time to time. She naturally understood that there was a charge during that period, but she was likely under the impression that Xiao Lin was loaded if he could spend so much money to use the service.


    By the sixth minute, the light curtain fluctuated again like water, and Lilith¡¯s face finally appeared inside. She did not seem to be in the city, but that did not really matter.


    ¡°It really is you! I knew it. Other than you, there can¡¯t possibly be anyone else from Dawn Academy who would call me using trans-spatialmunication.¡± Lilith seemed to have expected it.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Can anyone else hear me?¡± Xiao Lin shouted a few times instead of getting straight to the point. He cleared his throat after seeing Lilith¡¯s strange expression. ¡°Umm, I just wanted to confirm that the switchboard administrator isn¡¯t eavesdropping.¡±


    Lilith rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Thetest technology in trans-spatialmunication has enhanced confidentiality. Cut to the chase. I¡¯m very busy.¡±


    Lilith looked more anxious than Xiao Lin was. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he heard a scream and saw a body flying from behind Lilith, vomiting blood, and falling to the ground. Taken by surprise, Xiao Lin asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just dealing with a gang of bandits. The natives never watch their step. How dare they target Judge Academy¡¯s caravan.¡± Lilith made light of the situation.


    At that moment however, Xiao Lin noticed the traces of blood present on the woman¡¯s light armor. The battle seemed to be harder than her tone suggested, and the opponents appeared strong too. He could not control himself from expressing his concern for her. ¡°You¡¯re okay, right?¡±


    Lilith was getting even more impatient. ¡°I¡¯m going to get in some real trouble if you don¡¯t get to the point!¡±


    In fact, Lilith would have long turned off the call if it was any other person. However, she was willing to endure a little more because she knew it was Xiao Lin. Thetter was well aware that there was no time for nonsense, so he kept things as simple as possible. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get to the point then. How do you use this diamond? ¡±


    ¡°Diamonds?¡±


    ¡°The diamond used for leveling up.¡± Xiao Lin could not just directly mention that it was for his SS-level talent, but he believed that Lilith would definitely understand the hint.


    Sure enough, Lilith went nk for less than a second and showed a dazed expression. She looked at Xiao Lin a few times in amazement, then dragged her scythe to split a guy who wanted to deliver her a sneak attack from behind. She even ignored the blood stains on her cheek and answered directly, ¡°Just break it.¡±


    ¡°What? Break it? You¡¯re telling me to break the diamond!¡±


    ¡°Yes, just break it!¡±


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. No matter how much he racked his brain, he would never have expected the diamond to be used by breaking it. Still, he would never have used such a method if it was not approved by Lilith. Should a mistake happen, would he not have to trouble the dean to temper a new diamond?


    ¡°Don¡¯t zone out! What else do you need!¡± Lilith¡¯s tone was urgent as the battle seemed to be even more intense. She killed at least three or four bandits in just that short moment.


    Xiao Lin hesitated for a moment and said softly, ¡°There is onest request. It doesn¡¯t matter if you agree or not. You know that I¡¯m just a freshman, so it¡¯s only natural that I don¡¯t have much money. Our academy is about to usher in the third monthly exam too, and uh, you may not know this, but our monthly exam is rted to the ss monitor¡¯s position...¡±


    ¡°Spit it out!¡±


    ¡°Well, in a nutshell, can you help pay half the cost of this trans-spatialmunication?¡±


    Despite having to avoid distraction during battle, Lilith had a nk look after hearing those words. She said not a word, and the light curtain suddenly disappeared, a sign that the other party had deliberately disconnected the call.


    The room became bright again, and the Timesand in the emerald reappeared. Xiao Lin smiled with some regret. Hisst sentence was spoken half-jokingly, but it did not seem to have any effect. He roughly estimated the duration of his call and could feel his heart bleeding.


    After leaving themunication room, the administrator looked at him strangely and said, ¡°Your total is three thousand five hundred New Dors. Just sign here after you pay.¡±


    Xiao Lin was taken aback. ¡± Isn¡¯t it a thousand New Dors per minute? I talked for more than three minutes, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Before the switchboard from Judge Academy disconnected, theymunicated to us that they¡¯d pay half the total of expenses for this call. The total was seven minutes, so half of that would be three thousand five hundred New Dors. This sum is the cost for the upkeep of energy consumption.¡±


    Xiao Lin was amazed that Lilith would suddenly be so warm-hearted and actually helped him pay half. He felt a little smug and wondered if he had too irresistible a charm.


    ¡°Oh and, Judge Academy also said that thedy left you a message.¡±


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously. He did not mention Lilith, even though it was certain that many of Dawn Academy¡¯s people knew who she was.


    ¡°Just six words: ¡®You need to pay me back¡¯.¡±


    Xiao Lin was immediately in shambles.

 Chapter 202: Talent Level Up (5)

    <h4>Chapter 202: Talent Level Up (5)</h4>


    Sure enough, Lilith was not as warm as he imagined. He still had to repay that debt in the future, but at the very least, Xiao Lin managed to save 3,500 New Dors for the time being.


    After leaving the trans-spatialmunication room, Xiao Lin went straight back to the dormitory. The method he got was so simple yet so unexpected. He was quite stunned when he looked at the soft halo around the wless diamond. It was not that he did not believe Lilith¡¯s words; it was just a pity that a beautiful work of art would have to be broken.


    Xiao Lin curled his lips and put that strange thought behind him. He then raised the dagger in his hand and shed it toward the surface of the diamond. After a sharp metallic crash, Xiao Lin actually bounced back and fell on the ground.


    The diamond¡¯s density was beyond imagination. Xiao Lin smiled bitterly at the notch on the de. The dagger was his first novice dagger and the evaluation was practically the lowest. He already had thoughts of changing the weapon early on, but then noticed some slight cracks on the surface of the diamond.


    Its intensity still appeared to be within an eptable range because Xiao Lin would have had a real headache on his hands if that were not the case. He had to consider the looming monthly exam before changing to another weapon, since his order was still with Lu Renjia and could not possibly bepleted so soon.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s use shing!¡±


    After ten minutes, Xiao Lin¡¯s room rumbled with rattles and thumps. With his shing at MAX, he was able to execute at least twice the level of damage, and coupled with Miracle¡¯s attribute transformation, the maximum destructive power Xiao Lin could inflict in that instance was actually quite significant.


    Even so, Xiao Lin was out of breath, especially after the continuous use of his Miracle skill. When the attribute transformation state ended, the physical exertion was simply astonishing.


    In the end, the diamond had reached its limit as Xiao Lin was t on the ground. The first crack expanded rapidly, then extended to the entire surface of the diamond, causing it to shatter quietly. The fragments scattered all over the ce, and to his surprise, the fluid-like substance inside the crystal evaporated rather quickly when it came into contact with the air, turning into a cloud of blue mist which filled every corner of the room in the blink of an eye.


    The whole process took only a moment and Xiao Lin instinctively held his breath. The blue mist did not smell very good and had a faint mustiness, like food that had been expired for a very long time. Most notably, in the span of a few seconds, he felt his mind get a little dizzy and his whole body turned hot. The feeling of uneasiness grew.


    The events that followed were even more bizarre. The mist seemed to be attracted to him, rushing quickly toward him. His body was like a ma that frantically absorbed the mist.


    ¡®This thing isn¡¯t poisonous, right? Was I tricked?¡¯


    As soon as that thought came up, Xiao Lin felt his consciousness be more and more blurry, and he had a bad feeling in his heart. Although he did not believe that Lilith would lie to him, he was more willing to believe that there was something problematic about his body at that moment. Before he could run to the door to open it, he fell directly onto the carpet.


    What Xiao Lin did not notice was a milky-white halo appeared suddenly on the surface of his skin after he had passed out. The halo quickly dimmed again but did notpletely disappear. It turned into a very shallow film, covering Xiao Lin¡¯s body and greatly reducing the influx speed of the blue mist around him.


    If the previous speed could be likened to crashing waves, the white halo had ced it under control and slowed the rate at which it entered his body to a gurgling stream. The blue mist¡¯s absorption time had also been greatly extended.


    Xiao Lin felt like he was in a long, long dream. Within that dream was a world filled only with that white glow. His subconscious was familiar with that ce, as if he had been to somewhere simr before, or rather, he had dreamt the same dream before.


    He was the only person walking in that empty and quiet dream. He did not know where he was going and he could not even discern directions. He had no idea how long he had been walking, but he ended up exhausted. An apple tree suddenly appeared in the middle, abruptly appearing just like magic.


    Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes vigorously. He was in disbelief, but an even more surprising sight existed behind the tree. A young man with brown curly hair and blue eyes was sitting under the apple tree. He was clearly not Chinese. With a smile, he looked and Xiao Lin and nodded, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time. This is a rare asion. Come, sit down.¡±


    Xiao Lin was still dazed, so the man took the initiative to stand up and walk toward him. Even though it was only a dream, Xiao Lin¡¯s subconscious vignce prompted him to retreat a few quick steps back, distancing himself from the man.


    The man waved his hand helplessly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. Your subconscious mind is too tense. This will influence the effect of your talent advancement, ande to think of it, you are quite reckless. SS-level talents are different from ordinary talents. They are unique. Each SS-level talent can only exist once, yet you actually took over and used someone else¡¯s advanced capabilities.¡±


    ¡°You mean the list is fake? And the blue mist is poisonous!¡±


    The manughed and shook his head. ¡°Of course not. With that kind of energyponent, your list is probably the same as what I used back then... That aside, thank me. I¡¯ve already helped you tweak the energyponent and allowed you to fully absorb it so your talents can be raised to its peak. It¡¯ll take a while, so in the meantime, you can chat with me here first.¡±


    ¡°Who are you? And, this, where is this?¡± Xiao Lin was surprised.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t we met? Your subconscious forgets things so quickly. As for this ce? This is the depths of consciousness. You can call it a dream, if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°So, it is a dream.¡± A dreaming person might not realize that they were dreaming, but Xiao Lin did not seem too startled as he stared at the man in front of him and asked, ¡°Well, you haven¡¯t answered my first question. Who are you and what are you doing in my dream!¡±


    ¡°Ah, haven¡¯t I introduced myself yet? That¡¯s impossible.¡± The man was surprised, but he had an even bigger smile on his face. He said, with a yful tone, ¡°You¡¯ve probably guessed the answer by now. My name is Ivan. Ivanovich.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s pupils contracted at once and he suddenly remembered why that bright white world was so familiar. He was not dreaming when he was at the area of Ivan¡¯s alleged tomb in The Final Land; in fact, he had actually entered the very same ce deep in his consciousness!

 Chapter 203: Goodbye Ivan

    <h4>Chapter 203: Goodbye Ivan</h4>


    Ivanovich was, without a doubt, an extremely important figure in Norma¡¯s history of human colonization. He was also a very mysterious figure. Xiao Lin heard legends of that man from various people when in New Washington, and to top it off, he and Lilith found the ce of Ivan¡¯s alleged tomb in The Final Land.


    Xiao Lin had no opinion on the impression he had of that legendary person, but one thing was certain: he definitely did not want to meet Ivan alone, let alone have any conflict with him. Regardless of what stand Ivan took, endless trouble was but a certainty.


    That was due to the stark difference in the two individuals¡¯ states, which could be likened to a deity¡¯s and a mortal¡¯s. Xiao Lin knew very well that he was currently still too weak, and he did not want to cause any possible trouble to himself.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re not dead? Thest time you snuck into my consciousness was in The Final Land. Did you take that opportunity to return to the New World? What¡¯s your purpose?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s tone became more and more sullen as he fired a rapid barrage of questions.


    Ivan was briefly startled beforeughing heartily. ¡°You¡¯re really funny. If anyone else were in your position right now, they¡¯d be more than eager to talk to me. Am I that unwee?¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes angrily. ¡°This is my dream! It¡¯s my world! You came in without my permission. Am I supposed to thank you!¡±


    Ivan was slightly taken aback. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right, but I¡¯ll pay rent. When you wake up, you¡¯ll discover just how perfect your talents are. Besides, you were learning skills a few days ago, weren¡¯t you? Hmm, let me think about what skill that was. Phantom Steps? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re progressing a bit too fast?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the cause! Wait, no that¡¯s impossible. This is my own, umm...¡± Xiao Lin obviously did not believe it. He wanted to say that it the effects were due to his SS-level talent, but on second thought, such secrets should not be revealed so recklessly.


    Ivan immediately helped him finish his sentence. ¡°Were you about to say that it¡¯s because of the talent¡¯s increased efficiency? That¡¯s true, but don¡¯t forget that you drank a very magical potion some days ago. Had it not been for my help in assisting you thoroughly absorb the ingredients of that potion, did you think it would have had such an amazing effect?¡±


    ¡°Training potion? You helped me to absorb it? I don¡¯t quite understand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very powerful potion. Although some people have proposed ideas about it in my time, no one had actually seeded. I didn¡¯t expect Dawn Academy to really be able to develop it.¡± Ivan sighed before the conversation took a different turn. ¡°There aren¡¯t any problems with the potion¡¯s ingredients, but the developer is ignoring a big problem. Normal people would find it difficult to absorb such an agent, while those with talent can absorb it a little more, but notpletely either. Without my help, you can only absorb about one-tenth of the effect of an agent like that.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly had a realization. Although he did not express it verbally, he actually believed Ivan¡¯s words somewhat. In fact, there were some amazing training effects in recent days, so much so that it confounded him a little.


    After all, it only took him a week to train Phantom Steps to the fullest level. Such speed was almost faster than riding atop a rocket. He originally thought that all of it was due to the qualitative change effected by his Academic Genius talent as well as the training potion, but even Fei Yawen¡ªthe potion¡¯s creator¡ªwas simrly amazed by the potion¡¯s amazing effects. No experiment subject seemed to have reached that kind of level before.


    Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s silence, Ivan narrowed his smile slightly. ¡°You believe now, don¡¯t you? Ie without any ill intent. Why would I want to help you otherwise? You ought to know that, even though these things were a simple task for me in the past, I now have to pay a high price if I wanted to do them.¡±


    Xiao Lin rxed a little after acknowledging that Ivan was not going to do anything to him for the time being. Ivan seemed to have immediately sensed the same, and the big smile reappeared on his youthful face. He snapped his fingers and two cans of Coke immediately dropped from above. He tossed one to Xiao Lin, then opened his own and took a few sips. He frowned for a moment, then snapped his fingers again.


    With that, the apple tree beside him became stronger, with luxuriant branches and leaves that practically covered the entire sky. A lush grasnd appeared under the tree and a faint fragrance could even be vaguely perceived.


    An amazed Xiao Lin suddenly blurted out, ¡°Is that your Creation ability?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a pity that I can only use it only to this extent.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious. What state are you in now? If you¡¯re not dead, you could¡¯ve left when I arrived in New Washington.¡±


    Ivan was somewhat reticent. He quietly drank his Coke and casually threw the can away. It disappeared into thin air and he smiled slightly. ¡°It¡¯s a pity. I¡¯m dead. I died a long time ago. I know what you want to say, but it¡¯s difficult for me to exin my current state in just a few words. The point is, I¡¯m not a ghost. If you insist on an exnation, you can call me a memory.¡±


    ¡°A memory? You¡¯re saying that what I¡¯m seeing right now is just a memory!¡±


    ¡°Yes. You could understand it that way. I¡¯m only the fragment of a memory.¡± The expression on Ivan¡¯s face was very sad.


    The two of them were quiet for a while. Xiao Lin did not know what to say, as all his previous assumptions about Ivan had been rified. Ivan really was long dead, as history said. Xiao Lin had no idea how tofort the memory of a dead person, so he could only choose to stay silent.


    After a long time, Xiao Lin deliberated before asking, ¡°Then why are you helping me?¡±


    ¡°I want you to do me a favor.¡±


    Sure enough, there was no free lunch in the world. Ivan was lending Xiao Lin a helping hand, speeding up thetter¡¯s skill learning and talent advancement. How could he not ask for anything in return?


    The sympathy that had just appeared in Xiao Lin waspletely set aside. He had his guard up and interrupted Ivan vigntly, ¡°You don¡¯t even need to think about it! Whatever the favor is, I won¡¯t do it! You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! What makes you think I can do something that even you can¡¯t aplish?¡±


    Ivan said helplessly again, ¡°Are you really so reluctant to help a dead man fulfil hisst wish?¡±


    ¡°Please! Last wishes are for people who are going to die. You¡¯re just a memory! And since you¡¯re able to manifest using that memory, why don¡¯t you just go and do it yourself? Or find someone who¡¯s stronger? I¡¯m just a freshman! I¡¯m not even ck Iron-rank yet!¡± Xiao Lin did not even want to listen to Ivan¡¯s request. His instinct was to distance himself from the whirlpool of potential trouble.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only person I can seek out because you happened to be there at the time. I believe this was God¡¯s n!¡± Ivan stood up and approached Xiao Lin. He remarked seriously, ¡°Xiao Lin, when you left The Final Land, it signified that you¡¯ve absorbed part of the Book of Creation¡¯s fragments. There¡¯s no way for you to refuse!¡±

 Chapter 204: Talent Level Up Ends

    <h4>Chapter 204: Talent Level Up Ends</h4>


    Xiao Lin felt a headacheing on. He did not even know what the Book of Creation was, let alone its so-called fragments. He never saw anything like that at all!


    ¡°You must really want to know what the Book of Creation is, don¡¯t you?¡± Ivan saw the profound confusion on Xiao Lin¡¯s face.


    ¡°Can you exin it to me?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know what the Book of Creation is.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny. So, how many fragments are there in the Book of Creation?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Where are the pieces?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Is there a benefit to collecting all the pieces? For example, the ability to ascend to a higher level?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you know...¡±


    Ivan sighed. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m only a fragmented memory. All I know is that the Book of Creation rtes to the origin andws of Norma. However, the book was destroyed a long time ago and its fragments are scattered all over time and space. One of the fragments is hidden in The Final Land; in my tomb, that is. In fact, this memory of mine is also to protect that fragment. When I dive into your deep consciousness, it also means that this fragment has been absorbed by you.¡±


    Xiao Lin could already feel a headache. He quickly waved his hand to interrupt. ¡°The problem is, you don¡¯t know a single thing at all. How do you expect me to collect all those fragments? And, how do I know if this thing will bring harm? I don¡¯t want to stir up trouble!¡±


    Ivan shook his head. ¡°I may not know, but the information in my memory shows that the Book of Creation is very important to Norma, even Earth! In fact, if it¡¯s possible, I would¡¯ve loved to task this to a more capable person, but unfortunately, it was you who entered that ce, and it was you who understood the message I burned on the crystal wall. For that reason, it can only be you.¡±


    After a pause, Ivan blinked and smiled softly. ¡°As for the harm? Haha, I¡¯ll borrow one of your Chinese sayings: you¡¯re taking your own undeserved gain for granted. Aren¡¯t you curious how the Miracle skill you created came to be? I¡¯ve been paying attention to you in The Final Land. While it¡¯s true thatws can be created there, you couldn¡¯t have been able to create your new skill without the book¡¯s fragments, even with that SS-level talent! I obtained a fragment back then too, and that was why I was able to create the resurrectionw.¡±


    Xiao Lin was indeed quite surprised, but on closer thought, the statements put forth were the only possibility. His Miracle skill did appear rather abruptly, as if a mere thought was able to transform it into a skill.


    However, Xiao Lin was more concerned about Ivan¡¯s other statement. ¡°You said that the Book of Creation is also important to Earth? But isn¡¯t it from Norma?¡±


    Ivan spread his palms. ¡°You¡¯d have to find the answer yourself. I told you, my task is to protect the fragment. Now that the fragment has a new owner, my mission isplete.¡±


    Looking at the bright, carefree smile on the young Russian¡¯s face, Xiao Lin guessed something and asked quickly, ¡°Are you going to leave? Or is it¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a memory. I¡¯m not even a soul. Back in The Final Land, I used a special method to seal myself in the fragment. Now that there is no fragment, normalw dictates that memories without a body will fade away quickly. Such is thew of nature,¡± Ivan said calmly. He did not feel the slightest regret at his impending disappearance.


    Regardless of Xiao Lin¡¯s earlier views and beliefs toward that legendary character, he could not help but feel sad when he heard that.


    Whether it was the Miracle skill, the elerated learning of Phantom Steps, or supposed assistance to help Xiao Lin improve his talent level, the memory of Ivan¡ªwhom he did not know personally¡ªreally did help him a lot.


    After a brief moment of conflict, Xiao Lin hesitated and said, ¡°I don¡¯t dare give you any assurances or promises regarding the Book of Creation¡¯s fragments, but if strength and conditions permit, I¡¯ll try to help you collect them.¡±


    Ivan waved his hand and said disapprovingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. This isn¡¯t an order. It¡¯s just a request. The onus on agreeing actually lies with you, but the information in my memory shows that it seems to have a great impact on Earth. Although I¡¯m just a memory, I still don¡¯t want any disasters to happen in my homeworld. I hope you can understand.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded to express his understanding, despite the fact that he was still puzzled.


    Just as thosest words were exined, Ivan stood under the apple tree and continued, ¡°My time is running out. I¡¯ll help youplete your transition to SS-level. Oh, about that, it¡¯s a veryplicated and time-consuming upgrade. I don¡¯t have time to exin more to you, but I¡¯ll help you this time. You¡¯ll have to find out more on your own in the future.¡±


    After finishing his words, Ivan closed his eyes before waiting for Xiao Lin to respond. Ivan¡¯s body then became increasingly transparent and blurry. After disappearingpletely, the entire light-filled world seemed to have lost its anchor and crumbled in an instant.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness fell into chaos again¡ªinyman¡¯s terms, he had passed out.


    When Xiao Lin next woke up, he felt that every bone in his body was sore, but aside from that pain was an unexinable freshness in his spirit. He stood up with great effort and used the wall as support, then discovered that his clothes were soaked all over. He sweated profusely, and there was also some kind of thick, stinking, unknown gray-ck substance sticking to his clothes.


    Xiao Lin looked outside the window. Darkness had already covered the sky and he breathed a sigh of relief when he lowered his head to nce at the time on theputer disy. It was still the evening of the same day and he was fortunate not to have been stuck in aa for days on end.


    After rushing into the bathroom, he took a very pleasant shower andpletely cleaned off all the strange stickiness on his body. When he came out again, he was fully refreshed and his bone pain had lessened. Then he logged into his personal file and checked his own talent attributes: it was a confidential piece of information that only he could ess.


    [Talent: Academic Genius LV2 (self-named)]


    [Level: SS]


    [Passive effect: Improve learning efficiency by 200%.]


    [Active effect: Replication ability to replicate any non-talent skill that does not exceed the Grade E evaluation. Effectsts 10 minutes, and the skill can be used every 6 days.]


    His SS-level skill was finally upgraded, and the effect after the upgrade was tremendously powerful. The passive effect had doubled by 100%, and he was more than eager to see the 200% training result after initially experiencing the initial passive effects.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s active replication skill had also been strengthened. The cool-down period after using it had been reduced from the initial seven days to six days. Although it was only a one-day difference, it was still better than nothing. The replication effect duration had also been extended from three minutes to ten minutes, and most importantly, the grade of skills he could replicate rose from F to E.

 Chapter 205: Dragon Blood

    <h4>Chapter 205: Dragon Blood</h4>


    The pleasant surprise could not have been achieved without Ivan¡¯s help. Even though thetter was just a memory that had dissipated along with the wind, Xiao Lin could only silently say a word of thanks in his heart.


    As for the Book of Creation, every other piece of information was practically absent aside from its name. Although Ivan said that there was a fragment in his body and that he had mastered the Creation skill¡¯s Miracle, Xiao Lin did not n to take any proactive actions, let alone reveal anything to others. It would all be left to fate.


    It was less than a week before the third monthly exam. Xiao Lin could feel the increasingly tight schedule and he did not have any time to spare after raising his talent level. There was still onest chance to use his Replicate skill, and it was better to use it the very next day. That way, the cool-down period would end just as the monthly exam started.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s target of replication had been decided very early on. He looked for Song Jung the next day. Ever since returning from New Washington, the logistics department¡¯s head had practically spent his days without ever leaving home. He carefully tended to the little dragon-eagle every day.


    The logistics department resembled a back garden that Xiao Lin could enter and leave at will. When he passed by that time, he discovered that the little dragon-eagle had grown a little bit bigger again. He could not help butin, ¡°The little guy is growing a bit too fast!¡±


    By then, Song Jung was also ustomed to Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden appearance. He spoke without turning back, ¡°It¡¯s not that quick under normal circumstances, but I added a little special ingredient to its food. Would you like to try?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m not interested. Department Head Song, can you show me your sword aura?¡±


    After finishing what he was doing, Song Jung looked up strangely. ¡°You came to me and asked about thatst time. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve told you that I haven¡¯t used it for a long time. Plus, I¡¯m busy now.¡±


    ¡°Just do me a favor please,¡± Xiao Lin quickly pleaded. If he wanted to master the external sword aura as soon as possible in the remaining few days, he could only do so by replicating Song Jung¡¯s skills. Of course, he did not mention his skill and instead used the excuse that he was practicing sword aura and needed the help of a master to show him the works.


    ¡°Well, I can help you, but in return, you have to do me a little favor too,¡± the helpless Song Jung said very reluctantly only after Xiao Lin pestered him.


    Xiao Lin nodded happily and agreed, but quickly added, ¡°But I will never eat whatever strange ingredient you just mentioned.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I definitely won¡¯t ask you to. How could I trick you!¡± Seeing Xiao Lin agree, Song Jung immediately beamed with joy and hurried to the next room to get something.


    Left alone, Xiao Lin grew more and more anxious. Song Jung¡¯s expression did not seem too promising. He had the same look and tone when he lied to him about eating the ironb chicken before.


    Song Jung came back soon enough and held a ss in his hand. The ss was filled with a red viscous substance, and there were bubbles too. The red substance seemed to be fresh off the stove and there was a dash of golden yellow liquid mixed in too.


    Xiao Lin stepped back warily when the smell of rust crashed into his face. Although he had no idea what was in the cup, his face had an expression that said, ¡®Don¡¯t even think you can trick me into drinking it.¡¯


    ¡°Come on, drink it while it¡¯s hot!¡±


    ¡°Fat chance!¡±


    ¡°Tsk tsk. This is some good stuff right here. I wouldn¡¯t just give it to anyone. I¡¯m only giving it to you on ount of our good friendship.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s that good, why don¡¯t you drink it yourself?¡±


    ¡°How could I? What if I endanger my life by drinking it?¡±


    ¡°F*CK YOU! So, its fine if something happens to me, then?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I misspoke. You¡¯re the only person who is able to drink this without anything happening. It¡¯s actually made specifically for you. You ought to know that you¡¯re very special and I can assure you there won¡¯t be any danger. After all, where else can I find a better experimental subject...ahh, I mean a kinder friend than you?¡±


    Those profound words stunned Xiao Lin a little. As soon as he was about to ask why, Song Jung had already thrust the ss and forcibly held it to his mouth. It looked as though Song Jung was going to pour it down his throat.


    ¡°You! Hold up! Tell me what this is!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s dragon blood. Told you it¡¯s rare good stuff.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not a newbie anymore. He was aware that pure dragons were a rarity, even on Norma. There were many half-dragon creatures such as dragon-eagles that possessed some dragon blood in them.


    A real dragon could be regarded as a true treasure. Their body parts were very useful, from every scale to all their internal organs and blood. High-level forging, alchemy, or magic scrolls required many of those materials. Even though dragons were often extremely powerful, there were far more dragon-yers on Norma.


    If the viscous substance in that ss really was dragon blood, then true to Song Jung¡¯s word, it was a rare and precious substance. After a brief moment of hesitation, Song Jung had already seized the moment and poured the cup of dragon blood into his mouth.


    Dragon blood did not taste good at all. Aside from the rust-like taste and smell, it also smelled of rot. The temperature was very high too, nearly burning his lips when they came into contact with him. However, it had a somewhat cooling sensation when it reached his stomach.


    Xiao Lin coughed nonstop after nearing choking on it. He quickly grabbed the cup and drank it slowly by himself, asking, ¡°You could¡¯ve just said it was dragon blood earlier. How did you get such a precious thing though?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have to thank this little guy.¡± Song Jung pointed to the dragon-eagle locked inside the cage. He said proudly, ¡°I purified its blood repeatedly and added some special materials to get real dragon blood. Don¡¯t underestimate this little cup you¡¯re drinking. I¡¯ll have you know during these few days, the amount of blood I had to extract from this guy is probably enough to fill a bucket!¡±


    Having said that, he also felt a little helpless. ¡°That¡¯s why I had to use special methods to elerate its growth, otherwise it¡¯ll die from such a huge amount of bloodletting.¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any side effects, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no. I think.¡±


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do. I¡¯ve never drank such high-end stuff before. It¡¯s difficult for ordinary people to digest dragon blood, but you¡¯re different. I told you, you¡¯re special.¡± Song Jung¡¯s eyes had an eager gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve recorded all your experimental data from previous asions. To be honest, your ability to absorb the special effects of these hybrid creatures is astonishing! In fact, you¡¯re not the only one I¡¯ve experimented on all these years, but you¡¯re the only one who actually managed to reach this point!¡±


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that Song Jung had guessed the presence of his SS-level talent. It turned out to be about experimental data.


    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve finished drinking the dragon blood, you can demonstrate your sword aura.¡± Xiao Lin was obviously not going to forget the true purpose of his visit.

 Chapter 206: Elemental Sword Aura

    <h4>Chapter 206: Elemental Sword Aura</h4>


    Xiao Lin knew very little about Song Jung¡¯s past¨Conly that thetter was a rather well-known genius whose strength once reached Gold-rank eight years ago. However, it fell to Bronze-rank after being defeated in ater battle and had yet to show any signs of improving.


    Perhaps Song Jung was deliberately avoiding that past of his and refrained from mentioning it in front of Xiao Lin. Under Xiao Lin¡¯s repeated requests, Department Head Song held the sword again and remained silent for some time.


    Xiao Lin noticed the slight change in Song Jung¡¯s eyes. It was no longer the usualid-backziness and was instead reced by a very focused and dignified demeanor. Xiao Lin also noticed that Song Jung¡¯s sword was a little strange.


    It was to be expected, since that was the first time heid eyes on Song Jung¡¯s weapon. After all, the impression that the head of logistics left on Xiao Lin was that of a man who constantly yed with his hybrid species.


    Song Jung¡¯s sword was very worn out. The rust-stained de had long lost its luster, and the edges had many gaps. What left Xiao Lin most speechless was that the sword tip was obviously broken. Regardless of how he looked at it, the sword seemed to have been taken out from a garbage dump.


    Song Jung suddenly executed a move. He did so in a very slow manner, raising the sword and swinging it down. Each movement could be seen with rity. What followed was the sound of howling wind. Xiao Lin was just about to poke fun at the broken sword when he immediately focused his attention.


    It appeared to be the most basic shing action in Basic Swordsmanship, but the sound of wind and air friction in Xiao Lin¡¯s ears grew increasingly harsher. After less than half a second, a small tree more than 10 meters away was sliced off at the trunk and fell over, with the neat gap fully disying the sword¡¯s power.


    Xiao Lin instinctively took a few steps back and activated his replication skill without hesitation.


    [Replication target: Song Jung. Replication activated; scanningmenced...]


    [Skill: Elementary Elemental Sword Aura (MAX), skill rating E+]


    [Replicationplete!]


    Xiao Lin had already drawn out his shortsword. Ten minutes was not a lot of time. First thing he did was close his eyes and quickly go through the elemental sword aura methods that kept surging into his mind. Replication was indeed a very intriguing ability. Rather than being a pure copy of the skill, it also included the skill experience of the person being replicated.


    The increased use of replication allowed him to be more and more aware of his talent. Although simple copying was effective at critical moments, its practical use was still quite limited. Experience was much more importantpared to 10 minutes of using that skill.


    Although Song Jung was only Bronze-rank as of then, he had once reached Gold-rank in the past, and an experience like that was not something that any ordinary person possessed.


    Xiao Lin slowly raised his shortsword, but did not immediately brandish it. He was finally able to understand everything after going through Song Jung¡¯s valuable experience.


    Elemental sword aura, that is, external sword aura, was where a person used their sword to directly guide the worldly elements to form sword aura. It was the use of such external forces that lent it the name external sword aura.


    It was not difficult to understand such a definition, but the tricky part was the guiding process. It was also the key reason why external sword aura was more difficult to get started with than internal sword aura. The guiding process had to be based on basic meditation in order to integrate one¡¯s sword aura with the elements. In turn, that would eventually result in a sword move.


    The process was very slow at first. After Song Jung gave his demonstration, he stopped to watch. He knew that Xiao Lin was trying toprehend everything and did not bother him.


    Xiao Lin held up his sword for several minutes and finally opened his eyes again. There was a profoundly, enlightened look in his eyes and he finally swung the sword down. There was a rush of force cutting through the air and sailing far. A few secondster, the small tree that had been cut into two sections by Song Jung had another scar, but the difference was also very obvious. Although it was still waist-length, the scar was uneven.


    Xiao Lin looked at Song Jung, befuddled. Thetter shrugged and exined out of the blue, ¡°It¡¯s control. Although I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯re able to use this powerful sword technique, all elemental sword techniques require a high degree of control. Otherwise, its power would be greatly reduced upon execution.¡±


    Xiao Lin was obviously a little disheartened with that move. Compared to internal sword aura that required only physical strength, external sword aura consumed both physical and mental strength. Despite being able to replicate Department Head Song¡¯s Elementary Elemental Swordsmanship, his basic attributes would not increase too much because of it, though the consumption of energy was still quite rming for him.


    Although Song Jung was not someone who ordinarily attended to his proper duties, he was really good at giving pointers for elemental swordsmanship. He walked to the little tree, touched the gap, and after thinking for a while, said, ¡°Your elemental affinity with wind is too low. Elemental swordsmanship is actually quite difficult to practice. Although it¡¯s not technique dual cultivation, elemental swordsmanship does require a certain level of basic meditation and elemental affinity as a support to better exert its power. Frankly speaking, most people who practice elemental swordsmanship are purely looking to torture themselves.¡±


    ¡°But you learnt it too...¡±


    ¡°I used to be a genius, after all.¡±


    ¡°It feels really weird when you say that about yourself.¡±


    Xiao Lin chided him slightly. In fact, it was the T-rex who told him that there were many restrictions for external sword aura, though it had the huge advantage of being very powerful. During the early stages, its power could be said to internal sword aura of the same level.


    However, the biggest drawback of magic-martial art dual cultivation could be unequivocally seen in elemental sword aura. After the initial strong phase, the progress would be much slower as one advanced, since it relied on the support of basic meditation and elemental affinity. The T-rex probably switched to internal sword aura during that time because she reached a bottleneck in elemental sword aura.


    Song Jung also told him that the peak period of elemental sword aura was probably around the Silver-rank, after which inner sword aura would practically trump it.


    Although Dawn Academy did not force students to choose between internal and external sword aura, the tutors generally rmended students choose internal sword aura first.


    Song Jung spoke in a rather serious tone when it came to that. ¡°The reason I was able to maintain my peak when I reached Gold-rank was because of the support provided by my talent. It¡¯s only suitable for elemental sword aura.¡±


    He did not specify what talent, but Xiao Lin was a little surprised by it. After some careful thought, the bottleneck of elemental sword aura was actually the difficulty of bncing both meditation and swordsmanship. However, after the upgrade of his Academic Talent skill, the learning efficiency increased by 200% and could fully support the continued cultivation of elemental sword aura.


    After the ten minutes of copying, Xiao Lin and Song Jung talked a lot about elemental sword aura. In that respect, Department Head Song was obviously more of a professional than his teacher.


    As the subject of their conversation deepened, Xiao Lin also gradually developed some curiosity about Song Jung¡¯s past. When he once again brought up the topic as to why Department Head Song suddenly lost his strength, the man¡¯s smile instantly froze.


    After a long silence, his face returned to that tired look again. He yawned, and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. You should head back.¡±

 Chapter 207: Elemental Floating Fish

    <h4>Chapter 207: Elemental Floating Fish</h4>


    Xiao Lin could distinctly make out that Song Jung was politely ushering him away. He did not expect Song Jung to be so secretive about the past and apologized with a wry smile.


    After Xiao Lin left, Song Jung stared at the broken sword in his hand in a daze, then suddenly muttered, ¡°Being young is such a blessing!¡±


    He threw the sword into the corner after making that remark and eagerly immersed himself in the study of his little dragon-eagle. A few minutester, he seemed to remember something. He touched his chin and muttered to himself, ¡°Speaking of which, that kid¡¯s ability to absorb dragon blood is really surprising. I¡¯m surprised it hasn¡¯t produced any side effects up until now? Should I tell him about the side effects... You know what, forget it. It¡¯s not like he¡¯ll die.¡±


    Although it was a pity that he had not been able to continue to learn elemental swordsmanship from Department Head Song, Xiao Lin was satisfied with the gains he got that day. More importantly, the results disyed by the centralputer after summoning his personal attributes came as a surprise to him.


    His Elemental Swordsmanship had reached LV1 mastery, which was ording to his expectations, since it was not the first time he used the replication skill to step into the threshold of learning a particr ability. In addition, Xiao Lin found that all his attributes had increased by two points: as of then, he had Strength 12, Agility 14, Intelligence 14, Constitution 14.


    He had not done any training that day, so the only possibility was the dragon blood that Department Head Song had given him. ording to him, the dragon blood had been diluted countless times before given to Xiao Lin to drink, but the effects were rather amazing. The addition of two points for each totaled to eight points overall.


    A normal person would have to have trained hard for at least a month if they wanted to achieve the same effect. Even Xiao Lin and his Academic Genius talent would have needed more than half a month to improve his efficiency.


    ¡°Dragon blood really is amazing!¡±


    Xiao Lin was overwhelmed with emotion. If not for the fact that Song Jung valued the little dragon-eagle so much, he felt that he had the urge to sneak into the logistics department, cook that dragon-eagle into a stew, then gobbled it all up.


    Two more passive skills were listed as mastered.


    Elementary Vitality: Dragon blood elerates your blood flow, giving you more vitality and bestowing a certain self-healing ability for minor wounds.


    Elementary Magic Resistance: Dragons have strong resistance to elemental magic. Dragon blood gives you the first level of magic resistance. You have 20% resistance to F- rated elemental spells, and 10% resistance against E rated spells.


    Those two passive effects were far more practicalpared to the eight-point increase in his attributes. Professor Dai once said in ss that, even though the dragon race was at the top of Norma¡¯s biological chain, there were still countless people who went forth to y dragons with seemingly no concern for their own lives.


    However, Xiao Lin was a little puzzled; how was it possible that such beneficial dragon blood had no side effects at all? Song Jung¡¯s ce left a deep impression on him. Although his various hybrid species had extraordinary effects, the side effects were extremely unbearable for Xiao Lin.


    On that asion, he did not seem to feel any difort.


    ¡°Maybe Department Head Song grew a conscience and finally developed an experimental product without any side effects!¡±


    Xiao Lin was very encouraged aftering to that conclusion and went to the logistics department more diligently in the next couple of days. Since Department Head Song had mentioned the issue of elemental affinity earlier, Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts perked up and he wondered if he could use external means to achieve quicker results.


    Unfortunately, Department Head Song answered to the negative. Elemental affinity had to be continuously strengthened through his own perception of the elements. It was impossible to achieve through any other means. However, Song Jung also took the opportunity tounch his brand-new diet therapy¡ªthe elemental floating fish.


    Within the special fishing pond in the Logistics Department, Xiao Lin saw a fish that only appeared in a few areas of Norma. Although it was called a fish, it was nothing but another name given by people from Earth. Strictly speaking, it was not a fish, nor did it live in water.


    The appearance of the elemental floating fish was very simr to that of a fish. It had a very long tailfin and had short limbs, though they were clearly regressed because of prolonged unuse. Its body was translucent, and a light-blue blood-like fluid flowed within its body.


    As the name suggested, the fish floated in mid-air because it fed on the elements in the air. Their habitat was very simrly unique and could only be found in areas with very rich elements, such as the spiritually-charged elven territory, or near craters with high density of fire elements.


    Song Jung¡¯s fishing grounds were also specially made. There was no water, only special energy conduits that were used to continuously extract elements and ensure optimum concentration of the surrounding elements.


    Those elemental floating fish were not hybrids with Earth¡¯s species, as floating fish were a very diverse species on Norma. Song Jung used methods such as controlling element density to continuously optimize the rearing of the species, reducing it to a level where the floating fish¡¯s power could be absorbed by people below ck Iron-rank.


    In his words, such elemental floating fish could be described as a natural tonic and was very helpful in increasing mental power. Song Jung waved and said boldly, ¡°Stay here tonight and have some fish soup with me! I¡¯ll be the chef!¡±


    Xiao Lin had never eaten Song Jung¡¯s cooking because the previous few dietary therapy sessions were practically whipped up by himself. With curiosity and anticipation, he had dinner at the logistics department that evening, since the student union president had lifted the restriction on being back at the dormitory by 7pm.


    The taste of the fish soup was surprisingly delicious. Xiao Lin was sweating all over as he ate and did not notice that Song Jung never even touched his chopsticks throughout the meal. After he cleaned his te, he realized that something was amiss and a violent pain soon surfaced from his stomach. It gurgled incessantly, as if something was constantly rolling in the body.


    Song Jung seemed rather prepared for everything. He took out a bottle of medicine and said worryingly, ¡°Hurry up and take this medicine. It¡¯ll make you feel much better.¡±


    ¡°What medicine is this?¡±


    ¡°Instant diarrhea relief.¡±


    ¡°How would I know if you¡¯re lying to me again! I don¡¯t want to eat this food!¡± Xiao Lin was filled with righteous indignation. The heat in his belly tumbled even more severely and he red at Song Jung before darting straight into the toilet.


    However, that was only the beginning of a tragedy. When Xiao Lin wobbled out of the toilet after losing count of how many times he went in, he finally could not take it anymore and gritted his teeth while asking Song Jung for the instant diarrhea relief. He said angrily, ¡°Did you know all along this was going to happen?¡±


    Song Jung did not sit idly during that period. Whenever Xiao Lin came out of the toilet, he asked detailed questions about how thetter felt. He then nced at the clock and buried his head in his notebook to record various data.

 Chapter 208: Identifying the Elements

    <h4>Chapter 208: Identifying the Elements</h4>


    Faced with Xiao Lin¡¯s aggressive questioning, Song Jung merely sighed and confessed unabashedly. He then asked in a very concerned manner, ¡°How are you feeling? What does your body feel right now? You said it was cold, then you said it was hot. So, is it cold or hot?¡±


    Xiao Lin took the diarrhea medication and said in exasperation, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about trying to get experimental data from me! Didn¡¯t you say that there wouldn¡¯t be any side effects?¡±


    ¡°I lied to you, of course.¡± Department Head Song said matter-of-factly. He immediately switched the topic to the results of the experiment and said earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt, tell me how you¡¯re feeling right now. It¡¯s actually for your own good.¡±


    Xiao Lin was furious when he looked at Song Jung¡¯s innocent expression. ¡°Do you think I¡¯d trust you again? What do you mean for my own good? It¡¯s obvious you¡¯re just collecting data!¡±


    Song Jung put down the pen and said in a very solemn tone, ¡°You¡¯ve been working extra hard to practice basic meditation and spells these few days, haven¡¯t you? This experiment is very important for your training. If all goes well, you¡¯ll achieve much more in thest few days.¡±


    Xiao Lin was skeptical, but he had to admit that Song Jung¡¯s words were very attractive to him. He was somewhat sad to realize that he had gradually be ab rat, but after a moment¡¯s hesitation, he said, ¡°It¡¯s cold sometimes and hot sometimes. I can¡¯t tell exactly what it feels like, but it¡¯s probably both.¡±


    Song Jung was surprised and muttered about how interesting it was. He then buried his head and continued to jot everything down.


    Xiao Lin could not help but ask, ¡°Don¡¯t just record everything. Tell me what conclusions you¡¯ve made.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suggest you work harder on your affinity for water and fire in these couple of days. The effect is very good, but I don¡¯t know to what extent. The floating fish¡¯s internal elemental energy is abundant and can temporarily allow you to sense the elements much better.¡±


    Xiao Lin was pleasantly surprised. ¡°So, my elemental affinity will be greatly improved?¡±


    ¡°Uh, not exactly, because it¡¯s only temporary. The special gic structure of the elemental floating fish allows them to store energy, but our human body can¡¯t do that. Drinking fish soup only temporarily strengthens your body¡¯s ability to be more attuned to the elements, but like food that¡¯s digested, this energy will flow away quickly.¡±


    Song Jung then said helplessly, ¡°That is why I told you to eat the diarrhea medication. Your normal metabolism will speed up energy consumption, and in turn, means you have to speed up training. But it¡¯s also very interesting when you think about it. You were able to feel cold and hot, which means that you have a high affinity for fire and water. This is really rare.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not pay attention to the second half of the sentence. The first half sufficed for him to realize that the elemental floating fish soup had practically given him a temporarily heightened state, though that state would only decrease by the day. He hurriedly bid goodbye and went straight back to the dormitory. It was already night, and although he could continue to meditate in his room, the effect was not as good as being in the meditation room. He was already feeling much better after eating the diarrhea medication.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Meditation was still LV4. Practically all his time had been used to train swordsmanship earlier. With his initial mastery of elemental sword aura, his swordsmanship training was nearing its end. In the next few days, he intended to focus his time solely on spells and meditation.


    He could see from the contents of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes in ss a few days ago that Basic Meditation LV4 was actually a bottleneck. Meditation from LV0 to LV4 was only the most basic introductory stage, the contents of which were also very simple. All that needed to be done was to perceive the existence of the four basic elements from scratch.


    From LV4 onward, the basic meditation process was not solely to perceive the existence of elements, but also to distinguish the types of elements. From that stage on, everyone¡¯s elemental affinity gradually started to manifest. That was the most crucial part of learning spells, which was why the prerequisite for learning any spell was at least LV4 Basic Meditation.


    Everyone¡¯s meditation realm was different. Xiao Lin¡¯s was a vast universe and, by then, he was already able to quickly enter his meditative state. The amalgamation of elements in the void seemed to dot the sky like stars. That was what he could perceive, but if he wanted to raise himself to greater heights, he had to recognize every single star there was.


    The process was actually very difficult. Judging from the discussions in the forum, many people who took spell sses had been stagnant there for a very long time. A person¡¯s experience would not mindlessly increase just because they meditated¡ªdoing so using the wrong method would only be counterproductive.


    From Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes, it was evident that she had no difficulty in distinguishing the elements. The same could be said of Chen Dao, Freshmen ss Twelve¡¯s acting monitor, who did not face a bottleneck. Xiao Lin could find out about all that simply by looking at everyone¡¯s mediation level.


    In fact, Xiao Lin was no novice to meditation, as he started his basic meditation by copying a sophomore senior. In other words, he had previously seeded in perceiving and distinguishing the elements. Even if the skills disappeared, such an experience would remain embedded in his mind.


    Xiao Lin took only four hours¡ªwhich was practically the entire night¡ªto enter meditation and distinguish the element types. Though it seemed quite lengthy since he paled inparison to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s half hour and Chen Dao¡¯s one hour and 40 minutes; four hours was still an amazing feat if one took into ount the fact that other people¡¯s bottlenecksted one or two weeks.


    The upgrading of perception and cognition was also very concretely manifested in the microcosm of the elements. For example, in Xiao Lin¡¯s meditation realm, the stars were no longer just fuzzy points of light, but burned with raging mes or glowed in blue-colored waves.


    After opening his eyes, Xiao Lin immediately checked the level of basic meditation and found that his proficiency had indeed improved significantly. That showed that his direction was correct. The burning in his meditation realm was likely the fire element, while the blue had to be the water element. Song Jung¡¯s hunch was right¡ªXiao Lin could easily perceive those two elements, and at the same time, found it difficult to sense wind or earth.


    However, distinguishing the elements was only the first step, and simply perceiving them was meaningless. Next up, he had to master control over those elements, because utilizing them was the basic premise for casting spells.


    Seeing that it was alreadyte, Xiao Lin did not continue to meditate. His terrible bout of diarrhea earlier that evening, coupled with his lengthy period of meditation, had tired him out significantly.


    Before he slept that night, he remembered to take another dose of the diarrhea medication. Song Jung advised him not to continue taking it until the monthly exam, because the cause of diarrhea was due to his body¡¯s unfamiliarity with the sudden influx of elemental energy. In the same vein, the metabolism caused by his stomach¡¯s intense reaction would also elerate the loss of energy.

 Chapter 209: Flame Bullet

    <h4>Chapter 209: me Bullet</h4>


    Five more days remained before the monthly exam arrived. In order to give the freshmen a sense of urgency, the academy set up a countdown on the homepage of the freshmen¡¯s forum. Whenever they logged into the forum, they would be met with the striking red string of numbers. The ticking down of time only increased everyone¡¯s anxiety.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s meditation progressed rather smoothly, though he was unsure whether it was due to the effect of an advancement in his Academic Genius talent or the therapeutic effect of the elemental floating fish that Song Jung gave to him. It took only two days for him to raise his basic meditation to LV5. In addition, he had also mastered the Basic Fire Element Affinity LV1 and Basic Water Element Affinity LV1.


    Elemental affinity was aplement to meditation. The elemental affinity that each person had was different and highly dependent on their own talent as well as personal effort. For example, he could easily perceive the fire element in his meditation realm, so it was undoubtedly easier if he chose fire spells.


    That was not to say that he could not choose other spells. It was feasible, but his affinity toward the other elements was too low, resulting in the need to spend several times the effort and time to actually learn them.


    Therefore, the Lolita tutor strongly rmended that everyone chose their future learning path based on their own talents. Whichever element was easier to perceive would then determine the direction of their future study.


    Four basic elements existed: wind, fire, water, and earth. In most cases, a person could only recognize one of them within their meditation realm. There were rtively few people like Xiao Lin who could sense two at the same time, and even fewer individuals who could sense more than two.


    To be more precise, there was one person who had affinity for more than two elements within the entire freshman year¡ªit was Gu Xiaoyue, who had an affinity for all four elements at the same time.


    Xiao Lin had already subconsciously learnt how to ignore Gu Xiaoyue in that respect. Comparing oneself with others was a vain exercise, though his own situation was actually quite unique too.


    Song Jungter told him that having an affinity for two elements was actually normal, because the prerequisite for learningpound spells was mastery over multiple elements. Be that as it may, water and fire were ipatible. There was hardly anymon ground between those two elements, which meant that there would be increased difficulty in learning them.


    Xiao Lin felt that it would be a pity if he just gave up on them. Although he could also spend more time continuing to sense the wind element or the earth element, he could already foresee that he did not have much talent for the affinity of those two elements. Spending more time on it might not necessarily result in a favorable conclusion.


    He nned to proceed with what he had, at least for the time being, since the monthly exam was approaching.


    Then came the learning of spells. The first thing Xiao Lin thought of was the me Bullet skill book that he brought back from New Washington. Those skill books given to him by the bookstore owner at New Washington were tossed to the corner of his room and nearly forgotten, since he had yet to reach the conditions required to learn them.


    The learning conditions for me Bullet was Fire Element Affinity LV1 and Basic Meditation LV4. Xiao Lin just so happened to have met those conditions. Instead of working on his meditation level or element affinity in the final few days, it was better for him to master two skills first. That was the best way forward.


    The me Bullet was actually a personally tweaked skill. The original was me Ball, one of the most basic andmon ck Iron-rank spells in the me series.


    As a me spell, the power of the me Ball was quite high, reaching the E- rating along with a low probability of burn damage. Like many high-damage skills however, the me Ball¡¯s defects were evident, requiring high mental power. Individuals whose basic meditation and intelligence did not reach the standard generally had to rest after using three or five me balls.


    The improved version of the me Bullet was based on a considerable weakening of its spell-damage evaluation from E- to just F-. It was a reduction by three full levels, but the casting process had been greatly simplified as well. The annotations in the skill book stated that someone who is fully proficient in the spell could basically release a me bullet in half a second without consuming a lot of mental power.


    It was impossible to say which one was better whenparing those two spells. Seeing as the ss was bound to collective cooperation with each other within the monthly exam¡¯s environment, it was likely that they would have to face many enemies. Xiao Lin therefore gave priority to the me Bullet as his number one spell to learn.


    The second spell of his choice was the Water Shield, one of the most basic defensive skills of water element spells. In light of the fact that his custom-made leather armor was still somewhat low in terms of defensive ability, the Water Shield would be a good supplement.


    Learning and mastering spells were a somewhat cumbersome process. In addition to the basic meditation and elemental affinity, it was equally important to understand a certain set of theoretical knowledge was also important. Simply put, it was theposition and arrangement of elements, all of which were exined in detail in the skill books.


    The process of casting spells was actually through controlling the elements, then rbining them in a predetermined manner before finally creating a spell out of it. In Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words, it was likeputer programming.


    Assistance might asionally be needed in the process of casting spells, such as incantations, spellcasting actions, and even spellcasting materials. The so-called incantations or actions were aimed at guiding the elements, so it was impossible for them to be rigid, since everyone might possess their own understanding of it.


    Fortunately, the Fire Bullet and Water Shield were the most basic of spells and did not require suchplicated processes. They could bepleted using only simple casting actions.


    The Water Shield was slightly more troublesome than the simpler me Bullet. By then, Xiao Lin had realized the advantages of the notebook: its owner had simplified the casting action of the me Bullet, making it much easier to master.


    Xiao Lin spent nearly all his time on the spell. The high learning efficiency of the Academic Genius talent, coupled with Song Jung¡¯s elemental floating fish, yed a significant role.


    In short, he finally mastered those two skills a day before the monthly exam. The speed with which he mastered them could be considered rather rapid indeed. Most people started learning their skills at the beginning of the month, and it took about half a month to master their very first spell.


    With one day left to go, Xiao Lin had no ns to continue training, especially when he could not master any new skills in that time. He gave himself some time off and rxed a little, since mental exhaustion was inevitable after his intense training over the past few days.


    The final preparation before the exam came soon enough. Although no one knew the specific contents of the exam because of its confidential nature, a little bit of insider information from unknown sources began spreading all over the forum.


    For example, it was said that the simted scene in the uing exam was one of the smaller battles that took ce in the war between Dawn Academy and the Orcs, of which the simted time span would be rtively long.

 Chapter 210: Pre-Battle Preparations

    <h4>Chapter 210: Pre-Battle Preparations</h4>


    If that scoop was true, then it was certain to send some chills. Many people had been focusing on the exam, so when the insider news was revealed, nearly everyone participated in the forum discussion.


    In any case, although the simted scenarios of their monthly exam were derived from the past war, at the end of the day, they were only given a minor role due to the fact that they were freshmen.


    For example, they only did reconnaissance in the first exam, while the second¡ªwhich Xiao Lin did not take part in¡ªwas nothing more than an escape task.


    It was easy to understand why. After all, they were merely freshmen who had just been in school for two months. Their basic attributes were poor and they had few skills, so the things they could do were very limited. Tasks such as escapes and reconnaissance that were most suitable for them.


    However, the situation at that time was different. Perhaps the third monthly exam might turn out to be a direct simtion of a certain battle? What role would they be ying then?


    No one knew the answer, and no one dared to say that the leaked news was false either.


    By then, the academy had created a very solemn atmosphere to let everyone know the exam was going to be out of the norm. Some could not understand the reasons for that, while others were full ofints. Since they were merely freshmen, could the academy really be setting up such a difficult exam just to deliberately make them lose their lives?


    At the end of the day, all they could do was suck up their dissatisfaction. Dawn Academy¡¯s strict management system meant that they could notin to anyone, other than making a couple of remarks on the forum. Who else could theyin to? A senior year leader? The head of a department? The student council president?


    They were not Xiao Lin, for goodness sake. They probably never even had the chance to see those leading figures for a couple of months.


    Finally, the day before the monthly exam arrived. On that day, the academy organized a basic-level Lifewater sale event for the freshman as scheduled. It was stipted that only freshmen had the right to buy them, and students from other years were precluded from making any purchases.


    Although it was a considerate act for the freshmen, some people viewed the student union¡¯s behavior as more terrifying than anything else. It sent a clear signal that the exam would be a difficult one for those freshmen to survive.


    The equipment that Xiao Lin entrusted Lu Renjia to manufacture was alsopleted on schedule. He made a special trip to the third-year dormitory area andpleted the transaction on the spot. The total value of the order was 5,000 redemption points, which included a Bronze-rank sword, a ck-Iron staff, and a set of Bronze leather armor.


    [Holy Soul Sword: Bronze-rank, physical damage evaluation E, worth 2,000 redemption points.]


    As a bronze-level weapon, the physical lethality of a E-rated weapon seemed very ordinary, and perhaps even paled inparison to a few superbly made ck Iron-rank weapons. However, Lu Renjia¡¯s zealous marketing of the Holy Soul Sword actually aroused Xiao Lin¡¯s interest.


    The Holy Soul Sword came with two abilities. The first was called Swordsmanship Tutge. If the passive sword skill of the sword wielder was not higher than Grade E, the Holy Soul energy contained within the sword would have a direct effect on the wielder and raise their Basic Swordsmanship skill by two levels.


    When Xiao Lin went to order the weapon, Lu Renjia mentioned that he had to make a tailor-made weapon. Beforemencing any work, he specifically asked Xiao Lin about thetter¡¯s skill level in Basic Swordsmanship.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship was at LV8, meaning it would reach LV10 if it was raised by two levels. That was already at MAX. Those two levels were not to be underestimated, because the change in his swordsmanship would be qualitative instead of quantitative after reaching LV10. Such an increase inbat effectiveness was quite remarkable.


    Lu Renjia strongly rmended that weapon for that reason. If Xiao Lin¡¯s basic swordsmanship was not exactly at LV8, it would have been difficult for that weapon to exert its maximum effect.


    The second ability was to summon the holy soul. Once enough blood stained the sword, it would temporarily activate the power of the soul within the gem, thus enabling a dead swordsman to briefly manifest and fight on behalf of Xiao Lin.


    Lu Renjia said that the core material for making that sword was a gem he had identally obtained in the New World a year ago. The gem was said to be the manifested soul of a dead local indigenous swordsman who was obsessed with swordsmanship. Lu Renjia originally wanted to use it for his own weapon, but unfortunately the swordsman¡¯s rank was very low during his lifetime. The most Lu Renjia could do was cast it into a Bronze-rank weapon.


    As a third-year student, Bronze-rank weapons were of no use to Lu Renjia. That gem had been sitting there since then, and it just so happened to be avable to Xiao Lin that time.


    Both auxiliary abilities were very practical, hence Xiao Lin¡¯s decision to ept the Holy Soul Sword.


    [Peakfire Staff: ck Iron-rank staff, worth 1,000 redemption points.]


    At the special request of Xiao Lin, the staff was made into a one-handed type. Magic staffs could generally be divided into two-handed and one-handed types. The former wasrger and required more materials, but its effect was also much better. The advantage of a one-handed staff was its portable nature. It also appeared less heavy and cumbersome during battle.


    The Peakfire Staff was rated F in its spell damage. Such an evaluation was nothing more than moderate, but the staff also had an auxiliary effect of causing burns. When using the staff to cast fire spells, the probability of burning an enemy would double!


    The effect was yet another practical one for Xiao Lin. The me Bullet he had just learned was originally an improved spell that increased the casting speed at the cost of lethality. The power of the me Bullet itself actually came from burns, and the faster the casting speed, the higher the probability of burns. On that point, it was much better than the me Ball.


    [Warbear Leather Armor: Bronze-rank armor with F-rated defense against spells and physical attacks. Its ability is an increase in fighting spirit that builds up gradually when worn. Once the body reaches its limit of exhaustion, all that power will be released, and the stored fighting spirit will fully restore the wearer¡¯s physical strength. Worth 2,000 redemption points.]


    Although its defensive capability was a very meager Bronze-rank, the supplementary effect was quite nifty. It was made out of material obtained from a kind of bear called the warbear from Norma.


    Xiao Lin could see Lu Renjia¡¯s casting style through those weapons. Although they all seemed quite ordinary, most of them often had very practical uses.


    In Lu Renjia¡¯s words, that was called equipment bnce. Because of the many restrictions on materials and convenience, achieving a more powerful effect could only be done by reducing one¡¯s own ability. Otherwise, the imbnce would make the weapon difficult to sessfully produce.


    In any case, Xiao Lin was very satisfied with the guy¡¯s ability to manufacture weapons.


    With 1,000 redemption points left, he chose to buy some healing potions and magic scrolls, but that amount of redemption points could only buy two scrolls and a few bottles of potions at most.


    The expensiveness of the magic scroll came as a shock to Xiao Lin. A mere ck Iron-rank spell scroll was as expensive as 400 redemption points, and that was the cheap end of the range. If the quality was slightly better, it would reach at least 600 or 700 redemption points, and the magic scrolls were all consumables that were expendable after one use.

 Chapter 211: Instructor Participates

    <h4>Chapter 211: Instructor Participates</h4>


    Even though he knew the exams would be very difficult this time, Xiao Lin did not n on continuing to waste his New Dors on magical scrolls, as he felt it would not be worth it in the long run.


    Xiao Lin did consider buying some Lifewater, but he still had more than enough lifespan, so it would not be a big deal even if he were to die once. However, he could not resist calling Gu Xiaoyue to remind her to buy some for herself. After a long time nagging her, she just grunted in acknowledgment before hanging up.


    Xiao Lin was still worried after that, and when they stopped selling Lifewater, he deliberately looked at Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan information. When he noticed that her lifespan still disyed as two years, he could not believe how angry he got.


    Was that woman really so confident that she would be able to survive every exam?


    Xiao Lin even thought to himself in frustration that, if Gu Xiaoyue did not treasure her own life, he should not bother either.


    With that fire in his heart, the day of the third monthly examination arrived.


    The examination started at eight in the morning during the weekend as usual. The unexpected thing was, they did not release the exam information beforehand this time. During thest two examinations, the instructors would give them information regarding the examinations, such as the tasks and map. That was something only new students got, and once they entered the second year it stopped.


    However, this time they did not even get that privilege; it seemed like that academy really wanted them to experience a realistic battle, not minding if the new students might have to pay with their lifespans.


    Xiao Lin woke up early that day, but a great number of other students woke up even earlier, which was mostly due to them not being able to sleep well. After breakfast, he readied himself in his room, putting on his equipment before hurrying to the ssroom.


    Almost everyone was already there when he reached the ssroom. Everyone was a lot more tense this timepared to the other two examinations. Everyone was quiet. Even the usually excitable Wang Dalin was just whispering to someone else in discussion.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance attracted quite a few gazes, and someone remarked, ¡°Monitor, we¡¯re counting on you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll definitely follow youter!¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped; he did not expect so many people to be relying on him when he usually kept such a low profile. Upon closer inspection, they were all students who followed him during the first examination. Xiao Lin had left a deep impression on them then. Even though they could onlyplete the basic task that time, it was not an exaggeration to say they only left the examination alive because of Xiao Lin.


    During Xiao Lin¡¯s month-long stay in New Washington, their favorable impressions should have normally subsided, but ss Seven ended up with terrible results in the rtively easy second examination.


    The difference was very telling, so they could not help but think of Xiao Lin. Compared to anyone else, those students naturally preferred to put their faith on Xiao Lin.


    The rest of the students were more fluid. They did not care who would be the leader, but when they saw that Xiao Lin had willing followers, they followed suit. A small portion of students coldly smiled to themselves, not voicing any objections, but not agreeing either.


    Instructor Qin Chuan arrived somewhatte, and Xiao Lin could not help but feel like he had not seen him for quite some time. Xiao Lin was the only one who felt that way. While he was away from Dawn Academy, most of ss Seven¡¯s tasks fell onto Qin Chuan, but it was mainly just rted to notifying the students about any announcements from school, since Qin Chuan was not a monitor.


    However, looking at how the man was dressed, Xiao Lin was visibly surprised. The instructors were in charge ofmunicating to the students before the examinations, and if all went to n, that would be thest time Qin Chuan would be their instructor.


    That was because ording to the school regtions, an instructor¡¯s duty was just to give guidance to the students during the first three months of their time at the academy. After those three months, the official ss monitors would be chosen, and all tasks would be assumed by them.


    Everyone knew that fact, but that day was quite strange. Qin Chuan had a full suit of steel armor on when he walked in, with tworge swords on his back, and a silver helmet on his head. His footsteps were loud as he walked, attracting every student to look at him with a surprised gaze.


    ¡°Instructor, why are you dressed like that?¡± someone asked curiously.


    Qin Chuan looked at everyone before calmly saying something which caused everyone a great deal of shock, ¡°The student union has decided that the instructors would be participating in this examination with all of you!¡±


    After a short moment of silence, the entire ssroom erupted. There was finally a shocking piece of news that snapped everyone out of their thoughts about the examination.


    The instructor taking part in the examinations was actually not unheard of. Dawn Academy had adopted this practice some time ago, but it was abolished after just a few years. That was because the academy felt that instructors were way too strong for examinations meant for new students.


    However, if they increased the difficulty level because of that, then the new students would naturally have a higher chance of dying. In the end, the academy decided to abolish that practice in favor of making the examinations easier.


    That rule was already done away with a century ago. They had heard about it before in history ss, which was why it was not a foreign concept to them. The problem was, Dawn Academy actually reinstated the practice just for this examination.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh, looking at Gu Xiaoyue who sat next to him before bitterly saying, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, instructors are usually seniors that have at leastpleted their first year of study. No matter how weak they are, they would still be much stronger than us. Even students with talents might not be able topete. Now I¡¯m really curious, how difficult is this examination that even the instructors need to participate? Is the academy really that worried that the death rate will be too high?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face was calm, not even lifting her head up before softly saying, ¡°No matter how difficult it is, I will still win.¡±


    ¡°You really are confident. Is that why you still refuse to buy Lifewater?¡± Xiao Lin sighed. That was still something that weighed on him, but he was already past the point of giving any advice. All he could do was hope that the examination would go smoothly.

 Chapter 212: Battle on The Beach

    <h4>Chapter 212: Battle on The Beach</h4>


    After that, the information rted to the examination was given out. Indeed, the academy did have the information prepared, but it was obvious why they only gave it to everyone at that moment. They did not want the students to have enough time to prepare.


    The armored instructor, Qin Chuan, handed out the information, which was only two to three pages. He had a sour look on his face the entire time, very obviously displeased at being notified at thest minute.


    However, everyone quickly understood that there was another reason Qin Chuan was displeased. After giving out the information, Qin Chuan left one copy to himself before saying somberly, ¡°There¡¯s only a little more than ten minutes until the examination. I¡¯ll brief you first. This time, the whole ss is a squad. Since the scenario is Dawn Academy¡¯s war with the orcs this time, the simtion will be conducted as if all of you are in the army. Remember this, the moment the examination starts, you are all no longer normal students, but soldiers!¡±


    The leak on the forums earlier was actually true; the examination would be a simtion of war. However, a student curiously raised his hand. ¡°Since we¡¯re in an army, who is our leader?¡±


    Everyone quickly realized that, if they were soldiers, they would definitely have amanding officer. Once they remembered that the examination would y a pick part in choosing the official ss monitor, they quickly surmised that other than personal skill, leadership ability would also be a criteria for ss monitors as well.


    With that in mind, everyone shifted their gazes toward Xiao Lin and Qin Chuan. If the instructor were not participating, then themanding officer would definitely be Xiao Lin, but it was not as clear cut right now.


    The instructor were seniors that had at least a year under their belt, so they were obviously a lot more skilled than everyone else. However, Qin Chuan quickly dispelled their thoughts, which also showed why he was unhappy as he entered the ssroom.


    ¡°It¡¯s all stated in the information, so give it a good read!¡± Qin Chuan shouted impatiently. He seemed to have realized that his tone was not the best, especially toward his teammates for the examination. Heposed himself before adding, ¡°The student union has decided that the acting ss monitor will be themanding officer, and the instructor will be the vicemander.¡±


    Xiao Lin quickly browsed through the information. On the first page, it was clearly stated that the student union had considered the unique nature of this examination as well as the fact that it was a simtion of war. That was why they decided that the acting ss monitors would be themanding officers the moment the simtion started, which would have them as a second lieutenant in order to give them the proper authority to lead.


    It was important to note that the academies did not use the same simple hierarchy within the army of squads, squadrons, and brigades as the Normans did. As colonists from Earth, they maintained a modern approach to managing their armies, which even extended to the native troops within their territories.


    Qin Chuan might have been named the assistant, but he was still below Xiao Lin, which surprised everyone. However, upon further deliberation, everyone felt that it was only natural. After finishing his duty as an instructor, Qin Chuan would just be a regr student, only separated by everyone else because he was at the academy for a year longer. Dawn Academy had never cared about seniority, only about skill.


    Everyone had their attention on that particr matter for a moment, but there was only ten minutes left until the examination, so they quickly shifted their attention toward the information. After all, they were not going to be themanding officer regardless. That fact did cause some discontent in some of them.


    If their leadership skills were also going to be observed during this examination, then what could they do to stand out?


    The second page had most of the important information, which was a general exnation of the examination. The examination was to be an amphibious assault. There was not a lot of exposition, but the contents were all meaningful.


    The battle was fought during 101 N.C., which was the second year of the war against the orcs. They had studied the battle during their history lessons as well. That year, Dawn Academy had been at war with the merfolk for a long time. The main reason was that the orcs were giving a lot of support to the merfolk from the rear. In the end, Dawn Academy could not tolerate it anymore, andunched an assault against the orcs.


    Based on the rtive powers at that time, Dawn Academy had a huge advantage. The Law of Immortality had been recently established and resurrection towers had already been built in various spots within their territory, which pushed their advantage even further.


    However, when the war started, Dawn Academy was somehow pulled into a long slog. They had originally nned on finishing the war within a year, but the war was much tougher than they anticipated. After a year, they not only failed to end the war, the orcs even got so aggressive that they sent a huge cavalry unit to assault the capital.


    Just as New Washington was the capital of Judge Academy, Dawn City was their capital in the New World. It was the first city they established on Norma, but it was close to being surrounded. Even if Dawn Academy did not prioritize the war before, the orcish troops managed to put everyone on high alert.


    In order to break the siege on Dawn City, the academy had sent a small squad out by sea, evading the orcish troops in order to attack a supply depot the orcs had set up in the middle. ording to investigations, the depot was a key part in their supply chain, and if it was taken, it would not only ensure the orcish cavalry would quickly run out of supplies, it would alsopletely stop any chance of reinforcements from them.


    That was the general scenario of the examination. Their role within the simtion was definitely the small squad that was sent to attack the supply depot.


    It was drastically different from escaping pursuit or scouting. Based on the information, the mission was a very important part of the war. Everyone suddenly started to tense up, but they were excited at the same time. Even if they knew everything was a simtion, they were still excited to participate in something that would go down in history.


    Xiao Lin was still fixated on the information, a strange expression on his face. The background information was very detailed, but itcked an important piece of information.


    They did not mention if Dawn Academy seeded or failed that mission all those years ago.

 Chapter 213: Task Start

    <h4>Chapter 213: Task Start</h4>


    Objectives


    . Sessfully pull off the amphibious assault. Once the orc encampment is taken over, everyone will obtain 500 points and 10 credits. The reward will be given to the entire ss. Even if one were to die, as long as the task ispleted, the reward will still be given.


    . After securing the depot, the orcish troops willunch a counterattack. In that period, do everything possible to defend the position. The counter will start from the point the depot is secured, and for every day it is held, 20 points will be awarded to everyone. If the depot is held for over a month, 20 credits will be awarded. This task will only reward those that are alive. Once the student dies or the orcish troops take over the depot, the counter will stop.


    . The final task of the battle. Hold the position until Dawn City sends reinforcements. Once the reinforcements arrive, all tasks will bepleted. 2000 points and 40 credits will be awarded to all surviving students, as well as one Bronze-rank equipment of their choice.


    The tasks remained at three, but there were no optional or mandatory objectives this time. It was basically set ording to the flow of the entire battle, and as long as one did not die, they would only have to hold on until the end for all the rewards.


    Looking at the objectives, the students began to whisper among themselves. Setting aside the objectives, the rewards were extremely lucrative this time.


    Based on the earlier examinations, the academy was usually quite conservative with their rewards. Even if onepleted every task in the examination, they would usually only get enough to buy a bottle of elementary Lifewater.


    However, this time the academy was extremely generous. The first task would you an eye-catching 500 hundred points, and they did not even need to be alive to get it. That meant almost everyone would be able to get that reward. After all, based on past experience, the first task was often the easiest, which meant it was likely to be aplished.


    The second task was extremely irregr. It was obvious the examination would be extremely difficult just from the fact that it offered rewards based on time. It was hard not to cry at the fact, but as long as they managed to hold on for a month, they would be very well-off after the examination.


    The third task was also extremely lucrative. The fact that they would get to pick a Bronze-rank equipment for themselves was an extremely rare chance.


    ¡°Wow, the academy must have noticed we were so poor that we couldn¡¯t even afford Lifewater. The rewards are outrageous this time,¡± someone joked.


    ¡°I actually feel like the academy knows a lot of us will die in the examination, so it would be fine even if the rewards are high, since dead people won¡¯t be able to get thest two rewards,¡± someone elsemented.


    This examination would surely overshadow all their prior experiences. Just as everyone was talking about the lucrative rewards, Xiao Lin already had his eyes on thest page of information. He noticed that a map was not provided, unlikest time.


    Thest page had a very simple statement, but Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened when he saw it. He could not help but gasp before slowly reading everything out loud. ¡°In consideration of the fact that the examination is arge-scale battle, even though the academy has adjusted the variables ordingly, the number of students in each ss still differs greatly. Therefore, the academy has decided that this examination will be a joint battle for the entire year!¡±


    They actually threw all twelve ses into the same battlefield this time, but Xiao Lin found it to be the logical choice upon closer inspection. The average number of students in each ss was around fifty to sixty. For the prior examinations, the numbers were quite normal. However, in a war, those were quite pitiful numbers.


    The objectives had also clearly stated that they needed to hold onto the depot against the orc army after they took it over. With their numbers, it was impossible to defend it, let alone for an entire month.


    However, if it was the entire year, there would be around eight hundred of them. Even though it was still a small number in war terms, the background information did state that Dawn Academy could only send a small squad thanks to the siege by the orcs. Therefore, it was quite a realistic scenario.


    Xiao Lin looked up to the ceiling, sighing to himself. He did not know if that decision would really be beneficial to them. Logically, if the difficulty did not change, their greater numbers would naturally be a boon.


    However, even within their own ss, they were notpletelyfortable with each other. If twelve other sses were added into the mix, would infighting eventually break out?


    Everyone else finally noticed thest part as well, and a lot of questions started to arise. Before they could properly decide if they should be happy with it or not, Qin Chuan told everyone the examination was about to start.


    The moment the clock struck eight, rays of white light descended from the ceiling, enveloping everyone within it. Everyone¡¯s bodies started to dim, eventually disappearing into the light. The academy obviously did not want to give them too much time to think, probably wanting them to figure out their problems within the simtion itself.


    When he opened his eyes, Xiao Lin was already lying on arge wooden warship. He looked around and saw a huge wave over ten meters tall heading toward them. He immediately found the nearest thing he could grab and held on for dear life. His heart pumped as he felt the ship swaying wildly in the waves. Sea water was all over the deck, even flowing straight onto the ship itself. Everyone, even those who had yet to fully materialize from the academy, werepletely wet.


    After the waves settled, Xiao Lin could finally get a good look at his surroundings. Among the violent waves, he spotted over ten warships moving along.


    It was not the first time he was on a ship, but it was definitely the first time he was on a wooden one in the middle of the violent ocean.


    Xiao Lin was struggling to get up when the ocean conjured up another wave, so he could only miserably fall down again, holding on to the pole next to him for dear life.


    In that sinister environment, something finally happened to that ill-prepared squad. It did not take long for Xiao Lin to hear someone shouting frantically from the head of the ship, ¡°Oh no! Someone fell into the sea! Stop the ship! Quickly stop the ship!¡±

 Chapter 214: Interim Group Leader

    <h4>Chapter 214: Interim Group Leader</h4>


    The cries for help were quickly drowned by the sounds of the crashing waves. The deck was full of people, including crew members frantically trying to stabilize the ship. In that chaotic scene, no one cared about who fell into the sea.


    In just that short time, the warship had already moved quite a distance. Xiao Lin turned back to look at the sea, but should not find any trace of a person. He opened his mouth, but finally sighed in resignation.


    The person who fell in could only count himself unlucky. They had already been eliminated from the monthly examination. There was no way the warship would stop to save someone, and in these violent waves, the ones alive on the ship might even be dragged down with that person if they tried.


    From the moment they opened their eyes, they had basically crossed eras and entered the realm of this simted war. Even if it was cruel, Xiao Lin could only pray that that unlucky person still had enough left in his lifespan.


    The waves only started to die down in the evening. The dark sky started to clear, causing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief after suffering for a half a day. They could not help but copse on the deck, which was filled with the smell of seawater and was extremely wet. Everyone was lying down on the deck inplete exhaustion, not even having the strength to speak.


    Xiao Lin was exhausted as well, but as the acting ss monitor, as well as themanding officer for the examination, he had a lot to do. The constant swaying earlier had made him very dizzy, but the sea was rtively calm at the moment, so he cleared his throat and shouted, ¡°ss Seven, let¡¯s report first. Get our numbers sorted out!¡±


    Xiao Lin looked around, and even though he could not remember the names of most of them, he could still recognize practically every face. It was clear that the ship was filled with his ssmates, so he had to determine how many of them had fallen into the choppy waters.


    After a brief silence, everyone exchanged looks with some apprehension. Some of them, such as Wang Dalin, even shut their eyes, pretending not to hear Xiao Lin. Even though this was a team-oriented examination, and Xiao Lin had obtainedmand from the academy, the fact that some people wanted to make things hard by causing trouble did not change.


    There was only one ss monitor. If the academy decided that Xiao Lin was unworthy of being one after the final evaluation, then one of them could very well be chosen.


    ¡°One!¡± someone shouted from nearby. Xiao Lin looked over, and he smiled.


    The first one to report was Zhou Feng. The bald and muscle-bound man was currently drenched, revealing his scar-ridden body and the tattoo on his back, causing him to look very menacing.


    Xiao Lin was quite familiar with the man. During the first examination, he had saved the man from a desert iguana, which caused Zhou Feng to be quite loyal to him, probably as thanks to his savior.


    ¡°Two.¡± A clear voice followed closely; it was Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s.


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°Four.¡±


    Following Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue, the other ssmates slowly started to report in. That was especially true when Xiao Lin looked at Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue happily, saying, ¡°I looked at the information earlier, and as themanding officer, I have the authority to appoint lower-ranking officers. So, let¡¯s do it this way: the ss monitors have the right to choose group leaderster on. I¡¯ll just do it here. Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue, until you die in this monthly examination, the two of you are interim group leaders!¡±


    ¡°Interim group leaders?¡± someone eximed.


    Xiao Lin heard that and added, ¡°If nothing goes wrong, after this examination, the ¡®interim¡¯ will be taken away!¡±


    It was as if a fire had been lit in everyone¡¯s eyes. The academy operated on a strict hierarchy; it was something everyone felt in the three months they had been there. A few of them immediately had some thoughts of their own. They knew they could definitely not be a ss monitor, year leader, or any official position of that sort.


    However, group leaders were different. As the lowest possible official, the ss monitors could appoint them as they wished. How would the ss monitors appoint their group leaders? Was it by skill or by obedience?


    The answer was obvious, so everyone started to get a bit more spirited. Only a few remaining students lied on the floor pretending to be dead. However, the deck was not that big, so those who did not report were quickly found, attracting countless looks.


    Wang Dalin was green in the face. He did not expect that Xiao Lin would use his group leader position to so easily persuade everyone. If that n went so smoothly, Xiao Lin¡¯s leadership abilities would definitely shine in that examination, unlike the first one where a lot of them refused to listen.


    Even if they were not willing, thest few students finally relented. They did not want to iste themselves from the rest of the ss right as the examination started, especially since it was a group examination.


    There were a total of 57 people, which meant three of them had fallen into the sea. Their identities were also quickly verified. Two women and a man. Only a few of their closer friends were sad, but after verifying that they still had plenty of lifespan left, Xiao Lin let out a breath of relief.


    ¡°Where is the instructor?¡± someone asked.


    Xiao Lin had forgotten about that, but he could not see Qin Chuan at all. Just as he was about to search, Qin Chuan walked over from within the ship with a middle-aged man with arge beard. The two of them chatted as they walked, and when they reached Xiao Lin, he introduced, ¡°This is the captain of the ship.


    Xiao Lin gaped when he saw how well the two of them seemed to get along. He cursed inwardly. It was obvious that Qin Chuan had gained the captain¡¯s favor. Qin Chuan was the vice-captain in this task. The academy probably wanted the experienced instructors to help their ss monitors with the arrangement, but would the instructors really be willing to submit to their junior?


    Looking closer at the ship captain, his skin was extremely dark, probably thanks to being at sea so much. Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze quickly stopped at his shoulder, where two stripes and a star were clearly seen. He knew that the academies used modern army ranks, so that man was probably a major.

 Chapter 215: Peace Offering From The Instructor

    <h4>Chapter 215: Peace Offering From The Instructor</h4>


    ¡°Major.¡± Xiao Lin thought for a while before using that form of address.


    However, the captain seemed to be an easygoing man. He nodded as he smiled, ¡°I¡¯m Song, so you just call me Captain Song. We¡¯ve already crossed the most dangerous parts of the Endless Sea. The rest of the journey will be calmer, so you should have your people use this time to rest. We will begin the assault at dawn tomorrow.


    He did not think it would be so soon, so Xiao Lin was surprised, but he did not reveal it. He nodded and asked, ¡°About the assault, do you have any ns for it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss it in detail in my quarters.¡±


    ¡°Then allow me to get my team in order first.¡±


    After the captain left, Xiao Lin started to let the others know. Since the assault would begin at dawn, then time was of the essence. Everyone was extremely fatigued, and lying on the deck facing the sun and winds did not help them recover.


    After that, Xiao Lin managed to get someone to prepare a meal for everyone, as well as arrange temporary amodations. The crew members were likely NPCs, and were quite friendly at that. Since the amphibious assault was meant to break the siege on Dawn City, the crew likely knew how important their tasks were as well.


    Everything was progressing quite smoothly, and after filling his stomach with everyone else, Xiao Lin got them to take the time to rest before turning to Qin Chuan. ¡°Instructor, shall we look for the captain?¡±


    He was not sure how strong Qin Chuan was, but as someone who had been at Dawn Academy for a year, he would definitely be stronger than new students, so Xiao Lin adjusted his tone ordingly. As themanding officer, he did not n on using his status to push Qin Chuan. After all, his strength was needed in the following battles. However, when he just entered the academy, Qin Chuan did not look kindly upon him, so the two of them were not that friendly with each other.


    Qin Chuan wiped his mouth. The food on the ship was not that good, so he was obviously not too satisfied. After some consideration, he waited for the rest of the students to leave before saying, ¡°The student union notified the instructors. The rewards for this examination apply to us as well. I only have 50 credits left for me to enter the second year. Since being an instructor means I get extra credits, I actually only need 30 more.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, before smiling in understanding as he offered his hand. ¡°Rx, we will definitely get more than 30 credits in this examination.¡±


    Xiao Lin had been worried that Qin Chuan would go against him, or even make things hard for him on purpose. He was troubled over how that could be handled, but now he could rx. Qin Chuan¡¯s words were a peace offering to him, indicating that Qin Chuan was not interested in takingmand. All he needed was the credits to get to the next year.


    30 credits were not too hard to obtain. The first task would already get them 10 credits, and as long as they could hold on for more than a month for the second task, the 30 credits would be firmly in their grasp.


    After that, the two of them finally had no reservations, and could have a proper discussion.


    ¡°I counted 15 different warships just now, but we only have 12 sses. If every ss has their own ship, what are the other ships for?¡±


    ¡°Probably resource and emergency ships. After all, we¡¯ll need to defend the area for quite a long time.¡± Qin Chuan said after some deliberation. He then lowered his voice, ¡°Xiao Lin, I don¡¯t know how confident you are with this examination, and I¡¯m not too familiar with the history from this period, but I know something very clearly. In actual history, this operation failed!¡±


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes. When the results of the battle did not appear on the examination information, he already had his doubts, but after Qin Chuan¡¯s confirmation, his heart sank. After thinking, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t let the others know about this.¡±


    ¡°Rx, I know what to do.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what failed in the operation? Was it the amphibious assault? Or did they capture the depot and end up letting the orcs take it back so quickly?¡± Xiao Lin wanted to get some more details to aid in their ns.


    Qin Chuan hesitated. ¡°I only know a little, but this battle ended in a massive defeat back then. Almost everyone who participated ended up dying, and the survival rate was less than 1%. The academy¡¯s higher-ups felt it a great humiliation, so they decided to downy this battle after the war. That is why not many people know of the exact details nowadays.¡±


    Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Xiao Lin could not help but frown at the answer. It was no longer a question of difficulty; he did not feel like these new students would be able topete with those operatives back then both in terms of skill and in terms of intelligence. Was this examination doomed to fail?


    Qin Chuan found the topic quite depressing, especially since the task had not even started. He hurriedly said, ¡°Let¡¯s just go discuss our next step with the captain first.¡±


    Xiao Lin was quite troubled. He understood why Qin Chuan came up to him willingly. On one hand, Qin Chuan probably felt like he alone would not be enough to handle the examination. On the other hand, Qin Chuan probably did not want to be responsible for failing the task by undermining themanding officer. If they all really did die in the end, the students would definitely be enraged at the loss of 10 years of their lifespan, and that rage would definitely fall on their leader.


    In his quarters, Captain Song was looking at the map on the table, deep in thought. When he saw the two of them enter, he got straight to the point, pointing at a red cross on the map, saying, ¡°ording to the n, we¡¯ll bending on this area, and the supply depot is right on the hill next to it.¡±


    ¡°Any information on our enemies?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°A small number of orc foot soldiers, there might be wolf cavalry, but definitely not a lot. Most of their main forces are on the way to attack Dawn City. The depot is in merfolk territory, so they will likely be our main opponents this time.¡± Captain Song gave a detailed exnation of the information they had scouted beforehand.


    Hearing that, Xiao Lin and Qin Chuan let out a sigh of relief. Even though they had never faced actual merfolk, but as Dawn Academy¡¯s old adversaries, the history books were full of information about them.


    To put it simply, the race was weak, very weak, extremely weak!


    If their opponents were going to be merfolk, then the resistance against their assault would be greatly diminished. That was the first piece of good news Xiao Lin had heard.

 Chapter 216: Preparations Before The Battle

    <h4>Chapter 216: Preparations Before The Battle</h4>


    After that, the three of them had detailed discussions about the overall situation. It was more or less just Captain Song reporting the situation to Xiao Lin and Qin Chuan. That was because most of the scouting had been done through sea due to the siege onnd by the orc¡¯s wolf cavalry.


    ¡°Will the crew be giving us any assistance when we begin our assault?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked.


    ¡°We will provide long-range assistance, but we can¡¯t stay for too long. Once you take over the depot, we will have to leave immediately.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiao Lin hurriedly asked. He knew that even if they took over the supply depot, they would still be facing a counterattack from the orcs. That fierce race was much stronger than the merfolk, so the situation would be very difficult without help from the warships.


    Captain Song smiled bitterly, ¡°Even though our warships look veryrge, we are regretfully not the strongest on the Endless Sea. The orcs might not have naval troops, they have a good rtionship with the naga race. If the nagas were to be nearby, my entire fleet would be wiped out. I definitely cannot afford that loss, and neither can the academy!¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood. Basically, the responsibility wouldpletely fall on them after the amphibious assault. Their backs would be against the sea, and they would face assault from three sides. It would be quite a desperate stand.


    ¡°How long will it take for Dawn City¡¯s reinforcements to arrive once we take down the depot?¡±


    Captain Song exined, ¡°Your goal this time is to force the orc cavalry brigade to retreat. ording to our reports, they carry very few supplies with them. They even need to provide food for their wolf mounts. Those things might be fiercer than regr mounts, but they take up a lot of resources. They basically need to eat meat every day to maintain top form. Furthermore, winter is about to start, so there won¡¯t be a lot of animals for them to hunt. At the most, the cavalry brigade will only be able tost for two to three months.¡±


    ¡°As long as the supply depot remains in our hands for that period of time, then the orc cavalry will definitely need to retreat. When that timees, Dawn City will march their troops out. They won¡¯t just help you defend the depot, you will be able to pincer them andpletely rout the orcs!¡±


    That was basically Captain Song¡¯s, no, the entire Dawn Academy¡¯s strategy. With the current situation, that was the best chance they had to turn the tables. However, Qin Chuan had revealed that the mission had failed in actual history. Xiao Lin determined that the failure could not have happened during the initial assault, since they were up against merfolks with the support of the warships.


    Therefore, they definitely failed during the counterattack from the orcs, With that in mind, Captain Song¡¯s words did not give Xiao Lin too muchfort.


    No matter what, as aplete simtion of the actual war back then, Xiao Lin had no way of changing the current war strategy, only to try his best toplete the given tasks.


    After leaving the captain¡¯s quarters, he chatted with Qin Chuan for a bit. The two of them failed to make much headway nning for the following day¡¯s assault. Even Qin Chuancked experience in that department.


    As themanding officer of their team, Xiao Lin was basically a military officer, so he managed to get some special treatment. The rest of the students were all crammed into narrow rooms, with eight students per room and two students per bed. The rooms were also very damp, and the beds moldy.


    The students struggled to sleep, used to the five-star hotel standards within the student dormitories. On top of that, they were filled with anxiety and anticipation for the assault that was going to start at dawn, so most of them were huddled together, chatting away instead of sleeping.


    Xiao Lin was instead treated much better. He had a personal bedroom prepared for himself. Even though the conditions were quite average, it was still rtively cleaner.


    However, after he was left alone, Xiao Lin found Gu Xiaoyue standing on the decks staring out at the sea. Xiao Lin decided to give his room to her. Even though Gu Xiaoyue was usually stubborn and strong-willed, she still preferred things immacte. She was quite surprised when Xiao Lin offered, and opened her mouth to reject him.


    However, Xiao Lin was too experienced to give her the chance. He immediately turned around and left after he spoke, leaving Gu Xiaoyue hanging. It took awhile before she muttered a word of thanks into the air.


    Xiao Lin did not hear Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s gratitude, having already reached the area where the normal students were located. He selectively conveyed the information that he had gathered to everyone, trying to keep their spirits up. He mentioned that they were going to face the weak merfolk, and the wolf cavalry was basically not going to appear. He then told them if they managed to hold on for over a month, the orcs could possibly retreat, allowing them to easilyplete their mission.


    Qin Chuan arrived shortly after Xiao Lin, but he took a step back when he heard Xiao Lin discussing with the others. He had wanted to do exactly what Xiao Lin was doing. After all, after numerous examinations, he knew that, regardless of the difficulty, morale and spirit was extremely important. Otherwise, they could very possibly fail to even capture the supply depot tomorrow.


    Even though he had never held any sort of official position in his entire life, let alonemand anyone else, his years of being a guild leader in his games caused him to quickly pick up the necessary skills to lead his ss.


    Xiao Lin had already assigned two interim group leaders at that moment: Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue. No one had any reservations of the two of them. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s skills needed no introduction. In terms of magic, no one was her equal. As for Zhou Feng, even though his skills were not particrly noteworthy, he had still performed quite admirably in thest two examinations, leaving quite a good impression on everyone else.


    He was reluctant to pick a third group leader at that moment, so all he did was split the students into groups, since he likely would not have the time to do that after they hitnd.


    Xiao Lin had actually looked for pen and paper to do that, first recording everyone¡¯s name alongside their skills and specialization, such as if they were specialized in magic, meleebat, or archery. Even though he had ess to that information normally as a monitor, he only remembered a small portion of them.


    Splitting them up into groups was not as simple as randomly distributing them into equal numbers. As someone who was a raid leader in his games, Xiao Lin clearly understood how important splitting them into the proper roles were.


    ss Seven¡¯s distribution inbat specialization was quite unbnced. Out of the 57 of them still left alive, 40 of them were closebatants, with 16 of them long-range specialists. Out of those 16, only six of them were training in magic.


    Xiao Lin was thest one that was unounted for, but he was a dual-cultivator, so he did not really fit anywhere.

 Chapter 217: Landfall (1)

    <h4>Chapter 217: Landfall (1)</h4>


    Xiao Lin separated the close- and long-rangedbatants equally into each group, reminding them all to listen to themands of the group leaders. When the time came,munications would be ryed by their hierarchies.


    Of course, Xiao Lin could not ignore the possibility that his orders would be ignored. He was actually quite disappointed that Wang Dalin did not fall into the sea that night, but that man had at least held back recently, not publicly trying to cause trouble.


    Xiao Lin did not know how to deal with the few dissenters. They were still part of ss Seven in name, but if they were to cause trouble when the time came, he did not mind cutting them off.


    He was definitely not going to be able to get much sleep that night thanks to the swaying ship and the damp room. Xiao Lin instead decided to look for Captain Song for more information. It was only until he made sure that nothing could possibly happen to them on their way to shore did he finally rx, checking his gear once again before sleeping. Xiao Lin was actually quite anxious himself, but as the monitor, he felt that he could not afford to show it.


    When dawn finally came, the sea was still a nket of darkness as dark clouds obscured the sky. The weather constantly changed, but Captain Song was quite happy when he saw that. He told Xiao Lin there was no way the nagas woulde under those weather conditions, so he was confident that their assault would not be interfered with.


    After rousing everyone from their sleep, their spirits left much to be desired. Most of them were yawned constantly, obviously not having slept well.


    Xiao Lin then observed the state of everyone¡¯s equipment, whichforted him quite a bit. After realizing this examination would be extremely difficult, no one had bothered saving their redemption points, having spent everything on equipment and items, but obviously the grades were not of too high rank.


    Comparatively, Xiao Lin¡¯s Bronze-ranked Warbear Leather Armor was extremely eye-catching, and the jewels on his Holy Soul Sword caused everyone to stare with envy.


    They had yet to learn how to determine the quality of any given equipment, but they at least understood that embedding magical items into gear would cause it to perform exceptionally better, and the price would obviously increase ordingly.


    Xiao Lin had attracted practically everyone¡¯s attention, and he noticed that their looks of unease were somewhat calmed. As themanding officer, his skill was definitely pivotal to everyone else¡¯s confidence, which was something Xiao Lin did not anticipate.


    The weather conditions did nothing to help their eyesight, but they already started to make out faint traces ofnd on the horizon. However, even Xiao Lin could not make out what was happening on the beach.


    ¡°Do you have a telescope?¡± Xiao Lin asked the captain who was approaching.


    ¡°Telescope?¡± Captain Song asked in surprise.


    Xiao Lin felt that he must have said something wrong, but he could not figure out what. Thankfully, Captain Song did not seem to mind, passing Xiao Lin a scroll as he shook his head, ¡°We usually use this over here, a magical scroll that has both eagle vision and long-distance sight; it¡¯s much more useful on Norma.


    Unfurling the scroll caused the magic contained within to activate. Xiao Lin suddenly felt a warmth in his eyes, and everything started to brighten. His eyes felt like they had binocrs fixed onto them, and he could even make out the rocks that were on the shore.


    On the shoreline, a few merfolk were patrolling the area, but they did not have magical scrolls, and the warships were still quite a distance away, so they did not notice the fleet approaching.


    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re quite lucky; their defenses are way too thin. No, it seems like they have practically no defenses! Ah, these low-lives underestimate us!¡± Captain Song was pleasantly surprised, but he could not help but feel like the merfolk were underestimating Dawn Academy by way too much.


    Captain Song decided that they would be stopping there, since they might start running into difficulties if they moved any further. After that,nding crafts were prepared for Xiao Lin¡¯s team, he noticed the other warships were doing the same as well.


    It was called anding craft, but it was actually just a regr sampan. After that, a shield-like object with magical runes inscribed on it was ced at the head of the ship. That was used as a defense mechanism against long-range attacks, especially magical ones. The runes mainly were meant to reduce damage from fire-type spells. The sampans might not be too damaged from a few arrows, but a few me spells could quickly sink them.


    Each boat could seat around eight students, so a total of eightnding crafts wereunched from the ship, and they needed to be rowed manually, causing some cursing from a few people, probably feeling like it was too much of a chore for a world filled with magic.


    ¡°Everyone shut up! Quit talking! After you reach shore, you will find your group leaders based on yesterday¡¯s allocations. After that, we split into two teams. Zhou Feng, your team will be in charge of clearing the merfolk on the shore and protecting everyone else. Gu Xiaoyue, you organize the long-range specialists and start firing at the supply depot.¡±


    ¡°The supply depot is on top of the hill. What if the enemies start rushing down to attack us?¡± someone asked with concern. Amphibious assaults usually struggled to deal with enemies with the higher ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The warships will provide suppressing fire, especially on their archer towers.¡± With that, Xiao Lin paused, assessing the warship behind him. These types of wooden warships were already a thing of the past on Earth, but it was quite normal considering what era they were in.


    The warships did not seem to have any type of cannons. He remembered Song Jung had mentioned that Norma¡¯s research into gunpowder took very long before it had any results, so he was not expecting anything on that front. He might have consoled the others, but he could not help but worry himself. Was Captain Song nning on just having his crew shoot arrows or cast spells as support?


    It was already toote to consider any of that. Following hismand, everyone started to row their boats with the wooden paddles they were provided with. Thending crafts shot forward like rockets, quickly leaving the warships far behind them. At that moment, everyone gaped as they finally understood that they were not in a regr boat.


    That speed was not something just rowing could normally achieve. Xiao Lin guessed that there was probably magic or equipment in the boat that was speeding them up, but it did make things a lot easier. The shore started to look clearer despite the darkness as they got closer.


    With the closing of the distance, the merfolk on the shore also started to look clearer. Even though they had seen pictures of that race numerous times during their history sses, when they were finally faced with the real thing, everyone could not help but exim, ¡°How ugly!¡±

 Chapter 218: Landfall (2)

    <h4>Chapter 218: Landfall (2)</h4>


    As an amphibious humanoid creature, merfolks looked like they had a fish¡¯s head but a human¡¯s body. They hadrge, yellow eyes, and skin that was covered in mucus and seaweed. Theirrge mouths were full of yellow and sharp teeth, and some unknown liquid seemed to be dripping from the corner of their mouths. They had small and muscr limbs. Thanks to the fact that their bodies had scales that were quite hard, they did not wear any armor, and only had weapons.


    The merfolk race was extremely weak, and they initially had no way to produce their own weapons. They tended to use bones as their weapons, and even when they had better weapons, they were likely salvaged from sunken ships. However, ever since the orcs started to provide them with resources, the rtive power of the merfolks started to rise.


    All twelve sses, making up a total of eighty to nynding crafts, managed to silently close the distance to the beach at dawn. Xiao Lin had been worried that their enemies would start tounch long range attacks at them on the way, but it had been abnormally quiet throughout, so much so that he could not help but get suspicious.


    ording to the reports, it was supposed to be thergest supply depot for the orcish brigade. The supplies that were sent out from the depotprised two-thirds of their whole supply chain. How could such an important location be so loosely protected?


    However, he did not have too much time to deliberate. As they approached the shore, they suddenly heard a loud shout from atop the hill. Xiao Lin could not make out whatnguage it was; it could have been either orcish or mermish, but that did not matter. Following that shout, other shouts could be heard throughout the shore.


    The magical scroll that the captain gave to Xiao Lin was still in effect, so with his enhanced vision, he noticed there were suddenly a lot more merfolk on the beach. God knew where those ugly things came out from, but it was obvious they had been noticed.


    Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!


    A flurry of sounds was suddenly heard in the skies as a rain of arrows suddenly descended upon them. Following that, cries of misery could be heard among their ships, followed by sshes. It was not clear how many people had been shot into the seas.


    It was not the time for hesitation; staying idle on the boats would just make them sitting ducks. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he determined that the majority of the arrows came from atop the hill.


    Xiao Lin used his hand to try and gauge how deep the waters were. They were still a few dozen meters away from shore, but he immediately shouted, ¡°The water isn¡¯t too deep here, everyone get down and charge for the shore!¡±


    Immediately after saying that, he led the way by jumping in first. The cool water only reached his knees, but it was not the time to be fixated on the water temperature. Xiao Lin did not have any shields on him, nor was he sure if his armor could withstand the barrage of arrows.


    Xiao Lin summoned all his strength and started to charge forward, his sword dancing around him. With his current level in Blocking, he was able to deflect some arrows away.


    After jumping off the boat, everyone spread out and drew their weapons, greatly decreasing the chances that they would be hit. When the other sses saw what ss Seven was doing, they quickly dropped their hesitation and followed suit.


    The amphibious assault was finally beginning.


    A few hundred of them started to charge toward the shore, braving the arrow storm. At that time, the nearby warships finally started their attacks. Even as Xiao Lin¡¯s focus was on the shore, he turned around to look toward the warships. That was when he noticed streams of fire soar toward the air,nding on top of the hill, causing numerous explosions to be heard.


    Everyone shouted and rallied, and Xiao Lin could clearly see that those ming objects were not artileries, but arge arrow, probably fired by something like a ballista, apanied with the magic of Norma. That was probably the main means of attack from the warships.


    The attack had tremendous impact, but seemed to require a long time to charge up. Xiao Lin noticed that, after they fired the first shot, the ship they had boarded was quiet for a long time. However, they had a great number of other warships firing as well, and the hill was quickly engulfed in mes.


    With the long-range assault suppressed, their charge became much easier. After a few minutes, they finally engaged the merfolk on the beach. That was not their first battle, but some of the students could not help but be frightened. The merfolk looked extremely fierce, and charged at them with weapons in hand while shouting in mermish.


    The merfolk mainly used blunt weapons, such as barbed staves or hammers. They were very agile, which was expected, since Professor Dai had drilled the fact into their minds, but they were not particrly strong.


    Xiao Lin was at the helm of the charge, and finally encountered his first opponent. It was a merfolk that was only half as tall as he was. The merfolk was speaking in anguage he did not understand, but was still incredibly annoying to listen to. Xiao Lin did not want to get careless, so he immediately used the full extent of his Phantom Steps, using hisplicated footwork topletely evade the merfolk¡¯s attack.


    The merfolk was immediately forced off bnce, almost falling down as Xiao Lin stabbed his Holy Soul Sword right down its back. Xiao Lin was worried about the defensive properties of the merfolk¡¯s scales, but his de was a lot sharper than he had thought, and he pierced through the merfolk like butter.


    The merfolk was not stupid, and managed try and avoid his strike, so the de did not pierce its heart, missing just by a little as red and greenish fluids started to gush out of its body.


    However, the merfolk did not lose all its strength as it suddenlytched its ws tightly onto Xiao Lin¡¯s de. It suddenly lunged backward toward Xiao Lin, aiming its spiky scales at him.


    Merfolks were not intelligent, but it did not mean they possessed no intelligence at all. It was obvious his opponent knew how to utilize its body in a fight.


    Xiao Lin did indeed get hit, but his Warbear Leather Armor definitely deserved its Bronze-rank as all Xiao Lin felt was a prickling sensation. However, he was agitated and angry, so he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he converted all his other attributes into strength, raising his foot and sending the merfolk flying with a kick. The creature shot through the air like a bullet, flying for a few dozen meters before forming a crater in the sand.


    Despite the intensity of the battle, everyone else suddenly looked toward Xiao Lin in shock.

 Chapter 219: Landfall (3)

    <h4>Chapter 219: Landfall (3)</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s current attribute scores amounted to more than 50. With Miracle converting half of his other attributes into Strength, his sudden burst of power was around 30 points in Strength.


    Xiao Lin let out a breath, redistributing his attributes before walking toward the corpse of that merfolk since his sword was still stuck to its body. On the way, four merfolk tried to attack Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin did not even give them a chance.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Xiao Lin unsheathed his Peakfire Staff from his waist, sending a few me Bullets at them. me Bullets did not need to charge for long, and had the lowest requirements in terms of gathering the elements. Within such a close distance, on top of Xiao Lin diverting his attributes toward his intelligence, he could hit the merfolk even if he shut his eyes.


    All six of the me Bullets hit their targets, and the defensive capabilities of their scales came into y. The me Bullets were not too powerful, and even two bullets hitting the same target would not be able to kill them, but they did not continue pursuing Xiao Lin, as they were two busy trying to keep themselves from burning.


    The Peakfire Staff¡¯s passive burning ability suddenly activated, causing the me Bullets to continuously burn at the merfolk.


    The merfolk felt pain, just like any human from Earth, and thanks to their amphibious nature, they hated fire to an extreme degree. He pulled out his Holy Soul Sword and began shing at them. Thanks to the sword, his Basic Swordsmanship managed to reach LV9, which was the maximum.


    The feeling was extremely strange. As he attacked with his sword, he seemed to feel like something possessed his body. His consciousness was still obviously his own, but that strange feeling caused all his strikes to be ever more skillful, and even the power behind his strikes increased.


    Xiao Lin was actually curious where his skills stood at that moment. Even though he had defeated Cheng Ming in the simted battle, he still had his suspicions, not sure if he could really handle an actual war.


    That was why he held nothing back the moment the assault began, using every single skill and technique he had learned in his three months at the academy.


    The end result was the admiration of everyone around him. Xiao Lin¡¯s de seemed to slice through merfolk like the grim reaper, iming countless lives as their scales could absolutely not stand up to Xiao Lin¡¯s strength. When Basic Swordsmanship reached the maximum level, the wielder could start learning how to attack a target¡¯s weak points.


    Even if he met any foes who were more skilled, Xiao Lin would just start using his shing skill. The merfolk were not intelligent, so they never thought to hide away or stop the skill from charging. They instead continued charging wildly, and when Xiao Lin¡¯s de fell, he would convert his attributes into Strength, cleaving the merfolk in half.


    Phantom Steps was also used to great effect by Xiao Lin. Fully utilized, Phantom Steps would create afterimages, and these afterimages were different from those produced by magic. The images did not hold any offensive abilities, and could only be used to trick opponents, but that was more than enough to deal with the stupid merfolk.


    The merfolk were actually quite agile; if it was not for his Phantom Steps, Xiao Lin could have had some difficulty avoiding their attacks, especially from their barbed staves. Just a ncing hit was enough to y flesh.


    Phantom Steps allowed Xiao Lin to avoid being hit for the entire battle, outside of the first hit when the merfolk lunged at him.


    Xiao Lin actually did not need to use his me Bullets at all, but he still asionally took out his Peakfire Staff and shot out a few at the merfolks that other people were fighting when he was not upied. The effects were quite good, with the burning effect kicking in quite often, allowing the others to seize the initiative.


    They did not say anything during the battle, but he gained a few appreciative looks from his actions. After a while, Xiao Lin decided to just hold his staff in his left hand and his sword in his right. His armor had already been dyed in red and green from the merfolk, and he looked like a death god, ughtering all the merfolk in sight.


    Xiao Lin had deliberately made sure that all his weapons were single-handed weapons in preparation of dual-wielding. In truth, most swordsmen opted forrge or heavy swords, but one-handed swords tended to be lighter and unable to deal as much damage.


    With his help, ss Seven started to have an easier time fighting. The merfolk were still sentient beings in the end, and all sentient beings knew fear.


    They had started to fear Xiao Lin, so a lot of the merfolk started to turn their attention to the other sses. Once everyone the other members of ss Seven reached the shore, Xiao Lin started to take it easy.


    The Miracle skill had ended, and thanks to repeated usage, Xiao Lin started to feel dizzy. After the short but intense battle, the sky had already started to brighten. Even without the effects of the scroll, Xiao Lin could clearly see the situation on the shore.


    The merfolk numbered much more than what the reports indicated. By Xiao Lin¡¯s rough estimate, there were several thousands of them. It looked like an endless sea of merfolk, which was quite terrifying, but in truth they had been separated into several waves. Thanks to each ss reachingnd at a different location, they managed to stagger the merfolk, leading to them not having to deal with as many enemies.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s abilities had allowed ss Seven¡¯s battle to end quickly. The remaining merfolk on their side had already begun to retreat, and under the gazes of admiration from his ssmates, Xiao Lin started to divert his attention to the other sses.


    A few other sses had also finished off the merfolk attacking them. The merfolks¡¯bat abilities were actually much lower than what they had anticipated, and the rest of the sses were not weak either, so they did notg too far behind. Those fish-people were quite weak in resolve as well; the moment the first wave of attacks failed, the merfolk behind them started to retreat.


    However, Xiao Lin quickly furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed a few sses had already started to charge toward the hills, even though the merfolk on the beach had not beenpletely eliminated yet. Each ss did differ in ability, and the ss monitors alone were not to make up for every possible w. A few sses even looked like they were struggling.


    ¡°Those idiots are way too impatient! There¡¯s no special reward for the first ss that takes over the supply depot!¡± Xiao Lin muttered to himself unhappily. He had actually nned on helping the other ssespletely eliminate their enemies on the beach before preparing to attack the hill. After all, the enemies on the hill had already been thoroughly suppressed by their warships.

 Chapter 220: Attacking The Hill

    <h4>Chapter 220: Attacking The Hill</h4>


    Xiao Lin had actually been quite worried something like that would happen, but he did not expect that the problems would pop up before they even beat their foes on the beach.


    This examination involved all twelve sses, which would obviously create a lot of problems. It would be hard to get all the sses to work together, since everyone was just an acting ss monitor. Without a clear hierarchy, no one wanted to bemanded by another.


    He was not the only one with those thoughts, as he quickly saw Cheng Ming rushing toward those at the helm. The two sides seemed to be engaged in discussions, and it was clear that Cheng Ming saw how problematic the situation was.


    Cheng Ming was quite suited to handle any negotiation, since he was quite popr among the first years. Xiao Lin decided to ignore what was happening in front, turning around and saying, ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, Zhou Feng, go check out the status of your groups.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Qin Chuan were on the lookout just in case any merfolk decided to rush at them. He gave the instructor a good look, and noticed Qin Chuan¡¯s armor was just as bloodstained as his, but not from Qin Chuan¡¯s own blood. It was obvious he was not injured from the earlier battle, and looked to be quite rxed. Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations of the older student were spot on; his battle capabilities were definitely a few notches higher than most of them.


    Xiao Lin quickly received his reports, which caused him to scowl. Only four of them had died, but there were 28 injured, which was practically half of them. Of those 28, around seven or eight of them were heavily injured. Two of them even had their legs turned into mush, which was quite a cruel sight to see.


    That was only from fighting the merfolk. If they were to face the stronger orcs, their casualties might be much higher. Even though they were no strangers to battle, it was still the first time any of them had a proper taste of war.


    ¡°Did you all get some potions with your redemption points?¡± Qin Chuan asked.


    A few of them with lighter injuries just had some flesh wounds, so their problems were not too bad. Some of them shook their heads while the others nodded; they either did not use their points to buy any potions or were not willing to use them just yet.


    Xiao Lin was quite frustrated, as recovery potions were not that expensive. Qin Chuan or himself could afford a lot of them, but the rest of them were different. However, there was no way he would allow the uninjured to offer up their own potions, so he could only sigh and say, ¡°Bandage your injuries first. Hopefully, there will be some recovery potions at the supply depot.


    The bandaging was left to Qin Chuan, as the rest of them were not too experienced with it. He then left Zhou Feng to keep watch while he brought Gu Xiaoyue and a few other capable students to help with the other sses.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, I recall you have Elementary Speed Boost and Elementary Protection among your support magics?¡± Xiao Lin asked as they walked.


    ¡°I have Elementary Projectile Shield as well,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said, her tone cold as usual.


    Xiao Lin paused, asking curiously, ¡°I definitely did not see that under your information thest time I checked.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue shot him a look, probably unhappy that he was looking at her information. ¡°I learnt it one day before the examination.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. It was quite a blow to his ego talking to a magical genius.


    ¡°How much can your Elementary Speed Boost increase my speed by?¡±


    ¡°With my current mastery, at most 20%.¡± Gu Xiaoyue calmly gave the numbers. Xiao Lin did not doubt her at all, but he could not resist cursing her talent. He knew Elementary Speed Boost as well, but the skill only increased speed by 10%. Achieving 20% requiredpletely mastering the spell.


    ¡°Increase my speed and use Ice Bullets to slow down the enemies. Everyone else, follow me!¡± Xiao Lin gave out a few simplemands. Everyone who came, aside from Gu Xiaoyue, was a melee specialist. That was because Xiao Lin felt that bows were ill-suited for the chaos of this particr battle, but the main reason was actually because hecked faith in the uracy of the archers in their ss.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not waste time speaking as well. She waved her wand as a faint green light fell on his body alongside a dark yellow one, which was indicative of the Elementary Protection spell. It could reduce the impact of physical damage that did not have the piercing trait, equal to half a grade of defense.


    The merfolk all used blunt objects as their weapons, so the Protection spell was especially effective, reducing the damage from those weapons greatly. With Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s intelligence, she had more than enough to cast a dozen Elementary Protection spells.


    She cast that spell on everyone with great precision and speed. By the time they reached the merfolk, everyone had ayer of protection on them.


    Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s Miracle was already on cooldown, this damage output did not decrease. Holy Soul Sword¡¯s swordsmanship enhancing ability was way too useful. He was able to clearly feel the benefits of having Basic Swordsmanship as he sliced through the weak points in the merfolks¡¯ armor like butter.


    As far as defense went, the speed boost greatly covered for the fact that Xiao Lin could not move his attributes around. With the 20% increase in speed, Xiao Lin¡¯s actions felt like the wind, and Phantom Steps were not limited to just defense. As he attacked, he was able to maintain his dazzling speed, essentially toying with the merfolk.


    Gradually, more and more areas were cleaned up and the beach started to be quiet.


    The sun had already risen high in the sky, and the vibrant sunlight shone on the beach full of merfolk carcasses. The smell of blood filled the air.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s negotiations finally bore fruit, his poprity proving useful. Under his advice, the other ss monitors decided to temporarily gather at the foot of the hill to conduct a short meeting. The instructors apanied them as well. No matter what their feelings were toward the instructors, the battle at the beach served as an eye-opener to how useful theirbat abilities would be in this examination.


    As for everyone else, they were all resting and preparing nearby. What allowed them to rx for a bit was the destroyed archer towers littered on the hill thanks to the support fire from the warships. It seemed like there were no magic-users atop the hill either, so they managed to earn themselves a period of respite.


    There were actually still peoplending on the beach. Other than the twelve sses, there were four other warships with the fleet. It was only then that Xiao Lin and the others found out the other ships had carried engineers and potion masters. They were all the NPCs for that particr examination.

 Chapter 221: Discussing the Hill Attack

    <h4>Chapter 221: Discussing the Hill Attack</h4>


    Based on actual history, those people also came along with them during thendfall. However, the most pressing issue right then was discussing how to attack the hill.


    More than 20 men and women were present on the beach not far away. They were either sitting or standing, and some had worried faces while others had a look of excitement. They were the instructors and acting monitors of all twelve freshmen sses.


    Cheng Ming was thest to arrive. He apologized repeatedly and exined that he waste because he had to deal with ss affairs. In response, Xiao Lin could not resist saying, ¡°You could¡¯ve actually appointed an interim group leader and have them handle the minor stuff. Ourbat strength is rtively high right now, so we should spend more time on fighting instead of being dragged down by other stuff.¡±


    The several monitors who heard Xiao Lin¡¯s say ¡®we¡¯ immediately had the urge toin. Though it was a fact that all of them were talented individuals with sterbat strength, they were peeved that Xiao Lin would include himself with the likes of them.


    Not everyone noticed the situation on Xiao Lin¡¯s side during the earlier battle. After all, thending point some distance away was about halfway around the beach. Nevertheless, the monitors whom Xiao Lin had lent support earlier gave him a grateful nce.


    ¡°Interim group leader?¡± Cheng Ming was momentarily stunned.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and roughly exined that they had the authority to make such an appointment because they were themanding officers of that operation.


    He was clearly not the only person who thought of that. At least half the sses had already appointed a group leader to help coordinate management, while the remaining few had a look of realization on their faces.


    The next step was to discuss the attack on the hill. Xiao Lin observed the terrain before arriving. The hill was not that high and the slope was very gentle, while the distance closer to the beach was basically an open area without any vegetation.


    The terrain was rather simple, so even inexperienced rookiemanding officers like them knew that there were no tactics to be mentioned there. On the premise that their ultimate goal was seizing the supply depot on the hill, they could only think of one way to aplish it, and that was by storming it.


    ¡°Based on the information, the defensive facilities on the hill are very simple. Even if there are a few archer towers, they were allpletely ttened by our warship earlier.¡±


    ¡°I looked at it from a distance just now. I chose archery as my elective and my Eagle Eye skill is quite effective too. There¡¯s a fortress around the supply depot on the hill, but it¡¯s only about ten meters high.¡±


    ¡°Ten meters! That¡¯s at least the height of a three-story building!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually very low. Our ancient city walls are higher than this.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t go off topic. Let¡¯s discuss how to attack the hill. Since there¡¯s a fortress, do we have equipment for the siege?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t an architecte with us? They must have the necessary military supplies. That¡¯s the reason they came, right?¡±


    Everyone chimed in with their views, while Xiao Lin remained as low-key as ever and did not take the initiative to speak. Everyone had the same information anyway. When he heard that however, he could not help but add, ¡°Military supplies? No, no, I don¡¯t think the architects came with us for that.¡±


    ¡°Then why, pray tell, did theye along?¡± The monitor who had been refuted was obviously very upset with Xiao Lin.


    ¡°The resurrection tower! Lest we forget, what¡¯s the most important thing if we capture this ce? The resurrection tower, of course. That¡¯s the key to guaranteeing survival,¡± Xiao Lin said calmly.


    Other people were shocked not because they did not know what a resurrection tower was. In fact, they had known about it since their first history lesson. Instead, it was because their impression of the resurrection tower was limited to books only, and the only person who had actually seen it up close was Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Even if it is because of the resurrection tower, that¡¯s something to think about forter. First things first, let¡¯s discuss how to attack the hill,¡± an instructor said helplessly.


    This problem with discussing something in arge group was that the discussion could easily be led astray. They still had no inkling of what the defensive force on the hill was, whether it was only the weak merfolk or whether the orcs were present too.


    The only certainty was the absence of the previously anticipated appearance of those wolf cavalry units, otherwise they would have attacked immediately after they reached the shore. Such cavalry units were worthless in a fortress.


    ¡°If we storm in, I have only one question. Who should do it?¡± Xiao Lin spoke little, but his sentences left everyone speechless whenever he spoke up.


    This question sent everyone into another round of silence. The vanguard had to test the enemy¡¯s strength, which naturally meant that they would suffer more casualties. Who would want their own ss to die in vain? What if the monitors¡¯ assessment also included the survival rate of their ssmates?


    ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Cheng Ming volunteered first.


    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The result was just as they expected, but although they were delighted, they could not help but shoot each other contemptuous nces, probably to mock each other for being too timid.


    Xiao Lin sighed too. He was thinking about the question earlier, but his considerations were not about who rushed in first. Seeing as Cheng Ming had taken the initiative to take on that thankless task, Xiao Lin also said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go with Cheng Ming.¡±


    Qin Chuan, who has not said a single word yet, looked at Xiao Lin in a strange and somewhat dissatisfied manner. He was just about to open his mouth when Xiao Lin continued, ¡°I¡¯m actually confused. Don¡¯t you think thendfall battle is a bit too easy?¡±


    ¡°Easy? Two-thirds of our ss were injured!¡±


    ¡°My point exactly. The death rate is rtively lowpared to the injuries. The merfolk¡¯s attacks are really weak and they don¡¯t seem like a regr army either. All they did was swarm us and disperse after we struck back.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that thendfall battle is too easy and that the next tasks will be much harder?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly, ¡°More or less, yes. I was thinking about this question when I saw the architects earlier. Our warship is actually quite powerful for long-range suppression, but if we capture the supply depot, how much preparation time will we have to rearrange our defense?¡±


    Cheng Ming frowned and continued along Xiao Lin¡¯s line of thought. He suddenly said, ¡°You¡¯re saying that the orc¡¯s reinforcements wille very quickly so we must capture the supply depot as soon as possible!¡±


    ¡°Correct. Guys, I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t have a lot of time. The difficulty of this task will not possibly be limited to just that. If the architects are really allowed to erect the resurrection tower here, the next defensive battle won¡¯t be too easy!¡±


    After a short pause, Xiao Lin came to the final conclusion. ¡°For one ss alone to be the vanguard is too small a number. In addition to increasing the casualty rate, it will only be a meaningless waste of time! In light of that, I¡¯ll take on the main task of attacking the hill with Cheng Ming. Now¡¯s not the time to be concerned about a loss. If we can¡¯t capture the supply depot as soon as possible and re-build our defense, we stand to lose everything!¡±

 Chapter 222: Agility Scroll

    <h4>Chapter 222: Agility Scroll</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s words prompted everyone to exchange nces. Several monitors hesitated before raising their hands and saying, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll join! Let¡¯s seize the supply depot at first charge!¡±


    None of them were idiots and it all boiled down to their unfamiliarity with the resurrection tower. The graveness of the situation struck them after Xiao Lin¡¯s reminder. Thest thing they wanted was for members of their own ss to suffer excessive casualties, but all that hinged on the sessfulpletion of their task.


    Seeing that everyone¡¯s enthusiasm for discussion was aroused again, Xiao Lin said at the opportune moment, ¡°If possible, I¡¯m actually hoping that everyone can cooperate together, at least for now. After all, this is a task we all have inmon, and everyone will be rewarded forpleting it.¡±


    Chen Dao, the monitor of ss Twelve, was puzzled. He asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t we cooperating now?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is, for example, the long-range attack troops will gather together to suppress their firepower,¡± Xiao Lin exined his purpose. In truth, that was his intention for that meeting. When he saw the frowns on some of the ss monitors, he immediately added, ¡°Our skill levels are still very low right now. Weck mass destruction spells. In order to avoid idental injuries when attacking the hill, it¡¯s impossible to let our ships continue suppressing them during our attack if we want to avert any idental injury. In such a situation, we have to rely on ourselves to prevent casualties, the remote attacks of a single ss are far from enough!¡±


    ¡°Who willmand this operation?¡± Several ss monitors stared warily at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Chen Dao.¡± Xiao Lin pointed at the young boy nearby. His action stunned everyone again, as they had all thought that Xiao Lin wanted to take the opportunity to consolidate power for himself.


    Chen Dao had the most outstanding magical ability among all those people. Of course, there was also Gu Xiaoyue, but Xiao Lin was aware that she was not suitable for the job. In fact, he was also a bit reluctant to appoint Gu Xiaoyue as group leader previously.


    Although Chen Dao was only 18 years-old, he did not have the slightest bit of stage fright when faced with the crowd¡¯s suspicious and weird looks. He patted his chest and made a vow, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, leave the minor stuff to me. I still remember how I led troops in a game...¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately ignored thetter half of that guy¡¯s sentence. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s move on to the next topic. I need to know the detailed number of people from each ss who chose support spell courses, as well as the types of spells. Come on, there¡¯s no need to keep this kind of thing a secret. I¡¯ll start with announcing ss Seven¡¯s.¡±


    Following Xiao Lin¡¯s active conversation, the emergency meeting at the foot of the hill finally took shape. In fact, the entire operation did not require strong abilities. For it to be united and cooperative, it was necessary for individuals to make a general outline of the n and Xiao Lin just happened to take the initiative to do so.


    At a moment when time was of the essence, the others also acquiesced to Xiao Lin ¡®s suggestion. Inevitably however, they repeatedly emphasized that the united and cooperative effort was only limited to the attack on the hill. After the supply depot was seized, the original management system of each ss had to be restored. Clearly, they were still worried about being usurped by Xiao Lin.


    Although they were very confident that they would be retained as the monitor, the student union had not announced the selection method of year leader yet. What if it was based on theprehensive evaluation of that exam? They did not want to give Xiao Lin such a clear chance to show his leadership.


    The instructors collectively held their silence. Except for the asionalment, they were mostly quiet, since they knew very well that the 12 people in front of them would be full-fledged monitors after the monthly exam, unless something untoward happened. On the other hand, the instructors would no longer be instructors, which meant that they are one level lower than the monitors in terms of position. Thus, it was only natural that they would not refute the future monitors at that juncture.


    In any case, Xiao Lin continued to chair the meeting until some timeter. After 20 minutes, everyone went back to their respective sses and continued the preparations. Qin Chuan expressed a certain appreciation for Xiao Lin and chatted with him about the year leader.


    Prior to that, Xiao Lin¡ªwho had yet to be formally appointed as ss monitor¡ªhad not considered the issue of year leader at all. However, all positions in the academy would affect his future status in the New World, so he did not hide his views on his interest in that position.


    As a freshman of the year prior, Qin Chuan was naturally aware of the selection process of the grade leader. In his freshman year, the selection of the grade leader was decided after the sixth monthly exam, which was also halfway through the semester, and then Qin Chuan again He lowered his voice and revealed a little inside story to Xiao Lin.


    He imed that he had a good rtionship with the previous year leader and heard some news as a result. In the third monthly exam, which is the exam for determining the position of the ss leader, the academy would first determine the candidates for the year leader. If their exam performance was very poor, they would be eliminated from the list of candidates even if they served as ss monitor.


    In the subsequent monthly exams after that, other candidates would then be eliminated based on theprehensive evaluation. When there was only one candidate left, that person would then be the year leader.


    To put it simply, it was a filtering selection. The academy attached great importance to the selection of year leaders and the selection model was pretty fair too. It was the first time that Xiao Lin learned about that, and naturally appreciated Qin Chuan¡¯s goodwill.


    Xiao Lin had also guessed that Qin Chuan disyed kindness so willingly because he saw the former¡¯s performance in the battle earlier. Based on Qin Chuan¡¯s experience, it was probably easy for him to tell that Xiao Lin would have no problem bing the year leader.


    Later, Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming went to consult the architect who came with the warship and received a disappointing answer. They did not carry any siege equipment and even expressed surprise at Xiao Lin¡¯s inquiry, since the orcs¡¯ construction skills were very bad and the fortress was of poor quality. After that, the architects also contributed a batch of elementary agility special magic scrolls to them, since they could not help in other aspects even if they wanted to.


    ¡°Agility scroll? We¡¯re going to attack the hill. What¡¯s the use of this thing? Why don¡¯t they give us any fireball scrolls!¡± Cheng Mingined about it on the way back, but the people were nothing more than NPCs. In other words, they were merelyplementing the simted environment that had been set before.


    Xiaolin carried a big bag of scrolls and pondered before suddenly breaking out in a smile. He said, ¡°We¡¯ve been going about this the wrong way. We have to break out from our earthly mindset. We don¡¯t have any siegedders here. The fortress earlier wasn¡¯t actually that high, right?¡±


    Cheng Ming nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget what the Agility attribute gives us. Our attributes aren¡¯t limited to just one effect. In addition to movement speed and attack speed, agility can also affect flexibility, bnce, and so on. Anything ring a bell to you?¡±


    Cheng Ming was stunned. ¡°Do you want us to just scale it? The fortress is nearly ten meters high! ¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly my n. I¡¯ve just counted these scrolls and there aren¡¯t a lot of them. The total is only over a hundred points. The effects are to increase agility by five XP. Go back and try to find someone with a higher agility.¡±

 Chapter 223: The Hill Attack Begins

    <h4>Chapter 223: The Hill Attack Begins</h4>


    Preparatory work took almost an hour. During that period, Xiao Lin did not forget to instruct each ss to send some people to guard the main roads down the hill. It was to ensure that the enemy in the fortress would not be allowed to slip away that easily.


    He was still worried in spite of that and coordinated once more with the various ss monitors to gather students with rtively high Basic Archery skills. The task for them was very arduous¡ªthey were responsible for ensuring that no flying beast left the sky above the hill.


    There were a few people who voiced out on how Xiao Lin seemed to be preparing for a huge war, but Xiao Lin merely replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you puzzled? All signs indicate that the orc army ising, but thendfall itself was a sudden attack. How could the orc army know and respond so quickly when we were surrounded by water?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t manage to kill all the fleeing merfolk. They must have informed the orcs.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. Haven¡¯t you asked the captain of your respective warship before this? This supply depot is three days away from the nearest orc barracks. This estimate applies if the cavalry is moving at full speed. It would take much longer if they¡¯re journeying on foot. The merfolk are an amphibious race too and they can¡¯t stay onnd for too long. The most they can stand is one or two days, after which they¡¯d have to head back to the water.¡±


    It was not that Xiao Lin had more information, but in fact, it was because of the sudden change in topic by all their course¡¯s tutors and lecturers before the monthly exam. Xiao Lin found it a little strange at that point and made a point to remember it. For example, knowledge on merfolk was specifically mentioned in Professor Dai¡¯s history ss.


    In order to prevent everything from dragging along further, Xiao Lin conducted a simple discussion with the other monitors and instructors after Cheng Ming gathered a sufficient number of people. The decision was tounch an immediate attack.


    There was a total of more than a hundred people in the vanguard, including six acting monitors and nine instructors. ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s vision, that team was the elite and avoided unnecessary casualties. They quickly went to the fortress and opened the gate, allowing a steady stream of people to invade.


    Chen Dao was responsible for organizing remote fire suppression using spells and archery from the foot of the hill. Of course, he remembered Xiao Lin¡¯s order not to let anyone with Basic Archery below LV4 or Basic Perception below LV3 to get involved. There was no guarantee that those below that level could aim their spells or arrows at the enemy instead of their own people who were engaged in a melee.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s mission was simple but very important. She had to apply Elementary Speed Boost spells to everyone in the first wave of the charge. There were more than 100 people in total, which equated to more than 100 people she had to cast on.


    Even though it was only a low-level spell, the consumption of mental power was surely astonishing. Although there were several other people who knew how to cast that spell, their skill levels were too low and the eleration effect was only 10%.


    A 10% difference was still very obvious, and while Xiao Lin was still hesitating, Gu Xiaoyue made light of it and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    She immediately ignored Xiao Lin and waved her wand, applying the spell to everyone who was about to attack the hill. With her standard, the Elementary Speed Boost could bepleted in almost half a second without needing breaks or rests in between. The light green halo immediately shrouded the crowd, attracting the attention of many.


    Xiao Lin stared nkly, with three minutes already passed when he snapped back to his senses. Gu Xiaoyue had already returned by then, and she adjusted her spectacle frame before saying in her usual calm tone, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    The corners of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched a couple of times and he finally sighed, ¡°Alright then. You won¡¯t be participating in the long-range fire suppression during the hill attackter, so have a good rest for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Mind your own business!¡± Gu Xiaoyue was not used to Xiao Lin¡¯s demeanor.


    Xiao Lin said unhappily, ¡°Look at yourself in the mirror. It¡¯s as white as a piece of paper! Don¡¯t try to act tough. A hundred Elementary Speed Boost spells is hard to manage, even for you.¡±


    Xiao Lin forced the arrangements on his own initiative and also reasoned that he was themanding officer, and Gu Xiaolin was the group leader appointed by him. He was still uneasy when he left, so he shouted in Chen Dao¡¯s direction, ¡°Chen Dao! I won¡¯t spare you if Ie back and see Gu Xiaoyue in your team!¡±


    After speaking, Xiao Lin picked up the Holy Soul Sword in his right hand, and held the Peakfire Staff in his left. He rushed towards the hill inrge strides. The rest followed closely and the other monitors had a quick pace too. After three months of studying, their confidence was at an all-time high, especially after such a heaty battle on the beach with the merfolk. Most of them felt really good about themselves


    Chen Dao was left with an inexplicable expression on his face and he muttered to the person next to him, ¡°Why the hell is that guy so pissed?¡±


    Regardless of what Gu Xiaoyue thought, she had indeed won the envy and admiration of countless people earlier. Despite having been named the strongest mage in freshman year by everyone since her enrollment in the academy, seeing her in action was a true sight to behold. There were always people who remained skeptical and others who felt that they were better than her.


    Under normal circumstances, it was impossible topete with each other in the academy. The previous two monthly exams were also conducted in separate sses. On that asion however, Gu Xiaoyue casted more than 100 Elementary Speed Boost spells in one breath, which came as a shock to everyone. If that woman¡¯s mental strength could be likened to the sea, the mental strength of could be likened to streams at best.


    The charging team who enjoyed the eleration effect was also very grateful to Gu Xiaoyue, especially when they tore open the Elementary Agility special effect scroll. They discovered that the 20% eleration effect actually had an effect on the additional five agility points from the scroll.


    Xiao Lin was the one who enjoyed it most. He felt as light as a swallow if without activating the Miracle skill. The distance from the foot of the hill to the fortress was short, and things became tense when they entered within 50 meters. Sharp weapons were thrown like rain, including throwing axes, javelins, or spears, and asionally some arrows.


    In fact, the power of ordinary bows and arrows was not as powerful as these directly-thrown weapons. The throwers seemed to have considerate strength, as the weapons made a harsh screeching sound against the air. Before anyone could react, someone had screamed and fell. The person, despite wearing chain armor that had significant defensive ability, was pierced through the heart with a spear.


    One-hit kill!


    The charge¡¯s footwork halted slightly and everyone felt a chille up their backs. Xiao Lin¡¯s roar then came, ¡°Do you want to be a live target by standing there like idiots? We can¡¯t retreat now! Charge! We can only rush forward and hope to survive!¡±


    Chen Dao had been keeping close attention to the developments on the hill and did not hesitate to shoot a ming fireball. He majored in me spells and used a me ball to start the prelude to the attack.

 Chapter 224: During the Hill Attack

    <h4>Chapter 224: During the Hill Attack</h4>


    Strictly speaking, people like them could not be considered an army. Even after an initial three months of studying, all they learnt was how to master the fighting methods in Norma. In fact, they were still far from being a real army.


    Strict discipline and close cooperation were two aspects that eluded them, but theypletely suppressed the guarding forces on the hill in terms of momentum at least.


    Chen Dao showed ample zeal formand work, but when the real battle started, he focused more on his spellcasting. Gu Xiaoyue, for all herining, still rested obediently next to him. Without that woman robbing him of his limelight, the subsequent events could be regarded as Chen Dao¡¯s personal performance.


    After all, he was a spellcaster possessing abilities second only to Gu Xiaoyue. He had been obsessed with online games since he was a child, so he chose the same aggressive fire spells. Compared to his me balls, everyone else¡¯s were not even on the same level.


    Chen Dao had mastered the me Ball to its fullest. The burning ball of fire was dark red, had a higher temperature, and had a more urate flight trajectory. The violent explosion was much more intense when it struck the fortress, and objects vaguely resembling limbs were seen shooting into the sky.


    The others followed close behind and a couple of sparse spells followed one after another. The types of spells that a freshman would have mastered were very limited. Attack spells were also limited to Energy Bombs, Wind des, me Balls, and the like. Fortunately, their opponent seemed tock the necessary spell and were quickly suppressed after being crushed by those spells.


    Xiao Lin and the others took the opportunity to speed up the charge after some pressure was relieved off them. In fact, the thrown spears and axe threatened him very little. Although the thrower was strong, the trajectory of the throws was very simple. Those who died under the initial wave of attacks were really unlucky, but after some tricks, it was much more difficult to strike Xiao Lin again.


    At most, Xiao Lin had only previously led teams during online games and it was impossible for him to have the experience of leading a troop in real-life, but a person who has no knowledge must have somemon sense. If Xiao Lin was certain he would not be hit by the long-range weapons, then other monitors or instructors would basically have the same ability to ensure that they could reach the bottom of the fortress without any injury.


    Other people did not have such confidence though. Many people might not generally pay much attention to talented students, and it was only then that they had a realization of how big the gap actually was.


    Even though they managed to save a small amount of redemption points in the first two monthly exams, buying life potions alone was already a pinch, let alone ck Iron-rank or even Bronze-rank armor. Without the support of basic skills as well as defensive armor, they would either die or be maimed even with a mere scrape by a flying axe. In fact, dying like that was not so bad after all. Those who had half their arms sliced off could only writhe in pain on the floor. Screams could be heard even from the foot of the hill, sending everyone¡¯s emotions into a downward spiral.


    Those who were still charging had their own ssmates or friends, and deserting them at such a point in time was certainly out of the question. Even if Chen Dao had suppressed the attack with those magic spells, their mental strength was limited after all. If the enemy seized the advantage tounch another wave of attacks, the wounded who fell on the hillside would certainly die.


    Those people therefore began slowing down. They carried up the injured individuals and took them back to the safety zone at the foot of the hill. Though there was nothing wrong with their actions, they forgot that they were already halfway to the top of the hill. Their mission was to take control of the fortress within the shortest time possible so as to allow subsequent people to enter continuously, otherwise it would only end in greater casualties.


    Although Xiao Lin was at the forefront, he constantly paid attention to the situation behind him. The scene prompted him toment to himself. After all, none of them were soldiers and their drawbacks were finally revealed.


    Upon seeing that there was some chaos in the crowd and the speed of the charge was greatly slowed down, Cheng Ming and the other squad leaders were getting anxious. Regardless of how loudly they discouraged the others or how sternly they reprimanded them, the oue was not as they expected.


    It was futile to continue like that, and something had to be done.


    Xiao Lin stopped for a while and raised his head to nce at the towering fortress. The distance was getting very close. He took a deep breath and made the decision to activate his Miracle skill. It was less than an hour since he first activated it and there would be immense pressure on his body. However, it is not the time to be considering all that.


    On that asion, he converted all his attributes to agility, and along with the bonus effect of the Elementary Agility scroll, reached a total of 40 points. Most importantly, that attribute was also affected by the Elementary Speed Boost.


    If calcted as a whole, Xiao Lin¡¯s speed had reached a terrifying level. He no longer cared about anyone else behind him and rushed to the front at once. Cheng Ming could only feel the wind blowing in front of him and stared nkly at the Xiao Lin¡¯s rushing figure in front of him.


    Xiao Lin was silently calcting the distance as well, and when he was less than 20 meters away from the fortress, he raised the Peakfire Staff in his left hand and sent me bullets shooting out constantly. He did not change his attributes into intelligence, and the me bullets he shot out became slightly lower as a result. However, the burning bonus of the Peakfire Staff meant that the burn effect was quite amazing.


    Being burned was not a pleasant experience. If the enemy did not have enough fire resistance or a spell defense armor of the same level, the continuous burning sensation was much more ufortable than death.


    In fact, Xiao Lin was rather average in his casting speed since he did not transform his attributes to intelligence. Fortunately for him, the rapid casting of the me Bullet made up for it a little, but even so, it was difficult to form a real and effective threat to the enemies of the entire fortress.


    In any case, a real war was not dependent only on pure calction. The enemies that Chen Dao¡¯s me ball burnt to pieces had nowhere to avenge their grievances, but Xiao Lin was unlucky because the enemies he burnt would grit their teeth with the desire to vent their anger and tear him into pieces.


    To put it inyman¡¯s terms, Xiao Lin¡¯s lone army has sessfully incited the enemy¡¯s animosity. Nearby targets were always easier to hit than distant targets, thereby leading to a very odd incident.


    Enraged by Xiao Lin¡¯s contemptuous attitude, a dense wave of throwing axes and spears flew over the fortress again. Even though Chen Dao¡¯s huge me ball soon struck everything, the wave of attacks was almost entirely directed at Xiao Lin. Everyone looked over in shock and could not help but break into cold sweat for Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin did not expect to draw everyone¡¯s attacks toward him that easily, though it was actually his n all along to attract some attacks and create enough leeway for the rest.


    The problem was that the wave of attacks came too quick and too fiercely, almost to a point where it was overwhelming.

 Chapter 225: Holy Soul Summoning

    <h4>Chapter 225: Holy Soul Summoning</h4>


    Xiao Lin felt that he might have underestimated the enemy¡¯s IQ. Did he have to be targeted in such a manner after only a slight provocation?


    He had to execute the Phantom Step to the fullest, but it was also a very tiring endeavor because he needed to disy dozens of footworkbinations in the shortest amount of time.


    From the perspective of those bystanders, Xiao Lin was either creeping, advancing, retreating, or moving sideways, with each and every movement appearing as smooth as the flow of water. He did not pause at all because he would surely be struck if he stopped for even a brief second.


    Even so, many attacks were still difficult to dodge. After all, the Phantom Step is only the most basic level of body techniques. The dozen or so footworkbinations still had blind spots when facing an attack of such magnitude.


    Holy Soul Summoning!


    Xiao Lin finally used another skill that was attached to the Holy Soul Sword. The long sword contained the soul of a swordsman, and as long as enough blood stained the weapon, the dead soul within the sword could be activated.


    Xiao Lin had killed enough enemies during the earlier fierce battle on the beach. The blood on the de had not dried up yet and it was the perfect time to activate the skill.


    He felt the sword in his hand tremble violently. A low, soft whistle was let out, but was soon drowned in the sound of the howling air friction in the battlefield.


    Then, Xiao Lin saw a gaseous mist emanating from the sword. It underwent a rapid change in the air and soon condensed into apletely human appearance. It was a fully armed swordsman, and the heavy armor on his body looked very old, though the ¨¦p¨¦e in his hand glimmered with a cold light.


    Xiao Lin tried to get a clear view of that guy¡¯s face through the helmet, but was disappointed to find only a dark, unknown gas inside with two twitchy light green mes. He was very familiar with that kind of me, for the undead skeletons in The Final Land had the same me too. After the ordeal, he asked Song Jung and Lilith about the me and found out that it was called the soulme. It was just like Earth¡¯s will-o¡¯-the-wisp and was a typical characteristic of the undead.


    Xiao Lin could not help but purse his lips. Although it sounded holy because Lu Renjia named it the Holy Soul Sword, it was inly obvious that the summoned being was a dead soul. Dead Soul Sword might be more apt a name although it bore little resemnce to an ordinary skeleton soldier.


    Of course, he was only making a casual remark to himself. Although Norma abhorred undead creatures, many colonial academies treated the undead as nothing more than a more unique branch of the magic arts.


    Xiao Lin was originally worried about whether he couldmand that undead creature, since he had ample experience in The Final Land and knew quite a bit about the undead. The undead person¡¯s identity or profession became irrelevant after death, because all their consciousness and memory would not be retained once they became the undead.


    However, Lu Renjia was a rtively reliable person and would certainly not give a dangerous sword to Xiao Lin. When Xiao Lin hesitated, the undead swordsman also stood in a daze. Spear and axes rained on his body like and yet he still remained motionless. His tattered armor seemed old, but his defensive ability was surprisingly high.


    ¡®Help me defend against attacks.¡¯


    Xiao Lin tried giving out an instruction in his heart and soon saw the undead swordsman suddenly raising the heavy sword up high. Xiao Lin subconsciously stepped back a couple of steps to go into a defensive posture, but the next second, the swordsman¡¯s ¨¦p¨¦e had smashed down at the spear and axe in the sky.


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief and finally figured out the method to control the undead swordsman. It seemed that there would be no need to worry as long as the Holy Soul Sword was in his hand.


    The subsequent journey became easier with the undead swordsman¡¯s presence. Although its movements seemed a bit clumsy and many attacks could not be blocked, the big undead man was like a human-shaped shield blocking Xiao Lin from the front.


    The armor on the undead man¡¯s body was considered to have a high defensive ability, with no gaps in each segment. However, there was no mask on his helmet. Xiao Lin¡¯s worries soon manifested when he saw a spear being thrust right through the face of the undead swordsman some ten secondster.


    The swordsman simply took out the spear, threw it on the ground without making a sound, and continued forward seemingly unimpeded. That scene scared everyone a little, whether it was the monitors, instructors, other students, or enemies still on the fortress.


    The natives of Norma were not fearless. Even sturdy orcs with their aggressive nature had their own subjects of awe and fear. The undead was hated by the entire Norma, including the orcs, because the Normans considered the undead to represent bad luck and disaster.


    At that moment, Chen Dao¡¯s also felt that the long-range attack by the fortress had been suppressed to its limit, so much so that there was even a rtively long period where they gave in. Xiao Lin was not going to let such an opportunity go of course, so he sprinted at full speed, and finally reached the base of the fortress wall.


    This fortress looked rather strange, and as the architects who came with the ship mentioned earlier, the orcs¡¯ craftsmanship level was quite low. Of course, the merfolk had no idea how to build basic buildings either, so those half-fish humanoid creatures usually live in the open air or in the water. Therefore, only the orcs could have built the fortress.


    Orcs prefer not to have everything look exactly the same, and they were predisposed to some unique ideas even when building a fortress. However, such creativity would often be regarded as retarded back on Earth.


    For example, many decorations such as animal teeth and bones were inserted into the wall of the fortress, perhaps to show the unique beauty and courage of the orcs. Professor Dai also said that the warriors within the orcs¡¯ beastkin would disy bones of their animal prey as a sign of their glory.


    Xiao Lin finally understood why those architects suggested they just use the agility scroll to improve their climbing ability in order to scale the fortress. If they wanted to climb an ordinary wall using only their bare hands, it would be useless no matter how high their agility was, unless they had something like a floating spell. Sadly, such a spell was a high-level one that many were not yet able to master.


    The fortress wall was not like a normal wall. Animal teeth and animal bones iid there could be used as support points to scale it.


    Xiao Lin tried to grab the nearest tooth. It was about as thick as his thigh and seemed quite firm after he tried gripping it. Thus, he no longer hesitated to jump up after grabbing hold of the beast¡¯s tooth, after which he began climbing ording to the arrangement. His sense of bnce, jumping ability, and climbing skills had improved considerably thanks to the 40 agility points.


    The undead swordsman had no such agility and was weighed down by a full body of armor. Xiao Lin was worried that the swordsman would unwittingly crush the animal teeth, so in the end he gave instructions to the swordsman to stay at the gate of the fortress and wait quietly.

 Chapter 226: Orc Commander

    <h4>Chapter 226: Orc Commander</h4>


    Everyone else did not stand idly while Xiao Lin seeded in drawing all the enemy¡¯s attacks toward him. Cheng Ming was regarded as the temporarymanding officer of the assault team, and although he was an earnest person, he was far from a hesitant one. He immediately waved his hand and decisively ordered a dozen or so people to take care of the wounded individuals. The rest would then continue the charge with him.


    Xiao Lin nimbly climbed up the wall using the teeth and bones embedded within the wall. As the distance was getting closer, he could vaguely see the face of the fortress¡¯s chief defenders. They had reddish-brown skin and hideous faces, and true to his expectations, the orcs were defending the fortress. The weak bodies of the merfolk made it impossible to throw weapons with that kind of power.


    The fortress was only three stories high, and with Xiao Lin¡¯s agility, the orcs could not stop him even if they ignored Chen Dao¡¯s bombarding and attacked Xiao Lin with all their might. It took no time for Xiao Lin to easily climb to the top.


    The orcs on the city wall were ready. Xiao Lin saw several red-brown orcs roaring over as soon as he showed up. Unlike the merfolk, those orcs had very strong bodies. Even if Xiao Lin was well prepared and transformed all his attributes into strength when scaling the wall, he felt like he had hit a dead end when he faced the oing charge from the orcs. He staggered for a brief moment and was almost driven out once more.


    Xiao Lin did a backhand sh with his sword. The orc simultaneously raised the shield on its left arm to block the swing, but Xiao Lin simultaneously swung his staff and released several me bombs, all of which struck the orc¡¯s leg and turned its brown skin into a crimson color. The redness were traces left behind by burns, and the orc roared even louder. Instead of retreating however, it strode forward and tried to drive Xiao Lin out of the fortress.


    Xiao Lin gritted his teeth. The orcs were indeed braver and more ferocious than the merfolk. He nced around slightly and saw that there were not a lot of orcs, only about a dozen in total that were all infantry. There were no traces of a wolf cavalry trace, but within the fortress was arge number of mermen as their main defense. Soon, more and more beasts began to swarm in his direction, which was not a good sign at all.


    Xiao Lin was eager to extirpate himself from the situation. The Holy Soul Sword in his hand trembled slightly all of a sudden and he shed it forward once more. The orc subconsciously raised a shield to defend against it, but the sword did notnd on the shield. A wave of ripples appeared and the temperature of the air shot up instantaneously. It was already toote by the time the orc sensed that something was wrong. A spark exploded from the de and finally forced the orc back.


    It was me sword aura, an external sword aura directly released through directly rying with the fire element. It was the external sword aura that Xiao Lin had sessfully mastered shortly before the monthly exam, and it was finally used for the first time.


    The power of sword aura was exceptional and it was by no meansparable to ordinary swordsmanship. Even a rough-skinned orc with a simple leather armor on its body would be severely injured by the me sword aura. Its fur had been burntpletely, and its reddish-brown skin turned ck as it fell to the ground and convulsed in pain.


    A noticeable frustration was also present in Xiao Lin¡¯s spirit. His me sword aura was undoubtedly strong, but he was only at the beginner stage and the energy consumption was tremendous, especially when taking into ount how external sword aura expended both physical and mental power.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s predicament was not over just yet. The me sword aura was able to cause substantial damage to the orcs, but the orcs¡¯ fear of death wascking, which made them surge up quickly. At that point, Cheng Ming and the others were almost reaching the foot of the fortress and it would take some more time for them to climb up.


    Xiao Lin had managed to buy some time, but it was not enough. He had to make sure that he survived. He took a deep breath and judged the situation within a very short time. He wanted to retreat from the city wall and go down because his own task was consideredplete. Furthermore, it was difficult for him to deal with everything alone. The Phantom Steps still had their limits, and there were always going to be unavoidable attacks as well as blind spots.


    As he turned around however, his eyes caught sight of a detail within the fortress. It was an open training ground, and a heavily-armed orc was roaring in Orcish. His voice was loud, like thunder, and Xiao Lin could hear it even from the top of the fortress.


    That particr orc was uniquepared to the other orcs. Its body was stronger, its hair was longer, and its head was bigger. More importantly, it had a long string of exquisite-looking animal bones dangling from its chest.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin remembered Norma¡¯s history by recalling Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes in ss, so he knew that such an ornament was equivalent to honor, with the special animal bones on the string symbolizing just how much honor they had. In short, it was more or less a ranking system of the orcs. The higher their honor, the higher their status.


    Unsurprisingly, that orc was probably themanding officer of that fortress.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s hesitationsted for less than two seconds. He made a rough estimate of what little stamina he had. His heart skipped a beat and he immediately ditched his n to retreat from the fortress. There was still another chance left and that was using his Warbear Leather Armor, of which the effect was a total increase in fighting spirit. The physical strength expended through continuous fighting could be supplemented through it, but its effects were very limited since it was only a Bronze-rank equipment. As an example, the physical strength that could be supplemented depended on the intensity and time of the battle, and there was no way to make use of it a second time.


    Even so, such an effect could y an important role at critical junctures, making it quite worthy of its price of 2000 redemption points.


    After the fighting spirit¡¯s effect was activated, bathing Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body in a luminous red light. He felt his exhaustion disappear in an instant, and even his spirit was in a state of extreme excitement. He somehow understood the reason why Lu Renjia made that piece and it actually seemed simr to stimnts seen on Earth. At the same time however, he also understood that his physical strength and mental energy would decline rapidly after its effects wore off.


    Time was running out, and Xiao Lin once again converted all his attributes to agility. His Phantom Steps were activated once more, and the orcs could only see a blur in front of them. With the Miracle skill, the essence of the word ¡®phantom¡¯ was disyed in full view when the Phantom Steps were executed. The footworkbination allowed Xiao Lin to leave afterimages every time he made a quick move, and that was despite the huge amount of energy that would be consumed.


    Individuals who had reached a certain level would not be confused by such low-level afterimages, but unfortunately, the orcs were not that intelligent. Although it was only a brief moment of effort, Xiao Lin managed to break free from the swarm of orcs after exerting all his strength. Xiao Lin went straight down to the orcmander and managed to chop off several merfolk who were trying to rush to him.

 Chapter 227: A Fierce Battle with the Commander (1)

    <h4>Chapter 227: A Fierce Battle with the Commander (1)</h4>


    The orcmander shed a sullen smile when he noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions. Instead of backing down, he yelled loudly, prompting the merfolk to tremble and scatter from all around him. He removed arge battle axe from the weapon rack beside him and dragged it toward Xiao Lin. Sparks were then produced from the friction rubbing against the ground.


    The orcmander wanted a one-on-one duel!


    Xiao Lin was pleasantly surprised since he was actually rather worried about how to deal with the merfolk surrounding him. Even though there were just weak little fry, their presence inrge numbers would also be a headache.


    Now that the path between the two had beenpletely cleared, the other orcs seemed to put a lot of confidence in theirmander. Their attention was thus shifted to defense, because Xiao Lin had bought time for Cheng Ming to finally bring the others over the fortress wall.


    As soon as that thought came up, the orc lifted up his battle axe with both hands and hacked down. Xiao Lin was about 10 meters away from the orc, but when the battle axe struck, a fewrge cracks immediately appeared on the ground and began spreading in all directions. As soon as Xiao Lin felt the slight vibration from under his feet some 10 meters away, his first instinct was to use his high agility to leap up and retreat to the stairs.


    The orc grinned and elerated all of a sudden. Despite its robust body, it shot out at an unimaginable speed, just like a cannonball.


    Phantom Steps!


    Although Xiao Lin was shocked, his footwork did notg and he left an afterimage behind him. He had jumped down the stairs once more, but as soon as he settled, he noticed that his center of gravity was unstable and his body suffered from a very brief paralysis. When he looked up, the brown face of the orcmander was inching ever closer.


    Xiao Lin could easily guess what would happen if the orc got a hold of him. Thetter¡¯s power was absolutely terrifying and there was no way Xiao Lin could face it head-on!


    me Bullet!


    He converted all his attribute values into intelligence and fired the me bullet with all his strength. The orcmander¡¯s approach was hindered slightly, but not much damage was caused because the orc¡¯s defensive ability against magic was actually quite strong.


    Things were getting tricky!


    The Miracle skill finally faded after several consecutive uses. Self-created skills could not be used continuously, otherwise Xiao Lin would not have enough strength even under the influence of the Warbear Leather Armor¡¯s fighting spirit.


    Without the attribute conversion lent by his Miracle state, there were many risks in executing the Phantom Steps with his average strength. He immediately cast the Water Shield on himself, and even though its defensive effects were limited, it sufficed to reduce some pressure off the friction produced by the axe.


    After several head-on shes, Xiao Lin was clearly at a disadvantage. Although the sharpness of the Holy Soul Sword was neither the high-end nor the low-end of Bronze-rank weapons, the orc¡¯s battle axe had a long handle and possessed a rather wide attack range. The training ground was very small as well, with the axe covering nearly a quarter of the area whenever it was swung by the orc. Such a situation made it impossible to do anything.


    What scared Xiao Lin most was the move¡¯s ability to paralyze him. The orc used battle axes to deliver strong hacks on the ground every once in a while, and even though Xiao Lin paid special attention to keep some distance in advance, he would still be caught by the vibration. It was a short-lived paralysis and he could not move at all during that short period of time, so the orc took advantage of its own explosiveness and rushed over.


    Fortunately, Xiao Lin was also prepared. Whenever he was paralyzed, he would use me bullets to stop the orcmander from advancing. Although the effect was limited, the paralysis did notst long either and he could break away while the orc was getting closer. Even so, continuously putting himself at risk would eventuallynd him into trouble.


    The explosive power of that orc was too high and it waspletely out of proportion to his physique. For the first time ever, even the Phantom Steps weakness was finally exposed, and Xiao Lin could not guarantee that he could constantly avoid all attacks.


    A slight rubbing by the edge of the battle axe was almost as painful as getting sliced with a huge knife. After all, it was not a simted battle. There was no health bar to determine victory or defeat, and the slightest injury had a big impact on the battle. The Warbear Leather Armor was considered weak in terms of pure defensive capabilities, and it was difficult to defend effectively against an extremely powerful orc.


    After all, Xiao Lin¡¯s attribute values were down to normal in his normal state. Hurting his arm would affect the strength of his next swing, and hurting his thigh would affect the effect of Phantom Step.


    Such repeated actions maintained everything in a stalemate for about five minutes, after which the bnce of battle gradually began shifting toward the orc¡¯s favor. Even from the perspective of a bystander, Xiao Lin could be seen to be at the end of his battle.


    Cheng Ming was dealing with a frenzied siege of orcs and merfolk on the top of the city. He did not have Xiao Lin¡¯s agility nor did he have the Phantom Steps. He could not simply use his body technique to dodge attacks and avoid the besieged enemy, so he could not possibly help Xiao Lin even if he saw thetter¡¯s crisis.


    The undead swordsman Xiao Lin summoned with the Holy Soul Sword was also standing guard outside the city. The guy was unable to climb up. Xiao Lin could sense the guy¡¯s presence in his consciousness and tried moving toward the gate, hopefully to get a chance to open the door and let the undead swordsman in, but the orcmander was not stupid. Wave after wave of more urgent attacks left Xiao Lin without any room for a breather.


    Xiao Lin had one thing to rejoice about, and that was his bodily injuries bing less severe as time went on. Several rtively shallow wounds had actually stopped bleeding, Xiao Lin remembered when Song Jung gave him the dragon blood to drink. A certain automatic healing ability was gained after getting Elementary Vitality, and it was then that he could finally feel the powerful effects bestowed by it.


    Even the orcmander could not control himself from showing a hint of surprise. He was actually more anxious than Xiao Lin, because the fortress was about to be breached. The longer he dragged on there, the worse the situation would be.


    Xiao Lin racked his brains to think about whether any skill that he mastered could turn the situation around. Unfortunately, there were none. The Miracle skill could not be activated again in the near future, while shing waspletely inappropriate for such intense battles. Furthermore, after using me sword aura several times in a row when paving the way before, he was afraid to use it on a whim after noticing how much physical energy was used up.


    There was still Replication, but that was his trump card. If he could copy the orc¡¯s paralysis skills, there might be a chance he could change the situation.


    Xiao Lin hesitated a little. He raised his head and nced at the top of the city. More and more people wereing up, and there was a steady stream of screams from the fortress. In addition to the first team brought by Cheng Ming, the follow-up team finally began to attack.


    Winning was all but certain as long as time dragged on. Xiao Lin did not think that the monitors would lose if they all attacked the orcmander at the same time.

 Chapter 228: A Fierce Battle with the Commander (2)

    <h4>Chapter 228: A Fierce Battle with the Commander (2)</h4>


    Although Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius skill has been upgraded, the interval between Replication was still five days long. Xiao Lin did not want to waste that opportunity on a whim, so he made up his mind to rely on Elementary Vitality and the Phantom Steps to hold himself during the fight. When reinforcements arrived, the orcmander would be easy to deal with.


    There was nothing wrong with Xiao Lin¡¯s n, except that ns often fail to keep up with the changes. The orcmander, who was eager to get the battle over and done as soon as possible, suddenly let out a more violent roar. His muscles expanded rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye and he became stronger than before. The simple armor draped on his body was hardly able to withstand it.


    The orc tore down his armor with one hand and tossed it aside, revealing strong brown muscles. He spoke something, but Xiao Lin did not understand what was said because he did not know Orcish.


    Xiao Lin had a bad feeling andmented theck of information provided. After knowing that the opponent was an orc, few people had actually thought of getting aprehensive understanding of that race. In addition to their living habits and historical information, their favored weapons, equipment, and skills should also be included.


    Sure enough, the next battle became more difficult. The orc¡¯s explosive power increased along with its swelled body. Even Cheng Ming, who had been paying attention from the city wall, became anxious.


    The orc¡¯s heavy and huge battle axe was originally held with both hands, but he waster able to swing it with one hand. There had actually been a marked increase in strength rather than decrease.


    After knocking Xiao Lin down to the ground once more, the orc grinned and did not rush up immediately. Instead, he walked to the weapon rack next to him and took another battle axe of the same weight.


    Xiao Lin struggled to get up from the ground. He coughed repeatedly and found that his coughs were already stained with blood. A brief moment of inattentiveness allowed the orc to strike at the blind spot of Xiao Lin¡¯s Phantom Steps, but fortunately, the orc had struck too hard and there was no way the battle axe could be recovered immediately. As a result, the attack on Xiao Lin was only a punch, or else he would have died if the axe had struck him.


    By then however, the orcmander had switched to wielding two battle axes. Xiao Lin no longer had the strength to let out a wry smile. The fighting spirit provided by the Warbear Leather Armor was draining constantly due to the continuous use of the Phantom Step, and Xiao Lin soon found himself in severe exhaustion once more.


    It was far from a good sign. The physical stamina provided by the fighting spirit was almost equivalent to an overdraft. Once the overdrawn stamina is exhausted again, his body would fall into a weakened state and he might not be able to continue fighting for long.


    ¡°Damn it, Cheng Ming! Can¡¯t you deal with those guards quicker!¡± Xiao Lin yelled angrily. He felt that he had underestimated the power of the orcs. Inparison, the merfolk were not even worthy of putting their shoes on for them.


    Cheng Ming could not voice his suffering too, because nearly half of the orcs surrounded him after noticing his strength. Meanwhile, the other orcs were basically attacking several monitors or instructors.


    Orcs were not as mindless a race as merfolk, especially in terms of fighting instincts. To put it more bluntly, Xiao Lin and the group of improvised teams were not necessarily better than the well-trained orc infantry.


    There were not many orcs in the fortress, but they were smart enough to lure the stronger individuals who attacked the city while ordering the merfolk to drive away other students. Although there were more than 100 people who had climbed to the fortress, the fight had once again entered into a stalemate. Those who had their hands full really had no way to support Xiao Lin.


    With two battle axes being wielded as well as a sudden increase in power, the orcmander¡¯s attack range was wider, covering almost half of the training ground. The Phantom Step needed a certain amount of space to move in order to avoid attacks, but when he could finally utilize the space after a continuous amount of pressure, the Phantom Steps¡¯ deficiencies were exposed time and again.


    In fact, it had been very difficult for Xiao Lin to hold on until then. Basic Swordsmanship MAX, Elementary Vitality, Phantom Steps, as well as various extremely practical skills or equipment, had all contributed tremendously, as did the Warbear Leather Armor.


    Unbeknownst to him however, the orc in front of him was actually a sign of respect toward Xiao Lin, for thetter was able to make him use such a level of power. The sentence that Xiao Lin could not understand earlier was not a sarcastic remark from the orc, but rather, an expression of admiration for Xiao Lin¡¯s power.


    Orcs show respect toward the strong, and rtively speaking, they would also use a much stronger power to defeat a really strong opponent and take pride in victory over such an enemy.


    The battle on the front of the city was equally fierce, but from time to time, everyone took note of the head-on sh on the fort¡¯s training ground. They experienced the orcs¡¯ tenacity, and dozens of people have fallen, but the battle would undoubtedly be easier if Xiao Lin could defeat themanding officer.


    Xiao Lin, who was forced into all that suffering, decided that Replication was the only skill he could use, though he was unsure whether using it would even change the unfavorable situation.


    Before Xiao Lin could have the opportunity to use it, he was struck by two battle axes again. On that asion however, the Goddess of Luck had deserted him. Even though he was only hit by the back of the axe, the violent strength threw him into the air, and the orcmander followed suit to deliver a ruthless sh.


    Boom!


    When Xiao Lin fell back to the ground, hended on the hard training ground and left a big hole. Sttered blood instantly filled it, and no one knew how many scars were left by the battle axe exactly. Xiao Lin subconsciously wanted to cover the wound with the palm of his hand, but found that it was useless. Arge stream of blood was still gushing out, staining the Warbear Leather Armor into blood leather armor.


    Xiao Lin felt his consciousness slowly fade away and his entire body was getting colder.


    That was probably how death felt like. 10 years of his life were gone just like that. It was such a shame. He did not expect to die there during the third monthly exam, and he did not know whether he could be a monitor in the end.


    That was his sole thought before his consciousness became fuzzy. It soon ceasedpletely, and his whole body did not move at all. The orcmander exhaled, dragged two battle axes, and started walking up the tower.


    After watching Xiao Lin fall in a pool of blood, Cheng Ming let out a roar and mmed the ¨¦p¨¦e into the orc in front of him. He could care less about the siege and was prepared to head straight for the orcmander.


    ¡°Cheng Ming! Don¡¯t act rashly! Xiao Lin is dead! The orc¡¯s power is beyond what we imagined. The first thing we should do is retreat!¡± A ponytailed girl next to Cheng Ming immediately pulled his clothes. She was also a monitor, and her face was full of shock after seeing the dreadful battle on the training ground.

 Chapter 229: Resurrection?

    <h4>Chapter 229: Resurrection?</h4>


    Even if those monitors were anxious to see Xiao Lin, they had to admit that their results would have paled inparison to him if they were the ones fighting the orcmander.


    The previousndfall battle might have increased their confidence, but it was starting to shatter a little after facing the orcs¡¯ strength. Although they were not afraid, they realized that their rash siege was somewhat reckless, and at the very least, they did not feel entirely prepared for it.


    At that time, Xiao Lin¡ªwho had been stalling the orcmander¡ªhad been defeated. They all had a sudden realization and came to a very pessimistic conclusion: the hundred or so people that arrived could not possibly subdue the orcmander effectively. One wrong move and they might even be destroyed right there, and that was definitely not the conclusion they were looking to get.


    Several monitors exchanged nces with each other for a while, and that woman¡¯s final suggestion to retreat immediately received the approval of several other people. However, Cheng Ming¡¯s poprity made him the temporarymanding officer of the assault team, and everyone ended up shifting their gazes toward him.


    ¡°NO!¡± Cheng Ming was helpless and angry. He was an earnest person who most certainly would not decide to abandon his teammates on the battlefield, especially when hisrade had been killed right in front of his own eyes. Despite knowing that a death in the exam only deducted 10 years out of a person¡¯s life span, he still could not help but me himself for it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! You can¡¯t beat him! You¡¯ve seen how strong that orc is. His explosive power is too high and he surpasses us in both speed and strength!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been beaten! I think we should call Chen Dao and Gu Xiaoyue over next time. Spell attacks are probably the only attacks that can have an effect on the orc.¡±


    Although Cheng Ming¡¯s stubbornness gave them the urge to roll their eyes, none of the others turned around and ran away after remembering how they all got along those few days. At the sight of the orcmander¡¯s impending approach however, they persuaded Cheng Ming more and more as they became more anxious. Once the orc reached them, they might not stand a chance to run even if they wanted to.


    Cheng Ming could naturally tell that the situation was not in his favor. It was very likely that all of them would die there, and even though the monthly exam was a joint battle consisting of all 12 sses, the total number of students was actually less than 800. If the main force of a hundred people, including the few acting monitors and instructors, were lost, there was practically no need to continue with the exam and they might as well just give up altogether.


    Cheng Ming took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, ¡°You guys retreat. I¡¯ll cover for you!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°F*ck! What are you thinking, man!¡±


    Cheng Ming sighed. ¡°I have to bring Xiao Lin¡¯s body back at least. I won¡¯t be at ease if I don¡¯t.¡±


    It was unknown whether the orcs had the habit of torturing the corpses of their enemies, but if they did, the impact it would leave on the freshmen were undoubtedly very severe, almost to the point of affecting their morale. The image of a decapitated head raised high like a g immediately popped up in a few of their minds, and they quickly shook their head to rid themselves of the fear-inducing thoughts.


    Nevertheless, that thought only served to strengthen Cheng Ming¡¯s determination. He might be easy to talk to in general, but when it came to what mattered most, he was a rigid adherent to his own principles. That was why everyone was forced to ept it even though they criticized Cheng Ming¡¯s actions.


    ¡°Quit your nonsense! You won¡¯t make it if you don¡¯t leave now. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t fight the orc head-on, but I¡¯ll do what Xiao Lin did. I¡¯ll maintain high mobility at all times to avoid the attacks and contain the opponent, then¡ª¡±


    Cheng Ming was not going to walk right to his death. He conjured up a n in an instant, despite being unsure whether he could use his agility value to dodge as seamlessly as Xiao Lin¡¯s movements earlier. He had only managed to finish half his sentence, for his eyes opened wide and he swallowed the second half of his sentence abruptly.


    Down at the fortress¡¯ training ground, Xiao Lin¡ªwho had fallen in a pool of blood and pronounced dead by everyone else¡ªwas slowly getting up. He then began taking small steps toward the orcmander.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± The ponytail woman beside Cheng Ming eximed, with her face as pale as a ghost.


    ¡°Thank goodness Xiao Lin isn¡¯t dead!¡± Cheng Ming was ted.


    ¡°Impossible! It¡¯s life-threatening for any person to lose more than thirty percent of the body¡¯s blood, and a transfusion must be done as soon as possible. They would basically die if fifty percent is lost. Just look at the blood on the ground. No matter how you look at it, he¡¯s lost at least half his body¡¯s blood. He can¡¯t possibly be alive! This has no scientific basis!¡± The ponytail woman probably studied medicine on Earth and made a professional assessment of the situation to prove that she was not just spouting nonsense.


    Those who did not understand medicine simply rolled their eyes. Although they were a little surprised by Xiao Lin¡¯s resurrection, it was pure nonsense to bring up the logic of Earth¡¯s sciences on Norma.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Come here, we¡¯re going to retreat first!¡± Cheng Ming immediately called out to him. From what they knew, the orcs did not understand Chinese, so there was no need to worry about them being able to understand what he said.


    However, Cheng Ming¡¯s energetic shout received no response. Xiao Lin kept his head down after standing up. His bloodstained hair was tousled, and only half of the Warbear Leather Armor was left on his body. The rest had been destroyed by the orcmander¡¯s battle axe earlier.


    The orcmander also noticed the unusual incident happening behind him. Standing halfway through the stairs, he was silent for a long time as he looked at Xiao Lin walking quietly and slowly toward him. He smirked, dragged his battle axe again, and walked back. Those warlike eyes seemed to say, ¡®Doesn¡¯t matter if you can stand up. I¡¯ll still make you fall again, and this time I¡¯ll make sure you definitely never get up again!¡¯


    ¡°Something seems to be wrong with Xiao Lin,¡± the ponytail woman whispered.


    Cheng Ming frowned and noticed it too. Xiao Lin¡¯s non-response was not that big of a deal, but at that moment, he was exuding a very strange aura. It was hard to describe that feeling, but they all felt a little depressed and stifled, but Xiao Lin felt a little surprised.


    Xiao Lin could not possibly be able to influence other people¡¯s feelings like that. It must have been an illusion because he was too tired.


    Cheng Ming did not know that everyone in the city had a slightly odd look in their faces. In fact, most of them felt that feeling.


    In fact, it was not the students who were feeling that way. Their opponents, that is, the orcs and merfolk, also seemed to stagger and show an rmed look. They seemed to put their guard up, but whatever the case may be, the subject of their wariness was certainly the freshmen who were on the verge of being driven out of the fortress.


    Dawn Academy, Logistics Department.


    Song Jung was engrossed in jotting down his test records when he suddenly remembered something. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling, with a rare expression of worry appearing on his face. He muttered to himself, ¡°The monthly exam has probably started. I¡¯m sure that guy¡¯ll be fine. Speaking of which, it won¡¯t be that easy for him. I¡¯m surprised he was able to suppress the side effects of the dragon blood¡¯s gene until the start of the monthly exam. Looks like I¡¯d have to study his genes a little after he returns.¡±

 Chapter 230: Pressure

    <h4>Chapter 230: Pressure</h4>


    Song Jung dwelled on it for some time, but after so many experiments, he was actually quite confident in Xiao Lin¡¯s tenacious vitality. After thinking about it for a while, he put those brief troubles behind him and continued recording his data.


    ...


    At that moment, Xiao Lin was in a very strange state. His consciousness was still very fuzzy and he was unable to distinguish his own consciousness clearly. Nevertheless, one thought continued to linger in his mind, and that was to defeat the enemy in front of him at all costs.


    With this extremely strong impulse, his body began to rely on instinct as it walked over slowly, with everyone looking at him in bewilderment. Xiao Lin walked very slowly and almost staggered even. His Warbear Leather Armor had beenpletely scrapped, but he left his Holy Soul Sword and Peakfire Staff aside even though they werepletely fine. The wounds on his exposed abdomen were still clearly visible, but the bleeding had stopped and the wounds healed quickly at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    The orcmander jumped down directly from the stairs. He attacked with both battle axes, but there was only a blue in front of him. Xiao Lin¡¯s figure had disappeared from his sight and reappeared again close to the orc. There, he made a fist with his right hand andunched it right at the orc¡¯s stomach.


    The orc had a contemptuous smile. He admired the human¡¯s agility and ability to avoid his attacks, but the human was only human after all. Strength alone was not enough for them to beat the tough orcs, not to mention that the punch looked weak. With years ofbat experience under his belt, he made no effort to evade that punch.


    Thump!


    Themanding officer¡¯s contemptuous smile instantly froze and his entire body was sent flying like a cannonball. He mmed into the wall behind him and the debris fell in session. The dusty orc then fell onto the ground with a face full of shock.


    Roar!


    The orc felt much ashamed by it. He roared at the sky and instantly jumped up from the ground, which began shaking after he quickened his pace. His split-second explosive sprinting power was terrifying and had reached its fullest under his angered state. As long as he was in that state, he firmly believed that it was impossible for the human to escape.


    Boom!


    Themanding officer mmed into the city wall again. The high sprint speed made him unable to change his direction at thest minute. All Xiao Lin had to do was dodge in advance and let the orc¡¯s attack strike thin air. The orc staggered back a few steps and its gray face was ovee with shock.


    Cheng Ming and the others were also taken aback. They could all see from the previous battles that the orc¡¯s strength was higher than that of Xiao Lin, yet Xiao Lin was only using his own body technique to constantly evade the attack instead of changing the unfavorable situation. What was going on? Xiao Lin had actually started to crush the orcmander after standing up again.


    ¡°Damn! Is that guy a Saiyan? His strength is stronger after resurrection!¡± There were many people who paid attention to Xiao Lin¡¯s battle with the orcmander. They were originally prepared to retreat, but the situation in front of them seemed oddly strange and they hesitated again. If Xiao Lin could really kill themanding officer, they would naturally be able to seize the fortress in one go, but if Xiao Lin failed again, they would all have to retreat.


    ¡°You¡¯ve watched too much anime! What do you think we¡¯re in, right now? Stop joking!¡± the ponytail woman replied irritably.


    Cheng Ming looked uncertain and remarked strangely, ¡°Do you really think Xiao Lin¡¯s strength has improved?¡±


    ¡°Definitely. Both in speed and explosive power!¡±


    ¡°I know, but the increase is not as big as we thought, at least not to the point of crushing the orcmander.¡± Cheng Ming analyzed carefully. He had a more intuitive understanding of Xiao Lin¡¯s strength, perhaps because he and Xiao Lin had practiced swordsmanship together before as well as battling in the simted battle.


    ¡°I¡¯ve fought with Xiao Lin. I know his strength very well. His sword skills are really good and I admire him greatly too, but don¡¯t forget, he doesn¡¯t have a sword right now!¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s reminder finally jolted the other people. The Holy Soul Sword had been tossed aside and Xiao Lin never even picked it up. The improvement of Basic Swordsmanship might increase his own strength attributes, but a swordsman¡¯s strength was vastly different with and without their sword.


    That Xiao Lin was able to suppress the orcs with pure strength was an unfathomable thought.


    The battle continued and Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks looked very simple. The skills he mastered¡ªthat is, Basic Swordsmanship, Phantom Step, or me Sword Aura, were not disyed at all. He simply delivered punch after punch to the orcs, but what surprised everyone was how effective those punches were.


    The previous explosive speed and power of the orcmander suddenly became useless in front of Xiao Lin and could only be ughtered like a sandbag.


    ¡°No. This isn¡¯t right. Xiao Lin¡¯s strength didn¡¯t increase, but the orc¡¯s strength has decreased!¡± someone suddenly whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it, the battle seems to be easier than before, and I¡¯m talking about us!¡±


    After what he said, everyone who was still in the melee also noticed that the merfolk and orc infantry which they fought against had decreased in speed and strength, albeit very inconspicuously. In fact, the students were under the same influence as well, as if there was the constant feeling of being held back. The strange suppressed feeling from earlier continued to cloud their hearts, but it seemed to have greater influence over their opponents.


    It made sense. The overall state of the orcmander must have been affected. It was not that Xiao Lin had be stronger, but that his opponent had be weaker.


    Cheng Ming could not figure out why everyone¡¯s strength suddenly received some kind of restriction and was slightly reduced, while Xiao Lin seemed to be the only one that was not affected. Could the source of that pressure be caused by Xiao Lin?


    That assumption was too far-fetched. Cheng Ming ced a lot of trust in Xiao Lin, but even he did not think that any of the freshmen had the ability to master such crazy skills.


    In any case, the battle has indeed be much easier, and the stalemate was gradually being broken.


    After a few minutes, the swollen muscles on the orc¡¯s body were gradually reverting back. Although it was unknown what skill he used, such a state clearly did notst long. Themanding officer¡¯s strength decreased further to its original state, and although he was still strong, his intimidating might had all but disappeared.


    The scars on Xiao Lin¡¯s body werepletely gone. In fact, the only reason why the orc was able to inflict injury on Xiao Lin was because those two battle axes had an extremely wide attack range, thus making it difficult to avoidpletely.

 Chapter 231: Defeating the Orc Commander

    <h4>Chapter 231: Defeating the Orc Commander</h4>


    The orcmander¡¯s strength was clearly affected. Other people might find it difficult to discern the tiny details, but the injuries on Xiao Lin¡¯s body were reflected objectively. He would still be injured if he was struck by the two battle axes again, but it was no longer as deadly as it originally was.


    So long as the wounds were not fatal, a burst of steaming heat immediately rose from those wounds, healing them at an unimaginable speed during which no blood was shed at all.


    When the swelling of the orcs¡¯ muscles ended, the stalemate was quickly broken. The battle subsequently had a direct impact on the morale of the other orc infantry as well as the merfolk.


    Those monitors were not idiots. At this juncture, they resoundingly gave up their ns to retreat and told their own team to elerate the pace of the attacks. When united, they were the main force that could eliminate dozens within the orc infantry. Their strength was about the same with the infantry, and since the opponent¡¯s state and morale had suffered a tremendous blow, they were no longer an equal match for the students.


    The merfolk were gradually driven out from the city. By then, the freshmen had finally seeded in upying a foothold on the fortress. Later, everyone stood guard in the city under Cheng Ming¡¯smand, while a small group was tasked to open the fortress gate immediately.


    On seeing that, the other students who were still on the way up no longer made any evasive movements. Long-range weapons were no longer thrown, and even the eager Chen Dao could not wait to join the charge.


    Victory was close at hand. Regardless of what mood everyone had in the beginning of thendfall battle, everyone had already begun to look forward to the victory that was within reach. The capture of the fortress meant that the first task waspleted, and everyone would be credited with redemption points.


    After Cheng Ming made the necessary arrangements, he immediately rushed to the training ground in the middle of the fort with several other monitors and instructors. They nned to attack with Xiao Lin and deal with the orcmander swiftly.


    The orcmander was already a spent force with Xiao Lin¡¯s uninterrupted attacks. His bare brown skin had purple blotches all over but he was still standing. Xiao Lin¡¯s offensive quality was still rather low considering how he was only depending on the power of his fists. It was still considered weak against an orc that was suffering a state of decline.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, we¡¯ll help you!¡± Cheng Ming had arrived quickly, took out his ¨¦p¨¦e and stood by the aisle, directly blocking the orc¡¯s retreat. Killing an orcmander right then and there was no doubt a great encouragement to the freshmen¡¯s morale, so it went without saying that no one intended to let such an opportunity pass.


    However, Xiao Lin still did not give any response. The ponytail woman could not help but shout, ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be deaf. Hurry up and lead this orc to our side so we can all surround it!¡±


    A low roar was heard, but it actually came from Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth. His head had been hanging low throughout the entire time, but he finally raised it to reveal his dull but bloodshot eyes. His gaze was that of pure and unadulterated killing intent.


    Xiao Linpletely ignored the words of the ponytail woman and Cheng Ming, then rushed up again to deliver a punch. The action angered the orc, who threw away the two battle axes and sent a fist flying at Xiao Lin too. His clenched iron fists were nearly four times bigger than Xiao Lin¡¯s, and it was a pureparison of strength.


    Boxing sounds could be seen one after another, and Xiao Lin was obviously at a disadvantage. After all, his body was flesh, rather than the iron-hard muscles of the orc. After repeated punches, there were signs that his skin was going to be mangled.


    Cheng Ming brandished his sword quickly and went up to help, but barely a few stepster, he suddenly stopped and leaned his body to the side by instinct. The next moment, Xiao Lin¡¯s fist swiped across his eyes. The punch was actually done terribly, perhaps reckless even, but the strong air wave produced by the fist left Cheng Ming¡¯s heart in shock.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Have you lost your mind! How could you attack us like that!¡± The ponytail woman, who had probably never looked kindly upon Xiao Lin to begin with, immediately yelled angrily.


    ¡°Let¡¯s back away. I have a feeling that Xiao Lin is acting really weird!¡± a bespectacled instructor cautiously suggested.


    Cheng Ming tried to call Xiao Lin a couple of times, but thetter still did not give any response. In desperation, he had to step back for the time being andment, ¡°There¡¯ll be no end to this battle if this goes on!¡±


    Indeed, despite Xiao Lin¡¯s overwhelming advantage in the situation, hisck of fist strength was a major w. Even though he had an outstanding healing ability that enabled him to quickly recover every time his skin was broken, the fact remained that he was unable to deliver the final fatal blow to the orcmander.


    Even the orc was tired and showed a trace of fatigue. He was appalled to see that the human before him could still maintain such a frenzied attacking rhythm.


    That the physical fitness of humans could actually surpass the orcs was humiliation of the highest order. He could not ept that oue, and anger as well as anxiety finally made him lose his mind. The spectating Cheng Ming was even more worried because of that. The orcs were a very violent race to begin with, and although they usually maintained sufficientmonsense and IQ, provocation would make them no different from beasts. More urately, they were fiercer than the fiercest of beasts!


    The mentally drained orc had even torn off the beast tooth ornament that symbolizes honor on his chest, because it would only hinder him in battle. His offensive weapons were no longer limited to his own hands, for he headbutted and even directly bit down using his sharp teeth.


    The orc had only the most basic of fighting instincts left in his mind. Since the opponent was able to heal their wounds quickly, he would simply bite on the wound to see how fast the recovery was.


    Such an opportunity to bite was not difficult to find. When two opposing fists collided the next moment, the orc suddenly turned his fist into a palm, grabbed Xiao Lin¡¯s arm tightly, then roared and bit down severely on Xiao Lin¡¯s neck.


    The intense pain made Xiao Lin let out a low roar, despite having lost all sense of himself. He then hit the orc with his fists like a flurry of raindrops, but the orc¡¯s tenaciousness was definitely not just for show. No matter how Xiao Lin punched and kicked, the orc simply refused to let go and even kept chewing down.


    The n proved sessful. After Xiao Lin¡¯s flesh and blood was trapped by the beast-like teeth, the wound was unable to heal anymore. Arge stream of blood trickled down his jaw and the orc even began to suck hard.


    Cheng Ming was so shocked that he no longer cared about the possibility of being attacked by Xiao Lin. He immediately raised his sword and rushed up again to try and save Xiao Lin, but midway through his run, he saw the orcmander¡¯s bite loosen all of a sudden before falling to the ground. The orc began twitching violently, and his distorted face suggested that he was enduring some great pain.


    That pain did notst long though. Before Cheng Ming and the others could snap back to their senses, the orcmander had breathed hisst breath and fell lifelessly onto the ground.

 Chapter 232: Taking Inventory

    <h4>Chapter 232: Taking Inventory</h4>


    Everyone could only stare in shock and awe, having seen the entire battle with their own eyes. The orcmander¡¯s strength surprised everyone, but the end result was even more shocking. There was no indication that the orc had died, so even Cheng Ming did not dare drop his guard.


    It was only after several minutes did Xiao Lin copse to the ground, causing Cheng Ming to rush over with a cry. He frantically checked on Xiao Lin, and realized Xiao Lin had only fainted before breathing a sigh of relief.


    The other monitors and instructor went to inspect the orc¡¯s body, even stabbing it a few times for good measure. They started to fist bump each other in celebration once they verified the orc was well and truly dead. They casually asked about Xiao Lin¡¯s condition, but most of them did not care after learning that he was not dead, turning around to lead the other students into the fortress.


    The battle thatsted less than an hour was finally at an end, but that was just the beginning. There was still a lot to do to clean up the aftermath of the battle. First of all, they had to treat the wounded. Before the examination, a lot of the students considered the possibility they would be injured and spent their points on recovery potions, but most of their points were limited, so the majority only had one or two bottles and were unwilling to use them unless the need was absolute.


    After that, they had to deal with the prisoners. The majority of the prisoners were merfolk, since there were not that many orcs guarding the fortress in the first ce, and most of them retreated the moment theirmander was killed.


    The problem with all the sses working together was also shown. With so many monitors and instructors with their own opinions not willing to give in, they ended up deciding on a voting system for their decisions. With Xiao Lin still unconscious, 11 monitors and 12 instructors cast their votes.


    The results were not that surprising with 19 votes in favor of killing the prisoners. The reasoning was simple: they were about to engage in even more intense battles to defend the fortress, so they definitely did not have the resources to keep watch of the prisoners.


    They were nning on interrogating the prisoners before dealing with them for information about the orc army, since they werepletely empty handed in that department at that point, but unfortunately no one had really learned enough Mermish to do so, even though they did have some sses about it before the examination.


    There were no big issues with handling the prisoners, but everyone agreed that adopting the voting approach would be the best way moving forward. Considering that there would be a lot more problems everyone needed to discuss in the future, they decided on establishing a temporarymand structure for their alliance, to which everyone agreed. However, the voting rights would be kept to the monitors, since the instructors were still lower ranked than the monitors.


    At that time, someone remembered Xiao Lin. They asked Qin Chuan about his condition. Qin Chuan could only sigh at the question; he was still an instructor in the end, so he could not interfere with a lot of things.


    It had already been two hours after the battle, but Xiao Lin still showed no signs of waking up. The strange thing was, Xiao Lin did not have any wounds, looking even healthier than most of the wounded. Qin Chuan temporarily tookmand of ss Seven, but he maintained a low profile, allowing the two group leaders, Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue, to make most of the decisions.


    The temporary headquarters did quite a lot for the messy alliance of sses, and the first order of business was fortifying and strengthening the fortress.


    Attacking the fortress had not been too hard, even if they almost failed in the middle. The fortress had been a lot easier to take over than they had thought. However, that also meant that they would have a harder time defending it.


    The decorations on the walls definitely needed to be removed, and the walls needed to be fortified and heightened. Someone also suggested building more defensive structures outside of the fortress, such as archer towers and trenches. Remembering the wolf cavalry, they also agreed that some form of defense against mounts would be needed.


    There were way too many suggestions, and everyone started to vote on each matter after some discussion. Archer towers and mount defenses were approved quickly, but the other issues were faced with intense debate and did not get approved.


    The opposition actually came from the NPCs, which were the engineers that came with them on the ships. Their primary task was constructing a resurrection tower so they could help the students build some defenses, but expanding and fortifying the fortress was a time- and resource-consuming task, both of which they did not have enough of.


    The other point of discussion was how they would handle the supplies. This fortress was a supply depot established by the orcs, and thergest one, based on reports. The first thing they did after taking over the fortress was to open up the warehouses to take inventory.


    It took quite some time to properly note down inventory. They had started the day at dawn, but it took until noon for the inventory to take full stock. Every monitor got a list of the items, and none of them could help but have excited looks.


    As expected of thergest supply depot, the supplies they had were shocking. Other than massive amounts of food, there were also arge amount of weapons and equipment. It was all prepared for the orc army fighting Dawn City on the frontlines, sopared to what the students were currently wearing, they were a lot better in quality.


    Everyone¡¯s mouths practically watered as they took stock, so the acting monitors did not feel safe. In the end, they decided to ce guards at the various warehouses, certain that some students would try their luck in attempting to steal some things.


    Those supplies were their main objective; they absolutely could not allow the supplies to fall to the orcs again. They would definitely need to use the supplies to defend the fortresster, and they would even destroy the supplies they could not use if needed.


    Other than equipment, they even found arge amount of potions deeper inside. Even though the orcscked magicians, there were still some within their race that could use magic, which they called witch doctors or shamans. They could use elemental magic, and could also produce various potions.


    They would obviously not hesitate to use these potions, but now came the awkward question. How would the twelve sses distribute these weapons and potions?

 Chapter 233: Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 233: Awakening</h4>


    The fortress was not too big, since the orcs probably built it in a rush¨Cas evident from the state of the newly established buildings, but it was more than big enough for over 700 students.


    Not a single ss was willing to give in when it came to the supplies, so they obviously started to fight for them. However, that ced ss Seven in an awkward spot, since Xiao Lin was still unconscious. The rest of the monitors did not feel that Qin Chuan could represent ss Seven, so they ended up ignoring that ss. After all, everyone understood that the instructors would no longer be rted to their year after this examination.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not care for the matter, but Zhou Feng was intent on doing his part as the group leader. The bald man personally rushed to the hastily-constructed headquarters. It might have been called a headquarters, but it was just a room with a table and a few chairs. An intense struggle ensued within.


    The bald man looked very fierce; even ss Seven¡¯s own students were reluctant to interact with him, let alone the other sses. However, Zhou Feng was not stupid; he held on to one simple condition, which was to allocate the resources based on how much each ss contributed to the prior battles.


    It was undeniable that Xiao Lin contributed a lot that day. Even though they did not tally the kills, Xiao Lin still helped the other sses on the beach on his own volition, which was enough to prove his skill. Then came Xiao Lin holding down the orcmander alone when they assaulted the fortress, buying valuable time for the rest of the sses, and evennding the finishing blow on themander.


    Of course, no one was willing to concede thest fact, since the orcmander died in mysterious circumstances. Even Cheng Ming was not willing to give a conclusion.


    However, as they were in deep discussion, Xiao Lin finally woke up after spending half the day unconscious, causing the students who were taking care of him to almost hug him excitedly.


    To put things simply, even if it was not the whole ss, at least half of ss Seven had put their faith in Xiao Lin as their ss monitor. These students were actually easy enough to convince; they did not believe in Xiao Lin only because they did not trust his skill before then, especially due to his attributes when he first entered the academy.


    The ss monitors had a lot of responsibility, and after that examination, the ss monitors would be their leaders on various tasks, even when they headed into the New World. That was why they were worried Xiao Lin would cause them trouble if his abilities were not up to par. However, after the earlier battle, especially when those who were not part of the squad attacking the fortress witnessed his shocking battle against the orcmander, their opinions started to change drastically.


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes, the bright sunlight hitting his eyes causing him to feel dizzy. He hurriedly shut his eyes, asking, ¡°How long was I out for?¡±


    He did not know what season it was, but it was definitely not cold. Just as Xiao Lin was about to get up for some water, he noticed a cup of water right in front of him.


    Xiao Lin finally opened his eyes after getting ustomed to the sunlight. He looked at a fair and dainty hand, followed the arm as he looked up, before noticing the owner of the hand: Gu Xiaoyue¨Clooking as cold as always.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Xiao Lin gulped down the water, pleasantly surprised, but he quickly clenched his teeth, ¡°That¡¯s salty!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed up her sses. ¡°You sweated a lot while you were unconscious, and I heard you lost a lot of blood... I found some salt in the warehouse, so I added a little.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°An isotonic drink? I get what you¡¯re trying to do, but I think you might have added too much salt... Whatever, let¡¯s not talk about that. Judging by our current situation, the fortress must have been taken over. What¡¯s happening right now?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was prepared, passing over a small notebook, ¡°I¡¯ve noted down everything that happened.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for a good moment before receiving the notebook. He actually felt like having a proper chat with Gu Xiaoyue since it was so hard to get anything out of her mouth normally.


    However, Xiao Lin quickly shifted his focus onto the neat words within the notebook. The various arrangements that were made after entering the fortress, including the establishment of the headquarters, the prisoner situation, and discussion on the supplies were all noted down with great detail.


    ¡®What a meticulous woman,¡¯ Xiao Lin eximed in his mind. In only a few minutes, he was basically caught up with everything that had happened while he was unconscious.


    He still wanted to take the chance to talk to Gu Xiaoyue, but Qin Chuan suddenly appeared. He was surprised and excited when he saw that Xiao Lin was awake, asking Xiao Lin if he had any lingering issues with some concern.


    Qin Chuan had seen his battle with the orcmander, and Xiao Lin¡¯s condition after the battle did leave them a lot to worry about.


    Xiao Lin had some doubts as well. He did not remember anything after the first time the orc struck him down. At the time, he had thought his examination would end there, but Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes felt like a dream to him. Not only did he survive, he even somehow exploded andpletely suppressed the orcmander?


    Surely they were joking. Xiao Lin definitely did not think he was some sort of holy warrior or Super Saiyan.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not attack the fortress herself, so she did not know a lot of the finer details. Xiao Lin immediately talked to Qin Chuan, asking him to recount the battle.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face got weirder the more he heard. He absolutely could not believe it. He suddenly noticed an important detail, interrupting Qin Chuan as he asked, ¡°You said that when I went berserk¨Cyes, let¡¯s just call it going berserk for now¨Cyou felt a stifling feeling. Were you the only one that felt it?¡±


    ¡°No, after the matter, the other monitors and instructors said they felt it as well, but the feeling didn¡¯tst long, so we suspected it was just our imagination,¡± Qin Chuan said.


    ¡°Oh, could you describe how you felt?¡± Xiao Lin felt like he was missing out on something important.


    Qin Chuan was in a difficult spot. It was obvious that he found it hard to exin, even though he had a year of experience under his belt. However, he seemed to remember something, half-jokingly saying, ¡°To tell you the truth, it felt simr to the pressure I felt when the dragon descended on us during the opening ceremony. Obviously, it was much weaker than back then.¡±


    The pressure back then was caused by the draconic power of the golden dragon, but there were no dragons around here, and Xiao Lin definitely did not think he was rted to that beast in any way.


    That was just a joke, and Xiao Lin smiled at it as well, but the more he smiled, the more a strange idea began to form in his head, causing his smile to suddenly disappear.

 Chapter 234: Han Manman

    <h4>Chapter 234: Han Manman</h4>


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any side effects, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no. I think.¡±


    ¡°You think?¡±


    ...


    That brief conversation before the monthly examination suddenly popped up in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. If he really was rted to the dragons in any way, it would probably have been from when Song Jung forced him to drink that bottle of dragon blood.


    ¡°Tricked again!¡± Xiao Lin muttered to himself, before realizing he was actually surprisingly calm about it. However, that caused him to feel like crying. Had he been tricked so much by Song Jung that he had gotten used to it?


    That was definitely not a good habit to have!


    ¡°Tricked?¡± Qin Chuan asked curiously.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Xiao Lin could obviously not reveal the matter with the dragon blood. Even if he could not be a hundred percent sure, it was quietly likely his outburst was caused by that bottle of dragon blood.


    However, Xiao Lin felt that it was a bit odd. Song Jung¡¯s various weird concoctions often had different side effects, that much he was clear of, but if it was a side effect, it should be something that was not good.


    Were the after-effects of the dragon blood not quite good?


    ording to Qin Chuan, after he lost himself, his strength and speed greatly increased, and the most shocking thing was obviously that iparable self-recovery ability.


    ¡°At the time, I had probably lost more than half my blood, but I could still stand up again and again.¡± Even Qin Chuan could not hold back his admiration. That sort of regenerative ability greatly exceeded anything a new student could possibly do, and it would not even be a stretch to say that it would be impossible to find a second person with that, even in the entire school.


    With that in mind, it did not really feel like a negative side effect.


    However Xiao Lin did focus on something Qin Chuan tried to gloss over, which was that he had attacked Cheng Ming!


    That meant that he was unable to distinguish between friend or foe when he went berserk, or maybe in his eyes, everyone else was an enemy while he was unconscious. Thankfully, Cheng Ming was the one around at the time. The other monitors might have even taken the opportunity to do away with Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin felt like it was definitely something they would happily do.


    With those thoughts, Xiao Lin finally realized the dangers of that side effect. He did not know if he would still go berserk after this, but he felt like it was definitely not something he would ever want to experience again. The monthly examination was a coborative war effort between all the sses. The consequences would be drastic if he were to suddenly go berserk and attack everyone.


    However, before worrying about being tricked by Song Jung, Xiao Lin first needed to avoid being tricked by the other sses. Even though Qin Chuan was worried about his condition and advised him to rest up, Xiao Lin still hurried to the warehouses with Qin Chuan, where the monitors were arguing about the allocation of resources.


    Everyone paused when they noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s arrival before congratting him for waking up, but it was obvious some of them did not say what was actually on their minds.


    Xiao Lin did not bother addressing it,ughing as he epted their well-wishes before snatching a thick notebook away from a ponytailed girl. As he looked through the book, he noticed it was the inventory list of all the goods in the warehouse.


    The amount of supplies was staggering. The food primarily consisted of processed or dried meats. With the amount of meat that was stored inside, it could possiblyst 800 people five whole years, so no one was fighting over the food.


    As for the weapons, even though they were meant for the main orc attack force, the quality was all over the ce. The orcs did not like uniformity, which was quite a bad practice. Even their weapons and equipment were all different, consisting of different looks and attributes. Their smiths would even often imbue different enhancements into the weapons as they made them.


    That caused the various equipment to be of different qualities, and the new students had not really learnt how to differentiate between different grades of weaponry and equipment, but the instructors had. By their tabtions, the lowest-ranked equipment were ck Iron-ranked, and a majority of them were Bronze, but there were also a few Silver and even Gold-ranked equipment.


    They had to admit that the orcs were not just a race of barbarians; the orcs also had quite a few good smiths. However, there was where the problems began to show. The lower-ranked equipment were easily distributed, and everyone would be able to get some, but what about the higher-ranked ones?


    That was why they were all arguing. The Silver and Gold-ranked equipment had been picked out and ced in front of the warehouse. The armors and weapons made of special metals were very eye-catching, causing everyone to covet them, not willing to give in an inch. Due to how few there were, they would not even be able to ensure that all the instructors and monitors would get one.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, you¡¯re still recovering, why don¡¯t you rest. We managed to take over the fortress thanks to you holding back the orcmander, so just leave everything else to us!¡± That ponytailed girl did not seem like that Xiao Lin snatched the notebook away from her, but her words were full of concern.


    Qin Chuan could only bitterly frown. Even as an instructor, who was on the cusp of entering the second year and was toozy to interfere with most of the things happening among the first years, he could still see that a few of the acting ss monitors were not particrly friendly. Other than Chen Dao, Cheng Ming and a few others who had a decent rtionship with Xiao Lin, the rest of them did not care for him at all.


    That ponytailed woman might have looked concerned, but she clearly wanted to stop Xiao Lin from participating due to his injuries. She was implying that the Silver and Gold equipment should be left to those of them who were not injured and who were able to fight with their full potential.


    Xiao Lin looked up from the inventory list, pondering for a while. He felt that the woman was quite familiar, but he could not recall who she was. He stared until she started to get goosebumps before asking, ¡°Uhm, who exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Her face was full of anger.


    The acting ss monitors were basically of the same rank, so most of them interacted with each other quite regrly. Even in the forums, they had a specialized section just for the monitors, so most of them were familiar with each other.


    However, Xiao Lin actually told the woman he did not know her, even though she was also an acting ss monitor. To her ears, it felt like Xiao Lin was underestimating her. They were both acting ss monitors, and hence both rivals, so how could he not recognize her.


    Xiao Lin maintained a low profile normally, so he did not really interact with strangers. That was amplified by the fact that he spent more than a month in New Washington out of the three months they had enrolled, so other than Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, he was not particrly familiar with any of the other ss monitors.


    ¡°She¡¯s Han Manman, ss Four¡¯s acting monitor,¡± Cheng Ming hurriedly said to salvage the situation.

 Chapter 235: The First Day Passes

    <h4>Chapter 235: The First Day Passes</h4>


    ¡°Huh, Silver- and even Gold-ranked equipment!¡± Xiao Lin could not be bothered to argue with Han Manman. He immediately went over and picked up the armor covered in silver light, feeling that it did not have the typical coldness of metal, but rather a subtle warmness. Any random passerby would be able to tell that the armor contained some mysterious energy.


    Han Manman stared at Xiao Lin, worried that he would run away with the equipment. She even subtly moved two steps away, obstructing the warehouse exit.


    However, Han Manman¡¯s movement was pointless. Xiao Lin was only curious about the equipment. After observing it for a moment, he tossed it to the floor with a look of pity on his face, standing up before saying, ¡°I rmend we destroy them.¡±


    Everyone suddenly paused, wondering if they had misheard him, or if his mind was still not fully functioning.


    ¡°Do you guys really think we would be able to use high-level gear like these?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cheng Ming still had his wits about him, and he believed that Xiao Lin would not joke about something like that. He said earnestly, ¡°Even though everyone did buy some equipment for the examination, no one could really afford the best of anything. If we used these weapons, our skills would greatly increase.¡±


    ¡°Surely you all know that if you use gear that is higher than your own limits, you would not be able to bring out any of its effects!¡± Xiao Linughed bitterly. He obviously wanted to use them too. After waking up, he checked on his equipment; his staff and sword were fine, but his leather armor had beenpletely destroyed by that detestable orc. That was worth two thousand redemption points!


    Han Manman said, ¡°Of course we know about that, but that was said three months ago. We¡¯ve improved our skills by quite a bit since then. Even if we can¡¯t use the equipment to the fullest, surely it would still be better than the gear we have on hand.¡±


    Xiao Lin was getting a little frustrated. Everyone understood the idea behind it, but everyone seemed to get greedy the moment theyid their eyes on the high-level gear. However, Xiao Lin understood very well that the rules were not that flexible.


    When he was in the Final Lands, that high priest manufactured countless high-grade weapons. Xiao Lin was greedy at the time as well, but the perfectly fine weapons were no different from broken ones in his hands, and in the end, he could only use the defects.


    That was why Xiao Lin had no interest in the gear that was on the floor. He shook his head, not wanting to bother changing their minds anymore. He said generously, ¡°Do what you want then. You can all have first pick. Our ss will just pick after all of you.¡±


    There were several thousand ck Iron and Bronze-ranked gear anyway, and they were more or less the same, so he was not worried that they would not have any left for themselves.


    Cheng Ming looked at Xiao Lin starting to leave after losing his interest. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to look at the NPCs.¡± Xiao Lin waved his hand, indicating he was absolutely disinterested in the squabble over the supplies.


    The NPCs he was referring to were obviously the engineers. While the students were busy fighting over the supplies, the engineers did not stay idle. There were about a hundred of them, so they split into two groups. One group was building archer towers and various other defenses while the other group was building the resurrection tower in the middle of the fortress.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s target was the group constructing the resurrection tower. The leader was a bearded, dark-skinned, middle-aged man who was hollering at his underlings for them to prepare the materials. Everyone only knew that his surname was Yu, and that he was a captain in rank. The other information about him was scarce, probably because everyone knew he was just a simted person, and so had no interest in him.


    Xiao Lin took advantage of his rest to politely greet him, ¡°Captain Yu, I wish to ask you a few questions.¡±


    The man looked at him before waving his hand. ¡°Go ahead!¡±


    ¡°How long does a resurrection tower usually take toplete?¡±


    ¡°That would depend on the area.¡±


    ¡°Area?¡±


    Captain Yu rolled his eyes, saying, ¡°That¡¯smon knowledge! Resurrection towers are split intorge, medium, and small ones, but the former two are usually limited to cities. We don¡¯t really have that many resources with us either, so we¡¯re constructing a small resurrection tower at the moment. It will bepletely in three months at thetest.¡±


    ¡°Three months! Can¡¯t you get it done faster?¡± Xiao Lin had an ufortable feeling in his heart. That was way too long of a time frame.


    Captain Yu stared at him. ¡°What do you think a resurrection tower is? This baby is basically a living skill, so not a single mistake is allowed. There are very few engineers who know how to build resurrection towers, and Dawn City definitely needs some in reserve, so even the few of us being here is no easy feat.¡±


    At that point of history, the Law of Immortality had only just recently been established by that Russian man, so every single academy was probably busy constructing the towers wherever they could.


    The man was right; as the capital of Dawn Academy, Dawn City was definitely going to be the priority, but Xiao Lin still felt like something was off, yet he chose not toment on it.


    Qin Chuan told Xiao Lin that this battle had historically failed. Even though they did not know the details of what happened just yet, if the tower was really constructed, would they really fail to defend it since they had so many chances to resurrect?


    The orcs were currently in the middle of their march, so even if they wanted to retake the supply depot, they would likely only dispatch a small unit. The moment the main force started retreating, they would have achieved their goal, and at the time, Dawn City would also be able to send their reinforcements.


    That meant that the supply depot was probably retaken by the orcs within three months in actual history, before the resurrection tower could bepleted.


    ¡°Do we only have three months?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s heart felt a little heavy.


    After that, he talked to the captain about the resurrection tower, asking about the materials and how the Law of Immortality functioned through the tower.


    Resurrection towers had just recently been invented, so everyone was probably extremely interested in them. Unfortunately, Captain Yu only knew how to build them; the finer details were unknown to him. ording to him, unless someone was extremely familiar with astrology, time-space studies, and the soul, they would only never be able to understand even the tip of what made the towers function.


    Everyone spent their first day in the fortress quite anxiously. The distribution of the resources within the warehouses were finally settled, and it was decided that everyone would get two to three pieces of gear. It was basically distributed evenly, but there were only a little over 700 of them, so the rest of the equipment was moved to the warships, since they could not fall into the hands of the orcs. The captains would either throw the weapons into the sea or bring them back to Dawn City.

 Chapter 236: Preparing For War

    <h4>Chapter 236: Preparing For War</h4>


    The aftermath of the first battle was quickly calcted. Every ss was either happy or in despair with their own results, but totalled up, 40 were dead from all the sses and the injured numbered near a hundred. Out of the heavily-injured ones, over ten of them had lost all battle capabilities, basically making them no different from casualties of war.


    There were way too many casualties!


    That was just the first day, and because of that, the acting monitors were in a heated discussion within the headquarters. Some of them felt like the fortress was too small, and coupled with their disadvantage in numbers, they would not be able to defend for too long if they were surrounded. That was why they felt that they should begin their defense outside of the fortress¨Cin order to dy the enemies.


    However, the others felt that their foes could be the orcs¡¯ main army. Based on their earlier battle, the orcs were definitely stronger than them, so leaving the walls would be a stupid endeavor.


    Everyone wanted to show off their leadership skills in order to earn a better score for themselves, since the year leader could very well be chosen from that criterion as well.


    That was why the first day was filled with arguments, and Xiao Lin had joined the acting ss monitors in the headquarters after he woke up as well, but he did not voice his opinion most of the time. Instead, he discussed with Cheng Ming before sending two students from each of their sses with decent archery skills to go scouting for information.


    Regardless if they were going to defend the fort or attack aggressively, they still needed to get a good grasp of their opponent¡¯s power level before they took action. Xiao Lin did not know why, but he had a nagging feeling in his head, as if he was forgetting an important point, but never managed to figure out what it was.


    Even though they argued nonstop, the acting monitors were still notpletely clueless. They quickly issued the orders, and let their ssmates carry them out.


    The first thing was to ce arge number of traps at the foot of the hill, as well as the path leading up. Those engineers were a big help in that department, and the resources within the supply depot were very useful as well. The traps were mainly split into two kinds. me traps were made using solidified animal fats and low-level me magic materials. If someone walked on it, their feet would set it off and light up the trap.


    They also had spiked traps, which used long spiky nts as the primary material. They were buried into the ground, but the spikes themselves did not do much damage. It was the poison added to the spikes that would deal most of the damage. At the same time, they made various obstacles to stop their mounts, such asrge rope traps.


    The students that Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming sent out did not find anything in their scouting, so the first day after they took down the fortress passed by rtively peacefully. During the night, the monitors used the meat within the warehouse to makerge pots of meat stew on therge training fields. The thick smell of meat wafted through the air.


    They had wanted to invite the troops on the warships to join them, but they were rejected politely. That was because they needed to always stay alert, so they could react immediately if anything happened. Those warships were also set to return to Dawn City in two or three days, which caused everyone to be quite disappointed. Some of them had actually suggested asking the warships to continue to scout for them along the seas.


    However, ording to the historical schedules, the warships definitely needed to leave. Compared to that supply depot, defending Dawn City was definitely a much more important task.


    The day after, the ships started to pull up their anchors and set sail, but Xiao Lin managed to locate the captain and make a small request first, which was quickly met with agreement by thetter. Thus, there was now a batch of vision-enhancing scrolls within the fortress. In this world, that scroll which had farsight, night-vision and other capabilities had reced binocrs.


    Rather than argue about how they would defend the fortress like the other monitors, Xiao Lin felt that it was more important to scout out the enemy. Even though some students had learned eagle vision, the skill¡¯s radius was still not as good as the scrolls.


    Just like that, four days had passed. With everyone¡¯s hard work, over a hundred traps, big and small had beenid around the fortress. The engineers had also built more than ten defensive towers around them, but thanks to the tight schedule, those towers were just more simplistic archer and spell-casting towers that still needed to be manually operated.


    No matter what, the defenses had begun to look quite impressive. The scouts Xiao in had been sending out still could not find any trace of the enemies, but they had still managed to draw a more or lessplete map of the surroundings.


    Other than the fort on the hill that was surrounded by a dense forest, the rest of the area was surrounded by fast ins. No wonder the orcs decided to establish their biggest supply depot there. In terms of transportation, it was quite easy for their wolf cavalry to reach the area.


    Under Xiao Lin¡¯s constant reminders, the rest of them had begun to focus on scouting. Late into the first day, they started to build a few simple sentry towers along the major roads, since they did not have any long-rangemunication devices. They were like fire towers on Earth, with piles of dried grass on top. The moment any enemies were spotted, they would light up the sentry tower.


    The power of collective thinking was obvious. Everyone had spent every ounce of their brain power to watch out for any possible ws in their ns. A lot of details had gone through intense discussion, but in the end, everyone¡¯s goal was the same. The longer they could defend the ce, the more benefits they would get.


    After the initial anxiety, the renewed fortress and the countless defenses caused everyone to swell with pride. Thanks to the ample materials within the warehouse, as well as the skills of the engineers, they had made very good progress.


    Rxing a little, everyone could finally take the time to enjoy the surrounding scenery. Standing atop the fortress and admiring the sea below was enough to lift anyone¡¯s spirits.


    Some of them would even slip away to the beach, taking advantage of the low tide to pick off some seafood. After that, they would discuss how the seafood of that world was supposed to be eaten, or even sunbathe on the beach. The air around them was definitely fresher than anything back on Earth.


    The monitors had initially banned those things, but after they established their scouting system, they were confident that they would have enough time to deal with any iing attack and started to rx their restrictions. They did not want to exhaust themselves before the orcs even arrived, and some of the monitors and instructors even joined in on the fun.


    Xiao Lin had worked tirelessly those few days, even continuing to send out two squads of archers every day. In the day, his attention would be focused on the skies, not allowing any flying creatures near the fortress. Feeling like he had done all he could, he finally allowed himself to rx a little, inviting Gu Xiaoyue for a walk on the beach.

 Chapter 237: Heartfelt Talk With Gu Xiaoyue On The Beach

    <h4>Chapter 237: Heartfelt Talk With Gu Xiaoyue On The Beach</h4>


    Even Xiao Lin was surprised when he made the invitation. Gu Xiaoyue had stared at him for over a minute before finally nodding in agreement.


    Xiao Lin did not ce too much hope on it, and he was quite surprised when he got Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s answer. He immediately reacted happily, throwing away the worries about the fortress¡¯s defenses and immediately changing before leaving with her.


    After the various supplies were distributed from the warehouse, Xiao Lin had naturally gotten a new set of armor. However, the orcs only had two kinds of armor: chain armor and heavy armor, which were both on the heavier side. Xiao Lin had picked chain armor, and he still had not fully grasped the capabilities. It was not too cumbersome to wear, but it was still excessive for just a simple walk.


    The sun had juste out, so it was still not that hot. The cool sea breeze was very rxing, and the remnants of the amphibious battle had long been washed away by the tides.


    The two of them walked toward the sea, asionally bumping into some fellow students. Everyone knew not to bother each other, since rxing times like this was hard toe by, which made everyone treasure them a lot.


    The silence caused the atmosphere to be a bit awkward. As Xiao Lin was looking for a topic of conversation, Gu Xiaoyue opened her mouth first, her voice clear and cool, ¡°I¡¯ve actually never actually seen the sea in my entire life.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve actually never seen it either. I lived in andlocked city, and I was quite the shut-in back then. I would always be stuck at home during the holidays. Didn¡¯t even bother to travel.¡±


    ¡°My sister liked the sea a lot. You know she likes to draw. Back when she was young, she would always draw the sea, but she would never tell me about it.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue sighed. ¡°She probably did not want to cause me any trouble. She knew her legs would be an issue, and back then, I would travel all over the world to find a way to cure her, so I would spend long periods of time away from home. I would always find the best maids and housekeepers to look after her before I left, but I knew I made her feel very lonely. I knew it, but I pretended I didn¡¯t.¡±


    The image of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister popped into Xiao Lin¡¯s head. She seemed to bepletely different from Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s cold demeanor. That cute and active girl did not have a shred of sadness in her, even though she could not walk. Her positivity when facing life was something that left a deep impression on Xiao Lin, even though he had only met her once.


    Seeing that Gu Xiaoyue had some regrets about it, Xiao Lin tried to console her, softly saying, ¡°You two have such a good rtionship with each other. I know that Gu Chengyun doesn¡¯t me you.¡±


    ¡°I know. She¡¯s never med me for anything. The two of us had relied on each other since we were young, so we learned to be strong for each other. We know that no one will help us if we¡¯re weak.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized how Gu Xiaoyue developed her strong and individualistic personality, but he was quite unsettled. Why was Gu Xiaoyue suddenly telling him all that? He did not know what to say, and Gu Xiaoyue did not look like she was looking for any sympathy.


    Thinking about what her sister had said before, Xiao Lin was more and more drawn to the two siblings. They were not the only two sisters who only had each other to rely on in the world, but the two of them were a special case. Their family was incredibly rich, being able to donate millions to the art academy. However, the two of them had extreme illnesses, despite nevercking money.


    When Xiao Lin thought about Gu Xiaoyue only having two years left in her life, he could not imagine anything else causing it but her health. Thinking about it further, their parents probably abandoned them after discovering they both had illnesses that were extremely hard to manage. After that, they probably left arge sum of money for the siblings out of guilt.


    Xiao Lin did not want to bring it up directly, but Gu Xiaoyue diverted the topic to her parents by herself. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯d never met my mother since I was young, and I can count the memories of my father on my fingers.¡±


    Despite bringing up such sensitive topics, Gu Xiaoyue maintained her calm voice and demeanour, not showing a shred of sadness, but Xiao Lin could not help but ask, ¡°Don¡¯t you hate them?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head. ¡°I did initially, but I slowly numbed myself to the feeling. My parents are basically nothing to me. I can take care of myself and my sister. They aren¡¯t needed in my life.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue suddenly stopped on the beach, looking into the horizon before sighing. ¡°Lately, I could not help but start to hate them again. Chengyun had always been lonely. I really don¡¯t know how she would get on with her life without me by her side.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally guessed what Gu Xiaoyue wanted to say, so he stopped and raised his voice slightly to show his discontent. ¡°I reminded you earlier to not forget to buy Lifewater, but you didn¡¯t listen! I refuse to believe that you don¡¯t even have a thousand points to get it with your skills! Even if you don¡¯t care about your own life, you still need to consider what your sister would feel!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue fell silent.


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath, feeling like he had overstepped his boundaries. No matter how angry or frustrated he was, it was all in the past, so he softened his tone, ¡°However, there¡¯s no point in regretting it now. You shouldn¡¯t be too down on the fact that you can¡¯t buy any Lifewater during the examination. The exam might be a bit harder this time, but the defensive measures we currently have in ce are quite good. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. I promise!¡±


    Xiao Lin beat his chest as he said that. It did not matter that he was not too confident toward the examination; he refused to show weakness in front of her.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s words were faced with no reply as Gu Xiaoyue gazed quietly into the sea, softly speaking after a long while, ¡°Even if we get through this, there is still the next time, and the time after that. You once told me I could not guarantee that I would leave every exam unscathed no matter how skilled I was, and I do agree with you, which is why I use every single second of free time I have on training.¡±


    Xiao Lin had always thought that Gu Xiaoyue was too confident in her skills, so it was strange to hear that, ¡°Then why do you keep refusing to buy Lifewater?¡±


    ¡°I did buy it before. I bought a bottle from the very first batch the school released.¡± Gu Xiaoyue then turned around, a wan smile on her fair face. ¡°It was useless. That bottle of Lifewater did not raise my lifespan at all!¡±

 Chapter 238: Danger Approaches

    <h4>Chapter 238: Danger Approaches</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Lifewater was ineffective?


    That could not be possible!


    Was she joking?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s first response was disbelief, feeling like Gu Xiaoyue must have done something wrong. Lifewater relied on the Law of Immortality, which was the root of their colonizing of Norma.


    Dawn Academy would never trick them with something like that, and it had been three months since they had the chance to buy the Lifewater. If there were anyplications, there would have been a hugemotion.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not feel like Gu Xiaoyue had any reason to lie either, so he tried to reason, ¡°Could you have done something wrong? You could have bought higher-ranked Lifewater. I¡¯ve heard the instructors say that elementary Lifewater was the only one that helped those with lifespans below a hundred years.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head. That exnation was quite unlikely anyway, since the academy could not possibly have made such a blunder. She pushed aside her hair that was messed up by the sea breeze, continuing to say, ¡°I actually wanted to ask you for a favor.¡±


    ¡°You want me to take care of your sister?¡± Xiao Lin did not like dwelling on these hypotheticals.


    ¡°Oh, no.¡± Gu Xiaoyue seemed to be able to tell what was on Xiao Lin¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Okay, then what is it?¡± Xiao Lin began to feel a little awkward.


    ¡°My sister¡¯s legs can¡¯t be cured back on Earth, but it¡¯s a different matter over here. Ever since I came into the academy, I have been reading up on a lot of things in the library. High-leveled recovery spells can absolutely do what Earth¡¯s technology can¡¯t¡±


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes in realization. No wonder Gu Xiaoyue chose to specialize in support-style magic, even with such high intelligence points. She had resolved to learn high-level recovery spells.


    Gu Xiaoyue pursed her lips, her gaze looking pitiful. ¡°I know your talents for magic aren¡¯t that far below mine. Should I really not be able to go back one day, could you please cure my sisters legs if you ever master the necessary spells in the future?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a bit surprised by the request. He opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly remembered that individuals above Gold rank were not allowed back to Earth, and even those who could go back to Earth had a lot of restrictions ced on them. All those restrictions were ced in order to protect the very fabric of Earth¡¯s reality, so could Gu Xiaoyue or himself really be able to go back to Earth when they mastered that spell? If they could, would they even be allowed to use it?


    Xiao Lin could not bring himself to reveal that cruel truth to Gu Xiaoyue, so he steeled his heart and nodded in agreement, consoling her, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be too worried. We still don¡¯t know what the results of this examination will be. The orcs might be strong, but based on the battle we fought before, they are definitely not unbeatable.¡±


    Xiao Lin quietly resolved himself to protect Gu Xiaoyue during this examination, no matter what happened. Even if they failed the exam and even if he needed to sacrifice himself, he would only lose a few redemption points and a mere 10 years of his lifespan. As long as he wanted to, he could always use New Dors to get even more points to buy Lifewater. That was why he absolutely needed to ensure Gu Xiaoyue survived till the very end.


    ¡°Where do you think the orcs will attack from?¡± Gu Xiaoyue had already shifted topics, causing Xiao Lin to regret losing the chance to deepen the conversation.


    ¡°ording to reports, the main force attacking Dawn Academy heavily consists of wolf cavalry troops. Thanks to our scouts, we know that we are basically surrounded by ins nearby, so they will probably attack from there.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s words echoed the other acting ss monitors.


    ¡°Have you all considered the naval route?¡± Gu Xiaoyue was just a group leader, so she had not been allowed into the headquarters for discussions, and she had never willingly asked about the matter as well.


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment, looking at the calm seas before saying, ¡°It¡¯s not like we never considered it, but we felt that it was extremely unlikely. Oh, you might not know this, but from what I¡¯ve understood from the engineers, this sea is called the Endless Sea. It¡¯s one of the fiercest seas on all of Norma. Even our amphibious assault was carried out through a huge amount of risk, and the captain of the warships were not even willing to go any further at the time. However, we were quite lucky, and did not encounter too many difficulties during our journey.


    Gu Xiaoyue understood what Xiao Lin was getting at. The orcs had no naval armies, and they could not produce warships capable of braving the seas with their level of craftsmanship; those were all details they already knew. The merfolk attacking them through the sea had been a possibility as well, but considering how dangerous the Endless Sea was, it was not a likely scenario.


    The merfolk were an extremely weak race, and they could normally only live in shallow and calm seas. Even in the ocean, they had countless natural predators. To be honest, the fact that the merfolk had managed to survive for so long was a miracle. If not for their absurd reproductive abilities, they would have gone extinct long ago.


    Xiao Lin shrugged. ¡°We were worried about that initially as well, but after a lot of deliberation, we felt like it was not too likely. To be perfectly truthful, even if the merfolk dared attack us by sea, we aren¡¯t really scared of them at all. Our real worry is the main orc army.


    Thanks to the conversation earlier, Xiao Lin had ced a lot more importance on performing well in this examination. Even though he told Gu Xiaoyue not to worry, he could not help but start to wonder if they had missed anything.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face suddenly paled, saying with uncertainty, ¡°Actually, now that you¡¯ve said it, I suddenly remembered the nagas. The captain had told me on the ship that he was worried about meeting the nagas on the way. If that happened, the ships could very well be wiped out.


    ¡°We never got any reports on them though.¡± Gu Xiaoyue furrowed her eyebrows.


    Theycked understanding of the nagas on Norma. Xiao Lin had asked the captain while on the warship, but he had treated it as idle chatter. Strictly speaking, that race dwelled in the deep seas, and were amon sight. They had a good rtionship with the orcs and even the merfolk, but rarely participated in any wars. The nagas also rarely went onnd by their own volition.


    The temporary headquarters did think about that possibly as well, and they felt like the nagas were unlikely to participate in this war. Some of them even remembered that Professor Dai had said that the nagas never participated in the war against the orcs.


    What if?


    Was everything in the history books really correct?


    Xiao Lin felt like he might be overthinking things due to his concern for Gu Xiaoyue, which caused him to once again think about something he had dismissed.


    However, at that moment, a blinking ring of light rapidly headed toward them from the horizon.

 Chapter 239: A Surprising Guess

    <h4>Chapter 239: A Surprising Guess</h4>


    That ring of light seemed to have been from the reflection of sunlight on a metallic object. The reflection moved rapidly, quickly bing visible to the naked eye.


    Everyone on the beach was suddenly scared stiff when a fleet of silver warships appeared in the distance. The warships were sleek; the silver streaks extremely stylish, but it was obvious the ships were not from Dawn Academy.


    ¡°Go back! Return to the fortress!¡±


    Xiao Lin reacted immediately, shouting out as he pulled Gu Xiaoyue and ran back toward the fortress. He was extremely shocked.


    Who owned those warships?


    Just as Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin had discussed, the orcs had very limited craftsmanship abilities, so warships that could brave the seas, especially those refined looking ones, were definitely out of the question.


    The merfolk and the nagas were water-dwelling races, so if they really wanted tounch a sneak attack, they would not have used warships; the same way a bird just needed to p their wings to fly instead of going on a ne.


    The fortress was also in chaos. Everyone had allowed themselves to rx after a number of days of peace, so the sudden appearance of those warships caused them to panic. The current situation was absolutely beyond everyone¡¯s predictions.


    The fortress¡¯s gates were shut tight as everyone prepared themselves for battle, heading to the city walls with their weapons in hand. However, they could not help but be worried, especially since they had no measures against warships.


    Those silver warships stopped a distance away from the shore, not showing any movement even after ten minutes, norunching any long-range attacks. However, no one made the mistake of assuming those ships were there to sightsee.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Where did those warshipse from?!¡± Inside the temporary headquarters, the acting ss monitors shouted so loud, practically the whole fortress could hear them, but no one had the answers to those questions.


    Cheng Ming was steely. Since the very start, none of them had ever considered the possibility that their opponents could have warships. Now that they no longer had the protection of the naval troops, their defense of the fortress suddenly got a lot more difficult.


    ¡°Was anyone sent to scout?¡± ss Four¡¯s Han Manman said.


    ¡°How would we scout it? Do you expect us to send someone swimming?¡± ss Twelve¡¯s Chen Dao answered her with an unfriendly tone.


    Han Manman was annoyed. ¡°Everyone calm down. First, let¡¯s split our current understanding of the situation into two parts. The first part is what we learned from the captains; we should trust in the uracy of that information for now. The other part is what we learned from our history lessons, which we should definitely put our faith on. After all, history already happened, so surely there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡±


    ¡°Han Manman, are you trying to say that the warships might not be enemies?¡± Cheng Ming answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Based on history, there were no other races that participated in the war other than the orcs and the merfolk; not even the naga. The orcs couldn¡¯t have built these warships, so if we take all that into ount, the warships might not have evil intentions.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense!¡± Chen Dao had his doubts regarding Han Manman¡¯s guess, slightly mocking her as he said, ¡°Did you just ignore your geography sses? Don¡¯t forget, other than the orcs and merfolk, there are no other races near Dawn City.¡±


    Han Manman was furious. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell me who owns those warships outside!¡±


    Chen Dao was temporarily stumped.


    As they were furiously arguing, the door to the headquarters was suddenly pushed open. Xiao Lin walked in with an exhausted look on his face, taking a deep breath after he sat down.


    Han Manman and the rest of them were slightly surprised. No one had noticed that they were actually missing one monitor during the meeting, but that was likely due to the fact that a number of them did not regard Xiao Lin as higher.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s next words caused a lot of shock. ¡°I think I know who owns those warships.¡±


    ¡°Who?!¡±


    ¡°The elves!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The elves! Don¡¯t give me those looks. The marks on those warships are definitely elven. Of course, the marks could very well be faked.¡± Xiao Lin tossed a used magical scroll on the table that he had just used the scroll to scout earlier.


    ¡°How do you know what the elven mark is?¡± Han Manman said in her sharp voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been to New Washington, and a lot of elves do business there; that¡¯s where I¡¯ve seen it. They love to carve the Tree of Life onto everything, even small ornaments.¡±


    ¡°Tree of Life?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ording to legends, the Tree of Life gave birth to the elves. They respect that thing a lot; it¡¯s basically god to them.¡± Xiao Lin recalled. When he was in New Washington, he passed by elven stores regrly and had asked about it before.


    ¡°That makes no sense either! Even if those really are elven warships, why are they here? Did they get lost?¡± Han Manman still refused to believe it.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen the elves?! It¡¯s that race full of beautiful women, just like in fantasy novels, right?¡± Chen Dao¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, but he had shifted his attention to something elsepletely. Everyone else rolled their eyes, ignoring him.


    ¡°Actually, I do remember the elves having a good rtionship with the Americans.¡±


    ¡°How long would it take for the elves to get here?¡±


    Even though everyone paid attention in their history and geography sses, that detail was not something anyone could answer, so they shifted their gaze to Xiao Lin. Even if they verbally denied it, all of them had some amount of envy toward the fact that Xiao Lin had been to New Washington.


    ¡°A warship from New Washington to Dawn City would take at least one month. With the technology of this era, I feel like it would take at least two to three months. I¡¯ve never been to elven territory, but since they¡¯re close to the Americans, and also just as close to the sea, it would probably take the same amount of time,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    After that, everyone¡¯s expressions changed. It took at least two to three months to get there from elven territory, but they had only taken over the fortress for less than five days.


    If those warships were really elvish, then unless they were just passing by, it would be quite a big issue. They started to feel like everything they had been doing from the start had been a trap.


    This particr mission had been noted down as a failure in the history books, and in the final records, there were no indications that elves had appeared. At the same time, this mission had barely appeared in the history books. Just as Qin Chuan had told Xiao Lin, the academy might have tried to cover up this operation out of humiliation.

 Chapter 240: Start of The War (1)

    <h4>Chapter 240: Start of The War (1)</h4>


    Tragedies never came alone. As the acting monitors were busy arguing among themselves, someone rushed into the headquarters, reporting that the fires on the sentry towers had been lit.


    Everyone had already been in a bad state of mind before that, and the sentry towers being lit could only mean one thing: their enemies were approaching. They might have erected the towers as an early warning system, but no one was happy that it worked.


    The entire fortress had already been in a state of frantic chaos. They had already done a lot of preparations before that, so it was not like they were not prepared mentally, but the current situation was out of their expectations thanks to the silver warships.


    The fact that the elves had yet to make a move after stopping in the distance gave them some amount offort. Not only did they refrain from firing any long-ranged attacks, they had yet to even send someone to shore. Someone had suggested that they should have sent an envoy as an attempt for diplomacy, but the sudden appearance of the orcs caused them to abandon the n for the moment.


    It did not matter what stance or attitude that fleet of warships had toward Dawn Academy, so long as they maintained their distance until the end of the examinations.


    Even though most of them felt that that approach was not realistic, they currently had no better options avable to them.


    The scouts they had assigned quickly returned. The defensive measures they adopted worked out quite well, assigning scouts to the sentry towers with the vision-enhancing scrolls to keep watch. The moment enemies were sighted, they would first light up the sentry towers before running back to make a report themselves.


    Just like they expected, the army that was currently heading toward them was a unit of orcish wolf cavalry, but the numbers were not that high. ording to the scout¡¯s rough estimate, there were about three to four hundred cavalry troops, but following them was an army of almost 3,000 fully equipped orc foot soldiers.


    ¡°I can understand the cavalry, since it¡¯s not that hard for them to arrive fast if they went at full speed, but I don¡¯t understand how the foot soldiers managed to arrive at the same time.¡± Xiao Lin stared at the scout, hoping to verify his report.


    ¡°Hey! The scrolls were given by you. How could the report be wrong!¡± The scout was from another ss, so his monitor naturally protested when Xiao Lin questioned him.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to fault him; it¡¯s just very strange. I prioritized scouting so much earlier in order to get a better grasp of our enemies, and we definitely did not get any reports of an orcish encampment nearby. Where did all those foot soldierse from?¡±


    ¡°From the nearby forest?¡± Cheng Ming asked hesitantly.


    ¡°That forest is quite small. If they came from that direction, we would have noticed them sooner.¡±


    ¡°What if they had always been hiding there, biding their time and waiting for the cavalry to arrive before attacking together?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s words caused everyone to pale.


    If his guess was true, then did the orcs always know they would stage an attack on this supply depot?


    With that heavy thought in their heads, everyone awaited the enemies along the fortress walls.


    It was noon when someone suddenly shouted, ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±


    The impressive orc army began to march closer. This time, it was an armyposed purely of orcs, without any useless merfolk apanying them. Xiao Lin and the other monitors had already used the magical scrolls to get a better look at the army.


    Boom!


    They had prepared arge number of traps at the foot of the hill. The wolf cavalry charged, triggering the me traps below. Those traps that were made with easilybustible materials quickly unleashed extremely hot mes on the orcs. Even if the orcs had thick skin, they were still unable to withstand being constantly burned by magical mes. Furthermore, wolf mounts were beasts that were naturally afraid of fire.


    As the mes roared, wolf cavalry¡¯s formation started to go into disarray as the mounts panicked. However, the orcs were very disciplined. They knew that if they slowed down at that moment, they would disrupt the iing foot soldiers. Not only did the vanguard not slow down, they even started to speed up.


    Everyone was surprised at how battle hardened the orcs were. Those mounted troops may have been armored, but they stillcked defenses against magic. The mes continued to burn them, causing the thick and heavy armor they wore to heat up rapidly in the process. Thanks to the magical scrolls, Xiao Lin could even see the steam rising out of the armor, and involuntarily shuddered as he felt vicarious pain from just looking at it.


    Even with that against them, the orcs did not retreat. Their faces were filled with bloodlust as they ignored the mes and injuries as they brandished their weapons and charged toward the fortress.


    However, they had more traps set up. After the me traps were the spike traps. Those poisoned hooks dealt a fatal blow to the heavily-injured orcish cavalry.


    The poison had been found in the supply depot, and none of them actually knew how strong it was. They could not see that the effects were quite good as the wolf mounts that were poisoned started to roll around on the floor, spasming as they started to froth out of the mouth before giving out theirst breath.


    The dismounted orcs did not do that well against the poison either. They did not manage to hold on for long before ending up with the same fate.


    The army of wolf cavalry troops charging at them was a fearsome sight, and most of the students in the fortress had only seen such a thing in movies. A lot of them could not help but cower in fear at the sudden sight of that show of force.


    However, it took less than twenty minutes for that army to be eliminated. Only a few of them could even stand up, leading to cheers from the students. The traps that they had spent their daysboriously setting up finally paid off.


    ¡°They really underestimated us!¡±


    ¡°So what if they¡¯re orcs? They still died in the end!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, we might actually be able to hold down this fortress!¡±


    The effectiveness of the traps managed to raise morale some, but these inexperienced soldiers were still very easily swayed.


    No matter what, their opening salvo had led to a lot of satisfaction, but a small minority only got more worried after.

 Chapter 241: Start of The War (2)

    <h4>Chapter 241: Start of The War (2)</h4>


    ¡°These orcs are ferocious!¡± Xiao Lin sighed as he shook his head. He shut his eyes to rx them after the magic receded.


    Han Manman took offense to his negativity, mocking him, ¡°Did that already get you scared?¡±


    Cheng Ming could see why Xiao Lin was worried, since the defenses had mainly been handled by Xiao Lin and himself. His face was full of worry as well. ¡°Since we did not have that much time, we did not actually manage to get a lot of traps down. It¡¯s worrisome that eighty percent of our traps were used up just now.¡±


    Han Manman paused before retorting, ¡°We still managed to eliminate about four hundred wolf cavalry troops, and the material for those traps were all from the orcs¡¯ own supplies, so we did not suffer any losses at all!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly, not wanting to mock her for her shallow view on the war. He exined, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what our mission is; it¡¯s to defend this fortress no matter what and to not let our enemies seize it back. That way, we should destroy their supply line and cripple their attempt to attack Dawn City. I had originally thought that those traps would be enough to at least hold down the orcs for a week with the help of long-range support.¡±


    ¡°Those troops earlier deliberately sacrificed themselves to clear the way for the iing foot soldiers! Troops that aren¡¯t afraid of death are the hardest to deal with!¡± Cheng Ming said as he sighed again.


    The orcs used their cavalry as sacrifices to ensure that the traps were cleared. Even if the fortress was still unharmed and the orcs looked like they had suffered massive losses, Xiao Lin and a few others were not happy about it. The orcs used their lives in exchange for time; they might have lost four hundred soldiers, but Xiao Lin¡¯s side had lost an entire week of time!


    After that, the foot soldiers slowly marched forward; over three thousand orcspletely broke formations, not caring about any strategies as they charged forward to attack.


    Xiao Lin had a sudden thought and turned around to look. The fortress was actually not in a great location. In front of them was the ins, and their backs faced the Endless Sea. Those silver warships seemed to be closer than they used to be, but they still quietly stopped there, as if they were just spectators.


    However, Xiao Lin had a sudden realization. He suddenly understood that it did not matter if the warships were actually from the elves; their goal was not to participate in this battle, but rather to cut off their retreat route!


    If Xiao Lin and the others had wanted to retreat, they definitely could not retreat through the front, so the biggest possibility was leaving by sea. The orcs wanted to make sure all of them were killed!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was suddenly filled with even more questions. There was just too much he could not understand. From what he knew of the elves, they were a peace-loving andzy race. Even though the elves and the orcs had no ill will toward each other, they were absolutely not friends, let alone allies. To add to that, Dawn Academy had never once offended the faraway elves.


    ¡°The orcs areing!¡± Cheng Ming saw that he was distracted and hissed out a reminder.


    Xiao Lin shook his head, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind and making sure his full focus was on this defense. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s situation meant that he was absolutely not allowed to make any mistakes during this examination. Even if the orcs and the elves had a secret agreement, that was still in the past. This was just a simted examination.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go help out the spell-casting towers; you take care of the fortress!¡± Xiao Lin cried out to Cheng Ming before hastily leaving the fortress. His actions caused the other monitors a lot of confusion.


    The defensive towers were all on the slopes outside of the fortress because the fortress itself was not veryrge. The fortress was not very fortified by itself either, so if they were to be surrounded early, it would be hard to guarantee that they could defend it for any length of time.


    Those defensive towers all needed to be manually operated, which meant they had to send a portion of their men out. It was a task that no one wanted to do, since everyone could see that the defensive towers would be the first to fall when the orcs attacked, even if those towers were the best way to dy the orcs.


    The acting ss monitors were in difficult positions, since they had to maintain strict discipline within their respective sses. They wanted their orders to be carried through, but any riskier tasks were hard to voice out, since it would invoke negative sentiment.


    Xiao Lin was actually leading by example. He voluntarily headed out of the fortress under a few hundred shocked looks. The defensive towers were split into ones for archers and spellcasters, and he had obviously gone for the spell-casting ones, since Xiao Lin had zero confidence in his archery.


    However, a few acting ss monitors were unhappy with his action, especially after seeing the other students looking at Xiao Lin with looks of admiration. It was not like they did not think about heading into battle themselves, but they felt that if they died early and it affected their assessment, it could very well affect the final selection for the year leader. No matter how friendly they acted toward each other normally, each of them still had their own goals and ambitions.


    There was another reason as well, which was that some of them could not use the defensive towers at all, such as those who were specialized in meleebat.


    However, Xiao Lin did not have any of their considerations. After listening to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s wish on the beach, he had long since abandoned any sort of needless forethought.


    After all, in Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes, being a year leader, earning points or credits, and even officially bing the ss monitor were all not nearly as important as Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s life.


    That was why Xiao Lin could head out of the fortress without even hesitating, even if some people like Wang Dalin rudely remarked that Xiao Lin was just putting on a show for everyone else, mocking him for being a sham.


    However, most of the other students had actually given a big thumbs-up to Xiao Lin in their hearts. The students of ss Seven even strengthened their belief in him as their ss monitors, rebuking Wang Dalin¡¯s words. ¡°Instead of spouting nonsense here, why don¡¯t you put on a show as well?¡±


    All that did not factor into Xiao Lin¡¯s thought process at all. After he went on the tower, Xiao Lin inspected the equipment around him. It was a defensive tower, so it would obviously not be as simple as a tform to pull their bows or cast spells from.

 Chapter 242: Start of The War (3)

    <h4>Chapter 242: Start of The War (3)</h4>


    The spell-casting tower was actually more of a magic gathering device. The whole tower was constructed with magical runes around it. Spellcasters only needed to use their own concentration to activate the runes, which would then fire out the readied spells.


    High-level spell casting towers could actually wield very powerful magics, but it was regretful that they were short on time and could only erect the simpler towers; even that was only thanks to the engineers working at their maximum pace.


    Xiao Lin gently touched the ck and glossy metal that the magical guidance unit was made of. The magical guidance unit used magic to hone in on enemies. The principles were all part of third year courses, but Xiao Lin did not need to understand the theory behind it at that moment; he only needed to know how to use it.


    They had received a crash course on how to operate it from the engineers two days before. It was not hard to use. Xiao Lin put both his hands on the sleek metal board, and after a sh of light, the magical guidance unit started to heat up.


    The unit¡¯s point of fire was also very unique. It looked nothing like a cannon, but rather like a t and long silver piece of metal. The inside of the magical guidance unit was rapidly changing, and in the blink of an eye, the piece of metal had turned red. The color rapidly deepened and was very bright. After that, Xiao Lin felt his hands, which were on the metal te, start to shake as a shocking stream of air gushed out from behind the tower.


    If it was not for the fact that the top of the tower was sealed off, Xiao Lin felt like he might have been blown away by the air. He could not help but remember that the engineers had reminded them that due to theck of time, the spell-casting towerscked a lot of parts, such as cushioning devices.


    As the firing te began to glow with enough brightness, the deep red light shot out of the te. Just like aser, it exploded among the orc soldiers.


    At least four to five of the orcs sttered in that moment, their flesh scattering all over. The thick armor that they wore seemed like paper against an attack from the spell-casting tower.


    The offensive power of the tower had shocked the new students, even invoking a great deal of curiosity in them as they started to head out of the fortress and toward the towers.


    However, the spell-casting towers were very limited, only consisting of less than one-fifths of the defensive towers around. Most of the towers were archery towers, which were equipped withrge crossbows or rapid firing bows. They were less powerful than spell-casting towers and also had less radius of attack.


    However, the archery towers could attack rapidly and, inparison to spell-casting towers, hadplicated mechanisms that needed the metallic tes to be switched around after every shot. Captain Yu, the engineer, had told them that the metal tes for these lower level spell-casting towers were perishable, and needed to be switched often or they would overheat, causing the next shot to have a higher chance of destroying the tower and killing the user.


    Xiao Lin was definitely not willing to take that risk, hurriedly beginning the reloading process after he shot the first shot. It was the first time he did it, and his movements were clumsy. The metal te that had just been used was extremely hot. Even if they had prepared clear water in the defensive towers, the reloading process was still quite cumbersome.


    After Xiao Lin had led the way, the other defensive towers started to join the attack. The archery towers were much easier to use, sendingrge arrows into fray. The ones operating the crossbows were all archery course students, so their uracy was far better than everyone else. However, therge crossbows had a major inconvenience, which was that they were slow to move. Thanks to the fact that the orcs started to cover a wide area after dispersing their formation, the archery towers did not need to move their bows a lot.


    The rapid firing of their arrows somewhat mitigated theck of area damage the arrows provided. Thanks to the fact that they discovered a huge stock ofrge arrows in the supplies, they did not even need to think about conserving their ammunition.


    Even though the spell-casting towers had a long dy between each shot, every attack dealt a shocking amount of damage. These spell-casting towers primarily used fire magic, so the burning effect had set the tall grass on the ins ame, dying the advance of the orcs.


    Those standing in the fortress were not idle either. Everyone started to use all the long-range weaponry they had. Even those who did not take any archery courses were utilized, since they could at the very least pull a bow. As long as they fired en masse, the uracy did not matter. The orcs had a few thousand troops, and as long as they shot toward the sea of orcs, they could still randomly hit a few enemies.


    The orc army was just as frenzied as earlier. Xiao Lin had personally witnessed quite a few orcs with arrows stuck in their bodies, one of them even missing an arm, still charging up the hill undeterred.


    On the surface, it looked like Xiao Lin and everyone else had managed to suppress the orcs the entire way. Even if the wolf cavalry had used up their traps earlier, the orc foot soldiers that followed did not seem to have anticipated that they would be faced with such a concentrated attack. The orcs probably never anticipated that they would be able to erect so many defensive towers in just a few days.


    Dawn Academy definitely put in a lot of preparation for this mission. The engineers that followed them were all the elites of Dawn Academy. On one hand, they were sent there to build the resurrection tower, and on the other, they were perfectly willing to divert a portion of their resources toward defending the fortress. The other students all knew how difficult and important the examination was, so no matter how much theyined, no one dared to ck off during the construction.


    Without a doubt, the orcs seemed to have anticipated Dawn Academy¡¯s amphibious assault. However, they did not seem to have anticipated such a fierce defense. They were definitely very formidable, and the orcs did not show any signs of stopping for the entire afternoon. Wave after wave of them continued to attack as the corpses on the road started to pile up.


    Xiao Lin did not know how many metal tes he had gone through, but he had long used up water in the tower. He was definitely unable to retrieve any water in the heat of the battle, but he suddenly remembered the Water Shield spell he learned before the examination.


    The spell used a solidified water shield to defend himself, but using the water shield to cool down the metal tes was actually a lot more convenient. If the shield did not get attacked, it could sustain itself for several minutes, and Xiao Lin could even use it continuously.

 Chapter 243: Injury

    <h4>Chapter 243: Injury</h4>


    Another big difference between spell towers and archer towers was that the user must utilize their mental power to power up the spell tower¡¯s equipment. Although the energy consumption was much lower than a normal spell, it was still a considerable amount if used for a prolonged period.


    Even if Xiao Lin activated his Miracle state and transformed all his attributes into intelligence, he would still be unable to relieve himself of his mind¡¯s fatigue.


    The spell tower that Xiao Lin operated held up until the very end and continued firing out me bombs. It was difficult for other people to sustain their mental power until the final moment and some even fainted right inside the tower.


    The spell tower¡¯s misfiring took some pressure off the orcs, and as a result, the fortress finally began to suffer casualties. The orcs used their numbers to pave the way, and despite the arrows and mes raining from the sky, the gentle slope of that low hill made it impossible to avoid the orcs¡¯ fast-approaching onught.


    The outermost archer tower was the first to fall. The orc infantry wielded huge battle axes that were much taller than usual. The difficulty of guaranteeing the quality of those hastily-built defense towers had already been mentioned, and it was not that the architects cut corners on purpose, but rather, they had no choice. Their main task was to build the resurrection tower, and they were only given five days to do so.


    The orcs who rushed forth while risking their lives. They raised their huge battle axes and shed toward the archer tower, roaring frantically. Those nearby the tower did not hesitate to drop theirrge crossbows in a panic and used their long-range weapons to shoot the orcs with all their might. Unfortunately, the archer tower¡¯s copse could not be stopped.


    Those orcs used the most primitive of methods to destroy the defense tower. It was simple but effective, though they also paid a very heavy price for it.


    The corpses near the fortress had not been properly counted yet, but the number of bodies on the hillside demonstrated that the orc army must have lost a lot of members. Even so, one could not help but admire their tenacious fighting spirit. Whenever Cheng Ming and the rest thought that the orcs would retreat after suffering so much losses, they ended up having to face another wave of desperate attacks.


    Finally, the orcs began receding from the area they covered as soon as the sun moved to the west. From what the students knew, the orcs were a race that disliked night battles. Light pollution did not exist in Norma, so in the absence of any lighting equipment, it waspletely pitch-ck when night came. The orcs¡¯ vision was very poor at night.


    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± someone shouted from the fortress.


    ¡°The orcs have retreated!¡±


    ¡°We won!¡±


    Their defendingsted half a day and finally came to an end in the evening. Loud cheers were soon heard across the entire fortress. Compared with thendfall and the siege, that afternoon¡¯s battle was undoubtedly much more difficult, and the orcs were truly a force to be reckoned with. As a result, their tion was much more intense when they tasted victory.


    Xiao Lin, who was sitting paralyzed in the defense tower, had no strength to get up. He could only sigh slightly after hearing the cheers outside. ¡°Victory? This is just the beginning!¡±


    Xiao Lin nced at his hands. Both of them were reddened and full of burn marks. He did not even dare to walk down the tower at that point since he had to hold the stairs with his hands. In that current situation, his hands could not possibly be able to support him because the slightest touch would result in searing pain.


    Although the Water Shield could be used in ce of water for its cooling effect, it required an enormous amount of mental strength to use. Xiao Lin was wary of continuing to use it simply because he wanted to be able to perform one more attack with the spell device.


    Indeed, when the battle was drawing to a close, Xiao Lin changed the recement metal sheet from the emission ports using only his bare hands. God knows just how high the fired-up temperature of the metal piece was, but there was never a moment of hesitation from Xiao Lin. He simply gritted his teeth and got on with it.


    When the battle finally ended, Xiao Lin looked at his bloody hands. He winced at the paining from his fingers and his heart, but at the same time, he could not help marvel at how much willpower he had at the time.


    Xiao Liny quietly in the spell tower until the sound of footsteps was heard ascending the tower. In a daze, Xiao Lin¡¯s subconscious mind was alerted and he reached out to draw his portable sword. It was not until Cheng Ming¡¯s earnest and concerned face appeared that he felt relieved. Cheng Ming was about to say something when Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth opened up to let out a blood-curdling scream.


    His right hand, which had finally stopped bleeding, suddenly became bloody again after holding the hilt of the sword earlier. Cheng Ming climbed up the spell tower and saw the discarded metal pieces all over the tower, as well as the smoke lingering at theunch port. Having received training in the use of defense towers, Cheng Ming did not take long to put two and two together. There was horror in his eyes, and without further ado, immediately carried Xiao Lin on his back and ran.


    After going down, Cheng Ming¡¯s thunderous voice practically reverberated within the small fortress. ¡°Doctor! Where¡¯s the doctor! Hurry up and get me a damn doctor!¡±


    Cheng Ming was a frank person who never lost his temper, and it was even more unlikely for him to swear. The others were quite perplexed when his tone suddenly turned irritable, but they acknowledged the reputation of that popr ss monitor and someone soon took the initiative to lead the way.


    There were no doctors there, only healers who came with the ship. Like those architects, they were also NPC-like characters. The actualbat operation in the past must have had simr equipment, but none of the freshmen had learned any treatment methods because they were still new to everything. In any case, perhaps that was how the academy wanted to improve the freshmen¡¯s strength.


    There were about 20 healers, and everyone already knew that the healers¡¯ rank was roughly equivalent to ck Iron and Bronze.


    Few casualties urred on the fortress side during the afternoon¡¯s defensive battle, as the orcs were suppressed by the defense towers throughout the entire process. Even as the battle line progressed and the outer archer towers began to gradually suffer losses, the defenders at the front of the city were not affected that much.


    The biggest casualties still resulted from the orcs¡¯ long-range throwing weapons. Their strength was a bit troublesome to deal with, but it weakened when they were some distance away. For example, when the orcs realized it was getting more difficult to approach, they simply started throwing their weapons while still near the foot of the mountain. Few people actually died and most suffered only minor injuries.


    Those on the fallen archer towers were in no such luck. Based on preliminary count, no one survived from the archer towers that had been lost in the periphery.


    Of course, the interim group leaders did not dare to release that information publicly for the time being, as they were afraid no one would be willing to go out and defend the tower the next day.

 Chapter 244: The First Day of Defending the Fortress Comes to An End

    <h4>Chapter 244: The First Day of Defending the Fortress Comes to An End</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s injury was considered one of the more serious among those who suffered heavy injuries. The healers diagnosed it as severe burns after a simple nce. Though it would be difficult to treat on Earth, they were on Norma.


    Xiao Lin did not even use the healing potion he carried with him, since it was way too precious. He did his best not to drink it that afternoon after considering that the battle had just begun.


    In the end, the healer sprayed a kind of ultracold water on his hands. It had a faint fragrance and was somewhat sticky to the touch. His hands were then wrapped with a bandage and he was told that it would take two days to heal fully. In the meantime, he should not be holding any weapons.


    A temporary camp for the wounded battalion was set up on the training ground, but since everyone¡¯s injuries were not very serious, they chatted casually with each other while waiting for the healers¡¯ busy treating. Most of them were bragging about how brave they were in battle, how they were seriously injured but continued to draw their bow and shoot arrows, or how many orcs they killed.


    Someone immediately expressed skepticism and said, ¡°How do you know how many orcs you killed? Did you still have time to count when there were enemies all over the hill at that moment?¡±


    The person who had just boasted about his achievements immediately raised a small book. After opening it, one could see that the word ¡®strike¡¯ had been written countless times. He proimed proudly, ¡°I make a record whenever an enemy is confirmed dead.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve saved that bit of energy from making that record, you might have been able to kill more orcs,¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s ears picked up on the conversation and he interjected helplessly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you ss Seven¡¯s monitor?¡± The young guy who had been called out chuckled awkwardly and was immediately able to guess Xiao Lin¡¯s identity after realizing that thetter¡¯s face was somewhat familiar.


    Xiao Lin probably had not realized that he was actually a small-time celebrity. Many people got to know about him before the monthly exam. Xiao Lin¡¯s reputation among the freshmen was not that good initially. His impression was defined by everyone as ¡®the loser acting monitor of ss Seven.¡¯ In addition to his short absence, everyone gradually began forgetting his existence.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s talkativeness ensured that the details of Xiao Lin¡¯s injury spread gradually within the fortress. The fact that Xiao Lin took the initiative to walk out of the fortress at the beginning and ascend the defense tower made everyone admire him all the more.


    The body count of that afternoon¡¯s battle was alsoplete. Since the orcs would not take the initiative to attack at night, the monitors from the temporary headquarters took advantage of the orcs retreat and organized some people to head out for the purposes of cleaning the battlefield.


    mes continued to burn in the grasnd, and ck beacons of smoke lingered in the sky. The dark red blood, along with the iplete corpses of the orcs, painted a horrifying picture. Originally, the monitors were worried about whether those corpses were still in the process of dying or perhaps evenying there and feigning death. Everyone was urged to be especially careful, and anything deemed suspicious should first be given a few shes before proceeding with anything else.


    In fact, no surviving orcs were encountered during the cleaning process, whichsted for more than an hour. Every orc fought hard and only fell down until they lost theirst drop of blood. The intensity of that afternoon¡¯s battle could be felt while walking amidst those gruesome corpses.


    After a rough count, the number of orcs killed in that charge exceeded 600, ounting for nearly one-fifth of their troops. Those who were wounded when they retreated were not yet taken into ount. The acting monitors were fairly satisfied with that data. If that was the number, then they would be able topletely wipe out the orc infantry team in just one week.


    After Xiao Lin was all bandaged up, he sat briefly in the camp for the wounded before going back to ss Seven to check on the situation. Luck was on their side, for throughout the entire afternoon, only three of the students were killed by the thrown spears. The others had slight bruises, but none had any serious injury. However, although Xiao Lin was ostensibly visiting his ssmates, his main purpose was actually to make sure that Gu Xiaoyue was safe.


    The sight of that girl sitting coldly there gave him a sense of relief. Xiao Lin then found out all about the battle in the afternoon through Zhou Feng, the baldy who looked tough as nails.


    As Xiao Lin interacted more with him, he gradually realized that Zhou Feng was also a trustworthy person.


    There was nothing much to say since everyone was guarding the city, but Zhou Feng privately expressed some worry about the battle privately to him. Although they all had the upper hand in the battle that afternoon, the orcs¡¯ fierceness had actually taken them by surprise.


    The most formidable armies were the ones that had no fear of death. In fact, the students were already at a disadvantage after the archer tower was destroyed and the spell tower started misfiring. However, the orcmander might have stopped the attack after considering the circumstances of the casualties and was perhaps reluctant to engage in night battles.


    Xiao Lin and Zhou Feng happened to hold the same view on that. Based on that day¡¯s trend, it was hard to determine the result of repeated onughts. Themanding headquarters¡¯ optimistic estimate of wiping out the group of orcs within seven days was purely conjecture.


    ¡°Old Xiao, is guarding all we can do? I mean, we¡¯ve already told the fleet to move everything that can be moved. We can just burn whatever we can¡¯t bring away. What¡¯s important is we bring all the necessary food when we leave.¡± Zhou Feng was still not used to addressing Xiao Lin as ¡®monitor¡¯ and usually called him ¡®Old Xiao¡¯. Xiao Lin did not mind it in the slightest and felt that it was much less impersonal.


    Zhou Feng¡¯s proposal left Xiao Lin a little surprised.


    Zhou Feng continued, ¡°I know the rewards for this mission are very generous, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s more cost-effectivepared to a ten-year life span. From what I see, some people are smitten by these temptations and don¡¯t even understand what¡¯s at stake!¡±


    Xiao Lin understood what Zhou Feng wanted to say. ording to the standard of reward for the second task, they were able to get 20 redemption points for every day they remained there. The price of a bottle of primary Lifewater was 1,000 redemption points, which meant that the minimum number of days they had to remain there was 50, after which it would be enough to break even if they died.


    It was only the sixth day, including that day. That amounted only to one tenth of the time. With nine tenths of time left, no one could guarantee what would happen next.


    Retreating might be a good idea if they were in a war on Earth, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Xiao Lin pointed to the resurrection tower that was being built some distance away and sighed, ¡°Remember, the resurrection tower is our foundation in the New World. We¡¯ll be invincible as long as the resurrection tower exists. This is why the architects came here. We can¡¯t abandon this supply depot, and especially not the resurrection tower!¡±

 Chapter 245: Xiao Lin’s Suggestion

    <h4>Chapter 245: Xiao Lin¡¯s Suggestion</h4>


    After Xiao Lin had a simple meal with ss Seven, he proceeded to leave. The dinner was a preparation of roasted bacon stocked up by the orcs and paired with fragrant soup. It was incredibly delicious.


    Everyone was enjoying their meal, but Xiao Lin was feeling a little distressed. Although the water sprayed by the healer seemed to be working and gradually began reducing the pain, he still could not touch anything yet. Simply holding the dishes would send waves of paining over him.


    The ever-attentive Gu Xiaoyue noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s embarrassment and pursed her lips, as if thinking of something. Her cold face felt slightly warm and she looked a little hesitant. Xiao Lin, who had also been keeping watch over her, realized something and looked over with a tantly pitiful expression.


    Most of the others noticed that the atmosphere had be a little odd. Those who were about to volunteer themselves by standing up immediately turned away, as if they had not seen anything.


    It was the instructor Qin Chuan who broke the atmosphere. He had just filled his bowl with broth when he turned back and happened to catch Xiao Lin¡¯s pitiful appearance. Having already known about Xiao Lin¡¯s injury, Qin Chuan walked over with the broth and sat down next to Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°I almost forgot that your hand still hurts. I¡¯ll feed you!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched a few times, but he could not possibly reject it. He forced a smile that looked even uglier than a crying mug and said thank you. When he looked at Gu Xiaoyue again, she seemed to have let out a sigh of relief and turned away.


    In fact, he originally wanted to have a chat with Gu Xiaoyue, but in that atmosphere, she would definitely have little to say in front of everyone.


    The acting ss monitors once again gathered in a separate room for a meeting. Since the establishment of this temporary headquarters, everyone seemed very keen to exercise the power of the battlefieldmander. They frequently did not listen to each other and were constantly at each other¡¯s necks, resulting in reduced efficiency. Even so, any decision to be made could only be issued from themand headquarters.


    Xiao Lin waste, and his snow-white bandage made many of the others bow their heads in shame. Xiao Lin was the only one who took the initiative to leave the fortress during that afternoon¡¯s battle.


    ¡°Our casualties today are quite serious, but it¡¯s not quite appropriate to disclose some of the data to the rest. I¡¯m worried it will affect morale. Let me exin everything first.¡±


    The person who spoke was a tall and thin man. His name was Sheng Guo, and he was the monitor of ss Eight. Since he was responsible for the battlefield statistics, the opening remarks of that meeting started with him.


    ¡°We lost eight archer towers. I¡¯ve spoken with the architect just now and it¡¯s basically impossible to repair them. As long as the orcs continue to go on the offensive tomorrow, our remaining defense towers may only be able to support three more days at most.¡±


    ¡°Three days? That quick? I remember we had dozens of defense towers!¡± Han Manman from ss Four did not seem to agree.


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°ss Eight¡¯s statistics are correct. Every time we lose a defense tower, it means that the orcs will attack even stronger the next round. May I remind you that the spell towers use far more energy than we initially thought.¡±


    Xiao Lin briefly described the operation process of the spell device on the lower magic tower. Among them, the inventory did not have any of those metal pieces that needed to be reced whenever the spell device was used to fire. They did not find anything simr in the orcs¡¯ warehouse either, which meant that there was an absence of recement metal pieces. That the remaining spell towers would be useless was certainly a possibility.


    Xiao Lin was thrust into the limelight that day, and although everyone criticized his statement silently in their hearts, his words made them stop and think for a long time. Depressingly, they soon discovered the fact that things were not looking very optimistic.


    That day¡¯s defensive battle seemed like a victory, but judging from the results, why did it appear as though they were on the brink of defeat?


    ¡°How long can the spell tower¡¯s metal piecesst?¡± Cheng Ming interrupted everyone¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°One day.¡± Xiao Lin gave an answer so firm that ss Eight¡¯s monitor could not even refute. They had no right to object since they were not privy to the information Xiao Lin had, and he was the only one who had actually been inside the defense tower.


    No one could voice any opinion on that.


    ¡°What if we use them sparingly? For example, you mentioned that the process of cooling and recing the metal pieces takes only a minute or two once a person is proficient in it. We¡¯ll extend that duration. How about changing it to fire only once every five minutes?¡± Han Manman¡¯s spoke optimistically. In fact, there were only three women among the acting ss monitors, and the natural advantage of a woman was that they could get a little bit of preferential treatment. However, Han Manman was an exception.


    As soon as she finished speaking, ss Twelve¡¯s monitor Chen Dao rolled his eyes at her. The boy who had not even graduated from high school did not see eye-to-eye with Han Manman and they often shed heads with each other. At that point, he mocked her, ¡°Those who don¡¯t understand spells should keep their mouth shut! Everyone saw it from today¡¯s battle. Even though the spell tower¡¯s firing intervals are quite long, they¡¯re very powerful. The burning effect thates along is also useful in blocking the orc¡¯s charging direction. The reason we¡¯re able to have this meeting today is only because of the spell tower¡¯s uninterrupted attacks!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not want to target anyone specifically, but he stated the facts all the same. ¡°Yes, in the second half of today¡¯s battle, one of the main reasons why the orcs were able to attack was because the operator of the spell tower had poor mental strength, which caused the firing speed to slow down significantly. My suggestion for tomorrow¡¯s battle is not only to extend the firing interval, but also to shorten the time!¡±


    Feeling slightly embarrassed, Han Manman said, ¡°But you just said that the process from cooling to recing the metal sheet is an irreceable one. How do you n to shorten the time!¡±


    Xiao Lin nced at her like an idiot, paused for a moment, and continued. ¡°I did say that this process is indispensable, but what if someone else was arranged to take charge?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re suggesting for two people to board the same tower?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Two or three people is ideal!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not good. We only have this small number of people, and if we assign others to go out, the power to defend the city will be greatly weakened.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°I don¡¯t think our strength in defending the city will be weakened. In fact, if you carefully count the results of today¡¯s battle, did the kills of those who used archery for the first time in the long-range attack add up to the total number killed by one defense tower? Those who excelled at closebat didn¡¯t contribute much when defending the city. It¡¯d be better to have them on the tower to help. Moreover, if the orcs charged over, they could also defend their spot.¡±


    His words made some of them turn their heads in some embarrassment. There were a few closebat specialists among the acting ss monitors, and some¡ªlike Cheng Ming¡ªeven admitted it and acknowledged Xiao Lin¡¯s words.


    With Cheng Ming¡¯s support, Xiao Lin¡¯s resolution passed smoothly.


    A point to note was that all measures and ns to be implemented was decided by the temporary headquarters through voting. That was something Zhou Feng and Qin Chuan argued in private with Xiao Lin for quite some time.


    Although the voting system was designed to allow 12 monitors of equal status to maintain bnce and fairness, such so-called democracy could sometimes be a huge detriment when a battlefield emergency arose.

 Chapter 246: Xiao Lin’s Supervision of the Battle

    <h4>Chapter 246: Xiao Lin¡¯s Supervision of the Battle</h4>


    At dawn the next day, everyone was still fast asleep when the low and rapid sound of war drums rang just before the sun came up. Amidst the loud drumming, the well-prepared orc infantry had already begun to advance towards the foot of the mountain from the ins.


    Although there would always be people who expected the orcs to give up the siege due to the heavy losses, their hopes were quickly dashed. With shouts and yells, they woke everyone who was still asleep and quickly put on their equipment before heading to the fortress wall.


    Based on the decision of the previous day¡¯s meeting, the number of people sent out to board the defense towers were two instead of one. The additional person would be responsible for assisting in recing and cooling the firing port¡¯s metal pieces. The archer tower also required assistance, with additional manpower tasked to pull the bowstring so the person shooting it would only need to aim and fire. That way, their efficiency would be greatly improved.


    Xiao Lin was injured, but after waking up in the morning, he actually felt that the pain had subsided considerably. However, he was unsure whether it was due to the effectiveness of the healer¡¯s medicine or if it was the healing effect of his own primary dragon blood. Simply put, he felt able enough to join in the battle, but many people stopped him from doing so.


    Xiao Lin had bravely volunteered to battle the day before, causing many of the acting monitors to feel as though they lost some of their pride. If he was allowed to enter the battlefield with injuries, everyone else¡¯s admiration for him would probably skyrocket to levels of worship.


    For members of one¡¯s own ss to admire another acting ss monitor was utterly uneptable, at least in the eyes of someone like Han Manman. For that reason, they tried their best to stop Xiao Lin from going out to battle again that day.


    Meanwhile, individuals like Cheng Ming, Chen Dao, and the others, did so out of kindness. The battle had only just begun and Xiao Lin did not have to be so desperate. Chen Dao even pouted and remarked, ¡°You underestimate us a little too much! If your absence means this fortress can be breached, there¡¯ won¡¯t be any need to continue the exam anymore. We can just surrender and go back to the academy!¡±


    In the end, Xiao Lin heeded everyone¡¯s opinion and chose to supervise the battle from the top of the wall. In fact, he was still rather worried that the iplete recovery of his injury would affect his use of swordsmanship. As a result, he did not dare to loosen the bandage before he waspletely healed, so the only role he could do was supervise the battle.


    The orcs lost nearly one-fifth of their troops a day ago, but they still poured in after spreading out the area they covered. They still had an absolute advantage in terms of numbers, butpared to the previous day, the freshmen on the fortress were much more mentally prepared. No longer rookies who barely survived the battle¡¯s early stages, they no longer have the same panicked look they had a day ago when they saw the huge number of orcs.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s duty to supervise the battle was only nominal. Most of the time, he could only choose to watch the battle silently from one side. That was the cause of embarrassment for most melee specialists, and also formed the reason for the willingness to ascend the defense tower to help out. The previous day¡¯s battle made them realize that Norma¡¯s people were not pushovers. One could not hope to finish them off just by taking a bow and arrow to them.


    The orcs¡¯ special physique afforded them defensive strength, even when their skin was bare. If ayman¡ªsomeone who was not a professional archer and had insufficient strength to fire arrows¡ªtried to shoot, the result would hardly have any lethal effect.


    Xiao Lin did not take archery courses and was therefore unable to express any opinion on that. He observed the orcs¡¯ attack and found that it did not weaken at allpared to the previous day. In any case however, the number of individuals were lesser, and even though there were fewer archer towers, the me balls and arrows raining from the sky was still capable of suppressing the orcs.


    The orcs in the front row were directly blown into bits by the oing me balls. Any remaining orcs that were still alive became hedgehogs after a slew of arrows pierced them. Those arrows were fired by therge crossbow and was even sharper than an ¨¦p¨¦e, capable of piercing the orcs¡¯ hard skin without any difficulty.


    Xiao Lin looked back at the endless turquoise sea. The silver fleet that was suspected to be the elves has not moved at all since the earlier day. The acting ss monitors began to believe that the fleet really was just watching everything in safety while the others engaged in the fight.


    Even so, Xiao Lin did not dare to let his guard down. Regardless of how the other sses dealt with those elves, he always arranged someone from his own ss to keep watch of the fleet even if that meant the person would have to ignore the attacking orcs.


    Gu Xiaoyue had only learnt the Ice Bullet as her offensive spell, but it was incredibly powerful because of her own strength. In fact, its effect was no weaker than the strongest low-level spell, which was the me Ball. The slowing-down effect produced by the ice bullet could effectively contain the momentum of the orcs¡¯ charging vanguard.


    In addition, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s method of casting spells was simple and quick. She couldplete severalplex gestures in the blink of an eye. Whether in terms of spell casting efficiency or destructive power, she was more or less as effective as ten other ordinary students.


    When Xiao Lin shifted his gaze from Gu Xiaoyue to the other spellcasting freshmen, the sight was too horrible to endure. Xiao Lin casually observed a few people and saw that their casting actions were all wrong. A direct consequence was that either the gathered elements became less dense, or the formation was defective after everything wasbined. The impact on the spell¡¯s power was significant, and failure to cast spells was a verymon sight.


    Xiao Lin finally could not stand it anymore, and moreover, he felt that he should at least be doing something. The simtion battle was just as important to everyone else as it was to him, and simply watching without doing anything made him feel very uneasy.


    ¡°Hey, your moves are wrong. You have to straighten your forearm, otherwise you won¡¯t be able to gather enough elements!¡±


    ¡°Tell me, why are you chanting so softly! Are you from a family of mosquitoes or something? The fire element is a violent one. If you don¡¯t manifest it more carefully, you won¡¯t seed in casting the spell!¡±


    ¡°For heaven¡¯s sake! Don¡¯t close your eyes when you throw the me ball. You may be a girl, but you can¡¯t be that scared right? Your perception level isn¡¯t high enough that you can urately aim your spell with your eyes closed!¡±


    ...


    The other acting monitors were helpless when they found that Xiao Lin was zealously beginning to perform his duties in supervising the war. In fact, many of them might not necessarily be unaware of such a basic principle: mistakes in the course of a tight situation might be excusable, but the kind of mistakes they made would be difficult to changeter on if such bad habits were not corrected.


    Everyone was fully engaged in the battle after the battle started, and there was really not much time to pay attention to everyone else. However, since Xiao Lin was only a bystander for the time being, many of those mistakes were swiftly corrected after he gave them a reminder.


    That was not enough to satisfy Xiao Lin. Since he had learned the modified me Bomb and also studied the original me Ball, he personally felt that the original spell¡¯s casting method was too cumbersome. Even if he did not simplify the me Ball to the level of the me Bomb, it was still beneficial to improve it slightly.

 Chapter 247: Dangerous Situation

    <h4>Chapter 247: Dangerous Situation</h4>


    Those who were still casting the me Ball were a little perplexed with Xiao Lin¡¯s guidance. The spellcasting movements and chants that they learnt were the standard ones that they learnt in ss, but truthfully speaking, there was no absolute criterion for spellcasting movements. The key was gathering the elements up and rbining them using the established order.


    The process of achieving that goal was endless and varied, but the academy was worried that the students might deviate from the right way. After all, many bad habits were difficult to change once firmly entrenched into a beginner, which was why the academy had always taught the most standard moves to the students only.


    In fact, Xiao Lin did not have much experience in that and could only give some guidance to the freshmen who used the me Ball. He never once talked about any other spells for fear that his guidance was erroneous.


    As for the me Ball, not even Gu Xiaoyue might be able to match Xiao Lin as of right then. The skill book Xiao Lin had was left by the masters of years past, and many of the lessons were very helpful to the freshmen even if they only learnt a fraction of it.


    Its effects were unknown, but judging from the looks of surprise on the faces of those who epted Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestions, it ought to be rather good.


    A one- to two-second increase in casting speed, or even a 10% increase in power, was a big enough effect in fierce battles.


    The orcs¡¯ siege was more violent than the previous day and there was no stopping them even when noon came. Everyone on the inner side of the fortress had to grit their teeth and continue the fight.


    Humans were not machines after all, so no matter how powerful those defense towers were, it was still humans that operated them. It was a repeat of the previous day, where more archer towers were destroyed in that afternoon¡¯s closely-fought tussle, as the orcs had finally approached the outermost line of defense.


    The earlier arrangement finally came into y at this moment. Each arrow tower was equipped with two people, and one of them would take out the weapon and descend the tower to engage in a direct fight. That was the first time they faced battle at knife point after two days of war.


    An average-strength freshman was hardly capable of holding out against an orc in a one-on-one battle, and although the end result was more or less the same, they were at least able to stall some time and prevent the outer defense towers to be destroyed less quickly.


    The fierce fights intensified, and the casualties on the fortress began increasing rapidly. Most deaths were downright tragic, and the orcs had clearly surpassed them in terms of fighting spirit. Xiao Lin even saw a seriously injured and soon-to-be-dead orc tear the flesh off another person¡¯s face. The person was probably scared out of their wits when they turned around to flee back to the fortress. Sadly, the person only managed to run halfway before a weapon was thrown right into his heart from behind.


    Blood spilled all over the hillside, and it was finally the humans who contributed arger amount of blood.


    At that point, the effects of Xiao Lin¡¯s continuous guidance and pointers were gradually beginning to show. The extra efficiency gained whenever they casted spells afforded them sufficient mental power to continue casting spells in the remaining time.


    It might not have been obvious in the morning, but the added efficiency began manifesting itself when the war fell into a stalemate. The suppressive spell attacks from the fortress wall were very important, especially when the surrounding spell towers were starting to misfire. Based on Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding of war in that world, a mage unit was almost equivalent to the artillery on Earth¡ªits biggest function was to stunt the enemy range of advancement and suppress any attacks.


    Several ss monitors were also feeling the pressure. They ran back and forth, either boosting morale or loudly condemning those who were gradually being overtaken by fear. In short, everyone was giving it their all as much as possible.


    After spending all that time guiding them, Xiao Lin had already said everything that needed to be said. As he looked at the worrying situation below the wall, almost half the defense towers seemed to be in danger. About ten or so minutes ago, Cheng Ming¡ªwho had also realized the importance of those peripheral defense towers¡ªdecisively led a charge consisting of those who could stare death in the face. They formed a temporary line of defense in front of the defense towers to dy the damage inflicted by the orcs.


    The effect however, was not that great. In the end, the orcs were simply overwhelming in their number. They had invested a total of more than 3,000 individuals in their troops, which was enough to attack a small town. Meanwhile, the students inside the fortress added up to only a few hundred people.


    Xiao Lin waved his hand, and tore off the bandage after realizing he was not in too much pain. Although Zhou Feng and Qin Chuan immediately rushed forth to stop him, Xiao Lin nced at his rosy palm and stunned the both of them with the effects of his recovery.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to join the battle?¡± Qin Chuan asked in a doubtful tone.


    Zhou Feng had been with Xiao Lin for longer, and to some extent, understood thetter¡¯s character more. Still, he did not approve of it. ¡°What¡¯s the use of you going up there! I¡¯ll stick to the earlier suggestion, that it might be better to give this fortress up.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and shook his head. Strategically speaking, the resurrection tower was still under construction within the fortress and must not be abandoned. Otherwise, it would mean that the battle was aplete failure. From a personal point of view, even if they retreated, they had absolutely nowhere to go. It was an endless sea behind them, where an unnamed fleet was lying in wait!


    Before he left, Xiao Lin did not forget to request the Elementary Speed Boost spell from Gu Xiaoyue. It was not very useful in defensive battles, because elementary speed boosts only increased one¡¯s movement speed, not one¡¯s attack speed. However, she did not have the habit of asking in too much detail, so even though she was a little confused, she decided to just wave her wand and bestow a halo on Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I won¡¯t let you die here, even if it means fighting with all my life!¡± After leaving them with that sentence, Xiao Lin strode out of the fortress. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression was still as cold as ever, but her heart tightened for some unknown reason.


    On that asion however, there were two other squad leaders and three instructors who went along with Xiao Lin. As if sensing the moment the fortress door opened, a small group of orcs left the opponents they were engaged with and did not seem to care that their backs werepletely open to attacks. They immediately rushed toward the soon-to-be closed door, intending to use their bodies to jam a gap and stop it from being shut.


    Xiao Lin sneered slightly. He raised the Holy Soul Sword up high, and swung an arc in front of his body. me sword aura shot out, and the range of its attack was rtively far-reaching. The orcs, which were about seven or eight meters away, were caught off guard and failed to defend themselves. One individual was sliced in half on the spot, with its colorful internal organs spurting all over the sky. The remaining two or three orcs were also sted away by the fire and rolled down the hillside.


    ¡°Find somewhere to defend yourselves. Don¡¯t stand in my way!¡±


    After Xiao Lin uttered that sentence, he did not hesitate to turn on his Miracle skill and transform all his attributes to agility. Then, he executed the Phantom Steps and rushed to the frontline of the battlefield.

 Chapter 248: Comeback

    <h4>Chapter 248: Comeback</h4>


    The ss monitors and instructors looked at each other, but before they could react, the only thing they saw was a blur because Xiao Lin had darted more than 10 meters ahead. The monitors did not think much of it, but the instructors were utterly shocked to the core. As instructors, they had a year¡¯s worth of studying under their belt but could never match up with that kind of speed.


    Xiao Lin did not leave the others behind because he arrogantly believed he could deal with all the orcs on his own, but rather, he did so because he had to kill as many orcs as quickly as possible. He was also fully aware that no one else could keep up with him in that state of his.


    After the first two battles, Xiao Lin had a pretty good idea of his ownbat strength. Swordsmanship alone would be difficult to cause fatal damage to the orcs. If he wanted to kill them as quickly as possible, it was imperative that he use the me sword aura. He relied on that the most at present, but the drawbacks of the me sword aura were also obvious during the previous battles¡ªit consumed a significant amount of both mental and physical strength.


    However, there was no time to worry about how much strength would be used up and Xiao Lin did not hold back in the slightest. The Elementary Speed Boost¡¯s speed increase, coupled with the Phantom Stepsplex footwork, enabled Xiao Lin¡¯s flexible posture to appear practically anywhere in the hillside. As long as a defense tower was surrounded by orcs, Xiao Lin would immediately abandon the enemy in his hand and rush to reinforce it quickly.


    The hill was very small to begin with, so Xiao Lin¡ªwho was moving constantly at high speed¡ªmistakenly gave everyone the impression that he could actually teleport. He would appear like a savior wherever there was a crisis. The stability of the defense tower thus allowed the long-range firepower to continue piling the pressure.


    Within a mere ten minutes, the outermost line of defense that had been breached was almost instantly brought back to safety with Xiao Lin¡¯s approach. Although there were still a few monitors like Cheng Ming on the battlefield, everyone from the fortress wall could clearly see that Cheng Ming and the rest yed a very limited role. They might be able to protect a single defense tower, but there was no way for them to protect everything.


    Xiao Lin was the only one who could do so, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was turning the tables on the situation. His Miracle skill transforming all his attributes into agility, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Elementary Speed Boost spell, and his excellent Phantom Step allowed his figure to shuttle freely on the battlefield like a ghost. His me-coated sword aura was like the sharpest of knives, pulverizing the orcs at every turn.


    The orcs were also aware of how troublesome he was, but it was only when they attempted to circle Xiao Lin that he engaged them in annoyance. His purpose was very clear, which was to protect the defense tower. As long as the enemy turned his target to himself, he would immediately slip away. He did not enjoy fighting at all, and the clumsy orcs could not nearly catch up to him in terms of speed anyway.


    Han Manman and the others gritted their teeth when they saw him. After all, an individual had little strength in a war and could not possibly influence the final moments of a battle. They were very much aware of that universal truth, which was why they decided to set up a temporary headquarters. It was hoped that all 12 sses would be united by that.


    In spite of that, everyone had also overlooked a very important issue. The war was one that took ce in Norma, and judging from the situation that day, it was only a very small one, perhaps not even on the level of a local-scale war. Would it really be possible to control the oue of a battle in that world if one¡¯s personal strength was strong enough?


    What Xiao Lin did undoubtedly shocked everyone. Perhaps the rest might have more knowledge about the war in Norma after that battle.


    However, Xiao Lin was actually in agony. The peak of Phantom Step and Miracle also required a lot of physical strength to support, let alone with the me sword aura. Whenever he filled the defense line to help defend the defense tower, the energy he expended was truly extraordinary.


    Half an hourter, Xiao Lin, who was sweating profusely, finally slumped weakly on the ground and panted heavily. His Miracle skill could no longer be maintained, he even found it difficult to lift his sword. His feet became extremely heavy, and neither the Phantom Step nor the me sword aura could continue to be used. A wry smile appeared on his face and he finally reached the limit.


    An orc nearby noticed his fatigue and charged over with a roar. Xiao Lin had to admire the fighting spirit of those orcs. He had tortured and killed them so brutally earlier but they remained fearless. Be that as it may, no race in the world was without weaknesses.


    Therefore, Xiao Lin took a deep breath and squeezed out hisst strength. He raised the Holy Soul Sword with both hands only barely, and amidst the hum of the sword¡¯s edge, a swordsman covered in old heavy armor gradually appeared from the lingering smoke.


    The Holy Soul Summoning ability attached to the Holy Soul Sword required the death of arge number of creatures as a sacrifice for a sessful summon. In fact, that was his main purpose. When he used his me sword aura half an hour ago, the orcs killed by his sword had definitely fulfilled the prerequisite for a sufficient sacrifice.


    ¡°Go! Get rid of these orcs!¡± Xiao Lin sneered slightly when he looked at the orcs rushing over. The orcs were too na?ve if they thought they could kill him when hecked any strength.


    The undead swordsman held his ¨¦p¨¦e with both hands and rushed fearlessly toward the group of seven or eight orcs. His speed was not quick and he was soon surrounded by several orcs. Seven or eight battle axes fell right on the swordsman¡¯s body, but thetter did not react at all. He lowered his ¨¦p¨¦e slightly and swung it, pushing back the orcs around him and causing them to tumble onto the ground.


    Xiao Lin hurriedly left after observing everything briefly. He temporarilyckedbat effectiveness and did not want to continue pretending to be the hero. Lu Renjia gave his assurance that the summoned swordsman had Bronze-rank strength when he was promoting the Holy Soul Sword, but from the simple observation earlier, the undead swordsman¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship was estimated to be LV6 or LV7 at most. Its strength was hardly Bronze-rank.


    Of course, it might also be the case that Xiao Lin was unfamiliar with the undead creatures, but in short, thebat power of an undead swordsman could only be regarded as ordinary at best. Fortunately, as an undead person, the undead swordsman¡¯s body was that of a soul that was practically impervious to all forms of physical attacks. The exception would be if enchanted weapons or elemental sword aura were used to attack it.


    Moreover, orcs have a natural fear of undead which owed a lot to the history of the orcs, but Xiao Lin¡ªwho had been absent from school for more than a month¡ªobviously knew little about it.


    The appearance of the undead swordsman, coupled with the repeated setbacks in the attack, finally brought down the orcs¡¯ morale and their attack speed slowed down gradually. Xiao Lin paid no mind to the coldness shown by the others when he returned to the fortress. He ignored all the other acting ss monitors who were present there and said unceremoniously, ¡°Immediately organize an attack and cooperate with Cheng Ming for a counterattack! The orcs¡¯ morale has dropped and this is our best opportunity. As long as this counterattack seeds, we might be able to fight on for many more days!¡±

 Chapter 249: The Fleet’s Sudden Intervention

    <h4>Chapter 249: The Fleet¡¯s Sudden Intervention</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s direct order ruffled the feathers of several acting ss monitors. The essence of the temporary headquarters was to prevent one or two ss monitors from directly controlling the chain ofmand. However, as much as they silently disagreed with Xiao Lin, were they really going to wait for a meeting and a discussion if they were really facing an emergency situation?


    ¡°Come on guys, charge with me!¡± Zhou Feng¡¯s first action was to make that statement. As the interim group leader appointed by Xiao Lin, he certainly understood that he had to stand firmly on Xiao Lin¡¯s side at such a time. He immediately waved his hand, and more than 20 people followed him out of the fortress.


    The other sses could no longer decline, and anyone could tell that it was indeed a good opportunity to defeat the orcs in one fell swoop. A simr chance might not present itself again if they did not seize it right then.


    More people rushed out of the fortress and charged down the hill,unching an assault on the orcs when thetter¡¯s fighting spirit had been shaken. The move had undoubtedly taken the orcs by surprise, as they never expected the humans to take the initiative and attack since they had been passively defending for two consecutive days.


    Xiao Lin was panting with exhaustion, but it did not prevent him from standing on the city wall and continuing tomand the undead swordsman. He was also curious about the maximummand range of the summoned soul and he thought it best to collect some information about it.


    The undead swordsman¡¯s fighting power was not that strong, and after a prolonged fight with the group of seven or eight orcs, only one had been killed. The opponent however, had no intention of fighting at that moment and chose to retreat.


    Xiao Lin therefore continued to direct the swordsman forward. Its function was not to kill, but to pester the enemy like a fishbone stuck in their throat, where neither spitting out or swallowing would do any good. However, in a delicate battle situation where the orcs were in a stalemate and even started losing the upper hand gradually, the fishbone would finally be thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back.


    Waves of brown bodies finally began arge-scale retreat. After fighting for nearly a whole day and leaving behind countless broken corpses, the orc¡¯s attacks proved unfruitful.


    There were cheers from the fortress, and Xiao Lin also smiled before breathing a sigh of relief. On the hillside, the team that went out of the city did not give up after Cheng Ming took charge, but chose to continue the pursuit, even if it raised the eyebrows of some ss monitors. They were worried that doing so would only increase the losses, but Xiao Lin immediately refuted their doubts.


    ¡°We need enough time and space to defend and we must drive the orcs farther away. We have run out of defense towers. We have to continue to build more!¡±


    Everyone, including Xiao Lin, started thinking about what needed to be der on. There were no more surprises at the end of that battle, and the one thing they could look forward to was the number of orcs that would eventually be eliminated.


    However, things most often go wrong in the world of times. A loud cry interrupted Xiao Lin¡¯s contemtion, and the person who had been assigned to stare at the mysterious fleet earlier anxiously shouted, ¡°ss Monitor, look! The fleet is attacking!¡±


    When Xiao Lin turned his head in shock, all he saw was a light green light beam gushing out from one of the silver warships. It soared straight into the clouds up high, then traveled in a huge arc beforending almost vertically on the battlefield.


    Boom!


    The next minute, that beam of lightnded urately on the summoned undead swordsman. Xiao Lin could only feel a sharp pain in his mind beforepletely losing all sense of the swordsman.


    The unexpected attack shocked everyone, and the pursuit was forced to stop. Although the fleet returned to calm after that, and it looked as if nothing happened at all, no one dared to ignore them anymore.


    Cheng Ming quickly brought his people back. The one thing that made everyone feel relieved was that the beam did not cause any casualties to the humans. It was a little weird when they pondered about it, for it appeared to be an astonishing attack that had no casualties.


    ¡°It¡¯s a reminder! That fleet is reminding us that they are not onlookers!¡± Cheng Ming sighed with regret. They were just one step away frompletely driving the orcs out of that area, but unfortunately, the orcs were only temporarily defeated and would continue to regroup after the retreat.


    ¡°Actually, I think it¡¯s all Xiao Lin¡¯s fault!¡± Han Manman spoke sharply and immediatelyshed out at Xiao Lin, who was resting and sitting at one side. ¡°Since we have no casualties, it means that the fleet is only targeting that fully-armored swordsman. I¡¯ve been paying close attention to the battlefield, and you were the one who summoned that swordsman, Xiao Lin!¡±


    Some people were stunned. Indeed, they had not noticed how the swordsman appeared when they were on the battlefield and thought that it was merely their ssmate.


    ¡°The situation this afternoon was clear for all of us to see. If it weren¡¯t for Xiao Lin¡¯s help in filling up the loopholes in the defense line, we would probably lose more defense towers, or even all of our peripheral defensive line!¡± Cheng Ming did not hesitate to stand on Xiao Lin¡¯s side.


    ¡°In fact, there¡¯s nothing unexpected about this. We¡¯ve been treating that silver fleet as if they¡¯re the enemy and this hypothesis is now confirmed. Since they¡¯re the enemy, they will step in eventually. What¡¯s the difference if they do it now?¡± Many people spoke on behalf of Xiao Lin, and even those who were neutral to him before could not help but admire him after seeing his astounding fighting performance that afternoon.


    Han Manman did not think that much. She knew that it was impossible to me Xiao Lin for such a thing, but she simply wanted to sour his reputation. After all, Xiao Lin¡¯s performance was far too eye-catching during the previous two days, and the jealousy inside her heart had umted even more.


    Chen Dao¡¯s focus has always been different. ¡°It¡¯s strange when you mention it. Were we taught summoning spells in ss? Well, I didn¡¯t know about it. Did you, Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue, who was not far away, shook her head calmly.


    Chen Dao¡¯s face was full of curiosity. ¡°How did you learn this summoning spell? Is it easy? Please teach me!¡±


    Other people began noticing that fact when Chen Dao reminded them. Xiao Lin was the first to master a spell that even Chen Dao and Gu Xiaoyue had not mastered, and it was even more incredible than they expected. All of a sudden, they recalled something even more amazing¡ªthe fact that Xiao Lin was rumored to be studying both magic and martial arts!


    Evidence of his strength could be seen earlier that afternoon, and it seemed that his magic abilities were quite advanced!


    A person¡¯s instinct was always to envy and admire the strong. It was particrly the case in times like that, as Xiao Lin¡¯s outstanding strength made ordinary students feel more at ease.


    Xiao Lin smiled wryly. When Han Manmanunched that scathing attack at him, he did not even bother to exin anything. Rather, it should be said that he was really not in the mood to focus on such things at that moment.


    Xiao Lin was incredibly tired, and it was not only a physical tiredness. Thest beam of light was indeed directed at the undead swordsman, and the impact on him was quite significant. The faint pain was still stinging his mind, even at that moment.

 Chapter 250: An Unexpected Discovery in the Command Room (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 250: An Unexpected Discovery in the Command Room (Part 1)</h4>


    It was the second time he used the summoning skill that came along with the Holy Soul Sword. When he first used it, the undead swordsman disappeared automatically after the summoning time limit was reached. ording to Qin Chuan however, Xiao Lin was in a state of rampage and fought madly with the orcmander at the time. Xiao Lin did not feel anything at all.


    The second time, however, when the undead swordsman was eliminated, the sting nearly made Xiao Lin faint on the spot. He was unsure whether the effect was a shoring of the Holy Soul Summoning skill or because of the fleet¡¯s unique attack.


    Casualty statistics were the norm after a battle. The casualties on the fortress were much more serious than yesterday, with more than 50 deaths and nearly 50 minor and serious injuries. Meanwhile, the orcs left more than 800 corpses on the ins and hillsides, and the good news was that the orcs had also lost more than half of their infantry.


    It was unfortunate that the mysterious fleet¡¯s sudden intervention left a lingering fear over everyone¡¯s hearts. There was no time to celebrate. That night itself, the acting ss monitors rejected some people¡¯s suggestions to celebrate and kept their guards up instead. They were not worried about the orcs¡¯ nighttime attack, but were instead wary that the fleet might suddenlymence with andfall.


    ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s original n that day, they were initially prepared to build more defense towers afterpletely defeating the half-crippled orc infantry. With excellent architects on their side,they could continue to consolidate their defenses as long as they could buy enough time.


    Xiao Lin would have been naive to think that the orc infantry were the sole enemies of that monthly test. It was impossible. The main orc wolf cavalry was still marching toward Dawn City on the front line, and their reinforcements would definitely continue to march there.


    Xiao Lin was beginning to understand why that battle failed in history. Dawn Academy was fully prepared of course, and they could actually drag it even longer if they relied on the excellent lethality of the defense tower. However, they had not considered the silver fleet at all.


    Compared with the nervousness and anxiety of ss monitors and instructors, the ordinary students were not as worried as they thought. After dinner, Xiao Lin walked around the fortress, hoping to find something usable, and he asionally heard other people¡¯s conversation along the way. There were no leisure and entertainment facilities, not even poker cards, so chatting was the only thing they could do there.


    ¡°F*ck! It was some damn luck we had today! We had it all in the bag!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to cry about? Even if you guard it for one day, it¡¯s only twenty redemption points.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you saying those redemption points aren¡¯t enough?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a question of whether or not we¡¯re actually able to get it! Tell me, guys, haven¡¯t you noticed? Do you think this battle really seeded in history?¡±


    ¡°Uh, this...¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s down to things that can¡¯t be changed in history, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have the ability to change the results! Perhaps this is the biggest obstacle in this monthly exam!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not like we wannapete for the position of ss monitor. It doesn¡¯t matter if we don¡¯t get a good grade. ¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve guarded it for seven days now. The reward is a hundred and forty redemption points, plus the five hundred for the first task. That¡¯s quite a lot already.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still another two weeks before we break even! After that, we¡¯ll leave it to fate!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin frowned and sighed to himself. After all, the war was not real. Although the academy wanted students to adapt as much as possible to a real war by setting the monthly test simtion realm as closely to reality as possible, it was still unable to change their mentality.


    ¡®There¡¯s still another two weeks before we break even.¡¯


    The meaning of this sentence was obvious¡ªthe rewards for the second task were 20 redemptions points for each day they stayed there. After half a month, all the surviving people would umte more than 1,000 redemption points, which just so happened to be the price of a bottle of basic Lifewater.


    After that, they had nothing to lose even if they were killed by the orcs. That was probably what everyone was thinking at the moment.


    Xiao Lin could not refute such an idea, and he could actuallyfort himself with such optimism too. s he could not, as only two years remaining of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan. She must not be allowed to die. Even though he was troubled by why the basic Lifewater failed to have any effect, it was not the time to think about such things.


    Xiao Lin came to themand room that originally belonged to the orcmander. The empty room looked very crude, and in the center was a huge stone table. The pirs present on both sides were carved with totem runes unique to the orc race.


    They searched the entire ce on the day they attacked the fortress, but were unfortunate not to find anything useful. The only thing that seemed to be of some utility was the map. Several orcs were burning maps and papers when the students charged in, but despite being able to save most of the papers, only half the map remained. Nevertheless, it still appeared toe in handy somewhat.


    Meanwhile, the other papers did not appear very useful. In fact, calling it paper was not entirely urate. Orcs did not have the craftsmanship skill to make paper, and things which could easily be crushed did not interest them at all. They usually write it down on leather paper, which was made of cleaned beast fur.


    Although the orcs also spoke Normese, their main dailynguage was still Orcish. As a result, no one could understand the seized documents and so left them alone and unattended. They were still in their freshman year, so they had yet to reach the stage where Orcish was an elective.


    Xiao Lin took those documents out again and then spread them out one by one on the stone table. He was trying to find some clues from them. It went without saying that he could not understand those words, but all he hoped for was a map or some kind of clue left behind. It was a pity that the orcs resisted very stubbornly during the siege and no captives were held. Xiao Lin was therefore deprived of a chance to replicate Orcish.


    Themand room was very dim, with only amp ignited using animal fat. Aside from the dim light, it also exuded a strong stench. Unless it was ast resort, none of the students wanted to light that kind ofmp at night.


    Xiao Lin had to lie his upper body t on the stone table and lean closer to get a better look. God knows how long had passed before he stood up again with a sore waist and a painful back. He sighed in disappointment. Everything that happened in the past two days gnawed at his mind and he suspected all their actions were actually a trap for the enemy. Unfortunately, there was neither enough evidence nor anything that could be of use.


    Xiao Lin still did not give up. He turned his gaze to the couple of torn paper next to him. They had been torn apart by the orcs before the students charged in. After taking over the fortress, someone initially wanted to throw the paper away, but Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming thought carefully again before deciding to keep it. Still, no one expected to actually get anything from it.

 Chapter 251: An Unexpected Discovery in the Command Room (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 251: An Unexpected Discovery in the Command Room (Part 2)</h4>


    Searching for something from all those scraps of paper was even more difficult than in thoseplete documents. Xiao Lin spent more than half an hour at it and finally gave up.


    The shreds were far too many and Xiao Lin did not bother to tidy them up. When he realized it was gettingte, he simplyy them on the stone table and was about to leave. As he went to blow out the oilmp, he subconsciously noticed the bumpy floor near the edge of the table from the corner of his eye. A torn piece of paper had fallen there.


    Initially, it was not something that was worthy of much attention. Xiao Lin nced briefly at it before blowing out the oilmp and leaving the room. Barely a few stepster however, the paper¡¯s contents shed quickly in his mind like a slide projector, as if a sh of lightning struck him. He suddenly halted his footsteps as his expression changed in the darkness. Something appeared to have popped up in his mind.


    Xiao Lin hurriedly turned around back and hurriedly re-ignited the foul-smelling oilmp. He carefully picked up the paper from the floor near the table edge and wiped the dust off of it. He observed it closely with the dim light closely. The paper was not thatrge and there were few words on it, but it was those iplete andpletely unfamiliar words that caused Xiao Lin¡¯s expression to be moreplicated as he looked at them.


    After a long time, Xiao Lin sat down on the leather-covered stone bench. Amidst the orange glow, his expression was rather dull and he seemed to be ovee with shock.


    ¡°How is this possible?


    ¡°This can¡¯t be!


    ¡°What kind of joke is this!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin muttered repeatedly to himself. He held the piece of paper in his hand and read over it countless times. The piece of paper was clearly already torn by the orcs, but themand room was basically untouched after the siege of the fortress. He therefore searched every nook and cranny in themand room, even in the corners full of garbage and dust. More and more pieces of paper were soon found.


    The endeavorsted half a night, and it was already veryte when Xiao Lin walked out of themand room again. Everyone had fallen asleep in the silent fortress, except for a team of patrollers. Based on the headquarters¡¯ joint decision, patrol work would be carried out in shifts ording to turns, and it was probably the fifth shift who were doing their rounds.


    Xiao Lin was able to gradually gain a certain degree of poprity during the two days of fighting, even among those from other sses. The patrol team quickly came over when they saw a silhouette, but they soon recognized that the person was Xiao Lin. A girl led the patrol team, and she tried talking to Xiao Lin after greeting him with a smile.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you slept yet, Monitor Xiao? Are you still worrying about the situation? Hehe, why don¡¯t youe join us for a walk!¡±


    The woman¡¯s enthusiasm soured the expressions of the men behind her. They were supposed to patrol, yet she took it for a night walk?


    Xiao Lin ignored the woman¡¯s warm greeting and suddenly asked, ¡°Where is the girls¡¯ dormitory?¡±


    After entering the fortress, the students naturally borrowed the orcs¡¯ barracks, but everyone was faced with an awkward problem. There was no distinction between men and women in the barracks. Although a small number of people felt that this was a matter of course during the war and it was not the time to be worrying about these minor details, most of those who held that view were men.


    That opinion was immediately met with extreme dissatisfaction from the women, who were headed by Han Manman. The orcs did not mind, but they were all humans. Many were unmarried women, and it was uneptable to have them live as mixed genders. In a rare show of support, Xiao Lin sided firmly with Han Manman¡¯s.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s question stunned the woman. For a man to suddenly ask about the girls¡¯ dormitory in the middle of the night was a weird enough question regardless of how one looked at it, but he had the authority to question it because he was the acting ss monitor. After the woman pointed the way, Xiao Lin thanked her and went straight away.


    The woman felt inexplicable and muttered to the person behind her, ¡°Could Monitor Xiao be bored with such a long night ahead?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s feeling lonely in this long night!¡±


    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that Monitor Xiao doesn¡¯t fancy me.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re a love-struck idiot!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think Monitor Xiao was really handsome this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°For f*ck¡¯s sake! We¡¯re men!¡±


    ...


    Of course, Xiao Lin didn¡¯t hear theints from the patrol team behind him. At that moment, his emotions were a mess and he did not realize how bad of an idea it was to be going into the girls¡¯ dormitory at night. His heart was getting very anxious and he could not wait until the next day.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance finally broke the calm and tranquil night. Fortunately for him, his brave fights in the past two days had won over a lot of ordinary students. In particr, many young female students have always admired heroism, just like the girl from the patrol team. Many found him to be very handsome and even hoped that some spark might appear between them.


    However, they all left in disappointment after hearing that Xiao Lin came only to Gu Xiaoyue, who had not gone to bed yet. She looked as though she did not care about anything, but her thought processes were very meticulous. She had taken up the responsibility of caring for a family and her younger sister from a younger age, and she usually had much more on her mind aspared to her peers.


    She was equally as surprised when Xiao Lin came to see her in the middle of the night, especially when the girls all around her looked at her with strange and teasing looks. Gu Xiaoyue did not like that kind of feeling and atmosphere, so her slightly irritated reaction was to be expected. Regardless of how one put it into perspective, looking for a woman in the middle of the night was far from normal, and her initial thought was to refuse without hesitation.


    For some reason however, the words Xiao Lin said before leaving the fortress in the afternoon came back to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s mind: I won¡¯t let you die here, even if it means fighting with all my life!


    Gu Xiaoyue always believed that she was a very calm person whose emotions did not fluctuate too much at any given time, but that sentence alone tugged at her heart when it popped up in her mind again. She vaguely understood why Xiao Lin gave it his all that afternoon.


    Finally, Gu Xiaoyue sighed, then got out of bed and got dressed.


    The door to the barracks was closed, but Xiao Lin did not need to look inside to know that there must be countless gossip mongering women who were listening in on them. He did not intend to let anyone else hear their conversation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk around the fortress wall,¡± Xiao Lin suggested.


    Gu Xiaoyue froze, then nodded in agreement and followed Xiao Lin obediently to the top of the wall.


    The seascape of Norma was very beautiful at night. The bright moonlight shone down and shimmered on the surface of the sea. About ten or so meters above the sea was ayer of light blue firefly-like lights, adding even more charm to the night. When they were on the battleship, Xiao Lin asked the sailors about them and found out that those were the elemental floating fish that Song Jung made into soup and fed him. The asional appearance of elemental floating fish was unsurprising given the high concentration of water element in the sea.

 Chapter 252: An Unexpected Discovery in the Command Room (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 252: An Unexpected Discovery in the Command Room (Part 3)</h4>


    The two bright moons reflected one after another, and Gu Xiaoyue¡ªdespite her aloofness¡ªlooked beautiful as she stood in the cold moonlight.


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed up the spectacles on the bridge of her nose and tilted her head slightly. Her tone was cold and concise as always, ¡°What is it?¡±


    She was only wearing a single coat at the moment instead of the thick mage robe, but it disyed her slim figure to the fullest. Xiao Lin lost himself in her slightly and quickly coughed to cover up his embarrassment after realizing that she was frowning very faintly.


    However, his expressions soon became a little convoluted after recalling his reason for calling Gu Xiaoyue out. After a moment¡¯s silence, he spread out his tightly-clenched right hand, and revealed a nearly sweat-soaked piece of paper in his palm. He said, ¡°I just found this in the orc¡¯smand room.¡±


    When the orcs realized that they could not defend the fortress, they destroyed a lot of things in advance. Gu Xiaoyue knew that, and she had also guessed why Xiao Lin suddenly went to themand room. It was definitely an attempt to find out a thing or two about the orcs¡¯ actions. What she could not understand was why Xiao Lin called her out in the middle of the night.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°See for yourself.¡±


    Xiao Lin stopped talking despite having more to say and eventually handed the piece of paper to Gu Xiaoyue. Then, without blinking, he stared at every possible change in expression on the girl¡¯s delicate face.


    Gu Xiaoyue was even more confused. She took the paper, squinted her eyes, and looked at it carefully under the moonlight.


    The city wall fell into a brief silence again, with only the sound of waves roaring in the distance. What disappointed Xiao Lin was that, apart from being a little surprised when she first saw the piece of paper, she still remained very calm after that. However, for more than ten minutes after that, Gu Xiaoyue remained silent. She simply stood still like a sculpture.


    Xiao Lin did not believe that she had not finished reading that piece of paper, since it was less than 30 characters. Seeing as Gu Xiaoyue refused to speak, he could only wait for her response.


    ¡°This is impossible!¡± Gu Xiaoyue finally spoke, with her tone sounding much colder.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any idea. I couldn¡¯t believe it when I first saw this piece of paper. After all, you asked me to bring the letter to your sister, and at that time, I just gave it a couple of casual nces, so I¡¯m not really very sure. I can¡¯t understand it no matter how much I thought about it, so all I could do is look for you in the middle of the night. Can you tell me what you discovered?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face was a little confused, and such an expression appeared very rarely for someone who had always been calm and confident. She opened her mouth and said, ¡°Yes, the text on this piece of paper is the same as that used by my sister and I since we were kids. That special font is almost the same, but that can¡¯t be possible. It¡¯s just a code between me and my sister. How could it have appeared here!¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed. The results he was expecting had been confirmed, but did not know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. When he returned to Earth some time ago, Gu Xiaoyue had told him to forward a letter to her sister Gu Chengyun. She stated the letter was written in a code that only she and her sister could understand. No one else could make sense of it even if they read it.


    When Gu Chengyun was reading the letter, curiosity drove Xiao Lin to nce secretly at it. The code was indeed written in a very special andplicated font, and it was utterly impossible for any outsider to understand it.


    Xiao Lin did not care much about it at the time because he felt it was a little quirk between two sisters. However, if the code¡¯s special font actually appeared in the orc¡¯smand room on a torn piece of paper, the logical exnation was that the document was very important. After all, it was the first thing that the orcs tried to destroy.


    Likening Xiao Lin¡¯s shock to mere turbulent waves was a gross understatement. His mind had been sent intoplete chaos, but the cool sea breeze blew past and calmed him down slightly so he could try his best to sort out his thoughts.


    First of all, the font was undoubtedly a specialnguage originating from Norma. It was certainly not Orcish, because Xiao Lin hadpared the paper with the otherplete orc documents. The font was very different and so was the handwriting. Orcs had poor handwriting with crooked fonts, but the other font was quite beautiful.


    Secondly, Gu Xiaoyue and her sister Gu Chengyun have never entered the Dawn Academy before, let alone go to Norma, but from what Gu Xiaoyue had confirmed, she and her sister seemed to have used it as a kind of code since childhood.


    Xiao Lin did not suspect Gu Xiaoyue to deceive him, especially not when he had seen the lively and optimistic Gu Chengyun. None of that seemed to be a farce. He asked softly, ¡°Who taught you this code?¡±


    ¡°I taught myself. Since I had to take care of Chengyun from when we were both very young, there were times I felt really bored at home. During that period, I identally discovered a book detailing this code. Back then, Chengyun and I treated this font as some kind of code. We both found it very interesting. It was mainly just to pass the time and learn from each other.¡±


    As Gu Xiaoyue said that, she was also feeling a little distressed. ¡°But it¡¯s hard to learn. It took Chengyun and I many years to thoroughly master this code. We didn¡¯t think much about it at the time and just treated it as a little secret among us.¡±


    Xiao Lin believed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words, and followed up by analyzing, ¡°So the book used to study that code must have been left by your parents or one of your elders, which means¡ª¡±


    ¡°Which means that someone in my family was once selected into Dawn Academy, and for some reason, they tranted this Normanguage book into Chinese and left it at home.¡± Gu Xiaoyue was a very smart woman, but her emotions were all over the ce when she muttered to herself.


    Xiao Lin could understand Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s feelings and was even feeling some sympathy for her. It was very likely that thenguage book was left by her father or mother, and from Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s earlier statements, her parents had left her since she was very young. It would make perfect sense if her parents were in Dawn Academy or the New World. After all, ording to the rules of the Supreme Council, those who reached Gold-rank were not allowed to return to Earth.


    That was the most reasonable exnation. Although plenty of questions still remained, such as why her parents only left them that particrnguage book or why they disappeared without saying goodbye, it was their family¡¯s affairs and Xiao Lin should not be interfering.


    ¡°Then what kind ofnguage do you think this is? It can¡¯t be Orcish, or Normese, or Mermish.¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°What other answer could it possibly be if it appeared at this particr time in the orcmand room?¡±


    Both their gazes shifted simultaneously to the distance andnded on the silver fleet that was quietly floating on the sea surface. That was probably the most spot-on answer.


    It was Elvish!

 Chapter 253: The True Goal of The Orcs?

    <h4>Chapter 253: The True Goal of The Orcs?</h4>


    ¡°Do you understand these words?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Gu Xiaoyue started to nod softly, but quickly shook her head as she said, ¡°I can understand the words, but the texts are quite damaged. From the few sentences I can see, there seems to be a deal between the elves and the orcs, but it¡¯s very vague. Are there any more papers?¡±


    The two of them had temporarily put aside Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s problems, and chose to focus on the examinations for the time being. Xiao Lin brought Gu Xiaoyue into themand room, bringing out all the Elvish texts.


    Those must have been letters to the orcs from the elves, but after trying topile them, there did not seem to even be 10% of the originals remaining. Xiao Lin brought themp closer to Gu Xiaoyue to help her read the contents in detail. It took a while before Gu Xiaoyue finally raised her head, furrowing her eyebrows before slowly starting to speak.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. There¡¯s too much content missing, and there are a lot of specialized words that are hard to understand, especially since Elvish is not my bestnguage.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Gu Xiaoyue added hesitantly, ¡°However, this word appears very often. I just regretfully don¡¯t recognize it. It looks like an abbreviation of a few words.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pointed at a set of words, and Xiao Lin gave up on trying to read it after just one nce. Those words were even harder to recognize than Ancient Normese.


    Gu Xiaoyue was still trying to dissect the meaning of that abbreviation. ¡°Based on just the words, the phrase has a lot of different meanings, but it could be referring to something evil. No, it could also mean demons. After that, those other words should mean some sort of building. Evil building? Demonic building?¡±


    Xiao Lin had a strange look on his face before slowly saying, ¡°Resurrection tower!¡±


    Xiao Lin recalled that the high priest kept on talking about some demonic power when he was in The Final Land. It was quite easy to imagine that the power to resurrect people would make them seem like demons when the resurrection towers were first built.


    With those words, their expressions started to change.


    ...


    Considering the fact that they could be facing an attack from the orcs the next day, they did not linger toote, and went to bed quite early. That night, both Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin had heavy thoughts in their heads, even if the two of them were not thinking about the same things.


    Surprisingly, the fortress waspletely peaceful the next day, which was their eighth day defending the fortress. The remaining orcs were all camped out far away, not looking like they had any intention of attacking.


    The acting ss monitors all breathed sighs of relief. They had been worried after failing topletely eliminate the orcs thanks to elven interference. Currently, it seemed that even though there were some surprises, the results had been satisfactory still.


    Since the orcs were not attacking, everyone took the opportunity to rest and reorganize. As they kept an eye on the orcs, the engineers started to repair the towers outside the fortress. At the same time, they started to build even more archer towers. Spell towers took a lot longer, and there were not that many spellcasters among the new students, so they were set aside for the moment.


    The archer towers actually put a lot of pressure on the orcs. Everyone had begun to realize the difference between thoserge arrows and the bows they had. When the towers were utilized in volume, the rain of arrows that covered the skies with darkness had a devastating impact, both physically and mentally.


    The engineers did notck resources thanks to the materials in the warehouse, but the problems arose with manpower. The acting ss monitors requested that the engineers focus all their men on building the defense towers, but were rejected.


    ¡°You idiots! Don¡¯t you know what the resurrection tower means for this battle? If we finish building the tower, those orcs will stand no chance!¡±


    The academy sent the engineers on this mission in order to construct the resurrection tower. That was the basis of colonization, which ced any territory influenced by the resurrection tower under the control of Dawn Academy. So long as the Law of Immortality existed, their defense of the fortress and even the entire area would be a lot easier.


    If not for the papers they foundst night, Xiao Lin would have felt the same way as well. That unsettling feeling he had at the back of his mind since the start of the examinations started to rear its head. He still could not confirm anything, which was why he took the chance to raise a question to Captain Yu during their next meeting in themand room.


    Captain Yu represented the engineers for that meeting. Even though the students could pitch in when it came to physicalbor, the technical aspects still required supervision by the engineers, which was the cause of their current dilemma.


    ¡°Captain Yu, I wish to ask something that isn¡¯t rted to the main topic of our meeting.¡± Xiao Lin considered his words for a moment before continuing, ¡°If, and I¡¯m saying if, we fail to defend the fortress. What would happen to the resurrection tower if the orcs take the fortress?¡±


    ¡°What would happen to the resurrection tower?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, we¡¯ve already defended this ce for eight days. Why are you trying to destroy our morale?¡±


    They started to chatter among themselves. No one seemed happy with Xiao Lin¡¯s pessimistic words, but Captain Yu seemed to have understood what Xiao Lin meant, motioning for everyone else to keep quiet before saying, ¡°I understand. You¡¯re trying to ask what the orcs can do if they had the resurrection tower in their hands, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Law of Immortality should have just been established, and it¡¯s quite obvious that the various races of Norma have no way to deal with it. They would definitely be afraid of it, but the more afraid they are, the more they would want to understand how we revive ourselves, whether it is caused by certain spells or by the power of demons. They might want the resurrection tower for that purpose!¡±


    That was the conclusion Xiao Lin had arrived at after a whole night of deliberation. Following that train of thought led to even more horrifying conclusions.


    The orcs and the elves might be allying themselves in order to get a hold of the resurrection tower. It was possible that this entire war against the orcs was a ploy by the orcs, and their main goal had always been to obtain a resurrection tower from the war.


    However, those questions had already exceeded the scope of the examination, and Xiao Lin was not too concerned with a war that had happened almost a hundred years ago. What happened had already happened, and he could not do anything about it, neither could he do anything to change Dawn Academy¡¯s strategy for the war, so Xiao Lin could only specte all that by himself.


    That was why Xiao Lin only had one question he needed answered, which was if the orcs could actually do anything if they got their hands on the resurrection tower.

 Chapter 254: Attack at Night

    <h4>Chapter 254: Attack at Night</h4>


    What disappointed Xiao Lin was that Captain Yu failed to give a clear answer, vaguely brushing the question aside. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. They can¡¯t do anything with the resurrection tower even if they had it!¡±


    He was very confident, but the answer was still quite vague. Xiao Lin could not question him any further either, since Xiao Lin did not understand much about the resurrection tower himself.


    The resurrection tower needed to be used with the Law of Immortality in order to be effective, and the other ss monitors felt like Xiao Lin was worrying needlessly. Even if the orcs obtained the resurrection tower, it did not concern them at all. Xiao Lin did not want to reveal those papers either, since he did not wish to expose the fact that Gu Xiaoyue knew Elvish.


    The meeting was originally held to convince Captain Yu to assign more men to build the defensive towers, but in the end, everyone else was convinced by Captain Yu instead. The resurrection tower¡¯s importance trumped everything, and with that in mind, not only did they decide not to increase their production of defensive towers, they had even agreed to assign more students to assisting the construction of the resurrection towers in order to hurry up the process.


    There was still a puzzling question: if the resurrection tower was reallypleted, then the Law of Immortality would allow them to prevent themselves from dying, only needing to trade some of their lifespan to revive themselves.


    There came the real problem¨Ca simted space which did not actually exist, would the Law of Immortality still apply here? Even if it was in effect, having their lifespans deducted was not something everyone could ept.


    However, Cheng Ming and the others had a reasonable exnation as well: the resurrection tower would take two to three months toplete at the earliest. ording to the missions, that was the longest they would have to defend the fortress. After that, if the fortress was still in their hands, Dawn Academy would send their reinforcements to attack the supply-starved orcs. If they failed to defend the fortress in that timeframe, then they had failed their missions anyway.


    Basically, no matter how they considered it, thepletion of the resurrection tower would mark thepletion of their examination.


    When they were not fighting, everyone was in a constant state of alert, but it was still more rxed than during battle. After a few days of battle experience, they were all a lot more battle-ready and experienced than they had been before.


    What they did not expect was for the peace tost for four whole days. As they entered the twelfth day of upying the fortress, Chen Dao from ss Twelve finally gave his suggestion, ¡°We should seize the initiative andunch an attack!¡±


    The orcs had been too quiet. Even though the two days spent assaulting the fortress had left them with a lot of casualties, given the bloodlust on their faces, the losses were not the reason for them stopping.


    Even though everyone wanted to believe that the orcs had been scared away by them, the majority of them knew there had to be some sort of trick being yed. Their opponents might have been nning arger scale war, or even waiting for reinforcements.


    That was why going on the offensive was necessary. They could not afford to watch on as the orcs regrouped with reinforcements, which would make defending the fortress all that much harder.


    Xiao Lin did not agree to that n for a very simple reason: they were very likely to fail if the elvish warships decided to intervene, leading to unnecessary deaths.


    However, there were even more of them who agreed. Thanks to the majority vote, the n was quickly put into motion. The attack would be done at night to take advantage of the orcs¡¯ poor eyesight.


    Xiao Lin would participate in the attack himself. He did not do it to show off; his only intention was to help avoid any unnecessary casualties. The ambush would consist of four hundred of them, taking up basically half of their forces in the fortress. If they were to lose everyone from this attack, then there was no way they could continue defending the fortress.


    The battle a few days ago had likely filled everyone with confidence, maybe even thinking that the orcs had lost the will to fight. At least eighty percent of the acting ss monitors would be participating in the battle, which caused Xiao Lin a great deal of concern. He discussed the matter with Cheng Ming and concluded that Cheng Ming would have to stay behind.


    They were all too idealistic, but even they understood that they could not put all their eggs in one basket. The students with talents were undoubtedly more important, so they could not afford to not have a few on defense.


    Xiao Lin picked out about thirty students from ss Seven, including Zhou Feng. Qin Chuan had been forced to stay behind by Xiao Lin since Xiao Lin needed someone to maintain control over the ss, which Qin Chuan was definitely more suited to than Gu Xiaoyue. Of course, Xiao Lin had also forced Gu Xiaoyue to stay behind.


    The weather was not great that day, with torrential rains falling the whole day. Even during the evening, the sky was filled with dark clouds that covered up the two moons.


    ¡°It looks like God is on our side! I can¡¯t believe anyone could disagree with the ambush!¡± Han Manman was very happy with the weather, and could not resist mocking Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin shrugged, retorting, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is Norma. Your God probably can¡¯t help you here.¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Alright alright, stop it. Everyone is after the same thing. There¡¯s no difference between right and wrong. We should hurry up. The weather here is erratic, so we should stop dying.¡± Sheng Guo of ss Eight said. He was a man with a very noble face, and his words often carried a noble air, which led everyone to suspect he held some sort of position of power back on Earth.


    Xiao Lin eyed Sheng Guo, no longer saying anything. He had been interacting with the other acting ss monitors more during this time, and Sheng Guo was very smooth when dealing with people. He would always y the mediator when anyone quarreled, being careful not to offend anyone. However,pared to Cheng Ming, Xiao Lin felt that Sheng Guo dealt with things a lot more slyly.


    The team left under the cover of night. Considering theck of vision, their movements were slow, and they moved extremely close to each other to prevent getting lost.


    The entire way, Xiao Lin constantly looked toward the sea. Even though he could not see anything in those conditions, everyone understood what he was looking out for.


    The mysterious silver warships remained unmoving. Ever since they made their alignments clear after the sudden attack that day, the ships once again fell into silence. If the warships really belonged to the elves, then Xiao Lin could still not figure out what their n was.


    They were only two hours away from the orc encampment. The orcs did not build any defensive towers, likely not expecting that the humans would attack them with their numbers.


    The camp was quite open,cking any form of defensive structures. They had simply pitched up dozens of tents on the ins and left two squads of orcs to keep patrol.


    Xiao Lin and the others did not prepare any special tactics for the assault, and naturally were not very good at stealth either, which was why they were noticed by the patrols the moment they got within a few hundred meters.


    With that, the battle erupted.

 Chapter 255: Attack at Night (2)

    <h4>Chapter 255: Attack at Night (2)</h4>


    ording to the casualties from a few days ago, the orcs lost about half of their soldiers, but even so, there were still over a thousandbat-ready orcs at the camp. However, war was not fought with just numbers. The new students felt like they had hit a really good stride after their battles. Inparison, the orcs did not even have the will to attack. They would definitely fall apart when met with a sudden assault.


    It was actually quite surprising that the orcs did not attack them. With theirck of defenses, their night assault started out very promisingly. Even the two orc patrols were very quickly eliminated by them.


    Xiao Lin felt like, in an outright battle such as that, personal skill would greatly influence the oue. Even though most of the students were not as strong as the orcs, their excellent acting monitors and instructors were more than enough to tip the scales in their favor, and among them, Chen Dao had a very important role to y.


    Spell-casters were an existence equal to military tanks on Norma. Mages had very obvious weaknesses, such as long casting times and potentially having inexperience, causing their spells to fail. To top it off, it was mentally taxing and they usually had weaker constitution, leading to a lot of limitations for the ss. However, Chen Dao¡¯s talent greatly made up for those deficiencies.


    Chen Dao currently only had one spell that he had truly mastered, which was the ck Iron-ranked me Ball. It seemed very nd, but mastering a ck Iron-rank spell to its peak in just less than a month was something only Chen Dao and Gu Xiaoyue had done among the first-year students.


    Of course, Gu Xiaoyue was currently a support caster, so she was no less important than Chen Dao, but based on kill counts, Chen Dao was far ahead of Gu Xiaoyue.


    More and more orcs were charging out of the camps. A lot of them were woken up from slumber, not even having a chance to put on their armor as they ran out with their naked and muscr bodies. The orcs were very strong, possessing arms as thick as tree trunks and explosive muscles. It was practically impossible for humans to ever be as muscr as them.


    Chen Dao¡¯s me Balls burned through the chaos, drawing many screams of pain as the mes burned through the orcs¡¯ flesh.


    He was using a red double-handed wand. Xiao Lin had heard him bragging about it more than once. The wand was made using special materials that made it easier to gather me elemental energies. He had used two whole months of his savings to buy it, but the results were worth it.


    The me Balls also quickly set the tents that were made from dried animal skins ame. Xiao Lin also used his me Bullets to help set the camp aze. Even though his destructive power did not lose to Chen Dao if he had his Miracle active, he did not want to use up the skill just like that.


    The mes shot through the sky as the other casters started to follow their lead. The night assault¡¯s main goal was to chase away the orcs, and killing them off was a secondary mission. As such, the students started to pick up the torches on the floor, and even the casters who had wind-based spells started to help fan the mes.


    The orc camp immediately fell into chaos as the orcs panicked, attempting to put out the mes while still defending themselves against the human attack. Even in the heat of battle, it was obvious that the orcs would be greatly advantaged if not for the acting ss monitors and instructors, but based on the situation, it was obvious that their night time assault was very sessful.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough!¡± Xiao Lin muttered to himself. He had not used his full power since the start. He did not dare fight an orc face-to-face without his Miracle skill, so he persistently disrupted them with his me Bullets. If any orcs rushed toward him, he would use his Phantom Steps to dash away, finding a new spot to cast his spells.


    A few of those who were focused on his performance were rather disappointed. It was a far crypared to his fearsome performance a few days ago. Han Manman, who never liked Xiao Lin, started to mock him when she saw that.


    Han Manman was also a mage. Even though she had a talent, she was still far away from Gu Xiaoyue and Chen Dao. At best, Han Manman was just a little better than ordinary students.


    Xiao Lin did not feel like bothering with Han Manman. His eyes scoured for something in the chaos of the battlefield. In order topletely rout the orcs, their best option was definitely to kill themander.


    They needed to cut the hydra off at the head. In their first assault on the fortress, Xiao Lin had learned from Qin Chuan that the orcmander¡¯s death had greatly weakened the other orcs¡¯ morale, which made him realize that Norma followed a chain ofmand just like Earth did.


    He had experienced how stubborn the orcs could be, so if they did not get rid of themander, their opponents would still be a threat to the fortress as long as they had enough troops remaining.


    Xiao Lin noticed that the orcs were beginning to calm down in the chaos, and in the dancing mes, he could vaguely make out an orc shouting at the back, as if it was giving out orders.


    Xiao Lin hesitated because that orc was obviously different from the others. It did not look like it was stronger, but rather a lot weaker than the other orcs, which contrasted with his understanding of them. The orcs worshipped strength, and their ranks were determined by individual strength and results. To Xiao Lin and the others, the simplest way to tell them apart was to assume that the stronger the orcs were, the higher their rank.


    Every moment mattered in battle, and any hesitation could be costly. Xiao Lin had only stopped for a moment before he made the decision and rushed forward. No matter how he was nning on defeating the orcs, it had to be a lot simpler since the opponent appeared to be weak.


    The orc did not wear any armor, but was instead in white-colored robes. He could see clearer as he closed the distance; the orc looked to be quite old. Even orcs could not escape the grasp of age. His face was filled with wrinkles, but his expression was still spirited.


    Noticing Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions, the orcs started to head toward him. Chen Dao seemed to have noticed what Xiao Lin was trying to do and sent a few me Balls over, clearing the path for Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin started to activate Miracle, using his Phantom Steps to speed past the orcs. The heavy axes of the orcs could only hit his afterimages.


    Those orcs seemed to tense up, proving that the weak orc¡¯s status was quite high. When Xiao Lin was less than a hundred meters away, the old orc suddenly extended his finger, sending a streak of electricity right at Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 256: Priest Shaman

    <h4>Chapter 256: Priest Shaman</h4>


    At such a close range, Xiao Lin had no way to dodge the streak of electricity, but as he was struck and a surge of numbness coursed through him, he could not help but feel ted.


    Jackpot!


    The orc in front of him was not just a simplemander; he was an orc priest!


    Orcs were naturally strong, allowing their race to wield iparable strength, but Norma was fair. With their immense strength, they also had an extremely poor affinity for the elements. However, there were a small number of orcs thatcked the strength, and instead had magical abilities that rivalled other races.


    Those orcs were often priests, and on Norma they were called priest shamans. Shamans were what the orc magicians were called, while priests represented a high rank in orc society.


    The fact that the troops were being led by a priest shamanpletely surprised Xiao Lin, causing him to change his initial intentions. Killing the priest would only cause the troops to scatter, but if they captured it alive, then Dawn Academy would have another asset in the war.


    Xiao Lin had greatly increased his knowledge of the orcs thanks to the various NPCs on the warship and the fortress. No matter how inexperienced he was in war, he still understood that he needed to know as much about the enemy as possible, which was something Xiao Lin was far ahead ofpared to everyone else.


    Shamans were extremely rare among the orcs, with their numbers far below what the humans had. There was also a rumor among the orcs that priest shamans were able tomunicate with the dead, and even look into the future. Of course, Xiao Lin viewed that information with a grain of salt, believing to be an exaggerated myth, but it was still clear how much importance the orcs ced on the shamans.


    Capturing a shaman alive was definitely much more valuable than killing one!


    Xiao Lin had wanted to inform everyone else, since he felt that he would need help to capture the target alive. At the very least, he would need help preventing the other orcs from interfering.


    However, that shaman did not give him a chance to as he continuously fired bolts of lightning at Xiao Lin. If not for his Phantom Steps, Xiao Lin would probably have been crippled by that point.


    The feeling of being hit by lightning was not pleasant. Putting aside the pain in his body, his entire body was numb, affecting his movement. That was the most annoying thing, which led to him taking a few hits that he could have easily dodged.


    He was wearing a Bronze-ranked armor that he had picked from the warehouse in the fortress. Even though it was quite ugly, the quality was decent, reducing quite a bit of the damage that he had taken.


    Other than the numbness from the orc shaman¡¯s lightning, Xiao Lin actually did not sustain too much damage. The dragon blood that Song Jung fed him before had given him a basic resistance to magic, allowing him to have a 20% resistance to F-rank spells and a 10% resistance to E-rank spells.


    Xiao Lin estimated that the shaman¡¯s lightning bolts were only F-rank, which meant that the damage was not really significant after a 20% reduction.


    me Sword Aura!


    Xiao Lin decided to quickly finish the battle, not caring about the massive burden that the me sword aura had as he waved his sword around. Two ming des started to dance around his body as the intense head pushed away the orcs that were rushing toward him. Since he did not know how much the shaman could take, he did not dare guarantee that the me sword aura would not kill it instantly, which was why he was using it on other orcs.


    Realizing that an extremely rare priest shaman was inmand did not stop Xiao Lin, and when the other acting monitors started to realize that they had caught a big fish, they started to rush over to help.


    Xiao Lin was worried the others would make a mistake, so he hurriedly shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t kill that orc. Try to capture it alive, it will be very useful to us!¡±


    However, it was not clear how many of them actually heard him in the heat of battle. Following the change in everyone¡¯s target, the orcs also started to head toward their direction, and the chaotic battle quickly shifted its focus into that area.


    After the initial chaos, the orcs¡¯ bloodlust had slowly been rising. Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s side had managed to eliminate quite a few orcs, the opponents still held the numerical advantage. Now that the battlefield had shrunk, it would not be good if they were surrounded.


    The priest shaman seemed to have the same thought as well, using himself as bait to attract most of the humans here. Furthermore, after the number of people surrounding him started to increase, it started to use Chain Lightning spells. That was an area of effect type spell, and much more devastating that his earlier spells. It was powerful enough to strike down upward of ten people with each cast.


    The acting ss monitors wanted to concentrate the attacks, but it seemed to have backfired. They had fought hard to seize the advantage despite their numbers, yet the shaman¡¯s Chain Lightnings had managed to cause dozens of the students to sprawl on the floor. Even if the damage was not fatal, the other orcs would quickly kill them off with their axes.


    There were at least twenty orcs surrounding the priest shaman. They possessed strong bodies and top-notch armor and equipment. Those orcs had never participated in the defense of the camp, quietly standing next to the shaman, which made it obvious they were the bodyguards for the priest shaman.


    The few students who managed to get close were easily cut down by those bodyguards, causing a great deal of fear. Normal students would not be able to get close easily, but the monitors and instructors were busy dealing with the shaman¡¯s Chain Lightnings, especially since the numbness would greatly affect their maneuverability.


    The orc shaman seemed to be quite mentally taxed, signifying that it could not continue with its use of the Chain Lightning spells.


    However, if the situation continued, it was quite possible that the students would not be able to break through the surrounding orcs.


    That was why the moment the priest cast Chain Lightning again, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to activate his Replicate skill, which marked the first time he had used it in the examination; he never found the right time to use it.


    [Replicating priest shaman, replicating skill Chain Lightning, grade E+!]


    When the skill seeded, Xiao Lin obtained all the information he needed about it. It was just like he expected: such a destructive spell was definitely at rank E!

 Chapter 257: Capture

    <h4>Chapter 257: Capture</h4>


    Chain Lightning!


    Xiao Lin brandished his Peakfire Staff. Even though the staff was meant for me spells, the staff still innately increased the speed that the elements were gathered.


    A light-blue surge of electricity erupted from the staff¡¯s energy stone like a snake slithering in the air, targeting the bodyguards surrounding the shaman. The moment the electricitynded on the first orc, it immediately spread. Since the replicated spell maintained the mastery from the original caster, the power of the Chain Lightning was quite impressive.


    The lightning quickly wrapped the orcs in its web. Those orcs were not prepared to defend themselves at all¡ªnot that they would have been able to avoid it if they were. They used their bodies to stop the lightning from reaching the shaman behind them.


    It would be troublesome if they did not remove those bodyguards quickly. Xiao Lin quickly shouted, ¡°Anyone who can still move,e over to help. Chen Dao, we¡¯ll both concentrate our attacks.¡±


    The inexperience of the new students was, once again, obvious. When faced with such a difficult situation, a lot of the students did not know what to do. They started to ignore their orders, frantically fighting whatever foes that were in front of them. Thankfully, Zhou Feng had been beside Xiao Lin, and once he realized Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions, he immediately brought over a few others that he could trust.


    Chain Lightning was aplicated spell; if there was any interference in the casting process, the sess and strength could not be assured. Chen Dao hurried over to help as well, but even if his me Balls were impressive, it still paled inparison to Chain Lightning.


    Being protected, Xiao Lin could finally move his attributes to Intelligence with Miracle, not having to worry about being attacked while his strength and physique were low.


    The priest shaman was shocked that Xiao Lin could use the same spell as himself, but he did not show any surprise on his old face. He was confident that he would be able to defeat Xiao Lin with so much experience under his belt.


    The battle quickly turned into a magical standoff. The humans were in a state of disarray after the orcs started their counterattack due to their individual skills being lower. The orcs might have been strong, but the advantages the humans earned for themselves at the start of the attack were holding firm. The mes that burned across the camp could not be easily dealt with in a short time.


    Xiao Lin and the priest shaman were absolutely key to the battle. Their Chain Lightnings would determine which way the temporary standstill would shift toward. That served to highlight the importance of magic on Norma: magic would often decide the oue of battles.


    Chain Lightning was extremely potent on both sides. Each cast of that spell would usually take about ten to twenty seconds, but thanks to Miracle, Xiao Lin only needed seven to eight seconds to cast it.


    The orc shaman quickly realized something was wrong. In the situation where both sides were not interrupted, he had quickly been suppressed. Each cast of his Chain Lightning would be met with two casts from the human.


    Magical battles were usually determined by these small differences. Xiao Lin did not even have to wait for the Replication skill to end by the time he and Chen Dao eliminated all the bodyguards around the shaman, in which his Chain Lightning spell obviously contributed more.


    Seeing no more obstacles in front of him, Xiao Lin immediately drew his sword, activating his Phantom Steps as he avoided various long range attacks with his afterimages and rushed toward the shaman.


    He had wanted to summon the Holy Soul, but the skill needed a lot of blood as an offering, which meant he needed to use his Holy Soul Sword to kill enough orcs. He did not have enough time to do that. Judging by how powerful the shaman¡¯s Chain Lightning was, most of hispanions would have been felled by the time he had enough to offer as tribute.


    More importantly, Xiao Lin had some doubts in his heart after the elves attacked the holy spiritst time. He had yet to figure out why, but if the elves really hated the spirit that much, then summoning it again and incurring their wrath was not a wise decision.


    Even though there were many problems that arose, based on the result, their night assault had earned them quite a surprising win.


    When Xiao Lin¡¯s sword pointed at the priest shaman¡¯s throat, the battle was thoroughly over. None of the orcs dared to even move. Xiao Lin¡¯s guess was right. With how important the priest shaman was toward the orcs, they did not dare toy with the shaman¡¯s life, no matter how brave or ferocious they were.


    ¡°Quickly, knock this guy unconscious. Stop him frommitting suicide!¡± Han Manman moved over and tried to take the valuable prisoner away from Xiao Lin, but was rejected. Compared to Han Manman, Xiao Lin was much more confident in his own strength. Even though the shaman was old and looked weak, Xiao Lin still did not dare to risk anything.


    ¡°Suicide? I think you should head back to history ss. The shamans are figures that can speak to the dead among the orcs. Suicide is an insult to the dead spirits. Priest shamans are only allowed to die in battle¨Cnever by suicide!¡± Chen Dao marched over, looking furious.


    Xiao Lin noticed that a part of Chen Dao¡¯s leg was bleeding and asked, ¡°Are you injured? Isn¡¯t the battle over? Were some orcs really stupid enough to risk their shaman?¡±


    ¡°F*ck! I was hit by the idiots from ss Four!¡± Chen Dao red at Han Manman, who was the monitor of ss Four, with rage in his eyes. He shouted, ¡°How do you control your ss?! Xiao Lin and I had already said to stop fighting. Why are your people still fighting! Do you know that, thanks to your ss not stopping in time, setting aside my injury, a good number of our ssmates are dead!¡±


    Xiao Lin quickly understood the gist of it. Chen Dao¡¯s magical abilities were great, but he was different from Xiao Lin. Chen Dao had devoted all his attention to magic, which meant his strength and physique were very average. The attributes did not change much in three months, leading to him not being able to defend himself in closebat.


    ss Twelve knew that as well, which was why there were always a few students around Chen Dao, protecting their monitor. That young man managed to use his impressive magic to gain the confidence of his entire ss.

 Chapter 258: Back To The Fortress

    <h4>Chapter 258: Back To The Fortress</h4>


    The battle should have ended the moment Xiao Lin captured the priest shaman, and the orcs acted ordingly, not daring to put the shaman¡¯s life at risk, but a few of the students seemed to have gone crazy with bloodlust, or they might have thought that the orcs would be stupid enough to not retaliate.


    The orcs were a wild and ferocious race, and so naturally their tempers red, which resulted in a ferocious encounter that unfortunately involved Chen Dao. Even if he used his me Balls to eliminate a few of the troublesome orcs, he could not avoid being injured, and ss Twelve had lost a few students.


    ¡°Do you think the orcs will yield to you? Your arrogance will only hasten your own demise!¡± the priest shaman suddenly said, his voice strong and powerful with no trace of his age.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to read the situation! Since you know ournguage, hurry up and get the other orcs to drop their weapons and surrender!¡± someone immediately shouted.


    The situation was quite awkward at that moment. Even though the battle had stopped, the orcs were still around, their superior numbers surrounding the humans with weapons in hand. The asional orcish shout could be heard, but no one knew what they were saying.


    The shaman closed his eyes, ignoring them and seemingly goading them to kill him.


    ¡°Chen Dao was right; he doesn¡¯t daremit suicide!¡± Xiao Lin waved, exhaustion clearly written on his face. The Chain Lightning spell had been extremely taxing. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s bring him back first.¡±


    ¡°What about the other orcs?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. As long as the shaman is in our hands, the other orcs won¡¯t dare touch us! We¡¯ll walk out just like this. I want to see if any of them dare stop us!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not let down his guard, getting a few stronger men to guard the shaman and even getting Chen Dao to observe his movements. The lightning spells required some time to cast, and were thus easily interrupted if noticed, which meant it was not a big cause for concern.


    It was not the first time Xiao Lin had held a hostage; a simr thing had happened during the first monthly examination after all. Xiao Lin was in the zone, and the shaman being able to speak theirnguage made things a lot easier.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about pulling any tricks! You¡¯ve tasted mybat ability! If you do anything funny, I might not be able to guarantee that all my men will survive, but I assure you every single one of you orcs will meet the same fate!¡± Due to his fatigue, Xiao Lin sounded quite winded, but his words were extremely threatening.


    Acting soft would only let the orcs think he was weak, which meant the best way to deal with them was to force his way into their throats.


    The shaman fell silent; he had a deep impression of Xiao Lin. During the battle a few days ago, his troops had been able to force a way through the defensive towers, but Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden burst of strength hadpletely stifled their advance.


    Chen Dao was so furious at Han Manman that he practically ignored the woman, but the two of them still knew what had to be done. It was not the time to fight, and they quickly arranged for everyone to get ready. The wounded were carried by the healthy as they started to return.


    The students left behind a lot of corpses at the orc encampment; some of the bodies had even beenpletely chopped up by the orcs and thrown into the fire. Even if they knew that it would only result in a loss of 10 years in their lifespans, they were stillrades. Watching your ownrades die in front of your own eyes was enough to make anyone pale with fright.


    With some of the students heavily injured, they could not travel fast. Thankfully, they had a hostage in hand, and the few acting monitors made sure that none of the students would cause any trouble. The orcs did not dare to advance, and the two sides basically passed one another¨Cshoulder to shoulder. At the closest distance, Xiao Lin could even smell the stench of the orcs, causing him to tense up, gripping his de tightly. He was not afraid to take action if he saw any movement whatsoever.


    The journey was filled with anxiety, but no actual danger. It was only when the fires on the orc encampment left their vision and their scout reported that no one was behind them did they all start to breathe a sigh of relief.


    Xiao Lin did not forget to tell the orc shaman, ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡±


    It was true; no matter how the actual battle went, those troops would not be able to continue fighting after they lost theirmander. It was even possible that they would be heavily punished for failing to protect the shaman if they went back.


    The priest shaman blinked before uttering, ¡°Orcs never surrender! We only die in battle!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity you can¡¯t kill yourself. Are you hoping your elf allies will help you?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but ask.


    ¡°Hmph! Those cunning elves are just as despicable as humans. They are not...¡± The shaman stopped mid-sentence, not willing to say more.


    Xiao Lin silently sighed. Those actually were elf warships. Even though he had been certain of it, it was now a hundred percent verified. What exactly was it that could lead to the orcs agreeing to ally with the elves?


    The students had too many questions which could all be answered by the shaman. Even though a lot of them were grieving their lostrades, they were also filled with hope and excitement.


    The elves still did not make a move, which surprised Xiao Lin. Han Manman had tried to use that as proof of Xiao Lin¡¯s cowardice, but she was quickly shot down by Chen Dao.


    That young man could really hold a grudge. He never had any problems with Han Manman, but Chen Dao would not let her off easily for what ss Four did that ultimately led to the death of a few students from his ss.


    Chen Dao held it in when they were at the orc encampment, but his temper red right back up the moment they got back to the fortress. It was alreadyte in the night when they made it back, but their shouting pretty much ensured that no one was getting any sleep.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel like something is off. I asked the shaman earlier if he was hoping the elves would help him, and I can¡¯t help but think about his words.¡± Xiao Lin temporarily ignored their bickering as he discussed what happened with Cheng Ming and the other acting ss monitors, voicing his concerns at the same time.


    ¡°Priest shamans are the intellectual representatives of the orcs; if the elves were working with the orcs, the shaman would definitely be the best point of contact.¡±


    ¡°So you think that the shaman hadmunicated with the elf warships?¡± Cheng Ming asked.


    ¡°The letters confirmed as much!¡±

 Chapter 259: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 259: Interrogation</h4>


    The shaman was obviously a big fish, which was why everyone excitedly anticipated extracted information from him. After resting and preparing for the night, the acting ss monitors immediately got up at the crack of dawn, bringing their trusted ssmates and heading right into the interrogation process.


    It was like everyone had anticipated; the shaman exhibited the typical orc stubbornness. It would take a lot of effort to get him to speak, and they could not avoid employing certain unsavory methods.


    That included Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming. The two of them did not mind what methods were used as long as the shaman remained alive. They had already done simr things in past examinations, so they were already used to it.


    However, the moment the interrogation started, the shaman seemed to be quite amodating when faced with the interrogation team formed by the twelve sses. He answered most of their questions, even if his words wereced with contempt for humans. However, it did not matter as all they cared about were answers. Thanks to the fact that the shaman spoke theirnguage, the process ended up being rtively easy.


    ¡°Your name!¡±


    ¡°Lightning.¡±


    ¡°Lightning? Then I¡¯m called Thunder! If you¡¯re not willing to be honest as our prisoner...¡±


    ¡°Ahem, the orcs name themselves differently from us humans. They usually name themselves based on their appearances, weapons or spells, or even family history. This guy uses lightning-based spells, so his name is quite normal. Don¡¯t be surprised.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Gender.¡±


    ¡°Ahem...¡±


    ¡°Ah, we can just skip that question.¡±


    Thanks to how amodating the target was, the interrogation went quite smoothly. Some of them that had certain unique hobbies suddenly found the tools that they had specially prepared to be useless. As more and more people jumped in with their questions, it suddenly turned into asking about the orcs in general. Even though they had learned about the orcs in their history lessons, details were scarce, so everyone was quite interested in the orcs, especially for someone like Chen Dao who loved gaming back on Earth.


    They had managed to ascertain the background of the shaman named Lightning. He imed to be the second-inmand of the 13th Orc Legion. The students did not know what that meant, so they had to ask Captain Yu of the engineers about it.


    Among the orcs, the second-inmand would always be the strategist, which meant it was a rank usually held by their priest shamans. Even though he was only the second-inmand, the importance of shamans amongst the orcs meant that he held a lot of power.


    However, that made it all the more stranger. The fact that the second-inmand only had three thousand orc foot soldiers to lead, and the fact that he was so easily captured made Xiao Lin and the others suspicious.


    Lightning¡¯s exnations were quite reasonable. The fact that this supply depot had arge amount of resources and was a necessary part of their route toward Dawn City meant that the supply depot was extremely important.


    The orcs had invested too much on the advancement of their vanguard, leaving them strapped for resources, which meant that Lightning could only afford to bring 3,000 foot soldiers over when the supply depot was captured. He mentioned that he had underestimated the humans, and his words felt a little like praise, which led to everyone happily epting that answer.


    The next questions were rted to the orc army which led Lightning to get quieter. There was no way he would willingly expose things like the 13th Orc Legion¡¯s movements and strength, which was all within expectations, leading to those who had prepared special tools to jump up in hope.


    However, they were ultimately not used. After a simple beating and a few threats, the shaman started to spill everything.


    The 13th Orc Legion was the only army stationed nearby. They numbered above 30,000, including almost 10,000 wolf cavalries. However, the cavalry had been sent to the frontlines, and the other 20,000 troops were scattered around various key points and supply lines, making it hard to gather them.


    The 3,000 troops was the most amount of soldiers that Lightning could gather up in that half a month, and now that they had been defeated, with even the second-inmand captured, they would either need to organize some troops from the main orc camp or have their vanguard turn back.


    The interrogationsted for almost a whole day, but they did not neglect keeping up their defenses. However, after losing the priest shaman, the remaining orc troops had started to retreat, lending more weight to what Lightning had said.


    The interrogation had left everyone quite happy. If Lightning¡¯s words were true, then they would not have to worry about being attacked for quite a long time because the main orc camp was at least two months away. With that long a period, the orcs were unlikely to send anyone from their main camp.


    If it was the vanguard that turned back, then theirst objective for the examination would be aplished, signalling the start of the end of the examination.


    The week that followed, there was no movement from the orcs at all. The elves sat quietly on their warships as well, serving to confirm their thoughts.


    The interrogation of Lightning did not stop, but with the changing of the situation and more and more questions being answered, their interest in the shaman started to wane. When it came to the third week, some of the monitors even started asking what hobbies and books the orcs liked.


    Lightning¡¯s straightforwardness saved a lot of time, even if some of them were sad that they could not use their interrogation techniques, so they started to treat Lightning better. He got three meals a day, and they made sure he got enough water and meat. Of course, they could not kill or let him go; no matter what, having a hostage like him at hand was a form of insurance.


    After half a month of peace, everyone had started to get restless, and the construction of defensive towers was once again a priority. After witnessing the power of the towers while they were defending the fortress, everyone ced a lot of importance on their construction. Some of them had even painstakingly drawn out maps for strategic cement, which drew Chen Dao¡¯s mockingment likening it to a tower defense game.


    However, the defensive towers were indeed not limited to just the foot of the hill. The monitors in themand room realized that they needed to expand the battlefield, but they once again started to argue over whether or not to construct the towers on the beach.


    Having the towers on the beach would obviously be to target those silver warships that had unclear motives, but some of them were worried it would anger the elves and cause them to make a move.

 Chapter 260: Temporary Peace

    <h4>Chapter 260: Temporary Peace</h4>


    The acting monitors were still nervous despite the rxed atmosphere, especially since this examination could influence the selection of the year leader, but the regr students were all quite rxed.


    That was because with the end of the third week, everyone left alive had pretty much covered all their bases. Three weeks on top of aplishing the first task meant that they had earned enough redemption points to buy Lifewater, which meant they would not lose anything even if they died.


    With that in mind, everyone was visibly less tense, and even the construction of the towers had slowed down. There were more and more students who started to ck off. After all,pared to working hard, sleeping until they whatever time they felt like, then heading to the beach to enjoy the breeze and the sea was much more enjoyable.


    Captain Yu was naturally furious at that, using them of underestimating the orcs, but everyone ignored the NPC. Even if they looked at military structure, that man had no right to order them around, so Captain Yu ended up getting so frustrated he made all the engineers focus on building the resurrection tower instead.


    The elven warships remained in observation, the only difference being that their ships had moved a little in thest half a month.


    Xiao Lin failed to feel happy about their peaceful situation. Ever since he learned from Qin Chuan that the war ended up in failure in actual history, he could not help but have doubts. If it really were that simple, then Dawn Academy could not have failed to such a degree.


    A group of them that had Han Manman at the helm felt like they had caused a miracle after that night attack, and Han Manman even advertised that she was the one who pushed for the attack. Xiao Lin did not want any quarrel with her on that topic, and only held on to his own suspicions.


    There were way too many questions in this war. First of all was the uncertainty of the elves, then the orcs being too weak.


    It was indeed weakness. As ferocious the orcs appeared on the battlefield, Xiao Lin felt like the battles they had fought were too easy. He refused to believe that the team Dawn Academy sent those years ago could not evenpete with these new students, and he refused to believe that no one thought about attacking at night.


    In actual history, the orcs had made Dawn Academy suffer a huge loss. Even if the academy had won the war in the end, the losses were still immense.


    There was also the shaman, Lightning. Xiao Lin felt like he was being too amodating. Even with a little pressure, the shaman spilled everything, but a lot of the key details were very vague.


    When Xiao Lin voiced his concerns about the orcs and elves allying with each other, Lightning only said that the two sides were indeed engaging in talks, but their differences were too big, and they failed to agree on a lot of points. He then said he was not cleared to participate in those discussions.


    Remembering those suspicious letters found in the fortress, Xiao Lin felt that Lightning was lying. He could be hiding an agreement with the elves, but Xiao Lin had no proof.


    In the end, it was all just spection from Xiao Lin. Even he could not say where his doubts came from.


    It started to approach a month, and with them managing to hold onto the fortress for a month, everyone managed to earn additional credits on top of their redemption points, which was good news. That night, they once again had a bonfire banquet in the fortress. The female students that were the minority to begin with were hotly fought over, being invited to various dances which served as their only source of entertainment.


    Xiao Lin had mustered up the courage to ask Gu Xiaoyue, but had been rejected coldly by that moment. Even if he had anticipated it, it still left him feeling disappointed.


    The banquet was held on the training grounds. The fortress was not that big, and one could see the entire fortress just by standing at the entrance. That was how Xiao Lin saw the crowd that was busying themselves not far away. He walked over in surprise. He realized it was Captain Yu and his engineers. The students had invited them to attend the banquet, but was rejected by Captain Yu.


    ¡°The construction of the resurrection tower cannot be dyed! This peace is only temporary. The orcs just don¡¯t have enough troops at the moment. They wille back soon enough!¡± Captain Yu was quite unhappy with how easygoing everyone was acting, but as an NPC, he had no right tomand them.


    Xiao Lin showed a hint of remorse on his face, and nodded in acknowledgement. He then looked over at the silver tower. The resurrection tower was taking shape nicely. He had seen one in New Washington before, and could therefore make out an approximation.


    ¡°Does the resurrection tower need to bepletely finished for it to take effect?¡±


    ¡°Of course, don¡¯t underestimate the smooth exterior; the inner mechanisms are extremelyplicated. Not even a single error is permitted.¡±


    ¡°How long do you still need toplete it?¡±


    ¡°A month at most! At that point we would have nothing to fear from those filthy orcs. As long as we still have our lifespan left, we¡¯re invincible!¡± Captain Yu said with confidence.


    At that moment, a thought entered Xiao Lin¡¯s mind, leading him to widen his eyes in shock. He stared at the resurrection tower, not even listening to what Captain Yu was saying.


    ¡°I have something urgent to handle!¡±


    Xiao Lin hastily departed, pulling Cheng Ming and the others who were happily partying around into themand room. Under their unhappy looks, he breathed deeply before saying, ¡°Everyone, I had a sudden thought just now. The orcs and the elves might actually be waiting for us, which is why we had it so peaceful for such a long time!¡±


    ¡°Waiting?¡±


    ¡°They are waiting for the resurrection tower to finish being built! They need thepleted resurrection tower. I¡¯ve asked Captain Yu, and the resurrection tower¡¯s inner mechanisms are extremelyplicated. No other race could possibly replicate it. If they took back the fortress now, they would never be able to finish the tower, so they have to wait until the resurrection tower isplete!¡±


    Han Manmanughed in exaggeration, mocking, ¡°You¡¯ve said that before; why are you still saying the same thing? I think you¡¯ve had too much to drink! Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something wrong with your guess? If they wait until the tower ispleted, then we would be under the Law of Immortality, which means the orcs won¡¯t be able to take back the city that easily!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± Cheng Ming had caught on to Xiao Lin¡¯s train of thought. He might be honest, but he was not stupid. He said hesitantly, ¡°If the enemies only crippled us and not killed us, then captured us alive, they can just bring us out of the resurrection tower¡¯s radius and kill us then.¡±


    ss Eight¡¯s Sheng Guo then said, ¡°Surely that¡¯s not possible. First of all, if we can always kill ourselves to ensure resurrection if we¡¯re crippled. Taking a step back, if the orcs really are aiming for thepleted tower, can¡¯t we just destroy the tower itself when the timees? Surely the orcs considered it as well.¡±

 Chapter 261: A Strange Feeling

    <h4>Chapter 261: A Strange Feeling</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s guess once again embroiled them in an intense debate, but most of them felt that it was not very possible. Just like what Han Manman and Sheng Guo said, even if the orcs wanted thepleted resurrection tower, there was no way they could eliminate all of them instantly. As long as they had enough time, Dawn Academy could choose to destroy the resurrection tower before leaving.


    Of course, Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, plus a few others, felt like Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion should be taken very seriously. This was Norma after all: a world filled with magic. If the orcs had deliberately ced certain traps in the fortress, it was not a stretch to imagine that they could all instantly be immobilized.


    That was why in the days that followed, the students who had rxed for over half a month were once again mobilized. They were made to search every corner of the fortress, looking for anything that could be remotely suspicious, and the debate that happened in themand room started to spread among the students.


    There were quite a lot ofints among them, and most of them had a lot of private discussions that mostly ended up with the conclusion that Xiao Lin was trying to make a scene out of nothing. Some of them even had intentions to retaliate.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s hypothesis was that the entire amphibious assault had been part of the orcs¡¯ n from the start, or even a ploy done with the help of the elves to lure Dawn Academy there. Based on their usual actions, Dawn Academy would start building a resurrection tower after taking over the fortress, which was the end goal of both the orcs and the elves.


    Based on the current results, the possibility was not low, but there were way too many problems with the theory. First of all, the orcs had no way to guarantee that Dawn Academy would attack that ce. The orcs also had very valuable resources stored in the fortress. Their cavalry was also definitely in the vanguard, and losing those resources would greatly tax their cavalry. Putting their entire army at risk for just the chance of getting a resurrection tower was not a very smart gamble.


    Captain Yu was also not very happy. As the engineer in charge of the resurrection tower, the other students had no right to interfere with him, and Xiao Lin¡¯s suspicions infuriated him. If they listened to Xiao Lin, the construction of the resurrection tower would have to be halted.


    That was why Captain Yu constantly visited Xiao Lin, emphasizing that the resurrection towers were a miracle unique to those of them for Earth, and the Law of Immortality would never work on the natives. Even if those orcs and elves got their hands on apleted resurrection tower, it would mean nothing.


    At that point, they had finished investigating the fortress. The students had basically turned the entire fortress upside down to no avail, even the nearby beach and hills, which were filled with traces of their digging. They could not even find any tools that had a trace of magic, let alone any magical arrays or scrolls.


    The ones supporting Xiao Lin started to dwindle. Chen Dao was still firmly on Xiao Lin¡¯s side, but Chen Dao¡¯s suspicions had shifted to Lightning. As the second-inmand of the entire legion, the shaman being so easily captured was extremely suspicious. That was especially true, since he was a mage, which meant no one could guarantee he did not have some mysterious spell that would cause them trouble when the time came.


    That was why Chen Dao religiously kept his eyes on Lightning in the following days. Spells, especiallyrge scale ones, always required long cast times: that was an unavoidable truth. Chen Dao was very confident he would be able to sense any spell being casted immediately.


    Mages may be very threatening, but a mage that had been tied up and constantly being held with an arrow to his head was not threatening at all.


    After that, Gu Xiaoyue started to guard Lightning as well, taking shifts with Chen Dao. Chen Dao chose to take the night shifts, while Gu Xiaoyue stood watch during the day. They had very simple responsibilities: if Lightning made any sudden movements, they would send an arrow right through his head.


    Lightning only smiled coldly at that. Even though Xiao Lin tried to get more information from him, Lightning just said he had given everything he should, and stopped talking.


    The investigation was once again stalled. Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s own prestige did not suffer much from it, especially since everyone had seen his contributions in thest few battles. Everyone had started to fall into the culture of admiring the strong in Dawn Academy, which naturally meant Xiao Lin had the approval of many, but Han Manman and some others were increasingly more hostile toward Xiao Lin. Some of them even wanted to remove him from themand room.


    It was a week after that debacle when their fire signal towers were once again lit. They had noticed a new orc army advancing toward them thirty kilometers away. Compared to the orc foot soldiers they encountered before, this new army was without a doubt much stronger. They had failed to get any reports more detailed than that because all the scouts they had sent for all killed mercilessly.


    That caused a lot of rm among the acting ss monitors, causing them to eschew their rxed attitudes. Even if the orc troops needed a few days to reach them, the monitors had ordered all the students to start with intensive training in the hope that they could whip everyone back into shape.


    However, everyone maintained a positive attitude. It was nearing the end of the examination. They only needed to hold on for about half a month before the wolf cavalry units in the frontlines would be forced to retreat for resources. At that point, Dawn City¡¯s reinforcements would arrive, signalling the end of the examination.


    During this period of time, Xiao Lin had been hard at work trying to figure out what strategies their foes could employ. Even though his investigations had all led to dead ends, he did not give up on his theory. He got progressively more unsettled the nearer they got to the end.


    Xiao Lin was very frustrated. He did not believe he had some sort of sixth sense that could sense danger, especially since he was inexperienced and did not even have any skills rted to that.


    However, that feeling was very strange. Ever since the night assault ended, Xiao Lin¡¯s heart felt like it had a strange pressure on it, causing him to have a strange sense of frustration. The feeling was so intense that he would even be awoken by it at night.


    That was why Xiao Lin did not dare ignore his theory, no matter how skeptical everyone else was.

 Chapter 262: The Shaman’s Death

    <h4>Chapter 262: The Shaman¡¯s Death</h4>


    The only thing Xiao Lin had been doing all this time had been to try to find out the source of his strange feeling. No matter how much he thought about it, the only clue he had was Lightning.


    At that moment, the orc army was fast approaching. Xiao Lin hurried to the cells. The fortress¡¯s cells were underground and very narrow. There were only about ten rooms, but they obviously were not using any of the other cells other than the one for Lightning. It was very damp, and the light was dim. Coupled with the stench in the air, it was not a pleasant environment.


    Gu Xiaoyue was in charge of keeping guard during the day. Xiao Lin had been reluctant to let that woman take up such a painful task, but Gu Xiaoyue did not mind, even though Xiao Lin had hinted to her that she could reject it. However, Gu Xiaoyue said that she was the only one who could take up the task.


    It was true that Gu Xiaoyue was the best candidate. She had high intelligence and affinity for the elements, which meant she was very sensitive to the elements in the air, allowing her to be able to detect any strange movements from the shaman before anyone else. After all, no matter what the shaman wanted to do, he would first need to use the elements.


    ¡°How is it, has Lightning done anything?¡± Xiao Lin asked in the underground cells.


    ¡°Nothing has changed.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue had some fatigue in her eyes. Xiao Lin squinted, finally noticing the exhaustion on her face through the dim light. He could not help but say with concern, ¡°Let me get someone else to take your ce today. You should avoid overtaxing yourself.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was about to say something when Xiao Lin immediately interrupted her, thinking she would reject it, ¡°Don¡¯t even try, we will need you for the uing battle. This directly rtes to our defense of the fortress.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pushed up her sses. ¡°No, I was just about to say that I¡¯ve been feeling very ufortable for some reason these few days.¡±


    ¡°Are you unwell? Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not referring to my body!¡± Gu Xiaoyue furrowed her eyebrows, mulling over what to say before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s just something I can¡¯t describe that well. It¡¯s like I¡¯m being pressured, and it¡¯s hard to breathe sometimes. It feels like danger is fast approaching.¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped in surprise. Gu Xiaoyue thought he did not believe her, sighing as she said, ¡°I know it¡¯s nothing concrete, but the feeling is way too intense, as if danger is right beside me.¡±


    ¡°You feel that way too!¡±


    ¡°Too?¡±


    It was now Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s turn to be surprised. The two of them immediately fell into silence. If it were just one of them, they could brush it off as a coincidental feeling, but two of them feeling the same way was far too strange.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go see Lightning!¡±


    After that moment of silence, Xiao Lin could not figure anything out, neither could he confirm that Gu Xiaoyue and himself were the only ones who had that feeling. Why would it be just the two of them? Were there others with the same feeling?


    When they reached Lightning¡¯s cells, there was a rusted pir in between them. Lightning was tied up in a damp, dark corner. There was only a palm-sized window on the wall, which was the only ce air could flow through. Lightning¡¯s eyes were shut as he sat down, a posture he maintained most of the time.


    ¡°Lightning, I just received a report that your army is marching toward us. Do you have anything to say?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s voice echoed throughout the cell.


    Lightning did not reply, and Xiao Lin repeated his question. He furrowed an eyebrow and suddenly had a foreboding feeling. He turned to Gu Xiaoyue and ordered, ¡°Quick! Get the other monitors over, and remember to bring the keys!¡±


    The keys to the cell were guarded by the monitors on a rotational basis. Gu Xiaoyue seemed to have realized something as well as she hurried away. After a few minutes, the monitors rushed inside.


    Looking at the unmoving Lightning, the few of them were deep in discussion. About half of the monitors were all there, so theirbat ability was assured, which meant they did not need to worry about any tricks from the shaman. After opening up the cell, Xiao Lin shot inside before Cheng Ming could even warn him to be careful. He reached out and touched Lightning, and thetter immediately fell over.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Xiao Lin said after checking his pulse and breath.


    ¡°Impossible! How could an orc be so weak? We did not even torture him, and even gave him three meals a day!¡± Cheng Ming refused to believe it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s bring him out to investigate. Maybe we can find the cause of death?¡± Han Manman suggested.


    Chen Dao immediately had a look of contempt, ¡°What do you mean by cause of death? Lightning has been guarded by Gu Xiaoyue and I every day. I can assure you, nothing wrong happened while I was watching!¡±


    ¡°I can guarantee it as well.¡± Gu Xiaoyue added.


    Han Manman replied coldly, ¡°Then what are you afraid of?¡±


    ¡°Alright stop! Don¡¯t fight. It¡¯s just an orc. So what if he¡¯s dead? Don¡¯t let it affect our teamwork.¡± Sheng Guo once again tried to y the mediator.


    ¡°Let¡¯s bring him out to investigate. This is way too strange.¡± Xiao Lin looked up after his own investigation, sighing.


    Lightning¡¯s corpse was quickly brought to the training field. The first thing they had to determine was time of death, which was easy enough to determine. Lightning still had some response when he was given dinnerst night, so he had to have died during the night or earlier that day.


    The next was the cause of death. There did not seem to be visible wounds, and the strange thing was Lightning had a strange smile on his hardened face, one filled with mockery.


    Who was he mocking before he died? The most likely answer was the humans, which then brought the question of why. Why would he mock them as a prisoner?


    ¡°Oi, Xiao Lin, what are you doing?¡± Chen Dao had been arguing with Han Manman when he noticed Xiao Lin had his sleeve up, preparing to lift up Lightning¡¯s clothes.


    Xiao Lin was not in the mood to entertain him, ¡°I¡¯m obviously investigating! We need to know if he died of natural causes!¡±


    Chen Dao was beside himself. ¡°You are suspicious too!¡±


    Xiao Lin was beginning to get annoyed. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just call it something else. We¡¯re just performing an autopsy. Happy now?¡±


    Some of them felt like Xiao Lin was making too big a deal out of it. Even though having the shaman as a hostage was great, it was not a big deal if he died. Trying to investigate was unnecessary, especially to the degree of doing something as disgusting as stripping that old and ugly orc naked.


    Xiao Lin did not know how to perform an autopsy, even if he had seen it on TV before. It was regretful that he did not know how to do a professional job, but he could at least check for any injuries.


    The other monitors probably felt too disgusted to do it and left the job to Xiao Lin. After checking the entire body a few times, the others started to get impatient when Xiao Lin suddenly eximed.

 Chapter 263: Danger

    <h4>Chapter 263: Danger</h4>


    There was a very dense red dot near Lightning¡¯s heart which could easily be overlooked if one did not make a careful observation. Xiao Lin had been examining carefully for a long time, and that red dot was the only thing that looked suspicious.


    ¡°This is a stain left by a blood clot.¡± Xiao Lin stood up and had a gloomy expression on his face. Everyone else appeared simrly displeased.


    ¡°Lightning¡¯s death was a murder, then?¡±


    ¡°Is that argument still valid? At the time, this orc had its hands tied behind its back. How could he possibly be able to pierce such a small hole in his own heart? Now that you mention it, what kind of weapon could even cause such a wound?¡±


    Chen Dao seemed very upset when he sensed other people¡¯s gazes. Just as he was about to exin himself, Xiao Lin spoke ahead of him, ¡°I trust that this has nothing to do with Chen Dao and Gu Xiaoyue.¡±


    ¡°How are you so sure?¡± Han Manman questioned. Her rtionship with Chen Dao has been very rough those days, so she was certainly going to seize such an opportunity.


    Xiao Lin nced at the woman with a gaze that seemed to chastise her for being an idiot. He then said lightly, ¡°It¡¯s simple. Because there¡¯s nothing to be gained out of it! Lightning is our hostage. We could have used a shaman like him to do something, especially in these moments when the orcs are approaching. If worsees to worse, we can still dy the enemy somehow, but he just had to die at this time. Doesn¡¯t take much thinking to know who¡¯ll benefit from this!¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s face changed slightly. ¡°You mean, the elves!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡± Xiao Lin raised his head and looked at the silver fleet in the distance, but he was still a little unsure whether it was those elves that really did so.


    Questions still remained. If it was the work of those elves, how did they kill Lightning without the humans knowing it? Why did they have to wait until then? Would it not have been better if they killed Lightning before the confession?


    Lightning death was nothing too serious. After all, it was just an orc, and it did not matter if he died. Just as Sheng Guo said, once the orc army made their next approach, there was no need for a dead orc to cause internal disunity.


    Although Han Manman used Gu Xiaoyue and Chen Dao of failing to perform their duties several times, she had all but lost their bargaining chips. However, most of the acting monitors such as Cheng Ming adhered to the principle of downying major issues, and everyone soon turned their attentionpletely to how to defend.


    However, the fact that those elves made another move left a lingering shadow over everyone¡¯s hearts. It was more than half a month before the exam was due to end, and that unexpected incident seemed to remind everyone that the exam could not possibly be that simple.


    To everyone¡¯s satisfaction however, the defenses on the inner side of the fortress still remained strong. The number of defensive towers during that period has almost doubled to more than 50, of which nearly a quarter were spell towers. Judging from the previous battle situation, even the most pessimistic people felt that they might just be sessful as long as they defended with all their hearts.


    With that mood in mind, three days passed in a sh. With the help of the vision enhancing scroll, the orcs¡¯ front-line army was finally faintly visible. Some took a deep breath.


    There were only a small number of orcs in the army and the total was roughly estimated to be around a few thousand individuals, but the key wasposition of that army. On the forefront was a huge four-legged, tank-like, heavily-built monster on the ins. It was crawling slowly, followed by a fully armed orc infantry. The infantry was alsopletely different from the previous ones, as they were more than just a couple of ranks stronger in terms of equipment and ability.


    Xiao Lin and the others knew nothing about orc soldiers like those, but the fortress¡¯ NPCs were slightly familiar with them. After receiving the information, the ss monitors their expressions soured even more.


    Those were sieging behemoth orcs, the most elite out of all the orcs. They not only possessed extremely high defensive power, but unparalleled collision strength too. Their speed might seem slow as of then, but as long as they surged forth in a burst, their instantaneous explosive power could destroy the sturdiest of walls in an instant.


    Of course, this kind of behemoth siege orcs had plenty of weaknesses as well, such as weak stamina, slow movement speed, and various other things. The orcs did not bring along the behemoth when attacking Dawn City so as to prevent themselves from being slowed down. Moreover, few such behemoths existed within the entire orc race, but they were specifically utilized for that.


    Captain Yu recognized the totem emblems of that orc infantry. It belonged to the orcs¡¯ most elite troops. Captain Yu did not specifically speak of the troop¡¯s strength, but he sighed continuously, which clearly signified that theirbat power had reached a level that the humans could not handle.


    ording to the original n, the orc¡¯s elitebat forces were all at the base and it was not possible to send them all there at one time. The students were therefore in a race against time with the orcs. Taking advantage of the orcs¡¯ck of sufficient troops in the surrounding areas, the students could win as long as they could defend the fortress and forced both the orcs¡¯ front lines and wolf cavalry to retreat.


    However, the orcs did not seem unprepared at all. All those dispatches could not have been made after the supply depot was lost, and thendfall operation n formted by Dawn Academy had never taken ount of the orcs¡¯ elite troops even from the outset.


    They had miscalcted.


    Should they continue defending?


    Could it be better to retreat?


    Those ideas had already started surfacing in the hearts of many people. By then, the ever-silent elven fleet¡¯s loathsome n was finally revealed.


    If they retreated, they could only avoid the orc army by walking along the coast. In that case however, they wouldpletely be exposed to the fleet¡¯s attack range.


    The monitors in themand room quarreled over it, and the instructors also made an exception to join in the debate. After all, the next choice was likely to be the most critical part of the exam. They might have already had a vague realization that the real difficulty of that exam was during those final moments. Whatever decision they made after that would probably affect the final results, not to mention the year leader¡¯s evaluation too.


    More surprisingly, Xiao Lin was the sole notable absentee during those few meetings at the headquarters. Although Cheng Ming called Xiao Lin several times, thetter refused politely and simply asked Qin Chuan to attend on behalf of ss Seven. Xiao Lin would then just glean some information from Qin Chuanter on.


    In that regard, Han Manman either dismissed him for being a coward or chastised his irresponsibility for wanting to test their true capabilities during such a crucial moment.


    Those who knew Xiao Lin very well, such as Chen Dao and the others, were well aware that Xiao Lin was not that kind of person. In fact, Xiao Lin had been acting very strangely since Lightning¡¯s death. He no longer cared about the orc army outside the fortress, nor did he attend any meeting among the monitors. It was as if he had already resigned himself to everything.

 Chapter 264: A Shocking Development

    <h4>Chapter 264: A Shocking Development</h4>


    What was Xiao Lin thinking?


    Unbeknownst to the rest, even his ssmates from ss Seven¡ªsuch as Zhou Feng¡ªreturned without sess after attempting to enquire further from Xiao Lin. Qin Chuan and the others even persuaded Xiao Lin not to beat himself up over it. Even if the situation had already reached the point of no return, simply doing nothing would affect the final evaluation nheless.


    Xiao Lin merely smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s just something I haven¡¯t figured out yet.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s toote now!¡± Qin Chuan was getting anxious. His promotion to sophomore year hinged on that exam.


    Xiao Lin shook his head and sighed, ¡°If that battle really was a trap, I believe that the orcs and the elves must have been prepared for this, otherwise Dawn Academy¡¯s defeat wouldn¡¯t have happened in actual history. Instructor, do you really think we can rely on ourselves to change the course history?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Qin Chuan said after a moment¡¯s silence. He was not underestimating those new students, because it was an indisputable fact that the freshmen¡¯sbat strength was quitemendable. However, it was no longer a question of a one- or two-rank difference when facing the orcs¡¯ most elite troops.


    Although they did very well at the beginning of the battle and defeated the orc infantry rather swiftly, their odds of winning were too low in terms of the overall situation.


    At that point, Captain Yu, who was in charge of the resurrection tower, looked for the other acting ss monitors. The resurrection tower must never fall into the orcs¡¯ hands, so he nned to install a self-destructing device near the resurrection tower. If the fortress really was breached, he could destroy the resurrection tower as ast resort.


    The so-called self-destructing device was actually a high-strength magic scroll, the kind that could deliver great destructive power on the building. Basically, anyone who was responsible for making the resurrection tower would be in possession of it. Such a defense mechanism was very much necessary, and it was also why the captain did not seem to worry about the resurrection tower being snatched away.


    Captain Yu¡¯s confident remarks snapped Xiao Lin back to his senses when he was told about it. It was as if he woke up from a big dream when he stood up with a look of horror on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± Qin Chuan was puzzled with Xiao Lin¡¯s reaction. He was responsible for rying the content of the meeting to Xiao Lin despite his slight disappointment in Xiao Lin.


    ¡°I understand now! I keep having this strange feeling ever since Lightning¡¯s death. Plus, there was also that anxiety in my heart during that period of time. I finally understand what happened!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s tone was urgent and low.


    ¡°What are you bbering about?¡± Qin Chuan still did not understand.


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but then shut it again all of a sudden. He left the room and rushed to the top of the fortress. At that point, almost all the students were still defending their posts. The orcs were camping a few miles away, and although they had yet tomence any offensive action for the time being, no one dared to let their guard down.


    ¡°Where did Captain Yu go?¡± Xiao Lin found Chen Dao and asked.


    ¡°He went to install that so-called self-detonating device. I can¡¯t believe they had such a powerful magic scroll and didn¡¯t even take it out sooner. It might even be helpful to the battle!¡± Chen Dao had plenty ofints.


    However, Xiao Lin had already ran off, leaving Chen Dao with a baffled expression.


    The resurrection tower was built in the centremost location. It was 70-80%plete as of then, and it was ted toplete in a few days at most if nothing untoward happened. ording to Captain Yu¡¯s n, he would continue to insist onpleting the resurrection tower before assessing the situation and deciding whether it had to be destroyed.


    There were architects aplenty near the resurrection tower, and some students would asionally pass by. Since the fortress was filled with people and defending it was not a problem, it was left unattended most of the time.


    No one was surprised to see Xiao Lin. In fact, those NPCs rarely had any contact with the students. After all, it was just a simted exam. Except for Captain Yu, most of the freshmen did not have much interest inmunicating with anyone else.


    Xiao Lin took the initiative to speak with Captain Yu because the two of them were quite familiar with each other. Although Captain Yu seemed anxious, he still patiently said, ¡°The self-destructing device is a standard configuration of the resurrection tower. I didn¡¯t deliberately conceal it before. ording to the regtions, no one else should know about this except for a few people. After all, the Academy is still quite worried that such a thing would fall into enemy hands.¡±


    ¡°Security purposes? Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. Just look at this!¡± Captain Yu was amicable with Xiao Lin and thus made a brief introduction.


    A light blue spell formation, visible to the naked eye, was present at the base of the resurrection tower. The spell patterns on it were veryplex, but they were all directly engraved using the scrolls. It was rumored that they were made by very high-level mages, and all Captain Yu knew was how to use it.


    ¡°This self-destructing device is divided into two scrolls, both used to power it up. Haha, you heard that right. This device is very safe. If you want to power it, you need to activate both scrolls at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Where are those two scrolls?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s with me, of course. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Captain Yu probably felt that Xiao Lin was worried about their safety.


    ¡°Can you show them to me? I¡¯m still a little worried.¡± Xiao Lin remained calm.


    ¡°Just this once. That¡¯s the most I can show you.¡±


    Captain Yu hesitated, then took out two scrolls from his possession. He raised them up and said, ¡°Besides, after the resurrection tower ispleted, these two scrolls will be guarded by different people. The selection of candidates is confidential though.¡±


    ¡°Mm, that¡¯s good.¡± Xiao Lin pretended to be at ease, then suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, what level of strength did you achieve, Captain Yu?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Captain Yu was a little surprised by that question but quickly answered, ¡°This is embarrassing. To tell you the truth, my basics aren¡¯t that good. I¡¯m just fortunate to have a little bit of talent as an architect when I was on Earth. It was only when the resurrection tower appeared that the college began paying attention to that talent. That was how I was able to follow them to the New World... Well, for now, I¡¯ve just managed to pass ck Iron-rank.¡±


    ¡°Oh, apologies then!¡±


    ¡°Apologies?¡±


    Confusion had barely sunk into Captain Yu when he suddenly noticed Xiao Lin pulling out the Holy Soul Sword. Frightened, he asked angrily, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    Thump!


    Captain Yu had been knocked down to the ground. He fainted but was not injured. With Xiao Lin activating his Miracle and transforming all his attributes into strength, Captain Yu was very much vulnerable despite being on ck Iron-rank.


    Everything happened so suddenly that the architects around him were caught by surprise. Meanwhile, the new students passing by stared at Xiao Lin with a heinous look.


    A few secondster, those students made a desperate run toward the headquarters.


    Xiao Lin had no time to pay attention to those people. After knocking down the captain, he quickly grabbed the two scrolls, ced the Holy Soul Sword down, then held one scroll each in his left and right hand. He stood quietly in front of the resurrection tower with a mocking sneer in the corner of his mouth. He shouted loudly at a distance in a very cold tone, ¡°How about that? Still scared to show yourselves right now?¡±

 Chapter 265: Female Elf

    <h4>Chapter 265: Female Elf</h4>


    The most ethereal of voices was heard after a few seconds of silence. ¡°I¡¯m curious. How did you notice it?¡±


    A woman appeared some distance away with a look of surprise on her face. She had short hair, was of moderate build, and looked rather nonchnt as she approached Xiao Lin slowly.


    However, Xiao Lin immediately felt a pressureing down on his face like the tide. It was a feeling that could nearly suffocate a person instantaneously, but Xiao Lin was not unfamiliar with that feeling, having felt it a simr feeling lingering in the past couple of days. The smothering feeling in his heart was actually just a small-scale version of it.


    Xiao Lin bit down hard on his lip, to the point where he injured his skin and filled his mouth with blood. He wanted to use the pain to dispel that suffocating feeling. It was an instinctive reaction that surfaced from the depths of his soul, and the severe pain had somewhat relieved him of the pressure that bore down on him. At the very least, he could speak despite needing a great amount of effort to do so.


    ¡°This has gotten me thinking ever since Lightning died. I couldn¡¯t make sense of how anyone was able to kill him, but then I realized, we¡¯ve been thinking about this all wrong. All of us thought that the elves must have done something straight from their fleet of warships. I don¡¯t doubt that you have that kind of ability, but it must be extremely hard to execute with such precision and stealth.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t figure it out this entire time, but I had a sudden realization just a few moments ago. If your goal is the resurrection tower, and if you wanted to obtain theplete tower while preventing us from destroying it beforehand, what could be the best way to do so?¡±


    Xiao Lin spoke in slowly and quietly, then curled his lips in a wry smile. ¡°The best way is simple, really. You just have to sneak in!¡±


    The woman cocked her brow. ¡°Is that how you concluded that someone must have sneaked in here?¡±


    ¡°Uh, of course not. After all, I won¡¯t have a way out if I just went ahead and did this. I can¡¯t tell anyone else either, because I don¡¯t know who you are and whether you have some way to keep watch on all of us.¡± Xiao Lin nced at the magic scroll in his hands. His nails were already full of blood, and just like before, self-muttion was his way of ensuring that he would not be subject to the female elf¡¯s aura. Had he not done so, he was worried that he might not be able to activate the magic scrolls.


    At that point, the other acting monitors and instructors also rushed over after hearing the news. Han Manman of ss Four had already rushed to the forefront. Being a mage, she had already taken out her wand, asking as she walked, ¡°Xiao Lin! Have you gone absolutely nuts! Even if you decide to give up on yourself, don¡¯t drag us down in the process. If that¡¯s what you¡¯re doing, I might as well just deal with you right now!¡±


    Although Han Manman¡¯s words were filled with anger, there appeared to be excitement on her face as she had been waiting eagerly for that opportunity toe. That was precisely the reason why Xiao Lin could not act on anything unless he was very sure of his guess.


    If he did what he just did and his guess ended up wrong, Xiao Lin would havepletely lost everyone¡¯s trust. After all, Captain Yu was on their side despite being an NPC. Assaulting one¡¯s allies was no small crime.


    Han Manman¡¯s gloating did notst too long. Since she was the first person to walk down the stairs and rushed to the forefront, the huge burst of pressure bore down on her the moment she stepped into the training ground. She reacted much worse than Xiao Lin, falling to the ground right then and there. Trembling from head to toe, her lips quivered as though she wanted to say something but could not do so.


    Han Manman stared at Xiao Lin fiercely and resentfully. She still regarded Xiao Lin as the source of all that, and at that point, tried her best to raise the wand in her hand. In that state of hers, gathering the elements was probably impossible to do, let alone casting spells.


    The woman in front of Xiao Lin watched Han Manman¡¯s movements, and a look of displeasure shed between her brows. She therefore raised her left hand ever so gently. A short silver bow that was less than half an arm¡¯s length was held in her palm. Its bowstring was as thin as hair and it shone with an eye-piercing glow.


    The bow was raised and the bowstring was drawn.


    After the bowstring vibrated slightly, Han Manman had copsed onto the ground with a stupefied and perplexed expression, despite Xiao Lin Xiao noticing that no arrows had flown past. Blood did not drip down to the ground either.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart thumped suddenly and he finally understood how Lightning died. It was probably the work of that unusually delicate, small, and exquisite bow, which had been used to shoot directly through Lightning¡¯s heart.


    The others who were preparing toe down were also surprised and froze in ce. The speed of the woman¡¯s shot was almost as fast as lightning, and there was no wound to be seen on Han Manman¡¯s body. Those who were slightly closer were still puzzled as to what happened. Someone shouted at Xiao Lin in horror and anger, ¡°Xiao Lin! What the hell are you doing!¡±


    By then, Xiao Lin had no time to exin everything to them and did not even bother to turn his head slightly. His eyes remained fixed on that seemingly ordinary woman, and his bloody hands were still clutching tightly on the magic scrolls that could activate the self-destructing device.


    Xiao Lin felt like he was walking on a tightrope. The weather might have been very cool at that moment, but dense beads of sweat formed on his forehead and streamed down his cheeks.


    The woman¡¯s identity was still unknown, but it hadpletely exceeded Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations. Based on his initial guess, anyone who could sneak in without being detected must surely be superior to the students in terms of strength. Any attempt to locate them would prove impossible, so all he could do was choose a near life-threatening ruse to flush the enemy out.


    Xiao Lin was confident because of his initial guess. The elves and the orcs co-operated solely for the resurrection tower, so for them, thebined weight of everyone in this fortress was never as important as the resurrection tower. Indeed, the enemy could care less about the lives lost in the fortress or who had control over it, but if Xiao Lin wanted to destroy the resurrection tower, then the enemy had no choice but to be flushed out.


    While it was clear that Xiao Lin seeded, the enemy¡¯s strength appeared to be more terrifying than expected. Such spiritual fear and pressure had been felt only at the academy¡¯s opening ceremony when the golden dragon appeared. That could only mean that the woman¡¯s strength wasparable to that of a golden dragon!


    Everyone in the entire fortressbined was probably not even enough to stuff between the dragon¡¯s teeth!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart felt very bitter and he was not at all happy that his guess was proved right, because it meant that their monthly exam journey would end that day.


    ¡°Interesting humans.¡±


    The woman¡¯sughter was very pleasant, like a silver bell. A green halo then suddenly enveloped her and the light bloomed abruptly like a flower, covering the entire fortress in an instant.


    The glow was fleeting, and when Xiao Lin opened his eyes again, before him was a pair of long ears, light green skin, and a face with almost no ws. Like the rumors suggested, the elven race was rich in beautiful females. One might be unustomed to their green skin, but in no way did that character hinder their aesthetically-pleasing looks.

 Chapter 266: Restrained

    <h4>Chapter 266: Restrained</h4>


    ¡°As much as I admire your courage and wisdom, it¡¯s quite unfortunate because you really shouldn¡¯t have stopped me this time.¡± Although the female elf¡¯s appearance hadpletely changed, her pleasant voice remained more or less the same and her Chinese was much more fluent than the orc shaman.


    ¡°Elves like us have always emphasized on the policy of neutrality. The reason I personally came here was to avoid unnecessary casualties as much as possible. Too much blood has been shed in this war. You might be the invaders of time and space, but us elves cannot bear to watch these excessive killings.¡±


    The female elf had a sorrowful andpassionate look. She then began walking slowly toward Xiao Lin. As the light green halo passed by, everyone in the entire fortress was horrified to discover themselves lying limp on the ground, unable to move at all.


    Xiao Lin had almost bitten off his lips, but the pressured feeling waspletely different from previously. After the green light brushed past, the pressure and anxiety lingering in his heart for several days hadpletely disappeared. A calm and tranquil feeling reced it, but it did not make anyone feel the least bit pleased. It was incredibly difficult to make any movements under that feeling.


    ¡°Huh! That¡¯s nice of you to say. Why did you kill her, then! And Lightning, the orc shaman. Didn¡¯t you kill him without hesitation?¡± Xiao Lin tried to think of ways to break free while distracting the female elf¡¯s attention as much as possible.


    The female elf tilted her head and nced at Han Manman¡¯s body before sighing. ¡°Her spirit is in a very unstable state. It¡¯s very unfavourable for us, you and I both. As for that orc, he wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve lived long anyway even if I didn¡¯t kill him. Shamans aren¡¯t allowed tomit suicide, and all I did was help him set himself free. That¡¯s what he wanted too.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°How do you think I came here?¡± Victory was within the female elf¡¯s grasp, but she suddenly halted her footsteps and looked calmly at Xiao Lin amidst all the chaos.


    It was just as Xiao Lin nned and he thus answered unhesitatingly, ¡°My guess is that you sneaked in when we attacked the orcs the other night. After all, that was the only chance. You wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid the attention if you sneaked in at any other time.¡±


    ¡°Correct, but not quite.¡±


    The female elf squatted down and brought her wless face close to Xiao Lin. Her light scent was intoxicating, and curiosity shed in her eyes as she whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve actually been very curious about you.¡±


    Xiao Lin froze, and then realized that her curiosity probably referred to all those colonists from earth.


    Sure enough, the female elf continued, ¡°I really wanted to get to know all of you deeply, which is why I disregarded the orcs¡¯ objections and changed my n at thest minute to sneak into your fortress all alone. I posed as one of your female soldiers, ate with you, lived with you, all because I really wanted to know how different you are from us.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    The female elf stood up again and merely shook her head. Unsure whether it was to express regret or whether she did not understand the question, she eventually whispered, ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to your lives. This green light isn¡¯t fatal. It¡¯ll only incapacitate you temporarily. I¡¯ll leave after taking the resurrection tower.¡±


    ¡°This is just an unfinished resurrection tower!¡±


    ¡°My original n was to wait until it was fullyplete, but unfortunately you found out. Not that it matters anyway. I¡¯ll just bring him away too.¡± The female elf had prepared well in advance and pointed to Captain Yu who was not far away.


    ¡°Xiao...Xiao Lin, hurry up and use the self-destructing scroll!¡± Captain Yu had graduallye to his senses and shouted with great effort. After all, Xiao Lin did not use a lot of strength when knocking him down earlier, and his own strength levels were also ck Iron-rank.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. You can¡¯t even move a finger with that strength of yours.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to possess such suppressive force even at Gold-rank. You! Who are you!¡± Captain Yu red.


    ¡°Heh, you mustn¡¯t forget that Gold is not the highest rank there is. Although Norma¡¯s people seem to be inferior in terms of cultivationpared to invaders like yourself, it doesn¡¯t mean that we¡¯ll lose to you when our strength is at our peak.¡±


    Captain Yu widened his eyes in astonishment. Above Gold-rank were the much more unattainable Epic- and Legend-rank, of which few individuals existed even among both earthlings and Normans.


    Simrly, the power held by those two ranks of people were far too immense and terrifying. They were almost equivalent to nuclear weapons. The implication of their existence was solely strategic deterrence, but even in the war between Dawn Academy and the orcs, neither side has used individuals of such strength levels to fight on arge scale.


    Even the knuckleheaded orcs were well aware that a fight between Epic- and Legend-rank individuals were practically genocide with no further room for maneuvering. Both sides therefore had a tacit understanding not to take the initiative and dispatch someone of that rank.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face turned pale and he finally understood why that battle n ended in a disastrous defeat in history. It was because the elves disregarded the tacit rules and arbitrarily dispatched someone of that level, making the copse of the fortress unavoidable.


    In fact, the female elf harped on about reducing killings, and in fact, no one else was hurt other than Han Manman and the female student whom she took the ce of.


    However, one should not forget that the orcs¡¯ most elite army were still waiting there outside the fortress. They were probably waiting to see what would happen there before charging over all at once. It did not take a lot of imagination to know the fate of those who werepletely immobilized and lost allbat effectiveness.


    ¡°Can you stop the orcs if they charge in?¡± Xiao Lin held on to hisst glimmer of hope and asked.


    The female elf was silent for a few seconds. ¡°We have an agreement with the orcs. We won¡¯t interfere with each other in this cooperation. I can only promise that my decisions will be what I ought to do, but I can¡¯t vite the agreement in the name of the Tree of Life.¡±


    ¡°Such hypocritical kindness!¡± Xiao Lin had no strength to even sneer.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Do allow me to give you a kind reminder: I know you¡¯ve tried to stimte your response system with the pain created by your self-harm earlier, but it¡¯s useless. This restraining spelles directly fromw itself. It restricts your speed, mental power, strength, and everything else.¡±


    Everyone gasped all of a sudden. In fact, Xiao Lin was not the only one struggling to break free. It was the same with Cheng Ming, Chen Dao, and the rest. They were all trying to break free from the restraints in their own ways, but everyone gave up struggling once they heard what the female elf said. If it really wasw-based, then the difference between ranks was already far more than what anyone could resist.

 Chapter 267: Final Hope

    <h4>Chapter 267: Final Hope</h4>


    The actual historical battle saw Dawn Academy¡¯s n frustrated due to the forceful intervention of that female elf. After all, it was Norma, where even the most meticulous ofmand ns would look like a joke in the face of such absolute power.


    The female elf was very confident. Faced with the group of people inside the fortress who were no more than ck Iron-rank at the strongest, she believed she could crush all of them. As a result, she did not even bother to take away the self-destruct activation scroll after immobilizing and chose instead to bring back Captain Yu first.


    She drew the bowstring of her dainty bow once more. Several aquamarine-colored beams were fired out,nding like raindrops in a circle on the ground around the resurrection tower. The ground then shattered open, and everyone could see that her intention was to take away the entire tower along with its base.


    ¡°Captain Yu, how big is the range and explosive power of this self-destructing device once activated?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked in a quiet voice.


    At that moment, Captain Yu was suffering in pain and feeling conflicted. He could not elect tomit suicide in such a state, let alone resist. Once captured by the elves, it might mean that he would nevere back again. He probably thought that Xiao Lin wanted to use the self-destructing device¡¯s explosive power to harm that woman, but sadly, he knew better than anyone else that there was no one in the fortress who could fight against that female elf.


    ¡°Its explosive power is only equivalent to a Gold-rank spell. Due to a fear of idental injury, the explosion range has been carefully calcted and it¡¯s not veryrge. The core explosive power covers about half the training ground at most, but the resulting force of impact isn¡¯t weak either. It¡¯s more than enough to destroy this fortress.¡±


    Captain Yu had a very detailed understanding of those materials since he was the one responsible for the resurrection tower¡¯s construction, but there was no doubt that such information was extremely confidential during peacetime. In particr, once the self-destructing scroll was activated, it also meant that the fortress would bepletely destroyed. That would be equivalent to abandoning the mission, but at that moment, he was no longer in the mood to conceal it.


    The corner of the female elf¡¯s mouth curled up slightly into a smile, though it was hard to make out whether the smile was sarcasm or pity. Perhaps she was just sympathizing with the powerless humans that they were.


    ¡°The entire training ground?¡±


    Xiao Lin looked around, and besides a few NPC architects, there were only a few acting monitors and instructors in the vicinity. The other students were guarding strictly at the city wall. In addition to the fact that the light beam came so suddenly and no one had managed to react yet, he was certain that no one else would be within the scope of the explosion.


    The expression on Xiao Lin¡¯s face suddenly became calm, almost too oddly in fact. He slowly began speaking in a very low tone, ¡°You just said that this restraining spell is aw-level restraint. I¡¯m curious: if you¡¯re really that great, why don¡¯t you just look for Ivanovich? He¡¯s the pioneer that enabled us to resurrect.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to provoke me and sow anger.¡± The female elf continued to do her thing. She carefully cleaned the soil around the resurrection tower so as not to destroy it when she took it away. Without even looking back to answer Xiao Lin¡¯s question, she made light of it and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, what I¡¯ve mastered isn¡¯t thepletew, nor can it bepared with Ivan, but it still isn¡¯t something that you can easily break free from.¡±


    ¡°So, this restriction spell has no effect on Ivan?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the only thing that can resist thew is thew. There¡¯s nothing to be denied.¡± The female elf readily admitted that there was no shame for her to be inferior in terms of strength, for she was still able to crush everyone on the scene.


    ¡°The only thing that can resist thew is thew.¡±


    Xiao Lin mumbled those words repeatedly and his gaze gradually sharpened. He had to stop the female elf. Whether she took away the resurrection tower and Captain Yu did not matter, because at the end of the day, it was all just a simted exam. No matter what the result was, it was impossible to change something that had already happened in history.


    If things continued as they were however, the orcs would inevitably rush in and kill them all, just like what happened in history. Almost no survivors will survive this battle, and each of them will lose 10 years of life. Gu Xiaoyue was the only one who had no other chance.


    At this time, Xiao Lin had no time to consider the evaluation or results of the exam. The only possibility to save Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s life was to activate the self-destructing device in his hand and use the explosive scroll on the resurrection tower topletely destroy the fortress.


    ording to the contents of that simted exam, the fall of the fortress amounted to failure of the final objective. The exam would thereby be terminated immediately. From his experience in the first monthly exam, all survivors would return to the academy once the exam ended.


    If Captain Yu¡¯s description of the power and range of the explosion is correct, Gu Xiaoyue was not within the range of the center of explosion. She might be injured at most, but she would not die.


    That in itself was also a big risk, but on the bnce, it was better to do so than just wait to die there.


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate to turn on his replicating skill when he thought of that. He obviously did not possess anyw-level ability, but his SS-level talent made him almost equivalent to the existence ofw itself. Many hints had been given to him in The Final Land, as well as from the memory which imed itself to be left behind by Ivan.


    All it amounted to was a guess on his part, but it was also his veryst hope.


    Once activated, Xiao Lin did not rush to choose a subject to replicate, since he was not expecting the ability to have any effect on the female elf. Such level of spells had far surpassed the evaluation of E rated spells.


    Xiao Lin continued trying, but the result frustrated him tremendously. His brain was still unable to control his body and he could not move at all. Aside from that, none of the power in his body could be used, just as the female elf said. The inability to concentrate mental energy meant that he was unable to gather up the basic elements.


    Ordinary magic scrolls could be used simply by tearing them open, but it would not be as easy to execute it on a scroll meant for a self-destructing device. Mental strength had to be channeled into the scroll, and the magic formation could only be activated once the elements were gathered.


    ¡°In that case, replication: start!¡±


    There were many people that he could use Replicate on and the type of skills replicated was not at all important as long as it was a spell. Xiao Lin first fixed his gaze on Han Manman¡¯s corpse. He never tested whether the subject to be replicated had to be alive, but the skill information that suddenly popped into his mind made him understand the results.


    [Skill: Hurricane Spell. Replication: sess!]


    Han Manman was a wind-element mage and it was no secret among the monitors. She was only able to master LV2 of the ck Iron-rank Hurricane Spell.


    None of that mattered now that Xiao Lin¡¯s goal had been achieved. Just as he expected, the active skill of his SS-level talent was not restricted by the restraining spell at all.

 Chapter 268: The End of The Monthly Exam

    <h4>Chapter 268: The End of The Monthly Exam</h4>


    The female elf had a keen perception of the surrounding elements, and at almost the exact moment Xiao Lin manifested those elements, she suddenly turned her head and stared incredulously at Xiao Lin. Her face had a shocked and suspicious look precisely because she was too confident in herself. She never even bothered to take the activation scroll from Xiao Lin¡¯s hand because she felt that it was just a waste of time.


    Her hesitation onlysted for less than two seconds. Within the silver light in her hand was the special short bow that she gripped tightly. The slender bowstring was drawn once again, and the silk-like light beam broke through the sky at lightning speed.


    Whether Xiao Lin could dodge the attack was beside the point¡ªeven if he was alive and kicking, there was absolutely no way for him to avoid that invisible arrow. Its speed was already beyond the limits of what could be observed with the naked eye.


    Xiao Lin desperately copied the spell in order to channel the condensed wind element into the scrolls he was holding. Before he could evenplete the groundwork to execute the Hurricane Spell, all he felt was a slight chill in his chest.


    Death came so suddenly that Xiao Lin actually seemed rather calm when it came. Perhaps he knew that this was just a simted exam and he still had enough life span at his disposal. Therefore, he felt close to nothing when the arrow beam passed through his heart.


    His consciousness began waning quickly. He had no idea what the arrow was made of, but it was as thin as hair. When it passed through his chest, the coolness of an ice cer immediately spread throughout his whole body, and the entire processsted only a few seconds.


    Xiao Lin felt the scrolls in his hands gradually getting hot. It was a sign that they had been activated. Once predetermined magic scrolls such as those were activated, it was no longer possible to halt the process. Xiao Lin could even faintly hear the female elf¡¯s angry roar.


    She always had a hypocritical smile on her, and it was a pity that Xiao Lin was not able to see her anger before he died.


    That was also Xiao Lin¡¯sst thought before falling into aa. He was already prepared to die. Even if he was not killed by the female elf, the orcs would surely finish him off. After sessfully activating the resurrection tower¡¯s self-destructing device, the following explosion was equivalent to a Gold-rank one, and its power was not something Xiao Lin could resist.


    Thea in the chaos onlysted for less than a few seconds. When Xiao Lin next opened his eyes, he was already standing in the ssroom in the metal hall as more and more light beams descended from the ceiling. The other students began following suit and began appearing one after another in the ssroom.


    The exam had ended and it was within his expectations. The memories before his death informed him that the resurrection tower¡¯s self-destructing device must have been activated sessfully. The fortress would be destroyed as a result and the mission¡¯s objective would have failed, meaning that the monthly exam would also be terminated.


    Xiao Lin could not help but get nervous as his eyesnded directly on the seat next to him. His seat was next to Gu Xiaoyue, so if she came back, she would definitely appear there.


    The return of dozens of people in the sssted for several minutes, and Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was practically already in his mouth. It was not until thest milky white light descended that his heart calmed down once more.


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief after Gu Xiaoyue walkedpletely out of the halo. A shallow smile gradually appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Wee back.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue understood what he meant by that and blushed slightly. She faced away from him, and after thinking for a moment, faced him again with a frown and asked, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    The situation back then had also changed rapidly. Naturally, Gu Xiaoyue, who was still at the fortress wall, did not know the specific reasons for what happened. Most of the people in the ss were confused too. After returning, they whispered to each other and enquired about what exactly happened.


    Boom!


    The ssroom door was suddenly kicked open. The man who barged in was someone that Xiao Lin knew. He was the monitor of ss Ten, but the two had little contact with each other. Xiao Lin did not give it much thought, but the guy went straight to Xiao Lin aftering in and had a displeased look on his face.


    Xiao Lin raised his guard instinctively, and when the two of them were less than a few meters apart, the man suddenly sped up and rushed forward to m his fist right at Xiao Lin¡¯s abdomen. Xiao Lin was already prepared for it, but he could not just let the man have his way. He did not dare to act rashly when facing a talented ss monitor and therefore activated his Miracle state almost immediately.


    After transforming all his attributes into strength, Xiao Lin reluctantly took the brunt of that blow, but his body was still sent back a couple of steps. The man seemed to have quite some strength.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Xiao Lin did not fight back, but instead asked angrily.


    ¡°You killed us all and you¡¯re pretending to y the fool, but I saw everything clearly. The final explosion was caused by the scrolls in your hand! F*ck you, you¡¯re the spy for the orcs!¡± This man was somewhat amazed by Xiao Lin¡¯s strength, but it was immediately reced by anger.


    Xiao Lin realized what was going on and remembered that the guy was quite close to the core of the explosion during the final moments. He might have been killed instantly if he had been unlucky, and there were probably a few of those monitors and instructors who were present there that ran out of luck.


    ¡°Stop! We¡¯re inside a ssroom! Xiao Lin must have had his reasons at the time!¡±


    Qin Chuan hurriedly came up to dissuade them from fighting, but he would not take a fist to that man on a whim. If everything went without a hitch, he might even be promoted to sophomore year after that monthly exam, so it was unsurprising that he would not want to offend any monitor at thest moment.


    More and more monitors and instructors rushed to ss Seven. Many people were still confused at the final moments. The ordinary students had absolutely no idea what actually happened, but even the monitors were left puzzled too. Thest message they got was that Xiao Lin suddenly went mad and attacked his own allies, and when they arrived, the first thing they saw was a strange woman. They were unable to move immediately after that, and finally, they could only watch as Xiao Lin used some scroll and sent everyone back to the academy.


    ¡°What the hell happened?¡± it was the sensible Cheng Ming asking that too.


    ¡°F*ck! That woman was an elf, wasn¡¯t she! She looked really beautiful!¡± Chen Dao was also very excited, but the focus of his concern waspletely different.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for you to be in possession of such a powerful scroll. Were you intending to destroy the resurrection tower?¡± ss Four¡¯s Sheng Guo managed to understand the gist somewhat.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! You¡¯re to me for our failure in this exam! You must take full responsibility!¡± The sharp voice came from Han Manman. She was the first to die, but she also heard what happened from the others while they were on the way to Xiao Lin.


    ...


    Many monitors raised their own questions, but they did not necessarily me him like how Han Manman and the man who directly attacked Xiao Lin did. Nevertheless, they still felt that Xiao Lin did not handle it properly.


    Losing the fortress in the end meant that their mission had failed. Although they could still ept the rewards and redemption points for the first and second missions, those who were eager to vie for the year leader¡¯s position undoubtedly found the result hard to ept.

 Chapter 269: After the Monthly Exam

    <h4>Chapter 269: After the Monthly Exam</h4>


    More and more people gathered in ss Seven¡¯s ssroom. Of course, with the exception of the acting monitors, most of them were just there to watch the excitement or simply trying to figure out the cause of the matter. Someone added fuel to fire and perhaps even deliberately spread rumors among the crowd that the final monthly exam was forced to end in failure solely because of Xiao Lin¡¯s fault.


    The fingers were all slowly being pointed at Xiao Lin. In fact, calling it a rumor was not entirely calling. It was indeed Xiao Lin who forced an early end to the exam, but the reasons could not be exined in merely a few words.


    The ssroom was getting more and more raucous. Someone then said, ¡°Now that you mention it, it seems the exam evaluation results haven¡¯t been announced yet.¡±


    Everyone was silent for a while. It was really strange, because ording to the trend of the previous monthly exams, they would all receive theprehensive evaluation and rewards from the centralputer once it ended. On that asion however, it had been almost half an hour since they came back but there was still no sign of movement.


    ¡°Attention all freshmen, I am issuing an announcement on behalf of the student union. Due to unique reasons, the evaluation of this exam will be announced sometimeter. Please return to your dormitories immediately and prepare for ss as usual tomorrow.¡±


    There were loudspeakers in every ssroom, and although they were rarely used, a pleasant female voice was suddenly put on air at that time. The discussion in the crowd suddenly became livelier, but all the students could do was follow the order since it was the decision of the student union.


    Furthermore, everyone seemed to be in a rather tired mental state after the exam. That day was also a weekend, which generally meant that there were no sses. Soon enough, the people inside the ssrooms finally began dispersing slowly.


    The monitors still wanted to argue. Even if they had enough life span remaining, anyone would be upset to lose 10 years so needlessly like that. Xiao Lin did not want to waste his breath on them. Those who believed in him, like Chen Dao and Cheng Ming, would always believe that he had a reason for doing so, while no amount of exining could convince the others who did not trust him.


    When the crowd was getting lesser, Xiao Lin said goodbye to Gu Xiaoyue before immediately using the Phantom Steps to shuttle through the empty spaces between each person. He left the ssroom in the blink of an eye, and those who were not paying attention could only see a blur in front of them. By then, Xiao Lin was already nowhere to be seen.


    As of that moment, Xiao Lin was the only one among the freshmen who managed to master the Phantom Step. Even those with much higher agility attributes than Xiao Lin could only stare at his back from behind.


    After returning to the dormitory, the first thing Xiao Lin did was to turn on theputer and view his profile. Information such as the score and redemption points of that monthly exam had yet to change, but the column disying his remaining life showed only 50 years, as opposed to the 60 years he had when he first entered the academy.


    ¡°Five more chances?¡± Xiao Lin murmured. He shook his head and did not really care too much about it. He had enough redemption points, so he really could not care less about that life span.


    The first thing he did was take a refreshing hot bath. Although there was sufficient supply of fresh water in the fortress, the orcs did not have the habit of preparing a bathhouse, and going without a bath for more than a month was unbearable even for a man.


    After that, he proceeded to take a deep and heavy sleep. It was nearly eight in the evening when he woke up again, and there was hardly anyone present when he went to the top floor cafeteria. There were only cold leftovers, but it was good enough for Xiao Lin. At least he could avoid encountering any strange people who would directlye up and throw a fist at him.


    After filling his tummy with food and drink, he opened the forum and saw that it was being refreshed almost constantly. Various new posts appeared almost every second. Xiao Lin clicked on a few to check them and unexpectedly discovered that the monthly exam¡¯s evaluation had just been announced not long ago. Everyone began discussing the same topic.


    Curiously, Xiao Lin was still unable to see anyments after clicking on his message again. In his puzzlement, he discovered that he had received an unread text message from the student union. The content was very brief, saying that he would have to show up at the student union¡¯s conference room the following morning for the final evaluation of the monitors. The acting monitors were also exempted from participating in that morning¡¯s ss.


    Xiao Lin contacted Chen Dao and Cheng Ming again, only to realize that the evaluations of all the acting monitors had been postponed and probably might not be released until the next morning.


    Since he had a reasonably good rtionship with those two guys, the three of them set up their own separate chat room and started the voice magic video chat. During that conversation, Xiao Lin also retold the specific events of what happened that day, drawing their immense shock. In fact, during that moment, the other monitors were not idiots and it was not like they never considered the possibility that someone might sneak in.


    That possibility had actually crossed Chen Dao¡¯s and Cheng Ming¡¯s mind before, but it was only a fleeting thought and they quickly filtered it out. The reason was also very simple¡ªit was impossible for anyone to sneak in due to the heavily guarded situation at the time. The students could easily see the intruder even if they flew in with wings, which was why they quickly filtered out that idea.


    ¡°We¡¯re thinking along our habitual line of thoughts again!¡± Cheng Mingmented. All of them subconsciously maintained Earth¡¯s mindset and forgot that they were on Norma. It was not at all impossible if the intruder were to bepletely invisible.


    ¡°More urately, our level of knowledge and information isn¡¯t equal!¡± Xiao Lin was also reflecting on it, but in fact, that battle was a trap right from the beginning. First of all, an alliance between the orcs and the elves was not considered at all, and the academy certainly could not be med for concealing information before the exam. Since it was a fully simted exam, it only goes to show that Dawn Academy was simrly in the dark back when the battle happened in real life.


    Secondly, it was near fatal for a character that was above Gold-rank to go to war. If their strength was strong enough in the New World, they wouldpletely ignore all rules of war andmon sense. Xiao Lin is the first to understand that truth, but he would still remain powerless even if he understood that well in advance.


    ¡°Go to the forum and make a post to exin it! I just saw that damn Han Manman trying to fan the mes. She wants to push all the responsibility for the failure of this monthly exam onto you!¡± Chen Dao was incredibly disgusted with Han Manman.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Han Manman.¡± Cheng Ming was also quite worried about this. He was the stereotypical good guy, but was helpless when it came to private disputes between monitors.


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯m actually really curious about the result of this battle in history. Did the elves really seed in getting the resurrection tower?¡± Chen Dao suddenly asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. After all, our strength levels are still far too low, and those people in history would definitely be stronger,¡± Cheng Ming answered prudently.


    ¡°No matter how strong they were, they could not possibly be better than that female elf. Didn¡¯t you hear what Xiao Lin said? She was beyond Gold-rank! Damn, I¡¯m surprised the academy would actually give us such a fatal exam! It¡¯s like our lives are worth nothing to them!¡± Chen Dao appeared to be incensed.


    Cheng Ming tried consoling him, ¡°It isn¡¯t so bad this time. At least Xiao Lin managed to end the exam ahead of time. Except for some of the acting monitors and instructors, most of the other people survived.¡±


    All three of them were stunned after Cheng Ming said that. Could activating the self-destructing mode on the resurrection tower to prevent it from being taken away by the elves be the only way to crack that exam?


    Were that the case, then Xiao Lin¡ªthe only one who made that move¡ªwould probably end up with a very high score.

 Chapter 270: The Monthly Examination Review Begins (1)

    <h4>Chapter 270: The Monthly Examination Review Begins (1)</h4>


    Plenty of posts appeared on the forum at that moment and one could see that the freshmen¡¯s evaluation was neither too high nor too low. That was because they held on for more than a month, and almost all the people who toughed it out all the way to the end received at least 1,000 redemption points. Those who died on the way due to poor luck were able to reap at least a couple of hundred as a reward, which was no small amount.


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized that the reason for giving such a generous reward was exactly because of that. Rather than saying that the exam was very difficult, it might as well be said that the exam was practically unsolvable. Even if destroying the resurrection tower is the only way to crack it, it was almost certain to cause a lot of casualties.


    Han Manman¡¯s post using Xiao Lin as the chief culprit of the exam¡¯s failure did not get much support. More and more people who responded either took a neutral stance or questioned her.


    Xiao Lin directly made a new post and reconstructed the test, starting from the joint pre-nning of the orcs and the elves to snatch the resurrection tower. Of course, he made it abundantly clear that it was just his own guess, but at the end he also emphasized that destroying the resurrection tower was the only choice at that time, otherwise everyone would lose 10 years of their life span if they simply waited for the orcs to charge in.


    After posting it, Xiao Lin did not bother to keep tabs on it and went directly to bed.


    After all, the disputes in the forum were just private discussions. The final assessment of that exam would still be made by the student union. Early the next morning, the acting monitors who were granted permission to not attend sses arrived at the office building of the student union.


    The staff of the student union¡ªa couple of pretty girls¡ªguided everyone to the waiting room. After that, the student union would evaluate each acting monitor one by one, which would then determine their final position as monitors. As soon as anyone tried to inquire about any further information, those girls dutifully chose to remain silent.


    However, there were those who hade to receive their assessment results earlier than the monitors. They were the instructors of each ss, and ording to the regtions, they would no longer have the title of instructor after the monthly exam. Once they have enough credits, they would automatically be promoted to sophomore year.


    If their points were not enough, they would have to remain in the freshman year again, but only as ordinary students. Whether or not they could serve as group leaders depended on how well they got along with the monitors. Therefore, the instructor treated the monitors in a polite and cooperative manner during the final monthly exam. Of course, it also meant that they never actively intervened in quarrels between monitors.


    The waiting room was very spacious. Xiao Lin chose a corner and made a cup of tea to drink slowly. He could feel the unabashedly hostile gaze of some people, but the main cadre of the student union was next door, and the others would not dare to curse at him right there even if they had the guts to do so.


    The waiting process was rather cordial. Those who were on good terms with each other would asionally exchange a few soft words, until the door opened and the instructors from each ss came in. Their evaluations have all ended, and most of them chose toe over and say hello to those monitors.


    Qin Chuan was also one of them and he strode directly toward Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin also took the initiative to get up and asked in a cold tone, ¡°How is it? What¡¯s the result?¡±


    The bright smile on Qin Chuan¡¯s face had actually exined everything. Sure enough, heughed and said, ¡°I have enough credits to enter sophomore year. I owe it to you this time!¡±


    ¡°Congrattions, Senior Qin!¡± Xiao Lin smiled and stretched out his left hand, and at the same time changed the title of address as senior instead of instructor.


    Qin Chuan was somewhat taken aback. He exhaled as though he was relieved from a burden and proceeded to stretch out his hand toward Xiao Lin. He then said in all seriousness, ¡°My talent might not be as good monitors like you, but if you ever find yourself in any difficulties next time, please don¡¯t hesitate toe and look for me!¡±


    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m not officially the monitor yet!¡± Xiao Lin said half-jokingly.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking! I read your postst night. You were the biggest contributor in this exam! Anyone who isn¡¯t blind can clearly see that!¡± Qin Chuan said very loudly, attracting the dissatisfied gazes of everyone else, not that he cared anyway since he was already going to leave his freshman year.


    ¡°Well, I sure hope so. Thank you for your kind words.¡±


    Qin Chuan left immediately after letting Xiao Lin know about the number. In fact, the two of them did not interact much, and Qin Chuan even expressed a clear dislike of Xiao Lin at the beginning of the school year because thetter¡¯s basic attributes were too low. He felt that Xiao Lin would hamper his quest to get promoted to sophomore year.


    It was impossible for Xiao Lin to have a favorable impression of Qin Chuan, but one could not say that he loathed Qian Chuan either. At the very least, Qin Chuan would never target him repeatedly on purpose as Han Manman did. Furthermore, Qin Chuan did not give them any more headaches during the final monthly exam and even provided Xiao Lin with assistance. In fact, Qin Chaun handled the ss well when Xiao Lin went out of the fortress and entered battle.


    Although Xiao Lin was unsure whether or not he would meet Qin Chuan again in the future, it was nevertheless beneficial to make more friends rather than enemies.


    After the instructors left, the monitors immediately had topics to gossip about, such as the final evaluation results of the instructors in each ss. Everything went smoothly for the 10 of the 12 instructors. The sole exceptions were sses Four and Ten. The 10 were promoted to sophomore year without a hitch, which was a much higher promotion ratiopared to the previous years.


    The monitors¡¯ evaluation came soon enough, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, their turn to be called was not in order of the ss. The female staff came in and Xiao Lin¡¯s name was the first to be called. He was told to go to the next room in order to receive the final evaluation.


    ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re starting from the most unqualified.¡± Han Manmanughed gleefully but did not get any response from anyone. As Qin Chuan said earlier, it did not matter what they thought of Xiao Lin. Aside from thest moment where they could not judge Xiao Lin¡¯s behavior, there was no doubt that his performance on most asions was absolutely outstanding.


    The assessment was carried out in the conference room. Xiao Lin¡¯s first time setting foot there was when he was negotiating with America¡¯s Judge Academy.


    A long table was present in the huge conference room, and in addition to the familiar baby-faced president, there were a total of seven men and women¡ªboth old and young¡ªsitting stoically there. Two women stood by the door, each holding a pen and preparing to take some notes. The entire atmosphere looked quite formal and serious.


    Xiao Lin was also a little nervous. He sat on the chair that had been prepared for him in the center and waited for everyone¡¯s assessment.


    The baby-faced president spoke first and greeted Xiao Lin in a very calm tone. ¡°Hehe, I didn¡¯t expect us to meet again so soon, Xiao Lin.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a brief meeting with the student union president after returning from Judge Academy, but it was clear that the president would not have mentioned it for no reason. Xiao Lin was somewhat surprised by that remark before casting a grateful look at him.


    The student council president¡¯s words were obviously addressed to the other seven reviewers. Sure enough, several of them had looks of disbelief after hearing that. It was known that students were not able to meet the student union president so easily under normal circumstances, yet they seemed to be familiar with each other?


    The old man sitting on the far side could not help but ask, ¡°Are you acquainted with this student, President?¡±


    The student council president smiled and waved his hand, ¡°Not exactly acquainted. The dean entrusted him to me. Oh, and by the way, he was the one who stirred things up in New Washington some time ago.¡±


    ¡°The dean knows him!¡±


    ¡°What? Are you saying that the diplomatic team you sent to New Washington was for him!¡±


    Everyone was getting flustered.

 Chapter 271: The Monthly Examination Review Begins (2)

    <h4>Chapter 271: The Monthly Examination Review Begins (2)</h4>


    The student council president maintained his innocent smile and gave the others a small reminder. Very soon, he cleared his throat and said sternly, ¡°Let¡¯s start the evaluation then.¡±


    Other thoughts of surprise or shock were retracted. Their expressions remained serious still, but at least it was slightly more cordial than before, causing the conference room¡¯s atmosphere to rx considerably.


    The student council president showed no intention of introducing the identities of the other people and went straight to the point, ¡°ording to the final evaluation results provided by the centralputer, you¡¯vepleted the first task and the second task. Yourprehensive evaluation is A, your total redemption points are one thousand and five hundred, and the total amount of credit points you¡¯ll get is thirty. Any objections?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The calction was within Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations.


    ¡°Mm.¡± The student union president nodded to the others.


    A middle-aged man in a strong voice then continued, ¡°Student Xiao Lin, I want to know why you attacked the architect responsible for the resurrection tower at thest moment, and why you activated the resurrection tower¡¯s self-destructing device.¡±


    The man¡¯s tone of questioning startled Xiao Lin, but he nheless recounted the full story, including the doubts he made as well as his final helpless choice.


    The spacious conference room consisted only of Xiao Lin talking calmly as well as the two girls recording his exnation. It was 10 minutes by the time Xiao Lin finished talking. The few people at the long table whispered to each other for a while, and then the woman in the corner asked in a deep voice. ¡°Student Xiao Lin, I would like to ask whether you understand what¡¯s the significance of the resurrection tower to us?¡±


    Xiao Lin froze and replied, ¡°I understand, anyone within the scope of the resurrection tower could be resurrected indefinitely as long as one had enough lifespan remaining. It provides the greatest support for Earth¡¯s people to colonize Norma.¡±


    ¡°Then have you ever considered how serious the consequences would be for the entirebat n if your judgment was wrong at that time?¡± The woman¡¯s character was intimidating but her tone was not very friendly.


    Xiao Lin frowned, and before he could speak, the woman had already answered her own question. ¡°In that case, yourrades-in-arms will die for nothing, while the fortress will be overrun by the orcs. It will even affect the oue of this war! Please answer me. Did you make such a consideration at that time?¡±


    ¡°But there is no ¡®if¡¯,¡± Xiao Lin emphasized.


    ¡°I¡¯m just making an assumption. You must understand, what you went through might just be a simted exam where you have nothing to lose even if you make a mistake, but you¡¯ll be going to the New World in the future. For the monitors, in particr, you¡¯ll be getting at least the rank of lieutenant when you enter the army. By then, each and every of your words and deeds can have serious consequences for the entire battle and even Dawn Academy!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s brows furrowed even more severely. It was a truth that he was well aware of. From Dawn Academy¡¯s perspective, such things were important and had to be properly considered. After all, attacking one¡¯s own allies in actualbat, or even destroying the resurrection tower for that matter, amounted to a serious betrayal.


    However, the present circumstance was a simted exam after all. It was also an event that had been etched in history, yet she repeatedly assumed the possibility that it had never happened. She appeared intent on proving that Xiao Lin¡¯s judgment at the time was unintentional and it was obvious that she was deliberately finding fault in him.


    Xiao Lin could not help but nce at her once more. It was an old woman with deep wrinkles on her face. Her slightly narrowed eyes just so happened to meet his gaze and left him feeling very ufortable.


    Xiao Lin was beginning to feel a little upset. The evaluation given by the student union president earlier merely touched on the rewards for the exam, but whether or not he could serve as the official monitor had to be decided based on theing evaluation.


    Xiao Lin believed that he had performed fairly well throughout the entire month¡¯s exam, be it when takingmand or on-the-spotbat. While he did not dare to proim that he was definitely number one, it ought to have been no problem for him to be appointed monitor. It appeared that some people were not too keen to see him as the official monitor, because despite the president¡¯s clearly favorable words about him, the old woman was still giving him a hard time on purpose and turned a blind eye to his performance.


    ¡°I want to know the specific results of this battle in history.¡± Xiao Lin did not directly answer the old woman¡¯s question.


    ¡°Thisndfall operation is a ssified secret in the academy.¡±


    On that asion, it was the old man sitting next to the old woman who spoke. In fact, they all looked old, except for the student council president and another young woman.


    ¡°Even though it is top-secret, it has been so many years since it happened. In fact, it¡¯s not really that top-secret, otherwise these little brats wouldn¡¯t have had this for their exam this time.¡±


    ¡°That was an arbitrary decision by the dean.¡±


    A few people disputed that What surprised Xiao Lin was that although the president of the student council was sitting in the middle, he merely kept that faint smile on his face and did not say a word apart from the first two sentences. The other people did not seem to have any intention of asking the president any questions either.


    The status of those other people was even higher than the student council president!


    Seeing them at odds with each other, Xiao Lin was also a little speechless. He could not help but say, ¡°We likely failed the battle at that time, because judging from the strength of that female elf, it was impossible for anyone to stop it. Therefore, the resurrection tower must have been taken away. As for the fate of the captain, that is something I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The president finally found an opportunity to interject, ¡°The situation might be exactly as you said, but the reason why this matter was ssified as top-secret at the time was because of the resurrection tower.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°That period was when thew of resurrection was just created. Even if we did not fully understand it, no one knew what the consequences would be if we let the opponent get the resurrection tower. If revealed, it would only cause great panic among Dawn Academy when facing the orcs, maybe even going so far as to cause dissatisfaction from the other colonial academies. That¡¯s the reason why this incident was listed as top secret.


    ¡°Over the years however, the elves who have received the resurrection tower have not done anything. They also signed a hundred-year peace agreement with America¡¯s Judge Academy. We¡¯ve gradually understood that even if they obtained the resurrection tower, there was still nothing they could do if there was no resurrectionw.¡±


    The other old man seemed to feel that it was pointless to conceal anything from Xiao Lin after thetter passed the exam. He openly added, ¡°In addition, the chance appearance of those elves at that time was also ssified as confidential, because Dawn Academy did not want to provoke the enemy for no reason. After that war, we secretly signed an agreement with the elves and received a lot of rare materialpensation as a result.¡±


    ¡°We got back the resurrection tower?¡± Xiao Lin was a little surprised, but he quickly shook his head and refuted it, ¡°Impossible. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. If it¡¯s materialpensation, then that means we did not investigate any further. Did you just sell Captain Yu off like that?¡±


    The final sentence had a touch of resentful doubt. Even if it was a simted exam, Xiao Lin still had a good impression of the architect after more than a month of interaction. He was a good architect, if nothing else.

 Chapter 272: The Monthly Examination Review Begins (3)

    <h4>Chapter 272: The Monthly Examination Review Begins (3)</h4>


    ¡°Ahem! Xiao Lin, this present meeting is to assess you. Be more serious.¡± The president of the student council cleared his throat and gave a gentle reminder. Since the other people were older than the president, it went without saying that they were not to be provoked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll skip this question for now.¡± The other old man did not seem keen on dwelling on that issue anymore. The old woman was obviously displeased, but if no one else made any objections, she would not be able to oppose it anymore.


    ¡°There is one more question. We have no way of knowing the specific situation of the monthly exam, but ording to historical data, the female elf had mastered certainw-level restraining spells even though she only possessed Epic-rank strength. I don¡¯t think a freshman like you can break free from that spell, so can you tell me how you did it?¡±


    ¡°Uh, sorry, noment.¡±


    All their faces soured and the old man spoke in a rather grim manner, ¡°Even though the president seemed to suggest that you know the dean, it still doesn¡¯t mean that you have the right to trivialize this assessment meeting. The monitor position, and even your future position in the New world, isn¡¯t the headmaster¡¯s say alone!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face was full of embarrassment. ¡°You misunderstood. It¡¯s not that I want to conceal it on purpose. I¡¯m afraid you just don¡¯t have the authority to know about this, so I can¡¯t mention it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the authority to know about it?¡±


    The old manughed angrily. He stood up and walked over. Xiao Lin immediately felt like a glow on his back as the old man¡¯s aura became dense and almost suffocated him.


    ¡°He¡¯s just a freshman!¡± the student council president warned, seemingly unhappy.


    The old man huffed slightly. His aura diminished, but Xiao Lin was already sweating profusely by then. Although that aura was not as strong as the female elf, it was not too far off either. Xiao Lin estimated that the old man had a strength that was at Gold-rank, perhaps almost approaching that of Epic-rank.


    There was no exnation for why people of that level were participating in the evaluation of mere freshmen.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression waspletely cold. As a freshman, anyone in the room could put immense pressure on him, but Xiao Lin was also confident in himself.


    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, you don¡¯t have the authority to know. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can check the centralputer.¡± Xiao Lin thought for a while and added, ¡°This is what the dean exined to me. There are some things no one else except him has the right to question!¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously waving his remarks around as if they¡¯re a token of authority!¡±


    Xiao Lin noticed that his mention of the word ¡®dean¡¯ annoyed the old man instantly, which was quite surprising. It seemed that even though the influential dean was in charge of Dawn Academy, he was still not all-powerful.


    ¡°President, go and get the detailed simtion from the centralputer!¡± Another old woman immediately suggested, and the student union president was reduced to being an errand boy.


    The president did not seem to care, but he hesitated, ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem to meet the regtions.¡±


    ¡°By my authority, you are now allowed to do so!¡±


    The president was helpless as he cast a reproachful look at Xiao Lin. He was likely ming Xiao Lin a little for making things difficult. Based on his initial expectation, all Xiao Lin had to do was rify everything. Irrespective of what the others say, Xiao Lin had still achieved grade A and would therefore be allowed to continue serving as the ss monitor.


    Xiao Lin responded with an even more innocent expression. It was impossible for him to reveal his SS-level talent, more so when he realized that those people might not necessarily be on good terms with the dean. The dean was the only one who gave him the highest sense of trust.


    o minutester, the president slowly came in with a very strange expression on his face. He distributed the thin files in his hands to the others. After opening them one by one, everyone¡¯s expression suddenly stiffened.


    There was only one line in bold and ck on the nk document: ¡®This information is top-level files for which you are unable to inspect with authority!¡¯


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the authority to look into this?¡±


    ¡°What did that old man do?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s impossible for a person with his authority to perform an encryption of this level!¡±


    ¡°The centralputer can¡¯t be restricted by the old man, which means that this encryption has to be approved by the centralputer?¡±


    ¡°What sick joke is this!¡±


    ...


    Their discussion became louder and louder. Xiao Lin vaguely heard some of their conversations and tried to understand them. For example, the ¡®old man¡¯ that they spoke of probably meant the dean. Such a disrespectful name left Xiao Lin feeling increasingly unhappy. He had a good first impression of the dean and he began loathing those people even more.


    The student union president helplessly cleared his throat and was forced to remind everyone again that they were still assessing the ss monitors. 11 more people were waiting for them after Xiao Lin¡¯s turn.


    In fact, there was nothing more they could say after seeing the authority letter produced by the centralputer. Instead, they looked at Xiao Lin with a strange look and attempted to figure out how he was different.


    The next process was rtively simple. The student union president started to read another report, and Xiao Lin learned that there were also hidden evaluations for monitors in addition to the basic evaluation for the monthly exam.


    ¡°Student Xiao Lin,manding ability: three and a half stars. Combat ability: five stars. Coordination ability: three stars. Battle preparation and judgment: four stars. The full mark is five stars, and this is the final assessment given to you by the centralputer for your monthly exam. You¡¯ve passed your monitor¡¯s evaluation. Congrattions,¡± the president smiled and gave his well wishes.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The president turned to the other people again. ¡°If there are no further questions, the next person can be called in.¡±


    It was normal for them not to have any objections, but Xiao Lin suddenly hesitated before asking, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still a little confused and I wonder if I should mention it.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about the resurrection tower,¡± Xiao Lin seemed to hesitate, because this question had been lingering in his mind since the monthly exam. He simply did not have time to think about it at the time, but it continued to linger in his mind even after the monthly exam was over. It was not a question he could answer himself, so he gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°Did the elves really take away the resurrection tower and Captain Yu?¡±


    The helpless president nced at the displeased faces of several other people and sighed, ¡°Well, to you the truth, the elves did take away theplete resurrection tower and Captain Yu, but so many years have passed and Captain Yu must have been sacrificed. It¡¯s not that we never thought of rescuing him, it¡¯s just...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Xiao Lin interrupted him quickly, ¡°I mean, won¡¯t there be any problems?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What problems?¡± The student union president was also quite confused. He thought that Xiao Lin was bogged down with the fact that Dawn Academy did not save the captain.


    ¡°The resurrection tower, it¡¯s practically the Midas touch for us, ahem, I mean, resurrection is our biggest advantage. Is it really okay?¡±


    The president said kindly, ¡°Like I said, you can set your mind at ease about this. Let me make an analogy. The resurrection tower is equivalent to a lock. Theplexity of this lock is beyond anyone¡¯s ability to unlock, and even though you managed to obtain that lock, it¡¯s not a lock you¡¯ll ever want to open!¡±

 Chapter 273: Lock and Key

    <h4>Chapter 273: Lock and Key</h4>


    The fact that they were able to expand so much as colonists in Norma was not because they were particrly intelligent or gifted, but rather because they hit thergest possible jackpot.


    Resurrection, even if it had a lot of limitations such as requiring resurrection towers and sacrificing 20 years of their lifespan, it still allowed those of them from Earth to hold a huge advantage over the natives.


    The residents of Norma were quite religious, so the mental impact was quite significant when they were facing an enemy that could constantly resurrect themselves.


    Fighting hard to kill a foe only to have theme back unharmed after a few minutes was the stuff of nightmares¡ªthe kind that you did not know how to wake up from. Almost any army would slowly start to copse.


    That logic was something even a freshman could clearly see, so Xiao Lin understood it as well, which was why he was so nervous waiting for the answer after he asked the question.


    ¡°They obtained the lock, but it will forever be shut!¡±


    The president¡¯s confident tone did not bring Xiao Lin any relief. Instead, he seemed even more somber and worried. Xiao Lin bit his lips, slowly muttering, ¡°So, if they now have the key to unlock that lock, what would happen?¡±


    Thepletely unexpected answer gave the president some pause, but the old man who had something against Xiao Lin could not help but m the table, staring at Xiao Lin as he berated, ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re a freshman who has not even reached the ck-Iron rank. What right do you have to speak of this! Do you really understand the resurrectionw?¡±


    Xiao Lin swallowed, not knowing how he could exin it to them.


    He had thought about the high priest Asabanor who managed to return from The Final Land. The former high priest of the Thunder Kingdom was filled with hatred for the colonists. Xiao Lin did not know how much that guy understood the Law of Immortality, but it was obvious that the high priest did indeed gain an understanding of it after all those years in The Final Land.


    The priest might have used the path Xiao Lin had opened to return to Norma, but Xiao Lin had not been bothered by it since the spirit was heavily damaged and even needed to hide from Judge Academy. However, thinking about this examination, Xiao Lin could not help but wonder about a terrifying possibility.


    What if the high priest managed to coborate with the elves and use his key to unlock that lock? Thinking about it, the possibility was quite likely.


    What would happen if the resurrection that was the biggest advantage the colonists had was unravelled?


    Even if no one answered, Xiao Lin had the answer himself. It would probably mean war; all the natives of Norma would go to war with the colonists!


    Xiao Lin could not voice his opinions due to the secrecy behind The Final Land. Faced with all their questions, Xiao Lin could only say, ¡°You don¡¯t have sufficient clearance to know.¡±


    The old people were so angry, their nostrils were ring, but the document on the table proved what he said. The president was caught in an awkward spot, but he stood on Xiao Lin¡¯s side. He quickly smoothed things over, ending the evaluation.


    The president sent Xiao Lin off personally, softly saying, ¡°Don¡¯t leave yet. I¡¯ll help you contact the dean.¡±


    He could not help but feel helpless after saying those words. He never expected that he would one day be the messenger for a new student as the president.


    Xiao Lin had a neutral expression when he went back to the waiting room, inviting everyone to specte. Just as Han Manman was happily specting away, he immediately shattered their hopes, telling them he had passed the monitor evaluation.


    Cheng Ming and a few others were curious about the evaluation process. There was not much to conceal; it was just mainly done by the centralputer. The evaluation was just a final look into the various decisions they made during the examination.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you look happy?¡± Chen Dao had noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s heavy mood earlier.


    ¡°Tell me, if we enter arge scale war against the natives, what would our chances be like?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked the question that had been on his mind for some time.


    ¡°Why did you ask? Didn¡¯t the history sses teach us that there hasn¡¯t been arge scale war for almost a hundred years?¡± Chen Dao was curious, but still answered, ¡°It¡¯s obvious we would destroy them!¡±


    ¡°Most of the battles right now are just small scale skirmishes. All the native races have lost all courage to face us.¡± The other monitors joined the discussion as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and even if a real war were to break out, we wouldn¡¯t even be a part of it,¡± someone said regretfully.


    A lot of them had hopeful looks. Under the protection of the resurrection towers, war was not all that scary, and was even a good opportunity to earn some rewards. However, everyone knew that the academy would never send new students out on the battlefield, even if war broke out.


    The entire evaluation processsted for more than an hour. Even though most of the acting ss monitors were very confident, there was always a slight uncertainty around it, but all of them returned with happy looks on their faces. It was just like they expected, but the evaluationmittee still asked them a lot of hard questions. For instance, ss Seven¡¯s monitor was asked why he did not lead the troops when attacking the fortress, causing them to think he was afraid. The questioning almost made him go crazy.


    Thankfully the end result was still fine, allowing him to stay on as the ss monitor. The final entry was Han Manman of ss Four. No one knew how the strange order was determined, but the other eleven ss monitors went through it easily, so Han Manman was quite rxed.


    However, her evaluation process was very long, even longer than Xiao Lin¡¯s. After almost twenty minutes, Han Manman suddenly came out with a dark look on her face, ignoring the questions from the other female ss monitors.


    Chen Dao immediately guessed what her expression meant, andughed in exaggeration. ¡°Hahaha, someone kept saying that the only person who could not be fit to be an actual ss monitor among us was Xiao Lin? Oh? Xiao Lin? Hahahaha!¡±


    Han Manman did not pass the evaluation. She kept quiet about the process, but she still held onto the acting ss monitor position, meaning she would continue to be tested.


    Even though the acting ss monitors had basically the same power as the actual monitors, Han Manman¡¯s reputation had been thoroughly ruined.

 Chapter 274: Letter of Appointment

    <h4>Chapter 274: Letter of Appointment</h4>


    Other than ss Four, every other ss could appoint group leaders. After he got back, Xiao Lin immediately appointed Gu Xiaoyue and Zhou Feng as group leaders. It was different from the verbal appointment during the monthly examination; this appointment would be in their records.


    After the evaluations ended, the student union president hurriedly ushered everyone else away before inviting Xiao Lin into his office. What caused Xiao Lin some surprise was the presence of a pretty short-haired girl in the office conversing with the president.


    When she saw Xiao Lin walk inside, the woman gave him a thumbs-up, praising him, ¡°Not bad! It¡¯s rare to see those old farts so defeated. You have more potential than I thought.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the president, who was smiling at him. He got up from the desk before moving to the sofa to the side, motioning for Xiao Lin to do the same, indirectly establishing a better rtionship among all of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m Yu Mei. You must be Xiao Lin. I¡¯ve heard good things about you,¡± the woman greeted him warmly.


    The president smiled as he added, ¡°Yu Mei is an army major. Her grandfather was Yu Sheng¡ªhe was a brilliant engineer from Dawn Academy a century ago.¡±


    Yu Mei unhappily blinked at him, feeling like the president had said too much.


    Xiao Lin found it strange that even her grandfather had been introduced, but he suddenly gasped, standing right up from the sofa before gaping as he said, ¡°An engineer from a century ago? Is your grandfather Captain Yu?!¡±


    Yu Mei did not say anything, silently agreeing, but she did not seem to want to continue on that topic. The socially-savvy president quickly changed the topic. ¡°Those old farts... Ahem, those seniors are all part of the army as well. This examination had some sensitive contents, but since such a long time has passed, the secret stopped meaning as much, but it¡¯s still part of the army¡¯s jurisdiction.¡±


    Dawn Academy was still just a school in the end¨Ca ce to cultivate new talent¨Cbut as colonists, the real battle was in the New World which was controlled by the army.


    ¡°Dawn Academy had to be different from the American Judge Academy. The dean¡¯s power can¡¯t just be limited to school affairs,¡± Xiao Lin said curiously.


    ¡°You know quite a bit, huh?¡± Yu Mei raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Our current dean is the strongest and most heroic dean Dawn Academy has ever seen. It is regretful that there are always some people within the academy who fail to understand the dean¡¯s decisions. They don¡¯t dare to publicly oppose the dean, but regrly mess with him in the shadows.¡± The president seemed to respect the dean greatly.


    ¡°An opposing faction?¡± Xiao Lin put a different spin on it.


    ¡°Yes, that can be said to be so.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand, those old people are the dean¡¯s opponents, so why are they targeting me instead? Is it just because the dean treats me better than most?¡± Xiao Lin was still puzzled. On the surface, the dean did not help him that much, he did not believe those old farts would be so free to target him based on that.


    Yu Mei exchanged looks with the president before taking out a document from a small bag she had with her. ¡°You¡¯ll understand after you look at this; it¡¯s also the reason I came back here from the New World to find you.¡±


    Curiously epting the document, the golden letters on the white paperpletely shocked Xiao Lin.


    [Letter of Appointment: Appointing student Xiao Lin as a captain in the army; to be temporarily assigned to the sixth regiment.]


    At the end was a stylish signature and a seal made with magic, proving that this appointment was made personally by the dean.


    Yu Mei smiled bitterly. ¡°Given the rules, the dean can appoint anyone as an officer, but it needs the approval of others. This time, the dean circumvented everyone else and issued the order, which led to a great amount of dissatisfaction. They could not grasp the dean¡¯s real goal, which is why they came here to target you in order to test the dean¡¯s response.¡±


    Xiao Lin had yet to snap out from his stupor. Normally, a student could enter the military after they graduated from the academy, and monitors or year leaders could usually enter the army as officials.


    However, that would require him toplete his fourth year. He was still just a new student who had just been in the academy for three months!


    ¡°Do you mean I¡¯ll need to join the army and leave the academy?¡± Xiao Lin could not understand what the dean¡¯s sudden move signalled. He did not feel like he could do anything in the New World at the moment, especially since he was still far behind everyone else in skill.


    ¡°No, the dean especially told me that, before you reach ck-iron rank, you¡¯ll only be a captain in rank; you won¡¯t have any actual military powers,¡± Yu Mei exined.


    Yu Mei¡¯s tone led Xiao Lin to think of something. He asked, ¡°The sixth regiment? What are you to that regiment?¡±


    ¡°She is themander of the sixth regiment. I¡¯ll give you some background information as well. Dawn Academy¡¯s military wing currently has six regiments; the sixth regiment was only formed a few years ago,¡± the president exined to Xiao Lin.


    The youngdy was already in charge of an entire regiment. Xiao Lin was quite surprised. Regiments were themon army ssifications on Norma, and being able to be themander of an entire regiment was no easy feat.


    ¡°Even though there are many things I need to let you know and many questions you need answered, you still need to reach ck-iron rank before anything happens. Otherwise, even with the dean¡¯s letter of appointment, my regiment does not need someone like you at all.¡±


    After a pause, Yu Mei smiled and said, ¡°I came today because I was curious who could make the dean do so much. The fact that you pissed those old farts off so much exceeded my expectations. Alright, let¡¯s stop here. I¡¯ll take my leave for now.¡±


    After her monologue, Yu Mei left immediately. Xiao Lin held onto the letter of appointment, looking at the president with a baffled expression. ¡°Why do you think the dean gave this to me?¡±


    The baby-faced president smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it; focus on graduating for now. Themander is right. Without the proper strength behind it, that letter is just a useless piece of paper.¡±


    ¡°Does this count as an advance promotion?¡± Xiao Linughed. He did not know if he really wanted to join the military, but someone had actually already paved the way for him. If he was not opposed to it, he really did not have a good reason to reject it.


    Before he left, the president stopped him. ¡°Oh, what you said earlier about the lock and key; make sure you don¡¯t bring it up to anyone else, understand?¡±


    ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not so loose with my words. This is all just my own spection after all.¡±


    After Xiao Lin left, the president smiled to himself as he looked at the blue skies and vibrant sun outside, sighing as he said, ¡°I wonder how long this peace willst!¡±

 Chapter 275: Gambling

    <h4>Chapter 275: Gambling</h4>


    After the third monthly examination ended, everyone once again threw themselves into their studies. The final appointment of the ss monitors did not cause too much shock, since everyone had been the acting ss monitors beforehand. The only exception was Han Manman, who was still stuck as an acting ss monitor.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s appointment being official was a matter of course. Right now, no one treated him like the trash that had the lowest attribute scores in the entrance exams anymore. Even as he walked around, strangers would often greet Xiao Lin as ¡®Monitor Xiao.¡¯


    The few monitors that had seldom interacted with him now sought him out for conversation frequently as well, acting like old friends. Within ss Seven, any voices of opposition to him had been crushed. Even the ever antagonistic Wang Dalin had resigned himself to his own devices, avoiding Xiao Lin every time they met.


    This led to Xiao Lin feeling the real weight behind having actual power. Now, everyone viewed him as an official monitor, with the appropriate power to back it.


    However, to Xiao Lin his skill was still far from enough. His current goal was to reach the ck Iron-rank as soon as possible. Commander Yu Mei from the sixth regiment¡¯s sudden visit with the dean¡¯s letter of appointment caused Xiao Lin a great level of nervousness.


    The dean knew he had an SS-rank talent, on par with Ivan and Lilith who the Judge Academy threw theirplete support behind. Naturally, the dean would emphasize Xiao Lin¡¯s growth.


    However, no matter what, giving Xiao Lin the rank of a captain should not be part of that growth. The only exnation was that the dean was under an immense amount of pressure which led him to make that decision.


    What kind of pressure was that?


    After the conclusion of the examination evaluation, Xiao Lin went back to the dormitories and thought for a long time. He felt it could only mean war¨Ca war with Norma. The dean possibly had this possibility in mind the moment he heard about the high priest¡¯s return to Norma.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s attributes were currently at 14 Strength, 16 Agility, 15 Intelligence, and 16 Physique. Compared to before the examination, it was a huge boost.


    ck Iron-rank needed his total attribute score to be at 100 points. Xiao Lin¡¯s attribute scores totalled to 61, which meant he was not far away from that rank. The other monitors were also around that level.


    Even if the academy only required the students to reach ck Iron-rank to get to the second year, as monitors, they could not afford to have that minimum requirement as their goal.


    As for the selection for the year leader, the student union had yet to release any information regarding that. It seemed like it would not be released in the short time either, leading to somepetitive thoughts from the ss monitors.


    The discussions regarding the monthly examination on the new student forums started to fade. Most of the students were quite satisfied with the results, the ones who lived to the end having earned at least over a thousand redemption points, which meant the topic was not brought up too much.


    During that time period, more and more threads regarding reaching the ck Iron-rank started to surface. When the discussions started to get more and more intense, someone actually opened a gambling pool with the twelve ss monitors, including Han Manman, who was still an acting ss monitor in it. The gambling pool was on who would get to the ck Iron-rank first.


    In just a short two- to three-day span, more and more people joined in on the thread. The new students only numbered in the hundreds, but the replies on the thread had exceeded two thousand. Xiao Lin spared the thread a few nces. Various replies dissected everything to the most detailed of points, leading him to believe those students had too much free time on their hands.


    However, the matter did not end there. It might have been because of theck of entertainment in the academy, but many students were way too engaged in the topic during their free time, which led to the gambling being increasingly higher stakes, even escting to putting redemption points on the line.


    The academy was quite generous in that aspect, not cing any restrictions on the students. There were even functions on the forums that assisted that, allowing the students to deposit the redemption points they were gambling within the academy before allocating it ordingly after, but no one had noticed that function before the gamble started.


    The students everyone focused on numbered to 20. Other than the 12 ss monitors, ss Seven¡¯s Gu Xiaoyue and various other students with high attributes were thrown into the mix. As for the stakes, after arge amount of discussion, the person who started the gamble determined it.


    The lowest returns were Chen Dao, who had only a 1.5 rate of return. That meant that every 1 redemption point a student gambled on him, they would only get 1.5 in return. Chen Dao was considered the freshman with the highest total attributes, which meant he was the hot favourite to win, leading to lower returns. Quite a lot of students had put their money on him, upying a third of the freshmen.


    Cheng Ming followed closely behind, having a payoff of double, while Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s was triple. Even if her intelligence score was iparable, her other attributes were way too average, or even weak. However, she was still one of the favourites, and those that followed behind had greater and greater odds, but fewer and fewer students who gambled on them.


    There might have been twenty students in the running, but everyone was very clear that there were no shortcuts to increasing their attributes. It was only through hard work and continuous training that they could aplish it. Any difference in their basic foundations was enough to be insurmountable odds, which led everyone to believe that the final victor could only be from the few with the lowest returns.


    However, some monitors were not willing to disclose their current attribute scores, including Xiao Lin. Those monitors had odds that were only based on spection by everyone, which was why Xiao Lin was among those with the highest payouts, even if he was not the highest.


    Everyone had recognized that Xiao Lin had the capabilities to be a monitor, but they still felt that Xiao Lin lost out to Cheng Ming, Chen Dao, and the others. Other than a few of the loyal ss Seven supporters, no one really felt like he could be the first to reach the ck Iron-rank.


    In one short week, arge gambling pool had formed among the freshmen. Xiao Lin did not have too much interest in it, since he was notcking in redemption points. The gambling pool did not offer much to gain either, since it was opened up by a few students working together. It was not possible that they had that many redemption points to spare.


    However, the night after a week, Song Jung suddenly gave him a call, earnestly asking him what his total attribute score was.


    Xiao Lin trusted Song Jung quite a bit, and so did not want to hide much from him. However, as he was about to answer, he seemed to have recalled something and asked curiously, ¡°Department Head Song, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve decided to enter our year¡¯s gambling pool.¡±


    Song Jung nodded immediately, saying excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s not just your year who¡¯s in the pool now. Don¡¯t you know? After the academy magazine published the news two days ago, a lot of higher year students, even the research students, have started to participate.¡±

 Chapter 276: Plotting With Song Junlang

    <h4>Chapter 276: Plotting With Song Jung</h4>


    Song Jung gave Xiao Lin a brief overview of the situation. Dawn Academy Evening News might be an official news source, but even on Norma, there were not usually that many things to report. A lot of the news was actually gossip, such as love rumors about high-ranked colonists.


    Usually, the new students would focus on any news regarding the monthly examinations in the papers, but this monthly examination was highly sensitive, and under the orders of some higher ups, the paper did not report anything on it. That was why the gambling pool became the topic of focus instead.


    ¡°You might not know this, but the higher the years you go, the more redemption points you need!¡± Song Jung sighed as he furrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re the one who needs redemption points.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. After interacting with Song Jung for so long, he knew what the guy¡¯s temperament was like.


    ¡°Ahem, I¡¯ll admit to that, but what I want to say is, with so many people participating, the rewards are getting better and better.¡±


    Xiao Lin opened the forums to take a look, and just like Song Jung said, he got quite a shock, especially after two days ignoring the forums since he was busy with training.


    The bets had increased from the few hundred first years to several thousand people, and the odds had gone up ording. Originally, even though Xiao Lin was not regarded as having any chance to win, thepensation was only around seven or eight times, but now it had risen all the way to 20.


    It looked like someone had invested a lot, which became a hot topic on the forums. There was a lot of discussion around the identity of the mysterious investor. Some believed they were a graduate¨Ca very distinguished one at that.


    That kind of person would notck New Dors. With their skill, they would have earned quite a bit in their four years in the academy, but redemption points were useless for them after graduation. Being able to invest in the gambling pool meant that they would stand a chance to earn quite a bit, but it was no issue at all if they lost anyway.


    The odds and the scale of the gambling pool caused Xiao Lin quite a bit of surprise. He peeled his gaze off theputer before looking toward Song Jung. ¡°So, you want to ce your bets on me? Do you really believe in me that much?¡±


    ¡°No, based on normal speeds, there¡¯s no way you will be the first to reach ck Iron-rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin took offense to that, retorting, ¡°You know how fast my attributes rise, why do you think I don¡¯t have a chance?¡±


    Song Jung waved, scribbling on a notebook before showing it to Xiao Lin, earnestly saying, ¡°Look, this is a general growth graph I made for you. It¡¯s true that your attributes go up faster than others, even if I don¡¯t know why. However, your foundations are regretfully weaker than everyone else, you¡¯ll likely need to wait until after ck Iron to ovee that natural deficiency.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought to himself in silence. Song Jung¡¯s words were reasonable. His SS-rank talent allowed him to speed up his training, and in three months he managed to climb out from thest ce in total attribute scores to the average line. The speed was astounding, but he was still quite a bit away from the other monitors, especially Chen Dao and Cheng Ming. Based on his understanding, their total attribute scores were at least 10 to 20 points higher than his.


    Academic Genius was really good for the long term. If he had enough time he would be able to surpass anyone, but it was definitely not at that moment.


    Song Jung paused before a sly smile appeared on his face, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s only impossible if I don¡¯t lend you a hand.¡±


    Xiao Lin processed that quickly, furrowing his eyebrows before saying, ¡°Do you mean you have a way to help me exceed everyone else? I guess you mean your special food? That would probably be hard; those things might be able to increase my attributes, but it¡¯s full of uncertainty and slow to boot. Every time I eat them, there are always side effects, so it¡¯s definitely not a reasonable solution.¡±


    With those words, Xiao Lin seemed to remember something before furiously asking, ¡°I actually have something to ask you. That dragon blood you made me drink, what sort of side effects does it have? I suddenly lost my consciousness during the monthly examination and started attacking my own allies. What happened?!¡±


    Song Jung jumped back in shock before recovering. ¡°Huh? Attacking your allies? That definitely has nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t think of any reason other than your dragon blood.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, let¡¯s get to the main topic. Do you want to reach ck Iron-rank in half a month?¡± Song Jung changed the topic abruptly, but it was enough to surprise Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Half a month?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not joking?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have the time to joke with you!¡±


    Xiao Lin went deep into thought, rapidly counting in his head. He currently had a total attribute score of 61, and needed 39 more to reach 100. If he were to ignore night and day and frantically train, it would take him more than a month, even if he were to increase his attributes by one a day.


    Chen Dao and the rest needed maybe two or three days to gain one attribute point, but they only had ten to twenty odd points to go, so their speed would still exceed Xiao Lin¡¯s.


    After some thought, Xiao Lin once again raised his head, asking, ¡°What do you need?¡±


    Even though he had a decent rtionship with Song Jung, he did not think that man would do anything for free. Song Jung lowered his voice and said, ¡°Very simple, we split everything in half after the matter!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped, not knowing what to say before finally retorting, ¡°So you basically aren¡¯t nning on spending anything, but want me to use my redemption points for you instead!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m using my expertise here, and I really don¡¯t have anything on me.¡± Song Jung smiled bitterly. ¡°You know as well that my research is not supported by the student union due to safety concerns. Even though I¡¯m a department head, the school still won¡¯t support me financially. I¡¯ve been getting by using my savings from the past, but it will run out soon.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but think about Department Head Song¡¯s past as a genius graduate. Being relegated to a logistics department head that no one respected was quite tragic. He clenched his teeth, saying, ¡°We¡¯re splitting it three to seven!¡±


    ¡°Four to six! No lower!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m the six!¡± Xiao Lin said decisively.


    ¡°Fine, but you¡¯ll pay the taxes!¡±


    ¡°What? There are taxes?!¡±


    ¡°Of course, the academies are basically countries in the New World. How would a country function without taxes?¡±

 Chapter 277: Expanding Gambling Pool

    <h4>Chapter 277: Expanding Gambling Pool</h4>


    The two of them argued for half a day, but Xiao Lin managed to understand the academy¡¯s taxation system thanks to that. Even though he trusted Song Jung, he still needed to be careful after having been tricked so many times.


    ording to the rules of Dawn Academy, any ie the students received after graduation needed to be taxed. Even though the taxes were not that high, especially since they regarded themselves as the elite of Norma. Students were usually not taxed, but any form of gambling or business transaction would need to be taxed by the academy.


    Xiao Lin could not help but remark that the academy really knew how to make money. It was no wonder the forums had betting capabilities¨Cit was a way to keep things monitored. It was obvious their year was not the first one that used them.


    Song Jung was adamant he would not pay a single cent, saying, ¡°I know you managed to get quite a bit from that incident with the Americans. You should have exchanged quite a bit of redemption points before the monthly examination, so you¡¯re definitely notcking points.¡±


    That was true, but redemption points were just numbers to him, because he did not know how to turn those numbers into usable resources. If he spent it on higher level equipment, he would only be able to keep it in the dormitories and not have a use for them untilter. Any equipment he bought for his current level would be cheap, but they would not be used for long.


    ¡°Department Head Song, you said you could get me to ck Iron-rank in half a month. How do you n on doing that?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously.


    ¡°Using food of course. How else would I do it?¡± Song Jung looked like he was answering to an idiot.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, asking suspiciously, ¡°To be able to raise my rank in such a short time, did you use the dean¡¯s golden dragon as your materials?¡±


    ¡°No no no, I can¡¯t tell you just yet, but just trust me. When have I ever lied to you? Let¡¯s get the bets in order first!¡±


    Song Jung looked like he was very confident. Xiao Lin was actually not too interested in the redemption points, especially since he still had quite a bit of New Dors on hand, but he was very tempted by the idea of raising his rank in half a month.


    The two of them discussed it for a while. Song Jung had obviously given it a lot of thought before contacting Xiao Lin. He even mentioned wanting to pull some graduates into the gambling pool. The more people who joined the pool, the more they would get in the end.


    As a former genius graduate, even with his current circumstances, Song Jung still had quite a goodwork of connections within the academy. He only needed to broadcast it a little for even more people to know.


    ¡°Everyone needs money!¡± Song Jung emphasized. ¡°Even if we are the internal divisions, the difference in wealth is extreme. The stronger folks can easily get various resources. Raising your skill needs hard work and talent, but potions and various resources that enhance training is important as well. You¡¯ll spend a lot after you graduate, so no one would ever let a chance to make money pass by just like that.¡±


    ¡°You say that, but aren¡¯t we just scamming everyone else?¡±


    ¡°If you gamble you should be ready to lose!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Well just leave it to me, remember not to ck off these few days!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I wouldn¡¯t ck off, even if the gambling pool didn¡¯t exist.¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated before showing the dean¡¯s strange letter of appointment to Song Jung, but it did not get too much of a response. Song Jung told him not to worry too much. Even if war were to happen, they would not use the students in the academy.


    However, Xiao Lin understood that the students in school were still reserved for worst case scenarios. If push really came to shove, like thest moments of the war against the orcs, the students would still be mobilized to the battlefield.


    After finishing up the call with Song Jung, Xiao Lin contacted Fei Yawen. She was the research student who provided him with the training potions before the monthly examination. He had not contacted her for a while, but since he needed to ramp up his training, those potions were absolutely necessary.


    Fei Yawen naturally did not reject him, but Xiao Lin received some unpleasant news from her. After the sess Xiao Lin saw with the potions, Fei Yawen and her supervisor managed to reach an agreement with the student union to prepare to conductrge scale trials.


    Since the early results showed that the potions were most effective at around ck Iron and Bronze rank, the first-year students were naturally roped into the testing process. Of course, the participation would be voluntary, and the student union would contact a few of the monitors and other students with decent attributes to ask if they were willing to volunteer. Thanks to the gambling pool on the forums, the ss monitors were unlikely to reject the offer.


    Xiao Lin did not need money, but it did not mean the others were the same. There were quite a few students who wanted to make a small fortune from the gamble.


    Even if Xiao Lin could not be certain the potions would work on the others, it still meant that he was now under more pressure. Song Jung might have guaranteed that Xiao Lin would be able to reach his goal in half a month, but Xiao Lin was still not going to ck off with his training at all.


    The few days that followed, Xiao Lin had practically missed every single ss. Thanks to the permissions the dean had granted him, Xiao Lin was basically the only who got to experience the real feeling of being a higher education student with the freedom to choose his own sses.


    The professors were no strangers to those sort of students, and had long since decided to not care about it. Some of them even respected him. Of course, they only respected his background, not his skills. Even the professors found it hard to even talk to the student union president, let alone the dean.


    Song Jung had disappeared for a few days as well. Only after asking Chen Yu did Xiao Lin know that Song Jung had gone to the New World, probably to contact his old friends to throw them under the bus.


    More interestingly, Chen Yu had tried to ask about Xiao Lin¡¯s progress with his courses with a look of concern. Xiao Lin gaped for a while, not knowing how to answer. That guy was actually silently trying to gauge his total attribute scores.


    Chen Yu was the year leader of the second year, and no longer had the authority to look at information on the first years. Only the first-year year leader could do that, but that position was currently vacant.


    Even though Xiao Lin was not favored by most in the race, Chen Yu was someone who interacted quite a bit with Xiao Lin, so he was clear on how deep Xiao Lin¡¯s background was. That was why Chen Yu felt that he needed to strongly consider Xiao Lin as a candidate.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not reveal anything, simply waving the question away with augh.

 Chapter 278: Odds

    <h4>Chapter 278: Odds</h4>


    The ones who started the gambling pool never expected that it would turn so out huge. It absolutely exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations.


    After a few days, it was not just the students who were participating. Thanks to the Dawn Academy Evening News, even those in the New World started to participate. However, other than a few opportunists, most of the betters were fresh graduates, since they were the ones that needed the most money.


    However, with the new participants they could not just limit themselves to redemption points anymore, especially since it was troublesome to exchange redemption points for New Dors. Those graduates instead reopened the gambling pool using New Dors.


    Casinos weremon in Norma. Both the colonists and the natives were quite interested in that form of entertainment, as well as the idea of striking it rich overnight.


    However, other than a few exceptions, most of the students in school did not care about the casinos. Only a few elites like Chen Yu actually had New Dors with them, but in order to participate, they would need to get the upper year students to help them in the New World.


    Based on Dawn Academy¡¯s rules, other than a few exceptions, freely heading into the New World was a privilege reserved for graduates.


    Xiao Lin heard about the matter from Song Jung. It was obvious that Song Jung wanted to make all the money he could from both the academy and the New World.


    ¡°How did you do it? I¡¯m referring to the pool in the New World.¡± Xiao Lin already managed to get the odds from Song Jung. He could only say that they were much crazier about this than the students. His own odds were 1:100, and it was in New Dors. Inparison, the forums really looked like child¡¯s y.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing; just set some waves into motion.¡± Song Jung was not surprised by the development, saying, ¡°There are plenty of simr gambling pools. There aren¡¯t any sports tournaments on Norma, but there are still plenty of things to bet on, such as inter-academy tournaments, which is a tournament between all the academies, or even the victors of war.¡±


    ¡°War? Hasn¡¯t war stopped for many years?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just between the natives. Even without us, Norma had never been all that peaceful. Their wars are even more ferocious than what we see on Earth.¡±


    ¡°How much do you n on putting inside?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°How much do you have on hand?¡±


    ¡°9000 New Dors and 2000 redemption points.¡± The redemption points were basically all his earnings from the monthly examination as well as what he made from sses. He had practically spent all of his redemption points from earlier. Thinking about it, Xiao Lin added, ¡°If you need it, I can always exchange some more redemption points.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need, New Dors are more valuable than redemption points. After this gamble, those who made a lot of money from it would definitely hurry to exchange their points, which will lead to a big drop in the exchange rate. There¡¯s no way out of that. Redemption points can only be used here after all,¡± Song Jung said.


    ¡°Are we throwing all of it in?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we go big or go home!¡±


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched, calcting it silently. His odds in the academy were one to twenty, so 2,000 points would get him 40,000. However, based on the New World¡¯s one to one hundred odds, his 9,000 New Dors would turn into 900,000 New Dors.


    ¡°What, are you afraid you¡¯ll lose?¡± Song Jung thought Xiao Lin was hesitating.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. Since Song Jung was so confident, he would ce his trust in him, but after some thought, he said, ¡°The casino on the New World; if we need our real names to be able to bet, remember to use yours.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m afraid of what will happen if it bes known I have that sort of money.¡±


    Song Jung rolled his eyes, saying, ¡°That sum isn¡¯t that much. Those capable of reaching Gold-rank and above would all have a lot more than that.¡±


    No matter what, that sum was an eye-opening number for Xiao Lin currently. Even if he had not been too invested earlier on, he started to ce more importance to winning the bet.


    The other monitors were the same, but they were not fighting for money, but rather for their reputations. They did not have that much capital to begin with, but their reputations would definitely be bolstered if they won in the academy. That reputation would definitely be very useful when they eventually stepped into the New World.


    Currently, the quickest way to increase their attributes was throughbat training and learning rted skills. That was the conclusion they arrived on after several months.


    However, the speed that their attributes increased by was filled with uncertainty. Their innate talents, the intensity of their training, and even the state of their bodies and mental conditions could all affect it.


    The monitors did have some problems with their training. Students with talents were naturally more skilled than most, so sparring with normal students yielded very little. To the monitors, their best sparring partners were each other, which caused problems to arise.


    Not everyone was as honest as Cheng Ming. When training with their ownpetitors, tricks started to appear.


    ¡°You¡¯re cheating! How could you not dodge that? Even if you wanted to slow down my growth, you don¡¯t have to go so easy. This is a practical training session!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re way too quick, I couldn¡¯t dodge it! Wait, don¡¯t you know the Sweeping Strike skill? That attack hits a wide area. I¡¯ve seen you use it during the monthly exam; why aren¡¯t you using it now? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s faking it...¡±


    ...


    Those kinds of conversations could be heard increasingly frequently on the training grounds. No one actually knew how effective it was, and it did not cause any grudges, but some verbal spats were unavoidable.


    Some of them had wanted to spar with Xiao Lin as well, since his skills had been recognized now. Unfortunately, Xiao Lin chose to use the simtedbat system instead. It was a lot more convenientpared to fighting with actual opponents.


    The simtedbat system was expensive and hard to maintain, so Dawn Academy had less than a hundred in the entire academy. It was widely used by the higher year students, so other than Xiao Lin, none of the other first years had convenient ess.


    There were naturally those who were unhappy with that, and there were even some who detested Xiao Lin¡¯s special privileges. Even though they respected Xiao Lin¡¯s skill, they did not think Xiao Lin would ever be able topete with Chen Dao and Cheng Ming. Currently, only the two of them were regarded to have a chance to reach ck Iron-rank in the short term.

 Chapter 279: Library (1)

    <h4>Chapter 279: Library (1)</h4>


    It got progressively harder to increase their attributes the more they trained. It was especially true for the new students. They had recently reached a bottleneck period.


    Normal training started to yield very low returns for the ss monitors. For instance, even someone like Cheng Ming needed two to three days to get an increase in his attributes through Basic Swordsmanship training. That was even under the conditions he threw himself into his training, ignoring everything other than eating and sleeping.


    For regr students who did not have any talents aiding them, their climb was even slower. That was why everyone had a lot of faith in Chen Dao and Cheng Ming. Anyone whose total attribute scores were more than ten points away from them basically had no chance.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s training was at a higher level than theirs. With the simted battles, the virtual characters were given very high attributes and he constantly dodged around with his Phantom Steps. He had begun to realize that the stronger the foe, the better the effects on training.


    However, even with his current pace, Xiao Lin would at least need a month to reach the ck Iron-rank. It would mean he had used a total of four months. That speed was not that slow, but it was not fast either.


    With how popr the gambling pool was getting, the forums started to discuss the fastest colonists to reach ck Iron. Xiao Lin had curiously read up on it as well.


    Those records did not mean much, especially since everyone¡¯s attributes when they first arrived from Earth was different, which led to a lot of discussion.


    However, no one questioned who held the record for the fastest breakthrough. Xiao Lin could not help but sigh when he saw the name.


    Ivanovich.


    The first SS-rank talent holder among the colonists. There were reliable records that showed that he only took seven days to reach ck Iron-rank after he entered the Russian academy.


    Seven days. That meant his attributes were already close to ck Iron-rank when he first entered. Xiao Lin remembered Song Jung telling him that Lilith from the Judge Academy only took two months as well. Compared to them, he wasgging behind by quite a bit.


    After a bit ofmenting, Xiao Lin quickly typed out a reply in the thread, but his focus waspletely different from everyone else, ¡®Thread starter, where did you get that information?¡¯


    He got a reply very quickly; it was just two words: The library.


    Dawn Academy naturally had its own library. Xiao Lin had actually wanted to visit it since the first examination, but had to dy it due to Judge Academy. Even after that, he had been busy preparing for the third examination and was unable to.


    It had been a week since the end of the third monthly examination. Thanks to the pressure from the gambling pool, every ss monitor was frantically training, but Xiao Lin felt like he had to take the time to visit the library.


    He needed to look for appropriate skills that he could learn. Not every skill was as structured as Phantom Steps. The academy¡¯s courses were limited, and not every skill had the same effect on their attributes.


    Taking advantage of the weekend, Xiao Lin got the location from someone and headed over. The library was toward the center of the academy. It looked not much different from a library on Earth. The size was quiterge and thanks to the weekend, it was quite crowded. Even professors and research students could be seen.


    There were staff from the student union managing the library at the front hall. The entire process was quite smooth, but the queue was longer than expected, so Xiao Lin took the time to read the exnatory notices beside the counter.


    The process to obtain a library card was quite simple; all they needed was the school universal card. The library cards were tied to the owner, and would need to be reced if lost.


    However, the interesting thing was that the library cards had ranks attached to them. The order from low to high was C, B, A and S. C-ranked cards only allowed usage of the reading room, and books were not allowed to be brought outside. That rank consisted of first-year and some second-year students.


    B-ranked library cards could take books outside, but each book could only be taken out for a month at most, and only one book was allowed to be borrowed at a time.


    A- and S-rank cards did not have limitations to the time and amount of books. Other than that, the notices also detailed the different sections within the library.


    To put it simply, even if some books were in the library, the academy did not want everyone to have ess to them. Rather, they did not want the lower-year students to be exposed to too much too early.


    There were quite a few students in the queue. Other than first years, there were also quite a few students from the higher years. After fulfilling certain conditions, they would need to upgrade their cards as well.


    Looking at the queue, Xiao Lin estimated that it would take at least half an hour to get to his turn. As he got ready to head to the back of the line, someone called out to him.


    ¡°Xiao Lin? Xiao Lin! Hey, over here!¡±


    An excited girl called out to him from the counter as she waved to him. Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s confused face, the girl pursed her lips, saying, ¡°I bet you¡¯ve forgotten who I am!¡±


    A gentle-looking guy walked over, hurriedly pulling the girl over as he stared at her awkwardly. Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s awkward smile, he said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, my girlfriend loves making a scene.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized that it was Gu Fantian and his girlfriend Zhang Tingting. They were the two who were in charge of assigning the new students to their dormitories when he first entered the academy. Heter asked them about Perception training, but had stopped interacting with them after that.


    Even though the two of them probably treated him better because he was a ss monitor, they were still quite decent people.


    Gu Fantian more or less saw through Xiao Lin¡¯s awkwardness and wisely came over. ¡°Monitor Lin, why don¡¯t youe inside and take a seat. We haven¡¯t talked in so long. I heard you did well in the monthly examination and have officially been appointed as the ss monitor. Congrattions!¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but admire the way that man turned that awkward situation around, even revealing to everyone else around them that he was a monitor in the process.


    Monitors were quite rare in the academy. Adding up all four years, there were only a few dozen of them. Even the higher-year students had to look at him differently after hearing that.


    Xiao Lin was not that familiar with them, but following Gu Fantian into the resting area confirmed one thing: he would be able to skip the half-hour-long queue.

 Chapter 280: Library (2)

    <h4>Chapter 280: Library (2)</h4>


    The pair of lovers were quite different personality wise. Zhang Tingting seemed very easygoing, while Gu Fantian seemed more shrewd. The resting area was behind the service counter. After entering, Gu Fantian got his girlfriend to continue helping the others while remaining behind to talk to Xiao Lin.


    There was actually not much to talk about since they were not that familiar with each other, nor did they usually have much inmon. Gu Fantian did not risk annoying him by looking to extend the conversation with pointless topics. Instead, he went straight to the point, ¡°Monitor Xiao, are you here to make a library card?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I came over since it¡¯s the weekend. The two of you seem very busy. You were even in charge of guiding the new students.


    ¡°Ah, Tingting and I are just small characters in the student union. We usually take up these odd jobs to earn some credits and points. Let me help you get a B-rank library card. Don¡¯t hesitate to look for us for anything in the future. We might not be big in the student union, but we¡¯re quite capable of getting things done.¡±


    Xiao Lin had expected to be able to skip the queue, but Gu Fantian was quite good at currying favor, giving him a B-rank card. He seemed to be afraid that Xiao Lin did not understand what it meant as he added, ¡°Ordinarily, based on student union rules, you¡¯d need to have been in the academy for a year and have reached the ck Iron-rank before you can get B-rank clearance.¡±


    ¡°Then is it really okay giving me that?¡± Xiao Lin was excited,pared to a C-rank, B-ranks could bring the books back to the dormitories. It was a huge advantage, but he did not want to cause any trouble for it.


    ¡°Rules are dead, humans are alive. That rule isn¡¯t really that strict anyway. The library would always increase ranks at their own discretion. Even the student union can¡¯t interfere with it, so what we do goes.¡± Gu Fantian was quite proud; that was part of his authority, even if it was not that important.


    Xiao Linughed. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just promote me to S-rank.¡±


    Gu Fantian smiled bitterly. ¡°You joke. The most we can give you is B-rank clearance. Anything higher is out of our power. Even fourth-year students usually have A-rank clearance at most.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, he lowered his voice. ¡°I heard that S-rank books are usually restricted. Any books inside could turn the world upside down. Even research students and professors need to gain the dean¡¯s approval before reading those books.¡±


    Xiao Lin was actually not that interested in those restricted books. They had nothing to do with him at the moment. Thanks to Gu Fantian, he got his library card in a few minutes as he walked into the library under the annoyed gazes of the crowd. He did not expect his first time enjoying the privileges of being a monitor would be there...


    The inside of the library was much grander than the outside. Xiao Lin had thought that the tall building would have several floors, but it was actually just one. The tall and gigantic bookshelves were as tall as several floors. There were also wide distances between the bookshelves, with countless flying carpets gliding about. The carpets had students standing or sitting down on them.


    Thanks to Gu Fantian¡¯s prior exnations, Xiao Lin was prepared for the sight, but he still could not help but look on in awe.


    The flying carpets could be obtained from the entrance. From what Gu Fantian said, they were specialized carpets designed by the school. If one wrote down the name of a book on the prepared paper slips, the flying carpets would bring the person over to the book. It was fine even if the name of the books were not known; writing down the type or genre of the books would also have the flying carpet bring you to the area. It was extremely convenient, cutting down on the time needed to look for certain books.


    Xiao Lin took a flying carpet for himself. Just like the other new students around him, Xiao Lin was very interested in the new toy. In truth, almost everyone was more interested in the flying carpets than the books during their first visits to the library.


    The flying carpets were quite soft, leading to people being afraid that they would fall off. Since the carpets were used by new students as well, the mechanics of the flying carpet were also simplified. All Xiao Lin needed to do was put on a special mask to be able to mentally control the flying carpet¡¯s movements, but it only had very basic maneuverability.


    For safety considerations, every flying carpet was equipped with slow fall magic, so they did not have to worry about falling off.


    The flying carpets also came with a map of the library. Xiao Lin calmly figured out his destination before carefully getting on the carpet and putting his mask on. After chanting in his heart a few times for the carpet to fly, the flying carpet slowly ascended. When Xiao Lin thought to move forward, the carpet began to float forward, but the speed was not that quick, nor could he speed it up.


    Every flying carpet and every bookshelf had anti-collision spells cast on them; when they got too close to each other, the carpet would automatically stop. The careful design invoked a sense of admiration in Xiao Lin.


    It took about half an hour before he got used to piloting the flying carpet. He had no choice. Even if Xiao Lin knew time was of the essence, who could resist ying around with such a new and fascinating toy.


    Area C was the closest to him. It also happened to be thergest area, upying the space of two football fields. Continuing to move ahead would see one blocked by a metal door that would only open with a B-rank library card or above.


    As Xiao Lin put his attention on the books, he noticed that even though Area C had a lot of books, they had quite a lot of books from Earth. It had history books on Earth, and even detailed histories of every colonist country. From therge area it upied, basically half of the books were about Earth, with the other half belonging to Norma.


    It seemed pointless, but Xiao Lin could somewhat understand the reasoning. With the rule that Gold-rank practitioners and above could not return to Earth, a lot of them would one day never be able to return to Earth. It was even possible that the colonists would end up staying on Norma forever someday. At that point, their descendants and even themselves would slowly forget about their origins. Those books about Earth were like a reminder to never forget their home.


    However, Xiao Lin quickly brushed past those books, since they were not the reason he was there. After that, he moved his attention to the area focused on Norma.

 Chapter 281: Introduction to Necromancy

    <h4>Chapter 281: Introduction to Necromancy</h4>


    The library area for Norma was split into a few segments, including the history of the, the government, cultures, geographic and various races. There was a lot of content, not just detailing the current races, but even some ancient and extinct ones.


    Understanding one¡¯s foes was the first step to defeating them.


    Xiao Lin felt like the library was built with that in mind as well. The colonists had limited influence on Norma, and they would never outnumber the natives. Being able to get so many territories and powers in just a short two hundred odd years required a very firm understanding of their enemies.


    Some of the books were written by themselves, but those were fewer in number. Most of the books were tranted from Norma¡¯s own literature. Almost every academy had a team of linguistic specialists in charge of trantions.


    Xiao Lin flipped past a few books. Some of them were just handwritten logs, written like diaries; some of them even had magical symbols. The symbols looked to have some significance.


    ¡°I shoulde back to look at those some day.¡±


    Xiao Lin somewhat reluctantly put down the book. He was not here for that this time. He sat on the flying carpet and wrote ¡®ck Iron Rank Skills¡¯ on a paper slip before dropping it into a pocket in the front of the carpet. The paper slip emitted a dim glow before the carpet suddenly moved by itself.


    It started to zip around the gigantic bookshelves, weaving left and right. If it was not for the automatic guidance system, Xiao Lin would probably have gotten lost, even with the map.


    However, when the flying carpet finally stopped, Xiao Lin could not help but break out in cold sweat. In front of him were dozens of rows of books. All of them were ck Iron-rank skills. The writing of skill books, especially low-ranked ones, would directly affect a new student¡¯s growth, which was why those books were all written as a joint effort between all the academies. To put it simply, they were textbooks.


    However, the textbooks here numbered a lot more than back on Earth. The academy adopted different teaching methods based on what they required during different time periods. On top of that, thanks to the uncountable number of different skills, it was impossible to rely only on sses.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s position was obvious. He needed skills that would help him increase his attributes quickly. For instance, Phantom Steps was a skill that had simple requirements, but was extremely helpful to increasing his agility.


    He then wrote the word ¡®strength¡¯ on the paper slip, adding ¡®F-rank¡¯ upon further thought. The flying carpet quickly brought him to a segment that focused on weapon skills, but he did not really like burdensome weapons like axes and hammers since they would affect his speed and skill usage.


    Shaking his head and forgetting that train of thought, Xiao Lin started to look for a needle in a haystack. Strength- and Agility-based skills usually needed various basic skills as requirements, but Xiao Lin only had his Basic Swordsmanship at a respectable rank at that moment. Since he still needed to master Lightsword, he did not want to take up other sword skills at that moment.


    He then shifted his focus onto spells. Song Jung once said he had quite a decent affinity for me-based spells, and his usage of me Bullet during the monthly examinations proved the point.


    There were a lot of me-based spells. There were spells like Exploding me Bullets, Rapid me Bullets, Flowing Fire Bullet, and various other fireball-like spells. There were other spells that focused on single-target damage or even area-of-effect damage. Everything had its own unique trait, making it hard to choose.


    However, Xiao Lin thought for a bit before writing down ¡®necromancy¡¯ and putting it in the pocket. The carpet seemed to stop for more than ten seconds before speeding up, heading somewhere further away.


    Necromancy was exactly what Xiao Lin was looking for. It was the reason he came to the library because even after browsing through every single ss, he could not find any sses rted to that branch of magic, which meant he could only rely on the library.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s interest in necromancy was not recent. It had started ever since the high priest¡¯s undead army caused so much trouble for Lilith and himself, with them only able to escape that ce after braving a lot of dangers.


    During the monthly examination, his Holy Soul Sword¡¯s summoning skill was also quite useful. Even though the elves hated it, forcing him to not be able to use it openlyter on, the soul¡¯s defensive abilities were still really great as protection.


    The monthly examination still revealed a lot of problems. For instance, after activating Miracle to shift his attributes to Agility, coupled with Phantom Steps, his speed could reach shocking levels, but with the changing of his attributes, he became incredibly weak at the same time, forcing him to only be able to evade.


    However, as a skill that did not have a very high rank, Phantom Steps was limited in its capabilities. A more skillful opponent would not care about his evasive maneuvers.


    As for hoping for help from his teammates, even if Xiao Lin was not that arrogant, he could confidently say that no one from the first year could even force him to use everything in his arsenal. It was obvious from the monthly examination when he used his full speed to help out at various defensive points. He was just a sitting duck when his time limit was up. If he did not have any help, he would have been captured by the orcs. Releasing the sword spirit at that time would help him cover for that deficiency.


    Thanks to his prior gaming experience, Xiao Lin was filled with an interest in necromancy. However, the flying carpet was moving in a strange direction, flying past countless bookshelves as it moved toward Area B.


    He used his library card to open the ess door, and after a brief pause the flying carpet flew inside. Xiao Lin was filled with curiosity. He did not expect necromancy spells to be that area.


    It really was in the area, and even in a secluded corner. There was much less of a crowd there, with him only asionally bumping into other students wearing higher-year uniforms.


    There was only one row of books on necromancy spells. Compared to other books, the number was extremely small. Xiao Lin nced over the books, ignoring any topics that were too high-level or useless to him, finally fixing his eyes on ¡®Introduction to Necromancy¡¯.


    ¡°Necromancy is different from any other elemental magic. It uses mental strength tomunicate with the dead. Learning necromancy will require sufficient mental strength and perception...¡±


    The opening paragraph led to Xiao Lin widening his eyes. Just like how different sword skills needed certain requirements to learn them, elemental spells needed elemental affinity, but that indirectly increased the amount of time needed to learn them, not allowing for attributes to increase quickly. However, based on what he had read, he made the right choice picking necromancy.

 Chapter 282: Song Junlang’s Experiment

    <h4>Chapter 282: Song Jung¡¯s Experiment</h4>


    There were tables for reading beside every bookshelf. Xiao Lin took out the book and immediately had the carpetnd. Even though the flying carpet was a great experience, the book in his hand was a lot more interesting


    That introduction book detailed the origin and progress of necromancy. Necromancy was considered an evil art on Norma. Other than a small number of races, most of the natives never wanted to meet necromancers, causing the branch of magic to be understudied.


    Even though they were both branches of magic, necromancy and elemental magic basically had nothing inmon. Necromancy did not require elemental affinity, nor did it need any resonance to magic. For necromancy, the most important thing was death energy.


    Simply put, it was the energy left behind after dying. Every living being produced it when they died, and death happened in every corner constantly on Norma. That was why necromancers believed that death energy was something ever-present and unavoidable; the myth that necromancy could only be used in ominous ces like graves was unfounded.


    The book was probably written by someone from Earth. There were various illustrations and personal opinions in the book, such as how the natives regarded necromancy as evil because of the reverence the natives had for the dead, just like how death is treated by certain cultures on Earth.


    Just as Xiao Lin expected, summoning was the best part of necromancy. Compared to solidifying death energy to attack, necromancers prefered to use the undead to fight for them.


    Compared to the nature summoning of the elves, necromancy¡¯s summons had a lot of advantages, such as being impervious to fatigue and pain, and beingpletely submissive to the summoner.


    Necromancy¡¯s summonings were also split into a few types. Breathing life into rotting corpses was the lowest level of necromancy. Those corpses were usually not very strong and slow to boot, just like wooden dolls or machines. The corpses rarely affectedbat unless there were terrifying numbers.


    However, that was all forter on. Xiao Lin quickly flicked through it and arrived on how to learn the magic. It was quite easy to learn necromancy, only requiring a Basic Meditation of LV4 to start feeling death energy while meditating. Since death energy was controlled purely with mental strength, it led to a much faster increase than other magics.


    Of course, necromancers had their own system of mediation: necromantic meditation. Even if normal meditation was fine, it was not as good as necromantic meditation for sensing death energy.


    After writing ¡®necromantic meditation¡¯ on the paper slip, the carpet quickly located the book. The thick book was quite heavy, its pages a faint yellow, signifying how old the book was, but the condition of the book was still quite good, showing that not many people had read it.


    That was expected. He had heard in New Washington that, other than a few special cases, most academies did not offer necromancy as a course, so students had to learn it themselves if they were interested.


    Even if necromancy did not invoke any negative opinions among the colonists, they had noticed that necromancy would often invoke fear or hatred from the natives, causing needless bloodshed.


    For instance, the elves¡¯ hatred for the undead was carved into their bones. That was why, even if there were no official rules on it in New Washington, it was absolutely prohibited to use necromancy in front of the elves there.


    Dawn Academy did not have that worry. Even though the orcs did not like the undead either, the academy never had a good rtionship with the orcs anyway. The war from years ago was not easily forgotten, meaning there was no need to avoid anything they hated.


    Picking up ¡®Necromantic Meditation¡¯, Xiao Lin left the library. The borrowing process was extremely simple, only needing to note it down on the library card. Gu Fantian had reminded him that every book had a magical trace on it, and not returning them on time would lead to trouble.


    As for the book that Xiao Lin had chosen, Gu Fantian and Zhang Tingting voiced quite a bit of shock. It was not because of necromancy itself, but they just felt like Xiao Lin was trying to learn too many things at once.


    The truth was Xiao Lin was not that sure he would go any deeper into necromancy, but he still thanked the two of them for their concern.


    Xiao Lin had actually started to realize that he had quite a hodgepodge of skills, but it was undeniable that it was the best way to increase his attributes in the beginning.


    Thanks to Miracle¡¯s attribute-changing ability, increasing his attributes meant a lot more for Xiao Lin than anyone else. Every increase in attribute points caused his skill-activation to be better. The best proof was when he knocked Captain Yu unconscious during the monthly examination.


    He did not bring his phone to the library since that toy did not have a silent function and he did not want to disturb anyone else. That was why Xiao Lin was surprised to see that he had received a few messages while he was gone, and they were all from Song Jung.


    Xiao Lin got up excitedly. Song Jung contacting him at this time could only be rted to increasing his attributes. He put away the book and immediately headed to Song Jung¡¯s department.


    After twenty minutes, Xiao Lin stood in front of Song Jung¡¯s usual office, looking inside with an uncertain look, swallowing before he said hesitantly, ¡°Uhm, is it really okay for me toe inside?¡±


    The inside of the room looked very peculiar. There were dozens of transparent test tubes and sks on the table, with various different-colored liquids inside. He did not know what the liquids were, but one red liquid definitely had the familiar scent of blood!


    Song Jung did not seem to have time for Xiao Lin at that moment. In his hand was a tiny silver knife, cutting into a frog that had wings. After a few seconds, he retrieved what looked like organs from that thing before throwing it into the sk behind him. He then poured a few strange smelling things inside, and after the smoke settled, there was only a dense liquid left inside.


    Okay, Xiao Lin finally understood what those different-colored liquids were.

 Chapter 283: Super Tonic Pill

    <h4>Chapter 283: Super Tonic Pill</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Song Jung¡¯s experiment seemed to go on for quite some time. Xiao Lin did not bother him and simply watched in silence despite not understanding a single thing.


    About ten minutester, Song Jung suddenly turned back and strode toward the door. As soon as Xiao Lin was about to open his mouth and say something, Song Jung took the opportunity to pull him out of the room and shut the door heavily behind them.


    Boom!


    A dull explosion erupted from the room. The shock wave directly sted the door to pieces, leaving Xiao Lin thoroughly shocked. Department Head Song let out a drawn-out sigh of relief before leaning forward and peering in. He then walked back into to the room and motioned for Xiao Lin toe over, saying, ¡°All good. You cane in now.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the messy room. All those bottles and cans had long shattered into fragments. It looked like a war had broken out in there. He tactfully chose to stand outside the door and ask, ¡°Department Head Song, are you refining explosives? Or are you researching some explosive scrolls?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. I specifically called you in because I¡¯ve prepared a Super Tonic Pill for you!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Su-Super Tonic Pill?¡±


    ¡°Mm. That¡¯s right.¡±


    Song Junng carefully extracted a pill from the glittering debris. It seemed rather hot because he blew on it a couple of times. He then used a paper towel to wipe some dust off the pill before handing it over to Xiao Lin.


    Intrigued, Xiao Lin slowly walked into the room to take that beautiful-looking pill. It was about the size of a baby¡¯s fist and was smooth to the touch. Still suspicious, he asked, ¡°You¡¯re not expecting me to eat this, are you?¡±


    Department Head Song replied bluntly. ¡°Duh. It just so happens to be hot right now, so hurry up and eat it. I¡¯ll pour you some water.¡±


    Xiao Lin poured cold water over Song Jung¡¯s enthusiasm and said warily, ¡°Let¡¯s get the record straight this time around. What is this, what¡¯s the use of eating it, and most importantly, what are the side effects? ??If you don¡¯t give me the full details, I sure as hell won¡¯t eat it!¡±


    Department Head Song murmured helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re really troublesome. I had to go through a lot just to get this stuff for you. Don¡¯t you know how tiring it was for me to travel back and forth between the academy and the New World? There aren¡¯t a lot of materials avable at Dawn Academy, so I had to pay a special visit to the Foreign Affairs Department and chat with a couple of people from the other academies...¡±


    Xiao Lin was unmoved and interrupted him, ¡°Get to the point.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, okay, this is mytest era-defining product. It¡¯s called the Super Tonic Pill. I won¡¯t tell you the specific process in detail since you won¡¯t understand it anyway, but in a nutshell, this Super Tonic Pillbines the essence of a variety of hybrid creatures, which will produce a qualitative improvement of one¡¯s physical attributes instead of mere quantitative changes like before,¡± Song Jung exined proudly.


    ¡°Can this so-called qualitative change allow a person to directly break through to ck Iron-rank? ¡±


    ¡°You can put it that way. To some extent, it works the same as that super potion from the Royal British Academy, the one that temporarily prevents Norma¡¯s effects on a person. But mine is more advanced though, because the effect is permanent!¡±


    It sounded pretty awesome to Xiao Lin even though he did not understand it that well, but he had the habit of considering its negative effects first, since those statements came from Song Jung¡¯s mouth. He weighed the pill and said suspiciously, ¡°If what you said is true, then why should a freshman waste their time to practice if they could just take this pill to directly reach ck Iron-rank?¡±


    Song Jung waved his hand, apparently to chastise Xiao Lin for his na?vet¨¦. ¡°Things will never be as simple as that. The ingredients of this Super Tonic Pill areplex and it can¡¯t be mass-produced. In particr, the proportion of each ingredient has to be tailored to the user, otherwise side effects would ur if the dose is too strong. I spent three months collecting data on your response to various hybrid animals, then specially formted a Super Tonic Pill that would only have an effect on you.¡±


    ¡°And the side effects? Don¡¯t expect me to eat this if you don¡¯t spell it out clearly for me,¡± Xiao Lin was still suspicious over it.


    ¡°Um, well, of course there will be side effects. If something is that powerful, you can be sure that they¡¯d have more side effects. It¡¯s considered to be Norma¡¯sw of equilibrium,¡± Song Jung muttered a few words, then slowly continued, ¡°I said it before, this Super Tonic Pill is a collection of essences from a number of carefully selected hybrid creatures. Simrly, the side effects will be that of all the creaturesbined.¡±


    Xiao Lin froze for two or three seconds and immediately felt his hair stand on end. He stuffed the Super Tonic Pill back into Department Head Song¡¯s hand andmbasted, ¡°Damn it! And you have the nerve to tell me to eat this? While it¡¯s still hot!? The side effects are all the creaturesbined? My God, doesn¡¯t that mean I have to experience all that suffering another time!¡±


    ¡°Uh, small correction there, it¡¯ll probably be several times stronger than that.¡±


    ¡°Gee, thanks for that reminder!¡± Xiao Lin shot back angrily.


    After Xiao Lin threw a fit, Song Jung cleared his throat and said helplessly, ¡°You could¡¯ve waited for me to finish talking. Indeed, if this Super Tonic Pill is given to someone else, it¡¯s not surprising that they¡¯d die immediately after consuming such a high-power food, given the fact that their constitution is that of an Earthling.¡±


    ¡°Someone else?¡± Xiao Lin noticed the tone by which Song Jung shifted the subject.


    ¡°You¡¯re different, Xiao Lin!¡± Song Jung¡¯s eyes lit up with enthusiasm. ¡°I noticed that from the results of our experiments the past few months. To tell you the truth, I wasn¡¯t absolutely certain at first, but after thest dragon blood experiment ended, the final safety for my n is now in ce, which means you don¡¯t need to worry at all.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you really did use me as experimental material...¡±


    The corners of Song Jung¡¯s mouth twitched and heughed. ¡°Where is thating from? I think of you as a friend... In any case, I won¡¯t talk much about the specific terminology here because it¡¯s still difficult for you to understand right now.¡±


    ¡°Then exin it in innguage.¡± Xiao Lin blinked but refused to let Song Jung go. When Xiao Lin considered how Song Jung had a bad track record with the way things were done in the past, he vowed that he would not try anything else unless he fully understood the principles of those medications.


    Song Jung was stunned for a moment. He spread his palms and said in a very innocent tone, ¡°Okay, okay. If I were to use the simplest of terms to exin it in a way you can understand, it can be described as fighting poison with poison.¡±


    ¡°Fighting poison with poison? Are you trying to say that I umted plenty of those side effects because I ate too much of your diet therapy animals? And that those side effects can somehow restrict the side effects in this Super Tonic Pill?¡± The exnation itself left Xiao Lin feeling quite speechless.


    ¡°That¡¯s more or less the basis for it, but the side effects of this Super Tonic Pill cannot be offset by the effect of ordinary diet therapy. The only thing that can effectively fight poison with poison is dragon blood!¡±


    Song Jung was getting more and more excited with every exnation. In his words, that research took him a very long time. It might even be said that data collected since the very beginning of his diet therapy researchid the foundation that culminated with the Super Tonic Pill.

 Chapter 284: Taking the Pill

    <h4>Chapter 284: Taking the Pill</h4>


    Song Jung droned non-stop and Xiao Lin could only barely understand it. Dragons stood at the pinnacle of Norma¡¯s biological chain and had extremely strong resistance. Meanwhile, the golden dragon was the zenith among the dragon n itself. Even though the bottle of dragon blood given to Xiao Lin had been diluted countless times over, the effect was still there.


    Xiao Lin had already experienced the side effects of the dragon blood. It involved a loss of self-awareness during the outburst and he would also enter a state of violence. The effect was incredibly different from the side effects of other diet therapies.


    ¡°Speaking of which, you promised mest time that the dragon blood had no side effects,¡± Xiao Lin could not help butin.


    Department Head Song¡¯s face suddenly turned stiff. He let out a couple of hollow chuckles and immediately put on a serious face. ¡°The point is, the dragon blood in your body ensures that you can fully digest this Super Tonic Pill. In fact, I¡¯ve gotten very curious about your genes. People who can integrate dragon blood and adapt to it so quickly aren¡¯t non-existent, but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone achieve such a level before even reaching ck Iron-rank. If an opportunity permits, I¡¯d really like to give you some undiluted dragon blood to drink, just to see what kind of reaction would be produced.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face soured even more and he said, ¡°Sorry to burst your bubble, but don¡¯t count on getting an opportunity like that.¡±


    Song Jung shrugged and declined toment further. He proceeded to nudge Xiao Lin to consume that special Super Tonic Pill while it was still hot.


    Although Xiao Lin was still skeptical due how Song Jung constantly tricked him, thetter was still very trustworthy, at least when his character was concerned.


    ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll just swallow it like this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pour you some water.¡± Song Jung was immediately overjoyed after seeing Xiao Lin relent. He happily rushed to pour Xiao Lin a ss of colorful liquid.


    Song Jung took the initiative to exin on that asion, ¡°This specially formted medicinal water is helpful for digestion.¡±


    ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re trying to trick me again?¡±


    ¡°I would never! We¡¯re friends!¡±


    Xiao Lin murmured a few words and hesitated before finally putting the Super Tonic Pill in his mouth. The warm and moist pill became cold when it entered his mouth, and its firmness made it difficult to swallow. He took the ss and sipped the medicinal water. The liquid did not smell peculiar and tasted just like ordinary in water.


    The pill melted as soon as it came in contact with the liquid, and in an instant, Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth was filled with a myriad of vors such as sweet, bitter, spicy, and sour. Also present were strange, indescribable tastes that started to appear one after another. The viscous substance that remained after the pill had dissolved slid down his throat and into his stomach.


    The taste was actually so ufortable that Xiao Lin nearly retched and vomited after swallowing. The difort in his stomach took a while to gradually subside.


    Then the two of them sat down and stared at each other. Song Jung held a pen and paper in his hand while asking eagerly, ¡°How is it? How do you feel?¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything at the moment. It couldn¡¯t have been ineffective, right?¡±


    ¡°My experimental data can¡¯t be wrong. Could you wait for a moment?¡±


    There was still no response even after half an hour of waiting, so Xiao Lin looked at the time before getting up and saying, ¡°I think I¡¯ll head back for today. Whether it works or not, my training n isn¡¯t going to change.¡±


    ¡°Then what about the betting pool?¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯d have to wait for it to take effect before you can ce any bets.¡±


    Xiao Lin had already left while Song Jung continued pondering over it and muttering the word ¡®impossible¡¯. He returned to the dormitory to continue studying his necromancy book.


    Time during the weekend was still quite precious for Xiao Lin. After reading the necromancy book for an hour, he brought the Holy Soul Sword to the training hall and nned to practice a bit of swordsmanship. His attribute values were still rtively average for the moment, so he would face the same amount of difficulty regardless of which attribute he wanted to upgrade.


    The training halls were still quite lively on the weekend, especially since everyone was abuzz over the recent gambling pool. Even those who felt hopeless had a sudden surge to put in extra effort.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s arrival even attracted a lot of attention, as many more individuals had taken note of the monitor from ss Seven during the third monthly exam. Some of them woulde up and cordially greet him, though it was inevitable that others would speak to him in a weird tone.


    ¡°Why are you interested to practice swordsmanship today, Monitor Xiao?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you always use the simted battle system?¡±


    ¡°Monitor Xiao, what¡¯s your current attribute value?¡±


    ...


    Remarks like that were frequent, and there were always individuals there who felt psychologically challenged because they were not as strong as others. Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze darted directly past them andnded on the few people who were fighting fiercely nearby.


    The people within the training hall were clearly divided into two sections: ordinary students were on the left side, while several monitors upied the entire right side. While it seemed unfair, no one would have any objections because the monitors were a cut above the rest. Any ordinary person who got too close might end up getting hurt by ident.


    ¡°My turn, Cheng Ming!¡±


    Xiao Lin stepped forward and yelled. Cheng Ming was already dripping in sweat after shing swords with his opponent. He pulled away slightly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to the other person, ¡°I¡¯ll rest for a bit. Xiao Lin will rece me and practice with you.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, what I meant was, let me practice with you, Cheng Ming. Battling an opponent of roughly the same level will have a greater effect on improvement,¡± Xiao Lin corrected.


    The person who practiced with Cheng Ming was ss Two¡¯s monitor. He wielded a saber, and his face turned dark when he heard that remark. Although he had witnessed Xiao Lin¡¯s strength during the monthly exam, he believed that there was not much difference in strength between the two of them.


    ¡°Uh, sorry about that. Let me practice with Xiao Lin for a while.¡± The ever-earnest Cheng Ming had a sincere look that left ss Two¡¯s monitor slightly stunned. In the end, thetter could only mutter a few words before moving aside to rest and watch the battle.


    Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming had used the simted battle system once before the monthly exam, and it ended with a victory for Xiao Lin. However, the simted battle had been conducted during the Basic Swordsmanship ss, which gave plenty of people the chance to watch. For the moment, the person who seemed to have the greatest hope of winning in the gambling pool was Cheng Ming. He therefore drew the attention of the entire training hall when he faced off against Xiao Lin, who had already proven himself in the monthly exam.


    Even the monitors who were training next to them temporarily set everything aside and came to watch the battle. Ever since the betting pool began, the first instinct of all monitors was to keep their present attribute values a secret. They even deliberately hid their strengths during practice just so no one else could not discern their real strength. That way, it would be impossible for anyone to judge the exact level of attributes disyed.


    Cheng Ming would never do such a thing, so many were curious about what kind of strength Xiao Lin would disy during the battle with Cheng Ming.


    ¡°Who do you think will win?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll begin by saying it¡¯s fifty-fifty. Xiao Lin is quite strong. I¡¯ve seen his strength during the monthly exam, but it looks like it¡¯s just pure explosive force. Once that vtility ends, I don¡¯t see how he could win over Cheng Ming.¡±


    ¡°Are you guys that bored? This is just a practice battle. There¡¯s no need to decide who wins and who loses.¡±


    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s that boring, why are you even watching?¡±


    A heated discussion was immediately sparked after someone made the first remark. In fact, many forum users discussed the individual monitors¡¯ strengths after the betting pool came into existence. So far, each of them had their own line of reasoning and it was difficult for any one person to convince the other.

 Chapter 285: Yet Another Rampage

    <h4>Chapter 285: Yet Another Rampage</h4>


    In order to ensure that the practice will have effect, Xiao Lin temporarily switched to a practice sword. It was not because he looked down on Cheng Ming, but because his Holy Soul Sword had been enhanced with Basic Swordsmanship. As a result, he would temporarily possess Basic Swordsmanship MAX. Meanwhile, Cheng Ming¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship was only LV7, which went up to LV8 with the addition of his Swordheart talent.


    Xiao Lin would have an overall advantage in that scenario, but that would defeat the purpose of their practice. The main objective was to train with each other, not to draw a distinction between who was stronger.


    Both individuals acted with decorum regardless of the heckling from the surrounding crowd. Xiao Lin neither activated his Miracle state nor used the Phantom Step, while Cheng Ming did not use any of his own skills either.


    It was a measure of pure swordsmanship. Without the enhancement of the Holy Soul Sword, Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Swordsmanship was LV7, only one level lower than Cheng Ming. If no other skills were in y, Xiao Lin would temporarily be at a disadvantage.


    The disadvantage was not very obvious though. When one¡¯s swordsmanship reached such a level, every basic movement would have already been deftly mastered, and one could react quickly to spot a move and counter it. However, the difference in their basic attributes became very obvious. On average, Xiao Lin would face difficulties in defending at least one out of ten of Cheng Ming¡¯s moves.


    Of course, getting hit was no big deal since neither of them were using real swords, but the feeling of giving it their all sent adrenaline rushing through their veins. Cheng Ming was enjoying the spar very much, as he had rarely gone up against someone who had reached that level of Basic Swordsmanship. The monitor who previously practiced with him was one level lower, but it appeared that he was trying to mislead others by deliberately suppressing his disyed strength to LV6.


    However, the onlookers became a little disappointed. Although a few people gasped in awe at their swordsmanship, most others found the exchange uninteresting. After watching for some time, many people gradually left and continued with their own practice.


    After shing swords for half an hour, Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming were starting to pant a little. It turned out to be much more interesting to fight against someone of Cheng Ming¡¯s caliber, and Xiao Lin thought to himself that his Basic Swordsmanship could improve faster precisely because he did not have any advantage in terms of pure swordsmanship.


    Cheng Ming took a breath, and suddenly frowned, ¡°Xiao Lin, are you concealing your true strength?¡±


    Xiao Lin froze, then shook his head and denied, ¡°Of course not!¡±


    Cheng Ming was a very forthright person, and when it came to him, Xiao Lin did not want to use any tricks. He never even used the Phantom Step when he was losing the upper hand. If that skill had been used, he could counter Cheng Ming with his flexible pace even if he was weak in swordsmanship.


    Cheng Ming was never one to hide what he felt and there was dissatisfaction on his face. ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen your strength during the monthly exam! It can¡¯t possibly be limited to this!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or cry, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already guessed that my strength back then was only an explosive burst. It can¡¯t be maintained for long.¡±


    Cheng Ming moved his wrists. Sweat was dripping all over his body and he licked his dry lips before saying eagerly, ¡°I know. I¡¯m actually a little tired too, but at least let me see that explosive strength of yours before we take a break!¡±


    There was an enthusiasm in Cheng Ming¡¯s expression that stunned Xiao Lin a little. Everyone had thought of Cheng Ming as an honest and forting person, but in reality, Xiao Lin had a good rtionship with him and knew that he was someone who constantly pursued greater strength. Despite being a talented student, Cheng Ming continued to pour out even more sweat and effort.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Xiao Lin agreed. They were only using training swords anyway, and there was no need to worry about identally hurting anyone. Still, Xiao Lin reminded half-jokingly, ¡°You have to be careful though, even I get scared of my own explosive power!¡±


    With the Miracle state activated, Xiao Lin immediately used his Phantom Step without holding back. Cheng Ming tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, and waited anxiously. He knew that his speed was inferior, so he took the initiative to be on the defense and wait for Xiao Lin¡¯s to make the first move.


    One minuteter, Xiao Lin was oddly still frozen in ce with his head lowered down. He hardly moved at all and did not respond to Cheng Ming, who called out his name a couple of times. Then, Cheng Ming noticed that Xiao Lin¡¯s hand was trembling slightly while the sword was held.


    Sensing that something was amiss, Cheng Ming ran over and reached out to support Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulders. Upon contact however, he instinctively pulled back and shouted, ¡°Damn, he¡¯s hot!¡±


    He could clearly feel that Xiao Lin¡¯s body was exuding unimaginable heat even through ayer of clothing. Cheng Ming¡¯s touch made Xiao Lin move. He raised his head strenuously, and his bloodshot eyes seemed to be filled with turbulent emotion. His voice was hoarse and anxious, as if he was enduring some kind of pain, ¡°Go! Get away!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Are you injured? How is that possible? Oh yes, use the automatic treatment system soon!¡± Cheng Ming was so startled that he was clearly getting flustered.


    Xiao Lin pushed Cheng Ming away abruptly, then took a deep breath. His roar resounded through the training hall like a thunderbolt, ¡°Get away! Everyone, scram right now!¡±


    The roar seemed topletely exhaust thest of Xiao Lin¡¯s strength. He then hung his head weakly again, but the sudden change had already attracted the attention of everyone else.


    Someone immediately flew into a rage: it was none other than Wang Dalin, an acquaintance of Xiao Lin¡¯s. He had kept a low profile ever since Xiao Lin became the monitor, because only an idiot would dare to go against Xiao Lin during that period. However, it did not mean that the grievances in Wang Dalin¡¯s heart had subsided. He probably felt that Xiao Lin¡¯s words were targeting him, so in his rage, he came over and remarked unhappily, ¡°What are you trying to say, Xiao Lin? You might be the official monitor now, but you have no right to look down on us!¡±


    He felt that Xiao Lin¡¯s words would definitely incite public outrage, but as soon as hispleted his sentence, Cheng Ming quickly took a couple of steps back and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t go near him!¡±


    Unfortunately, it was too little toote. The berserk Xiao Lin raised his training sword, and he was about five or six meters away from Wang Lin. Cheng Ming¡¯s well-intentioned warning did nothing to alert Wang Dalin, whoughed instead and said, ¡°I think you¡¯ve gone crazy. What are you doing with that sword, you...¡±


    Thump!


    Wang Dalin was not even able to finish his sentence when he felt himself flying up into the air. Scorching airwaves came rolling over, burning the clothes on his body and reducing them to cloth strips. He thennded with a thud, and someone immediately went over to him.


    ¡°me sword aura!¡± someone shouted right away.

 Chapter 286: Strange Scales

    <h4>Chapter 286: Strange Scales</h4>


    Wang Dalin ought to have been grateful that Xiao Lin was holding a non-lethal training sword, or else he would have been sliced in half but that one sh. Even so, there was a significant area of burns caused by those hot mes and it was enough to make Wang Dalin wail.


    The training hall suddenly became chaotic. Students who had no idea what happened rushed out of the hall one after another, though there were a few people who stayed behind to see what happened. The monitors had already gathered together.


    Barely half a month had passed since the monthly exam and the events which happened during then were still fresh in their mind. The scene at the end of the fierce battle with the orcmander, when Xiao Lin suddenly ran off and attacked everyone without distinguishing between friend or foe, popped up in everyone¡¯s consciousness.


    Several people looked at each other and someone asked diffidently, ¡°What should we do?¡±


    Xiao Lin stood still after the sudden release of me sword aura at Wang Dalin. He hung his head low and held his training sword in his hands, but no one dared to approach him at that point anymore.


    ¡°We have to help him! At least subdue him and calm him down,¡± Cheng Ming said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°How are we supposed to do that? We¡¯re all aware of his strength levels. Who else would dare to say that they are able to handle this, other than Cheng Ming!¡±


    ¡°We probably won¡¯t lose if we go in together.¡± Rather than expressly going in to help Xiao Lin, the person simply seemed unconvinced that the monitors would fail in an attempt to subdue him.


    ¡°Tell me, why do you guys even bother? If you get injured here, you¡¯ll have to spend redemption points for treatment. Don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re in the academy now, not in some monthly exam!¡±


    Some of them were briefly stunned before making that realization and saying in unison, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s look for a teacher!¡±


    Everyone had only spent three or so months in Dawn Academy, but it was always difficult for them to fully assimte the teacher-student status. After all, although Dawn Academy was an academy, the fact that many adults there were nearly 30-years-old nearly made them forget that they could actually seek help from the student union or the teachers, should there be any issue that they could not deal with.


    Cheng Ming expressed agreement. Xiao Lin was in a very strange condition, and it was definitely not something that the freshmen could handle by themselves. The monitors immediately dialed the number of sophomore year leader, Chen Yu.


    Chen Yu was in the midst of fretting over the gambling pool, as he intended to make a small profit out of it and was one of the few who were optimistic for Xiao Lin. After listening half-heartedly to the monitors, he stood up abruptly and rushed over with a couple of people to the training hall. At the same time, he silently prayed that nothing had happened to Xiao Lin. He had already ced his bet, and had even been entrusted with New Dors by someone else.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Chen Yu asked sternly after arriving at the entrance of the training hall. He could still be stern in front of those monitors, but all them were sheepish and unable to clearly exin the reasons behind what happened. They said it was a rampage but could not exin why.


    As the conversation on their magic cell phone earlier was not entirely clear, Chen Yu first nced at the empty training hall. Xiao Lin was just standing quietly there and looked just fine. Breathing a sigh of relief, he was just about to step forward when several monitors hurriedly pulled him back. Cheng Ming was nominated by other monitors as their representative to exin everything in detail to Chen Yu.


    Cheng Ming scratched his head. He was actually still confused, so he could only exin everything in the simplest of words. ¡°Xiao Lin is in a strange state right now, and the point is, we can¡¯t get close to him. He¡¯ll violently attack anyone who gets close, whether it¡¯s an enemy or a friend. I feel like he¡¯s lost his self-awareness.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s on a rampage? Are you sure?¡± Chen Yu felt that it was outrageous, and had it not been for Cheng Ming who said that, he might well have believed that they were just pulling his leg.


    ¡°Not exactly either. We¡¯ve seen this once in the monthly exam. At that time, Xiao Lin was unaware of himself when he went into a rampage, but he still took the initiative to attack. It¡¯s different from now, because he¡¯s just standing still.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in and have a look.¡± Chen Yu decided, then added after a pause, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter even if he attacks me. Do you think I¡¯m not able to beat him?¡±


    His words were so confident that it surprised some of the other monitors, but they soon came back to their senses. Chen Yu was the sophomore year leader, which meant that he was the strongest in the entire sophomore year. No matter how strong Xiao Lin was, it could not possibly be a match for Chen Yu.


    ¡°The monitors can stay behind. The others can leave first!¡± Chen Yu noticed that there were a lot of onlookers, so he waved them to leave. He still had considerable authority as a year leader, so the crowd began dispersing reluctantly under his imperative order, which was made easier with the cooperation of several monitors who ushered them out.


    After making some preparation, Chen Yu stepped into the training hall empty-handed. As a senior, his strength has reached Silver-rank, and he excelled even whenpared to the vast majority of third-year students.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot!¡±


    Chen Yu frowned. Steaming heat had somehow spread throughout the training hall and it felt as if they were being put on a steamer before being baked in the oven. The independent realm in which Dawn Academy was located had an almost constant weather with no huge temperature fluctuations. Therefore, the suspicious heat could onlye from Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡± Chen Yu tried houting at him.


    Xiao Lin then raised his head slowly. His turbulent and apathetic expression reminded one of death, but the next second, he suddenly moved and darted over without warning, just like a cannonball.


    ¡°So fast!¡± Chen Yu secretly eximed in his heart and instinctively crossed his hands in front of his chest.


    Bang!


    The heavy impact made Chen Yu¡¯s feel slightly numb. The force was incredibly strong, which made Chen Yu doubt whether Xiao Lin was really just a freshman. Nevertheless, Chen Yu lived up to his reputation as a Silver-rank senior, as he was able to perfectly block Xiao Lin¡¯s strong punch without even moving an inch.


    Although Chen Yu was well aware that there was no way around the huge gap in strength between a freshman and a Silver-rank sophomore, he could not help but say somewhat smugly, ¡°You¡¯re still a bit too green.¡±


    The next second however, Chen Yu¡¯s pupils shrank and his horrified eyes fell on Xiao Lin¡¯s unretracted fist. On the surface of his fist was reddish skin that looked burnt, which at some point became covered in ayer of light-yellow scales!


    There were not too many scales, and were situated quite sparsely apart. Each one was the size of a cup opening and glimmered with a faint luster. To Chen Yu¡¯s horror however, the scales were growing slowly at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    ¡°This. What the hell is this? You, who the hell are you!¡± There was finally a panic in Chen Yu¡¯s tone.


    As far as strength was concerned, Chen Yu was not at all afraid, but the scene before him waspletely beyond his expectations. Despite being a year leader, Chen Yu had only been in Dawn Academy for three years. Many things were still beyond his general knowledge and scope of understanding.


    ¡°Year Leader Chen, I advise you toe out quickly. This situation isn¡¯t something you can handle!¡± A low and serious tone suddenly echoed from outside the door. When Chen Yu turned around, he found that the logistics department¡¯s Song Jung had already showed up quietly.

 Chapter 287: Digestion and Assimilation

    <h4>Chapter 287: Digestion and Assimtion</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Chen Yu was unknowingly sweating as he came out of the training hall. A person of his strength would have no difficulty in extricating himself from the situation, and Xiao Lin seemed to have no awareness of anyone outside the training hall. Once Chen Yu retreated, Xiao Lin continued to stand motionlessly in the center. Chen Yu¡¯s expression was clearly that of bewilderment, and the monitors who were in the dark over everything quickly posed questions to him.


    When Chen Yu was still trying to put his words together, Department Head Song was already warning him softly, ¡°This is no longer any of your concern. You may leave. Chen Yu, I¡¯ve notified the dean about this incident. I hope you¡¯ll just forget whatever you saw. You understand what I¡¯m saying, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Chen Yu took a deep breath. He had gradually calmed down, though he could not help but nce at Song Jung again. Despite feeling slightly disdainful toward that former genius, Chen Yu was hard-pressed to express admiration for that guy¡¯s backer.


    Directmunication with the dean? It would mean that Song Jung had directly bypassed the student union. Not every department head had that kind of authority. At the same time, Chen Yu also understood that Song Jung had given him a disguised warning, saying that it was best not to reveal anything indiscriminately or else not even the student union was able to protect him.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Chen Yu was aware of the circumstances. His surprised gaze lingered on Xiao Lin for some time as he recalled the shock he felt at that moment. He found it to be very incredible too. His shock was not certainly not limited to those unknown scales. There was an even more peculiar power inside the training hall, an oppressive strength that practically stemmed directly from the depths of the soul. Chen Yu¡¯s Silver-rank strength was a couple of ranks higher than Xiao Lin, but there was still no way that he could stop it.


    Chen Yu left, and so did the other monitors under his orders as the year leader. Cheng Ming once again expressed his worry toward Xiao Lin and received a confident assurance from Song Jung.


    After everyone was gone however, the light smile on Song Jung¡¯s face suddenly disappeared. There was only anxiety in his eyes as he stared at the lone Xiao Lin inside the training hall. Hemented, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have let you take the Super Tonic Pill If I had known this would happen.¡±


    Department Head Song seemed to be talking to himself, but he received a reply as soon as he finished talking. The baby-faced president had already arrived at some point. His gaze remained gentle, but his tone was very harsh, ¡°Pills? The kind of pill you mentioned repeatedly to me in the past few years! Good heavens, you¡¯re seriously still continuing with this kind of research? Well then, regardless of what happens to Xiao Lin after this incident, I will most certainly propose to the dean that you bepletely banned from doing your diet experiments!¡±


    Song Jung seemed to want to exin something, but he eventually shook his head and said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m toozy to repeat the strategic significance of this Super Tonic Pill to you, but this is definitely not the fault of my pill. I¡¯m afraid that the root of the problem lies in Xiao Lin. ¡±


    The president snorted in anger, ¡°Are you saying that all of this is Xiao Lin¡¯s fault? May I remind you that he¡¯s a freshman valued by the dean. If you mess around, don¡¯t even think you can go past the dean with this one! Doesn¡¯t matter how influential your backer is!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the pressure in the training hall is a bit familiar?¡± Department Head Song did not want to quarrel with the president there and immediately shifted the conversation to the main topic.


    The president was taken aback for a moment. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before opening them and saying, ¡°Dragon power!¡±


    Song Jung spoke in a slightly congrattory manner. ¡°As expected of the president. Chen Yu would¡¯ve still been confused, but you were immediately able to feel it.¡±


    The president was not too happy about that and reminded, ¡°Only the bloodline of the dragon n has the power of the dragons!¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, Xiao Lin is a pure Earthling. You don¡¯t need to worry about that at all. It¡¯s just that I gave him some dragon blood recently. That¡¯s right, the blood is from a golden dragon, but it has been diluted many times over. ¡±


    The president¡¯s gaze froze again. When he finally reacted, his tone was no longer stern; rather, it was more appropriate to describe it as thunderously furious. ¡°SONG! JUN! LANG! HAVE YOU GONE ABSOLUTELY INSANE? Don¡¯t you know the consequences of randomly consuming dragon blood, even for someone who has already reached Gold-rank? He¡¯s a freshman for goodness¡¯ sake! It seems the student union has been allowing you to indulge yourself too much!¡±


    Song Jung turned a deaf ear to the president and continuing mumbling, ¡°Xiao Lin is different. I noticed that right from the very first experiment. Do you remember how long that hapless student had to lie down during my first diet experiment a few years ago?¡±


    ¡°A month! And from then onward, the student union issued aplete ban on all your experiments, even though that person backing you still allows you to continue with it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, a whole month! But did you know that Xiao Lin only took less than two days topletely be free of my ironb chicken¡¯s side effects after eating it for the first time? His absorption rate was equally as superb. All subsequent experiments had the same result. It was then that I understood: Xiao Lin was different from the others.¡±


    Department Head Song sighed with emotion and chuckled, ¡°Although I don¡¯t really interact much with the Admissions Department¡¯s head, I have to admit that he did a good job this time. I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s impossible for Xiao Lin¡¯s initial attributes to meet the admission standards, so it would¡¯ve taken a bit of guts to get him enrolled in here.¡±


    ¡°Whether or not he actually recruited Xiao Lin is still up for debate!¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that?¡±


    The president waved his hand impatiently and did not want to continue with that topic. In fact, there were still many strange things about the recent admissions that even the president had yet to figure out, but the dean had encrypted the filespletely. The president pointed his finger at the silent Xiao Lin and said nkly, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about how we can deal with this. Since you made a point to keep things quiet when you called me here, I believe you have some way of dealing with this?¡±


    Song Jung nodded and said, ¡°Xiao Lin¡¯s state is not so much a rampage, it¡¯s just some difort from the first assimtion. I thought that the dragon blood that he drank before had beenpletely digested, but I didn¡¯t expect his genes to be so abnormal that he didn¡¯t digest it at all. Instead, it¡¯spletely integrated in him!¡±


    Perhaps afraid that the president would not understand, Song Jung exined the difference between digestion and assimtion in concisenguage. The so-called digestion was akin to eating, absorbing nutrients and eliminating side effects.


    Although the same concept of absorption could be used to understand assimtion, it was no longer the digestive system¡¯s absorptive effects. Rather, it was a direct fusion at the level of genes and blood!


    Powerful though it sounded, there remained a serious problem during the process of assimtion. The side effects of dragon bloody in the violent hidden nature of higher-level creatures. It could easily cause someone to lose themselves and fall into a rampaging state. Initially, the side effects caused by the digestive process would gradually be discharged like excrement, so there was no need to worry about what would happen.


    With assimtion, the side effects would be absorbed and stored permanently. It was akin to burying in Xiao Lin¡¯s body a time bomb that would explode at any time.


    Department Head Song¡¯s original intention was to fight poison with poison by using the side effects of dragon blood to restrain the side effects of the Super Tonic Pill. The effect he sought was that of ¡®one minus one equal zero¡¯, but it turned out to be ¡®one plus one equal two¡¯.

 Chapter 288: The President Takes Action

    <h4>Chapter 288: The President Takes Action</h4>


    For Xiao Lin, the side effects of the dragon blood in his body had entered atent state after it broke out in the monthly exam. Not only did the Super Tonic Pills function like a catalyst that activated the dragon blood¡¯s effect, it also doubled the effect of the pill itself!


    ¡°I understand what you mean, but what I want to ask now is how to deal with the side effects in Xiao Lin¡¯s body! You should know that I am not very good at potions and stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°Actually, the solution is really simple. All we have to do is suppress the instinctive rage of the dragon blood and let Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness re-dominate his body.¡± The solution came in a straightforward manner even though Song Jung took great lengths to offer his exnation earlier.


    The president frowned suspiciously. ¡°Chen Yu could¡¯ve done that if that¡¯s all there is to it. Xiao Lin¡¯s abilities might be greatly improved in all aspects when he¡¯s in this state, but he still isn¡¯t a match for the Silver-rank Chen Yu. Why did you specifically call me here?¡±


    ¡°The dragon power¡¯s suppressive effect won¡¯t be weakened due to his poor strength.¡±


    ¡°The dragon blood you gave him isn¡¯t even pure. The impact of dragon power at this level is practically negligible for a Silver-rank person.¡±


    Song Jung could not help that the baby-faced president was not that easily fooled. He spread his hands and said meekly, ¡°Well, I admit that I was a little selfish. Chen Yu could equally have been able to suppress Xiao Lin if he were to do it, but he would definitely hurt Xiao Lin in the process. Since this is entirely my fault, I don¡¯t want Xiao Lin to have to suffer because of it!¡±


    The president sighed and shook his head, ¡°Are you still refusing to tell the truth? Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know about the bets you and Xiao Lin ced in the New World. Truth is, you¡¯re afraid that it¡¯ll affect his attribute growth. Oh, wait, that¡¯s not right. You¡¯re afraid that your money-making n will... Okay, you know what, forget it. I¡¯ll help. Xiao Lin is considered a valued student by the dean, anyway.¡±


    Song Jung smiled gratefully. ¡°Thank you for your trouble. Right now, you¡¯re the only one in the entire academy who can suppress the dragon blood¡¯s side effects without harming him. Speaking of which, it¡¯s been a good many years since you¡¯ve used your talent. Hehe, it¡¯s quite a pity that an S-rank talent of your year had to remain here as the student union president.¡±


    The president froze for a while before turning his head and remarking sentimentally, ¡°We¡¯re both in the same boat. Ah yes, could you help me guard the door? You¡¯re probably aware that it¡¯s a little troublesome to activate my talent. Don¡¯t let anyone enter my domain and affect me.¡±


    ¡°Not to worry, I¡¯ll stay as far away as I possibly can...¡±


    Song Jung had also ran some distance away before he even finished his words. The corners of the president¡¯s eyes twitched and he sighed helplessly. When he stepped into the training hall, his brows were slightly raised and he muttered to himself, ¡°Such strong dragon aura. Is this really just the effect of taking diluted dragon blood? Whatever would happen if it¡¯s pure dragon blood? Tsk, tsk. It¡¯s no wonder that Department Head Song and the dean value you so much. Now then, show me how different you really are!¡±


    The president suddenly set aside his school uniform to reveal the purple-blue mage robe that he wore inside. The mage robe was adorned with hundreds of five-star arrays, ovepping each other, like the stars in the gxy. He reached out to the void with his hand and extracted his weapon. It was a very weird weapon, for it was a string of pendants strung with pearls and agates of various colors.


    As the student union president, he was the most powerful person in Dawn Academy other than the dean. Swamped constantly with various daily affairs, it was practically impossible for him to have any opportunity to fight. Although everyone knew that the person appointed by the dean as the president must certainly be very powerful, no one knew just how powerful he really was.


    Song Jung ran for several miles before stopping. Once at the entrance to the entire training zone, he chased away anyone who was wandering around or about to enter.


    The logistics department¡¯s head might not be very valuable within the student union, but his authority was not to be questioned by ordinary students, including seniors and graduates. When Song Jung sternly banned everyone from entering, those who wondered why andined about it had no choice but to leave for the time being.


    Within a few minutes, a ginormous strength began gathering in the sky above the training hall, causing the sky to be unusually dim. The space where Dawn Academy was located was an independent realm, where no obvious changes in the four seasons existed and there was also an absence of natural disasters. Such an anomaly therefore attracted everyone¡¯s attention in an instant and they all came over after hearing the news.


    By then, the people who gathered there were no longer just ordinary students. There were year leaders from third- and fourth-year students, several other department heads, and even several professors who appeared at the gate of the training zone.


    Nevertheless, all of them were simrly stopped. Of course, Song Jung would not use his status as the logistics department¡¯s head, since that alone could not stop the people in front of him. It was not a big issue though, because Song Jung had more cunning tricks up his sleeve.


    ¡°Sorry, the training hall is temporarily closed. Please go back. Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s just a little situation inside, but it will be alright soon, I promise.


    ¡°What? You still insist on going in to have a look? Hehe, over my dead body!


    ¡°Damn! Hey, you! Are you really about to make a move on me? You¡¯re right, I still have enough lifespan remaining, but don¡¯t me me for not reminding all of you. I¡¯m sure everyone knows that there¡¯s someone watching over me!¡±


    The noisy crowd became silent at that moment and everyone¡¯s expressions were very ugly. The energy gathered in the training hall was absolutely extraordinary, but the person watching over Song Jung was also their biggest concern. Influence and power were a tricky andplicated issue that could be traced right back to Dawn Academy¡¯s establishment. None of them could afford to offend someone that should not have been offended. All they could do was stand there and stare at Song Jung while waiting for the result.


    After about half an hour¡¯s stalemate, the sky suddenly cleared again. The condensed energy disappeared instantly without a trace, as if nothing had happened.


    The president just so happened to stumble over just as everyone was scratching their heads. His eyebrows seemed to be covered in exhaustion, which made his baby face look as though they had aged considerably.


    ¡°President!¡±


    ¡°President? What happened?¡±


    Everyone began to feel calmer after seeing the president. When the dean was absent, he would be the backbone of the academy, having proved himself to be reliable. He gathered his energy with great effort, waved his hand at everyone, then said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine now. You can leave.¡±


    His sentences were deemphasized, but they nevertheless possessed an indisputablemanding tone. Although everyone was feeling incredibly curious, no one dared to ask any further questions anymore.


    When the president passed by Song Jung, he whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear. ¡°Things are moreplicated than you and I imagined. I don¡¯t want to speak of the details, but in short, you owe me.¡±


    Song Jung opened his mouth with the intention of expressing his thanks, but he eventually gave the president a mere pat on the shoulder. The moment he turned around however, he suddenly remembered something and quickly added, ¡°Thank you for what you did. But if you really want to talk about debts, shouldn¡¯t the kid be the one to owe you?¡±


    The president¡¯s body trembled suddenly. He was too tired to entertain Department Head Song anymore and simply left the ce quickly without looking back.

 Chapter 289: Black Iron Rank

    <h4>Chapter 289: ck Iron Rank</h4>


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes, he discovered that he was already lying in Department Head Song¡¯s room. He shook his aching head vigorously in an attempt to recall his fragmented memory. Song Jung had already brought the water ss over and gave it to him whilementing guiltily, ¡°it¡¯s my fault for causing you so much trouble this time. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±


    ¡°Could you at least start by telling me what happened? I remember practising with Cheng Ming at the time, and then I felt a murderous intent surging into my heart. I think that¡¯s the way to describe it, but anyway, I suddenly wanted to destroy everyone in my sight. I was really scared at the time, so I quickly told the others to leave. I don¡¯t know what happened after that.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned and asked, ¡°Is it the dragon blood¡¯s side effects acting up again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the original dragons in the Norma were violent and had tons of murderous intent. Although they wereter equipped with sufficient intelligence, the nature of their genes still remained unchanged. It¡¯s unfortunate that you still cannotpletely restrain these side effects.¡±


    ¡°But Department Head Song, didn¡¯t you say that there won¡¯t be any more trouble after experiencing the side effects of dragon blood during the monthly exam?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I lied to you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Ahem, just kidding. ¡±


    Song Jung pondered for some time before putting on a more serious expression. He once again exined the theories he brought up with the student union president earlier, and also recounted how the president finally had to interfere. Finally, heforted Xiao Lin, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much about it.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not even be bothered to roll his eyes when he asked, ¡°You mean to say there¡¯s a time bomb in my body now? How do you expect me not to worry?¡±


    ¡°On the bright side, even though there¡¯s been a bit of a situation this time, it¡¯s still very surprising for me. You said that you already felt something before the dragon blood¡¯s side effects took over. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, is there something wrong with that?¡± Xiao Lin asked strangely.


    ¡°But I remember you saying that you didn¡¯t feel anything when it happened during your monthly exam.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a while, then nodded and asked, ¡°Maybe I was seriously injured at that time?¡±


    ¡°No, it means that your body ispletely integrating the dragon blood. This is amazing.¡±


    Xiao Lin appeared confused. ¡°Don¡¯t marvel at it. Tell me if this side effect can be eliminated.¡±


    ¡°Of course! If it¡¯s you, it can definitely be done.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°By drinking more dragon blood.¡±


    ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re tricking me again...¡±


    Song Jung ignored Xiao Lin¡¯s doubts for the time being, and continued to mutter, ¡°In any case, dragon blood isn¡¯t some shabby street product. It¡¯s priceless. I¡¯ll help you figure out how to collect it, but you also have to look out for yourself at all times in the future. Right then, enough about this, go ahead and take a look at your current attribute values!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Attribute values?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t forget the purpose of taking the Super Tonic Pills, did you? This has everything to do with my money-making¡ªah¡ªI mean, our money-making n.¡±


    Despite many doubts, Xiao Lin opened his personal file on theputer that Department Head Song slid over. His pupils then contracted rapidly.


    [Name: Xiao Lin]


    [Student ID: 201235]


    [Attributes: Strength 24, Agility 26, Intelligence 25, Physique 26]


    ¡°How¡¯s the effect?¡± Song Jung appeared even more anxious.


    Xiao Lin replied, ¡°My average attribute value has increased by ten points, and the total attribute value is already a hundred and one.¡±


    ¡°It actually increased the total attribute value by forty? The effect of this Super Tonic Pill is better than I thought!¡± Song Jung did not forget to record the data in his notebook.


    ¡°Uh, this is considered ck Iron-rank, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the total attribute value is a direct manifestation of your overall physical fitness. There will be a qualitative effect once a certain standard is reached, but don¡¯t rush to register with the student union though. We have to ce our bets first.¡±


    Things were much simpler after that. There were no deadlines for the bet, be it on the forum or in New World¡¯s casinos. Anyone could bet before the first freshman reached ck Iron-rank and obtained the registration certificate from the student union.


    Thanks to Song Jung¡¯s department head position, entering and leaving the New World was easy as pie, so he reminded Xiao Lin to ce bets on the forum using the redemption points. He then brought Xiao Lin¡¯s New Dors to Dawn City.


    Before leaving, Department Head Song did not forget to repeatedly urge Xiao Lin not to disclose even the smallest rumor. It was best not to go to practice with anyone in the training hall either.


    ¡°They can tell?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Anyone with the slightest bit of experience can tell whether you¡¯ve reached ck Iron-rank just from one swing of your sword. You¡¯ll understand this after you fully appreciate the significance of this level.¡±


    In fact, Xiao Lin did not intend to continue with further practice. Song Jung told him that he had been in aa for more than half a day, but once he woke up, he found it surprising that his fatigue was more than usual. It was if he had just gone through a tragic battle, and the fatigue he was experiencing epassed all aspects, from his mind to his body.


    Xiao Lin therefore decided to head back to the dormitory for the time being and take a look at the necromantic meditation technique he borrowed from the library. He had already reached ck Iron-rank anyway, and although he was feeling a little weird, he was satisfied with the overall result.


    Xiao Lin paused as he walked out of the logistics department and cocked his brows in surprise. He then closed his eyes slightly and focused his energy, as if he was feeling nature. After some time, he opened his eyes and eximed, ¡°This feeling is really magical. No wonder Department Head Song mentioned that ck Iron-rank is a qualitative change. Is this what he meant by that?¡±


    In his eyes, the world had bepletely different from before. The blue sky, the fresh air, and the nts at the beginning of spring. Aside from that however, he could already feel that indescribable yet distinct free-flowingyer of energy that clearly existed in his surroundings.


    The meditation tutor said that everything in Norma was filled with four basic elements. It was what formed Norma¡¯s foundation. One must first enter into a deeper state of meditation to perceive those elements, buy Xiao Lin could vaguely sense them even in his normal state.


    If he continued to meditate, it would mean that he could perceive more and more of the majestic elements, which would undoubtedly be a great leap in improving mental strength.


    Aside from that, simply closing his eyes allowed him to clearly feel his body¡¯s silk-like energy coursing through his internal organs. Such energy was not foreign to him. Regardless of whether a person chose to learn saber techniques, swordsmanship, or other weapons, it was an aspect of learning that they would soon have to go through. For melee fighters, it was the nimble mastery of such energy that enabled them to disy their strength to the fullest.


    That was no doubt a great feeling, so much so that Xiao Lin vaguely felt as though he had been reborn. He remembered that Song Jung once mentioned the inferiority of an Earthling¡¯s foundationpared to a Norman; he was probably referring to the threshold of ck Iron-rank. Indeed, the difference between before and after the threshold was very big.

 Chapter 290: The Path Ahead

    <h4>Chapter 290: The Path Ahead</h4>


    Xiao Lin, who quietly returned to the dormitory, did not realize that he had caused another uproar in the school. After all, the training hall incident could not be covered up, especially when freshmen who returned from there quickly spread news on the forum. The amount of people paying attention to Xiao Lin increased even more.


    Unfortunately, Song Jung and the president¡ªthe only two people who knew the truth of the matter¡ªchose to remain silent. Even sophomore year leader Chen Yu pretended not to know anything about it despite having some knowledge of what transpired.


    With the deliberate cover-up from many individuals, the news dissipated quickly even though it threatened to kick up a storm. Except for the asional private discussion, the incident began fading away from people¡¯s memories amidst their confusion and iprehension.


    Since Song Jung had mentioned in passing that the president lent a helping hand, Xiao Lin felt that it was best to thank him. After returning to the dormitory, he received amunication request from the president, who had probably found out from Song Jung that Xiao Lin had woken up.


    The baby face in that virtual screen had as gentle a smile as ever, but the tiredness behind that smile was very hard to conceal and his voice sounded a little hoarse. ¡°Is your body okay?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°There¡¯s nothing serious anymore, but I¡¯m just a little tired. It¡¯s strange though. This tiredness I¡¯m feeling is a bit hard to exin.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± The president¡¯s expression be slightly odd and he waved his hand beforeforting Xiao Lin, ¡°You don¡¯t need to go to ss these few days. Have more rest. Your mental strength is particrly low right now, my talent isn¡¯t¡ª Forget it, that¡¯s not the point. The point is, you have that pass to attend sses freely, right? I¡¯ll have a word with some of your teachers.¡±


    Xiao Lin thanked him again. In fact, those were not the questions Xiao Lin wanted to ask. What he really wanted to know was how the president suppressed the violent dragon blood in his body. Firstly, it could provide him with some experience in the future, after what Song Jung said about the unpredictable time bomb in his body. Secondly, the president¡¯s abilities had piqued his curiosity.


    However, the president merely smiled and gave a few vague answers. When Xiao Lin noticed that the president was not too keen on saying more, he cut down on the number of questions. Ironically, it was the president who had more questions and began chattering incessantly about everyday life.


    For example, the president asked detailed questions about Xiao Lin¡¯s situation on Earth, such as his parents¡¯ work, age, and even where he attended his kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and university.


    ¡°My apologies, I¡¯m just casually asking. It¡¯s fine not to answer if you find it inconvenient to do so. Don¡¯t force yourself,¡± the president also knew that it was imprudent to be asking inquiring something that encroached on Xiao Lin¡¯s privacy. In fact, there was plenty of information that could actually be passed through the Earth Division, but he preferred to hear the answer directly from Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth.


    Xiao Lin did find it rather strange, as the president appeared to be acting slightly different from the norm. For Xiao Lin however, all that information was nothing secret. Xiao Lin grew up in a very ordinary family, and his parents were both honestmonfolk.


    Xiao Lin reminisced while answering those questions and the president listened very carefully. From time to time, the president also willingly spoke of his own situation on Earth. Not only did it increase their cordiality with each other, it also eliminated all doubt from Xiao Lin¡¯s heart.


    Unbeknownst to Xiao Lin however, when the call was hung up, the president¡ªwho was alone in his office¡ªquickly entered the recorded data into the centralputer. After a quick search, the iprehension on his face was even more evident that before.


    ¡°He really is from an ordinary family, and his parents don¡¯t have any record of having been in this academy. How is this even possible? The strength of his soul is definitely not something an ordinary person would possess!¡±


    ...


    The following period, Xiao Lin received well wishes from many other people, and he was surprised at his apparent poprity among the freshman students. However, he was happiest when Gu Xiaoyue showed concern for him, even though all she did was call him and hang up immediately after confirming that he was alive and well.


    The discussion of the freshmen monitors¡¯ strengths continued on the forum. At that point, there was less than half a month before the bet was set to end. He believed that no other monitor could reach that level except himself, so he did not hesitate to bet all his remaining redemption points.


    He also had no intention of keeping up with the forum¡¯s discussion. In contrast, he was more interested in his advancement to ck Iron-rank. Since he was temporarily unable to go to the training hall, he took advantage of the rest and meditated by sitting crossed-legged on his bed.


    Xiao Lin had been able to quickly enter a meditative state, with the process taking only about five minutes. Such speed wasmendable, as ordinary people often needed 10 to 20 minutes to seed. On that asion however, it was much faster. He entered the starry elemental world in just over a minute, and the elements within his perception were much clearer andrger in number than ever before.


    30 minutester, Xiao Lin reluctantly withdrew himself from the meditation and checked his personal information. He found out his Basic Meditation had upgraded directly from LV5 to LV6. In addition, his Basic Perception went up to LV4 from LV3, while Basic Fire Affinity and Basic Water Affinity had jumped directly from LV1 to LV3. The magnitude of that increase surprised him to no end. ¡°Is this the ck Iron-rank¡¯s power? It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Xiao Lin initially thought that the so-called ck Iron-rank was merely an increase in attribute value, but it did not seem to be that simple. A 99-point total attribute value might only be one point short of 100-points, but the difference in strength was truly spectacr.


    In the past few months, the teachers have often drilled in a particr concept to the freshmen: in Norma, a difference in rank is practically insurmountable. While the difference between the ck Iron-rank and ordinary rank was only one rank and the same could be said with Bronze-rank and ck Iron-rank, the disparity between those gaps were enormous. One could attempt a challenge against any person on the same rank, but one must never bite off more than one could chew and attempt to go against someone of a higher rank. That was the kindest advice everyone gave to the freshmen.


    Xiao Lin finally understood the truth behind that statement, but he suddenly remembered that Judge Academy¡¯s Lilith could resist Silver-rank with only Bronze-rank. Furthermore, she went up against many enemies all by herself and still came out victorious in the end.


    With that thought, Xiao Lin gained a deeper understanding of Lilith¡¯s strength.


    Unfortunately, Xiao Lin consulted Song Jung and found out that the effect of those Super Tonic Pills was the same as other kinds of diet therapy. It had no effect once a person reached ck Iron-rank. In fact, the reason Song Jung had been researching that for many years was very simple: he hoped that more and more freshmen could reach ck Iron-rank sooner, thereby allowing them to enter the New World earlier. It was actually quite important for a colony with a scarce number of people.


    ck Iron-rank could be likened to a basic travel pass for all colonists. After reaching that level, they were considered to be on equal footing with everyone else on Norma.


    Xiao Lin was silently thinking of the path ahead of him. The dean had suddenly appointed him to a position and wanted him to reach ck Iron-rank as soon as possible. Those actions as a whole made him feel as though the dean was eager for him to go to the New World as soon as possible, rather than waiting for him to go after graduation.

 Chapter 291: Necromantic Meditation (1)

    <h4>Chapter 291: Necromantic Meditation (1)</h4>


    It would take a couple more days for Song Jung toe back from the New World after cing his bets there. During that period, Xiao Lin intended to focus on necromantic meditation first. His original intention of borrowing that book from the library was to break through to ck Iron-rank as soon as possible, but his ns were not affected despite reaching his goal ahead of schedule.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s interest was particrly high, especially after skimming through the book during the past few days and discovering many novel exnations of meditation which had never been mentioned in ss. It was perfect for Xiao Lin because he was still in the inquisitive phase.


    Speaking of that, Xiao Lin had actually been feeling quite miserable in recent days. He was both physically and mentally tired after the training hall incident happened and he woke up from hisa. He did not give it much thought then, but after all that rest, he realized that things were not as simple as it seemed. While his physical strength did recover, his mental fatigue showed little signs of improvement. It was slightly unusual, because he was previously able to recover quickly so long as he had a period of rest.


    The student council president took the initiative to speak with him once more, stressing yet again that Xiao Lin had to take a few more days off. Although the baby-faced president never exined the reasons, it seemed to be rted to the talent that the president used on him that day. In any case, Xiao Lin could sense that the president was being kind.


    During those few days, Xiao Lin could only stay in his room most of the time, except for when he took his three daily meals. Aside from browsing the forum, studying necromantic meditation was the only way for him to pass the time.


    Of course, Xiao Lin had also asked the president earlier on whether meditation would exacerbate his fatigue. To his surprise, the answer was in the negative, and the president even encouraged him to do more meditation to restore his spirit.


    His first attempt at necromantic meditation was not very smooth, even though the process of entering meditation was simr to ordinary meditation. All he had to do was close his eyes, concentrate, and get rid of distracting thoughts. It was an easy process for Xiao Lin as he had already reached ck Iron-rank.


    However, the simrities between ordinary meditation and necromantic meditation ended at that point. The first thing he had to do waspletely sever allmunication with the basic elements in the outside world. Judging from how the book elucidated it with only a few sentences, it appeared to be very easy.


    In practice however, one would discover that it was the first hurdle of necromantic meditation. For people who were just getting used to ordinary meditation, sensing the basic elements was as natural as breathing oxygen every day, so imagine being told one day that they should be breathing carbon dioxide instead of oxygen. Of course, that was based on the premise that they could still survive in a certain environment by breathing carbon dioxide, but it was still hard to get used to it.


    The same was true of meditation. Whenever Xiao Lin entered meditation, he frequently allowed himself to enter naturally into the vast gxy filled with countless stars. That was the virtual world of meditation in his mind, with the stars representing the abundance of basic elements in the air. Ever since he entered ck Iron-rank, the stars here have increased in both number and brightness, which meant that Xiao Lin¡¯s ability tomunicate with the natural elements had been strengthened.


    For the moment however, it seemed that entering ck Iron-rank was actually disadvantageous for learning necromantic meditation. Since it had be easier to perceive and therefore rely on the basic elements, it became even more difficult to sever that connection.


    Xiao Lin was unaware that necromancy¡¯s failure to be a mainstream course of most colonial academies did not stem from Earthlings¡¯ prejudices against necromancers. From an objective point of view, it was very difficult for mages who had already studied ordinary elemental spells to learn necromantic meditation. The difficulty of learning necromancy increased proportionally with the rank of an elemental mage.


    Xiao Lin began to gradually feel distressed too. It was as if a right-handed person was forced to use his left hand all of a sudden¡ªsuch habits were too difficult to change. Entering the meditative state takes only a few minutes, which meant that Xiao Lin had only a few minutes to temporarily sever hismunication with the elements.


    It was only when he entered an empty meditation world that he could begin to sense the death energy. From that perspective, it would appear much easier for beginners, but necromancy has many limitations after all. It was also not mainstream, and byparison, most colleges were more keen on training elemental mages.


    After trying his best and wasting at least a few hours, Xiao Lin finally gave up with that kind of rigid method. The book stated that even a beginner would take about half a month to a month to master that technique. That duration would double for mages who were already able tomunicate with the elements.


    Xiao Lin could not possibly waste so much time on that, so he decided to try it in another way. Since he could not directly enter an empty meditation world, he would simply enter the one with the elements before slowly eliminating themunication with those elements to achieve the same result.


    He closed his eyes and meditated. A few minutester, he once again entered the vast gxy full of dazzling stars. He randomly searched for the nearby stars. One of them was burning with red mes, which represented a certain fire element in the real world. Xiao Lin¡¯s mental strength was gradually improving, and along with the ck Iron-rank¡¯s influence, he could even begin to slowly distinguish the mes bouncing off those stars.


    However, that was not the point of his meditation. After perceiving everything carefully, Xiao Lin began gradually cutting offmunication and contact with the stars in his consciousness. It was somewhat difficult in the beginning because he had to make sure that he severed his connection with that one star only, and not the entire meditation world, or he would otherwise exit the meditation world directly. In that case, he would have to face the problem again and fall into an endless loop.


    After dozens of attempts, Xiao Lin gradually learned how to cut off hismunication with a certain star alone. Once the connection was interrupted, the star will instantly disappear without a trace from his perceived gxy. The first sessful attempt seemed quite interesting.


    However, his point of interest did notst too long. After repeating it endlessly, Xiao Lin realized the biggest drawback of such an attempt: he had only severed connection with one star out a sky full of stars, and the degree of cumbersomeness was simply unimaginable.


    That it was cumbersome might not have been that big a deal since he could simply be patient and spend more time on it. However, Xiao Lin soon discovered that he had no control over the number of stars in his gctic meditation world. He might be able to temporarily cut off the connection of certain stars, but after a long enough time has passed, he would soon reconnect with those stars the next time he meditated. He obviously could not just meditate day and night without eating or drinking all day.

 Chapter 292: Necromantic Meditation (2)

    <h4>Chapter 292: Necromantic Meditation (2)</h4>


    Xiao Lin spent two days in distress. Had he not stayed in the room while resting and waiting for Song Jung to deal with things, Xiao Lin might have given up on the necromantic meditation technique.


    He also understood why the course was not offered in the entire four years of study. Instead, it was only ced in the library for interested students to borrow, and even then, there were few who actually borrowed it to study.


    Since Xiao Lin¡¯s mindset was to pass the time, he felt that he should continue trying harder. The first thing he did was search for anything relevant on the forum. Since he had a pass to attend whatever ss he wanted, he could read the curriculum schedules of other grades as he pleased. It was a pity that his search came up empty.


    He then went off to the library again, but rather than look for books, he hunted down notes. Like the example of the improved me Bomb, he knew very well that many a learner¡¯s own notes for spells were much more important.


    Unfortunately, there were rtively few books on necromancy in the library, while simr notebooks were entirely absent. The relevant books were almost all trantions. Perhaps the relevant learning materials could be found in other colleges, but for the time being, he had hit a dead end.


    What annoyed him even more was the fact that his Academic Genius talent had no effect if he could not even get past the threshold to get started. As for Replication, he did not know anyone in Dawn Academy who could use necromancy.


    He even asked Lu Renjia, the third-year who made the Holy Soul Sword for him, to no avail. The Holy Soul Sword did have the essence of necromancy-type weapons to some extent, but it was still an ordinary weapon. Lu Renjia had simply gotten lucky when he obtained the item containing the swordsman¡¯s soul. In fact, he knew very little about the undead.


    After racking his brain and trying various methods, Xiao Lin had no choice but to go back to square one. However, an unorthodox idea suddenly popped up in his mind.


    He directly entered his meditation world as he did previously, but rather than slowly cut off each element one by one, he attempted to make all the stars disappear in a short time without leaving the meditation world. The end result would simply be an empty universe.


    His means of achieving that were also very simple, which was to meditate in his Miracle state. Xiao Lin was actually a bit hesitant because the Miracle statested for a limited time while the meditation time was rtively long, though he eventually decided to at least give it a try.


    In his Miracle state, he converted all attributes into intelligence so his mental strength could increase markedly. His control over the elements would be enhanced as well, although he had some misgivings over whether that enhanced control would allow him to sever his connection with the stars in one fell swoop.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s perception had once again turned clear inside that gctic world. He could even vaguely distinguish the temperature of the tumbling mes on the surface of the stars, though it was still not very clear to him.


    In addition to improving his perception, mediating in the Miracle state brought about a clear enhancement of control. He could easily control the movement trajectory of more than a dozen stars. Being unustomed to everything made things a littleborious, but he was barely able topletely disconnect himself from the meditation world.


    ¡°Progress!¡±


    Xiao Lin was quite satisfied with that result. After exiting the meditation world, he felt hungry and went straight to the cafeteria on the top floor. Although there was still some time to go before ss ended at noon, he was surprised to meet a few acquaintances there.


    Cheng Ming was quite happy to see Xiao Lin. He waved and came over at once, and although the other monitors did not seem too keen on doing so, they came out of their own will after giving it a little thought. The group then directly sat together on a table.


    Everyone was officially appointed monitor after the third monthly exam, though the group became much closer instead of breaking apart. Problems inmand were ring during the monthly exam, and after the subsequent assessment, many people had actually gotten a low rating for theirmanding ability. As a result, everyone felt that it was good to get together and strike up good rtionships with each other. At the very least, chaos stemming frommand issues could be prevented should there be another joint operation in the future.


    As everyone gradually warmed up to each other, their conversation topics gradually expanded and were no longer limited to daily courses. For example, they talked about how the Sichuan dishes served that day did not taste authentic at all. Xiao Lin actually knew why that was the case: although Song Jung¡¯s diet therapy experiments were banned, it was the job of the logistics department to provide food for the cafeteria. Based on that guy¡¯s character, the dish could have tasted strange simply because some special meat had been added into it.


    Xiao Lin did not have to exin that reason to everyone else though. After all, he had experienced everything thoroughly, or rather, he had endured so many poisons that his body had built up an immunity and he had gotten used to it.


    ¡°I heard that someone ced a huge bet on Xiao Lin two days ago,¡± Sheng Guo, ss Eight¡¯s monitor, said. He probably brought that up on purpose since Xiao Lin happened to be there.


    ¡°I saw that too. Someone betted thousands of redemption points.¡±


    They watched as Xiao Lin ate with relish and seemed as though they wanted to say something. A few of them had witnessed the freakish incident in the training hall some days ago, though they wereter told that Xiao Lin had suffered from sudden physical difort and could only rest in the dormitory for the next couple of days.


    Nevertheless, they were not idiots, and it was inevitable that they would still remain puzzled even after mulling over the odd urrence. The betting pool on the forum was also increasing day by day, and it had umted a considerable number up until then. Even so, few would bet on the monitors who rankedst, and those who really wanted to bet big would often choose the more promising mid-range candidates.


    A couple thousand points was not that big a sum, but it was hard not to be curious if those bets were ced on Xiao Lin. Sheng Guo seemed to be as simple and straightforward as Cheng Ming, but the third exam showed everyone that he was actually a very shrewd man.


    Sheng Guo was the first to question. Although he did not expect any reply and Xiao Lin looked absolutely surprised, Sheng Guo finished his food and said half-jokingly, ¡°Maybe Xiao Lin is the real big boss and he¡¯s just hiding his strength. I¡¯m going to have to think long and hard about how I¡¯m going to bet once I head back.¡±


    Sheng Guo¡¯s strength was considered mid-tier among the monitors, as he was neither in the upper half of the lower half of the rankings. He was shrewd enough not to n on betting anything in the beginning, but instead, inquired from other people in order to try and find the most profitable candidate to ce his bets on.


    Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°Sure, I just so happen to have some redemption points, so I think I¡¯ll go back and just bet on myself. Self-constion, I guess. ¡±


    The rest all smiled. Redemption points were precious to them, and Xiao Lin actually left everyone feeling skeptical because of how readily he made that statement.


    Xiao Lin was a little worried after returning to the dormitory. He was unpopr, but if the odds dropped due to an increased number of people betting on him, the money he and Song Jung could make would also decrease.


    ¡°I hope Department Head Songes back soon!¡± Xiao Lin sighed. Taking into ount the casinos in the New World, Xiao Lin was forced to temporarily conceal his strength and dy the student union¡¯s verification until Song Jung came back.

 Chapter 293: Black Hole

    <h4>Chapter 293: ck Hole</h4>


    Xiao Lin set aside Song Jung¡¯s issue for the time being. After lunch, he reinvested his energy into another attempt at necromantic meditation. The idea was to enter ordinary meditation using his Miracle state and then eliminating the stars in that gxy.


    Although Xiao Lin¡¯s efficiency had improved a bit, the process was still very cumbersome. For Xiao Lin however, it could only be considered an unorthodox solution.


    Once he entered his meditation world once again, the starry sky was as vast as before, with stars of all colors glimmering all around his spirit. Since the Miracle state could not be maintained for too long, there was not a lot of time for him to waste. He quickly began to target each area and carried out his n to disconnect himself from those stars.


    It was hard to grasp the flow of time in the real world when Xiao Lin was inside the meditation world. He had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been a dozen seconds, or perhaps even a few minutes. All of a sudden, he suddenly noticed a strange ce in his meditation world¡ªapletely nk area of sky had suddenly appeared.


    It was very strange. Could it be the Milky Way? Probably not, as the ce was created through connecting with the elements¡ªit was a mere figment of Xiao Lin¡¯s imagination. Due to the distribution of those elements, it was impossible for such an empty vacuum to appear. Furthermore, he had never discovered that unusual ce during his usual meditation.


    Rather than describing the ce as one that Xiao Lin dominated, it was much more urate to say that Xiao Lin¡¯s subconscious was dominating it. He therefore started exploring the vacuum without much thought.


    Indeed, it waspletely empty there. No trace of basic elements could be sensed there, and the nearest stars went no farther than the edge of the zone, as if there was an uncrossable restricted area up ahead. Xiao Lin¡¯s Miracle state heightened his perception to an unprecedented level and he concentrated his spirit toward the centermost area of that vacuum, a ce so dark that no light could pass through.


    Pain!


    In an instant, Xiao Lin¡¯s subconscious conveyed painful feelings throughout his body. Even the meditating Xiao Lin could not help but groan. The vacuum was a ce that even Xiao Lin was unable to go through. As soon as his spirit made contact, the entire darkness became chaotic, with the pitch-ck matter churning itself over and over. In it, Xiao Lin¡¯s spirit was like a boat in an ocean, ready to capsize at any moment.


    What was going on!


    The realm was his own spiritual realm. It was analogous to a dream whereby he was the ultimate master and he could do whatever his heart desired. That was a basic piece of information conveyed to the students by the tutor during their meditation course.


    However, the scene in front of him was clearly different, and the surging darkness even produced instability in his spiritual realm. The starry elements which had gathered around as a result of his meditation seemed frightened and began fleeing farther away.


    The instability of that spiritual realm meant that it was difficult to maintain a meditative state, but when Xiao Lin was on the verge of exiting the state, his subconscious noticed even more weird phenomena.


    The turbulent darkness began shrinking rapidly, before finally condensing into a huge, pitch-ck, cotton-shaped hole. It was the same as a ck hole in the universe!


    However, that ck hole was notpletely empty, and a dragon-like roar could faintly be heard. The ck hole bore the essential characteristics of a ck hole, which was its suction force!


    Thepletely inescapable suction force began spreading at an unimaginable speed. Those elemental stars that were already about to escape from the meditation range had no room to resist under the fierce suction. Each of them was restrained and prevented from moving any further. They were subsequently pulled toward the center of the ck hole at a speed that became progressively faster.


    The meditation world, which had been on the verge of copse, returned to calm and stability, but Xiao Lin seemed to have be a bystander even though he was the master of his own realm. He could use his spirit to feel the elements being pulled into and swallowed by the ck hole, before finally disappearing without a trace.


    After all the stars had disappeared from his perception, the ck hole began turning fuzzy before vanishing slowly. It did not really disappear though, because Xiao Lin¡¯s Miracle state had reached its limit and was lifted, thereby restoring all his converted attributes. As was usual the case, his mental strength and perception would also decline.


    The entire meditation world fell into a pitch-ck darkness. Darkness in the spiritual realm did not really mean darkness though; it meant that there was no trace of the elements near Xiao Lin. It was an elemental vacuum!


    Xiao Lin felt inexplicably excited even though he did not know why things turned out like that. That was the exact effect he has been trying to achieve for several days already. The meditation world that isted all elements from the connection could then be treated as the beginning of necromantic meditation.


    On Norma, it was believed that natural force and death energy existed in addition to the basic elements. Those basic forces constitute the normal cycle of that world. Each force maintained bnce and the scale would temporarily lose its bnce once the basic elemental force was lost. That would make it easier to perceive the death energy.


    ording to that principle, it should be easier to perceive the death energy if the natural force was also stripped off, but since the natural force was also the lifeforce, both sidesplemented and restricted each other. Like darkness and light, it was practically impossible to disengage oneself from both at the same time.


    ording to the method recorded in the book, Xiao Lin had started to perceive the death energy in that empty and dark meditation world. The entire process took longer than imagined.


    Based on the narrative in the book, as long as a meditation world that excludes the elements can be constructed, perceiving the death energy was a matter of course and posed little difficulty.


    During the whole three-hour meditation process, Xiao Lin tried his best to explore in the dark but only sensed a very faint white energy. Like the description stated, that energy was like stagnant water in a deep pool. With no fluctuations, it was silent, cold, and typical of death energy. However, it was a bit too weak.


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes once again, feeling slightly tired but much more confused. He picked up the necromancy book and read it carefully, but was unable to find any further clues. He had followed the book¡¯s method judiciously when meditating, so he could not possibly have made a mistake.


    He proceeded with another attempt in spite of his doubts. Just like before, he was still only able to enter the elemental meditation world, but he soon got the hang of it even though it was unfamiliar in the beginning. Once Xiao Lin activated his Miracle state, the ck hole reappeared just as he expected. Again, like before, the ck hole tumbled and churned before sucking up all the stars in the entire gxy.


    ¡°It¡¯s still not working!¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed and finally exited his meditative state after a long time. Other than that thread-like death energy, he could not sense any other energy at all.

 Chapter 294: Death Energy

    <h4>Chapter 294: Death Energy</h4>


    Could he have done something wrong?


    That was impossible! Unless the book was wrong, but if that was the case, it would not be in the library. Xiao Lin believed the academy, with its long history, would not make a mistake like that.


    Could something have gone wrong with the meditative world?


    That was impossible as well, or that singr thread of death energy would not have appeared.


    Once every other possibility was eliminated, the remaining one, no matter how improbable, was the truth.


    ¡°Could it be impossible to sense death energy in the academy?¡±


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows as he thought of that possibility. The book was tranted from texts from Norma, there was no way they took the academies into ount.


    Xiao Lin remembered someone telling the new students when they first enrolled that the academy was an isted space created by the original colonists. Even if it greatly replicated Norma, even following the time zones and seasons, it was still not the real Norma.


    Almost every freshman knew that the four seasons in the academy were set in stone. Rumor was that the changing of the seasons in Norma involved astrology that was tooplicated for the original colonists to replicate.


    Then came the problem. There might be elemental energies here, but that did not mean that natural energy and death energy existed as well. The book said that death energy was found everywhere, and was even more concentrated than elemental energies, but that was referring to Norma. On that, every corner saw someone dying at every moment, no matter what race or even what level of intelligence, the cycle of life meant death was naturally abundant.


    Was there death in Dawn Academy?


    Of course it did happen. If their lifespan was insufficient and they died in the monthly examination, the students were unsaveable. That cruel rule caused a lot ofints, but it was irrefutable.


    However, the simted environments for the monthly examinations were their own isted spaces as well. Their base attributes were different from that of Dawn Academy, even if they were still simted worlds.


    It was like the scientists back on Earth. They could imitate various weathers in theirbs, but it was impossible to change the actual weather on Earth outside of theb that easily.


    Xiao Lin felt that his hypothesis was very reasonable, but it caused him a great amount of frustration. That meant that his hardwork the past few days had been useless, but what he failed to understand was that weak and dim grey-colored thread of energy. Since natural and death energy did not exist in Dawn Academy, then what did he see in his meditative world?


    Thinking about it, Xiao Lin suddenly smiled as he looked at the Holy Soul Sword on the table. He had forgotten that the spirit of some dead swordsman was in the weapon.


    ¡°Holy Soul Summoning!¡±


    Xiao Lin waved his sword, the name of the skill causing him to curse a little. It was clearly an undead being. Why did Lu Renjia insist on naming it a holy soul?


    The holy soul needed arge amount of death as tribute, clearly meaning it required arge amount of fresh death energy. In Dawn Academy where there was no death energy, it was obvious the soul could not be summoned.


    cing the sword down, Xiao Lin once again started his necromantic meditation. The undead soul in the sword proved that his hard work was not for nothing. At the very least the LV0 Necromantic Meditation in his personal information was not just for show; the progress was just frustratingly slow.


    As Xiao Lin was closely examining the only sliver of death energy in the meditative world, that ckhole did not seem to suck it in, or even reject it. When the ckhole appeared, the grey-colored energy would start to struggle, seemingly trying to escape.


    It seemed to be terrified, just like how the elements would distance themselves from the ckhole, but it got Xiao Lin very curious, since dead spirits usually did not have any form of sentience. That sort of low-level lifeform that was only solidified through death energy were usually empty husks controlled by their masters. They would only gain sentience if they evolved into strong enough undead spirits, but that was obviously not the case for the swordsman.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s interest peaked. He did not use his own mental strength to control it, trying to mess with the grey energy like one would tease a cat or a dog. The energy did not react at the start, acting like a corpse floating in the vast universe, but slowly, the energy started to react, even if it was just the most basic of reactions.


    Xiao Lin felt a great sense of aplishment. It was hard to describe the feeling; it was akin to raising a pet and sessfully teaching them new tricks.


    However, with Song Jung¡¯s return, Xiao Lin quickly dropped what he was doing. To him, the more pressing matter was obviously how to make sure he could win the money from the casino, especially since he had put everything he owned in there.


    ¡°I¡¯ve settled everything in the New World. How is the situation here?¡± The two of them were not strangers anymore, and went straight to the point when they met.


    Song Jung threw a silver-colored card over as he said that. Xiao Lin grabbed it. It was proof of their bet with the casino. On the card, 9,000 New Dors was clearly written. The surface was very sleek, probably made from expensive magical materials to prevent tampering.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already ced a bet on the forums, but some other folks seemed to have ced their bets on metely, causing the odds to decrease. It¡¯s only at 1 to 18 now. How about the New World?¡±


    ¡°Oh, not bad. Your odds actually increased. How little does everyone think of you?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched, but he felt like something was off. He might have a bit of a reputation in the academy, but it was limited to the first-years; it was not possible for people to know of him in the New World. Looking at Song Jung¡¯s cryptic but happy smile, he eximed in realization, ¡°No wonder you¡¯ve been missing for so long. You¡¯ve been ndering me in the casino.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, you should understand: those old gamblers have their own friends in the academy, so it¡¯s easy for them to get news. If I didn¡¯t say anything, your odds might have decreased by quite a bit.¡¯¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°Fine, give it to me then. What are my odds in the New World?¡±


    ¡°1 to 150!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened, the odds had increased by half from the initial 100. Even if he did not know what sort of rumors were spread about him, the result was not too bad.

 Chapter 295: Rank Evaluation (1)

    <h4>Chapter 295: Rank Evaluation (1)</h4>


    It was time for his rewards.


    Song Jung urged Xiao Lin to not dy things, and to hurry to the student union to prove his rank before immediately heading to the New World to get his money.


    Xiao Lin was quite happy as well, but he felt that something was off. He asked, ¡°Hold on, shouldn¡¯t you be the one heading to the New World?¡±


    Song Jung waved his hand, retrieving a slip of paper, ¡°The bet was ced under your name, and the money was originally yours as well. You should naturally be the one to retrieve it. Just deposit half the funds into this ount after that.¡±


    ¡°Four to six split; it¡¯s 40%!¡± Xiao Lin corrected.


    ¡°Oh, with your number, you¡¯ll probably be taxed 10%. We agreed you¡¯d pay for the taxes, so it ends up basically being an equal split.¡± Song Jung said with a sly smile.


    ¡°Why do I feel like I was tricked again?¡±


    ¡°This is a huge sum of money. With that money, there¡¯s a lot you can do in the New World!¡±


    That was true. With the 1 to 150 payout, his 9,000 New Dor bet would turn into 1.35 million. After the 10% tax and splitting it with Song Jung, Xiao Lin would have 540,000 New Dors.


    With the forums in the academy, based on the 1 to 18 payout, Xiao Lin¡¯s 2,000 redemption points would yield him 36,000 redemption points, but it paled inparison to what he earned from the New World. He was quite thankful to Song Jung. Xiao Lin would not have even thought about cing a bet in the New World otherwise.


    ¡°Can I really go to the New World?¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the dean give you that letter of appointment? You¡¯re a captain you know. Don¡¯t look down on your status. The military does things differently. It¡¯s never been particrly hard for you to head to the New World, since you only needed to get the student union president to agree, but now you don¡¯t even need that. You just need to bring your letter of appointment to the interspatial gate. No one would stop you!¡±


    After pausing, Song Jung straightened his back and said, ¡°Something important happenedtely, and I need to head back to Earth. I might not be back here for quite a while, so you should be careful. No one will hold a funeral for you if you cause any trouble.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, but he could not help but admit that Song Jung was somewhat of a shield on his back. For instance, Department Head Song helped him when he went berserk a few days ago, even though the reason for that seemed to originate here as well...


    After leaving the logistics department, Xiao Lin headed straight to the student union. ording to Dawn Academy¡¯s rules, students ranking up first needed to be approved and verified by the specialized department in the student union before a certificate could be issued, proving that the student had reached that level. Thanks to the nature of the colonists, no one had ever faked those certificates, and they were naturally difficult to fake in the first ce.


    Xiao Lin was someone with quite the reputation in the student union. As he stepped into the ssical style building, quite a few passersby turned to look at him. Everyone was filled with looks of surprise or curiosity, but not many greeted him, since he did not really know many people.


    Feeling like he had given the student union president quite a bit of trouble, Xiao Lin hesitated before deciding against looking for the president. He asked around for the location of the Rank Evaluation Office. The whole ce pretty much took up an entire floor. It was a department primarily catered to fourth-year students, afterall.


    Xiao Lin was stopped at the door by someone before being handed a form to fill up. It required his name, year, attributes, and other basic information, mostly to speed up the process.


    After filling up the form he handed it over to a woman in charge of the information. She took a quick nce over the form before her expression immediately changed, eximing in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re a freshman! You... Are you sure you want to undergo the ck Iron-rank evaluation?¡±


    Her voice was quite loud, and even a few of the staff behind her heard it before scrambling out, pointing at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°That guy is from the first year?¡±


    ¡°ck Iron-rank!¡±


    ¡°Is the betting pooling to an end today?¡±


    ¡°My god! I¡¯ve already ced a bet. Hey, do you know what that is?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a bit annoyed, and he noticed that the woman in front of him had a darkening expression, so he asked, ¡°Senior, what should I do now?¡±


    The woman coughed a few times, frantically shaking her head before saying through clenched teeth, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ve reached ck Iron-rank? We have very strict testing requirements here, and won¡¯t give anypromises. Even though the first evaluation is free, every subsequent one will be charged a fee to prevent troublemakers.¡±


    That woman was basically trying to chase Xiao Lin away, not believing he had reached the ck Iron-rank.


    Xiao Lin gaped for a moment before losing his smile and saying, ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t know who you bet for, but rx, I¡¯m notcking in money or points.¡±


    In the end, she could not hold Xiao Lin indefinitely. After making sure the form had no mistakes, she meekly pointed to a door and said, ¡°The ck Iron-rank evaluation is in the second room. You can just head straight inside. There¡¯s no one else there at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Senior.¡±


    ¡°My redemption points!¡±


    ¡°Senior, gambling can ruin you! You should be careful next time!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s arrival had caused quite a bustle in the usually quiet area. The truth was, after the betting pool had started a lot of people had shifted their attention here. After all, the victor would ultimately be determined by the student union¡¯s evaluation. The news spread like wildfire on the forums in just a few minutes.


    A lot of them tried to take the opportunity to ce their bets at thest minute, but the casinos and the ones in charge of the forums had gotten the news as well, closing the gambling pools immediately while they awaited Xiao Lin¡¯s results.


    The ones in charge of the evaluation were a few young students, probably third- or fourth-year student union members. Xiao Lin could not help but chuckle when he saw the look of pain on their faces after looking at his form.


    It was natural, since there were very few people who actually bet on Xiao Lin. What Xiao Lin did not know was that, after the closing of the gambling pools, a lot of chatter started on the forums. Everyone was hoping that his evaluation was a mistake, since it was theirst hope.


    Even though this evaluation had attracted the gazes of many, the few evaluators considered making the evaluation process harder. However, the process for selection was not thatplicated, and it was only divided into three parts: a physical examination, abat evaluation, and the final result.

 Chapter 296: Rank Evaluation (2)

    <h4>Chapter 296: Rank Evaluation (2)</h4>


    This was the second physical evaluation Xiao Lin was going through since he entered the academy. It was more or less the same as thest time. There was a door that looked like a security check in the room, and a red beam of light descended from it. Since the ck Iron-rank meant higher attributes, the evaluation took around forty seconds this time.


    After waiting for a few minutes, the student union members looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s numbers. The moment he looked at it, a man who was wearing a watch eximed, ¡°What even attributes!¡±


    Another one shook his head, saying, ¡°Strength 24, Agility 26, Intelligence 25, Physique 26. You did reach the requirement for ck Iron-rank, but these attributes are really very even.¡±


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡±


    ¡°Ah, how do I put this...¡± The one who initially spoke paused before continuing, ¡°Junior, didn¡¯t anyone tell you before that having even attributes isn¡¯t a good thing? Even though the numbers look like you¡¯re a jack of all trades, the truth is you¡¯re just very average.¡±


    The man waved his hand, finding it difficult to articte. ¡°You might not be familiar with our evaluation process, so let me just exin it. Even though it is said that having 100 total attribute points would mean you¡¯re at the ck Iron-rank and be able to live in the New World without any side effects, the academies have started to prioritizebat ability in the recent decades. That¡¯s why, attribute scores aside, you need to pass abat evaluation as well.¡±


    The one next to him continued, ¡°The test taker will have to defeat a virtual opponent in order to get the certificate. Please don¡¯t misunderstand, we¡¯re not trying to mess with you; those are just the rules.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. They said that, but why did their faces look so gleeful? Did they really think he would fail the next step?


    If he failed, then the gambling pool would continue until someone else was able to pass, and a lot of people would be able to avoid losing their money.


    However, Xiao Lin was not afraid at all. Tidying up his shirt, he smiled and said, ¡°Will you be my opponents?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. We¡¯ll be using a simtion tool. We¡¯ll configure a ck Iron-rank opponent as your opponent. Obviously, you can choose to face a magical or physical opponent.¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head, somewhat understanding what they tried to tell him earlier. Having even attributes might mean he had no weaknesses, but he had no strengths as well. The student union probably never configured an opponent for someone like him, so no matter if he was facing a physical or magical opponent, he would be on the short end of the stick in attributes.


    Having one attribute be extremely high waspletely different from having a few attributes being equal. The former would be able to use stronger spells or sword skills, while thetter would not have any attributes at the ck Iron-rank.


    At least, that was how the evaluators were looking at Xiao Lin. Even if Xiao Lin¡¯s skills had been acknowledged, that was just among the first-years. Anyone else looking at his attributes would think that he only attained 100 attribute points to reach the ck Iron-rank, and distributing his attributes evenly like that would affect hisbat ability.


    Xiao Lin was not worried at all. He showed a strange smile and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try them all.¡±


    ¡°Yes, huh? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have both physical and magical opponents? I¡¯ll just test myself against both. It¡¯ll be more convincing that way.¡±


    The few of them exchanged looks, and one of them could not help but say, ¡°You can, but based on the rules, if you fail an evaluation, you won¡¯t get your certificate. Even if you choose two, failing one would fail youpletely. Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m cool with anything,¡± Xiao Lin said nonchntly.


    ¡°Fine, follow us then.¡±


    The simtedbat room was in arge room next door. Xiao Lin was already quite familiar with the system, but his eyes brightened when he saw that it was a new type of system. He could not help but ask, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little different from the other systems?¡±


    The one leading the way paused before saying in surprise, ¡°You¡¯vee across these systems before?¡±


    ¡°I use it basically every day.¡± Looking at their shocked expressions, Xiao Lin decided to change the energy stones himself. The student union members moved to stop him, but looking at how practiced Xiao Lin looked, it was obvious that Xiao Lin was not lying.


    The men in charge of the evaluation were all confused. The virtualbat system was expensive to use. Even they would be happy to just use it once a month. He said with a hint of admiration, ¡°Ah, the student union uses the newest model. The functions are moreplete... Whatever, seeing as you¡¯re familiar with it, I won¡¯t exin too much.¡±


    The attributes for the evaluation had already been pre-prepared. The total attributes were always set at 100. The physical opponent had 40 Strength, 15 Agility, 15 Intelligence, and 30 Physique.


    Worrying that Xiao Lin would not understand, they exined a little. ¡°These numbers are based on a ck Iron-ranked orc. You should already know from your history sses that the orcs are basically our greatest enemy. The academy believes that if you can¡¯t defeat one at this rank, it would mean nothing, even if you entered the ck Iron-rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded before heading into the room. Once the system booted up, he understood what was different about the new model. He was no longer surrounded by cold metallic walls, but instead an uneven mountain ground with sharp spikes.


    The newest model could even simte different environments, giving an extra level of realism. It probably used illusion projection magic. Xiao Lin knew that spell was invented by the colonists, and they used it on their phones, but the virtualbat system used it on a much higher level.


    The opponent quickly appeared. With the new model, the opponent was even more life-like. It even had various protective gears on it. The gears might not have been real, but during the battle, damage would be reduced based on the gear.


    A strength of 40 was quite a high number for most freshmen, but since the agility was set to be quite low, it could be circumvented with speed, meaning it was not an issue for Xiao Lin.


    The battle was starting, so he activated Miracle.


    Under Miracle, he could convert 50% of his other attributes to any one attribute. His current total was 101 points, and his Strength attribute was at 26. Thanks to Miracle, his strength momentarily increased to 63, basically giving him an immense advantage.


    No tricks, no strategies, not even bothering to think too long.


    Even if his agility dropping affected his speed, thanks to Phantom Steps, he managed to maintain his speed advantage. With Xiao Lin¡¯s charge, he stabbed his sword forward, immediately dropping the virtual orc¡¯s health to zero.


    The evaluators had not even prepared themselves when the battle came to an end.

 Chapter 297: Evaluation Result

    <h4>Chapter 297: Evaluation Result</h4>


    The observers looked at each other, rubbing their eyes. Some of them stared in disbelief. They had been doing this job for a few years, and ck Iron-rank evaluations were not hard, but even if it was simple, Xiao Lin was still way too quick. It was basically aplete ughter.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t heing out?¡±


    ¡°Wait, didn¡¯t he say he wanted to try the magical opponent?¡±


    ¡°What! I thought he was joking!¡±


    Everyone was starting to get frustrated. They had all ced bets, and none of them had bet on Xiao Lin. Even if they had hoped that Xiao Lin would fail, they did not dare harbor any thoughts about affecting the results after seeing his performance.


    Even though losing to either of the opponents would not qualify someone for the certificate, but with his earlier performance, Xiao Lin was without a doubt qualified to be at the ck Iron-rank. If they did not issue the certificate, their jobs would be at risk. The student union was quite strict about being fair to students.


    After waiting for a while, Xiao Lin curiously waved his hand to the window, trying to get the next battle started. The truth was, Xiao Lin was not trying to show off. Of course, proving himself was part of it, but Xiao Lin just mainly wanted to know how strong he was after entering the ck Iron-rank.


    The ones outside were deep in discussion, and someone finally said, ¡°Let¡¯s just see what happens. What if he wins?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking. He only has three months under his belt; how could he have the time for so many different courses. The magical opponent has pretty high requirements for mental strength and perception.¡±


    They might have said that, but they still reactivated the battle system. The magical opponent¡¯s attributes were 15 Strength, 25 Agility, 35 Intelligence, and 25 Physique. Those were the usual attributes that an elf woman would have when they reached ck Iron-rank. Elves did not just specialize in archery. Female elves usually had high intelligence, so they wielded rare elvish magic.


    The two tests used elves and orcs as the virtual opponents¨Con some degree, reflecting the ns of the upper echelons of Dawn Academy. Of course, that was not what Xiao Lin was thinking about at that moment.


    Xiao Lin had been waiting impatiently. The moment the room lit up again, he immediately switched to the wand prepared for the evaluation, knowing that the opponent would be magic-based.


    Other than being able to help with the gathering of elements, the wand did not have any other uses. The rank evaluation was meant to test a student¡¯s actual capabilities, which was why the students could not bring any of their own equipment inside.


    Miracle still had a few minutes of activation. Xiao Lin quickly put all his attributes into Intelligence, giving him an intelligence of over 60. That number already exceeded what even Gu Xiaoyue had. The Miracle attribute started off not being too strong, but as his total attributes increased, the effect got increasingly more powerful.


    ¡°me Bullet!¡±


    Xiao Lin once again attacked without hesitation. me Bullet was the ck Iron-rank version of me Ball. The damage was somewhat reduced, but the casting speed greatly increased thanks to it. Even without his Peakfire Staff, causing me Bullet¡¯s burn damage to decrease, the spell itself still used his own mental strength. A me Bullet cast under the effect of Miracle was nothing tough at.


    The thumb-sized me Bullet shot out from the wand, exploding when it hit the virtual opponent. In a mage battle, the speed of casting was the most important thing, and the opponent for the evaluation was not that fast.


    The opponent could not properly cast its me Ball under the constant barrage. It seemed like that evaluation was just a check of the student¡¯s basic attributes, so a big enough difference would naturally lead to an easy time. With that, the battle ended in less than 20 seconds.


    When Xiao Lin exited from the room, the evaluators could only look at him with respect. Their earlier discontent had long since evaporated. They could only hate themselves for not being able to see his talent earlier.


    The ck Iron-rank certificate was just a thin, regr piece of paper¨Cnot much different from most of the certificates on Earth. On the certificate was the stamp of the Rank Evaluation Office. Other than the words ck Iron-rank on the certificate, there were also a few other words: Physical Test: 18 seconds; Magical Test: 23 seconds. It then stated the total attributes at the time of evaluation as 101.


    That was the time it took for Xiao Lin to defeat his opponents in the simtion. It was obvious that this was not just a certificate of qualification; it also somewhat reflected the student¡¯s ability.


    ¡°Getting a job in the New World would probably not just rely on the qualifications; the time recorded would be a selection criteria as well.¡± The evaluator saw Xiao Lin¡¯s incredulous expression and could not help but remind him.


    Xiao Lin nodded in understanding. Just like the English examinations on Earth, a pass was still a pass, but the score one earned would put them on different levels.


    ¡°You can always apply to retake the evaluation if you¡¯re not happy with your record. Of course, the next evaluation will need to be paid for, and the higher your total attributes, the less value a fast time would mean. It¡¯s just ck Iron-rank anyway.¡± After pausing, the person in charge said, ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t need to worry about it at all.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone faster than me?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Of course there is, but the evaluations differ from time to time, so it¡¯s not really a directparison. Your results are basically already at the top level; it won¡¯t really improve that much more.¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged, not really caring about getting a job or whatnot. He had the letter of appointment, after all. The dean had already prepared his future path.


    The evaluation results quickly spread on the forums. The certificates that came from the student union were not easy to forge, so wailing could be heard at every corner of the academy. Thankfully, the academy¡¯s bets were not too much. Even those that lost money did not really lose much, but it was a different story in the New World. Xiao Lin would not be surprised if there were those who wanted to end their life because of the results.


    He had asked Department Head Song about it before, so Xiao Lin more or less knew the rules of gambling in the forums. Thanks to the protection from the school system, the bets were automatically enforced, not needing him to do anything special, which was why Xiao Lin quickly received the notification that he earned 36,000 redemption points when he got back to the dormitory.


    At the same time as the message, he received an invitation from an unknown ID.

 Chapter 298: Casino Boss

    <h4>Chapter 298: Casino Boss</h4>


    Xiao Lin easily saw the person¡¯s name on the forums: An Fumin.


    Seeing as the other party was online, Xiao Lin immediately called him. A pudgy man appeared on the screen; there was arge smile on his face. His tone was rough but well-mannered. ¡°Are you Mr. Xiao Lin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and you are?¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m An Fumin, the boss of Dawn City Century Casino.¡±


    Song Jung had told him before that Century Casino was thergest casino in Dawn Academy¡¯s colonized territories, and was also where he ced their bet. He nodded and said nothing, waiting for the other party to continue.


    An Fumin looked like he had rushed back, wiping sweat off his forehead as heughed and said, ¡°You ced a bet in our casino a few days before, and I¡¯ve already verified the results with the student union. You¡¯re the final winner, right?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not deny it, but it did not seem like the man was calling to give him his money. He furrowed his eyebrows, asking, ¡°Why? Are you not nning to pay?¡±


    ¡°No no no,¡± the man said as he waved frantically, his smile still stered on his face. ¡°Century Casino is an establishment with a long history, and our reputation is everything. Even though we lost a bit from this, it¡¯s not a big amount. It¡¯s yours, so we¡¯ll make sure it gets to you.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you looking for me for?¡±


    ¡°Ah, let me make some simple introductions. Our casino covers quite a lot; we even have branches in the other academies. Something like you who enters the ck Iron-rank first among the new students is just child¡¯s y, so the winnings are obviously limited. However, the Inter-academy Tournament will be starting soon. Are you willing to cooperate with us?¡±


    Xiao Lin was starting to sweat. He had heard about it from Song Jung before, but he did not know the specifics.


    An Fumin saw the awkward look on his face and immediately continued, ¡°The Inter-academy Tournament is a tournament jointly organized by all the academies. Ever since we started colonizing Norma, there have been countless countries establishing their own academies and entering our forces.¡±


    ¡°Looking at the bigger picture, all the academies are basically ants standing on the same string, pursuing the same benefits, but in truth, with the expansion of the colonized territories, there were alliances forged, but battles naturally had to be fought as well. Of course, it would never progress to full-out war. Everyone knows that¡¯s the line, so the academies needed a way to determine their rtive standings.


    ¡°That was where the Inter-academy Tournaments were born. In the beginning, every academy randomly chose students to participate, but following the increase in everyone¡¯s skills, especially considering how powerful the best colonists were, they decided on only sending final year students topete. In recent years, the Americans and the British also pushed to add the first-year students.


    ¡°First-year students represented the future of the academies, while the final year students represented the academy¡¯s current strength. They would then determine their rtive power based on that.


    ¡°The Inter-academy Tournament was held in the middle of every year. That time period was exactly when the fourth-years usually graduated and the freshmen would have almost a full year under their belt, so they would already have enough time to master various basic skills. This next tournament will probably be held in half a year. The list of participants will definitely be chosen from the best students, so the student union would usually already have a name list ready to allow the participants more time to prepare.¡±


    Song Jung had said before that the New World¡¯s casinos were open for a lot of different bets, even including the victors of war. The Inter-academy Tournament would naturally be included.


    After listening to An Fumin¡¯s exnation, Xiao Lin said yfully, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll be chosen as a representative.¡±


    An Fuminughed once again. ¡°You¡¯re joking. Your results for the ck Iron-rank evaluation might not be the first in history, but Dawn Academy definitely has never seen results like that in this time period. With that result, the president would probably have gone made if he didn¡¯t pick you.¡±


    Xiao Lin actually had something he could not say. He was not sure if the dean would stop him from participating to keep his secret, especially since he was almost held hostage in New Washington.


    Of course, he could not say that, so Xiao Lin asked, ¡°Even if I do participate, are you nning on asking me to fix my matches?¡±


    An Fumin¡¯sughter died down a little, saying seriously, ¡°How could I do that? I¡¯m still someone from Dawn Academy. I have at least some pride in that. You might not know this, but it¡¯s been ten years since we even entered the top four. Ever since the genius Song Jung fell ten years ago, our students have been really dropping in quality.¡±


    Dawn Academy was one of the first academies established, and they had always been among the top in foundations and powers in history. However, ever since the war with the orcs, along with the rise of the Judge Academy, Dawn Academy has been rather averagetely, especially when it came to the quality of their students with talents, causing the academy to be in an awkward spot.


    Xiao Lin sighed when he heard that, but An Fumin quickly had a sly expression on his face. ¡°Since the Academy has been doing badly these years, the odds during the tournament has been steadily increasing, and I¡¯m also nning on shaking things up a bit this year, raising the odds a bit higher...¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood what he meant. He really was a sly merchant; the man wanted to cause everyone to keep looking down on Dawn Academy to increase the odds. Then, if the time came and Dawn Academy actually managed to win, An Fumin would make a killing as the broker.


    ¡°What do you need me to do? Even if I really be a representative, I don¡¯t have any guarantee of winning.¡± He was not being humble; it was hard to guarantee that the other academies would not have some student with an insane talent. Xiao Lin really did not have much confidence.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t underestimate me. I¡¯ll do everything I can to help the academy when the timees. I might not be able to guarantee first ce, but we can at least ce in the top four. As for the details, I can¡¯t reveal anything for now. I¡¯m mainly just trying to get to know you today.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a bit, and felt like there was nothing wrong with his proposal, but he was not willing to easily agree to anything, so he said, ¡°Let me think about it for a bit. You¡¯ve already said that the tournament will only take ce in half a year anyway.¡±

 Chapter 299: Purchasing Lifewater

    <h4>Chapter 299: Purchasing Lifewater</h4>


    The harmless-looking fat man knew he would not be able to get any promises from Xiao Lin with just his words, and did not try to force anything, but he did not forget to invite Xiao Lin to Dawn City before he hung up.


    ¡°Betting payouts can usually be transferred straight into your bank ount, but we don¡¯t know your ount number, and ording to our records, the one who ced the bet was not you. Based on our regtions, the first transaction needs to be done by yourself personally. I¡¯ll still be in the academy for a few days, but if you don¡¯t mind, we can leave togetherter on.¡±


    ¡°As I understand it, even if a first-year student gets to ck Iron-rank, heading to the New World is not a trivial matter. The academy has strict rules on it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re underestimating me.¡± An Fumin¡¯s face might have been smiling, but there was a hint of pride underneath his smile. ¡°Freshmen do have strict requirements before being able to head to the New World, but as long as you want to, I can make it happen. I know quite a few people in the student union.¡±


    Xiao Lin was surprised, but he realized it was nothing surprising. He was basically one of the first people who knew of his results, and as the boss of the biggest casino in their territories, he definitely had deep connections. Getting some news or helping with trivial matters would not be hard for him.


    However, Xiao Lin did not need the help. His rejection caused the man to be quite shocked. Just like Xiao Lin had said himself, no matter how outstanding a person was, a freshman would have a hard time getting to the New World, but An Fumin wisely avoided pressing the topic.


    Xiao Lin could easily move around thanks to his letter of appointment, and he even had the freedom to choose his own sses. Thanks to those two privileges, he could leave at any time.


    Xiao Lin once again logged onto the forums, and he noticed that the news of him breaking into the ck Iron-rank had already spread everywhere. News that had been verified by the student union would naturally not be false. There were those who congratted him and even those who tried to mock him, but he ignored most of thements. In truth, after thest monthly examination, he had been receiving a ton of friend requests daily¨Cdoubtlessly from those who wanted to suck up to him. After a few instances, Xiao Lin had learned to ignore all of them.


    He immediately headed into the marketce, searching for ¡®elementary Lifewater¡¯. Even if there was still some time until the next official release of Lifewater, it was impossible that there was not any avable for sale at that moment.


    There were some resellers around. Some of them even tried to scalp Lifewater to sky-high prices. If they were lucky and someone needed some urgently, they could make a quick buck.


    The New World was different from the academy. The Law of Immortality was in full effect there. Every death would cost twenty years off their lifespan. Xiao Lin still had 50 years after dying in the third monthly examination, and he was 23 years of age at that moment. Elementary Lifewater was effective until about 100 years of age, so Xiao Lin still had 27 years that werecking.


    One bottle of Lifewater could add 10 years of lifespan. Even if he went to the New World, Xiao Lin¡¯s current lifespan was not a big issue, but he had other thoughts in mind.


    Elementary lifewater only cost 1,000 points from the school, but some students had already hiked the price up by double. 2,000 points was enough to even make second-or third-years hesitate, but Xiao Lin did not mind. After his wins earlier he did not care about the price.


    Two bottles of Lifewater cost 4,000 redemption points. Xiao Lin was toozy to even negotiate, paying first before he even notified the seller. That attitude caused the seller to even suspect him of fraud, leading to the seller verifying it repeatedly before believing he had stumbled upon a rich person. The seller passionately rmended him higher-tier Lifewaters, but Xiao Lin was not interested at that moment.


    The seller was a third-year student. Xiao Lin had been prepared to collect the goods himself, but once the other party knew he was the one who won the gambling pool, the other party immediately warmed up to him, even giving him a 20 percent discount before hurrying to the freshman dormitories to deliver the goods. Of course, as a show of gratitude, Xiao Lin could not help but ept the other party¡¯s friend request.


    The Lifewater was stored in a transparent bottle that was only as big as his thumb. There was extremely little of it. Xiao Lin brought it up to his nose to smell it after opening the bottle, and a faint fragrance was emitted. He swallowed it in a gulp. The Lifewater tasted very in, and he could feel a warmth beginning to spread from his stomach to his entire body. That strange feeling passed very quickly, but Xiao Lin still waited hesitantly, a habit probably caused by Song Jung. Of course, since it was an official potion, it was much better than anything Song Jung made, so there were no side effects.


    Xiao Lin quickly swallowed the second bottle. In his personal information, his remaining lifespan had increased to 70 years.


    Just as advertised, elementary Lifewater was quite effective in increasing his lifespan. Even with a total lifespan of 93 years, Xiao Lin was not that happy. He was feeling quiteplicated. He had known the effects beforehand after all, since he was not the first person to use Lifewater, and the effects had long since been vouched for in the forums.


    Why did the Lifewater not work for Gu Xiaoyue then? Xiao Lin used his authority as a ss monitor to look at Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s personal information; the words ¡®2 Years¡¯ were very grating.


    He had been thinking about it constantly during his free time these days, even leading to him testing it out by consuming Lifewater himself today. Song Jung had said that the elementary Lifewater was made by high-level alchemists in the academy, so he did not doubt the quality of the medicine; that was too improbable.


    Then, the issue could only lie on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s own body. Xiao Lin did not know what that woman was hiding, but with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s personality, the fact that she did not even report it to the student union to this day meant she did not want the academy to know, so Xiao Lin could only hold his silence.


    Putting his heavy thoughts aside for the moment, Xiao Lin once again contacted An Fumin, indicating that he could follow the man to Dawn City to retrieve his payout before agreeing on a time.


    Before he left, Xiao Lin did not forget to notify his group leaders, Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue. Xiao Lin had basically used his powers immediately after being named the official ss monitor to officially give those two that position, even announcing it on the ss Seven chat room. His message was clear: following him would grant many benefits.

 Chapter 300: Heading Back To The New World

    <h4>Chapter 300: Heading Back To The New World</h4>


    The two of them would be the ones in charge of the ss while he was gone. Zhou Feng was someone who was not afraid to stand out, while Gu Xiaoyue was someone who preferred to maintain a low profile. The two of them working together put Xiao Lin at ease.


    The bald-headed Zhou Feng took the change to thank Xiao Lin. He had basically ced all of the few hundred redemption points he had on Xiao Lin. Of course, he had already told Xiao Lin that beforehand. He did not do it just to make money, but was actually doing it more as a show of support. Zhou Feng was surprised and ecstatic when it actually made him several thousand redemption points.


    Even if Xiao Lin knew Zhou Feng was deliberately using it to suck up, he could not help but respect the man. There were only a few people in ss Seven who dared to do it. He knew everyone might have epted him as the ss monitor on the surface, but a good amount probably have yet to truly ept it in their hearts. Xiao Lin felt like he needed to properly reward those who really supported him, so he started with Zhou Feng.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed it with Cheng Ming from ss One; if anything gets decided on in the monitor meetings, he will let you know. Take care of the ss while I¡¯m gone.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s words carried two meanings. Firstly, he was appointing Zhou Feng as the substitute ss monitor. Secondly, he was telling Zhou Feng that¨Ceven with that power, he still needed to go through Cheng Ming¨Cso Zhou Feng should not think of hiding anything from Xiao Lin.


    Zhou Feng did not disappoint him, ignoring the warning as he immediately expressed his tion, before asking, ¡°How about Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about that. That woman doesn¡¯t like trouble, so she would not want to be in charge of too much. However, you can ask her for help if you have any problems.¡±


    Zhou Feng nodded with a look of understanding, a smirk on his face. Xiao Lin felt like the man must have misunderstood something, but he did not bother exining it.


    Communicating with Gu Xiaoyue was a much easier affair. Xiao Lin felt like he developed a better understanding of the girl after the third monthly examination, but the closer they got, the more curious he was. Unfortunately Gu Xiaoyue had never bothered ying the social game in the academy, so she did not express anything at Xiao Lin¡¯s arrangements.


    ¡°Oh, I understand.¡± Was her only reply.


    With that, Xiao Lin regretfully headed to the inter-spatial gate deep in the academy, which was where he agreed to meet with An Fumin. Xiao Lin immediately recognized the casino boss when he got there, the man¡¯s body was way too eye-catching.


    An Fumin immediately shook Xiao Lin¡¯s hand. The two of them walked into the tform after greeting each other. The one standing guard seemed to be an acquaintance of An Fumin. The two of them chatted for a bit and the guard did not bother checking him in detail before waving him away.


    Xiao Lin was a different matter, since freshmen usually needed special permission from the student union to head to the New World. An Fumin kept his smile on his face as he looked on. He could have easily helped with the matter, but Xiao Lin had rejected it, leading to some curiosity from him.


    With two pairs of eyes on him, Xiao Lin took out the letter of appointment that Yu Mei from the sixth regiment brought him. The letter of appointment was quite ordinary, having not been made of any special material, but the other two immediately widened their eyes when it was opened.


    The two of them were shocked by two different things. The staff was shocked that a freshman had been appointed as a captain. That was enough to inspire the envy of most of the graduating batch from this year. An Fumin on the other hand was not too interested in a freshman captain. Since there were all sorts of people who frequented his casino, a captain was nothing special. What caused him to be so surprised was the signature on the letter of appointment.


    Even if the words were sloppily written, enough for most to just ignore it, An Fumin clearly recognized the dean¡¯s own signature.


    There were quite a few captains in Dawn Academy, and there were even those younger than Xiao Lin, but those appointed by the dean himself were very rare.


    An Fumin was shocked to the core, but his expression remained unchanged. He only imperceptibly nodded.


    The letter of appointment had a lot on it, but it was not for the eyes of the two in front of Xiao Lin, but just as Song Jung had said, the letter of appointment was enough that they did not dare stop him from passing. Xiao Lin and An Fumin passed the checkpoint without issue.


    The tform had two interspatial gates on them. One headed to Earth while the other went to Dawn City, which meant that Xiao Lin did not need to make a trip to Earth this time. In front of the passage was the second security checkpoint; it was much stricter than the one in front of the tform.


    First, they checked if the two of them brought any modern items that could damage the reality of Norma. It was not the first time Xiao Lin went to Norma, so he had naturally been careful about that issue. After passing the security check, Xiao Lin was surprised to see that An Fumin also knew the staff there. They were chatting away during the entire process.


    After getting onto the carriage, An Fumin had wanted to give some simple exnations, but he noticed it was not Xiao Lin¡¯s first time. As the carriage started to move, the Timesand began to light up the carriage.


    An Fumin looked at the calm Xiao Lin, smiling as he said meaningfully, ¡°I heard you went to New Washington as a representative of the academy not long after you entered, causing quite a bit of a stir. It seems the rumors were true.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not nearly that capable. I merely followed Department Head Song out that time. He was the main character and I just followed because I knew a bit of thenguage.¡± Xiao Lin easily pushed the matter to Song Jung, since he was not around anyway. However, he was secretly surprised. That man had quite the impressive informationwork. The fact that something happened in New Washington was obviously no easy secret to keep, but with Dawn Academy and Judge Academy covering things up, there were not many who could tie what happened to freshmen.


    It seemed like An Fumin did not just meet Xiao Lin because he won a bet; the man probably already had quite a bit of information on Xiao Lin.


    An Fumin smiled, noticing that Xiao Lin did not want to delve deeper into the topic. He quickly switched the topic to Dawn City.


    Xiao Lin might have been to New Washington, but that was still American territory. In the end, nothing beat home. No matter how advanced it was over there, Xiao Lin did not feelfortable, especially after what happened between the two of them.


    Even if he knew An Fumin was trying to get closer to him for some reason, Xiao Lin did not mind learning more about Dawn City from the man.

 Chapter 301: Dawn City

    <h4>Chapter 301: Dawn City</h4>


    Dawn City was a capital city, and it was also the first colonial city on Norma. Xiao Lin had always thought that Dawn Academy where the name Dawn City came from, but it turned out that Dawn City was actually established before the academy.


    This was quite different from Judge Academy. The Americans had already sought help from the British in establishing a colonist academy before they even dered independence on Earth, while New Washington was only built after their independence.


    Dawn City had a very long history, practically having witnessed all two hundred plus years of their history on Norma. Even if their expansion was halted thanks to the war against the orcs, it remained one of thergest and greatest cities on the.


    The city had over a million inhabitants. The number might not be much on Earth, but in the New World, even counting the native cities, there were very few cities that would even reach a million in poption.


    Just like the rest of the academies, Dawn City¡¯s poption was mostly taken up by the natives. As colonists that came from lightyears away, their numbers would never amount to what the natives had. Other than the naturalized citizens that fell under the rule of Dawn City, there were also arge number of merchants from out of the city. Dawn City was a coastal city with a veryrge port. The various races of the New World usually did a lot of their business there.


    An Fumin had a very deep understanding of the city. He was quite the interesting conversationalist, and quickly turned the topic to himself. He imed to have fought hard in the city for over fifty years before being as aplished as he was. His tone was filled with pride.


    ¡°Would you not automatically be assigned a job after graduating?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously. An Fumin had said that he had a lot of different careers after graduating: an adventurer, a recorder, a hotelier, and¨Cat his lowest point¨Cevenbored at the docks. With his self-deprecating words, those kinds of jobs were extremely shameful for a colonist. Xiao Lin felt the academy would not leave someone who had been nurtured for so many years to do those sorts of jobs.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re still too young.¡± An Fumin said with no malice, he said with a hint of regret. ¡°The history of us colonists needs to be looked at in two parts. The first hundred years saw a lot of war, and every colonist was very valuable. They needed manpower everywhere. Furthermore, war meant that the natives could not easily be trusted, so everyone was assigned something right after graduating.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, ¡°Ever since the Law of Immortality, various treaties were signed, basically meaning war would be very rare, so everyone started to focus on expansion and their economy... The academy would naturally still assign us jobs after graduation, but do you really feel like a job that made less than two thousand New Dors a month would be meaningful? Ah, I came to the New World to enjoy my life, but how could I buy houses, maids, and women without money? That¡¯s why I needed money...a lot of it!¡± An Fumin dered, not hiding the fact that he was a money-chaser. The truth was, Xiao Lin did understand that most of the people who chose to stay at the academy probably had the same goal. Anyone who was obsessed with morals had probably already been kicked back to Earth during the entrance examination.


    The colonists were basically nobles in the colonist territories, and it was no different in Dawn City. However, even nobles were split into those with power and those without. In over two hundred years, there was already an established status quo. With so many of them, someone needed to be on the losing end in the end.


    That was why people started to reject the assigned jobs by Dawn Academy, choosing to carve their own path. Some of them were just filled with a sense of adventure, and chose to leave the academy to explore for themselves.


    An Fumin was considered one of the more sessful people from that group. Thanks to hisrge tax contributions every year, a lot of the upper level of the academy had good rtionships with him, allowing him to have the freedom to travel in and out of the academy and establish connections.


    Xiao Lin was not as experienced as An Fumin, so he showed some admiration after listening to everything, but An Fumin waved it off. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to envy. Your future is much brighter than mine! You¡¯re only a first year, but you¡¯re already a captain. You¡¯ll end up as the head of a regiment in the future, and might even be able to own a territory yourself!¡±


    Dawn Academy only had six regiments in total, so officers were quite limited. It was different during the war, since most of them would enlist after graduation thanks to having nowhere else to go, but after the war, an awkward situation appeared where officers started to outnumber the regr soldiers, which led to the number of officers being culled.


    There were still nobles, so they could not be regr soldiers like natives. Xiao Lin thought about it, and he would definitely not be willing to be treated the same way as the natives. He would rather quit the army at that point.


    With that thought, Xiao Lin started to understand the significance of the dean¡¯s personal letter of appointment.


    The two of them got much closer after the conversation, and the carriage quickly arrived at the stop. The Timesand then began to fade away from the carriage.


    Stepping out of the carriage, rays of bright sunlight struck his face as a wave of fresh air hit him. He could hear the sound of waves, signaling that the interspatial gate was near the sea. Looking over, he could see the limitless blue sea. There were countless cargo ships moving around, the docks bustling with activity.


    Xiao Lin took a few deep breaths. The New World did not have a trace of pollution, and the clear air was extremely soothing to his lungs. Even though Dawn Academy was in a space that mimicked the New World, but since it was a pocket dimension, the space was way too small, and there was a sense of suffocation after staying there for a long time.


    The tform they stood on was quite vast. There did not seem to be anyone around other than fully-armored troops. The interspatial gates were heavily guarded by every academy. Xiao Lin even noticed a silver-colored resurrection tower a few hundred meters away, but it was not veryrge.


    An Fumin smiled and said, ¡°Dawn City has two resurrection towers. This was the one built initially, but anotherrger one was built elsewhere since it covered too small an area. However, they did not destroy this one, leaving it as a backup.¡±


    After he got off the carriage, he underwent a security check as usual, verifying if he had the appropriate permissions and that he did not bring any restricted goods. However, An Fumin seemed to be a regr there, and was not submitted to the same checks. The guy even pulled out a hundred dor bill and stuffed it into the officer¡¯s hand. Thetter gave him a smile before waving him away.

 Chapter 302: An Fumin

    <h4>Chapter 302: An Fumin</h4>


    A horse carriage was already waiting for them outside the station. The driver bowed to An Fumin, opening the door for him as he moved further inside, motioning for Xiao Lin to follow him. That led to the driver ncing over at Xiao Lin.


    The inside of the carriage was furnished with soft animal fur. Scented candles were lit up; the fragrance felt like it could even wash away fatigue and the cold. Norma was currently in spring, so it was quite chilly outside.


    The carriage slowly started to move; more urately, it was a unicorn carriage. The carriage was being pulled by two snow white horses with sharp, ck horns on their head. Xiao Lin had learned in history ss that the unicorns were an animal that mainly came from the elvish country. Since the elves never sold any living creatures, unicorns on the market were often stolen, so the prices were not cheap.


    This guy really knew how to enjoy himself! Looking at the extravagant carriage, Xiao Lin could not help but be impressed.


    The roads were clean, and various stores were on both sides. This city did not lose to New Washington in any way. Xiao Lin quickly noticed the main difference between the two cities. The races on the streets were extremely varied; he had seen dwarves, elves, native humans, devils and even the asional orc.


    ¡°Why are orcs here?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°There are no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits. The orcs are quite backward when ites to trade, so they require our help on that front.¡± An Fumin had a greedy look on him, proving that he had done quite a bit of that sort of business as well.


    The Century Casino was located at the busiest part of Dawn City. The three-storied, oval-shaped building was quiterge. They could originally enter from a side entrance, but An Fumin wanted Xiao Lin to see the casino properly, so they entered through the front.


    The first floor was an extremelyrge hall, filled to the brim with people. Most of the games there were themon ones found on Earth, and from their attires, most of the clients were natives. It seemed like Dawn Academy¡¯s own people did not y on the first floor.


    An Fumin¡¯s appearance caused a sudden stop in the noise. Xiao Lin noticed that even the natives looked at him with some sort of respect. An Fumin had a nk expression, turning toward Xiao Lin after a moment before whispering, ¡°If you want to y, head to the second floor. The first floor is a little unsuited for you. We¡¯re nobles, after all.¡±


    The second floor looked quite simr to the first, but it seemed to be a lot better. The second floor served only the privileged, which were the colonists. Of course, there were the asional natives among them, but it was still dominated by their own kind.


    An Fumin discarded his earlier indifference, and his smile was once again stered on his face. Practically everyone who passed would greet him earnestly. Xiao Lin could tell that An Fumin did not even recognize most of them. Only a small minority would have An Fumin stopping and exchanging a few words, even introducing Xiao Lin.


    However, most of them did not seem interested in him at all. At the most, they would congratte him after hearing he was the victor of the freshman gambling pool.


    After some maneuvering, they finally reached the third floor, which was the top. Compared to the second floor, this floor looked much more luxurious. The floors were draped with thick fur rugs and the walls were decorated with valuable jewels. The attendants were all women dressed in thin silk dresses.


    ¡°If you want any special service, just tell me. Heh, I have women of many different races here.¡± An Fumin made a suggestive smile.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s just move on to official business.¡±


    An Fumin shrugged, heading straight to the private office on the top floor. He took out a crystal card from a drawer, saying, ¡°This is a bank card, it has one-point-two million New Dors after deducting tax. If there are no problems, please sign here.¡±


    With a pause, An Fumin smacked his head, smiling. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. This card can be checked with internal energy or mental strength. It can be used anywhere with a bank, since such an amount with cash would probably be way too inconvenient.¡±


    Xiao Lin took the beautiful card and tried pouring a bit of his mental strength inside. The crystal lit up with the numbers 1,200,000.


    ¡°How fascinating.¡± Xiao Lin eximed before signing on the document An Fumin offered, verifying that he had received his money.


    ¡°With that, this order of business concludes. Congrattions for bing the youngest millionaire.¡± An Fumin did not know Xiao Lin would split the money with Song Jung, and Xiao Lin obviously did not disclose it.


    ¡°What are your ns after this. Are you returning to the academy?¡± An Fumin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably report to the army first.¡± Xiao Lin remembered that Yu Mei had told him to report to her immediately after reaching the ck Iron-rank.


    ¡°Ah, I know quite a bit of people in the army. Do tell me if you encounter any difficulties.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded in thanks, but he could not help but be suspicious. He was acting way too enthusiastic for someone who was only a freshman.


    Xiao Lin had actually understood from the start that the bank card could have just been handed to him at the academy, and it did not even need An Fumin to do it personally. Why did the man want to show so much respect to him?


    Probably identifying Xiao Lin¡¯s suspicion, An Fumin pped his stomach, revealing a deep smile as he said, ¡°When you came in just now, you should have seen how everyone acted. Why do you think they were so friendly with me?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re rich.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that is definitely one of the reasons, but I¡¯m definitely not the richest in the city. Those Epic- and even Legend-ranked folk in the city have riches that even I envy.¡±


    An Fumin sat down, saying, ¡°It¡¯s because I know how to invest. Those people are all influential folk nowadays, but they were nothing when they first graduated. At that time, I gave them a hand, and now I¡¯m just reaping the rewards.


    An Fumin did not even try to hide it. He was basically telling Xiao Lin that he had faith in Xiao Lin, and was investing in him, providing various forms of support. Xiao Lin did not need to do anything now, but An Fumin definitely expected his help in the future.


    It was no wonder An Fumin was so rich and well-connected now; his acumen was remarkable.


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes in realization, but shook his head. ¡°I appreciate your generosity. Even though I don¡¯t know what sort of help you can give me, I still hope to rely on myself.¡±

 Chapter 303: The Sixth Regiment (1)

    <h4>Chapter 303: The Sixth Regiment (1)</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s answer did not change An Fumin¡¯s expression at all. The casino owner maintained his smile, nodding in understanding, as if it was amon urrence. The man had even offered Xiao Lin his carriage to head to the army, but was rejected.


    Xiao Lin could more or less guess that An Fumin definitely did not approach him alone. He was probably nning on approaching all of the monitors from this year. Just like he said himself, the investment now did not have any guarantees on what it would yield in the future. An Fumin did not bother to hide it, but Xiao Lin did not want to just be a rich merchant in the New World.


    Dawn City¡¯s armies were situated to the south of the city. The buildings there carried an old Chinese style. There were not many people who were leaving or entering. Xiao Lin¡¯s letter of appointment went through various checks, but when he said he was looking for Commander Yu Mei, he received looks of surprise.


    ¡°The sixth regiment; it¡¯s the building in the corner.¡± A young woman answered Xiao Lin; her rank was a lieutenant. Her curiosity was evident when she heard Xiao Lin mentioning the sixth regiment. She could not help but ask, ¡°You-you belong to the sixth regiment?¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°I guess you don¡¯t know that the sixth regiment was just established?¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a bit, and recalled that Yu Mei had mentioned just that, so he nodded.


    The curiosity was even more evident now, but it seemed to also carry a look of pity, ¡°You just graduated?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m only in my first year.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The woman looked like she was having a stroke. Xiao Lin let out a dry cough and quickly excused himself. The surroundings were all basically army territory. Each regiment had their own area. Asking around as he walked, he quickly found himself in front of the sixth regiment, and he finally understood why he received so many odd looks on the way.


    It was a square yard, and flowers and greenery grew in every corner. The old trees remained green even in the spring. The environment was not bad. As noble colonists, they would naturally not short-change themselves in that department.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze fell only the decrepit building in the middle and his face twitched. The building only had its foundations, and there were many bricks surrounding it, indicating it was still under construction. The construction seemed to have halted, leaving an awkward-looking remnant.


    Xiao Lin felt like he hade to the wrong ce, but someone called out to him just as he was about to leave.


    ¡°Oh, Xiao Lin? It really is you!¡± Yu Mei walked over from the neighbouring courtyard. She could not help but exim when she saw Xiao Lin, ¡°I could not believe it when someone said you were looking for me earlier. Have you really reached the ck Iron-rank?¡±


    ¡°I reached it two days ago. Ah, Major Yu, this-this courtyard...¡±


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re really something. The dean said you had a lot of potential, but I really did not believe it at first. What use is a newbie that can¡¯t evene to the New World?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, but... That... This is the sixth regiment¡¯s base of operations...¡±


    ¡°Did you juste to Dawn City? Have you eaten? It¡¯s fine, you definitely haven¡¯t. Come,e, I¡¯ll treat you today!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Yu Mei was obviously very enthusiastic, but she did not give Xiao Lin a chance to speak. There were constantly passersby who would turn their heads and look, and someone who was familiar with Yu Mei even smiled and greeted, ¡°Oh, Commander Yu, did you finally recruit someone?¡±


    ¡°Haha, of course! My regiment was created by the dean himself. How could I not have anyone!¡±


    Xiao Lin wanted to say something, but the woman was extremely strong. Her vice grip on his wrist was impossible to get away from. He had just arrived for a few minutes, but he was already being forcefully dragged away by Yu Mei.


    After half an hour, a room within a certain restaurant was filled with familiar dishes, such as roasted duck and the like, but the smell was somewhat odd. He had already gotten used to the buffet in the academy, so the dishes there were quite unappealing.


    Yu Mei had already gotten used to it, gulping the food down as she said, ¡°The chefs in the New World are all natives. Even if we try our best to teach them, the cultural differences mean that you can never really have authentic Chinese food, but you¡¯ll get used to it quickly.¡±


    It was just like how Chinese food overseas never tasted like what they had in China. Xiao Lin sighed before saying, ¡°Putting that aside, is the meal going to just be the two of us?¡±


    Dishes filled the table, but Xiao Lin and Yu Mei were the only ones there. Yu Mei paused and said, ¡°Rx, I have a great appetite, so it won¡¯t go to waste. It doesn¡¯t cost much anyway.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched, saying with some exasperation, ¡°What I mean is, are you really not going to introduce everyone else to me?¡±


    Xiao Lin hade over this time for two reasons. The first was the promise he made with Yu Mei; the second was to first introduce himself to the other members of the sixth regiment. They would end up in war together eventually, so knowing each other beforehand was not a bad idea, but Yu Mei did not seem to be bothered with that.


    ¡°Everyone else? There¡¯s no point getting friendly with the other regiments; they¡¯re not really that important.¡± Yu Mei¡¯s appetite was really quite impressive. She was stuffing herself with arge piece of meat as she spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m referring to our regiment. I¡¯m a captain of the sixth regiment, so shouldn¡¯t I be introducing myself to myrades?¡± Xiao Lin could not help get straight to the point.


    Yu Mei gulped down the meat, wiping away the oil on her mouth as sheughed. ¡°That¡¯spletely unnecessary. At the moment, the only official members of the sixth regiment are you and I.¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s face was quite uncaring as she continued to eat, ¡°I wanted to tell you after a few days, but since you asked, I¡¯ll just say it now. As colonists, we have special privileges, and would never be regr soldiers like the natives are. Surely you understand that.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded.


    Yu Mei¡¯s smile was somewhat strange. ¡°The first to fifth regiments understand that as well, so our people are usually officers while they recruit natives as soldiers. However, the sixth regiment is different. The soldiers we recruit are directly from the privileged ss. Do you understand what I mean?¡±

 Chapter 304: The Sixth Regiment (2)

    <h4>Chapter 304: The Sixth Regiment (2)</h4>


    Xiao Lin knew what Yu Mei meant by that, but at the same time, he was quite surprised that the Sixth Regiment was actually a military unit formed using colonists as soldiers.


    ¡°Will anyone even sign up?¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately regretted asking that question. The issue was clear for him to see. Yu Mei shrugged andughed at herself. ¡°That is why I told you that we¡¯re the only two people in this regiment for now. ¡±


    Students were usually assigned to their work by the college after graduation, but such assignments were notpulsory. None of the students were idiots, and anyone who saw themselves being assigned a regiment like that would immediately refuse without hesitation. Using An Fumin as an example, the students might feel that starting it was better to start their own business and make big buckspared to being a soldier.


    It did not surprise that everyone had such a weird expression during the inquiry at the military headquarters earlier. As it turned out, Xiao Lin was the second member of the Sixth Regiment. In other words, he was a fool.


    ¡°Why does the dean want to form such a regiment? Is it because of loyalty? ¡± Xiao Lin was not trying to question the dean¡¯s decision and was simply curious as to the reasons for doing so.


    ¡°The issue of the loyalty among naturalized citizens has always existed, and this is a matter of course. It doesn¡¯t matter how we treat the locals or how much we brainwash and educate them, because our nature as outsiders can never be changed. It¡¯s understandable that some people might oppose us, but since so many years have passed, problems like this aren¡¯t as serious as they were at the beginning. Loyalty is useless in the face of strength and personal interests.¡±


    Ever since the resurrectionw¡¯s creation, the colonial academies¡¯ dominion has gradually stabilized in various areas. While there were those who remained dissatisfied over it, absolute suppression and appropriate levels of leniency ensured that no one would dare to rebel in the open. Naturalized civilian soldiers gradually became the mainstream trend in many of the ces that were under control. Even the dragon-eagle knights¡ªJudge Academy¡¯s strongest regiment¡ªhad a rtively high proportion of Earthlings despite them upying only one-third of the entire regiment.


    ¡°As the world bes more peaceful, fewer people would want to join the army. The ideology is surprisingly consistent everywhere even though we¡¯re in a different world.¡± Xiao Lin was slightly rueful.


    ¡°Almost everyone in the military was opposed to the initial proposal, but the dean forced the resolution through. Although it¡¯s imprudent for everyone to voice out, there are too many people who are just waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves. ¡±


    Yu Mei spoke in a rather depressed manner, but there a slight sneer apanied her words. In the end, she added, ¡°Those short-sighted buffoons! They don¡¯t understand the significance of the dean¡¯s decision! Sooner orter, they¡¯ll regret it!¡±


    Xiao Lin heart skipped a beat and he lowered his voice slightly, ¡°Is the dean preparing for a future war?¡±


    Yu Mei continued to eat and was nomittal to his question.


    Xiao Lin, however, took that as silent affirmation, and he thought of the bold yet terrifying idea that he hade up with earlier¡ªthe key and the lock.


    The high priest who fled from the end of the war had mastered the knack of the resurrectionw. In addition, the elves had probably also obtained aplete sample of the resurrection tower during the war with the orcs a hundred years ago. They might even have captured the man who had the knowledge of building the resurrection tower. That man was none other than the grandfather of the young captain sitting in front of Xiao Lin.


    If those two facets were taken into consideration as a whole, it could only mean one thing¡ªwar. Ever since the third monthly exam, Xiao Lin took into consideration the possibility of war and even discussed it with the student union president.


    At the end of the day, it was all just pure spection. The entire colonist world would not descend into panic merely because of a random guess, especially when Xiao Lin could note up with any further evidence to back it up.


    if such a war really did break out in the future one day, the colonists¡ªas invaders of time and space¡ªwould not only face one or two races, but the entire Norma.


    ¡°Moving on, you must shoulder this mission and responsibility now that the dean has entrusted you to me!¡±


    ¡°What mission?¡±


    ¡°Recruitment! Have you ever seen a troop with only twomanders? It¡¯s unfortunate that the graduates have their own factors to consider, which makes it difficult to get them on board with us.¡±


    Xiao Lin realized what she was trying to say and was a little surprised by it. ¡°You¡¯re suggesting that we recruit directly from the academy¡¯s students! Is this really feasible? In terms of procedure, I mean. If I remember correctly, we¡¯re not allowed to leave the college before graduation.¡±


    ¡°Stuff like rules and regtions are created so they could be flouted. Why the hell else are you able to sit here? In the strictest sense, everyone who enters the academy is actually regarded as reserve. In times of crisis, the academy has the right to conscript everyone into the army. Many people have already forgotten this rule after the war with the orcs ended. ¡±


    In reality, anyone who graduated from the academy would have at least a full four years of experience through the monthly exam. Their foundational strength itself was certainly adequate, but Xiao Lin thought of people like An Fumin, who possessed a fat figure after enjoying himself for years. If An Fumin actually went to the battlefield, he would be giving his life away for nothing even if he had plenty of lifespan remaining.


    After all, everyone spent far too much time living in peace. Aside from those freshmen who had never experienced the hardships of initial colonization, perhaps those who had gone through the tragedy of past wars have even begun to gradually forget all that suffering.


    ¡°What do you think? I heard that you¡¯re also a freshman ss monitor too. Are there any suitable freshmen candidates you can rmend? It may be a little difficult to handle things with the student union, but it¡¯s not entirely unrealistic for students to enlist in the army as long as the dean has a say on it.¡±


    After having her fill of the food and drink, Yu Mei finally began to get right down to business while picking her teeth. However, Xiao Lin nced at the cold leftovers of the dining table and his face twitched uncontrobly. The woman¡¯s appetite was absolutely terrifying and Xiao Lin hardly even moved his chopsticks throughout the meal.


    ¡°Why must we choose from freshmen?¡±


    ¡°Sophomores and third-years are fine too, as long as you¡¯re confident that they have the ability. The reason freshmen are selected is because they¡¯re more malleable. I¡¯d also like to emphasize that my preliminar vision for our sixth regiment is quality over quantity. It should ideally be limited to talented students only.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a bit speechless. Talented students did note by the dozen, and there were only a few of them in the entire year.


    ¡°Well, of course I know that¡¯s impossible. Anyway, it¡¯d be better to have no one than to recruit some substandard students, so don¡¯t ept anyone with average strength. There¡¯s no need to be too anxious about it, but you must remember that I can give you this authority. If you notice anyone suitable, you have the authority to enlist them directly into the army. ¡±


    ¡°There are usually tens of thousands of people in a regiment. Are you sure that there are enough students in the entire school? ¡± Xiao Lin doubted whether the woman was even reliable.


    ¡°Oh, well, ording to my tentative n, the sixth regiment won¡¯t have more than a thousand people, but I hope that members of this army are no lower than Gold-rank at the lowest! Even if they¡¯ve yet to reach that level, they must at least have that kind of potential.¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s idea of building the Sixth Regiment left Xiao Lin with a lot of doubts and he was not even sure whether that idea came from Yu Mei or from the dean. In any case, since he was one of the lonemanders of that regiment, he had to show some effort in fulfilling his duty.

 Chapter 305: Silver Province

    <h4>Chapter 305: Silver Province</h4>


    So far, the sixth regiment had no members except for two lonemanders in Major Yu Mei and Captain Xiao Lin. By convention, each regiment was supposed to have their own dedicated base, but the sixth regiment was the only one to have none. The reason for that was simpleck of funding.


    Yu Mei looked very distressed and irritable when it came to that, even to the point of yelling at some senior military personnel. They had deliberately withheld arge amount of funding on the grounds that there were too few members of the sixth regiment. Without the money, not even a base could be built, which was why Xiao Lin only saw a half-built building that stopped construction when he went over.


    ¡°The military¡¯s funding allocation has always been under the control of those stubborn old bags, and the dean can¡¯t intervene either. Although they were forced to make concessions to form the sixth regiment, they still have to deliberately make things difficult for us! Hmph! In their hands, Dawn Academy will be defeated sooner orter!¡± Yu Mei mumbled a few sentences and said nothing more. Xiao Lin did not know much about the higher-ups of Dawn Academy, and Yu Mei did not seem too eager to let him in on too much either.


    After Yu Mei finished, her squinted eyes sized up Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body and her gaze seemed to be rather improper.


    Xiao Lin gripped his clothes subconsciously and suddenly had a realization. No wonder that woman seemed so enthusiastic that day. With her intelligencework, it was obviously not a problem for her to find out that he had just made a lot of money.


    ¡°No can do! The money is mine! Don¡¯t even think about getting your hands on it!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, like what you said earlier, you¡¯re also a member of the sixth regiment. Your benefits will only increase when the regiment expands in the future. Even though you¡¯re only a captain now, you¡¯re still regarded as one of the regiment¡¯s founders. ¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the dean¡¯s intention!¡±


    ¡°The dean is an old man who has his hands full every day. He wouldn¡¯t have the time to deal with such trivial matters. He entrusted me withplete authority, but I can¡¯t conjure money out of thin air!¡± Yu Mei looked a little annoyed.


    In fact, Xiao Lin sympathized with Yu Mei. Being a regimentmander sounded pretty good, but it was quite depressing for a regiment to have no members and no money.


    However, as sympathetic as Xiao Lin was, he was not prepared to use his private funds willy-nilly. Even though he had yet to figure out how to spend his money, he believed that there will be plenty of avenues for him to use it in the future. All other things aside, lifewater alone would cost him a huge sum already.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t magically produce money, then you might as well just rob it,¡± Xiao Lin suggested bitterly.


    Yu Mei¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly. She practically pped the table and stood up while eximing, ¡°Good idea!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched and he said helplessly, ¡°Are you going to rob a bank?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, of course not!¡± Yu Mei rolled her eyes at him, then sat down again. She snickered and said, ¡°But we can always rob someone else¡¯s. For the record, Norma is very different from Earth. Wars are frequent here and it¡¯s chaotic in many ces. Say, how much do you actually know about the situation around our colony?¡±


    Xiao Lin knew all of that from his initial geography lesson as all of it was mandatory knowledge for freshmen to learn.


    The colonies under the direct jurisdiction of Dawn Academy had Dawn City as their center. There was a total of ten variously sized cities, and the total area was equivalent to about the size of a province on Earth.


    Dawn City was located at the southernmost end, adjacent to an endless sea. In several other directions, the northwest was indirectly bordering the orcs¡¯ territory. It wasbelled as ¡®indirectly bordering¡¯ was because the merfolk were sandwiched in between. However, neither the orcs nor Dawn Academy took that weak race any seriously.


    Ever since the war with the orcs, Dawn Academy realized the strategic importance of those buffer zones. They no longer oppressed the merfolk and even supported them as appropriate.


    Bordering Dawn Academy¡¯s colony to the northeast was an area about the size of two provinces. Neither the academy¡¯s earthlings nor the locals could stake their im over there. Dawn Academy once attempted to integrate that area in order to expand the colony, but it eventually failed due to the intervention of multiple parties.


    There was a mix of both crooks and honest folk in that area, and many colonial academies had their supporting forces there too. To put it bluntly, bnce and equilibrium was emphasized there. Everyone¡¯s interests were evenly divided and it was always easy to deal with things. However, no one should expect to conduct any integration, not even Dawn Academy. If they were so bold as tomence any military interference, it would be met with strict opposition from the other academies, Judge Academy included.


    The status and overall strength of Dawn Academy declined considerably after the war with the orcs, and there were also quite a lot of internal opposition, which left them little capital with which they could contend with. Over time, the area was leftpletely unchecked.


    The reason why that area was so valued was because it was the only area where starmetal has been excavated in the entire Norma.


    The only thing Xiao Lin knew about starmetal was that it was a rare and valuable material which had extremely important applications in many fields. Everyone could ept joint mining of the resource, but monopolization by any one force waspletely uneptable to all.


    That was where Yu Mei was going to make a fortune. Although Xiao Lin thinks this woman was a bit of a looney, the n might not actually be impossible after giving it some thought. The powers-that-be was plentiful there, intertwining and ovepping, with power and might being the sole way of life there. It was quitemon for crooks to turn against each other too.


    As soon as Xiao Lin wished Yu Mei sess, the woman frowned and said in a serious tone, ¡°I can¡¯t personally put myself out there though. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to rely on you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°After all, I¡¯m considered a government official and many people know who I am. There¡¯ll be all sorts of unnecessary trouble if someone recognizes me there.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m just a ck Iron-rank freshman!¡±


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s because you¡¯re a ck Iron-rank freshman that you¡¯re most suitable for this task.¡±


    Had it not been for Yu Mei¡¯s serious expression, Xiao Lin would have almost flipped the table and left. Yu Mei quickly exined, ¡°That area is called the Silver Province. Do you know why that is?¡±


    Yu Mei answered her own question. ¡°Because there are unwritten regtions in that area. Gold-ranks are forbidden to enter! Silver-ranks can practically have their way around there, but ck Iron and Bronze are themonest ranks there. Yours level and your identity will make you less noticeable.¡±


    ¡°Gold-ranks aren¡¯t allowed to enter?¡±


    ¡°You could say that this is apromise from Dawn Academy,¡± Yu said helplessly. ¡°After all, Silver Province is next to our colony, and no one wants to have a time bomb next to him while they sleep, would they? Under the premise that that no integration shall be done in that area, the result of the finalpromise was that no one above Silver-rank were allowed to be there. Eventually, the ce was renamed Silver Province as a warning of sorts.¡±

 Chapter 306: Lilith’s Message

    <h4>Chapter 306: Lilith¡¯s Message</h4>


    Yu Mei¡¯s courage wasmendable, but when she mentionedmitting robbery in Silver Province, she could not possibly be suggesting that they actually stand in the way of caravans and rob them. Even though it was hard to track people down in such a chaotic ce, it was not that difficult for the various forces to find him if they put a target on him and ruthlessly investigated the matter.


    ¡°We need to rob those bandit gangs. Because of Silver Province¡¯s unique location, the bandit gangs are very fond of going about their activities there, so much so that they even set up a base there.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t the academies¡¯ forces annihte them?¡±


    ¡°They did in the beginning, but even grass grows back in the prairie once the wind blows the fire away,¡± Yu Mei said helplessly. ¡°Since the returns are too high and the transactions of starmetal often involverge sums of money, they haven¡¯t been brave enough to grab the starmetal as of yet. They have no qualms when ites to ordinary caravans, and even though the various forces have repeatedly suppressed them, they eventually reached a certain tacit understanding. ¡®Don¡¯t snatch any of my caravans in my domain¡¯.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned. Yu Mei was clearly implying that the colonial academies¡ªdespite saying that they were allies¡ªwere actually stillpeting to some extent. They only protected the caravans belonging to their own academy, and the fate of caravans from other academies had nothing to do with them. Perhaps every academy had the same idea.


    ¡°But even if you n to rob another bandit, it¡¯s still going to be very difficult. You can¡¯t seriously be thinking that a ck Iron-rank person like me can kill all the bandits at once?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to let you go by yourself. You can choose your own team members among those that can be deployed for assignments. In fact, I have a lot of information on that group of bandits from my previous work. It¡¯ll save you a lot of time.¡±


    Yu Mei offered a tempting bargaining chip by proposing that part of the looted property could be set aside for Xiao Lin¡¯s personal use, as well as hinting that his wealth might reach the tens of millions. However, Xiao Lin was prudent enough to request more time to think carefully.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s original intention was to refuse. Fundamentally speaking, he felt that he was not strong enough to move confidently there even though Yu Mei made it clear that the bandit gangs were very weak. They were only around ck Iron- or Bronze-rank at most, because those who were truly at Silver-rank would have been requisitioned by various forces and would not lower themselves to the level of bandits.


    As a result, he was prepared to give Yu Mei the go-by for the time being and slowly dy things after that. The fact that an individual was left to obtain military expenses sufficed to show Xiao Lin that the so-called sixth regiment was very unreliable. If it were not for the dean¡¯s appointment letter, he would have wanted to leave right away.


    However, that line of thinking changed after three days. After bidding farewell to Yu Mei, Xiao Lin was originally going to stay in Dawn City for two more days and wander around casually. He was not short of money anyway, and everything in the New World was a novelty to him. Although the Sixth Regiment had practically nothing, Xiao Lin experienced the benefits of the privileged ss for the first time. In particr, hismander status gave him the privilege to stay in the central zone¡¯s best hotel for free.


    Dawn City was different from New Washington¡¯s function-based regional segregation in that it adopted a ring-shaped structure. The ring closest to the center was the first to be built, and therefore had moreplete functional facilities as well as a much better environment. It was an allusion to modernization back on Earth.


    It was said that the first ring allowed only the privileged ss to enter and exit, and Xiao Lin¡¯s initial n was to enjoy a couple of days of life in luxury.


    However, on the early morning of the third day, the still asleep Xiao Lin was awakened by Yu Mei. Before he could even express his dissatisfaction, his sleepy eyes noticed that Yu Mei was simrly angry after being disturbed in her sleep. Apparently, she had been woken up as well.


    ¡°Dawn Academy just transferred an urgentmunication request. I originally wanted to wait for you to return before telling you, but the student union seems to take you very seriously. For that reason, themunication request was transferred to me at thest minute.¡±


    ¡°Urgentmunication request? Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The president.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s sleepy eyes opened wide in an instant as he had a rather good impression of the baby-faced president. Yu Mei came to themunication room, and the spatialmunication technology had to be utilized in order to contact Dawn Academy. It went without saying that the high cost would naturally have to be borne by Xiao Lin, but he was fortunate not tock money anymore.


    He was initially rather puzzled as to what drove the president to contact him using the costly spatialmunication instead of waiting for him to head back. Once the call was connected however, the president simply said calmly, ¡°Lilith is looking for you.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned for more than ten seconds and did not snap out of it until the president transferred the call to America and Lilith appeared on the virtual screen. He said half-teasingly, ¡°Lilith? I¡¯m surprised you actually initiated thismunication request. You¡¯re not chasing me to settle my debt, are you?¡±


    Back then, he consulted Lilith on upgrading his talent and ended up owing her a lot of money because he requested her to help foot half the bill. Of course, money was no longer an issue for him.


    ¡°We found his trail here.¡± Lilith was not in the mood for jokes and had a serious look on her face.


    ¡°He?¡±


    ¡°Asabanor.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not that surprised. Asabanor was the high priest¡¯s soul from the Ancient Thunder Kingdom. It had escaped with them in The Final Land and left no traces after that. Xiao Lin believed that Judge Academy would havemenced an all-out search, though he did not expect that there would be news so soon.


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± Xiao Lin was very curious.


    ¡°Silver Province.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s jaw dropped and he wanted to say, ¡®It can¡¯t be that coincidental¡¯.


    ¡°Oh, you probably don¡¯t know about Silver Province, it¡¯s a short distance from Dawn Academy¡¯s colony...¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, I do know about it,¡± Xiao Lin interrupted Lilith quickly and frowned. ¡°I just find it a little strange. Why would the high priest go to Silver Province?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also a question I¡¯m trying to figure out.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then why are you looking for me?¡± Xiao Lin could more or less guess why Lilith requested to talk to him, but it was quite difficult for him to ept the fact.


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping that you¡¯re able to participate in this investigation as well,¡± Lilith said straightforwardly.


    Xiao Lin could understand her reasons. After all, he and Lilith were the only ones who hade into contact with the half-dead half-alive Asabanor. Furthermore, his and Lilith¡¯s SS-level talents might prove useful when dealing with him.


    Xiao Lin was still very reluctant because Judge Academy had tricked him before and it nearly cost him his personal freedom. He did not mind helping Lilith, but if she represented Judge Academy¡¯s stand on the matter, then it might be better to discuss it further.


    Having avoided a lot of troublesome issues in recent days with his ¡®let me think about it¡¯ rhetoric, he wanted to use the same dy tactic again when he heard the president¡¯s mellifluous voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree to it on behalf of Xiao Lin, but I¡¯m sure you of all people would understand the unique circumstances of Silver Province, Lilith. This can only be a private cooperation, and the official forces will not intervene. Lilith, our hope is that you¡¯re the only person from Judge Academy who will enter Silver Province! If anyone elsees along, I¡¯m afraid Dawn Academy would have to suspect Judge Academy¡¯s true intentions!¡±

 Chapter 307: Tempting Chen Dao

    <h4>Chapter 307: Tempting Chen Dao</h4>


    The student union president spoke with such righteousness that Xiao Lin frowned when he heard it. Before he could even say anything however, Lilith waved her hand and replied with a big grin, ¡°No problem. It¡¯s too burdensome for other people toe along anyway. ¡±


    Lilith agreed with such glee that Xiao Lin was left stunned again, but theirmunication ended just as he was about to say something. As expected, the cost was high, but Lilith was the one who paid for it.


    However, themunication between Xiao Lin and the student union president was still ongoing, and it seemed that the other party did not intend to hang up. Xiao Lin was silent for a moment but he soon took the initiative to ask, ¡°Why did you ask Lilith toe here alone?¡±


    The president¡¯s face reverted back to the usual smile when facing Xiao Lin, ¡°Silver Province is special in that it¡¯s difficult for any forces to intervene. The bnce will be broken if there¡¯s too many people, and you might not understand¡ª¡±


    ¡°I do understand!¡± Xiao Lin answered, but in the end, he could only sigh with a wry smile.


    In fact, what Xiao Lin really wanted to ask was whether Dawn Academy would do the same thing.


    Previously in New Washington, Judge Academy did not hesitate to embroil themselves in disputes and detain him simply on the suspicion that he was a SS-level talent. Lilith was also rumored to be a SS-level talent, so would Dawn Academy do nothing if she entered their colony?


    Although Lilith did not seem to be too much of a schemer, she was not an idiot either. She had definitely predicted the possible dangers that might ur, yet she dared to take the initiative to request his help. Was it because Asabanor¡¯s was too important for Judge Academy, or did Lilith simply not care about her own safety?


    After the storm in New Washington, Judge Academy never announced Asabanor¡¯s appearance to the outside world for fear of bacsh from the locals. However, a joint arrest warrant had been applied for amongst the insiders of each college.


    In fact, Judge Academy aside, the other academies had a great interest in the matter as well, although their concern was with The Final ce instead of Asabanor.


    Xiao Lin was afraid of trouble, but since it had already been decided, he would strive toplete it meticulously. With great strengthes great responsibility, and that was something he understood very well. Although his strength was still at ck Iron-rank, his status within the academy was actually quite special. Everyone treated him politely, be it the year leaders or the student union president, but he was not that narcissistic as to believe that it was due to his own charm or personality.


    The reason was simple. The dean valued him and cared for him under subtle guises. Xiao Lin was very grateful to the old man despite only meeting him once. Therefore, Xiao Lin would not refuse a chance to do something for Dawn Academy.


    There were a lot of advance preparations to be made. ording to the student union president, the result of the negotiations with Judge Academy was that Lilith would go directly to Silver Province instead of passing through Dawn City. To put it bluntly, the American side was not too at ease if she had to go to Dawn City first.


    However, going that route would take many days, so in the meantime, Xiao Lin returned to the academy and began studying the Lightsword. It was one of the skill books he brought back from New Washington. Since he had reached ck Iron-rank and mastered sword aura, it was much easier for him to study it again.


    Lightsword was an actualbat skill based on ordinary sword aura. Sufficient lethal force could be produced bypressing, condensing and controlling the sword aura. A skill like that was actually really easy to master, but it also ovepped considerably with other sword aura skills. The most important aspect was that the Lightsword¡¯s subsequent upgrades required a certain foundation of spell training despite being a purely physical killing skill. Although Dawn Academy did not offer such a course, books on the subject could still be found in the library.


    Using the simted battle system, Xiao Lin only took four days to master the skill. The effect of his LV2 Academic Genius was slowly starting to manifest. For skills where his basic attributes had met the learning requirements, his learning efficiency would be rather high.


    During his time in Dawn City, ss Twelve¡¯s Chen Dao had also sessfully achieved ck Iron-rank. He was just over one weekter than Xiao Lin, but it did not engender too much surprise due to Xiao Lin¡¯s remarkable earlier achievement. Cheng Ming and several other monitors were almost only a few points short of ck Iron-rank in terms of attributes, so the most they would need to reach that rank was probably another few weeks.


    As a result, even the senior students were discussing how awesome the freshmen were. As far as the speed of getting to ck Iron-rank was concerned, the present batch of freshmen were undoubtedly the best Dawn Academy had ever seen.


    ¡°As expected,paring yourself with someone else will only make you feel inferior. I was kinda happy at first, but then I heard you were going on a business trip to Norma again? Why don¡¯t I have this kind of treatment?¡±


    After returning from his Lightsword practice, Xiao Lin would sit in the dormitory¡¯s lounge area and drink a cup of strong tea while reading thetest issue of Dawn Academy Evening News. He would asionally run into Chen Dao and wondered why thetter suddenly enjoyed reading the newspaper recently. He finally understood why after noticing that the front-page cover of the newspaper depicted a few lifelike elven beauties.


    ¡°Business trips are a pain and you might die. It isn¡¯t worth it even though you have a long lifespan. You¡¯re well aware that you¡¯ll lose twenty years of life span whenever you die in the New World.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s trips to the New World had been public knowledge on the forum for quite some time already, as he had delegated Gu Xiaoyue and Zhou Feng to deal with ss Seven¡¯s daily affairs.


    Chen Dao did not begrudge the trips to the New World, but rather, because he wanted to see the beautiful women of various races.


    Xiao Lin responded half-heartedly to him but had a sudden thought in his heart. He asked, ¡°Do you really want to go to the New World?¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah I do!¡± Chen Dao nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. His eyes lit up immediately after realizing that Xiao Lin¡¯s tone seemed to suggest that there was a way.


    Xiao Lin had a serious look and solemnly patted Chen Dao¡¯s shoulder. He asked sternly, ¡°I see you as someone with excellent aptitude and potential. There¡¯s an opportunity for us to defend our colonial territory there, so are you willing to shoulder the responsibility and take on this arduous yet glorious mission?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Chen Dao was in a daze.


    Xiao Lin let out a dry cough and said more directly, ¡°Do you want to join the army?¡±


    ¡°Join the army? We can go to the New World?¡± Chen Dao¡¯s focus waspletely different from Xiao Lin¡¯s.


    ¡°You can. The military has special authority and isn¡¯t subject to school regtions. Moreover, the colonial army often needs to go out to perform tasks. The chances of encountering beautiful women of all ethnic groups are very high,¡± Xiao Lin felt like he was one of those weird old men waving a lollipop in front of some young girl, although on that asion, it was not a young girl.


    ¡°Okay! Then I¡¯ll join the army!¡± Chen Dao answered gleefully and even med Xiao Lin for not telling him earlier.


    The process went so smoothly that even Xiao Lin was a little dumbfounded by it. Chen Dao was not a sly person, or rather, he had not yet reached that age of adulthood. Meeting beauties from various races was something he thought about day in day out, so the temptation was simply too hard for him to resist.


    In any case, Xiao Lin thought to himself that the sixth regiment finally changed from having two members to having three.

 Chapter 308: Off to Silver Province

    <h4>Chapter 308: Off to Silver Province</h4>


    Chen Dao was smoothly tricked into joining the sixth regiment before Xiao Lin left for the New World. The process could be likened to using a lollipop to deceive a little girl. Xiao Lin had not even exined the detailedposition of the regiment to Chen Dao, but the guy did not seem too bothered about it. All he cared about was going to the New World and meeting beauties of all races.


    Yu Mei was not joking when she said she gave Xiao Lin direct permission to conscript members for the regiment. Once Xiao Lin sent the relevant information to Yu Mei, he received a reply in just over half a day. However, it would take some time to settle the officer ID.


    ¡°Officer ID? Are you saying that the sixth regiment will only consist of officers in the future?¡±


    ¡°Would you want our rank in the military to be lower than that of the natives?¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly had a realization. It probably signified that the regiment was some kind of a special army, one that wasposed entirely of real elites.


    Chen Dao¡¯s officer ID was sent along with information about the Silver Province Yu Mei mentioned earlier. Although sheter learned that Xiao Lin went there because of a diplomatic mission, she still repeatedly asked Xiao Lin not to miss the opportunity to make money.


    Before her appointment as the Major of the sixth regiment, Yu Mei used to work in the Intelligence Agency before, so the information sent over to Xiao Lin came in thick stacks. All of them contained background information on Silver Province¡¯s various forces. To put it bluntly, it was to ensure that Xiao Lin paid attention to those he could apply pressure to and those he should not provoke.


    During that period of time, the student union president brought Xiao Lin to meet many people, from the military, the Intelligence Agency, and the Foreign Affairs Department. ording to the president¡¯s teasing words, Xiao Lin was considered to have somewhat of a reputation, as even the president would not ordinarily have the opportunity to interact with those people.


    The college management and the colony itself belonged to twopletely different administrative organizations, but because they often handled things with each other, the president was still rtively familiar with those people.


    Due to the diplomatically cooperative nature of the mission, many of those people had full of doubts and were even puzzled about Xiao Lin. Although Dawn Academy had no interest in Asabanor, the secrets hidden behind that high priest were so secretive that practically all the colleges viewed it with great curiosity.


    Had it not been for Lilith¡¯s unequivocal request for Xiao Lin, those departments would never consider sending a rookie who had just been in the academy a few months into Silver Province. That kind of attitude was precisely why they were not that friendly when exining specific matters, and the atmosphere only improved when the president was mediating beside Xiao Lin.


    The mission waspletely different from Xiao Lin¡¯s previous assignment in New Washington. What he did in the past was nothing more than lending a little help, but the uing mission involved many interests, especially since the investigation was conducted secretly by Judge Academy and Dawn Academy. Other academies had so far not been privy to any news. Of course, Judge Academy was initially reluctant to bring along Dawn Academy, but their hands were tied because Xiao Lin was someone who had actually met Asabanor.


    ¡°Behind each department is aplicated mess of benefit-driven rtionships. The dean has too many things to pay attention to and there are some things even he can¡¯t manage.¡±


    The president also patiently exined to Xiao Lin in private, ¡°But you can rest assured. I brought this up with the dean and he¡¯ll make the arrangements. ¡±


    After preparations had been made, Xiao Lin set out with a specially formed investigation team. That particr aspect left Xiao Lin feeling a little ufortable, because although the so-called investigation team was said to assist in the investigation, it was quite certain that they were there for reasons of supervision and because they were concerned about him.


    There were four members in that special investigation team, namely Zhao Mancheng of the Foreign Affairs Department, Qin Zuo of the Intelligence Agency, Ruan Feiyun from the military force, andstly Xiao Lin. Due to the secrecy of the operation, toorge a group would easily attract the attention of other colleges. They disguised themselves as a merchant group entering Silver Province, hired a certain number of local natives, brought with them a fewrge carts of goods, then set off for Silver Province.


    The caravan¡¯s starting point was from the colony closest to Silver Province. They walked along the road for about five or six days and entered Silver Province¡¯s territory after crossing a rather low hill.


    The group did not talk much along the way and only had a few simple exchanges. Xiao Lin was not familiar with them and the others were not well-acquainted with among themselves either.


    ¡°When ites to Asabanor, we have actually been cooperating with Judge Academy all this while, chasing leads and tracking clues based on the undead aura. Although it¡¯s like finding a needle in a haystack, our luck has been pretty good...¡± The Intelligence Agency¡¯s Qin Zuo was the first who spoke. He was a man who sported a gloomy face all the time.


    The group was sitting in arge unicorn-drawn carriage. Although the elves loathed the use of unicorns as tools, they were powerless to prevent such creatures from bing the most convenient means of transportation.


    When Qin Zuo talked about death energy, Xiao Lin¡ªwho had been leaning against the window to watch the scenery outside¡ªretracted his gaze a little, and asked in some surprise, ¡°Major Qin, have you learned necromancy? ¡±


    Qin Zuo¡¯s rank was that of a major, but it went without saying that he was dressed only in inclothes at the moment. He nced at Xiao Lin nkly, ¡°We need to address each other by name out here... You¡¯re right, I did learn necromancy. Due to the uniqueness of our job in the agency, intelligence is of utmost importance... No intelligence can be more concrete in this world than that of a dead person.¡±


    Qin Zuo¡¯s tone was cryptic, and although the other two people did not like him very much, Xiao Lin¡¯s interest was piqued. He asked and listened carefully, as he had just learned about necromancy and was still very curious about that aspect.


    Unfortunately, Qin Zuo did not say much anymore, only that he did not learn necromancy when he was at Dawn Academy.


    ¡°In fact, it doesn¡¯t matter how the Judge Academy deals with that dead soul. Our military only wants to determine whether he had any contact with the orcs or the elves.¡± Ruan Feiyun, from the military, was also a major and had Silver-level strength. He did not seem interested in the little excursion because he felt that the possibility of that happening was not very high. The only reason he followed along was because he was ordered to do so.


    ¡°Hah! Looks like I¡¯ll be having the least work to do. I¡¯m only responsible for dealing with Judge Academy. Say, this mission is probably going to be a breeze, otherwise else it won¡¯t be just the few of us here,¡± Zhao Mancheng from the Foreign Affairs Department finally found a chance to interrupt. One could see that he was more easygoing than the others, and it must have been ufortable for him to keep quiet during the journey.


    The investigation team¡¯s original intention was simply to get the information they needed, and at the same time, supervise and ensure that Judge Academy did nothing out of the ordinary. As for Asabanor, Judge Academy had the freedom to handle him as they saw fit.


    ¡°The news I received is that Xiao Lin had been in contact with Asabanor before, hence his participation in this operation. Now that you mention it, what kind of person is Asabanor?¡±


    As the conversation gradually opened up, they finally moved to Xiao Lin. Although they had received information about Xiao Lin before they came, it contained far too little data. When they asked for more, their query came back saying that they had no authority to view further details on Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 309: Wildfire Town

    <h4>Chapter 309: Wildfire Town</h4>


    Those three people apanying him along were individuals of a certain influence and status, yet they were not even able to ess a freshman¡¯s details. That made them incredibly curious about Xiao Lin, and although they would not directly ask him about it, they had quite a number of spections over his identity.


    ¡°Asabanor.¡± Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes, as if he was reminiscing about what happened. After a long pause, he finally let out a soft sigh. ¡°He¡¯s a lunatic.¡±


    The other three exchanged nces, but Xiao Lin was obviously unwilling to say any further. It was not appropriate to tell everyone about the things that happened in The Final Land, and moreover, Xiao Lin was not exactly sure as to how much those people actually knew.


    A few dayster, they arrived at the first stop of the journey¡ªWildfire Town.


    There was more than a dozen variously-sized towns in the entire Silver Province, and the total poption numbered over one million, making for quite arge area. Honest folk existed along with scumbags, and almost all races passed through there. The benefits of starmetal were so tempting that even the elves could not resist it.


    ¡°Wildfire Town is a town that is close to the Dawn Academy¡¯s colonial area. It¡¯s not de facto under our jurisdiction, but the mayor here has our support,¡± the Intelligence Agency¡¯s Qin Zuo took the initiative to speak. The other two were aware of that already and that statement was more for Xiao Lin¡¯s sake.


    ¡°I know.¡± Xiao Lin nodded too. He smiled and raised the thick information reports in his hand. It was the same one that Yu Mei passed to him, which he read to throughout his time on the road to relieve himself of boredom.


    Qin Zuo was not surprised. ¡°I used to work with Yu Mei in the agency. She was a lunatic too, but the dean values her a lot.¡±


    Xiao Lin pursed his lips. It was a rather apt description of Yu Mei, for she could hardly be regarded as a sane person if she had the galls to tantly have himmit robbery in Silver Province. In fact, Xiao Lin had yet to tell his threepanions about it. Having looked over Yu Mei¡¯s information about the bandits, it appeared that those people were not very strong. However, he was no match for their numbers, and attacking them single-handedly was a suicidal act.


    Silver Province¡¯s rule and order was basically maintained by those mayors. Although any form of unification was not allowed there, the mayors possessed extremely wide powers. They were the ones who managed daily affairs, and local noblemen were traditionally the ones appointed to that position. When Earth¡¯s academies gradually became stronger, most of the mayors there were then supported by the various academies, thus leading to theplexity of the sphere of influence within Silver Province.


    Once at the town, Xiao Lin got off from his unicorn carriage, he looked curiously at the small town, which was about the size of a county back on Earth. It was different from Dawn City and New Washington in the sense that it retained many of Norma¡¯s characteristics. Although the forces there were supported by the colonial academies, none of those academies interfered directly with the development there.


    In terms of architectural features, many of the strangely shaped buildings were more ornate than Dawn City¡¯s buildings, but being ornate was all there was to them. Xiao Lin remembered his previous visit, when the fat An Fumin mentioned that the standard design of Dawn City¡¯s buildings was so they could withstand a certain degree of long-range spell attacks. It was clear that those buildings suffered damage during the war with the orcs.


    ¡°Will the mayore to pick us up?¡± the military¡¯s Ruan Feiyun asked.


    ¡°You must be joking! We¡¯re on a secret operation. To the outside world, we¡¯re just an ordinary merchant group. After all, the mayor is not one of us, so it¡¯s best not to trouble him.¡± The Foreign Affairs Department¡¯s Zhao Mancheng shook his head and refused.


    During the next two days, the group of people would temporarily rest and replenish their supplies in Wildfire Town. Whenever Xiao Lin was free, he would wander around the street to observe the true local characteristics of Norma. The majority race in that town were humans, but they were the local indigenous humans. Their appearance was not much different from that of Earthlings, but their different styles of clothing sufficed to distinguish them from the colonists.


    Before arriving, Xiao Lin had already changed into the local clothes. Although it was quite awkward to wear and he could barely handle simple Normese vocabry, many people actually came to talk to him along the way. When Xiao Lin¡ªwhose mastery of thenguage was mediocre at best¡ªcould not understand what the other party wanted to express, some of them actually changed theirnguage to and spoke some terrible Chinese.


    What left Xiao Lin rather speechless was that they wereing up to him in order to sell their products. The goods on saleprised things such as soap and perfume, and Xiao Lin slowly began to realize that the soap brands were getting more and more familiar. Xiao Lin had a sudden realization and could not help but wipe the sweat off his forehead. The soap was clearly brought from Earth with the wrapping paper teared off!


    Earth¡¯s products were very popr there, and although the history of colonization spanned more than two centuries, the first century was spent in war. During the peacetime that followed, trade with the locals gradually strengthened. In addition, the modernization of Earth was a recent development during the past couple of decades, with many gadgets and products gradually making their way into Norma.


    Such an aspect was unnoticeable in the capital city because that was a colonial stronghold. However, it was within those small towns that Xiao Lin saw first-hand the sales volume of those things.


    The colonial academies had always refused tomence rapid development of Silver Province. To some extent, it was probably to ensure that the ce had a short enough supply of goods in order for them to make more money.


    After declining several attempts to make a sale, Xiao Lin became a little annoyed. There was actually nothing to see in the town itself, and in addition to the local buildings and the natives on the road, many ces actually had a strong ¡®earthly¡¯ character to them. For example, Xiao Lin picked a local restaurant at random to have some lunch, and he was stunned by the names of pork slices in garlic sauce and Gong Bao chicken on the menu.


    Unfortunately, Xiao Lin was not in Dawn City, where Earthlings might asionally prepare the dishes themselves if they were in the mood. In Wildfire Town, those dishes were entirely made by the locals on their own, and the taste was simply all kinds of vors jumbled up. One thing that surprised Xiao Lin was that knives, forks and chopsticks are always avable in the restaurants there. He learnt from history lessons that no such tableware existed in Norma, and all of them were basically brought from Earth.


    After returning in the evening, Xiao Lin suddenly understood that those invaders from another space and time had been subtly changing many things in that continent over a hundred-year period.


    The security in Wildfire Town was not too bad, but Qin Zuo reminded Xiao Lin to return to their merchant group¡¯s premises before dark, otherwise they could not guarantee his safety. There were quite a few people in Silver Province who had no qualms about killing and robbing others. Even though they might not dare to go near a merchant group under the banner of a colonial academy, lone individuals like Xiao Lin stood out prominently as an outsider, and even Earthlings were not spared by people like them.

 Chapter 310: The Little Girl from Wildfire Town

    <h4>Chapter 310: The Little Girl from Wildfire Town</h4>


    Because of Qin Zuo¡¯s reminder, Xiao Lin got ready to head back before the sky waspletely dark. The merchant group that they pretended to be had to stay in Wildfire Town for a few more days until America¡¯s Judge Academy came. Based on the results of previous discussions between the two parties, the rendezvous point was Wildfire Town. It went without saying that the Americas were unwilling to go to a town supported by Dawn Academy, but they clearly had no other choice.


    Wildfire Town¡¯s streets were very deserted in the evening. Most shops were closed except for some brightly-lit pubs. That was also one of the biggest differences between a colonial city, as night markets did not exist in Norma.


    As a result, Xiao Lin quickly heard the clear voice of a sharp dispute and a crying plea in a remote alley not far away. Passers-by who asionally walked past the street nced pitifully in the dark alley before mumbling something that Xiao Lin did not understand at all. Finally, they speeded up their paces and hurried past at once.


    The natives in that world did not seem to be in the habit of being busybodies or being good Samaritans. In the first ce, Xiao Lin was in apletely unfamiliar town and he was there specifically for a mission. He therefore did not want to involve himself with side issues, but a burst of urgent footsteps and angry shouts had moved closer to him barely after he took a few steps.


    Before Xiao Lin could react, a dirty-looking girl had already darted out of the alley. She was pursued by a muscr man and looked rather weak, staggering and falling to the ground after only running a few steps. The man obviously has a certain foundation in terms of strength, and he rushed over to grab the girl in a swift dash.


    The man snatched back the purse-like bag that the girl was holding tightly in his palm, and cursed aloud. Since his words had some local dialect, Xiao Lin could only understand stuff like ¡®You thief¡¯.


    It turned out to be capturing a thief.


    Xiao Lin understood that, but the man soon vented his anger and began kicking the girl fiercely after regaining the purse. The girl could not fight back, so she could only cover her head and curl up on the ground. Xiao Lin marveled at how the girl did not make a single peep throughout the ordeal, despite the man¡¯s immense strength. One would practically think that she was not afraid of pain.


    From Xiao Lin¡¯s perspective, however, he happened to be able to see the girl biting her pale lips using what little light was present there. There also an unconceble expression of hatred in her eyes.


    Xiao Lin acknowledged that he was moved bypassion, especially since the girl seemed to be about ten-years-old. Regardless of her misdeeds, she would definitely not survive the night after facing the man¡¯s punches and kicks.


    ¡°Stop it,¡± Xiao Lin yelled as he walked, but the man turned a deaf ear to it. The man did not understand it of course. Just like the crappy Chinese spoken by those peddlers on the street, Xiao Lin¡¯s Normese was even crappier.


    Xiao Lin repeated his words more slowly when he walked closer. On that asion, he was sure that he spoke in propernguage, but the man simply raised his head, nced at him impatiently, and dropped a sentence that Xiao Lin also understood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nosy!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve taken back your stuff, so just let her go,¡± Xiao Lin patiently persuaded.


    ¡°Talk nonsense again and I¡¯ll beat you up too!¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, forgive me then.¡± Words seemed incapable of truly expressing one¡¯s intention in that world. Xiao Lin nodded, then raised his fist and mmed it directly on the man¡¯s right cheek. The man was not a weak person, but he was caught off guard, and the attack only made him stagger a few steps back.


    However, the short amount of time was enough for Xiao Lin to support the girl who fell on the ground. At that moment, he also realized that the girl had quite a delicate face, and the reason she looked rather thin was probably due to malnutrition. Her clothes were dirty and they were mixed with this mud and blood. She seemed to be a little confused, and the hatred in her eyes had notpletely subsided yet. When she saw Xiao Lin, she whispered a couple of indecipherable sentences.


    ¡°Can you run?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    The girl kept silent and lowered her head slightly.


    Xiao Lin discovered that her right foot was bare. It was autumn in Norma, and the small town did not have t roads like they did on Earth. Although the path was a street, there was still quite a lot of stones and gravel on the road.


    In the end, Xiao Lin could only sigh. He saw the fierce man running over and picking the girl up by her legs. After taking a deep breath, he activated his Miracle state instantly and converted all his attributes to agility. Then, he executed his Phantom Step, and within a few minutes, the muscr man was left far behind.


    It was only when Xiao Lin approached the merchant group¡¯s residence that he deactivated the Miracle state. He ced her down again only to find that she was looking at him with a weird look. Xiao Lin could not help but blush.


    By his own admission, Xiao Lin was actually feeling a bit overwhelmed. The normal routine for heroes who saved a damsel in distress would be to beat the bad guys away, but unfortunately, Xiao Lin understood that there was a great difference in strength the moment he attacked and punched the man. If push came to shove, Xiao Lin might stille out victorious if he relied on his talent and the Miracle state, but Xiao Lin¡¯s purpose ofing to Wildfire Town was not to fight or make trouble.


    As a result, there was no other alternative, Xiao Lin could only choose to turn around and escape, though he was lucky that he could be confident in his speed.


    ¡°Being a thief is never the right thing to do, but it¡¯s the man was also in the wrong for beating you up like this.¡± Since he had already rescued her, Xiao Lin felt that it should end there. Nevertheless, he felt that he still had to educate her a little before he left.


    The girl continued to keep quiet and the puzzled look remained in her flickering eyes. Xiao Lin thought she did not understand, so he repeated it twice in Chinese and Normese. Since Dawn Academy was Wildfire Town¡¯s benefactor, there were many Chinese-speaking locals there.


    The girl¡¯s nkness left Xiao Lin feeling as though he was preaching to deaf ears. Thenguage barrier was a problem indeed. He shoved his educational lectures back down his throat and waved his hand. ¡°Ahem, the point is, hurry home before that guy chases you. And don¡¯t steal stuff anymore.¡±


    Xiao Lin fished three 100-dor New Dors from his pocket and stuffed it into the girl¡¯s dirty little hand. She did not refuse, but the look in her eyes became even stranger. Xiao Lin looked down at her little bare foot and showed seven more 100-dor New Dors to her after mulling over it for a moment.


    When he wandered around Dawn City, he discovered he had quite the purchasing power. At the very least, the girl should be allowed to buy a pair of shoes, or so he thought. As a nouveau riche, he did not really care about the money.


    After doing all of that, Xiao Lin turned around and left without even waiting for the girl to say a word of thanks. Deep down, he felt a certain sense of merit and aplishment.


    Half an hourter however, Xiao Lin reached the entrance of the hotel where the merchant group was staying. Upon turning around, he smiled bitterly when he saw that the little girl had been following him, though she did so while deliberately keeping a certain distance.

 Chapter 311: A Guess

    <h4>Chapter 311: A Guess</h4>


    Xiao Lin wanted to go straight into the hotel without turning around. He thought of leaving the girl to stand for as long as she could outside, but after feeling the coolness of the autumn weather, he eventually sighed and took the initiative to walk over.


    Like a frightened rabbit, she looked as though she wanted to find a shadowy corner to hide, but the cold froze her little reddish bare feet. Simply walking there was already unbearable enough for her, and after running for a couple of steps, she fell to the ground again.


    Xiao Lin could only raise his hand helplessly to indicate that he came without any malice. He slowed down his footsteps and finally approached her despite her uncertain-looking gaze, carefully supporting her up.


    ¡°If you want to thank me, you don¡¯t need to. Just hurry home.¡± Although that was what he said, the sun hadpletely set by the time he walked to the hotel. The Two the world of Norma has been some time since the Double Moon Festival passed. There was only one half of the two moons left in the sky, and street lights were scarce in that small town too, making it almost pitch ck.


    Xiao Lin initially wanted to tell her that he might as well send her home by himself, but he also had to take into ount his own strength. If he encountered danger at night, he might even have to exin his presence there. A resurrection tower stood tall in Wildfire Town and it was Dawn Academy who provided it as support. In order words, that was the basic condition for all colonial academies to secretly foster their support of the various forces. Still, it was distressing to lose a 20-year lifespan.


    ¡°Can you help me?¡±


    The little girl suddenly took the initiative to speak. Although her small dust- and blood-covered face looked pitiful, her husky tone appeared very calm and to Xiao Lin¡¯s surprise, she spoke fluent Chinese. Although it was not umon in the locality, the difference in ent caused the Chinese spoken by many indigenous people to be rather awkward, although it was still possible to understand it. However, that girl was different. Her Chinese was almost the highest standard of Mandarin with incredibly urate intonation.


    Theirmunication went incredibly well, but Xiao Lin was still a little unhappy over why she did not say a single word before. In any case, he still asked, ¡°You can speak Chinese? Are you one of us, ahem, I mean are you one of those people?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not forget that their current status was that of a merchant group, so she pointed to the direction of Dawn Academy¡¯s colony. However, the girl¡¯s hoarse voice sounded once again. ¡°I know you¡¯re an outsider, that¡¯s why I came to you. Can you help me? ¡±


    The little girl¡¯s bright eyes projected a very strong hatred and it seemed that there was a deeply-etched sea of blood as well as intense resentment.


    Xiao Lin was not interested in doing so, as he was initially just doing a small favor and did not want to get into more trouble because of that. It did not matter who the little girl hated, because it had nothing to do with him at all.


    As soon as the girl noticed that he was inclined to refuse, she continued, ¡°Is there anything you need? I don¡¯t not have money, but at least I have myself. I know some of you outsiders have that kind of... Umm, that kind of really special hobby, so I can promise to be your maid.¡±


    The ten-year-old girl spoke extremely calmly in a very immature tone, as if the entire thing had nothing to do with her. Xiao Lin¡¯s brows were furrowed even deeper.


    Did the colonists¡¯ have ¡®special hobbies¡¯?


    He admitted that many people came to the New World with the mindset of pleasure, and a prime example was An Fumin. He believed that the fat man would be able to satisfy that kind of special hobby as long as he was willing to do so.


    That did not include Xiao Lin though. Xiao Lin stood up, with his expression already turning a little sour, and he said half-heartedly, ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll get you a room for the hotel and you can stay here for the time being. I¡¯ll leave Wildfire Town in a few more days, and it¡¯s no use even if you follow us. I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re just an ordinary merchant group. I can¡¯t be concerned with your affairs.¡±


    Since the girl did not want any money, Xiao Lin was toozy to persuade further. He simply used the money to get a room from the innkeeper. New Dors were amon mode of currency throughout Silver Province. With the growing influence of the colony, the surrounding forces predisposed to the various colonies have gradually epted that currency even though it had yet to be epted universally in Norma.


    The innkeeper was an old woman in her forties. She seemed rather kind to Xiao Lin, although it might be because the merchant group had brought her a lot of business those few days. She whispered and reminded, ¡°It¡¯s probably your first timeing to Wildfire Town. I should remind you not to trust these vagrants in Silver Province.¡±


    Although it was a kind reminder, the woman held the money Xiao Lin handed over tightly in her palm. She probably would not refund his money even if Xiao Lin took her up on her advice and changed his mind.


    The girl behind was undoubtedly disappointed, but she soon spoke again, changing instead to a pitifully mute tone with tears in her pupils. ¡°Can I bring my mother here? Otherwise, she¡¯ll definitely sleep on the street tonight!¡±


    That was how a ten-year-old ought to respond, but due to the contrast with her earlierposure, Xiao Lin was stunned for some time before she shook his head with a bitter smile. Perhaps the innkeeper was right. She was not trustworthy at all, and he could not measure Norma by the standards of simr-aged girls on Earth.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I let a few people keep herpany?¡± the innkeeper once again eagerly took the initiative to relieve Xiao Lin of his worries. Of course, the main reason might be that Xiao Lin allowed her to keep the remaining change as a tip when he paid for the room earlier.


    ording to the Intelligence Agency¡¯s Qin Zuo, the hotel was rtively reliable, so Xiao Lin naturally chose to trust her. After handing her over, he went back to his room and headed straight to bed. There was nothing entertaining at night there, and everyone slept quite early as a result.


    At breakfast the next day, Xiao Lin casually told the other three people about the incident. Zhao Mancheng and Ruan Feiyun said nothing, but Qin Zuo put down his chopsticks and asked in detail without changing his expression.


    After Xiao Lin finished speaking, Qin Zuo pondered for only a few minutes before saying in a certain tone, ¡°That girl isn¡¯t a local.¡±


    Ruan Feiyun chuckled, ¡°You don¡¯t say? There are far too many wanderers like that in Norma.¡±


    Qin Zuo did not care for Ruan Feiyun¡¯s teasing and continued with his analysis, ¡°She should be quite a noble person, if nothing else, I believe she might even be a member of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s noblemen, but I¡¯m not sure whether she is royalty.¡±


    Xiao Lin ate a big mouthful of porridge and looked up in surprise. In fact, he really wanted to know whether Qin Zuo actually knew that girl.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know her.¡± Qin Zuo guessed what Xiao Lin was going to say and continued, ¡°Actually, the reason for my judgment is very simple. You said her Chinese is very fluent. We¡¯re all aware that the Normans speak terrible Chinese, but a few people have a natural gift,nguage-wise.¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it, she may actually be a member of the Rosa Kingdom. Thenguage talents of that kingdom are spectacr. Any random person there would¡¯ve mastered severalnguages. Oh, and by that, I mean Elvish, Orcish, and so on so forth. There are even some that understand Dragish there.¡± The Foreign Affairs Department¡¯s Zhao Mancheng knew of that as well.


    ¡°The Rosa Kingdom is having a civil war.¡± Ruan Feiyun seemed quite knowledgeable about it too. After some thought, he added, ¡°And it seems that their country is about to be destroyed. God is always fair: they¡¯re blessed with an advantage in terms ofnguage, but their physical fitness is inherently worse than everyone else and their military strength is vastly disproportionate to other militaries.¡±

 Chapter 312: Asabanor’s Trail

    <h4>Chapter 312: Asabanor¡¯s Trail</h4>


    Xiao Lin listened in silence because they were more knowledgeable about the situation in Norma. The Rosa Kingdom was some distance away from Dawn City and was located in the center of Norma. Other than thenguage talents they mentioned earlier, the country was actually quite a pitiful one because wars and external circumstances could almost certainly destroy the small kingdom.


    Dawn Academy had dealings with the Rosa Kingdom before, though it was limited to academic research onnguage. Dawn Academy wanted to conduct in-depth research on thenguages of certain races though the Rosa Kingdom, and based on what Qin Zuo knew, their royal family had some interest in Chinese and many of their members have learnt thenguage.


    ¡°So did that girl flee here?¡±


    ¡°Beats me.¡± Qin Zuo thought for a while and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and see herter too.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid she¡¯s recognized you? If she really is a member of the royal family who came over and had contact with us back in the day, it¡¯s likely that she¡¯d recognize us. Don¡¯t forget that our current operation is a secret one!¡±


    ¡°The earliest contact was more than twenty years ago and she wasn¡¯t born yet.¡±


    At breakfast, the few of them had a brief discussion and decided to meet the girl, although they would do so in their capacity as a merchant group. Unfortunately, when Xiao Lin asked the innkeeper about her, he was told that they left as soon as the sun crept up the horizon. Aside from conveying her thanks, the innkeeper actually returned 1,000 New Dors to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°They? She and her mother?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t look like a mother and daughter to me! I heard them arguing in the room in the middle of the night. Before the sun came up, two people came in, quarreled with them, and finally left. Oh, and this money was paid by the other two people.¡± The innkeeper recounted to him.


    Although Qin Zuo seemed a bit disappointed, it was not a bad development because no further trouble would be incurred. Xiao Lin treated it as a brief episode during his stay and no longer dwelled on it anymore.


    Two dayster, the merchant group finally weed the Judge Academy¡¯s delegation. The rendezvous point was carried out in arge manor nearby Wildfire Town. After paying a huge fee, the manor¡¯s owner generously made way for them. Anything was possible in Silver Province as long as one had enough money.


    There were no surprises with Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s reunion. An exchange of nods from each other sufficed as a greeting, and the delegations on both sides seemed to be old acquaintances. Even the pleasantries were skipped. With freshly-brewed coffee and strong tea, the two sides faced each other at the long table and began a confrontation.


    ¡°ording to the previously discussed agreement, shouldn¡¯t Judge Academy send Lilith here alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lilith is the only official representative of our academy.¡± One of the Americans spoke in an innocent manner and shrugged his shoulders before saying with a half-smile, ¡°We¡¯re just a merchant group here to do some business. By the way, aren¡¯t you guys the same as well? I got wind of that right before I came here.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    In order to facilitatemunication, they used Normese tomunicate during the negotiations. Xiao Lin felt bored after listening to it for a while, especially since Qin Zuo and the other two did not seem to have the slightest intention of asking him anything. It was clear that Xiao Lin was at best a bonus in their opinion, and had no right to speak at all.


    Halfway through the discussion, Xiao Lin casually found a reason to excuse himself and wander around the private manor. After a few minutes, he saw Lilithing out nonchntly with a look of irritability and impatience on her face.


    ¡°They¡¯re so annoying. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have reported it when I discovered Asabanor¡¯s trail!¡± Lilith walked straight to Xiao Lin and sat on the soft grass. She stretched her bodyzily and her exquisite curves left Xiao Lin ogling a little too much.


    As if the fatigue umted during the journey had not been relieved yet, Lilithid down a littlezily and it was obvious she feltfortable in Xiao Lin¡¯s presence. She then slowly began to exin the entire story.


    About a month ago, Lilith was in charge of hunting down a group of bandits, because they repeatedly attacked the caravans near New Washington. The losses were not severe, but the incident itself drew the ire of Judge Academy. In addition, that period was still fresh from the aftermath of the Blood Moon incident. The academy¡¯s higher-ups were incensed at the embarrassment, so they sent the violent Lilith over to lead the hunt. Lilith was fighting that very group of bandits when she spoke with Xiao Lin on the phone about the attributes.


    Things went smoothly at first. The bandits were unable to hide from Judge Academy¡¯s informationwork, and aside from that, the Judge Academy also decided to conduct a thorough investigation to destroy the bandits¡¯ir and wipe them out from the base. However, that was only the beginning of the problem.


    During the battle, the bodies of those bandits suddenly exploded, severely wounding the Americans who were in hot pursuit and even killing a number of people. After being studied by professional mages, the explosion turned out to be a corpse explosion derived from necromancy. For the record, the natives of the Norma regard necromancy as sphemous sorcery, and even the most heinous of ouws would never learn such a spell.


    Judge Academy was aware of the seriousness and got lucky enough to arrest several bandits alive. In fact, no torture was needed for the interrogation as they immediately already confessed in a panic. Their leader¡¯s mood had suddenly changed a few weeks prior and forced them to attack caravans near New Washington.


    Judge Academy also found that the captured bandits¡¯ bodies had been imnted with necromancy spells. The caster could detonate their bodies as bombs, and that particr spell was more heinous than corpse explosions, as corpse explosions could only be used on corpses. However, the improved corpse explosion could detonate even a living person.


    After several investigations, Judge Academy finally shifted their target to Asabanor, who had escaped from The Final Land. The academy learnt that the gang of bandits had arrived in Silver Province, although their purpose for being there was as yet unknown.


    What left Xiao Lin a little speechless was that Lilith subsequently expressed a strong dissatisfaction, because her purpose of looking for Asabanor was solely to fight with him. Back in The Final Land, Asabanor had made things miserable for Lilith and Xiao Lin. A strong personality like Lilith could not possibly stifle the anger she was feeling.


    Nevertheless, Judge Academy was not prepared to let her have her way, and the joint operation was apromise of sorts to amodate Lilith. She was no idiot though, because roping Xiao Lin in was equivalent to bringing in Dawn Academy¡¯s forces too. That way, the people who followed her along probably would not have much time to concern themselves with her.


    ¡°In other words, you wanted me toe along just so I can cover you in your fight?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. As expected, Lilith was the only one who could think of such a powerful reason.


    Lilith replied sternly, ¡°No, not my fight, it¡¯s our fight! Asabanor is very weak now, otherwise he won¡¯t be using bandits to harass us. We can finally avenge what happened to us in The Final Land!¡±

 Chapter 313: A Crisis in The Making

    <h4>Chapter 313: A Crisis in The Making</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was still a little concerned about Asabanor due to the third monthly exam. He believed that the dean shared a simr view on it: if the old undead soul really did crack the resurrectionw, the colonists would face a great loss of support.


    Lilith had not considered any of that though, and their topic soon shifted to necromancy. She said with a bit of ir to Xiao Lin that she was presently learning necromancy.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s jaw dropped again, and he secretly smiled to himself. It was a coincidence indeed, though his necromantic meditation was not progressing that smoothly. Dawn Academy¡¯s unique independent space had no trace of death energy, which forced Xiao Lin to put the meditation technique on hold for the time being. Still, Xiao Lin did not want to give up immediately as he wanted to try it again while he was in the New World.


    Although Xiao Lin did not know what Lilith¡¯s talent was, he could more or less figure out that it was simr to his learning-enhancement ability. Moreover, her strength was higher than himself, and Xiao Lin thought that perhaps they could discuss the use of necromancy. He then casually asked, ¡°How far have you progressed in your necromancy?¡±


    Lilith was stunned, and reacted in some surprise. ¡°You know about necromancy? Are you learning it too?!¡±


    The two again found amon topic, but the difference was that Lilith had always disdained learning spells. Xiao Lin was very surprised at her eagerness to learn necromantic sword aura. It was on a much higher level than necromancy, and Xiao Lin could forget about learning it unless he reached the minimum requirement of Bronze-rank.


    The one thing they had inmon was necromancy still remained as their learning foundation and it was necessary for them to feel the death energy. Lilith was distressed over that for a long time, and she was not really interested in the nuts and bolts of spells. However, Xiao Lin happened to be quite confident in that aspect, so he temporarily satisfied his vanity when Lilith humbly asked him for advice.


    The argument, or rather, the negotiations in the manor might go on for God knows how long, so Xiao Lin continued talking about the topic with Lilith. He decided to try it out right there and Lilith expressed a willingness to observe and learn.


    In fact, Xiao Lin¡¯s experience might not be practical for Lilith, as he used a deviant path to enter necromantic meditation, though he himself was not entirely aware of it. Hey on the soft grass of the manor and closed his eyes to concentrate. Before he knew it, he had already entered his meditation realm. He then activated his Miracle state like a switch, and in that starry meditation world of his, the ck hole which resembled a bottomless abyss appeared silently again andpletely obliterated the surrounding elements.


    Xiao Lin had previously already experienced everything up until then, so there was nothing surprising as of yet. From then on however, there was apletely different scene from when he was meditating in Dawn Academy.


    A group of jumping gray mes, like ghastly fires, appeared in the empty starless sky. Those mes had no fixed shape and were morphing constantly. Some were long or square, othersrge or small, and they all floated around like a shadow.


    Was that the so-called death energy?


    Xiao Lin tried to separate part of his consciousness to touch those gray mes, but he quickly retracted after feeling their coldness. Those mes were extremely cold, but he would not have felt anything if they were not in his meditation world.


    It was also a unique bnce system in Norma. In most areas, death energy did not exist by itself. They were often apanied by lifeforce, and the two acted as a counter to each other in order to maintain the bnce in that world.


    As those thoughts shed away in Xiao Lin¡¯s subconscious, he suddenly felt that something was amiss. However, it was difficult for Xiao Lin to devote his attention to other things in his meditation realm, otherwise he would have exited the realm because of ack of concentration. Those ghost mes were originally floating around Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin soon felt that a light source had appeared in a nearby ce. It had to be Lilith, who was also trying to perform necromantic meditation at the same time.


    He could distinctly sense that Lilith¡¯s attraction to death energy was far less than Xiao Lin, which showed that her necromantic meditation was not better than his. Somehow that made Xiao Lin feel rather content.


    ording to the introduction of the meditation book Xiao Lin read some time ago, the original necromancy meditation technique had been continuously improved through repeated perception of the death energy. For the moment, Xiao Lin was only in themunicative state, as he and Lilith had not yet progressed too far in their meditative state. Once the meditation ended, Xiao Lin opened his eyes and could not help but feel a shiver.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡± Lilith frowned too.


    Xiao Lin raised his head. The sky that was still bright and clear before had turned gloomy at some point. It was the sign of a storm. Although it was strange that the weather would change that quickly, he got up and said, ¡°It¡¯ll probably rain soon. Let¡¯s head back first.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. I hope they¡¯re done with it.¡± Lilith was equally as uninterested in the arguments inside the house.


    The two of them walked together, but after only a few steps, a very strange thought shed through Xiao Lin¡¯s mind like a spark of lightning. When he was meditating earlier, he felt that something was not quite right. The grey mes which represented death energy seemed to be too abundant in his meditation world.


    He knew that death energy was the residual breath left by any creature after death. It was not inherently harmful, but there were no benefits if too much of it was gathered in one ce, hence the existence of natural energy to bnce it. Although he had not been able to sense that natural energy, the unusual presence of death energy left Xiao Lin with a nagging feeling of uneasiness.


    Xiao Lin quickened his pace subconsciously and Lilith also noticed the gloomy expression on his face. She raised her brows and waved her palm, drawing out her huge pitch-ck scythe. As someone who possessed an SS-level talent, she had an impressive instinct for danger even though her necromantic meditation skills were inferior to Xiao Lin.


    m!


    Upon opening the door to the temporary conference room, the messiness within caused Xiao Lin¡¯s face to turn pale. The individuals from both Dawn Academy and Judge Academy had disappeared, with the tables and chairs scattered everywhere, while the drinks spilled all over the floor. Since the two of them were in a meditative state earlier, they probably failed to notice the abnormality there. One question still remained: what exactly happened?


    Lilith, who had been in the New World for many years and was more experienced than Xiao Lin, calmly muttered, ¡°I think they¡¯re dead.¡±


    Xiao Lin came to his senses too. There was a resurrection tower in Wildfire Town, which meant that the body of anyone who died would quickly disappear as long as they were within the scope of that small town. After that, they would resurrect near the resurrection tower.


    No one seemed to be present in the house, but since they were the investigation team of both colleges respectively, it was impossible that they would leave Xiao Lin and Lilith alone without informing thetter two. In that case, the most likely possibility was that they had died and resurrected again.

 Chapter 314: Meeting the High Priest Again

    <h4>Chapter 314: Meeting the High Priest Again</h4>


    ¡°Head to the resurrection tower!¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith immediately made the same decision. No matter what happened, it would not be something they could handle if even the investigation teampletely disappeared without a trace. Xiao Lin knew for a fact that the three that had apanied him were at least Silver-ranked!


    The sky was rapidly darkening, and Xiao Lin felt that something was odd about the dark clouds. They looked like condensed gases, and were even expanding at a constant fast pace. Xiao Lin remembered that the clouds were only above the courtyard before he went inside, and it did not even take a few minutes for it to expand so much.


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t clouds; they¡¯re death energy!¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized it. The dense, mist-like clouds were actually the physical representation of death energy. Back when he was reading books rted to necromancy in the library, Xiao Lin had found out that if death energy condensed to the degree that it could oppress the bnce of other natural energies, it would start being visible to the naked eye. However, that sort of phenomenon only happened in ancient cemeteries or intense battlefields.


    The blood red skies in The Final Lands was actually a form of death energy as well, but it made absolutely no sense for so much death energy to be here!


    ¡°Asabanor!¡± Lilith suddenly said in a low voice.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly, still deep in thought. ¡°I know there¡¯s no way this has anything to do with that old fart; it¡¯s just that...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Asabanor!¡± Lilith eximed impatiently.


    Xiao Lin suddenly snapped back to reality, looking where Lilith was pointing. About a hundred meters away from them, a shirtless man was standing imposingly in front of them. On his face was a strained smile that looked uglier than crying. It was not the first time Xiao Lin had seen that strange smile, so he immediately understood that that person had definitely been possessed, and it was by Asabanor.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I actually found you two here, but no matter, you¡¯re toote to stop it!¡± the man slowly slurred. It was human speech, but the coarse and arrogant tone was unmistakable.


    ¡°What are you here for?¡± Xiao Lin asked loudly, slowly shifting his steps as he kept an eye on their distance.


    ¡°This world has changed,¡± the man said distractedly. He had left the world for a century; it might not have seemed long, but thanks to the colonists, the changes were drastic. His tone quickly deepened. ¡°You¡¯ve desecrated the world God created. All you demons deserve to die!¡±


    ¡°Your goal is the resurrection tower?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no use asking. No one can stop this anymore!¡±


    ¡°You want to bring back your kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll find out very quickly. I¡¯m only here to greet two old friends. I¡¯m still quite interested in the two of you, so I won¡¯t kill you just yet, so just take the chance and scram!¡±


    Lilith was furious; fear did not exist in her dictionary. She started flourishing her scythe, forming her mes as she shed at the man.


    However, the man onlyughed softly as his entire body started to explode. Blood and flesh sttered; it was probably the corpse explosion that Lilith had mentioned earlier, but the scale was not big and it only affected ten to twenty meters.


    ¡°He¡¯s been injured ever since he escaped The Final Lands; it¡¯s obvious from the fact that he hasn¡¯t ever shown himself to date. Does he really think he can get me with that useless technique?¡± Lilith¡¯s rage had turned into a coldugh, she did not even bother sheathing her scythe as she rushed to the center of the town.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, thinking about Asabanor¡¯s words, especially him asking them to leave. It seemed magnanimous, but knowing Lilith¡¯s personality, those words were clearly mockery, as if challenging her to go deeper if she dared.


    Asabanor was trying to make sure they did not leave!


    That caused Xiao Lin some surprise. Based on the current situation, the best choice was to leave and report this to the academy. It was different from The Final Lands, and if the academy was willing, they could send arge amount of Silver¨Cor even Gold¨Cexperts over to easily suppress Asabanor like a ything.


    Even if the priest¡¯s words were a little malicious, no one could possibly be that stupid after living for hundreds of years, so there was no way he did not understand that. If that was the case, the fact that he brazenly showed up there meant he had a reason to, which unsettled Xiao Lin.


    However, looking at Lilith¡¯s back, Xiao Lin could only shake his head as he smiled bitterly, retrieving his Holy Soul Sword and following closely behind her. Lilith and himself were already friends. Even if they ignored what happened in The Final Lands, she had helped him in New Washington, and Xiao Lin was not willing to abandon his friends.


    Lilith might not seem to have cared, but she revealed a slight smile when Xiao Lin followed her. ncing at his sword, she said surprisingly, ¡°There¡¯s an aura of death on your sword.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You can feel it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lilith merely acknowledged it, not exining any further.


    Xiao Lin knew her necromancy was not as good as his, but to be able to feel the soul in the sword without it being released spoke volumes about her perception.


    Xiao Lin somewhat exined how the sword worked, wanting to brag a little, since necromantic weapons were quite rare. However, Lilith poured cold water on him. ¡°I suggest not summoning the warrior if we fightter.¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped, asking, ¡°You¡¯re worried it¡¯ll be controlled by Asabanor?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that old fart might be a nuisance, but he is very talented at necromancy. I¡¯ve been reading up about ittely, and the de might be yours. That makes it hard for anyone else to control the spirit you summon from it, but it¡¯s hard to say when our opponent is Asabanor.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s face had a rare look of concern. Just as Xiao Lin was startled by it, she quickly switched back to her look of bloodlust. ¡°That¡¯s what makes it interesting. Only opponents like that have value!¡±


    That battle freak!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. He was beginning to regret following her.

 Chapter 315: Ineffective Resurrection Tower

    <h4>Chapter 315: Ineffective Resurrection Tower</h4>


    Wildfire Town was extremely quiet. As a town in between the Silver Province and Dawn Academy, merchant groups would often stop there and rest, so it was usually bustling in the day, never being as barren as it was now. The streets werepletely empty save for Xiao Lin and Lilith. There was no one to be seen, even when they went into the inns or the shops. The strange thing was that the objects within the buildings were all still neat and tidy; no signs of a battle could be seen.


    The two of them looked around in shock. They had left bright and early that day, but less than an hourter, the priest had somehow made everyone in the town disappear.


    ¡°I¡¯m not well-versed in magic.¡± Lilith shook her head.


    Xiao Lin sighed as well. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of any spells like this. Asabanor seems to havee prepared this time.¡±


    The two of them were on high alert, carefully advancing toward the resurrection tower. Even though the strange atmosphere caused their hairs to stand, they did not encounter any ambushes. Asabanor had not appeared at all since thest time, so Xiao Lin and Lilith safely reached the tower.


    However, the sight in front of them caused them to suck in their breaths in shock. The resurrection tower was still there, but the originally silver tower was now ink ck.


    ¡°A ck resurrection tower!¡± Xiao Lin had never heard of one, but he could just be too inexperienced, but when he turned his head, Lilith¡¯s green face said everything.


    ¡°Resurrection towers can¡¯t be ck; resurrection towers are always made with starmetal, which is silver!¡± Lilith said.


    Xiao Lin eximed, ¡°Starmetal? You¡¯re saying the resurrection towers are made from starmetal?!¡±


    ¡°Please, that¡¯smon knowledge! Why else do you think this province is so important, making the other academies spy on it? I thought you knew.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. He only knew that starmetal was a very rare ore, but no one had told him it was used to make resurrection towers. If that was the case, Asabanor¡¯s goal was suddenly very clear.


    Lilith furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°Could that old fart be here for the ore? What use could he have for it?¡±


    In the past century, in order to defeat the outsider from Earth, the natives had constantly thought of controlling the Silver Province to seize the starmetal, but the only consequence was being crushed by the collective might of the academies. Asabanor only had some necromantic magic. He might be able to control Wildfire Town, but there was no way he could control the whole province. It was also easy to anticipate that the academies had probably already assembled their troops after getting the news.


    No matter how he looked at it, Asabanor had no chance of sess. Trying to attack the resurrection towers by controlling starmetal was an impossible dream.


    However, Xiao Lin once again thought back to the third monthly examination and theplete resurrection tower that the elves took, and if Yu Mei¡¯s grandfather, the engineer, was taken as well.


    Could Asabanor have had any contact with the elves after he escaped from The Final Lands? There were a lot of elves in New Washington!


    Lilith did not know about that examination, and would naturally not think about that possibility. In truth, Dawn Academy had covered that battle up; not many people knew about the resurrection tower that had been conquered.


    There was still no one even near the resurrection tower. The investigation teams from both academies were definitely not there as well, even if they had resurrected. Xiao Lin recalled that there were still other resurrection towers around the town. It was amon defensive measure to erect many towers around certain key areas, even if it wasted a great amount of resources. The resurrection towers incurred a heavy cost, even to the strongest academies.


    That was not good news. It meant that the ck resurrection tower in front of them had lost its abilities, which was why they had resurrected at the other ones.


    They originally wanted to reunite with the investigation team before defending the area while waiting for reinforcements, but the situation was out of their expectations. It was still fine if they died now, but if they continued and left the area of the other resurrection towers, would they still be able toe back?


    Xiao Lin looked at Lilith, and the woman had a rare look of consternation, but she only hesitated for a moment before waving her scythe and charging in.


    Asabanor was not someone who would do anything for no reason, nor would he have emptied an entire city just as a show of force. He definitely had something nned. To put things simply, that old fart was definitely still in the town.


    That was what Lilith¡¯s n was; whatever he wanted, everything would be fine if Asabanor was dead. It was the simple and effective strategy of pure violence.


    However, the problem was actually locating the high priest. Lilith had a n, which was to use necromantic meditation. That was because Asabanor¡¯s body was definitely an undead soul, which meant they would be able to sense him.


    The idea was right, but Lilith had failed many times. Under the heavy condensation of the death clouds, it was much easier to use necromantic meditation, but the air was filled withplicated death energy, so it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.


    Xiao Lin had a different thought: entering a state of meditation. Thanks to the dark clouds around, the elemental energies were very scarce around them. He immediately switched into necromantic meditation after that, and the meditative world was filled with grey mes, much more condensed than when he was just meditating.


    After that, Xiao Lin used Miracle, and the ckhole once again appeared in that meditative world. He had actually never figured out why that strange phenomenon happened, but after several experiments, he had figured out the use for the ckhole.


    The ckhole would frantically absorb all the elements in the vicinity, but it was not absorbed into Xiao Lin¡¯s body. At the very least, he could not feel any energying into him. It was as if the energies were being eaten away by a monster.

 Chapter 316: Unexpected Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 316: Unexpected Reunion</h4>


    What Xiao Lin wanted to do was simple: he was trying to see if the ckhole would also start to absorb the death energy around it. It was impossible to test out the theory at the academy due to the absence of death energy, but logically, death, natural and elemental energies should be simr to each other. Since it worked on the elements, it should also work on death energy.


    With Miracle, the circr ck hole once again appeared in the gxy. Even if the ckhole could definitely suck in the surrounding energies, Xiao Lin noticed the suction was not absolute. Just like how the elements would attempt to run when sensing the danger, the death energies also scattered.


    Xiao Lin focused all his attention on investigating the star-filled world. This space represented the microscopic world of all the energies within Norma, so meditating in the New World waspletely different from doing it at the academy.


    If the meditative world within the isted space of the academy was the Milky Way, then in this vast world, the meditative world was the whole universe.


    With Xiao Lin¡¯s current abilities, it was definitely impossible to catch or even feel the energies in Wildfire Town, let alone the whole universe. However, under Miracle, his mental strength had increased, and thanks to the ckhole, he did not actually need to feel it. He only had to focus his attention on the mass that did not flee like the other death energies to get a location.


    In that space, there were only three mes that did not run. One was nearby, and Xiao Lin was familiar with it since it was the soul in his sword. Another mass of grey mes was also very close¨Conly a few hundred meters away. Thest me was constantly moving, but seemed to be voluntarily heading toward them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes, running toward that me a few hundred meters away from them. Lilith followed closely behind, not asking Xiao Lin how he did it. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s Asabanor?¡±


    ¡°No, but he¡¯s not the only undead soul in this town. Could it be someone he¡¯s controlling?¡±


    The two of them were on alert. The ce he sensed was at the center of town. There was a tall clock tower. Xiao Lin and Lilith exchanged nces before Lilith said, ¡°The tower is too narrow. We won¡¯t be able to fight properly with too many people. I¡¯ll head up myself; since you know magic, assist me from down here.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded in acknowledgement. Luckily, he had brought his Peakfire Staff with him this time. Taking out his staff, Xiao Lin was still unsure if me magic would be effective on that old fart, but just as Lilith had said, that old man had been gravely injured when he escaped The Final Lands. There was no way he had recovered in just a little over a month. The one in the clock tower was probably just a puppet he was controlling.


    Lilith actually stowed her scythe away, instead taking out two short swords. Even though her mostfortable weapon was therge scythe, that woman was proficient in practically every weapon, so short swords were no big deal to her. She waved the swords around before a surge of wind formed around her feet, increasing her agility as she dashed up the stairs.


    After a few seconds, Xiao Lin heard a terrified but clear voice from the top of the tower. ¡°No, don¡¯t kill me. I¡¯m not a bad guy. Help me!¡±


    It was a female voice, and it started off with Mandarin before quickly noticing something was off and rapidly switching to English. It seemed to be proficient in bothnguages.


    Xiao Lin gaped for a few seconds, a disbelieving look on his face before quickly activating his Phantom Steps. He dashed up the tower as he shouted, ¡°Stay your de.¡±


    After a few minutes, Xiao Lin and Lilith stood atop the tower, and a timid girl stood next to them. Lilith might have been a battle maniac, but she would never harm a defenseless girl, so the girl only received a bit of a fright, but she was not injured.


    However, Lilith never dropped her guard, and she did not put away her swords. She looked at Xiao Lin with a half-suspicious gaze, her unspoken question clear.


    Xiao Lin had said he felt a mass of death energy, but the tower only had a little girl not even ten years old. Could Xiao Lin¡¯s necromantic meditation have been off, or was there something wrong with the girl?


    Xiao Lin had a headache as well. Looking at the shivering girl, he sighed and said, ¡°Two days ago you left without saying anything, but I can¡¯t believe I found you here. Are you going to give me an exnation?¡±


    It was the girl Xiao Lin had saved two days ago. Xiao Lin never expected they would meet again now. The girl was still in the white dress from two days ago, but her face was no longer dirty. She also had shoes on this time, and alongside her bright and big eyes, she looked quite cute.


    ¡°You know her?¡± Lilith said in surprise.


    The girl quickly nodded, embarrassedly saying, ¡°I¡¯m actually this Uncle¡¯s female servant.¡±


    Lilith narrowed her eyes, looking at Xiao Lin with a different expression, as if she was looking at a pervert.


    Xiao Lin hurriedly waved his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t just believe her. I don¡¯t know her at all! We¡¯ve never even talked about being a servant!¡±


    The girl lowered her head, her eyes reddening as tears started to fall. She was already a cute girl, and her pitiful look could inspire kindness in even the most uncaring person. Between Xiao Lin and her, almost everyone would choose to believe that little girl.


    Lilith was speechless, but her gaze on Xiao Lin was getting even more unfriendly, as if using Xiao Lin of being a pervert that did not even dare admit his actions.


    A cunning glint shed on the girl¡¯s face, but the look quickly vanished in her tears. She swallowed and said, ¡°Sister, Uncle, I¡¯m scared. Can you take me away from this ce?¡±


    Saying that, the girl opened her arms, as if asking for someone to carry her. It was a powerful move capable of impacting anyone, especially men.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. He was an uncle, but Lilith was just a sister?


    Lilith had already walked over with a smile on her face, putting the two swords back into her spatial ring before reaching her arms out toward the girl, motioning to put the girl in her embrace. However, when her hands touched the girl¡¯s shoulders, the girl suddenly felt a cold chill on her neck. As she looked back, her pupils constricted.


    Lilith had somehow retrieved her scythe and was aiming it at the girl¡¯s throat.

 Chapter 317: Ibeiya

    <h4>Chapter 317: Ibeiya</h4>


    ¡°These little tricks won¡¯t work on me. I won¡¯t fall for your looks like that big pervert!¡±


    Xiao Lin had been nodding along, but he could not help but reject, ¡°Hey, who¡¯s a big pervert? There¡¯s definitely something wrong with that girl. How could you believe her?¡±


    Lilith looked at him. ¡°I never said it was you. Why are you defending yourself?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrows twitched again. He hurriedly switched the topic to that girl. He knelt down, trying to inject kindness into his voice as he said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be scared. We¡¯re not looking to harm you. There are just some things we want to know.¡±


    The tears had yet to dry from the girl¡¯s face, but her pitiful expression had already changed into that cold and calm look which did not fit her age when Xiao Lin first met her. She looked at Lilith, tilting her head as she asked, ¡°How did you notice?¡±


    ¡°You just messed up. You tried to use a charming spell on me earlier, but your skills are still not up to par. On top of that, Xiao Lin had felt death energy just now, which means you¡¯re likely a vampire.¡±


    ¡°A vampire?¡±


    ¡°A dark race from Norma. Female vampires have innate seduction abilities. I told you I¡¯ve been reading up about the death energytely.¡±


    Xiao Lin was in disbelief, especially as he recalled the girl being beaten up on the streets the first time they met.


    The girl pouted, guessing what Xiao Lin was thinking as she said, ¡°I never lied to you. I really am thankful that you saved mest time, but even if you did not, I would have been fine.¡±


    Lilith tilted her head and Xiao Lin exined what happened that night. Lilithughed as she said, ¡°You really did something unnecessary. She may look like she¡¯s still young and hasn¡¯t gone throughbat training yet, but as a vampire, how could a beating do anything to her?¡±


    The girl had graciously admitted that she was a vampire. Dark races were not very wee on Norma. Xiao Lin¡¯s history sses had not exined much about them. However, it was different from how necromancers were treated. The natives just hated dark races at the most, but most countries would still allow dark races to live with them.


    ¡°You came from the Rosa Kingdom?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the Rosa Kingdom allowed dark races to stay there.¡± Lilith quickly saw through it. She was a lot more familiar with Norma than Xiao Lin.


    The girl¡¯s eyes once again turned red, but Xiao Lin had already been dulled to the rapid changes in her expressions, and calmly waited to see what she had to say.


    A long story followed. The girl¡¯s name was Ibeiya. She was the love child of one of the royal princesses. The princess had fallen in love with a vampire, but the kingdom did not tolerate the existence of dark races, so the romance was killed off in its infancy. However, the princess was very stubborn, forcing herself to give birth to the child. She fell ill not long after that, and the child became a source of humiliation for the royalty. The Rosa Kingdom did not acknowledge Ibeiya¡¯s existence, and cruelly chased her out.


    Ibeiya had been raised by a loyal servant of the princess during her childhood. There was arge war in the Rosa Kingdom in recent years, and the servant had lost his life in the chaos, so Ibeiya had no choice but to live a wandering life.


    Ibeiya had only been eight then, and she was extremely cute at that. Roaming thends by herself was obviously very turbulent. She did not even leave the Rosa Kingdom before she was kidnapped by a group of adventurers.


    From what she said, Ibeiya had been extremely scared at that point, not even daring to think of what might happen. She had tried to escape, but she was no match for those adventurers. She would be harshly beaten up every time she tried to escape, and she eventually could not take it anymore, choosing to take her own life.


    She woke up a few days after her corpse was thrown into the wilderness. It was from then on that she realized what her vampire blood could do, which marked the true start of her wandering life as she learned to use it to her advantage. She lived a life of crime, and every time someone caught her, she would justmit suicide. Regr injuries did nothing to her body.


    After that, she learned another one of her racial talents: seduction. The uses were not clear, and it only worked on weak-willed people, but that was enough.


    Xiao Lin silently summarized her life of wandering as just swindling and stealing.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly, saying to Lilith, ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with dark races. How do you kill a vampire? Silver weapons? A holy cross? Sunlight? Garlic?¡±


    Lilith said impatiently, ¡°You watch too many movies. Real vampires aren¡¯t afraid of all that. Don¡¯t be tricked by this brat; vampires have regenerative abilities, not resurrection. They are not actually undying, but regretfully the two of us don¡¯t actually have a way to kill you.¡±


    Ibeiya tilted her head, pitifully saying, ¡°Could you really bear to kill me? Why don¡¯t you just release me? I¡¯d just be a bother to you.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°Quit acting like you¡¯re innocent. You clearly know he can¡¯t do anything to you.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not scared of the two of you. I¡¯m scared of this town.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent, almost forgetting the main topic. He nodded and said, ¡°Tell me what happened here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    A bitter look was on her face, but the girl had been ying a part since the very start, so no one knew her real thoughts. Fear, hate or horror¨Cthere was no way to know which were her true feelings.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Lilith raised her eyebrows, her scythe still in hand as she said unkindly, ¡°I might not be able to kill you, but as long as I¡¯m willing, I can make sure you stay here, unmoving.¡±

 Chapter 318: Vampire

    <h4>Chapter 318: Vampire</h4>


    ¡°Even if you do that, I still don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Ibeiya did not seem to be faking it this time. From Xiao Lin¡¯s patient questioning, they found out that Ibeiya had nned on staying a few days after leaving the inn before she left Wildfire Town, but she suddenly felt a surge of danger in the morning. She had nned on leaving, but she fainted halfway through, and the town was empty the moment she woke up.


    ¡°You suddenly fainted?¡± Lilith narrowed her eyes, obviously not believing such a vague exnation.


    Ibeiya cried as she said, ¡°I only felt a strange energy starting to surge in the town before I lost consciousness. I really don¡¯t know what happened.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave after that?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s probably not possible anymore. Did you two not notice? The whole town has been enveloped by death energy. It¡¯s just like a cage we won¡¯t be able to escape. Any living person would rapidly approach death if they entered.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith exchanged a look, both of them still refusing topletely believe the girl. It was fine if they wanted to leave; the most that would happen was that they would lose 20 years of their lifespan and they would be back in Dawn territory.


    There were many holes in what Ibeiya said, or rather, she vaguely rushed past many parts. Xiao Lin even wanted to ask what revenge the girl was talking about that night, but she did not bring it up at all. He could not tell which of the girl¡¯s words were true and which were false.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there was another suspicious ce? Let¡¯s look at that first!¡±


    Lilith was the one who made the decision. Xiao Lin had felt three different grey mes just now; there was only one left outside of the Holy Soul Sword and Ibeiya.


    Ibeiya was not very willing to follow them, but she was even less willing to stay there alone. In her own words, the dense death energy made her feel like she was swimming in sludge, so she unwillingly followed them.


    Lilith agreed to it, but Xiao Lin obviously said that it was just to keep an eye on her, since they still did not trust Ibeiya.


    ¡°Actually, why would you hate death energy as a dark race?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously.


    ¡°Uncle, vampires are different from the undead!¡± Ibeiya had an unhappy expression.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s impression of vampires still stemmed from the various movies and novels on Earth. He had actually learned from history ss and talking with Song Jung that the vampires on Earth did seem to originate from Norma, but a lot of the myths were very off.


    For instance, vampires actually did not need to drink blood; they just needed to absorbrge amounts of protein, which blood was rich in. In truth, any substitutes were perfectly fine as well. Another example was that the fear of holy crosses was just an Earth created myth; vampires also did suffer from lower battle capabilities under sunlight, but they could absolutely function normally otherwise.


    Vampires were not actually evil creatures either, so Ibeiya was not horrified when she learned about her bloodline, merely adapting to the new conditions.


    There were very few vampires on Norma, but most of them were extremely strong, which was a far cry from this weak little girl. However, Ibeiya exined that it was because she was too young. Ten years old was basically an infantpared to the long ages of most vampires, so Ibeiya practically had nobat ability.


    ¡°Are you afraid of death energy?¡±


    Ibeiya frantically nodded; the horror in her eyes did not seem faked this time.


    Lilith said meaningfully, ¡°To necromancers, vampires make for very good materials, so you should hide far awayter and keep your distance from us.¡±


    ¡°I know. Uncle will definitely protect me, right?¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the big-eyed girl and said with some annoyance, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what rank a spell charm is, but I hope you don¡¯t use it on me.¡±


    ¡°Rx, my spell doesn¡¯t work on you,¡± Ibeiya consoled confidently.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I tried to use it on you that night, but it had no effect. Ah...¡± Ibeiya quickly stopped herself when she realized she said too much.


    Lilith¡¯s gaze once again shot to Xiao Lin, her thoughts obvious. ¡®You freaking pervert.¡¯


    Xiao Lin felt like he was never going to clear his name.


    They were not that far away from the third grey me, and they quickly stopped outside a regr-looking house. It was very close, based on Xiao Lin¡¯s perception, but they carefully checked the inside of the house, not noticing anything out of ce.


    ¡°Could there be a room underground?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already checked; I could not find any entrances to the underground.¡± Lilith shook her head.


    ¡°The two of you really are outsiders. Don¡¯t you know that our underground rooms are never built inside our houses?¡± Looking at the two of their frantic expressions, Ibeiya smiled off from the side.


    Lilith raised her tone. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask. I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Lilith¡¯s rage had led to Ibeiya hurriedly covering her head in fear.


    Xiao Lin could not help but shake his head at Lilith. Even though they knew she was faking it, her cute and pitiful face had too great of an impact, and Lilith could not release her anger.


    ¡°Then tell us, where are the underground rooms?¡± Xiao Lin asked. It was fortunate that they had brought Ibeiya along, or they would have wasted a lot of time. Lilith and himself were still not that familiar with the natives.


    Ibeiya hesitated, ¡°I think it¡¯s better if we hide. I¡¯m feeling arge amount of evil death energy gathering here. It¡¯s not a good sign.¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to say that? We obviously feel it as well!¡± Lilith said rudely. ¡°If you¡¯re really afraid, you just need to give us the directions and we¡¯ll go alone.¡±


    Thanks to Lilith¡¯s earlier exnations, Xiao Lin could more or less understand Ibeiya¡¯s fear.

 Chapter 319: Dark Shadow Underground

    <h4>Chapter 319: Dark Shadow Underground</h4>


    Ibeiya was understandably unwilling to follow them, staying where she was after giving the two of them directions. Xiao Lin and Lilith headed toward a small forest to the east of the house carefully. The underground room was at the edge of the forest. The wooden door was covered in grass, and they would probably not have noticed it if not for Ibeiya¡¯s reminders.


    The closer they got, the more dense death energy they started to feel in the air. It was obvious that there was something going on down there. Lilith immediately opened the wooden door, and her scythe appeared in her hand as she shot out mes toward the underground.


    Bang!


    The mes travelled along the underground room, and ripples could be heard from their vibrations as the mes seemed to have destroyed a pile of pots and bottles. A wave of heat could be felt from the entrance, causing Xiao Lin to wipe away some sweat. He silently remarked to himself that this woman was very aggressive, immediately attacking before even figuring out what was in the room.


    However, there did not seem to be anyone alive in there. After Lilith¡¯s attack subsided, she let out a breath as she withdrew the scythe back into her spatial ring to retrieve two daggers instead. In the narrow underground room, daggers were much more useful.


    ¡°Your mes seem to have gotten much stronger,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t like magic, but me magices very easily to me.¡± Lilith did not bother hiding anything.


    Xiao Lin had seen Lilith use those mes in The Final Lands for the first time, but she could just barely control a few at that time. Now, she seemed to be more familiar with it, but he knew that the special mes were not really me magic, and something unique to Lilith, like his Miracle.


    The underground room was very dark. The remaining mes were barely enough to light up the small space, and a strange smell permeated the air. They did not know what was in the room, but even Lilith had a difficult expression on her face. It looked like she wanted to vomit, but was trying to hold it in. Xiao Lin felt likeughing, but the urge to vomit quickly suppressed that.


    It was only as big as two rooms down there, and extremely messy. On the floor were various smashed up bottles and strangely-colored liquids. Xiao Lin quickly figured out where the smell came from as he found a pile of red flesh-like objects in a corner. After checking it out, Xiao Lin almost vomited out his dinner fromst night.


    They were all clearly various inner organs, including eyes and ears. Even though most of them were destroyed by Lilith¡¯s attack earlier, based on the size of the pile, it was clear that the organs belonged to close to a hundred people! Only the organs could be seen, but the people were nowhere to be found. As for the fate of those people, anyone could imagine it. They were probably all the missing people from the town.


    Xiao Lin could not help but get goosebumps. Lilith was faring not much better than he was. As the two of them prepared to leave the ufortable room, the pile of organs suddenly burst apart as a dark shadowy mess leaped forward. Under the assault of the dense death energy, a few smoldering embers were extinguished.


    The room immediately got darker, and they could only make out that the shadow looked vaguely humanoid; its hands and feet were on the ground, and two blood red eyes pierced through the darkness.


    Its momentarily locked gazes with Xiao Lin and Lilith, and its blood red eyes were extremely cold. Even Xiao Lin had to suppress a shudder.


    ¡°Who are you!¡± Xiao Lin shouted. It was certain that the thing was definitely not Asabanor, so he also used Normese and English in case it did not understand.


    Something shocking then happened. Even as the two of them were on full alert, the mysterious shadow did not respond at all, immediately burying its head as it moved about. With the obscured vision, Xiao Lin could not tell what it was doing.


    Lilith used a cold and quiet tone to say, ¡°It¡¯s eating!¡±


    Xiao Lin clenched his teeth, immediately shooting out a me bullet. The shadow did not even raise its head, jumping to avoid the spell. However, with the additional light, Xiao Lin finally saw clearly that the shadow was not bothered by his attack at all. It just continued to shovelrge amounts of flesh into its mouth, emitting a strange noise.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head out; it¡¯s too small in here!¡± Xiao Lin stopped Lilith from attacking. ¡°It¡¯s very agile!¡±


    The me bullet Xiao Lin had shot just now did not shock him because of the horrifying scene. He had intended to test the mysterious thing, and the results were more than he anticipated.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s me bullet was the improved version, shortening the cast time by sacrificing spell power. In the narrow space, condensing the elements and casting the spell took only a moment, and it was even a surprise attack. Almost no one could react to that at the same level as he could, let alone dodge it, but that shadow did not even raise its head before dodging it easily.


    That thing was strong!


    Lilith understood it as well. Against an agile opponent, the cramped room was definitely not a suitable battlefield. She nodded as she retreated with Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin had wanted to get Ibeiya to hide further away, but that intelligent girl had already disappeared. Even though he still had some matters to settle with her, it was not the time to think about that.


    They definitely could not give that mysterious monster the time to eat in peace. After leaving the room the two of them frantically attacked it with Lilith¡¯s sword aura and Xiao Lin¡¯s me bullets. However good the thing was at dodging, with that amount of attacks, it probably had no chance to avoid everything.


    In order to preserve his strength, Xiao Lin did not use Miracle, nor did he use Sword Aura. That was currently the biggest gap between Lilith and himself. Lilith¡¯s basic attributes were all a lot higher than his, and she was also quite strong physically, leading to her being able to use Sword Aura at will. The wave of attacks were all mostly reliant on Lilith¡¯s relentless assault. The explosions in the underground room got more and more intense, and it only returned to silence after several minutes.

 Chapter 320: Resurrecting Monster

    <h4>Chapter 320: Resurrecting Monster</h4>


    ¡°That thing has to be dead right?¡± Looking at the satisfied look on Lilith¡¯s face after her attacks, Xiao Lin could not help but gulp.


    ¡°No, that thing isn¡¯t so weak.¡± Lilith licked her lips, her taste for battle rapidly rising.


    After a few minutes, the ground suddenly erupted and the shadowy mass shot out. Xiao Lin finally saw its true form. It might have had a human¡¯s basic appearance, but it could no longer be called a human. Its naked body was all rotting flesh, and its face was extremely muddled. There were no clear features on its face; not even its sex was indiscernable.


    Its stomach was bloated, probably from all the food it had shoved in earlier. The strangest thing was there were obvious stitches throughout its body. Some threads were left sticking out. Its appearance was very diforting; its hands were mismatched lengths and its eyes were not the same size, as if it had just been randomly put together.


    The monster emitted a strange guttural sound, its red eyes looking around before settling on Xiao Lin and Lilith. Its expression suddenly focused, turning fiercer. It opened its mouth, its yellow teeth still carrying lingering stains of flesh. It moved its mouth with some difficulty, muttering with a low voice, ¡°Kill... Kill... Kill...¡±


    The monster could actually talk¨Cdefinitely beyond their expectations. The third cloud of death energy that Xiao Lin had felt earlier had to be from this monster, which meant it was undead. However, undeads should not have any sentience, only able to be controlled by the necromancer, which was Asabanor.


    He did not have time to think about it as the monster started to attack. Its was as fast as lightning. Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened, he was only distracted for just a moment, but the rotting stench was already right in front of him. He did not even have time to activate Miracle before using Phantom Steps, but he was still hit by the creature¡¯s fist. A ck wound appeared on his arm.


    Lilith¡¯s attack closely followed, but the monster¡¯s reflexes were extremely quick, and managed to easily dodge. Lilith had already switched back to her scythe, and her range of attack was a lot wider. She noticed how abnormal the monster¡¯s movements were as well. Xiao Lin took the change to retreat to the back.


    The sword aura that came out from the scythe formed a in the air,pletely capturing the monster within. That was a skill unique to Lilith; as agile as one was, if there was a strong enough onught, there was no way to hide from it.


    The monster¡¯s intelligence was also unexpected. Its body constantly twitched, trying to find a way to escape, but it was unexpectedlypletely trapped by the. On its arms and bodies were countless wounds, but no blood flowed out. Instead, it was a dark yellow liquid.


    Feeling like the monster¡¯s speed had been suppressed by Lilith, Xiao Lin decisively took out his sword, activating Miracle before pouring everything into strength. He unleashed a wave of Sword Aura. It was his first time using the offensively powerful sword aura in actual battle, and it rapidly shot through the air, piercing through the body of the monster.


    The whole right arm of the monster had been sliced through. Xiao Lin clicked his tongue; the monster¡¯s agility had allowed it to dodge at thest minute, but of course it could also be his inexperience with the skill. Xiao Lin had actually nned on slicing the monster in half.


    The monster once again made a guttural sound and tried to escape, but Lilith had already renewed her onught with her scythe. This time, she had gathered up the mes and shed them at its feet. Lilith sped up again, and its whole left leg turned to mush.


    ¡°shing!¡±


    Taking that chance, Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword shed down. shing was a skill that needed a long time to gather its power, so it was useless in solo battles, but Lilith¡¯s attacks had given Xiao Lin enough space and time.


    However, just from pure attack power, the ck-Iron ranked Xiao Lin could neverpare to Lilith, but thanks to Miracle, his explosive ability was quite high, even attracting a meaningful look from Lilith. Compared to The Final Lands, Xiao Lin¡¯s rate of growth was quite shocking to Lilith.


    shingpletely cut open the monster¡¯s skull, and its body struggled a little before copsing. Xiao Lin let out a breath, cancelling Miracle before looking at Lilith. The two of them were shocked.


    The monster had given them quite the surprise, but they did not feel like it was too much of a challenge. Of course, their perfect teamwork was a big factor. The Final Lands had already built up their chemistry a lot, so the opponent did not have any chance to retaliate.


    ¡°Other than being disgusting, there wasn¡¯t much of note,¡± Lilith said with nonchnce, simply giving her evaluation of the opponent.


    Xiao Lin had a different view. ¡°If that was created by Asabanor, then it would be a problem. You know too that the undead aren¡¯t terrifying because of the quality, but the quantity. Just imagine meeting a few hundred or even thousands of these creatures. Then, it would not be so easy.¡±


    ¡°That would be a problem.¡± Lilith thought back how difficult the undead troops in The Final Lands were. If the skeletal troops switched to these creatures that were better in every way, then they would not have been able to escape The Final Lands.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave. Asabanor doesn¡¯t seem to be in Wildfire Town.¡±


    Xiao Lin turned around, feeling like he should collect some samples to bring back to the academy. If Asabanor was actually able to mass produce these monsters, especially so near the Silver Province, then it was something they needed to be wary of.


    However, he had barely taken a few steps when his eyes widened, gasping as he pulled out his Holy Soul Sword and called Lilith back.


    The monster that they had cut up into many pieces, head barely intact, was slowly standing up again, its detached limbs slowly crawling back toward each other. Its left leg tended to its wounds and the rotting flesh started to move, quickly mending itself without any scars.

 Chapter 321: Experiment

    <h4>Chapter 321: Experiment</h4>


    That thing could revive itself!


    Xiao Lin was very unsettled, but he did not hesitate. It seemed like the monster needed some time to revive itself, and the parts that were turned to mush could not be regrown, so the monster was using some method to just grow out new flesh from its wounds, but the process was not quick.


    Xiao Lin had already rushed to the front, sending waves of his sword aura over, and turning the flesh that had just recovered back into mush. Lilith, who followed behind, was also very surprised, but quickly joined the attacks.


    The recovering monster did not have any way to fight back, but it was still aware enough to try to get away. It was extremely slow, and under their mutual assault, its whole body quickly turned to sludge.


    However, before Xiao Lin could even gather his breath, the mush on the ground once again moved, and even the tiniest pieces of flesh started to merge, just like earlier. The pieces of flesh would connect to its body, and the mush started to condense, forming a new shape.


    ¡°This... What is this!¡± Even Lilith was filled with shock.


    ¡°Unlimited resurrection? No, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, once again shing with his Holy Soul Sword. Lilith did not even need to move; he had already turned the creature back to mush.


    However, the creature¡¯s pieces of flesh seemed like they were alive, and once again started to resurrect. Xiao Lin seemed to have noticed something, and suddenly told Lilith, ¡°Let¡¯s use our mes to attack!¡±


    Lilith nodded, immediately waving her scythe around, summoning rings of me as Xiao Lin raised his sword to gather the fire elements in the air. In a ce so dense with death energy, the elemental energies were a lot more scarce, and even spellcasting was affected. Gathering the energy took a lot more time, and even Lilith¡¯s me Sword Aura needed a moment, but it was not an issue facing those pieces of flesh.


    The elemental damage caused the flesh to slowly be burnt, giving rise to an even fouler smell. Xiao Lin and Lilith could not help but pinch their noses, forcing the urge to vomit down as they stared at the flesh. Since the monster could keep reviving, then they could just burn it all away!


    The effect was a lot better than earlier. As the fire slowly died down, the remaining rotting flesh might have been smaller than earlier, but it still started to move again.


    ¡°Can this bastard really resurrect without a limit?¡± Lilith was also speechless. The strength of the enemy did not interest her, but its survivability was staggering.


    Lilith¡¯s words caused Xiao Lin to startle. ¡°Resurrecting without limit? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a little familiar?¡±


    Lilith thought for a while, and said in disbelief, ¡°Are you referring to the Law of Immortality? What sort of joke is this. Even if I¡¯ve never died before, if our resurrection spell is simr to this, then I¡¯d rather die.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Our Law of Immortality resurrects us using our soul and reforms our flesh, so the base property is different, but don¡¯t forget we¡¯re very different from this monster, in that we¡¯re live humans, and its an undead creature.¡± Xiao Lin breathed in, continuing, ¡°Did you forget that resurrection tower? The ck one!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s expression started to change. As brave as she was, she still understood that resurrection towers were the basis for their continued existence in this world.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s theory was based on Asabanor, and even the resurrection tower that the elves stole a hundred years ago, but the thought itself was extremely shocking, so he could only postte and not confirm anything. That was no longer something he could handle. He could only wait for help from the academy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s first think about how we can kill this monster.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s as you say and the ck resurrection tower is the reason the monster can keep resurrecting, then why don¡¯t we destroy the tower?¡± Lilith was beginning to be more confident in Xiao Lin¡¯s theory.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. ¡°No, that tower needs to be looked at by the academy. This is no small issue... Our own resurrection is not actually unlimited, and it¡¯s tied to our lifespan. If this monster¡¯s resurrection follows the same principles, then it could never actually have unlimited resurrection, or Asabanor could just take over the whole world.¡±


    In all these years, the humans from Earth had started to strengthen themselves with the help of the Law of Immortality, but the academies had all stopped expanding after a certain degree, which led them to their current state. It was not that no one wanted to expand, but limited lifespans and Lifewater restricted their movement. After all, everyone wanted to have some lifespan left to enjoy their achievements.


    ¡°This monster has a lifespan?¡± Lilith said suspiciously.


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just guessing.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Ahem, let¡¯s just try it out. Let¡¯s see how much this thing can take!¡±


    So Lilith once again started her assault, while Xiao Lin stood at the side to record how many attacks had happened, the speed of which the flesh would move after, and other data. As for why Xiao Lin was in charge of such an annoying task, it was because Lilith felt like he was not strong enough, and there was no point for the two of them to work together for this.


    It was fine; Xiao Lin was a little unhappy, but he could not deny that he was not as strong as Lilith. He decided to just conserve his strength, and Lilith did not seem to be at all interested in recording information anyway.


    After that, they started to perform various experiments. Under Xiao Lin¡¯s urging, Lilith even took out a few different weapons to try. It was a pity they only had fire elemental attacks, or they could have tested the effects of other elements.


    Just as Xiao Lin guessed, the monster could not resurrect perpetually. Every time it was cut down the flesh¡¯s movement would get slowly, signifying the loss of lifespan.


    It took a total of 21 assaults before the flesh stopped moving. It rapidly turned ck and turned to dust in the air.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally done.¡± Lilith was a little tired, but the main thing was that she was extremely bored.

 Chapter 322: Night Lodging

    <h4>Chapter 322: Night Lodging</h4>


    In a dark room, a man who had a face full of scars opened his eyes, the muscles on his face were twisted but solid. Looking at the dark sky outside, he stared for a long time before saying impassionately, ¡°It¡¯s finally over.¡±


    ¡°Dead?¡± Sitting in front of him was a man in ck robes. His voice was maic, filled with curiosity.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I ced a necromantic eye nearby, and saw the whole fight. This result is pretty good; my theory is more or less a sess. I just need to improve some things.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, your so-called first experiment isn¡¯t satisfactory. Your intent isn¡¯t the same as ours. If it¡¯s just an undead of this level, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth anything.¡±


    ¡°Ah, rx. I said it was only the FIRST experiment!¡± the scarred man said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, this is very close to the colonist territories. We won¡¯t apany you if you¡¯re nning on ying with fire! We still don¡¯t have the ability to fight them!¡± the ck-robed man said.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still so weak.¡±


    ¡°I will leave if you keep on with this pointless nder.¡±


    ¡°You really can¡¯t take a joke. Just rx. I¡¯ve long sincepleted my preparations. Ah, those people aren¡¯tpletely united. I don¡¯t even need to do anything, and their internal struggles will win us enough time. Just trust me for the next step.¡±


    ¡°I hope that¡¯s true.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin and Lilith did not rx after exterminating the monster. Even if Xiao Lin had entered the meditative world to make sure there were no more points of suspicion, they still did not rx and investigated their surroundings before finally giving themselves a moment of peace.


    Ibeiya returned as well, brushing aside any attempts to ask where she was. Xiao Lin and Lilith did not press her either, but Ibeiya said after that, ¡°I forgot to tell you, I noticed a necromantic eye on the clock tower in the middle of town while you were fighting.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. There were quite a few basic necromancy spells in the library, and part of it was the necromantic eye. To put it simply, it was like a modern-day camera. With it, the user could observe everything that was happening in town!


    Who had used it?


    The answer was clear. Xiao Lin and Lilith both muttered, ¡°Asabanor.¡±


    What was he looking at?


    Xiao Lin did not feel like he had that much power, so he probably was just observing the monster. More urately, Asabanor just needed something to test out his new toy, while Xiao Lin and Lilith happened to be the best choices.


    ¡°Asabanor? Do you mean thest high priest of the ancient Thunder Kingdom? Wasn¡¯t he killed off by all of you ages ago. Is he still alive?¡± Ibeiya was suddenly interested, and asked curiously, but the two of them did not answer her.


    The necromantic eye had quickly been noticed in the tower. It was a white eyeball, as big as a fist. It had been cultivated with a specialized necromancy spell, but did not have any other capabilities other than observation, so Xiao Lin quickly destroyed it with a me bullet.


    Just as Ibeiya had said, Wildfire Town had beenpletely surrounded by a grey mist, which was condensed death energy. Without any special protection, even the Bronze-ranked Lilith would be sent straight to the nearest resurrection tower. The countless bones surrounding the mists were the best proof.


    The three of them thus decided to rest in the somewhat safe town for the night. Because they were worried that there might be undead or sneak attacks in the houses, they found a few nkets and bedsheets before setting up camp in the za. They were still worried, since destroying the necromantic eye was basically telling Asabanor they knew. No one knew if that old fart would turn up.


    Food was also a problem since they did not dare touch anything contaminated by the dense death energies, save for Ibeiya. Even though she hated death energy, it was actually not that harmful to her. Looking at Ibeiya happily munching on a loaf of bread, Xiao Lin could only salivate while staring, but thankfully starving for a day or two was not a big deal.


    ¡°If the investigation team is at the resurrection towers nearby, then they should be here by tomorrow,¡± Lilith said it was not a problem.


    The night was very boring. Being a normal man, Xiao Ling staying with two girls could be something filled with intrigue and excitement¨Csomething would already have happened if it was a romance movie. However, under the terrifying atmosphere, it was probably closer to a horror movie.


    The density of the death energy was even higher than it was during the day, and a strange phenomenon happened in Wildfire Town. During the night, vague green mes could be seen floating in the air.


    ¡°This is like the ghost fires on Earth. It¡¯s actually exinable. Death energy condensing to a certain degree would cause strange phenomena to happen, and those fires are one of them.¡±


    Lilith had spent a lot of time looking into necromancy. After finishing that, she looked at Xiao Lin before raising her eyebrow. ¡°Even though I somewhat trust you, I still need to remind you to behave yourself when you¡¯re sleeping.¡±


    As a precaution against sneak attacks, they naturally could not sleep apart, and obviously could not take their clothes off either. However, Xiao Lin cautiously looked at the ck scythe in Lilith¡¯s hand and his mouth twitched, not knowing what to say.


    Who the hell slept holding a scythe?!


    Xiao Lin said exasperatedly, ¡°Rx, I¡¯ll make sure to keep my distance. I¡¯d be in trouble if you suddenly had a bad dream. Oh Lilith, I trust you don¡¯t sleepwalk?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Ibeiya did not have any problems at all. As a vampire she actually did not sleep for a few days. However, it was like Lilith had said to Xiao Lin in private, the girl might not be a pureblooded vampire, so she got sleepy at night as well.


    Ibeiya slept close to Xiao Lin¡¯s left side, and the reason was just as Xiao Lin had said. She was worried she would find herself missing body parts if she slept next to Lilith. Even if it would not kill her, the pain would still be felt.


    The little girl told Xiao Lin some stories about Asabanor. Thest high priest of the ancient Thunder Kingdom was quite famous on Norma, so people still remembered him, even after a hundred years.

 Chapter 323: Stories Before Sleeping

    <h4>Chapter 323: Stories Before Sleeping</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s impression of Asabanor had always been of a crazy pervert filled with thoughts of revenge in his head. Lilith might have been from Judge Academy, but other than fighting, she was absolutely uninterested in sses like history, so she did not know much more than Xiao Lin about Asabanor.


    Ibeiya was not happy her request did not get fulfilled, so in the end, the girl started telling them stories about the high priest. Of course, it was basically stories she heard from her travels.


    Asabanor was so famous in Norma thanks to him being a very notable astrologian before. Xiao Lin had heard about astrologians, which was simr to astronomers on earth, but they did not just look at the stars here. Astrology was a very mystical art, and could even be used to cast spells.


    ¡°It is said that the high priest could even observe over ten thousand stars at his peak.¡± Ibeiya¡¯s words were filled with admiration and reverence. The girl seemed to be sincere this time.


    Even though Xiao Lin did not know what was admirable about that old fart, he quickly realized Ibeiya only admired his astrology skills.


    ¡°Over ten thousand stars?¡± Lilith did not believe it. ¡°It¡¯s just a myth. Could that old fart really have counted that many?¡±


    Ibeiya nodded earnestly. ¡°That¡¯s what everyone said. That¡¯s the result of his hard work during his lifetime, but his workce was invaded during hister years, forcing him to stop his research.¡±


    Xiao Linughed dryly. As colonists they were not exactly painted in a good light, but if it really was as Ibeiya said, then that old fart would actually be an astronomer on Earth.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith did not think anything about it originally, since they did not know where Ibeiya heard all that from. Looking at their uninterested expressions, she pointed, immediately summoning up more energy. She deliberately lowered her voice, but it was still clear in the empty za. ¡°I¡¯ve even heard that Asabanor had even discovered your hometowns.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°Our hometown? What do you mean?¡±


    Ibeiyaughed. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t look at me like that. I don¡¯t know astrology, and have only heard rumors. They basically said Asabanor managed to locate your hometown through the stars.¡±


    ¡°That damned pervert really said that; it¡¯s just a load of nonsense to trick naive girls like you!¡± Lilith smiled coldly. She did not think well of Asabanor at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not it. They say he personally saw youing in from a long corridor between the stars! Oh, I was told it was a long corridor made of gold. It sounds so beautiful. Is it real, Uncle? I want to go see it,¡± Ibeiya said as she shook Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith exchanged a nce, unable to mask their shock.


    After so many years, the natives of Norma had already changed their attitudes of hate and fear toward the colonists to admiration and respect. They had already gotten used to the existence of the colonists, which was how Ibeiya could talk to them so easily. It was absolutely impossible for that to happen a hundred years ago.


    Even if that was the case, the natives did not understand the colonists that much. Every colonist academy had agreed to never reveal anything about Earth to the natives, including any of their secrets, such as the resurrection towers and the wormholes.


    The wormholes were filled with Timesand, and every time the interspatial carriage moved, the sand would materialize. Looking at it from afar, would it not look like a golden corridor? It was impossible to make thatparison without personally having sat in an interspatial carriage, and the wormholes were one of their greatest secrets, never exposed to the natives in all their history.


    Xiao Lin would obviously not admit it in front of Ibeiya. He told her it was just nonsense and to not believe it. However, he still asked Ibeiya where she heard it.


    The natives did not have media or the inte, so if this was actually something everyone knew, there was no way the academies had never heard of it. He had only heard of it from Ibeiya today, which meant that the spection and rumors were confined to a small circle.


    Ibeiya knew what he was asking, but could only tell him she heard it from an inn or some travelling poets. Xiao Lin could not do anything about her vague answer, but he started to doubt her status.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually no big deal; we just need to kill him.¡± Lilith did not feel like thinking about such aplicated issue. Her thoughts were simple: however much Asabanor threatened the colonists, it would all be useless if he died.


    Ibeiya talked a lot more about the high priest, but the rest of what she said was all gossip from back then, such as rumors that the high priest had a rtionship with a certain princess, but Xiao Lin and Lilith were not interested at all in his personal life.


    As they grew sleepier, the sound of conversation died down. Ibeiya had actually fallen asleep as she talked, and the light sound of snoring could be heard. Xiao Lin felt like his arm was a bit itchy, and when he turned around, he noticed the girl had taken his arm as a pillow, hugging it tightly as she slept against him.


    Ibeiya looked quite cute sleeping. As a vampire, Ibeiya had an innate charm, and her cute and lively nature had merged with that seductive allure.


    She was going to be a nation-destroying beauty in the future!


    Xiao Lin said that in his heart, but he was just admiring her. However, Xiao Lin suddenly felt a sharp gaze. Turning around, Lilith soundlessly mouthed, ¡®Freaking pervert.¡¯


    He was innocent!


    Xiao Lin could not say anything, turning his gaze toward the sky. The asional green lights flickering in the skies really affected his mood to sleep. To his left were Ibeiya¡¯s trembling eyebrows as she slept. In order to not be a pervert, he could not help but turn to the right, but there, he saw Lilith¡¯s ck scythe.


    There was no way he could sleep!

 Chapter 324: A Disconcerting Hypothesis

    <h4>Chapter 324: A Disconcerting Hypothesis</h4>


    Xiao Lin did not fall asleep until it was veryte. By the time he woke up again, he noticed that it was already daytime. He chastised himself for sleeping that deeply, as it was particrly unwise to do so in such an atrocious environment.


    The sky¡ªstill shrouded by death energy¡ªremained gray without any visible traces of sunlight. There was still nothing for them to eat during the day, so Xiao Lin and Lilith could only continue staring while Ibeiya munched happily on some bread.


    ¡°When will your peoplee here?¡± Ibeiya became lively after filling her stomach.


    ¡°This is the fifth time you¡¯ve asked today. Are you scared? ¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Ibeiya pursed her lips and did not speak any further.


    Based on Lilith¡¯s estimation, Dawn Academy would not be slow to react after detecting the anomalous situation in Wildfire Town. Even if it took some time to break the death energy from outside, Dawn Academy had plenty of talented people and death energy alone could not possibly stop them.


    Therefore, they were definitely going to be safe. Holding on that mindset, they did not make much of it even after enduring hunger that morning. The clock tower in the square allowed them to count down the time, but when afternoon came, they still did not see any rescuersing over.


    Lilith could not resist asking half-teasingly, ¡°Does Dawn Academy ce that little importance on us? Or are you guys really that inefficient?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not think that Dawn Academy ced no importance on them. Other factors aside, the fact that he had an SS-level talent meant that the dean could not possibly abandon him that easily. Xiao Lin was absolutely confident in that respect, which was why he did not feel uneasy even until then.


    However, Lilith¡¯s casual remark made Xiao Lin¡¯s heart thump ufortably, as he realized that he seemed to have forgotten one very important aspect.


    Indeed, Xiao Lin had an SS-level talent, but he almost forgot that the scythe-wielding woman next to him had an SS-level talent too!


    Xiao Lin could never forget his unjustified house arrest back in New Washington, where he was detained simply on the suspicion of the dragon-eagle knights¡¯mander. He would not be that na?ve to think that the colonial academies would be as united as a family. They all appeared united in the outside world, but the disputes between the academies were more intense internally, especially when it came to resources or the poption. In recent decades, the external conflicts with the Normans had gradually eased, while disputes over internal interests have be more prominent.


    If the Americans would think of detaining Xiao Lin, would Dawn Academy do the same after knowing that Lilith was close at hand? Or could it be possible that Dawn Academy would do something much more ruthless than the Americans?


    On the bright side, it was inly inappropriate for Dawn Academy to take any direct action, because it would definitely result in interference by all the other academies, which could potentially spark internal wars. However, if Lilith¡¯s life could be ended by Asabanor¡¯s hand, the justifications and excuses were so plentiful that it made for an absolutely wless n.


    Xiao Lin could no longer remain as calm as he was moments ago. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the possibility was very high. That Dawn Academy was able to stand tall for more than two centuries was a sign that the higher-ups who controlled the academy were no saints. That was the reason for Xiao Lin¡¯s surprise and hesitation when the student union president proposed for Lilith toe alone. Xiao Lin did not want Lilith toe over and risk her life, but it was unfortunate that the woman inherently enjoyed the fun of taking risks.


    He was already mentally prepared for all of that, but the one thing he found uneptable was that Dawn Academy did not send a rescue team even after so much time had passed. Their hidden intention was clearly to kill him along with Lilith!


    If Xiao Lin spected along the worst possible lines, he was even able to think up a perfect excuse for Dawn Academy: ¡®How can Judge Academy suspect that we did this on purpose when we lost our own SS-level too?¡¯


    The nearby resurrection tower would be even easier to deal with. Xiao Lin already knew from the third monthly exam that the resurrection tower was not indestructible, and the me could logically be ced on Asabanor, the old acquaintance of Judge Academy. Without the resurrection tower, Xiao Lin and Lilith could only be wandering souls. Resurrection was no longer possible despite the existence of the resurrectionw.


    Was it a good deal to exchange Xiao Lin for Lilith?


    Xiao Lin did not want to think about such a thing and continued to convince himself that the dean would not do something like that. Lilith still appeared rather indifferent, although she might have also sensed such an intention but kept it to herself instead of expressing them.


    The calmest person was still Ibeiya. Contaminated food and water had no effect on her, but her intelligence was very advanced for her age. She could more or less see that Xiao Lin and Lilith were almost given up, so she kindly gave a suggestion, ¡°If nothing else works, why note and join my family?¡±


    ¡°And be a vampire?¡± Lilith narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Do you just need to bite us?¡± Xiao Lin was purely curious. Talking was better than thinking mindlessly to himself.


    ¡°Bite? Why do I need to bite you? I don¡¯t eat humans, Uncle!¡± Ibeiya said aggrievedly.


    Xiao Lin cleared his throat a few times and ignored Lilith rolling her eyes. He realized that he had been misled by movies on earth again, so waved his hand and said, ¡°Just kidding. Uh, don¡¯t mind me. You can just exin it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually very simple. I can use my blood to transform your physique. It¡¯spletely unnecessary to do something as horrible as biting other people!¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you don¡¯t need to bite me, but I would have to bite you?¡± Xiao Lin teased. Lilith then rolled her eyes at him again, as if to say, ¡®You sick pervert.¡¯


    Lilith questioned skeptically, ¡°It can¡¯t be that simple? If it was, the number of vampires would have increased everywhere, but as far as I know, your race is actually very scarce in number. You do know that, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Ibeiya pursed her lips, ¡± Of course I do. The blood which has transformative properties derives from lifeblood, and it takes a huge toll on the body. Although the lifeblood of each vampire can be regenerated, the cycle is extremely long, up to decades or even centuries.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re only a little vampire. Does that mean you have to transform someone else, then have that person transform another person?¡± Xiao Lin teased.


    ¡°Of course not! Our lifeblood needs sufficient time, and I barely managed to save enough of my lifeblood to transform others!¡±


    Lilith could not help but smile, ¡°Then just let this pervy perv transform. I¡¯m not interested in bing a vampire. ¡±


    ¡°Neither do I! I prefer being human!¡±


    Xiao Lin spread out his palms helplessly. Although that was what he said, an inevitable thought shed through his mind. If Dawn Academy really wanted to abandon him and Lilith, and if the dense death energy continued to linger in the air for a long time, perhaps bing a vampire was a good alternative to starving to death there?

 Chapter 325: An Odd Tunnel

    <h4>Chapter 325: An Odd Tunnel</h4>


    The uneasy atmosphere gradually intensified, and aside from the asional chat, Xiao Lin and the others kept silent the entire day. Lilith had probably been able to guess what Dawn Academy wanted to do, and based on her reasoning, Xiao Lin was implicated purely because of her. Even though she did not set aside her ego, her tone was somewhat apologetic.


    Xiao Lin remembered that he had read simr information about how people couldst up to three days without drinking water or eating. Although Lilith mentioned that their physique was better than that of Earthling after reaching the ck Iron-rank, it onlysted for two to three days.


    Death was all but certain if they could not get food and water in time. Meanwhile, Ibeiya seemed even more enthusiastic about rmending Xiao Lin to be a vampire, so much so that she strived to promote the advantages of the vampire race. Although Xiao Lin had no interest in bing a non-human entity, he had to consider such a possibility if something really could not be done.


    It was evening when there was finally a development. Rather than someoneing in to rescue them or the thick fog showing signs of dissipating, they found a secret passage in the basement where the monster appeared earlier.


    Neither Xiao Lin and Lilith wanted to go near that ce, as it was in ruins after the monster was annihted, along with the reeking stench of rotting flesh and internal organs.


    However, Ibeiya returned there again and seemed to ignore everything. She had been afraid of the undead earlier, but her fear and disgust had been forgotten after the monster died. She said that she was looking for something to use there, and Xiao Lin wondered if she wanted to find some meat to roast for them to eat?


    What a sick joke that would be. Xiao Lin did his best to hold back a desire to vomit. He somewhat guessed that the organs were probably from the townspeople of Wildfire Town. All things aside, he would rather die than eat human flesh.


    Ibeiya spent more than two hours getting busy beforeing back. Instead of bringing back human flesh, she brought back some surprising news. The two of them quickly followed her to have a careful look, and they pinched their noses to endure the stench.


    Xiao Lin found that the basement¡¯s ruins seemed to have traces of being cleaned up, but none of them touched anything since they left the day before. Ibeiya said that she visited just to pass the time, but it was obviously a half-hearted answer from her. Xiao Lin pondered while looking at Ibeiya, and heter noticed that Lilith was in deep thought too. When Ibeiya turned around again, their expression reverted immediately to calmness.


    ¡°Come and have a look! Come here and look! It¡¯s here!¡± Ibeiya did not seem to notice anything wrong and pointed to the innermost corner of the basement. Looking through the cleared ruins, there was indeed a half-hidden wooden door there. Since half the basement had copsed, the inside was not very dim.


    The wooden door was very old and not very sturdy. There were clear signs of rotting from above, indicating that the door had been there for a long time. Their previous day¡¯s fight with the monster probably led the doors to be loose, with the door joints beingpletely broken off too. Xiao Lin casually conjured up a me bomb and sted the door open.


    Behind the wooden door was a deep, narrow tunnel. There are a few magicmps hanging at the entrance of the tunnel, but the innermost areas were still dark. In Norma, magicmps were one of the more practical lighting tools, as they used energy ores to release energy in the form of a light source.


    However, such magicmps were an exclusive item of nobility. Of course, the nobility being referred to were the nobles among Norma¡¯s natives. Because of the rarity of energy ores, magicmps were quite expensive, and ordinary families simply could not afford it. As a result, the entire city was pitch ck except for the manors owned by nobility.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the original owner here? Do you know?¡± Xiao Lin asked Ibeiya. He suddenly became a little curious about the building¡¯s original owner. The house nearby was a three-storey building, which was rtively luxurious in the local area. Such a house was obviously out of reach for ordinary poor people, especially when magicmps were ced at the entrance of the tunnel. It was unlikely that the local noblemen would do such an extravagant thing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Ibeiya¡¯s big bright eyes blinked innocently.


    Xiao Lin looked at her for a long time before retracting his gaze. All he could say was that Ibeiya¡¯s facial expression was wless and he was not quite sure what the girl was thinking.


    Lilith knew a little more about the New World than Xiao Lin did. She walked to the door and nced at it twice, then said with certainty, ¡°This is a mine tunnel, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°A mine tunnel?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why don¡¯t you know anything, Uncle!¡± Ibeiya mocked Xiao Lin jokingly, but before thetter could get angry, she immediately changed back to an adorable tone and replied, ¡°What else is worth developing in Silver Province? Starmetal of course. Hehe, this is the most important thing for your people. Don¡¯t you know that, Uncle?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, can¡¯t you call me by name?¡± Xiao Lin felt helpless when she called him uncle, especially since Lilith would easily get the false impression that he was some kind of sick pervert.


    ¡°I got a bit used to calling it. I¡¯ve tried to call people by name plenty of times, but the humans on your side¡ªespecially the young men around Dawn Academy¡ªseem to be very happy when I call them that. Uncle, the truth is, deep down, you really want me to call you that, right?¡±


    Her delicate tone, coupled with her cute Lolita face, was lethal for many men, especially those otakus from Earth who had graduated in recent years. Xiao Lin suddenly began to believe that she did wander all over the world alone. Setting aside the question of strength, that ability of hers alone would probably cause anyone to willingly protect that cute¡ªor rather, seemingly-cute¡ªgirl.


    ¡°It¡¯s a tunnel used to develop the starmetal mines.¡± Lilith¡¯s brows gradually tightened.


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Everything¡¯s wrong. You ought to know that all the mining grounds currently discovered in Silver Province have beenpletely divided up. As far as I know, a mine tunnel leading to Wildfire Town doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an illegal one then.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. Such things urred on Earth, so it was unsurprising that they would ur in Norma. However, Xiao Lin had an instant realization as well¡ªthe current eeriness of Wildfire Town must be the doing of Asabanor¡¯s ghost.


    ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s spection thus far, it should have been Asabanor who did something to flood Wildfire Town with death energy, and then used a necromantic eye to experiment with the newly created undead monsters and collect various data, like what Xiao Lin did during the battle.


    A premeditated process like that could not bepleted in one or two days. If that mine was also a part of Asabanor¡¯s n, then the problem might be more serious than first imagined¡ªit would mean that Asabanor had other aplices, of which the number was likely to be more than one person.

 Chapter 326: Destroying the Black Tower

    <h4>Chapter 326: Destroying the ck Tower</h4>


    Xiao Lin clearly remembered that it had only been about two months since the time he came out of The Final Land and back into New Washington. Based on Lilith¡¯s information, Asabanor used necromancy to control a gang of bandits after leaving The Final Land and subsequently used them to provoke Judge Academy by harassing their merchant caravans.


    Of course, Asabanor would not do such pointless acts for no reason. Xiao Lin guessed that it was probably to buy some time. As to the question of what Asabanor was trying to buy time for, Xiao Lin felt that they might get the answer soon enough.


    The mine tunnel was now theirst hope, but before leaving, Xiao Lin suggested that he and Lilith return to the town square to try and find ways to destroy the strange ck resurrection tower.


    Xiao Lin initially nned to leave aplete resurrection tower for future people toe in and research, but in the present situation, he was likely to be Dawn Academy¡¯s abandoned boy. Even though he still believed that the dean would never make such a decision, it was still very difficult to quell the resentment in his chest. He felt that he had to do something to vent his anger out.


    Since they wanted to leave him to his death, Xiao Lin felt that there was no need to leave theplete resurrection tower behind. In any case, the current ck tower waspletely unable to resurrect the colonists too.


    Destroying a resurrection tower was no small feat. The design of a resurrection tower was to prevent ordinary ck Iron- or Bronze-rank individuals from destroying it on a whim. However, the ck tower before them could no longer be regarded as a resurrection tower. Perhaps it would have been better to call a resurrection tower for the undead.


    A defiled resurrection tower was actually a shadow of its previous self, a fact that Xiao Lin and Lilith found out when they inspected the resurrection tower on the first day. The surface of the ck resurrection tower had obvious pits, as if it had been corroded by sulfuric acid.


    Lilith was heartily weed in the proposal to vent out her anger. Without further ado, she flicked her wrist and acquired her scythe so the two of them could join forces and destroy the resurrection tower. The roaring mes raised the temperature of the town square by several degrees. Ibeiya watched from a distance, her blue pupils turned around in her eye sockets and she seemed to be thinking of something.


    Five minutester, Xiao Lin¡ªwho had been attacking with all his strength¡ªwas the first to stop. He had to take some rest after using the Miracle state. Lilith immediately stopped too, and the two of them were feeling somewhat speechless as they looked at thepletely undamaged resurrection tower.


    Could its so-called reduction in hardness be a mere illusion?


    Or did it mean that their attacking ability was far from enough even though the hardness was already reduced?


    ¡°I remember that the resurrection tower has self-destructive devices,¡± Lilith consciously pointed out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t put your hopes on it. The device does exist, but the magic scroll which activates the self-destructing device must have been kept at the center of the academy. It won¡¯t be in Wildfire Town.¡± Xiao Lin had some knowledge of it since he had learnt quite a lot during the third monthly exam.


    ¡°Actually, I think we¡¯re using the wrong methods.¡± Xiao Lin pondered and put forward his own point of view, ¡°This ck tower does seem to be seriously damaged, but think about it carefully. What could possibly cause such a degree of damage?¡±


    ¡°It has to be that dead old fart.¡± Lilith thought for a while, then suddenly realized, ¡°Death energy? You¡¯re right, maybe this is the reason why Asabanor gathered so much death energy in this insignificant town. but you and I are just beginners in necromancy, are you sure can¡ª Ah, okay, I understand now.¡±


    Lilith suddenly stopped talking, as Xiao Lin¡¯s triumphant expression reminded her that his Holy Soul Sword had an undead soul in it!


    She had earlier reminded Xiao Lin not to use the attached skill lightly, because Asabanor would probably control it. However, it no longer mattered because there were basically no other people in Wildfire Town anymore.


    Summoning the undead swordsman could be done by killing a certain number of creatures and umting enough blood, but the method was not absolute. In particr, he understood from necromantic meditation that the so-called murder and blood-tainting could simply be exined as an umtion of enough death energy on the Holy Soul Sword. It was due to the bnce of nature energy in most normal environments that led to the scarcity of death energy, and the only way to temporarily increase it was through killing.


    However, it was unnecessary in Wildfire Town. The concentration of death energy there would probably exceed that of a cemetery with hundreds of years of history. It should be possible to summon the undead swordsman without the need to kill and taint the sword with enough blood.


    In order to ensure that the concentration was sufficient, Xiao Lin chose to summon the soul in the town¡¯s fringe area, since the gray fog there was the strongest. Xiao Lin wielded the Holy Soul Sword and waited quietly for a moment. Sure enough, the Holy Soul Sword produced a grayish gas about ten secondster. It materialized quickly in mid-air, with the figure of the undead swordsman and his old armor bing clearer and clearer before graduallynding on the ground.


    ng!


    The swordsman in full-body armornded heavily, producing a cloud of dust. It was the same undead swordsman from back then. Xiao Lin circled him a few times and took a closer look, as he somehow felt that the soul was a little different. Even so, he could not find out why even after looking at the swordsman for a long time.


    There was an urging from Lilith some distance away. Xiao Lin shrugged and gave up looking. It was not the first time he had summoned that undead being, and after skillfully giving orders through mental power, the undead swordsman followed him mechanically. As he walked toward the square, Xiao Lin did not notice that behind him, a pair of green mes flickered briefly before returning to calm in the swordsman¡¯s barely distinguishable eyes under that old helmet.


    The undead swordsman¡¯s strength was not that strong, and undead creatures themselves had no thoughts, which made its actions seem like a rigid machine. Despite being quite useful as a human shield of sorts, it was still difficult to rely on itsbat power.


    ¡°However, since it¡¯s an undead creature, its own attacks will be apanied by undead aura. At the very least, the effects of its attack on the resurrection tower will probably be better than either of us.¡±


    Xiao Lin mentally issued an attackmand as he made that remark. The swordsman dragged the huge sword and walked forward slowly. He raised it up high, then swung it toward the center of the resurrection tower.


    ng!


    A crisp impact sound was heard. The undead swordsman was slightly shaken back a few steps by the rebound forceing from the hilt, but there were finally traces of a crack on the surface of the resurrection tower.


    One strike, two strikes, three strikes...


    The uninterrupted attacksted for more than ten minutes, but Xiao Lin noticed the numerous gaps in the undead swordsman¡¯s weapon and could not help but feel frightened again by the hardness of the resurrection tower.


    That was the extent of it however, and a dull cracking sound was heard right after the sword¡¯sst strike. The whole resurrection tower began cracking from the center, and countless cracks began spreading out to all directions. The tower was about to crash in the blink of an eye, as the cracks had reached deep into the ck tower, causing the entire structure to be fragmented. Xiao Lin took advantage of the situation and lightly produced a me bomb. Following the burst of mes, the ck tower copsed.

 Chapter 327: Going Through the Mine Tunnel

    <h4>Chapter 327: Going Through the Mine Tunnel</h4>


    The second the ck resurrection tower was destroyed, the entire Wildfire Town seemed to undergo a slight fluctuation. Xiao Lin immediately frowned, and he felt that something in his body was drawn away along with ck tower¡¯s copse. Lilith seemed to feel the same way and she nodded at him.


    Xiao Lin understood in an instant. That strange feeling probably meant that he was no longer within the scope of the resurrection tower. Earthlings who obtained the resurrectionw possessed a thread-like connection with the resurrection tower. Once the structure disappeared, the connection would also be severed and the change was a noticeable one.


    It basically verified Xiao Lin¡¯s previous underlying concern. Sure enough, the other resurrection tower closest to that ce had also been deliberately destroyed, and the purpose is to bury Lilith there!


    After destroying the ck resurrection tower, they came back to the mine in the basement.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith each took a magicmp from the door and explored the depths of the mine tunnel under the dim yellow light. The air inside was not very good, but the airtightness of the mine tunnel prevented death energy froming in. They walked and observed that there were many wheels and footsteps on the wet ground. It was clear that someone had entered and exited there just recently, which meant that there was a functional exit on the other side of the mine.


    Of course, it was inevitable that they would consider various other possibilities. For example, there might be more monsters that could resurrect just like what happened a day ago, or perhaps Asabanor himself might engage them in battle. On the other hand, Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s physical strengths would have dropped after going two days without food or drink.


    Most importantly, they were not within the scope of the resurrection tower at that moment, so it did matter how much lifespan they still had because their life would end if they were killed. Neither could not afford to die, and it would be ridiculous for them to im that they were not nervous at all. Xiao Lin did not retract the undead swordsman but continued to have him lead the way instead.


    If they encountered a possible attack, the swordsman would be there to cushion them like a human shield. However, Xiao Lin was well aware that his mental energy would continue being used up the longer the undead swordsman stayed outside. In any case, their hopes of survival caused them to gradually quicken their pace.


    The mine tunnel was longer than expected, proving that it could not have beenpleted in a short time. No one knew how many years ago that ce was dug out.


    The deeper they went, the fewer the presence of magicmps. The light was not very strong when they relied on themps that the three of them hold. In addition, the mine tunnel was twisted and extremely narrow. Encountering an enemy there would be very troublesome, so their pace once again slowed down.


    Two hourster, Lilith, who was still in the mine tunnel, could not but break the silence, ¡°We should¡¯ve already left the Wildfire Town area, right?¡±


    Although she deliberately lowered her voice, it still reverberated in the mine for quite some time. So far, they did not encounter any monsters or enemies, so the mind was either abandoned, or the miners had left after nightfall.


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°We might be a bit slow, but Wildfire Town isn¡¯t that big. Where are we going if we¡¯re leaving Wildfire Town?¡±


    Xiao Lin was not very familiar with Silver Province. Based on the initial n, they were supposed to rest in Wildfire Town and rendezvous with Judge Academy¡¯s people before departing. Neither of those people had the final say on where they were supposed to go, but that was also a silver lining¡ªleaving Wildfire Town was equivalent to leaving the confinement of that thick fog.


    Lilith knew nothing about what lies beyond the exit, but she was quite sure that it would not be any of the presently-known mines. The fact that someone dared to secretly mine starmetal in Silver Province under the noses of many colonial colleges was an incident that surprised her even more than Asabanor.


    Half an hourter, Xiao Lin and Lilith felt yet another strange feeling in their hearts, simr to when the resurrection tower was destroyed earlier on. However, the present feeling was that of reassurance. They understood it to mean that they had re-entered the resurrection tower¡¯s area of effectiveness.


    The subsequent journey was much easier. Xiao Lin did not have to strain himself to maintain the undead swordsman¡¯s presence and his exhausted mental energy could finally take a break. What made him a little strange was that the Holy Soul Sword seemed to vibrate slightly in his hand when he retracted the undead swordsman. It was something that never happened before, but it was not the time to be fretting over such trivial matters and Xiao Lin quickly forgot about it.


    Without the undead swordsmen, Ibeiya volunteered to lead the way because the vampire race had better vision in the dark than humans, allowing her to sense any danger in advance. The speed of their journey continued to elerate, and in addition to Ibeiya, Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s hunger is getting stronger and stronger.


    At that point, it was probably nightfall outside of the mine tunnel, which meant that they had gone two whole days without eating or drinking. The mine tunnel that they were originally wary about was slowly bing a point of annoyance at that moment. They could not wait to see the light at the exit. On the way, Ibeya continued to exin more benefits of bing a vampire to Xiao Lin, making Xiao Lin feel as though she had the potential to be a multi-level marketing sales girl. With Ibeiya as the intermediary along the way, the other two did not feel too bored.


    About two more hourster, Xiao Lin clearly heard the sound of strong wind and the mine tunnel gradually became bigger. Surprised and delighted, he quickened his pace again. After another quarter of an hour, their eyes suddenly lit up, with the starry double moon sky appearing right before their eyes.


    Xiao Lin took a breath of fresh air and his lungs felt unusually refreshed. If he had not considered the fact that they were not entirely safe yet, he would have loved to yell into the sky a couple of times.


    The journeysted more than four hours, and because the second half of the journey was done at a quicker pace, the entire journey added up to nearly half a day. Such a long-distanced mine tunnel left them wondering what the original purpose of developing it was.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re in the southern part of Silver Province now.¡± Lilith estimated based on the distance and time.


    They were located in the depths of a valley, surrounded by stretches of mountains that had lush jungles on top of them. There clearly seemed to be an absence of towns nearby, and ording to Lilith¡¯s understanding, the entire southern region of Silver Province was surrounded by mountains. Going past those mountains, one would then enter into the central area of Silver Province, where arge basin was situated. It was also the main area that was rich in starmetal.


    The three of them advanced slowly and vigntly through the valleys. At the foot of the mountains were a number of mining tools lying around. Several huge crucibles were also present on the empty ground not far away. However, some of the crucibles had fallen to the ground and the remaining contents werepletely solidified, signifying that they had been abandoned there. Despite that, it appeared as though they had not been left behind for too long, perhaps maybe a few weeks or a few months.

 Chapter 328: Mining Ground

    <h4>Chapter 328: Mining Ground</h4>


    ¡°So this is the mining ground for starmetal. It¡¯s incredible. This mountain range had been searched through long ago and it should be impossible to find any more starmetal here.¡±


    Lilith walked over and sighed while opening her palms. In it were a few broken rocks. Xiao Lin took them and looked closely with the aid of the magicmp. They were just ordinary rocks, but there were grains finer than sand mixed on the rock surface. Those particles glowed faintly in a silver-gray light just like stars shining in the night sky.


    ¡°Is this starmetal? It¡¯s pretty, but doesn¡¯t seem like a lot.¡± Xiao Lin threw the rock aside. Very few silver particles were present in those fist-sized stones.


    ¡°Yes, starmetal is very scarce in quantity and so far, it has only been found in Silver Province. Although the current reserves are still plentiful, they¡¯ll be used up sooner orter. By then, we¡¯ll...¡± Lilith suddenly remembered that there the little vampire Ibeiya was right next to her. She wanted to say that their resurrection tower would not be able to be built if that happened, but she thought better of saying those stuff in front of the natives.


    Xiao Lin also understood what Lilith meant, but it was not up to them to think about the future. He turned and looked warily at Ibeiya next to him. The little vampire had a look of utter innocence and curiousness. Xiao Lin thought about it and passed her the rock in his hand.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle!¡± Ibeiya happily took it.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyelids twitched slightly and hemented to himself that it would be difficult to change his ¡®uncle¡¯ designation.


    Ibeiya used her nails to grip the rock forcefully, as if she wanted to dig the starmetal right out. In the normal mining process, the starmetal-rich rocks would be ced into the crucible for heating, stirring and filtering. Since starmetal was extremely heat-resistant, the final filtered product would be pure ore.


    An approach like Ibeiya¡¯s was practically torture. Her fingers were soon dripping with blood and her nails were slightly bent. Xiao Lin wanted to stop her, but was in turn stopped by Lilith. The two of them quietly watched Ibeiya¡¯s persistent movements for a moment. After some time, Ibeya exhaled slightly, and stretched out her palm rather proudly. Her blood-stained palm was shining with the silver light of the starmetal.


    ¡°Are your hands alright?¡±


    Xiao Lin wanted to look for something to bandage her, but then casually sucked her finger in her mouth. When she took it out a few minutester, the wound had healed more than half. The healing ability was so powerful that it startled Xiao Lin, and Lilith was frowning pensively too.


    The group continued to explore the valley again, and a few stone houses were present at the exit. There was nothing in the house except for basic daily utensils. Xiao Lin was ted because they finally found water and food there. From there on, the death energy seemed to be confined to the area within Wildfire Town. There was no sign of contamination and he could eat it with confidence.


    What left Xiao Lin feeling a little concerned was a half-covered pot of soup on the kitchen stove that had long since dried up. It seemed that the owner there had no choice but to leave it behind and depart the area in a hurry, so much so that they could not care less for the food on the fire. It had turned inedible, but there was a lot of dried meat and bread around.


    Xiao Lin ate a piece of bread and drank a few mouthfuls of water, but he still felt unsatisfied. He licked his lips after seeing the dried meat, and after less than ten seconds of hesitation, he made the decision to rece a clean pot. He carried up some firewood, lit them, and found some spices. Next up, he started to enjoy himself as he boiled the soup.


    Lilith was searching for clues in the other rooms, while Ibeiya waspletely attracted by the starmetal outside. Ten minutester however, they were all attracted by the fragrant aroma of meat wafting around inside the house.


    Lilith was a little surprised, perhaps even a little envious, and she asked, ¡°You can cook?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded triumphantly. His skills were not actually that good, but thanks to Song Jung and those strange dietary treatments, Xiao Lin¡¯s cooking skills had improved quite a bit. At the very least, his cooking was still considered somewhat delicious.


    Lilith nced at a small half of bread in her hand and threw it aside without a second thought.


    That night, under the bright twin moons, the three of them wolfed down the delicious soup. Xiao Lin felt that he had drunk the best meat soup in his entire life. He probably did not even remember what ingredients were in the soup, but in any case, he poured in all the ingredients he found and the result ended up tasting unexpectedly good.


    Once they had their fill, they did not even bother to clean up since they figured they would not be back there again anyway. Lilith discussed the next course of action with Xiao Lin. Turning back to Dawn Academy¡¯s colony would require them to go through Wildfire Town again, which was not a good choice under the current uncertainty.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Gold City then! It¡¯s the biggest city in Silver Province and thergest transit point for the starmetal. Most colleges have offices there,¡± Lilith proposed.


    ¡°Gold City? A city for Gold-rank individuals?¡±


    ¡°Uh, not exactly. The ¡®silver¡¯ in Silver Province refers to the entry of people at Silver-rank only, but the ¡®gold¡¯ in Gold City refers to gold of actual value. Gold is a precious metal in Norma too. It¡¯s the main currency of the higher-level people. You¡¯ll know when you arrive.¡±


    Although Lilith said that many colleges had offices in Gold City, what she really meant was Judge Academy. It was clear that the woman no longer trusted Dawn Academy.


    While she was talking, Ibeiya¡¯s expression changed drastically as she drank the soup. She whispered, ¡°There are peopleing here. It seems to be a lot of people!¡±


    Ibeiya¡¯s vignce was higher than that of Lilith and Xiao Lin. After the two of them held their breath and focused their attention, they vaguely heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching them.


    ¡°It¡¯s toote.¡± Xiao Lin nced at the pot that was still emanating with the smell of meat. He smiled bitterly and suddenly realized how they had been discovered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at who they are.¡± Lilith seemed rather nonchnt about it. She was not afraid of facing an opponent after having her fill, but she did not want to rush into action because countless adventurers and merchant groups went back and forth in Silver Province every day. Although the mining ground seemed to be rtively hidden, it was not unusual for an asional caravan to get lost and be drawn to the smell of meat.


    A few minutester, the sound of footsteps came closer and the moonlight enabled them to distinguish the appearance of the man leading the group. They were all heavily armed, mostly in light chain mail or leather armor, as well as holding swords or bows of various sizes. They did not look like a merchant group at all.


    The other side appeared to be quite alert and did not spring into action too quickly. Both parties soon encountered each other. Xiao Lin took the initiative to greet them in his half-baked Normese and rummaged around his brain for the Normese vocabry he had mastered. He expressed his intention as clearly as possible, because the ent of those menacing-looking people suggested that they neither spoke Chinese or English. Surprisingly, the subsequent discussion went simpler than Xiao Lin imagined.


    ¡°It¡¯s only the three of you?¡±


    ¡°Mm, we¡¯re a merchant group that lost our way...¡±


    ¡°Only the three of you?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°No one else?¡±


    ¡°You could say that. We just happened to pass through by ident...¡±


    ¡°Oh, only the three of you. DIE!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 329: An Unexpected Battle (1)

    <h4>Chapter 329: An Unexpected Battle (1)</h4>


    The battle started without so much as a warning. Xiao Lin originally wanted to try and negotiate with them, but little did he expect that the other party would show no such intention at all. Instead, they immediatelyunched an attack when they saw that Xiao Lin¡¯s group had only three people.


    Lilith probably anticipated that situation and had a sneer of disdain. She turned her wrist slightly and conjured up the jet-ck war scythe at once.


    The scene instantly became chaotic. Xiao Lin was briefly caught off guard by the opponent¡¯s sneak attack, but he did not hesitate either. After realizing that the opponent was going to kill his side, he immediately activated the Miracle state. A burst of sword aura then immediately shed in half one of the individuals who was nearer to him and had rushed up abruptly. Blood sttered everywhere, with various organs and tissues falling from the sky. The power of the Lightsword was really powerful when used in tandem with the Miracle state.


    There were about a dozen people in the other group. They originally thought that Xiao Lin¡¯s side were weaklings, mainly because two of the people were delicate girls, and wanted to quickly get rid of all three. Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden attack startled them, but all of them were felons that seemed to be quite experienced.


    They hesitated for less than half a second before a couple of people immediately dashed past Xiao Lin and headed straight for Lilith. Meanwhile, the rest of them were restraining Xiao Lin from the front, and Xiao Lin shot a sympathetic look to the people moving past.


    Sure enough, it took less than ten seconds when those people screamed and fell down. The mes on their bodies continued to burn and as they stuck to their skin and burned violently. One person, who seemed to be half-alive, grimaced at the burning pain and let out a chilling cry that resounded in the dark and empty valley.


    They expected to find some pushovers, but it was evident that they had miscalcted. Being well-trained individuals, another four people immediately split from the group and went straight to the left. Their target was Ibeiya, and after their initial miscalction with Lilith, the few of them attacked with all their might, and Xiao Lin even discovered that some of them were still wielding sword aura.


    ¡°Crap!¡±


    Xiao Lin eximed. The heat of the fight caused him to nearly forget that the little girl was different from Lilith. All she had was a vampire¡¯s strong physique, but in truth, she did not even have the power to tie up a chicken.


    He did not hesitate to shift all his attributes into agility and use the Phantom Steps at its highest. He turned around intending to help, but soon felt a slight pain from behind him. When he looked over, he found that someone had shot him using a short bow from close distance.


    Xiao Lin could not help but feel a little bit displeased in his desperation, as the limitations of the Phantom Step were constantly increasing. The Phantom Step was definitely not a foolproof skill, but it was time-tested among the freshmen due to its nature as a ck-Iron level skill. Most freshmen who did not even reach ck Iron-level would find it difficult to catch up to it unless they were the small minority who possessed exceptional talent.


    In the face of ck Iron-rank opponents however, the role of Phantom Step was reduced tremendously. The problem was not very prominent during the third monthly exam because the orcs they faced were not known for their speed and skill. However, the limitations of the Phantom Step were finallyid bare once again.


    The strength of that group was not very strong, and Xiao Lin had an absolute advantage in the Miracle state during brief weapon shes. However, his defensive ability was very low when facing a longer-range attack.


    It hurt!


    Xiao Lin gritted his teeth. He originally thought that he would not need to fight since he had powerfulpanions within the investigation team assigned for the journey. As a result, he only brought the essential weapons and did not wear any armor. After all, it was very ufortable to wear heavy armor constantly. Luckily for him however, the arrow did not hit a vital point and merely struck him below the shoulder. Xiao Lin reached back and pulled it out, causing blood to begin spurting immediately. It did not concern him that much though, as his body possessed a dragon¡¯s healing ability.


    Ibeiya instinctively started running in the opposite direction as soon as battle began. She knew that she was incapable ofbat and would only be a burden to Lilith and Xiao Lin if she was captured. Unfortunately, Ibeiya¡¯s ims of having no strength turned out not to be a ruse for Xiao Lin and Lilith. She had already been caught after running only a short distance away.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s pace was greatly slowed down because he was obstructed by a couple of individuals wielding short bows. Annoyed, he directly sliced the air with me sword aura. While he was at that, he produced me bombs to block several nearby people who were ready toe over. Then, he pulled away a little and rushed over to Ibeiya.


    The man who seized Ibeiya grinned and held a long knife to the girl¡¯s neck. His actions stopped there and he shot a provoking look at the oing Xiao Lin. After bing aware that Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯sbat strength was beyond their imagination, they swiftly decided to threaten them by taking Ibeiya¡ªthe weakest of them all¡ªas hostage.


    The man mumbled something, but his ent was too heavy and Xiao Lin could not understand what those words meant. The situation put him in a tight spot. He had known Ibeiya for just a few days and she was a very mysterious girl, even to the extent that he and Lilith were secretly wary of her throughout the entire time.


    In any case, Xiao Lin could no longer bear to act any slower when he saw the adorable girl¡¯s trembling pupils and tear-stained delicate face. He shouted in some terrible Normese, ¡°Let her go! You want a fight? I¡¯ll fight! Why involve a child!¡±


    The man said something in reply and then stretched out his dirty hand to forcefully stroke Ibeiya¡¯s face. He then put on a goading expression for Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin saw red and Lilith was upied with the others. Although the battle situation was extremely favorable for Lilith, the other party had considerable experience. When they realized that it was pointless to fight the crazy woman from the front, they deliberately distanced themselves and nimbly avoided her scythe¡¯s attack range.


    Ibeiya originally had a horrified look, but as soon as the man touched her face humiliatingly, a ruthless look suddenly appeared in her eyes and she moved her head forward to the de, causing it to cut through her neck. Although the man was shocked and quickly retracted the knife, it was already too little toote.


    A torrent of blood gushes out, dyeing Ibeiya¡¯s white dress red. She used so much force that the sharp de nearly cut off her entire head. Her kind fell down like a kite on a snapped string. She no longer moved, and the expression on her face remained frozen on her final smile.


    ¡°IBEIYA!¡±


    Xiao Lin was utterly enraged. Whatever the circumstances might be, Xiao Lin could never ept the fact that such a cute and lovely girl had died before his eyes. The man opposite was still stunned and stared nkly at the dripping blood on his hands. He probably did not believe that the girl actually had such courage.


    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt something blooming in his body. The next moment, his entire body rushed towards the man like a meteor.

 Chapter 330: An Unexpected Battle (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 330: An Unexpected Battle (Part 2)</h4>


    During the battle, Lilith made a point to pay attention to Xiao Lin¡¯s side. She appeared to be more aware of the situation than Xiao Lin was and noticed that his strength was indeed better than that of the opponents. As a result, she never once thought of lending any support for Xiao Lin.


    After seeing Ibeya using suicide to break free from the man¡¯s threat, she even nodded her head in a show of praise. However, when she saw Xiao Lin¡¯s mad dash as well as the terrible swordsmanship resulting from his anger, she could not help but curse in a low voice, ¡°Idiot!¡±


    Ibeiya came from a race of vampires!


    She had to admit that Ibeiya¡¯s final acting skills were on point, with most people feeling sympathy for her decisiveness and final liberation before dying.


    Xiao Lin did show some signs of losing his mind at that instant, but he soon noticed that something was wrong in his subconscious. Ibeiya had previously stated that she would not die that easily, but when he wanted to calm down the anger in his heart, he was horrified to discover that his anger seemed to have a life of its own, desperately trying to erupt on its own beyond his control.


    Xiao Lin had not yet deactivated his Miracle, and after an instant of anger, his speed was once again elevated to a higher level due to the Miracle state¡¯s properties. His phantom-like speed left the opponent with no time to react at all.


    ng!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword had already shed through the body of the man who had grabbed Ibeiya. The Lightsword¡¯s wave tore the man¡¯s body in half instantaneously, killing him on the spot.


    The other two people next to him quickly evaded and ced their guards up after a brief horror. Their reaction was quick, and they distanced themselves by more than ten meters in just a few seconds. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s next move was even more shocking. He directly raised his sword up high, signifying the start of the shing skill. In spite of that, it was impossible to strike an enemy that was ten meters away using the shing.


    After the three-second power-up waspleted, Xiao Lin immediately swung the sword from where he stood. A huge wave of sword aura swept ten meters forward within the blink of an eye. The next second, the man¡¯s body was crushed by the sword aura. Mangled and mutted, he fell onto the ground and was no longer able to stand up.


    ¡°A fusion attack of shing and wave sword aura!¡± Lilith looked suspiciously from one side and muttered to herself, ¡°Even though it¡¯s not difficult, where would someone who just reached ck Iron-level be able to draw out such massive sword aura as?¡±


    The sword aura stunned thest person silly. He turned around and ran wildly, so much so that he did not even notice how Xiao Lin froze on the spot and made no further movements after swinging the sword.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness was still sober, though he was hardly able to control his movements when he was angry earlier. After shing the two of them, that inexplicable anger seemed to have diffused slightly. At the very least, he was aware of his actions and could control his body, albeit with great effort.


    Xiao Lin gasped and tried his best to suppress the fric anger in his heart. He had clearly considered the possibility that he would go on a rampage, as the side effects of the dragon blood given to him by Song Jung were like a time bomb lurking inside his body. He never expected it to act up again at that time.


    Xiao Lin was already toozy to take into consideration that his opponents had at least seven or eight people. He believed that Lilith alone could deal with them all and it was only a question of how long since they were not a threat. If his body was allowed to run wild, however, Lilith would probably have to destroy him right there.


    While they were still in the middle of the tunnel, they sensed that they had returned without the scope of the resurrection tower. Even if they died, their life span would only be deducted, hence his belief that Lilith would definitely make such a move. However, Xiao Lin did not intend to die in vain and lose 20 years of his life span.


    Calming down was of utmost importance!


    Even Song Jung did not know how to suppress the rampaging effect of dragon blood. Despite his solemn vow to study that issue in greater detail, Xiao Lin felt that it would be better to try things out himself. He continued to take deep breaths but found it very difficult to calm his mind. As a result, he simply sat down in the valley and tried his best to enter a state of meditation.


    Indeed, that was the idea he had in mind. His boundlessly vast realm that appeared during meditation could make any restless mind fall into a peaceful state. Xiao Lin also tried to calm himself down in that state and slowly quell the anger that was going out of control in his heart.


    Xiao Lin had no difficulty in perceiving the elements, and it became much easier after he had reached ck Iron-rank. At this moment, his meditation world was also spiraling into chaos, with countless stars darting in all directions at a ridiculous speed.


    It showed that the elements around him were certainly also in an extremely active state. What a strange discovery indeed. The side effect of dragon blood¡¯s rampaging ought to only involve Xiao Lin, but it seemed to actually involve a certain range area around Xiao Lin. It was obvious that the effects had an impact on the elements around him, but it was still considered a rather small area, since it upied less than a meter¡¯s radius around his body.


    However, the chaos in the meditation world did notst too long, because Xiao Lin was still his Miracle state. Under that circumstance, the mysterious ck hole with high suction force would appear in his gctic world and begin devouring the surrounding elements.


    Despite his anxiety, Xiao Lin alsomented and wondered what exactly his body wanted to do.


    Once there are no more elements within a certain range of his body, he was considered to have entered the world of necromantic meditation, though his then state was still very unusual. Although the surrounding elements were being swallowed, many continued toe closer. At the same time, Xiao Lin could also perceive that the surrounding death energy was also approaching him, and the mass of death aura that had gathered seemed to shroud him faintly in a gray, solid-like mist of gas.


    Meanwhile, Xiao Lin was feeling very ufortable. More and more energy continued to rage crazily around him and his body. He did not know whether he could survive if that continued. He needed to drain and discharge all that energy, whether it was the elemental energy or death energy.


    Xiao Lin then thought of something that might allow him to achieve that goal. He suddenly opened his eyes, exited his meditation world, and eagerly drew out his Holy Soul Sword.


    Two consecutive kills caused blood stains to appear on the Holy Soul Sword¡¯s de, but it had not reached an adequate level yet. Fortunately, his brief meditation had allowed him to gather a lot of death energy and his summoning proved to be a sess. Indeed, the fully-armored undead swordsman had appeared beside him.


    ¡°Lilith! I¡¯ll leave you to deal with those people. Don¡¯t let them disturb me!¡±


    Xiao Lin turned around and ordered loudly. He then put his palm on the swordsman¡¯s armor, and when he closed his eyes again, he gradually felt the death energy starting to gather on the undead being beside him.


    Death energy had no consciousness, yet it also possessed the most basic of intellects. Their inherent nature was to gather toward simr energy around it, which exined why ces like cemeteries had such a high concentration of death energy.

 Chapter 331: A Suppressed Rampage

    <h4>Chapter 331: A Suppressed Rampage</h4>


    The battle was still ongoing, and although the other side still had a dozen people standing and therefore possessed a numerical advantage, they did not dare to draw the ire of the powerful Xiao Lin. In all likelihood, Xiao Lin¡¯s act of killing the other two were simply too decisive. Instead, they shifted their target to Lilith, who seemed to be less powerful than Xiao Lin was.


    Lilith looked at the closed-eyed Xiao Lin and subconsciously frowned. When she turned her head again, she shot the people around her a petnt look. ¡°Are you nning toe at me from all sides? Who gave you that kind of confidence!¡±


    Xiao Lin, who remained in a state of confusion, suddenly felt that a hotter, more intense energy bursting out near him. He could not look over with his eyes, but he did not need to think to know that there was only one cause¡ªLilith had significantly increased her ownbat strength.


    He felt slightly touched that Lilith would protect him from being disturbed, but at the same time, Xiao Lin was once again in awe of herbat power. In fact, it was entirely possible that she did not exert much strength in the beginning.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s state was rather strange. The negative emotions in his body, which resembled anger, had not beenpletely vented, but it had unexpectedly turned calm. In simple terms, a bnced circtory system had formed all over him.


    The surrounding elements and death energy circted between his own body, the mysterious ck hole in the meditation world, and the stationary undead swordsman. With each cycle, the irritable energy would calm itself down.


    After the end of about a dozen cycles, Xiao Lin was fully able to independently control the consciousness of his own body and mind. He slowly opened his eyes once more and found himself covered with sweat, as if he was a fish out of water.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake?¡± Lilith¡¯s crisp voice suddenly sounded from behind.


    Xiao Lin turned his head to speak, but saw the glow of her ck scythe barely a few centimeters away from his face. He quickly stepped back, nced at the ready-to-go Lilith, and waved his hand with a bitter smile. ¡°Whoa there, let¡¯s have a nice, calm talk. You gotta put that away first.¡±


    Lilith had keen observation. Although she did not know what happened to Xiao Lin, she still sensed danger from the unusual chaotic energy earlier. If Xiao Lin did not answer in time, he was certain that the woman would not hesitate to swing down her scythe and send him back to the resurrection tower.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine now?¡± Lilith looked disappointed, for she felt that it was such a pity she could not do battle with Xiao Lin.


    That battle-loving maniac!


    Xiao Lin wiped the sweat off his forehead. On that asion, he sweated out of fear for Lilith, but he stopped after taking only a few steps back. He looked at his hands strangely and frowned slightly. A brief moment of thoughtter, he asked, ¡°How long have I been like this?¡±


    ¡°Three or five minutes,¡± Lilith said before shrugging her shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯ve handled all those idiots.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill them all?¡± Xiao Lin was startled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know to keep someone alive for questioning,¡± Lilith remarked impatiently. Compared with those mediocre guys, she seemed to be more interested in Xiao Lin at that moment. Her blue eyes kept looking closely at Xiao Lin, making thetter¡¯s hair stand on end.


    The brief rampaging state earlier felt almost as long as a century, but in fact, it onlysted a few minutes. At that moment, the sweat all over his body had been blown by the cool breeze, and he felt a coolnessing all over him. He turned around and saw three disarmed individuals curling up after falling on the ground not far away. They were trembling all over, and their eyes seemed hazy and powerless. Blood stains covered their bodies and they were probably able to survive because Lilith had not been too ruthless.


    More than a dozen opponents were originally present, but Xiao Lin killed only two and left behind quite a few others. His gaze shifted again, only to see a pool of charcoal-like bones that werepletely scorched. Other than that, he did not even see any normal-looking corpses.


    Xiao Lin nced silently at Lilith and once again marveled at her. He knew that it was impossible for those people to handle Lilith, but he never expected Lilith to end the battle so cleanly in five minutes.


    ¡°I see you scared them all off!¡± Xiao Lin joked. The three people who had lost their fighting capacity were not being looked at, but they seemed to show no signs of daring to make an escape.


    Xiao Lin walked towards them, but a thought seemed to appear in his mind after barely a few steps. His expression turned to that of curiosity and yfulness, and his entire body then sped up abruptly, like a burst of wind. When he stopped again, he was already standing by the three stunned people.


    ¡°That¡¯s mighty fast!¡± Lilith¡¯s pupils contracted slightly. She rarely showed such a surprised expression, but the speed that Xiao Lin disyed in that brief moment escaped her sight. After a while, she said thoughtfully, ¡°It does look a little different now.¡±


    The difference was not just ¡®a little¡¯. A flurry of emotions set off in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. He had yet to enter his Miracle state and his instant burst could not be chalked up to the conversion of his attributes to agility. In that case, where did that sudden speede from?


    Xiao Lin felt that it had something to do with the rampage side effects of his dragon blood, but he was still unsure about it. Once the brief rampage ended, a huge sense of fatigue surged to his mind and his body felt limp. He was aware that he was forced to withdraw from the Miracle state due to the immense consumption of physical strength, and at the same time, the mysterious explosive force also disappeared as well.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯d have to study it carefully when I have the time.¡±


    Xiao Lin could barely support his tired body. He originally nned to interrogate those three people, but it looked like he had to rest first. Besides, nothing useful could be gained from the time being judging from how stunned and silly-looking their expressions were.


    ¡°By the way, how is Ibeiya?¡± Xiao Lin noticed that Ibeiya had not gotten up at some point but was hiding far away, as if she did not want to see him. Xiao Lin had no other choice but to ask Lilith.


    Lilith said, ¡°She¡¯s long revived herself, but she said that the scar on her neck is too ugly and she doesn¡¯t want the perverted uncle to see it. That¡¯s all.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless, and curiously asked, ¡°I remember that her head was almost... Uh, can she even recover with such a severe wound? The merits of being a vampire looks ridiculously amazing.¡±


    Lilith shook her head, but lowered her voice slightly so Ibeiya would not hear from the distance, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the dark races, but believe me, I¡¯ve never heard of vampires with such a strong self-healing ability.¡±


    ¡°That girl is definitely unusual!¡± Lilith concluded solemnly and finally added in a low voice, ¡°Just like you.¡±


    Xiaolin could only smile wryly. The ¡®unusualness¡¯ that Lilith referred to was his SS-level talent. To date, he was gradually bing aware of the difference demonstrated by his own body. While the side effects of dragon blood could be traced back to Song Jung, the significance of the mysterious ck hole within his body was still anyone¡¯s guess.

 Chapter 332: Red Beard’s Mercenaries

    <h4>Chapter 332: Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries</h4>


    Xiao Lin rested for more than an hour, but Lilith did not feel tired at all. In her words, it was all just a warm-up.


    Xiao Lin went to check up on Ibeiya again. She only turned around to face him when he repeatedly said that he would not hate her for that. In fact, there were only a few shallow scars on her neck, but the rest of her fair skin all around was really dazzling.


    No wonder Lilith was that surprised. Back then, Xiao Lin saw that Ibeiya¡¯s head was almostpletely cut off, yet it did not take long for her to have healed to such an extent. He vaguely felt that such a strong self-healing ability could not simply be exined by the vampire race¡¯s superiority.


    Ibeiya had many secrets, but after Xiao Lin¡¯s rest, his focus shifted to the three captured people. They had also recovered from the initial loss of consciousness and seemed to be very scared of Lilith. As long as that woman was beside them, they felt as though they could not even breathe.


    The benefit of that was a very smoothly-conducted interrogation. Xiao Lin believed that they would not dare to conceal any information due to the circumstance of having their life at stake.


    The task of tranting their statements was entrusted to Ibeiya. Despite Lilith¡¯s greater proficiency in Normesepared to Xiao Lin, those people had a thicker ent¡ªin other words, a dialect¡ªthat neither Lilith or Xiao Lin could understand. They were lucky to have Ibeiya around, as that illegitimate daughter who imed to be a member of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royal family possessed a strongnguage talent. All she had to do to understand the dialect was focus her attention and listen for a while.


    After some questioning, their identity was easily extracted from them. The three men proimed themselves to be individuals of Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries. They frequently made trips to-and-fro the mine all year round, their task was to escort the starmetal to its destination. They went there once in the month, but on that particr trip, they discovered that the mine had been abandoned. When their search came empty handed, they nned to leave the ce. It just so happened that Xiao Lin¡¯s group suddenly appeared, and it was obvious that malicious thoughts surfaced in their mind when theyid eyes on Lilith and Ibeiya.


    The reason for the fight was very simple, but in Ibeiya¡¯s words, such fights were but a normal urrence for Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries. Since they had targeted Ibeiya to satisfy their pleasures of the flesh, Ibeiya was filled with righteous indignation and spilled all the information she knew about them.


    Although they were called a mercenary group, they actually started off as bandits who made quite a reputation for themselves around the area. About a year or two ago, their leader, who imed to be Red Beard, was recruited by someone from a merchant group and soon became their private mercenaries. Such incidents were not at all umon in Silver Province.


    Many thieves or bandits often choose to attach themselves to a certain force in order to prevent themselves from being annihted. However, it is rtively rare for them to be so attached to a certain merchant group, just like how Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries did. However, Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries could no longer change their fate after being recruited. Whenever they saw any weaker merchant groups during an escorting assignment, they often took advantage of the situation and robbed them, gaining infamy as a result. Except for the merchant group that recruited them, they basically had no contact with other people.


    Lilith¡¯s appearance seemed rather solemn after hearing their answers. This starmetal had been operating as usual for several years already, and preliminary observations suggest that the metal¡¯s contents were not that high, it was not difficult to imagine how much of starmetal ores had been lost after such a long time.


    Colonizers had a great demand for starmetal, and Normans of all races knew that very well. Although they were powerless to stop the colonizers, there was no guarantee that the locals would remain simrly idle in private.


    As for the origin of the merchant group with which Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries were associated with, all three individuals shook their heads. Lilith¡¯s repeated threats elicited no answers and they simply imed to y a minor role in everything. They escorted the ores purely to get money since the merchant group was quite generous when it came to paying them amission.


    ¡°What else do you want to know?¡± Ibeiya asked.


    Lilith shook her head. She already found the topographic map of the surrounding from those people, but all three clearly knew nothing about the information she wanted, such as Asabanor, for example.


    ¡°Then dispose of them,¡± Ibeiya suggested eagerly in Chinese. Color drained from the face of all three captives, and even though they did not understand Chinese, they could easily guess from that little girl¡¯s gleeful look that things would not be ending well for them.


    ¡°It is a bit troublesome to bring them along,¡± Lilith said vaguely. They would be going straight to Gold City after leaving the valley, making it incredibly inconvenient to have three additional prisoners on the road. However, she still shot Xiao Lin an unsure gaze.


    Xiao Lin had a contemtive look and suddenly said, ¡°Red Beard? What a familiar name.¡±


    Lilith originally wanted to listen to what he said. He thought that Xiao Lin was going to say something, but she could only roll her eyes after hearing what he said. She felt that she and Ibeiya had been preaching to deaf ears, but as soon as she was about to get up and settle everything herself, Xiao Lin came to stop her.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve read about Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries before I came here. Oh wait, it should be the Red Beard Bandits,¡± Xiao Lin pulled Lilith to the side and chatted in a low voice.


    Lilith nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Red Beard too. It¡¯s normal that you¡¯d know a bit about them seeing as they have something of a reputation.¡±


    ¡°Uh, no, no, no, I¡¯m not talking about the publicly-known stuff. I¡¯m talking about their wealth.¡± Xiao Lin thought for a while and concluded, ¡°I think I know where their wealth is hidden.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes widened. Even if those bandits had turned a new leaf, the wealth umted from their past looting would certainly be a staggering amount. Therefore, therger the band of thieves, the more concealed their hiddenir was. Some of the more qualified people would even set up various specially-arranged traps in theirirs, and oftentimes it was only their leader and a small number of people who would know about it.


    Xiao Lin happened to be aware of Red Beard¡¯sir. if memory served him right, their location was not too far from there because Red Beard used to be active in the vicinity, hence the reason why that merchant group chose them as the guardian of the mine.


    Yu Mei had previously given him a lot of information regarding those bandits before he left. That madwoman wanted him to rob those ces should he have a chance of doing so. That would be their way of raising military funds for the sixth regiment. Xiao Lin did not think too much of it initially, but the chance now seemed to have presented itself before him.


    Xiao Lin knew the approximate location, but he did not have a clue as to how to reach there. That was where Red Beard¡¯s Mercenaries came in¡ªthey would be the ones to point him in the right direction.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting, but first things first, let¡¯se to an agreement on how to divide it.¡± Lilith was a fearless person and Xiao Lin¡¯s proposal undoubtedly whetted her appetite. The two hit it off on the spot and quickly started talking about sharing the spoils.


    ¡°Fifty-fifty split,¡± Xiao Lin said decisively.


    ¡°Ahem, did you forget that we have a third person here?¡±


    ¡°Oh Ibeiya. Well, she isn¡¯t an adult yet. She has no right to share the spoils!¡±


    ¡°Sick pervert!¡±


    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 333: Heading to Silverlight Lake

    <h4>Chapter 333: Heading to Silverlight Lake</h4>


    Based on the information given by Major Yu Mei, the Red Beard Bandits had a long history spanning about 40 to 50 years, since its leader¡ªRed Beard himself¡ªwas a very cunning man who escaped several attacks and umted a lot of wealth at the same time. After Red Beard grew older, he probably wanted to spend his old age in peace and secretly hid all his umted wealth. He then sought help from a wealthy merchant group and transformed himself into a mercenary group.


    ¡°Dawn Academy is closest to Silver Province, so it¡¯s not surprising that you were able to get this kind of information.¡± Lilith did not find it too surprising that Xiao Lin knew all that.


    ¡°There are plenty of thieves and robbers in Silver Province and repeated prohibition did nothing to stop them. The wealth they umted is not a small amount either, but few people dare to plot against them. Do you know why?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Because of the bnce. Local gangsters are above thew, and even though colonial academies like ours maintain localw and order, there will always be situations that force you to turn a blind eye.¡±


    Lilith nodded and said, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s because of that bnce alright, but it¡¯s pointless. Don¡¯t you think the world is a lot less fun because of that?¡±


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched slightly.


    Lilith sighed dispiritedly. ¡°I have no interest in colonial rule or anything, and especially not the kind of sick perverted fetishes you guys have. I just want to fight with more and more strong individuals. I want to feel what it¡¯s like to experience the power of Epic- or even Legend-rank!¡±


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded for a moment. Lilith¡¯s interest was purely in the pursuit of a higher level of strength. Of course, the vast majority of humans came to the New World because they craved for power, but the strength they had was nothing more than a means to end. Lilith was different though. Her pursuits were pure and she did everything simply for the sake of strength.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Lilith asked casually, ¡°What¡¯s your reason foring to the New World?¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent again. He initially opened his mouth to say that it was to colonize a foreignnd, but that was the academy¡¯s goal, not his. Speaking of that, few people had the chance to regret things when they were forced to enroll in the academy at the beginning.


    It went without saying that everyone sought profits. After truly realizing the infinite opportunities in the new world, few would want to return to Earth and continue to live an ordinary life.


    Xiao Lin sighed because he realized that he was probably one of those people.


    ¡°I knew it. Sick pervert!¡± Lilith probably misunderstood something.


    ¡°Look, this is a misunderstanding. I don¡¯t have that kind of sick fetish...¡±


    Aftering out of the valley, Xiao Lin and Lilith brought the three prisoners and continued their journey. Under Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion, the prisoners were temporarily allowed to live, but they were asked to lead the way and the destination was Silverlight Lake.


    Panic came over the three people when they heard the name Silverlight Lake. It was the ce where Red Beard first made his fortune and was regarded as a former den of theirs. Of course, as their influence continued to expand, they had long since moved from Silverlight Lake into the more prosperous city zone.


    Silverlight Lake gradually began to fall into disrepair as Red Beard¡¯s old residence. Hardly any adults lived there except for a few elderly folk and children that were left behind. However, those old people living in Silverlight Lake were basically close to him but not technically his family. Instead, theyprised distant rtives. Even so, it would be very embarrassing for Red Beard if someone really did seize control of his hometown.


    Those three people were hesitant, probably because they thought that Xiao Lin and Lilith wanted revenge. Even if they survived there, they knew that they could not possibly survive at Red Beard¡¯s handster on. Under the threat of Lilith¡¯s glowing scythe however, they were left with no other choice. Either they led the way or let themselves be killed.


    The distance to Silverlight Lake was about two days¡¯ worth of journeying. They chose to go off the beaten track as much as possible along the way, just so they could avoid potentially encountering any other people. Fortunately, the area was full of towering mountains and precipitous ridges. Few people would be encountered in such dangerous terrain and remote environs.


    ¡°People have long since guessed that boundless riches were hidden in Silverlight Lake. People have attempted to steal before, but it was unfortunate that they did not find anything. Not to mention how full of old people and children the ce is. It¡¯s hard for anyone to imagine that there will be treasures in such an undefended ce. As time passed, no one went there to look for it anymore.¡±


    As Lilith mentioned that, she also reminded Xiao Lin not to get his hopes up. Silverlight Lake¡¯s treasures were not an unfounded rumor in Silver Province, but rather public knowledge.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is just a little detour. ¡±


    Xiao Lin had other thoughts. It would not be wise for them to show up just like that in Gold City. Someone in Dawn Academy seemed determined to kill him and Lilith in Wildfire Town. He did not believe that the dean would make such a decision, but no matter who it was, there were undoubtedly some very powerful individuals.


    If the group got angry after finding out that their intentions have not been realized, Xiao Lin had no idea what they would do. Add that to the fact that the enemy was somewhere in the shadows, Xiao Lin felt that it was a very bad sign. It was better to disappear for some time, perhaps to try and get a clearer picture of the uncertain situation.


    Ibeiya¡¯s attitude seemed to be uncertain. She seemed unwilling to follow them at first and even offered to part ways there. Her secrets seemed impossible to unravel, but she had little to do with Xiao Lin and the others anyway. Although they were a little worried about her safety in a solo journey, Xiao Lin and Lilith would have no reason to stop her if she really decided to leave.


    However, Ibeiya¡¯s decisionsted for less than two hours. Xiao Lin and Lilith were speechless to find her following right behind them as they were rushing to the destination.


    ¡°I changed my mind. Red Beard¡¯s men speak the local dialect, which none of you understand at all. If I¡¯m not around, you might not even get into Silverlight Lake!¡±


    Ibeiya gave a rather far-fetched reason to justify her return. Xiao Lin naturally did not believe it, but it was good that Ibeiya helped them a little along the way. At the very least, she showed no sign of hostility toward them and seemed rather trustworthy.


    For the supplies and water sources, they obtained a lot of jerky on their prisoners in addition to bringing some from the mines in the valley. The prisoners could imagine their fate, and made a bit of trouble when leading the way. They tried to escape several times without sess, and when they tried to lead Xiao Lin in the wrong direction, Ibeiya immediately exposed that.


    ¡°So, you actually did know the way to Silverlight Lake, didn¡¯t you?¡± Xiao Lin looked speechlessly at Ibeiya.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. How would I know.¡±


    ¡°Your smile is a dead giveaway that you¡¯re lying. You know what, forget it...¡±

 Chapter 334: Silverlight Lake

    <h4>Chapter 334: Silverlight Lake</h4>


    With the inclusion of Ibeiya, their journey was not too boring. Lilith was actually not a greatpanion for conversation; any conversation with her would inevitably shift to fighting after two or three sentences, and now Lilith¡¯s interest in Xiao Lin seemed to be growing exponentially.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not dare think that interest was anything other than wanting to fight him.


    Thanks to Ibeiya, their conversations were more centered on Norma¡¯s culture and traditions. Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding of the New World was obviously pitifully low, and while Lilith might have been there for more than a year, it was impossible to expect the woman to be interested in anything other thanbat.


    Ibeiya understood a lot of things, which caused Xiao Lin to give more credence to the fact that she was a bastard child of a royal family. On Norma, other than noble women with high standings, it was rare formoners to receive any form of higher education.


    Ibeiya was very well-spoken; coupled with her cute and friendly appearance, conversations with her were very engaging. However, Xiao Lin would asionally be on alert; the girl would suddenly skillfully and subtly twist the conversations to gain information on them.


    Ibeiya seemed to be extremely curious, but Xiao Lin and Lilith were not stupid. Any questions that touched on their important secrets, which were the things to do with Eath, would be waved away by them with augh. Ibeiya would only pout for a bit and call them cunning before continuing with the conversation.


    Two days passed by very quickly, and they headed south along the foot of the hill after leaving the ravine. Under Ibeiya¡¯s instructions, they went through a narrow winding road, using the shortest distance to traverse the mountain range. After another half a day of walking, they went past a small forest before arriving at Silverlight Lake.


    It was an extremelyrgeke. The vast blue and calm surface was very rxing. There was a wide grasnd next to theke, and something nearby looked like a vige. In it were a number of houses of varying sizes. Being evening, lights could be seen, which signified that it was popted.


    Ibeiya said, ¡°Silverlight Lake used to be deste and uninhabited, but an unceasing war about a hundred years ago caused a number of people to escape here before settling down. Red Beard came from this ce. I heard that he was unhappy being stuck in poverty when he was young, and started to attack merchant groups. That slowly led to their current power.¡±


    ¡°How will we get in?¡± Lilith was concerned about their ns for once. She thought for a moment before pointing at the three hostages. ¡°They¡¯re in the way.¡±


    ¡°@#*%...!¡±


    The hostages seemed to have sensed Lilith¡¯s unkind gaze before quickly saying a few words. Ibeiya smiled as she tranted, ¡°Lilith, your expression really scared them. They said that they were willing to lead us into the vige and will be very amodating.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith discussed for a bit before deciding to keep them temporarily. Finding the treasure in Silverlight Lake was not going to be something that could be done in a day or two, and they would probably need the help of someone familiar with Red Beard. Even if Lilith did notpletely believe the three of them, with the current situation, keeping them around was better than killing them.


    Walking around theke, they did not encounter any difficulties walking into the vige. However, they still drew a lot of curious and alerted gazes. They could see quite a few kids ying around in the narrow streets. It was just as they heard; there were only kids and old people left here.


    ¡°It seems like Red Beard doesn¡¯t treat his own people well,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°Red Beard is a cruel person. I heard that those who came looking for Red Beard¡¯s treasure would always torture the vigers here, so anyone who was not an old person or a child had already left. It¡¯s only after people started giving up on finding the treasure in recent years that the vige started to do better.¡±


    ¡°It sounds quite pitiful.¡± Xiao Lin looked around. As a vige that was a hundred years old, it was way too small.


    ¡°Ah, pitiful people all have their dark secrets. A lot of people here went out with Red Beard to plunder and pige all those years ago, so there are not many natives here that can say they arepletely innocent.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith were conversing in Mandarin, with the asional English thrown in. No matter their ent or their words, they attracted a lot of attention. An old, white-haird man quickly walked over with the support of a few children, trembling as he uttered a few words.


    He spoke in Normese, but there was not much influence of a dialect so Xiao Lin could more or less understand. They did not need Ibeiya to trante this time as Lilith answered him right away.


    The old man was the oldest person in the vige, and was in charge of it as well. However, looking at the state of the vige, there was not much meaning to being the vige leader.


    The old man was undoubtedly shocked at the appearance of Xiao Lin and Lilith, asking them if they were here for the treasure. Almost anyone who came here had that goal in mind.


    Xiao Lin was about to say something when Lilith responded, ¡°We came from that side, and just passed by to look at the scenery in Silverlight Lake. Nothing will happen if you don¡¯t disturb us.¡±


    ¡°Outsiders? Dawn Academy!¡±


    Xiao Lin heard the words Dawn Academy in the old man¡¯s words. Everything then became very simple after that. The old man¡¯s expression became very humble and even more respectful. He immediately arranged a ce for them to stay.


    ¡°Outside, especially in our territories, our statuses are quite special. As long as they are natives who aren¡¯t publicly against us, they will often be quite subservient,¡± Lilith said expressionlessly.


    Xiao Lin sighed. He now understood that they were called outsiders when out of their own territories. The academies had long since turned into an overbearing existence to them, but Xiao Lin had a veryplicated feeling when he had to take up that role.


    The three released hostages also had a room arranged for them. They were initially afraid that the hostages would run, but it seemed like the three of them had a drastic change of attitudes after realizing they would not be killed, trying various ways to curry favor.


    Xiao Lin had seen through their intentions. ¡°They want a piece of the pie!¡±


    ¡°We can still use them for now. We¡¯ll talk after we find the treasure.¡± Lilith did not care. Killing the three of them would not be difficult.


    After settling down, they started to research the treasure. The first thing was to determine if the treasure really did exist in Silverlight Lake. The myths and rumors in the outside world had always been without substance, and more and more people started to believe it was not true in recent years.


    However, Xiao Lin had faith in Yu Mei¡¯s report.

 Chapter 335: Legend of Silverlight Lake

    <h4>Chapter 335: Legend of Silverlight Lake</h4>


    ording to Yu Mei¡¯s information, Red Beard¡¯s treasure really was near Silverlight Lake, but there was no urate location. That night, Xiao Lin and Lilith discussed for a long time, but failed to reach any notable conclusions.


    They had a lot of spections, such as it being somewhere close to the vige or deep in Silverlight Lake. However, it was not the first time someone came seeking treasure there. Since no one had found it yet, where it was hidden would not be so simple.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity we lost the report in Wildfire Town,¡± Xiao Lin said regretfully. He did not expect it would be useful when they left, but thankfully his memory was quite good.


    ¡°I took a look at Silverlight Lake during the day. It¡¯s a freshwaterke,¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Freshwater?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, quickly saying, ¡°I saw a documentary;kes would usually be saltwaterkes if they werepletely sealed off, while they would be freshwaterkes if they were connected to other bodies of water. Although I don¡¯t know if the rule applies to Norma, but if Silverlight Lake is a freshwaterke...¡±


    The majority of the natural rules in Norma were simr to those on Earth, which was one of the reasons everyone fought so hard to colonize the ce. If that was the case, it was possible that Silverlight Lake was connected to somewhere else underwater.


    The two of them were quite adept underwater, and ording to the native vigers, there were no threatening aquatic creatures nearby. Silverlight Lake was not that deep either, so their safety was quite assured.


    The next day, Xiao Lin went over to the side of theke after some preparations. Theke glimmered, clear enough that even they could see the bottom. Not far away, some vigers were looking over; their status as outsiders having already been spread throughout the vige. Xiao Lin could feel their respectful gazes. No one dared to move closer. A few children wanted to run over to look at Xiao Lin, as if he was an alien, but were stopped by their elders.


    Lilith and Ibeiya were in charge of keeping watch at the shore while Xiao Lin was in charge of investigating under water. The water was very cool, but thanks to his improved constitution after entering ck Iron-rank, the temperature did not feel like much.


    The clearke water allowed Xiao Lin to see everything with ease, but Xiao Lin did not find anything after a few dives. Silverlight Lake was veryrge, but there were not that many spots that could hide treasure or underwater passages that could potentially lead to other bodies of water. After a whole day of detailed investigating, Xiao Lin was freezing, but they did not have too many findings.


    Returning to the vige in the evening, one of the three prisoners looked for Xiao Lin after some hesitation. With Ibeiya¡¯s trantion, the man told him he possibly knew something about the treasure, but was not sure if it would be of use.


    That man had a reasonable ranking among Red Beard¡¯s troops, and asionally had the chance to meet Red Beard himself. During a certain meeting, the drunk Red Beard unwittingly exposed something. He had said that he saw through Silverlight Lake¡¯s legend and controlled the greatest secret of theke, which was how he went from a poor,mon viger to one of the greatest powers in the Silver Province so quickly.


    Silverlight Lake¡¯s legend was something worth thinking about. That hostage only knew that much; he was not someone close to Red Beard after all. His words did not mean much to Lilith and Xiao Lin, but Ibeiya had a shocked expression on her face.


    The hostages had tried to curry favor with them over the two days, hoping they would be able to leave with that. Xiao Lin understandingly told them that as long as they gave him useful information, letting them go was not impossible.


    Just like Earth had his own myths and legends, Norma also had countless legends. Thanks to the abundant magic in that world, their legends were even more plentiful.


    Lilith and Xiao Lin¡¯s history lessons would naturally not include these untrustworthy legends and myths, but Ibeiya was naturally very familiar with them, having gone through Normese education.


    Silverlight Lake did indeed have a beautiful legend. It was said that, during ancient times, there was a king with unparalleled heroism and skill. He led the humans and conquered variousnds, attempting to unite the world. He had met a beautifuldy as he passed by theke, and the two of them fell in love.


    It was like any melodramatic story. Thedy¡¯s humble bloodline could not gain the recognition of the royal family, and they felt that the union between the king and thedy humiliated the royal family. As the king went out to war, someone had thedy killed.


    The king was furious when he found out, but he could not go against the powerful royal family. He ended up digging a gigantic hole to bury hisdy in, filling it up with seawater, which ended up being the current Silverlight Lake.


    The story itself was not too special, especially to Xiao Lin, who had consumed many melodramatic dramas and novels.


    However, since Red Beard had mentioned seeing through Silverlight Lake¡¯s legend, Xiao Lin and Lilith ended up discussing the matter with Lilith through the night.


    If the legend contained any secrets or bits of truth, it could only be that the entireke was thedy¡¯s grave, which meant there would be arge tomb under theke.


    Xiao Lin spoke in depth, remembering the various tomb raiding novels he had read before, attempting to gain some insight, even if he did not know if that information would be useful in Norma.


    However, Ibeiya poured cold water over him and the girl shook her head with a strange look on her face. ¡°What tomb? There aren¡¯t any ancient tombs. I know you outsiders like to bury your dead in coffins and whatnot, but it used to be a taboo in our world. Our lives were all given by God, so it should naturally return to God after we die. Being one with nature is the best burial.¡±


    Lilith understood as she listened. ¡°So, even if the legend is true, thatdy was only buried in the ground by the king, so there is no grave, not even a coffin.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°After so many years, I doubt even the skeleton is still there.¡±


    Even if it was, in such argeke with so much nt life, it would be no trivial matter to find it.

 Chapter 336: Night Time Stalker

    <h4>Chapter 336: Night Time Stalker</h4>


    They were once again stuck. Even if Red Beard had really found where thedy was buried, the secret was not of any use.


    Xiao Lin went more in depth, asking Ibeiya various questions about the myth, such as the name of the king and thedy, as well as the various changes in Silverlight Lake throughout the years.


    It was then that Xiao Lin had sharply noticed something else: the origin of theke¡¯s name. It was said that many years ago, theke would emit a silver light during the night when the light of the two moons hit the bottom, which was where the name came from.


    ¡°A silver light? Is it the reflection of the moon?¡± Xiao Lin first tried to find a logical reason for it, but logic was not really all that useful in Norma.


    ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m just talking about the legends. In truth, no one living near theke had ever seen this so-called silver light.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we check it out tonight?¡± Lilith said decisively.


    The weather had been quite good those few days. There were no clouds to be seen, and the moonlight was plentiful. Xiao Lin agreed to her suggestion, and the three of them tidied up before heading straight to theke. It was not yet thatte, and Xiao Lin estimated the time to be around eight at night, but Norma did not have much of a nightlife; the same went for the vige. Everyone basically stayed in their houses after the sunset.


    That was why Xiao Lin was immediately on high alert after noticing some strange movements behind them. Any native who would be outside during the night was probably following them.


    The vige had a certain rtionship with Red Beard. He might have dared to hide his treasure here, but no matter how confident he was that it would not be found, it was unlikely he would leave it unattended. There were definitely some people left around the vige to take care of the treasure and prevent anyone from getting too close.


    Xiao Lin was prepared for that, and shot a look at Lilith, alerting her. The one following them had an unclear identity, but did not seem too strong with how they were following them. Otherwise, Xiao Lin at his ck Iron rank and Lilith at her Bronze rank would not have noticed.


    The two moons were crescent shaped, and the white moonlight shone over the mirror-like surface of theke. Some bugs would asionally fly past, causing ripples on the surface. It was a very normal scene, with no silver light to be seen.


    Lilith was a little disappointed, and suddenly rushed backward toward the person following them. Her intense speed did not leave the person any time to react, and after a brief struggle, Lilith¡¯s threats could be heard before the night once again turned silent.


    The one following them was easily brought over by Lilith, but it was unexpectedly a young boy, his age closer to Ibeiya¡¯s. His gaze darted around as he faced Xiao Lin and Lilith, fright evident on his face.


    ¡°I remember him,¡± Xiao Lin recalled. ¡°When we arrived, this boy seemed to have wanted to walk toward us, but a few old people stopped him.¡±


    Was he the spy Red Beard left behind?


    Xiao Lin found that hard to believe, but did not eliminate the possibility. However, this dumb-looking boy who could not even follow them properly definitely did not seem like the type.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Qwei.¡± The boy said nervously in Normese.


    ¡°He¡¯s probably around ck Iron-rank in skill, and had probably never gone through any proper battle training,¡± Lilith said to Xiao Lin. She was careful,municating with a mix of Mandarin and English to prevent Qwei from understanding.


    Xiao Lin trusted Lilith¡¯s judgement. With Lilith¡¯s battle sense, her estimation of the boy¡¯s skill should be quite urate after the fight capturing him.


    ¡°Qwei, is it?¡± Xiao Lin knelt down, trying to soften his tone. He could see that the boy was obviously afraid; he was trembling. He gently said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be scared. We won¡¯t do anything to you. Tell us, do you know Red Beard?¡±


    Qwei nodded his head initially, but quickly shook his head, mumbling something as he did so. Unfortunately, just as Xiao Lin tried to listen, the boy immediately shut his mouth¨Ctrembling even harder, the look of terror in his eyes obvious.


    ¡°He seems to be trying to tell us something, but he¡¯s afraid to?¡± Lilith spected.


    ¡°He¡¯s very afraid,¡± Ibeiya said.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. Anyone could see that he was afraid, but he suddenly widened his eyes. The boy¡¯s gaze did not fall on them as he fidgeted most of the time. He furrowed his eyebrows, standing up before whispering to Lilith, ¡°The one he¡¯s afraid of doesn¡¯t seem to be us.¡±


    In truth, Dawn Academy had a pretty good reputation around their territories in recent years. They might be colonists, but they still treated the locals quite well. They did not force too many taxes on them, nor did they kill indiscriminately. Of course, that was putting aside those with thoughts of rebellion. Dawn Academy¡¯s governmental style had actually attracted quite a few native immigrants.


    This vige was not removed from society, so they definitely knew that. They might be respectful to outsiders, but they would not be so terrified.


    It had to be something else that caused the boy to be so scared.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith immediately increased their alertness. Xiao Lin shut his eyes, projecting his mental strength outward. His Basic Meditation had already been at LV6 before the third examination, and after his training in Necromantic Mediation, it was not at LV7, but he still could not sense any living things around.


    Lilith¡¯s Basic Meditation was even lower. Xiao Lin shook his head at Lilith, indicating that either there was no one around them, or the opponent was a lot more skillful than Xiao Lin, allowing them to avoid being sensed.


    Of course, it was also possible that the boy was good at acting¨Cso good he was even better than Ibeiya.


    Lilith was more partial to thest possibility. She was always very careful around strangers. In fact, she still had very clear defenses around Ibeiya, even now. Both Xiao Lin and Ibeiya could feel it, they just never brought it up.


    ¡°I-I just went out to use the toilet. I-I¡¯m going back.¡± The boy tried to retreat, but Xiao Lin could not willingly let him go. Yet, no matter how they asked, the boy stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

 Chapter 337: Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 337: Spirit</h4>


    The boy¡¯s gaze did not stop darting around, causing Xiao Lin to be unable to see what he was looking at, but he was more or less looking at the center of theke. Xiao Lin immediately turned around, and under the clear moonlight, theke was a picture of serenity.


    Under the cloudless skies and twin moons, it was very hard for anyone to hide in thergeke. Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes, focusing all his attention on every inch of theke, but he could not find any points of suspicion. He could not even see any des of grass moving from the wind.


    Just as Xiao Lin was mulling over it, something shed in his mind, shocking him.


    It might not be a person!


    The thing he had interacted with the most in the recent days were the undead; how could he have forgotten them during such an important time. He whispered to Lilith, ¡°I suspect there¡¯s an undead spirit nearby. Let me use necromantic meditation to sense it. You be careful.¡±


    Lilith had a shocked expression as well, flicking her wrist forward as her ck battle scythe soundlessly appeared in her hand. Qwei must have thought that Lilith wanted to kill him, and he turned around to frantically run away, but Xiao Lin did not bother with him then.


    Necromantic meditation and regr meditation were actually quite hard for regr people to enter at the same time, but Xiao Lin had a unique method, which was to enter the meditative state only after activating Miracle. In the meditative universe, the ckhole once again expanded its dark mouth, swallowing every form of energy it could.


    The surrounding energies started to distance themselves from it as well, and it was quite easy to notice any energy sources with strange movements in that situation. That proved that the energy did not move on its own will, but rather because it was being controlled. For instance, Lilith who was beside him had energy tightly condensed around her, which was not the slightest bit disturbed by Xiao Lin¡¯s ckhole.


    Around a few down meters away, there was a grey mass of burning mes, a lot more intense than the death energies that were naturally around them.


    He found it!


    It was not impossible to sense it with just necromantic meditation, but using Xiao Lin¡¯s method, it was impossible to get it wrong.


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes, rapidly making a judgement. It was around fifty meters away, and the position was right on top of the center of theke! Following Xiao Lin¡¯s line of sight, Lilith and Ibeiya looked over, but they saw nothing but the empty night sky.


    ¡°It might be a spirit,¡± Lilith hazarded a guess in a low voice.


    Ibeiya nodded. ¡°An undead without a physical body has to be a spirit.¡±


    On Norma, every living thing had a soul, but it was not like the myths on Earth, where souls could wander around after they died. That was impossible; souls could not survive for a long time under Norma¡¯sws.


    However, there were no special instances. When a soul had enough power to survive under Norma¡¯sws, it would be an undead spirit. Undead spirits were still undead. As for how souls turned into spirits, that was not something Xiao Lin knew at that moment.


    It was different from other undead beings. Spirits could not be seen with the naked eye, but spirits were basically a dense concentration of death energy. It was easy for those that knew necromantic meditation to sense them. Xiao Lin and Lilith had that ability, while Ibeiya was a dark race, sensitive to death energy, so it was easy for them to sense it.


    Qwei was just a very ordinary boy, so scared that he could not even speak. He definitely did not seem like some hidden expert.


    How could he see or sense the spirit?!


    Xiao Lin thought of that question even in his state of high alert. He raised the Holy Soul Sword, pointing it at Qwei¡¯s direction, but to his disappointment, Qwei¡¯s reaction was not at all different from earlier. He was even more terrified than before. ¡°That-that person ising. Don¡¯t drag me down...¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment, suddenly asking, ¡°Lilith, do you have any hammer weapons with you?¡±


    Lilith moved her scythe to her left hand, flicking her right hand as a small hammer appeared from her bracelet. She handed it to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°How many items are in that bracelet of yours?!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. He actually did not have much hope for it, having not seen Lilith use many hammer type weapons.


    ¡°You should ask me what weapons I don¡¯t have!¡± Lilith winked at him proudly.


    ¡°Is this hammer valuable?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really use it, but it¡¯s a ck Iron-rank weapon.¡±


    ¡°How much is it?¡±


    ¡°Around a few hundred New Dors.¡± Lilith was not very certain, she then asked, ¡°Why are you asking this?¡±


    It really was frustrating topare to others. Xiao Lin could not help but bitterly smile despite the circumstances. He took the battle hammer. With that weapon, everything would be much easier. The cheap price also caused him to let out a breath of relief.


    ¡°Holy Light Blessing!¡±


    Xiao Lin raised the hammer high as a vibrant light shot out from the head. Holy Light Blessing was a skill he had learnt in The Final Lands. Other than being able to cure some light wounds, it also dealt quite a bit of damage to the undead. However, Holy Light Blessing was still a basic skill with some drawbacks, such as needing to hit the undead with the face of a hammer.


    Xiao Lin did not know of any method of flight, and wanted to try forcing the mysterious spirit over. The easiest way was to do what he was doing: throwing the hammer with the holy light on it. It caused a streak of white to appear in the night sky.


    Lilith could only gape, finally understanding why Xiao Lin had asked about the price. She had thought Xiao Lin wanted to buy it, but the brat had actually used it as a consumable item.


    ¡°Rx, I¡¯llpensate you when we get back,¡± Xiao Lin said confidently. A few hundred New Dors was no longer a sum he cared about.


    The hammer flew halfway toward theke before sinking into the water, causing ripples to form as the white light began to fade into the darkness.


    After a few seconds of silence, just as Xiao Lin had thought that his attack had failed and as he was preparing to ask Lilith for a second hammer, the piercing sound of a woman crying could be heard.

 Chapter 338: Mysterious Lady (1)

    <h4>Chapter 338: Mysterious Lady (1)</h4>


    The cries pierced their ears, like nails scratching a chalkboard. Anyone who heard it shuddered and clenched their teeth. Xiao Lin and Lilith hurriedly put their hands over their ears, but it was not enough to stop the cries.


    Thankfully the cry was very short,sting only a few seconds before ending. Xiao Lin and Lilith felt like the energy had been drained out of them, and their heads were covered in sweat. They were quite well offpared to Qwei and Ibeiya; the two had copsed unconscious on the ground. Xiao Lin hurried over to check their breathing, sighing in relief as he found that they had just fainted.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a spirit howl.¡± Lilith had a dark look on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this spell; it¡¯s a staple for spirits. It can cause very severe mental damage to those with insufficient will.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith might have looked like they were not that affected, but their strength had drastically depleted as well to below half.


    The night returned to silence, but there was no movement within the vige at all. The entire vige had probably gotten affected by the howl. They were either dead or unconscious.


    ¡°What level of a spell is spirit howl?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Gold rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression got much heavier. He had some doubts in his mind. That level of an opponent was not something he could handle, even if he had an SS-rank talent. Gold rank opponents could kill him easily.


    Lilith suddenly tugged at his shirt as he was deep in thought. Xiao Lin had thought that the battle maniac was prepared to press on, but he noticed a strange look on her face. He followed her gaze toward theke. In the middle of theke, the moonlight was vibrant as always, but under the moonlight stood a woman in a white dress.


    No, she was not standing, but rather floating. The woman¡¯s legs were only a millimeter away from the surface of theke, but they never ever touched the water. She was a very beautiful woman, with a pure white dress. Her hair flew wildly with the wind, and her beautiful face looked pure and untainted under the moonlight.


    If not for the spirit howl earlier, Xiao Lin believed that he would probably have been captivated by her beauty, but he was even more on the alert now. Xiao Lin and Lilith exchanged a gaze, their mutual doubt and confusion clear.


    A spirit woman floating on Silverlight Lake. Thinking about the legends, it was obvious that she was the woman that died during ancient times. Xiao Lin did not know the name of the woman; Ibeiya had told them her name had long since been lost as time passed.


    ¡°Is that her?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m more interested in whether or not she¡¯s an enemy.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. Lilith and himself were still on full alert, but the earlier spirit howl was still affecting them, and that spirit was quite possibly much more powerful than them.


    Thankfully, no fight urred. The woman¡¯s expression was very calm. After circling around, her gaze fell upon Xiao Lin and Lilith and she suddenly moved. Her bare, white feet walked on the air extremely quickly. Before they could even react, she was already in front of them.


    Xiao Lin felt that the surrounding temperature had dropped drastically, as if he had been thrown into ice water. The woman looked between him and Lilith before fixing her gaze on him. She bent a little, getting closer to Xiao Lin.


    As the woman observed him, Xiao Lin felt like his blood was freezing over. He looked right as the mythical mysterious woman before looking back down in shock.


    The woman was extremely beautiful, but her appearance was quite special. Her eyes were a strange silver color, and based on Xiao Lin¡¯s knowledge from his sses, there had never been a race with eyes of that color in the history of Norma.


    Next to her temples, there were two thin lines of different colors. Xiao Lin had thought it was some form of makeup, but upon closer inspection the lines seemed to be a part of her flesh,pletely merged into her skin.


    The strangest thing was her forehead. When the wind softly blew her hair up, it would reveal a strange, bulging object that moved. Xiao Lin observed for a moment, before realizing something and retreating two steps in shock.


    It was an eye. There was a third eye on her forehead, but the eye was shut tight.


    The atmosphere suddenly turned tense. Xiao Lin and Liltih did not say anything. Lilith already had her battle scythe held tightly in hand, but she did not make any moves. It was contrary to her usual style, Lilith was someone who did not care how strong her opponents were.


    Xiao Lin felt that it was strange, and he was shocked when he noticed that Lilith was firmly stuck there. She seemed to be trying to move, but powerless to do so, so it was not that she was afraid of fighting, her movements had just beenpletely frozen. This entire time, Xiao Lin had not seen or felt any spellcasting or attacks from the woman in front of him!


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Following a miserable sigh, a sad look appeared on that woman¡¯s stony face. She muttered a few words that were understood by Xiao Lin. ¡°You¡¯re not him.¡±


    Those words were spoken in Ancient Normese. That long lostnguage had actually been uttered by the woman, and the pronunciation was extremely clear, indicating that the woman was very proficient in it.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was full of questions, but he noticed the woman¡¯s sad expression had returned to her stony look. She floated in the air, closing the distance with Xiao Lin as she looked at him. Xiao Lin felt extremely ufortable under her gaze, because she looked like a human about to step on an ant. Cold, uncaring, and disdainful.


    Xiao Lin felt a sense of danger, and quickly tried to use whatever Ancient Normese he could muster up to say, ¡°Who is he? Who are you? How do you know I¡¯m not him?¡±


    The woman suddenly stopped, looking curiously at Xiao Lin as a mocking look appeared on her fac. She once again said in Ancient Normese, ¡°I can¡¯t believe someone still speaks thisnguage, but do you even have the right to talk to me?¡±

 Chapter 339: Mysterious Lady (2)

    <h4>Chapter 339: Mysterious Lady (2)</h4>


    The woman was not exactly mocking him, it carried a more extreme amount of contempt, as if everything Xiao Lin said or did was beneath her notice.


    Was she going to kill them?


    Xiao Lin felt like that was not very possible. He might have felt a strong sense of danger, but he never felt any killing intent from her. He tried saying, ¡°If my hammer disturbed your rest, then I¡¯m terribly sorry.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you.¡± The woman¡¯s tone was still cold, as if her words were a gift to him. ¡°At least you¡¯re a bit better than those stupid humans. You can actually exchange a few words with me.¡±


    Xiao Lin could somewhat understand it. The woman spoke in Ancient Normese, anguage that was barely understood in the world, and the vige definitely had no one who could speak it. He stopped, then formed a sentence. ¡°Have you been trapped here? Or do you not want to leave the ce you had your fated encounter with the king?¡±


    ¡°King? Fated encounter?¡± The woman¡¯s tone got more and more condescending.


    Xiao Lin then understood that legends were just legends. The woman seemed to be somewhat angry, but it was not obvious. It was possible that she only spoke to Xiao Lin because it was not easy finding someone who spoke thenguage, but even so, her contempt was obvious.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s current level of Ancient Normese was no longer that low. Even if he stumbled asionally, he was already capable of conveying anything he wanted to. Since the other party was willing, he took the change to ask about the legend, not forgetting to trante it to Mandarin for Lilith.


    Lilith had indeed suffered. After the woman moved away, the restrictions on Lilith were naturally lifted, but her entire body was weak, unable to exert any strength. She could not even hold her scythe. In this situation, even standing was hard, let alone fighting.


    From the woman¡¯s answers, Xiao Lin heard apletely different story from the legend.


    In ancient times, the woman had lived near theke. One day, the king who had wanted to unite the world passed by, meeting the woman. The story was simr to the legends still, but in the woman¡¯s version, the king had tricked the woman. The fated encounter was something the king had fabricated; his goal was just the woman¡¯s abilities.


    Once the king used some method to steal the ability, he found a reason to leave for battle before ordering his royal family to kill the defenseless woman. The king did not even let the woman go after death, building theke to forever trap her soul there.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was calm when he finished listening to the story. It was a story of betrayal; he had read a lot of those stories before. This version of the story made a lot more sense. How could a king with such lofty aspirations be tied down by personal rtionships? The king overdid things, not even letting the woman go in death.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s face looked to the the woman like he felt it was a problem. The woman narrowed her eyes, and the temperature began to drop.


    Xiao Lin sneezed, and he hurriedly started cursing at the king, causing Lilith to roll her eyes at him.


    The woman¡¯s expression turned for the better, but it just changed to the original cold expression as she once again said, ¡°I know why you¡¯re here. Even after so long, the greed of your human¡¯s knows no bounds. Red Beard¡¯s treasure is with me. Are you interested?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a human?¡± Xiao Lin gaped, very curious about the woman¡¯s origins. Her answer was actually quite obvious. In all of Norma¡¯s history, there had never been any silver-eyed, three-eyed humans.


    ¡°Are you willing to give us the treasure?¡± Lilith focused on something else.


    ¡°I can.¡±


    The woman¡¯s answer caused the two of them some surprise, but she continued, ¡°However, whether or not you can get it will be up to yourselves. Would you like to give it a try?¡±


    The woman¡¯s words were filled with allure, but it caused Xiao Lin to be even more alert. He stepped in front of Lilith, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t really need money. You should just hold on to the treasure.¡±


    What a joke. He refused to believe that the cold woman would be so kind to them.


    ¡°You are quite a bit smarter than the other humans that havee before you, but do you really think you¡¯re allowed to reject it?¡±


    The woman raised her right hand, and the water in theke was instantly split open, revealing a narrow path. The surrounding water seemed to have been stopped by an invisible force.


    ¡°Go ahead! The treasure you want is there. Go get it; help me get it back!¡±


    The woman had an alluring voice that was hard to resist. Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s eyes slowly turned devoid of color. Even though their expressions showed that they were fighting it with all their might, the voice carried an unbelievable magic, passing through their skin and right into their brains, issuingmands to their bodies.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith struggled as their legs started to move along the passage toward the center of theke. Silverlight Lake was not too big, and it only took over ten minutes for them to get close to the center. Xiao Lin¡¯s limbs might have been under her control, but he was still very much conscious. He looked at the center, and among countless underwater nts, there was a long sword stuck in the ground. Half the sword had been stuck into the sand, and the half that was revealed had signs of decay.


    ¡°Go.¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice could be heard again, and Xiao Lin and Lilith instantly recovered control over their bodies. However, it was toote for them to turn back. The sword emitted an extremely powerful maic force. Before the two of them could even speak, they were enveloped by a gigantic power. Their bodies started to blur and twist as they turned to light, sucked into the sword.


    Water once again filled theke, as if nothing had happened. The woman looked at the calmke before creasing her eyebrows, uttering, ¡°Was I wrong? Inside that man... No, I was definitely wrong. It¡¯s impossible. However, the two of them have peak-level gifts from God. I hope they don¡¯t disappoint me.

 Chapter 340: Fighting Clones

    <h4>Chapter 340: Fighting Clones</h4>


    Xiao Lin was in an enclosed space that looked like a cave when he opened his eyes, his head heavy. Lilith seemed to have woken up at the same time as him, and was looking at their surroundings with rm.


    ¡°Are we inside the sword?¡± Lilith said in disbelief.


    ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re no longer in Norma? Just like The Final Lands?¡± Xiao Lin said bitterly. Being sucked into the sword was actually a familiar feeling, and upon further thought, it was simr to when they were transported during the examinations.


    ¡°That sword is at least Epic, no, Legend-ranked,¡± Lilith said with aplicated look on her face.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Ah, even though every weapon is unique, they share simrities. For instance, weapons that have their own domain are all at least Epic-ranked. Considering the surroundings, it¡¯s definitely Legend rank!¡± Lilith half-guessed as she talked to herself, but herst words were fairly confident.


    There actually was a Legend-rank sword under theke!


    If the news spread out, half of Norma could rush over. Legend-ranked weapons were not something that could be easily forged. It needed extreme talent and also materials that were exceedingly rare, on top of a stroke of luck, or it would never seed. In all of Norma, even including the academies, Legend-ranked weapons and armor were very rare.


    However, Xiao Lin recalled something, and was the slightest bit excited about seeing such a weapon for the first time. Then, his expression worsened.


    He vividly remembered what the woman said when she sent them in. They were obviously not the first group of people here. Thinking about the legend of Red Beard¡¯s treasure, it was obvious that there were countless people who had tried to find it.


    If they had also met the woman and were forcefully sent into the sword¡¯s private domain, then why had there not been any news about it on Norma. News about weapons of this rank were something that could not be suppressed.


    The only possibility was that everyone that hade inside had never left. If that were the case, then how did the legend ever spread?


    Xiao Lin and Lilith exchanged a nce, revealing their own shocked expressions. The only possibility was the so-called legend had been spread by Red Beard to attract more people.


    If they thought about it more, the hostages had told them that Red Beard said all his aplishments were from something he had obtained in theke. It was possible that he had discovered the woman first and formed some sort of deal with her.


    ¡°What is she out to gain?¡± Xiao Lin asked in confusion. The woman was definitely not after Red Beard¡¯s treasure sending so many people, including them, here.


    ¡°I feel like the sword might be what is keeping her here, and she wants us to release her spirit. Other than that, I can¡¯t think of any other reason.¡± Lilith had a better understanding of weapons, and made that conclusion.


    ¡°That girl, ah no, that old granny is at least tens of thousands of years old. Is it really wise to release her?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but think of Asabanor. That old fart had only spent a few hundred years in The Final Lands before being twisted by revenge, causing so much trouble for Xiao Lin and the academies.


    Now, it was an olddy several millennia old. Xiao Lin got a headache just thinking about it.


    ¡°Do we have a choice?¡± Lilith said unhappily.


    It was true; just as she said, they had no choice but to move forward.


    Xiao Lin started to shift his focus to their surroundings. It was an empty cave, possiblypletely sealed off. There were no lights or any sunlight, but the cave was filled with strange rays, causing it to look like daytime inside.


    The two of them walked around the area, but could not find any exits. It really was apletely sealed-off space. Xiao Lin stared into space, wondering what the woman wanted them to do here.


    As he was thinking, two pirs of light suddenly shone in the middle of the cave. The two of them were immediately on high alert, but Xiao Lin felt a strange familiarity to the pirs of light. The light started to rapidly condense and take shape, slowly forming a humanoid figure.


    ¡°My god! Is there a virtual battle system here? Does that olddy know about the academies?¡± Xiao Lin felt like it was incredibly simr to the virtual battle system.


    ¡°I once heard that the inspiration for the system was unknown, now I finally know.¡± Lilith¡¯s expression hardened.


    When the lights dimmed, twoplete humans appeared. The shocking thing was that they were clones of Xiao Lin and Lilith, right down to the clothes they were wearing. The only difference was that there were no expressions on their face at all, as if they were soulless.


    ¡°It looks much better than our virtual battle systems,¡± Xiao Lin praised, despite the situation. The battle systems could not produce such a lifelike simtion.


    ¡°So, the granny wants us to attack them?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly got serious. The clones were obviously not there to drink tea with them.


    When they saw the weapons that slowly formed in the hands of the clones, Lilith and Xiao Lin were speechless. They recognized the weapons; they were clearly Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword and Lilith¡¯s battle scythe. The cave could even copy their weapons.


    ¡°Let me see how good your imitation goods are!¡± The proud Lilith naturally could not help herself as she sped forward. Her forceful attack aimed to hit both the clones.


    ¡°So fast!¡± Xiao Lin eximed.


    The cloned Lilith immediately raised her scythe, adopting a defensive stance, but the anticipated attack nevernded. Lilith¡¯s scythe had looked like it was going to attack the two of them, but she suddenly switched angles in mid-air, rushing straight for the Xiao Lin clone.


    ¡°She really is a natural born battle maniac...¡± Xiao Lin could only admire Lilith¡¯sbat abilities. She had been gunning for the Xiao Lin clone from the start.


    If the clones perfectly reflected reality, then dealing with the cloned Xiao Lin immediately was obviously the best choice. It would turn into a two-against-one battle after that.

 Chapter 341: Changing Opponents

    <h4>Chapter 341: Changing Opponents</h4>


    Lilith¡¯s skills in battle were the real thing, suddenly changing her target mid-attack. This sort of high speed technique was not possible for someone unskilled in battle. Lilith had undoubtedly seeded, and she was only an inch away from the Xiao Lin clone; it had be hard to avoid her attack.


    Xiao Lin had even already set his target to the cloned Lilith, preparing to distract her to aid Lilith¡¯s attack.


    The opening of the battle was perfect, but they were shocked by what happened next.


    It looked like Lilith¡¯s battle scythe had been about to hit the clone when Xiao Lin¡¯s clone suddenly dodged to the right at high speed, narrowly escaping the swinging scythe.


    ¡°So fast!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened, asking himself if he would have been able to avoid Lilith¡¯s attack if it had been him in that position. However, the clone had done it, and Xiao Lin intimately knew what skill his opponent had used: Miracle. That skill should have been unique to Xiao Lin. He had tried it on the virtual battle system before, and had been unable to find the skill despite the wide variety of options.


    However, the clone in front of him had managed topletely replicate his skill. No, it was actually even better than his own! Xiao Lin had urately calcted it before, and even if he used Miracle, he would definitely not have been able to react so quickly.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression darkened; he knew that this situation would not be solved easily.


    With her sure-hit move missing its mark, even Lilith let out a gasp. She thennded in between a joint attack from the two clones after missing, but Xiao Lin would obviously not let Lilith fight alone. He wielded the Holy Soul Sword and charged in, attacking the Lilith clone.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s meaning was clear: he wanted to be the distraction, allowing the more skilled Lilith to handle his own clone. Even if he was at a disadvantage, he would be able to hold on for a while using Phantom Steps and Miracle.


    The Lilith clone summoned mes around her scythe, using the skill unique to Lilith. However, with the Xiao Lin clone already using Miracle, Xiao Lin was not surprised. He was long since prepared and used Lightsword, dispersing the waves in midair.


    By the time the mes dispersed, the Lilith clone had already closed the distance. Xiao Lin did not panic. He could still hold on with Phantom Steps. Lilithcked a repertoire of long-ranged attacks since she was not great at magic. She used the battle scythe¡¯s long reach to make up for that, so all he needed to do was pay attention to that.


    Thinking about that, Xiao Lin suddenly thought something was weird. The Lilith clone¡¯s scythe had disappeared...


    The clone no longer held a scythe, but two shortswords. Xiao Lin had seen Lilith wield them before. She used them in Wildfire Town. Lilith¡¯s spatial bracelet had countless weapons, which were all obviously replicated as well.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression once again darkened; the cave¡¯s replication seemed to be perfect, even managing to replicate all the weapons and unique skills they had. He was not certain, but he was worried that it could even copy their SS-rank talents.


    Of course, he was silently cheering that he did not have any amazing equipment with him. Otherwise, it would have been quite precarious.


    The Lilith clone¡¯s speed increased with the light swords, and even with Miracle and Phantom steps, Xiao Lin had a hard time keeping away.


    nk!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword shed with the cloned swords. His numb hands allowed Xiao Lin to be sure that the clone had also copied Lilith¡¯s Bronze-rank skills. Bronze-rank could absolutely oppress those at ck Iron, and Xiao Lin had been forced back a few steps with the attack, but he believed that Lilith would have absolutely suppressed him if it was the real her.


    SS-rank talents were impossible to replicate!


    Xiao Lin suddenly understood. Lilith hadpletely mastered her scythe, but it did not mean she had the same mastery with her other weapons. Her skill with the other weapons had probablye from her SS-rank talent, but with the absence of that talent, the clone could not unleash her full strength.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief, converting all his Agility into Strength. With that, he stepped forward. With the Holy Soul Sword in hand, his Basic Swordsmanship was at LV9.


    If the clone Lilith took out her scythe again, Xiao Lin would not hesitate to switch everything back to Agility and escape her range of attack, avoiding direct confrontation.


    In just a short ten minutes, the two of them had entered an awkward bnce. A Lilith without her SS-rank talent and Xiao Lin could not do anything to each other.


    However, the situation on the other end was not great either. The cloned Xiao Lin was faster than himself, and with Phantom Steps, Lilith could also not hit the other party.


    The two fights ended up circling the cave, neither hitting the other. In the end, Xiao Lin and Lilith returned to the center, and Lilithined, ¡°How are you so fast!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. The clone is faster than me. However, I feel like your clone seems stronger than you as well.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s switch.¡± Lilith let out a breath. She was not used to this sort of fight; it seemed like it was the first time she had met such a fast opponent, and the cat-and-mouse chase was frustrating.


    Xiao Lin gaped, and immediately agreed after sensing that Lilith¡¯s breath was a little erratic. The situation was not good for them if it continued because he could feel like the two clones did not seem to be tired at all. Lilith and himself would only get worse as time went on. Using their stamina against them seemed to be how the clones nned on fighting.


    Since the Xiao Lin clone was so agile, Xiao Lin would just handle it himself, while Lilith should not have an issue with her SS-rank talent.

 Chapter 342: Reason To Be Angry

    <h4>Chapter 342: Reason To Be Angry</h4>


    The n was good, but when Xiao Lin faced his own clone, the pressure was even greater than before. The clone did not look any different from himself other than the listless gaze. It was like looking in a mirror, making Xiao Lin feel ufortable. No one wished for another one of themselves in the world.


    That was why Xiao Lin would not give any quarter to his opponent, but he quickly realized that it was not just speed. He was evenpletely oppressed when it came to power.


    Every time their swords shed, Xiao Lin would be forced back. The difference shocked Xiao Lin; if they were perfect clones, why could he not beat his opponent?


    If Basic Swordsmanship was at MAX, Xiao Lin¡¯s de would not only be urate, it was strong as well, but every single one of his shes would be urately predicted and stopped. On the other hand, he could predict the clone¡¯s movements as well, but even if he did, he found it hard to defend.


    Speed was one matter, since Xiao Lin could not maintain Miracle forever, or his body would not be able to fight for long enough. That was why he would only activate the skill when needed. However, the clone was different; it was quite equal to him when fighting normally, but it was just that bit better than him when it came to sudden attack power.


    In just a few short minutes, quite a few wounds had appeared on Xiao Lin. Thankfully they were only light wounds, and he had his dragon blood¡¯s enhanced recovery. Still, the situation was getting out of hand.


    The clone had its own regenerative ability as well, and any wounds it had gotten while fighting with Lilith had all vanished, which exacerbated the situation.


    How could his clone be stronger than himself?


    Was there something even he himself had yet to discover?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts were a mess, and he looked to the side. Lilith¡¯s fight was just as intense, both of their mes were dancing around each other. The mes formed various shapes in the air. The clone was indeed slightly stronger than Xiao Lin, since its mes were oppressing Lilith¡¯s, and they were part of Lilith¡¯s limited ranged attacks.


    Lilith¡¯s fight was not too hopeful, so Xiao Lin could only rely on himself.


    Xiao Lin tried hard to think if there was anything he had not used. The Holy Soul Sword¡¯s spirit could not be summoned since there was not enough death energy there, but what about his Replication skill?


    Xiao Lin had not used the skill for quite a while, saving it for key moments. However, as his gaze shifted to Lilith, since she was the only target at the moment, he hesitated. Lilith was using her scythe, and if he copied her skills, he would have to switch to a scythe as well, or it would not be very useful.


    As he was once again doubting himself, Lilith suddenly said, ¡°Xiao Lin! From before, your explosive strength. I think it¡¯s what the clone is using!¡±


    After exchanging blows with the clone, Lilith was naturally familiar with the clone¡¯s strength, and Xiao Lin naturally trusted her judgement, but what she was referring to...


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized Lilith was referring to when he almost caused the dragon blood¡¯s side effect to take hold of him again when he saw Ibeiya being killed. At the time, he had used necromantic meditation to suppress his killing intent, but he did indeed feel like there was a strange power within him after that, and that strength was much stronger than his usual power.


    However, that strength was only present for a moment, like a brief dream, so he had not thought about it after that.


    ¡°So, this thing possesses that explosive power?¡± He still had his doubts. He did not know what would happen with how strong the dragon blood¡¯s side effects were. Would he lose himself again?


    In that strange sealed-off cave, he no longer felt the presence of a resurrection tower, so it meant that he would definitely die if he died there, and he did not dare take the risk.


    Xiao Lin used all his strength to withstand the clone¡¯s fierce assault. All he could do was defend at the moment, but every time a flurry of blows came in, he would not be able to block one or two strikes.


    He no longer had that much time to hesitate. His exhaustion would only get worse with time, but Xiao Lin basically had no idea how he could activate his dragon blood. If he needed to be angry, what could he use to get angry?


    His hope of beating his opponent? No, that was just a will to survive, or even the fear of death, not anger.


    ¡°Lilith, how do you think I should get angry?¡± Xiao Lin shouted, but the price for his words was a wound on his left shoulder.


    Lilith paused before understanding Xiao Lin¡¯s words. She could not help but mock, ¡°You really are useless! If you just fought a bit more with me, you would not be in such a situation!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. It was quite true; hecked practicalbat experience. If he had mastered this normally, he would not have been in this current situation.


    ¡°Fine, just think. If you die here, your cute little Ibeiya will run away with someone else. Would you not be angry?¡± Lilith started to help Xiao Lin think about how to get angry, but that instigation only led Xiao Lin to be speechless.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said, many times, I¡¯m not some weird pervert!¡± Xiao Lin felt like he would never recover his reputation.


    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s look at it another way. If you die here, you¡¯ll never have a change to collect little lolis from every race on Norma.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Chen Dao¡¯s dream?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Chen Dao?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know him.¡±


    ...


    Lilith mentioned a few things; women, riches, power were all brought up. Xiao Lin could not deny, he had those wishes, but they were things everyone wanted, and were not reasons to be angry.


    Lilith was getting frustrated, especially since she was not managing to beat her own clone as well. She suddenly said angrily, ¡°You really are troublesome! Then let me tell you a secret. Judge Academy discovered something. There¡¯s someone on Norma who is trying to use our wormholes to head to Earth and eliminate us from the source. Is that enough to anger you?¡±


    Xiao Lin was really dumbfounded.

 Chapter 343: Victory

    <h4>Chapter 343: Victory</h4>


    If it was not for the fight, that news would have been enough to shake him for a long time, but under the intense attacks, he snapped back to reality, focusing on Lilith¡¯s words. He said in disbelief, ¡°You¡¯re saying there¡¯s someone out to attack our homnds!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The clone¡¯s skill caused Lilith¡¯s words to be much simpler, since she could not afford to be distracted.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was in disarray. If Normese troops appeared on Earth, the results would be disastrous. Norma¡¯s skills and magics could all be used on Earth; that was something they had verified.


    It was not impossible for Earth technology to beat them, unless they faced some amazing spell. The damage Earth weapons could deal was palpable, but Xiao Lin realized a more severe problem.


    Song Jung had said that Earth¡¯sws were already in a very fragile state, not able to withstand any more great impacts. If the Normese scheme seeded, the presence of such strength on Earth might turn Earth to dust.


    Xiao Lin did not think he was some savior; he did not care too much about the entire, but when Lilith said those words, his parents appeared in his mind.


    His parents had worked so hard to raise him, and did not even have the chance to properly enjoy their lives yet. If they had died with the Earth¡¯s demise, how could he bear with it?


    How could he ept it!


    He could not die here!


    Absolutely not!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes slowly lost their glow, and his expression turned cold like the clone¡¯s, but his entire body suddenly unleashed a frightening aura.


    Lilith nced at him in disbelief. ¡°That worked? This brat is way too naive!¡±


    Lilith did not know that Xiao Lin had inferred so much from just her one sentence. With those of them that hade to this, familial rtionships was something that was easily neglected, but the majority of them had a breaking point. It was why Earth was their homnd, and they would not allow Norma to touch it.


    The clone sensed Xiao Lin¡¯s change as well; even if it was a clone with no feelings, it quickly increased its attacks.


    nk!


    However, Xiao Lin raised his sword with one hand, easily swatting away the clone¡¯s attack. Inexhaustible energy was wildly rising within Xiao Lin, shocking even himself. As the owner of his own body, he should have been the one who understood it the most, but it did not seem to be the case at that moment.


    The origin of the energy was unclear, but Xiao Lin had his guesses. It was that ckhole that appeared in his meditative world. Of course, that was not a real ckhole; it was just a representation that appeared in the meditative world, just like how the elements looked like stars... But what was it?


    Xiao Lin could not think about that at the moment; his mind had turned extraordinarily clear and simple. His only goal at that moment was defeating the clone in front of him.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is? Is that why you are stronger than me in every attribute?¡± Xiao Lin said to himself, shaking his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. You can¡¯t use all of this power. You¡¯re just a clone. How could you know what anger is, what feelings are?!¡±


    As he said that, Xiao Lin thrust his sword forward, dashing through the clone in the blink of an eye, appearing behind his foe. The Holy Soul Sword pierced through his opponent¡¯s left shoulder, and its arm was cut off.


    ¡°Cut! You really are using the reflexes enhanced by Miracle.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s de had been prepared to cut his foe in half, but the clone did not hesitate to avoid it at thest minute.


    ¡°How about Strength then?¡±


    Xiao Lin stopped his movements and did not continue chasing, holding his Holy Soul Sword high and sending a Lightsword at his opponent.


    Lightsword¡¯s aura was not quick, but this shot had a shocking area. Even if the clone had time to try to avoid it, it could not escape the attack radius.


    Instant kill!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s clone was not just cut in half by Lightsword; the intense aura had even cut apart its body, sending it hurtling to the ground.


    The increase in his power had been out of his expectations. Xiao Lin stared at his de in shock, closing his eyes in thought for a few seconds.


    He still had Miracle active at that moment; that sort of strength could only be used under the presence of Miracle, using that mysterious ckhole to absorb power to strengthen all his attributes.


    It actually had a simr function with Miracle; the only difference was that Miracle changed his attributes, while this power just added onto them.


    It was even stronger when he had Miracle active, but could only be used when he was under emotional distress. Xiao Lin closed his eyes, mumbling, ¡°Exceeding Miracle, causing despair in others. Since that¡¯s the case, this state will be called Ruin!¡±


    Xiao Lin looked over to the other side, and Lilith¡¯s battle with the clone was still in the same situation. Feeling like Xiao Lin wanted to help, Lilith suddenly shouted a warning. ¡°Don¡¯te here! This opponent is mine!¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged, happy to sit down and watch.


    After deactivating Miracle, the strange power in his body receded as well, and a wave of exhaustion and fatigue took its ce. He had learned in ss before: even if a skill could allow them to temporarily exceed their own strength, under Norma¡¯s bncewas, those skills would be paid back with fatigue.


    Miracle was the same; each use would pile on his fatigue, but it was not as severe as it was at that moment. Xiao Lin could not help but smile bitterly, increasing his power temporarily would have to be paid back by resting for a long time?


    Lilith had slowly broken through the deadlock. As she withdrew more and more weapons, she started to overwhelm the clone. The clone did not have an SS-rank talent, and did not have the ability to wield those weapons.


    After twenty minutes, the battle ended.


    The cloned Lilith copsed with numerous wounds on its body. Xiao Lin looked at the numerous weapons on the floor, smirking as he said, ¡°Compared to before, yourbat style has changed.¡±


    ¡°I was forced to; the opponent was hard to handle, but it was quite interesting.¡±


    It seemed like Lilith was quite satisfied with her clone opponent.

 Chapter 344: Mysterious Ancient Writings

    <h4>Chapter 344: Mysterious Ancient Writings</h4>


    The two clones Lilith and Xiao Lin defeated turned into halos on the ground before disappearing in thin air. Not even the slightest trace of blood was left and it looked as though nothing had happened.


    ¡°It¡¯s simpler than I thought,¡± Lilith exhaled slightly and picked up the weapons that had fallen all over the ground. Switching through various weapons allowed her to disrupt the clone¡¯s rhythm and she seemed to have mastered the techniques more skillfully after the earlier battle.


    ¡°Now that it¡¯s all over, it¡¯s time for you to exin everything.¡± Xiao Lin calmed his fluctuating mood but Lilith¡¯s words still left him feeling somewhat worried.


    ¡°Exin what?¡±


    ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t you show that innocent look to me! You just said earlier that Judge Academy has information about Normans trying to enter our world!¡± Lilith¡¯s confusion made Xiao Lin even more anxious.


    ¡°Oh, I lied to you.¡±


    ¡°Why I oughta smack you right now!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you finally willing to fight with me?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know how to respond.


    ¡°Okay, okay. I won¡¯t joke around with you anymore.¡± Lilith pursed her lips before adding, ¡°It¡¯s not entirely a joke though, but for the most part it¡¯s all in jest, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get the information in the first ce.¡±


    Lilith gave a cursory exnation of how her status in Judge Academy made it somewhat easier to get ess to a few of the inner secrets, though it was still impossible for her to know the more concrete ones. Like she said, Judge Academy¡¯s intelligence department had initially heard that rumor from the slums.


    The slums were basically the bottommostyer of society in Norma, where credibility was not very high in the first ce. The situation could be analogous to someone on Earth who proimed their intention to destroy the world on the Inte. That person would, at best, be regarded as a mentally ill individual.


    ¡°Do you understand now? Judge Academy did investigate this matter a little seriously at first, but they eventually came to the conclusion that it was just a hoax. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I sure hope so.¡± Xiao Lin was unsure if Lilith was lying to him, but even if it was just a joke, her words had left him with a sense of alertness. If the lowest rung of Norma¡¯s society could have such thoughts, then what about those who really did have the ability to carry it out? Would they try executing such a n?


    On careful thought, such a hypothesis was rather scary, especially when Xiao Lin was reminded of Ibeiya¡¯s conversation with them about Norma¡¯s rumors some days ago. When the high priest Asabanor was still at his peak, he used his knowledge of astrology to explore the humans¡¯ space channels.


    Did Asabanor really discover it? If so, could he use it? Or perhaps even go directly to Earth through that passage?


    There was no way to know the answer and Xiao Lin felt a headacheing on. In fact, such a possibility was highly likely. Xiao Lin had previously treated Asabanor as Judge Academy¡¯s concern, but at that moment, he felt that it was better for that revenge-driven dead soul to bepletely eradicated once and for all.


    ¡°Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We must end Asabanor for good this time! I think Dawn Academy should help too!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°That is why we must get out from here!¡±


    The speechless Lilith had yet to react to Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden change of demeanor when something happened in the cave. A door that shone in a milky white light appeared out of nowhere in a corner.


    The two of them exchanged nces and Lilith pondered. ¡°What does this mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably telling us that we¡¯ve cleared the level.¡±


    Lilith was lost for words.


    ¡°You obviously haven¡¯t yed games before. Once you cleared the level, there will be a pathway to a new level. What an old system. We¡¯ve already used it on Earth. The Normans are so uncreative,¡± Xiao Linban mocked teasingly.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying there¡¯s a stronger enemy in the next level? Let¡¯s go then!¡± The things that Lilith looked forward topletely different from Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was stunned for a moment and shook his head, unsure whether tough or cry. Next up, he walked right through the white gate of light.


    A burst of light appeared in front of their eyes as the environment around them changed. In the next quarter of an hour, they were no longer inside a cave full of rocks, but found themselves inside a room coveredpletely in silver metal. The room had no entrance or exit, no venttion, and no light source, although there was a strange glow illuminating it.


    ¡°What is this ce? Are there going to be new clones of us again?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. It¡¯s useless to use the same trick twice. Hey, this sentence sounds kinda familiar.¡±


    When Xiao Lin was poking fun at himself, a square table suddenly appeared in the center of the room. The table was made up of dark halos, but a substance-like quality could be felt upon the slightest of contact. There was a drawing on the table as well. It was a grid simr to a chessboard, while beside the chessboard were various little chess-like pieces that were made out of wood pieces.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to y chess!¡± Lilith was the most disappointed one there, since she did not get the battle she had been looking forward to.


    ¡°I somehow think that this is for us to put together a puzzle?¡± Xiao Lin took a closer look. Strange figures were drawn in some of the chessboard¡¯s grids, while other grids appeared empty. It was obviously trying to tell any visitors that they were supposed to fill the grids using the wood pieces.


    ¡°Does that mean the first level is a battle level, and the second level is a intelligence test?¡± Xiao Lin was a little curious. He picked up each wood piece and observed it one by one, but Lilithcked all interest in it. Fighting was everything for that woman and everything else was boring to her.


    After a long time, Xiao Lin¡¯s slowly had an odd expression.


    ¡°Have you found the pattern?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Um, this is a bit uncanny. Take a look.¡± Xiao Lin hesitantly handed over one of the wood pieces, but Lilith simply nced at it and returned it back to him, shrugging her shoulders. ¡°Just tell me what you found out.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think the graphics on the wood chips are some kind of text.¡±


    ¡°Normese? No, that can¡¯t be. It doesn¡¯t look like Normese. Could it be Ancient Normese?¡± Lilith asked casually as she felt it was .


    ¡°It¡¯s not that either.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s expression became more and more weird. He gulped and spoke softly in a very unusual tone, ¡°I think it¡¯s oracle bone script.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lilith was stunned for about a dozen seconds.


    ¡°Yeah, you heard it right, and I read it right too. I almost forgot to tell you that I studied liberal arts in the past, so I was fortunate enough to read a few books about oracle bone script.¡±


    ¡°But... But it¡¯s impossible!¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I don¡¯t understand how it could be possible.¡± Xiao Lin put down the wood pieces and sighed. ¡°I might be able to understand it if it were Chinese or English, but oracle bone script... This has to be a joke. Isn¡¯t this a script from thousands of years ago?¡±

 Chapter 345: Clearing the Level

    <h4>Chapter 345: Clearing the Level</h4>


    Named after the method of engraving the characters on tortoise shells and animal bones, oracle bone script could be considered the earliest form of Chinese characters and one of the most developed writings in the ancient Chinese dynasty.


    Even on Earth, such texts could only be seen from ancient ruins or antique books and materials, yet a script as ancient as that happened to appear in apletely sealed metal room in apletely remote world. Had it not been under such a circumstance, Xiao Lin would even have thought that someone had tried to y a ludicrous joke on him.


    Xiao Lin studied it carefully for a moment and said thoughtfully, ¡°I think I probably know the rules of this game. It¡¯s actually just a very simple trantion puzzle. You see, on the grids are basic words written in Ancient Normese, and the missing grid is probably to allow us to find the corresponding trantion from the wood pieces, which are all written in oracle bone script.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re able to solve the puzzle?¡± Lilith ignored the first half of the exnation and was only interested in the result.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°Well, this will be a bit hard for me. I only know very little about it. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m an archaeology professor. In any case, we¡¯d still have to try it.¡±


    Oracle bone script was essentially hieroglyphic in nature and was the most primitive way of creating characters. Its limitations were the decline of pictoriality, the rise of symbolism, and the difficulty of drawing certain physical objects or abstract concepts.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Ancient Normese allowed him to recognize the words in the table, and he was fortunate that they were the most basic words, such as the sun, the moon, the mountains, the rivers, and the sky. It was slightly better than knowing nothing, although it was still possible to guess the general meaning of the hieroglyph even if he did not recognize the word.


    The puzzle was initiallypleted very smoothly in the beginning, as simple words could more or less be identified ording to the graphics and were not thatplicated. As it went further however, the increasing difficulty became more apparent, with many strange vocabries that were unique to Ancient Normese while being absent from oracle bone script. Xiao Lin had to look for the closest possible word to fill the nks.


    Although Lilith had quite some doubts, she still chose not to interfere with him. She rested her chin on her hands in boredom and stared quietly at Xiao Lin, who had a look of seriousness on his face.


    The remainder of the time was spent in silence. Xiao Lin thought that deciphering the words would be a big obstacle as the difficulty increased, and that was true at first, but after a short period of decreased efficiency, it actually began to improve again.


    It was a very strange feeling. For example, some of the terms which hepletely could not understand suddenly became understandable after some time. It was as though Xiao Lin was undergoing self-learning and self-improvement in the process of deciphering the puzzle.


    Unbeknownst to him, Xiao Lin SS-level talent was subtly producing a tremendous effect, especially after his learning efficiency had undergone an advancement. The effect was even more startling when he learnt some of the oracle bone scripts which he already had a certain foundation on.


    Of course, it could be that he had anguage talent that he was unaware of, as that was the evaluation given to him by the centralputer after the initial monthly exam.


    Xiao Lin did not know how long he took. It could have been a few hours or even more than ten hours. When he finally got ready to stand up, his legs turned numb and he nearly fell, startling the sleepy Lilith.


    ¡°Are you done?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, I guess.¡±


    ¡°You guess? ¡±


    Xiao Lin massaged his legs and looked at Lilith yawning again and again. He said helplessly, ¡°You have to at least show some concern for me. This job isn¡¯t any easier than fighting... I can¡¯t guarantee the uracy of my answers.¡±


    After some time, there was a slight noise in the room, and a milky-white door appeared again in the corner. It was the best answer Xiao Lin could get.


    ¡°Thank goodness it wasn¡¯t in vain.¡± Lilith patted him on the shoulder and gave an appreciative look.


    After taking barely a few steps, Lilith discovered that Xiao Lin was standing there in a daze instead of following along. She could not help but ask, ¡°What are you thinking about? Do you need me to lend you some support?¡±


    Xiao Lin refused, not knowing where tough or cry, and pointed to the wood pieces that had been filled out ording to the notes. He said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this feel strange to you? Don¡¯t you think this looks more like a trantion chart?¡±


    Lilith was silent. Since she was not a linguist, she had no way of distinguishing between Ancient Normese and oracle bone script. However, she could understand the significance of that trantion chart.


    It was a sign that Earthlings conversed with Normans tens of thousands of years ago, and when any ambiguity innguage urred, someone created that corresponding trantion chart tomunicate.


    Colonial academies first arrived in the New World more than two centuries ago, which was equivalent to four centuries ago in Earth¡¯s time. They were the first batch of visitors, and that was a historical fact recognized by every academy. If the trantion table in front of them was not deliberately fabricated by that mysterious woman to deceive them, perhaps there was a need to revise their colonial history textbooks.


    Whatever the case may be, far too many mysteries about Norma were hidden in the flow of time. Simr secrets about Earth could also exist, secrets that even Earthlings like Xiao Lin and Lilith had no idea of.


    Due to Xiao Lin¡¯s concern of facing more battles down the road, he sat for a while to relieve the fatigue in his entire body, especially in terms of his mental strength. His achievements left him feeling rather satisfied, and he even felt that he ought to take a few morenguage courses after returning to the academy. Perhaps he might have the talent for it?


    A quarter of an hourter, Xiao Lin and Lilith once again stepped into the white light gate. It was the same brief burst of light and the scene before them changed again. This time they did not appear in the sealed environment again, but rather, a vast and huge world.


    It was a blood-filled world, where the sky was as red as blood and even the ground under their feet is also stained with blood that had probably dried up after years and years. The soil was reddish-brown on the surface and deep down, with countless skeletons scattered all over the ground. Some had loosened up into bones, while others were turned into powder by the weather and a few were preserved intact. A number of those skeletons were obviously human, but there were those with an alien-like shape.


    ¡°Such strong death energy!¡± Lilith frowned. With her meditation level, she could perceive death energy in almost every corner and every area they walked on. It was obvious that the denseness had reached its ultimate peak.


    ¡°This feels simr to The Final Land. Is this the final checkpoint?¡± Xiao Lin remarked snarkily.

 Chapter 346: Black Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 346: ck Dragon</h4>


    The world was quite small whenpared to The Final Land and one could see the border at a nce. On the contrary, The Final Land was a ce of boundless chaos, as the world thaty beyond it was past anyone¡¯s ability to find out.


    As Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s guards were up, a ck spot suddenly appeared from the blood-colored sky, circling towards them at lightning-fast speed. It was apanied by a howling that was low-pitched but loud, and an intense pressure descended from the sky. The force was so immense that it felt as though a sharp, unsheathed sword was pressed on top of their heads.


    Lilith immediately took out her scythe to guard herself, but Xiao Lin seemed to remember something as his expression changed drastically. He shouted, ¡°Get out of the way!¡±


    BOOM!


    Almost as soon as Xiao Lin said that, the ck spot had hit the ground heavily. Xiao Lin and Lilith were fortunate to be some distance away, and after the dust had been gradually dispersed, the giant dragon appeared in front of them. Xiao Lin¡¯s face was very ugly, and the familiar Long Yin had already made him guess the answer.


    A colossal giant dragon covered in pitch-ck scales appeared. Its two nostrils continued to spew crimson mes, and the hot waves made them feel as though they were about to burn.


    ¡°Dragon! A ck dragon!¡± Lilith narrowed her eyes and had an expression that was rife with fighting spirit.


    Before Lilith lost herself in her lunacy, Xiao Lin seized the moment to grab her tight and whisper a reminder, ¡°We cannot handle such an enemy!¡±


    ¡°I know. ck dragons and gold dragons are the most powerful of their kind. Judging from the color of this dragon¡¯s scales, I estimate him to be more than ten thousand years old,¡± Lilith¡¯s calm analysis allowed to Xiao Lin to breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Lilith still had some sense in her.


    A couple of momentster however, Lilith licked her lips and said, ¡°I¡¯m dying to fight it!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched. Was her earlier sense of reason nothing more than an illusion?


    ¡°Does someone want to challenge me? Who? Who the hell is that person!¡± To their surprise, the ck Dragon suddenly spoke. Its voice was sonorous and loud, and since Xiao Lin and Lilith were just next to him, his voice was as unbearable as a thunderbolt ringing past their ears.


    The ck dragon took a good look around before finallyying eyes on Xiao Lin and Lilith. It narrowed its eyes and leaned its huge head closer, forcing the two humans to back off and avoiding into contact by the ck dragon¡¯s scorching hot breath.


    ¡°Oh? Are you humans?¡± the ck dragon asked, unsure.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well then, will you being at me together, or one by one?¡± The ck dragon raised his head again.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    Lilith was halfway through her sentence when Xiao Lin covered her mouth tightly. Red-faced, thetter stared at him in disbelief.


    After feeling the wetness in his palm and realizing what he had touched, Xiao Lin could not help but feel slightly embarrassed, especially when a killing intent appeared instantaneously in Lilith¡¯s eyes. Xiao Lin withdrew his hand quickly and pretended as though nothing happened. He shifted his gaze to the ck dragon and said with a wry smile, ¡°Ahem, we¡¯re not here to challenge you. We just entered here by mistake. I¡¯m sorry to disturb you. Please allow us to leave if it¡¯s convenient for you. I promise I won¡¯te here again.¡±


    Since the ck dragon had earlier spoken Normese, Xiao Lin responded in kind. Having Lilith attack was out of the question, or else the ck dragon might be forced to strike back even if it was not originally hostile. Should that happen, it would be a disaster that would most certainly result in coteral damage.


    ck dragons were on the same level as golden ones, and even someone who thinks with their toes could know such levels of strength were presently unreachable no matter how much effort Xiao Lin and Lilith put in the fight.


    The ck dragon taunted them, ¡°Deceiving a supreme being like me is no easy feat. Don¡¯t act as if I don¡¯t know anything. Aren¡¯t you here to retrieve that shard and save that little girl, Silverlight?¡±


    The girl, Silverlight?


    The mysterious girl in white fluttering clothes appeared in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. Apparently, her name was Silverlight, and Silverlight Lake was named after her. On further thought, it was surprising that an old woman from tens of millions of years ago was referred to as a little girl by the ck dragon. Even if she still maintained the appearance of a girl, it was still rather chilling if one connected the dots a little.


    ¡°Shard? What kind of shard?¡± Lilith¡¯s focus had always been on a different wavelength as Xiao Lin¡¯s and she had no interest in mysterious girls at all.


    The ck dragon¡¯s huge eyes rolled around and it huffed in a mocking, sarcastic tone, ¡°I¡¯m not used to this kind of interrogation. Why don¡¯t you tell me how you got here first? Was Silverlight spooked out of her mind? Oh no, no, no, is that girl still grief-stricken until today after being cast aside? Alright, I think you ought to tell me what year it is now!¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith exchanged nces. His initial thought was that the ck dragon might be an acquaintance or friend of the mysterious Silverlight. Judging from the dragon¡¯s tone, she might be an acquaintance, but it would be too far-fetched to call them friends. It was more likely that they were enemies.


    That was the best moment for Xiao Lin and Lilith to understand the identity of the girl. Before Lilith could challenge the dragon again, Xiao Lin seized the opportunity and immediately spoke. Moreover, he realized that the ck dragon must not have been able to leave that ce for a long time, or to put it more bluntly, the dragon was probably unable to leave after being sealed there.


    Xiao Lin gave a cursory exnation about the general situation in Norma, but the fact was that he did not really know that much about it. He basically exined everything that had been taught in his history lesson, and at the time, Xiao Lin could not help but be reminded of Gu Xiaoyue. That his knowledge of history could reach such a high standard was all thanks to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes in ss.


    As he was both unsure yet curious about what age the ck dragon and the girl came from, Xiao Lin deliberately paused before exining each period of history and carefully observed the ck dragon¡¯s expression in an attempt to judge whether it knew what he was talking about.


    It did not take long for Xiao Lin to abandon such unrealistic thinking. Discerning expressions from a dragon¡¯s face was impossible, but he noticed that the ck dragon¡¯s violent aura was slowly beginning to settle down during the course of his exnation. The sauna-like temperature began to drop slowly too, indicating that the big creature really was listening intently to his words.


    Norma had a rather long history, much longer than that of Earth¡¯s. Intelligent beings appeared much earlier in Norma too, but Xiao Lin knew increasingly little about everything that was too far back. There were also a lot of things which he could not speak in normal Normese, necessitating Lilith¡¯s help to asionally correct his pronunciation problems.


    The ck dragon listened quietly from the very beginning and seemed to do so with great interest. Xiao Lin poked fun at the dragon deep inside his heart but he did not dare to stop talking.

 Chapter 347: The Final Checkpoint

    <h4>Chapter 347: The Final Checkpoint</h4>


    An hourter, Xiao Lin¡¯s saliva had run dry. More importantly, he basically said everything he could from what little information he heard from history lessons. In fact, he was quite surprised that he could continue fooling the dragon up until then.


    After an embarrassing silence, the ck dragon sighed, ¡°So it seems that far too many years have passed. Heh. How lonely.¡±


    ¡®Just tell us how many years it is exactly!¡¯


    Xiao Lin felt helpless, but he would never dare to say that out loud. After ruminating for some time, he cautiously asked, ¡°Can we leave now?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Aren¡¯t you curious? Don¡¯t you want to know a little bit about all this?¡± The ck dragon suddenly switched to a tempting tone. It would have been pleasing to the eye if it was a beautiful woman, or perhaps even a mysterious old woman that resembled a young girl. Unfortunately, a seductive toneing from the mouth of a ferocious dragon would only give off a creepy vibe.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s guard was up and he took two steps back, after which he shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not at all interested. All I want is to leave this ce.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°If none of this is a secret, you could¡¯ve just told me if you wanted to. If all of this was a secret, our death is probably close at hand if we end up knowing too much.¡±


    ¡°Hmff!¡± The ck dragon seemed somewhat dissatisfied as it exhaled some me from its nose. ¡°Cunning human. You¡¯re half-right.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart trembled and he said helplessly, ¡°I hope it¡¯s not thetter half.¡±


    ¡°The existence here is itself the greatest secret to the world. Those who came here never want to leave unless they crack open the secret here. Do you see the bones under your feet?¡±


    The ck dragon said slowly in an indifferent and majestic tone, ¡°Those are the people who entered this world over countless years. Among them are cowardly humans, arrogant elves, and irritable orcs... Ignorant adventurers who overestimated their strength, as well as individuals who were world-renowned legendary powerhouses at the time. It¡¯s such a pity that all of them were trapped here and even lost their lives.¡±


    After a while, the ck dragon¡¯s tone gradually became mocking. ¡°You¡¯re not the strongest among the humans I¡¯ve met, but you¡¯re not the weakest either, although you certainly are down there. On what grounds are you leaving this ce?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom and he nced at the mountains of corpses and armor on the deste ground. Regardless of how powerful they were during their lifetime, all of them became the soil that Xiao Lin stepped under his feet.


    Lilith did the same and looked around the ground under her feet. It had long turned dark brown after being stained with blood, and her expression was soplicated that she did not know whether she felt pity or regret. As a battle fanatic, her goal was to challenge those powerhouses. In a simr way, she had a great deal of respect for them too. However, those very same peopley before her eyes in the form of skeletons, prompting a rare silence from Lilith.


    ¡°Then choose a method.¡± The ck dragon returned to itszy tone.


    ¡°What method?¡± This time, Lilith was the one who asked.


    ¡°A method for the challenge. You can either choose the method of resistance or non-resistance, although both of them are practically no different for a human of your level. As the first humans who have stepped into this ce for the first time in these past few centuries, I¡¯ll give you two a bit of special treatment. Tell me your battle conditions.¡±


    The ck dragon¡¯s tone was more like that of a kid who was ready to y with their new toys. In light of the fact that the dragon had been there for tens of thousands of years, Xiao Lin could more or less understand how it was probably driven to madness by the feeling of loneliness and emptiness.


    ¡°Are we the first people here?¡± Lilith frowned.


    If the girl in white colluded with Red Beard, used Silverlight Lake¡¯s rumored treasure to attract countless adventurers there, then sucked them into the realm of that mysterious long sword, then Xiao Lin and Lilith could not possibly have been the first to arrive there.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly, then suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Then, Old ck...¡±


    He really could not think of a better way to call the ck dragon before him and simply called out Old ck, though it seemed that the other party had no objection. Xiao Lin continued, ¡°Old ck, have you heard of oracle bone script before? ¡±


    ¡°Oracle bone? Is it edible?¡± ck Dragon asked, licking its lips, ¡°Is it some kind of marine species?¡±


    ¡°Oh, forget I even spoke...¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith looked at each other again, and Lilith opened her mouth to ask, ¡°What about the Perfect Clone Technique? What¡¯s up with those two independent realms that we had to go through before entering this world?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about?¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith briefly exined the contents of the previous two levels, though it went without saying that they omitted the fact that oracle bone script originated from Earth. All they said was that it was anguage which had long been lost since ancient times.


    The ck dragon was silent for a few seconds before suddenly letting out a thunderous roar. ¡°Who! Who did this! I¡¯ve been telling myself that no one has been here in a few years. Someone is deliberately causing trouble! Damn, how boring!¡±


    In other words, did the dragon really treat everyone who came there as toys?


    Xiao Lin felt aggrieved when he looked at the corpses on the ground. He had the sudden thought that perhaps their sessfulpletions of the first and second levels were not the right choice. Could they have been able to leave if they were deliberately defeated?


    Fighting one¡¯s own clone was actually very difficult during the first level. It was difficult for most people to defeat oneself, especially since the clone might understand one¡¯s own potential better than oneself and copied everything almost perfectly.


    That Xiao Lin and Lilith were able to win the battle in a short time, was¡ªto put it bluntly¡ªreliant on their SS-level talent, as that was the only aspect which the clones were unable to replicate.


    Although the second level went by without a hitch, it was much more difficult than the first one. In fact, it could even be said that any non-Earthling¡ªspecifically that which was not born on Chinese soil and had no knowledge of oracle bone script at all, would find it absolutely impossible toplete the second task.


    The significance of those two levels was not so much to bring trouble to an intruder, but was more like a kind of warning that prohibited any intruders from continuing onward, lest they find themselves unable to return after entering that blood-colorednd.


    On careful thought, the fight against the clone was real and Xiao Lin did not think that the clone had any intention of showing mercy. If they died there without being in range of the resurrection tower, they would have died for real.


    At the very least however, Xiao Lin understood that all three levels were much more difficult than the previous one, but none of the three levels were set by the same person. The dragon¡¯s world of blood and despair was the only one that existed, but someer added another two checkpoints before it.

 Chapter 348: Transforming into A Human

    <h4>Chapter 348: Transforming into A Human</h4>


    ¡°Have you figured out what conditions you want?¡± The ck dragon¡¯s words interrupted Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s contemtion.


    ¡°Do we have to fight with you?¡± Given the choice, Xiao Lin would certainly not choose an option with death as its obvious consequence.


    ¡°This is my world. I have the final say. Here you must obey my words, otherwise you¡¯ll suffer!¡± The ck dragon was as arrogant as ever and added, ¡°That¡¯s actually the best choice, since you won¡¯t be able to get out anyway.¡±


    Lilith asked too, ¡°What are the conditions for leaving? I remember you saying that Silverlight sent us over to look for a shard. What shard is that?¡±


    Xiao Lin had a sudden thought, but he was not entirely sure about it.


    On that asion, the ck dragon was silent for several minutes, but it finally said in a frigid tone, ¡°If you can defeat me, you might have the chance to find out. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Guarding the shard is the responsibility and mission that I¡¯ve been given.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly as he looked at Lilith, who seemed eager to give things a try. He lowered his voice and discussed with her, ¡°Do you really have a chance of winning?¡±


    ¡°How could I possibly?¡± Lilith looked at him as though he were an idiot. ¡°The opponentes from a race of ck dragons. If you count its age, its strength would have at least been equivalent to Legend-rank. How are we supposed to win against it!¡±


    It turned out to be the answer Xiao Lin expected and he sighed. ¡°Then why are you so happy?¡±


    Lilith¡¯s expression was self-evident from the beginning and she continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s amazing that we¡¯re able to fight against a Legend-rank opponent?¡±


    ¡°Is dying just as amazing?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about death? ¡±


    Lilith turned her head slightly, as if she did not want to let Xiao Lin see her gaze at that moment, but the change in her tone was still very obvious. That momentary sh of indifference was simr to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone when he spoke to her, but Lilith had always been a very straightforward girl, so it was difficult to imagine that she could have such an emotion.


    Was it an indifference to life?


    Xiao Lin felt that Lilith was not that kind of person, but rather, she simply had no fear of death. However, such people became indifferent either because of exorbitant ideals or goals, or because they had experienced the brink of death far too many times.


    ¡®What did you experience in the past, Lilith?¡¯


    Xiao Lin sighed silently in his heart and wisely diverted from that rather sensitive topic.


    ¡°If this is the case, leave this battle to me.¡±


    Lilith was shocked, but Xiao Lin had already stepped forward. He raised his head, looked at the ck dragon circling in the bloody sky, and said, ¡°You just said that we can choose the fighting conditions. My understanding is that we can choose whatever condition we want, even if it¡¯s beneficial to us.¡±


    The ck dragon¡¯s huge eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re right, humans. Let your imagination run wild and think. This special treatment is just for you, even if the end result might not differ much.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then what if I ask you to reduce your strength to ck Iron-rank?¡± Xiaolin blinked slyly and spread his hand out innocently, saying, ¡°You see, you¡¯re Legend-rank, so wouldn¡¯t it be pointless to bully us like that? You¡¯ve lived here for so long now. Don¡¯t you want to keep yourself busy for longer? After all, no one knows when the next person wille in.¡±


    The ck dragon fell to the ground again and hummed in a strong nasal voice. ¡°I knew you¡¯d make this request, and I nned to do this too. If I fight with you with my current strength, I won¡¯t even need a second to squeeze you to death, but then my fun will be much less.¡±


    Xiao Lin exhaled. If that was the case, they could at least five it a try. Lilith calmly questioned, ¡°Although I don¡¯t understand Legend-rank strength, I¡¯m still aware that it¡¯s impossible for a dragon physique to control its strength and suppress it to ck Iron-rank. It¡¯s like a giant trying to draw a circle. The destructive power will still be far superior than an ordinary person.¡±


    ¡°You underestimate the dragon n!¡±


    The ck dragon¡¯s voice gradually became fuzzy and the surface of its body began to emit circles of light-colored halos. Its huge body shrank constantly in that illusory glow and the scales on its body were disappearing very quickly too.


    After ten seconds, the halo gradually dissipated, and what appeared in front of Xiao Lin and Lilith was a person¡ªa naked and extremely voluptuous woman!


    Xiao Lin was in aplete daze and he rubbed his eyes vigorously. He could not believe what he was looking at and felt that it was impolite to be ring straight at him. The other party however, seemed to bepletely indifferent to their own nakedness and waved her hand. A sparkling stream of ink-ck armor of light was equipped on her body, and a long silver sword suddenly appeared in its hands.


    ¡°High-ranking dragons have the ability to transform.¡± Lilith nced disdainfully at the practically-entranced Xiao Lin, who¡ªin his naivete¡ªwas expressing a look of excitement.


    ¡°Never expected it to be a female dragon. I really couldn¡¯t tell,¡± Lilith murmured in some surprise to herself.


    ¡°Will females be easier to deal with?¡± Xiao Lin knew very little about the dragon race, but the impression that men could fight better than women was still deeply ingrained in him.


    ¡°Sorry to burst your bubble, but the dragon race is a matriarchal society. The fighting power of females is generally higher than that of males.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°Do you have even the tiniest bit of useful information?¡±


    ¡°When you put that condition forward, I had a rough guess that it would transform, but to tell you the truth, it¡¯s all pointless. Believe me, even if its strength is suppressed to ck Iron-rank, it will never be on the same level as us. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter though. This may take a bit longer, but I¡¯m really looking forward to experiencing the extent of a ck dragon¡¯s power!¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re cursing me to be beaten to death so that you can go next.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you prefer, you can think of it that way.¡±


    ¡°You actually admitted it...¡±


    The two of them could still joke around in a time of crisis, but their antics made the ck dragon¡ªor more urately, the woman¡ªa little impatient. Its voice did not change much after the transformation, through there was an additional bit of elegance and maism that was unique to women. Nevertheless, the arrogance and indifference unique to the dragon race has be more and more evident.


    ¡°Well, in any case, I¡¯ll try first.¡±


    Xiao Lin took out the Holy Soul Sword. He had almost recovered from the exhaustion suffered during the first level¡¯s battle had. Faced a ck dragon-level opponent, he was aware of the fact that there was little chance of a victory even though the opponent turned into a human and deliberately suppressed their strength. In spite of his optimism in front of Lilith or how much he silently cursed the mysterious Silverlight¡¯s ancestors, he still had to bite the bullet and face the most difficult obstacle in front of him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. I¡¯ll make good on my promise to hold back.¡± The dragondy had a look of anticipation. It seemed that she really did spend too many years in loneliness.

 Chapter 349: Battling the Black Dragon (1)

    <h4>Chapter 349: Battling the ck Dragon (1)</h4>


    If the mysterious girl¡¯s dead soul was on the level of an old woman, then the dragondy before them who had lived a longer life would probably be on the level of an old witch. Even though their appearance was considered quite superior even by Earth¡¯s standards, one could not help but feel speechless at the thought of their age.


    For some reason, Xiao Lin suddenly thought of all that before the inevitable battle. Of course, he could only chastise himself for thinking like that, as the ck dragon¡¯s words suggested that she did not take either of them seriously and merely took them for a temporary ything.


    The ck dragon was getting a little impatient. ¡°How long more are you going to wait?¡±


    ¡°Can you let me make the first move?¡± Xiao Linughed self-deprecatingly. He knew that the dragon race was very prideful, and in their disdain, would only allow their opponents to make the first attack. The courtesy of giving him the upper hand might as well be likened to charity and pity.


    ¡°Now then, show me how strong the dragons in this world are!¡±


    Xiao Lin focused his attention in an instant. His knowledge of dragons originated from the dean¡¯s golden dragon, and Lilith¡¯s remark that the ck dragon was of the same level as a golden dragon could perfectly exin the strength of the woman before him.


    ¡°Holy Soul Summoning!¡±


    Xiao Lin lifted the Holy Soul Sword. A gray mist engulfed it and he summoned the undead swordsman at once. Death energy was abundant in a world full of skeletons and the swordsman could therefore be summoned without a need to stain the sword with blood.


    ¡°Undead creatures?¡± The ck dragon was not too surprised, but frowned and said, ¡°I hate the undead.¡±


    She then squinted and looked indifferently at the undead swordsman, causing thetter to tremble violently all of a sudden. Emotions ought not to have been present in an undead creature like that, but the fear seemed to stem from the most primitive instinct of life¡ªit was a direct reaction of inferior creatures when facing superior ones.


    ¡°Dragon power!¡± Xiao Lin murmured in a deep voice, but only the undead swordsman was affected by it, an indication that the woman did as she said and deliberately lowered her strength to a certain level. The dragon power affected only the undead swordsman, not Xiao Lin himself.


    Xiao Lin did not expect the undead swordsman to aplish much, because the most it could do was help him stall for some time. Taking advantage of the distraction to his opponent¡¯s attention, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to activate Miracle and quickly entered his Ruin state.


    It was the strongestbat power he could use as of that point in time. Xiao Lin has done a thorough analysis of his own strength. Apart from his own skills, his abilities could only be considered satisfactory at best, but his explosive qualities were very strong, and his Ruin state was nothing more than a strengthening of that explosive quality.


    By converting all his attributes to strength while in the Miracle state, Xiao Lin could achieve an explosive strength that exceeded 60 XP. ording to Xiao Lin¡¯s experience in the Ruin state, his strength attributes would further increase to nearly 100 XP.


    That kind of strength attribute was about the same level as a Bronze-rank individual, which was equivalent to Xiao Lin gaining an instant increase to Bronze-rank strength while still at ck Iron-rank. Thereiny the reason why he requested the ck dragon to lower its strength in the fight.


    The instantaneous strength that burst out startled the dragondy tremendously. Although she was still using the dragon power to tease the undead swordsman, her attention on Xiao Lin was never really drawn away. In fact, she found it quiteughable to see Xiao Lin approaching her at a tortoise-like speed.


    When Xiao Lin hacked the Holy Soul Sword down, the ck dragon only slightly raised her right arm and was prepared to use her armor to defend against it. Xiao Lin¡¯s sword was indeed very slow. After converting all the attributes into strength, his speed was obviously affected, not to mention how trivial the Phantom Step was in the eyes of an opponent with the level of a ck dragon. In truth, Xiao Lin was actually betting on the woman being too full of herself, and that the dragon race¡¯s arrogance precluded her from actually evading the attack.


    The bet seemed to have paid off when he saw that woman showing no intention to dodge. Xiao Lin was decisive, and he practically unleashed his strongest sword aura just as his attack was about tond. The fusion of sword aura and sword wave spread like wildfire.


    Boom!


    A huge explosion ensued, with the pressure of heat and the rebound almost knocking Xiao Lin to the ground. It was the strongest sh he could wield at the moment, and everything else after that was left to fate.


    The explosion gradually subsided, and the woman slowly walked out of the smoke while coughing. She looked at Xiao Lin in some surprise and nodded before saying, ¡°Wonderful! This is more interesting than I thought! Hmm, I thought I¡¯d only be able to y for a little while, but it appears I won¡¯t feel too bored in the next few days.¡±


    The excitement on her face sent a chill down Xiao Lin¡¯s spine. Although it was to be expected, he felt despair after seeing her nonchnt tone of speech as soon as she received his strongest attack.


    ¡°Armor! What¡¯s the level of armor on your body?¡± Lilith, who was watching the battle, suddenly raised her eyebrows and asked in a loud voice.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The dragondy turned her head to look at Lilith, then said in a strange and confused tone, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d wear inferior armor?¡±


    Lilith could not help but remain speechless for a moment. She then sighed at Xiao Lin, ¡°Told you. Why would you be so na?ve as to think that we¡¯re fighting on the same level as her?¡±


    Xiao Lin sensed that something was wrong and looked over. The explosion and impact were incredibly strong earlier. The ck dragon¡¯s body was so powerful that it could not be injured, while there was not the slightest scratch on her armor, let alone signs of damage. The sheer quality of that armor was simply unimaginable.


    ¡°That¡¯s Legend-rank equipment,¡± Lilithmented. Even she was beginning to feel a little envious. Although Lilith might be Judge Academy¡¯s most cared for individual, she had never seen a Legend-rank weapon before. The level of such equipment could even be considered useful in all situations.


    Xiao Lin wanted to cry, but the tears would note. There was no way he could fight that battle. Defeating the dragon was a tall order, and Xiao Lin¡¯s initial n was to use the ck dragon¡¯s condescending attitude and at least deal a blow to her by pairing his Miracle with the Ruin state. In hindsight, he was simply too stupid and na?ve because her Legend-rank equipment was a total p in his face.


    ¡°Come on now,e on! What other moves do you have? Use them all!¡±


    Xiao Lin was uninterested, but the dragondy was thoroughly enjoying herself at the moment. The attack gave her a lot of unexpected surprises earlier, and after seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s silly daze, she urged him in dissatisfaction while remembering to praise him, ¡°Your earlier attack was superb! Being able to exert a power one-and-a-half times more than your own ability isn¡¯t easy, especially at this stage of yours. I haven¡¯t seen such swordsmanship in a long time.¡±

 Chapter 350: Battling the Black Dragon (2)

    <h4>Chapter 350: Battling the ck Dragon (2)</h4>


    Probably having felt that her own equipment and strength were simply too formidable, the ck dragon thought for a moment and added, ¡°Your attack took me by surprise. My hands are still tingling a little. Amazing. Simply amazing!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyelids twitched fiercely. His full-force blow was only enough to make the woman¡¯s hand tingle! He appeared increasingly frustrated.


    He undid his Ruin state too, as it was difficult for him to maintain such a high explosive state for too long especially when he was discouraged.


    After undoing Miracle and the Ruin state, immense exhaustion poured into Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. That was the price of his instant explosive power. The dragondy also noticed the rapid decline in his strength and she could not help but show disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s just an instantaneous explosive power, is it? Or could you have given up?¡±


    With no response, the ck dragon shook her head. ¡°Die then.¡±


    Sure enough, this woman did not have the slightest bit of sympathy. However, she was blocked by a figure as soon as she began walking. The undead swordsman had resumed his movements after being freed from the dragon power¡¯s suppression.


    Xiao Lin raised his head slightly in surprise. He did not remember having given any instructions to the undead swordsman because he was well aware that the clumsy swordsman had little effect.


    ¡°I hate the undead!¡± The approaching woman simply frowned and raised her long sword slightly. A ck gleam shed from the de and directly hit the swordsman. At that moment, the swordsman¡¯s heavy armor became as fragile as white paper and shattered instantly.


    ¡°Dragon breath!¡± Lilith struggled to spit out those two words and warned Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin could not help but be in awe. Dragon breath was a basic skill that the dragon race had mastered. It was to them what breathing was to humans¡ªan innate ability. Nevertheless, her ability to release the dragon breath through her sword was what made things much scarier.


    The power of the dragon¡¯s breath cut with the sword is greatly reduced, but this just shows that this woman has reached a very high level of control over her own power, so she can very exquisitely disperse the power of the dragon¡¯s breath. This is not all dragons. Things that can be done.


    The undead swordsman¡¯s copse shocked Xiao Lin¡¯s spirit a little. A summoner of a mind-controlled summoned creature would face adverse reaction when the creature¡¯s being dies. Only professional summoners could reduce that kind of damage.


    The swordsman¡¯s body was finally revealed after the armor waspletely obliterated by dragon breath. Xiao Linid eyes on its true form under that armor for the first time. It was a cloud of ck gas, simr to condensed death energy. Unlike the death energy in the meditation world, the ck gas seemed to have a will of its own and was able to sense the threat being close at hand. It billowed desperately in an attempt to stand up again.


    ¡°An undead creature with independent consciousness?¡± The ck dragon was surprised again. After a moment of thought, she seemed to have made up her mind and said, ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll help you out. Though I hope you won¡¯t let me down like your master did.¡±


    Xiao Lin was confused, but from the looks of it, the other party¡¯s interest seemed to have shifted to the undead swordsman. He did not know whether he should be grateful or depressed. Was his ability inferior to that of an undead creature?


    The dragondy held her sword and paced around the struggling swordsman soul, while the tip of her weapon was drawing something on the ground. Whenever the de was drawn across the ground, a strange flow of blood began appearing on the brownish soil. The fresh blood flowed on its volition as if it was alive, intersecting with each other and gradually weavingplex patterns on the ground.


    ¡°Magic circle! She seems to be drawing some magic circle,¡± Lilith whispered, having approached closer out of curiosity.


    Xiao Lin nodded. He recognized the magic circle, but he did not really understand what the dragondy was trying to do.


    At that point, the dragondy was actually defenseless., or in other words, she simply ignored Xiao Lin and Lilith for the time being. However, neither of them dared to make a move.


    A full half-hour passed just like that, and the dragondy¡¯s interest seemed rather piqued as she drew a huge and mysterious magic circle using her blood-stained sword, with the undead swordsman situated smack dab in the center of the circle. It struggled initially, the continuous loss of its death energy made it weaker and weaker.


    The dragondy even chanted an iprehensible spell in a low voice. Thenguage used was more obscure than Ancient Normese. Xiao Lin understood that it was Dragish, which was rumored to be the most difficultnguage elective course in Dawn Academy.


    The entire spellsted for another quarter of an hour. Oncepleted, a blinding light that had a simr intensity to the sun burst out of the magic circle. Xiao Lin could not help but cover his eyes. When he reopened them, a small deep pit had already appeared in the ground in front of him. At the bottom of the pit stood a fully armed knight wrapped in ck aura.


    ¡°Unbelievable!¡±


    The first person to exim happened to be the dragondy, who was the instigator of the entire situation. She approached Xiao Lin again and stared at him with her ck, pearl-like eyes, asking, ¡°What have you done to it?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m the one who should be asking you this,¡± Xiao Lin replied grimly. His rxed manner was probably due to having resigned himself to the fact that he would never win against the opponent in front of him.


    The ck dragon pointed to the bottom of the pit, and said, ¡°Do I still need to exin? Your undead swordsman has evolved into a ck knight. You¡¯ve given me plenty of surprises. My dragon spellbook only helps to gather the dead energy nearby, but not every soul who has enough dead energy can evolve into a ck knight.¡±


    ¡®In other words, you¡¯re just helping yourself create a more interesting toy,¡¯ Xiao Lin chided her in his heart.


    He had read about ck knights before. They were considered mid-range undead creatures that far surpassed the power of ordinary skeletons and undead souls. Nevertheless, Xiao Lin did not think that the ck knight would have any effect in front of the ck dragon.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start then! Round two!¡±


    The ck dragon once again distanced herself and waited solemnly. As Xiao Lin had guessed, she acted simply for the sake of having a toy to y with and pass the time.


    ¡°You can try.¡± Lilith motioned to Xiao Lin with a look, signaling that she had enough of being alone and was already raring to go.


    Xiao Lin silently tried tomunicate with his mental strength and was fortunate to discover that the connection still existed between him and the undead swordsman, or more urately, the evolved ck knight. In spite of that, he could clearly sense the knight¡¯s oppressive force on his spirit.


    ¡®The ck knight¡¯s strength is probably much stronger than mine,¡¯ Xiao Lin thought to himself a little speechlessly and gave another order to attack.


    The battle resumed.

 Chapter 351: Battling the Black Dragon (3)

    <h4>Chapter 351: Battling the ck Dragon (3)</h4>


    Compared to the undead swordsman, the ck knight¡¯s speed was on a whole new level. Xiao Lin made someparisons while watching the battle idly and came to a more helpless conclusion: using the Phantom Step in conjunction with his Ruin state was no guarantee that he could reach the same speed as the ck knight.


    ¡°It¡¯s Bronze-rank at least.¡± Xiao Lin suddenly realized a possible problem. Some of the books about basic undead knowledge that he had previously read stated that the master¡¯s ability must surpass the undead creature under their control, otherwise the spiritual connection between the two sides would be difficult to maintain.


    Of course, the prerequisite was to pass the hurdle that was the ck dragon, which did not appear easy to do at all.


    After evolving into the ck knight, the swordsman¡¯s de was surrounded by an eye-catching ck aura, which corroded even the rusty armor and weapons on the ground as it moved past. However, the ck dragon managed to only block the blow with one hand.


    It was a fierce battle and the sh of des reverberated in that small realm. The ck dragon¡¯s fighting spirit was exceedingly high, but she was obviously not using much of her strength, since she still seemed to do everything with ease. From time to time, she scrutinized the ck knight from a distance and madements, one of which was to point out that the ck knight¡¯s had a higher-than-average speed.


    A few minutester, Lilith identified an appropriate time to conjure up her scythe and join the battle. The ck dragon only nced at her with some interest, but its attack rhythm was not at all interrupted. As always, the dragondy spoke in an arrogant and slow tone, ¡°I forgot to tell you that I¡¯m only using about one-ten-thousandth of my strength right now. How far do you think you can push me?¡±


    Lilith chose not to hold herself back and used her strongestbat power when attacking. It was none other than her Creation skill. The signature me in her hand was like an extension of her arm and could change into any shape at will.


    After the mes were disyed, the ck dragon¡¯s face seemed to show some curiosity and said, ¡°This is very interesting. The both of you are very special.¡±


    Lilith was a little stunned. ¡°Don¡¯t patronize us. Does a spell of this level amount to anything in your eyes?¡±


    The ck dragon moved slightly further away and had no difficulty in making small talk during such a fierce battle. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any idea of what you have mastered? Ordinary spells are rearranged based on the four elements, but the difference in your mes is that the elementes from yourself instead of nature. It¡¯s rather simr to dragon spells.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand! But I seem to think that you¡¯re toockadaisical!¡± Lilith sped up the rhythm of her attacks as she was peeved that the ck dragon still had the luxury of exining everything to her.


    Xiao Lin sighed, and after a short break, he raised his sword and rushed up once more. However, he was temporarily unable to activate the Ruin state for the time being and the explosiveness in his Miracle state was very limited too. Compared to the Bronze-rank Lilith, he was undoubtedly much weaker.


    The ck dragon hardly looked flustered despite the three-against-one battle, though such a result was entirely within their predictions. Even if a member of the legendary dragon race suppressed their strength to one out of ten-thousandth, they were still a formidable opponent that could not be defeated that easily.


    In any case, Xiao Lin and Lilith felt very distressed over the woman¡¯s arrogance right from the very beginning. The least they could do was force her to take things a little more seriously. That was the only thought Xiao Lin and Lilith had at the moment.


    Xiao Lin knew well enough that the dragondy could defeat his side in an instant if that was what she wanted. However, it was clear that the dragondy intended to prolong her game and dragged the battle on for a long time. There was no concept of time there, but Xiao Lin could deduce how much time had passed from his hunger and tiredness.


    ¡°Stop fighting!¡±


    The ck dragon was also keenly aware of that and ended the battle decisively. At the same time, she changed from her human form back to a ck dragon. The sudden change left Xiao Lin and Lilith staring nkly, as they had no chance of attacking if they faced their opponent in dragon form.


    ¡°You¡¯re too tired! The drop in your strength is too obvious. Hmm, I¡¯ll get you something to eat!¡± After speaking, the ck dragon hovered all the way to the distance.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith gasped and exchanged nces. The ck dragon really was confusing. The battle was actually very mundane even though it was a fierce one. The ck dragon was clearly holding back, so much so that they did not even feel the slightest threat, but they still felt exhausted even in such a situation. Even after the dragon transformed into a human, the pressure it exerted was still much more terrifying than they imagined.


    The ck dragon came back after a quarter of an hour and brought some big fruit. They were gray in color, and each one was about the size of three footballs. God knows what that stuff was or whether it was poisonous, but since there was no other alternative, Xiao Lin took a bite and found the taste to be very astringent. He was barely able to stomach it, but it satiated his hunger. He had enough after eating half of it, but his strength and spirit had been surprisingly restored.


    Knowing that it could not possibly be an ordinary fruit, Xiao Lin¡¯s bad impression of the ck dragon has changed slightly. However, he was well aware that she gave them the fruit just to restore their energy as soon as possible and resume the battle.


    The ck dragon was also eating the same fruit. Having been trapped there for countless years, it was only natural that there must be something to satisfy her hunger. She ate very quickly, devouring the huge fruit whole in a few bites, then urged Xiao Lin and Lilith.


    ¡°How much further do you want us to fight? It¡¯s not like we can actually beat you,¡± Xiao Lin tentatively asked again.


    ¡°That goes without saying. How can people on your level win against me? When I get tired of ying, I¡¯ll be sure to end things quickly. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t like torturing people, so I won¡¯t make it too painful.¡±


    Those seemingly kind remarks sounded rather harsh, but those words were the in facts. The ck Dragon had no reason to let them go. Xiao Lin opened his mouth. In the end, all he could do was exhale fiercely and raise the Holy Soul Sword before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s start then!¡±


    Since there is no way to evade it, he might as well have a good time!


    Xiao Lin let everything go in that moment of dismay.


    The ck dragon transformed into human form again and the fighting continued. The silent ck knight joined in too, and although Xiao Lin was initially rather worried that he would not be able to control the knight, it seemed that his worries were quite unnecessary. Not only did the spiritual connection between him and the ck knight show no signs of weakening, there were even some indications that the connection was strengthening, as Xiao Lin could vaguely sense some of its mood swings when fighting.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use the Dragon Breath Sword just now?¡± Xiao Lin asked suddenly.


    ¡°Are you sure you want me to use it? You won¡¯t be able to stop it!¡±


    ¡°I would love to appreciate the dragon breath¡¯s power again.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to reduce my fun time.¡± The ck dragon really treated the battle as a fun way to pass the time.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really dare, do you.¡±


    ¡°Are you taunting me?¡±


    ¡°You can think of it that way!¡±


    ¡°As you wish!¡±

 Chapter 352: Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 352: Life and Death</h4>


    The Dragon Breath Sword was derived from the much-reduced dragon breath which the ck dragon used earlier. However, it could be attached to the de of the sword and shed out.


    When the dragondy raised the sword again, Xiao Lin activated his replication skill. It had been a while since he used it because it was saved for emergencies. Even so, he was still unsure whether or not it would remain effective in such a situation.


    [Replication target: ck dragon; replicated skill: dragon breath; skill evaluation: E+; use: limited to dragon race only. Replicationplete!]


    In an instant, the information pertaining to the Dragon Breath Sword was transmitted to his brain. Xiao Lin thought that it could not be replicated, especially since the skill was limited to one race, but it turned out to be sessful.


    The power of dragon breath itself was immeasurable, though much reduced in human form. In addition to the ck dragon deliberately manifesting the sword aura¡¯s form and reduce its power even more, the replicated Dragon Breath Sword only ended up with an E rating, which amounted to a reduction several times over.


    As soon as the glow of dragon breath shone on the Holy Soul Sword, the dragondy¡¯s expression finally changed for the first time, and after the initial surprise, she becamepletely serious and even began to have some killing intent.


    Lilith¡¯s expression changed slightly too. She tried to stop Xiao Lin, but unfortunately it was already toote.


    ¡°Dragon breath is a unique ability of the dragon race, but it¡¯s not exclusive to our race alone!¡± The ck dragon exined slowly in an icy tone, ¡°As long as you have the dragon race¡¯s aura, other races can possess the same ability of using dragon breath. Humans like you are usually called dragon yers! I can¡¯t believe that a human like you could reach such a level, but since that seems to be the case, you absolutely cannot be forgiven!¡±


    ¡®Dragon yer? What?¡¯


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind went nk for some time. He felt that it was too big of a misunderstanding. What a joke! At his level, if he encountered the weakest member of the dragon race, whether he could y or be yed remained to be seen!


    Although he was surprised that he was able to copy dragon breath and even spected that it might be rted to the dragon blood fed to him by Song Jung, it would not be worth it if it annoyed the ck dragon. Its anger was simply not something that he could contend with.


    He wanted to offer up an exnation but the opportunity to do so no longer existed. The copied Dragon Breath Sword could be described as an arrow on a drawn bow. He could feel the huge power surging from the hilt of his sword, but the dragondy in front of him was already having a cold expression. With a roar up to the sky, the armor disappeared from her entire body in an instant.


    Xiao Lin did not even have the time to nce at her curvy naked body as the ck dragon had already soared up into the sky. After turning around in a circle, she swooped down again, with her head opening gradually for gray gas to umte inside it like a surging ocean wave. Even though Xiao Lin and Lilith were hundreds of meters away, the majestic temperament made them feel as though they were inside a boat that could capsize at any moment.


    The ck knight fared slightly better than them, but it was only barely able to move under the support of its ck sword. Regardless of how it attacked, the gray sword aura disintegrated before evening into contact with the dragon¡¯s scales.


    ¡°This is true dragon breath! It¡¯s the aura that belongs to the legendary ck dragon!¡± Lilith sighed nkly, then turned to look at Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword before saying thoughtfully, ¡°But I finally have a rough idea of what your ability is.¡±


    Xiao Lin froze, then realized that Lilith was referring to his SS-level talent. In fact, the two of them were well aware of each other¡¯s abilities since The Final Land but simply feigned ignorance.


    ¡°I seem to have caused some trouble.¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. The development did not go ording to his n.


    ¡°Dragons, especially the dragons of ancient times, hate dragon yers. Well, at least we saw an ancient dragon¡¯s real aura before we die. This isn¡¯t something that any ordinary person can witness.¡±


    The resurrection tower did not cover the area they were in, and they would not resurrect anymore if they died. However, Lilith¡¯s tone seemed quite rxed. She had little fear of death and did not me Xiao Lin either.


    In fact, the oue was not that surprising regardless of what they did. Like the many remains lying there, they would add to the collection of skeletons once the ck dragon gets tired of the game. It was only a matter of time.


    ¡°At least let me finish this move!¡±


    Xiao Lin nced at the Holy Soul Sword in his hand. The energy condensed by the Dragon Breath Sword was already quite sufficient, but the difference between it and the ck dragon¡¯s dragon power was like the stream and the sea.


    Real dragon power was definitely not something they could hold out against, but Xiao Lin seemed to have calmed down in the face of the inevitable, perhaps because he had enough time to process everything.


    There was little one could consider before one¡¯s death. Although there were many things he could think about, such as his parents or his friends, he had spent enough time thinking about that already.


    It went without saying that Xiao Lin did not want to die, as he would have a lot of regrets too. However, when he delivered hisst swing of the sword, he felt that there was nothing more to think about because there was not much time left for him.


    The sword aura which contained the power of the dragon breath surged into the sky. As expected, it hardly amounted to an itch in the fact of a genuine ck dragon, and the next second, true dragon power descended from the sky with a roar.


    Such authentic legendary power was, as Lilith said earlier, not something that they had the chance of seeing. Under that power, the entire blood-colored sky turned white and the earth began to vibrate slightly. Even the remains of those who had been dead for so many years began trembling, with dead souls sumbing to the dragon as well. The wind between the sky and the earth wreaked havoc along with the engulfing energy storm, reminding Xiao Lin of a doomsday scene in the movies.


    Xiao Lin could not help but close his eyes when facing the impending dragon¡¯s breath. In a moment of life and death, he seemed to feel something pouring out of his body, followed by a sharp decline in physical strength. He felt tired and sleepy, and the entire processsted no more than the time it took for him to take a breath. He had already fainted to the ground just before the dragon¡¯s breath came over.


    Lilith did not react any better than him as she could not do much under the dragon power. Her only way of expressing resentment was with her clenched fists. However, she waspletely conscious, and in the final moments, she could only hear sporadic sighs of shock and incredulousness, as well as some confused self-mumbling.


    ¡°Impossible!


    ¡°How could it be you!


    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years! Why are you here! ¡±


    ...


    The ck dragon¡¯s tone gradually turned into a questioning one while also containing a monstrous anger. Lilith soon fainted too, but it was due to exhaustion after having resisted the dragon might¡¯s pressure. Just before she fainted however, she could clearly sense that the dragon power¡¯s pressure had disappeared above her head.


    Could she have survived?


    Perhaps!

 Chapter 353: The Fragment’s Whereabouts

    <h4>Chapter 353: The Fragment¡¯s Whereabouts</h4>


    Xiao Lin had a very strange dream. A vague figure appeared in it, and he could neither discern who it was nor see the other party¡¯s face. All he saw was a rough outline. The person seemed to want to tell Xiao Lin something, but the dream came to an abrupt end there.


    Xiao Lin regained consciousness and groggily opened his eyes. The blood-colored sky was the first thing that he saw, but the brown soil no longer had dry bones and discarded equipment, only a bare crater.


    ¡°Does this mean I survived? Or is this theherworld?¡± Xiao Lin was absolutely stupefied. He did not believe that he had the ability to survive the dragon might.


    ¡°Is China¡¯sherworld even capable of controlling Norma?¡± Lilith taunted.


    Xiao Lin looked at the direction of the voice. He discovered Lilith sitting next to him with a fatigued look on her face and exhaled deeply. At the very least, it was a sign that they had survived. The ck knight was nowhere to be found, but Xiao Lin found his Holy Soul Sword. The death energy inside the sword was perceivable, which meant that the ck knight had probably returned to the Holy Soul Sword.


    Where was the ck dragon?


    Xiao Lin scanned the surroundings and his gaze finallynded on a mountain not far away. The woman in ck armor was standing there quietly with her eyes closed, like a sculpture. She seemed to be resting and listening to the silent world.


    Lilith exined away his confusion, ¡°The woman retracted her dragon power at thest moment. There¡¯s no turning back once you start something, and although I haven¡¯t reached Legend-rank yet, I¡¯m well aware that strengths of that level would flow back into her body and cause very strong repercussions.¡±


    Xiao Lin was taken aback. ¡°She¡¯s injured?¡±


    ¡°I think so. She was there when I woke up, so it should be a healing method that¡¯s unique to the dragons,¡± Lilith guessed.


    ¡°She forcibly retracted her dragon power in order to save us and was therefore injured by the repercussion?¡± Xiao Lin repeated in disbelief.


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe her emotions were moved because she suddenly thought that you were handsome?¡± Lilith shrugged and teased casually, but Xiao Lin did not see the humor in that joke at all.


    Xiao Lin kept quiet for some time. The ck dragon became more and more confusing. She was moody and changed her temper faster than turning the pages of a book. Her killing intent came out of blue, but then she stopped it at thest minute and rescued them.


    ¡°Have...you met her before?¡± Lilith hesitated and asked suddenly.


    ¡°Huh? Who?¡±


    ¡°Her!¡± Lilith felt that Xiao Lin was pretending to be confused, so she gave him an angry look, and pointed at the dragondy standing in the distance.


    ¡°What are you ying at? It¡¯s only been more than four months since I enrolled in the academy. How do you suppose I¡¯ll know an old woman who¡¯s tens of thousands, or actually, hundreds of thousands of years old?¡± Xiao Lin paused, then asked in confusion, ¡°Why did you suddenly ask me this?¡±


    A look of suspicion shed in Lilith¡¯s eyes and she finally shook her head. ¡°Nothing. I was just asking.¡±


    Then came a wait. It was a very long one, and the two humans felt that it was best not to disturb the ck dragon at that moment. Fortunately, they found a few nearby fruits that they had eaten previously, which were more or less able to curb their hunger.


    About seven or eight dayster, the dragondy finally opened her eyes again and walked to Xiao Lin¡¯s side. Xiao Lin and Lilith both had their guards up even though they both knew that it was pointless to do so.


    However, the ck dragon did not seem to have the slightest intention of attacking them and did not even take out her sword. When she approached, her gaze was fixed on Xiao Lin¡¯s face, with those deep and bright dragon eyes seemingly capable of prating right through his heart. Her look was rather odd, and weird thoughts shed briefly in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. For some reason, he suddenly remembered the strange dream he had before waking up, specifically the blurry figure which he was unable to see clearly.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The dragondy¡¯s voice was a little hoarse. She retained a low and indifferent tone, but it wascking slightly in terms of haughtiness.


    Xiao Lin was stunned for quite some time. When they first came in, the ck dragon did not even bother asking their identity or name at all, because they were regarded as two ordinary humans at best and were no different from the bones scattered on the floor.


    ¡°Xiao Lin.¡± The two words which he spoke in Normese were a transliteration, causing the ck dragon to frown and groan for some time before nodding.


    ¡°You¡¯re not from this world,¡± the dragondy said in a definite tone.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith looked at each other. Throughout their entire time there, they never revealed that they were Earthlings. From the initial reaction of the ck dragon, she had been trapped here for thousands of years and seemed not to realize that Norma had already been invaded by Earthlings.


    Xiao Lin nodded in acknowledgement. His subconscious told him that there was no need to hide those things.


    ¡°Is it that blue coveredpletely in water? It¡¯s a very beautiful world. I¡¯d like to go there again,¡± the ck dragon inexplicably mumbled to herself.


    Xiao Lin was ovee with shock once again. Was the blue filled with water Earth? From her tone, could it be possible that she had been to Earth before?


    The joke was getting out of hand!


    Xiao Lin carefully observed the ck dragon¡¯s expression, but he could not tell if the other party was ying tricks on him or whether she was somehow stealing his and Lilith¡¯s memory and deliberately using those words to cloud their judgement.


    The ck dragon was actually observing Xiao Lin¡¯s expression, but she eventually just shook her head in disappointment. Not once did she look at Lilith nearby even though Lilith looked inquisitively at the two of them and began wondering to herself.


    The atmosphere became a little weird. Xiao Lin was suddenly very interested in the ck dragon¡¯s past, but because of the huge power disparity between the two individuals, he hesitated whether or not to take the initiative and ask.


    ¡°Are you here to take away that shard? ¡± The dragondy nodded as she said, ¡°I¡¯ll just give it to you.¡±


    Lilith finally could not help it anymore and spoke up. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that your duty is to guard that fragment? Why would you suddenly give it to us now?¡±


    The dragondy squinted her eyes and stared at her. ¡°I¡¯m just returning it to its original owner. Besides, I said I¡¯d give it to him, not you.¡±


    An irked Lilith was lost for words.


    ¡°Is that shard from the Book of Creation?¡± Xiao Lin asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Oh? So, you do know its origins? I guess it isn¡¯t so surprising that you¡¯d know about it.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled wryly and did not quite understand what the ck dragon meant by ¡®it isn¡¯t so surprising that you would know about it¡¯. The only reason his guess about the Book of Creation turned out to be correct was purely because Ivan had once told him about it.


    After returning from The Final Land, Ivan¡¯s residual memory told him that the Book of Creation had be fragments distributed throughout time and space. Xiao Lin created the Miracle skill because he absorbed the fragment. Lilith ought to possess a simr fragment too if everything happened as it did back then.

 Chapter 354: This Woman Came From Earth

    <h4>Chapter 354: This Woman Came From Earth</h4>


    ¡°Who is Silverlight?¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it and decided to first determine who that mysterious woman was. If the ck dragon agreed to give them the shard, then it meant they could probably head back, but it was still not the end. Considering the fact that the half-dead half-alive woman was still there, whose skill far surpassed their own, Xiao Lin felt his hairs stand on end.


    ¡°She came from that beautiful blue,¡± the ck dragon said in a calm voice, as if she was saying nothing of importance. She even cast a strange look at Xiao Lin, as if Xiao Lin should be clearer on the subject.


    Xiao Lin almost tripped on himself. Regardless of how many possibilities he went through in his mind, the dragon¡¯s answer exceeded them all: that woman came from Earth!


    If not for the dragon in front of him, Xiao Lin would have almost jumped up and cursed, ¡®Do you think we¡¯re all idiots like you? Quit joking! That woman looks nothing like a human from Earth!¡¯


    Xiao Lin definitely had never seen anyone with three eyes from Earth!


    He was preparing a retort, but suddenly felt someone tug on his shirt. Turning around, he noticed Lilith shaking her head with a bewildered look.


    ¡°Do you think this woman is speaking nonsense as well?¡± Xiao Lin said those words in Mandarin, and felt a great sense of satisfaction after saying it.


    Lilith replied in Mandarin as well, but her tone was a little strange. ¡°Have you ever heard of the legend of Antis?¡±


    ¡°The legendary ancient civilization that supposedly sank into the sea? I¡¯ve heard of it, of course, but that¡¯s just a myth with no proof at all. Does it even have anything to do with us?¡±


    ¡°A three-eyed race. In Judge Academy¡¯s archives on Earth, there¡¯s arge amount of information on ancient legends, and a three-eyed race is part of those records. In ancient history, there were once three-eyed humans on Earth, but they disappeared alongside Antis and were never seen since.¡±


    After a pause, Lilith continued, ¡°I¡¯ve always treated it as some mythical stories to pass the time with, but if what this ck dragon is saying is true...¡±


    If the legend of the three-eyed race was true, then that mysterious woman might really be from Earth, and was a human, but only an ancient species.


    Xiao Lin felt like he was in over his head. He then thought of the oracle bone scripts he had seen before. They were shaped like hieroglyphs, which were the earliest form of writing for humans. If that was the case, it was possible that humans had actually visited Norma a very, very long time ago.


    Setting aside the problem for now, even if the mysterious woman was from Earth, Xiao Lin did not feel like she would let them off just because they were from the same.


    Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s worry, the ck dragon continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. The shard is what¡¯s keeping her here. Without it, she will naturally leave and not cause you any trouble. She¡¯s not someone who enjoys pointless ughter, I understand that much. Ah, it¡¯s a pity the person who used this shard initially was blind and did not know its true value.¡±


    Xiao Lin almost said out loud, ¡®I want to know what this shard is used for as well.¡¯


    Ivan¡¯s memory gave Xiao Lin very limited information, only telling him that those shards were very important, even possibly involving both Earth and Norma, imploring him to collect them. However, Xiao Lin still did not even know what the shards actually looked like despite having a piece with him.


    The three of them walked for a long time, eventually reaching the center of this world. There was a tall volcano, and looking down the gigantic mouth of the volcano, dark redva could be seen flowing. The heat was so intense, it could be seen. Xiao Lin cast a nce before looking away.


    ¡°The shard is here.¡±


    ¡°How should I retrieve it?¡± Xiao Lin once again felt like he was in over his head. How could he dive inside to search for the shard?


    ¡°Would you like me to help you retrieve it?¡± The ck dragondy raised her eyebrow, a yful look on her face.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re helping us, just help us till the end.¡± Xiao Lin knew that the dragon race would not be afraid ofva.


    ¡°Fine, but it¡¯ll count as me doing you a favor, so you have to pay me back in the future.¡±


    Her condition was undoubtedly enticing. After all, if a Legend-ranked being like her could not solve a problem, Xiao Lin would naturally be of no help, so it was practically a free favor. However, Xiao Lin naturally had his doubts. He felt like the woman was hiding something in her words, but Xiao Lin did not really have a choice, giving it some thought before nodding in agreement.


    At the ck dragon¡¯s request, Xiao Lin and Lilith left the mouth of the volcano, even heading a few miles away, only stopping when the woman was just a tiny dot in their vision.


    ¡°Do you really believe what the woman said?¡± Lilith finally asked.


    ¡°Not really, but she doesn¡¯t really need to lie to us,¡± Xiao Lin said what was on his mind.


    ¡°That shard, the one brought back from The Final Lands, you¡¯ve seen it before right? Ivanovich.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°You saw him as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The shard has his memory in it. I just feel that it¡¯s weird. Since Ivanovich went to The Final Lands and found the shard, why didn¡¯t he just take it away instead of leaving it there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more curious as to the use for the Shards of Creation. Ivanovich said that the shards had a great effect on Norma and Earth, so I¡¯m quite curious.¡±


    As they talked, the sky was suddenly filled with the cry of a dragon. The woman had turned back into her dragon form and flew into the sky. After that, bright gray light began to condense. That was the condensation of draconic power, but the condensation time this time was short, showing that the power it contained was also reduced.


    Boom!


    Xiao Lin actually saw a miniature version of draconic power this time. The incredibly hot energy condensed and shot out as a gray pir of light from the dragon¡¯s mouth, piercing straight into the volcano.


    There was less than a second of silence before the entire world began to shake. Even though it was not to the degree it was before, they could still feel it. Even with them being miles away, the force of the power was still very strong. It was no wonder the ck dragon had asked them to go far away. Xiao Lin immediately took out his Holy Soul Sword and stuck it on the ground as an anchor. Lilith did the same as well.


    They bitterly held on against the shockwave of power. Thanks to the dragon¡¯s control, the draconic power onlysted about ten seconds before slowly dissipating, but the volcano erupted after that. Lava started to shoot out with traces of dark gray sulfur.


    In the flow ofva, a ming ball-shaped¨Ca few meters long¨Cobject shot up into the sky as well. It then started floating in mid-air as the mes started to dissipate, revealing a vibrantly glowing five-colored orb.

 Chapter 355: Return

    <h4>Chapter 355: Return</h4>


    ¡°Is this a shard of the Book of Creation?¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith both exchanged looks. They might each have a shard, but neither of them knew what the shards actually looked like to this day, and the scene in front of them was way too odd.


    In Xiao Lin¡¯s mind, since it was a shard, it should have been something the size of a thumb or something like a diamond, but the ball-shaped object in front of them was as big as half a ser field.


    The volcano was still erupting, andrge amounts ofva flowed everywhere. After a few minutes, the dragon went toward Xiao Lin with the strange ball in tow.


    The dragon once again turned into a human, and the woman¡¯s face basically said it was now Xiao Lin¡¯s problem. Xiao Lin said in frustration, ¡°How am I supposed to carry this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to voice his thanks, the woman walked over to him inrge strides, grabbed his cor and threw him into the air.


    Xiao Lin cried out as he watched the ball of light close in on him until he went right inside of it. He then noticed that the ball of light actually had no physical body. The outer shell of the colorful lights seemed to be like a bubble, soft and light.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s view was nowpletely covered by the five-colored lights, but the scenery in front of him suddenly changed. He noticed that he was somehow in a limitless universe, and in the distance was a bright star. Below him was a yellow earthen.


    Xiao Lin tried to get a better look at the, but the moment he tried to do so, he noticed that his body suddenly started moving. He was moving quickly toward the¡¯s surface at a shocking speed. His heart had almost jumped into his throat, but when he got within a few hundred meters, he started to slow down until he stopped moving.


    It was an empty and deste. Other than rock formations and an endless wastnd, there was nothing to be seen. The sky was covered with a grayyer of dust that even the sunlight was unable to pierce through. Xiao Lin did not feel the cold, but something in his subconscious told him that the was extremely cold, to the degree that normal life could not exist.


    Where was this?


    What kind of ce was this?


    Xiao Lin shouted out loud, but he did not get any response. All he could do was float around on the surface of the. At some point, the dust in the sky started to part. With the introduction of sunlight, the¡¯s temperature started to rise.


    The first thing that appeared were mes, which was the fire element. Next was water, slowly gathering and forming rivers and creeks. The change in the weather started to produce the wind element, and from the nourishednds nts started to grow, forming the earth element.


    Finally, that deste started to bear the basic foundations of life.


    The scene stopped there, and what he saw in front of him started to rapidly change again. What Xiao Lin saw was actually the product of the ball of light rapidly transferring arge amount of information into his head, basically showing him the birth of the four basic elements.


    Xiao Lin returned to the ground. When he looked up, he noticed in surprise that the ball of light had vanished without a trace. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Lilith. Thetter raised her hands, looking at him with the same difficult look. ¡°You were thrown into the ball of light by that girl just now, and you quickly returned by yourself.¡±


    The entire process had only taken a few minutes, and the light surrounding the ball had quickly dispersed. There was nothing within the ball at all, so Xiao Lin was full of doubt. He scratched his head, thinking about the scene he saw earlier before having a moment of realization. A shard did not convey a physical shard, but rather a form of information. Since he had already received that information, he had obtained the shard.


    ¡°Leave now! Without the shard, this world does not have the ability to continue existing.¡±


    As if hearing her words, the volcano started to erupt even more fiercely. Other volcanoes in the distance started to erupt as well. Large amounts ofva began to cover thend, and the blood red sky started to shatter like ss,rge pieces falling toward the ground. The scene was actually quite familiar, it looked like what Xiao Lin saw right before he left The Final Lands.


    The dragon woman was quite calm, not appearing to want to bother with their current predicament. Xiao Lin and Lilith did not say anything. Leaving that world naturally needed the help of the dragon, but the woman did not seem to want to leave immediately.


    Looking at the world copsing around them, Xiao Lin could not help but voice his urgency.


    The ck dragon looked at him thoughtfully, saying with some dissatisfaction, ¡°I¡¯ve helped you so much. Do you not have anything to ask me?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was full of sweat. He actually did have a lot he wanted to ask, but he did not feel like that was the time.


    Lilith rolled her eyes, nodding to the dragon as she said sincerely, ¡°Thank you for your help. If it¡¯s possible, could we know your name?¡±


    The dragon snorted, obviously unhappy that Lilith was the one who had to ask the question. However, she still used a low voice as she said, ¡°Remember this well! Onyxia, that¡¯s my name. Don¡¯t forget your promise. When I need help in the future, you have to lend me a hand.¡±


    Lilith sighed. She noticed that the dragon, Onyxia, did not refer to the two of them when she said that. It was obvious that, in the dragon¡¯s eyes, Lilith was not at all important. The dragon only wanted Xiao Lin to remember.


    ¡°Onyxia?¡± Xiao Lin repeated the somewhat familiar name a few times with a strange look on his face. ¡°What a nice name. I¡¯ll remember it.¡±


    The praise lifted Onyxia¡¯s expression somewhat before she cried out toward the sky, turning back into therge ck dragon. Two gigantic ws grabbed ahold of them before she flew right toward the shattered sky.


    The ck dragon was extremely fast. Even though the ws were protecting Xiao Lin, it still failed to block the wind roaring in his ears. As they got higher, Xiao Lin started to feel like the air was getting thinner. When they broke past the shattered sky, there was only darkness around them. Xiao Lin¡¯s head started to get heavy. He did not know how long the rest of the journey took, and he felt like he was carried across a dark and extremely long tunnel by Onyxia.


    When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that Lilith and himself were lying down on wet ground. The silent night sky had two moons in it, signifying that they had returned to Norma.


    However, Xiao Lin was shocked when he noticed where he was lying down. It was actually the center of Silverlight Lake, but the entireke had beenpletely dried up. He did not know where theke water had gone. All that was left was seaweed, mud, and countless fish flopping around.

 Chapter 356: Silverlight

    <h4>Chapter 356: Silverlight</h4>


    ¡°You actually came back!¡±


    The mysterious woman, who Onyxia called Silverlight, somehow appeared in front of them. She still had that pure but cold look on her face. She silently floated in the air, looking at the dried upke, her gazeplicated. ¡°Did you two meet her? I can¡¯t believe she actually let the two of you out.¡±


    ¡°Onyxia?¡± Xiao Lin tried saying.


    Silverlight¡¯s expression changed, herplicated look apanied by shock this time. ¡°She told you her name?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! She¡¯s our friend.¡± Lilith suddenly said. They did not know where Onyxia was at the moment. The dragon had disappeared without a trace after they woke up.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. The dragon could not possibly be considered their friend, but it was still not a bad idea to borrow her might. He added, ¡°She¡¯s already given us the shard. You have your freedom. No matter what happened to you before, I don¡¯t think we have anything to do with each other anymore.¡±


    Silverlight fell silent for a while before saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. Earlier, I felt that the seal restricting my freedom had been lifted. However, I refuse to believe that she¡¯d be so kind. I need to know what happened, in case this is a scheme by her!¡±


    That woman was obviously not an ally to Onyxia. Xiao Lin really had nothing to say. What a joke; he was visibly sweating at that moment. He did not know why Onyxia suddenly picked himself. As a Legend-ranked ck dragon, there could not have been anything on Xiao Lin or Lilith that she would have needed.


    The woman looked at them with cold contempt, but Xiao Lin wanted to believe Onyxia¡¯s words. Onyxia had said that Silverlight was not someone who liked ughter, and the vigers near theke were still living their lives fairly well, which gave Xiao Lin some basis for the belief, so he stared back defiantly.


    Silverlight finally retracted her gaze, sullenly muttering to herself, ¡°I¡¯ve already been sealed here for so many years; this is no longer the world that I once knew.¡±


    Just as Onyxia had said, Silverlight did not seem to have much killing intent. Xiao Lin rxed a bit, but he now felt like the woman was quite pitiful. She did earn her freedom back, but this was no longer the world she knew, so where would she go? It was definitely not a good idea for such a strong undead spirit to wander around alone, especially since the Silver Province was so near Dawn Academy¡¯s territories. Xiao Lin definitely did not want the woman to wander around and end up causing trouble for the academy.


    Xiao Lin suddenly had a brave thought in his mind. He immediately put it into practice, saying, ¡°You¡¯re actually not alone in this word. Even though this is no longer the world you know, at least you¡¯re not the only one of your race in Norma.¡±


    ¡°My race?¡± Silverlight¡¯s face was full of contempt. ¡°Human, don¡¯t think that you can just open your mouth like that just because you saved me. Don¡¯t group me with that arrogant, idiotic, and egotistical race!¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°I know, but I¡¯m not referring to those people. In truth, aren¡¯t the two of us the same. Did we not bothe from Earth? We¡¯re actually your brethren.¡±


    Lilith stared at Xiao Lin, realizing what he was doing. However, she was never good at that sort of thing, so she kept her mouth shut.


    ¡°Earth?¡± Silverlight¡¯s face was nk.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s head hurt. He did not know if they called the Earth in ancient times. He could only use Onyxia¡¯s words, ¡°That blue filled with water; did you note from there?¡±


    ¡°She even told you that!¡± This time Silverlight was not that surprised. Instead, she had a dark look on her face. There was even a trace of killing intent.


    ¡°Hey hey hey! Hold on, we¡¯re your people!¡±


    Silverlight snorted. ¡°Stop joking! Do you really think you know where my homnd is? Do you think my race would have people as weak as you two?¡±


    ¡°Antis; originally the ind facing the Pirs of Hercules. Oh, it was also called the Strait of Gibraltar. Around those inds, there used to be argendmass surrounded by the sea. I don¡¯t know what it was called then. ording to Legend, Antis was built by the sea god Poseidon, and ended up in a war against Athena. That war caused massive earthquakes and tidal waves on Antis, ending with it submerging beneath the sea.¡±


    Lilith said all this in a cool voice. She paused for a moment before saying, ¡°With that, surely you believe us? Did you tell the ck dragon all that too?¡±


    Xiao Lin shot a nce at Lilith. Thetter told him in Mandarin, ¡°These are all records of Ancient Greek legends because I used to... Uhm, basically I know quite a bit about Greek legends.¡±


    It was hard to believe in just talk, but if the words were built on a foundation of truth, then it started to be more believable.


    Silverlight was in shock, her face uncertain. The shaken and unbelieving look on her face was obvious; it was also apanied with a look of anguish. However, Xiao Lin silently sighed in relief. Thanks to Lilith¡¯s knowledge of myths, Silverlight was starting to believe them.


    Xiao Lin was actually quite shocked as well, because it meant that Silverlight really was someone from ancient Earth, and she was very possibly an Antean that only existed in legends.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t really believe it.¡± Silverlight¡¯s voice returned to her cold tone, but it no longer had any killing intent. It was definitely a good sign. ¡°That¡¯s why I wish to return and see for myself.¡±


    Lilith looked at Xiao Lin with an using look, probably feeling like he was very troublesome.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression did not change. He was already prepared for that. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but you¡¯ll need to help us solve a problem first. There¡¯s a very tricky opponent; the two of us probably can¡¯t handle them ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I have no reason to help you! If you are just using this as an excuse to trap me...¡±


    Xiao Lin interrupted her, ¡°You misunderstand. This helps us, but it helps you too. Our opponent is an enemy of Earth. He is filled with thoughts of revenge and wants to destroy Earth. Are you really willing to look on as civilization on Earth meets the same fate as Antis back then?¡±


    Lilith was speechless at how thick Xiao Lin¡¯s face was. Asabanor really was filled with hate toward Earth thanks to them destroying his kingdom, and had his heart set on revenge. However, there was currently no sign that the old fart wanted to destroy Earth. Furthermore, he did not have the ability. He did not even have the ability to get to Earth.


    ¡°Surely you understand that sort of pain.¡± Xiao Lin tried pushing.


    Silverlight started to hesitate, asking, ¡°Who is this person?¡±


    ¡°Asabanor.¡±

 Chapter 357: The True Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 357: The True Treasure</h4>


    Silverlight furrowed her eyebrows in thought, shaking her head and she indicated she did not know who that was.


    Xiao Lin understood as well. Asabanor was just a somewhat famous astrologian at that time, but to Silverlight, that sort of reputation did not amount to much.


    ¡°I can go with you to take a look, but whether or not I help will depend on my mood.¡± Silverlight did not give a clear answer, but that was already enough to make Xiao Lin happy. It meant that she was already beginning toe around.


    The rest of the night passed by quietly. ording to Silverlight, the vigers were only temporarily unconscious thanks to her hail, so they would not know what happened that night.


    As for the boy who could see Silverlight, she calmly exined, ¡°That boy was merely someone chosen by God. There¡¯s no surprise he has some special skill in this regard.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not pay it too much mind initially, but hearing that the boy was chosen by God caused him to raise an eyebrow. On Norma, that meant that the boy was a talent holder. It was a pity they had no way to find out what rank the boy¡¯s talent was.


    However, Xiao Lin still made a mental note of it, nning on reporting it when he went back. He had heard that those with talent were quite rare in Norma, not even managing topete with those from Earth in terms of numbers. Now that they suddenly discovered one, he felt like it was important to let Dawn Academy know.


    Ibeiya was still unconscious. In truth, the time they were sent to that mysterious world might have felt like a very long time, but they noticed it was actually but a moment when they returned.


    Now that Silverlight was going to apany them, Xiao Lin took the initiative to introduce Ibeiya to the mysterious woman, emphasizing that she was a vampire. Thankfully, Silverlight came from ancient Earth, so she did not have any prejudice against dark races.


    However, looking at Ibeiya, Silverlight coldly said, ¡°This child¡¯s dark race blood is extremely pure. Of all the dark races I¡¯ve met, I¡¯ve never seen one so pure.¡±


    Ibeiya had said herself that she might actually be a mix between a human and a vampire. On Norma, mixed-races could notpete with pure-bloods. Xiao Lin had some doubt in his heart, but Ibeiya already had so many mysteries surrounding her, one more made no difference.


    After that, Xiao Lin went to the center of theke in search of that potentially Legend-rank sword that sucked them into itself. Even if it looked like a rusted sword that theke corroded, ording to Lilith, a weapon that had its own domain would not be weak at all.


    Silverlight dashed his hopes at that. The sword really was Legend-ranked, but regretfully, it had long since lost its luster thousands of years ago. It had used thest of its power to maintain that space, and once the shard was retrieved, it lost all its power.1


    ¡°From a practical standpoint, this de is just scrap metal, not evenparable to what you have now.¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s words disappointed Xiao Lin, but no matter what, it was the first time he had ever seen such a high-level weapon. Even if it was now trash, he still felt like he should keep it as a souvenir, and so, he handed the sword to Lilith for safekeeping.


    ¡°Why should I hold on to it?! I am not interested in keepsakes at all!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a spatial bracelet? It¡¯s very inconvenient for me to carry it around.¡±


    Lilith was rendered speechless.


    More and more, Xiao Lin felt like a spatial essory was a very important thing. Now that he was swimming in money, he would have to think of a way to buy one.


    ¡°Red Beard¡¯s treasure is actually here. If you¡¯re interested, you can just take it. I don¡¯t wish to owe you two anything.¡± Even though Silverlight maintained her cold face, her words piqued Xiao Lin¡¯s interest.


    ¡°Treasure? So Red Beard really did keep some treasure here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s right below your feet.¡±


    Xiao Lin jumped in fright, but looking around him, other than seaweed and some trash, there was nothing that looked like a treasure in the mud.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know once the sunes up.¡± Silverlight was toozy to exin.


    They decided to just wait there. Ibeiya woke up not long after. She was not at all afraid of Silverlight¡¯s spirit, nor was she too interested in the third eye on Silverlight¡¯s forehead. She even affectionately walked up to Silverlight. It was obvious that the cute girl did not mind working her charms on anyone.


    Even the cold Silverlight revealed the slightest of smiles at Ibeiya¡¯s efforts.


    Dawn approached quickly. In a world with no pollution, the sky was clear enough for everyone to observe the entire sunrise. The dried-upke basked in the sunlight, shining vibrantly.


    Wait, hold on...


    Xiao Lin suddenly felt like something was off, casting his gaze around. There were jewel-like shining spots everywhere in the mud. If not for the sunlight, it would have been very hard to notice.


    Xiao Lin cast an inquisitive gaze at Silverlight. ¡°Are these all pearls or jewels that were buried in the mud? That¡¯s weird. If people searched for it before, there¡¯s no way they didn¡¯t find it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s powder.¡± Lilith bent down and checked. She swiped a little on the fingertip, revealing a silvery-white powder that was very fine. She smelled it and appraised, ¡°It¡¯s not a gem; it¡¯s starmetal!¡±


    Starmetal could only be produced in the Silver Province, and had always been extremely valuable. On top of that, the recent decades had seen the colonists take over every ore deposit, strictly controlling every source of starmetal. It was incredibly hard for regr people to obtain it.


    In Norma¡¯s native ck market, starmetal had already surged to an absurd price. Other than being used to make resurrection towers, starmetal was also used in very high-ranked equipment, even those in Legend-rank had it as an importantponent, so the demand was always high.


    Under the various academies, starmetal was a strictly-controlled military good, so it was not easy to obtain. Even with Lilith¡¯s standing in the Judge Academy, she might not even have the chance to easily get any, let alone Xiao Lin. Beforeing to the Silver Province, he had never seen the ore before.


    However, how were they going to gather all that powder? Xiao Lin started to frown.


    Silverlight helped him with that problem. With a wave, a gray mass of light formed. The mass of light rose into the air before unleashing a powerful suction, but the suction only worked on the powder on the ground. It was all sucked inside. The powder shone like stars under the sunlight, making for a magnificent sight.


    After about ten minutes, the light started to dim and it started to descend. As Xiao Lin retrieved the mass of light, the outer luster had dissipated, leaving a spherical chunk of ore the size of a fingernail.

 Chapter 358: Silverlight Joins

    <h4>Chapter 358: Silverlight Joins</h4>


    A silver glow could be seen on the surface of the starmetal, especially under the sunlight. It looked as vibrant as a star, so the origin of the name was obvious. Xiao Lin was a little disappointed though. He did not know what he could do with so little starmetal.


    ¡°Red Beard¡¯s umted wealth yielded all this. Later on, I helped him turn the starmetal into powder, dispersing it into theke for storage.¡±


    ¡°This is highly refined starmetal.¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes were sharper than Xiao Lin¡¯s. She immediately saw that the ore may not have been big, but it was definitely extremely valuable. She then gave Xiao Lin an exnation.


    Starmetal was impossible to use right after extracting it. It needed to go through repeated refining to ensure the purity. As purity increased, useless materials were discarded as well, so the ore would continuously shrink.


    In terms of starmetal, purity was not usually too emphasized. Thanks to the limited amount of starmetal that existed, most academies would save up where they could. That was because the minimum requirement of purity for resurrection towers was 70%, so there was no real meaning in going beyond that. As for using it in equipment, the purity requirements were even lower.


    However, with the size of the starmetal in front of them, the purity had to be way higher.


    ¡°80%? Or 90%.¡± Lilith looked at it with a curious gaze.


    ¡°100%.¡± Silverlight gave a shocking answer without any change in her expression.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±


    Before Xiao Lin could even express his shock, Lilith immediately interrupted, ¡°Based on what I know, starmetal can only reach 99.9999% purity. It¡¯s impossible to reach 100%.¡±


    Silverlight did not seem to have any intention of exining. Her cold face seemed to be mocking them for not being able to appreciate the goods. No matter what, Xiao Lin believed that Red Beard would definitely not be able to get to this point with just his mercenaries. He definitely needed Silverlight¡¯s help. However, Xiao Lin really did not know what the difference between true 100% purity and being so infinitesimally close to 100% was.


    Their trip to Silverlight Lake basically concluded on the second day. Xiao Lin privately chatted with Lilith, saying that their total rewards from this trip were: Spirit woman +1, trash sword +1 and shard +1.


    With that in mind, they actually did not get much that they could use. The only thing that could be useful was the starmetal, but they were now faced with an awkward question, which was who would get the starmetal. The mysterious woman threw that question to them. Xiao Lin and Lilith had faced death together twice, so they would not fight over that, but they eventually decided on avoiding the topic for now. They agreed to make a decision when they reached their destination.


    They did not feel like exining anything to the vigers, so they decided to leave before the vigers woke up. As for what the vigers would think about Silverlight Lake drying up, that had nothing to do with the two of them. Xiao Lin even joked that it could be the birth of a new legend, passed down for centuries or millennia. This time, the few of them would get to be the main characters.


    Talking about legends led to Ibeiya¡¯s intense interest. After all, she was the one who brought up Silverlight Lake¡¯s legend, and also the one who guessed the identity of the undead woman. However, Silverlight did not like the topic, and after a few fruitless attempts, Ibeiya smartly decided to shut her mouth.


    As a spirit, Silverlight would usually be under a lot of restrictions in the day, especially on a sunny day like that one, but SIlverlight was not affected at all. However, she still did not like to be under the sun. Most of the time she chose to stay in the Holy Soul Sword.


    Yes, Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword. The sword had always been made of material that could house undead spirits. It had plenty of space for Silverlight. Silverlight would onlye out when evening fell. She sat on the side of her road, her hands folded as she stared at the sunset.


    ¡°This world is very simr to Earth.¡± Since they left Silverlight Lake, it was the first time Silverlight struck up a conversation with Xiao Lin by herself.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but the scenery looks much better than Earth. Earth is way too polluted,¡± Xiao Lin said. Feeling Lilith¡¯s gaze on him, he felt his head hurt. ¡°If possible, you could actually learn ournguage. I can¡¯t always be the one tranting.¡±


    The onlynguage Silverlight had inmon with them was Ancient Normese, so Xiao Lin had to y the role of the unpaid trantor. It was fine for the moment, but he did not want it to be a long-term job. He actually suspected that the reason Silverlight decided to go with them for the moment was because Xiao Lin was the only one who couldmunicate with her.


    Xiao Lin asked how she hadmunicated with Red Beard back then, but Silverlight just said that they did notmunicate at all. That tone of hers led Xiao Lin to rx; it at least meant that Red Beard and her were definitely not allies or friends.


    ¡°I know what they say.¡± Silverlight said coolly.


    ¡°Oh? How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Because I want to know, so I know.¡±


    ¡°Can you exin it to me in words that I can understand?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just like how your mouth can speak. The logic is the same.¡±


    Xiao Lin moved his mouth and finally understood. Silverlight meant that it was an innate ability of hers, just like how his mouth can speak. If he were to try to exin how his mouth could speak, he would struggle to do so.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually quite curious; how could they not understand me? That¡¯s why I still can¡¯t be certain you¡¯re the same race as I am,¡± SIlverlight said calmly.


    The entire way, Xiao Lin tried to ask about Antis. The beautiful country that only existed in legends definitely roused his interest. Unfortunately, SIlverlight maintained her silence, it seemed like she had yet to acknowledge them as fellow citizens of Earth.


    ¡°Ahem, well you should still try to learn ournguage. Surely you can¡¯t have me be your trantor forever. Oh, that¡¯s right, whatnguage did Antis use?¡±


    ¡°@#!*...&¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin rubbed his ears. Those words were not Ancient Normese.


    ¡°That¡¯s my oldnguage.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thenguage did not survive at all.¡± Xiao Lin sighed. Antis was an extremely advanced civilization based on the legends, but nothing about them had survived after sinking.


    Xiao Lin had way too much he wanted to know. Based on his spection, Silverlight might be someone who survived the sinking of Antis, and with a stroke of fate, or maybe thanks to that ck dragon Onyxia, she was brought to Norma. With that, the ancientnguages that looked like hieroglyphs in this world had a logical reason to appear.


    Even if Silverlight did not reveal anything, Xiao Lin took the initiative to introduce Earth¡¯s developments to her. It was much easier than exining the advances on Norma. Xiao Lin used to be a liberal arts student, so that bit came to him naturally.

 Chapter 359: Arriving At Gold City

    <h4>Chapter 359: Arriving At Gold City</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s exnations were very in-depth, and Silverlight would asionally voice a few questions. When they slowly got to modern history, Silverlightpletely shut up, her cold face not showing a shred of emotion.


    As Xiao Lin stopped as well, tacking ¡°That¡¯s all!¡± at the end, Silverlight seemed to have sighed in resignation before going into his Holy Soul Sword.


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless, he had wanted to hear her views on the difference between the ancient and modern civilizations, but it seemed like Silverlight still had some apprehensions toward them. Thankfully, he did notck time, so he could afford to be patient.


    As for what level Silverlight¡¯s power was at, Xiao Lin and Lilith discussed it in private. Silverlight had brought up before that she had lost a great deal of power after she was sealed, so Xiao Lin felt that her power level was around the Gold or Epic level.


    ¡°So are you nning on making her your personal bodyguard?¡± Lilith said with some annoyance. She had seen through Xiao Lin¡¯s goal of inviting Silverlight.


    ¡°Who are you protecting yourself against?¡± Lilith asked curiously.


    Xiao Lin did not reply to that; they were heading toward thergest city in the Silver Province: Gold City. There were various academies stationed there, even the various native kingdoms had their own stations there, so the situation was quiteplicated.


    As for who Xiao Lin wanted protection from, it was something that did not need to be said. Other than Asabanor, who was a huge potential threat, what had him worried was the fact that Dawn Academy seemed to have wanted to use the fact that he was with Lilith at Wildfire Town to handle him.


    Even if Xiao Lin wanted to believe that the amicable dean would not do something like that, the whole thing still felt very unpleasant. As reluctant as he was, Xiao Lin still felt like he should have some preventive measures.


    ¡°How long has it been since we left Wildfire Town?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been around half a month. Where do you think Asabanor is at the moment?¡± Even if they had wasted some time at Silverlight Lake, Lilith did not forget their initial goal for being at the Silver Province. Asabanor was her final target here.


    ¡°Why do you think Asabanor is here?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Revenge.¡±


    ¡°Right, the resurrection tower.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also the starmetal.¡±


    At that stage of their conversation, Xiao Lin could not help but recall the ck resurrection tower in Wildfire Town, as well as that undead creature that kept resurrecting. Both of their moods plummeted at that moment.


    They were quite d that their entire journey had been within the vicinity of resurrection towers. Most of the Silver Province had been covered up by resurrection towers, which indicated that Asabanor¡¯s assault was not as fast as they thought.


    Getting to Gold City took up seven days. Even if the distance was a little far, they were no longer in a destendscape after leaving the mountains. The Silver Province had quite a prosperous trade industry, so there were quite a few inns around the area, and transport was notcking either.


    Of course, there was nothing as high-ssed as unicorns. What they used were generally some regr gray-furred wolves. Those were magical wolves who had been trained, so their speed was fast, but they could not carry too heavy of a load, nor could they withstand long journeys. However, it was quite a good option for those that were looking to travel short distances.


    New Dors were used in the Silver Province, but under Ibeiya¡¯s vague warnings, they exchanged their money for the local currency at an inn. To merchants that came from elsewhere, Norma¡¯s native currency was much more attractive than New Dors since a good amount of those merchants came from territories that were not under the colonists.


    They reached Gold City after a few days. The city was quite prosperous, even if it was quite far off from the likes of New Washington and Dawn City. It was about ten timesrger than Wildfire Town, and there were no walls surrounding it. There were only a few sentry and archer towers in the vicinity which felt purely symbolic.


    That level of defense would definitely not work against any attack that was remotely thought out, but no one dared to bring any armies into the Silver Province. All the academies were there, and anyone who dared to cause any trouble would incur the wrath of all of them. Even bandits who caused trouble everywhere they went did not dare to move inside easily. That was why Gold City had practically no defenses. The peace that the various academies maintained seemed to be quite well-received based on the number of merchants that were around. It had naturally caused the entire city to prosper.


    Xiao Lin had learned quite a bit about the city from Lilith and Ibeiya, which was why he did not react when they reached Gold City and saw the various checkpoints in the city which were filled with fully-equipped soldiers conducting identity checks.


    There were just identity checks; there were no body checks done at all. The soldiers in charge spoke in thickly ented Normese, indicating that they were natives. The checks were very simple. They would put a transparent jewel close to everyone before issuing a simple pass to everyone who went in the city. The guards would also repeat a warning that there would be checks conducted in Gold City, and those without a pass would be arrested.


    ¡°They are checking for death energy! If there¡¯s any death energy on your body, the jewel will light up.¡±


    Lilith recognized the use of the jewel. The purpose was quite obvious, which was to prevent any suspicious undead from entering Gold City. Asabanor would naturally note here personally, but the humans who were controlled by him would not be able to enter either.


    Xiao Lin was suddenly in a hard spot. With that kind of a check, their group would naturally not be able to get through. Ibeiya was obvious; even if the dark races were very different from the undead, they still exuded thick death energy, which would definitely cause problems. Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword also had two undead spirits residing within it.


    Even if they were Dawn Academy and Judge Academy¡¯s students, which meant that they would definitely be able to get through if they exined the situation, Xiao Lin did not dare to cause any sudden problems before making sure what the current situation was.


    So, they decided to temporarily avoid the checkpoints during the day, deciding to try to enter when night fell. Even if Gold City¡¯s defenses were strengthened, with so many years of carelessness, the residents of the city had long since been used to a life of luxury.


    Most of the city had dispersed when night fell, and night time would naturally limit everyone¡¯s vision. Other than the asional passing merchants, there were very few travellers entering the city.


    Entering the city was a hard proposition. Even if it was native territory, they had used a lot of high-ranked magical scrolls, such as scrolls that illuminatedrge areas, revealed invisible objects, and stopped flying objects. Those scrolls were definitely not cheap, and it was obvious that they had been provided by the academies.


    Those scrolls had basically cast an imprable around Gold City, making it so that it was impossible to prate, and that any attempt would be noticed.

 Chapter 360: Entering The City

    <h4>Chapter 360: Entering The City</h4>


    The cost to set up such a defense was naturally expensive. Covering the entire city with magic needed arge amount of magical scrolls, which meant that this sort of defense would notst long, but Xiao Lin¡¯s group could not afford to keep staying outside the city.


    Lilith actually did not think too much of it, feeling like they should have just reported themselves in, but Xiao Lin had some doubts in his mind. The two of them discussed for quite some time, failing to figure out a foolproof n. Xiao Lin even called out Silverlight, but the woman did not give any solid suggestions. Of course, she did not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s doubts either.


    After their arguments yielded nothing, it was actually Ibeiya that asked in her clear and crisp voice and with a strange look, ¡°Don¡¯t you have a lot of money?¡±


    Xiao Lin and Lilith were momentarily speechless as they stared at each other before their faces reddened. They had seen plenty of that sort of thing on Earth, but they had never actually done it before. They had forgotten all about it when they were in Norma. Norma and Earth had a lot of simrities when it came to human nature.


    Xiao Lin was actually quite nervous initially. He was even prepared to fight at the drop of a hat. That was exacerbated by the fact that they were checked by a vulgar-looking man. He even catcalled Ibeiya and Lilith when he saw them. Lilith¡¯s face froze as she felt the urge to pull out her scythe.


    However, after Xiao Lin took out three pieces of gold, their expressions changed. Norma¡¯s currency was still stuck with gold and silver. Both of those metals were considered rare metals.


    ¡°We just got here from Wildfire Town, so there might be some death energy lingering on our bodies. I hope you all can help us out!¡± That was the excuse Xiao Lin had discussed with the rest of them.


    The man waved the jewel around his body and the jewel emitted a faint white glow. Just as the man was about to make a move, Xiao Lin pushed the gold in his hand over.


    The three bright pieces of gold were exchanged with over three thousand New Dors by Xiao Lin. There were three people at the checkpoint. Their greedy looks were not concealed by the moonlight, but their faces still looked uncertain. They muttered a few words, but were very soft. Xiao Lin still managed to understand what they meant. ¡®It¡¯s not enough.¡¯


    ¡°Looks like the Normans are greedy folk as well!¡± Xiao Lin felt some disdain, but thinking about it, it was best to avoid any trouble, so he produced another three gold pieces.


    Lilith opened her mouth to interrupt, but shut it when she saw that Xiao Lin had already done something.


    The man stubbornly shook his head after taking the gold. Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, using Normese that he was not very familiar with to ask, ¡°Is it still not enough?¡±


    In order to blend in, Xiao Lin and Lilith had put on native attire. The night was already quitete and there were quite a few clouds in the sky, so with their stammering, it was not easy to find any fault in their disguises.


    The man at the checkpoint probably believed that they were just merchants travelling from abroad. Hearing Xiao Lin¡¯s somewhat fluent ent, the one in charge paused before revealing a strange smile. He then said a few more words.


    XIao Lin and Lilith froze. The man thought they did not hear him properly, so he unhappily raised his voice. The checkpoint was still some distance away from the city, so it was unlikely anyone would have heard him.


    ¡°Her! She¡¯s quite suspicious! We¡¯ll need to detain her for some inspection. The rest of you can go first!¡± The one who spoke was a short man; his skin was quite dark and half his face was covered with a beard. He was pointing at Ibeiya, who was behind Xiao Lin.


    Ibeiya¡¯s status was more sensitive, so she had been lowering her head quietly the entire time. However, the delicate girl had a natural countenance that could charm anyone, so she would naturally draw the gazes of men no matter where she went.


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes. He finally understood that they were not happy with just money. They wanted Ibeiya as well.


    Xiao Lin turned around to look at Ibeiya. The girl had her head lowered, holding Xiao Lin tightly as herrge eyes blinked with grievance. Even though the girl was good at acting, Xiao Lin still could not help but feel angry when he saw her adorably pitiful face.


    ¡°You¡¯d better not do anything stupid! Where do you think this is?! Whose territory do you think you¡¯re in?!¡± As if noticing Xiao Lin¡¯s anger, the man stubbornly refused to back off. He moved one step forward, very obviously attempting to threaten them.


    ¡°Oh? Whose territory is it?¡± Lilith¡¯s tone was yful, but her expression remained cold.


    ¡°We¡¯re part of the Public Security Alliance. You should know to whom this ce belongs! Offending us means you¡¯ll never leave this ce!¡±


    ¡°Public Security Alliance?¡± Xiao Lin did not understand.


    Lilith whispered, ¡°It¡¯s an organisation supported by a few academies. It basically helps us manage native problems. Our numbers are small, and we can¡¯t afford to send our people everywhere.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. The guards were probably just trying to scare them, but they were regretfully messing with the wrong people.


    ¡°If we kill them here, would we be noticed?¡± Xiao Lin asked, deliberately using Normese. The bearded man froze when he heard that.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult. The scrolls nearby are all automated defense mechanisms.¡± Lilith paused before adding, ¡°Although if you¡¯re fast enough, we can probably escape before anyone notices.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re fast enough? Alright, I understand.¡±


    ¡°You... What are you trying to do? Quick, sound the rm! Activate the defensive scrolls!¡±


    Bang!


    Xiao Lin did not even give them any chance to react. The guards were not all that strong, only barely reaching Bronze-rank, but with Xiao Lin¡¯s Miracle and Ruin activated, his explosive power was not something normal Bronze-rank foes could withstand. Their actions earlier had infuriated Xiao Lin, adding to his power as well.


    Lilith suddenly moved as well. Her speed made her look like a blur. This time she used two daggers. To Lilith who was good at a myriad of weapons, there was no issue at well.


    Silencing her foes with one stab, the two daggers were immediately lodged into the other two¡¯s throats before they could even flee.


    The fight onlysted a few seconds. Thanks to the fact that their opponents did not have any armor, there was no surprise the opponents were executed so quickly. As long as they did not meet anyone who specialized in strengthening themselves, Xiao Lin¡¯s explosive power was more than enough thanks to Ruin.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    The two of them did not waste any time. Before the magical scrolls were activated, they quickly fled. Xiao Lin still maintained his Ruin skill, grabbing Ibeiya hand as well. Lilith was also not far behind him.


    After a few minutes, the air outside of the city started to shake, which was a sign that the automated defenses had been activated, but thanks to Xiao Lin and Lilith¡¯s explosive speed, they had already run quite the distance.

 Chapter 361: News From The Inn

    <h4>Chapter 361: News From The Inn</h4>


    Xiao Lin was actually a bit sad. Even though he did not forget to retrieve his gold before running, he felt like he had done a lot for no reason. He should have just barged in at the start.


    Even though the Normans were just as greedy as anyone else, there were so many other ways to solve problems on this. Xiao Lin was deep in thought.


    Gold City might not have had any defenses, but they still had their own ways of defending themselves. The body in charge of the city was the Public Security Alliance that the man talked about earlier which was supported by a lot of academies. With the magical scrolls outside the city being activated, there were naturally a lot of people shocked into action.


    The quietness of the night was broken as people started to make noise on the streets. There were quite a few squads of people gathering toward the outside of the city, but Xiao Lin could not make out their identities thanks to the night. Xiao Lin¡¯s group had managed to avoid their sight thanks to breaking in so quickly.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith were actually not sure if those guards were still alive, but they did not attack with the intent to kill, since they bore no deep grudges against the guards. Xiao Lin looked quite worried, but it was Ibeiya who felt like their reactions were strange, not feeling like anything big happened.


    ¡°We don¡¯t really need to hide like this, your statuses are as kings here. Hey, don¡¯t you know who you guys are here? You¡¯re nobles! To be honest, even if you killed those natives, no one would dare investigate you.¡±


    Ibeiya voiced her unhappiness at having to hide in the darkness, but after that, she blinked her eyes, using a look of admiration that all men would enjoy as she said to Xiao Lin, ¡°You really are a good person, Uncle.¡±


    Lilith fixed a judgmental gaze on Xiao Lin, not saying a word.


    XIao Lin¡¯s head felt somewhatrger after being called a good person. He suddenly understood what Ibeiya meant. As a student of Dawn Academy, he did enjoy various privileges here. However, he still did not have the mental preparation, nor was he used to any special treatment.


    It was especially so after Ibeiya said he would not be investigated for killing someone. Xiao Lin could not help but feel strange about it. He opened his mouth, but finally settled for a bitter smile. It was not the time to discuss such things.


    Once the Public Security Alliance started to move further away, their group finally came out of hiding. Gold City was very quiet at night, which fit perfectly with how Norma worked. They naturally were not in the mood to go sightseeing, so they just found an inn to stay in. Ibeiya seemed very familiar with the ce, managing to maneuver around and find them a decent-looking inn.


    ¡°This inn was invested in and built by your people and is operated by the natives. I think it¡¯ll fit your requirements quite well.¡± Ibeiya giggled.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re the one who wants to stay here!¡± Xiao Lin said, exasperated. However, he did not object. They spent so much time travelling outsidetely; he did want a nice andfortable bed to rest in.


    After spending all this time in the New World, Xiao Lin started to develop an understanding of the life of colonists on Norma. Things such as investing in a business and leaving it to be operated by the natives was quitemon. Their special privileges were mostly superficial. Internally, there were actually quite a few colonists who were not very well off, only being at the level of amon citizen. There would always be people looking out for ways to make money.


    That particr inn was invested in by the Royal British Academy. The outer or inner decorations both had a majestic look to them. The Normese and Earth standards of beauty were quite simr, but the natives were stillcking in terms of luxurious appearances.


    The inn was built based on five-star specifications on Earth, but the boss and all the staff were natives. Most of the people who stayed there were natives who wanted to experience life on Earth.


    ¡°There are quite a few rich natives. Starmetal had always been a rare metal, but after finding that starmetal was needed to build resurrection towers, the price skyrocketed. There are many natives who got rich from starmetal.¡±


    ¡°No wonder.¡± This ce was not really a colonist territory, but the influence of the various academies was strong. Skill was one thing, but more importantly, the colonists represented a chance for the natives to get rich, which would naturally generate quite a few followers.


    The inn¡¯s price was not cheap, costing 500 New Dors a room per night. Xiao Lin volunteered to cover all of their expenses, but when he prepared to pay for three rooms, Ibeiya considerately said that they did not need to waste the money; only two rooms was enough.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Xiao Lin did notck money, but he had limited funds on hand. He also did not want anyone to feel like he was a rich foreigner, since that could cause unnecessary problems.


    Xiao Lin paused for thought after paying, exining to Lilith, ¡°You¡¯ll room with Ibeiya. I¡¯ll stay alone.¡±


    Lilith raised her eyebrow, ¡°Of course. Were you thinking about something else? You really are a stinking pervert!¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at Lilith in exasperation while Ibeiya swaggered off with a smile on her face. He shook his head, grabbing his key before a young, beautiful and sexily-dresseddy brought him to his room. After looking up, Xiao lin took off his clothes and took a bath. The travels had left his body filthy and fatigued.


    The bathrooms here were even better than the ones at New Washington. They used some magical incantations to control the heat of the water, which meant the baths did not need hot water to be manually added, even if some people would have preferred those beautiful women on staff toe in.


    After his bath, Xiao Lin yawned and he prepared to sleep before he suddenly noticed a woman in a white dress sitting next to his bed, staring at him unblinkingly.


    ¡°Ah, Silverlight? Silverlight!¡±


    Xiao Lin pped his forehead, an annoyed look appearing on his face. He had only been thinking about Lilith and Ibeiya when he booked the rooms, but he had forgotten about the spirit that was temporarily staying in his Holy Soul Sword. Even though she was a spirit who had been dead for who knows how many millennia, she was still a person, and a woman at that.


    Xiao Lin then noticed Silverlight¡¯s gaze seemed to be looking at his body curiously. Thankfully, he had his underwear on, but he still had nothing on the upper half of his body.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face reddened at being stared at before he rushed back to the bathroom, hastily putting on a shirt beforeing out. Even though he had to admit that Silverlight was a woman who did notck in looks or demeanor, the moment he thought about Silverlight¡¯s age, looked at her third eye and thought about the fact that she was a ghost, Xiao Lin lost absolutely all interest.

 Chapter 362: Xiao Lin’s Worry

    <h4>Chapter 362: Xiao Lin¡¯s Worry</h4>


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I bring you over to Lilith¡¯s room.¡± Xiao Lin broke the awkwardness in the air. He felt like Silverlight might not befortable being in a room with him alone.


    ¡°No need. I don¡¯t have amonnguage with her.¡± Silverlight¡¯s Ancient Normese was better than Xiao Lin¡¯s.


    ¡°Fine, there¡¯s no problem if you¡¯re fine with it. Oh, if you feel like it¡¯s notfortable in the Holy Soul Sword you can walk around here.¡± Xiao Lin maintained a certain amount of respect toward Silverlight. She was the trump card against Asabanor that he had invited, so he obviously needed to treat her well. If Silverlight left due to being unhappy and Asabanor appeared, he would really be caught off-guard.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±


    Silverlight was still cold as usual, but her gaze never left Xiao Lin¡¯s body. After a few minutes, Xiao Lin coughed dryly in awkwardness, half-jokingly saying, ¡°Your face is really scary. If it were on Earth, we¡¯d say you have horror movie vibes.¡±


    ¡°Horror movie?¡±


    Looking at Silverlight¡¯s curious expression, Xiao Lin sighed, toozy to exin to her what movies were.


    After a long silence, Xiao Lin had thought that Silverlight nned on passing the night sitting like that. Silverlight withdrew her gaze, saying in her cold and puzzled tone, ¡°Your physique is very special. How do I say this; it¡¯s a little...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just at ck Iron-rank,¡± Xiao Lin said unhappily. He thought that Silverlight was criticizing him for his bad physique. Even if the initial examinations when he entered the academy proved Silverlight right, he was only at the ck Iron-rank now.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not talking about that. I¡¯mparing you to my race.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the Anteans?¡±


    Silverlight nodded.


    Xiao Lin was a little curious. Silverlight had kept quiet about Antis the entire journey. Lilith had spected to him privately that Silverlight did not want to open that particr wound, but now Silverlight actually brought it up by herself.


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°I¡¯m not that familiar with Antis. Ever since your civilization was destroyed, practically any trace of your kind had been wiped out. How do I put this... Are you saying that your race¡¯s physique used to be very good?¡±


    Silverlight nodded, adding, ¡°We felt like our bodies were the greatest gift God bestowed unto us, so we had to refine them.¡±


    Was this the difference between a civilization that emphasized skill and a civilization that emphasized technology?


    Xiao Lin cursed silently, smiling bitterly as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t have the natural gifts of your race. In truth, based on what I know, most humans on Earth have pretty bad physiques nowadays. Our foundations can¡¯t evenpare to the natives here, even though we improve faster than they do.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean it like that.¡± Silverlight furrowed her eyebrows, thinking for a moment before saying,¡± I¡¯m not saying that your physique is bad. It¡¯s just special.¡±


    ¡°Which part of it is special?¡± Xiao Lin had a head full of sweat talking to Silverlight.


    ¡°It¡¯s very simr.¡±


    ¡°What? What¡¯s simr?¡± Xiao Lin was getting impatient. Why could the woman not just finish what she was talking about?


    Silverlight breathed in deeply; it was not that she was doing it on purpose, but her tone sounded very reluctant. After seemingly making up her mind, she slowly said, ¡°With my race! To a certain degree, your body is very simr to my race¡¯s. I feel a sense of familiarity from your body.¡±


    After that, SIlverlight sighed. sShe knew that her race no longer existed.


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. Silverlight¡¯s words were rather unclear. That woman seemed a little like Gu Xiaoyue, always leaving things half spoken.


    After Silverlight finished, she did not seem to have any intention of continuing, instead changing the topic. ¡°I just wanted to tell you, that swordsman in your sword is quite interesting. I bet Onyxia helped you level it up. I¡¯m intrigued. Let me y with it for a few days.¡±


    ¡°What? y with it?¡±


    Before Xiao Lin could finish, Silverlight returned to the Holy Soul Sword. Xiao Lin shook his head in resignation, but as long as Silverlight was willing to stay around, there was no reason to refuse her, even if he could not figure out what she meant by ying around...


    Even with a female ghost that could appear at any time by his side, Xiao Lin had a very good rest that night. It was also due to the fact that he was too exhausted from the past few days.


    The next day, it was almost noon when he woke up. The inn also mimicked Earth and had a buffet prepared. Since it was near Dawn Academy, the dishes there were mainly eastern, on top various local native delicacies. The taste was not bad.


    He saw Lilith and Ibeiya there. Noticing that Ibeiya seemed to have a new ornament in her hand, Xiao Lin paused before asking, ¡°Where did you go this morning?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like everyone can sleep like a log like you did!¡± Lilith said, rolling her eyes before saying, ¡°She insisted on going shopping this morning, so I went out with her.¡±


    Xiao Lin obviously knew what Lilith meant. Lilith did not like shopping personally; she only apanied Ibeiya to protect or look after her.


    ¡°What¡¯s it like outside?¡±


    ¡°The checks are quite strict. The Public Security Alliance has been looking all over the ce.¡± Considering there were others in the restaurant, Lilith did not say that the checks were due to what they didst night.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Ibeiya said without a care as she smiled. ¡°Their checks are just formalities. They only do it for you guys, and for everyone else to see.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation in Wildfire Town?¡± Xiao Lin asked. He believed that Lilith would have tried to get some information.


    Lilith nodded. ¡°Even though they suppressed the news a bit, it¡¯s too big of an issue. There¡¯s a lot of chatter around the city, most of it without much substance. However, there¡¯s one piece of news that¡¯s quite interesting. Listen up.¡±


    Lilith lowered her voice a little. ¡°Some of them are saying that Norma¡¯s true God was ascending and preparing to cleanse the world of filth. Only following them to defeat the demons would anyone earn the right to a new life. Otherwise, everyone would be subject to heavenly punishment.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°The origin of this rumor is definitely not simple.¡±


    ¡°That old fart is definitely the one who started it. I tried listening around; it seems quite a lot of people have heard about this.¡± Lilith¡¯s face had a faint trace of worry.


    Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°That old fart is really crafty.¡±


    This was the Silver Province¡¯s most bustling area; all the merchants and mercenaries on Norma passed through the area. If the news started to spread, it was not a stretch to assume that the news would spread like a gue across Norma in just a short time.


    The world did not have anyworks or media, so it was not easy for rumors to spread. However, Asabanor had figured out one of the best methods, and Wildfire Town¡¯s sorry state fanned the mes even harder.

 Chapter 363: Arrest Warrant

    <h4>Chapter 363: Arrest Warrant</h4>


    Gold City was incredibly busy during the day, the merchants walked around like an endless stream. Countless stalls littered the streets. Earthen and Normese buildings could be seen everywhere, the luxuriousness of the city definitely living up to being named after gold. Everything was extravagant without limit, and even the statues in the middle of the city were made of violet gold. It was the biggest currency in Norma; one violet gold coin could be traded for 1,000 normal gold coins.


    Even though the city¡¯s security had been increased by several times, it did not really seem to affect the regr trade. It was more urate to say that the greedy merchants had long since treated money as more important than their lives.


    From the rumors rted to Asabanor that Lilith heard, Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was even more unsettled. He suddenly understood that even if Lilith and himself were Asabanor¡¯s targets, they were definitely not the only ones. Asabanor had big ambitions.


    ¡°Should we contact our academies first?¡± Xiao Lin suggested.


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Lilith unexpectedly rejected it. She had been the one who initially suggested looking for the academy offices in Gold City. After all, she had gone missing, and Judge Academy was definitely frantically looking for her. It was also where Xiao Lin and her opinions differed.


    ¡°You changed your mind?¡± Xiao Lin asked as he smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing it for your own good.¡± Lilith nced at him, hesitating before producing a roll of paper, and sighed.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°See for yourself.¡±


    Lilith and Ibeiya¡¯s expressions were not good. Xiao Lin unfurled the paper, and the words on top were written in Normese, Mandarin, and English. His face darkened as he read it.


    To be urate, it was an arrest warrant, and one issued by Dawn Academy¡¯s officials. The contents were: ¡®Student Xiao Lin from the academy has vited the academy rules, abandoning his duties. If anyone finds this person, contact any of Dawn Academy¡¯s offices. Any reliable information will be rewarded with 10,000 New Dors.¡¯


    What did Xiao Lin do wrong?


    Thinking about it carefully, he hade with a few departments from Dawn Academy to investigate Asabanor with Judge Academy. Three of them were killed unexpectedly in Wildfire Town, and after that, the academy had deliberately not sent reinforcements, forcing Xiao Lin and Lilith to find a way out themselves. After a few problems, they finally safely reached Gold City.


    It was not hard to see that Judge Academy and Dawn Academy had both definitely inspected Wildfire Town and did not find their corpses. To the outside world, they really were missing, but Xiao Lin did not expect that Dawn Academy would release such a notice.


    ¡°What kind of joke is this?!¡± Xiao Lin was trembling with anger. In that situation, Dawn Academy did not even help them, and he could only choose to save himself. Yet, that was seen as a vition of academy rules.


    ¡°Be quiet! Do you want the entire city to know that you are here?¡± Lilith stared at him. She then asked curiously, ¡°I thought that your academy was just targeting me, but it looks like you were caught up as well. It¡¯s strange though. Look at the seal on the bottom. It¡¯s not your dean¡¯s seal.¡±


    Xiao Lin gasped. There was a Dawn Academy seal at the bottom, but he could not see anything off about it. After that, he recalled that his letter of appointment had the dean¡¯s seal on it.


    Taking out the letter, the seal was formed with variousplicated patterns, and in the middle of it was a very clear ¡®Li¡¯. Xiao Lin only knew that the dean¡¯s surname was Li from that, butparing it to the arrest warrant, it waspletely different, meaning that the arrest warrant was not issued by the dean.


    ¡°It could have been issued by someone else.¡± Xiao Lin was still unhappy, but knowing that the dean did not do it rxed him a little.


    ¡°Do you understand or not?¡± Lilith said. ¡°This is a warrant that goes past the academy¡¯s territories, so it needs the dean¡¯s personal seal to be in effect. Otherwise, every other academy can just ignore it!¡±


    Lilith sighed. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this seal probablyes from your army. As for Dawn Academy¡¯s governmental structure, you should know about it by now.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. He was no longer aplete rookie. Basically every academy had two power structures: one for the academy and one for their colonial territories. Being military organisations, they were especially sensitive to that. Every academy operated differently, and in Dawn Academy, the one who held the power for both was the dean.


    Of course, because he held the most power, the dean naturally had enemies, especially within the army. He had heard from Yu Mei that, in order to preserve internal bnce, the dean had divided up arge amount of his power in the army in order to achieve a temporary unity within the academy. That was why Yu Mei had established the sixth regiment.


    Xiao Lin thought about the assessment at the end of the third examination. Those old folks with military backgrounds obviously charged at him to make things difficult. That was when he started to feel the internal power struggles within the academy.


    Was he to be the sacrificial object in the struggles of the higher-ups again?


    Xiao Lin was not certain, but it was obvious someone was out to get him. It really was not a good time to approach the academies and hand himself in. In the same way, if Lilith appeared, she would definitely be pressed for information on Xiao Lin, and he would be exposed then too.


    Lilith really did treat Xiao Lin as a friend, and did not want Xiao Lin to enter an awkward position because of her. That caused him to feel incredibly grateful.


    What caused Xiao Lin some relief was that there were no pictures on the arrest warrant. All they had were some descriptions of his appearance. He did not need to worry about anyone noticing him in the streets, and Lilith felt that the warrant was only sent to the various offices within the colonies, probably anticipating that Xiao Lin would definitely immediately head to an academy branch office if he did not die in Wildfire Town.


    Since he guessed their intentions, Xiao Lin naturally could not fall into their trap. Even if he did not know what would happen to him if he went, he knew that it would not be anything good.


    ¡°The best way is to return to the academy right away. Every Academy has their own jurisdiction, and the army can¡¯t interfere with it. They won¡¯t be able to do anything to you if you return.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s suggestion was actually what Xiao Lin was thinking of. The two of them discussed for a bit before deciding on it. However, Lilith could not apany Xiao Lin there. As a student of Judge Academy, she could not enter Dawn Academy¡¯s territories as she pleased.

 Chapter 364: Spatial Equipment

    <h4>Chapter 364: Spatial Equipment</h4>


    Lilith¡¯s journey would end there. Gold City was well-connected and acted as a central zone due to its nearby roads, which led to ces near and far. ording to Lilith¡¯s n, she was to return directly to the Judge Academy¡¯s colony. Upon arrival in New Washington, she would report the incident to the academy¡¯s senior management once more, and anything after that would be discussed between the academies themselves.


    Before parting ways, the two of them settled their debts with each other first. The starmetal from Silverlight Lake, which was said to be 100% pure, was eventually given to Xiao Lin, but he had to pay a certain amount of money to Lilith aspensation. They argued for half a day before finally reaching a decision: the total he would have to pay Lilith was 50,000 New Dors, and he was required to transfer the money over to Lilith after returning to Dawn City.


    The damaged sword from the center of Silverlight Lake was given to Xiao Lin too, because Lilith did not have any interest in a useless sword. It went without saying that there was no charge for that.


    Xiao Lin himself chose to stay in Gold City for a couple of days before returning to Dawn City. Come the next morning, it was not a very sentimental parting of ways, since they were bound to meet each other again in the future anyway. Ibeiya however, seemed to be more reluctant. She pulled the hem of Lilith¡¯s clothes and had a sad look in her eyes.


    A man in Lilith¡¯s ce might not have the heart to leave and would perhaps have stayed behind too, but Lilith was a woman. She gently pried away Ibeiya¡¯s hand from her shirt and left expressionlessly.


    Xiao Lin did not know whetherugh or cry, though he could not help recalling Lilith whispering to him before she left, ¡°Beware of Ibeiya.¡±


    Lilith had been wary of Ibeiya right from the outset, while Xiao Lin¡¯s vignce had reduced significantly. In fact, the adorable little girl never did anything suspicious or acted in a way that was unfavorable to them. On the contrary, she harrowed through each and every crisis alongside the two of them.


    ¡°That girl is no ordinary girl. Don¡¯t underestimate a dark race. They¡¯re the best at hiding their true colors. Frankly speaking, I suggest that you directly send her to Dawn Academy for investigation, if that¡¯s possible. This is the best choice,¡± that was Lilith¡¯sst advice to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Linughed at that, but when Lilith left, he mulled over it for a moment before looking for Ibeiya and chatting casually with her.


    It had been two days since he came to Gold City. Back when they were still in Wildfire Town, Ibeiya was forced to follow them for her own survival due to the undead attacks that could havee at any time. She ended up tagging along for the remainder of their journey, and even though Gold City was rtively safe, Ibeiya showed no sign of leaving alone.


    Ibeiya¡¯s reasoned that she was originally homeless to begin with and therefore wandered around everywhere, though saying by Xiao Lin¡¯s side made her feel safe. After sensing Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions, she immediately changed into a coquettish tone and shook Xiao Lin¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°You¡¯re a good person, Uncle. You¡¯ll never leave me alone. I can do whatever you ask me to, if that¡¯s what you want, so don¡¯t chase me away!¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned at her repeated calls of ¡®Uncle¡¯. He was lucky that Lilith had left, otherwise he would be on the receiving end of a few eye-rolls that said, ¡®Sick pervert¡¯. He nevertheless had his own ns, so he patiently persuaded her, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange a ce for you to stay in Gold City so you don¡¯t have to wander around. I¡¯m not in a really good situation right now. It might be difficult to protect myself and it will be equally as hard to take care of you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it!¡±


    ¡°Be good!¡±


    ¡°NO!¡±


    ¡°Listen to me!¡±


    ...


    After a while, Ibeiya still insisted on following Xiao Lin. In the end, she proposed apromise: Xiao Lin ought to at least let her follow him back to Dawn City, as she imed that there was goodw and order there.


    Xiao Lin froze. He did not immediately agree and simply said that he would reconsider.


    As a capital-level colonypletely controlled by Dawn Academy, Dawn City was different from other cities in Norma. The authority in Gold City was very broad despite the existence of numerous powers from various universities. People were quite free to go in and out, which led to a plethora of characters inside the city.


    However, incredibly cumbersome procedures were required when entering Dawn City. Xiao Lin heard about them before and he did not want to add more headaches to an already troublesome situation. More importantly, Lilith¡¯s words made him feel as though he could not fully trust Ibeiya. Letting such a mysterious girl enter their city was out of the question. If something went wrong there, Xiao Lin would suffer the consequences too.


    Fortunately, there was still long to go before he had to deal with all that. Xiao Lin wandered around during his few days in Gold City, and he was initially worried about whether others would recognize him and report him directly to Dawn Academy¡¯s local office. It did not take long for him to breathe a sigh of relief over that. In fact, the arrest warrant was not put up everywhere as he expected. Like Lilith said, the arrest warrant was only posted in a few ces where the Earthlings were more concentrated.


    Whoever issued the warrant clearly did not want it to be too publicized due to theck of the dean¡¯s official stamp.


    Xiao Lin made ns to buy spatial storage equipment for himself. In the previous battles, Lilith¡¯s spatial bracelet seemed quite nifty and he felt a little envious of it. Purchasing such an item was much easier in Dawn City, but Gold City¡¯s business scene flourished quite well too. Well-connected transportation allowed arge number of merchants from various areas to gather there. Due to therger number of mercenary groups and adventurers nearby, the trade in weapons and equipment was more abundant as well.


    After hearing Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions, Ibeiya volunteered to lead the way for him. Her knowledge of the Gold City was far more than Xiao Lin, and she knew which weapon stores had poor quality orcked resources. She finally introduced him to what was said to be a century-old shop. It had somewhat of a reputation in Norma, and it happened to be a shop that was famous for creating spatial-type equipment.


    After Ibeiya brought him there, Xiao Lin came to discover arge number of spatial props, though the price nearly gave him a heart attack. The cheapest items cost tens of thousands of New Dors, while prices for the slightly higher-grade ones hovered around the hundred-thousands.


    Of course, Xiao Lin had more than enough money to afford it, but the quality was not as high as he imagined even if he bought them at that kind of price


    For example, a spatial ring with a value of 40,000 New Dors only had the function to provide about one cubic meters of storage space, which was far too small and differed greatly from his expectations. Xiao Lin shook his head decisively when he thought of the sheer number of weapons capable of being stored in Lilith¡¯s spatial bracelet. Spatial equipment with a slightlyrger storage space had a price that numbered in the hundred-thousands, which was distressing even for Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Uncle, do you understand spatial equipment at all?¡± Ibeiya curled her lips and exined patiently, ¡°Equipment like these are very difficult to manufacture because they use starmetal. The materials are scarce and the manufacturing costs are high. Moreover, creating an independent space is inherently very difficult to do.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little disappointed. Lilith¡¯s bracelet was clearly not of ordinary value, but Ibeiya¡¯s words also made him raise his eyebrows unexpectedly, ¡°Did you just say starmetal?¡±

 Chapter 365: Mixed-Race

    <h4>Chapter 365: Mixed-Race</h4>


    An important material for spatial equipment was starmetal, and that was also the main reason for the high value of such equipment. However, Xiao Lin happened to have starmetal with him, so if the material costs were ignored, the actual workmanship might not be that expensive.


    Ibeiya¡¯s words gave Xiao Lin a couple of ideas. He did not necessarily have to buy a finished ring, but finding someone who could actually make spatial equipment was difficult as it was very different from ordinary forging. Those who were able to do that must possess extensive skill, and since Xiao Lin was worried about wasting the material at hand, he felt that it was unwise to seek out aplete stranger.


    ¡°I can introduce someone to you, Uncle!¡± Ibeiya blinked her eyes and patted her slightly raised chest. She assured him, ¡°I guarantee the quality will be good!¡±


    ¡°You know someone reliable?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you say that you haven¡¯t been to Gold City for many years?¡±


    Xiao Lin had casually asked her about it when they first entered the city. Although Ibeiya mentioned going there a few times during her early years of being a nomad, she said that it was a very long time ago. She imed not to remember a lot of things as she was still young then.


    Ibeiya¡¯s tone froze up and she stomped her feet coquettishly. She pouted angrily and said, ¡°Uncle, you did this on purpose!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s only response was to sigh. He could not distinguish between truth and fiction when it came to Ibeiya. In fact, the past two days had shown him that Ibeiya was actually quite familiar with Gold City, as the hotel they lived in was on her rmendation too. Evidently, it was impossible that she had not been there for years and years as she imed.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Xiao Lin waved his hand. He was toozy to get to the bottom of it, but he did not immediately agree to it. Instead, he said, ¡°Bring me to meet with that spatial equipment maker you mentioned.¡±


    In the afternoon, Xiao Lin followed Ibeiya along with a piece of starmetal that was only the size of a fingernail. In fact, he did not put his hopes high because his own piece was too small. He was also worried that the materials were not enough. If things did not work out, he would simply decide on it after going back to Dawn City.


    Along the way, Ibeiya enthusiastically introduced him to the essory maker. Norma¡¯s craft professions had long formed an extensive and rather fixed system in the span of thousands of years, such as cksmiths, potion makers, and the like. The ranks of equipment manufacturers were also divided into ranks three, six, and nine, respectively. However, the rank division was not as obvious as strength ranks.


    That essory-maker had a very strange name: Hammerhead. When Ibeiya finished exining, Xiao Lin cocked a brow in surprise and eximed, ¡°An orc!¡±


    Xiao Lin was no longer inexperienced, for the third monthly exam had given him a preliminary understanding of the orcs. It was all but certain that a Norman with such a distinctive name was an orc.


    Ibeiya remarked in some surprise, ¡°The orcs¡¯ territory borders with yours, which means it¡¯s also close to Silver Province. Uncle, you ought to know that there are a lot of orcs there, and since the trade between orcs is underdeveloped, they frequently have to obtain the necessary supplies from here.¡±


    The war between the orcs and Dawn Academy a century ago sparked a hostile rtionship between the two sides ever since. Although there were a considerable number of orcs who did business in Dawn City, the vast majority of them were unwilling to deal with anyone from Dawn Academy. At that point, they could only exchange goods in Silver Province to obtain their daily supplies.


    The two of them walked for most of their journey, gradually deviating from the bustling city center and approaching the suburbs. The houses there were obviously much worse than in the city center, as they looked rather simple and crude. Their utterly asymmetrical shapes were often unsettling and they happened to be a typical characteristic of the orcs. Theycked skilled builders and their aesthetic preferences were clearly very different from Earthlings and even the local Normans.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t many rich individuals among the orcs, so they can¡¯t afford to live in city center houses,¡± Ibeiya exined.


    ¡°How do you know Hammerhead? Although I¡¯ve never interacted much with the orcs, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re an easy race to get along with.¡± Xiao Lin was doubly curious and puzzled.


    ¡°I hate orcs too!¡± Ibeiya nodded in agreement and made no secret of her disgusted expression that appeared between her beautiful brows.¡± All that violent race knows is honor and war. Who would like them!¡±


    She then stopped talking for a moment and shed a grin. ¡°But Hammerhead is different. He saved me once. He¡¯s an orc with a gentle personality and he¡¯s a mixed-race too.¡±


    ¡°Mixed-race? That¡¯s really strange. Who would want to do that with the orcs?¡± Xiao Lin questioned in amazement. He had seen orcs before and their appearances were downright unttering. He could not wrap his head around why men and women of other races would choose to be with orcs. A person like that was either mentally-ill or aplete lunatic.


    Ibeiya herself was also a mixed-race, with equal parts vampire and Norman. However, she inherited not only the fine traditions of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royal family, but also the vampire¡¯s near heaven-defying talent. She could be considered a sessful mixed-race individual and there was nothing too strange about it.


    ¡°Take a guess, Uncle.¡± Ibeiya kept him in suspense.


    ¡°It has to be one of those few races. Normans? Elves? Dwarves? Please don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s a dragon?¡± Xiao Lin guessed a few races in a row but Ibeiya denied them one by one.


    The mischievous look in her eyes elicited a frown from Xiao Lin. He had a sudden thought and widened his eyes incredulously. ¡°It can¡¯t be one of us!¡±


    ¡°Bingo! You¡¯re right!¡±


    Xiao Lin was momentarily speechless. The corners of his lips twitched and the answer really dide as a shock to him.


    Had it been a local Norman, Xiao Lin would have found it understandable if not a little surprised, since the aesthetic preferences of locals might be different. However, it was difficult to understand that an Earthling would do that with an orc, and¡ªof all ces¡ªwas from Dawn Academy.


    Two scenes popped up out of nowhere in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind: a hideous, fang-toothed male orc with an absolutely beautiful woman, or an insanely muscr female orc with a thin-bodied otaku Earthling.


    Such visualizations were absolutely terrifying, and Xiao Lin could not help but feel a chill up his spine. He proceeded to desperately delete those images from his mind.


    ¡°Are you feeling cold, Uncle?¡± Ibeiya asked strangely.


    ¡°Ahem, a bit. Actually, a lot!¡± Xiao Linughed dryly before asking, ¡°About Hammerhead¡¯s parents, who¡¯s the orc and who¡¯s the human?¡±


    ¡°The father is human of course! The mother is the orc.¡± Ibeiya chuckled. ¡°As I have mentioned when we first met, many of your people seem to have special fetishes.¡±


    Her remark drew an angry response, ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in the same category as those people!¡±


    Xiao Lin was reminded of Chen Dao, who wanted to have fun with beautiful women of different races all day long. The story might serve as encouragement for him once Xiao Lin went back and recounted told him about it.

 Chapter 366: Hammerhead

    <h4>Chapter 366: Hammerhead</h4>


    Xiao Lin himself was curious about the mysterious mixed-race individual and looked forward to the uing meeting. He arrived at Hammerhead¡¯s residence soon enough and it turned out to be an unusually simple wooden double-storey house. Few people came in and out, but those who walked through the gate were dressed quite luxuriantly.


    ¡°The people whoe here are all rich. That¡¯s Gold City for you. Wealthy people can be found in any corner,¡± Ibeiya spoke in a somewhat disdainful manner.


    ording to Ibeiya, Hammerhead was one of the few people who could make high-level spatial equipment. More importantly, he charged a reasonable sum and was well-received by many. His poprity in the city gradually began increasing, contrary to the usual unwee treatment orded to orcs in many ces.


    Hammerhead was different, and the other half of his bloodline was what made his status very special. Gold City might look like a ce withw and order, but the truth was that anyone who had enough strength or power could still do as they pleased there. However, no locals dared to provoke Hammerhead, because none of them knew when his mysterious father might show up.


    Xiao Lin pushed the door open and entered, only to see that the furnishings inside the house were simpler than expected. He got a little curious: if Hammerhead really was as skilled as Ibeiya imed, it was unlikely that he would be that poor. Of course, it was also possible that Hammerhead was a very hardworking and thrifty person.


    The reception room was on the first floor and there were only a few faded leather benches there. About four or five people were standing nearby and chattering in Normese. One of them who blocked the stairs leading to the second floor was a 14-year-old teen boy. He was smiling and apologizing profusely while bowing to the crowd.


    Xiao Lin had a rough idea of their conversation. The boy was likely an apprentice epted by Hammerhead and his master was currently serving a certain client, which made it temporarily inconvenient for them to see other people again.


    ¡°What a joke! I came all the way here and he¡¯s ignoring me? He knows who I am! ¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for about two or three days in a row now. I¡¯m curious who that customer is!¡±


    ¡°Damn orc! Do you think you can look down on us just because you have that bit of skill?¡±


    ¡°Dirty blood is still flowing in your bones!¡±


    ...


    These four or five people seemed toe from rather important backgrounds and they had been waiting here for a long time. There was impatience, irritability, and even anger in their tone, while repugnant adjectives began to pepper their sentences.


    The poor apprentice boy could only do his best to apologize for everything, but as the scolding gradually increased, it was inevitable that two strong men decided to take action and tried forcefully breaking into the second floor.


    The apprentice did not have enough power to resist, as he had little strength. He struggled to no avail, and his innocent yet flustered gaze scanned throughout the room, only to be met with indifference and ridicule. Finally, his gazended on Xiao Lin and Ibeiya, who had just entered the door.


    Xiao Lin observed for a moment and roughly figured out the cause of the matter. He could not help but frown secretly. If he fought there, his spatial equipment would be busted in no time, so he cleared his throat and spoke Normese to Ibeiya next to him, ¡°Speaking of which, I just came from Dawn City and heard something really interesting from a friend of mine. He told me he had an orc son that lived in Gold City. Do you think he¡¯s kidding?¡±


    The noise in the room disappeared instantly and the man who grabbed the apprentice¡¯s cor was startled. He loosened his grip and sized Xiao Lin up with an unfriendly gaze before saying nkly, ¡°Excuse me, who are you?¡±


    ¡°My identity isn¡¯t something that the likes of you are able to find out!¡± Xiao Lin snickered a few times before switching right back to fluent Chinese.


    The group of people immediately had a surprised look on their face. Colonizers were privileged and untouchable to the natives, and that has proven to be the consensus in that city. Even though they could not confirm Xiao Lin¡¯s identity and barely understood his Chinese, they hesitated to do anything because Xiao Lin¡¯s Chinese had too high a standard and was impossible for the locals to replicate.


    Once they calmed themselves down some more, they remembered that Hammerhead was also half-colonist. An ugly expression appeared briefly on their faces and they decided not to take any more risks for fear of provoking a potential powerful enemy. They murmured a couple of iprehensible sentences and proceeded to leave.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± The apprentice boy bowed again. On that asion, he actually spoke in Chinese, but his Chinese pronunciation was far worse than Ibeiya¡¯s. After all, not everyone possessed the foreignnguage talent of Rosa Kingdom.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to look for Hammerhead and make an order for spatial equipment, but he seems to be busy? ¡± Xiao Lin hesitated.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you talk to him.¡± His impression of Xiao Lin had soared after thetter came to his aid, and he trotted right up to the second floor. A low voice came from upstairs, and he went back down again. He smiled and said, ¡°Master invited you up.¡±


    The second floor was divided into three areas. A tall man was sitting next to the stove in thergest room. After seeing Xiao Lin and Ibeiyaing, he merely nodded to them and pointed to the thick leather chair next to him, motioning them to sit down temporarily.


    Aside from them, there was another stranger in the room, who was probably the guest mentioned by the apprentice earlier. Xiao Lin actually felt a little embarrassed because Hammerhead seemed busy, but since the other party said nothing, Xiao Lin decided to wait for a while with Ibeiya. In his curiosity, he began to scrutinize that mixed-race individual.


    Hammerhead¡¯s figure was much taller than that of ordinary Earthlings. Although his entire body was covered in clothing, his swollen muscles were still clearly visible. That strong body was no doubt inherited from the orcs, but his appearance was that of a typical Oriental-earthling character with dark ck pupils, though his skin was dark brown.


    His looks were fairly modest, which prompted Xiao Lin to feel that that human-orc offspring was not as horrible looking as he thought, at least in terms of their gic appearance.


    Hammerhead nced briefly at Xiao Lin for a while before withdrawing it, as if he was not interested in them. However, Xiao Lin soon sensed another gaze that seemed to have been absent before then.


    It came from another stranger sitting next to Hammerhead. It was a man coveredpletely in a gray robe. Even his ears and hair were wrapped in it, revealing only an unusually handsome and fair face. Xiao Lin could not help but think that the gray-robed man¡¯s face fitted the description of a gigolo to a tee.


    Xiao Lin did not mind it that much at first, but he soon had a slight frown after a couple of minutes. The man in gray nced casually at him when he came in, but the other party¡¯s gaze seemed to be watching him even more intently.


    The handsome face was expressionless, but his gaze was so sharp that it made Xiao Lin feel ufortable. He suddenly understood that such a look was simr to the gaze of a predator locking in on its prey. Did the man have any intentions of hunting him?

 Chapter 367: Making Spatial Equipment (1)

    <h4>Chapter 367: Making Spatial Equipment (1)</h4>


    ¡°Do you know each other?¡± Hammerhead noticed something off between the two and asked suspiciously.


    ¡°No. I just suddenly thought of a friend,¡± the man in gray retracted his gaze and replied perfunctorily. He had a mellifluous and deep voice.


    ¡°It seems you have more guests to entertain, so I won¡¯t bother you much today. I just hope you¡¯ll give due consideration to my proposal earlier.¡± With the presence of an outsider like Xiao Lin, the gray-robed man did not intend to talk any further, so he got up and took his leave.


    Hammerhead did not insist for the man to stay and did not even get up. All he did was nod slightly and let the apprentice see the man off. Once the gray-robed man left, he turned his head and stared nkly at Xiao Lin and Ibeiya. His gaze lingered on Ibeiya¡¯s body for a second or two before starting at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°You¡¯re from there?¡±


    Norma¡¯s locals had different ways of referring to Earthlings and Xiao Lin was used to it. He understood what Hammerhead meant and nodded at once, as he felt that there was no need to hide anything.


    Hammerhead spoke in rather fluent Chinese, but did not show any sense of cordiality with Xiao Lin despite that. Instead, there was a hint of irony on his face and he sneered, ¡°So you know him then?¡±


    ¡°Him?¡±


    ¡°My apprentice just told me that your friend has an orc son.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my apologies, I was just saying that to help your apprentice out of a troublesome situation. I hope you don¡¯t mind. The truth is, I don¡¯t know your father,¡± Xiao Lin apologized hurriedly.


    Hammerhead¡¯s expression turned rather seemed. He seemed to be both relieved and disgusted, but in the end, he just shook his head nkly. ¡°I don¡¯t like this kind of joke.¡±


    Ibeiya could not help but mutter, ¡°We¡¯re your guests. Is this your way of showing hospitality? No wonder your business is so terrible!¡±


    Hammerhead nced at the cute girl and did not bat an eye at all. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you heard about me, but don¡¯t you know that I have a rule here? I never do business with the likes of you!¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned. ¡°Do you hate us? Even though we had a war with the orcs a hundred years ago, don¡¯t forget that our blood is also flowing in your own body!¡±


    ¡°Do you know who my father is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly had a realization.


    ¡°My father abandoned me when I was very young, and my mother raised me until I was six before she left too. Fortunately, the orc blood in my bones helped me to depend on myself from the age of six.¡± Hammerhead seemed to beughing self-deprecatingly. ¡°Give me a reason to agree with you?¡±


    Xiao Lin felt choked. Hammerhead seemed to be an orphan who was abandoned by his father and lost his mother when he was still young. Irrespective of his scumbag father¡¯s reason for leaving, Xiao Lin secretly loathed the man.


    ¡°So please go back,¡± Hammer¡¯s tone was firm and he was not joking.


    Xiao Lin grinned bitterly and immediately found himself in a tight spot. He originally thought that the other party¡¯s mixed-race status was a convenience, but it unexpectedly became a hindrance. Moreover, it seemed that the other party had inherited the orc¡¯s stubbornness, so much so that money was unlikely to tempt him.


    Ibeiya immediately switched to a pitiful look, then pursed her lips and sobbed. ¡°You¡¯re an orphan too? Sob, sob, that¡¯s so pitiful. I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have lost control of my emotions. I just...couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of myself when I was a kid...¡±


    Although Hammerhead did not have a special liking for cute girls, Ibeiya¡¯s words clearly resonated with him and he could not resist asking, ¡°What happened to you when you were a kid?¡±


    What followed was an exchange topare who was worse off than the other. Xiao Lin heard Ibeiya¡¯s childhood story before, and although he doubted its authenticity, he had to admit that any listener would be moved to tears after hearing it from Ibeiya¡¯s mouth, especially when apanied by her top-ss acting.


    To a certain extent, Ibeiya and Hammerhead were indeed simr. They were both mixed-race children who were orphaned when they were young and suffered lots of humiliation because of their blood.


    Hammerhead remained expressionless, but Xiao Lin keenly noticed his slightly trembling hands and deduced that Hammerhead¡¯s heart was not as calm as his expression suggested.


    More than half an hourter, Ibeiya¡ªwho was about to finish¡ªwiped her slightly red eyes and shifted the topic to Xiao Lin. ¡°This uncle saved me when I was helpless. He¡¯s a good man, and one good turn deserves another, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Hammerhead looked at Xiao Lin again in a simrly cold gaze, but he appeared much calmer and less hostile than before. He reminded Ibeiya tactfully, ¡°He only has ulterior motives for you.¡±


    The corners of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched and he secretlymented Hammerhead¡¯s na?vet¨¦. To think that he actually believed Ibeiya¡¯s words!


    ¡°No, I¡¯m actually the one who¡¯s seeking help from you. Please, please could you help me make spatial equipment?¡± Ibeiya¡¯s acting had both young and old eating it all up.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s for you.¡±


    Hammerhead relented after a moment¡¯s silence, but Xiao Lin felt that he was just looking for an excuse. It did not matter though, because for him, being able to obtain spatial equipment was the most satisfactory result. He quickly took out the starmetal, and after handing it over, could not help but remark worriedly, ¡°I wonder if it¡¯ll be enough.¡±


    Hammerhead looked at the starmetal that was only the size of a nail. He made a surprisingment, ¡°It¡¯s not too small. I just need to appraise it to determine the quality of the ore itself.¡±


    Xiao Lin wanted to tell him that the ore was 100% pure, but Hammerhead trusted his own judgment more. He immediately brought the starmetal into the inner room and asked them to wait.


    Their waitsted more than an hour, during which the apprentice came up to serve them tea and water. Ibeiya was getting a little impatient, but the apprentice quickly apologized and firmly prevented them from going in.


    The tea there was very fragrant. After tasting a few sips, Xiao Lin recognized that it originated from their colony. Someone had brought tea nts from Earth to cultivate in Norma, with the result being a tea that was more fragrant when harvested. He could not help but smile to himself, as Hammerhead was using the colony¡¯s products despite showing disdain for Earthlings.


    The inner room did not allow them to enter, but Xiao Lin closed his eyes for a while and could feel the magic fluctuations surging from within. It took another half an hour for Hammerhead toe out again, and there was a fatigued look in his brows.


    ¡°This is a hundred percent pure starmetal!¡± Hammerhead had a surprised and somewhat bewildered tone. All in all, his face looked at those his worldviews had beenpletely upended and he had seen a ghost.


    ¡°This is impossible! How can pure starmetal possibly exist!¡±


    Xiao Lin stretched out his hand and said with a smile, ¡°I wanted to ask you that too.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, I don¡¯t think this should be any of your concern.¡±

 Chapter 368: Making Spatial Equipment (2)

    <h4>Chapter 368: Making Spatial Equipment (2)</h4>


    ¡°Tell me whether this starmetal is enough to create spatial storage equipment, and I¡¯m not referring to the ordinary ones on the market which can only barely store a few weapons.¡±


    Hammerhead pondered for a moment, then shook his head. Xiao Lin was shocked, but then heard Hammerhead exining with a wry smile, ¡°No! It¡¯s too exorbitant! It¡¯s like building a house using cash as building material. This is just overwhelming!¡±


    ¡°Howrge of a storage space can this piece of starmetal create for a spatial storage ring? ¡±


    ¡°Huge.¡±


    ¡°How huge?¡±


    ¡°Unimaginably huge.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyelids twitched a few times. The mixed-race orc was clearly keeping them in suspense and Ibeiya could not help but yell, ¡°Just say it, Big Brother Hammerhead. If you¡¯re not sure, you can use something as reference.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless and wanted to ask why Hammerhead was a big brother to Ibeiya while he was an uncle.


    However, her way of addressing him had obviously reduced their unfamiliarity with each other. He thought for a moment, then opened his hands and gestured. Ibeiya¡¯s eyes brightened up. ¡°It¡¯s as big as this house? My goodness, can a storage space be expanded to that extent?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Hammerhead took a deep breath, then looked at Xiao Lin and said, ¡°I¡¯m talking about the size of this city!¡±


    Xiao Lin was so startled that he began rubbing his ears vigorously. ¡°Could you say that again?¡±


    ¡°If the entirety of this pure starmetal is used as for spatial equipment, it could create a space equivalent to the size of this city!¡±


    Hammerhead calmed down a bit, then sat down again and exined, ¡°The development of an independent space is a very profound subject. It¡¯s a field where the first beings who set foot in were the gods. Countless people have been studying it for thousands of years, and progress was only made after starmetal was discovered. Yes, the purity of the starmetal is a key factor, but unfortunately it is very scarce. Otherwise, I¡¯d even be able to make storage equipment the size of this world.¡±


    ¡°Storage equipment that can hold the world?¡± Xiao Lin found it unbelievable, but he suddenly thought of The Final Land, the space attached to the sword, and the space where the ck dragon Onyxia was located. He had a sudden realization and asked thoughtfully, ¡°But then it¡¯s no longer called storage equipment and should instead be called an independent space or domain, is that right?¡±


    Hammerhead nced at him and nodded. At the same time, he returned the fingernail-sized starmetal with both hands and asked, ¡°Would you still insist on letting me make such a precious thing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I insist. As long as you can make the best storage equipment, you don¡¯t have to worry about the price.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s principle was to save money, but after hearing Hammerhead¡¯s exnation, he understood that the value of that soon-to-be-produced spatial equipment was something that was unobtainable at any cost.


    ¡°The price naturally won¡¯t be cheap, but since the material is yours, it won¡¯t be that expensive. If you¡¯re from there, then you¡¯d be paying for it with New Dors, yes? Ten thousand New Dors. Any issue with that?¡±


    ¡°None.¡± The price was much lower than Xiao Lin had imagined.


    The usual condition was for half the deposit to be paid first, but considering the high value of the materials Xiao Lin gave, Hammerhead waived the deposit.


    ¡°It will take three days to make. You can stay here, and I¡¯ll send away any guests during these few days.¡±


    Xiao Lin agreed without hesitation. Although he waived the deposit, the piece of starmetal was undoubtedly more valuablepared to that little sum of money. Xiao Lin would not be at ease if he left it here for three days, but he could not possibly make such a remark. Fortunately, Hammerhead was not an idiot, and allowing them to stay there was a way of giving them some peace of mind. As a result, Xiao Lin had a good impression of Hammerhead and believed him to be a sincere person.


    Hammerhead then called the apprentice and had him prepare rooms for Xiao Lin and Ibeiya. Other rooms on the second floor had probably been left vacant specifically for such a situation.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, who was the man in the gray robe earlier?¡± Xiao Lin asked casually. Although he had never met the man in gray before, his scrutinizing gaze left Xiao Lin feeling both concerned and unsettled.


    ¡°A guest.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well then, I shall not bother you these few days.¡± Xiao Lin did not force the issue after seeing Hammerhead¡¯s reluctance to say any further.


    After arriving in the room that had been prepared, Ibeiya pursed her lips and remarked sharply, ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Did you notice anything?¡±


    ¡°The gray-robed man is from a dark race!¡±


    Ibeiya had a very certain tone. She had a keen intuition for the dark races, and Xiao Lin believed her in matters like that. Although he was a little surprised at that, it was not at all unexpected that a dark race would appear. Based on Hammerhead¡¯s reputation, it should not have been surprising that people would seek him to create equipment.


    Ibeiya rolled her eyeballs and suddenly whispered in his ear. Her faint fragrance, along with the moist wind, made Xiao Lin¡¯s ear feel slightly tingly. For the most part, he was red with embarrassment, and even though he wanted to distance himself a little, the little girl¡¯s next words shocked himpletely.


    ¡°If I guessed correctly, that person should be a dark elf.¡±


    The basic courses taught by Dawn Academy were not too bad and Xiao Lin heard about the dark elves too. They belonged to a different branch of the elves. Their specific history went a long way back and Xiao Lin did not know much, but in short, certain elves epted the power of darkness a very long time ago in the past and became dark elves.


    They were a rtively special race. They possess both the elves¡¯ natural power and the dark side¡¯s death energy, but at the same time, they could prevent the two forces froming into conflict with each other.


    ¡°The dark elves¡¯ living conditions are terrible. They were driven out of their northern homnd by the elves and wandered around, but few countries are willing to take them in. They¡¯re very scarce in number and it¡¯s difficult to meet them on Norma. As far as I know, their nearest settlement is thousands of miles away from here, so how is it possible that they appeared here?¡± Ibeiya knew quite a lot about the dark races and it was not something which ordinary people could easily understand.


    Xiao Lin frowned and tried to recall carefully. He had never met any ordinary elves ever since he entered the academy, so it was even more unlikely that he would offend a dark elf.


    With that line of thinking, he finally set his mind at ease. Perhaps it was nothing more than the unique alertness of the dark elf, but even then, he was still unsettled by the way that gray-robed elf looked at him.


    The next three days were a boring wait, but passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Lin wanted to ask Silverlight about Antis, but it was not convenient to do so in the ce they stayed. After all, he did not want outsiders to know too much about Silverlight¡¯s existence, so all he could do was set that matter aside for the time being. However, the one thing that puzzled him was the strange vibration that came from the Holy Soul Sword from time to time.

 Chapter 369: The Return Journey

    <h4>Chapter 369: The Return Journey</h4>


    In the past three days, Hammerhead practically shut himself behind the closed door while the apprentice was fully responsible for handling Xiao Lin and Ibeiya. Xiao Lin took that opportunity to ask the apprentice a lot of things, and the young apprentice had an overwhelmingly good impression of Xiao Lin, perhaps because he was an Earthling or because he had previously helped the apprentice out of the situation. The apprentice answered Xiao Lin¡¯s questions earnestly and did not hide anything.


    Xiao Lin also learned more about Hammerhead. For example, he did not stay in a fixed ce during his early years. Although his identity as a mixed-race made his bullies somewhat apprehensive, he was regarded as a bastard among the orcs and was looked down upon. As a result, Hammerhead left the orcs early on and did not identify with them.


    Due to his father¡¯s abandonment, Hammerhead did not have the slightest affection for Earthlings either. The conflicted feeling had long been the cause of Hammerhead¡¯s loneliness. Although there were many visiting guests, he did not have any friends.


    In addition, Hammerhead was seriously ill, which puzzled Xiao Lin as Hammerhead looked physically strong and mentally healthy when they met a few days ago. Xiao Lin could not see any trace of sickness at all. However, the apprentice¡¯s words were conclusive and he was sad to inform them that his master had few years left to live. That was why he epted an apprentice to try and pass down his knowledge.


    Hammerhead seemed even more pitiful than Ibeiya, and the little girl had reddened eyes after listening to everything. If Hammerhead had not repeatedly told them not to disturb him during that period, Ibeiya might just go over to him at once.


    Three days passed quickly, and Hammerhead appeared rather sluggish when he reappeared before Xiao Lin. Hammerhead might not have slept for three days, but his eyes shone and he cupped his hands to offer a shining silver ring.


    ¡°Is this the spatial storage ring?¡± Xiao Lin could not wait for it to be handed over. The ring was still warm as it had just beenpleted. He looked at it carefully, and the ring itself appeared rather ordinary, without any decoration, pattern, or text.


    ¡°Because of the rtively short time, I wasn¡¯t able to incorporate too many details,¡± Hammerhead exined.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important.¡± Xiao Lin did not care about external decorations, only quality. He had known how to use that kind of spatial storage ring a long time ago from Lilith.


    He closed his eyes slightly and channeled his mental power into the ring. A huge, empty, and strange space suddenly appeared in his mind. Of course, he could not actually see it, as the information he received was that which had been fed from his consciousness.


    The space was still in apletely chaotic state, like a wastnd that has not yet been developed, but the most intuitive feeling for Xiao Lin was its unimaginably huge size. He was previously skeptical of Hammerhead¡¯s words but had now believed itpletely. Indeed, the space was like a huge city, except that there was nothing there at all.


    Xiao Lin also felt exhausted after his consciousness exited the ring. Hammerhead reminded him that it was an inevitable result of using the spatial ring. To be precise, it could no longer be regarded as a storage ring, but shared more simrities to an independent domain spatial ring. Hammerhead could not elucidate any purpose other than storage, so Xiao Lin could only treat it as a storage ring for the time being.


    After making payment and getting ready to say goodbye, Xiao Lin made a point to show a bit of concern over Hammerhead¡¯s body before leaving. He received confirmation from Hammerhead that thetter had not much time left, but Hammerhead did not seem to care at all and refused Xiao Lin¡¯s gesture.


    ¡°If you need anything, you cane to Dawn City and contact me at any time.¡± Although Xiao Lin consoled him with an assurance, the other party simply smiled as he knew that such a possibility was very slim.


    Upon leaving Hammerhead¡¯s residence, Xiao Lin immediately began nning to return to Dawn City. Going through the original route was not possible and the situation in Wildfire Town was still unclear. He hated the fact that Norma¡¯smunication system was underdeveloped, and there was no such thing as the Inte or media outlets there. Under the painstaking official concealment, it would be hard to find out anything even in Wildfire Town, which was not too far away.


    ¡°Are sure you want to go back with me?¡± Going back was not too difficult, but Xiao Lin had the baggage of a little girl, which left him with a severe headache.


    Ibeiya nodded hard, and Xiao Lin could only sigh and agree. Even if he did not, the girl might go by herself, so it was better to bring here along with her.


    ...


    ¡°Is that the boy?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been searching for him for a long time and you managed to run into him.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the God of Fortune is looking kindly upon us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the other woman who was walking with him has disappeared. ¡±


    ¡°The girl is still with him, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s not the same one! But that girl you¡¯re referring to is very special too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so fixated to him. I observed him when I met him earlier and I think he¡¯s just a very ordinary person with really measly strength.¡±


    ¡°I need him. If our n is to seed, the final key lies in him, as well as the little girl from Judge Academy. ¡±


    ¡°I hope you are not joking and that you¡¯re aware of our limited patience.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wasting our time if you continue talking nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, fine then. Where¡¯s that orc?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that stubborn orc.¡±


    When Xiao Lin left, he did not notice that two pairs of eyes were constantly following him from the shadows nearby.


    On the way back to the city center, the people from the Public Security Alliance interrogated and asked to show the certificate issued when he entered the city. Of course, Xiao Lin did not have it when he sneaked in, but he made nopromise on that asion and directly spoke in fluent Chinese. After shouting loudly, the interrogators were immediately scared away. As Ibeiya mentioned, the identity of Earthlings was indeed very useful in the city.


    After buying back the map and studying carefully with Ibeiya for a long time, Xiao Lin decided to bypass Wildfire Town from the southeast and directly enter Dawn Academy¡¯s colony. It would be riskier to do so however, because one-third of the time spent during the journey would be the orcs territory.


    Orcs hated Earthlings and the hatred did not dissipate even though their war happened over a century ago. Dawn Academy might have established certain fronts at the border and pushed deep into orc territory, those areas were still subject to intrusion from time to time.


    The only advantage was that those ces were guaranteed to be within range of the resurrection tower, while the resurrection tower in Wildfire Town had long been destroyed by Xiao Lin after it had been defiled. Inparison, a detour through the orc territory was the safest choice, because he would only lose 20 years of his life if he died.

 Chapter 370: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 370: Ambush</h4>


    News were spreading far and wide in Gold City. Although Xiao Lin had relied on his own identity to bluff a lot of locals, several groups of people have entered the city one after another in recent days. They were clearly dressed like the Chinese, and it signaled that the officials from Dawn Academy were beginning to interfere. Due to the arrest warrant. Xiao Lin felt that it was inconvenient for him to stay too long and set off with Ibeiya that very day.


    A few dayster, they leave Silver Province and entered orc territory. The ce was very barren and there was sand as far as the eye could see, though a couple of exposed oases did exist. The orcs living environment had always been terrible, which is one of the reasons why they were more aggressive.


    Dawn Academy had always kept their guard up against the orcs, so towns have been established in the surrounding areas, with some locals migrating there along with orcs who were willing to take refuge. However, the scale of those towns was extremely small, and the size was equivalent to Earth¡¯s small viges at most.


    Xiao Lin also learned a lot during that journey. He bought himself a suit of armor and prepared one for Ibeiya too. There were no normal roads outside of Silver Province, and few people along their journey.


    Because of that, Silverlight¡ªwho had not appeared for several days¡ªshowed up once more and floated with them. Xiao Lin knew that the woman was actually very lonely, but after a few days without seeing Silverlight, Xiao Lin noticed a rare look of energy on her face and could not help but ask curiously.


    ¡°Your ck knight is very interesting.¡±


    Xiao Lin remembered that woman mentioning something about borrowing his ck knight to y with. He could not help but frown and asked vigntly, ¡°What did you guys y?¡±


    ¡°That sword is too small,¡± Silverlight said without answering the question.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too small. It¡¯s not enough for two people to stay inside.¡±


    Xiao Lin rubbed his ears and grinned a little bit. Silverlight originally lived with the ck knight in the Holy Soul Sword, which had a special space attached to it. That was a characteristic that he understood when he had the sword made, but he never considered the actual size of that space. In any case, the original undead swordsman would not be able toin to him anyway.


    However, Silverlight was a ghost with her own consciousness. It was obvious that she was dissatisfied with her living environment and expressed strong protest.


    Xiao Lin frowned. He was no longer a rookie. He knew that the price of a weapon has a lot to do with its own attributes, and as long as the attributes are rted to spatial systems, the value would be very high. A sword that fulfilled Silverlight¡¯s request would be so expensive that Xiao Lin could never even dream of affording.


    Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s hesitation and inclination to reject, she looked down and pointed at his silver ring. ¡°I just need to stay here with your ck knight.¡±


    Xiao Lin stared nkly at the storage ring he had just received. His purpose of putting in that much effort to create the ring was not to give Silverlight a new ce to stay.


    ¡°If you agree, I¡¯ll tell you something.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s spirit was shaken a little and he thought it was about Antis again. ¡°What is it? Is it valuable?¡±


    Silverlight continued to y it hard to get. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s valuable, but I think it¡¯s very important for you right now.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it for less than a few seconds and nodded in agreement. It was not that he did not believe in Silverlight¡¯s words, but rather, he trusted what Onyxia told him in the past. Silverlight was not a vicious woman by nature, and if she said that, perhaps there really was something that he could not ignore.


    Silverlightmented gently, ¡°Well, I advise you not to move forward, otherwise you¡¯ll be like me.¡±


    ¡°Be like you?¡± Xiao Lin murmured a few words, and felt a chill all over his body. Bing like Silverlight would mean that he would be like a ghost!


    He would die!


    ¡°Who! Who is it!¡± Xiao Lin asked quickly.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t the faintest clue, but the point is, someone set up a trap in front and is waiting for you. Alright then, you can handle the rest by yourself. ¡±


    Seeing Silverlight leaving, Xiao Lin could not help but ask, ¡°Where¡¯s the ck knight? Didn¡¯t you say you were moving house with him earlier?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right here,¡± Silverlight spread out her palm, and in it was a glowing jet-ck me. The me seemed to have its own thoughts and it shook visibly when he saw Xiao Lin.


    Silverlight tsk-ed and looked at Xiao Lin before saying, ¡°This is amazing. He actually recognizes you when he couldn¡¯t even remember the memories in his life. I won¡¯t bother you then.¡±


    After Silverlight finished speaking, her figure gradually faded and she turned into a white light before entering Xiao Lin¡¯s ring. Xiao Lin shook his head begrudgingly and turned his attention to the front.


    In addition to the open desert gravel and withered trees, no other thing was in sight. The temperature here was not that high, but the wind was strong. ording to the markings on the map, they had to rush forward until evening came before they could reach the small town that Dawn Academy set up there.


    Ibeiya approached Xiao Lin slightly and asked nervously in a low voice. ¡°Is someone ambushing us?¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent and he could not tell. If Silverlight had not deceived them, it could only mean that the person in ambush was stronger than him. That was far from good news. He lowered his head and quietly whispered in Ibeiya¡¯s ear, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything. We¡¯ll retreat.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not sure who he had offended, but he felt that he ought not to stay there.


    He remained calm and turned before speeding up his pace with Ibeiya. In any case, they would have to head back to Gold City before deciding further. Barely a few stepster, the wind and sand around him suddenly became violent and his visibility quickly decreased. Xiao Lin decisively took out the Holy Soul Sword and shielded Ibeiya behind him.


    ¡°Come out! I see you!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly roared.


    A few minutester, a man in a gray robe walked out slowly, just as Xiao Lin was getting overly suspicious. The wind and sand around him seemed to have no effect on him. When they were close enough to see each other¡¯s appearance, both Xiao Lin and Ibeiya opened their mouths wide in surprise.


    The person was none other than the mysterious man they saw in Hammerhead¡¯s residence, the one who stared at Xiao Lin with a hunter¡¯s eyes and left a deep impression on Xiao Lin. ording to Ibeiya, that person might be a dark elf.


    How could it be him!


    Xiao Lin was alert yet had plenty of doubts, but the other party had a strange expression as well and looked even more shocked than Xiao Lin.


    ¡°This is impossible!¡± The other party spoke in Normese and asked sharply, ¡°How did you even sense me! With your ability, it¡¯s impossible that you¡¯re able to locate me!


    ¡°Ah, forget it. It doesn¡¯t matter. I wanted to bring you away, but it looks like things will probably be a little more troublesome now. I advise you toe back willingly with me,¡± the dark elf quickly added in an indifferent tone.

 Chapter 371: Ibeiya’s Blood

    <h4>Chapter 371: Ibeiya¡¯s Blood</h4>


    The appearance of dark elves was not at all inferior to normal elves. Distinguishing them from normal elves was different if one relied on their appearance alone, but the strong death energy around them could be sensed as long as one concentrated.


    ¡°Do we have beef with each other?¡± Xiao Lin felt that he did not know the other party.


    Rather than answering, the dark eld immediately took out two short des from behind. Poison seemed to beced on the edge of the light blue de. The de¡¯s glow shone in a captivating manner, and he sneered slightly before saying, ¡°Why do you need to ask that much? You¡¯ll understand when you go back with me.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned in thought before asking in suspiciously, ¡°Asabanor?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not stupid, I¡¯ll give you that.¡±


    ¡°Damn it! That damned freak still isn¡¯t letting me go!¡± Xiao Lin was shocked and angry.


    ¡°It¡¯s toote to regret now. You¡¯re no match for me, so are youing along or shall I kidnap you myself?¡±


    ¡°What does Asabanor want me to do?¡±


    ¡°Who knows.¡±


    ¡°Heh! His purpose is nothing more than to drive us humans out of this world. Do you think I¡¯ll help him? ¡±


    The dark elf chuckled softly as he fiddled with a short de in his hand. He was not in a hurry to make a move, which only showed that he was confident in bringing Xiao Lin away. In fact, he did not seem to mind chatting with Xiao Lin for a bit, because it was obvious that he was equally as curious about Xiao Lin too. ¡°Asabanor said that you¡¯re a man of God¡¯s gift. Show me how different you really are!¡±


    A strange light shed in Ibeiya¡¯s pupils when she heard those words. She turned her head to look at Xiao Lin, and as soon as her lips squirmed slightly as if she was about to say something, the dark elf no longer gave her any opportunity to utter a single word.


    The dark elf¡¯s speed was extremely fast and he had rushed before Xiao Lin in the blink of an eye. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s guard had been up for some time already, and the Holy Soul Sword was already raring to go right from the outset. He hacked down unhesitatingly, but the dark elf¡¯s movements were much quicker than he had expected. The trajectory of the it¡¯s attack changed mid-air, like a snake.


    The short de lightly shed across Xiao Lin¡¯s body, carving out a line of blood that bled out at once, staining the yellow sand. The dark elf stepped back slightly and easily avoided Xiao Lin¡¯s de, moving with exceptional agility throughout the entire process.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s body trembled violently and he staggered back a couple of steps. He was wearing a Bronze-rank chain armor that he spent more than a thousand New Dors on in Gold City, but it was as thin as paper against the dark elf¡¯s attack. The defensive power of chain armor was not as good as heavy armor, but few people wore heavy te armor unless it was for militarybat.


    The wound was not deep, and since Xiao Lin had his own self-healing ability, a cut of that level was unlikely to affect his movements. However, the dim blue glow on the opponent¡¯s de was still rather worrying.


    Sure enough, the dark elf did not continue to attack afternding a sessful blow. He simply said coldly, ¡°This short de of mine is named Dark Night. The toxins that are smeared on the de are collected from my hometown. You don¡¯t need to look at me like that. It¡¯s your lucky day today, because Asabanor wants you alive, so I temporarily reced the toxin with a paralytic agent. Although it¡¯s not fatal, you won¡¯t be able to wake up in the next two days.¡±


    Xiao Lin was immediately taken aback. He discovered that his vision was starting to blur, while his whole body became weak and even his strength to grip the hilt was quickly receding.


    With his blurry vision, he saw the dark elf walking toward him step by step, as if wanting to take him away.


    ¡°Uncle! You can¡¯t faint!¡± Ibeiya was aware of worsening situation and quickly supported the ditzy Xiao Lin. She desperately pinched his face, but to no avail. She turned angry before asking, ¡°What did you do to him!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Humans are unable to dispel the effects of our n¡¯s poison. Asabanor said that you¡¯re different too. In that case, you cane back with us too.¡±


    Ibeiya snorted coldly, and the expression between her eyebrows changed several times. All of a sudden, she seemed to have made up her mind. She opened her small mouth and bit down on her fair wrist. The force of the bite was so great that the little girl¡¯s face suddenly had a look of intense pain. Tears even began to well up in her eyes, but instead of letting go, she bit down even tighter.


    A few secondster, Ibeiya suddenly let go. The corners of her mouth and wrists were covered with scarlet blood, which trickled down her arms. She quickly shoved the hideous wound to Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth and whispered, ¡°Uncle! Hurry up and drink it! Hurry up! ¡±


    The dark elf had a look of disdain, but the scene took him by surprise. He stopped and waited quietly.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness was still hazy. He had to admit that the elves were incredibly proficient with those kinds of paralytic medications. He had seen it during the monthly exam, and could only me himself for not being prepared. The paralysis stemmed from his nerves and they directly cut off his facial features from the outside world.


    Amidst his blurry state however, he suddenly felt that there was some kind of cold liquid pouring into his mouth. It slowly trickled down his throat, into his lungs, as if being washed by a cold spring. The restlessness in his body gradually subsided too.


    It felt sofortable that Xiao Lin began sucking even more fervently. The cold liquid had a certain smell to it, but there was also a light fragrance and taste imparted in it. It tasted quite good, surprisingly.


    Gradually, Xiao Lin felt that his five senses were gradually recovering and his sight was once again restored. Then, he saw a pair of fair wrists, with strikingly obvious scarlet wounds. The gurgling blood made him understand what the strange liquid was.


    Ibeiya¡¯s eyes were still a little red, but once Xiao Lin was awake, she wiped her tears and said with joy, ¡°Uncle! You¡¯re all right!¡±


    ¡°Your hand! Your blood?¡± Xiao Lin understood what happened but was slightly confused at the same time.


    ¡°How interesting! The blood of the true ancestor, tsk tsk, this is really interesting! Asabanor was right, I really have to take both of you away!¡±


    The dark elf did not give Xiao Lin and Ibeiya a chance to chat. He tiptoed and immediately sped up again. Xiao Lin also pushed Ibeiya away too, then activated his Miracle state at once. He used the Phantom Steps to avoid the dark elf¡¯s full-speed attack and he did not dare to let the short de touch him again.


    ¡°Your speed is fast! But it¡¯s foolish topare speed with us elves!¡±


    The dark elf suddenly changed course midway through the attack. Compared to Xiao Lin, the dark elf¡¯s speed not only heightened, but his body was more flexible than first imagined. He twisted his body quickly in mid-air, as if he were performing gymnastics. His de technique was simple, but its angle was quite tricky, so much so that it would be difficult to dodge even if his Phantom Steps were pushed to its limit.

 Chapter 372: Fighting the Dark Elf

    <h4>Chapter 372: Fighting the Dark Elf</h4>


    Ruin!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze intensified. He had be more proficient with the Ruin state after using it several times. The prerequisite to enter the Ruin state was the Miracle state, after which he would have to put himself in a very angry mood.


    Upon returning to Gold City, Xiao Lin actually tried it several times by himself. It was actually difficult to keep himself angry at any time and any ce. After several attempts, he discovered that it was not just anger that could initiate Ruin, but any abnormal fluctuation of emotion was sufficient.


    Anger, sadness, excitement, were all possible.


    That way, it would not be as difficult as it was in the beginning. Aftering back from the edge of death, Xiao Lin¡¯s fear was much stronger in his heart. He knew very well that he would have been taken away by the opponent if Ibeiya had not helped him dispel the paralyzed state, and if that happened, it would not be easy for him to return.


    That post-fear feeling easily allowed him to enter the Ruin state. Pairing the explosive speed with the Phantom Step, he left a bunch of afterimages with almost every step he took. His body was as light as a feather, and the Holy Soul Sword felt weightless in his hand, allowing him to wield it as he pleased.


    The dark elf was a little surprised, but was not afraid to take the initiative to attack. The short de was not as powerful as the Holy Soul Sword, but he used a clever way to dodge most of Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks. If it were not for the Ruin state, his short de would have poked countless holes in Xiao Lin¡¯s body.


    The opponent was not that high a rank and was probably around Bronze, but his actualbat experience is very high. That was a chance that the opponent gave to Xiao Lin. Although Xiao Lin was no longer a rookie, his all-round experience was far inferior to his opponents. Furthermore, he felt that the dark elf was clearly not using his real strength to fight if Asabanor had indicated that Xiao Lin must be captured alive.


    Death was not something that Xiao Lin feared. He was actually within the coverage of the resurrection tower, and Xiao Lin could resurrect there. However, Ibeiya could not, and the dark elf¡¯s interest in her had clearly been aroused earlier. As suspicious as Ibeiya¡¯s identity was, Xiao Lin could not just leave her alone for the simple fact that she saved his life earlier.


    He had to win!


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate to activate Replicate. Although the dark elf used only the simplest of attacks thus far andcked powerful skills, it was not the active skills that Xiao Lin wanted to copy.


    [Subject to replicate: Dark Elf. Scanning initiated, skills to replicate: Footprint Mirage. Evaluation: E+. Replication: sessful!]


    Sure enough, this dark elf had a better body technique than the Phantom Step, called the Footprint Mirage. Xiao Lin had never seen that skill in Dawn Academy¡¯s curriculum, which indicated that it might only exist among the elves.


    The Ruin state could not be maintained for long and Xiao Lin estimated it to only be around five minutes. In addition to the duration of the Replicate skill, it did not give him a lot of time.


    The sudden change in Xiao Lin¡¯s footwork was quickly spotted by the dark elf. A look of disbelief shed in his handsome eyes, which then became rather gloomy.


    The Footprint Mirage was much higher than the Phantom Step, and if the Phantom Step was nothing more than abination of dozens of footwork, then the Footprint Mirage was abination of hundreds of footwork, whereby its changes were much more than the Phantom Step. The Footprint Mirage included changes in various parts of the body, such as the angle of attack, and it served both as an attack and a defense.


    The battle situation became even in an instant, but it onlysted less than a minute before the bnce of power was broken again. The dark elf¡¯s de speed elerated again, and his face seemed particrly angry. Xiao Lin understood that his opponent was beginning to use real power, and the most obvious change was the short de, which had since been imbued with shiny jet-ck aura. It was the lingering death energy.


    Dark elves could use the natural energy and death energy at the same time. Even though Xiao Lin was on the same level as him, the opponent¡¯s strength was far better and Xiao Lin clearly sensed the difficulty in resisting.


    He was still in the Ruin state, but only a few minutes were remaining. Once the Ruin state was undone, his ability to strike back would be even more diminished.


    Ibeiya was unable to do anything to help and could only stare anxiously beside him. Xiao Lin was anxious and nced at the space ring he was carrying. He knew that thest hope was Silverlight, but he received no response despite trying to enter it using his spirit from earlier on.


    Surely, the woman was not denying her debt to him at such a critical moment!


    Xiao Lin could not help but shout in anger, ¡°If you still aren¡¯t going toe out, don¡¯t me me for not taking you back to see your hometown!¡±


    Suspicion shed in the dark elf¡¯s eyes. After looking around and confirming that there was no other ambush, he sneered again and again. ¡°Tricks like these are useless against me. Your power is beyond what I expected, and the man with God¡¯s gift really is extraordinary.¡±


    Silverlight still did not give any response, so Xiao Lin swung the me Wave Sword again. In the Ruin state, the me Wave Sword set off mes in the sky, with a momentum that was akin to a huge rolling wave. The dark elf did not evade, but simply raised his hand with its back to him and sliced out with that short de. To Xiao Lin¡¯s surprise, the elf¡¯s motion had actually parted a huge gap in the middle of the mes.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart ran cold for a moment. The power of the me Wave Sword in the Ruin state had increased even by more than one or two grades, yet the opponent was incredibly rxed. It could only be chalked up to the fact that the opponent¡¯s strength was probably around Silver-tier.


    At the veryst minute, Xiao Lin tried his best to protect himself in the Ruin state, but once it disappeared, he could only let himself be trampled upon.


    Damn it! Silverlight did not give any signal even until then, and the woman even brought the ck knight away, which effectively meant that Xiao Lin could not even summon him.


    Nevertheless, there was time to regret all that. Xiao Lin racked his brains and thought of a way to turn defeat into victory at that point in time, but none of the skills he mastered could turn the situation around.


    Wait!


    Xiao Lin was briefly dazed. It was true that there was nothing he could do using the skills and courses he learned from Dawn Academy, but he nearly forgot that he had replicated the ck dragon¡¯s breath.


    ording to his understanding of replicating skills countless times, the residual memory of those skills still existed in his mind after each copying. As long as he still had strength, he could use it just as easily.


    The ck dragon Onyxia said that dragon breath must be used by the dragon n. Xiao Lin was not sure whether he could use it again, but it was already hisst resort. He had to give it a try and take advantage of the Ruin state¡¯s final moments, where his various attributes had been raised substantially.


    He used the Footprint Mirage to quickly distance himself from the dark elf. Although it was a little difficult to withstand the opponent¡¯s attack, he was barely able to cope with the opponent¡¯s strength as of right then.


    Xiao Lin then slowly raised the Holy Soul Sword. It was difficult for him to remember the specific use of the Dragon Breath Sword at that time, but he trusted that his body would remember the technique¡¯s feeling after using Replicate. What Xiao Lin did was none other than follow that feeling.

 Chapter 373: A Sword’s Power

    <h4>Chapter 373: A Sword¡¯s Power</h4>


    There were still a dozen or so seconds left before the Ruin state ended. Although his various attributes have reached their peak, Xiao Lin was vaguely able to feel the rapid post-peak exhaustion. It was hisst chance.


    The huge dragon breath began to condense quickly on the surface of the holy soul sword. The dragon race itself had many branches, such as golden dragons, ck dragons, red dragons, and so on. The breaths produced by different dragon races were different, although Xiao Lin¡¯s dragon breath was copied from the ck dragon Onyxia, what showed up at that moment was a colorful and lustrous one that did not seem to belong to any kind of dragon race.


    The arrogant look on the dark elf¡¯s handsome face gradually disappeared and was reced by horror. He then had a solemn look as he reached out and unbuttoned the gray robe on his body. After taking it off, he finally revealed his true face. Those pointed ears wear the most prominent feature of the elves and he was wearing the elves¡¯ signature armor.


    Circr gray ripples fluctuated rapidly all around his body, and Xiao Lin understood that his opponent was finally getting serious. However, it was too little toote, as the power of the Dragon Breath Sword was stronger than he had imagined. Although he was following the memory and feeling of his body¡¯s skills to instinctively execute each movement, the truth was that such powerful dragon breath shocked him to the core.


    The feeling was akin to a person lost in the rough seas. All that person would feel was their own insignificance. Dragon breath gave people the same feeling, and even Xiao Lin was trembling slightly when he held the hilt of his sword. Rather than feeling fear or dread, it was purely the instinctive reaction of the body when facing the dragon¡¯s might.


    The Dragon Breath Sword was created by modeling dragon breath after sword aura and executing it using a weapon. Compared with the might of true dragon breath, the Dragon Breath Sword had greater flexibility and higher actualbat value.


    Xiao Lin just gently shed the de in the direction of the dark elf, without using any fancy sword skills. He did not even aim or look, and it was just a very simple swing of the sword. The weapon became extremely heavy due to the dragon breath attached to the sword, and his swinging movement became extremely slow.


    There was a trace of contempt on the dark elf¡¯s face, but when the majestic dragon breath fell down like a huge wave, he realized that the sh could not be avoided at all and could only be defended from the front.


    Rumble!


    The dragon breath was amplified in an instant after it had been released, fanning outward in a jet-like manner and leaving no room for the dark elf to avoid once they reached it. The multicolored dragon breathpletely engulfed him in an instant, and the light in front of them suddenly reached peak brightness, as if watching an exploding star at close range.


    Both Ibeiya and Xiao Lin could not help but close their eyes. The continuous sound of a huge explosion continued to ring in their ears and their eardrums were buzzing. Meanwhile, the invisible dragon power prevented their bodies from moving in a short amount of time.


    When the light gradually dimmed, the buzzing in their eardrums gradually subsided. Xiao Lin opened his eyes and his pupils shrank sharply. In front of him was a huge fan-shaped crater. The rest of the waves stretched for at least a few miles, covering almost the entire area. Not a single de of grass remained, and the power was so strong that Xiao Lin was nearly traumatized by it.


    As for the dark elf, his figure was nowhere to be seen. Ibeiya had the guts to rush forward and quickly retrieved a few pieces of armor-like fragments. She was absolutely stunned to see that those fragments were the only thing left by that elf in the face of the Dragon Breath Sword.


    Xiao Lin wanted to take a look at it, but he felt his entire body¡¯s strength disappear the moment he stretched his legs. His legs were powerless to support his body, and his whole person became very weakened. Ibeiya¡¯s eyes and hands were quick and she hurriedly went over to let Xiao Lin fall on her body.


    Xiao Lin raised his hand and discovered that he did not even have the strength to hold the sword. With a bang, the Holy Soul Sword fell to the ground and shattered to pieces, leaving him absolutely stunned. It was only the realization when Ibeiya picked up one of the sword¡¯s fragments and gave it to him that he saw something which left him absolutely speechless.


    The sword¡¯s de was densely covered with web-like cracks. That Bronze-rank sword had been with Xiao Lin and experienced numerous battles. Its quality was good too, so it came as a surprise that it would break all of a sudden.


    Xiao Lin fell silent. He understood that it was due to the Dragon Breath Sword earlier. The power of that sword could not even be withstood by the weapon itself, and he knew very well that his own body would not have been able to withstand it if his attributes were not explosively increased by the Ruin state.


    Even then, Xiao Lin¡¯s physical strength waspletely exhausted after swinging that sword. With the Ruin state lifted and the after-effectsing all at once, his condition could be said to have reached a severe overdraft, although the effect was actually rathermon for Xiao Lin. Whether it was the Ruin state or the Miracle state, the price of repeated use was an overdraft on his body.


    However, the intensity of his exhaustion at that moment was truly unprecedented, and that feeling was nearly the same as dying. Ibeiya wanted to say something, but Xiao Lin waved his hand, indicating that he did not want to speak at all. His only thought was to have a good sleep.


    After closing his eyes, Xiao Lin¡ªwho struggled to keep his eyelids open¡ªfell into aa after a few seconds. Ibeiya shook Xiao Lin¡¯s body vigorously, but soon came to realize that Xiao Lin could not possibly wake up even if the sky fell.


    Ibeiya pursed her lips. She was feeling a little angry and helpless. Although the dark elf had been killed, Asabanor still knew their whereabouts and they were notpletely safe yet. It was as yet unknown if anyone else was waiting for them again.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Ibeiya finally sighed and carried Xiao Lin by his arm. She staggered a couple of steps and felt that it was very inconvenient, so she simply carried Xiao Lin over her back and walked strenuously across the depths of the desert. ording to their original n, they were supposed to reach the town and enter Dawn Academy¡¯s sphere of influence.


    ¡°You¡¯re too heavy, Uncle!¡±


    Amidst her constantining and muttering, their silhouettes slowly faded from view. After ten or so minutes, a gray figure appeared there and looked silently at the huge fan-shaped pit remaining on the ground. He then squatted to pick up a few pieces of armor. After a while, he grinned to reveal an ugly smile. The dark elf¡¯s death did not make him feel any horror or sadness. Instead, he was somehow reveling in the dark elf¡¯s demise and his expressions suggested that he expected the oue. His cold and deep voice then echoed, ¡°Hmph! How interesting! This is really interesting! Now then, will the dark elves stay out of the way now? I¡¯m going to see how Dawn Academy deals with it!


    ¡°You demons. Sooner orter, I¡¯ll drive all of you out of this world!¡±

 Chapter 374: Waking Up and Going Back

    <h4>Chapter 374: Waking Up and Going Back</h4>


    Ibeiya carried Xiao Lin and walked forward with a stagger in the desert. Her pace was not that quick, but her vampire bloodline gave her a decent enough physique that would not tire her. At her current speed, she would surely be unable to reach the destination before dark. Ibeiya looked worriedly at Xiao Lin, who was sleeping like a dead pig.


    She knew very well that the territory was regarded as belonging to the orcs even though Dawn Academy had established a town there. It had only been ceded to Dawn Academy after the war, which meant that it would still be subject to sporadic harassment from time to time.


    Upon hearing some dense hoofbeats clopping on the ground, Ibeiya was nervous at first, but soon breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the cavalry¡¯s figure amidst all that sand. It was a scout cavalry from Dawn Academy, and it was likely that Xiao Lin¡¯s Dragon Breath Sword was so powerful that it attracted the attention of people around. However, since those people were from Dawn Academy, it also meant that Ibeiya and Xiao Lin were safe.


    ...


    Xiao Lin slept deeply, but it was not until the next day that Ibeiya realized that Xiao Lin¡¯s exhaustion was not as simple as it looked. It was not something that he could recover from just by sleeping, especially when the local healers came to Xiao Lin and fed him several mouthfuls of high-level medication, all to no avail. Ibeiya was told that Xiao Lin¡¯sa was not a trauma.


    In fact, even though Xiao Lin suffered minor injuries during the battle with the dark elf, the dragon blood¡¯s influence allowed him to heal automatically after such a long time.


    What really kept Xiao Lin from waking up all day was hisck of spirit. It urred only under very severe overdrafts, and it did not necessarily ur even in a life and death situation. The therapists were very confused and asked repeatedly, but Ibeiya¡¯s words were vague and half-hearted. Even if those people belonged to the Dawn Academy, she was smart enough to know when to say something and when to keep her mouth shut.


    Xiao Lin¡¯sasted for two days, and many of the healers experimented using various methods. Once there was nothing else that they could do, they were prepared to bring Xiao Lin back to the capital of Dawn City for inspection by more powerful healers.


    When the third day came and everyone was ready to set off early that morning, Xiao Lin woke up suddenly. Since it happened without warning, those who had been preparing for the journey looked as though they had seen a ghost. They then hurriedly called the rest of the people.


    Xiao Lin felt that his spirit was in good condition. His body was filled with energy and he felt better than ever. Ibeiya, who was crying tears of joy, flew directly into his arms and kept rubbing her fair and tender face on his shoulders.


    Of course, the reason Xiao Lin felt good was not because of what Ibeiya was doing. Even though Xiao Lin was quite embarrassed due to the enviable eyes all around him, he did feel that he was very physically very strong. He even felt light when he walked. He remembered that using the Dragon Breath Sword in the Ruin state brought a tremendous load to his body, causing him to pass out. After waking up again however, the exhaustion waspletely wiped out.


    Based on the clothes and words of the people nearby, Xiao Lin could easily determine that they were hisrades. After pushing away Ibeiya, he managed to elicit the details of his situation.


    The town he was at was located in the border area between Dawn Academy and the orcs, but rather than calling it a town, it was much better to consider it arge-scale outpost. Although there were civilians inhabiting it, they were mostly rtives of soldiers and the town¡¯s main purpose was for the military.


    With towering city walls and forested defensive towers, the cecked the dazzling array of small merchants and vendors that were present in town. Instead, arger number were cksmiths selling various different kinds of weapons.


    ¡°I slept for two days?¡± Xiao Lin was obviously shocked after hearing Ibeiya¡¯s words. The aftereffects of using the Dragon Breath Sword were so tremendous that it took him two days of sleep topletely replenish his overdrawn body.


    ¡°Have you met anyone else on the road?¡± Xiao Lin originally wanted to say the name Asabanor, but he closed his mouth and changed it to something less obvious. He trusted that Ibeiya would understand what he was talking about.


    ¡°No, but I met a Big Sis on the way and she brought us back.¡±


    ¡°Big Sis?¡± Xiao Lin was feeling somewhat speechless about Ibeiya¡¯s penchant of acknowledging people as her sister. He just had to be the one who was always referred to as uncle.


    ¡°Huh? You actually woke up?¡±


    ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s her! She said she¡¯s your superior.¡±


    Ibeiya suddenly pped her hands and called out. Xiao Lin looked in the direction of the speaker and it turned out to be the heavily-armed Yu Mei striding over to him. Xiao Lin was not too surprised, as he had a rough idea of who it was when Ibeiya mentioned the person being his superior.


    The only person whom he could rightly refer to as his superior was the Sixth Regiment¡¯s Major, Yu Mei.


    Yu Mei walked closer and scanned Xiao Lin¡¯s body for a long time. She then patted him on the shoulder, then nodded and said, ¡°Well, it looks like you¡¯re alright, but we can¡¯t stay here for too long.¡±


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t you think you should give me an exnation first?¡± Xiao Lin quickly stopped Yu Mei after seeing her about to walk away.


    ¡°Exnation? What exnation do you want?¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth and looked at the soldiers around him again.


    Yu Mei waved her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re all the dean¡¯s people.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood and was no longer worried. He then asked bluntly, ¡°What¡¯s up with that arrest warrant?¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you do know about that. Well, I¡¯m here to arrest you and bring you to justice!¡±


    ¡°What!¡±


    ¡°Haha! Major Yu, don¡¯t scare him!¡± Someone joked next to him.


    Yu Mei curled her lips. ¡°Just kidding. Okay, I¡¯ll spare you the jokes. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re here to escort you back to Dawn City safely. The people in the military department wouldn¡¯t dare to take you.¡±


    ¡°Does the dean know?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s why I came here. But it was really hard to find you. I went from Wildfire Town to Gold City and practically flipped Silver Province upside down these few days. But it looks like my prediction was right. You did choose this path to return.¡±


    When Yu Mei said that, she nced at Ibeiya and raised her brows before saying with a smile, ¡°I was worried about you, you know. But you seem to have been enjoying yourself during this period. Tsk, tsk. You even hooked up with a little Lolita. Where did this girle from? You abducted her, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No! Uncle is a good person!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. A good person.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked helplessly at Yu Mei¡¯s suggestive smile. He felt that there must have been some misunderstanding.


    Their brief chat did notst too long, and soon the team of more than ten people continued to set off. However, the carriage originally prepared for Xiao Lin was no longer needed after he woke up. In addition to Yu Mei, there were several other people joining them on the road. Xiao Lin did not know who they were, but he chose to trust them since they were the dean¡¯s people.


    Yu Mei¡¯s n obviously did not include Ibeiya, but it was not safe to leave that girl near the outpost as she might be harassed by the orcs at any time. As a result, she was brought along, and three people were specifically assigned to Ibeiya for the purpose of protecting that delicate-looking girl at all times.


    Meanwhile, Xiao Lin and Yu Mei were in the forefront, making it abundantly clear that Yu Mei did not want certain conversations to be heard by any strangers.

 Chapter 375: Conflict Between The Dean And The Military

    <h4>Chapter 375: Conflict Between The Dean And The Military</h4>


    Even though Xiao Lin was sure that he was safe for the moment, he was still full of misgivings that needed to be resolved. Yu Mei was obviously using the most suitable pieces of news at that moment to give him an exnation, and when Xiao Lin pressed for more, Yu Mei interrupted him, her voice low and her tone suppressing the fire of anger.


    ¡°The dean is injured.¡±


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes, almost eximing in shock, but he quickly suppressed the urge. He felt like he was making a big deal out of nothing. To those of them from Earth, injuries were really not a big deal. Even if they did not have perfect medical capabilities, when faced with injuries that were hard to cure, they could just revive themselves by dying. Xiao Lin believed the dean¡¯s lifespan would not miss a mere twenty years.


    However, Yu Mei¡¯s face told him the situation was not that simple. She had a deeply worried look. ¡°Things aren¡¯t so simple. The dean¡¯s injury was dealt to his soul. You should understand how the resurrection towers work. You can revive yourself after you¡¯re dead, but nothing can be done about the soul.¡±


    ¡°Is it simr to what happened to Song Jung?¡± Yu Mei¡¯s words lead to Xiao Lin recalling a good example. Department Head Song had once been a Gold-ranked expert, but right now, he had been relegated to just Bronze. It was obvious that the problem could not be solved by resurrecting.


    Yu Mei gaped before nodding. ¡°That¡¯s right. I forgot you had a good rtionship with Department Head Song. Indeed, even if we can resurrect, resurrection isn¡¯t omnipotent.¡±


    ¡°Who did it? Is it the military?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re not that brave. The current assant is still unclear. Even internally, our opinions differ.¡± Yu Mei sighed. ¡°The arguments are getting quite heated right now. Some say it was done by the orcs, and others say it was done by Judge Academy.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Yu Mei¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°However, even if the military didn¡¯t do it, they can¡¯t escape all responsibility either. Dawn City¡¯s security had always been handled by them. It¡¯s impossible for an agent of that caliber to sneak inside without their help!¡±


    ¡°What about my arrest warrant?¡±


    Yu Mei smiled. ¡°You¡¯d have to thank the dean. Originally, the upper ranks of the military were very stubborn and forceful with how they nned on dealing with you, but after this happened, the military was probably feeling guilty. They took a step back with this. The arrest warrant has already been cancelled before I left Dawn City, so you can rx.¡±


    Determining that the dean did not issue that warrant assured Xiao Lin, but he still had something on his mind as he asked, ¡°Who made the decision regarding Wildfire Town?¡±


    Yu Mei fell silent for a moment, smiling bitterly as she said, ¡°It was the military as well. You should understand how valuable Lilith is to Judge Academy. In their eyes, exchanging your life for Lilith¡¯s was a very good deal.¡±


    It really was as Xiao Lin expected, but that did nothing to assuage his anger. The only person he knew in the military was the captain of the sixth regiment, Yu Mei. He had never even met the rest of them, let alone had the chance to offend them. Yet, that group of schemers set him up with countless obstacles as attempts to kill him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too angry. You are actually just a fish that was identally caught up in the. The conflict between the military and the dean isn¡¯t something recent, and you just happened to get caught in the crossfire. The more the dean looks kindly upon you, the more they would want to suppress you. You weren¡¯t supposed to know any of this right now, so this can be counted as a failure on our part!¡±


    ¡°I feel like I need to understand more. At the very least, I should know who I¡¯m up against.¡± Xiao Lin suddenly felt a headache, suddenly understanding why the dean did not even pay any attention to an impossibly rare SS-rank talent like his during the opening ceremony in the academy. The dean had probably already what kind of consequences special attention would bring. It was just that the dean could not help but change his ns due to certain circumstancester on.


    After that, Yu Mei gave him a simple exnation of the conflict between the military and the dean. To be more urate, she gave him an overview of Dawn Academy¡¯s internal conflicts in the recent decades.


    The current dean was appointed by his predecessor during the war against the orcs. It was also due to his impressive performances during the war that led to the dean¡¯s power having an effect on the entire academy, even after the war.


    In the beginning, there were norge issues since the entire academy had to work together to rebuild after the war, but Judge Academy went through a meteoric rise during that period, using their peaceful surroundings to expand rapidly. The rtionships between the academies had never beenpletely friendly. They had plenty of hidden fights among them, and Judge Academy had obviously posed thergest threat to Dawn Academy¡¯s position.


    The conflict started to build during that time, centered around the future direction of Dawn Academy. At the time, the internal conflicts were massive, and were primarily split into two factions.


    The dean¡¯s faction wanted to pressure the orcs even more. Even though the orcs lost the war, the dean felt like a second war against them was inevitable if they were allowed to recover.


    That suggestion faced a lot of objection from the military at the time. Thanks to them recruiting arge amount of new students into the war effort, the casualties were immense. The military felt like it was pointless to continue that kind of war. Instead, they felt like the rapid development of the other academies, including Judge Academy, posed a greater threat to their territories.


    The military suggested giving aid to the orcs and even the elves, building up Dawn Academy¡¯s political power in various ces in order to use the natives to go against the other academies. From there, they could slowly expand Dawn Academy¡¯s territories.


    In truth, both factions had the growth of Dawn Academy in their hearts, but with the passing of time, wars on Norma began to stop, yet their differing opinions only caused a widening gap between themselves. It slowly even turned into a power struggle, and was now at a point of no return.


    Some felt like the dean had too much power and was aiming to be a dictator, while those on the dean¡¯s side felt like the military were trying to control too much, and might be aiming for a military government. Everyone was civilized, and naturally understood that, no matter in what world, a dictatorship or a military government were not good options. This sort of internal conflict had already turned into a regr matter at Dawn Academy, and to this day, the dean had maintained the advantage.


    ¡°So you¡¯re also part of the dean¡¯s faction, aiming to pressure the orcs?¡± Xiao Lin said half-jokingly.


    Yu Mei red at him. ¡°Of course! I only believe in one thing: the only good orc is a dead orc!¡±


    Xiao Lin recalled that Yu Mei¡¯s grandfather had been imprisoned by the orcs during the war, his status unclear to this day. Yu Mei¡¯s grudge was quite understandable. Xiao Lin also understood that he was definitely being treated as one of the dean¡¯s people right now, even if he found it hard to say which side had the better n from a purely objective standpoint.

 Chapter 376: The Evening News

    <h4>Chapter 376: The Evening News</h4>


    ¡°What happened this time is even more troublesome. Lilith¡¯s matter caused a lot of anger with Judge Academy. Asabanor was already enough to cause Judge Academy some headache; with these things added into the mix, our diplomatic department is going crazy.¡±


    ¡°What does the dean think about Asabanor¡¯s matter?¡±


    ¡°He obviously wants to quell it quickly. Working together with Judge Academy was also only possible thanks to the dean.¡± Yu Mei¡¯s face slowly turned dark. ¡°It¡¯s a pity those stubborn old coots stirred up this mess!¡±


    There was no way to know if the military¡¯s resistance was due to having good intentions toward Asabanor or just purely to oppose the dean, but no matter what, Judge Academy and Dawn Academy had lost most of their trust in each other after Wildfire Town.


    Talking as she walked, Yu Mei¡¯s expression was solemn throughout. Probably noticing that Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed the whole way, she rxed herself, saying softly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think too much. You still don¡¯t have to be concerned about all this. You¡¯ll be fine as long as the dean is around. The dean will probably do something after what¡¯s happened too.¡±


    Yu Meiughed coldly, but did not expose what they would be doing, only asking Xiao Lin to hurry back to the academy after he returned. At the very least, the military did not have any power within the academy, so Xiao Lin would be absolutely safe there.


    Yu Mei had some questions for Xiao Lin as well, which he chose to answer only a portion of, such as the native talent holder in Silverlight Lake and the mixed-blood orc Hammerhead.


    As for Silverlight¡¯s status as a descendant of Antis, as well as the shard given to him by Onyxia, he said nothing. It was not that he did not trust Yu Mei, but the information was too sensitive, so it was not the ce to say.


    He could not hide Ibeiya either, even though he had his doubts about the status of that girl. Xiao Lin clearly remembered during their fight with the dark elf that the elf said, ¡°Blood of the true ancestors,¡± but Ibeiya had helped them a lot in their journey. Whatever the ¡®blood of the true ancestors¡¯ was, it had saved Xiao Lin¡¯s life, so he made sure to give her a few good words when he brought up that girl to Yu Mei.


    ¡°If it¡¯s possible, let her stay in Dawn City,¡± Xiao Lin said tactfully.


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you had that kind of a hobby.¡± Yu Mei rolled her eyes, not waiting for Xiao Lin to exin before continuing, ¡°This won¡¯t be easy to do. Dawn City is our capital. Even though there are a lot of peopleing and going everyday, you¡¯d need to grow through a strict investigation in order to stay there for the long term, especially after what happened with Asabanor. The checks will be even more strict. It¡¯ll be impossible to stay in the city for those without a clear background.¡±


    ¡°Then are you saying we should chase her away?¡± Xiao Lin obviously could not ept that result.


    ¡°There¡¯s another option, which is to hand her to me,¡± Yu Mei said.


    ¡°Hand her to you?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was obviously wandering as he measured Yu Mei with a suspicious look. He turned around to look at Ibeiya, and the girl immediately waved at him excitedly. That cute girl was absolutely capable of ying both men and women.


    ¡°What are you thinking about!¡± Yu Mei red at him angrily. ¡°I mean let her join the sixth regiment. Our regiment needs people anyway. Anyone we can recruit is good!¡±


    ¡°Is that appropriate?¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°If she really is someone from the Rosa Kingdom, then you don¡¯t have to worry. Just leave it to me.¡± Yu Mei seemed to already have a n, but she did not want to reveal everything at that moment.


    The way back to Dawn City was quite smooth, even though they went through orc territories. Everything was within the jurisdiction of Dawn Academy, and thanks to Yu Mei¡¯s captain status, they immediately got the help of the local guards when they got closer to the city.


    After six days, they finally reached Dawn City. There seemed to be added security outside the city walls. Patrols could be seen roaming the streets, but they were not around because of Asabanor. Instead it was due to the dean¡¯s injury. The dean was attacked in the outskirts of the city, but the fact that an attacker could infiltrate their territory so deeply was already cause for mor.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s return was very low key. Yu Mei did not even bring him back to the army camp. She immediately led Xiao Lin back to the spatial carriage the moment they went into the city.


    Norma is currently a troublesome ce, and your strength is still not at a good enough level. Go back and study properly!¡± Those were Yu Mei¡¯s final words to Xiao Lin. She did not even give him the chance to privately say goodbye to Ibeiya before hurrying him back to the academy.


    After half an hour in the golden Timesand, he opened the carriage. Looking at the blue skies in the academy, Xiao Lin paused for a good moment. He did not feel it before, but after spending so much time on Norma, he felt unused to being back.


    His return did not cause any effects at all. Even the student union president did not make a move. It was half a month since he left the academy. He would asionally meet someone familiar on the road and greet them. Xiao Lin did not head straight back to the dormitories. Instead, he went to the lounge and picked up a copy of the Dawn Academy Evening News to read.


    Since he rushed back, there were a lot of things he did not have the time to properly understand before being forced into the spatial carriage by Yu Mei. Even if the happenings on Norma did not affect the academy that much, a lot could still appear on the evening news. Just as he expected, the headline was about the attempt on the dean. They even used some shocking red words, basically covering the entire page. The incident was described very simply, basically the same as how Yu Mei exined it to him.


    The second page offered some views on the assassination attempt. The words within caused Xiao Lin to furrow his eyebrows more and more. The paper had used very straightforward words, using several academies of nning this attempt, including the Royal British Academy and Judge Academy.


    While it was a reasonable conclusion, since looking at it from an unbiased point of view, it was not a stretch that Judge Academy would retaliate in anger and humiliation after what happened with Lilith.


    However, after the spection, the news very subtly pointed out that the reason the Royal Academy and Judge Academy would dare to move so openly in Dawn Academy¡¯s own territory was due to the wrong decisions in governance within the academy in thest few decades. They used the academy of spending too much manpower and resources on keeping the orcs in check,pletely neglecting the threat of the other academies.


    Even though they did not name anyone outright, it was obvious to anyone with an understanding of the inner workings of the academy. The news report was on the dean¡¯s side, denouncing the assant on the surface, but in reality, saying that the attempt on the dean was entirely his own doing!


    Without a doubt, the one who wrote that piece was from the army. Xiao Lin clenched his teeth as he read it. Even though he was not very close to the dean, some people were worth trusting even after meeting them just once. Xiao Lin absolutely trusted the dean with this matter.


    In contrast, the military had not only used Xiao Lin to get at the dean, they even tried to use him to kill Lilith. Just those things alone were enough to incur Xiao Lin¡¯s disdain.

 Chapter 377: Preparing For The Tests

    <h4>Chapter 377: Preparing For The Tests</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mood was obviously bad after reading the news. He even had an urge to go confront the dean for information. However, he quicklyposed himself. The dean was in the New World. Whether he would meet Xiao Lin or if he even could was something Xiao Lin did not know.


    Just like what Yu Mei had said to Xiao Lin, with Xiao Lin¡¯s current level, stepping into the conflict between the upper levels of the academy was still too early. He did not have the strength to do so.


    Yu Mei sending him back like that was to protect him. Xiao Lin finally sighed,posing himself as he continued to read the news.


    The Dawn Academy Evening News was always split into two sections: the New World section and the Academy section. The New World was undoubtedly filled with news about the attempt on the dean, while the internal academy section¡¯s biggest topic behind the dean was the Inter-academy Tournament.


    Xiao Lin was familiar with that. He had already heard about the tournament held by all the academies from An Fumin and Song Jung; it was considered a sh of power between all the academies.


    The Inter-academy Tournament was only half a year away, so Dawn Academy had naturally already started their selection process. The selection process was different in every academy, and Dawn Academy used voluntary sign-ups, nominations by teachers, and achievements in battle as the three primary selection criteria.


    There would be six representatives chosen from the first years. Even though monitors were normally considered stronger than other students, they would still have to eliminate half of the twelve monitors. The academy also hoped that everyone would get an equal opportunity, which was why they also put voluntary sign-ups and achievements in battle into consideration.


    Xiao Lin looked at the deadline for signing up and realized that the deadline was in three days. He was shocked, and silently thankful that he returned right on time. If he had any doubts about it when Song Jung and An Fumin brought it up, he was currently certain that he needed to sign up for the tournament now.


    Returning to his room and switching on hisputer, he filled up his information for the sign-ups, but the moment he tried to submit it the system told him he had already been nominated and therefore did not need to register. Xiao Lin was shocked. He now understood what it meant by nominations by teachers. He had not been in the academy recently, and the academy obviously did not wish for their overall strength to drop just because he failed to register.


    In truth, all twelve of the ss monitors were automatically nominated, and none of them could reject it. The academy took a firm stance with that, signifying how important the Inter-academy Tournament was.


    After resolving it, he then used his privilege as a monitor to look at his ss information. The first thing he did was look at Gu Xiaoyue. Just as he expected, the girl had also reached ck Iron-rank. She was also nominated for the Inter-academy Tournament, making her the only one who was nominated that was not a ss monitor.


    Even though he missed thest monthly examination, Xiao Lin still checked everyone else¡¯s results. From the forth examination onward, the monthly examinations were usually on a moderate difficulty¨Cnot too difficult, but not too easy. The fourth examination saw ss Seven¡¯s results in the middle of the pack. Other than Gu Xiaoyue, Zhou Feng and a few others obtaining A-grades, most of them maintained Bs or Cs.


    ncing over the forum discussions about the monthly examination was sparse. Everyone had already turned their attention to the Inter-academy tournament. It was obvious that almost everyone was very interested in it. Other than the monitors, those who wanted to participate all registered themselves, even though a lot of them knew their chances were miniscule.


    The Inter-academy Tournament was an honor in the academy. The rewards were naturally never skimped on. Although the academies had yet to announce the prizes, it was without a doubt that it would be generous. It would also be extremely beneficial to have such a tournament within their personal profiles in the future. That was what everyone was going for.


    Xiao Lin then looked through the current course schedules. It was already the fifth month since they stepped into the academy. All basic courses had already been concluded. There would be tests for various subjects at the end of the month, and the tests would be used to calcte their credits. Those who failed would not be able to gain any credits, and those without sufficient credits would not be able to advance their years.


    Basically every year had students that were held back, and the numbers were not small, especially among the first years. Even if the school had quite rxed criterias for advancing grades, there would still be a group held back every year. Those that were held back would not be treated as regr students.


    They would not need to attend sses on the same schedule as regr sses, so they could be said to have a great degree of freedom, which was why Xiao Lin rarely met any of them. However, they also faced a lot of pressure, since those who were held back needed to pay certain fees inpensation. If they still could not pass after a period of time, they would possibly be expelled back to Earth or be assigned to the branches on Earth, never able to head to the New World.


    What surprised Xiao Lin was that there were even repeat students who registered for the Inter-academy tournaments. Even though they had low potential, they still had an extra year of study under their belts, giving them morebat experience. To a certain degree, it showed that the twelve monitors were not a shoe-in to be selected.


    ¡°It looks like I¡¯ll need to make sure I pass my tests first.¡± Since graduating from university, tests had been a foreign concept to him. Xiao Lin had never been very good at tests either. He was originally not too worried, but thinking about it, he might be absolutely confident in anything to do withbat. Things like Normese history, the Normesenguage and Normese geography all needed to be tested on paper, which were still a problem for Xiao Lin.


    Thinking about it, Xiao Lin immediately gave Gu Xiaoyue a call. He believed that the girl who diligently took down notes every ss would be able to help him. Regretfully, his call was hung up on before it even went through. He called a few more times in disbelief, but was hung up on every time.


    After a few minutes, Xiao Lin received a message. ¡®I¡¯m studying in a ssroom. It¡¯s not convenient for me to answer the phone.¡¯


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched. It was the weekend, so there were no sses. A good student like Gu Xiaoyue would naturally not waste any time and study by herself. He understood that much, but the girl could absolutely have gone out of the ssroom to answer the phone. She obviously just did not want to answer his call.


    Xiao Lin was speechless for a moment before replying her message with ¡®Which ssroom are you in? I¡¯ll look for you.¡¯


    ¡®...¡¯ Gu Xiaoyue replied with some ellipses.


    Xiao Lin continued to reply. ¡®Hurry and tell me! Otherwise, I¡¯ll look for you in every ssroom!¡¯


    ¡®...¡¯ She replied with ellipses once again.


    After a few minutes, Gu Xiaoyue finally replied with a few words. ¡®ssroom Four, Area A.¡¯


    Xiao Lin replied with a smiley face, but Gu Xiaoyue ignored him.

 Chapter 378: Revision

    <h4>Chapter 378: Revision</h4>


    Dawn Academy¡¯s ssroom areas were basically designated based on years. Area A mostly belonged to the first years. Xiao Lin took over half an hour to get to ssroom Four since he had stopped to take a shower and change his clothes before that. He had been constantly on the move since getting back to Dawn City, and had not had the time to rest since then.


    Using his student ID to open the ssroom door, he saw that ssroom Four was a veryrge lecture theater, capable of fitting almost two hundred people. In the ssroom, a heat-regting formation ensured that the environment was always at afortable temperature. The floor was also made with a special soft material to reduce the sounds created when walking, so the ssroom was very quiet.


    The ssroom was almost full of students. Even though they could just study in their own rooms, it was quite useful to study in such an environment. With an environment like that, even theziest person would not be able to hold back from reading.


    asionally someone would look up and notice Xiao Lin, and all of them would have a shocked look on their face, opening their mouths as if they wanted to say something. However, they would consider their current environment and bury themselves back in their books. Xiao Lin did not know that many people, but most of the first years knew who Xiao Lin was. On top of that, he routinely went to the New World, and each trip he made wouldst at ten days to half a month, painting him as quite a mysterious figure that many gossiped about.


    What Xiao Lin did not know was that even a lot of the students in the upper years knew who he was. Of course, most of them just knew who he was out of curiosity.


    Gu Xiaoyue had noticed him from the moment he opened the door. She pursed her lips and hesitated before finally getting up, giving him a re as she walked past Xiao Lin, then headed out of the ssroom with Xiao Lin in tow.


    ¡°I would have shouted for you if you didn¡¯te out,¡± Xiao Lin said amusedly.


    ¡°Speak, what do you want?¡±


    After so many days of not seeing each other, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s personality was as obstinate as ever. Xiao Lin said in annoyance, ¡°I haven¡¯t been around for so long, why aren¡¯t you asking me where I went? Or even asking what happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you have anything you need from me?¡±


    ¡°Forget it...¡± The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched before he went straight to the point. He was there to borrow her notes, but even though that was what he said, Xiao Lin could not admit to himself that it was the whole reason. It was possible he just wanted a reason to talk to Gu Xiaoyue.


    His reason did lead to some disbelief from Gu Xiaoyue. After deliberating for a bit, she said, ¡°The notes are with me, and I can give them to you, but do you think you have enough time?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The written tests are starting tomorrow, don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°I just got back,¡± Xiao Lin said in frustration.


    Following Gu Xiaoyue back to the ssroom and epting a few thick notebooks, Xiao Lin was shocked at the neat handwriting. Gu Xiaoyue really was very earnest andprehensive. Even though there was a lot of content, Gu Xiaoyue managed to arrange them to make a lot of sense in her own way.


    That day would be fully utilized for revision, even if Xiao Lin himself had some doubts if he would seed in cramming so much at thest minute. However, once he started, hepletely forgot his doubts, focusing entirely on the notes. The atmosphere around the ssroom had likely influenced him.


    Once it got to the evening and closer to dinner time, students started to leave the ssroom. Gu Xiaoyue was also feeling tired after revising for the whole day. When the ssroom was beginning to get empty, she got up and prepared to leave as well, but she noticed that Xiao Lin, who was next to her, did not make any movements. She furrowed her eyebrows in thought before sitting back down, her notes were all with Xiao Lin, so Gu Xiaoyue could only stay behind if he did not move.


    Another half an hour passed just like that, and the sky outside had turned dark. The automatic magical lights around the ssroom began to light up. Basically everyone had already left. Only Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were left.


    Gu Xiaoyue was quite patient, not saying anything herself, nor did she remind or disturb Xiao Lin. At the start, she just continued flipping through her notes without any expressions on her face. She asionally nced over at Xiao Lin, and slowly the coldness in her eyes turned into curiosity.


    Xiao Lin was flipping through the pages way too quickly. At the start, he still needed a few minutes for each page, but now he only needed a little over ten seconds per page. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he went through ten lines with just one nce.


    Common Language of Norma, History of Norma, and Geography of Norma were threepulsory courses. After four months, each course¡¯s contents would be equal to a thick notebook. However, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes on the subjects took up at least ten to twenty notebooks.


    Originally, Gu Xiaoyue did not think anything about Xiao Lin wanting to look at her notes, so she did not even tell him which notebooks were more important. That was because even she did not think Xiao Lin would be able to memorize everything in just one short day.


    However, the books piled in front of Xiao Lin were getting less and less by the minute. Gu Xiaoyue finally could not hold back, and her low voice broke the silence of the room. ¡°Are you really reading?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s suspicions were only met with silence, but she quickly noticed that Xiao Lin was not intentionally ignoring her. He was just so engrossed in the notes that he was ignoring everything around him.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not get angry. Instead a wry smile appeared on the corner of her mouth as she used one hand to support her jaw, quietly looking at Xiao Lin for a moment before finally averting her gaze, moving back to her own notes.


    Xiao Lin did not notice anything that Gu Xiaoyue had done. He waspletely submerged in the sea of knowledge. Xiao Lin hated memorization work in the past, but when he applied that knowledge to Norma, vibrant scenes formed in his head and seeped into his brain. The dry information slowly became more and more interesting.


    As the day gotter, as engrossed Xiao Lin was, his body still started to feel pangs of hunger. The rumbling of his stomach finally caused Xiao Lin to snap out of his trance. He slowly stretched his body, raising his head only to see the lights around the ssroom as well as the darkness outside. Gaping for a moment, he immediately took out his phone. It was already past eight o¡¯clock.


    That caused Xiao Lin a lot of surprise, but he looked at Gu Xiaoyue, whose expression was the same as usual. He suddenly realized something and hurried to say, ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue kept track of time very well. With the normal schedule of the first years, it was already past the time for the dormitories to be locked. Not everyone had the freedom to move around like Xiao Lin.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s cool expression caused Xiao Lin to be unable to read her mood. She asked, ¡°Are you finished?¡±


    ¡°I still have a little left.¡± There were still three notebooks by Xiao Lin¡¯s right hand. After that, he let out a shocked expression. More than ten books to his left were all already read by him.


    ¡°Are these what I¡¯ve read?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s shock led Gu Xiaoyue to be speechless.

 Chapter 379: Free Food At The Logistics Department

    <h4>Chapter 379: Free Food At The Logistics Department</h4>


    Even Xiao Lin was shocked by his revision speed. When he tried to test it out, he was even more shocked to notice that he really did remember everything in the notebooks. A memory like that was absolutely astounding.


    Xiao Lin thought about it, thinking about his Academic Genius skill. Ever since it was raised to LV2, he had gotten a lot of hidden benefits from it. That sort of studying ability might not mean much for now, but it was definitely useful for the long term.


    ¡°By the way, how do you have so many notes? I remember we only have three courses.¡± Recalling the contents he memorized, Xiao Lin noticed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes were a little excessive.


    ¡°Some of them are just my thoughts after reading some books from the library,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said calmly.


    ¡°You¡¯re the true academic genius!¡± Xiao Lins lips twitched. She was obviously unsatisfied with what the lecturers taught in ss. He believed that Gu Xiaoyue was the only one who did that in the entire year.


    It was already veryte. Even if Xiao Lin had the freedom to move around the dormitory as he chose, he could not help but face an awkward question. The dormitory¡¯s buffet dinner had already ended, and Dawn Academy did not have anywhere to buy some snacks from. Even if Gu Xiaoyue did not seem to mind starving for a night, Xiao Lin could not bear to let her do so, especially if the cause was himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Logistics Department!¡± Xiao Lin decided with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°Logistics Department?¡± Gu Xiaoyue blinked in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s Department Head Song Jung¡¯s ce. He has quite a bit of food there,¡± Xiao Lin introduced enthusiastically. Of course, he made the decision to be sure that Gu Xiaoyue would not eat any foods of dubious origins.


    Song Jung was quite isted from the rest of the academy, so it was natural that Gu Xiaoyue did not know him, but she definitely heard of the man before, so she nodded in agreement.


    As they walked to the Logistics Department, Song Jung was fortunately there. Song Jung was up to his usual antics, feeding his hybrid animals when they arrived. He was not surprised at Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance, mentioning that he had already received news of Xiao Lin¡¯s return yesterday, but he was surprised that Xiao Lin brought a girl over.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue? The youngest magic prodigy?¡± Song Jung naturally had long since heard of the girl who had the highest ever base intelligence score. He measured her with his gaze.


    Even the normally cold Gu Xiaoyue could not help but blush at Song Jung¡¯s praise, lowering her head as she said, ¡°No, I¡¯m still far from that!¡±


    ¡°Far? No, trust me, your future aplishments will be immeasurable!¡± Song Jung¡¯s face was serious, but after that, he used an alluring term to say, ¡°To tell you the truth, I have a lot of things that can help you raise your intelligence faster. How does that sound? Would you like to be a magical goddess? If you be my guinea pig, ah no, I meant as long as you be my partner, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re sessful!¡±


    Xiao Lin rubbed his head, letting out an exasperated sigh. Song Jung was still up to his old tricks, actually trying to use his experiments on Gu Xiaoyue. That was not right, so he hurriedly tried to advise Gu Xiaoyue, but Xiao Lin saw a hint of sadness on her face.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I don¡¯t have a future.¡± The sadness disappeared as Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face turned back to normal. The girl always had a strong facade around outsiders, but Xiao Lin slowly understood that she might just be trying to protect her fragile heart. The girl did not have much time left, so discussing the future with her was an extremely cruel thing. Even if Gu Xiaoyue had the talent, if nothing changed, she would not be able to live that long.


    ¡°Department Head Song, do you have any normal food around here? We revised toote into the night and missed dinner.¡± Xiao Lin quickly avoided the awkward topic.


    ¡°Revision? That¡¯s right, your tests are approaching. Speaking of which, are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Song Jung said as he motioned for them to sit down. He said he would cook them something as a weing dinner for Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin could not rx and followed him over. He understood Song Jung¡¯s habits, so was worried that Song Jung would slip some sort of new hybrid inside.


    ¡°I¡¯ve more or less read through everything I need to.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not just consoling yourself?¡± Song Jung did not mind Xiao Lin following him, and he lowered his voice. ¡°I actually have a way for you to quickly improve your memory. Would you like to try?¡±


    ¡°Hold it! Whatever method it is, I won¡¯t try it!¡± Xiao Lin said, alert. The man really wanted to trick him again.


    ¡°Your position as the ss monitor might be threatened if you don¡¯t pass and end up being held back,¡± Song Jung advised unhappily.


    ¡°I thought your hybrids only work on those that are lower than ck Iron-rank, I¡¯m already at that. Would it really work on me now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re underestimating me. My techniques are constantly changing. Even with your current rank, I have ways to increase your attributes!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s forget it...¡±


    That sort of conversation was quite normal between the two of them. Song Jung quickly noticed that Xiao Lin seemed to have a heavy heart, so he smiled and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you still thinking about the New World?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head. He had thought things through. Even though he was still concerned about the dean and Asabanor, the current him could not impact anything in the New World. He was still not at a high enough level. If he tried to right now, he would just trap himself.


    After thinking for a moment, Xiao Lin asked with hesitation, ¡°Department Head Song, have you ever drank the school¡¯s Lifewater?¡±


    ¡°Of course, as long as you¡¯re from Dawn Academy, no one would dare say they¡¯ve never died. Even the dean would not be alive now if not for Lifewater.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked around, making sure Gu Xiaoyue was not in the vicinity, but he still whispered with worry, ¡°Then is the effect of Lifewater absolute?¡±


    Song Jung furrowed his eyebrows, asking in confusion, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What I meant is, are they any special circumstances that would lead to your lifespan not increasing after drinking Lifewater.¡±


    Song Jung paused. Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s serious expression, he turned serious as well, ¡°So long as you drink Lifewater in the boundaries where it would be in effect, I¡¯m very sure that kind of thing¡¯s not possible!¡±

 Chapter 380: Accident After Dinner

    <h4>Chapter 380: ident After Dinner</h4>


    Basic Lifewater targeted those who had less than 100 years of lifespan. In that boundary, Song Jung was extremely certain that it would work.


    Xiao Lin did not relent and continued, ¡°Could there be quality issues? Like fakes?¡±


    Song Jung rolled his eyes. ¡°Lifewater¡¯s manufacturing process is a huge deal for every academy. Even though there are some who manufacture fake goods to scam the Normese for their money, Lifewater is something that involves life and death. No one would dare do so.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s words only made Xiao Lin even more suspicious. ¡°If Lifewater really had no effect on someone, what could the reason be?¡±


    Song Jung half-jokingly said, ¡°Are you trying to say your lifespan did not increase after drinking Lifewater?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me.¡±


    ¡°Are you really not joking?¡±


    ¡°Department Head Song!¡±


    ¡°Fine, when did Gu Xiaoyue drink Lifewater?¡±


    ¡°It was during... When did I mention Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    ¡°Please, even an idiot can tell what you¡¯re thinking with that expression!¡±


    Song Jung stopped smiling, furrowing his eyebrows as he asked, ¡°Lifewater never fails to work, that I¡¯m certain of. If it really did not work like you said, why did Gu Xiaoyue not look for the student union? If it¡¯s a quality issue, the academy would definitely investigate andpensate her.¡±


    Xiao Lin actually could not understand that as well. Why did Gu Xiaoyue never mention it to anyone. He said impatiently, ¡°That¡¯s why I said it¡¯s not Gu Xiaoyue... I¡¯m not discussing the student union with you, I just want to know how that could happen.¡±


    Song Jung did not bother addressing his denial. He rubbed his chin, walking around in thought, ¡°Lifewater was created by Ivanovich, and went through many years of perfecting, so it¡¯s not possible for it to have any ws.¡±


    ¡°Could it be something wrong with the body? For instance, some special constitution or talent that causes Lifewater to not be effective?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Even Ivanovich tested it back then. Could there be any talents more special than an SS-rank one? As long as it¡¯s someone from Earth, no matter how bad their constitution or what their talent is, Lifewater will be effective!¡± Song Jung¡¯s tone was very certain, but at that moment both his and Xiao Lin¡¯s expressions changed as they went silent.


    ¡°Is she from Earth?¡± Song Jung¡¯s expression was a little strange, as if he was joking, but there was a seriousness in his face as well.


    ¡°Of course! She¡¯s definitely from Earth! I¡¯m very certain!¡± Xiao Lin remembered Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister on Earth. Both of them looked like Earth humans no matter how you looked at it. Logically speaking, no one had ever heard of Normese natives making it to Earth either.


    ¡°To be frank, it¡¯s best you tell the academy about it. Some things might not be as simple as you think.¡± Song Jung had lost all trace of his joking tone. It was obvious the possibility meant it had to be escted to the academy.


    ¡°If you do that, I¡¯ll nevere back here!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s answer struck like a hammer.


    Song Jung felt helpless. He had to admit that Xiao Lin was a test subject that was second to none. He hesitated for a long time before agreeing with a sigh.


    Xiao Lin hurriedly thanked him, but at the same time, he silently cursed. Song Jung really did view him as an important test subject.


    The topic stopped there. Xiao Lin wisely did not pursue the topic after not getting any results. He chose to believe in Gu Xiaoyue. No matter what, he did not believe that girl could be a Normese spy sent to disrupt the humans. That sort of thing only appeared in dramas.


    Dinner was quite simple with only a few vegetable dishes. The logistics department might be full of food, but only very few had no harmful effects. Gu Xiaoyue did not seem to mind, and with Xiao Lin¡¯s heavy thoughts, he did not have the appetite for anything anyway.


    What caused Xiao Lin to be even more frustrated was Song Jung using a carefree tone to ask about Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s family life on Earth. He knew that Song Jung had basically guessed that he was referring to Gu Xiaoyue. Thankfully, Song Jung was someone who could be trusted, despite his other character ws. Since he promised Xiao Lin, he would definitely not report it to the academy.


    There was not much to say about her family. It was just her and her sister since they were young. As for her parents, even she was not clear who they were.


    Song Jung seemed unconcerned at failing to get the answer he expected. After the dinner, Gu Xiaoyue got up and motioned to help them tidy things up. Gu Xiaoyue had a basic sense of respect for the department head in front of her. Since she ate there, she made sure to not owe anyone anything.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, just leave it. Since Xiao Lin brought you over, you¡¯re a guest. How could I let my guest help me tidy up!¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s generous tone led to a strange look on Xiao Lin¡¯s face. When he came over to eat, he had to do everything himself from cooking to washing the dishes. He had never seen Song Jung be so sincere.


    ¡°Let me do it.¡±


    ¡°No no, you just sit down!¡±


    Song Jung was ying the part too far, and Gu Xiaoyue was obviously not willing to let a department head help her wash her dishes. In their struggle, Song Jung¡¯s tes shattered on the ground. Gu Xiaoyue apologized and immediately knelt down to pick it up, Song Jung then hurriedly stopped her, picking up the shards himself.


    The two of them frantically busied themselves. Once the broken tes were thrown in the rubbish, Gu Xiaoyue raised her hand, revealing a wound on her finger; it hade from the tes just now.


    Even though Gu Xiaoyue was already at the ck Iron-rank, most of the girl¡¯s attributes were centered around her intelligence, so her body was on the weaker side, and a cut like that was enough for her to bleed.


    Xiao Lin red at Song Jung and got up to look for something to bandage Gu Xiaoyue. The girl did not have his recovery speed after all. However, before he could even make a move, he suddenly saw the trace of a smile on Song Jung¡¯s face. Looking at the shattered dishes in the rubbish bin, his eyebrows twitched.


    There were a few drops of blood there. Xiao Lin thought of something. He opened his mouth to speak and just sighed instead. He probably needed some answers himself.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s finger was quickly bandaged, and Song Jung apologized before sending the two out. Xiao Lin and Song Jung exchanged a nce when Xiao Lin left, seeming to understand something, yet also seeming to understand nothing.

 Chapter 381: Before The Tests

    <h4>Chapter 381: Before The Tests</h4>


    Xiao Lin did not hurry to rest after he got back to the dormitory. He had borrowed the few notes that he did not finish reading on the way back, and Gu Xiaoyue agreed immediately.


    ¡°Have you already finished reading all of it?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but ask.


    ¡°Unlike you, I don¡¯t cram everything at thest minute. I started studying half a month ago. Actually, a lot of the contents might not be tested, so you didn¡¯t have to read everything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. The knowledge will be useful on Norma eventually.¡± Xiao Lin did not mind. After being to the New World twice, Xiao Lin noticed that hecked a lot of basic knowledge. Strength alone was not enough on that.


    When they reached the entrance to the dormitory, Gu Xiaoyue hesitated before asking,  Norma, is it that nice?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. He noticed a faint trace of longing on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s beautiful face. Xiao Lin could not stop himself fromughing.


    Gu Xiaoyue said in anger, ¡°Are you mocking me?¡±


    ¡°No, no.¡± Xiao Lin hurriedly waved, his face earnest. ¡°I was just shocked to see that even you have things you long for. You know, you used to look like you wished for nothing.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue turned away, not saying a word.


    She was actually getting angry.


    Xiao Lin said exasperatedly, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s ignore that for now. Norma really is quite a nice ce. With your skill, you¡¯ll get there eventually.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have filthy thoughts like you men do.¡± Gu Xiaoyue knew why a lot of them went to Norma.


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or to cry. ¡°There definitely are people like Chen Dao, but let¡¯s ignore him. Even if you disregard that, the ce is beautiful. The magical scenery there could probably only be found in movies or novels on Earth.¡±


    A sh of hope could be seen on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face before it reverted to her usual look. She nodded subtly before grunting in acknowledgement, not continuing the conversation.


    Xiao Lin was a little unhappy. It was rare he got the chance to chat with her. He looked up to see the shrouded moonlight, smiling as he said, ¡°The moon is quite nice today. Let¡¯s just stay and chat.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes. ¡°There are tests tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ve already finished your revision? Were you lying to me?¡± Xiao Lin deliberately challenged her.


    Gu Xiaoyue was a little angry, but eventually sighed as she nodded almost imperceptibly, basically agreeing.


    The space the academy was inpletely mimicked Norma, so there were also two moons there. However, the moonlight did not make for much of a conversation topic. Xiao Lin understood that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s inner thoughts could not be as cold as she outwardly portrayed. She was also lonely, but she never wished for anything by herself. Gu Xiaoyue needed someone she could talk to as well, and Xiao Lin just happened to be the best choice.


    Xiao Lin was not someone who was good at making conversation, but since Gu Xiaoyue mentioned Norma, he decided to tell her about what he saw during his two trips to the New World. He was very attentive, and Gu Xiaoyue was quickly engrossed in his stories. She would asionally throw a question or two out, but most of the time she just listened.


    Time quickly went by, and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice could be heard again. ¡°It¡¯ste, we should go back.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the time; it was almost midnight. He had never slept sote in the academy before. Shocked at how fast time flew, he could not help but regretfully end the conversation.


    Using his special student ID, he opened the dormitory gates. It was quiet during the night, and they were not worried about being seen. When they reached the where the male and female dormitories were divided, Xiao Lin suddenly softly eximed, ¡°Gu Xiaoyue!¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Gu Xiaoyue turned her head.


    ¡°You¡¯ll live on! No matter what, I won¡¯t let you die in two years!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was stunned. Xiao Lin turned around and left after saying that. He did not need to say anymore, but those words were of his own determination. No matter what, he would not let Gu Xiaoyue die in two years.


    He could not do that by himself, but thankfully he had Song Jung around. Thinking about the traces of blood in the logistic department¡¯s rubbish bin, Xiao Lin sighed. He hoped that Song Jung would be able to unravel this mystery for him.


    ...


    The next day was Monday, which was when the freshmen would take their first ever tests. The results would directly affect their credits. Based on Dawn Academy¡¯s rules, new students still had a chance to retake their tests for free if they failed the first time. If they failed again, they would be held back a year, which would require points as payment. If they failed twice after being held back, then the student would be sent back to Earth with their memories wiped, never to return.


    That was why everyone who wanted to go to the New World worked as hard as they could for these tests. Even being held back meant they would not have the chance to go to the New World in two years, and they would also need to pay for the expensive school fees. It was impossible for a number of them.


    When Xiao Lin walked into the cafeteria at seven, he saw a lot of students with breakfast in one hand and reading a book in the other. He had only seen a sight like that during his examinations on Earth. It was obvious they were all forced into that. Xiao Lin even saw Cheng Ming scratching his head nearby, his face looking like he had consumed poison as he studied. His pained expression caused Xiao Lin to walk over.


    Even though Cheng Ming was considered very strong as the monitor for ss One, even considered one of the top students of their year, the man who was close to thirty was not very good at studying. He had openly said so before, and it seemed like it did not improve much in the few months here.


    Cheng Ming did not even notice when Xiao Lin sat in front of him; it took Xiao Lin knocking on the table lightly for Cheng Ming to look up and exim.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s expression was as if he had seen a ghost, causing Xiao Lin to momentarily regreting over. Cheng Ming¡¯s shout caused half the cafeteria to look over, stirring up a wave of discussion. The cafeteria that was originally silent suddenly roared.


    Xiao Lin was considered quite a legendary figure among the first years. Of course, it did not refer to his skill, even if the third monthly examination had left quite the impression on a lot of them. New students naturally grew the fastest. Even though Xiao Lin was the first to reach ck Iron-rank, Chen Dao, Cheng Ming, Gu Xiaoyue and some others quickly followed.


    There was only one reason everyone cared so much about Xiao Lin, which was that he had been to the New World twice.

 Chapter 382: Combined Test

    <h4>Chapter 382: Combined Test</h4>


    Everyone worked their hardest in training and attending ss, and every month, they had to go through an intense monthly examination. All that was for the purpose of going into the New World. Just like what the dean had said during the opening ceremony, countless treasures were awaiting then. However, there was already someone who could go to the New World as easily as having lunch, so it was hard to avoid their jealousy.


    Xiao Lin disappeared for half a month, missing the monthly examination again because he was summoned to duty in the New World. That was no longer a secret among the first years, and now he appeared in front of them like nothing had happened.


    A lot of students took the initiative to greet Xiao Lin, since anyone could see that Xiao Lin definitely had some sort of background, so building a good rtionship with him was not a bad thing. Even a few monitors came over to greet him, but if everyone were to talk to him, then he might not even make it to the testster.


    That was why he left hastily with his breakfast after talking to Chen Dao, leaving behind a dumbfounded Cheng Ming, who did not even manage to talk to Xiao Lin at all.


    The test was held in arge hall that was near the ssrooms. They actually went there for the opening ceremonies as well. It was the only ce that could fit in the entire cohort.


    Therge hall still had plenty of space left, even after the whole year sat inside. Before they went in, the student union members who were in charge gave them some instructions. As the academies that colonized the New World, their testing system had some differences from that of Earth.


    In front of every seat in the hall was a small miniatureputer. The students only needed to swipe their cards there to validate their IDs and the testing would start. The test was scheduled for eight in the morning. Quite a few students were discussing among themselves in low voices a few minutes before the test. Their books had all already been confiscated and there was a meter¡¯s distance between everyone.


    The hall was bright inside. Other than the sunlight that pierced through the transparent ceiling, Xiao Lin also noticed some robotic sparrows flying around at fixed distances, drawing quite a few curious gazes. A lot of discussion could be heard about the strange things.


    The student union had already announced the basic information about the test on the forums, so everyone knew that the sparrows were some kind of refined object that was used to catch cheating, but it still attracted everyone¡¯s curiosity and interest.


    However, a forceful voice suddenly resounded across the entire hall. ¡°Silence! Everyone quiet! The tests will be starting soon. Anyone who speaks will be punished strictly!¡±


    The one who spoke was Professor Dai who taught Normese history. He used a voice projection spell to send his voice to every corner of the hall. The man, who looked quite young, was actually a strict professor. Xiao Lin might not have attended many of Professor Dai¡¯s sses, but he knew that no one dared talk during Professor Dai¡¯s sses. Those who dared were always shut up with silencing magic.


    Not long after Professor Dai spoke, there were still some students who wanted to challenge him. A faint sound could be heard, and several streaks of green lights danced in the air. After that, the few who were talking suddenly found themselves unable to make any sound. Those who had attended Professor Dai¡¯s sses all smiled at themselves, none of them daring to challenge Professor Dai at the time.


    There were over ten teachers invigting the test, and the one in charge was Professor Dai, who had the most experience. After the few silencing spellsnded, the hall waspletely silent. Once eight o¡¯clock hit, the test proceeded to start.


    Since they usedputers for the test, none of them had prepared any pencils. The test would only show the next question after the current one was answered, and questions that had already been gone through could not be edited. Even if you noticed a mistake after submitting the answer, you could only curse yourself for being unlucky. That rule caused quite a number of students to curse.


    However, the academy had their own thoughts behind it. They felt like every decision made in the New World needed to be done with the utmost deliberation. Changing decisions after putting the n into motion would definitely cause unnecessary losses, which was why they wanted to cultivate the habit into the new students.


    The three basic courses for the new students were history, geography andnguage. All three courses would be tested at the same time, which meant that this paper would cover the contents of all three courses. If a student failed the test, they would need to retake all three courses.


    The test was quite organized, starting with multiple choice questions which were not that difficult, merely testing some basic knowledge. Xiao Lin had no trouble with those, but the number of questions were quite staggering. There were over a hundred multiple choice questions, arranged in the order of difficulty. Thanks to it being multiple choice, some of them would just rely on guessing.


    However, the academy would obviously not let them off so easily. The multiple choice questions were not disyed in any Earthnguage, but rather, in Normese. The entirety of the multiple choice questions were in Normese. Those that were not that proficient in Normese could only stare in disbelief.


    After that was an even more horrifying array of two hundred questions. The questions were quite simple, and were written in Normese as well. The answers were usually just a phrase or two, or maybe one or two sentences. This time, there were no answers to guess with, and bitter sounds of misery could be heard in the hall. Finally, someone could not hold it back and tried to look around, but a sparrow started to emit an rm on top over his head very quickly. A teacher immediately walked over, coldly shutting down that unlucky person¡¯sputer. The teacher ignored the student¡¯s pleading and brought him out of the hall.


    He would definitely need to retake the test, and it also served to warn the others against doing it. After that, not one even dared to raise their head, only focusing their attention on the monitor in front of them.


    To Xiao Lin, the questions were not difficult at all. He had his doubts before, but it only took him a whole day of revision to deal with it. Academic Genius really was not a talent that was just for show. All of the information he gained from yesterday¡¯s revision was still in his head. More and more, he could feel how strong his talent was.


    Of course, what caused Xiao Lin to be surprised and happy was that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes were quiteprehensive. In truth, only the first hundred questions were things that were taught in the ssrooms. After that, the questions started to go past the scope of their lectures, and the answers were all in books that could be found in the library.


    It was obvious that the academy wanted to encourage the students to look beyond their sses for knowledge, but Xiao Lin knew that a lot of them were definitely cursing the academy in their hearts. Fortunately, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes also greatly exceeded the scope of what was taught in the sses.

 Chapter 383: Written Tests Done

    <h4>Chapter 383: Written Tests Done</h4>


    The questions went from easy to hard the same way, but the difficulty was not just from the questions. Since the questions were all written in Normese, the answers needed to be in the samenguage as well. As a foreignnguage, being able to read it did not mean one could write it, and even if one could write it, it did not mean the grammar was correct.


    A lot of students faced the awkward problem of knowing the answer but not knowing how to convey it. As for those questions that exceeded what was taught in ss, the words used were often hard to understand phrases, leading to quite a few who could not even understand the questions and just giving up on them.


    Xiao Lin still maintained a rtively fast speed of answering. Even though he missed a lot of sses, thanks to him being on Norma for quite some time, his Normese was not bad, and probably better than most of the students in his year. The best way to learn anguage was to spend some time overseas where thenguage was native. That concept applied to Normese as well.


    Thest question was an essay question. There was only one question, which was very littlepared to the hundreds of questions before that. However, after looking at the question, Xiao Lin could only smile bitterly.


    The topic: ¡®Based on Norma¡¯s history and current climate, what measures of governance should be taken to solidify and elevate the academy¡¯s position, as well as expand the academy¡¯s territories.¡¯


    Xiao Lin licked his lips; that question was quite a bomb. The governance of Dawn Academy was something only someone at the rank of the dean could consider. Even the student union would probably grasp as straws, let alone them being first years.


    However, it was precisely because they were new students that they could speak without any influence. It could even be because they understood very little, and stillcked understanding of the situation on Norma. Some might even say the students were naive, but it was also possible they could give ideas that no one else thought of.


    Xiao Lin saw through the point of the question. It was obviously the result of the military¡¯s struggle with the dean. New students represented the future of the academy; they might want to know what train of thought was moremonly epted among the new students.


    Xiao Lin could not make any headway even after thinking for a while, so he bitterly smiled and shook his head, continuing to ce his attention on the question itself. The question was actually easy to answer, but answering it well was hard. Even graduates might not be able to answer it.


    Xiao Lin definitely had an advantage for this question. He had been to New Washington and Dawn City. Though he might not have seen the whole world yet,pared to the other students¨Cwho could only learn from books and teachers¨Che definitely had the advantage. However, he did not rush to start, since it was impossible to change his answer after he started.


    Xiao Lin closed his eyes and thought, remembering everything he experienced on Norma. After over ten minutes, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath, picking up the specialized pen before he started to write quickly on the screen. Since they were writing in Normese, he was not very fast, but if someone looked at his opening sentences, they would be so shocked their jaws would drop.


    ¡®I believe that there will definitely be arge-scale war in the future on Norma. This war would not only involve every race and native on the New World and every academy, it could even pull our homnd Earth into the mix...¡±


    After writing a few sentences, Xiao Lin paused for a moment with a bitter smile. He could already imagine what sort of reaction the person marking his answer would have. He would definitely be called an rmist, which was why Xiao Lin had always only dared to think about it, but never share his opinions. Another way of looking at it was that Xiao Lin had no evidence to back his spection. After all, he had only enrolled over four months ago.


    However, since this question was open-ended, Xiao Lin let go of any reservations. He believed his answers in the earlier sections were almost perfect, if notpletely perfect, so even if this section had a very high score, it was unlikely it would cause him to fail.


    The entirebined test started at eight o¡¯clock, and ended at noon,sting a long four hours. It was definitely intense for a lot of them who had left school a long time ago. Xiao Lin¡¯s speed of answering the initial questions was quite fast, but since he answered every question while the rest of them chose to give up on quite a few of the questions, coupled with the fact that Xiao Lin had given a lot of thought to the final question, everyone¡¯s pacing was pretty much even.


    Theputer immediately shut down when the clock hit noon. Those who did not finish answering were not allowed to continue. A wave of anguish could be heard in the hall, but more students walked out calmly. Groups of students gathered outside the hall, and just like on Earth, a lot of them would gather together to discuss the answers and the test in general after the matter.


    Since Xiao Lin sat toward the end, he left the hallter, but he was immediately surrounded by a group of people and was greeted warmly.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, I didn¡¯t get the chance to talk to you in the cafeteria just now. How do you think you did?¡±


    ¡°I heard you were on Norma for over half a month. You probably missed a lot of sses.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, I think the student union will definitely put your special circumstances into consideration.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of that, did you bring anything fun back from the New World this time?¡±


    ...


    There were very few new students who did not recognize Xiao Lin now, but what they envied was the fact that Xiao Lin had already been to the New World twice. They tried to get some news about the New World from Xiao Lin. He had entertained a few questions at the start, but he started to get too tired to respond.


    There were also some students who talked about the earlier examination with him on the way back to the dormitory, but they were mostly the other monitors. The freshman year leader had actually not been picked, so thepetition between the monitors was still not at an end. They might warmly talk to each other on the surface, but they were actually gaining information about their rivals.


    He finally got back to his room, and the unending questions finally stopped. After the test ended in the morning, the academy took their fatigue into consideration and allowed them to rest in the afternoon. However, the tests for the basicbat courses started tomorrow. Those who were not confident in their skills could not help but make full use of the free afternoon to train.


    Xiao Lin waspletely not worried about the basicbat courses. After the written test, he had already thoroughly rxed. He believed that it was impossible for him to be held back by mere basicbat courses.

 Chapter 384: Swordsmanship Test (1)

    <h4>Chapter 384: Swordsmanship Test (1)</h4>


    The results of the written test would be announced in a week, and Xiao Lin nned on rxing during the afternoon. After all, he had only returned from the New World yesterday, and was immediately thrust into a full day of revision followed by a whole morning of testing, so his mind was quite fatigued.


    He took the chance to log onto the forums. Most of the topics were discussing the test from that morning. The multiple choice and simple questions were nothing to talk about; everyone¡¯s attention was on the final essay question. There was even someone who used his connections to the upper years to obtain the answer.


    That was right, the question was definitely not only formed that year. There were a few earlier batches who also had simr questions, but in truth, the state of Norma was constantly changing, so old answers might not be useful. A lot of them understood that, but they were still interested in seeing what the answers were for the past years.


    Xiao Lin opened up the thread; it was from the most recent batch who had that question, which was eight years ago. The thread said it was the answer of the student who scored the highest in that year.


    Xiao Lin skimmed over the contents, but could not help but twitch his eyebrows. The answer was quite aggressive. The student imed that the resources on Norma were limited. With the continued expansion of the colonist poption, the conflicts between the academys would grow by the day until an internal war someday explodes. That was why Dawn Academy needed to prepare itself, even possibly making the first move, to seize the advantage.


    Of course, that was an opinion that was from eight years ago. Xiao Lin felt like that student had definitely long since graduated. Who knew where they were assigned. No one knew how many people would have that thought process in the current Dawn Academy.


    Xiao Lin sighed, closing the forums before giving Song Jung a call. He wanted to know if there were any new developments with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s blood that he obtained yesterday. However, he did not get any answers as Song Jung yed dumb, as if nothing had happened. He kept the topics fixed on Xiao Lin¡¯s tests.


    Xiao Lin was exasperated, but he raised thest essay question, yfully saying, ¡°Department Head Song, how would you answer that question?¡±


    ¡°Oh, interesting, they really did throw that question to you new recruits. Did you know? The fourth year graduates also got the same question today.¡±


    This caused Xiao Lin some surprise, replying, ¡°Does it have something to do with the military and the dean?¡±


    Song Jung fell silent for a moment before smiling. ¡°That has nothing to do with you. How did you answer it? Forget it, I don¡¯t have to ask you. I can just get your test paper from the student unionter.¡±


    To someone with a backer like Department Head Song, getting the answer sheets of new students was not something hard. Song Jung then gave some advice, telling Xiao Lin to make sure he would do well in thebat tests. However, Song Jung more or less knew that Xiao Lin¡¯s current skill would not face any troubles during the second day¡¯s tests.


    The only thing that led Xiao Lin to be a little worried was that he probably had the most tests to take after this.


    ording to the school regtions, each student needed to test for everybat course that they enrolled for. What Xiao Lin picked before was Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Body Technique, Basic Endurance, Basic Meditation, and Basic Perception, so he needed to take five tests.


    The rest of the students did not have nearly as many tests as him. Most of them only had two or three courses. Of course, Xiao Lin would also obtain more credits because of that.


    This time, Xiao Lin woke up early as usual. The first test of the day was Basic Swordsmanship. After arriving at the training hall that the test was scheduled to be in, he was surprised to find that the examiner was not the professor woman who taught them, but a grizzled-looking man. They were also a few strangers behind him that Xiao Lin was sure were not lecturers.


    ¡°I heard they¡¯re from the army,¡± Cheng Ming said, suddenly appearing next to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Military? Since when could they interfere with academy business?!¡± Xiao Lin expressed his shock. He looked at the men in front of him before suppressing his voice.


    ¡°I heard from sophomore year leader Chen Yu that the military seems to view our batch very highly, which is why they sent their own instructors to test us. This is a good thing. The stricter the test is, the more we can show our skill!¡± Cheng Ming obviously did not see through what was actually happening, so his fighting spirit was ignited.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched, sighing as he refrained from exining. The trip to the New World this time had revealed a lot to him, such as how the academy and the colonial territories did not share a governing body. The academy could be said to be the dean¡¯s territory, so the military could not easily interfere, but now had they sent people in so easily, Xiao Lin could not help but be worried for the dean¡¯s injury after the assasination attempt.


    As for the test itself, Xiao Lin remained calm. He was quite confident in his own skills.


    Since there were quite a number of students in Basic Swordsmanship, the school had arranged for a few training halls to be used to disperse the numbers and have things move faster. Every student would have to draw out a card which would state which training hall they would test in. The rest of the students who were not involved could only wait outside. The test itself was not allowed to be viewed by the public.


    Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming chatted away and moved forward, getting ready to draw their card. However, his hand was in midair when it was caught in a death grip, the strength behind it causing him to gasp. Raising his head, he realized it was the man who was in charge of the test. His face was expressionless as he asked, ¡°You¡¯re Xiao Lin?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not...¡± Xiao Lin immediately denied it.


    ¡°Huh, aren¡¯t you ss monitor Xiao Lin?¡± He was betrayed by those around him.


    ¡°Are you him or not?!¡±


    ¡°Fine, I am.¡± Xiao Lin red at the innocent bystanders who sold him out.


    ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t have to draw your number. We¡¯ve already heard about your skill, so you just need to walk in to be tested,¡± the man said with a cold look. It seemed like he was praising Xiao Lin and giving Xiao Lin special treatment to the others. Chen Dao of ss Twelve even voiced his displeasure at that, since he believed that he was not weak, so he demanded special treatment as well. He was ignored, however.


    ¡°Can I reject?¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°Of course, everyone has the chance to forfeit their test, as long as you¡¯re willing to retake the course.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face turned cold. Now he was definitely sure that this group of examiners were here to cause him trouble.

 Chapter 385: Swordsmanship Test (2)

    <h4>Chapter 385: Swordsmanship Test (2)</h4>


    The military had plenty of reasons to make Xiao Lin¡¯s life hard, such as the fact that Xiao Lin was someone who the dean looked favorably upon, or even the fact that Xiao Lin had foiled the military¡¯s plot to kill Lilith just recently. Basically, no matter how one looked at it, the military currently had a lot of bones to pick with Xiao Lin. Even if they knew his skill meant the tests would not be an issue, they probably wanted to make it so he would not have it that easy.


    Everyone else cast curious gazes over; some of them had realized the officials did not seem to have good intentions, but the other party¡¯s status meant they could not interfere as new students. A few of them who had a decent rtionship could not help but feel some worry, and there were also some who just wanted to watch the show, of course.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Xiao Lin greeted Cheng Ming and a few others with a smile as he followed the officials into the training hall. Since they did not allow spectators, they closed the door behind them.


    The training hall was empty, and there were six officials including the male from outside, split into five men and one woman. Even though they were wearing casual clothes, the aura they exuded was hard to cover up. It was the sort of aura that only appeared after tremendous amounts of experience in battle.


    Even just sitting there with their observant gazes intended to make Xiao Lin feel morefortable radiated the feeling that the officials could spring into battle at any moment. It was an innate trait that could only be cultivated through bitter battles.


    Despite the fact that the military was trying to make his life hard, the ones present in front of him were not people he could underestimate. Xiao Lin immediately got serious, but even so, he still maintained utmost confidence in himself.


    ¡°You are Xiao Lin?¡± The question repeated itself, but it served to show that the ones in front of him did not know who Xiao Lin was at all.


    Xiao Lin nodded.


    The officials exchanged nces, their hands grasping thick books. What was on the books should be the basic information on every examinee. Of course, vital information such as their talents were definitely out of their clearance.


    ¡°The information states that you are already at ck Iron-rank.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Normally in the academy, for those at the ck Iron-rank, the basic tests are just a formality; it would not even be unusual to exempt you...¡± The man from outside was the one who spoke; he was the only one not in casual clothing, but instead in ck leather armor.


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrow, interrupting the man¡¯s words rudely. ¡°There are still a lot of examinee¡¯s behind me, so you should just start with your ¡®however¡¯ and save everyone¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°However...¡± The man seemed to say the word at the exact same time as Xiao Lin¡¯s mockery, which caused an awkward pause in his words.


    The two of them looked at each other, but the man quicklyposed himself, saying, ¡°However, we¡¯re at an abnormal time in Dawn Academy, and we have much higher expectations for the new students, especially those who are ss monitors...¡±


    Pausing for a moment, he stared at Xiao Lin¡¯s mocking gaze. No matter how shameless the man was, he could not help but avert his gaze. Coughing dryly, he decided to get straight to the point. ¡°Basically, from our research two days ago, we think that ss monitors will need to go through higher requirements to pass their tests.¡±


    ¡°We believe that after four months of study, your Basic Swordsmanship should at least have advanced to Elementary Swordsmanship LV1, and based on the information we have, your current swordsmanship skill is at Basic Swordsmanship LV9. Am I correct?¡± the woman said.


    Xiao Lin gaped. His Basic Swordsmanship was at LV8 before he left for the New World, but the Holy Soul Sword allowed him to reach LV9. However, his Holy Soul Sword had already been broken by dragon breath, so he quickly realized something in excitement. His swordsmanship had actually reached LV9, which was the maximum rank for the basic level. Of course, that was thanks to the battles he fought in the New World, which definitely helped enhance his swordsmanship.


    However, the woman said that the target was Elementary LV1, which might not be that far away from Basic Swordsmanship MAX, but it was still an entire rank apart. With how fast he was improving, Xiao Lin felt like he could get to that level in no time.


    However, the test was that very day, at that very moment!


    Xiao Lin finally understood how his opponents nned to make things harder for him. They were intentionally raising the difficulty of the tests to dy his advancement. It looked like they were just making him retake the test, but looking at it deeper, if he did not pass the test, the military would have enough reason to stop him from entering the Inter-academy Tournament, which wasing up soon, and they could even temporarily remove him from being a ss monitor.


    Xiao Lin managed to think of a few despicable schemes in such a short time. He trusted that the military would definitely not have missed it.


    After the examiner made the announcement, Xiao Lin fell silent as he predicted, but he still kept his calm. The man nodded in approval. No matter what, that young student was veryposed, even if it would not help him at that moment.


    ¡°Do you understand now that you can¡¯t possibly pass this test.¡± The man maintained a neutral expression. ¡°Go back,e retake the test after you raise your swordsmanship to Elementary LV1. As a new student, you should study earnestly. Your lecturers are all seniors with a lot of experience. Don¡¯t keep overextending yourself. We¡¯ve looked into your information, and your attendance is really bad!¡±


    Thest words had quite a heavy tone. It was hard to refute that point, because Xiao Lin really did not attend many sses usually. He had the freedom to choose his own sses, but that was something the dean had given him, not the military!


    ¡°What if I insist on taking the test?¡±


    ¡°Since you understand, just go back. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re making things hard for you...¡± The man nodded as he continued talking before realizing something was off. He raised his head, looking at Xiao Lin with a strange expression. ¡°What did you say just now?¡±


    ¡°I said, what if I insist on taking the test? I doubt you¡¯d judge me to have failed just with some data? Are you telling me that when our military goes to war, we just determine our victories with a few statistics?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s tone got more and more imperious.


    ¡°Young man! You best understand who you¡¯re talking to! No matter how powerful your backers are, the military isn¡¯t something you can y around with. I remember you¡¯re an officer as well!¡± Another examiner said coldly, his words full of ridicule, obviously taunting Xiao Lin for having to rely on the dean to gain his position.


    ¡°You wanna try?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°Do you know what our standards are?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to hear it out.¡±


    This time, Xiao Lin stood in front of the man, locking gazes with him without a care. Even if the other party unleashed a bit of his aura, Xiao Lin refused to back down.


    After a few minutes, the man looked away, saying without much feeling, ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s what you want. I¡¯m curious if you¡¯re actually confident or just being cocky!¡±

 Chapter 386: Swordsmanship Test (3)

    <h4>Chapter 386: Swordsmanship Test (3)</h4>


    ¡°Will the test be done on the virtual battle simtor?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously.


    ¡°A simted battle?¡± The officers looked at each other, and the man who took the lead made his first smile, but it was an exaggerated and mocking smile.


    ¡°Quit joking! Simted battles? Those are just children¡¯s ythings! Our academy is cultivating soldiers that can go to war in the future!¡±


    Saying that, the man walked over to a corner, and Xiao Lin noticed threerge wooden cabs that seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the corner of the training hall. He did not know what was inside, but the man produced a key and unlocked the three cabs.


    The moment the cabs opened up, Xiao Lin squinted his eyes to make out some bronze statues inside, but he knew that those were definitely not ordinary statues. He had seen something simr before in the dean¡¯s office, and even knew what the thing was called: an alchemical being. Some academies also called them constructs.


    From a certain perspective, they were basically robots, but made using magic. Ever since the colonists came to Norma, they had constantly learned the various magics and skills the natives possessed. After many years, they also worked hard inbining Earth¡¯s science and Norma¡¯s magics.


    Just like how dwarven gunpowder was a product of science mixed with magic, the alchemical beings were considered the pinnacle of such endeavors; they were one of the proudest achievements of the academies.


    Xiao Lin would not have been surprised if he saw those things on the battlefield, but now they appeared in front of him, all in the name of administering a test for a new student.


    Xiao Lin looked at the man, his gaze calm, not revealing any anger. Even if his fury was surging inside, he never revealed it.


    He knew that since these people had made their way here, there would be no way to change this arrangement. Even if he were to notify the student union, he would probably be advised to give up on the test and wait for the retake.


    The man looked back at him, but did not see the rage or confusion that was expected. The man had formed a sense of curiosity about Xiao Lin, but it was like Xiao Lin thought, there was no way to change what was about to happen.


    ¡°Alchemical beings really are quite strongpared to you new students, but these ones in front of you are just halfpleted ones, or rather defects that have been tossed away. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t have to worry about sustaining any heavy injuries. We¡¯ve also already adjusted the settings in the training hall, so any healing you might require will be free.¡±


    ¡°What about weapons?¡¯ Xiao Lin asked.


    The man paused before pointing at the weapons rack next to him. ¡°Since it¡¯s an assessment, you¡¯ll definitely not be allowed to use your own weapons. Please take off any armor you might have on as well, or you¡¯ll be considered to be cheating. You¡¯re allowed to pick any weapon around here.¡±


    The weapons rack was what they usually used in ss; on it was all sorts of swords and des. Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Soul Sword had already been broken, but ording to the man, he would not have been able to use it anyway.


    Since he had already known about the test requirements beforeing, he had naturally not brought any armor or equipment along. He took out a longsword that had the appropriate weight and length before walking toward the center of the training hall. The officer then checked his person for any equipment.


    Even though those checks were usually done by specialized equipment, the officer was more confident in his eyes that had been trained on the battlefield. His gaze shifted to the ring on Xiao Lin¡¯s finger, pausing his gaze before saying, ¡°A storage ring? How rich.¡±


    ¡°So what if it¡¯s a storage ring. He¡¯s not breaking any rules as long as he doesn¡¯t retrieve anything from it. Just start already,¡± an officer said by the side, probably feeling like they had wasted too much time on just one test.


    The rest of them stopped pursuing the matter at that, and the test started.


    The alchemical being started to slowly walk toward the center of the training hall after being activated with a thick and heavy-looking sword in hand. The tip of the sword scraped against the ground, creating a heavy metallic sound, shocking Xiao Lin at the weight of that sword.


    ¡°The alchemical being has been set to not attack by itself, so you will need to be the oneunching the attacks for the test. The time limit is set at five minutes, and as long as you can defeat it, you¡¯ll pass the test! However, I need to remind you, if your swordsmanship is not at the elementary rank, you¡¯ll never manage it!¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the reminder!¡±


    After saying that, Xiao Lin activated Miracle, but did not rush to activate Ruin. The sword in his hand might not be as familiar as his Holy Soul Sword, but he still had his LV9 Basic Swordsmanship at the very least, and was able to use it without issue.


    The alchemical being was entirely bronze, and was about as tall as a regr person. The metal on its body had already lost its luster, and there were obvious traces of damage throughout. It was already nearing the end of its usefulness. Xiao Lin had already noticed it as it was moving toward the field, but the alchemical being was extremely slow, so he immediately changed all his attributes to Strength.


    He naturally needed more strength to defeat such arge and heavy being. Xiao Lin stopped as he got to within a meter of the being. The alchemical being really did not attack on its own ord; it merely stood there unmovingly, which was why Xiao Lin raised his sword into the air brazenly.


    ¡°shing?¡± The officer immediately recognized the skill. ¡°How clueless. He wants to defeat the alchemical being with just that?¡±


    Xiao Lin naturally was not nning on relying on just shing. The spark of mes on the tip of the de indicated that he had used his me Sword Aura, but he did not use his Wave yet, which indicated that he was just testing out how strong the being was.


    Xiao Lin managed to condense his strength to the fullest without any interruption, and shed his de down. The sharpness of the de was enhanced with sword aura, and Xiao Lin unleashed the strike with all his ck Iron-rank might. The speed was quite fast, but the alchemical being remained unmoving.


    Xiao Lin smiled, but the smile quickly vanished. As the sword aura closed in, the alchemical being slightly raised its sword. The heavy sword was easily lifted up into the air before it came shing down.


    Boom!


    His sword aura disappeared in the air!


    It was not blocked, nor was it dodged; it just disappeared before his eyes!


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes in disbelief, and tried the same thing again. There was no mistake; his ming Sword Aura that he unleashed with all his might disappeared the moment it closed in to thatrge sword!


    The problem was definitely that weapon!

 Chapter 387: Silverlight’s Help

    <h4>Chapter 387: Silverlight¡¯s Help</h4>


    Based on just appearance, it was just a regr sword. It was not adorned by anything special like gems or anything of the sort. Furthermore, if it was an assessment, how could an assessment for new students involve awesome weapons; that would just be cheating.


    However, he could just keep those words to himself, since there was no way to stop the test once it started unless Xiao Lin gave up, which would be exactly what they wanted.


    He could not give up!


    Xiao Lin temporarily stopped his assault and thought to himself. The alchemical being would not attack by itself, but at the same time, he still only had five minutes. Since that was the case, he decided to try using Ruin.


    Xiao Lin breathed in and once again activated Miracle, his gaze turning abnormally cold, causing the officials looking on to widen their eyes, reevaluating Xiao Lin.


    ¡®me Wave Sword!¡¯


    That time, Xiao Lin no longer held anything back, unleashing his full force under the Ruin state. The mes suddenly enveloped half the training hall, going as high as several dozen meters, as if a dragon was lunging at the alchemical being.


    The examiners were all shocked, and a few of them even retrieved their own weapons as several waves of light could be seen, all of them preparing their defenses.


    The oppressive explosion reverberated within the training hall as the waves caused by the sword aura raised the temperature by quite a bit. Xiao Lin let out a few breaths; the move had cost him quite a lot of energy, but what shocked him was that the examiners by the side did not seem to have been affected.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not really consider the rest of them when he used the skill, but they had still only used their own weapons topletely block his sword aura.


    The steam quickly dispersed, and the bronze alchemical being still stood there, unmoving. Its surface had some obvious burn marks, causing it to look even more worn down, but therge heavy sword was in front of its chest, and it seems rtively unharmed.


    ¡®What sort of joke is this!¡¯


    Even if that level of an attack was ineffective, then Xiao Lin only had the Dragon Breath Sword left, but that skill cost even more energy, and Xiao Lin¡¯s current state might not be able to handle it. Even if he really managed to destroy the statue, he would definitely copse from the exertion, and the examiners would definitely consider him to have failed.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze darkened, and the examiners by the sideposed themselves after the initial shock, loudly proiming, ¡°There are only two minutes left!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself! Even if you fail this time, that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be held back a grade. As new students, you all have a chance to retake your tests, and you¡¯ll be able to get to the second year just the same. Your monitor position will not be affected either,¡± the man once again said, his tone still sly, but it was much moreposed thanst time.


    Xiao Lin obviously did not notice the change in the examiners attitude at the time, but even if it was just retaking the test instead of being held back a grade, Xiao Lin still could not ept it.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to just rely on sword aura; that sword is made from a very special material.¡± A cold voice could suddenly be heard next to Xiao Lin¡¯s ear, as if it were right next to him. Xiao Lin almost jumped in surprise, but he forced his surprise down when he saw the white-robed Silverlight appear.


    Silverlight had note out of the storage ring since he went back to Dawn Academy, and Xiao Lin had put the matter aside due to being busy preparing for the tests. He did not expect Silverlight to suddenly appear at such a time.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze was strange as he looked at Silverlight, then looked again at the officials not far away. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but Silverlight once again spoke. ¡°There¡¯s no need to look! Unless I will it, with their standards, they will not be able to see me.¡±


    Xiao Lin then recalled that she was a ghost. Strictly speaking, Norma¡¯s ghosts were notpletely invisible, but they still needed to be seen with skills or certain special magical items. It was obvious that the examiners would not expect a ghost to be there, let alone such a powerful one.


    ¡°What should I do? If Sword Aura is useless, then should I use magic?¡± Xiao Lin whispered.


    ¡°Idiot! There will be no effect as long as it¡¯s an attack consisting of pure energy. That toy is basically immune to energy.¡± Silverlight¡¯s tone was a bit strange, but Xiao Lin could not make it out at that moment. Xiao Lin was shocked that the military actually brought something like that out just to mess with him.


    Even if Xiao Lin was just a new student, he still understood that energy immunity was something only high-grade weapons could have. It could even be considered Legend rank.


    ¡®The military really thinks highly of me!¡¯ Xiao Lin thought mockingly to himself.


    ¡°Listen to me! This type of material actually has its faults. Energy immunityes at a very big cost; the material itself is actually very weak, so it can¡¯t defend well against physical attacks.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. It meant that long-ranged attacks were useless, and he would have to engage in meleebat. He muttered a word of thanks before rushing in with his sword. His speed was shocking under Ruin, but the statue¡¯s reaction was not slow, and it almost immediately blocked him.


    Xiao Lin immediately raised his de, trying to pierce through its defenses, but the moment he shed against the heavy sword, his wrist suddenly felt numb. The tip of his sword had been cut through by the massive force, and he immediately retreated.


    After moving back a few steps, he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say physical attacks would work?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless if you¡¯re just relying on your dull techniques! Defeating a defense of this level requires more proficient sword techniques.¡± Silverlight seemed to understand sword techniques very well.


    Xiao Lin paused, suddenly recalling that the examiner had said that he would not be able to pass without elementary swordsmanship. Now he understood that those were not empty words. They were actually a reminder to him.


    ¡°What are you doing talking to yourself?¡± the examiner once again said. ¡°You¡¯re left with one minute.


    Xiao Lin was only a beginner when it came to the sword. Even if he already had quite some battle experience, his skills still were not up to par. He was very clear on the fact that he had always relied on Miracle and Ruin¡¯s explosive strength to defeat his foes, but there was actually no technique behind them.


    Basic Swordsmanship actually mostly emphasized just the foundations of sword movements, such as piercing, shing, pulling, raising, pressing, flicking, and thrusting. From LV 1 to LV9, it was just getting the body used to those moves. Currently, Xiao Lin had already mastered the basic movements, but he still could not call them real sword techniques.

 Chapter 388: Passing

    <h4>Chapter 388: Passing</h4>


    The jump from Basic Swordsmanship to Elementary Swordsmanship was where true mastery of sword techniques really began, but even Xiao Lin did not dare say that he could raise his swordsmanship skill in just one minute. Xiao Lin looked at Silverlight and asked, ¡°Are you very good with the sword?¡±


    Silverlight looked at him, not acknowledging it, but not denying it either.


    Xiao Lin was impatient since time was running out; he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes; could you then show me a technique that¡¯s at Elementary Swordsmanship LV1?¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s gaze was still fixed on him. Just as Xiao Lin thought that she would not answer, she suddenly furrowed her eyebrows and asked, ¡°Elementary LV1? What¡¯s that?¡±


    Xiao Lin pped his forehead; she naturally did not know what rankings were. He thought for a bit and used the simplest way to exin, ¡°That¡¯s the simplest sword technique that can defeat that alchemical statue!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy, but why would I help you?¡±


    Xiao Lin felt like cursing; did she not just help him with her advice?


    However, he humbled himself and said, ¡°It¡¯ll count as me owing you a favor. If there¡¯s anything you need my help with in the future...¡±


    ¡°No need for the future!¡± Silverlight¡¯s expression was strange, and Xiao Lin noticed it this time, but it was not the time for idle chatter. Silverlight pointed over at the statue and said, ¡°I want that sword.¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped. That was not something he could make the decision on, but after a brief thought, he nodded and agreed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll only demonstrate it once, so it¡¯s your problem if you fail to replicate it!¡± Silverlight more or less guessed Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts, but did not say anything. She slightly raised her hand and a light green de appeared, but looking at it in detail, one could notice it was just a bamboo-like object.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting.¡±


    Silverlight said softly, and her elegant body began to dance. The starting few moves were just basic forms from Basic Swordsmanship, but the technique quickly changed. Her seemingly formless bamboo started to quicken its speed. Even if she was just in her spiritual form, Xiao Lin could still feel an intense sword aura.


    It was not just him that felt it; even the examiners started to furrow their eyebrows, as if feeling something, but they did not think much about it. Taking advantage of their alertness, Xiao Lin immediately activated his Replication skill targeting Silverlight.


    Xiao Lin actually did not haveplete confidence since,pared to when he used the skill before, this time was quite a unique circumstance, and could be counted as his first try. Silverlight¡¯s skill was very high, to the degree that Xiao Lin did not know how skilled she was, but Xiao Lin was still sure that she far outstripped himself. It was obvious that Xiao Lin would not be able to replicate any of Silverlight¡¯s sword techniques.


    However, what if Silverlight could suppress her skills to the boundaries that he could attempt. Would he be able to replicate it then?


    Xiao Lin quickly had his answer, but it was still unexpected. He did not suddenly receive high-level information in his head like usual. Instead, he seemed toe to a form of understanding. The feeling was very strange; it was as if Silverlight was transmitting all her experience to him as she performed. The difference between his prior replications was that he was gaining experience within his own body as opposed to the sword technique itself. It was not aplete replication.


    However, it was enough for Xiao Lin. He once again raised his sword. Even if he was wielding an ordinary training sword, Elementary Swordsmanship was independent from the de itself.


    ¡°Only thirty seconds left!¡±


    Xiao Lin seemed to have entered a state of ignorance, not even hearing what the examiner said. In his eyes, there was just the de in front of him, and he used all his might to replicate the movements that he saw. His body seemingly started to move on its own. Silverlight¡¯s sword technique was agile and graceful, but the movements were not quick. The movements seemed ordinary, but there was an immense amount of subtleties.


    ¡°Twenty seconds left!¡±


    Xiao Lin already had a basic understanding of the technique; it was obviously not all of it since it was just some forms that Silverlight had shown him, and not aplete replication. However, thanks to how fast he could learn, he still managed to have his body limatize itself to it in just a short time, and he used thest moments of Ruin to rush right at the statue.


    ¡°Fifteen seconds left!¡±


    nk!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s de once again shed against the statue¡¯s heavy sword, and just likest time, the immense strength could be felt, but Xiao Lin chose to slightly shift his wrist, allowing his de to suddenly shift away from the sword. He then moved his body with all his speed, settling into a half-squat before piercing forward at a tricky angle.


    The entire move only took a breath¡¯s time, and the statue tried to react, but the statue could not use its full force to pull its de back after shing outward. The two des once again shed, and after a clear sound, the statue¡¯s body started to sway before finally copsing on the ground.


    ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡±


    The examiner¡¯s voice could be heard again. Silverlight had already disappeared back into the ring. The examiner walked over with a stern expression, his eyes wide as if looking for something, but he found nothing.


    Xiao Lin released his Ruin state and his entire body felt weak. The move he used earlier was quite amazing; it looked like it did not use that much force, but it was actually borrowing the statue¡¯s power to strike. It relied on sword technique to negate the statue¡¯s power and break its defense before converting the power to his own strike.


    Silverlight... It seemed like the mysterious woman was unfathomably powerful.


    ¡°Will this do?¡± Xiao Lin had more important things to do at that moment.


    However, the examiner did not have an ugly look on his face like he expected; instead, it was aplicated look,posed of shock and possibly a bit of respect?


    ¡°Not bad.¡± The examiner breathed in, bitterly smiling. ¡°Thatst sword technique was very good. Based on what I know, it¡¯s not something you could have learned in Dawn Academy.


    His words caused Xiao Lin to pause, but Xiao Lin could only press on. ¡°So, did I pass or not?¡±


    ¡°Your swordsmanship still is not at the elementary level. We could see that from the earliest exchanges. Elementary Swordsmanship differs from Basic Swordsmanship whereby Elementary Swordsmanship has already added a myriad of changes to the basic movements.¡± Pausing for a moment, the examiner seemed to be struggling with something, and he then seemed to make a decision. He breathed out, continuing to say, ¡°However, without a doubt, your sword technique at the end was beautiful. At the very least, that technique had the standards of Elementary Swordsmanship, which is why you passed.¡±


    ¡°Old Wang!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone mad!¡±


    The rest of the examiners cried out in shock, as if wanting to remind him of something, but they all kept their mouths shut when they saw that Xiao Lin was still there.


    Xiao Lin was quite surprised. The results were better than he expected, but he still had something else to do. He pointed at therge sword, saying, ¡°Can you give me that sword?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Name your price. As long as it¡¯s reasonable, I don¡¯t mind paying.¡±


    The examiners exchanged looks between themselves.

 Chapter 389: Origin of The Wormhole

    <h4>Chapter 389: Origin of The Wormhole</h4>


    The examiners originally had other things to say, but no one expected that Xiao Lin would bring up buying the weapon. Everyone suddenly had a strange look on their faces, which led Xiao Lin to think they were not willing. Of course, that was to be expected, but since Silverlight asked, Xiao Lin still had to at least try.


    ¡°Everyone knows what¡¯s happening in this test. Let me ask you, how many new students could pass this test. Could you all have passed it during your first year?¡±


    Xiao Lin felt like being nice was not working, so he could only try things forcefully. After all, he had already defeated the alchemical being, so his confidence was high. ¡°However, now I¡¯ve already done it. Do you all think it¡¯s just as simple as letting me pass? Shouldn¡¯t I get somepensation? Or do you all feel like you¡¯ll be fine if this matter gets known to the public?¡±


    The few examiners had difficult looks on their faces. Since they hade over to do such a thing, they had obviously considered the consequences. Of course, the consequences had hinged upon Xiao Lin being unable to pass the test, since the losers were often ignored. However, Xiao Lin had passed, and they could not understand how Xiao Lin grasped that level of swordsmanship in such a short time.


    Since Xiao Lin had seeded, and was standing on the winning side, he would have enough reason to voice his dissatisfaction, and the military could very well suffer because of it.


    ¡°Are you threatening us?¡± A man stood up from his desk, narrowing his eyes as he measured Xiao Lin, a formless aura seeping out of him.


    The leader waved his hand, quieting the rest of them. Only he seemedposed as he asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want that sword.¡±


    The man was speechless.


    The two of them stared at each other, and Xiao Lin could not contain his anger. ¡°Do all of you really think this matter will be resolved so easily?¡±


    ¡°I know you have a backer; there¡¯s no need to make a fuss.¡±


    It was the first time Xiao Lin was treated as the one with a backer, and he was rendered speechless. However, it was not necessarily a bad thing, and the man rubbed his forehead, asking in frustration, ¡°You really want that sword?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Everything that happened today will end here if you get the sword?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. No one else will know.¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    After thinking for a while, the man seemingly determined that Xiao Lin was not joking before making a quick decision. That surprised Xiao Lin, since he did not hold up much hope for it initially, but why did the few of them look like they had made a profit?


    Xiao Lin was still full of questions, but it was not the time for that. He walked over and lugged the huge sword over before leaving the training hall. When he went out, everyone looked at therge sword with a mixture of shock and curiosity. Were they being given weapons if they passed?


    Xiao Lin chatted around for a bit before returning to the dormitory. The sword was much heavier than he thought. With Miracle not active, he felt the strain, even just standing around with it.


    After returning to the dormitory and cing the sword on the floor, Xiao Lin was full of sweat, feeling like the strength he had exerted heading back was more or less the same as the strength he exerted during the test. God knew what sort of material the sword was made of.


    Silverlight quickly reappeared from the ring, her white dress beautiful, but thanks to being a spirit, she floated everytime she appeared. Thankfully, it was during the day, or she would be a bit of a horrifying sight.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put the sword into the ring, you can do whatever you want with it.¡± Xiao Lin decided to not ask too much about it, even though he was quite curious about the sword, especially since the ability to render energy useless was quite a terrifying ability. However, after testing out the weight, he understood that he could basically forget about using it.


    Silverlight nodded, touching the surface of the sword with aplicated look. Xiao Lin noticed her strange expression as well, and could not help but ask curiously, ¡°You know this sword? Is it some godlike weapon passed on from ancient times?¡±


    Silverlight shook her head, her clear voice saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know this sword, but I recognize the material it¡¯s made from.¡±


    Xiao Lin was immediately interested. ¡°So it must be a valuable material.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I did not know that someone actually used this material to make a sword. It¡¯s actually just a piece of a meteorite, but gained the ability to negate energy thanks to certain reasons. However, it has already been weakened immensely after travelling through time and space, so the metal¡¯s energy negation has been drastically weakened. If your sword aura had been three or four times stronger, you would have been able to win.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood; no wonder those examiners did not mind giving it to him. It was not nearly as strong as he had thought, but Silverlight¡¯s words caused him to react in shock. ¡°You mean this sword...no, this meteorite...was brought over by you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Back then, I only managed to reach this world at thest moment thanks to it. This world never had any material like it, and it is actually not suitable to make weapons with. No matter; it¡¯s basically trash at this point. I¡¯ll just keep it for the memories.¡±


    In the end, it was a free gift, so Xiao Lin did not care how it was handled. However, he curiously listened to Silverlight talk about how she got to Norma initially.


    There was a wormhole that looked like it was made of gold that existed between Norma and Earth, which was how the colonists managed to exist on the New World, but that wormhole was obviously not natural. Song Jung had also told Xiao Lin before that there were those who had tried to look for wormholes to other worlds a long time ago to no sess.


    That wormhole was unique, which was strange. The universe was so huge; how could only Earth and Norma have such a special wormhole?


    Xiao Lin spected that it could have something to do with Antis, and Silverlight did not bother hiding anything. She raised her eyebrows, as if thinking about her past, before speaking, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, but the passage that connected the two worlds existed long ago, even I don¡¯t know when it was formed. I had seen whispers of it in the royal archives before, which was why I tested it out, but I did not expect to actually seed in breaking the seal.¡±


    ¡°Seal?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Written in the archives was that the passage had been sealed since ancient times. As for who sealed it and how it was sealed, that¡¯s a mystery.¡±

 Chapter 390: The Anger Of Students

    <h4>Chapter 390: The Anger Of Students</h4>


    To Xiao Lin, that was something he had never known. That meant that the origin of the wormhole was of an even more distant past. As for whether humans existed on Earth during that period, or even some other lifeforms, even Silverlight could not say.


    It was rare for Silverlight toe out; the woman lived like a hermit usually. She seemed intent on making the spatial ring her permanent residence. Unless she was willing, even Xiao Lin found it hard to call her out. That was why he took the chance to talk to her while she was out, since Xiao Lin was quite interested in Antis, and wanted to know about Earth and the cultures during that era.


    Even though it was a long time ago, Silverlight still remembered everything clearly. Xiao Lin managed to tell from her words that her status was not one to be taken lightly. She mentioned the royal archives earlier; that was definitely not something ordinary folk had ess to.


    It was a pity that Silverlight only spared him a few words, and she quickly made to head back into the ring. Xiao Lin took the chance to ask her what happened to his ck knight. The Holy Soul Sword had regretfully been destroyed, but thankfully the ck knight was still around. Even if it was not useful within the academy, it was still a good trump card to have.


    Silverlight¡¯s reply was strange; she said that she was changing the ck knight. As for how or what she was changing it to, she did not reveal a thing, and Xiao Lin could only let her go in frustration.


    The Basic Swordsmanship tests hadsted the whole day. Xiao Lin was the first one toplete it, and it took till the afternoon before he saw the others beginning to return. Xiao Lin saw a lot of students with dejected looks on their faces when he was in the cafeteria, discussing the fact that the tests seem to be too demanding that year. Xiao Lin looked around before spotting someone familiar as he sat down with his food.


    ¡°ss Monitor Xiao!¡± It was the bald Zhou Feng; he was one of the group leaders that Xiao Lin had appointed. He had an astonished look when he saw Xiao Lin before quickly calming down, putting his utensils down as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll report on what happened in the ss when I head backter.¡±


    Xiao Lin stared for a moment. He had indeed asked Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue to look after the daily needs of the ss as group leaders before he left. Thanks to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s personality, most of the matters had definitely fallen on Zhou Feng. He had rushed back, and then faced the tests right after, so he never had the chance to look for Zhou Feng.


    Xiao Lin waved it off, smiling. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Tell me, how did your tests go?¡±


    Zhou Feng mulled over Xiao Lin¡¯s words, saying, ¡°It was hard, but I managed to pass.¡±


    He described how the test went. Just like Xiao Lin expected, the rest of them went up against alchemical beings as well. However, the constructs they faced were obviously not at the same level as the one Xiao Lin faced, nor were they given such a high hurdle to pass.


    However, the standards were already very difficult, and there were arge number of students cursing away on the forums, some of them even prepared to make aint to the student union. Some students had rtionships with the upperssmen, and definitely knew about the tests from prior years. The tests in the past never had crazy toys like alchemical beings. At the most, they used virtual battles or even just had to show that their sword technique was at a good-enough level.


    Xiao Lin could not help but smile bitterly when he heard that, but he believed thatining was useless. The student union had no power over the military, and the dean, who was the only one who could do anything, remained silent, so they could only let this go.


    He sighed, saying, ¡°We can¡¯t control the other sses, but make sure that ss Seven¡¯s students don¡¯t join in to cause a scene. It won¡¯t do anything, and they could end up causing some trouble that will make things harderter on.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell everyone on the forumster, but some students might not log on to the forums, so I¡¯d suggest advising them in person. You¡¯re much more persuasive than I am.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    The moment one became a ss monitor, the academy would start investigating that student. Every monitor¡¯s leadership skills would be recorded in a document, and Xiao Lin did not want his document to appear unremarkable.


    As ss Seven¡¯s ss monitor, Xiao Lin could not really be consideredpletely qualified, especially since he missed so much by being in the New World. Even now, he found it hard to recognize everyone in ss. Of course, not everyone in ss waspletely loyal to him as well, but it was fine; he just needed to make sure that the two group leaders, Gu Xiaoyue and Zhou Feng, listened to him.


    Zhou Feng was quite efficient. Not long after lunch, Xiao Lin could already see Zhou Feng¡¯sments on the forum. He had also made sure to use his phone or other methods to make sure everyone was online.


    ¡°The monitor is back!¡±


    ¡°Are you from Mars? I already saw the monitor yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Did the monitor bring anything back from the New World?¡±


    ¡°Are there any photos?¡±


    ...


    The ss group was extremely rowdy. Xiao Lin had been worried that he would be a stranger after leaving for so long, but in truth, even he did not realize that his skill and mysterious background had turned him into someone everyone respected and admired to some degree.


    After joking around, Xiao Lin quickly got to the point, asking everyone how their tests went. In truth, he could just check everyone¡¯s skill himself, and figure out if they had passed or not from there.


    The ss had sixty students, and a total of 40 passed with 20 of them failing. That rate was already considered high among the first-years, but there were naturally a lot ofints; some even wanted to go to the student union.


    Xiao Lin tried to console them, emphasizing the point that the military was separate from the academy. He knew that he could not cool their anger, so he just shifted the target.


    If it was not for his trip to the New World and all the information he got from Captain Yu Mei about the upper management of Dawn Academy, Xiao Lin would naturally not have known about the conflict between the dean and the military.


    His move was quite brilliant, and everyone¡¯s cursing quickly shifted to the military, which naturally removed their urge to find trouble with the student union.


    During the evening on that day itself, a red notification popped up in the forums. It stated that some students had actually gone to the student union due to not passing the tests. After they found out that there was no way to change the results, they had done some stupid things, which caused the student union to decide that all of them would have their points or credits taken away.


    Xiao Lin took note of it and breathed a sigh of relief when no one from ss Seven was involved. As a party stuck in the middle, Xiao Lin could more or less understand the student union¡¯s position. The union could not interfere with the military¡¯s decisions, but as the body that dealt with academy matters, they needed to protect their own power and image. Anyone who dared cause trouble at this time was just looking for their own deaths.

 Chapter 391: Endurance and Body Test

    <h4>Chapter 391: Endurance and Body Test</h4>


    The student union managed to establish their power right there. The moment the name list for students to be punished came out, no one dared to cause trouble any longer. Those who luckily managed to pass the test still had tests the next two days, so causing trouble at that point was not going to be a good thing.


    Since the military had started to cause trouble, Xiao Lin was also on alert for the next day¡¯s tests. Just as he expected, Xiao Lin¡¯s Basic Physique test was also taken up by the military. It was even an old friend, as the middle-aged man from thest day nodded at Xiao Lin in acknowledgement.


    Xiao Lin could not help but curse silently, ¡®Am I that familiar to you?¡¯


    The endurance tests of old were usually just basic exercises, and the students only needed toplete certain exercises within a set amount of time to pass. To most of the students, it was not a hard task. After four months of training, as long as they were not cking off, everyone had physiques that rivalled athletes back on Earth.


    The test this year had changed into a duel between the students and alchemical beings. Truly, it was once again the high-end product of the fusion between science and magic. However, since it was a test of endurance, the statues had been changed to models that had low power but high defense. The students were not allowed to use any sword aura, and needed to fight with just their bodies.


    The examinees had no hope of defeating the constructs; the examiners had said straight up that the defensive abilities of the constructs were at Silver rank. First-years did not even need to think about it, but obviously they did not need to worry about being defeated either, because the attacking abilities of the constructs were more or less at the level of when they just entered the academy. The examinees were allowed to wear armor as well, which of course helped to lower the chances of getting injured. Self defense was not the main point of the test.


    Of course, the seemingly caring approach was not the military being kind. Everyone quickly realized it was just a slight reprieve from the military¡¯s derangement.


    The Endurance test¡¯s real goal was to test how long the students couldst inbat. It sounded quite simple, but every student who walked out of the training halls had very ugly looks on their faces. It was not just looks of anger; they also looked utterly exhausted.


    Xiao Lin only understood the catch when it got to his turn. The statues might not have had high attack power, but they were fast and extremely hard to deal with. They seemed to constantly be attacking at high speeds and students needed to constantly dodge and counter attack. It did not just require endurance, it also required instantaneous explosiveness and smart usage of one¡¯s body.


    It was not hard to dodge the construct¡¯s attacks, but dodging it for a hundred or even more than two hundred times made it hard for anyone to maintain the motion.


    The military had set the minimum requirement of passing at fifteen minutes. Everyone needed to endure fifteen minutes under the constant assault of the constructs. It required everyone to intelligently manage their body. Otherwise, it was not easy tost till the end.


    Xiao Lin did not get any special treatment this time. Compared to the day before, this test was actually rtively easy for him. He was able to temporarily lower his speed and strength in exchange for more physique points. He might not be a hardened veteran, but he definitely had more experience inbat than everyone else.


    That was why, after 15 minutes, Xiao Lin only felt a slight tiredness from dispelling Miracle. The examiners were undoubtedly disappointed. Compared to everyone else, who were exhausted to the point of walking out swaying like dogs, Xiao Lin did not even have a lot of sweat on his head.


    However, the one in charge of the test, which was the man from yesterday, praised Xiao Lin. Before Xiao Lin left, he suddenly said something, ¡°What do you think? Are you interested in joining the first regiment?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for a long while, unable to grasp what the man was thinking, so he said, ¡°My enrollment certificate was awarded by the sixth regiment.¡±


    The man smiled lightly, and did not say anything else, motioning for Xiao Lin to leave.


    The Endurance test¡¯s passing rate was even lower than the weapon tests. Only about half the students had passed, and the forums were filled withints.


    Since Xiao Lin picked more subjects than usual, he still needed to attend the Basic Body Technique test on that day. It was no longer that man who was in charge, but the passing requirements were as harsh as usual. The body technique test was administered by an actual person; the examiners would attack the students and the students were not allowed to fight back, only to constantly dodge. Of course, the examiners only used non-lethal wooden weapons to attack.


    That test was one where Xiao Lin, once again, felt like he was being targeted. He was initially confident in passing the test, especially since he had long since mastered Phantom Steps. As long as he faced attacks that were lower than ck Iron rank, he would be able to dodge them easily. He might not be able to dodge every attack, but he was confident in dodging at least 80% of the strikes.


    However, the examiner testing him was not that simple. Even though it seemed like the man¡¯s sword was only attacking Xiao Lin with ck Iron-rank strength each time, everytime Xiao Lin was about to dodge, he would feel his opponent¡¯s sword technique suddenly change at thest moment, and thus hit Xiao Lin.


    The strikes from the wooden sword were not painful, but Xiao Lin started to understand after being hit a few times. That was definitely not ck Iron-rank swordsmanship, he understood it clearer after slowly grasping Elementary Swordsmanship. His opponent was definitely pulling some tricks.


    However, Xiao Lin did not say anything. His foe was smart; the techniques he was using were definitely ck Iron-ranked, but his swordsmanship was terrifyingly strong. That was why he could always change his technique at thest minute. Only someone with at least that high of a swordsmanship rank could tell that, even if they did, they would likely not want to offend the military.


    Xiao Lin did not want to use Ruin as that would affect his tests the next day. Replication was on cooldown as well. Thankfully, he had managed to grasp Footprint Mirage from the dark elf when he was ambushed before returning to Dawn City; he also took the time to learn about the skill from the library when he got back.


    It was footwork that was widely used by the elves, but since Dawn Academy did not have a close rtionship with the elves, the skill did not appear in Dawn Academy, but it was definitely a step above Phantom Steps.


    The examiner had definitely done his homework and knew that Xiao Lin had mastered Phantom Steps, so regr attacks would not pose any threat. However, he definitely did not know about Footprint Steps. When he saw Xiao Lin slowly grasp the timing of his attacks, and even get to the point where Xiao Lin could converse in a half-mocking tone while dodging, the examiner understood that he had failed.


    The Body Technique test was passed without an issue.

 Chapter 392: Deep Talks With Song Junlang

    <h4>Chapter 392: Deep Talks With Song Jung</h4>


    Facing the targeting by the examiners, Xiao Lin still had no way of contacting the dean. However, he bore his anger and suspicions and looked for Song Jung to voice his dissatisfaction. He did not know who was behind Song Jung, but he felt that Song Jung could definitely help him out a little.


    Song Jung had basically guessed why Xiao Lin hade, so he said straight away, ¡°I¡¯ve already heard of your matter before you even got back, but I never expected it to get to this extent. I can indeed help you, but I don¡¯t want to do too much.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, not saying anything as he waited calmly. Song Jung was trustworthy, and their rtionship had been quite decent in the few months they had been interacting. They could be considered friends, and could also be considered a researcher and his guinea pig.


    Song Jung looked at him before retrieving a document from his desk, saying, ¡°This is a report that is only circted internally. Anyone below a certain rank isn¡¯t allowed to look at it. Even the student union president doesn¡¯t have the right to look at it.¡±


    ¡°So how did you get it? Ah, from the person backing you.¡± Xiao Lin took the document after realizing he was asking a stupid question, flipping through the document curiously.


    To be urate, it was an internal report from Judge Academy; it came from spies that Dawn Academy had ced within New Washington.


    About half a month ago, Judge Academy sent a team out to approach the elves. The goal was to continue their non-aggression treaty, but the elven king had dyed the signing, reason being that he was ill. However, the elves still treated the American delegation very well, and a few of the elvish royalty had even been in charge of receiving the delegation. The elves were usually an organized race, so the Americans did not think too much about it.


    Around a month ago, the Americans once again tried to seek an audience with the elvish king, but was rejected. The reasoning was that the elvish king was heading toward the north to handle the rebellion of the dark elves. The Americans did not return empty-handed, bringing back arge amount of gifts as a show of goodwill.


    Judge Academy and the elves signed a non-aggression treaty thatsted a hundred years, and it was still about a year away from the expiration, which was why it was still not that urgent.


    At around half a month ago, Judge Academy received reports that the elves were organizing their troops at arge scale, with the reasoning being to suppress the revolt in the north. The elves and the dark elves had already been in conflict for thousands of years, but thezy elves had not amassed their troops because of it.


    The news had been concealed by Judge Academy, but it was not hard for the other academies to receive that news. The rest of the reports were nothing of importance, such as the ie of New Washington and the reduced business in certain towns.


    Compiling everything in the report, the conclusion was something shocking.


    ¡°The elves want to go to war?¡± Xiao Lin said in shock.


    Song Jung could not deny it. ¡°There still isn¡¯t enough proof at the moment, so the news has been sealed off. The elves had never started a war by themselves in all of history, so no one can make a conclusion.¡±


    ¡°Does this have anything to do with my tests?¡± Xiao Lin did not sway from his original topic.


    Song Jung sighed, his expression heavy. ¡°To be honest, this generation of students is rather unlucky. Back then during the war against the orcs, even the students in school were pulled into the war; the numbers would not have been enough otherwise. Even though we¡¯ve expanded since then, no one can predict what Norma will look like in the future. Xiao Lin, do you have any ns for the future?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. That question was not easy to answer because he had not really thought about it.


    Song Jung did not make it difficult for him. ¡°Do you want to be someone ordinary or someone that stands at the top? I know the dean had already told you before; even though the colonists are considered nobles on Norma, even nobles are separated into levels.¡±


    ¡°I understand that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so the problem is here. If you want to be a regr person, finding a stable job in the New World before buying your own vi, spending your days idly with a few beautiful wives, then I¡¯d advise you to stop what you¡¯re doing. You should stop participating in a lot of things. With your current wealth and skill, you can easily be a normal person.¡±


    Xiao Lin went quiet for a moment. ¡°What if I pick the other route?¡±


    Song Jung had aplicated smile. ¡°Then you¡¯ll probably encounter the difficulties thate with it. The military is just getting started. You¡¯re currently not much in their eyes. To phrase it in another way, you¡¯re just an ant who is disturbing things at the moment, and they¡¯re stepping on you because they¡¯re ufortable. If you get stepped on, then you¡¯ll never rise up again in the future, but some good wille out of it, and you¡¯ll never have these problems anymore.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood. ¡°So you¡¯re not helping me because you want me to make the choice?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I can¡¯t help you. Norma isn¡¯t like Earth. This ce will always prioritize the strong/ Otherwise, why would I just be a department head even with a backer? Ah, I just want you to understand that if you don¡¯t have the skill to step over everyone, then don¡¯t ce yourself in the fire, or you¡¯ll just be roasted alive!¡±


    Song Jung wanted to wake Xiao Lin up. Thinking about it, in the few months since he had entered the academy, Xiao Lin had been attracting more and more attention.


    Xiao Lin was special because he was someone with an SS-rank talent, which was why the dean looked after him. On top of that, he had made waves from visiting the New World, especially the incident with the blood moon in New Washington and what had recently happened in Wildfire Town.


    A mere new student had constantly joined in boss-level affairs, as if he did not know his ce.


    It was natural that there would be those that had that kind of thought process within therge Dawn Academy, especially among the dean¡¯s foes. Those in the military were obvious; regardless of it being due to unhappiness or admiration or jealousy, Xiao Lin had forced himself into everyone¡¯s sights, and those people definitely had their own reactions.


    The dean¡¯s reaction was support, doing everything to help Xiao Lin, and the military had naturally chosen to suppress him.


    There would be disputes as long as there were benefits to be earned¨Cthat much was natural.


    However, Xiao Lin suddenly realized that he had never thought about what he needed to this day. No matter the support or the suppression, it was all because of other people. What was it that he wanted for himself?


    He was no longer a student who just entered the academy and who felt his blood boiling just thinking about making a name for himself in a foreign world. He now knew how hard the process would be, and what role he would need to y within.

 Chapter 393: Magic Tests (1)

    <h4>Chapter 393: Magic Tests (1)</h4>


    Song Jung did not speak. He quietly looked at Xiao Lin as he waited for a reply.


    After a long time, Xiao Lin looked up with a bitter look on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Song Jung was not surprised at the answer, nodding as he said, ¡°That¡¯s normal. Every new student works themselves to the bone thanks to the picture the academy paints, but the nearer they get to that picture, the more they realize that there are some differences between the reality and their dreams.¡±


    ¡°However, I¡¯m already in the boat right now.¡± It was hard to tell if Xiao Lin¡¯s tone was one of regret or dissatisfaction¨Ceven he himself did not know. He remembered the hot-blooded passion everyone felt when they heard about the colonists¡¯ goals during the entrance ceremony. No, even now, most of the students were relying on that passion as their pir of support, constantly attending sses every day and examinations every month.


    To them, the New World was and of pure bliss that existed only in legends.


    However, what if thatnd of pure bliss was about to face a war? Just like what Xiao Lin had written in his final answer in the written tests, if the situation turned into a global war, would anyone still want to go to the New World? Even if they had resurrection towers, Lifewater was still limited. They might be from Earth, but they were still at the lowest level. Would they have enough lifespan to spend?


    Song Jung had already mentioned that, during the war against the orcs, Dawn Academy had countless casualties, and those were real deaths after using up their lifespans.


    The atmosphere in the room turned heavy, and Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts were a mess. To him, who had just entered the academy for four months, it was too early to be exposed to these things, but he still appreciated Song Jung. He knew that Song Jung did it out of kindness; Xiao Lin¡¯s own special circumstances had led to him needing to think about these things earlier.


    ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have to worry though. If war really breaks out, it won¡¯t have much to do with you new students.¡± Song Jung¡¯s expression suddenly turned warm, reverting to his usual jovial self. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us; the skill and resources that our academies have umted over this century can¡¯t be easily shaken.


    ¡°You still have tests tomorrow right? I remember you picked a lot of courses to study. You really do enjoy torturing yourself. Just head back and prepare for your tests first, and don¡¯t sweat the other stuff for now.¡± Song Jung did not let that heavy atmosphere continue. He was just preparing Xiao Lin mentally for now; it was better than facing the question at the point of no return.


    Xiao Linposed himself. No matter what, everything that happened had already happened, so he needed to think about how to face it. Song Jung not helping him during these tests was just so that he could measure his own skill.


    The physical portion of the tests had all ended so, to a lot of students, the next few days were rest days that were hard toe by, but Xiao Lin still needed to wait for the magical portion of the tests.


    They were different from the physical tests; the basic magic tests were hard to test for individually, so they tested a few courses in one go. That also meant that, as long as one did not pass the test, they would need to retake all the courses in one go. The students who picked magical courses once againined in the forums, but naturally no one dared make a scene with the student union.


    What caused Xiao Lin some surprise was that the magic tests were no longer administered by the military, but they were not done by the academy either. There were a few people who wore magical robes and adorned mage hats. Every essory on their body exuded the power of magic. They imed to be from the Mage¡¯s Union, asked by the military to assist in the matter.


    What they wore were an exact fit with the image of mages in everyone¡¯s heads, but everyone who picked the magical courses was chasing this aesthetic anyway. The appearance of those people caused quite a stir, andpared to those examiners from the military, the mages wereparatively a lot more amicable. Before the tests, they even conversed with some of the students. Of course, the topics were all idle chit-chat.


    ¡°Who is Gu Xiaoyue?¡± A woman in blue mage robes suddenly asked.


    Everyone looked at each other before pointing toward the cold-looking girl who was practicing wand movements in a corner by herself. In a few seconds, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face widened when she realized she was the center of attention. She usually did not have many friends, so she was not used to the gazes.


    Xiao Lin was next to her; he was basically the only person in the first year who talked to Gu Xiaoyue. When he noticed her awkwardness, he walked closer to Gu Xiaoyue before looking at the approaching woman.


    ¡°You are Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The student who had the highest Intelligence score at the start?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Do you possess a talent?¡±


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really odd. Someone told me you had potentialst month, but I don¡¯t really believe it. I hope you don¡¯t disappoint me today.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Her responses werepletely robotic, so the woman furrowed her eyebrows in mild disappointment. Did Gu Xiaoyue not know she was the examiner in charge of the test? Why was she not trying to cozy up to her?


    Xiao Lin was sweating a little; he knew that Gu Xiaoyue was not good and interacting, so he took over, ¡°Hello, Teacher. Gu Xiaoyue means that while she might not have a talent, she works far harder than anyone. Her so-called potential is just a myth; she is just a regr student.¡±


    With Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding of Gu Xiaoyue, that girl did not want her name to be widely known, so being noticed by more people was definitely not a good thing.


    The woman was unhappy with Xiao Lin¡¯s interruption, and she coldly said, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m her friend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you what your name is.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin.¡±


    The woman paused for a few seconds before asking curiously, ¡°You are Xiao Lin? You¡¯re enrolled in magic courses? I seem to recall that you tested for swordsmanship sses? I still remember talking about you yesterday...¡±


    Xiao Lin was a bit frustrated. ¡°That¡¯s right, I enrolled in swordsmanship, but I also enrolled in magic.¡±


    The woman understood. ¡°Dual cultivation?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the passion of youth. Good luck.¡± The womanughed, patting Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder before falling silent and returning.


    The surrounding students cast admiring gazes toward Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue. To them, the ones in the Mage¡¯s Union were all big figures, so being noticed was definitely a sign of a brighter future.


    Only Xiao Lin smiled bitterly to himself; that woman¡¯s finalugh was definitely not praise.

 Chapter 394: Magic Tests (2)

    <h4>Chapter 394: Magic Tests (2)</h4>


    The tests were arranged to be done individually within the magic training halls, but before they officially started, the Mage¡¯s Union representatives exined the rules of the tests to everyone. The one who spoke was the woman from earlier, but she never bothered to introduce herself. Even when anyone asked for her name or name card, they would be ignored. It was not clear if she did not bother to or if she just happened to miss them.


    ¡°I know a lot of you probably showed a lot of promise in magic within your short time in the academy, earning praise from those around you or even your lecturers. Maybe your skills are all at high levels, but that is not the point for today¡¯s tests!¡±


    Compared to the warmness from earlier, the woman suddenly sounded thunderous, causing a lot of them to feel like something was wrong. Normally, the important points woulde after words like that, and sure enough, the woman continued. ¡°We are testing a lot today, and it¡¯s not something that can be exined in just a few words. I won¡¯t slowly exin it to you, but I believe that each of you will benefit for your entire lives after the test. Today¡¯s tests, to put things simply, will bebat training!¡±


    A stir rose among the students, a lot of them actually breathing sighs of relief. They were anticipating somethingpletely different during the tests today, butbat training was something they had gone through before in their regr sses.


    ording to the woman, thebat drills during the tests would have opponents from the Mage¡¯s Union. Of course, due to the difference in levels, the mages would hold their spells back, and the students would be allowed to wear anti-magic armor to prevent injuries.


    In conclusion, it seemed very standard, at least on the surface. However, Xiao Lin noticed the woman had a faint smile on her lips. During his interaction with her earlier, he could see that the smile had absolutely no trace of kindness. It was just well-hidden mockery.


    The tests would be held in several different training halls; every student who had their name called would walk in alone. The order was based on sses, so Xiao Lin could only wait there idly, trying to speak with Gu Xiaoyue.


    The first person who went in only needed three minutes beforeing back out. The speed shocked everyone. His body still looked well, nothing to indicate any mental exertion or even physical stress, but his expression was puzzling. His face looked like he did not know whether he shouldugh or cry¨Cit was basically a terrible expression.


    Some students tried to get some information from him, but they were quickly stopped by those in charge of discipline during the test, and they were even warned. Based on the test regtions, revealing information about the test before leaving the area would result in having to retake the test.


    There were not many of them who enrolled in magic courses. After all, many of them understood that not everyone was suited to learning magic after the initial assessments, so it only took a little over an hour to reach Xiao Lin¡¯s turn.


    Walking toward the training hall, the woman in the blue robes was talking to some others in a low voice. When she saw Xiao Lin, she paused before pointing at him, telling the others, ¡°He¡¯s Xiao Lin.¡±


    A few measuring gazes shot over. Xiao Lin did not like the feeling, and he hastened his steps, moving toward the center of the hall. Looking around, there were nothing like alchemical beings or virtual battle simtors around, only a few robes with magic runes on them were there.


    ¡°Put them on; they will guarantee you won¡¯t be injured by me.¡±


    Hearing that, Xiao Lin, who was putting on a robe, was stunned. He raised his head and saw the blue-robed woman walk over herself, which meant that she was the one testing Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°What are the rules? Do I need to hold on for some amount of time? Or do I need to defeat you¡±


    A few of the examiners could not hold back their jeeringughs, and a cold mocking tone could be heard, ¡°You wish to defeat me? It¡¯s not April Fools¡¯ today; there¡¯s nothing like that on Norma!¡±


    ¡°The rules are simple. Duel me and we¡¯ll give you an overall evaluation.¡±


    ¡°What are the standards of evaluation?¡±


    ¡°I feel like I shouldn¡¯t need to exin that to you. Do you have any other questions?¡±


    ¡°Fine. There¡¯s nothing else.¡±


    ¡°I can see from the information that the student union provided that you specialize in me magic. Let me see how your attack power is.¡±


    The test started under a tense atmosphere. The mage¡¯s robes provided for the new students were very light. The quality was soft, yet solid. It was obvious that they were made with good materials. However, providing such good equipment was not a good thing. It only meant the test would be exceptionally hard.


    The woman used a small golden wand and her casting speed was very quick. Light-blue energy bullets shot out as she raised her hands. It was the most basic beginner spell, so the attack power was not that high. Even if that woman, whose skill was currently unknown, used it, its power was still limited.


    ¡°me Bullet!¡± Even though they were not allowed to bring their own equipment, Xiao Lin¡¯s me Bullet was already at the point of perfection. His casting speed was definitely no slower than those energy bullets.


    Scorching me bullets shot out from Xiao Lin¡¯s finger, and urately collided with the energy bullets in midair. After an explosion, the two spells cancelled each other out.


    Xiao Lin understood that his casting speed and perception was being tested. Without urate perception and uracy, it was hard to cast a spell urately in such a short time.


    The woman stared in surprise, but quickly shot out more energy bullets. This time, she shot out four of them, and then shot them in four different directions. Even if they were low-level spells, controlling them to such a degree was incredibly difficult, so Xiao Lin developed some respect for that woman¡¯s skill.


    The four bullets practically sealed off all his escape routes, and the woman had obviously upped the difficulty. The angle the bullets shot at were even trickier and they were even moving with uncertainty. With Xiao Lin¡¯s perception and meditation level, it was quite hard to shoot at them urately. Xiao Lin only had a short one or two seconds to think as the energy bullets shot toward him. In a sh, Xiao Lin made the decision.


    Since he could not urately determine the line of attack, he just needed to shoot even more me bullets into the air!


    If one bullet was not enough, then four, or even eight!


    me Bullet was an improvement from me Ball. The spell shortened the cast time in order to adapt to fast-pacedbat, and the casting speed was dependent on the caster¡¯s overall skills. That was why Xiao Lin immediately activated Miracle, and with his stats all in Intelligence, he could cast around ten me Bullets in two seconds.


    Ten me Bullets shot out from Xiao Lin like a machine gun. It was hard for Xiao Lin to aim them urately in such a short time, but that was fine. There were enough me Bullets that he only needed an approximate location, firing two bullets at each direction.


    A few explosions could be heard after that, and all the energy bullets were intercepted in midair.

 Chapter 395: Magic Tests (3)

    <h4>Chapter 395: Magic Tests (3)</h4>


    Xiao Lin had a sense of aplishment. Compared with Basic Swordsmanship, his Basic Meditation and Basic Perception levels were actually a lot lower. Dealing with such a quick and multi-directional attack was still rather difficult, but he was fortunately able to use numbers to make up for the defensive shorings.


    The woman did not continue on the offensive, but instead said in a calm but unpleasant tone, ¡°If this is a real battle, you¡¯re already at a disadvantage after that earlier attack. If this is a life-threatening battle, you can consider yourself; half-dead!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little dumbfounded. Could that woman be nuts? He had dodged all her energy bombs perfectly. It did not matter if she did not appreciate it, but she had to make sarcasticments instead. Even if she was deliberately making things difficult on behalf of the military, her actions were still too obvious. He asked in a displeased tone, ¡°Give me a reason. What¡¯s the reason for yourment? Didn¡¯t you see that I didn¡¯t get hit by your energy bomb? ¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you paid the price of using more magic!¡±


    Xiao Lin froze, but did not understand.


    The woman continued, ¡°A battle between mages isn¡¯t purely just to bombard spells. This isn¡¯t like the games you y on whim back on Earth! For a mage, every spell cast must be strictly calcted, because you have very limited mental power. Do you think the enemy will give you time to rest in a real battle?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood what she was going to say.


    Sure enough, the woman¡¯s brows gradually frowned: ¡°I released four energy bombs in the test just now, but in fact, only the energy bomb in the southeast direction is directed at you. The other three were just to confuse your vision and seal off any escape route. Those three energy bombs weren¡¯t even going to hit you, but you¡¯ve wasted nearly twice as much mental power as I have!¡±


    It had to be acknowledged that the woman¡¯s standard was very high. The me Bomb was a Bronze-rank improved spell and its mental power consumption is almost the same as that of an energy bomb. Xiao Lin did not notice the specific attack directions of the four energy bombs earlier. It was still very difficult for him to urately perceive it within a short amount of time.


    In fact, such a feat was nearly impossible for all freshmen, as they had only been in the academy for more than four months. The woman¡¯s criticism of Xiao Lin was not wrong, but from the viewpoint of the new students, it simply made things very difficult for them.


    After figuring that out, Xiao Lin looked at the woman calmly. After knowing that she was trying to evaluate him with a specific purpose in mind, he did notin anymore. However, it did not mean that he was just going to ept it. After a while, he asked, ¡°Do you still want to continue? Or do you n to grade the assessment already?¡±


    Xiao Lin had since omitted the honorific title of ¡®teacher¡¯ when addressing her, causing the woman¡¯s brows frown tightly. She said unhappily, ¡°Is it necessary to continue? Isn¡¯t the oue already obvious if two mages of simr level are fighting and one of them consumed more than double the mental energypared to the other person?¡±


    After a pause, the woman put away her staff and began to turn around, and announced the result, ¡°I said it before. The actualbat level is the subject of consideration in this assessment. After all, you¡¯re not going to the New World in the future to y house with those spells! I acknowledge that your basic skill level isn¡¯t bad, but unfortunately your actualbat level does not match your level, so you failed the test!¡±


    Xiao Lin was not surprised by this announcement, but he immediately stopped the other party, ¡°Wait! What did you just say? Can you repeat that again? ¡±


    The woman thought he was pretending to be stupid, so she repeated it word by word, ¡°You failed the test! That¡¯s clear enough, isn¡¯t it!¡±


    ¡°Uh, not that one.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You said that IF two mages of simr level are fighting, didn¡¯t you?¡± Xiao Lin asked with a grin and emphasized the word ¡®if¡¯.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The woman was puzzled


    Xiao Lin had an even bigger grin as he spread his hands, ¡°So that means you just made a hypothesis. Are you going to use a hypothetical situation to judge my failure in the assessment?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a fact. Do you want to question my professional judgment in the field of magic?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯m not questioning your professionalism, but obviously, you just used the standard of most people to judge. That¡¯s very unfair to the minority.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you belong to this minority?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The womanughed furiously, ¡°A minority whose initial attribute value doesn¡¯t even exceed ten? I¡¯ve never seen it before! As rapid as your growth is, you¡¯re still at the level of an ordinary person! Don¡¯t mess around anymore. It¡¯d be better for you to head back and prepare for the make-up exam!¡±


    It seems that this woman had done some investigation beforeing, but it was obvious that her investigation was notprehensive. Xiao Lin gradually retracted his smile and said in a taunting tone, ¡°You don¡¯t dare to try? Are you feeling scared? Perhaps afraid that your judgment turns out to be wrong?¡±


    ¡°How do you want to try?¡± The woman narrowed her eyes. Even though she understood that he was deliberately provoking her, she still could not tolerate it.


    ¡°Your criterion for judging me as unqualified is nothing more than due to the fact that I consume more mental energy, is that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you squander your mental energy without restraint and calction like this, you can¡¯t hold on until the end of a normal battle. You¡¯ll not only harm yourself, but you¡¯ll also kill your future teammates!¡±


    Having said that, Xiao Lin finally felt relieved. How far was she going topare her mental power with him?


    ¡°If this is the case, then why not try and see if I have enough mental power to splurge on!¡±


    The woman had an uncertain look. She went back to discuss with a few other people, then returned to say in a cold voice, ¡°We¡¯ll give you a chance, lest you say that we¡¯re deliberately making things hard for you in the future. We can¡¯t find a ck Iron-rank mage for you to battle with right now, so you¡¯re still up against me.¡±


    ¡°What is the standard to be measured against?¡± Xiao Lin made sure to rify the standards on that asion.


    ¡°Based on your style of fighting, your mental power can only support you to fight for about ten minutes at most.¡±


    ¡°Fifteen minutes?¡± Xiao Lin raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Yes! No more than fifteen minutes, and my calctions won¡¯t be wrong! If you can continue fighting for longer than that period of time, then I¡¯ll consider it my mistake!¡± The woman¡¯s tone was very determined.


    Xiao Lin smiled and his heart finally settled down. All he had to do was maintain ten minutes of fighting? The onlyment he had was that the woman was far too na?ve. She either did not investigate Xiao Lin carefully or had absolutely no permission to view too many files about Xiao Lin. Otherwise, she would have known that Xiao Lin had been in The Final Land not long ago, and the battles he experienced on the way back far exceeded fifteen minutes.


    Although Xiao Lin¡¯s mental power was notparable to that of most people when he first enrolled, four months of painstaking meditation would normally only bring him to equal the level of an ordinary person at most. However, the woman never knew about the existence of his SS-level talent, much less the Creation skills such as Miracle or even Ruin.

 Chapter 396: Clash of Spells

    <h4>Chapter 396: sh of Spells</h4>


    The assessment began once more.


    The woman still used novice-level energy bombs. ording to the regtions of the assessment, the examiner was also not allowed to use spells beyond the scope of the freshman grade.


    However, the woman has also increased the difficulty. The energy bombs she controlled in her hands were as flexible as her own limbs, other than increasing the number of energy bombs released each time, the attack angles were also very erratic.


    Her intention was very simple, that was to suppress Xiao Lin with uninterrupted attacks from the sky, to the point where Xiao Lin could not get a breather. That way, Xiao Lin had to consume more mental energy too.


    The difference in strength forced Xiao Lin into the situation even if he knew the opponent¡¯s trap. He was unable to execute so many perceptive positioning in such a short time, and could only use the same well-practiced me bombs to fill the gap.


    If one me bomb could not end things, he would release two. If two still could not solve it, he wouldunch another four.


    For a time, the assessment turned into a spell bombingpetition. The light blue energy bombs soared in an arc, forming a sharp contrast with the burning me bombs flying all over the sky.


    From the very beginning, Xiao Lin was obviously at a disadvantage. He was flustered in the face of such a sophisticated opponent. The continuous onught of energy bombs prevented him from ascertaining how many were directed at him and how many were just to confuse him. Considering the woman¡¯s ulterior motives, Xiao Lin could not take any risks and decided to intercept all the energy bombs.


    Five minutester, Xiao Lin was still suppressed.


    Ten minutester, Xiao Lin was still struggling to cope.


    In 15 minutes, Xiao Lin seemed to have adapted to the rhythm of the energy bombs, and his interception efficiency had greatly improved.


    Neither person realized that time was up. Xiao Lin¡¯s mental energy consumption was indeed veryrge, but he still had plenty of energy left. Even the miracle state had not been activated yet, but he was already starting to consider using Ruin if the woman continued to speed up her rhythm.


    The other examiners on the sidelines were dumbfounded and tried to point out that the time hade. However, they all seemed to be a little afraid of the woman, as they did not speak despite having their mouths open.


    As a result, the exam was still in progress.


    After half an hour, Xiao Lin finally felt that his head was starting to grow dizzy. It was a sign of mental exhaustion, and although he did not pay attention to the time, he believed that it had been more than 15 minutes, but the woman did not show any signs of stopping.


    Perhaps that woman knew that the time had already passed, but simply forced the exam to continue for the sake of her reputation, following which her purpose was not just to test him, but to knock him down.


    Xiao Lin would not suffer much damage even if he wore a mage robe with extremely high spell resistance for the exam. Despite that, the woman could easily knock him down if that was her intention.


    Xiao Lin was slightly angry, but as long as the woman¡¯s energy bombs continued, he had to continue to intercept with me bombs until his mental power waspletely exhausted. Countless energy bombs would then annihte him until he fell to the ground.


    ¡°If this is the case, then I¡¯ll bring you down with me! Let¡¯s see who¡¯s afraid of whom!¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly yelled. Due to the exhaustion of mental energy, his voice was a little hoarse. The woman was a little anxious and did not seem to care about what he said, but she was soon forced to acknowledge that something was happening.


    Xiao Lin had started his Miracle state, and the anger in his heart quickly elevated him to the higher and more explosive Ruin state. The sudden leap in strength gave him an explosive abilityparable to Bronze-rank, and the other woman finally realized Xiao Lin¡¯s abnormality, though she still did not pay much attention to it.


    In the Ruin state, Xiao Lin¡¯s various attributes have beenprehensively improved, and he can also freely switch attributes. The result was that his near-exhausted mental power could be quickly restored. Although it was an overdraft recovery, he had been quite at ease when dealing with the situation at hand, despite struggling to cope in the beginning. By then, he could even stand there motionlessly and release me bombs with one hand. Furthermore, he was even able to capture the trajectory of each energy bomb, intercepting them urately.


    The change undoubtedly made the woman even more irritated. She knew that Xiao Lin had passed the examination resoundingly that day.


    Causing Xiao Lin to suffer in her hands was a way of redeeming her own dignity. That thought circled in her mind and finally made her lose her sanity. After seeing that the energy bomb¡¯s attack had no effect, she ignored the vague reminders of other examiners on the sidelines and did not hesitate to change to a higher-level spell.


    The flurry of energy bombs stopped abruptly, but a football-sized lightning ball had already flown over, repelling all the me bombs in its way. The level of that new spell was obviously not weak at all.


    The frightened Xiao Lin sped up his spellcasting speed. He did not know many spells, and he had the sudden thought of a me ball. The me Ball Spell was an improved version of the me Bomb, and Xiao Lin could easily use the former since he had learnt thetter. Doing so was not difficult and all he needed to do was re-add the casting steps that had been omitted.


    There was no time to think about the feasibility and Xiao Lin raised his staff again. Fortunately, it had been ingrained in his memory, and the content of the spell book quickly filtered through his mind like a slide projector. Soon, he began resonating with the me element in the surroundings.


    A huge me ball quickly condensed on the top of the staff. Xiao Lin was slightly surprised, because this me ball was obviously not an ordinary one. He had seen that ck Iron-rank spell before, but his own ball was at least twice as big as that. Furthermore, it was burning with a much deeper me.


    Was it caused by casting a spell in the Ruin state? Xiao Lin was not too sure, so he had to wait until the assessment before thinking about it. For the time being, he immediatelyunched the me ball in his hand.


    In an instant, the two magic balls collided in mid-air, and then burst out an extremely dazzling light. The ensuing huge explosion and shockwave knocked Xiao Lin down on the spot.


    ...


    The students waiting outside the training hall were feeling bored when they suddenly felt the entire ground shaking slightly. Some random people even ran away while yelling ¡®earthquake¡¯. Of course, other calm individuals understood that they were in an independent space, which made it impossible for a natural disaster like an earthquake to exist. The saner individuals realized that it was caused by a very strong st wave, and the source of the shock wave was the training hall in front of them.


    The people in the student union, who were responsible for maintaining order outside, also had weird expressions. They no doubt understood that it was just a reaction caused by collided spells, but the problem was that the freshmen were having their test that day. How was it possible for freshmen to produce a spell effect of such level?!

 Chapter 397: Expedited Curriculum

    <h4>Chapter 397: Expedited Curriculum</h4>


    People from the student union were responsible for maintaining order outside the library. Of course, they understood that it was nothing more than the reaction of collided spells, but the issue was that it was a freshman test on that day. How could a freshman execute magic of such a level?!


    The student union was actually in a very awkward spot during the assessment. They had plenty of authority in previous years¡¯ assessments, but the military¡¯s powerful intervention had reduced them to being responsible for maintaining order at the venue. Furthermore, they were still in front of the freshmen, so they had to maintain seriousness and could not let their grievances show. That way, the student union¡¯s authority could still be preserved.


    Although it seemed as though they were responsible for maintaining order, it was actually none of their business at all. The likelihood for anything untoward to happen to new students in the assessment room was practically nil, but as luck would have it, such a scenario did in fact happen.


    The training hall returned to calm after the shock and impact. Just as several student union individuals hesitated whether or not to enter, the door was pushed open from the inside and a dusty Xiao Lin staggered out. The examiner soon followed, although no one knew whether her ashen face was due to the dust or anger.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Many people looked around, and everyone who caught a glimpse of what happened in the training hall opened their mouths in surprise. The structure had changedpletely. As a spell training hall specially used for freshmen, high-quality spell-resistant materials were used, but most of the floor seemed to have been blown up while the roof had plenty of holes in them.


    Everyone looked at Xiao Lin as though he was a monster. It did not matter what transpired within, as it was simply unthinkable for any freshmen to wreak such havoc in the assessment.


    However, Xiao Lin did not say much even though he was privy to what happened. He simply looked at the woman in charge of the assessment with a probing gaze. Although the explosion was strong and the woman was still fine, the mage robe on her obviously was clearly unable to handle it. Several holes had appeared on it, and she was quite ashamed and angry when she was exposed to everyone at the moment. In any case, she was well aware that Xiao Lin would not let her leave if she did not say anything to Xiao Lin there, so she angrily dropped a sentence, ¡°You passed!¡±


    Xiao Lin left in satisfaction. The damage to the training venue stopped the assessment for a while and it was not possible to continue until a new venue was reced, but none of that had anything to do with Xiao Lin, and he was also very tired after using the Ruin state. Fortunately for him however, he did not use the Dragon¡¯s Breath Sword in the Ruin state.


    He did not go directly back to the dorm, but came to Song Jung¡¯s logistics department. The events that morning had signified that Xiao Lin hadpleted his assessment, but it did not mean that his freshmen life was limited to that only. It could only be said that increasinglyplicated elective courses would be provided for students who passed the first stage after enrolment.


    Xiao Lin wanted to n for the future, and he believed that Department Head Song would definitely know more about the uing subjects for freshman year. Besides, he was quite self-conscious about the huge version of the me Ball he used that day, because a spell of that level still scared him slightly.


    Song Jung was still busy when Xiao Lin arrived. The former, who was dressed in a white coat, held a few small test tubes in his hands. The test tubes were filled with a blood-like liquid, and Xiao Lin wisely hid away and came forward about half an hourter, when he finally saw that Song Jung was all done.


    ¡°Hey? When did youe here!¡± Song Jung was probably in a good mood today as he greeted Xiao Lin warmly.


    ¡°I came half an hour ago.¡±


    ¡°Why did you have to wait so long toe ino! It¡¯s not like this is a tiger¡¯sir. What are you afraid of?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be half as scared if this ce really was a tiger¡¯sir, but all of this is much more dangerous than that... Ahem, but that¡¯s not the point. Something very exciting happened in today¡¯s examination venue.¡±


    ¡°You passed?¡± Song Jung could tell from Xiao Lin¡¯s expression and smiled again. ¡°You seem kinda miserable though.¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately recounted the situation at that time. Of course, the focus was not on how hard of a time the Mage Union gave him. For him, the only important thing was to pass the assessment, since he would not be meeting that woman too frequently in the future. Xiao Lin¡¯s befuddlement came from the spell that heunched in the end. The destructive power it produced was quite astonishing, and If it were not for the special mage robes provided by the academy, even Xiao Lin himself would be affected.


    He was lucky not to have faced the embarrassment of getting injured by a spell that he had cast, but Xiao Lin was still a little scared when he thought about it. The spell¡¯s power surprised him, but he would rather not use it if it was derived from instability.


    Song Jung listened to it all and thought for a moment. After inquiring a few more details, he said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m afraid she was using a Bronze-rank spell, the Electric de Ball. This is an upgrade of the ck Iron-rank¡¯s Lightning Ball. How dare she use such a powerful version in the freshman¡¯s assessment!¡±


    Xiao Lin tsk-ed to himself. He thought it was just a ck Iron-rank spell, but he never expected it to be a Bronze-rank one. Then again, he could block it with his me Ball, so could it be that his own spell had a corresponding level of strength?


    However, the answer given by Song Jung was very vague. He did not know much about Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state, but he made a guess of his own. ¡°Although you¡¯re using a ck Iron-rank me Ball, it¡¯s probably not a pure fireball. I believe you added your own understanding to the casting action. I remember you saying that you learnt it from the notes in the spell book brought back from New Washington. That means it¡¯s not a pure me ball. ¡±


    Still confused, Xiao Lin asked directly, ¡°Is this a good thing or a bad thing, then?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯m not good at magic, but I also understand that there¡¯s no absoluteness when ites to spells. The overall number of spells can be considered to increase every year. One single me Ball spell can have various improved versions, and as far as I know, there are more than a hundred different variations and I can¡¯t know for sure which one you¡¯re using.¡±


    ¡®Well then, it looks like I still have to study these spells myself,¡¯ Xiao Lin thought to himself and asked about the freshman year¡¯s curriculum. Song Jung finally stopped what he was doing, looked at him helplessly, and said, ¡°When ites to things like that, it¡¯d be better for you to ask the student union president directly. What do you take me for? How can I possibly know about the curriculum?¡±


    ¡°You have friends in high ces!¡± Xiao Lin could finally say that with confidence.


    The both of them stared at each other, and Song Jung was the first to lose. He did not know whether to cry orugh when he said, ¡°Alright, alright. I didn¡¯t ask about the specific curriculum, but I¡¯m told that the courses in the second half of the freshman year will be modifiedpared to previous years. To be more precise, your progress will be elerated.¡±


    Xiao Lin remained calm. Compared with what he experienced in the past few months, speeding up the courses was not at all sufficient to surprise him anymore.

 Chapter 398: Gu Xiaoyue’s Genes

    <h4>Chapter 398: Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Genes</h4>


    Song Jung was not that surprised by Xiao Lin¡¯s reaction and said innocently, ¡°So you see, I don¡¯t really know all that in detail. Don¡¯t you have a good rtionship with the student union president? You can just ask him.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about the baby-faced president who had helped him countless times, but he also heard from other people that the president was a staunch follower of the dean, so it was no surprise that he showed that much concern for Xiao Lin. However, the military¡¯s intervention was already troublesome enough and Xiao Lin did not want to trouble the student union for the time being.


    ¡°Speaking of which, the holidays are upon us. Do you have any ns?¡± After noticing that Xiao Lin no longer asked any further questions, Song Jung asked some questions of his own.


    ¡°Holidays?¡± Xiao Lin had a confused look.


    Song Jung sighed, ¡°You¡¯ve been in the academy for more than four months now, but I bet you haven¡¯t even read the basic rules and regtions for freshmen... The freshmen¡¯s rules clearly state that the academy will allow students a small holiday after each stage of the exam is over. You can take it as sort of a summer vacation.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but blush. The rules and regtions for new students were issued to everyone by the student union on the first day of enrollment, but his two business trips to the New World caused him to spend little time in the college. As a result, the regtions had beenpletely forgotten.


    ¡°How long is the holiday? A month? Two months?¡±


    ¡°Keep dreaming! The academy doesn¡¯t want to let the freshmen to get too rxed after their enrolment, so this holiday will only be for ten days. Also, there¡¯s some good news. Would you like to hear it?¡± Song Jung blinked.


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little more cooperative!¡±


    The two of them had another staring contest, and after a while, Song Jung lost yet again. He waved his hands and smiled bitterly, ¡°Okay, okay, well actually, this news is supposed to be announced a few dayster, but I¡¯ll tell you in advance. Based on the dean¡¯s opinion, the student union decided that freshmen will be allowed to return to Earth for this holiday.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. He remembered that the academy strictly controlled the return of freshmen to Earth out of fear that those rookies would cause unnecessary trouble. At the freshman level, most of them were not immune to weapons, and the academy did not want the students it so painstakingly trained to be shot down after getting into trouble.


    ¡°This is really great news, but isn¡¯t there some rule prohibiting freshmen from going back?¡±


    ¡°This is an exception. Of course, in order to avoid any trouble, the student union will probably still screen the returning students for certain criteria. The specific details will only be released in another three days.¡±


    ¡°Why must it be another three days?¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s the day the results of yourprehensive test will be announced.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded and had some guess of what the screening criteria were. Originally, he was still at a loss as to how he should spend his holiday, but since the student union made an exception, it was obvious that he had to go back to Earth.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s entertainment facilities were very scarce, and aside from that, four months was equivalent to eight months when converted into Earth¡¯s time. For most people, homesickness was inevitable after having zero contact with family and loved ones for more than half a year.


    ¡°Are you going back?¡±


    ¡°Duh, am I supposed to choose staying here and continuing training instead of going back?¡± After the initial interest in the academy¡¯s curriculum and training, plenty of people had since entered into boredom, and few were willing to waste their precious holidays on training.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll head back with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Xiao Lin nodded, then raised his head suddenly with a wary expression. ¡°You¡¯reing back with me? What are you going to do!¡±


    Song Jung rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going back because of you. I remember you mentioning to me that you¡¯ve met Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sisterst time when you returned to Earth. Isn¡¯t that so?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. You want to meet her?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue isn¡¯t familiar with you, so she¡¯s unlikely to agree.¡± Based on Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding of Gu Xiaoyue, he actually wanted to tell Song Jung that she would outright refuse.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I want to go back to Earth with you instead of going back with Gu Xiaoyue.¡±


    Xiao Lin snapped to his senses. Song Jung wanted to avoid Gu Xiaoyue and meet her sister directly with Xiao Lin as the intermediary, which was not a difficult task at all. Although Xiao Lin had met the girl in a hurry previously, he could still be considered to have made her acquaintance. However, he did not immediately agree. ¡°Her sister is quite pitiful, actually. You have to assure me that you don¡¯t have any malicious intent. Better yet, you might as well state your purpose right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a lolicon, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be an idiot. You know I¡¯m not talking about that...¡±


    The two of them had yet another staring contest. Song Jung dispelled his joking expression slightly and lowered his voice, ¡°You and Gu Xiaoyue came over for dinner two days ago and she identally cut her hand. I had a sudden idea, so I took the blood stains left behind and did a bit of analysis.¡±


    Xiao Lin directly saw through him. ¡°That¡¯s not a sudden idea at all! You nned it a long time ago, and you cut Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hand on purpose!¡±


    Song Jung said helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s skip this irrelevant question for the time being. I¡¯ve been busy conducting identification tests on that blood stain for these two days. Since I used to be a doctor on earth, analyzing blood isn¡¯t difficult for me. ¡±


    ¡°And the results?¡± Xiao Lin was eager to get an answer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Xiao Lin was absolutely lost for words.


    At that point, Song Jung did not look like he was joking at all. He took a deep breath, stared right at Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes, and emphasized each word in a very low tone. ¡°I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s a pure Earthling!¡±


    In an instant, Xiao Lin felt like he was in an ice cer as his blood rapidly ran cold. He copsed on the chair and stared at Song Jung in a daze.


    Song Jung kept quiet in order not to disturb him and simply allowed Xiao Lin to digest those words slowly.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly shouted after a long pause. His emotions were a bit agitated, because he had guessed it before but simply thought that the possibility was very small. At that moment, Song Jung¡¯s words seemed to affirm that worst-case scenario.


    ¡°Calm down.¡±


    ¡°There must be something wrong with your test!¡±


    ¡°Wait for me to finish talking.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally fell silent. He would probably only make a couple of remarks about it if it were anyone else, but he could not ept such a result when it came to Gu Xiaoyue.


    Song Jung finally had the opportunity to continue speaking. ¡°Her DNA is amazing. It has obvious human characteristics with a double-helix structure, but at the same time, I¡¯m also pretty sure that it¡¯s not a pure human gene!¡±


    Xiao Lin then noticed that Song Jung used the word ¡®pure¡¯. He raised his head and asked in surprise, ¡°Mixed-blood?¡±

 Chapter 399: Mixed-Blood

    <h4>Chapter 399: Mixed-Blood</h4>


    It was not the first time Xiao Lin came into contact with the term ¡®mixed-blood¡¯. He thought of the mixed-blood orc he had previously met in Gold City, and thatparison finally calmed Xiao Lin¡¯s emotions down slightly.


    There was a big difference between mixed-blood and pureblood. Xiao Lin could never ept it if Gu Xiaoyue was a pureblooded alien, because it meant that Gu Xiaoyue might be a spy. In that case, everything she ever said to Xiao Lin would be false and deceptive.


    However, there were different reasons why someone was a mixed-blood. For example, the mixed-blood orc in Gold City had beenpletely abandoned by his scum of a father, and the mixed-blood individual was no doubt innocent themselves.


    ¡°Lifewater only has an effect on humans. Even a mixed-blood can never absorb its effects. When the formtion was first developed, the possibility of non-human use was never considered,¡± Song Jung continued.


    Xiao Lin suddenly thought of something, and wondered. ¡°Will the lifespan of a mixed-blood child be very short?¡±


    The half-human orc Hammerhead seemed to have mentioned that his life was limited. Xiao Lin did not really pay much attention to that, but could it have been a coincidence that Gu Xiaoyue had only two years of life left?


    Song Jung sighed solemnly. ¡°Yes, this problem is verymon. In fact, many academies have already done their best to study this very important topic. It has been an unspoken rule since long ago that Earthlings cannot have children even if they marry a Norman.¡±


    ¡°But a lot of people don¡¯t seem toply with it,¡± Xiao Lin added.


    Song Jung snickered. ¡°You¡¯re right. Many peoplee to the New World with this in mind, and the academy can¡¯t just force them to stop. In fact, it was initially encouraged, as having few people in the New World was a disadvantage, so it¡¯s a good thing to be able to increase the poption. Once the fatal gic defect of being the product of a mixed-race was discovered, such things were then banned.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite pitiful for Gu Xiaoyue then. She said that she never even saw her parents before. Those people are lower than scum!¡± Xiao Lin hadpletely calmed himself down and was venting out on behalf of Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words might not be as simple as that,¡± Song Jung hesitated slightly when he said that.


    ¡°Is there something else?¡± Xiao Lin was shocked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I still can¡¯t be sure, so I want to confirm it personally when I go back with you.¡± Song Jung still refused to let the matter slide, and Xiao Lin¡¯s stares were no longer effective anymore.


    After practically confirming that Gu Xiaoyue was a mixed-race child, Xiao Lin¡¯s anxieties had not yet been relieved. He was most worried about her remaining two years of life. ording to Song Jung, such congenital gic defects had no cure, whether it was with Earth¡¯s technology or Norma¡¯s spells.


    In any case, that was no longer a problem that Xiao Lin, or even the current earth colonists for that matter, could solve. In addition, Song Jung also suggested that Xiao Lin should not talk about this to Gu Xiaoyue for the time being. Of course, what Song Jung has studied so far is actually the hybridization of genes, but his research objects were animals rather than humans. However, Xiao Lin was still quite hopeful of Song Jung¡¯s research.


    ¡°What race is Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s blood mixed with?¡± Xiao Lin was curious.


    ¡°Elves.¡±


    ¡°Are you that certain?¡±


    ¡°Please, the academy has gene banks for all races. It¡¯s not difficult to check this kind of thing.¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated. ¡°Will you tell the academy about this? Or to put it another way, do you think the academy already knows about it? For example, through the physical examination we went through when enrolling?¡±


    ¡°Data like this can¡¯t be discovered through a physical examination.¡± Song Jung had something of a teasing look. ¡°Do you want the academy to know? ¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re pretty bright still.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, ¡°It¡¯s easy to understand when you think about it. Mixed-race children aren¡¯t umon, but it¡¯s problematic if a mixed-race child grew up on Earth. Whatever the issues are, I don¡¯t want Gu Xiaoyue to be affected by it.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s face turned serious too. ¡°This is rted to thew. I have no way of exining it to you clearly, but you¡¯re right. It is impossible for a mixed-race child to be on Earth. If the academy intervenes and investigates it thoroughly, many people will have to suffer, and... Ah, never mind, you didn¡¯t tell anyone about it did you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°Then those who know about this will stop with you and I!¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little irritated with Song Jung¡¯s several unfinished words, but it seemed that thetter had no intention of revealing further information until he investigated it. Soon, he reasoned that he had to start packing for his return to Earth and chased Xiao Lin away.


    On the way back to the dormitory, Xiao Lin¡¯s mind thought about a lot of things. He immediately dialed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s phone number after arriving at the dormitory. She had just finished the exam and it turned out that she had some time to spare. Xiao Lin did not directly venture into that topic, because whatever the case may be, Song Jung¡¯s purposeful n to identify her blood was not something that was worth the encouragement.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression was the same as before. She was indifferent and did not talk much. During that time, Xiao Lin tried to pay close attention to every inch of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face through the screen. Gu Xiaoyue could not help but frown at his burning gaze and was not at all happy with him, so she ended the call much in advance.


    Xiao Lin chuckled a few times. He could not just tell her that he was trying to notice any non-human characteristics on her. Unfortunately, he failed to find any characteristics.


    Perhaps Song Jung was interested in that aspect too. The mixed-blood orc has obvious orc characteristics, but Gu Xiaoyu had no such characteristics. Regardless of how he scrutinized her, she looked just like an ordinary human. Of course, Xiao Lin still had very little knowledge of mixed races, but there was no issue with that. Since Song Jung refused to say anything, he could just head to the library and search it up.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s exams had all ended and the results would be announced three dayster. Those three days could already be considered a holiday for the freshmen, as there were no longer any courses scheduled. Other than a few basketball courts and a football field in Dawn Academy, entertainment facilities were scarce, and many did not know what else to do when it was time for them to rx. Those who were slightly more ambitious would treat the library as a ce to pass their time, unless they wanted to re-enter the training halls again.


    When Xiao Lin came to the magnificent library, he wrote the word ¡®mixed-race¡¯ in a special piece of paper. The magic flying carpet Xiao Lin sat on quickly brought him to the bookshelf he was looking for. Books rted to mixed races upied a whole row of bookshelves. Each of the bookshelves there were a couple of floors high, with hundreds of rted books on disy. From that, it was clear that the problem of mixed races did not just start when Earthlings first reached Norma.

 Chapter 400: Examination Results Announced

    <h4>Chapter 400: Examination Results Announced</h4>


    Xiao Lin had a lot of free time after the exam, so he drew out a very thick book from the shelf before taking the magic flying carpet to the reading area.


    He spent half an afternoon reading that, but the books about mixed races were all about Norma¡¯s races. As a multi-racial world with humans, orcs, elves, and the like, the problem of mixed races would certainly exist, like how thebination of Chinese and foreign families on Earth had long bemonce. In fact, many still found such mixed races hard to ept on Norma, especially when it came to the more traditional individuals.


    The reasons for that were veryplicated. Some of them could be traced back to historical reasons. For example, it was almost impossible for the elves and the orcs because the two werepletely opposed to each other in terms of aesthetics and values. Another example were trolls and human beings, who have long feuded in a perennial war. There were also other congenital reasons.


    Xiao Lin frowned when he read that. Since the book itself was tranted from Normese by Earthlings, those statements were very vague. After thinking for a while, he quickly understood that it was about genes. Of course, the concept of genes did not exist for the Normans, but they have gradually realized over the years that mixed-blood can easily affect the blood of the next generation.


    There were advantages and disadvantages with that kind of influence, but it was difficult to judge urately. In some areas, mixed-race children would be regarded as a symbol of uncleanness, and even some Normese countries hadws that disallowed inter-ethnic marriages.


    Xiao Lin thought of Ibeiya again, the mixed-race who imed to be half-Norman human and half-vampire. Although she did not explicitly mention anything when Xiao Lin asked about her childhood, he could tell that Ibeiya¡¯s identity led her to face discrimination everywhere when she was young. It was a very saddening situation, as she was forced to remain anonymous.


    In any case, the impact of interracial marriages between Normans was limited to a person¡¯s own ability. However, Xiao Lin never saw the slightest statement of shortened life spans even though he went through the entire book.


    In other words, only Earthlings and Normans¡ªregardless of which Norman race¡ªcould produce offspring with a very short life expectancy. The few words that Song Jung said to him made Xiao Lin overthink, as it was difficult to say that the issue was too serious or too minor.


    If Earthlings want to gain a foothold in Norma, doing so by themselves was simply not enough. They could not just get Earth¡¯s entire poption to migrate all at once either. However, reproduction was a matter of course in order to perpetuate their rule in Norma, especially since those who had reached Silver-rank were not able to return to Earth anymore.


    So far, practically all the academies¡ªincluding Dawn Academy¡ªencouraged intermarriage among Earth¡¯s people. They did not support intermarriage between Earthlings and Normans, but did not restrict it either. Xiao Lin could even imagine how many mixed-blood children like Gu Xiaoyue and Hammerhead existed as of then.


    After spending the whole afternoon in deep thought, Xiao Lin only managed to get a general understanding of the mixed-race situation in Norma. During the subsequent two days, Xiao Lin continued to soak in the library but still came up with nothing. The issue of interracial marriage between Earthlings and Normans were not included within the books, which undoubtedly left him quite disappointed.


    The announcement of theirprehensive exam results came on the back of Xiao Lin¡¯s failed investigation. The specific time for the announcement had long been announced on the forum. No one was loitering out anymore when the clock neared 10am. Whether they were feeling confident or not, they were all sitting in front of theputer and anxiously waited for the announcement of the results.


    In fact, everyone had a rough idea of the actualbat assessment¡¯s results, but what really worried them was undoubtedly the written test. Among them, the multiple-choice and short-answer questions were automatically graded by theputer, but the final essay questions were manually graded, hence the dy for two or three days.


    When the time on the automatic clock jumped to 10am, everyone quickly clicked open their files. After a few minutes, the dormitory doors all opened, with cheers andintsing from the corridors and lounges. The noise was a mix of happiness and sadness.


    Xiao Lin looked at theputer screen, but his expression was a bit strange. There was no direct score for the test results and was instead reced using grades. His scores were as followed:


    Basic melee assessment:


    Basic Swordsmanship: S


    Basic Physique: S


    Basic Body Techniques: S


    Overall score: S


    Comprehensive score of basic spells: B


    Basic subjects written examination:


    Multiple-choice: S


    Short-answer questions: S


    Essay questions: D-


    Overall score: B+


    The final result was that Xiao Lin sessfully passed the exam. There was a reminder sign next to the score, indicating that the ranking of the freshman exam would be announced on the top of the forum in half an hour. Many people also knew that in advance. In order to encourage everyone to learn and cultivate theirpetitiveness, Dawn Academy adopted a ranking mechanism that any people detested.


    Of course, Xiao Lin is not concerned about that. Although he expected to pass the assessment, the score puzzled him because theprehensive actualbat assessment of basic spells was only given a B, which was not very high. Xiao Lin was very unhappy with that.


    Inparison, the basic melee assessment¡ªwhere the military¡¯s examiners clearly demonstrated their intent to give him a hard time¡ªstill gave him the highest S evaluation after being impressed by Xiao Lin¡¯s strength. Xiao Lin¡¯s impression of them improved slightly, because at the very least, they dared to admit their failure, unlike the Mage Union who clearly held a bit of a grudge against him by giving him that B.


    It did not matter that much though, because Xiao Lin did not pay too much attention to all that as long as he passed. Another puzzling aspect was the essay part of his written test, which was only given a D- evaluation. For the record, that was lower than the bare average! In the previous monthly exams, the lowest evaluation Xiao Lin had ever gotten was a C-, and a D evaluation further showed that his answers were way off the mark, or equivalent to rubbish if one were to describe it a little harshly. Was the D- evaluation alluding to the fact that Xiao Lin¡¯s answers were worse than rubbish?


    The high scores of the short answer and multiple-choice questions had reached the passing standard and pushed his finalprehensive evaluation higher, but Xiao Lin was still not very happy about it.


    The announcement of the exam rankings had already begun. Xiao Lin clicked in and had a look too. The first ce was actually Chen Dao, whose spell score was an S and the written tests were also an S. The second ce was Cheng Ming, who got an S in the melee test, but only obtained an A+ in the written tests. Meanwhile, Gu Xiaoyue was at third, with everything a perfect S except for her spell evaluation, which was only A-.


    How could Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s spell evaluation be inferior to Chen Dao¡¯s?


    Absolutely ridiculous!


    It went without saying that the forum exploded. As for Xiao Lin¡¯s own ranking, he was a long way off due to his written test scores and the B he got for his spell evaluation. At the moment however, fretting over his grades was thest thing on his mind and he dialed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s number at once.

 Chapter 401: Silverlight’s Request

    <h4>Chapter 401: Silverlight¡¯s Request</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue did not seem that surprised. She proceeded to tell Xiao Lin about what happened. After the examination was over, the examiner made a point to invite her to join the Mage Union, but she rejected them unceremoniously.


    ¡°That¡¯s why they gave you such a low evaluation!¡± Xiao Lin was appalled.


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Anger rushed into Xiao Lin¡¯s heart and he found the injustice more uneptable than his own. However, his anger was instantly extinguished after seeing Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s cold expression, and he did not know whether to cry orugh. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be too dissatisfied with it?¡±


    ¡°Why should I be dissatisfied?¡±


    ¡°Your grades and rankings will be affected, and this result will be recorded in your lifetime file. If you go to the New World in the future, it¡¯s something they¡¯ll refer to, whether it¡¯s finding a job or other stu¡ª¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s voice gradually became softer and softer as he said with a bitter smile, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Indeed, he almost forgot that Gu Xiaoyue had only two years of life left. It would be very cruel to talk about the future in front of her, despite the apparent indifference on her face.


    ¡°What you did is right!¡± Xiao Lin immediately changed his position and expressed support for her. ¡°Any Mage Union or stupid rankings can go to hell! What¡¯s important is that you live afortable life!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hang up now if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± Gu Xiaoyue had a habit of hanging up early.


    ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Xiao Lin was forced to interrupt her and asked in a deliberative tone, ¡°I heard that an exception will be made for this batch of freshmen to return to Earth after the exam. Do you have any ns?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was a little stupefied. Such momentous news was obviously yet to be announced, but she did not doubt Xiao Lin¡¯s words. After a moment of distressed surprise, she whispered, ¡°I might go home to check on things.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back together then. Your sister knows me too. It¡¯d be good for me to go back and see her again. Mm, I think that¡¯s agreed then. Alright, I have something to deal with, so I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± Xiao Lin finished his words in one breath and did not even give Gu Xiaoyue a chance to refute when he hung up. However, he did not know whether his real purpose was to go back and visit her sister or whether he simply wanted to be with Gu Xiaoyue.


    With Gu Xiaoyue settled, there was still someone else waiting for Xiao Lin. He was somewhat scared when he turned around and saw a white shadow floating in the air. It might not be the first time they met like that, but it was still chilling nheless.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you show up a little more normally next time, Silverlight?¡±


    ¡°Mm, good idea. What would you suggest?¡± Silverlight asked in a very serious tone.


    Xiao Lin was speechless, as he was just casuallyining. Silverlight was a soul in his ring, and he really could not think of any other ways for her to show up. He rolled his eyes helplessly and said, ¡°At least let me know in advance.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Are you going back?¡± Silverlight went straight to the point after uttering in response.


    Xiao Lin pondered and understood why she was looking for him. ¡°Do you want to go back too?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this something you promised?¡± Silverlight was confused, and there was a slight sternness between her eyebrows. No matter how delicate and cute she was, Xiao Lin would never forget the ruthlessness she disyed back in Silverlight Lake.


    The cold sweat on Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead began to drip down. He had promised her that at the time, but Xiao Lin did not have the final say on whether he could bring her back.


    Like the security checks one had to go through whenever one went to the New World, a simr check was required when returning to Earth. Xiao Lin could not guarantee whether Silverlight would be detected. Even if she could not be detected, he must also consider whether the bnce of Earth¡¯s space and time would be affected if Silverlight were to return.


    Xiao Lin did not want to cause the Earth¡¯s bnce to be destroyed again because of his negligence. ording to Song Jung, every time the bnce of the earth is intensified and destroyed, it will trigger a big natural reaction, such as a volcano or a tsunami.


    He hesitated to mention his worries to Silverlight. Since Silverlight was also considered one of Earth¡¯s humans, he believed she would not make things hard for him. However, Silverlight¡¯s attitude was very firm¡ªshe was adamant on going back and seeing everything. It had been her biggest wish for so many years and the main reason she was willing to follow Xiao Lin.


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about the bnce of space, then you can rest assured. When I went from Earth to Norma, I lost most of my abilities, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t be possible for anyone to imprison my soul.¡±


    Xiao Lin did notpletely trust Silverlight¡¯s exnation, but the fact was that he had no other choice. After all, he had promised her, and he could also understand the woman¡¯s longing for her hometown on Earth.


    ...


    A littleter, the student union finally announced the most important news, that freshmen were allowed to return to Earth. While countless people were cheering, the student union soon introduced a series of rules and regtions that had to be followed. They were issued by the student union president, who had personally created them. Since there had not been any precedent in past years which allowed for freshmen to head back, the regtions contained many uses and terms, and the very first one was that severe punishment should any of the rules be vited.


    First and foremost, only those who had passed their test could return. Those who failed must stay in the academy to prepare for the make-up exam. It was also forbidden to disclose the existence of Dawn Academy on Earth, nor could they use any abilities that were beyond theprehension of ordinary people. The second line was rather vague, and the original words of the student union president were that no one shall let themselves be seen by anyone unaffiliated with the academy.


    It was rather interesting, as it seemed to say that abilities could be used as long as they were not discovered. Of course, Xiao Lin knew that it was a protection of sorts for freshmen, as they did not even reach Silver-rank and could not be considered strong. Fundamentally speaking, there was no need to worry that they might disrupt the bnce of things.


    A brief exnation of the academy¡¯s monitoring mechanism on Earth soon followed, which dispelled anyone who thought that they could use their abilities and get away with it by luck. Although many people were not particrly happy about such harsh conditions, it was enough for them as long as they could go home once.


    In the end, the academy also opened up the exchange function between points and RMB. Of course, the exchange is unteral, which meant that points could be exchanged for RMB, but not vice-versa. The price was quite generous too, with 1,000 RMB per one redemption point. However, the maximum that they could get was capped at one million RMB.


    Generally speaking, everyone was satisfied with it. In the past four months or so, the freshmen have often discussed their lives on Earth. Most of them who enrolled had rtively average families on Earth and rarely had that kind of power or riches. The academy actually paid attention to such things when they recruited the freshmen.


    What the academy wanted for people who would go to the New World without hesitation. Those with sufficient wealth and power on Earth might find the New World much less attractive.

 Chapter 402: The Essay Question Debate

    <h4>Chapter 402: The Essay Question Debate</h4>


    Along with the announcement of that momentous news, the assessment rankings published on the forum no longer became the subject of discussion by everyone else, except for a small number of people who were trying to find the names of certain people¡ªsuch as the monitors or Xiao Lin¡ªfrom the rankings.


    Among the 12 monitors, ss Four¡¯s Han Manman was the only one who still remained the acting monitor due to having failed her test. Meanwhile, the others had all officially been appointed squad leaders and there was strongpetition for the year leader spot. They were also the candidates for the uing inter-academypetition, so it was only natural that they became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention.


    The monitors¡¯ grades were mostly quite outstanding, and while Xiao Lin¡¯s final evaluation was not that bad, there were still people who made a point to emphasize his score on the essay question. Xiao Lin had a reputation after all, but the more prominent reason was that he only got a D- in the essay question and was actually the lowest score out of all.


    ¡°A D minus? One of the student union¡¯s guys told me that it¡¯s been several years since he saw such a bad score.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be right? Xiao Lin is strong though.¡±


    ¡°As strong as he is, I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll get a good result if he¡¯s absent from ss all the time. This is a written test!¡±


    ¡°The previous poster is obviously jealous. Didn¡¯t you see his multiple-choice questions, he got an S!¡±


    ¡°Cheated.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me how to get an S by cheating?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no point talking about all this. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the one who graded the essays.¡±


    ¡°I think Xiao Lin deliberately didn¡¯t answer thest question.¡±


    ...


    There are also several posts on the forum expressing curiosity about that odd rating. Some people from ss Seven decided to ask their monitor directly, but they got zero response from Xiao Lin as he was inside the student union¡¯s office. A couple of old bespectacled men were seated before him. He had gone there after speaking with Gu Xiaoyue.


    Xiao Lin did not really care much for his grades anyway as long as he passed. Getting number one or number ten did not matter at all to him, but other people seemed to be more concerned with that than him. It was none other than the group of old men in front of him. To be more precise, they were the teachers who graded that written test.


    These few months of academy life has long taught Xiao Lin atent rule: although appearance was not a criterion for judging age, anyone in that world who looked slightly older would definitely have entered academy very early on. Anyone who had reached that age and was allowed to stay in the academy were undoubtedly professor-level figures with actual talent.


    When Xiao Lin was still browsing the forum, he received a message from the president who called him over without exining the why. After arriving, he saw a scene that resembled a trial in three courts.


    ¡°Although the actualbat assessment is the responsibility of the military, the written test is still under the purview of the few professors here. You were called here because some of the professors have questions for you.¡± The baby-faced president remained as genial as ever. He smiled, but his eyes hinted to Xiao Lin that nothing good woulde out of that day.


    ¡°This is Professor Li, who is in charge ofpiling Norma¡¯s history. This is Professor Zhang, who is in charge of Norma¡¯s humanities research. This here is someone you ought to know, since he¡¯s your lecturer, Professor Dai. This is¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Don¡¯t waste our time, President. We called Xiao Lin just to have a talk.¡± The Professor Zhang mentioned by the president interrupted thetter unceremoniously, as if he had seen through the president¡¯s intentions.


    In nominal terms, the president was responsible for all teacher-student affairs of the entire academy, but sometimes qualifications had more authority than positions. It was clear that the authority of the president was very small there.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, we¡¯re here to discuss the essay question with you. First of all, can you confirm that this is what you wrote?¡± Professor Zhang said as he took out a printed test paper and handed it over. On it was Xiao Lin¡¯s answer to the final question.


    So that was it...


    Xiao Lin never expected to be called over and could not help but feel a headacheing on.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have objections, some of our professors are very curious as to why you answered it in such a way? Who told you that?¡±


    ¡°Is there a rule that forbids me to answer in such a way?¡± Xiao Lin blinked and asked back.


    The several professors were taken aback and their momentum took a hit. Another individual, Professor Li, pursed his lips and said pensively, ¡°Your answers were actually very great. We¡¯re very happy to let you get first ce among this batch of freshmen, but there¡¯s a rule in the academy that the answer sheet of the first-ced candidate must be publicly disyed in the academy for others to learn from. It¡¯s impossible to publicly show that kind of answer...but since you¡¯ve admitted to answering indiscriminately, there are no further issues.¡±


    ¡°I answered this after making careful considerations.¡± Although Xiao Lin understood that the final score might not be changed, he did not want anyone else to think that he was answering questions on a whim.


    The professors frowned and Professor Dai suddenly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the reason? I don¡¯t remember talking about war in my ss? An all-out war between us and the Normans, no less! Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being an rmist? Have you ever taken the academy¡¯s discipline seriously?¡±


    ¡°Somehow. It doesn¡¯t really matter what kind of evaluation you give me, but it¡¯s unnecessary for you to deny the correctness of my answer simply because of that.¡± Xiao Lin spread out his hand and said innocently, ¡°Isn¡¯t that fact really obvious??¡±


    ¡°Absurd!¡±


    ¡°Ludicrous!¡±


    Loud harrumphs were heard all around. The president blinked helplessly at Xiao Lin and motioned for him to give in a little. Xiao Lin sighed, waved his hand and said, ¡°Okay, okay, I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t tell the truth. I should just write how strong we are on the answer sheet...¡±


    Xiao Lin originally wanted to add in a couple of sarcastic jibes, but he swallowed it back after a second thought. It did not matter what he said there as it was meaningless whether or not he managed to persuade the other party.


    The professors stared at him and felt that their fieriness had not yet beenpletely dispelled. In the end however, the short meeting ended hastily. Professor Dai was the only one who patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder before leaving, and he even said meaningfully, ¡°Xiao Lin, you¡¯re still too young. Sometimes what the people need isn¡¯t the truth.¡±


    Xiao Lin froze. When he turned around, Professor Dai was already far away.


    The student council president sighed deeply and rubbed his eyebrows before saying, ¡°Ever since you enrolled in the academy, I¡¯ve realized that the frequency of my troubles is twice as much as before!¡±


    Xiao Lin felt embarrassed too, as it was true when he thought about it. If there was any trouble in the academy, the president was the one who ended up in trouble about 80% to 90% of the time. Xiao Lin was fortunate to have the president on his side, but thetter then said in a rather stern manner, ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t answer the question like that.¡±


    ¡°President, do you think that peace will always be maintained in Norma?¡± Xiao Lin was a little confused. As a freshman who had only been to the New World twice, he could vaguely sense an impending crisis, especially since Asabanor¡¯s appearance could be likened to an explosive barrel waiting to be ignited. He could hardly believe it if those who had spent so many years in Norma did not feel the same way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll send shockwaves throughout the entire academy if we give such high marks for an answer to that kind of question? How will other students think of us? How much panic will it cause in the entire colony?¡± the president questioned.


    Xiao Lin was speechless, as that never crossed his mind at all.

 Chapter 403: Departing for Home

    <h4>Chapter 403: Departing for Home</h4>


    Although the president¡¯s tone was a bit serious, he still remained somewhat cheerful. ¡°Some things might not be as simple as they seem to be on the surface. Many things, such as the contest between the academies, the covert battle between the academy and the Normans, and even the power struggle within the academy, are moreplicated they look.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked back, ¡°So it means they¡¯re actually aware of the current situation but they refuse to admit it just to avoid panic?¡±


    The president was a little helpless. ¡°That¡¯s not true, perhaps they¡¯re subconsciously alert, but most people might not feel so strongly about it. I believe you¡¯re aware of the differences between the dean and the military by now.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°The dean advocates long-term suppression of the orcs and other threatening races in Norma, but the military believes that the Norman natives should be united against other academies.¡±


    ¡°Which one do you think is right?¡±


    ¡°I support the dean, but not everyone thinks that way. In fact, since the end of the orc war and the affirmation of the resurrectionw, the dominance of Earthlings in Norma has been continuously strengthened, in addition to the knowledge that has been instilled in the new students from generation to generation. Until now, almost everyone believes that we¡¯re very strong, and the Normans have no choice but to bow before us.¡±


    Xiao Lin did notment on that, but asked instead, ¡°What¡¯s your personal opinion, President?¡±


    The president smiled nomittally. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The situation in Norma has be more and moreplex since about ten years ago. By the way, starting from the second half of the semester, there should be one more basic course in your basic course, called Basic Norma Political Science. I strongly rmend it, and I hope that freshmen can get a general understanding of the basic political structure of Norma from now on.¡±


    After a pause, the president¡¯splexion eased slightly and he smiled, ¡°But you don¡¯t have to think too much. If there really is a war with the Normans, it will only happen in the future. It can¡¯t possibly happen so soon. We¡¯re still quite strong whenpared to the Normans, and it isn¡¯t that easy for the tables to be turned.¡±


    Xiao Lin decided in his heart that war, regardless of the circumstances, was not something to be happy about.


    After listening to all that, Xiao Lin began making preparations to go home, but there was nothing much to prepare actually. ording to the regtions for returning to Earth, all kinds of weapons and equipment from there were not allowed to be taken back. It was not that the bnce of space might be destroyed, since the freshmen¡¯s equipment were mostly ck Iron- or¡ªon rare asions¡ªBronze-rank, which only caused very limited fluctuations in space.


    Rather, the academy was worried that freshmen would cause trouble when they head back. Such an incident was not without precedent. When it came to ordinary people who suddenly obtained superhuman power and returned to Earth¡¯s normal environment, the academy wanted to prevent untoward situations by imposing strict management and punishment rather than relying on an individual to suppress their own desires.


    In order for the freshmen to have a more intuitive understanding of their own strength, the student union even told them unceremoniously that there was no way for them to block the damage of a firearm without the academy¡¯s armor and equipment, even if their strength had surpassed ordinary people. If they did not want their lives to be wasted for no good reason, they ought to spend their holidays on the earth in an earnest manner. In any case, the preferential exchange prices basically ensured that most people who went back would be millionaires. Such an amount of money could basically let them enjoy themselves for a long time.


    There are more than 800 people in the freshman year, and some people have already started the journey since the afternoon of the announcement. The academy had specially prepared an extended spatial carriage for that purpose, but it still took some time as there was only one spatial channel.


    Although it was just a short 10-day holiday, everyone was already brimming with excitement. In the few months of academy life, people who got along well would get together in twos and threes, walk in groups, and exchange ways tomunicate with each other on Earth. Of course, there were also others who refused to disclose too much out of caution.


    Xiao Lin asked Gu Xiaoyue about it, and she seemed unwilling to board a very crowded carriage with too many people, so she said she would leave a few dayster. She did not seem to mind that her vacation days were reduced by a few days, but in fact, in the two days after the exam, Xiao Lin noticed that she went to the meditation room or library every day.


    Since Xiao Lin said she would apany her, he had no choice but to leave a few dayster. Song Jung was disgruntled about it and grumbled heavily. He seemed anxious to return to Earth, so he left early, but he informed Xiao Lin to contact him again when they were back on Earth.


    Cheng Ming wanted to tag along with Xiao Lin, but left with a knowing smile after hearing that thetter was apanying Gu Xiaoyue. Chen Dao also looked for Xiao Lin, as he and Cheng Ming were the two who could be considered to have the best rtionship with Xiao Lin. Rather than asking toe along however, Chen Dao asked him for his gaming ID.


    Xiao Lin rubbed his ears vigorously to make sure that he heard it right. Rather than asking for a phone number or address on Earth, Chen Dao¡¯s first order of business was to ask for a gaming ID. They had talked about ying one of thoserge-scale online games together before, but there was nothing of the sort in Dawn Academy to entertain them.


    It had been difficult for them to get an opportunity to return home, and Chen Dao¡¯s first thought was to invite Xiao Lin to y a game...


    Xiao Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave Chen Dao his ID in a dumbfounded manner. However, he also reminded Chen Dao that there was a lot for him to do after going back and that he might not have time to y any online games...


    Two dayster, there were not too many freshmen left and the rest were basically those who failed the assessment. It was worth mentioning that the passing rate of that year¡¯s freshmen was the lowest ever. The news that Xiao Lin got from Song Jung was that only 60% passed, which meant that more than 300 people had to stay back in the academy.


    Gu Xiaoyue finally started packing her things up. After meeting up with Xiao Lin, he noticed that she was holding a couple of books and was briefly lost for words before asking, ¡°Do you n to read books all day after you go back?¡±


    ¡°What else can I do?¡± Gu Xiaoyue looked at him strangely.


    ¡°It¡¯s a holiday. It might be good to keep your sister somepany.¡±


    ¡°But she¡¯s in ss.¡±


    ¡°ss? It¡¯s January, so I think it¡¯s going to be winter vacation... Ah, you¡¯re right.¡± The hapless Xiao Lin realized the time difference meant that it was probably around April or May on Earth, which was still schooling time.


    ¡°What are you still thinking about?¡± After taking two steps forward, Gu Xiaoyue noticed that Xiao Lin was still standing there and looking suspiciously at him.


    Xiao Lin hurriedly followed. He was actually thinking about whether to invite Gu Xiaoyue to travel or something, and in the end, he gritted his teeth and made the invitation. Although he received the rejection that he had expected, she seemed even more surprised than he was and even showed disdain for his time-wasting action.


    Indeed, traveling might just be a meaningless waste of life for someone with a life span of only two years.

 Chapter 404: On the Way Home

    <h4>Chapter 404: On the Way Home</h4>


    A routine inspection was held before students could enter the train za. Although there were not many people, it was probably the first time that the freshmen returned to Earth, so additional staff were stationed to help with the inspection. It was a very solemn and strict affair, and Xiao Lin¡ªwho was lining up at the far back¡ªnoticed that someone near the start of the line had been stopped.


    Although the student union had formted rules for returning to Earth, there would always be someone who would try to vite those rules. There were many people who wanted to quietly bring some magic props back just to show off, but they were all stunned witless when the student union inspected them like an enemy.


    Xiao Lin was also very nervous. He promised to bring Silverlight back. Other than ensuring that Silverlight herself would not affect Earth¡¯s spatial bnce, he also had to worry whether the spatial ring could be brought back with him when it was strictly a magical equipment.


    When it was Xiao Lin¡¯s turn, he discovered that it was an acquaintance who came to do the inspection that day. It was Gu Fantian, a sophomore senior who was in charge of guiding the freshmen when Xiao Lin first enrolled, and was seen working in the libraryter on too. Xiao Lin could not help but smile, ¡°You seem to be everywhere.¡±


    Gu Fantian shook hands with Xiao Lin very cordially and responded with a smile, ¡°I can¡¯t help it when I¡¯m short of money. It¡¯d be good to work and earn a little since I have some free time during this holiday.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. He also knew that someone like Gu Fantian who was not a cadre at any level would receive a certain subsidy if he worked in the student union, though the work itself was very cumbersome of course. Since Xiao Lin was being inspected by an acquaintance, it was only natural that Xiao Lin acted in a more friendly manner.


    The spatial ring could not be considered a prop that disrupted the bnce of space, but since the most stringent regtions were enforced for the freshman in light of the exception that the academy afforded them, Xiao Lin did not know how to express himself in such a public ce.


    Gu Fantian was a smart person. When he came over with the testing instrument and started chatting with Xiao Lin, he had already noticed something from Xiao Lin¡¯s expression and said with a smile, ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve taken the spatial carriage. I¡¯m sure the student union already reminded you, so there¡¯s no need for me to say much about these regtions. Alright then, you may pass.¡±


    Xiao Lin gave a grateful look and appreciated it. He deliberately mentioned the student union just to seat up other people¡¯s mouths. That Xiao Lin had connections within the academy was not a big secret. Even though many people did not know where that rtionship stemmed from, it was enough to shut the mouths of those who were present there.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s inspection went without a hitch as well. Books were considered one of the few things that could be taken back. The Normese text on it might attract the attention of ordinary people on Earth, but ordinary people would simply assume it was an aliennguage and the person reading it were either a lunatic or mentally unfit.


    There were very few people taking the spatial carriage today and all of them chatted excitedly. After Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue got on the carriage, they all said hello even though Xiao Lin had no idea who they were.


    ¡°Does this spatial carriage travel through a wormhole?¡±


    ¡°Will it be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°The academy didn¡¯t seem to have specified anything.¡±


    Several people were discussing nervously and groped around with their hands, as if they wanted to use something as support. However, none of those things were present or necessary.


    Xiao Lin was going to exin to Gu Xiaoyue about the spatial carriage all along, and while he did so, he also briefly exined things to the others. For example, one could hardly feel any movement when the spatial carriage was moving and there was no need to worry about things like bumps. He also exined about the gold-like timesand.


    Having taken the spatial carriage several times, Xiao Lin looked very calm, but he was very curious about Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression. To his regret, although several other people made exaggerated exmations in the process, Gu Xiaoyue remained asposed as usual. However, she then stretched out her hands in an attempt to catch the golden sand particles floating through the air. Of course, timesand was pure energy that could not be held.


    Once the carriage arrived 20 minutester, the inside plunged into darkness once again. Xiao Lin noticed a near-imperceptible sighing from beside him, and the carriage door opened just as he was about to speak.


    The exit of the spatial passage from Dawn Academy to Earth was situated on a high mountain, with a fake observatory nearby. As the person in charge of the earth branch, Mao Tianying was there to greet the students; he was the same guy that weed Xiao Lin during the previous trip to Earth. Mao Tianying did not forget Xiao Lin of course, and after getting off the carriage, he immediately came over and greeted Xiao Lin enthusiastically.


    ¡°I heard that you¡¯re now a monitor and you¡¯ve even been to the New World. You¡¯re an interesting person, and I didn¡¯t even notice thest time we met.¡± Mao Tianying¡¯s enthusiasm was quite ttering, but it was to be expected. Although Mao Tianying was responsible for the Earth Division, but for the simple fact that Dawn Academy ced so much importance on the New World, his position was probably worth less than Song Jung as a department head.


    Mao Tianying¡¯s enthusiasm toward the other people was only perfunctory. For example, after leading everyone down the long stairs out of the mountain, he half-heartedly invited everyone to visit the nearby surroundings. However, there was nothing else to see other than an observatory on the top of that barren mountain, and it was still daytime too, which meant that there was no way they could use the telescope.


    Before going down the mountain, Mao Tianying was also responsible for delivering the money that everyone had exchanged their points for. At the academy, the student union has already counted the number of RMB to be exchanged with each person, and the list was then handed over to Mao Tianying. Anything less than 10,000 RMB will be given in cash on the spot, but a card would be issued if it exceeded that amount.


    To be more precise, Gu Xiaoyue was the only one among the dozens of people there who held a small pile of cash. Everyone else basically had a bank card in their hand. ording to the regtions of the student union, the maximum limit of RMB one million was no more than 1,000 exchange points. After more than four months, most people¡¯s monthly exams and daily attendance rewards were a lot of money when added up, so they could still afford to get that kind of money.


    The Earth Division also thoughtfully prepared a vehicle for them to descend the mountain, but the only choice for the rest of the people was a bus. When it came to Xiao Lin, Mao Tianying enthusiastically invited him to get on his brand-new Mercedes-Benz sports car, which Xiao Lin did not refuse. Gu Xiaoyue was also invited. She blushed, butpared to a bumpy bus, she was obviously more than happy to ride in afortable Mercedes.


    ¡°This is a new car.¡± Xiao Lin did away with the pleasantries after getting in the car. He remembered that the vehicles there were very old when he returned thest time.


    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you!¡± Mao Tianying gasped. ¡°An exception was made for freshmen like you toe back, so the academy made a special payment for us to update the equipment and vehicles too. They¡¯re to wee you here.¡±


    ¡°That bus?¡± Gu Xiaoyue turned her head and asked abruptly.


    Mao Tianying immediately coughed and Xiao Lin smiled helplessly. He obviously used a very small amount of money to buy a bus that would not be used again after that day, and instead used arger portion of the money to buy that Mercedes-Benz sports car for himself.

 Chapter 405: A Couple of Things to Do When Home (1)

    <h4>Chapter 405: A Couple of Things to Do When Home (1)</h4>


    Along the way, Mao Tianying nagged andined about how difficult the Earth Division¡¯s work was. He told Xiao Lin and the others never to return to Earth if they had a choice in the future.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me and think that all this is very rxing. In fact, there¡¯s plenty of things I have to do, whether it¡¯s enrollment or surveince. I also have to deal with other academies on Earth, as well as the government. I must be very careful when dealing with all that, but it just so happens that I don¡¯t have any authority for many of those things. As long as something a little more serious happens, I¡¯ll have to report it back and wait for orders from above.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a sudden thought and asked, ¡°I remember you mentioning surveincest time. How do you monitor the students¡¯ movements in various cities?¡±


    Mao Tianying turned around while driving and uttered a sneaky chuckle. ¡°This is a vition of the rules. Ordinary students aren¡¯t qualified to ask about this.¡±


    His expression was not very stern and he had a good rtionship with Song Jung, so Xiao Lin did not feel too pressured and chuckled in response. ¡°I¡¯m just asking. You don¡¯t need to take it seriously.¡±


    Mao Tianying thought about it for a moment and replied, ¡°It¡¯s actually very simple. The spatialw of Earth¡¯s ne doesn¡¯t have any spells or sword skills. If you use any power that exceeds the rules in this world, it¡¯s like dropping a stone into this calm space. We have special equipment to monitor any ripples caused by that fluctuation and we can then quickly locate the source.¡±


    ¡°Have there been any students who vited the rules before? Well, I mean in the past few years.¡±


    Mao Tianying nced at him, then at Gu Xiaoyue, and hesitated before continuing, ¡°Yes! Of course! Now that the students have abilities that surpass ordinary people, there will always be people who want to show off and aftering back. In fact, most of the unexined mysteries were caused by our people. Of course, that includes other academies too. It¡¯s a real headache for us, but in recent years, every academy has increased the penalties for vitions, which lessened these kinds of things.¡±


    After a moment, Mao Tianying smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make things hard for me. If I find that you vited the rules, I won¡¯t spare you and will certainly report it as it is.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the bottom line for a vition?¡± Xiao Lin wanted to make things clear. ¡°For example, I suddenly encountered someone blocking me, robbing me, and even causing danger to my body. In that case, I can¡¯t just sit and wait to die. I¡¯d definitely have to act on it.¡±


    Mao Tianying groaned. ¡°Special circumstances call for special analysis. We only report to inform the top brass about it, and the final processing result will be carried out by the student union.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. It was only then that he felt a little relieved. If it was just the student union who would make the final judgement, then he would certainly know what was going on.


    The two chatted casually, and Mao Tianying considered talking to Gu Xiaoyue, as he had obviously heard of that name before. However, Gu Xiaoyue had no interest in the person in charge of the Earth Division. She did not reply much except for some mechanical, patronizing, one-syble replies.


    They arrived at the nearest airport a few hourster. ording to the regtions, other students would only be sent to the nearest bus station at most. After that, it was each person for themselves. Xiao Lin knew that he and Gu Xiaoyue were going back by ne, so he pleaded with Mao Tianying, who was more than happy to help with that little favor.


    ¡°Remember! The vacation is only for ten days. If you don¡¯t return to the academy after that, you will be held ountable. Don¡¯t think that you won¡¯t ever have toe back. The academy is far more powerful than you think. No matter how you hide on Earth, there¡¯s always a way to find you, even if it means going to the ends of the Earth.¡± Mao Tianying did not forget to warn them before leaving.


    Of course, neither Xiao Lin nor Gu Xiaoyue were worried about it. Xiao Lin wanted to apany Gu Xiaoyue back at once, but he knew that he had to go home first as the thoughts of his parents had been lingering in his mind for a very long time. After bidding farewell to Gu Xiaoyue, Xiao Lin found an inconspicuous corner and took out the cell phone he received from Mao Tianying to dial Song Jung¡¯s number.


    He had to acknowledge that Mao Tianying received a big sum of money on that asion. He remembered that the cell phone he received thest time around was an old Nokia, but it had upgraded right up to Apple.


    Xiao Lin remembered Song Jung¡¯s phone number on Earth and dialed it after some time, though he was slightly speechless to hear Song Jung¡¯s yawning voice. Even if Earth¡¯s cell phones did not have magic imaging functions, he could guess that Song Jung had just woken up at that moment. It could even be Xiao Lin who woke him up with that call.


    In any case, it was already midday, so Xiao Lin asked helplessly, ¡°Did I call at a wrong time?¡±


    ¡°DUH! I¡¯ve been busy all night and you woke me up before I could have a good rest!¡± Song Jung was noticeably irritated after his sleep was disturbed.


    ¡°You were up all night? Why do I feel like you¡¯re busier right now than when you¡¯re in the academy?¡±


    ¡°Well, I n to go to Hawaii tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Hawaii?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to meet Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not much of a hurry for the time being. You have a ten-day holiday anyway. I found something interesting in Hawaii this time around and I n to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Why did I suddenly get the chills after hearing you saying that it¡¯s interesting?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to go together and have a look? I can book a ne ticket for you.¡± Song Jung invited him cordially.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll go home first.¡±


    ¡°Well then, enjoy your holiday.¡±


    Xiao Lin was puzzled after hanging up the call. He initially wanted to pry some secrets about Gu Xiaoyue and her sister¡¯s life from Song Jung, but the guy seemed to have found something more worthy of attention and decided to set aside that matter for the time being.


    Finally, it was time to embark on the journey home. It had been half a year since hest returned, and Xiao Lin could not even call home during that time, so it was natural that he would be worried. He bought a fewrge packages of various health supplements on the way home. Before leaving the academy, Xiao Lin exchanged his points for the one million RMB maximum limit. He was not too worried about losing that little bit of redemption points, considering the total amount he had at his disposal.


    Although the town was small and not as prosperous as a big city, walking on its streets brought up memories of Xiao Lin¡¯s familiar childhood life. He even met several acquaintances in the course of his walk.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Lin Lin? Why are you suddenly home today!¡±


    ¡°Aunt Zhang! Yeah, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been home. I asked my boss for a long vacation this week toe back and pay a visit.¡±


    ¡°Your mother said that you¡¯re doing well outside.¡±


    ¡°So far so good.¡±


    ¡°Any girlfriends?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still early. I¡¯m in no rush.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be too rxed over it. My daughter just graduated this year. Should I introduce you both to each other?¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin used to grow up ying around in the neighborhood when he was a child. Everyone¡¯s warm greetings made Xiao Lin feel overwhelmed, especially after many people tried to offer their daughters to him. Xiao Lin had no choice but to run away whenever that happened, and most people could not even catch up even though he was carrying lots of heavy bags.

 Chapter 406: A Couple of Things to Do When Home (2)

    <h4>Chapter 406: A Couple of Things to Do When Home (2)</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin felt incrediblyfortable to see Familiarnes, familiar floors, his parent¡¯s surprise and enthusiasm, as well as the strong familial affection. Perhaps the many experiences he had in the New World made him cherish the feeling of home even more.


    The dinner was specially prepared by his mother. Although Xiao Lin repeatedly stated that she did not need to cook that much, the table was soon filled with an abundance of delicacies.


    ¡°You never even called in the past six months. Even if your signal is not good, you can still write a letter!¡± Although his mother wasining, her tone was not that serious.


    Aftering back, Xiao Lin immediately gave the bank card with a million RMB to his parents. He kept about 10,000 RMB for himself as funds to use on Earth for the next couple of days.


    There was no doubt that Xiao Lin was already a sessful person in the eyes of his parents, and during the meal, his parents would certainly bring up topics that they felt was something to be concerned about.


    ¡°Is there anyone you like out there?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°By the way, Uncle Wang¡¯s daughter stood out to me the other day. She¡¯s working overseas too, and I think she came home about two days ago. Since you both are both here, we might as well seize this moment to introduce you two to each other.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still young, Mom, so I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°How can you not be in a hurry! I want to hug my grandson a little earlier. Sigh, this is something I really look forward to at this point in my life. You could be a little considerate of your mother, you know.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a headacheing on. Ever since he graduated from university, her calls for him to get married were made every two or three months, and his mother showed no signs of stopping even though he had gone to Dawn Academy.


    ¡°Your mother and I met her yesterday. She looks decent and her dad also has a good temper. We were just casually talking about it yesterday and we didn¡¯t expect you toe back today. I think it¡¯s settled then. Since it¡¯s rare for you to be back home, you should get to know each other tomorrow,¡± his taciturn but stoic father spoke clearly.


    ¡°She might not fancy me,¡± Xiao Lin was still trying to escape, but his statement was not entirely untrue. The Uncle Wang mentioned by his mother was originally their neighbor. When Xiao Lin was very young, he frequently heard his parents joking about marrying him to Uncle Wang¡¯s daughter in the future.


    However, their daughter Wang Yun reportedly found a very good job about two years ago. When she first returned home, she bought an expensive vi in the suburbs for her parents to move in. It caused a sensation in town when that happened. Everyone thought that the Wang family got lucky and their daughter finally had a promising future.


    Xiao Lin and Wang Yun were considered acquaintances, but the two of them have basically lost contact after going to university. After all, their rtionship was nothing more than normal, albeit slightly distant, friends. Back then, both families¡¯ aspirations for Wang Yun and Xiao Lin to be rted through marriage was in jest. After the Wang family became richer, Xiao Lin¡¯s parents thought that the Wang family might even look down on their own family.


    Now that it was brought up again, Xiao Lin naturally expressed his opposition without hesitation. Whatever the case may be, he did not want to go on a blind date.


    However, when the mother¡¯s nagging gradually turned into a plea, Xiao Lin had to agree softly. Like every parent who urged marriage, Xiao Lin could only passively ept it, but he hinted that he would try to contact Wang Yun first. After all, they had not been in contact for many years even though they were acquainted with each other.


    After all, he would only have about ten days before he had to leave, but there was no harm in getting to know a friend from his childhood before leaving. With that, Xiao Lin had decided on his n.


    The parents were very concerned about this. After receiving Xiao Lin¡¯s approval, they called Uncle Wang directly and asked for Wang Yun¡¯s contact information. Xiao Lin¡¯s mother even arranged a time for Xiao Lin to meet Wang Xun, even to the extent of arranging the exact location. Fortunately, his father was still quite sensible, as he said that the young people¡¯s affairs should be handled by themselves, which allowed Xiao Lin to breathe a sigh of relief.


    ¡°This is Yun¡¯s phone number and QQ ID. Yun is a nice child. You must be more thoughtful. Why not just meet in the city? Our town is too small and there aren¡¯t any ces to have fun.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s mother was still nning for him.


    Xiao Lin found the whole thing absolutely troublesome. He had the sudden impulse to follow Song Jung to Hawaii. Whatever he was doing there must surely be better than a forced blind date.


    His mother¡¯s repeated urging forced him to download an app on his mobile phone. He then logged in, and a lot of messages shed on QQ since he had not used it for a long time. They were mostly former ssmates and friends. After graduation, everyone¡¯s contact with each other lessened, and those connections werepletely severed after Xiao Lin went to Dawn Academy.


    Xiao Lin still missed his time at university and cherished the friends he had met. Even though he still considered himself to be living a school life, he readily responded to every message. In fact, most of them were nothing more than asking how he was or invitations to parties and the like.


    After finishing all that, Xiao Lin thought about it and added Wang Yun¡¯s QQ. She was also online at that moment, and his friend request was epted in seconds. She took the initiative to send a smiley face and a string of text: [We haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time, Brother Xiao Lin. How are you doing?]


    Xiao Lin was half a year older than her. The way Wang Yun addressed him reminded him of the things in his childhood and his heart felt slightly warm. Although they had not seen each other in many years, they felt that close right away. The polite greetings and mutual inquiriessted for a while. For a while.


    Wang Yun imed to be currently working in a foreignpany out of town, and because she went abroad all the year round, she rarely had time to rest. Xiao Lin heard her insinuation and immediately stated that the meeting was forced upon him and he agreed just to appease his parents. Wang Yun seemed to acknowledge that as well.


    To put it bluntly, Wang Yun said that she was busy with her career and had no ns to find a boyfriend or even start a family, but apparently her family also exerted a lot of pressure. As a girl, Wang Yun was undoubtedly under more pressure than Xiao Lin, which troubled her and led her to agree to meeting Xiao Lin.


    [Brother Xiao Lin, if it¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll pick you up tomorrow. We can rant a bit and meet up while we¡¯re at it.]


    [Sure.] Xiao Lin did not refuse. Since he was home, the least he could do was set his parents at ease. The ten-day vacation was still very long, so he had to find something to do.


    The next day, Wang Yun came to pick up Xiao Lin as expected. She drove her brand-new baby to Xiao Lin¡¯s house. Xiao Lin expected it, but after getting in the car, he joked, ¡°You¡¯re putting me under a lot of pressure. ¡±


    Wang Yun was not the stereotypical hot chick, but she stood out with her fair face, short hair, full eyebrows, light makeup, and a mature ck professional dress that was easy on the eyes.


    After getting in the car, Xiao Lin observed Wang Yun from the corner of his eyes, but found it difficult to notice any semnce of the Wang Yun he remembered from his childhood memories.

 Chapter 407: A Spontaneous Confession

    <h4>Chapter 407: A Spontaneous Confession</h4>


    Wang Yun looked at Xiao Lin too, but she looked away much earlier than Xiao Lin. She was more confused than anything, because although Xiao Lin did not differ that much from what she remembered of him, there was still this odd feeling that she could not put her finger on.


    ¡°Brother Xiao Lin, there¡¯s a new caf¨¦ in the city that¡¯s not too bad. We can have a seat there.¡± Wang Yun addressed him very naturally, but her tone was quite assertive. She made that decision directly without consulting Xiao Lin, but he did not mind that much anyway.


    The two of them were rtively silent during the drive as they tried to find amon topic. For example, they asked each other about college life and work, but the both of them soon sensed the obviously half-hearted replies from each other, making it difficult to further the conversation.


    The small town where Xiao Lin is located is a very remote suburb, and after more than an hour¡¯s drive to a ce close to the city center, Wang Yun brought Xiao Lin to the quiet caf¨¦ after parking the car.


    The caf¨¦ was newly opened and there were few people, but the environment was very good. After entering the door, a waiter enthusiastically came to the door to greet her, ¡°Miss Wang, d to have you visiting us again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just get my usual coffee.¡± Wang Yun pursed her lips and turned her head to look towards Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t normally drink coffee. I¡¯ll just have a ss of water.¡±


    Wang Yun froze and nodded to the waiter.


    After sitting down at the corner table, Xiao Lin gently sipped his water and was thinking about what to say. His initial purpose of going on that blind date was simply to please his parents, and it was not as though he had any other ideas.


    Wang Yun took the initiative to speak. Her tone was very direct, ¡°Let¡¯s date.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned, but immediately reacted, ¡°Is this an act?¡±


    Wang Yun cocked her eyebrow and said with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re not serious about wooing me, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have that intention.¡± Xiao Lin waved his hand quickly.


    Wang Yun pursed her lips and she had a faintly displeased expression. That was the case with women. Even though he did not have any intention of wooing her, it was inevitable that she would feel slightly bitter after receiving such a decisive, face-to-face rejection.


    However, Wang Yun quickly concealed her fleeting expression and continued, ¡°If I have a boyfriend, I can at least exin myself to my family. I¡¯m almost never at home throughout the year and I don¡¯t want my family to be that worried. What about your family??¡±


    ¡°More or less the same. My mom is rushing me, but my dad isn¡¯t giving me too much pressure.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re a man, so it¡¯s only natural that there isn¡¯t much pressure. Sigh, I¡¯ll be an old woman soon.¡±


    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t you have a boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°I had one when I was in college, but we broke up after graduation.¡±


    ...


    The two of them finally had something to talk about. After all, they were longtime friends who were not that much of a stranger to each other. Wang Yun even mentioned had it not been for Xiao Lin¡¯s coincidental return, she originally nned to rent a boyfriend online to help her deal with her parents. However, since she had an acquaintance at her disposal, she did not have to put in too much effort.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being deceived?¡± Xiao Lin also read many simr situations from online news portals. He would never use that method to rent a girlfriend and he was also worried that Wang Yun would be deceived.


    ¡°Me? Deceived? I¡¯ll make sure anyone who does that to me will suffer!¡± Wang Yun said domineeringly, and after a pause, she asked again, ¡°What do you think, Brother Xiao Lin? I¡¯m only going to go back about once a year at most. My request is very simple. All you should do is keep mepany at home during those few days. You¡¯repletely free at other times, and your business is none of my business.¡±


    Wang Yun took a sip of the fragrant coffee and added, ¡°If you still find it awkward, I can give you some remuneration every year. Please don¡¯t get me wrong, this is just a normal business deal.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned and said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, ¡°I don¡¯t provide escort services.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I was just throwing that around,¡± Wang Yun ended the topic decisively and apologized.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just do it like this. Since we¡¯re meeting each other right now, we can just borate on our date to our parents however we want. At least we can deal with them this time.¡± That was the reason Xiao Lin epted the invitation. All he wanted was to enjoy his holiday without worrying, since he would not be able to manage future affairs when he returned to Dawn Academy.


    ¡°Alright, but it¡¯s a shame I¡¯ll be staying in the country for a bit longer this year. Sigh, I¡¯m afraid my parents will pester me to death,¡± Wang Yun muttered. She did not object, but she seemed somewhat distressed that she could not solve her problem once and for all.


    The two of them chatted casually again, but they both seemed absent-minded, or rather, they did not have much inmon. After all, Xiao Lin could not possibly talk to her about his life in Dawn Academy.


    When the atmosphere was getting more awkward, Wang Yun¡¯s cell phone rang suddenly. She nced at the number, then nced at Xiao Lin apologetically, before trotting to a secluded corner and answering the call. After a few minutes, she came back with a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s something urgent with mypany. I¡¯m afraid I have to rush there.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to go home first?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll call home directlyter, umm, but you have to take a taxi and go back by yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Mm, see you next time then! We¡¯ll keep in touch!¡± Wang Yun did not seem too hesitant either.


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    The two of them soon parted ways in front of the caf¨¦. The short meeting did not leave much of an impression on Xiao Lin and he believed that it was unlikely for him to meet her again in the future. Judging from Wang Yun¡¯s expression, it was obvious that she basically had the same thoughts as him. Meanwhile, Xiao Lin¡¯s cell phone number would be invalidated when he returned to Dawn Academy.


    On the way home, Xiao Lin took the opportunity to call Gu Xiaoyue and Song Jung separately. Song Jung could not be reached, and he guessed that the man had already boarded the ne to Hawaii at that moment. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s call was connected though. Perhaps the date with Wang Yun, which could not actually be regarded as a date, prompted him to be reminded about Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s cold voice was vividly expressed on the phone.


    ¡°Uh, nothing, I just feel bored all of a sudden and I wanted to call you.¡±


    ¡°You really are bored, aren¡¯t you...?¡±


    ¡°Be my girlfriend, Gu Xiaoyue...¡± Xiao Lin felt a rush in his brain and burst into that sentence. However, he regretted it as soon as he said that.


    Xiao Lin waited nervously. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Just as he thought that Gu Xiaoyue had hung up, she said, ¡°Have you gone crazy today? Even if you¡¯re bored, please don¡¯t make such stupid jokes!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice seemed to be a little angry and slightly faltering too. In fact, even Xiao Lin did not expect himself to ask that question out of the blue. Maybe it was his parent¡¯s constant urging of going on blind dates that deepened the thoughts circling inside his heart, or perhaps he just had enough excuses that day to justify himself if she rejected him.

 Chapter 408: The Encounter at The Fine Arts Academy

    <h4>Chapter 408: The Encounter at The Fine Arts Academy</h4>


    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s actually like this,¡± Xiao Lin quickly began to exin. Perhaps that was the best exnation he could offer for his whimsical confession that day.


    ¡°When I went home, my parents kept on nagging me to go on a blind date. You know the situation we¡¯re in. We can only go back to Earth for a few days every year. Even if I wanted to, it¡¯s impossible to find a girlfriend on Earth...but it¡¯s hard to exin to my parents. I don¡¯t want them to worry about it...so, uh, I just want you to do me a little favor.¡±


    Xiao Lin spoke a little incoherently, but he eventually expressed his meaning clearly. He was still a little disappointed though, as it was the first time that he ever made a confession in his entire life. While he did have crushes on several people since he was still a kid, it was actually the first time that he actually made a proper confession.


    Xiao Lin was feeling quite incredulous himself. The time he spent with Gu Xiaoyue had not been that long actually, only about four months since they enrolled. Half of that time was spent in the New World too, and the chances for him to actually meet and chat with Gu Xiaoyue were far and few in between. In spite of all that however, he gradually started to feel an attraction to her.


    Perhaps it was due to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s unique character, or perhaps he just felt pity for that extremely talented woman who had only two years left in her life span. It might even be love at first sight. The point was that he did not know, and it was difficult to find definitive reasons to exin something like feelings.


    However, because their interactions were too few and too short, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s refusal was expected. Had it not been for the excuse that Xiao Lin coincidentally had, he would not have spoken in the first ce.


    The phone fell silent again, but after ten seconds, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice rang in due course, ¡°If it¡¯s just to deal with your parents, then sure, but it¡¯s only limited to this ten-day vacation!¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned for even longer. Even though he had given due thought to the excuse, he did not think that Gu Xiaoyue would ept it. At most, the excuse would just absolve him of his reckless confession and prevent their rtionship from being further affected.


    Nevertheless, Gu Xiaoyue was as unpredictable as always. She agreed! She actually agreed!


    Gu Xiaoyue clearly had something else to say, and although she tried to keep her voice as calm as ever, she was still unable to hide a slight tremor. ¡°But don¡¯t overthink. I¡¯m just repaying your favor so I won¡¯t have to owe you in the future!¡±


    What favor did Xiao Lin owe Gu Xiaoyue?


    Maybe it was the help he gave her during the monthly exam, or the previous asion when she helped deliver the letter to her sister? Perhaps it was the previous exam when he promised Gu Xiaoyue to take care of her sister in case something happened?


    Xiao Lin himself was also confused, as he could not remember which exact favor Gu Xiaoyue owed him. However, logic told him that it was better to pretend to be confused at that moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hang up then if there¡¯s nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll look for you during these two days.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe to my house?¡±


    ¡°N-no!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice became hurried, and it was obvious that she had not yet adapted to the sudden change in status. Of course, she felt that there was no need for things to change since she only treated it as a casual promise, but Xiao Lin did not want the rtionship between the two to be limited to ten days only.


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or cry. ¡°But you just promised.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue finallypromised. ¡°Okay, okay, I understand. Then, maybe you shoulde over.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin looked very excited after returning home. When his mother asked what happened during the date, she found out that her son already had a girlfriend. That the person was not Wang Yun did not matter much for her. As a mother, she was undoubtedly happy, but she still felt half-skeptical about it.


    As a result, Xiao Lin dialed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s phone number and handed it to his mother while Gu Xiaoyue was still in a daze. After that, Xiao Lin had no idea what the two women talked about on the phone, but from the expression of his mother¡¯s smile, the call was undoubtedly more sessful than he imagined.


    ¡°It¡¯s such a pity for Yun.¡±


    ¡°Mom, it¡¯s not like Wang Yun and I are really familiar with each other.¡±


    ¡°Never mind then. When will you bring that Gu Xiaoyue to our home?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still early.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bully her alright. Sigh, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.¡±


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry about me from now on. Just enjoy your good fortune with Dad.¡±


    The gratifying smiles of his parents warmed Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. Whatever the future had in store for him, that ce would always be his home. He did not have the heart to see his parents fret over him and he did not want them to feel that way either.


    After staying at home for two days, Xiao Lin was prepared to set off to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hometown. In fact, he nned to stay home for two more days, since it was quite early in the vacation. However, after his mother knew that he had a girlfriend, she started to rush him, saying that he should keep his girlfriendpany during his vacation as he did not have time to keep in contact with her due to being busy with work.


    Xiao Lin, who had no idea how to react, could only set off early. Midway through his journey, he was about to buy a ne ticket when he received a call from Gu Xiaoyue. She told him to go directly to the fine arts academy because she was going to the academy to visit her sister today that day.


    Xiao Lin felt that it was a bit unfortunate. Gu Xiaoyue probably did not want to be alone at home with him, so she went to the fine arts academy as an excuse. Although Xiao Lin was actually looking forward to seeing how she would act when the two of them were alone together, it was not that big of a deal. In fact, Xiao Lin had initially nned to make time for visiting her sister during that vacation.


    Xiao Lin bought some gifts along the way. He knew that Gu Xiaoyue did notck money at home, and there was no need to buy expensive stuff, but the gift was not meant for Gu Xiaoyue. He chose a rtively high-end fountain pen as a gift for her sister.


    It was midday when he arrived at the fine arts academy. Because it was a weekend, there were few people in the academy. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister Gu Chengyun was paralyzed from the waist down, so it was impossible for her to go out and enjoy herself like the other ordinary academy students, even on weekends. Although the time he set with Gu Xiaoyue was around noon, it just so happened that a torrential rain in the morning dyed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s flight, causing her to only arrive around noon.


    However, Gu Xiaoyue had notified Xiao Lin that she had told Gu Chengyun about their visit, so since Xiao Lin was the first to arrive, he went straight to look for Gu Chengyun. It had not been long since hisst visit and Xiao Lin still remembered the location of Gu Chengyun¡¯s preferred studio.


    What if she was in the dormitory? In any case, Xiao Lin could not possibly go into the girls¡¯ dormitory.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s prediction was spot on. Even if the lively and cheerful girl could not leave campus during the weekend, she would definitely express her inner feelings in the studio.


    A floor below the studio, a familiar figure shed in the corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes the moment he turned and walked into the corridor from the stairs. After a couple seconds of shock, he called out softly in an unsure tone, ¡°Wang Yun?¡±

 Chapter 409: Gu Chengyun’s Painting

    <h4>Chapter 409: Gu Chengyun¡¯s Painting</h4>


    The beautiful figure froze when she heard Xiao Lin¡¯s voice. She turned out, and it was none other than Wang Yun, who seemed equally as surprised. d in a ck, mature-looking professional skirt, she held a file bag in her hands and was staring right at Xiao Lin as if she had seen a ghost.


    Without a doubt, it was Wang Yun, whom Xiao Lin had just met two days ago. Xiao Lin thought that the two of them would never meet again, but it came as a surprise that they would meet again in less than a few days.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Doubts shed in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind.


    Wang Yun quickly calmed down and smiled. ¡°My colleague¡¯s daughter wants to take an entrance exam to this academy. I just happened to pass by this city, so I stopped by to find out more about the academy and take some photos for her to see. What about you, why are you here too? You didn¡¯te chasing after me, did you? How about we find a ce to sit and talk, since we were in a bit of a hurry before and we haven¡¯t had a good conversation yet?¡±


    Herst sentence was spoken in a somewhat teasing tone, and Xiao Lin smiled back before saying, ¡°I¡¯m here to look for a friend. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t stand them up. Maybe next time.¡±


    Wang Yun curled her lips. His refusal was a bit too direct and too straightforward, although she was simply being courteous to begin with. She did not have the time even if Xiao Lin really wanted to go out with her, so the two of them quickly bid each other farewell.


    After turning around and taking a couple of steps, the two of them turned their heads around in unison and looked at each other in bewilderment. They only sped up their pace after inadvertently making awkward eye contact.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that coincidental, right?¡±


    ¡°It has to be a coincidence.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin did find Gu Chengyun in the painting room. The ponytailed girl with a youthful smile was sitting in her wheelchair in front of the drawing board. Instead of painting however, she looked quietly out of the window and began wondering.


    ¡°Gu Chengyun?¡± Xiao Lin called out softly, although he still attracted the attention of others in the studio.


    There were very few people in the studio on weekends, but one of the girls there smiled at Gu Chengyun and said, ¡°There seems to be quite a lot of people who came looking for you during the past two days, Chengyun.¡±


    Gu Chengyun came back to her senses, then turned her head, and happily called out to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°I was worried that you¡¯d forget me.¡±


    Gu Chengyun blinked her eyes coquettishly. ¡°How can I forget you when you¡¯re about to be my brother-inw soon!¡±


    Xiao Lin was embarrassed. He did not know what Gu Xiaoyue and Gu Chengyun talked about, but the studio was not a proper ce to chat. He greeted the other people and took the initiative to push Gu Chengyun¡¯s wheelchair. By ident, he caught a glimpse of the painting that she drew on the drawing board and helped her tidy it up as well.


    ¡°You came at just the right time. I happen to be a little tired, so could you take me to the yground and look at the scenery?¡± Gu Chengyun asked.


    When he walked to the door, Xiao Lin suddenly had a thought. He turned around and asked the girl who had just greeted him, ¡°You just said that there are a lot of people who were looking for Gu Chengyun in the past two days? Who else was there?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue told him that the two sisters had depended on each other since they were young and had neither parents, rtives, or friends. Xiao Lin wondered who else woulde to Gu Chengyun, other than her own ssmates.


    ¡°A woman.¡± The girl gestured with her hands, but she couldn¡¯t urately describe the woman¡¯s appearance. In the end she just said, ¡°A pretty and sexy woman.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    There was a vague feeling in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. He pushed Gu Chengyun and asked as he walked, ¡°Who was the woman who came looking for you?¡±


    ¡°She said she wanted to meet me and because she felt emotional after hearing about me. She expressed her willingness to sponsor me, but I refused since money isn¡¯t something Ick.¡± Gu Chengyun did not really think much about it.


    Xiao Lin frowned. ¡°What is her name? Is it Wang Yun?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, do you know her? Did you mention me to her?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, what I meant was that I haven¡¯t mentioned you to anyone, but, um...¡± Mysteries suddenly began appearing in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. It was really strange, and the first thing that came to his mind was Wang Yun. After all, it was far too odd for that woman to even appear on that campus.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin was a little annoyed that he did not have Wang Yun¡¯s photos in his hands, but it was clear that Wang Yun was lying to him. When she left two days ago, she said that thepany was in an emergency, but two dayster she said that she went to the fine arts academy to help her colleague¡¯s daughter find some information. However, it should be incredibly easy to find information about art academies in the digital age, as they were readily avable on the inte.


    Therein lies the question: if it really was Wang Yun, why would shee to meet Gu Chengyun? What was so special about Gu Chengyun?


    Xiao Lin carefully looked at the paralyzed but very optimistic girl, to the point where thetter blushed and cowered slightly. Xiao Lin shook his head and casually asked what Gu Chengyun had talked about with the woman, but he did not get too many details. The two of them really did just engage in simple small talk.


    ¡°I actually thought it was a bit strange, but that young woman doesn¡¯t seem to be malicious in any way,¡± Gu Chengyun exined in aforting tone and assured that she did notpletely let her guard down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside for the moment. When did your sister say she¡¯ll be here?¡± Although Xiao Lin suspicions were shooting through the roof, he did not want Gu Chengyun to worry about too much as she ought to remain happy.


    ¡°Hehe, first things first, you have to give me a detailed exnation of how you got my sister to be your girlfriend!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just an act. I¡¯m sure she exined it to you.¡±


    ¡°She did, but this isn¡¯t like her at all. Hehe, I¡¯m sure she really does feel something for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only for ten days.¡± Of course, Xiao Lin did not want it tost for ten days, but he could not possibly say that in front of Gu Chengyun.


    ¡°Mmhmm, I know. Just like all those TV shows.¡±


    The speechless Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or to cry. He simply patted Gu Chengyun¡¯s little head and decided not to argue with a girl who had been deeply influenced by those romance television dramas. He opened the painting that he brought from the studio and changed the subject abruptly. ¡°Did you just finish painting this? I didn¡¯t look closely just now. I wonder what it is?¡±


    In the center of the painting was arge ind. There were golden beaches, fine white sand, a winding coastline, coconut trees swaying in seaside wind, rugged rocks on the ind, a blue sky, and turquoise water.


    One had to acknowledge that Gu Chengyun had ster painting skills. Her piece depicted the beauty of the bay in a detailed and vivid manner. Xiao Lin admired it carefully and remembered Gu Xiaoyue saying that her sister enjoyed painting pictures of scenery around the world as a way to make up for her regret of not being able to travel.


    He smiled and asked curiously, ¡°Where is this in your painting?¡±


    ¡°Hawaii.¡±


    Gu Chengyun seemed to have a moment of hesitation, which Xiao Lin keenly noticed. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t seem to like this painting very much?¡±


    ¡°No. This painting is actually still unfinished.¡±

 Chapter 410: Unfinished Painting

    <h4>Chapter 410: Unfinished Painting</h4>


    ¡°No. This painting is actually still unfinished.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought it was his sudden arrival that disturbed her, so he immediately apologized, ¡°Sorry, it seems that I didn¡¯te at the right time. I¡¯ll send you back to continue painting.¡±


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t bother me. I was actually hesitating whether or not to paint at the time.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Did you run out of ideas?¡±


    Gu Chengyun pouted and stretched out his fingers to draw. Xiao Lin immediately handed the painting over. Gu Chengyun hesitated for a moment and pointed to the outermost circle of the painting.


    Xiao Lin found out that although the painting could be consideredplete, it was not entirely finished yet, because the circle around the drawing paper was still nk. Though it seems clear that the painting was not yetpleted, those nk ces were nothing more than blue sky and sea water in Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Do you want to finish the painting?¡± Xiao Lin was curious. Clearly, the girl would not be that distressed if it was just the sea and sky.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Gu Chengyun still shook her head and blinked. ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit outrageous, so I don¡¯t want to continue.¡±


    ¡°Then stop painting.¡± Xiao Lin knelt down and said with a smile, ¡°Painting should be something happy. If it makes you ufortable, then you should stop.¡±


    ¡°But...¡± Gu Chengyun still seemed hesitant.


    Xiao Lin did not force anything and simply pushed Gu Chengyun to the field. About an hourter, Gu Xiaoyue¡ªsporting a light-colored shirt and jeans¡ªfinally arrived. After both sides met, she blushed a little when she saw Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s initial purpose of the visit was to chat with the sisters and go sightseeing. Since a vacation was hard toe by, it was only natural that he would want to take it easy. However, he had plenty of suspicions at that moment, so the first thing he did was tell Gu Xiaoyue about the mysterious woman who looked for Gu Chengyun. Needless to say, he stopped short of saying that he knew Wang Yun, because he was still unsure whether it was Wang Yun or not.


    Although Gu Xiaoyue was usually very indifferent, she was extremely worried when it came to Gu Chengyun. Her expression changed immediately after hearing that, and after thinking for less than a few seconds, she said decisively, ¡°Chengyun, you shoulde home with me!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not the holiday yet,¡± Gu Chengyun objected.


    ¡°No! I¡¯ll exin to the academy that it isn¡¯t safe for you to stay here for the time being. Be obedient, go home with me. You can paint at home too!¡± Gu Xiaoyue had a serious tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± Gu Chengyun red in response. She was obviously not very afraid of her elder sister.


    Xiao Lin nced left and right, then pondered for a moment before smiling bitterly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too sensitive, Gu Xiaoyue? ording to Gu Chengyun, the woman did not show any hostility or malice. It won¡¯t be good to act rashly when there¡¯s nothing concrete and just being Chengyun out of the academy.¡±


    He understood how Gu Chengyun felt. As a girl who was confined to a wheelchair even though she should be in the prime of her youth, she would certainly cherish her present life, current friends and ssmates even more.


    If Gu Chengyun was asked to leave and go home, she would be the only one left in the house after Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin left. While there might be a nanny to take care of her, that alone could not possibly alleviate the loneliness in her heart.


    Of course, Xiao Lin also understood where Gu Xiaoyue wasing from. They could only stay on Earth for ten days at most, after which they would have returned to Dawn Academy. Anything that happened to Gu Chengyun by then was no longer within their control.


    Of course, Gu Chengyun refused to just leave the academy like that. The two sisters started arguing on the field. It was the first time that Xiao Lin saw Gu Xiaoyue being so emotional, and he found it quite strange even though she was simply worried about that mysterious woman having any bad intentions.


    Although the entire thing was odd in itself, he simrly felt that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s reaction was rather big. After thinking for a moment and realizing that he did note that far just to hear the two sisters quarrel, Xiao Lin felt that he ought to do something. Going to the root of the problem was the best way to end all that trouble, so if he wanted to dispel Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s worries, the first thing he had to do was figure out that woman¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to find that woman. In fact, we just need to find out where she¡¯s from,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly interjected.


    The two women red at Xiao Lin. Xiao Linughed dryly and calmed the atmosphere. ¡°It isn¡¯t easy for the both of you to get together. Who knows when you¡¯ll be able to meet again next time? Can¡¯t you guys just have a nice conversation? Don¡¯t worry about it. Just leave it to me!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression eased and Xiao Lin¡¯s reminder calmed her down. She was a very sensible woman who understood her own situation. Her chances of meeting Gu Chengyun would only decrease in the future and she could not help but show an apologetic look.


    Xiao Lin bid farewell to the two sisters for the time being. He said he would look for the mysterious woman, but he did not divulge that he might know her and the two sisters did not follow up either.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, your sister still hasn¡¯t finished her painting. I guess I disturbed her. Don¡¯t quarrel with her again and let her finish her painting.¡±


    After ending his sentence, Xiao Lin left by himself.


    ¡°I hope Wang Yun hasn¡¯t gone far...¡±


    Xiao Lin whispered to himself along the way and took out his mobile phone. He then dialed Wang Yun¡¯s number after a moment¡¯s hesitation. The call was quickly connected, and her tone was as cordial as ever, ¡°Brother Xiao Lin? I didn¡¯t expect you to call me. Hehe, are you really thinking of wooing me?¡±


    Xiao Lin felt somewhat helpless because he had just refused Wang Yun¡¯s invitation earlier. There was no other choice for him, so all he could do was bite the bullet and say, ¡°Are you free? It¡¯s such a coincidence that we met here. Why don¡¯t we go out for a meal? I¡¯ll treat you!¡±


    Wang Yun was silent for more than a minute, as if to consider his proposal, but Xiao Lin seemed to hear her faint discussions with another person. It was only then that Wang Yun¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Sure, I just left the academy, but I¡¯m not too far away. We¡¯ll just go to a nearby restaurant.¡±


    After arranging the location, Xiao Lin walked there and called Song Jung. The ringing tone was still that of a switched-off cell phone, prompting him to roll his eyes. Song Jung said that he had important stuff to do on Earth, but could he actually be looking at scantily-d girls on Hawaii¡¯s beaches at that moment?


    Xiao Lin had no choice but to call Mao Tianying, and it had to be said that Xiao Lin gained a bit of a reputation by relying on Song Jung. Mao Tianying¡ªwho was originally the person in charge of the Earth Division¡ªmight not have that high a status in Dawn Academy, but he could not possibly be that friendly with a freshman who has just enrolled, to the point where he would willingly exchange numbers with Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin knew very well why Mao Tianying was so courteous to him. A small part of the reason was because of his position as monitor, but it was mostly out of courtesy to Song Jung.


    Seeking Mao Tianying¡¯s help was ast-minute decision. Xiao Lin remembered Song Jung telling him that many traces have been left on Earth during several centuries of colonial academy development. To put it more bluntly, academy people like them would have to take the me for many mysterious events.


    Gu Chengyun was Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s younger sister, and Gu Xiaoyue was a very special student at the academy¡ªshe could easily draw attention to herself, whether it terms of her mysterious mixed-race bloodline or her extremely high talent for magic.

 Chapter 411: Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 411: Confrontation</h4>


    Xiao Lin guessed that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s mystery would also cause unnecessary trouble to her sister. After the call to Mao Tianying was connected, thetter spoke in a rather polite manner with Xiao Lin. When he learned that Xiao Lin was only asking about someone, he patted his chest and said that there would not be a problem.


    Anyone who returned to Earth from the academy would be registered to facilitate real-time tracking by the people in the Earth Division. That was also their main task. Mao Tianying was not troubled at all, but he was clearly stunned when he heard Wang Yun¡¯s name, after which he had a sudden realization and uttered, ¡°Oh.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s spirit was up and he knew that he had asked the right person. ¡°Do you know Wang Yun?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in the admissions department. Seems like her rank isn¡¯t that low too.¡± There was a bit of emotion in Mao Tianying¡¯s tone and he was more or less remorseful about his own status.


    Xiao Lin sighed slightly. It came as a bit of a surprise that Wang Yun was also a member of the Dawn Academy and belonged to the admissions department. It seemed that at least she was not a bad person, but after only a few seconds, Xiao Lin widened his eyes in response and became nervous once more.


    There were many departments for Dawn Academy¡¯s students, but apart from being familiar with the logistics department, Xiao Lin did not actually have much contact with other departments. However, he had heard of the admissions department before as it was specifically responsible for the admission of freshmen. Truth be told, it was all thanks to them that Xiao Lin was able to be in Dawn Academy.


    If Wang Yun belonged to that department, what was her reason for being there? Why was she looking for Gu Chengyun? The answer was inly obvious: the admissions department wanted to recruit Gu Chengyun into Dawn Academy!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s first reaction was to prevent that from happening. The lively and cheerful girl was already ill-fated, as she had been orphaned since she was young, was half paralyzed, and had a sister with only two years of life remaining. If there was nothing to change Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s situation, she would be alone in another two years.


    Having her enter Dawn Academy, go through the unpredictable monthly exams, and having to go to the New World after graduation, Xiao Lin felt that such a life was unsuited for Gu Chengyun.


    On the other side of the phone, Mao Tianying was still chattering, ¡°This admissions department is a bit strange this time too. Logically speaking, they¡¯ve just recruited new students this year and it¡¯s still very early for the next enrollment. Even if they¡¯re here to inspect the new students, it¡¯s still far too early.¡±


    ¡°Inspecting freshmen?¡± Xiao Lin was a little confused, as he did not really understand the enrollment procedures.


    ¡°Hehe, of course. Every freshman who enrolls is carefully selected. There are more than one billion people across the country. Can anyone guarantee that a certain batch is suitable if they¡¯re selected at random?¡±


    Xiao Lin recalled in detail that he had identally received the mysterious admission letter in the middle of the night. After tearing it open, he was immediately taken to Dawn Academy in a miraculous manner. Everything that had happened in between waspletely unknown to him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anyone approaching me before my enrollment in the academy,¡± Xiao Lin recounted what happened to him.


    ¡°That¡¯s normal. People in the admissions department won¡¯t willingly reveal their identities. Before the enrollment, you¡¯d think that a stranger was simply striking a conversation with you, so if you fail to be recruited, no one will remember it too clearly.¡±


    Xiao Lin was also unsure if he had ever encountered such a strange stranger. As Mao Tianying said, unless he knew the inside story in advance and was aware of it, he certainly would not give it a second thought.


    ¡°Under normal circumstances however, not everyone will be investigated. As long as the other party is determined to be a gifted student, contact will be initiated for the purpose of further inspection. You¡¯d have to ask the admissions department for their inspection criteria.¡±


    ¡°What level is Wang Yun in the admissions department? Department head? Year leader? Monitor?¡±


    ¡°The department head¡¯s assistant. She had just been promotedst year.¡±


    ¡°Assistant?¡±


    ¡°Something like a secretary. It¡¯s not a public post. It¡¯s an arbitrary arrangement by the department head.¡±


    ¡°Secretary...¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s expression became a little weird. He had seen the admission department¡¯s head before and he could not help but make a couple of associations.


    ¡°Hehe, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s her rtionship with the head of the admissions department, but she¡¯s quite good, this woman. As far as I know, she was the one who personally discovered at least half the talented students in the past two batches of freshmen. There are also rumors that she¡¯s already ted to be the next admission department¡¯s head, and that being an assistant is nothing more than to facilitate the transition.¡±


    After learning some basic information, Xiao Lin was also slightly surprised at Wang Yun¡¯s ability. He conveyed his thanks to Mao Tianying and wondered how to confront Wang Yun.


    The restaurant near the entrance of the fine arts academy was fairly high-end, and when Xiao Lin arrived, he discovered that Wang Yun was already waiting there. It further affirmed his judgment that Wang Yun never even left the vicinity at all.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I just came here anyway.¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any better restaurants near the academy, so I hope you¡¯re okay with it.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, how thoughtful. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a spoiled daughter.¡±


    ...


    After the pleasantries, Xiao Lin asked for a private room and smiled as she handed the menu to Wang Yun. ¡°Ladies first.¡± He then continued to think about how best to bring up that matter.


    Wang Yun did not hesitate and ordered a few dishes after taking the menu over. She then handed it back to Xiao Lin, who nced around at random and discovered that she had ordered some very cheap dishes. Xiao Lin¡¯s family background was not that well off before, and Wang Yun also understood that. Although Xiao Lin no longer cared about money, he still found her gesture to be quite considerate.


    However, Xiao Lin could not help but feel suspicious. If Wang Yun was the assistant of the admission department¡¯s head, then ording to what Mao Tianying said, many of the talented students in Xiao Lin¡¯s batch were likely recruited by that woman as well. If that were the case, it was impossible that Wang Yun did not know who he was.


    If she had knowledge of all that, did it mean that she was just acting stupid?


    Xiao Lin was puzzled, but he did not want to waste any more time. After all, Gu Xiaoyue and her sister were still waiting for him at the fine arts academy. As a result, he seized the moment while they were waiting for food and got straight to the point by asking in a half-joking tone that was normally used among friends, ¡°Is the work at the admissions department tiring? When did you guys start your holidays?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we don¡¯t have many holidays, actu¡ª¡± Wang Yun replied without thinking, but then looked up at him all of a sudden. Her kind gaze then sharpened in an instant.


    Xiao Lin did not shirk away from the eye contact and even sensed a vague trace of murder in her eyes. The air in the private room seemed to freeze instantly, but after a few minutes, Wang Yun¡¯s eyes eased and she smiled faintly. ¡°So, you¡¯re also from the academy, Brother Xiao Lin?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to kill me if I say no?¡± Xiao Lin teased.


    The secret of Dawn Academy must never be revealed to ordinary people. It was a cardinal rule that had been emphasized repeatedly before they departed for Earth.

 Chapter 412: The Admissions Department

    <h4>Chapter 412: The Admissions Department</h4>


    The Earth Division was tasked with dealing with ordinary people who were told about the academy¡¯s existence. There were many ways to handle it, but none of the methods were pleasant, whether it was erasing memories or a humane annihtion.


    Wang Yun was not an idiot. She could already guess it by Xiao Lin¡¯s remark. Since both sides were from the academy, then it was much easier to talk openly.


    Of course, there was still a need to confirm everything. For students who went out of the academy, their universal card was undoubtedly the best proof avable. It was a special kind of card that was definitely not something any Norman or Earthling could imitate easily.


    The two exchanged their cards and nced at it, further affirming their identities.


    The atmosphere in the room suddenly eased considerably. Since Xiao Lin had directly revealed her role in the admissions department, Wang Yun no longer hid anything, but she did not disclose everything either. She said, ¡°Yes, I enrolled two years ago, and I¡¯m doing misceneous work in the admissions department. What about you? Which ss are you from?¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes secretly. She said that she was doing misceneous work even though she was next in line to be the department head, which was a clear sign of her wariness. In any case, Xiao Lin had no time to waste and he has nothing to hide either, since he believed that she could easily get his details if she really did dig deeper. As a result, he answered honestly, ¡°I¡¯m the current batch of freshmen, now in ss Seven.¡±


    ¡°Huh? It really is you!¡±


    Wang Yun was also very surprised. ¡°I heard that there was a very influential person named Xiao Lin in this batch, but I just thought he shared the same name as you, so I never actually associated that Xiao Lin with you.¡±


    ¡°I heard that the past two batches of students were recruited by you, Senior Sister, so you can¡¯t possibly know nothing about it.¡± Xiao Lin also had some doubts, but he smoothly changed his way of addressing her to Senior Sister in order to dispel Wang Yun¡¯s wariness.


    Wang Yun did not ask how Xiao Lin knew about that, but she frowned and muttered, ¡°You¡¯re right. These two batches, especially your batch, were picked by me, but I¡¯m pretty sure I didn¡¯t see your name when I sent the admission letters. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten you. That¡¯s why I never thought it was you when I heard your nameter on.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°You probably forgot, Senior Sister, or else I wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter Dawn Academy without my admission notice.¡±


    ¡°I have a good memory! And the course I¡¯m currently taking is on spell scrolls, which requires a high level of memory. Plus, it¡¯s you of all people! I couldn¡¯t have forgotten if I saw your name!¡± Wang Yun was still unconvinced.


    However, Xiao Lin had no intention of furthering that irrelevant question. He shifted the subject away and said, ¡°Are you here for Gu Chengyun?¡±


    ¡°So you do know her.¡± Wang Yun was not surprised, and judging from her expression, she had roughly guessed the reason Xiao Lin wanted to look for her.


    ¡°Do you want Gu Chengyun to go to the academy?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned.


    Wang Yun added, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s not that I want her to enroll. I don¡¯t have such authority. It¡¯s the higher-ups that decide who enters the academy.¡±


    ¡°Higher-ups? That admissions guy?¡±


    Wang Yun was a little speechless and rolled her eyes. ¡°What do you mean ¡®that admissions guy¡¯? He¡¯s the head of the department, you know. And yes, it is him, and I was given ast-minute task to investigate this Gu Chengyun girl on this trip. It¡¯s the same phone call I answered when I met you for coffee that day.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not interact much with the admission department¡¯s head. He remembered the guy from the opening ceremony, and what stood out was his gleaming face and neat dress sense. However, it was clear that the admissions department was not a low-ranking department, since it was rted to the quality of freshmen and was very much held in high-esteem.


    ¡°Is it possible not to admit Gu Chengyun to the academy?¡±


    Wang Yun was doubly stunned. ¡°Why?¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his hands. ¡°Well, obviously, she is half-paralyzed. Do you think she¡¯s suitable for Dawn Academy?¡±


    Wang Yun looked serious. ¡°To tell you the truth, Xiao Lin, I don¡¯t know why the higher-ups want me to investigate her, but if there¡¯s a chance, I think it¡¯s best to enroll her in the academy. It¡¯s difficult to treat her paralysis on Earth, but it¡¯s different in Dawn Academy. There are arge number of healers who can do that.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. He remembered that Gu Xiaoyue said something simr, and the reason why she worked so hard at Dawn Academy was actually to heal her sister. If she knew that Gu Chengyun would also be brought into Dawn Academy, it would be hard to imagine how angry she would be.


    The dishes were brought up by the waiter one after another, and Xiao Lin stopped the discussion at just the right time. In fact, it was not a problem for outsiders to hear bits of their conversation, since the most they would think was that the discussion centered around ordinary universities. Even lunatics would find it difficult to associate that with colonizing alien worlds.


    Xiao Lin did not have any appetite and tried to make Wang Yun give up on that n. At the very least, she ought to state that Gu Chengyun had no enrollment value in the inspection report, since it was hard to imagine what a half-paralyzed person could do after entering the academy.


    Wang Yun was also put in a tight spot. It was her boss who specifically tasked her with that, which meant that he had some form of information at least. Concealing it on without careful consideration would produce undesirable effects for her too.


    They could note to a suitable agreement until the meal was over. Wang Yun said that the most she could do was rify the situation when she went back, since she had no idea why there was a need to recruit new students again after the enrollment period had already passed.


    Xiao Lin expressed his gratitude for that, but he did not expect the admissions department to be amodating. He could only put his hopes on Song Jung, since thetter had friends in high ces and could possibly influence the decision of the admissions department.


    After having a quick meal, Xiao Lin left and returned to the fine arts academy. He originally wanted to invite Wang Yun to go with him, but she politely refused. Wang Yunughed and said that she had to go back to report on her mission.


    Both Gu sisters had just finished dinner some time ago In the fine arts academy and were still waiting for Xiao Lin to return. However, Xiao Lin did not tell Gu Chengyun the truth, but simply smiled and told her that it was a misunderstanding. Gu Chengyun believed that, then told Gu Xiaoyue smugly that she did not need to go home anymore.


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at Xiao Lin. After sending Gu Chengyun back to the studio, Gu Xiaoue continued to walk with Xiao Lin on campus. Gu Xiaoyue was not as easily fooled as her sister, and Xiao Lin had no intention of hiding anything from her either. Once there was no one around, He told Gu Xiaoyue the truth.


    ¡°Let Chengyun go to Dawn Academy too? No! Absolutely not!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice suddenly increased several times, and her delicate face was full of anger.


    ¡°How can the academy do this! I¡¯m already trapped in all this! Why must they do the same to my sister!


    ¡°I will never agree to this!


    ¡°If it¡¯s just to treat Chengyun¡¯s legs, I can do it myself!¡±

 Chapter 413: Strange Rain

    <h4>Chapter 413: Strange Rain</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s prediction was correct. Gu Xiaoyue found it difficult to ept it if her sister entered Dawn Academy. He smiled bitterly and waved his hand, ¡°It¡¯s useless if you get angry at me. I didn¡¯t decide this matter.¡±


    After a pause, Xiao Lin continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll rify this with Department Head Song. This whole thing is a bit weird. Logically speaking, it isn¡¯t the time for enrollment, so there might be some leeway to go around this.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue calmed down a bit and said a soft thank you, which made Xiao Lin feel at ease. He knew that Gu Xiaoyue was not someone who thanked others easily, especially not when she was averse to relying on others.


    ¡°By the way, is there anything special about your sister?¡± Xiao Lin asked casually again. Since the admissions department sent someone to inspect Gu Chengyun, it meant that Gu Chengyun had something which attracted people¡¯s attention.


    Gu Xiaoyue found it a little strange but she still shook her head.


    Xiao Lin looked at her hesitant answer and surmised that she probably did not want to tell the truth, which was understandable. If Song Jung¡¯s guess is correct and Gu Xiaoyue was half-elf, then her sister must surely be the same too. Gu Xiaoyue had already shown extraordinary talent in the academy, and Gu Chengyun might not be that far behind.


    Three days have passed since the holiday and Xiao Lin did not want to dy things until the end. He called Song Jung again, but the phone was still turned off. It was quite irritating for Xiao Lin and he was at wit¡¯s end. If Department Head Song did note forward, it was very difficult for him to solve everything by himself.


    He tried contacting Wang Yun again, but she said that she had already left the city and returned to give her report. She further said that she would help Xiao Lin inquire, but she made a point to tell Xiao Lin not to put his hopes too high.


    Gu Xiaoyue was obviously brooding, but fortunately she always looked indifferent. Due to that, Gu Chengyun did not notice anything abnormal in her expression.


    Although Gu Chengyun was in her second year, she did not enjoy herself that much. Gu Xiaoyue had little time in the past, so at Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue apanied Gu Chengyun around the city for the next two days. They walked around and visited zoos, botanical gardens, as well as parks.


    Xiao Lin was not that interested in such pastimes, but Gu Chengyun was thrilled. The innocent smile on her face can easily spread happiness to everyone around her, and even Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face was beginning to show signs of a shallow smile.


    It was a pity that the good times did notst long. On the fifth day of the holiday, there was a continuous light drizzle. Gu Chengyun pouted andined repeatedly, because the weather forecast stated that the weather would be very good for theing week. However, the light drizzle went on for an entire day, and even seemed to grow stronger instead of stopping.


    Xiao Lin first found a hotel to live in temporarily, but was bored and could only turn on the TV in the hotel and constantly change channels. He then discovered that several television stations were talking about the same thing. The rain in recent days was not in a small area, and it was said that the entire southern part of China is covered by continuous rain, However, none of the weather stations forecasted rain, and experts from all over were talking about it.


    Those experts soon discovered that the rain was not limited to that country. All the cities on the Pacific coast were experiencing that strange heavy rain. The area of rain was like a disc that decreased progressively in terms of severity the farther a ce was from the center. In other words, the fringe areas would have smaller rain. There was already a heavy downpour in several of the Pacific¡¯s ind countries. The scenes on television looked terrifying, and the water umted in many of those country¡¯s ces could even sweep an entire person away. Many people could only use boats as a means of travel.


    Experts have analyzed ande up with many reasons, but Xiao Lin had the nagging feeling that it was all nonsense. Finally, someone calcted the intensity of the rain and discovered that the strongest, or the core of the disc, was Hawaii.


    Xiao Lin, who was originally just watching the expert opinions to pass the time, jumped out of bed after lying around for half a day. There was a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face, and he once again thought of Song Jung¡¯s visit to Hawaii. Although he did not say what he was going to do, Xiao Lin originally thought that he was just going to go on vacation.


    Although the rain was a bit strange and the experts said that they had never seen such a thing for over a hundred years, it was still just ordinary rain after all. If it were anyone else, Xiao Lin would probably not associate the rain with them, but Xiao Lin immediately thought of Song Jung, as the man was fond of making all sorts of hybrid creatures.


    What did Song Jung do in Hawaii?


    Since he could not get through to Song Jung on the phone, Xiao Lin thought of going straight to Hawaii to check things out. Unfortunately, it would take a long time to apply for a visa and go through the necessary procedures if he went there by himself. A few days of vacation would definitely not be enough, so he called Mao Tianying again and exined the situation, as it should not be a problem for the Earth Division.


    However, Mao Tianying refused and warned him in a very low voice, ¡°Something has probably happened in Hawaii. I advise you to stay away from there. Several academies are sending people over to investigate right now.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, and the student union has already issued an urgent notice. The freshmen¡¯s holidays are now cancelled. I actually wanted to inform you that your group will be required to rush to the meeting point as soon as possible. I¡¯ll send a vehicle to pick you up!¡±


    Mao Tianying¡¯s words were very vague and Xiao Lin did not know if he was trying to hide something or whether he knew nothing at all. In any case, such vague answers would only make Xiao Lin more restless, and the feeling of forgetting something continued to bother him in his mind.


    Hawaii was quite far away, and whatever it was that happened there, Xiao Lin was still far beyond the affected area. Nevertheless, Xiao Lin was aware of the equilibrium in Earth¡¯s space, and it was inevitable that those worries would arise in his heart. Could it be that the current rain was also a sign that the bnce had been broken?


    He remembered Song Jung saying that if the bnce of the earth continued to be destroyed, it would be cosmic dust sooner orter. As his homnd, he remembered that his parents would live on that, and for them to continue living, Xiao Lin absolutely did not want such a thing to happen.


    Gu Xiaoyue soon came looking for him too. It seemed that she had received the urgent notice Mao Tianying mentioned. The notice did not state any reason, but it directlypelled the students who were still on the earth to return to the academy as soon as possible. Even Gu Xiaoyue felt that something was wrong after getting the inexplicably hasty order. She had a faint feeling that it might be rted to the rain she was looking at, which by then had already covered half of the world.

 Chapter 414: Black Seawater

    <h4>Chapter 414: ck Seawater</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue went there alone. She did not care about the origin of the rain, or what happened in Hawaii, but what saddened her slightly was the fact that she could not keep Gu Chengyunpany. In addition, she was also worried that Gu Chengyun might be recruited into the academy.


    Xiao Lin felt a headacheing on too. He came back to Earth in the hopes of rxing and having a vacation, but the trouble he encountered in the past two days seemed to be more than what he faced in Dawn Academy.


    When Gu Xiaoyue mentioned his sister, Xiao Lin had a sudden realization. He finally discovered where the strange uneasiness in his subconscious originated from, and he rushed out without a second thought. He grabbed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hand without so much as a word and ran all the way towards the fine arts academy.


    Gu Xiaoyue was stunned for a while, and forcefully jerked her hand free. Xiao Linughed dryly. Taking advantage of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s confused expression, he wisely shifted the topic away and said with a serious face, ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Chengyun. There¡¯s something I¡¯m very concerned about.¡±


    Xiao Lin then took Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hand and started running wildly again. He probably could not give any reasonable excuse as to why he had to hold hands while running. Gu Xiaoyue struggled a little at the beginning, but fortunately, she did not object after seeing the seriousness between Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrows.


    After arriving at the fine arts academy, the number of students on the roadside gradually increased. It was inevitable that those who were single stared intently at the two of them holding hands. In any case, Gu Xiaoyue was more sensitive, and she quietly retracted her hand. Xiao Lin pursed his lips. Feeling somewhat regretful and slightly irritated, Xiao Lin cast an even fiercer look at the people around him, causing everyone to consciously avoid them...


    Gu Chengyun had just finished ss, but because it was not the weekend, there were many more students in the painting studio. Most of them were girls. Many were chatting with each other, and Xiao Lin observed quietly for some time from outside. There were many people around Gu Chengyun and she was obviously quite popr in the academy. She and her sister were pr opposites, and it stood to reason that such a lively, optimistic, and cheerful girl was worthy of others to know.


    ¡°Sister! Xiao Lin!¡± Gu Chengyun caught a glimpse of the two people outside the ssroom and beckoned them gleefully. Last time, he cunningly omitted calling Xiao Lin ¡®brother¡¯ and exined her reason with conviction: if she addressed them as Brother Xiao Lin, and Sister Gu Xiaoyue, then the rtionship between the two of them would arouse suspicion from others. Needless to say, her exnation left Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue speechless for quite some time.


    Xiao Lin took the initiative to push her wheelchair and stopped at the corner of the corridor where there were few people. He smiled and asked, ¡°Chengyun, where¡¯s that unfinished painting? Have youpleted it after that?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lips squirmed, but she just sighed silently even though she looked like she wanted to say something. Gu Chengyun tilted her head in confusion and said, ¡°It¡¯s done, since my habit is to finish a painting that I started. It¡¯s just...¡±


    ¡°Can you show me that painting?¡± Xiao Lin did not notice Gu Chengyun¡¯s hesitation.


    ¡°I have many other paintings. You can see the others if you like, but forget about that one.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°That painting is a bit weird. I put it away after it was done.¡± Gu Chengyun felt a little embarrassed.


    Xiao Lin patiently persuaded. Gu Chengyun was very easy to talk to, and she also acknowledged Xiao Lin as her brother-inw. After some persuasion, Gu Chengyun reluctantly agreed. Once the painting was brought out, Xiao Lin hurriedly opened it in the corridor.


    Gu Chengyun drew a picture of the Hawaiianndscape. Most of the painting remained the same as before, but Xiao Lin noticed that at the very edge of the painting¡ªthat is, the area which used to be ck¡ªhad since been filled with jet-ck paint.


    Gu Xiaoyue also leaned her head and looked at it carefully. She also noticed that the darkness was ipatible with the surrounding blue waters and had a serious effect on the beauty of the entire painting. Anyone with a discerning eye could see it, so it was impossible for Gu Chengyun to be unaware of it. Oddly enough, she still insisted on painting even though she could see the discordance, so it was unsurprising that she refused to take out the painting earlier.


    ¡°I draw pictures by imagination. You know that, Big Sis. I¡¯m not the one who decides what I want to paint.¡±


    ¡°What is this ck area?¡±


    ¡°Seawater.¡±


    ¡°Seawater? ck seawater!¡± Gu Xiaoyue had a look of suspicion.


    Xiao Lin was still observing the painting. This area was indeed painted with ck paint, but one closer inspection, one would notice that it was not simply a patch of jet-ck paint. Within it, a slightly lighteryer can be vaguely distinguished. Theyers were gray and ck, and the two colors were alternated together. A professional painter might not find it that easy to distinguish.


    Xiao Lin pointed to this area and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this here?¡±


    Gu Chengyun closed her eyes and tried to remember her memory, but soon there was a trace of uneasiness between her eyebrows. She whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, all I remember is that it¡¯s terrible. There seems to be something terrible hidden in the ck water, but I really can¡¯t remember what it was, and I don¡¯t understand why I imagined that kind of picture, so I didn¡¯t even dare to continue painting before Xiao Lin came.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t worry!¡± Gu Xiaoyue took her sister¡¯s shoulders lovingly. Sheforted her and softly chastised, ¡°It¡¯s just a nightmare. It¡¯s fine, next time if there¡¯s ever a painting that you don¡¯t want to draw again, just simply forget it, do you understand!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue red at Xiao Lin again. Xiao Lin could not ask any more. Gu Chengyun¡¯s mood fluctuated slightly. Gu Xiaoyue was still worried and wanted to stay there, so she hurried Xiao Lin back to the hotel. Before leaving however, she still asked Xiao Lin to return the painting.


    Wang Yun said that Gu Chengyun was the person whom the head of admissions wanted to inspect, and there had to be something extraordinary about a person who was going to be inspected. As Mao Tianying said to him, most talented students would be visited by the admissions department unannounced, and it could even be said that talented students were the core goal of each enrollment.


    If Gu Chengyun was also a talented person, could her talent be the ability to prophesy?


    Xiao Lin remembered that she gave her a painting when he first met her. It was a painting depicting hail in New York. When he went to America a few dayster, he saw the same familiar scene. Of course, he thought of it as a coincidence at the time and paid little attention to it, but the Hawaii incident reminded him that twice or thrice was no longer a coincidence.


    Gu Xiaoyue might have realized it, or perhaps she did know about it but deliberately concealed it. Then, the head of admissions found out about it from somewhere and therefore sent his assistant Wang Yun to investigate.


    That was the greatest possibility that Xiao Lin could think of right then.

 Chapter 415: The Legend of Poseidon

    <h4>Chapter 415: The Legend of Poseidon</h4>


    In the hotel, Xiao Lin opened up Gu Chengyun¡¯s drawing and studied it, but it was still hard to determine what the pitch ck sea was hiding just from that drawing.


    ¡°Oh...¡±


    A drawn out sigh was suddenly heard behind him, and Xiao Lin jumped in fright, deftly turning around and adopting a defensive stance. He saw Silverlight, who had been missing for many days, floating in the air, causing him to pause. His immediate response was to check if the door was locked; if someone walked in at that moment, he would probably appear on the news headlines the next day.


    Silverlight had nevere out during the time Xiao Lin had been on Earth, and Xiao Lin had no way to call for her. The two of them were only working together, so Silverlight decided herself when she wanted toe out.


    ¡°I told you thest time, stoping out so suddenly. You¡¯ll scare me to death!¡± Xiao Lin cursed.


    The white-robed woman ignored his cursing, going straight to the table to look at the drawing. Her beautiful silver eyes looked on quietly with aplicated expression.


    Xiao Lin asked curiously, ¡°You know Hawaii?¡±


    ¡°Ha-wa-ii?¡±


    Xiao Lin was surprised this time, because Silverlight used Mandarin to say the words.


    Before that, they had always conversed in Ancient Normese. Even if Xiao Lin¡¯s Ancient Normese was quite decent nowadays, he was still unable to understand some of the deeper meanings.


    ¡°Learning anguage is nothing hard for me,¡± Silverlight rolled her eyes, saying calmly. ¡°I¡¯d been listening to you talk with others these two days. Remembering the vocabry makes things very easy to understand. Is it really that hard?¡±


    Listening to her fluent Mandarin, Xiao Lin was speechless, but it did make things a lot easier.


    Silverlight obviously did not know what Hawaii was, but she pointed at the blurry gray area in the dark sea with a serious expression. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this is a mark of a Guardian, but I can¡¯t be sure with just this drawing.¡±


    ¡°A Guardian?¡±


    Silverlight breathed in a deep breath, looking away from the drawing as she closed her eyes reminiscing. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much is left of Antis on this world. How much do you know about Antis¡¯s origins?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head.


    Silverlight continued, ¡°From what I had seen before in the archives, the founding king of Antis was the sea god of the time: Poseidon. At the time, there were many temples worshiping Poseidon on the mainds, and Antis¡¯s strength came from the sea god¡¯s power to some degree, but its final destruction was also...¡±


    She shook her head and stopped at that point. Xiao Lin had tried to research Antis before, but all that was left on Earth were only legends.


    Xiao Lin half-jokingly said, ¡°I heard that there was a parentless girl on a small ind who was taken as a bride by Poseidon, giving birth to five sets of twins. Poseidon then divided the ind into ten parts, giving each child one to rule over, and the eldest child was to be the highest ruler. Since the eldest was called As, the country was named Antis. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Correct, and incorrect.¡± Silverlight did not react to Xiao Lin¡¯s joking as she continued, ¡°What you need to know is that Antis has a very close rtionship with Poseidon. Poseidon would never reveal himself as the sea god, but back then, there were guards that belonged to Poseidon in the sea, which we called the God¡¯s Guardians.¡±


    Silverlight pointed to the grayed outnd, saying, ¡°I¡¯m still not very sure. If this drawing is real, I wish to see it.¡±


    ¡°Can you see what¡¯s happening outside while you¡¯re in the ring?¡±


    ¡°Basically.¡±


    ¡°You were spying then.¡± The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. If that was the case, Silverlight definitely understood Gu Chengyu¡¯s situation, which was why she wanted to see the ce the drawing depicted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I cut off my senses whenever it¡¯s inconvenient for you.¡±


    ¡°Wait wait wait, what do you mean when it¡¯s inconvenient. Do you spy on me every day?!¡±


    Silverlight remained expressionless. ¡°I think you¡¯d better get me to the ce quickly. If we don¡¯t make it in time, the world might actually revisit the tragedy of my old homnd!¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately shut up. His eyes were wide as he said in disbelief, ¡°Hold on, revisit? Antis¡¯s tragedy? Are you saying the Earth will drown?!¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s cold voice sounded even more terrifying, ¡°Do you think Poseidon was only the god of the sea for show? He controlled the world¡¯s seas and typhoons. Poseidon has a taste for invasion and an extreme sense of ambition. The torrential rain is already an act of mercy; if we don¡¯t do anything and allow him to regain his strength, I won¡¯t be able to stop anything he ns on doing in the future.¡±


    ¡°Does Poseidon really exist? Isn¡¯t that just a legend?¡± Xiao Lin was uncertain, but Silverlight did not look like she was joking, nor did that woman whose homnd had been drowned have a reason to lie. No matter what, Earth was her homnd as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m only a myth on Norma as well; myths and legends are usually born from truth. I don¡¯t know how many legends Earth has right now, but I can tell you frankly, the sea god Poseidon definitely existed in history!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Poseidon created Antis and also destroyed it. What aboutter? Where did Poseidon go? I don¡¯t know about ancient history, but I know that there hasn¡¯t been anyone like that in recent history.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s history had been quite good when he was in university. Poseidon definitely did not exist in Chinese or global history.


    Silverlight shook her head. ¡°I left for Norma, but I know that a few people wanted to seal Poseidon before I left. I don¡¯t know the results, but since the world is still peaceful, then they probably seeded.


    Xiao Lin paced around, specting, ¡°Which means that for some reason, the seal back then has been loosened, which is why this torrential rain has happened. Poseidon actually wants to submerge the world into the sea and rule over it?¡±


    Silverlight pursed her lips. ¡°I¡¯m only specting, so we need to get to the scene to see for sure!¡±


    ¡°Let me report it to the higher-ups from the academy first. No matter what, things will be much easier if they show up.¡± Xiao Lin muttered to himself.


    ¡°We won¡¯t make it in time.¡±

 Chapter 416: Arriving in Hawaii

    <h4>Chapter 416: Arriving in Hawaii</h4>


    Silverlight¡¯s expression was still calm as usual. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t make it, even if it¡¯s just spection; if the gray marks really belong to a Guardian, then Poseidon will be here soon. Usually, the Guardians follow Poseidon.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of that, how powerful is Poseidon? Oh, I remember you¡¯ve said before that Antis was a civilization that put a lot of emphasis on pursuing the limits of your bodies.¡±


    ¡°Not mentioning the standards of the civilization back then, based on Norma¡¯s standards, Poseidon¡¯s power should be around Legend rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked again, bitterly smiling as he said, ¡°Then why are you hurrying me there; won¡¯t I just be like amb walking into a lion¡¯s den?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve said what I needed to say. It¡¯s your decision to make.¡± Silverlight did not say anything after that. She turned her body to light and went back into the ring.


    Only Xiao Lin wasleft in the room, looking uncertain at the drawing on the table. After a long time, he took out his phone and entered Mao Tianying¡¯s number.


    ¡°Department Head Mao, can you contact Department Head Song?¡±


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t call me a department head, my rank is still far away from that. Just call me by my name. If you¡¯re looking for Song Jung, that guy probably won¡¯t be back for at least half a month. It¡¯s better if you head back to the academy first. I¡¯ll just let him know when he gets back.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be in time if we wait. I need to go to Hawaii. Please arrange it for me no matter what.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so urgent?¡±


    Xiao Lin fell quiet, instead asking, ¡°The people that the academy sent to Hawaii, what¡¯s their situation?¡±


    Mao Tianying muttered, ¡°Who knows. Those people love to jump to conclusions, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything. Based on old cases, it¡¯s probably some idiot ignoring academy rules, showing off on Earth. We just don¡¯t know which academy they¡¯re from yet. You probably heard about the tsunami in Indonesia all those years ago. There are always bad eggs like them.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but feel a sense of urgency. The academies did not seem to feel any danger, but felt that was natural instead. If not for Silverlight being an Antean, Xiao Lin would not have tied the rain to Antis, or even the mythical Poseidon.


    ¡°I need to go to Hawaii! I¡¯ll owe you a favor!¡±


    ¡°You at least need to tell me why,¡± Mao Tianying smiled as he asked.


    ¡°You won¡¯t believe me if I did.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Fine, Earth is about to be destroyed, and I need to save it.¡±


    There were a few seconds of silence before a chorus ofughter could be heard. Mao Tianying went out of controlughing, taking awhile topose himself before saying, ¡°I can¡¯t believe your imagination is so rich. Fine, it¡¯s not the time to joke right now...¡±


    ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe me.¡± Xiao Lin sighed.


    ¡°How could I believe something like that. Fine, keep using your imagination. Who wants to destroy the world?¡±


    ¡°Poseidon.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Another surge ofughter could be heard. Mao Tianyingughed until he started coughing. ¡°Are you even going to bring Antis into this?¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. ¡°Your guess is right. I was just about to say that.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Finally Xiao Lin hung up the call. He could not possibly persuade Mao Tianying to believe his words, nor could he get Silverlight to appear and exin things. Even if he did, it was very possible Silverlight would be brought back by Dawn Academy for experimentation.


    Thinking about it, Xiao Lin ended up looking for Gu Xiaoyue, exining the circumstances simply. He had been worried that she would think he was crazy, but the only response he got was Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s cold, ¡°Oh.¡±


    Xiao Lin was once again speechless, unsure if Gu Xiaoyue waspletely unconcerned about it or if the girl was a little unhinged. However, no matter what, what caused Xiao Lin to tear up was that Gu Xiaoyue seemed to really believe what he was saying.


    ¡°I wish to go to Hawaii as well!¡± Gu Xiaoyue said calmly. ¡°It¡¯s not to save the world, nor is it for some Poseidon. I just want to know what Chengyun was drawing. I don¡¯t want that drawing to be a shadow in her heart!¡±


    ¡°The academy wants us to return immediately, and Mao Tianying doesn¡¯t want to help. It¡¯s probably toote to get visas done now.¡±


    ¡°Let me arrange that. This isn¡¯t something money can¡¯t handle.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words were simple yet imperious. She left immediately after she finished to get everything done. Xiao Lin was stunned before remembering that Gu Xiaoyue had mentioned that she came from a rich family. It seemed like she was not just an ordinary rich person.


    Xiao Lin could not help with the matter, and could only wait nervously. It took until noon the next day before Gu Xiaoyue appeared in front of him, tired. ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten the ne ready. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s efficiency shocked Xiao Lin. He wondered how much money she had spent. The two of them got on a taxi and headed straight to the airport. There was already a small passenger ne waiting for them. It was fortunate that the rain was not that heavy there, neither were there any violent winds or thunderstorms, so it did not affect the flight.


    However, their destination was not Hawaii. The airline had rejected the request to fly to Hawaii, so they could only head to Hong Kong before taking another flight to Guam. After that, they would charter a private ne to finally head to Hawaii.


    The journey was very turbulent. Gu Xiaoyue had said that she used some connections she had made before, but she had definitely spent a lot. She even managed to prepare fake visas. Of course, the woman was obviously not someone who cared about money.


    It took a day before they arrived in Hawaii. The rain was much heavier than back in their country. It was not an exaggeration to call it a downpour. The private ne immediately left after sending them there. The only reason the pilot even agreed was because Gu Xiaoyue offered a price that was hard to resist. As for how they would go back, they did not think about it yet.


    It was the first time Xiao Lin was in Hawaii, but Hawaii was definitely not a tourist attraction at that moment. Heavy rain fell from the pitch-ck sky, and the tourists had long since disappeared. The two of them walked to the beach, and it was filled with trash and daily items discarded by tourists as they were fleeing. It was obvious they had left in great panic.


    Xiao Lin looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. He finally stopped on the beach, looking at the dark sky. Xiao Lin then scooped up some of the sea water, noticing that it was still crystal blue, yet what was depicted in the drawing was pitch-ck.

 Chapter 417: Conjecture on The Island

    <h4>Chapter 417: Conjecture on The Ind</h4>


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue had their umbres with them, but the rain next to the sea was way too heavy, so they were practically useless. Xiao Lin nced at Gu Xiaoyue, and noticed that her entire body was soaked. He immediately took off his raincoat and gave it to her, and feeling very pleased with himself, said, ¡°Thankfully I came prepared...¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue did not ept it, immediately pointing toward somewhere nearby. ¡°There¡¯s someone there!¡±


    Looking toward where she was pointing, he noticed a few human-like silhouettes swimming quickly through the waves in the horizon, closing in on the beach.


    The waves were extremely turbulent, but those humanoids did not sit on any boats. Xiao Lin immediately suspected that they were from another academy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s avoid them for now.¡±


    They had sneaked over themselves, and did not want to get caught. Being sent back to Dawn Academy would probably result in them being punished, so the two of them temporarily left the beach, finding a wooden house for cover.


    The inside of the house was very messy, it was obvious that the original owner had left in a panic. There were even fruits that had been cut but not eaten on the table. Xiao Lin did not mind it as he grabbed the fruits, eating them as he tried to summon Silverlight from his spatial ring.


    This time Silverlight actually answered his summon, appearing in front of him. Xiao Lin had already told Gu Xiaoyue about Silverlight on the way there, so Gu Xiaoyue did not show that much surprise, only nodding subtly as a greeting.


    Silverlight did not usually interact with others, but after ncing at Gu Xiaoyue, a sh of astonishment and confusion appeared on her face, but Xiao Lin¡¯s words quickly interrupted her thoughts.


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived in Hawaii, which is where the drawing is. However, I don¡¯t see any dark seawater. Why is that? You said you wanted to seal Poseidon. Are you nning on doing it yourself?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s string of questions caused Silverlight to furrow her eyebrows. After thinking for a moment, she said in her clear voice, ¡°That isn¡¯t ck seawater, it¡¯s the sea god¡¯s Guardians. Their bodies are ck, and create that effect when they are near the surface of the sea. The gray areas are their mouths. I think they appeared here to receive and protect Poseidon. As for thest question, regretfully, if I was able to defeat Poseidon, I would not have needed to escape to Norma.¡±


    Xiao Lin was bbergasted. ¡°You still asked us toe here. What can we do?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Poseidon¡¯s seal is definitely not open yet. I estimate it was just slightly loosened, or the thunderstorm would not be on such a meager scale.¡±


    ¡°Meager?¡± Gu Xiaoyue raised her head and looked at the dark sky outside¨Cthe raindrops were causing very shocking impacts on the window.


    Silverlight looked at Gu Xiaoyue. Xiao Lin did not know if his senses were off, but he felt like the woman seemed to be measuring Gu Xiaoyue. Likely noticing Xiao Lin¡¯s attention, Silverlight quickly withdrew her gaze, mockingly saying, ¡°Do you really think that something called the sea god would only be able to do this much?¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent. ¡°Then if the sea god¡¯s seal waspletely erased, and his power fully returned, then how much stronger would he bepared to right now?¡±


    Silverlight thought about it. ¡°Probably over ten thousand times stronger. I¡¯ve already told you that he was around Norma¡¯s Legend rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed. If Silverlight¡¯s words were true, then if Poseidon really got out, even if the academies sent all their top experts to fight him, ignoring thews, Earth would be left destroyed, no matter the result of the battle.


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Perfect the seal!¡± Silverlight already had a n, so she exined, ¡°Initially, even if I¡¯ve never seen it myself, I understand the seals from back then quite well. As long as you bring me to the seal, I¡¯ll be able to make up for any ws on the seal!¡±


    ¡°Then do you know where the seal is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless as he massaged his forehead. ¡°I feel like we should stop going around in circles. Could you just exin everything in one go?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you keep interrupting me.¡± Silverlight looked at Xiao Lin and continued, ¡°The sea god¡¯s Guardians won¡¯t leave Poseidon. Since they¡¯re here, it means that Poseidon is almost positive to be around the area.¡±


    Xiao Lin suppressed the urge to interrupt, but Gu Xiaoyue said, ¡°Even so, how could we avoid the Guardians? You said that Poseidon has Legend-rank powers. What about the Guardians? How powerful are they.¡±


    ¡°The strongest are at Epic levels, but it¡¯s impossible for them to be that strong now. After slumbering for tens of thousands of years, they would have lost most of their powers, so I think they¡¯ll probably be around Gold-rank in power.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue looked at each other, both seeing each other¡¯s doubts. They were not scared, but if they were honest, it was impossible for them to beat anyone at that level, even if they worked together, let alone now when they did not know how many opponents they would have.


    ¡°Maybe we can have other people help us distract the Guardians.¡± Xiao Lin remembered those people from the sea earlier. It was obvious that a few academies had sent their people here.


    Xiao Lin could not help but add, ¡°Or maybe we could ask Dawn Academy for help.¡±


    He was not worried about being punished. With Song Jung and the student union president, on top of the dean as his backers, the academy would not punish him in any substantial way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust them.¡± Silverlight clearly rejected it, and she was unreasonable. Xiao Lin could not beat her in a fight, nor could he reason with her.


    They rested in the wooden house for about an hour, and more and more conversations could be heard in the rain. They spoke in English, but there were too many countries that did too. However, after Gu Xiaoyue carefully listened for a few minutes, she determined that they were Americans, which meant that they were very likely from Judge Academy.


    They could not clearly hear the conversations in the rain, and could only grasp a few vague words, such as temple, remnants, and monsters.


    ¡°The Sea God¡¯s Temple? Poseidon¡¯s remnants?¡±


    Xiao Lin tranted the words to Silverlight after she failed to understand them, asking her if she could think of anything. The woman might have learned Mandarin in a short time, but English was still a foreignnguage to her. Silverlight¡¯s expression was a little astonished. She did not think for too long, sighing as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re talking about the Sea God¡¯s Temple, but rather Antis¡¯s temple. Back then, we built many temples for the gods, but most of them had probably been destroyed after the disaster. If any of them were to remain till this day, it would be the Priest¡¯s Shrine.¡±

 Chapter 418: Volcano on the Island

    <h4>Chapter 418: Volcano on the Ind</h4>


    Antis¡¯s remnants birthed a lot of legends, such as some ancient buildings being discovered in the bottom of the ocean. It had been talked about by many throughout the years, and it was hard to distinguish fact from fiction.


    As a very ancient civilization that was once fairly prosperous, even if they encountered an unthinkable disaster and were suddenly destroyed, they would still leave some traces even after thousands of years. Thus, it was quite understandable that there would be remnants left on Earth; they just had not been discovered yet.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue exchanged a look; they had heard about Antis before this, and now they were standing in front of this grand piece of history. It was possible that they would be the first people in the entire world that would step into the remnants of the ancient civilization.


    Thinking about that, Xiao Lin felt a sense of excitement despite his concern.


    ¡°If the other academies notice the remnants first, do we need to go there?¡± Gu Xiaoyue was serious, and continued to think about the problems they could face.


    Silverlight¡¯s tone was quite firm. ¡°I don¡¯t know how your people found the remnant, but I can be sure that they won¡¯t be able to go in even if they found it. They had probably only noticed the approximate location, because... Basically, the Priest¡¯s Shrine is not something anyone can go into.¡±


    ¡°That exnation is not very convincing.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    The two women stared at each other, and Xiao Lin wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead as he hastily ran between them, stopping their argument as he asked, ¡°Silverlight, how are we going to enter the remnant? If Antis¡¯s remnants are all in the bottom of the ocean, are we actually going to dive underwater?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Silverlight nodded.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened. If it were not Silverlight, he would probably have thought that he was being pranked. Diving into the ocean in search of a past relic was quite a joke.


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at Xiao Lin. She seemed to have understood Silverlight. ¡°Are you nning on using some spell to shield us from the waters?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s hard for me to exin it quickly in my current state, but I don¡¯t have that sort of power right now.¡± Silverlight looked at their puzzled expressions and decided to ignore the exnation, turning around to leave as she said, ¡°Whatever, juste with me. I¡¯ll bring the two of you there, but I hope it¡¯s still in the same ce.¡±


    Looking at Silverlight floating in front of them, coupled with the dark sky, Xiao Lin felt like the atmosphere was very weird. In truth, Silverlight could turn into her solid form, but in her own words, it would use up her already diminishing spiritual strength, so it was only to be used when she had no other choice, which was why she chose to float around.


    The three of them started to walk deeper into the ind, which also allowed them to avoid the Judge Academy members on the beach. As they left, they seemed to hear more people nearby, who were probably from the other academies. However, they all had their sights on the beach, which allowed Xiao Lin to sneak away easily.


    Xiao Lin did not know where Silverlight was taking them, and even Silverlight said she did not know when she was asked, which caused him to be speechless. After walking for over an hour, he just decided to treat it as a sightseeing trip, even if the ind was currently a mess.


    After walking for a good while, Silverlight stopped, her face looking like she was hesitant about something. In the end she sighed miserably, muttering, ¡°It looks like I¡¯ll need to waste some energy. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s already impossible to pick up the trail!¡±


    After saying that, Silverlight¡¯s half-transparent body started to solidify. It was her changing from the spiritual form to her solid form. Xiao Lin had sneakily researched it before; it was not something that any spirit could do, which was enough to show how special Silverlight was.


    After solidifying, Silverlight¡¯s white, tiny bare feetnded on the ground. After that, she closed her eyes, quietly standing there with her head half-raised.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue did not disturb her because they both felt the rising energy that was frantically gathering toward Silverlight¡¯s body. Even though this was not Norma, natural energy was something every had since it was the foundation of life


    After about five minutes, Silverlight suddenly reopened her eyes, suddenly releasing a white light that hurt to look at. Xiao Lin shut his eyes, and when he opened them again, seeing how Silverlight looked filled him with curiosity and shock.


    That third eye on Silverlight¡¯s forehead had actually opened. Silverlight had once identally told Xiao Lin that some Anteans had a third eye, and Lilith had once said before that legends had been seen on Earth a long time ago about an ancient race that had three eyes; it was just that the legend had never been proven.


    Silverlight¡¯s third eye was very strange. It had no pupil and waspletely white. It was quite horrifying to look at, feeling like something out of a horror movie, but thanks to Silverlight¡¯s peerless face, it instead had a strange beauty to it.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s voice turned even more apathetic, and she walked ahead inrge strides after speaking. Xiao Lin was worried that she would find it inconvenient to walk with her bare feet, but he quickly squashed the thought.


    Silverlight was faster than expected; it was no exaggeration to say that her strides seemed like she was flying. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue started out only quickening their pace to follow, but Xiao Lin had quickly been forced to use Phantom Steps to barely keep up. Gu Xiaoyue was in worse straits; she had nothing outstanding other than her Intelligence, so she could only allow Xiao Lin to pull her hand along. She had no way to escape it this time.


    After another hour, Silverlight started to slow down. They had long since gone past an empty little town. In front of them was a scorched ck rock that had white vapor billowing from it. Xiao Lin once again jumped; the geographic knowledge that he had learned in university was once again useful.


    In front of them was a volcano called Kuea; it was on the south-eastern side of Hawaii. That was one of the world¡¯srgest and most impressive volcanoes, and most importantly, it was one of the few active volcanoes on Earth. Ever since the 80¡¯s, its eruptions had not stopped for decades.


    Looking at the situation, it seemed like Silverlight was bringing them to the mouth of the volcano!

 Chapter 419: Rock

    <h4>Chapter 419: Rock</h4>


    Kuea was one of the rare few active volcanoes nowadays, but thankfully the torrential rain had caused the ground to cool down. However, even so, going closer was not a good idea.


    Just as he was going to voice that out, he noticed that Silverlight had suddenly picked up her pace. Silverlight looked very strange with her solid body, her white feet leaping across the cooledva, but somehow managing to avoid being stained by dust or mud. Compared to walking, it was more urate to say she was teleporting, or at least it felt that way. Every step she took covered several meters.


    Even Phantom Steps could not keep up, and Xiao Lin prepared to use the higher level Footprint Mirage, but when he heard Gu Xiaoyue panting next to him, he paused. Turning around, the rain had longpletely drenched her. Even with the raincoat he had given her, Xiao Lin could tell that the beads of water on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s forehead were not raindrops, but rather sweat.


    To Gu Xiaoyue who had very ordinary endurance and physique, she was already at her limit. Any increase in speed would be torture for her.


    Xiao Lin sighed, saying, ¡°This is an active volcano; it could erupt at any moment. Let¡¯s just let Silverlight scout ahead. We¡¯ll wait for her here.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue subtly nodded, but red at him. She was smart enough to know that Xiao Lin was using that as a reason for them to rest. With her unyielding temperament, she would not allow herself to hold anyone back, even if her body could not keep up.


    It was deste and empty near the volcano. Xiao Lin had seen on the news that the area used to be inhabited, but everyone had moved away due to the constant eruptions. There was nowhere for them to seek shelter from the rain nearby, so the only thing that could give them any cover was the raincoat that Xiao Lin had given Gu Xiaoyue. Due to how rushed everything was, they failed to prepare a lot of things.


    Gu Xiaoyue naturally wore the raincoat, but she quickly noticed that Xiao Lin only had a T-shirt on. Her lips moved as she said softly, ¡°Together.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin paused.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face seemed to redden a bit as she shyly repeated, ¡°You must be very cold there; the raincoat can somewhat block out the rain, so let¡¯s share. It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re not willing.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m willing!¡± Xiao Lin immediately scurried over.


    Even though the raincoat wasrge, the two of them barely fit in together. Their bodies hugged closely together, and with only their thin clothes between them, Xiao Lin could feel Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s heat and subtle fragrance.


    Gu Xiaoyue pursed her lips tightly, lowering her head, refusing to meet Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze or say anything else.


    TIme seemed to freeze at that moment, even though it could not be considered romantic with the torrential rain. Xiao Lin nheless felt a strange sense of peace, even somewhat hoping that Silverlight would note back.


    However, his happiness was short-lived. After a little over ten minutes, Silverlight could be seening back. Gu Xiaoyue leapt away from Xiao Lin like a frightened rabbit, Xiao Lin somewhat regretfully licked his lips, even staring at Silverlight with an aggrieved look. It was hard to see anything in the curtain of rain, but Silverlight¡¯s third eye glowed brightly in the dark, and could be seen from far away. When Silverlight closed in, Xiao Lin¡¯s attention shifted toward an object Silverlight was holding.


    Silverlight was holding a rugged rock with distinct edges. It was gray throughout, looking like a volcanic rock formed by cooledva. Xiao Lin curiously teased, ¡°Did you spend the entire day performing a geological check on the volcano?¡±


    Silverlight ignored his joke, saying, ¡°We need to use this to enter the remnants underwater.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s eyes widened, and their questions quickly got an answer. Silverlight was probably toozy to exin again, so she immediately took action in front of them.


    Silverlight raised the rock in a very careful manner, as if what she carried was a living thing instead of a rock. She held it slightly high, right in front of the eye on her forehead and letting the light that shot out cover the rock before standing there, unmoving.


    After about half an hour waiting, Silverlight still stood there like a statue. Xiao Lin was getting impatient, but he quickly sensed a change in the rock. The rock¡¯s pitch ck hue was quickly fading, as if it had only been painted with ayer of ck by someone and the white light was stripping away the paint, washing the rock clean.


    After the ck surface was peeled off, what appeared in front of them was a half-transparent, faintly glowing ss-like and pearlescent...animal?


    The white rock suddenly moved by itself, causing Xiao Lin who was observing to jump in shock as well. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and the rock in Silverlight¡¯s hand started to struggle violently. It started to reveal eyes, mouths and other organs, then legs, a tail...


    Turning a rock into an animal, Silverlight looked like she was performing transfiguration. Xiao Lin started to get even more curious about the mysteries of Antis under the rain.


    When the final speck of ck disappeared from the rock, Silverlight¡¯s body started to sway before she copsed. Xiao Lin was quick, and he shot forward to support her, but his hands only flew through Silverlight¡¯s body. Silverlight¡¯s third eye was once again shut tight, only revealing a protrusion. She had also returned to her spiritual form, floating once again after she copsed.


    Silverlight gasped slightly, her face full of fatigue despite being in spiritual form. Xiao Lin also noticed that her body had darkened. Spirits were just a gathering of energy; once that energy was used up, spirits would dissipate.


    Thanks to Dawn Academy¡¯s library, Xiao Lin had learnt quite a bit about undead spirits. Even though Silverlight did not say anything, and she also seemed very strong, Xiao Lin could not help but worry. She was probably thest creature left from Antis. Even just looking at it that way, Xiao Lin did not wish for SIlverlight to die there.

 Chapter 420: Submerging to the Seabed

    <h4>Chapter 420: Submerging to the Seabed</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The animated rock looked a little like a hamster, but its body was half-transparent. It had a short tail, and eyes as big as beans. It looked really pretty and had thin limbs. The little guy frolicked around the floor after being animated, looking very happy.


    Silverlight pet the thing tenderly after floating again. Even though she had no physical touch in her spiritual form, the little thing mysteriously closed its eyes in enjoyment, even affectionately rubbing its head against Silverlight¡¯s palm. When it found that it went through Silverlight¡¯s palm everytime it tried, it showed an obviously pitiful expression.


    ¡°I raised it to adulthood back then, and I haven¡¯t seen it for years. I felt its aura when we reached this ce; I can¡¯t believe we managed to reunite after so many years.¡± SIlverlight¡¯s cold gaze turned unusually warm, but her words were shocking. It was not a matter of one or two years.


    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯re saying this little guy is an animal from Antis¡¯s time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°How did it survive for so many years?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked in disbelief.


    ¡°Just like what you saw earlier: hibernation. It can stop all the functions in its body, causing its metabolism to be essentially zero, allowing it to live for many years. Only, hibernating like that requires our race¡¯s powers to revert.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡±


    ¡°#@[emailprotected]</a>¡± Silverlight uttered a strangenguage.


    ¡°What? Oh, you¡¯re talking in yournguage.¡± It was obvious this animal had no direct trantion. Xiao Lin looked around, smiling, ¡°Let¡¯s just call it Little Bai for now.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at him, but Silverlight did not object. She said, ¡°It will bring us to the bottom of the sea. Follow me.¡±


    The volcano was near the sea, and once they got to the beach, Little Bai did not even need Silverlight¡¯smands before it jumped right into the sea, disappearing beneath the waves. Xiao Lin had been worried that its frail body would not be able to withstand the waves, but a gigantic figure appeared in front of them not long after.


    Compared to its form the size of a palm earlier, the Little Bai in front of them had expanded by dozens of times. Its body was still half-transparent, as if it were a sponge that had taken in water.


    ¡°It can change its body shape and size at will.¡± Silverlight exined.


    Xiao Lin could only sigh at the ancient creature. The way they dived into the sea was also strange, as Silverlight made them go into the animal¡¯s stomach.


    It was quite a big difference from what they had anticipated. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue exchanged looks, obviously not willing to be swallowed, but they were already in a difficult spot, and could no longer afford to turn around. After hesitating, Xiao Lin carefully walked into Little Bai¡¯s open mouth, although it might be better to call it Big Bai at that point.


    Its stomach was quite warm, and Xiao Lin¡¯s feet felt sticky, but other than that, there were no other ufortable feelings. Xiao Lin also noticed that there did not seem to be any internal organs; its entire stomach seemed to be very empty. After swallowing the two of them, Big Bai jumped into the sea.


    With their rapid descent, their surroundings got gradually darker, and the beast quickly started to emit a warm glow. The glow was quite strong, illuminating almost an entire kilometer around them. Its body was good at withstanding the water pressure as well, allowing Xiao Lin to admire the view underwater in peace. Even though they did not have the mood, it was still a memorable underwater journey.


    After a few minutes Gu Xiaoyue furrowed her eyebrows, softly asking, ¡°It¡¯s strange. Why can¡¯t we see any other aquatic life?¡±


    ¡°Is it because of Poseidon?¡± Xiao Lin guessed.


    Speaking caused their ears to buzz, and there was a lot of echoing around them too, which was why they spoke softly. The spirit Silverlight had things the easiest; she said, ¡°Yes, Poseidon¡¯s poweres from the ocean. Even after tens of thousands of years, sea creatures have a natural fear of him in their genes, and will naturally run away.¡±


    The sea was really devoid of life; they could not even see a single fish swimming around. All that was left was cold and silence, Silverlight said that her beast was very sensitive to the auras of living beings, and it had interacted with Poseidon before, so it was familiar and able to find Poseidon.


    ¡°Silverlight, you mentioned genes earlier; did Antis already study gics all those years ago?¡± They were still quite a distance away from the remnant of Antis that Silverlight spoke of, so Xiao Lin used idle chatter to fill up the time. Talking in the quiet seabed was quite a new experience.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not thatplete. I tranted it into yournguage, but we¡¯ve always regarded it as god¡¯s forbidden domain. In truth, gics are somewhat rted to talents on Norma. Talentse from genes; it¡¯s something people are born with. We¡¯ve also researched it back then, but never went deep into it as it was too difficult.¡±


    ¡°God¡¯s forbidden domain? Meaning that only god can study it? How interesting. You were talking about Poseidon earlier, and based on our current legends, Poseidon is basically a god. I¡¯m curious, did gods really exist back then?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s interest peaked.


    ¡°Yes, but not entirely,¡± Silverlight said something simr to thest time.


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re just patronizing me?¡±


    Silverlight nced at him. ¡°To put it simply, you once told me humans evolved from apes, then to apes, humans were basically a god-like existence, but do you really think yourself as gods?¡±


    Xiao Lin pursed his lips, only half understanding. ¡°So gods are only more evolved beings, is that it? Poseidon is still basically a human, but of course a human from your era.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not entirely.¡±


    ¡°Can you not give me a different answer?¡±


    ¡°Evolution doesn¡¯t go in a straight path; it moves in many interweaving paths. The destination of each path is unknown and unpredictable. We had an interesting view back then. Every living thing has the same foundation. In the beginning, Earth only had single-celled beings, and those beings went through countless years growing and evolving, and after that, their descendants did so too, finally transforming into the countless living beings on Earth, but you still can¡¯t say that every living thing is the same.¡±

 Chapter 421: Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 421: Ruins</h4>


    Poseidon was the god of the sea in legends, but Xiao Lin was not someone who believed in gods. Norma had legends of a god as well, a good example being the high priest who believed that god created the.


    What was a god; that was not just rted to legends, but philosophy. It involved faith and other things, and even Silverlight could not provide an exnation that could persuade everyone.


    ¡°Big Bai really is special; what is his body made of? He really doesn¡¯t seem like a normal living being.¡± After talking about gods, Xiao Lin was extremely curious about that thing. He¡¯d already gotten used to calling the thing Big Bai. Even Gu Xiaoyue had gotten tired of cursing that name.


    ¡°It¡¯s a man-made living thing.¡± Silverlight¡¯s gaze turned a lot warmer whenever she talked about the thing. ¡°It¡¯spletely unique. Even back then, it was made from countless high-level techniques. It doesn¡¯t need to eat, at least, not like how normal living beings would. It¡¯s metabolism is also very unique. It also had extremely high endurance, capable of living in the harshest environments.¡±


    They had long since reached the deepest parts of the sea, which was enough to prove how hardy the guy was. It also sped through the sea at incredible speeds, not losing to any form of aquatic life.


    It was extremely special, and Xiao Lin could not help but be even more curious of the Anteans that created it. It was a pity that the civilization had already sunk into the sea.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡± After some time, Silverlight suddenly eximed in a low voice.


    It was already pitch ck the moment she finished speaking. Big Bai¡¯s body had stopped glowingpletely. Silverlight exined that it was to avoid startling the Guardians. Even if their n was to circle around them and have the academies upy the guardians, it was impossible to guarantee that there would be none of them nearer to their destination.


    As the light was fading, Xiao Lin seemed to get a glimpse of the ruins. It might be more urate to call it a wreck, he could somewhat see a few broken down stone pirs and statues covered with algae. The rest of it was buried under sand and stone.


    Whether or not Antis¡¯s ruins existed on the bottom of the ocean was something heavily debated, and now they were basically witnessing history. Just thinking about it was a little moving, but Xiao Lin was quite puzzled. With the ruins like that, how were they going to do anything without any diving suits or any other equipment, and how were they going to enhance the seal?


    Silverlight and Big Bai quickly produced the answer. The surrounding darkness did not affect it at all, and Big Bai suddenly sped up, moving quick as lightning. Its body also changed into a sharp needle-like shape. Xiao Lin silently cursed, knowing what they were nning to do.


    After a few seconds, Xiao Lin felt a huge impact in the darkness. Even Big Bai¡¯s soft water-like body could not absorb enough of the impact topletely cushion the blow for Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue. Big Bai had rammed straight into the ruins with them as passengers.


    It was a simple and violent solution, but it was quite effective.


    Silverlight said that the guy could change his shape and hardness at will, and was capable of piercing through the hardest armor, let alone normal stones and sand.


    After a few minutes, the surroundings started to get brighter, but it was not from the light of Big Bai¡¯s body. They had arrived in a sealed off space, and Big Bai opened its mouth to let them out. Xiao Lin observed his surroundings, all around them were strangely smooth stone walls. There were indentations in fixed distances that had football-sized diamonds on them, which was the origin of the light.


    The hole that they smashed through already had seawater pouring in, but under Silverlight¡¯s instructions, Big Bai shrunk down into a white lump before bouncing up into the hole, plugging it like ster, leaving no cracks for the seawater to flow in.


    Xiao Lin was speechless; that little guy could do anything.


    ¡°It still looks the same!¡± Silverlight looked around, sighing.


    ¡°Is this the temple? There are no signs of damage inside.¡±


    ¡°We built it to be able to withstand the most severe of earthquakes, so that¡¯s no surprise. If not for the fact that the entire maind had been submerged into the sea, the temple would still be perfectly fine now.¡± Silverlight walked as she introduced the temple to Xiao Lin.


    In truth, the actual area of the temple wasrger and more majestic than that. That was obvious from Silverlight¡¯s descriptions, but the outer buildings had already been destroyed by the disaster, or eroded away after thousands of years under the sea, so the only part that was left were the remnants in front of them.


    The corridor they were walking on connected the outer section to the inner section; it was the most central corridor in the temple. The inner area was isted,pletely sealed away from the masses. Xiao Lin could not help but admire the Antean architects for being able to design such a unique building, allowing the temple¡¯s innermost area to be undamaged to this day; it really was quite miraculous.


    The corridor was very long, and artwork adorned the walls around them. Xiao Lin could not understand most of them, but after patient observation, he tried to find some clues of the ancient civilization from them. It was a futile endeavor, however, as Antis and current civilizations were way too different, be it in their lifestyle or their values, so it was hard to understand anything.


    After a moment, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes shone as he shouted, ¡°Hold on!¡±


    His voice echoed for a long time, sounding quite scary. Gu Xiaoyue turned around with an annoyed look, and Silverlight looked back in confusion. Xiao Lin had already walked to the wall on the left, using the light that the diamonds emitted, he pointed toward one of the drawings, and said to Gu Xiaoyue in a strange tone, ¡°Do you still remember what it looked like when we took the interspatial carriage back?¡±


    As Gu Xiaoyue nodded, she noticed the strange thing as well. She sucked in a breath, unable to help herself as she walked closer to the wal.


    The artwork was very simple: a simple passage represented by a line. In the passage were countless dots, and on both sides of the passage were two very strange people. One had a third eye that was glowing and the other had a pair of wings.

 Chapter 422: Traces of Poseidon

    <h4>Chapter 422: Traces of Poseidon</h4>


    The three-eyed person represented Antis¡¯s natives. As for who the winged person represented, Silverlight had never mentioned angels or demons in Antis.


    Of course, what Xiao Lin was the most interested in was the passage. No matter how he looked at it, it was like the passage between Norma and Earth, the dots would then represent the Timesand within the wormhole.


    Silverlight had long since said that Antis had records of the passage to Norma, but for it to have been on the wall just like that meant things were not so simple.


    Was the civilization of Antis closely rted to Norma, or were their interactions shallow?


    It was all already impossible to know. Silverlight was the only one alive from Antis, and she did not know much about it either. However, Silverlight was not interested in that at all, and under her instructions Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue once again moved forward.


    At the end of the corridor was the main hall, one that was quite small. It was basically a sealed off room, yet it was very majestic despite the size. The four walls were all made of gold, and the floors were made of a special blue metal.


    It waspletely different from the temple Xiao Lin had in mind. He had envisioned a temple with statues or sculptures in the middle, where they could give offerings or light incense.


    There was still a statue in the middle of the temple, but the statue was strange. It was not a person nor a god, nor was it some animal or some totem; it was just a ball.


    Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin exchanged a puzzled nce before rubbing their eyes, making sure they were not hallucinating. There was not much else in the hall, but in the center was a pedestal that had a colorful, glowing, two-meterrge ball of light that was slowly rotating.


    Xiao Lin cast a confused gaze at Silverlight, but he could see the questioning look in Silverlight¡¯s eyes. Before he could ask, Silverlight said, ¡°This is wrong!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°How is this here! The main hall shouldn¡¯t look like this!¡± Silverlight looked around, but the entirety of the hall could be seen easily.


    Xiao Lin felt that it was strange as well. As the center of the temple, it was too empty, and too clean. There was nothing at all, which was definitely not normal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget why we¡¯re here; where is Poseidon¡¯s seal?¡± Gu Xiaoyue reminded them that they were not there to reminisce about history.


    ¡°Silverlight, you said you could feel Poseidon¡¯s energy; what about now? Where is the energy?¡± Xiao Lin temporarily put his curiosity away. Sealing Poseidon was more important.


    Silverlight looked around, but her gaze still fell on the colorful ball in the middle. Xiao Lin immediately understood. Just as he thought, if anything could seal Poseidon here, it would be the strange orb.


    They carefully walked closer and noticed that the orb was not entirely solid. There were numerous smaller balls floating inside it, all seemingly held together by a formless energy, slowly rotating.


    Xiao Lin shut his eyes, calming himself and quickly entering his meditative universe. He felt an extremely strong energy that was very close. The energy felt like the raging sea. His meditative realm was still not strong enough, and had been filled by the energy in a moment. He felt like he had been drowned by the sea in his meditative state.


    Xiao Lin immediately opened his eyes, his breathing extremely erratic.


    Silverlight looked at him and guessed what Xiao Lin did, saying, ¡°You¡¯re too naive.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°I just wanted to know how powerful this god from the legends is. He really does live up to his name, and he¡¯s been sealed? I believe you now; if this guy really is released, even if the world isn¡¯t destroyed by him, his power would disrupt all thews.¡±


    ¡°The sr system.¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s attention had been captured by the orbs in front of her, and she suddenly said those words.


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin paused before turning around to look, and his expression turned strange as well.


    Inspecting the orbs closely, they did not move erratically, but were instead rotating around a center point while rotating themselves as well. The center was a fiery red diamond.


    If that symbolized the sun, and they made their guesses from that, Xiao Lin quickly figured out another surprising coincidence. There were eight orbs revolving around the diamond in the center, all with different colors, which coincidentally represented the eights in the sr system. The deep blue one was obviously Mercury, and the light blue one Earth, the yellow one was Saturn. The furthest orbs had icy, half-transparent looks, which as far as Xiao Lin knew, represented Uranus and Neptune, which were covered in ice.


    Eights, which meant Pluto was excluded. Only recently did modern scientists decide that Pluto did not fulfil the requirements to be a full-fledged, yet Antis had long since created such a life-like sr system. No matter how much he understood of the ancient civilization, Xiao Lin could only sigh in regret. He was not an astronomer, but he believed that if a real astronomer was here to make some calctions, even the speed of the rotations would be urate.


    ¡°How impressive!¡± Xiao Lin praised.


    The question came after the praise.


    Surely the Anteans did not ce the sr system replica inside for worship? He knew from Silverlight¡¯s expression that it was impossible. It was obvious that this was only put here after Silverlight had left Earth. The most important thing was, how was it that they could feel Poseidon¡¯s immense energying out from those orbs?


    ¡°Is this sr system meant to seal Poseidon?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened, almost having the urge to reach his hand into the ball.


    The one most familiar with Poseidon was Silverlight. However much Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue spected, they still turned to Silverlight. The woman was no longer as apathetic as usual; her eyebrows furrowed as she closed her eyes, constantly muttering, ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    Only after a long time did Silverlight take a deep breath, her third eye once again open.

 Chapter 423: A New Passage?

    <h4>Chapter 423: A New Passage?</h4>


    In a sh, the light that shot out of her forehead caused Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue to take a few steps back, only opening their eyes when they got used to the brilliant light. They waited quietly.


    When her third eye opened, Silverlight¡¯s usual two eyes turned extremely cold, as if she was an emotionless robot. She stood there quietly, staring at the orbs that were constantly rotating within the ball. Xiao Lin noticed that only her third eye was looking at the ball.


    This time, Silverlight did not take that long, shutting the eye on her forehead after a few minutes, but the fatigue on her face looked serious enough that she could copse at any moment. However, she did not care. Just as Xiao Lin was worrying, Silverlight dropped a bomb: ¡°Poseidon is not here.¡±


    Xiao Lin swallowed his words, furrowing his eyebrows. ¡°Were you not extremely confident that he was here earlier?¡±


    ¡°I said that, but I only said that I could feel Poseidon¡¯s energy. That was correct; the ball does have his energy.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, not understanding the difference for a moment. The energy was definitelying from Poseidon, he had felt it as well. He hesitantly said, ¡°Is it a fake?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very familiar with his energy, I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s not fake.¡±


    Looking at Silverlight¡¯s pale face, Xiao Lin did not put any me onto her at all. Silverlight did not look like she was in a good state. It was unclear if it was because of her using her third eye or if she had seen something unbelievable.


    Silverlight sighed, pointing toward the red orb at the center that represented the sun in the sr system. Silverlight slowly said, ¡°Poseidon¡¯s energy is here, but when I used my eye to observe it, I noticed that the energy only came from that red orb. You can enter your meditative state and focus on that area. I think you¡¯ll understand what I mean.¡±


    Silverlight hesitated before deciding to let Xiao Lin see it for himself. Gu Xiaoyue shut her eyes as well, and both of them entered their meditative realms.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s realm was an infinite gxy, but the stars around him were extremely scarce, symbolizing that the density of the elements around here were much lower than normal. Of course, that was no surprise. What caused him to be surprised was not far away, which was where he felt Poseidon¡¯s energy.


    This time, Xiao Lin was prepared, and activated Miracle to suppress the sea god¡¯s power within the meditative realm. It paid off, thanks to the mysterious ck hole that appeared due to Miracle. The pressure that came from Poseidon¡¯s energy was dissipated. It was like a veil was lifted.


    And the truth behind the veil was yet another ck hole.


    No, when Xiao Lin observed it closely, even though the dark orb-like ck hole emitted a strong suction, it was not a ck hole. This was the meditative realm; even his mysterious ck hole was just a symbolic phenomenon.


    Xiao Lin tried to check the interior of the orb; it was obvious that the sun-like orb had some secrets hidden. However, just as he projected his thoughts toward it, a sharp pain immediately shot through his head, and he hastily retreated from the meditative realm, unable to focus.


    Xiao Lin opened his eyes, and Gu Xiaoyue had retreated from meditation at the same time as him. The two of them looked at each other with pained gazes. It was obvious that the two of them had done a gutsy experiment, using their mental strength to probe the unknown was extremely dangerous; any mistake could cause them severe damage.


    ¡°I somewhat understand it, but I¡¯m still unsure.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s tone turned as strange as Silverlight¡¯s was. It was a mix of disbelief and shock.


    Gu Xiaoyue nodded. ¡°I seemed to have seen a tiny golden speck that was simr to the sands of time, but I¡¯m not sure if I was mistaken.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a look of revtion. If only one person had seen it, it could have been a mistake, but if it was the two of them, then things were no longer that simple.


    He hesitantly looked at Silverlight. ¡°Are you trying to tell us that this orb actually contains another wormhole that offers passage to Norma?¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s expression answered his question, and an ugly look appeared on Xiao Lin¡¯s face. That was absolutely not good news. He remembered Song Jung¡¯s words: the wormhole was a miracle created by God, pulling two distants together in a stable manner, allowing them to pass in the shortest amount of time.


    It was absolutely not something that could easily be made. Even the greatest experts of all the academies would not be able to do it together. That was why there were only a fixed number of wormholes discovered at that time, and it had never increased or decreased in a long time. There were even those that hypothesized that there would no longer be any new passages formed unless they were capable of doing it some day.


    It looked like that assertion was wrong, but no one had thought that there would be a brand new wormhole discovered under the Pacific Ocean, in an ancient ruin.


    However, Xiao Lin had no shred of joy at discovering it, because the problem it presented was even more severe. Poseidon¡¯s energy was constantly emitting through that passage, which meant that Poseidon was on Norma.


    Xiao Lin threw his questioning gaze at Silverlight. Everything originated from Antis all those years ago. Whatever happened then had already long since been lost, and there was only one person that could offer any answers.


    Silverlight was in distress, even getting close to tears as she shook her head, muttering, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t know. This is something that¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Silverlight constantly repeated those words, causing Xiao Lin to get a little impatient. They were there to seal Poseidon, but now they discovered that Poseidon was not even on Earth. It was turning into quite the joke.


    ¡°No matter what happened then, I want to understand. No, as someone from Earth, I have a right to understand what the truth is.¡±


    ¡°I wish to know as well.¡± Silverlight¡¯s face reverted to her cold expression.


    ¡°Yes, so what now?¡±


    ¡°So let us go witness the truth for ourselves!¡± Silverlight¡¯s expression turned into one of determination.

 Chapter 424: Returning to the Past

    <h4>Chapter 424: Returning to the Past</h4>


    Silverlight¡¯s expression was weird, and she did not wait for Xiao Lin to speak before activating her third eye again. It was the third time she had used it that day. Even after knowing Silverlight for so long, no matter what he said or tried, he had never seen Silverlight open that eye before.


    ¡°You might have heard of it before, but those of us with three eyes were considered royalty back then. It is the symbol of status, and also the greatest power the royalty has.¡±


    Silverlight was unusually chatty that day, and she had never even mentioned anything like that before.


    Xiao Lin was surprised; when Lilith told him about the three-eyed race, he had thought that all Anteans had three eyes. Now he knew that only the royalty possessed it, but did that not mean that the woman in front of him used to be a royal princess?


    Silverlight¡¯s third eye was fixed on the red orb that represented the sun; the white light that shot out of her forehead concentrated on the orb. It quickly spread, the light turning exceptionally intense, slowly enveloping the entire hall in a surge of light.


    Silverlight continued, ¡°Calling us a three-eyed race is actually not that urate. Even though it might look like an eye, it is actually not. We usually call it our Spiritual Eye. To our race, it ties into our lives. Everyone¡¯s Spiritual Eye is unique, and each one has different powers which determines your standing among the royalty... It¡¯s simr to your talents on this point.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded in understanding, asking curiously, ¡°Then what¡¯s your power?¡±


    Silverlight smiled softly; it was a smile that she rarely showed. Soft and subtle, without a single w. She lost her air of coldness, but it only served to increase the unease in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart.


    ¡°My Spiritual Eye is quite special. It has two powers. The first one is called Truth, it allows me to see through all falsehood. The other is called Rewind; it can look into the past. It¡¯s actually also a part of Truth, basically the advanced version of the skill. It¡¯s a pity that I only learned the second power after I went to Norma. If I had learned it before...¡±


    Silverlight suddenly stopped there, shaking her head in dejection, smiling. ¡°Whatever, ignore that, there¡¯s no meaning to it anymore. I¡¯m going to use my second power.¡±


    ¡°Rewind? Can you actually rewind time?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not something a mortal like me can do. Remember, time and space is forever something only gods can really control. Everyone else is just dabbling in it, and will never have true control.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°So your Rewind, is it basically like watching a movie? Oh, what I mean by a movie is ying everything that had happened again. Ah, even though I don¡¯t understand how you would begin to do that...¡±


    Silverlight looked at him. ¡°Movie? What is that? However, you have the basics right. Rewind can reveal any truth that has been hidden by the passage of time... Back then, I left for Norma at thest moment. Even though I escaped disaster, I¡¯ve always regretted it... Now, I finally have the chance. I¡¯m also curious about what happened back then, so let¡¯s look at the truth of history!¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s determined look surprised Xiao Lin. He suddenly thought of a possibility, and hurriedly shouted, ¡°Hold on! Hold on right there! First, exin that Rewind ability of yours. Does it cause some sort of irreversible harm to you...¡±


    Boom!


    Before Xiao Lin could finish, a loud explosive sound had drowned everything out. The light shooting out from Silverlight¡¯s forehead was now at the maximum; it was like a scorching star frantically unleashing light and heat. Trying to look to the side, Xiao Lin had already lost sight of Silverlight and Gu Xiaoyue. All he could see was an endless white light.


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth to say something, but he realized that he could not form any sound. He quickly realized that he could not even feel anything beneath his feet, and he was rapidly revolving. Xiao Lin could not exert his mental or physical strength at all, as if all his energy had been stripped away.


    Xiao Lin did not like the feeling of being trapped, and he tried his best to struggle. Since his regr state was unable to do it, he activated Miracle, which made things feel a little better, but his body still felt uncontroble. He clenched his teeth, unhesitatingly activating Ruin.


    That was the first time he had used the skill on Earth. As for what sort of impact it would have, that was not something he was considering at the moment.


    Ruin improved everything about Xiao Lin; it was like he had injected a stimnt¨Cthe extra strong kind. The effects were also obvious, as Xiao Lin could feel all his strength slowly return to him, even if it was very slow. He could already start to control his body and try to stop that seemingly endless fall.


    The explosive sound started to quieten down, and eventually could not be heard as the white light around him dispersed as well. It was like someone had lifted a white veil that was over his head. Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes were a blur, and once his vision cleared, he noticed that he had returned to the main hall.


    Gu Xiaoyue was lying next to him, and he hurriedly ran toward her and shouted. The strange thing was that his voice seemed to echo unendingly, as if he was in an extremely wide space.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine; she just fainted because she¡¯s not used to the experience. She¡¯ll wake up quickly.¡± Silverlight¡¯s voice could be heard. Since her voice was on the warmer side, Xiao Lin did not get angry, but still looked at her with a questioning gaze.


    Silverlight did not answer immediately, instead looking at Xiao Lin with a measured look before nodding. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. My Rewind is equal topletely building a new time and space. Normal people would find it very hard to get used to it, but you only needed such a short time to awaken.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused. ¡°You used Rewind?¡±


    Silverlight nodded quietly.


    ¡°So we¡¯re now back to the era of Antis?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve said that my Rewind cannot truly rewind time. We¡¯re still in your era. I just used some methods to open a small window in the corridors of time, allowing us to look through that window to find out what happened.¡±

 Chapter 425: The Truth Behind History (1)

    <h4>Chapter 425: The Truth Behind History (1)</h4>


    Xiao Lin looked around him, and it did look like the main hall they were at earlier, but the decorations around the main hall hadpletely changed. The sr system replica had disappeared, and in its ce was a statue of a woman made of gold. The surroundings were also no longer empty, instead filled with various decorations as well as a lot of offerings.


    Sunlight shone through the corridor that led to the main hall, signalling that it was day time outside, and the ce was no longer under the sea. Just as Silverlight had said, they really were looking at the Antean era.


    Xiao Ling nced at Silverlight with aplicated gaze, sighing. There was no point in saying anything since Silverlight had already used it, and she did not look like she had any problems either.


    Xiao Lin picked up the unconscious Gu Xiaoyue and walked through the long pathway with Silverlight. The sun was quite bright, and Xiao Lin had to squint his eyes as he looked at the entire temple. Just like Silverlight had said, the entire temple was incredibly huge. Tall statues, dazzling buildings, unending corridors and rows upon rows of believers.


    The believers were gathered in the public square, their mouths chanting some sort of religious scripture. Silverlight¡¯s eyes were misty; it was obvious she was reminiscing of the past. It took awhile before she averted her gaze, calmly saying, ¡°This is the temple before I left. The disaster has already appeared, and they¡¯re praying to the gods.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned a disaster before, but what was it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± A look of exhaustion shed on Silverlight¡¯s face. ¡°To this day I have not managed to clear it up. All I know is that my father told me the world was going to be destroyed. It was a power that came from the void, something that we could not defend against. Most of us did not mind back then, until the sea god¡¯s betrayal...¡±


    It was a long story, but their time was limited, so Silverlight had given him the simplified version. Xiao Lin only barely understood. Poseidon was originally the protector of Antis, but at some point he suddenly betrayed them for unknown reasons. The sea god controlled the whole world¡¯s oceans and headed toward the prosperous civilization, bringing on the start of the disaster.


    Xiao Lin was looking at a time where the disaster had long since started, so he could not see the cause. Furthermore, Silverlight¡¯s body had been greatly weakened, and Rewind itself had its limitations. They could only see what had happened nearby, but were unable to see what was happening in the mainds of Antis.


    Gu Xiaoyue only woke up after half an hour. After Xiao Lin exined things to her, the few of them looked around the ce. It was a pity they could not go far. The moment they walked past the boundaries of Silverlight¡¯s power, they would start to feel faint and be transported back to the main hall.


    Being unable to take a look at the civilization of Antis was doubtlessly regretful, but Xiao Lin could only wait where they were. Based on what Silverlight said, the end was fast approaching, which was the time Antis fell. The wait was quite dull, especially since Xiao Lin realized he did not understand what the believers were saying, and all they did was chant something he did not understand.


    They could not see Xiao Lin, and Xiao Lin could only see and hear. Touching them waspletely impossible. It really was like watching a movie, and they were just spectators to history.


    ¡°I was sent to Norma not long before this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve mentioned it before, but who sent you away?¡±


    ¡°My father. He did not wish for me to be buried with the rest of Antis.¡±


    ¡°What a noble father, but why didn¡¯t he go with you?¡± Xiao Lin chatted away to pass the time. Silverlight rarely talked about herself, so he took the opportunity to understand more.


    ¡°He could not leave, nor could he abandon his people.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, saying, ¡°So you really are a princess.¡±


    ¡°A princess of a dead kingdom,¡± Silverlight replied calmly.


    Xiao Lin thought of another person: the little girl Ibeiya. She was also royalty, and strictly speaking, a princess as well. He had heard that Ibeiya¡¯s old kingdom was at war before he went back, and was even facing extinction. Xiao Lin began to wonder how Ibeiya was doing.


    Xiao Lin shook his head, refocusing himself, ¡°Then what about that ck dragon? How did you get to know her? She told me before that she had been to Antis too.¡±


    ¡°Onyxia? As for her, you¡¯ll see her soon enough. I told you before that Antis¡¯s pathway to Norma was originally sealed. It was because Onyxia suddenly broke in that the passage was activated again. She caused quite a big scene here, and caused quite a bit of harm. My father had hunted her before, dealing her heavy injuries, so we do have a grudge against each other.¡±


    ¡°No wonder she did not seem to like you.¡± Xiao Lin had somewhat resolved a question in his heart.


    ¡°However, she isn¡¯t that bad, at least back then... Oh, she¡¯s here.¡± Silverlight was interrupted by a dragon¡¯s roar in the skies.


    Just like the believers, Xiao Lin immediately raised his head. The ck shadow that blocked the sun began to descend, and therge body of a ck dragon came crashing down, reducing half of the public square into rubble. Even though she seemed a lot smaller, no matter how he looked at it, that dragon was the same Onyxia he had met in the isted space.


    As the rubble flew over, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue wanted to dodge, but quickly realized that they would not be harmed as spectators. They decided to go closer, and were shocked to realize the dragon had injuries on her whole body.


    She was fighting someone, but who could beat a dragon that was at the top of the food chain to this degree?


    They got their answer in minutes; the clear skies instantly turned dark as clouds began to form, blocking the whole sky. The winds started to howl. Xiao Lin was familiar with the sight; if torrential rain was added, then it was basically the same as Hawaii on Earth.


    The answer was obvious: Poseidon the Sea God!


    A human silhouette could be made out in the dark sky. However strong the wind was, he did not move an inch. The dragon that fell on the floor once again let out a roar, pping its wings and taking flight.


    After that was a bitter battle, an unimaginable duel.


    Xiao Lin had felt the power of the ck dragon before, but it was only now that he realized that the dragon had not used her full strength. The shockwaves that came from their battle seemed to destroy everything, person and temple. They were all destroyed in the howling wind. The beautiful temple had already been turned to ruin. The only thing left untouched was the main hall.

 Chapter 426: The Truth Behind History (2)

    <h4>Chapter 426: The Truth Behind History (2)</h4>


    The temple they walked out of was very special, remaining unharmed despite the intense battle going on outside. The rest of the surroundings were in bad shape, causing Xiao Lin to think about apocalyptic scenes he had seen in movies. The believers had all already died, not even leaving flesh and blood behind. It was not just destruction, but pure annihtion, causing everything to be vanquished.


    ¡°Is this the power of the Sea God?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly felt a sense of regret; they could not feel the intensity of the power through the passage of time, but could only witness what was happening in front of them.


    ¡°Onyxia can¡¯t beat Poseidon,¡± Silverlight said calmly as she walked forward.


    ¡°I can see that.¡± Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s strange. You said Poseidon was around Legend-ranked, and Onyxia had to be at that power level as well. The gap between their skills should not be so obvious.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s due to the restriction of naturalws. Onyxia does not belong to Earth, so her powers are greatly suppressed here. On top of that, she¡¯s been injured by my father.¡±


    ¡°Then why is she fighting Poseidon?¡± Xiao Lin could not understand it.


    ¡°You¡¯d have to ask her.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Xiao Lin continued watching the battle. He noticed an even greater change after that: a very obvious crack had appeared on the dark sky. It was like ss that was about to shatter at any point, which made for a shocking sight.


    Xiao Lin was familiar with such a scene since he had seen it in The Final Lands. He did not think too much about it back then, but he suddenly realized something upon close observation: it was what happened when thews of a given space were starting to crumble.


    Poseidon and Onyxia¡¯s intense battle was a fight of Legend-rank proportions. Even if Earth was still quite stable back then, it could not withstand a battle of such a scale, so it was not surprising that the space around them was starting to crumble.


    Could that be the root of Antis¡¯s demise?


    Xiao Lin observed Silverlight. The woman might still be maintaining her calm facade, but it was obvious that her feelings wereplex since she did not know what had happened then.


    If the space were to crumble, then even Earth itself would cease to exist, as would modern civilization, so this battle could not be the reason for Antis¡¯s disappearance.


    The few of them patiently watched on as the battle waged on for about half an hour. The ck dragon had even used her destructive dragon breath, but under her restrictions, the power was not even half of what it could be. Comparatively, Xiao Lin was far more interested in Poseidon.


    Silverlight saw through his thoughts and waved her hand. They suddenly rose into the air, floating in mid-air. They were merely observers, so they could naturally choose what perspective they wanted to look from, be it lying down, standing, or even flying...


    Poseidon had the face of a middle-aged man, his body extremelyrge and well-built. He was at least twice the size of a modern male. On his body was silver-colored armor, and his hands held a massive trident. There was also a third eye on his forehead which was open at the time, exuding a glow that had the same color as the blue of the sea. The light was locked onto Onyxia, causingyers of web-like objects to litter around Onyxia¡¯s body.


    ¡°He¡¯s also of the three-eyed race?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked.


    ¡°If the legends are true, and he created Antis, that would not be strange,¡± Xiao Lin answered. Silverlight did not say anything.


    The cracks in the dark sky were getting increasingly severe; it seemed ready to shatter at any time. The ground began to shake as well, andva could even be seen flowing out of several ces. Xiao Lin believed that this was just a part of the destruction that befell Antis before its downfall. There were probably a lot of other disasters happening in ces they were not able to reach.


    If this went on, the spatial copse would happen in a matter of seconds.


    The ck dragon was using more and more power, and Poseidon seemed to have unlimited strength and energy. Meanwhile, Onyxia was weakening rapidly. She slowly seemed unable to even raise her wings, and her hard scales were unable to protect her as her heavy breaths were getting abnormally erratic. She was obviously at her limit.


    Poseidon slowly descended from the sky, only indifference exuding from his freezing blue eyes. He did not hurry to kill Onyxia. Instead he fiercely hurled his trident, nailing the dragon¡¯s wing. A lightning-like energy followed.


    Roar!


    The pitiful cry of a dragon filled the air as the trident flew through the sky by itself, returning to Poseidon¡¯s hand. The next second, the trident once again shot into the air, piercing into Onyxia¡¯s other wing.


    It happened a third time, a fourth time, a fifth time...


    Onyxia¡¯s body was quickly covered with wounds. Xiao Lin then understood that Poseidon was just toying with the dragon, not hurrying to kill her.


    The ck dragon¡¯s cries had slowly softened. She seemed to be quickly losing even the power to cry out. The dragony powerlessly on the ground, herrge eyes exuding hatred.


    Xiao Lin and Onyxia were not really friends, but the ck dragon had let him go back then. Even if he knew it was the past, he could not help but want to do something. With how hopeless the battle looked, Onyxia¡¯s plight caused him to feel pity for her.


    ¡°Silverlight, what would happen if I were to attack right now?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked.


    Silverlight rolled her eyes. ¡°You can try.¡±


    ¡°It would be pointless,¡± Gu Xiaoyue reminded him in a low voice.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. He already knew. It was just like trying to fight with someone in a TV show¨Can utterly stupid andughable act.


    However, Poseidon¡¯s next action caused Xiao Lin¡¯s temper to re even higher. The light from Poseidon¡¯s forehead hadpletely shrouded Onyxia. In the blue light, the ck dragon¡¯s body slowly faded, and what appeared in its ce was a curvaceous woman with a stunning, naked body.


    The ck dragon was female; Xiao Lin had known that before, but the fact that Poseidon could force the dragon to transform with his power was incredibly hard to imagine.


    Onyxiay on the floor, half-conscious, no longer possessing the might of a dragon. She looked incredibly pitiful, but Poseidon¡¯s eyes had no trace of empathy. After a sh of surprise, his eyes turned profane and sadistic. He kept his trident and walked toward Onyxia. On the way, his armor slowly disappeared, revealing a strong and nude male body.


    Gu Xiaoyue could not help but look away, her red face filled with rage.


    Silverlight remained calm as usual.


    As dumb as Xiao Lin could be, it was obvious what Poseidon was nning to do next.

 Chapter 427: The Truth Behind History (3)

    <h4>Chapter 427: The Truth Behind History (3)</h4>


    Onyxia hadpletely lost all ability to fight back. Even if she was a dragon at the apex of Norma¡¯s food chain, she was currently in human form. The look of horror on her beautiful face and the shuddering of her body made for a pitiful sight.


    If she was on Norma, Onyxia would definitely not be afraid of Poseidon, but they were on Earth. Xiao Lin had heard from Song Jung about naturalws a long time ago. They were basically the safeguards in individual spaces, but at that time, the safeguards were harmful to Onyxia.


    Poseidon waspletely nude. The blue rays that shot out from the eye on his foreheadpletely restricted Onyxia.


    Xiao Lin could not stand watching something like that happen in front of his eyes, even if this was just a yback, an absolutely realistic 4-D one, It was hard for him to detach himself from the scene. Even if it was a movie, anyone who saw such a scene would be filled with rage, what more seeing it right in front of him.


    Xiao Lin could not help but look toward Silverlight again. If history really did happen like that, he at least hoped that Silverlight could just skip through the extremely ufortable scene.


    Silverlight saw through his thoughts before he even spoke, sighing, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. We can¡¯t interact with Time Rewind. Remember that we¡¯re just observers¨Cobserving means we can only look on as it happens.¡±


    ¡°Despicable!¡±


    The rage in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was unable to be soothed. He red as he suddenly fired a me bullet out of his hand. Just as expected, the me bullet went through Poseidon¡¯s body, the space behind him unaffected as well.


    In that corridor looking through time, anyone or any object in front of them was just an illusion. There was nothing they could do. Silverlight sighed, shaking her head but not interrupting. She was a woman as well, and what was happening in front of her was naturally hard to ept. It was just that she was adept at controlling herself, knowing how to stop any negative emotion from showing.


    The naked Poseidon drew closer and closer, and Xiao Lin clenched his teeth, increasing the speed he was throwing out his me bullets. At this point, he had already mastered the spell. He just needed to open up his hand, and in one or two seconds, ten me bullets would shoot out from his fingers at a rapid fire speed.


    Bang!


    After half a minute of firing, the intense attacks had added onto Xiao Lin¡¯s mental exhaustion. He was about to stop, panting, but was suddenly surprised as he stopped his casting for a moment. An expression of disbelief was on his face.


    Silverlight and Gu Xiaoyue seemed to have noticed something, and turned around at the same time as they looked at Xiao Lin in shock, gaping as they said at the same time, ¡°Impossible!¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for only a few seconds before recing his shock with excitement. He had just been floating in midair, but Silverlight had already taught him how to move around the space freely, so he immediately sped toward Poseidon. It felt quite strange, as if he was swimming in water.


    Poseidon¡¯s footsteps stopped only meters away from Onyxia, a confused look appearing on his apathetic face. He raised his hand, scratching his face as if he had an itch as the eye on his forehead swept around his surroundings before he started to rx again.


    ¡°How is this possible!¡± Silverlight¡¯s face went through numerous changes. She had been keeping her cool, so she could clearly see that those me bullets that Xiao Lin shot out just to vent his frustrations had all shot past Poseidon!


    If one threw a stone at someone on a TV screen and the person fell down because of it, anyone would be shocked.


    ¡°Did you not say earlier that we were just spectators?¡± Gu Xiaoyue suddenly appeared next to Silverlight. The two women had not really talked much during this time. Gu Xiaoyue was someone who did not speak much. Silverlight was even more extreme than her, since Silverlight did not really have anything inmon with modern humans.


    That was why Silverlight felt that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s initiative was strange, but she still shook her head.


    Gu Xiaoyue then said, ¡°However, you did not actually exin it clearly. Xiao Lin said it was like we were watching a movie, but he was wrong. This isn¡¯t a movie; movies are fake. But everything happening in front of us is definitely real. To put it in another way, it¡¯s just like we¡¯re closed in a secret room, observing the outside world through a ss.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Gu Xiaoyue stared into Silverlight¡¯s eyes, continuing, ¡°To us, the world outside the ss window is still very much real. They have flesh and blood, just like us. If we break through the ss, we can still enter the outside world. You deliberately concealed the fact from us when you used Time Rewind, because for us, even standing here poses an incredible uncertainty and danger to us!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone had changed to a low and questioning one toward the end. Xiao Lin was rushing toward Poseidon. Even an idiot would know what he wanted to do. Gu Xiaoyue obviously knew that,pared to Poseidon, even the three of them together might not be worth any attention.


    If the ss was really shattered, setting aside if they could change history, they absolutely would have to surrender their lives there. Even though Earth was also within the coverage of resurrection towers, it did not mean that they were covered within this time corridor. Gu Xiaoyue definitely did not want Xiao Lin and her own life to be lost here for no reason.


    Silverlight broke her silence to agree. She said with some fatigue, ¡°Your ability to understand things is admirable. Not bad. You¡¯re quite close, but don¡¯t worry, the strength and thickness of the ss window is basically an unrivalled existence. From your academies, even those of Legend-rank would not be able to break it with their attacks.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you exin that!¡± Gu Xiaoyue pointed at the ground mockingly.


    After the initial excitement died down, Xiao Lin also had the possibility pop into his head, but he did not dare ascertain it, so he went closer to experiment. He did not bring any close range weapons, so the only thing he could rely on was magic.


    His chain casting of me bullets passed through Poseidon¡¯s body as usual without affecting anything, but when he increased the number of me bullets, Xiao Lin was surprised to notice that one or two of the bullets would asionally not pass through, and cause a weak me to stick to Poseidon.


    Xiao Lin was very familiar with the sight. It was what happened whenever me bullets struck an enemy.

 Chapter 428: Wall of Time

    <h4>Chapter 428: Wall of Time</h4>


    Poseidon¡¯s footsteps stopped again, shooting a cold gaze toward Xiao Lin¡¯s direction. Xiao Lin suddenly tensed up, but after a few minutes, Poseidon once again averted his gaze, but the confused look in his eyes did not go away.


    Xiao Lin, who was only a few feet away from Poseidon, felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat. He might be venting with his attacks, but he understood very well that if the Poseidon in front of him was real, he would definitely die.


    However, Poseidon did not do anything, which meant he did not see Xiao Lin right next to him at all. Even the mysterious eye on his forehead could not detect anything.


    Xiao Lin did not understand what was happening at all. Since the start, it felt just like Silverlight had said, and he was merely an observer to history, unable to do anything but watch on like it was a movie. However, that no longer seemed to be the case. Even though it was not that obvious, and he could not guarantee that it was true, his attacks seemed to asionally be able to affect Poseidon.


    The most crucial thing was that Poseidon was unable to feel Xiao Lin¡¯s presence. That man had Legend-ranked power. If Xiao Lin was really standing in front of Poseidon, the man could probably use one finger to reduce him to dust, not even leaving behind any traces.


    Xiao Lin continued to experiment a few times. A spell the level of me Bullet was basically a mosquito bite to Poseidon. It was something he couldpletely ignore. However, if the mosquito waspletely invisible and unable to be found, then it would be very strange. Even a god would be unable to ignore such a thing.


    The Sea God Poseidon was definitely not an idiot. He could ignore the first one or two shots, but coincidences only happen one or two times, not four or five. He quickly started to get suspicious and be alert, using various ways to investigate.


    A slew of spells were casted by Poseidon, some of them recognizable by Xiao Lin thanks to him seeing simr spells within the academy library. Most of them were unrecognizable, and he was actually quite worried he would be discovered, yet Poseidon¡¯s efforts were in vain.


    Xiao Lin switched to attacking with other spells as well, using me Ball alongside his bullets. In order to increase his attack power, he even ignored his fatigue and activated Miracle and Ruin. The me Balls he could cast in that state were quite shocking, as he had already seen during the examinations.


    However, they were still mere tickles to Poseidon, the only difference being the mosquitoes had increased in size. Mosquitoes were still mosquitoes in the end, and Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks could not cause Poseidon the slightest bit of harm.


    Yet, Poseidon was in a difficult spot, even turning incredibly suspicious. His focus hadpletely diverted away from the ck dragon woman in front of him. He readorned his blue armor, clenching his trident tightly as he remained on alert, ready to attack anything in his vicinity.


    The stronger a person was, the more suspicious they would be in that circumstance. Poseidon did not believe anything could fool his eyes, and yet there was something that was avoiding his gaze. It could mean that his foe was even more powerful than he was, so he could not help but be serious.


    Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. His constant casting of spells had used up a lot of his mental strength. He never hoped that he could defeat that man; he was not nearly that naive. His only goal was to make Poseidon give up on Onyxia, which had been achieved.


    As Poseidon stood there on high alert, Xiao Lin decided to ignore him. He stood on the decimated courtyard, walking next to Onyxia.


    During the time Poseidon was being disturbed by Xiao Lin, The various wounds on Onyxia¡¯s body had already mostly recovered. As a dragon, the woman had an incredibly strong natural recovery. It was just that the earlier battle left Onyxia with no room to breathe, unable topletely recover.


    Onyxia had already opened her eyes. She definitely found the situation strange. The Poseidon that was about to make a move on her was just standing there instead of moving closer. She noticed that Poseidon was in a defensive stance, but who was he on alert against? Who was helping her?


    The recovering Onyxia once again showed off her curvaceous body, causing Xiao Lin¡¯s face to redden. Even though he knew that Onyxia could not see him at that moment, he could not help but avert his gaze, muttering to himself, ¡°Onyxia, you spared me back then, so I owed you one, and now we owe each other nothing! Yes, I know you can¡¯t hear me, but I¡¯ll just remember it myself!¡±


    ¡°What? Who is that! What are you talking about!¡± Onyxia suddenly said in a low and agitated voice.


    Xiao Lin was shocked, ignoring the woman¡¯s naked body as he turned back and noticed Onyxia¡¯s gaze was looking toward him, but he was certain the ck dragon could not see him at that moment.


    However, Onyxia seemed to be able to hear him for a moment just now!


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Stop doing something so dangerous!¡± Silverlight appeared next to him, ncing at Onyxia before strictly warning Xiao Lin, ¡°You¡¯ve already disturbed the space-time continuum! If you don¡¯t wish to be stuck here forever, stop what you¡¯re doing!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Didn¡¯t you say that we were just observers? How could Poseidon have felt my attacks and Onyxia hear my words!¡± Xiao Lin waspletely confused at that point. He was hoping to get an answer from Silverlight.


    It seemed like Silverlight was even more lost than he was, but the woman quickly calmed down, fixing her gaze on him as she said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t know how you broke the unbreakable wall of time, but the reason isn¡¯t important anymore. Remember that we are still observers; that fact has not changed. Breaking the wall of time will wreak havoc on time and space. I can¡¯t even imagine the consequences, but I believe that it won¡¯t be something you or the era you live in can handle!¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Silverlight calmed her tone of speech down. ¡°Thankfully, you only opened a small crack. There shouldn¡¯t be anything wrong if we leave now! I don¡¯t know how you did it, but I suggest that you refrain from doing anything.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    Xiao Lin, who was sweating buckets, wanted to say something, but Onyxia seemed to have noticed something the moment he opened his mouth and looked over with a bewildered expression. Silverlight furrowed her eyebrows, staring at Xiao Lin as she hissed softly, ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t say another word!¡±

 Chapter 429: Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 429: Destruction</h4>


    Xiao Lin had a look of innocence. Gu Xiaoyue had walked over as well, staring at him with a look bearing confusion andplexity. After that, she mentioned her earlier conversation with Silverlight. To put things simply, they were beginning to turn from observers to interferers.


    Even though they did not understand much about time and space, they still had the most base of understanding. Nothing good woulde out of changing history.


    ¡°If we leave now, wouldn¡¯t we havee for nothing?¡± Xiao Lin was a bit unwilling. It was not easy for them to use Time Rewind to return to thousands of years ago. There were still a lot of questions they needed answered, such as where Poseidon was sealed, what a wormhole was doing in the temple, and what happened to Antis during itsst moments.


    If they were to leave, all those questions would be buried in the river of time.


    Xiao Lin looked at Silverlight. She had maintained her noble coldness the entire time, but the fatigue on her face was more and more difficult to hide. It was a rare sight on Silverlight, and the sense of unease Xiao Lin had from before got even stronger. He started to feel like an ability like Time Rewind was not something even someone like Silverlight could use easily.


    If they left now, they might not get a second chance toe back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait a little more!¡± Xiao Lin said carefully, noticing that Onyxia did not seem to have heard him this time. He rxed and continued, ¡°We at least need to see how and where Poseidon was sealed.¡±


    Silverlight had her doubts as well. She was even more concerned than Xiao Lin about the final fate of Antis, so she wanted to watch till the end as well. She touched the eye on her forehead. Ever since they walked into the corridor of time, her eye had been constantly open. She finally sighed. ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t do anything dangerous. No, you best just hide far far away!¡±


    Xiao Lin was frustrated, but could only nod in agreement. It really was quite strange. His attacks and his words could both affect history. Gu Xiaoyue and Silverlight had talked for half a day, yet nothing had happened.


    Regardless, Xiao Lin retreated far away for the moment, at the very least, until Poseidonpletely dropped his state of alertness. Poseidon had stopped trying to hurt Onyxia for the moment, and Onyxia took the time to prepare herself, relying on the incredible regenerative abilities of the dragon race. She once again turned into a ck dragon, shakily standing on the ground for a moment before shooting up toward the sky. She had already lost the ability to continue fighting, and could only fly away from Poseidon.


    The pause in the battle allowed the shattered sky to slowly stabilize, but the cracks that had already formed were hard to mend. Poseidon paced around the area a few times. Xiao Lin was not sure if he was doing something or just looking for potential foes. He obviously could not see Xiao Lin.


    The only thing left in the rubble was that temple. Poseidon finally stopped in front of the temple, raising his trident, and the sky that had finally quieted down was once again filled with thunder and lightning. Countless streaks of lightning filled the dark sky like a web, constantly descending and gathering, yet they all connected with the trident.


    The entire trident suddenly glowed brilliantly. Then, Poseidon once again rose into the air, hurling it forcefully to the ground. With the sharp crack of thunder, the trident embedded itself deep underground.


    After minutes of silence, the ground started to shake. The shaking got more and more intense as it spread further and further away.


    As the ground shook, it visibly started to sink at rapid speeds. In the horizon, the waves began to grow taller. The maind had been thoroughly destroyed, and seawater had swallowed everything. This time, there were no longer any distractions. Xiao Lin noticed Onyxia hiding among the skies, but she had already lost all energy and courage to continue fighting.


    ¡°This must be the fall of Antis.¡± An entire civilization was being destroyed in front of his eyes. Xiao Lin hadplicated feelings about it.


    ¡°Yet Poseidon still hasn¡¯t been sealed,¡± Gu Xiaoyue recalled, looking at Silverlight.


    Silverlight said that when she left Earth for Norma, there were those who tried to seal Poseidon away, but other than Onyxia, they had yet to see anyone stand up to fight against Poseidon.


    The destruction of the maind continued for a very long time. There was no night or day here, and no way to tell the time either. Xiao Lin felt like at least a few days had passed, but Poseidon just quietly floated in the air the entire time, trident in hand as he channeled the power of the lightning underground, unceasingly destroying the foundation of thend.


    After a certain period of time, buildings could no longer be seen at all. As far as the eye could see, there were only oceans. The only thing remaining on the vast expanse was the lonely temple. As the central part of the entirepound, it was also the highest point of the area, which meant it was thest to sink. However, it was only a matter of time.


    Xiao Lin fell silent with them for a long time. He no longer dared to speak since he was worried Poseidon would hear them. Furthermore, none of them knew what to say facing the annihtion of a civilization. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue could look on as spectators, but that was Silverlight¡¯s hometown. She was watching the destruction of her home. It was definitely something unbelievably cruel.


    Xiao Lin nced at Silverlight a few times, trying to find sadness on her face, but facing her calm expression, Xiao Lin did not know how to console her.


    All the way to the end, no one appeared to seal Poseidon like Silverlight had said. If someone had encountered a problem on the way or if something else had happened, now that everything had been swallowed by the sea, no Antean could possibly appear now, unless Anteans had gills.


    ¡°It has to be over.¡± Xiao Lin let out a deep breath, finally speaking after a long silence, looking toward Silverlight. He asked when Time Rewind would end.


    Silverlight¡¯s expression suddenly changed. She suppressed her rage as she said softly, ¡°I told you not to say anything!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Gu Xiaoyue cried out an rmed warning.


    Xiao Lin turned around when she said that. Poseidon hadunched his trident toward his direction. He wanted to dodge, but Poseidon¡¯s strength was too shocking. The speed of the trident caused Xiao Lin to be unable to even react. In a second, it had already pierced through Xiao Lin.


    There was no blood, nor was there any pain. Xiao Lin let out a long sigh of relief, still in shock. To Poseidon, he was still just an illusion. Even Legend-ranked attacks had no effect.


    After a moment, the rumbling which had long stopped started to intensify again.

 Chapter 430: The Broken Wall of Time

    <h4>Chapter 430: The Broken Wall of Time</h4>


    Xiao Lin touched his chest, not feeling any wounds or scars. That trident that could even pierce into the ck dragon was just an illusion to him, but the sudden rumbling that followed caused Silverlight to reveal a never-before-seen sense of nervousness.


    Xiao Lin started to feel like his sight was getting blurry. He tried rubbing his eyes, but it did not change anything. He then realized that it was not his eyes that were blurring, but the entire space in front of him. Just like Gu Xiaoyue had said, if they were separated from Poseidon by something like a ss window, then the window was now cracking and reaching the point of shattering.


    It could have been because of Poseidon¡¯s trident, or maybe just Xiao Lin¡¯s special physicality. The reason was unclear, but Xiao Lin only understood one thing: Poseidon had locked onto Xiao Lin.


    Even though that ss window had blocked Poseidon¡¯s sight, Xiao Lin was very sure that the man hadpletely ascertained his position. Being locked into by a Legend-ranked person was basically putting one foot into the coffin.


    ¡°Silverlight! Didn¡¯t you say that the wall of time can¡¯t be broken?! Didn¡¯t you say that the small crack would not cause the situation to worsen?!¡± Xiao Lin asked in shock. Poseidon¡¯s aura had already begun seeping into their surroundings, proving that the wall of time could no longer shield them from the outside world.


    Poseidon¡¯s expression was quite special, starting out with confusion before turning into shock, finally settling on a cold smile, as if saying, ¡®My prey, I¡¯ve found you!¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! The wall of time is very strong. Those without Time Rewind can¡¯t get in here!¡± Silverlight quickly and calmly judged.


    However, Poseidon defied expectations. He stood in front of Xiao Lin, and a pair of eyes that were blue like the sea and cold as ice fixed on him. They were still separated by the wall of time, but Poseidon¡¯s eyes seemed to be able to see everything.


    Xiao Lin tried to leave, but he realized that his body had already been trapped in blue light,pletely restricted just as Poseidon had restricted the ck dragon. That was the ability that Poseidon¡¯s third eye had, and the power seemed to be able to pass through the cracks on the wall of time.


    Gu Xiaoyue noticed that Xiao Lin could not move, and did not hesitate to make a move. However, even if she was so gifted that everyone in Dawn Academy admired her, her spells did nothing at all to Poseidon. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s spells were mainly focused on support as well, so her offensive capabilities werecking. Even more awkwardly, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s spells only shot right through Poseidon¡¯s body, meaning she did not have enough power to pierce through the cracks on the wall of time.


    Gu Xiaoyue could only stand powerlessly. She shot Silverlight a pleading gaze, but Silverlight was even more powerless than Gu Xiaoyue. Silverlight had already said that she did not have muchbat ability currently, and she had not been joking.


    A roar was suddenly heard right as everything was the most tense. The roar of the dragon in the sky started to close in. Onyxia, who had been hiding in the distance, had not escaped out of fear. She was instead just regaining her strength and biding her time. The moment Poseidon put all his attention onto figuring out Xiao Lin¡¯s location, Onyxia¡¯s chance came.


    The dragon did not have much strength left, so she chose to use the most violent mode of attack: using her humongous body that was as strong as steel to ram into Poseidon. The meteoric speed created a horrifying impact that even Xiao Lin, who had the wall of time between them, felt affected.


    Poseidon could not avoid it, having put too much focus onto Xiao Lin and forgetting about the dragon. The man and the dragon both fell right into the sea, but Poseidon was just as strong. In the waves, all they could see was a few more wounds on his bare body.


    An attack that put the life of a dragon on the line only brought forth such trivial injuries!


    Onyxia angered Poseidon, and he raised his hand, trying to pull the dragon that was already back in the air into the sea. The sea was Poseidon¡¯s domain. In there, he could even fight toe to toe with Onyxia with his bare hands.


    ¡°Now! Run!¡± Gu Xiaoyue immediately shouted, but there was no response.


    ¡°Silverlight!¡±


    ¡°No, now is not the time!¡± Silverlight¡¯s face was very pale. She really looked like a ghost at that moment. She shook her head powerlessly, biting her pale lips as she said softly, ¡°Poseidon¡¯s aura disrupted the stability of the wall of time. Time and space cannot be easily yed with. If I end Time Rewind now, we could very possibly be thrown into nothingness, never able to go back. However, the wall of time can repair itself. It just needs time...¡±


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°Calcting by Earth time, not more than twenty-four hours.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart sank. Looking at the battle in the sea, Onyxia was no match for Poseidon underwater. No, even if they fought in the air, the ck dragon would only be toyed with.


    24 hours?


    With the current state of things, they did not have that long. Onyxia could not possibly hold on for more than one or two hours, and Poseidon would then set his sights back onto them. While the wall of time was repairing itself, they had absolutely no way to retaliate against Poseidon.


    Two ck-Iron ranked recruits, on top of an essentially powerless ghost; how long could they withstand Poseidon?


    ¡°Xiao Lin, we...¡± Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin. She was not afraid of death, but she did not want to die in such a ce.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face was dark. He took a deep breath, then smiled at Gu Xiaoyue in constion. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing will happen. I won¡¯t allow anything to happen to you!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue felt some warmth in her heart. As she was about to say something, Xiao Lin had already walked to Silverlight. Silverlight lowered her head, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s because of me that the two of you...¡± Just as Gu Xiaoyue had said, it was because she had hid the true dangers of Time Rewind that this happened.


    ¡°What good is an apology now!¡± Xiao Lin interrupted her impatiently before asking, ¡°I remember you once said that you had nned to seal Poseidon, right?¡±


    Silverlight paused before answering, ¡°That¡¯s right. That was indeed the n, but you¡¯ve seen it as well. Those people have probably already died.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand the seal?¡±


    ¡°I was the one who found the seal in the ancient archives.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s perfect! Is the sealing hard?¡±


    ¡°It is a lost sealing method, but it is not that hard.¡±


    ¡°Good, then let¡¯s seal Poseidon!¡±

 Chapter 431: Sealing (1)

    <h4>Chapter 431: Sealing (1)</h4>


    Silverlight had already guessed what Xiao Lin wanted to do, but the moment he finished speaking, her face immediately changed, rejecting the idea on the spot. ¡°No! I told you the wall of time separates us from the other side. Don¡¯t think it¡¯s made out of paper. We definitely won¡¯t be able to unleash the sealing power over there!¡±


    ¡°Yet we can feel Poseidon¡¯s aura here,¡± Gu Xiaoyue immediately retorted.


    Silverlight red at Xiao Lin with a difficult look. ¡°That¡¯s because the wall of time had cracked thanks to you, but you saw it earlier as well. Poseidon¡¯s trident could not attack you. He could only make his aura seep through.¡±


    ¡°Just the aura alone is enough to kill us!¡±


    ¡°Since the wall of time won¡¯t allow the seal to take effect, then just break it! Let¡¯s just go over to that world and seal Poseidon!¡± Xiao Lin said decisively, looking at Silverlight. ¡°Tell me, how do you break the wall of time!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡±


    ¡°Do you know how severe the consequences of breaking the wall would be?¡±


    ¡°It would distort time and space, causing chaos to thews of Earth. At that point the entire world will be filled with disasters!¡± Silverlight raised her voice, intensely arguing against the suggestion.


    ¡°You said that the wall of time could regenerate itself. Antis has already sunk into the sea anyway. Who cares if it floods or a tsunami strikes. We¡¯ll just let the wall of time recover slowly!¡± Xiao Lin shot back without backing down.


    ¡°Absolutely not! Even if it can recover, it will cause irreversible consequences! We would be destroying history!¡± Silverlight¡¯s rebuttal was just as fierce.


    Xiao Lin replied, ¡°Destroying history? Please, no one has appeared to seal Poseidon at all. If Onyxia dies, Poseidon will rule the world! That would really be rewriting history! I really don¡¯t want to go back only to realize that the world has turned into a sea ruled by Poseidon!¡±


    ¡°Whatever you want to do, I think we should make a decision fast,¡± Gu Xiaoyue interjected, pointing toward the battle that was happening in the ocean. ¡°The dragon will only be able to hold on for an hour or two.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Silverlight were shocked. From the situation earlier, Onyxia could at least hold on for half a day, but now that they turned to look, their faces darkened


    Onyxia had indeed managed to hold Poseidon back initially by putting her life on the line, but at the same time, Poseidon¡¯s temper red even higher, causing him to break his own limits. Onyxia, who long reached her limits, could barely hold on. Facing the enraged Sea God, she could no longer fight back.


    Thankfully, the hard scales were the natural born gift of dragons. Facing Poseidon¡¯s intense assault, they could somewhat mitigate the damage. However, the dragon was still facing Legend-rank attacks. The scales might not be able tost over an hour, no matter how strong they were.


    However, what Silverlight cared even more about was the dark sky. It was a lot darkerpared to earlier, and the cracks that were already beginning to stop started to look like they were getting worse, and the speed was noticeably faster than before.


    Silverlight¡¯s face was dark and uncertain. She raised her head to look toward the half-shattered sky before looking back toward Xiao Lin, calmly saying, ¡°Fine, I will agree to your suggestion. We will start the sealing process!¡±


    Pausing for a moment, she exined, ¡°I miscalcted. I did not expect Poseidon to have such terrifying power. What I knew before leaving Earth was not his true strength. This is... To put things simply, his power has already severely affected the bnce of Earth. If we leave it be, Earth¡¯s bnce will be forever destroyed in a few hours! We need to stop him!¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then stop talking so much. Tell us how to get to the other side!¡±


    Silverlight had her own ns. She calmly said, ¡°I need to warn you first, we do not belong in that time. Once we step across the wall of time, we will turn into a disturbance instead of an observer, and Earth¡¯sws will start to reject us. If we take too long, the consequences will be dire!¡±


    Xiao Lin replied, ¡°At the most, we die! It¡¯s still better than Poseidon destroying Earth, affecting even the modern world.¡±


    Silverlight looked at him with a meaningful gaze. ¡°No, it¡¯s a punishment more painful than death... Whatever, you don¡¯t need to know this. If it gets to that point, even if you know... Basically we don¡¯t have much time, and Poseidon won¡¯t give us much room to prepare, so we need to prepare for the sealing here, and immediatelymence once he steps over the wall of time!¡±


    Silverlight did not care if Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue understood her. She immediately sped up her speech, ¡°The seal originally needed six people working together to create, but we only have three of us. However, we¡¯re lucky that Xiao Lin has a talent. Talent holders are the same as us with third eyes, and will strengthen the sealing effect, but I don¡¯t know how much it will help.¡±


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrows. He had never told Silverlight that he was a talent holder.


    Pausing for a moment, Silverlight said, ¡°The sess rate is around ten per cent.¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t seed, we die. Is that the gist of it?¡± Xiao Lin tranted Silverlight¡¯s words.


    After leaving the wall of time, they would lose their protection, and Poseidon would be able to see them and kill them easily, so they only had one chance to seal him. It would be hard for him to sense them until they walked out of the wall. Otherwise, their only option would be to die.


    There was not much time left, and Silverlight immediately started to teach the two of them the sealing spell. Xiao Lin remembered that the upper years had sses on sealing, and the field itself was very deep and vast. However, Silverlight did not give them any exnations,pletely ignoring the reasons and theories, getting right to the most important parts.


    Silverlight might have agreed to Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion, but she did not have any confidence in it. The 10% sess rate was actually her most positive estimate. If she took into ount the fact that Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue had no knowledge of sealing at all, as well as the time constraints, it was impossible for beginners like them to immediately be useful in such a short time. Silverlight had absolutely no confidence. She even believed that the actual sess rate was probably less than one in ten thousand.

 Chapter 432: Sealing (2)

    <h4>Chapter 432: Sealing (2)</h4>


    The seal that Silverlight was teaching could be called incredibly hard, yet incredibly easy at the same time. As a seal meant for those Legend-ranked and above, the seal was extremely special. It did not require one to be all that skilled in sealing, nor did it require high level magic from the caster. The main driving force behind it was the power of the caster¡¯s life force.


    The field of sealing was extremelyplicated, but Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue did not need to understand it, so it greatly lowered the difficulty of learning the seal.


    As Silverlight said that, Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrow tightly, interrupting her, ¡°Life force? Don¡¯t tell me that we need to trade our lives for the seal!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the lowest price. Who do you think our opponent is? That¡¯s the Sea God Poseidon. Even a ck dragon cannot beat him. A price like this is already very low,¡± Silverlight said reasonably.


    ¡°Only life is needed?¡± Gu Xiaoyue said, her point of emphasispletely different from Xiao Lin¡¯s.


    Silverlight looked at her with a strange expression. ¡°There was an interesting view during my time about the value of life. I won¡¯t give you the details, but the basic meaning is that, at some level, no matter the riches or power one possesses, all life has the same value. That seal was founded on this principle, using an equal exchange.¡±


    Silverlight understood Xiao Lin¡¯s hesitation, which she had already taken into ount as she added, ¡°You don¡¯t need your entire life. You¡¯re all protected by thew of the academies, so your souls will not exhaust themselves here, and the life you lose can always be regained.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it then.¡± Gu Xiaoyue did not hesitate anymore after understanding.


    ¡°No!¡± Xiao Lin resolutely rejected it.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any other choice!¡± Gu Xiaoyue knew why he was against it, but she was not touched at all.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue stared at each other, neither willing to back off on the matter. Silverlight looked on by the side, her eyes sparkling as if thinking of something before she said to Xiao Lin, ¡°If you¡¯re worried about that, you can volunteer to give up even more of your life. You actually don¡¯t have to worry. You have a specialw within yourself, and the seal will not interfere with thew, which will guarantee you to have some life force remaining.


    After a few minutes, Xiao Lin finally decided to cooperate. They did not really have much time left, and he knew Gu Xiaoyue. There was no way he could do anything about it.


    What followed was the basic steps behind the sealing. The seal was actually not too hard, butparatively, it was still incredibly hard forplete beginners.


    Silverlight was very detailed and meticulous, she worried that the two of them would be unable to understand in such a short time. Initially, Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin¡¯s faces were lost and confused, but Silverlight was not surprised, calmly exining it again. They were short on time, but if they did not really master the seal, then nothing would matter.


    After five minutes, both of them had a look of realization on their face.


    After ten minutes, the two of them started to have a half-decent understanding.


    After twenty minutes, their expressions had brightened, fully digesting everything Silverlight was saying.


    After thirty minutes, Xiao Lin raised his head from his thoughts. Gu Xiaoyue was a little slower, but by just a few minutes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have any more questions.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Now came Silverlight¡¯s turn to be surprised. She measured the two of them hesitantly. ¡°There can be no mistakes in the sealing process. It¡¯s best that you ask anything that you don¡¯t understand right now.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue exchanged a look. They were not that surprised themselves. Ever since Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius talent went to level two, he slowly realized his learning capability had noticeably increased. He might not be able topletely understand everything at a nce, but he could still understand most of it.


    Gu Xiaoyue was also incredibly talented at magic, and seals were a branch of magic, so her understanding of the subject was incredibly shocking.


    ¡°It¡¯s naturally impossible to understand itpletely, but it should be enough for us to simply copy it,¡± Xiao Lin said, the two of them were like novices who did not read, but could copy the words in front of them. The concept was simple, yet effective.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s start!¡±


    Silverlight was still doubtful, but they really did not have that much time. After that half an hour, looking back, Onyxia was already at her limit. All her scales had already been pierced through, revealing countless wounds of various sizes.


    Silverlight had said that the wall of time was an unrivalled existence. Even though they still could not figure out how Xiao Lin so easily broke through it, its power was rtive. The moment the first crack appeared, it had started to weaken. Then, thanks to Poseidon¡¯s attack, it weakened it even more. It was currently in a very shaky state.


    All Silverlight did was softly wave her hand in the air. Everywhere her fingers were, a light would start to emit. The glow got more and more vibrant. That was what the wall of time looked like when it materialized, and upon closer inspection of the colorful light, one would notice countless cracks on it.


    However, the wall of time could mend itself, and the colorful light was slowly dispersing. It was just that it would take a lot of time to recover.


    ¡°I will emphasize this once again, the moment we leave this wall, Poseidon will immediately know our whereabouts. With how powerful he is, we will only have one chance to make it work.¡±


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue both nodded.


    Silverlight grunted, looking deeply into their eyes before turning around. She rushed toward the wall of time inrge strides. The moment she touched the wall, the light from her forehead got even more intense.


    Bang!


    With the heavy sound of shattering, the wall of time¡¯s glow started to waver before dimming. A hole appeared in the middle. It was notrge¨Cjust enough for an adult to squeeze through.


    ¡°Move!¡±


    Silverlight waited for the two of them. They needed to all go to the other side at the same time.


    The three of them huddled tightly together, seemingly stepping out of the wall of time at the same time. As Silverlight turned her head around, Xiao Lin was surprised to notice that a trail of blood could be seen from Silverlight¡¯s third eye.


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth to say something, but the two of them had already been swallowed by the glow of the wall of time.

 Chapter 433: Sealing (3)

    <h4>Chapter 433: Sealing (3)</h4>


    Even though it was called the wall of time, it was not a real wall. Looking through the hole, it was filled with multicolored light, and Xiao Linpletely lost all sense of direction while he was within. There was no sense of time or space, as if even his thoughts had frozen in space.


    The moment felt extremely long, yet abnormally short.


    Xiao Lin blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, the lights had already disappeared. What followed was the sudden sense of falling. The wall of time¡¯s hole was in the air. Xiao Lin quickly inhaledrge breaths of air, not having the time to think of anything else before his hands quickly pped together, starting the sealing spell based on what Silverlight had taught.


    Antis¡¯s sealing spells were quite different from those on Norma. Norma was strictly built on the system of magic, and their seals naturally needed a lot of preparation and work to perfect. The Antean seals were different; the movements were much more fluid, but it ced a lot more emphasis on the energy output and control.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not need to worry about that as someone with so much talent for magic. She had been born with a natural affinity for magic, which was proven in her months in the Academy.


    Xiao Lin wasckingpared to Gu Xiaoyue on that front, since he had always ced his focus on his swordsmanship. That was why the moment he reached that world, he did not hesitate to activate both Miracle and Ruin, which greatly raised his perception of energy.


    The three of them did not care at all that they were constantly falling as their hands constantly moved, putting all their focus on gathering and channeling the energy in the air and activating the final part of their sealing spell.


    Xiao Lin was a bit nervous, but his nervousness was set aside when he felt the shocking amount of energy in this world. Just taking a breath would fill once with seemingly inexhaustible energy.


    Energy referred to natural energy, death energy, elemental energy and other simr things on Norma, and once Xiao Lin returned to Earth, he could still feel all of that, but it was much more scarce. He had thought that it was caused by the different natures of the twos, but unexpectedly, during Antean times, the energy density was even higher than that of Norma.


    Poseidon immediately sensed the location of Xiao Lin and the others. He had already somewhat felt the presence of a strange aura from the hole in the wall of time, but that was the first time heid eyes on the three intruders. The three of them included Silverlight. Since she needed to cast the sealing spell, Silverlight had gone into her solid form.


    Poseidon was startled for a moment before rxing. To him, opponents that he could see were much easier to deal with than those he could not. He then revealed a manic smile. Whoever the intruders were, he was confident he could destroy them.


    Poseidon immediately readied his ns in his head, smiling coldly as he turned around. He could tell that the injured ck dragon in front of him was still a much bigger threat than the falling trio, so he decided to finish off the biggest problem before proceeding.


    That seemingly obvious decision had led Poseidon to lose his best andst chance. After a few seconds, he raised his trident to finish off the ck dragon, but he felt something as he did. A sh of confusion could be seen on his face. Poseidon was not called the Sea God for nothing. He immediately realized what was happening.


    In his shock, he let out an enraged cry, immediately tossing the dragon aside. He shot through the air like a cannon, causing waves hundreds of meters tall to form.


    ¡°He noticed!¡±


    ¡°We can still make it!¡±


    ¡°Now is the time! Quickly throw the seal out!¡±


    The few of them shouted at each other in midair, but the roaring winds caused them to be unable to make anything out. However, when Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue noticed that Silverlight¡¯s hands started to glow, they understood it was time to take action. It was the sign they had nned beforehand.


    Poseidon was extremely quick, but Xiao Lin and the others managed to seize the initiative thanks to their preparations. They pped their hands together and started to glow. When they separated their hands, a light started to emit from their palms, silently floating in front of them.


    Poseidon had the ability to fly, but Xiao Lin and the others did not. After releasing the light orbs they continued falling downward. When they were about a kilometer away from the balls of light, the orbs suddenly glowed intensely. Poseidon had his attentionpletely on those light spheres, and when they exploded, his trident was only inches away.


    Poseidon did not stand a chance anymore.


    The balls of light started to emit a light blue glow, giving out endless light and warmth. The light shot through the dark clouds in the sky as the heat blew away the coldness of the sea. The rings of light that formed seemed to have a paralyzing effect. Poseidon, who was caught within the rings, froze in midair, unable to move at all.


    After restricting Poseidon, the shape of the orbs started to change, from spherical into sharp, uneven objects. All three balls started to produce a thin line, and the line quickly reached the chests of Xiao Lin and the others, shooting right into them before they could even react.


    Xiao Lin was shocked to find that the speed of his descent was starting to slow as a strange suction was being emitted by the threads of light, finally allowing him to float in the air. He touched his chest, and the ray of light seemed to have merged with his body perfectly, not leaving any trace of harm on his skin.


    Stopping in the air caused Xiao Lin to feel quite dizzy. It was not that he had a fear of heights. It was because of the string of light. Based on what Silverlight had said, for the price to pay for sealing someone so much more powerful than them, they needed to pay with their own lives. Even though Silverlight did not exin it in detail, Xiao Lin could feel the energy leaving his body, siphoning through the light into the orbs in the air.


    However, it was not the time to think about all that. Based on what Silverlight said, it was still only the first stage of sealing. They had basically done the first stage perfectly, and the restricted Poseidon had temporarily lost his power.


    Xiao Lin and the others had used their lives in exchange for that valuable time. In terms of power, Poseidon far exceeded all of them, but their souls were still equal. Poseidon would need topletely ascend from his current level to break the restrictions.


    It was obvious that Poseidon could not, but the power of the restrictions were not absolute. To put things simply, even if they were equal, they might be able to restrict Poseidon for a few minutes, but not longer. Poseidon possessed much a stronger life force than they did, and once the time was up, they would be unable to stand up to Poseidon.

 Chapter 434: Shining Seal Technique

    <h4>Chapter 434: Shining Seal Technique</h4>


    That was the most magical part of the seal: it allowed the weak to have the power to go against the strong. As the civilization at the peak of Earth¡¯s history, the sealing spell could be said to have been born from the collective expertise of Antis.


    There was no way to reverse the seal once it started. As Xiao Lin and the others used their lifeforce as a resource, the bundle of light once again underwent an intense change. The bodies of light slowly began to dim and disperse, turning into countless bright spots, like stars in the night sky, bright and brilliant.


    That was the second stage of sealing. The life force that they had contributed would serve as the key to the seal. The true sealing had just started, each spot of light started to rise up and expand, slowly turning into arrow-like shapes.


    The Shining Seal Technique was the name. Utilizing a sword of light formed through life force, dragged to an equal state, Poseidon¡¯s power had been suppressed to the minimum.


    Silverlight could not help but cast a few nces at Xiao Lin. Even though it was not the time to be distracted, she had to admit that she was shocked.


    Each arrow of light represented their life force, and life came from the soul. Basically, the number and quality of the arrows camepletely from their souls. Souls were the purest things, and were something everyone was born with. Hard work and training could strengthen the mind and body, but that could never change the soul.


    In front of her, the sky was split into twopletely different scenes. Over Xiao Lin¡¯s head was a sky filled with stars, as if the milky way had descended, while over Gu Xiaoyue and Silverlight¡¯s heads, the arrows were noticeably lesser. There were more arrows produced by Silverlight than Gu Xiaoyue, but it absolutely could not bepared to Xiao Lin. It was likeparing a creek to the ocean.


    It was not just Silverlight that was shocked; Poseidon was too. Even though he could not move, as he was restricted, he was still fully conscious. He quickly judged the sight in front of him, and the countless arrows in front of him were a huge threat.


    ¡°Is this the power of a talent holder? No, it¡¯s not just that, Xiao Lin, you...¡± Silverlight¡¯s murmurings were lost in the torrential winds.


    Once the arrows of light hadpletely formed, the third stage of the sealing finally began. Each of them used their mental strength to control their own arrows, and each arrow started to glow brighter. Rushing sounds could be heard closely after, as each arrow started to pierce into Poseidon.


    Firing thousands of arrows at once, the glow emitted was like a miniature sun over his head. Xiao Lin clenched his teeth, clearly feeling his own life force being drained. He could not help but want to turn to look at Gu Xiaoyue, wondering if she, who only had two years left in her life, was doing well, but the bright light had obstructed his view.


    Xiao Lin let out a shout, exhausting his energy while under the Ruin state, as he did everything he could to allow the arrows on his head to absorb his life force.


    A thunderous roar came from the sky: Poseidon¡¯s cry of rage. As the arrows of lightpletely ignored his armor and pierced into the body, the Sea God started to feel like his life was in danger.


    The arrows stuck to Poseidon¡¯s body so densely that no skin could be seen anymore. The arrows did not possess any attack power, but they quickly started to form a chain of light-blue energy around Poseidon¡¯s body. Each arrow was a chain, so the number of arrows determined the number of chains, as well as the strength of the seal.


    The chains in front of them had formed an imprable prison. Poseidon was frantically struggling, trying to release himself from the chains, but the restrictions of the seal caused him to be unable to use any of his strength.


    The process was quite short, but Xiao Lin¡¯s lips were already trembling, his face shockingly pale. The life force that he had given was extremely shocking. Even though he did not know how much life span he had left, Xiao Lin could clearly feel that he would die soon. That was something that came from the weakness in his soul. He had already undone the Ruin state since he did not need to control anything anymore after the chains formed.


    ¡°At least we seeded!¡± Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Not yet!¡± Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue heard Silverlight¡¯s voice at the same time. It was thick and powerful. Silverlight had used some technique to transfer her voice to their ears.


    ¡°The sealing technique won¡¯t hold him for long. If we don¡¯tpletely finish the seal by then, and Poseidon recovers his strength, it will all be for naught!¡±


    Thest step of the Shining Seal Technique: suppression.


    Using their life force, the Shining Seal had suppressed Poseidon¡¯s strength to the lowest level, but it was impossible to rely on just them to maintain the energy needed to maintain such a seal. Even if they held on for a few more minutes, they would just die from the drain of the life force. Based on Silverlight¡¯s n, they had nned on suppressing Poseidon in a volcano or under the sea. Fire and water were the two most natural energies on Earth, and volcanos and the bottom of the sea had the richest elements, which they could use to maintain the seal.


    Volcanoes were nowhere to be found, but the sea was everywhere. Xiao Lin took a deep breath and started to use all his strength to control the light cage, nning on throwing it into the sea and sinking him to the sea bed. He cast a nce at Onyxia, who was close by. The struggling dragon looked at him withrge and tired eyes. In his stupor, Xiao Lin seemed to hear the dragon thanking him.


    A mishap happened right at that moment. As they prepared to enter the sea, the sealed Poseidon once again roared, and the quiet sea started to shake. Under therge ripples, a jet ck object sped toward them.


    Xiao Lin immediately reacted, shouting behind him, ¡°Leave!¡±


    The few of them were not slow, but the sealing had exhausted them and the object in the water was way too fast. By the time they flew back into the air, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue had sustained various injuries. Xiao Lin was still fine¨Chis constitution could take it¨Cbut Gu Xiaoyue was in bad shape.


    Xiao Lin had actually been curious how Gu Xiaoyue did not seem to have any issues after the sealing. He knew that he had expended a lot of his life force earlier, and Gu Xiaoyue definitely did not have more life force than him, but now, the both of them were in bad shape.

 Chapter 435: Guardian

    <h4>Chapter 435: Guardian</h4>


    The creature suddenly burst out of the sea and into view. The monster looked like an octopus. It had a ck, oval body that was the size of a few football fields. A grey eye the size of several footballs stared at Xiao Lin and the others in the air, its body surrounded by over a dozen toothy and wed tentacles.


    ¡°Guardian!¡±


    Silverlight did not even need to exin as Xiao Lin clenched his teeth and spat out the monster¡¯s name. From his perspective, the Guardian in front of him looked almost identical to Gu Chengyun¡¯s painting.


    The Guardian never left Poseidon¡¯s side. They had missed something critical. In all their ns on how to seal Poseidon, they had forgotten about his Guardians. Silverlight had said that the Guardians might not be at the level of Poseidon, but they were still at Epic-rank¨Cdefinitely not an opponent they could face.


    With the Guardian¡¯s sudden attack, the tentacles that were filled with teeth merely brushed past Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, but half of Xiao Lin¡¯s body was bleeding, though the pain was secondary. He still had the dragon¡¯s blood recovery effect, but the numbnessing from his hand caused him to worry.


    Gu Xiaoyue was in worse shape than he was. She merely reacted half a step slower, and failed to dodgepletely. The tentacles had pierced through her left shoulder, only narrowly missing her heart!


    Looking at Gu Xiaoyue coughing up blood in the air, Xiao Lin felt a pang in his heart, but there was nothing he could do at that moment. Controlling Poseidon¡¯s cage away from the surface of the ocean, Xiao Lin could see from his higher vantage point that, in the nearby sea, there were more shadows speeding toward them.


    Xiao Lin sucked in a cold breath, understanding that they no longer had a way to get to the bottom of the sea. Not only that, due to their rapidly declining states, the seal was starting to weaken, shortening the time the seal could be maintained.


    Sensing their situation, Poseidon renewed his struggle. The cage woven by the arrows started to flicker. Silverlight started to tense up. She knew that Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue did not have much life force remaining. If they did not quickly suppress Poseidon in a safe ce, everything they did earlier would be in vain.


    Xiao Lin was also wracking his brain. The added burden on his body caused him to sweat. He bit into the wound on his lips, gathering up his spirit.


    ¡°The temple! That temple we came from!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly shouted, wincing as the wound stung. However, he quickly said, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a wormhole to Norma there? Why don¡¯t we just seal Poseidon in there?!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue and Silverlight jumped, but thinking about it, it was the only way they had at that moment. It was better than allowing Poseidon to take over Earth when he recovered. Silverlight might have been on Norma for thousands of years, but her homnd was still Earth. She did not wish to see Earth meet disaster.


    They brought Poseidon toward the temple. There was only a little time before Antis waspletely sunk, and most of the maind had already disappeared. As the temple was on the highest point, half of it was still above water, but anyter and they would lose their chance.


    Xiao Lin and the others took the chance to hurry over, failing to notice that the ck dragon behind them had struggled and flown into the air, changing into human form before following them.


    Moving past the half-submerged corridor and bringing Poseidon into the temple, the seawater had already washed away all the furniture around them. Now the question came: where was the wormhole to Norma?


    Everything in the small area could be seen at a nce, and there was nothing that could hide anything around them. Asking Silverlight yielded nothing either, so Xiao Lin started to panic. Poseidon seemed to sense something, andughed coldly as he said a few words.


    ¡°What is he saying?¡± Xiao Lin looked over to Silverlight. He did not speak a lick of Antean.


    ¡°He said our seal has already failed. If we let him go, he will grant us a quick death.¡±


    ¡°Dream on!¡±


    Before Xiao Lin could even retort, a loud bellow could be heard. A woman d in ck armor barged in like a meteor, her bright eyes filled with immense rage.


    ¡°Onyxia?¡± Xiao Lin shouted in Ancient Normese.


    The familiar woman paused, measuring Xiao Lin before asking a string of questions in Ancient Normese. ¡°You know me? No, you know thisnguage! Who are you? Thank you for saving me, but strangely enough, I felt your presence, but could never see you. Where were you?¡±


    Xiao Lin waved his hands, trying to answer, but he quickly started to cough. The numbing poison had already spread to various parts of his body. It was no longer just the pain.


    ¡°You¡¯re poisoned? Are you really unable to resist that level of poison?¡± Onyxia furrowed her eyebrows. Her words contained no mocking, only curiosity. She had likely believed that anyone who could seal Poseidon would be a peak expert that would be able to withstand such a poison.


    ¡°Onyxia! Your blood could treat their injuries!¡± Silverlight said calmly.


    ¡°Oh? How are you still here?!¡± Onyxia narrowed her eyes, her killing intent rising. However, it immediately stopped. She could still understand what was important, and it was not the time to discuss grudges.


    ¡°Dragon¡¯s blood?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness was beginning to fade. Thanks to the trauma from a certain logistics department head, he had a mental aversion to dragon¡¯s blood.


    However, Onyxia did not bother with him. Even a heavily-injured ck dragon was not something that a ck-Iron ranked person could fight. Onyxia took out the armor on her shoulder, revealing patches of shocking injuries. It was only because of a dragon¡¯s intense life force that he was still standing as if nothing had happened.


    The wound was still bleeding, which made things easier. Onyxia thrust her white arm in front of Xiao Lin, and when she saw that he refused to open his mouth, Onyxia muttered something to herself before forcing his mouth open, sending arge amount of fresh blood into Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth.


    The recovery effect of dragon¡¯s blood was very obvious. Xiao Lin immediately regained consciousness after a few mouthfuls. Onyxia then did the same for Gu Xiaoyue, stopping her bleeding. Even though Gu Xiaoyue still looked weak, she seemed fine for the time being.


    ¡°Are you all looking for something?¡± Onyxia ignored her arm, which was still bleeding, choosing to stare at Silverlight.


    ¡°The way back, that passage that brought you here. You should know where it is.¡±


    The two of them looked at each other silently for a long time.

 Chapter 436: Return to Reality

    <h4>Chapter 436: Return to Reality</h4>


    After a moment, Onyxia let out a long snort, and asked warily, ¡°What are you thinking of doing? Indeed, that wormhole is with me, but it has always belonged to me!¡±


    Xiao Lin gradually woke and took a look around. Suddenly, he figured it out. Silverlight said that during the time of Antis, all wormholes leading to Norma were sealed. Onyxia happened to identally fall into a wormhole that unexpectedly opened and arrived on Earth in this time period.


    In this period, there was only one wormhole to Norma, and that was the one that Onyxia took.


    Xiao Lin did not waste time on idle talk, and asked earnestly, ¡°In any case, please help us find that wormhole. Regardless of the grudge between you and Silverlight, we have amon enemy.¡±


    Onyxia¡¯s gaze once again fell onto Poseidon. With fiery eyes, she looked as if she was rearing to beat him to a pulp. However, this ck dragon was sensible. It was obviously not the time to take revenge, and she also had concerns of her own.


    Onyxia said, ¡°I took a look at your seal earlier when I was out there. This is indeed quite magical. In my world, we have never even heard of this kind of theoretical seal technique. But, if you¡¯re thinking of putting Poseidon in my world, you can forget it!¡±


    ¡°No! Not Norma, but to exile him to the wormhole!¡± Xiao Lin thought of what Song Jung once told him about wormholes, but he did not expect to actually put that knowledge to use. He exined hastily, ¡°The wormhole is not stable. Unless you build a fixed fulcrum in the middle of it, I doubt getting to Norma will be easy. There is a real possibility you will getpletely lost in endless time and space.¡±


    ¡°Our seal on Poseidon willst for some time, and this time is enough to get himpletely lost in the chaos. By the time the seal is released, he will never be able to find the exit!¡±


    ¡°So, we don¡¯t need to worry about this guy harming Norma,¡± Xiao Lin surmised confidently. There had never been any trace of Poseidon in all of Norma¡¯s history. This was proof enough that he had no way of getting to Norma.


    ¡°We¡¯re out of time!¡±


    Poseidon¡¯s struggles were getting increasingly violent. Onyxia thought of his earlier humiliation of her. She finally gritted her teeth and nodded her agreement. There was no time for them to slowly deliberate things.


    Onyxia let the others withdraw, and then used Control on Poseidon to get him mid-air, in the center of the space. The Shining Arrows had now greatly dimmedpared to the beginning. Fortunately, there were enough arrows, thanks to Xiao Lin. The majority of the arrows were formed by Xiao Lin, and these arrows that were now of great assistance.


    Onyxia pulled out the Silver Greatsword, which was one Xiao Lin had seen before. Even after thousands of years, this sword had not changed at all. Onyxia waved it toward the void, and the fabric of space was suddenly torn open. She then reached out into the tear, fiddled around, and pulled out an object.


    Both Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s eyes went wide when they saw the object.


    It was that mysterious sphere that contained a replica of the sr system. Onyxia grunted. ¡°This was originally taken from your¡¯s royal treasury as mypensation. I¡¯ll return it to you!¡±


    Therge sphere was ced in the center. Onyxia¡¯s dragon powers were barely able to transport the sphere toward the centermost object that represented the sun. Golden sands of time spilled out from the inside, and the wormhole was finally opened again.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression turned a little strange. Now that things have developed, he felt a little unsure. As he pondered, Onyxia¡¯s urging sounds could be heard. It was simply not the time to think about other matters.


    Poseidon, who was locked within a cage of shining brilliance, was forcibly stuffed into the wormhole. The entrance may have been small, but the sheer absorption power was unimaginable. Like light seeping into a ck hole, Poseidon¡¯s body became continuously deformed and distorted, and then he gradually disappeared into the wormhole.


    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡±


    Xiao Lin finally let out a long breath of relief as he no longer needed to maintain the seal. As Poseidon disappeared, the light-formed connecting line on his chest also disappeared. Xiao Lin slumped to sit down, but the main hall was already covered with seawater, which was a concerning matter. If the sphere drifted out into the sea, there was no way of telling if somebody might find it and identally release Poseidon. That would be a disaster.


    ¡°Allow me!¡±


    Onyxia took charge and said, ¡°Leave this matter to me. I need to stay here for a while anyway. I will deal with this hall.¡±


    ¡°You still don¡¯t want to leave!¡± Silverlight said, ring.


    ¡°Hmph! Did you not hear him earlier? It is easy to get lost in the wormhole. I¡¯m not going in before my strength is fully restored. What if I identally get lost? Am I to be with that d*mned Poseidon forever!¡±


    Onyxia replied without hesitation, ¡°What about you all, then? Your people probably have yet topletely disappear. Do you need me to send you all there?¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s gaze suddenly shone with lively energy, and she hastily said, ¡°Did you-did you just say that our people have yet to disappearpletely?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. As a princess, don¡¯t you know this? Your king had secretly transferred some people to a safe location ahead of time. He probably anticipated this to happen.¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s eyes became a little moist. She sniffed and sobbed a whisper, ¡°I thought I was thest one. I didn¡¯t think that there are still survivors on Earth! This is splendid, just splendid!¡±


    Silverlight looked very excited. It was the first time she expressed such emotion ever since Xiao Lin met her. Xiao Lin felt a little sympathy for her. He could hardly imagine experiencing the destruction of an entire country to the point that every person in her n was extinct. What was left must be the feeling of being totally alone. It was not a good feeling.


    Xiao Lin sighed. He wanted tofort the poor woman, but realized that the surrounding light suddenly became blurry. Colorful light burst out of nowhere, and his head started to be dizzy until he once again lost consciousness.


    ...


    When Xiao Lin suddenly popped his eyes open, he found himself lying in the main hall. However, there was no freezing water, only the cold hard floor. It was an empty hall with the spheres ced in it.


    He was back. Xiao Lin had walked the corridor of time and was once again back to the era that truly belonged to him. It was as if he woke up from a very long dream. As he tried to recall the details of all that had transpired, it all felt a little unreal, but the scars on his body were clearly there.


    ¡°Silverlight! Silverlight! Xiao Lin,e quick and see!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice snapped him out of his stupor.

 Chapter 437: Silverlight’s Anomaly

    <h4>Chapter 437: Silverlight¡¯s Anomaly</h4>


    When Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue woke up from theira, Silverlight was still lying on the ground. At first, Gu Xiaoyue did not pay her any mind. The aftereffects of Rewind were obvious, and there was clear difort in their bodies after waking up.


    However, when ten minutes had passed and Silverlight did not show any signs of waking up, Gu Xiaoyue started to feel that something was amiss. She walked over to feel her forehead, and her expression transformed. She immediately called Xiao Lin over.


    Silverlight¡¯s state looked very strange, and Xiao Lin gently touched her arm. The physical contact allowed him to confirm that, at that moment, Silverlight had not returned to the state of a soul. Silverlight¡¯s eyes were closed calmly, her face frighteningly pale. Her exposed skin had also be wrinkled, akin to an elderly of the age of 70 or 80. Silverlight had been able to maintain a young woman¡¯s appearance and attitude for millions of years.


    What shocked Xiao Lin the most was that Silverlight¡¯s entire body was ice-cold, like ice cubes freshly removed from a freezing cer. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, who stood beside her, could not help but shiver.


    ¡°She can¡¯t be dead, right?¡± Gu Xiaoyue said hesitantly. They looked at each other, neither knowing what to say.


    It appeared to be a dead body no matter how one looked at it. The problem was that Silverlight was not a living person to begin with. Although Xiao Lin had no idea what technique this woman used to be able to freely switch between her real body and soul form, there was no doubt. Silverlight said it herself: she was already dead. It was impossible for any ordinary human being to be able to live for so long¨Cfor millions of years.


    They both seemed helpless. After thinking for a long time, they decided to first take Silverlight away from the ocean floor. While preparing to carry Silverlight¡¯s body, Xiao Lin suddenly noticed that the third eye on the woman¡¯s forehead had opened again. At that moment, when Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes locked onto it, he felt the sky spin again and he fainted.


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes, he found himself in a bizarre world. It was an otherworldly beautiful garden with various flora and fauna around him. The sound of birds could be heard among the fragrant flowers, amidst the lush green grass, and gurgling stream. It was beautiful beyondparison. Xiao Lin looked around in dazed confusion and found a figure that looked like Silverlight sitting on a bench not far from him. She looked sideways, as if she was enjoying the scenery.


    Xiao Lin shouted as he walked over at a quickened pace, ¡°Silverlight! Is that you? Where in the world are we? Don¡¯t tell me your Rewind reactivated again.¡±


    Silverlight turned her head. Xiao Lin immediately stopped as he took a clear look at her face, almost toppling over. Frantically finding his bnce again, Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Sat in front of him was a very olddy. The wrinkles on her face wereparable to the creases on the bark of century-old trees. Under her long white dress was not silky, plump skin but limbs as skinny as twigs. Apart from the vague simrity in her charm and dress, there was nothing else that resembled Silverlight.


    However, the old woman sighed heavily and said, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. I am Silverlight.¡±


    Her voice was cool and light, as it always had been, and Xiao Lin was convinced. Xiao Lin had a vague idea, but he was still unsure. He hesitated and asked, ¡°Why do you look like this?¡±


    The old woman smiled lightly. Silverlight always wore a long sullen face as a youngdy. Yet, in this old aged look, her smile came so softly and naturally.


    ¡°This is actually how I really look. If a woman lived for ten million years, would you expect her to look young? What you saw was just a secret technique of the royal family, by giving up the body as storage for my life force. I told you that my current state is very strange. That¡¯s roughly how it is. I am now a living person in the state of death.¡±


    Seeing as Xiao Lin disyed no signs ofprehension, Silverlight shook her head andughed. ¡°Forget it, you would understand it if you spent a few years in the study of Necromancy. However, I will be an actual dead person soon.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart sank. What he was worried about was happening. Frowning, he asked, ¡°Why? Is this the price you have to pay for casting Rewind? Or did you use up all your stored life force when you sealed Poseidon earlier?¡±


    ¡°Those two indeed y a part, but they were not the main cause.¡± Silverlight thought for a moment, then slowly said, ¡°The secret technique that I use can indeed make me live for almost all eternity. However, there is no true eternity in the world. Even if what happened today did not happen, I would be able to exist for another 100 years at most. After that, I will just die, and that would be true death. Not even my soul will remain then.¡±


    ¡°No wonder!¡± Xiao Lin was a little surprised. ¡°Gu Xiaoyue doesn¡¯t seem to have any signs of exhaustion on her vitality. It was because you were helping shoulder some of her loss of vitality, right?¡±


    Silverlight nodded. ¡°That girl is very special; she¡¯s interesting. Unfortunately, time is running out...¡±


    Facing the inevitability of death, Silverlight appeared very calm. Xiao Lin did not know what to say. She was actually a very pitiful woman. A lifespan of ten million years seemed eternal, but it was actually long-drawn suffering for Silverlight. She shouldered so much burden, resentment, and pain, like the demise of her country and the death of her rtives. No ordinary person can easily live through this experience.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± In the end, Xiao Lin could only utter these two words to express how he felt. He was grateful to Silverlight. No matter her motivations, Silverlight had saved Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s life.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who should apologize. Please forgive me, Xiao Lin.¡± Silverlight raised her head. Her old but clear bright eyes looked toward Xiao Lin.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Uh, no, I mean, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Xiao Lin was a little confused.


    Silverlight let out a guilty sigh and lowered her head again. She pondered for a long while before saying, ¡°I used you. Actually, I already knew that the wall of time would be broken. Yet, I still brought both of you into the corridor of time, and I never thought to stop you. Although I had no way of anticipating the things that happenedter and their consequences... Anyway, I am very sorry.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt his brain start to overload. He rubbed his temples with his knuckles, then waved his hands and said, ¡°Hold on, I remember you told me that the wall of time is an indestructible existence. Even if people with legendary powerse along, they would not be able to break it. So, you lied to me?¡±


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t lying about that. Time and space are both so-called forbidden areas for human beings. If they can be so easily destroyed, then this world¨Cno, this universe¨Cis in chaos.¡± The corner of Silverlight¡¯s lips curled in a small smile.


    Xiao Lin threw open his hands in helplessness and said, ¡°You also knew that I was just a new student that had been freshly enrolled for a few months. I didn¡¯t know much about time and space. If the wall of time is a forbidden zone, why was it suddenly breached today? Did you anticipate this?¡±


    ¡°It was not a matter of anticipation, but I knew for sure that something like this would happen.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because of you!¡±


    The conversation came to an abrupt stop at this moment. The two looked at each other. Silverlight¡¯s eyes were calm, and Xiao Lin¡¯s were puzzled.

 Chapter 438: Parting

    <h4>Chapter 438: Parting</h4>


    After a long pause, Silverlight said slowly, ¡°Xiao Lin, you are special. You are different.¡±


    ¡°Uh, if you are thinking about discussing philosophy, I think you might have found the wrong person.¡±


    ¡°No, your specialty lies not in philosophy or in your intuition. You are different. I probably told you before that we royal family members have special abilities in our mind¡¯s eye. One of my special abilities is Truth. I can see anybody¡¯s truth, but you are the only one who I am not able to glean. I was very surprised when I first met you. I never expected to be able to meet such a person again.¡±


    ¡°Again?¡± Xiao Lin caught Silverlight¡¯s choice of words, and he became more confused. ¡°Hold on. You said that I¡¯m special. What¡¯s special about me? I don¡¯t think that I am very handsome. Uh fine, fine, I¡¯ll stop joking. So tell me, who was this other person whose truth you weren¡¯t able to see through?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We were fated to only have a brief encounter. It was about a hundred years before I met you. He was also passing by Silverlight Lake. However, my Control had no effect on him. He didn¡¯t n to do anything to me. All he did was to greet me before departing.¡± Silverlight frowned as she recalled the memory. Then, with a wave of her hand, a curtain of water rose from the ground. A young man¡¯s face could clearly be seen in the water.


    ¡°Ivanovich?¡± Xiao Lin was taken aback slightly but immediately felt relief. He had met Ivan¡¯s residual memory fragments in his dreams, and he also knew how Ivan looked when he was young, so he recognized him in an instant. If it were him, he basically understood what Silverlight meant by his specialty.


    ¡°I understand a little now. But, is this rted to the wall of time?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what we called humans like you two back in our time?¡± The elderly Silverlight seemed to havepletely returned to the nature of a mischievous girl. Once again, looking slyly at Xiao Lin, sheughed and answered her own question, ¡°Non-humans!¡±


    ¡°Huh? I am only a talent user.¡±


    ¡°Talent depends on a person¡¯s blood lineage and genes. However, your talent is not as simple as gics. Its source is the soul itself. Do you understand what I mean? There can be countless gic talent users, but soul talent users are a rare find throughout the entirety of human history.¡±


    Silverlight pursed her lower lip, seeming a little distressed about how to properly exin the matter. She finally sighed and said, ¡°I have only seen descriptions of the soul talent users in very few books. Soul talent users are special. They possess unparalleled abilities, far surpassing the abilities of any other talented person. However, this alsoes at a price. The excessively strong abilities of soul talent users would cause them to be rejected by thew. As their powers grow stronger, the strength of repulsion will also increase. The wall of time is an object that is a condensation of thew. It may be immune to damage from all physical spells, but it is not immune to thew itself.¡±


    ¡°So you are saying that I am actually a bomb. If I get close to the wall of time, I will cause the wall of time to shatter?¡± Xiao Linughed bitterly. This was not a good effect.


    ¡°Not quite.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Silverlight was a little ashamed. ¡°It is because the wall of time was damaged before. When Poseidon finally called upon the powers of Heaven and Earth to destroy my homnd, it actually caused significant damage to the wall of time. You happened to be thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. So, I apologize.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not actually mean to put the me on her. He was quickly able to guess Silverlight¡¯s thoughts and asked, ¡°You want to go back and have a look, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I may have an endless life on Norma, but that does not make me happy at all. I was missing Earth all the time, missing those dear to me. At first, I thought that I would never go back to my old life, but you showed me hope.¡±


    ¡°So, from then on, you were actually trying to set me up? You had always nned on following me from the start to pass over to Earth. Thereafter, you looked for an opportunity to find the ruins of Antis, cast the Time Rewind spell to get me into the corridor of time, to finally break the wall of time, and get back to your home?¡±


    Silverlight did not deny this. She paused for a moment before adding, ¡°At first, I wanted to just cross over, and then send you all back, leaving myself to get lost in the endless corridor of time and space. However, everything that transpiredter, I did not expect at all.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth was agape. He ought to be furious for being used by someone else, but he just could not get angry. Especially before the face of Silverlight at this moment, he did not know what to say.


    Silverlight¡¯s initiative actually caused Xiao Lin a lot of trouble. Facing an opponent of Poseidon¡¯s level was no joke. The final result was also decent, as Poseidon was sessfully sealed. Xiao Lin then waved his hand in a dramatic fashion. ¡°You don¡¯t have to mention things that have passed, Silverlight. Is there really no way to keep you alive?¡±


    Silverlight seemed a little surprised, but also looked reassured. She shook her head gently and said, ¡°Thew of life cannot be vited. I¡¯m d you said that. You know, earlier, when Onyxia told me that there were survivors from my race, I was really happy.¡±


    The concept of race was very peculiar. People did not seem to care about their race at all in normal times, but when a race was really on the verge of extinction, the attachment to one¡¯s race suddenly became very intense.


    The faint sense of loneliness that hung around Silverlight had actually disappeared. Hearing her talk about this topic once again, Xiao Lin was taken aback. He suddenly understood. With a sense of bittersweetness, he said, ¡°If there were really survivors of the Antis race from that time, then they should be the firestarter to light the torch of the continuation of human civilization. Reproduction and development will carry on for generations... If that¡¯s the case, some of my distant ancestors may actually be your old acquaintances?¡±


    Silverlight could not help butugh. Afterughing, she tilted her head and thought out loud, ¡°So, I could be your ancestor. Then, as a reward for your effort in these times, and as an advancedpensation, I will give you two things.


    ¡°The first being that I am leaving Big Bai in your care. When you return from my spiritual world, you will find this stone on me. Summoning Big Bai consumes some mental strength. The little guy is amazing, and I believe it will be helpful to you.¡±


    Seeing Silverlight¡¯s determined look, Xiao Lin could only nod with a little sadness.


    ¡°As for the other one...¡± Silverlight suddenly stood up and walked toward him mid-sentence, pointed her finger, and pressed it on Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead.


    Suddenly, Xiao Lin felt a sharp pain spread from his brain to the whole of his body. It was the kind of pain that went straight into his bones and almost made him faint on the spot. Xiao Lin panted as he waited for the pain to subside. Astonished, he was about to question Silverlight when he felt a strange sensation. He subconsciously reached out and touched his forehead. There was an ovr bump on his forehead where it was once smooth. Looking at Silverlight, there was now nothing left on the old woman¡¯s forehead.

 Chapter 439: Gone

    <h4>Chapter 439: Gone</h4>


    ¡°This is for you,¡± Silverlight said with a smile. ¡°This is the only evidence of our Antean royal blood. Ordinary people may not be able to perfectly merge with the eye, but it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you. Truth is the base ability of my mind¡¯s eye. As for Time Rewind, don¡¯t use it lightly unless it is ast resort. It is too high a price to pay. However, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use it for the time being... Anyway, this is my final gift to you.


    ¡°Oh, right. About the sudden changes of weather on this, I understand it now ever since arriving at this ruin. It must be caused by Poseidon¡¯s aura. I don¡¯t know why this wormhole was activated again, causing Poseidon¡¯s aura to leak and awakening the sleeping Guardian.¡±


    ¡°Is Poseidon able to get back?¡± Xiao Lin asked hastily.


    ¡°Rest assured. Although he is called the Sea God, he is not actually a true god. It is impossible to leave the chaos of time and space. He is already at his limit by spreading his aura here. When you get back, all you have to do is sprinkle the ashes of my remains after I am gone on that sphere, and you will be able to seal the entrance once again.¡±


    After saying these words, her figure gradually became blurry. The surrounding light also rapidly dimmed and darkened. Silverlight seemed to have a lot more left to say, but in the end, she gave her final blessing with a smile. It was a blessing for Xiao Lin, or a blessing for humanity.


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes, he was back at the ruins. Gu Xiaoyue was anxiously waiting beside him, and when Xiao Lin came to, she immediately said, ¡°Silverlight, she...¡±


    Silverlight¡¯s body was quickly aging on the ground until there was only a pile of ck powder left. It spread all over the ground. Xiao Lin watched it all happen quietly, and in the end, he whispered, ¡°Farewell! Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Is she-is she dead?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked in a soft voice.


    ¡°Yes, and it is a true death this time. Even her soul ispletely gone. She will nevere back.¡± Xiao Lin sighed.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not have much affection for Silverlight, but still, she wore a look of anguish and said softly, ¡°She might be thest Antean. If that is true, the Antean race is truly extinct.¡±


    ¡°No, the Anteans are not extinct!¡± Xiao Lin slowly said, ¡°In the Time Rewind, that ck dragon said that there were human survivors at that time. So, we are actually descendants of those survivors. There was never a gap in the continuity of human civilization!¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why she was able to leave in peace.¡± Gu Xiaoyue was thoughtful. Although she did not enter Silverlight¡¯s dream world, she understood when she saw the smile on Silverlight¡¯s face in her final moments.


    ¡°What do we do with this sphere?¡±


    ¡°Poseidon is still exiled in the endless wormhole of time. We finally sealed the guy, and we can never let hime out to harm humans again. So, let¡¯s sink this entrance to the bottom of the sea!¡±


    After a pause, Xiao Lin sullenly said, ¡°Let this ruin be Silverlight¡¯s final resting ce. This may be the only remains of Antis that are still intact left in the world.¡±


    Following Silverlight¡¯s instructions, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue carried the ashes away from the flood, and carefully sprinkled them over the sphere that simted the sr system. Mysteriously, as the ashes fell onto the sphere, the ck ashes immediately exuded shining sparkles, like rays of starlight, swirling as they descended. It was beautiful.


    When the ashes were dispersed, Xiao Lin noticed that the sphere that represented the started to spin slower and slower until it stopped movingpletely. The fiery red sphere in the center that represented the sun dimmed rapidly. It was like an extinguishing me, no longer emitting any light or heat.


    At the same time, Xiao Lin sensed Poseidon¡¯s aura starting to dissipate from the ruins. It was as Silverlight said; the entrance was sealed once again.


    ¡°I think I understand now. This is probably simr to magic circles. Each sphere is ced in perfect precision of position and velocity. It is used to support the central wormhole with continuous energy,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said, but immediately frowned and continued, ¡°But it is strange. If we follow this theory, this energy support should be used to prevent the opening of the wormhole. Why would it be reopened?¡±


    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s go back first.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    Xiao Lin gave the ruins a final nce before resolutely turning and leaving. At the gap that was knocked open, Big Bai was still loyally blocking the seawater with his soft body. He probably did not know of the passing of his master. Xiao Lin sighed again.


    How could hemunicate with Big Bai?


    Xiao Lin touched the stone that Silverlight had given to him. Unexpectedly, Big Bai seemed to understand his thoughts. Big Bai considerately stuck out a long, tongue-like strap, forming a staircase from the corridor to the gap.


    Big Bai seemed to have a high level of intelligence!


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue followed it and returned to Big Bai¡¯s belly. When Big Bai¡¯s body left the gap, they began to float upward rapidly. Through the dim light, Xiao Lin watched as the turbulent seawater poured into the ruins, until all that was left to be seen was the darkness of the deep sea once again.


    ¡°Are we going back to Hawaii?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked.


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment, then shouted, ¡°Big Bai! Can you send us somewhere else? Say, the coastal areas of China. Uh, just, far away from here.¡±


    ¡®Wuu, wuu...¡¯


    Big Bai let out a deep cry. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue looked at each other. After some time, Xiao Lin coughed dryly, ¡°If you can, make a sound. If you can¡¯t, then do it twice.¡±


    Silverlight probably did not considermunication issues. Even if Big Bai was a highly intelligent creature, this was still a big obstacle between it and Xiao Lin. However, it could still understand simple terms, and let out a short cry.


    Xiao Lin was relieved at this. If they went back to Hawaii now, not only might they bump into people from other academies, they might even bump into a Guardian of the Sea God. He did not want to get involved in the battle. There were no operational ships or nes in Hawaii at the moment. It would be better to take this convenient ¡®submarine¡¯ directly back to their country.


    After that, it was a long journey under the sea. Every once in a while, Big Bai would cleverly float back up to the surface, allowing Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue toe out and breathe. It also restored the air reserves in its body.


    As Poseidon¡¯s aura dissipated, schools of fish began to emerge once again. Big Bai would sometimes yfully chase the schools of fish, and would even easily catch a few and swallow them whole. The fish would plop down in front of Xiao Lin, leaving him dumbfounded. He could not eat the raw fish, but still, he expressed his gratitude to Big Bai.

 Chapter 440: Ruins Report

    <h4>Chapter 440: Ruins Report</h4>


    The rainstorms in the Pacific Rim had gradually stopped. Halfway through their journey, the dark clouds had also dissipatedpletely, revealing clear skies and an emerald-blue ocean that was a joy to behold. If not for the fear of being spotted by passing ships, Xiao Lin would even ask Big Bai to just travel along the surface.


    During that time, Xiao Lin did not stay idle. He experimented and tried various methods to try tomunicate with Big Bai. Communicating with a highly intelligent creature was easier than expected, and it had already gained a general understanding of some basicmon Chinese phrases.


    The whole time, Xiao Lin observed this strange man-made organism. In the sea, Big Bai maintained an appearance of a tfish, and its magical body seemed to be able to transform ording to its own whims. After grasping this general rule, Xiao Lin even had Big Bai transform into a giant bird, soaring into the clouds.


    However, they were likely to draw more attention by flying in the sky. After experiencing the thrill of flying, he had Big Bai return to fish form and back under the ocean surface.


    Big Bai was very fast, surpassing almost anyrge ship on Earth. In less than two days, they were able to see the contour of the shoreline. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression became tangled. With Poseidon¡¯s matter resolved, what short holiday they had was even shorter now.


    Xiao Lin was actually a little depressed. What was supposed to be a good holiday had turned into this. However, Gu Xiaoyue was even more depressed, as Gu Chengyun¡¯s enrollment was around the corner. She definitely did not want her sister to also enroll into Dawn Academy.


    ¡°Rx, with Poseidon¡¯s matter resolved now, Department Head Song will probably be back soon. I will speak to him to find a way. He has friends in high ces!¡± Xiao Lin said seriously while having slightly mixed feelings. It was pretty convenient to say that Department Head Song had powerful friends.


    ¡°Hope so.¡± Gu Xiaoyue was worried, but she did not want to talk.


    Worried that people might spot them, they chose to quietly get onshore during the sunset. After going ashore, with a burst of light, Big Bai burrowed into the stone that Silverlight gave him. The stone was unusual, and Silverlight had repeatedly told him that he could not lose the stone. One could say that the stone was Big Bai¡¯s core. Losing the stone would mean losing Big Bai.


    Air traffic in various parts of the country quickly returned to normal now that the rainstorm had ceased, and they boarded theter flight home. The two were extremely exhausted, but Xiao Lin did not have much sleep along the way.


    Xiao Lin was actually curious about how this whole incident would affect Earth, or how the governments of the world would think about it. The Academy and Norma had always been kept secret. No Academy would allow government forces to intervene. However, with this hugemotion, how would it end?


    To Xiao Lin, the Poseidon incident would end here, but to the Academy, there were considerable repercussions that they would have to deal with.


    Before he boarded the ne, he phoned Earth Division¡¯s Mao Tianying. Mao Tianying expressed his surprise when he found out Xiao Lin was still on Earth, and heined that he shoulde back to the Academy immediately. The student union seemed to also be looking for him.


    Xiao Lin took the initiative to reveal everything that happened under the sea. He also enquired about the Pacific Ocean matter. Mao Tianying did not try to hide the subject. Actually. there was nothing to say. Likely when people from various academies arrived at Hawaiian inds, they found monsters hiding under the sea. Thereafter, a fierce battle ensued.


    Those monsters were Poseidon¡¯s Guardians. Although the perennial sleep had caused their strength to drastically decline, only Silver-ranked soldiers could be dispatched from the Academy to Earth. Therefore, the battle was brutal and casualties were heavy. Of course, under the influence of thew of resurrection, they merely lost their lives.


    In the end, naturally, the elites from Colonial Academy emerged victorious, and the monsters were dismantled by them. Each academy brought pieces of the monster corpses back for further study. Reportedly, senior management of the Academy was surprised by the appearance of such monsters on Earth, and therefore, it had to be investigated till the end. Dawn Academy¡¯s researcher on the monster corpse was obviously Song Jung.


    There was not much useful info from Mao Tianying. However, Xiao Lin was happy. Due to the monster incident on Earth, the special enrollment n that was originally nned by the Admissions Department seemed to have been shelved. The Academy needed to concentrate all its resources to deal with the monster matter.


    After hanging up the phone, Xiao Lin told Gu Xiaoyue the good news, but he did not elicit much response from her. Being temporarily stranded would mean that Gu Chengyun¡¯s recruitment would be reconsidered in the future. However, they had plenty of time, and Xiao Lin swore that he would definitely help resolve this matter.


    Mao Tianying repeatedly pestered Xiao Lin to return to school. Xiao Lin also did not wish to be investigated by those other academies who were still on Earth. He said goodbye to Gu Xiaoyue at the airport. Xiao Lin wanted to go home for a short while before going to the school directly.


    After returning home, his mother began to ask all sorts of questions about Gu Xiaoyue, and Xiao Lin could only give her a wry smile. He wished to exin, but he was about to set off again, and he did not want his mother to worry. Xiao Lin bit the bullet and just nodded yes to all of his mother¡¯s instructions.


    The thought of parting in his heart caused him to talk at length with his parents that night. He could not tell them where he was going, nor did he know when he could return. He might not ever return again.


    Xiao Lin sighed deeply in his heart. He could not help but wonder how the pioneers of the New World could choose between Earth and Norma.


    After eating breakfast the next morning, Xiao Lin packed his things and was prepared to leave when he suddenly received a call from Gu Xiaoyue. He answered the call feeling surprised, even a little happy. He was about to crack some jokes, but Gu Xiaoyue cut him off in an urgent tone, saying, ¡°The papers! Did you read today¡¯s newspapers?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What newspapers?¡± Xiao Lin asked casually.


    ¡°Hurry and go see!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone was very strange and it was hard to decipher.


    Xiao Lin became curious andughed, ¡°Okay, okay. Don¡¯t hang up, I¡¯ll go look now. Hmm, let me think, where did I put the newspapers.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s family had always subscribed to newspapers, and that day¡¯s newspapers were flopped open on the table. The first thing that caught his eye were bold ck characters on the front page headlines: ¡®Appearance of Remnants of a Legendary Civilization!¡¯


    Xiao Lin was paying attention now, and he started reading attentively.


    The report was eloquently written, and it filled the whole page. The opening paragraph was an introduction and lore of the Antean Civilization. Skipping past this useless information, the second half of the report was heavy news.


    It was reported that, after the rainstorm the day before, officials were investigating near the Pacific Ocean. They found arge number of what was suspected to be remains of floating ancient cultural relics. After the relics were salvaged and examined through radiocarbon dating, it was found that the age of those relics coincided with the legendary age of Antis.


    ording to archaeologists, this discovery was sufficient evidence to prove the existence of Antis.

 Chapter 441: Time Paradox

    <h4>Chapter 441: Time Paradox</h4>


    All this time, archaeologists had not given up on searching for evidence of the existence of the legendary lost civilization of Antis. The debris found in the Pacific Ocean had obviously shocked the world.


    Xiao Lin was a little confused. He raised his phone again and said, ¡°Debris? Could it be the ruins we were in at that time? Well, it¡¯s possible. I remember that when I entered, there were indeed many artifacts and bs with engravings of various characters. Now that the ruins have copsed under the water, it is understandable that some things now float to the surface-¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not talking about that!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone was very strange, and once again she interrupted Xiao Lin urgently, ¡± Look at the second addition! The second addition of the paper!¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡±


    Xiao Lin flipped open the newspaper and discovered that they had used two pages to cover the topic. The second part reported on the various expert analyses on the discovered debris. High-definition color photos of the debris were also published in the newspaper. It was as Xiao Lin had expected. From the looks of it, it did belong to the temple ruins.


    ¡°It does appear so. It might not be the hall that we went to, but it¡¯s probably the site where Antis sank back then. There must be some relics in the vicinity that have survived the ages. That¡¯s not surprising,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°The contents!¡± Gu Xiaoyue said anxiously. ¡°Look at the contents of those photos!¡±


    She meant the photos of the artifacts. It was not known what materials were used on the murals, but there were few signs of corrosion despite thousands of years of being under the sea. Although they were a little blurry, the outlines could still be clearly identified.


    Xiao Lin squinted and looked carefully, and after a few minutes, his expression started to change. His phone fell from his hand to the ground with a loud ng. He was dumbfounded, and mumbled, ¡°It can¡¯t be! That¡¯s impossible!¡±


    Although the murals were sporadic, what was engraved on them could clearly be seen. There was a man equipped with armor floating in the center. On his body was something simr to a cage. There were three people around him, and it was obvious that two of them were female and the other was male.


    On another engraving, a huge dragon was hovering in the air, with dozens of humans kneeling on the ground. Then, they began to carve these murals under the order of the ck dragon and also built a new temple. In the end, the ck dragon disappeared from the temple.


    Xiao Lin was speechless for a long time. He picked up the phone as urgent sounds started toe from it, and said bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence? It must be a coincidence. How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°The authenticity of the murals have been verified. Chronologically, it is from tens of thousands of years ago, just about in line with the end of Antis.¡± Gu Xiaoyue was calm.


    ¡°These drawings are scenes of us when we sealed Poseidon? It seems like the ck dragon asked the surviving humans to record this. But... But...¡± Xiao Lin did not know what to say. The debris originated from tens of thousands of years ago. Why would they appear on them?


    Gu Xiaoyue was silent for a moment, then asked softly, ¡°Xiao Lin, did we change the course of history?¡±


    Xiao Lin was having a slight headache. He thought for a moment and said, ¡°When we broke the wall of time and entered Antis, history must have already changed. However, we still sealed Poseidon, saved Onyxia and thest surviving humans. So, history must have reverted to its normal course. Our ability to return to modern society is the best proof of this.¡±


    ¡°Say, if we didn¡¯t act back then, if we didn¡¯t seal Poseidon and didn¡¯t break the wall of time, what would have happened?¡±


    Xiao Lin was stupefied again.


    Back then, Onyxia was on the verge of death, and Antis had sunk. Although there were surviving humans, if Poseidon wanted to turn the world into an ocean, any surviving humans would be forced into very. The entire Earth will be his yground, and it would be the end of the human race.


    ording to what Silverlight had told them, at that time, several brave men learned the Shining Seal Technique and nned to seal Poseidon at the cost of their life. Silverlight went to Norma quickly and was not able to witness the result of the final seal. However, in all of history, there had never been a character like Poseidon, so they took it for granted and assumed the seal was sessful.


    In fact, the whole time when they were in the corridor of time, they had not seen anyone elseing. If they left it unattended, would Poseidon really have been sealed?


    Xiao Lin now understood what Gu Xiaoyue was trying to tell him. Even though he could hardly believe it, or found it difficult to ept, he still smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Do you think that we are part of the real history? In real history, it was us who sealed Poseidon, which allowed human civilization to re-emerge? In other words, you and I had always been and had be saviors of mankind?¡±


    The half-ridiculous bad joke in hisst sentence did not make Gu Xiaoyueugh. She was a little confused and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. If this is true, then, what was the original history? In a history without us crossing the corridor of time, what truly happened then? Could it be said that before this, everything we did was destined?¡±


    This was the reason Gu Xiaoyue felt confused. If people were told that everything they did was preordained, it would cause anyone to break down.


    Xiao Lin had no way of answering this question. Even if Silverlight were here, she would not be able to answer it. It was like whether the chicken or egg came first¨Ca time paradox. Xiao Lin did not know how to exin.


    ¡°At least we are still alive, and the human race still exists!¡± Feeling the helplessness of the girl on the other end of the phone line, Xiao Lin mellowed his tone and said, ¡°Regardless of the truth of history, history is history. It has already happened, and will not be repeated, so don¡¯t think about it too much. We still create our own futures!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know. It¡¯s just hard to ept for the time being.¡± Gu Xiaoyue let out a sigh.


    Xiao Lin knew that she needed some time to ease her emotions, so he let her be. After hanging up, he read the article carefully. Based on the contents of the murals, experts had begun to make various guesses about the Antis of that time. Xiao Lin found it very interesting to read this news as a witness of history.


    Although Gu Xiaoyue felt tangled inside by the rtionship between the past and the present, Xiao Lin was open about it. The past was history, after all. This episode did not have much impact on him. He soon packed his luggage and embarked on the journey back to school.


    Almost at the same time, in the office of the Earth Division, Wang Yun was looking at rows and rows of forms on herputer screen. She muttered in shock, ¡°Impossible! This is impossible!¡±

 Chapter 442: Wan Yuelan’s Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 442: Wan Yun¡¯s Doubts</h4>


    After bidding farewell to his family, Xiao Lin flew straight to the city where the Earth Division was situated, and he saw Mao Tianying at the airport. This man had been waiting with his car, ready for a long time, and enthusiastically helped Xiao Lin with his luggage. In fact, Xiao Lin did not have much baggage to begin with.


    After raising some queries while on the road, Xiao Lin found out that he was thest freshman to return to school. The student union had repeatedly sent people to press on the matter. The student council president had also stepped in to defend him, lest his credits be deducted for his postponement of returning to school.


    Gu Xiaoyue had already left some time ago and did not choose to travel with Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin felt some regret at this, as he still had many things to say to her.


    Mao Tianying seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said, ¡°Oh yes, Wang Yun is waiting for you at the division. She will probably take the same transport back with you.¡±


    ¡°Wang Yun hasn¡¯t returned yet?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that she¡¯s from the student union? By entering the student union, a person gains a lot of authority. They have the freedom to adjust their course schedule, free ess to Earth, and so on. Do you know her?¡±


    The two of them chatted the whole way, and soon the topic turned to the Pacific incident.


    Mao Tianying¡¯s authority may not have been great, but as the person in charge of liaison between Earth and Dawn Academy, he was privy to a lot of information. He also revealed more of the so-called inside information to Xiao Lin.


    For instance, how it was determined that the debris collected on the ocean belonged to the Antean era. It was actually determined by the Judge Academy. The reason why many academies paid so much attention to the incident was not only to research the truth behind the mysterious monsters, but also due to the mystery of the Antean civilization.


    In addition, the academy had gotten hold of many relics, and discreetly brought them back to the academy. Those that left Earth were actually worthless to them and were abandoned by them.


    As for the battle with the Guardian of the Sea God in the Pacific Ocean, there were not many witnesses due to the terrible weather. The few local witnesses were basically ¡®properly handled¡¯. Xiao Lin wisely chose not to delve into the details on how they were being handled.


    Even so, the government on Earth still vaguely received traces and clues through certain channels. Although all academies had done a good job of hiding information in the area, there were always things they did not foresee. Coupled with the sudden nature of the incident, there were definitely traces left behind. Of course, they could not treat the government¡¯s handling as casually as how they handled individuals, and the academies attached great importance to this. After some time, the deans even had to go to the Supreme Council to make a ruling on the matter.


    The final results were not something that they would be able to know.


    In the end, the incident did not have much impact on Earth under the deliberate concealment and cover-up of many of the incident¡¯s aspects. After the torrential rain had passed, people simply resumed their normal lives.


    However, the people who came to investigate were puzzled. The torrential rain at that time was very strange, and they also felt a very strong aura, only for it to disappear suddenly. The only thing they could do was crack their heads on these mysteries moving forward.


    Xiao Lin listened intently, and from time to time, he cooperated by expressing his surprises. It looked as if he had nothing to do with the matter, and Mao Tianying never had the slightest suspicion. Although Xiao Lin lost contact during that time, he was only a new student with a ck Iron-rank. He did not think that Xiao Lin had the ability to get involved.


    The observatory was located in a very remote area, and it was inessible to normal people. Although this was done deliberately so the Earth Division was not disturbed, Mao Tianying repeatedlyined about the destion around him. He had to drive for several hours just to purchase a pack of cigarettes.


    When they arrived at the observatory atop of the mountains, Xiao Lin wanted to take a break and have a drink. He opened the office door and found Wang Yun sitting behind the table. The room smelled thick with coffee, and it seemed like she had been waiting there for a long time.


    ¡°Sorry for beingte,¡± Xiao Lin greeted.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re specialized at waiting for you.¡± Wang Yun did not have a good look on her face, as if she was bothered by something. She opened her mouth, then closed it and looked at Mao Tianying.


    ¡°Fine fine fine! You both chat then, I shall not intrude!¡± Mao Tianying immediately left with a wry smile, closing the door on his way out.


    ¡°I wanted to see you two days ago, but something came up...¡± Xiao Lin guessed that Wang Yun could not find him two days ago, so she came here to ask him personally. He was contemting his excuses.


    Wang Yun was already holding a document folder and she strode over to him. She handed him the folder and stared at him intently, enunciating each word as she asked, ¡°Xiao Lin, how did you actually enrol into the academy?¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little flummoxed by the question. ¡°The same as everybody else, of course. After receiving the courier delivery from you all, I tore open the strange admission letter. After that, I fainted, and woke up to find that I had been taken to Dawn Academy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That is standard procedure,¡± Wang Yun nodded, and suddenly retorted sharply, ¡°but looking through the enrollment records for your batch, I didn¡¯t find your records at all!¡±


    Xiao Lin froze. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Wang Yun squinted her eyes, and said, ¡°It means that among the admission letters that were sent, yours was not there at all. How did you enrol into the academy then? In fact, something felt off to me. If your records were there, why did I not have any recognition of it at all? After all, the freshmen files were personallypiled by my own hands.¡±


    Xiao Lin took the folder. He opened it and it contained printed freshmen files. Naturally, this folder only contained files of pre-enrolment. The files of students that had enrolled belonged to the academy¡¯s centralputer system, which even Wang Yun had no authority to ess.


    The file recorded all the information of each freshman before enrollment, such as family background, address, even daily and personal habits, and so on. After all, the academy needed to have a general understanding of the freshmen. They did not want to recruit any nefarious characters. These were the daily tasks of the admissions department.


    These files were arranged meticulously from top to bottom, alphabetically ording to surname. There were a total of several thousand names. In addition to the current freshman year of over 1,000 people, the list of members who were eliminated from the admissions test was also among them. Xiao Lin refused to believe it and started to go through the column with the ¡®Xiao¡¯ surname.


    After a long while, he raised his head, feeling a bit dazed. There was no trace of Xiao Lin¡¯s name in the records, not even for another student bearing the same name. It was as Wang Yun had said; he was not in the records at all.


    ¡°There must be a mistake in your files!¡± Xiao Lin shook his head in denial.


    Wang Yun said irritably, ¡°You are questioning my job. I printed this file from myputer, and the databasees directly from the academy¡¯s central management system. Also, after the freshman files were sorted, I reported them to the head of admissions, and the department head would hand them over to the student council, and even to the dean for review. Do you think there¡¯s room for mistakes?¡±

 Chapter 443: Return To The Academy

    <h4>Chapter 443: Return To The Academy</h4>


    Reviewingyer byyer, the probability of Wan Yun¡¯s work being wrong was basically zero. Even Xiao Lin understood that the probability of that happening was slim to none.


    ¡°Do you think someone forged the admission notice?¡± After all, Xiao Lin received the admission notice, and he was able to reach Dawn Academy because of it. That meant the admission notice was genuine.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Xiao Lin, but I can guarantee that your admission notice was definitely not signed by our Admissions Department.¡±


    Xiao Linughed bitterly. ¡°What do you n to do now? Are you going to report this truthfully?¡±


    Wang Yun rolled his eyes and said, ¡°if I were nning to report this, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here waiting for you! It is impossible for an admission notice to be forged by outsiders. Regardless of how you obtained it, at least there weren¡¯t problems with the admissions procedure. I just want to figure out what happened, so that simr events can be avoided in the future.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it, and said, ¡°Actually, all you need to do is go back to the academy and retrieve the file of the notice from the centralputer. You¡¯ll be able to trace the source from there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, all will be clear when we get back to the academy,¡± Wang Yun said thoughtfully, and continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. No matter what, you¡¯re still a student at the school, and it¡¯s impossible to drive you out.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or cry. Regardless of where the admissions notice came from, if the dean knew about his SS-level talent, he would not be driven away, no matter what.


    After they calmed down, the two of them chatted briefly about Gu Chengyun. It was as Mao Tianying had said; Wang Yun also received a notice from the head of recruitment. However, they had put aside the enrollment of Gu Chengyun for the time being, and would consider it after the affairs of the Pacific incident were dealt with. Therefore, having no further assignments on Earth, Wang Yun was prepared to go back to the academy.


    Xiao Lin had boarded the interspatial carriage many times and was no longer fazed or curious about it. Naturally, Wang Yun was the same. However, she observed Xiao Lin in the carriage. They had known each other since they were kids. However, the changes that Xiao Lin had gone through still raised Wang Yun¡¯s curiosity, now that they had reunited after many years.


    Wang Yun took the initiative to start the conversation and smiled. ¡°You seem very used to this. Rather unlike a new student.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to it after boarding many times.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve taken the interspatial carriage many times already?¡±


    ¡°I took it to New Washington.¡±


    ¡°Previously, I heard that a freshie went to America for a business trip. So that was you!¡±


    ...


    The two of them gradually warmed up to each other through endless chatter and felt the familiarity between them return. Xiao Lin also inquired about the courses after the start of the new semester. He remembered Song Jung telling him that the course would be a little different this time.


    ¡°It seems like your sources for news are quite broad. Yes, people from the Admissions Department also participate in the discussion. In fact, some people expressed dissatisfaction with the existing courses years ago. They believed that the school¡¯s teaching progress was too slow, and it seriously affected the percentage of the poption going to the New World. The education reform has been in preparation for a long time, and it seems the dean is determined to start this practice with the freshmen of this year.¡±


    ¡°Education reform. To reduce the number of courses or to reduce the required credits to graduate?¡±


    ¡°You can keep dreaming! The academy is hoping that the students would be able to learn the theoretical foundation in a shorter time span. It used to be that only senior year students may start practicals in the New World, but I think this year, they might bring it forward to junior year students. Ah, I guess I might have to go to the New World for an internship in the new semester.¡± Wang Yun had mentioned before that she was a junior year student.


    Junior and senior year were still far away for Xiao Lin. Besides, he could go to the New World whenever he wanted. He was more concerned about how stressful his courses would be in the second half of the semester. However, Wang Yun was also unsure about this. Specific timetables were confidential and belonged to senior management of the student union.


    After arriving at the academy, the two exchanged phone numbers for the magic phone. Although Xiao Lin was thest person to return to the academy in the freshman year, he did not exceed his holiday. The courses for the next semester would not officially start until the next day.


    Those who returned to the academy early felt dissatisfied. Especially since much of the renminbi that they had exchanged had not yet been spent. To put it simply, they were pretending to not have enough. The topic on everyone¡¯s lips was the mysterious rainstorm on Earth. After all, everyone was told to return to school early, and the reason could only be that strange rain.


    Although there was no Inte connection on the journey between Earth and Dawn Academy, there were staff who frequently made trips between Earth and the Academy, so there was always an exchange of information every day. There were more and more people participating in the discussion, with some obviously worried for the safety of their families, and some even for the safety of Earth.


    After Xiao Lin returned to the dormitory and opened the forums, he saw many such posts on the website. Knowing that these were people who were forced to return to school and may not know about thetest development, he wrote a post to exin the current situation. He just wanted to make everyone feel at ease.


    In an instant, Xiao Lin¡¯s posts received a lot of clicks and replies. Many people thanked Xiao Lin for his timely notification. However, there was also no shortage of sarcasm saying that he vited school rules by dying his return to the academy and that the academy would definitely punish him for it.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin had no time to look at the replies. Not long after returning to the dormitory, he received a message from the sophomore leader Chen Yu. [At 7 this evening, a freshman monitor meeting will be held in the meeting room B-1 of the student union office building.]


    For half a year since he was enrolled, this was actually the first freshmen monitor meeting. For the first half of the semester, this job was carried out by the instructor. If instructors were not present, the job would be taken over by the monitors.


    After dinner, Xiao Lin hastily made his way to the student union building. The building was only five stories high, with a in, inconspicuous appearance. However, it could be said that the ce was the central management hub of the entire academy. Most of the student union departments were located there. Most, not all. That was because the logistics department was almost entirely independent of the student union system.


    The meeting room was notrge, and Xiao Lin was notte. He pushed the door open and found that almost all other monitors had arrived early, including Chen Yu. In fact, there were still 10 minutes before seven o¡¯clock, but Xiao Lin still felt slightly ashamed.


    Everybody was speechless when they saw Xiao Lin. It was the first meeting of the leaders of the new semester, and this guy dared to arrive sote.


    Chen Yu did not say anything. He even smiled and took the initiative, saying, ¡°Well, that should be everyone. Let¡¯s start.¡±


    Several people were disappointed that Chen Yu did not say anything to the tardy Xiao Lin, although Xiao Lin was actually notte. However, everyone¡¯s attention was quickly focused on Chen Yu.


    ¡°Generally speaking, there should be a monitor meeting every semester, with the objective of setting tasks and goals for the entire semester. However, this will probably be thest time that I will have this meeting for everyone. That¡¯s because, ording to the academy¡¯s usual routine, now that we¡¯re in the second half of the semester, we must elect the grade leader for the freshman year.¡±

 Chapter 444: Education Reform

    <h4>Chapter 444: Education Reform</h4>


    Chen Yu¡¯s opening remarks shocked everyone like a blockbuster. The freshmen year¡¯s grade leader selection was long overdue, and it was also only a matter of time. However, it still brought excitement to all who heard it.


    Chen Yu waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. He subconsciously nced at Xiao Lin and was a little disappointed to find the kid wearing a in, nonchnt expression. He continued, ¡°The grade leader is selected by the student council, so I won¡¯t say more on this. Now, to the next agenda of the meeting: the course schedule management for this semester. ¡±


    ¡°Here ites!¡± Xiao Lin muttered under his breath. He knew from Song Jung and Wang Yun that the course would be changed, and he was curious to find out what the change was.


    Chen Yu picked up a document from the table, cleared his throat, and recited, ¡°For the purposes of implementing the dean¡¯s approach to the education reform, cultivating more professional talent for the new era, and developing our nation in the New World, after careful consideration by the student council, it is decided to implement a new curriculum for the second half of the freshman year. In addition to the original courses, the following supplementary courses will be added, which include herbology, the study of scrolls, alchemy, forging, and so on. Students are free to choose, but they must specialize in at least one, and obtain a certificate after passing the exams.


    ¡°As for linguistics, there will be the addition of two courses: Basic Beast Language and Basic Elvish. Let this be a reminder that these arepulsory courses. As for historical geography, the followingpulsory courses will be added, including brief history of the beastkin and the development of the elves. There will also be an addition for general courses, which is the introduction to the Norma War... In view of arge number of courses, the student union had contemted and decided that Saturday breaks will be canceled, and Sunday breaks will remain unchanged.¡±


    Several monitors could not sit still any longer. They looked at each other. The number of courses had basically doubledpared tost semester, especially with the dazzling array ofpulsory courses. It sounded very daunting. Thepulsory courses meant that students had to pass the examination for those courses. Otherwise, they would not be allowed to graduate.


    Xiao Lin frowned as he heard this. Beast Language, herbology, or forging were supposed to be courses for the sophomore year. It seemed that the academy had significantly shortened the courses, but what the hell was that introduction to war?


    Chen Yu paused for a moment, surveying the different expressions of the freshmen monitors around him. In fact, he was feeling more at a loss than these monitors, as these courses were too strenuous for freshmen. He was also in a bad mood. As a grade leader, he had some inside information. This year, the education reform was being piloted in the freshmen year. If the reform turned out to be sessful, it would be implemented throughout the whole academy.


    As for the criteria for judging the sess of the reforms, it would undoubtedly be the new Inter-academy Tournament, which was originally designed to test the potential of freshmen in each academy.


    Chen Yu sighed silently, then coughed a few times to signal the others to be quiet. He had yet to finish his announcement. He said, ¡°About the monitor of ss four, Han Manman. As she had done well in the end-of-semester assessments, she was appointed as the official monitor.¡±


    Han Manman was the only one who failed thest monitor selection. She had kept a low profile since then. She used to often target Xiao Lin, but now she had finally be thest official monitor. However, this was to be expected. As a talented recruit, it was only a matter of time.


    ¡°Onest thing. The student union made ast-minute decision that each grade will set up an Elite Club, and the club members will consist of top-notch talents. The specific list is yet to be agreed upon, but the monitors are definitely in the freshmen Elite Club.¡±


    ¡°Elite Club?¡±


    ¡°What is this for?¡±


    ¡°Are we required to do anything?¡±


    ¡°The course schedule is tight enough as it is, wouldn¡¯t this Elite Club just be a waste of our time?¡±


    The monitors were even more perplexed. This year¡¯s education reform seemed holistic, and not just limited to the teaching curriculum.


    Chen Yu exined, ¡°Elite Club members will have extra privileges. The specifics are still being negotiated, but one thing is basically certain. Everyone here will be able to travel to the New World in advance, and you will get more resources. Of course, you will have to take on more responsibilities. If Dawn Academy is attacked in the future, you all would be the first to go to the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°More honor, but also an early death!¡± someone muttered softly. This brought a chuckle in the room.


    ¡°You may think so,¡± Chen Yu said with a serious expression. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you are students, and also warriors to defend the New World. This is the most important purpose of your enrolment to the academy. If you wish to enjoy all the bounties of the New World, you have to sacrifice your life to protect it!¡±


    Xiao Lin asked abruptly, ¡°Battlefield? War with whom? Is it Judge Academy, or the beastkin? The elves?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Perhaps all of them.¡± Chen Yu gave a very vague answer.


    The meeting ended amidst discussions, and the monitors received relevant information about the new curriculum. They wouldmunicate the information to their fellow ss members.


    However, Chen Yu¡¯sst words still cast a shadow in many of their hearts. War was never a pleasant thing, no matter what. Of course, Chen Yu had warned the listeners that they were not to disclose this to others.


    Xiao Lin understood. He knew that this education reform should actually be called pre-war mobilization. Shortened curriculum, increased lessons in war theory¨Cthis showed that the academy was starting tock warriors. As freshmen, of course, they would not be expected to go directly to the battlefield. If they were actually needed on the battlefield, it would probably mean that Dawn Academy had reached a desperate life or death situation.


    When theyst left the New World, it was actually in a veryplicated state. High Priest Asabanor was intensifying the development of methods that could cause the failure of the Resurrection Tower, and created undead warriors. The outrageous attack against the dean also foreshadowed the discord within the Dawn Academy. There were also potential threats from external allied academies, in addition to Dawn Academy¡¯s long-standing enemy, the beastkin, always lurking and itching to strike. No one knew when this fierce race would tear up the peace agreement. Plus, far in the distance, the alliance between the elves and the Judge Academy was about to expire soon, and they never had the opportunity to renew the contract with the elves.


    Today, the colonists still dominated the New World. However, behind the prosperity, the dark, hidden undercurrent had begun to surge. This undercurrent was so strong that people at Xiao Lin¡¯s rank could feel it, not to mention those of higher rank.


    After the undercurrent may be war, it may be chaos.


    Xiao Lin understood that he had to work even harder now. He had to improve his strengths quicker. Whether it was to protect others or to protect himself. On Norma, power was the root of everything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll strive in the next half of the semester, and reach the Bronze rank!¡±


    On his way back, Xiao Lin, who was deep in thought, had set new goals for himself for the new semester.

 Chapter 445: Choosing Support Roles

    <h4>Chapter 445: Choosing Support Roles</h4>


    That night, Xiao Lin pulled open a discussion group for ss Seven in the forum. He announced the general situation of the courses to everyone. Unsurprisingly, the education reform sparked a lot of controversial debate. Everybody reacted withints, especially for taking away a day of break, which upset a lot of people.


    Of course, some people cared about the Elite Club and were even eager to sign up. However, before the student union had issued the regtions, the club was nothing more than a preliminary framework.


    Under the management mechanism of Dawn Academy, the student union managed the grade leader, the grade leader managed the monitors, and the monitors managed the ss members. Therefore, Xiao Lin had more or less full authority to manage ss Seven. Naturally, everyone would point toward him if they had any questions.


    Qualified managers could not expose their inner thoughts to their subordinates so easily. However, this reform also obviously left most monitors in a clueless state. In contrast, Xiao Lin seemed to be much calmer. After all, he had his sources of information and had gotten to know much of this information in advance.


    In a series of ambiguous and moderate exnations and reasons, he managed to ease the group¡¯s excitement. They then quickly entered into the topic of the new course schedule. Chen Yu had sent the timetables to the monitors, and Xiao Lin posted arge number of timetables into the group chat. There was another burst of chatter and discussions.


    [Herbology? F*ck. Not only are we colonizing, they want us to be farmers too?]


    [The above poster must have never yed any games. Don¡¯t you know about support roles? There are always sub-professions in games. This is normal.]


    [I think you¡¯re addicted to ying games! Do you think support roles can be learned so easily in real life?]


    [Actually, I¡¯m curious. Why would the school force us to learn this stuff? After we get to the New World, there would be a need for all kinds of professions, but it doesn¡¯t have to be these subjects, does it?]


    [A discipline in forging? Damn, am I miserably going to be a cksmith in the future?]


    [I would never do this kind of physicalbor!]


    ...


    Xiao Lin watched quietly for a while, then expressed his opinion in due course. As the administrator of the chat group, he bolded and ckened his font. After he spoke, the noisy chat group suddenly quieted down. After half a semester, he had managed to cultivate some authority in the ss.


    [Actually, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s more urate to call it ¡®logistics support¡¯ than ¡®support roles¡¯?] Xiao Lin continued typing, [Logistics is important in a war. It could even be the determinant of victory or defeat. Herbology can produce various potions for the battlefield to treat wounds, while the forging discipline can repair broken weapons. I think the academy hopes that we have more professional andprehensive skills, or you¡¯d me the academy forcking talents in these areas.]


    [War?] Someone astutely picked out Xiao Lin¡¯s use of terminology.


    [At war with who?]


    [We might have a war? It shouldn¡¯t be possible for Normans to fight us. Under the influence of the Resurrection Tower, it¡¯s pure suicide.]


    It had to be said that the academy¡¯s education was still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In just six months, the might of the colonists and the academy were deeply ingrained in everyone¡¯s hearts. The colonists will not wage a war on Norma. Although nobody would talk about this openly, they all believed this to a certain degree.


    [I¡¯m just giving an example, just treat it as a reference!] Xiao Lin was feeling rather helpless. Due to Chen Yu¡¯s request, he could not exin certain things directly. War was indeed looming, but the higher-ups of the academy would never want this matter to be made public, let alone be announced by a monitor.


    Xiao Lin immediately changed the subject, [In short, moving forward, a ss may be taken as a whole unit. So, I hope everyone¡¯s choice of subjects can be evenly distributed and not overly concentrated on certain subjects. Yeah, you all should understand what I mean.]


    [Monitor, what you mean to say, is that you hope if we are suddenly thrown into war, we can deal with various emergencies moreprehensively. I agree.] As the team leader personally appointed by him, Zhou Feng made the first agreement.


    There were no objections to this, and he smoothly obtained everyone¡¯s approval.


    Regardless of whether it was for the monthly exams, or for real operations on Norma, if a ss was taken as a whole, then the more ssmates who specialized in different disciplines, the more beneficial it would be.


    Next, Xiao Lin asked everyone to write down the major they wished to select. The academy allowed everyone to choose at least one. However, Xiao Lin asked everyone to write down three, and to hand them to the two team leaders Zhou Feng and Gu Xiaoyue topile. About an hourter, the summarized report was passed to him by Gu Xiaoyue.


    The academy offered a total of six support role courses for the freshmen: alchemy, herbs, forging, scrolls, enchantments, and engineering. There were a total of 60 people in ss Seven. Xiao Lin took a rough nce and found that most people¡¯s first choices were enchantments and alchemy, followed by herbs and scrolls. Finally, almost nobody chose engineering and forging.


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or to cry. He had expected this to happen. These two disciplines could be said to be the hardest and most physically demanding of the support roles. Forging, just as the group had previouslyined, was just the upgraded version of cksmithing. Engineering was even more difficult. On the battlefield, everything, from various defensive towers, fortifications to simple military housing, and so on required engineering.


    Nobody was willing to ept this punishment, and Xiao Lin could understand this. However, when it came to the battlefield, nobody could repair broken weapons, and destroyed defensive towers cannot be built by just anybody.


    In actuality, there was no way they would personally perform the engineering and forging. As colonists, they were nobles after all. Often, they merely needed to provide blueprints and work instructions. The local natives were the ones who carried out the hard work. Xiao Lin could not help himself and he tried to persuade the others.


    Xiao Lin did not say it, but if there really was a war with the local native people, would the military still use the natives for such important tasks? Perhaps these disciplines were set up to enable them to be more self-sufficient in critical moments, and not having to rely on the local indigenous people.


    However, his persuasion was to no avail. Xiao Lin mercilessly pulled out his authority as a monitor and started calling people out.


    [You, your intelligence attribute is so low, and you actually chose scrolls? Are you kidding? Scrolling is a discipline rted to spells!] Xiao Lin used his authority topare the basic attributes of each ss member. These support roles were also closely rted to the basic attributes of each person.


    [And you, your strength attribute is so high. Isn¡¯t it a waste for you to choose herbs? Get yourself to forging!]


    [Your attributes aren¡¯t very high, and it would be difficult for you to be proficient in any of these. You go for engineering! The attribute requirements are the lowest there!]

 Chapter 446: Choosing Classes

    <h4>Chapter 446: Choosing sses</h4>


    Under Xiao Lin¡¯s forced assignments, they managed to get everything done within a night. Of course, there were those who hadints in their hearts, but Xiao Lin¡¯s assignments were actually very fair. He assigned everything based on everyone¡¯s attributes and skills. After all, if someone who was primarily focused on physical strength went for the magical scrolls course, they probably would not pass anyway.


    The next day, Xiao Lin brought the finished form for the ss over to Year Leader Chen Yu, who was still serving as the temporary year leader for the first years for the time being. Once he received Xiao Lin¡¯s forms, Chen Yu praised him with some surprise. ¡°ss Seven is quite fast. You¡¯re the first to hand in the forms. Alright, I¡¯ll hand the book lists over to you. To amodate the change in sybus, the school has opened up the rights to certain parts of the library to all you new students. Get your ssmates to go borrow the rted books.¡±


    The other sses were actually still a mess at that moment. Just like the problem Xiao Lin had encountered, not many of them were willing to choose the tiresome or troublesome subjects, especially the women. The monitors were all under pressure to try and convince their ssmates. They were not stupid, and could naturally see the benefits that distributing the courses evenly could bring, but that was still contingent on the other parties agreeing.


    Xiao Lin acted decisively. He did not have the patience to argue with the rest of them, so he just used his power to force the assignments. The matter had naturally exploded in the forums, causing quite a fewints, but it was quickly forgotten because ss Seven quickly experienced the benefits of submitting their courses earlier, which was that they got ess to the library before anyone else.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s library was extremelyrge, and the books were veryprehensive. There were also numerous copies of even basic books, but even with the numbers, it was hard to provide enough for everyone, so the people with prior ess naturally had the advantage.


    When thest few sses submitted their forms, it was already the evening. Xiao Lin had thought about looking for Song Jung, but was told that Department Head Song was not at the academy, and would be gone for a long period of time.


    Xiao Lin regretfully instead headed to the student union to look for Wang Yun. It was not the first time he went to the student union, but Wang Yun had spent most of her time on Earth before this, so the two of them had yet to meet up.


    Xiao Lin had naturally gone there for matters rted to his admission notice. Wang Yun sent away the other department members in the office before closing the door, smiling bitterly as she shook her head. ¡°I had originally wanted to retrieve your admission notice from the Central Computer, but it surprised me when the notice had been ssified as top-security. It seems to have been set by the dean, and I have no power to look at it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a notice. Is there a need for secrecy?¡± Xiao Lin could not understand either.


    ¡°There really is no need. These things have never been secrets, and anyone could look at them. Yet you¡¯re the only one who has his ssified. It means that only the dean and the members of the high council have the authority to read it!¡± Wang Yun¡¯s eyes shimmered with curiosity. ¡°Junior Xiao Lin, I¡¯m getting more and more interested in you now.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, your words are easily misunderstood!¡±


    Wang Yunughed, noticing that Xiao Lin did not want to continue on the topic, and decided not to press the matter. It had to do with the dean, so it definitely was not something she could interfere with.


    ¡°How goes your support ss choices? I was just notified as well. The change in your coursework for your year is pretty drastic, and I think you¡¯ll all be very tired from it.¡±


    ¡°I did not choose one.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have not picked one just yet because I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll have the time. It¡¯s fine. When I want to, I can just listen in on the sses anyway. Alright, here¡¯s my notice of admission. I¡¯ll be off now.¡±


    Wang Yun¡¯s thoughts were still in disarray when Xiao Lin bid farewell. Of course, it was hard for her to understand how the only student with the rights to freely attend sses felt.


    Xiao Lin did have a lot of freedom. His special rights allowed him to bypass theplications of picking his sses. He could just listen in on anything he felt like, whenever he felt like it. Other than that, considering that he often left for the New World, the student union had long since been used to his flexible timetable.


    However, the student union president could not resist the urge to give Xiao Lin a call that night. On the magical screen, the president¡¯s doll-like face was quite frustrated. ¡°Even so, you can¡¯t just not pick anything. You won¡¯t have enough credits like this.¡±


    Xiao Lin actually had some questions he needed to ask, and Department Head Song was not in the academy, so he took the chance to ask the president. ¡°President, what are the requirements for my attributes if I wanted to reach Bronze rank?


    ¡°You¡¯re nning on hitting Bronze?¡± The president was not surprised, but he still furrowed his eyebrows with worry. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not too early? Bronze requires your total attributes to hit 300, but I need to remind you, rank does not equate to skill.¡±


    Xiao Lin replied, ¡°I know, attributes only represent the basicposition of someone¡¯s body, but the distributions of attributes and experience in battle would still cause differences in skill.¡±


    The president said meaningfully, ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. The Inter-academy Tournament will be held at the end of the year. We¡¯ve already talked about itst semester. The list is already set, and you¡¯re definitely in it. Furthermore, I should also let you know that the selection of the year leader will be done after the tournament. You should understand what I mean by that.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused before nodding thankfully.


    ¡°The situation in the New World isplicated at the moment, but you don¡¯t have to give it much thought. However, I hope that we can achieve good results during the Inter-academy Tournament this time. The dean hopes so as well. No matter what, we¡¯re the oldest colonial academy. If the old tigers don¡¯t show their power, others might think our foundations are weakening and that we can be toppled easily!


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all for now. Basically, you need to work hard. The dean and I will provide you with all the help we can. I hope you have a good semester.¡±


    The president did not have any intention of continuing. He did not wait for Xiao Lin to reply before hanging up.


    However, Xiao Lin could more or less guess that the rtionships between the academies were beginning to turn distant. They had never stopped with their little conflicts, but those conflicts had never disrupted the harmony. Yet, something must have happened to cause even the usually friendly president to express such obvious anger.


    ...


    The president sat on the sofa deep in thought after hanging up. He only turned his head around after a long time, looking at the man standing next to him, saying, ¡°The Central Computer notified me this afternoon that someone from the recruitment department called Wang Yun seemed to be trying to retrieve admission notices for the first years?¡±


    The man was the head of recruitment. He looked much more mature than the baby-faced president in his suit, yet in front of the president, he was shaking with fear, not daring to show the slightest bit of carelessness. He hurriedly answered, ¡°Yes, yes, there is someone like that. She is my assistant. She¡¯s very sincere and hardworking. The dean has even praised her before.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± The president did not address that, instead saying coldly, ¡°Tell her to not touch the matter anymore. Otherwise, what awaits her is punishment from the academy!¡±


    The man acknowledged it with a head full of sweat. The president might have said it with a kind smile, but when he decided to be strict, no one could take it easily.

 Chapter 447: The Start Of A New Semester

    <h4>Chapter 447: The Start Of A New Semester</h4>


    The new semester was about to start. Due to therge number of courses, there were also a lot of things that needed to be prepared. However, the courses themselves would not be dyed because of that. The sses started just the day after everyone had borrowed the rted books from the library.


    Xiao Lin did not immediately pick a support course. He wanted to quickly get into the Bronze rank because Miracle and Ruin were special states that caused him to be more reliant on attributes than others.


    If thest semester could be considered homogenous in its sses, then after the changes in the curriculum, there was a muchrger variety of sses. Other than the support sses, even the main courses had gone throughrge changes. For example, Basic Swordsmanship had now advanced to Novice Swordsmanship, and the courses were separated into Novice Elemental Sword Aura and Novice Internal Sword Aura.


    Basic Meditation had advanced to Novice Meditation. There was no differentiation of internal and external sword auras there, but other than meditation, Basic me, Water, Wind, Earth, Support, and even thebined elements all had their own sses.


    That gave quite a few students a lot of excitement. A lot of them hadined about the stale and dry courses on the forumsst semester. Thest semester was akin to teaching them basic pronunciation before letting them see the words. Now that they had mastered that part, the academy was finally allowing them to walk on the true path of growth.


    There were also other added sses such as Novice Physical Resistance, Novice Spell Resistance, Novice Perception, and Novice Dodging sses; they were all advanced versions of the prior basic sses.


    With the increase in the volume of sses, the number of students attending each course decreased correspondingly. There were no longer sses that had over a hundred students. Some sses were also meant for second-years, so there was even a possibility that they would attend those sses with the second-years.


    Other than all those optional sses, there was also onepulsory ss: Novice Battle Training. It was a course that every student was forced to attend, but there was only one ss a week, and it was arranged on Saturdays, which was originally a holiday.


    Even though choosing optional courses was headache-inducing to some, from the student union¡¯s informational materials, truly picking their courses was notpletely dependent on interest. Each person¡¯s physical attributes or elemental affinities also needed to be taken into ount, so there was actually only a narrow list of options.


    Monday was focused on the physical courses as usual, such as various sword arts. Xiao Lin had chosen elemental sword aura as his main direction that semester. After waking up early that morning, he had followed the timetable to the ssroom area. The first-year¡¯s ssrooms were not that different, and remained around Area A and Area B, but the sses for elemental sword aura took ce in Area C.


    Xiao Lin was quite curious. He knew that Area C onward were the ssrooms of the upper-years, but thinking about it, the changes in the curriculum could have caused some of the courses to be merged with the second- or even the third-years.


    Using his card to enter the training hall, he noticed that the spacious hall was quite empty. Only around twenty students were there, and all of them were strangers. Xiao Lin was not surprised. There were only very few first-years that had chosen to take up elemental swordsmanship. Even if some of them had the intention, the course had prior requirements, which was that their Basic Meditation needed to be at least LV4. That requirement was enough to scare away practically everyone.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance attracted a lot of gazes, and a woman quickly walked up with a passionate yet curious greeting, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Cheng Xiaolin. You are?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m called Xiao Lin, I registered for this course this semester.¡± The other party could be his senior, so Xiao Lin responded politely.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡± Cheng Xiaolin muttered to herself before her eyes widened, ¡°A first-year?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know about me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, do you not know that you have a bit of a reputation now?¡±


    Once Xiao Lin¡¯s name was heard, even those who were originally not paying attention cast their inquisitive gazes over. Some even walked over to greet him. In the entire first year, only Xiao Lin¡¯s name regrly appeared on the upper-year forums. After a few times, his name had naturally been remembered.


    ¡°So am I the only new student here?¡± After a few greetings, Xiao Lin asked them this. Everyone there seemed to be familiar with each other, so they did not seem like new students.


    Cheng Xiaolin was quite friendly. She smiled and said, ¡°The course originally considered the Basic Meditation Requirement and made it a second-year ss. In truth, a lot of students have to wait until their third year before being able to enter it. However, the academy was really bold this time to have opened the course to new students.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, don¡¯t all new students choose the internal sword aura course?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you. You¡¯re the only student from your year that¡¯s practicing both physical and magical courses. How admirable. I never had the time back then. I had to wait until my third year before having the free time to do it.¡±


    The rest continuedmenting. Xiao Lin could tell that most of the ones in front of him were third- and fourth-year students. To put it in another way, the course was basically abined third- and fourth-year course, which caused him to feel a mountain of pressure.


    ¡°Is elemental sword aura really that unpopr?¡± Xiao Lin looked at the empty training hall. It was a little too quiet.


    Cheng Xiaolinughed as she exined, ¡°It¡¯s actually not too bad. Our academy might not encourage dual-cultivation, but it does not forbid it. The lower-years have too little free time to do so, but once you get to the upper-years, a lot of us do try it out. It¡¯s just that we have these changes in curriculum this semester, so the fourth-year graduates are all busy with practical work. Even us third-years have started to do it, so the number of students is lower this time. There are also constant drop-outs from semester to semester, so all that¡¯s left is us.¡±


    She was a friendly senior. She had a short ponytail, and was wearing a tight white training outfit. Her entire person exuded a young and energetic aura.


    As they talked, there were an additional dozen or so students who entered. However, as the ss started, there were only about thirty students. To the neer Xiao Lin, everyone treated him kindly. As upper-year seniors, they would naturally take care of a harmless junior that suddenly appeared. Some of them were even worried that Xiao Lin would not be suited for the course, especially since it was a course that used to be meant for upper-year students.

 Chapter 448: The First Class (1)

    <h4>Chapter 448: The First ss (1)</h4>


    The professor entered soon after. Xiao Lin¡¯sst professor was that fierce woman they called a dragon, so when he saw this professor¡¯s appearance, he paused for a while before snapping back to reality.


    He was a wizened old man. Even though his gait was still strong and healthy, his face was still incredibly old. He had a head full of white hair, and wore incredibly thick sses.


    Thanks to Lifewater, Dawn Academy¡¯s old professors usually looked a lot younger than they were. For instance, Professor Dai from his history ssst semester looked like a middle-aged man. That was why when Xiao Lin looked at the old man in front of him, he could not help feeling like something was off.


    Furthermore, it was the elemental sword aura ss, which was definitely an extremely physical swordsmanship course. Was there really no problem allowing that old man to teach the ss? Xiao Lin could not help but have a head full of questions.


    ¡°That¡¯s Professor Zhang.¡± Cheng Xiaolin said to Xiao Lin in a whisper.


    ¡°Oh? There¡¯s a new student this semester?¡± Professor Zhang looked toward the source of the noise, his eyes spirited under his thick sses.


    Cheng Xiaolin could not help but look at Xiao Lin suspiciously. Normally, after registering for sses the list of students would be sent to the professor, yet Professor Zhang seemed to have been confused.


    Xiao Lin coughed dryly. He had used his special rights to enter the ss, so he pretended to not know anything. Thankfully, Professor Zhang did not press the issue, waving his hands as he started the ss.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already covered the theoryst semester, so we¡¯ll start with actual practice this semester. It¡¯s not hard to release elemental sword aura. The difficult part is mastering how to integrate the elements properly. The degree and ratio of the elemental usage also affects the power...¡±


    As Professor Zhang started his lecture, the rest of them could not help but nce at Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin had missed out on the theory lessons from thest semester, but Professor Zhang could not stop the course just for one person.


    Could this new student really keep up?


    After the simple exnation, Professor Zhang did not waste time, immediately arranging for practice. It was more or less the same as Basic Swordsmanship, where two of them would group up to train. The results were much better than training alone.


    The rest of them had long known each other, and after a few minutes of grouping up, everyone noticed something awkward. The original elemental sword aura ss had an even number of people, but now they had an extra with Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Just add him into my group. We can train as three!¡± Cheng Xiaolin who talked to Xiao Lin earlier suggested.


    ¡°No need.¡± Professor Zhang adjusted his sses. ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself.¡±


    Everyone gaped in shock, and the attention shifted to Xiao Lin. Some of them were filled with admiration, and some of them were a little happy at his misfortune.


    The attention caused Xiao Lin to fidget in ce as he raised his hand and said, ¡°I feel like I should just train with Cheng Xiaolin.¡±


    There was a sudden silence, and Cheng Xiaolin red at Xiao Lin in disbelief, as if refusing to believe that the new student dared to reject the offer.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Professor Zhangughed self-mockingly. ¡°You think I¡¯m too old.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little awkward, but Professor Zhang¡¯s frail appearance did lead to suspicions regarding hisbat ability. Even if Dawn Academy¡¯s professors were all true experts, experts were still split intobat types and theoretical ones. Theoretical experts might not be that strong.


    ¡°Professor, I don¡¯t want to harm you.¡± Since the professor did not intend to change his mind, Xiao Lin could not help but thicken his face in exnation. His tone and attitude were very humble.


    Xiao Lin was actually quite vexed. He was very familiar with his own ability. He might just be a ck-Iron- ranked new student, but he dared to challenge Bronze-ranked opponents when he had Miracle and Ruin active. Even though he would not use those two skills in training, even his me sword aura was not to be underestimated at full force.


    The professor in front of him, who was full of age spots and had scrawny arms, led Xiao Lin to suspect that the professor was not even at ck-Iron-ranked in skill. He definitely did not want to make a mistake during training and cause any harm to the professor. He knew very well that the professors in the academy were all precious and important treasures.


    ¡°Xiao Lin!¡± Cheng Xiaolin whispered, her face anxious as if she wanted to remind him of something.


    However, Professor Zhang raised his hand and stopped her. He took off his sses and massaged his tired skin as he smiled calmly, ¡°There¡¯s no way around it. Age spares no one. However, you can rx, I was quite skilled when I was younger. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t hurt me. Furthermore this training hall has its own recovery system.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it and agreed. Individual training definitely paled inparison to dueling. Even if he still suspected the old man¡¯s skill, since the other party was being so polite, he had no reason to reject it.


    ¡°Oh right, what did you want to say earlier?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly turned around, asking Cheng Xiaolin.


    Cheng Xiaolin actually had a lot she wanted to say, but did not know what she should do, so she just replied, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll watch my strength. Anyway, I just started learning elemental sword aura.¡±


    Everyone suddenly had a look of a mixture of pity and anticipation as they looked at Xiao Lin walk toward Professor Zhang with the steel training sword. Due to the special nature of elemental sword aura, even the training swords were made with steel, since regr wooden swords would be destroyed by the elements.


    ¡°Professor, please give me a lot of advice.¡± Xiao Lin decided to show off his current skills. He had managed to learn elemental sword aura from the professorst semester, but that was just a drop of knowledge. Now, he was about to receive advice from someone much more well-versed in the topic.


    Professor Zhang smiled and nodded.


    Xiao Lin raised his sword, but paused as he tilted his head, ¡°Professor, this is?¡±


    For some reason, the professor had retrieved his own weapon from the rack as well, even taking off his jacket, revealing a short sleeved T-shirt underneath. He was definitely very frail, causing anyone looking at it to worry.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t test you myself, how would I know your level? Alright, stop with the small talk. If you wish to continue listening to my ss, you best give me your best performance!¡± Professor Zhang¡¯s face suddenly lost a part of its warmth when he picked up the sword, and instead gained a look of dignity.


    Xiao Lin shrugged in exasperation as he took a deep breath, remembering the key points to elemental sword aura. He quicklymunicated with the elements around him. His elemental affinity was inclined toward fire and water, and he currently had the most training with the offensively stronger me elemental sword aura.


    Boom!


    A coil of me burst out from his sword; the me was three meters tall, and the embers burnt the floorboards. The deep red mes started to rapidly increase the temperature in the training hall.


    The seniors who were anticipating a good show suddenly turned serious as shock burned in their eyes. They muttered, ¡°What strong elemental sword aura! That brat is not bad!¡±

 Chapter 449: The First Class (2)

    <h4>Chapter 449: The First ss (2)</h4>


    Outsiders look on for the excitement, insiders look for the techniques.


    Everyone in the training hall was familiar with elemental sword aura. They did not look down on Xiao Lin, but elemental sword aura was something that needed the support of both magic and closebat-based courses, so a new student being able to master it was something unthinkable.


    That was why when they saw Xiao Lin¡¯s me sword aura, they could at least see that the new student did have the qualifications to attend this ss, but their expressions did not change too much. They only had looks of pity for Xiao Lin in their eyes.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Professor Zhang praised. ¡°Come! Let me see how strong your sword aura is!¡±


    Xiao Lin was still hesitant. He could already unleash his elemental sword aura, but in truth, it was still not at the point where he could fully control it. If he swung his de, he was not sure if the old man could withstand it. Even though the training hall had its recovery system, the old man only had casual clothes on, without even the most basic defense. If he was killed in one blow, then he would lose his life span for no reason, which was not ideal.


    ¡°Oh? Afraid now?¡± Professor Zhang provoked.


    ¡°Careful!¡±


    Xiao Lin finally stopped hesitating, but he still chose to hold back, even if he still could notpletely control his strength. As his de danced, his mes followed suit, and the embers started to cover half the training hall. However, everyone there was an upper-year student, and mes of that level were not enough to harm them.


    ¡°Yourmunication with the elements is strong, and your control is better than what I expected. Your Basic Meditation must be quite good.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity your control of mes is way too weak. You¡¯re only coating the mes on your de with no thought, only to enhance the power. It¡¯s the biggest mistake rookies make, but you¡¯re still much better than most new students.


    ¡°Yourmunication with the elements is too aggressive. I really don¡¯t know what your meditation teacher taught you.¡±


    Facing Xiao Lin¡¯s fierce sh, the old man did not have a trace of nervousness, merely standing there and muttering his evaluations. Xiao Lin felt more and more anxious, and could not hold himself back from shouting out, ¡°Be careful, Professor!¡±


    The professor¡¯s warm expression suddenly sharpened, finally raising his steel training sword slowly. His de was very slow, like a snail, yet in a sh, a bright deep red glow suddenly emitted from his de.


    me sword aura!


    Professor Zhang was nning on using the same me sword aura to block the sh. It was the same element, yet it lookedpletely different. Xiao Lin¡¯s mes were mostly external, his mes almost burning away the training hall, yet the professor¡¯s mes were reserved and internal. The candle-like me gave the feeling that it could be swallowed by Xiao Lin¡¯s at any time.


    Boom!


    The two mes suddenly collided. Xiao Lin¡¯s me elemental sword aura was like a gigantic monster, and it opened its ming mouth, biting down with its berserk mes.


    Professor Zhang¡¯s body quickly disappeared in the light of the mes. Xiao Lin¡¯s heart sank, yet after a few seconds, the mes dispersed and the professor¡¯s frail silhouette slowly reappeared. He stood there unharmed, and the mes on his de had disappeared as well. The sword itself emitted white steam, and the tip of the sword had been burnt ck.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief seeing that the professor was safe and sound, yet he could not understand how. His eyes had beenpletely fixed on the professor the entire time, and the professor¡¯s elemental sword aura had felt weak to him. Yet, the sh between sword auras seems to have ended in Xiao Lin¡¯s defeat.


    No, even if it was a defeat, the defeat was still very strange.


    Xiao Lin was puzzled. The power of his sword aura should have suppressed the professors. Being defeated by a weaker sword aura was something that left him stumped.


    ¡°Professor is so biased.¡±


    ¡°He held back in the end.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Otherwise, how could the new student still be standing there?¡±


    The mutterings behind him caused Xiao Lin to feel like he had misunderstood something. Professor Zhang put his sses back on, and his wrinkled face had a peaceful smile once again. ¡°You¡¯re better than I expected. No wonder he kept on rmending you to me. Alright, you can stay on. Your training partner will be me from now on.¡±


    Xiao Lin was still in a daze when Cheng Xiaolin walked over, saying in admiration, ¡°You¡¯re so lucky! The professor rarely teaches anyone personally! I¡¯ve been in this course for two years, and you¡¯re the first!¡±


    The short performance had led everyone to be disappointed because Professor Zhang did not use his true power, but facing a new student, that was to be expected.


    ¡°Professor, you mentioned someone earlier? Who was the one who rmended me to you?¡± Looking at the professor turning around to leave, Xiao Lin hurriedly went over.


    ¡°Song Jung.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Him! Ahem, I mean, so, it was Department Head Song.¡±


    ¡°Haha! That brat is quite cheeky.¡± Professor Zhang seemed to be able to guess a little about Xiao Lin and Song Jung¡¯s rtionship. Then, his tone turned slightly sentimental. ¡°Back then, he was really talented at elemental sword aura. What a pity.¡±


    This time, Xiao Lin understood; the old man was probably Song Jung¡¯s teacher back then. It seemed like Song Jung had rmended Xiao Lin to the old man before, but Song Jung had never mentioned it.


    ¡°Did you remember what I said just now?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your elemental sword aura is definitely better than most rookies, but it¡¯s still too weak. However, your potential is better than I expected. It¡¯s probably even better than Song Jung way back then. Not bad, not bad. I haven¡¯t seen a brat like you in many years.¡± Professor Zhang muttered to himself as he walked.


    The ones who were anticipating a good show of the professor trouncing Xiao Lin could not help but look at Xiao Lin in another light. Professor Zhang rarely praised anyone¨Cnever really. The words of praise he said then were probably more than he had said in the past few years.


    After the brief excitement, the training hall went back into the usual training. To the upper-year students who were going to enter the New World soon, rather than wasting time admiring the potential of the new student, it was more practical to think about their own future.


    The professor did not rush to duel with Xiao Lin. He brought Xiao Lin to the lounge next to the training hall. The lounge was obviously something that had been added on, and seemed to have been built in consideration for the professor. The professor sat down and made himself some tea as he massaged his back, sighing, ¡°I¡¯m so old! Let me ask you, have you been through any instruction or study regarding elemental sword aura?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Xiao Lin said in embarrassment, his tone was much more respectful than before. It was obvious that the old man in front of him was secretly a boss.


    ¡°That¡¯s good! That¡¯s good!¡± The old man let out a breath, smiling happily.

 Chapter 450: The Professor’s Elemental Sword

    <h4>Chapter 450: The Professor¡¯s Elemental Sword</h4>


    The old man¡¯s smile caused Xiao Lin to be even more confused. It seemed like the professor was instead happy that he had never gone through proper elemental sword aura education?


    It seemed to be so. After repeated questioning, he found that Xiao Lin only had a little bit of instruction from the new students. He nodded, muttering, ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. He hasn¡¯t been defiled.¡±


    The professor continued to be vague. ¡°Do you know why I called you here?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re tired.¡± Xiao Lin looked at the head full of sweat on the old man. As powerful he was, his body did not look like he could take much now, and his moves just now exerted him to this degree.


    The professor immediately red at him, his expression terrifying.


    ¡°Ahem, I meant you wanted to teach me alone.¡± Xiao Lin immediately changed his stance at the change of the expression.


    The professor was finally satisfied, his face reverting back to his friendly smile. Xiao Lin was sweating looking at it. He now started to believe that the old man was Song Jung¡¯s teacher; the two of them had some simrities to some degree.


    ¡°I called you over mainly because there are some things that can¡¯t be said in front of others, so we can only talk about it here. Since you¡¯re someone that brat Song Jung rmended, I can trust you.¡±


    The words caused Xiao Lin to feel a sense of gratitude. He started to feel like getting to know Song Jung was the luckiest thing that happened to him in Dawn Academy. If things went normally, the next step would be the old man passing down some secret techniques hidden from over hundreds of years.


    Professor Zhang¡¯s expression was stern. He stood up and took a deep breath, preparing himself before saying, ¡°The academy¡¯s courses are all f*cking pieces of sh*t! Ah no, that would be insulting to sh*t! It¡¯spletely misleading the students! Destroying their futures! Those stubborn fools, we¡¯ll eventually be destroyed by their very hands! Force feeding students like back on Earth is useless, and will just cause their thoughts to stagnate...¡±


    Over the next dozen minutes, Professor Zhang basically continued cursing everyone in the academy from top to bottom.


    Xiao Lin was stunned listening to him. It was hard to believe that the friendly, warm and always-smiling professor from a few minutes ago now had such a furious expression.


    At the end of it, seeing the old man¡¯s temper not seeming to simmer, Xiao Lin hurriedly brought over the tea that had already cooled down on the table. The professor took it from him, gulping it down in one go. He seemed to be much more rxed. He seemed to calm down, and he wiped away the tea leaves on the corner of his mouth before sitting down. ¡°Yes, I said a little too much, but at least you understand now. Elemental sword aura requires a broad mind, and not to follow some rigid pattern! You still haven¡¯t been poisoned by the lessons of those b*stards, so you¡¯re lucky!¡±


    Xiao Lin was helpless. He had read the material that Dawn Academy had set, and it was quite holistic. It was not as useless as the professor imed; it was just that the professor came from a different point of view. Of course, Xiao Lin did not say that out loud, and instead nodded at the professor¡¯s views. ¡°You said I was quite intuitive. Then, how do you think I should train my elemental sword aura?¡±


    The old man dodged the question, instead asking, ¡°Do you want to know how I broke your me sword technique earlier?¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. The old man was asking something that had a clear answer, but Xiao Lin still nodded, showing his curiosity.


    ¡°Since you already know the difference between external and internal sword aura, you should already understand that elemental sword aura is an external sword aura, which means it uses external powers to increase your own strength. If you view your own power as fire, then external force is wind. Wind enhances fire, so it¡¯s a supportive rtionship. Do you feel like a ve master would be able to integrate with his own ves perfectly? Would they be able to form a true and earnest supportive rtionship?¡± Professor Zhang asked with a sharp tone.


    Xiao Lin already had simr thoughts, and had somewhat grasped it, but he did not manage to fully understand it with his thoughts in disarray.


    Professor Zhang was quite satisfied with his expression. The professor stood up after regaining his energy, moving his arm like a conductor full of vigor as he said loudly, ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve understood it! The elements are actually our helpers, friends! Not ves! Not servants! And yet, now we are, no, all the element users of Norma aremitting a major mistake. All we do ismand the elements!¡±


    ¡°Do you mean the elements are alive?¡±


    ¡°Do you think nts have lives?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao Lin answered.


    ¡°Then, do you think germs are living things?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Lin hesitated before adding, ¡°From a biological standpoint, germs are prokaryotes. They don¡¯t haveplete cell structures, nor do they have a clear nucleus, but they have nucleoids and ribosomes...¡±


    ¡°Enough, don¡¯t recite a book to me!¡± the professor interrupted. ¡°Then, do you not think elements are alive?¡±


    ¡°Even if they are, I don¡¯t think they are any form of higher living being.¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. Thanks to the basic coursesst semester, he had a basic understanding of Norma¡¯s structure. A lot of those courses were tranted by Norma¡¯s own natives. When it came to the, Xiao Lin did not believe that they would have a deeper understanding than the natives as outsiders.


    ¡°Professor, that would be a philosophical question.¡± Xiao Lin saw that the professor still wished to continue, and interfered, ¡°I think it¡¯s better that we discuss how to increase the power of elemental sword aura.¡±


    If the elements were alive, or if they had higher intelligence, it did not matter to Xiao Lin. He only wanted to master elemental sword aura and hurry to the Bronze rank.


    The old man stared, crying out in frustration after a pause. ¡°Follow me! I¡¯ll show you how I broke apart your sword aura earlier!¡±


    Returning to the training hall, the upper-year students were all intensely training. The sound of steel shing could be heard, as well as the howling sound of wind, piercing sound of thunder, sizzling sounds of burning, and the dull shaking of the ground. It was no wonder that the training hall was so big despite the small number of students. The destruction caused by elemental sword aura training was quite massive.


    The professor found an empty location, and casually took a steel sword from the weapon rack, waving it in the air a few times. His slow movements caused his swordsmanship to be inurate, but that was not the main point, because Xiao Lin quickly felt the me element start to concentrate on the tip of his de.


    It was a very faintyer of fire, only at the level of a firefly, seemingly able to be extinguished at any time. Xiao Lin worked hard to feel it from meditation. It was just like what he felt earlier; the professor¡¯s elements were very weak, but he felt like something was weird in his head.

 Chapter 451: Elemental Compression

    <h4>Chapter 451: Elemental Compression</h4>


    ¡°Did you think that my elemental aura was extremely weak?¡± The old man saw through Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts before waving his sword in the air.


    The faint glow of fire turned vibrant for a moment, but it only maintained for less than a second before the mes dispersed. The entire process was extremely quick, and even Xiao Lin, who was staring unblinkingly, almost did not catch it.


    The professor did not say anything after waving his sword because he noticed that Xiao Lin was deep in thought. After a dozen or so minutes, Xiao Lin finally rxed his eyebrows in realization, saying hesitantly, ¡°Even though it wasn¡¯t very obvious, I could somewhat feel the immense power that was emitted for a brief moment, but why was it so short? Did you use some special ability to hide your elements from perception?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right.¡± Xiao Lin quickly shook his head. ¡°The elements cannot be hidden. Hold on, what was that strange feeling from earlier?¡±


    Xiao Lin muttered to himself by the side, but it was useless to just think about it like that, so he sat down cross-legged on the floor, closing his eyes as he rapidly entered his meditative state. The old man raised his eyebrows, not disturbing him, instead waiting for Xiao Lin by the side.


    In the meditative universe, Xiao Lin tried to use his Perception to investigate the surrounding space. Thanks to the old man¡¯s sh, the surrounding elemental fragments had yet topletely disperse, so from the perspective of the meditative universe, Xiao Lin could clearly see countless stars lingering around him.


    However, the stars that represented those elements were very strange. They still emitted the glow of a star, but the size was very different from the usual ones he saw in meditation, and there were also a lot of fragment-like structures in the surroundings. Of course, it was not strange to see those in the real universe, but in his meditative state, those were oddities.


    Just like that, he spent half an hour in his meditative state. Xiao Lin then reopened his eyes, and when he looked at the old man, his expression was filled with respect.


    ¡°It seems that you understand.¡± The professorughed.


    ¡°Thepression and release of elements. Heavens, how did you do it!¡± Xiao Lin was amazed, he had more or less understood how that sh was done.


    What Professor Zhang did earlier was actually very simple. He had consistentlypressed andbined massive amounts of elemental energy; the final product might be the same in size, but despite the simr size and numbers, it contained unthinkably shocking power. When released in the blink of an eye, the destructive power was naturally surprising.


    Even though it sounded simple, Xiao Lin, who was no longer a mere rookie, knew that it was something not even the elemental spellcasters on Norma had managed to do in tens of thousands of years. Compressing the elements, especially to the degree that there was practically no external leakage, was simr in difficulty to taking two stars and smashing them apart before putting them back together. Even the structural integrity of the stars needed to be maintained.


    Ever since Dawn Academy hade to the New World, there were countless people who researched the problem, and even when they tried tobine Earth¡¯s physics and magical knowledge, the results were the same.


    Yet now, it had just happened right in front of Xiao Lin.


    If not for the shushing motion the old man had done beforehand, Xiao Lin would have cried out in shock. It was a miracle, not just from a magical perspective, but it could also be said to be a miracle of microbiology.


    ¡°Keep it down. I don¡¯t want anyone else to know,¡± the professor said in a low voice, his expression clear that he was not joking. He really did not want it known.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°They would not approve of my methods,¡± the professor said. ¡°Those stubborn b*stards are the same as those unaging mages on Norma. Their way of thinking has been set in stone!¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless, but he had nothing to do with it anyway. His head started to race, and he smiled as he said, ¡°Are you going to teach me that?¡±


    ¡°That depends on how much you can learn. You should realize how much elementalpression will enhance thebat ability of elemental sword aura, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Xiao Lin said.


    Elemental sword aura was very different from inner sword aura, because it involved controllingrge amounts of external energy. Elemental sword aura did not rely on sword technique; it simply used brute force. Yet, that meant it was easily handled, and was hard to control as well as inner sword aura.


    If the elements could be suppressed, then elemental sword aura would be not that different from inner sword aura. Not only that, Xiao Lin had even thought about the next step; if he used it in spell casting, then many spells would be enhanced. The value of it would be hard to measure.


    ¡°In truth, it¡¯s not hard to be done. You just need to view the elements as life forms. Inanimate objects are hard tobine, but if they were alive,pressing andbining them is not that difficult.¡±


    ¡°It sounds reasonable, but surely it¡¯s not that easy?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you start learning from meditation! Elemental sword aura has always needed Basic Meditation as a foundation. It¡¯s a pity those stubborn fools in the academy aren¡¯t willing to allow me to open up a meditation ss for elemental sword aura.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think my meditation rank should be enough.¡±


    ¡°No, not that useless all-purpose meditation you¡¯ve learnt. How do I put this?¡± The professor tilted his head and asked, ¡°If you want to truly control the method ofpressing the elements, you first need to start from necromantic meditation, which you probably don¡¯t know as a new student. Let me exin, the natural world has three main types of energy, life, death and elemental...¡±


    ¡°I know. The elves use life energy; humans and most races use elemental energy; and death energy is used in some necromantic spells and by dark races.¡± Xiao Lin had already read about that in the library.


    ¡°Yes, in order to understand life, you first need to start with death energy. That sort of energy is called the breath of death...¡±


    ¡°Oh, what about after that?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean after that?¡±


    ¡°How do Ipress the elements after learning necromantic meditation?¡± Xiao Lin asked directly.


    Professor Zhang furrowed his eyebrows in dissatisfaction. ¡°Don¡¯t be too eager to soar. I know you¡¯re curious and excited, but the ss needs to be taken step by step. Necromantic meditation isn¡¯t easy, especially for someone like you who has already grasped basic mediation.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve already learned necromantic meditation.¡± Xiao Lin could not help but speak up.


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± The old man nodded, before his eyes suddenly widened. ¡°What? Hold on! What did you say?!¡±

 Chapter 452: The Professor’s Theory

    <h4>Chapter 452: The Professor¡¯s Theory</h4>


    The professor was quite loud, attracting half the training hall to look over. He then lowered his voice, but his look of shock was still on his face. ¡°What-what did you just say? Necromantic meditation? You¡¯re preparing to learn it?¡±


    ¡°No, I think I already have a basic grasp. Of course, I¡¯m not very good, but I¡¯ve already passed the barrier of entry,¡± Xiao Lin exined; the most difficult part of necromantic mediation was the barrier to start, so he wanted the old man to know that he was not speaking nonsense.


    The professor fell silent for a moment before asking, ¡°Who taught you?¡±


    ¡°I learned it myself.¡± Xiao Lin then added, ¡°I got the book from the library. There are quite a few basic books on necromantic meditation there.¡±


    The professor¡¯s face twitched. ¡°I know that. The books in the library were only bought back then due to my insistence, but they¡¯re not for new students like you to read. Hold on, I remember where the books were ced in the library. Only second-years and above can get there. How did you see them?¡±


    The old man grew more and more suspicious as he spoke, almost using Xiao Lin of lying.


    Dawn Academy had never before started a course on necromantic mediation, and the student union never nned to start it either. Xiao Lin had been curious as to why the library had books on it, but now he understood why. He did not say much, instead closing his eyes and activating Miracle before heading into the meditative world.


    The glint showed in the old man¡¯s eyes under his sses. He had first been in disbelief, but quickly started tough. ¡°Interesting! Interesting! I haven¡¯t seen anything so fun for many years! Hahaha! Song Jung, you rmended me to a decent prospect!¡±


    The old man did not bother to hide hisughing. The training hall was busy dueling, and no one bothered to shift their gazes over. They had long since gotten used to the professor¡¯s entric nature.


    Xiao Lin once again opened his eyes, feeling a little tired from deactivating Miracle. He could still only rely on Miracle to be able to enter that special meditative world that could feel death energy.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you continue? Are you tired?¡± Professor Zhang asked, concerned.


    ¡°You¡¯re too noisy. I could not focus at all!¡± Xiao Lin said impolitely. Even though he already understood that the old professor in front of him was a hidden Boss-level figure, he still did not raise the proper sense of respect, especially after knowing the professor taught Song Jung. Just like when he faced Department Head Song, even if he had some admiration for Song Jung, that b*stard¡¯s horrible personality of trying to trick him at every turn deserved no respect...


    ¡°Very good, since you¡¯ve already managed the first step yourself, then let¡¯s enter the second phase.¡± The professor thought for a moment before heading into the lounge, retrieving a thick notebook before flipping through the pages. As the notebook of a professor with decades of experience, that thing was undoubtedly extremely valuable.


    Norma¡¯s natural energy goes through the cycle of life as well; it¡¯s the basicw of living things. Natural represents the start, elemental represents the period of growth, and necromantic represents death. The elements are in their period of growth, so it¡¯s hard topress andbine them, but if we convert death energy into the elements, the problem would not exist, because to those that arepletely not elements, we are their creatures, a mother-like existence.¡±


    The professor exined as he flipped through the notebook, speeding up as he got more and more excited. His theory was extremely bold, and something that Xiao Lin had never heard before. He only regretted not bringing a notebook to take notes with.


    Everyone else in the training half looked at each other, their eyes filled with envy. The professor¡¯s notebook was a priceless treasure, and they had never seen him take it out in their years of study, yet he brought it out for that new student.


    After an hour-long lecture, Professor Zhang only stopped when he realized his throat was dry. Looking at Xiao Lin who had his eyebrows furrowed in thought, his excitement cooled down, smiling in embarrassment as he said, ¡°I was a little too impatient. I forgot that you¡¯re still a new student. Even if you have learned necromantic meditation, there are many theories that are too advanced for you. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll take it slow...¡±


    ¡°Continue.¡± Xiao Lin was just working hard to digest the key points that the professor had said. Only when he was sure that he had everything memorized did he raise his head, asking curiously, ¡°Professor, are you done?¡±


    ¡°Did you manage to grasp what I said earlier?¡±


    ¡°Yes, more or less.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it so vaguely! Elemental sword aura is an extremelyplicated undertaking. You can¡¯t afford any carelessness!¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve grasped about 60% to 70%. You¡¯ll have to let me head back to properly digest the rest of it, but it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already memorized it all.¡± Xiao Lin was not bragging. Ever since his Academic Genius had stepped into LV2, the effects were amazing. His memory,prehension, or learning ability had all noticeably improved. He finally understood why that talent was SS-rank.


    Seeing the old man¡¯s look of disbelief, Xiao Lin could only helplessly say, ¡°Professor, why don¡¯t you test me?¡±


    ¡°Fine! I mentioned this just now. What is the time frame of an element¡¯s creation until its death?¡±


    ¡°Normally it would take three to five minutes, but an active element, due to thew of conservation, would use up its life to achieve higher explosiveness, which speeds up its destruction to around five seconds.¡±


    ¡°How long wouldpressing the element limit the time to?¡±


    ¡°Not more than one second. Otherwise, thepressed energy would be unable to be released after the element dies and turns into death energy.¡±


    ¡°What is the basis of elementalpression?¡±


    ¡°It is to condense new elements from death energy, creating new elementspletely controlled by yourself.¡±


    The two of them continued with the questions and answers, with Xiao Lin showing no pause at all. Each answer was given smoothly, proving that he had already properly absorbed everything into his head.


    The old man was speechless, and his face twitched. He finally closed his notebook, looking like he wanted to utter a few words of praise, but he finally held it back, saying, ¡°You¡¯re better than what I thought. We¡¯ll stop here for today. The next part of what you need to do is simple, to carry out those theories I mentioned just now in practice!¡±

 Chapter 453: Providing Death Energy

    <h4>Chapter 453: Providing Death Energy</h4>


    The first Elemental Sword Aura ss brought Xiao Lin a lot of pleasant surprises. It gave him a lot more anticipation for the courses during the new semester. Professor Zhang wanted him to first try interacting with the elements, learning how to condense new elemental energy from death energy was the first step.


    Xiao Lin worked hard digesting what the professor said when he went back to the dormitories after the ss, including writing down everything he had memorized. Based on what the professor had said, he needed to revise his necromantic meditation. He never expected that the sudden urge to learn necromantic meditation in the library back then would be so useful now.


    However, it was hard to work on necromantic meditation within the academy¡¯s isted space. Even the professor said he only managed to grasp the method in the New World. The academy¡¯s space did not possess death energy, which caused many problems for necromantic meditation.


    Death energy represented death, but under the protection of the Law of Immortality within Dawn Academy, death was very rare. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes quickly lit up; he remembered he had something he could use to represent death energy, which was what Silverlight had left behind for him: the ck knight!


    Back then, on Silverlight Lake, Onyxia had improved his undead swordsman into a ck knight, and after that, Silverlight had stayed in his spatial ring when she followed him out from Silverlight Lake, and had brought in the ck knight since his Holy Soul Sword had been broken.


    Ever since the ck knight had turned into one of Silverlight¡¯s possessions, Xiao Lin had lost the ability to summon it, especially since the destruction of the Holy Soul Sword had led to his mental connection to ck knight being weakened.


    It was a pity that Silverlight had passed away on Earth. Thinking about the princess, Xiao Lin¡¯s face saddened as he touched his forehead. His forehead was smooth as normal. Even though Silverlight said that she had given her third eye to him, after they left the bottom of the sea, Xiao Lin¡¯s bump on his forehead had disappeared.


    As the mark of Antean royalty, the eye was difficult for outsiders to control. Silverlight said that Xiao Lin could, but it did not mean she meant the current Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin might possess the potential, but he was too weak at the moment. He could somewhat feel the connection to the eye, but activating it would require tremendous amounts of energy, so he had yet to try.


    Xiao Lin sighed, focusing his attention on the ring in his hand. The spatial ring had been Silverlight¡¯s temporary residence, and he never interfered with it, but theyer of protection had stopped rejecting Xiao Lin like before, instead immediately letting him in.


    Xiao Lin understood after a brief pause. Silverlight must have not nned to return after she had used Time Rewind before, and had already released the shield surrounding the ring for Xiao Lin, yet she did notpletely remove it. Even if the ring was lost, other than Xiao Lin, anyone who could not rival Silverlight¡¯s mental strength which had umted over thousands of years would not be able to use the spatial ring.


    Xiao Lin was quite touched. It might not have been much of an effort to Silverlight, but to him, it was an extremely valuable treasure. The ring was now a spatial ring that belongedpletely to him.


    When his spirit looked past the entrance to the ring, Xiao Lin¡¯s mind had a feeling like it was suddenly being expanded. What his mind reflected back to him was an unfathomablyrge space. The space was as big as a city. As a ring made from pure starmetal, forged by the hybrid Hammerhead, it was basically perfect.


    However, when it was first forged, Xiao Lin had known the space wasrge, yetpletely empty, just like apletely new isted space. It was a destend, yet in a short time, Xiao Lin sensed a lot of things within the ring. They were simple things, such as trees and flowers, earth and streams. It was not a lot, but there were still traces of life.


    It was unbelievable!


    Xiao Lin was shocked. However, amongst all the life, he quickly felt an unusual aura of death. The ck knight was standing silently in the center of the grass fields, not moving and not speaking. It was just standing there, as if waiting for its master¡¯smands.


    Xiao Lin tried tomunicate with it, and then tried issuing an order. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that themand worked. He had been worried that ck knight¡¯s evolution coupled with the long period of notmunicating had lost him the power tomand the ck knight. If that was it, he was willing to leave the ck knight within the isted space. Otherwise, a ck knight that did not listen to orders would have brought him or someone else unneeded problems.


    He had the urge to slowly explore the new space that Silverlight had opened, but it was not the time to do so. Exploring the isted space would consume a lot of mental energy, so he retreated quickly after establishing a connection with the ck knight, since he had already felt a mental toll.


    The ck knight was quickly released, and it was still in the dark, dull armor. Only its two eyes emitted a strange green glow. It stood quietly in the room, seeming quite obedient. Xiao Lin did not dare bring it outside. It was one matter to scare the other students, but if the student union treated it as a dangerous being and confiscated it, he would suffer a great loss.


    That was why he performed his necromantic meditation alone in his dormitory.


    Compared to the undead swordsman from before, the evolved ck knight had a muchrger reserve of death energy. The death energy even materialized in a faint ck mist. It was a power the ck knight naturally possessed. It was a pity that when Onyxia forced it to evolve with the skeletons that had been umted over many years, there was a sense of prematuredness. That was why the ck knight was actually still in a somewhat weakened state. It was actually a lot weaker than those ck knights that naturally evolved after hundreds of years of experience. Of course, it was Silverlight that told him so.


    As for how he could use the ck knight that was stronger than even himself, Xiao Lin had no idea for the time being. That was why he was merely using the ck knight as a source of energy at the moment, leaving it in his room as Xiao Lin entered necromantic meditation, using the dense aura of death around the ck knight to improve his necromantic meditation.

 Chapter 454: First Attempt At Compressing Elements

    <h4>Chapter 454: First Attempt At Compressing Elements</h4>


    The first week of the new semester passed quickly. Theplicated sses under the new curriculum led to a lot of studentsining, especially since cultural sses, like history and foreignnguages, had turned even dryer than before. The other courses had also begun to feel different.


    Be it magic sses or physical ones, the professors started to pass onrge amounts of basic skills. Even more spells and even more sword techniques led to the students swimming in them.


    Xiao Lin was an exception. Other than thepulsory cultural sses, he had used his freedom to choose his sses to avoid all otherbat-based courses other than elemental sword aura.


    After the first ss, the old professor no longer provided him with more direction, but after listening to the professor and constantly working on his necromantic meditation, he got more and more excited. That was why before he mastered elemental sword aura, he did not n on attending other courses.


    In truth, the improvement was faster than he anticipated, his necromantic meditation had improved from LV1 a week ago to LV3¨Ctwo levels in a week. When the old man asked him about his progress, the old man¡¯s mouth opened so wide an egg could be stuffed inside.


    As his familiarity with necromantic meditation increased, it caused the professor to increase his advancement as well. That was why, during the first weekend, Xiao Lin could finally try condensing the elements.


    The venue was still in his dorm, since necromantic meditation was not something that required a dedicated room to increase its effectiveness; all that was needed was the ck knight¡¯s death energy.


    At the end of deathy rebirth.


    Those words were basically the foundation of elementalpression, but it was no simple task to actually do it. Xiao Lin went into Miracle as usual before entering the meditative world. As his basic attributes increased, the amount of time he could maintain Miracle did as well. Even so, he could only meditate for twenty minutes at most before needing to rest, so every opportunity was very valuable.


    After a week of necromantic meditation, his meditative universe now had countless grey meteorites alongside the ming or frozen stars. Those meteorites floated between the stars, small yet containingrge amounts of energy. They were the representation of death energy.


    Based on what the professor had taught, Xiao Lin had used all his time attempting to master and establish a mental connection with death energy. It was actually very hard because he needed to be familiar and even adept atmunicating with both the elements and death energy. It was something that necromancers and elemental mages struggled to do.


    However, Xiao Lin was lucky. He used his own special method to enter necromantic meditation, which was why he could perceive both the elements and death energy. The death energy was also provided by the ck knight. As its former owner, even if the ck knight had already surpassed Xiao Lin in skill, there were still fetters of a mental connection between the two. The connection was weak, but it was a great help to Xiao Lin in perceiving death energy.


    Xiao Lin had already prepared the time and ce; now, it was time for the first attempt.


    Following the professor¡¯s instructions, Xiao Lin first started with one orb of death energy. When establishing a mental connection, he could already give that orb basicmands. He carefullymanded the orb to leave the vicinity of the ck knight. To the ck knight, who had vast amounts of death energy, the orb was just one small part of a million, and was not worth mentioning.


    Following that, Xiao Lin started to apply constant pressure on the orb. Thanks to Miracle converting his attributes into Intelligence, his full mental strength gathered on the thing the size of a microorganism. It was a force that was hard to imagine.


    The meteorite that represented death energy started to expand; it was trying to absorb Xiao Lin¡¯s mental energy, but not even a second had passed when the meteorite started to rapidly copse like a ball with a puncture. The speed was shocking, and in the blink of an eye, the meteorite turned into fragments in Xiao Lin¡¯s meditative world.


    After leaving the ck knight¡¯s body, the orb of death energy actually did not have much time to live. Even if Xiao Lin had not done anything, the lone orb would merely have survived for a little while in the academy¡¯s isted space.


    The decay of the death energy was just the start. As it perished, Xiao Lin¡¯s full attention had been on it. He had observed traces of energy that came out of the fragments in that brief moment. It was extremely weak, and if he did not pay special attention to it, he would have missed it. However, with the professor¡¯s special methods, and under the special environment of necromantic meditation, Xiao Lin still felt it. He was mildly shocked; the professor¡¯s theories were constantly being proven right.


    If it were to be exined by Earth¡¯s physics, it could be called thew of conservation of energy. Even if Earth followed differentws, Norma had very simr environments to Earth. The two worlds actually shared a lot ofws, and the professor had found the best way to use this particrw.


    The perishing of death energy would just cause the energy to disappear from the world. The new energy that Xiao Lin grasped was simr to natural elemental energy. They were also simr in size to the stars in the meditative world. However, the difference was that they did not have burning mes or flowing waters.


    ording to the professor, they were newly born elements, and had yet to take up a trait from nature. They were newborn, which was the start of everything. Of course, the process was short in reality, possibly not even taking the blink of an eye or the time it took to take a breath toplete. When new elements were born, the natural environment would give them one of the four basic traits.


    Xiao Lin did not have time to admire it or be surprised. He needed to use that small window to perform true elementalpression. True elementalpression was done when the element was reborn; that was the defining point of the professor¡¯s theory.


    The energy that came out of the orb of death energy had turned into numerous smaller starting stars. Xiao Lin used his special mental strength to force those elements to collide.


    Truepression was simple and violent. In such a short time, there was actually no way to try out other methods.


    Boom!


    As the two stars collided, Xiao Lin felt a shocking explosion being produced. The sudden impact threw him out of the meditative world, and he immediately opened his eyes to look at his surroundings.


    The ck knight still stood quietly in the room. There was no explosion, no impact. The shocking amounts of energy produced by the two orbs colliding in the microscopic world remained there.

 Chapter 455: Battle Training Class

    <h4>Chapter 455: Battle Training ss</h4>


    Sess!


    Xiao Lin was panting, his heart thumping. He had already prepared for various problems. After all, the professor said that the first step was the hardest. The professor himself took numerous years before he could even make his theory a reality, so Xiao Lin did not expect to seed in his first try.


    Thepression of the first energy orb was just the start, but he now essentially had one foot through the door. The next step was just repetition and training¨Cfrom one orb to ten, a hundred, a thousand. The time taken topress each orb needed to constantly shrink as well. Using this ability in truebat would require it to be done in the blink of an eye, or it would lose its meaning.


    No matter what, it was a good start.


    In the next week, Xiao Lin repeatedly trained and familiarized himself with the process. The professor had stopped teaching him much more after the first ss because he believed that the process would take a very long time. Xiao Lin did not ask any more questions either because he believed that it was better to do it himself, which would make it easier when the professor taught him the next step.


    The first half-month of the new semester passed just like that without any surprises. He had thrown all his effort into elemental sword aura training, even neglecting many of his other sses. However, his Basic Meditation had skyrocketed because of that, and he had reached LV9 without knowing, which was the highest basic level.


    The next stage of Basic Meditation was Novice Meditation. That required the user to not only feel the elements, but also be able to tell the types, power, and amount apart. Xiao Lin had already managed to do that with his elemental sword aura training, which was why Xiao Lin was only at the MAX rank of Basic Meditation for three days before breaking into Novice Meditation LV1.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Intelligence attribute had reached 30 points in thetest test. It meant that his abilities seemed to have quickly soared in the past few days.


    Other than the cultural sses, Xiao Lin had basically spent the past half a month either in the sword aura training hall, the dormitory, or the cafeteria. When he appeared in Saturday¡¯s shared ss, a lot of them looked at him in surprise.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do this. You won¡¯t have enough credits.¡± The kind-hearted Cheng Ming worried about Xiao Lin as usual.


    ¡°We were even betting on whether or not you¡¯d appear for this ss. Why did you show up? You lost me three hundred redemption points.¡± Chen Dao looked depressed. Since Xiao Lin was the only one who enrolled in elemental sword aura, he did not see anyone most of the time.


    ¡°This time I won¡¯t lose to you!¡±


    Xiao Lin was just greeting Chen Dao and Cheng Ming when a woman suddenly interjected. He quickly noticed that the woman was ss Four¡¯s monitor Han Manman, thest ss monitor to be formalized. She was heavily mocked for not being able to be a formal ss monitorst semester, and hady low because of that. However, she was still a talent holder in the end, and had been officially promoted.


    ¡°Oh, Han Manman.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s rtionship with her was not great, maybe even bad, so he just casually acknowledged her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so full of yourself!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯sckadaisical attitude seemed to have caused Han Manman to feel looked down on, and she looked quite angry.


    However, at that time, the ss started. The extra ss implemented during Saturdays was the battle training ss. It was something that was only added this year.


    There was no fixed teacher in charge of the ss. ording to the student union, each ss would have a different person invited over, since the experience withbat that everyone had was different.


    When the instructor for this ss walked in, Xiao Lin was speechless. It was a familiar person: the captain of the Seventh Regiment, Yu Mei. He could not believe that she had rushed back from the New World to teach a ss. He began to suspect that the woman might have just been bored because there was no one in the regiment.


    Yu Mei did not hide her familiarity as she looked over to Xiao Lin, causing the other students to be dumbfounded. It was obvious the teacher was once again someone Xiao Lin knew, and every more or less had a bit of admiration and respect for Xiao Lin in their hearts.


    However, Yu Mei did not greet Xiao Lin. She was dressed for battle that day, but it was simple armor, not even Bronze-ranked in quality.


    She walked to the center of the arena. As thergest training hall avable to the first-years, it could basically contain all the new students. Eyeing the crowd, Yu Mei looked around before clearing her throat and letting out a thunderous roar.


    ¡°Some of you might know who I am. I am a captain in the army. My job is to kill our enemies in war, and battle with any foreign races that threaten Dawn Academy! I did note here to y with you. The student union had some requirements for this ss, but I rejected them. Since I¡¯m here, then we¡¯ll follow my rules, and this ss willmence with the requirements I put on my soldiers!¡±


    ¡®Captain?¡¯


    Even these rookies knew how powerful a captain was in the New World. They then looked at Xiao Lin again. He actually knew that captain!


    Only Xiao Lin smiled to himself in a corner. Soldiers? What a joke. When did that woman have soldiers? The Seventh Regiment only had him and Yu Mei!!


    ¡°The first thing that needs to be clear is that this is absolutely realbat. There are no simtions and no training swords.¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s next words immediately caused everyone¡¯s looks of admiration to turn into shock. A murmur shot through the crowd, and someone shouted a question. ¡°You want us to fight each other for real? Quit joking! What if someone is injured!¡±


    ¡°Injuries just mean you¡¯re not skilled enough!¡± Yu Mei mocked. ¡°Why don¡¯t we use simtedbat? That¡¯s because you¡¯ll all know it¡¯s fake and think nothing will happen to you. What¡¯s the point of fighting with that mentality?¡±


    ¡°What if someone dies?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Then you¡¯re just unlucky!¡±


    Boom!


    The hall once again exploded. Xiao Lin nodded as he looked at Yu Mei¡¯s smiling face. The woman was obviously joking. Just as tempers started to re, sheughed as she said, ¡°You¡¯re all so boring. Fine, fine, that was a joke. How could the student union allow you to waste your lifespans here?¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re still using simtedbat?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°No, that was not a joke, you¡¯ll be using real weapons.¡±


    Everyone was rendered speechless.


    ¡°Quit giving me those looks. Let me finish speaking. The training hall has been equipped with a high-level recovery system. We¡¯ll also be giving all of you protective armor, so you can just fight to your heart¡¯s content. I¡¯ve already gained the approval of the student union. All recoveries done in this ss will be paid for by the academy!¡±

 Chapter 456: Wang Dalin’s Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 456: Wang Dalin¡¯s Challenge</h4>


    It was a real battle, and the medical treatment would be covered by the academy.


    Xiao Lin was getting a headache and he grinned. He could already vaguely perceive everyone¡¯s unkind gazes toward each other. Usually, people got along just fine and were friendly with each other. However, there was always friction. There would be people who held grudges against someone else, but because of academy regtions, no one dared to fight in private.


    In Yu Mei¡¯s actualbat lesson, Xiao Lin understood that it was an opportunity for people to settle grudges and carry out revenge. In the end, if two people usually had a good rtionship, it was unimaginable how they could be ruthless toward each other in a battle like this.


    However, despite theints, Yu Mei, as a teacher, undoubtedly stood by her decision.


    The grouping was soon tomence. As people were free to choose their opponents, and considering that injuries would inevitably ur in the next battle, everyone appeared to be quite hesitant and cautious. Yu Mei then repeated the grouping principles. Opponents may be chosen freely, under the condition that there must be abination of magical versus melee fighters.


    Xiao Lin was starting to understand the point of this ss.


    The grouping took quite a long time. As there was an imbnce in the number of magic and melee groups, many people had to wait a little longer.


    ¡°In the future, you are all likely to be fighting in the New World. If you encounter an opponent of apletely different type, and you have no choice but to engage in battle, then you need to know what you should do. I know you have all gone through several monthly exams, but in actuality, your monthly exams are nothing more than something that happened in history. Actualbat tactics are constantly being improvised. Allow me to first demonstrate to you.


    ¡°First of all, as a melee fighter, what should I do when I meet a spellcaster...¡±


    Then came a long lecture period. Although everyoneined about the arrangements for actualbat in the beginning, however, as Yu Mei continued her lecture, everyone settled down quickly and listened intently.


    Though they were no longer novices, as the monthly exams gradually provided them with somebat experience, it was all in a self-explored manner. In the first half of the semester, the professional course teachers only taught basic knowledge. They were not allowed to run before they learned to walk.


    Hence, this ss was the first time they were actually exposed to systematicbat methodologies. What they did not know was that, before this, these courses were only meant to be taught in the second semester of the sophomore year.


    ¡°I know that many of you used to y games. So, tell me, what should a melee fighter do when they see a spellcaster? Do you just charge in brainlessly? Try to beat the opponent in the shortest time possible, right?¡±


    Many students snickered at Yu Mei¡¯sment. These words brought everyone closer together. Who would have thought that Yu Mei yed video games too?


    ¡°If you do the same on Norma, I¡¯ll give you two words, in suicide!¡± Yu Mei¡¯s words escted just as quickly.


    ¡°Indeed, when your strength reaches Gold-rank and beyond, a person with expertise in agility can do something like this. However, it is impossible for most other people to run up directly to a spellcaster in his casting phase to kill him. I believe you all experienced the power of spells. Without preparation or relevant resistances, rushing in is tantamount to suicide!


    ¡°So, how do you fight a caster? It¡¯s simple, interfere with the casting! Use high-speed movement, evasion, and other actions. Also, make use of obstacles to increase the difficulty of the opponent¡¯s lock-on. When the spellcaster is injured or in an abnormal state, the sess rate of casting will drop drastically. For example, the spellcaster can be repelled, stunned, or paralyzed with special sword auras. In summary, you have to maneuver around it. Unless you can guarantee beating spellcasters with brute strength, maneuvering around the spellcaster and depleting the opponent¡¯s mental strength to exhaustion are always good choices...


    ¡°As for spellcasters who face melee fighters, you need preventive measures. Although the chances of melee fighters getting into close range are slim, all they need is to seed just once, and the spellcaster will be devastated. In addition, everyone¡¯s misconceptions must be corrected. Spellcasters must learn to cast their spells reasonably. How many of you present can urately tell how many Novice spells can be cast by your current mental strength capacity? How many ck-iron rank spells...¡±


    Yu Mei chose her words carefully. Some people had already experienced these concepts to a certain degree through the monthly exams, but nobody revealed who these people were, and some were evenpletely neglected.


    However, Yu Mei did not say much. In her own words, they did not need to know too much. They first had to apply what they knew into battle.


    With this as groundwork, not many would beining when actualbat practice started.


    Xiao Lin, who was double-cultivating, actually did not care. However, as a monitor, not many ordinary students were willing to practicebat against him. To do so was basically masochism.


    Chen Dao and Cheng Ming were both eager to try, but someone rushed ahead of them. When Xiao Lin saw the person standing in front of him, preparing to spar, he was shocked for a long time before saying, ¡°Wang Dalin?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s impression of Wang Dalin remained at the beginning of the academy when the guy kept on targeting him. However, since bing the monitor, Wang Dalin suddenly disappeared and kept a low profile. Xiao Lin was not one to hold a grudge, and he stopped paying attention to Wang Dalin after that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fight you!¡± Wang Dalin seemed a little unusual today. His aggressive tone was very unlike his low-key style from before.


    ¡°Do you want to challenge me?¡± Xiao Lin frowned.


    Wang Dalin frowned back. Displeased, he said, ¡°It¡¯s not a challenge! Challenging is a term used by the weak when they are faced against the strong. I admit that you¡¯re not weak, but you underestimate me!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not want to ept. He knew his own strength. If they fought seriously, what if he actually disabled his opponent? Even if it could be cured, it would not be good if it left some psychological trauma. Anyway, they were still students and fellow ssmates.


    However, Wang Dalin¡¯s attitude was very unpleasant. In front of a crowd, he was even a little instigatory. Xiao Lin did not want to hurt others for no reason, but he was not afraid either. Xiao Lin did not know what Wang Dalin was cooking, but he decided to ept the challenge.


    ¡°As you wish. I shall ept your challenge.¡±


    Xiao Lin once again emphasized the word ¡®challenge¡¯, causing Wang Dalin¡¯s expression to turn even darker. The two of them removed their weapons. Although this was actualbat, using their own weapons was prohibited. Instead, they had to use the weapons on the weapons rack at the venue. Compared to training swords, these swords are significantly higher in both quality and sharpness.


    The venue wasrge enough, but the others still consciously spread out to give them more space.


    ¡°I remember you used knives. Then, I will use spells,¡± Xiao Lin muttered, then shouted to Chen Dao, who walked not too far away. ¡°Hey! don¡¯t walk away. I want to spar with youter. Wait for a moment, this will be over soon.¡±


    Wang Dalin¡¯s face twitched fiercely.

 Chapter 457: Strange Speed

    <h4>Chapter 457: Strange Speed</h4>


    Xiao Lin actually knew about Wang Dalin¡¯s strength. Although he has been to the New World on business trips several times, it did not mean that he was oblivious to the situations in ss. A monitor had ess to check on the changes of attributes of every member in their ss. It had to be admitted that Wang Dalin¡¯s strength was among the best in the ss.


    However, Wang Dalin¡¯s strength was limited, and Xiao Lin did not think that he would lose to Wang Dalin. He casually took the mostmon short wand from the weapon rack and walked to the center of the battlefield. He chose to not attack first, considering it a final act of humility as a monitor.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s weapon was a knife, but what surprised Xiao Lin was that he actually went for dual knives. He remembered that the guy had always used a single knife. The sword was considered to be the weapon of choice for melee professionals, and Xiao Lin had not taken a knife course. However, swords and knives were simr in many ways, and dual knives are obviously more focused on dexterity and speed. Wang Dalin had always single-wielded, and Xiao Lin did not know when he changed courses.


    It did not matter. Xiao Lin casually cast a water shield on himself. He very rarely cast elementary defensive spells, but since Wang Dalin chose double knives, he thought it was better to be safe.


    The water shield spell waspleted almost instantly, but Wang Dalin¡¯s was even faster. Almost immediately after he lowered his wand, Wang Dalin¡¯s figure had disappeared from his sight.


    Xiao Lin, who was inattentive at first, snapped alert in an instant. In terms of actualbat experience, he was actually much better than all other freshmen. After all, he had faced various powerful enemies in the New World, and his several near-death experiences also improved his abilities significantly.


    Usually, there were not any official signals to start sparring like this. Ordinarily, people would extend a greeting and notify that preparations wereplete before starting. However, this time, Wang Dalin¡¯s speed shocked many of the onlookers. Several other monitors who were uninterested also came to spectate.


    ¡®Ping!¡¯


    The de of Wang Dalin¡¯s knife swept across the surface of the water shield from top to bottom, but because Xiao Lin had preemptively stepped backward, creating space between them. Although the water shield was broken by this guy in an instant, Xiao Lin himself was unharmed.


    ¡°me Bullet!¡±


    Xiao Lin sent a barrage of ten me Bullets without hesitation. At such a close range, coupled with his current perception level, it was easy tond his shots on the target. The result was out of his expectations. Wang Dalin did not evade and actually took all the me Bullets head-on.


    Although basic armor was provided in the training hall, Wang Dalin chose the leather armor with the lowest defense. This kind of armor made of ordinary animal skin was very light, allowing the wearer better mobility. However, while there was an increase in speed, it also greatly reduced all aspects of defense and resistance.


    Xiao Lin adjusted slightly to avoid hitting vital parts. Although the power of me Bullets was not lethal, a series of hits sted several holes through the leather armor provided by the training hall. The exposed skin was already split and bloody. Fresh blood started flowing, causing several onlookers to gasp. This was realbat, and it was certainly no joke.


    Yu Mei, who was watching from the side, started to frown unconsciously, seemingly a little solemn and confused. However, it was not toward Xiao Lin, but Wang Dalin. She suddenly interrupted and said, ¡°Everyone has the right to give up.¡±


    Before Yu Mei¡¯s words could register, Wang Dalin grimaced with pain and suddenly let out a roar like a beast. He held his knife in a backhand grip and attacked once again. Just as Yu Mei had taught earlier, in meleebat versus a spellcaster, it was important to finish the spellcaster in one go. Never give the opponent any chance to even breathe.


    ¡°So fast!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s pupils constricted rapidly. Wang Dalin was indeed very fast. Such explosive speeds at such a short distance was beyond the limits of his eyes to track. Xiao Lin could reach these speeds, but he must first be in the Miracle state. No, perhaps he even needed to be in the Ruin state to be able to surpass such speed.


    This had to be a joke. When did Wang Dalin achieve this level of agility?


    Although Xiao Lin did not have the time to check on his ssmate¡¯s attribute levels in thest two days, he saw them at the end of the first half-semester. He remembered it very clearly; this guy¡¯s agility attribute was just around 20 points or so. Currently, by the looks of it, his agility should be at the very least 100 points!


    A lot of thoughts were going through Xiao Lin¡¯s head, but his hand movements were not slow either. With a backhand, he raised his wand to block, as he noticed Wang Dalin¡¯s dual knives wereing at prating speeds, directly toward his throat. This was actualbat and people were allowed to attack liberally, as healing systems were prepared for the injured. Even so, targeting vital parts and going for lethal blows raised a lot of discussion among all those in the venue.


    Wang Dalin growled low once more, and Xiao Lin noticed that his eyes were gradually turning red, looking like a crazed demon. Wang Dalin, who was unsessful on his second blow, did not give up. He moved quickly again, and in a sh, he was by Xiao Lin¡¯s side. In less than a second, he feinted a blow with his knife.


    Xiao Lin was slightly angry. The requirement for this battle was melee versus magic. He was not allowed to use melee weapons. As a pure spellcaster, it was indeed very troublesome to be stuck in close range with an opponent with such strange speed.


    However, he was not a pushover. Even if he did not turn on the Miracle state, he would evade by relying on the advanced judgment brought by his high Perception, coupled with good agility, strength, and physical attributes. Wang Dalin¡¯s several attacks, which could certainly be described as determined, did not have much of a real effect.


    It was not easy to force Wang Dalin back. The number of spells that Xiao Lin had mastered thus far was limited. It was a stalemate, and it was a matter of waiting to see who could not endure it and had to stop. Xiao Lin judged that Wang Dalin¡¯s speed could not be normal. It was probably the result of a certain skill buff.


    Xiao Lin was not willing to wait. That was not the result he wanted for this battle. Originally, Saturday¡¯s actualbat course was the best time for him to experiment withpressed elements. With that thought, he instantly stopped hesitating, and immediately went into the Miracle state.


    As he used Miracle, Yu Mei raised her brows slightly. With a backhand, Yu Mei tossed a scroll, and a transparent ss-like hook appeared around them, covering Xiao Lin and Wang Dalin within it.


    In terms of difficulty, there was a world of difference betweenpressing and fusing a single element versuspressing and fusing countless elements. The number of elements in each spell was different, and the me Bullet that Xiao Lin wanted to use was the lowest level and also a low-power spell. Hence, the required number of elements was also low.

 Chapter 458: Wang Dalin’s Abnormality

    <h4>Chapter 458: Wang Dalin¡¯s Abnormality</h4>


    Xiao Lin touched the spatial ring on his finger. Although the professor told him that when he reached a proficient level and that he would not need to use death aura to transform elements, he was still a beginner and he needed to rely on death aura to perform elementpression. He felt that it was a little too rushed.


    Extracting death energy from the spatial ring was the quickest thing that came to mind. After all, he could not summon the ck knight anywhere or anytime wanted. Fortunately, this ring waspletely controlled by his mental strength, so it was possible to properly extract the ck knight¡¯s breath of death.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s shots were very quick, and it was the same me Bullet spell. However, his casting time was a little slower this time. Fortunately, his own basic attributes, coupled with the water shield, bought him enough time. In addition, this spell had an extremely short casting time. From condensing elements topression, until the elements were rbined into the structure required by me Bullets, the entire process only took a few seconds.


    Of course, this was a total failure in the eyes of the professor. In actualbat, a few seconds could be the difference between life and death. However, this was more than enough to deal with opponents of Wang Dalin¡¯s level.


    A dazzling red light began to emanate from Xiao Lin¡¯s fingertips. This was a hotter mepared to the one he cast earlier, and some people already started to notice that something was off. Yu Mei seemed to realize something and opened her mouth as if about to say something, but in the end, she just sighed.


    ¡®Boom! Boom! Boom!¡¯


    In quick session, Xiao Lin fired three me Bullets. Xiao Lin was also observing carefully. After all, the significance of this duel was not actually to hit Wang Dalin, but to experiment with the application of his ownpressed element techniques in actualbat.


    Three explosions happened one after another. Xiao Lin was a little disappointed that the first two me Bullets detonated before they reached their targets. This showed that the death energy had not beenpletely transformed into elements, resulting in an iplete spell structure. Colloquially, this was a spellcasting failure. The third me Bullet hit Wang Dalin squarely in his lower abdomen.


    Wang Dalin was brutally flung backward, crashing against the defensive barrier that was set up by Yu Mei earlier before falling to the ground. He was barely able to get up, swaying a few times, and almost fell over again. The leather armor on his abdomen had long beenpletely burned, revealing a hideous and terrible-looking wound.


    ¡°You still want to fight?¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned. In his view, when a melee fighter sessfully closed the distance with a spellcaster but was then beaten back by the caster and distanced, it was already a failure. Now, he had enough time and space. Even if he did notpress elements, he could easily knock him down with a normal me Bullet.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Something seems off with this guy!¡± A familiar voice could be heard from outside the protective barrier.


    Xiao Lin stood stunned for a moment. There was indeed something abnormal with Wang Dalin. The blood in his pupils seemed to have be even thicker, and his muscles seemed to be trembling as if enduring great pain. Was his attack so powerful?


    Afterpressing elements, the power of the me Bullets was greater than expected, but that was its limit. After all, the basic power of this spell was too low. Being able to knock Wang Dalin into the air was actually an unexpected effect, and it was unlikely to be fatal.


    ¡°Enough! That¡¯s enough! This duel ends here!¡±


    Yu Mei walked over while breaking the protective barrier. Walking to the corner of the venue, she nced back and forth between Xiao Lin and Wang Dalin, who was barely able to stand. Xiao Linid out his hands to show that he did not intend to continue, but Wang Dalin seemed topletely ignore Yu Mei¡¯s warning. He was still approaching Xiao Lin, clutching the handle of his knife tightly.


    Yu Mei¡¯s frown deepened, and she did not waste her breath. She suddenly rushed over and with a heavy chop, she struck Wang Dalin on the back of his neck, stopping himpletely.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Xiao Lin asked as he walked over.


    Yu Mei red at him and snapped in a low voice. ¡°You brat, I finally got the opportunity toe here to have some fun, but you had to meddle and ruin it!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s put on an innocent face. ¡°That has nothing to do with me.¡±


    Yu Mei wanted to say more but decided not to continue, as there were a lot of discussions all around. She waved her hands, and said loudly, ¡°What are you all looking at! Don¡¯t you know ss is still going on? These two students demonstrated textbook dueling between melee fighters and spellcasters. Now, start practicing!¡±


    The crowd finally dispersed as they watched Yu Mei carrying the unconscious Wang Dalin in one arm, walking out the ssroom with Xiao Lin. For the subsequent portion of the lesson that was essentially open duels, she simply handed the responsibility of maintaining order over to the monitors.


    Yu Mei made her way to the student union. Although she was a legionmander, ording to Dawn Academy¡¯s management mechanisms, she had no right to supervise students. Obviously, the student union had to get involved with this matter, and Xiao Lin as a party would naturally need to follow.


    On the way to the student union, Yu Mei¡¯s face locked into a frown made Xiao Lin realize that things were not as simple as he thought. He was getting more confused and he thought about it for a while before probing, ¡°This Wang Dalin probably bears hatred against me. Umm, it was when school started. I thought he didn¡¯t care anymore, and I didn¡¯t expect this guy to hold such a grudge. Earlier, he wasing at me with fatal moves, but good thing I¡¯m not a pushover.¡±


    Yu Mei did not know whether tough or cry and said, ¡°Whatever animosity between you two isn¡¯t important. Even if he really killed you, it¡¯s just some life points. I know you¡¯re quite wealthy. Are you that afraid to lose a little money? This... uhh, what was his name again?¡±


    ¡°Wang Dalin.¡± Xiao Lin nced at Wang Dalin, who was being carried by Yu Mei. He was still unconscious while foaming in the mouth and convulsing from time to time.


    ¡°Well, what is Wang Dalin¡¯s usual strength like? I meanpared to the battle just now.¡±


    ¡°The difference is huge. His power has been raised significantly, the most obvious one was his speed. His speed was very scary.¡± Xiao Lin looked a little frustrated.


    ¡°You are a monitor, and you have ess to check his attribute points. Do you think that, judging by his attribute points, his sudden explosive power is normal?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t checked for over two weeks, but I don¡¯t believe that he can grow that much in a mere two weeks¡¯ time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Yu Mei finally released a heavy sigh. ¡°This guy had vited the academy¡¯s biggest taboo.¡±


    ¡°You know how he is able to achieve such explosive strength and speed?¡±


    Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s glimmering eyes, Yu Mei immediately stopped and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. I said this is a taboo of the academy. If you want to stay in Dawn Academy, don¡¯t think about it. Moreover, it¡¯s not good for your health.¡±


    ¡°Can you stop ying hard to get?¡±


    Yu Mei did not seem to be ying hard to get; she was truly being hesitant. In the end, she still waved her hand, and said bitterly, ¡°Fine, I don¡¯t see any harm in telling you. At your rank, you¡¯ll find out sooner orter anyway. Have you heard about forbidden techniques?¡±

 Chapter 459: Forbidden Technique

    <h4>Chapter 459: Forbidden Technique</h4>


    Forbidden techniques, just as the name suggested, were spells that were prohibited. They could be understood as spells, but in Yu Mei¡¯s words, it was a collective term for various sword skills, spells, and other techniques.


    Xiao Lin certainly understood the meaning of this term, but he did not know what it meant in Dawn Academy, or on Norma.


    Yu Mei continued, ¡°The system on Norma has been developing for millions of years, creating countless spells and skills. It¡¯s difficult to precisely count the numbers and types, but after our screening, we have ssified some of these to be ssified spells. No, it should be said that even in the natives of Norma, these spells are not endorsed.


    ¡°These forbidden techniques can either allow the user to gain a great increase in strength in a short period of time or allow the user to obtain abilities that are difficult to obtain for ordinary people. These are called forbidden techniques after all, as these abilitiese at a great cost, and the cost depends on the ability itself. However, most of theme at the cost of life, soul, or others of that sort. So, basically, all academies have clearly stipted rules that prohibit students from using forbidden techniques.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. If that was the case, the scary speed and power that Wang Dalin suddenly gained could be easily exined. He thought for a while and said, ¡°But if you only use your life as the price, then it shouldn¡¯t be uneptable. Uh, I mean, life points can be supplemented with Lifewater anyway.¡±


    Yu Mei nced at him. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. This kind of life loss is permanent and irreversible. Lifewater itself is not omnipotent, and the loss of life caused by forbidden techniques cannot bepensated by any means.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°However, the price for that kind of power... I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s a temptation that many would find difficult to withstand.¡±


    Yu Mei sighed. ¡°Indeed, many were not able to resist this temptation. That¡¯s why it is listed as forbidden techniques. Many years ago, all academies signed a joint agreement for this. This probably means that the dissemination and learning of forbidden techniques are totally banned. I don¡¯t know about other academies, but this agreement is strictly adhered to in Dawn Academy.¡±


    Xiao Lin blinked, as he figured out why Yu Mei¡¯s expression was so solemn before. It was not that bad for Wang Dalin to learn the forbidden technique itself. He was just a freshman who would not create much impact. However, how was Wang Dalin able to have a forbidden technique? How did he obtain the forbidden technique? Those were the key questions.


    Xiao Lin looked with some pity at Wang Dalin who was in aa. He had gone against academy rules, and the worst result was probably expulsion from the academy. He might never be recruited again.


    Half an hourter...


    The two were in the office of the student union president. The president, who came after hearing the news, did not look like his usual gentle self. He nced at the passed-out Wang Dalin, frowned, and asked Yu Mei, ¡°Are you sure it was a forbidden technique?¡±


    Yu Mei did not have much respect for the president. There was no affiliation between the two of them, and therefore she spoke casually, ¡°Do you still doubt my judgment?¡±


    ¡°Fine, skip this question. Does anyone else know?¡± The president looked at Xiao Lin, and a hint of frustration shed across his face. ¡°You really cause a lot of trouble. It¡¯s only been half a month since the new semester began.¡±


    Xiao Lin could only throw open his arms to indicate his innocence.


    ¡°The students all saw it, but they probably wouldn¡¯t see it as a forbidden technique. Since thest total ban agreement, these kinds of stuff shouldn¡¯t appear in the academy!¡± Yu Mei said, her temper ring.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for him to wake and ask him.¡± The president was very frustrated. To him, this incident was totally unexpected.


    Wang Dalin, who was knocked unconscious by Yu Mei, soon woke up and saw that he was lying on the floor. He had a dazed look, the blood-red in his eyes was quickly fading. He recognized the president and Yu Mei as well. However, when his eyes fell on Xiao Lin, his gaze quickly became hostile, even looking as if he still wanted to rush over.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough! Settle down!¡± The president¡¯s voice was low, but when the voice reached their ears, it was as if they were struck by thunder. Wang Dalin trembled, and he actually calmed down.


    ¡°I think I should step out of this.¡± Xiao Lin rose and nned to leave. He felt that he attracted hatred here, despite not knowing why Wang Dalin hated him so much.


    ¡°No, you are also a party to his matter. If the dean asks about this, he will definitely ask you.¡± The president waved his hands, indicating that he did not mind. In fact, he had always been very tolerant with Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Your name is Wang Dalin, yes?¡± The president looked toward Wang Dalin, his baby-face full of dignity. He slowly asked, ¡°Do you know why you are here?¡±


    Wang Dalin shook his head and finally opened his mouth. In a hoarse voice, he pointed at Xiao Lin and said, ¡°I... I couldn¡¯t beat him. But I swear, one day I will beat him!¡±


    ¡°Competition is a good thing, but I want to know exactly what you learned during this period, and how you were able to have today¡¯s strength.¡± The president already called up for a recording of the battle in the training hall, and his frown deepened the more he watched it.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I endure, I work hard. How can a person like him be a ss monitor? I want to make an appeal. Why is he favored by the student union and the dean!¡± Wang Dalin shouted with agitation.


    The president was unmoved, and said with a nk expression, ¡°Your jealousy has made you lose yourposure. In fact, don¡¯t think that we can¡¯t find out what you¡¯ve done. Your every move in this academy is recorded. All we need to do is call up the recording and everything isid bare.¡±


    Yu Mei went with the flow and said, ¡°Just get to it. We know that you learned a certain spell or skill to achieve a temporary spike in your strength.¡±


    Wang Dalin was silent for a while, turned his head and said coldly, ¡°Why can¡¯t I use skills that I thought of myself!¡±


    ¡°My *ss!¡± Yu Mei said angrily. ¡°You learned a forbidden technique on your own? Don¡¯t take us for idiots!¡±


    The president¡¯s tone was also very stern, but it was still slightly gentle. He warned, ¡°Trust me, this kind of reinforcementes at a great price. Maybe you won¡¯t feel anything right now, but you will definitely regret it in the future.¡±


    In this hour-long questioning and review, the president and Yu Mei were ying good cop/bad cop. However, despite various warnings and persuasions, they were of no use. Although Wang Dalin implied that he had indeed used a special method to strengthen himself, he was insistent that he had learned it himself.


    Wang Dalin¡¯s lips were very tight. In the end, the president was helpless, and he could only let him go for now. Although it seemed that Yu Mei had the urge to extract a confession from Wang Dalin through torture, it was obviously impossible to do so this in the academy. The presidentter sent two people to follow Wang Dalin.

 Chapter 460: Bell

    <h4>Chapter 460: Bell</h4>


    Naturally, this matter would not end here. Soon, the president brought Yu Mei and Xiao Lin to the Central Computer to retrieve arge number of relevant video materials. It was also at this time that Xiao Lin learned that Dawn Academy was surveilled in almost all locations, except for dormitories that involved personal privacy.


    Of course, apart from the dean, the only person who had the authority to look at these files and records was the president. The subject of the investigation was naturally Wang Dalin. Due to this being a cumbersome topic, and because of the special nature of forbidden techniques itself, there was no way more people could know and be involved in the matter.


    Xiao Lin could also discreetly see that the president did not wish this matter to be a big deal. He hoped to resolve this matter within the smallest possible scope, so the immediate concern was to solve the problem of the source of the forbidden technique.


    This was why the president dragged Xiao Lin to examine the recordings. The actualbat course on Saturday was over anyway, and the weekends were their break time, so Xiao Lin was pulled in for free.


    Xiao Lin was also very helpless about the whole thing. He had ns to study for the weekend, but he was also worried, so he nodded in agreement. Wang Dalin himself was not scary, but it was not easy to get foolproof deterrents in ce. He never would have thought that Wang Dalin¡¯s jealousy was so strong. Coupled with the mysterious forbidden technique, he just wanted to get rid of the matter quickly.


    After going back that evening, Xiao Lin made a brief announcement in the forum and the ss internal chat group. He exined what happened during the ss that day, and of course, he did not mention the forbidden technique. He mentioned that Wang Dalin¡¯s injury had recovered so that everyone did not have to worry, that Wang Dalin was currently under academy supervision, and he would not have the opportunity to exin.


    Xiao Lin then found Zhou Feng in private. He was more at ease meeting the team leader that he appointed himself. He met in Zhou Feng¡¯s dormitory, and after he went in, the bare-headed man was full of chagrin and guilt, ¡°It was an error on my part! I actually was keeping an eye on the guy, but he behaved really honestly and really fooled me. Hmph! Don¡¯t worry. There will never be a next time!¡±


    Zhou Feng¡¯s coldugh made Xiao Lin wave his hands frantically. Although he had never asked about Zhou Feng¡¯s life experience on Earth, he knew that this guy was definitely a ruthless character. He did not want to cause any moremotion in the academy, and repeatedly told Zhou Feng to rx. He appropriately revealed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us. That guy, heh, my guess is that he won¡¯t be in the academy for much longer.¡±


    Zhou Feng had always trusted Xiao Lin. He immediately wore an expression that said ¡°I understand¡±, and asked no more. Then, Xiao Lin asked about how the rest of the course progressed. It was as he thought; at first, everyone was hesitant to fight each other. However, after some people stopped holding back, everyone else followed suit, and the whole scene was described to be fiery and explosive.


    There were quite a few injured, but Yu Mei had indeed fulfilled her promise, and all treatments were free of charge. It had to be said that this kind of actualbat training really benefited many people.


    Early on the next weekend, Xiao Lin, who had promised the president, made his way to his office early. However, he found a little girl in the office when he came in. She was approximately one meter in height, wearing a clean white dress. She sat barefoot on the sofa, spacing out with her bored face propped up by her hand under her chin. When she noticed that Xiao Lin hade in, the girl immediately raised her head, raising her thick brows, and a sweet smile spread across her face. She suddenly shouted, ¡°Big Brother Xiao Lin!¡±


    Xiao Lin was confused and returned the greeting cautiously. He was trying to judge whether the brat was a reincarnated ancient monster created by the professors. After all, he did not think that the academy would enroll such a young girl.


    He gave a weak salute. ¡°Hello. I was entrusted by the president to handle some things. Uh, I don¡¯t know which professor you are? Do you know me?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not say anything about the investigation of the forbidden technique, but the girl giggled and said, ¡°I have read through your information a long time ago, so of course I know you. You don¡¯t have to pretend, you¡¯re here to investigate the forbidden technique. I will fetch the video recording for youter.¡±


    ¡°Uh, who are you actually...¡±


    When he approached the girl, he found that her feet were actually off the ground. More importantly, she was not really sitting on the sofa. She was a few inches from the surface of the sofa. Xiao Lin¡¯s head started to go numb. If not for it being daytime, he would really have the urge to turn and dash out.


    ¡°Hehehe, hahaha. You are so interesting!¡± The girl was amused by Xiao Lin¡¯s bewildered expression. She burst outughing, trying to catch her breath. She could not help but p the sofa leather with her little hands, but it did not make a sound, which made the atmosphere even more spiritual.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t scare the freshman. You¡¯ve had this old habit for over a hundred years. Get over it!¡± The president entered the room, but Yu Mei was not there. She said that she had an emergency in the New World.


    The president¡¯s appearance caused Xiao Lin to let out a relieved sigh. However, he still pointed to the strange girl and asked in a low voice, ¡°President, is she a human or a ghost?¡±


    ¡°She is neither human nor a ghost.¡± The president smiled bitterly and rubbed his eyebrows, seeming to be distressed about how to exin it.


    ¡°President, your exnation is a little scary.¡± Xiao Lin also smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Geez, you guys are wimps. I¡¯ll just introduce myself.¡± The little girl¡¯s tone was lively, but she looked more domineering than before. She stood up, no, floated in the air and swayed back and forth a few times before saying, ¡°You can call me Bell. As for my identity, I¡¯m the Central Computer¡¯s master control program.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re aputer program!¡± Realization shed across Xiao Lin¡¯s face, and he fell quiet for several minutes before raising his voice. ¡°WAIT! Artificial intelligence!¡±


    ¡°I am not artificial intelligence! The most urate term would be ¡®artificially-intelligent life-form,¡¯¡± with some dissatisfaction, the little girl Bell corrected him.


    Xiao Lin put on a weird face. Was there a difference?


    The president sighed. ¡°Bell, stop it. Don¡¯t forget the dean¡¯s instructions before he left. I called you today to settle some business.¡±


    Bell seemed to be just very casual toward the president, but she looked to respect the dean much more. Just the mention of the dean caused her to tone down. She pouted and said, ¡°Here, I have collected all the videos, and I have already screened them. However, the remaining video content is still huge. But that¡¯s okay, I can make an exception to help you all today.¡±


    Xiao Lin temporarily suppressed his doubts about this mysteriousputer program girl and concentrated on investigating Wang Dalin.


    All the videos were uploaded by Bell into the micrputer arranged by the president. The next thing they had to do was to investigate for any clues in the videos.

 Chapter 461: Investigation

    <h4>Chapter 461: Investigation</h4>


    It was a long and cumbersome project. Plus, they were short of manpower. Fortunately, there was Bell, the artificial intelligence¨Cor artificially-intelligent life-form. She could archive and organize arge number of videos and then rey them to Xiao Lin and the others to watch one by one.


    For example, she would first cut all the trivial Wang Dalin time out of the video, such as eating or sleeping in ss and so on. The president still had absolute confidence in the courses and teachers that he arranged, and it was impossible for someone to learn forbidden techniques in ss. It could only be done in private.


    Soon, their investigation focus fell on the library again, because they found that in thest two months of thest semester, Wang Dalin spent a considerable amount of time in the library. For this reason, they brought up Wang Dalin¡¯s borrowing records.


    However, after a busy half-day, nothing was found. In the afternoon, the president had to attend meetings and left first, leaving Xiao Lin and the little girl with the white blouse in the office.


    After the president left, Bell started to be lively again and started to unwittingly chat with Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin was also starting to get extremely bored. Wang Dalin was not even a beautiful woman. Looking at images of him all day long would drive anyone mad with boredom.


    ¡°Actually, I have been following you since you first enrolled.¡± The little girl¡¯s voice was crisp and lively. Anybody who did not know of her identity beforehand would have a hard time telling if she was real. However, Xiao Lin already knew that what he saw with his eyes was merely a phantom formed by virtual graphics. This girl was, as she said herself, intangible.


    Xiao Lin froze, not knowing why.


    Bell curled her mouth and said, ¡°Hehe, you should thank me. I was the one who processed and summarized all the data of your admission health screening. If I hadn¡¯t sent your data to the dean in time, do you think you would have received the same treatment afterward?¡±


    ¡°As an artificial intelligence, these things are supposed to be your job anyway,¡± Xiao Lin said feebly. He was very interested in artificial intelligence, and he did not expect Dawn Academy to have such a thing. However, half a day¡¯s boredom had long driven his curiosity away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, I am not artificial intelligence! I am an artificially-intelligent life-form!¡±


    ¡°Which is to say, there isn¡¯t really any difference.¡±


    ¡°I was not created in your world. I am a life created by thews of Norma. Again I am not what you call aputer program, I possess intellect. To put it simply, if you give me a body, I would be indistinguishable from you humans!¡±


    ¡°A man-made life-form?¡± Xiao Lin pondered for a while and suddenly thought of the Big Bai that Silverlight had entrusted to him before her death. That magical life form seemed to be also created with Antean technology, and it also possessed a high level of intelligence. With that said, this Bell should be simr to Big Bai.


    ¡°Speaking of which, your progress is really slow.¡± Bell seemed to have a habit of babbling, and she droned on. ¡°You have an SS-level talent, and up till now, it¡¯s been more than half a year, and you¡¯re still only a ck Iron-rank. This speed is not even as good as an S-level talent.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood this. He was indeed dragged down by too manyplicated matters in thest semester. However, he suddenly thought of something and quickly took the little girl by the arm. It was a pity that his hand just passed through the little girl¡¯s arm. Paying it no mind, he asked hurriedly, ¡°Wait, did you just say that you were responsible for the statistics of the admissions health screening? In other words, you are able to look into all our files?¡±


    ¡°Of course. As I said, I am in charge of the entire academy¡¯sputer files.¡±


    ¡°Then what about my admissions notice? Can you look into this file?¡± Xiao Lin thought about what Wang Yun told him previously, that his notice had been encrypted, and ordinary people would not be able to read it.


    ¡°Admission notice? Of course I know it. However, those are sealed and encrypted under the dean¡¯s repeated instructions,¡± Bell said indifferently.


    So, it was the dean.


    Xiao Lin stabilized himself internally. He trusted that the dean was protecting him, but that actually seemed more strange. It was just an admissions notice, but it was encrypted, even to the point of top-secret level encryption.


    ¡°The dean mentioned that the admissions notice cannot be shown to anyone without permission.¡±


    ¡°Not even me?¡± This girl made Xiao Lin itch for more. Feeling his curiosity mounting, he could not help but ask, ¡°It¡¯s my own admission notice, so I should have permission, right? The dean would certainly not mind.¡±


    Bell hesitated. The girl seemed to be very intelligent, but she also seemed tock contact with people. It was probably due to this reason she became so energetic when she saw Xiao Lin today. It was difficult to withstand Xiao Lin¡¯s badgering, and he even pulled tricks that were used to fool children on her.


    Of course, Bell knew the importance the dean ced on Xiao Lin. After hesitating several times, she finally relented in a low voice, ¡°Okay, okay, I can show you. Actually, it is no big deal, so I guess the dean won¡¯t me me. But, you must promise me not to tell anyone. This time, I¡¯m making an exception for you because the dean values you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my lips are sealed tight. I will not betray you!¡± Xiao Lin pounded his chest to indicate his promise.


    Looking really unsure, Bell floated to the window and looked from side to side. In fact, this was the president¡¯s private office. Usually, unless with his permission, no one would have the courage to break into this ce for no reason.


    It was a good long while before the girl drew the curtains and floated back down, clutching her dress. She stretched out her hand onto a screen and pressed at it several times, but the feed was dizzyingly fast. After entering a password that waspletely invisible, a virtual screen dropped, and the admission notice was disyed on the screen.


    ¡°This is a virtual copy. The original copy was destroyed long after admission, so only the virtual file was kept.¡±


    This familiar-looking admissions notice was the culprit that brought Xiao Lin into this academy at the start, and he could not help but sigh when he saw it again after such a long time. By the looks of it, the short admissions notice did not look any different from any other.


    The notice did indeed exist, but Wang Yun insisted that the school had never admitted him. Wang Yun probably made a mistake.


    Xiao Lin was starting to feel relief when he suddenly read something that was off. Looking at the text on the admissions notice, his eyes went wide, and his heart sank all the way to the bottom...

 Chapter 462: Handwriting

    <h4>Chapter 462: Handwriting</h4>


    It was already evening when the president came back. He smiled wryly as he exined to Xiao Lin that there were a lot of trivial matters in each year in the new semester, on top of the education reform. It was not just for the freshman year; a few seniors had to prepare for internships in the New World. As the president, he had to attend a bunch of meetings all day long.


    However, he stopped mid-exnation as he noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s strange mood. The president could not help but express his concern, but he did not get any response. Xiao Lin could only smile and mutter that he felt a little tired.


    ¡°Did you find anything?¡± the president could only ask.


    Xiao Lin shook his head, andughed bitterly. ¡°I have looked through almost all of Wang Dalin¡¯s extracurricr surveince records. I don¡¯t think there was any suspicious opportunity for him to be exposed to forbidden techniques. Looking at probability, perhaps it was the time spent in the library?¡±


    The president looked at Bell. The little girl was sitting on thin air. She curled her mouth and said, ¡°I already pulled up all relevant borrowing records for you.¡±


    The president nodded. ¡°I trust in our library. It¡¯s impossible for any prohibited books to appear inside.¡±


    Xiao Lin cleared up his mood and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think there were any omissions in the management of the academy. But, President, do you think there are loopholes in our initial ideas? Wang Dalin may not have learned the forbidden technique in the academy.¡±


    The president¡¯s baby-face was slightly taken aback, and he understood what he meant. He frowned. ¡°Do you mean on Earth? How is that possible?¡±


    Xiao Lin spread his arms open. ¡°This is not something I know. I wonder if the academy monitors the students that return to Earth?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s currently impossible to achieve that sort of all-around surveince. However, if you use abilities that transcend the rules on the ne of Earth, it will definitely be detected. Mao Tianying of the Earth Division has never reached out to me, and I believe that he wouldn¡¯t hide anything from me.¡±


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t there an ident on Earthst time?¡± Xiao Lin blinked and continued to refute. ¡°Regarding the Pacific Ocean matter, I don¡¯t know much about the battle, but if someone took the opportunity to do something at that time, I believe it would be difficult for the Earth Division to monitor it, right?¡±


    The president¡¯s frown deepened and murmured to himself, ¡°You¡¯re right, but who would possess a forbidden technique? And why would they choose to teach it to Wang Dalin specifically?¡±


    Nevertheless, Xiao Lin¡¯s reminder gave the president no choice but to consider the possibility of investigating the matter on Earth. However, this was not something that Xiao Lin could take care of, and the president understood this. He let Xiao Lin leave after thanking him for the day¡¯s efforts.


    ...


    ¡°You really hold him in high regard. In the entire academy, only a select few cane and go freely from this office,¡± Bell said abruptly after waiting for Xiao Lin to walk away.


    ¡°The dean values him,¡± said the president, without looking back.


    ¡°He begged me to pull up his admissions notice today,¡± Bell said casually. She behaved very casually in front of the president.


    The president was not surprised. ¡°The head of recruitment told me a few days ago that there was a woman who also wanted to check his admissions notice file. I bet it was also requested by Xiao Lin.¡±


    Bell changed her posture mid-air, letting her white feet dangle enticingly. However, the baby-faced president continued to ignore it, which made her quite dissatisfied. She pouted and provocatively asked, ¡°The dean once ordered that his admissions notice be permanently sealed and encrypted. Aren¡¯t you curious about the reason?¡±


    ¡°I trust the dean¡¯s decision.¡± The president¡¯s tone did not change at all.


    ¡°You are the same as that old dean¨Cso boring. I don¡¯t believe you haven¡¯t investigated. With your authority as president, you should be able to find out. In the pre-admission list issued by the Admissions Department to the student union, there was absolutely no information about Xiao Lin.¡±


    The president finally turned his head, his kind gaze bing rather sharp. He warned in a low voice, ¡°Speak of this matter here and forget it. Neither I nor the dean wants anyone else to know about this.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, you¡¯re not that old fart, so don¡¯t use that look to scare me.¡± The girl smiled, unfazed, and continued, ¡°And, you know, not many people in this academy know that I exist. Who can I tell anyway?¡±


    There was a short silence.


    The president could not help but speak again. ¡°Today, he asked you to help investigate his admissions notice. Did you guys find anything?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Bell immediatelyughed exaggeratedly. ¡°I thought you really didn¡¯t care about anything! In fact, you¡¯re also very curious. I studied human psychology in the library database; curiosity is in human nature!¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, even I can¡¯t avoid it.¡± The president was also quite helpless with this girl, ¡°So, can you tell me the answer now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look! I¡¯m serious!¡± Bell smiled slightly, and continued seriously. ¡°After Xiao Lin looked at his admissions notice, uh, how should I say this, he looked weird. But I can¡¯t tell what was weird, I think he suddenly understood something. But frankly, I have read through his admissions notice thousands of times, but I really can¡¯t see anything unusual.¡±


    The president was stuck, and after a long time, he sighed, ¡°Xiao Lin is now an indispensable student of Dawn Academy, and his significance to the academy will be even greater in the future. It doesn¡¯t matter how he got in; the dean¡¯s approach is correct. This was to not give the military a chance to poke holes, and also for Xiao Lin¡¯s protection.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin did not eat his dinner right away after got back. He bumped into Chen Dao and the others on his way back, who very enthusiastically invited him to the cafeteria. However, he politely declined them. After arriving in the dormitory, he shut himself in his room, searched for a sheet of paper, and scribbled line after line profusely.


    After he finished writing, he looked through it for a long time, and then he said, ¡°F*ck me!¡± He then tore up the paper and looked for a fresh paper to continue writing. After writing, he looked through it, tore up the paper again, and continued writing...


    It was like this for the whole night, until he was exhausted. Xiao Lin stared at the confetti all over the floor, his face was incredulous.


    He was neither crazy nor stupid. He was just constantlyparing his handwriting. Earlier, when he finally got Bell to pull up his notice file, the appearance of the notice, including all its production materials, did not look any different from other notices. However, what was strange was that all the words on the notice were handwritten. Wang Yun and Bell confirmed to him that admissions notices were all printed electronically. It was impossible to write them manually.


    What shook Xiao Lin to the core, to the point that he was not able to calm down, was that the handwriting on the admissions notice clearly belonged to him!

 Chapter 463: After the Turmoil

    <h4>Chapter 463: After the Turmoil</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s handwriting was actually quite unique. As he was once mocked in school for his ugly handwriting, he gritted his teeth and practiced his handwriting for a long time. Although he becamezy when he arrived at university, he finally developed the skill and he had possessed it ever since.


    If someone suddenly ced it in front of his eyes, he might not be able to recognize it. Just like when he first received his admissions notice, he did not think about the handwriting at all. If he looked at it again, he would inevitably get a weird feeling.


    He was not very sure when he saw it in the office that afternoon, so he kept checking his handwriting throughout the night. The conclusion made him even more perplexed.


    Indeed, the handwriting was exactly the same.


    However, Xiao Lin was still unable to believe it. After all, looking at the rationality of the matter, it was totally unbelievable. How could Xiao Lin write himself this admissions notice from Dawn Academy?


    Xiao Lin rubbed his numb head and felt like his brain was about to explode. He was trying to make sense of the whole puzzle. If Wang Yun was not lying, then there had to be a problem with his admissions notice. At the very least, it was not distributed through the academy¡¯s formal channels.


    Unless there really was someone whose handwriting was exactly the same as his, and that person happened to be willing to forge a perfect admissions letter to fool the student union president, the head of recruitment, and even the dean. Risking such great danger and creating a massive cover-up, just to get him into an academy?


    Was this a high possibility? Xiao Lin shook his head. He felt that the probability of such idiocy was very low.


    After eliminating all the impossible factors, the remaining inferences were the truth, no matter how unbelievable they were.


    The fact remained: was the admissions notice really written by Xiao Lin himself?!


    If this happened in the past, Xiao Lin would definitely think that it was a big joke. He might even think that the president and that artificially-intelligent life-form Bell were coborating to deceive him, but he was not so sure now.


    Xiao Lin touched his forehead, and his expression gradually turned a little strange.


    He thought of the Time Rewind skill Silverlight had cast, which brought them into the corridor of history as an observer. However, when the wall of time was broken, they changed from mere bystanders to historical participants. Just like the time paradox he and Gu Xiaoyue mentioned earlier, these kinds of things were difficult to exin.


    However, if they were to follow this logic, then Xiao Lin sending his own admissions notice to himself seemed to make sense.


    ¡°You must be joking!¡±


    After a long time, Xiao Lin could not help but let out an angry cry. He was still unable topletely control the third eye on his forehead, let alone show it in public. He did not want to be thrown into ab and treated as a monster. If he could not even control that, he could forget about the Time Rewind skill.


    In fact, he was actually very interested in this skill. However, before her death, Silverlight repeatedly warned that the skill needed to be used with caution. Silverlight herself had obviously paid a certain price before casting Time Rewind, and this made Xiao Lin afraid to experiment with it lightly.


    After thinking about it, Xiao Lin still did not have a clue. Although he considered what seemed to be the only possibility for a moment, it was still unrealizable from a practical point of view.


    However, this matter did not actually affect Xiao Lin very much. Since he could not make sense of it, he decided to stop thinking, and he sighed. All he could do was to temporarily carry this weight in his heart. Due to this, he had also decided to take time off every day to start learning more about how to use the third eye.


    Most students werepletely oblivious to the turmoil that happened over the weekend. Only a few perceptive students could see the differences. Wang Dalin had been suspended from his courses. Wang Dalin was locked in his dormitory all day long, and even his daily meals were prepared by someone and sent to him. A few of his close friends wanted to visit, but the person appointed by the student union to watch over Wang Dalin refused them, saying that Wang Dalin was unwell.


    Of course, there was a slight impact from this incident. Those in ss Seven who were unsatisfied or had contempt toward Xiao Lin had nowpletely eliminated every trace of their delusion. They did not believe in the obvious farcical nonsense of physical unwellness, and they firmly believed that this kind of treatment was inseparable from Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was really frustrated when he heard about this private gossip from Zhou Feng. However, he did not intend to offer any sort of exnation. To him, a united and stable ss was not a bad thing, even if the unity was only superficial unity.


    Apart from a few unsavory friends, Wang Dalin¡¯s interpersonal rtionships were actually very poor. Most people did not actually care about whether this guy showed up or not, and the student union still had yet toe to a conclusion on how to deal with Wang Dalin. The main thing was that the president still wanted to find the person who taught Wang Dalin the forbidden technique. Compared to Wang Dalin, this matter was more important. It was because of this that Wang Dalin was able to stay on the academy grounds.


    Naturally, Yu Mei could not stay in the academy for long after finishing the temporary lectures on the weekend. Before leaving, she invited Xiao Lin and Chen Dao for a private meal. As for why Chen Dao was invited, it was because due to Xiao Lin¡¯s swindling¨Cactually¨Cdue to Xiao Lin¡¯s kind advice, Chen Dao was actually a member of the seventh regimen in name. Currently, it was just that there was no way to get an officer¡¯s certificate before getting the approval of the student union. After all, Chen Dao was not Xiao Lin, and he could not be directly appointed by the dean.


    They had the meal in the faculty canteen, and Xiao Lin did not know of the existence of such a canteen until today. It was specially for the cadres of the student union, as well as various professors and teachers.


    If they were to ask about the difference between this and their luxurious cafeteria on the top floor of their dormitory, on top of the more chic and elegant environment, the biggest difference was that there were more dishes here. Most of them used ingredients from Norma. For those who achieved ck Iron-rank, there would be no problem eating these foods.


    However, when Xiao Lin identally learned that these ingredients were all supplied by the Logistics Department, he barely touched his chopsticks during the meal. He only smiled and said that he was on a diet. Then, watching Chen Dao wolfing down the food, the corners of his mouth kept on twitching.


    Yu Mei roughly knew what was going on, and irritably rolled her eyes at Xiao Lin, but did not bother to talk to him. In fact, she specially invited Chen Dao to this meal. Xiao Lin was even sure that the womaning to the academy to teach was just an excuse. She came just to examine Chen Dao.


    Xiao Lin could tell from this woman¡¯s expression that it was basically confirmed that Chen Dao had met her requirements. After all, as a talented recruit, he was a spell-type genius second only to Gu Xiaoyue. Chen Dao¡¯s aplishments were obviously impressive.

 Chapter 464: New Curriculum

    <h4>Chapter 464: New Curriculum</h4>


    Chen Dao was actually a very simple person. In terms of his greatest interests, besides all kinds of fantasy novels, it was probably women of different races.


    After affirming Chen Dao¡¯s ability, Yu Mei also chose the right moments to talk about his ideals and fantasies. For example, how beautiful were the elves, or how flirtatious the Norman human beauties were, or how there was no such thing as marriagew in Norma, and so on. Chen Dao was so bewitched that his eyes were shining, and he almost swore loyalty on the spot.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched as he heard this. It was indeed as Yu Mei said, there was no such thing as marriagew on Norma. People from Earth over there were free to marry whoever they wanted and marry as many as they wanted. However, Xiao Lin was also aware that the mixed blood between Earth and Normans currently had a serious defect. This defect would cause them to have a very short lifespan.


    Xiao Lin had met Gu Xiaoyue and even Hammerhead the Orc. This tragedy was undoubtedly cruel to them.


    However, Xiao Lin also knew not to break the fantasy that Yu Mei painted on the spot. Yu Mei then briefly spoke about the developments of the legion. In fact, they were recruiting, and recruiting like mad. The recruitment for the legion was currently only open to people on Earth. They were trustworthy people, and they could only rely on them to recruit and promote the legion.


    The oue of the meal was really sessful, and Chen Dao¡¯s enthusiasm was even higher than Xiao Lin had imagined. In the end, Yu Mei also hinted at another matter: the Inter-academy Tournament.


    This could be regarded as an after-meal chat. Although the list of entries had not been officially announced, it was basically certain that both Chen Dao and Xiao Lin were selected to participate.


    ¡°The academy attaches great importance to thispetition. By the way, I will tell you a secret.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes at Yu Mei¡¯s mischievous smile. If it was really a secret, obviously they should not know it. However, it seemed that it was probably just an internal secret.


    ¡°This education reform was actually a preparation for the Inter-academy Tournament. The academy hopes that the current batch of students could gain some honor for the academy. Hehe, otherwise some people will not take us seriously!¡± Yu Mei¡¯s smile was cold when she uttered thest sentence.


    Chen Dao was still clueless, while Xiao Lin vaguely thought about something. The president had also mentioned something simr. It involved games between the academies, and naturally, it was not something people like them could talk about.


    Xiao Lin thought of more, and asked abruptly, ¡°How is the dean now?¡±


    Chen Dao looked at him iprehensibly. Last semester, there was a newspaper article about the attack on the dean. Although the matter fizzled out, there was no more news about it. The freshmen probably would not pay attention, but Xiao Lin suddenly recalled this incident.


    Yu Mei squinted at him. After being silent for some time, she said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How could anything happen to that old man! Sort yourself out before worrying about others!¡±


    Xiao Lin stared at Yu Mei, trying very hard to discern anything from her expression. However, it was a pity that he could not see anything. He did not have much contact with the dean, but he knew very well that his current special treatment was all thanks to the dean. Compared to the military who was willing to trade his life for Lilith¡¯s, he undoubtedly liked the kind old man better.


    ¡°I understand, I will try my best in the tournament.¡± Although Xiao Lin was already prepared, he dered it more solemnly this time. Even if it was to repay the care that the dean had provided all this time, he had to also help Dawn Academy acquire some honor in the tournament.


    After Yu Mei left, the peace in Xiao Lin¡¯s life was restored. Of course, peace was also a rtive term. Compared to having to travel to the New World from time to time or having to face multiple near-death situations, leisurely eating and sleeping in the academy was undoubtedly a much morefortable life.


    People only realized this when there is aparison to be made. Therefore, even though the freshmen were pressured by the courses and were groaning repeatedly, Xiao Lin behaved very calmly.


    Xiao Lin still devoted nearly half of his time topressing elements, and the old professor was also shocked by his progress. Xiao Lin only took a week to cover the ground that took the old man several years. There was nothing more to teach him after that.


    Afterpleting the ss forpressed elements, all subsequent courses were shortened as much as possible for this time period. This was also to ensure stability afterpression. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s ambitions were greater. After initial sess, he not only wanted to use thepressed elements in elemental swordsmanship; he also wanted to apply them to the learning of spells.


    On top of that, Xiao Lin also took the time to start reading up on other courses. After all, his goal was to reach the Bronze rank, so he needed to improve attributes beyond just Intelligence.


    The advanced courses in the subsequent semester would bring about a much higher difficulty. In terms of swordsmanship, he was quitefortable, because in the final examst semester, he actually experienced the essence of Elementary Swordsmanship. Elementary Swordsmanship focused on the changes in swordsmanship, and not merely the simplebinations in Basic Swordsmanship.


    Thus, this required students to select a specialization in different sword moves to be able to continue the course. For most students, it was still a little early to get in touch with sword aura. Therefore, most of the swordsmanship lessons provided to them by teachers did not require sword aura. A select few students, such as the talented recruits, naturally received exceptional treatment.


    Xiao Lin, who had the freedom to engage in lessons, only started the Elementary Swordsmanship course halfway through the month. The teacher was a middle-aged man, who probably understood Xiao Lin¡¯s privileges, and did not seem surprised. He enthusiastically helped Xiao Lin and introduced the alternative sword moves.


    ¡°You should already have a sword aura, just like Cheng Ming and the others. I won¡¯t get into other sword moves, but you can look into these sets of sword moves.¡± Xiao Lin was in his first swordsmanship course, and this man took the initiative to hand over materials and books that were meant to introduce swordsmanship.


    Another key point of the education reform was to enable outstanding students to receive a better education. To put it simply, the academy had shifted from a dogmatic approach of cultivating popr soldiers and colonists, to prioritize cultivating elites.


    All of this was to prepare for the imminent Inter-academy Tournament, and obviously, the student union had already given the teachers the heads-up. All the contestants would receive extra privileges and treatment. So, even without Xiao Lin¡¯s background, he would have received good treatment anyway.


    There were actually many choices of sword moves and swordsmanship techniques. In Norma¡¯s development through millions of years, countlessplete swordsmanship routines were formed. It was obviously impossible for the academy to provide for all of these techniques. For example, the materials that this man had handed over to Xiao Lin contained only about 20 carefully selected sets of routines.

 Chapter 465: Elementary Swordsmanship

    <h4>Chapter 465: Elementary Swordsmanship</h4>


    Every set of swordsmanship had a level rating next to it. This was abel added by the teacher so that they could better choose the appropriate swordsmanship. This teacher was quite thoughtful.


    Swordsmanship was not the ultimate goal, but a secondary process to supplement training and learning. In fact, Xiao Lin did not care much about what sort of swordsmanship he chose, and from thebels, the highest level of these was only ck-Iron or Bronze in rank. In other words, these were routines that would be obsolete sooner orter.


    Therefore, Xiao Lin¡¯s focus was still on the effects of these swordsmanship studies. For example, certain types of swordsmanship could enhance the flexibility of the body, and certain types could improve reflexes. With the continuous improvement of attributes, for ck Iron-ranks, each attribute actually provided meaningful empowerment.


    Xiao Lin studied carefully from start to finish, and then again from thest page to the front. He pondered for a long time before raising his head and saying to the teacher enthusiastically, ¡°Um, these routines all look really useful, and they should be a big help to my learning process. I will learn them all.¡±


    ¡°Sure, then you can choose... Huh?¡± The teacher was a gentle-looking man, and his smiling face froze in an instant, his eyes wide. ¡°What, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°I will learn them all.¡± Xiao Lin thought for a moment, and added confidently. ¡°No, I can¡¯t say that. Anyway, I will learn as much as I can.¡±


    ¡°That, that... But...¡± The man felt that his brain was overheating.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we choose multiple swordsmanship specialties?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes fluttered innocently.


    ¡°There are no such rules.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then thank you, Teacher.¡± Xiao Lin had always been polite in front of these senior teachers.


    ¡°...¡±


    The man¡¯s mouth hung open. He wanted to remind Xiao Lin that there were no such rules because no one would ever choose all the specialties. Human energy was limited, especially with courses in the second half of the semester being so tight. Where would he find the time to learn it all?


    However, this man also had his sources of information, and he knew that Xiao Lin had the privilege to freely attend sses. If Xiao Lin was determined to be that way, he really could not stop him.


    After a short break, the course continued.


    Compared to the fiery woman who taughtst semester, this man¡¯s swordsmanship course was moreid back. It was uncertain if it was some kind of authorization from the student union, or it was just this man¡¯s personal teaching style, but it was almost like a free-for-all style of learning. After splitting up several sets of swordsmanship moves for demonstration, he left them to practice on their own. Only after an hour or so, the man would return to simply check on their progress.


    However, for a few elite students, he conducted holistic andprehensive individual lessons. In addition to a few monitors, there were also a few ordinary students with a rtively high strength attribute value.


    The first set of swordsmanship that Xiao Lin learned was called Total Annihtion. This set of swordsmanship was actually developed independently by Dawn Academy after they integrated Norman Swordsmanship, and was very suitable for freshmen courses.


    ¡°This set of sword moves is the most effective sword technique when you find yourself surrounded by your enemies. It damages in an area of effect. If you possess sword aura, it can also causerge-scale damage. It is a very practical skill on the battlefield, but pay attention to the timing of the release, because it requires an obvious charging time before use. Also, it does not differentiate between friend or foe, so you must be cautious. I don¡¯t want to see you killing your own allies on the battlefield!¡±


    The teacher¡¯s exnation was very detailed, and the elites were listening very carefully. Earlier, Chen Yu mentioned something about building an Elite Club, and the nning for this was actually already underway. If there were no surprises, apart from a few monitors, they would definitely only select from the best students. The rtively outstanding ordinary students would inevitably have a deep desire to surpass the monitors.


    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re all using the same approach,¡± Cheng Ming took advantage of the teacher¡¯s brief pause, left his post, and joked softly to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°I fell in love with this Total Annihtion skill the moment I saw the introduction. No question, even the name sounds domineering!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face twitched slightly. He wanted to exin that he did not choose this sword move just because of its name. However, after thinking about Cheng Ming¡¯s simplemindedness, he simply agreed.


    Several elites actually did not only choose a single sword move, and they also asionally engaged in chit-chat to inquire about the sword moves. The highest number of sword moves that were chosen were four, which was the limit of their learning ability.


    The more sword skills digested in a short period of time, the more obvious it would be for the improvement of basic attributes. However, if it took too long to learn a certain sword move, it would not be worth the time lost when it could be used to learn other sword skills. These people naturally understood this basic reasoning, and thus they chose ording to their abilities. Due to this, when they learned that Xiao Lin was going to learn 20 sets of sword skills, everyone thought he was an idiot.


    Xiao Lin had long learned to ignore what others thought of him. In fact, he put a lot of effort and time into it. The Elementary Swordsmanship course had three sses a week, and each sssted the entire morning. In addition, Xiao Lin devoted a lot of his spare time to this.


    Total Annihtion was not a sword skill of high difficulty. Of the 20 sets of sword skills provided by the teacher, it was the lowest level. As long as he was able to upgrade Elementary Swordsmanship to around level two, he would be able to learn it. This was not really a challenge for Xiao Lin.


    Three dayster, in the final Elementary Swordsmanship course of the week, he demonstrated the entire set of Total Annihtion swordsmanship moves in front of several monitors and teachers. The speed of his learning shocked everyone speechless.


    Did he master a set of swordsmanship moves in three days?


    Even Cheng Ming, who had the Swordheart talent, could not do this. He imed to have only mastered 60% to 70% of this set of swordsmanship. As for the others, it was even more unbearable. With no matching talent, they had only barely started on the three-day course.


    ¡°Well, the difficulty of this set of swordsmanship is indeed rtively low.¡± The teacherughed dryly, and they did not know if this was tofort himself or for the students.


    After that, Xiao Lin logically started to learn the second set of swordsmanship on his own, and it was called Broken Strike. After the teacher overcame his brief shock, the basic movements of this set of swordsmanship were also taught very seriously.


    There were very few swordsmanship moves in Broken sh. This set of moves was very modest, its power not very great, its area of effect not veryrge, and the sword moves not very quick. However, the biggest benefit of Broken Strike was its adaptability. No matter how bad the environment was, the user could rely on this set of swordsmanship anytime and anywhere.


    It was also due to the simplicity of this set of swordsmanship, Xiao Lin decided to not waste any more time. Therefore, after working diligently to memorize the essential movements, he nned to practice them on his own on the weekends.

 Chapter 466: Sudden Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 466: Sudden Improvement</h4>


    Xiao Lin understood very well that his time was incredibly valuable at that moment, which was why he needed to use the limited time intelligently. For Saturday¡¯s battle training ss, he had set a goal to learn Broken Strike during the lesson.


    Battle training ss might have a different teacher, but the contents of the lessons were still the same; it was still meant to train the students in adapting to different opponents.


    Xiao Lin was challenged as usual. This time, his opponent was Han Manman, the monitor of ss Four. The newly formalized monitor had regretted not being able to challenge himst week.


    Han Manman was a mage that focused on the wind element. As a talent holder, even if she was not as good as Gu Xiaoyue and Chen Dao, she was still a cut above the rest in terms ofbat ability.


    However, it was not a problem; all Xiao Lin needed was an opponent¨Cnothing else.


    The challenges between the monitors were a point of attention by a lot of others. Before Xiao Lin fought, he managed to look at the duel between Cheng Ming and Chen Dao. He actually wanted to face Cheng Ming, but since he had already decided to use swordsmanship during the lesson, he naturally would not choose Cheng Ming, who was also a swordsman, as his opponent.


    The two of them were basically legendary figures amongst the first-years, and were very strong. The fight was very close, and it was obvious that both Chen Dao and Cheng Ming were very experienced. Chen dao¡¯s mastery of fire magic was very deep, and Cheng Ming¡¯s martial prowess was also very impressive.


    The fight ended up in a draw, the two of them did not hold back, and after they repeatedly had their wounds treated, they finally had to stop the fight out of sheer exhaustion.


    After that, it was Xiao Lin and Han Manman¡¯s turn. Han Manman bluntly chose to attack first. She was quite skilled in wind magic, and had focused more on damaging spells such as Hurricane, Wind de, and Wind Cutter.


    The battle between the two of them was quite tense. Since Xiao Lin kept trying to use Broken Strike, Xiao Lin¡¯s inexperience with the rather mediocre skill caused him quite a bit of trouble, especially under the constant onught of a mage which, at a certain distance, meant Xiao Lin could not advance and could merely defend.


    That caused Han Manman¡¯s morale to rise. She felt like she was beginning to seize the advantage. However, a very small number of students could see that Xiao Lin was just using this as practice, and an even smaller number of them could tell that Xiao Lin was practicing a sword technique that he was not used to.


    The situation started to slowly turn after around thirty minutes. Even if Han Manman had tried her best to control the exertion on her mental strength, she had started to fall into a state of fatigue. On the other hand, Xiao Lin had gotten more and more familiar with Broken Strike, and the advantage of the sword technique that could both attack and defend began to show itself.


    As a very ordinary technique, the physical strength it needed was not big, and it allowed Xiao Lin to stick to Han Manman like glue. Even if he could notunch a sessful attack, his defense was more than enough.


    When Han Manman had exhausted her mental strength, Xiao Lin magnanimously stopped his attacks. Neither of them were injured, other than the fact that the armor Xiao Lin had on for defense had been shattered by various wind des. However, thanks to his physique being far above Han Manman¡¯s, he was untouched.


    The duel between ss monitors might have ended in a draw, but it was nowhere near as intense as Cheng Ming and Chen Dao¡¯s. Anyone with a clear mind could tell that Xiao Lin was just toying around, since he had only used Broken Strike from start to finish. The power of Xiao Lin¡¯s swordsmanship was something many of them had seen during thest monthly examination, so they naturally understood how much he had held back.


    ¡°Not bad.¡±


    Xiao Lin said to Han Manman as she walked past him, but the woman was shaking with anger, and naturally ignored Xiao Lin. From an objective standpoint, training in actualbat was something that helped a lot in improving skills, especially against opponents with a certain caliber like Han Manman, so it allowed him to understand Broken Strike¡¯s practical value even more.


    Broken Strike was not a difficult technique. Xiao Lin took the entire next day to focus on training it, and managed to raise the sword technique to the highest level by nightfall, thoroughly mastering it.


    At some point, the topic of Xiao Lin learning twenty different sword techniques had been talked about on the forums by the other swordsmanship ss students. Of course, they did not speak in mocking tones since Xiao Lin¡¯s skills was something most of them hade to acknowledge. Even so, it was still outrageous to a lot of them.


    [The current report is that Xiao Lin has already mastered at least two swordsmanship techniques!]


    [What two? Isn¡¯t it just Total Annihtion? I¡¯m also in the swordsmanship ss, so don¡¯t try to bully me for not having a source of information, OP.]


    [Your information is outdated, OP is right. I saw with my own eyes that Xiao Lin had mastered Broken Strike in the training hall today.]


    [My God! Is that man human? It¡¯s only been a week and he¡¯s mastered two?]


    [I haven¡¯t even mastered my first swordsmanship technique.]


    [I heard that Cheng Ming has basically finished his first technique, but it¡¯s still a huge difference from Xiao Lin.]


    [I heard that Xiao Lin¡¯s magic skills are also quite good.]


    ...


    The bored students slowly turned to talking about these things during their free time after dinner as hobbies, and at some point, Xiao Lin had be a hot topic among them.


    He had gone from someone who was mocked and jeered at for entering the academy with the lowest basic attributes in the whole year to catching up to everyone¡¯s standards and standing out in the monthly exam. He had also managed to secure the ss monitor position, slowly having people acknowledge him as a true ss monitor.


    However, with how it looked now, Xiao Lin was not just someone at the strength level of a ss monitor; his skills were rapidly soaring, defying all imagination.


    In thest week, Xiao Lin had not rested and had thrown himself into new magical studies. The packed training schedule he had the week before had earned him arge payout, having his Strength and Agility both raised up to 30 points, which meant abined increase of about 10 points.


    His rapid speed of improvement shocked everyone. No one else in the year couldpare to him; even Gu Xiaoyue could not stand up to him at that point. After all, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s true selling point was only her rapid growth in Intelligence.


    Since they started the semester, Xiao Lin actually had very few chances to privately meet Gu Xiaoyue. At the most, they greeted each other when they met in ss, but Gu Xiaoyue did not talk too much about private matters in front of others, and the woman had also been working very hard that semester.


    The end of the first month was quickly arriving, and during the weekend, they would be facing a new monthly examination.

 Chapter 467: The Meeting Before The Examination

    <h4>Chapter 467: The Meeting Before The Examination</h4>


    After a semester, everyone was quite familiar with monthly examinations. However, the times Xiao Lin had actually participated in them were few. Of course, what he had experienced in the New World greatly exceeded examinations, be it in intensity or in realism.


    However, thanks to the restructuring of the courses, the monthly examinations stood to be affected as well. There were various rumors sprouting up on the forums, and those who started the rumors were those who were closer to the upper-years and the student council. It was a pity that Song Jung had yet to return to the academy, or Xiao Lin could have gotten information from him.


    No matter what, the current Xiao Lin would face it the same way. The forum was filled with arge number of students being worried about the standard of the examination, including those in his ss. That was because thest few monthly examinations in thest semester were quite moderate in difficulty, which Xiao Lin could see from the reports on the results after the fact. Even so, each ss had close to a third of their students losing their lives in the examinations.


    If the difficulty were to increase, then the casualties would be even higher. It was not good news for a lot of them, and in truth, Xiao Lin and the other ss monitors had noticed it as well. Each ss was beginning to break into two factions.


    Last semester, everyone had just entered the academy. No matter how talented they were, everyone was still walking on the same path, which was why there was not a huge difference. After a semester of training, the exceptional students were rapidly widening the gap between them and the less talented students.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s current attributes were Strength 30, Agility 30, Intelligence 30, and Physique 30, which was already enough to be at ck-Iron Rank. With Miracle and Ruin as extremely explosive killer techniques, he was very confident in his own skill. He could say that, even if the academy increased the difficulty of the monthly examinations¨Ceven to the level of the third monthly examinations fromst semester¨CXiao Lin would not have to worry.


    Of the other ss monitors, Chen Dao and Cheng Ming were naturally amazing figures, but the other ss monitors might be worse than the two of them; they were still much stronger than regr students regardless. Of the ss monitors, even ss Four¡¯s Han Manman, who had the lowest attributes, had already reached ck Iron-rankst week, which meant all of them were at that rank.


    That was why, facing the uing monthly examinations, the ss monitors could be considered the group that would need to worry the least. Even if they could not guarantee the overall results for their sses, their personalbat abilities were still enough to guarantee they would get decent results.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s personal training n did not change due to the monthly examination. Of the twenty sword techniques, he had already begun training on the third one, called Breeze sh. It was a technique that focused on speed, and was quite helpful to increasing his agility.


    His Elemental Swordsmanship was also steadily improving. Xiao Lin could already control thepressing and condensing of the elements to around three seconds. The professor initially had strict requirements for him, but after checking on Xiao Lin¡¯s progress a few times, the old man was speechless, and could not help but increase his requirements on Xiao Lin, lest Xiao Lin rx too much. Thus, his next goal was to shorten the time to two seconds.


    That one second was nothing to look down on. The further he advanced, the harder it was to shorten the time. At the end of it, even shortening it by 0.1 seconds was extremely hard, but the benefits it brought forth were incrementally higher. The higher level a battle was fought at, the more valuable time was. A strong opponent would not allow you to have those few seconds to slowlypress the elements.


    On Thursday, Xiao Lin had finished his dinner and returned to the dormitory. He was preparing to look at his notes when he received a message on his phone, asking him to head to the fifth floor in half an hour for a meeting.


    The fifth floor of the dormitories had a lot of meeting rooms, which were regrly used by the various sses. However, at that moment, other than the monitors, no one was doing such a troublesome thing. After all, to most students, meetings were quite pointless. Anything could just be talked about on the forums or even just announced in the various ss groups.


    The message had been sent by the student union, so Xiao Lin naturally had to abide. He put down his notes and immediately headed to the meeting room. He had even bumped into Cheng Ming and Chen Dao at the stairway; the two of them had confused expressions. On the way there, they spected that the year leader, Chen Yu, was probably going to announce the details on the monthly examination.


    They met their fellow ss monitors at the door; no one dared to be slow to respond to a student union notification. They had put down whatever they were doing to rush over. When they opened the door, the second-year year leader was standing there. His expression was very serious as he stood at attention, not averting his gaze. There were two others standing next to Cheng Yu.


    One of them was the baby-faced student union leader. He smiled at the ss monitors at the door, motioning for them to enter. The other one was the Seventh Regiment Captain Yu Mei. She also had an easygoing smile, and even shot a look at Xiao Lin, which caused Xiao Lin to roll his eyes in response. However, an uneasy feeling started to rise in his heart.


    ¡°Is everyone here?¡± The president shed his usual kind smile at everyone as he cast a scrutinizing look around. He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, everyonee in. Sit anywhere you want.¡±


    Everyone was shocked. It was not that big a deal if it was only Chen Yu speaking, but this time the president had appeared himself, and a captain was present as well. That ensemble would even shock fourth-year graduates, let alone first-years. Other than Xiao Lin, everyone had noticeably tensed up, their conversations from earlier stopping immediately.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked all of you here mainly to discuss the uing monthly examination.¡± The president¡¯s tone was gentle. It was just like everyone had guessed; the meeting was going to be about the monthly examination, but for it to be something that involved even the student union president caused everyone to curse silently. Would the examination this time be a never before seen difficulty?


    Xiao Lin had a look of realization and turned to look at Yu Mei, who was trying hard to maintain an expressionless look to preserve her dignified look. However, the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth showed that she was resisting the urge to smile. Yet, what did Yu Mei have to do with the monthly examination? The sense of unease he had started to increase.


    ¡°Everyone should already know about the educational reforms for this semester. In order to verify the results of the change, as well as to raise everyone¡¯s collectivebat ability, the upper management of the academy, after repeated negotiations, managed to submit a proposal to the dean and the student union. A conclusion was finally reached...¡±


    The president maintained his gentle smile, but his tone was incredibly dry and official. Everyone almost fell asleep listening to it, but they forced themselves to look like they were earnestly listening to the student union president. Xiao Lin, on the other hand, did a double take. He noticed the student union president say, ¡®the upper management of the academy, after repeated negotiations...¡¯

 Chapter 468: The New Monthly Examination

    <h4>Chapter 468: The New Monthly Examination</h4>


    Xiao Lin was more familiar with Dawn Academy¡¯s management system than other first-years. The term ¡®upper management of the academy¡¯ was very vague, but in truth, the first-year¡¯s monthly examinations had always been arranged by the student union, but the president had mentioned the student union was working with upper management.


    The student union was already considered upper management within the internal academy, so it was obvious that the president was referring to the management bodies within the colonial territories, but Dawn Academy had always separated the academy and the territories, never having them interfere with each other. How could the territories interfere with the monthly examinations this time, and even choose to involve the first-years?


    After the long official speech, the president paused, letting everyone know the important parts were about toe up before he slowly said, ¡°I believe you would have heard from Chen Yu during the start of the semester that the academy intends to establish a club of elites. After careful study by the student union, we have decided that the first-years¡¯ Elite Club will be set at ck-Iron Rank. The standard will hold for half a year, which means it will be adjusted every semester. This time, the Elite Club will have their monthly examinations separately!¡±


    Everyone was shocked, but after a moment, most of them revealed looks of understanding. In each ss, the monitors that were at the helm were growing more and more distant in strength from the others, especially since this batch of first-years were special in the sense that they were the batch with the most talent holders in the past decade. The growth of talent holders was faster than regr students, which was slowly turning evident among the first-years.


    However, that would present the problem of the difficulty of the monthly examinations. If it were too simple, the talent holders would naturally have an easy time getting through it, while the regr students would just need to rely on the talent holders carrying the majority of them through it. It was definitely not enough for the academy, the entity that wanted to train them.


    If it was too difficult, the talent holders might be challenged, but it was basically sentencing the regr students to hell. The academy definitely did not hope to see death rates that were too high. The goal of the monthly examinations were training in order to allow the students to be able to adapt to the New World in the future, and not for the students to use up their lifespan and all die before they even graduated.


    In the past, due to the low number of talent holders, a moderate difficulty level had always been fitting, and the student union did not need to rack their brains over it. However, this batch of new students had an explosive number of talent holders, which meant the old examination style was not appropriate.


    Another way of putting it was that the separated examination was forced by the circumstances. The monitors present were all shocked, but they could somewhat understand the decision.


    Cheng Ming raised his hand and asked, ¡°If we will be separately tested, then what about our sses? Ah, what I mean is that, who will lead them?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you all assigned group leaders? As leaders and officers, you can¡¯t always do everything yourself; you still need to trust your subordinates. That is something you¡¯ll have to learn eventually.¡± The president¡¯s smile seemed to have a powerful aura behind it. In terms of being a leader, the president was actually the most sessful example present. He was popr within the school, and most of the students followed him willingly, with both respect and admiration.


    ¡°The maps for the examination are announced the day before, which means that we can actually assign the tasks and use the maps to n everything beforehand, including general personnel assignments. What I mean is, we can assign things like who will take over if one of our group leaders dies in the middle.¡± Xiao Lin raised his hand as he voiced his suggestions.


    The student union president looked at him with praise, nodding. ¡°Not bad, your thoughts are quite holistic. Let me emphasize once again, you are all monitors. Anything internal within your ssrooms, as long as it doesn¡¯t affect the academy negatively, can be handledpletely by you. Outsiders, us in the student union included, will not interfere needlessly, be it in assignments, or rewards and punishments. Of course, any consequences of your decisions will be borne by yourself as well.¡±


    Chen Dao raised his hand to speak as well. He was not interested in all that as he said, ¡°Alright alright, President. Why don¡¯t you go straight into the main topic? Let¡¯s not talk about the regr monthly examination. How will the examinations for us ss monitors be done?¡±


    Han Manman interrupted him. ¡°Did you not hear what the president said? It¡¯s not the monitors. It¡¯s the Elite Club, we are all elites!¡± She emphasized the word ¡®elite¡¯, very obviously proud of herself. She might be a ss monitor that had only been formalized this semester, but she was still at the ck Iron-rank, fitting the parameters for being an elite perfectly.


    Chen Dao did not like the woman that much. Softly, he muttered, ¡°You call yourself an elite? Learn some manners as basic as raising your hand before speaking with the student union first!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    The two of them red at each other until Chen Yu coughed softly. The president did not treat things lightly, and he had to stop it himself as the year-leader. Chen Dao immediately shut his mouth, his face clearly showing he did not want to bother talking to her. However, Han Manman refused to let it go, not letting the matter rest even with the year-leader¡¯s interference. It was only when Chen Yu started to look angry did Han Manman finally shut her mouth in realization.


    The small drama did not affect the president, who still maintained his gentle smile as he said, ¡°As for the monthly examination for the Elite Club. We¡¯ve thought about it a lot, but this time, your examination is being handled by the upper management. Let¡¯s have your instructor tell you, the Captain of the Seventh Regiment, Yu Mei. I trust you all know her.¡±


    What followed was Yu Mei standing right in front of the president, smiling as she looked at everyone. Her gaze looked like she was appraising her troops, and she only averted her gaze after a while, not giving any indication of whether or not she was satisfied. She cleared her throat and dropped a bombshell immediately. ¡°I won¡¯t go on with the bullsh*t. Based on the instructions and will of the old farts, with the new curriculum, anyone within the Elite Club will have their examinations be done in actualbat!¡±


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s actualbat.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so it is.¡±


    There was a brief moment of silence.


    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡±


    ¡°What? Did I hear that right?!¡±


    ¡°Realbat?¡±


    ¡°Realbat!¡±


    After a brief silence, the entire ssroom stirred. The president¡¯s news about the separate monthly examinations was like dropping a pebble in ake, but Yu Mei¡¯s news was a boulder in a puddle!


    The monthly examinations would be done with realbat?


    What shed in their minds was not the difficulty of the monthly examinations, nor was it the rewards, but rather threerge words; ¡®The New World¡¯!


    They could go to the New World! Other than for Xiao Lin, was there any news that would be more exciting for them?

 Chapter 469: Real Combat And The Monthly Examination

    <h4>Chapter 469: Real Combat And The Monthly Examination</h4>


    Before this, they had been toiling through practice and training every day, and what pulled them through was no doubt the existence of the New World. The dean had painted a beautiful picture for everyone during the opening ceremony, and in order to arrive at that picture, everyone worked their very hardest.


    Xiao Lin was so famous amongst the first-years, not because he was strong, but rather because he was the only one who had been to the New World before¨Cnumerous times at that. Even now, Xiao Lin would be greeted by many people around the campus or the dormitory lounge. He would always get questions about the New World during his conversations.


    Even with the monitors being more skilled, wanting to get to the New World would need them to at least reach the second year, but that time frame had been shortened by half a year. The president and Yu Mei even brought up the Elite Club. Originally, everyone was not that interested in the club that did not seem to have any practical benefits, but now it was different. The club could allow them to enter the New World in advance; nothing else could be more attractive.


    Yu Mei was very satisfied with the waves that her bombshell had caused. She paused for a long time, admiring the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces that ranged from astonishment and shock to excitement, but when her eyes settled on Xiao Lin¡¯s calm face, she could not help but let out a dry cough. She had wanted to see something out of Xiao Lin¡¯s face, but she almost forgot that Xiao Lin went to the New World regrly, which meant it was not all that interesting to Xiao Lin.


    Yu Mei motioned for everyone to be quiet before continuing, ¡°How does it feel? Isn¡¯t it exciting? Stirring? Have you all started to fantasize about your new perfect life, thinking about the wonders on the other side? Hmph, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re all thinking about, then just wait for your deaths! Don¡¯t think that the academy is sending you to a foreign world to y. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the monthly examination. That won¡¯t change! I need to remind all of you as well, in the New World, the Law of Immortality is in full effect, and each death will cost you 20 years!¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s style was to first give out a few candies before pping everyone in the face, especially for those like Chen Dao. Those of them that were originally so excited that they wanted to shout, Yu Mei needed to make them understand that the New World was not a yground. In terms of danger, it was much more serious than the simted examinations.


    After the strict warning, it was the president¡¯s turn to speak. He used his warm tone to console everyone. ¡°To be honest, none of you need to be too worried. First of all, ck Iron-rank is the minimum you need to enter the New World, which is why the standard for the Elite Club was set as that. You won¡¯t need to worry about your bodies not being able to adapt. Other than that, since it¡¯s the first time all of you are going to the New World, ahem, I mean most of you.¡±


    Recalling a certain special person, the president smiled, changing his words. ¡°Basically, since it will be the first time for most of you to enter the New World, the special examiners won¡¯t make things hard for you. Oh, themittee is a special organization set up with the relevant departments of the student union and the colonial territory, specializing in handling the activities for the Elite Club on the New World for each year. This captain and I are also part of it.¡±


    After that, he exined the special examinationmittee, including theposition of its members. However, to the monitors, that was not important, because other than the president, they did not know any of them. However, Xiao Lin paid some attention. In themittee, other than Yu Mei and the president, as well as a few professors, most of them were part of the military.


    At that moment, the president finally reached thest part of his speech, and everyone¡¯s ears perked up, because the next part would be the important parts of the monthly examination. ¡°This time, the monthly examination will be held at the Rosa Kingdom. As for the examination format and tasks, you will only get it when you arrive at the New World. The examination will be held this Saturday, which means yourbat training ss will be halted as well. Everyone can make their preparations during this time, and I should remind you that the Elite Club¡¯s rewards will be more rewarding than you¡¯ve ever seen, so everyone, do your best!¡±


    Other than revealing that the examination would be held at the Rosa Kingdom, the president did not give them any other information. Of course, considering theposition of the specialmittee, the president might not even be privy to some of the information.


    The meeting ended just like that, and everyone left still feeling excited. Their discussions started to get louder as they went further. Even with Yu Mei¡¯s harsh warning, the excitement of being able to go to the New World was still hard to contain.


    Han Manman was smiling delightfully, unable to mask her excitement. Her expression was the most obvious, probably feeling like she would be able to stand as Xiao Lin¡¯s equal with that. After all, the main difference between Xiao Lin and the other monitors was the fact that Xiao Lin had been to the New World.


    Since it was still early, they did not rush to go back to the dormitories, instead heading to the public lounge to have some coffee and tea. There were some other students talking there, and when they saw the monitors walk over inrge strides and red faces, a few of them had their interests piqued.


    ¡°Speaking of which, does anyone know anything about the Rosa Kingdom?¡± As the leader of the ss monitors in name, the honest Cheng Ming posed the question in earnest. Compared to the excitement of the others, Cheng Ming¡¯s first thoughts were instead about the difficulty of the monthly examination.


    The others did not seem that interested in his question, especially Chen Dao, whose face seemed very carefree. Xiao Lin shook his head; that man was probably fantasizing about foreign beauties.


    ¡°I read a lot of Normese history books in the library, so I know a little about the Rosa Kingdom.¡± The clear voice came from ss Six¡¯s monitor, Li Jiayi. She was a delicate and pretty girl, but did not speak much usually. That was why, other than her name, Xiao Lin knew nothing else about her.


    The other eleven of them shifted their focus on Li Jiayi, causing her to blush. She cleared her throat and spoke like she had memorized a book. ¡°The Rosa Kingdom is a kingdom situated south of Norma¡¯s maind. It has around four hundred years of history. For Norma, it¡¯s an extremely young country. The Rosa Kingdom is a peaceful country, but of course the main reason is because it does not have enough military strength. That¡¯s why when Dawn Academy slowly became a permanent upying force, The Rosa Kingdom was the first native country that willingly established diplomatic ties with us...¡±

 Chapter 470: Sharing Information

    <h4>Chapter 470: Sharing Information</h4>


    Li Jiayi was quite good at remembering books. It was quite obvious she worked hard regrly. She was praised by the others as well, but the information in the library was obviously outdated.


    After she finished, Xiao Lin continued, ¡°To add to that, the Rosa Kingdom is currently at war. Rebels have been fighting the royal troops for about half a year now. The current reports say that the rebels have the advantage. The territories actually controlled by the royals have been shrinking, so the Rosa Kingdom is in chaos at the moment, and refugees have been flooding other areas.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been to Norma, and I met refugees from the Rosa Kingdom there.¡±


    Xiao Lin casually said that, and the logic was irrefutable. Compared to information from the library, his words were undoubtedly more reliable. After thinking for a bit, he added, ¡°Oh, right. The Rosa Kingdom might have dark races hiding there. If we go over, it¡¯s better to prepare for that just in case. It is said that dark magic possesses strong decaying and poisonous attributes, so it¡¯s better to be prepared.¡±


    The others opened their mouths, especially Han Manman, who looked like she wanted to retort, but could not find a moment to rebuke despite racking her brains. Their knowledge of the Rosa Kingdom was limited to sses and textbooks.


    Cheng Ming happily said, ¡°That¡¯s great! It seems like your excursions to the New Worldst semester will be helping us a lot, Xiao Lin. Is there anything else we need to take note of?¡±


    Everyone watched on speechlessly as Cheng Ming even took out his notebook, but thinking about it deeper, Xiao Lin gave them a good reminder. Dawn Academy had never started a dark magic ss to date, so all of them did not know anything about it. It might be toote to learn everything about it, but they could at least get a basic understanding.


    ¡°We still don¡¯t know how the tests will be evaluated; the president did not say we would be teaming up for the monthly examination.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the young man who spoke from the corner of his eye; it was ss Two¡¯s monitor, Zhang Sunxiao. He was leisurely making himself some tea, not seeming to care at all about their gathering. Xiao Lin¡¯s impression of Zhang Sunxiao was just that the man really liked winning.


    Other than being close to Chen Dao and Cheng Ming, Xiao Lin did not really have a good rtionship with the other ss monitors. That was also because he had gone on too many excursions, and was not actually in the academy much. Xiao Lin¡¯s rtionship with the other ss monitors was basically only at the level where they knew each other¡¯s names.


    ¡°That should not be the case,¡± Xiao Lin immediately denied it. ¡°When the timees, we will definitely be finishing the examination tasks in groups.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Zhang Sunxiao raised his head curiously.


    Xiao Linughed. ¡°I know someone up top!¡±


    The monitors looked at each other, hesitating before they nodded in agreement. Everyone knew Xiao Lin had a good rtionship with the Head of the Logistics Department at that point; even the president looked at Xiao Lin differently.


    In truth, Xiao Lin was just making up a bunch of crap. He was not Song Jung after all.


    However, there was no need to investigate this sort of thing at all. Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding of the Rosa Kingdompletely came from that vampire girl Ibeiya, he still knew very well that the royalty in that little kingdom was struggling with war and various disasters. How could the academy let them fight amongst themselves in such a ce?


    ¡°The Rosa Kingdom is not too far away from our colonial territories. You only need to go past the Silver Province and the ins before you reach the ce. There are a lot of refugees from the Rosa Kingdom in the Silver Province...¡±


    ¡°The Silver Province? Is that the ce that produces starmetal we heard of in ss?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been there?¡±


    ¡°I spent a bit of time there when I went to Normast time.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of that, do the orcs look exactly like what we saw in the monthly examination?¡±


    ¡°More or less. There are quite a few orcs in the Silver Province.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we enemies?¡±


    ¡°The Silver Province is a neutral city, and we are not currently at war with the orcs, so be careful when the timees. Don¡¯t immediately try to fight any orcs you see. You¡¯ll cause diplomatic conflicts.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin did not mind sharing all the information he knew. If it was to be a group test, he did not want to be dragged down by the others. Originally, they did not pay that much attention to his words, but a lot of the information was actually very useful, such as the fact that the Silver Province¡¯s borders were right next to orc territory, and would asionally be disturbed by the orcs.


    Slowly, everyone started to listen in earnest. Other than a select few, no one had any animosity toward Xiao Lin; it was just that they interacted very little, and so felt like strangers. Xiao Lin generously providing all that information had pulled their rtionships closer.


    There were only two days left until they left for the New World, and time felt more and more tight. After the gathering at the lounge, Xiao Lin immediately contacted Lu Renjia when he went back to his room.


    Currently, all of Xiao Lin¡¯s equipment and weapons had been provided by Lu Renjia. After a few battles, Xiao Lin trusted that senior¡¯s craftsmanship quite a bit.


    ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it. I know time is a bit tight, and there probably isn¡¯t enough time to make anything new. What ready-made weapons do you have right now? Just let me know, money isn¡¯t a problem.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not waste time and went straight to the point, exuding the aura of a rich person. Lu Renjia might be two years Xiao Lin¡¯s senior, but after he had seen how much Xiao Lin could spend, he did not feel any seniority toward Xiao Lin at all. Lu Renjia, who had dark circles around his eyes, probably from working throughout many nights, warmly smiled at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°So it¡¯s Xiao Lin, ah no. It should be Monitor Xiao. I¡¯ve heard about your monthly examination, that you will be going to the New World. Wow, the dean and student union are really bold.¡± Lu Renjia¡¯s admiration in his voice disappeared quickly as he shifted to the main topic.


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯d already prepared everything the moment I saw who won the bet on the forums. I had been wondering when you would find me. I¡¯ve actually already prepared your ck Iron-ranked weapons and equipment. The materials and schematics have been prepared. The moment you make a decision, I¡¯ll start working. I guarantee everything will be done in two days!¡±


    In order to prove his honesty, Lu Renjia immediately entered some functions into theputer, and Xiao Lin quickly received a few pictures from Lu Renjia. Opening them, Xiao Lin saw some extremely refined designs of weapons and equipment. It seemed like the man was not boasting emptily.


    Xiao Lin found it amusing. ¡°If I don¡¯t want them, won¡¯t all your preparations have been for nothing?¡±


    ¡°How could that be possible? Most of the first-years know you get your equipment from me. With that alone, why would I worry about customers?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really straightforward.¡±


    ¡°Only with honesty will there be returning customers.¡±


    ¡°Do you like being a merchant?¡±


    ¡°Sure. My dream is to open a weapons store in the future, and then make it into a chain that can be found on all of Norma. I want to be the richest person in the New World!¡±


    ¡°I wish you sess...¡±

 Chapter 471: Before The Monthly Examination

    <h4>Chapter 471: Before The Monthly Examination</h4>


    Xiao Lin had first looked at the weapons. The Holy Soul Sword had been destroyed in the New Worldst semester, and he had not gotten a new weapon to date. That was because he took into consideration the rapid rise of his attributes, on top of his few special skills. Because of that, normal des were not suitable, and he could only get custom-made ones from Lu Renjia.


    Lu Renjia had shown him several weapon blueprints, and they all had their special featurespared to what the academy provided. It had to be said that Lu Renjia was quite talented at designing weapons. Xiao Lin looked through everything and quickly eyed thest one.


    [Holy Sword, Silver-ranked in quality, possesses high attacking power.]


    Lu Renjia only had few words to describe the sword, and it could be seen that the Silver-ranked weapon did not possess any special effects or elemental attributes. For a weapon of that level, that was actually uneptable.


    Xiao Lin immediately voiced that question to Lu Renjia, but Lu Renjia instead revealed a happy expression, immediately shing a thumbs-up. ¡°Monitor Xiao, you have good eyes. You actually looked right at the coolest weapon in the catalogue. No wonder you¡¯re considered the monitor with the most potential in the first year...¡±


    Lu Renjia was still trying to tter him, but Xiao Lin interrupted, ¡°The strongest weapon? You didn¡¯t even give that weapon any special effects, such as sharpness, armor piercing, or even any elemental attributes. Don¡¯t forget, the Holy Soul Sword you made mest time could summon a spirit.¡±


    ¡°Ah,pared to the Holy Sword, an undead spirit would be an afterthought. The Holy Sword¡¯s attack attribute at a C-grade. Do you know about the Golden Holy Sword?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about it.¡± Xiao Lin remembered seeing it on the front page of the official merchant store.


    ¡°Ah, my Holy Sword is the weaker version of the Golden Holy Sword. After removing various buffs, I made the Holy Sword into something ck Iron-rank students can use, but the attack power did not drop.¡±


    Lowering various other attributes to strengthen one particr one was Lu Renjia¡¯s style of craftsmanship. Xiao Lin grew satisfied with it. What made him happiest was that, even though various effects had been removed, the materials used on the sword were notpromised for it; it still used lesser dragon bones as its primary material.


    To Xiao Lin, his power explosively increased under Ruin, and most weapons had a high chance of being destroyed because of it, such as the Holy Soul Sword. That was why he needed a solid and strong weapon, which the Holy Sword fulfilled. Comparatively, additional effects were not that important.


    The two of them struck a deal. The Holy Sword was not cheap, costing 10,000 redemption points on top of 20,000 New Dors. Lu Renjia was quite honest; 20,000 New Dors was the cost of his materials, although he refused to disclose how he got it. The 10,000 redemption points were basically his manufacturing fees.


    ¡°The lesser dragon might be inferior to regr dragons, but they¡¯re not easy to catch. I had managed to get a senior to get this for me, but it did note cheap.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded in agreement, transferring the money to Lu Renjia without a second word. Their regr dealings had led him to trust Lu Renjia.


    The other monitors were all making their own preparations as well. Before that, each ss got their information on the monthly examinations for the regr students. As usual, the information was given on Friday to the monitors. Xiao Lin immediately headed a short meeting in the ss group that night.


    The respect Xiao Linmanded within ss Seven had steadily risen during the six months. Of course, it was also due to the two group leaders that he appointed, Gu Xiaoyue and Zhou Feng. Most of the daily tasks were done by Zhou Feng when Xiao Lin was not in the academy. The man did things very strictly. There had been some dissent in the ss initially, but all of it had been quelled in half a year.


    Gu Xiaoyue maintained her coldness, and Xiao Lin knew as well that it was impossible to change her attitude. He gave her a suggestion toward the end ofst semester, asking Gu Xiaoyue to upload some of the ss notes she took on the ss group chat asionally.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes were very well-done andplete, and even contained a lot of her unique insights. It was very valuable stuff to normal students, and quickly caused that arrogant and distant woman to be more widely epted. Even though she still did not have that many friends, she was at least greeted by quite a few thankful students whenever she went online.


    However, Gu Xiaoyue was still a little ways away from ck Iron-rank. After all, other than Intelligence, her other attributes were way too low, which were dragging her down. Xiao Lin had told Gu Xiaoyue a few times, but she did not seem to care about it.


    The difference between ck Iron-rank and not was not just those few attribute points, but rather it was a basic change in thews of the world. For instance, one¡¯s perception of the various elements in the natural world would turn clearer, which was why Xiao Lin¡¯s current Intelligence growth did not lose to Gu Xiaoyue. Before that, even with his SS-rank talent, he stillgged behind Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be participating with all of you during this monthly examination. I trust all of you have seen that in the forums. I¡¯ve looked at the information on the monthly examination, and the difficulty is quite moderate...¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the contents of the monthly examination, and it would basically be an ambush. The simtion would have them in the first war against the orcs, and they were to ambush the logistics troops of the orcs, destroying all their supplies.


    The contents did not look too hard, and the monthly examinations for the new students were always things like ambushes, sneak attacks, and scouting missions. It was not very possible for them to participate inrge-scalebat simtions.


    What Xiao Lin noticed this time was that, with thest time as well, the academy¡¯s monthly examinations for them had all been set during the war against the orcs. The simted examinations were fairly repetitive, as if trying to get the students to imagine the orcs as their foes, which caused him to put some thought behind it.


    Xiao Lin did not n on giving them any instructions on strategy. After all, he was also sweating when thinking about an ambush. It did not seem like he knew more than the others, so he decided to just ce his trust in them.


    ¡°After that, I need to appoint substitute group leaders. It¡¯s not really an appointment, it¡¯s just something internal to the ss, and will not be shown to the student union. If the group leaders unexpectedly lose their lives during the monthly examinations, the substitute group leaders will take their ce¡±


    Xiao Lin finally discussed a few of his thoughts in the group chat. He did not talk much aboutbat strategies, but instead talked about the allocation of tasks.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have Lu Renyi be the substitute group leader for now. Does anyone have any objections?¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°I support your decision!¡±


    ¡°Lu Renyi will need to treat us to lunch.¡±


    ...


    Naturally, no one objected to Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion, and the surprised Lu Renyi repeatedly expressed his thanks. Even though he had said that it would not be recorded with the student union, it still meant that Xiao Lin had recognized him.

 Chapter 472: Departing For The Monthly Examination

    <h4>Chapter 472: Departing For The Monthly Examination</h4>


    Choosing Lu Renyi was not a decision Xiao Lin made lightly. In the examinations before this, Lu Renyi¡¯s scores had always been either B- or A-ranked. It was not extremely exceptional, but he was still at the top end of the rankings. The man was also doing well in terms of his attribute growths as well.


    The most important thing was, Lu Renyi was the only person in ss Seven to practice archery. Being a ranged attacker allows him to have a wider range of vision and more chances to observe. In terms of the bigger picture, he would have a better time making decisions.


    In terms ofbat power, he did not dare to guarantee anything with the others, but he had full faith in Gu Xiaoyue, especially since she had chosen to focus on support-type spells, which was a great help to the group. However, another reason he had chosen Lu Renyi was that Gu Xiaoyue would eventually join the Elite Club, and when that time came, Lu Renyi would have to take her ce.


    Xiao Lin gave out instructions for the regr monthly examination just like that. The next day, he went to Lu Renjia to get his equipment. After that, he gathered with the others at the dormitory entrance. Based on earlier instructions, they would head to the New World on the spatial tform with Yu Mei.


    ¡°The entrance to the New World and to return to Earth and both on the spatial tform. Dawn Academy is basically the transit point between the two.¡±


    ¡°What about the exit?¡±


    ¡°Our capital, Dawn City.¡±


    ¡°Is Dawn City very prosperous?¡±


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s our capital afterall.¡±


    ¡°Are there a lot of beauties there?¡±


    ¡°Quite a lot, I guess. There are a lot of foreign races there.¡±


    ...


    As time wore on, Xiao Lin started to talk with more and more of them. No matter if they liked him or not, everyone knew that, for this trip to the New World, Xiao Lin¡¯s experience would be a great help.


    Captain Yu Mei was in front leading the way. The student union president might have been on the tform to send them off, but thanks to the numerous responsibilities within the academy, he could not leave as he pleased. However, he had expressed his care for Xiao Lin and the others before they left, repeatedly reminding them to ensure their own safety.


    The sound of the spatial carriage could be heard. There were thirteen of them within the carriage that had been enveloped by the golden sands of time. It was quite a tight fit, especially thanks to the fact that Captain Yu Mei¡¯s status meant that the others did not dare sit close to her. Even Chen Dao, who was usually very lively, did not speak a lot.


    Xiao Lin could only seize the initiative himself. ¡°So can you reveal the tasks for the monthly examination already?¡±


    His words had hit the main worry in all the other monitors¡¯ hearts spot on, and they could not help but nce over at Xiao Lin when he said it, silently wondering how thick Xiao Lin¡¯s face was to be able to converse so casually with a captain.


    However, everyone¡¯s gazes quickly shifted to the information packet in Yu Mei¡¯s hands. She had been holding the document from earlier, and there wererge words printed on it: ¡®Monthly Examination (Top Secret)¡¯.


    ¡°Want to take a look?¡± Yu Mei smiled, raising the document.


    ¡°No thanks,¡± Xiao Lin twitched, maintaining an expressionless look. ¡°We¡¯ll see it eventually anyway.¡±


    ¡°How dull.¡± Yu Mei pouted, opening the packet before pulling out a few pieces of paper and setting it next to her. Cheng Ming, who was closest, rushed over before handing it out to everyone.


    Once the documents with the tasks for the Elite Club were in hand, everyone started to look at them in earnest, using the light from the sands of time within the carriage.


    However, Yu Mei chose that time to speak. ¡°I¡¯ll just conclude it simply. The task you have this time is actually very simple. You just need to escort a few people back from the Rosa Kingdom.¡±


    Xiao Lin speechlessly looked up. He had already skimmed through the whole thing. ¡°That¡¯s putting it lightly. What¡¯s written here is that we¡¯ll be escorting the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty. Don¡¯t forget there¡¯s a rebellion there, which means that our task will put us against the rebels. There¡¯s only twelve of us. How many rebels are there? A hundred thousand? A million?¡±


    ¡°If you follow the n, it¡¯s not exactly impossible.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re putting it way too simply, how could it be so easy to escort them in the middle of all the chaos.¡±


    ¡°The information says that the royal city has already been surrounded; just sneaking in will be hard.¡±


    ¡°Sneaking in is easy. The history lessons have taught us that no one would dare stop us with our status. The question is how we¡¯re going to get out.¡±


    ¡°Whatnguage do the people in the Rosa Kingdom speak?¡±


    ...


    Following Xiao Lin¡¯s initial words, even more of them voiced their doubts. Their collective questions had them unintentionally pointing out the same point, which was that the information in that piece of paper was way too simple. Other than a few words regarding the task, there was not even a map. Everyone looked at the package in Yu Mei¡¯s hands, feeling like that must still be some other information inside.


    Yu Mei shook the package upside down, snorting. ¡°What? Did you hope that it would be like your prior monthly examinations, and your information and gear would be provided? Quit dreaming. Do you understand what an elite is? That means each of you needs to take personal responsibility! Information should be collected yourself! Resources should be found for yourself! Gear should be prepared yourself! That¡¯s the three principles of this monthly examination!¡±


    Most of them looked disappointed, but this was more or less expected. Xiao Lin was silent for a moment before raising his head again, saying in a strange tone, ¡°Does that mean once we get to the New World, our movements will bepletely arranged by ourselves?¡±


    Yu Mei paused before saying, ¡°We¡¯ll have some people send you to the Rosa Kingdom, but everything else will be up to your own choices. The task is flexible, you only have to make sure it¡¯s done within the given time frame, which is ten days. As for how youplete the task, that¡¯s up to you guys.¡±


    ¡°Ten days? Won¡¯t we miss out on sses then?¡±


    ¡°Your sses are all to prepare you for the New World in the future. If you can sessfullyplete this task, I believe your rewards will be better than ten days worth of sses.¡±


    Xiao Lin still had a strange look on his face; it was obvious that was not his main question. He asked, ¡°So what you mean is that, no matter what we do or who we interact with in the New World , it will be allowed by the examination?¡±


    Yu Mei paused for a while before reacting, saying in a foul mood, ¡°You still can¡¯t forget that little girl you have. Whatever, I¡¯ve said that whatever you do will be allowed!¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. Ever since he heard that the task would send them to the Rosa Kingdom, he had obviously thought of that little vampire Ibeiya. He had remembered that Ibeiya told him before that she was a princess of the Rosa Kingdom, even if she was just a child born out of marriage. However, he believed that she would know more than anyone what the situation there was like.


    For a first-hand ount on things, Ibeiya was definitely the best option.

 Chapter 473: Start Of The Monthly Examination

    <h4>Chapter 473: Start Of The Monthly Examination</h4>


    The other monitors were obviously clueless as to who Ibeiya was, but Yu Mei¡¯s words had caused their imaginations to run rampant, and they started to look at Xiao Lin strangely.


    The innocent Xiao Lin had wanted to ask about Ibeiya¡¯s situation, but could not only maintain his silence, pretending to be dumb. Thankfully, the spatial carriage quickly arrived at its destination, and as the Timesand started to dim and fade, the carriage fell into darkness, and the doors opened.


    ck Iron-ranked individuals would not feel any adverse effects entering the New World, but after what they had been taught in ss, everyone still took their first steps carefully. When they finally stood on foreign soil, their faces lit up with varying degrees of excitement, happiness, and shock.


    Chen Dao opened his arms, as if he was trying to hug the sky. Cheng Ming was taking deep breaths and feeling the clear air. The others looked around, trying their best to feel the New World with all their senses.


    The blue skies, the white clouds, the sea, and the city.


    It was what every student felt when they stepped into Dawn City for the first time. Yu Mei understood how they felt, which was why she stopped the workers with a wave when the workers came to get them to leave, softly saying, ¡°They¡¯re new students. Let them admire things a bit more.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, where have you hidden Ibeiya?¡± There was always someone who ruined the excitement. Xiao Lin was no stranger to Dawn City¡¯s sights, and did not need to stop to smell the roses.


    Yu Mei rolled her eyes, lowering her voice as she said, ¡°I used your name to buy her a house in Dawn City for your little girl. She¡¯s been provided with all daily necessities, but she seems to be quite good with people. She didn¡¯t need too long to get friendly with most of the foreign affairs department...¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Xiao Lin interrupted. ¡°Using my name? You bought a house! How much money was it? Howe I never heard of this!¡±


    ¡°Some tens of thousands, I forgot. It¡¯s fine. Isn¡¯t it just petty cash to you.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless as the corner of his lips twitched, but when he thought about the fact that it gave Ibeiya a steady ce to stay, he held it in.


    Xiao Lin was not worried about Ibeiya¡¯s ability to get friendly with people; she was very good at using her strengths to her advantage. Anyone who did not know about her would be sucked in by her pitiful and naive appearance, and also seduced by her innate allure, but what was that about the foreign affairs department?


    Xiao Lin was confused, and Yu Mei¡¯s face did not seem to be joking. ¡°I heard from the intelligence department. That girl has been very active aftering to Dawn City, and has interacted privately with quite a few people, including natives and our own people. She¡¯s really well-liked, and some men who have the same loli-loving disease as you arepletely vulnerable.¡±


    ¡°Hold on! What do you mean like me! I¡¯m not a lolicon, I just brought her back to protect her!¡± Xiao Lin objected, but quickly quieted down. He knew that Ibeiya was a vampire, but her status in Dawn City was just that of a refugee from the Rosa Kingdom.


    ¡°Do you think Ibeiya is nning something?¡± Xiao Lin did not let Yu Mei¡¯s words slip.


    ¡°The intelligence department thinks so, and have started to follow and investigate her, but there do not seem to be any problems right now. I¡¯ve talked to her, and all I can say is I can¡¯t trust her that much.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a bit of a headache. Ibeiya was like a strange spirit; her words were always filled with half-truths. Lilith had always been full of suspicion toward Ibeiya, and Xiao Lin could not say hepletely trusted her either. To be honest, whether Ibeiya was a fraud or a liar, it was just her way of living, but if everything ended up harming Dawn City, then Xiao Lin would definitely not protect her.


    ¡°Let me bring her along!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly decided, slowly saying, ¡°Since she poses some threat to Dawn City, then just let me bring her to her hometown. I could properly investigate her roots. Ah, this doesn¡¯t vite the monthly examination rules, right?¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s expression was strange. ¡°That should not be a problem. I¡¯ve already said that your actions will all be up to yourselves, and no one will interfere. However, are you sure that you¡¯re only bringing the loli there to investigate?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said it, I¡¯m not a loli-lover!¡±


    ...


    The task only had a ten day time frame, and their travelling time was counted as well, so they were actually quite tight on time. The monitors had wanted to look and shop around in Dawn City, but Xiao Lin quickly reminded them of the price of goods there, which quickly dissuaded everyone.


    The rewards the monitors made were on the lucrative side, and before they went there, they had all used the redemption points to purchase some New Dors under Yu Mei and Xiao Lin¡¯s reminders through various sources. However, that money was to be used in emergencies on the road, not to be spent simply.


    As the capital of Dawn Academy, Dawn City¡¯s prices were not low, and a lot of the products there did not mean much to them. There were plenty of products from Earth, mostly to attract the natives. The prices were naturally high as well, but it did not interest them at all.


    ording to the rules of the monthly examination, Yu Mei was no longer allowed to help them from the moment they arrived. She brought them to the center of Dawn City and gave everyone temporary identity cards. That was something everyone in Dawn City needed, and was also the assurance they needed to be able to move around the colonial territories without worry.


    After that, Yu Mei issued some supplies to everyone before leaving, not even bothering to take them to lunch. That was because the special examinationmittee had military officials inside this time, and strictly speaking, even Yu Mei treating them to food would be a vition of the rules; it was not a risk Yu Mei wanted to take.


    The supplies were basically a backpack for everyone. Inside was food and water enough for three days as well as 1,000 New Dors.


    ¡°How stingy! A thousand New Dors. Based on the prices Xiao Lin mentioned earlier, what can we even get with this little bit of money!¡± Chen Dao said angrily.


    Yu Mei had left rather quickly, leaving the twelve monitors in front of the government office in the middle of the city. It was where they had made their temporary identity cards earlier. Chen Dao had sat down on the stone stairs and was throwing a tantrum.

 Chapter 474: Meeting Ibeiya Again

    <h4>Chapter 474: Meeting Ibeiya Again</h4>


    ¡°There¡¯s twelve of us; twelve thousand New Dors should be enough,¡± Cheng Ming said.


    ¡°For all of us?¡± Han Manman slowly retreated, warning, ¡°That money was given to all of us. We should have the right to decide how to use it!¡±


    The rest of them looked at her speechlessly. It was obvious that the money was given to them by the academy for basic expenses. The good news was that they probably did not need to use the money they had exchanged their redemption points for, but they still needed the money for a lot of things. It was definitely not the time to be stingy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go eat first. I¡¯ll pay for this meal.¡± Xiao Lin did not feel like dealing with Han Manman. He was currently the one with the most money, and he had even more on his mind. The Rosa Kingdom might have recognized New Dors long ago thanks to wanting to build a rtionship with Dawn Academy, but there was no way to tell if the rebels would.


    The others did not know how rich Xiao Lin was. After all, news of the bets in the New World never reached them, but Xiao Lin¡¯s generosity still caused them to be thankful.


    Han Manman¡¯s expression was not the greatest. She was not willing to ept Xiao Lin¡¯s goodwill, but the meal was even more attractive, so she finally walked behind everyone else.


    Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming walked to the front. Cheng Ming looked back before saying, ¡°Xiao Lin, I know Han Manman has crossed the line, but the task is still a group effort.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed, but he did not want to throw a tantrum in front of him; Cheng Ming was a good guy. ¡°Rx, I know when to give in. As long as she doesn¡¯t cause trouble, no one will ostracize her. The situation in the Rosa Kingdom is still unclear. We definitely can¡¯t be fighting among ourselves.¡±


    They had lunch at the most luxurious restaurant in Dawn City. As a restaurant serving people from Earth, the dishes there were all local delicacies. They even served some rare lesser dragon meat. Thanks to his dealings with Lu Renjia two days ago, Xiao Lin knew how valuable lesser dragons were.


    The meal had cost Xiao Lin over 10,000 New Dors, but he did not even feel anything at such a small sum. The card An Fumin, the casino boss, had given him back then was used. Other than what he paid Lu Renjia, he was also missing 150,000 New Dors, which was probably used to buy the house for Ibeiya.


    Taking advantage of lunch, Xiao Lin got the others to wait at the restaurant as he used the address Yu Mei had given him to get a carriage to send him to Ibeiya¡¯s residence. It was in the southeastern part of the city. From the designs of the buildings, it was an area for the rich. Of course, the rich folks in Dawn City were all basically from Earth.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched, somewhat understanding why the house cost him 150,000 New Dors. Ibeiya¡¯s house was basically a small vi. Xiao Lin coincidentally saw the little girl watering nts on the courtyard as he walked over. Her movements were fine and earnest. The sun shone on her small frame, revealing drops of sweat on the tip of her nose, making for a picturesque scene.


    Xiao Lin did not interrupt immediately, but Ibeiya was more perceptive of people thanks to her innate talents as a member of the dark races. She suddenly raised her head to look where Xiao Lin was standing, and her face immediately turned from shock to excitement as she threw aside the watering can and rushed toward Xiao Lin in greeting.


    The girl was too fast, and Xiao Lin was afraid she would fall to the ground, so he could not help but open his arms to hug Ibeiya. Ibeiya¡¯s little head nuzzled his chest like a cat before she raised her head, revealing her slightly red eyes as she choked back tears. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want me anymore! You left me alone and did not visit for so long. That Yu Meidy is so fierce. She keeps screaming at me!¡±


    Her pitiful look would pull at anyone¡¯s heartstrings, but Xiao Lin was full of doubt. He did not believe a single word of Ibeiya¡¯s usations. How could she be bullied so easily?


    It was impossible, and after listening to Yu Mei¡¯s words, Ibeiya had a very good time in Dawn City.


    Pulling the passionate hug apart, Xiao Lin¡¯s face reddened. Thankfully, there was no one familiar on the streets, or Xiao Lin would really be seen as a lolicon.


    ¡°You want to go out to y?¡± Xiao Lin started to feel like he was a weirdo tempting a kid with a lollipop.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I came today to take you out, alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright! Where are we going?¡± Ibeiya¡¯s expressions changed like flipping books. She was teary-eyed just now, but was now just full of happy smiles.


    ¡°Your hometown, the Rosa Kingdom.¡±


    Ibeiya¡¯s smile stiffened as she retreated a few steps. She raised her head to look at Xiao Lin before smiling again. ¡°Did Big Brother have something you wanted my help with?¡±


    ¡°I really can¡¯t hide anything from you. I have official business in the Rosa Kingdom. Mainly, I need to escort some people back. You know that the Rosa Kingdom is an allied country to Dawn Academy.¡± Xiao Lin did not bother to hide it. As for the suspicions Yu Mei hinted to him, he naturally did not bring it up.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°I want everything you know.¡±


    Ibeiya tilted her head, not even thinking for ten seconds before saying sweetly, ¡°I¡¯ll obviously listen to Big Brother Xiao Lin. Seeing as you¡¯re in a hurry, let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to pack?¡±


    ¡°No need. To me, Big Brother Xiao Lin is the most important!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not dy things, immediately departing with Xiao Lin. Ibeiya looked extremely happy to be able to travel with Xiao Lin. She seemed obedient, not asking for any information she did not need.


    However, when she saw the others in the restaurant, Ibeiya immediately understood that the journey would not just be Xiao Lin and her. She started to mumble to herself, her face unhappy. Xiao Lin gave her a simple introduction, only saying that she was from the Rosa Kingdom that he met thest time he was there. As for her status as a vampire and a princess, he kept itpletely concealed.


    Following that, Xiao Lin once again bore witness to how Ibeiya¡¯s cuteness yed men and women alike. The monitors treated her extremely fondly. Chen Dao was the most extreme, even pouring her tea. However, when he could not hold himself back and tried to pinch Ibeiya¡¯s face, Xiao Lin stopped him bluntly, and the former could onlyugh as he retracted his hand.


    ¡°Basically, she¡¯s more familiar with the Rosa Kingdom than anyone else. We¡¯ll probably be relying on her a lot for this assignment.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s decision naturally met everyone¡¯s approval.

 Chapter 475: Mounts

    <h4>Chapter 475: Mounts</h4>


    They did not dy after lunch. Even though Han Manman and a few others insisted on going on the road immediately, under Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion, a few ss monitors decided to go look at the market first.


    ¡°The Rosa Kingdom is still quite a distance away, so it will take quite a long time to get there on foot.¡± Xiao Lin was not trying to antagonize Han Manman, but it was obvious they would not have enough time if they moved on foot.


    Xiao Lin had never been to the Rosa Kingdom. He looked at Ibeiya next to him. The girl had stuck to Xiao Lin like glue ever since they left the restaurant. Even though Chen Dao had passionately tried to take care of her, Ibeiya immediately said he was a bad guy, causing Chen Dao to copse with despair.


    Catching Xiao Lin¡¯s inquisitive gaze, Ibeiya thought for a few seconds before quickly giving an answer. ¡°If it¡¯s by foot, even the fastest speeds would get you there in half a month, but in truth, counting the possible detours you¡¯ll have to make on the way, it¡¯ll probably take you a whole month.¡±


    ¡°What if we get mounts?¡± Xiao Lin thought before saying, ¡°There are two kinds of mounts in Dawn City: unicorns and tamed magical wolves.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between unicorns and magical wolves?¡± Cheng Ming asked earnestly. The monitors could not help but feel awkward when they discovered the fact. Even if they had prepared and done so much homework beforeing, they were still obviously underprepared. None of them had thought about mounts.


    Xiao Lin had spent a lot of time in the New World. In truth, his understanding of the New World might not be that much better than anyone else, but he had traveled with Lilith twicest semester, and had learned a lot from the American.


    Xiao Lin answered, ¡°Unicorns might be a bit slower, but they have more stamina. It¡¯s no issue for them to run overnight. However, unicorns are rare and the prices reflect that. Furthermore, they¡¯re more fragile. If we don¡¯t find a specialized doctor when its sick, we won¡¯t be able to continue our journey. The wolves are faster and cheaper, but they¡¯re not very stable. Even after being tamed, the magical wolves are still beasts that could go feral at any time, which would cause us some trouble. Furthermore, the speed of the wolves are all contingent on getting enough rest.¡±


    Which mounts would they choose?


    The monitors looked at each other, each having their own thoughts, but none were enough to make a decision. That was because everyone knew that the monthly examination had already started, so each decision they made could affect their final scores.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Xiao Lin threw the question at the girl next to him.


    ¡°To be honest, the two mounts would need a day or two to reach the Rosa Kingdom, but you can always consider a third option.¡±


    ¡°A third option?¡± Chen Dao¡¯s interest peaked, but it seemed like his interest was more on the girl herself.


    Xiao Lin immediately stood in between the two of them, blocking Chen Dao¡¯s vision, much to thetter¡¯s grief. Ibeiyaughed uncontrobly, taking a while before she continued, ¡°If I recall correctly, Dawn City should have griffins for sale. If we use griffins, we could probably reach the Rosa Kingdom by nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Griffins.¡±


    The monitors paused for a moment before revealing determined expressions. It was obvious that was the best choice. Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows; their history lessons taught him that griffins were hard to capture and train, and griffins were mainly from English and German territories. The two academies have griffin riders as their main troops, but griffins were rarer in Dawn City.


    Rarities were usually expensive, Xiao Lin understood that, so he asked, ¡°How much is a griffin? Not buying them, but just renting them for a day.¡±


    ¡°An adult griffin would cost you at least a hundred thousand New Dors, but renting them is cheap. Each day would cost you a thousand New Dors.¡±


    The monitors were dumbfounded. 1,000 New Dors, not more or less. That was the money that the academy had given them. Thinking about it, the academy could have given them that amount on purpose.


    ¡°Each griffin can seat two people.¡± Ibeiya added.


    Xiao Lin did not care too much about the price, so he agreed on the spot. The others did not have much of an opinion. Two of them would cost 1,000 New Dors, so everyone needed to pay 500 New dors. However, adding Ibeiya would make it thirteen, meaning someone would need to pay for it in full.


    Xiao Lin did not bother with any nonsense, immediately saying he was willing to sit alone, but he immediately faced Ibeiya¡¯s objection. The girl said she wanted to share a griffin with Xiao Lin. The rest of them could only blink and pretend they did not see anything. In the end, Cheng Ming was the one who had to be the good guy. The man did not mind and said he would ride alone, joking that his head was too big, and they would be over the weight limit if he sat with someone else.


    Ibeiya was very familiar with the griffin rental spot, which caused Xiao Lin to think about Yu Mei¡¯s words: Ibeiya had familiarized herself quickly with Dawn City. If the girl was really scheming something, then it was a terrifying prospect, but he currently did not think about any of that.


    The griffins were situated at a small hill outside of Dawn City. The store owner was a bearded Englishman. As the colonial territories started to stabilize, the business rtionships between them improved as well, which was why it was normal to see foreigners in Dawn City.


    However, the Englishman was extremely shrewd; he obviously did not show any shred of passion that the renters were from Earth as well. Renting the griffins needed arge deposit. Each griffin needed a 10,000 New Dor deposit, and the money would only be returned after the griffins were returned.


    Ibeiya, who was more familiar with the situation, immediately rejected it. The deposit had obviously been inted by the Englishman. Normally, they would only need less than half of that. If it was 10,000 a griffin, then they would need to pay 70,000 New Dors. As rich as Xiao Lin was, he was not willing to pay that amount. People formed habits quickly, and he did not want to be seen as a walking goldmine by the others.


    The Englishman was only willing to rent out two griffins at the most; he said it was because Xiao Lin and the others were too young and new. Even if they were from Earth, it was not enough to trust them.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to pay, but you¡¯ll need to find a guarantor that is trustworthy enough!¡± Just as Xiao Lin was thinking about paying for everything himself, the Englishman shouted in broken Mandarin.


    ¡°A guarantor?¡± Xiao Lin paused before saying in a strange tone. ¡°Such as Century Casino¡¯s boss, An Fumin?¡±


    Even though Yu Mei from the government was a better choice, the monthly examination meant that they could not rely on the academy¡¯s help. Asking Yu Mei for help could cause them to fail. Other than her, the only other person with status that Xiao Lin knew was An Fumin.

 Chapter 476: Griffins

    <h4>Chapter 476: Griffins</h4>


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The plump Century Casino¡¯s boss... Xiao Lin had won a lot from the bet, which led to him knowing An Fumin. However, they were not very familiar, and Xiao Lin¡¯s sole impression of the man was that he was a very good businessman.


    Xiao Lin felt like he could try looking for An Fumin. When he said the name, the Englishman obviously started to hesitate. The man knew of the boss of thergest casino in Dawn City, and the man decided to test it out. It was obvious that they would not have time to hurry back to the casino in the middle of the city, but the Englishman had an even better way. He went into the house and used a magic formation that had been set up inside tomunicate with the city. The point ofmunication was the casino.


    ¡°That¡¯s amunication line. It uses magical formations to enable short-rangemunication. It¡¯s a little like our magical phones.¡± Xiao Lin told the curious monitors.


    He was originally just testing it out, but the Englishman quickly pointed at Xiao Lin with a strange look. ¡°The guy wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°An Fumin?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I can¡¯t believe you actually know him.¡± The Englishman¡¯s attitude noticeably improved. He was very clear on An Fumin¡¯s wealth as well; someone who wanted to make money like him would naturally not want to offend rich people.


    Under the surprised and curious gazes of the monitors, Xiao Lin walked into the house. The short distancemunication used special ink and energy stones on the floor to form a magical formation to establishmunication. A few dozen energy stones condensed into a magical image, and An Fumin¡¯srge stomach was in frame.


    ¡°So it really is you!¡± An Fumin was surprised to see Xiao Lin,ughing as he said, ¡°Someone told me you wanted me to be your guarantor. I thought it was some blind fraudster, but it looks like your monthly examination really has started.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused. The boss¡¯ informationwork was really vast to even be able to get ahold of the news regarding their monthly examination. It had only been spread out within a small circle.


    ¡°To be honest, I can help you pay for all that; it¡¯s only a few dozen thousand New Dors.¡± An Fumin was rich enough to not even need the exact amount. He paused and smiled again. ¡°However, you probably don¡¯t care about that amount of money either.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°That¡¯s right, but this is a group examination, and I don¡¯t want others to treat getting money from me as something natural, but it¡¯s definitely not easy to repay your favor either.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± An Fuminughed. ¡°It looks like you understand me well. That¡¯s right, I¡¯ll never lose out when ites to business. If it¡¯s just you, I¡¯d be willing to help, but since there are others involved, we¡¯ll need to make a deal.¡±


    An Fumin thought for less than ten seconds, continuing, ¡°I have a casino branch in the Rosa Kingdom, and business there is pretty good. You know as well that the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s rtionship with Dawn Academy in the past was quite good. It¡¯s a pity that the situation is like this. I had originally not given much thought to my branch there, but no one will turn down an opportunity to make more money. Our deal is simple; bring my goods from the branch over and I¡¯ll pay for your entire journey. That way, none of you will owe me any more favors.¡±


    An Fumin spoke very quickly, making it hard for Xiao Lin not to be suspicious. Did the sly old man n this scheme in advance? An Fumin did not specify what the goods were, nor the quantity. However, the support it would get them was definitely tempting; supporting them the entire way would mean that they would have a sufficient guarantee on their expenses.


    An Fumin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not very clear on your assignment, nor do I want to know, but in the Rosa Kingdom, our status as colonizers might not be that useful. You need to understand that, in the outside world, power and wealth is the only key to things going smoothly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to discuss it with the others,¡± Xiao Lin said carefully.


    ¡°Not a problem.¡± An Fumin seemed very confident.


    After briefing the other monitors simply, as well as introducing who An Fumin was to them, no one rejected the tempting suggestion. Cheng Ming was noticeably hesitant, wondering if they would be going against the rules by doing so.


    Chen Dao felt like it was not a big deal. ¡°To be honest, we can just treat it as a side quest. A main quest and a side quest¨Cdoesn¡¯t that sound interesting?!¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve yed too many games!¡±


    Xiao Lin was hesitant as well, but Cheng Ming¡¯s worries were unneeded¨Cthat much Xiao Lin was certain. It was just that Xiao Lin felt like An Fumin might not be acting out of kindness.


    However, since it was a group decision, Xiao Lin¡¯s personal feelings could not influence the decision of the others, especially since most of them had agreed to it. The remaining ones could only go along.


    An Fumin was not surprised when he got an affirmative answer, and immediately gave Xiao Lin the location and name of the person responsible for the casino in the Rosa Kingdom. The Englishman then received the deposit immediately; even the daily rental had been paid for. Xiao Lin and the others obtained seven griffins.


    The griffins had bodies and ws like a lion¡¯s, as well as the head and wings of the eagle. Wild griffins had extremely high offensive strength, but those griffins were bred in captivity, and were obviously very obedient. The Englishman simply gave them instructions on how to start flying andnd, as well as the choice in routes. They did not need to worry about anything else.


    The Englishman took out some soil, and made all seven of the Griffins smell it. The soil was from the Rosa Kingdom, which meant the griffins would know the routes themselves. The simple method had opened up Xiao Lin and everyone else¡¯s eyes.


    Xiao Lin had been nervous about riding a griffin for the first time, but their soft and warm bodies, as well as the fragrant odor had caused his worries to disappear. Ibeiya unabashedly leaned into Xiao Lin¡¯s embrace, acting like she was shivering in fear, drawing murderous gazes from the surroundings.


    Xiao Lin could not tell if that little vampire was really afraid, but he still held Ibeiya tightly, preventing her from falling. With a pull of the reins, the griffins flew into the air with a shout, and there were several cries of despair that followed.


    The trained griffins had very strong ropes around them, so there was no worry of falling, but flying thousands of meters up into the air without any experience riding them before was not a pleasant experience. Xiao Lin was beginning to regret eating too much for lunch, but in front of Ibeiya, he still had to maintain his dignity. He forced down his urge to vomit.


    Ibeiya might be acting scared and pitiful, but she was actuallyughing secretly, proving that it was not the first time the vampire had ridden a griffin. She even leaned into Xiao Lin¡¯s ear to remind him of the correct posture to ride a griffin. Xiao Lin had stabilized after following it, and his stomach felt much better.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier?¡± Xiao Lin asked loudly.


    ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t get the chance to enjoy it. Look, look, that guy is vomiting up a storm. Hahaha, how fun!¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.

 Chapter 477: Infiltration

    <h4>Chapter 477: Infiltration</h4>


    The griffins were very fast. They had left after noon, and the griffins had already started their descent as the sun started to set. They stopped on a hill, and right away, someone came over to help untie them, as well as help those who were so dizzy they could not even find their bearings down. After that, the griffins were brought into the specialized cages and fed.


    These fixed routes were a mode of transport introduced by the colonists. Originally, griffin-riding required a lot of skill, but considering the fact that most of them would not be so skilled at riding, they decided only anding and takeoff point was needed. They would then let the griffins get familiar with the routes, and did not longer need to be steered after that. The griffins would be able to get to the destinations themselves.


    With the increase in the territories that the colonists controlled, the destinations for this mode of flight had also slowly spread to every colonized territory, and even the allied territories around them. As Dawn Academy¡¯s first allies, it was not strange for the Rosa Kingdom to be one of those destinations.


    Other than Xiao Lin and Ibeiya, who were fine, the rest of them all had bad looks on their faces, leading to them needing to rest nearby for a while. The workers at the destination point had probably seen a lot of simr situations, especially since this was a mode of transport primarily meant to serve those of them from Earth. Someone quickly brought out some medicine. Of course, those required money as well, but someone had already paid for them in advance.


    Xiao Lin was surprised when he heard that. An Fumin was keeping his promise, but it looked like the opportunistic tycoon had arranged everything way ahead of time, which Xiao Lin found strange.


    ¡°We were supposed to be able to take riding sses in our second year. It¡¯ll probably feel better then.¡± Cheng Ming seemed to be in the worst state. He had eaten the most that afternoon, so he had also vomited the most. Even if the medicine had helped a lot, he still looked out of sorts.


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s justmon riding skills. Flying mounts will only be open in third year.¡± Chen Dao said; the guy enjoyed looking at higher level sses in his free time.


    ¡°It¡¯s an optional course. I¡¯ll definitely not take it in the future. Too scary!¡± ss Six¡¯s Li Jiayi clutched her chest as she said that; it looked like she had developed a new phobia.


    ...


    The only map the academy had given them was within the colonial territories. There was nothing about the Rosa Kingdom. That was why Xiao Lin looked for the person in charge of the ce. He was an Englishman as well, but seemed much friendlier than the guy before. Of course, it might also be due to An Fumin¡¯s prior arrangements. When he knew that Xiao Lin wanted a map of Rosa the Kingdom, he smiled and produced a box.


    The other monitors also gathered curiously. When opened, the box was filled with maps. Everyone was speechless as he slowly opened all of them. They were all maps on the Rosa Kingdom, be it geographical maps, territorial maps, city maps, poption density maps, racial distribution maps, war maps, and even weather maps. However, there was no one map that had them all together. Of course, they would have to purchase the maps to use them.


    ¡®Fine.¡¯ Xiao Lin started to feel like the smile on that Englishman¡¯s face was just an essory. He was still a sly merchant.


    After some discussion, they bought a geographical, city and territorial map. Each was worth 50 New dors. That amount did not need to be paid for by An Fumin, and Xiao Lin did not mind; he did not care about such a small sum of money.


    As a few of them whose constitutions were weaker were still recovering, the rest of them decided to look at the maps first. They noticed that, strictly speaking, they were still not within the Rosa Kingdom. In consideration of the ongoing war, they did not dare establish a flight destination in the country.


    From their location, they still needed to walk a few kilometers. The distance was nothing to them, but after looking at the territorial maps, they realized they were facing a tough problem. The territory that was right next to this hill had already fallen into rebel hands.


    Outside of the Rosa Kingdoms territorial lines was arge chaotic area. The area was originally an unregted region. Before, the Rosa Kingdom did not bother with it due to not wanting to provoke anyone, but when the rebel forces expanded, they did not adhere to the boundaries set by the Rosa Kingdom, and had expanded beyond those lines.


    ¡°So this means that, if we want to reach the Rosa Kingdom, we¡¯ll first need to get through rebel controlled territory?¡± Cheng Ming furrowed his eyebrows.


    From the limited information that had been provided by Dawn Academy, the rebel troops called themselves the ck Rose Organization, because their g was a ck rose. The rebels consisted mostly ofmoners and farmers; the reason for their rebellion wasplicated, and was being investigated by Dawn Academy.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know what the rebels think of us, and by us, I¡¯m referring to Dawn Academy.¡±


    ¡°The current news we have is that the people from Earth within the Kingdom are still safe. At least that means that the rebels troops won¡¯t dare make enemies out of us for no reason. Of course, that¡¯s a normal thing. Anyone that dares to touch us could not hope to defeat our armies.¡± It was ss Eight¡¯s Zhang Shengguo who said that. The dignified man had the natural air of a leader. His status back on Earth was not low, but unfortunately, in the group of monitors, his words did not hold much weight, which gave him much dissatisfaction.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s true. The rebels won¡¯t dare make enemies out of us, but they have not shown any goodwill toward us either. Otherwise, we¡¯d have already brought the royal family out.¡±


    The rebels¡¯ attitude would decide how they entered the Rosa Kingdom, as well as how they acted within the Kingdom. If the rebels were kind enough to the colonists, then they could just walk right in, and no one would stop them.


    However, if the rebels bore them ill-will, then they would need to sneak in quietly. Even if the limited reports showed that the rebels consisted mostly ofmoners, the basic attributes ofmoners on this were much higher than those back on Earth. It was only because most Earthmoners did not have the resources to go through specializedbat and skill training did they lose out to those from the academy, but their numbers were still not easily handled.


    The assignment this time was an escort mission; it was not for them to charge in and defeat the rebels.


    After making the point clear, Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming, alongside another six or seven monitors, all felt like sneaking in was the best choice. It would be best if they did not alert the rebels. The other monitors might not have the same opinions, but the majority determined the direction of the group, and the decision was passed.

 Chapter 478: Accident

    <h4>Chapter 478: ident</h4>


    It was already evening when they reached their destination point, and night quickly fell. Thending point did not provide any amodation services, so Xiao Lin and the others had some of the bread they brought along before taking advantage of the cover of the night to walk toward the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s borders.


    The gods seemed to be helping them on that day, as the moonlight was obscured by the increasing number of clouds. In a wastnd without any sources of light, their field of vision was very low.


    It was a vast wastnd when they got down from the hill. Ever since the Rosa Kingdom was embroiled in the civil war, a lot of refugees had to escape from their hometowns, and many of them would set up camp here, establishing simple amodations, which was why Xiao Lin and the others could hear the sound of people in the distance.


    The refugee camps had a lot of bonfires lit up, and they could somewhat make out some armed patrols. The camp had a g with a ck rose in the middle, signifying that the area was under the care of the rebels. Xiao Lin could guess what the rebels were nning. After all, the most important resource in the world was manpower, be it troops orbor. If the rebels wanted to takeplete control of the Rosa Kingdom, they could not let those refugees leave so easily.


    ¡°Let¡¯s avoid the refugee camp!¡±


    Cheng Ming was at the head, already having his full suit of armor on. He had even brought arge tower shield for the assignment, and was holding a heavy sword in one hand. His shocking strength was obvious.


    Xiao Lin followed closely behind, his Holy Sword in hand. Being behind Cheng Ming guaranteed that he could respond to anything immediately. Other than Ibeiya, the twelve ss monitors were three women and nine men; the mages had all been ced in the backline. Ibeiya was following Xiao Lin closely. Xiao Lin had wanted to ce that powerless girl in the middle of the team, but she violently rejected it.


    The other men could not help but give Xiao Lin a big thumbs-up in envy; they could see how much Ibeiya relied on Xiao Lin.


    The monitors were all confident in their strength, and their probable opponents, the rebels, mostly consisted ofmoners.


    With that in mind, a few of them were quite carefree, even feeling like it was too dark and wanting to light torches, but they were rejected by Xiao Lin and the others. No matter what theirbat strengths were, they did not want to invite unnecessary trouble.


    ¡°I actually feel like we¡¯re being too careful. This level of visibility really affects our travel speed. Don¡¯t forget, our time is very valuable. After getting into the Rosa Kingdom, we still need to sneak into the royal city as well as find the royalty. All of that needs time.¡±


    ¡°We might be able to move a little faster if you would just shut up!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°What are you fighting over! Do you want everyone nearby to know we¡¯re here?!¡±


    Xiao Lin eximed softly. The entire squad fell into a brief silence. If it came to a leader among all the monitors, Cheng Ming was definitely the public one. However, in terms of threat level, they could not deny that Xiao Lin had the advantage, even if most of the monitors would not verbally agree to it. Even Han Manman, who hated Xiao Lin, understood in her heart that Xiao Lin¡¯s skills were at the top of the ss monitors.


    The more powerful one was, the more weight their words held. That was thew of this world.


    The team advanced in silence, and their speed slowly increased. They could only approximate the road in the darkness of the night. After about half an hour, based on the map they had seen before, they guessed that they were already at the border of the Rosa Kingdom. It was just a pity there were nondmarks around.


    Based on their approximate route ns, they would need a few hours after entering the Rosa Kingdom to get through the scarcely popted wastnd. After that, they would reach the furthest city, where they could either buy or rent new mounts to head to the royal city.


    If they did not want to sleep in the wild, they would need to increase their speed. That way, they might be able to arrive at the city by dawn, and would have a chance to nap after.


    After another half an hour, the bonfires from the refugee camps slowly disappeared from their sights. They would asionally hear some wild animals, but otherwise, there were no sounds.


    ¡°Speaking of that, I think we forgot to buy one map.¡± Since they had distanced themselves from the refugee camp, Chen Dao¡¯s voice started to be slightly louder.


    ¡°What kind of map?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°A map of magical beasts. Don¡¯t you think that our nighttime journey is just like a food delivery service for them?¡± Chen Dao half-joked.


    ¡°The Rosa Kingdom¡¯s magical beasts are all low-leveled, and they rarely appear in these ces.¡± ss Six¡¯s Li Jiayi said earnestly.


    ¡°It seems like you listened very closely during our lessons.¡±


    ¡°I saw it in the library.¡± The girl really did like going to the library.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As everyone wasa chatting away to fight off the boredom, Xiao Lin suddenly narrowed his eyes, lowering his voice as he said, ¡°Everyone quiet!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s perception was quite high. As he quietened them, the others started to feel like something was off as well. High perception could help them detect danger, but even with Xiao Lin¡¯s current rank, he could not urately tell where the danger was or how far it was.


    In the night, the whooshing sounds started to get more obvious, and it did not sound like an animal¡¯s cry or breathing. It seemed erratic, making it hard to make out clearly. The monitors closed ranks quickly, forming a circle as they moved defensively.


    The darkness of the night turned into the most troublesome thing then. Theck of vision caused them to be unable to tell what their surroundings were like. Even though Xiao Lin quickly fired a few me bullets into the distance, the sh of lights did not allow them to see anything clearly.


    Now, it was toote toment not taking up specialized detection sses. Xiao Lin knew that they could not just keep defending passively like that, so he activated Miracle. Alongside his constant increase in attributes, the amount of points he could convert with Miracle increased as well. The time he could maintain it also followed suit, but he could still not repeatedly use the ability in a short time.


    However, it was not the time to be concerned about that. After he converted all his attributes to Intelligence, Xiao Lin¡¯s perception strengthened as well. Even if the strengthening did not result in aplete change in his perception, he could still sense more things. He suddenly raised his head. ¡°The sky! Watch the sky!¡±


    The whooshing sounds that constantly changed distances was clearly the sound of the friction caused by high-speed flight with the air. In the dark sky, at some point, something had started circling over their heads. Whatever it was, they did not seem to have good intentions.

 Chapter 479: Attackers From The Skies

    <h4>Chapter 479: Attackers From The Skies</h4>


    The moment Xiao Lin spoke, they seemed to realize they had been discovered, and the assault from the skies started. Xiao Lin could feel the sound of the winds charging toward him quickly. The winds were as sharp as swords, and he immediately converted his attributes to Strength as he raised his Holy Sword to block.


    Bang!


    Following the loud impact, Xiao Lin helt arge force colliding with his sword. However, the Holy Sword¡¯s durability was proven there, and thanks to him putting up his defenses, he was not hit by the sudden attack. Yet, when Xiao Lin prepared to counter, the sound was retreating rapidly.


    How fast!


    The rest of them immediately started their counter attack as a few me balls shot toward the sky. ss Nine¡¯s Wang Wanzhu also chose to focus on me magic, and was more familiar with it than Xiao Lin. Her focus had led to her already mastering the higher level Grand Fireball.


    Arge ming ball was sent up to the sky. In that brief moment of light, their silhouettes were revealed in the sky.


    The high basic attributes of the monitors really shined here; if the regr students had been met with such an ambush, they would have been wiped instantly.


    The first attack was by ss Five¡¯s An Luo; he was the only person who specialized in archery among the monitors, and Xiao Lin vaguely remembered that he had boasted that his talent was increased uracy when it came to archery. That allowed him to show a high level of archery despite theck of vision.


    An Luo drew his bow, and with a few shots, a low and sharp cry could be heard, but it looked like the ambusher only sustained minor injuries.


    However, An Luo¡¯s attacks revealed their opponent¡¯s location. Chen Dao managed toplete his spell; the kid, whose talent in magic was only second to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s, shot out an intense red light from his staff, causing the few of them who specialized in magic to do a double take.


    ¡°me Dragon!¡±


    Arge ming dragon shot out of Chen Dao¡¯s staff. That was a Bronze-ranked spell, and the difficulty of learning it as well as the requirements were both very high. It was also much higher ranked than anything anyone else had.


    The me Dragon¡¯s power was immense, and thanks to An Luo¡¯s arrows that had slowed down the attackers, the dragon managed to swallow the targets whole. After a sharp cry, the sound of an object dropping to the ground could be heard.


    ¡°Everyone, keep defending. Cheng Ming and I will go look!¡± Xiao Lin immediately said; he had wanted to make a move, but it seemed like the other monitors had highbat ability as well. Their defenses were sufficient, so he brought along the highly defensive Cheng Ming. The most important thing was for them to find out the identity of their attacker.


    With Miracle active and Intelligence pumped to the maximum, Xiao Lin had the highest perception out of everyone. Following the direction of the sound, Cheng Ming walked in front with his tower shield and Xiao Lin carefully walked behind with his sword in hand.


    A few hundred meters away from the sound, Xiao Lin pointed his finger and shot out a few me bullets, temporarily lighting up the night. Looking at the bodies on the ground, Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming gasped.


    Xiao Lin slung a carcass on his shoulder and turned back. He threw the body in front of the other monitors. ¡°Griffins! The ones in the skies are griffins. We need to be careful. Griffins might not be that famous on Norma for theirbat abilities, but not many creatures can challenge them in the air.¡±


    ¡°Griffins?¡±


    ¡°The ones we rode earlier?¡±


    The expressions of the monitors all changed. They had done their homework as well, and naturally understood that griffins were hard to handle while they were flying, especially for those who did not have the ability to hit them. Other than defending passively, there was not much of a better way.


    In the next few hours, they focusedpletely on keeping their defenses up. Even though An Luo¡¯s archery and Chen Dao¡¯srge-scale magical attacks, coupled with Xiao Lin¡¯s perception, let them kill off the asional griffin, it did not really damage much of the entire flock of griffins.


    The griffins had immense speed and reactions, after Xiao Lin and the others made their preparations, they could defend themselves quite well. After all, the monitors were all talent holders, and theirbat abilities were not bad. However, the cover of the night gave the griffins natural protection. The griffin¡¯s attacks had all been countered by then, but after each attack, the griffins would slyly pull away at a high speed, not giving them many chances to counter-attack.


    Following Chen Dao¡¯s mental exhaustion as well as An Luo¡¯s physical exhaustion, Xiao Lin¡¯s Miracle state had run out as well, which made them even more passive. Xiao Lin actually had the ability to fight back if he activated Ruin, even if he did not have vision or the ability to fly; he could rely on the devastating power of Ruin to clear out the field withrge-scale attacks.


    However, after some hesitation, Xiao Lin chose not to do so. Even with the increase in attributes and him being more familiar with Miracle, Xiao Lin had yet to see much improvement in his Ruin state. He would be powerless for a long time after using it.


    The griffins¡¯ earlier attacks had all just been used to check on their abilities, and Xiao Lin was filled with suspicion on the attack as well, so he chose not to use his trump card.


    The truth was like he had thought. From the cries in the sky, they could tell that there were at least a dozen griffins in the skies, but the griffins did not use any formations, nor were the attacks as intense as they anticipated. However, the defending monitors did not dare let their guards down, their minds tensed up, not allowing themselves to rx.


    It continued for an hour, all the way until the first ray of sunlight shot out over the horizon. The night-time attackers made a final round around them before slowly flying away in the distance. Everyone could finally see with their own eyes, and it really was a flock of griffins. They could not mistake that after having ridden those beasts.


    After half an hour, the skies werepletely bright, and the night sky could no longer be used as cover. Seeing as the griffins showed no signs of returning, everyone let out a sigh of relief, collectively copsing on the ground.


    The fight they had gone through most of the night might not have been that intense, only resulting in some light injuries on three who specialized in magic, the rest of them were fine. It had taken a toll on them mentally, and they werepletely exhausted.

 Chapter 480: An Enigma

    <h4>Chapter 480: An Enigma</h4>


    Close to them were various griffin corpses, and the sizes looked rtively small. They looked like griffins who had yet to fully mature. Even so, just defeating those griffins had used up a lot of their strength. They had really experienced why griffins were called the kings of the sky.


    They had learned before in their ssesst semester that, of the countless wild beasts on Norma, only a few could call themselves rulers of the sky. Basically, other than the dragons, there were only griffins and dragon-eagles.


    No one talked at that moment. Everyone was thinking about just lying down and sleeping in the middle of the wastnds. Xiao Lin was exhausted as well, but thanks to not using Ruin, he still had enough to go on. Looking at the blue skies and the wastnds, he furrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°My God, we¡¯re so unlucky! Surely it¡¯s not the griffins at the transport point that flew over!¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯d needpensation!¡±


    ¡°Whatever! However, I already said that sneaking was not a good idea. There¡¯s no one in sight here. Our group would would naturally be a target.¡±


    ...


    Everyone lying down there was powerlesslyining. Only Xiao Lin was still standing, thinking for a long time before saying, ¡°Who here did better in sses?¡±


    ¡°Li Jiayi? She goes to the library a lot more.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the pretty monitor. ¡°Then do you know about the griffins¡¯ habits? Like, do griffins usually go out at night?¡±


    Li Jiayi was panting. She had used a lot of her mental strength, but she managed to regain herposure and force herself to speak. ¡°We¡¯ve never learned that in ss before. Zoology is only being taught this year. However, I¡¯ve seen some books in the library that say that Norma¡¯s flight-based animals are simr to those of Earth, and like to move during the day. Even dragons don¡¯t like moving around at night.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression darkened, looking at the others. The rest of them seemed to realize something as their expressions changed as well. Cheng Ming let out a breath, saying suspiciously, ¡°Xiao Lin, you think that this ambush was a scheme?¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°I might not know much about the animals on Norma, but I¡¯ve heard Department Head Song mention before that the avians on Norma rarely move about at night. Even if they did, they would not move at such a scale.¡±


    ¡°Could the griffins have gone crazy?¡± ss Four¡¯s Han Manman questioned.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just say the griffins are going through menopause?¡± Chen Dao, who did not get along with her, mocked.


    ¡°It¡¯s notpletely impossible for it to be something like that. After all, we don¡¯t really know much about griffins. I think it¡¯s more likely to be an ident. It¡¯s not necessarily always a scheme.¡± ss Eight¡¯s Zhang Shengguo was working hard to appear dignified. Unfortunately, the fatigue on his face was more serious than everyone else¡¯s. That man was notorious for having very low stamina.


    The other monitors could not help but furrow their eyebrows. Zhang Shengguo¡¯s words were basically pointing at Xiao Lin for deliberately disrupting them. Even though no one wanted a single ident to disrupt their monthly examination assignment, the thought of someone potentially trying to bring them harm in the dark was terrifying.


    ¡°Those griffins were the ones we rode on the way here!¡± Just as the atmosphere was getting awkward and heavy, Ibeiya broke the silence.


    Ever since the attackst night, Ibeiya had been obediently hiding in the middle of everyone, never crying or making a sound throughout. Everyone could not help but admire the obedient girl. Only Xiao Lin knew that the situation was nothing much to Ibeiya.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Ibeiya knelt down next to the griffin carcass that Xiao Lin had brought over for a long time before she raised her head with a determined look. ¡°I¡¯m very sure. This griffin was the one he sat on.¡±


    Ibeiya pointed at Zhang Shengguo, who had an incredulous look on his face. ¡°How can you be sure? I can¡¯t tell at all.¡±


    Ibeiya was not willing to exin. She had a difficult look on her face, but she still confirmed it again.


    Xiao Lin felt like the girl¡¯s consternation mighte from the fact that it was rted to her status as a vampire. It could just be one of the talents of vampires. He waved his hand, changing the topic. ¡°No matter what, we¡¯ll need to be more careful after this. I know that everyone is exhausted, but I don¡¯t think this is a good ce to rest. Let¡¯s get into the city first.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion was agreed upon by most of them, so everyone supported each other as they continued forward, but their speed had greatly decreased.


    Xiao Lin deliberatelygged behind. After a certain distance, he whispered to Ibeiya, who was next to him, ¡°How could you tell that was Shengguo¡¯s mount? Is that some skill your race has? This is quite important to us, so I hope we can get better proof.¡±


    Ibeiya¡¯srge eyes blinked. Sheughed as she said, ¡°That¡¯s not it. That man vomited out a storm when he was riding his griffin, and I just happened to notice some residue on the griffin¡¯s feathers. Unless this flock was also ridden by another team of rookies, that would be way too much of a coincidence. However, that guy really is interesting. He looked so serious, but thinking about how much he suffered in the air. It¡¯s hrious, hahaha...¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face twitched. He looked at the happy little girl, and looked at Zhang Shengguo¡¯s back, feeling that it really was quite funny...


    But that was not the point.


    Xiao Lin had confirmed his spection with Ibeiya. That was definitely not good news. The flight points were opened by the Englishmen, but he did not think that he offended the two of them in any way, nor did they have any reason to make a move on Dawn Academy. They might be in the Rosa Kingdom, but there were still resurrection towers nearby. Even if they really were killed, the conflict between Dawn Academy and the British Royal Academy would have to fall on the two of them.


    Xiao Lin could not think of a good reason at the moment, but flying was now obviously not a good choice. Of course, he did not discount the fact that it could be a challenge the academy had deliberately set for them. After all, within the resurrection tower¡¯s radius, death was just a loss of 20 years. To those monitors, it was not an unimaginable loss.


    With his suspicions, after over an hour, the monitors finally walked out of the wastnds.

 Chapter 481: Small Town

    <h4>Chapter 481: Small Town</h4>


    Leaving the wastnds, they could see the fringes of civilization. It was the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s most distant town. They called it a town, but in terms of size, it was basically a vige. The Rosa Kingdom was considered a poor country without many natural resources. On top of that, the harsh requirements set by the nobles on themoners resulted in the poor conditions in the remote area.


    The town might have the ck rose gs of the rebels, but thankfully did not seem to have many troops guarding it. That was because the military might of the rebels had all been focused on the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royal city, so there were not any troops in charge of such a small town.


    Entering the town, the scene in front of Xiao Lin and the others shocked them. Compared to the Silver Province and the prosperity of the colonial territories controlled by Dawn Academy, the town was in really desperate straits.


    The entire town could be seen with just a look. There were weeds growing everywhere, and the streets were filthy and poorly maintained. The streets were lined with simple stone houses, but most of them had been destroyed, seemingly in the recent war. As for whether it was by the government¡¯s troops or the rebels, that was not important.


    The town was very quiet, even though there were a few general stores and ironworkers, but there were very few merchants on the whole. Most of the people there only had simple shirts on, and were either sitting by the streets or drinking and gambling. There were those dressed in ragged clothes begging for food everywhere, but no one cared.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s group attracted everyone¡¯s attention. They were fully d in armor, and thanks to the confrontation with the griffins, the thick smell of blood was still on them. It was impossible to keep a low profile, even if they wanted to.


    Drinkers and gamblers alike, everyone had stopped what they were doing and shot fearless looks at Xiao Lin¡¯s group. There was an air of challenge, as well as warning.


    ¡°The Rosa Kingdom¡¯s civil war has enveloped the whole country. It¡¯s natural that the citizens here have been swept up by it as well. Let¡¯s try our best to not cause any trouble,¡± Xiao Lin said in a low voice.


    He actually did not need to remind them. The only thing the monitors wanted to do at that moment was find a ce to sleep. How could they even think about causing more trouble? Furthermore, even themoners, who did not even have armor on would at the most be at ck Iron-rank, and would have never gone through any training. The monitors were all at that rank or above and, on top of their talents, their strengths far exceeded anyone in the town. They at least had that point of pride.


    Cheng Ming walked to an olddy in front of him. Using broken Normese, he said, ¡°Do you know where I could find an inn?¡±


    The old woman was frail and unbelievably gaunt. She could be somewhat younger, but the wrinkles on her face could rival a century-old tree. She raised her head and stared at Cheng Ming for a long time, not saying anything.


    Cheng Ming thought she did not understand, and patiently repeated himself. The other monitors stood behind, all their weapons stowed away to show they bore no ill-will.


    The old woman pointed at Cheng Ming¡¯s waist. Cheng Ming was starting to sweat. Ibeiya whispered into Xiao Lin¡¯s ear, and Xiao Lin walked in front, patting Cheng Ming as he took out his pouch. He produced a piece of bread and gave it to thedy. The olddy immediately wolfed down the bread, even sucking at the remnants on her fingers a few times.


    Those people were way too hungry!


    Cheng Ming¡¯s eyes widened in realization, regretting not understanding it himself. He sighed. The war between the rebels and the government ended up harming themoners the most in the end. He generously retrieved even more food from his bag, because in the broken home behind the olddy were several skinny children looking out. Seeing Cheng Ming¡¯s slight smile, they were still a bit afraid, but once a bold kid reached his hand out to take the bread, the other children rushed over as well.


    The bread that Xiao Lin and the others had brought were made of the highest quality ingredients. Dawn Academy did not mistreat its students on that part. Be it the taste or the amount, to themoners, who could only eat the most crude of foods normally, the bread was unbelievably delicious.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s actions caused more and more people toe closer. Other than children, there were also women and elderly, all of whom unable to hold back the looks of hunger from their faces.


    ¡°I think that the rebels might have confiscated all the food nearby for war supplies,¡± one of the monitors said softly, very possibly hitting the nail on the head.


    Even though there were not many people in the town, there were at least a hundred people gathering there. Cheng Ming could not help but feel guilty. He did not have that much bread, and he needed to leave some for himself as well. Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, pulling Cheng Ming aside. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Cheng Ming hesitated, but even more of the monitors started to feel sorry. For those of them who were used to peaceful life on Earth, the scene was hard to watch. They all started to feel pity, and started to take out a bit of food to give to themoners.


    However, Xiao Lin started to feel like something was off at that moment, because the men close by started to walk over as well. The old folks and the children were one matter, but those men, who still looked rtively fit did not need it. They did note here to do charity after all.


    Xiao Lin gave out a few warnings before the rest of them stopped, taking advantage of therge crowd to slip away. Luckily, probably because of their actions, someone decided to guide them to an inn.


    It was called an inn, but it was just a few dpidated rooms. They could even see cobwebs in the corners. It was unknown how long it had been since the innst opened. The owner was a middle-aged man, and seemed to know a bit of Mandarin. He was willing to ept New Dors as well.


    Even though a few monitors felt like the environment was bad, it was not the time to be picky. After paying a few hundred New Dors, they got themselves three rooms. Because only three of the rooms were still in reasonable condition. After entering the rooms, they did not care about the foul stench within, falling asleep immediately.


    They were way too tired.


    The few female monitors shared a room. Xiao Lin had wanted Ibeiya to stay with them, but was once again rejected by Ibeiya. The girl said she was not tired, and would be fine just leaning against Xiao Lin for a bit. Xiao Lin did not argue. He told her not to run anywhere before falling fast asleep, not being able to hold back his exhaustion.


    Xiao Lin was deep in sleep, all the way until he started to feel a cold sensation. He startled awake, and his vision started to clear, but he remained in the darkness. The bed he was lying on had disappeared, and his hands could feel ice-cold water. His back seemed to be against some rocks, and when he raised his head to look around, the only source of light around him was a window in a corner, fastened with metal bars...

 Chapter 482: Prison Cell

    <h4>Chapter 482: Prison Cell</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s muddled mind immediately snapped awake. His body shot up, but he realized that there was a slight paining from his feet. He struggled to stand up, and squinted as he tried to use the limited amount of sunlight to appraise his surroundings. After that, his heart plummeted.


    It was a prison. A wet ce with filthy walls and a foul stench that assaulted his nostrils. Lying next to him were the other monitors, but none of them seemed to be awake. There were two cells, and there were six of them in Xiao Lin¡¯s cell. He hurried over to wake someone up, and shouted at the other side.


    Just like Xiao Lin, after the initial grogginess, they began to notice their surroundings and all of them were shocked before they quickly turned to anger.


    ¡°Why are we in jail?¡±


    ¡°Damn! It must be the rebels. We were too careless.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be the rebels. I think we¡¯ve been betrayed.¡±


    ¡°Betrayed? By who?¡±


    ¡°The ones we helped must have gotten greedy, and took advantage of our sleep to capture us!¡±


    ¡°Oh! Who was the one who helped them first yesterday? Those natives had nothing to do with us!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that, Han Manman. It¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t give out your things as well!¡±


    ...


    The prison cells suddenly erupted like a marketce. Everyone was very agitated, and was constantly specting. Some of them even tried to put the me on others.


    ¡°Everyone quiet!¡± Xiao Lin took a deep breath, saying angrily, ¡°What¡¯s the use of saying all that now! Look at our current predicament first!¡±


    After a moment, most of the monitors quieted down. A few of them still seemed to have something to say, but were quickly stopped by the ones next to them. In the dim light, everyone looked around. Even in this environment, they could not help but have a strange feeling. At some point, Xiao Lin had slowly turned into a leader that was more persuasive than Cheng Ming. Of course, it was only because Xiao Lin was stronger, and they did not retaliate because of that.


    The monitors needed a leader, which was why the school had the year leader position. While the year leader was absent, Cheng Ming had been the temporary figure that everyone silently acknowledged, but now Xiao Lin had taken over. Cheng Ming did not express any discontent. He probably felt the same way as Xiao Lin, they needed to first grasp their current situation before thinking about how to get out.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh and looked at the door that was locked tight. Even after themotion just now, no one hade to check on them. It seemed like they had been left there by themselves. After that, he said, ¡°The first thing is the time. We arrived in the town and stayed in the inn during the second day. How much time would have passed now?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s day right now, but I don¡¯t feel like we were brought here right after we fell asleep because we would definitely have felt it, so I think it¡¯s already the next day.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange? How could we not have reacted at all. Even if we really were that tired, it can¡¯t be possible that none of us reacted.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be more than a day. I¡¯d be famished.¡± Cheng Ming¡¯s appetite was the best gauge they had at the moment.


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°I think we¡¯ve been made. Try and see if any of us can still use our strength¨Csword aura or mental strength.¡±


    After a moment, just as expected, everyone was shocked and angered to realize they were powerless.


    Xiao Lin sighed. ¡°Then let¡¯s treat this as the next day. Nowes our team. Everyone, report in. We¡¯ll start with ss One.¡±


    After all twelve of them reported their names, Xiao Lin¡¯s expression sank. Everyone realized something was wrong too. The monitors were all there, but Ibeiya was missing.


    Xiao Lin forced himself to calm down, continuing, ¡°Now, motive. If it was really done by themoners in the town, then it can only be for money. Everyone check yourselves.¡±


    Their bags had all gone missing. Even Xiao Lin¡¯s spatial ring was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, other than himself, no one could open the ring, but it still caused him some grief. The rest of them were the same. Everything they brought along, as well as their weapons, had gone missing. What caused them to sour was the fact that the New Dors the academy issued to them were untouched in their pockets.


    ¡°Even refugees understand the purchasing power of New Dors on colonial grounds. Even if they had no way to get there, New Dors are still useful in the Silver Province.¡±


    ¡°So, we can eliminate the possibility that it was for money, but who did it?¡±


    ¡°The griffins!¡± Chen Dao brought up the ambush during the night again.


    Originally, they had their doubts on whether or not the griffins were mobilized by someone, but thinking about it now, they started to believe it. There was definitely someone watching them in the shadows.


    Everyone fell quiet. The only thing they were not certain about at the moment was whether or not this was done by the academy to increase the difficulty of the monthly examination.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s think about how we should get out.¡± After a short silence, Xiao Lin spoke up.


    ¡°Get out? How would we get out? Don¡¯t forget we can¡¯t use any power right now.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t eaten for at least a day. We don¡¯t have our physical or mental strength. We should at least wait until we¡¯ve rested up to think about it.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°Yes, once we recover, this prison might not be able to keep us in. With Chen Dao¡¯s fireballs and Cheng Ming¡¯s strength, we have many ways to get out, but if this was not the academy making things harder for us, if someone is really scheming something, would they give us the chance to escape? We might encounter something worse while we¡¯re resting.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a better way?¡± someone asked hopefully. After all, no one wanted to stay in that dark, filthy, and smelly prison cell.


    ¡°All I can say is, it¡¯s a n borne out of desperation.¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± ss Eight¡¯s Zhang Shengguo eximed from the other side.


    ¡°Ah, you understood it as well.¡± Xiao Lin acknowledged Zhang Shengguo¡¯s words. Even if he had some problems with vanity, he was quite intelligent.


    ¡°I object! There¡¯s absolutely no need!¡± Zhang Shengguo said angrily.


    ¡°Can you just tell us already?¡± More of them started to sweat.


    Chen Dao had a moment of realization, widening his eyes in disbelief. ¡°Hold on, Xiao Lin, surely you¡¯re not telling us tomit group suicide!¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right...¡±


    ¡°My God...¡±


    After a moment, the quiet prison cell once again erupted in mor.

 Chapter 483: Suicide

    <h4>Chapter 483: Suicide</h4>


    Suicide?


    Xiao Lin did say ¡®suicide¡¯.


    Everyone immediately understood it after thinking for a bit. As one of the nations that used to be subservient to Dawn Academy, the kingdom had resurrection towers within it; resurrection towers were basically the mascots of the academies.


    Since they were within the area of a resurrection tower, then dying would only cost them 20 years of their lifespan. They would be resurrected next to a tower. That was Dawn Academy¡¯s biggest trump card to stabilize their rulership, but seeking death voluntarily to escape difficult situations was a way to use it as well.


    However, everyone found it hard to ept suicide. Han Manman was the first to question it. ¡°Do we really need to go to the degree of suicide? It¡¯s only a monthly examination. Putting aside whether or not we canplete it, rewards aside, we¡¯d be throwing away twenty whole years of our lives!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true; it seems to be a good way to escape, but we don¡¯t have to go that far. Once we recover, escaping won¡¯t be a problem.¡± Zhang Shengguo agreed with Han Manman.


    The other monitors did have more neutral views, but the fear of suicide was not something they could easily ovee. They also felt like Xiao Lin was making a big deal out of nothing.


    The arguments in the prison cell were within Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations. He remained quiet as he listened to everyone¡¯s reservations and objections. When everyone else stopped, he slowly said, ¡°I understand your concerns. In truth, I¡¯m also a bit afraid of the idea of suicide. Who would do that if they didn¡¯t need to! I¡¯m just afraid, I¡¯m scared that we will never be able to escape if we lose out on this chance!¡±


    ¡°rmist words!¡± someone retorted.


    ¡°Do you have any proof?¡±


    ¡°Yes, who¡¯s heard of Asabanor?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.


    ¡°Asabanor? Who¡¯s that?¡±


    There was a brief moment of silence.


    ¡°He¡¯s the former high priest of Thunder Kingdom.¡± ss Six¡¯s Li Jiayi was quite versed in information. She helped exin the priest¡¯s past to the others.


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s more or less like that, but the high priest actually did not die. He has a grudge against our academies, and used all sorts of ways to destroy us. I suspect that this was a scheme by him. At least, he definitely has a part in this.¡±


    That was actually a conclusion he had reached via process of elimination. Everything that had happened in the past two days showed that they were being schemed against. If he had an enemy in the New World, then it could only be Asabanor, that old undying priest. If all of this was not arranged by the academy, then it could only have been that high priest¡¯s ns.


    ¡°Asabanor can control the bodies of others. I think we¡¯re currently being locked and ignored because the ones that captured us are waiting for their master to arrive, which is why we can still escape now, but it will be toote if Asabanor arrives.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. Asabanor was very well versed in necromancy. The mysterious spirit he saw thest time he came to the New World had rmed Xiao Lin. He did not expect Asabanor to be so persistent. Everytime he came to the New World, he noticed traces of that priest.


    Of course, Xiao Lin hoped that his guess was wrong as well, but he did not dare take the risk.


    The other monitors were naturally unfamiliar with Asabanor, and what had happened to Xiao Lin before was all ssified. He could not easily reveal it. Xiao Lin could only say, ¡°To be honest, if it was not for the fact that the academy¡¯stest information showed that the resurrection towers in the Rosa Kingdom are still fine, I would not have thought of this n at all. Basically, with a fifty percent chance, I would suggest that everyone does it, but no matter what, I won¡¯t force anyone.¡±


    The arguments continued for a long time, until everyone started starving. They noticed that no one was sending in any food or drink. Unless their captors nned on having them starve to death, it was possible that it was just as Xiao Lin said; their captors were just in charge of guarding them. Anything else would have to wait for the true mastermind¡¯s decision.


    Finally, someone started to think about Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion. ¡°If we¡¯re killing ourselves, how will we do it?¡±


    Xiao Lin had not said anything after the initial decision because he had seen a rock in the corner. After a long time, he had managed to sharpen the rock. When someone asked, he raised the rock, which glinted in the darkness.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave first then. Bye bye!¡± Xiao Lin smiled as he said. Not many people had the courage tomit suicide. He was actually very nervous. He was even more concerned for Ibeiya. He did not know if she had been captured or if she had escaped.


    Taking a deep breath, Xiao Lin rxed his muscles as much as he could, or he would not be able to guarantee that a rock of that degree could pierce his strengthened skin. Not waiting for anyone to speak, the sharp stone glinted before piercing into his heart.


    Pop!


    Large amounts of blood began to gush out. Xiao Lin clenched his teeth tightly, not letting himself scream. He did not know if there was anyone standing guard outside, and did not want to expose himself.


    Death was really unpleasant. His entire body burned with intense pain. Thankfully, his consciousness faded, and after arge amount of blood escaped him, Xiao Lin quickly passed out. His body turned cold before it started to go transparent. After that, it shattered into various star-like spots, drifting into the air before disappearing.


    Everyone else was dumbfounded. It was the first time they had seen a resurrection in front of them. They more or less had to show some respect for Xiao Lin¡¯s decisiveness but, as for who would do it next, everyone looked at each other before falling into silence.


    ...


    Even though the torture before dying felt like years to Xiao Lin, when he suddenly opened the eyes again, it felt like only a second had passed.


    He was lying down on the smooth stone tform at that moment. Next to it was a silver resurrection tower. Only after seeing the resurrection tower did his heart rx. He only dared to take that gamble because he believed in Dawn Academy¡¯s report that the resurrection towers in the Rosa Kingdom were unharmed.


    It was not that he was worried that the rebels would destroy it. They would never do that unless they were willing to stand against Dawn Academy, but Xiao Lin was worried about Asabanor. He did not forget what happened in Wildfire Town with that rotten and non-functional resurrection tower. That was why when he saw the silver resurrection tower, Xiao Lin felt incredibly rxed.


    Xiao Lin climbed off the stone tform and started to move about. His strength had recovered. It seemed like the restrictions on them were only physical, and it disappeared after resurrecting.

 Chapter 484: Royal City

    <h4>Chapter 484: Royal City</h4>


    The resurrection tower was built indoors. The roof was built with special, transparent gems. There was also a statue of a god, and surrounding him were various stone tforms. The resurrections here were allpleted on the stone tform.


    As Xiao Lin was essing things, the stone tform next to him started to glow a faint blue light. He immediately went on alert, but when he realized it was the sign of resurrection, he guessed that the other ss monitors had followed him.


    He was quite interested in the mechanics behind the resurrection towers. Based on his prior understanding, the towers would absorb the dispersed souls of any colonists, and would use a specialw to reassemble them before giving a flesh-and-blood body.


    However, it was the first time he had seen someone else resurrect. The blue orbs were probably soul fragments. Those orbs persistently came out of the silver resurrection tower, and quickly condensed. It got more and more condensed, and after a few minutes, the soul started to fade in and out until it turnedpletely transparent.


    Regretfully, the one who was resurrected was not the other monitors, but rather a young East Asian, man. He rubbed his shoulders when he got up, muttering a few words before he looked at Xiao Lin, who was staring at him. The man immediately put up a defense, causing Xiao Lin to remark to himself that the man¡¯s reactions were quick; he was definitely not weak.


    After a few seconds, the man rxed, smiling as he said, ¡°I overreacted. Anyone who can resurrect here would be a friend. Brother, which department are you from? I¡¯ve never seen you before.¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated for a little, but when the man in front of him showed the Dawn Academy emblem, he rxed. The emblem was like their national emblem; no one would put that on in the colonial territories. The only ones who would have them were government officials working in foreignnds. It was obvious that the man was a government official of Dawn Academy.


    ¡°I¡¯m a first-year student from Dawn Academy. I came to the Rosa Kingdom for an assignment.¡± Xiao Lin deliberately withheld the monthly examination.


    The man paused before pping his forehead. ¡°So you¡¯re the ones who came over for the monthly examination. I know about it. I was supposed to be the one in charge of you once you got to the royal city.¡±


    The man immediately mentioned the monthly examination, proving that his status was definitely real, causing Xiao Lin¡¯s worries to disappear.


    The man called himself Liang Taibai. He was a foreign official within the Rosa Kingdom. He was supposed to be in charge of the examinees when they arrived. However, he was unlucky, and had been ambushed and killed when he went out on business.


    ¡°Where are the others? How did you die? Were you attacked on the way? Was it a wild beast or the rebels?¡± Liang Taibai was not surprised at Xiao Lin¡¯s death; the Rosa Kingdom was quite chaotic.


    ¡°I killed myself.¡±


    The man was speechless.


    Following that, Xiao Lin spent half an hour talking about their story. He had wanted to find out from Liang Taibai if it was arranged by the academy, but the official¡¯s changing expressions gave him the answer.


    ¡°The griffins were definitely arranged by the academy. Ah, I should not have told you that before the end of the examination.¡± Liang Taibai regretted it after he said it, but his expression turned serious. ¡°However, the kidnapping was definitely not arranged, based on my information.¡±


    Pausing, he continued, ¡°Furthermore, those griffins were to test your reactions. We arranged for the attack to disperse after an hour or two; it¡¯s not possible for it tost an entire night.¡±


    Xiao Lin panicked. ¡°Then you need to immediately send people to rescue them. I¡¯m worried as to what will happen if we¡¯re toote.¡±


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused before asking, ¡°Where are we now?¡±


    ¡°The royal city.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent.


    The royal city¡¯s resurrection tower was arge model, but the effective radius was the entire city, and maybe the neighbouring areas at most. That meant that they had been brought so close by. Based on Xiao Lin and everyone else¡¯s estimates, they had been kidnapped not one whole day after they fell asleep before being sent into the prison cells.


    In just half a day, how could they have arrived at the royal city?


    Griffins!


    Xiao Lin immediately found the answer. If the griffins were the mode of transport, then it was not strange for the journey to take only half a day. It was obvious that the griffins that attacked them that night had broken free of the academy¡¯s control.


    ¡°We should head to the embassy. I need to report this immediately and save the rest of them.¡±


    Liang Taibai¡¯s face was sweating. He immediately brought Xiao Lin out of the resurrection tower. After leaving, Xiao Lin saw an immense number of troops patrolling nearby, about a thousand strong.


    ¡°These are all the troops of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty. Don¡¯t just look at the numbers¨Ctheirbat abilities aren¡¯t too high. This is only because we warned them repeatedly that if the resurrection towers were destroyed, our rtionship with the royalty would go the same way, including our rescue efforts,¡± Liang Taibai exined to Xiao Lin.


    It was the first time Xiao Lin was at a royal city of Normese natives. Compared to Dawn City and New Washington, the rtively young city was not inferior in its prosperity, or maybe luxury was the more urate term. Most of Norma¡¯s countries were monarchies. The royalty always ensured their cities were majestic and prosperous, but there was no use to it other than looks. Comparatively, the colonists had built their buildings with modern ideals¨Cfew buildings were without a practical purpose.


    It was a pity that the streets and the houses wereparatively in worse shape, and were scarcely popted as well. Liang Taibai mentioned that, since the rebels were approaching, most of them had fled. The ones remaining either had no choice but to flee or had things they could not leave behind.


    ¡°Are they not willing to part with their riches?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and they¡¯re still hoping we¡¯ll extend a helping hand.¡± Liang Taibai sighed.


    ¡°Surely it¡¯s not good for us if the Rosa Kingdom falls to the rebels.¡± Xiao Lin might not be clear on the political situation, but he knew a little. If the rebels did not maintain the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s subservience, then Dawn Academy would first lose all the resurrection towers in the kingdom. That would be quite a great loss.


    ¡°The military is refusing to send any troops. We have no other choice. The results of the negotiations were only to help the main royal family members escape to Dawn City before using our name to garner support and money, allowing them to reim the country.¡±


    ¡°It feels a bit like we¡¯re leaving them to struggle by themselves.¡± Thanks to what had happened before, Xiao Lin did not have any good will toward the military.


    ¡°That¡¯s basically it. The military¡¯s focus is not here, and they¡¯re not willing to send any troops for this. Furthermore, it looks like they¡¯ve already sent men over to negotiate with the rebels. As long as the resurrection towers are safe, they do not care about anything else.¡±

 Chapter 485: Liang Taibai

    <h4>Chapter 485: Liang Taibai</h4>


    Liang Taibai¡¯s words made sense, Xiao Lin knew that the military felt that Dawn Academy¡¯s greatest threats in the future came from the other academies as opposed to Norma. That was why they would rather focus their manpower and resources on preparing to deal with the other academies. As for their subordinate countries, they only needed to preserve the core, which was the resurrection towers. As for who was the king, that did not matter.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s expression sank. He thought of an even more serious question. ¡°How many people know about the contents of this monthly examination?¡±


    ¡°Not many, but not that few either. That¡¯s because it involves the intelligence and foreign affairs department, so those involved would know about it, but it¡¯s kept a secret from outsiders.¡±


    Liang Taibai furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Do you think someone sold out your information internally, which caused you to be attacked? That¡¯s not very possible. Why would they sell out their own people?¡±


    ¡°I wish I knew the reason as well. Otherwise, everything would be too big of a coincidence. We were attacked the moment we entered the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s borders, and we were captured the moment we arrived at the town. If the enemies did not know all of our movements, there¡¯s no way they could set up such an ambush.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. I¡¯m sure a problem just came up somewhere.¡±


    Dawn Academy¡¯s embassy was situated in the most prosperous area of the city. The building that was filled with Chinese architecture could be seen from far away. Compared to how quiet everywhere else was, the embassy¡¯s entrance was very busy. There were a lot of people gathered at the front, but when they saw Liang Taibai appear, those people rushed forward, and the troops maintaining order nearby could not help but chase them away, even whipping them. Only then did they give way, allowing Liang Taibai to bring Xiao Lin inside.


    Xiao Lin looked at those of them who had been violently thrown to the ground, shouting in pain as they were beaten. He could not stand it, saying, ¡°Is this really okay?¡±


    Liang Taibai sighed, but did not even turn around as he said, ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it after awhile. Most of Norma¡¯s countries are like this. Be they led by kings or religious figures,moners have no rights as well. These people want to gain the right to enter our colonial territories, but that¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t an increase in thebor force a good thing?¡± Xiao Lin asked. Even if Dawn City¡¯s facilities were already quiteplete, the surrounding areas were still being developed. As colonists, they would naturally not do suchborious jobs themselves, so the work could only be handed to the natives, which was why poption growth was important to the colonists.


    ¡°The issuing of the permits were quitex initially, but...¡± Liang Taibai paused for a moment, looking around before whispering, ¡°Surely you know about the attempt on the dean. The assassin had been issued a permit to enter the capital. Who do you think would take responsibility for that; who would dare? That¡¯s why, since then, the issuing of permits have gotten stricter, and we no longer dare to give it out so casually.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked. The dean¡¯s attempted assasination was actually made too big a dealst semester. Initially, everyone was shocked when it happened, but after that, even the papers moved onto other topics, and it was slowly forgotten by a lot of people.


    He felt like he needed to understand more of it, but it was not the time to do that. As Dawn Academy¡¯s subordinate country, the embassy¡¯s facilities were all of good quality. They had jeweled decorations, high quality beast-skin sofas and gilded floors. Even five-star hotels could notpare.


    ording to Liang Taibai, due to the civil war, the embassy had been quite busy recently, and a lot of them were working out of office. The ones remaining were all low-ranking office workers helping to clear up documents.


    Liang Taibai seemed to be quite high-ranked because he had arge and luxurious private room to himself. The candles on the walls caused the room to feel warm.


    ¡°Let me pour you a local specialty.¡± Liang Taibai warmly helped Xiao Lin prepare something, but it was not coffee or tea. Instead it was a red, rose-like flower. The flower had been taken out even with the roots. Liang Taibai smiled and said, ¡°This is the rose¨Coh, of course it¡¯s not the rose we know; it¡¯s a Normese rose, the symbol of this country.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. Was it popr to bring out flowers for guests here?


    Liang Taibai wasughing; he picked up another rose before taking out a small straw, sticking it into the roots before sucking on it. The light-red colored petals suddenly darkened before decaying in a sh.


    Xiao Lin was surprised, and tried it out as well. He sucked on it, and a refreshing liquid flowed into his mouth through the straw. The faint fragrance of the flower had a thick and natural sweetness. That feeling of refreshment coursed through his entire body, and even reduced the fatigue he felt after resurrecting.


    ¡°Not bad.¡±


    ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t it? This thing is quite a popr product in most of the academies. Differently colored petals all have different vors.


    Liang Taibai had wanted to continue, but looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s distracted look, it was obvious what was on his mind, and Liang Taibai wisely switched to the main topic. ¡°As for the ones who kidnapped you, do you have any leads? I don¡¯t have a lot of manpower here, but the Rosa Kingdom listens to us. It¡¯s not impossible to get their help.¡±


    ¡°I suspect it might be Asabanor.¡±


    ¡°That undying old man again, son of a b*tch. That incident in Wildfire Town had already tortured us enough. If it¡¯s him, then it¡¯ll be troublesome.¡± Liang Taibai furrowed his eyebrows. Last semester, Xiao Lin and Lilith had met the spirits Asabanor controlled in Wildfire Town, and even found a corrupted resurrection tower. However, the matter did not cause any waves to this day, so it was probably concealed, probably to prevent panic.


    ¡°Right, what happened with Wildfire Town back then?¡± It seemed like Liang Taibai had some understanding of what happenedst semester, and Xiao Lin could not help but ask about it.


    Liang Taibai sucked on two roses before leaning into the sofa, staying quiet for a long time before vaguely saying, ¡°This matter involved a lot of people, and it¡¯s very serious. The Academy has already reported it to the high council. It won¡¯t be easy to hear about it; it¡¯s very rare for anything to be reported there. Basically, this isn¡¯t something you or me can get involved in.¡±

 Chapter 486: Impossible To Unravel

    <h4>Chapter 486: Impossible To Unravel</h4>


    Liang Taibai asked about Xiao Lin as well, but he really did not know anything about Xiao Lin. That was quite normal. As an official who was always in foreignnds, Liang Taibai would not know too much about the academies, especially when it came to the new students.


    ¡°To be honest, the monthly examination is very strange this time. I heard of the change in curriculum, but sending the students to such a chaotic country is really crazy!¡± Liang Taibai did not understand the meaning of the monthly examination. Even if there were resurrection towers, he knew very well that 20 years were very precious to new students.


    ¡°I heard that it was arranged by the military,¡± Xiao Lin muttered softly.


    Liang Taibai looked at him, surprised at Xiao Lin¡¯s information, but he quickly said, ¡°Well, our superiors know best. We should just do our part. That¡¯s right, this information was supposed to be given to you all when you arrived. I¡¯ll give it to you for now. You can pass it along once everyone is here.¡±


    In the man¡¯s hand was a thick folder of information. On top was the assignment for the monthly examination, and the list of names they would need to send. There were over twenty people, princes and princesses included. However, after looking through it, Xiao Lin said curiously, ¡°There¡¯s no king?¡±


    The only one missing from the list was the king of the Rosa Kingdom. Even if Dawn Academy did not n on taking the king away, based on the current situation, the kingdom being taken over by the rebels was just a matter of time. The people outside who were trying to get into Dawn Academy¡¯s territories were the best proof. Everyone understood that there was no way to protect the city.


    ¡°The rebels are getting powerful. We¡¯ll need something to cate them. Otherwise, how would we continue our rtionship with them?¡± Liang Taibai said meaningfully.


    Xiao Lin understood; they were basically going to sell the king to the rebels in exchange for the rebels assuming and maintaining Dawn Academy¡¯s status as their superiors. Even if he knew the kings in the New World were not necessarily tyrants, most of them still exploited their people. Basically, not many of them were good people. However, to betray their own subordinate country so easily still felt wrong.


    Xiao Lin shook his head, opening the document and earnestly saying, ¡°Let¡¯s forget about the monthly examination for now. There are some things I need your help arranging.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°The first is to send someone to stand guard at the resurrection tower. There might be other monitors who will resurrect there soon. The second thing is to continue investigating where they were kidnapped; the best is if you nket search everything. This should not be dyed. I¡¯m afraid something will happen if we¡¯re toote. The third thing; I hope you can issue a search warrant for a little girl named Ibeiya. It¡¯s best if the embassy does this. Don¡¯t let the royal family interfere.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Liang Taibai paused for a moment before agreeing.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief, and decided to ask for a room to rest. Restructuring of the soul and the creation of a new body made resurrection extremely tiring. On top of that, resurrection did not alleviate mental stress. Basically, Xiao Lin needed to sleep.


    It was already the second day since they left Dawn Academy. There were only eight days left until the end of the monthly examination.


    Liang Taibai was quick to act. Xiao Lin had slept till the next day, and he received Liang Taibai¡¯s notification when he woke up. First of all was the resurrection towers. After Xiao Lin, there were four others who had resurrected. They were Li Jiayi, Chen Dao, Cheng Ming, and An Luo.


    ¡°They resurrected at ater time and are resting now. Other than that, I managed to get some information about the capture from them, and I¡¯ve gotten the kingdom¡¯s troops to investigate. We managed to find somewhere simr this morning, but we¡¯re still not sure. Do you need toe with me?¡±


    ¡°That fast?¡± Xiao Lin paused, immediately asking, ¡°What about the others? Other than Cheng Ming and the rest of them, if you found the prison, were the others not there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s regretful.¡± Liang Taibai shook his head.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart sank. He now hoped that the promising location they had found was wrong. Since the others were still resting due to the weakened state of their bodies after resurrection, they needed to rest to recover, so he did not look for Cheng Ming and the others. Instead, he went alone with Liang Taibai.


    What confused him was that they did not walk toward the outside of the city. Instead, they went right to the heart of the city. The building in the middle of the city was the pce.


    Liang Taibai saw his confusion and said, ¡°Actually, there are only a few prison cells close to the city, so it¡¯s not hard to investigate... We have eyes within the pce, and they told us that the royal prison had a few special people locked up recently, and had not allowed anyone to get close. They were suspicious... Unfortunately, the prisoners had been moved when we got there.


    Borrowing the status as envoys from Dawn Academy, they were allowed through all the checkpoints with no issue. When they walked into the royal prison, Xiao Lin squinted, and the familiar surroundings basically confirmed that was the ce immediately. To be sure, he had checked the two cells in detail, and managed to find a stone with dried blood on it. There were also visible remnants of blood around it.


    Liang Taibai guessed the answer from Xiao Lin¡¯s expression, and his face darkened¨Ceven a bit of rage was visible. ¡°The Rosa Kingdom is really crossing the line. I won¡¯t talk about the ambush on me, but now something like this happened. Ahem, I think they¡¯re forgetting the power of Dawn Academy!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You said you were ambushed. What happened?¡±


    ¡°I was killed by ck magic. It was really unfortunate, I never had much resistance against ck magic.¡±


    ¡°Was it the dark races?¡±


    Liang Taibai shot him an astonished look. ¡°You know of the dark races? The Rosa Kingdom is one of the ces the dark races dwell, but Norma¡¯s dark races usually keep a low profile. It¡¯s not like the myths on Earth where they only know to kill. They usually know how to protect themselves, and would not voluntarily participate in any troublesome matters.¡±


    ¡°Let me stay here for a bit. I want to see if there are any clues,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.


    Liang Taibai agreed, and told Xiao Lin he had already helped Xiao Lin greet the royalty. The investigation would need to be amodated unconditionally, so no matter what happened and no matter what he needed, Xiao Lin could just look for those within the pce.


    Xiao Lin thanked him. Once Liang Taibai left, Xiao Lin sat down cross-legged. The current pressing matter was to locate the other ss monitors. No one could help him with that, because until now, he did not even know who was behind all of it.


    However, now he had a good chance to understand it. He lightly touched his forehead and started to focus his mental strength. Quickly, the third eye on his forehead started to surface. The third eye Silverlight had given him back then was still not very stable, and even opening it caused Xiao Lin to feel tired.

 Chapter 487: Rewinding Time Again

    <h4>Chapter 487: Rewinding Time Again</h4>


    Xiao Lin could not afford any dy, and immediately activated the power of Time Rewind. It was his first time using that ability after gaining the third eye. Silverlight had warned him against using it casually, but he had no other choice. If he did not manage to figure out where his fellow ss monitors were, and if they really were taken away by Asabanor, nothing good coulde out of it.


    When Silverlight transferred the eye to him, she had also nted her memories on how to activate it.


    The mental and physical cost of activating Time Rewind was immense. Even in his Miracle state, Xiao Lin did not feel like he had enough, and had to raise his power even more. Thankfully, he had gotten enough rest yesterday, allowing him to activate Ruin easily.


    Following the memories that Silverlight had given him, Xiao Lin focused all his mental strength toward his forehead to erge his third eye, which started to emit a warm glow.


    ¡®Time Rewind, activate!¡¯


    As the light enveloped the cell, Xiao Lin¡¯s mind fell into a strange state of emptiness. Countless scenes were rapidly being yed in front of him. It was the start of the reverse flow of time. His next step would be to pick out the appropriate stop. It was a little like watching TV.


    Xiao Lin focused his whole attention on it until a familiar sight shed by in his mind. He immediately opened his eyes, and the light on his forehead exploded outward,pletely covering the prison cell. The scenery outside was all swallowed in white light.


    It was not his first time experiencing Time Rewind. When Xiao Lin¡¯s vision cleared up, he did not feel the shock he did the first time, but was still surprised by that mysterious skill.


    Each time Time Rewind was used, the power needed was based on the time and scale. It was different from when they returned to ancient times. This time, he only rewinded it by two days, and the scope was only the prison cell, so even though the immense cost had Xiao Lin feeling dizzy, even with Ruin activated, it was still something he could withstand.


    Xiao Lin still stood in that prison cell, but his surroundings had been cut off by the wall of time, cing him in apletely different world. He had been worried he would identally break the wall like thest time and cause unexpected results, but after waiting for a few minutes, everything seemed peaceful.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. The prison cell at that moment was when Xiao Lin had justmitted suicide. His body was already turning into spiritual fragments, returning to the resurrection tower.


    For someone who had used Time Rewind for the first time, the timing he had returned to was quite urate. Xiao Lin had wanted to know what happened after he died as well.


    His death led to the other monitors to be in a brief state of shock, but they awkwardly fell silent. No one dared to follow suit just yet.


    Two hours passed by just like that; the monitors were still arguing with each other. All of them had their own opinions, but no one managed to convince anyone else.


    The first to make the decision was Chen Dao. He had just had an intense quarrel with Han Manman and a few others. Since he was the youngest among them, he had been mocked as naive. In his fury, he decided he no longer wanted to bicker there, and followed Xiao Lin.


    After that, Cheng Ming had slowly started to trust Xiao Lin¡¯s judgement after repeated deliberation, but his method of suicide was a bit sad. Since his physique was too strong, a simple rock was unable to pierce him, so he chose to ram his head into the wall to kill himself. His brain juices sttering everywhere shocked all of those who could not make a decision.


    What surprised Xiao Lin were An Luo and Li Jiayi. The two of them did not speak much usually, and had not interacted with Xiao Lin much either. When Cheng Mingmitted suicide, they made the same choice.


    Those who remained continued to quarrel. As it gotter, they had lost theirst chance because the entrance of the prison cell opened for the first time. Xiao Lin, who was falling asleep watching the ¡®movie¡¯ was immediately shocked awake as he narrowed his eyes and appraised the situation.


    The man in front had ck robes, and on his head was a grey hood that covered most of his face. Xiao Lin could not see what he looked like, regardless of the angle, so it was obvious that he was a very careful man. The man walked around the prison cell twice before muttering in a low voice.


    ¡°No! We¡¯re missing five people! Missing five people!¡±


    Someone rushed in behind him hurriedly, probably the guards of the pce, since Xiao Lin had seen quite a few people in simr attire that day. He hurriedly counted before stuttering, ¡°No! Impossible! We guarded this ce strictly; no one could possibly have escaped. We followed your instructions strictly and even applied restrictions on them!¡±


    ¡°You thought that the restrictions would be perfect, and did not have anyone guard them the whole time, right?! Did you forget what I told you! These heretics can resurrect! They only need to kill themselves to leave this ce!¡± The man¡¯s shouts were very sharp, and the monitors in the cells could not help but close their ears.


    ¡°But-but it¡¯s suicide. How could that be possible? Who would just kill themselves.¡± The guard¡¯s face wore disbelief.


    ¡°Useless trash!¡±


    The man coldly roared, his hands suddenly shooting out of his robes as a strange green energy ball quickly condensed before spreading to hit every one of the guards. They did not even have the time to cry out before the green light enveloped their bodies, and they decayed into puddles.


    ¡°Tell Sheiksa I¡¯ll be bringing them away, but the one I really need isn¡¯t here. Make him think of a way!¡± The man left one guard alive, using the guard to pass on the message.


    The dumbfounded guard immediately nodded in acknowledgement before stumbling away.


    The monitors were shocked, but they were not scared, and immediately started to challenge, ¡°Kill us if you dare! You¡¯ll never get any information from us!¡±


    The person was obviously an enemy, and was definitely targeting Dawn Academy. They were naturally worried about being tortured. Compared to that, death was a release. It was only 20 years of their life they would lose.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid. I¡¯m just inviting you back for some experiments. As for the resurrection tower... Ah, you¡¯ll see it soon, as you so wish to.¡± The man¡¯s sinisterugh only made them feel even more terrified.


    After that, the man used some method to cause all the monitors to fall unconscious before getting someone to wrap them all up in ck cloth. In the cover of night, they left.

 Chapter 488: Difficult Situation

    <h4>Chapter 488: Difficult Situation</h4>


    The Time Rewind scene stopped there. Following that, Xiao Lin¡¯s vision blurred, spun, and went dark. When light returned, he had already returned to the present.


    Even if it was just a small-scale rewind, it still used up all his physical and mental strength. Coupled with the weakness he felt after dismissing Ruin, Xiao Lin could only lean against the wall to support his own body.


    The guards noticed his odd state, and hurried over to support him. Thanks to Liang Taibai¡¯s instructions, they knew that he was no ordinary person from Dawn Academy, and did not dare offend him.


    After returning to the embassy, Xiao Lin did not dare go rest. Liang Taibai had errands to run out of his office, so Xiao Lin could only wait in the office, repeating the name ¡®Sheiksa¡¯ on his lips. That was the biggest thing he learned with Time Rewind, which was the name the mysterious man brought up. Xiao Lin wanted to wait for Liang Taibai to return before investigating, since the man was obviously more familiar with the Rosa Kingdom.


    However, after repeating the name a few times, he felt a sense of familiarity with it. As he waited, Xiao Lin suddenly stood up from the sofa, losing all sense of fatigue as he hurried to the desk. He looked through a pile of documents¨Cexamination materials that Liang Taibai showed him yesterday.


    Xiao Lin only stopped after flipping through and finding a few familiar words. It was the list of royal members they were supposed to escort, and there was a name on that list: Sheiksa.


    Sheiksa, male, 26 years old. The tenth in line for the throne of the Rosa Kingdom. He kept a low profile, and rarely participated in court matters. As the tenth in line, it meant that, unless he hit the jackpot, he had no hope at all to take the throne in his lifetime. However, since he had a personality that was easy to control, Dawn Academy had deliberately added him into the list to be escorted.


    The fact that they were locked in the royal prison meant that there was definitely someone pulling the strings inside. Yet, looking at the information, Xiao Lin began to suspect that Sheiksa might actually be a puppet being controlled by someone else.


    When Liang Taibai returned, Xiao Lin immediately reported the situation to him. Liang Taibai wisely refrained from asking him where the information was from, and instead indignantly brought him to see Sheiksa. As a prince of the Rosa Kingdom, the man was actually in an awkward spot. Thanks to the impending danger facing their kingdom, Dawn Academy¡¯s embassy was more powerful than him. Naturally, no one dared offend Dawn Academy for a prince without any real power.


    Even though Sheiksa was listed as 26 years old, Xiao Lin almost thought he was 62. He looked very old. His hair was sparse, a mix of ck and white. The wrinkles on his face were numerous. Even though he was wearing eye-catching clothes, he still looked like he was caught off guard, andcked the dignity or aura of royalty.


    ¡°You¡¯re Sheiksa?¡± With Liang Taibai¡¯s permission, Xiao Lin immediately asked him this. Since the Rosa Kingdom was familiar with Mandarin,nguage was not a problem at all.


    ¡°Yes-yes I am.¡± Sheiksa stuttered out an answer, looking obviously very nervous.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got enough evidence to prove that you had allied with outsiders to kidnap our students. Do you admit it?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was cold, it was best to assert dominance immediately when faced with cowards like him, in order to scare the other party.


    However, Sheiksa¡¯s performance surprised even him. Xiao Lin had been worried about what to do if he refused to admit it, but he did not expect Sheiksa¡¯s expression to immediately pale when he said so. The prince¡¯s entire body copsed, like he had lost his bones, saying, ¡°I said I would definitely be discovered. What can I do? I really didn¡¯t mean it! I didn¡¯t mean to do it!¡±


    Xiao Lin and Liang Taibai looked at each other. After that, they interrogated the prince for an hour. The prince spilled everything. Around half a month ago, a man in a ck hood had found him, iming to be able to seize the throne for him as long as he helped provide a hideout and a list of Dawn Academy¡¯s people in Rosa.


    After some threats and promises, the weak-willed Sheiksa agreed. After that was everything Xiao Lin already knew about. As for the hiding spot of the ck-robed person, Sheiksa did not know at all, because after moving the ss monitors away, the ck-robed man disappeared as well.


    It was pointless to be angry at that point. Liang Taibai had just removed Sheiksa¡¯s name from the escort list, but the following investigation yielded no results.


    It was already the third day, and the two of them were feeling a sense of urgency. On a normal schedule, they only had a few days before the group would be out of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s soil. If they allowed the ck-robed individual to take the monitors out of the kingdom, then it would mean that they would leave the coverage of a resurrection tower. At that point, it would be very difficult to find them. After all, Dawn Academy¡¯s rtionship with the other powers was not the best.


    To Dawn Academy, what they stood to lose was not only a few ss monitors; it also concerned their dignity and honor. If they allowed their own people to be kidnapped so easily in a subordinate country, it would be a massive humiliation.


    That was why Liang Taibai had prioritized that news so much when he heard of it. Based on what he said, the situation had already been reported, and Dawn City would send a skilled squad over to investigate, but receiving the news and getting here would take them at least two more days.


    In the two key days, Xiao Lin could only move around in panic without any clues. Cheng Ming and the others had woken up as well, but they did not have any useful information either. After understanding the severity of the situation, all of them had wanted to help, which Xiao Lin allowed. After all, it was just a few extra eyes.


    A turning point came during the evening, just as Xiao Lin was preparing to head back to the embassy after a wild goose chase. In the shroud of the evening, the scarcely popted city felt extremely deserted.


    ¡°Big Brother Xiao Lin! Big Brother Xiao Lin!¡±


    A clear and soft voice could be heard from the corner of a street. Xiao Lin was on alert, and immediately looked over. There stood a slender girl in the shadows. The darkness of the streets blurred her face, but Xiao Lin could still tell with a nce that it was Ibeiya, who had been missing for a long time.


    ¡°Ibeiya!¡±


    Xiao Lin shouted, but the girl did not respond. Instead, she turned around and ran away. He immediately followed. Ibeiya was not fast, nor was she slow. She was standing still after a while of running, as if waiting for Xiao Lin to catch up. Once he did, she would once again run away, never responding at all to Xiao Lin¡¯s shouts.

 Chapter 489: Ibeiya’s Uncle

    <h4>Chapter 489: Ibeiya¡¯s Uncle</h4>


    Ibeiya seemed to be guiding Xiao Lin. When Xiao Lin finally caught up to her, he noticed that he was no longer in the royal city. Ibeiya stood at the entrance of a very unusual manor, waving to Xiao Lin before walking inside.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows and was immediately on high alert. He measured his surroundings, noticing trees around him that were blooming with flowers despite it being autumn. The manor looked very old, but it was not broken down. The gray walls had vines growing on them, and the evening light gave it a golden coat, making it look quiet and peaceful.


    There were threerge, ck dogs guarding the entrance of the manor. Of course, they looked like just dogs. As Xiao Lin walked by, they narrowed their eyes and shot looks at him. The surprising action was enough to rm Xiao Lin, allowing him to understand that those animals had very high offensive capabilities.


    Ibeiya unhappily shouted at the dogs, chasing them away before affectionately moving over to hold Xiao Lin¡¯s hand. She skipped with him into the manor.


    Even though he still had his suspicions, seeing as the familiar Ibeiya was back, Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief, asking, ¡°Where did you go? I was very worried about you. Oh, and where is this?¡±


    ¡°Haha, I knew you would have a lot of questions. I can answer the first question right now. When we were at the town, I noticed there were people sneaking up on all of you, but you¡¯d all had a sleeping spell cast on you. I could not break the spell, so I left for a bit before following all of you into the royal city quietly. I wanted to try and save all of you, but I heard that you got out a few days ago.¡±


    Ibeiya pped her hands happily. Xiao Lin could not help but smile bitterly. He had gotten out, but a few of the ss monitors were still there. He knew that Ibeiya did not care about the others at all though.


    ¡°As for the second question, Uncle will tell you where this ister.¡± Ibeiya blinked her adorable eyes, bringing Xiao Lin in as she opened the door.


    ¡°Uncle?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was full of questions. The light within the house was sparse. It was already the evening, but there were no lights inside at all. He could not help but sneeze as he entered. Norma was going through autumn, and most families had lit up furnaces for warmth, yet this ce was still freezing, which was very strange.


    ¡°You must be Xiao Lin.¡± A cold voice came from the darkness as a pair of red eyes focused on him.


    ¡°You¡¯re Ibeiya¡¯s uncle?¡± Xiao Lin felt that it was weird. He remembered that Ibeiya had told him she had no family. As a child born out of wedlock to a royal family, the Rosa Kingdom did not acknowledge her existence.


    ¡°Yes, Her Highness Ibeiya has told me about you over thest few days. I really wanted to see what sort of human had managed to catch her eye.¡± The old-fashioned voice did not have any change of tone, but it was still getting closer. Thanks to the darkness, he could not tell what the speaker looked like, but he could still tell that the other party was getting closer.


    That person calling Ibeiya ¡®Her Highness¡¯ confused Xiao Lin even more, but at the next second, his instincts immediately kicked in. A strong, sharp wind whizzed toward him like a de, giving him less than a second to react. Xiao Lin immediately dodged to the left, but even so, he felt warm blood flowing down his face.


    The sudden attack infuriated him. Ibeiya wanted to walk up to stop it, but she was restricted by a cage that appeared from the ground.


    Xiao Lin did not want to participate in a meaningless fight, but he noticed that the door he had wanted to retreat out of had disappeared. Not only that, the windows had all gone missing as well. Without any light, the inside of the house waspletely pitch ck.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Xiao Lin was getting frustrated and immediately activated Miracle. Since he could not use his eyes, he would have to use his perception.


    What angered Xiao Lin even more was that his equipment had been taken away when he was kidnapped. They had traced everything to the royal prison, but they still needed time to find all the gear. At that point, he was empty-handed, so all the sword techniques he had mastered were useless.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, Ruin!¡±


    Xiao Lin once again raised his attributes with Ruin. With his increased perception, he locked onto his foe immediately. He had first used me Ball and me Bullets to attack from a distance. The mes momentarily lit up the room, and he caught a glimpse of a wizened old man, but his spells had no effect.


    Boom!


    The old man lunged again after dodging the spells. The old man was not fast, but the narrow room did not give Xiao Lin enough space to dodge. The old man¡¯s fists were as strong as charging elephants. Xiao Lin had nned on blocking after seeing his opponent¡¯s age, but just one punch had sunk his feet inches into the floor.


    The next punch sent Xiao Lin flying and mming into the wall.


    ¡°Stop it! Stop it now!¡± Ibeiya was shouting, but to no effect.


    The attacks continued, the old man¡¯s cold voice said, ¡°Is that all? You disappoint me. If that¡¯s the case, you don¡¯t even deserve to leave here.¡± The old man¡¯s voice had traces of killing intent.


    Xiao Lin forced himself to stand up, surprised that the old man was so strong. He finally decided to stop holding back. He might not have a sword, but his attributes had been increased by quite a bit. He took a deep breath, slowly gathering the draconic power within him.


    With the draconic power that was stored in his body, he couldpletely mimic the power of dragon breath. Usually, the power was way too strong, so he did not use it lightly.


    As the dragon breath slowly condensed in the room, the old man seemed to gasp in shock, but even though he had given up on Xiao Lin, he had decided to not spare Xiao Lin as well. His attacks could not have been in vain.


    Xiao Lin usually used a sword to unleash the dragon breath, but his fists worked fine in the absence of a de. Even if the power would be lessened, Xiao Lin did not care about anything else at that point. He raised his fist without any hesitation when he got up and a faint glow condensed in his right hand.


    Xiao Lin chose to m his fist down before hitting, choosing against a direct attack in consideration of Ibeiya. Even so, the heat and light that exploded was enough to envelop the whole building.


    At thest moment, Xiao Lin dashed next to Ibeiya, easily destroying the cage before protecting the girl. As for how the old man was, he did not care at all.

 Chapter 490: Ibeiya’s Request

    <h4>Chapter 490: Ibeiya¡¯s Request</h4>


    In a sh of white light, half the building had been turned to ash. Even without the assistance of a sword, the power of the dragon breath was still frightening. Opening his eyes and looking up toward the evening sky, Xiao lin¡¯s pursed his lips. He had caused such a big scene, but thankfully, they seemed to be on the outskirts, and would likely not rm the city guards.


    Ibeiya struggled out of his embrace, her face full of worry. Xiao Lin knew she was worried about her uncle, and could not help but console, ¡°I had no choice just now. Your uncle forced my hand. Each strike was vital. I¡¯d probably have been killed if I didn¡¯t do what I did earlier.¡±


    Ibeiya pouted. ¡°No, you destroyed uncle¡¯s home. Once the rest of theme back, they might not let you off. Why did Uncle let things get to this point! While he isn¡¯t back yet, let¡¯s hurry up and leave!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m not that petty,¡± a cold voice said at that point.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened, seeing a pale faced man slowly crawl out of the rubble. His ck clothes had beenpletely torn, but thankfully his underwear was still intact. Of course, that was not the main point. Xiao Lin could see that his exposed skin was not injured at all.


    Facing the dragon breath from just now, he was actually unharmed.


    ¡°You¡¯re a vampire?¡± Xiao Lin reacted. The natural regenerative abilities of vampires was something he had seen from Ibeiya.


    ¡°Is Mr. Xiao prejudiced against dark races?¡± The old man¡¯s tone was still very mechanical, but it was less cold. The old man did not attack when he moved closer, and even addressed Xiao Lin properly, signalling that he acknowledged Xiao Lin¡¯s strength during that short battle.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been on Norma for long, but our home country has always emphasized equal rights for all races, and it¡¯s the same here,¡± Xiao Lin answered honestly.


    The old man nodded. He could not see any trace of falsehood on Xiao Lin¡¯s face. He finally managed to rx from that, but the old man still did not have a single trace of a smile on his face. His tone once again got warmer. ¡°Let¡¯s talk in the basement.¡±


    ¡°The basement?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not dare say anything after he had just destroyed the other person¡¯s home. The basement¡¯s entrance was about two hundred meters away, and was very different from the basement he had imagined. The basement was actually a small room, with even a living room and bedroom.


    ¡°The dark races basically live like rats in a lot of ces. That¡¯s why, no matter where we are, we live in more secluded ces to prevent regr inspection,¡± Ibeiya exined.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Rosa Kingdom tolerate dark races?¡± Since he had done some research beforehand, Xiao Lin knew that a lot of ces on Norma did indeed havews against dark races, but the Rosa Kingdom at leastcked such conditions.


    Ibeiyaughed coldly. ¡°They just want to increase their ie. Even though we can stay in the royal city, we are discriminated against and exploited everywhere. Do you think those vicious and greedy nobles could be so kind?!¡±


    The old man seemed to hate some of the nobles of the Rosa Kingdom as well. It sounded like it was the royalty as well. Xiao Lin only listened on, having no opinion on the matter. Once they finished, he said, ¡°What does that have to do with me? I¡¯m just passing through.¡±


    The old man looked at Ibeiya, and she immediately wrapped around Xiao Lin, sitting next to him on the soft sofa as she nuzzled her tiny head against his arm. ¡°We need a country that belongs to us, and that would be our best chance right now. You can help us.¡±


    Xiao Lin was immediately on alert. He had always been somewhat vignt toward her cuteness because he could not see through her exceptional lying. However, Ibeiya had been on his side and had helped him a few times, so he was not stingy with hispassion for her. Even Yu Mei¡¯s warning did notpletely sway Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin looked at Ibeiya calmly, his expression warm as usual, but Ibeiya felt a never-before-present sense of unfamiliarity. Her face panicked, and she leaned in even closer, holding back tears as she said, ¡°Big Brother! I know you¡¯re suspicious of my intentions, but I guarantee you, I bear you no ill-will at all. You¡¯ll be helping us, and helping yourself as well!¡±


    Xiao Lin remembered the first time Lilith and him met Ibeiya; she had tried to ask him to join the dark races, but Xiao Lin was obviously not interested in giving up on humans.


    Now it looked like Ibeiya had very big ambitions. She actually wanted to establish a country for the dark races. He had to admit that the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s civil war presented a very good opportunity. The ce had already been friendlier to dark races than most, meaning there were more of their own there than anywhere else. The civil war had slowly eroded the power of the royal family, and even now, just defending the royal city was a huge question.


    If Ibeiya could really get enough support, once the royalty left the royal city, and before the rebel troops were garrisoned there, if they seized that time to unite all the dark races in the city, they might actually be able to seize control of the government.


    After that, they would only need to scare the rebels away from attacking. The way to do that was simple, which was to use Dawn Academy. Even if Dawn Academy did not help them with everything, the dark races only needed Dawn Academy to show its face, and the rebels would retreat willingly.


    That was the greatest possibility that Xiao Lin could think of at that time. Ibeiya¡¯s pitiful look was way too impactful. He could not help but show a caring look as he sighed bitterly, ¡°You¡¯ve thought of a good method, but do you really think I can influence Dawn Academy¡¯s decisions? You probably don¡¯t understand how our government works. I really don¡¯t have any standing.¡±


    ¡°No, it has nothing to do with Dawn Academy. We only need you!¡±


    This time, the old man spoke with a firm and steely tone. Coupled with the old man¡¯s glowing eyes, Xiao Lin¡¯s hair stood on end in the dimly lit basement.


    Xiao Lin tugged at his clothes, pulling his arm away from Ibeiya¡¯s embrace. He had to admit that the little girl was very convincing, and he did not want his basic judgement to be swayed by her powers.


    ¡°In terms of skill, I¡¯m just a student that just got to ck Iron-rank. Even with our territories aside, just the natives alone have many people that canpletely destroy me.


    ¡°In terms of influence, I basically don¡¯t know 99% of the people within the academy that really have power or influence. I even need to beg for help for my own matters sometimes. I won¡¯t have enough to be of any help to you.¡±

 Chapter 491: King Of The Dark Races

    <h4>Chapter 491: King Of The Dark Races</h4>


    Xiao Lin logically broke everything down. No matter what, the old man¡¯s words sounded preposterous. Ibeiya earnestly listened to his analysis, and when Xiao Lin finished, he looked at the two of them quietly, waiting for their response.


    Ibeiya cleared her throat, smiling enigmatically as she said, ¡°You¡¯re right, but we don¡¯t care about that. We need you to reorganize our society. With your prestige, it¡¯d be more than enough.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Big Brother Xiao Lin is God¡¯s Chosen.¡± Ibeiya was probably getting frustrated with Xiao Lin acting the fool, and could only drop that bomb.


    The living room fell quiet, only their breaths could be heard. After a long while Ibeiyaughed, herughter breaking the momentary silence. ¡°Your expression was a bit scary just now. Were you thinking about killing us to shut us up? Would you really be willing to kill me?¡±


    Then came Xiao Lin¡¯s turn to feel awkward. God¡¯s Chosen was a Normese term. In academy terminology, it would mean one with an SS-rank talent. Norma might have countless talent holders, but to be called God¡¯s Chosen, one could only be an SS-rank talent holder.


    That was a secret; even within Dawn Academy, only the dean and that artificial intelligence, Bell, knew about it. Even someone as smart as Song Jung could only guess at it, but he never managed to gain any evidence.


    SS-rank talents can allow someone to gain tremendous status in a short while, just like Judge Academy¡¯s Lilith. However, it would also bring countless troubles, such as assassination and sabotage attempts. Before he gained enough power, keeping a low profile was key.


    Yet, now he had randomly been exposed by these two vampires. Xiao Lin could not help but be shocked at how they obtained such ssified information. Did they have spies or traitors within Dawn Academy?


    That was why Xiao Lin really did consider killing them, but he gave up quickly because the old man had sensed it as well, and subtly approached Ibeiya. Even his dragon breath failed to do anything to that old man. With his current weakness thanks to using Ruin, Xiao Lin did not have a choice.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Xiao Lin shrugged, defusing the situation. ¡°Even if it is as you say, I feel that this suggestion is crazy. All of this because I¡¯m God¡¯s Chosen? What do you actually need me to do?¡±


    Ibeiya exchanged a look with the old man, and the old man said, ¡°In our future country, we hope that you¡¯ll be our new king.¡±


    Xiao Lin stumbled a bit; the answer was way too out of his expectations. He said with some difficulty, ¡°That¡¯s not a joking matter.¡±


    It really did seem like a joke. He did not believe that those people would just randomly pull anyone in to be a king. No matter how he looked at it, they were only nning on using him.


    Ibeiya walked a few steps forward, closing the distance between them once again. That way, Xiao Lin started to smell her fragrance. She really knew how to use her abilities to her advantage!


    ¡°I won¡¯t use you, and have no intention of lying to you. In truth, we have no other choice. Ever since the King of Darkness fell during ancient times, our race has been scattered. If you¡¯ve looked us up, you should have some understanding of that history.¡± Ibeiya¡¯s voice was very pleasing to the ear.


    Xiao Lin blushed a little; their history lessons did not cover something so high-level.


    Ibeiya continued, ¡°In thousands of years, our race has constantly been torn apart, to the degree that it has been shattered. It¡¯s not that no one has tried to save it, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s useless. Do you know why?¡±


    Xiao Lin started to get the idea, but he just looked at Ibeiya.


    Ibeiya answered her own question. ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s a saying that came from our past: that the only person that can lead the dark races is God¡¯s Chosen. Darkness is merely the reverse side of light. Since the beginning of creation, we have been neglected by God, so only God¡¯s Chosen can reunite everything again, just like the first King of Darkness. He was the first and only one of God¡¯s Chosen in our history, but it¡¯s a pity that the glory from before has already been lost. Big Brother, we aren¡¯t seeking our former glory, nor do we dream of ruling the world or even making an enemy out of your academies. We just want somewhere we can really call home.¡±


    The old man slowly followed, ¡°Years ago, we found that person called Ivanovich. He had promised us as well, but it¡¯s a pity that man met his end early. If you¡¯re worried about your position, then you can rx. I can guarantee you right now, our future country will always be your best ally. If your academy wishes to rule the world, then fine, we¡¯ll help you. If you wish to take overnd, we would also cooperate. We have this saying in our world as well¨Can enemy of our enemy is a friend, is that not so?¡±


    ¡°Ivanovich had promised you!¡± Xiao Lin finally snapped back to reality. That was the first SS-rank talent holder in the history of the academies; he had actually met that old man.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, he was a very strong man.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was in disarray. He did not understand why Ivanovich had agreed to the request, or if that old man was just making things up.


    Of course, Xiao Lin was more inclined to believe the second option. He might not have interacted with Ivanovich before, but that mythical man who created the Law of Immortality could not have betrayed mankind. It was illogical for him to help the dark races.


    As if sensing his disbelief, Ibeiya pursed her lips and looked at the old man, asking, ¡°Let¡¯s bring him to look at the thing. Maybe he¡¯ll believe us then.¡±


    The old man seemed hesitant.


    Ibeiya said urgently, ¡°If we miss out on this chance, who knows how long we¡¯ll have to wait. Big Brother Xiao Lin is the most suitable. As for that other girl, we don¡¯t even need to think about her!¡±


    ¡°Lilith?¡± After a brief moment of confusion, Xiao Lin suddenly eximed, ¡°Ibeiya, was that meeting with you in Wildfire Town actually not a coincidence? Did you arrange for it all?¡±


    Ibeiya was quite honest, or maybe she just did not think there was anything to hide at this stage as she admitted, ¡°That¡¯s right. My status allows me to not draw any suspicions. In truth, I had only wanted to get closer to that Lilith since our reports only said that she was God¡¯s Chosen, but then I met you identally, causing me to have to choose between the two of you. That¡¯s why I followed you the whole way, and it¡¯s only recently that I was sure you were the one we wanted!¡±

 Chapter 492: What Ivanovich Left Behind

    <h4>Chapter 492: What Ivanovich Left Behind</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯m certain you¡¯re the one we¡¯re looking for!¡± Ibeiya¡¯s bright and charming eyes stared at Xiao Lin, speaking with deep emotion. Anyone who did not know the situation would find it hard to withstand her persuasion.


    However, Xiao Lin knew Ibeiya. He deliberately avoided her alluring eyes, ensuring his thoughts were not disturbed as he said, ¡°Did you not want to show me something earlier? What is it?¡±


    Ibeiya pouted in disappointment. ¡°Ivan had left something behind as proof of our mutual trust. Back then, we did not know what it was and did not care too much about it. When we finally understood what it was, we no longer dared take it out.¡±


    Pausing, Ibeiya smiled bitterly. ¡°Basically, we¡¯re afraid it will cause trouble.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Basically, the thing we have is very scary. Even though we know it has iprehensible power, we don¡¯t know how to use it. Even if we did, we wouldn¡¯t dare it. However, you might be familiar with it.¡±


    Ibeiya led the way with the old man as they left the basement. However, after finding out there was still a long way to go, he returned to the embassy to let Liang Taibai and Cheng Ming¡¯s group know he had something to do. The rest of them assumed he was investigating and did not question it.


    Ivan¡¯s ¡®thing¡¯ was situated somewhere far in the outskirts of the royal city. Even with the three of them increasing their speed, it took them three hours to get there. Norma¡¯s outskirts were not as brightly lit as on Earth. After leaving the city, it was just deserted and pitch-ck wilderness.


    If not for his trust toward Ibeiya, Xiao Lin would not have taken the risk in following them. Thinking about it, he was definitely very much on high alert. After all, Ibeiya and the old man¡¯s identities had not been mentioned until now.


    The night sky was not bad, and the wilderness did not look too dark. The old man was not a talkative person, and his sullen face looked a bit scary under the veil of the night. Thankfully, Ibeiya would start up conversations here and there, so the journey was not too boring.


    When they reached their destination, Xiao Lin noticed it was a cave a few meters tall. At the entrance to the cave was arge golden door engraved with various patterns. Xiao Lin saw Ibeiya walk forward, bite her lip and smear that blood on the patterns. After a rumbling sound, therge door started to open.


    Xiao Lin remained cautious, and chose to walk behind the two of them, subtly activating his Miracle state. The journey had allowed him to recover quite a bit, and with his strengthened perception, he was more aware of his surroundings.


    However, there was no ambush like he had feared. The cave was not thatrge, and they followed a winding path before stopping at a narrow stone room. To be precise, it was a grave, because at the center of the room was a golden coffin that was covered in dust.


    ¡°This is my father¡¯s final resting ce,¡± Ibeiya said in a low voice before raising her hands in prayer. After that, she exchanged a look with the old man and they worked together to open the coffin.


    Xiao Lin was astonished and could not help but cast a few nces at Ibeiya. Even though he was not very familiar with the history of the dark races, his research in the library had given him somemon knowledge, such as the fact that vampires had strict rules regarding their coffins. It was given based on their status, and those who had golden coffins had very high statuses, at the least on par with patriarchs ofrge families, or even leaders of certain areas.


    As the coffin slowly opened, the old man snapped his fingers, and the inside of the room was lit up with magical fire. The green mes were a bit frightening, but the inside of the coffin was empty, with only a few clothes and armor inside. There was no body, but Xiao Lin did not ask about it. After all, it was Ibeiya¡¯s father¡¯s resting ce. He merely waited and observed quietly by the side.


    The coffin did not only have oneyer. The old man and Ibeiya carefully moved away all the objects on the firstyer before exposing the secondyer within. The secondyer had a mechanism simr to the entrance, and used the blood from her wound that had yet to be healed. Once her blood covered the whole secondyer, the mechanism started to slowly move.


    Ibeiya¡¯s face was a bit pale after losing so much blood, and she even started to stagger as she stood. Xiao Lin lightly supported her shoulders, earning a brilliant smile from her.


    Of course, as a vampire, the blood loss would only weaken her, not threaten her life, but her pitiful state still tugged at his heartstrings.


    The thirdyer of the coffin was a very small entrance. Xiao Lin was speechless, but the borate mechanisms had led him to be curious as to what it was hiding.


    Entering the ce, the few of them carefully walked down a flight of seemingly ny degree stairs. After about a hundred meters in, they finally saw a miniature castle. The castle was adorned with jewels and pearls, and the natural glow lit up the underground. The pce was only as big as half a room, and other than a strangely narrow entrance on the top, there did not seem to be any way inside. That was why the air in that area was not great, causing Xiao Lin to almost start gasping when he entered.


    The ce was bathed in a mysterious and warm light. Xiao Lin had thought that it was from the jewels around him, but when the light touched him, it caused a strange feeling which led Xiao Lin to start to understand what their goal was.


    The inside of the castle was empty. Ibeiya and the old man had fallen silent, casting their gazes onto Xiao Lin, as if they were testing him. Xiao Lin did not speak. He looked around for a while before his sights fell on a transparent wall to the right.


    He slowly walked over, using his hand to wipe away some of the dust on the wall. He saw that the transparent wall had a shard the size of a thumb in the middle, causing him some shock. It was just as he was starting to suspect. He turned around and said, ¡°A Shard of Creation? Ivanovich actually gave a Shard of Creation to you!¡±


    The old man had a look of praise as he said, ¡°You really are God¡¯s Chosen. You saw through the history of this thing immediately. Ivan had said that only God¡¯s Chosen could really use the shard, which was why we kept it here after what happened to him. And no one has dared to take it out for countless years.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes internally. He did not know of the shard because he was chosen by some god. He only knew of it because of his promise to Ivan.

 Chapter 493: Shard

    <h4>Chapter 493: Shard</h4>


    It was not actually Ivanovich himself, but rather a remnant of Ivanovich¡¯s memories that told Xiao Lin about it, asking him to help gather the Shards of Creation. Even though Ivan had emphasized the severity of the matter, saying the shards that had been left behind since ancient times could affect this world and Earth, Xiao Lin had yet to understand what practical use the shards had.


    Xiao Lin had two shards at that moment. Other than the one Ivan had given him, there was also another one he had obtained in Onyxia¡¯s realm. He did not know how many shards there were in total, nor had he tried to look for them. After all, the world was sorge, there was no way he could know where to look.


    However, now it seemed like his luck was not so bad. Even if he was not looking for them, he had found the third Shard of Creation.


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, then forgive me for being rude. I¡¯ll be taking this shard.¡± Seeing as the old man and Ibeiya did not seem to have any intention of stopping him, Xiao Lin retreated two steps before activating Ruin once again.


    The shard within the transparent wall started to vibrate, as if resonating with Xiao Lin. The old man and Ibeiya looked at each other in shock. The old man had actually wanted to stop him when Xiao Lin said he would take it.


    It might be a gift, but it was not possible for there to be no cost to it. In truth, they were just nning on letting Xiao Lin see it, but ¡®seeing it¡¯ had turned into ¡®giving it¡¯. The old man was a little frustrated, but when he saw the sight in front of him, his old face finally showed some expression: shock and disbelief.


    ¡°The shard has been activated!¡± The old man sighed. He knew that no one could stop Xiao Lin from taking the Shard of Creation away now.


    ¡°What do you mean by activated?¡± Ibeiya asked curiously.


    ¡°We¡¯ve kept the shard here for so long, mainly because we can¡¯t use it. The shard is merely a shard in our hands. It¡¯s no different from picking up a stone. However, he¡¯s activated the shard, just like Ivan all those years ago...¡±


    Xiao Lin remembered what Ivan¡¯s memories had told him before, the shards had a form of resonance with each other. Only, he had never felt such a strong resonance before that day.


    Bang!


    The shard within the wall had shot out. Even the solid jewels did not offer up any form of resistance. The shard the size of a thumb was quietly floating in front of Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead, emitting vibrant light and heat. Xiao Lin shut his eyes, and started to feel something reacting within his body. He quickly realized that the reaction was the two shards he had obtained before.


    After a few minutes, the light started to dim. When he opened his eyes again, Xiao Lin was surprised to see that three shards were floating in front of him. The three shards seemed to have a maic field between them as they circled each other. The rotation got faster until an even brighter glow exploded outward, but that glow was brief.


    In the light, the three shards had gathered to the centermost point before fusing together into a dim, round object. The object once again floated toward Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead. Xiao Lin did not stop it. Instead, he chose to shut his eyes and ept it.


    The object seemed like a formless, gaseous object, dispersing the moment it touched XIao Lin¡¯s skin. At that moment, Xiao Lin could clearly feel a mysterious power flow quickly throughout his body from his forehead. Every inch of skin, every organ, even every hair on his body was enveloped by the power.


    ¡°Huff!¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a long sigh after a while, his body slowly returning to normal. The feeling was an indescribable sense offort, like he had taken a bath in hot springs, allowing the water to flow all over his body, washing away all the filth, leaving him cleansed.


    The look of shock had already disappeared from the old man¡¯s face, leaving behind only a solemn and respectful look. It was a look of admiration he did not have before, and was near fanatical.


    Ibeiya had some questions, but she did not speak up at that time. Thanks to the glow from the shard, the castle was filled with warmth at that time. Even those who were just standing behind could feel a strange sense of serenity.


    The state went on for an entire hour before the light slowly dimmed in the castle. Xiao Lin, who had been standing there unmoving, finally turned around. His spirited face had no trace of fatigue on it.


    Facing Ibeiya¡¯s anticipation and the old man¡¯s reverence, Xiao Lin said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    The two of them had no opinions. After leaving the castle, Ibeiya closed the coffin once again. It was already deep in the night when they left the cave, but Xiao Lin had never felt better than he did at that moment. His footsteps felt light, and even raising his arms brought forth power that rustled the wind.


    The first one who could not stand the strange silence was Ibeiya. Her voice was clear and pleasing as usual, but it was thick with confusion, ¡°Big Brother, what happened back there?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled softly, he raised his fist, feeling the power in his hands. He had some realization, but was not very sure, so he did not say anything.


    The old man said, ¡°He absorbed the power of the Shard of Creation. The shard is just a rock to us, but he has truly mastered the shard. Your Highness, you were right. He is the one most suited to bring us back to our former glory!¡±


    Xiao Lin turned around. ¡°Hold on, what do you mean ¡®your former glory¡¯. I haven¡¯t agreed to anything.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, I know. Understood.¡± The old man did not seem to take Xiao Lin¡¯s words to heart.


    Xiao Lin got frustrated. He had taken someone else¡¯s Shard of Creation. Even if Ivan had left it to them to guard, he had just taken it away. It was still not a great thing to do.


    ¡°Speaking of which, why do you keep calling Ibeiya ¡®Her Highness?¡¯ Is it because she was born of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty?¡± Before that headache was resolved, Xiao Lin decided to change the topic.


    The old man looked at Ibeiya, and when thetter nodded, he said, ¡°Her Highness¡¯s mother is a princess, but do you know who her father was?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head.


    Would he have asked if he did?


    ¡°Her father is the leader of our n.¡± Among the dark races, those simr to vampires would all live amongrge ns, so that was not strange.


    Xiao Lin blinked, not seeming to understand anything. A n leader was within his expectations. The old man did not seem to have gotten to the main point.

 Chapter 494: Qualifications

    <h4>Chapter 494: Qualifications</h4>


    The old man seemed a little exasperated. After a moment, he added ¡°My n¡¯s name is St. ude.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    And then there was silence.


    Xiao Lin and the old man looked at each other. It was obvious that the name meant nothing to Xiao Lin. After a long awkward silence, Ibeiya could not help but startughing.


    Xiao Lin was beginning to feel like Ibeiya¡¯s n could be a very powerful n, but regretfully, he had never done any research on the subject.


    Ibeiya once again interrupted,ughing as she said, ¡°Big Brother, there was once a King of Darkness that led the dark races, and it¡¯s the only king we¡¯ve ever had.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s said that before.¡± Xiao Lin looked at the old man.


    Ibeiya¡¯s bright eyes blinked, continuing, ¡°The King of Darkness was named St. ude.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    After another bout of silence, Xiao Lin let out a dry cough, saying, ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that your n consists of the descendants of the King of Darkness?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the old man said seriously. ¡°Since Ibeiya trusts you and you could activate the Shard of Creation, we told you this secret. We hope you can keep it for us.¡±


    Ibeiya did not seem to care as much. ¡°It¡¯s actually not a big deal. St. ude had a glorious history during ancient times, but there has not been a new king after the King of Darkness fell. The St. ude n has greatly deteriorated. There are quite a few of the dark races that know of our n, but so what. In their eyes, maybe we¡¯re just like beggars on the street.¡±


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± The old man was unhappy with Ibeiya¡¯s attitude. ¡°No matter how many years have passed, The St. ude n will always be a significant part of the history of the world. No one can disregard our existence!¡±


    ¡°How many are left from your n?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Not many. They¡¯re all here.¡± Ibeiya smiled ruefully. She obviously did not care much about the n the old man so proudly unted.


    ¡°How did your father die? Don¡¯t vampires have very long lifespans? Even this old man is still alive.¡± Xiao Lin pointed at the old man who was staring at him.


    Ibeiya¡¯s expression dimmed. ¡°My father was hunted down by humans.¡±


    ¡°Hunted?¡± Xiao Lin paused.


    ¡°You know that most of the world does not allow for dark races to exist. A country toward the north even treats us as monsters, even having specialized squads to hunt us down. Even though the St. ude n has fallen to this degree, our ancient reputation is still enough to make us a primary target.¡±


    Ibeiya smiled pitifully. ¡°Isn¡¯t it funny? Our glory as a n has turned into the reason we die.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. A n that sounded as powerful as that only had two people left. Their name that was useless had caused them to be targets for hunting. It really was quite pitiful.


    ¡°What about your mother?¡±


    ¡°I told you before; my mother is a princess from the Rosa Kingdom. She passed away after I was born.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was just making sure. It looks like you did not lie to me about that. Hold on, you¡¯re really not lying to me, right?¡±


    Ibeiya was silent.


    Xiao Lin half-jokingly teased her before turning serious again, ¡°Returning to the initial question, what do you actually need me to do? Even if you were royalty before, even if you have a long history, I still don¡¯t understand what I can do for you.¡±


    ¡°I know your journey here is to escort away all the main members of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty. At that moment, the city will turn into a city without a master. We will restore order to the city. Of course, the country that I mentioned before will not be so quick to be established. First, we need a city we can call our own.¡±


    ¡°We just need you to do one thing right now: help the St. ude n obtain the right to rule over the darkness of the city!¡±


    ¡°As repayment, we will make sure you escort everyone out safely. A city controlled by us will no longer need royalty.¡±


    Finishing his n, the old man waited quietly.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, thinking for a long time before voicing his questions.


    The first thing was the rebels. The information he got from Liang Taibai was that, after escorting the royalty back to Dawn City, they would immediately begin negotiations with the rebels, possibly even helping the rebels obtain the royal capital in exchange for support from them.


    The general direction of that was decided on by the higher-ups of Dawn Academy, and Liang Taibai had hinted that it was basically decided by the military. That was something Xiao Lin could not change.


    Lastly was the right to rule. Xiao Lin felt like the old man was looking at him with a strange look, and could not help but ask about it.


    ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s basically a fight.¡± Ibeiya smiled as she exined, ¡°There are a lot of dark races taking up residence in the royal city, and there are also a lot of ns as well. Even though we disregard humanws, we still maintain our own order. Every ten years, we organize a tournament. The winners will obtain the right to rule for the next ten years.¡±


    ¡°What does this right to rule give you?¡±


    ¡°The right to govern all the dark races within the Rosa Kingdom. Of course, the ns that don¡¯t acknowledge it can choose to leave the country, but those who stay here need to adhere to the order everyone agreed to! No one would break it, or they risk being cast aside!!¡±


    Xiao Lin somewhat understood why the old man had attacked him, but was still confused, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t this old man be better? I don¡¯t think my skills are better than his.¡±


    The old man said expressionlessly, ¡°The rules everyone set is that only the heirs of the ns have the right to participate in the tournaments. I might be Her Highness¡¯s uncle, but we aren¡¯t actually directly rted by blood. I¡¯m not a direct descendant of St. ude.¡±


    ¡°Neither am I! Comparatively, shouldn¡¯t you be closer to Ibeiya.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. As a human, you¡¯re not even part of the dark races, but our rules are not impable. There¡¯s a way that you can have the right to participate.¡± The old man returned to his mechanical way of speaking. What was strange was that Ibeiya had fallen quiet as well, and seemed to be looking away in embarrassment.


    ¡°What way?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly had a bad feeling.


    ¡°As Her Highness¡¯s husband, your children will definitely be the heirs in the future. As the father of the heirs, you absolutely have the right to represent the St. ude n!¡±

 Chapter 495: Marriage

    <h4>Chapter 495: Marriage</h4>


    ¡°That¡¯s not funny!¡± Xiao Lin paused for a few minutes, his first reaction thinking it was a joke.


    The old man looked at him expressionlessly, and Ibeiya was bright red with embarrassment, not even daring to look at Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Linughed bitterly. This development was way out of his expectations. If he really agreed, would he not actually be a pedophile?


    That could not happen!


    Xiao Lin resolutely shook his head. ¡°You better be joking. Otherwise, we¡¯re done here.¡±


    The old man was perplexed. ¡°Why are you refusing? Isn¡¯t this good? In the future, we¡¯ll be very helpful to you here. With your status, I¡¯m sure your leaders won¡¯t allow you to fall into obscurity. We won¡¯t implicate you either.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s head started to ache. It was true, from the old man¡¯s perspective, marriage was definitely the best choice. Even though the natives hated dark races, those of them from Earth did not. At least, looking at therger picture, helping Ibeiya¡¯s n and tightening the rtionship of the St. ude n and Dawn Academy would help the establishment of a puppet state that belonged to Dawn Academy. In that case, marriage would be the tie that people would ce the most trust in.


    From a political perspective, the old man was right, and from the perspective of Dawn Academy, the suggestion was also worth considering.


    However, Xiao Lin would definitely not ept it, but he did not know how to exin it to the old man. Lolicons and pedophiles were greatly frowned upon on Earth. Looking at the naive young vampire, Xiao Lin could not bear to touch her either.


    Norma did not have a minimum age for marriage. Some girls were married away at a little over ten years old, so the old man could not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s way of thinking.


    Ibeiya saw Xiao Lin¡¯s awkwardness, and the blushing girl could not help butugh, which solicited a deathly re from Xiao Lin.


    ¡°You already knew about it, didn¡¯t you?¡± Xiao Lin angrily asked. ¡°You said you could not choose Lilith, but that was just because she¡¯s a girl, and you can¡¯t marry her, right?¡±


    Ibeiya looked at Xiao Lin pitifully. ¡°Do you hate me?¡±


    ¡°How could I... How could anyone hate a girl as cute as you.¡±


    ¡°So that means you like me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t put words into my mouth, marriage is definitely not on the table.¡±


    ¡°Then do you want to wait for me to grow up a bit before thinking about it? That¡¯s actually fine too. We can just get engaged first.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be a pedophile if I grow up a bit more.¡±


    ¡°... You understand some of our culture quite well.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Ibeiya was quite familiar with some of the horrible practices of Earth.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you with the tournament,¡± Xiao Lin finally said after being silent for a while. ¡°Even if it was left behind by Ivan, I still took away your Shard of Creation. I will definitely return the debt, but that¡¯s it. I¡¯ll leave immediately if you bring up marriage again!¡±


    The old man looked very disappointed, but Xiao Lin¡¯s attitude seemed determined, so he could only let it rest for the moment. His dream was to return the St. ude n to glory, and the tournament that would help Ibeiya obtain the right to rule over the dark races of the royal city was just the first step. He understood that it was hard to go on just relying on Ibeiya and himself.


    The two of them did not bring up the marriage anymore, and Xiao Lin was relieved. He suddenly thought of something, and asked, ¡°How much do you know about the dark races nearby? Have there been any strange movements recently?¡±


    ¡°Do you suspect the dark races kidnapped your ssmates?¡± Ibeiya naturally knew what Xiao Lin had been worried about.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The hooded man he saw in Time Rewind. Even though Xiao Lin could not make out his looks, Xiao Lin could still tell that the power he used carried very thick death energy.


    ¡°Did you find any clues?¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it, and described that hooded man as best he could. Since he did not see the man¡¯s appearance, he could only describe the man¡¯s attire. Ibeiya and the old man looked at each other, but could not give a clear answer.


    ¡°Hood? ck robes? I¡¯m sorry, Big Brother. The attire you described... There are at least a few hundred people in the city wearing it; there¡¯s no way we can tell.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a thought, and remembered the spell that the hooded man had used topletely dissolve the guards in a moment. He described the spell to them.


    Ibeiya¡¯s face was one of shock when he finished, and the old man asked for a few more details, such as the color of the spell, the size, and scale and the power.


    Even if the old man was very suspicious as to how Xiao Lin could be so clear on the details, Ibeiya trusted her big brother unconditionally. She said, ¡°I think the spell you¡¯re talking about is the Soul Disintegration spell.¡±


    ¡°The spell sounds very scary. Is it dark magic?¡± Xiao Lin smiled. He actually did not hold out that much hope. It was just a spell after all, and there were naturally many who mastered it, so it was a clue that was hard to follow up on.


    There were billions of spells on Norma, but they could broadly be ssified into three kinds: elemental magic, nature magic, and ck magic. What they needed was elemental, life, and death energies respectively. What Xiao Lin saw was definitely ck magic, and it was not strange to have seen it in the royal city where the dark races gathered.


    Ibeiya suddenly said, ¡°Soul Disintegration is not high ranked by itself, but it¡¯s a spell that has been passed on since ancient times. It¡¯s already gone missing in a lot of ces. We can¡¯t be sure that it¡¯s not someone from outside, but within the city, only a handful know the spell!¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked, and immediately asked for more details.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk after we get back.¡± The old man was serious. In the wilderness, sound traveled far. It was not the ce to talk.


    It was already dawn when they returned to the basement. The two vampires did not care about sleep, but when they saw Xiao Lin¡¯s sleepiness, Ibeiya prepared a pot of tea. Surprisingly, it was authentic tea that she had gotten from the Chinese. She knew that a majority of Dawn Academy¡¯s people liked drinking tea instead of coffee or other sorts of local drinks.


    In that moment, the naive, innocent, sometimes alluring and cheeky girl actually portrayed a very obedient image.

 Chapter 496: Night Exploration

    <h4>Chapter 496: Night Exploration</h4>


    The tea was very strong, and he had a cute little vampire by his side, but Xiao Lin did not feel at ease at all. He was more interested in asking about the Soul Disintegration spell.


    ¡°The spell is a part of ck magic, and can basically destroy a person¡¯s soul. Those that are killed by the spell would not even turn into spirits. You should know, to us of the dark races, death is not always the end, which is why the Spirit Disintegration spell is regarded as overly cruel and prohibited in a lot of ces.¡± The old man seemed to understand the spell very well.


    Xiao Lin was shocked, and thought about something more important. ¡°Even the soul won¡¯t survive after being killed by that spell?¡±


    If that was the case, it would really be problematic. Resurrection towers are for reassembling their spirits after death, but if their souls were destroyed, then they would not be able to resurrect.


    After being with Xiao Lin for so long, Ibeiya could immediately tell what he was thinking. Sheughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We said earlier that the spell was not high ranked; it¡¯s about Silver-ranked. Do you know why such a cruel spell would only be Silver?¡±


    She paused briefly. ¡°That¡¯s because the spell is considered a hybrid spell. When used against a person, there is an order it follows. The spell would first destroy the target physically before destroying the spiritual fragments within the body.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused in thought before his eyes widened again. Based on what he knew, the resurrection towers would reassemble their spiritual fragments right before they die. That meant that as long as their souls were not directly attacked, their spiritual fragments would immediately be summoned to the resurrection tower when their physical bodies died. That meant the spiritual attack that came at the end of the spell would be ineffective.


    The old man continued, ¡°The spell is considered a secret inheritance within ns and families. The difficulty is very high, and ns have never allowed it to spread. That¡¯s why, in the royal city, no, the entirety of the Rosa Kingdom, the only people who know the spell would be part of the Argos n.¡±


    The old man then exined that the Argos n were the winners of the martial tournament ten years ago, and were the current ruling dark n of the Rosa Kingdom. The family had a long history as well. Even if they had declined, they were still quiterge locally. Not only did the n have a lot of influence among the dark races, they dealt with the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty a lot as well. Their power could not be underestimated.


    However, their patriarch had passed away when the civil war started, and the n had since been embroiled in a fierce power struggle. In the end, the one who won was the youngest son of the former patriarch, Valen Argos. The youngest son had always kept a low profile, and few knew about him. However, once he rose to power, all his older siblings that had the right of session above him met mysterious deaths, causing the outside world to be filled with respect and fear for Valen.


    ¡°The Argos family will definitely want to maintain their right to ruling over the dark races, so Valen Argos will definitely take part in the tournament. He will also be our greatest foe.¡± The old man did not care about Xiao Lin¡¯s fellow ss monitors, so he ended up changing the topic back.


    ¡°Since Soul Disintegration is a hereditary spell of the Argos n, and that Valen is the n leader, then the one who kidnapped my fellow students could well be him?¡± Xiao Lin quickly turned the topic back.


    The old man stared at him, and Ibeiya smiled by the side, helping Xiao Lin as she said, ¡°Even though we don¡¯t really know why Valen would anger Dawn Academy at this time, the Argos family has always been filled with madmen. Who knows what they could possibly pull off.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s a way to contact the Argos family. It¡¯s still fine now while my fellow students are all still in the royal city, but if a few days pass and they leave the boundaries of the resurrection towers, then everything might be toote,¡± Xiao Lin said with concern.


    ¡°Do you really think Valen would let them go?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± If they really did kidnap the ss monitors, anyone who dared anger Dawn Academy would naturally understand that, after a few days, the academy would send people over to investigate. It was not possible to keep it a secret, so they naturally had a n if they dared to do it.


    Xiao Lin hesitated before suggesting, ¡°If it¡¯s possible, I hope to take a look at that n in the next two days.¡± If the other party would not admit to anything, then they might as well check it out themselves.


    Ibeiya blinked. ¡°The night sky is not bad today. As your academy likes to say, strike while the iron is hot. Let¡¯s go now!¡±


    Ibeiya was even more daring than Xiao Lin, but the old man jumped, eximing, ¡°You want to infiltrate the Argos n? No! It¡¯s not like over here, they have very strict security there! This kind of thing is taboo here. If we¡¯re noticed, our right to participate in the martial tournament would be revoked!¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. The old man would not let go of the tournament, but he was stubborn this time. If he could not rescue his fellow students, he would not help the St. ude n.


    On top of that, Ibeiya ¡®cruelly¡¯ chose to help outsiders over her own family, and the old man could only agree. Xiao Lin then let out a sigh of relief. Compared to Ibeiya, the old man obviously knew more about the royal city and the Argos n. If Xiao Lin really wanted to sneak in, he needed the old man¡¯s help.


    It was already around two or three in the morning, and the night was dark and the winds were heavy. Ibeiya¡¯s tea had alleviated Xiao Lin¡¯s initial tiredness.


    Time was of the essence, and they could not dy. After the old man drew a map of the Argos n¡¯s residence from his memory, they immediately left.


    ¡°At the most, I¡¯ll be waiting outside with Her Highness. Only you can infiltrate the ce. If you¡¯re caught, Valen probably would not dare do anything to you, but we can absolutely not be caught!¡± the old man said sternly as they moved.


    If his guess was right, then Valen might not hesitate to capture him after already kidnapping his ssmates. Xiao Lin thought that in his heart, but did not say it out loud. He then asked about Valen¡¯s skill level.


    The skill of the entire Rosa Kingdom was actually not that high, which was why the small kingdom could never expand. Xiao Lin had known beforehand that, other than a very small number of Gold-ranked elite soldiers under the royal guard, the country did not even have many Silver-ranked individuals.


    The old man verified his guess. Since they were allowed to stay in the kingdom, then the dark races had naturally been restricted in skill as well. As stupid as the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s monarch was, he would know not to allow overly strong members of the dark race to stay in their country.

 Chapter 497: Infiltration

    <h4>Chapter 497: Infiltration</h4>


    In truth, Valen Argos kept a low profile normally, so not many knew of his true skill. However, thanks to the restrictions of the kingdom, his strength could not be more than Silver-rank. Considering his age, it was most likely that he was only Bronze-ranked, because the king would never allow Gold-ranked dark races within the royal city.


    ¡°The Argos n is a n of necromancers, but due to the localws, they can¡¯t cultivate too many undead warriors. Any king would be wary of that, since necromancers are very reliant on their undead summons, not having highbat abilities themselves.¡±


    ¡°Soul Disintegration is what you need to look out for the most, but there¡¯s no need to worry too much. That spell is very inurate against targets that are moving at high speeds; it¡¯s easy to dodge.¡±


    The old man rambled about all the possibilities. Xiao Lin coughed dryly, rolling his eyes in hiding as he interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m not going in to fight. I¡¯m just trying to rescue some people. I might not even fight Valen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to eventually, since you¡¯ll definitely end up facing him in the martial tournament.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    ¡°Uncle!¡± Ibeiya chided.


    ¡°Fine, necromancers are different from us because their constitutions are closer to humans. That¡¯s why they have regr active periods. Everything will be fine as long as you¡¯re not discovered.¡±


    ¡°After that?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know what to say.


    The old man did not hide the fact that he was not interested in saving anyone at all, but it was not a problem, Xiao Lin knew enough now. He would need to avoid any form of confrontation if he could.


    Even if he could not avoid it, just like the old man said, he was a student from Dawn Academy. He had even quietly told Ibeiya that, if he did not return, Ibeiya would have to look for Liang Taibai at the embassy. Xiao Lin did not believe that this small n of necromancers would dare stand up to all of Dawn Academy.


    The Argos n¡¯s home was situated at an old castle on a hill to the east of the city. ording to the old man, the castle was over a thousand years old. The Argos family had also been in the Rosa Kingdom for just as long. It seemed like a very long time, but in truth, the Argos family only had two n leaders before this, and thus Valen was their third. Necromancers could often prolong their life by abandoning their mortal flesh in theter years.


    The old man stopped when he arrived at the foot of the hill, exining that he had very dense death energy around him as a dark lifeform, which would be easily noticed. Ibeiya had wanted to go in with Xiao Lin, but she would only be a burden, so she wisely stayed back.


    Xiao Lin did not give them any trouble, heading toward the ancient castle himself after activating Miracle.


    Under the Miracle state, his necromantic mediation was at its peak. Due to the differences between the three main energies, normal elemental mages had a hard time perceiving death energy.


    The moment Xiao Lin stepped onto the hill with Miracle activated, he was almost suffocated by the death energy that surged forward. He had never experienced such amounts of death energy before. He even suspected that the hill had countless dead bodies buried underneath. Only arge amount of death could produce such an environment.


    Xiao Lin was immediately on alert. His necromantic meditation was already at a decent rank. The death energy on the hill was thick like fog, and within the fog, there were numerous groups of tightly gathered, me-like energies, which would be necromantic lifeforms.


    The hill belongedpletely to the Argos n, and the death energy was confined to the hill itself, which was probably within the degree that the royalty could tolerate.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s perception increased by a lot under Miracle, and he had quietly avoided the undead beings. Low-level undead beings had no intelligence, so sneaking through was not too hard.


    After a moment, Xiao Lin reached the peak of the hill without issue. The ancient castle was huge, and the walls that surrounded it were over two meters tall, but theycked any defensive mechanisms. He first looked around carefully, making sure there was no one hiding nearby before changing his attributes to agility, deftly allowing him to climb over the wall.


    Before he evennded, he suddenly felt a huge sense of rm, and he quickly hid himself, using the walls to block any lines of sight. After a moment, he peeked over and looked around, noticing a clock tower about a hundred meters away. However, on the clock tower was not a clock, but arge eyeball.


    ¡®A Necromantic Eye!¡¯


    Xiao Lin was shocked. He had seen the spell at Wildfire Town before, when that undying high priest Asabanor used the spell to spy on Lilith and himself.


    After that, he researched it in the library, finding that the necromantic eye was a more highly-ranked observation spell, but the conditions to cast the spell were very steep. The spell needed the eye of a live person as an offering. Necromancy was something that a lot of people hated on Norma, and cruel conditions like these were the main reason.


    There was only one necromantic eye on the castle, but it basically covered every road that led to the main entrance. The person who ced the eye there had been very smart as well; there seemed to be no blind spots in the vicinity at all. Xiao Lin could only retreat temporarily, since he would definitely be discovered if he crossed the wall. After kneeling for over ten minutes, he suddenly heard the sound of talking outside.


    Xiao Lin hurried over and hid nearby, noticing someone slowly approaching in a carriage. Someone had actuallye over at such a time, and the driver seemed to be a regr person because his face carried intense fear. That was definitely not what a necromancer would look like, but Xiao Lin sharply noticed that he seemed to be wearing a special pendant on his chest. The pendant seemed to block any influence from the death energies around him, and also caused the undead beings to ignore him.


    ¡°O-open the door. I-I¡¯m here to deliver vegetables!¡± Outside of the door, the driver shouted out, stuttering.


    Deliver vegetables?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart raced. Most of the dark races had their own unique eating habits, and necromancers usually ate fresh meat and fresh blood that was filled with death energy. That was because they believed it would replenish the energies in their bodies. Vegetables? There was no way vegetables would never appear in the diet of the necromancer.


    Then who was he delivering the vegetables for? It was also sote, so the delivery was clearly meant to be hidden. Who could possibly need vegetables in this ancient castle of necromancers?


    Xiao Lin was beginning to understand. He took out two New Dor notes from his pocket before picking up a few rocks from the ground. He threw them nearby.


    The driver jumped with fright, almost running away from the carriage. However, once he saw what looked like money on the ground, he hesitated. New Dors were naturally epted in the Rosa Kingdom, and he understood the value of the notes. After a few minutes, the allure of the money had seeded his fear, and he got out of the carriage to walk toward the notes.

 Chapter 498: Feeling Things Out

    <h4>Chapter 498: Feeling Things Out</h4>


    Taking advantage of the driver looking away, Xiao Lin immediately shot toward the carriage. Changing all his attributes to agility had also strengthened his dexterity, so his silent approach could not be detected by regr people. By the time the driver carefully put away the New Dors, Xiao Lin had already hidden at the bottom of the carriage.


    There was arge dog-like creature pulling the carriage that had actually detected Xiao Lin¡¯s approach, but the dense death energy around the hill had caused the animal to be filled with fear, which was why it did not react to Xiao Lin at all.


    The gate of the castle slowly opened. Under the gaze of the necromantic eye, the carriage was slowly led inside, but the driver was not allowed to enter. After talking to the people from the castle, he happily left after taking his money.


    ¡°Bring the vegetables to the kitchen!¡± A few people were talking in Normese with a thick local ent. Even if it was a castle of necromancers, other than those faced with death, normal necromancers were usually regr humans.


    ¡°How unlucky. Why do we have to specially prepare food for those people?¡±


    ¡°I heard that they had been refusing to eat anything the past few days. They really are clueless outsiders. How could they refuse the fresh flesh and blood we prepared for them?¡±


    ¡°Our lord is so kind, even preparing fresh vegetables for them. He should just turn them into undead beings. I heard that the spirits made with those aliens are even stronger.¡±


    ¡°I heard that we¡¯ll be sending them away in two days.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice. Those outsiders are too strong. No one in the whole kingdom dares fight them.¡±


    ...


    The sound of the chatter got further and further once the cart was pushed into the kitchen. The two of them had already gone far away before Xiao Lin got out.


    It seemed like the monitors really were taken here. What relieved him was that Valen did not make it too hard for them, even preparing fresh vegetables for them to eat. It was obvious he did not dare starve them to death.


    The ancient castle covered the whole hill, so it was not small. Even though the old man had given him a general blueprint, such as where the dungeons could be, it was not easy to investigate while avoiding detection. It was hard to guarantee if he could finish his inspection before the sun came up.


    Xiao Lin actually understood that the smartest thing to do was to retreat. His goal for that night had been to determine if they were safe. He would then only need to wait for the next day before getting Liang Taibai to get the soldiers in the royal city to surround the castle and force the Argos n to hand the monitors over. If the Argos n wanted to stay within the city, they would be unable to refuse.


    He had wanted to avoid mobilizing the troops and potentially alerting the Argos n since everything was just spection before that. It would have been troublesome if the Argos n had moved the monitors away the moment they received the news, but now he basically confirmed it.


    The ancient castle wasrger than he thought. It seemed like the Argos family had a unique approach to architecture. The design wasplicated and the corridors often intersected. On top of that, there were long flights of stairs that separated the castle into various segments.


    Xiao Lin gave up after walking around for a bit. He knew that, even if he was handed a map, it would still be hard to find where they were hidden, so he decided to hide in the kitchen.


    After a while, people came in to prepare the food. The chef was obviously unhappy at being made to cook in the middle of the night, and was mumbling all sorts of vulgarities while he cooked. It was called a kitchen, but it really was just a storage room. There was trash and dirt everywhere. It seemed like the temporary chef was just going through the motions as well, not even bothering to chop the vegetables as he threw the piles of vegetables into the pot and fried them.


    Xiao Lin hid behind a pile of junk. After ten minutes, the man put the food into a veryrge wooden box and carried it out. Xiao Lin immediately followed behind.


    After twenty minutes, Xiao Lin almost got a headache from all the twists and turns before the man finally stopped in front of the cells. The cells were built on the third level of the basement. Other than a few torches that gave the bare minimum amount of light, everything was dark.


    ¡°Eat up!¡±


    His voice quickly spread across the cell. He then threw the wooden box into the cell through a small window. After a few minutes, movement could be heard, and someone seemed angrily say, ¡°F**k! What sh*tty vegetables are these?! They¡¯re so salty!¡±


    ¡°They probably feed it to the pigs!¡±


    The shouts had little power behind them, but they sounded confident. They seemed to figure out that the captors did not dare make things too hard on them, nor did the captors dare starve them.


    Sure enough, even though the chef hadined in a fit of rage, he still clenched his teeth as he took away the wooden box that had been thrown back out, probably to redo the dish.


    Xiao Lin finally made his move after being hidden for so long. The unlucky guy was not very strong; Xiao Lin only needed to chop him lightly on the back before he passed out.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Xiao Lin!¡±


    The monitors were shocked when they saw the man copse, but they quickly saw that it was Xiao Lin from the dim light, and a few of them eximed.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Xiao Lin softly said. ¡°Do you want to attract the whole castle?¡±


    All of them fell silent immediately. Even Han Manman, who always went against Xiao Lin, was obediently silent. Of course, seeing how haggard she looked, it was understandable that she had absolutely no will to retort.


    Xiao Lin looked around. The cell was much better thanst time. At least, it was not that damp and there were not that many bugs around. Of course, as a ce thick with death energy, it was doubtful bugs could live there in the first ce. They had even prepared beddings for them in the cell, so their treatment was definitely better.


    ¡°How are all of you?¡± There were seven of them in the cell, and the men and women were not separated, which was probably a hard time for the women.


    ¡°We¡¯re okay. They¡¯re probably worried about the academy, and did not dare do anything to us.¡± The one who spoke was ss Eight¡¯s Zhang Shengguo. Even with his pallid face, he still tried to maintain a look of calm in front of Xiao Lin. His words seemed to imply that, even if Xiao Lin did note save them, they would have been fine anyway.


    Xiao Lin did not bother entertaining the pretentious fellow. If he had been a few dayste, they would probably be unable to be saved.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, sorry we did not listen to you.¡± In opposition to Zhang Shengguo, ss Ten¡¯s Chen Fangming apologized immediately.


    ¡°Why did you all not kill yourselves?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°We thought of it, but that bastard warned us that the castle was not within the boundaries of a resurrection tower. If wemitted suicide, we would actually die.


    ¡°You believed him?¡±


    ¡°Notpletely, but who would dare try?¡±

 Chapter 499: Rescue

    <h4>Chapter 499: Rescue</h4>


    It seemed like they were not abused at all after being brought over from the royal prison. Other than Valening over to say a few words, no one had asked them anything, not even their status.


    Xiao Lin suspected that Valen was acting on behalf of someone, and it seemed like his theory had some merit, but it was not the time to think about that. The prison cell was made with regr metals. Xiao Lin tested it, and the hardness was only at the level of Bronze-ranked armor. After that, he activated Ruin and got the rest of them to retreat before mming his fist with all his might. With that, the prison cell was destroyed.


    The other monitors might have known that Xiao Lin was strong, but it was the first time they had seen him using his full force under Ruin. The simple and explosive way he destroyed the doors stunned them, and they could not help but praise.


    ¡°Quickly! Don¡¯t waste time!¡± Xiao Lin did not have the time to enjoy theirpliments. His Ruin state was only active for a limited time before it ran out. They needed to leave the ce now.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, we¡¯re in a bad state right now. We probably can¡¯t fight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll hold them off in front!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Right, do you know the way out?¡±


    ¡°Quit wasting time!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly eximed, casting his gaze at a few of them. Even if it was unintentional, the seven monitors all looked at each other before obediently shutting up.


    The feeling Xiao Lin gave them just now was very different. His gaze at that moment had unlimited killing intent behind it, freezing their hearts. It waspletely different from Xiao Lin¡¯s usual humble and casual manner.


    In truth, even Xiao Lin had not noticed. Entering his Ruin state not only increased his various attributes; it also affected him in other ways.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± Xiao Lin ordered, and started to rush along the path that he hade from. Currently, he could only maintain his Ruin state for a few minutes, after which his weakened state would render him unable to fight.


    It was a fight against time. Keeping themselves hidden was no longer important. Xiao Lin was very confident in hisbat ability in that state, and thanks to Ibeiya¡¯s information earlier, he knew that the n could not be that strong of an opponent.


    At a corner, Xiao Lin forced open the locked entrance. There were two people whose faces were filled with shock at the entrance, and started to point at Xiao Lin and shout something. The two of them were undoubtedly very careful, not daring to attack before figuring out Xiao Lin¡¯s identity. However, that brief moment of hesitation cost them everything.


    Boom!


    The fireballs that Xiao Lin shot out set them aze. After that, his fists had immediately killed the two of them. Xiao Lin stopped for a moment, picking up a sword on the ground before charging forward again.


    Xiao Lin was more familiar with having a de with him than using his fists. The suddenmotion had caused the pce to erupt with noise. Xiao Lin met quite a few guards on the way. Even though the Argos n consisted of necromancers, a lot of the guards still used their des in closebat. However, just as expected, their skills were not worth mentioning.


    The de he picked up from that unlucky man earlier was quite easy to use. It was a long and thin de, and the ck tip of the sword exuded a thick death energy that had a strong decaying aura. It was quite strong against normal humans.


    ¡°Quick!¡±


    ¡°Faster!¡±


    ¡°Stopgging behind!¡±


    Xiao Lin was already going at full speed, and the rest of them could only barely keep up, but Xiao Lin still felt like they were two slow, and would turn around to shout at them. The corridors of the castle were beginning to fill with guards, and it was starting to get troublesome.


    ¡°Dragon Breath Sword!¡±


    Xiao Lin was able to estimate where the exit was, and immediately used his killing technique. The draconic power surged through the wall, blowing it apart.


    After using his dragon breath, Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state was immediately cancelled, but the way out was now right in front of them. The power of dragon breath was immense, and undead beings and humans alike had been turned to ash.


    The ss monitors gaped, but Xiao Lin¡¯s swaying body caused them to rush forward to help. A man immediately carried Xiao Lin and rushed out.


    Outside the castle, therge necromantic eye had been hit by the draconic power, and only half of it was left. Yet, it kept its gaze on them, looking even more terrifying. At the base of the hill, the weak undead beings were not hit by the Dragon Breath Sword, but the pressure brought forth by the waves were enough to render them incapable of fighting.


    They had an easy time, and once they met Ibeiya at the foot of the hill, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief before copsing on the floor.


    Ibeiya was not interested in how the rest of them were, but panicked at the sight of Xiao Lin¡¯s unconscious state. However, they were not idle. A carriage the old man had prepared quickly appeared, bringing them all away.


    ...


    They left behind a destroyed castle, but strangely, the ancient castle had quickly returned to peace and quiet after such argemotion, as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Is this really okay? It took so much effort to get those experimental subjects. Why did you release them just like that?¡± At the highest level of the castle, a pale, young man looked at the distant night sky as he spoke, not even looking back.


    Behind him was a man dressed in long, grey robes and a ck hood. The man replied with an even colder tone, ¡°It¡¯s no matter. The seeds have been nted. Now, we just need to wait for the right time to reap the rewards. It was your mistake, after all, that cost us our biggest prey. The rest of them are not even worth one of him.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you dare bring that up! For this, I sacrificed all of my pawns in the royal pce. Once the representatives from Dawn Academye over, I might need to move again!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have our arrangements with the rebels. Those fools from another world think they can control the rebels. How naive!¡±


    Pausing, the hooded man continued, ¡°Valen Argos, I represent the high priest in promising you, if there needs to be a new country established in thesends, then you¡¯ll definitely be the new king!¡±


    ¡°I represent the high priest in congratting you for your future sess!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s our future sess!¡±


    Two goblets filled with blood rang with rity as they clinked together.

 Chapter 500: Continuation Of The Assignment

    <h4>Chapter 500: Continuation Of The Assignment</h4>


    At the embassy...


    Liang Taibai, who had received some news ahead of time, had been waiting in his room for a long time. Ibeiya and the old man had left under the cover of the night after dropping Xiao Lin off part of the way. They did not seem to want to interact with those from the embassy.


    The staff within the embassy quickly brought everyone into the embassy lounge, and Liang Taibai located doctors to treat everyone. In truth, the monitors were not really injured, and Xiao Lin had woken up halfway through the journey as well. Therefore, Liang Taibai arranged for a meal for everyone, followed by hot baths before they all went to sleep.


    ¡°We can talk about everything else tomorrow. Don¡¯t worry, the embassy is Dawn Academy¡¯snd, and no one would dare do anything here!¡± Liang Taibai¡¯s words put everyone at ease.


    Of course, some of them asked for Liang Taibai to send the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s troops over to exterminate the Argos n for daring to do what they did. Liang Taibai entertained them for a bit before sending them all away.


    Xiao Lin remained in the lounge, still weak from using his Ruin state, but he felt much better already. Liang Taibai knew he had things to say, which was why the others had been sent away.


    When it was just the two of them, Liang Taibai looked at Xiao Lin seriously, and the former was deep in thought before he asked, ¡°Ambassador Liang, do you have the equipment to calcte attributes?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Liang Taibai was surprised. He thought that Xiao Lin had some important information to share, and was not expecting the question, but he still answered, ¡°Of course I do. Hold on.¡±


    Liang Taibai quickly retrieved the equipment. The testing equipment was very portable, and looked like a round te. On the round te were fine lines that connected to ten different round gems. Liang Taibai exined, ¡°There is no centralputer here, so the testing numbers will have some margin of error. The higher your attributes, the greater the error will be, so this is just for reference.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    Under Liang Taibai¡¯s guidance, Xiao Lin hurriedly ced the gems on the important ces on his body, such as his heart, lungs, temples, and such. Then, he stood still and rxed his body. Liang Taibai then activated the round te and a wave of heat passed through his body.


    The simple mechanism was obviously not as efficient as the one in the academy. It took ten minutes before Liang Taibai said it was done. Xiao Lin then took off the gems, and the numbers took about half an hour to calcte before they were disyed on the te.


    [60, 60, 60, 60]


    Four of the same number. Liang Taibai was surprised, and smiled as he said, ¡°How rare it is to have it all the same. These four numbers represent the basic attributes.¡± Since they were all the same, there was no need to exin which number was which.


    Liang Taibai praised, ¡°With a total attribute score of 240, you¡¯re only 60 points away from Bronze. You¡¯re still in your first year, so this is very good. At your rate, you¡¯ll probably be at Bronze at the end of the semester with no issues.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a strange expression on his face. He definitely would not tell Liang Taibai that his total attributes were only at 120 when he left the academy.


    Xiao Lin touched his forehead. Since the fused Shard of Creation entered his body, he felt like he was much stronger, especially with that Dragon Breath Sword he used in the castle. It had been way above his expectations. Now he had the machine to prove his suspicions.


    With his attributes being improved so much, it could only have been caused by the shard. Xiao Lin had been apathetic toward the Shards of Creation since they did not seem to have a use, basically not living up to a name as cool as ¡®creation¡¯. Now, he knew that the earlier shards were useless because they were notplete.


    Ibeiya really gave him a really good gift!


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you should rest up.¡± Liang Taibai put the machine away. He saw that Xiao Lin was very fatigued.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s still official business to talk about.¡±


    Liang Taibai waited for him to continue.


    The test was just to verify his spections. Xiao Lin then said seriously, ¡°Do you know a lot about the Argos n?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in the Rosa Kingdom for about ten years. I¡¯ve naturally had some interactions with Argos¡¯s leader, but as for Valen Argos... Frankly, I don¡¯t know too much, but...¡±


    Liang Taibai stopped there, seemingly having his own difficulties, Xiao Lin chose to help him finish the sentence, ¡°But you feel like I had way too much of an easy time getting out, right?¡±


    Liang Taibai paused, nodding. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Argos n is not as simple as you think. I¡¯ve never been to their ancient castle, but I¡¯ve heard a lot about it. It¡¯s a necromantic grave they used close to a thousand years to cultivate. It¡¯s a special presence within the royal city. Truthfully, with your skills...¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°So it¡¯s just like I thought? I feel like they were just taking advantage of the situation, and allowed me to take everyone out.¡±


    ¡°They might be afraid of Dawn Academy, or maybe it¡¯s a sign of peace.¡± Liang Taibai analyzed it from an outside perspective. It was not illogical, which was why he did not want to mobilize the local troops just yet.


    ¡°Basically, it¡¯s all okay as long as everyone is safe. I¡¯ll make arrangements for your departure,¡± Liang Taibai finally said.


    ¡°Let the rest of them go first. Also, the assignment for the monthly examination, the people we need to escort will be leaving with us, right?¡± Xiao Lin thought for a moment before adding, ¡°I need to stay for some private matters.¡±


    ¡°Monthly examination?¡±


    Liang Taibai furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that, ¡°With things the way they are, the monthly examination doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Your safety is the most important.¡±


    ¡°Have you already reported this incident to Dawn City?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Liang Taibai did not understand what he was getting at.


    ¡°Then you¡¯ve definitely received a reply.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Then, did the reply say that the monthly examinations have ended?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it did not, but the higher-ups have repeatedly emphasized that I need to ensure your safety, and they would send people over in two or three days at the most.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed silently; it was as he expected. The military was making things harder on them deliberately. If they really wanted to, they could just take the griffins over. Why would it take two or three days?


    Half the duration of the monthly examination hadpsed. If they really waited for the military, and if there were any dys, then they would not be able to make it. Even if their safety was still important, they were still students. The monthly examination results would be in their records. No matter what reasons and exnations they could give, not finishing the task was still not finishing the task.


    ¡°Ambassador Liang, I¡¯ve heard at the academy that we¡¯re considered reserves, and would need to fight in the wars in the future.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, with some nerve, ¡°Then the monthly examination is basically an assignment. Soldiers need to finish their assignments unconditionally in war. Any reason should not be used as excuses for failing. So, unless we have documents to show that the monthly examination has ended, we definitely need toplete our escort mission!¡±

 Chapter 501: Escort

    <h4>Chapter 501: Escort</h4>


    Liang Taibai looked at him deeply, falling silent before saying, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll immediately contact the pce and gather up those to be escorted. As for the monitors, I¡¯ll leave them to you.¡±


    Liang Taibai had naturally assumed that Xiao Lin was the leader of the twelve of them, but Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°I will let Cheng Ming know. This time, he will need to lead the team.¡±


    ¡°You said that you needed to remain for some private matters?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Have you ever heard about the decennial martial tournament for the dark races?¡±


    Liang Taibai¡¯s expression slightly changed.


    In the next half an hour, Xiao Lin exined the matter to Liang Taibai, of course leaving out secret matters such as the Shard of Creation. Ibeiya and her uncle had helped Xiao Lin a lot this time; that shard seemed to have doubled his attributes.


    However, there was a limit to that trust and help, which was that it could not affect Dawn Academy, which was why Xiao Lin needed affirmation from Liang Taibai. Liang Taibai had been an ambassador here for almost ten years, so he was definitely more familiar with the politicalndscape.


    Liang Taibai was more and more surprised when he heard it, and took a few minutes to think before sighing, ¡°I won¡¯t ask about your rtionship with the St. ude n. Dawn Academy has never really interacted with that n, seeing as it has basically deteriorated into insignificance. No, to be precise, we¡¯ve not really interacted much with any of the ns. We don¡¯t have any direct conflicts of interest with the dark races, so we just don¡¯t interfere with each other.¡±


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°Then would my help this time affect the academy¡¯s policies?¡±


    ¡°It would if it was back then, but it¡¯s fine now.¡± Liang Taibai smiled as he sighed again. ¡°This time the higher-ups have many opinions on how Rosa should be handled. Even if the military will negotiate with the rebels, I¡¯m not really fond of it. It disturbs the bnce, and will affect our resurrection towers within the Rosa Kingdom. The dark races are like the local mafia, which make the royal family the government. Now that the government is about to fail, gaining the help of the local mafia before the situation settles isn¡¯t a bad idea.


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t have to worry about it affecting the academy, but I¡¯m more worried about you. I know of the tournament. I was lucky enough to see it when I first came to the royal city ten years ago. It¡¯s nothing like training in the academy¨Cit¡¯s realbat. No one cares even if people are killed, so you best be mentally prepared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of that as well.¡± Xiao Lin had benefited a lot from thebat training course in the new semester. Of course, he was not dumb; to him the worst that could happen was losing 20 years of his life. The royal city still had a resurrection tower.


    ...


    Early the next morning, Liang Taibai summoned Xiao Lin, letting him know that those on the list had already been gathered, and the carriages and luggage had already been arranged. The efficiency left Xiao Lin speechless. Of course, the royal family knew that the city being taken over was an eventuality, and had been eagerly waiting to head to Dawn City.


    Xiao Lin woke the monitors up from their sleep, naturally earning himself a lot ofints, especially from those that were just rescued the day before. They had been nning on sleeping for the whole day in thefortable beds.


    Once everyone gathered in the embassy lounge, Xiao Lin said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, our monthly examination still hasn¡¯t ended! If we leave now, we can still make it to Dawn City. Everyone, pack up and get food. Then, we¡¯re heading out!¡±


    Xiao Linpletely assumed the role of an officer issuingmands. After yesterday¡¯s rescue, most of them did not really mind it, but they definitely minded the decision.


    ¡°The monthly examination? Isn¡¯t it canceled?¡±


    ¡°No one said it was canceled.¡±


    ¡°But we were just captured and tortured. Why do we still need toplete the assignment?¡±


    ¡°Ah, we weren¡¯t really tortured.¡±


    ¡°Bullsh*t! All that food that¡¯s meant for the pigs? How could that not be torture?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, what are your thoughts?¡± Cheng Ming went over and whispered to Xiao Lin, ¡°Do you really think the monthly examination needs to continue?¡±


    ¡°We are students of the academy, but don¡¯t forget, stepping out of school, we are strictly speaking soldiers. If we have not received orders to stop, we need toplete the mission. I trust no one wants their records to show that they did notplete the mission,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    The arguments died down a bit.


    Xiao Lin did not want to waste time. ¡°Don¡¯t head to that flight destination we came from. I feel like the griffins there are a bit strange. It¡¯s a refugee area as well, so we never know what could happen. This is thetest map I got from Ambassador Liang. You¡¯ll depart from this small path. You might need to make a few detours, but it¡¯s fine, you have enough time!


    ¡°I¡¯ve given you the information on the royal family. They¡¯re not very powerful, but those who lived in royalty aren¡¯t stupid. On the road, don¡¯t bother with them, no matter what they say. Remember, we¡¯re just escorts, not ambassadors.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen you nag so much,¡± Chen Dao teased jokingly.


    ¡°You?¡± Cheng Ming noticed something in Xiao Lin¡¯s words. ¡°Are you noting with us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind to handle some matters.¡±


    Han Manman questioned him, ¡°Why? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re just nning onzing off and enjoying yourself here!¡±


    She had held back for so long that Xiao Lin almost thought she had changed her ways, but it seemed like that was not the case. Xiao Lin smiled. ¡°Ambassador Liang agreed to this. If you have any questions, you can ask him.¡±


    Everyone was silent.


    Everyone was once again exasperated. Of course, it was not because Xiao Lin was staying back, but rather in admiration of Xiao Lin¡¯s connections. Liang Taibai was basically the highest-ranking person locally, and could order everyone else around, but it seemed like that Ambassador was quite friendly with Xiao Lin.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it all to you. If I can make it, I¡¯ll definitely catch up!¡± After tidying everything up, Xiao Lin gave Cheng Ming a fewst words before sending therge convoy out from the royal city¡¯s southern gate.


    There were a total of 25 people to be escorted. Those that had helped kidnap the monitors had been eliminated from the list. Other than those of royal blood, there were also a few of Rosa¡¯s more reputable ministers. Other than that, they did not bring anything else. Even if the royals could not bear to part with their riches, Liang Taibai¡¯s warnings left them with no choice.

 Chapter 502: The Essence of Blood

    <h4>Chapter 502: The Essence of Blood</h4>


    After the escort team left, Xiao Lin started his preparations for the tournament. A week remained until the tournament, but at noon, Ibeiya had run over to the embassy in search of Xiao Lin, telling him the time had been moved forward, and it would begin that night.


    ¡°The Argos n suddenly notified everyone. They are the winners of thest tournament, so they have the right to do this. Since it¡¯s only bringing it forward by a few days, most of the ns did not have any objections.¡± Ibeiya seemed to be in a panic. A few days were not much, but she worried that it could affect Xiao Lin¡¯s matters.


    Xiao Lin was quite suspicious. They had just rescued everyone from the Argos nst night, and now the tournament was being moved forward. It was clear that the Argos n was beginning to make some moves. Xiao Lin could not help but count his lucky stars, thankful the escort team had already left.


    Xiao Lin consoled Ibeiya and got Liang Taibai to make a special pass for her. The embassy was Dawn Academy¡¯s own sovereignnd within the Rosa Kingdom. Whoever took over the royal city, no one would dare barge inside unless they were ready to make an enemy of the academy.


    Of course, the embassy was not a ce anyone could get in. With the special pass, if anything happened once Xiao Lin left, Ibeiya and her uncle could still avoid disaster there.


    That was part of Xiao Lin¡¯s repayment for the Shard of Creation. As for the martial tournament, Xiao Lin might have agreed to participate, but he actually did not have much confidence in winning.


    Liang Taibai saw through Xiao Lin¡¯s worries, and consoled him. Liang Taibai¡¯s words were very simple, asking Xiao Lin to just focus on the participation. It had not been reported to the higher-ups. Even if he lost, Xiao Lin would not lose anything other than 20 years of his lifespan, so there was no pressure.


    Other than that, Liang Taibai had kindly provided a batch of potions, such as physical and energy strengthening potions. Those potions could temporarily raise someone¡¯s basic attributes, and were basically stimnts. Xiao Lin was no stranger to those potions.


    During the end of semester examinations, the student union had repeatedly emphasized the fact that the strengthening potions were not allowed to ensure the fairness of the examinations.


    They were not at the academy, and no matter how he looked at it, the ns of the dark races were definitely not honorable, principled people. Liang Taibai told him, ¡°I told you before, the dark races that stay here are not that strong, but they will all have some tricks during the tournament, such as potions or certain mysterious forbidden techniques. You need to be careful of all that.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll just focus on participating.¡±


    When it gotte, Xiao Lin headed to Ibeiya after taking four different strengthening potions. The four potions had increased each of his attributes by 10 points. It was a pity that the individual potions did not stack, but a 40 point increase was still good.


    Ibeiya had dressed up properly that night, putting on a pure white gown with the bottom of her dress reaching the ground. She had light mascara and red lipstick. She also had a pair of high heels adorned with jewelry.


    Norma did not have high heels before the habits of Earth seeped into their culture after hundreds of years, slowly influencing the locals. At some point, the locals had also started to wear high heels as a status symbol, but it was of course limited to special asions.


    Ibeiya had always possessed both naivete and seductiveness. The make-up had taken away all her childishness, making her look even more mature and alluring.


    Xiao Lin stared absentmindedly, and Ibeiya started to blush. However, she quickly let out a little shout as she almost fell, obviously not used to the heels. Xiao Lin shook his head, smiling as he said, ¡°We¡¯re only going to a tournament, not a banquet.¡±


    The old man next to Ibeiya said, ¡°You don¡¯t know this, but it¡¯s actually a banquet on top of a tournament. It¡¯s a banquet that only happens once in ten years, and it¡¯s our chance to show off the power of the St. ude n, so we naturally need to maintain the most basic of appearances so as to not disgrace the n!¡±


    ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± Xiao Lin did not feel like arguing with the old man who was so fixated on past glories. He carefully helped Ibeiya the entire day, because her constant swaying was quite pitiful.


    ¡°This is a drop of blood essence left behind by the old master. I¡¯ll give it to you. I hope you don¡¯t disappoint us.¡± The old man might have been a stiff stickler, but he was very careful in his preparations. Since Xiao Lin¡¯s weapons had all disappeared when they were kidnapped, the old man had prepared weapons for him. At the same time, he handed over a blood essence around the size of a fingernail.


    Ibeiya had been bright red leaning against Xiao Lin. When she saw the amber red object, she had a pensive look on her face, and her expression dimmed. Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s confusion, she exined, ¡°This is father¡¯s blood essence. Please keep it. Each drop of blood essence can strengthen your attributes. If we use your method of calction, it will increase by about twenty points.¡±


    ¡°How long does the effectst?¡± Xiao Lin thought it was something like a potion.


    ¡°Itsts forever!¡± the old man said expressionlessly.


    Xiao Lin was surprised. It increased 20 attribute points immediately. Something like that was more valuable than a weapon of any quality.


    If it was not something Ibeiya¡¯s father left behind, Xiao Lin would have asked for more. Ibeiya saw through his thoughts and smiled, ¡°Blood essence is something vampires leave behind when they die. It¡¯s a pity, but my father¡¯s skills were not great, or it would not have such a meager effect. Blood essence can¡¯t be taken lightly either; it can only be taken no more than once a year, or it will be hard to digest and cause side effects.¡±


    The value of 20 attribute points was different for each individual, but after drinking the potions, Xiao Lin would actually have had 300 attribute points for the first time. That was the level of a Bronze-ranked individual. Even if it was temporary, it was still a significant jump.


    Xiao Lin looked at the distraught Ibeiya and could not help but feel sorry for her. Even though Lilith and Yu Mei had told him the girl had some hidden schemes, Ibeiya had yet to do anything to harm him, and he actually owed her a lot instead.


    Regarding the blood essence, Xiao Lin did not need to ask to know that it was definitely left behind for Ibeiya by her father. She was probably to use it when she grew up.

 Chapter 503: Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 503: Banquet</h4>


    Even if it was a little strange to drink someone else¡¯s blood, Xiao Lin did not want to betray Ibeiya¡¯s kindness. He put the blood essence in his mouth; it was cool and smooth. Xiao Lin did not even swallow it yet when he felt the blood essence dissolve, turning into energy and flowing into his body.


    The increase of 20 attribute points was hard to feel, but jumping from ck-Iron rank to Bronze, even if temporary, brought aboutrge changes.


    Xiao Lin immediately felt the mysterious changes. If a normal person got to ck Iron, they would be able to directly perceive and feel the various energies in the air. Getting to Bronze-rank from there was like gaining a deeper understanding of the energies within one¡¯s body.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin did not need to enter meditation to feel the various energies flowing within his body. Elemental energy, death energy, and even natural energy. The distributions were not equal; elemental and death energies were more dense, while the natural energies signifying life wereparatively lesser.


    It seemed like a change that was not very significant, but it meant that he could control his energy much better during the battles, allowing him to control his energy use better.


    To Xiao Lin, temporarily stepping into Bronze rank had given him much more confidence for the tournament.


    The location of the tournament was a castle in the outskirts. The lifespans of the dark races were longer than regr natives, and majestic, well-defended castles were usually where a lot of the ns stayed.


    ¡°This castle used to be the residence of a n that had been exterminated a few hundred years ago. It waster upied by the Argos n. Of course, only they could really afford to buy it, and they use it for the martial tournament,¡± Ibeiya exined.


    ¡°So the Argos n is the host?¡±


    ¡°The host?¡± Ibeiya asked.


    ¡°Oh, I mean that they¡¯re the owners. It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not important. What I mean to say is, will they have even more advantages?¡±


    ¡°They naturally will, but the Argos n has been like this since the internal power struggle. Be careful of Valen!¡± Ibeiya¡¯s small face had a very serious look of warning.


    ¡°Are you very familiar with Valen?¡±


    ¡°I would not want to know someone like that.¡± Ibeiya suddenly looked away with a strange look on her face, and did not seem to have any intention of continuing.


    Xiao Lin felt that it was strange, but did not continue asking.


    They reached the castle after half an hour. The environment was not great around there. There was a cemetery near the castle, and with the dark night sky, standing in the deathly quiet cemetery sent chills down Xiao Lin¡¯s spine.


    ¡°This is an abandoned cemetery.¡± Ibeiya consoled Xiao Lin, but the horrifying atmosphere was not really rted to whether or not it was abandoned.


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°I can see that.¡± A lot of the gravestones were in disrepair, and multiple spots had clearly been dug out. Norma had the habit of offering funerary objects as well. Even if it did not seem like a noble cemetery, the objects would still be worth a bit.


    Of course, that was not the main point. Xiao Lin looked at a skeletal head not far away. Tworge empty holes were staring in his direction. Xiao Lin could not help but look down on the grave robbers. They could have at least tidied up the bones.


    The castle wasrge, even bigger than the Argos n¡¯s castle he had infiltrated. However, it was not tall, since the original owner did not like tall buildings.


    It was very different from the horrifying atmosphere outside. The interior of the castle was extravagant, the most valuable jewels and statues were seen everywhere. Ibeiya told him that even the carpets on the floor were made from high-ranked and valuable beast fur.


    It seemed like the dark races were the same as humans when it came to enjoying riches.


    Xiao Lin had felt like Ibeiya¡¯s attire was excessive initially, but he found out now that the one who really stood out was himself. The men were all in tuxedos, which was of course influenced by the colonists. The women were all scantily d in extravagant clothes, some evenpletely baring their breasts, causing Xiao Lin and Ibeiya to blush at the sight.


    Ibeiya even cursed softly in an udylike manner. ¡°Those cursed subi! What right do they have to be here!


    ¡°Big Brother? You¡¯re liking what you see!¡± When Ibeiya noticed where Xiao Lin¡¯s attention was focused, her voice was suddenly raised.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Xiao Lin immediately averted his gaze, seriously saying, ¡°I was just trying to observe their strength so I¡¯m prepared forter.¡±


    However, even Xiao Lin was starting to get suspicious. It looked like an extravagant banquet. Would there really be a tournament? There were various liquors and delicious foods in the middle of the hall. Of course, the ¡®delicious foods¡¯ that were dripping with blood caused Xiao Lin to hold back the urge to vomit, and he turned around to leave.


    ¡°Wee, St. ude n! My dear Ibeiya, I thought you would note tonight. This is the biggest surprise I¡¯ve had tonight!¡±


    A mboyant man raised his goblet as he walked over. The crowd automatically moved aside, and followed the man¡¯s gaze toward Ibeiya. However, everyone had already noticed them, though Xiao Lin had been the focus of attention instead of Ibeiya. Xiao Lin had casual clothes on, and stood out like a sore thumb in their eyes.


    In truth, the old man had wanted to give Xiao Lin a change of clothes, but Xiao Lin had rejected it. He was not used to wearing suits, but the local Normese, donned in Earthen attire staring at him like he was garbage, caused Xiao Lin to shed a tear.


    ¡°That¡¯s Valen Argos!¡± the old man suddenly said. The old man had fallen silent since they stepped into the city. He was only a servant of the St. ude n, so he did not have any right to speak in public spaces. He had strictly adhered to that custom.


    Xiao Linposed himself, looking at the current leader of the Argos n in shock. Valen was much younger than he had thought, since necromancers had the same lifespan as regr people. Valen¡¯s young voice and face were enough to surprise him.


    Ibeiya was very careful toward the slowly approaching Valen. She retreated a few steps like a scared rabbit, furrowing her eyebrows as she said, ¡°Valen Argos! You barely know me!¡±


    ¡°Oh, what are you saying, you¡¯re my future bride.¡± Valen¡¯s face looked like he was chiding Ibeiya for being cheeky, but his eyes were cold, not matching his smile. He continued moving forward, and reached his hand out to touch Ibeiya¡¯s face.


    p!


    Valen¡¯s hand was pped away by Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 504: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 504: Prologue</h4>


    ¡°Where did this childe from? You want a bride before your hair has even finished growing? Quit joking around!¡± Xiao Lin looked like he was joking, but his tone was sharp.


    The entire banquet suddenly fell silent. When Xiao Lin called him a child, everyone, from the scantily d subi to the crowd talking about official matters, had turned around in shock, and all of their expressions changed.


    Valen¡¯s gentlemanly smile froze on his face. The boy did not just look young. He was actually quite young. Youth was never an advantage in the dark world. The youth were often met with undisguised mockery in these circles, which was why Ibeiya had not received any attention when she came in.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not understand all that, nor did he know that his one sentence had managed to start a me in Valen¡¯s heart. However, even if he knew, Xiao Lin would not have cared, so he was very annoyed at that moment as well.


    Future bride? A fiancee!


    What a joke!


    Xiao Lin had rejected the old man¡¯s suggestion of an arranged marriage because he did not want to be a pedophile. He could not bear someone else being a pedophile with Ibeiya¡¯s even more. It was also obvious from Ibeiya¡¯s ufortable expression that she was not happy being that person¡¯s fiancee.


    Yes? Hold on!


    Xiao Lin was just about to console the ufortable Ibeiya, but he suddenly noticed a sly smile on her little face. There was no trace of awkwardness or frustration.


    ¡°Big Brother, I have nothing to do with this boy. He was the one who¡¯s been dering that I¡¯m his new bride, which was why I left Rosa, but it¡¯s all okay now.¡± Ibeiya moved over and held Xiao Lin¡¯s arm. She affectionately nuzzled her head against Xiao Lin¡¯s skin.


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    Valen was incredibly angry. The intention behind Ibeiya¡¯s actions was very obvious. He did not even need to continue asking¨Che would just be humiliating himself. He took a deep breath, the young man forcing himself to calm down. Then, he revealed a warm smile.


    ¡°So you found someone you like. That¡¯s a pity, but it¡¯s no matter. That way, the St. ude n will finally have someone to carry on the family. As the first n from ancient times, I had hoped to see their resurgence. That¡¯s right, could I know who this lucky young man is?¡±


    The tension in the hall could be cut with a knife¡¯s edge, but it was quickly diffused by Valen¡¯sughter. Only, the mor had noticeably died down, and everyone still had their eyes fixed on themotion.


    Xiao Lin had doubts in his heart; the patience and steadiness that man had shown waspletely in contrast to the young look on his face. To any opponent, it was quite the trap.


    ¡°His name is Xiao Lin,¡± Ibeiya said honestly, the change in Valen¡¯s expression had also caused her to be even more careful.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡± Valen¡¯s was confused.


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes. Valen might have never met him, but could Valen have never heard of him? Xiao Lin refused to believe that. At least, after the destruction from that night, Valen could easily have figured out who did it. Xiao Lin never expected to be able to hide the fact. After all, with his status here, no one would dare do anything to him easily.


    However, Valen was able to feign ignorance, and had smiled toward Xiao Lin. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, are you here to represent the St. ude n? I hope you¡¯re happy with my treatment.¡±


    Valen stopped speaking, and turned around to leave, a very cold smile on his face.


    ¡°Big Brother, did I cause you trouble?¡± Ibeiya said pitifully.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    Xiao Lin replied, though he knew for sure he had offended him. However, thinking about it, he had already ensured that they would not get along after sneaking into the Argos n¡¯s castle.


    The banquet continued, but no one dared to make too much noise anymore. Everyone seemed to have noticed the abnormal atmosphere, and the hushed whispers all involved pointing at Ibeiya and Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin had managed to make out some words, but those words that were said innguages that were not Normese were not understood by Xiao Lin.


    However, something was already obvious; no one came forward to greet Ibeiya. Even if Xiao Lin knew about the St. ude n¡¯s decline, as a n that had been around since ancient times, it was quite a sad sight to see them in this state.


    Ibeiya did not mind that much. Instead, she pulled Xiao Lin to a corner and introduced some notable opponents to him and their ns.


    ¡°Speaking of that, how long will the banquet continue for?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°It will continue until midnight. The tournament is thest event.¡±


    ¡°Event?¡±


    Ibeiya sighed. ¡°Not everyone who¡¯s here will participate in the tournament. Some ns know they do not have the strength, and will voluntarily withdraw. After all, we¡¯re not like you guys, and only have one chance in life. We really die if we¡¯re killed.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then where will the festivities after the food be held?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    Xiao Lin remained silent.


    ¡°There will probably be some ceremoniester. I hope you aren¡¯t bothered by them.¡±


    With the boring banqueting to an end, Xiao Lin quickly found out what those ceremonies were. Under Valen¡¯s order, a few bound humans were brought inside and forced to kneel. After that, a few robed persons came in and started to chant.


    After a few minutes, they suddenly took out their swords and stabbed into the captives¡¯ hearts. Asrge amounts of blood started to flow, the entire hall erupted. Everyone was in a fervor of excitement as they shattered the sses in their hands and started to pray in an iprehensiblenguage.


    Xiao Lin had a bad look on his face, not expecting this. Ibeiya seemed to have expected it, and said softly, ¡°Those are some homeless people captured from the streets. The royal guards would not care about them. I know it¡¯s not good, but it¡¯s tradition to offer the fresh blood of humans to the Dark God.¡±


    The fervorsted for about a minute. Once all the food and drink had been taken away, only the unmoving bodies remained. The air was saturated with the thick smell of blood, but a lot of the ones present licked their lips at the smell.


    ¡°ording to the rules of our ancient god,¡± Valen stood up again, saying loudly, ¡°As the heir of the Argos n, I announce the tournament to formally begin!


    ¡°Following the usual rules, we will randomize the pairings for the tournament after the list of challengers has been submitted, but doesn¡¯t everyone think that¡¯s very troublesome? We live in the darkness; our ancestors have walked this world much longer than humans have. Why do we need to follow these rules that havee from them?¡±

 Chapter 505: Start

    <h4>Chapter 505: Start</h4>


    Ibeiya¡¯s expression changed. She whispered into Xiao Lin¡¯s ear, ¡°This method of deciding a leader through a tournament was set forth by the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s founding king, and was decided in exchange for protecting us.¡±


    ¡°What is he nning on doing?¡± Xiao Lin looked at the outwardly calm Valen, who could not hide the fervor in his eyes. The young man wants to go against tradition. Even if it was just a small insignificant matter, it was still enough to disy his wild ambition.


    ¡°Valen! Are you afraid ofpetition?¡± someone mocked. The Argos n might be the most powerful, but not every n was afraid of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re scared, you just need to give us your right to rule. We won¡¯t have any objections. Oh, I almost forgot, the one with the right to rule is thest n leader of Argos, not you,¡± someone followed, their tone full of mockery.


    ¡°Oh? Scared?¡± Valen was not angry, instead looking very surprised before he startedughing softly, the volume increasing until it drowned out everyone¡¯s voices.


    After a long while, everyone quieted down and Valen finally said in a cold tone, ¡°I was going to follow up with the rules of this tournament. It will be much simpler, and as thest leader, I will be the one challenged. Those that are here, anyone at all, can challenge me directly if they wish to. There will be no limit to the number of challengers, nor the time! How about it?¡±


    After a moment of silence, a wave of shock and excitement resounded. It was basically a group assault, everyone against Valen alone. It was straightforward and saved a lot of time.


    ¡°If you lose, how will we continue?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°That would be your own problem. If I died, I would be unable to interfere anyway.¡± Valen¡¯s words shot through everyone¡¯s hearts.


    ¡°How arrogant!¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. Valen either wanted to die or did not think he could lose.


    ¡°What is Valen¡¯s skill level like?¡± Xiao Lin looked back, asking the old man behind Ibeiya.


    The old man said, ¡°His skills should be around Bronze in rank, or maybe lower. He is the youngest of the Argoses, so he can¡¯t be that strong.¡±


    In truth, the old man had already said it before, Argos was a young necromancer. His current abilities would only allow him to control low-leveled undead or spells at most. Necromancy was something that took time to master.


    The rest of them were suspicious as well, but they did not care about Valen¡¯s life. Anything said during the banquet could not be taken back, or he would be shunned by everyone, and he could not hope for anyone to listen to him.


    That was why the moment Valen¡¯s words ended, it signaled the start of the tournament. At least ten of them rushed forward. It was not only those who spoke up against Valen earlier; there were many more who rushed forward just to try. In the face of power and ambition, everything was secondary.


    The fight started without any foreshadowing.


    Xiao Lin did not go forward immediately, and many were the same as him, wanting to check out Valen¡¯s skill first, but holding back caused many of their hearts to almost pop out of their chests.


    Facing the dozen or so people rushing at him, Valen¡¯s smile did not change. He raised his hand and threw out a green ball of light¨Cthe Soul Disintegration spell!


    Xiao Lin immediately recognized it, but he was not sure if Valen was the one in the prison who had kidnapped them.


    The rest of them knew the strength of the Argos n¡¯s Soul Disintegration spell, and they had alreadye prepared for it. They either shot out spells to counter it or had their own defensive spells, while the more nimble ones chose to dodge. Other than two of them who got hit due to theirck of skill, the group dispersed, surrounding Valen and cutting off all his escapes.


    ¡°Valen! You¡¯re dead!¡±


    A dozen weapons, all with their own glows of energy pierced into Valen. After that, Valen slowly fell, his smile still remaining on his face. They thought the guy was up to something, but he had been in so easily.


    Everyone else looked at each other, and one of them turned around, coughing dryly as he said, ¡°Since Valen is dead, then are we just supposed to simply fight each other next...¡±


    ¡°Ah! Careful!¡±


    Someone shouted out. It seemed like they were from the same n as the person who spoke earlier. However, his words were a bit too slow, and the man was stunned to find arge hole on his chest, clearly the result of Soul Disintegration.


    ¡°Really! I just gave all of you some appetizers. Did you need to be so excited?¡± Valen had stood up from the ground again, stretching his neck. His wounds seemed to have disappeared.


    There was a sudden silence, and the fighting had stopped because of that. Valen¡¯s strange body was writhing. Other than the Soul Disintegration, his hands had turned into sharp weapons, easily piercing through everyone¡¯s hearts.


    In just a few minutes, half of those on the stage had copsed in a puddle of blood. The rest of them quickly retreated, but had more or less sustained injuries. The tables had been turned in a sh.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± everyone shouted out in shock.


    Those that attacked had all done so with the intent to kill, and had seen several holes pierced through Valen. Seeing him stand up as if nothing had happened was something that no one knew how to deal with.


    ¡°Is Valen a vampire?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked.


    ¡°No. Even if he had the constitution of a vampire, he could never stand up after something like that.¡± The old man replied. He knew what Xiao Lin wanted to ask, and added, ¡°Not every vampire possesses regenerative abilities as strong as Her Highness.¡±


    Ibeiya¡¯s regenerative abilities were indeed capable of being called rising from the dead, but Xiao Lin knew that, no matter what, the girl had ancient blood in her veins. No matter how much the n had fallen, her blood remained, so her regeneration had an exnation.


    However, who was Valen? Necromancers usually had horrible constitutions, and younger necromancers were all humans, so there was no way they had regeneration, let alone something like resurrection.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face was very serious. He had remembered something, but did not dare be certain, so he decided to quietly look on.


    The battle was still going on. Even if the sudden resurrection had shocked everyone, there were quickly more challengers who surged forward. Even if he stood back up, Valen¡¯s skills did not seem like much, and the ones who were killed were just unprepared.

 Chapter 506: Start Of The Battle

    <h4>Chapter 506: Start Of The Battle</h4>


    As the chaotic battle progressed, Xiao Lin brought Ibeiya a bit further away to keep her from getting hurt. He fixed his gaze onto Valen, the rm in his heart already at the maximum.


    With more people jumping into the battle, spells started to fly within the hall, but the power levels were not that great. The castle was made with very good materials as well, and had very strong anti-magic properties. Xiao Lin understood why the tournament was held there.


    Valen¡¯s situation did not seem good, but his skills had caused some surprised expressions. The old man next to Ibeiya said that, as a necromancer, Valen¡¯s speed and spellcasting were all much higher than usual.


    However, since it was a group assault, with so many of them fighting Valen alone, after about ten minutes, the injuries on Valen¡¯s body started to pile up. A lot of those who were attacking used ck magic, which had a very strong decaying aura. Valen¡¯s right hand was already half-rotten, revealing white bones underneath his flesh, which made for a shocking sight.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrows started to twitch. He noticed that, even though Valen was in a bad situation, his face remained calm. That hateful smile never left his face. The most important thing was that Valen¡¯s breath was not the slightest bit erratic, causing Xiao Lin¡¯s unease to increase, because that meant Valen had not used his full power.


    Valen was a necromancer. Necromancy was different from elemental magic, but the principles were still the same. Casting rapidly was a huge burden, and jeopardized sess rate and uracy as well, but even with Valen¡¯s heavy injuries, he still maintained a high level of casting.


    However, it did not change the results. After a few minutes, Valen once again copsed in blood. This time, they did not let their guards down, worrying that he would fake his death again. So, they sent a few spells at his dead body, causing flesh and blood to fly. It took until the corpse that remained did not even have a single piece of flesh left for them to stop!


    The hall was once again excited. It seemed like a lot of them could not ept a young man like Valen standing at the top. However, the cheeringsted for less than a minute. Under the ugly expressions of everyone, the remaining flesh on the ground started to gather together and fuse. In just ten seconds, Valen once again stood in front of everyone with a strange smile on his face.


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    Resurrecting again dealt a huge impact on everyone mentally, the noise once again stopping in the hall. In skill and in numbers, they were absolutely at an advantage, but no one dared to advance at that moment.


    ¡°Big Brother, how is heing back? He definitely died just now!¡± The worry began to show on Ibeiya¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Ibeiya, help me do something.¡± Xiao Lin looked around coldly before whispering into Ibeiya¡¯s ear. Thinking about it, he said to the old man, ¡°You leave with Ibeiya first!¡±


    The old man did not understand, but Ibeiya had forcefully pulled him aside. It was quite chaotic within the hall, and after Valen resurrected again, he started another attack and killed several people. That was why no one noticed Ibeiya¡¯s movements, but Valen sensed it, and his gaze quickly shifted over. Ibeiya¡¯s white dress caught his eye.


    Whoosh!


    A Soul Disintegration spell flew over. Because Xiao Lin was far away, he was slow to react, but the old man had been on alert and blocked the green ball of light. The cost was half his arm.


    ¡°Your Highness, leave!¡± the old man shouted.


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and leave!¡± Xiao Lin hurried over, smiling. ¡°Rx, I¡¯m still here!¡±


    Ibeiya nodded, understanding that it was not the time to be indecisive, and she rushed out of the city. Thankfully, there were no guards. Valen watched Ibeiya leave, and looked a bit angry. He quickly regainedposure, as if saying that she could run tonight, but would not be able to escape forever.


    ¡°What did you ask Her Highness to do?¡± The old man still did not know what happened, but he felt like Xiao Lin did not just want Ibeiya to run away.


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth, but he noticed that Valen¡¯s gaze was still fixed on them, so his words turned into those of consolidation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got Ibeiya to seek refuge at the embassy. Nothing will happen to her.


    Xiao Lin was actually wondering if he should leave as well. His greatest guarantee behind being able to help Ibeiya in this tournament was the fact that he was a colonist, and would only lose twenty years of his life in the worst case. With his wealth, buying two bottles of novice Lifewater was not a big deal.


    However, he was starting to have an unsettling thought, which was why he was hesitating. Yet, he was very clear that, if he left at that moment, then no one would be able to stop Valen. The young necromancer wouldpletely subdue the dark ns here, and would be the absolute power behind the dark races in the royal city. Xiao Lin did not believe that Valen would have any goodwill toward Dawn Academy.


    That was why the best choice was to settle everything there. It would help him, Ibeiya, and Dawn Academy eliminate any future problems!


    If Xiao Lin¡¯s guess was right, then he still had a chance to win. At least, in terms of skill, Valen was not unbeatable. The man was still too young; it was just the strange resurrection ability that caused everyone else to be unwilling to make a move.


    ¡°Is this the power of demons?¡±


    ¡°No, it might be the power of the ancient King of Darkness!¡±


    ¡°I heard that only the King of Darkness¡¯s blood can resurrect without limit, but the St. ude n has already fallen. Even their bloodline is extremely rare now.¡±


    ¡°Could Valen be the new King of Darkness?¡±


    ...


    The discussion in the hall suddenly died down. When they understood that it would be hard to kill Valen, the thought of submitting to the strong naturally took over. Since they could not fight him, they naturally could only follow him.


    Just as the idea started to take hold and everyone was hesitating, they noticed that the stranger who came with Ibeiya had slowly walked forward.


    Xiao Lin finally decided to stop being a spectator. Valen still did not suspect anything, and he needed to earn enough time. Valen was not surprised that Xiao Lin walked forward, and even moved a few steps forward himself, coldly smiling. ¡°Since you¡¯re Ibeiya¡¯s fiance, then are you representing St. ude to challenge me?¡±


    ¡°Challenge? No no no, challenging is done by the weak toward the strong. You¡¯re strong? Ahem, that joke is not funny at all!¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to provoke me?¡±

 Chapter 507: Resurrection

    <h4>Chapter 507: Resurrection</h4>


    ¡°Are you trying to provoke me?¡±


    Valen focused his attention on Xiao Lin, slowly walking forward. As he walked past others, even if Valen looked like he was full of holes, no one dared to touch him at that moment. Everyone was waiting to see how Xiao Lin would react.


    ¡°You seem veryfortable.¡± Xiao Lin could not see any rageing from Valen¡¯s face.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same? You¡¯ve been observing me the whole time. It seems like you¡¯ve already figured out how to deal with me?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯ve seen many like you. I¡¯m not exaggerating when I say it would not be a problem for me to kill two of you with one hand.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re quite a jokester, but I can¡¯t seem to understand the jokes from your world.¡± Valen did not bother hiding anything, revealing that he knew who Xiao Lin was.


    Xiao Lin understood why Valen did that. The others did not know Xiao Lin was a colonist. Colonists still held a very special and high position in most of the dark races¡¯ eyes, but if Valen killed Xiao Lin easily, then Valen¡¯s power in the royal city would be solidified.


    ¡°Right, have you fixed up your home?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I heard that your house got thoroughly ransacked by some intruders. The safety in the royal city has really been a messtely, but don¡¯t you worry; I¡¯ve already ryed the message to Dawn City, and they¡¯ll send a big troop overter.¡± Xiao Lin retorted, not showing any weakness.


    The crowd stirred. Xiao Lin¡¯s status as a colonist was already enough to astonish them, and the news Xiao Lin had just revealed was even more of a blow. First was Xiao Lin¡¯s status, next was the troops Dawn Academy was sending over. What were they for? To fight the rebels? Or just to ensure the safety of the colonists in the city? Or is it to fight against the dark powers?


    ¡°Ah, why is it different from what I¡¯ve heard? Dawn City has already sent someone to talk to me, and even asked for me to be in charge of the city in the future.¡±


    ¡°Huh, the dean did not mention that thest time we ate together.¡±


    ...


    The scene was very strange; neither of them made a move, and instead seemed to be chatting like friends, puzzling everyone. Yet, the venom in their words got thicker.


    After a moment, they seemed to have run out of things to say. After a brief silence, Valen suddenlyughed, ¡°Are you stalling for time? Did that little Ibeiya run off to get help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re stalling for time too.¡± Xiao Lin answered the question with another, ¡°Are you gathering your strength? Even though you¡¯ve revived yourself after a few fatal blows, the timing of your resurrections has been getting longer. Your resurrections are probably quite taxing to you.¡±


    Valen¡¯s expression changed for the first time, and the others who were on the verge of giving up suddenly had a look of realization, and started to look at Valen differently. That mysterious resurrection skill originally had them stumped and near giving up, but if it was like Xiao Lin said, then the resurrection was not absolute.


    ¡°Haha, you look so nervous. I was just joking with you.¡± Xiao Lin saw that Valen¡¯s expression was starting to get dangerous, and immediately switched the topic. He only wanted to stall for time and buy enough time for Ibeiya; only then, would he guarantee his victory.


    However, Valen started to seem impatient, especially with the unkind gazes that were being shot at him, waiting for someone to make the first move.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but wrong at the same time. I am gathering up my energy, but not in preparation of reviving, since there¡¯s already no way you can kill me!¡± Valen once again spoke.


    His voice suddenly turned raspy, and his robes seemed to be fluttering in the wind. Xiao Lin felt like something was off, and did not hesitate as he charged forward. The weapon the old man prepared for him was of Bronze rank, and was said to be a treasure of the St. ude n. The ck tip of the sword hid a strong poison.


    Swish!


    The tip of the sword pierced right into Valen¡¯s body. Valen did not even make a move to dodge, but he did not die immediately that time. Instead, he held onto the de, smiling coldly as he said, ¡°How amusing; that sword must be the one that the St. ude n stole from us a century ago. You¡¯re actually using something like that against me!¡±


    Pang!


    The sword had been snapped by Valen in a sh. Xiao Lin looked back and red at the old man, whose face was full of shock, but it was not the time to me anyone.


    Xiao Lin did not have any intentions of retreating with only half a de in hand. Instead, he did not hesitate to activate the Ruin state. Since he was already at Bronze rank, he got an even bigger surge of power entering Ruin.


    me Sword Aura!


    Xiao Lin channelled intense mes into the sword. The broken tip could no longer withstand such a strong surge of power, and the de quickly turned bright red. Xiao Lin then immediately withdrew, heading to a corner to hide.


    Boom!


    An intense explosion was seen; the sword that could not contain the me energy exploded as shards shot out in all directions,pletely mutting Valen¡¯s body. Even the ones around who could not put up a defense in time were harmed.


    However, no one nned on doing anything to Xiao Lin at that time, everyone¡¯s gazes were fixed on the chunks of flesh on the ground. After a few seconds, the flesh started to slowly move and gather together.


    ¡°It¡¯s slower! The speed really got slower!¡± someone shouted. Xiao Lin¡¯s earlier statement was confirmed.


    Facing Valen, who resurrected again, they no longer had the same fear as earlier. Theck of knowledge was the scariest thing. They might still not understand the reason behind it, but being able to counter it meant there was nothing to be afraid of.


    Only Xiao Lin sighed in a corner. That was not the result he wanted. Valen¡¯s resurrection speed did decrease each time he died, but at the rate it was decreasing, Xiao Lin did not know how long it would take until Valen no longer had the strength to resurrect. Xiao Lin knew it clearly, having already experienced it once, but he was not going to say it out loud.


    ¡°Everyone, charge!¡±


    ¡°Kill him!¡±


    ¡°Valen has exhausted all his strength!¡±


    ...


    The situation that was already settled once again erupted into chaos. Valen¡¯s smile finally disappeared from his face. He did not attack right after resurrecting, instead floating in mid-air. He had actually been gathering his energy. Even if it was interrupted by Xiao Lin, he decided to not wait any longer.

 Chapter 508: Valen’s Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 508: Valen¡¯s Transformation</h4>


    Xiao Lin, who had wanted to continue his attack suddenly felt a sense of unease. Activating Ruin had increased his perception dramatically, and he immediately decided to fall back. The others had thought Xiao Lin was scared and silently felt happy. After all, the fight would ultimately decide who had the right to rule.


    Roar!


    Valen suddenly let out an animalistic roar in mid-air, the roar resounding throughout the banquet hall like thunder. Even the walls that could withstand strong spells started to shake.


    A green light started to rise from Valen¡¯s body, and green circles started to ripple outward. An unfathomable power surged out from his body like a violent volcanic eruption. Suddenly, every corner was filled with enough power to kill.


    In the veil of green light, Valen was rapidly undergoing a shocking change. His skinny, human body started to growrger and taller, and his muscles rapidly expanded, resulting in his shirt ripping apart, revealing his bare upper body. His shocking muscles looked hard as steel, even reflecting light like it was a metal. It was hard to believe that he was once a weak necromancer.


    The most terrifying things were two pitch-ck, half-meter long horns that started to grow out from Valen¡¯s forehead, and an oval shaped object grew right in the middle. He started to look like a devil staring at everyone.


    Boom!


    The transformed Valen waved his hand, and a streak of green light shot out, turning a few that were nearby into powder.


    ¡°Soul Disintegration?¡±


    ¡°No! How could Soul Disintegration be so strong?!¡±


    A few shocked voices could be heard, and Valenughed coldly. ¡°I¡¯d rather call this skill my Disintegration Ray. Haha, if you¡¯re smart enough, you should know what this skill does!¡±


    Xiao Lin turned around and at the old man; the old man with a broken arm was noticeably dispirited. The Soul Disintegration from earlier was still affecting him, but he still tried his best to exin, ¡°The Argos n is also an ancient family. Soul Disintegration is a cruel spell that was invented back then, but the spell had long since deteriorated after being passed down so many times. If Valen isn¡¯t lying, then what he is using is probably the original spell from back then! It¡¯s a spell that kills the soul directly!¡±


    The old man urgently said, ¡°Xiao Lin! The situation has gone out of control. We need to leave quickly. You¡¯re no longer a match for him!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s greatest trump card was his resurrection ability as a colonist, so he was not afraid of Soul Disintegration, but the Disintegration Ray was definitely terrifying.


    Xiao Lin was shocked. Just as the old man said, if the Disintegration Ray really did directly kill the soul, then it was a natural counter to the colonists! For Valen Argos to do so much to acquire that spell, his sights definitely did not lie only on that tiny little royal city.


    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with how Valen looks? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s being possessed by some old ancestor or broke some old seal, returning to an ancient form?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but crack a joke despite the tense atmosphere.


    ¡°The Argos n is a n of necromancers. Even back then, necromancers were already like this. They have nothing to change back into!¡± The old man was not joking around.


    ¡°Fine, I understand, he doesn¡¯t look like a necromancer at all, so you don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°Yes...¡±


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s rare to hear that from you.¡±


    Xiao Lin pursed his lips, looking back at the demon-like Valen. He temporarily stopped after killing a number of the other guests in a terrifying manner. After all, his end goal was not to kill everyone. He then shouted out in a deep voice, ¡°Kneel down and swear your allegiance to me! Or die!¡±


    ¡°Kneel down and swear your allegiance to me! Or die!¡±


    ¡°Kneel down and swear your allegiance to me! Or die!¡±


    ¡°Kneel down and swear your allegiance to me! Or die!¡±


    ...


    The thunderous voice echoed, carrying a strange sort of magic. Everyone who heard it had a look of struggle on their face before finally shuddering as they slowly knelt down.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on! Are you trying to betray Her Highness Ibeiya?!¡± Xiao Lin did not feel anything, but he turned around to look at the one-handed old man with a look of struggle on his face. His legs were shuddering, looking like he was about to kneel down.


    ¡°I-I can¡¯t hold it back. Cur-curses, des-despicable!¡± The old man panted, as if suffering from an intense pressure, not even managing to speak properly.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless! As long as you have the blood of the dark races in your veins, then you won¡¯t be able to stand up against this power!¡± Valen was very happy with what he had caused. In the kneeling crowd, Xiao Lin naturally stood out, and Valen¡¯s sights quicklynded on him.


    ¡°Ahem, it seems like you¡¯re stronger than I thought. Whatever, I won¡¯t interfere in the matters of the dark races. I¡¯ll take my leave now. Goodbye?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin! Did you think I would let you go after you destroyed my castle?¡± Valen suddenly shouted with rage.


    ¡°Ahem, so you admitted it. I thought you¡¯d be more stubborn than that.¡± Valen finally admitted that he had known that it was Xiao Lin who infiltrated his castle, so Xiao Lin naturally dropped all pretenses, coldly smiling as he said, ¡°I¡¯m very curious; if you have so much power, why didn¡¯t you stop me when I was in the castle?¡±


    ¡°If he didn¡¯t stop me, if the preparations were already done then...¡± Regretfully, Valen¡¯s words stopped there.


    ¡°I heard you were the most exceptional among those your age in Dawn Academy! If it¡¯s age, then I should be the same as you. Let¡¯s test it out and see who¡¯s stronger. Is it you outsiders from a foreign world, or me, who inherited the ancient dark bloodline!¡± Valen said wildly before throwing a sword toward Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was shocked. Valen¡¯s words were not hard to understand; he definitely was the most exceptional among Dawn Academy¡¯s new students, but that was the internal business of the academy. How could a small-fry necromancer like him know about that?


    ¡°I¡¯ll return this to you. I don¡¯t want anyone to say I¡¯m bullying someone without a weapon!¡±


    Stuck on the floor was the Holy Sword that Xiao Lin had gotten Lu Renjia to make. It was a weapon with Gold-ranked destructiveness.

 Chapter 509: The Fight With Valen (1)

    <h4>Chapter 509: The Fight With Valen (1)</h4>


    Xiao Lin was naturally happy getting his weapon back. Before that, neither the weapons he stole or the sword Ibeiya gave felt right. After all, those weapons were all meant for those who primarily focused on necromancy, and were not meant for someone like Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you return that thing on your finger to me as well!¡± Xiao Lin said. On Valen¡¯s right hand was a silver ring.


    Xiao Lin was not very certain before that, but he could more or less confirm it now that the ring was his spatial ring made of perfect grade starmetal. It was a priceless treasure.


    Valen answered with a smile. Of course, Valen naturally knew what a treasure it was, and would not return it. However, Xiao Lin knew as well that the seal that Silverlight had set up before she died could only be unlocked by himself. No one else would be able to use that ring unless their mental strength was greater than Silverlight¡¯s.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll have to kill you to get it back!¡±


    ¡°Are you capable of that?¡±


    ¡°How would I know unless I try?¡±


    Xiao Lin once again activated his Ruin state. After his total attributes reached the Bronze rank, another noticeable change was that his control over his Ruin state had improved. He now had the freedom of entering and releasing it as he pleased without using any additional strength.


    Disintegration Ray!


    A green light shot out from Valen¡¯s hand, but Xiao Lin knew to not get hit by that horrific attack. His speed was explosive under Ruin state. He already had over 60 points in his speed at Bronze rank, and after the boost from Ruin, it was at least 100 points.


    Xiao Lin left a slew of afterimages in the banquet hall, and appeared behind Valen in less than half a second. He was high in the air, and shed at Valen in midair, but chose his most simple and practical skill: shing!


    As the first skill he mastered, he could double the power it unleashed. It was a weak skill, but under such a dramatic boost of speed and strength, it contained immense power.


    Simply explosive!


    Xiao Lin was very happy with the sharpness of the Holy Sword. The tip of the sword sliced through Valen¡¯s right shoulder. Even if Valen¡¯s expanded muscles had increased his strength multiple times, Xiao Lin still did not feel any hint of resistance. It was just like slicing a knife through butter. Blood flowed as the right part of Valen¡¯s body was sliced in half.


    me Sword Aura!


    me Ball!


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate after his attacknded, and converted all his attributes to Intelligence before unleashing his magical sword aura and spell at the same time. The entire hall suddenly heated up at that moment, and when Valen¡¯s body was engulfed in the mes, his pressure suddenly stopped, allowing the crowd that was kneeling down enough time to run away.


    However, Valen only remained in the mes for a dozen or so seconds before his mutted body was regenerated. He then let out a strangeugh, ¡°Trying to burn my body with me magic? How naive!¡±


    ¡°Sh*t! Is the resurrection speed faster than before? Is it not gone yet?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but nce at the entrance. Outside the entrance was where Ibeiya fled to earlier.


    ¡°Your strength and speed have increased. You really are surprising, you know? This is the first time I¡¯m trying out this state, so meeting an opponent like you really is fun!¡±


    Valen was just gauging Xiao Lin¡¯s skills earlier. When Valen regenerated, he wasted no time in starting his attack. He no longer relied only on magical attacks, instead using those fists that were filled with scales to attack, looking like he wanted to smash Xiao Lin into pieces.


    The Holy Sword collided persistently with the demonic fists, and the heavy sounds of the impacts echoed in the hall. Their afterimages constantly moved around among the increasingly strong mes. Valen was very quick with his attacks, and would suddenly shoot out Disintegration Rays.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s reactions were not slow either, and under the Ruin state Xiao Lin was like a killing machine. His cold gaze caught all of Valen¡¯s movements.


    Xiao Lin had exhausted all the sword techniques that he had mastered. In terms ofbat experience, Xiao Lin definitely had the advantage, and had killed Valen another two times, but Valen quickly revived after both those times. In this state, Valen¡¯s revival speed was horrifying. Even if it slowed down each time, he still revived in a matter of seconds.


    On the other hand, as the limit of Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state approached, the bnce would quickly soon be broken.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using that dragon¡¯s breath skill!¡± Valen suddenly shouted.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. He could definitely kill Valen if he used it, but it would be useless and only speed up the end of Ruin state. However, his mouth could not bear to spare Valen, and he mocked, ¡°There¡¯s no need. It looks like, even if you used some way to change your body, your transformation isn¡¯tplete yet. Are you trying to hide your power? Or is this all to your power?¡±


    The two of them were on even footing, but Valen¡¯s own strength could be better.


    Valen¡¯s face was quite ugly; it really was not his best condition. Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden appearance had thrown his ns into disarray, causing him to not be able to gather enough power before entering this state, affecting his skills. However, he would naturally not admit to it.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was also in misery. If he could not take away that resurrection cheat, he would have no way to defeat Valen. All he could do was stall his time with his words, which was why he suddenly increased the distance between them, shouting, ¡°You¡¯ve probably seen that I can¡¯t maintain my current state. You¡¯re being very calctive when you fight. Are you nning on defeating me after my peak? I can¡¯t believe someone from the Argos n could be so weak!¡±


    Xiao Lin could see that Valen was a very conceited person. He was very young, and had the matching skill. However, he could not stand being mocked. Valen craved acknowledgement, and craved for others to tremble and submit to his might.


    Valen really did get furious, but the angrier he got, the more holes that appeared in his attacks. Xiao Lin could only hope that his Ruin state would be able tost for long enough that he could deal even more fatal blows with the new holes. Slowing down the speed of resurrection enough for him to escape.


    Before Ibeiyapleted her task, Xiao Lin knew escaping and hiding was the best n. Otherwise, even if he was not hit by Valen¡¯s Disintegration Ray, if his guess was right, Xiao Lin might not even get a chance to resurrect if he died.

 Chapter 510: The Fight With Valen (2)

    <h4>Chapter 510: The Fight With Valen (2)</h4>


    Valen was furious, but his attacks did not get sloppy because of it. The man might be conceited, but he did have power. Valen knew as well that he was not in good enough condition to defeat Xiao Lin in his Ruin state, but if he waited for Xiao Lin¡¯s explosive power to run out, then Valen¡¯s victory would lose its greatest sense of aplishment.


    Valen took a deep breath, suddenly calming himself, but his rage did not subside. He stayed on alert against Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks while saying, ¡°You were somewhat correct earlier; I¡¯m not at my perfect state. Even if I did gather up enough energy, I would still not have been able to reveal my true abilities. Do you know what you¡¯re facing?¡±


    ¡°You sure speak a lot of nonsense!¡±


    Valen continued, ¡°You¡¯re actually very lucky¨Cnot many can witness this ancient form. This is the most basic form of life in Norma. I threw countless years into this before I obtained this power. This will mark a new rise of the dark races.¡±


    Valen got more excited as he spoke, and started to sound fanatical. Xiao Lin could only look at him like he was a crazy person, but Valen did not have any intentions of stopping as he continued, ¡°I know you don¡¯t understand it. To put it in a way you would understand, my form is the original form, the way the first life on this world was. To put it inyman¡¯s terms, it is the form of a god, the god that created all life!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve really gone crazy!¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at that fanatical man with a pitiful look. God? The God of Creation? Even if he was not certain of the existence of God on Norma, no matter what, that pitiful madman could not be it.


    Valen no longer spoke, probably already done with his nonsense. The next moment, the bulge on his forehead suddenly emitted a vibrant light that hurt the eyes like a star. Xiao Lin shut his eyes, and when he reopened them, his heart sank.


    What was on Valen¡¯s forehead was a third eye, almost causing Xiao Lin to be dumbfounded. He was not wrong. Compared to his own, and even Silverlight¡¯s, the size was the same. However, it was notpletely simr, because Valen¡¯s third eye emitted a green glow, while Silverlight and Xiao Lin¡¯s emitted a white light.


    Valen¡¯s third eye locked onto Xiao Lin after opening, covering him in a green light. Xiao Lin suddenly felt like he had sunk into frozen depths, the chill reaching his bones and causing him to shudder. He could not avoid it no matter how he moved; even the speed of his Ruin state was not enough.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless! Stupid alien, my God¡¯s eye can release the coldest chill. Haha, I can¡¯t believe I needed to use this against you, but it¡¯s no matter. The result is still the same. Death, or turning you into an ice sculpture!


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to struggle! Only God¡¯s eye can go against itself! This is the inheritance we got from the ancient King of Darkness; you invaders from a foreign world will never...¡±


    Valen¡¯s words were suddenly cut short as he looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead in shock. Xiao Lin¡¯s own third eye slowly opened, and the white glow was countering Valen¡¯s own green light. Xiao Lin took the chance to get out of the cold, but his Ruin state had reached its limit.


    At the end of the Ruin state, Xiao Lin immediately felt extremely fatigued. Even though reaching Bronze rank allowed him to not faint after using Ruin, just standing was putting him at his limits.


    Valen did not attack immediately, having been frozen by Xiao Lin¡¯s third eye. His face had waves of shock on it as he muttered repeatedly, ¡°Impossible! This is a gift to us from the God of Darkness. How could you have it! How did you get this!¡±


    Xiao Lin wanted to know the answer to that as well. Based on what Silverlight had said, the third eye was unique to Antean royalty. After Silverlight died, logically he should have been thest one alive to have such an eye.


    Yet, who was Valen, and what was that third eye that emitted a strange green light?


    The questions in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart were more than Valen¡¯s, but it was not the time to think about all of that. Without Ruin and with the state of his body, he had lost all ability to defend himself.


    No, he still had the eye on his forehead. The eye was still open, but the eye that Silverlight had given him did not have anybat ability.


    Time Rewind was a good skill, but it was useless to him at that moment. Xiao Lin had no way of using the energy consuming Time Rewind after using Ruin anyway.


    However, Xiao Lin remembered that Silverlight had said her eye had two abilities. Other than Time Rewind, the other ability was seeing the truth and seeing through all falsehood. Silverlight did not exin much about the ability, and Xiao Lin had tried using it before, not managing to find anything special about it. It could not increase anybat ability, nor did it have any special effects; it felt very weak.


    However, it was the only thing Xiao Lin had left. Other than that, he was weak to the point that he could not even use shing. Even the Holy Sword in his hands felt like it weighed a ton; just raising it was difficult.


    Silverlight had said before that each third eye had skills unique to itself. What Silverlight¡¯s eye had was Truth, and Time Rewind was only obtained after levelling up. So, as a basic skill, Truth used only very minute amounts of physical and mental strength.


    Xiao Lin shut his eyes, and the third eye on his head subtly glowed. Valen did not notice the change in his frantic state of shock.


    Truth, activate!


    The eye did not change at all after activating, but Xiao Lin¡¯s vision did. Valen remained the same in front of him, but around his body were densely packed threads of thin lines. Each line seeped deeply into his body, and the other end went in a direction out of the castle.


    Xiao Lin could not help but reach out to touch a thread, and his hand merely passed through it. The thread did not move, not seeming to be affected at all.


    It was not a thread with an actual form. It could not be touched or felt. When Xiao Lin deactivated his Truth skill, the threads momentarily disappeared, which was how he confirmed that they only appeared with the Eye of Truth.

 Chapter 511: The Eye Of Truth

    <h4>Chapter 511: The Eye Of Truth</h4>


    The Eye of Truth could see through all falsehoods. Xiao Lin started to understand what Silverlight meant by that, but he still was not certain.


    Those threads were notpletely unmoving. They would start to move at certain intervals, as if something was being transferred. Looking out of the door, there was no way to see where the threads ended, but the direction did lead to some thoughts from Xiao Lin.


    Valen seemed to finally snap out of his fervor. Even if Xiao Lin had the same eye as Valen, a truth that dealt Valen a bigger impact than he expected, the conceited man quickly made a decision. ¡°I just need to kill you. That¡¯s right. If I kill you, your eye will be mine, and I will still be the only one with God¡¯s Eye!¡±


    After losing Ruin, Xiao Lin had no way of retaliating. Valen shed over and kicked Xiao Lin away. Before Xiao Lin evennded, Valen once again appeared andnded a few punches in Xiao Lin¡¯s stomach.


    Xiao Lin could only lean against the wall for support, spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood. He had already exhausted everything he had. If Valen used Disintegration Ray, Xiao Lin would be killed instantly, but he had intentions for Xiao Lin¡¯s eye.


    If Disintegration Ray was used, the instant destruction might destroy his eye as well. Valen¡¯s greed did not allow such a valuable eye to disappear, which was why he did not use that much force either, allowing Xiao Lin to stay alive¨Cfor now.


    Xiao Lin might have been battered, but his third eye was still fixed on Valen. Xiao Lin could not retaliate, but he could observe.


    Each strike would cause a change in the threads, as if Valen¡¯s strength came from them. No, more urately, he was on the other end of the threads.


    That was the most reasonable exnation. By all ounts, Valen Argos¡¯s skills were very ordinary before this. As a young necromancer, that was normal. However, the young Valen suddenly defeated his brethren and obtained the position of n leader, and then revealed such a strange and powerful ability.


    Power was earned gradually, even for geniuses, unless Valen had used some special way to increase his strength. However, even if the dark races had a special way of doing that, it would not be to the degree that Valen had shown.


    ¡°The resurrection tower. You¡¯re getting your power from the resurrection tower.¡± Xiao Lin panted as he tried to verify his guess from Valen.


    If it were a few minutes ago, Valen would not have answered that question, but Valen was already certain of his victory. He knew that Xiao Lin could not even run. His conceit caused him to love bragging, so he admitted, ¡°That¡¯s right. That man was right, you do know a lot, which is why you need to die here! Ah, the resurrection towers that you colonists rely on to live is now my stepping stone. I really should thank all of you!¡±


    It was no wonder that, throughout the civil war, despite the rebels not having that much goodwill toward Dawn Academy, they had never destroyed the resurrection towers. Dawn Academy¡¯s military leaders had thought that it was because the rebels were afraid of them, and had even sent representatives over to negotiate for peace.


    The thought suddenly appeared in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. It meant that the rebels could very well have been in cahoots with Valen¨Cno¨Cit should be with the high priest Asabanor, Valen Argos¡¯s backer!


    It was definitely not good news. In Wildfire Town, that corrupted resurrection tower Xiao Lin saw could only allow an undead without any form of sentience to resurrect. It had no effect on beings with higher intelligence, such as Normese humans. It was only limited to just resurrection, and not boosts in strength.


    In just a few months, Asabanor¡¯s research into the dark resurrection towers had leveled up again.


    Xiao Lin actually calmed down after his guesses were confirmed. Valen smiled coldly, ¡°What? Did the truth cause you to give uppletely? How meaningless. After I deal with you, I¡¯ll send your friends over to hell to apany you!¡±


    Valen¡¯s killing intent rose, and the fatigued Xiao Lin immediately reacted, saying, ¡°Valen, you wish to bring glory back to the dark races and be the new King of Darkness, yet you¡¯re Asabanor¡¯s ve. Is there really no problem with that?¡±


    Valen¡¯s movements slowed, but he quicklyughed. ¡°There¡¯s no meaning to your provocations at this point. I¡¯m merely working together with Asabanor for our mutual benefit!¡±


    ¡°Do you know who Asabanor is? Do you know where what he¡¯s giving youes from?¡±


    ¡°I have no interest in that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but your expression clearly says otherwise! Have you ever heard of the Final Lands?¡±


    Valen paused again. Even though he was silent, it was obvious that he was interested in the Final Lands. In Normese legends, the Final Lands were the final resting ce of God, and was somewhere that only existed in legends.


    Xiao Lin found a promising avenue, and deliberately slowed his speech down, saying, ¡°In truth, the first time I met Asabanor was in the Final Lands...¡±


    After that, a long story followed. Xiao Lin had spent months in the Final Lands. Of course, Xiao Lin did not tell Valen everything; his stories were a mix of fact and fiction, adding fire to certain parts while omitting the important parts.


    Valen wanted to interrupt Xiao Lin a few times, but had been drawn in by Xiao Lin¡¯s words, such as the undead that Asabanor had created in the Final Lands. As a necromancer, how could Valen not be interested?


    Xiao Lin was already as good as dead. Valen did not mind allowing him to live a little longer.


    Xiao Lin spoke for half an hour. If he really wanted to, he could continue for days on end. Each time Valen revealed an impatient expression, he would hurry past the unimportant matters and bring up something interesting, causing Valen¡¯s impatience to die down.


    Another twenty minutes passed, and Valen furrowed his eyebrows, coldly interrupting Xiao Lin, ¡°Are you trying to stall for time?¡±


    Xiao Lin coughed out two mouthfuls of blood, dryly smiling. ¡°Even if I was stalling, I¡¯m not a match for you.¡±


    ¡°If your hopes are on Ibeiya, then you should give up. I already sent someone after her. That girl¡¯s bloodline can only be used by me!¡±


    After those words, Xiao Lin suddenly smiled. His Eye of Truth had been active the whole time, and he saw that those threads surrounding Valen were slowly receding.

 Chapter 512: Returned To Its Rightful Owner

    <h4>Chapter 512: Returned To Its Rightful Owner</h4>


    Valen¡¯s power did note from himself, but was instead a special external power. Even if Xiao Lin did not know how that cursed priest Asabanor did it, he just needed to cut off Valen¡¯s connection to the dark resurrection tower to stop his power.


    Those threads were the connection between Valen and the resurrection towers. Without cutting that connection off, there was no way to defeat Valen. Xiao Lin had said so much not to converse with Valen, but to stall for more time for Ibeiya.


    Xiao Lin already had a suspicion earlier, which was why he immediately got Ibeiya to head to the nearest resurrection tower to check it out. If it came to be true, then she was to find Liang Taibai and destroy the resurrection tower.


    Even if it was taking longer than he expected, Xiao Lin still believed in Ibeiya. True enough, it was dyed, but the threads that represented the power of the resurrection tower finally left Valen¡¯s body, being cut up like kite strings, disappearing into the air.


    Valen did not seem to have noticed, but the Eye of Truth could see it all. In contrast, the person that was affected was the one who had a hard time seeing through it.


    Since his goal was aplished, Xiao Lin did not bother wasting time talking to the man anymore. Valen did not seem to have had enough, furrowing his eyebrows as he said unhappily, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you continuing? If I¡¯m happy enough, I might even let you live.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled coldly. With the current situation, Xiao Lin definitely needed to be rescued if he were to get out alive, Valen naturally knew that as well. Letting him live was just a cruel lie.


    Valen still did not know he had lost the source of his strength, as well as the power to resurrect. However, his current power would not disappear just like that, which meant that Xiao Lin still needed to kill him once for it all to end. For Xiao Lin, who had run out of power, it was impossible.


    Xiao Lin had nned on his Ruin state still being around by the time Ibeiya got Liang Taibai to destroy the ck resurrection tower, then he would use his dragon breath to kill Valen, but he did not expect everything to be dyed for so long.


    Thankfully, Xiao Lin had other ns. He had wanted to get more information from Valen, such as information about Asabanor, but with Valen¡¯s increasing impatience, Xiao Lin knew he did not have much time left, and he could no longer hesitate with his life on the line.


    So, Xiao Lin reached his hand out, using all the mental strength he had gathered up during his forced conversation with Valen.


    Valen felt that something was off, but he only smiled. He was too conceited and had too much confidence. He thought that anything Xiao Lin did would be futile. No spell that could be used with that little mental strength would harm Valen, and with that, he lost hisst chance.


    In the next moment, a shocking amount of death energy began to seep out, like a volcano finally erupting after being contained for too long. Valen did not even have the chance to retract the pleased look from his face, since the death energy that seeped out was too close. In just a sh, a sword surrounded by a ck aura pierced through Valen¡¯s heart.


    Xiao Lin finally let out a breath of relief after his sneak attack was sessful. Standing behind Valen was the ck knight. The undead knight still had its full suit of armor on, and the only holes were for its eyes that danced with green mes. It had loyally followed Xiao Lin¡¯s orders, and no matter how hard Valen struggled, how hard Valen mmed his fists on the armor, it held onto the sword tightly,pletely plunging the sword into Valen¡¯s body.


    ¡°You really should not have shown my stuff off in front of me!¡± Xiao Lin finally managed to vent, smiling with mockery. ¡°Weren¡¯t you so curious as to why you could not open the ring, and why I can do it so easily?¡±


    Valen just stared. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out of his mouth were the remnants of his organs. The de held by the ck knight was no ordinary weapon, it had arge and thick amount of decaying aura, which was seeping into Valen¡¯s body.


    ¡°You want to know the reason? Oh, I won¡¯t tell you!¡±


    The ck knight had always been in the spatial ring. The ring was taken away when Xiao Lin was kidnapped, and Xiao Lin saw the ring again on Valen¡¯s hand at the start of the banquet.


    It was not impossible to force Valen to return it, but Xiao Lin was sure that Valen could not open the spatial ring. It had been sealed by Silverlight who had lived for thousands of years, and only Xiao Lin¡¯s own mental strength was allowed inside. Only those with greater power than Silverlight could force themselves in, and no matter how strong Valen was, he definitely was not at that level.


    Valen had definitely seen through the shocking value of the ring. Even if he could not use it, he would definitely not throw it away. It was this greed that had caused his own demise. Xiao Lin had already started considering this n the moment he saw the spatial ring. The ck knight was actually stronger than he was, and would definitely not be detected by Valen.


    Thankfully, Valen¡¯s strength had been depleted. Xiao Lin had actually been very worried that the ck knight would not be able to kill Valen in one blow. After all, he could not urately say how powerful Valen was after his transformation.


    Valen was unable to ept the result, and was struggling as heughed. Even if his carelessness had led to him receiving a fatal blow, he only needed to resurrect before he could destroy that man in front of him.


    After a few seconds, Valen¡¯s face stiffened. He could feel his strength rapidly disappearing. After resurrecting a few times, he knew that it definitely was not a sign of resurrection.


    Surprise, cluelessness, shock, and rage...


    Many expressions shed through Valen¡¯s face. He finally understood something, but did not seem to have grasped the reason. It was a pity he would never understand it. He fixed his re on Xiao Lin, hoping to get an exnation for his death, but Xiao Lin had already issued thest order to the ck knight.


    Valen had died to his own hubris. If he had killed Xiao Lin earlier, he would not be in this situation. Xiao Lin could notmit the same error.


    ¡°Eliminate him!¡±


    The ck knight raised his sword, and shed through Valen¡¯s throat. Valen¡¯s head quickly flew off, and his body copsed. Once Xiao Lin retrieved his ring, he threw the corpse into a fire before picking up the head, eyes still open. He walked out of the castle, swaying in his steps.

 Chapter 513: What Is Needed

    <h4>Chapter 513: What Is Needed</h4>


    The other dark ns had already taken the chance to flee before that, but most of them did not go too far. After all, the battle in the castle would determine who ruled over the area for the next ten years. If Valen won, then there was nothing much to say. Regardless of whether or not they were happy with it, they could only submit.


    If Valen lost, then it would be different. The winner would be the king, and it would be Xiao Lin who got the right to rule based on tradition. However, now that they knew Xiao Lin was from Dawn Academy then, no matter what Dawn Academy¡¯s influence was in the Rosa Kingdom, it would still be hard topletely get the acknowledgement of everyone as he was a foreigner from a different world.


    When Xiao Lin walked out, everyone¡¯s eyesnded on him before shifting toward his hand. The blood on Valen¡¯s head had yet to dry, and the look of shock in his eyes was evident.


    Valen was dead. Xiao Lin had killed him.


    The Argos n was also done for because Valen¡¯s siblings had all died without rhyme or reason, and the ones remaining in the Argos n could not bear therge responsibility.


    Even if everyone was shocked that Xiao Lin killed Valen and were curious as to how he did it, unfriendly looks started to be directed toward Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was very weak at that moment, the fatigue on his face hard to mask. However, Xiao Lin could not be bothered with speaking, and instead threw Valen¡¯s head in front of the crowd. After that, with a snap of his finger, the ck knight behind him slowly walked up with its dark aura.


    All of their expressions changed; ck knights were middle-stage undead beings, which was already unimaginably powerful in the city. Normally, obtaining a ck knight needed a long process, which was why those with ck knights were definitely extraordinary.


    The dark ns were all more or less descendants of ancient bloodlines. Even if the dark races were once a major force in the history of Norma, they had already lost their past glory and prestige. When Xiao Lin revealed his ck knight, no one dared to have any further objections.


    ¡°What did Valen say earlier? Oh, either you submit or die, right.¡± Xiao Lin revealed a warm smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, everyone. Since he¡¯s dead, those words don¡¯t mean anything anymore.¡±


    The few of them who were closer started to have friendlier looks in their eyes, and one of them walked forward in congrattions. ¡°You really are from Dawn City. Your skills are shocking. We will definitely remember your contributions today. If we have the chance to go to Dawn City in the future, we will definitely repay you.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled coldly, all that nonsense just implied that he should hurry back to Dawn City since he had already gotten rid of Valen, and to stop interfering with the ns.


    Xiao Lin once again pped, and the ck knight behind him took arge stop forward. The de was raised and when it fell again, another head was sent rolling on the ground.


    Silence!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s sudden change in attitude left most of them no time to react. Xiao Lin walked around, and the ones who were thinking of moving forward had all retreated. He took a deep breath, shouting, ¡°To submit or to die. I don¡¯t need your submission, I need your loyalty. What I want is very simple, either you show loyalty, or you die!¡±


    ¡°Loyalty to who?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°To Dawn Academy, and to myself personally!¡± After pausing, Xiao Lin nced over at the old man who was ring at him before adding, ¡°Of course, loyalty to the St. ude n as well.¡±


    The few intelligent ones had a look of realization, and those who did not understand quickly had someone exining to them.


    Submitting to Valen and being loyal to Dawn Academy were twopletely different things. In truth, even if it was not all of them, most of the ns were still willing to deal with Dawn Academy. Since Xiao Lin had ced Dawn Academy in front, and the St. ude n and himself behind, it meant that the St. ude n had already made ties with Dawn Academy.


    Going against the St. ude n was equal to opposing Dawn Academy!


    Some of the smaller ns started to have obvious looks of hesitation. They were willing to follow Dawn Academy, but were worried that Xiao Lin had no right to decide that. Those races that lived longer than humans were naturally more understanding of Dawn Academy¡¯s government.


    Some of the ns with more history were not willing to rely on someone else, and were thinking of the words to decline when Xiao Lin said again, ¡°I know what all of you are thinking. The rebels are about to invade this city, and you want to try building a connection with the new king to gain more power and empower your ns. Of course, it seems very tempting.


    ¡°However, don¡¯t forget, Dawn Academy was not nning on interfering with the military, but now there¡¯s enough proof to show that the person behind the rebels is actually an enemy we¡¯ve been after for a long time. In the future, Dawn Academy¡¯s troops will take back this country.


    ¡°Do you wish to turn into our enemies and be eliminated, or do you want to be our friends and help us defend this city and build a close partnership?¡±


    Everyone fell silent, they had actually already guessed Valen Argos¡¯s goals. Valen had already made some agreement with the rebels. He had hoped to acquire the city, or possibly even more. Now that Valen had lost, they were faced with sides to pick.


    The rebels or Dawn Academy.


    The smart ones noticed that Xiao Lin had tossed the Rosa royalty aside, which moved them. It meant that this could very well be Dawn Academy¡¯s direct colonial grounds in the future, which meant a country would be established. That also signalled the birth of new royalty and countless nobles, which they could very well be.


    ¡°How much do you know about us dark races?¡± At some point, a voluptuous woman had moved closer from the distance. Much of her skin was exposed, and she had a beautiful face. Her eyes were a seductive purple, signifying that she was a subus.


    The woman stopped about ten meters away, showing that she did not bear any ill intentions.


    Xiao Lin muttered to himself. He had a lot of sources of information on the dark races. Ibeiya¡¯s stories, Captain Yu Mei¡¯s information, as well as what he found in the library. In terms of understanding, it was not that deep, but the woman was obviously not testing his basic knowledge.


    Suddenly, Xiao Lin thought of something. He slowly opened his mouth and said, ¡°You neednd, you need a country that you can call your own!¡±

 Chapter 514: Liang Taibai’s Concern

    <h4>Chapter 514: Liang Taibai¡¯s Concern</h4>


    The subus was quite surprised. As far as she knew, most of the otherworlders did not understand a lot about the dark races, especially since Dawn Academy was friendly with the Rosa royalty, and they did not need to interact with the powers in the dark.


    However, the subus did not approve of Xiao Lin just because of that. Her smile still contained a coldness that rejected everyone as she used her sweet voice to say, ¡°That¡¯s right, after ancient times, we¡¯ve been rejected by Norma¡¯s society. In truth, we don¡¯t really need much. We would not, at least most of us, won¡¯t have ambitions like that madman Valen. Returning to past glories and bringing forth the power of darkness are things we¡¯ve stopped caring about. We only want a country that can be considered ours.¡±


    ¡°Humans would not exist in our country, and hunters should not be able to find us. It should be somewherepletely safe, and would be somewhere we can forever be happy!¡±


    The subus got more and more emotional, as if she was venting. The dark races had resided in the darkness for thousands of years, which was something everyone had thought was logical. However, who could possibly not want the ability to live without hiding.


    Unfortunately, it was something that seemed impossible on Norma. The world rejected them, and hunters were constantly after them. They never knew if they would wake up with a knife to their throats. Every time they went to another city, they could not divulge their identities easily, or they would not be able to enter, and could even be jailed.


    Even the Rosa Kingdom, that tolerated the dark races, had various segregation. Those ns did not have too bad a time living in the royal city, but their lives were definitely not great.


    The rest of them looked at Xiao Lin, but their faces were full of mocking. They felt that, even if that otherworlder knew what they needed, they would never be able to get it.


    A country, or at least a city that really belonged to them, was something that was impossible.


    Xiao Lin understood as well. He could not even guarantee that Dawn Academy wouldpletely hand over the royal city to them. Even if they cooperated and prevented the rebels from attacking, Dawn Academy could very well continue to support the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty.


    Xiao Lin suddenly thought of something, and said, ¡°I think all of you know Ibeiya. She has the prestigious St. ude n¡¯s blood, and is also of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s royalty. If this city is handed to her, I think all of you should be fine!¡±


    ¡°Ibeiya?¡±


    ¡°The St. ude n?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that she really was born from royalty, but...¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s Ibeiya, I don¡¯t mind, but would Dawn Academy ept it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still the matter of the rebels.¡±


    ...


    The crowd that had been quiet was suddenly in a mor. Xiao Lin understood that they would not be able to make a decision in a short amount of time; after all each n looked for different benefits. He needed time to convince a lot of people as well. Regardless, the night could be considered a sess.


    Xiao Lin promised that he would do his best to pursue a conclusion that would satisfy everyone. The subus represented the other ns in guaranteeing that, if Ibeiya was really given the right to rule over the city, then they would do their best to protect the royal city against the rebels, and would also be willing to be vassals of Dawn Academy.


    With that verbal promise, the exhausted Xiao Lin finally returned to the embassy, stumbling upon Ibeiya who was full of worry. The girl¡¯s white dress had been ripped, and there was even some blood, leading to Xiao Lin exploding.


    ¡°Who! Who attacked you!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was full of anger.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I met some pursuers that Valen sent earlier, and I faked my death to escape.¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. Ibeiya¡¯sbat strength was nothing much, but she could often rely on her extremely strong regenerative abilities to fake death and trick enemies.


    ¡°That¡¯s why there was such a dy. I was very worried that I affected your ns.


    Xiao Lin naturally did not me her for anything, and brushed it aside, telling Ibeiya that Valen was dead to her happy cheers.


    Ibeiya was also tired after a night of running around. Xiao Lin helped her look for a room to rest in before going to the lounge to wait for Liang Taibai¡¯s return.


    Liang Taibai slowly walked in at dawn. Xiao Lin was not surprised. Destroying a resurrection tower was simple in itself, but there were countless things to deal with in the aftermath.


    Liang Taibai looked exhausted, slumping right into the sofa before angrily saying to Xiao Lin, who had started everything, ¡°You really caused a huge messst night! You actually got a little vampire to get me to destroy a resurrection tower! Do you know that, if anyone else were the ambassador, they would probably have killed Ibeiya for being a spy!¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re not an ordinary ambassador,¡± Xiao Lin sincerely said. Liang Taibai being bold enough to destroy a resurrection tower had helped him greatly.


    ¡°My trust for Ibeiya was purely out of my faith in you. You¡¯re lucky that I¡¯ve heard about the corrupted resurrection tower.¡± Liang Taibai referred to the corrupted resurrection tower back in Wildfire Town. The case had been ssified to everyone, so anyone who knew of it would not have a low standing.


    Xiao Lin was just about to voice his admiration, but Liang Taibai had a difficult look on his face, staring at Xiao Lin. ¡°You really gave me a lot of trouble. Destroying a resurrection tower is veryplicated.¡±


    ¡°I know, resurrection towers have self destruct mechanisms. As the ambassador here, you definitely had the activation scroll. Did you not use it?¡± Xiao Lin joked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I destroyed the corrupted resurrection tower, which is why this city is not under the protection of one at all. The royal city is the Rosa Kingdom¡¯srgest city and we have a lot of merchants here. The resurrection tower is their greatest protection. What do you think they would say?¡±


    Sighing, Liang Taibai continued, ¡°To be safe, I¡¯ll gather everyone we have who hasn¡¯t left the city yet tomorrow and ask them to leave quickly. Compared to the approaching rebels, I¡¯m more worried about the fact that someone corrupted a resurrection tower before our own eyes!¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re back, Valen Argos is definitely already dead. You should go back to rest.¡± Liang Taibai was not surprised at Xiao Lin¡¯s victory. He had heard of Xiao Lin¡¯s skills.

 Chapter 515: Casino

    <h4>Chapter 515: Casino</h4>


    Looking at Liang Taibai¡¯s haggard face after working for the whole night, Xiao Lin thought for a moment before sitting back down, bringing up what he had talked to the other ns about.


    ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it. I had my hands tied in that situation. I did not have much strength left after killing Valen. Even my ck knight would have been greatly outnumbered. I could only temporarily cate the ns, but I thought about it on the way back, and it seems like a good idea.¡± Xiao Lin waited for a reply after his exnation.


    After a long time, a cold wind blew in from the windows as Liang Taibai looked at Xiao Lin speechlessly. Xiao Lin could only cough awkwardly at the gaze.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, stop torturing me!¡± Liang Taibai had a powerless look on his face. ¡°I understand the idea behind it, and I¡¯ve also heard of Ibeiya¡¯s status, but why do you think that Ibeiya controlling the dark ns would be useful to us?¡±


    ¡°I trust Ibeiya a lot.¡±


    ¡°You?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, sighing. He understood that, even if he trusted Ibeiya a lot, even if that girl showed a maturity beyond her age, Ibeiya had never held any ill-will toward Xiao Lin, and she possessed a special bloodline.


    If Dawn Academy needed to support a local to take over the Rosa Kingdom, Ibeiya was definitely the best choice.


    That was definitely so from Xiao Lin¡¯s perspective, but the problem was that only he trusted her. To everyone else, not even just the military, but anyone with power in Dawn Academy, entrusting such a huge responsibility to a girl in her teens was impossible.


    ¡°However, your actions tonight aren¡¯t meaningless. At least, you¡¯ve helped us open up a lot of possibilities.¡± Liang Taibai patted Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder.


    Liang Taibai was decisive. After losing the resurrection tower and knowing they faced an unknown opponent, he immediately made the call to retreat. He had the right to do that as an ambassador, even if that decision might lead to the locals being attacked by the approaching rebel troops; it was still better than having their own people die because of it.


    Xiao Lin was actually unwilling, but he did not have any right to speak on the matter.


    The next morning, Xiao Lin started to pack up after getting enough rest. Every person from Dawn Academy was doing the same thing. No one wanted to lose their lives for no reason, and theck of a resurrection tower had taken away their reason to stay.


    The Rosa Kingdom¡¯s resurrection tower wasrge, standing tall in the middle of the city, its coverage epassing the entire royal city. It was the symbol of Dawn Academy, yet it was gone in just one night. The citizens of the royal city might not have understood theplicated processes behind it, but they could still guess what was happening from the increased security in the embassy, as well as the sudden closure of various colonist shops.


    The entire royal city entered a state of chaos. Everyone had felt unsafe before this, but at the very least, the existence of Dawn Academy meant that the rebels would not inflict too much destruction if they entered the city. That was why many citizens decided to stay behind despite therge number of refugees, and normal order was maintained.


    However, now theirst pir had been destroyed. Without the colonists, it was difficult to say what the rebels would do when they came. This world did not have any international regtions. Whatever atrocities the rebels did when they entered the city would only be known by the heavens.


    Ibeiya definitely needed to be brought along. As for the other ns, Xiao Lin did not have the time to handle it for now. That was due to the fact that he had rushed to thergest casino in the city, Century Casino, right after receiving Liang Taibai¡¯s retreat order.


    At the start of the monthly examination, An Fumin had asked him to bring some items back. That was quite normal, since couriers did not exist on Norma. With the civil war in the Rosa Kingdom, anyone else doing it would have very low reliability.


    Xiao Lin guessed that it was something to do with money, even if it would make things hard for him. If the amount wasrge enough, it would definitely affect their journey and increase the danger, such as being chased by the rebels. However, Xiao Lin never broke his promises.


    Century Casino had already received a notification from the embassy. However, therge and luxurious casino did not stop their operations on that day. Even with the entire city in that state, there was still no shortage of gamblers within the city.


    Xiao Lin used his embassy pass to enter the casino office. The boss, a middle-aged woman who oozed femininity, received him.


    ¡°I¡¯m Sun Jia, the boss here. Ah, even if that bastard has mentioned you to me before, I really didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so young.¡±


    ¡°Hello!¡± Her low neckline revealed two half-hidden white globes, and Xiao Lin quickly retreated two steps before politely saying, ¡°I was asked by An Fumin to bring some things back. I trust you received the embassy¡¯s notice as well, so I hope you¡¯ll make your preparations quickly and not dy anything. I¡¯ll let the embassy know to allow your transports to leave earlier.¡±


    Sun Jia Looked at Xiao Lin, amused. ¡°That bastard did not tell you what you were transporting. It seems like he doesn¡¯t trust you that much. Hahaha, let me tell you, you must not believe that bastard too much, or you¡¯ll eventually be sold by him for money.¡±


    Sun Jia¡¯s intimate way of addressing An Fumin caused him to specte on their rtionship, but Xiao Lin did not feel like gossiping at the time, so he somewhat coolly, ¡°I¡¯m only working with An Fumin, helping each other out. That¡¯s right, he promised he would support me financially. My gear has been quite beaten uptely, and the embassy does not have that much of a stockpile, so I hope you can prepare some better equipment for me.¡±


    Sun Jia smirked. ¡°You¡¯re quite bold. Don¡¯t worry, my informationwork is even better than the embassy¡¯s. The rebels are still a month away from us. Just two days won¡¯t change anything.¡±


    ¡°But shipping money would attract too much attention.¡± Xiao Lin could not help but remind her.


    ¡°Who told you you were transporting money?¡±


    ¡°What, is that not the case?¡± Xiao Lin started to redden, realizing that he seemed to have misunderstood something.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Sun Jiaughed once again.

 Chapter 516: Sudden Accident

    <h4>Chapter 516: Sudden ident</h4>


    ¡°That bastard really loves money, but this thing is more important than money.¡± Sun Jia¡¯s smile was radiant. She was from Earth, and had been in the Rosa Kingdom for many years. Her attire had beenpletely localized, but was still alluring beyond belief. Of course, she was definitely not as young as she looked.


    Sun Jia was very open to conversation and constantly teased Xiao Lin until he could not stand it and nned to leave. She finally said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s talk official business.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eye twitched. It meant that everything she said before was just nonsense. He rubbed his forehead powerlessly, sighing, ¡°What does An Fumin want me to bring back?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s this.¡± Sun Jia pointed at a box the size of a palm on the rack next to her.


    ¡°Are you sure this thing is valuable?¡±


    ¡°Of course; this thing is more valuable than the entire casino.¡± Sun Jia¡¯s expression changed from cheeky to serious, signifying she was sincere.


    Xiao Lin said powerlessly, ¡°Then why did you put it somewhere so obvious. Are you not afraid that someone would steal it or just take it away?¡±


    ¡°Have you ever heard the saying, the most dangerous ce is the safest? There are no foolproof locks or seals in this room. Compared to racking our brains on it, why not just ce it in the most obvious ce, where people would not notice it? Tell me, did you notice it at all since you walked in?¡±


    It was true, the box looked very ordinary; the materials looked likemon wood. There were no jewels or adornments. In fact, it would be no surprise if anyone thought it was trash.


    Xiao Lin did not want to dwell on that question, so he asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s in the box?¡±


    ¡°Many people have searched all of Norma looking for this, and countless people have lost their lives for it too. Too many people want it, but have never seen it.¡±


    ¡°Yet you still haven¡¯t told me what it is...¡±


    Sun Jia looked at Xiao Lin like he was stupid. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand? How could I tell you what such a valuable object is? An Fumin wanted to find a reliable person to bring it back to Dawn City, but had never felt safe.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    Fine, Xiao Lin finally decided to stop talking to the unreasonable woman. He was only finishing a task he was asked to do. An Fumin could definitely have just asked someone official from Dawn Academy to bring it back, especially someone from the military. It would definitely be much safer, since no one dared provoke Dawn Academy. Xiao Lin believed An Fumin definitely had the connections to do it.


    However, An Fumin did not go through official channels, which meant that the guy did not want Dawn Academy to know of the existence of the thing, or at least, he did not want to hand it over to the academy. That was why An Fumin could only rely on his private connections and power to get it sent back.


    What disappointed Sun Jia was that Xiao Lin suddenly lost all interest after his initial attention. To Xiao Lin, it did not matter what was in the box, since it was An Fumin¡¯s. Since it was not Xiao Lin¡¯s, there was no need to continue with the questions.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be much more convenient if it¡¯s just a box. When the timees, depart with us and mix into the team.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment before adding, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s best you remove all the makeup on your face.¡±


    Normese women did not put on makeup. Even if various makeup products from Earth had appeared throughout the years, it was only an item reserved for upper society. If Sun Jia did not want people to immediately recognize her, then she had to make sure she looked more like amoner.


    Sun Jia still wanted to talk to Xiao Lin, trying to get some information, but Xiao Lin treated this potential lover of An Fumin with a purely official attitude. After discussing the journey, Xiao Lin left.


    The embassy was incredibly busy. After the civil war, the workload in the embassy had greatly decreased, but the chaos today caused even more refugees to flood outside the embassy. Liang Taibai had asked Xiao Lin to help handle some matters. Even if Xiao Lin did not strictly speaking have any qualifications to do so, having not even graduated, he was still from Earth.


    Liang Taibai smiled bitterly in frustration. ¡°I could have actually gotten people from the royal chambers to help with this, but after you were ambushed and the resurrection tower was corrupted, I¡¯vepletely lost trust in outsiders. There is no way it could have happened without internal sources.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re leaving in a hurry, we basically won¡¯t be bringing anyone else with us.¡± Liang Taibai thought for a moment before continuing the exnation. Of course, he could make those decisions himself without exining anything to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin understood what he meant. ¡°Are you referring to the dark ns? I understand. It is regretful, but they aren¡¯t the most important thing at the moment. However, we at least need to bring Ibeiya and her uncle.¡±


    ¡°That girl from the St. ude n? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not an issue. Just bring them along.¡± Liang Taibai paused for a moment before patting Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder meaningfully.


    ¡°Ambassador Liang, I think you¡¯re misunderstanding something...¡±


    Liang Taibai waved his hand, his expression indicating, ¡®You don¡¯t have to exin, I understand¡¯.


    Xiao Lin sighed powerlessly, not bothering to argue. With the tasks Liang Taibai had assigned to him, he was busy for most of the day. He dealt with the more minor things, separating the documents that were not too high-leveled. Those with value would be brought away, and those without would be burned.


    Currently, including Liang Taibai, there were only about ten or so people in the embassy. However, ording to the newest military reports, the rebels would only be able to arrive at the city in a month. The Rosa Kingdom¡¯s military would not hold on for long, but they would not be instantly defeated. If the rebels met with any sort of dy, it would take them at least two or three months.


    That was why Xiao Lin and everyone else was not too panicked. Even if the outside world was in chaos, everything within the embassy still proceeded in an orderly fashion.


    At midnight, Xiao Lin was deep in sleep when he was violently woken up by Liang Taibai. After lighting the magicalmp, the light lit up the room. Liang Taibai¡¯s expression was ugly, his eyes red.


    ¡°Ambassador Liang, it¡¯s the middle of the night; is there anything that can¡¯t be dyed for tomorrow?¡± Xiao Lin yawned as heined.


    Liang Taibai¡¯s breath was erratic, looking like he had just rushed over from somewhere. Looking at Xiao Lin, he said, ¡°The rebels have already surrounded the city!¡±


    In a sh, Xiao Lin lost all of his earlier sleepiness.

 Chapter 517: King

    <h4>Chapter 517: King</h4>


    The rebels had already surrounded the royal city!


    When he heard that, Xiao Lin had thought that Liang Taibai was joking, but Liang Taibai¡¯s eyes were red and his face was frantic, letting Xiao Lin know it was not the time for jokes.


    Xiao Lin quickly put on his clothes, and followed Liang Taibai into the pce.


    ¡°Did we not say during the day that the rebels were still a month away, and we also had the royal army to hold them off. How could they be here already?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re looking into it, but it¡¯s not the time to think about it now.¡± Liang Taibai sighed.


    ¡°How many troops are in the royal city?¡± Xiao Lin guessed something from Liang Taibai¡¯s expression.


    ¡°There are still three thousand troops.¡±


    ¡°How about the rebels?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still not clear on the details, but by the approximation of the guards, there are at least twenty thousand of them.¡±


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but curse. Even if defending a city was easier than attacking, the difference in numbers was too great.


    Liang Taibai picked up the pace, revealing even worse news as he did. ¡°The three thousand troops in the city are all mostly old or injured because the main force had been sent to stop the rebels. Who knows what happened to those idiots. They haven¡¯t been gone for a few days!¡± The usually polite Liang Taibai cursed out loud, obviously looking down on thebat ability of the kingdom¡¯s army.


    Xiao Lin gaped, and was quickly deep in thought.


    After a moment, the two of them arrived at the castle. Even if the royal city had a curfew, they were not stopped at all as Dawn Academy¡¯s ambassadors. In fact, they were not even checked on.


    In the beautiful pce, Xiao Lin saw the king of the kingdom. They might have already escorted all the king¡¯s children out, but the king still remained.


    Initially, the military had nned on using the king as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with the rebels. Xiao Lin had even heard from Liang Taibai that a lot of the upper echelons for Dawn Academy were not happy with the current king. Not only did the civil war cause a lot of trouble for Dawn Academy, the rtionship between the kingdom and the academy had not been the best in recent years as well. In fact, when Dawn Academy requested more resurrection towers to be built in the Rosa Kingdom two years ago, they were rejected harshly by the king.


    Now, it was obvious that, even without what was happening, Dawn Academy would not have tolerated this person¡¯s continuing to sit on the throne. This was the first time Xiao Lin met the king who dared oppose Dawn Academy. Before, they had always avoided the king when dealing with anything.


    The king¡¯s sideburns were white, and he had a thin beard, making him look very old. However, Xiao Lin had seen from the reports that the king was only over forty years old. He had his crown on, but it was not very luxurious. The crown was only adorned with eight jewels shaped like roses.


    Inside the pce was arge round table. All the officials sat near the table while the king sat on a dais at the front, facing everyone. Of course, as ambassadors from Dawn Academy, Xiao Lin and Liang Taibai did not need to sit where the officials did. Instead there were two chairs prepared next to the throne, signifying they were equals to the king.


    After the civil war, many of the officials in the city had run away or gone into hiding. Now, there were only seven or eight of them in the pce. They were all waiting inside, but were quite surprised at Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance, but to them, what they needed was a representative from Dawn Academy; it did not matter who it was.


    Once Xiao Lin and Liang Taibai sat down, the sudden meeting formally started. First, the armored generals stood up to make their reports.


    ¡°Not long after night fell, there were some movements with the automatic sentry towers in the eastern gates. Of course, the guards thought it was a malfunction, and went over to check. Then, a short conflict happened... I happened to be nearby at the time, and felt like something was off. I opened up the searchlights Dawn Academy had given us and noticed that arge number of troops were nearby, and basically had us surrounded...¡±


    Liang Taibai immediately started his questions, trying to gain even more information, such as the number of enemies and the rtive strength, including formations and gear. However, since it was so sudden, the general did not have too much information. The shock at that moment had caused him to immediately run back with the report, and await the king¡¯s decision.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely the rebels; there¡¯s no question about it!¡± Someone was not happy about Liang Taibai¡¯s questions, but did not want to be too obvious with it, so he turned to the king and said, ¡°My king, while the enemies still haven¡¯t fully surrounded us. We should use the cover of night to immediately send our troops out for an attack!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! We should leave immediately! His Highness cannot be captured, otherwise Rosa will have no future!¡±


    ¡°Your highness, please leave immediately! The royal city does not have any ability to defend itself. If we fight our way out and group up with the troops we sent out two days ago, we will have a chance!¡±


    The officers¡¯ words were sincere, all advising the king to leave immediately, all while shooting res at Liang Taibai. They all obviously knew that Dawn Academy had deliberately removed the king¡¯s name from the escort list and left him for death.


    The king waved his hand, signaling for the officials to be quiet before turning toward Liang Taibai, asking, ¡°Do the two of you have any opinions?¡±


    The king¡¯s wizened face was very calm, not panicking at all with his city being surrounded. Xiao Lin did not know if he was forcing himself to be calm, or if he had already given up, knowing that Dawn Academy had already pinned him as a scapegoat.


    Xiao Lin silently spected, but no matter what, he definitely did not have a good impression of the king he was meeting for the first time. That had nothing to do with Dawn Academy, or with the kingdom, or with the starving peasants in the kingdom. It was purely because the man on that throne was Ibeiya¡¯s grandfather!


    Even if Ibeiya¡¯s words were filled with lies that were difficult to tell apart, she had never lied about her birth. That was something Xiao Lin had verified from numerous sources.


    Ibeiya was a mix between a human and a vampire; her mother was a princess of the Rosa Kingdom, which meant she was the daughter of that king, and Ibeiya was naturally his granddaughter.


    However, Ibeiya¡¯s youth had been very pitiful. The St. ude blood in her veins caused her to be in great danger, and her father was hunted because of that as well. Yet, the Rosa royalty never acknowledged her existence, and had even forced the princess out of the pce. When the princess died of blood loss giving birth to Ibeiya, Ibeiya basically only had her uncle, the old man, left to live with.

 Chapter 518: Surrounded City (1)

    <h4>Chapter 518: Surrounded City (1)</h4>


    Xiao Lin could no longer do anything about Ibeiya¡¯s childhood, but the root of all her suffering was undoubtedly that king, Ibeiya¡¯s grandfather. If the king had not chased away her mother, Ibeiya would very well be a proper princess, enjoying the life someone her age should be enjoying.


    With that in mind, Xiao Lin¡¯s words were unkind the moment he spoke. Before Liang Taibai said anything, Xiao Lin took the chance to say, ¡°Opinions? Well, what opinions can we have? The army is near, and the only ones defending the city are weak troops. You can only run.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not in a hurry; even if the rebels enter the city, they might not do anything to us.¡± Liang Taibai added. Of course, they were nning on leaving, but the royal city had been surrounded. With theck of a resurrection tower, breaking through the siege would result in unneeded casualties.


    Liang Taibai was decisive, abandoning the n to leave the moment it was impossible. As for the king, it was still unclear if he wanted to leave during the night, and Liang Taibai was wondering if he should make up an excuse to hold the king back. As the ambassador of Dawn Academy, Liang Taibai clearly stood with the academy, and he needed to consider how to reap the greatest benefits at moments like this.


    ¡°Yes, thanks for your suggestion.¡± The king remained warm and calm. After nodding, he faced the officials and said, ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I won¡¯t leave this city. This is the kingdom my ancestors left for me. Even if I die, I want to die on my ownnd.¡±


    ¡°Your highness!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t do this!¡±


    ...


    The officials immediately voiced their objections after a moment of shock, but even after over ten minutes of their advice, the king merely faced everything with a smile. No matter what the officials said, he merely shook his head resolutely.


    Finally, once everyone had said their piece, the king suddenly stood up, dering, ¡°The enemy is right next to us, we should stop wasting our time here. I am the king, but I was a warrior when I was young. Battle is my true calling!¡±


    After saying that, the king took up his armor and weapons in front of everyone¡¯s stares, taking off his robes and walking toward the city gates with his armor on.


    After a pause, the officials discussed it among themselves and hurried behind the king.


    Only Xiao Lin and Liang Taibai were left looking at each other. It was unexpected. They had thought that the king would try to flee. That should have been what happened; they did not feel like three thousand old and weak soldiers would be able to hold off the rebels outside the city. Even if the royal city had been strengthened in its history, their numbers are still far too little.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡± Liang Taibai was helpless. If the king did not do as they expected, then they could only wait. The loss of the resurrection tower meant that he could not consider helping anyone other than the ones from Earth, attackers and defenders be damned.


    However, not helping did not mean they would merely look on. After leaving the pce, Liang Taibai gathered the people of the embassy and split them into two. One group would patrol the city, including weapons storages and supply depots, and the other group would follow him to the city gates.


    Liang Taibai still did not fully believe those from Rosa; he needed to see the enemy with his own eyes, and Xiao Lin chose to do the same.


    The night was very dark, but with the special pass, Xiao Lin and Liang Taibai still managed to head to the city gate towers on the eastern side of the city. It was thergest gate in the royal city, and had the most defensive towers.


    ¡°Even if the rebels are great in number, this is still the capital city. Its defensive capabilities are still excellent. On top of that, during our cooperation, we¡¯ve helped them erect many high-leveled magic defense towers; the power is quite impressive,¡± Liang Taibai told Xiao Lin softly.


    ¡°Ambassador Liang, do you think the city will fall?¡±


    ¡°It will!¡± Liang Taibai gave an affirmative answer, adding after that, ¡°However, how long it will take is uncertain. The magical defense towers needrge amounts of energy stones as a resource. Ever since the kingdom rejected our suggestion of building even more resurrection towers, we¡¯ve basically stopped providing them with energy stones. The Rosa Kingdomcks resources, so the energy stones they have in store are all probably from the past. I don¡¯t know how long it willst.¡±


    ¡°Plus, we actually know nothing about the rebels.¡± Liang Taibai said with concern. ¡°I¡¯ve received many reports these few months, but I¡¯ve never managed to get reliable information on the strength of the rebel troops.¡±


    Xiao Lin said suspiciously, ¡°Aren¡¯t the rebels just formed out of the local farmers andmoners? With an untrained army like this, if we can even call them that, would they really be that strong? Everything aside, they would probably have a hard time dealing with the defensive towers.¡±


    Liang Taibai said, ¡°Your words make sense, but do you know how many of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s troops have been defeated since the start of the civil war? Over twenty thousand! Including any new conscripts, basically ten regiments have gone up in smoke. Do you really think that a rebel armyprising farmers can do so much?¡±


    Xiao Lin started to be doubtful. He knew that Rosa¡¯s civil war had gone on for a long time, but he never knew that the army had taken so much damage.


    ¡°When ites to the rebels, what I know might not be as much as you, so I¡¯m just as curious as you are. Therefore, let us see what the rebel army¡¯s strength is like!¡±


    The city gates were quite spacious. Other than defensive towers, there were also searchlights and search towers given by Dawn Academy. Night battles on Norma had always been a big problem. Even if their mages had all sorts of ways to illuminate the battlefield, their mental strength could not maintain it for that long, and the range was limited.


    The searchlights were built with Earth technology in mind, using abination of magic and science to create. They used energy stones as power, and used local materials to make specialized circuits capable of providingrge amounts of light.


    Under the orders of themander of the city gates, the usually expensive searchlights were protected from all forms of weather. As countless energy stones were added in, the light began to shoot out after a few seconds. It looked like a miniature sun. With the power gained from energy stones, the searchlights were even more powerful than those from Earth.


    The rebels naturally did not have advanced toys like that, and the local troops were quite pleased with themselves. However, when everyone saw the troops below the city, their expressions changed.

 Chapter 519: Surrounded City (2)

    <h4>Chapter 519: Surrounded City (2)</h4>


    Under the white magical light, the darkness disappeared, but the scene that appeared in front of them left everyone shocked. There were many troops around the city, but what they wore was the armor of the Rosa Kingdom¡¯s army, including the red rose gs.


    ¡°The royal guard! It¡¯s the royal guard!¡± The soldiers at the gate quickly realized the identity of the troops.


    Liang Taibai¡¯s face was steely as he said, ¡°The royal guard are the royal city¡¯sst line of defense. The soldiers that I told you were sent to stop the rebels were them. I can¡¯t believe they turned into rebels so easily! Curses, most of the equipment for this army was bought by us!¡±


    The Rosa Kingdom was a small country, which was why they relied on Dawn Academy to bring in a lot of their weapons and equipment. It was also an important line of business for the academy. However, that equipment falling into the hands of their enemies was not a good sign.


    Xiao Lin was deep in thought, as the searchlight moved further to check on the enemy numbers, he suddenly shouted, ¡°Hold on!¡±


    Xiao Lin shut his eyes, as if feeling something. Liang Taibai seemed to have seen something as well, but he was not certain, so Liang Taibai waited by the side with a stern expression.


    After a few minutes, XIao Lin opened his eyes, muttering with some disbelief, ¡°The death energy here is very dense!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Liang Taibai¡¯s expression worsened. Only those who learned necromantic meditation were more sensitive to death energy, so he only had suspicions, but could not be sure. Nevertheless, he did not ask how Xiao Lin learned necromantic meditation.


    Death energy existed everywhere, but it was not normal for it to be so dense. Either countless corpses were buried under the city, or the death energy came from the army in front of them.


    ¡°Undead troops!¡± Liang Taibai clenched his teeth as he voiced the guess in his mind, but he kept his voice low, not allowing the Rosa soldiers to hear him.


    ...


    The siege slowly began, but what gave everyone some relief was that the army did not seem to have any equipment meant to siege the city. As the capital of the country, the royal city had great defenses. The walls were massive, and intricate protectionpletely shielded their ranged attackers. They also had specialized magical enhancing tools as well as various defensive towers.


    Even if the troops protecting the city were all older, which meant their strength and speed and other attributes had deteriorated with age and robbing them of the ability to charge forward, defending a city was something that was not that taxing on the body. Instead, the experience they have gained from their age proved useful.


    The sounds of battle never stopped throughout the night. The shooting of arrows and the explosions of magic decimated the troops around the city that did not have any mechanisms for a siege. It was a pity that there was such a limited number of troops defending the city, resulting in difficulties covering arge area. That was why the battle was prolonged. The defensive towers had their full power on disy, especially the magical defensive towers. They dealt massive damage to the undead army.


    Each ball of me flew into dense crowds, killing at least a few dozen. However, what caused headaches were theck of pain or fear felt by the undead. Unless they were thoroughly destroyed, they would continue advancing, even if they were missing a limb or two.


    At the crack of dawn, the first ray of sunlight could be seen over the horizon. The desperately attacking undead army seemed to have received new orders, and suddenly retreatedpletely. After over ten minutes, all that was left around the city were magical mes that had yet to die out and countless corpses.


    Cheers could be heard around the city gates; each soldier that participated hugged each other in celebration. Thanks to theck of long-ranged weaponry and siege machinery, the damage dealt by the attacking army was miniscule.


    Xiao Lin and Liang Taibai looked on from a tower for the whole night. Even though Xiao Lin wanted to help, he was stopped by Liang Taibai. The seasoned ambassador could tell that it would be difficult for their enemies to attack the city, and would not be able to that night.


    ¡°Go back. You¡¯re tired!¡± Liang Taibai did not say anything else.


    On the way back to the embassy, Xiao Lin saw many Rosa soldiers spreading information, announcing the victoryst night. That was because news of the city being surrounded had leaked earlier and was quickly spread around the entire city, resulting in obvious chaos.


    ¡°It seems like the king still has some resolve.¡± Xiao Lin let out a word of praise. The moment the defense of the city ended, the king sent his troops to quell the chaos. That was why he saw massive crowds on his way back, but there was norge-scale chaos.


    The biggest taboo for defending a city was undoubtedly internal chaos. It was more terrifying than the enemy. If the masses lost their minds and wanted to open the city gates to flee, then the city would essentially self-destruct.


    ¡°It would be great if this order was maintained after a week!¡± Liang Taibai said.


    Xiao Lin sighed. He knew that the victoryst night was only temporary. Low-ranked undead were still sensitive to light, and were not as strong as during the night. So, their victory was obtained due to the strategy of their enemies.


    If the city was not attacked by undead, and instead the actual rebel army, their chances of defending the city would be higher. They only needed to keep the city defended and wait for the royal guard to return. At that time, the rebels would be pincered, and theirck of training could even mean an instant loss.


    However, there were no ifs in the real world. Even Xiao Lin, who had no military strategy training, could tell that it would be very hard to hold onto the city, because the Rosa Kingdom no longer had any troops that coulde to the rescue.


    After returning to the embassy, Xiao Lin only managed to take a nap in a blur. He woke up after three hours and noticed that Liang Taibai had not slept at all. Instead he was discussing matters with the others in the embassy. When he saw Xiao Lin, he smiled and waved before everyone went into the office.


    Xiao Lin slowly acquainted himself with everyone in the embassy during this time. After a few greetings, he sat down, quietly waiting for the conclusion of their discussions.


    Would they leave, or would they stay?

 Chapter 520: Surrounded City (3)

    <h4>Chapter 520: Surrounded City (3)</h4>


    The king¡¯s children had all already been sent away, the royal city¡¯s resurrection tower had also been destroyed due to corruption, and it was also very possible that there was a spy within the city. The Rosa Kingdom¡¯sst line of defense had also turned into an undead army and was assaulting the royal city.


    With more and more disagreeable conditions rising up, everyone felt like the city would notst for much longer. Furthermore, the rebels corrupting the resurrection tower showed that the enemy had close ties with what happened to the resurrection tower in Wildfire Town, meaning they definitely did not harbor any goodwill toward Dawn Academy.


    ¡°Our only choice is to leave.¡± A spectacleddy voiced her opinion after everyone had added in their thoughts.


    ¡°If we leave now, it won¡¯t be as simple as abandoning a city.¡± Even if the situation was clear, not everyone agreed with the suggestion.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If we leave now, we¡¯llpletely lose control of the Rosa Kingdom. Based on our data from three months ago, we have thirteen resurrection towers in the Rosa Kingdom. If the royal city falls, we might not have ess to those towers anymore.¡±


    ¡°Compared to destroying the resurrection towers, I¡¯m more worried about the corrupted resurrection tower. This is the basis of our existence in this world. If a country has thirteen dark resurrection towers, I won¡¯t even be able to sleep well at night.¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows how hard it is to build these towers. Starmetal is very valuable. It¡¯s fine if we lose the resurrection towers, but if we lose all that starmetal, I think we should all just quit our jobs!¡±


    ...


    The small meeting had a lot of differing opinions. Different perspectives offered different suggestions. Xiao Lin did not speak, since he was not high enough in status in this situation. He spent his time in a corner, sipping some hot tea, thinking about something with his eyes narrowed.


    Liang Taibai listened in for almost twenty minutes before raising his hand and interrupting everyone. ¡°Can we please have some more practical suggestions. If we retreat, how will we leave the city safely? If we defend it, how are we going to do that?¡±


    Everyone suddenly fell quiet, looking at each other. They suddenly found it hard to speak. As envoys from Dawn Academy, they were very good at politics and administration, but they were definitely no military specialists.


    ¡°It will be hard to defend.¡±


    ¡°It will be hard to break out as well. After all, we don¡¯t have the resurrection tower, but it should be safer.¡±


    ...


    Another debate ensued. It seemed like leaving was definitely easier than staying. In terms of the conclusion, the choice seemed simple. Tossing aside the benefits to the government, their first priorities were still their own lives. After all, no one wished to stay in this foreign country and be buried with Rosa¡¯s king.


    Just as the decision seemed like it was going to be made, Xiao Lin suddenly raised his hand in the corner. ¡°If we tried to break out, how high would the sess rate be? Do we have an approximation?¡±


    The others looked at each other, uncertain why Xiao Lin asked the question. Liang Taibai answered, ¡°We¡¯ve long since made simr ns. In truth, we were nning on using the griffins to leave at the right time, but the rebels came too suddenly, and the griffinnding point outside of the city has probably been overrun. However, we have other ns.¡±


    Liang Taibai gave a simple exnation. They would use the fact that the undead troops did not attack at night (1) to leave the royal city through the northern gate deep in the night. Since the rebels attacked from the south, it would be hard for them to gather too many forces in the north. If they left at the right time, theplicated terrain toward the north would be hard for the undead to get through. After losing the undead army, they would move in a big circle, passing through the British Royal Academy¡¯snd before returning to Dawn Academy¡¯s territories.


    ¡°It might take very long, but it¡¯s the safest n we have at the moment.¡± Liang Taibai did not hide anything from Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly saying, ¡°I object. I¡¯m against leaving.¡±


    The others did not understand, and Liang Taibai did not get angry as he said, ¡°What¡¯s your reason?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°If we only have one way out, I don¡¯t think the rebels will be stupid enough to not notice. If they prepare an ambush on the way, even if we manage to defeat the enemy with ourbat ability, our casualties will be massive without a resurrection tower. Don¡¯t forget, aside from us, there are still many merchants in the city.¡±


    The others had skeptical expressions. Xiao Lin paused before adding, ¡°What I mean is, it¡¯s very possible that the enemy has been trying to force us out of the city from the start. This is basically a trap. Surrounding the city and leaving one obvious point of escape.¡±


    ¡°This feels like something that would only appear in a TV show...¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any grudges against them. Even if they don¡¯t n on being friendly with us, I doubt they would face us straight up. I feel like they would deliberately let us escape. A royal city without the power of Dawn Academy would easily fall into their hands.¡±


    ¡°What would be the goal of that?¡±


    Liang Taibai sighed, putting his hand up. At the highest-ranked person there, everyone else immediately shut up at his motion, looking at him with a confused expression, because Liang Taibai had obviously been starting to think about Xiao Lin¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°I received some reports a long time ago that I never really believed, but Xiao Lin¡¯s words caused me to rethink my position.¡± Liang Taibai hesitated before saying, ¡°Ordinarily you shouldn¡¯t know about this information, but it¡¯s not time to think about all of that. Take a look at this report. You don¡¯t have to ask about the source; we¡¯ve never verified the news.¡±


    Liang Taibai took out a document. Most of the documents had been burned away in the cleanup over the past two days, and the important documents were all carried around personally.


    The document was passed around, and Xiao Lin was thest to receive it. He had already felt something from everyone¡¯s looks, but opening the document and looking at the words, his expression changed instantly as well.


    The document was titled, ¡®Report on the Investigation of the Dark Resurrection Tower in Wildfire Town¡¯.


    ¡®Attention: The document is a preliminary analysis. Due to theck of experimental material and data, a conclusion has not been reached. The report will only be used as a reference and is not to be circted.¡¯


    What followed was a chunk of information, even using variousplicated chemistry forme. Xiao Lin knew that Dawn Academy did notck geniuses and highly-educated figures. It was them that managed tobine Earthen technology with Norma¡¯s magic.


    Xiao Lin did not understand those figures, and skipped everything. Just like everyone else, he flipped right to the conclusion on thest page.

 Chapter 521: Wildfire Town Investigation Report

    <h4>Chapter 521: Wildfire Town Investigation Report</h4>


    ¡®Initial Conclusion of the Report:


    ¡®The ck resurrection tower still contained the Law of Immortality after being corrupted, proving that the enemies do not have enough power to eliminate or change the existence of thew. Thus, we can infer that the enemy is not at a level higher than Legend. That is considerably good news. Dawn Academy is unprepared to handle a Legend-ranked opponent.


    ¡®However, the Law of Immortality was distorted. The enemy is very intelligent, they are unable to change thew, but used a mysterious power to forcibly distort the target for thew. If exined in terms ofputer programming, the opponent added a strong virus in the program, corrupting the programming of thew.


    ¡®We have analyzed the power, and with the help of historical information provided by Judge Academy, we have determined that the power is astrological in nature. Regretfully, astrology is the most mysterious branch of magic in Norma and the academies all have limited research on it. As such, we decided to research the matter with the other academies, and have arrived at a horrifying conclusion.


    ¡®The corruption is not yetplete. Even though we have no way topletely analyze it, currently all the data indicates that the corruption can be improved. The enemy was very rushed in the preparation of this corrupted resurrection tower, but it seems like the Normese are slowly understanding the importance of experimentation.


    ¡®We have no way of anticipating the next steps of the enemy, but from the viewpoint of the researchers, if the corrupted resurrection towers are targeting our own people, then the next step we would take is to experiment on other people from Earth!


    ¡®The most important pieces of data are stillcking from the ck resurrection towers, which include the effects on a human¡¯s body andbat ability, and even what would happen if a person was forcibly linked with the dark resurrection towers and made to resurrect. We would never do these kinds of experiments, but we are unable to guarantee that our foes would have the same opinion.


    ¡®This report has been sent to all embassies in the areas around Wildfire Town. All outbound diplomatic staff should take note of the matter. However, the report currentlycks enough verification, and the uracy cannot be guaranteed, and so will not be allowed to be spread.¡¯


    ...


    That was thest segment of the report. The entire room fell silent after reading it, leaving only the sound of the dancing mes on the lights to be heard. The dark resurrection tower in Wildfire Town had been covered up by the higher-ups quickly, so not many people knew a lot about it, and it did not cause that much of amotion.


    Most of those who knew about it did not fully believe it either. After all, they were not like Lilith and Xiao Lin who had witnessed the horrifying nature of the corrupted resurrection towers firsthand. Most of them had been living in the current status quo for a long time, and they had absolute faith in the resurrection towers.


    That included those who were present, which was why they had been shocked by the report. It was even a report written by the specialists from various academies. Those specialists were nothing like the half-baked fakes on Earth; they were all genuine geniuses at the peaks of their fields.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that the enemy might want to capture us to experiment with?¡± someone said uneasily. The report did specte the possibility. If anyone wanted to capture the colonists to be experimented on, foreign envoys were the most appropriate. That was because the colonial territories all had stringent checks, and anyone remotely suspicious would find it hard to enter.


    Even though the report emphasized that it was just a hypothesis by the researchers, with everything that had happened in the royal city, everyone understood the hypothesis was very probable.


    The report was not clear on what the methods of experimentation would be, but as people from modern Earth, everyone had definitely watched movies. After reading the reports, images of various disgusting human experimentations shed through their minds, so everyone¡¯s faces naturally paled.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was ugly as well, but what he focused on was different from the rest of them. After finishing, his gaze fell back on the word ¡®Astrology¡¯. Even on Norma, very few people have ever mastered the study. However, looking back at the long history of the, there existed one true master of astrology: the old high priest, Asabanor!


    Xiao Lin had already suspected that the old undying bastard had something to do with what was happening in the Rosa Kingdom, but now he was certain. That old man could even already be outside the city.


    Thinking about his interactions with Asabanor, the crazy old man had really left a deep impression on Xiao Lin. He could not hold back and said, ¡°No matter what, we can¡¯t leave the city! Absolutely not!¡±


    Xiao Lin briefly told everyone about the general situation with Asabanor. Liang Taibai was not surprised, so he should already have had some information on it. However, there were quite a few who knew nothing of the high priest, and with the added weight of the report, everyone started to believe more in Xiao Lin¡¯s words.


    Liang Taibai sighed as a conclusion. ¡°I suddenly remembered the sneak attack on me a few days ago that cost me twenty years of my life. I think Asabanor might have nned it. The Argos n was probably a chess piece of his, and he had probably nned on using Valen Argos as an internal spy to seize the city, turning the city into his experimental grounds. However, Xiao Lin foiled his ns, which is why we are being attacked.¡±


    ¡°The good news is that the current attack on the city was not nned by the enemy, which is why the assaultst night had no siege equipment at all. It means that the enemy did not have enough preparations. The bad news is that we can no longer leave the city; the only choice is to defend it.¡±


    ¡°Thenes thest question: how will we defend the city?¡±


    Saying his piece, Liang Taibai threw the question back. Even if everyone was a foreign diplomat, they had still gone through many years of monthly examinations at Dawn Academy. They might not have been specialists, but they were no strangers to war, and had certain abilities.


    What followed were purely military discussions. Xiao Lin felt like he had no room to speak on that since he did not hold a candle to those who had graduated after four years at the academy, so he got up and bid Liang Taibai farewell.


    After leaving, Xiao Lin knocked on Ibeiya¡¯s door. He had been worried about the girl¡¯s safety. Xiao Lin had already brought Ibeiya into the embassy to stay temporarily, and since everything had died down somewhat, Xiao Lin decided to visit her.

 Chapter 522: Request To Defend The City

    <h4>Chapter 522: Request To Defend The City</h4>


    Ibeiya had rings around her eyes. She had not slept wellst night. Of course, it was not easy for anyone to sleep well in such uncertain circumstances.


    However, Ibeiya obviously had her own informationwork. When Xiao Lin entered, Ibeiya immediately made some tea for him before sitting next to Xiao Lin. She looked at him with a cute gaze, asking, ¡°Undead troops are not like the rebels. Even if the low-ranked undead don¡¯t have intelligence and move slowly, and are evenpromised at night, if the rebels have enough necromancers, it would be a disaster.¡±


    News of the undead army attacking the city was not spread, and even the announcements did not mention it. The guards were not allowed out of the city gates as well; the king had issued the order to maintain stability inside the city.


    Xiao Lin did not know where Ibeiya got the information from, and gaped for a moment as he drank the tea. The tea had a subtle fragrance, and looking down, he noticed a few purple petals in the tea leaves. It was roses grown in the Rosa Kingdom, and had a unique taste when paired with tea.


    ¡°Big Brother, is it good?¡± Ibeiya smiled, her face obviously asking for praise.


    When Xiao Lin fulfilled her wish, Ibeiya said proudly, ¡°Roses actually don¡¯t blendpletely well with your tea leaves, and a certain ratio is needed for their tastes to match properly. The ratio is something I researched myself.¡±


    ¡°It really is nice, and refreshes the mind as well. It¡¯s better than regr tea or coffee. How did you get it this way?¡±


    ¡°If you want to know,¡± Ibeiya fluttered her eyes, ¡°then can you answer a few questions first?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and nodded. The girl had probably been waiting for it.


    ¡°You will leave, right?¡± Ibeiya said with a determined tone before adding. ¡°Will you give up in this city?¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a smile. He knew what Ibeiya was worried about. He could not help but reach out to pat Ibeiya¡¯s head, smiling softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t leave. We will help you defend this city.¡±


    Ibeiya was not a normal little girl who could be persuaded with just a few words. She said suspiciously, ¡°Is that true? I know you¡¯ve lost your resurrection tower, and you have very few people who are specialized inbat in the city. What can you do with just those diplomats and merchants?¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly turned serious, pausing for a moment before saying, ¡°That¡¯s why I came to look for you. In truth, Ambassador Liang has the exact same headache. Just like what you said, relying on just us without a resurrection tower would not be of much help. That is why I hope to get help from you.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Ibeiya was surprised, and responded intelligently. ¡°You want to rely on the dark ns?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°You might already know this; there are only a few thousand soldiers left in the royal city. The other troops have unfortunately already been turned into the undead outside of the city. Themoners and merchants in the city have never undergone any training. Compared to that, your ns are all naturally stronger than Normese humans, so I hope they can help defend the city.¡±


    Ibeiya smiled bitterly. ¡°Big Brother, are you nning on giving the order through the St. ude n? You killed Valen Argos in thest tournament, earning the St. ude n much honor. Uncle even said that he got a lot of visitors in thest two days, something unthinkable before that... However, you should know our rtionship with humans right?¡±


    ¡°The history sses talked about it, and I¡¯ve read books in the library too,¡± Xiao Lin answered. The dark races used to rule the during ancient times, but the humans had reced them as the rulers while the dark races went into hiding, even hunting them down.


    Even in the Rosa Kingdom that allowed the dark races to stay in, the ns only had a mutual partnership with the royalty. The deals involved wereplicated, and Xiao Lin was not interested in knowing. Basically, they would never be friends with the native humans.


    ¡°Are they waiting for the rebels to enter before working together with the enemy?¡±


    Ibeiya fell into an awkward silence. Xiao Lin understood her expression. The undead troops outside of the city proved there was a necromancer. Necromancers were part of the dark races. As the same species, they would definitely be more trustworthy.


    Was Asabanor a trustworthy person?


    Absolutely not!


    The undying priest was obsessed with his revenge against Earth, and would only drag everyone into his vengeance. If the dark races in the royal city participated in that, Dawn Academy would definitely not let them off when it came time to pay back those debts.


    Of course, Xiao Lin was not concerned with those ns, but Ibeiya¡¯s St. ude n was part of them, and even an old prestigious one. Xiao Lin did not wish for Ibeiya to be dragged into it when the time came.


    ...


    The peace during the day gave the royal city enough time to prepare, such as bringing out more weapons from the storage and repairing everything that was damagedst night. The undead archers might not be very urate, but the asional hit still caused some damage.


    In the embassy, since they decided to help defend the city, Liang Taibai decisively went to the pce to meet the king. Xiao Lin was surprised when Liang Taibai brought him along yet again, instead of the other diplomats. Xiao Lin did not know what use he could be.


    The king did not express any happiness or excitement at the embassy¡¯s participation, instead rudely asking, ¡°What do you want from me now?¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but roll his eyes; the old man was actually not thankful for receiving some coal in the winter. It was no surprise that Dawn Academy started to dislike the king.


    Liang Taibai was used to it, maintaining his smile as he reiterated the stance of himself and Dawn Academy. Without a doubt, they were allies with decades of close ties, and had to help each other in times of need. It was all basically a normal diplomatic speech from Earth.


    The king looked puzzled, and Xiao Lin could understand and even emphasize. China¡¯s diplomatic speeches were a deep branch of study, and it was not easy for the natives here to understand.


    However, seeing as Liang Taibai did not voice any demands, the king hesitated before nodding in agreement. He had no other choice but to hand overmand of the city¡¯s defense to Liang Taibai.

 Chapter 523: Secret Behind The Rebellion

    <h4>Chapter 523: Secret Behind The Rebellion</h4>


    Liang Taibai politely thanked the king, and the king looked thankful as well, but the truth was, even if the king did not hand overmand, Liang Taibai had countless ways to seizemand for the army anyway.


    Those many years of support that Dawn Academy had given the Rosa Kingdom were not all for naught; the support had given them absolute control of the country, politics, financial matters, and even the military. That was especially true when the current king started to show signs of disobedience. Dawn Academy had arranged for officers closer to them to be in key positions, which were all fail-safes for certain scenarios.


    The king understood that as well, and decided to make things easier.


    After getting what he wanted, Liang Taibai did not leave immediately. After exchanging some empty pleasantries with the king, the ambassador suddenly turned around, pushing the idle Xiao Lin to the front before smiling and saying, ¡°We were in a rushst time, and I didn¡¯t have time to introduce you. This is Xiao Lin, a personnel sent over by Dawn Academy not long ago. He might be young, but he has a lot ofbat experience. If it¡¯s possible, I want him to hold a temporary officer¡¯s rank in the city. It would makemand easierter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already givenmand of the military over to you. You can decide on the officers yourself.¡± The king felt like it was strange. He knew that Liang Taibai would definitely ce more of his own people into the military after achievingmand, but there was no need to tell him that since he was already mentally prepared.


    Liang Taibai¡¯s goal was obviously not just that. He smiled. ¡°You might not know this, but you actually owe Xiao Lin a huge debt.¡±


    The king had a curious gaze. ¡°A debt?¡±


    Liang Taibai said, ¡°Your granddaughter went out a few months ago, and Wildfire Town was under attack back then. She was saved by Xiao Lin.¡±


    The king had a neutral expression. ¡°Our princesses all stay in the pce year-round, not even allowed to leave the Rosa Kingdom, let alone head to Wildfire Town. Of course, they were escorted out by you two days ago.¡±


    Liang Taibai let out a smile, ¡®kindly¡¯ saying, ¡°I¡¯m talking about Princess Ibeiya. I don¡¯t think you would have forgotten about your own granddaughter.¡±


    The pce immediately fell into a deathly silence.


    The king¡¯s face was frozen solid. He looked over, measuring Xiao Lin in earnest for the first time. Thest two times they met, he had just treated Xiao Lin as Liang Taibai¡¯sckey.


    Xiao Lin felt a bit awkward and confused. He did not understand why Liang Taibai suddenly brought up Ibeiya, but he curiously observed the king¡¯s face, trying to see if the old man felt any regret for chasing his own granddaughter out of the pce.


    After losing himself for a moment, the king regained his calm, turning to Xiao Lin and saying, ¡°Ibeiya¡¯s mother might have been chased out of the royal family for viting thew, but Ibeiya still has royal blood in her. Thank you for saving someone of royal blood.¡±


    The king¡¯s expression was very neutral, his warmness carrying a hint of coldness. It was easy to see that the gratitude was purely for formality, and the king did not care about Ibeiya.


    Xiao Lin never felt anything good about the king, but now his impression of him was worse. If it was not a diplomatic situation, he might even have rushed forward to beat up the cold old man.


    After that, Liang Taibai did not stay around, taking Xiao Lin out of the pce. Once there were no guards around, Xiao Lin could not help but voice his confusion. He did not believe that the sharp and experienced ambassador would do something so meaningless.


    However, Liang Taibai did not answer immediately, instead seriously asking, ¡°What kind of person do you feel Rosa¡¯s king is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know him very well.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Tell me your first impression.¡±


    ¡°He might have seemed friendly to us, but everything he says feels very defensive. He doesn¡¯t wee us. I can¡¯t say if he¡¯s a good king or not, but he¡¯s definitely not a good family member,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    Liang Taibai smiled, unable to deny it. He said with aplicated expression, ¡°To be honest, putting aside my own biases, he¡¯s not a bad king. Do you know what the first thing he did was after he got the throne?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head.


    Liang Taibai continued, ¡°The natives were all quite curious about our mysterious toys from Earth, and many of our things have turned into mainstream items. Thest few kings would always ask for those things from us, and it was an annoyance, but the diplomats would all naturally fulfil those small requests. However, this king was different; he started to ask us for books the moment he got to the throne. Large amounts of books on every subject.¡±


    ¡°Books from Earth?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We have quite a lot kept in our own library. Of course, we would never let the natives look at our history books. However, with the amicable state between our countries, we gave him quite a lot of books. After all, those were not worth anything.¡±


    ¡°What books did he ask for?¡± Xiao Lin seemed to have guessed something.


    ¡°He asked for many of them. Out of books on history, culture, art, and everything else, the most he asked for were economy books. We never felt like it was anything before for someone who knew nothing of Earth¡¯s history to read Earth¡¯s economy and governmental books. However, after a few years, the king started to reform the Rosa Kingdom.¡±


    Xiao Lin opened his mouth in shock. ¡°He wants to shed away our ties?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Liang Taibai sighed, his face revealing a mix of regret, pity, and even admiration. ¡°How could he be better at politics than those higher-ups in Dawn Academy that are centuries old. Even though the king¡¯s reforms were very subtle, the academy quickly realized what he was doing¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent. ¡°We probably did not allow him to put those reforms in ce.¡±


    ¡°The Rosa Kingdom is a very important vassal state for us. We would never let it go that easily. However, if we tried to assassinate him or used other methods to force the king off the throne, we would have instigated the conservative officials in the kingdom, or even the military. We don¡¯t want a Rosa that is in chaos either. That was why we secretly sent our people in to stop the king¡¯s reforms in various ces. It caused the officials to believe that the failure of the reforms that led to the country being even poorer was because of the king, causing them to lose faith in him.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly eximed, ¡°Ambassador Liang, surely you aren¡¯t telling me that the civil war was instigated by us!¡±


    Liang Taibai smiled bitterly. ¡°We calcted our actions back then, and we could never have caused a civil war. However, it ended up being used by someone else who caused some waves in the shadows, who used us to start a civil war.¡±

 Chapter 524: A New Siege

    <h4>Chapter 524: A New Siege</h4>


    It was definitely Asabanor who used Dawn Academy. No matter how much the higher-ups of the academy thought about it, no one would have considered someone who had been dead for almost a century in their ns. Asabanor¡¯s appearance had exceeded everyone¡¯s calctions.


    To a certain degree, the ones who let Asabanor out were Xiao Lin and Lilith, so Xiao Lin could not help but notice that all the problems he was facing at the moment seemed to havee from himself.


    Feeling Xiao Lin¡¯s frustration, Liang Taibai, who had a basic understanding of what happened in New Washington said, ¡°There¡¯s no way to change what has already happened. History is unchangeable, and no one can pin any me on just one person. Just go think about how to defend the city. I¡¯m nning on making you a legionmander.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin was surprised. Liang Taibai had said that he would be made an officer, which was normal. Liang Taibai obviously did not trust the natives in a war, and was even more worried that Rosa¡¯s officers might betray them. With that being the case, it was better for Dawn Academy¡¯s own people to hold important ranks.


    ¡°But legionmanders need tomand an entire legion.¡± Xiao Lin wanted to say that he was not qualified.


    Liang Taibai asked, ¡°I seem to remember that you are a monitor. You¡¯ve participated in monthly examinations before, right?¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Liang Taibai thenughed, ¡°Then you already have experience being inmand. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know what to say. ¡°I only needed tomand my ss during the monthly examinations. It was only a few dozen people.¡±


    ¡°How many do you think you will need tomand here?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused; based on Norma¡¯s standards, each legion usually had about ten to twenty thousand people, even going up to thirty, but there were only a few thousand crippled troops left in the city.


    Liang Taibai gave Xiao Lin an overview of his ns. The first thing was to have Dawn Academy take control of the defensive systems in the city. That was a must, but even among the colonists, there were few that werepletely trustworthy. After all, it was only an embassy, and the merchants in the city all hadplicated backgrounds, some evening from other academies.


    That was why Xiao Lin being amander was forced. Thankfully, Liang Taibai nned on allowing Xiao Lin to have helpers. Thinking about it, Liang Taibai teased, ¡°You have a great rtionship with Ibeiya. Only you can have her as a bridge formunication.¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately understood. Liang Taibai wanted to get the dark races as well. In order to protect the city, they could not do without the power of those ns. Liang Taibai might represent Dawn Academy, but it was still hard for him to directly interact with the dark ns. Compared to that, thanks to Ibeiya, Xiao Lin was much more suitable.


    In order for Xiao Lin to be in charge of that, they would need to give Xiao Lin an appropriate rank. Negotiating as a student was definitely not appropriate.


    In the same vein, thanks to Ibeiya, Xiao Lin had the possibility ofmunicating directly with the royalty from a more trustworthy angle. Even if Xiao Lin suspected that that king, who did not care for Ibeiya, would really trust in him, and even if Xiao Lin felt like Liang Taibai was hiding something in that matter, he did not desperately need answers.


    Liang Taibai was definitely an experienced ambassador. In just one short day, he had thought about everything. After handing over the defense of the city to Xiao Lin and some others, he immediately contacted the colonist merchants in the city. It was not only those from Dawn Academy, he included the other academies as well.


    It still looked early when they returned to the embassy, but Xiao Lin had immediately gone to bed after hurriedly eating something, since he would not be able to sleep that night. Not long after the sunset, Xiao Lin was woken up. The undead army had started their attack once night fell.


    Xiao Lin had arranged for an assistant named Luo Jianhui. He was a polite-looking man with spectacles. Luo Jianhui was an aide in the embassy, but had never been in a military position. However, he was also a monitor back in the academy, and hadmanded battles at that level. It might not be at the level of a legion, but there were no better choices at that point.


    As they hurried to the gates, Xiao Lin opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m only a student. In truth, you should be the one acting as the legionmander.¡±


    Luo Jianhui waved his hand, smiling. ¡°I¡¯ve been stuck in administration since graduating. It¡¯s been a few years; I¡¯m probably less familiar withbat than you at this point. Furthermore, we¡¯re both monitors. We¡¯d be formally at the same rank after you leave the academy. However, I heard you had good rtionships with the royalty and the dark ns, so you¡¯re definitely more suited to it than me.¡±


    ¡°Are monitors treated better after graduation?¡±


    ¡°Of course; don¡¯t treat being a monitor as nothing. When emergencies like this happen and amander is needed, those who were monitors are always the first choice¡±


    Now it was not as surprising that Liang Taibai had made Xiao Lin themander of the guards. There were only two former monitors in the embassy: Luo Jianhui and Xiao Lin. Even Liang Taibai had not been a monitor.


    Xiao Lin was notpletely devoid of experience on this front. He remembered the orc supply depot during the third monthly examination and the experience he had defending it. However, the situation was moreplicated and difficult this time.


    Xiao Lin humbly discussed the matter with Luo Jianhui. The battle had just begun when they reached the gates. Under the searchlights, the wild undead army flooded toward the city walls like water, and the magical defense towers around the walls started to fire.


    The high-level defense towers installed in the royal city had very far-reaching attacks, and they unleashed Gold-ranked me spells. The bright balls of me had unimaginable power. Each ball would cause enemies in a hundred-meter radius to be disintegrated, and the mes that remained on the ground burned the corpses that did not have any anti-magic equipment.


    Xiao Lin shouted out at the walls, but the high-ranked defensive towers had long firing intervals. Even if Dawn Academy already invented those with higher firing rates, the king had angered Dawn Academy, and the more advanced towers never reached the Rosa Kingdom.


    Even so, each explosion still caused extreme damage to the undead. The enemies that forced their way through the sea of mes all had their armor melted, revealing rotten corpses.

 Chapter 525: Warehouse

    <h4>Chapter 525: Warehouse</h4>


    There were many spells that could create undead. The most basic ones used curses to inject death energy into corpses, allowing them to rise again. The higher-leveled ones used certain mediums to make the undead stronger.


    From the corpses in front of them, Xiao Lin could tell that they had not died for long. Otherwise, they would be facing undead skeletons, not the zombie-like things in front of them.


    However, no matter what kind of undead they were, amassing tens of thousands of troops like these in such a short time was extremely hard. Xiao Lin did not believe that Asabanor could do it alone. It was obvious the high priest had found more allies and helpers, which was very unsettling.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s appointment had already been notified to every soldier. There were many officers from Rosa sending him battle reports as the battle went on. Of course, the main goal was to interact with and to understand the newmander. As for how their originalmander was, no one cared.


    Luo Jianhui conscientiously stood behind Xiao Lin, and was in charge of introducing all the officers that came to Xiao Lin. The embassy was not only focused on diplomacy; they were also in charge ofpiling all sorts of information in the royal city, and Luo Jianhui was the one in charge of the military.


    After urately calling out everyone¡¯s names, the officers were all shocked. Luo Jianhui was actually warning them that Dawn Academy knew a lot about them. No one was to disobey any orders, or it would be easy to find them.


    Xiao Lin put his focus on the battlefield, and the information he gained set them at ease.


    The undead troops did not have highbat abilities. They even had a hard time getting a thousand meters within the vicinity of the city. The few that managed to reach that distance would be shot down by arrows or some lighter spells. They might not have had many guards, but thanks to the terrifying power of the defense towers, their numbers disadvantage was covered up.


    Xiao Lin was still not used to being amander, but he never expressed that feeling. Instead, he used a warm and stern tone to appease the officers, reminding them to not falter.


    Defending the city in such a situation, they relied on mostly their defense towers and long-ranged attacks, and did not need any specialmands. Liang Taibai understood that as well, which was why he was happy to leave Xiao Lin there.


    The battle continued. The undead were said to be attacking the city, but it felt more like they weremitting suicide. Without any siege mechanisms, the strength of the city walls, and the fact that the undead army did not have any magical attacks outside of a few bows, meant the numbers did not matter.


    ¡°How long can our defensive towers stand for?¡± Xiao Lin asked with concern. He had been with Luo Jianhui at the nearbymand tower since midnight. After all, arrows did not have eyes. With theck of a resurrection tower, it was better for them to be safer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the kingdom has been at peace for a long time. The warehouses are practically full of energy stones.¡± Luo Jianhui knew what Xiao Lin was worried about, and smiled, ¡°The defense towers we gave Rosa might be old models, but their durability is guaranteed.¡±


    The defense towers were vital to their continued defense. Based on Luo Jianhui¡¯s estimations, the energy stones in store within the royal city would be able to keep all the defense towers up for about a month.


    Liang Taibai had already used quite a few energy stones to send a long distance message, conveying the severity of their situation to Dawn City. Barring any mishaps, Dawn City would probably be getting their army ready.


    ¡°Would the military allow it?¡± Xiao Lin had his doubts. He knew that the military and the dean had opposing views on governance. Would the military, that wanted to focus on the other academies, really mobilize for Rosa¡¯s rebels?


    ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. The military might want to negotiate with the rebels, but that¡¯s under the condition that Dawn Academy¡¯s influence in Rosa is preserved. Do you know what the basis for that influence is?¡±


    Xiao Lin answered, ¡°The resurrection tower.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the resurrection towers are the symbols of our power. That¡¯s something everyone on Norma knows. Now that the rebels dare to scheme with Asabanor to corrupt our resurrection towers, we can no longer tolerate them. No one would dare ignore such a thing.¡± Luo Jianhui¡¯s tone was cold. He still could not let go of the fact that they had to destroy the corrupted resurrection tower.


    ¡°For Dawn City to assemble their troops and reach this ce, it would take about a month. We will only need to make sure we do our jobs at this time.¡± Luo Jianhui paused and added something, because he saw Xiao Lin¡¯s expressions turning ugly. He knew that Xiao Lin had no intention of being amander, so he wanted to alleviate the pressure on Xiao Lin. It was not difficult to rely on the defense towers.


    However, Xiao Lin was not worried about that. He eximed in a low voice, ¡°The energy stones!¡±


    ¡°Energy stones?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll never be able to defend the city without them. If they investigated the royal city, how could the enemy not know about it! Where are the warehouses?¡±


    ¡°The energy stone warehouses are very strictly guarded. We even sent our own people to look after it yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I still want to take a look.¡± Even though Luo Jianhui trusted the guards arranged by the embassy, Xiao Lin was still worried about Asabanor. That old man was very cunning. He did not believe that Asabanor would allow them to wait until Dawn City¡¯s reinforcements came.


    Even though Luo Jianhui did not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s concerns, Xiao Lin was still themander. So, Luo Jianhui got another officer to bring Xiao Lin over, while he stayed and assumed temporarymand.


    The energy stone warehouses were nearer to the southern gate. The royal city only allowed the poption to use three of the main gates, and the southern gate was exclusively left to the military. Only the army was allowed in, and the royal city¡¯s military camps were also all there.


    The one who brought him there was a Rosa officer, a squad leader. He was full of admiration for his colonist superior, and under Xiao Lin¡¯s request, he hastened his footsteps, not even daring to ask for a reason.


    As they ran toward the southern gate, a quiet scene greeted them. The undead army did not attack there, so the defense towers were also very quiet. The military camps were empty, because all the troops in the royal city had either been turned into zombies or were guarding the city at the gates. The only ones left in the military camps were very old guards, who were still alive.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. At least there were no traces of infiltration.

 Chapter 526 - Lost

    <h4>Chapter 526: Lost</h4>


    The guards there did not seem to recognize Xiao Lin, but when he showed the seal issued by the royal family, the soldiers quickly stepped aside, and they brought Xiao Lin to the warehouses at his request.


    ¡°Since the attack yesterday, we¡¯ve been in charge of guarding this ce. We have not noticed any suspicious infiltrations or damages,¡± the soldier said in broken Mandarin. The result of Dawn Academy¡¯s decades of influence on this ce was that Mandarin had turned into a secondnguage here. Even the kids on the streets spoke a bit of it.


    Xiao Lin was somewhat put at ease. It might really be like what Luo Jianhui said; he was only thinking too much because he was unused to being amander.


    The energy stone warehouses had basically taken up half of the city. It looked like private research. The energy stones that the Rosa Kingdom stored were all mid-level. They were more reliable than low-grade energy stones. When the guard took out the keys to the warehouse, Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows.


    An ordinary soldier was in charge of such an important warehouse. The soldier exined that it was because they were using the defense towers as ofte, and there were more and more people who needed to transport the energy stones. That was why he held the keys¨Cto make it more convenient to open the warehouses and to not affect the battle.


    The magical lights in the warehouse were lit, but it was still very dark inside. In the end, magical lights were not as bright as electrical lights.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart stopped, his thoughts from earlier once again surfacing. He hurried over and opened a storage box nearby. All the boxes had been made by smiths because energy stones needed to be kept in specific temperatures and stable environments, or they would easily lose their power.


    However, the boxes were all haphazardly thrown about, and the inside of the boxes were pitch-ck. The stones themselves shone, and the boxes were all half-transparent. A warehouse full of energy stones was like one full of gold; there was no way it was that dark.


    The soldiers who followed behind quickly panicked. At Xiao Lin¡¯s shout, they frantically began to open up all the boxes. What shocked them was that all the boxes were empty!


    Walking out of the warehouse with heavy footsteps, Xiao Lin¡¯s face was absolutely dark. An alert and suspicious gaze fell on the soldiers that were in charge of guarding the warehouse, and his hand slowly pressed against his Holy Sword.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not us!¡± the soldiers quickly exined in panic.


    ¡°We did not steal the energy stones!¡±


    ¡°I have a wife and kid at home. How could I betray Rosa! How could I join those despicable undead!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze shifted, asking, ¡°Other than this warehouse, are there any others in the royal city.¡±


    ¡°There are none. No, hold on. There is one in the royal chambers. But that is just an emergency warehouse, and it¡¯s very small. We¡¯re not sure if there are energy stones inside.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent. It was no longer important to find out whose fault it was. Without energy stones, those defensive towers were basically scrap metal. They had to find the missing energy stones.


    Xiao Lin looked at the soldiers once again, his gaze frightening them. In truth, Xiao Lin did not think they did it, or they would have fled after emptying the warehouse instead of waiting for it to be noticed.


    Xiao Lin quickly found the point of suspicion, and asked, ¡°You said earlier that a lot of people came to retrieve the energy stones? Can I look at the name list?¡±


    The few soldiers trembled, crying as they exined. Other than having records fromst night, they did not have records from thest few times. That was because a Rosa military official hade for the stones, and they were only met with anger and even whipping when they asked for verification, ming them for endangering the battle. That was why they did not dare ask too many questions, and had left it as it is.


    ¡°A military minister? Which minister?¡± Xiao Lin asked, full of killing intent.


    ¡°It¡¯s-it¡¯s the guard general of the royal city. No, it was the former defense general, the oldmander of the royal city¡¯s guards.¡±


    So it was the one who had his job taken away by Xiao Lin. Of course, that was no reason or excuse; the man¡¯s actions could very well destroy the entire royal city.


    Xiao Lin no longer wanted to bother with the soldiers there, and had gotten the officer to capture them. As for how they were dealt with, it had nothing to do with him. Xiao Lin then immediately headed to the embassy, but Liang Taibai was not there. Ambassador Liang was in discussions with the merchants at that moment.


    Xiao Lin knew he did not have time to wait, so he headed to the pce himself, immediately getting someone to wake the king up. Even though the servants were extremely scared of waking the king up from his sleep, they also knew that the current one in power in the royal city was Dawn Academy.


    The king immediately appeared in the guest area in his sleeping robes. Ignoring all pleasantries, Xiao Lin immediately asked, ¡°Where is your military minister? Get him to see me!¡±


    Because of Ibeiya, Xiao Lin did not have a good impression of the king. Even though Liang Taibai said that the king was someone who pushed good governance and reforms, it still did not change Xiao Lin¡¯s views of him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already handed over the military matters of the city to you as Ambassador Liang wished. What else do you want to do?¡± The king¡¯s voice was steady. He was more or less a puppet at this point, but he had never made any motion to tter or get close to Xiao Lin or Liang Taibai.


    ¡°The energy stone warehouse has been emptied. Of course I need your military minister to ask about the energy stones! The defense towers at the gates need them!¡± Xiao Lin stared at the king, trying to tell if the man was part of it. In terms of politics, a figurehead king giving up and working with the rebels to attack the royal city was not impossible.


    On the king¡¯s face was first astonishment and disbelief, followed by anger, an unimaginable fury. In his rage, he threw a few valuable ornaments to the floor.


    With the floor filled with shattered remains, the king¡¯s rage suddenly disappeared as he powerlessly sat on the throne. His face seemed to have aged another ten years. After a long time, he sighed and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t believe it. In the end, he still betrayed me and this kingdom!¡±


    Xiao Lin looked on coldly. After the king¡¯s tantrum, he said, ¡°Now, he¡¯s a traitor. I don¡¯t think you would harbor a traitor, so just hand him over.¡±


    The king shook his head. ¡°Regretfully, I don¡¯t know where he is. He hasn¡¯t been in the pce since he was stripped of his rank.¡±

 Chapter 527 - Pursuit

    <h4>Chapter 527: Pursuit</h4>


    Xiao Lin asked bluntly, ¡°Where is his home? Surely he has family. We at least need to find them...¡±


    ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t have any family.¡± The king looked up, looking at Xiao Lin as he said slowly, ¡°His family died a few years ago.¡±


    Xiao Lin gaped, asking, ¡°All of them died? Could they have faked their deaths to escape? How did they die?¡± He quickly regretted asking that question.


    That was because the king calmly and coldly said, ¡°His family died in a fight a few years ago. It was a conflict with you otherworlders; he himself only managed to survive thanks to my protection.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned, unsure what to say at that moment.


    It was the king who waved his hand, saying, ¡°It wasn¡¯t Dawn Academy, but Judge Academy from the north. However, your embassy did turn the other way when it happened.¡± The king¡¯s subtle smile carried an unfiltered sense of mockery.


    Xiao Lin did not want to ask what the conflict was, because he knew that any conflicts between the colonists and the natives in colonial territory would always end up with the natives on the losing side. He really wanted to say that Dawn Academy was not Judge Academy, and that they werepletely different, but he could not say that. To most of the natives, they were all from the same world.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Xiao Lin did not know if he was apologizing on behalf of Judge Academy or Earth.


    ¡°I thought that he would already have let go of his grudge after so many years, but I never expected him to do this.¡± The king sighed understandably.


    ¡°No matter what, his actions cannot be forgiven. If you have any clues that would lead to him, I hope you will let me know quickly. If not for us otherworlders, then please consider Rosa¡¯s citizens.¡± Since the king was adamant that he knew nothing, there was nothing Xiao Lin could do despite how suspicious it was.


    The king suddenly called out to Xiao Lin, who was preparing to leave, furrowing his eyebrows as he asked, ¡°How is the situation with the battle?¡±


    ¡°Not great. If we don¡¯t have energy stones to replenish the defensive towers, even holding the city for a week will be a problem. We¡¯re only relying on the stones that are already in the defense towers currently; it won¡¯tst more than a few days.¡± Xiao Lin did not even turn around. He still did not like the king.


    ¡°Asabanor... Do you understand a lot about that person?¡± the king asked.


    This time, Xiao Lin turned around, looking at the king with a strange gaze. It was obvious that man had his own informationwork. He mulled over the reason for the king¡¯s question before saying, ¡°He¡¯s apletely insane madman.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a pitiful madman whose country you destroyed, leaving him without a home!¡± the king mockingly added to XIao Lin¡¯s words. He did not differentiate Dawn and Judge Academies. To the natives, there was no difference. Asabanor was also quite a famous figure in Norma¡¯s history, so it was not strange for the king to know about him.


    ¡°Fine, maybe you¡¯re right.¡± Xiao Lin shrugged. He could not be bothered exining, seeing as the king¡¯s antagonistic attitude toward Dawn Academy was quite obvious.


    The king did not n on just leaving him be, continuing, ¡°If Asabanor gets in the city, what do you think he would do?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± That was quite a stupid question, so Xiao Lin rudely retorted.


    ¡°Revenge,¡± the king answered. ¡°How do you think he would take revenge on all of you?¡±


    The king¡¯s earnest face caused Xiao Lin to want to throw a temper tantrum. Xiao Lin was not a worm in Asabanor¡¯s stomach; how could he know what the madman was nning?


    However, Xiao Lin held back, thinking for a moment before saying, ¡°I was once in the Final Lands...¡±


    ¡°The Final Lands, isn¡¯t that... How is that possible...¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine!¡± Xiao Lin interrupted, helplessly saying, ¡°That¡¯s not important. Basically, I¡¯ve seen an entire army that was created by Asabanor. An undead army in the tens of thousands.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Xiao Lin¡¯s tone got more serious. ¡°Defeating us is not something he can do alone. He needs soldiers, an endless supply of soldiers. However, he had already lost his country, position and all his power in this world. It would be impossible for him to gather enough forces by himself, so what do you think the best choice for him is?¡±


    ¡°An army of undead!¡± the king said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Xiao Lin looked at the king with a look that said ¡®so you¡¯re not stupid¡¯. After that, he said his own conclusion, ¡°If Asabanor manages to control the royal city he would turn the city into the base of his undead forces. All life and all flesh and blood in the city would be his resources. Of course, us otherworlders probably count as high-quality materials to him.¡±


    ¡°Just him alone?¡± The king was in disbelief. There were quite a few necromancers among the dark races in the Rosa Kingdom, and the king had some understanding of them. He knew that it would be impossible for just one person to convert that many undead. If the necromancers dared to even think about something like that, the Rosa Kingdom would have long since chased them out.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not. Other necromancers might not be able to do it, but it would not be a problem for him. In truth, I¡¯m really suspecting that those royal troops outside the city were all turned into undead by just his power alone!¡±


    In truth, Xiao Lin did not know how strong Asabanor was. Back in the Final Lands, the Asabanor they met was just in a spirit state, and his soul had also taken a big hit when they traveled back to Norma. That was why Xiao Lin had no way of estimating Asabanor¡¯s true strength, but it was undeniable that Asabanor was only getting stronger as time went on.


    The king fell silent again. Xiao Lin looked at the old man who was deep in thought, and decided to leave the pce, but the king once again called out to him.


    ¡°His residence.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°In the garden at the back of his residence, there should be an underground passage. I don¡¯t know where the passage leads, and I¡¯ve never asked him.¡±


    Pausing for a few seconds, Xiao Lin did not even have the time to thank the king after he realized what the king meant, not even thinking about why the king suddenly wanted to help. Xiao Lin realized that time was of the essence and flew out, quickly gathering the guards within the pce.


    Even though he was amander, he still had no authority over the guards that protected the king. However, the king sat on the throne within the pce and waved in acknowledgement. The guards did not hesitate. They knew that the better choice was to follow Xiao Lin.

 Chapter 528 - Battle In The Garden

    <h4>Chapter 528: Battle In The Garden</h4>


    The residence of the exmander was not far away from the pce. It was an incredibly beautiful manor. Xiao Lin brought his men and rushed right in, but did not notice anyone there. There were not even any traces of any guards or servants. Xiao Lin got his men to look around the building, but no reliable clues were found. All that was found were ashes on the floor. The minister had probably burned everything.


    The soldiers who were investigating were also unhappy because there did not seem to be anything valuable in the house. After that, Xiao Lin brought the soldiers over to the garden the king mentioned. Besides the run-down manor, there were various vibrant flowers in the garden that looked extremely valuable. The flowers looked like they were very expensive as well. The Rosa Kingdom was named after the rose; the flowers from the kingdom were also quite famous around Norma, and were all worth quite a bit.


    The soldiers looked at each other, all showing signs of greed. They had not managed to find anything valuable when they were investigating and were quite unhappy, hence picking up a few of the flowers seemed like the most obvious thing to do at that time.


    Xiao Lin did not bother stopping them; he had been looking for the underground passage. After a few minutes, the garden that had been thoroughly ransacked started to emit a multi-colored mist. Xiao Lin was suddenly on alert, and was about to give an order when he noticed that the soldiers had all copsed in the garden, clutching their throats. Their faces had reddened, as if they could not breathe.


    Xiao Lin took out his Holy Sword, and unleashed his me sword aura, opening a path in front of him before he fled the garden. The soldiers standing outside were not affected due to the distance, but when Xiao Lin escaped, almost half of the soldiers were already lying down on the garden floor.


    ¡°What flowers are those!¡± Xiao Lin asked the soldiers that remained.


    They trembled, not having recovered from the horror. They only responded after Xiao Lin shouted a few more times, but they all collectively said that the flowers were all the usual notable ones that circted in upper society, which meant it was impossible for them to be poisonous.


    That was all information that could be easily verified, so Xiao Lin was not worried that they were lying. Since the flowers themselves were harmless, then it was obvious that someone had added the poison. That minister had definitely expected someone would find the ce, and had tried using the poisons to stall for time.


    Xiao Lin waved his Holy Sword, unleashing his me sword aura as he burned away all the flowers and nts in the garden. It helped get rid of the poison, but the pollen in the air had served to help worsen the fire, and the suddenly massive mes caused Xiao Lin and everyone else to take a step back before Xiao Lin asked them to look for a source of water to put out the mes.


    It took an hour before the fire was thoroughly extinguished, and the pollen in the air was gone as well. Xiao Lin then carefully re-entered the garden. The underground passage had been uncovered after therge fire, so he found the entrance that was hidden in a corner very quickly.


    The passage looked very old, and was probably something that was built a long time before. Xiao Lin quickly heard some strange movements not long after he entered. He was immediately on high alert, and got someone to get a magical light to illuminate the passage. In the dim light, Xiao Lin could make out a silhouette.


    ¡°I see you! Come out!¡± Xiao Lin shouted before repeating himself in Normese.


    ¡°I understand you!¡± someone quickly responded in Mandarin.


    The silhouette slowly walked over, and Xiao Lin chose to wait there. The narrow passage was not somewhere appropriate for battle. It was a middle-aged man in casual clothes. He was not holding weapons. He had a grey head of hair. Xiao Lin remembered seeing him the first time he entered the pce, and quickly found out from the soldiers that he was the military minister¨Cthe traitor.


    ¡°Where are the energy stones?¡± Xiao Lin immediately said.


    The man coldly pointed to the passage behind him.


    An unsurprising answer, Xiao Lin said, ¡°If I want you to leave this ce, you¡¯ll definitely not agree, right?¡±


    The man smiled mockingly. ¡°My family was killed by your people. What do you think?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not bother exining the difference between Judge Academy and Dawn Academy to the man. Xiao Lin raised his Holy Sword and said, ¡°The king told me about it. I emphasize with what happened to you, but everyone in the city has families. If you aren¡¯t going to give way, then I¡¯ll have to send you to your family.¡±


    ¡°So it was the king?¡± The man sighed. ¡°I thought I could stall for even more time, but his heart has gone soft! No matter. Since I¡¯m here, none of you will be able to leave!¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little confused. Even though he knew the man wanted to stall for time, that also meant he was guaranteed to die. The power of hatred was really shocking.


    As empathetic as he was, Xiao Lin would still not show mercy.


    Miracle!


    Ruin!


    A grey light shed in his eyes, and Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body was brought to the highest state ofbat. He suddenly appeared in front of the man in a sh, thrusting out his Holy Sword. With the angle and speed, the opponent could only widen his mouth in shock, and looked on as the wound on his body started to bleed.


    Xiao Lin sighed as he sheathed his de, and was about to get the soldiers to drag the injured man out. He did not kill the man because Xiao Lin wanted him alive to get more information on the rebels and Asabanor. To the soldiers that were defending the city, that information was worth about as much as the energy stones.


    As he was turning his head, Xiao Lin saw the man struggle as he took out a vial of deep green liquid. The man used his teeth to open the bottle and poured the liquid into his mouth.


    Xiao Lin immediately felt like something was wrong and shot forward. He grabbed the man¡¯s cor and pressed a de to his throat tightly. However, he was a step toote, and a relieved smile appeared on the man¡¯s face. He spat out blood as he said with much difficulty, ¡°You-you can¡¯t-can¡¯t stop me!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡±


    At that point, Xiao Lin forgot about rebel information, raising his Holy Sword as he shed it at the man¡¯s throat, but the man¡¯s body was already undergoing dramatic changes.


    nk!


    The sword only produced sparks when it hit the throat. A green, scale-likeyer had already covered the man¡¯s skin up, and was quickly spreading to the man¡¯s whole body.

 Chapter 529 - Battle After The Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 529: Battle After The Transformation</h4>


    Xiao Lin was familiar with this urrence because just a few days ago, Xiao Lin had seen someone undergo the same kind of change in front of his own two eyes. In that form, the man got a huge boost in his speed and power, and had a certain rtionship with the resurrection towers, leading to unlimited resurrection abilities, which was the most terrifying thing.


    Xiao Lin once again saw it¨Ca demon-like body covered with green scales. However, the man in front of him did not have a third eye, and when Xiao Lin opened his Eye of Truth, he did not see any threads. Of course, since the corrupted resurrection tower had been destroyed, he would not get any form of resurrecting ability.


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate to use his me sword aura while his Ruin state was still active. The dancing mes fell on every corner of the garden. Troops that wanted to go inside to help immediately fled upon seeing the situation.


    Roar!


    A deep roar came from within the mes. The green-scaled man suddenly rushed out of the mes. There were only some ck marks on his body, but he was not injured that much. He had a weapon before, but it had already been thrown aside. With the expansion of his muscles, the armor he was wearing had been ripped apart as well.


    Boom!


    The man swung his bare fist, and Xiao Lin blocked it with his Holy Sword. At the collision of flesh and de, an immense force surged through the sword, causing Xiao Lin¡¯s hands to go numb. However, under the Ruin state, his strength did not lose out to his opponent. The man was not that strong before, and even with the transformation bolstering his power, it was not at an unimaginable level.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Sword had the destructive ability of a Gold-ranked weapon. Even if it did not have any other effects, using its pure destructiveness to cut through armorless opponents was the best way to show off its strength.


    The man¡¯s right hand that was blocked by the Holy Sword was immediately cut in half. Flesh sttered, and Xiao Lin was surprised when the red blood that flowed out was contaminated with flecks of green. Valen¡¯s green blood could have been exined by him being a different race, but that man was definitely human.


    The man did not seem to feel the pain in his hands, even though he only had half a palm left. He still shouted and charged at Xiao Lin. With the help of Phantom Steps, there was practically no way the man could hit Xiao Lin. In terms of skill, that man was much lower than Valen.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Holy Sword mercilessly left scar after scar on the man¡¯s body. The green scales could not defend against the explosive strength of Ruin. Xiao Lin could somewhat feel as well that the man¡¯s transformation did not seemplete yet.


    After a few minutes, the man did not seem to have an inch of unharmed skin left on his body. After losing the protection of the scales, the mes in XIao Lin¡¯s sword aura caused the man even more damage. The wounds that had blood pouring out were also burned by mes. Even Xiao Lin was starting to feel the pain.


    However, the man seemed to have lost all sense of reasoning, and was still stubbornly fighting on. Every time he fell, he would stand up again in fervor. Each injury had caused his speed and strength to drop, but he was still unbelievably dangerous to a regr person.


    The scattered soldiers had quickly brought reinforcements back with them, but the increased numbers did not help at all. Instead, they were all killed by the crazed man. Even if he only had his left hand remaining, just a p was enough to turn the soldiers with Bronze-ranked armor into mush.


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath; the air in the garden had turned scorching hot by his me sword aura. He felt like he did not have much time left in his Ruin state, and Xiao Lin looked toward the man pitifully. Xiao Lin could somewhat empathize with the man; to be able to fight in that state for the stake of stalling for time showed how deep the man¡¯s hatred went.


    If it were the regr troops from the royal city that came to investigate, they would probably have been dyed by at least half a day by that man. Sadly, the one he met was Xiao Lin.


    Looking at the wounds on his body, Xiao Lin understood that the strengthened body was very hard to kill in one strike. In order to make sure he waspletely dead, Xiao Lin would need more power.


    He shouted, getting the surrounding soldiers to leave. The soldiers immediately fled when they heard the order. The man was basically a demon to them.


    Dragon Breath Sword!


    Xiao Lin once again awakened the dragon breath that was deep within his consciousness. The dragon breath immediately surged forward, and with the gentle drop of a sword, the dragon breathpletely swallowed the man up.


    As Xiao Lin¡¯s most powerful skill, the strength of dragon breath was immeasurable. Even Xiao Lin did not know how strong that sword aura was. It might have been Bronze? Silver? Even Gold?


    Xiao Lin did not know, but he knew that even the transformed man could not withstand it. After using his dragon breath sword, Xiao Lin slipped out of the Ruin state in exhaustion. Thankfully, the increase in his attributes allowed him to not copse on the spot. Looking at the remnants of the garden, the man¡¯s corpse had been disintegrated by the dragon breath, and what was left was only a mangled corpse. He ordered a few soldiers to bring the corpse back and guard it properly.


    Be it Valen Argos or that man, their transformations were both very suspicious. It was definitely not a form of power that Dawn Academy had mastered. If he brought it back, Xiao Lin believed a certain Logistics Department Head would happily research it.


    The reinforcements were stilling in, and no one hesitated to follow Xiao Lin¡¯s orders. Even if they were afraid of the man¡¯s corpse, they were more terrified of Xiao Lin¡¯s skill than he showed earlier. This emphasized strength, and his strength was much more convincing than his rank as amander.


    Leaving behind a group to clean up the garden and to look for any clues they missed, Xiao Lin put aside the fatigue of his body and brought the remaining people into the passage.


    The passageway was very long, but it was spacious. Everywhere had been properly reinforced as well. It was obvious that the passage had been made a long time ago, but it had been cut off halfway in. Piles of copsed rubblepletely blocked their way. The scope of the copse wasrge as well, and it would take at least half a day to clear. However, if they took that much time, then they would be in deep trouble.

 Chapter 530 - Visit

    <h4>Chapter 530: Visit</h4>


    Xiao Lin was furious, but ultimately powerless. The man had actually managed to dy them. Even if it was only a very short time, the intensity of their battle had been felt from kilometers away. Those that were secretly transporting the energy stones had definitely felt the danger behind them, and decided to destroy the passage.


    Since it had already copsed, it was definitely toote to go after the energy stones. Thinking it over, Xiao Lin decided to abandon clearing up the passage. That was because he suddenly understood why the man had spent so much effort digging the passage. It was obviously not to transport energy stones. If enemy forces appeared in the heart of the royal city, then the consequences would have been dire, so blocking the way like that was a good idea.


    He had busied himself the entire night without anything to show for it. In the end, they had lost all the energy stones in the warehouses. After that, news from the pce came. The pce had their own energy stones in their warehouses, but they were all just low-ranked, and in low volumes. Low-ranked energy stones could only be used to power the normal defensive towers¨Cthe high-ranked defensive towers needed much more energy.


    It was already dawn when Xiao Lin left the residence. The waves of undead had once again been repelled, and with the rising of the sun, the royal city once again returned to peace. However, it was unclear for how many more days the peace would hold.


    Dragging his fatigued body back to the embassy, Luo Jianhui and the others were already back. No one had slept yet, obviously waiting for his news. Xiao Lin told them the general situation and the lounge fell into silence.


    The defensive towers had been their greatest trump card. Relying on the destructive power of the high-ranked defensive towers, they could absolutely hold out until reinforcements came from Dawn Academy.


    ¡°How long can the defenses hold out for?¡± Liang Taibai asked.


    ¡°The normal towers can still be used for a month, but the high-ranked ones will onlyst for at most two more days.¡± Xiao Lin had already calcted the numbers that concerned their life and death beforehand.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening with the merchants?¡± Xiao Lin asked. He knew that Liang Taibai had been with the merchants the entire day, trying to get more help.


    Liang Taibai shook his head. ¡°Very few of them are willing to help. No one is really willing to fight. You know as well that there are no resurrection towers at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Are they just going to wait for the city to fall?¡± Xiao Lin said in disbelief.


    ¡°Most of them want to try breaking out. They did not want to get involved in a war that had nothing to do with that. As for the other academies, we don¡¯t even have to mention them; it will be impossible to gain their help.¡±


    Luo Jianhui smiled coldly. ¡°Those shortsighted people! Even if this territory isn¡¯t directly ours, the Rosa Kingdom is still a buffer that shields us from other areas. If we lose this ce, Dawn Academy would be faced with danger from all sides. Don¡¯t forget our other sides are surrounded by the Endless Sea and orc territories!¡±


    Liang Taibai motioned. ¡°This is all within our calctions. Let¡¯s talk about how we can defend this ce, the reinforcements will need at least a month to arrive.¡±


    ¡°Why do they need so long!¡± Unsatisfiedints were heard.


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice, Dawn Academy hasn¡¯t been faced withrge-scale war for a long time. The preparing and gathering of the army¨Cas well as the supplies¨Care not things that can be done in a matter of days.¡±


    Pausing, Liang Taibai said, ¡°I¡¯m not very good at military matters, so please bring up any ideas you have. The price of long-rangemunication is too great, and I can¡¯t use it a second time for the time being, so we can¡¯t rely on Dawn City for now.¡±


    Thanks to the betrayal of the minister, everyone now mistrusted the pce even more. As a foreign embassy, even if it was just in name, the pce should have sent a representative to military meetings like this, even just for show. However, this time they hadpletely ignored anyone from Rosa, especially since it was not the time to point fingers.


    Everyone gave their opinions, but the main point was conscription¨Cconscripting the entire city to help with the defense, especially the dark ns. If they were sessful, they might be able to hold on for more than a month.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to rely on Xiao Lin for the dark races. Hasn¡¯t Ibeiya been staying in our embassy?¡± Everyone knew of Xiao Lin¡¯s rtionship with Ibeiya, even if Xiao Lin felt like they seemed to have formed the wrong idea.


    Xiao Lin did not have anything to add. His ideas were more or less the same as the others. They would need the strength of the dark races as well as help from the entire city to be able to defend themselves.


    Even though everyone was tired after a whole night of activity, no one could rest at the time. After the meeting ended, everyone busied themselves with their own responsibilities. The main tasks were primarily propaganda and garnering support.


    Even if most of them did not have much experience in defending cities, thanks to the education of Dawn Academy, they still had the basics down. Morale was definitely important, and with the war prolonging, themoners in the city were very important.


    In that arena, those foreign workers with years of experience were definitely very familiar. They had even seized the government away from the pce, but the king used his silence as acknowledgement as usual. Since the king did not object, the officials and ministers naturally knew what to do, and did not hesitate to cooperate.


    Xiao Lin then brought Ibeiya to visit the dark ns. In order for there to not be conflict among the dark races and the regr folk, they had been designated a special district in the city. Even with the intense battles the past two days, the district was still very quiet.


    Since the death of Valen Argos, the Argos n had rapidly fallen. After all, that man had killed off his own siblings, and their remaining fortunes had all been seized by the other ns. That was all done in a matter of two days. The dark ns definitely did not show mercy when it came to those matters.


    The first n Ibeiya brought Xiao Lin to was the subus n. Even if Ibeiya was not very happy with it, she had said that after the fall of the Argos n, the subi were the most powerful.


    The n of subi was called the Sisaiya n. Xiao Lin had met one of them before in Valen¡¯s castle¨Cthe voluptuous, beautiful, and mature woman.


    ¡°The subi aren¡¯t that strong, and don¡¯t have that much of a history, but they¡¯re very good at seducing men. These years, they¡¯ve used marriage into other ns as a way to trap all the ns into theirwork. If we gain their support, we will have mostly seeded.¡± Ibeiya had told Xiao Lin the gist of things on the way.

 Chapter 531 - Succubus

    <h4>Chapter 531: Subus</h4>


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment after listening to everything, and suddenly joked, ¡°Ibieya, do you have a grudge against that n? Why do I feel like your tone is off?¡±


    ¡°There is no such thing as a good subus!¡± Ibeiya said unkindly, turning around and looking at Xiao Lin with a pitiful gaze. ¡°I only brought you here because there¡¯s no other way. Please don¡¯t toss me aside for them.¡±


    Even though he knew the little girl was faking it, Xiao Lin patted Ibeiya on the head, consoling her and not knowing how he should react. ¡°Rx, you¡¯re making too big of a deal of this. How could I toss you aside.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you might not be able to say that when the timees. The subi are very beautiful, and are extremely seductive to men.¡±


    ¡°Enough. I guarantee that I won¡¯t be attracted, even if they¡¯re angels.¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t let it go. Let¡¯s just head back...¡±


    ...


    The two of them joked around and arrived at the Sisaiya n¡¯s residence. It was an old yet well-maintained manor. Even though it was night time, the lights in the house were still lit. It was not as luxurious here as the Argos n, but each decoration seemed extremely unique. It was obvious that the owner had put a lot of thought into them.


    ¡°The mistress has been waiting for a long time. Follow me.¡± Scantily-d servant girls led the way. The white mounds of flesh in front of their chests were very alluring. Seemingly feeling Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze, the two servant girls did not have a shred of embarrassment, even pushing them up and looking at Xiao Lin with extremely seductive and teasing gazes.


    Xiao Lin felt extremely awkward, and a white silhouette suddenly appeared in front of him. Ibeiya¡¯s white dress suddenly blocked his sight, and the girl was ring at the servants angrily, saying, ¡°What are you looking at! I¡¯ll dig your eyes out!¡±


    ¡°Oh, the little princess of the St. ude n is here too. You should look after your man better. Don¡¯t let us snatched him away.¡± The girls¡¯ seductive gazes somewhat lessened, but their words were very bold.


    ¡°Bring us to Sisaiya. She¡¯s already waiting for us?¡± Xiao Lin quickly changed the topic before Ibeiya could go any further.


    Sisaiya had actually been waiting for a long time in the main hall. There were quite a few people in the moderately-sized hall. They were either napping on the beast-skin sofas or quietly conversing around the wallmps. At a nce, there were at least twenty to thirty people, causing the ce to feel a little crowded. The strangest thing was that Xiao Lin was the only man there.


    There seemed to be a special fragrance in the air. Xiao Lin had wondered what the smell was, but quickly understood that it was the scent of the women around, and could not help but feel immensely awkward. Ibeiya was looking at everyone like an enemy.


    Sisaiya had been conversing with another woman near the balcony. Noticing XIao Lin¡¯s entrance, she said a few things to some others before walking toward him with a slight smile on her face. Sisaiya had a long ck dress on, and the dress was adorned with tiny silver jewels, looking like the stars in the gxy.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, is it? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for two days. If you had note yet, I might have paid you a private visit instead.¡± Sisaiya wore an alluring smile. Her gentle yet sweet voice seemed to be able to move hearts.


    Xiao Lin was momentarily entranced, but an unhappy snort from Ibeiya snapped him awake. He eximed in his mind that the other party really was a subus. Just one sentence was enough to entrance anyone.


    Xiao Lin had read up on the subi before he came. The information within the embassy was quiteplete. There were some differences from the legends on Earth. The subi on Norma were not those horned, winged, and hooved creatures like what was seen on Earth. They might be called demons, but Norma¡¯s subi were definitely not true demons.


    In this world, subi had a special, different name: cursed women. During ancient times, the original subi were humans that were imprisoned by evil demons. However, the humans imprisoned there never submitted, no matter how much time had passed, and the enraged demons unleashed a curse upon them, causing the women to have a bit of demon blood in them.


    That was why everyone with subus blood in them would be born with good looks and hot bodies, enough to arouse any man. They were born with unimaginable subjugation powers. Even though this power was forced on them, as time passed, they were slowly categorized as sluts, and ostracized by Normese society, getting lumped into the dark races.


    Remembering the information that he had seen was also a way for Xiao Lin to snap back to reality. Xiao Lin then said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I guess you already know why I¡¯m here. I need your help, as well as the help of all the dark ns, in order to protect the city.¡±


    He got straight to the point, afraid that his judgement would be affected by the women. Xiao Lin had taken Ibeiya¡¯s warnings to heart. The subi might not be that strong, but sometimes seductiveness was scarier than physical power.


    Sisaiya paused for a moment, her smile unchanging. She then pointed at the other women, not answering Xiao Lin¡¯s question and instead asking, ¡°Do you know who they are?¡±


    ¡°Your rtives?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right; they are all my sisters. They are all sisters that have married into various families. This one is from the Argos n. Oh, don¡¯t look at me like that. Don¡¯t worry, her husband was killed by Valen. She probably even has you to thank for that.¡±


    Sisaiya patiently introduced all her sisters that were present, but Xiao Lin could not remember that many names. However, just as Ibeiya said, the Sisaiya n used their unique skills to build an extremework of connections.


    After over ten minutes of introductions, Sisaiya¡¯s smile died as she said, ¡°We¡¯ve talked when we were at Valen¡¯s castle, and I¡¯ve discussed with the other ns during this time. We¡¯re very much against helping the Rosa Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not helping the Rosa Kingdom; you¡¯re helping Dawn Academy, as well as yourself.¡±


    Sisaiya blinked. ¡°How are you supposed to help us? You know clearly what we need.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent. Even if he already had a general idea, he was not sure if he had the right to mention it. To be specific, it might not be something Liang Taibai could make the decision on.


    Sisaiya continued, ¡°In truth, we don¡¯t really like the undead army outside the city either. We don¡¯t know Asabanor, but we don¡¯t wish for outsiders to control the city and disturb our peace. At the same time, we don¡¯t want to gain nothing from helping Dawn Academy. Therefore, I have a good suggestion, if you¡¯re willing to ept it, everything will go smoothly.¡±


    ¡°Say it.¡±


    ¡°Allow Ibeiya to be the new queen of this kingdom!¡±

 Chapter 532 - Ibeiya And The King (1)

    <h4>Chapter 532: Ibeiya And The King (1)</h4>


    ¡°Allow Ibeiya to be the new queen of this kingdom!¡±


    Sisaiya¡¯s voice reverberated around the hall, and the women stopped their chatter as all eyes were fixed on Xiao Lin¡¯s direction. None of them were surprised. It was obvious that the subi had already discussed that suggestion in thest two days.


    Ibeiya opened her mouth in shock, staring at the beautiful woman in disbelief and immediately rejecting the idea, ¡°I don¡¯t want to! You definitely have some tricks in mind!¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent, patting Ibeiya¡¯s head and whispering a few words to console her. He then looked at Sisaiya. Xiao Lin was not shocked either; the idea had surfaced in his mind after killing Valen. From various perspectives, Ibeiya was the best choice.


    Sisaiya looked at Xiao Lin and smiled. ¡°I guess you¡¯ve already considered that too. The Rosa Kingdom needs a new ruler. Everyone knows the current king can¡¯t hold on for long. Originally, you might have been able to pick out an obedient puppet from the royalty that was sent away, but you don¡¯t have time for that now. If you want to defend the city, you¡¯ll need the power of our dark ns. However, we can¡¯t help you for no returns. We need someone to represent us, and someone with the blood of Rosa royalty and the St. ude n is the best choice.¡±


    ¡°Is that the suggestion from everyone here?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you can treat it as something all of our ns have agreed on, and is also the only condition we have to help with the defense of the city.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it and said, ¡°I will discuss it with Ambassador Liang, but I hope you can understand. Even if we agree on it, we will still need the approval of Dawn City in the end. Also...¡±


    Pausing, Xiao Lin said softly, ¡°This will need the agreement of Ibeiya herself first.¡±


    Xiao Lin knew that the smart girl would not have missed such a development, but Ibeiya had not revealed her thoughts on it yet, and he would not force anything on her.


    No matter what, the short discussion hade up with results. Since Xiao Lin still needed to prepare for the defense of the city, he could not stay for too long, nor was he very used to the atmosphere there. So, he quickly brought Ibeiya away.


    In the embassy...


    Everyone had already fallen asleep after working through the night, leaving only Liang Taibai awaiting Xiao Lin¡¯s return with a cup of coffee. Xiao Lin was touched and surprised, but did not dy as he immediately recounted Sisaiya¡¯s request. Since it involved Ibeiya, he brought the girl in as well.


    Liang Taibai fell into silence. He was the one who instigated the matter, and had sent Xiao Lin to discuss matters with that in mind. He quickly looked over to Ibeiya, saying, ¡°Ibeiya, are you willing?¡±


    Ibeiya had been thinking about that the entire way here. Xiao Lin could not understand what she was thinking, and could only say gently, ¡°Don¡¯t let anything influence you, you just need to tell us what you think.¡±


    Ibeiya¡¯s expression was very weird; it seemed distressed and a little sad, but there were also traces of happiness?


    Xiao Lin actually did not understand Ibeiya that much. She was cute and beautiful; if she had been born in a normal family, she would be a princess without any worries. However, her birth meant she had to go through a lot, and her youth had caused her to quickly mature.


    Xiao Lin knew that Ibeiya had her own goals, but he was not sure what it was. Rebuilding her n? Revenge for her father?


    After a moment, Ibeiya said with aplicated look, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Give me some time to think. You suddenly want me to be a queen. Isn¡¯t it too sudden?¡±


    ¡°Our time is limited,¡± Liang Taibai said as he furrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°I only need one night.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°I want Big Brother Xiao Lin to apany me!¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine.¡± Liang Taibai did not hesitate to sell Xiao Lin out, temporarily assigning the city¡¯s defense to Luo Jianhui. After that, Xiao Lin¡¯s only job for the day was to apany Ibeiya.


    Xiao Lin had nothing to say about it, but was still doubtful as to how Liang Taibai would convince Dawn Academy. However, he did not voice any questions. Xiao Lin had yet to sleep the entire night, but Ibeiya was not that considerate of him. After leaving Liang Taibai¡¯s meeting room, she immediately voiced her request to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°I want to go to the pce.¡±


    ¡°You want to see your grandfather? Oh, I mean Rosa¡¯s king.¡± Xiao Lin felt like the moniker might not be appropriate, and called him the king instead.


    ¡°Thest time I saw my grandfather was when I was three. After that, my mother and I were chased out of the royal family, and have never returned.¡± Ibeiya called the king her grandfather, but her cold tone showed that she did not hold any feelings for him.


    ¡°No problem there.¡± Xiao Lin thought about it, adding, ¡°If you want to give that king a hard time, I can help you.¡±


    Ibeiya finally let out augh, her face looking much more rxed.


    Xiao Lin already had the power to enter the pce as he pleased, so he brought Ibeiya along to the pce, and got the servants to fetch the king, who was essentially a puppet at that point. After that, he had them all leave. Xiao Lin had wanted to leave as well, but he was worried Ibeiya would suffer if she was left by herself, so he stood by the side instead.


    The king had lost a lot of weight in the two days. He had known of the energy stones being stolen as well, and knew it wouldplicate the defense of the city. He first talked to Xiao Lin about the military minister, expressing his regret, but he then noticed Ibeiya, and looked at Xiao Lin with a confused and questioning expression.


    ¡°This is Ibeiya, your granddaughter.¡± Xiao Lin was looking down on the old man in his heart, but he still introduced them.


    The king paused for a long time looking at Ibeiya before softly sighing. ¡°You really look a lot like your mother. I heard you¡¯ve suffered these few years.¡±


    ¡°I was okay,¡± Ibeiya said casually. ¡°Uncle treats me quite well. I¡¯ve been to a lot of ces these two years, and got to know a lot of people¨Cexperienced different things.¡±


    ¡°Why did you return after leaving?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d nned on remaining in Dawn City, but I came back to help Big Brother Xiao Lin.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you have a good rtionship with him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s at least better than with you!¡±


    ¡°Ah, your personality is a lot like your mothers.¡±


    ¡°Really? My mother died when I was very young, so I don¡¯t really remember much about her.¡±


    ...


    The two of them chatted like that; to anyone who did not know the situation, it would look like two old friends talking to each other. There was no conflict, no venting. Everything was very calm. It was so calm Xiao Lin felt a sense of surrealness.

 Chapter 533 - Ibeiya And The King (2)

    <h4>Chapter 533: Ibeiya And The King (2)</h4>


    With some things, the more normal they were, the more abnormal they seemed.


    After losing both her parents since she was young, and even getting abandoned by the royal family, Ibeiya should hate Rosa¡¯s royalty as well as her own grandfather. The king did not seem to have cared for his granddaughter of mixed blood. If Xiao Lin had not told the king, the king would probably have never thought of Ibeiya.


    Xiao Lin was sitting by the side, drinking some tea as he quietly listened on. The more he listened, the weirder it felt. Ibeiya¡¯s tone was very normal, no trace of excitement for seeing a rtive, nor was there any trace of hatred or anger. The king seemed to be talking normally as well, asking Ibeiya about her life over the past years. His voice had no trace of regret or pity.


    Ibeiya had wanted to see the king herself. Xiao Lin had been thinking about it on the way, but never found the answer. Ibeiya had not seen her grandfather for many years. Ibeiya absolutely would not have had the chance to enter the pce after she was chased out.


    However, was Ibeiya just there to chat?


    Xiao Lin could only listen patiently. Finally, the king¡¯s questions seemed to stop, and the two of them fell silent. After a few minutes Ibeiya¡¯srge eyes glinted as she used a cool tone to ask, ¡°Actually I asked Big Brother Xiao Lin to bring me over this time to ask you a question.¡±


    ¡°Is it about your mother?¡± the king said.


    ¡°No, I said it earlier. I¡¯m thankful to my mother for giving birth to me, but my only memory of her stops at a drawing at home. It was my father that brought me up, but regretfully he was killed by hunters five years ago.¡±


    After pausing, Ibeiya¡¯s tone went even colder, even having some killing intent. ¡°You should know, since the Rosa Kingdom allows the dark races to stay here, they do not allow hunters into the country as well. Why would hunters appear in my house five years ago? Those hunters had to be from the Sheikh Empire; that empire¡¯s religion treats killing dark races as a form of glory!¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± The king narrowed his eyes.


    Ibeiya took a deep breath, staring at the king before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve investigated it after. The church of the Sheikh Empire had a secret correspondence with you before, and after that, the Rosa Kingdom suddenly obtained arge amount of money from unknown sources. Even though I suspected whether Dawn Academy was a part of it, I understood after investigating in Dawn City that the academy has been clueless on the matter to this day. I have to say you are quite smart.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally put down his tea cup, looking at Ibeiya in surprise. The girl no longer had her calm face from earlier on. What she showed was dense hatred and anger.


    Xiao Lin was starting to understand.


    As a vassal of Dawn City, Rosa¡¯s treasury would always be under the scrutiny of Dawn Academy¡¯s embassy. Any use of the treasury would naturally be under intense scrutiny. Liang Taibai had said before that the king wanted to implement reforms that would circumvent Dawn Academy¡¯s rule. Reforms need money, and any money moving out of the royal treasury would not have escaped the embassy. The only way would be to get it from outside sources, such as from that Sheikh Empire.


    The Sheikh Empire was arge empire to the north of Norma. It was a religious government. Xiao Lin did not know much about it; the most he knew was what Ibeiya had said. The empire hated the dark races, and their church had established an order of hunters. Anyone who brought in corpses from the dark races would be able to get certain rewards.


    The more famous dark races would naturally be on the cklist of the religion. Killing them would grant a lot of glory. The St. ude had arge amount of history, existing since ancient times. It was no exaggeration to say that the St. ude n¡¯s fall in just a few hundred years was probably because too many of the n had been hunted, and they finally had to move to the Rosa Kingdom to hide.


    He finally understood why Ibeiya wanted to go to Dawn City. The investigation was her true goal. Her mother had died since she was young, and even her father was killed. No one would be able to ept their parents being assassinated, especially when there was a plot behind it.


    Ibeiya had chosen to investigate it all herself, and managed to find the truth. Xiao Lin looked at the king with shock. It was obvious that the old man had used the life and information of the father of his own granddaughter in exchange for money for his own reforms.


    After finishing, Ibeiya looked at the king, slowly asking, ¡°Tell me, is everything I said true?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I did it.¡± The king surprisingly admitted it.


    Ibeiya trembled, clenching her fists tightly. Xiao Lin moved quickly, and shot forward, cing a supportive hand on Ibeiya¡¯s shoulder while his other hand held Ibeiya¡¯s fist. Ibeiya tried to resist, but her strength could notpare to Xiao Lin¡¯s. Her fingers were quickly pried apart by Xiao Lin.


    In Ibeiya¡¯s white palm was a knife the size of a finger. The de was very thin, but had a cold blue glow. It even had a shocking amount of energy circting within. Xiao Lin estimated that the de was at least Silver-ranked, or even higher than that.


    ¡°Give it to me!¡± Xiao Lin snatched the de away. Hearing Ibeiya¡¯s words, he naturally knew that she was there for revenge.


    Ibeiya stared at him, softly roaring, ¡°Big Brother, why are you stopping me!¡±


    ¡°Because he knows that, even if I deserve to die, it¡¯s not the time, and I can¡¯t die in your hands.¡± The one who answered was the king on the throne. The king had already gotten up and was walking down.


    Xiao Lin pulled Ibeiya behind him, and suddenly rushed forward, smashing a fist into the King¡¯s face. With his power at that moment, he sent the defenseless king flying back a dozen meters, even destroying the throne.


    The servants outside immediately rushed over after hearing themotion, but they looked at each other when they saw the scene, not daring to make a move on Xiao Lin, nor did they dare to leave the king just as he was. They did not know if Xiao Lin was nning on killing the king at that moment. If the king died, they would definitely end up joining him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The king stood up, waving his hands tomand the servants to leave. The right side of the king¡¯s face had swelled up, and his lips were bloodied. Even speaking was hard.

 Chapter 534 - Ibeiya And The King (3)

    <h4>Chapter 534: Ibeiya And The King (3)</h4>


    The king crawled up and grasped the pendant in front of his chest, opening it before pouring the liquid into his mouth. Quickly, the wound on his face began to recover. His face was calm, not seeming angry at all. However, he warily looked at Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°If you¡¯re nning on doing anything more, you¡¯ll need to get me more potions. All I have with me is this.¡±


    Xiao Linposed himself, looking at the calm king, Xiao Lin¡¯s fist that fell to his side. The king understood very well that Xiao Lin could not kill him right there. Even if the king was injured, they would need to cure the king. Even if Dawn Academy did not like the king, the king could not die while they were still defending the city.


    ¡°We have a saying in my hometown; as evil as a tiger is, they do not eat their children. Even if you didn¡¯t acknowledge your son-inw, were you willing to let Ibeiya turn into an orphan?¡± Xiao Lin mocked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of such a saying, I¡¯ve read a lot of your books after all. However, I¡¯ve also read that men of character do not bother about trifles.¡± The king had no hint of regret, and only stared back at Xiao Lin.


    The king quickly looked at the furious Ibeiya, calmly saying, ¡°I¡¯ve wronged your mother and you, I admit that. However, I¡¯ve never wronged this country. I¡¯m Rosa¡¯s king first, your grandfather second. There has never been any absolute rights or wrongs in this world. The otherworlder next to you came to our world with their kind; that is the true origin of all this evil. If you want revenge, he should be one of them.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Ibeiya shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m some child you can manipte! Big Brother Xiao Lin is a good person; our conflict with their people has nothing to do with us. All I know is you killed my father!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not treating you like a child. In truth, I¡¯m quite happy that you knew to borrow the strength of Dawn Academy. It¡¯s a pity that no one among my children has your intelligence.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, the king continued, ¡°You really want to kill me?¡±


    Ibeiya red, but it was at Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin sighed. He had kept himself in between Ibeiya and the king. It was to prevent Ibeiya from doing anything, and also to stop the king from making a move. He mocked the king, ¡°You¡¯re a smart person, you know we can¡¯t do anything to you now, but you won¡¯t live for long.¡±


    If they really managed to secure the city, once everything was done, Dawn Academy would definitely deal with that disobedient king.


    The king smiled coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to remind me. However, it seems like it won¡¯t take that long now. If I don¡¯t die, how will my granddaughter take my ce?¡±


    Xiao Lin and Ibeiya were shocked. They had never mentioned the dark races wanting Ibeiya to be queen, and had never told any one of Rosa¡¯s officials either.


    ¡°You¡¯re spying on me?¡± Ibeiya¡¯s tone was very harsh.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to guess. You¡¯ll need the power of the dark ns to protect the city, and they would need something in return if you want them to help willingly. With your current struggles, the only thing you can offer is this throne.¡±


    Talking to intelligent people really saved time, Xiao Lin decided against hiding it, saying, ¡°You¡¯re right. What we need is your throne.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The king¡¯s answer was very quick, and Xiao Lin and Ibeiya looked at each other. Xiao Lin felt like the cunning old man might have had some tricks up their sleeves.


    The king returned to the throne, touching the cold seat, saying in self-mockery, ¡°This seat isn¡¯t actually valuable anymore. Ever since your people came to our kingdom, most of the military and financial power had fallen into your hands. You might even get rid of royalty before too long. I¡¯ve read your books; monarchy doesn¡¯t exist in your world! Compared to letting you choose another puppet, I¡¯d rather let Ibeiya do it.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood what he meant. If they did not pick Ibeiya, Dawn Academy would just choose one of his children as a puppet. However, Ibeiya was different. Ibeiya had the dark races behind her. When the time came, it would be a contest between Dawn Academy and the dark races. No matter what happened, the Rosa Kingdom would not bepletely hollowed out.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve done a lot of research into our world.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just about knowing your enemy.¡±


    ¡°Then can you at least produce a document of sorts; it would make it easier for me to let the dark races know.¡±


    ¡°Why would it need to be so troublesome? Do you really think those races, who¡¯ve lived for centuries, would trust in a document? Wait for tomorrow. I¡¯ll make things clear tomorrow.¡±


    Make things clear? Make what clear?


    Xiao Lin and Ibeiya were both suspicious, but the king¡¯s calm expression seemed to have led them to understand something and they did not press on. Before they left, Ibeiya seemed to have wanted to say something, but the cold expression on the king¡¯s face caused her to leave.


    ¡°Big Brother Xiao Lin, do you think that old man will willingly give up his throne to me?¡± Ibeiya suddenly asked on the way back.


    ¡°Of course he won¡¯t be willing, but he has no choice. It¡¯s the only thing he can do for the city.¡± Xiao Lin remembered the assessment Liang Taibai gave the king. Pushing aside his standing in Dawn Academy, the king was very responsible. He might not be a good person, but he worked hard for the country, even if that hard work was not beneficial to Dawn Academy.


    Sighing, Xiao Lin said gently, ¡°Ibeiya, can you answer me now? Do you want to be the queen?¡±


    Ibeiya blinked, asking, ¡°Would you let me be the queen?¡±


    Xiao Lin more or less knew her answer, saying, ¡°Ambassador Liang told me, thest long-rangemunication from Dawn City had given him temporary power over everything.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m willing to try.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Good luck then.¡±


    Xiao Lin encouraged her with a smile. He was not surprised at the answer. As thest of the St. ude bloodline, Ibeiya had too much on her shoulders. That was probably her uncle¡¯s wish as well. If she became the queen, it would help the n.


    Xiao Lin did not know if that was the right choice, nor was he sure if Dawn City would allow Ibeiya to continue as the queen, but at least her wish would be fulfilled for now.


    Xiao Lin reported to Liang Taibai when they returned to the academy. Liang Taibai did not say anything, merely nodding before saying he would reach out to the higher-ups. He said that, as long as Ibeiya was willing, Dawn City would not cause any trouble. At least for now, the most important thing was still defending the city.

 Chapter 535 - Rallying The Troops

    <h4>Chapter 535: Rallying The Troops</h4>


    The undead army¡¯s attack did not stop for what was happening in the city. The moment night fell, the waves of undead once again rushed forward. With the energy stones that were still in reserve as well as the low-grade stones sent from the pce, the defensive towers inflicted massive destruction as usual.


    The night passed peacefully, but when dawn striked, the undead army did not retreat like the two days before. They still rushed to the city without a care. The undead zombies were even more sluggish after being weakened by the sun.


    The undead were all formally soldiers from the royal city, and the numbers had always been limited. Under the constant fire of the defensive towers, the numbers had kept on reducing. It was until that afternoon, when thest rotten corpse fell, before everyone erupted in passionate cheers.


    The undead army was finally exterminated,ing at a minimal cost to the thousands of soldiers defending the city, giving them a huge sense of aplishment.


    Xiao Lin and Luo Jianhui, who were inmand, could only smile bitterly at each other. The cost of their victory that day had been thest of the energy stones. From the next day on, most of their defensive towers would bepletely useless. The enemy had obviously known that as well, and the goal of their undead army had been achieved. That was why they sent the undead army charging forward without a care for casualties.


    Xiao Lin fell asleep in a state of unease that day. When he was awoken, he received a surprising piece of news¨Cthe king hadmitted suicide.


    Liang Taibai told him about it in private. The king¡¯s body was found in his bedroom a bit earlier. Since the pce already had Dawn Academy¡¯s people stationed there, it had basically eliminated the possibility of murder.


    Liang Taibai said it was a pity, but it did note as a surprise.


    ¡°I should have expected this.¡± Xiao Lin was silent for a while before continuing. He had been wondering how the king would hand over the throne to his granddaughter the day before, but he never expected the king to use such a direct method.


    ¡°It¡¯s the best result.¡± Liang Taibai sighed and said, ¡°Even though it¡¯s not a great time for the king to die at the moment, if he waited for the siege to end, we might not be able to get a say in the sessor. The king understood that, which was why he chose the right time tomit suicide, preserving the best scenario for the Rosa Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°This is hisst will. It¡¯s meant for Ibeiya.¡±


    Xiao Lin took the piece of paper from Liang Taibai. It was called a will, but it only had a few words written in blood on it. ¡®Rosa is yours now¡¯.


    ¡°Are there any movements from the military?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve basically controlled the military and the finances. Even if there¡¯s a minority who swore their loyalty to the king, we¡¯ve already got them in control. It won¡¯t affect matters.¡±


    The two of them had a simple dialogue and managed to settle matters easily. After he left the office, Xiao Lin suddenly felt a strange feeling. It seemed like he suddenly empathized with the king. He could feel how deeply Dawn Academy had encroached upon the kingdom. As long as Dawn Academy wished, they could do anything they felt like to the kingdom.


    Ibeiya might not have had any feelings toward her grandfather, but she was still dumbfounded when she received the news from Xiao Lin. Looking at the words on the will, she suddenly said, ¡°I will do a better job than him! I definitely will!¡±


    ¡°I believe in you.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know if Ibeiya had the experience, but as the only sessor to the St. ude n, he believed that Ibeiya would definitely have received some education on leadership from her father and uncle. She was set to be someone of power in the future. Even if it was not as the queen, she would still be the leader of her n.


    It might seem too early, but Ibeiya did not seem unhappy at all. After the initial somber mood, she showed a lot of passion, immediately throwing herself into her new role, taking charge of the rtionship between the embassy and the dark ns.


    Later in the day, Xiao Lin went with Ibeiya to the Sisaiya n again. After an hour-long intense discussion, they managed to establish various initial points, including the position of the dark ns in the royal city, providing them with more rights and reducing their taxes.


    The dark ns were very enthusiastic, but they still understood that Ibeiya was just a link. The real master was still the embassy. However, Liang Taibai gave them a lot of power this time. As long as it did not involve the three main powers of the military, the finance, and the government, Ibeiya was free to decide everything else.


    Liang Taibai had even exined to Xiao Lin what the wartime chain ofmand was. Due to the cost of interspatialmunication, the foreign envoys were free to make their own decisions during times of emergency and if contacting Dawn City was difficult.


    The dark ns were very efficient. After reaching an agreement with Ibeiya, they quickly collected their gear and immediately sent out a force of over six thousand soldiers.


    There were dozens of ns in the royal city. The smaller ns sent out less people and therger ones sent out more. Amassing the army did not seem to have used up that much time or effort.


    On top of the existing guard in the city, they now had over ten thousand troops in defense. After therge-scale recruitment in the city, they managed to pull in another army of over twenty thousand soldiers. However, that regiment consisted ofmoners without any military training. They had added some of the merchants from Earth, which was the result of negotiations with the merchant union.


    With that, they now had over thirty thousand soldiers in the royal city. Even though theirbat ability was not the best, with the solid city walls, they could put up a fight.


    The rebel troops were also quickly approaching the city. After losing their long-ranged defensive towers, the rebels boldly established their camps very near to the city, but were quickly faced with a rabid magical bombardment from the city. Even without the defensive towers, at least one in five of the six thousand dark race soldiers were decent at magic.


    The rebels did not have as many soldiers as they initially thought, with only around seventy to eighty thousand. Even though they had some siege equipment, they did not have any high-leveled magical mechanisms. In this world filled with magic, defending cities were still more advantageous, which was why the rebels failed to gain any sort of advantages in the uing days.

 Chapter 536 - Xiao Lin’s Guess

    <h4>Chapter 536: Xiao Lin¡¯s Guess</h4>


    Xiao Lin had been busier than he ever was. Even though the number of guards in the city increased, Liang Taibai did not intend on changingmanders. Compared tomanding a few thousand people and relying on the defense towers, he had a much more challenging time inmand.


    Xiao Lin was not a genius;manding tens of thousands of soldiers was way too difficult for him. Thankfully, Luo Jianhui¡¯s experience helped him with most of the problems. Xiao Lin adopted a humble attitude as he learned from Luo Jianhui. He knew that the only reason he was still amander was because of the rtionship between Ibeiya and himself, which was like a bridge of trust.


    Ibeiya did not cause any waves after bing the queen. To mostmoners, the king was something they paid no attention to outside of having some curiosity. These few years, even idiots knew that the real power in the kingdom was Dawn Academy.


    The ministers who were loyal to the king obviously voiced their anger and objections, but they could not find anyone to stand with them. Who would care about them during the defense of the city? In the end, they looked for Ibeiya. Facing that young girl, especially with her reddened eyes and pitiful looks, they could only swallow their anger. They obviously did not know how cunning Ibeiya was.


    With that, ten days passed, and the defense of the city got more and more intense. The rebels might not have been very skilled, but their bravery was admirable. They did not seem to be afraid of death or injury, and fervently sent wave after wave of attacks. If not for theck of death energy, Xiao Lin would have thought they were undead soldiers.


    After losing the defense towers, the rebels almost managed to make it to the top of the city gates a few times. However, the equipment the rebels had was too poor, and they would be forced to retreat each time, leaving behind thousands of corpses. With the torrential rain, the rotting corpses stank up half the city, causing everyone to have to block their noses.


    The casualties in the royal city were not small either, and Liang Taibai was forced to recruit more soldiers from the city. Those untrained soldiers were basically cannon fodder, but that was what they needed the most. Almost half of the old and injured soldiers that were originally around had died. The soldiers from the dark ns faced the least casualties, but even they had lost almost a quarter.


    The dark races were the main firepower, and Xiao Lin knew they could not afford to have the dark races die easily, which was why they needed arge amount of cannon fodder to hold the rebels back, allowing the dark ns¡¯ soldiers more time to rest.


    Xiao Lin wanted to join the fight, but was stopped by Luo Jianhui. He told Xiao Lin that it was not the time; the situation was still unclear and themanders needed to maintain their cool. Xiao Lin epted the suggestion. He had quickly absorbed and learned everything, including Luo Jianhui¡¯s words and his own understanding.


    ¡°What do you feel Asabanor is doing?¡± It was not the first time Luo Jianhui discussed that with Xiao Lin.


    ¡°With the current situation, even with the high amount of casualties, defending the city won¡¯t be too difficult. Asabanor sees that as well. What¡¯s the meaning of this fruitless siege? After the dark ns joined us, our power is already equal to the rebels.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that he doesn¡¯t really care about the lives of these rebels,¡± Xiao Lin answered uncertainly. Looking at the corpses littered around the city, his heart suddenly quickened, as if he grasped something.


    ¡°Are you worried Asabanor will turn the corpses into undead?¡± Luo Jianhui smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. I¡¯ve asked the dark ns. Necromancy has its limitations. These corpses that haven¡¯t been dead for long won¡¯t have much death energy. Even if they were converted, theirbat ability would be incredibly low.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Xiao Lin answered. Thanks to Ibeiya, he had established a good rtionship with the dark ns recently. He had asked a lot of questions about dark magic, both to understand more about Asabanor as well as due to the fact that he had learned dark magic as well. The books in the library could notpare to personal ounts.


    Initially Xiao Lin suspected Asabanor knew certain supreme magic spells. He knew that with Legend-ranked magic, destroying a city would not be anything difficult. However, those kinds of figures were all legends themselves, and would rarely show themselves. Asabanor absolutely did not have that level of skill.


    Xiao Lin could not shake off a feeling of unease. He had mentioned it to Liang Taibai and some others, but never got any exnation. It was possible they felt that Xiao Lin was just facing too much pressure, especially since he was just a new student. That was why Liang Taibai gave him a day off, getting him to walk around.


    Xiao Lin epted the suggestion; he felt like he was thinking too much as well.


    There was not a big change in the royal city despite the attacks. After the initial chaos, with the valiant defense of the city and the rebels not being able to take it down, the embassy also received news that the reinforcements from Dawn Academy were approaching. That quickly put themoners at ease. Compared to the rebels, they were happier to trust Dawn Academy.


    Of course, there were aspects that were affected as well. With the attack, activity levels had greatly decreased, and the price of goods in shops drastically increased as well. After a strict curfew was announced, the most bustling city in Rosa calmed down a lot. Xiao Lin walked along the streets, and most of the doors were shut. The streets were filled with rubbish, and it was unclear how long it had been since the streets were cleaned.


    There was nothing much to see with the royal city in that state. Xiao Lin was supposed to pass the time, but he felt like it was better to just turn back. The rebels had not stopped their attacks, but as the days passed, the forces they sent to attack the city were decreasing.


    The situation did not look bad, and Xiao Lin constantly looked for the source of his unease. Looking at the calm streets and the asional person who passed, he had a sudden thought sh through his mind, and he quickly realized something.


    The scene in front of him was familiar, which was the source of his unease. He finally remembered why it was familiar. It was like his third monthly examination, the so-called hardest amphibious assault. They were tasked to defend the fort, and it initially went very well. However, at thest moment, their foes managed to sneak into the fort, and caused all their efforts to be for naught.


    If the current peace in the royal city was just a farce, then what did the enemy¨Cno¨Cwhat did Asabanor want from it?


    If the enemy¡¯s goal was to sneak into the city as well, then what did he want?

 Chapter 537 - Surprise At The Casino

    <h4>Chapter 537: Surprise At The Casino</h4>


    Xiao Lin did not know why he suddenly remembered the third monthly examination. It might have been intuition or just a nonsensical thought, but the thought had deeply rooted itself into his mind. After much deliberation, he increasingly felt like it had the highest possibility.


    Xiao Lin immediately returned to the embassy to let Liang Taibai, Luo Jianhui and the others know of his thoughts. Xiao Lin had gotten very familiar with the staff from the embassy, and everyone acknowledged the junior who was only a few months into the academy, with no one looking down on him.


    However, they could not help butugh when they heard of the guess, consoling Xiao Lin and believing it was a nonsensical thought. The possibility of it happening was practically zero.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, I can understand the pressure you¡¯ve been under, but you¡¯re telling us that Asabanor¡¯s only goal from the start had just been to get into the city. The countless undead soldiers and all of the rebels were just the price of that. You know the amount of soldiers he has would be enough to take over a small country. What Asabanor needs at the moment is territory and soldiers; how could he give them up so easily?¡± Liang Taibai did not believe it, and was patiently analyzing the matter.


    Not getting any help from the embassy was within Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations. He continued to walk around the city after leaving the embassy, thinking hard about what Asabanor would want if he was really in the city. What would be worth such arge price?


    Money?


    Rosa might be a small kingdom, but as the hub of the kingdom, the royal city did have most of the wealth in the kingdom. Coupled with the jewelry amassed in the pce through hundreds of years, it was not a small fortune.


    He would have all of that if he managed to take over the city.


    Walking as he thought, Xiao Lin ended up stopping in front of arge building. It was thergest entertainment center in the royal city, Century Casino. An Fumin had spent a lot of money on this city, building thergest, most luxurious building in the entire city. It was a pity that the money would all be going down the drain with the war.


    Xiao Lin did not have much pity for An Fumin¨Cthey were merely working together. It was a pity that, with the siege, it was impossible to bring back what An Fumin had asked him to.


    Suddenly, Xiao Lin looked up in realization.


    ¡°Many people have searched all of Norma looking for this, and countless people have lost their lives for it too. Too many people want it, but have never seen it...¡±


    The boss of the casino, Sun Jia, had said those words. The thing An Fumin wanted him to bring back to Dawn City, that mysterious object inside the box. Xiao Lin had beenpletely disinterested in An Fumin¡¯s secret, but thinking about Asabanor, he was suddenly uneasy.


    Surely it could not be such a big coincidence?


    With an apprehensive feeling, Xiao Lin walked into the casino. Even if they were being sieged, even with all the fighting outside, with the explosions from magic still able to be heard, the outside world seemed topletely disappear after stepping into the casino.


    Century Casino was one of the few entertainment centers left open during the war. Even those who were trying to cause trouble in the royal city did not dare step into the ce. That was because at least half of those from Earth regarded the casino as theirst sanctuary. The amount of colonists gathered here caused everyone to avoid it.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Earth attire caused the staff at the door to be even more enthusiastic. The local girls had very revealing outfits on, and put on alluring makeup¨Ceven a smile from them was seductive. There were plenty of people like that around; most of the girls hoped to attract a colonist and to be brought back to colonial territories. That way, they could enjoy a life of luxury.


    It was a pity that Xiao Lin was not interested at all¨Cnot in the mood to enjoy the attractive women. It was not the first time he was in the casino, and he waved the girls away, walking straight to Sun Jia¡¯s office.


    After the war, Century Casino remained open, but had fired a lot of the non-essential staff, which was why there were not many people around the corridors. Brushing past someone covered in a grey robe, Xiao Lin paused, remembering something before reaching out to hold the man¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Please wait a moment...¡±


    He had not even finished when the grey-robed man suddenly moved, immediately shooting a green light at Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin was shocked; he was very familiar with that spell. It was Disintegration Ray, which could directly destroy the soul. Thankfully, he was prepared, and immediately took out his Holy Soul Sword from his spatial ring. The special material of the sword immediately blocked the ray, but at a price: traces of decay seemed to have appeared on the de.


    The grey-robed man did not want to fight, and immediately fled after using Disintegration Ray. Xiao Lin might have been slower to react, but he did not hesitate to use his Ruin state. During this time, he had been using Ruin with increasing frequency. The more he used it, the more familiar he was with it, and the longer he could maintain it.


    Boom!


    In the narrow corridor, Xiao Lin shot out like an arrow, colliding right into the person. His Ruin state allowed him to catch up and tackle the grey-robed man. The two of them collided into the wall, and with the sudden sound of the impact, a hole formed on the wall.


    Xiao Lin was the first to get up from the ground, and he used his Holy Sword to open up the person¡¯s robe. When he looked at the royal cell with Time Rewind, he had seen a grey-robed man enter the cell, which was why he was rmed earlier. What shocked him was that he had thought the grey-robed person who kidnapped them was Valen, but now that Valen had died, who was this person?


    Under the robes was a refined woman with milky white skin and blonde hair. A woman with pointy ears!


    An elf?


    An elf!


    It was not Asabanor like he had thought, but what was in front of him was even more shocking. The number of elves in the Rosa Kingdom could be counted with one¡¯s fingers, and only asionally would an elvish adventurer pass by.


    Why was an elf here?


    Why would the elves work with Asabanor, participating in the kidnapping and attacking the royal city?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s questions flooded his head in an instant.

 Chapter 538 - A Special Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 538: A Special Transformation</h4>


    The elvish woman quickly got up, using her dexterity to pull away. She quickly noticed that her robe had fallen off and no longer obscured her looks.


    The woman quickly saw where Xiao Lin¡¯s shock was from, and green shed in her pupils. Her voice was raspy and low, feeling closer to a man¡¯s voice as she asked, ¡°Xiao Lin? You¡¯re Xiao Lin! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°Do I know you?¡± Xiao Lin found it strange that she knew his name.


    ¡°Asabanor gave me a picture of you long ago. Even if I die, I will remember you!¡± The woman clenched her teeth, her voice filled with anger.


    Xiao Lin put his hand on his Holy Sword, fully on alert as he asked confusedly, ¡°Hold on. Do I have any grudges with you?¡±


    The woman smiled coldly. ¡°You killed my sister, did you forget it so quickly? It¡¯s really like you otherworlders. You¡¯ve never taken our lives into consideration!¡±


    Xiao Lin was even more confused, but he quickly remembered. When he was returning from the Silver Province to Dawn City, he was ambushed by an elf. In the end, he had used his Ruin state and dragon breath. He smiled bitterly, not expecting to have met the elf¡¯s sister. Was that fate?


    ¡°It looks like you finally remembered? You otherworlders say an eye for an eye! I had been nning on saving you forst, but since I¡¯ve met you, I¡¯ll just kill you here. Asabanor will be very happy.¡± The woman mocked. She was speaking in Normese, but ¡®an eye for an eye¡¯ was said in garbled Mandarin.


    Xiao Lin could not help but let out a coldugh. ¡°I seem to remember your sister being a dark elf. It seems like you might not be a dark elf, but you still know dark magic. I can¡¯t believe the elves have stooped so low as to help Asabanor, I think that Judge Academy will be very happy to know this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, there¡¯s no reason to worry about a dead person. Asabanor just wants your body. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re alive or not.¡±


    Xiao Lin was surprised, and asked, ¡°Did youe here for me?¡±


    The woman opened her mouth, but stopped. ¡°Trying to get me to talk? Quit dreaming!¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Once we capture you, our interrogators will get you to speak.¡±


    ¡°Capture me?¡± The woman raised her eyebrows. ¡°How are you going to capture me? That special state of yours? Or that sliver of dragon breath you have?


    ¡°If those are all your trump cards, then you can just go ahead and die.¡±


    Finishing her words, the elf woman¡¯s white skin began to glow green. Xiao Lin was shaken, and a familiar scene quickly appeared. It was not the first time he saw that strange transformation. From Valen Argos to the general, that strange green light seemed to have a mysterious power that could greatly boost someone¡¯s power.


    The elf woman obviously had a lot of information on Xiao Lin, which was why she knew of Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state and dragon breath sword, and that they were both Xiao Lin¡¯s greatest skills.


    ¡°Even if you know of it, I want to see how you defend against it!¡± Considering the increase in strength after the transformation, Xiao Lin did not want to drag things on for too long. He did not hesitate to enter his Ruin state.


    The woman¡¯s transformation was quicklypleted, but it was different from the two prior. The mysterious green energy had changed into light green, and countlessplicated ck patterns appeared. Her muscles expanded as well, but not to an exaggerated degree. The greatest difference was her back. Her shoulder des rose until it ripped through her clothes, and two jet ck wings extended outward.


    The woman did not care about being exposed after her clothes ripped apart. She unfolded her wings, and swayed them in the air as she worked to stabilize her flight. She seemed to not be used to that state, and the wings were not veryrge. They were only around half a meter long. The wings were filled with leaf-shaped feathers, and the leaves were all green. They were also not solid, and formed by energy.


    Xiao Lin immediately opened his Eye of Truth. Ever since noticing that ability, he had been using the eye more and more. With the Eye of Truth, all falsehoods were turned to nothing. He could see that the wings were a mix of dark death energy and shattered life energy.


    Of the three main energies, life and death energy were not supposed to mix. However, the woman had the two energies in perfect harmony in her wings, forming an even more terrifying power.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ve fought Valen and that stupid man from Rosa, but if you think I¡¯m the same as them, then you¡¯re underestimating me.¡± The woman¡¯s voice turned more womanly, but was still very raspy.


    Even though she did not have the exaggerated muscles and explosive strength of the earlier two, Xiao Lin felt a sense of danger he never did before. That was why after activating Ruin, he did not hesitate and immediately converted all his strength to dragon breath.


    Xiao Lin wanted to use his dragon breath sword to kill that dangerous woman immediately. Even if it was a pity not being able to capture the woman for information, his life was far more important. After all, they no longer had a resurrection tower in the royal city, and they could not risk themselves.


    The elvish woman smiled as she held her wings out two to three meters in the air, seemingly getting used to her state, and not bothering to dodge.


    Of course, dragon breath had a very obvious energy-gathering stage, but that also allowed the special sword aura to be extremely destructive. There was no way to dodge with speed.


    The dragon breath sword quicklypleted and was sent out. Xiao Lin used much more power this time, and the white light was apanied with an intense shaking of a level 12 earthquake. The entire royal city felt the impact, and the nearby Century Casino was starting to copse.


    The shaking continued for minutes, and even Xiao Lin himself shook under the immense ripples of energy. He had used many times more energy than he ever had, and even holding on was hard for him. If he ended up getting hit as well, there would be no way for him to survive.


    That was why Xiao Lin only dared to move forward after the energy receded. As the dust cleared, the winged, green woman remained in midair.

 Chapter 539 - Dark Treant

    <h4>Chapter 539: Dark Treant</h4>


    The dragon breath sword that Xiao Lin had treated as a sure-kill technique all along failed for the first time. He understood that dragon breath was not omnipotent, despite its high levels of power. The special sword aura allowed him to wield power that was several times stronger than his own ability, but it was still nothing to someone truly at a high level.


    However, the elf was definitely not someone at that level. At least, she was not before her transformation.


    More urately, even after transforming, Xiao Lin did not feel like she was strong to any extreme degree. Even so, she perfectly countered his dragon breath sword.


    Xiao Lin noticed a faint green shield appear around her, and believed that was what blocked his sword aura. The energy shield quickly disappeared, not giving Xiao Lin enough time to observe it.


    He was still in his Ruin state. The dragon breath sword¡¯s failure did not stop Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks. He followed closely with a me sword aura, the intense mes turning into the shape of a sharp de. The woman deftly dodged it, using her wings as well as her innate elven dexterity to make it look as if she was dancing as the des of fire missed by the narrowest of margins.


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes. This time his opponent had chosen to dodge instead of blocking, showing that the strange green shield could not be used at will.


    Since it was not an absolute defense, Xiao Lin was not afraid of it.


    The dragon breath sword used up a lot of energy, and Xiao Lin could not use it twice in a short time, but each attack he made under his Ruin state was still extremely threatening.


    Xiao Lin was getting better at using his me sword aura, and the skill was no longer the same me sword aura or wave de from before. Ever since he started learning elemental sword aura, he had slowly been improving on his me sword aura. His sword aura now used the natural elements that had gone through destruction and rebirth, and those me elements formed the true me sword technique. Its power was several times greater than it used to be.


    The elf woman was quite shocked because Xiao Lin had only mastered that skill after heading back to the academy, and so it was not in her information. However, the woman quickly let out a coldugh, and shot out rays of green light. Each individual ray looked a lot like a Disintegration Ray, but it was incredibly slow, allowing Xiao Lin to avoid them easily.


    However, those rays of light were not aimed at him. It looked like the woman was just aiming at the empty ground. When the raysnded, they quickly turned into liquid. The deep green color had traces of ck and dark red. It looked quite disgusting as the liquids started to bubble and quickly seep into the ground.


    After a dozen seconds, the ground started to rumble as if something was underneath. Suddenly the ground split open, and various nt-like objects rapidly grew out. Xiao Lin was shocked, but knew it was definitely nothing that would be good for him. However, as he prepared the me sword aura, the elf woman rushed to stand in front of him.


    This time the woman took on the me sword aura, and the green energy shield once again appeared, perfectly blocking Xiao Lin¡¯s sword aura again.


    At the same time, those rapidly-growing nts quickly turned into huge trees. They were many meters tall, and the trees quickly uprooted themselves from the ground, waving around their massive arms as they started to surround Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered something he had been taught in ss before. Some special elves had the ability to summon treants. It was obvious the one in front of him was one of them.


    However, mes naturally did a lot of damage to trees, and Xiao Lin once again raised his Holy Sword, and streaks of mes turned the surroundings into a sea of fire. However, those treants were quite strange; their leaves were not a natural green, but instead a metallic ck.


    The treants did not seem to care about the sea of fire at all, and the mes did not seem to have any effect on their bodies. Xiao Lin once again used his Eye of Truth, and with his third eye, he saw that the trees were all formed by a ck energy, which Xiao Lin immediately understood.


    It was dark energy thatbined with the unique elf ability of summoning treants. Darkness itself had a resilience against fire, perfectly covering up for the weakness of the treants.


    Since me sword aura would not be useful, Xiao Lin chose to use regr sword aura instead. Even though using other elements was not a bad choice, Xiao Lin was currently only more familiar with the me element, and had yet to master the other elements.


    The summoned dark treants were very strong. Each m of their branches would form a crater on the ground. However, they were way too slow, especially to Xiao Lin after activating Ruin. It was practically impossible to hit him.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s regr sword aura was also impressive. He just did not use it much normally. With the purest of the sword aura on top of the Holy Sword¡¯s own destructive ability, shing those branches was as easy as chopping vegetables.


    After a short battle, the treants started to fall.


    However, before Xiao Lin could even catch his breath, even more treants started to rise from the ground. Xiao Lin understood then that the woman was just using the treants to use up Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state, and even hold back anyone else from joining.


    Themotion at the casino had alerted quite a few people, and Rosa¡¯s troops quickly gathered. However, they were all held back by the dark treants. The soldiers had no way to deal with the treants, and in less than a minute, dozens of the soldiers died while the others were forced to retreat for reinforcements.


    However, most of the forces in the capital were all defending the city, and those merchants from Earth were not willing to do anything themselves with theck of a resurrection tower. With no one willing to do anything, Rosa¡¯s soldiers were forced to ask for help from the embassy. All of that took up quite a lot of time.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s breath was beginning to get erratic. The fight with the dark treants had wasted a lot of his time. Coupled with the fact that he opened with the dragon breath aura, he knew that his Ruin state would notst much longer.


    It was the first time Xiao Lin was facing an enemy like this, so hecked the experience to handle it. The elf was already quite strong herself, but she was using the dark treants to stall for time. It was obvious she was being very careful, and wanted to guarantee capturing Xiao Lin, not giving him any chance.

 Chapter 540 - Absolute Defense

    <h4>Chapter 540: Absolute Defense</h4>


    Any reinforcements from the embassy would take at least ten to twenty minutes, and Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state had a few minutes left at most. Once it was finished, Xiao Lin would be like amb waiting to be ughtered.


    Xiao Lin saw through the woman¡¯s n, and he started to sh his de even faster, increasing his speed to the maximum. He tried to use his afterimages to avoid the dark treants and attack the summoner directly. His sudden burst of speed caught his opponents off guard, and the dark treants were not able to reach him in time, allowing Xiao Lin to appear behind the woman in a sh.


    His falling de was once again stopped by the light green energy shield. Xiao Lin could feel a very obvious feeling of his sword being rebounded backward. Even with his full might under Ruin state, his sword had been reflected and crashed into the ground.


    Xiao Lin was shocked. He was not very familiar with shield spells, but he had learnt that all shields had its limits. After taking his dragon breath sword and numerous me sword auras, the green shield did not seem to have been affected.


    ¡®No, that¡¯s wrong!¡¯


    Xiao Lin quickly pulled back after his attack failed. It was obvious that the woman¡¯s shield was different from the usual shields he had learnt about in ss.


    Xiao Lin noticed that the woman¡¯s expression had a look of obvious exertion each time she used the shield, and the shield would disappear immediately after usage. He tried to send out a few more me sword auras, but the woman did not block it, instead getting her dark treants to shield her.


    That energy shield might have seemed very powerful, even able to hold back the dragon breath sword, but each use seemed to have a longer dy between the other.


    Xiao Lin once again increased his speed, but it was preempted this time. The dark treants had blocked his path ahead of time. Xiao Lin no longer cared about wasting his sword aura and charged forward. With a silver sh, Xiao Lin sword aura spread out like a fan and cut down all the treants in front of him. It was the Total Annihtion technique that he had learnt before, but the sword technique used up a lot of his energy.


    Bang!


    This time Xiao Lin¡¯s sword hit the woman. Even if it was just a light wound, Xiao Lin smiled and mocked. ¡°I was wondering how skilled you were; it seems that your shield isn¡¯t that great after all.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve found out!¡± The elf woman touched the wound on her arm. Her blood was very strange; there were traces of ck in between the red and green. She licked her blood-stained fingers clean, cing her saliva on the wounds; the wounds started to slowly recover.


    ¡°My Absolute Defense does have arge limitation; it¡¯s a pity I¡¯m still not in myplete form. I can only wait for Asabanor¡¯s research on the perfect form after getting you... It¡¯s no matter. I¡¯ve already blocked your strongest skill. You¡¯re nowhere near as strong as Asabanor said.¡±


    ¡°You do know a lot. It seems like we¡¯ll need to capture you alive.¡±


    ¡°Can you? I can feel you reaching the end of your strength. You only have a few dozen seconds left. You wouldn¡¯t even be able to defeat my treants.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m more interested in your Absolute Defense!¡±


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes, falling silent for a moment before suddenly beginning his attack again. His powerful me sword aura was unsurprisingly blocked by the green shield once again. After his own mental count, he managed to get a number¨Cthirty seconds; that was the time in between each use of the green shield.


    At the same time, Xiao Lin activated his Replicate skill. The target was the woman who had just used her Absolute Defense. He was not sure if he could properly replicate the skill since there was no way he could determine the rank of it, but the information that appeared in his head caused him to make a strange expression.


    [Absolute Defense; can block any attack on oneself, only usable by holders of the Original Bloodline]


    [Iplete Absolute Defense; can defend against any attack not higher than one¡¯s own rank, usable by those with the Iplete Bloodline. 30 seconds between each use; each use cannot be maintained for longer than 3 seconds, each use uses up 10% of total body strength]


    [Iplete Absolute Defense replicationplete!]


    Xiao Lin paused, he was a little confused. He did not know if the replication was sessful or not, especially because of the strange conditions.


    What was the Original Bloodline? What was the Iplete Bloodline?


    Compared to Absolute Defense, Iplete Absolute Defense had many more restrictions, such as the 30 seconds between each use,sting for three seconds and the fact that each use used up 10% of physical strength!


    Xiao Lin did not immediately see if he had sessfully replicated the skill, and instead recounted his thoughts. From earlier till this moment, the elf had used Absolute Defense six times, which meant that she had used up at least 60% of her strength.


    That price seemed like arge one to pay, but Xiao Lin also understood that he only had, at most, one minute left in his Ruin state, which meant that he could only try to use up her Absolute Defense two more times.


    The reason why the woman was so apprehensive was probably because she was afraid of his dragon breath sword because she was not sure how many times Xiao Lin could use the skill. There was no way she could defend against it unless she had Absolute Defense.


    It was obvious that the woman had loyally listened to Asabanor beforeing. She might have thought that Xiao Lin was a very strong person, or maybe she was just a very passive and careful person. That was why she was willing to use up so much of her strength to waste Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state.


    Xiao Lin was definitely not her equal after losing Ruin state, he understood that. His opponent did knew that too


    It was a pity that Xiao Lin¡¯s dragon breath aura could only be used once in his Ruin state. He currently did not have the power to unleash a second one. Thankfully, the opponent did not seem to know that.


    First of all, he needed to get past Absolute Defense, but the elf was clever. She never directly engaged with Xiao Lin when it was down, and would only return after thirty seconds.


    He could not get to her, and could not afford any dy.


    It was the first time Xiao Lin encountered such a cowardly fighting style, and he did not know how to deal with it. However, since he had replicated Absolute Defense and understood the mechanisms behind it, he quickly formed his own n.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re actually very strong. Since that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t want to y with you anymore. Bye bye!¡±


    After saying that, Xiao Lin immediately turned around and ran.

 Chapter 541 - Unraveling

    <h4>Chapter 541: Unraveling</h4>


    The elf had a look of surprise at that moment, and pped her wings in rage. She flew toward Xiao Lin, but it seemed like she had never flown in that state before. She was not as quick as anticipated.


    However, after Xiao Lin used up so much of his energy, his speed was not as quick as it used to be. The chase quickly reached a distance of a few hundred meters, and the slow dark treants were left behind.


    The woman was not stupid; after her initial anger, she quickly noticed something was wrong, but Xiao Lin did not give her that much time to think. Without the interference from those dark treants, he needed to focus more on his attacks since he did not have much time left.


    me sword aura!


    This time the woman did not use Absolute Defense, even though Xiao Lin estimated that her Absolute Defense would already be up. She seemed to remain careful. Without the help of the treants to protect her, she did not simply use that skill.


    She really was apprehensive about his dragon breath sword. Looking at her expression, Xiao Lin was certain of his earlier guess, but he quickly got even more conclusions. Earlier, his sword aura formed a few more wounds on her.


    The woman was not as strong as he thought. More urately, her strength was not expressed in a normal form, such as speed or power; it was a type of enemy Xiao Lin had never seen before.


    Ever since the start of thetest semester, even though it had not been that long, and Xiao Lin had not attended all the sses, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s notes had meant that Xiao Lin had seen the notes from most sses. Of those, a theory that was brought up interested him a lot.


    It was a system of strength that the colonists hadpiled on Norma. As colonists, they were all immensely curious of foreign magic and sword aura.


    The theory was called the bnce of strength. The meaning was simple: there did not exist an unstoppable power. Physical power was like a food chain, and there was something on top. For instance the orcs had strength and physiques above any other race, but their intelligence and mental strength was far lower than other races.


    Normese humans were a more bnced race, and could do everything, but they were not at the peak of anything either. The elves had dexterity and extreme reactions, but they were not very strong. Dwarves were extremely creative, but their ownbat strength was extremely low. Even the dragons that stood at the peak all had their special natural counters.


    There were no perfect races and no perfect strength. The schrs from Earth believed that it was a form of protection from the naturalw of the world. His intuition told him the woman was strong; even the Iplete Absolute Defense could still block anything within the same rank, which was still terrifying.


    Even without increasing her rank and power, if she had Absolute Defense, she would be unbeatable in this world. After all, Absolute Defense could even withstand the power of dragons.


    However, that was not the case. Xiao Lin had read about the strongest of the natives before, and had never heard of Absolute Defense, nor had he ever heard of this woman.


    That meant that Absolute Defense was not unbeatable; it definitely had other unfavorable conditions other than the natural restrictions.


    Xiao Lin was no expert in that department, nor could he figure out an answer in such a short time. It did not matter; if he could not figure it out, he would just need to directly experiment.


    With the information from Replicate, Xiao Lin subtly activated Iplete Absolute Defense. A shield formed around him, but his shield was red. It was a shield formed with pure energy, which was different from the elf.


    Xiao Lin once again opened his Eye of Truth, and saw that his Absolute Defense was made of elemental energy, while the opponent¡¯s was made of dark and natural energy. He did not know if he was mistaken, but when he opened his Eye of Truth, he clearly felt that his Absolute Defense had a faint ripple, as if it had been strengthened.


    After using the skill himself, Xiao Lin finally formed a deeper understanding of the skill. What shocked him was that the skill was something that had its ownw.


    Xiao Lin might not be at the level where he could create his ownws, but he had interacted with those on that level before, including in the Final Lands when Ivanovich got him to collect the Shards of Creation. All of them had close rtionships withw, and Xiao Lin started to be more sensitive to it. When he used it, the special feeling led him to understand immediately.


    The elf was shocked as well; she was even more familiar with the special properties of Absolute Defense than Xiao Lin, and when the red shield formed in front of Xiao Lin, she immediately understood what it was. She immediately shouted in anger and shock, ¡°Impossible! How could you have Absolute Defense!¡±


    Xiao Lin was full of questions as well, but he had no time to chat.


    With only three seconds of Absolute Defense, the 10% toll on his strength exacerbated his exhaustion. The treants were closing in, and Xiao Lin used the precious few seconds he earned to rush at the woman.


    This time, he used up all of his strength. Xiao Lin used his own body like a cannon ball and shot forward.


    However, it was not because Xiao Lin wanted to do it. He had no choice. After using Absolute Defense, he immediately understood the skills weaknesses. Absolute Defense not only targeted the enemy, it targeted himself as well. He could not use any attacks during that period, especially anything that needed energy. The moment he tried, he felt the elemental energy immediately disperse. The only thing he could use was that collision.


    The woman widened her eyes, and the close distance did not give her time to dodge, so she could only activate Absolute Defense.


    In midair, her faint green shield collided fiercely with his deep red shield.

 Chapter 542 - Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 542: Aftermath</h4>


    If Absolute Defense was the strongest shield, then what would happen if two of them collided?


    Xiao Lin quickly got an answer. The two Absolute Defenses collided intensely, and their immense repelling forces battered against each other. The red and green lights intertwined. Even if it was not a direct collision of flesh, Xiao Lin still felt like he was right next to a tornado.


    The power of the defensivew, or rather ipletew that formed the shield, was great. The energy that emitted was even greater than his dragon soul sword.


    The rumblingsted for many minutes, until thest of Xiao Lin¡¯s strength disappeared. He fell onto the ground heavily, his Ruin state already undone. He had expected that, but the exertion of his strength was much more than he had thought.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s initial n was to still have some strength remaining after using Absolute Defense and losing his Ruin state; that was a conclusion he reached after using his Ruin state so many times.


    However, now he was left powerless on the ground. Even moving a finger was as difficult as running a marathon. That shocking exertion did note purely from Ruin.


    Xiao Lin quickly understood why. He smiled bitterly; he was foiled by hisck of understanding of Absolute Defense, because after his Ruin state ended, his collision with the enemy did not end right there. The Absolute Defense that could only be maintained for three seconds resulted in a loop of energy thanks to the collision, and insteadsted for minutes, probably incurring arger cost.


    Xiao Lin was not in a bad state, but the elf was not better off than him. Her transformed state had been forcibly stopped and the dark treants had quickly wilted after losing her power. The womany down on the ground powerlessly. The only way she was better off than Xiao Lin was that she could still force herself to stand up. However, her clothes had all been blown off, but of course Xiao Lin was in no mood to enjoy the snow white skin that was exposed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve still lost!¡± The woman¡¯s face was fierce. ¡°Asabanor was not wrong. You¡¯re very special, and should be researched.¡±


    The woman moved her right hand, and a green light shed. There was a beautiful dagger in her hand which came from the spatial ring on her finger, she then swayed toward Xiao Lin.


    Despite her exhaustion causing her to have difficulty even walking, she believed the final victory was hers. In terms of overall skill, she was still better than Xiao Lin, and she wore a satisfied smile.


    Xiao Lin smiled as well. He struggled and raised his right hand, and his bloodied lips let out a cold and mocking smile.


    ¡®You¡¯re not the only one with a spatial ring!¡¯


    ¡®Come out, ck knight!¡¯


    The woman¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Xiao Lin rarely summoned his ck knight, and had never done it when he faced Asabanor, so it was naturally not known to them.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re familiar with dark energy, then you should understand that you can¡¯t possibly face my ck knight right now. Just surrender.¡±


    Even though talking caused him to want to spit out blood in pain, Xiao Lin still hurried up the pace of his words. That was because he could see the decisive look in the woman¡¯s eyes; she seemed to want to kill Xiao Lin even at the cost of her own life. Of course, Xiao Lin did not care about whether or not the woman was alive, but if she used some self-destructive ability, Xiao Lin could very well be affected.


    ¡°You killed my sister, and you otherworlders are the mortal enemies of my race! Do you think I would surrender to you?¡±


    ¡°Mortal enemies? Do you represent the elves or the dark elves?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know all that soon...¡± After that, she shut her mouth, obviously not wanting to let Xiao Lin know more.


    Footsteps could be heard from not far away, it seemed that the embassy¡¯s reinforcements had arrived. Xiao Lin quickly gave the ck knight orders. With the increase in his skill, his mentalmunication with the ck knight got better as well. On top of that, Silverlight had somehow changed the ck knight, and itpletely obeyed Xiao Lin¡¯s orders.


    The ck aura around the ck knight¡¯srge sword was also dark energy, but even a dark elf would be unable to avoid injury. However, the elf was obviously not afraid of death, and Xiao Lin¡¯s orders were to knock her out or capture her alive.


    The footsteps got closer, and Liang Taibai¡¯s orders could be heard. It seemed that the ambassador had brought the troops himself. The woman suddenly lunged at Xiao Lin. Even with her heavy injuries, she seemed to turn back time, and had a shocking explosiveness at that moment.


    The ck knight seemed to move at the same moment, picking up its ck sword and swinging it at the woman¡¯s shoulder. In the end, the woman was no match for the ck knight, and she did not seem to have any intention of avoiding it. The de did notpletely sink into her. Even without hitting any vitals, the decaying properties had caused her skin to start rotting.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief, but he quickly felt like something was off. The decaying effect would cause the woman to lose her mobility temporarily at most; it would not be fatal with timely treatment.


    However, the woman cast him a mocking gaze, opening her mouth and spitting out blood before saying, ¡°No matter what, my task has beenpleted. It¡¯s a pity I couldn¡¯t kill you, but I believe that Asabanor will help me fulfil that wish after receiving the object.¡±


    After saying that, the woman¡¯s body crumpled as a surge of ck and green gas rose up from her head, floating toward the sky before disappearing.


    After a few minutes, Liang Taibai appeared, but it was just like in the movies¨Creinforcements always arrived only after everything was finished. Xiao Lin did not bother cursing; he did not even have the strength to open his mouth at the moment.


    Liang Taibai looked around before motioning for people to take the woman¡¯s body away. He then produced a vial, uncorking it before feeding it to Xiao Lin. After a surge of warmth, Xiao Lin felt his strength recovering, but there was not much of an improvement.


    Liang Taibai was surprised. ¡°You exhausted yourself to this degree; even a mid-grade recovery potion was useless. Who was that woman? Whatever, let¡¯s wait until we¡¯re back before talking.¡±


    ¡°Hold on!¡± Xiao Lin used the little strength he had recovered to grasp Liang Taibai¡¯s arm, panting as he said urgently, ¡°The box! The casino boss Sun Jia has a box. Go see if it¡¯s still there, quickly!¡±


    After saying that, Xiao Lin fainted. Just like Liang Taibai said, he was extremely exhausted, and the potion was not that useful.

 Chapter 543 - End Of The Siege

    <h4>Chapter 543: End Of The Siege</h4>


    It was night time when he woke up again, but Liang Taibai told Xiao Lin that three days had already passed. Xiao Lin was still very weak; it was much worse than the past few times. After getting up and walking a few steps, he felt that the fatigue had not recovered, and chose to obediently lie on the bed.


    At some point, Ibeiya came over and took charge of taking care of him. Even though the embassy had their servants, they had all been removed from their posts by Liang Taibai due to safety concerns.


    Ibeiya did not have the demeanor, but during the key moments of the city¡¯s defense, many understood that her sudden appointment as the queen was not entirely legitimate, so they did not care too much. She had been obediently taking care of Xiao Lin by his side for two days. After all, no one would expect Luo Jianhui or any of the men to do it.


    Not long after Xiao Lin woke up, Liang Taibai and Luo Jianhui came over, greeting Ibeiya. They did not ask the girl to leave, which counted as a show of trust in her. Liang Taibai immediately asked, ¡°About that box. Do you know what was inside?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused. He had asked Liang Taibai to investigate the box before he fainted. He felt a sense of unease, and shook his head before mentioning his promise to An Fumin.


    Liang Taibai smiled bitterly and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault; that An Fumin is really too bold to dare to hide something like that from the academy.¡±


    Xiao Lin hurriedly asked, ¡°What was in the box? Was it stolen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we found Sun Jia already injured when we arrived. That elf definitely had an aplice. It¡¯s a pity we arrived toote. After that, we interrogated Sun Jia for a long time, and she still wanted to hide it. If we hadn¡¯t found more evidence...¡± Luo Jianhui¡¯s face was cold; no matter if it was Sun Jia or An Fumin, he did not seem to like either of them.


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t said what was in the box.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was impatient.


    Luo Jianhui and Liang Taibai exchanged a look, falling into a short silence.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare some tea.¡± Ibeiya consciously made a move to leave.


    Liang Taibai stopped her. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we might need your help with this. You should stay back and listen.¡±


    ¡°Stop putting on a show. Was there some legendary weapon in the box?¡± Xiao Lin guessed.


    ¡°No, all that was in the box were some useless ornaments, but that¡¯s not the point; the box¡¯s contents are not important.¡± Liang Taibai took a deep breath, smiling bitterly as he said, ¡°The box is the important thing.¡±


    Xiao Lin was frozen in shock. ¡°Are you telling me that the box is some incredibly valuable artifact?¡± It was obvious that Sun Jia had lied to him. Sun Jia had said that the box contained something countless people wanted but would never get, which was why An Fumin got him to transport the thing. That was because any normal person would think that the box¡¯s contents were the valuable thing, and ignore the box itself.


    However, they outsmarted themselves in the end. Asabanor had obviously not been tricked by the two of them. Liang Taibai said that the box had already been stolen. Even though they were investigating the entire city, since the enemies dared to sneak in so boldly, they definitely had a way out. It would not be a stretch if they were no longer in the royal city.


    ¡°The origin of the box actually has something to do with Ibeiya.¡±


    Ibeiya who had obediently sat by the side without saying anything suddenly revealed a confused expression. Liang Taibai said, ¡°Have you ever heard of the Original Vessel?¡±


    ¡°Original Vessel?¡± Ibeiya nodded. ¡°Father mentioned it to me before, but I¡¯ve never seen what it looks like. Father told me it was lost a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something passed down within your St. ude n. ording to our reports, the Original Vessel was lost a few decades ago. We helped to try and find it, to no avail. Now it seems like An Fumin had stolen it.¡±


    Ibeiya could see the confused Xiao Lin, and exined, ¡°The Original Vessel is an inheritance of our n. I heard from my father that it¡¯s been passed on since ancient times. I actually don¡¯t know what use it has; father said it was just a vessel and did not have any amazing powers, nor was it a destructive weapon. It was just a useless vessel, which was why father did not care that much that it was lost.¡±


    ¡°We actually don¡¯t know much about the Original Vessel. From the information we¡¯ve gathered throughout Norma, the vessel is used to keep and collect something. There are a lot of myths, and it is said that the vessel has existed since the birth of the world. After that, it went to the St. ude n during the dark ages. Truthfully, we all thought that it had more worth as a collectible than any practical usage, which was why we did not care about it too much these years.¡±


    That was why Liang Taibai and Luo Jianhui smiled bitterly at each other. They naturally knew of it after working in the royal city for years, but had never felt like it was anything worth mentioning. However, Asabanor was not some idle collector who would put in so much effort for a useless box.


    ¡°Sun Jia did not know much of it either. Of course, we¡¯re not sure if she¡¯s faking it, and we might end up having to ask An Fumin when we head back. Ah, that cunning bastard, I really need to properly settle him this time!¡± Luo Jianhui was extremely angry about this.


    ¡°However, there is some good news. Your earlier guess was right.¡± Liang Taibai¡¯s tone was a mix of awkwardness and happiness. ¡°The rebels that besieged the city have left. These two days, we sent scouts to observe them. They were retreating very quickly, so it does not seem to be a trick. I think Asabanor made them retreat after getting what he wanted.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt like it was strange. ¡°The rebels have already taken over more than half the cities in this country. Why did they give up at thest moment? Were they afraid of Dawn Academy? I¡¯m really curious as to their rtionship with Asabanor; is it just cooperation? Or maybe Asabanor had already thoroughly seized control of the rebels.¡±


    Liang Taibai smiled. ¡°That¡¯s no longer what we should worry about. Once you recover, we should pack up and head home.¡±


    ¡°Back to Dawn City? That¡¯s quick!¡±


    ¡°The military will still garrison here as nned, but their task will be to rebuild the resurrection tower. This thing has caused such a mess, so we need to head back for a debrief.¡±


    ¡°What about Ibeiya?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also what we wish to discuss with you. We hope Ibeiya will stay in the royal city.¡±

 Chapter 544 - Returning To The City

    <h4>Chapter 544: Returning To The City</h4>


    Two dayster...


    Xiao Lin was sitting on a lesser dragon carriage, already on his journey. It was a carriage pulled by a wild beast with lesser dragon blood. It was very reliable, both in terms of safety and speed. Xiao Lin looked out of the window at the ruined vige outside and themoners in shabby clothing, feeling quite heavy. It was the third day since they left the royal city, and it had been half a month since he left Dawn City.


    Luo Jianhui and Liang Taibai were with him, but behind them was anotherrge group of people, including the merchants from the royal city. There were a few employees left in the embassy, and their task was to assist Ibeiya as well asmunicate with the iing garrison army.


    Ibeiya did not go with them in the end. Even though Ibeiya was very reluctant to leave Xiao Lin, she faced a very stern rejection from Liang Taibai. Barring any idents, the monitors in charge of escorting the royal family should already have returned to Dawn City, and the royal family would already have been under Dawn City¡¯s protection.


    On the other hand, due to the war, Ibeiya had been appointed as the queen. However, if she did not gain the approval of Dawn City, her time as the queen would be numbered.


    ¡°If you head back with us, and on the off chance that our higher-ups want another member of the royal family to be the monarch, then you¡¯d be in a very awkward position.¡± Liang Taibai was vague with his words, but Ibeiya was a smart girl, and she quickly understood.


    In order to preserve the power of the new ruler, it was hard to anticipate what sort of treatment she would get as a temporary queen. She could be imprisoned, killed, or even be used as a research subject.


    No matter what, it was far safer for Ibeiya to remain, especially since the royal city had resumed its normal operations after the siege. Even if most of the work was done by the embassy, they still needed someone part of the royal bloodline to be the face of everything. Even if a lot of them thought that the young Ibeiya was not the best choice, she was definitely the only choice within the empty city.


    ...


    Liang Taibai looked at Xiao Lin who was deep in thought, and suddenly smiled and asked, ¡°Are you still worried about that girl?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not deny it, and somewhat absent-mindedly replied, ¡°I¡¯m not really worried about Asabanor returning. That madman is single-minded, and will not rest until he achieves his goals. Since he chose to retreat, he won¡¯te back. I¡¯m just worried about the troops that Dawn Academy sent...¡±


    Liang Taibaiughed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. They sent the first regiment; the captain is an old friend of Yu Mei¡¯s.¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately understood what was being implied. ¡°He¡¯s under the dean?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard that the dean looks favorably upon you.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you always in the royal city? How do you know that?¡± Xiao Lin smiled, turning lively as his worries were relieved.


    ¡°I might be a foreign envoy, but we¡¯re essentially half working in the intelligence department. Don¡¯t underestimate our informationwork.¡±


    ¡°Then are you with the dean as well?¡±


    ¡°I am with Dawn Academy.¡±


    ¡°Then, Ambassador Liang, who do you think is in the right in the conflict between the military and the dean?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not the best way to put it. The political state of Norma is much moreplicated than that of Earth; there is no right or wrong here, only how many benefits are to be made.¡±


    ...


    The conversations during the journey allowed Xiao Lin to understand Liang Taibai much better. The ambassador had a very deep and unique understanding of Norma¡¯s culture, history, and politics. To Xiao Lin, those were all things that were difficult to learn about in ss.


    Initially, Xiao Lin would still interrupt with his own thoughts. As they got further into their journey, hepletely listened to Liang Taibai in silence, all the way until the carriage reached Dawn City. Liang Taibai¡¯s voice had even turned a little raspy after talking so much.


    Liang Taibai and Luo Jianhui needed to head to the foreign affairs department for their debrief, but that was not somewhere Xiao Lin was allowed to be at yet. Since he did not know how long the debrief would take, and Xiao Lin needed to hurry back to make his own report, they decided to part ways at the city gates. However, Liang Taibai gave Xiao Lin his address in the capital before they parted, and even passed a key to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin rejected it in shock, but Liang Taibai forced the key into Xiao Lin¡¯s pocket, smiling as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken; it¡¯s just a very regr house. I¡¯m always out of the city, and will probably need to return to the Rosa Kingdom after the debrief. My house in Dawn City was bought when I graduated, and it¡¯s been a waste with it being unused these years. We hit it off quite well, and you¡¯ll probably have many chances to return to Dawn City from the Academyter on. Just use my ce for now. It¡¯s better than staying in a hotel each time.¡±


    With Liang Taibai being so upright and straightforward, Xiao Lin did not reject his good intentions. He thanked him again before leaving.


    When Xiao Lin¡¯s silhouette started to disappear, Luo Jianhui eyed his good friend and said, ¡°I¡¯ve tried to buy your house from you so many times, but you¡¯ve always rejected me. Now you¡¯re so generous. Didn¡¯t you know that the kid won a lot of money from Century Casino earlier? He doesn¡¯t have to worry about his lodging.¡±


    Liang Taibai was much more familiar with Xiao Lin than Luo Jianhui thought, and smiled, ¡°With that little amount of money, he probably won¡¯t have much left after buying a ce in Dawn City. He will have many more ces to use his money in the future, and at least he¡¯ll be safe staying at my ce.¡±


    Luo Jianhui said meaningfully, ¡°Safe? Hey, old friend, you¡¯re freaking me out. This is Dawn City, not the chaotic Rosa Kingdom.¡±


    Liang Taibai did not answer. ¡°Let¡¯s go. There¡¯s a lot we have to do.¡±


    ¡°The foreign affairs department isn¡¯t that way. Even though we haven¡¯t been back for many years, I still remember the way.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the administrative department, not foreign affairs.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to meet the dean first.¡±


    ...


    The two of them quickly disappeared into the crowd in Dawn City, and Xiao Lin did not know that they went directly to the dean. However, Xiao Lin faced heavy investigations and questions after returning to the military. His status as an officer was on record, and Yu Mei had been in charge of the test, so Xiao Lin naturally needed to report back to the military the moment he got back. Furthermore, there were many people already waiting there upon knowing of his return.


    However, that was all within Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations; with such a huge incident happening, they would need to properly investigate it. Many of the questions needed to be verified by him.


    Other than himself, the other monitors were also investigated, but they had already been questioned a few times before that. Being summoned to the military was probably to verify Xiao Lin¡¯s information.


    There were many of them in charge of the investigation. Other than Yu Mei and the student union president, there were also many others of differing ages. Yu Mei did not express any form of familiarity toward Xiao Lin after meeting him again. Of course, that in itself was a signal to Xiao Lin that the ones behind her were definitely not very friendly.


    Yu Mei did not introduce any of them, which also meant that their statuses were far higher than that of Yu Mei or the student union president.

 Chapter 545 - Enquiry Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 545: Enquiry Meeting</h4>


    After everyone was seated, Yu Mei cleared her throat and began with the main topic. ¡°First of all, Xiao Lin, please tell us about everything that happened after leaving Dawn City. I hope for a truthful report, so do not conceal anything.¡±


    Looking at Yu Mei¡¯s meaningful gaze, Xiao Lin nced at the other monitors who were not far away. He immediately understood that the question had already been asked to the others; if he concealed anything, he would just cause distrust.


    There was nothing much to hide anyway. Xiao Lin started recalling, and slowly recounted everything, from riding the griffins to Rosa Kingdom and their promise with An Fumin, then to being ambushed and kidnapped. Then, he told of him working with the embassy to look for the other monitors before ending the story at the siege and the defense of the city.


    However, Xiao Lin had done something there, and concealed Ibeiya¡¯s matters. After all, the other monitors knew nothing about it, and it would be part of the ambassador¡¯s debrief anyway.


    No one interrupted him, and there was a long silence after that. Yu Mei and the student union president did not speak, and everyone¡¯s gazesnded on the few old folks sitting at the back. It was obvious they were the main actors of the questioning.


    After a few minutes, a somewhat younger man cleared his throat before starting his questions. The questions were a little strange, asking about who made the decision to ride griffins, and whether or not he had prior ties to An Fumin. Then he asked how they chose the route after arriving at the Rosa Kingdom, the timing of the night attacks, and how the vigers looked.


    If one did not pay special attention, he might not have remembered it, but as Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius improved, his memory became shocking, and clearly remembered many of the details.


    That caused the other monitors to have awkward expressions, because their initial answers were all very vague. However, the questioner did not care about that, and after finishing his questioning, he nodded slightly, showing that he was done.


    ¡°If there are no other questions, shall we end things here?¡± Yu Mei took the chance to stand up and speak.


    ¡°Hold on, Xiao Lin. How do you view what happened this time?¡± anky old man suddenly interrupted, drawing some strange looks from the others, but no one said anything.


    ¡°Are you sure you want me to say? To be honest?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin!¡± The student union president coughed drying, throwing a re to motion for Xiao Lin to speak properly.


    Xiao Lin shrugged, saying, ¡°Fine. First of all, someone knew about our entire journey. Even within the royal city, it was obvious our opponents knew everything about us. I¡¯m not suspecting anything, but don¡¯t you think that, instead of questioning us, you should be investigating our intelligence department?¡±


    ¡°So you think we have a traitor?¡± The old man helped Xiao Lin put his words into a more direct manner.


    Xiao Lin said nothing, rolling his eyes. He did not say that, and he did not mean to directly convey it. However, that direct usation still caused a shift in everyone else¡¯s expressions. The old man was unperturbed, but his words seemed to carry a form of pressure, continuing, ¡°What? Why aren¡¯t you continuing? You want to say that we have someone who sold your information to the natives. You think we betrayed Dawn Academy¨Cno¨Cbetrayed humanity?¡±


    The old man was definitely not benevolent; the pressure from his gaze seemed to be aimed directly at Xiao Lin. Only when two people¡¯s skills were too distant to bepared could such a pressure be formed. Xiao Lin had felt it from the dean before, but this was much more condensed.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not pointing fingers at anyone! Nor am I challenging anyone! However, please open your eyes and properly look at what Asabanor did in the Rosa Kingdom. If we don¡¯t stop him, the consequences will be unimaginable.¡± Xiao Lin forcibly fought the churning of his internal organs and shouted out; only with his shouts could he slightly reduce the pressure the old man was forcing on him.


    After he was done, even Yu Mei and the student union president were looking at him strangely, as if they wanted to remind him of something. However, no one had the chance to speak under that old man¡¯s pressure.


    Only after several minutes passed did the tension in the room suddenly disappear. As if he had suddenly been relieved of a thousand kilo burden, Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body rxed. His panting felt like he had just survived a cmity.


    The old man already withdrew the pressure he unleashed, and calmly looked at Xiao Lin, ¡°Young man, I know of your potential. In fact, your future will go much further than all of us old folks that are about to diebined.¡±


    Pausing, the old man¡¯s words suddenly turned stern. ¡°But that¡¯s still in the future. You¡¯re still too weak now, and you right now have no right to give your opinion on anything. The dean, that old fart, protects you, and I can understand it, nor do I mind giving you some benefits, but do not challenge my limits!


    ¡°Do you think I wouldn¡¯t know about you intentionally hiding the vampire girl bing the queen? Do you think I don¡¯t know of your conflict with Asabanor? Those are not things you can interfere with!¡±


    Xiao Lin unreservedly locked gazes with the old man. From the man¡¯s tone, he was definitely someone big. There were not many who dared to call the dean an old fart in Dawn Academy.


    ¡°The meeting will end here; this matter should never have been something the little kids could interfere with. We¡¯ll send them back to Dawn Academy this evening. Other than that, I¡¯m issuing an order under my authority. First-year student Xiao Lin, from today until he graduates, will not be allowed to enter the colonial territories.¡± The old man issued the order leaving no room for objection, ignoring Xiao Lin¡¯s angry re, and no one dared to voice any objections.


    ¡°Dismissed.¡±


    As the crowd slowly dispersed, looking at the old man beginning to leave, Xiao Lin immediately ran after him. However, Xiao Lin was stopped mid-way, and could only shout, ¡°There¡¯s still the box. Whoever you are, you at least need to investigate it harder!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. You¡¯re very special to us. Just graduate; that will be your greatest contribution to Dawn Academy. Don¡¯t disappoint thest wish that old fart made before he left.¡±


    Xiao Lin had wanted to object, but the old man¡¯sst words stunned him. After losing his focus for a moment, he shouted in anger, ¡°What did you say? Last wish? What happened to the dean! What is going on with the dean right now!¡±

 Chapter 546 - Grievous News

    <h4>Chapter 546: Grievous News</h4>


    This time no one answered Xiao Lin, and the crowd left with the old man. Only Yu Mei and the student union president were left along with the other monitors. The monitors were all silent, since the presence of the president meant it was not their turn to speak.


    The president exchanged a silent look with Yu Mei before looking at Xiao Lin. When the footsteps outside the door got further, the president patted XIao Lin¡¯s shoulder and sighed, ¡°Head back to the academy.¡±


    ¡°I want to see the dean!¡± Xiao Lin obstinately said.


    ¡°Not possible.¡± The president rejected calmly but firmly.


    ¡°Then tell me that old man was bullsh*tting. He was lying, right?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, calm down, and those words should be kept here. That man you talked to earlier is the national defensemander of Dawn Academy as well as the new dean. Even if you hate him, you still need some basic respect,¡± Yu Mei reminded him gently.


    ¡°New dean?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was in despair. He had just gone to the Rosa Kingdom, and it seemed like everything had changed when he got back.


    ¡°The dean is not dead,¡± the president said, ¡°But he isn¡¯t in a good state. He is temporarily unable to perform his responsibilities as the dean, so the national defensemander took it up.¡±


    Yu Mei waved toward the other monitors, getting them to wait at the hotel. The next spatial carriage would still take a while to arrive. The other monitors looked at Xiao Lin who was the only one to remain. They could not say anything, so they left.


    After everyone left, Yu Mei seemed determined, and lowered her voice while looking at the president with a fiery gaze, ¡°There¡¯s still time left. Take Xiao Lin to the treatment room!¡±


    The president jumped in shock, staring as he said, ¡°Have you gone crazy? You know howplicated things are at the moment. There are some people who are just waiting for us to mess up. With Xiao Lin¡¯s status, it¡¯s impossible for him to meet the dean!¡±


    ¡°The dean looks fondly on Xiao Lin, and the old fart has restricted Xiao Lin from returning before he graduates. If not now, Xiao Lin might never get the chance!¡±


    ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you be more carefree! The dean has taken care of you so well these few years. Are you going to be so heartless?¡±


    ¡°Please, those are two different matters. My powers are only useful within the academy. Who cares about me being the president here? You should calm down. How could they not have anything prepared for us? Believe me, if we show even a shred of intention, we¡¯ll immediately be invited to the investigation department.¡± The president¡¯s face was full of helplessness.


    ¡°It¡¯s no matter if you won¡¯t help me; I¡¯ll go myself. I don¡¯t believe they¡¯ll do anything to me!¡± Xiao Lin said in disappointment before turning around to leave.


    Yu Mei was worried he would cause trouble and wanted to chase after him before being stopped by the president. After two minutes, XIao Lin came back to the room, awkwardly asking, ¡°Where is the dean right now?¡±


    Yu Mei was amused and the president shook his head helplessly before his tone turned stern. ¡°I did not tell the other monitors this, and you shouldn¡¯t spread it around either. The dean has not recovered from thest ambush. The attackers used a very strong dark energy with decaying properties, and even resurrection could not recover it, so his condition is getting worse by the day. The situation isn¡¯t great. The dean could hold it back before, but since a few days ago, he hasn¡¯t been able to get out of bed.¡±


    Pausing, the president continued, ¡°We¡¯ll obviously support you if you want to see the dean, but this is out of our capabilities. Put it this way, the defensemander is in charge of the defense of the entire colony. On top of that, he¡¯s been appointed the dean. No one would dare go against him at this moment. However, we might be powerless, but someone can help you.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Yu Mei felt like the president was lying, but his expression said otherwise.


    Xiao Lin could more or less guess, but said it with uncertainty. ¡°Department Head Song.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Him.¡±


    Yu Mei had a look of realization, but suspiciously said, ¡°I graduated early, but I¡¯ve heard about him these few years. I don¡¯t really like the guy who always uses his backer, but isn¡¯t his backer the dean? I don¡¯t know why the dean likes a useless man like him.¡± It seemed like Yu Mei¡¯s impression of Song Jung was very bad.


    The president did not deny it, but said, ¡°Song Jung is not as simple as you think. Of course, that man is a little crazy, I agree with that... However, his backer isn¡¯t as simple as just the dean; the one behind him is a very big figure.¡±


    ¡°How big?¡±


    ¡°Very, very big.¡±


    Yu Mei was speechless.


    Xiao Lin was concerned for the dean, but he was surprised as well. He had always been curious about the person behind Song Jung, and had tried asking him before as well. However, Song Jung had always feigned ignorance.


    It seemed like the president knew more about Song Jung, but the president did not want to reveal too much. He instead told Xiao Lin that Song Jung happened to be in Dawn City, and got Xiao Lin to look for him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the trip; I¡¯ll dy it for half a day. Thetest spatial carriage for the day is in the evening. No one will cause any trouble if you get there by then. Quickly contact Song Jung over this time and see the dean again!¡±


    ...


    After leaving the meeting room, Xiao Lin was at a loss. He was full of gratitude for the dean. The warm old man had always been supporting him, and he could not imagine what would happen if the dean died, no matter if it was to him or to the academy and the colony.


    Xiao Lin immediately snapped back. He knew he might not be able to do anything. It was like the defensemander said, he might have potential, but thaty in the past, not the present. Even so, Xiao Lin felt like he had to do something, no matter what.


    First of all, he needed to meet the dean. So much had happened in the Rosa Kingdom. Even Xiao Lin, who did not know much about the politics of Norma, could somewhat feel how intense the uing storm would be. He needed the dean to clear up his confusion, not anyone else.


    Song Jung was definitely in Dawn City. More urately, ever since Song Jung returned from Earth, he had yet to leave Dawn City, and his current location was at the research center.


    Dawn City¡¯s research center could be said to be the center of all research in Dawn Academy¡¯s colonial territories, including the research and manufacturing of various weapons, equipment, potions, as well as brand new spells and skills. They were all created there, and it could be said to be a ce that influenced thebat ability of Dawn Academy¡¯s army.

 Chapter 547 - Song Junlang’s Arrangement

    <h4>Chapter 547: Song Jung¡¯s Arrangement</h4>


    Song Jung was the head of the academy¡¯s logistics department. A more crude way of putting it was that he was in charge of making food. However, that man suddenly turned around and started working at the research center, and it felt disorientating.


    Xiao Lin relied on Yu Mei¡¯s guidance and entered the research center easily. Of course, he could not enter most of the ces there easily. In Yu Mei¡¯s words, there were many secrets there. If he casually walked somewhere he was not supposed to, he might suddenly face a few Gold-ranked spells.


    When he saw Song Jung, he was doing a strange experiment as usual. God knew why the research center had provided him with such arge specialized research room. Xiao Lin did not have the right to enter, and could only patiently wait outside. Yu Mei did not want to meet Song Jung, and chose to wait at the entrance of the research center.


    Looking at Song Jung walk out in a white coat, Xiao Lin paused for a moment, smiling bitterly, ¡°Why do I feel strange looking at you in those clothes?¡±


    Song Jung smiled. ¡°Do I look even more handsome?¡±


    ¡°I just feel weird looking at a weird person like you wearing such formal clothes. You look like a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. No, that¡¯s not right; like a monster in human skin. Ah, that doesn¡¯t seem right either...¡±


    ¡°... Enough. You don¡¯t have to give more examples.¡±


    An exchange like that was normal for the two of them. After thest time on Earth, they had not seen each other for a long time, but that did not affect their familiarity with each other.


    Song Jung poured a colorful drink for himself and drank it like he enjoyed it before asking Xiao Lin if he wanted it. Even though it was fragrant, once he knew that it was a drink formed with blood from various animals, Xiao Lin rapidly shook his head.


    Song Jung shook his head regretfully, and after a moment of silence, said, ¡°I guessed that the president would lead you here. Ah, that sly man; he knows that he and Yu Mei¡¯s statuses were not enough to sway the military, and he decided to use me.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen the dean?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I saw himst month, but I haven¡¯t seen him since he was sent to the special treatment room.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not tell anything from Song Jung¡¯s neutral expression. He knew that Song Jung was quite friendly with the dean. After all, without the dean¡¯s approval, Song Jung would not have had his position in the academy. However, Song Jung did not seem to be in any rush, which made Xiao Lin confused.


    ¡°That old man might not be able to survive.¡± Song Jung seemed to guess his thoughts, and calmly continued, ¡°Even the resurrection towers aren¡¯t capable of everything. When the power of the soul is finished, resurrection towers can¡¯t help at all. The funny thing is, this method of killing us was not invented by the natives, but our own people.¡±


    ¡°Who exactly wanted to kill the dean?¡± Song Jung¡¯s answer had anticipated Xiao Lin¡¯s fears, and he asked in shock and anger.


    ¡°We¡¯ve actually found the assassin earlier on; it was an orc and human hybrid. However, he killed himself when he was found. Of course, everyone knows he was just a sad pawn. As for who the chessmaster was, it¡¯s no longer important. The old man has made too many enemies in his life, and too many people want him dead, so even he probably could not guess who it was.¡±


    Song Jung sighed sadly. ¡°Actually, the dean already knew of this oue from the day he was attacked, but he concealed his condition and tried to arrange everything that would follow his death, including the transition of power. Right, that included your monthly examination as well.¡±


    ¡°The monthly examination was arranged by the dean?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, if not for him, even those of them in the military would not dare do so. He wanted you to temporarily avoid this storm because, as the power transitioned, even if no one dared to touch the dean, the dean couldn¡¯t guarantee the safety of those around him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity he did not expect the examination to have been tampered with. We almost died.¡±


    ¡°No, he expected that.¡± Song Jung¡¯s expression was weird, but did not exin. ¡°Astrology is a mystical branch of magic... The result was not bad¨CIbeiya bing the queen was the best result. Ibeiya is independent from Dawn Academy, and cannot be tampered with by the military. She¡¯s also within your control.¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, what do you mean within my control...¡±


    ¡°I know how much of a pedophile you are, you don¡¯t have to hide it.¡± Song Jung shot an encouraging look at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue discussing the dean; is there anything I can do?¡± Xiao Lin said helplessly.


    ¡°He wants to see you again as well. Let me arrange it.¡± Song Jung stopped joking around. That man was more serious when talking about the dean.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s time was quite tight. Since that defensemander that became the new dean had restricted him, he could only stay in Dawn City until the day ended, and even that little time had been fought for by the president and Yu Mei. After that day, even if he did not leave, he would be forced into the spatial carriage.


    Once he knew of the old man¡¯s power, Xiao Lin could not help but worry if Song Jung could get it done, which was why he did not mention his request, but in the end, it was Song Jung who brought it up.


    Song Jung did not take off his white coat. He first had Xiao Lin wait on the spot, and went out to get things done. After forty minutes, Song Jung hurried over. He was still empty-handed, but the difference was a blue badge in front of his chest.


    They met Yu Mei when they left the research center. Song Jung was not familiar with Yu Mei, and rejected bringing more people to see the dean. Yu Mei had been unhappy with it, but she immediately had a look of shock when she saw the badge on Song Jung¡¯s chest. She did not even snap out of her shock after Song Jung brought Xiao Lin away.


    Xiao Lin quickly saw Song Jung¡¯s power, and understood that all his concerns had just been a waste of effort.


    The dean had been ced in a special treatment room. Over there, the deterioration of his soul could be dyed to the maximum, even if it still could not stop the loss of his life. Outside of the treatment room was the strictest guard in Dawn City¡¯s history. Xiao Lin could even hear the low rumble of a dragon in the distance.

 Chapter 548 - Our Future (1)

    <h4>Chapter 548: Our Future (1)</h4>


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk too muchter. Just follow me closely!¡± Song Jung looked very carefree. His skill was not that high, especially when faced with the guards that even included a dragon.


    Yet, from the time they entered, no one dared to stop them. Every guard that tried to stop them would look like a frightened cat the moment they saw Song Jung, and quietly move away.


    They faced no obstructions the entire way, and Xiao Lin felt quite shocked. He felt like those people might actually not recognize Song Jung, after all he was only the Logistics Department Head for thest two years. Those of them who graduated before then might not even know what Song Jung¡¯s name was. Yet, they still did not dare to stop him. Xiao Lin could not help but nce at that unassuming emblem in front of Song Jung¡¯s chest, and could not help but whisper in a half-joking tone.


    ¡°What kind of emblem is that? It looks quite useful; why don¡¯t you give me one?¡±


    ¡°Alright, as long as you¡¯re willing toe to my experiment room. I can even give you a dozen,¡± Song Jung teased as well.


    ¡°Then forget it.¡± Song Jung¡¯s experiment room was as good as a tiger¡¯s den in Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°... Are you not going to consider it? This emblem is very useful. Have you ever heard about a golden immunity te from ancient times? It regrly features in dramas. With just one te in hand, everything goes much more smoothly. This thing is pretty much the same,¡± Song Jung said half-seriously.


    ¡°Where did you scam it out of?¡± Xiao Lin asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Hey, why did you say I scammed it!¡±


    ¡°Some of the guards I saw earlier seem to have left,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said after turning his head around.


    ¡°Yes, probably to look for someone. They don¡¯t dare to stop me, but I have no way of stopping them from summoning someone either,¡± Song Jung said, having foreseen everything.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Hurry up; even though I¡¯m not afraid of anyone, it¡¯s never a good thing to cause a scene. This is already viting my principle of keeping a low profile.¡±


    ¡°You, keeping a low profile...¡± The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched.


    The treatment room was not in Dawn City; it was at a cave over a dozen kilometers away from the city. The cave hadpletely been dug out. Rumor had it that, during the first war against the orcs, it used to be a military warehouse. It had been abandoned after the war, and was perfectly suited for a quarantined treatment room.


    When they reached the deepest part of the cave, outside a stone room, a man and a woman blocked them. This time, they did not wear any armor, but both of them hadrge des glimmering with elemental energy. Song Jung¡¯s smiled. ¡°I never expected the final guards to be the two of you. When did youe back?¡±


    The two of them looked at each other before the middle-aged woman said in a maic voice, ¡°We rushed back the moment we heard about the ambush on the dean. We heard somemotion earlier... I never expected it to be you. It¡¯s been awhile, Monitor Song.¡±


    ¡°These are my old ssmates.¡± Song Jung exined to Xiao Lin, but did not introduce Xiao Lin to the other two. However, they smiled as they observed Xiao Lin before the man furrowed his eyebrows and said, ¡°Is he the new student the dean mentioned before?¡±


    ¡°Who else would it be, but since the old fart made the two of you guard this ce, I guess he never nned on stopping it. I shouldn¡¯t have brought the emblem here.¡±


    Song Jung sighed, seemingly disappointed at his miscalction. Looking at Xiao Lin, who was sweating, he did not exin when he pushed Xiao Lin into the stone room as he said, ¡°Go meet the dean. We¡¯ll stand guard here.¡±


    Xiao Lin stumbled into the narrow stone room; the small room only had arge light blue orb in the middle. The orb had taken up most of the space in the room, and was floating in the air. Other than that, there was no one and no other objects to be seen.


    Xiao Lin felt that it was strange, and could not help but reach out to touch it. He immediately felt a very strong suctioning from the orb. The orb soundlessly cracked open in the middle, and a row of stairs appeared. Xiao Lin followed the stairs into the space within, and the orb closed behind him.


    Inside the orb was apletely isted space, and in the warm white glow, there was a white bed. On it was a serene looking old man.


    It was the dean.


    Xiao Lin rushed over, but he was blocked by an invisible membrane a few meters away from the bed. He angrily began to hit it, and even wanted to pull out his Holy Sword to break it.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s useless. If my shield was so easily broken by you, then I would lose all my dignity!¡± the old dean teased.


    Xiao Lin gaped, ¡°You erected it?¡±


    ¡°The curse I was inflicted by is very special, and we¡¯re not sure if it¡¯s infectious, so this is for your own good.¡± The dean had a white patient¡¯s outfit on. He sat up in bed, but did not stand. He seemed to have more wrinkles on his face, and looked a lot older. In truth, in terms of age, that old man was already a few hundred years old; it was just that his strength meant that no one dared to treat him like an old man.


    ¡°Can the curse be undone? I know some people from the dark ns that might be able to help.¡± The calmer the dean was, the more Xiao Lin¡¯s heart ached, and the more he tried to solve the problem.


    The dean smiled as he shook his head. ¡°Are you referring to the dark races who stay in the Rosa Kingdom? Back then, even Ivanovich did not seed. This curse is currently incurable.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered that the St. ude n had met Ivanovich before, but the dean¡¯s words contained an even more shocking secret, which made Xiao Lin cry out in shock, ¡°Dean, do you mean that Ivanovich had died to this curse as well? Who is the one harming you in the shadows?¡±


    The dean smiled, seemingly having epted death. ¡°That¡¯s no longer important. What¡¯s happened has happened, and nothing will change the truth no matter how much we investigate. Xiao Lin, I don¡¯t think you came to see me for a matter as trivial as who the assant was, right?¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent. He obviously knew he could not do something like that with just himself. Afterposing himself, he prepared to tell the dean everything that happened in the royal city.


    Yet, the dean raised his hand to stop Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to waste your breath, I already know of everything that happened in the royal city.¡±


    Xiao Lin was perplexed and astonished.


    The dean exined, ¡°Astrology can somewhat predict the future with certain special methods, and I already had someone use astrology to predict the matter.¡±


    ¡°Then do you know where Asabanor currently is?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Astrology is not omnipotent, and Asabanor himself is a very strong astrologian. If you have the time, you can head to the library to understand the art; I think it will help you... Ah, we¡¯re going off topic. This time, I want to talk to you about the future ¡ª Norma¡¯s future, the future of the colonists, as well as the future of Earth.¡±

 Chapter 549 - Our Future (2)

    <h4>Chapter 549: Our Future (2)</h4>


    This time, I want to talk to you about the future, Norma¡¯s future, the future of the colonists, as well as the future of Earth...


    The old man¡¯s raspy voice suddenly turned deeper as he closed his eyes, seemingly in recollection as he said, ¡°Do you still remember what I told all of you during the opening ceremony?¡±


    ¡°The part about the colonists? You said we would be able to obtain everything we want on Norma; power, riches, territory and much more. Yes, I remember. No, it would be more urate to say we couldn¡¯t possibly forget.¡± Stopping, Xiao Lin smiled as he added, ¡°That is the motivation for all of us putting our lives at risk.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, no matter what we say and what we admit to, there¡¯s no way to deny that desire is the most basic motivation for anyone. How much do you know of the history of the colonists?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen everything from the history lessons,¡± Xiao Lin carefully answered. They did have history lessons during thest semester, but he felt like the dean could not possibly be testing his ssroom knowledge.


    ¡°Then what about Earth¡¯s history? How much of that do you know?¡±


    ¡°I know quite a bit of Earth¡¯s ancient history. I specialized in that when I was in university.¡±


    The dean smiled silently before he sighed, ¡°The thousands of years of Earth¡¯s civilized history really is quite long, butpared to the Earth¡¯s billions of years, thousands of years is not worth mentioning at all. The scientists on Earth have always been working hard to understand our home, and when the first colonists appeared on Norma, there was also a group of people who tried to figure out the rtionship between Earth and Norma.¡±


    That answer was within Xiao Lin¡¯s expectations. He thought of the Antean civilization as well as Silverlight. However, he felt it strange that he had never seen that part of history in any books, including the extra-curricr onces in the library.


    ¡°Only a small portion of people have investigated the rtionship between Earth and Norma out of their own interest. It was just like they expected: there are thousands and thousands of connections between the two worlds. With the current most reliable information, the rtionship dates back to three billion years.¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked again, because he had thought that the rtionship would have originated from Antean times, butpared to the over four billion years of history Earth had, the Antean civilization was actually just a shooting star. However, he seemed to have thought of something, and curiously asked, ¡°Hold on, was there really life on Earth three billion years ago?¡±


    The dean nodded. ¡°The current archeologists on Earth have found that the earliest fossils date back to almost three and a half billion years ago. Of course, we can¡¯t use that to conclude that there was when life on Earth started, for it could have been much further ago, but if we use this as the starting point, the legends of Norma say that God created life three-point-three billion years ago. Don¡¯t you feel like those two timings are a little too close?¡±


    ¡°Is it a coincidence?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    The dean shook his head and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Of course, history only represents the past, but the more connections there are, the more we can predict the future. At that moment, the Supreme Councilpletely stopped every academy performing any research on the subject, and ssified it as the highest of secrets. Other than those who were around during that era, there are very few of theter generations who know of this anymore.¡±


    Xiao Lin nervously sat up. He felt like the dean¡¯s next words would form the main topic.


    However, the dean was still dying it, asking Xiao Lin, ¡°Do you know about the stability of thews?¡±


    ¡°I do, Department Head Song told me that, if thews keep being disrupted, it will break the bnce, and could even lead to the extinction of a.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and Earth is constantly moving toward that point of extinction.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because the earliest colonists had constantly used their powers on Earth, right? That¡¯s why the academies restricted those above Silver-rank from going backter on,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    The dean smiled bitterly. ¡°Song Jung told you that? He did not tell you the truth, but it is the highest of secrets after all. It¡¯s right; those of them who obtained power and returned did indeed use powers that exceeded thews to satisfy their own egos and desires, but how many of them do you think there were? If only that tiny amount of people could destroy thews of a, it would be way too weak.¡±


    Xiao Lin could vaguely understand what the deans¡¯ next words would be.


    ¡°In truth, thews on Earth had already been shattered and crippled a long time ago, and we are just thest straws that broke the camel¡¯s back.¡±


    Xiao Lin was not surprised at the answer, because he remembered thest moments of Poseidon destroying Antis, and the scenery did shatter. However, thanks to Poseidon being sealed, the cracks slowly recovered. However, that still meant that, even during the era of Antis, Earth¡¯sws were already in danger of breaking.


    If one used that as a basis to hypothesize, then a bigger question came. In the river of history, far away from Antean times, what form of power could sopletely destroy thews of a?


    ¡°It¡¯s war,¡± the dean answered.


    ¡°A war with Norma?¡± Xiao Lin guessed the answer.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but knowledge of when the war started has already been lost, but conservative estimates put it at hundreds of millions of years ago. Any records of the war have alreadypletely vanished from boths, but we still managed to find some traces from ancient remains, such as discovering an extremely ancient site that seemed to be the target of a nuclear explosion on Earth. Our current hypothesis is that it was a remnant of the war back then, and after the war, the passages between the two worlds werepletely sealed. It was only reopened during the Antean era, and only reused by us on arge scale in recent years.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, do you know why we decided to colonize this ce? Why did we abandon our families and everything we had on Earth to head to a different world, risking our lives as we uncovered newnd?¡± The dean looked at Xiao Lin,ing back to the original question.


    Xiao Lin finally understood, and he said softly, ¡°It was not for territory, money or power, but only to live?¡±


    ¡°Yes, to live; it was just that simple. However, the reason has been ssified as a secret by the Supreme Council, so we can¡¯t reveal it to the students. I looked for you to tell you that we don¡¯t have much time left. Even thoughtely all the academies have introduced more and more strict regtions to protect it, Earth is just like my frail body right now, in the fact that it does not have much time remaining.¡±

 Chapter 550 - Departure

    <h4>Chapter 550: Departure</h4>


    The dean suddenly got up and put a crystal ball from the bedframe in his hand. The crystal ball shined with a warm glow before softly floating in the air. The various pictures started to appear on the surface of the crystal ball. Upon closer inspection, it looked like Earth, but upon even closer inspection, Xiao Lin noticed the differences with this ball and Earth. The glowing ball looked like fractured ss, and it was already filled with countless cracks.


    ¡°This is a replica of the state of Earth¡¯sws that I had someone make with astrology. These years, we have basically been using various methods to test the state of Earth.¡±


    The dean raised another hand as he said that, condensing a light blue ball of light the size of a fingernail. That was the most basic level of an energy ball. After that, he threw the energy ball at Earth.


    The moment the two of them touched, a soft cracking sound could be heard as the crystal ball shattered in the air, turning into a blue liquid that flowed out of the dean¡¯s palm.


    Xiao Lin was more and more horrified as he looked on, as the dean was telling him that Earth could no longer withstand any amount ofmotion, even if it was just a breeze; Earth could very well end up like that crystal ball and turn into dust that was just careening in the void of the universe.


    Even though he had already mentally prepared himself in various ways, Xiao Lin never expected Earth to be in such a dreadful state. He was extremely anxious because his parents and friends were all still back on Earth. Even if he could never return to Earth in the future, he could not bear to look on as they are buried along with the.


    Xiao Lin quickly felt a deep frustration in his heart, as he knew very well how miniscule his current strength was in the face of such danger. No, it was possible that even the entire academy could not do anything in the face of such arge-scale threat. It was because of that that they started to invade and expand their territories on Norma all those years ago. Rather than calling them colonists, it was more urate to say that they were just preparing a protective retreat for themselves.


    ¡°What else can I do? No, what else can we do?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s mood drastically fell at that point. It was the first time he felt such a real sense of powerlessness that he felt like he could do nothing.


    The dean suddenly walked forward and reached out, miming the action of patting Xiao Lin¡¯s head. Even though there was a membrane in between them, a warm light emitted from the dean¡¯srge hands, causing Xiao Lin¡¯splicated and hopeless mood to slowly get better. He raised his head again, forcing out a smile on his lips in thanks.


    ¡°In these hundred years, we¡¯ve tried countless ways but never seeded. Even Legend-ranked individuals are powerless in the face of suchws,¡± the dean said softly and gently. ¡°We really can¡¯t do anything, but you¡¯re different. Xiao Lin, only you are different, so what we can¡¯t do, you can!¡±


    ¡°Is it because I¡¯m an SS-rank talent-holder?¡± Xiao Lin said. Even if he never admitted it, it was not a secret in front of the dean.


    ¡°Ivanovich¡¯s appearance sparked hope for all of us for Earth¡¯s future, but it¡¯s a pity that the endless scheming and infighting between humans killed that genius. Thankfully, decadester, we once again obtained two new SS-rank talent holders, you and Lilith.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, the dean half-jokingly said, ¡°Considering that Earth is at the brink of destruction, and the fact that SS-rank talents are a special existence that surfaced less than once ever tens of millions of years, but yet in three appeared in the span of a century. In truth, even if I was an atheist, I would not be able to resist suspecting that some cosmic being had arranged your appearance.¡±


    ¡°Even if the natives said that we were gifted by God, even if we have more potential than regr people, is there still enough time?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but be doubtful, because his and Lilith¡¯s strengths were still way too low.


    ¡°It has nothing to do with skill; it¡¯s someone only the two of you can do. It¡¯s an ability that God has given you, and no one else; even those at Legend-Rank would not be able to do what you can do with your SS-rank talents.¡±


    ¡°Ah, can you please exin it more clearly? I still don¡¯t know what I have to do.¡± Xiao Lin felt more confused the more he listened.


    The dean waved his arm, helplessly smiling. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Ivanovich might have known back then, but he¡¯s already taken those secrets to the grave... Xiao Lin, you¡¯ll need to investigate by yourself in the future, as no one can help you with it. I didn¡¯t interact much with Ivanovich, but I know that Ivanovich worked toward this before. It¡¯s a pity...¡±


    ¡°What about Lilith? If I have her help, it might be easier.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Lilith might help you, but the Judge Academy might not allow that to happen.¡± The dean sighed softly.


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiao Lin asked, confused. He was not just asking about Judge Academy¡¯s attitude; he was also asking about Ivan, the genius that had been killed by schemes and infighting.


    ¡°Is it really necessary to pay a price to save Earth? What rewards would we get if we did? Even if we save Earth, what do we gain? If we have no way to save it, are we really going to bring everyone on Earth to Norma?¡± The dean looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes as he asked those questions.


    Xiao Lin once again fell silent, bitterly smiling after a moment. ¡°They want profits? I understand now; no wonder this was concealed. How many people know of Earth¡¯s impending doom?¡±


    ¡°Only those who have the highest authorities have the right to know. If you weren¡¯t an SS-rank talent holder who is fated to have something to do with this, I would not have let you know so early.¡±


    ¡°Even if you told me this today, the truth is, I have no clue what to do either.¡±


    ¡°Go look at Ivan¡¯s old home. If you can find something Ivan left behind, it could help you.¡±


    ¡°Something Ivan left behind?¡±


    Xiao Lin had wanted to ask more when a soft cough came from outside. After that, the sound of Song Jung speaking could be heard, but he obviously was not talking to Xiao Lin.


    The dean sighed with a faint smile on his lips. ¡°It¡¯s almost the time that you should head back. Remember, at least in one or two years¡¯ time, don¡¯te back to Norma; focus on staying in the Academy and on Earth!¡±


    After that, the dean waved his hand in dismissal. Xiao Lin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a strong force came out of the dean¡¯s palm, sending him softly yet unstoppably outward.


    Therge orb was still floating in the air. Xiao Lin startled away, and Song Jung marched in quickly, grabbing Xiao Lin¡¯s arm as Song Jung forcefully pulled him away.


    There were several more fully armored guards outside of the stone room, their hands were all pressed on their swords around their waists. The couple that Song Jung called his ssmates also had their hands on their des and the atmosphere was very tense. When Xiao Lin walked out, Song Jungughed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. Alright, I¡¯ll bring Xiao Lin back now.¡±

 Chapter 551 - Back To The Academy

    <h4>Chapter 551: Back To The Academy</h4>


    ¡°Hold on, why is he here? The dean needs rest right now, so we need to know why you¡¯re here...¡±


    ¡°Enough, let us through!¡± Song Jung¡¯s expression changed, it was obvious he was not in a good mood.


    Everyone else looked at Song Jung, ncing at the blue emblem on his chest. Even though they were not scared, they had no intention of making a move. One of them carefully said, ¡°We don¡¯t know how you got that thing, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something you can obtain.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you unwilling to ept it? Then let¡¯s go talk about it at the Supreme Council!¡±


    ¡°Even if the defense minister was here, he still won¡¯t have any power to stop me from leaving!¡±


    ¡°It seems like you all are new recruits. Do you need me to remind you of the power this emblem carries?¡±


    ¡°This is an emblem awarded by the Supreme Council, and in the entire world, not more than five people have this emblem. Those with the emblem are viewed as having the highest authority. In front of this emblem, there are no secrets, and outside of those with the same power, no one has any authority to interfere with them!¡±


    The usually warm Song Jung had finally thrown his temper. His voice got constantly louder. Even though his power was something that could be easily stepped on in Dawn City, his background was something not anyone could offend.


    Xiao Lin was also shocked when he heard it as it was clearly a modern day golden te!


    A few of the men started to turn green in the face. They obviously knew the power of that emblem, but they could not think about how that man, whose power was very ordinary, could possess that emblem. However, now that Song Jung had directly challenged them, they did not dare to make a move easily. In the end, they could only stare as Song Jung left with Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s short meeting with the deansted for over an hour. On the way back, Xiao Lin did not conceal anything, telling Song Jung everything the dean had said. This time, Song Jung did not give him any suggestions, and instead repeated the dean¡¯sst words. ¡°Go back to the academy and don¡¯t return to the colonist territories in the near future.¡±


    The dean said that Song Jung was someone who knew of the situation as well, and after Song Jung spoke of the emblem¡¯s powers earlier, Xiao Lin understood where his foundation came from, but Department Head Song obviously did not n to discuss all of that with him.


    ...


    In the spatial carriage, the monitors who had waited for the tardy Xiao Lin for a long time had nothing toin about. Even the most stupid of them could see that Dawn City was not the same as usual, and they had interacted with too many important people in the past few days, and none of them had told the monitors anything. The position of a monitor was not even at the lowest level of the city¡¯s hierarchy.


    Cheng Ming and the others wanted to get some news from Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin was not in a great mood. Song Jung had basically forced him onto the tform. Even when he said he wanted to write a letter for Ibeiya in the Rosa Kingdom, he had been rejected bluntly.


    Be it Song Jung, Yu Mei or the dean, none of them wanted Xiao Lin to continue staying in the colonist territories. They were all very clear that Xiao Lin was still too weak, and Dawn City, with its impending new leadership, would be facing a political storm. As for how many would be involved, that was something that no one knew, and none of them wished for Xiao Lin to be involved in it.


    The academy was an ivory tower-like existence. No matter how violent the storm ended up being on the outside, the students within would not be affected. Even the defense minister would not dare to cross that line lightly.


    Xiao Lin remembered what the dean had alluded to ¡ª infighting really was the main hurdle, no matter what the time period. Even someone like Ivanovich did not die to countless assassination attempts by the Normese, nor did he die to the destruction of Earth; he died to the inner workings of men; it really wasughable.


    Returning to academy grounds after such a long time and tossing all schemes and traps aside, Xiao Lin finally felt a feeling of warmth. At least he did not have to think about any schemes there.


    Since it was a weekend, there were no sses, and the monitors all returned earlier to rest. Some of them had even gathered their group leaders into meetings to understand what had been happening.


    Xiao Lin chose to lock himself in his dormitory. He then closed his eyes and entered his meditative state. In that elemental universe that he had spent countless time in, never reaching the end, he found something new.


    In his universe, there was an irregr square shaped body. It had a white glow. It did not shine brightly, and the response was weak, but the surroundings of the object were clean, meaning that all the elements had seemingly avoided that thing on purpose.


    Xiao Lin could somewhat guess the origin of that object. It was probably the Shards of Creation that he had collected. After sessfully obtaining the third shard in Rosa Kingdom, it had fused together with the two he had collected prior, and they probably fused into the object in front of him.


    Xiao Lin still did not know what the Shards of Creation were, but they did give him some benefits after fusing, which was the direct increase in his attributes. On top of that, thanks to the fighting during that time, Xiao Lin could feel that his skills had gone through a breakthrough.


    Ivanovich had asked him to collect the Shards of Creation. Xiao Lin had thought to only collect them as a favor, collecting them when he encountered them, but never deliberately looking for them.


    However, after returning this time, Xiao Lin had a lot more on his mind. The dean¡¯s words kept reverbreting in his ears. The world¡¯sws were facing copse, and only those with SS-rank talents could stop it. That had nothing to do with skill, so it had to be something only those with SS-rank talents could do.


    Ivanovich had said it as well, that collecting the shards had something to do with the future of Earth and Norma.


    Xiao Lin suddenly woke up from his meditative state, feeling like he had grasped something. It was possible that the Shards of Creation were his only clues.


    After that, Xiao Lin¡¯s life returned to peace. Every day, he would leave early and only get homete, and he spent every day alternating between attending ss and training.


    Xiao Lin headed to the library more and more, the library in the academy had been built during the early periods of colonization, and had been constantly added to. It contained basically the entire history of humanity¡¯s colonization, so he had hoped to get some clues from it.


    However, Xiao Lin was aware the truly sensitive books would not appear in the outer, lower-leveled sections of the library. He had a B-ranked library pass, at the highest leveled ones for the library were S-ranked ones.

 Chapter 552 - Library Pass

    <h4>Chapter 552: Library Pass</h4>


    What Xiao Lin needed to understand was the history of the colonists, not those textbooks meant for the masses, but true history. It was obvious that Dawn Academy adopted some traditions from back on Earth, and the books that were publically avable were neverplete or have always had special edits made.


    Xiao Lin knew that he probably would not be able to find any books he wanted from the first three areas of the library, so he first looked for the librarian, Gu Fantian. He had met Gu Fantian a few times before. Even though they were not that familiar with each other, the second-year senior was quite nice to him. Of course, most of that was due to Xiao Lin¡¯s status as a monitor.


    Gu Fantian was working in the library during the weekend for some extra ie, and his expression changed to one of friendliness and happiness when he saw the rare appearance of Xiao Lin. He even tried to drag Xiao Lin out for some drinks. Xiao Lin naturally did not have the mood, and after a few pleasantries, he voiced his request upfront. He said that he wanted an S-rank library pass.


    Gu Fantian¡¯s smile slowly disappeared as he asked in confusion, ¡°An S-rank library pass? I don¡¯t think you need that area of the library right now, right? Why are you so impatient? With your abilities in the academy, you will be able to get in when you are in your fourth year.¡±


    ¡°Do you have no way to do it?¡± Xiao Lin deciphered his words. Of course, he anticipated that answer, so he changed his questions. ¡°Where will I be able to get an S-rank library pass?¡±


    ¡°Only the student union president can do that. The S-rank area has a lot of books that even the fourth-year seniors can¡¯t use. Most of them are for research students or professors,¡± Gu Fantian reminded.


    ¡°So I only need the student union president to decide on it? That¡¯s simple then. It¡¯ll be easy for me.¡± Xiao Lin let out a long sigh of relief as he mumbled to himself.


    Gu Fantian¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Xiao Lin was probably the only person that would think that getting the approval of the student union president was the easiest way. He had vaguely heard of Xiao Lin¡¯s rtionship with the president before this, but he could not hold back as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not just the president, the various department heads need to discuss the matter as well. You will need the support of the relevant department heads to be able to get the pass done.¡±


    ¡°Discussion? The support of a department head?¡± Xiao Lin felt like his problems had disappeared, because he thought about Song Jung. The Logistics Department Head was still at the level of a department head, so he smiled, ¡°Then there won¡¯t be a problem. Don¡¯t worry, you just need to tell me how it¡¯s done.¡±


    This time, Gu Fantian was thoroughly speechless, because he thought about Song Jung as well. Xiao Lin had constantly gone to the logistics department that no one cared about; that was already something widespread. However, he did not think that Xiao Lin would have such a good rtionship with the people there. Gu Fantian could not help but admire Xiao Lin. Before, he only admired Xiao Lin¡¯s monitor position and skill; now, it was his background and connections.


    Xiao Lin immediately left for the student union after talking to Gu Fantian. The president had returned with him from Dawn Academy. When he saw Xiao Lin knock on the door, he was a little surprised, but quickly smiled bitterly. ¡°I should really create a special pass for you to the student union offices, but it seems like it¡¯s not that needed. The guards are already pretty much all familiar with you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need for a pass, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anyone in this building who would stop me froming in. Why don¡¯t you give me an S-rank library pass instead?¡±


    ¡°An S-rank library pass? Haha, that¡¯s not a problem.¡± The president smiled warmly. Not even asking anything else, he immediately produced the needed forms from his drawer for Xiao Lin. Once Xiao Lin filled it up, the president signed his name before returning it to Xiao Lin, continuing to say, ¡°ording to the rules, you still need a signature from a department head for an S-rank library pass to be in effect. You don¡¯t know the other department heads, so just head to Song Jung.¡±


    The entire process only needed ten minutes. After that, Xiao Lin could not help but get suspicious. No matter how familiar he was with the president, it should not have been so easy. Xiao Lin looked throughout the form, but could not see any ws, and he did not think the president would trick him with something like that either.


    Once he reached Song Jung¡¯s logistics department, Department Head Song did not even look at the form. Once Xiao Lin gave a brief exnation, the department head immediatelyughed.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°I can hear the mockery in yourughter.¡±


    ¡°Oh, this isn¡¯t mockery; I just think it¡¯s interesting.¡±


    ¡°Then is there any difference with mocking me?¡±


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t joke around. Do you know why the president approved your request so quickly?¡±


    ¡°Does he really have some sort of trick?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.


    Song Jungughed out loud again. Heughed so much he bent backwards. When Xiao Lin started ring at him, Song Jung finally stopped, saying, ¡°You¡¯re just too dumb. I know what kind of books you want, but regretfully, the books you want are incredibly rare, even in the S-rank area.¡±


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded.


    ¡°The S-rank area is meant for professors and researchers. How could those books that are truly secrets be left there for them?¡± After pausing, Song Jung suddenly had a strange smile. ¡°Have you heard of the restricted area?¡±


    ¡°The restricted area?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly remembered that night when he just entered the academy. Someone had asked him if he wanted to sneak into the restricted area when he was being questioned.


    Song Jung nodded. ¡°The library has a basement, and all the restricted books with absolute secrets are stored there. If you want to know any secrets, I think you¡¯ll be able to find your answers there.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s restricted, then it will be very hard to apply for entry.¡±


    ¡°Apply? Put it this way; even the president doesn¡¯t have the power to enter alone. There is no way to apply for entry. Only with the collective signatures of the dean and the defense minister can anyone enter. Also, why are you looking at me with that expression?¡±


    Xiao Lin coughed dryly. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you let me use that emblem of yours.¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Song Jung rejected tly, raising his arms helplessly. ¡°Don¡¯t think that that emblem is omnipotent. Every time it¡¯s used, it will mobilize a lot of people. Put it this way, in the past few days, the leaders of the colonist territories have constantly been calling me. I¡¯m someone who wants to maintain a low profile, so I¡¯m not nning on using that for at least another year.¡±


    Xiao Lin held his tongue, abandoning that train of thought too. Even though he did not agree that Song Jung was someone who maintained a low profile, if the emblem really mobilized so many people, it was not a good idea to ask for Song Jung¡¯s help. Yu Mei and the others had sent him back so he could temporarily avoid the gazes of the important figures, and Xiao Lin did not want to be the focus of everyone.

 Chapter 553 - S-rank Library Area

    <h4>Chapter 553: S-rank Library Area</h4>


    It did not seem like he could make any progress through Song Jung, and it had served to emphasize once again that Xiao Lin did not know much of the true inner-workings and secrets. He politely excused himself, and even though Xiao Lin was very suspicious, there was nothing he could do about it.


    Of course, Xiao Lin did not forget to get Song Jung¡¯s signature on the application form before he left. It was a free S-rank library pass, and there was no reason for him to refuse it. Smoothly obtaining the golden, palm-sized pass from the president, he saw that his name and fingerprint was etched on top. The card was unique, and only Xiao Lin could use it. The usage period was for a year, and the president had told him meaningfully that, if he seriously vited the academy rules during that period, the student union had the right to take that card back.


    How could someone as smart as the student union president not guess Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions? However, Xiao Lin nodded and agreed. After leaving the president¡¯s office, he threw that warning to the back of his head.


    During the afternoon, Xiao Lin once again appeared at the library, and when he approached Gu Fantian, he caused that senior, and the dozen or so other people who were working there were so shocked that their jaws dropped.


    The others were shocked because it was the first time they had seen such a prestigious library pass, and could not help but hold their suspicions on Xiao Lin¡¯s identity. It was not the first time Gu Fantian had seen an S-rank library pass; he was shocked because he still underestimated Xiao Lin¡¯s abilities. Even if he really could get such a library pass made, Gu Fantian never expected it to be so fast, as it had only been half a day.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you there.¡± Gu Fantian assigned his tasks to some others before personally bringing Xiao Lin into the library. After finding arge magic carpet, the two of them headed straight for the deeper ends of the library.


    The carpet was not slow, but it still took them almost half an hour before they stopped in front of an unassuming grey door. Gu Fantian said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to head in yourself, as only those with S-rank library passes can go in and even librarians like me can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Xiao Lin expressed his thanks politely before asking, ¡°I want to ask as well, where is the restricted area!¡±


    Bang!


    Gu Fantian fell straight off the magic carpet. Thankfully, the two of them were already at a very low height, and Xiao Lin helped him up, also nonchntly saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just trying to find out the location; you don¡¯t have to bring me there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything; it¡¯s better if you ask someone else!¡± Gu Fantian said with finality before unhesitatingly climbing back on the magic carpet, escaping immediately. It was obvious the guy had been scared by Xiao Lin¡¯s words.


    There was a restricted area in the library ¡ª that was not a secret in the academy ¡ª but other than madmen, no one would think about barging in. It was impossible to even get any information, as the academy was extremely strict when it came to punishments in that regard, and if anyone was caught, they would be interrogated at the special investigation department in Dawn City, or held and locked up for a long time.


    That was right, they would not be exiled back to Earth or have their memories removed. The academy felt that those who entered the restricted area could not be safely ignored, even if they were sent to Earth forever. After all, those who had their memories removed would asionally retain fragments of their memory, so the academy was more willing to lock them up in prison forever. No one came to the New World to be locked up indefinitely, so no one dared to lightly vite that rule.


    Xiao Lin was actually afraid as well. If the dean was still in power, he would not be that worried, but now that it was the defense minister standing in the dean¡¯s ce, things were not as simple.


    However, Xiao Lin still had to make it to the restricted area, as it was currently his only clue. Even though the dean had asked him to go check out Ivan¡¯s old home, the problem was that he did not know where that was. He had already been prohibited from entering the colonist territories by the old man who was the new dean. After returning to the academy, the president had deliberately pulled him aside to emphasize the point regarding that, telling him it was not a game, and that the people working at the spatial carriage had also received simr orders.


    That meant that if Xiao Lin wanted to continue investigating, he could only rely on finding the relevant clues in the restricted area. The dean had told him about the dangers Earth was facing, and Xiao Lin cared about that a lot. He could even be said to be extremely anxious. He thought about his parents; how could he sit idle when the Earth couldpletely disappear from the universe at any point?


    Yet, regarding that matter, the president and Department Head Song could not help him. Xiao Lin, who had no one to turn to, was running around like a headless chicken. During the week that he had his S-rank library pass made, he spent most of the time in the library¡¯s S-rank area.


    As the public area with the highest clearance level, the area was surprisingly bigger. Other than books, there were also many tools and strange, unknown things disyed. Those things were not replicas or models; they had all been collected from Norma. They all had dangerous elements to them, and were ced there after being ced into special containment units. The ones who came here were all researchers and professors, so they could use those objects during their experiments.


    The books there were incredibly profound, and most of them had something to do with space, time, or astrology. There were even introductions to Legend-ranked skills and objects.


    It was all just fine though, as Xiao Lin felt like he could ignore the Legend-rank skills, but the books on astrology had piqued his interest. The dean had mentioned that the dean used a special astrological skill to somewhat predict the future, and the third eye Silverlight had given him also had the ability to pierce through time. He had even personally interfered with history before.


    All of that definitely caused Xiao Lin to be extremely interested. Before he could enter the restricted area, his free time was all basically spent there.


    The knowledge of time and space was built on extremely high foundational knowledge, including understanding the elements and various energies. The relevant materials were possibly only taught in the fourth year, but that did not stop Xiao Lin from reading it. Even if he only had half-baked foundational knowledge, Xiao Lin could still somewhat understand the contents of the books.


    Such as the illustration of the wall of time, it was just an theoretical understanding for others, but Xiao Lin had personally experienced it before. After looking at the exnations, he could not help but sigh in realization.


    There were actually quite a few people in the S-rank area. After all, the academy had gathered many researchers and professors throughout the years. Xiao Lin quickly attracted everyone¡¯s attention as a little junior that had suddenly appeared.


    It was not that Xiao Lin did not maintain a low profile; it was that he just had no choice. Everyone there had pretty high clearances, and with the appearance of such a foreign and young looking man in the S-rank area, they would naturally be curious. After checking through the centralputer, all of them could find out that Xiao Lin was a first year student.

 Chapter 554 - The Theory of Time

    <h4>Chapter 554: The Theory of Time</h4>


    A first-year appearing at the S-rank library area was absolutely a rare thing. The professors and researchers all had their suspicions, but they did not bother with him too much. Yet, when they asionally heard Xiao Lin mumbling to himself, some of them could not hold back.


    For instance, the fact that time could not be rewound was the same principle as the fact that the wall of time could not be broken. In the field, it was basically a universally-epted theory. Xiao Lin could not help but let out a smallugh, even though he did not know which professor wrote that book; it was obvious that the theory had a massive hole in it.


    Coincidentally, a professor who researched time was next to him, and after ncing at the book Xiao Lin was reading, he asked curiously, ¡°You can understand this book?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite strange; even among graduates, there are few who can understand this book. You had a realization earlier?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the book is quite well-written, and the various exnations on time are very detailed, but there¡¯s a little w,¡± Xiao Lin said,pletely treating it as idle chatter.


    As he said that, the man, who had a ck shirt and thick sses on immediately raised his voice, ¡°A w? You said that there is a w in the book?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not a big problem, but it¡¯s just the theory that time can¡¯t be rewound, but you can¡¯t me the author for that,¡± Xiao Lin exined.


    ¡°The fact that time cannot be rewound is something everyone on Norma knows. I¡¯ve researched time for over twenty years, and I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with that theory!¡± the man argued, his head full of steam.


    Xiao Lin looked around; their words had attracted the attention of others. He furrowed his eyebrows and said in frustration, ¡°Even if that¡¯s so, what does it have to do with you? Every reader can have their own understanding and views.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I am the author of that book, and now you¡¯re suspicious of my theory, so I obviously need to get an appropriate exnation.¡±


    Xiao Lin was suddenly speechless. Even he did not expect that he would meet the author of a book he had just casually taken out from the drawer. He did not dwell on the problem, so he said, ¡°FIne, forget what I said earlier. That¡¯s just something I said while I was daydreaming. That¡¯s it. Goodbye.¡±


    Xiao Lin had already read most of the book, and he closed it and was preparing to leave. However, the man grabbed him; even though he was a researcher who looked into theory, anyone who could reach the level of a professor would have pretty good basic attributes. His hand had a lot of force behind it. Xiao Lin sighed and said, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Tell me clearly!¡± The man widened his eyes. ¡°Tell me what is wrong with my theory, and don¡¯t dismiss me.¡±


    That put Xiao Lin in a difficult spot; he definitely could not say that he had changed history before, and that was during Antean times on Earth. He could not say that his own experiences had proven that theory false.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not wrong. It¡¯s true. I just spouted some nonsense. I¡¯m sorry, I still have sses to attend, so please let me go.¡± Xiao Lin did not want to exin. Exining would tax him mentally, and might even bring him more trouble.


    However, the man had no intention of letting him go, which made Xiao Lin a little angry, and while the other party was not prepared, he suddenly entered his Ruin state. The sudden increase in his strength had caused the man to retreat in rm. A small breeze could be felt in the narrow room, but two secondster, Xiao Lin quickly deactivated his Ruin state and took the chance to flee.


    When he got back to the dormitory, Xiao Lin looked for that book on the school¡¯s internal Inte. Of course, there was no way to look at the contents of that book, but the basic information could still be found, such as information about the author.


    Zhang Jieqiu, professor of time theory. One of the pioneers of the study of time at Dawn Academy. Dawn Academy never prioritized that field during the early days, so it has fallen behind the other academies in that regard. This professor has brought many theoretical systems to Dawn Academy.


    In general, he really was a very capable person. Even the rare time-based spells had mostly been invented through his theories.


    After reading that, Xiao Lin got a headache; men like him who obviously fervently and passionately threw themselves in a subject were usually very stubborn. He did not want to interact with that man that much.


    ¡°You look very frustrated; do you need me to help you get rid of any information that can be used to find you?¡± A woman¡¯s clear voice could suddenly be heard behind him.


    Xiao Lin had always been alone in his dormitory, so with the sudden appearance of another person¡¯s voice, every nerve in Xiao Lin¡¯s body tensed. In the next second, he took out his Holy Sword from his spatial ring, and activated Miracle before entering his Ruin state.


    Behind him, a girl in a white dress was floating in the air. Her bare and white feet were drifting around as her young face wore a teasing smile. ¡°Your reactions are pretty quite quick, but it¡¯s a pity that your actions were too slow. You used 2.5 seconds to retrieve your weapon and get ready for an attack. If I really was an enemy, that would have been enough time to deal with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Xiao Lin ignored the girl¡¯s insults, sighing with relief before he withdrew his weapon.


    ¡°I bet you¡¯ve already forgotten who I am.¡±


    ¡°The artificial intelligence, Bell, right? My memory isn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®artificial lifeform¡¯, not intelligence! Don¡¯t keep making me correct your mistake!¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, I got it,¡± Xiao Lin answered nonchntly before curiously saying, ¡°Hold on, I remember that you can only appear through virtual images, so how are you here?¡±


    He tried to touch that girl¡¯s arm, but his palm went right through it. She looked like a real person, but she obviously did not have a physical body.


    ¡°Hey! You pervert!¡± the girl muttered, her face looking aggrieved and irritated as she did. After that, she proudly exined. ¡°In this academy, as long as I want to, I can appear anywhere.¡±


    ¡°So you mean that we¡¯re being observed every second we¡¯re here?¡± Xiao Lin could immediately tell what that meant.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. unless it involves something sensitive in the academy, I don¡¯t really care about all of you idling in your dormitories.¡± Bell understood Xiao Lin¡¯s words differently.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, deciding not to continue with what that conversation could entail. He then asked, ¡°You said you could prevent my information from being found? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°That Professor Zhang from earlier could fervently be looking for your information.¡±

 Chapter 555 - Agreement With Bell

    <h4>Chapter 555: Agreement With Bell</h4>


    ¡°He was searching for my information?¡± Xiao Lin gaped.


    ¡°He has very high clearance.¡±


    ¡°My clearance should be higher than his.¡± Xiao Lin vaguely remembered the dean saying that his clearances had been increased.


    ¡°That¡¯s only in certain aspects, but when ites to public information, Professor Zhang can find it; that includes information such as your year and dormitory.¡± The girl had a naughty smile on her face, saying, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have said so much; that professor is famous for being stubborn, and he will get to the bottom of something no matter what. You caused him to be confused, so he naturally wants an answer from you.¡±


    ¡°You know what happened in the library? Wait, let me retract that question; you can observe everything, and so you naturally know about it.¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly before looking at the girl hopefully. ¡°Then, can you help me block off my information? I don¡¯t want that professor to camp in front of my dormitory every day. It will cause me too much trouble.¡±


    ¡°Why should I help you?¡± Bell asked.


    ¡°Then what do you want me to do?¡± Xiao Lin asked in exasperation. That girl was either just there to tease him, or she definitely had a request, even though he did not know what he could help with.


    ¡°Time can¡¯t be rewound. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s no one who ever doubted that theory, but all of themcked convincing evidence, so they did not have much behind their arguments. But you... Why were you so sure?¡± The girl suddenly wiped the yful smile from her face before looking at Xiao Lin with her bright eyes.


    ¡°I was just spouting out some nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll just forward all your information, including stuff about your ancestors, to Professor Zhang.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    Xiao Lin looked closely at Bell, and after a few minutes, he asked with a strange expression, ¡°Why do you want to know that?¡±


    The girl averted her gaze. Even though she was just a virtual image, she did not seem to want Xiao Lin to look at her current expression, so she impatiently said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know the reason!¡±


    Even though that artificial lifeform always seemed very friendly to him, Xiao Lin knew that he was not very familiar with Bell, who had seemingly been born with and grew with the academy. Strictly speaking, she was definitely at a higher rank than him, and since she did not seem happy, Xiao Lin did not pursue the matter.


    ¡°Blocking my information is just a casual action for you, and I could just ask the president to do it for me. Even though I don¡¯t really want to trouble him right now,pared to what you want to know, it¡¯s not worth it for me at all,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.


    Bell red at Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°Cunning man, you still want to enter the restricted area of the library?¡±


    ¡°So you have been spying on me!¡± Xiao Lin said indignantly.


    Bell said, ¡°Who would be so free to observe a man¡¯s life the whole day. I¡¯m not a pervert! Only, the president looked for me yesterday, and reminded me not to give you any special rights.¡±


    ¡°You agreed?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the president; he has the rights to govern the academy, so I naturally need to promise him that.¡±


    ¡°What if I give you the secret behind rewinding time in exchange?¡± Xiao Lin immediately asked.


    ¡°Then I can promise to help you get this thing done.¡± The girl fluttered herrge eyes.


    ¡°Your promises are really cheap...¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched.


    ¡°Oh, only the dean can give me direct orders. I can even ignore the Supreme Council. Unless it¡¯s an order from the dean, I can always change my actions based on the situation,¡± Bell said.


    ¡°Fine, then should we sign an agreement?¡± Xiao Lin was afraid that she would not pay up.


    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me!¡± The girl widened her eyes.


    How could Xiao Lin trust a girl who just sold out the president without any hesitation right in front of him? However, that was all in his mind. The only person that could help him right now was Bell, who held the biggest power in the academy at that moment. That was why Xiao Lin lied, ¡°You¡¯re so cute, how could you lie to you? I do trust you.¡±


    After that, the two of them stared at each other, entering an awkward silence.


    ¡°Quickly tell me how you rewind time!¡±


    ¡°Then tell me how to get to the restricted area of the library.¡±


    ¡°You first!¡±


    ¡°You first!¡±


    Then there was over ten minutes of silence before Xiao Lin said helplessly, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s justpromise. I¡¯ll first say half of it, then you bring me to the restricted area, then after that I¡¯ll tell you the rest.¡±


    ¡°I can only tell you the location first. After that, you tell me the rest before I consider bringing you there.¡±


    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s a deal.¡±


    They finally reached an agreement, and Xiao Lin was worried she would regret it, so he did not dy, immediately saying, ¡°Rewinding time actually needs one to break the wall of time.¡±


    ¡°After that? You basically said nothing!¡± Bell was not satisfied with that answer.


    The girl mumbled to herself, floating back into the air, seemingly investigating something before she quickly went back down, standing in front of Xiao Lin as she said sternly, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯m doing something like this, so you have to keep it a secret for me.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Xiao Lin nodded like a chick eating rice.


    Bell was not too happy with Xiao Lin¡¯s dismissive answer, but her re was ineffective. She changed to a low voice, and slowly started talking. As she spoke, Xiao Lin noticed that his dormitory seemed to be filled with a shadow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s just the most basic of precautions. I don¡¯t want anyone else to hear what I¡¯m about to say. The restricted area of the library was not restricted during the early days of the academy. It was only when Ivan¡¯s rebellion happened. It had involved a lot of people, and caused a big shift in power. The library ended up with a lot of restricted materials. It¡¯s not just books in the library, there¡¯s also a lot of evidence from back then.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m a bit confused. Ivan¡¯s rebellion? What happened there?¡±


    Bell shrugged with a helpless expression. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that, my programming has been restricted in that regard. I can¡¯t tell you anything personally, but I can help you find it. The true history from that period will help you find the answers you want.¡±


    Bell had stirred his interest, and Xiao Lin could only nod and say, ¡°Fine, where is the restricted area? If you can¡¯t bring me there, can you at least tell me where it is, and how to get in, such as the passwords?¡±


    Bell once againughed. ¡°Password? Do you think such an important ce would have such archaic protections?


    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll have you look at it yourself. This will be a very mystical journey, you should be mentally prepared.¡± After Bell¡¯s words, the room suddenly got brighter and brighter until it shone like a star, swallowing everything in the light.

 Chapter 556 - Virtual Space

    <h4>Chapter 556: Virtual Space</h4>


    Suddenly Xiao Lin felt like he had entered a dream world. He had closed his eyes when the light shone, and when he reopened them he realized he was still in his room, but his surroundings were very dark, and he was also pitch-ck outside his window. He could not see any trace of sunlight, nor could he hear anyone else. The entire world was dead silent, and Xiao Lin could not help but suspect if that was hell after he died.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re already awake? That was fast!¡± Bell pushed open the door and entered. The girl was still in her white dress, and her feet were still bare. However, Xiao Lin immediately saw something strange; Bell actually had her feet on the floor. Compared to the virtual image before, each step she took felt much more realistic.


    ¡°Are you a pedophile?¡± Noticing Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze, Bell¡¯s smile widened.


    Xiao Lin suddenly shivered as he averted his gaze; that artificial lifeform was probably older than anyone in the academy, so it was not appropriate to call her a little girl, even though she looked like one.


    ¡°Where is this?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Dawn Academy.¡± Bell smiled as she held her head high, continuing to say, ¡°This is my world; a virtual Dawn Academy.¡±


    ¡°A virtual world? Like aputer game?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but think about some FreeWebNovels that he had read before.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve yed too many games! I can¡¯t really exin the basic principles to you, but if you¡¯re interested, you can go learn about space. Basically, this is still the academy; we¡¯re still in the same ne, but in a different ce.¡±


    ¡°So you have a real body here?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but voice his confusion.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± That girl liked tough, but most of her time herughter was that of yful teasing. Theughter gave Xiao Lin a bad feeling, and sure enough, Bell said, ¡°No, I think you¡¯ve got it all wrong. It¡¯s not that I¡¯ve obtained a body... You just lost your body!¡±


    Xiao Lin was shocked, and he hurriedly touched his arms and body; he still felt solid, but he felt like something was off. At Bell¡¯s words, he frantically investigated what was off.


    It was his body heat; his skin waspletely ice cold and it had no warmth at all. He could not feel a heartbeat from his chest at all; he feltpletely like a dead person, but Xiao Lin did not feel that way at all.


    ¡°Am I dead?¡±


    ¡°If you want to die, I can do that for you!¡± Bell rolled her eyes in annoyance, then exined, ¡°This spacepletely replicates the academy; both of them have their simrities, but thews here don¡¯t allow living beings to enter. Don¡¯t worry though; I used a special way to temporarily separate your consciousness, so it won¡¯t affect your safety.¡±


    Even though Xiao Lin could not understand the theory behind it, it seemed very cool...


    Basically, Xiao Lin was not worried about his safety, since it was in the same space. That meant that he was still under the protection of the resurrection towers, so death was not a threat. Following Bell out of the dormitory, they headed straight to the library.


    On the way, Xiao Lin looked around, and just like the girl had said, each de of grass, each tree and each building all looked exactly like Dawn Academy. It was just that there was no one in the buildings.


    Pushing open the library, it was very dark inside. Xiao Lin had to narrow his eyes to look around carefully. Theyout inside was the same as usual, but when Xiao Lin took out a book from the shelves, he found something different.


    The cover of the book was a little yellowed, and the corners had obvious marks of wear and tear. That had surprised Xiao Lin, because the library had always considered the long-term storage of the books, and had used special magics to protect them. However, he did not know that those protective spells only started to be used in thest few decades.


    The book did not have a name. On the title page was a line of words that seemed to be drawn on, ¡®Strength is just sacrifice; only by paying a high enough price can we obtain unlimited power!¡¯


    ¡°This is a forbidden skill... The author had vited the academy rules that prohibited research into ck magic, and even broadcasted it, causing very negative repercussions. The author had his memories removed and was sent back to Earth, and based on ourst investigation, I remember that man is still in the psychiatric ward.¡± Bell appeared behind Xiao Lin and exined all of this to him after looking at the title page.


    ¡°Why was he in the psychiatric ward?¡± After what happened with Wang Dalin, Xiao Lin knew that the academy absolutely prohibited the spread of forbidden techniques.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said it ¡ª his memories werepletely wiped. That¡¯s to prevent him from potentially regaining any of them. After all, if someone with forbidden magic managed to regain their memories, it would cause tremendous harm to Earth. Only, that kind of removal causes arge scar, and it harms the mind, so he has to stay in the psychiatric ward his whole life.¡±


    Xiao Lin trembled as he hurriedly put the book back onto the shelf, asking, ¡°Since the president has given you a request beforehand, do you know what sort of books I want?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I do, but isn¡¯t it time for you to fulfil your promise?¡± Bell fluttered her innocent eyes as she said slyly.


    ¡°You really are stingy,¡± Xiao Lin mumbled before falling silent.


    Bell waited for a few minutes in boredom before she vented a few words in frustration, but Xiao Lin did not answer her. Suddenly, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes widened as veins appeared next to his eyes, as if he was using a lot of force. Xiao Lin panted heavily.


    ¡°Hey, hey, what are you doing? I almost forgot to tell you, thews in this ce reject the elements, so if you want to do anything to me, you might not be able to beat me. Oh...¡± Bell was just yfully mocking him, but midway through, she forcefully swallowed the remainder of her words as her eyes widened. She looked at the third eye on Xiao Lin¡¯s head with a strange expression on her face.


    ¡°A Heaven¡¯s Eye, you have a Heaven¡¯s Eye! How could that be?!¡± Bell asked before Xiao Lin could even speak.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a Spiritual Eye?¡± Xiao Lin remembered that Silverlight had told him those eyes were actually called Spiritual Eyes based on what they were called in Antis.


    ¡°There¡¯s no difference. First, tell me, how did you get a Heaven¡¯s Eye! These eyes should havepletely gone extinct tens of thousands of years ago!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not say anything, and Bell was not surprised, so she quickly continued her monologue, ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to tell me. Legends say that Heaven¡¯s Eye had the ability to go back and forth in reincarnation. It¡¯s something almost everyone treats as a myth. Now I understand why you are so certain that time can be rewound!¡±

 Chapter 557 - Discovering History

    <h4>Chapter 557: Discovering History</h4>


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you were so certain that the theory of time not being able to be rewound was wrong. I¡¯m curious... Did you really change the past? What did you change?¡±


    Xiao Lin maintained his Heaven¡¯s Eye for a moment and quickly realized that using it in this space consumed even more of his strength. He said, ¡°Before I answer that question, I think it¡¯s time you fulfil your promise.¡±


    ¡°What a petty man!¡± Bell mumbled, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Bell brought Xiao Lin to the deepest parts of the library as promised, and in front of them was a steel door that was sealed shut. On the door was a frightening amount of locks; it was unbelievable how so many locks had been fixed on, but what caused Xiao Lin to be speechless was that Bell only needed to wave her hand, and all the locks fell on the ground soundlessly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have much time. You¡¯re far too weak. You can¡¯t stay in this realm for too long, or it will cause irreparable harm to your soul.


    ¡°Also, I did not hold much hope for you initially, but since you have that eye, you could give it a try. It could be of some help.¡±


    After Bell¡¯s final warning, she lightly pushed him into the room, and she kept watch outside.


    Xiao Lin did not even have time to say anything when the door behind him shut itself again soundlessly. The light had been quite dim before, and there were no windows in that room. After the door closed, Xiao Lin was surrounded byplete darkness, but the darkness did notst long. After a dozen or so seconds, a row of blue lights lit up next to the walls.


    Upon closer inspection, Xiao Lin saw that rows of transparent ss orbs had been ced on the closets surrounding him. The orbs had a white substance inside, and the glow was from that substance.


    Xiao Lin reached out and took the closest ss orb. The moment his Xiao Lin¡¯s hand touched the cold orb, Xiao Lin suddenly felt an immense bout of dizziness, and then a strong suction came from the orb, evenpletely twisting his body. It was then that Xiao Lin was even more certain that he was not in solid form.


    In the dizziness, Xiao Lin seemed to enter a dream world. At some point, he was no longer in that little ck room, but instead in a bright meeting room, but the surroundings looked blurry and dreamlike.


    There were six people in the meeting room, and they seemed to be fiercely debating something. Xiao Lin could not hear anything initially, but after a few moments, the sound seemed to close in from a distance, and started to get clearer.


    ¡°The orcs are getting more and more bold! This is already the thirteenth merchant group that has been attacked in this month! If we don¡¯t increase our retaliations, those brainless barbarians will get worse!¡±


    ¡°I agree. Dawn Academy is one of the first colonist countries, so we absolutely mustn¡¯t let anyone look down on us.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°I have noment.¡±


    ¡°In at least three months, we should have chased those orcs away to the Endless Seas!¡±


    ¡°I object. Let¡¯s not be too eager for war. It¡¯s not the right time. The Americans have just signed a peace treaty with the elves, so the elves no longer need to watch their backs. If they work with the orcs, coupled with the fact that our troops have fallen drastically in strength in recent years, open war will cause unbelievable casualties.¡±


    ¡°Coward!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just afraid of the orcs!¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin could vaguely understand what he was listening to. That was probably the meeting regarding starting the war with the orcs all those years ago. Even though all of them looked unfamiliar, he had recognized that lone person who objected to going to war. Even though that person looked very young, it was obviously a younger dean. Of course, he was still not the dean at that time.


    The results of that discussion were already obvious; those who wanted war had an absolute advantage. The dean then mmed the door and left in anger. As for what happened after, Xiao Lin naturally knew early on. During the war against the orcs, Dawn Academy¡¯s losses were immense, and they had lost their status as the strongest colonists due to that.


    The surroundings turned into a blur again, and had dispersed like ripples in the water. Xiao Lin once again returned to the dark room, but he had already grasped the use of those toys. They were a little like memory crystals, and had recorded down important matters. As for why the meeting had been sealed here, Xiao Lin could more or less guess the reason. The participants of that meeting would naturally not want anyone to know they were the ones who proposed the war.


    It was unbelievable that the dean had predicted the results of the war, even back then. Even though the war ended in Dawn Academy¡¯s victory, the war had caused the academy too many losses. It could be said that the academy fell into decline after that, which caused them to be caught up to and surpassed by the Judge Academy.


    However, that was not the reason Xiao Lin was there. Even though Xiao Lin was very interested in what happened back then, he still put Bell¡¯s warning in his heart. He seized the time to continue looking for other crystal balls. He tried a few of them, but they were all from the wrong time periods.


    There were at least a hundred ss balls there, and if he continued trying like that, he would not have enough time. Xiao Lin was a bit anxious, but he suddenly remembered Bell saying that his Heaven¡¯s Eye would be able to help him. Even though she was vague with it, Xiao Lin still decided to try.


    It was very taxing activating his Heaven¡¯s Eye here, as he could not feel the presence of any elemental energy. Because of that he had no way to replenish therge amounts of energy he used to maintain the Heaven¡¯s Eye. With Xiao Lin¡¯s current level, it was quite an endeavor.


    Xiao Lin did not know why Bell wanted him to use Heaven¡¯s Eye; it was obvious Bell was not clueless about that eye, but just as Xiao Lin was suspecting that he would need to use Time Rewind, and target it at those ss balls, he suddenly realized something.


    The Eye of Truth could even see through time!


    The liquids in the ss orbs started to disperse and look clearer under the Eye of Truth. Even though he could notpletely see through what was inside, it felt like a movie that had been sped up to the fastest speed; he could not see it clearly, but he could still somewhat grasp it.


    Xiao Lin walked around nearby, and the eye on his forehead constantly looked around. He was quite satisfied with how useful his eye was even though it was an eye. Heaven¡¯s Eye did not actually ¡®see¡¯ the outside world, instead it ¡®felt¡¯ it. The results of the feelings were transmitted into Xiao Lin¡¯s mind, and he made his decisions based on that.


    With that method, Xiao Lin suddenly seemed to feel a sudden stimtion as he entire body shuddered. He quickly walked to the rightmost row, and eyed thest ss ball there.

 Chapter 558 - Ivan’s Final Battle

    <h4>Chapter 558: Ivan¡¯s Final Battle</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s intuition seemed to be attracted by something in that ss ball. The feeling was different from the other ss balls. The feeling only got that strong after he opened Heaven¡¯s Eye. He stared at the ss ball in front of him, furrowing his eyebrows for a moment before revealing a strange expression.


    A Shard of Creation!


    That strange sensation meant that it was clearly a Shard of Creation!


    Xiao Lin already knew that the Shards of Creation shared a certain rtionship, but he currently had very few of them, so the rtionship was very weak. After receiving the newest shard from the Rosa Kingdom and sessfully fusing the few he had into an iplete body, it greatly strengthened the connection.


    ¡°I never thought there would be a shard here, but why did I not feel it earlier?¡± Xiao Lin mumbled to himself before touching the eye on his forehead. After eliminating all other possibilities, the only answer left was that it was something caused by the eye on his forehead.


    On the surface, that ss ball was no different from the others; there was a blurry liquid inside just like the others, and there was space to store a Shard of Creation, but Xiao Lin believed that the reaction from the Shards of Creation within his body would not be wrong, so he reached out to touch the ss ball.


    The surroundings suddenly blurred once again, and when he reopened his eyes, Xiao Lin noticed that he was in a dense forest. The dark skies were covered withrge clouds. The temperature looked very low, but of course, Xiao Lin could not feel the temperature at all as a spectator. Two men stood nearby, and one of them was Ivanovich.


    Xiao Lin had met Ivan before, even if that was just an iplete fragment of Ivanovich¡¯s memories within his dream world. However, he had a deep impression of the man, so he could immediately identify him at just a nce.


    When he looked at the other man, Xiao Lin was shocked, because it was a man who looked noticeably older than Ivan, and was notpletely unfamiliar to Xiao Lin. He was familiar because he looked too much like Song Jung from the Logistics Department! If it was not for the fact that their ages looked too different, Xiao Lin would have thought that it actually was Song Jung.


    ¡°Ivan, why are you doing this?¡± The man who looked like Song Jung asked with a pained look; his voice was very low, quite different from Song Jung¡¯s, which gave Xiao Lin some relief. He was much more certain that it was not Song Jung, but he had to have been a rtive of his.


    ¡°Song! You don¡¯t have to say anymore! You should know my temper more than anyone else. My alma mater educated me, and I¡¯m grateful to them, but they lied to me, lied to this world! That¡¯s something I cannot ept!¡± Ivanovich said emotionally; his Mandarin was not very urate, but the general meaning could be understood.


    ¡°This world has always been wrapped around lies and falsehood. Haven¡¯t you seen through that? Even people as strong as you and me can¡¯t save the home world. We can¡¯t save everyone!¡± the man who looked like Song Jung said slowly. His voice was low, hiding a certain amount of sadness.


    ¡°Is that so? Even if you don¡¯t understand me!¡± Ivan sighed, his tone turning cold. ¡°You are right ¡ª we can¡¯t save everyone, but they used my mother¡¯s soul to threaten me. I hate necromancers the most in this world. Everyone who specializes in that should all be sent to hell! Hahaha, did they think that I would fall to their wills just like that? They are naive to a despicable degree. Who am I? I am Ivanovich, I am an SS-rank talent-holder! Who do they think they are? Who?!¡±


    Ivan¡¯s eyes started to redden, and his voice carried a certain sadness. ¡°Song, do you know? I shattered my mother¡¯s soul. I personally killed my mother, but I had no choice. When we reach our level of skill, it¡¯s not difficult to control souls. I don¡¯t want my mother to be controlled by others, even in death. I would rather she die in my hands.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can understand your pain, but I have nothing to do with Voyna Akademiya. Your actions now are threatening Dawn Academy and my country, so I have no choice.¡± Song¡¯s eyes dropped.


    ¡°Even you think I¡¯m trying to destroy the world? I¡¯ve said many times that I¡¯m saving the world, not destroying it... Even you don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    Ivanughed. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing much to say. Song, you are my best friend. Even though you are just an S-rank talent-holder, you are called the one closest to me. It¡¯s not a surprise they sent you here, but no matter how close you are, you still can¡¯t reach my level.¡±


    ¡°How do we know if we don¡¯t try?¡± Song smiled softly, but his smile carried a moroseness to it.


    Xiao Lin could not help but widen his eyes. Even though he did not understand everything that they were talking about, the battle that followed would probably be an intense battle that could never be forgotten by the annals of history.


    The battle shook the heavens. Ivanovich¡¯s ability was Creation, and his power of creation was already at the point of perfection. Lava, a raging storm and a torrential flood was constantly surging within that narrow forest.


    The other man¡¯s ability seemed to be rted to spatial powers, and he hadpletely negated all of Ivanovich¡¯s creations with that, and the battle suddenly entered a lulled state.


    Xiao Lin had thought that the battle would havested longer, but after a few minutes, the battle was close to an end.


    Ivanovich created wind to float up into the air, and he shouted loudly, ¡°Song! Don¡¯t me me! Even if it¡¯s you, I won¡¯t give up on my ideals. This will be myst gift to you and this world!¡±


    A rumbling sound started to be heard in the skies. Xiao Lin suddenly raised his head, and his pupils shrank. In the sky, a massive meteor was currently plummeting toward the surface at an incredible speed.


    ¡°My god!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but exim, as he remembered the dean telling him before that Ivan¡¯s Creation ability could create meteors toward the end, and now he finally saw the shocking sight with his own eyes.


    ¡°Ivan! Have you gone crazy?! Do you really want to destroy the world and betray mankind?¡± Song¡¯s expression changed as he shouted in anxious anger. It seemed like the meteor exceeded his abilities. After all, the man closest to Ivan was only close, and S-ranks and SS-ranks still had an insurmountable difference between them.


    However, very quickly, that man had a decisive expression on his face. He stood facing the meteor, not having any intention of dodging. He raised his hands up high, and in the middle of his hands, a pitch ck orb started to condense.

 Chapter 559 - Distorted Space-Time

    <h4>Chapter 559: Distorted Space-Time</h4>


    In between the man¡¯s palms, a gxy-like, endless darkness was quickly forming with that ck orb as the heart of it. An immense amount of dust and stones, and even the ice shards and mes from the surroundings, were frantically being sucked in.


    Ivan had a startled expression. ¡°Using the pull between spaces to form a miniature ckhole? After not meeting each other for a few years, you¡¯ve actually mastered this killer technique! However, Song, with your power, you will only be able to create a ckhole. You won¡¯t be able to control it. You should know more clearly than I do what losing control of a ckhole means! You... Are you trying to die?!


    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s try it out. A collision between a ckhole and a meteor, hahaha. I want to see what kind of power it will produce! Let¡¯s go! Collide with that meteor!¡±


    As Ivanughed, the gigantic meteor started to hit the ground. In a sh, a terrifying st and an explosion of light that resembled a star filled up every corner. Xiao Lin shut his eyes at that moment, but could not resist leaving it a fraction open. He did not want to miss anything that happened during the final moments.


    From their words earlier, Xiao Lin derived that they were currently on Earth. Then, the question came... Ivan had created a meteor and sent it straight to Earth, and even though Xiao Lin did not understand physics, he still knew some basic knowledge. If a meteor of that scale hit the Earth, even if it did not destroy it, it would still be enough topletely kill off all the humans on Earth.


    Yet, actual history proved that to be false, so did that mean that the meteor had been stopped by that man named Song?


    Countless questions surfaced in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind, and the piercing lightsted for a very long time. Even just peeking through a small crack in his eyelids was enough to cause his eyes to water, but he quickly found that something was wrong. He seemed to be getting closer and closer to the center of impact?


    Even though he did not understand the principles behind the ss orbs, based on Xiao Lin¡¯s guesses, they should be like memory crystals, and recorded history through some sort of special method, and he was just watching it like a movie.


    What sort of joke was this!!


    Xiao Lin should have been absolutely silent and unaffected as a spectator, since there was nothing he could do but look at the battle through these ¡®lenses¡¯. Yet, at that moment, his body started to move involuntarily and Xiao Lin could somehow feel a suctioning from the center of the explosion.


    The miniature ckhole!


    Remembering the miniature ckhole the man had unleashed during thest moments, Xiao Lin could not help but get anxious. Was that ckhole¡¯s suction even capable of piercing through time and space, directly affecting Xiao Lin.


    That was not funny.


    Xiao Lin just wanted to look at the truth of history; he did not n on burying himself within it. It was a pity that Bell did not tell him how to get out of this illusory world before he entered, so he could only wait for the recording to end before being able to go back.


    After an uncertain amount of time, the intensity of the light got a lot weaker. Opening his eyes, the surroundings had already turned into a barren wastnd. No matter if they were insects, animals, nts or trees, they had all been turned to ashes from that sh. Xiao Lin was not affected by that impact at all, but the suction from the ckhole got stronger and stronger, and Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was a lot more frantic as he looked at it.


    Suddenly, the world surrounding Xiao Lin fell into a pitch-ck darkness, and Xiao Lin could not even see his own body, but he could feel his body constantly twisting and distorting. Other than his consciousness still being intact, he could not even open his mouth.


    After a few seconds, a few words came from the darkness, and he could tell that it was Ivanovich and Song.


    ¡°The collision between a meteor and a ckhole... I can¡¯t believe it even distorted time and space. It¡¯s really an unbelievable power. Thankfully, you managed to protect Earth. If you didn¡¯t manage to block my meteor earlier, I would have hated you to death.¡±


    ¡°Ah, are you not willing to give up, even at the end?¡±


    ¡°The path I have chosen... I willplete it even if I have to die.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still the same person. I could feel someone observing our fight near the Tungus River. Even if you can escape from this distorted space ¡ª even if it¡¯s you ¡ª you won¡¯t be able to defeat those people with the strength you have left. I will help you open another spatial pathway, but as for where it ends up, whether it¡¯s a different dimension or a different universe, it will depend on your luck. Ivan, that¡¯s thest thing I can do for you. So take care.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave this Shard of Creation to you. it might help you. Song, I¡¯m sorry, this is thest time I¡¯ll apologize to you. You... Take care as well!¡±


    The voices in the darkness got softer and softer until the surroundings were once again plunged into silence. A hole suddenly appeared in the darkness; it was a passage that barely seemed to exist. Xiao Lin could vaguely make out a blood-red color at the end of the passage. It was a world filled with red, and it was a world he was familiar with.


    The answer was simple... At the end of the spatial passage was the Final Lands!


    Before he could even be shocked, the passage closed in a sh, but Ivan had already gone through the passage. After a while, a sigh could be heard in the darkness before the voice mumbled to itself, ¡°This is the legendary Shard of Creation? It really is something amazing. It can actually let me live on in this space where my flesh and blood is constantly being distorted... But what use is that?¡±


    A star-like glow could be seen in the darkness; it was the light from a Shard of Creation, and Xiao Lin once again felt a familiar response in his mind. At the moment, he was still somewhere where he could not control anything. He tried waiting... He tried waiting for the recording to disappear so he could escape.


    Yet, the wait seemed much longer than he anticipated. At some point, he did not even know how much time had passed. An hour? A day? A month? Or was it a year?


    In that world, where even his body had been distorted, Xiao Lin could not do anything other than think. Finally, at some point, he felt like he had to do something instead of waiting for death like that. Even though his senses and movements had been distorted, other than thinking, he actually had something else he could use.


    Heaven¡¯s Eye!


    During that unknown period of time, the exhausted Heaven¡¯s Eye had already recovered its energy.


    With the eye open, the Eye of Truth started to clear up the darkness in front of him. Even though his sight was still blurred, he could still somewhat make out the person that was floating not far away from him. Even if it was just a guest, that man should definitely be that Song person.


    Time Rewind!


    The next second, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to activate the second ability of his Heaven¡¯s Eye!

 Chapter 560 - New Shard

    <h4>Chapter 560: New Shard</h4>


    Following the activation of Time Rewind, a white light started to be unleashed from his forehead. Xiao Lin¡¯s entire being was like a lighthouse in the darkness, and had illuminated even the distorted chaos and darkness, but he felt like that was a problem, because Xiao Lin should just have been an observer, yet in this ce where even time and space have been turned into darkness, it seemed like his status as a spectator had also been distorted.


    Time Rewind could cause an area¡¯s time to move in reverse, allowing one to observe the truth that happened in the past.


    Yet, what could he see by rewinding time there, because that was a ce where time did not even exist? However, Xiao Lin quickly got his answer, the slowly illuminated chaos was like a dark mist, and it slowly looked like it was moving.


    No, in the world that was in an indeterminate location, there was no darkness or mist. What was dispersed by Time Rewind¡¯s light was not mist, but time!


    Suddenly, Xiao Lin understood the principles behind it. In this world where space and time had fallen quiet, his Time Rewind had caused it to move again.


    The darkness was dispersed, and the man that was floating in mid-air seemed to feel it as well. He turned his head with a strange expression, and on his face was a thick look of confusion and rm.


    As time started to move again, Xiao Lin¡¯s originally distorted body was quickly recovering, and was also moving toward that man. However, the closer he got to that man, it was clear from the man¡¯s expression that, even though it was obvious from the man¡¯s expression that he could perceive Xiao Lin, the man could not see him.


    That strange scene was already not something XIao Lin could understand. He did not know if that ce had something like the wall of time that served as a barrier.


    Fine, Xiao Lin did not even know if he was interfering with history by doing this, or maybe it was just like sealing the sea god, and this was actually a part of history itself?


    ¡°Ivan, is it you?¡± the man suddenly said, his voice obviously old and raspy; it seemed like even making a sound was hard. It was like a person who had never spoken for decades suddenly opening their mouths, realizing they had forgotten how to speak.


    Xiao Lin did not know what to say. At that moment, he tried greeting the man. After the mist had been dispersed by Time Rewind, he found that he could indeed talk there. However, the other party did not seem to have heard him, and his voice could not be transmitted.


    ¡°I can feel that you¡¯re here. Have you finally returned?¡± The man could not get a response from Xiao Lin, but he still mumbled to himself.


    ¡°Ah, it feels just like yesterday, but I¡¯m someone who specializes in time and space, so I know that even though no time feels like it¡¯s passed here, who knows how much time has actually passed me by? Has it been decades or just a few years?¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed in his heart, as from his words with Ivan before, he could already guess that the mark of their battle would have been noted down in history as the Tunguska Event. Because that man had mentioned the Tungus River, the explosion had urred near Russia¡¯s Tungus River.


    Calcting the time, over a hundred years had passed. It was possible the man understood that the time outside was incredibly faster than here, but he could not have possibly anticipated such arge change. It was just a hasty farewell to him, but a century had already passed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the current world is like, but since you¡¯re still here, then I believe both Earth and Norma are both fine. I thought that I was very good at space and time before, but regretfully, I only understand now that,pared to the uncountablews of the universe, the knowledge I have grasped was only a drop in the water... I can no longer leave this ce. I can feel that my body has already deteriorated beyond repair. If it wasn¡¯t for the Shard of Creation you gave me that protected me, I would not even be able to talk like a cripple right now.¡±


    The man spoke while panting, and it seemed like every word used up all of his energy, like a candle about to go out. Xiao Lin even felt like getting the man to stop talking, but he could not do anything. All Xiao Lin could do was stare as the man floated in the air, listening to the low voice constantly resonating into the darkness. His Time Rewind only had a limited range of effect, so upon leaving the radius of the white glow, it was still all distorted space and time.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired. Compared to staying here living between life and death, I¡¯d rather just go quickly, but I can¡¯t just leave what you gave me behind. I know this shard is very important to you and both the worlds, but now that you¡¯re here, I can finally return it to you.¡±


    The man tried to lift his arm, but it powerlessly fell as he lifted it halfway. After a few minutes, the irregrly shaped shard floated up from his body, and the golden glow of the shard even covered up the light that Heaven¡¯s Eye emitted.


    The Shard slowly moved toward Xiao Lin, and when it was close, Xiao Lin tried to grab the shard, but his hand merely passed through. It was just like everything was just an illusion.


    After trying a few times, Xiao Lin even tried to focus all of Heaven¡¯s Eye¡¯s power on the shard, but he still could not touch it. He could not help but get anxious, because he started to feel like his strength was rapidly being drained and lost. Maintaining Time Rewind was still something very taxing for Xiao Lin, and just a short few minutes was already his limit.


    Once he lost Time Rewind, the temporarily lit up area would once again be plunged into an unending darkness, and at that moment, it would be impossible to find the Shard of Creation.


    The man could not see what was happening. The moment the shard left him, his entire body started to rapidly age until he looked like dried up firewood. His life could end at any time, and because of that, Xiao Lin was even more nervous. He did not want that man to lose his life in vain.


    ¡°Since Heaven¡¯s Eye can¡¯t be used, then I¡¯ll try using my own shards!¡± Xiao Lin hatched a n in a hurry. Seeing as he had not much time left with Time Rewind, he immediately summoned the Shard of Creation in his body.


    The two pieces quietly floated in the air, and radiated their own energy. From the size, the other piece was noticeablyrger. Xiao Lin¡¯s shard might have beenbined with a few different pieces, but it seemed like it was still not asrge as the one Ivan left behind.

 Chapter 561 - Fusion of Shards

    <h4>Chapter 561: Fusion of Shards</h4>


    Each shard emitted their own light, and the lights slowly merged together. As they shone on each other, the feeling in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind intensified. As predicted, with the intensifying of that feeling, the two shards slowly began to resonate, and started to vibrate.


    After that, the shards started to morph into a multicolored light as they both started to rapidly collide at the center. At the moment of the collision, they once again emitted an endless bright light that did not pale inparison to the collision of the meteor and the ckhole at all. The energy that the two shards that were just the size of a palm contained shocked Xiao Lin.


    The soundless collision onlysted for a second before everything quieted down again. Only one shard remained in the air, and the size was even smaller than the two shards before, but it emitted an even more intense light. After floating for a moment, it was called back into Xiao Lin¡¯s body.


    Not long after that, Time Rewind reached its limit and started to slowly disperse. Looking at that old man who was rapidly aging, Xiao Lin did not know what to say. The darkness was already rapidly setting back in, so Xiao Lin could only say softly, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Knowing that those words would not be able to be transmitted to the distorted space and time, Xiao Lin prepared to turn back, but he heard a soft and burdened sigh in his ears, ¡°If it¡¯s possible, help me check on that useless idiot son of mine, Jung. Thank you.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly turned around, but darkness had already covered every corner. He could no longer see that man in the chaotic space-time, and a great power started to condense in his surroundings. However, it was not that same suction from the start. It was the opposite ¡ª an intense repelling force.


    Xiao Lin lost control of his body yet again, he suddenly started to feel like he was being spun around as his surroundings started to constantly spin. At some point, Xiao Lin opened his eyes to find that he was lying on a cold floor, and the dimly glowing ss balls around him caused him to be relieved. At least, he had managed to return.


    Using Time Rewind had greatly exhausted him, and after forcing himself to stand up with some effort, he no longer nned on continuing. However, he noticed that the rack was missing one ss ball, which was the recording that he was just looking at. As he narrowed his eyes to look around, he noticed shards of ss on the floor.


    As he was mulling over what to do, the door opened again, and Bell poked his head, asking, ¡°What happened? I heard some sort ofmotion earlier. I need to remind you to pay attention. The memory crystals here might not all be valuable, but it will still be troublesome if they were destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I regret to say that your warning was a littlete.¡±


    After a few minutes...


    Bell and Xiao Lin, who had already left the library, looked at each other. Xiao Lin was speechless, and Bell was noticeably angered. Xiao Lin was the first to say something as he innocently shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡±


    ¡°What difference does that make! Do you know how important that crystal you destroyed was?! A few decades ago, thest dean had personally ced it in the restricted area, and the Supreme Council had issued a decree prohibiting anyone from looking at it!¡± Bell had already learned of the contents of the crystal from Xiao Lin.


    ¡°The Supreme Council? That¡¯s true, it seemed like only they had the power to do something like that to Ivan, but why didn¡¯t they notice?¡± Xiao Lin ignored Bell¡¯s anger, and was more concerned about her words. The sealing of that crystal was probably decided by the Supreme Council.


    Of course, Xiao Lin was not surprised by that. In that recording, the man had said that someone was observing their battle from Tungus River, but he was still curious as to why the Supreme Council did not take away the Shard of Creation.


    However, in the end he figured out the only possibility: the first half of the recording was indeed observed, but after being sucked into the ckhole and thrown into that distorted space, others could probably not see what was happening within at all. Thanks to Xiao Lin having his Heaven¡¯s Eye, which had been lost for tens of thousands of years, he was able to look at the truth behind the distorted space.


    Yet, that still could not exin how he could ept the Shard of Creation that was hidden in there. It was possible what he saw as not actually a recording of history. At least, thest part might not be. It was possible that that memory crystal was coincidentally an entrance to a secret space, just like how Ivan had gone to the Final Lands from that distorted space. The chaos of time and space was not something Xiao Lin or anyone else could understand easily.


    Xiao Lin was beginning to get a headache, and Bell was venting her anger on him when she suddenly asked coldly, ¡°Then did you find the answer you wanted?¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent for a moment before bitterly smiling. ¡°I did not really find it, but at least I got some clues. However, I did not expect the true history to be so... cruel.¡±


    He had wanted to say it was dirty. In the past, Voyna Akademiya had worked with Dawn Academy to stop Ivanovich, and no matter the reason, it had definitely not been an upright move. However, if he thought that way, then he would even be ming Dawn Academy, and he would have been doing it right in front of Dawn Academy¡¯s own intelligentputer, which was definitely not the right move.


    ¡°Then I guess you did find an answer.¡± Bell fluttered her eyes, putting on an expression that Xiao Lin found very cute.


    Xiao Lin was immediately on alert. He remembered he actually still had a deal with that girl. She had helped him find his answer in the restricted area, and now he had to tell Bell the way to change history. He suddenly asked, ¡°You care so much about whether or not time can be rewound. Are you trying to change time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!¡± Bell red at him angrily.


    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s actually quite simple. You¡¯ve mentioned it as well already; my eye is actually the extinct Heaven¡¯s Eye from an ancient civilization. The legends aren¡¯t wrong; the eye does possess the ability to go to the past, but regretfully, changing history isn¡¯t that easy. If history could really be changed, then how did that ancient civilization get destroyed, and how did modern humans appear?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to trick me?¡± Bell narrowed her eyes, her expression suddenly turning ice-cold and scary.


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not lying to you. The only way to change history is through me, understand? Even if you give this eye to anyone else, they won¡¯t be able to break the wall of time; only I can do that.¡±


    Xiao Lin ignored the threat in Bell¡¯s expression. His words were basically telling Bell that, if she really wanted to change time, Bell would have to help him. Otherwise, even if she took out the eye on Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead and gave it to someone else, it would be useless.


    Being able to change timey with Xiao Lin, not with the Heaven¡¯s Eye.


    Even though Xiao Lin himself felt like it was strange and hard to believe, his experience had seemed to prove that fact true.

 Chapter 562 - Ban

    <h4>Chapter 562: Ban</h4>


    Because Xiao Lin could not stay in that world for too long, and Time Rewind had expended too much of his power, Bell did not cause him too much trouble, and she quickly brought him away from that world. After a brief st of light, Xiao Lin once again stood in his dormitory, as if he had never left at all. However, with the exhaustion of his mind and the feeling of the shard in his body, he knew it was not a dream.


    Bell had repeatedly warned him against exposing the matter to anyone. As for the shattered memory crystal, she would find a way to conceal the matter. Thankfully, in the recent few years, basically no one had been checking on it. As for what they would do in the future, they would leave the matter till then.


    To Xiao Lin, the trip to the restricted area might have produced a lot of questions, but he also gained a lot of answers. The key seemed to still be Ivanovich. Just as the dean had said before he left, going to Ivan¡¯s home might yield more findings.


    To the current Xiao Lin, he definitely had Ivan¡¯s old home in mind. It was possible there would even be more Shards of Creation there. Based on the man¡¯s conversation with Ivan, it was not hard to determine that the Shards of Creation were definitely very important things, and Ivan had been collecting them back then as well. It was just a pity he did not seed.


    However, the dean¡¯s words were very vague. Ivan¡¯s home could have been a lot of things; it could be his home on Earth, Vonya Akademiya could also be his home, or it could even be where Ivan stayed on Norma.


    It was fine; thanks to Xiao Lin¡¯s current ban, there was no way for him to go to the colonized territories, and wanting to go to another academy was an even more troublesome procedure that involved a lot of bureaucracy. There was no way for Xiao Lin to say that he was going there to find Shards of Creation, so in the end, his only choice was to go back to Earth.


    However, when he mentioned it to the student union president, he was unceremoniously rejected. The president still had that innocent baby face on, but his tone was much more stern, ¡°Xiao Lin! Did you forget everything I told you earlier? If you do that, do you know how much you would hurt those who care about you?! For you, your biggest task right now is to properly study! Even if heaven were to fall, we¡¯re still here to hold it up!¡±


    The president rarely got angry, and Xiao Lin knew that it was out of kindness, but he still remembered the dean¡¯sst words to him. Some things have to be done by those with SS-rank talents. Only he could collect the Shards of Creation. If Xiao Lin¡¯s guess was right, Lilith should be doing the same thing in Judge Academy as well.


    Xiao Lin and Lilith had no grudges against each other, but on this matter, even if it was for the dean who had always cared about him, he did not want Dawn Academy to lose to Judge Academy.


    Xiao Lin could not mention those reasons to the president, the less people who knew about the Shards of Creation the better, that was certain. So, in the end, he could only obstinately stare at the president.


    After a few minutes, the president¡¯s tone mellowed out as he sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t hold any wishful thinking. Let me tell you, two days ago Dawn City issued a ban on you. Other than the colonized territories, you¡¯ve also been banned from returning to Earth in the next two years.¡±


    This time Xiao Lin really did get angry as he stood up, asking usingly, ¡°Why is he doing this?!¡±


    The president looked at him meaningfully, saying, ¡°There are some things that you can¡¯t hide from everyone. During that battle in the Pacific on Earth, the military sent a team of very perceptive people to investigate. They can find a person even with just a shred of a scent.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned. Thest time, he had hidden it from the academy when he went into Antis¡¯s remnants deep in the ocean under the guidance of Silverlight. He had thought that no one knew, but he never expected that someone had found traces of him.


    The president said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t know the details, but this matter has already been settled. No one will do anything to you, but after that investigation, some people don¡¯t want you returning to Earth in the near future.¡±


    ¡°Then what about my family?¡± Seeing as there was no way to do anything about it, Xiao Lin asked another question.


    The president smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, no one would dare do anything to your family. In truth, we¡¯ve already sent some people to protect your family. Even if you can¡¯t go back, you can still write letters every month, and get it sent by those on the Earth branch. No one would care about a small matter like that.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Xiao Lin sighed.


    As he was about to leave, the president suddenly coughed lightly as he put on a false smile. ¡°What is it? Do you think differently of me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not it.¡± Xiao Lin knew that the orders definitely came from the new dean, the defense minister. Even the president did not have the power to change the orders.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t trust me enough.¡±


    ¡°Is there still room to turn it around? If you want me to go and beg, then forget about it.¡± Xiao Lin felt that he still needed to have a bit of a backbone.


    The presidentughed. ¡°Of course that¡¯s not possible. There¡¯s no way they would retract an order that has already been issued, but the orders also mentioned that exceptions could be made for special circumstances.¡±


    ¡°What kind of circumstances would be considered special?¡±


    ¡°An example would be the inter-academy tournament. At that time, we would definitely need topete in the other academies, and we would usually go there through Earth.


    Xiao Lin had a moment of realization; it was getting closer to the inter-academy tournament. Before that, he had been trapped in the Rosa Kingdom, and after experiencing a slew of things, he had almost forgotten about it. As the most outstanding new student, he was naturally one of the representatives of Dawn Academy, and would definitely participate when the time came.


    ¡°I understand. I will definitely prepare for the tournament properly.¡±


    Xiao Lin gave the president a serious guarantee, causing the president to be relieved. After all, if Xiao Lin caused any trouble, he would be the one put in the most difficult position.


    After that, Xiao Lin did not go to the restricted area anymore, but Bell regrly looked for him. He would open the door to his room to suddenly find a barefoot little girl making faces at him while floating in mid-air. After being scared a few times, Xiao Lin got used to it, and could not stop himself from thinking about Silverlight. Thest person to scare him like that was definitely that Antean Princess.


    Bell normally did not look for Xiao Lin for anything in particr, but Xiao Lin understood that the girl seemed to be very fixated on rewinding time, but it seemed to be for a reason that could not be spoken of. She did not say what part of history she wanted to change, and as the academy¡¯s intelligence, Bell was harmless to humans, so Xiao Lin understood that she would not be doing anything too untoward. Xiao Lin would have more questions asionally as well, and Bell would be able to answer a lot of them.

 Chapter 563 - Bronze Rank

    <h4>Chapter 563: Bronze Rank</h4>


    Compared to being in the colonist territories, life in the academy was much more peaceful. Returning to the life of cycling between the dormitories, sses, and training hall, Xiao Lin quickly fell into a routine. His nerves that had been tense since the Rosa Kingdom started to rx, but he would asionally remember Ibeiya who was still there.


    The president would give him the asional news, such as the fact that Liang Taibai had started the journey back to the Rosa Kingdom a few days ago. Even though they did not know what sort of orders Liang Taibai received this time, just as they predicted before, before the situation in the Rosa¡¯s government stabilized, even the new dean would not easily change the new queen that had been appointed by thest king. Or maybe they thought that Ibeiya, being young, would be easier to control. Basically, Ibeiya would be able to continue being the queen.


    The rebels in the Rosa Kingdom disappeared without a trace ever since they retreated from the royal city. After that, even though Dawn City¡¯s troops scoured the country, they could not find a single trace of the rebels. If it was not for the piles of corpses around the royal city signifying the situation when the city was being besieged, they would have thought that the siege was just a strategic ploy.


    Asabanor had brought the rebel troops that he earned and disappeared again.


    It was a pity there were no satellites on Norma; if Asabanor had really prepared a camp deep in the mountains or a dense forest or some unknown location, it was actually hard to locate him.


    Song Jung still remained in Dawn City. Thest time, he had been researching some animals that had been brought over from Earth, and had nned on returning within the month, but since Xiao Lin had brought back more samples from the Rosa Kingdom, Song Jung¡¯s interest had been massively piqued, and he might not even leave the research center in Dawn City in the next half a year.


    The president had given Xiao Lin good news both times, but he kept avoiding talking about Dawn City¡¯stest situation as well as the dean¡¯s health. He did not seem willing to reveal too much.


    Xiao Lin did not try to pursue the matter, as he knew that even if he had more information, there was nothing he could do at his current level. The only thing he could do at that moment was to frantically train himself and increase his abilities as fast as possible to prepare for the inter-academy tournament.


    The month¡¯s sses went on as usual, and even Xiao Lin, who had the freedom to choose his own sses, basically went to ss ording to the time table. At the middle of the month, a new experience weed the first-years.


    Based on the regtions of the academy, there would be aplete assessment in the middle of every semester. The first reason was to renew the data the academy had, and the second reason was so that the students would have a better understanding of their own growth.


    The assessment was done during the weekend, and the process was more or less the same as when they entered the academy. They used a special scanner which would go through checking and analysis on the centralputer, andter on, everyone would obtain their reports on their ownputers.


    What was different from when they entered the academy was that, other than the various physical attributes, there were also various analytics, such as how much they improved after entering the academy, what courses they were in thest semester, and which attributes those courses helped with. They would thenpare the students¡¯ growths with historical averages to see where the students stood.


    Xiao Lin was somewhat surprised when he received his report, because his four basic attributes had all increased to 80. That meant that his total attribute score was at 320, and Bronze rank only required 300.


    In the Rosa Kingdom, Xiao Lin¡¯s attributes had all taken a big leap due to the Shards of Creation, and had all increased to 60 points. After that, with Liang Taibai¡¯s vials of potions, he had temporarily experienced being at Bronze rank, but after the potions wore off, he returned to ck-iron rank.


    It seemed that after receiving the shard from the library¡¯s restricted area, the same effect happened, causing his attributes to break through to the Bronze rank.


    What caused Xiao Lin to be even more speechless was, after he received the report, he started to get a lot of congrattory phone calls. He had been curious as to how those people knew, but when Chen Dao asked him to log into the forums, he noticed there was a gigantic title in the middle of the first-year forums. [Congrattions to the monitor of ss Seven, Xiao Lin, for being the first freshman student to break into Bronze rank!]


    The other monitors could not possibly have that sort of special privilege on the forums, but Xiao Lin suddenly thought about Bell. That girl had said that she could manage the forums, but the eye-catching title was definitely done out of mischief.


    However, the entire first year had been shaken by Xiao Lin¡¯s shocking breakthrough, and even the small handful of conspiracy theorists that were always present in the forums could not continue to nder Xiao Lin when it came to that subject.


    The higher one¡¯s basic attributes were, the harder it was to increase, that was something everyone hade to an understanding about as they reached their second semester. It was now very hard for them to increase one attribute by a few points in just one training lesson likest semester, and it was also because of that that Xiao Lin¡¯s incredible speed was even more amazing.


    Xiao Lin actually regretted it a little, for if he had known that the shards would have such an obvious help to his attributes, he would have waited a little longer before absorbing them. After all, he would only find it harder and harder to increase his attributes in the future. However, since he was now at Bronze rank, he was a lot more confident about the inter-academy tournament.


    Xiao Lin used his rights as a monitor to look at the ranks of the others in this ss. Compared to the end ofst semester, there was quite an increase in ck-iron ranked students. It was actually not hard to increase basic attributes before reaching the ck-iron rank, and other than Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, ss Seven had four others students at that rank.


    Xiao Lin still focused on Gu Xiaoyue as usual. Since the monthly examination, a series of events had happened and he did not have the time to look for Gu Xiaoyue, but that did not mean that he did not care about her. Gu Xiaoyue was still the same person; her total attributes were already at 240 points. If he did not count the Shards of Creation, Xiao Lin would more or less be at her level.


    However, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s skills were still extremely one-sided. Of the 240 points, her intelligence took up 150 points. The other three only averaged about 30 points, especially her physique, which seemed to have even deteriorated fromst semester. That rendered Xiao Lin speechless, as out of so many students in ss, Gu Xiaoyue was the only one whose attributes had deteriorated.


    Of course, the attributes themselves could not be decreased, and they would often just show a slight decline if neglected for too long. For instance, those who specialized in bureaucracy after graduating would see their states slowly decrease after a long time of living in peace, but Xiao Lin did not think that Gu Xiaoyue would be someone like that.

 Chapter 564 - The Dropping Of Gu Xiaoyue’s Attributes

    <h4>Chapter 564: The Dropping Of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Attributes</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue had always lived a simple life; she rarely interacted with other students, and all her spare time was spent either reading or in meditation. If anyone called that girlzy, then the school would probably have no one who could be called hardworking.


    With those emotions in his mind, Xiao Lin opened the door to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s room. Since dinner had just passed, he did not worry that she would be asleep. The girl was as cold as usual, but when she saw Xiao Lin walking into her own room so naturally, the corner of her lips twitched.


    Xiao Lin suddenly thought that barging into a woman¡¯s dormitoryte at night was not a good idea, but he had to admit that he had been driven by the urge to see Gu Xiaoyue immediately.


    Gu Xiaoyue looked at him calmly, as she was not one to start conversations.


    Xiao Lin looked around the simple room, and his gaze fell on the desk. The desk had a book on it, so she was probably reading earlier. There were two bottles next to the book; one of them was already empty, and the other one had a faint red liquid inside.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Xiao Lin finally asked.


    ¡°Nutrient potions.¡±


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrow before picking up the bottle to read the words on it. ¡°Nurse the Body and Replenish Blood?¡±


    Xiao Lin observed Gu Xiaoyue, who was right next to him with an intense expression, and he was surprised to find that, after so long of not seeing her, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face seemed a little pale. His voice got a little heavier, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your health?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue seemed a little shy at being stared at, and she looked away, saying, ¡°I have... I have not been feeling all that welltely, so I bought these two bottles of potions to help with it.¡±


    ¡°A little unwell? Are you so unwell that it caused your physical attributes to drop by so much?¡± The girl tried to brush it aside, but it did not cause Xiao Lin to rx. He knew that Gu Xiaoyue was very stubborn.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s physique had dropped only a littlepared tost semester, and it did not look that much, but Gu Xiaoyue was someone who signed up for physical training sses. With her hardworking personality, she would definitely have increased the attribute by quite a bit. If that was the case, her attributes would not have decreased by so little.


    Xiao Lin cursed himself for not realizing it earlier, and it caused him to have a dark thought as he asked, ¡°Does it have anything to do with your lifespan? I looked at your report earlier; you only have a year and a half left!¡±


    Half a semester had passed, and Gu Xiaoyue had lost a quarter of her life!


    It now looked like, with the shortening of her life, Gu Xiaoyue would be suffering from severe impacts to her body. Xiao Lin could vaguely feel that the cold girl in front of him was slowly weakening.


    Before, Xiao Lin had already spected on Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s secret with Song Jung. The two of them felt that Gu Xiaoyue might have elvish blood in her. As seen from the colonist territories, whenever humans bred with the natives, they would almost always have natural born gic deficiencies, and their lifespans were never long.


    It was a problem that stumped all the academies. The problem still did not have a solution to this day, but Song Junalng had told Xiao Lin before that he had constantly been conducting gic research, so it was possible that Song Jung could be of some help. Only, after hastily showing his face in the academyst time, Song Jung had already returned to Dawn City to continue his research, and it would be hard to find him in the academy in the short term.


    Xiao Lin knew that it was useless to console Gu Xiaoyue, as the girl probably had such a realization long ago, but Xiao Lin still said with determination before he left, ¡°No matter what, I won¡¯t let you just die like that after a year!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue answered casually, but she probably did not take it to heart.


    Xiao Lin did not continue on that topic, and instead shifted his focus to the book she had. He noticed it was a spellbook; the name of the book was God¡¯s Light ¡ª it was a Bronze-ranked healing spell. Even though Gu Xiaoyue was not at Bronze rank yet, her intelligence meant that she was more than capable of learning that spell.


    Xiao Lin was a bit speechless. ¡°You really are determined to continue pursuing support magic.¡± He had looked at the assessment report, and Gu Xiaoyue had continued focusing on support-type spells. She only had a few offensivebat spells to protect herself.


    ¡°Of the twelve monitors, no one had chosen this path,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said calmly.


    Xiao Lin paused, not understanding what she meant.


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes, saying, ¡°Are you telling me you still don¡¯t know thepetition system for the inter-academy tournament?¡±


    Xiao Lin felt a little awkward, because he really had not been paying attention to that. However, he suddenly felt that it was strange; the twelve monitors had all been forced to participate in thepetition on behalf of the first-years this time, but no one else had been forced. Even though the student union seemed to have put Gu Xiaoyue into the list of candidates, it made no sense that she would be interested in that tournament with her personality.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not answer his doubts. Instead, she said, ¡°The tournament will be split into individual and group tournaments. Setting aside the individual portions, in the grouppetitions, when both sides have equal skill, the support will determine the victory!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. It really seemed like he was neglecting his duty, but he really did not have time to understand the inter-academy tournament. Hearing Gu Xiaoyue mention it, he took the chance to say, ¡°I really haven¡¯t looked at it in detail, but Gu Xiaoyue, are you really going to attend?¡±


    The tournament had a list of 15 people, so other than the 12 monitors, there would be three other attendees. Of course, that would be determined afteryers of selection, and the current list had yet to be publicized.


    ¡°In the first year, outside of myself, I can¡¯t think of anyone who can rece me!¡± Gu Xiaoyue pushed her sses confidently, going silent for a moment before lowering her voice. ¡°The prize is very important to me this time, so I need to win it back no matter what!¡±


    ¡°What prize?¡±


    ¡°There is an announcement on the forums. I think you should go back and look at it.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know whether tough or cry. Gu Xiaoyue was clearly chasing him away, but he knew that being there in the middle of the night could easily cause misunderstandings as well. Before he left, he told Gu Xiaoyue to take care of herself, and asked her to tell him if it got worse. Even though she said okay, Xiao Lin doubted the girl took his words to heart.


    After returning to his dormitory, Xiao Lin decided to look at the forums after having his curiosity piqued by Gu Xiaoyue. He found the thread that Gu Xiaoyue had mentioned. The one who posted it was the second-year leader Chen Yu. It was a thread announcing the tournament, and it introduced the tournament¡¯s history and meaning.


    Of course, it included a lucrative and attractive prize.

 Chapter 565 - Start Of A New Monthly Examination

    <h4>Chapter 565: Start Of A New Monthly Examination</h4>


    The price for the inter-academy tournament was something contributed to by all the academies, which showed how much importance everyone put on thepetition that served to showcase thebat ability of all the academies during peace times. The prize would naturally not be meager.


    The first was a prize in terms of status. The ones who obtained the first three ces after participating would forever be recorded, and once those who were recorded down graduated, they would get special considerations, regardless of if they were looking for jobs or other alternatives.


    The next was a material prize. This time the tournament was offering an Eternal Fruit as the prize. Only the academy that wins in the end would get it. Chen Yu gave a very detailed introduction to the Eternal Fruit ¡ª the fruit came from a tree on Norma, and needed over a thousand years to bear fruit. Because it was so hard to find, even on Norma, other than a small number of people who had it kept, most of the time no one could afford it.


    The Eternal Fruit has something grown with the purest of energies; it has many benefits, such as being able to cure any injury, and could even bring someone back from the dead. It was also a core material for many sorts of Legend-ranked equipment. It could also be eaten directly, and the fruit would increase the energies in one¡¯s body, which were also known as basic attributes, and the increases were very substantial.


    Other than that, there were also many pieces of equipment as prizes, butparatively, it was obvious that the Eternal Fruit was the real prize.


    Xiao Lin did not mind it much; putting aside Legend-ranked equipment or the restorative abilities of the magic fruit, permanently increasing basic attributes basically made it a Shard of Creation. Of course, Xiao Lin knew that to those that could not have a Shard of Creation, it was a very attractive prize, especially since everyone now knew how hard increasing basic attributes waster on.


    However, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s enthusiasm toward the fruit was unexpected. Xiao Lin thought about it, and felt like she wanted it for the ability to cure any injury. If the fruit could cure her lifespan that was shortened by her genes, then it would be a very happy ending.


    No matter what, to him, there was now one more reason he could not lose the inter-academy tournament, Xiao Lin thought to himself silently.


    That detail did not affect Xiao Lin¡¯s usual training arrangements. After returning from Dawn City, a month had passed and they quickly neared the monthly examination.


    Due to how special thest monthly examination was, Xiao Lin had tried to get some inside information. However, the president told him inly that it would only be a regr examination this time. They were currently transitioning between deans, and no one was willing to do anything special at that time. The president sighed at that, because he realized that, ever since Xiao Lin entered the academy, Xiao Lin only participated in a normal monthly examination a very limited number of times.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the monthly examination. Every result is recorded, and it will be a key part of your experiences in the future. Sometimes, you need a big enough backing to convince others.¡±


    The president¡¯s words were a bit subtle, but Xiao Lin understood them. It meant that some people were getting unhappy with his special treatment. As an SS-rank talent holder, the dean¡¯s treatment of him was not inappropriate, but as the highest of secrets, most people would not know of the fact. With the dean currently critically ill, the old man was no longer around to suppress it, so nasty rumors naturally started to spread. Even though the president did not tell him in detail, Xiao Lin had some idea of it.


    However, they might call it a regr monthly examination, it was still going to be different from thest semester. When the monitors tried to get the basic report of the monthly examination from the student union a few days before the exam as usual, they were rejected. The first-years quickly knew of a new ruling. Since most of the students were growing at a very good rate, in order to ensure the quality of the training that the monthly examination provided, from the current semester onward, they would stop providing reports for the monthly examination.


    The reports were originally a benefit that was supposed tost for the whole first year, but it had suddenly been stopped after half a semester. Many of them were naturally unhappy, but as usual, other than voicing their dissatisfaction on the forums, they could only swallow it down.


    However, there were some people who mocked on the forums, indicating that themon students had been represented by certain people, and since certain people increased their skills too quickly, it had pulled up the overall level of the entire year by too much, and it was obvious that the higher-ups did not want their examinations to be too easy, so the reports were naturally gone.


    Those reports usually included data like the number of opponents, their ranks and even the skills they could use. They even had the tasks and maps on them. That way, they could have more targeted preparations, such as preparing equipment that was better against magic if they knew that the opponents were skilled in magic.


    However, they no longer had that, and even if the monthly examination itself did not change, the difficulty had definitely increased. Xiao Lin could only smile bitterly, somewhat feeling like he had something to do with the change in arrangements. The president was not causing him any trouble, but it was as if the president was hinting to him that, if he wanted his results to be even more convincing, then he naturally did not need any benefits.


    No matter how much everyone elseined, the monthly examination arrived two dayster as scheduled.


    Right before the examination started, everyone received the introduction to their tasks.


    [Task Name: Forest Survival Battle]


    [Task Exnation: With sses as your units, survive in the Forest of Death for thirty days. After thirty days, the task will automatically end.]


    [Reward: Those who survive all thirty days will get 1000 redemption points and 50 credits.]


    That was the description of the task. Everyone exchanged looks after listening to it. Compared to howplicated thest few monthly examinations were, it was decidedly ordinary. There were no optional tasks, nor were there any foes to defeat. They just needed to survive for thirty days. That seemed way too simple.


    As a monitor, Xiao Lin had received the notification on the examination a few hours ago from the student union. In the public hall, he waved his hand with a strange expression, motioning for everyone to remain silent. After that he said, ¡°Oh, I also need to tell you something else. There are two special rules to this task. The first is that no one is allowed to bring any tools, equipment or weapons into the examination. After that, other than the basic rewards, every object that you obtain in the simted environment will be given to you by the school after the examination ends!¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± The bald group leader, Zhou Feng, asked after pausing.


    ¡°It means that this examination will have unlimited possibilities,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°And even more dangers.¡± Gu Xiaoyue added.


    Xiao Lin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right, danger follows opportunity. I¡¯m anticipating this examination quite a bit. Alright, everyone put down their equipment as the rules say. We¡¯ll prepare to be transferred in ten minutes!¡±

 Chapter 566 - Start Of The Examination

    <h4>Chapter 566: Start Of The Examination</h4>


    Under Xiao Lin¡¯s orders, everyone reluctantly took off all their equipment and tools. The public hall had specialized storage units. Of course, some of them had tried to sneak some stuff in, but there were specialized checks before the examination. If they did not listen after a warning, they would have their credits and redemption points taken away.


    Xiao Lin had even stored away his spatial ring. Since the rule was that all tools were prohibited, he naturally did not hold any delusions. That meant that he would not have a way to use his ck knight, but it really did not affect much. When the monitors were notified by the student union, the president had told them so.


    ¡°This time, the examination is actually mimicking the earliest colonists. You should already know, during the earliest eras, the colonists from Earth did not have any magical equipment, so what they had to face was apletely new and foreign world.¡±


    After ten minutes, the checks were finally finished and the examination finally started. Fifty-nine rays of white light dropped down on the hall, sending everyone into the simted exam space. As for why there were fifty-nine rays, the ray that was missing was Wang Dalin¡¯s. Because he used forbidden arts, his memory had been wiped and he had been forcibly sent back to Earth while Xiao Lin had gone to the Rosa Kingdom.


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes again, he was already standing in a forest. Around him were massive trees filled with leaves, and the dense leavespletely blocked out all sunlight, only allowing slivers of light to break through the spaces in between. It was very cool under the shadows of the forest, but the air was very humid. Beneath his feet were soft rotten leaves, and there were asionally unknown bugs that would crawl past.


    Xiao Lin appraised his surroundings in alert. It was very quiet, because at that moment, only he stood there. After making sure there was no danger around, he let out a sigh of relief before he smiled bitterly.


    They were not given any reports before the examination. Even though he was already prepared, he never expected the examination to throw a curveball at them right at the start.


    It seemed like the examination sent everyone to random locations, which meant that all 59 of them had been sent to random locations in the forest. The lucky ones would be able to gather a few people and form a group, while the unlucky ones might not even find another person until the examination ended.


    The sudden change surprised everyone. The forest would definitely not be as peaceful as it looked on the surface. No one knew how much danger was hidden within. If they were alone, the chances of them dying would definitely be higher.


    ¡°Is the academy trying to tell us that luck is also a skill?¡± Xiao Lin cursed as he started to look around nearby.


    Since the goal of the examination was only survival, Xiao Lin did not need to move needlessly. He felt like his spawn point was quite decent, and decided to stay there for a few days, getting a feel for the forest before making his next decision.


    Since he did not bring anything into the exam, Xiao Lin needed to solve a lot of problems before he could think of anyone else. After looking around nearby, he quickly got some rewards. He had picked a few wild fruits that could both sate his hunger and quench his thirst.


    Thanks to the Basic Normese Biology sses, Xiao Lin had a certain understanding of themon fruits on Norma. That helped him avoid eating any poisonous fruits. Some Normese fruits might not even be poisonous, but thanks to the uniqueness of the world, a lot of the fruits had special effects, and could cause very bad endings if one was not careful.


    After that was the problem of protection. Xiao Lin knew very well that they would not be allowed to pass through the examination peacefully, so he started to estimate his currentbat ability. After losing all his weapons, there was no way for him to use his sword skills, but magic did not necessarily need a staff to use. However, most of those who specialized in magic had weak constitutions, so it could be considered fair.


    ¡°If I use my Ruin state, even if I¡¯m empty handed, mybat abilities wouldn¡¯t be too bad.¡± Xiao Lin was quite confident in his abilities, especially since he now was truly Bronze-ranked, so his abilities would be even better when he used his Ruin state.


    Xiao Lin passed the first night of the examination sleeplessly, and because he was worried that it might attract wild animals, he did not use his me magic to start a fire. He only relied on the clothes on his body to sleep, and shivered in the cold. He constantly needed to worry about any potential incidents, so he could notpletely fall asleep.


    During the second day, Xiao Lin started to treat that ce as the center, and started to investigate the surroundings within certain limits, using some stones to use as markers.


    The forest seemed a lot bigger than he had thought. When Xiao Lin was preparing to head back in the evening after investigating, he heard a frantic cry for help. Following the voice, he saw two women from his ss who were trembling away, and in front of them was a ck Wind Wolf.


    It was amon wild animal in Norma; its strength was nothing special, but it had the power of the wind element, so itsbat ability was not weak. When Xiao Lin came over, the two women had probably fought it for a while; their faces and arms had a lot of wounds. They somehow found a steel rod, but it seemed that it was not that threatening to the wind wolf.


    ¡°Monitor!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance caused the two girls to exim happily, but Xiao Lin had been approaching stealthily, and their exmation had caused the Wind Wolf to notice. It turned around to look at Xiao Lin and with a low growl, it lunged at Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin bitterlyughed as he immediately activated his Miracle state, throwing all his attributes to Agility. The Wind Wolf was faster than anticipated, but he still managed to evade it under Miracle. After a moment he shifted his attributes to Strength, and mmed his fist right into the wind wolf¡¯s torso without care for any form.


    Boom!


    The Wind Wolf¡¯s body was sent like a cannonball a few dozen meters away. At Bronze rank, he could convert even more attributes, and the force of that punch could even reach Silver rank. However, it could only be used against an unintelligent beast like the wolf. With his full strength state, it meant that Xiao Lin¡¯s other attributes were incredibly low.


    ¡°Monitor, be careful! It¡¯s still not dead!¡± one of the women cried out.


    Xiao Lin looked back and saw that the wolf had gotten up and was prepared to run. With the possibility that the wolf could be looking for other allies, and with the thought that he could improve his diet that day, he did not give that beast the chance to run. He immediately converted all his attributes to Intelligence. At his highest, it could even surpass Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s. Xiao Lin raised his hand and sent out a Fireball. Therge ball of fire immediately killed that Wind Wolf that had already managed to run a hundred meters away. It was killed in one shot.

 Chapter 567 - Abandoned Camp

    <h4>Chapter 567: Abandoned Camp</h4>


    Looking at the Wind Wolf copsed on the floor unmoving, Xiao Lin still did not rx, as he took the steel club from one of the women and smashed the club right into the wolf to make sure the beast was dead. Then, he rxed.


    Xiao Lin returned the steel club as she asked, ¡°Where did you find this? It¡¯s not bad as a weapon.¡± Of course, to himself, there¡¯s not much difference with or without a weapon. The earlier battle had shown him that his barefisted strength was not low.


    ¡°We picked it up from an abandoned campsite we passed,¡± a strong short-haired girl answered simply.


    ¡°Abandoned campsite?¡± Xiao Lin was suddenly on alert. ¡°Where? It can¡¯t be ours; we wouldn¡¯t have the tools. Were there other people in the campsite?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m-I¡¯m not too sure. We were hurrying around trying to find other people then, and we just picked up a steel club to use as a weapon before leaving.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s rapidfire questions caused the short-haired woman to stumble with her words, unsure if she had said something wrong.


    ¡°Tomorrow... No, bring me there right now. Is it far?¡± Xiao Lin was thinking about resting for a night, but looking up, even though it was near the evening, based on his experience yesterday, night fell veryte here, so he still had time before the day fellpletely dark.


    ¡°We walked for over an hour, but if you think we should rush, we could reach there in half an hour,¡± the longer-haired woman said.


    Xiao Lin slung the Wind Wolf¡¯s corpse on his shoulder before motioning for the two women to lead the way. The short-haired woman asked strangely, ¡°Monitor? Why are you bringing that along?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s dinner.¡±


    The two women were speechless.


    ¡°Speaking of which, what did you eatst night?¡±


    ¡°We did not eat.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to be picky.¡± Xiao Lin looked at the two women whose faces were full of disgust and exasperation. Fine, his fireball had been too strong, the wolf¡¯s corpse had been turned into something quite unsightly, but Xiao Lin did not really care about that. He had seen even more disgusting things with Song Jung, and eaten stuff that was even more unspeakable.


    The wolf¡¯s body was quite heavy, but that did not affect his speed, and under his urging, the two women rolled their eyes in annoyance with how he was throwing his authority around. Xiao Lin seemed to not understand and ignored it, which was why their speed constantly increased to the point they seemed like they were flying. Xiao Lin did not want to spend the night on the road.


    After over twenty minutes, they reached the camp the women talked about. The two women were quite strong physically, so they could keep up with him. Xiao Lin put down the corpse and had them stand on guard, resting as they stayed alert while he walked into the camp himself.


    The camp seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. The camps that were made with special beast skins were still in good condition, but the floor was littered with leaves and dust, and each corner was filled with cobwebs. Xiao Lin searched the ce, and managed to find a few wallets in the chests which had a few holes on them, and there were also obvious traces of ckened blood.


    No matter what, they could use it as a temporary campsite. After the two women entered, they cleaned up a bit. They would not be sleeping in the wilderness that night.


    Xiao Lin was left with the task of dealing with the wolf¡¯s corpse. The two women did offer to help, but it was obvious they did not have any experience in that regard. They had always eaten the buffets in the academy, and the past exams had always allowed them to bring food and equipment in as a benefit to the first-years.


    The difficulties of losing the benefits had started to surface; the academy wanted them to quickly get used to an even more realistic Norma, but to Xiao Lin, it already was not a problem. He was already used to killing livestock with Song Jung, since that man would always use the excuse that he was a department head.


    After using a me spell to set up a campfire, they found some abandoned pots in the campsite. It was a hassle to clean it, but thankfully the long-haired woman specialized in water magic, so they had a source of water.


    Even without any seasonings, the three of them still had a good time eating the bowl of meat soup that still had the taste of blood. The two women were the ones who tidied up after the meal. Meeting the strong monitor had caused the two women to be very happy, and they were not bad in terms of their looks, so they tried to use the womanly advantages to gain Xiao Lin¡¯s favor, hoping that Xiao Lin was not used to women treating him nicely.


    Xiao Lin did not know it, but he was a mythical figure in ss Seven. Everyone acknowledged his strength, and he had very good connections. Everyone knew that the president regrly talked to him, and thanks to the fact that he regrly gained the right to go to the New World, many students never got to see him.


    That was why everyone was filled with envy and admiration for Xiao Lin, but between that was also a lot of respect.


    After simple conversations, Xiao Lin got to know of their overall situation. Since he had already looked through the attributes of the ss before the examination, in terms of ranking, the two women would be ranked within the score range of forties in the ss.


    Xiao Lin did not have any other intentions for the two women, as his mood was not great and the appearance of the camp caused Xiao Lin to be on alert again. He had thought that the greatest enemies in that forest would have been various strong beasts, but now he suddenly knew that the examination was not as simple as it was on the surface. Their opponents would not just be wild beasts; they would also be humans ¡ª humans from Norma.


    Humans were always harder to deal with than wild beasts. Even though the camp had been abandoned for a long time, he did not dare to be careless. He extinguished the campfire under protests from the two women, and cleared any trace of them. As they slept at night, he ordered them to split into two shifts to keep watch. He would watch for half the night, and the two women would watch for the other half.


    They passed the next three days without any issue like that. During the day, Xiao Lin would hunt for prey or find any fruits that could be eaten, and the two women were in charge of finding otherpanions. , they would gather at the camp during the evening. In three days, their little team had increased to seven people. They seemed to have been transported to random locations, but it did not seem like the distance was too great.


    The team of seven consisted of five men and two women, and the center of it was Xiao Lin, because he was the monitor. Since Xiao Lin had been mostly in the New World, his interactions with most of them was limited to the forums, but Xiao Lin memory had gotten quite good, and he could remember each person¡¯s attributes and specializations clearly.


    When he knew what their names were, Xiao Lin could immediately tell what they were good at, such as the fact that the two women were specialized in magic, though some of their physical attributes were quite alright. Xiao Lin did not give them any hardbor though. There was also someone like Lu Renjia, who was one of the few archers in the ss.


    The others respected Xiao Lin, and were cated, because that meant that Xiao Lin was always concerned about the ss, instead of what they had thought before, which was that Xiao Lin had left everything to the two group leaders and ignored them.

 Chapter 568 - Sleepless Night

    <h4>Chapter 568: Sleepless Night</h4>


    The first week of the examination passed by without issue, but the numbers in Xiao Lin¡¯s camp did not increase and stayed with just seven of them. Everyone had lost the initial anxiety and uncertainty when entering the forests, since it seemed to be much safer than they had thought. Even though they would asionally encounter attacks by wild beasts, most of them were just around the ck-iron rank. The low-leveled beasts around that area could notpare to humans in terms of intelligence, so dealing with them was very easy with everyone working together, on top of having traps.


    Hunting was the main source of food in the following two days, but the chef had been changed. The person had said that he worked as a chef on Earth, and Xiao Lin¡¯s cooking skills admittedly had a lot of room for improvement, even if Song Jung did not mind his food. During their investigations two days ago, they found a salt-leaf tree. The leaves of that tree were very rich in salt content, so they quickly had a way to season their food.


    Everyone had started to get more enthusiastic when it came to hunting because everyone had somewhat understood the goal of this examination, at least from their perspective.


    The tasks said that everything obtained in the examination would be given to them in real life after the examinations ended. Of course, they could also choose to exchange them for redemption points. That rule was definitely very attractive. Someone like Xiao Lin who had too many redemption points would not care, but the rest of them actually cared quite a bit. Their redemption points were not at the level where they could spend it casually.


    Everyone had been quite puzzled when they arrived at the forest since there did not seem to be anything valuable at the ce. Surely they were not expected to cut down a tree so that they could bring it back.


    Yet, after Xiao Lin and the rest of them finished eating the first wolf, they immediately understood. Hidden in the wolf¡¯s heart was a faint white orb the size of a fingernail. On Norma, that was called a beast core. That was the origin of their power, and to humans, beast cores had various uses. Be it as an energy source or as an addition to certain special tools, they were pretty decent objects.


    There were many types of beast cores, and their values andpositions were different. A Wind Wolf¡¯s beast core was of the wind-attribute, and they could tell that the beast core the size of a nail was of low quality. It was unfortunate, because the wind element was very high in purity. It was not like other beast cores that would be mixed up with too many impurities. At that stage, no matter how high the quality was, the uses would be very limited.


    Xiao Lin, who did not really care about such a reward, had quickly shared it with the ones who had joinedter on, earning their gratitude.


    That was why everyone had been enthusiastically asking to join the patrol group. Xiao Lin did not fight them over it, and elected to be in charge of guarding the campsite.


    They had no issues in terms of weapons, as mages could basically only rely on being empty handed, but thankfully wands and staffs only affected damage and uracy, so those with low perception could only me their misfortune.


    The only one who had a problem was Lu Renjia. He was an archer, so he was the most affected by not having a weapon. In truth, it was not hard to make a bow; the problem was arrows, and they were not able to ensure the quality and damage ability of the arrows. Compared to improvising such a thing, using a steel club was even more reliable.


    Xiao Lin had some thoughts regarding that. ¡°The academy might be trying to make us understand the importance of secondary professions; it seems like we will be starting those sses soon.¡± Of course, it was merely spection on his part, but it was in to see that if they had someone who knew how to make equipment there, they would not be in such an awkward position.


    ...


    ¡°More and more, I¡¯m feeling like we¡¯re here to camp.¡± During an evening a weekter, Lu Renjia remarked with boredom after everyone had returned to camp.


    The others agreed. After solving basic problems like food and water, the conditions might not have been great, butpared to their earlier examinations, it was idle enough that it did seem like camping.


    Xiao Lin shook his head helplessly, as he felt that it was strange as well. He turned around to look at those who went out searching, and seeing that they were empty handed, he asked, ¡°Did you get nothing today?¡±


    ¡°Today was a bit strange. We widened our search area, but we couldn¡¯t find any beasts.¡± The one who said that was a burly man, whose weapon was a steel club wrapped in cloth that they found in the campsite. The ones with greater physical strength felt more at ease here.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine; we found some fruits, so we can just eat those.¡± The short-haired woman spoke, probably already tired of eating meat that had the taste of blood.


    ¡°It¡¯s not poisonous, right?¡±


    ¡°Hey, how dare you say something like that even when you failed Basic Biology!¡±


    ¡°Hey, the pot is calling the kettle ck. I remember you were only slightly better than me!¡±


    ...


    Everyone had gotten friendlier with each other after a semester, and they basically passed the evenings by chatting. It was boring, but it still passed the time.


    Xiao Lin listened in quietly, but he suddenly furrowed his eyebrows. He looked up at the sky that was obscured by the canopy, and it was darker than usual; he said, ¡°There¡¯s wind.¡±


    ¡°It seems like it; the wind is a little strong.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s words immediately became the topic of conversation.


    ¡°It¡¯ll probably rain.¡±


    ¡°That would be bad, as that tent still has quite a few holes. What do we do tonight?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what happens for a night, as we don¡¯t know how long the rain willst.¡±


    The dark sky past the canopy had dispelled everyone¡¯s good mood as they started to prepare for the potential storm.


    After eating the fruits they picked, the sky got darker and violent winds started to blow. The camp was not very sturdy after being abandoned for so long. The howling caused everyone to worry that it could be blown away at any time, so everyone decided to stabilize it. After the fire was extinguished, the darkness rendered them unable to even see their fingers.


    They were certain to pass the night sleeplessly, but the anticipated storm never arrived; only the winds got stronger. The tents that had already been strengthened a few times could no longer handle it, and after two hours, it was finally blown away after a series of cracking noises.


    ¡°How unlucky! The wind is at least at level twelve!¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be standing here if it was!¡±


    ¡°Everyone quickly gather next to that tree. Don¡¯t get blown away!¡±


    ...


    Even if it was a little embarrassing, everyone onlyined with a few words at most. After all, after going through several monthly examinations, a natural phenomenon of such a degree was not something they were too concerned about.


    They surrounded a massive tree nearby, using therge trunk to temporarily block the wind. It was only after midnight did the wind start to die down a bit, and everyone started to feel tired.


    Xiao Lin was still quite awake, and just as he was about to suggest that he would stand guard while the rest of them slept, a low cry reverberated in the forest.


    Everyone¡¯s sleepiness suddenly disappeared.

 Chapter 569 - Attack In The Night

    <h4>Chapter 569: Attack In The Night</h4>


    The low whistling sound did not have changes in its tone. It was a bit like the sound of a train whistle that had been lowered. Xiao Lin suddenly increased his alertness, but he was not surprised. From the start, they were already prepared for the fact that some powerful beasts would be hiding in the forest, as that would likely be the hardest point of this examination; it was just that it appeared a littleter than they anticipated.


    However, the cry was a little odd, and when Xiao Lin tried to determine where it wasing from, he was surprised to find that the sound constantly changed in distance, as if it were floating about. What caused them to be even more in disbelief was that, at the nearest point, the sound sounded like it was right next to them!


    That discovery caused the two women to have goosebumps, especially since the moonless sky had added to the strangeness of the atmosphere. Everyone had fallen quiet, waiting for a decision. Xiao Lin did not hesitate either, and immediately stood up as he said, ¡°We¡¯re leaving this ce!¡±


    Saying that, he had alreadyunched two fireballs, but the mes did not reveal anything. Only Xiao Lin vaguely felt like a thickyer of white mist seemed to have covered the forest.


    Sitting down and waiting for death was not a habit of his, so Xiao Lin decided to abandon the camp, and he immediately distributed the torches they had prepared to everyone. After using me magic to light the torches, he then headed toward the direction opposite of the cries. The night was not suited forbat, so Xiao Lin wanted to bring everyone as far away as he could first, waiting for the day toe before investigating. After measuring the strength of both sides, he would then decide to fight or to flee.


    Xiao Lin walked at the back of the group, and the mes on the torch swayed violently as he heard the howling wind next to his ear, indicating that the wind was growing stronger again. He cursed to himself at their rotten luck that night. Everything they did ran into difficulties.


    The rest of them did not say anything as they gripped the weapons in their hands tightly, aware that the mysterious beasts behind time could attack at any moment. In the half an hour that they ran, nothing happened, but that low cry kept on shadowing them, following them tightly like a nightmare that could not be dismissed.


    ¡°It¡¯s so annoying! Come fight me if you have the balls!¡± A man in the team suddenly shouted out in frustration, but he was quickly admonished by the others. The others did not agree with courting trouble like that, and of course the beast behind them would not understand theirnguage.


    Xiao Lin sighed subtly, as the current situation was worse than he had expected. Since just now, he had been under his Miracle state, concentrating his attributes on Intelligence to increase his perception. Even if it was pitch ck, his perception was at least at Silver rank in that state, so he was even able to feel a bug flying across nearby.


    However, he could not feel anything at that moment. One could only conceal themselves from a mage¡¯s perception if they had the specialized skills for it, but beasts did not possess that ability. The forest should be filled with various life forms, whether it be insects or forest animals, but at that moment, they seemed to havepletely disappeared. Xiao Lin could not even perceive the tiniest bug.


    It was as if they had gone into a cemetery of death that did not have any trace of life. As if he was the only person left alive in the world. That feeling was a horrifying experience, which was why Xiao Lin did not tell anyone else in his fright, so as to not terrify them.


    There was still a long time left in the night.


    The winds started to get stronger, and they were going against the wind as they ran from the sound of the beasts, which meant the speed of their journey was especially slow. The strange thing was, those sounds seem to stop because of that as well.


    When they moved forward, it would move forward, and when they stopped, it stopped.


    The panic and anxiety caused by the unknown had started to spread from the two women to the others, and someone even suggested that, since they could not avoid it, they should just turn around and fight. After all, it would just cause them ten years of their life, which was better than being toyed with like that.


    Xiao Lin could only smile bitterly, but under his perception, he could not even feel the existence of any life behind them. Either their foes had skills that far outstripped his, or their foes were lifeless undead, or there was absolutely nothing behind them. Of course, thest option was the least possible.


    Xiao Lin hated that game of cat and mouse as well, there was still some time until the sun would rise, and if they did nothing before that, it might greatly affect the mental state of everyone else, which was something he did not want to see. So, he ordered Lu Renjia in a low voice, ¡°You take the lead after this. Don¡¯t turn back no matter what. Go straight ahead until the sun rises!¡±


    ¡°Then what about you?¡± Lu Renjia asked.


    ¡°I want to go see what kind of beast it is! If I can¡¯t return, then Lu Renjia will take charge for the moment! The rest of you, don¡¯t think about fighting it anymore. Flee, just keep fleeing!¡± Xiao Lin did not dare to be careless either. Even though he was confident in himself, if he really could not deal with it, then the rest could only flee.


    Lu Renjia was both horrified and thankful for Xiao Lin¡¯s confidence, but the man did not say anything more, and merely acknowledged his orders. After Xiao Lin¡¯s final orders, he patted Lu Renjia on the shoulder before turning around.


    Xiao Lin had no weapons with him, and those steel clubs were less useful than his own fists to him, which was why he chose to rely on his magic. Under his Miracle state, he carefully put up a water shield for himself. He had learnt that low-level defensive spell a long time ago, but never had the need to use it. That day was an exception.


    Since he could not perceive where the beast was, he could only shoot his offensive spells at any possible direction he could. He shot a me ball at the leaves, promptly setting a tree on fire. After seeing the fire grow to a satisfactory level, Xiao Lin stopped his attacks. He nned on using a forest fire to force his foe to retreat, but it would be no joke if he lost control of the mes and ended up burning himself.


    A few burning trees finally dispersed the dreadful darkness. Xiao Lin once again closed his eyes, using his perception under his Miracle state. Xiao Lin first needed to ascertain the position of his enemy, and at the very least he needed to find out what it was.


    Under his perception, his surroundings were still devoid of life, but he seemed to feel something at that moment as he dashed deep into the fires.


    He saw that the mes were revealing a thick white mist. The mist was even bigger than earlier, and it was constantly moving, as if it were alive. At that moment earlier, the sudden feeling of life he felt came from that mist!

 Chapter 570 - Floating Fish

    <h4>Chapter 570: Floating Fish</h4>


    Norma had many times more species of life than on Earth, and there were some life forms that were hard to fathom even existed, such as some almost invisible lifeforms, some life forms that wereposed of pure elements, and the like. That was why after Xiao Lin felt the strange nature of the beast behind them, he quickly thought of that possibility, and tried to find the relevant information from the Basic Biology lessons he had gone through.


    Using his Phantom Steps and leaving after images behind, Xiao Lin seemed to step into the mist in a sh. At that moment his body could not help but shudder. The forest was not that cold after night fell, but it was very humid. However, the temperature within the mist was especially low, and when he rushed in with his body full of sweat, the liquids suddenly turned into ice.


    Xiao Lin gritted his teeth and violently sent a fist into the air. The air he had agitated let out a low but ear-piercing sound as wind from his punch pierced arge hole through the fog. What followed was an even more ear-piercing cry, like a baby crying. That sound came from nearby, and the sound felt like it went straight into his heart. It seemed to carry some magic that caused one to be dizzy, and Xiao Lin consciously used his hands to cover his ears.


    In a short moment, the fog that was broken through by the wind had covered itself up, but this time the wind seemed to hide something else inside. Xiao Lin forced himself to resist the ringing in his ears, but Xiao Lin still could not feel anything despite being in his Miracle state. He felt that it might be due to the mist that could possibly shield any perception from the outside world.


    Xiao Lin could only rely on his own sight and, borrowing the light of the mes, Xiao Lin determined a mysterious thing swimming over at a rapid speed. He was stunned for a moment as he tried to make sure he did not see it wrongly, but that thing really was swimming in mid-air as it went over.


    Was it a fish?


    Xiao Lin had a strange thought in his mind, but that did not stop his body¡¯s reactions. He did not hesitate to activate his Ruin state, and he suddenly felt his body being filled with explosive power. He once again lifted his fist, and this time the wind was even sharper. However, without a sword, his destructive ability was not like it used to be, so Xiao Lin could not afford to hold back. Since he did not have a weapon, he would need to use all his power to gain an advantage in the shortest amount of time.


    Dragon breath!


    The power of the dragon race started to be felt. Under his Ruin state, the power of the dragons that existed in the mysterious ck hole in Xiao Lin¡¯s body was his greatest power at that moment. Before that, he had used his Sword Aura to condense and release it, but he could still use it without a sword. Only, without the control of swordsmanship, the power was even harder to control.


    The gigantic fish that was quickly swimming around the mist seemed to fear the draconic power immensely as its ear-piercing whistle weakened. However, just as Xiao Lin thought that his foe would retreat because of it, the fish suddenly increased in speed. That thing took less than a second to reach its highest speed from a state of inertia. In a sh, it was right in front of Xiao Lin, and Xiao Lin finally saw the true face of the mysterious beast.


    It really was a fish. It had the body of a fish but did not have any scales. Its body seemed to be transparent and smooth, and Xiao Lin could even see inside of its body. Only, the inside of its body was just filled with mist, and there were no organs within. On its massive head was a very long moustache, and arge mouth as well as eyes the size of ser balls. The moment it opened its mouth, it spat out the mist within its body, which was probably the origin of the mist around them.


    Xiao Lin reacted quickly, as his agility when under the Ruin state was immense. He immediately moved his fist that carried the draconic power, andnded it straight on the fish¡¯s head. The moment he touched the skin, a cold piercing sensation caused his arm to shiver, and then he stared as his fish passed through the fish¡¯s head. That strike felt like it hadnded on a bubble. Other than the coldness, he did not feel anything solid at all.


    How was that possible?!


    Xiao Lin was shocked and once again unleashed his draconic power. Without his sword aura as a conduit, his control of that power was not perfect, but because it was not perfect, the power of the draconic energy was even more violent when it was released. Xiao Lin¡¯s arm which held the violent energy once again passed through his foe¡¯s body, and the fish once again unleashed an ear-splitting cry, causing Xiao Lin to sway with dizziness.


    Thankfully, the fish did not use any other attacks, and quickly escaped after passing through Xiao Lin, disappearing without a trace.


    The mist had dispersed, and the winds also started to die down. All that remained were a few trees that were still burning, but thanks to Xiao Lin controlling it, the mes were not big, and were quickly extinguished soon.


    Xiao Lin remained on alert for a moment, but after a few minutes he let out a sigh of relief having not seen any movement. Undoing his Ruin state, his entire body was drenched, but it was not sweat, and instead the cold vapor from the mysterious mist.


    Preparing to chase after the rest of them, Xiao Lin turned around and moved a few steps, but he was stuck in ce as he furrowed his eyebrows. His right hand pinched his left arm and his heart sunk. No matter how he tried, his left arm did not seem to have any feeling to it as well. It limply hung by the side, feeling nothing; it just was unable to be moved.


    That was definitely done by the fish because Xiao Lin had used his left hand to strike it earlier, and it had passed through its body.


    Since it was already like that, there was no point regretting it. After checking and making sure he had no other injuries, Xiao Lin quickly chased after them in the forest. When the sky started to brighten up, Xiao Lin managed to catch up to Lu Renjia and the others to their happy surprise. No matter what, Xiao Lin had stood up to protect their rear, which caused them to feel closer to their monitor.


    Mentioning the monster, Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was still heavy as he briefed all of them about the special characteristics of the beast. Even though everyone had studied the animals on Norma, it was the first time they heard of a fish that could float in mid-air. They could not help but remark on its strangeness, and of course someone had wanted to try fighting it, but they were quickly scared out of the idea by Xiao Lin¡¯s next words.


    ¡°You need to flee as far as you can if you see that beast. You see my arm? I only touched it for a moment, and now it¡¯spletely lost all feeling.¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly as he pointed at his left arm. The only thing he was thankful for was that he had used his left arm earlier, so he could still try to make do with his right arm.

 Chapter 571 - Meditation

    <h4>Chapter 571: Meditation</h4>


    On their eighth day in the forest, Xiao Lin and the others finally had heavy expressions on their faces. However, that was anticipated. No matter what, the academy would never send them to an examination they could pass easily just by eating and drinking every day.


    However, the final goal of the examination was just to survive for thirty days. It was fine as long as they survived for thirty days. They did not need to kill anything, which was why after Xiao Lin said how vicious that beast was, the rest of them did not hesitate to retreat.


    ¡°Since the beast did not chase us, it should be fine if we don¡¯t go out of our way to provoke it.¡± The short-haired woman voiced her opinion to see if the rest of them agreed.


    Everyone exchanged nces, but their gazes all finally fell on Xiao Lin¡¯s body. From the situationst night, they admitted that they would not be able to defeat that beast. Even if the mysterious monster had some amazing treasure with it, it still was not at the level they could handle. The only one with the ability to obtain it would be their monitor.


    ¡°Monitor, you¡¯re already at Bronze rank. Can¡¯t you deal with that monster?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say.¡± Xiao Lin did not give a firm answer. The doubts in his mind were not less than the rest of them. He remembered his conversation with the president before the examination.


    The president had said that it was a ¡®normal¡¯ monthly examination. An examination at the normal difficulties would not have questions that were impossible to answer, and monsters that were too strong for the other students would never appear. Otherwise, it would not be an examination... It would just be a ughter.


    The difficult part of the examination actuallyy in the gathering of information. Xiao Lin knew nothing of that monster, and since this examination did not provide any benefits in terms of reports, he suddenly had a moment of realization. It was possible that the examination was testing their ability to gather information, such as the weaknesses of beasts.


    The camp they had stayed inst night had beenpletely destroyed by the violent winds, and everyone was worried about the possibility of being attacked again. So, after they collected all their things, everyone decided to continue moving. The weather was not bad that day, so it seemed like the violent winds from the night before were just a nightmare.


    They had failed to hunt anything that day as well, and everyone started to specte if the appearance of that monster had caused the other beasts to go into hiding.


    Xiao Lin was also working hard testing his left arm. It did not seem like there were any injuries on the surface, but he still could not feel anything. Since the goal of the examination was just to survive, they could only walk around without a goal like headless chickens, and they would basically not stay at the same ce for too long.


    Just like that, three days had passed since they encountered that monster. The three days passed by peacefully. They did not encounter other ssmates, but they did not meet that monster either.


    Of course, the others were quite positive, and felt that they were lucky to not encounter any trouble. It was not bad passing the time like that, but Xiao Lin could feel something was wrong in his heart.


    It was too quiet.


    It was supposed to be a forest filled with life, and they should basically be encountering various beasts and animals every day, but ever since that night, it was as if only the seven of them were left in the world. They continued to not find anything to hunt for the three days, and even though they did notck in fruits, it seemed that everyone failed to eat their fill.


    Xiao Lin had tried entering meditation under his Miracle state a few times, and the conclusions were shocking. Within the range he could detect, other than the seven of them who were alive, there were no traces of life at all. Forget the signs of life, he could not even find any death aura that represented the death of other living creatures.


    In his meditative world, all that was left was an empty, ck universe. That was something that had never happened before. Xiao Lin could not think of a world that had no signs of life at all. Even the strangest ce he had gone to before, the Final Lands, at least had piles and piles of skeletal soldiers.


    Xiao Lin was not the only one who sensed it, as the two women had also felt the strange phenomenon when they entered meditation, and they quickly told the others of the matter. Even those who did not learn any magic understood how strange it was.


    After half a semester of intense training, no one was the same clueless person they were when they entered the academy anymore. Yet, even so, that inexplicable phenomenon still caused them to feel a sense of horror. They were not scared of facing powerful enemies or beasts, nor were they scared of a battle to the death, since that would just cost them ten years of their life, but that sort of mental torture was too hard to handle.


    Xiao Lin finally decided to let the group stop moving because there was no reason to keep moving on in the forest that had no trace of life. He needed to quickly find a way, or at least an appropriate exnation.


    The others were voicing their own views. Lu Renjia and the others were of the opinion that it was due to the appearance of that strange monster. It was possible that the monster had a strange power that could swallow or reject other life forms. It was possible the beast was silently observing them, like a hunter stalking its prey. Once they were exhausted, the beast would unleash its final attack.


    That was the most obvious possibility, and Xiao Lin did not reject it. However, his heart seemed to tell him that it was not that simple, though he knew that relying on himself to think about it would yield no results.


    Xiao Lin once again entered his meditative world. Everything in the world had a life, so the three basic energies should always be present. That was aw in Norma. No matter where they were, as long as they were still on Norma, thatw needed to be obeyed, unless there was someone who could change thews of the area. However, that would at least take someone of Legend rank. That floating fish might be a bit stronger than usual, but Xiao Lin did not believe it would have that ability.


    The two girls also entered the meditative world, but their Intelligence attributes and meditative ranks were quite far away from Xiao Lin¡¯s, and the distance only widened when Xiao Lin activated his Miracle state to focus his attributes on Intelligence, so they could not perceive anything at all when they were meditating.


    Xiao Lin might have focused on closebat in his studies, but he had never neglected his Basic Meditation sses. He would always find the time to go to a meditation room every week. Now, his meditation rank had already exceeded the basic ranks, and was already in novice territory. After activating Miracle, Xiao Lin basically lost himself in meditation. In his meditative world, within that wide universe, everything was pitch-ck, yet Xiao Lin suddenly felt like something was being hidden.

 Chapter 572 - Voice From The Heart

    <h4>Chapter 572: Voice From The Heart</h4>


    The meditative world should have been filled with variouss that represented the natural elements of the world. Normally, Xiao Lin could feel elemental and death energies. As for nature energy, that was a specialization of the elves, and not something he could master.


    However, the current meditative world waspletely empty, and because of that extremely rare emptiness, Xiao Lin found something else in that world.


    It was just as if he was standing in a dense forest. His eyes werepletely obscured by the leaves, but he was not able to see the flowers that were hidden within the forest. However, when the forest suddenly disappeared, no matter how small the flowers were, they would be exceptionally eye-catching.


    During this examination, in that strange environment, Xiao Lin had seen the flower that had eluded him for who knows how long. Normally, due to the natural energies, he had ignored that strange existence. The strange energy was very weak, and it felt alive, but it did not have any special characteristics of life. It moved like energy, but was not like any of the big three.


    The center of that power was the mysterious ck hole in his body!


    Xiao Lin was even more shocked. His meditative world was different from everyone else, that was something he realized early on. When he activated his Miracle state to enter the meditative world, he would notice a deep ckhole in the universe. It was a very peaceful ckhole ¡ª other than consuming the elements nearby, it was peaceful most of the time. The ckhole was also the origin of Xiao Lin¡¯s killer technique: the dragon¡¯s breath.


    Even though he could never figure out the principles behind it, Xiao Lin had always been happy to enjoy the benefits that the mysterious ckhole brought. Yet, now that Xiao Lin was really observing the ckhole, he felt a faint but very clear movement.


    What was that?


    Xiao Lin wondered to himself deep in his subconscious. Even if that ckhole was in the deepest part of his body, even he did not know where it was. Yet, that strange phenomenon caused him to hesitate, wondering if he should continue diving further in.


    Even though the academy currently taught what was recognized as the safest and most reliable basic meditation skills, meditation itself had always carried dangers. If someone¡¯s meditative world suddenly copsed, or if another person used a special method to invade a meditative world, then their consciousness would be trapped in the destroyed world, and the meditator would be severely impacted. It would be just like if someone was bedevilled; even the chances of that happening was more or less the same as a ne going missing. It was still notpletely risk free.


    The strange environment was like that; even if he wanted to investigate further, he would at least need to wait until he returned to the academy. Only with the help of a high-ranking teacher or even the president could he continue.


    Xiao Lin quickly made a decision, and after that, he prepared to leave his meditative world. Yet, an old voice suddenly came from the deepest parts of the ck hole. The voice sounded like an exploding star, andpletely covered the whole universe. It felt like it was speaking to his heart, and even the other students who were idling around Xiao Lin were startled when their monitor, who had been quietly meditating, suddenly shuddered.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Do you know how hard it is for me to talk to you?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness was nk for a brief moment because what was happening had exceeded all his expectations. However, he quickly calmed down as he shouted in his mind, ¡°Who are you?! Why are you here, in this world that is mine?!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not your world; it¡¯s our world!¡± That old and calm voice corrected Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin almost got goosebumps. The origin of that ckhole was his body and consciousness. The voice¡¯s words meant that the thing was inside his body and was a part of him!


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have a split personality!¡± Xiao Lin could not afford for hisposure to be too unsteady. That would force him out of the meditative realm. However, he trusted that the sarcasm in his consciousness could be felt by that person.


    ¡°I am a part of you, and I am the reason you can be here. Whether or not you believe it, it¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°If you keep on with all that nonsense, I¡¯ll leave the meditation!¡± Xiao Lin warned. Since the person had waited until this day to speak to Xiao Lin, then it was definitely no simple matter. It was possible that the strange circumstances of the examination was what allowed them to meet.


    ¡°You¡¯re only a very ordinary lifeform. Now, that word is not appropriate; it should be lowly. In the universe, your life isn¡¯t even worth a firefly. No one would ever notice you. Yet, you possess the most basic energy in the universe. Were you never curious as to why?¡±


    Xiao Lin was dazed for a moment, but he quickly calmed down. It was a calm he never felt before, and even his organs suddenly felt cold.


    Xiao Lin had always thought he was a very ordinary person, and it was that way for the first twenty or so years of his life. He had been just like the billions on Earth. If not for this academy, the next part of his life would have been to find a regr job, marry a regr wife and live a regr second half of his life.


    However, he had received an admission letter, entered Dawn Academy, and even obtained an SS-rank talent. He had unrivalled learning ability, which shocked even himself. Later on, he learned that Dawn Academy had always been very particr about choosing new students, and it had been impossible for him to be picked with his attributes. Before, Wang Yun from the Admissions Department had told him that his name was originally not in the new students register.


    Even though Xiao Lin had wondered at the time if he had used some ability to bend time in order to give himself the admissions letter, there were still too many things that could not be exined.


    Xiao Lin did not pay too much attention to the admissions letter. He felt like he was just lucky, and put it down to fate. Maybe he had done many good deeds and God was rewarding him?


    Yet now, at that moment, Xiao Lin suddenly woke up. Everything he had was not down to luck, nor was it a gift from God. Even if he did not know the true reason, the answer might actually be in that ckhole.

 Chapter 573 - Mysterious Existence

    <h4>Chapter 573: Mysterious Existence</h4>


    Was it time to pay up?


    Xiao Lin could not help but have that thought in his head, but he did not retreat from his meditation. No matter what, he did not want to hide from anything.


    In a short time, Xiao Lin prepared himself mentally in various ways, but he did not get the answer he wanted, so he asked loudly, ¡°Who are you?!¡±


    The sound in the ckhole repeated in a low voice, ¡°At this moment, I am you, but if you are asking about my prior status, then I regret to say that I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Xiao Lin was dumbfounded, and even angered. ¡°You¡¯re toying with me!¡±


    ¡°Toying with you? No, I have no such intention. It¡¯s not easy for me to be able to talk to you like this, so I won¡¯t waste our valuable time. I don¡¯t know where I came from, and I don¡¯t know when I woke up. I only know that I¡¯ve been here since I opened my eyes, in the center of this piece of the universe. I can feel your existence, but I have no way to leave.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, this piece of the universe?¡± Xiao Lin noticed his phrasing. That universe should just be a symbolic world, but that meant that his consciousness had its simrities to the other person.


    ¡°A leaf and a flower could make up a world. Life is the most wonderfulposition in the universe,parable to the movement of the stars. The existence of this universe is not something to be surprised at.¡± The voice seemed to see through Xiao Lin¡¯s doubts.


    ¡°How do you know that theory?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s change the topic. Why did you wait until now to talk to me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°How long have you been in my body?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any goals?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°What do you know?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.


    Xiao Lin was speechless. He felt like he was going crazy. If it was not for the sincerity in the other person¡¯s voice, he would have left immediately. However, he held it back. After all, who would be able to calmly pretend nothing was happening after discovering there was a strange being that was previously unknown living in their body.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not within your physicalposition. Strictly speaking, my position right now should be in your energy ball, and in the most internal part of it.¡± The voice corrected Xiao Lin¡¯s mistake.


    That strange way of speaking confused Xiao Lin, only after a while did he suspiciously trante the person¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re saying that you¡¯re not in my body, but my soul!¡± Fine, whatever an energy ball was, he could only jokingly describe it as his soul.


    After a moment of silence, the other person acknowledged it, causing Xiao Lin to be shocked as he quickly asked, ¡°Then does my powere from you?¡± He smiled bitterly as he asked, expecting to be told the person did not know the answer again.


    However, this time that voice slowly said, ¡°Yes, and no.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just answer something clearly for once?¡± Xiao Lin was frustrated. That answer was the same as not knowing.


    ¡°I can feel your anger, but regretfully, I can¡¯t hide anything from you. I know of some things, and some things I know nothing of. The source of your power is internal, but you can also treat it as your own, and no one can steal that power you worked hard to obtain.¡±


    Xiao Lin said helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s really tiring talking to you. Can you not speak in circles? I can understand every word you speak, but why can I understand anything from them?¡±


    ¡°We are of the same form and body, so yournguage directly affects me. There¡¯s no way you don¡¯t understand my words.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not referring to the words themselves. Whatever, forget I said that.¡± Xiao Lin got an even bigger headache. That thing really knew how to throw outpletely foreign words. He could not determine if the person was deliberately confusing him, or if the person¡¯s personality was like that.


    Seeing Xiao Lin going quiet from anger, that voice continued without a care, ¡°I can feel the danger around you. I¡¯ve wanted to tell you plenty of times, but regretfully I can¡¯tmunicate with you. I can¡¯t only talk to you in this false environment. Please remember my next words. The Origin of the Beginning rtes to this universe. It is further away than you or anyone around you can think of. I can feel that an ancient threat is reawakening, so you don¡¯t have much time left.¡±


    ¡°Your words are meaningless. What is the Origin of the Beginning? What ancient threat? Hey, can¡¯t you just say your words clearly? You at least need to tell me how you know all this!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin. It¡¯s like me asking you why you¡¯re a human and not any other lifeform; that question is meaningless.¡±


    Xiao Lin was angry again, but it seemed to make sense when he talked about it. Why was he a human and not a beast? Was that person trying to debate philosophy?


    ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten a lot of things, but I know my task is to protect.¡±


    ¡°Protect me?¡± Xiao Lin snorted coldly. ¡°Are you trying to tell me I¡¯m some ancient superhero? Or maybe the savior of the world?¡±


    ¡°No, not you. Just as I said earlier, you¡¯re just an ordinary life form. What I am protecting is the Power of Origin.¡± That voice was very honestly assaulting Xiao Lin¡¯s ego.


    Xiao Lin did not know how to react. He had been thinking too much.


    ¡°Then what do I need to do?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°The shards! You must quickly collect the shards!¡±


    Fine, Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. Now that person was finally saying something Xiao Lin could understand. Shards could only be referring to the Shards of Creation.


    ¡°Since you know what you need to know, and don¡¯t know what you don¡¯t, why don¡¯t you tell me how to get out of my predicament right now?¡± Xiao Lin had almost been pulled in, collecting the shards was already within his ns, but he suddenly felt like that mysterious person could solve his current problem.


    The voice paused for a moment before he started to recall in an even voice. ¡°A sky fish, a living being from the first era of man. It¡¯s a morphed aquatic lifeform, and spends most of its time in the air. When the winds exceed rank six, it will follow the winds down to feed. Its special characteristics give it the ability to fly with the wind, and it can swallow a powerful hypnotic mist. The mist is its biggest weapon for hunting. Due to being over hunted, its numbers dwindled at the end of the first era, and it went extinct during the second after a disaster.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about Normese history?¡± Xiao Lin was shocked at the simrities of the sky fish and that fish that floated in the air, but he was curious when the person mentioned the first and second eras.

 Chapter 574 - Dream World

    <h4>Chapter 574: Dream World</h4>


    ¡°No, it¡¯s the blue.¡±


    The answers that voice provided were as vague as usual, but this time Xiao Lin immediately reacted as he said strangely, ¡°Blue? Are you talking about Earth?¡±


    ¡°No, based on terminology, Earth was only called so after the fifth era, while Blue was its name since the first. It was named so after its color. This is something life has set forth in the universe, which is that sight was the most direct reaction...¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine! Call it Blue!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s head hurt as he interrupted the other person before he pulled the topic back. ¡°You said that sky fishes could hypnotize people. Are you saying we¡¯re currently hypnotized?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, which is why I can talk to you. I¡¯m not allowed to interact with you too early, as it would break thews, but the sky fish¡¯s existence was not within our expectations. The flow of time can be anticipated, but the sands of time are never certain, so I can talk to you here.¡±


    Xiao Lin sighed, not bothering to ask why it could not interact with him too early because he already knew that it did not know. He ignored what was said during that time since he knew it was a theory that he could not grasp.


    ¡°How do I wake up from this false hypnotic world?¡± Xiao Lin continued to ask, pausing before he added, ¡°Just tell me how to handle the sky fish. I feel that it would be hard to fight it since it can hypnotize us without us knowing. Does it have any weaknesses?¡±


    ¡°The sky fish itself is ordinary in strength, which was why it was hunted to near extinction during the first era. The dream world has very mysterious powers. Even though the hypnotist is the sky fish, the dream world still needs a form of support.¡±


    That voice started to sound fatigued, so it hastened its speech. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left; the shards you collected can wake me up from slumber for short period of time, but the power of the shards is still not enough, and I will quickly fall back asleep, so I will transfer the location of the other shards to you. I hope we will meet again soon...¡±


    After that, Xiao Lin felt a strong and formless pulse of energye out from the ckhole; the energy pulse cracked the meditative world, and at that moment Xiao Lin¡¯s head felt like it had exploded. He woke up abruptly as his body trembled.


    ¡°Monitor, what happened?!¡±


    Everyone gathered over as they looked on as their monitor panted heavily, as if he had just gone through arge battle. Xiao Lin waved them away, indicating that he was fine, but he could not help but massage his temples. His head hurt too much; that energy pulse should be something like a pulse of memories. At that moment, arge amount of information flooded into his brain, and he felt like his brain wasgging in the same way that aputer would.


    ¡°All of this is... My god, who is that person!¡± After calming down, Xiao Lin quickly digested the information in his head. Even just a small bit of it was enough to shock him.


    ¡°What person? Where is this person?¡±


    The rest of them were very curious, and Xiao Lin smiled softly as he recovered, ¡°I think I already know how to get out of this ce.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! The monitor really has his ways!¡±


    ¡°Get out?¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin did not continue, he remembered the words that person said when he was meditating. What frustrated him was that, since there was not enough time, the instructions were very vague.


    The sky fish itself is ordinary in strength, which was why it was hunted to near extinction during the first era. The dream world has very mysterious powers. Even though the hypnotist is the sky fish, the dream world still needs a form of support...


    That was the only clue.


    In truth, after realizing that there were no signs of life around them, Xiao Lin had a suspicion, and now his suspicion had evidence behind it.


    There was no way for there to be anywhere devoid of life in Norma, unless that ce was an illusion. That had been Xiao Lin¡¯s guess; the dream world could be said to be an illusion, and just like that mysterious voice said, the dream world was a mysterious power.


    What was the support of the dream world?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression slowly turned strange. He could not help but look around at the other six around him. They were looking at him in anticipation and anxiety, waiting for their monitor to exin and make a decision.


    If this was the dream world after being hypnotized, then it could only be his own dream world. In his dream, other than himself, everyone else should be fake, including his so-calledpanions around him.


    However, even if he knew it was a dream world, it was not easy to wake up from it. If he failed to wake up, then he would be asleep until the examination ended!


    He tried some ways to wake himself up, such as pinching himself, but the clear feeling of pain made him feel like he was not dreaming.


    Maybe death?


    Xiao Lin shook his head. He would pass on such a dangerous method. After all, his pain felt real, so what if dying in the dream world would end up in him really dying?


    He could not ept that, so the keyy in the support.


    What was the support point for the dream world?


    Xiao Lin worked hard thinking about it. The voice had given him a clue, but he still had to grab onto the clue to find the key to the door.


    As he remained sitting, he tried to move around to make his body morefortable, but he almost fell down as he did so. Xiao Lin suddenly remembered that his left hand hadpletely lost all feeling. He prepared to stand up, and at that moment, his body stiffened as a sh appeared in his mind.


    Support... If it could be understood at the point ofmunication between the real world and the dream world, then the support point should be in the real world and not in the dream world. Xiao Lin had always been very smart, and thinking about it, he felt like such a mysterious and massive hypnosis would not be something that could be conventionally understood. The power might need to be stored in the real body in order to be effective in the long term.


    And his left arm had lost all feeling after that night. He had thought that it was the act of that strange fish, but the sky fish did not have that ability.


    Maybe his left arm was the support for the dream world!


    That was why he had lost all feeling, because the left arm never entered the dream world, so he naturally could not feel it. It was possible that his thought process was off. After all, who would dream of missing an arm? However, in this world, normalcy did not apply, just like how he could not imagine a fish that could live above the clouds and swim in the winds.

 Chapter 575 - Surrounded By Beasts (1)

    <h4>Chapter 575: Surrounded By Beasts (1)</h4>


    Xiao Lin used his right hand to grab his left arm, and started to use some force. After that, he activated his Miracle state, throwing all his attributes into strange. The force in his hand was stronger and stronger, but he still could not feel any pain, yet his arm had already started to distort in shape.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was a bit hesitant, but he quickly increased his strength. After that, he heard a pop, and the next moment, an intense pain spread throughout his body. He subtly cried out, and everything in front of him turned dark as he copsed.


    After an unknown length of time, Xiao Lin started to wake up from his daze. He was still in the same forest, and the dimly lit sky caused the forest to be even darker. The surrounding wind was intense, and the howling did not stop. Xiao Lin forced himself to stand up. Feeling the pain in his left arm, he knew that he was back from being hypnotized. He quickly closed his eyes to use his perception, and his face quickly turned strange.


    The forest was finally back to being full of life, indicating that he had woken up from the hypnosis caused by the sky fish. However, what chilled his heart was that, surrounding him, in the darkness he could not see through, there were way too many lifeforms hidden inside!


    Xiao Lin did not immediately undo his Miracle state. His heart was already on alert. He had just stood up when he heard a low growl from the darkness on his right. Seemingly at the same time, a gigantic shadow lunged at him.


    ¡®Ruin!¡¯


    That abrupt sense of danger caused Xiao Lin to not hesitate to activate Ruin. Heunched his fist right at the shadow, and the heavy blow sent the shadow right to the floor. Ruin state¡¯s power had been enough to kill it in one shot, but Xiao Lin¡¯s fist was also full of blood, it was like he had mmed his fist into steel.


    Xiao Linunched two me fingers with his left hand, lighting up a tree nearby, using the mes to disperse the darkness. There was movement in the darkness, and Xiao Lin could make out a few red or green pairs of eyes. Xiao Lin looked on alert as he knelt down to inspect the beast he had hit.


    A Steel-tooth Tiger; they looked like the tigers on Earth, but they had very long and sharp parts in their teeth. It looked like a steel sword, and had the destructive ability of a ck-iron rank attack.


    Xiao Lin quickly recalled his biology lessons; the creatures were very fierce hunters. Xiao Lin looked at the wound on his hand and smiled bitterly. In his hurry, he had mmed his fist into the steel teeth before hitting the Steel-tooth tiger¡¯s face. However, it did not matter, flesh wounds like that could be recovered quickly thanks to his dragon¡¯s blood.


    Xiao Lin looked at the snapped tooth on the ground. After picking up the tooth, he appraised it in his hand, it was quite heavy, and it felt quite alright in his hands, so Xiao Lin decided to use it as a weapon.


    The dark forest had been lit up by the fires, but it did not chase away the greedy hunters. The attack by the Steel-tooth tiger had served as a signal, and even more beasts started to lunge out, rushing toward their prey.


    There was a white-spotted spider, named so for theirrge and disgusting white spot on their back. The spiders in this world were many timesrger than on Earth. The primary way it attacked was by spitting venom; its venom was enough to dissolve any living organism, so its attack power was very strong.


    Seeing the gigantic spider rushing over, Xiao Lin¡¯s heart chilled. He was quite good at biology ¡ª of course it was thanks to the increased memory from his Academic Genius Skill. The introductions to Norma¡¯s animals shed through his mind, and Xiao Lin decided that he could not give that thing the chance to spit its venom. Wounds could be healed, but it was very troublesome if it had venom.


    Rocketing forward, Xiao Lin spun as he kicked the white-spotted spider to the floor. Before it could turn around, the steel tooth in Xiao Lin¡¯s hand had already pieced down on its soft torso. The power of his Ruin state had easily pierced a hole through the spider¡¯s heart, and it quickly stopped moving after struggling for a moment.


    Xiao Lin turned around and looked at the other beast and monsters that were rushing over from not too far away. He jumped, and suddenly gripped his steel tooth tightly as he shed downward. The spider¡¯s entire torso was split open as the sticky blood sshed on his body. There was even a stinky smell to it, almost making Xiao Lin vomit, but Xiao Lin clenched his teeth, holding back his disgust as he reached around the organs in the belly, pulling out a sac that was dripping with blood.


    Even if it was disgusting, Xiao Lin remembered the teacher emphasizing in ss that, even if the spider was very poisonous, the poison sac in its body was a very strong natural antidote; it was especially effective against other spider venom.


    No one knew if he would be meeting other poisonous beasts, so having an antidote handy was a good idea. Xiao Lin started to understand why the academy had not allowed them to bring any equipment or tools inside; it was possible that the examination was to test their usage of the knowledge they gained in ss.


    After killing three white-spotted spiders, Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows; the amount of beasts around him was quite terrifying. By his vague estimation, there were close to a hundred of them. No one knew why they gathered there, and he had been attacked immediately after he woke up from hypnosis.


    The only possible exnation was that the power of the sky fish still remained on his left arm, and that caused the beasts to fear him. After all, no matter how weak the sky fish was, a high-ranked beast like that would carry its own level of threat. The other beasts probably did not dare to touch prey that had already been marked, but when Xiao Lin woke up from his hypnosis, it meant he had cleared off the smell of the sky fish on him, which meant the beasts no longer needed to care.


    He needed to leave immediately!


    Because he did not see anyone else, Xiao Lin was a little worried, and his Ruin state was not good for long battles. He threw out a few fireballs; under his Ruin state even ck-iron ranked spells had immense destructive power. Not far away, he heard cries of agony; a few beasts had been burnt alive immediately. The continuous magical onught caused them to be surrounded by mes, and a lot of the lower-ranked beasts immediately escaped slyly.


    mes were the best way to chase beasts away, but not all of them were afraid of fire. In the mes, Xiao Lin noticed arge figure rapidly approaching. When it ran through the sea of mes, Xiao Lin¡¯s eyebrows furrowed.


    It was a humanoid beast that was over two meters tall; it had strong-looking legs and a pair of strong arms; its entire body was surrounded by tes, and it seemed evenrger within the fires.


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly; it was called a Fire-eater. The lecturers had repeatedly warned against using any fire spells on the wild beast because, just like their names suggested, they naturally ate mes. mes could cause their ck-iron ranked abilities to suddenly jump close to Bronze rank.

 Chapter 576 - Surrounded By Beasts (2)

    <h4>Chapter 576: Surrounded By Beasts (2)</h4>


    Xiao Lin did not initially sense the existence of the Fire-eater. He had used me magic to scare away the other beasts, but that thing had profited from it. Nheless, Xiao Lin felt relieved. It was hard to say if a strong beast was better than a group of beasts, but if it was only at the Bronze rank, he was not that afraid.


    Fire-eaters were very good against fire, so Xiao Lin¡¯s spells would definitely be useless. He first cast a water shield on himself, but he naturally doubted how useful the low-ranked defensive spell would be, but that did not stop him from running forward. Pulling out the steel tooth that was stuck to a spider¡¯s body, Xiao Lin used his ghost-like footwork. Ruin had increased his agility even higher, closing in on Silver-ranked levels.


    The Fire-eater primarily used fire in its attacks; it wed at the mes, and between its ws were strings of high-temperature mes. Xiao Lin stepped forward, doing various dodges in midair which caused it to look like he was dancing. He could even feel those thin mes whistle past his face, the hot air brushing against his ears.


    The mes were at least over a hundred degrees and,cking any anti-me equipment and magic, the Fire-eaters were quite difficult for normal first-year students. Any mes that slightly touched the body would immediately burn them, causing theirbat abilities to drop greatly.


    However, Xiao Lin easily avoided all of the mes. Agility did not just bring an increase in speed, it also increased the dexterity and flexibility of the body, allowing him to be able to control his body to the limits in mid-air. And the moment he dropped on the ground, he immediately gathered his energy, speeding up as he dodged and charged forward.


    The temperature around him rose as well, but the thin water shield around Xiao Lin was capable of lowering the temperature around him, even though it stood no chance against a direct attack.


    The more mes the Fire-eater absorbed, the more its power would increase, but at the same time it would burden itself as well, causing its speed and reactions to slow down. It was even slower than ck-iron rank, and that was its greatest weakness.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s ssroom knowledge was very reliable, and he had used his advantages to seize the initiative in the fight. Fire-eaters were very threatening, but it was fine as long as he did not touch them.


    However, it was impossible for him to counter attack immediately, as the Fire-eater¡¯s body temperature was around a hundred degrees, and the area around its heart could even approach two hundred.


    Two hundred degrees was not something a Bronze-ranked water shield could block, and even though Xiao Lin was at Bronze rank, he did not have any armor on. Unless he had specialized armor, he might immediately lose a hand the moment he touched it.


    ¡°It really is a tricky bastard!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but curse, looking at the steel tooth in his hand. He was not sure how well the steel tooth would deal with fire. Otherwise, he could just throw the steel tooth directly at the Fire-eater. In their sses, they had been taught that the best way to deal with a Fire-eater was water magic or long-ranged attacks like archery.


    Xiao Lin had always felt that he had quite a wide range of knowledge, but at that critical point he found that he knew too little. It was not obvious in group battles, but there were even fewer people who werepletely well-versed in solobat. After all, the academy mainly focused on groupbat tactics.


    The steel tooth was his primary weapon, and he was very satisfied with the sharpness. If he threw it out and it was not effective, it would mean that he had to fight empty-handed. Xiao Lin hesitated slightly, and he suddenly pped his forehead, silently cursing himself for being stupid. He had forgotten the biggest reward he got from the Rosa Kingdom.


    Iplete Absolute Defense!


    The LV2 Academic Genius skill allowed him to learn a skill after copying it if he satisfied certain requirements. Even after the time limit of the replication ended, his body would naturally remember that skill. However, it was just the most basic memory, and after remembering it he still needed tomit the time and energy to repeatedly practice and familiarize himself with it.


    However, Iplete Absolute Defense did not need arge amount of training to get good at it. The special ability only seemed to have high requirements for the user¡¯s bloodline. Even though Xiao Lin did not really understand the requirements on the bloodline, and vaguely guessed that, if it was targeted at those with talents, it was clear that he had satisfied the conditions.


    Iplete Absolute Defense couldpletely defend against any attack that was not higher than his own level. Those with iplete bloodlines can use it. It had a thirty second cooldown, and each time it was cast, it did notst more than three seconds. Each use would also use up 10% of the user¡¯s total physical strength.


    It had only been a month since the battle in the Rosa Kingdom, but Xiao Lin recalled the battle in detail, recalling the skill. He believed that his body could quickly remember it since he could not have forgotten it so quickly.


    After a few minutes, a familiar feeling bubbled up in Xiao Lin¡¯s body which both surprised and excited him. A white shield quickly formed around his body. It was the Iplete Absolute Defense!


    Xiao Lin had sessfully recalled the ability with his body, but then he did not hesitate to rush at the Fire-eater. The closer the distance, the more the temperature rose, but all of it was blocked by the shield. The Fire-eater, which already had its reactions slowed, could not react in time to the sneak attack from behind it. As its body was turning, the steel tooth in Xiao Lin¡¯s hand had already pierced inside it.


    The steel tooth started to glow red in just a moment, and started to rapidly soften. It seemed that the steel tooth was more susceptible to fire than he thought. Xiao Lin did not retreat, and instead let out a low roar as he used all the power in his body to push the steel tooth, along with his right arm,pletely into the Fire-eater¡¯s body.


    He had nned on using his arm as a weapon from the start, using the increased speed granted by Ruin to increase his attack power, then using the three seconds of immunity provided by Iplete Absolute Defense to avoid any injury to himself.


    Under Absolute Defense, even he could not use any form of energy attacks, including the elements, death energy or sword aura, so he could only use the purest form ofbat.


    Three seconds was not a lot, but it was not short either, it was enough to determine the victor of that battle.


    Using Absolute Defense to sink his whole arm into the intense mes, Xiao Lin could feel a round object. He did not hesitate to crush it with force, and after a soft exploding sound, the Fire-eater let out a low and sharp cry of energy as the mes on its body started to fluctuate.


    Xiao Lin knew that something was wrong, and using thest half a second, he quickly pulled his arm out and frantically ran into the forest.


    The fires around the Fire-eater¡¯s body started to intensify as its body started to distort, and in a sh, an immense explosion could be seen.

 Chapter 577 - Chase

    <h4>Chapter 577: Chase</h4>


    The Fire-eater was finally defeated. No matter how intense the mes around it were, no matter how hot its body was, the moment its heart was destroyed, death was inevitable. The explosion the Fire-eater caused right before its death led to the sea of mes to be even more intense.


    Thankfully, the forest always had a very high humidity. Even if he left it like that, the mes would slowly die down. Xiao Lin, whose face was grey with ash, looked at the mess around him and was rendered speechless. He never expected thest attack of the Fire-eater to be so strong, so it was a good thing that his Absolute Defensested just long enough, and that his speed under Ruin was fast enough to avoid that lethal wave.


    The steel tooth had already been destroyed from the high temperatures. Even though he did not just kill one Steel-tooth Tiger earlier, the other corpses were already destroyed in the sea of mes.


    Over 80% of the Fire-eater¡¯s body consisted of fire, so there was practically no corpse to be found, but the unsatisfied Xiao Lin still looked around nearby, and his eyes lit up when he noticed a pile of deep red crystals of varying sizes on the floor. Therge ones were as big as his palm, and the smaller ones were only the size of fingernails. The crystals emitted a deep red glow and warmth and, by now, the intense heat from the explosion had already begun to cool down.


    ¡°These are mid-grade me energy stones. No, with the coloration it might even be high-grade ones!¡± Xiao Lin eximed happily as he carefully picked up and kept all the crystals.


    Energy stones were like ores back on Earth. They were found in various mines in the world, but natural energy stones usually had too many impurities, and could not be used immediately. They needed to be refined after the fact before they could be useful.


    However, the crystals in front of him were different. As something that was mainlyposed of fire, the Fire-eater¡¯s explosion before it died had created a high heat with high pressure force, causing the mes around its core toplete a refinement process, which ended up in benefiting Xiao Lin.


    The value of mid- and high-grade energy stones far exceeded low-grade energy stones that had not been refined yet. He might not be able to use them during this examination, but thinking about the regtions of the monthly examination, Xiao Lin would be able to get them as his spoils of war after the examination.


    Leaving the sea of mes, Xiao Lin continued to move deeper into the forest. Compared to the initial few days, the forest seemed much more active than before. Even if he did not focus on his perception, he could still asionally see various beasts running past him. In the dense foliage, he would also asionally see some beasts flying past. Those beasts all had very very strong attack abilities, and would even fight among themselves asionally.


    He had just used up his Ruin state, and coupled with the 10% consumption of his energy after using Absolute Defense, his body was extremely weak at that point, which was why he constantly stopped and avoided all the beasts that were fighting. He would constantly have to take a longer path around them. No one knew what had happened to the beasts in the forest; they were not that active when the examinations started, but they all seemed to seem like they were going through puberty, unleashing all their pent up strength and energy.


    The forest was very noisy; other than the cries of the beasts, he could somewhat make out the sound of humans from deep within. There were definitely other students nearby. The sporadic voices made it hard for him to determine their location, so Xiao Lin did not advance. Since he had no better way forward, he decided to temporarily rest where he was; he picked up some wild fruits to quell his hunger.


    After over two hours, Xiao Lin¡¯s strength had more or less returned. The natural recovery of his dragon¡¯s blood meant that the flesh wounds he suffered earlier were now just some scars that did not affect much. The voices in the distance had disappeared as well. He did not know what the result of the battle was, so Xiao Lin decided to go take a look.


    After activating Miracle, he used his high agility alongside his Phantom Steps. Xiao Lin became just like a cunning fox, easily moving through the forest as he wished. After half an hour, he arrived at the spot where he suspected they were earlier.


    There were obvious traces of battle; the trees nearby had been cut down, and the part that was cut was abnormally smooth. Not far away, there was a pile of leaves that had been burnt to ash that were still emitting a ck smoke. The beast corpses that were littered around hadrge traces of blood, and following the blood, there were more and more bodies. Other than beasts, there were even other animals.


    Xiao Lin immediately furrowed his eyebrows. Those men were all donned in full armor and even had swords, but the rules of the examination had prohibited any equipment. Furthermore, they would not leave any bodies behind after death. They would merely return to the academy after disappearing.


    It was not their own people!


    Xiao Lin made the judgement quickly, and hesitated to move forward, but at his moment of hesitation, someone saw him.


    ¡°Please, help me!¡± It was a woman who shouted at him, and she spoke in Normese. She had on thin red leather armor, and in her hand was a shortbow.


    Not even a few meters away, there was a five or six meter Arachne. That monster had the lower body of a spider, but its upper body was a massive humanoid figure. It was a very ugly beast, and its long ck hair emitted a disgusting stench.


    The Arachne¡¯s speed did not decrease from its size, and it was rushing toward the woman, and it coincidentally ran past Xiao Lin. ck blood was flowing from the woman¡¯s leg, and it seemed she was too injured to avoid anything. Her weapon was a bow, but with such a close distance, it was hard for her to use the advantages of an archer.


    Under his Miracle state, Xiao Lin¡¯s speed was enough to avoid the spider, indicating that he would not help. If the one attacked was a ssmate from ss Seven, he would naturally have extended a helping hand, but since it was a native, Xiao Lin had too many misgivings on the notion. He obviously remembered being tricked by the Normese merchants during the third examination.


    As colonists, they and the natives were natural enemies; that was a truth that could not be changed. After experiencing a whole semester, Xiao Lin had that realization. Before he could identify the other party, the best attitude was to avoid anything.


    Looking at Xiao Lin having no intention of helping, that woman got even more anxious, and she shouted, ¡°One hundred low-grade energy stones and thirty mid-grade energy stones as a reward!¡±


    That woman looked to be bad at meleebat. Coupled with her injury to her leg, her movements were even less nimble. The Arachne¡¯s ck leg had kicked the woman on the floor; the next attack would cost the woman her life.

 Chapter 578 - Beast Tide

    <h4>Chapter 578: Beast Tide</h4>


    One hundred low-grade energy stones and thirty mid-grade energy stones as a reward!


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrow. That woman was very smart; when she saw that he was not going to help, she stopped wasting her time pleading, and instead did not hesitate to offer a reward.


    However, Xiao Lin merely hesitated for a moment before he said in Normese, ¡°If you die, wouldn¡¯t those things still be mine.¡±


    That was true; the rewards were not enough to make Xiao Lin move. That Arachne seemed to be much better than the beasts he had met before both in terms of strength and agility. It was more or less at the level of the Fire-eater, and was not something he could easily handle.


    ¡°There¡¯s also information! Information on the beast tide; it¡¯s something I obtained through special channels! If I die, you might not be able to leave without that information!¡± The woman put even more on the table in her panic.


    She was a smart and decisive woman. Xiao Lin did not know what a beast tide was, but he somewhat realized that it could be the most difficult part of this examination, and was probably why the academy had deliberately hidden any information from them. Obtaining that information for himself was probably a focal point of their examination.


    Xiao Lin did not waste time on any nonsense. Even though it had not been that long since the Fire-eater, and his strength had yet to fully recover,pared to the information and rewards he could obtain, he felt like the risk was worth it.


    Xiao Lin made his move; because he did not have much strength left, he did not n on stalling for time. Regardless of whether or not he was saving her, he had to finish his foe in one strike!


    The woman had lost hope when she saw how hesitant Xiao Lin was, and she had started to struggle to stand up. However, the Arachne had already started its second attack, and with its body shape, the woman could not avoid it at all. She even showed a look of hopelessness, but she suddenly heard the Arachne let out a sharp and strange cry before it charged forward, moving past her.


    Its target was not herself?


    The woman turned around in shock and saw Xiao Lin bitterly smiling.


    The Arachne was a little smarter than Xiao Lin had anticipated. When he activated his Ruin state, the beast felt threatened by him and immediately shifted targets.


    However, it was already toote; in order to defeat it as soon as possible, Xiao Lin had used his dragon¡¯s breath sword aura the moment he activated Ruin. Before, he had not used it because he did not have a weapon. Even though it was possible to use it with his bare hands, the power would greatly decrease. On the way here, those corpses on the floor had solved his problem ofcking a weapon.


    The white-colored dragon¡¯s breath started to seep out of his body, shooting up in the air as the leaves over his head were covered by the dragon¡¯s breath before turning into powder. Originally, Xiao Lin had nned on using that woman to buy himself some time because his dragon¡¯s breath needed time to gather, but he no longer had that luxury, and Xiao Lin could feel the white sword in his hand starting to tremble. That meant the sword was not that great in quality, and could not withstand the force of the dragon¡¯s breath.


    Boom!


    As Xiao Lin swung down with that sword covered in dragon¡¯s breath sword aura, a thunderous explosion could be heard around half the forest. The Arachne might have sensed the danger beforehand, but it could not avoid it at all since it was too close. In a sh, the white light turned the Arachne into a pile of meat.


    The dragon¡¯s breath continued to shoot out for a dozen seconds before slowly dissipating, and the exhausted Xiao Lin had been forced to undo his Ruin state the moment he unleashed his dragon¡¯s breath, and the sword in his hand had shattered from the bacsh.


    Dragon¡¯s breath did use a lot of his physical strength, and Xiao Lin was already beginning to feel dizzy. However, he bit his lips as he leaned against a tree, preventing himself from copsing immediately as he calmly looked at the woman next to him.


    He could not afford to show any weakness in front of that Normese woman who suddenly appeared.


    Thankfully, the woman immediately showed signs of friendliness as she put her bow away and stopped herself over ten meters away. She politely and respectfully thanked Xiao Lin. However, on top of her friendliness, she had actually been shocked by the power Xiao Lin had shown earlier. In truth, the other reason Xiao Lin had used his dragon breath was to warn the woman against turning her back on their deal.


    ¡°This is the reward.¡± The woman quickly took out the stones and ced them on the floor for Xiao Lin to look at before wrapping them back up.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± After making sure the woman had no other intentions, Xiao Lin finally started with his questions.


    The woman¡¯s face showed some sadness. ¡°We are adventurers, we were nning on doing some hunting before the beast tide, but we never expected the beast tide to happen earlier this time. The beasts that came out earlier separated me from my party, and a few of mypanions encountered an ambush. I¡¯m the only one left.


    ¡°What is a beast tide?¡±


    The woman found Xiao Lin¡¯s question weird, but she honestly answered, ¡°The beasts in the Forest of Death fight each other after a period of time. They kill each other in search of a new ruler of the forest. It¡¯s called a beast tide, and during the beast tide, all the beasts wille out.¡±


    Xiao Lin said in understanding, ¡°So you wanted to take advantage of the situation, using the time the beasts are gathered together to increase your hunting efficiency. Were all these energy crystals your loot?¡±


    ¡°Yes; the rewards you can get during a beast tide is at least ten times more than usual. Anyone would be tempted. Aren¡¯t you the same?¡± the woman asked.


    The woman probably thought that Xiao Lin was here to hunt as well. After all, those energy stones were all valuable objects. Xiao Lin did not bother to exin as he said, ¡°You really aren¡¯t afraid of dying. Since you know there are more beasts around, you still dared to enter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. If it¡¯s just before the beast tide, the beasts that would appear are all low-ranked, so we could still hunt them. If the real beast tide started, those beasts that have been dormant or hibernating for decades or even up to a hundred years would appear. However, no one would be dumb enough to stay here after the beast tide starts. The hunting is only during the period before it.¡± Pausing, the woman bitterly sighed. ¡°There are always rules that the beast tide follows. We did a lot of research before, but we never expected the beast tide to be moved forward this time.¡±


    ¡°Has the beast tide started?¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t yet, but since a beast like the one you just killed has appeared, there won¡¯t be much time left. If we don¡¯t leave during this period of time, we¡¯ll all die here!¡±

 Chapter 579 - Time For The Examination

    <h4>Chapter 579: Time For The Examination</h4>


    The simple chat with the woman had given Xiao Lin quite a lot of information. That woman was named Anna, and was the one in charge of instructing the archers in their mercenary group. The name of the mercenary group could not be tranted to any Earthnguage, so Xiao Lin ignored it. However, the mercenary group was not small. ording to her, there were over a hundred of them who came to hunt. They had been separated after being attacked by a group of beasts, and the team that followed her was mostly long-ranged attackers; they had all been killed by the speed of that Arachne.


    Anna also tried to learn who Xiao Lin was. To that woman, someone who could kill that Arachne with one strike was very rare in her country, and would be an outstanding person. That sort of person could not possibly be unknown, but forget recognizing Xiao Lin, even Xiao Lin¡¯s name led her to reveal a strange expression, as if a Chinese name like that was very unique.


    Anna¡¯s country was notrge, and the name of the country was even harder to trante from Normese than the name of her mercenary group. However, Xiao Lin had heard of it before. No, more urately he had learnt of it before. Thend Dawn Academy was upying had originally belonged to that country, and they had been briefly introduced in his history lessons.


    However, the country was not exterminated by Dawn Academy. After all, Dawn Academy still did not have that power during the early stages of colonization. They were instead eliminated by the orcs when that race had been expanding.


    Xiao Lin recalled that the small and weak country had been exterminated around 20 N.C., and since that woman said she was part of that country, it meant that the examination was set before 20 N.C.


    They had not been provided with any information on the examination. Other than the information that everyone was concerned about, such as theposition and information on the wild beasts, the timeline and backdrop of the examination might also be one of the questions they needed to figure out.


    Xiao Lin thought of the strange expression on Anna¡¯s face when she looked at him, and did not directly answer any of Anna¡¯s questions about himself. He casually asked, ¡°Have the mermen to the east settled down a littletely?¡±


    Anna¡¯s eyebrows furrowed once again. ¡°I don¡¯t really understand that question. Oh, what I meant is, those lowly mermen just disturb the fishermen a little at most. Surely they wouldn¡¯t dare to attack us.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused. ¡°Aren¡¯t they at war right now?¡±


    ¡°The mermen? Going to war?¡± Anna could not help butugh, but taking note that the person in front of her was much stronger than her, she quicklyposed herself as she joked, ¡°Are you talking about their inner conflicts? The mermen would fight each other for mates during their reproductive periods, but they usually go back to their normal ways. There¡¯s nothing strange about that; even the orcs don¡¯t care about that race. Who could they beat in a fight?¡±


    Xiao Lin found it even stranger, and tried asking a few other questions that only caused Anna to look at him with a weirder expression, as if he was looking at an alien.


    During the earliest periods of colonization, Dawn Academy¡¯s earliest opponents were the mermen. Due to fighting over their territories, the war that happened then never stopped. Thankfully Dawn Academy¡¯s only foes were the mermen, as the orcs did not participate in the war back then. Even though the colonists back then were only normal people, the mermen were not a very strong race, so they fought on an even ying field, and were able to gain an advantage through their intelligence.


    If it was during the first twenty years of colonization, then if their history lessons were not wrong, the mermen should be intensely fighting the colonists. As the nearest Normese country, and even being a part of a mercenary troop that went all over the ce, there was no way she wouldck that information.


    That meant Anna could be lying to him, but that possibility was not that viable. When Xiao Lin had shown his absolute power to her, that woman had lost any advantage she had, and she had no reason to do so since she did not stand to benefit from it at all.


    If Anna¡¯s words were true, then there was only one possibility left, which was that the forest had been set at a time in Norma before colonization had started, which meant that, at that point in history, no one from Earth had appeared yet.


    That hypothesis shocked Xiao Lin. After all, up till now all the examinations had been set during the colonization periods. This examination would be the only exception. Of course, from the examination¡¯s perspective, the exam was focused on the various beasts in the forest, so the timeline and background were not important matters.


    However, was that really true?


    Xiao Lin could not help but feel a sliver of doubt in his heart, but the moment quickly passed. The most important thing he had to focus on should be the uing beast tide, but Xiao Lin could not casually believe in Anna¡¯s words. He repeatedly asked for information regarding the beast tide, especially the part where Anna mentioned that the beast tide hade earlier. However, based on her words, the expected date had been predicted based on astrology, and Anna herself did not know why the date was wrongly predicted this time.


    However, the process was unimportant. After making sure that Anna¡¯s information was urate, Xiao Lin started to think about his own decisions. Anna¡¯s people had nned on leaving the forest as soon as possible. She did not hide the fact that she did not n on looking for her missing squad members because she believed that, as long as her troops were not stupid, they would be nning on leaving as well. If they did not leave in time, then when the beast tide fell, the even more horrifying beasts would arrive and no one would be able to save them.


    Anna had been hinting to Xiao Lin to leave with her. That way, her life would be even safer. After she left, she would give him even more rewards; it was just that she did not have the rewards on her at that moment.


    The examination stated that they had to survive for a month in the forest, but it did not mention the method of survival, nor were there any restrictions. However, the examination did not specify if the area would be limited to the forest as well, so Xiao Lin did not know if leaving would end with him failing.


    Furthermore, Xiao Lin could not leave just by himself. A pretty and cold face surfaced in his mind; he would not throw Gu Xiaoyue aside and leave. Even with the beast tideing, even if he might not be able to deal with those terrifying beasts that were going to be waking up from their slumber, he would only lose ten years of his lifespan if he died, but Gu Xiaoyue could not even afford to die a single time.

 Chapter 580 - Pursuit

    <h4>Chapter 580: Pursuit</h4>


    Anna felt like Xiao Lin had to be crazy for him to reject a deal as good as hers. Even though she had to admit that the man¡¯s skill was horrifying, and that the sword aura he had used to defeat that Arachne was the strongest sword aura she had ever seen in her life, she had a deeper understanding of the Forest of Death, having grown up with the mercenaries.


    ¡°No! Absolutely not!¡± Even if she respected Xiao Lin¡¯s skill, Anna could not help but widen her eyes as she looked at Xiao Lin in disbelief.


    ¡°No one can survive during the beast tide! No one!


    ¡°Do you know how strong the beasts that will appear in the beast tides are? They aren¡¯t even at the same level as that Arachne!


    ¡°We have reliable witness reports that the beasts that appear at the end of the beast tide can even be at the Epic rank! I admit that you¡¯re very strong, but I don¡¯t think you can defeat an Epic rank!¡±


    Anna shot out at Xiao Lin, trying to make him abandon that unrealistic thought. She was actually very frustrated because, if Xiao Lin was adamant on looking for hispanions, she would be in a difficult spot. She could not guarantee her own safety if she took the road alone, but it was even riskier to follow him.


    ¡°Hey, the words you said earlier contradict themselves.¡± Xiao Lin suddenly decided to interrupt her, focusing on a different point.


    ¡°Huh? What contradiction?¡±


    Xiao Lin touched his nose, saying, ¡°You said no one can survive the beast tide, but then you said that you have witnesses that state that the highest ranked monsters are at Epic rank. Isn¡¯t that contradictory?¡±


    Anna stood speechlessly on the spot.


    Xiao Lin smiled as he pushed his hands away. ¡°That¡¯s why the beast tide might not be as scary as you think. Since someone had survived before, and even witnessed an Epic rank beast, why can¡¯t we do exactly that?¡±


    ¡°We?¡± Anna raised her voice again.


    Xiao Lin shrugged as he pointed at the energy stones on the floor, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll use these as a reward, so help guide me. I think you should know this forest quite well.¡±


    He had no choice because hecked information. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack if he wanted to quickly find someone in thatrge forest. So, just like Anna needed Xiao Lin to help her leave safely, Xiao Lin also hoped to get Anna¡¯s help in delving deeper in the forest.


    Anna¡¯s eyebrows twitched as she looked at Xiao Lin using the things she had just given him as a reward. She was a bit exasperated as her expression flickered. Anna was a bit hesitant since leaving the forest was quite a big risk for her. As an archer, she knew that she was very weak after losing the protection of herpanions.


    Furthermore, she nced at her leg. The wound that the Arachne had inflicted on her had started to rot. The blood that flowed out was dark, and it was a clear sign that she had been poisoned. Under that state, she would not be able to move far by herself.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve been poisoned, I think I have a way to help you.¡± Xiao Lin took out the white-spotted spider¡¯s poison sac and waved it in front of Anan. The blood around the sac had dried, but the stench was still there. Xiao Lin did not want to continue bringing that smelly thing around, so it would be great if it were of some use at that moment.


    Anna¡¯s expression started to sway; her wound was not deep, but if the poison continued to seep in, even if she safely left the forest, her leg would be thoroughly crippled. It was obvious that no one wanted to be a one-legged cripple.


    ¡°Ah, but if you want me to give you the antidote, then I can¡¯t give you the energy stones.¡± Xiao Lin thought about it and kept the energy stones.


    Anna was suddenly angry as she could not help but say, ¡°The energy stones can be exchanged for a hundred sacs outside! It¡¯s not some powerful beast!¡±


    ¡°However, to you right now, the value of the sac far outstrips these,¡± Xiao Lin said logically. Being able to bring back the energy stones would definitely be arge profit. He might have a lot of money, but who said no to more money?


    Anna was once again speechless, but having grown up among mercenaries, she knew that the value of these things were not absolute. After considering it for a moment, she felt like she had been forced to ept being Xiao Lin¡¯s guide. The reward would be the antidote sac, but she added another request. If they still did not find anyone when the beast tide started, she would leave immediately, even if Xiao Lin did not go with her.


    Even though there were various problems, the moment they settled on the deal, Anna quickly devised various ns. Her mercenary group regrly hunted in that forest, and had participated in a few hunts before the beast tide, so she was very familiar with it.


    ¡°It¡¯s currently the period before the beast tide; most of the beast around here will be very agitated. We need to avoid fighting them if possible. Even if you are very strong, a person¡¯s stamina is still limited, you won¡¯t be able to fight off every beast in the forest.


    ¡°The forest doesn¡¯t have aplicated geography, but it¡¯s very easy to get lost the first time around. However, there¡¯s a technique to it, as long as you follow those beasts, you¡¯ll be able to find the exit. The beasts are all naturally scared of the strong, and they can sense those with stronger presences, which is why, before the beast tide, most of them will try to head to the outer areas to avoid it.¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°So we should head outside?¡±


    ¡°No, we should head deeper in.¡± Anna said earnestly, ¡°The current situation on the outer parts is veryplicated. Believe me, even if yourpanions are there, there¡¯s a low chance they can survive. It¡¯s actually the deepest parts that are the safest now. If yourpanions are smart enough, I think it will be more likely to find someone there.¡±


    ...


    Xiao Lin felt like this guide was not bad. Under Anna¡¯s suggestions, the two of them headed deeper into the forest. On the way, they met a few excited beasts; most of them had formed groups and were headed toward the outer parts of the forest. They would start fighting if they met those of different species. With how strong the beasts were, their group fights were essentially miniature wars.


    Anna had said that the forest itself was filled with life force. Even if the entire forest was destroyed, it wouldpletely regrow after a few years. Otherwise, the ce would not be able to handle the torture from the beasts.


    Around ten days after the exam had started, which was the third day after Xiao Lin and Anna departed, Xiao Lin finally found another student. First, he met someone that had been dispersed by the sky fish¡¯s hypnosis. When he met the person, he was already heavily injured. Even though they had given him some simple treatment, it was obvious that he would not be able to continue on.


    ¡°Monitor, I know I won¡¯t be able to hold on; it is so painful. It¡¯s fine. I will end myself. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s best if you hurry over. I don¡¯t think the others managed to escape.¡± That man around his thirties coughed out blood as he spoke.


    He had initially hidden somewhere after being hypnotized, but his luck was quite good. A band of around ten people had passed by and helped him undo his hypnosis.


    The forest was veryrge, so it was actually quite hard for a ss of almost sixty to meet each other after being dispersed throughout the forest, which was why Xiao Lin was stunned when he heard of a team with around ten people. When he heard they had dispersed his hypnosis, Xiao Lin almost jumped with excitement.


    The sky fish¡¯s hypnosis was not like regr sleep; it was not something that could be woken up from with just a push. One would need a spell of a certain level. Dispelling hypnosis was a support-type magic, and most people would not waste time on such meaningless magic. Based on Xiao Lin¡¯s knowledge, the only person who knew that kind of magic in ss Seven was Gu Xiaoyue.


    After a simple recollection of the situation, the man chose to use the steel club he had with him to hit his own head andmit suicide. Even though Xiao Lin could have brought him along, the man probably did not want to be a burden. Just like when they had met an ambush, he had decisively let Gu Xiaoyue and the others leave first.


    What a straightforward man!


    Xiao Lin subtly sighed. After that he looked at the dumbfounded Anna. The disappearance of the body had probably shocked her. Xiao Lin casually found a reason to brush it off, but to a certain degree, it also showed that colonists did not exist on Norma at that time. Otherwise, Anna would not be so shocked.


    ording to the man, Gu Xiaoyue and the others had been attacked by an earth dragon. Earth dragons were lesser dragons, and had very strong attack power, but their greatest strength was their magical resistance. To Gu Xiaoyue, who had an insane intelligence, it was the most troublesome opponent, which was why the ten of them had been defeated.


    ¡°The earth dragon is a very stubborn hunter; it will endlessly pursue its prey.¡± Anna did not hesitate to share the information she knew before adding, ¡°The earth dragon¡¯s skills are about the middle tier. Even though it won¡¯t attack in groups, it¡¯s also not easy to handle.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± However, Xiao Lin used his actions to answer Anna¡¯s question.


    ¡°Fine! You¡¯re the master. You make the decisions!¡± Anna could only follow in frustration, but she still honestly fulfilled her duty as a guide.


    The footprints left behind were a mess, and Xiao Lin did not have any tracking ability. Thankfully, the enemy was an earth dragon; even if it was a lesser dragon, it still carried a faint amount of draconic energy. After Xiao Lin was given dragon¡¯s blood by Song Jung, on top of his strange constitution, he had slowly be more sensitive to draconic energy.


    Using that strange sense, or maybe it was his urge to see Gu Xiaoyue, Xiao Lin¡¯s movements gradually increased. Anna wondered how he was following them, but it without a doubt that the man was filled with mysteries, so she respectfully chose to shut up.

 Chapter 581 - Earth Dragon (1)

    <h4>Chapter 581: Earth Dragon (1)</h4>


    Using Xiao Lin¡¯s sensitivity to draconic power, the power slowly got stronger, the more sensitive he felt. The signs of battle on the road were more and more obvious, and dried blood could be seen in the chaotic forest, but they did not see any corpses. However, that did not alleviate Xiao Lin¡¯s worry, since dying here would not leave any traces.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s footsteps sped up, and after an hour, he finally heard the intense sound ofbat and the obvious sounds of Mandarin conversation. He was quite emotional, but also apprehensive. Turning around, he softly told Anna, ¡°You should wait here. An earth dragon isn¡¯t something you can handle.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you shouldn¡¯t die either.¡± Anna had never nned on going closer; even if it was a lesser dragon, it was still a dragon. At the same rank, the earth dragon had few rivals.


    Xiao Lin picked up the weapon he had brought. Even if the quality was not great, it was still better than being barehanded. Following the sounds of battle, he activated Miracle before he arrived.


    Boom!


    After running a hundred meters, Xiao Lin immediately sensed a dark figure shooting over. Avoiding it, he saw a bulky man m onto the floor before skidding for over ten meters and mming onto a tree. Xiao Lin remembered him; in ss Seven, in streams of the strength attribute, that man was among the top two. Even though his other attributes were low, he had pretty good results on thest few monthly examinations. He could be considered one of the better students in ss Seven.


    Someone like that was looking weak as paper at that moment. Looking at him copsed on the floor curled up, it was hard to know how many bones in his body were still intact.


    ¡°Careful!¡±


    ¡°Get away!¡±


    ¡°Idiot, don¡¯t be stupid enough to fight that guy head on!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just get this sh*t over with!¡±


    ...


    The noise was getting clearer, and after walking a few steps forward, he finally got a look at the chaotic scene. The first thing to catch his eye was that massive monster, even though there was an obvious draconic feel on its body, Xiao Lin was still suddenly uncertain, because that thing was too big. Its body was the size of a four-story building, and it basically felt like the building was blocking his way, making for an intimidating sight.


    The earth dragons in his textbooks were not that big. Even though he was shocked, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to move, because after working hard to look around, his sight fell on that lithe body a few dozen meters away. It was Gu Xiaoyue. Even in that frantic scene, the woman was still wearing a face of calm, unperturbed and not scared at all.


    Gu Xiaoyue stood behind everyone; in her hand was a simple wand that Xiao Lin did not know where she got. However, everytime she waved her hand, various spells would fall on those who were fighting. Those strength-enhancing support spells increased theirbat power, but in front of that massive earth dragon, the enhancements were meaningless.


    As if feeling Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze, Gu Xiaoyue looked over, and her expression merely shifted for a moment. The woman did not easily reveal her emotions andposure, and Xiao Lin was already used to that. He was just about to use his Phantom Steps to move past the earth dragon and say a few words when he suddenly felt a subtle yellow light fall on his body.


    Divine Movement; that spell could increase a person¡¯s speed to a certain degree. Xiao Lin had worked with Gu Xiaoyue during thest monthly examination, so he understood that spell of hers. Only, that woman was as direct as usual, and had immediately casted a spell on him the moment he arrived. It was obvious she knew the others would not be able to handle the dragon.


    Looking at the look Gu Xiaoyue sent him, Xiao Lin did not know how to react. It seemed that, facing an earth dragon that was far more powerful than the textbooks, Gu Xiaoyue could not keep her usual calm.


    However, he did not need her to say anything. Xiao Lin hade over to save them. Running over, Xiao Lin had already shifted his attributes over to agility, and after Divine Movement was casted on him, his agility at that point was far ahead of Bronze rank.


    Xiao Lin had been considering converting more of his attributes on his Strength since he had Divine Movement on him, but the crazed earth dragon quickly made him abandon that thought.


    Xiao Lin was an extremely small presence in front of that massive being, but the earth dragon¡¯s sense of smell was very acute, and it seemed to hate other living beings being near it. It immediately sent its massive tail flying over, and the grey stalk was filled with scales. Its tip glinted in a sharp light.


    At that time, the other students that were frantically fighting for their lives had noticed Xiao Lin, and quickly cried out in warning, but the sound of the wind next to his ear had already caused Xiao Lin to be on alert. The attack covered a wide area, and he chose to use his strength to leap high up, having absolute faith in his speed after he was enhanced by the Divine Movement spell.


    However, the earth dragon reacted even more quickly, and the tail seemed to have anticipated that he would dodge as it changed its trajectory midway, heading straight for the air.


    At that crucial point, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to activate his Ruin state, increasing his agility even more. On top of Divine Movement, it was far above even Silver rank standards.


    Xiao Lin managed to avoid the tail, but the sound of the winds next to his ear made it seem like it had ripped apart the air, which showed the force behind its tail. If Xiao Lin had been hit, his examination might have ended right there.


    Compared to saying the earth dragon was very quick, it was more urate to say it had a very sharp sense forbat; it was a very smart beast!


    Xiao Lin had some doubt in his heart, and he could not help but frown. It was very different from the earth dragons in the textbooks. Earth dragons were a beast that relied purely on brute force; it had the power of dragons, but did not have the intelligence, which was why it was stuck as a lesser dragon.


    However, this creature was different. After that short confrontation, the sense of danger in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart intensified.


    That beast was strong, and its intuition sharp. Itsbat ability was strong too. It was also very sly, and did not seem like a beast when it fought. It seemed more like a human.


    Xiao Lin had already given up on putting his attributes into strength. He was very clear on the fact that his speed was just enough to dodge at that moment. If he lowered it at all, the results might not be good.


    Anna¡¯s words now held even more truth to them. As they drew closer to the beast tide, more and more strong beasts would appear, but Xiao Lin first needed to handle the foe in front of him.

 Chapter 582 - Earth Dragon (2)

    <h4>Chapter 582: Earth Dragon (2)</h4>


    Information was definitely important, but what was written in textbooks was not always absolute, and Xiao Lin now got to experience that. In the initial exchanges with the earth dragon, Xiao Lin had to admit that he had underestimated it.


    As a lesser dragon that had inherited the strength of dragons, an earth dragon¡¯s strength, defense and resistance to magic were all excellent, but its speed and reactions were its greatest weaknesses, but the one in front of him was different.


    After realizing that, Xiao Lin had already activated his Ruin state. In his hand was a sword that had been picked up from the fallen mercenaries. With Anna¡¯s help, he had naturally chosen the one with the best quality, but it was still only a Bronze-ranked weapon, and it seemed like it had been damaged from the original owner¡¯s battles.


    Under his Ruin state, his sword aura was incredibly powerful, and after dodging the tail, Xiao Lin took the opportunity to sh at the beast. He was concerned that the trees nearby would cause a fire and affect the others, so he did not use his me sword aura, but its power did not decrease because of that.


    nk!


    The Bronze-ranked sword was unable to pierce through the earth dragon¡¯s spine. That beast might not have the scales of a true dragon, but it was still extremely hard. He could see that there were various scars of differing sizes on its surface, probably a result of their prior attacks, but none of them had pierced its scales.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s sh had immediately drawn a line of blood. With his sword aura and his Ruin state, that thick outeryer was thin as paper, and Xiao Lin managed a sigh of relief. At least that beast was not untouchable. Even though itsbat ability exceeded expectations, as long as Xiao Lin could pierce through its defense, nothing would be a problem.


    The other students had already taken the chance to distance themselves. All of them had varying injuries on them, and they already knew how devastating the earth dragon¡¯s skills were. They could not help but p and cheer loudly for Xiao Lin.


    Regardless of howpetent Xiao Lin was as a monitor, on Norma, power was more convincing than leadership ability. Being able to bring everyone out of difficulties and save the other students, that was already enough for Xiao Lin to be called the monitor of ss Seven in their eyes.


    It took only a few seconds for him to drop from the air. Using the earth dragon¡¯s blind spot, Xiao Lin had already taken the opportunity tounch at least twenty strikes. Divine Movement and his enhanced agility caused his strikes to be stronger, and it increased the speed of his attacks.


    Afternding, Xiao Lin immediately pulled away, dodging the dragon¡¯s iing attack, and he could not help but exim softly. His attacks had left a giant wound on the earth dragon. Its back was already littered with blood. Arge amount of warm blood was flowing out of its back, and had fallen on the grass on the ground. Strangely enough, the grass and flowers that had been destroyed during the battle had immediatelye back to life after touching the blood, and they were growing at rapid speeds.


    Xiao Lin was shocked. Dragon¡¯s blood had its innate recovery abilities, but lesser dragons did not have that strong of an effect. Regretfully, his all-out attack earlier did not kill that beast on the spot. Its stubbornness had exceeded his expectations. Of course, it was possible that, after converting his attributes to agility, his strength was a littlecking.


    Just as he wasmenting it, a few rays of light once again fell on Xiao Lin¡¯s body. Looking back, Gu Xiaoyue was waving her wand at him with a serious expression, pursing her lips. There were a total of eight rays of light, and with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s extremely quick casting, it had only taken three seconds.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes twitched, even though he never learned support magic before, it did not mean he did not study any of the theories rting to it. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s spells ranged from ck-iron to Bronze rank, it enhanced both his speed and his strength, and enhanced things like physical damage and defense as well. The amount of spells were already enough to render people speechless. After all, for most people, even if they used support magic, they would only learn it as a secondary ability after consideringbat prowess. However, that woman seemed to be determined to fully walk the path of support magic.


    The earth dragon roared as it appraised him. Xiao Lin could not retreat because Gu Xiaoyue and the others were behind him. This time, he shifted some attribute points to strength and rushed forward. He needed to lure the beast somewhere else. He also needed to buy himself enough time to gather up his energy to use his dragon¡¯s breath sword aura.


    However, the earth dragon did not give him the chance; itsrge body did not seem to affect its agility at all. Its huge body jumped abruptly, suddenly twisting and pulling off a difficult evasive posture, because not far away from it, a few arrows shot at it.


    Xiao Lin looked at Anna, who was not far away, in surprise. Even though the earth dragon had avoided it, the arrows were shot very urately. They were aimed at its soft eyes that had no scales to cover it. It was obvious that the woman¡¯s archery skills were quite good.


    With the sounds of metal shing, Xiao Lin, who had chosen closebat, suddenly felt like the battle was much easier. The attacks that he needed to use all his focus to avoid earlier could now be avoided just by shifting his body, and his sword aura had left even more deep wounds on the earth dragon. He could even manage to see its white bones.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s buffs were evidently very effective, but it actually only had that sort of effect on Xiao Lin¡¯s body. He had always relied on such an explosivebat style, and under Miracle and Ruin, he was able to pull off Silver-ranked levels of power despite being at Bronze rank.


    The higher his basic attributes, the more evident the buffs were.


    As he used his Phantom Steps to easily avoid another tail attack, everyone else was dumbfounded as they looked on. It was an enhanced Phantom Steps, and was even better at dodging. When using it to its limits, it was able to produce actual illusions. Xiao Lin had never used it to its limits, but he was using it at that moment.


    The after-images had messed with the earth dragon¡¯s decisions. Even if it quickly realized the differences, it had already lost thebat initiative.


    At that moment, after a few minutes of intense battle, Xiao Lin had already thoroughly seized control of the flow ofbat. He did not even need to use his dragon¡¯s breath. After all, that powerful sword aura that exceeded Xiao Lin¡¯s limits had toorge of a side effect. It weakened him after using it, and gathering the power was too obvious. They were all massive weaknesses.

 Chapter 583 - The Final Question Of The Monthly Examination?

    <h4>Chapter 583: The Final Question Of The Monthly Examination?</h4>


    The battle ended even quicker than they expected. Under Xiao Lin¡¯s unreserved onught, each strike was like the sharpest sword, and slicing it at the earth dragon¡¯s back felt like slicing through tofu. It looked like it was effortless, and the earth dragon was quite stubborn, but it had only managed to hold on for ten minutes. After ten minutes, the dragon, whose body was covered in blood, copsed. It brought down all the trees nearby, andrge amounts of blood seeped into the ground.


    The others looked at Xiao Lin with a gaze filled with respect. Only Xiao Lin knew that this opponent was even more horrifying than the Arachne or the Fire-eater; it was only thanks to Gu Xiaoyue that the battle was so easy.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s breath was not even that erratic as he threw away the sword that had been tainted with blood. The earth dragon¡¯s scales still did irreparable damage to the weapon, and it was already unusable.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Walking next to Gu Xiaoyue, Xiao Lin tried to force his tone to sound like he was just asking a fellow student, but the uncontroble concern and anxiety still betrayed his inner feelings.


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head, wanting to apologize, but her expression darkened as she softly said with some regret, ¡°We lost eight of us.¡±


    Since they were pursued by the earth dragon, eight of the students with Gu Xiaoyue had died, and they were only left with five. Xiao Lin naturally consoled her, but it seemed like Gu Xiaoyue paid no heed to his words. The woman still ced the responsibility on herself. She might be outwardly cold and aloof, but they had still been ssmates for half a semester. Even if they were not friends, she still cared for them.


    ¡°It was all a mistake in my judgement; if my support spells had been of a high enough rank, if I had learnt even more high-ranked recovery spells, if only my buff spells increased secondary attributes instead of base attributes... It¡¯s my fault.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words rendered Xiao Lin speechless. He had thought that the woman would be swayed from practicing support magic after that, but after experiencing fighting with the buffs, Xiao Lin understood that in a real battlefield, people like Gu Xiaoyue were more important than himself.


    ¡°Right, do you know who that woman is?¡± Xiao Lin knew it would be hard to change Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s decision. So instead, he pointed at Anna, who was standing not far away and looking on with some curiosity and rm.


    ¡°She¡¯s quite a pretty woman. Who is she?¡± Gu Xiaoyue looked over and asked with a sour tone.


    That tone did not seem like the usual Gu Xiaoyue, and Xiao Lin was stunned. He never expected Gu Xiaoyue would do something like remark that the woman was pretty. It was only when Gu Xiaoyue slightly reddened, as she looked away with some embarrassment and anger, that her tone went back to the normal coldness. ¡°She¡¯s not someone from our ss, and this examination doesn¡¯t involve other sses, so she should be a native. I can¡¯t believe this examination has NPCs!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue once again changed the topic. Xiao Lin smiled helplessly before describing the beast tides. After that, he said, ¡°Anna says that there is only at most thirteen days left until the beast tide. After thirteen days, the forest will bepletely sealed off. At that time, the forest will be filled with unthinkable old monsters, even the kind that had been hibernating from ancient times. She suggests that we leave this ce in ten days.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still about twenty days left in the examination.¡± Gu Xiaoyue reminded, her hidden words asking what they would do during thest week. The examination required them tost a whole month.


    ¡°I believe that Anna isn¡¯t lying to me, and this information is very important. In fact, these two days, there have been more beasts than when we first arrived, and they have gotten stronger.¡±


    ¡°You trust her quite a bit.¡± Gu Xiaoyue could not resist narrowing her eyes at Xiao Lin again.


    Xiao Lin let out a few dry coughs.


    Gu Xiaoyue immediately turned away, exining herself, ¡°I¡¯m just saying that our statuses are different. Don¡¯t forget the lesson fromst time. Even if it¡¯s just a simtion, the natives can¡¯t be trusted.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt that it was funny, but he did not voice it out. He then mentioned his spection that the examination was set at a time before the colonists arrived, and it seemed that the guess had a very high possibility of being true. He told that to Gu Xiaoyue in hopes that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s incredible intelligence could be of help. Just as he expected, after a bit of surprise, Gu Xiaoyue quickly fell silent.


    ¡°This forest doesn¡¯t exist in history. I¡¯m referring to our colonist history, I¡¯m sure of that,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve actually considered it before. That country is within our colonized territories; if this forest really existed, and so many terrifying beasts were there, I don¡¯t think it would be possible,¡± Xiao Lin said, analyzing.


    ¡°If we remove the possibility that that woman is lying, then no matter how unbelievable the remaining answer is, it is still our only answer.¡±


    ¡°What answer is it?¡±


    ¡°This forest was destroyed before Dawn Academy was established. We don¡¯t know the reason for it, and it was not recorded in history, but I think that we will quickly know what the reason is.¡±


    Xiao Lin seemed to have anticipated that, but he still furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Are you saying that this forest will quickly encounter a massive cmity that even Epic rank beasts could not survive?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only exnation. The academy could not possibly give us an examination without a correct answer, but when the beast tide arrives, we definitely can¡¯t survive. Even you won¡¯t be able to.¡±


    Xiao Lin touched his nose. ¡°I understand that. In truth, even with your support magic, that battle with the earth dragon was already my limit. If one or two moree, I don¡¯t think I will be able to do anything.¡±


    ¡°Do you still remember the contents of the examination?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked.


    ¡°To survive in this forest for a month,¡± Xiao Lin answered. After that he had a moment of realization. ¡°So we had been wrong from the start. The greatest hurdle to survival isn¡¯t those beasts, nor is it the natives we could meet. It is that disaster; the academy wants us to survive that disaster!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the most logical exnation.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. ¡°That means we can¡¯t leave this ce. The answer to the question can¡¯t be as simple as leaving the forest. I think, if we insist on leaving, we might instantly return to the ssroom after leaving the ce and be given a failing score.¡±

 Chapter 584 - Calamity?

    <h4>Chapter 584: Cmity?</h4>


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were discussing by the side while the rest of them were resting nearby, helping the wounded treat their injuries. They had the utmost trust in Xiao Lin, and as for Gu Xiaoyue, most of ss Seven had turned their inability to understand Gu Xiaoyue slowly into respect for her.


    The woman was warm on the inside and cold on the outside, she was not good at human interaction, and did not know how to talk to others, but her skills were something everyone had to admire. Her support magic was undoubtedly the reason their group had managed to hold on for so long, so no one had put any me on her.


    The one who was alone was Anna, who was not far away. The group had caused Anna to feel isted, mainly because Anna did not speak Mandarin. Looking at them speaking in anguage that she did not understand, that woman was noticeably confused and on alert.


    That was why Anna could not help but look for Xiao Lin as she asked carefully, ¡°If you¡¯ve already found who you wanted to, can we leave now?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue measured Anna before using Normese, which was even better than Xiao Lin¡¯s, to answer her, ¡°Very sorry, we won¡¯t leave, so you can go now.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone was firm, and it seemed like her attitude was not very friendly. Anna blinked with awkwardness and confusion. Xiao Lin immediately took over; because they did not have any information on the forest, so Anna was still very important to them. Xiao Lin even thought that the mercenary troop that had been separated in the forest might be a ¡®tool¡¯ that the academy had deliberately arranged for them to encounter.


    ¡°We got a piece of news earlier, and I don¡¯t mind telling you. This forest, no, this area will encounter a cmity soon. Based on our understanding, staying here could be the best way to avoid it. Leaving would only lead to death.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s Normese was not as fluent as Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s, but his words were essentially devoid of mistakes.


    ¡°A cmity? The beast tide?¡±


    ¡°No, not the beast tide; it might be an even more terrifying disaster than the beast tide. We still don¡¯t know what it is, so we hope for your help, and of course, you¡¯d be helping yourself.


    ¡°How did you learn of this?¡± Anna did not refuse immediately, but she was still very suspicious.


    ¡°It was the result of viewing the stars.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an astrologian!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Anna was immediately respectful. In Norma¡¯s history, astrologians were always a respected profession. With regard to Xiao Lin¡¯s skills, the woman voiced no doubts.


    Gu Xiaoyue could not help but roll her eyes at that lying man, but did not object to allowing Anna to stick around.


    However, Anna did not have any understanding of the so-called cmity at all. Based on Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s understanding, a cmity that could wipe out Epic rank monsters would probably be a disaster that could destroy the whole forest. Eliminating the possibility that it was caused by men, then it could only be a natural disaster of horrifying proportions.


    An earthquake? A volcano? A meteor strike?


    ¡°Earthquake? Are you talking about that Gold-ranked spell? That¡¯s impossible. How could a spell of that rank destroy this forest, and some of the beasts can fly.


    ¡°Oh, volcano? Are you talking about the Epic-ranked explosion? That spell is very hard to cast, and could destroy this ce, but a lot of the Epic-ranked beasts are very resistant to fire.


    ¡°A meteor? Oh, you¡¯re referring to the disaster from the skies? At that level, even some Gold-ranked spells could just destroy it from the sky.¡±


    Anna¡¯s expression was more and more confused, and Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue looked at each other bitterly. They were naturally thinking from the perspective of Earth, and Earth¡¯s natural disasters were not even a threat in this ce.


    ...


    After everyone treated their injuries, the group of people did not hurry to move because they still needed to decide if their next direction was to go deeper or to go to the outskirts.


    Xiao Lin had asked for their opinions, but there were very differing views. Leaving the forest safely would be seen as failing the examination, but they would preserve their lives. If they stayed back for the rewards, they might lose their lives.


    Anna was very anxious. There was only thirteen days until the beast tide, and they were already too deep into the forest. If they wanted to return, it would need seven or eight days, which meant that they only had four to five days to think. Of course, they also need to take into ount the possibility that the cmity would fall during that time.


    Just as Anna had suggested earlier, during the period before the beast tide, there would be less beasts around the closer they were to the center. Those low-ranked beasts would linger around the outside, but that also meant that when the beast tide came, they would have the chance of meeting the terrifying beasts that stayed in the center.


    After stopping and resting for a moment, their days passed by quite peacefully. Even though they never stopped encountering magical beasts, they did not meet any at the level of the earth dragon. For the regr students, that was pretty decent news since they already knew that the beast cores dropped were pretty good rewards. Even though regr beasts did not drop very pure beast cores, to most of them, even the smallest reward was something.


    However, after three days, Anna subtly reminded Xiao Lin that it was not a good omen. If the stronger beasts had suddenly disappeared; that meant they would quickly encounter even more horrifying beasts.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the beast tide is still ten days away?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but we¡¯ve already been wrong once, so I can¡¯t guarantee it won¡¯t be wrong again.¡± Anna was obviously frustrated. ¡°It was told to me by the astrologian in the mercenary group before we got separated.¡±


    ¡°Have there been any mistakes before?¡±


    ¡°Never; this time is really strange. The stars are always at certain fixed positions. Its something time has told us after thousands of years, so it can¡¯t be wrong.¡±


    ¡°So, what you mean is that there is some error in the stars that led to some of the rules of the beasts being affected?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s basically the principle.¡±


    Astrologians on Norma were existences that were like astrologists on top of shamans; that was why Xiao Lin easily understood what Anna meant, but what could possibly have caused an abnormal movement in the stars. He was not an astrologist, and had no way of answering a specialized question like that. However, in his mind, he felt like he was missing something.


    When the fourth day arrived, they could no longer dy making a decision. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue argued a lot. Their spections were the same to a certain degree. This time, the academy did not give tasks that were procedural, but they felt like it was already procedural to a certain degree.


    If they left at that point, they would definitely be judged to have failed, but the beast cores they had obtained earlier were already enough for them to profit. Staying back was even riskier, but it was possible they could obtain even richer profits.

 Chapter 585 - Deep In The Forest

    <h4>Chapter 585: Deep In The Forest</h4>


    The fourteenth day of the examination, which also put them almost at the halfway point of the examination, Xiao Lin finally made his decision to head deeper into the forest!


    Not choosing to leave, to a certain degree it was because he was following Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s wishes. That woman obviously did not want to leave. She had never been afraid of dying. To Gu Xiaoyue, who only had less than two years left in her life, what she needed to do was to do everything in her power to cure her sister.


    The others did not have that many opinions. Half a semester worth of examinations was not enough for everyone¡¯s life spans to drop to dangerous levels. Even if they died, they were not too worried, andparatively, the rewards they could gain were even bigger.


    ...


    What shocked Xiao Lin was the fact that Anna had chosen to follow them. Even though sheined a lot the entire time, the woman¡¯s appetite and ambition was huge. As someone who grew up among mercenaries, Anna had spent most of her time around various dangers, so she was not scared of risk, and was very calctive.


    ¡°If the cmity you spoke of really ising, and you have some way of avoiding it, then this ce will really be a paradise for us! Think about it, the whole body of an Epic-ranked monster is a treasure. With corpses littered all over for us to get, we¡¯d earn enough for ten lifetimes!¡± Anna discussed it with Xiao Lin with a tone of admiration.


    Fine, Xiao Lin had to admit that that was part of his thought process as well. He obviously could not deal with Epic rank monsters, but if they really could avoid it, picking up the bodies was natural. He could not hide that from the intelligent girl, but their next steps still needed Anna¡¯s help, so they naturally would need to properlypensate her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s think about how we¡¯ll ovee this cmity first.¡± Xiao Lin changed the topic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know astrology? Can¡¯t you just predict it?¡± Anna did not seem to have any suspicions.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your astrologian fail to predict the earlier beast tide?¡± Xiao Lin asked in exasperation.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you know what¡¯s in the deepest parts of the forest?¡± Anna suddenly asked with a mysterious expression.


    ¡°If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t need you to guide me!¡± Xiao Lin said expressionlessly. He did not know if he had shown off his power too much, or if the others did not have fluent enough Normese, but Anna had stuck to his side to chat the entire time.


    Of course, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Normese was good as well, but she seemed to have a natural animosity toward Anna. The two women did not have any intention of talking to each other.


    Xiao Lin did not add on to the conversation. Anna pouted and answered herself, ¡°In truth, nobody knows what¡¯s in the deepest part of the forest. There are only some records that say that there are very strong beasts within. On top of the beasts that appear during the beast tide, no one ever wants to venture inside.¡±


    ¡°Records? Where are these records from?¡± Xiao Lin asked, because no matter if it was their geography or history lessons, this forest had never been mentioned. When he was in Dawn City, he also knew that this forest did not exist. Of course, it was possible that the records were all within the library, and he definitely could not have read every book in the library.


    ¡°This forest appeared around a few hundred thousand years ago, or even possibly millions of years ago. Before this, the entire area was a deste wastnd. Because back then, the air was very dry and there were no sources of water. Putting aside humans, even the beasts that are resilient to the heat would note over. However, after that a mysterious explosion happened. After the explosion, there was torrential rain that fell andsted a whole month whichpletely changed the weather around here. No, to be precise, the area turned incredibly strange. I¡¯ve said before, this ce is very rich in natural energy. Even if the forest was destroyed, it would quickly recover.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯ve said that before.¡± Xiao Lin was mildly curious, as he did not expect the forest to have a past like that. If it were just an explosion, he would have suspected it was some kind of meteor, but a collision would not cause a month long rain.


    With the beast tide closing in, the deepest parts of the forest started to be more and more peaceful. At the start, they would asionally see some strays, but now they would not even see a single beast for an entire day. They knew it was not a good thing. Everyone could not help but feel that it was merely the calm before the storm.


    As they ventured deeper into the forest, they started to be exceptionally careful, worried that they would startle some amazing hibernating beast away.


    However, they were quickly disappointed. The restricted area that Anna kept talking about, the legendary deepest area, did not have any suspicious ces, nor did it carry any signs of beasts. Of course, the group of them did not have that high of a perception ability, but if there really were Epic-ranked beasts, even if they were asleep, there would still be traces of them around.


    However, was the ce right in front of them where these amazing beasts were living?


    In front of them was a beautiful scene with clear waters and wondrous mountains. They had gone past a dense forest to arrive there, and felt like they had entered apletely different world. The air around that ce was not too humid; it was not too hot or too cold. There was even a massiveke not far away, the surface of theke shimmered, and there were various colorful flowers next to theke. They had seen some of them in their textbooks before, but some of them were foreign to them.


    No matter what, the fact that the legendary deepest part of the forest was such a scene both shocked them and gave them a strange feeling. They would not be surprised if they were told that this was the site of a resort, but if this was the nest of some beasts, then those beasts really were living a life of luxury.


    ¡°You said before that no one has tried to enter the deepest parts of the forest,¡± Gu Xiaoyue coldly said to Anna.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Who would be so suicidal?¡±


    ¡°There definitely would have been some suicidal folks, right?¡± Xiao Lin said. It went without saying that he referred to their group as well. There were always some people who ced money over their lives.


    ¡°Yes, some people have entered before, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyoneing out.¡± Anna¡¯s expression turned heavy, but she was very brave. Even knowing so, she had dared to follow them in.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look around first and see if there are any ces that look like nests or caves, but make sure not to startle anything. Gather here after half an hour.¡± Since they were already there, Xiao Lin did not consider anything else as he issued his orders.

 Chapter 586 - The Last Day

    <h4>Chapter 586: The Last Day</h4>


    The area was the most central area of the forest, and it was at least a few football fields wide. Because there were not that many trees blocking the way, they could basically see the whole area. On the surface, it did not look that dangerous, and Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue could not sense anything as well, so he allowed everyone to disperse to look around. However, he made sure they were two in a group, so that there would at least be someone able to pass the news if anything strange happened.


    Xiao Lin had naturally wanted to be in a group with Gu Xiaoyue, but what rendered him speechless was that Anna said she could not really speak with the others, and decided to follow the two of them,pletely ignorant to the fact that she was like a lightbulb at the moment. Maybe Norma did not have such a notion?


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face was still calm,pletely ignoring Anna who did not stop talking. Her gaze was fixed on the surface of that calm and peacefulke.


    They walked around a few times nearby. There did not seem to be any caves or nests around, so the only point of suspicion was thatke. Xiao Lin could not resist recalling what had happened in Silverlight Lake. Was there a legendary presence in thatke as well? A spirit that had been trapped there for millions of years?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts had really started to wander.


    However, theke was incredibly ordinary. Of course, Xiao Lin wondered if it was a remnant of a meteor strike or something simr, but there was no evidence of it.


    Since no one knew any special water magic, they decided against diving deep inside. After half an hour, everyone had returned empty-handed. Other than saying that the scenery was nice around them, they did not gain anything.


    It was not bad news, but it had disappointed everyone, and someone even started to suspect what Anna had said earlier. It was inevitable that some of them felt that the natives could not be trusted and that she should just be killed off. Thankfully, Anna did not understand Mandarin, and Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were not dumb enough to trante it.


    When they rested, Xiao Lin discussed the matter with Gu Xiaoyue. If something like a cmity happened, theke might actually be a sanctuary. After all, as long as it was not too big of an explosion or some form of impact, theke should be able to absorb most of the damage.


    They rested there for two days, and the entire forest turned quiet yet again. Xiao Lin felt that it was very off. They could clearly hear movement from the beasts outside, but when everyone prepared for battle, they never saw any beastsing into the central area.


    During thest few days, they could no longer even hear any movements from the beasts. If the examination was split into three parts, then the first part would be when they first arrived and their tasks were focused on survival and collecting early spoils of battle. In the second part, the beasts started to be excited and active, and the stronger students could still handle it. Then came the final part, where everything fell into silence again.


    Xiao Lin did not dare to be careless, and was constantly on alert. He had maintained a steady three shifts of guard duty; the others felt it was troublesome, but still did it in the end.


    It was obvious that everyone¡¯s tense mental state had slowly been rxed because the beast tide that Anna spoke of did note as they expected. As time drew closer, there were still no signs of those horrifying Epic-ranked beasts of legend. Anna felt a little awkward, but Xiao Lin still had his suspicions. He was not suspicious of the existence of the beast tide, but since Anna¡¯s astrologian had made a mistake once, it was possible there would be a second mistake.


    The examination just passing like that was not a bad thing. There was not much time left, and they could no longer try to escape the forest. With that in mind, everyone had decided to just enjoy the nearby scenery like it was a vacation.


    With that attitude, time had slowly closed onto thest day of the examination. If nothing unexpected happened, when the day came to an end, they would have stayed in the forest for a month, and all of them would return to the academy.


    Even Xiao Lin had started to suspect if he had been overthinking things. It was possible that that was all there was to the examination, and that the difficulty was not as hard as they expected. If they avoided those beasts during the middle stages, they could have easily survived.


    It was right before noon during thatst day when the calm forest finally started to change, and it was an unbelievable change!


    The weather on thest day was not great. The sky had been covered in dark clouds since the morning, but there had been no rain fall. There were more and more dark clouds, and the sky got darker and darker. When noon came, it seemed like the clouds could no longer stand the pressure, and started to rumble.


    The sound was very different from normal thunder because it was low and long, and could asionally be apanied by a sharp howl that sounded like a steel te being snapped. It caused everyone to have goosebumps.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s raining.¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression was heavy. In truth, no one had a good expression on, but with the sky like that, they could not make anything out.


    Only two of them had a very strange expression on their faces. Xiao Lin opened his mouth to say something, but did not know how to exin to the others.


    It was true, the scene in front of them might be foreign to the others, but it was something Xiao Lin was already familiar with. No, it was a scene Xiao Lin had seen a few times already ¡ª once in the Final Lands, and again when he went to the past to visit Antis...


    It was the signs of space and time being fractured; it symbolized the cracking of space!


    Norma¡¯s space and time would obviously not copse. Based on Xiao Lin¡¯s understanding, it was different from Earth¡¯s fragile space. Norma was still very stable, and no cracks or destruction would happen. The only possibility was that someone was using an external power to force their way into the time and space of this world!


    Thinking about that, a moment of shock passed through Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. The examination had been set before the colonist academies arrived, but he never knew how long before it was. Now Xiao Lin had a sudden realization.


    It was possible that today was the day Dawn Academy came into this world from Earth!


    ¡°I think we¡¯re witnessing history.¡± Xiao Lin thought about it, and decided not to tell the others. However, he found it a little strange. Was the point of the examination so they could experience their actual history?


    However, he paused in the middle of his sentence because Xiao Lin noticed that he was not the only one with a strange expression on his face; there was also another person: Anna!

 Chapter 587 - The Truth Of The Past

    <h4>Chapter 587: The Truth Of The Past</h4>


    As their guide, Anna¡¯s usefulness had been very obvious. Xiao Lin and the others had greatly benefited from her, taking more shortcuts and avoiding a lot of beasts. Anna understood the forest very well, but Xiao Lin had never let his guard down toward her.


    What Anna did not know was, when Xiao Lin decided on guard duty every night, he would quietly tell them to monitor Anna¡¯s movements. If that girl acted abnormally at all, he was to be woken up, even if he was in deep sleep. If Anna did anything dangerous, she could even be killed immediately.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s precautions were natural. Even if the colonists had yet to descend and their animosity had not been established yet, after half a semester, they had fostered a basic defensiveness.


    However, Anna had never shown any abnormal actions. That woman was smart; she could feel that the others had their guards up around her, but she had ignored it. Even though she regrly stuck to Xiao Lin and talked to him, when Xiao Lin and the others were discussing matters, Anna would go far away, even if she did not know thenguage they spoke.


    It was thanks to her intelligence that Xiao Lin and the others rxed a bit and allowed her to continue being their guide. After all, having someone familiar with the forest guiding them saved a lot of time.


    Anna¡¯s expression at that moment was very strange, because she was too calm. Facing the sounds of a fracturing sky and the dark clouds, anyone would have a change in expression, but that woman merely quietly stood there, looking at the sky. That was definitely not normal.


    Xiao Lin swallowed his words and cast a gaze at Gu Xiaoyue. Gu Xiaoyue immediately understood and put some distance between them. As the support of the group, Gu Xiaoyue needed to be protected. Gu Xiaoyue also sneakily took out her wand to cast strengthening magic on Xiao Lin. If Anna showed any hostility, Xiao Lin would immediately enter Ruin and that woman would not live longer than three seconds.


    Anna made no movements, and merely stood there quietly. The strange sounds in the sky got louder and more frequent. After a while, the cracks that could even be seen with the naked eye started to appear. It really was a sign of a fracture in space and time.


    Xiao Lin quietly walked behind Anna, coldly saying, ¡°Something seems to being. This is the cmity we discussed earlier? I can¡¯t believe it; it¡¯s not a volcano, an earthquake or a meteor, but time and space is breaking!¡± He tested Anna, curious as to what Anna was hiding.


    ¡°So you know of time and space breaking as well; it¡¯s not strange for an astrologian to know that,¡± Anna said calmly, she no longer had that enthusiastic and respectful tone. After pausing for a moment, she said, ¡°But this isn¡¯t time and space breaking; it¡¯s a Spatial Teleportation Array.¡±


    ¡°Spatial Teleportation Array?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s expression turned weird as he said with surprise and confusion, ¡°Did you set up that array?¡±


    Annaughed, her muted face seemingly recovering some normalcy, and she shook her head. ¡°How is that possible? Don¡¯t you know that time and space are domains only God can touch? Comparatively, the space magic that we humans can master are only the tiniest fraction.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you understand space magic.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the talent; I¡¯ve just happened to read some documents from a very ancient civilization.¡±


    ¡°What were the contents like?¡± Xiao Lin chatted casually. Since Anna did not show any hostility, he did not make his move and tried to gather more information. However, it felt very strange to do so facing a scene where the sky was cracking and the world might be destroyed.


    ¡°It had to do with spatial teleportation. It is said that those from the ancient civilization possessed very powerful space-time magics. Those spells could allow them to transverse distances that are even greater than the stars. Ah, what an unbelievable distance.¡± Anna did not seem to think anything of Xiao Lin trying to get more information from him, but she smiled as she said, ¡°I know what you want to ask, but it¡¯s alright. If it¡¯s already at this stage, no one can stop it.¡±


    Xiao Lin seemed to understand something, and was shocked.


    ¡°I was surprised to see that the ancient records noted that, during a very distant time, we once fought a long and intense war with demons from another time and space. Those despicable demons craved our world, but were finally defeated, and the passageways were sealed...¡± Anna mumbled to herself in recollection. She did not seem to care anymore, and defenselessly said everything she knew.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression twitched. He was even more certain of the guess in his heart. He had already heard of the truth from the dean awhile ago, but it was definitely fresh news for the rest of them.


    Everyone had gotten closer at some point, and all of them who heard it had an expression like they had seen a ghost. Even the calm Gu Xiaoyue had a face full of shock.


    ¡°She... Is she saying...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°A Spatial Teleportation Array. Could it be the academy¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°My god, it actually is...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    Everyone was full of confusion. Xiao Lin used a low and strange tone to affirm every question. With Anna slowly telling her story, no matter how dumb they were, they still managed to guess the truth.


    Over two hundred years ago, the first colonists used a spatial passage to arrive on Norma. After that, they started a long and bitter exploration before establishing Dawn Academy.


    That was something every new student learned in their first history lesson. If what they were hearing was true, then it meant that the first spatial passage had not been randomly discovered by their predecessors, nor did they use their own power to open it; it was because someone was helping them from Norma!


    Upon deeper inspection, that was far more logical. Space and time were domains that were very hard to grasp. Even after two hundred years they did not dare to say that they had grasped everything, let alone those who lived a few hundred years in the past. It was already enough that they knew of space and time, but it was definitely impossible that they could use their own strength to open the passage!

 Chapter 588 - Familiar Foe

    <h4>Chapter 588: Familiar Foe</h4>


    ¡°I hate this world. I hate it bitterly. A twisted world like this should not exist... I¡¯m in so much pain, even though I¡¯ve tried to go against my fate, all I got was a deep sense of helplessness. I¡¯m not a genius. Even if I work the hardest I can, I¡¯ll never be the strongest...¡±


    Anna ignored the shocked eyes that were staring at her as she mumbled up her own story. For any spectators, it was a very miserable story. Anna was someone who grew up surrounded by misery. She was born to a small noble family, but because they offended royalty, the family had been exterminated and her parents were killed. She escaped in her youth, and managed to live on after suffering countless difficulties. She then stayed in the mercenary group in hopes of revenge, but the power of royalty was something she could not match. She felt her own powerlessness, and there was nothing she could do.


    ¡°This is a twisted world. Everyone is led by their own desires. Greed, ambition... Everyone in this world is like this. What a pointless life...¡± At that point, Anna¡¯s cold tone started to scare some of them. In her words, the only reason she managed to stay in the mercenary group was because of the leader liking her looks. Even though it disgusted her, she still needed the help of the mercenaries to enter this forest.


    She was a girl who had been wreathed in hatred since she was young, but when she realized she had no way of taking revenge, that woman walked to the brink. She cast her hatred on the entire world.


    ¡®It¡¯s not my fault. The world is the one at fault.¡¯


    Xiao Lin suddenly thought of that phrase. Of course, it was not unusual to see someone with such an extreme thought. Madmen who fantasized of destroying the world were not rare.


    Yet, this woman had pushed it to a terrifying degree. She was not satisfied with fantasies. After thinking that the world was at fault, she started to think of various ways.


    Even though Norma was a world filled with magic and sword aura, destroying the world was not something easily done. Even Legend-ranked spells that were like nuclear weapons were only enough to destroy a small city, and making all the mages in the world work together to destroy it was something impossible.


    However, Anna never gave up, and she actually managed to find a way. Since they could not destroy the world themselves, she sought help from an outside force.


    Based on the ancient records, Norma had fought the demons during a very ancient era. Anna decided topile the iplete records, and finally found a way to unlock the sealed passages, and one of the starting points of the passages was in this forest.


    That was correct, the wormholes started opening thanks to this woman named Anna. It was her who got the humans from Earth to this world. Strictly speaking, that Normese native was the pioneer of the colonization era!


    It sounded very ludicrous; if they were not witnessing it for themselves, Xiao Lin and the others would think that it was some story that could only exist in novels. It was possible they were about to witness history, or witness their predecessors arriving.


    ¡°If the demons she is referring to are at the other end of this passage, then it would actually be history. Would the examination end there?¡± Gu Xiaoyue turned to look at Xiao Lin.


    The rumbling had slowly started to calm down, and Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, going deep in thought. There were still a few hours away from the end of the examination. If the next part would be like watching a movie, and their predecessors woulde out of the passage, then it would not be that dangerous to them.


    That was also the thought that the others seemed to have. After getting over the shock Anna caused, the movie-like twist had caused them to be filled with anticipation. Being able to witness their colonist predecessors and witness a turning point in history was not a bad experience.


    Time slowly passed, and everyone seemed to be tortured as they waited with anticipation and nervousness. After recounting her story, Anna stood by like an NPC that had fulfilled her purpose, waiting for the final moments.


    Probably because the space-time fracture did not affect the stability of thew, the cracks in the sky were more and more obvious, but there were no negative effects other than that. In truth, Xiao Lin had been worried if the real cmity would be something caused by the shattering in space and time. After all, they did not know much about it at all, and no one knew what could happen.


    Yet, it seemed like that would not be the case, but with the passage of time, the cracks gotrger andrger behind the dark clouds. It seemed like the arrival was at hand, and Xiao Lin seemed to feel something as his face underwent an intense change.


    It was not just him, as Gu Xiaoyue did so as well. The two of them looked at each other as a shocked expression could be seen on both their faces.


    Everyone could feel the power that was exuding through the space, and the mages with high perception felt it even more intensely. It was an extremely terrifying aura that was enough to cause even their souls to tremble.


    Yet, if the energy was not as simple as being powerful for Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin, it was too familiar!


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue had a deep impression of that aura because, not long ago, on Earth, no, it was actually during the Antean era on Earth, they had personally felt it. It was the terrifying power of the sea god Poseidon.


    At the time, they had used a lot of effort, and with the help of Silverlight, had managed to seal Poseidon into the distorted spatial passage. They had thought that they would never meet that guy again, but they never expected that, in just a few months, they would feel that energy again in the monthly examination.


    ¡°We still changed history in the end, or maybe history had always been like this. I guess we¡¯ll never truly understand how time works.¡± Xiao Lin bitterly smiled.


    ¡°Compared to that, let¡¯s figure out how to seal him again!¡± Gu Xiaoyue pushed her sses up and quickly calmed down.


    ¡°Based on history, Antis¡¯s time until now, and by that, of course, I mean the time of the examination, should be tens of thousands of years apart. Even if the seal was loosened by this, how did he find the exit?¡±


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath. He said those words, but without Silverlight¡¯s help, it would be very hard for them to seal him likest time. The sea god Poseidon was definitely not someone they could handle.

 Chapter 589 - Fighting Poseidon Again (1)

    <h4>Chapter 589: Fighting Poseidon Again (1)</h4>


    The dark clouds in the sky got thicker. The lightning that got more and more frequent seemed to signify the approach of a storm, but the source of the storm was deep in the crack. The sea god Poseidon had control over water, and summoning this kind of water was something simple, but Xiao Lin¡¯s expression quickly turned strange.


    Both him and Gu Xiaoyue had personally experienced how strong Poseidon was. Even with sacrificing Silverlight, all they got was sealing him. Without the sealing spell, the few of them would not be able to withstand even a hit from Poseidon.


    However, the power that was flowing out in front of them was shocking and terrifying, but it was still very far away from Poesidon¡¯s.


    Was it not Poseidon?


    No, it might be an iplete Poseidon!


    Xiao Lin quickly tried to think of a n. After verifying the source of the power, he understood there was no way for them to run, and it was already toote for them to run anyway. Xiao Lin was also still half in disbelief; he did not believe that Poseidon had really appeared on Norma. Poseidon¡¯s power was at the Legend rank, so if he descended on Norma, it would not be as simple as just destroying that forest.


    As he thought, he suddenly heard a shocked gasp. Xiao Lin immediately raised his head and he noticed that Anna¡¯s body was slowly floating into the air. On her face was a painful expression, as if some power was grasping her throat and pulling her up toward the air.


    ¡°Kill her! Xiao Lin, quickly kill her!¡± Gu Xiaoyue suddenly said with a low roar. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know what spell it is, it¡¯s definitely a sacrificial spell. Something behind the crack is trying to use her as a sacrifice to gain power!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate at all, and the sword in his hand was sent toward Anna. The defenseless Anna was immediately stabbed through the heart. She sent an indescribable look at Xiao Lin before blood flowed out of her mouth and she closed her eyes.


    Xiao Lin fell silent. He was not very familiar with Anna. Even that long sob story of hers was just met with him empathizing with her as a spectator. However, in the end, it was an examination, a simted environment, and it was a simtion from hundreds of years ago, so he had not been fully moved.


    However, Anna¡¯s final expression had somewhat moved Xiao Lin, because he felt like he had more or less seen through what that gaze meant. Anna had never nned on living on after reopening that gateway. Death had just been a release for her. However, in the final moments of her life, Anna¡¯s gaze to Xiao Lin had the happiness and relief of her sessful revenge, but it was also filled with pain and regret, as well as anticipation and hope!


    Anna¡¯s supposed understanding of the demons was just empty talk. When she really experienced that power, her heart was suddenly moved; it was possible that Anna had finally felt how horrible that power that was descending into the world was.


    Anticipating the destruction of Norma for her revenge, she had also hoped that someone would be able to reclose the gateway and save the world. That conflicted gaze, at herst moments, was extremely vivid.


    Bang!


    As Xiao Lin was deep in thought, Anna¡¯s body that had been pierced by the sword suddenly turned into a mist of blood, dispersing and falling all over everyone.


    The others frantically retreated to avoid the remnants of her organs, though only Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue did not move. The moment Anna¡¯s body exploded, they clearly felt something move with their perception. An uncountable volume of mistlike vapor started to seep out of the crack, and the next second, that mist started to solidify, turning into a humanoid shape.


    It was an abnormallyrge and fierce shape of a woman. It was several times taller than a normal woman. The whole body was naked, and its solid muscles caused some of the women to blush. Yet, only Xiao Lin¡¯s face was green. His guess finally had an answer, but he would rather his guess have been wrong.


    It really was Poseidon. It looked exactly like the Poseidon he met back then, only the sea god did not have his trident in hand.


    ¡°He seems different,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said softly.


    ¡°Yes, I felt it. He seems weaker than before, but to us, it¡¯s still something we can¡¯t handle easily.¡± Xiao Lin bitterly smiled. The power that seeped out of the crack should just be a tiny portion. After all, thews of space in this world were not as fractured as it was on Earth. Someone who would threaten thews of this world like Poseidon would naturally not be allowed to enter easily. The gateway that Anna had opened gave the man a chance, allowing Poseidon to force through a portion of his power.


    ¡°He should be at least Silver-ranked.¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression was not great, but she quickly calmed down. It was not her style to dwell on mistakes, and she quickly analyzed the situation in front of her.


    ¡°The academy would definitely not give us a task that we have no chance of seeding. That horrifying energy was actually just from his power in the wormhole, but as long as thews in this world don¡¯t break, Poseidon can¡¯t possibly send all his power over. If it¡¯s just Silver-ranked, it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t...¡±


    As Xiao Lin muttered, he suddenly heard a thunderous roar in the sky as the naked Poseidon had suddenly shouted angrily, ring at a certain figure on the ground.


    Xiao Lin had clearly felt himself being locked onto. He jumped in fright, rubbing his nose as he continued to smile bitterly. ¡°Surely not? Isn¡¯t this just a simted examination? And tens of thousands of years have passed. Does he really remember me?!¡±


    It was once again a question that involved the theory of time, and they had no way of answering. However, it was obvious that Poseidon remembered Xiao Lin, and with that crazy roar, that man¡¯s body seemed to emit a red glow, and his body suddenly started to grow, the muscles bulging to a horrifying degree.


    ¡°He seemed to be forcibly increasing his own strength.¡± Gu Xiaoyue calmly judged.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably some power simr to Berserk. I think it definitely will have a veryrge side effect, but the bad news is, what we¡¯re facing now might be a Gold-ranked Poseidon.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your reminder,¡± Xiao Lin said helplessly.


    If he was just at Silver rank, Xiao Lin might not be able to handle it, but the entire ss was no longer inexperienced rookies. Most of them had already entered ck-iron rank, and those core members, like the monitors, would not be far away from Bronze rank if they were not already there. Facing Poseidon who had most of his power sealed, and wasparable to Silver, as long as theymanded things well and used the right strategies, they would be able to win.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s side encountered a bit of a problem. What they had to face was at Gold rank!

 Chapter 590 - Fighting Poseidon Again (2)

    <h4>Chapter 590: Fighting Poseidon Again (2)</h4>


    That was the final problem the student union had prepared for all the students: a weakened Poseidon. Of course for most of the students, they did not know who their opponent was, as that would require them to constantly fight and constantly collect information. For Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, they could skip that process, but that benefit did not help them at all because their opponent had leveled up to Gold rank from Silver rank.


    The roaring sea god started to condense vapor-like ripples around him, Xiao Lin was stunned for less than a second before he shouted back loudly, ¡°Disperse! Quickly dodge it!¡±


    The rest of them who were still confused listened to their monitor¡¯s warning, and dispersed throughout the area as fast as they could. After a few seconds, a greyish ck wave of water shot out from Poseidon¡¯s hand. What followed was the water at the center of theke rapidly decreasing. As the master of the seas, controlling the water from ake like that was not a problem, even while restricted by the world¡¯sws.


    The water that had been absorbed shot out again, andrge ripples of water in the air shot out in all directions, turning into sharp arrows of water. A few of the physically weaker mages were pierced on the spot, but those that had hid after being warned sessfully avoided the attack.


    Xiao Lin had seen that technique of Poseidon¡¯s before; the power was obviously much weaker than before. If Poseidon had his full power, the water arrows could easily have covered the entire forest, leaving no one with any way to dodge.


    However, the water arrows were still not easy to dodge after the decreased power and difficulty. Those lucky enough to avoid the area of attack pat their chests in relief, and could not help but shoot a thankful gaze at Xiao Lin. Just as they prepared to thank him, Xiao Lin¡¯s angry shout could be heard again.


    ¡°What are you staring at?! Run! Everyone, run!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t run in the same direction, disperse!¡±


    ¡°Run! Run! Run!¡±


    The others were naturally a little shocked, but they quickly understood why Xiao Lin had said so. That opponent was obviously more than Xiao Lin could handle. If even their monitor could not handle him, then the rest of them definitely could not, so everyone started to frantically run away.


    ¡°Maybe we should not havee here!¡± Xiao Lin, who had decided to remain behind and somewhat stall for time, bitterly smiled as he said to Gu Xiaoyue next to him. After all, the one who made the decision was himself.


    ¡°No, your decision was right. Try feeling the outskirts of the forest,¡± Gu Xiaoyue shook her head and said.


    Xiao Lin shifted his perception away from fully focusing on Poseidon for a few seconds. Then, his expression changed before heughed.


    Even with his level of perception, he could feel the dangers around the forest at that moment. It was different from before; it was a feeling that caused his hairs to stand on end. That meant that the level of the beasts in the forest far exceeded those that they had encountered before. Anna was at least right on that point.


    The beast tide was finally here!


    It had just arrived in apletely different way. Those beasts had felt Poseidon¡¯s power; even if it was just a weakened version, the power that came from the space-time crack still caused the beasts¡¯ natural instincts to choose to retreat. So, at that moment, the outskirts of the forest that should have been filled with weak beasts suddenly became the territory of the strongest monsters.


    If they had chosen to leave at the very start, they would have encountered those beasts right at that moment. Facing those Epic-ranked beasts, their chances of survival would have been even lower than facing Poseidon!


    ¡°So that¡¯s the case! This is the obstacle the student union set for us. They¡¯re telling us that those who try to avoid fighting with little tricks will only die faster than the others!¡±


    Xiao Linmented to himself, but did not change his order.


    They still needed to flee, because they were facing a Poseidon that was at Gold rank. Escaping was the only choice they had, but as for whether or not they would be able to survive thest few hours, it would depend on their own skill and luck...


    Xiao Lin activated Ruin, and the sword in his hand unleashed his strongest attack at Poseidon: Dragon¡¯s Breath Sword Aura!


    An immense white energy shot out of the sword. The quality of the swords he picked up from the mercenaries were the same. He had already destroyed one before, and this sword could not withstand the dragon¡¯s breath for too long either, and was quickly swallowed in the light of the dragon¡¯s breath.


    The strongest sword aura Xiao Linmanded was not all that useful at that moment. If he was facing a Silver-ranked Poseidon, it might be possible, but Gold rank was not something his sword aura could stand up against.


    After the explosion, Xiao Lin saw that there was no trace of injury on Poseidon¡¯s body. Even if he had already guessed that result, he still sighed before he grabbed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hands and legs and started to run away without any hesitation.


    Gu Xiaoyue struggled a little, but immediately gave up when she heard the sound of panting next to her. During the final moments of his Ruin state, Xiao Lin¡¯s speed was not something she couldpete with.


    Roar!


    Poseidon once again shouted. His body had alreadypletely formed, and he looked like a giant emitting a red glow. His sudden burst of speed broke the sound barrier as he rapidly chased after Xiao Lin, who was still in his Ruin state. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s dragon¡¯s breath sword aura earlier still managed to stall for time.


    Even as they rapidly fled, Xiao Lin could not help but feel Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s small and gentle hands. When he looked back at the meteor-like figure in the air, he suddenly felt his throat go dry. He had deliberately made everyone disperse as they fled in order to distract their foe and increase their chances of survival.


    Yet he realized that he had been thinking too much because Poseidon was obviously rushing right toward Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue!


    ¡°You run to the rightter!¡± feeling his Ruin stateing to an end, Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°No.¡± Gu Xiaoyue rejected it without any hesitation.


    ¡°Stop arguing! I¡¯m the monitor!¡± It was the first time Xiao Lin felt like he had to use his power as a monitor. He grasped Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hands without saying anything, and ruthlessly threw her into some dense bushes to the right of them. Even if he had controlled his strength, he still felt distressed when he looked at Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s body flying in that direction, but it was still better than her dying.


    After that, Xiao Lin used hisst amount of power from his Ruin state to bring out his me sword aura, attracting Poseidon¡¯s attention as he fled frantically.


    After his Ruin state ended, a deep sense of fatigue followed, and Poseidon continued to close in. He looked like he could catch up to him at any moment.

 Chapter 591 - Fighting Poseidon Again (3)

    <h4>Chapter 591: Fighting Poseidon Again (3)</h4>


    The fatigue caused Xiao Lin to feel like just copsing on the floor and not moving, but if he did so, there was a high chance that Poseidon would look for Gu Xiaoyue, who had participated in the sealing with him, after handling him. He could die, but Gu Xiaoyue could not afford to die.


    He needed to at least stall for more time!


    Xiao Lin did not know how much time he could dy after losing his Ruin state, but he had to do it. He could not afford to stop, no matter how tired he was. Dragging his feet, which were beginning to feel heavier and heavier, Xiao Lin¡¯s speed did not decrease by too much after losing Ruin. He even used his Phantom Steps, but that skill that was Bronze-ranked at most was definitely nothing in the face of the sea god.


    Poseidon, probably because he had just descended into the world, also due to his drastic decrease in power, did not seem ustomed to his body at that moment. On top of that, he had been pinned down for a while with Ruin, so he was still a distance away from Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin took the chance to recover some strength, using the strong recovery ability of his dragon¡¯s blood. However, in just half an hour, Poseidon once again sped up in the air. That man was quite good at adapting. Even under various restrictions, he still managed to adjust his strength.


    A tsunami from the sky suddenly fell behind Xiao Lin like a waterfall. The water that surged forth caused Xiao Lin to fall on the ground, unable to dodge. He was extremely wet, and the strength he had painstakingly gathered had beenpletely stripped away by that wave attack. If it was not for the dense bushes around cushioning the blow, that attack might have killed Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Cough cough!¡±


    Xiao Lin coughed a few times before all the water in his lungs was forced out. He struggled to steady his drenched body. He felt a shadow in front of him, and when he raised his head he noticed that Poseidon was already slowly descending in front of him.


    ¡®@#$*...&¡¯


    Poseidon opened his mouth and spoke in anguage that was hard to decipher. Xiao Lin naturally did not understand, so he coldly smiled and replied in some words that even he did not understand.


    Poseidon had a confused expression, and could not resist saying a few more words.


    ¡®#£¤£¤%¡¯


    ¡®@*&%£¤¡¯


    ...


    He was just dying for time anyway, so Xiao Lin did not mind this blind conversation that he did not understand at all. However, after a few sentences without any effects, Poseidon showed an impatient expression. It was obvious that he was very angry, but in that anger was also a thick sense of suspicion, so he suppressed that anger to interrogate Xiao Lin.


    To Poseidon, he was the most stupefied person when he was sealed that day. He still did not know how Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue suddenly appeared to this day.


    However, Poseidon did not mind not getting an answer, as he just needed to kill the person who had sealed him.


    Woosh!


    Without any warning, an ice arrow shot out from Poseidon¡¯s finger tips, right at Xiao Lin¡¯s heart. Xiao Lin¡¯s skills were already at the Bronze rank. With just that level of a spell, Xiao Lin could easily dodge it, but if he had still been at ck-iron rank, his reactions would probably be a step too slow.


    Poseidon was not angered, as it was possible that he had done that intentionally. An opponent that he could kill easily would not allow him to vent out all his anger after being sealed for millions of years. He had a cold and cruel smile on his mouth as he raised his hand slightly and fired even more ice arrows out.


    Xiao Lin almost bit his lips off as he used all his might on his spent feet tounch off the ground. Two ice arrows brushed past his right leg, but he managed to avoid any serious injuries.


    Without any hesitation, Xiao Lin endured the pain of the wound and the cold as he limped and ran back toward the deeper parts of the forest. After leaving the center of the forest, there were more and more beasts around them. Those beasts feared Poseidon more because of the chaotic energy that came from the crack, but since Poseidon had been weakened until around Gold rank, he definitely was not unrivaled in the forest.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s n was very obvious ¡ª he wanted to use the other beasts to stop Poseidon, be it Arachnes or Fire-eaters, those troublesome beasts that he had been avoiding; at this point Xiao Lin was deliberately looking for them, and would even shoot out some mes to anger the foe.


    Xiao Lin was sessful. After a few moments, he had a long line behind him. Other than those strong beasts like Arachnes, there were even many low-leveled beasts mixed up within. Of course, beasts were not intelligent, and when someone sent out a few me bullets at them, and stared at them mockingly, even humans would be angered.


    Xiao Lin was ying with fire. After losing his Ruin state, he would be very pressured even facing something like an Arachne or a Fire-eater. He could only rely on Phantom Steps, which was pretty reasonably ranked. He had practically used that skill to the maximum, and managed to dodge every attack at its very limits.


    Even so, he could not avoid all the attacks because he had lost too much strength, so he could only choose to avoid being hurt in any fatal areas. As for any other injuries, he could not afford to care.


    His actions did result in some positive effects. Poseidon was left behind him, and Poseidon¡¯s attacks were the most fatal, but because the beasts were interfering with his vision, it had greatly weakened the threat Poseidon had.


    Just like that, they wasted half an hour. As Xiao Lin thought that his n had seeded, the low rumbling of thunder could be heard again, and in a sh, a heavy rain began to fall. The dark clouds that had been gathering above finally started to release torrents of rain.


    However, the rain was not normal, as even the beasts that were chasing him seemed to quiet down after being drenched. Their attention was all focused on Poseidon, who was in the air. Poseidon opened his arms; calling in the rain was nothing hard for him, but such arge-scale downpour was definitely not easy for him after all the restrictions.


    The rain was apanied with howling winds. As the sea god, Poseidon¡¯s domain should be the vast ocean, but he did not mind forcibly making this area his domain. That way, even at Gold-rank, he would not be afraid of the beasts in the forest.


    The unstopping rain started to gather in the forest, and the water had already exceeded the amount that the ground could absorb. The beasts finally started to go into hiding, just like Xiao Lin had spected earlier. That forest was fated to be destroyed. Only, he did not expect that it would be in this manner.


    It was simr to how Antis had fallen.

 Chapter 592 - Final Determination

    <h4>Chapter 592: Final Determination</h4>


    Impressive amounts of water vapor surged out of Poseidon¡¯s body. The sea god was born in the sea. Even outside of the domain of water, it did not mean he could not use the power of water. Poseidon¡¯s body was in itself the most natural way to collect water. However, what Xiao Lin did not know was, when Poseidon used the power of his own body, it meant that Poseidon had nothing else in reserve


    That was Poseidon¡¯s only choice; after his powers were restricted, he was only left at Gold rank. He could even feel a strong sense of danger from that foreign forest. The beasts had been apprehensive at the start, probably because they were afraid of the power from the crack, but they would eventually react. Poseidon could not ept his power being challenged by anyone, so he held nothing back as he used his trump card.


    Many trees started to fall as the water levels constantly rose, and countless beasts were frantically running away. Facing that impressive power that affected nature itself, even the beasts that were stronger than Poseidon had to retreat.


    Xiao Lin had the foresight to climb up one of the taller trees, but at the rate the water was umting, it seemed like it would only be a matter of them. Looking at Poseidon who was summoning wind and rain, and feeling the waves that crashed on him and the howling winds, Xiao Lin could not help butugh after he coughed out some blood.


    Poseidon remained in the air as he coldly observed Xiao Lin. He did not descend again, probably used to looking down on others from a position far above them. It was a pity his arrogance did notst long, as the winds got more and more intense, up in the sky, within those clouds, a low whistling sound could be heard.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally here?¡± Xiao Lin was ted. ¡°Poseidon, I chose a very good opponent for you.¡±


    The snow-white silhouette of a fish could be seen in the dark skies. The sky fish would only appear when there was enough wind. The intense winds Poseidon summoned provided the sky fish with the best ce to move around.


    Poseidon raised his head, his expression stern. The sky fish hovered around the air for a moment before suddenly moving its fins, rushing right at Poseidon who was in the air. It was time for the sky fish to hunt. When it descended from the sky, it was to catch prey for itself.


    Bam!


    The sky fish lunged at an incredibly fast speed and collided with Poseidon. At that moment it emitted a bright white light, covering the entire forest as if a meteor had just hit the earth. Xiao Lin could not take it, and fell from the tree that he had climbed up to.


    However, thanks to the sky fish¡¯s disturbance, Poseidon could temporarily not gather any water. The water levels had started to recede for the moment, and it reached Xiao Lin¡¯s waist. Xiao Lin did not hesitate to move quickly toward the opposite direction. He did not want to interfere in the uing fight. It did not matter who won that fight, as long as they managed tost a few hours.


    Xiao Lin had no time to slowly observe the battle behind him, but the shocking sounds of battle did not stop for a moment in two hours. He did not know the result of the battle, but after two hours, the sounds of battle stopped, and the entire forest fell into silence, leaving only the sounds of flowing water behind.


    The water level in the outer parts of the forest was not high, but Xiao Lin did not dare to stop and rest despite his exhaustion. The entire way, he did not see Gu Xiaoyue. He did not know if that woman had managed to avoid the sudden onught of water, but he did meet a few other people. It was not the ones who had separated from them earlier, but other students. It was obvious that there were quite a few students that managed to survive in the forest.


    However, with things the way they were, they could only rely on their own luck if they managed to survive until the end.


    Xiao Lin was a bit relieved, and he continued to move away alone. He did not dare to distance himself from Poseidon too much because he was worried that Poseidon would choose to look for the others. Of course, he hoped even more than the sky fish had killed Poseidon, but he knew it was not that possible. At least he managed to win himself a reprieve of over two hours.


    After leaving, he deliberately slowed his pace, continuing to observe any movements behind him carefully. After ten minutes, alongside huge waves that reached the sky, Poseidon¡¯s red body once again rose into the air. A series of roars with uncontrolled anger reverberated around the forest.


    Poseidon had won, even though he did not look like he was in a great state. The amount of wounds around his body was enough to show how strong the sky fish was. In truth, Xiao Lin did not know much about that foreign lifeform. From the looks of it, him being able to escape from the hypnosis back then had been a stroke of extreme luck.


    Poseidon did not go anywhere else despite not being able to find Xiao Lin, but the water around him seemed to have decreased by a lotpared to earlier. It seemed that he could no longer use the sea to sink the entire forest, but very quickly, the sky was filled with ice arrows that constantly fell. Not even an inch of ground or the water was spared. Poseidon was very familiar with that low-level spell, and since it did not take much energy, Poseidon did not care about the amount.


    That man was going to attack indiscriminately.


    Xiao Lin immediately understood Poseidon¡¯s intentions. Not far away from Xiao Lin, the student he had coincidentally met earlier immediately paled. The waves from earlier had already rendered most of them exhausted, and now the ice arrows were so densely packed together. If they really entered the range of the attack, with their abilities, not many of them would be able to avoid it.


    The sky slowly darkened. Even through the dark clouds that already filled the sky, the position of the sun could be told through the cracks, and it was at most an hour away from the end of the examination.


    Turn around and leave?


    No, Xiao Lin discarded that notion almost immediately. Thest moments of the examination would invite the final problems of the examination. It was possible that the student union had designed the examination to test his skills, or was it his luck?


    That was not important. Xiao Lin understood what he needed to do for the rest of ss Seven, and for the sake of increasing Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s hopes of surviving.


    Facing the men who were looking at him, Xiao Lin said one word, ¡°Leave!¡±


    ¡°Mo...Monitor!¡± The man who was older than Xiao Lin had been hesitant, and was quickly dumbfounded because he saw Xiao Lin moving toward Poseidon¡¯s direction on his own volition.


    At the final moments, Xiao Lin decided to stall for time himself!


    The sky fish and Poseidon¡¯s fight hadsted two hours, and Xiao Lin¡¯s strength had returned quite a bit. He did not dare to say how much of Poseidon¡¯s power the sky fish managed to waste, nor did not dare to say that he would be able to dy Poseidon too much.


    Some things needed to be done, even if the result was death.


    With the intention of preserving his strength, Xiao Lin only activated Miracle, and put all his attributes into agility, not nning on fighting Poseidon straight up in power.


    Poseidon quickly noticed Xiao Lin who had no intention of hiding himself. Looking at that ancient sea god, Xiao Linughed before shouting in Ancient Normese, ¡°Mongrel!¡±

 Chapter 593 - Putting His Life On The Line

    <h4>Chapter 593: Putting His Life On The Line</h4>


    ¡°Mongrel!¡±


    Xiao Lin calmly and clearly repeated it a few times. He was using Ancient Normese. If Norma and Earth¡¯s ancient civilizations really did interact with each other, the sea god would not be too unfamiliar with those words.


    Sure enough, the sea god was angered once again.


    Without the use of any magic, and without controlling any water, Poseidon sent his fist straight at Xiao Lin¡¯s torso. After regaining his strength, Xiao Lin could have used his power on dodging with Phantom Steps, and he would at least have been able to avoid most of the damage, but he did not do so.


    Dodging pointlessly might be able to make the battlest a little longer, but it was pointless. He needed to dy it for an hour, not just a few minutes.


    Sopared to defending, counterattacking was more effective.


    Xiao Lin clearly knew the difference between Poseidon and himself. Even after being drained by the sky fish, even though Poseidon had yet to limatize to Norma¡¯sws, it still did not change that gap.


    There was no meaning to fighting normally, because it would be hard for Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks to hit Poseidon. Even if it were with his spells and sword aura, even if it was enhanced by his Ruin state, it was useless if it did not hit.


    So Xiao Lin decided to change his way of fighting.


    When Poseidon¡¯s fist fell, Xiao Lin coughed out mouthfuls of blood, yet his face had a sly smile as he tightly pinned down Poseidon¡¯s arm before he swung his right fist down.


    Bang!


    The sound of heavy steel being hit could be heard, and Xiao Lin¡¯s fist was in pain. That man¡¯s skin was as hard as steel, but his punch still had an effect because the moment his punchnded, he entered Ruin state, and when he pulled his arm back, he instantly deactivated Ruin.


    Under Ruin, the peak of Xiao Lin¡¯s power could rival those at Silver rank, and Poseidon¡¯s body was not in a good condition at that moment. It was evident how intense his fight against the sky fish was from the wounds on his body.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s punch had deliberately targeted those wounded areas, which had decreased therge advantage a Gold rank had against a Silver rank.


    After the momentary exchange, the two figures separated again. Xiao Lin felt Poseidon¡¯s punch and fell on the floor, but since there was a lot of water, the impact was greatly lessened, and it had at least reduced the amount of pain Xiao Lin felt.


    Poseidon¡¯s face looked even angrier. He touched the depression that the fist made on his stomach, and it was obvious he had felt the pain as well, even if it was just an itch. However, he understood that the inconsequential human in front of him had actually caused himself material harm.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xiao Lin happilyughed, even though he had suffered a greater injury than his opponent.


    The Momentary Ruin was something that Xiao Lin had slowly mastered after using Ruin for so many times. He had used it when he was in the New World, and after training with it when he got back to the academy, he now had a higher mastery of it.


    Momentary Ruin¡¯s advantage was that he could just unleash the peak state of his body the instant he needed it, and he could rapidly remove it after he finished his attack. Doing so might not be able to increase the power of his attacks, but it drastically reduced the consumption of strength, and reduced the burden it put on his body.


    Ruin was Xiao Lin¡¯s greatest advantage, but it always carried a very big problem, which was its massive consumption of Xiao Lin¡¯s energy and strength, leading to him not being able to maintain it for too long. However, in truth, even in intensebat, he did not need his Ruin state at every moment.


    It was just that the battles that Xiao Lin had experienced thus far had allowed him to easily undo his Ruin state after activating it quickly most of the time, which was why he did not need Momentary Ruin. This was actually the first time Xiao Lin used that technique soprehensively in actual battle, and the effect was even better than he anticipated.


    Poseidon rushed forward once again, even faster and more explosively than thest time. Those red fists were enveloped in a deep blue glow. The enraged Poseidon had increased his own strength, and Xiao Lin could even feel the attack from the air before the fistnded.


    Momentary Ruin!


    This time Xiao Lin used it in defense. In order to preserve his strength, he only used it at the moment the fist came in contact with him, and the power was at its highest. He did not dodge as usual, and used his temporarily strengthened body to block that blow.


    How painful!


    Xiao Lin could not resist clenching his teeth, but the pain was actually lighter than earlier. It was naturally impossible to bepletely uninjured, but the remaining pain would be endured by him!


    As a response, Xiao Lin activated Momentary Ruin again, and this time his fist had a moderate amount of sword aura, aiming right at Poseidon¡¯s lower parts.


    Fine, he had to admit his targeting was a bit despicable, but Xiao Lin did not care at that moment.


    Poseidon once again pushed away in pain because he had carelessly got too close to Xiao Lin, causing him to not have enough time to avoid Xiao Lin¡¯s attack under Ruin despite clearly seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s n.


    The battle continued, and Xiao Lin¡¯s fighting style that put his life on the line had proven useful. Even though it seemed like Poseidon had the advantage, Xiao Lin had still managed to cause him quite a bit of damage. Xiao Lin had started to employ all sorts of underhanded methods in his attacks.


    Almost an hour had passed, and the panting Xiao Lin could no longer tell how much time was left in the examination. He only registered Poseidon as his opponent in his consciousness. Even though the battle did not look that intense, in truth, Xiao Lin needed all his focus, because he needed to control every second Ruin was activated and deactivated. He might be finished if he was just a secondte, and wasting just a second meant he would have even less time left.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heavy panting was very scary. It was like he could copse and never get up at any moment. His state was not better than Poseidon. No, it was definitely worse. Putting his life on the line like that meant he had to endure even more injuries. Without any protection or armor to help him other than his own body.


    The clothes on his body had all been ripped apart by Poseidon¡¯s attacks, and there was not a piece of untouched skin on his body. His whole naked body was filled with blood, and it was no longer possible to tell his blood and Poseidon¡¯s apart.


    However, he still endured.


    Relying on Momentary Ruin, even facing an exhausted Poseidon was no easy task.


    Poseidon¡¯s rage had disappeared at some point. He looked at Xiao Lin, and suddenly asked in Ancient Normese, ¡°Who are you?¡± Because Xiao Lin had used Ancient Normese earlier, he naturally thought that it was Xiao Lin¡¯s nativenguage.

 Chapter 594 - Bloodline Holder

    <h4>Chapter 594: Bloodline Holder</h4>


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your grandpa!¡± Xiao Lin replied in Ancient Normese.


    Poseidon was at a loss. He furrowed his eyebrows as he said in a strangled tone, ¡°Are you trying to say that we¡¯re from the same bloodline? I can feel that the sudden explosion of power you had earlier is simr to mine, or maybe I should call you an Iplete Bloodline holder. So, I¡¯m curious. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin merely cursed out a few words, but that man replied with such a long sentence, and it had seemed serious, without any trace of mockery.


    Of course, the exhausted Xiao Lin did not mind using that to stall for more time, as his strength was really at its end. Even though Momentary Ruin allowed him to greatly reduce the consumption of his strength, he was already getting close to his limits. The difference in their power still could not be ovee, and even though Poseidon had been hit a few times and seemed very injured, the fact that the man could idly converse with Xiao Lin meant that Poseidon definitely still had strength left.


    ¡®Iplete Bloodline holder.¡¯


    It was not the first time Xiao Lin had heard that phrase. He remembered Absolute Defense. His Absolute Defense was the iplete version because he was an Iplete Bloodline holder.


    It seemed like Poseidon knew what he was talking about. Even though Xiao Lin did not like the guy, he did not mind talking, so Xiao Lin deliberately nodded his head slowly in thought. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m an Iplete Bloodline holder. Due to some idents, I can¡¯t use all my power. It seems like we¡¯re from the same bloodline, so it was all just a misunderstanding.¡±


    Poseidon¡¯s expression did not change, and he sighed with some emotion. ¡°Oh, you think that I will let you off just like that? The origin of the bloodline has long since been lost, and for billions of years the bloodline has continuously been diluted after being inherited for countless generations. Iplete Bloodline holders are no different from those pettymoners. No, those who have tainted the bloodline are even more despicable than themoners!


    ¡°Look at you, it¡¯s such a pity. You have the power to rival me, but you can only use that perfect power in just a short range of time. It¡¯s probably because your body can¡¯t withstand it for too long.


    ¡°Even so, it was enough to surprise me. I was sealed by you tens of thousands of years ago. I was furious, but if it¡¯s someone from the bloodline, then you do have that power.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, what does a bloodline holder mean? To have the same bloodline as God? No, I don¡¯t mean this world, I mean the legends from Earth.¡± Xiao Lin was confused listening to it, so he hurriedly asked.


    Poseidon arrogantly said, ¡°God? Don¡¯t insult our bloodline with those native legends. As someone from the same bloodline, even iplete, it¡¯s so pitiful that you actually asked that question. I¡¯ll tell you before you die; our bloodlinees from the universe. It could havee from the Big Bang, or when life was born, but there¡¯s no way to verify it. However, one thing is certain: the bloodline holders transcend the existence of this universe, including any or any life!


    ¡°If our bloodline had not been depleted so much, how could we have fallen to that lowly blue! However, I should really thank you, even though I don¡¯t know how you controlled and activated the wormhole, but I can feel a familiar taste on this. I can slowly recover my power here!¡±


    Xiao Linughed coldly in his heart. There was no trace of Poseidon¡¯s existence in Norma¡¯s future history. That meant that, no matter what ns he had, it would not seed. However, he still yed along, ¡°That¡¯s right. Then, we should take over the world together!¡±


    Poseidon narrowed his eyes. ¡°You are nothing. Just giving you the chance to talk to me is already the greatest gift I can give you thanks to your Iplete Bloodline. I know you¡¯re stalling for time in order to let the others run away, but they won¡¯t make it. For instance, that woman close to you, it seems like you care about her more. I can feel that you did not use your full power to fight me, which is an insult to me. So, I won¡¯t kill you that quickly, but I might just kill off that woman first and force you to want to fight more. That woman does fit into my views of beauty. Hahaha...¡±


    That woman?


    Xiao Lin suddenly turned around. He had not allowed himself to be distracted at all during the fight earlier, so he did not notice that, not far away, a familiar shadow had returned. It could be no one other than Gu Xiaoyue.


    That stupid woman really did not leave. Did she turn around because she was worried about Xiao Lin?


    However, XIao Lin was not touched at all at that moment. He widened his eyes and shouted with all his might, ¡°Quickly, run!¡±


    Poseidon had long noticed Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s existence, but he chose to mention it now. No, it was possible that he had already nned it beforehand. After all, Gu Xiaoyue had participated in his sealing as well. It was impossible for Poseidon to leave her alone. Even if Gu Xiaoyue did not return, Poseidon would have captured her just the same. With the gap in their power, that was not a problem at all. He wanted to capture her in front of Xiao Lin and torture her in some manner. They had already seen Poseidon¡¯s cruelty in the corridors of time, so Xiao Lin did not doubt it at all.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin could only feel powerless. What of his Momentary Ruin? So what if he managed to endure Poseidon for half an hour? No matter how much strength Poseidon used, he was still at Gold rank. Looking at the sea god rush toward Gu Xiaoyue at a lightning fast speed, he shouted in anger and activated Ruin.


    It was no longer Momentary Ruin, but the full state. He did not have much strength left. Xiao Lin did not know if Ruin could even be maintained for a few minutes, or even a few seconds.


    Under Ruin, Xiao Lin still could not catch up to Poseidon. It led him to clearly understand that Poseidon had definitely held some strength back during their earlier battle. Xiao Lin crazily raised his speed to the maximum.


    ¡°Careful!¡± came Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s panicked and weak voice.


    Poseidon suddenly stopped halfway, turning around and waiting for Xiao Lin who was rushing over. A curtain of water was raised behind him, causing the spells that Gu Xiaoyue hurled over to be stopped.


    Xiao Lin knew he had fallen for a trick. He could not control his body as well as Poseidon while pushing his speed to the limits. He clenched his teeth and tightened his fist, not bothering to retreat or slow down, and he instead rushed forward.


    Poseidon was a little surprised before he smiled slyly. An attack of that level meant nothing to him. He raised his palm and condensed lightning and water. At that moment, Poseidon was indeed not unharmed like he was at the start, but he believed that, no matter how much his power had suffered, he would absolutely not lose.

 Chapter 595 - Myth

    <h4>Chapter 595: Myth</h4>


    Poseidon¡¯s palm glowed with a blue light and a long icicle suddenly formed. After that, he aimed the icicle at Xiao Lin who could do nothing due to the distance and his momentum.


    Absolute Defense!


    At that critical moment, Xiao Lin already had his Absolute Defense prepared. He had always maintained his strength at above 10% so that he could use his Absolute Defense once during a critical stage. As the Heaven¡¯s Eye on his head opened, a faint white shield formed around his body.


    Poseidon was noticeably astonished, and the next moment, his icicle shed against Xiao Lin¡¯s shield.


    A huge roar shook the sky, and two figures, one white and one blue, shed briefly before separating. That cold, arrogant and disdainful smile was still on Poseidon¡¯s face. The icicle in his hand had shattered, but there was still a lot of blood that could be seen on it.


    ¡°You actually know Absolute Defense. I¡¯m shocked, but it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re from an iplete bloodline. It¡¯s useless against me!¡±


    Behind him, Xiao Lin¡¯s body felt like a kite that had its string cut. The white shield had been shattered by the earlier sh. He did not manage to attack Poseidon, and Iplete Absolute Defense was useless against attacks that were greater than his own ability. Even though Xiao Lin anticipated that, but actually seeing the difference for himself caused him to nearly lose all hope from the disappointment.


    Poseidon¡¯s icicle hadpletely pierced through his body. Even though he managed to react in time to avoid it piercing his heart, the massive loss of blood was not something his dragon¡¯s blood could recover. Most importantly, he had lost thest of his strength. His Ruin state had been deactivated, and Absolute Defense could not be used again. Even the eye on his forehead had been forced shut.


    In front of Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes, Poseidon¡¯srge body had started to move away from himself. It was true, Poseidon could obviously see that Xiao Lin was at the end of his strength and had lost all ability to counterattack, but Poseidon would not let Xiao Lin off that easily. Poseidon wanted to kill Gu Xiaoyue and kill all the other students who were running away in front of Xiao Lin.


    The sky was already getting darker and darker; it was already nearing the end of the examination. The rest of them could possibly make it out alive if they hid well enough, but Gu Xiaoyue was the one that Poseidon would definitely not let off.


    Gu Xiaoyue only had a few years of her life left. She was the only one who could not afford to die.


    The hopeless Xiao Lin was furious and unwilling. He tried to struggle as he fell from the sky, trying to squeeze out just a bit more power from his injury-ridden body.


    He frantically thought about what skills he still had.


    Dragon¡¯s breath sword aura?


    Ruin?


    Heaven¡¯s Eye?


    Replicate?!


    Xiao Lin had actually almost forgotten about his own SS-rank talent. He had not used it during the entire fight because he understood that trying to replicate something from Poseidon might bepletely ineffective. After all, the opponent was two ranks above him, so it was very likely he would be unable to replicate anything.


    Yet, at that final hopeless moment, it was the only thing he could try after losing all his strength. It was at least better than him staring at Gu Xiaoyue as she died.


    Replicate, activate!


    Replication target, Poseidon!


    After a few seconds of quiet, no information appeared in Xiao Lin¡¯s mind. His entire body started to tremble. He knew that meant that there was no way for him to replicate any skills from his opponent. Even if that had been expected, it still sent him into another wave of helplessness. Xiao Lin understood that he had run out of options.


    No, he might still have a chance.


    Xiao Lin remembered that ckhole-like existence within the deepest parts of his meditative universe and that strange man that Xiao Lin could barely understand.


    Xiao Lin did not know who he was, but from the way the person spoke, he was probably an ancient existence, and Poseidon had unwittingly exposed the fact that the power he showed during his Ruin state was equal to an iplete bloodline holder.


    What was a bloodline holder?


    That was not important. Xiao Lin would treat it as some ancient bloodline that was inherited from ancient times. There was coincidentally a mysterious ancient entity in his body.


    Xiao Lin refused to believe that the two were not rted.


    That person said that his goal was to protect Xiao Lin. No, more urately, his goal was to protect Xiao Lin¡¯s power. As for Xiao Lin himself, he was just a vessel for that power. However, that did not matter; the person would probably not like it if he died.


    Of course, Xiao Lin¡¯s lifespan was enough for him to survive the examination, but what about next time?


    Xiao Lin refused to imagine the idea that the lonely and somewhat cold woman would no longer appear in his sights. How was he supposed to pass those days? He and Gu Xiaoyue had gone through half a semester, but they had not actually interacted with each other that much. Xiao Lin felt like he had fallen in love at first sight, and no matter what, he would not allow that woman to die, even if he had to give everything that he had!


    Xiao Lin seemed to suddenly build up his determination, but he did not know how tomunicate with that existence that hid deep in his soul.


    At the moment that thought crossed his head, there seemed to be an imperceptible sigh in his mind that sounded like it came from afar.


    ¡®Would you pay any price?


    ¡®Is that what you wish for?¡¯


    ¡®You won¡¯t regret it?¡¯


    Xiao Lin was stunned for less than a moment before he felt excited. He remembered the voice of that existence, that vain and emotionless tone, and he immediately shouted, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s what I wish for! I¡¯ll never regret it! Never!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not get a response after he shouted, and Xiao Lin had already fallen into the water at that point, causing ripples to form around him. Poseidon was not in a hurry to kill him, so Poseidon had controlled his strength earlier, preserving Xiao Lin¡¯s life. Xiao Lin sank into the water until he hit the bottom.


    ¡°I feel your determination. I¡¯ll make the next judgement. If you fail here, it will affect your mental state in the future. Then, following the ancient agreement, I will help you. As a result, the next time I awaken will be even further away.


    ¡°This power is far too dangerous for you at the moment. Even if this is your will, I hope this will be your first andst time. Your existence should not result in you wasting your life here...


    ¡°It requires too much of a price. You can only use it with your gift activated...¡±


    He could once again hear a sound in his heart; that strange person seemed to be mumbling to himself, saying some strange words, something about ancient agreements and dangerous powers. Xiao Lin had understood every word, but to link them together caused him to sweat.


    After another sigh, Xiao Lin got his answer.


    Power ¡ª inexhaustible power ¡ª seemed to be welling up quickly inside his body. Xiao Lin no longer had the time to think about what that voice meant as he was filled with shock. Hisst hope actually seeded. However, he had clearly already lost all his power and strength, so where did so much powere from?


    Xiao Lin quickly felt a familiar feeling. The power seemed simr to what he felt during his Ruin state, but how was that possible? He should not have any power to activate Ruin.


    No, it was not Ruin!


    Xiao Lin was once again shocked. His power had seemingly risen to the peak of Ruin in just a few seconds, but it did not stop. The power erupted like a volcano, and the umted power suddenly burst out; it was constantly rising, long since surpassing Ruin¡¯s limits.


    Ruin was an explosive skill that Xiao Lin had learnt with Miracle as the foundation. It allowed his strength to drastically increase in a short time, so it was quite a terrifying ability. Xiao Lin had thought that it was already at the limits of increasing. After all, increasing power was fundamentally something very difficult to do. Now, he started to realize that there was an even higher state after Ruin.


    If Ruin increased his power by several times, his current power was at least over ten times!


    A gift from God? A talent!


    Xiao Lin thought of thest words of that existence, that it could only be used when his talent was active. Which meant that if he used both Ruin and his SS-rank talent, he could level Ruin up.


    That was the most possible thing. Power would note from nowhere, and only something like an SS-rank super talent that no one had any detailed knowledge on to this day could possibly bring out an even stronger power. Only, Xiao Lin had never realized his talent had other uses.


    That was right, as an SS-rank talent, how could it just be limited to replication and increasing efficiency.


    Xiao Lin leaped up from the bottom of the water, lunging out of the surface. He needed to seize the time; if his power was obtained from his SS-rank talent, then it might onlyst the few minutes that his talent did. On top of the dozen over seconds he had spent underwater, he did not have much time left.


    His exhaustion had been wiped clean, as for the wounds on his body, he started to see it rapidly recovering with his naked eye. It was as if his dragon¡¯s blood¡¯s recovery ability had been enhanced by several multiplications.


    ¡°Poseidon, I won¡¯t let you harm her!¡±


    When his body reached the apex of his jump, Xiao Lin frantically unleashed all the energy in his body, raising his right fist in a straight direction as an immense me sword aura shot out.


    Sword Aura was not something that could only be used with a de, but without a weapon, it would drastically decrease in power. Even so, the elemental sword aura was filled with power, and the mes were close to being dark red. Xiao Lin remembered his elemental sword aura sses. Only when an element reaches an almost perfect level would the mes be abnormally dark.


    The sword aura burned for over ten minutes long, and the intense heat even distorted the air around him. Even though the distance was far, Poseidon had deftly felt the imminent threat behind him. Poseidon did not see his attacker immediately, but he coldly smiled and said, ¡°Do you not know that I¡¯m the strongest controller of water? You actually used fire in front of me. How ipetent!¡±


    Poseidon¡¯s arrogance led to him not dodging. He raised his hand to summon a wave to shield himself. He then turned around to look at Gu Xiaoyue, who was right in front of him with nowhere else to run. The woman had no trace of fear on her face, but she suddenly had a dazed expression as she covered her mouth in disbelief.


    ¡°Are you afraid? What a pitiful life!¡± Poseidon materialized an icicle and aimed it at Gu Xiaoyue.


    The next second, the gigantic wave behind him dispersed into steam. The me sword aura had actually evaporated Poseidon¡¯s wave in a sh!


    ¡°Impossible! That was too quick!¡±


    Poseidon finally felt like something was wrong, but he no longer had the time to react when he turned around. The speed of the sword aura had exceeded his expectations, and it immediately submerged Poseidon¡¯srge body into a sea of mes.


    After the explosion, Xiao Lin arrived, standing between Gu Xiaoyue and Poseidon.


    ¡°You... Didn¡¯t you...¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°Are you stupid! Why did youe back here!¡± Xiao Lin wanted to scold her some more, but turning around to look at Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s reddened eyes that had tears in them, his heart softened, and his words turned abnormally tender.


    ¡°Leave quickly, now! He¡¯s not someone you can face.¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue seemed to have a lot to say, but she was not a woman who hesitated. She nodded and said, ¡°I know, I¡¯ll leave. I won¡¯t burden you. I¡¯ll believe you this time!¡± After that, Gu Xiaoyue casted a few strengthening spells on Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin did not know how to react, by ¡®believe in you this time¡¯, Gu Xiaoyue clearly meant that she never believed he could defeat Poseidon before, which was why she did not care for her life and rushed over. Even if it made Xiao Lin a little angry, he could not help but be touched as well.


    Xiao Lin trusted Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s judgement a lot, and now, Gu Xiaoyue believed that Xiao Lin could defeat Poseidon!


    ¡°Does that mean this state gives me the power to rival a Gold rank? This ability is incredible, but didn¡¯t that person say I would pay a veryrge price? Whatever, I can¡¯t care about that now.¡± Xiao Lin waited for Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s buffs as he mumbled to himself.


    Gu Xiaoyue finished casting her spells and asked, ¡°What did you say just now? Also, the way you are now...¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned for a moment before he looked at his reflection on the water. He could not stop himself from being shocked. At that moment, other than his muscles dramatically expanding, his entire body was covered in a light blue glow that was reminiscent of a sword aura. Not only that, even his hair had turned into a washed blue.


    An existence that exceeded Ruin had granted him a miraculous power.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call it Myth.¡± Xiao Lin suddenly raised his head and looked at Gu Xiaoyue before looking at Poseidon who was rising up. Then, he said, ¡°This state, I¡¯m calling it Myth!¡±

 Chapter 596 - Poseidon’s Full Power

    <h4>Chapter 596: Poseidon¡¯s Full Power</h4>


    The skill that exceeded the limits of Ruin, he called it Myth.


    Gu Xiaoyue had left immediately after giving Xiao Lin various buffs. That woman was very logical, as she knew that Xiao Lin was alreadypletely different from earlier, and she would not be able to help at all by staying back.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s support spells had increased Xiao Lin¡¯s strength by even more. Xiao Lin moved his limbs, and under that faint blue energy, he felt like his body was abnormally light, as if it was made of feathers. Just punching his fist out unleashed shocking power, and just jumping casually wouldunch him far into the air.


    The me sword aura earlier had stopped, and Poseidon¡¯s body had alreadye out of the mes in mid-air. Even though it was an expected result, Xiao Lin could not resist cursing at how strong that man was. Even without a weapon, that was already a full-on attack with all his might under the Myth state, but it only caused Poseidon to be caught off guard a little.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± Poseidon asked in Ancient Normese, his expression turning even colder, not carrying any emotion. After that, he repeated the question he had already asked, but the meaning was obviously different. Xiao Lin was still Xiao Lin, but under that situation, he knew clearly that Xiao Lin definitely could not have that kind of power.


    ¡°I¡¯m your grandpa.¡± Xiao Lin smiled as he gave the same answer.


    Poseidon was furious, not because of Xiao Lin¡¯s answer, but because he had misjudged the situation. The me sword aura earlier did not deal any real damage to Poseidon, but it was the first time he felt shocked. To Poseidon, that was already a tremendous insult.


    Massive waves formed again as they crashed down on Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin did not stop it, because with Poseidon¡¯s attack, the water that had covered the entire forest started to fall, which would at least allow the others to escape easier.


    Xiao Lin stood on the ground without any fear, raising his left hand as he sent out another intensely hot me sword aura, resulting in an intense battle between fire and water.


    Normally, water was fire¡¯s natural enemy, but Xiao Lin understood something after entering the academy: the interaction between the elements was not as absolute as countering each other.


    Elemental sword aura¡¯s corey withinmunicating and interacting with the elements, and under the effects of Myth, Xiao Lin could easily use that perfect state of elemental sword aura that the old professor spent his life pursuing. At that moment Xiao Lin felt a never before felt connection with the elements around him, and it felt like the feeling he had during medication.


    That was right, on Norma, perceiving the elements was not something that unbelievable. As long as someone could under the meditative state, feeling the elements in their own meditative world was something very easy.


    However, when not in a meditative state, feeling the elements was something even the natives could rarely do. It was just like using a microscope to see microorganisms on Earth; it was something even a three-year-old kid could do, but if one could use their naked eyes to see microorganisms, then it would be a superpower.


    Under Myth, Xiao Lin could do that. It was not a skill to be underestimated, as any elemental sword aura and even casting any spells was built on the foundation ofmunicating with the elements to start the process. However, Xiao Lin seemed to be able to skip past that process.


    His sword aura was an even deeper shade of red than earlier. The core was the me¡¯s center. It was already at the level where it was almost ck. Even though it did not seem too different from regr mes, when the me sword aura shed against the immense waves, the otheryers of the mes were swallowed up, but the deep red core suddenly exploded like a star.


    Water could extinguish fire, but if it was the fire of a star, then no amount of water could extinguish it!


    The several dozen meter tall waves were vaporized in just a few seconds, turning into thin droplets of rain. The mes were notpletely gone, and Xiao Lin suddenly rushed through the mes d in his blue aura.


    How fast!


    Poseidon¡¯s pupils constricted. Xiao Lin was already in front of him the moment he raised his fist. A heavy punchnded on his stomach, and the thunderous roar of the blow could be heard throughout the forest. Even if his body was hard as steel, being constantly attacked by such power was still something he could not shake off. More importantly, his speed could no longer keep up with Xiao Lin. Originally, hisrge body did not affect his agility, but facing the ghost-like Xiao Lin, Poseidon might know how Xiao Lin wanted to attack, but he realized his body could no longer keep up.


    When he realized that, Poseidon was suddenly extremely angered. Even if it was just an idea, he still felt humiliated. Poseidon¡¯s red glow on his skin shed, and Xiao Lin¡¯s next blow fell on thin air. There was no one in front of him as Poseidon had disappeared into the light.


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes, and his eyes fell on the air a hundred meters away. After two seconds, Poseidon reappeared there in a ring of water. A light blue eye on his forehead was glowing.


    Xiao Lin was stunned for a moment as he remembered his foe had a Heaven¡¯s Eye as well. Even though Poseidon¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Eye looked different from those of the Anteans, it seemed like Poseidon¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Eye also had a different power.


    However, Xiao Lin quickly let out a smile as he mocked, ¡°You even used your Heaven¡¯s Eye. I¡¯m just an insignificant iplete bloodline holder. What an honor. Right, why aren¡¯t you using your trident?¡±


    Poseidon had an ugly expression on his face, but did nothing.


    ¡°It seems like your power was drastically restricted. Can you not use your trident?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s guess was more or less right, but it was not a restriction from the examination itself. Poseidon¡¯s descent into this world had not been hisplete body from the start. In truth, his trident was still in that chaotic space.


    ¡°You¡¯re provoking me! You really are seeking death!¡± Poseidon quickly calmed down before he let out a cold and arrogant smile. ¡°I admit, I might not know what you did, but you seem closer to a true bloodline holder now. However, this is more interesting. It¡¯s not fun killing ants.¡±


    ¡°Ants? Ah, then let¡¯s see how this ant kills an elephant. I really want to experience that sort of thrill!¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯re stalling for time, but this is already yourst chance. After this, I¡¯ll let you understand why the bloodline of the sea god isn¡¯t something amoner can touch!¡±


    Poseidon seemed to have made a decision, and his expression turned oddly serious. Xiao Lin knew that the man had not been using his full power; even while he was using his Momentary Ruin, it might seem like they were fighting evenly, but he could clearly feel that Poseidon had a lot held back when facing his attacks. No matter how much he did not want to admit it, Poseidon had never taken him seriously, and had never used his full power.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s Myth state was shorter than his Ruin state. It was only as long as the few minute long Replicate ability. He had more or less used up half of the time, but if Poseidon had been preserving his strength, then there was no way for Xiao Lin topletely defeat Poseidon because fighting an opponent that was holding back was just wasting time.


    That was why he would rather waste his valuable time trying to provoke Poseidon with his words. His goal was so that Poseidon would think that he was deliberately stalling for time, causing his foe to suspect that he could be holding something back. On top of the pressure his current power applied, Poseidon finally used his full power.


    Only that way could hepletely defeat Poseidon, and it seemed like the sea god had fallen for it.


    Xiao Lin let out a sigh, counting the time he had left. It could be two minutes, or it could be over a minute. He was the one who could not afford to stall.


    Poseidon¡¯s power started to frantically rise; Xiao Lin could even feel it despite the distance. The man was finally using his full power, causing Xiao Lin to be shocked. Poseidon had been greatly weakened, and had even fought the sky fish and Xiao Lin¡¯s Momentary Ruin, but Poseidon was still holding back such shocking amounts of power.


    However, Xiao Lin was not afraid. He had started off with powerful attacks due to the time constraints. me sword aura remained his most direct attack method. As Poseidon¡¯s power rose, his skin glowed more and more intensely, but his body was slowly shrinking.


    Losing thatrge body, Poseidon¡¯s strength did not decrease at all. Poseidon waved his fist in the air, and thunder erupted as the howling winds were freezing and had turned the me sword aura into ice. As the sea god, Poseidon was not limited to only controlling the sea, he also controlled the winds, thunder and ice.


    If it was just purely themunication and mastery of the elements, Xiao Lin was better under the effects of Myth, but in terms of the amount of elemental power, Xiao Lin was still far behind Poseidon.


    That was a battle between equals that both had their own advantages.


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate to jump up after his attack failed. The blue aura had caused his jumping ability to be shocking. After noticing the difference between the elements they controlled, Xiao Lin immediately turned it into a closebat fight. He chose to close the distance, and Poseidon did not dodge, his arrogance not allowing him to run.


    Xiao Lin had never learned any hand-to-handbat, so his punches were erratic, but they carried with them an intense me. It was different from a me sword aura. It was a product of his naturalmunication with the elements,bined with the blue aura that his body emitted.

 Chapter 597 - The Final Moments

    <h4>Chapter 597: The Final Moments</h4>


    The two of them closed the gap. Xiao Lin no longer used his me sword aura and Poseidon no longer used his huge waves. They engaged in a purely physical fight. Xiao Lin was at a disadvantage in terms of technique, but he used brute force to ovee it, though that fighting style took a lot of energy.


    Xiao Lin admitted that his rank was still very low. Even with Myth increasing his various attributes drastically, there was still a big gap in terms of skills, so he chose the simplest way to fight.


    If one punch was not enough, then he would throw two, and if he could not hit any vital spots, then he would use his monstrous strength topensate.


    To Xiao Lin, he no longer needed to carefully control how he used his strength like when he was using Momentary Ruin. After all, no matter what, the Myth would end when Replicate reached its limits. At that time, if Poseidon did not die, then he would!


    Since that was the case, then he would use all his power within his limited time!


    In truth, Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks had taken effect. Poseidon was only truly at Gold rank in skill at his full strength, so before that, Poseidon¡¯s strength had just been in between Silver to Gold rank, but even so, he could notpletely block all of Xiao Lin¡¯s attacks.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s speed allowed him to unleash a few dozen punches in the space of a second and, of those, Poseidon would block eighty percent of them. The difference in terms of skill and experience was greater than expected, but it was no matter; Xiao Lin only needed to ensure that the remaining twenty percent of his punches had enough power to harm Poseidon.


    His punches all contained that faint blue me. It was actually closer to sword aura than fire, but it was not true sword aura, because Xiao Lin could clearly feel the elementalposition within. It was possible that it was the true form of elemental sword energy, and Xiao Lin was using it extremelyfortably.


    The might of the blue mes was quite shocking. Poseidon¡¯s body had been strengthened in a special manner. Normal weapons would not be able to pierce him, and normal attacks would just be like an itch to him. Yet, the punches that carried the blue energy left very clear marks on Poseidon¡¯s skin. After a few consecutive attacks, his skin started to break. That was something that he did not see even after one hour¡¯s worth of attacks under Momentary Ruin.


    Xiao Lin utilized his advantage to the maximum, and Poseidon really did despise him. Of course, Poseidon¡¯s skills had been greatly affected by the sealing. The two of them exchanged hundreds of punches in just mere moments.


    Xiao Lin, who had abandoned all forms of defense, was not in a great state either. He did not have any energy to think about defending himself. Even under his Myth state, he was already at his limits, and only under those limits could he force himself to maintain the attacks on Poseidon. Yet, after over ten seconds, Xiao Lin¡¯s entire body was covered in blood.


    Thankfully, the recovery ability of dragon¡¯s blood proved useful at that time. Even though the effects of the small amounts of dragon blood in his body were limited, thanks to being strengthened by Myth, it was strong enough that he could still remain standing.


    The two of them fought for a dozen seconds before descending back into the water. It was a fist fight, but the impact of each of their punches was equivalent to a Silver-ranked spell.


    The sky constantly roared, and the waves crashed around them.


    The entire forest had heard the sounds of that fight. Everyone, including the fleeing beasts, could not help but look back with an expression of confusion and shock.


    It was a pity that only an extremely small number of them had seen it. No, in the entire ss, it was possible that only Gu Xiaoyue would be able to follow such a rapid fight. The others would not be able to know what was happening with their weak levels of perception.


    However, everyone understood that Xiao Lin was definitely holding that fierce-looking man back. They might not know that the battle was at Gold rank, but everyone could feel the tremorsing from the center of the storm. A Gold rank was something most of them had read about in books or listened to their teachers about at most.


    Gold rank was already something far out of their reach for them. After all, the Epic and Legend ranks above that stood at the peak of Norma.


    The forest was moving toward extinction, and the storm was heading toward the outer areas. Of course a lot of those that did not manage to escape in time lost their lives to it, but no oneined at that time. Under such absolute power, everyone could only feel how miniscule they were.


    It was just a short minute, but to Xiao Lin who was fully concentrated, it was possibly the longest minute that he had ever experienced; it felt like it was longer than anything.


    The pressure he felt fighting Poseidon was unbelievably massive. His Myth state had given him the ability to stand against his foe, but the battle had caused him to slowly understand that being able to stand against his foe did not mean being able to defeat him.


    Myth was nearing its end, and he did not have more than a few dozen seconds left. At that time, with the rapid decline in his strength and the sudden impact of his wounds, Xiao Lin would definitely die.


    Xiao Lin could not help but raise the corner of his eyes a little as he nced at a yellow glow that pierced through the thick clouds. He did not know how long was left until the exam ended, and could not be sure if he could hold on.


    His action was caught by Poseidon, and Poseidon also saw that Xiao Lin was at the end of his strength. Xiao Lin¡¯s speed and strength was lowered by a small level, but Poseidon was almost at his limit as well. Poseidon¡¯s muscles had expanded to an unbelievable degree, and after Xiao Lin¡¯s countless attacks, it had started to tremble. Even though it was very weak, Xiao Lin still noticed it.


    It was not that Poseidon could not be defeated; the sea god was just a term people called him. Xiao Lin firmly believed that if he could maintain the state for twenty minutes to half an hour, even if he could not kill Poseidon, he could stillpletely exhaust the man¡¯s strength.


    However, that was just an if. Xiao Lin started to get anxious.


    ¡°You¡¯re done!¡± As if dering his victory, Poseidon shouted before changing directions. He separated himself for the first time after the closebat fight, and the distance was over a kilometer. At almost the same time, both his hands started to glow with a deep blue light.

 Chapter 598 - Poseidon’s Fall

    <h4>Chapter 598: Poseidon¡¯s Fall</h4>


    That was right!


    Poseidon had somehow caught Xiao Lin¡¯s well-hidden exhaustion. That man also guessed that Xiao Lin¡¯s unusual explosiveness would not be able tost for long, and it seemed like it was nearing its end.


    Normally, he could definitely prolong the fight like that, and deliver the killing blow once Xiao Lin had used up all his strength.


    However, Poseidon was too arrogant. His pride would not allow him to do so because that meant that Poseidon still lost to Xiao Lin and Xiao Lin¡¯s peak power. Even if Poseidon defeated Xiao Lin, who would not be able to retaliate after that? It would not quell the anger in Poseidon.


    So, Poseidon was just as anxious; he nned on defeating Xiao Lin while Xiao Lin still had all his power. So, Poseidon gave up on maintaining the closebat fight, and prepared to gather his strongest power to defeat Xiao Lin.


    As they fought, Xiao Lin had guessed at the possibility as well, but Xiao Lin did not follow. Xiao Lin did not have that special ability to fly like Poseidon had, and the earlier fight was just him relying on his immense leaping abilities. So, Poseidon had deliberately floated high in the air to prevent Xiao Lin¡¯s interference.


    However, Xiao Lin did not need it. Xiao Lin was also waiting for a chance ¡ª the chance to strike andpletely defeat Poseidon. Since his skills and strength were close enough to his foe, Xiao Lin could only rely on one technique if he wanted to win in thest few dozen seconds: dragon¡¯s breath sword aura!


    Dragon¡¯s breath sword aura needed time to gather, and the base powers were even stronger under his Myth state, which meant the gathering of the power would need a longer time. During that intense battle that did not even give him time to blink, Xiao Lin had not been able to use the skill.


    However, Poseidon had actually pulled away himself, causing Xiao Lin to pause for a second or two before he unhesitatingly started to prepare his dragon¡¯s breath sword aura.


    With his body surrounded by the faint blue energy, the draconic energy that came out of his body also adopted a light blue glow, and was more powerful than it ever was. Xiao Lin himself could not even estimate how strong the dragon¡¯s breath sword aura unleashed at Gold rank could be.


    Everywhere turned quiet. Even the thunder that never stopped in the clouds, or the beasts crying out in the distance, and even the howling wind... had all turned quiet at that moment. All that was left was the intense gathering of energy that produced a low but sharp noise.


    Every corner of Norma was filled with the three basic energies, and the people of the world used those powers to cast various spells. The more powerful it was, the more energy was absorbed from the surroundings, which would produce an apocalyptic scene like what was happening at that moment.


    It was not just Xiao Lin; the energy Poseidon was gathering was just as shocking. The two of them seemed to have gathered every bit of energy from the area.


    Like the calm before the storm, the short silencested for over ten seconds. After feeling their opponent¡¯s intentions of attacking, Xiao Lin and Poseidon both unleashed the power in their hands.


    Xiao Lin had gathered the dragon¡¯s breath sword aura in his palms; he had a deeper understanding of energy thanks to his Myth state, and even without a weapon, he had tried to use the principles of gathering elemental energy on the dragon¡¯s breath sword aura, and seeded.


    The sword aura waspressed in a short time by him, and in the end it was small enough to be held in his hand. The ball of light glowed with a warm blue hue, but in that warmness was immeasurable power.


    Poseidon had gathered a wave-like flowing liquid energy, and when he unleashed it, it was like a stormy wave surging down from a river in the sky. At that moment, the pressure that burst out caused every being in the forest to feel horrified and suffocated.


    That was Poseidon ¡ª the sea god that had lived for tens of millions of years.


    The blue dragon¡¯s breath sword aura shed in the air with the deep blue waves. There was no technique and no tricks being yed. It was both of their killer skills; both Poseidon and Xiao Lin had the utmost confidence in their limits, and they would seed or die trying!


    At that moment, it was like the sky was falling and the earth was shaking.


    Those who were frantically running and asionally ncing back at the battle in the sky were once again submerged in a quiet world because, this time, the sharp sound of the explosion had rendered everyone temporarily deaf. The vibrant light was like the sun, and hadpletely illuminated the forest that had already settled into dusk. Everyone was shaken by the sight, and could not help but close their eyes, silently praying in their hearts, both for themselves and their monitor.


    That was Xiao Lin¡¯sst drop of strength. After he unleashed the dragon¡¯s breath sword aura, even though he still maintained Myth, he hadpletely exhausted all his strength. When the aftershocks came, he was pulled into it, and his entire body was like a ship in the middle of waves. He could no longer control it.


    Thest second before the explosion, Xiao Lin observed Poseidon¡¯s condition. That man¡¯splexion was noticeably worse than earlier, proving that the attack had exhausted a great deal of his strength, but even so, Poseidon could still control his body steadily in the face of the unbelievable sh of power.


    That was the proof of their difference in power. Xiao Lin, of course, understood that, even if he had his Myth state, his power only got closer to his opponent, but being closer was just that. He failed to exceed it!


    He was still too weak!


    Even though Xiao Lin understood that being able to fight to this degree with his current strength meant that Xiao Lin¡¯s evaluation after the examination would definitely be good, it still did not wipe away Xiao Lin¡¯s frustration.


    The two energies shed in the air ¡ª it was an intense sh. Even though it was at an equilibrium at the start, with no one energy suppressing the other, the two powers very quickly started to be suppressed to one side. That meant that Poseidon could still concentrate his power toward the ball of energy, causing the waves to suddenly be more powerful than the sword aura. Xiao Lin had already used all his trump cards, so Xiao Lin was powerless; he could not even control the sword aura that he had already unleashed at all, and could only look on as the ball of energy closed in on himself.


    Even if he was facing an opponent that he hated, Xiao Lin could not help but feel shocked and angry. Poseidon¡¯s power was really inexhaustible; if it was not for the countless restrictions, Poseidon would have easily killed Xiao Lin, even with his Myth state.


    Under the intense glow, Xiao Lin was forced to narrow his eyes, lying down on the water as he looked at the ball of energy closing in, anxious, but unable to do anything...


    ¡°Is this it?¡± Xiao Linpletely shut his eyes, powerless. Myth hadpletely exhausted his strength after being deactivated along with his talent.


    The forest at that point waspletely covered by the glow. Everyone was frantically struggling in the waves of energy that rippled out. Many trees were destroyed, and countless beasts were exterminated. That included the other students from ss Seven; they were all frantically running, but noticed that it was a wasted endeavor.


    The entire forest was about to bepletely destroyed, and there was only one result for the life within, which was to die with it. Everyone¡¯s hearts had a sense of hopelessness.


    When they were at the peak of their hopelessness, when everyone had given up and were awaiting their deaths, an ear-splitting noise could be heard from the white sky; it was like the sound of ss shattering.


    Xiao Lin seemed to feel something, and suddenly opened his eyes. The light had weakened at some point. No, it was more urate to say that the mass of energy in the air was shrinking. Large amounts of energy started to disappear as it was sucked away.


    The direction it was being sucked away to was the web-like sky. It was created by the sea god initially. After that vengeful woman died, the wormhole that had been forcefully opened should have been forced shut, but the sea god needed the wormhole to remain open for an even longer period of time in order for his power topletely descend. So, from the very start, Poseidon had used part of his already depleted power to maintain the opening. Even if space and time were the most restrictive domains, as a mysterious bloodline holder and as the sea god, it was not that hard for Poseidon to do it.


    Xiao Lin suddenly understood something. No wonder the academy had arranged such an unbelievably strong boss for the first-years. Based on the student union¡¯s ns, which were probably reflected in actual history, after using his power to maintain the passage, Poseidon¡¯s strength should be incredibly weak. It was possible it would have just been at Silver rank or even lower.


    Xiao Lin even understood the solution the student had left for them. They might not have actually needed to defeat the Silver-ranked Poseidon. As long as a portion of them forcefully dyed him, then the rest of them could destroy the energy around the wormhole. Once the passage was closed, the examination would bepleted. While that would still be difficult, it was still something first-years could manage.


    Unfortunately, the moment Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue appeared in that examination, all the ns the student union made were rendered useless. Of course, the student union could never expect that Xiao Lin was the one who sealed Poseidon, and because of that, Poseidon had not cared about the price of maintaining the portal, pulling out even more power to handle Xiao Lin.


    And the current situation resulted in the crack that had been affected by Poseidon¡¯s powerpletely shattering. In the source of the shattering was a hole a few hundred meters wide. On the other side of the hole was a vibrant world filled with golden specks. Everyone was very familiar with it; it was the scene they saw when they sat in the spatial carriage.


    It was different from when Poseidon had appeared. At the time, it was just a very small crack. After all, Anna had just been a dabbler. It was possible that the ancient texts she obtained were real, but she neverpletely mastered how to open the gateway, and had mistakenly released Poseidon who had been sealed in space and time.


    And at that moment, the wormhole that had been sealed for countless years was truly reopened


    Everyone, including Poseidon, was once again astonished. With the battle at the point that it was, they had already gone through quite a bit of shock, but this time, the rest of them seemed to feel something.


    A gigantic mass of light started to descend from the golden passage that was surrounded by the sands of time. The light was close to transparent, and two figures could be made out within. Xiao Lin had coincidentally been at the center of the light, and the waves of energy that had been unleashed by Poseidon and him had been sucked in by the opening of the wormhole, so he could somewhat make out that the two figures were strangely dressed.


    It was obvious that they were definitely not dressed in modern clothes; they were closer to ancient Ming Dynasty clothing that were regrly seen on Chinese television.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s colonial history originated from the Ming Dynasty!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s vague guess now had more evidence to it. He was witnessing history; the examination really was set during the time the first colonists arrived.


    Poseidon was shocked at the strange change, and was even more anxious. He had not bothered holding back his power to maintain the passage, but he was not intending on allowing others to take advantage of it. If the wormhole was closed again, then he would absolutely not be able to open the wormhole himself again after the amount of energy he had spent during this battle.


    Poseidon was furious, and did not hesitate to give up on thepletely exhausted Xiao Lin. He turned around and charged at the two figures. He wanted to kill them off before theypletely arrived.


    Yet, before Poseidon could close in, an arrow whizzed out of the mass of light carrying a vibrant light. Itpletely pierced through that chest of Poseidon that was as hard as steel, and the arrow continued flying until itnded not even a hundred meters away from Xiao Lin and deeply embedded itself into the ground, leaving only the feathers outside.


    Xiao Lin looked at the arrow and sucked in a cold breath. Despite not containing any sword aura or magical power, the power behind it could not just be described as being from someone strong. Even if Poseidon¡¯s strength had been greatly weakened, it was no normal matter to be able to pierce through his chest with an arrow.


    The earliest colonists from the Ming Dynasty; it seemed like their predecessors were not merely ancient men as they thought!


    Poseidon was in disbelief; the unassuming arrow had led to himpletely losing hisst amounts of strength on Norma. The mass of lightpletely entered Norma, and the wormhole closed behind it. That meant that Poseidon hadpletely lost his power that was still sealed in space and time, and now he was falling rapidly, like a kite that had lost its string.

 Chapter 599 - Examination Ends

    <h4>Chapter 599: Examination Ends</h4>


    The fight against Poseidon ended just like that. No one would have ever expected that Poseidon would die in such an anticlimactic and useless manner.


    A so-called god was just a human that was stronger than most. Of course, Poseidon¡¯s rank was even higher, but other than Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, the rest of them did not know the enemy had been the god of the sea from Earth mythology.


    Xiao Lin wanted tough out loud, even though his entire body ached to the point where evenughing was incredibly difficult because, as he looked at the mass of light that was descending, and the fact that the two figures in the mass were very possibly the first colonists, a ridiculous notion surfaced in Xiao Lin¡¯s head.


    The students did not exist in true history, and the reason that the two ancient people could cross countless gxies to arrive in thispletely new world, came from Poseidon. It was because Poseidon had used most of his power to maintain and expand the crack in space and that they had the chance to cross. After all, Anna¡¯s little sacrifice would never have actually been able to open the wormhole to Earth; their initial spections were wrong on that front.


    However, the fact that Poseidon appeared in this world was because Xiao Lin had used Time Rewind, broken through the wall of time and sealed that man into the wormhole.


    Without Poseidon being sealed, he would not have appeared on Norma. If Poseidon did not appear on Norma, the first colonists would not have arrived sessfully. Without the first colonists, Dawn Academy would not have been born. Without Dawn Academy, Xiao Lin would not have been admitted, and everything today would not exist.


    Looking at the source, the origin of everything was Xiao Lin!


    That crazy notion caused Xiao Lin to want tough, but it was a bitterugh, because that meant that, from the time the Poseidon was sealed during the Antean era, everything had basically been determined by fate. In another manner of speaking, the wheel of fate had started to churn.


    Either it was him who changed history, or everything he had done had been predetermined. If it was thetter, then discovering that everything he had done, pursued, and worked hard on had been predetermined was a tough pill to swallow.


    With thoseplicated emotions, Xiao Lin quietlyy down on the floor unmoving after losing all his strength. The two figures had seen him, and were walking toward him, but it was as if the Academy never nned on allowing the new students to interact with their predecessors. When the figures slowly turned clearer, Xiao Lin¡¯s sight turned darker.


    Everything started to spin, and when he reopened his eyes, everyone was already back in the public ssroom.


    The examination had ended!


    Escaping from death, most of the people in the ssroom could not help but stand up and celebrate with their friends. The ones who lived until the end had all profited.


    Judging from the number who were cheering, the ones who lived until the end only took up about 20 percent. Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief when he noticed the calm woman sitting beside him.


    Gu Xiaoyue was looking at Xiao Lin as well, and her expression was a little emotional. Xiao Lin did not know if it was due to that shocking fight or the fact that she managed to live.


    The evaluation woulde after, and everyone could see the results from theirputers. After the examination, everyone was exhausted. Even though their physical injuries would be fully recovered after returning, they could only recover their mental fatigue through rest.


    However, those who managed to survive would all walk toward Xiao Lin before they left, respectfully and sincerely thanking him. Even though no one held any suspicions towards Xiao Lin¡¯s status as a monitor anymore, Xiao Lin had still missed out on too many monthly examinations; it was inevitable that there would be those who would criticize him for not being reliable.


    Most of them had seen Xiao Lin¡¯s skills during thest semester, but no one expected that Xiao Lin¡¯s skills would improve to such a horrifying degree after just half a semester. Knowing and experiencing it for themselves were twopletely different matters, and after such an astonishing battle, even those who did not do anything felt their blood pumping.


    They all knew that it was because of Xiao Lin that they managed to survive the examination.


    As for those who died earlier and did not know anything, they were at a loss, but their friends would quickly exin the matter with a proud and honoring tone.


    That was right, being able to witness a battle of that level and survive caused them to feel honored. More importantly, the one who defeated an enemy of that level was Xiao Lin, their own monitor.


    ¡°Let me tell you, Xiao Lin was incredibly strong. I think that battle was at least Silver-ranked...¡±


    ¡°I really have to bow down to him. It¡¯s a pity you died early. Thatst battle was so intense, I was so anxious as I was looking on.¡±


    ¡°You know? The monitor looked so good when he fought. I¡¯ve decided that Xiao Lin is my idol from today onward!¡±


    ...


    Listening to the conversations around him, Xiao Lin did not know how to react. He was actually a little ashamed; the difficulty of the examination had been increased because of him; if the sea god was just at Silver rank, it would not have been so difficult.


    When most of the people in the ssroom had left, Xiao Lin stood up and said to the woman next to him, ¡°Shall we go back together?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue hesitated for a moment before nodding.


    Xiao Lin was surprised. The woman rarely agreed. He was immediately ted, and could not help but wonder if he should just invite her to eat together.


    Gu Xiaoyue was actually very shy. Even though she was quite good friends with Xiao Lin, it was only when they were alone. She was still not used to being out in public, so she mostly rejected such invitations.


    Xiao Lin more or less understood how the woman felt, which was why he had waited until most of them had left and the space was emptier. It was more natural that way.


    They walked along the green trails. Even though China on Earth was having summer, the constant temperature in the academy¡¯s space ensured that the weather was always just right. Putting aside anything else, the environment around the school was very good. Slowly walking among the extraordinarily lush and colorful flowers and trees that had been bolstered by magic was a great experience.

 Chapter 600 - Coma

    <h4>Chapter 600: Coma</h4>


    Since it had been some time since the end of the examination, most of the students had returned to their rooms to rest. The asional passers-by would not notice those young people walking around. It was one of Xiao Lin¡¯s rare chances to interact with Gu Xiaoyue, and as he was wondering what to say, Gu Xiaoyue opened her mouth first.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s eyes carried a faint hint of concern.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was warmed as he smiled. ¡°Rx, don¡¯t forget that, as long as we don¡¯t die, any physical injuries will automatically recover after leaving the simted examination space. Speaking of which, it¡¯s quite amazing. I¡¯ve actually asked Song Jung about the simted examination space before. Did you know?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin, who was deliberately ying the fool, helplessly. She opened her mouth, but did not manage to say what she wanted to. There was a trace of worry in her eyes, but in the end she nodded slightly. Even though she was a stubborn woman, thanks to Xiao Lin, it was no longer the first time she changed her decision because of someone else¡¯s words.


    ¡°Speaking about the simted examination space, it¡¯s actually a bit simr to the games on Earth. In truth, in a lot of the examinations, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if such lifelike NPCs were actually alive, even though they had already died in history. Well, you know this as well. We¡¯ve encountered some weird things when ites to time theory, so you can¡¯t really say.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Poseidon actually recognized us at that time, and I hope you didn¡¯t tell anyone. I was really scared, since sealing Posiedon felt very recent, but it was actually tens of millions of years ago...¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue was not good with conversation, so in order for it to not fall into silence, Xiao Lin was always looking for topics of conversation, such as discussions about examinations and various guesses about Poseidon.


    Gu Xiaoyue quietly listened, and would asionally nod in response, but most of the time she did not seem to be listening earnestly. The worry on her face actually got thicker and thicker. She had wanted to interrupt Xiao Lin a few times, but she kept hesitating.


    Xiao Lin might not have realized it himself, but hisplexion was not great. Under the sunlight that shot through the trees, his face was pale and ashen, but Xiao Lin did not feel anything, and he was just walking along as he talked. After a long time, he finally realized something was off about Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Hey, did I say something wrong?¡± Xiao Lin smiled with uncertainty, tilting his head. He thought that he had said something awkward to Gu Xiaoyue, and waved. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I said, but don¡¯t take it to heart, I¡¯m just...¡±


    His words stopped there. After that, Xiao Lin felt like his heart had been grabbed by someone. He opened his mouth, and his nostrils red as if he was trying to breathe. However, the suffocation felt like it covered his whole body, as if he had been plunged into an endless ckhole. He frantically struggled, but in the end he could only see the sunlight rapidly distancing itself from him.


    The pain was hard to describe. Xiao Lin believed that it could be the most painful thing he would experience in his entire life.


    Had the exam not ended? What was happening?


    Those thoughts floated in Xiao Lin¡¯s head before he fell unconscious. After that, his body fell limp, and thest thing he heard was Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s calls for help.


    Xiao Lin felt incredibly tired; the fatigue was not just from his body ¡ª it came from his soul. He wanted to sleep, and slumber forever. His muddled consciousness meant he did not know what was happening, nor did he know how much time had passed.


    One night, he woke up in a blur, and he heard a soft sigh from his heart. The sigh was like a thunderous awakening thatpletely shattered his muddled consciousness. The chaos and the vagueness started to part as his memory started to be clear.


    ...


    The next time Xiao Lin opened his eyes, he felt incredibly refreshed. It was like someone who had not slept for three days suddenly being thrown on a soft andfortable bed. He definitely would not care about anything other than sleeping for a whole day.


    Xiao Lin stretchedfortably before realizing he was not on his bed in the dormitory. It was a white room, with a white bed and sheets. It was clearly a hospital.


    However, that in itself was strange, as Xiao Lin never heard about Dawn Academy having a hospital. After all, with the automatic recovery system, they would never need to go to a hospital, which was why Xiao Lin felt that it was very strange.


    He pushed aside the nket, and when he wanted to walk off his bed, he realized his feet were incredibly numb, as if he had not moved at all for a long time. He was caught unprepared; he slipped and fell immediately, but thankfully, his hand quickly grabbed the bed for support.


    The door quickly opened as a few men d in white clothes rushed in, curiously looking at Xiao Lin like they were looking at an alien.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Xiao Lin was somewhat on alert.


    The few men talked to each other in a low voice before quickly walking over; the man in the lead asked, ¡°How do you feel right now?¡±


    ¡°Where is this?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Do you feel any weakness?¡± the man continued to ask.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Did you have any dreams during this period?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Do you still remember what happened before this?¡±


    ...


    The two of them widened their eyes, talking inpletely different circles. Quickly realizing he would not get the result he wanted, the man¡¯s expression loosened, but he still maintained an apprehension against Xiao Lin. ¡°Do you know how long you¡¯ve been unconscious for?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, his recovering memory quickly returning. He suddenly remembered that he had been walking alone with Gu Xiaoyue when he suddenly fell unconscious. Then, he should be at Dawn Academy. He let out a sigh as he became more polite. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve troubled you. It¡¯s possible that I overslept because the examination ended.¡±


    ¡°You overslept for an entire week?¡± The man narrowed his eyes as he emphasized the ¡®week¡¯.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Lin was stunned.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been unconscious for a week. When you were sent here, you were in a fatal condition. If we didn¡¯t inject the newest potions into you on time, you might already be dead,¡± the man said emotionlessly.

 Chapter 601 - Lifespan

    <h4>Chapter 601: Lifespan</h4>


    Knowing he had narrowly escaped death, Xiao Lin was shaken, but he did not understand what happened. No injuries would be brought back after the examination ended; he trusted that the academy would not hide anything regarding that, but his confusion came from the man in front of him.


    There was a strange smell in the room, and it got even thicker when the man walked in. Xiao Lin suddenly remembered something, and he furrowed his eyebrows as he shook his head. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t a hospital ward! This is an experiment room!¡±


    Because Xiao Lin regrly entered Song Jung¡¯s experiment room, Xiao Lin was no stranger to that smell. The experiments used various strange potions and ingredients that would regrly have strange smells, so they could only be in an experiment room. After all, there was no way a ward would have random potions around.


    ¡°I never said this was a ward, nor does the academy have any specialized hospitals.¡± The man looked at Xiao Lin and slowly said, ¡°This is the seventh experiment room. I¡¯m called Wang Shengming, the one in charge of this ce.¡±


    At that time, more people came in, and Xiao Lin looked at them. Those people were not in white clothes, but they were all fully d in armor, and the swords in their hands were all unsheathed as they looked at him in rm, as if they were facing a big enemy.


    ¡°Are you detaining me?¡± Xiao Lin half-jokingly asked.


    ¡°No way.¡± Wang Shengming waved his hand, motioning for the others to leave.


    When the room was empty, the man thought for a moment before suddenly saying, ¡°You are someone the dean trusts, and I believe in him. I also believe that the student union president would not help someone evil, but the current investigation isn¡¯t good for you.¡±


    ¡°Investigation?¡± Xiao Lin started to sweat; it was like he had entered apletely foreign world after he woke up.


    ¡°Let me get straight to the point; regarding the forbidden technique you used, we haven¡¯t seen any matching data so far, but I think it¡¯s best for you to be honest. It would be better for you as well. Otherwise, we won¡¯t know what potions to use to help you.¡± Wang Shengming looked at Xiao Lin. His words were shocking.


    Forbidden techniques on Norma have been forbidden by all the academies, because forbidden techniques could usually cause immense harm and burdens on the user, and could also cause unexpected results. Wang Dalin had been sent back to Earth by the student union because he used one; there had been no room for negotiation.


    Xiao Lin obviously could not have made such a mistake, as he had never learnt any forbidden spells anyway. Facing Wang Shengming¡¯s questions, Xiao Lin¡¯s first response was anger, as he was certain that there had to be some mistake somewhere, or that someone was framing him. After all, he knew the military did not like him.


    However, he quicklyposed himself. Wang Shengming¡¯s expression was calm. He did not have any expressions of ridicule or triumph, but instead one of helplessness and pity. It was like he was looking at a fallen criminal.


    At least the person in charge of the room did not seem to have been arranged by the military. Even though the dean could not manage the daily affairs due to his illness, the temporary dean was still temporary, and the dean was still the dean. Furthermore, in the academy, the student union¡¯s power was the greatest, so trying to start something under the nose of the president was incredibly difficult.


    So, Xiao Lin quickly discarded that possibility, but if he had not been framed, then why was he being under such an intense guard after waking up from aa. He was even used of using a forbidden spell and viting the academy¡¯s rules.


    After calming down, Xiao Lin suddenly thought of something. Forbidden spells could be exined as unnatural power. To be even more direct, it was something that could allow someone to use several times more power than their basic attributes.


    Xiao Lin obviously had a power like that. Miracle might not be one, but Ruin and Myth that he had just used were definitely skills that allowed him to greatly exceed his abilities. Yet, those were all skills that he had used his talent to unlock, so how could they be forbidden spells? Furthermore, it was not the first time he had used Ruin; he never had an issue then.


    ¡°Hold on. You mentioned my body?¡± Xiao Lin finally caught the important point. He seemed to have thought of something, and furrowed his eyebrows.


    Wang Shengming did not have a shred of happiness in his expression when he looked at Xiao Lin; he sighed in pity before taking out aptop. He opened it and typed a few things before showing Xiao Lin. ¡°This is the data we got after examining you yesterday. You can only look at it.¡±


    On the monitor was Xiao Lin¡¯s personal information. Normally, regr people would not have the right to open it like that, even someone in charge of the experiment room. Since he was able to, it meant that he had already obtained the permission from the student union. Of course, the secret contents, such as his SS-rank talent, had definitely been hidden.


    Xiao Lin nced over it and he immediately straightened up because he realized that each of his basic attributes had gone to 120. He rubbed his eyes, looking at Wang Shengming in disbelief.


    After returning from the New World, his basic attributes should have been 80 points, even though his attributes had increased after training, but even with Academic Genius, there was no way for his attributes to increase by such a crazy degree. It had increased by almost half; that was something practically impossible in just a short month.


    Responding to Xiao Lin¡¯s surprised look, Wang Shengming emotionlessly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be quick to say anything. Continue looking; the important part is below.¡±


    Next was Xiao Lin¡¯s skills; of course Miracle, Ruin, and Myth were not there, but those were not the important points. What followed some other content, such as his attribute growths, and the final one was his remaining lifespan.


    Seeing that, Xiao Lin¡¯s expression froze. He was stunned.


    On it, his remaining lifespan was listed as: [20 years]


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Xioa Lin put down theptop and shook his head.


    ¡°The centralputer¡¯s records cannot be wrong. If you don¡¯t believe it, we can immediately arrange a physical examination for you. In truth, we¡¯ve done a lot of cross examinations in the past few days, but the results were all the same.¡± Wang Shengming took a deep breath, slowly saying, ¡°We¡¯ve checked your earlier lifespan and monthly examination date. Can you tell us, if you did not use a forbidden spell, where did the other 80 years of your lifespan go?¡±

 Chapter 602 - Moving Forward The Tournament

    <h4>Chapter 602: Moving Forward The Tournament</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was frozen. Looking at that 20, he fell into a long silence.


    He believed that the numbers could not be fake. After all, he only needed to investigate minimally to verify it, so they definitely did not need to lie to him in that matter.


    He only had 20 years of lifespan left!


    He remembered clearly that his lifespan had been 100 years before the examination. Even though he had died once during thest semester, he had bought novice Lifewater immediately topensate.


    Once he eliminated the impossible, whatever remained, no matter how improbable, had to be the truth!


    Xiao Lin started to remember that during thest fight against the sea god Poseidon, when he had lost all hope, that mysterious and ancient existence hidden within his heart helped him, allowing XIao Lin tobine his Ruin state with his SS-rank talent, activating Myth and causing his entire body¡¯s strength to rise up to a level that rivaled Gold rank.


    That energy obviously came at a cost. Even though that voice did not say what the cost was, during that urgent time, Xiao Lin could not have thought about it or hesitated. He initially thought that it would be like using Ruin, and Xiao Lin only needed to recover back his strength after a period of fatigue.


    Now he finally understood, the cost of using Myth was his remaining lifespan, and it had taken 80 years!


    Xiao Lin bitterly smiled as he sighed; if one looked at it in terms of value, the price was absolutely eptable. After all, as a Bronze-ranked person, being able to defeat a super boss from Earth¡¯s mythology in such a shocking battle was good enough.


    Wang Shengming looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s changing expressions and did not disturb him, choosing to wait quietly.


    After a few minutes, XIao Linposed himself and climbed off the bed. His numb legs had already more or less recovered. He looked at Wang Shengming and said, ¡°Thank you for your treatment. I can¡¯t tell you why my lifespan decreased. It¡¯s not because I don¡¯t trust you or that I¡¯m deliberately lying, but you really don¡¯t have the authority to know of this matter. Other than the dean, I don¡¯t think anyone does.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s tone was calm but firm.


    It was very hard for him to exin Myth or Ruin to anyone else because that would definitely involve him having to reveal the fact that he had an SS-rank talent. The dean had repeatedly warned him that the secret should be known by as few people as possible.


    Everyone, no matter if they were from Earth or Norma, coveted SS-rank talents. Yet, the holders were not the luckiest people; a heavy burden came with that inexplicably rare talent. Thinking about Ivanovich who died at the hands of his own people, Xiao Lin understood the dean¡¯s reasons.


    Xiao Lin was also very confident. For other students, 80 years of their lifespan would definitely ruin them. Even novice Lifewater was worth a thousand points per bottle. It would take up eight thousand redemption points, a number that would bankrupt most new students, topensate for the years that were lost.


    Yet, Xiao Lin nevercked money. Even though the newest batch of Lifewater had yet toe out, he just needed to buy a few bottles at a higher price.


    Xiao Lin calcted it well, but Wang Shengming seemed to know what Xiao Lin was thinking as he shook his head and said, ¡°Before this, we¡¯ve given you some novice Lifewater. Regretfully, your lifespan did not increase at all.¡±


    Xiao Lin was frozen.


    ¡°I know this is hard to ept, but he really did try various methods, including using middle and high grade Lifewater, but regretfully, while we can verify that the potions were absorbed by you, your lifespan did not recover like we expected.


    ¡°That is why I¡¯m asking you what forbidden spell you used. Based on my hypothesis, only those forbidden spells that deal permanent damage to the soul will render Lifewater useless. I think you should have learned about this before, but Lifewater and the resurrection towers can only handle non-spiritual damage. Anything that affects the soul will render them ineffective.¡±


    Xiao Lin obviously understood; the dean being trapped in that special ward is all because the old man had been poisoned in the soul, so no Lifewater could save him. Yet, who could have expected that, not long after, Xiao Lin would be facing a simr problem.


    The cost of using Myth was so great!


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered something he had read in a book in the restricted section of the library: ¡®power is sacrifice, and only with enough sacrifice can the greatest power be brought forward.¡¯


    Only, that result was too much to ept. It meant that Xiao Lin would not even have a second chance to use Myth!


    Wang Shengming did not manage to obtain an answer from Xiao Lin in the end, so he left with a face full of disappointment. He also warned Xiao Lin against leaving the area simply. He said it was to observe Xiao Lin, but in truth it was to ce Xiao Lin under surveince. After all, using a forbidden spell was a massive crime in Dawn Academy; so much so that even a department head would be brought away after being found out, let alone a mere monitor.


    The scenery outside of Xiao Lin¡¯s window proved that he was still in Dawn Academy, and he was located in the southernmost research center. Regr folk were not allowed inside, and even professors and lecturers needed the clearance to be able to enter. Now that he was locked inside, it was obvious his freedom had been restricted.


    However, a littleter in the day, Xiao Lin¡¯s room was opened again. When he saw who came, Xiao Lin¡¯s dark expression was finally somewhat lifted.


    The ones who came were the president and the captain of the sixth regiment, Yu Mei, both Xiao Lin¡¯s old friends. Of course, they were also considered the dean¡¯s confidants, and would naturally stand with Xiao Lin unconditionally. When they appeared, Xiao Lin¡¯s heart settled a bit as he jumped off the bed, moving his limbs around as he smiled, ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t leave me alone! Let¡¯s get outta here!¡±


    Yu Meiughed, and even the president¡¯s baby-face twitched as he said helplessly, ¡°You really are free. I immediately came over the moment I got the news. We¡¯ve gotten the information on Wang Shengming¡¯s side. Ah, that man is really angry at you.¡±


    Yu Meiughed, looking like she was not worried if the matter got too big. ¡°I heard you told him he did not have the authority. You did well. I never liked that group of old farts...¡±


    The president immediately coughed dryly to interrupt Yu Mei, not wanting the trend to continue. He said meaningfully, ¡°Professor Wang Shengming was acting in your interests. I won¡¯t ask about how or why you used a forbidden spell, but it¡¯s best you keep a low profile outside. After all, if only we know about this, it won¡¯t be hard to help you conceal it. However, if it were public, it might fall into the hands of others.¡±


    ¡°Is the situation in the New World not good?¡± Xiao Lin seemed to understand the hidden meaning behind it. The temporary dean had just taken power, and the old dean had been in power for so many years. He had long since spread his influence into every department. Of course, the temporary dean would not stand by and allow himself to be overturned. The inner workings of the struggles and battles was something Xiao Lin could absolutely imagine.


    The president did not continue on that topic because Xiao Lin had a lot more to worry about. He sternly said, ¡°I looked for you with Yu Mei this time because we wanted to ask you something; are you going to continue participating in the Inter-academy Tournament?¡±


    ¡°The Inter-academy Tournament?¡± Xiao Lin paused. He remembered the tournament should have been scheduled for the end of the semester, and he remembered that he was already in the list of participants. Did anything change?


    Yu Mei stopped smiling as she said, ¡°We might not have told you earlier because we did not think it was necessary, but every battle in the Inter-academy Tournament is fought with real weapons. Even though everyone has the right to forfeit in the battles, in truth anyone who would dare to participate would not care about dying. After all, with the resurrection tower, it would only be a loss of lifespan. Compared to the prizes they could obtain, the cost of Lifewater isn¡¯t worth mentioning.


    ¡°I can tell you a statistic; in all the Inter-academy Tournaments that have been held, the rate of death is around seventy per cent. There¡¯s something else; since the situation in the New World is a bitplicated, after each party had discussed it and after it was approved by the Supreme Council, the tournament will probably be brought forward.¡±


    After a pause, the president emphasized, ¡°I need to remind you, thestpetition will definitely be held in the New World. After all, all the participants are at least at ck-iron rank.¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood what they were here for. Even though dying in the academy would only result in losing 10 years of his lifespan, they would be under the full influence of the New World¡¯sw, so they would lose 20 years of their lifespan if they died there. Yet, he only had 20 years left now, so if he died, he would lose everything.


    The president sighed. ¡°What Captain Yu Mei and I mean is, it¡¯s better if you give up on the tournament. The Eternal Fruit is a good prize, butpared to your life, it¡¯s not worth mentioning.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent. He never expected that a simple monthly examination would invite so much trouble, even affecting the Inter-academy Tournament.


    His greatest problem was that his lifespan could not be replenished. Xiao Lin naturally did not want to die, but he definitely needed to participate in the tournament.


    After a long time, Xiao Lin raised his head and asked coldly, ¡°What about Gu Xiaoyue?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The president paused.


    ¡°Will Gu Xiaoyue participate in the tournament?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The president furrowed his eyebrows, understanding Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°Oh, then I will participate.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s answer was very blunt, as if he just decided on what to eat.


    The room fell into silence again. The president and Yu Mei were not shocked at the answer. The two of them exchanged a nce, as if they had already expected the answer. After a moment, Yu Mei held her forehead, bitterly smiling. ¡°Actually, before we looked for you, we looked for Gu Xiaoyue two days ago as well, hoping she would give up on the tournament.¡±


    The president continued. ¡°Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s talent in magic is inconceivable. Even if she is not the only one with that level of potential, only she is willing to go so deeply into practicing support magic. Put in this way; stopping her from participating was an order from the temporary dean.¡±


    ¡°Even the temporary dean interfered?¡± Xiao Lin was surprised.


    Yu Mei did not know whether tough or cry. ¡°This is something that concerns the glory of the academy, so it¡¯s naturally something the dean needs to care about. How would he be interfering?¡±


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue definitely did not agree,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    The president nodded, a little helpless. ¡°When I passed the order to her, she acknowledged it before tearing the paper apart.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xiao Linughed out loud. He could imagine Gu XIaoyue¡¯s cold expression, probably saying she received the order, but she would not follow it. Any decision that stubborn woman made would not be so easily changed by anyone else. He actually really wanted to see that temporary dean¡¯s expression.


    ¡°It seems that even if we want you to help convince Gu Xiaoyue, you won¡¯t agree?¡± The president naturally knew that Xiao Lin was the only person who was close to Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I wouldn¡¯t agree, but she would definitely not listen. I am the same.¡± Xiao Lin could not exin Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister¡¯s terminal illness because of Gu Chengyun¡¯s questionable bloodline and status. There were some things he did not want too many people to know about due to its sensitivity.


    ¡°She will participate, so you will definitely participate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Even though the two of you can no longer resurrect.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Yu Mei shrugged at the president. ¡°I told you he wouldn¡¯t agree.¡±


    Looking at the president who seemed to have a headache, Xiao Lin¡¯s heart was warmed. No matter what, those people really cared about him, and he said, ¡°You actually don¡¯t need to worry too much. Even though I can¡¯t reveal anything, I actually gained many things during this examination. I¡¯m confident that, even if I can¡¯t win this tournament, it won¡¯t be a problem protecting myself and Gu Xiaoyue. I won¡¯t y around with my own life, and definitely wouldn¡¯t with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°It seems like that¡¯s our only choice.¡± The student union president could tell from Xiao Lin¡¯s expression that he would not be able to stop it. He then moved a step back and said, ¡°The tournament will be held in two months. It¡¯s best if you properly recover during this period. As for resources, I¡¯ll do my best to get you anything the academy can provide. Other than that, Song Jung is back, so you can look for him if you¡¯re free. He might have some way to recover your lifespan.¡±

 Chapter 603 - Song Junlang Returns

    <h4>Chapter 603: Song Jung Returns</h4>


    Even though Yu Mei seemed to still harbor veryrge suspicions toward Song Jung, it was understandable. In the eyes of most outsiders, Song Jung was someone who used the fact that he was close to the dean to get an idle job like the Logistics Department Head.


    Even fewer people knew that Song Jung was a year leader many years ago, and had been looked upon well by countless people. It was a pity the new star fell so much. Even if many people felt it was a pity before, after so many years, no one remembered his decorated past.


    Song Jung had been researching in the New World. Xiao Lin did not know if Song Jung hadpleted part of his research or had rushed back because he heard of Xiao Lin¡¯s matter. No matter what, Xiao Lin had a surprising amount of trust in the unassuming man.


    Xiao Lin did encounter some problems checking out of the ce. Wang Shengming was obviously unwilling to allow Xiao Lin to leave. He intensely argued with the president. Even if the president¡¯s authority was the greatest outside of the dean within the academy, it did not mean that the old lecturers would be afraid of him. Of course, it was because the president¡¯s usual kindly baby-face made him appear very friendly.


    In the end, the president managed to convince Wang Shengming by promising more budget for Wang Shengming¡¯s research. After leaving, the president exined to Xiao Lin, ¡°Even if I could justmand him, that might leak to the dean¡¯s ears. Of course, I mean the temporary dean. That would not be ideal.¡±


    That was the second time the president had mentioned the temporary dean. Even if the president had been well-mannered, he still had a bitter smile on his face, showing that the matter could be more severe than Xiao Lin thought.


    ¡°Surely that old fart isn¡¯t trying to rece you?!¡± Xiao Lin was shocked and angered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not to that degree. Even though the president is appointed by the dean, trying to rece him before his term ends would not be possible without a good enough reason.¡± The one who spoke was Yu Mei. As someone in the old dean¡¯s camp with the president, it was natural she was angered, but she was helpless as she said, ¡°That old fart has started to investigate a lot of old matters during this time. All the orders we have issued are all recorded, and now a specialized person is checking on whether the orders were reasonable or if they were allowed. Of course, it¡¯s not just us... Basically, he¡¯s trying to look for any holes. Otherwise, how could he have a good reason to rece anyone?¡±


    ¡°Yu Mei, be careful with your words. This is still the academy.¡± The president was unhappy with Yu Mei calling the temporary dean an old fart.


    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re way too careful with the way you do things! Just like Wang Shengming earlier, he kept on talking about forbidden spells. Wasn¡¯t he just trying to gain something from you? Everyone knows of your rtionship with Xiao Lin, or he wouldn¡¯t have dared to stop you.¡±


    The president bitterly smiled as he shook his head.


    However, that point was not wrong; the president and Yu Mei were like two pr opposites. Yu Mei was someone who did as she wanted, not caring about the consequences, while the president was someone who would think everything through and move carefully.


    Xiao Lin did not have anything to say, and the two of them were at least consistent in one point, which was to not let Xiao Lin know too much about the situation in the New World.


    After the two of them left, Xiao Lin went back to the dormitory to change his clothes. ss was still in session, so he could not go look for Gu Xiaoyue. Therefore, Xiao Lin went straight to the Logistics Department.


    The entrance was open, signifying there was someone inside. Other than Xiao Lin, only Song Jung would be free enough to run there normally. Pushing the door and going in, Xiao Lin did not bother being too polite since that ce was practically a second home to him. He walked past the familiar path between the strange vegetation, passing the courtyard before he arrived at a small room at the back. After that, he was scared stiff by something two hundred meters away.


    At some point, a pond had been dug up in front of the room, and the clear blue water reflected the sunlight. However, that was not the important point. In the pond was a massive creature that looked like a squid. It had a jet ck and smooth body, and over ten tentacles were dancing in the air.


    Xiao Lin was no stranger to that thing. Back when Poseidon¡¯s seal had weakened on Earth, a simr monster had appeared. Back then, Silverlight told him that it was a guardian of Poseidon. After Poseidon¡¯s seal was renewed, the guardianspletely disappeared. After that, Xiao Lin understood that a few of the academies had worked together to kill off those monsters, and split up the remains to research on.


    Song Jung had unique insights when it came to rare species, which was why under the president and the old dean¡¯s rmendations, Song Jung managed to enter the research center despite opposition from a lot of people. They even started to research ancient beasts with him as the core.


    That was all news that Xiao Lin already knew, but the question was, surely Song Jung¡¯s progress was too shocking. In just a few months of research, he managed to replicate that monster?


    Even though the squid might be bigger than a regr squid, it still could notpare to a real guardian. When the two eyes on that creature¡¯s forehead saw Xiao Lin approaching, it suddenly let out a sharp cry as it waved its massive tentacles in the air, sshing water everywhere.


    Song Jung failed to push it down a few times, and he angrily took out a massive needle that was almost two meters long and pierced it right into the squid¡¯s body, injecting an unknown blue liquid inside. After a while, the squid finally quieted down, and sank to the depths to sleep.


    Song Jung then waved at Xiao Lin, motioning for him to go over, mumbling, ¡°You really caused me a lot of trouble. I took a few hours to finally calm this guy down, but your arrival caused it to go crazy again. This beast¡¯s perception is pretty sharp. Do you have some familiar feeling to it?¡±


    Song Jung cast a suspicious gaze, measuring Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin could not resist as his body let out a cold shudder, taking two steps back before warning, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about doing anything to me. If you want my blood, or want me to drink its blood, that¡¯s absolutely impossible and out of the question!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t draw your blood with this.¡± Song Jung threw that shockingly big needle aside.


    ¡°Anything else is not allowed as well!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even need your blood. What are you afraid of? I just need your DNA.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about getting a single hair from me!¡± Xiao Lin was very annoyed.


    ¡°You really aren¡¯t a good friend.¡± Song Jung mumbled before keeping his things and walking back into the room. After two steps, he suddenly thought of something before turning around and asking, ¡°Hold on, why did youe to my ce?¡±


    The corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°So I really was making too much about it. You didn¡¯te back because you heard about my matters.¡±


    Song Jungughed, waving his hand. ¡°That¡¯s not the case, I came back to settle this guy down. It¡¯s still too young, and not used to the New World¡¯s environment. I can also help you with your problems on the way.¡±


    So it was just on the way...


    Xiao Lin cursed in his heart, and did not bother with any more nonsense as he said in a straightforward manner, ¡°Thest time, I asked you to check on Gu Xiaoyue and her sister¡¯s bloodline. Are there any results?¡±


    Song Jung was a little surprised, as he thought that Xiao Lin would ask about Xiao Lin¡¯s own matters, but Xiao Lin obviously seemed to feel that Gu Xiaoyue was more important. Song Junalng fell silent for a moment before patting off the water from his body, saying, ¡°Follow me inside first.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s guest room was a mess like always. After all, no other guests came other than Xiao Lin. Thankfully, Xiao Lin would asionally clean up the dust, ensuring it was not too inhospitable.


    After entering, Song Jung carefully closed the door and windows under Xiao Lin¡¯s curious gaze. He produced a few magic scrolls and opened them on the walls. All of them glowed in different lights. Layers of light blue, deep green or purple magical protections started to rise, and the entire room was encased in a vibrant and colorful, dream-like world.


    ¡°A protective magical array?¡± Xiao Lin looked aat Song Jung, and asked, ¡°Who are you protecting yourself against?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just some precautions,¡± Song Jung said casually.


    ¡°The temporary dean?¡± Xiao Lin answered.


    ¡°Quit it. This first-year student is really too nosy!¡± Song Jung did not have theposure of the dean, and scolded Xiao Lin outright.


    Sitting down, Song Jung¡¯s expression seemed to be much more rxed, seemingly thanks to the magical protection. However, he sighed with a pained look. ¡°The magical scrolls are all high-tier ones, so they aren¡¯t cheap.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a lot of money?¡± The profits from the bet at Century Casino were definitely not small.


    ¡°Do you think scientific research is cheap? If not for the price that was paid before, how could all those spells and equipment that people use now exist?¡± Song Jung said.


    Xiao Lin did not want to continue skirting around the topic. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just transfer the money to you. I did ask you for help.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s twelve thousand New Dors in total. After that, there¡¯s travel expenses, lots of work fees, andbor costs. I¡¯ll give you a discount, so fifteen thousand New Dors will do. I know you have a lot of money, so this shouldn¡¯t be much.¡± Song Jung did not hesitate to mention the price.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already prepared it.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched, looking at Song Jung¡¯s face who seemed to be waiting for the money. He wanted to throw a brick over at him.

 Chapter 604 - Genetic Test

    <h4>Chapter 604: Gic Test</h4>


    When Xiao Lin was about to get frustrated, Song Jung¡¯s joking face suddenly disappeared, reced with a stern expression as his tone turned serious. ¡°Due to the sudden nature of how we metst time, I didn¡¯t have the time to tell you... Thest time I returned to Earth, I actually met Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister, Gu Chengyun.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯sints suddenly disappeared, and he seemed to stand up with some frustration as he asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that expose something? What did you say to her? That girl is very innocent, so don¡¯t trick some clueless girl! If Gu Xiaoyue knew, how would I talk to her? She prioritizes her sister!¡±


    ¡°Are you done?¡±


    ¡°Ah, let me think...¡±


    ¡°What is there to think about!¡± Song Jung snapped. ¡°Who do you think I am? If I can¡¯t verify it myself, how could I find anything out? The blood samples I managed to collectst time were not enough at all. However, don¡¯t worry, I believe that Gu Chengyun won¡¯t be suspicious, and won¡¯t tell her sister. I¡¯m quite experienced in tricking little girls.¡±


    ¡°Tricking little girls?¡± Xiao Lin had a strange expression on his face.


    ¡°Ahem, I am talking about disguising myself. It¡¯s apulsory course you¡¯ll go through!¡±


    Song Jung handed over a report that was already on the table, motioning for Xiao Lin to look at it. Xiao Lin curiously opened the report, and Song Jung¡¯s notes were quite nice to look at.


    However, the contents inside were just chemical forms that he did not understand. Xiao Lin had not touched anything like that since he graduated from high school, but since it had something to do with Gu Xiaoyue and her sister, Xiao Lin forced himself to look at it, even if he did not understand.


    After a few minutes, Song Jung suddenly said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot that you wouldn¡¯t understand. We¡¯re old friends, you don¡¯t have to put up a front. Just flip to thest page.¡±


    Xiao Lin almost wanted to m the book on Song Jung¡¯s face. He flipped to thest page, and there were no more forms, only a few lines as a conclusion.


    DNA analysis: 40% Elf, 40% Human, 20% unknown.


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment before raising his head. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know what to say; it had just been a DNA test in the end. With Song Jung¡¯s skills, that was nothing difficult, and he could definitely have used the blood samples he obtained from Gu Xiaoyue to do it. He did not need to look for Gu Chengyun, but in truth Song Jung only handed the report to Xiao Lin a long time after that.


    ¡°It¡¯s not much different from the initial analysis. She really does have elvish blood. That¡¯s not strange, but what is the 20% that remains?¡± Xiao Lin pointed at thest words as he suspiciously said, ¡°Did you deliberately hide it?¡±


    Song Jung sighed. ¡°Because even I couldn¡¯t find out. Fine, I admit that I had this report a long time ago, but it¡¯s been dyed for so long because of thatst 20%.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the result?¡±


    Song Jung shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way for me to give you an urate answer. If we want to continue investigating it deeper, then we need a more detailed analysis of each pair of chromosomes in Gu Xiaoyue and her sister¡¯s DNA. It¡¯s not something I can do, and would need even more resources. It would definitely alert even more people. Are you sure you want me to do that?¡±


    Xiao Lin sat back down. He quietly asked Song Jung to investigate it himself because Xiao Lin did not want anyone else to know. However, he actually never cared about what race Gu Xiaoyue was. Xiao Lin just wanted to verify the problem with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan.


    Song Jung guessed his next question and said, ¡°Her problem isn¡¯t the same as yours. Your soul was injured, while she has a gic problem. Even though it¡¯s also troublesome for you to recover, it¡¯s not something that is overly difficult. However, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan will be very hard. Unless we rewrite her genes, I can¡¯t really think of a good way, but...¡±


    Xiao Lin did not care that Song Jung mentioned that his lifespan could be recovered, but he quicklytched on to the ¡®but¡¯.


    Song Jung was not stalling, but merely thinking, ¡°But there might be a way to slow down her rapidly aging genes.¡±


    ¡°Rapidly aging?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an old problem. When colonization started, the problem with race mixing got more and more severe. I told youst time, the biggest problem with hybrids is that their genes will rapidly deteriorate, but in exchange, a portion of them will usually have even higher gifts academically. You can say that all of them burn brightly before dying in a few short years. It¡¯s respectable and pitiful.¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent. Too many of the men who went to the colonist territories went there in hopes of collecting wives of many races. That was not a problem he could afford to care about; he could only do his best to slow down the loss of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s life.


    ¡°As for how to slow down the aging, she would need to rely on potions, but regretfully, I can¡¯t help there.¡± Song Jung opened his arms expressing his helplessness.


    ¡°You actually don¡¯t know?¡± Xiao Lin widened his eyes in shock.


    ¡°Please. What do you think I am?¡±


    ¡°Some multipurpose robot.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s mouth twitched before he said, ¡°However, the academies had already started the research on it a long time ago. After all, the hybrids involve way too many people. Even if some of them refuse to acknowledge their offspring, there will still be others who would never give up on their children. After all, who wants to see their children die before them?


    ¡°I¡¯m not a part of that research, so I can¡¯t help you, but I can rmend that you participate in it. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the one in charge of this research in Dawn Academy is Professor Qin. He specializes in gic and potion research. He¡¯s an old friend of the old dean. If you¡¯re free you can look into it. Getting into his research room will be good for you.¡±


    Xiao Lin noted down that person, and would investigate him after going back.


    Song Jung¡¯s expression got friendlier as he smiled. ¡°Alright, after Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s matters, let¡¯s go to the main topic. Let¡¯s talk about you. You really are a troublesome brat. How did you manage to stir up so much trouble from just a regr monthly examination? I even heard people talking about you in Dawn City¡¯s research center. You¡¯re really bing famous.¡±

 Chapter 605 - Will

    <h4>Chapter 605: Will</h4>


    ¡°I remember this examination should have been forest survival. Oh, I remember that I got that topic during myst examination in the first year. Do you know what evaluation you got for the examination?¡± Song Jung raised the topic, but he seemed to be ying around with it.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. He had been unconscious for a week, and he only knew of all that after he woke up. He never really checked the results of his examination, but he curiously asked, ¡°Department Head Song, did you go through this examination as well back then?¡±


    ¡°Haha, of course. This problem was basically apulsory examination for first- or second-years. I managed to get an S-rank evaluation back then.¡± Song Jung narrowed his eyes and thought about it.


    Xiao Lin did not seem to care initially, but he immediately paid more attention hearing that. Song Jung rarely mentioned anything about his past, and Xiao Lin had basically treated it as Song Jung being unwilling to open past wounds. This time, Xiao Lin did not know if Song Jung was feeling off, but he had brought it up himself.


    ¡°How did you do it back then?¡± Xiao Lin asaked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll not mention defeating the beasts at the start, it doesn¡¯t really differ much. Thest boss was Poseidon, a very difficult opponent. Back then, I was in charge of keeping him upied as the monitor. Even though Poseidon was much weaker than actual history, he should at least have been Silver to Gold-ranked...¡±


    Looking at Song Jung who had shut his mouth while reminiscing about the past, Xiao Lin pushed on. ¡°What happened next?¡±


    ¡°After that.¡± Song Jung looked at the colorful mass outside the window which was due to the colorfulyers of magical protection. He said, after a long time, ¡°After that, I died.¡±


    Xiao Lin speechlessly looked at Department Head Song. The story seemed simr to his own, and he had guessed what mostly happened, but he never expected that ending.


    ¡°However, I got an S-rank evaluation in the end. I only got to know of the goal of the examinationter. It actually wanted to teach all of us that, sometimes, sacrifices are needed. I used my own death to bring everyone a lot of time, stalling Poseidon and allowing the crack in time to restore itself. Poseidon slowly died by himself after losing the source of his power.


    Pausing for a moment, Song Jung smiled. ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t do it properly. There were a few details that I did not do well. If I had managed to win more time, I would have gotten an SS-rank evaluation, but those who managed to do that were only a miniscule number a few hundred yearster.¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s strange smile seemed to have led Xiao Lin to guess something. He pointed at himself, and he happily and said in a surprised tone, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m someone who got an SS-rank evaluation?¡±


    ¡°Huh? No no no. You¡¯ve misunderstood. You don¡¯t have any score from this monthly examination.¡± Song Jung shook his head and denied.


    Xiao Lin was speechless as his eyebrow twitched.


    Song Jung yfully said, ¡°Your examination is interesting. I heard about it when I was in the New World. Just like I mentioned, the goal of the examination was so that you would understand the meaning of sacrifice and making the most appropriate choice at the right time, even if that choice was death. That¡¯s why the final opponent of that examination was something that first-years could not defeat, and it¡¯s been the same for the examination all these years. However, there was an ident this time, and the undefeatable opponent had died.¡±


    Saying that, Song Jung opened his arms and seemed to beughing. ¡°You really gave the student union a very hard problem because the system never expected Poseidon to be defeated, but you did it. So, thest evaluation is not easy to determine, and thanks to you being unconscious, there was no way to understand the situation. So, the final decision was to not give a result for now. Hahaha, it¡¯s really interesting.¡±


    ¡°Are you being entertained by my misfortune?¡±


    ¡°No, I just wonder how you did it. ording to the date from the system, the Poseidon you defeated was far stronger than the other sses. Even so, Poseidon still died. What did you do?¡± Song Jung¡¯s yful tone carried a hint of seriousness.


    Thinking for a bit, Song Jung added, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say it if it¡¯s not convenient, but please answer a few questions. Was it all your own strength? Did someone else help you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not sure if it was a person.¡± Xiao Lin really did not know what that existence in his heart was.


    ¡°Was it an explosive power?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°What about the duration. You can give an approximation if you¡¯re not sure.¡±


    ¡°Oh, around three minutes.¡±


    ¡°How much do you think your strength increased during that time? Let¡¯s use your current strength as the benchmark.¡±


    ¡°Around fifty times; it should at least be around that number. If it was at the peak, it might have been higher.¡± Xiao Lin answered after some hesitation. His Ruin state could more or less give him ten times more strength than usual, so Myth should have been around fifty. If it were the dragon¡¯s de sword aura under Myth, then the power would be even more horrifying. Even Xiao Lin would not be able to estimate it.


    Song Jung breathed in a cold breath at that point before angrily saying, ¡°My god! Are you crazy?! Fifty times?! Do-do you think you¡¯ve lived too long?!¡±


    Xiao Lin had a face full of innocence.


    Song Jung angrily said, ¡°A human¡¯s body has its limits, and these limits are ingrained within everyone¡¯s DNA. In a Normese manner of speaking, at the level of the soul, there are skills that can increase your power temporarily, but if you exceed the limit, the damage it would cause to you is astronomical!¡±


    ¡°Power is sacrifice. Is it that principle?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Song Jung paused. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of that as well? That¡¯s right, the forbidden spells that the academies have all agreed on were due to that unscientific mode of learning. It¡¯s like pulling out saplings to help them grow, trading the future for short-term benefits; is there any meaning to it? It is just a loss. What could you lose? However, if you died, do you know how many people would be affected? Have you thought of your friends? Did you think of your parents?¡±


    Song Jung seemed to be angry. This was the first time Song Jung had talked to Xiao Lin in such an using tone since they knew each other.


    Xiao Lin did not rebuke it. No wonder Wang Shengming had ced him under surveince. It was true that, from various perspectives, even if it were a self-created technique, Myth would be considered forbidden. That was the power of several decades of his life; that price was too heavy, but he still said lightly, ¡°I understand. I understand all of it, but Department Head Song, don¡¯t you have anything you absolutely had to do? Something that you had to do, even by using a forbidden spell or sacrificing your life?¡±


    It was Song Jung¡¯s turn to fall silent. His face was ugly, but it was not due to Xiao Lin¡¯s words or actions. He seemed to narrow his eyebrows to remember something, but he quickly shook his head, warning, ¡°Xiao Lin, even though we joke around a lot normally, that doesn¡¯t matter now, I need to remind you that, no matter how you got that power, you mustn¡¯t use it a second time. Never use it a second time, or you¡¯ll regret it!¡±


    Would Xiao Lin regret it?


    He did not know, but Xiao Lin would never regret using it this time.


    ¡°No wonder novice Lifewater was useless to you. You suffered damage directly to your soul. You were lucky. Though, since it was your first time, the damage was not serious. It is still in the realm of recovery.¡± Song Jung never stopped talking, but his tone was warmer.


    ¡°How long would it take?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, but it will be hard to do it before the Inter-academy Tournament.¡± Song Jung guessed what Xiao Lin was about to ask.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°What does ¡®Oh¡¯ mean?¡± Song Jung retorted.


    ¡°I will still take part in the tournament.¡±


    ¡°I expected that.¡± Song Jung was not surprised. He understood Xiao Lin quite a bit. He took out a document from his bag and handed it to Xiao Lin. ¡°Then just fill this in.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± Xiao Lin looked at it a few times before he was frozen solid.


    On the white document was the title, ¡®Will¡¯.


    That was right; it was an actual will!


    Song Jung stared at Xiao Lin. ¡°What¡¯s there to be surprised about? Since you¡¯re adamant about participating, then you should make ns in case the worst happens. You can¡¯t resurrect, and if you actually die, you should arrange everything after your death. You should still have a lot of money in your New World bank ount, but I have to remind you, based on the academy¡¯s regtions, if you didn¡¯t arrange it earlier, the money will be given to the public.¡±


    Song Jung exined thew to Xiao Lin in detail. Even though the current colonists would not use it normally, back during the war with the orcs, there really were a lot of people who died. This was thew that Dawn Academy had passed after that.


    Fine, Xiao Lin finally snapped back to reality. From a third-party point of view, thew was very humane because there were detailed arrangements there, such as the fact that his fortune would end up with his mother if he died. If he had a descendant in the New World, there would be other arrangements and so forth.


    That really did solve the regrets for dying for most, but Xiao Lin still looked at Song Jung with a strange expression. Why did he suddenly feel like the will was the most important reason he hade to see Song Jung for?


    However, Xiao Lin quickly made a decision as he signed his name without a doubt. The will was not bad. At least his wealth would guarantee that his parents on Earth would live an easy life if he died.

 Chapter 606 - Medicinal Studies

    <h4>Chapter 606: Medicinal Studies</h4>


    It was exactly when sses ended when Xiao Lin returned from Song Jung¡¯s ce. For some reason news of him waking up had caused a lot of people to be crowding around the resting area of the dormitory, and Xiao Lin stumbled upon them at the right time.


    Most of them were from ss Seven, the ones who survived the examination. There were also a few monitors that were closer to Xiao Lin, such as Cheng Ming and Chen Dao.


    ¡°Hahaha, since you can still run around, then I¡¯m relieved!¡± Cheng Ming let out a happyugh.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re really a cockroach that can¡¯t be killed. I heard you really stood out this time!¡± Chen Dao¡¯s expression was one of admiration.


    The other monitors all expressed their concern. After all, they had known each other for half a semester. Even strangers had developed a basic sense of trust and friendship. Of course, their concern for Xiao Lin was at that level as well.


    After knowing Xiao Lin hadpletely recovered, Xiao Lin heard a few relieved tones. The level of sincerity led him to suspect if his charisma had grown greatly. Putting aside Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, the other monitors had not interacted with him that much.


    It was the honest Cheng Ming that led him to understand it; the man patted Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t tax yourself too much in training. You should fully recover so you can get the best results in the Inter-academy Tournament!¡±


    Xiao Lin understood then that it was because the tournament was done in a group format. No matter if the others would admit it or not, Xiao Lin¡¯sbat ability was publicly acknowledged, especially after thest monthly examination. He even knew it in his toes that the ones in his ss who managed to see hisbat ability would definitely have exaggerated it in the forums.


    If his importantbat ability was lost, it would definitely affect the tournament a lot, especially since everyone who participated would be able to get the prizes from the tournament.


    As for the reason for Xiao Lin¡¯sa, the student union had deliberately concealed it. Other than the professors at the research center, no one knew about it. Even though the ones from the sses were curious about the power Xiao Lin had used at that time, the witnesses had deliberately kept quiet. After a few days, the matter had slowly been forgotten. To most people, their own daily studies and training were already a lot to handle.


    The week after the examination ended. A lot of them received a notification that a few new courses would start after that week. It was also the secondary sses that a lot of them were anticipating. However, the only ones avable to the first-years were currently Medicinal Studies, Mining, Basic Construction, and Basic Manufacturing.


    There were actually many secondary sses, such as trantion, scrolls, smelting, forging and potioncraft. Of them, the less popr sses would only be opened in the higher years because not everyone would be interested in it. Furthermore, the more popr potions sses needed Medicinal Studies as a foundation, which was why the course was made avable to first-years.


    Everyone could only pick one ss, and those who chose construction and manufacturing would be awarded additional credits due to how taxing the two sses were. Not many were willing to specialize in them, which was why the academy awarded more for them.


    Of course, after they graduated, not many of them would be able to use those secondary professions. However, just as the notice from the student union said, one would never be certain if one would ever use it. If one really had to use it one day, they might end up regretting giving it up and paying a heavy price.


    A lot of them had actually realized it. In the examination that had just ended, it was the first time that they were not provided with an early report. On top of the fact that they were not allowed to bring in any equipment, a lot of them understood the importance of it, such as the fact that not being allowed to bring potions would require them to refine some natural herbs. Additionally, this examination only had very few students that could do it due to their grades in Basic Biology.


    As for what Xiao Lin wanted to choose, he might have needed to think about it before choosing it, but aftering back from Song Jung¡¯s ce, he no longer had to hesitate. Xiao Lin quickly chose Medicinal Studies.


    No matter if it was the practicality or his own situation, Medicinal Studies and theter potioncraft was his best choice.


    Medicinal Studies started officially after the second week. Because of how fresh it was, the ss was attended by a lot of them, and even Xiao Lin, who had a very tight training n, attended it on time. The professor was a very strict middle-aged woman. She did not seem surprised when she entered a ssroom that did not seem to understand anything. The first thing she said when she entered was, ¡°I know all of you are very curious about this course, but if you just have curiosity, then I think you should give up on it. I¡¯m not a patient person. I¡¯ll first announce the examination requirements for the course.


    ¡°The requirements I ask of you are that you need to at least be able to identify at least a thousand herbs after this semester. Only then will I allow you to pass at C-grade. Three thousand types will be B-grade, and over five thousand will be A-grade!


    ¡°I know most of you might not care too much about this course. I hope you can understand that Norma has tens of millions of nts, so you might not even be able to know all of them in your entire life, so you should respect it...¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but raise his hand to speak.


    The woman paused because the others had been shocked by her words earlier. She could not help but smile coldly because she thought that he was going to be the first person to give up. She nodded and said, ¡°No need to raise your hand. If you want to give up, you can walk out of the ss. I won¡¯t pursue the matter today, but from the next ss onward, if you want to continue, you have to follow my rules.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t finish earlier.¡± Xiao Lin thickened his skin and asked, ¡°You said getting A-grade would require over five thousand types, but what about S-grade.¡±


    The corner of the woman¡¯s lips twitched, but she said, ¡°Anyone over ten thousand types will get an S-grade. Anyone who obtains that grade will be directly rmended into a specialized potions research room, and will enjoy the newest potions research!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes immediately brightened.


    ¡°I always speak the truth, but I need to remind you, aiming for the stars isn¡¯t always a good thing.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± The happy Xiao Lin ignored the woman¡¯ster mocking. He had been wondering how he could quickly get into studying potions, but now it seemed like he had a way.

 Chapter 607 - Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 607: Challenge</h4>


    A week had passed since the Medicinal Studies sses started. Even though Medicinal Studies took up a part of the basic weapons course, the basic course actually needed a lot of time after the ss to revise and memorize the contents.


    After all, just passing required them to remember a thousand herbs. Even if most of them were the basic herbs that were easy to remember, it was still not an easy thing for most of them.


    So, during the second ss, almost half of them were gone from the ssroom. The student union was more lenient towards secondary sses, allowing each student to have a second choice. In the month after choosing the course, they had the ability to change it, but after a month, they would need to wait until a new semester.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s task was even heavier. If he wanted to obtain an S-grade, he would need to remember ten thousand herbs. Professor Qin, who Song Jung had mentioned to him before, had been researched by Xiao Lin through the second-year year leader Chen Yu. Professor Qin was currently the biggest authority on Medicinal Studies in Dawn Academy, and he specialized in the research and production of the newest potions.


    However, he was different from the professors who liked to stay at the academy. Professor Qin enjoyed doing his experiments in the New World. ording to Chen Yu, Professor Qin was only in the academy for no more than two months in a year. Of course, as a professor, he had his own experiment room.


    In name, all the research rooms in the academy were put under the student union, but Professor Qin had a big reputation. Even the president would have a hard time ordering him to do anything.


    That was why it was practically impossible for Xiao Lin to rely on Song Jung or the president to get in. He could only use his own hard work to enter. He had taken the time to understand the research rooms in the academy. Most of them were prepared for graduates or above, and it was very simr to Earth. The professors would assign the tasks, and the research students would prepare the forms ordingly.


    In theory, it was impossible for Xiao Lin to get in, but Xiao Lin had already looked into the evaluation standards of the certificate for medicinal studies. Yes, it was the same as the messy and hateful professional certificates on Earth. In Dawn Academy, various professional upations also had these evaluations. If one wanted to work in the relevant fields and be treated generously, the certificates were necessary.


    The certificate for Medicinal Studies was rtively easy. It tested the participants on the ability to recognize various herbs, and the most basic certificate wasa a thousand basic herbs. After their first year course, that certificate was obtained automatically.


    Because the student union did not have a hard stance on secondary professions, the higher levels of the certificates would require the students to choose for themselves. Recognizing over ten thousand herbs was enough to gain a master-rank certificate.


    Even in the graduate sses, the passing grade was only five thousand types. It was enough for them to see how high that woman¡¯s standards were. She was practically asking for higher-year levels from the first-years.


    However, that meant that, if Xiao Lin could do it, he would have the level of a graduate. It was natural that the lecturer would not mind writing a letter of rmendation. Anyone who could do that would definitely be qualified for a research room.


    After that was the question of whether or not it was possible. Remembering over ten thousand herbs in just a year was not limited to just remembering the name and the appearance. Obtaining a master-level certificate required one to remember the traits, growing process, properties, and uses of each herb.


    A lot of the people on the forum felt like Xiao Lin was crazy. Of course, quite a few of them thought that Xiao Lin was joking. Even Cheng Ming and the others had looked for Xiao Lin. Because the Inter-academy Tournament was fast approaching, it was not the time to be distracted by Medicinal Studies.


    However, their suggestions were not able to change Xiao Lin¡¯s stance. In the first two sses, he did earnestly listen in ss, but he quickly realized that what was taught in the sses was far from enough. In consideration of the majority, the speed of the lectures was not that fast. Based on that speed, a semester was probably only enough for a passing grade.


    So, Xiao Lin used his rights to choose his own sses and gave up on that ss, going to the library to borrow arge amount of books. The rest of them felt that Xiao Lin had really given up on that unrealistic stunt, and no one spoke of it anymore.


    Only, Gu Xiaoyue would have a strange expression every time she walked past Xiao Lin. It was possible that only that woman really believed that Xiao Lin was aiming for the masters certificate. She had experienced Xiao Lin¡¯s memorization skills. Even with her levels of intelligence, she could notpare.


    Using Academic Genius¡¯s passive learning skills, Xiao Lin¡¯s memory was incredibly scary. With the increase in his basic attributes, the effect strengthened as well. His Intelligence affected his memory to some degree. After all, mages needed a good memory for thoseplicated spells.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s regr studies and training were not affected by it. He still did not want to give up on the tournament two monthster. The time he had was utilized to the maximum by him.


    He could only read the books from the library at night and during the weekends, but his efficiency was already more than just ten lines at a nce. He just needed to constantly flip through the books. He merely needed to nce at the herbs before they were integrated into the memory. After reading, he only needed an hour or two to digest and sort out the information before he remembered it all.


    At that speed, in the week that passed, Xiao Lin had more or less memorized over three hundred basic herbs, but he still felt that the speed was too slow. With that speed, he would reach his goal within a year. Yet, to Xiao Lin, he did not have a year to waste.


    One night during the weekend, Xiao Lin had finished his reading and was preparing to sleep. He had calcted the speed of his memory, and could not help but sigh. After that, he heard the sound of Bell¡¯sughter nearby.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re frustrated with your memory. Do you need my help?¡± That yful and cute voice was from the academy¡¯s artificial intelligence, Bell.

 Chapter 608 - Another Deal With Bell

    Chapter 608: Another Deal With Bell


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was basically used to Bell, who would always choose to appear like a ghost, and he had stopped thinking about theplicated question of whether that little girl was an artificial intelligence or an artificial lifeform.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. Bell was still the same with her naked and pale feet, her white dress and the adorable neighbourly look on her face. Of course, Xiao Lin would no longer be tricked by it.


    He yawned in exhaustion. ¡°You say it so casually, but no one can help me with the evaluations. I can only rely on myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re already really fast.¡± Bell blinked her virtual eyes, pointing at the pile of books. ¡°Even those in their fourth year might not be able to read all of that.¡±


    ¡°But I still don¡¯t n on putting all my time into it; this is just a secondary profession for me, so Ick time. ¡°Xiao Lin rubbed his temples. After reading books for the entire day, even he would not be able to resist a headache.


    ¡°Then what would you think if I had a way to increase your memory by dozens, or maybe even a hundred times with your current attributes?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for over twenty seconds before carefully asking, ¡°Do you really have a way? My pace is already fast to an unbelievable degree.¡±


    Bell pointed, saying indignantly, ¡°Your speed is only fast for those people from Earth. The best mages on Norma have unbelievable knowledge and spells. Do you think they spend all their time reading?¡±


    ¡°Is there a spell to increase my memory?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°There is, but those spells aren¡¯t all that useful. It won¡¯t give you thatrge of an increase. I have a better way.¡± Bell¡¯s tone was mysterious and alluring.


    ¡°Really? Will there be side effects?¡±


    Bell angrily said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you trust me that much. Don¡¯t forget who I am. In this academy, there¡¯s no secret I don¡¯t know!¡±


    ¡®As if I would believe in you!¡¯


    Xiao Lin cursed in his mind, but he said, ¡°Fine, fine, I believe you, of course. Let¡¯s discuss the reward.¡±


    The two of them stared at each other before Xiao Lin said in exasperation, ¡°What do you want from me this time? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re doing it for free. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re Mother Teresa.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Mother Teresa?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know how to respond.


    ¡°Find, let¡¯s skip that question. Just tell me what you want!¡±


    1


    ¡°It¡¯s still the same thing. I need your eye! I need that eye of yours!¡± Bell¡¯s expression was a little strange.


    Xiao Lin jumped before he answered, ¡°You want me to help you use TIme Rewind? Why did you say it so scarily. I thought you wanted to dig my eye out.¡±


    ¡°So you agree?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s rxed tone caused Bell to let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s impossible.¡± Xiao Lin had a joking expression.


    Bell red at him as she said angrily, ¡°Then just slowly memorize your books here! Don¡¯t think your speed is that good. Let me remind you, Medicinal Studies gets harder as you progress, especially with those herbs that only exist in legends; the difficulty is astounding!¡±


    Bell was about to push open the door and leave, and Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, not stopping her. The girl kept on appearing and disappearing. Xiao Lin had never seen her walk through the door ever since he had gotten to know her.


    Bell stopped right at the door, perking her ears up, obviously waiting for Xiao Lin to stop her. Xiao Lin was amused. No matter how powerful Bell was, she still acted like a little girl. He sighed, wiping the smile off his face before earnestly saying, ¡°You at least need to tell me when you want to go back to. I also need to remind you, no matter what, I won¡¯t help you change history.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s tone was stern. Fine, it was possible he had watched too many science fiction movies and novels about machines rebelling or intelligent machines taking over the world. The girl in front of him had a simr existence. Xiao Lin did not want to start some future where machines took over humans.


    Bell pouted, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t ask you to change history. I know more than you about the butterfly effect. I just...¡±


    ¡°Just what?¡± Xiao Lin could not hear what she saidter, so he pressed on.


    ¡°I just want to know how I was born.¡± Bell¡¯s tone suddenly turned very soft. She walked back and sat on the bed, mumbling, ¡°I said that there was nothing I did not know in the academy, but that¡¯s not true. There¡¯s something I¡¯ve never known, which is my birth. I really want to know how I was born, or whether I have parents. Maybe I really am just an artificial program. I¡¯ve looked at countless pieces of information, but it seems that the people who founded the academy anticipated that, and left no information about it.¡±


    Bell raised her head, looking at Xiao Lin as she asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t even know who your parents are, would you try to investigate it?¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless. Looking at that pretty girl sitting there, even if he knew Bell did not have a physical body and that she was only forcing herself to look like she was sitting, even if he did not know how sincere Bell¡¯s words were, Xiao Lin had still been convinced.


    After a long silence, he slowly nodded. ¡°If we¡¯re just observing history, then it¡¯s fine, I agree. As long as we don¡¯t change history, everything is good.¡±


    Probably because of the heavy atmosphere, Xiao Lin half-jokingly said, ¡°So do we pay up first or give the goods first? Or do we do it at the same time?¡±


    Xiao Lin was referring to their deal. Both him and Bell did not want to be on the losing end of any deal, and they were obviously worried about being tricked.


    However, Bell was generous this time. She waved her white little hand, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how to speed up your memory first.¡±


    ¡°You believe me now?¡± Xiao Lin smiled.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been observing you, and you seem quite trustworthy.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. You¡¯ve been observing me every night?!¡± Xiao Lin almost jumped up.


    ¡°Idiot! I¡¯m not some pedophilic pervert like you. I¡¯m not interested in watching a dumb man like you!¡±

 Chapter 609 - What Ivan Used Before

    <h4><i>Chapter 609</i>: What Ivan Used Before</h4>


    Xiao Lin had never fully believed Bell¡¯s words, but he suddenly thought about something as he furrowed his eyebrows and said, ¡°Are you talking about Ibeiya?¡±


    Bell narrowed his eyebrows at him. ¡°You finally responded.¡±


    ¡°There wouldn¡¯t be something so trivial in my documents, so does that mean someone is investigating me?¡± Xiao Lin was suddenly on alert. He knew that the only way Bell would know anything about him was to check into his documents, and that was nothing difficult for her.


    Bell did not deny it, she shrugged and said, ¡°There are some things that you don¡¯t have the clearance to know.¡±


    Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s personal information had been ssified by the old dean, it did not mean that he had the clearance to look at other information. It was obvious that someone was investigating him in secret, and the information they got from the investigation might be even greater than he knew. Of course, Xiao Lin would never be able to know about it himself and, while the little girl in front of him had a lot of power, she was restricted by the same powers. It was possible that her casual words earlier were a warning.


    Xiao Lin wisely chose not to mention it, but with that show of goodwill at the start, the negotiations that followed were much easier. Xiao Lin quickly formed a verbal agreement with Bell. Of course, it could only be a verbal agreement. There were too many things between them, such as the trip to the restricted area of the library. That could not afford to have any physical evidence left behind.


    Xiao Lin would use Time Rewind for her at a specified time to investigate her birth. As a reward, Bell would tell him how to increase his memorization.


    ¡°In truth, increasing your memory is very easy. On Norma, they believe that everything holds energy. That means that no matter if we can see it or not, or if we can touch it or not, it can all be converted into energy. With that as the foundation, memory can be converted to energy as well. For instance, the books in your room might look like a lot, but if it was converted into energy, it could only be the size of a fingernail. Memorizing all these books would be difficult for anyone, but what if you could just absorb energy the size of a fingernail?¡±


    Bell did not go deep into the theory behind it, and exined things simply. Xiao Lin was deep in thought and quickly understood it. He did not know the science behind it and the overall process. He thought for a moment and asked, ¡°I understand everything you said, and it seems logical, but if absorbing energy to remember things was so simple, then why does the academy not use it? At least, I¡¯ve never seen anyone do anything like that in any courses.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a forbidden spell,¡± Bell blinked her adorable eyes as she said inly.


    Xiao Lin was once again bbergasted, and only snapped back after a long time, saying angrily, ¡°A forbidden spell? Hold on, if it¡¯s forbidden, then there¡¯s definitely a side effect, so what¡¯s the side effect?¡±


    ¡°Probably something like scrambling your memories, something like a patient of mental illness on Earth,¡± Bell replied.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched as he said, ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll stop here. I¡¯m going to sleep. Good night.¡±


    Bell slylyughed. ¡°You need to let me finish. I never nned on letting you use it since I¡¯d be in a difficult spot if you had any mental illnesses as well. However, after I looked at the records of your monthly examination, I changed my mind. If anyone in the academy could perfectly cast that spell, it would be you.¡±


    ¡°Does it have something to do with the monthly examination?¡±


    ¡°That power you used when you fought against Poseidon. I don¡¯t know what it was, but if you have that power, you can digest the memories that are converted to energy, and won¡¯t encounter any side effects!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression mellowed out as he furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Myth? Are you telling me I need to absorb the books under Myth?¡±


    ¡°Myth?¡± Bell muttered it a few times before saying, ¡°What an uncreative name, but that¡¯s right. Just like you said, you need to put yourself into that state before you can perfectly absorb and digest it!¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Do you know the price for using this power is my lifespan?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Bell nodded.


    ¡°Then do you know I only have twenty years left?¡±


    Bell continued nodding.


    ¡°Then do you also know that I¡¯ll be participating in the Inter-academy Tournament soon?¡±


    Bell nodded like a chick eating rice, and asked, ¡°But don¡¯t you only have twenty years left?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused.


    Bell continued, ¡°I know about the tournament; the finals are held in the New World. I might not have been there before, but all the information I¡¯ve seen says that you¡¯ll lose twenty years of your life if you die there.¡±


    Xiao Lin understood, and he smiled bitterly, ¡°I understand now. Since I only have twenty years left, I would die forever if I die once anyway, so twenty years is not much different from a year or two, so I shouldn¡¯t care so much. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Right. dDon¡¯t you say on Earth that there¡¯s no use crying over spilt milk?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face twitched as he rubbed his forehead. Setting aside whether he was spilt milk or not, he said, ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t even know how much lifespan using Myth consumes. Thest time I used it, I used up a few decades. At a rate like that, I can¡¯t be sure if I won¡¯t die the next time I use it.¡±


    ¡°You have me. You actually don¡¯t need to make such a big deal about it. You¡¯re not the first one to use this method.¡± Bell narrowed her eyes at him.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say no one else can safely use this other than me in the academy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Fine, then who used this before me from another academy? Lilith?¡±


    ¡°Ivan. Ivanovich. Yes, it was him. Many years ago, he came to Dawn Academy and used that skill to master a lot of the spells unique to our academy in an instant.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent for a moment, and he remembered the recording he had seen before. Ivan seemed to be friends with Song Jung¡¯s father, so that maning to Dawn Academy before was not something too surprising.


    He shut his eyes for a moment, recounting that short but shocking fight. It was a scene he would never forget because anyone who saw it for themselves would not be able to stop themselves from realizing how insignificant they were in the world. Under the pressure of that meteor Ivan summoned, anyone would lose all hope.


    ¡°Fine, I understand. Since Ivan used it before, I¡¯ll agree to it!¡±

 Chapter 610 - Participating Academies

    <h4>Chapter 610: Participating Academies</h4>


    A week quickly passed. Ever since Xiao Lin agreed to the deal with Bell, there had been no movement. Bell said that she needed time to prepare, and emphasized that everything had to avoid the notice of the student union and the academy, so she needed to make especially many preparations. Xiao Lin had no choice but to listen to her. In truth, unless Bell looked for him herself, Xiao Lin had no way of locating Bell.


    Xiao Lin did not throw all his hopes on Bell, as he still maintained his training and attending sses during the day, and would still memorize his lessons at night. Everything seemed to be progressing as normal, and he had made time to visit Song Jung twice, but most of the time, he could not find Song Jung. Xiao Lin did not want to stay alone with that sea monster that would go into a rage whenever it saw him, so he naturally stopped going.


    At night, Cheng Ming would asionally ask Xiao Lin to train with him. The list of participants for the tournament had already been decided. Other than the twelve monitors, there was also Gu Xiaoyue, making it a total of thirteen of them. The tournament¡¯s schedule had also been passed on to the participants by the student union.


    The tournament was split into three parts: an individual tournament, a support tournament, and a team battle. There were three separatepetitions, and for the sake of fairness, they had a point system in ce. The individual tournaments would be split into two, and each one would award one point, which was the same for the support tournaments. Each match would feature a different theme. The group tournament was a 5v5 fight, and was worth three points.


    That meant that the total score was seven points, and the academy that managed to get four points would win. All the academies would draw lots for their matchups, and before the finals, each round would use the same rules. However, the finals would be done separately. The tournament venue would be in the New World, and would be a 10v10 team battle. The time limit would be set at two hours, and after the time was up, the side who had the most remaining members would win. If there was a draw, then the remaining members would fight individually to determine the winner.


    Each participant received a detailed exnation of the rules, and the president had also personally exined it to everyone in the lounge.


    At the time, everyone had a strange expression on their face, but no one dared to interfere with the president¡¯s words. It was the president who smiled bitterly as he said, ¡°I know what you want to say; these rules are way tooplicated.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s true. Seven separate events make it so convoluted. A straight group battle to determine the victor is much more simple and direct.¡±


    Cheng Ming nodded in agreement as well, and said in frustration, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of the tournament, but what about the support sses? We haven¡¯t started our secondary profession sses for that long, and we¡¯re going to have to head straight into apetition. It¡¯s too quick.¡±


    The president sighed. ¡°The tournament has a long history, and it¡¯s not the first time the rules have changed. Initially, the tournament was just a pure battle, but someone decided that it was not fair, since one person who was extremely strong could cover up for other weaknesses. So, it turned into 1v1 fights. However, after that, some academies felt that war was determined by teams, so they changed it to a team battle, but after more and more colonist academies joined, the smaller countries found it hard to stand up to our might, so they requested the secondary professions for the sake of fairness. The decision on that had never been set, but this year they finally passed it.¡±


    After pausing, the president said helplessly, ¡°Because Dawn Academy had some matters and dys this year, we were takenpletely by surprise by the change. We never expected it to be in the tournament since every academy¡¯s courses were different, but we have no choice now.¡±


    The president vaguely glossed over the reasons, so it was obvious that the reasons were not appropriate to divulge to the monitors present, but Xiao Lin could more or less guess them.


    Dawn Academy was transitioning between deans, and there were constant fights in the dark, which was why they were looser when it came to dealing with outward matters. However, Dawn Academy was still one of the founding Academies, and was part of the Supreme Council. ording to reason, their position meant that they had tremendous sway. If Dawn Academy did not agree to it, and the secondary profession tournaments were still added, then it was a little weird.


    Xiao Lin felt that it was strange, and could not help but ask, ¡°Which academies are participating?¡±


    The other monitors also looked over curiously. Ever since they started sses, even though most of them had heard about other academies such as the American Judge Academy, the British Royal Academy, and the Russian Voyna Akademiya, not many of them knew how many academies there were.


    The president pped his forehead, smiling as he said, ¡°I almost forgot about that. There are a total of twelve academies, and of those, Dawn Academy, Judge Academy, Sainte Acad¨¦mie, Royal Academy and Vovna Akedemiya are all founding academies. The other academies joinedter on. They are Japan, Germany, Egypt, Argentina, The Nethends, Spain, Turkey, and Portugal. We naturally have an advantage as a founding academy, so the five academies automatically advance to the second round, and the other academies willpete with each other to determine thest three before we start the elimination tournament.¡±


    After a brief silence, everyone¡¯s expressions turned strange.


    Cheng Ming said a little unhappily, ¡°There¡¯s Japan?¡±


    ss Eight¡¯s Sheng Guo was a little surprised. ¡°There seem to be more European academies.¡±


    ¡°Portugal, Spain, The Nethends; they all seem to be strong European countries during the middle ages. Does it have something to do with the New World?¡± Chen Daomented.


    ¡°Why does America get to advance directly as well? Doesn¡¯t their history start muchter than ours?¡±


    ¡°There are very few South American and African countries, with only two in total.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that strange. At the peak of colonization, those regions were all colonized by others on Earth. They could not even take care of themselves on Earth, so how could they run to a new world?¡±


    ...


    Everyone discussed quite a lot, but Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was not great because he had once heard from Song Jung that, in the Supreme Council, most of the matters rted to running the academies were all discussed and decided upon together. If they forcibly approved something without Dawn Academy, that meant that the countries did not even bother notifying Dawn Academy.

 Chapter 611 - Eating Books

    <h4>Chapter 611: Eating Books</h4>


    The tournament schedule was determined after discussions with everyone. Even if the majority usually used various ways to suppress the minority, since it was already at this stage, Dawn Academy had no way of changing anything, but the president consoled everyone in the end.


    Thankfully, it was a seven-point tournament, so even if it was not the best for Dawn Academy, the other academies did not dare to be too impudent, and because of that, secondary professions were just limited to two points. As long as they could take down the remaining five points, they would still be able to win.


    The president said that everyone should not be nervous, and they should just train and learn ording to their ns. Furthermore, he would arrange for those from higher years that had participated in the tournaments before to guide everyone.


    That was why Cheng Ming invited everyone to train in teams during their free time. Even if everyone¡¯s skills were at an eptable level, what was worth mentioning was that Chen Dao was the second person to enter Bronze rank after Xiao Lin sessfully got to that rank. The young man had shocking potential, even if his Intelligence was still not at Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s attributes. Cheng Dao¡¯s other attributes were much higher even than hers, and his total ability exceeded Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s.


    However, most of the time everyone only participated in their own monthly examinations. There was only one time that they participated together, so their teamwork needed work, which was why group training was necessary.


    Xiao Lin had nned on attending, but Bell suddenly appeared again, forcing him to helplessly reject Cheng Ming¡¯s invitation. Even though he could imagine someone like Han Manman would be insulting him behind his back, he had good reasons for doing so.


    Bell found him deep into the night. Xiao Lin felt like he could be wrong, but the white-clothed girl seemed to be much skinnier than usual. It made for an amusing thought, since the girl was not, strictly speaking, a regr lifeform, so it was unlikely for her to have undergone such a change.


    Bell did not exin, and Xiao Lin naturally did not ask anything unrted. Their rtionship was just at the level of being coborators.


    ¡°We need to do this in the restricted area of the library, because you will be a being of pure energy there, which makes memory absorption easier.¡±


    Right after saying that, Bell brought Xiao Lin into that illusory and virtual academy again. It was the same room and the same building, but the sky outside was extremely dark. Other than Bell and himself, there was no one else.


    Physical lifeforms were not allowed to exist there, and even Xiao Lin could not stay there for long. So, he did not ask too much. Since they had chosen to work together, he decided to trust the girl.


    He followed Bell to the library, but they did not go to the room with the crystals this time. They went to a different lounge. There was no one else in the lounge, and it felt quite eerie. Bell had already prepared everything. She had gathered all the books rted to potions that Xiao Lin had requested there. Even if it was the restricted area of the library, all the regr books were still there. There were no physical objects around, and even those books were actually special existences made of energy, so it was no surprise that Bell said this was the best ce.


    Xiao Lin flipped through the books, and it felt that they were different to the touch. They seemed to be liquid objects, and did not have a true physical touch. However, the contents of the books were exactly the same as the real ones. Looking up, he asked, ¡°What do I do? Surely I can¡¯t just eat the books?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for half a moment before he looked at Bell, who was nodding earnestly. He said, ¡°What do you mean by yes? Do you really want me to eat them?¡±


    Bell tilted her head, asking strangely, ¡°Do you need some kind of sauce? Ah, you¡¯re quite troublesome. Fine, I¡¯ll look for something for you.¡±


    After muttering to herself, Bell turned around and left. After a moment, Xiao Lin noticed the girl bringing along another pile of books, cing them in front of Xiao Lin and saying, ¡°These are your sauces, mix them together and they should taste better.¡±


    Xiao Lin browsed through them; those were all books of other specializations such as alchemy and enchanting. Xiao Lin was not in a rush to learn them, and felt like Bell was joking. He shook his head, and pushed away the books before thinking about how to eat them.


    Since everything was made of pure energy, eating books could actually be understood as absorbing energy. Bell had already described the general steps. The theory could be ignored, and the general method was quite simple. He just needed to eat them under his Myth state.


    However, Xiao Lin was taking quite a risk in doing so. Based on what Bell said, he needed to control his own flow of energy. He definitely could not activate Myth for longer than a minute. Otherwise, he might not be able to hold onto the remaining twenty years of his lifespan.


    Of course, this was a good chance for Xiao Lin to experience Myth for a second time. Even though the mysterious existence told him to not use it a second time, he could not simply ignore such an amazing ability. After experiencing such an intense feeling, it was hard to shake off the urge.


    Of course, Xiao Lin would not joke around with his own life, but he was very confident in Song Jung. If Song Jung could invent a special lifewater to increase his own lifespan, then Xiao Lin would have enough resources to continue using Myth. Before that, he needed to familiarize himself with the state as fast as possible. In that sense, this was a chance for him to experience it again.


    After a few minutes, Xiao Lin activated his SS-rank talent. Because he was worried that Myth would be too intense for him, Xiao Lin first activated Miracle and Ruin.


    In that strange space, with his body beingposed of energy, even Miracle and Ruin were experiences Xiao Lin had never felt before. Losing his physical body had caused Xiao Lin to lose the feeling of power, butparatively, Xiao Lin could feel a strange increase in his mental powers that he had never felt before.


    ¡°Myth!¡±


    After two weeks, Xiao Lin activated that state again. The air suddenly ripped with an intense and frantic sound of friction, and an intense blue light suddenly emitted from Xiao Lin¡¯s body as his hair and pupils had turned as blue as the sea.


    Bell¡¯s uninterested face suddenly changed a little. She measured Xiao Lin from top to bottom with a shocked and curious expression on her face.

 Chapter 612 - Absorbing Energy

    <h4>Chapter 612: Absorbing Energy</h4>


    ¡°It¡¯s quite unbelievable, you actually have this power.¡± Bell muttered in shock.


    Xiao Lin did feel strange. Logically, when he activated Myth, he was at a Gold-ranked level, but in the academy, there was no shortage of fourth-year graduates who reached that level, so he found it hard to understand Bell¡¯s shock.


    Xiao Lin did not dwell on it, as time was very valuable after activating Myth. After that was the strangest part. He needed to start eating books.


    Xiao Lin picked up a book and ced it next to his mouth, but started to hesitate. Fine, he had to admit that he found it hard to ept, and could not help but find some doubt in his heart. Would he really digest this after eating it?


    However, since it was already at this stage, there was no room for doubt. Xiao Lin could only close his eyes, and bite down on the book like he was eating poison.


    There was no feeling or taste of paper like he expected, and the pages started to dissolve the moment they entered his mouth. It was like eating a soft snack. He did not even need to swallow it as it went straight from his throat to his intestines. However, that was just the start. Based on Bell¡¯s words, swallowing it was just the start of eating it. The digestion was the most important.


    The pages that entered his stomach were already converted into the purest energy, and because Xiao Lin himself was made of energy in this state, the two of them started to meld together, causing a strange numbing feeling, but it was not too bad.


    As if at the same time, many memories started to appear in Xiao Lin¡¯s head. They were all various pieces of information rted to medicinal herbs, but the information was not veryplete. Of course, it was because he had just swallowed only the first mouthful.


    It really worked!


    Xiao Lin was shocked, but he did not dy as hepletely wolfed down the book in his hand in three bites. The whole book dissolved into a starlike energy in his mouth, and he took up the second book and started to eat again.


    Xiao Lin felt that numbing and hot feeling in his intestines expand a few dozen times, and then there was arge influx of information that flowed into his mind. In a sh, Xiao Lin felt a wave of dizziness. He quickly leaned against the wall to support himself as he panted.


    He recovered after a few seconds, but his mind was still a little dizzy. However, he did not dare to dy. He prepared to grab a few more books to continue when a white little hand pressed on his arm. Xiao Lin curiously looked at Bell who had stopped him, saying, ¡°I can¡¯t maintain this state for too long.¡±


    ¡°This is just for you to get used to it.¡± Bell shook her head. ¡°Based on the speed you¡¯re eating, even if I gave you a whole hour, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to finish everything.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at the books that were around him that numbered close to a thousand. It was true, with his talent, he could only use Myth for three minutes, but considering his remaining lifespan, he only had enough for a minute.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like your stomach is in pain?¡± Bell asked.


    ¡°Oh, a little, but it¡¯s fine.¡± Xiao Lin touched the front of his chest. The numbing and dry feeling inside him was ufortable, but it was not unbearable.


    Bell rolled her eyes, pointing at the books she broughtter on, ¡°That¡¯s why I said that these are all sauces. Even though these books are all made of energy, in this space, each book has different characteristics, and their energypositions also have some differences. It¡¯s just like eating food, but if you feel like you don¡¯t mind eating ten thousand of the same thing in the row, then it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought about it before he shuddered. Fine, he understood that Bell¡¯s words were not a joke, and he would probably get an upset stomach. He asked, ¡°Then how do I increase my speed? Oh, I only have a few dozen seconds left.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry!¡±


    Bell snapped her fingers, and all the books in the lounge floated up in the air before surrounding the two of them. They started to spin around them. The rotation was not too fast, and in a few seconds, they turned into a ring of star-like energy. That was the basic foundation of this world; that everything was made of pure energy. As the owner of the world, Bell naturally had the power to return all physical objects to their original state.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to add these few books.¡± Xiao Lin had understood the use of the ¡®sauces¡¯, and he threw a few of the books that were not rted to medicine into the ring of energy.


    After another ten seconds, the speed of the rotation started to slow, as if a soup with various ingredients inside had finished cooking. The densely packed energy looked like a mass of stars.


    Xiao Lin was about to ask how he was supposed to eat it when Bell snapped her finger again, controlling the energy to fly toward Xiao Lin. In a sh, the dark lounge turned unbelievably bright, and Xiao Lin was like a human ma, frantically absorbing all the energy.


    He never managed to finish his words because Xiao Lin did not even have time to think at that moment. The energy quickly turned into knowledge when they entered his body, and streams of information flowed in his mind. In his mind, every inch seemed to be filled with the information that had been converted into energy.


    A dizziness that was hundreds of times more intense than earlier mmed into him, and this time, Xiao Lin did not even have the energy to lean against the wall as he copsed on the floor in an instant. His forehead and back were full of cold sweat as he shuddered. However, thanks to Myth, his consciousness was still clear, but also because of that, he felt even more pain.


    He wiped the sweat on his forehead away with his arm, and realized all of it was a faint blue color. He suddenly understood that it was not sweat, but the energy thatposed his body.


    No wonder Bell said that it was very dangerous. If it was a normal person, they would probably be swallowed up by the wave of information. If they lost enough energy from their body, it would be like them losing all of their memories and skills, and they would be disabled.


    Xiao Lin was a little afraid thinking about it because, even though he maintained his Myth state to use an immense explosiveness to restrict the energy in his body, it was still not perfect. At most, he managed to greatly decrease the speed.


    However, he had no other way at that moment. Xiao Lin clenched his teeth as he sat on the floor, using hisst bits of consciousness to start the digestion process.

 Chapter 613 - Digestion

    <h4>Chapter 613: Digestion</h4>


    Digestion meantpletely arranging and containing all the information that had been absorbed. Even though there seemed to be a lot of books earlier, when they were all converted into energy, it was actually very little. From the perspective of energy, it was barely even a speck of dust.


    However, Xiao Lin himself could not contain too much. Water overflowed when the container got too full; that was the gist of it. That was why when she saw that Xiao Lin was starting the digestion process, Bell could not help but reveal a look of concern. Even with Ivanovich¡¯s sess as an example, she still did not have absolute faith that the sess could be replicated.


    However, at that moment Xiao Lin¡¯s state meant that he could not focus on the outside world. He was in a very special state; if words needed to describe it, it was as if he was submerged in an ocean of knowledge.


    Those books seemed to have information of most of Norma¡¯s nts within. If it were a normal person, reading and understanding all of it might not be possible, even using their whole lives.


    No, even with a cheat method like eating the books, it was still difficult, but Xiao Lin was in the explosive state of Myth, and his mental strength had greatly increased. It brought forth a great increase in his thinking speed.


    The speed of a regr person¡¯s thinking was restricted by the speed their synapses could receive information, and the limit was about a hundred meters every second. Being able to reach that speed was already at the level of a genius. To a certain degree, the faster one¡¯s thought processes were, the smarter a person was. The faster they could think, the more they could think about.


    Normese humans might be better than regr humans on Earth in various ways, but the difference in intelligence was not that high. It was probably amon trait between lifeforms, and not very rted tos or space.


    However, with such a limit, wanting to absorb all those books in such a short time was incredibly difficult. Bell knew of that, which was why she emphasized that it needed to be done under Myth. However, she actually did not know what the limits Xiao Lin could reach was, so her expression was incredibly nervous as time ticked on.


    After about a dozen seconds, something strange happened to Xiao Lin again. His body started to emit a shocking glow, and the faint blue light that came out of his body due to Myth retracted before exploding into an even more intense light.


    It was like a star, and it was not limited to the lounge. The entire special space had been covered in Xiao Lin¡¯s blue light. It had filled every corner, and under the intense light, Xiao Lin¡¯s body turned into a transparent blue. His skin started to fade, and even the blood and organs in his body could be clearly seen.


    His organs and his brain and even the blood were also tainted by the blue glow before his own body turned into a source of light. It seemed like Xiao Lin¡¯s entire being had turned into a big mass of energy.


    That scene had caused Bell¡¯s jaw to drop. Her virtual form could ignore the intensity of the light, so she could clearly see more through it.


    ...


    After an unknown period of time, even though the special space had its own concept of time, it did not flow at the same speed as real life.


    When Xiao Lin opened his eyes in exhaustion, he found himself lying on the floor. At some point, his Myth state had been forcefully dispelled. He was actually a little scared since he did not know when he lost his consciousness. However, since he was still lying there, it meant that he did not exceed the time limit, which meant his lifespan had not been wiped clean.


    Bell stood next to him, looking at him with a strange look, as if she had seen a ghost. This was the first time Xiao Lin had ever seen that expression on Bell.


    Xiao Lin felt like something was wrong, and asked, ¡°What happened? I remember I was deep in the information in my mind, and I lost consciousness at some point. Just tell me straight up, I¡¯m mentally prepared for it.¡±


    ¡°Hello? Can you speak?¡± Bell seemedpletely in a daze and did not respond.


    ¡°Bell? Bell!


    ¡°The dean sent someone here!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Bell finally revealed a shocked expression, finally snapping back to reality. She frantically looked around, and realized that there was no one there other than Xiao Lin and herself before she patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief. She red at Xiao Lin as she said angrily, ¡°You tricked me!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched as he said, ¡°Please! Look in the mirror, you look like you lost your soul. If I didn¡¯t say that, how long could we have been waiting here?¡±


    Bell¡¯s face reddened a little before she measured Xiao Lin with a weird expression.


    ¡°Hey hey hey! Your expression is scary! Tell me what you want to do!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but retreat a few steps.


    ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯m now really curious about you.¡± Bell sighed with either regret or celebration.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not a pedophile.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was also very strange.


    Bell was not angered as she rolled her eyes and said, ¡°To be honest, I never thought you were anything before this. Even though your skills are decent, even though that old man... Oh, I mean the old dean, favored you, I¡¯ve seen too many youngsters like you. However, today I understand that you¡¯re different. You¡¯re unique.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, why didn¡¯t you think much of me?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched even more intensely.


    Bell shook her head silently.


    ¡°What about now? Where did your curiositye from?¡± Xiao Lin could only change the topic.


    ¡°Do you know what happened just now?¡± Bell asked.


    Xiao Lin naturally shook his head. He himself wanted to know what happened.


    Bell threw a crystal ball at Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°This is a memory crystal of what happened just now. Oh, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let anyone else see this thing.¡±


    Xiao Lin already knew how to use the memory crystals, so he immediately opened it. After that, the scene in front of him caused his eyes to constantly widen in disbelief. Looking at what happened, Xiao Lin did not know what to say.

 Chapter 614 - The True God?

    <h4>Chapter 614: The True God?</h4>


    Everything in the projection was light, a light that filled the sky and every corner. It was blue and shockingly intense, and yet beautiful at the same time.


    Of course, that was not the main point; the main point was that Xiao Lin did not see where he was initially. After rubbing his eyes, he found the clues the second time, and his face grew even more interested.


    After a long time, he pointed at the projection speechlessly and looking at Bell, said, ¡°That¡¯s me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, it couldn¡¯t possibly be me.¡± Bell rolled her eyes.


    ¡°But this...¡± Xiao Lin was a bit stunned, as he did not know what words to use to describe that strange scene. After a moment he said strangely, ¡°I turned into the sun? And I was a blue sun?!¡±


    In the projection, it was already impossible to discern any trace of Xiao Lin. The guy who was constantly glowing in a blue light could only vaguely be made out, but the source of the light appeared in a sphere. Just like Xiao Lin described, he was like a blue human sun, emitting unlimited light and heat.


    ¡°Have you heard of God?¡± Bell¡¯s tone turned lighter.


    ¡°The God? Or do you mean something like Poseidon? I just met him during the examination,¡± Xiao Lin said casually.


    ¡°Do you know why Poseidon is called a god?¡± Bell raised her head, her eyes containing a trace of something. This time she sighed, answering herself, ¡°I know that in Dawn Academy, no, in the eyes of most people in the academies, a god just means someone that¡¯s a lot stronger.¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged, neither denying it nor agreeing with it. To some level, he agreed with that saying. For instance, Poseidon from the legends still seemed to be very strong, but that was just when it came to Xiao Lin¡¯s perspective. Xiao Lin believed that if the ones who fought Poseidon were the Gold-ranked graduates, or even someone at Legend rank, Poseidon would only be able to run.


    Bell saw through his thoughts as she continued, ¡°On Norma, there are people who can increase their strength to being Legend-ranked. As for how strong that is, let me describe it this way. If they used their full strength, the world would end. However, even those people can only be called false gods.¡±


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Are they all second to God?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°That¡¯s right, and not only that. They can¡¯t call themselves true gods. Even though the Normese can¡¯t give this a scientific exnation, they mostly answer this based on their own experiences. However, a small number of people from Earth have earnestly researched this.¡±


    ¡°Then what are the results?¡±


    ¡°Initially, it was the academy from Ennd. The initial research was more centered around the philosophy of idealism and materialism. After all, they even discovered Norma, so what about the existence of God? The Europeans are much more passionate about that question than us.¡± Bell left the lounge as she talked, and Xiao Lin followed.


    ¡°Initially, there were many conflicting opinions. Everyone had countless questions, such as if God existed, then what did God look like? What was the standard for a God? Could the gods of different worlds bepared? Would God from Earth still be the God of Norma...¡±


    With her clear voice ringing, Bell had already walked past the corridors in the library, and slowly walked past the bookshelves that were full of books, and they soon arrived at the restricted area from thest time. However, this time, after opening the door, Bell ignored the memory crystals around them and headed straight to the deepest area.


    After that, Xiao Lin realized that there was another little door in the deepest part of the area. On the handle of the door were variousplicated magical arrays. He looked at Bell who had been talking to herself, and finally asked, ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡±


    ¡°Inside is evidence that God exists. The real God is different from the God we speak about. No matter if it¡¯s Earth or Norma; the true God is much different from what we think.¡± Bell¡¯s expression was once again lighter as she blinked. ¡°This is something Dawn Academy managed to record a long time ago. It¡¯s a God that is already nearing death. After that, the recording was sealed forever. I never nned on bringing you here, but...¡±


    After a moment, Bell said in frustration, ¡°Basically, I think that you should look at it.¡±


    Bell¡¯s vague words invoked Xiao Lin¡¯s curiosity. Looking into the unknown would always be man¡¯s greatest wish, and with the strange words that Poseidon had said to him, Xiao Lin really wanted to look into it.


    He touched the door. The surface of the door was smooth as jade, and it had a faint heat to it. It was obvious that the highest levels of defenses had been added to the door. Just as he was about to ask how it was opened, the defensive arrays suddenly emitted an intense glow. Xiao Lin¡¯s face paled, as he knew the defensive array had been activated.


    However, Xiao Lin did not even have the chance to speak because he was suddenly sucked in by the light from the array, vanishing on the spot.


    Bell still had a strange expression and was a little shocked, but she seemed like her thoughts were confirmed as she mumbled to herself, ¡°My guess was right. This defensive array absolutely restricts regr people, but Xiao Lin actually managed to pass through.¡±


    Xiao Lin had no way of listening to Bell¡¯s exnation. When he woke up again, he was in an empty space. When memory crystals were activated, they would pull the user into a virtual space before reconstructing the scene.


    That was why Xiao Lin quickly calmed down. After making sure he did not have any injuries, he rxed. He understood that he just needed to watch the recording until the end.


    Bell said that this was a recording of a true God, so Xiao Lin started to anticipate it.


    The virtual space was an unlimited darkness, and there was no light or sound. The waitsted for over ten minutes before the darkness was suddenly filled by an unending source of light.


    Xiao Lin shut his eyes, and when he reopened them, the darkness had disappeared. In his vision was just arge, a that was emitting a deep red glow, quietly floating in space.


    Since it was a virtual recording, Xiao Lin did not feel the temperature or energy from it, but just looking at it shook Xiao Lin to his core.


    It was like he was looking at a star from a close distance.

 Chapter 615 - God? Planet?

    <h4>Chapter 615: God??</h4>


    The recording was not very long, and after a dozen or so minutes, Xiao Lin¡¯s vision started to blur and he was quickly standing in front of that door again.


    ¡°Are you done?¡± Bell¡¯s expression had not changed.


    Xiao Lin hesitated for a moment before asking in a strange tone, ¡°Surely you aren¡¯t telling me that that was a God?¡±


    Bell did not deny it, but instead asked, ¡°Then what do you think you saw?¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°The sun? Or to be precise, that thing was clearly a star?¡±


    Bell did not answer directly, and instead brought Xiao Lin away. After all, Xiao Lin could not actually stay in that space for too long. After returning to his dormitory, Bell let out a sigh before saying, ¡°Do you know what the fastest speed is?¡±


    ¡°The speed of light.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The fastest speed is light. The limit of a human¡¯s thoughts is only around a hundred meters a second, so even in the simplest mathematical questions, a human¡¯s calctions can¡¯tpare to that of a calctor. A calctor can make a billion calctions in a second, but the human¡¯s synapses have already determined their limits.¡± Bell seemed to not be answering the question.


    However, Xiao Lin rubbed his chin, saying with some thought, ¡°The speed of thought? I read a simr article before. The speed of one¡¯s thinking determines their intelligence. Based on that theory, the limit of thought would naturally be the speed of light, but humans still can¡¯t reach that level, and we, of course, are limited in our ability.¡±


    ¡°Then I can tell you clearly that, even on Norma, even those at Legend rank, no one has the ability of the speed of light. Light is the vaguest concept. It¡¯s possible that there are those that can use it, but absolutely no one can control it!¡± Bell¡¯s expression was stern as she added, ¡°There is a saying on Norma. Time is God¡¯s domain. This saying isn¡¯t there for no reason.¡±


    ¡°If physical beings can¡¯t reach the limits of thought, then only God can do it, which means it¡¯s the greatest difference between God and man.¡± Xiao Lin muttered in realization before he suddenly eximed, ¡°Hold on, are you saying that the ball of light was a true God, thinking at the speed of light? My lord, are you trying to tell me that, in order for a true God to allow itself to possess the speed of light, it made itself into a pure state of energy, which is also a state of light!¡±


    Bell looked at him with praise. ¡°That¡¯s right. In truth, the answer is not that surprising. I¡¯ve read many religious works from Earth. No matter if it¡¯s from the East or the West, every simr recording ims that God¡¯s state is light. It¡¯s just that humans never thought of its meaning. God maintaining a state of light isn¡¯t because it¡¯s a higher state of being or that it looks nice, it¡¯s just because they have to do that to maintain a thought process at the speed of light.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Bell raised her little hand and illustrated in the air. ¡°Thinking at the speed of light; the special thing about it is that the distance between any point bes the same. In order for every thought to be done at the same speed, each interaction, transfer, andbination has to be at the same speed. That is the most efficient way and, based on that theory, the form that aplishes that in the best way mathematically would be a sphere.¡±


    Bell dropped her hand, because Xiao Lin¡¯s half-understanding expression meant that he did not understand her mathematical model at all. She rolled her eyes, saying, ¡°This theory waspleted a very long time ago. The debate back then was very intense. After all, if God really was an orb of light, the conclusion would be very strange. The devout believers in Europe could not believe it at all. It was only when a true God was discovered that all the debate stopped, and everything was sealed away.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not ask about the reason for the sealing, as that would definitely contain even more secrets that he should not know at that moment. Xiao Lin was even more concerned about himself. After listening to Bell, he pulled back the old topic, ¡°Then do you think that the form I was in before was close to a God?¡±


    Bell¡¯s expression turned stange again. ¡°From the definition of a God, a form of pure energy that moves at the speed of light is necessary. When you absorbed the knowledge in those books, I felt that it was very simr. Fine, I admit that I was shocked by what happened.¡±


    ¡°Did Ivanovich not use the same method back then?¡± Xiao Lin asked in confusion.


    Bell shook her head sternly. ¡°However, Ivanovich did not turn into a form of pure energy when he absorbed it. In truth, based on all the documents in Dawn Academy I know of, I¡¯ve never seen a simr record. Xiao Lin, you¡¯re different!¡±


    He was different...


    Xiao Lin sighed imperceptibly. From the day he entered Dawn Academy, it was not the first time he had heard that. The dean had said that to him, and so had Song Jung. Not long ago, that mysterious being in his body had said that as well, and now Bell was suddenly saying it.


    From the earliest shock to the confusion now, Xiao Lin was already numb to those words. In another manner of speaking, it was as if it was his destiny. In truth, Xiao Lin was beginning to hate the feeling, especially after thest monthly examination. That mysterious existence had clearly said that Xiao Lin¡¯s uniqueness had been forcefully given to him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem happy.¡± Bell seemed to find Xiao Lin¡¯s reaction strange.


    Xiao Lin wiped away his disappointed expression and shook his head to stop the conversation. To him, even if he was some offspring of an ancient and distant God, he was still himself. There was only Xiao Lin in this world, and he did not want to care about what had happened in the past. He only cared about what he needed to do.


    ¡°Then, have I really grasped everything in those books? I remember you saying that it¡¯s basically everything to do with medicinal studies.¡±


    Xiao Lin shifted the topic again. Bell knew he did not want to dwell on it and smiled as she said, ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t underestimate yourself. Under Myth, your absorption abilities are really good. However, there¡¯s some correction needed; it¡¯s the medicinal studies that Dawn Academy knows. In truth, there are still many things on Norma that even the academy doesn¡¯tpletely know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, but this method feels like I cheated. Can¡¯t I just learn everything in the academy this way?¡± Xiao Lin felt like the possibilities were endless.


    Bell rolled her eyes at him. ¡°If you think your life is too long, you can try.¡±

 Chapter 616 - Start Of Training

    <h4>Chapter 616: Start Of Training</h4>


    ¡°There is a limit to how much information a human¡¯s brain can store. Even if you¡¯re still very far away from that limit, there are still side effects to absorbingrge amounts of information in one go. After all, you¡¯re not actually a god, and can¡¯t maintain that state of pure energy forever. In truth, even if you¡¯ve already absorbed everything from those books, I rmend that you only use the knowledge when you need it, and not use it excessively in a short amount of time,¡± Bell said strictly.


    Xiao Lin touched his head. He tried to recall the higher level medicines that were taught in ss, and the relevant information immediately came up in his mind. It seemed to be a response to his intentions, but when he tried to remember more, his mind immediately shook, and a soft pain exploded forward.


    Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s pained expression, Bell opened up her arms and said, ¡°It seems like you understand. All that information is currently deep within your memory. It¡¯s just like a ssified document, and you can retrieve it at any time, but if you retrieve too much in a moment, your brain will be damaged, so there is some danger to it.¡±


    Xiao Lin jumped in fright, suddenly raising his eyebrow. His tone was unkind. ¡°Hold on, didn¡¯t you tell me that there wouldn¡¯t be any danger if it was done by me?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Did I say that? Why don¡¯t I remember it? Big Brother, don¡¯t lie to me!¡± Bell blinked her cute and innocent eyes at Xiao Lin, her expression one ofplete innocence.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched as he shook his head helplessly. He knew that there was no point in pressing her on the matter. No matter what, all that information was already stored in his brain, and it would be a great help when he needed it.


    As for whether or not the choice was worth it, it was hard to say. Xiao Lin checked his lifespan, and he still had ten years left. Even though he had reduced his usage of Myth this time, it had still taken away ten years. However, just like what Bell said, there was no difference between ten and twenty years.


    So, Xiao Lin no longer needed to attend medicinal studies. With the tournament not far away, he threw more of his time into his training. As for the mockery andughter a lot of people privately directed at him, he did not care. After all, in most of their eyes, the guy who confidently asked about an S-rank evaluation at the start of ss quickly stopped attending the ss. It was obviously a retreat after failing to grasp the difficulty of everything.


    Taking into ount the urgency of the tournament, the academy had made the appropriate adjustments for the current new students, such as the cancetion of the monthly examinations. They did not want the participants to encounter any idents during the examination. However, Xiao Lin could feel that it was probably targeting him, since his lifespan did not allow him to even die another time.


    Other than that, some of the unnecessary courses had been cut out of their regr schedule. The additional time was allocated to training, and their trainingpanions were the fourth-year graduates, because the tournament was split into fourth- and first-yearponents. Of course, most of the time, the fourth-years were just sparring partners.


    For some reason, the tournaments put more of an emphasis on the first-years. After all, new students represented future potential, such as Lilith, who had stood out in thest tournament. Due to that woman, Judge Academy strengthened itself. If no one found a way to stop Lilith in the next few years, she would be the genius of Judge Academy in the future.


    ...


    Because of Bell¡¯s interference, when Xiao Lin btedly appeared on the training field, it was already the third day of training. There were obviously a few silent words about Xiao Lin¡¯sck of attendance, but no one voiced it out loud. When he saw who the training instructor was, Xiao Linughed.


    Their trainer was Captain Yu Mei. It was hard to me the others for not voicing any opinions. Everyone knew that the woman was on Xiao Lin¡¯s side, but Yu Mei did not give Xiao Lin any special treatment. She merely nodded at Xiao Lin reporting in, and the training started after that.


    ¡°Other than increasing your variousbat powers, this training will also determine the order that you will fight in. Based on regtions, the individual and secondary profession portions cannot feature repeat members, but the team portion is not affected,¡± Yu Mei said.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just participate in the individual fights. My spells are suitable for individualbat,¡± ss Four¡¯s Han Manman interrupted.


    Yu Mei red at her before coldly saying, ¡°I will be arranging the participation list based on your results during this period. It¡¯s not up to you what you take part in. Other than that, the participants will not be constant throughout every match, as I will swap you out based on your condition.¡±


    ¡°The substitutes will also gain a lot less rewards.¡± After pausing, Yu Mei added that to warn anyone against deliberately underperforming to avoid the tournament, but still obtain the prizes.


    However, Yu Mei had been staring at Han Manman as she said that. It caused Han Manman to feel obviously awkward, but she puffed up her chest andughed. ¡°The results will be the same anyway, so I¡¯ll definitely be participating.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know where her confidencees from.¡± Chen Dao, who had always been at odds with her, mumbled at a volume that everyone could hear.


    ¡°You are stronger than me in skill, but it might not be the case in one-on-onebat. You would probably only be able to beat Gu Xiaoyue,¡± Han Manman mocked.


    ¡°Try now if you dare!¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    ¡°Han Manman, shut up!¡±


    ¡°Chen Dao, you should speak less too!¡±


    Even though it seemed like a fight was about to break out, Yu Mei did not seem to want to make a move. It was as if she was used to it, the others like Cheng Ming immediately went up to stop it.


    The monitors were not usuallypletely united, and would usually have conflicts between themselves. Suddenly gathering to fight together in a team would definitely draw some conflict.


    There were some upper-year students and lecturers observing them, and all of them sighed and shook their heads at the scene, as if they were worried about the tournament this time.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Suddenly, the heavy sound of a de hitting against wood could be heard. It stood out in the noisy training hall, so everyone¡¯s gazes shifted there.


    Xiao Lin was holding a training sword and waving his sword to practice. During that period of time, since he had used up more time on medicinal studies, he had gone rusty after a few days away from swordsmanship training, so Xiao Lin had nned on getting his body back to its previous state.

 Chapter 617 - Practice Fights

    <h4>Chapter 617: Practice Fights</h4>


    It might have been because the training hall had turned too quiet, but Xiao Lin stopped his actions after a moment, looking at everyone else strangely before continuing his training.


    The others exchanged looks with each other, and Yu Mei¡¯s lips curled up into a smile before she loudly shouted at the rest of them, ¡°Do you see that? What I need to see is real results from your training! I don¡¯t care about these petty squabbles! I also need to remind you that the student union president has given me power. Even though you¡¯ve all been registered to participate, before the official tournament, I have the right to switch out any of you! Ah, in truth, a few of you will never be able to fight anyway, so we¡¯ll at least be able to save on the expenses for a few of you!¡±


    Yu Mei had always been a straightforward person, and her words were never intentionally meant to scare anyone. If she dared to actually scare someone, it meant that she really had the right.


    The captain was already a very big official in the eyes of the monitors. After the lecture, even Han Manman shut her mouth because the student union had exposed the final rewards for the tournament a few days ago. Just a part of it had already attracted everyone¡¯s attention, making them salivate. No one wanted to be kicked out at this point. Not only would they lose any and all rewards, it would be very humiliating as well.


    After the training went past the chaotic first few days, it started to get more orderly. Based on the basic rules that the student union had set, since Dawn Academy had been messed with by the other academies in terms of the rules, they were nning on basically giving up on the secondary professions. Based on Yu Mei¡¯s intentions, the ones who performed the worst would be thrown to the secondary professions, since they did not n on winning it anyway.


    As for the individual fights and the group events, those still needed to be monitored closely, which was why Yu Mei had gathered them to train.


    ¡°Based on past experiences, the individual events will usually send out one martial participant and one magical one. From the past battles, mages usually have an advantage against close-ranged fighters. Based on our data, the win rate is as high as seventy per cent.¡± A fourth-year senior named Bai Ning had spoken. She had a head of short hair, and was thin but seemed to have a body that was full of energy. She seemed very capable.


    Yu Mei had looked to her for help, and she had participated in the tournament for new students four years ago. It was a pity that Dawn Academy had been eliminated by Judge Academy in the Top 8 that year. However, she had won her individual event, and Bai Ning had kept her skills up in those few years; she was already at Gold rank in skill. She would be the instructor in individual battles for Xiao Lin and the others.


    Yu Mei was someone extremely experienced, but Yu Mei¡¯s specialtiesy in war strategies andmandingrge-scale battles. She was not suited to solo fights like these tournaments.


    Cheng Ming raised his hand and voiced his questions. ¡°Senior Bai, I¡¯m a bit curious. I¡¯m not doubting their abilities, but in individualbat, if both sides are elites, and if the closebatant knows sword aura, shouldn¡¯t the melee fighter have an advantage?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite. I¡¯m still a student just like all of you. I was just invited to help out here. Oh, what is your name?¡± Bai Ningughed casually, causing most of them to feel closer to the senior.


    ¡°I¡¯m called Cheng Ming, the monitor of ss One.¡± Cheng Ming smiled.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that closebatants usually have the advantage when skills are equal; I think the practicalbat course you have this semester would have taught you about it. However, that¡¯s just under the conditions ofrge-scalebat. In a battle between elites, if both of them are in the same situation, mages have a very obvious advantage.¡± Bai Ning pursed her lips, as if she was mulling over her words. However, she was not a specialized teacher in the end, and after thinking about it, she smiled and said, ¡°How about this? Come try it out with me. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be careful.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll give it a shot!¡±


    Cheng Ming was just about to agree, but someone answered even quicker than he did. After that, he looked over at Xiao Lin in confusion.


    Xiao Lin helplessly said, ¡°Are you dumb?! She¡¯s at the Gold rank. Even if she suppresses her strength to the lowest, you wouldn¡¯t be able to beat her. You¡¯re not some masochist, so why are you sticking your head out?¡± The others naturally knew that logic since they did not step out, and Cheng Ming was probably the only one honest enough to stupidly stand out.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a sparring session.¡± Cheng Ming regretfully rubbed his head, but since Xiao Lin had stepped up, he did not press on.


    ¡°Senior Bai Ning, please teach me well.¡± Xiao Lin politely greeted her as he stood in the middle of the hall.


    Bai Ning did not know how to react after seeing everything clearly, but she still nodded and praised, ¡°Your swordsmanship was quite good just now. I¡¯ve seen a lot of fourth-years who don¡¯t have their basic movements down so smoothly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡±


    Since Xiao Lin stood at the ready, Bai Ning did not waste any time speaking. As a senior from the fourth year, she handicapped herself by not using any weapons. Of course, Xiao Lin only had a training sword that had no killing power. In truth, he was looking forward to it. Even though he had encountered a lot of battles in the New World, there were very few chances for pure 1v1 battles, especially with an opponent at such a level.


    Since the senior would definitely not make the first move, Xiao Lin went straight for it, thrusting the tip of his sword forward. He was already rushing forward, and pointed his sword upward. That was the most basic technique in swordsmanship.


    However, Bai Ning¡¯s smile had frozen in ce as her pupils constricted. With her sharp observation skills, she could naturally tell that, while it was still the same basic swordsmanship move, Xiao Lin¡¯s movements were faster, and the angle of the sword was very fierce. He did not n on letting her cast a spell.


    Since it was just a sparring match, Xiao Lin naturally did not use his full strength. He did not even use his Miracle state, and only used his Phantom Steps. However, even without increasing his attributes, his Phantoms Steps already raised his speed to shocking levels. He was only about a hundred meters away from Bai Ning, and he closed the gap in just a few seconds.


    Bai Ning¡¯s reactions were not slow either. Her deft hands quickly moved in the air, and a faint gold magic array was quickly formed. Xiao Lin¡¯s de was fast, and after the clear sound of impact, the training sword bounced a few centimeters away from Bai Ning¡¯s body.

 Chapter 618 - Practice Fight With Bai Ning

    <h4>Chapter 618: Practice Fight With Bai Ning</h4>


    Bai Ning¡¯s expression quickly turned serious. It was just a basic technique, but she could tell that Xiao Lin¡¯s basics were much better than the others. However, she did not panic at all, and had casted the defensive spell in a sh before her hands quickly moved again, not pausing for a moment as she opened her mouth to start chanting a spell.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows curiously. Bai Ning¡¯s chanting speed was very fast, but it was not fast to the level of being extraordinary. The keyy in the fact that the woman¡¯s chants only had a few independent magical words. That in itself had shrunk the chants needed to less than a third.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A string of fireballs shot out, but those fireballs were only about half the size of normal ones. Even though the power level had dropped, there were a lot of them, and Xiao Lin¡¯s speed was immediately suppressed.


    The fireballs were not very powerful, and Xiao Lin shed out a wave of sword aura, cutting down the spells that were flying at him. However, Xiao Lin understood that Bai Ning did not n on iming victory with those fireballs. In just that short moment, a new chant started. Xiao Lin did not even bother raising his head as he jumped into the air, avoiding the new spells that were flying toward him.


    Xiao Lin was still a step too slow. No, it was more urate to say that Bai Ning¡¯s spellcasting was too fast to imagine. Xiao Lin¡¯s foot, which was already half a meter in the air, still got hit by a bundle of yellow light, and then he suddenly felt his body turning heavier.


    A slowing spell!


    Xiao Lin immediately determined what the spell was. It was a Bronze-ranked slowing spell. It used the power of earth to burden the enemy, achieving the effect of slowing a target down. Even though that single-target spell had very narrow uses, and was very hard tond, it was not a problem in the hands of an elite mage.


    Closely following the slowing spell was another string of debuff spells. Xiao Lin used his sword aura and basic swordsmanship to block a portion of it, which was enough to cause Bai Ning to look at him with a shocked expression as she reevaluated him. However, Xiao Lin was still hit by the remaining spells, and continuously being hit, Xiao Lin¡¯s pace had slowed down to the speed of a turtle. He calcted it in his mind, and he might not even be able to salvage it with Miracle. Only by using Ruin could he increase his speed to something close to Bai Ning¡¯s.


    However, it was still a sparring match, and Xiao Lin did not n on using Ruin or Miracle. After losing his greatest advantage in his speed, he was in a very bad state.


    Xiao Lin started to understand why mages held the advantage in individual duels, but he did not n on giving up just like that. Since he did not have any speed, he decided to just stop in his tracks, raising up his training sword as a dense sword aura started to gather.


    ¡°shing?¡± Bai Ning immediately realized Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions. However, she was even more confused, and did not know how to feel because Xiao Lin had kept on using the most basic of swordsmanship skills, including shing. Bai Ning had not seen those skills in formalbat for quite a few years.


    ¡°Junior, it¡¯s not smart to use sword techniques that require you to gather your energy against mages because, if you give me enough time, the damage I can inflict is much greater than yours.¡± Bai Ning¡¯s voice had a teasing tone to it, and she started to move her hand to use an even moreplicated magical chant with apanying hand movements. Her body started to gather a striking blue light.


    ¡°A Silver-ranked spell Super Concentrated Beam?¡± Yu Mei raised her eyebrow before taking out a magical scroll, covering the other students in a light.


    Concentrated Beam used one¡¯s own magical power as an energy source. The spell¡¯s greatest advantage was that it did not need any elemental power, and could be used ad nauseum as long as one had enough magical power. However, its greatest w was the long time it took to gather, but Xiao Lin¡¯s shing gave her enough time.


    Looking at Xiao Lin, Yu Mei¡¯s expression changed again before she suddenly said in a low voice, ¡°Careful, Bai Ning...¡±


    A rumbling could be heard.


    Before Yu Mei could finish her words, the sword aura released by shing shed with the concentrated beam. shing needed less than three seconds to gather the maximum amount of energy, even though it was rare to have a chance to gather it to the limits in actual battle. Even at its limit, the sword technique was still at the lowest level, so its power could only increase to Bronze rank.


    However, Xiao Lin had used it alongside the power with elemental sword aura. The power of his elemental sword aura was far greater than any other sword aura of the same rank.


    There were not many people who used elemental sword aura in the academy, so Bai Ning was not very prepared for it. She never expected Xiao Lin¡¯s shing to be able to block her Super Concentrated Beam. The sh of the two energies caused the entire training hall to shake. The sudden light that exploded out caused everyone to shut their eyes.


    That sudden loss of sight did not cause Bai Ning to stop her attacks. Even though she was very perplexed, her years of experience still allowed her to react immediately. Following that, she chanted out a ming sword that had explosive powers. It was a spell that had a physical attack to it.


    Even after losing her vision, Bai Ning quickly used her extremely strong perception to lock onto Xiao Lin. The moment she threw out her ming sword, Bai Ning felt like something was off. When she wanted to react, her disadvantage as a mage showed itself. She had a very strong perception, but her reaction timing was very bad.


    A clear sound broke through the air, and the light that exploded out had already dispersed. After all, it was only a Silver-ranked spell.


    When they opened their eyes, they looked at the two of them in the arena. Xiao Lin and Bai Ning had already stopped their respective attacks, even though the rest did not know what happened. The victor was already determined.


    Xiao Lin looked at his broken armor. The sparks of fire that remained indicated the remnants of the attack. Xiao Lin unwillingly sighed. ¡°Senior Bai Ning, it¡¯s my loss.¡±


    Bai Ning opened her mouth. She looked back at the floor next to her, the training sword was half stuck on the ground. It was only a short distance away from her.


    ¡°Why did you choose to throw your own sword at me? Why didn¡¯t you use your sword aura to attack? Your sword aura shouldn¡¯t be that weak.¡± Bai Ning asked.


    ¡°Because you definitely prepared spells to defend against energy. In such a short time, I would have had no better way to break through your defense, so I could only use my sword to attack. You should know as well, a physical attack is the best way to break through an energy shield,¡± Xiao Lin answered.


    Bai Ning smiled faintly, and nodded. ¡°A good assessment. It¡¯s obvious that you should have won.¡±

 Chapter 619 - Sparring

    <h4>Chapter 619: Sparring</h4>


    Bai Ning spoke inly as she smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t use your full strength.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t either.¡± Xiao Lin shrugged. He felt a bit of regret since the sword he threw did not hit Bai Ning and because his perception had been interfered with by Bai Ning at thest moment. He was helpless against the difference in their Intelligence attributes, but if he had Miracle or even Ruin active, it might not be the case.


    However, in the same way, Bai Ning did not use her full power either. It was obvious that she had held back a great deal in herst spel. Otherwise, Xiao Lin might not even have been able to attack under the intense power.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop here!¡± Yu Mei stood out at the right time. She stared at the two of them, ming them a little for taking it too far. She looked around the training hall, as it was in a mess, but thanks to Yu Mei using the defensive magical scroll, no one else was injured.


    ¡°I think he can participate in the individual events.¡± Bai Ning walked over and told Yu Mei.


    Yu Meiughed. ¡°It seems like you hold him in high regard.


    Bai Ning looked at Xiao Lin, who was not far away, before nodding. ¡°It has nothing to do with his skills. Hisbat experience is definitely not at a first-year¡¯s usual level. We all know that the first-year tournament is more about who has the most experience.¡±


    ¡°He does indeed have a lot of experience.¡± Yu Mei had a strange expression. She knew what Xiao Lin had experienced during this time. In terms of actualbat experience, Xiao Lin definitely had more than anyone else.


    ¡°Xiao Lin can just be one of the ones taking part in the individual tournament. dDo you have any suggestions for the other candidate?¡± Yu Mei made the decision immediately. As the one in charge of the training, she naturally had the authority.


    ¡°Oh, I think I won¡¯t participate in the individual tournament.¡± Xiao Lin coughed dryly after eavesdropping on the conversation, not able to stop himself from objecting.


    ¡°What?¡± Yu Mei widened her eyes.


    ¡°I want to take part in the secondary profession segment.¡± Xiao Lin knew that the others were looking at him with a strange expression, but he still thickened his skull and spoke. Since the secondary profession candidates could not ovep with the individual ones, he could only pick one. If he was just participating in the tournament for the experience, Xiao Lin would naturally be happy to fight in the individual tournaments.


    Being able to fight against the strongest students from other academies was something Xiao Lin anticipated. However, if they needed to win, then this was actually the better choice.


    This time, the other academies had worked together to mess with Dawn Academy, which meant that the other academies had a lot of confidence in their secondary professions. Dawn Academy was the only one that was not prepared. Yu Mei and the president nned on giving up on those points, but that meant that they definitely needed to win at least one of the individual fights as well as the team battle, which involved countless variables.


    Xiao Lin knew that Gu Xiaoyue cared more about the rewards of the tournament than he did. That medicine could potentially cure Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister, and Xiao Lin had a deep impression of Gu Chengyun as well. He also did not wish for that innocent and happy girl to be confined to a wheelchair for her whole life.


    The result of that deliberation was Xiao Lin¡¯s participation in the secondary profession segment, so the best choice was for him to win that point.


    Thanks to Bell¡¯s help, the medicinal studies knowledge that Xiao Lin grasped at that moment, at leastpared to those from the same year, was practically iparable. He was actually even more confident in his ability to seed in that than the individual events.


    Bai Ning wanted to advise against it, but Yu Mei stopped her. Yu Mei understood Xiao Lin more than Bai Ning, and knew that the guy was not joking, so she understood that it would be hard to change Xiao Lin¡¯s decision.


    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then you should just be a sparring partner during this training period.¡± Yu Mei decisively changed her words.


    ¡°Sparring partner?¡± Everyone exchanged a look.


    Only Xiao Lin smiled bitterly. Yu Mei calcted things very well. He was actually very suited to be a sparring partner since his skills were far above everyone else. Most importantly, he was proficient in magic and swordsmanship, which made him a very good opponent.


    The others were filled with anticipation because that meant that they had earned a chance to officially fight Xiao Lin. That man who had been a monitor since the start was definitely the person that stood out the most among the first years. However, at some point, everyone started to view Xiao Lin as the strongest person in the year.


    It was possibly since thatbined monthly examination, or it might have been when he was the first to reach ck Iron and Bronze rank. As time went on for longer, that sentiment was more and more prominent.


    The regr students did not really care about that. When the second semester started, the gap between them and the monitors was stretched even further. However, to the monitors, not everyone was as generous as Cheng Ming. Even if they understood that Xiao Lin might be very powerful, it was hard for them topletely acknowledge it.


    ¡°Why does everyone think that he¡¯s stronger than us?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been putting our lives on the line and frantically training too.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯ve already surpassed him?¡±


    Being eager to win was a natural human trait. They usually did not have many chances to spar against Xiao Lin, especially since Xiao Lin regrly disappeared. Even if they voiced out that request, there was a big chance of them being rejected, so they finally had their chance.


    Feeling various looks around him, Xiao Lin sighed again. He understood that he would probably be very busy in the following days.


    ...


    The training hall for the monitors had been specially arranged, but there were no secrets that were foolproof. It might have been due to the upper-year students unintentionally leaking it, or maybe a monitor talked about it, but after training for a week, news of the results of the duels between the various monitors surfaced on the first-year forums, and even the general rankings were announced.


    Even though their training hall was specially arranged, the training halls themselves were open to the public. More and more people started to spectate the training, and various pictures would appear on the forums every day.


    Xiao Lin took his role as a sparring partner seriously, and was even a bit merciless. When he was sparring, he did not hold back like he did against Bai Ning. He even used Miracle and Ruin. If he really lost while using those skills, then Xiao Lin felt that he might as well quit the academy.


    Gu Xiaoyue was the only one that did not need to participate. As a support role, Yu Mei had given her specialized tutoring, which spared Xiao Lin some awkwardness.


    In the initial few days of sparring, XIao Lin practically stomped everyone with his victory. The only ones who could stand up against him were Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, but when Xiao Lin used Momentary Blink, the two of them still fell in seconds.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s attributes were already at Bronze rank, and with Ruin, even facing talent-holders like himself, the difference was just being able to hold on for an additional few seconds.

 Chapter 620 - Fight with Han Manman

    <h4>Chapter 620: Fight with Han Manman</h4>


    Under the name of sparring, many of them tried to challenge Xiao Lin, but were quickly beaten down in a few moves. Initially, most of them were unsatisfied. Since it was just a sparring match, they did not use their full strength, and some of them did not even use their talents.


    However, with how easily they were defeated, especially with their results being exposed on the forums every day, some monitors could not help but feel humiliated. Even though the results of the spars were meaningless, and would not affect their positions as monitors, it was still hard to avoid discussion behind them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe your monitor is so insignificant.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t me him. There¡¯s always someone stronger out there.¡±


    ¡°Say, wouldn¡¯t it be better if Xiao Lin was our monitor?¡±


    ¡°It seems that ss Seven¡¯s students were really lucky.¡±


    ...


    The training did notst for just a day or two, which was why the defeated monitors challenged Xiao Lin again after a few days. As an important part of preparing for the duels, Xiao Lin could not reject them as a sparring partner. He privatelyined to Yu Mei, asking why she did not arrange for some higher-year students, or even just used the virtualbat system, saying that would be better.


    Yu Mei meaningfully said, ¡°That training would be meaningless. You need to understand that the participants from the other academies won¡¯t just be your opponents now. They might even be your foes in the years toe. As a first-year, you¡¯re still not mature, but your opponents are the same as well. There¡¯s no meaning to arranging a fight with an opponent with years of experience. All of you need to understand everything, be it ws or advantages, and be able to react to it.¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s words sounded very serious, but Xiao Lin felt like she just did not want him to be idle. However, Xiao Lin had to admit that fighting with these monitors, regardless of victory or defeat, still gave him a lot of experience.


    Combat experience was something that one always needed more of. Xiao Lin had spent more time in the New World than the others, and that was the reason for his greaterbat experience, but that was still only by a little. Xiao Lin was very clear that he still had a long way to go, and he needed to constantly umte it.


    The new training session started again, and this time, the monitors did not hesitate to use their talents, probably understanding the gap between themselves and Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin also finally found some interest. Normally, be it in ss or training, the others would not easily use their talents. It was actually an unspoken rule for talent holders, since it was better that as few people knew about their strongest trump cards as possible.


    Xiao Lin currently only knew of Cheng Ming¡¯s Swordheart talent, and the other talents were just spection and gossip on the forums at most, which was why he started to be very curious as to what their talents were, and how theypared to an SS-rank talent.


    When the new training session started, someone suggested that they would start to seal off the training, and would no longer allow unrted spectators. That was simple enough; all they needed to do was increase the clearance level of the training hall.


    That obviously came at the protest of the regr students, but it had all been ignored. That way, other than Yu Mei and Bai Ning as spectators, there were only a few others from the student union.


    They also expressed great interest. Talent holders would always stand at the top of the colonists, and there did not seem to be a limit to the amount of different talents that have been recorded. No one could say that they had seen the power of every talent, and it was even possible that a new talent would appear among the new students.


    The first to challenge Xiao Lin was ss Four¡¯s Han Manman. As thest monitor to be formalized, Han Manman¡¯s standing was not high. In truth, her skill was very average among them, but possibly due to Bai Ning saying that mages had a veryrge advantage, or maybe because of her jealousy, and even possibly because she lost too badly to Xiao Lin two days ago, she was the first to step up during that training session.


    There were no pointless words as Han Manman started her attacks straightaway. She used wind type spells. Even if she was not much among the monitors, she was still at ck Iron rank, and had quickly summoned two ck Iron ranked tornados.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s reaction was even quicker. Just as she ended her chant, Xiao Lin immediately activated Miracle and used Phantom Steps, drastically increasing his speed and allowing him to disappear from sight.


    ¡°Even though Senior Bai Ning said that mages have a natural advantage, their levels are too different. Xiao Lin is suppressing her with just speed alone.¡± The other monitors that looked on voiced their evaluations.


    ¡°Xiao Lin¡¯s speed is shocking!¡± Cheng Ming remarked. He did not feel any jealousy, and said it purely out of praise.


    ¡°Han Manman can only turn back into a defensive position, but I remember that woman only learned offensive spells. Ah, that woman isn¡¯t just arrogant, she¡¯s also a sadist.¡±


    Listening to the whispers around, Han Manman¡¯s cold smile widened. She did not shoot out the tornadoes that she had chanted, and instead held them between her hands. Due to their difference in skill, her perception found it hard to lock Xiao Lin down. Next, she suddenly closed her eyes, and opened them after a second with a strange look in her eyes.


    She finally threw the two tornadoes in the air. The two tornadoes shed together at a high speed among the howling winds, creating an even greater wind and rotational force.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s body appeared again. The crowd gasped as a few wounds appeared on his arms. Wiping away the blood, Xiao Lin paused for a moment, but not a bit of frustration could be seen at the unexpected development. Heughed.


    ¡°Very good, you should have done this from the start. Otherwise, this match would have been too meaningless,¡± Xiao Lin praised Han Manman.


    Han Manman looked like she had been humiliated because her strongest attack had only inflicted those minor wounds on Xiao Lin. However, her n had more or less seeded. Even if it was two ck Iron-rank spells, the two tornadoes could bebined to achieve even greater power. That technique was something she trained for a very long time to master, so she said in frustration, ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky! You can¡¯t avoid my spell!¡±

 Chapter 621 - Fight With Chen Dao

    <h4>Chapter 621: Fight With Chen Dao</h4>


    ¡°That¡¯s the Eye of Wind.¡± Bai Ning and Yu Mei conversed in a low voice by the side. To them, being able to grasp the talents of those monitors would help them with the arrangements for the team events. However, they knew that it was not convenient to ask them about it straight up, so they could only gain a deeper understanding by watching the battles.


    Yu Mei¡¯s voice was low as well when she said in thought, ¡°It should more or less be that. Otherwise, with Han Manman¡¯s perception, she would not have been able to catch Xiao Lin. That brat is dual cultivating, so his Intelligence attribute isn¡¯t that low.¡±


    Bai Ning said, with either regret or pity, ¡°Eye of Wind can allow you to use your perception to lock onto someone without regard to the difference in Intelligence. The talent might not be ranked highly, but it¡¯s very practical. It¡¯s a pity though; she shouldn¡¯t be specializing in offensive spells. The talent is a lot less useful when using it with offensive spells.¡±


    ¡°Even if she went the path of a support, would we use her in the team battles? Don¡¯t forget about the insane existence that is Gu Xiaoyue.¡± Yu Mei smiled, not denying anything as she added, ¡°The five-man team battles will only need one support at the most.¡±


    The two of them had unwittingly crossed Gu Xiaoyue out as they talked because in terms of their victory, they definitely needed the three points from the team battles. Yu Mei did not tell the others, but the fighting and sparring over the past few days had been to choose the members of the team battles.


    Xiao Lin immediately understood that his speed was useless in front of his opponent¡¯s talent. Even though he could use Ruin again, he did not want to use his weakness against his opponent¡¯s advantage before ascertaining if Han Manman¡¯s talent had any other uses.


    Xiao Lin just decided to stand in ce. He gathered all his attributes onto Strength with Miracle before waving his training sword, frantically shooting out waves of sword aura.


    Against an unmoving target, the uracy of spells would definitely be at their highest, but that also meant that Han Manman¡¯s talent would lose its meaning. After that, even though Han Manman used all her power, her level of spells could not survive that onught of pressure. On top of that, her spell casting speed could notpare to the rate Xiao Lin released his sword aura.


    That difference became evenrger after a few minutes. In the end, Han Manman fell at the strength of Xiao Lin¡¯s unending sword aura. What frustrated her was the fact that Xiao Lin did not even use his elemental sword aura, and merely used his sword aura that had been strengthened under Miracle to gain such an oppressive advantage.


    Looking at the woman who was full of wounds being dragged away to be healed, Xiao Lin felt a bit of regret. Of course, it was not because he had beaten her so badly, but rather because he had wasted too much time.


    Xiao Lin had been keeping count, and this time, he had used about four and a half minutes to beat Han Manman. Of course, if Han Manman knew that he could still distract himself by keeping track of the time when they fought, she probably would spit out blood. However, two days ago, Xiao Lin had defeated Han Manman in less than a minute. The only difference was that Han Manman had not used her talent then, and she did now.


    ¡°No wonder talents make up the core of every academy¡¯s strength!¡± Xiao Lin remarked in his heart before looking at the others with a challenging expression. ¡°Where¡¯s the next one? Come, let¡¯s continue. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go all out.¡±


    Han Manman had caused Xiao Lin to understand even more how much their talents affected battles. During the tournaments, the participants that the other academies sent out would also be talent holders, so umting more battle experience against talents holders now was very important.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot! Don¡¯t hold back. There¡¯s no meaning if you don¡¯t use your full strength.¡± The second one who stepped up was ss Twelve¡¯s monitor Chen Dao. The battle determination in his eyes was not lower than Xiao Lin¡¯s at all.


    ¡°I guessed that you would step up. It seems you¡¯re not happy with your loss two days ago.¡±


    ¡°Hey, today¡¯s different, and don¡¯t use your swordsmanship. It would be meaningless. Come at me with your magic!¡±


    ¡°As you wish. Come, you¡¯re definitely better than Han Manman.¡±


    Xiao Lin would not look down on Chen Dao. As the one whose Intelligence attribute was only lower than Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s, the man¡¯s spells were very powerful, and was at least a level higher than Han Manman¡¯s, so those words were not meant to mock him.


    Chen Dao was usually very open, but he kept his mouth shut regarding his talent. Really, other than Cheng Ming, the others had never exposed anything about their talents in a public setting, so Xiao Lin was very curious about Chen Dao¡¯s talent.


    The second sparring match was starting, and it was Xiao Lin against Chen Dao!


    Even though he did not know what Chen Dao¡¯s talent was, Xiao Lin was no stranger to his spells. The man mainly used fire spells, so Xiao Lin first summoned up a water shield as defense.


    Chen Dao seeminglyunched his first attack at the same time ¡ª Pyrost!


    The gigantic ball of fire made the water shield in front of Xiao Lin feel useless. Since he promised not to use sword aura, Xiao Lin deliberately decided not to block it with sword aura. He shifted all his attributes to Intelligence under Miracle, and he did not dodge, even though it was not that hard with his speed.


    Pyrost was a spell that hit a low radius, but caused a lot of damage. Xiao Lin had yet to master such a high-level spell, but after the second semester had started, Xiao Lin had actually learned a lot of low-level spells during his free time. What he expanded on was the principles that he had learned from mastering elemental sword aura, which waspression and condensation.


    Even though Xiao Lin did not spend that much time on mastering his spells, thanks to his passive talent¡¯s immensely strong ability to enhance his understanding and learning, it meant that he had a very easy time mastering the low-level spells that did not require that many chants.


    Most importantly, Xiao Lin¡¯spression technique only had a high sess rate on those simple spells that did not haveplicatedpositions. Higher level spells had a moreplicated alignment andposition of the elements, sopression was many times harder.


    me Ball!


    Facing Chen Dao¡¯s fierce Pyrost, Xiao Lin only shot out a me Ball, which was a ck Iron-rank spell that was a whole level lower. When the deep red-colored me Ball shot out of Xiao Lin¡¯s hand, Chen Dao had a heavy expression on his face. He quickly erected a cloak of me around himself for protection.


    After a few seconds, the Pyrost was shattered by the me Ball, and balls of fire that had beenpressed into the size of a finger shot forward. That modified spell did not use thepression technique, and even though it fired quickly, the power was not great.


    Chen Dao¡¯s me cloak proved very useful, and blocked those balls of fire.

 Chapter 622 - Chen Dao’s Talent

    <h4>Chapter 622: Chen Dao¡¯s Talent</h4>


    ¡°That was an interesting judgement, and he switches very quickly between attack and defense. To be frank, in terms of being a mage, Chen Dao did it better.¡± Bai Ning continued with her assessment.


    ¡°Could you tell what technique Xiao Lin used?¡± Yu Mei asked.


    ¡°Compression and condensation.¡± Bai Ning knew what she was looking at in an instant. She remarked, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about him a long time ago. I never expected that he would be able to raise his meditation and perception to such a high level while dual cultivating.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably very hard topress spells. Have you studied it before?¡± Yu Mei said with some amusement.


    Bai Ning shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a ss taught by Professor Qin. I took part in his coursest year, and I understand the principles behind it, but it¡¯s extremely hard to learn. Furthermore, the time it takes to learn it and the benefits you gain aren¡¯t equal. Even though Xiao Lin is decent atpressing spells, he can only do so with ck Iron-ranked ones.¡±


    ¡°So Bronze-ranked ones will be even harder?¡± Yu Mei¡¯s understanding of magic, especially spellpression, was not great.


    ¡°Yes, the difficulty is about equal to learning a Silver-ranked or even Gold-ranked spell, which is why I said it¡¯s not worth it. With that time, it¡¯s much better to learn other spells.¡± Bai Ning sighed.


    ¡°From your professional perspective, do you think Xiao Lin will lose?¡± Yu Mei asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Chen Dao¡¯s talent is hard to judge,¡± Bai Ning said with some hesitation.


    Yu Mei was mildly curious as she shifted her focus back to Chen Dao before going deep in thought. Bai Ning might only be a fourth-year student, but she was exceptional in various areas. If even Bai Ning could not make a judgement, then Chen Dao¡¯s talent was probably not so simple.


    Xiao Lin was also specting on Chen Dao¡¯s talent. The earlier battle against Han Manman had led to him understanding that he needed to be more careful when fighting against talent holders. Using one¡¯s talent at the right time could potentially change any situation.


    Xiao Lin controlled the mental energy he was using, and threw out variouspressed ck Iron-ranked spells, such as Wind de, me Ball, and Icicle. The spells were basically raised to a Bronze rank in level afterpression, and they benefited from using up less energy, which would allow him to constantly be on the attack.


    Chen Dao¡¯s spells were all at quite a high rank. He had the Bronze-ranked Pyrost, Sea of mes, and even the Silver-ranked Magma Stream. The man had used it all, and Magma Stream was particrly threatening. That Silver-ranked spell could allow the user to unleash magma that was close to a thousand degrees. Its destructive power was immense, and the monitors whispered among themselves after he used it. It was obvious that they never knew Chen Dao had mastered that spell.


    It was that Silver-ranked spell that caused Xiao Lin to finally use Momentary Ruin in order to hold it back, but the training hall had turnedpletely hot, and the floor was filled with redva. Thankfully, Yu Mei set up defensive measures in time, and the training hall was made with materials that could withstand Gold-ranked spells, so safety was not an issue.


    ¡°Xiao Lin is in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that? Chen Dao might have shockingly mastered a Silver-ranked spell, but Xiao Lin managed to clock it.¡±


    ¡°Are you dumb? Look at the floor. It¡¯s filled with mes andva. How much space is left for them to stand on?¡±


    ¡°I remember that the individual fights are held in an arena?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°I see. If it was a real battle, then Chen Dao might not be able to beat Xiao Lin, but since it¡¯s a tournament, the avable space is limited. Xiao Lin really is in trouble. Chen Dao is fighting very smartly.¡±


    ...


    The discussion among the monitors was heard by Xiao Lin, but even if he did not, he still understood the situation very well. Xiao Lin was conflicted for a moment before he smiled as he looked at Chen Dao. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be trying to use something like this to win.¡±


    ¡°How could that be? I would never use such a petty trick!¡± Chen Dao widened his eyes as he retorted, causing the monitors who spected on it to feel awkward.


    ¡°In truth, this is the best way. Victory is the only result.¡± Xiao Lin was a little annoyed. Chen Dao was the youngest among them, having just turned into an adult, and he was quite naive at times.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think restricting the area like this is enough to make you lose.¡± Chen Dao rolled his eyes somewhat mysteriously before he said in an excited tone, ¡°In truth, I¡¯ve been wanting to properly fight you for a long time to see how far apart we are. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s so hard to see you, and I finally have a good chance today, so how could I leave any regrets behind?¡±


    ¡°It seems you still have trump cards that you aren¡¯t using.¡± Xiao Lin raised his eyebrow slightly. He had thought that Chen Dao¡¯s talent was some passive talent, which made it easy to exin how Chen Dao had mastered a Silver-ranked spell so easily, but it seemed like it was not the case.


    ¡°Indeed, the active ability of my talent has actually never been revealed to anyone. I¡¯ve never used it, even in any of the prior monthly examinations.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s smile receded. He had researched talents before, and lower-ranked talents normally only had one ability, either active or passive. The higher-ranked talents would not only increase one¡¯s innate skills; they also had various other abilities. For instance, Xiao Lin¡¯s Academic Genius talent had the passive ability of increasing the effectiveness of his learning, and its active skill could replicate the abilities of others.


    Even Yu Mei and Bai Ning¡¯s gazes turned into one of shock, and Gu Xiaoyue, who had been disinterested the whole time, looked over with an expression that was deep in thought. Everyone knew that talents with two abilities were at least A-rank, or even S rank!


    Xiao Lin and Chen Dao¡¯s battlefield was only a two hundred-meter wide area, and over eighty percent of the area was covered byva and fire. Even though the training hall¡¯s temperature regtion system had pushed down the temperature, it was still very hot.


    Chen Dao¡¯s expression turned brighter as the clothes on his body started to burn. The mes got more and more intense until his entire body was swallowed within, forming a gigantic ming person.


    ¡°me God Talent! The S-rank me God talent!¡± The one who eximed was Yu Mei. Her tone was quite excited.


    ¡°My God! I¡¯ve read about this talent from the records, and it was from over sixty years ago!¡± Bai Ning widened her eyes in disbelief.

 Chapter 623 - Fire God

    <h4>Chapter 623: Fire God</h4>


    ¡°Should we stop this?¡± Bai Ning said with uncertainty.


    ¡°No need.¡± Yu Mei shook her head, and she added with a cheeky expression, ¡°We can¡¯t stop anything anyway.¡±


    Saying that, Yu Mei still walked forward and threw out a few scrolls, enveloping the other monitors in a colorful shield. After a few seconds, she seemed to feel like it was not enough, and threw out a few more.


    Looking at Chen Dao, who was burning and, of course, could not be seen through the mes anymore, Xiao Lin could clearly feel the surrounding temperature rising. The training hall¡¯s temperature suppressing arrays could no longer push the temperature down.


    Ruin!


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate to activate Ruin, throwing aside Temporary Ruin as he condensed a few icicles and shot them out. However, the icicles melted before they even got close to his opponent. They were even spells that he hadpressed!


    ¡°Chen Dao, your active talent seems quite dangerous. I don¡¯t think you canpletely control it yet. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯ve never used it. I suggest you don¡¯t use it too much.¡± Xiao Lin suddenly furrowed his eyebrows.


    The ming figure¡¯s mouth seemed to move, as if it was trying to say something, but in the end it only spat out a few mes. Just as Xiao Lin guessed, Chen Dao could still notpletely control that state.


    Roar!


    The ming figure let out a roar as it started to rush at Xiao Lin, walking past the sea of mes andva like it was just t ground, and a few gigantic balls of fire seemed to shoot at Xiao Lin at the same time.


    The balls of fire were dark red, which meant that the mes had beenpressed to some degree. Chen Dao had never learned to do that before, which meant that he could naturallypress the elements in that state. Not only that, Xiao Lin acutely noticed that Chen Daounched those balls of mes in just a breath¡¯s time.


    Shocking power, and an unbelievable casting speed.


    Xiao Lin was constantly trying to estimate Chen Dao¡¯s power under his activated talent, and spared no power to knock down those orbs of fire. It was nothing too difficult under his Ruin state.


    However, Chen Dao immediately raised the level of his spells. He merely raised his arms as theva on the floor started to shoot up quickly, forming pirs of mes. At the same moment, it seemed to instantly surround Xiao Lin. Chen Dao¡¯s attack had yet to end. As he casted those few spells, he had already closed the distance with Xiao Lin, but he did not stop moving, and instead,unched himself straight forward.


    With the earth-shaking sounds of explosions, the entire training hall shook for a dozen seconds. In the thick smoke, Chen Dao pulled away, but it was just a momentary pause as he started to attack again. This time, it was Pyrost, but the difference was that the enhanced Pyrost was stored in his hand before he formed a fist, increasing his speed as heunched himself forward.


    Another string of explosions reverberated around the training hall, assaulting everyone¡¯s ears. Everyone stared in disbelief as they looked at Chen Dao¡¯s fervent attacks.


    The arena had already beenpletely covered in mes as Chen Dao¡¯s figure disappeared into the mes, leaving only a string of burning after-images. Chen Dao was not Xiao Lin. sSince the start of sses, he had focused himself on me magics, and never chose any courses rted to closebat but, at that moment, he looked like a meleebatant.


    The shaking of the ground got more and more intense, and Cheng Ming and the others seemed to feel like Chen Dao might bring down the whole training hall if he continued.


    ¡°It is said that the Fire God talent is all-powerful. It can naturally cast instantly, boost its magical power and is proficient in both martial and magical arts. It seems like the rumors were not exaggerated,¡± Bai Ning said with a wry smile, and could not hide that hint of admiration in her tone.


    ¡°Chen Dao still hasn¡¯t mastered the talent,¡± Yu Mei sighed as she said something simr to Xiao Lin.


    In less than a minute, Chen Dao hadunched an uncountable amount of spells, and an unknown number of punches. All those spells had been used by Chen Dao before, but the power was much greater under that state. It wasparable to Xiao Lin¡¯spressed spells, and after the dense smoke dissipated, everyone else saw that the mes on Chen Dao¡¯s body had already receded.


    Chen Dao was panting erratically, and he seemed very frail, seeming like he was about to copse at any point. His face was very pale, but he still forced himself to stand at the edges of the sea of mes as he stared at the smoke.


    ¡°Hey, is Xiao Lin still alive?¡± In the quiet training hall, someone finally asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s probably dead...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I saw him fighting back.¡±


    ¡°With attacks of that frequency, and with only training gear as protection, who among us couldst for a minute?¡±


    ...


    As they discussed in hushed voices, Xiao Lin¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in the smoke. A faint white protective shield was the first thing that was shown, and the shield glowed for a moment before dimming.


    Chen Dao¡¯s expression got even uglier as he rubbed his head in frustration, muttering, ¡°You monster! I couldn¡¯t defeat you even with that attack!¡±


    ¡°I was almost defeated!¡± Xiao Lin let out a sigh as he continued, ¡°It was harder than I thought. If you managed tost another minute, then...¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head and did not continue. However, even if Chen Dao could havested longer, he still had more options. He might not be able to use Myth, but Xiao Lin could at least use his Replicate ability.


    Chen Dao had only managed tost for a minute. Xiao Lin did not even need to attack at all. He just needed to maintain Absolute Defense under his Ruin state. Iplete Absolute Defense could block any attack that did not exceed his abilities. Even though Chen Dao¡¯s spells were quite high-ranked, they did not exceed Xiao Lin¡¯s Ruin state.


    Xiao Lin had to admit that he did not have many choices against the ming Chen Dao. Of course, it was also because he had restricted himself against using swordsmanship before the fight, but it was enough to show how strong Chen Dao¡¯s talent was.


    ¡°I think you should use the rest of your time to train on getting used to that state. Anything else should be secondary for you.¡±

 Chapter 624 - Black Potion

    <h4>Chapter 624: ck Potion</h4>


    Chen Dao nodded. Even though he was a bit unhappy, he still readily admitted his defeat, saying, ¡°I understand. In truth, I never had enough strength to use it, and today was the first time I tried. The duration really is too short, but I have to thank you. I¡¯ll be looking for you next time as well!¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded with a bitter smile, casting an annoyed nce at Yu Mei, who was not far away. Yu Mei had let out augh in response to his nce.


    Bai Ning did not understand, so she slowly voiced her assessment, ¡°Xiao Lin¡¯s overall skill is definitely better than everyone else¡¯s level, but it¡¯s obvious that he hasn¡¯t used his full strength. It¡¯s really hard to imagine that a first-year student is so strong. Chen Dao is not bad either. I¡¯m a bit jealous of his S-rank Fire God talent. As long as he manages to survive, he will at least make Epic rank in the future, but I¡¯m a little doubtful.¡±


    Yu Mei smiled as she looked at Bai Ning before throwing down another shield. Looking at it in detail, it was a sound formation of restriction.


    Bai Ning said thoughtfully, ¡°Being able to neutralize Chen Dao in his Fire God state, it¡¯s hard to imagine if they are in the same rank. Does Xiao Lin have a talent? I do not remember seeing anything like that in his documents. If that was the case, wouldn¡¯t that mean that his talent would be... Oh.¡±


    Bai Ning stopped her words as if she realized something, and then she saw that she was surrounded by a sound cancetion array. She looked at Yu Mei awkwardly, not knowing what to say, but Yu Mei waved at her inly.


    The two of them had already adopted their usual expressions when they went back to the other monitors. Yu Mei pped as she summoned them over before dering, ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to stare at Xiao Lin. Everyone should go spar and train. I know that you all umted a lot ofbat experience in your monthly examinations, but you stillck experience in fighting talent holders, and more than ny percent of your opponents in the tournament will be talent holders.


    ¡°I will leave all of you to perform individual training this week, and from next week onward, we will start with team training. Today¡¯s training will be taken care of by Bai Ning. Xiao Lin will be leaving with me first. The rest of you can continue!¡± After delivering a series ofmands and leaving no room for discussion, Yu Mei brought Xiao Lin away.


    Even though the others might not be able to tell, Yu Mei could urately see that Xiao Lin was practically at his physical limit. He had used Ruin and Absolute Defense, which were both very taxing. He even blocked Chen Dao¡¯s Fire God state. Unless Xiao Lin used Myth, there was not much else he could do, so Yu Mei did not ask Xiao Lin to continue practicing.


    ...


    ¡°Is that actually your main goal? You say it¡¯s sparring, but you actually just wanted to see the level of their talents!¡± When no one else was around, Xiao Lin could not help but voice out his observations.


    ¡°It¡¯s half of it. The other half is to determine the name list for the team events,¡± Yu Mei admitted.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving now, so does that mean you¡¯ve already decided on the list?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Yu Mei stopped in her tracks before smiling strangely. ¡°Hey, I know what you¡¯re thinking. You want me to exclude Gu Xiaoyue.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded in admittance.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be Impossible.¡± Yu Mei rejected it clearly. ¡°You should know how important she is. Among all of you, only she is a true support caster. The difference in our chances of winning is astronomical without her.¡±


    ¡°Is the tournament so important? Do you know how much Gu Xiaoyue has left in her lifespan? She can¡¯t take the risk of losing!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but raise his voice. He knew Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s decision clearly, and knew he could not change it. So, he had hoped to gain some sort of promise from Yu Mei.


    Yu Mei looked at Xiao Lin sternly, and slowly said, ¡°First of all, I know about Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan. Secondly, she volunteered herself to go, and I don¡¯t think anyone forced her. Thirdly, don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the seventh regiment¡¯s captain first and foremost. I don¡¯t have any right to abandon the tournament, which is very important for Dawn Academy ¡ª not for you or Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sake!¡±


    Yu Mei¡¯s meaning was simple. Even if Gu Xiaoyue really died because of this, Dawn Academy would just give her some posthumous award, and give her only remaining rtive variouspensations. However, that would only ur if she died. Before she died, Dawn Academy would definitely not do anything that shocking. When they entered the academy, everyone definitely knew that death and sacrifice was required, and Yu Mei would not change anything because of that.


    Xiao Lin understood that Yu Mei¡¯s words might have been cruel, but they were true, and was definitely not something he could change. Furthermore, this was all done under the consent of Gu Xiaoyue herself.


    The matter was definitely sad, and obviously Xiao Lin¡¯s own lifespan meant he could not afford to die as well. However, he was confident in Song Jung. Compared to Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s gic issues, his own problem was far simpler.


    Song Jung might be odd at times, but he definitely took Xiao Lin¡¯s lifespan seriously. The third day after the training started, Xiao Lin received a call from Department Head Song to go over.


    Song Jung¡¯s Logistics Department was practically a research room at that point. There were various bottles filled with colorful liquids, and in the middle of the table was a lone test tube that contained a sticky and bubbling ck liquid.


    Xiao Lin could more or less guess what was happening from the look Song Jung was giving the liquid, so he asked, ¡°Is this the potion that will remove the side effect of my using Myth? Can I just drink it?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s words had been too direct, and Song Jung said curiously in amusement, ¡°What, aren¡¯t you afraid of being tricked by me this time?¡±


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°Then are you tricking me?¡±


    Song Jung muttered, ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s notpletely false.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched. That man admitted it so easily...


    Song Jung did not seem to care about Xiao Lin¡¯s expression, continuing to exin, ¡°Actually, you should thank that guy outside. This potion was made with him as the base material.¡±


    ¡°The guy outside? Oh, you¡¯re referring to the guardian of the sea? It was strange that I didn¡¯t see him just now.¡± Xiao Lin remembered the guardian that Song Jung had grown from its gic material, which was that gigantic squid.


    ¡°Because that guy is all in here.¡± Song Jung pointed at the ck potion.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched again.

 Chapter 625 - Dreamlike

    <h4>Chapter 625: Dreamlike</h4>


    Song Jung continued to exin, his face a bit stern, ¡°There are ancient genes in the bodies of the guardians. To be clear, they are the sea god Poseidon¡¯s genes. Of course, the proportions are very low, but I can only retrieve these genes from the guardians at the moment.


    ¡°Based on your exnation, that Myth skill of yours is definitely not an ordinary ability. I¡¯ve researched your blood, and I found some strangeponents in it. Because I¡¯ve been researching the guardians all this time, I coincidentally noticed some simr aspects, so you¡¯re actually quite lucky...


    ¡°This potion can replenish you through your genes, and can eliminate, or at least suppress the negative impacts on your lifespan. However, truthfully, the potion itself is still wed.¡±


    Listening to Song Jung¡¯s tone, Xiao Lin did not feel too strange. Since when did this man¡¯s potions not have ws?


    However, this time, Song Jung¡¯s face was even more worried as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should let you drink this potion. Of course, you can choose what to do yourself. I need to remind you that if anyone else drank this potion, there wouldn¡¯t be too many effects. They would have an upset stomach at most. However, you¡¯re different. Your body is too unique, and can resonate with the sea god¡¯s genes.¡±


    ¡°Resonate?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t predict the results, but the good news is that this resonance will only happen with arge amount of genes, so asionally using it should not present too many problems. However, long term usage will definitely cause unpredictable effects, so my warning is the same as before. Don¡¯t use Myth too much!¡±


    Even though Song Jung tried his best to look very serious, Xiao Lin ignored his verbal warnings. There was nothing he could do because if Xiao Lin thought about the various strange potions that Song Jung had made him drink before, then the ck potion was not that scary.


    The ck potion needed to be drunk with Lifewater, and the Logistics Department had a few bottles around. As if it was his own home, Xiao Lin walked over to the shelves and retrieved them naturally, pouring them into the ck potion and mixing them together. The addition of the red-colored lifewater turned the potion even more sticky and malodorous.


    Xiao Lin could not help but feel helpless since he was already prepared to drink the potion, even if it was possibly poison. No matter what potion Song Jung made, it seemed like they all shared one thing inmon, which was that the smell would often be worse than what a regr person could handle.


    Clenching his teeth, Xiao Lin pinched his nose and downed the potion, swallowing it quickly. After a few seconds of silence, he started to feel an intense heating from his stomach, and the temperature in his body began to rapidly rise.


    The beaker in Xiao Lin¡¯s hand had already dropped to the floor as he leaned against the table to steady his swaying body. Large beads of sweat started to fall from his forehead and it quickly drenched both his face and his back. His breath started to get erratic and he looked like he had just gone through an intense battle and used up all his strength.


    ¡°Is this a normal reaction?¡± Xiao Lin clenched his teeth and asked.


    Song Jung had been taking notes when he raised his head at Xiao Lin¡¯s question. Thinking about it, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s no problem. This means that the gene repairing potion has seeped into your body. Yes, that should be it.¡±


    ¡°Should be?¡± Xiao Lin raised his tone.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first test subject after all. There have never been any prior examples, so even I can¡¯t give you an urate answer. Ignoring that, how do you feel right now?¡± Song Jung was more concerned about his notes.


    Xiao Lin was speechless.


    Even though he was already used to this, it did not stop Xiao Lin from having the urge to shout at Song Jung. However, he opened his mouth, but his voice was stuck in his throat, unable toe out. That was right, he had lost his ability to speak. The pain had exceeded that of any other potion, and it was like someone was changing his bones. The pain could be felt deep in every bone of his, but Xiao Lin¡¯s consciousness remained awake, unable to even faint.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind felt like mush at that moment, and countless bits of information were constantly rushing in and quickly going out.


    In his mind, the guardian appeared, which was that disgusting and highly dangerous squid. Xiao Lin even felt like he was being tightly wrapped around by the squid, and the feeling made him almost puke on the spot. Thankfully, the feeling onlysted for a few seconds before it faded. After that, it was the sea god Poseidon, but it was different from the Poseidon he met in the monthly examination.


    It was possibly due to his muddled consciousness, but what shed in his mind was an extremely young Poseidon. He could not see the man¡¯s general features, and only saw a muddled silhouette. Strangely, enough, however, his mind clearly understood that it was Poseidon.


    Xiao Lin could not think of anything, and the image quickly disappeared. After that, it was countless figures that looked like Poseidon. The size was very simr, but he still could not tell the details.


    After that, all the figures disappeared, and what appeared was a brightly burning star. Following that was a gxy full of stars, and then the vast universe...


    The dreamlike memories slowly started to recede like the tide. At that moment, the sky was already dark, and the panting Xiao Lin had long been brought to lie down on the sofa by Song Jung. There was no expression on his face, and he just stared at the ceiling, either in thought or just in a daze.


    He was in silence for almost fifteen minutes before Xiao Lin let out a cry and started to violently vomit. The vomit was mildly ck, and Xiao Lin did not know what it was. It was only after a few minutes did he stop. Xiao Lin listlessly epted the water that Song Jung gave him, and gulped it down.


    Song Jung was not in a hurry to ask any questions, and merely sat quietly next to the sofa. After that, there was a long silence. It was only when Xiao Lin returned the ss did Xiao Lin¡¯s expression recover to his normal look.


    Xiao Lin let out a long sigh and still said powerlessly and with a voice full of uncertainty, ¡°I-I feel like I had a nightmare. However, it¡¯s strange. I know I did not fall asleep, and could even clearly feel anything around me.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me what you saw?¡± Song Jung¡¯s tone was calm. There was no tone of surprise, as if everything had been within expectations.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    What followed was another long period of silence.

 Chapter 626 - Arrangement Of The Friendly Tournament

    <h4>Chapter 626: Arrangement Of The Friendly Tournament</h4>


    Xiao Lin worked hard to think about it, but regretfully, he could not remember anything. It could only mean that there had been too much information pouring into his brain in a short time. On top of that, his pain caused him to be unable to think. After a long time, he shook his head and said, ¡°I think I saw Poseidon, and after that it seemed like I saw the universe... I¡¯m sorry, I really can¡¯t remember. No, I actually can¡¯t tell what it was. A fantasy? Or was it a dream?¡±


    ¡°Memories.¡± Song Jung stood up and put down his notebook, walking to the window as he looked at the sky outside while he pondered the information.


    Xiao Lin did not interrupt, and waited.


    After a few minutes, Song Jung continued, ¡°My hypothesis was right. The sea god¡¯s guardians, the Antean era... No, it should be lifeforms even older than that ancient civilization. Their genes themselves are unique. The academies, including myself, could not make any progress no matter how much we researched. Back then, I suspected that our research methods were wrong, that there were some conditions that we could not achieve.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s lips twitched, not bothering to curse at the fact that he had been taken advantage of again. Song Jung did not make that potion for him out of kindness, but had an ulterior motive. However, he was also curious. It was possible that his interactions with Silverlight had let him understand more than he could before, so he was not too surprised.


    ¡°So you want to use me to understand the secrets of the ancient genes?¡±


    ¡°I did say you were special.¡± Song Jung acknowledged it.


    ¡°However, it seems to have failed. I don¡¯t really have much information to tell you.¡± Xiao Lin blinked.


    Song Jung shrugged and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no way around it. The main goal is still to help you get past the side effects of using Myth. The research into the information hidden in the ancient genes was just an added benefit. It would be great if we could discover something, but nothing can be done if we can¡¯t.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, a look of disbelief on his face. He stood up and opened theputer there, pulling out his personal information. On the section containing his lifespan, he noticed that his remaining lifespan had increased to fifty years.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it increase fully? I remember you added more than ten bottles of novice lifewater?¡± Xiao Lin asked curiously.


    ¡°Be satisfied!¡± Song Jung stared at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s already the best result. Based on my simtions, it would have been great if you could get just twenty years. It¡¯s strange, though. The effect is much better than I thought, but I used your blood and genes fromst semester to simte it. Did you go through any changes?¡±


    Song Jung started to throw a curious and fervent look at Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin retreated a few steps before saying angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! I won¡¯t give you any more samples of my blood!¡±


    Pausing, Xiao Lin added, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that for now. Do you still have that ck potion? Give me a few more bottles.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop joking.¡±


    ¡°I really am not joking this time.¡±


    The two of them looked at each other, and Song Jung smiled bitterly. ¡°Do you think I gave you some sort of cabbage? Do you know how hard it was to obtain his ancient genes?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you grow that squid?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! That squid used up every single body part that Dawn Academy obtained from Earth. Unless you can find another guardian for me, or if you can just get me a sample of Poseidon, I won¡¯t be able to make that potion for you. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°A sample of Poseidon?¡± Xiao Lin had a strange expression.


    No matter what, fifty years of remaining lifespan was much better than ten. More importantly, he gained additional usages of Myth, even if the remaining lifespan he had might only be enough for a minute or too. However, considering the power of Myth, a minute or two was enough to do so much.


    It was only a month away from the tournament, and in order to preserve the condition of the monitors, there was no monthly examination that month, which allowed everyone to see how much importance the academy ced on the tournament.


    The monitors had also finally started their team training. Of the seven points within the tournament, the team portion made up for three of them. It was very important, so no academies would dare to give up on that portion easily. Going into the tournament, the team events were definitely the most important, especially in the eyes of the older colonists. The team events were the best reflection of the overall power of an academy.


    ¡°In the following month, the training will be focused on the team event,¡± Yu Mei said during their training. ¡°After the earlier individual training, I know a lot of your egos have been inted. However, team events are different from individual events. Personal skill might affect your odds of winning, but teamwork can often eliminate that advantage.¡±


    ¡°Team battles are moreplicated than individual ones. If I just stand here and talk, I don¡¯t think you guys will be able to realize it. So, at the end of this month, which is this Saturday, I will organize a friendly match, and your opponents will be the Russian Voyna Akademiya!¡±


    After a short silence, everyone exploded.


    That news had not been leaked at all before this, and even Xiao Lin, with all his connections, had not caught wind of any of it. Normally, the end of the month should be the day of the monthly examination, and now cancelling the monthly examination in ce of the friendly match seemed to be something that had already been nned.


    Yu Mei was quite happy with their shock, and she motioned for everyone to quiet down before she said, ¡°Since it¡¯s just a friendly, we discussed with the Russians and agreed that we will not use the formal tournament format. We will only go through two rounds of individual fights and a team fight. This time we will be the hosts, and the Russians will be arrivingter today. After the training, anyone who¡¯s interested can go and introduce yourselves.¡±


    ¡°What about the list of participants?¡± Cheng Ming asked.


    Since there were only individual and team events, then there would only be seven participants. That meant that at least half of them would not be fielded. As first-year students, other than Xiao Lin, it would be their first time interacting with the other academies, so it was hard to hold back from the excitement. Even if it was a friendly match, everyone was eager to perform.


    ¡°The participants have already been decided.¡± Yu Mei exchanged a look with Bai Ning, and after that, Bai Ning spoke in a sweet voice.


    ¡°The individual event participants will be Xiao Lin and Chen Dao. The team event participants will be Chen Dao, Gu Xiaoyue, Sheng Guo, An Luo, and Sun Xiao.¡±

 Chapter 627 - List Of Participants

    <h4>Chapter 627: List Of Participants</h4>


    ¡°That is the list of participants. Are there any objections?¡± Yu Mei took over after Bai Ning finished.


    All thirteen of them exchanged nces for a moment before noise erupted. Even though the friendly match meant that at least half of them would not be able to participate, even though there were no prizes on the line, being chosen still meant that they were being acknowledged. If they were not acknowledged there, who knew if they would just be benchwarmers when the official tournament started.


    The individual list was still fine, since Chen Dao and Xiao Lin¡¯s skills were practically universally acknowledged. Cheng Ming¡¯s qualifications were the most contentious, but the honest man would definitely not voice any dissatisfaction.


    The team tournament was another issue. Including Han Manman, all of them had unhappy looks, and all of them were asking why they were not chosen.


    ¡°Enough! You want to know the reason?¡± Yu Mei suddenly shouted angrily.


    The crowd quieted down, waiting for an answer.


    ¡°The reason is simple, I am your instructor! If you aren¡¯t happy, you can leave now, but if you want me to change the list, dream on! I¡¯ve told all of you before, the list of participants isn¡¯t fixed yet, and before the tournament, I can remove any of you!¡± Yu Mei¡¯s temper red and the training hall immediately fell silent.


    There were a total of six participants in the friendly match, but that did not mean that the remainder of them could just go back and wash up. They still needed to continue with their training, and also needed to watch the friendly match on Saturday.


    Xiao Lin was actually quite surprised as well. If it was just to build chemistry for the team portion, then he should be part of the team event, and Cheng Ming should be part of the individual event.


    Xiao Lin quickly found an opportunity to ask Yu Mei a question alone. Only Gu Xiaoyue and himself could calmly face that captain among the monitors.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t let you and Chen Dao participate in the team event because I didn¡¯t want the others to get too easy of a win. I was actually just looking for you. Even if it was the individual event, I wouldn¡¯t allow you to use any ability that could harm yourself. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Yu Mei warned sternly.


    Was that not just prohibiting him from using Myth?


    Xiao Lin pursed his lips. He had not nned on using that dangerous ability in an unimportant friendly match anyway. However, he curiously smiled and said, ¡°So you mean that the team would win too easily if Chen Dao and I participated. If that¡¯s the case, isn¡¯t the Russian academy too weak?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think they¡¯ll face us with their full power? No academy would send out their full force in a friendly. I actually wanted to ask for the Judge Academy, but it¡¯s a pity that the Americans haven¡¯t been too close to us recently.¡± Yu Mei admitted that the list would not be the final list of participants, but she had obviously been toozy to exin it to the others.


    ¡°If the Russians use their actual power to fight against ours, what do you think the odds would be?¡± Xiao Lin pressed on.


    Yu Mei stared at the nosy brat before thinking for less than ten seconds and shaking her head. ¡°Do we need to say it? If you use that power, then we might be able to fight them on equal terms, but if you don¡¯t, your chances of victory are less than ten percent.¡±


    That shocked Xiao Lin. Yu Mei obviously meant Myth. Even using Myth, they would only be able to fight the full power of the Russian academy at an even footing.


    Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s doubt, Yu Mei earnestly sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not exaggerating. Dawn Academy¡¯s situation has gotten worse and worse in the recent years. At least this batch of yours could possibly rank at around tenth ce in terms of skill. Behind us is Egypt, Argentina, and Turkey, the usual bottom feeders.¡±


    Xiao Lin was a little speechless. ¡°How is this ranking calcted?¡±


    ¡°The number of talent holders and the quality. Setting aside the other academies, ording to our reports, the Russian Voyna Akademiya has at least three S-ranked talent holders in their newest batch of students. However, we don¡¯t think that any of them will be making an appearance this time.¡±


    Xiao Lin took in a cold breath. An S-rank talent holder might notpare to an SS-rank, but S-rank talent holders still hold a huge advantage against any other talent holders. He also needed to consider if he could actually hold off three of them by himself after he activated Myth. If he could not, even if it were a team battle, they would be in dire straits.


    Yu Mei¡¯s calctions were urate. Based on skill, and even including Xiao Lin, Dawn Academy¡¯s chances against the Russian academy were too low.


    ¡°This year is actually very strange. In the past few decades, S-rank talent holders were rare existences, and only a few would appear in a dozen years. Even A-rank talent holders already stood at the peak. However, something seems to have happened this year, and practically every academy saw a huge influx of talent holders, and it¡¯s iparable to the past both in quality and quantity.¡±


    ¡°Is there a spring of talent holders?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a huge influx that came with no omens and no exnation. No one knows if it¡¯s a coincidence or a certain phenomenon.¡± Yu Mei did not seem to want to dwell on the topic, and quickly changed it. ¡°The academy will probably hold a small wee party for the students from the Russian academy. After all, we are their allies. When the timees, some of the department heads from the student union will be there. It¡¯s a very boring social event, so if you don¡¯t want to attend, you don¡¯t have to. I¡¯ll just tell the president.¡±


    Probably feeling that Xiao Lin was not someone adept at social settings, Yu Mei had brought it up beforehand. Xiao Lin had wanted to agree, but he thought of something and said, ¡°No need, I¡¯ll be attending tonight. Yes, I should be exchanging pointers with them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Even though Yu Mei was curious as to Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions, the woman did not press on. Having Xiao Lin participate was just a small matter. That night, Xiao Lin appeared at the academy¡¯s banquet hall. It was the first time Xiao Lin was there, and ording to Yu Mei, it was specifically used to wee those from other academies.


    Xiao Lin had learned about their foreign rtions, and even though the five big academies had a mutual alliance in principle, they still had various conflicts. Dawn Academy could be considered closer to Voyna Akademiya, which would exin why they got such great treatment, even when it was only for a friendly match.

 Chapter 628 - Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 628: Banquet</h4>


    The rtionships between the academies was not set in stone. Even though the Supreme Council¡¯s rulings meant that fighting amongst themselves was not allowed, there were still an increasing amount of conflicts in other ways. The conflicts originated from two sources. One was from the fight over benefits in the New World, such as resources or territories. The other was from their history back on Earth.


    Even though most of the academies adopted the principles of ignoring Earth politics, it was impossible for there to not be of any influence. For instance, Judge Academy was closer to the European academies, and the European academies were also a tight-knit bunch. Meanwhile, the Russian academy did not have the best rtionship with the European academies, let alone America.


    Due to recent events in history, Dawn Academy had been neglected by many of the academies initially, but due to Dawn Academy¡¯s position as a founder, they could not do so publicly. However, making little issues in the background was somethingmon. Because of that, Dawn Academy ced a lot of importance on their rtionship with Voyna Akademiya.


    The Russian academy hade over by passing through Earth, and the ones who came along were their assistant student union president and three department heads, as well as various administration staff. For a little friendly match, that lineup was already very spectacr.


    On Dawn Academy¡¯s side, it was the whole student union, including the president and the various department heads. There was no one from the colonist territories, but Dawn Academy emphasized that academy issues would be handled by the student union, so it was not strange.


    The president was quite surprised by Xiao Lin¡¯s appearance, but he did not really have the time to talk to Xiao Lin in such a setting, so the president merely nodded at Xiao Lin in acknowledgement.


    The banquet was not as luxurious as he thought, and the ones in attendance all dressed fairly casually. The buffet was obviously very luxurious, but it was actually mostly food that they could normally eat. The difference was some things that had been specially added, such as alcohol, but it had probably been added for the Russians.


    There were over twenty people from Voyna Akedemiya, and they seemed quite happy with the arrangements for the night. The ones in the student union seemed to be old friends as well, and they quickly started conversing after some formalities. Some of them used Russian, and some of them spoke in Mandarin or English.


    Xiao Lin walked around the hall, and was constantly looking around. Compared to the other monitors that were eating and drinking, he seemed a bit different, so he was quickly noticed.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re looking for someone?¡± A girl with golden, curly hair walked over with a smile and a ss of wine in hand. She spoke in fluent Mandarin. Xiao Lin had noticed her earlier because, among the group of Russians, the girl had been drinking alone from the start. Even though a few of the student union members had tried to walk over to talk to her, she had smiled and rejected them.


    ¡°No, I was just walking around.¡± Xiao Lin shrugged and denied before he took two steps back. That girl had a thick fragrance to her, and it was not any perfume, but her natural scent.


    The girl quickly noticed Xiao Lin¡¯s subtle movement, andughed in exaggeration. Thatugh attracted the gazes of some people, and some of those from Dawn Academy had looks of envy on their faces. The Russians merelyughed strangely before turning their attention away.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty much like any other Asian boy I¡¯ve ever met. Are you a virgin?¡± The woman also had the openness of a Russian.


    Xiao Lin did not want to waste time talking about such topics, especially after he realized they had attracted even more attention. He had wanted to leave immediately, since he preferred to keep a low profile. However, he had a change of heart as he pulled away slightly before asking, ¡°Are you a student from Voyna Akademiya?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I look like one?¡± The girl closed in again, even brushing herself against Xiao Lin¡¯s arm.


    That action did not make Xiao Lin happy. Of course, he would not think that the girl had fallen in love with him at first sight or anything like that, because it appeared the girl obviously enjoyed ying games like that.


    ¡°Yes, it seems like you don¡¯t look like who I was looking for. I had the wrong person. Goodbye!¡± Xiao Lin bluntly said before he turned around and left.


    That answer was quite unexpected, and it left the girl dumbfounded. After pausing for two or three seconds, she immediately reached out and pulled at Xiao Lin, smiling. ¡°I was just joking, I am Diana, from Russia.¡±


    This time, the woman no longer had that teasing smile on her face, and instead seemed more dignified anddylike. The contrast between then and now was so big that Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. He could feel how much strength was in that woman¡¯s pull earlier, but the strength was only maintained for less than half a second, meaning that her control over her strength was already at a very high level.


    ¡°Dawn Academy, Xiao Lin.¡±


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you.¡±


    The two of them shook their hands briefly, and Diana said, ¡°You don¡¯t seem used to banquets like this. If you want to get to know any of mypanions, I don¡¯t mind introducing you. Of course, if you were nning on getting to know me, then you¡¯ve achieved your goal.¡±


    In just a few sentences, the teasing smile once again appeared on the girl¡¯s face; her personality really was like that. However, it was obvious that her observational skills were very sharp. Xiao Lin obviously did not attend the banquet for dinner or just some vodka.


    ¡°Recently I¡¯ve been reading about some colonist history, and I was actually quite interested in your academy¡¯s history. It¡¯s a pity that our library doesn¡¯t keep many books on the other academies. If you know anyone who¡¯s good at history, I¡¯d be happy to meet them,¡± Xiao Lin recited a speech that he had already prepared.


    ¡°A student who researches history? That¡¯s quite rare. Even though I¡¯m not very good at history, you can tell me if you don¡¯t mind. What do you want to know about?¡± Diana said.


    Xiao Lin did not hold out a lot of hope after finding out that she was a student. What he wanted to know was not something a regr student would know. After all, the ones who were attending the friendly match were all first-years, and Xiao Lin had hoped to find someone from their student union.


    Just to be polite, Xiao Lin still continued, ¡°I read about recent history, about how Earth has been affected by the colonist academies. For instance, I¡¯m quite interested in the historical records of the Tunguska event from Russia.¡±

 Chapter 629 - Diana

    <h4>Chapter 629: Diana</h4>


    ¡°Tunguska event?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not know if he was mistaken, but when he said the phrase, he suddenly felt as if the atmosphere in the entire banquet hall had changed. There seemed to be a lot of gazes directed at him, but when he looked around in confusion, the few Russian men in the hall seemed to just be drinking vodka and chatting, and there did not seem to be any change.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, not saying anything. The woman named Diana seemed to have a very ordinary expression as she praised in an exaggerated manner, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re a studious person. No one among us takes part in history lessons. You should know that our academy only believes in absolute strength, not knowledge, so those books in the library are all filled with dust and cobwebs.¡±


    ¡°Since you know the books are filled with dust, you must be someone who regrly goes to the library?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Diana did not express any displeasure, and happily smiled. ¡°It seems like we¡¯re quite alike. I know a thing or two about the Tunguska explosion, but regretfully, most of the information regarding the explosion is considered a high-level secret, even on the grounds of Voyna Akademiya.¡±


    Xiao Lin felt some regret, but it was still within his expectations. If the details regarding the explosion were like he thought, then the Russian academy would naturally not have it open to the public.


    Diana smiled as she said, ¡°But, my clearances have coincidentally allowed me to look at some of the secrets. Even though I can¡¯t see the important parts, I still know more than regr folk. If you¡¯re interested, let¡¯s go outside for a chat. It¡¯s too hot here.¡±


    Looking at that woman whose cheeks were reddened by the alcohol, he felt like the woman¡¯s eyes were exuding charm. Xiao Lin started to hesitate, but after mulling over it, his desire to explore the topic took over as he slowly nodded in agreement.


    After the two of them left, a few gazes shot over as the conversations that were a mix of Mandarin and Russian started to lower down in volume.


    ¡°Do your students from Dawn Academy take a big interest in the Tunguska explosion?¡±


    ¡°The student union has no right to interfere in the hobbies of students.¡±


    ¡°There are different kinds of hobbies, but some things shouldn¡¯t be touched by new students.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll naturally control this ourselves, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°I hope that¡¯s the case.¡±


    ...


    Since it was night time, the temperature outside the hall had greatly lowered. Xiao Lin did not mind since he was in his casual attire, but the Russian woman next to him only had a thin dress on. She shivered under the clear and cold moonlight. From the perspective of Chinese beauty standards, that woman was not extremely beautiful, but be it her aura or her actions, they all exuded a sense of charm that could not be ignored.


    Xiao Lin was about to offer his jacket when he stopped, unhappily saying, ¡°Is there a need for this? If you can participate in the friendly match, you should at least be ck Iron-rank, or even Bronze. How could you be afraid of just a little wind chill? I just want to understand the history of your academy. If it¡¯s going to be difficult for you, then I won¡¯t disturb you anymore.¡±


    Diana crossed her arms as she helplessly asked, ¡°Let me ask you a personal question. You¡¯re single, right?¡± Her tone was very certain.


    As a virgin over twenty years of age, Xiao Lin felt a sense of awkwardness. He did not deny it or agree.


    Diana treated it as him acknowledging it, so she shrugged and mumbled, ¡°So, it is the case.¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless at the woman¡¯s jumping logic.


    ¡°Ha, cute little virgin. It seems like I hit a sore spot. Let¡¯s change the topic then. Since you participated in the banquet, you should be a tournament participant. I¡¯m very curious, so tell me, why did you participate?¡± Diana¡¯s tone was more normal. Her observational skills were very sharp, and when she noticed Xiao Lin was not happy, she immediately stopped her teasing, causing him to not truly be angry at her.


    Xiao Lin knew she was deliberately changing the topic, but he still answered, ¡°For the rewards. Isn¡¯t that obvious? I hear the final prize is an Eternal Fruit. It¡¯s able to make someone¡¯s ability increase by a great amount. Who wouldn¡¯t be interested?¡±


    ¡°Men just like to fight and kill. How dull.¡± Diana shook her head.


    ¡°Why did you participate then?¡±


    ¡°Me? No no, I didn¡¯t participate voluntarily. I was forced, so I hope those guys aren¡¯t hoping that I will use my full power!¡± Diana clenched her teeth as she spoke, but after her earlier performance, Xiao Lin could not be certain if that woman was acting or actually being sincere.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s sense of alertness suddenly increased. He found that his interest had been piqued by her words, and he almost forgot his main reason foring over. He also noticed from Diana¡¯s words that the woman in front of him was definitely no ordinary person.


    Since the woman had been forced to participate, it meant that she was definitely a talent holder, and a very strong one at that!


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like you understand Tunguska that much. If the matter is a secret even at the Russian academy, how could you have the clearance to read it as a first-year student?¡± Xiao Lin immediately pulled the topic back.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯d at least need to be the dean to read that kind of stuff, so how could I know about it?¡± Diana¡¯s face had a teasing smile on.


    ¡°So, you were lying to me. Then, I...¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t lie to you. I do know more than a regr person about Tunguska. Even those old folks in the academy might not know as much as I do.¡± Diana fluttered her eyes before saying, ¡°I forgot to introduce myself. Ie from the town of T, a rich and beautiful little town in Russia.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at her, not understanding.


    Diana pped her forehead, adding, ¡°You should properly learn your geography. The town of T is at the center of the Evenk Autonomous Okrug, and the Tunguska Event took ce there.¡±


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes, realizing what the woman was saying.


    Diana smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s different from the others is that my understanding of Tunguska isn¡¯t from any books of legends, but from my own experience! Actually, to some degree, the fact that I can enter the academy is due inrge part to the explosion all those years ago.¡±

 Chapter 630 - First Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 630: First Encounter</h4>


    Diana¡¯s words were definitely very shocking, but Xiao Lin did not believe it immediately. He rubbed his temples, asking, ¡°I don¡¯t think you look anything like you¡¯re over a century old!¡±


    Diana acted angry. ¡°You know it¡¯s impolite to specte on a woman¡¯s age!¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged. He did not think that the woman would really be angry as he continued, ¡°I¡¯m just saying it as it is. The Tunguska explosion should have happened at the start of the twentieth century. It must have been over a hundred years ago! Are you sure you were born then?¡±


    Diana blinked before saying amusedly, ¡°Of course I wasn¡¯t born yet, but my grandmother was one of the witnesses. She received a special invitation to the academy because of that. My mother was epted into the academy due to my grandmother, and I received the same. So, I had not lied at all, that incident shaped my current family!¡±


    So, she was a third generation colonist!


    The earliest academies all had at least over two hundred years of history, and the initial colonists obviously slowly started to have their own progenies. However, because everyone¡¯s life spans had slowly started to increase aftering to the New World, both marriage and childbirth had been pushed back. Furthermore, since many of them had dreams of pursuing polyamorous rtionships in the New World, a lot of them would not end starting families with someone from Earth, so colonists did not tend to procreate with each other that often.


    Keeping count, Diana should be the first one that Xiao Lin knew about.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s curiosity was piqued again. Of course, he was mostly interested in what Diana had said about the Tunguska explosion. Since she brought it up herself, it meant she had no intentions of hiding it.


    After a brief introduction, Xiao Lin found out that Diana¡¯s grandmother was one of the eyewitnesses to the event back then. After the explosion, the Russian academy immediately sent in their people to handle the aftermath. Thanks to the special nature of the event, they could not let too many people know of it.


    Xiao Lin had some understanding of the event thanks to the memory crystal, but he had no way of knowing what actually happened back then. However, Diana never went into detail regarding the cause of the explosion.


    Back then, Voyna Akademiya gathered all the eyewitnesses, and they were faced with two choices. Due to the secrecy of the matter, they could either kill everyone there or wipe their memories. However, memory wiping had its ws, and there was no way of guaranteeing that they would not suddenly recall the event.


    Those from the academy leaned more on the first choice, butter on, an ident caused them to dispel that notion. Among the eyewitnesses, they noticed some changes, and the change was extremely quick and hard to exin.


    ¡°Changes?¡± Xiao Lin could not help but interrupt at that point, as he asked suspiciously, ¡°Hold on, are you telling me something from a novel? After encountering a mysterious radiation, they started to undergo strange changes. Why does that feel like an apocalyptic novel?¡±


    Diana rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Are you mocking my Mandarin? Fine, let me change it. Among the eyewitnesses, a portion of them seemed to go through an awakening.¡±


    Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s confused expression, Diana added, ¡°To put it in an even simpler way, a portion of them seemed to be developing talents. That¡¯s right, my grandmother and the others turned into talent holders! To this day, it¡¯s the only record of people developing talents! After that, just as I said, talent holders mean a lot to the academy, so my grandmother was specially epted.¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable!¡± Xiao Lin was also very shocked. Just like Diana said, talent holder¡¯s were called God¡¯s Chosen in the New World, which meant that talents were traits that one had to be born with, so he never expected that there would be those that developed themter on.


    ¡°So your mother, and yourself, are all talent holders?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Your luck is really good. You¡¯re a natural born talent holder, ande from a family of talent holders as well.¡± Xiao Lin knew very well that a family like that would definitely have a lot of power in the Russian academy, so that woman would definitely not have a simple background, and her skill would not be low either.


    ¡°So, regarding Tunguska, what do you want to know from me?¡± Diana intentionally avoided the topic of her own family as she asked with a smile.


    ¡°I want to go to the site of Tunguska, and even though it¡¯s not hard to get a visa for this kind of thing, I know what Tunguska means to Voyna Akademiya, so without your guidance, I don¡¯t think I can find the true ruins with my status.¡± Xiao Lin finally mentioned his main goal for the night.


    ¡°You want to go to the ruins of Tunguska? Are you someone who is well-versed in history?¡±


    ¡°You can treat it as my personal interest.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s just for the purposes of sightseeing, there¡¯s no big issue.¡± Diana seemed a little hesitant.


    ¡°Leave me your contact info so we can talk about it in the future.¡± Xiao Lin quickly gave her his own number. Of course, it was his phone number from Earth. Trying tomunicate between academies was something very difficult.


    Diana followed Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze and looked back in realization. Behind her, a few Russian men were walking toward them, so Xiao Lin obviously did not want anyone to know about it. She had wanted to reject him, but her eyes suddenly looked up in thought. As she pursed her lips with a fake smile, she then gave him her own number.


    The two Russian men talked to Diana with puzzled expressions. Since it was in Russian, Xiao Lin did not understand, but the looks they directed at him were not very friendly, so Xiao Lin did not interject. Regardless, he had already exchanged contact numbers with Diana. Of course, he was not sure if she would help him, but it was still a good start, considering Voyna Akademiya waspletely foreign to him.


    Xiao Lin was just about to leave when a coarse-looking man grabbed onto him, probably after having too much vodka. His tone was slurred and drunken. ¡°Hey! Little guy, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    He was speaking in English, and it was on the simple side, so Xiao Lin could understand. However, Xiao Lin was not happy with his tone, so Xiao Lin pretended not to hear it as he walked out of the banquet hall. He had been nning on leaving, since he was unlikely to get any news that he wanted by staying.


    ¡°@#!##¡± The man talked in an even more rapid tone, probably in Russian. Even though Xiao Lin did not understand the meaning, he guessed that the man was asking him to stay put.


    Xiao Lin would obviously not listen to a drunken man, so he quickened his pace.


    The next instant, Xiao Lin felt a fierce battle intent closing in. He immediately activated Ruin, and unleashed a very strong punch behind him. Since it was sudden, he did not hold back with the punch, and he unleashed his sword aura with that attack.

 Chapter 631 - Alexander

    <h4>Chapter 631: Alexander</h4>


    Xiao Lin was shocked and furious. They were at Dawn Academy, their own territory, but he was being ambushed by this foreigner. It was nothing short of tant contempt.


    However, at that moment, he did not have time to protest as the sword aura he unleashed was intercepted in mid-air. The next second, Xiao Lin felt a screeching wind, and even under Ruin, Xiao Lin only had a blink of an eye to react.


    That blink only allowed him to distance himself by a little bit before he saw a darkened figure lunge at him. Amidst the loud noise, Xiao Lin felt like his body had been hit by arge steel boulder, and he was knocked away,pletely unable to control himself.


    What enormous strength! What terrifying explosiveness!


    Even with his Ruin state, he had no way to block this guy¡¯s strength!


    The massive impact caused Xiao Lin to feel suffocated for an instant. He had obviously not brought any weapons to the banquet, and his fists were not the best way to use the power of sword aura, causing him to be at an absolute disadvantage. At that moment, Xiao Lin¡¯sbat ability almost caused him to activate Myth.


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°Alexander! Stop causing trouble!¡±


    ...


    A ruckus could be heard within the hall, and they managed to stop the battle before Xiao Lin activated Myth. Both the Russian academy and Dawn Academy¡¯s people rushed over, and the first thing they checked on was the man who suddenly attacked and Xiao Lin¡¯s condition.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± The president was quite anxious as Xiao Lin did not have any armor on, and his shirt had already been ripped apart. With all the blood, it looked quite severe.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine; it¡¯s just a flesh wound.¡± Xiao Lin was actually not in bad shape. The fight was short, and he had used his Ruin state, so there was no way he could be defeated in a single strike.


    The president let out a sigh of relief after making sure Xiao Lin was fine. The Russians were also done with their checks, and both of their representatives talked to each other. Since the two of them were fine, the matter could be settled amicably.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alexander isn¡¯t good with alcohol, and he loses his temper everytime he gets drunk. We¡¯ll make sure topensate you!¡± The Russians were the ones who spoke up first.


    If the Russians epted the me first, then Dawn Academy would not be able to easily press them for more. However, the president hesitated for a moment before looking at Xiao Lin. He then turned around, looking at the Russian man before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll let Xiao Lin decide on this.¡±


    Xiao Lin was just by the side, but his attention was not on their negotiations. His gaze was on the man who was leaning against a pir. It was the man who had ambushed him just now, Alexander. The man reeked of alcohol, and had his eyebrows furrowed. They were not lying; Alexander really did look like he was extremely drunk. The man¡¯s face was red, and even his expression seemed to be in a daze.


    ¡°He is very strong,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.


    The Russian man paused for a moment before saying proudly, ¡°In terms of strength, not a single new student in any of the academies will be able topete with Alexander!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled softly. ¡°It was just a brief scuffle, and even after being ambushed I just suffered a few scratches.¡±


    The other party¡¯s words were stopped.


    Seemingly wanting to continue, Alexander suddenly spoke up, still drunk, even after that bout earlier. He made a thumbs-up gesture at Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°You¡¯re not bad. Will you be participating in the friendly matches?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be in the individual tournament.¡± Xiao Lin nodded.


    ¡°The individual tournament.¡± Alexander seemed very disappointed. After that, he drunkenly looked at their leader, saying, ¡°Vice President, I¡¯ve decided that I want to participate in the individual matches!¡±


    ¡°The name list is already set! You¡¯re only here to watch this time. You¡¯ve been ordered to not take part!¡± The vice president immediately berated the man in a low voice after a moment of astonishment. He spoke in Russian, but someone quickly tranted it for Xiao Lin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just stay here!¡±


    As they argued, Alexander actuallyy down on the floor right there. Even a faint snoring could be heard. The Russians looked very frustrated, but the others were obviously not willing to give in.


    The president seemed to have a thought before shing his trademark smile, saying, ¡°Youngsters naturally like to fight, and since Alexander requested it, why don¡¯t we satisfy him?¡±


    ¡°The president requested that he be prohibited from fighting before we came,¡± the vice president said expressionlessly.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just have them fight in an informal match. It won¡¯t be in a tournament format, and won¡¯t count in the friendly match tally. That way, you¡¯ll have a good reason for when you go back, and I¡¯ll give your president a letter to exin things. We¡¯ll bear any of the consequences. So, how about it?¡± The president seemed to have already been prepared for everything.


    The vice president hesitated for a moment, but after looking at Alexander, who was obstinately not standing up, he probably felt that it would damage the Russian academy¡¯s reputation too much to decline, so he finally clenched his teeth and agreed reluctantly.


    The brief conflict ended there, and the banquet ended prematurely. Diana shot Xiao Lin a yful look from within the crowd, and mouthed the words, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to this battle!¡±


    ...


    Even though Xiao Lin looked fine, the president still brought him to the treatment room to go through some specialized treatment, just in case. As they waited, Xiao Lin could not help but ask, ¡°How much do you know about Alexander?¡±


    The president said, ¡°He¡¯s the strongest student among Russia¡¯s first-years this year.¡±


    ¡°An S-rank talent holder?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. His talent is called War God. The passive effect is that it constantly adds to his Strength attribute as he ages. The older he is, the more horrifying his Strength will be. The active effect allows him to be possessed by the War God for a brief period. It can cancel out any magic effects, and he will get even more Strength.¡±


    ¡°Simple but effective. What a good talent!¡± Xiao Lin said, evaluating despite his surprise. The talent was not tooplicated, as it merely added to his strength. It was simple and practical. From their short exchange earlier, Xiao Lin felt how much the man¡¯s strength had risen.


    However, Xiao Lin felt like something was off as he suspiciously said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t every talent holder keep their talents a tight secret? How do we know of a Russian¡¯s talent?¡±


    The president smiled and said, ¡°Do you think that an alcoholic looks like someone who is good at keeping secrets? I heard that Alexander was tricked into revealing it while he was drunk in one of their gatherings.¡±

 Chapter 632 - Fight with Alexander

    <h4>Chapter 632: Fight with Alexander</h4>


    In the next few days, Dawn Academy had specially provided the Russian academy with training halls for use. The conflict during the banquet did not cause any problems, and everyone still greeted each other politely when they met. Xiao Lin heard from Song Jung that the Russian academy had handsomelypensated Dawn Academy for the incident. The Russians did not want the friendship to be affected by the incident.


    The name list for the friendly match had been changed during that time. Xiao Lin had been excluded from the individual portion because he needed to have his match against Alexander. The fight would not be counted into the friendly match, which was a request from the Russian side. They hoped that the fight would affect as little as possible.


    The president hoped that Xiao Lin would agree as well. Using his own words, it would be a great chance for Xiao Lin since there were not many chances to fight against an S-rank talent holder. Chen Dao might have the power as well, but Chen Dao¡¯s usage of his talent paled inparison to Alexander.


    Xiao Lin understood that he needed more experience in battle, so he naturally agreed.


    To the anticipation of many, Saturday quickly arrived and the friendly matches started. Since it was a closed-off training session, other than the Russians, only the student union was present from Dawn Academy¡¯s side. Regr students were all prohibited from entering.


    Since Xiao Lin had been excluded from the list, Cheng Ming reced him. Of course, the group portion had been adjusted as well, but Xiao Lin himself had no way of looking at how the individual events went because his fight with Alexander was being held at the same time as the friendly match. The fight had been arranged in another training hall, and only the two of them were present, which meant that no one else would know about the results of the battle.


    When he met Alexander again, he was not the drunkard he was from a few days ago. Since it was a training match, the two of them only had the simplest training tools and equipment. Alexander¡¯s weapon was a pair of gloves, and Xiao Lin was using a training sword.


    Alexander was very bulky, and his muscles looked very shocking. He seemed much more carefree without the influence of alcohol, and he licked his lips as he measured Xiao Lin. ¡°I heard that you specialize in both magic and martial arts, but since this is just a spar and not a tournament, I hope you won¡¯t use any spells. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Reason?¡±


    ¡°Warriors only use absolute strength. I¡¯ve always craved a worthy opponent, but regretfully, there¡¯s no one like that in our academy anymore. Even among the graduates, no one can beat me in terms of strength. It¡¯s so boring.¡± Alexander sighed in disappointment.


    His lonely expression caused Xiao Lin some surprise. The guy was just a first-year student, but he was already challenging seniors. No wonder the guy was so eager to fight Xiao Lin after seeing his strength a few days ago.


    The urge to fight swelled in Xiao Lin as well, so he nodded. ¡°No problem, I¡¯m also curious as to how strong the so-called first ce from Voyna Akademiya is!¡±


    ¡°Then you have my thanks.¡± Alexander politely expressed his gratitude.


    After that, the smiles disappeared from both their faces as their expressions turned serious. Both of them entered their battle states as they observed their opponents, but neither of them made a move. Alexander seemed to have heard about Xiao Lin, since he was being very respectful toward his opponent, which was why he was patiently looking for any weaknesses, but he quickly furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.


    Xiao Lin seemed way too weak. Xiao Lin¡¯s size was almost half of Alexander¡¯s. The difference in strength was way too great.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s the case. I guess you¡¯re the explosive type? No matter; if it¡¯s a skill or your talent, you can raise your abilities greatly for a short time, and obtain strength that is greater than others, and the rate it increases is also greater.¡± Alexander quickly made a judgement, but he shook his head in disappointment. ¡°This type of battle method might be able to save your energy, but if that¡¯s the case, you can¡¯t defeat me.¡±


    Alexander finallyunched his attack first. They were no skills or preamble; he just lunged straight forward. He had seen Xiao Lin¡¯s speed before, and Xiao Lin now understood that Alexander had been holding back when he was drunk.


    How quick!


    Today, Alexander¡¯s speed was much faster. His strong body did not hinder his speed and explosiveness at all. He was just like a tank going at full throttle as he thundered ahead.


    Xiao Lin did not hurry to activate Ruin, and instead used Miracle first. Alexander¡¯s speed was fast, but Xiao Lin was prepared. He immediately used Phantom Steps to dodge away. Just as he thought, even though his opponent was fast and explosive, the guy¡¯s dexterity was not high.


    Alexander let out a grin, not stopping at all as he swung his fist forward. His heavy fist exploded in a fan-shape in front of him, catching Xiao Lin who was dodging sideways.


    Using absolute strength to destroy any skill-based dodges was how Alexander chose to respond. Right after the punch, he changed directions. His feet nted on the ground as he flew off the floor. After a short decrease in speed, he shot forward at full speed again.


    The sword in Xiao Lin¡¯s hand waved in a fan-shape as well, blocking the iing force, but the impact still caused his body to fly backward a bit. The brief moment Xiao Lin lost control of his body allowed Alexander to close in the distance.


    That was the pressure of absolute strength. It did not give Xiao Lin any time to react. Alexander wanted to end the fight in the shortest amount of time. That was the only way he fought.


    However, this time, a sea of mes greeted him. mes shot out of Xiao Lin¡¯s de and the temperature soared. Even though he agreed to not use magic, it did not mean he could not use elemental sword aura.


    ¡°Elemental sword aura? What a troublesome thing.¡± Alexander furrowed his eyebrows, but still did not move to dodge. In truth, it was hard for him to shift his body to dodge anything while he was at full speed anyway.


    Xiao Lin used this me sword aura to stop his foe, but in just a few seconds, the sea of mes parted. Alexander¡¯s immense energy covered his entire body as he barged through the mes.


    nk!


    Alexander¡¯s fist finally met Xiao Lin¡¯s de. sparks flew at that moment, and the impact under his full speed caused the floor to shatter.


    Xiao Lin still did not use Ruin, so there was a lot of pressure from him. His opponent¡¯s fist aura was right in front of him, and moved like des in front of his face. If he retreated at all, the fist¡¯s aura would destroy him.

 Chapter 633 - Alexander’s Fist

    <h4>Chapter 633: Alexander¡¯s Fist</h4>


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? This isn¡¯t your full strength at all! Are you underestimating me?¡± Even with the advantage, Alexander did not seem happy.


    Bang!


    After another collision, Alexander pulled away. The battle just now onlysted over ten seconds, but Xiao Lin already looked to be in a difficult situation. His training armor was aplete mess. It could not handle the fist aura at all. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s breath waspletely steady, which meant that he might be taxed, but he still had much more left in the tank.


    ¡°Hey! Are you underestimating me?¡± Alexander narrowed his eyes at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°No, I just want to see how long I can hold you back in this state.¡± Xiao Lin earnestly shook his head and denied it. He would obviously not underestimate an S-rank talent holder, but his Ruin state could not be used for too long. He wanted to see how much he could do under Miracle.


    Alexander might have seen through it. The man snorted, ¡°How boring. But, I won¡¯t be holding back anymore. It¡¯s a spar, but if I really injure you, then just admit that you¡¯re unlucky!¡±


    Not waiting for Xiao Lin¡¯s answer, Alexander attacked again. It was the same as earlier. There were not any shy moves; it was just a straightforward charge and swinging of his fists.


    Xiao Lin understood that there was no way he could stand up to his opponent in terms of pure strength. He might be in Miracle now, but even with Ruin, he might not hold the absolute advantage. That was why he immediately decided to throw his attributes into Agility, and the training sword in his hand started to move in a confusing manner.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s swordsmanship was already at the elementary level after training so much. Both his power and dexterity had greatly increased in that regard. On top of his Phantom Steps, as well as his enhancements under Miracle, his dodging ability was already far above a Bronze rank.


    Xiao Lin constantly dodged around in the training hall, his feet not stopping for a moment. Dodging was actually a very deep subject. Skill themselves only provided the most basic of footwork, and the most important thing was actually experience and mastery.


    During the half a year¡¯s time, after all the battles Xiao Lin had gone through, no matter in the monthly examinations or in the New World, on top of his Academic Genius talent increasing his understanding, he far exceeded any first-year student. No, he even far exceeded any first-year student from all the academies.


    Alexander¡¯s face had been furious, as he thought that Xiao Lin had been underestimating him, but his expression quickly turned heavy. Alexander¡¯s fighting style was very straight and direct, and focused on using his strength to ovee any skill discrepancies. In the face of absolute power, any skills or techniques would be suppressed.


    Yet now, he suddenly realized that Xiao Lin¡¯s skills far exceeded anyone he had ever faced before. Xiao Lin¡¯s speed might not be the fastest, but the guy knew how to dodge at the best moments.


    After the initial sh of de and fist, Xiao Lin continued to avoid another sh. Xiao Lin understood that it would not be to his advantage, which was why every time Alexander¡¯s fist closed in, Xiao Lin would immediately stab his sword forward, and when the fist aura began to spread, Xiao Lin would use the brief moment of dy to retract his sword and slide away, using Phantom Steps to change the direction of his attack, causing Alexander to not be able to use his full force.


    That method of battle frustrated Alexander as he felt like he could not fight with his full might. Even though he had theplete advantage in terms of strength, he could not turn that advantage into a victory.


    ¡°Interesting. You have a very good foundation. It¡¯s the best I have ever seen!¡± Alexander praised unreservedly beforeughing, ¡°Very good! This is good! I will increase my power!¡±


    Xiao Lin had no time to respond, being too focused on dodging, but he believed that the man was not lying. To be able to chat away in such an intense battle meant that Alexander was not using his full strength.


    As heughed, Alexander¡¯s expression turned into a sharp one as a green aura rose around him. That was the physical representation of fist aura, but it was the first time Xiao Lin had seen a green-colored one. Alexander started his attack, but he did not charge forward like before, and instead mmed his fist down on the floor.


    Boom!


    The entire training hall started to shake intensely after that strike. Cracks began to appear under Alexander¡¯s feet and started to spread. The deepness of the cracks were not even, and the deepest parts were meters deep. The training hall¡¯s floors had already been specially strengthened, but they seemed as fragile as paper under his fist.


    The shocking punch had basically destroyed the training hall, and only a small area to stand on remained. That way, XIao Lin had no way of using his speed to the fullest. When the dust suddenly parted, Xiao Lin lunged forward with his de, a red me covering his sword.


    Alexander paused for a few seconds before smiling. The green aura in his hand expanded again as it went straight toward the mes on the sword.


    Xiao Lin finally activated Ruin. He could feel that Alexander¡¯s skill had greatly increased after using the green fist aura, as it was no longer at a level that he could handle with Miracle.


    Fist and de collided once again, and neither of them had the advantage. They were both beaten back by sword and fist aura, and Alexander loudly eximed, ¡°Haha! Very good! This is more like it!¡±


    ¡°You sure talk a lot!¡± Xiao Lin finally retorted.


    Xiao Lin could actually not face up to Alexander if their auras were in a straight-up fight. After using the green fist aura, his opponent¡¯s destructiveness was already at a terrifying level. Facing Xiao Lin¡¯s ming sword aura, the guy still did not dodge, and allowed it to hit his body. However, even if it was Alexander, the me sword aura still left behind noticeable wounds.


    Xiao Lin was in awe. It meant that Alexander had yet to use his S-rank talent, War God¡¯s activeponent. Xiao Lin remembered that the president had said that all magic was ineffective when Alexander was possessed by the War God, but Alexander was still being damaged by his mes.

 Chapter 634 - Result Without A Result

    <h4>Chapter 634: Result Without A Result</h4>


    The two of them still held back during the fight. It was not because they underestimated each other, but rather because they both knew how terrifying their power would be at full capacity. Xiao Lin would definitely not use Myth during a spar, nor was he nning on using his dragon¡¯s breath.


    However, in that scenario, Xiao Lin was actually on the losing end of things. After all, his abilities were mostly on the explosive side, but Alexander was just using his own strength to fight.


    Even though it seemed like Xiao Lin had more than enough power to spare, he was very clear that he had almost run out of time using Ruin. His nerves were on the edge. Even so, his opponent¡¯s fists applied tremendous pressure on Xiao Lin.


    The pressure was not through outward injuries. Every time Alexander punched, it seemed to be dodged or blocked by Xiao Lin, but in truth Xiao Lin could notpletely block it. If he was an ordinary opponent, Xiao Lin would be more than able to block it, and Xiao Lin would not have to care that much.


    However, Alexander was different, as his strength was much more terrifying than Xiao Lin anticipated. Every punch Xiao Lin blocked still damaged him. At that moment, Xiao Lin could feel his internal organs churning. If he did not force it down, he would already be spitting out blood.


    The intense battle was still going on, and Xiao Lin still used his reliable basic swordsmanship and Phantom Steps to face Alexander. The effect was much better than when they just started. Even though Xiao Lin was always on the defensive end, facing the power of Alexander, it was very hard for him to evenunch an attack every few minutes, but he had not beenpletely passive.


    Xiao Lin was hard at work observing his opponent. Alexander¡¯s pattern of attack looked very monotonous, but Xiao Lin quickly realized that, in a true battle of life and death, the simplest and most direct methods were actually the most effective, and it was actually what hecked himself.


    Xiao Lin started to understand why the president agreed to the spar in his stead. The president wanted Xiao Lin to grow quickly, and wanted Xiao Lin to learn how to stand against opponents of this level because, in the future, most of Xiao Lin¡¯s opponents would be at that level.


    Chances for fights like that were rare. Even when it was Lilith, Xiao Lin never had a chance to properly fight her before, so he treasured the moment. As an SS-rank talent holder, Academic Genius¡¯ active effect might not look that strong initially, but his passive skill was also constantly improving and showing how powerful it was.


    With each sh, each block, and each dodge.


    The extremely ordinary movements were constantly being perfected by Xiao Lin at shocking speeds. That was the effect of his learning ability. Observing his opponent and learning his opponent¡¯s strengths before perfecting his own defensive measures.


    Alexander quickly realized it as well, and obviously he did not know what Xiao Lin¡¯s talent was. However, with the tremendous learning capacity Xiao Lin was showing, he immediately noticed it.


    The green fist aura filled the training hall, destroying the floor, and even the surrounding walls were starting to break down. Alexander no longer held back his strength in that state, and each of his punches were enough to cover half the training hall in his green aura.


    However, Xiao Lin could figure out the best way to react each time, and if he could not dodge, then he would figure out how to receive the least amount of damage. After slowly learning and grasping Alexander¡¯s movements, Xiao Lin could even start to attack with his me sword aura. Of course, it only had miniscule effects against Alexander, but the high temperature mes were also not something the training equipment could easily withstand.


    Alexander¡¯s training armor was quickly burned away as well, and both of their upper bodies were practically naked. Their bodies were filled with shocking wounds. Under their intense attacks, even being touched would be devastating.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s current skill was already at Bronze rank, which meant that he could maintain his Ruin state for almost ten minutes. Of course, Momentary Ruin would allow him to preserve his strength, but against an opponent of Alexander¡¯s level, it was possible that he would be defeated by Alexander in the brief moments Momentary Ruin was down, so Xiao Lin did not want to take the risk.


    As a spar, both of their presidents had mutually rified that victory in the battle would mean nothing. It also meant that the two of them could fight, but they should not cause any trouble. Xiao Lin obviously wanted to win, and if he could not use Myth, dragon¡¯s breath, or his active talent, then he only had one trump card remaining: Absolute Defense.


    Xiao Lin was in a state of absolute focus. While he tried to dodge Alexander, he was rapidly calcting his remaining strength and time.


    The time quickly got to nine minutes, and he only had one minute left until Ruin reached his limit. Alexander¡¯s green fist aura was also a little weaker. It seemed like his opponent could also not use that destructive power without any limits.


    It was time!


    Absolute Defense!


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes, forming a white circle of light around his body and repelling Alexander¡¯s fist aura. Over nine minutes of observation and learning, even if he had yet topletely master it, he still more or less grasped Alexander¡¯s attack patterns.


    Alexander¡¯s punching speed and strength were both terrifying, but there was an almost half a second long pause between each punch. After all, such punches would definitely inflict a good amount of recoil on his own body. The fact that Alexander could control it in half a second was already very worthy of praise, but to Xiao Lin, he wanted to use that half a second.


    Looking at Xiao Lin attacking for the first time, Alexander was not surprised, but Xiao Lin¡¯s timing was very urate and perfect. During that time, he was preparing the energy for the next punch, and was in the midst of the next attack. The time frame was unbelievably short, but during that time, Alexander practically lost all of his attack power.


    Alexander was actually very clear on this weakness of his, but before that, no one was ever able to make use of his weakness. That was also Alexander¡¯s strongest point. Even if his opponents knew his weakness, there was nothing they could do! Yet, this time, his fist aura lost its protective effect when facing Absolute Defense, and at practically the same time, Xiao Lin did not hesitate to use his me sword aura.


    The attack flowed like a coursing river, and everything happened in the blink of an eye. Outsiders would only be able to see a sh before the two of them shed. After that, an intense explosion followed. In the explosion, the training hall could no longer handle it, and the ceiling started to crumble. The cracks on the wall were also rapidly growing.


    After a few seconds, the training hall copsed.


    ...


    The vice president of the Russian student union and Dawn Academy¡¯s president might have been watching the friendly match in the main training hall, but their thoughts were on the other training hall. After noticing the abnormal energy fluctuations and the final sound of the copse, they both appeared instantly. Looking at the rubble in front of them, they exchanged nces, both of them speechless.


    Xiao Lin and Alexander were pulled out of the rubble by employees after that, but they actually did not need any outside help. After recovering their strength for a short moment, they could already stand up by themselves. They still looked exhausted, but it was not at the level where they had used everything that they had. The battle was just a spar in the end. They did not put their lives on the line.


    The two presidents asked about the other party¡¯s injuries symbolically, but it was obvious that they only cared about their own academies. The pleasantries quickly ended, and it seemed like the two of them were not in any critical conditions, so they both left while being supported.


    Before they left, Xiao Lin and Alexander did not speak to each other, and they merely exchanged a nce, but they could tell what their opponent¡¯s gazes meant. They were looks of acknowledgement, acknowledging that the other party was an opponent that deserved respect, which was already enough.


    The president brought Xiao Lin to his own office, sending everyone else away before slowly pouring Xiao Lin some tea. After sitting down for a moment, he could not resist asking, ¡°What was the result?¡±


    ¡°President, I was just wondering when you would ask that question.¡± Xiao Linughed. Looking at the president¡¯s twitching eyebrow, Xiao Lin immediately let out a dry cough and shut his mouth.


    The president had a helpless look on his face, waving his hand as he said, ¡°Fine, I admit that I¡¯m a bit of a gossip. How about you satisfy my curiosity?¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s smile disappeared from his face as he shook his head. ¡°There was no result.¡±


    ¡°Come again?¡±


    ¡°There was no victor.¡± Xiao Lin thought for a moment before continuing, ¡°I had wanted to use his weakness and carelessness tounch my only counter attack at thest moment. I thought I seeded, but he actually turned his body to steel at thest moment. I don¡¯t know what that ability is, but it blocked my whole attack, and then, the battle stopped. The end of the battle is what you saw when you came.¡±


    ¡°Turned to steel?¡± The president tapped the table with his finger, going deep in thought before saying, ¡°I forgot to tell you before, Alexander¡¯s natural strength is very high, but he actually takes mostly defensive sses in the academy. Even without the strength that his talent gives him, in terms of defensive ability, he is also the top among the first-year students of the Russian academy.¡±

 Chapter 635 - Team Battles

    <h4>Chapter 635: Team Battles</h4>


    ¡°Alexander, what were you thinking! You actually used so much power! Don¡¯t forget what the president said before we came. He just wants you to observe Dawn¡¯s opponents!¡±


    On the other side, Voyna Akademiya¡¯s vice president, a bespectacled, well-mannered man, was loudly nagging Alexander. Alexander shrugged in a nonchnt manner, saying, ¡°I hate the feeling of losing. You all know that.¡±


    ¡°Why do you regard him so highly? We¡¯ve investigated this new batch of students from Dawn Academy already, and Xiao Lin does stand out, but there¡¯s nothing to indicate that he¡¯s a talent holder to this day so, even if he¡¯s not bad right now, his potential in the future...¡±


    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know how you got your information, I feel like you should fire every one of those people after my battle today!¡± Alexander still had azy look on his face. The bulky man was quite easy going outside of battle, at least when he was not drunk.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much he was holding back, but it was obvious that he had more trump cards that were still hidden than I do!¡± Alexander¡¯s face turned serious.


    ¡°How is that possible!¡±


    ¡°How is it not? You underestimate Dawn Academy too much, but they¡¯re still one of the founding academies in the end. I actually didn¡¯t want to use my Man of Steel skill, but Xiao Lin forced me to do it in the end. That was already enough to shock me.¡±


    ...


    In the office of Dawn Academy, Xiao Lin had already rested enough to recover most of his strength. After all, he did not use all of his power earlier.


    The president did not disturb him, and only sat down there drinking tea while thinking. Xiao Lin recalled the earlier battle. Even though the entire battle onlysted a little over ten minutes, that brief time was even more valuable to him than continuously training or studying for a week.


    After about half an hour, Xiao Lin slowly put down the cup in his hand, raising his head as he smiled. ¡°The friendly match is still going on. Should we go take a look?¡±


    ¡°Are you done thinking?¡± the president asked.


    Xiao Lin shook his head, saying, ¡°Not so fast, but I gained a lot of experience. I¡¯ll think about it properly when I get back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. A battle with an S-rank talent holder is a very valuable experience,¡± the president said. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go look at the friendly match. I think the individual matches should be almost done.¡±


    Xiao Lin knew that he would not be participating, but he was still curious how the Russian team worked together. When they reached the venue, the individual matches had just ended. Xiao Lin saw Chen Dao using a Pyrost spell to send his opponent flying, mming him into the walls of the training hall.


    ¡°It looks like Chen Dao managed to win.¡± The president nodded, smiling. ¡°Cheng Ming won his match as I was leaving as well, so we won both of the individual matches.¡±


    The president allowed Xiao Lin to find a spot to spectate the match himself. He walked toward Chen Dao because Chen Dao did not seem to be in a good state. He had wounds littered on his body, so it had obviously been a bitter fight. Xiao Lin thought for a bit, it should have been around half an hour since the president left, which meant that the match hadsted for at least half an hour. This meant that Chen Dao¡¯s victory was hard fought.


    ¡°It looks like you won¡¯t be taking part in the group fight either.¡± Alexanderughed as he appeared next to Xiao Lin. After that, he ced his hand on Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder like they were old friends as he said casually, ¡°This guy who uses fire spells is not bad. His talent must be the S-rank Fire God? It¡¯s a talent at the level of my War God!¡±


    It was as if their rtionship had been greatly strengthened after their fight. Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, saying, ¡°The one on your side isn¡¯t bad either, being able to hold on for half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh, his talent is very durable, even if he¡¯s only an A-rank talent holder, but... Ahem, I can¡¯t tell you all that.¡± Alexander stopped his words immediately, and he noticed the other Russians were sending him a speechless look.


    ¡°Is the team event being held here as well?¡± Xiao Lin shifted the topic, saving himself and the others from an awkward situation.


    ¡°The team event is obviously being held in the simtion room, but we can still spectate from the outside with the observation spell array.¡± Alexanderughed at Xiao Lin¡¯s cluelessness. Even though he was a guest, he was still familiar with the ce. Of course, it was because Dawn Academy had provided them the locations for training the past two days, so he enthusiastically led Xiao Lin over.


    The simtion room was not far away from the training hall. It was a very wide and huge hall that was closed off. Going in would reveal a very realistic forest, with the sun, rivers and trees. There was a specialized viewing area outside the simtion room, and they could look at the whole match from therge monitor in front.


    After Xiao Lin sat down with Alexander, he suddenly felt like something was off because he realized that everyone around him were Russians. Not far away, the monitors who did not participate also looked at him weirdly, probably wondering how Xiao Lin was suddenly so close to the students from the Russian academy.


    ¡°Hi! Your fight with Alexander is done. Let me guess, you were definitely beaten up by this drunkard, right?¡± The one who came over was Diana, who he got to know thest time. She was about to go into the simtion room, but turned around when she saw Xiao Lin. Her intimate tone caused many of the Russian men to shoot Xiao Lin a gaze of animosity.


    ¡°Diana, don¡¯t you need to take part in the match? If you don¡¯t go in now, you might have your credits deducted by the president when you get back!¡± Alexander said unhappily.


    ¡°Oh oh, it seems like you definitely lost very badly?¡± Diana raised her eyebrows at him, and did not wait for a reply before heading into the simtion room.


    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to not provoke this woman,¡± Alexander reminded Xiao Lin.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re pursuing her.¡± Xiao Lin smiled.


    Alexander almost jumped up like he was bitten by a bug, eximing, ¡°Don¡¯t joke around! Who would get close to that woman?! Do you know what her talent is? It¡¯s fine, you¡¯ll see it for yourselfter. That woman is horrifying! Truthfully, I pity the ones who are participating from your academy.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused, unable to tell how strong that woman who was full of smiles was, but he said meaningfully, ¡°Is that why your academy did not let you participate this time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Diana alone is enough!¡± Alexander said seriously and confidently.

 Chapter 636 - Start

    Chapter 636: Start


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The team event had already started, and Xiao Lin started to have a serious look in the spectator stands. Even though he did not need to participate this time, he would definitely need to participate in the official tournament, so he still needed to gain experience.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s list of attendees were Cheng Ming, Gu Xiaoyue, Sheng Guo, An Luo, and Sun Xiao. Among them, Cheng Ming had reced Xiao Lin in the individual portion, but he still participated in the team segment. After all, it was just a friendly match, and there were no special rulings.


    Theposition was quite bnced. Cheng Ming and Sheng Guo were both close-ranged, melee weapon fighters. An Luo was the only archer among the twelve monitors. Sun Xiao was focused on magic. With Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s support magic in the mix, the team did not have too many ws.


    From the gigantic screen, they could clearly see every detail and every corner of the match at all times. The moment the match started, the five from Dawn Academy immediately fell into the formation they had learned in their training, and charged right into the forest.


    The two teams started at fixed positions in the forest, and were usually at opposite sides. However, since it was just a friendly match, they were not too far apart. Choosing to charge right forward would very likely lead to a fight breaking out in the middle.


    ¡°A wise choice. You will lose very tragically if you prolong the match.¡± Alexander looked very serious as well, and would asionally talk to Xiao Lin.


    ¡°You¡¯re very good at prolonged fights?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to see from yourposition that you¡¯re using the standard methods. However, we aren¡¯t... Ah, it¡¯s a pity, even in a quick battle, you won¡¯t be able to gain any advantages.¡±


    ¡°Whatposition did you choose?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re using four close-ranged fighters and... Ahem, you¡¯re trying to trick me again.¡±


    ¡°Four close-ranged fighters only? How nted!¡± Xiao Lin might not have experience in team battles like this, but they had at least gone through Yu Mei¡¯s specialized training for a good period of time. Usually, team battlepositions would have a vanguard, guards in the middle and rear guardbination. The vanguard would be close-ranged fighters, the middle would be those with long-ranged attacks, and the rear guard were the supports.


    However, Xiao Lin thought of something as he added, ¡°What about Diana?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already started. You¡¯ll understand quickly,¡± Alexander said.


    Looking back at the gigantic monitor, both sides had already met each other in the middle. Since the training hall was not big, the Russians also chose to rush straight forward.


    The first one to fight was Cheng Ming. He was not very quick, but the dense forests had restricted the speed of both sides, so neither side chose to send speed-oriented members forward, which was also one of the reasons Yu Mei did not send out Xiao Lin.


    When they were still two hundred meters away from the Russians, Cheng Ming already started to show the power of his heavy sword. He raised his de and began to make the motions of shing. The opponents seemed to notice, but did not respond because of the distance. Their hesitation had led them to lose their best chance to dodge.


    The de in Cheng Ming¡¯s hand fell, and a massive white sword aura flew out. The trees shattered immediately as the sword aura passed through, and the sword aura seemed topletely cover every student from the Russian Academy.


    ¡°Nice!¡±


    ¡°That was beautiful!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve experienced Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura before. Even talent holders wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it head on!¡±


    Dawn Academy¡¯s spectators immediately cheered. Cheng Ming had always been well liked, and they were also facing foreigners at that moment, so Cheng Ming¡¯s performance naturally led them to get excited.


    Voyna Akademiya seemed to be very calm. Alexander was the one who spoke the most among them, and continued to idly chat with Xiao Lin. ¡°A very strong sword aura. It¡¯s at least 2.6 times stronger than a regr shing. How powerful! Dawn Academy is full of geniuses!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not care for the praise, but Alexander¡¯s words led to him having a strange expression. However, he did not voice his thoughts.


    The battle continued, and the Russians who had been chosen would naturally not fall so easily. Before the dust settled, a few rays of light shot out through the dust, falling right next to Cheng Ming and the others.


    In the ensuing explosions, Xiao Lin looked to the side with some surprise. ¡°Elemental sword aura?¡±


    Alexander nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°Compared to your elemental sword aura, it¡¯s way too weak. His elemental sword aura is at least fifty per cent lower than yours in power!¡±


    Cheng Ming¡¯s attack caused the Russians to look a bit worse off, but they were not that injured. Elemental sword aura was stronger than regr sword aura of the same level. Cheng Ming was at the head, but he quickly felt his body turning lighter. Gu Xiaoyue had already started to cast her spells in the rear.


    ¡°A decent strategy. That big guy used shing earlier to clear the area. Your support is really strong. She actually increased the speed by seventy percent. A terrifying increase too. I remember that the effect of the Godly Movement spell is only thirty per cent.¡± Alexander nodded, his face full of praise.


    Xiao Lin could not resist anymore, suddenly asking, ¡°How could you tell?¡±


    ¡°Godly Movement? That spell is easy to recognize.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m asking how you could tell it was a seventy per cent increase. The other statistics you recognized earlier as well...¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. He obviously could tell that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s spells were very powerful, but to be able to judge the numbers in a few short seconds was not something easily done.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t that hard. you just have to practice a little.¡± Alexander waved it off before quickly shifting the topics, continuing to say, ¡°Wow, your team is not bad. With that support as the core, you actually restricted the movements of our four-man group.¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, slowly thinking about it. He obviously did not believe that he could actually do it with just a bit of training. Being able to judge power so urately would need an unbelievable amount of training to be able to judge it with just his eyes.


    ¡°It seems like I will need to start practicing it myself.¡±


    Xiao Lin mumbled before he suddenly widened his eyes.. He looked at the monitor. ¡°Hold on, you said your four-man group? Where is Diana? Why haven¡¯t I seen her?!¡±

 Chapter 637 - Diana’s Magic

    <h4>Chapter 637: Diana¡¯s Magic</h4>


    ¡°You¡¯ll see her. I think her preparations are more or less done. It will start soon,¡± Alexander said in a mysterious fashion, but did not go into detail.


    ¡°Alexander, you¡¯re saying too much!¡± Another Russian behind them suddenly coughed.


    Alexander shrugged casually, shutting his mouth after that.


    After it quieted down, Xiao Lin let out a sigh, but still furrowed his eyebrows. Alexander¡¯s vague words caused him to worry for the participants on the field. Fine, his focus was still on Gu Xiaoyue.


    As the only support, Gu Xiaoyue was definitely the core for the time being, and also the one they would focus on protecting. Based on the formation, even after the battle started, Cheng Ming and the others still remained close to Gu Xiaoyue, and would provide help whenever it was needed. Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura made his help very obvious, and he would always block any attacks toward Gu Xiaoyue.


    However, Xiao Lin was still worried since Diana had yet to appear. He nced over at the few Russians nearby, and they merely chatted with each other with a rxed smile on their faces, not worried about what was happening at all.


    Cheng Ming and the others also felt Diana¡¯s absence, but due to the constant and unending disruption of their opponents, they did not have any chances to look for that woman at all. The mage of the team, ss Two¡¯s monitor, Sun Xiao, was frantically expanding his perception outward, searching every corner of the forest, but from his expression, it was obvious that he did not find anything.


    Sun Xiao¡¯s intelligence might notpare to Gu Xiaoyue and Chen Dao, but his level of perception was not behind the two of them. A mage¡¯s role in a team was definitely not limited to just being a mindless cannon. They needed to be wary of the surroundings and use their perception as a warning system. High-level mages needed to master both perception and high-level spells.


    If Sun Xiao did not sense where Diana was, then Diana definitely had something to counter perceptive abilities. Either that, or the woman was not in Sun Xiao¡¯s perception range at all.


    ¡°How big is the stadium?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked.


    ¡°You¡¯d need to ask your own people,¡± Alexander answered.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Xiao Lin stood up and walked over to the Dawn Academy¡¯s spectator area. He went and directly asked the president.


    Alexander meaningfully looked at Xiao Lin¡¯s back before saying to one of hispanions softly, ¡°It seems like he¡¯s figured out our strategy.¡±


    ¡°So what? Even if he figures it out, there¡¯s nothing they can do. Speaking of which, Diana should almost be done with her preparations,¡± hispanion answered with disregard.


    ...


    ¡°The size of the stadium?¡± The president paused upon Xiao Lin¡¯s question before saying, ¡°Around two thousand meters. Why?¡±


    If Xiao Lin did not activate Miracle or Ruin. His perception under his normal condition would be about a thousand meters, and Sun Xiao¡¯s limit would be about that level.


    ¡°You think that Russian woman still hasn¡¯t participated in the battle at all?¡± The president furrowed his eyebrows. Dawn Academy was slowly gaining the advantage in the current battle on the monitor. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s support spells had increased everyone¡¯sbat ability by a whole level, coupled with their advantage of numbers, it was a great issue that Diana still had yet to appear.


    Most of them felt like Diana was hiding in the forest nearby, possibly waiting for the right moment to deal a finishing blow to Dawn Academy. That was a normal situation, and an assassin-type opponent would definitely ce her target on Gu Xiaoyue.


    ¡°President, do you know much about magic? Oh, what I mean is, from the Bronze and Silver rank spells you know of, what is the greatest area they can cover?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    The president understood his reasoning. The president¡¯s eyebrows furrowed even further as he said, ¡°Spells of this level would usually be about two hundred meters at most. Due to how the elements diminish, they won¡¯t be that threatening if they exceed that distance. In terms of attacking range, spells are usually considered middle distance.¡±


    ¡°I understand that principle,¡± Xiao Lin nodded. He had learnt it in the sses during thest semester. Every spell was formed by elementalpositions, and were controlled by the user, but over a certain distance, the control would drop, and theposition of the elements would lose their stability, affecting the power of the spells themselves. When the elements were reduced below a certain amount, spells would disappear.


    ¡°A spell that can cover over a thousand meters? I¡¯ve never heard of any within her rank.¡± The president shook his head, but his tone was not certain. Xiao Lin and the president exchanged a nce. Both of them were thinking of another possibility ¡ª she was a talent holder!


    They did not wait long. After a few moments of silence, a sudden change happened. The monitor started to shake softly. No, it was actually the forest within the monitor that was starting to shake, and the fighters from the Russian Academy pulled away immediately; they did not hesitate to run away. Cheng Ming and the others from Dawn Academy did not know what was happening, but they still felt something and started their retreat, Gu Xiaoyue casted Godly Movement on everyone quickly.


    ¡°The winner is decided.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s toote to run now.¡±


    ¡°But Aleksei is quite unlucky.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. Being with that woman will definitely lead to disaster.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll definitely bepensated.¡±


    ...


    Compared to the shock on Dawn Academy¡¯s side, the Russian spectators were all very calm. It was obvious that they knew what would happen. From the words that he overheard, Xiao Lin was shocked and speechless to reach the conclusion that he did. Whatever the skill Diana was using, it seemed to be indiscriminate!


    A loud rumbling could be heard as the ground in the forest was suddenly split open. Pirs of water shot up into the sky, and it seemed to reach the skies of the simted environment. After that, a second one, and a third one... In a sh, countless water pirs covered everything they could see.


    ¡°Water Style Silver-rank spell, High Pressure Water Cannon. It uses water underground to cover a wide area of attack! But how is that possible? Where did that woman start her attack from, and why did no one stop her?!¡± a department head from the student union eximed in disbelief.


    ¡°That spell has been strengthened. The area of attack is much wider than a regr High Pressure Water Cannon. The victor has been decided.¡± The president sighed with aplicated expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a Silver rank spell. They might be able to hold on.¡± Another department head immediately rejected it. If they admitted defeat just like that, they would lose their dignity because less than ten minutes had passed since the start of the match!

 Chapter 638 - End Of Friendly Match

    <h4>Chapter 638: End Of Friendly Match</h4>


    Dawn Academy¡¯s goal for arranging that friendly match was simple. It was in hopes that the first-year monitors could adapt to team battles quicker, and increase their teamwork and chemistry. So, the results of the friendly tournament itself were not important, and with Xiao Lin not participating, Dawn Academy¡¯s skill could notpare to their opponents anyway, so the student union agreed on that point.


    However, even so, no one expected that they would be defeated so thoroughly. Xiao Lin remembered Yu Mei telling them during their training that, even though the length of a team battle depended on the skills of both parties, usually, the fastest matches wouldst at least ten to twenty minutes.


    However, this time, not even ten minutes had passed!


    The student union members that came to spectate felt incredibly embarrassed. No matter what, they should at least have been able to hold on for ten minutes before surrendering.


    At that moment, the Russian vice president walked over in front of Dawn Academy¡¯s president, sternly saying, ¡°I think we can end this match now. If we continue, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t respect your opinion, but if we continue, we can¡¯t guarantee that Diana will behave. After that woman activates her talent, she gets quite crazy.¡±


    ¡°I think we should end this match now as well. There¡¯s no need to continue anymore!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly sighed as he said.


    The president looked at Xiao Lin curiously before looking at the monitor again. The water cannons were still covering the whole forest, and even the four from the Russian academy were being submerged. If it continued, most of them would definitely lose ten years of their lifespan.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s end here. It¡¯s your victory,¡± the president said inly.


    ¡°A wise choice.¡± The Russian vice president let out a sigh of relief as well, and both sides started to notify those in the stadium of the end of the match.


    After the Russians left, the president looked at Xiao Lin again. Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and continued his words. ¡°That woman... If it continues, she will probably end up using draconic spells. I¡¯m sensitive to draconic energy, and I won¡¯t be mistaken.¡±


    ¡°Draconic spells!¡± The president was shocked before saying in realization, ¡°No wonder they said that woman would go crazy. I heard that the power of dragons would send a regr person¡¯s mental state into a high state of excitement. It¡¯s true, continuing would not benefit us.¡±


    The friendly match ended in an extremely short time, but fortunately, while the participants had varying injuries, none of their lives were in danger. After going through treatment, they quickly recovered. Xiao Lin let out a breath of relief when he saw that Gu Xiaoyue was fine, but Gu Xiaoyue red at him angrily. With how smart Gu Xiaoyue was, she could more or less guess that the end of the match definitely had something to do with Xiao Lin.


    The injured Russians were also generously treated by Dawn Academy for free, but only Diana never left the stadium. When Dawn Academy offered to look for her, they were rejected by the Russians. The Russians had a strange look on their faces when they said that there was no need to worry about Diana. Once enough time passed, the woman woulde out herself.


    Cheng Ming and the others were miserable, and were brought away by Yu Mei right after exchanging a greeting with Xiao Lin. Only the Russians remained, and Xiao Lin decided to stay behind after some thinking, quietly sitting in the spectator seats while he waited. When Alexander noticed him, Alexander smiled and walked over, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... Did you really fall for that woman?¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes, ignoring Alexander¡¯s teasing as he asked, ¡°Is Diana¡¯s talent Draconic Power?¡±


    Alexander had just opened his mouth when he noticed the gaze of one of hispanions. He could only smile and say, ¡°All I can tell you is that Diana¡¯s situation isplicated, as her talent isn¡¯t as simple as you think. Ahem, I can¡¯t say anymore. She¡¯s already out, so I¡¯ll need to go look.¡±


    Probably worried that he would let more slip, Alexander rushed over. His teammates said something to him, obviously not wanting the guy to expose even more information to Xiao Lin.


    Diana had indeede out, and was being supported. She was practically carried out. The woman seemed to be in a state of half-consciousness, and a few Russians seemed to intentionally block Xiao Lin¡¯s sight, stopping him from going over. However, Xiao Lin could asionally see the woman, and the clothes on her body had practically been ripped apart. However, what was revealed were scales that covered her skin.


    When Xiao Lin wanted to make sure, the other party did not give him the chance. Diana was quickly wrapped up with some clothes and brought away. Alexander shot Xiao Lin a helpless look before he left, which meant that there was no way Alexander could help. The Russian academy would definitely not allow anyone from Dawn Academy to know more.


    Xiao Lin did not say or ask anything else. He was obviously not interested in Diana that way, but the scales that looked like a dragon¡¯s gave him some food for thought. He knew that he had experienced that before as well. There was dragon¡¯s blood within his body, which allowed him to possess a tiny amount of draconic power, which was why he could use dragon¡¯s breath.


    Last semester, Xiao Lin had gone on a rampage because of that power before, but after that, the power stayed hidden within his body, not appearing again.


    ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem.¡± After thinking for a moment, Xiao Lin shook his head and stopped thinking about the matter.


    The results of the friendly match still leaked out into the academy. Dawn Academy had definitely suffered a bad defeat, but Xiao Lin and Alexander¡¯s results were intentionally concealed. Outside of the relevant people, everyone who had asked in private was rejected.


    The monitors were not in a good mood, but Yu Mei was very calm as the training instructor. The Russian academy left very quickly after the match ended, but Xiao Lin and the others still needed to continue training. After the devastating defeat, everyone was more obedient, and even the usually unruly Han Manman did not dare to mock anyone at that moment, nor did she dare to say that she would have been able to do better.


    Everyone could see that the Russian academy had been holding back this time because Alexander did not participate at all. Just Diana alone was enough to defeat all of them, so if Alexander was participating, they would have no chance.


    There were no more friendly matches in the months that followed, but Xiao Lin heard from Song Jung that the academy had nned on arranging another one or two matches, yet they cancelled them after considering how much the bout against Voyna Akademiya had damaged their confidence.

 Chapter 639 - New Elemental Swordsmanship

    <h4>Chapter 639: New Elemental Swordsmanship</h4>


    A month passed by quickly, and the rapid sses and high intensity training caused them to easily forget the flow of time. Xiao Lin¡¯s skill during that period did not change too much because the fight with Alexander had caused him to slowly understand his own shorings. He was too dependent on short-term explosiveness, and Alexander also had explosive power, which left Xiao Lin at a clear disadvantage in his normal state.


    That was not good, as Xiao Lin¡¯s explosive time frame was not long. Miracle was no longer enough for most battles, and Miracle¡¯s evolution, Ruin, could not be constantly used, let alone Myth that required his lifespan as payment.


    Improving hisbat ability in his regr state was a problem Xiao Lin desperately needed to solve. After the fight with Alexander, Yu Mei¡¯s words were, ¡°Xiao Lin, don¡¯t you think that your current state is very strange? I know you should already be Bronze rank, but do you really think you have the skills at that stage? Level and skill are two different things!¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a bit before realizing that, yes, he was indeed already at Bronze rank, but he had very few skills or abilities at that level. Normally, those at Bronze rank could even learn Silver-ranked skills if they had attributes that stood out, like Chen Dao did.


    Xiao Lin had encountered many opponents to this date. They were either those we couldpletely not defeat, or those he could just handle with Ruin and his dragon¡¯s breath sword aura. That could not be his regr mode ofbat, especially facing pressure from someone like Alexander. Xiao Lin understood that it was time he properly solidified his current skill.


    So, during that month, what Xiao Lin did was simple. He first spent a whole week in the library, and based on the requirements that he had decided on, he looked for every skill book in the library. Normally, basic skills would be learned through professors in ss, but Xiao Lin understood that his learning speed was far above anyone else, so traditional teaching was a waste of time for him, so he decided to teach himself.


    The skill books in the library were more meant for the public eye, so those that were controversial or dangerous would not be avable. Of course, Xiao Lin could definitely look for those sealed and restricted skills though Bell, but he did not want to take the risk at that moment.


    Speaking of Bell, during the recent period, she very rarely appeared, and Xiao Lin did not have any reason to look for her himself. Xiao Lin knew that he still owed the girl a promise to use his Heaven¡¯s Eye and Time Rewind, so Bell not looking for him might not be a bad thing.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s clearance in the school library was quite high. Ever since he looked for the president thest time, the president had raised his reading clearance to the highest. In name, he could enter any area of the library other than the restricted area, which gave him even more choices.


    Norma¡¯s skills were endless, and Xiao Lin was someone who evenly increased every attribute, so he had no weaknesses, but also had nothing that was particrly exceptional. After repeatedly mulling it over, Xiao Lin gave up on immediately learning Silver-ranked skills. The reason Chen Dao could do it was because Chen Dao¡¯s intelligence was very high, but the other attributes were very ordinary.


    In terms of swordsmanship or magic, Xiao Lin still needed to learn them, but it should not be the main focus on his growth. He remembered the fight against Alexander in detail, and the only thing that he used that could threaten Alexander in his regr state was his elemental sword aura.


    Then, it was decided. Elemental swordsmanship would be the focus of his learning.


    There was no shortage of books on elemental swordsmanship in the library, and thankfully, Xiao Lin¡¯s reading clearance was high enough. He did not attend his sses, so he had enough time to look through the books in the library on the flying carpet, and quickly had some results.


    More precisely, it was aption of elemental swordsmanship styles. There were four basic groups, which were Waterfall Swordsmanship, me Swordsmanship, Flowing Wind Swordsmanship, and Grand Earth Swordsmanship.


    The four techniques made up the four basic elements, and there were nobination elements, so the requirements for learning them were not high. They were all Bronze rank, and only needed Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Meditation. When all four techniques were mastered, he could also learn the next step: Starburst.


    Starburst was what truly attracted Xiao Lin, and was what led him to choose that swordsmanship style as his next aim.


    Starburst was a swordsmanship style that had Silver-ranked explosiveness, but he did not need to specifically learn the skill. He only needed to learn the four swordsmanship techniques, and would be able to master Starburst through that.


    What caused Xiao Lin some doubt was that Starburst did not seem to be the final swordsmanship style of the series because it seemed like the manual wascking and thetter half of it was missing. Even after looking through the entire area of the library, he did not find any other parts, so he decided to set it aside first. He would learn the first half before deciding what to do.


    The four techniques were not hard to learn. Fine, the ease of it was just because Xiao Lin was so exceptional. Xiao Lin was already very familiar with the unique sense of the elements, and the four techniques all needed the ability to sense the elements as a requirement, so he grasped them fairly quickly.


    Xiao Lin usually practiced with the other monitors, but Yu Mei was surprised and curious when she saw him practicing Waterfall, and had gotten the student union to arrange a separate training hall just for himself.


    The special treatment had obviously attracted the envy of others, but Yu Mei exined that Xiao Lin¡¯s swordsmanship¡¯s power was best trained away from the others. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if he injured anyone else by ident.


    It was obvious that Yu Mei had heard of the swordsmanship technique before, but when Xiao Lin tried to press and ask for more information, the woman deliberately acted like she knew nothing, and only told Xiao Lin that the swordsmanship style suited him.


    In the training that followed, Xiao Lin could clearly feel that the swordsmanship had very high practical value. The elemental swordsmanship he had used before was merely fusing his own sword aura with the elements before shooting it out. It was basically like throwing rocks at his opponent, but after he had this technique, Xiao Lin felt like he could sharpen the rock to be as sharp as a knife before shooting it out. Comparing the two, thetter was obviously more powerful.

 Chapter 640 - Tournament Groups

    <h4>Chapter 640: Tournament Groups</h4>


    The learning of the four elemental swordsmanship styles went very smoothly. Xiao Lin was already very familiar with all of them after just half a month. Other than his talent, the elementalpression he had learned before helped a lot as well. Ever since he entered the academy, the things Xiao Lin had learned were rather scattered, but it felt like he had managed to piece all of it together.


    After that, Xiao Lin then spent a week trying to learn Starburst. Starburst was a fusion of all four swordsmanship styles, and used abination of the four elements. It gained its name because the sword aura it produced gleamed like the stars.


    At thest moments, Xiao Lin also learned a few other basic skills, but most of them were just ck Iron-ranked skills. Those skills might not be that strong, but Xiao Lin still noticed that skills were not just limited to how destructive they were. There were many skills with utility that could not be reced.


    For instance, the ck Iron-ranked slow fall spell, dy spell and stealth detection spells ¡ª those spells all did not have high requirements to learn them, and were quite easy. Even if they did not learn them, after they entered the second year and everyone¡¯s Basic Meditation was at a solid level, the academy would teach it to all of them. So, Xiao Lin had merely fast-forwarded his schedule by over half a year.


    Of course, Chen Dao and the other monitors that focused on magic had also looked for books in the library. It was not just Xiao Lin who thought this way, but in terms of the number of spells learned, they would not be able topete with Xiao Lin. Even when it came to low-level utility spells, there were hundreds or even thousands of them.


    Xiao Lin had initially just picked up a few at random to learn, but he quickly realized that most of the spells were very useful, such as healing spells and lumination spells. Those spells might just be low-level incantations, but because it requiredbining elements, they were second- or third-year subjects.


    However, to Xiao Lin, they were not difficult at all. Combining elements was something he had already grasped when he startedpressing the elements.


    Combining elements could be called difficult, but could be called simple as well. Norma was filled with the four basic elements, and the basic elements were the cradle of birth in the world. However, with the constant development of the world, even more elements were born, and those elements were all born from the basic elements.


    For instance, once the density of water elements reached a certain level, they would turn into the ice element, and when water and wind elements reached a certain level of integration, it turned into the thunder element.


    Combining elements required a very high degree of control of the elements, and was quite simr topressing elements, which also needed a very high sense and mastery of the elements.


    Academic Genius¡¯s passive skill was slowly bing more and more important. Each skill he mastered saved Xiao Lin no short amount of time. umting it all together revealed a very shocking amount of time. Some of the subjects Xiao Lin approached were those that only third years would touch. Now, he not only far exceeded the first years, he was even beginning to catch up or exceed the second-year students.


    The month felt a bit too short to Xiao Lin. After he calmed down and threw himself into his studies, he could not stop himself from feeling a sense of regret when he received the notification from Yu Mei that the tournament was about to start. If he had even more time, he could definitely master even more.


    Xiao Lin could not help but admit that he had wasted too much time on things unrted to his studies before, such as being sent to the New World for tasks a few times. No wonder the old dean, the president, and even Song Jung had reminded him before that he should not be meddling in too many affairs at his stage. The tournament was a reason, but more importantly was the new dean¡¯s restrictions on Xiao Lin, causing him to be unable to head to the New World anyway, which actually led to him being able to focus on his studies.


    No matter what, the Inter-academy Tournament was finally about to start.


    Based on the tournament regtions, the final stage of the tournament would feature eight academies, and Dawn Academy, Judge Academy, Sainte Acad¨¦mie, and Voyna Akademiya had all been seeded into it as members of the Supreme Council. The other academies would go through a series of matches to determine thest three spots.


    The fights had already been concluded during that month. Yu Mei told the monitors that the final three spots had been won by the Japanese, German, and Turkish academies. They would join the five big academies in this Inter-academy Tournament.


    ¡°The eight academies will be split into two groups, and then willpete in home and away matches, using the number of wins to determine the standing in the groups. The top two in the standings will advance, while the other two will be eliminated. The elimination matches will no longer use home and away matches, so in the interest of fairness, the matches will be held on the New World.


    ¡°The group stage draws have already concluded yesterday. Our president was in charge of drawing, so he is not here today. The ones in our group are Japan, Turkey, and America.¡±


    After gathering everyone in the training hall, Yu Mei announced it to everyone. At the same time, she sent the general tournament schedule to everyone. Xiao Lin quickly browsed through it. Based on the schedule, their first opponents would be Judge Academy. After that, they would face the Turkish academy, followed by the Japanese academy. In the first round, other than the match against Judge Academy being an away match, they would host the other two, and the second round was the reverse.


    They would host two of the matches in the first round, which was quite a big advantage. It was obvious that it was a special treatment toward the main academies because they would need to go through Earth from the spatial corridor back to their own countries before flying to the other country and heading to the opponent¡¯s academy. Putting aside how tiring the journey was, the tournament maps would be decided by the other party, which was definitely a huge advantage. So, the group stages were done in two rounds to protect the weaker academies.


    The monitors looked at the schedule, and each of them had their own opinions. Cheng Ming said first, ¡°ording to power levels, Judge Academy should be our strongest opponents.¡±


    ¡°Japan is actually in the same group as us. Yes, we¡¯ll need to trounce them!¡± The young Chen Dao had some impulsive thoughts.


    ¡°The Turkish academy should be the weakest. I remember they were thetest academy to colonize the New World along with Argentina, so their foundations can¡¯tpare to ours.¡±


    ¡°So our only worthy rival is basically the Americans?¡±


    ¡°The first two in the standing will advance anyway, so it should be fine, even if we lose to Judge Academy.¡±

 Chapter 641 - Judge Academy’s Strength

    Chapter 641: Judge Academy¡¯s Strength


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    During the training period, Yu Mei started to reveal the basicbat ability and condition of the other academies to the students. Looking at theposition of the group, everyone quickly made their evaluations.


    In the group, the American Judge Academy was definitely the strongest. Even though the Americans were not part of the founding colonists, they managed to use a hundred years of peace to rapidly catch up. The other academies had all been bogged down by war, so Judge Academy now seemingly stood at the helm of all the academies.


    Dawn Academy was no longer as impressive as it was in the past. After the war against the orcs, even though the academy had slowly recovered, they were still not at their prior state. However,paring it with the smaller academies, Dawn Academy still had a big advantage.


    So, the assessments made by the monitors were not wrong. The ones able to advance to the next stage in the group were basically only Dawn Academy and Judge Academy. The only difference was if it would be in first or second ce.


    Only Xiao Lin asked a different question after thinking for a moment. ¡°Are there any S-rank talent holders in the Japanese and Turkish academies?¡± He remembered the president mentioning that every academy in the world seemed to have exploded with arge number of talent holders, and there would definitely be S-rank talent holders in the mix.


    Yu Mei looked at Xiao Lin with praise before saying to the others, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want to talk to all of you about. It¡¯s true that we are much stronger than Japan and Turkey, but do not underestimate them. Even though we don¡¯t have reliable information, we¡¯ve heard that the two academies have seen a surge in the abilities of their new students in recent years, especially Japan. They were fourth ce in thest tournament, so they can¡¯t be taken easily!¡±


    Japan had only entered the New World around a hundred years ago, sopared to the other major countries, they had beente by about a decade. The country also had a very strong ambition, and was constantly in conflict with the academies around them. Their conflicts were particrly intense with Dawn Academy, but had slowly rxed in thest few decades.


    Everyone had learnt about that before in their history lessons, so after Yu Mei¡¯s words, everyone could not help but feel some pressure. Chen Dao half-jokingly smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine if we lose to Judge Academy, but if we lose to the Japanese academy, we¡¯ll be scolded to death.¡±


    Yu Mei said somewhat earnestly, ¡°In the history of the tournaments, we¡¯ve crossed des with the Japanese thirteen times. Out of those times, we won twelve times and came to a draw once. Setting aside our past grievances, even in recent years, we¡¯ve had more and more conflicts in the New World. If we lose to the Japanese, even I will be pressured by the higher-ups, so you all better take it seriously!¡±


    ¡°Putting aside the Japanese first, the first battle is against the Americans. Do we have any information? Such as their participants or abilities.¡±


    ¡°The participants and the monitors are easy to find out, but in terms of talents, outside of a few of them, we still don¡¯t know anything about most of them. Let me tell you, thest eight tournaments have all been won by Judge Academy. I¡¯ve said before that this tournament is a way to tell the rtive strengths of the various academies, and Judge Academy has slowly crept ahead of everyone in recent years,rgely in part due to these tournaments.¡±


    ¡°Do we have any information on the past Judge Academy tournaments?¡± Xiao Lin asked again. Even though there was no way the participants of the tournaments would repeat, they could at least use past information to make some inferences.


    ¡°Yes, I was just about to show you. It¡¯s not information, but recordings. In consideration of fairness, every match will be recorded with memory crystals.¡±


    Yu Mei came prepared, and immediately took out a memory crystal she had with her. She brought everyone to a darker room. After activating the crystal, it was like a film. Large amounts of energy shot out of the crystal and turned into a clear screen.


    ¡°This is a group stage match from thest tournament. Judge Academy is facing Royal Academy. Even though the British aren¡¯t as strong as America, as an old Academy, they can¡¯t be underestimated.¡± After that, Yu Mei quieted down. Everyone had already been captivated by the recording.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face was a little strange, because he saw a familiar person in the recording: Lilith. He suddenly remembered that Lilith truly made a name for herself during thest tournament, whichpletely solidified rumors of her SS-rank talent.


    The other monitors had never met Lilith, but that did not stop their evaluation of her skills. A few minutes after the battle started, Cheng Ming said thoughtfully, ¡°This woman is very strong.¡±


    On the screen, an Englishman tried to do a sneak attack, but was discovered by Lilith immediately and was quickly killed off!


    Yes, it was a quick kill. The entire process was not longer than five seconds. The people in front of the screen did not even see Lilith¡¯s technique clearly, and only saw the image of a scythe flying out before the unfortunate Englishman copsed in a puddle of blood.


    ¡°Very strong individualbat abilities, but their teamwork is very bad. Look, other than that woman, the others are just hanging back. The distance is so far that there¡¯s practically no way for them to help her.¡± ss Eight¡¯s Sheng Guo smartly made an assessment.


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes and could not help but say, ¡°No, that was Lilith¡¯s request. She did not allow her teammates to interfere back then.¡± He had heard about some rumors of Lilith from Song Jung before. Even though it might not be about this particr battle, his understanding of Lilith and the situation there was exactly so.


    ¡°One against four?¡± Sheng Guo said doubtfully.


    Xiao Lin did not retort. After five minutes, he looked back again, and amusedly noticed that Sheng Guo¡¯s face was pale and his lips were constantly trembling, as if he did not know what to say.


    On the screen, the battle was already over. The battle onlysted five minutes, which was even faster than the friendly match between the Russians and Dawn Academy. There was nothing to say about the fight. Lilith ran into the English formation alone, and in a few minutes, she decisively caused her opponents to lose all strength.


    Other than investigating and using perception to report on the opponents at the start, Lilith¡¯s teammates did not do anything.


    ¡°Lilith? I think I¡¯ve heard rumors before. She should be the only SS-rank talent holder alive!¡± The others had an ugly expression on their faces, and Cheng Ming suddenly thought of something.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! That¡¯s the Lilith they¡¯re talking about!¡± Xiao Lin sighed. Looking at Lilith¡¯s recording, he could not help but admit that Lilith was stronger than him, even back then.


    ¡°You know her?¡± ss Six¡¯s Li Jiayi had a curious face.


    Xiao Lin ignored that gossip as he continued, ¡°Judge Academy¡¯s fights from thest tournament were basically all like that. The other four would collect information, and Lilith would settle the fight herself.¡±


    Chen Dao looked at Yu Mei, saying, ¡°But didn¡¯t you say before that teamwork is very important in team battles?¡± It was obvious that Lilith was basically fighting solo, but her opponents could do nothing about it.


    Yu Mei nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I said that before, but today I want to teach you something else. When one person¡¯s skill exceeds a certain limit, teamwork can be ignored. I never told you before, because there¡¯s no one who is at that level among you. Of course, you don¡¯t have to worry too much, as there¡¯s no one at that level in the other academies either.¡±


    After those words, Yu Mei nced and Xiao Lin and Xiao Lin let out a dryugh. If it was really with his full strength, Xiao Lin believed that he would be able to go blow for blow against Lilith if he used Myth. However, Myth could not be used easily. If it was just Ruin, he could suppress any regr academy, but Ruin was not enough for those at the level of the Russian academy.


    They wasted a bit more time watching all the group stage matches of Judge Academy. After that, all of them decided to not watch the elimination matches. Judge Academy had won thest tournament by andslide. Any form of teamwork was just a joke to that batch of new students. They even suspected that Lilith could actually have won the whole tournament by herself; she was just forced to have teammates due to the rules.


    There were no benefits from watching those fights, and it was even a blow to everyone¡¯s confidence.


    Moving on to the tournaments from a few editions before, it was more normal. Even though Judge Academy¡¯s strength was still extremely strong, there was no one like Lilith.


    However, everyone turned even more quiet and the looks on their faces got heavy. Lilith¡¯s strength could be exined with an SS-rank talent, and everyone could console themselves with that. After all, there was only one Lilith, and she could not take part in this tournament. It could even cause some of them to misunderstand that Judge Academy¡¯s power was just because of their luck that they obtained Lilith, but that notion was quickly dispelled.


    1


    In the earlier tournaments, Judge Academy still showed an incredibly strong dominance. Even though it was not as exaggerated as Lilith, their opponents still usually had no way of fighting back, and could only stare as they lost. There were even quite a few surrenders.


    ¡°What mastery! Look at that guy¡¯s me Ball! Itnded right on the opponent¡¯s weapon, but did not harm any of his teammates nearby.¡±


    ¡°Their teamwork is basically perfect.¡±


    ¡°Are they really first-year students? First-years just like us?¡±


    ¡°Impossible! They must be from upper years!¡±

 Chapter 642 - Judge Academy’s Recordings

    <h4>Chapter 642: Judge Academy¡¯s Recordings</h4>


    Yu Mei expressionlessly looked at everyone but did not say anything. After broadcasting all the memory crystals, Yu Mei turned around and left the room.


    The monitors had still been able to converse with each other in low voices before, and could remark on orment on certain skills, but after that, everyone started to quiet down.


    It was already the recordings of quite a few tournaments, and each time the participants were different. Their skills were not the same either. There was even a tournament where Judge Academy had no talent holders on their team. That was their hardest fought victory, but they still won.


    Because of that, the monitors finally understood Yu Mei¡¯s other reason for making them look at those recordings. She hoped that they understood Judge Academy¡¯s strength was not just individual. It came from the strength of the academy itself, and came from the will of every person in the Judge Academy. The environment shaped the people.


    After all the recordings were done screening, it was already the evening. All of them stayed in the moderately sized room. They either stood or leaned against the sofa. Some of them were deep in thought, some of them were preparing some tea, and some of them were staring out a window, but no one spoke. They were recollecting each battle in the recordings, and asking themselves, were they really strong enough to go against Judge Academy?


    Xiao Lin was the first to stand up, and Cheng Ming looked up and asked, ¡°Xiao Lin, do you have any ns? Maybe we should discuss it. There are only a few days away from the tournament, and Judge Academy is our first opponent.¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled, shaking his head. ¡°Let¡¯s forget it for today. If you¡¯re already scared now, then we might as well give up on the first match. Then you won¡¯t have to be so worried the whole day. After all, we can still advance if we beat Japan and Turkey.¡±


    ¡°Give up?¡±


    ¡°Scared?¡±


    ¡°Quit joking!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, even though we¡¯re friends, don¡¯t think we won¡¯t beat you up!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be scared of? Dying just means a bottle of Lifewater. Who¡¯s scared?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! This concerns the academy¡¯s pride.¡±


    ¡°I think you care more about the rewards from the academy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same thing!¡±


    ...


    The silent room suddenly erupted. Everyone unhappily refuted Xiao Lin¡¯s earlierment. The mor went on for a few moments before they quieted down, but everyone was noticeably more rxed.


    ¡°It seems like everyone has recovered quite a bit, alright. That¡¯s good. Go get some early rest,¡± Xiao Lin said, ignoring the few insults he could hear thrown at him. He did not need to think to know who said it.


    However, everyone still reacted after a brief pause, understanding that Xiao Lin had said those words on purpose to help them recover. Everyone understood that it was pointless to give up before the battle started. If they were afraid now, then they really might as well give up on Judge Academy.


    Xiao Lin left the room and noticed Yu Mei leaning against the wall not far away, admiring the sunset. The space had been created based on the New World, and the sunset here was more beautiful. It gave anyone who saw it a sense of peace and tranquility.


    After thinking for a moment, he walked over. He was quite familiar with Yu Mei. Compared to the respect the other monitors treated her with, Xiao Lin felt like she was more of a friend. Of course, that was also because Yu Mei never acted like a superior when she interacted with him.


    ¡°Why did you suddenly share the recordings with us? That was not needed,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°Are you afraid that you¡¯ll lose confidence? No, it should be them!¡± Yu Mei raised her eyebrows, ¡°Among all of you, you are the only one who will never lose his confidence.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Xiao Lin would definitely not be afraid, even when he just had Myth and Ruin, and now he had mastered a whole new slew of skills, so he was naturally even more confident.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve recovered some of their confidence.¡± Yu Mei asked. She naturally knew nothing of what happened in the room.


    ¡°How could it be so simple?¡± Xiao Lin sighed with a wry smile. ¡°They¡¯re actually under a lot of pressure. I¡¯m worried it will affect their performance.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can be done about it. The difference in skill there, and the difference in education methods, is something umted over many years. Whatever, there is no reason to discuss our methods now. I made them see the discrepancy in skill in hopes that you will all mature faster.¡± Yu Mei had a look of concern on her face.


    ¡°How is Dawn City now? That old fart ¡ª ahem ¡ª I mean the new dean. Did he do anything?¡± Xiao Lin said.


    Yu Mei rolled her eyes. ¡°The new dean isn¡¯t intentionally targeting you. Even though he had his differences in opinion with the old dean in terms of governance, he still has Dawn Academy in his heart in the end.¡±


    Hesitating a bit, Yu Mei sighed, not being one to hide her feelings. ¡°Some things can¡¯t be known by those who haven¡¯t graduated, but the situation in the New World isn¡¯t good. There have already been many changes happening in recent years, but in the recent months, the situation is rapidly turning worse.¡±


    Xiao Lin thought for a moment and said, ¡°Has Asabanor done anything? Or are there any strange movements from our Orc neighbours? Or maybe the elves in the North have rejected the American treaty and are moving for war?¡±


    Yu Mei paused for a moment before saying, ¡°You really know a lot. All of those things are secrets. Just from this alone, I have reason to lock you up. No wonder you were so calm after those recordings. The dean had his reasons for trusting you.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not care about the woman¡¯s words that were meant to scare him, but he felt a bit helpless because Yu Mei was obviously avoiding the topic, obviously not wanting him to know too much. Even though Xiao Lin was still worried about all of them, he quickly shook his head, cursing himself for worrying too much.


    No matter if it was Asabanor, the orcs, or the elves, they were all matters he could not approach, nor could he change. There was nothing he could do about the situation, no matter how worried he was. Xiao Lin also believed that the academies were not useless, and the power they had established in the New World was not just for show.

 Chapter 643 - Setting Out

    <h4>Chapter 643: Setting Out</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There was less than a week until the first match. Ever since they looked at the recordings of Judge Academy¡¯s past tournaments, everyone seemed to be much more serious. They were no longer as rxed during their training as they used to be. Of course, there were some whose performances were even more exciting, such as Chen Dao and Cheng Ming.


    To them, being able to participate in the tournament meant being able to face even stronger opponents. In truth, since thest half a semester, those with talents like Chen Dao had seen their skills greatly increase. Putting aside regr students, even the other monitors had seen them slowly pulling away.


    It was easy to see that Cheng Ming and the others rarely met their match. Even during the monthly examinations, the tests focused on the overall difficulty of war, so this would actually be the first time they were facing opponents that were much stronger. Even though they were nervous and worried, they still could not contain their excitement and anticipation.


    Everyone treasured the remaining time they had. Even during their break times, everyone would gather in the rest lounge, brewing some coffee or tea while they discussed among themselves.. The contents were more or less the same, which was the final line-up for the tournament.


    ording to Yu Mei, five-person teams usuallyprised two long and two close-ranged fighters. The long-ranged fighters would be decided into archers and mages, and then the four would beplemented by a support.


    That was a standard formation. In the New World, both adventurers or special task squads would always use thatposition. In truth, the earliest team tournaments were held due to the need for elite squads in the New World.


    However, the formation was not unchangeable, as each academy would deviate from the standard based on the conditions of their own students. For instance, the Russian academy had used four close-ranged fighters with one long-ranged mage as theirposition. They used the close-ranged fighters to buy enough time for Diana¡¯s talent to unleash a long-ranged magical attack.


    So, in the past few days, the monitors, and even Yu Mei, were busy thinking about their line-up. They had considered quite a fewpositions, but it was a pity that there was not enough time to experiment with them and put them into practice. Each newposition that was brought up had their own reasonings to it, but the others would naturally point out the relevant ws. They would argue amongst themselves, and no one was truly convinced.


    Thest period seemed to pass by in a sh, and Dawn Academy was finally going to attend their first match. Their opponents were Judge Academy, who were called the strongest. It was decided that it would be held during the weekend. Since the Americans were the hosts, Xiao Lin and the others started their journey a day before with the vice president in the lead, going through the wormhole and heading to Earth. They went straight to Los Angeles before using the wormhole there to head to Judge Academy.


    Yu Mei and the president did not follow. Due to the regtions, those at Gold Rank or above were not allowed to return to Earth, and both Yu Mei and the president were obviously at that level. That was why the vice president was in charge of bringing the team to any away matches. That was one of the disadvantages of being the away team, since it meant that Xiao Lin and the others would be deprived of guidance at the American academy, and would only be able to rely on themselves.


    Other than the vice president, Xiao Lin was assigned as the leader of Dawn Academy¡¯s representatives, and was therefore in charge of the other eleven monitors and Gu Xiaoyue. The others were unhappy about that because that assignment meant that the president had already silently acknowledged Xiao Lin as the year leader. However, with Xiao Lin¡¯s abilities, no one could say anything about it.


    What was worth mentioning was that the position of vice president had actually been born due to the need for a leader during the tournaments. For instance, the Russian academy had also sent their vice president during thest friendly match.


    Due to time constraints, they immediately boarded the bus prepared by the Earth division right after arriving on Earth, and they headed straight to the airport. Other than giving their parents some hasty phone calls, they had no time to do anything else. Xiao Lin had a brief call with his home before ncing back at Gu Xiaoyue, who was sitting at thest row of the bus, quietly staring out of the window.


    Everyone had been busy during this period of time, and Xiao Lin had been busy practicing elemental sword aura during his free time. Alongside that, there were many people in the training hall, and Gu Xiaoyue would usually avoid the crowds, so Xiao Lin had a hard time finding time to talk to her. Of course, that woman would not look for him herself either.


    ¡°Are you not giving Chengyun a call?¡± Xiao Lin went to thest row and asked.


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes. She fell silent for a moment before she said, ¡°Chengyun? You¡¯ve only known that girl for a few days. When did you get so familiar?¡±


    Xiao Lin had long since developed a habit of being shameless in front of Gu Xiaoyue, so he smiled. ¡°Of course, Chengyun is such a cute girl. She¡¯s so active and happy. Even just interacting with her for a day, anyone would take a liking to her immediately. I naturally came to care about her.¡±


    ¡°Take a liking?¡± Gu Xiaoyue narrowed her eyes.


    Xiao Lin immediately looked up. It was the first time he noticed that that woman could be so sensitive, so he helplessly said, ¡°Please, it¡¯s the kind that¡¯s like a sister. What are you thinking!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue snorted lightly before looking away and going quiet. Of course, Xiao Lin was very patient, and did not continue disturbing her, but he did not leave either. He chose to sit next to her, ncing at the woman¡¯s beautiful silhouette.


    Some of the others would asionally nce backward, looking at the two strange people in the back row curiously. However, they would all be red at by Xiao Lin. Ever since he was appointed as the team leader, Xiao Lin started to manage the monitors¡¯ daily routines without much difficulty. Everyone else also knew that Xiao Lin would be the year leader eventually, and would have that right.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s skin was not as thick as Xiao Lin¡¯s, and the undisguised gazes caused her to feel a little ufortable. She finally turned around, helplessly exining, ¡°Chengyun is still my sister. I just wrote a letter to her some time ago, and I¡¯ve told her everything that needed to be said. There¡¯s no need for a phone call, lest she get worried.¡±


    ¡°Some time ago? How long ago?¡±


    ¡°Oh, about a month.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so long ago!


    Xiao Lin felt exasperated at that woman who did not seem to understand human rtionships. He thought for a few seconds before immediately taking out his phone. He decided to help her for once and quickly dialed a number.

 Chapter 644 - Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 644: Meeting</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue was not the only one with Gu Chengyun¡¯s number!


    Gu Xiaoyue stumbled for a moment before trying to reach out and snatch the phone away, but it was already toote. A sweet voice could be heard on the other end. ¡°Hello? Is this Big Brother Xiao Lin?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue red at him.


    Xiao Lin smiled softly before saying in a gentle voice, ¡°Chengyun, your sister wants to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Is my sister there as well? That¡¯s great!¡± Gu Chengyun¡¯s voice was filled with surprise and emotion, causing Gu Xiaoyue to reveal an ashamed expression.


    Gu Xiaoyue obviously loved her sister very much. She worked so hard all the while, putting her own life on the line, all for the sake of curing her sister¡¯s legs. However, because of that, she would asionally forget the more important things. To Gu Chengyun, her disability was not the most important. What that girl really needed was her only family.


    Xiao Lin handed the phone over to Gu Xiaoyue and waved his hand for a bit before a small sound bubble appeared around Gu Xiaoyue. The others in the bus could not help but re at him, as they had all perked up their ears, curiously wanting to listen to what that usually cold woman would say to her sister.


    Gu Xiaoyue did not express any gratitude, and instead red at him again because that sound bubble might have excluded everyone else in the bus, but it did not exclude Xiao Lin. That guy had unashamedly put himself in the barrier, and could hear everything.


    The conversation did notst that long. Gu Xiaoyue was not a great conversationalist. However, Chengyun and her were really close sisters, and they were also the only family that the two of them had left. The short phone call even caused Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s eyes to redden.


    Xiao Lin sighed as he thought about Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s lifespan again. Before that problem had a solid solution, each call with Gu Chengyun could very well be herst. Xiao Lin believed that the sisters both knew that. Xiao Lin felt some pity, and could not stop himself from holding Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s little hand. Her palm was quite cold.


    Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin in shock, but did not scold him like she wanted to. A very faint ¡®thank you¡¯ could be heard from her lips.


    ...


    The journey to America took quite a while. After calling their families, everyone started to rest. They only had one day to limatize themselves after arriving at Judge Academy, so they needed to grasp every bit of time they could to adjust their own condition, which was one of the disadvantages of being the away team.


    It was alreadyte at night when they arrived in America, but none of them stopped anywhere or bought anything. They went on another private ne, and flew straight to the American division in Los Angeles. Judge Academy¡¯s staff was already waiting there, and under their guidance, Dawn Academy¡¯s representatives got in the spatial carriage that night and arrived at Judge Academy.


    The unrelenting journey had caused everyone to be exhausted, but that also meant that everyone had gained an extra half a day of rest.


    It was not the first time Xiao Lin had been to Judge Academy, but for the others, it was the first time they were at another academy, so they would naturally be curious of the sights.


    ¡°If you wish to, we can send someone to give all of you a tour.¡± The American representative was a golden-haired and blue-eyed youngdy with very American features. She looked like she was either in her first or second year.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. We¡¯re here topete,¡± Xiao Lin rejected, ring at a few of the monitors who had wanted to agree.


    ¡°Very well. Do any of you have any special dietary needs for these two days?¡± The woman was incredibly polite. She spoke fluent Mandarin, and her well-mannered demeanor and attractive looks made everyone feel at ease.


    ¡°Thank you, but we have no special requirements. If there¡¯s nothing else, please bring us to the meeting room. ording to the regtions, your academy must have arranged somewhere for us to use.¡± Xiao Lin rejected it inly.


    ¡°Very well.¡± The woman was a bit regretful, but still politely answered.


    In Judge Academy¡¯s private space, it was still the evening. They decided to wait until nighttime before they rested. That way, they would be able to adjust to the time zone difference easily. The vice president was a third-year senior student, and was rather easygoing, but did not seem like someone with power. This time, he came mainly to handle the daily affairs. In terms of the actual fighting, he had no authority on it.


    The vice president also knew his job, so when he saw Xiao Lin preparing for a meeting with the others, he left. He was in charge ofmunicating with Judge Academy¡¯s student union for matters such as training halls and equipment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about anything else. Our opponents are very strong this time. I trust all of you have a deep impression of the recordings.¡± After entering the meeting room they had been specially assigned, the American beauty left, and told Xiao Lin that the room was absolutely sound proof.


    The other monitors mumbled for a bit and slowly quieted down. No matter what, Xiao Lin was currently the leader in charge of this group, and could very well be the year leader in the future. Everyone knew of the contents of this meeting; it would definitely be to determine the line-up for the tournament.


    Normally, this should have been Yu Mei¡¯s decision to make, but that woman had passed on the authority to Xiao Lin. Beforeing over, she encouraged Xiao Lin to boldly make the arrangements. It was fine if they lost, as he could just take it as a chance to umte experience.


    Xiao Lin obviously did not want to lose. The group matches would be held in simted spaces, and dying there would still cost them ten years of their lifespan. Suddenly making him decide on the line-up had caught Xiao Lin off guard, and he had constantly been thinking about the problem on the way. As everyone gathered in a circle, his gaze fell on Gu Xiaoyue.


    Xiao Lin remembered the call she had with Gu Chengyun, and remembered Chengyun¡¯s emotions. If Gu Xiaoyue died, then her sister might actually lose all her happiness.


    The line-up would need to be handed in a bitter, and Judge Academy would announce their line-up as well. The line-ups could not be changed at all once they were announced, so the academies were required to use their own judgement and predictions to arrange theirpositions. Normally, academies would choose the most bnced teams if they did not know their opponents, but if that was the case, it would also be much more difficult to win if there was a gap in skill.

 Chapter 645 - Xiao Lin’s Plan

    <h4>Chapter 645: Xiao Lin¡¯s n</h4>


    The gazes of the other twelve settled on Xiao Lin at that moment. Some of them opened their mouths, seemingly wanting to promote themselves, but ended up obediently shutting their mouths. No matter if they agreed or epted it, the final name list fell into Xiao Lin¡¯s hands.


    Everyone there hoped to be able to participate. Compared to potentially losing ten years of their lifespan in the tournament, the rewards they could obtain were much more attractive.


    Before they came, the president had told them about the rewards. Other than the Eternal Fruit that the champion could gain, in order to encourage the students, Dawn Academy had arranged lucrative rewards for them during the group stages. During the group stages, every match that they won would see three thousand New Dors awarded to the participants.


    Those were New Dors, a widely recognized currency in the New World. It waspletely different from rewards that could only be used in the academy. Now, the monitors all knew how much New Dors meant, so when they heard of the reward, all of their eyes widened. It was probably only Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue who did not care about the reward.


    However, the rewards were only limited to the participants, and those who were not in the name list could only watch on in envy. At that moment, all of them could not help but get nervous. Even Han Manman, who was usually rude to Xiao Lin, became a bit less irritable in recent days, almost definitely setting her ambitious sights on the New Dors.


    Xiao Lin tapped his fingers on the table, ncing at each one of them. After thinking for a long time, he looked back to the form in front of him. Yu Mei had nonchntly given him the right to choose, and it felt a little bit like she was avoiding the responsibility. At a certain degree, Xiao Lin felt like the woman was just throwing him a thankless job.


    Xiao Lin remembered that, before he left, he had asked for Yu Mei and the president¡¯s opinions. Both of them told him that, if it was truly a contest of skill, Dawn Academy could never beat Judge Academy.


    Truly, even with Xiao Lin¡¯s exceptional capabilities, Yu Mei and the president did not think they could win. The president was even more straightforward. Even if Xiao Lin used his Myth ability, their chances of winning would only be at sixty per cent, but Xiao Lin would have to bear an even bigger risk for it. Dawn Academy could not afford to lose Xiao Lin. All of them were clear on that point.


    After looking at the recordings of the past years, Xiao Lin could not deny how strong Judge Academy was, but he would never willingly admit defeat. After thinking for almost half an hour, Xiao Lin finally slowly filled up the form.


    The form was passed around to everyone at the table, and each of them had a strange expression on their faces after looking at it. All of them seemed to reveal the same thought: ¡®You¡¯ve got to be insane!¡¯


    ¡°This is the final decision, so there won¡¯t be any changes. Dismissed! I¡¯ll hand in the formter.¡± Xiao Lin did not give anyone any chances to cast any doubts or argue. He made his decision on the spot.


    ...


    After ten minutes, in Judge Academy¡¯s office, a thirty-year-old man, Judge Academy¡¯s president, had a head full of faint blue hair, and he looked very educated and well-mannered. Standing next to him was the one in charge of the tournament. Based on regtions, the tournamentmittee would send someone to invigte each match.


    ¡°Has Dawn Academy decided on their name list?¡± The others knew why Xiao Lin was there.


    Xiao Lin nodded as he took out the filled up form, but he was not in a hurry to pass it over. Instead, he looked at Judge Academy¡¯s president. Based on the rules, they needed to exchange the form at the same time, and there were no changes allowed after the forms were submitted.


    ¡°This is our name list.¡± The president¡¯s voice sounded very sweet, and he generously handed over his list of names. That generosity also showed how absolutely confident their opponents were. The calm yet proud expression seemed to be telling Xiao Lin, ¡®We don¡¯t need to do any tricks with the name lists. No matter who the opponent is, we will still win.¡¯


    The person from the tournamentmittee was a skinny old man who had a thick pair of sses on. He did not seem very strong, and was probably an administrative person. After epting the forms from both sides, he checked it before clearing his throat and speaking.


    ¡°The American Judge Academy¡¯s name list; individual participants are Smith and Thomas, secondary profession participants are White and Martin, and the team participants are Lopez, rk, Walker, Allen and Raymond.¡±


    ¡°The Chinese Dawn Academy¡¯s name list; individual participants are Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, secondary profession participants are Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin, and the team participants are Sun Xiao, An Luo, Li Jiayi, Sheng Guo and Chen Fangming.¡±


    ¡°Those are the participants from both sides. Are there any issues?¡±


    ¡°OK!¡±


    ¡°There are no issues!¡±


    Xiao Lin and the president shook hands, and the tournament name list was decided, so there was no way to change it, even if there were any changes of thoughts.


    ¡°You actually didn¡¯t need to waste so much effort. No matter what happens, there¡¯s no way you can win. You will only lose the points that you should have earned. I¡¯m a little disappointed at the list,¡± the president shook his head and said.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve investigated us,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°Did you not do so as well?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll meet at the match,¡± Xiao Lin shrugged and said.


    ¡°I wish you good luck.¡±


    ¡°Ha, if we have good luck, then it would be to your detriment.¡±


    The name list was fixed, which relieved Xiao Lin of some stress. What followed would be how they executed. He nned on resting early after the tiring journey, but he still had to exin the list to a lot of people.


    The doubt casted by those like Han Manman could be ignored, but Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, even Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s suspicions, needed to be patiently abated.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. You all feel like the chances of winning with this list is very low, especially with regards to the team portion, right? Fine, let me tell you clearly that I don¡¯t n on beating Judge Academy during the team match at all. You¡¯ve all already seen Judge Academy¡¯s teamwork skills. To be frank, with our current formation, the chances of winning are astronomically low, so we might as well just give it up.


    ¡°It¡¯s a seven-point match, and we just need to take down the first four points and we can win. In terms of individual skill, I¡¯m very confident in the two of you. As for the secondary professions, Gu Xiaoyue is the most hardworking out of all of us. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll have an issue here... Fine, to be honest, I¡¯m not absolutely confident with this arrangement, but I still think it¡¯s our best chance of winning.¡±

 Chapter 646 - Martin

    <h4>Chapter 646: Martin</h4>


    Cheng Ming and Chen Dao were not very happy with Xiao Lin¡¯s answer. Even though they had seen the strength of Judge Academy from the recordings as well, they still were not willing to ept giving up so early.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too cocky either, the individual matches won¡¯t be so easy.¡± Xiao Lin interrupted their mulling as he looked at the list in his hand, which was Judge Academy¡¯s participants. He said, ¡°Judge Academy is sending Smith and Thomas. Based on the information the president gave us, the two of them aren¡¯t easy to handle.¡±


    ¡°I heard the two of them are specialized in individual fights.¡± Cheng Ming¡¯sints were not that intense, and once he heard Xiao Lin¡¯s words, he shifted his focus onto his opponents.


    They had already obtained some basic information from Dawn Academy. The information showed that the two of them were already very passionate about one-on-one fights since they entered the academy. Every weekend, they would set up a gambling ring, using lucrative rewards to attract others to duel them. Until now, the two of them had won all of their duels within the first year, which was a shocking result.


    The information did not show what talents the two of them had, but they could not be too weak. Furthermore, the information had been obtained earlier on, and the two of them were probably even stronger already.


    Chen Dao mumbled a few words and basically acknowledged Xiao Lin¡¯s arrangement. However, he seemed very confident, patting his chest as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t know much about team battles, but I won¡¯t lose to anyone other than you in individual fights!¡±


    ¡°Leave the individual fights to us, but can you and Gu Xiaoyue win the secondary profession matches?¡± Cheng Ming was more worried about that.


    ¡°I won¡¯t have any issues, but as for Gu Xiaoyue. Ah...¡± Xiao Lin was just about to speak when the door was knocked again. Not waiting for him to get up and open it, the door was forced open.


    The one who came was Gu Xiaoyue. Xiao Lin had wanted to let everyone rest early to recover, but it seemed like a lot of them were still not asleep. Xiao Lin was not surprised by Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s arrival. He smiled at Cheng Ming, ¡°Speak of the devil and she shalle.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Cheng Ming was amused as he giggled, patting Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder meaningfully before pulling Chen Dao away by force.


    When the door closed, only Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue remained in the room. The rooms Judge Academy provided them were only regr student dormitories, but it was not too bad. It was basically a five-star hotel back on Earth.


    Of course, Gu Xiaoyue would not feel awkward being in a room alone because her face was full of anger at that moment. To that cold woman, that was a rare expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the name list?¡± Gu Xiaoyue asked.


    Xiao Lin felt a little helpless. Even though he knew the woman would definitelye over to ask him, he still had a headache. If it was anyone else who asked him, such as Cheng Ming and Chen Dao earlier, Xiao Lin could absolutely use his rights as the team leader or his friendship to skirt pass the topic, but it was impossible with that woman.


    ¡°I know what you want to say, but you are the most suited for the secondary profession. You are the most hardworking in every ss, and the Intelligence attribute also increases your memory andprehension. As the one with the highest Intelligence among us, you¡¯re naturally the best choice,¡± Xiao Lin patiently exined.


    ¡°You are insulting me!¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone was cold as she slowly turned around emotionally. She waved her arms around, her volume rising as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity. It¡¯s true, I know I don¡¯t have much of a lifespan left. I know you don¡¯t want me to die, but that¡¯s not a good reason! I need to tell you clearly that I don¡¯t care about my life. I only care about curing Gu Chengyun.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Xiao Lin nodded, adding, ¡°I want to cure Chengyun as well. The Eternal Fruit is a good chance, I told you before that I would help you get it, and this promise is still in effect.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re giving up on the tournament!¡± Gu Xiaoyue calmed down a little, but her look was still not too friendly.


    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m giving up?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°I know that you n on giving up on the team match and securing all four points before that, but is that possible?¡± Gu Xiaoyue calmly assessed despite her anger. ¡°We know Chen Dao and Cheng Ming¡¯s strength clearly, but Judge Academy knows their strength clearly as well, so they might not be able to win, which is the first issue. The second issue, and the most important one, is two secondary profession matches... How can we win? How could we possibly win?!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue took the Judge Academy¡¯s name list. Even though she had already seen the list before. She pushed the list in front of Xiao Lin and pointed at a name. She said each word carefully, ¡°I know you¡¯ve also seen the name list that Captain Yu Mei gave usst week. Putting aside everyone else, do you think any one of us can beat this Martin person? No, do you think anyone can beat him among all of the academy¡¯s first-year students?¡±


    There was the least information about him from Yu Mei¡¯s reports because that person was actually a very ordinary person in Judge Academy, and was practically unheard of in thest semester. Yet, when Judge Academy opened up secondary profession courses, that person¡¯s name suddenly spread throughout the whole academy.


    That Martina man needed only a week to pass the novice medicine certification. After that, he passed the mid-tier certification exam in a month, and smoothly obtained the high-tier certification two monthster. In another four months, which was during thest month, Martin was awarded the title of grandmaster in the Medicinal Studies Conference in the New World.


    Last month was Martin¡¯s twentieth birthday. That age, along with that pace, was already enough for that unassuming man¡¯s name to spread to all the academies.


    Even though after many checks, everyone could practically confirm that Martin was not an SS-rank talent holder, it was undeniable that the man¡¯s influence and usefulness could bepared to Judge Academy¡¯s SS-rank talent holder, Lilith.


    With someone like that participating in the tournament, anyone would know that Martin would absolutely take part in the secondary profession portion of the tournament. Even though it seemed like he had only just reached ck Iron-rank, that point was probably the most secure point for Judge Academy.

 Chapter 647 - Before The Tournament

    <h4>Chapter 647: Before The Tournament</h4>


    Judge Academy was very strong, but their strength was not only because of some SS-rank talent holders like Lilith. Their strengthy in their overall power, and their advantages were quite absolute. That was why in recent years, the other academies felt deeply helpless when facing Judge Academy.


    Judge Academy might not be as strong this time around, but in the end, thest tournament was practically single-handedly won by Lilith. This year, Judge Academy did not have an SS-rank talent holder, butparatively, their overall strength had increased.


    Beforeing, Yu Mei sternly warned them. In terms of overall strength, Judge Academy this year could be said to be the strongest in history!


    After watching Lilith¡¯s vicious performances, the monitors could not help but feel relieved despite their shock. All of them felt fortunate that they came a yearter, so they did not have to meet someone crazy like that.


    Yet, Yu Mei told them that Judge Academy this year was even stronger than Lilith¡¯s year!


    The warning had even caused some of the more pessimistic students to lose hope, but Yu Mei still had to remind them beforehand. It was still better than them being affected during the tournament itself.


    No matter if it was the president or Yu Mei, they did not voice the other meaning to the words, but everyone could more or less feel it, which was that they had no hope of winning this match. It was fine, no matter what the results ended up being. They could at least gain some experience in battle; that was the most important. After all, they were usually only exposed to the level of monthly examinations, and truly strong opponents were actually very rare.


    With that reasoning, Xiao Lin believed that Gu Xiaoyue would actually be able to understand his reasoning. Using any standard measures left them with very low chances of winning. Even if Xiao Lin himself did not want to ept it, he wanted to believe in Yu Mei¡¯s judgement. Without using Myth, it would be hard for him to hold off so many of them alone.


    ¡°Martin¡¯s medicinal study talent is really shocking. I actually don¡¯t have absolute confidence that I can beat him, but among the thirteen of us, only I can somewhatpete with him. Gu Xiaoyue, I know you¡¯re anxious, but our opponents aren¡¯t someone you can defeat with anxiety,¡± Xiao Lin said patiently.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gu Xiaoyue only lost control whenever her sister was concerned, but she quickly returned to that cold and calm woman. She adjusted some of the errant hair on her forehead before nodding and apologizing.


    Xiao Lin took in a deep breath, unable to say what he wanted to. He could absolutely understand Gu Xiaoyue; the woman only had less than two years left, and she had yet to find any effective solutions to this date. Gu Xiaoyue had only been concerned about her own sister the whole time, and he had no way of persuading her to do anything. Just like he said earlier, Xiao Lin wanted to help that cheerful and active girl as well.


    ¡°How about this? I promise you that I will definitely help you obtain the Eternal Fruit from this tournament, so before that, leave everything to me!¡± Xiao Lin said gently.


    Gu Xiaoyue fell silent and looked away subtly, but she could not hide her reddened eyes. Even though Xiao Lin¡¯s confidence did not seem to be grounded in anything, Gu Xiaoyue chose to give him the benefit of the doubt and ce her faith in him.


    ...


    The next morning, everyone got out of their beds and gathered in the public lounge outside the dormitories. Even though that day should usually be used to adjust and adapt themselves to the new environment instead of doing anything forceful, everyone was full of vigor for the uing match. They nned on undergoingst minute training.


    When everyone gathered, Xiao Lin said as the leader, ¡°Cheng Ming will be in charge of the training today. The training hall has been provided by Judge Academy. Everyone should focus on recovery training, so don¡¯t do anything heavy. The tournament officially starts tomorrow. Injuries can be treated quickly, but stamina can¡¯t be replenished.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going?¡± ss Eight¡¯s Sheng Guo asked strangely.


    Cheng Ming and Chen Dao were not surprised since Xiao Lin had notified themst night, but the others were still confused, and Han Manman could not help but snidely say, ¡°Are you giving up?¡±


    Xiao Lin did not want to argue and he smiled as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not going precisely because I don¡¯t want to give up. Oh, I forgot to tell all of you, I¡¯m nning on staying in the dormitory to revise my medicinal studies knowledge. Based on the arrangements, this time, my opponent is the youngest medicinal studies genius, Martin.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m taking the medicinal studies course as well, but I remember that you haven¡¯t been attending it since the first ss,¡± someone suddenly thought of something and mumbled out.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so I need to properly revise it today,¡± Xiao Lin said seriously.


    Everyone¡¯s mouths twitched.


    No matter what, Xiao Lin had absolute authority as the leader. The others were dismissed while feeling like they were assured to lose. After that, Xiao Lin found that beautiful golden-haired woman again. He asked for arge pile of medicinal study books, actually nning on hiding in his room and studying earnestly.


    The woman in charge looked at Xiao Lin with a strange expression. She understood Mandarin, so she understood everything Xiao Lin and the others had said before. The woman brought all the books to Xiao Lin¡¯s room, but she could not resist saying, ¡°The tournament prohibits any tools or substances that could affect the fairness of the matches.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s was about to shut the door.


    The golden-haired woman probably felt like Xiao Lin was deliberately acting dumb and stared at him before exning, ¡°You might not have looked at the rules clearly since it¡¯s your first tournament. Based on the rules, any special medicines or tools are prohibited from being used during the course of the tournament. I know some medicines can increase your memory temporarily, but regretfully, these are all not allowed to be used.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment, finally understanding what that woman was saying. He did not know how to react, but he was toozy to exin as well, ¡°Alright. Thanks for your reminder. Good bye.¡±


    Bam!


    The door was shut.

 Chapter 648 - Start Of The Tournament

    <h4>Chapter 648: Start Of The Tournament</h4>


    Looking at the closed room, the golden haired woman was startled, and mumbled angrily, saying something along the lines of Xiao Lin being ungrateful before she turned and left. She stopped at the corner, and two American men, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time, asked, ¡°Senior, how is it going?¡±


    ¡°He seemed quite vignt, and regretfully, I did not manage to get any usable information. However, I think he¡¯s just acting. The Chinese are all sick!¡± The woman shrugged, her expression one of contempt, but she respectfully looked at the tall man in front of her. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem all that strong. I believe that you are the strongest from all the academies, Raymond.¡±


    Raymond was built quite tall and sturdy, but his voice was gentle. He shrugged as he smiled wryly, ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I¡¯m definitely not the strongest. Don¡¯t disregard the others either. Don¡¯t forget the existence of that demon, Lilith... So, please, focus on the man called Xiao Lin because, a while ago, I went to the New World for an assignment with Lilith, and Lilith mentioned him then.¡±


    ¡°Lilith?¡± the woman widened her eyes in disbelief, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why would Lilith pay attention to a weakling like that?¡±


    Raymond rubbed his chin, his face also showing a confused look. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the specifics, and Lilith did not reveal too much, but I clearly remember what Lilith said in the end.¡±


    ¡°What did she say?¡±


    ¡°Lilith said that if there was anyone that could really rival her, then Xiao Lin is the most possible candidate. She really looked forward to their future match...¡±


    ¡°Lilith really said that?!¡± The words came from a short man beside him. Compared to Raymond, this man was still quite young. His face was quite pale, and he looked thin and weak. He felt like someone who could be blown away by a stiff breeze. Standing next to Raymond, the two of them looked like an elephant standing next to an ant.


    However, the way Raymond looked at him had no trace of disrespect at all. He regretfully shook his head, smiling as he said, ¡°I was actually looking forward to this match after what Lilith said, but it¡¯s a pity that his opponent isn¡¯t me, but you, Martin.¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s just running away. Not taking part in the team fight just means that he is weak!¡± The woman then encouraged Martin, ¡°You¡¯ll definitely beat him, right?¡±


    Martin pursed his lips, nodding vehemently. ¡°I will definitely lose in terms of skill, but since he dared topete in medicinal studies, I will make him understand the consequences of arrogance tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Hahah! I definitely believe that. Even the dean has said before, in the same year group, the person that can defeat you in medicinal studies has not even been born yet!¡±


    The woman nodded meaningfully. ¡°I did look at the books he wanted. All of them were books on medicinal studies. Strangely enough, the books ranged from the most basic to the most professional. It¡¯s hard to believe it; does he actually think he¡¯ll be able to read them all in a day?¡±


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be able to even if he ate the books!¡±


    Xiao Lin knew nothing of what was happening outside. Of course, he knew that, for a regr person, it was impossible to memorize all of the books there in a year, let alone a day. However, just like Xiao Lin saidst night, Martin might be very strong, but if someone could beat that guy in terms of medicinal studies, then Xiao Lin was definitely a possible candidate.


    Practically half of Xiao Lin¡¯s brain was stuffed with medicinal knowledge. When he decided on the medicinal studies course, he had wanted to use his own power to find a way to solve Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s issue with her lifespan. With Bell¡¯s help, using that special and dangerous technique called energy conversion, he had stuffed arge amount of books into his head.


    However, that did not mean that Xiao Lin had immediately grasped that knowledge. Using Bell¡¯s illustration, XIao Lin was just like a storage disk at that moment. Since his skill was too low, there was no way of retrieving all of the information at once, or his brain would explode.


    So, Xiao Lin needed to retrieve the smallest portions of information whenever he needed it, which was why he needed to revise, allowing himself to be able to retrieve the information from his brain as fast as possible. The books he asked for were actually just so he could form a record in his mind, making it easy for him to look things up.


    To Xiao Lin, who was currently surrounded by books, time passed in a sh. It was only when the others came back did he realize it waste. From what Cheng Ming told him, the training during the day did not have any idents, so he rxed, especially since there was no way to switch up the name list after it was determined.


    ...


    The day of the weekend, which was also the first match of the Inter-academy Tournament¡¯s group stages, Judge Academy arranged the venue to be in the biggest hall. The tournament matches were all held on the weekends, unless there were special circumstances, and the biggest reason was so that the regr students would be able to spectate.


    To those students who were not participating, being able to witness fights of a high caliber was amazing, no matter from an entertainment perspective or as a learning experience. As for the academy, it would strengthen everyone¡¯s sense of belonging in the academy, which was very necessary.


    The tournament venue was split into two types: the individual matches and secondary profession matches, which were held in specialized examination venues. However, the team portion was simr to monthly examinations, wherein an isted space would be created to simte various environments and battlefields. It would then be broadcasted throughout, but those from the outside could notmunicate with anyone inside to prevent any form of cheating.


    Under the observation of the tournamentmittee, the participants from both academies both went into their dedicated areas, and the back-up members could only watch from the spectator stands.


    Even though everyone had more or less received information about the other party before the examination, it was practically the first time they had all met. Other than curious gazes measuring each other, the participants from Judge Academy had noticeably confident smiles. Comparatively, Dawn Academy¡¯s expression was different. They were either filled with battle intent, uncertainty, or they werepletely nonchnt.

 Chapter 649 - Cheng Ming Against Smith

    <h4>Chapter 649: Cheng Ming Against Smith</h4>


    Xiao Lin measured that tall and burly, yet polite and well-mannered leader of the American Judge Academy. It was the first time he met the man, and his only knowledge of Raymond was limited to the information that Yu Mei had given them. However, Xiao Lin had a deep impression of the man because Raymond alone had taken up more than half of that information.


    ¡°You need to pay more attention to this person, as he¡¯s very strong. His power is different from Lilith¡¯s strength, because Raymond has a very ordinary talent. It¡¯s not even S-rank, but he¡¯s extremely hardworking, and can even suppress S-rank talent holders to be the first-year year leader of Judge Academy. He¡¯s not a simple person,¡± Yu Mei said to him at the time.


    ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Lin from Dawn Academy. Your academy is quite nice. I¡¯ll definitely tour the ce after the tournament ends,¡± Xiao Lin politely replied.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get the chance to.¡± Raymond smiled kindly.


    There were no ceremonies; the colonist academies did not care about putting up appearances. After the tournamentmittee member made sure that there were no problems or changes in the participants, the tournament formally began.


    The first to start were the two individual fights. The first fight featured Smith from Judge Academy against Dawn Academy¡¯s Cheng Ming. Smith was a bald man who was over thirty years old. ording to the tournament rules, both sides were only allowed to wear gear that was specially prepared for the tournament. They had the choice between leather or te armor, and there was a wide selection of weapons. However, the weapons were all very ordinary. Other than being slightly more durable, they did not carry any special effects.


    What surprised everyone was that Smith did not choose any equipment, including any weapons. He merely wore a short T-shirt as he entered the arena. The simted battlefield was over a hundred meters in diameter, and it was an empty stage. Based on the rules, the individual tournaments were all single-elimination, and the arena was not to be veryrge.


    Cheng Ming furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Smith walking empty-handed, and used his broken English to ask, ¡°Are you underestimating me?¡± Even those who specialized in using the fist usually wore gloves of some form, which would at least be better than blocking his sword with his bare hands. No matter how ordinary the equipment used in the tournament was, it was still a sharp de!


    Since no one else could enter the arena, the other participants looked on from outside. Those from Dawn Academy had a sour look on their faces as they looked at Smith enter the arena, but a calm voice could suddenly be heard next to Xiao Lin, that said, ¡°Smith isn¡¯t underestimating you. If he was, he would have picked a weapon. Not bringing a weapon in means that he¡¯s taking Dawn Academy very seriously.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly turned around and realized that it was Raymond. He was very surprised. Even if he had his full attention on the tournament and did not have Miracle or Ruin on to enhance his perception, the fact that Raymond coulde so close while avoiding all detection meant that his abilities were very shocking.


    Raymond was not surprised at Xiao Lin¡¯sck of a response. Possibly thinking that his Mandarin was not good enough, he continued, ¡°You¡¯ll understandter. Smith¡¯s strength does not require any weapons.¡±


    The match started, and Cheng Ming chose to attack head on with his sword. Many people knew of his talent, which was Swordheart. It allowed him to increase any swordsmanship techniques he had by a whole rank. To be more precise, it was a talent that enhanced swordsmanship.


    ¡°It¡¯s Phantom sh!¡± Chen Dao¡¯s eyes brightened.


    ¡°Cheng Ming never disappoints!¡± The others could not help but praise him.


    It was a Silver-ranked sword skill, and it had very high requirements toward speed and agility. With Cheng Ming¡¯s Agility attribute, it probably took him an immense amount of focus and hard work to learn it, but the moment he did, the skill was even more powerful in Cheng Ming¡¯s hands.


    In the match, Cheng Ming used his sword aura right away, filling the arena with images of swords. Those images might be illusory, but each illusion still contained Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura. Thanks to his naturally high Strength, the power was impressive.


    The usual choice when facing Phantom sh was to pull away a great distance, but the restrictions of the arena ensured that Smith could not do so, nor did it seem like he had any intentions of it. Facing the intense sword aura, he suddenly roared at the sky and the thin shirt on his body was ripped apart as his muscles rapidly expanded several times. Countless ck and coarse hairs rapidly grew on his body.


    ¡°Lycanthropy!¡± Xiao Lin immediately knew the name of the talent. He had read up on a lot of talents before since his opponents would have various talents.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but Smith¡¯s werewolf form isn¡¯t a regr one.¡± Raymond had actually remained with Dawn Academy to exin, and looked to be very close to all of them despite the fact that no one knew him.


    Cheng Ming was surprised, but his sword aura did not stop at all as he did not hesitate to sh at Smith¡¯s body. Blood and countless wounds appeared on the body of Smith who had no armor on, and the powerful sword aura sent Smith flying and crashing down on the floor.


    ¡°That should be the end!¡± Chen Dao muttered.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just starting.¡± Raymond still had a smile on his face.


    Smith stood up again. Even though he seemed to be littered with injuries, he did not seem like he was affected at all. His eyes slowly started to turn red, and after a howl, his strengthened feet mmed on the ground as he shot forward like a cannonball.


    The sword in Cheng Ming¡¯s hand glowed again as he used Total Annihtion. It filled the area around him with a dense sword aura. It was a good choice both to attack and to defend.


    ¡°Too slow!¡± Raymond shook his head.


    After a second, the others understood who Raymond said was being too slow. Before Total Annihtion could even be used, Cheng Ming was mmed into by Smith. Even if he was barehanded, the ws in his wolf form were incredibly strong, and the armor on Cheng Ming¡¯s body crumbled like paper as it pierced into his flesh beneath, leaving two massive wounds that were spurting out blood.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your garden variety Lycanthropy; it¡¯s King Lycanthropy!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s expression immediately turned heavier.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Smith¡¯s talent is King Lycanthropy.¡± Raymond confirmed calmly. Even though talents were usually kept a secret, Smith¡¯s werewolf form was too special, and anyone who was not blind would be able to guess it.


    Lycanthropy and King Lycanthropy... Even though both of them were talents that transformed the body, just one word of difference brought on a vastly different effect.

 Chapter 650 - Golden Sword Aura

    <h4>Chapter 650: Golden Sword Aura</h4>


    Lycanthropy was just a B-rank talent, and it was a rtivelymon body transformation talent. After activation, it greatly enhanced the strength of the user¡¯s body, and also enhanced recovery abilities. Normally, those talents that were limited by time were not rated very highly, and the werewolf form itself had some side effects ¡ª namely that it was very easy to lose control after activating it.


    However, King Lycanthropy was different; it was an S-rank talent, and possessed all the abilities of Lycanthropy, but stronger. The talent also had a passive ability that greatly increased all the user¡¯s attributes when the user was injured. That ability greatly increased when the talent was activated as well, which meant that, whenever the user received grave injuries, the user could very easily break past their own physical limits, and could evenpete with those with SS-rank talents!


    Smith himself was equal to Cheng Ming in skill, but after being heavily injured by Cheng Ming, Smith had eclipsed Cheng Ming both in speed and power.


    ¡°King Lycanthropy¡¯s power might be very horrifying, but it¡¯s not suited for team battles. However, in a duel like this, it¡¯s practically unbeatable after being activated,¡± Xiao Lin muttered. With his incredible memory, the amount of information he had crammed during this time was immense. After pausing, he turned and looked at Raymond, and he said, ¡°An interesting strategy.¡±


    Raymond nodded in agreement, saying, ¡°Cheng Ming is very strong as well, but it¡¯s best if he surrenders. Since you understand the King Lycanthropy talent, you should know how this is going to y out.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was a little ugly as he said, ¡°King Lycanthropy¡¯s side effects are worse than Lycanthropy. Even though you can keep your rational thoughts, the urge to kill is extremely high. After activating King Lycanthropy, the user¡¯s actions will be affected. However...¡±


    Xiao Lin turned the topic around. ¡°All of you are underestimating Cheng Ming. He will never admit defeat!¡±


    Just as Xiao Lin and Raymond expected, other than Cheng Ming¡¯s initial advantage, Raymond quickly gained control of the fight. The ws in his hand did not lose out to Cheng Ming¡¯s de, and was potentially even sharper. Each attack Smith made after transforming tore into Cheng Ming¡¯s armor easily, even wing at his flesh. Due to the special effects of the talent, the wounds could not even recover by themselves. Cheng Ming would definitely have to undergo special treatment after the battle in order to recover.


    The whirlwind-like assaultsted for over a minute, and Cheng Ming was already littered with wounds. The armor on his body was a mess, so Cheng Ming just threw it aside. However, Smith¡¯s attacks had stopped as well, because the hairs on his body had slowly begun to recede, and the redness in his eyes were rapidly fading. There were not many wounds left on his body.


    ¡°I see.¡± Xiao Lin looked at Raymond in realization. ¡°Smith should be specialized in courses that emphasize self-recovery. On top of the King Lycanthropy¡¯s natural recovery ability, even after heavy injuries, he can quickly recover, and will not fall into the awkward trap of being unable to fight after being heavily injured.¡±


    ¡°More or less, but even if Smith has lost the power of his active talent, the victor is already decided. That student of yours does not have any self-recovery techniques, and Smith will be able to defeat Cheng Ming even in his normal state,¡± Raymond said.


    Xiao Lin had slowly begun to rx his tense nerves. It was the first time he let out a smile since the start of the match. ¡°Raymond, I¡¯ll have to express some regret. If Smith had thrown aside all caution and maintained that state, we might really have lost this match. However, it¡¯s different now. I don¡¯t know how much information your side has on Cheng Ming, but I know very well that Cheng Ming is way too humble normally. He¡¯s so humble that a lot of people forget his hard work and skill!¡±


    In the match, Cheng Ming spat out a mouthful of blood as he looked at Smith who had reverted to his normal state. Even though his injuries looked much more severe than Smith¡¯s, he did not n on giving up at all as he slowly picked up the sword in his hand.


    ¡°Does Cheng Ming have any more trump cards?¡± Hearing Xiao Lin¡¯s words to Raymond, Sheng Guo could not help but ask.


    ¡°He does. I¡¯ve sparred a lot with him, and I know him very well. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s never had the confidence usually, but I don¡¯t think he has a choice now.¡± Xiao Lin did not shift his gaze from the match. He understood Cheng Ming¡¯s skill the most, so he trusted Cheng Ming the most.


    Cheng Ming did not attack immediately after assuming a fighting stance, and seemed to be waiting for his strength to recover. Smith¡¯s attack did put a lot of pressure on him earlier, but if one inspected closer, they would notice a formless aura condensing around Cheng Ming.


    It was the purest form of sword aura, but with their current skills, it was incredibly rare for anyone to control sword aura to such a pure form. Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura was different from Xiao Lin¡¯s elemental sword aura. His sword aura was the purest, and it was incredibly hard to train, but with how bitterly hard Cheng Ming worked, it was nothing worth mentioning.


    ¡°Let me see what level your sword aura is at!¡± Xiao Lin was actually looking forward to it as well. Cheng Ming rarely revealed his full skill during practice. It was not that he disrespected his opponent, but Cheng Ming was just too much of a nice guy. He knew that his explosiveness would definitely cause heavy injuries, or even death, to the other person, which he was not willing to see.


    If Smith had not forced him to such a degree, Xiao Lin doubted that Cheng Ming would reveal his true skill.


    Boom!


    In a sh, the arena seemed to erupt in a thunderous explosion as a golden, lightning-like sword aura filled the arena.


    ¡°Golden sword aura!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!¡±


    The spectators all eximed as everyone¡¯s expressions looked like they were extremely interested. Judge Academy¡¯s expressions were mostly dejected, while Dawn Academy was full of smiles. Cheng Ming had always been a friendly person, and being on the same side, everyone naturally did not want to see Cheng Ming lose.


    Golden sword aura was a highly ranked sword aura, and could only be mastered with the purest form of sword aura. There was no way for Xiao Lin¡¯s elemental sword aura to be used that way.


    Golden sword aura was incredibly difficult, and had a condition of being at Gold rank. Cheng Ming¡¯s swordsmanship was already at Silver rank, and with the effect of his talent, he was able to fulfil that condition. Even so, the hard work he had to put in did not diminish.

 Chapter 651 - Chen Dao Against Thomas

    <h4>Chapter 651: Chen Dao Against Thomas</h4>


    If Smith had been more decisive earlier in using his terrifying strength after his transformation, if he could just drag it on for another minute, Smith would have won easily. Cheng Ming¡¯s golden sword aura actually had a lot of restrictions that Xiao Lin had noticed.


    To Cheng Ming, even with his talent, it was still a skill that he had jumped ranks to use. Xiao Lin knew very well the cost and limits of using power that exceeded one¡¯s own strength, so even though Cheng Ming had learned golden sword aura, with his current skill and rank, it could not be easy using it.


    Smith¡¯s torrential assault earlier never gave Cheng Ming the chance to use it, yet his opponent had given Cheng Ming the chance at the final moments.


    An instant turning of the tables!


    ¡°Not bad! Golden sword aura!¡± Raymond was still smiling, but the smile felt a bit heavier. After that, he shook his head, saying regretfully, ¡°Oh, Smith. Even though I¡¯ve repeatedly told him not to underestimate you, that man still did it. We¡¯ve lost this round.¡±


    After that, Raymond decisively left Dawn Academy¡¯s spectator stands, leaving Xiao Lin a little stunned because the match had yet to actually end. Smith might be at a disadvantage, but the injuries he had received could all be recovered from.


    Based on the current situation, Cheng Ming had a sixty percent chance of winning at most.


    Yet, only a few minutes had passed, and the situation rapidly turned south. Smith seemed incredibly dispirited after losing his King Lycanthropy, and even though he seemed to have solid foundations, and his fist techniques and footwork were all really good, he could not stand up to the golden sword aura at all.


    After another minute, Smith sighed and raised his hand in surrender. To the Americans, surrendering when there was no hope for victory was nothing to be ashamed of.


    ¡°Dawn Academy has won the first match. The score is one to zero!¡± As someone from the tournamentmittee, he expressionlessly announced the results.


    The match onlysted for five to six minutes, which was definitely quick for an individual duel, but the results were definitely out of Judge Academy¡¯s expectations. Smith had an S-rank talent, while Cheng Ming¡¯s Swordheart was only A-ranked.


    On the side of Dawn Academy, Cheng Ming was helped out of the arena, being incredibly wounded. He did not even speak, and merely shot a happy look at everyone before he was brought away on a stretcher to be treated.


    Based on the rules, those who participated in the individual matches could not enter the subsequent fights, so Cheng Ming had plenty of time to recover.


    Xiao Lin did not have the time to worry about Cheng Ming¡¯s condition. He pulled Chen Dao to the side and said, ¡°Truthfully I think we still underestimated their strength. The King Lycanthropy talent, based on what I saw, if the guy really used the talent to the fullest, Cheng Ming would not have had a chance!¡±


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re saying! I shouldn¡¯t underestimate my opponent. Don¡¯t worry!¡± The young Chen Dao acknowledged Xiao Lin quite a bit, but Chen Dao never listened to advice like that.


    Chen Dao¡¯s opponent was Thomas, and apparently Thomas was Smith¡¯s brother. A pair of siblings being selected into an academy was incredibly rare, but it meant that the two of them definitely had very strong talents.


    ¡°Thomas is Smith¡¯s brother, and apparently he is stronger than Smith. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s almost certain that he has an S-rank talent, so you need to be careful,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    Chen Dao walked into the arena with a carefree expression. He had chosen to use the robes and staff for the tournament. Thomas might have been Smith¡¯s brother, but he was a skinny man, and he picked the exact same equipment as Chen Dao: a two-handed staff.


    ¡°It seems like he¡¯s another mage who focuses on the power of their spells.¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. Two-handed staffs were different from one-handed wands in that two-handed weapons were even more powerful, butparatively, due to the heaviness of the weapon, it would greatly affect mobility. Because of that, single-handed wands were more suited for those who casted their spells rapidly.


    Xiao Lin advised Chen Dao to learn some supportive spells, since that would increase the diversity of his strategies, but that immature boy had thrown himself even more fervently into the purest form of attack magics, and all he knew wererge-scale fire spells.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much to say about Chen Dao. He¡¯s attacking style is suited for rapid offense. He uses his power to oppress his foes quickly. Thankfully, his talent allows him to do so.¡±


    As Xiao Lin mumbled away to no one in particr, the second match started.


    Chen Dao said nothing as he walked to the arena, and his surroundings started to rapidly heat up. Xiao Lin and the others were shocked. The guy was nning on using his talent right from the get go.


    ¡°Fire God talent! S-rank!¡±


    In Judge Academy, there were naturally a few who knew of it, and in the cries of surprise, Raymond looked over again. After exchanging looks with Xiao Lin for a few seconds, he let out a strange smile, saying, ¡°What a coincidence. Fire God! Haha.¡±


    Everyone quickly understood the reason for Raymond¡¯s smile. Facing the ming Fire God, Thomas was not surprised at all. After raising his staff and chanting a spell, a blue glow rapidly rose and enveloped him, and in the flow, countless water pirs shot up into the sky. Thomas¡¯s body was quickly covered by water. No, more urately, the guy¡¯s body had turned into the element of water.


    ¡°S-rank talent! Water God! This is too big of a coincidence!¡± Xiao Lin did not know how to react. Looking at Raymond, the man shrugged, indicating that he did not know either.


    Water God and Fire God were simr talents; they both allowed the user to have the power of gods for a short time, and greatly increased the power of spells of the same element. They were both S-rank talents, and were both magically inclined, so they should be equals. However, from the perspective of attributes, fire was countered by water, so Chen Dao¡¯s disadvantage was very clear. Xiao Lin almost suspected that their opponents had purposely arranged for Thomas to fight Chen Dao.


    However, Judge Academy had arranged for two S-rank talent holders to fight from the start, so it seemed like they did not n on allowing Dawn Academy to even gain a point on their territory. The number of S-rank talent holders in Judge Academy that year was incredibly shocking. After all, it was just the individual matches. The following team battle would definitely have S-rank talent holders as well.

 Chapter 652 - Water God Against Fire God

    <h4>Chapter 652: Water God Against Fire God</h4>


    Chen Dao hadpletely turned into a human firing tform after transforming, frantically throwing out fire spells as if they were nothing from his two-handed staff. It was like a violent volcano erupting, and the entire arena was turned into a sea of mes.


    The fire spells that Chen Dao wielded were all high-ranked. It was both because of his high intelligence attribute and the advantages that the Fire God talent brought. No one was surprised when they were sparring against him. me spells focused on attacking, and were incredibly strong offensively, so it suited Chen Dao¡¯s personality.


    After Thomas turned into a blue body of energy, he started to float in the air as countless whirlpools of water formed around him. It had blocked numerous fire spells. In contrast to the violent fire element, the water element was gentler, and represented recovery.


    It was obvious that Thomas¡¯s offensive powers could notpare to Chen Dao, but the water shields that he created had incredibly restorative powers. Even if it were Xiao Lin, he would not dare topete against Chen Dao¡¯s Pyrost without activating Ruin, but in just a short minute, Thomas had at least faced three of four of Chen Dao¡¯s Pyrosts head on, and each time the water shields were dissipated, Thomas would immediately pour more magic into it. The shields were unending, and vast like the sea.


    If the Fire God talent was the strongest offensive transformation, then the Water God talent was the strongest defensive shield. In the battle of the spear and the shield, no one could anticipate the final victor.


    ¡°Chen Dao can¡¯t sustain his explosiveness for too long, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen it in training. He still isn¡¯t too familiar with his talent, so it will be troublesome if they were to stall for time.¡±


    ¡°Thomas is quite strong. He doesn¡¯t seem to be using his full might.¡±


    ¡°Thomas is probably trying to stall. They are both S-rank talent holders, so the duration they can maintain it for should be the same. If the talent ends, then Thomas will definitely win if he has been exerting less energy.¡±


    The spectators could not help but worry for Chen Dao as his opponent was clearly stalling. Based on their training, Chen Dao could only maintain his Fire God talent for around 90 seconds, so it seemed to be approaching the end.


    Sensing Chen Dao¡¯s diminishing strength, Thomas had started to attack while he was defending. The water vortexes around him suddenly formed two pirs of water, shaping into a sharp arrow of water before shooting straight at Chen Dao. Chen Dao¡¯s perception immediately caught that sneak attack. Even though it was just a low-ranked water arrow, under the Water God talent, the power could not be underestimated.


    Chen Dao could not help but use a portion of his magic to shoot out a me ball at the water arrow, but his offensive power had also diminished by quite a bit. Even though it happened in just a few seconds, Thomas still grasped it, and the easing up of the pressure had allowed Thomas to unleash an even more intense attack. This time, he used Waterspout, a Silver-ranked spell.


    The Waterspout surged forward and the sea of mes was forcibly parted. Thomas casted his spells very quickly, causing Chen Dao to be forced to throw the ming dragon he had been aiming at Thomas to block the Waterspout.


    ¡°Chen Dao¡¯s lost his tempo!¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows. Thomas might not have used any shocking spells so far, but the fact that Thomas was able to hold back Chen Dao¡¯s furious onught and even seize the chance to attack was very shocking. It was not a good omen, and the spectators could only give Chen Dao a silent prayer in their hearts, praying that the guy was able to adapt to his talent with all his training, so he would not end his Fire God too quickly.


    Boom!


    Constant explosions erupted in the sea of mes, and the fires had obstructed everyone¡¯s views. After over ten seconds, the explosions suddenly stopped, and the entire arena was quiet. When the mes parted, Chen Dao was kneeling on the ground, gasping for air. He seemed to be in a state of exhaustion ¡ª a clear sign of overtaxing his mental strength.


    His Fire God talent had already ended, and Dawn Academy¡¯s participants could not help but sigh in their hearts as their expressions fell. Even though Thomas had also undone his Water God talent, even though Thomas was also panting, his breathing was not as erratic, which meant that the man still had enough left in the tank to end that match.


    ¡°Chen Dao has already done his best. His talent isn¡¯t actually suited for individual fights. He needs a team to support him after his talent is used to perform better. The one who arranged the line-up should be taking responsibility!¡± Han Manman¡¯s cold, mocking voice could be heard. The woman had been holding back for a few days, but she finally let out her words. After all, she had no horse in the race, and her words had a hidden meaning to them that anyone could hear: ¡®If I waspeting, I would definitely win!¡¯


    The others could not help but roll their eyes. The two opposingpetitors had both been S-rank talent holders. Everyone knew Han Manman¡¯s strength, no matter who she faced, her chances of winning would just be lower. Since Cheng Ming was not around at the moment, the others did not say anything.


    ¡°The match still hasn¡¯t ended!¡± Xiao Lin remained emotionless. He looked at Chen Dao who was struggling to move. He muttered in his heart, ¡®Chen Dao, surely you have more up your sleeve.¡¯


    The match was definitely not at an end yet. ording to the rules, there are only three ways to determine a victor: surrendering, losing the ability to fight, or death.


    Usually, death was very rare, and in unwinnable situations, the weaker side would forfeit. If the opponents refused to surrender, the match would usually end with making the other party faint.


    However, Chen Dao might have been exhausted, he still did not surrender, and did not seem like he hadpletely lost the ability to fight, so themittee member did not announce the victor.


    Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. He muttered something before he threw away his heaving staff, chanting quickly before condensing a long water arrow and slowly walking toward Chen Dao.


    He nned on ending the match.

 Chapter 653 - Gu Xiaoyue Comes On

    <h4>Chapter 653: Gu Xiaoyue Comes On</h4>


    Judge Academy¡¯s side could not help but let out smiles. Even though the process was harder than they expected, the result was still what they anticipated.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s spectators could not help but shut their eyes; they could not me Chen Dao for anything since Chen Dao had already done his best. It was just that the opponent was better than him. They were even mulling over how they would console Chen Daoter.


    Everything happened in a sh. A short explosion could be heard in the quiet arena again, and the exhausted Chen Dao once again summoned intense mes around him, which was the signs of the Fire God talent activating.


    The others did not even have the time to exim in surprise or wonder if the guy still had any energy left when they saw Chen Dao throw out a Pyrost from his hand. The massive fireball shot out; the spell was way too fast. It had been practically instant, while Thomas¡¯s reactions had noticeably slowed. Even if his overall skill seemed better than Chen Dao¡¯s after the Water God talent ended, he did not have much mental strength left.


    Even though Thomas wanted to, his body could not react in time as he looked at the Pyrost that was fired almost right in front of him and pierced through his torso. The massive explosion sent him flying into the air, and when he fell again, his torso was already aplete mess, leaking out massive amounts of blood.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Chen Daoughed loudly as his Fire God Talent ended, this time forced. Chen Dao had finally exhausted hisst remaining energy, but he still stubbornly stood there, his body swaying like a flickering candle in the wind.


    ¡°Thomas has lost the ability to fight! The winner is Chen Dao of Dawn Academy!¡±


    As the person in charge announced the result to the arena, Chen Dao let out a satisfied smile and copsed.


    Those outside ran right in, bringing the heavily injured Thomas and Chen Dao out and quickly bringing them in for treatment.


    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± The dramatic end had left many people in disbelief.


    ¡°What a smart strategy! That Chinese boy must have held thest bits of his remaining strength back to activate his talent. I don¡¯t think he had more than two seconds left. No, he might only have had less than a second left.¡± On Judge Academy¡¯s side, Raymond sighed bitterly.


    ¡°Chen Dao had probably already prepared that Pyrost spell, so he could immediately use it after activating the talent. He probably understood that he would only have one chance to act after activating his talent again.¡± Xiao Lin slowly started to understand that Chen Dao¡¯s strategy was a little simr to his Momentary Ruin, leaving a bit back after deactivating his talent so he would have a chance to activate it again.


    It seemed like Chen Dao had noticeable improvements after all the practice and training.


    The individual matches had ended, and Dawn Academy took a temporary two to zero lead over Judge Academy!


    The score was outside of most expectations, but Xiao Lin noticed that the Americans quickly lost all of their anxiety. After Thomas was sent off, they were calm again, and they told themittee member that the next match could start.


    Were they so confident in the following matches that they did not care that they lost two points?


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows before looking at Gu Xiaoyue, saying, ¡°Your opponent is White. Based on the rules, the secondary profession matches won¡¯t be tooplicated. Only medicinal studies, smithing, runes, and other limited subjects are included. White studies runes, so I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll lose to anyone else in that department, right?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue red at him. ¡°You better worry about yourself!¡± She entered the arena after that.


    Xiao Lin smiled wryly as he rubbed his nose. Gu Xiaoyue still did not seem too confident in him. However, it was fine. As long as Gu Xiaoyue won, then their hopes were very great.


    In truth, Gu Xiaoyue had a big advantage in this match. Runic studies, in the most basic sense, were the foundation of magical arrays and formations. Normally, mages would take it as their secondary profession. After all, in magical studies, it was necessary to at least have a basic understanding of magical arrays.


    With Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s skill and talent in magic, she was a natural at runes. Xiao Lin did not study the subject, but he still firmly believed that.


    ¡°There is not much information on White. I asked Yu Mei before, and this person seems to be more average in Judge Academy. Of course, even an average person here is much stronger than someone from the other academies,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°So this should be the match that we have the best chance of winning.¡± Sheng Guo came over to talk to Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin nced at him. Xiao Lin did not interact with Sheng Guo that much usually, but Xiao Lin knew that the man was someone who was very good at reading the situation. Knowing that Xiao Lin was about to be the year leader, Sheng Guo noticeably increased his interactions with Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin did not reject these sort of interactions, so he nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s talent in this department exceeds even Chen Dao. That little brat doesn¡¯t care about anything other than fighting.¡±


    Based on the rules, Dawn Academy could pick the topics for the secondary professions as the hosts. Normally, runes were the mostmon topic, so it was not that surprising.


    White was a bespectacled young man, and did not seem like someone who stood out. The rules of the tournament were simple. After all, they were only first-year students with minimal interaction with their secondary professions, so the match could not be tooplicated. First, the judge would choose a magical array, and both parties would try to draw it. The final product would then be judged.


    The tournament was quickly about to bigen, and the judge picked a defensive formation out of a dozen arrays. It was a picture formed out of over a hundred runes, and the difficulty was moderate, but it was still quite difficult to achieve the highest degree of sess.


    Even though Xiao Lin believed in Gu Xiaoyue, he was still a bit nervous because, ording to his ns, if they lost any one of the first four matches, they would not have topete in the remainder of the day anymore. As a first time leader, even if Yu Mei and the president would not hold him responsible, Xiao Lin would still feel some guilt.

 Chapter 654 - Xiao Lin’s Match

    <h4>Chapter 654: Xiao Lin¡¯s Match</h4>


    Gu Xiaoyue understood the importance of this match as well. Unlike Xiao Lin, the woman probably did not care about Dawn City¡¯s reputation, as she cared more about her sister, and would definitely do her best.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s concentration was hard to imagine. She focused fully, and thoseplicated magical formations suddenly became as simple as a few numbers. She only thought for three minutes before picking up the specially prepared magical pen and started drawing on the special magical paper.


    White was still deep in thought next to her. What was required was not just copying it; one first needed to see through everything the formation contained. Once one had started, there was no way to correct anything, so he was very careful, but he quickly saw Gu Xiaoyue start. White was definitely very surprised, but he seemed to realize something and he bitterly smiled as he shook his head. He was forcing himself to start, since speed was also a criteria for judging.


    The match ended after five minutes, which was much shorter than expected. The two of them finished their formations before presenting it to the judge. The judge was a middle-aged man with a sparse beard and he had a very formal expression. After looking through both of theirpleted drawings, he had a look of slight surprise. When he raised his head again, he looked at Gu Xiaoyue with astonishment, asking, ¡°Did you finish this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen this array before?¡±


    ¡°No. Everything I¡¯ve learned in ss is just basic knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable, how old are you this year?¡±


    ...


    Looking at how the judge conversed with Gu Xiaoyue with a warm tone, everyone else was dumbfounded and basically guessed the result. After a few minutes, Judge Academy¡¯s president finally reminded the judge to continue in a low voice, causing the judge to cough dryly before announcing the results. It was no surprise that Gu Xiaoyue won.


    White looked very miserable, but Judge Academy did not seem too surprised. It was obvious that their information was quite good, and they knew that Gu Xiaoyue was good at this, so losing that point was within their calctions.


    Following Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s victory, the current results were three to zero. Based on the seven point metric, Dawn Academy only needed one more point to be dered the victor. The team match did not even need to be held.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t stand looking at them. They¡¯re clearly in a dangerous spot, but none of them look worried at all. Are they really so confident?¡± Sheng Guo suddenly said, pointing at the Judge Academy students, who were not far away.


    ¡°Are they so confident about Martin?¡±


    ¡°He is the youngest genius in the medical realm.¡±


    The others had naturally read Martin¡¯s information before, and it was obvious that they were not so confident about the results for the next match. Of course, they would not me Xiao Lin like Han Manman did. After all, Dawn Academy did have the advantage in terms of points at that moment.


    The fourth match was about to start.


    Looking at Gu Xiaoyue who had just walked out of the tournament room, Xiao Lin revealed a faint smile, saying softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Leave it to me!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue paused for a moment. When she looked back again, Xiao Lin had already stepped into the venue.


    Contrary to the image in Xiao Lin¡¯s head, Martin was someone who was very skinny, and seemed obviously very average in skill. Of course, Xiao Lin would not underestimate the guy because of that. Xiao Lin knew that there were many types of people in the New World. They might not be good atbat, but they might have crazy advantages in other areas, and the guy in front of him was obviously one of them.


    It was a pity that he was facing Xiao Lin.


    The second match was obviously medical studies, which his opponent had the most confidence in. It was simr to the earlier match; the judge would pick out various potions, and the participants needed to prepare them. The tournament area already had many herbs provided, but not all of those herbs would be used, so the participants needed to pick out the relevant ones. The final victor would be determined by the effectiveness of their potions.


    The judge quickly provided the potions for the match; it was a basic recovery potion ¡ª amonly seen potion. However, recovery potions were one of the moreplicated types. A basic recovery potion could cure light wounds and recover a portion of mental strength, so it was a fusion between a medical potion and a mental strength recovery potion.


    To beginners, this type of potion was definitely quite difficult, but Xiao Lin knew that Martin¡¯s skills were definitely not fake. The potion was probably child¡¯s y to Martin. If everything went as expected, the guy would definitely produce it perfectly.


    Xiao Lin was not afraid of his opponent. There was arge amount of knowledge stored in his head, and the problem was not as hard as he thought, so he was also confident in making the perfect potion.


    That would present a difficult problem; if both of their potions were to be practically perfect, then it would be very hard to determine a victor. A draw could very possibly appear in that situation, which was something Judge Academy could definitely ept, but Xiao Lin could not because they had no hope of winning the team match.


    A draw would mean Dawn Academy¡¯s loss.


    Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows, and did not start collecting the herbs immediately. He looked through the relevant information in his head, thinking about how to beat his opponent.


    Xiao Lin strangely noticed that his pale-faced opponent, Martin, seemed to be doing the same thing as him. Martin was deep in thought, as if he had some dilemma.


    Xiao Lin found it strange. Martin would definitely not encounter any difficulties with that potion, so what was he hesitating for?


    Suddenly, Xiao Lin seemed to notice something, and his eyes brightened as he mumbled. ¡°I see! You gave me an idea!¡±


    After that, Xiao Lin started to collect the herbs that he needed. Martin went back into thought upon seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s actions, but there was not much time, so Martin started to move after a little over ten seconds, and the pace he took for looking for the herbs was much faster than Xiao Lin, since he did not need to retrieve the information from his memories like Xiao Lin.


    Among the spectators, even though they were not as good at medical studies as Martin, they still had some basic knowledge. After looking at their herbs in detail, everyone had a strange expression before they started to sweat.


    That was because both Xiao Lin and Martin seemed to be using herbs that were drastically different from what a basic recovery potion needed!

 Chapter 655 - Martin’s Potion

    <h4>Chapter 655: Martin¡¯s Potion</h4>


    ¡°I don¡¯t think these are the ingredients for a basic recovery potion!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a little different. For instance, I remember that the professor said that silver-ear grass was a necessaryponent, but neither of them are using it. What a joke. Are they reallypeting?¡±


    ¡°Not only that, there are so many herbs that I don¡¯t recognize at all.¡±


    ¡°There are so many types, they¡¯re both adding their own herbs to the original prescription. As for the effects¡­ Ah, I wouldn¡¯t know it.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re changing the ingredients themselves!¡±


    ¡°I think I know what the two of them are thinking about. They are trying to change the ingredients to raise the effectiveness of the potion.¡±


    ¡°Is that something first-year students like us can do? Don¡¯t forget, our books were all written by people at the level of a professor or above!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why those two are crazy!¡±


    ¡­


    The spectators talked among themselves. They were not dumb, and could quickly see what the two of them were intending to do. Since it would be hard for a perfect potion to determine the winner, then they decided to just change the instructions, making an even better potion to determine the winner. Since the judging criteriay in the effectiveness of the potions, there were no rules against changing the production method, which was why they were well within their rights to do so. To a certain degree, the tournamentmittee encouraged that.


    To Martin, the youngest genius, it was not such a shocking thing to do. In truth, anyone at that level would be able to do it easily, but the fact that Xiao Lin was doing it as well was surprising.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± Raymond stared at the screen before suddenlyughing, but hisugh was no longer as rxed as before. He sighed after a moment. ¡°We might have underestimated him.¡±


    ¡°If we lose this match, then won¡¯t we¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll lose.¡±


    ¡­


    Raymond¡¯s words hit the hearts of everyone in Judge Academy, causing them to slowly think of the possibility that they could lose, but they did not really believe that Xiao Lin would actually be able to beat Martin.


    Time slowly ticked away, and fifteen minutes passed without anyone noticing. From the four matches today, this was already the longest match, but the time limit was half an hour, so they would not have to wait for much longer.


    To Xiao Lin, it was his first time refining a potion, so his technique was not very good. However, each step was strangely urate and devoid of mistakes. Martin would asionally look up, and would be unable to resist furrowing his eyebrows. The incredibly talented guy also felt like something was off; the way Xiao Lin was performing waspletely different from their information about him not actually knowing anything about medicinal studies.


    Xiao Lin and Martin practically finished their potions at the same time, and both of them had basically finished it at thest moment. The judge could not help but reveal a strange expression when he announced that the time had ended. Basic recovery potions usually only needed around ten minutes to make, and both of them had greatly extended the time. Xiao Lin¡¯s extended duration could be understood, but even the genius Martin did so.


    The next segment was the time to judge. In order to ensure the fairness of the match, the tournamentmittee had invited a grand medical studies expert. In truth, these tournaments usually only required those with higher level certificates, but considering Martin¡¯s participation, they had been forced to invite a grandmaster.


    A grandmaster in a secondary profession was a rare sight, even on Norma. They would enjoy the best treatment no matter where they went. No matter if it were to their country or to the colonist territories, their importance wasparable to Legend-ranked experts.


    She was a serious looking middle-aged woman, but she seemed to have a friendly expression toward Martin. Martin even greeted her politely, but it was no surprise. Martin had gone to the New World to undergo his certification exams, so the two of them had definitely met before.


    ¡°Martin made a strengthened version of the basic recovery potion.¡± The woman cleared her throat before slowly speaking. Her voice was a bit hoarse, but it was very loud. She raised the potion high, allowing everyone present to take a good look. The bottle was a faint blue color; it was a very clear potion.


    ¡°Martin, if I¡¯m not mistaken, the topic of the essay you did at our medicinal studies guild was this.¡± The woman¡¯s expression was friendly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Martin smiled lightly as he continued, ¡°However, thest time, I merely stopped at the theoretical stage. During this time, I¡¯ve done a great deal of experimenting, so I decided to do an experiment during this match. I hope you don¡¯t mind my behavior.¡±


    ¡°How would I! In truth, after your paper was made public, it received a lot of attention, and many academies have sent people over to ask about it. Recovery potions are the potions we usually need the most, so if your new potion is sessful, then it would save a lot of lives.


    ¡°Very well then, let me look at your creation!¡±


    The woman retracted her smile, and ced a bit of Martin¡¯s potion on a dish. Her hands rapidly waved as she casted a blue-colored spell. Under the glow of the spell, theposition of the potion was revealed. Xiao Lin recognized it as the True Sight spell. For potion masters, it was a good spell.


    The woman examined it for over ten minutes, and even the judges were beginning to get impatient. Finally, under everyone¡¯s anticipation, the woman ended the spell and averted her tired gaze. After looking at everyone, her gaze shifted back to Martin. Her expression was no longer just a friendly one; it was also a congrattory one.


    ¡°Martin, congrattions! You¡¯ve seeded!¡±


    The woman looked to another spot where the president of Judge Academy¡¯s student union stood, as well as the other members. The woman walked over, saying with some emotion, ¡°Do you know what Martin has justpleted? Let me just put it this way¡­ The strengthened recovery potion has increased the effectiveness for injury and mental strength recovery by fifty percent! Not only that, the new potion can even recover energies like sword aura and stamina!¡±


    Boom!


    A mor surged through the brief silence. Recovery potions were something that allowed people to stay alive after they had lost the ability to fight, but could not allow them to continue fighting. That was because, even if it could treat injuries and recover mental strength, the fighters would still not have enough energy. Energy recovery was something that potion masters found hard to tackle because it rted to each person¡¯s physique. So, it was hard to make a potion that could be used for everyone.


    #

 Chapter 656 - Xiao Lin’s Potion

    <h4>Chapter 656: Xiao Lin¡¯s Potion</h4>


    Yet, Martin managed to do it. The price of that recovery potion would immediately spike by several factors. The woman was correct; if the potion becamemonce, it would greatly increase survivability.


    ¡°This is an amazing feat! I need to report it to the guild as soon as possible. If there are no surprises, Martin, you¡¯ll win the best new potion award this year!¡± the woman said, full of emotion before she carefully stored the bottle. She would need to personally deliver those samples so others could experiment on them.


    ¡°Ahem! If you¡¯re going back, you should at least wait until the tournament is over.¡± Looking at the woman about to leave, the person in charge immediately stopped her. The one in charge was a middle-aged man, but his status was obviously lower than hers, so he remained polite and humble.


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot that this was a tournament.¡± The woman pped her forehead before saying, ¡°But the results are quite obvious. Martin has improved on the potion, which has already exceeded the standards of the criteria, no matter what the person from Dawn Academy did¡­¡±


    ¡°I think you should at least finish looking at my potion before you make that conclusion.¡± Xiao Lin finally interrupted the woman¡¯s words.


    Everyone else looked at Xiao Lin in surprise, including those from Dawn Academy. In truth, when the woman said all that, everyone felt like Xiao Lin would definitely lose, and the loss would be aplete one. After all, in terms of medical studies, they were all still novices, but Martin had already started to learn how to improve a potion.


    ¡°Sure, but even so, the results won¡¯t change.¡± The woman did not feel offended, because based on the rules of the tournament, she still needed to look at bothplete potions before making her judgement.


    Compared to Martin¡¯s potion, Xiao Lin¡¯s potion was a transparent red color, and it was abnormally sticky, as if it were blood. Just from the outward appearance, a lot of people revealed puzzled expressions, including that woman. All of them were a bit annoyed because they could not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s potion.


    ¡°True Sight!¡±


    The woman immediately casted her spell and started to analyze theposition of the potion, using that to infer the final results of the potion.


    Martin¡¯s gaze also shifted as he looked at Xiao Lin and the potion. He seemed to be confused as well, but he quickly regained his confidence.


    ¡°Your hard work will go to waste. The results won¡¯t change.¡± Martin shook his head and told Xiao Lin.


    ¡°How will we know if I don¡¯t try?¡± Xiao Lin did not deny it.


    The woman needed an even longer time to analyze it, and after over ten minutes, she stopped her spell. Her face pale from using too much mental strength. When she looked up again, her expression was a bit strange, as if she was deep in thought. After a moment, under countless gazes, she slowly opened her mouth. ¡°Your potion looks very simr to basic recovery potions, but¡­ it¡¯s strange.¡±


    The woman¡¯s words were ambiguous as she frowned, as if she had encountered a difficult problem, but did not have any way to provide a reasonable exnation. Themittee members, including Judge Academy¡¯s president, were all confused. They knew the woman¡¯s position in medical studies. If even she could not see through the potion, then it was quite unbelievable.


    Xiao Lin smiled before clearing his throat, slowly saying, ¡°Let me exin it myself. It is as you said, most of theposition and effects of the potion are simr to a basic recovery potion. No, to be more precise, there is no difference.¡±


    Those words were met withughter. Everyone felt like Xiao Lin was admitting defeat.


    Xiao Lin did not mind it as he continued, ¡°I only added one additional effect to my recovery potion. which is that it will not produce any drug resistance effects after using it.¡±


    Silence!


    Dead silence!


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened, as if they had heard something earth-shattering. If Martin had deeply impressed them earlier, then what Xiao Lin had done was like a grade ten earthquake!


    All potions had their own drug resistance. To put it simply, it meant that the same potion could not be continuously consumed for a given amount of time. If it were consumed inrge volumes, then the effects of the potion would constantly drop, and it might even lose its effects. One needed to wait for a period of time for the drug resistance to slowly clear up before the potion would continue to be effective.


    That was why there was nothing on Norma that could continuously replenish its strength. In the long term, all potion masters worked hard at reducing the effects of drug resistance in order to allow people to benefit from stronger potion effects in a short amount of time.


    Yet, now Xiao Lin was casually saying that his potion would not cause any drug resistance. If it did not disrupt the tournament, many of them had the urge to stand up and scream at him because they felt like Xiao Lin had gone crazy!


    Every potion would definitely produce some drug resistance. There had never been an exception!


    Xiao Lin was calm, and after everyone digested that shocking news, he spoke again, ¡°It¡¯s just like you thought; it¡¯s impossible for there to be zero drug resistance, but it¡¯s possible to produce an opposing drug resistance, and it can only affect something like basic recovery potions. I used a fusion method to suppress the production of drug resistance, causing a state of equilibrium. Regretfully, the equilibrium is extremely close to a hundred percent, but it can never reach a hundred percent, which is why equilibrium can only be achieved if the effect of the potion itself is low enough, which willpletely eliminate drug resistance.¡±


    Most of them did not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s words at all. Only that woman and Martin looked to be deep in thought. The woman was the first to nod as she smiled wryly, ¡°Your theory seems sound, but it¡¯s a very hard question to understand. It seems like we¡¯ve been too obsessed with researching an absolute way to counter drug resistance, but your final conclusion will need a lot of research to prove.¡±


    ¡°Then won¡¯t we only be able to get the result a very long timeter?¡±


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no way around it. Apletely new potion would need a very long time to prove before it can be manufactured. Martin¡¯s new potion has been talked about before, which is why I¡¯m familiar with it¡­¡± The woman was not deliberately making things hard for Xiao Lin; it was just that it was hard for her to make a judgement.


    Xiao Lin smiled. ¡°Then it¡¯s easy. If we want to judge if there¡¯s any drug resistance, can¡¯t we just let those who are present use it? With some reference to the candidates, I think thest few matches have provided us with some.¡±


    #

 Chapter 657 - Test Subject

    <h4>Chapter 657: Test Subject</h4>


    The others looked at Xiao Lin with increasingly stranger expressions. Even those from Dawn Academy wanted to advise Xiao Lin against it. From their perspective, the times that Xiao Lin had attended the medical studies sses could be counted with one hand, so they had no confidence at all.


    When the judge said that it would have to be brought back for experimentation before it could be verified, they had actually sighed in relief, because it meant that the victor could not be determined on that day. The best result would have been a dy in the tournament. No matter what, they had won themselves some time, which could have been Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions.


    Judge Academy would definitely not be happy with that; it was originally an assured victory, so they did not want it to drag it on. No one knew if Dawn Academy would y some sort of trick in the meantime, and even the president¡¯s expression turned cold. If the woman really wanted to dy the announcement of a winner, he would definitely have immediately voiced his objections, and might even ask the Supreme Council to mediate.


    As the situation turned awkward, Xiao Lin once again voiced a surprising idea, wanting to test it right there. Then, even Martin started to have a strange look on his face.


    In regr procedures, new potions would never immediately be tested on live people, especially new potions that even someone who held such a high standing could not discern, but Xiao Lin had boldly vocalized the request. If it failed, then Xiao Lin would not just have lost the match, he would face even harsher tournaments.


    ¡°Then who will undergo the test?¡± someone lightly muttered, and everyone looked at each other.


    Judge Academy¡¯s students all retreated a few steps. If it were Martin¡¯s potion, they would be able to trust in it, but who was this Xiao Lin? They had clearly seen from the information they had that he was only a novice that had only started with medicinal studies not even three months ago!


    Those from Dawn Academy were hesitant. Xiao Lin pursed his lips and was just about to volunteer himself as the candidate when a calm voice spoke out, ¡°Let me be the test subject!¡±


    Xiao Lin turned back in confusion and saw Cheng Ming slowly limping over with the support of others, his entire body wrapped in bandages. The wounds he had suffered from the first match had recovered quite a bit, but due to the special nature of King Lycanthropy, a lot of his wounds were not able to recover immediately.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s expression was haggard, but his voice was firm. ¡°If it¡¯s Xiao Lin¡¯s potion, I will trust it!¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled at him warmly before looking at the others with a questioning gaze. Since there was someone who volunteered, then the others should not have an issue.


    ¡°Even if he dies, it will just be twenty years of his lifespan. Since he doesn¡¯t care about himself, we have no objections,¡± Judge Academy immediately voiced, obviously worried that Xiao Lin wouldy the responsibility of the test subject on them.


    Themittee members discussed it for a bit, and finally agreed with a difficult look on their faces. They did not agree with experimenting with a new potion like this, but just like the others were worried about, the results of the tournament could not be dyed.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already given him an extremely strong Holy Potion earlier. Based on the principle of drug resistance on simr potions, the basic restoration potion should not have any effect on him, since the basic recovery potion is still a treatment potion, no matter how much you improve it.¡±


    Next to Cheng Ming was a treatment expert. He had heard of the argument, and immediately voiced his opinions. Holy Potions were a special, pure recovery potion. Due to the dark nature of King Lycanthropy, Holy Potions would have a better effect, but the drug resistance it produced was very high as well. It was a basic principle in medicinal studies; the stronger the effects, the more drug resistance it would produce.


    Since everyone was agreeable, the decision was quickly made. In order to prove his words, Xiao Lin made many bottles of the potion on the spot. This time, everyone paid attention to his manufacturing process. Yet, no matter what their views were, everyone was disappointed.


    Xiao Lin did not use any special techniques in the process, and he did not look as familiar with the techniques as Martin did. Other than some strange ingredients, almost everything else were things that everyone was familiar with. Yet, the man dared to say that something like that could ignore drug resistance.


    Xiao Lin did not need to look at everyone else¡¯s expressions to know what was being thought about him, and he was toozy to exin since he had no way of exining it himself. The new and improved recovery potion was not something he had thought up; it was actually made by the Normese about a thousand years ago, yet for some reason, the potion was quickly lost to history before it could be circted.


    The books that Bell made Xiao Lin absorbed had some notes from back then inside. No one knew how many of those notes were still left in the world, and in Dawn Academy¡¯s countless books, there were incredibly few people who found the notes, and among those who did, the ones that were interested in medical studies and believed in them were practically non-existent.


    No, to be more precise, there was only one person, which was Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin was quite lucky to stumble upon that information in his mind, and after his repeated deliberation, he believed that the potion could work.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s capabilities might not be able topare to Martin¡¯s, but when it came to medicinal studies, his brain was practically an encyclopedia. In terms of theoretical knowledge, even ten Martins might not be able to beat him.


    Xiao Lin would obviously not harm a nice guy like Cheng Ming. Even though Cheng Ming more or less felt like ab rat,b rats might not always encounter bad endings. Thinking about it, Xiao Lin basically yed the same role for Song Jung.


    After about an hour, Xiao Lin prepared over a dozen bottles of the basic recovery potion, which was definitely enough for the experiment.


    Next up would be Cheng Ming. The others looked at him with some sympathy, but Cheng Ming walked forward openly and honestly. He grabbed a bottle and gulped it down. After he finished drinking it, he rubbed his chin to the anticipation and anxiety of everyone, muttering, ¡°I swallowed it too fast. I didn¡¯t get to taste it.¡±


    Potion bottles were about the size of a middle finger, so it really was not enough for even a mouthful, but the man was actually treating it like water!


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes and continued to pass the other bottles. When it came to the final bottle, the judge could not resist snatching it for herself. She needed to bring a bottle back for experimentation purposes.

 Chapter 658 - Victory

    <h4>Chapter 658: Victory</h4>


    Xiao Lin had hurriedly made over ten bottles of basic recovery potions, and Cheng Ming had gulped all of it down in a sh. He even licked his lips and smacked his mouth. However, the others did not think that he was there to test out the taste. Basic recovery potions would have very limited effects on his injuries and, on top of drug resistance restricting it, the effects would be greatly weakened.


    However, if Xiao Lin¡¯s words were true, and those potions did not produce any drug resistance, then even a miniscule effect would be equal to a strong potion after repeated usage.


    Cheng Ming was feeling the effects. He suddenly widened his eyes, ignoring the protests of the therapists around him, he ripped apart the bandages on his body. On his bare body, there were still many scars of different sizes that remained from the first match. Even after an hour or two of treatment from the physicians, there was no way for it topletely recover in a short time.


    Yet, those physicians cried out in shock, ¡°Impossible!¡±


    Due to the special nature of King Lycanthropy, Cheng Ming¡¯s injuries had yet to fully recover, but those wounds had already be very shallow, and even started to scab over. Cheng Ming started to wave his arms and legs around, and excitedly noticed that there were no longer any problems. It served to prove that even his bones had recovered. Even though basic recovery potions only targeted light wounds, the effect of over ten bottles was still noticeable.


    The Americans had ugly looks on their faces. Their president even walked over to repeatedly verify matters with the physician, but the results were the same. The potions they had given Cheng Ming had produced a great deal of drug resistance. Normally speaking, within at least 24 hours, other potions would not be effective on Cheng Ming at all.


    However, the truth in front of them was obvious; Xiao Lin¡¯s potion had worked, and it was quite obvious!


    Facts trumped debate; even if it was from a purely scientific perspective, potions that had yet to go through the proper analysis could not bepletely judged.


    However, the match needed a clear victor, and the final power fell on that woman¡¯s hands, so everyone¡¯s gazes fell on her again.


    The woman had an incredibly difficult expression on her face. She looked at the crowd, looked at Xiao Lin, and then nced at Martin. In terms of her feelings, she liked Martin quite a bit. He was young and capable, and his talent was immense. She really wanted Martin to win, but Xiao Lin¡¯s potion shook her as well. She could not wipe aside Xiao Lin¡¯s aplishments just like that.


    The situation was at a standstill again, and the crowd could not help but smile bitterly. The tournaments had always featured the fiercestpetitions, and there were many who lost their lives in the tournaments. However, no matter what they had thought, no one would have anticipated that the most intense match of the day would be a secondary profession match.


    The secondary profession matches were something that had only been introduced in this iteration of the tournament. It was a form of encouragement toward the secondary professions from the academies. Too many people were not willing to step into those professions after they graduated, so the academies were forced to increase their performance. Even so, secondary professions were still secondary professions; they would never be as entertaining as fights.


    However, their views had been overturned that day. No matter if it was Martin or Xiao Lin, the potions they made would not disappear after that day. It would cause even bigger waves in all the academies, if not the entirety of Norma!


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±


    A heavy voice could suddenly be heard, and everyone looked over in astonishment. They saw Martin with his head lowered, and could not see his expression. However, his tone was filled with reluctance and sadness as he sighed, repeating, ¡°I admit defeat.¡±


    ¡°Martin, the results still aren¡¯t¡­¡± Raymond tried to stop him.


    ¡°It¡¯s pointless, Raymond.¡± Martin smiled bitterly. ¡°You all might not have noticed, but as a potioneer, after I looked at the list of ingredients, I knew that Xiao Lin¡¯s potion is definitely the real deal. All hecks is theoretical support.


    ¡°So, I admit defeat. That¡¯s it.¡± Martin shook his head and left the venue. Others wanted to stop him, but were stopped by Raymond. Anyone could see that Martin was in aplicated mood.


    ¡°Ahem!¡±


    The one in charge finally cleared his throat after looking at the situation, pulling everyone¡¯s attention back. ¡°Since Martin has surrendered, then Xiao Lin is the victor of this match. The current score is four to zero. Based on the tournament rules, the first academy to reach four points will win, so the winner of this round goes to Dawn Academy!¡±


    Dead silence!


    Everyone from Judge Academy widened their eyes, unable to ept it. They were filled with anger, but were unable to express it, especially those who were preparing for the team match. Based on past experiences, the ones who took part in the team matches were usually the elites, so it could be said that Judge Academy lost the round before their elites could even make an appearance.


    However, the rules of the tournament were so, and they could only watch on as Dawn Academy celebrated.


    ¡°A very intelligent strategy! Congrattions!¡± Raymond quickly put his heavy expression away, revealing a calm look before he walked over and congratted Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin did not know how sincere the congrattions were, and mulled over whether he should politely reply, but he felt like it woulde off as too fake.


    Raymond could see Xiao Lin¡¯s awkwardness. Raymond smiled before saying proudly, ¡°However, I regret to say that we won¡¯t be so careless next time. I¡¯m looking forward to the next time we face each other.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not hold back a smile as well. That was right; based on the rotation of the group stages, each academy would host the other party once.


    The loss might have been outside of Judge Academy¡¯s expectations, but it was not something they could not ept at all. Being recognized as the strongest academy, the Americans had absolute confidence in themselves.


    ¡°Then I wish you good luck!¡± Xiao Lin said in the end.


    ¡°You too. That¡¯s right, I should give you a heads up. Don¡¯t underestimate your next opponents,¡± Raymond smiled as he said, not giving Xiao Lin the chance to ask any questions as he left with his team.


    After the surprising win, Dawn Academy¡¯s team did not stay for too long. After all, Judge Academy were the hosts, and it would not be nice if they celebrated for too long. So, they hastily left Judge Academy that evening, and did not stay on Earth for that long. They headed straight back to Dawn Academy.


    In the following week, they would be hosting the Turkish academy.

 Chapter 659 - The Second Round

    <h4>Chapter 659: The Second Round</h4>


    After returning to Dawn Academy, the team immediately dispersed. They either went to rest or to find a diversion. All of the participants had special rights during the tournament; they could temporarily refrain from attending any sses, and could arrange their own schedule. There was only a week away from the next round.


    Xiao Lin had a bit more to do as the team leader. He used a few hours to write up a report on the match against Judge Academy for the president and Yu Mei. Of course, the two of them had already heard of the result, but they were happy to hear about it again from Xiao Lin.


    ¡°You really gave us quite a surprise.¡± The baby-faced president praised Xiao Lin before pulling out a document from his desk.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°A reward from the dean.¡± The president smiled.


    ¡°The dean has recovered?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face was full of happiness.


    The president had a helpless look.


    Xiao Lin understood and did not even take the document, pouting as he said, ¡°Oh, the new dean. Then it¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just leave it here.¡±


    Yu Mei came over and pped Xiao Lin¡¯s head, saying, ¡°You really know how to hold a grudge, brat. All he did was restrict you from going to the New World. No matter what, he¡¯s still the dean.¡± After that, she helped Xiao Lin receive the document, but she did not even look at it. She threw it straight into the trash bin.


    Yu Mei was also someone who was with the old dean, and the new dean had basically cleared up Dawn City after being appointed. Many important personnel had been changed, but Yu Mei managed to avoid it thanks to being responsible for the tournament, yet it did not mean that she liked the new dean at all.


    The president looked at them helplessly, shaking his head and not saying anything. Of course, he was also someone aligned to the old dean, but the president knew how to read the situation. On top of that, the new dean was not able to interfere with the inner workings of the academy too much, so he was not worried about his position.


    ¡°The result of the other match was also very shocking. The Turkish academy actually beat the Japanese academy. From our reports, other than losing the two secondary profession matches, they won everything else.¡± The president quickly changed the topic.


    Yu Mei¡¯s expression was heavy as she said, ¡°I might not like the Japanese academy, but I have to admit that those people have followed closely in Judge Academy¡¯s footsteps for the past few decades, and have developed rapidly. Their power at the moment is nothing to underestimate. The Turkish academy has very shallow foundations, and has always been a tiny fish in the past tournament. The fact that Turkey could beat Japan is unbelievable.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly thought of the reminder Raymond gave him after the match against Judge Academy ended. He nodded as he said, ¡°Raymond told me that the Turkish academy was very strong after the match. It seems like we¡¯ll need to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to continue using the same strategy like what you used against Judge Academy?¡± Yu Mei asked. They had obviously found out how Xiao Lin defeated Judge Academy from the report.


    Xiao Lin hesitated, shaking his head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible if the first match was against the Turkish academy, but they¡¯ve definitely found out how we beat Judge Academy. They will be prepared for it. The individual matches and the secondary profession matches¡­ If someone were to have targeted arrangements for that against us, it would be hard to guarantee victory.¡±


    The president nodded in agreement and said, ¡°It¡¯s true. I¡¯ve looked at Judge Academy¡¯s line-up and, putting aside you and Gu Xiaoyue in the secondary profession matches, it was actually very lucky that we won. Smith and Thomas are the least skilled members of Judge Academy, and I don¡¯t think Raymond would have expected that they would lose all four points. If Raymond had taken part in the individual matches, neither Cheng Ming nor Chen Dao would have had any chances of winning.¡±


    When Xiao Lin heard that as he was thinking about the strategy against the Turkish academy, he could not help but raise his head and look at the president strangely. Thomas and Smith were both S-rank talent holders. If they were the weakest, then it was unbelievable how strong the others would be.


    No matter what, the next task for Xiao Lin and the others was to prepare for the Turkish academy. Due to the fact that the academy had always been overlooked, there was very little information on them. Even though there were recordings of their past tournaments, just as the president said, they had always been minnow-like existences, and werepletely trashed.


    It was obvious that the Turkish academy were only seeing a surge in their strength for this tournament, which also proved the explosion of talent holders. Since the Japanese academy definitely had at least one S-rank talent holder, the Turkish academy would not have less than that.


    Since they were the hosts, Xiao Lin had wanted to discuss the ns with the president and Yu Mei, but curiously, they both rejected him, even indicating that they would not be participating in any capacity outside of providing information.


    Xiao Lin understood their intentions. They wanted to train Xiao Lin¡¯s leadership andmanding abilities. Xiao Lin was still a rookie in that department, and the results could very well end up in failure, so Xiao Lin was touched at their trust. So, he put even more effort into his preparations. In order to not disrupt his daily training, Xiao Lin would only start nning during the night, and would only sleep veryte.


    A week passed by quickly, and the Turkish academy arrived on friday. As the team leader, Xiao Lin and the president received them in the station. Even though there were trantors present, the two parties did not interact much. They quickly asked for a training hall, and did not even rest before they ran straight there.


    With such a serious attitude, it was obvious that the Turkish academy did not n on being bottomfeeders in thispetition.


    The day before the rounds were supposed to start, both sides handed in their line-ups at the same time.


    This time, Xiao Lin¡¯s name list had veryrge changes. Other than Chen Dao continuing to be in the individual matches, the other matches were all changed. The team line-up was: Cheng Ming, Xiao Lin, Gu Xiaoyue, An Luo, and Sheng Guo.


    Everyone could clearly see Xiao Lin¡¯s intentions with that list of names. It was simr to giving up on the team battle during thest round. In this round, Xiao Lin nned on giving up three of the first four matches!

 Chapter 660 - The Turkish Academy

    <h4>Chapter 660: The Turkish Academy</h4>


    The Turkish academy only joined the colonization armies a little over a century ago. It was not thatte, but because the Turkish used to be colonized by Ennd on Earth, they had been helped into the New World by the British Royal Academy. They had been under the Royal Academy initially, and only gained their independenceter on.


    After gaining their independence, they also lost the help of the English, and were faced with various problems in their development. In an entire century, they only had three medium-sized cities in their colonized territories, which was considered very small.


    Such a trifling academy, forget the major forces of Dawn Academy and Judge Academy, evenpared to the Japanese Academy, they were far behind inparison.


    However, Xiao Lin believed that Raymond from Judge Academy would not have given him the warning for no reason, and he trusted the judgement of the president and Yu Mei as well. This year, the Turkish academy definitely had outstanding new students.


    ¡°I heard that the Turkish put a lot of heart into the secondary professions, so they are quite strong on that front. Unless we continue fielding Gu Xiaoyue and myself in that department, it will be hard for us to win. However, if Gu Xiaoyue and I participate in that, I¡¯m a little worried about the individual matches.¡±


    Two days before the match, Xiao Lin gathered the various monitors for a short meeting. Yu Mei should have been in attendance as well, but she and the president had made the decision to not appear in order to train up Xiao Lin, and Xiao Lin naturally took it to heart.


    ¡°Are you worried about Cheng Ming and Chen Dao?¡± someone asked. They were not using him, since Xiao Lin had be much more convincing as a leader after their massive victory over Judge Academy. At the very least, no one dared to directly contradict him.


    ¡°Chen Dao¡¯sbat style is quite aggressive, and isn¡¯t really suited for team battles. It¡¯s better if he participates in the individual matches. Cheng Ming is different from Chen Dao. Even though your golden sword aura is very strong, truthfully, you are really weak against magical attacks,¡± Xiao Lin pointed out bluntly.


    Cheng Ming was not angry. He rubbed his head as he admitted, ¡°It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not someone who specializes in agility, so magic gives me a big headache.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded as he continued, ¡°We don¡¯t have much information on the Turkish, but from what information we have, their trump card is probably a mage, so Cheng Ming might not be able to win in the individual portions.¡±


    ¡°What about the team battles? Are we sure we can win with this line-up you put together?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee anything if it were against Judge Academy, but if it¡¯s just the Turkish academy, then as long as I¡¯m around, there won¡¯t be a problem!¡±


    After that, he nced over at Gu Xiaoyue. Thetter hastily looked away after feeling his gaze. Xiao Lin smiled softly, not saying anything else before summarizing the training for the next two days and allowing everyone to go back.


    That weekend, the day of the tournament¡­


    It was more or less the same as the first round. Dawn Academy had also prepared arge hall to allow the other students to watch the tournament. Xiao Lin and the others went to the tournament venue bright and early. This time, they were already familiar with the venue as the hosts, so they ced their attention on the Turkish instead.


    Xiao Lin had wanted to shout out a greeting, but the trantor was not there yet. Even though some of those present had very fluent English, they spoke no Turkish at all. It was more or less the same on the other side. They kept measuring Xiao Lin, but did not walk up to speak. The difference innguage and culture meant they did not have much inmon.


    After the tournament officials arrived, the tournament officially started.


    Xiao Lin and the Turkish leader shook hands. The other leader was named Said. Of course, it was an abbreviated name, since their full names were very, very long¡­


    The first individual match featured Chen Dao. His opponent was a very young woman. She was not that confident of herself, and actually seemed very nervous, which was a hallmark of a rookie. Of course, Xiao Lin and the others did not underestimate her, but the match ended in just three minutes. Chen Dao did not even get the chance to use his talent, and only used his familiar spells topletely dismantle the woman¡¯s defenses.


    Chen Dao left the arena looking quite unsatisfied, and even disappointed. To that youngster, fighting strong opponents was his greatest interest.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was weird as he encouraged Chen Dao.


    The next match was ss Six¡¯s monitor Li Jiayi. The ponytailed woman was good at ice-type magic, and her skills were moderate. Considering the advantages of mages, Xiao Lin arranged for her to fight.


    She did not make an appearance in thest battle, so she was a bit nervous. She could not help but tell Xiao Lin and the others to not me her if she lost, but of course no one gave her too much pressure.


    Xiao Lin did not have much hope for that match, since he was not sure of their opponent¡¯s skill. However, the results were unexpected, Li Jiayi only needed over two minutes to end the fight. The time was even shorter than Chen Dao¡¯s. Her opponent had chosen to surrender. The difference in the skill of both parties was obvious, so the Turkish did not want to waste their time.


    Gaining a two to zero lead from the individual matches perked everyone up, but Dawn Academy lost both of the secondary profession matches that followed. WIthout Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, it was hard for the others to win in those matches. Most of them have not even studied the basic materials. Of course, the Turkish academy¡¯s performance was not that amazing either. They did not have anyone with Martin¡¯s level of talent, but just being mediocre was enough to win the two matches.


    The addition of the secondary profession matches had been in consideration of the weaker academies, and that point had shown itself that day.


    However, Xiao Lin did not mind, since they had already nned on giving up on those two matches. The only thing that surprised him was that the Turkish academy chose to give up on the two individual matches.


    ¡°This is interesting. Did they anticipate that we wouldn¡¯t use the same strategy as what we used against Judge Academy?¡± Xiao Lin said thoughtfully.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely so. In the end, you messed up your strategy. If you used the same strategy as thest round, we would already have won!¡± Han Manman could not help but mock him. She did not get the chance to participate twice in a row, so the woman was naturally unhappy.


    The others looked at her with a strange expression because she was the one who said that the strategy was bad during thest round, but now she was praising that same strategy.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s treat it as some team work practice.¡± Xiao Lin smiled in a carefree manner.


    The team battle that served as the main event was about to start.

 Chapter 661 - Kill

    <h4>Chapter 661: Kill</h4>


    Xiao Lin already had the Turkish lineup as well. They were Muhammad, Ahmed, Said, Sharif, and Aria. Of them, Said was the leader, and even though they did not have any detailed information, Said was very possibly an S-rank talent-holder.


    The team battle was held in a simted space. It was very simr to the monthly examinations. Of course, the area was much smaller than the monthly examinations. Using the special transference equipment, the two sides that totaled to ten people were all sent inside. As the host, Xiao Lin had prior knowledge of the field.


    It was a simted space filled with snow. Everywhere they looked had white snow. It was obvious that the Turkish were not used to that weather, which was the advantage afforded to them as the hosts.


    ¡°Cheng Ming and Sheng Guo are close-ranged fighters, so Gu Xiaoyue and An Luo will focus on helping from a distance. The basic formation will follow what we usually practice.¡± Xiao Lin issued the orders as the leader.


    The other¡¯s did not have any opinions, but Sheng Guo could not help but ask, ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°As for my role, it will depend on the situation.¡± Xiao Lin smiled.


    They were using the mostmon formation. Of course, against an academy like Turkey, it was naturally the best choice. Xiao Lin was the key part of it. Xiao Lin had already considered his ce in the formation a long time ago. As someone who could do anything, Xiao Lin was good at a lot of things. Close-ranged fights, long-ranged support, or even scouting were all things that he could do, so he did not rush to determine his position, and would change based on what his opponents did.


    The five of them started to advance carefully. The area was not big, but it was not very visible thanks to all the snow around them. However, Gu Xiaoyue and Xiao Lin¡¯s perception allowed them to cover arge area. After a few minutes, Gu Xiaoyue stopped. The quiet woman pointed toward a direction, and the others immediately understood what she meant.


    Even though their vision was still full of white, it was obvious that there was an ambush in front of them. Cheng Ming smiled, moving forward as he shed his sword out. He sent a shocking amount of sword aura flying out. In the massive explosion, snow flew everywhere. Under the massive amounts of energy from the sword aura, the snow turned into rain and started to fall. With the cold mingling with the warmth, a fog quickly formed.


    Xiao Lin heard some sporadic movement. He narrowed his eyes and immediately pulled out his sword, shooting right into the mist while the others carefully maintained their formation.


    ¡°An Luo!¡± Cheng Ming immediately shouted. He was the one in charge whenever Xiao Lin was not around.


    An Luo was the only one who specialized in archery among the monitors, so he knew his job without Cheng Ming even saying anything. He immediately pulled his bow, and aimed his arrow right at the mist. Even without any vision, he shot out a few arrows in a short amount of time. He then raised his head, proudly smiling at the others. ¡°My arrows don¡¯t require my eyes to aim!¡±


    The others knew that it was probably An Luo¡¯s talent, so they did not ask further. A cry of agony could be heard after the arrows were shot, but An Luo¡¯s arrows were not enough to kill anyone.


    However, that was already enough. Using that sound, Xiao Lin immediately rushed over. A vague figure appeared in front of him, but he could not see the general shape. It was probably a concealment spell. Without An Luo¡¯s arrows, Xiao Lin would have had a difficult time seeing the figure.


    Waterfall swordsmanship!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s swordsmanship did not need a clear view of the opponent as well. It was the elemental swordsmanship that he had recently learned, and it was the first time he was using it in actualbat. Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura had turned the snow into rain water, which gave his Waterfall technique the best conditions for usage. The swordsmanship technique was not hard, and was different from the me sword skill he used before. Waterfall¡¯s execution was quite simple, and did not give his opponent much time to think or react.


    In the noise, the opponent had yet to recover from An Luo¡¯s arrow when he suddenly noticed the rain in the sky starting to gather, forming into a massive wave that shot right at him. Waterfall¡¯s speed was not fast, but An Luo and Cheng Ming¡¯s earlier attacks had restricted the opponent¡¯s movements. The opponent was suddenly assaulted by water, and he started to flip around like a boat in the middle of the ocean.


    Waterfall¡¯s power was not limited to water elemental damage. As an elemental sword skill, the water was as sharp as a sword, and each impact would cause the person to feel an uncountable number of des cutting their body. That pain caused his opponent to shout out even louder in agony.


    Xiao Lin did not have any sympathy at all. The way the tournament was held meant that death was something verymon. He activated Miracle, and shifted all his attributes into agility. His blinding speed made sure that his heavily injured opponent did not even have the chance to run.


    Xiao Lin did not continue attacking because he only saw one opponent at that moment. The other four were nowhere to be seen. He needed information from his opponent, but the opponent¡¯s next move caused Xiao Lin to stop in his tracks.


    As the mist dispersed slowly, the Turkish man had a lot of wounds on his body, and the snow on the ground had been stained blood red. The guy probably knew he could not escape, and when he saw Xiao Lin approaching, he raised the sword in his hand and shed his own throat before he copsed in a puddle of blood.


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment before running over to check, but that man had already stopped breathing.


    ¡°How decisive!¡± Xiao Lin told the others of the situation when he went back.


    The others were also a little shocked. While death in the tournament was nothing special, it was rare to meet someone who would rather kill themself than be captured.


    ¡°The Turkish are very brave. No wonder they managed to beat Japan,¡± Cheng Ming said respectfully.


    Xiao Lin shook his head. He felt like something was strange, but could not point it out at that moment. However, it was not the time to be respectful to their opponents. There were still four opponents left, and the match had yet to end.


    ¡°Continue searching. Don¡¯t drop your guard!¡±


    Xiao Lin and the others maintained the formation as they continued forward. Now they were already certain that their opponents had high level concealment techniques that might even be able to escape their perception. Considering the fact that it might be their opponents¡¯ killing techniques, they did not dare to be careless.

 Chapter 662 - Opening Advantage

    <h4>Chapter 662: Opening Advantage</h4>


    Xiao Lin continued to maintain Miracle. Their opponents might have some concealment techniques, but the level could not be too high. That was not strange. No matter how high their talents were, they were still first-year students in the end. It was hard topletely conceal their own auras, and they would, at most, be able to reduce the detection radius.


    For mages that were at a more ordinary level like Li Jiayi, they would basically lose their perception abilities in that situation. However, to Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, whose intelligence attributes were incredible, they were not very affected.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue quickly found a new clue; it was toward their southeastern direction. They once again caught onto the aura of a Turkish person.


    Just like earlier, Cheng Ming first used his immense sword aura to open the way, An Luo and Li Jiayi (1) then used their long-ranged magic and arrows tounch an attack. The goal was not to kill, but rather to seal off any escape routes. Xiao Lin would then activate Phantom Steps and close the distance.


    That was one of the moremon moves they had practiced. They were already very proficient with it after practicing it so many times. This time, their opponent was more skilled than the one earlier. He avoided Cheng Ming, An Luo, and Li Jiayi¡¯s attacks, and even managed to find room to counterattack.


    A few wind des came flying over. The opponent was also a mage, but that kind of spell was nothing to Cheng Ming and the others who were already prepared for it. No one else even needed to make a move as Cheng Ming sliced it away with his sword aura.


    ¡°Their casting speed is fast!¡± Xiao Lin eximed silently. Wind de was only a ck Iron-rank spell, and the usual casting speed was around one to two seconds. Those who were incredibly familiar with it could lower that time down to under a second, but their opponent did not even need a breath¡¯s time.


    They could not give the opponent any more chances to cast spells!


    Xiao Lin did not dare to be careless since their opponent was obviously not a weakling. Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s presence meant he could not take any risks. Because Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s attributes were incredibly unbnced, her weak body meant that her defensive ability was incredibly bad, and even the low-ranked Wind de would be able to kill that woman if it hit her.


    With that in mind, XIao Lin did not hesitate to activate Ruin. The sword aura in his hand expanded to the greatest level in a sh, and the opponent did not even have time to reach them when he saw a dark figure rushing forward.


    me Swordsmanship!


    He shed out a bout of elemental sword aura; it something that was simr to his me sword aura, since me Swordsmanship only used sword aura converted into fire to cause both physical and magical damage. The power was slightly weaker, but it was easier to control.


    In his Ruin state, the me Sword Aura sent the Turkish man flying. When Xiao Lin chased after him, he realized that the unlucky man had already been burned to death.


    Without high enough physical attributes or the correct type of armor, it was actually quite hard to withstand Xiao Lin¡¯s full powered striked under Ruin.


    It had only been ten minutes, and the Turkish academy had already lost two people. Both the spectators outside and Xiao Lin¡¯s team breathed out a sigh of relief at that moment.


    It was five to three. As long as Dawn Academy did not make any huge mistakes, the match was already in their hands.


    ¡°The Turkish academy probably wanted to use the snowy weather and their concealment abilities to separate and disrupt us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite a good strategy in unfamiliar territory. If we encountered a map with low visibility in our away matches, we should probably use this tactic as well.¡±


    ¡°However, the Turkish academy really is way too weak. I thought that they had sent all their experts to the team match after their individual fights ended so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Compared to Judge Academy, they really are several levels below.¡±


    Therge advantage had caused the atmosphere to lighten up, and they started to engage in idle chatter. They only quieted down after Xiao Lin stopped them, but even Xiao Lin had a look that said victory was assured.


    After fifteen minutes, that advantage expanded again.


    Xiao Lin and the others maintained the formation, not taking any risks or splitting up despite their advantage. It was to prevent the Turkish from having any chance of turning the tables. After fifteen minutes, they killed two more people.


    The other two also had very average skills, but their performance was quite stubborn. After being surrounded by five people, they both chose to kill themselves, despite having the option to surrender and save some of their life span.


    Only one person remained from the Turkish academy, which was their leader Said. In a seemingly hopeless situation, Said did not choose to surrender. Based on the tournament rules, as long as the team battle was not forfeited, they would have to fight until thest person was killed, or wait until the match timer ended.


    Said still did not appear, and the match timer was approaching an end. Cheng Ming and the others could not help but reveal a shameless expression because the four other Turkish opponents¡¯ tenacity and boldness contrasted too much with Said stalling for time to preserve his life.


    It was also Cheng Ming¡¯s words that caused Xiao Lin to feel like something was off. In truth, from the moment the first Turkish opponent killed himself, Xiao Lin started to feel like he was neglecting something. However, due to his nerves in thepetition, he forced himself to not be distracted. With their expanding advantage, he did not think too deeply into it.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin had a moment of realization, finally realizing what he had missed.


    ¡°Corpses!¡±


    ¡°What corpses?¡±


    After crying out in shock, Xiao Lin did not have time to exin as he flew right to the battlefield from earlier. The blood on the snow had yet to disappear, and not far away, the corpse was still there. A thinyer of snow had fallen on it.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right. This is wrong!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s expression turned dark.


    The match was held in a spacepletely simr to monthly examinations. Any death within would be affected by the Law of Resurrection, and would have them resurrect immediately, losing ten years of their life span.


    Xiao Lin had seen many resurrections before, and he knew clearly that corpses would immediately disappear after dying, dispersing into spirit fragments before rbining, thuspleting the resurrection.


    Yet, the corpses of the four opponents they had killed during this match did not disappear, and were still quietly lying in the field!


    The other¡¯s finally reacted to Xiao Lin¡¯s words, and their expressions changed quickly. The strange situation confused them.


    We realize that the original lineup had Sheng Guo instead of Li Jiayi, but the author seems to have mixed it up. We will be following the original text on this matter.

 Chapter 663 - Corpse Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 663: Corpse Explosion</h4>


    As Xiao Lin and the others were filled with confusion and shock, the closest corpse to them, the one that they had just killed, started to emit a ck mist from its body which slowly covered itself up. The mist was like a formless hand. It was constantly shifting as it forcibly dragged the corpse back to a standing position, like it hade back to life.


    However, the corpse had lifeless eyes, and did not seem to be capable of any self-thought. It seemed like a puppet that was being controlled by the ck mist.


    ¡°Necromancy!¡± Gu Xiaoyue calmly shouted out.


    Xiao Lin was the second one to react. He had learned necromantic meditation before, so he was notpletely foreign to the concept; it was just that he had not used it recently, so it had slipped his mind. Hearing Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words, he looked at that cold woman with some surprise. It seemed like Gu Xiaoyue had looked into necromancy as well.


    The thought quickly passed, and he did not dwell on it, because the Turkish corpse quickly shot forward at an incredibly high speed and started its attack.


    The corpse was a close-ranged fighter, and Xiao Lin had estimated the man¡¯s strength during the earlier confrontation. The fighter was not that strong. Of course, he was still a level above a regr student.


    However, after being controlled by the mist, the man seemed to have leveled up both in speed and power. If the man had been ck Iron-ranked before he died, then he was now at least at Bronze rank.


    Xiao Lin felt a chill in his heart. He had read quite a few books on necromancy from the library; in the vast amounts of books he read, he never heard of that spell.


    Necromancers were good at controlling the dead, but no matter if it was spirits of corpses, they would never have their strength increased by so much. It was not something a regr spell could do.


    ¡°Is it a talent?¡± Xiao Lin was more or less certain. Deep in the vast snow, thest member of the Turkish academy, Said, was obviously the final trump card of the Turkish academy.


    The sudden attack threw their formation into some chaos. The opponent¡¯s goal was clear. They wanted to use the sudden attack to take out one or two of their fighters. Even though Cheng Ming immediately shot out his sword aura, the corpse was not a person, and could not feel any pain. Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura easily sliced away its left arm, but the Turkish corpse did not slow down at all.


    Xiao Lin immediately activated his Ruin state, but as he made his move, his intuition caused him to suddenly retreat by a few dozen meters. The next second, an intense light shot out from not far away, and the snow in the air was turned to water.


    It was already toote when Xiao Lin oriented himself again. The Turkish corpse that had rushed over had used that moment of freedom to punch its right arm right through An Luo¡¯s heart. An Luo widened his eyes in disbelief, spitting out mouthfuls of blood before falling down to the ground. He disappeared into the air as the resurrection process took ce.


    Said¡¯s judgement was very decisive. In order to disrupt Dawn Academy¡¯s formation, he first needed to eliminate the long-ranged attackers. An Luo¡¯s archery had left a deep impression, so he made An Luo his first target. An Luo had always been weak in closebat engagements, and once he was closed in on, he did not even have the time to draw his bow.


    Even though Xiao Lin angrily used his me sword aura to turn that corpse to ash a few secondster, Dawn Academy had still lost one member.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Circle formation!¡± Xiao Lin shouted, and the squad regained their calm after a brief moment of panic.


    They were not amateurs. Said¡¯s sneak attack might have been sessful, but the situation was still unchanged. Dawn Academy still held the absolute advantage. It was just that their faces were a little unnatural.


    Other than Xiao Lin, the others had never interacted with necromancy before, and Said¡¯s ways definitely made them feel some disgust.


    Yes, that was right. They felt disgusted by necromancy.


    Even though death was somethingmon in the tournament, the man had just casually used hispanions¡¯ corpses as puppets for battle, which was hard to ept. It was obvious that the strategy was something the Turkish academy had already decided on beforehand. The core of the strategy was only Said. The others were just cannon fodder meant to be turned into corpses.


    Only Xiao Lin was confused despite his anger. Even if Said¡¯s talent was controlling corpses, the fact that he could circumvent the Law of Resurrection to reanimate them was shocking.


    What they did not know was that the spectators outside were already in an uproar.


    It was not just Xiao Lin who had those suspicions; others had thought of it as well. The student union had already sent someone to investigate, but the Turkish academy had only sent a Department Head who had not much authority. On top of themunication problem, it was hard to get a clear exnation.


    The chaos outside did not affect the match.


    Xiao Lin had already eliminated one, and there were still two long-ranged fighters in the corpses that remained. One of them was already at Bronze rank beforehand. From the ray of light earlier, Xiao Lin knew that the opponent had already reached Silver rank after being resurrected, which was enough to rm them.


    Xiao Lin did not know to what extent Said could control the corpses, but the opponent¡¯s long range barrage never ceased. When Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue tried to use their perception to determine the opponent¡¯s location, a dense ck mist appeared on the field, even covering the snow.


    It was a spell Said had used; the ck mist could temporarily restrict the perception of everyone within it.


    However, facing the non-stop onught of spells, Xiao Lin and the others were not afraid. Cheng Ming and Xiao Lin were in charge of two directions. Their sword auras both already had Silver-ranked powers, and the ck mist might have covered their perception, but it also restricted Said as well. Their opponent was relying on his eyes to cast spells, so the uracy was quite low.


    The situationsted for four to five minutes when a vague shadow suddenly rushed through the mist. Even though it was quick, Xiao Lin still caught it. He suddenly thought of something, and clenched his teeth as he shouted, ¡°Get away! Everyone disperse! It¡¯s the Corpse Explosion spell!¡±


    The moment he spoke, the sound of an explosion followed.


    Corpse Explosion¡­ It was amon but very taboo necromancy spell. It used the energy a corpse produced to explode in a sh, and the power it produced was more or less equal to the ability of the corpse before it died.


    Desecrating the dead was something that both the Normese and people from Earth looked down upon. So, even the necromancers that hid in the dark within Norma rarely dared to attempt using that spell, lest they invite disaster upon themselves.


    Yet, today, they saw a Turkish person use the corpse of his ownpanion to cast that spell.

 Chapter 664 - Black Mist

    <h4>Chapter 664: ?ck Mist</h4>


    The tournament did not have any restrictions on the spells that could be used. The main point of the tournament was to encourage the greatest show of skill. With the Law of Resurrection, no one was afraid of dying. The Turkish leader Said using Corpse Explosion was not against the rules, but his actions still angered many people.


    No matter what, Xiao Lin had to admit that Said¡¯s strategy was once again sessful. Sheng Guo could not defend in time and lost his life to the explosion. The opponent¡¯s corpses had already been strengthened, and had extremely high damage through Corpse Explosion. Cheng Ming and Sheng Guo, who were on the outer perimeter, were the first to be hit.


    Cheng Ming was also affected, but his reaction was quick. He summoned his golden sword aura to block arge amount of the damage. Even so, he was in a bad state. Sheng Guo¡¯s overall strength was a little lower than Cheng Ming¡¯s and he was also the closest, so his death was no surprise.


    Looking at Sheng Guo¡¯s disappearing body, Xiao Lin¡¯s expression sank. He looked over at Gu Xiaoyue, asking her, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s face reddened a little as she gently shook her head.


    The moment the corpse exploded, Xiao Lin had activated Ruin and blocked Gu Xiaoyue, so the woman was not affected at all.


    Only three of them were left ¡ª Gu Xiaoyue, Cheng Ming and Xiao Lin. The Turkish academy might only have Said left, but he still had two corpses that could be used, so it was still three against three. The victor was hard to determine at that stage.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, I think we should retreat for now. It¡¯s too open here. The enemy knows everything while we¡¯re still stuck in the dark,¡± Cheng Ming said with some concern.


    ¡°Stall for time?¡± Xiao Lin guessed Cheng Ming¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though that guy still has two corpses, corpses are not people in the end. As long as we manage to stall until the time ends, we¡¯ll win with a record of three to one,¡± Cheng Ming said.


    ¡°The idea is sound, but if Said¡¯s team dares to use this tactic, then they¡¯ve definitely thought of this. I think the Japanese would have thought of doing the same thing when they fought.¡± Xiao Lin decisively rejected the idea.


    ¡°Necromancy is used through controlling death energy, and this ck mist is not a regr spell. If I¡¯m not mistaken, before the tournament ends, the ck mist will cover the whole arena. At that point, we¡¯ll have nowhere to run. Even though I still don¡¯t know much about necromancy, I still understand some of it. As people who are alive, the mist won¡¯t be good news for us.¡± Gu Xiaoyue pushed her spectacles and calmly analyzed the situation.


    Xiao Lin looked at the woman with a mildly surprised expression. That knowledge was not something someone who did not understand much of necromancy could say.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue is right. Avoiding battle will only make us fall into that guy¡¯s trap. We need to eliminate them before the battle ends!¡± Xiao Lin made the final decision as the leader.


    The three of them started to hurry up, quickly leaving the ck mist. Just as Gu Xiaoyue said, they noticed the strange mist slowly expanding when they left the area. The speed was not that fast, but it being a tournament arena, the space itself was not thatrge.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue had already recovered their perception, but they still could not find Said. It was obvious that Said was hiding in the ck mist, which was like a formless shield that disrupted both sides.


    ¡°Putting aside anything else, if we just look at the effects, this strategy is pretty good. It¡¯s no wonder they managed to beat the rising Japanese academy. It wasn¡¯t down to luck.¡± Xiao Lin praised the Turkish academy, but his cold expression did not seem like he was praising them at all.


    Xiao Lin suddenly smiled lightly, mumbling to himself, ¡°Said¡­ Even though I don¡¯t know what your power is, if this is all there is to your strategy, then you¡¯re just unlucky you met me.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What did you say?¡± Cheng Ming did not hear it clearly.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much time. I¡¯ll just summarize it,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    Cheng Ming earnestly prepared to listen. He trusted Xiao Lin a lot.


    ¡°Cheng Ming, your duty is to take care of Gu Xiaoyue. I¡¯ll eliminate Said.¡±


    A moment of silence followed.


    After a moment, Cheng Ming asked strangely, ¡°Is that it? What else is there? I¡¯ll take good care of Gu Xiaoyue. What else do I need to do?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else. You can just stay outside the ck mist with Gu Xiaoyue.¡± Xiao Lin looked at the inky ck mist as he calmly said, ¡°Leave Said to me. In this ck mist, I¡¯ll still be able to fight.¡±


    Xiao Lin was nning on fighting alone. It was not the best choice, but it was the only one they had. Xiao Lin was definitely no less familiar with death aura than Said, but Cheng Ming was different. Cheng Ming could not help in a fight like this.


    Cheng Ming quickly understood what Xiao Lin meant, and could only nod his head reluctantly. Xiao Lin was absolutely confident in Cheng Ming outside of the ck mist that was filled with death energy. He believed that Cheng Ming would protect Gu Xiaoyue well. Gu Xiaoyue did not say anything, and merely looked at Xiao Lin with aplicated expression.


    Xiao Lin once again returned to the ck mist without any hesitation. After activating Miracle, he entered necromantic medication. Xiao Lin was already incredibly familiar with necromantic meditation, but his mastery was not that high. Since he had been busy learning elemental sword aura recently, Xiao Lin did not spend that much time on other matters.


    In the space of necromantic meditation, the ck mist was no longerpletely dark to Xiao Lin. In his perception, in that limitless darkness, there were a few weak but white mes. Even though they were very small in the ck sea of darkness, they were still very obvious.


    ¡°You can¡¯t avoid me!¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly activated Ruin and rushed over without holding back. His opponent seemed to sense it, but Xiao Lin waas fast enough in his Ruin state that his opponent was not able to react, even if his opponent did notice it.


    Boom!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s me sword aura shot out, but the mes only maintained themselves for a few seconds in the ck mist before being extinguished. Death aura was quite cold, and had an effect of countering elemental energy, but the counter went both ways. To Said, thest two mage corpses under his control were suddenly faced with a charging Xiao Lin, and Said was noticeably caught off guard.


    A necromancer that lost his puppets would only be able to rely on himself in the end.

 Chapter 665 - Starburst

    <h4>Chapter 665: ?Starburst</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin was incredibly fast with Ruin activated, and the radius of the ck mist was still not that great. After locking onto this opponent with necromantic meditation, Xiao Lin seemed to reach the area in a sh. Said¡¯s reaction time was not slow as well. Knowing that he could not run, he stood there not moving as he sent his two corpses over.


    me Swordsmanship!


    Xiao Lin once again waved his sword. Even though the ck mist suppressed elemental energy, his goal had been to use his elemental swordsmanship to deal with those two corpses. Otherwise, if they got close and used Corpse Explosion, even if Xiao Lin was confident he could block it, he could not guarantee that Said would not be able to take the opportunity to run.


    Waterfall!


    The quickly extinguished me also turned the falling snow into water vapor, so Waterfall¡¯s power received a boost as well. The two elemental sword techniques caused the two corpses to retreat, and Xiao Lin managed to close in on Said.


    Flowing Wind Swordsmanship!


    .


    Xiao Lin¡¯s sword technique was smooth. The Flowing Wind Swordsmanship could use the power of the wind element to produce a wind field as he waved his sword, enhancing the flow of wind around his body, which was enough to blow away the mist. Even though it was only for a brief moment, it was already enough for Xiao Lin.


    The two remaining corpses were finallypletely exposed in front of Xiao Lin, and hisst technique, the Grand Earth Swordsmanship, was used.


    Grand Earth Swordsmanship used earth elemental energy to create a miniature earthquake around the user. The two corpses were restricted by Xiao Lin¡¯s elemental sword aura, and could not move with the shaking earth. When the earth stopped moving, their bodies were already submerged into the solid ground.


    Grand Earth Swordsmanship was nothing special in terms of power, but its uses and limitations were obvious. The elemental sword techniques he learned all had their own uses, which was the main reason Xiao Lin had chosen them.


    Without the two corpses in the way, Xiao Lin no longer had any obstacles in front of him. When he used his Flowing Wind Swordsmanship earlier, he had already grasped Said¡¯s position, and Said had already started his own onught of attacks as well.


    As a necromancer, he was not only good at controlling corpses. Necromantic offensive spells were also very powerful, but for Xiao Lin, who had witnessed many necromantic spells in the Rosa Kingdom which were even more powerful than Said¡¯s, there was no reason to panic.


    After avoiding a Disintegration Ray, Xiao Lin used the de in his hand to slice the rotting ball that shot at him. However, he frowned as he noticed that the sword in his hand had started to decay. Said¡¯s necromancy spells were not normal either.


    He could not afford to dy anything!


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes, raising his sword in the air as he started to quickly spin and move around in the air. One reason was to make it harder for Said¡¯s spells tond, and the second reason was to get a good angle for his final strike.


    me Swordsmanship!


    Waterfall Swordsmanship!


    Flowing Wind Swordsmanship!


    Grand Earth Swordsmanship!


    The four sword techniques were quickly used at once. With Xiao Lin¡¯s high perception under his Ruin state, he could feelrge amounts of energy around him; the four basic elements were quickly gathering and frantically moving.


    Death energy could suppress elemental energy, but it went both ways. Just like how water could extinguish fire, but arge enough amount of fire could cause water to evaporate


    Xiao Lin might be able to use necromantic meditation, but if Said himself had a necromantic talent, then Xiao Lin would naturally not use his opponent¡¯s talents against him.


    Starburst was the final stage of those sword techniques, and it was the first time Xiao Lin was using it after he learned it. When the crazed elements started to condense, even Xiao Lin jumped in fright at how strong the power was. Xiao Lin¡¯s sword aura had never been so intense, even when he was learning Starburst.


    The dense ck mist was split open again, but this time it was not due to the wind element of Flowing Wind Swordsmanship, but instead because it was enveloped by a warm silver light. Xiao Lin looked up, and he seemed to be able to make out a crescent moon in the sky.


    That was enough to shock Xiao Lin again. Even though the simted space also had night and day, there was no sun or moon. ording to the president, creating a simted space was something that required a lot of time and resources. Since it was just for a tournament that wouldst for a few dozen minutes, then the field itself did not have to be so detailed. Ignoring things like a sun or a moon would save a lot of time.


    The crescent moon quickly emitted an intense light. The silver light seemed to fill up the entire sky. Xiao Lin focused his attention, and his sword started to move again. It was different from the shy moves earlier. Starburst moved very slowly. Even Said, who had focused on the Intelligence attribute, could see all of Xiao Lin¡¯s moves clearly.


    Xiao Lin slowly raised the training sword, and a silver light descended from the sky into his sword, continuing to fall onto his body. The feeling was very strange. At that moment, he felt an energy that waspletely different from elemental, death, or life energies. It might even be abination of the three, but it was definitely something Xiao Lin had never felt before.


    Raise the sword!


    Swing the sword!


    The sword falls!


    There were noplicated movements, or any impressive build-ups of sword energy or any shocking effects. Xiao Lin¡¯s Starburst fell easily.


    After that came light. An unlimited amount of light was emitted, and the ck mist seemed to have beenpletely covered by a sea of silver light, and finally disappeared without a trace.


    The light was very intense but was extremely quick.


    Before Gu Xiaoyue and Cheng Ming outside the ck mist could react, the scene in front of them had already reverted to peace and calm. There was no ck mist, no light, and no crescent moon. All that remained was that dark sky and the snow that fell on their bodies. Everything went back to normal, but a terrifying crater that was almost a hundred meters wide in front of them showed that what happened was no illusion.


    Cheng Ming wanted to rush over to look for Xiao Lin, but before he could move, the snonds in front of them started to quickly disappear. Their bodies started to slowly disappear as well, and when they opened their eyes again, they were already outside the arena.


    The match had ended.


    Said seemed to have beenpletely destroyed by that light earlier, and Dawn Academy¡¯s team had won, allowing them to achieve the final victory.

 Chapter 666 - After The Match

    <h4>Chapter 666: ?After The Match</h4>


    There was a brief silence. Most of the people at the scene still did not know what had happened. The match had ended just like that. That match could be divided into three parts. Dawn Academy had the absolute advantage in the early stage. After that, the Turkish academy showed shocking abilities, including their mysterious mastery of the art of necromancy. The strange performance of the Turkish leader, Said, was a point of contention.


    The final result was unexpected. Dawn Academy might have won, but even Cheng Ming, who was a participant, did not know how they won. No, even Xiao Lin himself was probably in a state of confusion.


    Xiao Lin was quite puzzled. He had practiced Starburst before, but it never had such shocking power. Said did not even have any chance to retaliate, and had been killed off in a sh.


    With those questions in mind, Xiao Lin asked Cheng Ming some questions, but Cheng Ming shot back at Xiao Lin with some of his own.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, what kind of swordsmanship was that? I never felt anyrge surges of energy, but you managed to explode with such power in the blink of an eye!¡± Cheng Ming was not surprised that Xiao Lin had that kind of power, but he found that the sword aura that Xiao Lin used at thest moment felt very strange.


    Cheng Ming was someone who had studied swordsmanship for a long time, so he was confident that he already understood most of the basics of swordsmanship. All sword auras, no matter the difference in technique, all had simr characteristics. On Norma, they were all just different ways of transforming energy. However, Xiao Lin¡¯s final attack was different. Cheng Ming did not feel any fluctuation of energy at all. It was just like a deadke. inly speaking, there was no indication that a sword technique had been used.


    Xiao Lin had even more questions on his mind. It seemed like Starburst was not an ordinary elemental swordsmanship style. However, it was not the time to think about that. As Dawn Academy was announced as the final victors, the tournamentmittee¡¯s people sternly walked over to the Turkish academy. They looked for the leader, Said, and brought him away after some hushed words.


    The others might have been curious, but they did not have any right to follow. Xiao Lin tried to, but was quickly stopped by the president¡¯s gaze.


    No matter what, Dawn Academy had won the second round. A littleter, they heard of the results of the other match. Judge Academy had unsurprisinglypletely defeated the Japanese academy. Currently, Dawn Academy had two wins and was in first ce. Judge Academy and the Turkish academy both had a win and a loss, which gave them joint second ce while the Japanese academy sat at the bottom with two losses.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite a good start. wWe¡¯ve already seized the initiative of making it out of the group stages. However, we can¡¯t be careless. After all, the group stages are just the start of our goals.¡± After Yu Mei gave some words of encouragement, everyone dispersed. Even Yu Mei, who was usually very harsh, had a lot more confidence in talking to the Dawn Academy students after the two matches.


    The third match would see them going to the Japanese academy. Due to some historical reasons, many of them did not need any encouragement to throw themselves into intense training.


    Xiao Lin had privately looked for Yu Mei, asking her about Starburst, but he did not get any answers. However, Yu Mei found an even better person to answer him.


    So, after two days, Xiao Lin appeared at Song Jung¡¯s logistics department. Due to him having been busy training for the tournament, Xiao Lin had not been there for quite some time. Of course, there were also some personal reasons for that, and Xiao Lin was not too willing to visit without a good reason. No one knew what strange and rare creatures would be there.


    Everything seemed normal on that day, and Song Jung made for a rare sight, lying down on the sofa and reading a newspaper with a serious and quiet look on his face. He was not continuing with his experiments.


    Xiao Lin felt like he had seen a ghost when he was greeted with such a strange scene. After pausing for a moment and making sure there was nothing dangerous in the room, he walked in and poured himself some water before sitting down. Even after a moment, Song Jung ignored him, continuing to focus on the paper. Xiao Lin could not help but joke, ¡°Department Head Song, there¡¯s something wrong with you today. You¡¯re actually reading the paper at this time. I almost couldn¡¯t recognize you.¡±


    Song Jung speechlessly looked up before turning his gaze back to the paper, saying. ¡°You¡¯re going to leave for Japan in two days. Did youe visit me because you¡¯re too excited to sleep?¡±


    ¡°What? Why would I be excited?¡± Xiao Lin did not know how to react.


    ¡°The Japanese academy is very enthusiastic. If you go over, they will probably invite you to y around in Tokyo for a day. Oh, I heard that they provide all sorts of services.¡± Song Jung emphasized the word ¡®services¡¯.


    Fine, Xiao Lin finally understood what he meant, but Xiao Lin chose to ignore it. After being silent for a few minutes, he chose to approach the topic directly, ¡°I heard that Said was interrogated for half a day and sent back?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, or did you want him to continue vacationing here?¡± Song Jung¡¯s tone was still apathetic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand? Said¡¯s necromancy in the match was definitely not normal!¡± Xiao Lin seemed a little anxious.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t understand!¡± Song Jung sighed, finally putting down the paper as he said, ¡°Many academies are researching necromancy, and even ce their priorities on it. You should be able to guess the reason. The resurrection towers and the Law of Resurrection. After Ivan, no one understands it. Even though we know the general reasoning lies in necromancy, it¡¯s very simple; all the academies want to hold thew in their hands, even if it would end up in mutual suspicions and infighting!¡±


    ¡°Then did Said seed? No, more precisely, the Turkish academy.¡± Xiao Lin remembered that Said sessfully bypassed the Law of Resurrection and directly reanimated hispanions. It obviously went against thew, and was something he was very concerned about. What caused him to be surprised was how casually this seemed to be treated. It shook everyone, but everyone quickly stopped pursuing the matter.


    Song Jung knew what he was thinking, and a helpless and wry smile appeared. That expression was rare on Song Jung¡¯s face. ¡°You should stop bothering yourself with this matter. It involves some very deep things. All I can tell you is that the Turkish academy might be working with the Normese internally, but we have no proof. Since it involves the academies, it¡¯s not something we can interfere with. It involves too many people, so you should stop asking about it.¡±

 Chapter 667 - The Origin Of Starburst

    <h4>Chapter 667: The Origin Of Starburst</h4>


    If even Song Jung, who had a backer, was kept in the dark, then it was definitely something big. Xiao Lin did not want to cause any trouble, especially since it was about another academy. He had no reason to care, so Xiao Lin stopped harping on that topic and went on to ask about the elemental sword aura.


    Song Jung used to be an extremely powerful elemental swordsman before he lost his powers. He had been at the Gold rank, even if not many people knew about that anymore with how many ears having passed. However, Xiao Lin once read the records in the library before. It was an easy matter for him to check some unimportant records in the library after the president raised his reading rights.


    That was why Xiao Lin knew that Song Jung would definitely be able to answer him.


    ¡°What? Starburst? You¡¯re learning that technique?!¡± Song Junalng¡¯s calm face turned strange after hearing Xiao Lin¡¯s questions.


    Xiao Lin immediately guessed that the man definitely knew a lot about it. Xiao Lin had found the right person, and he immediately straightened up in earnest, waiting for Song Jung to continue.


    After a few minutes of silence, Song Jung reverted to his calm expression as he brushed past the topic. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯d advise you to give up on it, the sooner the better. That swordsmanship technique has no future.¡±


    Of course, that was not the answer Xiao Lin wanted. It was a swordsmanship style that hebed through the entire library to look for. After the battle with the Turkish academy, it would be hard for him to give up on Starburst¡¯s shocking power.


    ¡°You found it in the library, right? Ah, if you found it, then that boring president definitely increased your reading clearance to the highest,¡± Song Jung cursed. Only he would dare call the president a boring person.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I took a very long time to choose, and the practical usage of this style suits me quite a bit,¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°To some degree, you¡¯re very much like me back then. It¡¯s reasonable that you think the swordsmanship style I used before is good.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You used this before?¡±


    Song Jung sighed as he said, ¡°Strictly speaking, I¡¯m the one who stored this swordsmanship style in the library. I thought that I would never see anyone using it ever again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you created it?!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s face had a strange expression. If that was the case, then Song Jung had definitely been terrifyingly talented.


    Song Jung quickly shook his head in denial. ¡°How could I have created such a refined style? However, the swordsmanship style was definitely created by someone else. Back then, no, even now, it¡¯s existence is a unique one.¡± Song Jung closed his eyes and revealed a strange expression. It seemed to be in reminiscence and sadness. When Xiao Lin wanted to get a clearer look, his expression was calm again.


    ¡°I more or less know why you¡¯re here. Starburst is definitely a unique swordsmanship style. Everyone is simrly confused the first time they use it. I won¡¯t bother exining elemental swordsmanship to you, but put it this way, Starburst¡¯s power originates from the stars. The four basic styles before it are just to use the power of the four elements to move the stars and form Starburst.¡±


    Xiao Lin listened closely and suddenly felt like something was off. He curiously said, ¡°Hold on. You mentioned the power of the stars? I¡¯ve gone through the basic sses of Norma. There are three energies on Norma: the elements, life energy, and death energy. What is the power of the stars? Furthermore, if you¡¯re talking about the stars, I remember what appeared in the sky was the moon when I used Starburst, and it was a crescent moon.¡±


    Song Jung had a disgusted face as he replied, ¡°You should revise your astronomy. Let me ask you, is the moon a star? Can the moon emit light by itself? Do you think this is some fairytale from Earth? Everything in this universe, including power and energy, must still adhere to science. The moon itself doesn¡¯t emit any light, and only glows from reflecting stars. As for the moon you saw, that involves Norma¡¯s astronomy, and I¡¯m toozy to exin that to you.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not mind the cursing, and humbly nodded, saying, ¡°So you mean that Starburst harnesses the power of the stars, but the appearance of star energy can take many forms? The moon that I saw then was just one of them?¡±


    Song Jung nodded. ¡°More or less, but with your half-baked skill, if it can even be called that, it¡¯s very hard to borrow the power of the stars. Star energy is something that is hard for us to fathom, and it is very mysterious. Norma¡¯s astrology is also the research of star energy. That High Priest from the ancient Thunder Kingdom probably researched it as well. However, no matter who it is, they¡¯ve only understood a tiny bit. No one would dare say they have mastered the energy.¡±


    Pausing, Song Jung sighed. ¡°So, I¡¯d advise you to give up on this swordsmanship style. I think you¡¯ve noticed as well. It isn¡¯tplete, so there¡¯s no reason to learn an iplete style.¡±


    Xiao Lin reluctantly said, ¡°Who created it? Why don¡¯t they continue with it?¡±


    ¡°There won¡¯t be aplete style. There never will be.¡±


    ¡°Why? Has the creator died? Or do they not want to continue with it?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t more if I say there isn¡¯t more! Why are you speaking so much nonsense?!¡± Song Jung suddenly raised his voice, and his face turned a little dark and scary.


    There was a brief silence.


    Xiao Lin could tell that Song Jung did not want to speak about it. He seemed to understand something, but he was filled with questions as well. Still, he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have asked so much.¡±


    Song Jung waved it away. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I haven¡¯t been in a good mood in the past two days. Basically, there¡¯s no reason to keep on practicing this. Oh, I forgot to mention, you felt like the power was immense because your opponent used necromantic spells. Starburst is extremely strong against death aura, and can even double in strength. Against a regr opponent, the power is limited.¡±


    ¡­


    Xiao Lin quickly left Song Jung¡¯s ce. Just as he said, Department Head Song did not seem to be in a good mood that day. It might have been because Xiao Lin brought up an unwee topic, but Xiao Lin did not push the matter. He respected the privacy and secrets of others.


    No matter what, he managed to get some answers, and now knew why Starburst was so powerful against Said. As for whether or not he would continue, Xiao Lin would naturally choose to do so. It might have been his curiosity, but Xiao Lin would not give up on such an excellent swordsmanship style before it was proven to be useless.

 Chapter 668 - Xiao Lin’s Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 668: Xiao Lin¡¯s Invitation</h4>


    After five days, Dawn Academy¡¯s team left for Tokyo in Japan, and started to get ready for the battle at the Japanese academy. Just as Song Jung said, the Japanese were very warm and weing. The one who greeted them on Earth was a plump woman. Her looks wereparatively average, but her makeup was very eye-catching.


    She implicitly stated to everyone that, as long as they were in Japan, they would be provided with everything possible. With the principle that every one of the colonists were family, they would not be treated badly.


    A few of the monitors were moved by the hidden implications. It was just like thest time, and the one who followed them was just the vice president who held no power. The real decision maker was Xiao Lin, and Xiao Lin obviously was not interested in caring about those matters.


    However, thanks to Song Jung¡¯s earlier reminder, he felt that the Japanese enthusiasm did note from kind intentions, so Xiao Lin still reminded the rest of them with a business-like tone to mind themselves. They were only staying in Tokyo for less than a day, so they should just stay in their rooms.


    The invitations won the favor of the female monitors, but the rest of them did not go against Xiao Lin¡¯s words either. At some point, possibly thanks to the president and Yu Mei¡¯s deliberate actions, Xiao Lin¡¯s authority as the leader had slowly begun to set in. Even though some of them might curse at some things, they would not dare to disobey Xiao Lin¡¯s orders.


    After that small incident, Dawn Academy¡¯s team arrived at the Japanese academy.


    The Japanese academy was built quite early on. Based on Earth¡¯s time, it was built around the period of the Qing Dynasty. The Japanese academy had rapidly expanded at the start, and had even leapfrogged over some of the older European academies. However, after the World War on Earth, the Japanese academy was slowly restricted.


    Officially, Norma¡¯s matters would not have anything to do with Earth¡¯s politics, so even at the worst points of the war on Earth, the colonist academies were still in a state of peace, but their mutual rtionships would obviously be affected.


    Earth¡¯s politics still managed to affect Norma in the end. From the perspective of Norma, the Japanese academy was only about a hundred kilometers away from Dawn City. The fastest carriages could have them arrive there within a day.


    The two academies had intensely fought each other in colonist history. Even though they did not use military might, there were various things that happened in the dark, so Dawn Academy was never in a good rtionship with the Japanese academy.


    Xiao Lin viewed this match very earnestly. In terms of the line-up, he had some slight adjustments, and had himself participated in the individual matches. Even though he was very strong, being too strong also affected the overall team chemistry. They would likely be able to win that way, but it also easily caused the others to developzy habits.


    With Chen Dao and Xiao Lin helming the individual matches, they easily won the two individual matches. In the secondary profession matches, thanks to Gu Xiaoyue being swapped in, they easily won. However, they lost the fourth match, and ended up winning the team battle by the slimmest of margins.


    The team battle was a hard fought victory. They were forced to fight until thest person was standing, but thankfully, Cheng Ming used his golden sword aura at a key timing, allowing him to cut down two opponents and gain the victory.


    Xiao Lin had been observing the matches on the outside. He finally let out a sigh of relief after the results were out. He had been nervous throughout the whole time, and it had proven his earlier worry. It was definitely not a good thing that a squad would suddenly not know what to do after losing just one member.


    Xiao Lin needed a squad that was capable in multiple ways, not one that only relied on that, because he still needed to consider the future matches. The Russian Voyna Akademiya and Judge Academy were not academies that could be defeated with just the might of one person. Judge Academy¡¯s loss in the first round to Dawn Academy was only because of carelessness and them underestimating Dawn Academy. It was impossible to reproduce that result with a squad like that.


    ¡°No matter what, we won in the end, and that¡¯s enough,¡± Gu Xiaoyue lightly said after being silent for the whole time. Gu Xiaoyue had been angry that Xiao Lin did not assign her to the team battle. It caused her to remain mute throughout the whole time. No matter what Xiao Lin tried to say, she would purse her lips. She looked like someone who wanted to be angry but could not.


    Xiao Lin did not know if those words were to console herself or him, but he did finally get a chance, so he smiled and said, ¡°Three wins in a row in the group stages. Our chances of making it out of the group are increasing by the day, so you don¡¯t have to give yourself too much pressure.¡±


    ¡°The next match is against Judge Academy again, so how do you n on dealing with that? The strategy fromst time will definitely not work.¡± Gu Xiaoyue pouted, but did not continue remaining silent. However, her thoughts were already on the next round.


    They found out earlier on that Judge Academy had defeated the Turkish academy, solidifying their second ce spot in the group. Based on the home and away rotation, their next match would be the start of the second rotation, and Dawn Academy would be hosting Judge Academy. Considering the standing of the two academies, the match might determine the first two spots in the groups.


    After the match against the Japanese academy, since Japan was closer, the vice president told them that the student union had specially arranged for them to have a few days of holiday in consideration of the continued fights. So, they would be allowed to spend two days on holiday on Earth. They were allowed to do whatever they wanted, but they needed to report back to the academy on time two dayster.


    For the first-year students, they only got one vacation each semester to return home. Even though they could usually write letters, the letters all needed to be checked in case they revealed information about the academy. So, that special holiday definitely won the cheers of all of them. It was an even better reward than the rewards they got after winning each match.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, we should use these two days to sightsee in Japan!¡± Xiao Lin immediately invited Gu Xiaoyue.


    Gu Xiaoyue was so surprised that she hesitated for a few minutes before saying, ¡°I want to go back and see my sister. Chengyun¡¯s next semester is starting, so I need to prepare her school fees, and her living expenses as well. Other than that, the home¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, all these things can be done via long distance, and the people from the Earth department can help you do it as well. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know this. The Earth branch was formed to help with these matters.¡± Xiao Lin waved it off, smiling. ¡°Two days is a very tight timeframe anyway. Even if you take a flight back, with all the transfers you¡¯d have to take, you¡¯d only be home for half a day at most. You¡¯d practically use up the full two days just going there and returning. We¡¯ll have a long holiday after this semester anyway, so we should just use today to properly rx.¡±

 Chapter 669 - Chance Encounter On The Plane

    <h4>Chapter 669: ?Chance Encounter On The ne</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s invitation caused Gu Xiaoyue to panic, not even knowing where to ce her fair hands. Cheng Ming and the others acted like they saw nothing and dispersed. She lowered her head, as if she was making an incredibly hard decision.


    Xiao Lin was a bit nervous. It was too hard to guess Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s thoughts. Normally, they had way too little personal time in the academy. The intense studies and frantic training meant that they did not really have that much free time, so Xiao Lin would naturally not easily give up on such a rare chance to ask her out.


    ¡°Fine.¡± After a long time, Gu Xiaoyue muttered at an almost imperceptible volume, causing Xiao Lin a great deal of excitement.


    After greeting the vice president, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue used the spatial carriage of the Japanese academy to return to Tokyo, not going back to their country immediately. The others went straight back to the country in the ne arranged by the Earth branch. Originally, the vice presidents had some doubts. Based on the rules, what Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were doing was not allowed, since it involved the Japanese branch as well. However, it was quickly allowed after he gave the student union a call.


    The student union would definitely not stop Xiao Lin when it came to that, and had even helped him contact the Japanese branch, who quickly arranged a tour guide for them, helping them arrange the best vacation route, rmending certain sights and what not. However, Xiao Lin had rejected it, as he was actually not interested in sightseeing itself. Xiao Lin only wanted a chance to spend some time alone with Gu Xiaoyue, so the location was not important.


    ¡°I want to go to the beach.¡± However, Gu Xiaoyue had voiced her own suggestion.


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment before agreeing immediately, so they went to Hokkaido.


    Hokkaido was one of the 47 prefectures in Japan, and was thergest ind in Japan outside of Honshu. The scenery was very attractive, and it was a hotspot for vacationing. It happened to be spring at that moment, so Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue walked together as they admired the remains of the snow melting in the wilderness. There were cherry and plum blossoms blooming in the grass too. They rented a house on the beach to stay in. After all, their finances werepletely handled by the Earth branch.


    To Xiao Lin, those two days were the happiest days he had recently, or maybe even the whole year. He went to look at the scenery with Gu Xiaoyue during the day, standing on the beach as they admired the sea. They even got on a boat and started fishing. Even though they were terrible at fishing, they found joy in it. They forgot about the academy, forgot about the tournament, and forgot about many troublesome matters. Gu Xiaoyue had even revealed a rare smile. It was a smile that was only seen when one rxed after a lot of exhaustion. That alone made Xiao Lin feel that the vacation was the right choice.


    It was a pity that the holiday onlysted for two days. On the second evening, the staff from the Japanese branch awkwardly came to look for them because Xiao Lin had chased them away two days ago, not wanting to be disturbed. Their attitudes were much more humble the second time they appeared. Of course, it was probably due to the strength Xiao Lin had shown during the tournament. The Japanese respected strength to arge degree.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s Earth branch had already asked the Japanese to get Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue to hurry back. Even though it was regretful, Xiao Lin obediently listened. That evening, they got on a ne back to the country under the arrangements of the Japanese side. It was a small private jet, and there were all sorts of facilities on the ne. The staff from the Japanese academy that apanied them told them proudly that it had been built by their branch.


    However, Xiao Lin was just slightly confused before expressing some praise. Fine, the praise was mostly out of boredom. Other than being in charge of recruiting new students and observing the returning students, the Earth branch usually had nothing to do for most of the time, so most of them would find some other profession to pass the time. For instance, the ones back in China had chosen astronomy and observing the stars.


    The ne was not big, so when Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue entered, they immediately saw a young man smiling at them and waving. It was obvious that they were not the only two people on the trip.


    Gu Xiaoyue felt a little awkward, and immediately pulled her little hand out of Xiao Lin¡¯s palm. Of course, that had not been her intention, and Xiao Lin had been the one who grabbed her hand on the way. The woman was usually cold and aloof, but she seemed to shed her outer shell in front of Xiao Lin, and revealed her exhaustion and loneliness.


    ¡°You must be Xiao Lin. I finally have the chance to meet you. I¡¯m Li Cheng.¡± The Chinese name meant that Xiao Lin had to shed his look of disappointment. After all, he was probably also from Dawn Academy as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m called Xiao Lin. She is Gu Xiaoyue,¡± Xiao Lin fastened the seatbelt as he politely replied.


    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯ve wanted to meet you for a long time.¡± Li Cheng did not seem to just be acting out of politeness. From the moment Xiao Lin sat down, he was constantly evaluating Xiao Lin, from head to toe. Li Cheng¡¯s eyes had a curious glint, and Li Cheng did not seem to bother with Gu Xiaoyue, who was next to Xiao Lin, at all.


    Xiao Lin shivered and tried to stand up to switch his seat. Li Cheng immediately grabbed his arm, and the strength behind it left Xiao Lin unable to retaliate. However, when he sat down again, Li Cheng¡¯s gaze was already averted. Li Cheng rubbed his chin, smiling as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve been curious about you for a long time, but I really can¡¯t tell what I want to know from your appearance.¡±


    ¡°You know me?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but you don¡¯t know me. I¡¯ve been paying attention to you since New Washington¡¯s red moon. The old dean¡¯s unusual bias toward you makes me curious as well¡­ The way you handled matters in the New World made me take you seriously¡­ I¡¯ve paid attention to your results in the academy as well, and you gave me a bigger surprise¡­¡± Li Cheng said incessantly.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s face grew stranger and stranger. The guy obviously knew a lot about him, and the guy seemed to talk about everything he had done, including those things that were not public. He finally interrupted Li Cheng, asking again, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Li Cheng paused before pping his head,ughing as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. This is my name card. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re all on the same side. There¡¯s no need to look so scared, my good friend.¡±


    The name card he handed over was very normal, and the words printed on it were very simple as well.


    Dawn Academy Intelligence Department Head, Li Cheng


    Xiao Lin suddenly widened his eyes, immediately understanding what that represented.


    In Dawn Academy, the one who held the most power was the dean. Below the dean, there were various departments, and the Intelligence Department was under the military. However, the Intelligence Department was a special department that reported directly to the dean. The other departments could not interfere with them, and the Intelligence Department¡¯s job scope was very wide, as it included the academy¡¯s internal affairs, the Earth branch, and the entirety of the colonist territory!

 Chapter 670 - Incident On The Plane

    <h4>Chapter 670: Incident On The ne</h4>


    Xiao Lin exchanged a look with Gu Xiaoyue, both of them were a little surprised, especially Xiao Lin. He was different from the other monitors, who had never really left the protection of the academy. After experiencing so many things in the New World, he knew quite a bit about the governance structures in the colonist territories. He was also very clear on the importance the position of the head of the Intelligence Department was.


    The fact that Li Cheng could so casually talk about everything he had done was no longer that surprising since that was his job in the first ce.


    After collecting his thoughts, Xiao Lin quickly rxed. It seemed that Li Cheng was only coincidentally on the same flight, and did note specifically for him.


    Xiao Lin could not help but feel a bit guilty. He had hid a lot of the things he had done from the academy. The most recent one was his transactions with Dawn Academy¡¯s artificial intelligence, Bell. It was definitely something that could not be leaked.


    However, since Li Cheng had note looking for him because of that matter, then there was nothing to worry about. Xiao Lin and Li Cheng were not familiar with each other, so there was not much to say after exchanging a few pleasantries. However, that did not stop the man from chatting with him.


    It was obvious that Li Cheng liked Xiao Lin a lot, but Xiao Lin still found it strange because he could not shake the feeling that the man had an ulterior motive and was stringing him along.


    The ne quickly took off, and Xiao Lin was naturally happy to have someone to talk with to pass the time. It was a pity that he could not continue talking to Gu Xiaoyue, but Xiao Lin could do nothing about it. The woman would only be closer to Xiao Lin when there was no one else around. When there were more people, she still maintained her usual cold and proud exterior.


    The journey from Japan back to China did not take too long, and they would bending in around three hours. As for things like passports and visas, Xiao Lin trusted that their Earth branch would not be troubled by small matters like that.


    After chatting with Li Cheng for a while, Xiao Lin felt a little tired. His travels in Hokkaido had probably tired him even more. After yawning for a few times, Li Cheng could also tell he was tired, and stopped talking as he smiled. Gu Xiaoyue was someone who did not enjoy talking, as usual.


    After Li Cheng stopped talking, the ne quickly fell into silence. Xiao Lin felt it strange that there did not seem to be any staff members at all ever since they took off, but that suspicion onlysted for a little while before Xiao Lin dozed off.


    After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Lin was shocked when he woke up. It was pitch-ck inside the ne, and the tables and chairs were scattered all over the ce. There were dark clouds out the window, and the low rumbling of thunder could be heard. There would asionally be shes of lightning, but there was no rain at all.


    ¡°What happened? Gu Xiaoyue? Gu Xiaoyue!¡± Xiao Lin immediately felt like something was off, especially when he realized that he was the only one left on the ne. A sense of horror seized his whole body when he did not get any replies at all.


    Xiao Lin immediately prepared to get up when a surge of intense pain gripped him. He immediately copsed on the floor in pain. When he looked back, Xiao Lin was shocked to find that his limbs had all been tied up with ropes. Those ropes had a faint silver glow to them. Xiao Lin recognized them; they were a special fusion metal that could only be found in the New World. They were extremely hard, and Dawn Academy regrly used those metals to make restraining tools. Other than its innate hardness, they also had a suppressive ability. They could restrict the user from using any magical power or sword aura.


    It was no easy feat to be able to obtain it and even bring it to Earth. Everyone who came out of the colonist territories would undergo strict checks. Putting aside these restricted objects, even regr materials were not easily taken out, but it was notpletely impossible.


    ¡°Li Cheng!¡± Xiao Lin thought of that guy who had mysteriously appeared, and his temper roared. If it was the Head of the Intelligence Department, then he could easily avoid any checks.


    There was still no response; it was as if he was the only one left on the ne. Xiao Lin clenched his teeth, and constantly increased the strength in his body. The restraints restricted him greatly, and after a few failed tries, all he could do was struggle as he headed toward the cockpit.


    Xiao Lin broke out in a cold sweat when he realized that the cockpit was empty as well. The ne was in automatic flight mode, and not far away from the ne was a group of even darker clouds. In those clouds were countless mysterious objects. Xiao Lin did not know what they were, but he knew they were definitely nothing good.


    Ruin!


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate anymore, and unleashed his full power. Based on the rules of the academy, they were not allowed to use too much power on Earth because that would damage Earth¡¯s already weakenedws. However, with Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s situation unclear, Xiao Lin could not afford to dwell on it. Thews could just go ahead and die!


    Those metallic restraints were naturally not unbeatable, and their suppressing abilities only worked to a certain level. After using Ruin, Xiao Lin¡¯s power had already entered the Gold rank, so the restraints were broken in a sh. Xiao Lin ran around the whole ne, but still did not see a trace of anyone.


    The ne was already getting closer and closer to those clouds, and Xiao Lin had a feeling of uneasiness in his heart. He did not know how to fly a ne, and he could not find Gu Xiaoyue. He was faced with problems from every direction. He finally clenched his teeth and chose to leave the ne before deciding on his next step. As the dark clouds got closer, the uneasy feeling intensified.


    He used a me ball to blow a hole in the side of the ne. Below the ne was the vast sea. Even though he was not sure where he was, he estimated that he was probably still on the route back to the country.


    Xiao Lin stepped forward, and the strong winds forced his eyes shut. He now regretted not learning any flying spells, but that was fine; he still had more ways to do it. Even though he did not have a weapon, under Ruin, he could easily summon an intense sword auras.


    Waves of sword aura fervently danced toward the surface of the sea. Xiao Lin did not hold back from venting his frustrations. The waves that it caused seemed to envelop the nearby sea, but the blowback from the sword aura was enough to slow Xiao Lin¡¯s descent. When the speed of his descent reached a satisfactory level, Xiao Linpletely stopped and plunged into the sea.

 Chapter 671 - Mysterious Li Cheng

    <h4>Chapter 671: Mysterious Li Cheng</h4>


    The ne finally entered the mysterious ck cloud. There was no explosion or any fireworks. The ne seemed to disappear without a trace. Some changes quickly happened to the ck cloud. The liquid-like substances on the ck cloud started to move crazily, as if something was opening it.


    An incredibly strong suction could be felt from the ck cloud, and the sea started to be turbulent. Countless waterspouts started to form and spin toward the cloud. The suction managed to even suck in the sea water, which greatly shocked Xiao Lin. What shocked him even more was the fact that he could vaguely feel what the power behind the suction was.


    It was the power of the wall of time!


    That meant that there was a wormhole behind the ck cloud. So what could possibly be on the other end? The answer was simple: Norma!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was a mess, as he did not know why the head of the Intelligence Department, Li Cheng, would do such a thing. No matter what, a wormhole to Norma was absolutely not a good thing for Earth.


    However, that strange phenomenon did notst for that long. Opening a passage like that needed a lot of energy. Even though Xiao Lin did not know how Li Cheng did it, it seemed like the man had no way of maintaining it. That was because maintaining a wormhole required tremendous amounts of power, even more than opening one.


    After a few dozen seconds, the ck clouds in the sky dissipated. Even though the sky was still dark, nothing strange could be seen anymore. Other than Xiao Lin, who was right at the scene, would anyone from Earth even notice it?


    Xiao Lin did not have the ability to fly, and he was far out on the sea, so even with his superhuman body, there was no way for him to swim back to the country. However, he believed that the Earth branch would definitely send someone over to investigate after finding out that the ne was missing. It was just that he was worried about the whereabouts of Gu Xiaoyue.


    Xiao Lin did not need to wait for too long. After half an hour, he could hear the low hum of a motor in the distance. When he looked over, a fast speed boat was heading right his way. However, Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes, and could not help but be rmed.


    That was because it had been too quick. It had only been half an hour. Even if they were from the Earth branch, there was no way they could have gotten to his location so quickly. Even if he had already deactivated his Ruin state, it did not stop his perception. He felt two auras on the boat, and seemed to have guessed something.


    Sure enough, when the boat stopped, the one on the boat was Li Cheng, who had mysteriously disappeared. Li Cheng put on a slight smile when he saw Xiao Lin before throwing down a rope, pulling Xiao Lin up. He acted very friendly, but Xiao Lin did not dare to trust that man at all.


    Even when he was on the boat, Xiao Lin did not let his guard down. If it were not for the fact that the man was much stronger than him, Xiao Lin would probably have already attacked. The only thing that relieved him was the fact that he saw Gu Xiaoyue on the boat as well. The woman¡¯splexion was not the best, and she seemed a bit weary, but her expression was also an obvious concern for Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin immediately inspected her, and angrily turned around to ask, ¡°What did you do?!¡±


    Li Cheng waved it off, saying, ¡°She¡¯ll be fine. I only casted some weakening spells on her. She¡¯ll recover in a day. It¡¯s for her sake, so she doesn¡¯t get hurt.¡±


    Weakening spells could lower the attributes of an individual, and in the worst case, could cause them to fall into a state of unconsciousness. Gu Xiaoyue seemed to be in that state at that moment, as she did not even have the strength to speak. She seemed to have only held on to ascertain Xiao Lin¡¯s safety. When she saw Xiao Lin get onto the boat safely, she fainted.


    Xiao Lin propped up Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s body, his heart aching, so she had a better posture to rest with. Only then did he get up, taking off his drenched jacket as he looked at Li Cheng. ¡°If nothing else happens, the rescue team will be here quickly. I think you owe me an exnation.¡±


    In terms of skills, the fact that the man could be the head of the Intelligence Department naturally meant that his skills were not at a level that Xiao Lin could match. Through his perception just now, Xiao Lin could notpletely see through the man¡¯s skills. Normally, in those situations, his foes were either too unskilled, or they were far too powerful. Xiao Lin believed that Li Cheng was thetter.


    However, unless Li Cheng was betraying Dawn Academy, he would definitely have had a good reason for what happened that day. Otherwise, he would be severely punished when he got back.


    Li Cheng looked very calm, and had no killing intent at all, nor did he seem to want to exin himself. He inly smiled and said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, but I can¡¯t really exin too much. I had you help me with a small matter today, so I will owe you a favor. All I can say is that I¡¯m not a traitor. Everything I do is for the sake of the academy.¡±


    ¡°Help?¡± Xiao Lin was confused. He had almost been killed by the guy, so why would he help the guy?


    After a moment, Xiao Lin¡¯s face immediately changed. He looked up at where the ck cloud was, and widened his eyes in disbelief.


    ¡°You used my power! You used my power to open the wormhole!


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you were the Intelligence Department Head, then you¡¯ll naturally know a lot about me, including what happened during the blood moon in New Washington. Since I can get into The Final Lands, then I can definitely open up a gateway to Norma from Earth.


    ¡°However, my powers are limited, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it for too long; it¡¯s probably less than a minute. However, in that minute, what did you bring over here?!¡±


    Xiao Lin shot out a string of questions. He was not dumb. Thinking about what happened in the sky and who that man was, Xiao Lin easily guessed everything.


    Li Cheng was taken aback, praising, ¡°Not bad. It appears that you¡¯re quite smart. As for the answer, unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes and his tone turned colder as he said, ¡°You seem to have a fearless expression. Aren¡¯t you afraid that your memory will be wiped when you get back? You¡¯ve already basically vited every rule of the academy today¡­ No, if you¡¯re still standing here waiting for the rescue team, then it means that you won¡¯t be punished. It¡¯s impossible for you to achieve that with your status, which means there¡¯s someone even higher supporting you, guaranteeing that you won¡¯t be punished. In the entire academy, only¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± The smile finally disappeared from Li Cheng¡¯s face. He rubbed his temples in exasperation. ¡°Sometimes being too smart isn¡¯t a good thing. Xiao Lin, let me give you some advice; you shouldn¡¯t ask questions that shouldn¡¯t be asked. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee what I¡¯ll do next. You might be very important to Dawn Academy, butpared to our ns, you pale inparison!¡±

 Chapter 672 - Li Cheng’s Scheme

    <h4>Chapter 672</h4>


    <h4>: Li Cheng¡¯s Scheme</h4>


    Li Cheng seemed a little exasperated when he gave his warning. He seemed to be speaking to Xiao Lin honestly, but Xiao Lin absolutely believed that, if he continued to dwell on the issue, the man in front of him would definitely attack. That was not something he could defend against. Just like the man said, ever since the old dean¡¯s illness, XIao Lin had been ced in an awkward position.


    After Xiao Lin stopped talking, Li Cheng was finally satisfied, letting out a sigh of relief. If he were not forced to, he would not want to attack Xiao Lin, so he smiled and said, ¡°The two of you are tired. You both should head straight back to the academyter. You¡¯re both still young, and Dawn Academy will be yours in the future, so take the time to properly study and be good students.¡±


    Xiao Lin did not bother with him anymore. The man was someone who was powerful enough that Xiao Lin could not touch. He checked on Gu Xiaoyue briefly, and was relieved to see that she was not harmed in any way outside of the weakening spell.


    Li Cheng was quite exasperated when he saw Xiao Lin¡¯s actions. He knew that Xiao Lin probably did not trust him at all at that point, so he wisely maintained his silence.


    The weakening effect was still active, and Gu Xiaoyue did not seem to be waking up anytime soon. Xiao Lin and Li Cheng stayed on that boat alone. There was enough food and water on the boat, proving that the man had prepared everything.


    After a few hours, the figure of another boat appeared. Xiao Lin was immediately on alert, and it was only when he saw a familiar figure on the boat did he rx a little. The person on the boat was Mao Tianying of the Earth Division. When Xiao Lin¡¯s group disappeared, it shocked quite a bit of people.


    ¡°Are you going back with us?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly asked.


    ¡°No need.¡± Li Cheng still had a faint smile on his face, as if nothing had happened. He said, ¡°My men will be here soon, so you should head up first. Act as if nothing happened today. Trust me. No one will give you any trouble if you do.¡±


    ¡°I know what to speak about and what not to.¡± Xiao Lin paused before saying coldly, ¡°Even though I can¡¯t do anything in my position right now, let me warn you, you¡¯re ying with fire; all of you are!¡±


    Li Cheng stared at him for a moment, as if he was making sure he understood what it was that Xiao Lin knew, and how much Xiao Lin knew. However, Li Cheng shook his head, repeating, ¡°Everything is for the good of the academy. This has never changed.¡±


    Xiao Lin could only sigh in the end.


    Quite a few people were on the ship from the Earth branch. There were members of the student union and even the public rtions department, and because this involved Japan, there were also a few Japanese employees. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were safely sent to the boat, and Li Cheng had been asked to return as well, but just as Xiao Lin guessed, when the man revealed his identity, no one dared to do anything to him.


    The status of the Intelligence Department Head might not be able to do anything to Xiao Lin, who was still a student at that moment, but since students who had yet to graduate were all under the jurisdiction of the student union, to those who had already graduated, Li Cheng¡¯s status was incredibly powerful.


    Power was something that could be used both on Earth and on Norma.


    Gu Xiaoyue finally recovered during their second day on the boat. After the doctors checked up on her for any residual effects, they still arranged for her to rest in a private room.


    Xiao Lin found a chance to visit her and sent everyone else away. Of course, he did not have the right to do that himself, but Mao Tianying seemed to have an understanding of how special he was, and thanks to Mao Tianying¡¯s rtionship with Song Jung, the man happily helped him with that.


    Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were both filled with suspicion. Those suspicions were naturally best kept away from others. However, even when everyone else left, they had no way of clearing up their confusion.


    Based on what Gu Xiaoyue said, their drinks had definitely beenced with a strong sleeping potion on the ne. Furthermore, they were definitely specially made to avoid a mage¡¯s perception. Gu Xiaoyue did not know much either. After being ced under the weakening spell, it had been hard for her to stay awake. In her state of half-consciousness, Gu Xiaoyue could only remember Li Cheng¡¯s sporadic conversations with others.


    ¡°I think I remember he said something to this effect. That you had made a move just like they expected. That way, the conditions of opening a wormhole were all set. They also talked about Earth and Norma¡­ I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s all I remember,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said apologetically.


    Xiao Lin was now even more sure of his thoughts, even though he did not express it. He consoled Gu Xiaoyue a little, and after that, he did not mention the issue again.


    When they returned, with the arrangements of the branch, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were very quickly sent to the spatial carriage. Even though Mao Tianying did not say so, his bitter smile caused Xiao Lin to feel that there were some people who did not want him to remain on Earth. During the whole process, no one had questions or checked on them.


    At that stage, for someone as smart as Gu Xiaoyue, even if she could not uncover the truth, she could still vaguely guess who was behind everything.


    No matter what the situation was on the outside, the academy was always the safest ce. When they returned to the academy, their worries seemed to evaporate. There, no outsiders could disturb them, nor would there be any hidden schemes, but that still did not settle Xiao Lin¡¯s heart.


    Li Cheng¡¯s actions were too strange, causing Xiao Lin to have a lot of thoughts. He hoped that it was just his imagination, but if it really were true, then it would be terrifying.


    Because it was spection, Xiao Lin did not dare to approach the student union president, and he looked for Song Jung, the Department Head he trusted the most, instead.


    Song Jung was idly performing his experiments as usual. When he saw Xiao Lin¡¯s arrival, he rubbed his temples, not even raising his head as he said, ¡°Do you know? Nowadays, the person I¡¯m most afraid of seeing is you. That¡¯s because my intuition tells me that you are equal to trouble.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that it isn¡¯t my trouble this time, and might not even be yours or someone else¡¯s.¡± Xiao Lin did not have the mood to joke around with Song Jung, and went straight to the point.


    However, Song Jung was even more straightforward as he put down the bottles in his hands and calmly looked at Xiao Lin, saying, ¡°Are you trying to say it¡¯s Earth¡¯s problem? Did youe to tell me that someone wants to speed up Earth¡¯s demise?¡±

 Chapter 673 - Earth

    <h4>Chapter 673: ?Earth</h4>


    Song Jung¡¯s words were very casual. That earth-shattering news seemed to be as simple as drinking a ss of water in his eyes. However, the calmer he was, the more Xiao Lin¡¯s heart raced.


    After a long period of silence, Song Jung sighed, saying, ¡°Do you think that you understand the academy and the colonists very well?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head. He had thought that he understood a lot from what he had seen in the past few months, but he realized today that he might not know anything at all.


    ¡°All along, ns regarding our future havee from a lot of differing opinions, such as how to treat the natives. Some people suggested making them submit through martial might, while others have suggested working together,¡± Song Jung slowly said.


    Xiao Lin nodded, as that was something he knew.


    Song Jung smiled bitterly as he continued, ¡°There might have been a lot of opinions on how to treat the natives, but in the end, it¡¯s still an external matter. It will not affect much, no matter how much everyone argues. However, there¡¯s an even more sensitive question, which is how we treat Earth. That was definitely a ticking time bomb. For many years, everyone did everything they could to avoid the topic. If someone actually wanted to put the topic on the table, it would involve countless things!¡±


    Xiao Lin remembered what the dean had said to him, and asked with a strange look, ¡°I know that Earth¡¯s spatialws have been on the brink of copse, so the academies established a rule not allowing usage of any power that would tax thews on Earth. So where does everyone differ in their views on Earth?¡±


    Song Jung sighed heavily as he looked at Xiao Lin. ¡°This question isn¡¯t that hard to think about. You¡¯re someone who has been to the New World a few times, and you¡¯ve interacted with Li Cheng. I trust that you¡¯ve definitely thought about that issue, only you wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent again, and only bitterly spoke after a moment, ¡°Surely it can¡¯t be?¡±


    ¡°When ites to the colonists, our greatest problem is actually our poption. It¡¯s also an extension of the problem with the natives. Even with the Law of Resurrection, there are far, far too few of us. After our rapid expansion in the initial few decades, the current scope of the colonist territories is actually at the limit of our abilities to control. Even though the academies are constantly expanding their numbers, it¡¯s still hard to fulfill our needs. Because of that, someone finally brought up something that no one had suggested, but everyone had been considering: immigration!


    ¡°It would no longer be only selecting the elites like what the academies are doing, butrge-scale immigration. We would use potions to ovee Norma¡¯s environment to live there. Those people n on giving the immigrants a higher status than natives, but still a lower status than the elites from the academies, since we are all from Earth. Those people would be forced to rely on us after going to Norma, so they would be more trustworthy.¡±


    Xiao Lin could not help but interrupt, ¡°However, immigration like that isn¡¯t something that would go well. Not many people would be willing to abandon their homes to run over to Norma. And it¡¯s not just them. Even internally within the academies, there aren¡¯t that many people who would be willing to abandon our ties with Earth either.¡±


    Song Jung said, ¡°You¡¯re right, which is why there are so many people in the Earth Division. Many of them deliberately stopped at Gold-rank to be able to return to Earth. However, that¡¯s actually disadvantageous to the advancement of the colonial territories. In truth, the development of the colonies have stalled for many years, and many of the expansionists are not happy, but there is nothing they can do. Before they solve the problem with our poption, expanding will only bring us instability. There are still many countries in Norma who bear animosity toward us. In the eyes of the expansionists, Earth has slowly be our burden¡­¡±


    ¡°So they want to destroy Earth?¡± Xiao Lin finally said what he had thought about for a long time. Only, it shocked him that he was no longer as afraid of the notion when he brought it up.


    It was true. After Song Jung¡¯s exnations, Xiao Lin could not help but admit that Earth did hinder their development on Norma, and it was something that was uneptable.


    ¡°They¡¯re ying with fire!¡± Xiao Lin said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they really are ying with fire. Before, the old dean suppressed them, and they did not dare to do anything, but now¡­¡± Song Jung fell silent again. He was increasingly quiet that day. It meant that, even though Department Head Song knew what was going on, he was helpless to do anything.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was in a mess, but after the incident with Li Cheng, he actually thought about the matter a lot. Even though Song Jung did not say anything directly, he still continued to specte, ¡°It should be very easy to destroy Earth with our strength, but they can¡¯t do that. At least, they can¡¯t do it openly. It would not only be rejected by the academy, it would also incur the hatred of those who migrate over. It would be hard to get them to listen, and they might even work with the natives to rebel¡­ So, their n is to use someone else¡¯s strength instead. They want to borrow the power of the natives to destroy Earth. That way, everyone will have amon enemy, and with that, the expansionists won¡¯t even have to motivate anyone to fight¡­


    ¡°Opening a wormhole to Norma on Earth is only to achieve one thing, which is to get the Normese to destroy Earth. No, maybe they only want to push Earth to the brink of destruction, and then they would head to Earth like saviors, saving humanity and, thus, achieving their wishes!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re crazy! Don¡¯t they know that, even in the colonies, many of us still have friends and family on Earth!¡±


    Xiao Lin got even more emotional as he spoke because he thought about his parents. If Earth was really invaded in the future, who would be able to guarantee which people would be able to survive?


    ¡°We absolutely can¡¯t allow them to do this! If we make everything known¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Song Jung violently interrupted him. ¡°If they have already dared to make their move, it means they¡¯ve already had sufficient preparations. Furthermore, do you really think it¡¯s something just a few people or even just one academy can do?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? There are other academies in the mix?¡±


    ¡°Power and wealth is something that can captivate anyone. You would need to face the entire group of them that will benefit from this. Do you really think you can fight them?¡±


    Xiao Lin once again fell silent. After a long time, he asked miserably, ¡°What can I do?¡±


    ¡°Move your parents over here as soon as possible. If it¡¯s that, I might be able to help you.¡± Song Jung was quiet as usual. It was obvious that he had already anticipated all of this.

 Chapter 674 - Life Has To Go On

    <h4>Chapter 674: Life Has To Go On</h4>


    The chat with Song Jung did not relieve Xiao Lin of his worries, and had instead increased what he had on his mind. Song Jung had suggested he bring his parents or even his rtives and friends to Norma.


    With what Xiao Lin knew of the colonist rules, that was actually impossible. It was not that there had never been examples of the family of a colonist moving to Norma, but it would have to go through countless checks and investigations. Only very few of them would actually meet the requirements, and Xiao Lin knew it was impossible for his parents.


    However, that was not what Xiao Lin was worried about. Since Song Jung said that it would not be a problem, then he believed that the Logistics Department Head definitely had a way to handle the matter. What really caused Xiao Lin to worry was everything that was happening in the background. It might mean that the academies on Norma had already started to give up on Earth. The blue might be everyone¡¯s home, but they all knew that the¡¯sws were already in a very fragile state. Destruction was an eventuality, and now they nned on bringing it forward!


    Xiao Lin did not know if the old dean knew about the matter, but after the new dean had restricted him, there was no way for him to freely enter the New World like he used to. He had tried to gain some information from the student union president, but that baby-faced president¡¯s lips were sealed very tightly. His only source of information was Song Jung.


    The desperate situation had caused Xiao Lin¡¯s mood to sink greatly. He could rely on Song Jung to bring his parents to the New World, and could also let them stay on Norma, but what about the others?


    Xiao Lin was not some saint, but that did not stop him from thinking about the billions of people on Earth. He knew that, among those people, there would only be an extremely small number that could be brought to the New World. As for the fate of those who remained, anyone could figure out that they would be abandoned!


    Xiao Lin¡¯s life in the academy still had to continue. No matter how willing he was to get involved, something that the academy had decided on was definitely not going to change because of him. With thoseplicated feelings, he continued with the Inter-academy Tournament.


    However, they had lost their following match against Judge Academy, and the reason had been because of Xiao Lin. Even though they were the hosts this time, Judge Academy had made their preparations after the lesson fromst time. Other than Chen Dao winning in the individual portion, Judge Academy won three out of the first four matches.


    In the deciding team match, Dawn Academypletely lost again. Because Xiao Lin¡¯s heart had not been in it, they lost very decisively. Judge Academy had finally revealed their terrifying capabilities. The ones whopeted in the team match did not even have the chance to appear during thest round, so they had vented out all the frustrations that had built up over the course of a month.


    On Dawn Academy¡¯s side, the only person that could really put up a fight was Xiao Lin, but with his heart not being in it, the loss was natural. However, Xiao Lin had already expected the result, so he had forced Gu Xiaoyue into the harmless secondary professional matches, even though Gu Xiaoyue had lost this time.


    The unexpected loss definitely caused some disappointment, but it was also to a special opponent. After all, Judge Academy¡¯s title as the strongest was not easily shaken, and their strategic win fromst time could not be replicated.


    Only now did everyone care more about Xiao Lin¡¯s abnormal performance, orck thereof. In the team battle, he had been eliminated very quickly, and even the opponents had realized he was off-form. No one had dared to mock him on Dawn Academy¡¯s side, since Xiao Lin had already solidified his power as the leader. Chen Dao, Cheng Ming, and the others had consoled him after the match, but Xiao Lin could not say much to his two friends.


    The words Song Jung told him could absolutely not be brought up to a third person. If he did, regardless of whether or not the other person believed him, he would be harming the person.


    The upper management of the academy would not do anything to Xiao Lin due to his special status, but others did not have that luxury. If they knew something that they should not, there were many ways to deal with them.


    Judge Academy did not leave immediately after the round, and Judge Academy¡¯s leader, Raymond, had invited Xiao Lin to have dinner that night. The location was the academy¡¯s cafeteria¡­


    Alright, being invited to dinner by someone they were hosting looked a little weird, but Xiao Lin still agreed to it. Since he did not need to pay, he had ordered a massive amount of dishes. It was only when the American man seemed to be ready to foam at the mouth did Xiao Lin stop.


    There might have been countless dishes in the academy, from eastern to western to fusion food, but in terms of the ingredients, there were only two types; one was ingredients from Earth, and the other was from Norma.


    It was obvious that the ingredients from Norma were more expensive. The buffet they usually ate from always used ingredients from Earth, so no matter how luxurious the food looked, they were actually just cheap foods¡­ The total cost might not evenpare to the dishes they had ordered that night.


    Yes, even though the dish in front of Xiao Lin might look like a regr grilled fish, in terms of New Dors, it was worth almost five thousand New Dors, even though it was just one fish. That fish was called a Dragon Fish. It was said that the fish descended from dragons millions of years ago. However, after so long, the draconic genes in the fish only consisted of one percent, but even so, the fish was extremely expensive.


    It was Raymond¡¯s fault for trying to act like a rich guy on Xiao Lin¡¯s turf. On top of that, Xiao Lin had already been in a bad mood. With how they lost today, he would naturally not give up the chance to inflict pain on his opponent.


    ¡°Your performance today was very out of the ordinary. It made the match very boring.¡± Even though the price of the meal was enough to hurt anyone, Raymond still made sure to act like he did not care, and immediately went straight for the main topic.


    ¡°Due to some issues, I haven¡¯t been in a good mood the past few days. It¡¯s fine though; both our academies can get out of the group stages. As long as we keep on winning, we will still meet in the finals,¡± Xiao Lin answered vaguely, stuffing his mouth with food.


    Raymond¡¯s eye twitched as he hurriedly started to eat as well. He was not about to let Xiao Lin swallow all those expensive dishes alone. However, after a few tries, he silently chose to give up. There was no way around it. He was not good at using chopsticks at all.


    ¡°Is it because of what happened at seast week?¡± Raymond deliberately asked.


    Xiao Lin put down his chopsticks. He looked at the American leader seriously for the first time. He did not speak. Since Raymond had brought it up, it would either be because Raymond had some request, or was trying to prove something. However, Xiao Lin was still apprehensive about Raymond. Even though he hated Li Cheng, it was still an internal matter in the end.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s reaction disappointed Raymond a little. He used the napkin to wipe his mouth, seemingly wanting to end that boring dinner. He lowered his voice, even though he knew that it was useless. There were many ways for someone to eavesdrop on them.


    ¡°Xiao, you¡¯re clearly the year leader for your grade. Actually, elites like us will naturally know more than others. However, because our position is still too low, we¡¯re usually thest to find out about these things. Even though wee from different countries, we only have one status on Norma: humans. So, if there¡¯s anything in the future, we shouldmunicate more!¡±


    After that, Raymond left a piece of paper on the table before standing up to leave. Xiao Lin nced at it, and on it was a string of numbers. It was obvious that it was Raymond¡¯s private contact. He hesitated for a moment before putting the paper into his pocket.


    Xiao Lin still did not know if the American had good intentions or otherwise, but Raymond was right about one thing: they really did need to exchange more information.


    Since the new dean had restricted Xiao Lin from entering the New World, then he should justmunicate more with those from other academies. No matter how powerful the new dean was, there was no way for the new dean to control the other academies.

 Chapter 675 - Advancing To The Semi Finals

    <h4>Chapter 675: Advancing To The Semi Finals</h4>


    After losing that important match to the Judge Academy, Dawn Academy was even with the Americans on the standings. In the Japanese match after, they won again. Xiao Lin¡¯s performance was still very ordinary, but thanks to them being the hosts and the Japanese academy not being exceptionally skilled, they won a hard fought victory.


    After that, the final away match saw them go against the Turkish academy. Dawn Academy once again fumbled the bag, and they lost to the Turkish academy.


    The match caused a lot of the spectators to voice their dissatisfaction, and they suspected the skill of the so-called elite first-years. That was because the Turkish academy had actually been very weak during that match, especially because the necromancer leader, Said, did not make an appearance. On top of that, the Turkish academy had already been relegated, so the whole team actually adopted a vacationing attitude.


    Even so, the Turkish still won.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s performance affected the whole team again. On top of that, their teamwork was not as good as their opponents, so they lost in the team battles.


    The group stages of the tournament finally ended. Based on their position in the group rounds, Dawn Academy still advanced to the semi finals after losing two rounds. In truth, the student union and Dawn Academy¡¯s upper management had not been that confident in the tournament. After all, their best results in recent years had all been making the top four, and sometimes they did not even advance past the group stages.


    So, the result might not have been great, but it still was not too disappointing. It was only that, after the group stages concluded, the academy¡¯s forums were filled with arge amount of mocking.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if we lose to Judge Academy; after all, they are regarded as the best academy. However, losing to the Turkish was too embarrassing!¡±


    ¡°I watched the match against the Turkish. The Turkish were very weak. Their leader didn¡¯t even make an appearance. They were obviously throwing the match. How could we have lost that!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beginning to wonder how the elites were chosen.¡±


    ¡°It was probably all nepotism! Especially that one called Xiao Lin. Do you all know how many sses he¡¯s missed? Can you imagine how someone like that was chosen, and even named the leader?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin? He seemed pretty decent during the first round against Judge Academy. I heard that he was very good at medicinal studies.¡±


    ¡°He was just lucky!¡±


    ¡­


    Discussions like that popped up in every corner. Comparatively, Dawn Academy¡¯s first win against Judge Academy had turned into them just being lucky that the Americans were throwing the match. That was because, to a lot of them, they could ept losing to Judge Academy, but they could not handle losing to the Turkish.


    To those who knew about the past results of Dawn Academy, they felt that Dawn Academy would only be able to get to the top four.


    Among the top four, other than Dawn Academy and Judge Academy, the other two teams that advanced were the Royal British Academy and the Russian Voyna Akademiya. Dawn Academy¡¯s opponents would be the Royal British Academy.


    As one of the original academies, the British also had their glorious points in history. Even though they had been slowly overtaken by Judge Academyter on, the British still had a stronger foundation than Dawn Academy. Their skills were also better, and their overall strength had always exceeded Dawn Academy¡¯s.


    ¡°Basically, you shouldn¡¯t burden yourself too much. No matter what the final result is, we¡¯re all prepared for it.¡± The student union president had called Xiao Lin over for some words of encouragement. He knew why Xiao Lin had been so depressed, but there were some things that he could not say. As the president, his responsibilities were limited to the academy; outside of it, he was nothing


    ¡°Other than that, each round from now on will be a must-win. There won¡¯t be anymore home and away matches, and all the matches will be held in the New World. In the New World, Yu Mei will be in charge of all of you, so you can look for her if you have any issues.


    ¡°Also, please fill in these forms. Department Head Song asked me to hand them to you, but he¡¯s been away for thest two days.¡±


    The well-mannered president had said so much in one go, but Xiao Lin did not react that much. However, he was slightly stunned when he saw the forms. They were application forms, and the forms were called student parent registration forms. The contents asked for his parents¡¯ overall situation, such as education, upation, age, and health.


    It was a very ordinary form, but it caused Xiao Lin to think of something. After mulling over it, he sighed and asked, ¡°Is this all necessary?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t something we can change. It¡¯s something that has been in the works for a long time, and has been fermenting in recent years. We can all only ept the reality that ising.¡± The president¡¯s words were very vague, but he knew that Xiao Lin could understand.


    Xiao Lin did understand. What was happening on Earth, or what would be happening, was something incredibly shocking for him, but it was not to some other people. Those of them who had been in the colonies for years, or maybe even decades or centuries, had either already started to forget about Earth, or were already mentally prepared. They might have some dissatisfaction toward the notion, but it was notpletely uneptable.


    Xiao Lin did not continue speaking, and quietly filled in the form. He knew that this was Song Jung¡¯s promise to him, bringing his parents to the New World. Of course, he knew as well that he would not be the only person who filled up that form. However, to those of them who were not prepared, what wasing was going to be a disaster.


    However, Xiao Lin held back, and did not hand it the form immediately. He brought back a few more to the dormitory. The president knew what he was doing, and silently epted it, but before Xiao Lin left he added, ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it too much. Even though a lot of people won¡¯t be able to stop it, at least we can save something. I can¡¯t speak of anything else, but I can at least guarantee that the core academies will be able to have some assurances.¡±


    A few days after Xiao Lin received the forms, a lot of the monitors received them as well. They did not know what it meant, and no one provided them with any exnations, so they only obediently filled the forms in.


    If Earth was really going to be faced with destruction, then those forms were the final ticket to Norma. Only, before that day came, other than a very small number, most of the students did not know the value of those tickets.


    Xiao Lin naturally did not go around talking too much, but he still looked for Gu Xiaoyue, Cheng Ming, and the others, and repeatedly told them that they had to earnestly fill in those forms.


    It might be due to his poor performance in the past few matches, but Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s expression was not great. However, that intelligent girl did not me Xiao Lin for it. After being kidnapped by Li Cheng, Gu Xiaoyue also realized something. Even though she did not tell Xiao Lin, Xiao Lin had guessed it as well.


    Gu Xiaoyue filled in the form with aplicated feeling. Her only rtive was Gu Chengyun, but the woman¡¯s legs were disabled. The New World required a lot of physical activity, and even Xiao Lin wondered if the girl would be able to adapt.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s worries were not limited to that; filling in the form might mean that she was throwing her sister into a dangerousnd, but if she did not, she might just be sentencing her to death.


    They were two difficult choices, but if Gu Chengyun¡¯s legs could be cured, it might allow the girl to adapt better.


    Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s dilemma finally caused Xiao Lin to push his thoughts and problems to the back of his mind. No matter what, winning this tournament and obtaining the final prize was incredibly important to Gu Chengyun, so he had to win.

 Chapter 676 - Incident During The Semi Finals

    <h4>Chapter 676: ?Incident During The Semi Finals</h4>


    The date for the semi finals were quickly decided. It was a weekend half a monthter. For the sake of fairness, the semi finals would be arranged in a mutual location. This time, Dawn Academy¡¯s semi finals were to be held in a graveyard over a hundred kilometers away from their colonies territories.


    Under the student union¡¯s efficient workings, various documents of information regarding the graveyard were quickly sent to Xiao Lin and the other participants. The graveyard was a site left behind by the war between Dawn Academy and the orcs. Back then, the orcs had used it for weapon storage, and storedrge amounts of weapons and armor there. After that, Dawn Academy had sent an elite squad over for a sneak attack, but stumbled upon the main shamanic force of the orcs. The two sides spent many days in intense battle, and Dawn Academy finally won.


    After the battle, due to how far away the location was to Dawn Academy, as well as how deste the surroundings were ¨C as they were devoid of any natural resources ¨C it was quickly abandoned. The souls of the orcs who died there remained, and due to some special reasons, the death energy there was exceptionally thick. Normal folk had no way of entering, so after a long time, the entire ce became a wastnd.


    ¡°Basically, this ce is very dangerous, but to us, the danger is limited.¡± In the meeting room, Xiao Lin gave his analysis.


    ¡°Based on my understanding, there will be quite a few undead spirits around, but there should not be too many, and their level should not be that high. It will be an annoyance to us, but that is the limit of it. Honestly, this ce is quite suited for the semi finals.¡± Cheng Ming voiced his thoughts.


    ¡°The undead spirits are probably NPC-like existences, but you might be able to use them against the British,¡± the gaming addict Chen Dao said.


    ¡°Use the spirits? Do you know necromancy?¡± Han Manman said with some scorn. The woman never liked Chen Dao, nor did she really like anybody.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just giving an example,¡± Chen Dao retorted.


    Xiao Lin motioned for them to stop. As the leader, he stopped any conflicts that might escte, and made sure they focused the discussion on the tournament. Ever since he assumed the position of leader, he was slowly understanding how to lead.


    ¡°How about information on the British?¡±


    ¡°Regretfully, it¡¯s quitecking. The British were quite good with concealing their information, and our Intelligence Department failed to get much.¡±


    ¡°The British are one of the core colonial territories, so they should be very strong.¡±


    ¡°They should have S-ranks.¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    ¡­


    The preparations for the match went on in full swing. All of them knew that the Royal British Academy would not be at the level of any of their opponents in the group stages. They might even be able to rival the American Judge Academy. None of them dared to underestimate the British.


    Xiao Lin and the others headed to Dawn City around two days before the match. After that, they sat infortable unicorn carriages, and were sent to the graveyard with special escorts.


    Based on the rules, uninvolved personnel could only be stationed outside a certain area. However, both academies had arranged for some guards with very strong perception skills to be stationed nearby. If any incidents did happen, they would decide if interference was necessary. Just like Xiao Lin had said, the graveyard might be a troublesome ce, but the undead spirits were not particrly strong. Dealing with them would not be too hard.


    ¡°Then, the match will officially start!¡±


    It was different from the group stages. The two sides did not get a chance to meet each other before the match started. Both the academies were arranged to enter from twopletely different entrances. After that, the participants would have to rely on themselves. Dawn Academy¡¯s roster was Xiao Lin, Gu Xiaoyue, Chen Dao, Cheng Ming, and An Luo; it was considered their strongest formation.


    The fully armored party entered from the East. Chen Dao shot out a few fire spells, lighting up everyone¡¯s torches. However, the smell of rot in the graveyard was very hard for everyone to bear, but thankfully Xiao Lin had prepared for it. He quickly passed everyone a bottle of Holy Light potion. Recently, Xiao Lin had spent some effort in creating potions as well, and his level when it came to that improved by quite a bit.


    Fights quickly broke out.


    Those orc spirits had rotting bodies, and empty holes for eyes. They waved weapons around that were full of rust and rushed at Xiao Lin and the others.


    ¡°Careful, their weapons are all poisoned! Attack from a distance!¡± Xiao Lin ordered decisively. Other than Cheng Ming, this time, the rest of them were all long-ranged attackers. It was done in consideration of the fact that long-ranged attacks would be safer in a ce like a graveyard.


    Under the intense firepower of the team, the spirits seemed incredibly weak.


    The team continued to venture in. They all brought maps of the graveyard with them, but the maps were all from decades ago. After half an hour, other than the unending number of spirits and zombies, they did not encounter anyone from the Royal British Academy.


    Xiao Lin started to get suspicious. He had seen the map before, and the graveyard was not thatrge. Based on their rate of advancement, unless the British did not move at all from the start, they would definitely have met.


    Was it a trap by the British?


    ¡­


    Seemingly at the same time, a few kilometers away from the graveyard, a few Caucasians were conversing with those from Dawn City in broken Mandarin.


    ¡°The tournament needs to stop! All of you should feel it as well. Our students¡¯ auras disappeared half an hour ago!¡±


    ¡°NO! NO! NO! Don¡¯t talk to me about some bullsh*t tournament rules. They can go to hell! The auras that disappeared don¡¯t belong to your students!¡±


    ¡°You should be able to feel it as well right now. A terrifying aura is rapidly heading this way!¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°What kind of fog is this!¡±


    ¡°Everyone, retreat!¡±


    ¡­


    After an intense argument and a lot of panic, Dawn Academy and Royal Academy¡¯s people started to rapidly retreat. They only stopped after reaching a few dozen kilometers away. In front of their eyes, the whole graveyard had beenpletely enveloped in a fog that had mysteriously appeared. The fog contained an unbelievable amount of death energy. As strong as they were, even they did not dare to casually walk inside.


    All of their expressions sank because it was not the first time they had seen that kind of fog. Back then, in Wildfire Town, Xiao Lin and Lilith had also been trapped in a fog like that. They had also found out that it was Asabanor¡¯s doing, so the one behind this was quite obvious.


    ¡°The tournament is over! Everyone, save the students!¡±


    The two academies finally reached a consensus, but the fog was expanding faster than they expected. High-level spirits started to appear from the fog, obstructing the advance of the rescue team.


    Yet, Xiao Lin and the others inside did not know what was happening at all.

 Chapter 677 - Blood Moon

    <h4>Chapter 677: ?Blood Moon</h4>


    Meanwhile, on Earth¡­


    It was the middle of Winter. A big snowstorm that just stopped caused many cities to be covered in thickyers of snow. Night had just fallen, and the snowy moonlit night was exceptionally quiet.


    A massive telescope stood quietly on a mountaintop. It was from Dawn Academy¡¯s Earth Division. In the spacious yet somewhat chaotic office, the lights were on and smoke could be seen.


    ¡°Mr. Mao, have you forgotten to take your pills? Why did you suddenly ask us to spend the night on overtime?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s the weekend today, and the weather is so cold. You know as well that our air-conditioning has been broken for a long time. We¡¯ll freeze to death if we spend the night here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worse for me. I had a date scheduled with my girlfriend, and an order sheet summoned me back.¡±


    ¡­


    Theints in the office did not stop. As Dawn Academy¡¯s Earth Division, the department was registered as an observatory in name, but the actual use was to provide benefits to the outbound students during the holidays every year, or to assist in recruitment. Basically, it was a ce for menial tasks that did not require much skill.


    The staff here knew as well that they were basically there to retire. Even though it was hard for them to continue with their training on Earth, they could enjoy a very high pay and a peaceful life on Earth.


    No one expected that the Earth Division, which had never worked a single hour of overtime, would suddenly receive an order from the dean of Dawn Academy, assembling all the members that night to wait for further orders!


    The order did not make sense. To those of them who were merely ordinary members that were only at Bronze-rank in skill, they could not grasp the meaning behind it, and so they could onlyin to their superior, Mao Tianying.


    As the division head, Mao Tianying was also assigned menial tasks normally, but his tasks and the people he interacted with set him apart from everyone else. However, he was extremely frustrated at the fragmented and iplete information he had.


    The ashtray in front of Mao Tianying was already full, and was emitting smoke. He narrowed his eyes, seemingly thinking about something. On his desk was a freshly printed document, and on the document were a fewrge words: ¡®There will be a super blood moon tonight that is rarely visible, even once a century.¡¯


    The document actually did not have any secrets, and it was actually just a lunar eclipse. Blood moons happened because Earth¡¯s atmosphere reflected and refracted the sunlight, causing the sun¡¯s red ultraviolet rays to hit the moon more intensely, which gave the appearance for a red moon.


    It was an incredibly normal astrological event; it was just that the few variables very rarely coincided, and it had not happened for around 150 years. Because of that, it caused a lot of attention all around the world, but all of that was definitely not something Dawn Academy¡¯s Earth Division would ce any importance on!


    ¡®Curse the main division! Why are they being so tightlipped this time?!¡¯


    Mao Tianying cursed in his heart as he frowned deeply. He did not know whether it was because of the mor in the office or the feeling of uneasiness for what was toe. He finally let out a breath, deciding to do something. He straightened his body, rapped his fingers on the table, and the office quieted down.


    Mao Tianying was still the person in charge of the Earth Division. Without anyone higher up being sent in by Dawn Academy, he was in charge of everything on Earth.


    ¡°Little Li, open up the telescope,¡± Mao Tianying said calmly.


    ¡°What?¡± Little Li was a middle-aged woman, and she was confused at the order, so she asked, ¡°Mr. Li, aren¡¯t the orders for us to await orders tonight? How could you still be in the mood to watch the eclipse?¡± It was a super lunar eclipse that only happened once every 150 years, so it was no big news. Everyone already knew about it, but no one would have tied that news with the special orders they received that night together.


    Mao Tianying was usually an even-tempered man. After all, he sat in an awkward position without any actual power. He knew that he had to be more humble, so he never minded being questioned by his subordinates usually, but that night, he felt incredibly frustrated.


    Mao Tianying definitely knew a lot more, such as the fact that Xiao Lin had encountered a blood moon in New Washington before, and had disappeared in Judge Academy for a period of time. That news was considered a secret, but Mao Tianying naturally had his own sources of information. Even though he did not know the details, even though it happened in the New World, it was still not that long ago, and now Earth was about to have its own blood moon.


    Mao Tianying might not be that capable, but he felt that the two incidents could not possibly be unrted.


    However, what was it?


    The division head got more and more frustrated, and his tone was impatient. ¡°Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m still the division head. We are working now, so you just need to follow my orders!¡±


    The office fellpletely silent, and the woman from earlier could also feel Mao Tianying¡¯s nervousness. Everyone exchanged looks and they started to feel like something was wrong. The atmosphere seemed to be much heavier instantly. The others dropped their conversations and cigarettes, and sat back in their ces.


    Their work rate had increased by a lot because of that, and very quickly, the observatory regained its original purpose. Therge telescope activated, and the lens shifted toward the bright and round moon in the sky. At that same moment, there were also countless telescopes on Earth aimed at that rare sight.


    Mao Tianying¡¯s eyes were fixed on the moon on the screen. Under the enhancement of the telescope, he could even clearly see the craters on the moon. He looked at his watch, and in another half an hour, the eclipse would start.


    ¡°I hope nothing goes wrong,¡± Mao Tianying mumbled.


    ¡­


    In the New World, at the old war site far away from Dawn Academy, at the deserted graveyard which was the location of the tournament semi finals, Dawn Academy was facing the Royal British Academy¡­


    ¡°I hope nothing goes wrong!¡± Xiao Lin told his team behind him with some worry. It had already been a few hours since they went into the graveyard, but other than the endless tide of undead spirits, they still had yet to meet anyone from the Royal British Academy, which gave him an uneasy feeling.


    Outside the graveyard, the mysterious fog had alreadypletely enveloped the graveyard. Dawn Academy and Royal British Academy¡¯s people were forced to work together to handle various high-ranked undead spirits as they awaited reinforcements.


    Xiao Lin still did not know any of that.

 Chapter 678 - Trapped In The Grave

    <h4>Chapter 678: Trapped In The Grave</h4>


    ¡°No, there¡¯s still no reaction,¡± Gu Xiaoyue shook her head and said. Her furrowed brows revealed her exhaustion. Her mental strength was exceptional, and she was the support, so the task of scouting had naturally been assigned to her.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong.¡± Cheng Ming was worried as well. ¡°With Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s perception, it¡¯s impossible for us to not have found anything after walking around for so long.¡±


    ¡°Could the opponent have some special skill to avoid her perception?¡± An Luo said with some apprehension. Even though they were all monitors, An Luo was obviously the weakest among them. However, An Luo knew very well that he had been chosen by Xiao Lin because he was the only one specialized in archery among the monitors, so he rarely interfered in group decisions.


    ¡°Who cares what tricks they have. We will be the ones to win!¡± Chen Dao said, toozy to think too much. In truth, after entering the grave, most of the undead spirits had been killed by Chen Dao. As a mage with an incredibly high talent for fire magic, his skills had not been affected at all in such a dark and sinister ce filled with death energy.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, do you have any ideas? Why don¡¯t you share it with us?¡± Xiao Lin said encouragingly. He was the leader, but most of his focus was still on Gu Xiaoyue, so he could tell that the reserved woman seemed to have something she was refraining from talking about.


    Gu Xiaoyue shrugged at Xiao Lin¡¯s encouragement, pushing up her sses as she said, ¡°With my current level of perception, it¡¯s not impossible to avoid itpletely, but that would only be possible for someone at the level of a professor or at least an upper-year student. I don¡¯t believe that anyone can do that from our year, no matter what academy they¡¯re from.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue red at Xiao Lin as if he was an idiot, continuing, ¡°So, after eliminating all other possibilities, the remaining possibility, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.¡±


    ¡°Hey, can the two of you stop with the lovers¡¯ quarreling and get to the point?¡± Chen Dao said, obviously having some troubleprehending it. At the same time, he shot another fire spell at an undead beast, burning it to a crisp.


    Xiao Lin nodded, bitterly smiling as he said, ¡°I understand what Gu Xiaoyue is saying. However, it¡¯s really hard to believe what you¡¯re saying. Since the opponents can¡¯t possiblypletely avoid your perception, and we haven¡¯t met them, there are only two possibilities. Either they¡¯ve left the graveyard, or they¡¯ve all already died.¡±


    Xiao Lin hesitated before saying thosest words. Other than Gu Xiaoyue, the others were taken aback by the probability of it all.


    ¡°We might not know the representatives from the Royal British Academy, but the fact that they¡¯ve made it to the top four means their skills are exceptional. It¡¯s too impossible for them to have been easily killed off by the spirits in the graveyard,¡± Cheng Ming said. His assessment was also agreed upon by Chen Dao and An Luo, and it was quite a reasonable view.


    Gu Xiaoyue remained silent. She merely voiced out the possibilities. As for how they would assess it and if they would believe it, that was Xiao Lin¡¯s responsibility. She would not interfere.


    Xiao Lin frowned as he fell silent. He had obviously thought of Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s suspicions as well. He did not think that the Royal British Academy would have been killed off by merely undead spirits. Even if they did not ce much importance on the tournament, it would be too much of a joke for them to be eliminated so easily after making the top four.


    ¡°What reason would they have to resign from thepetition? Could they be sick or unwell? Maybe they¡¯ve been poisoned somehow. However, based on the rules of the tournament, once a side gives up, the other side would obviously win, so we should have received a notification of our win,¡± An Luo said again.


    Normally there would be some professors with high levels of perception stationed outside the tournament venue who would be in charge ofmunication. They would usually have some sort of skill that enables long-distancemunication in order to make sure they could contact the students if there were any unexpected circumstances. However, it was obvious that Xiao Lin and the others had not received any orders from the start.


    Xiao Lin and the others had ugly expressions on their faces. Even the intellectually stunted Chen Dao realized that the situation might not be as simple as they thought.


    ¡°I think we should retrace our original route,¡± Xiao Lin finally decided, looking at Gu Xiaoyue as he said so. Seeing her not react at all, he continued, ¡°We can¡¯t take any risks. I think this tournament might have some circumstances outside of our levels.¡±


    Since the leader had made a decision, the others naturally had nothing to voice against it.


    The route back was much easier. The graveyard had been the location of a battle between the orcs and Dawn Academy a long time ago. When they came to it, they had already eliminated most of the spirits, so the speed of which they returned had increased by quite a lot.


    However, for safety¡¯s sake, Xiao Lin still asked for the team to move while maintaining the state of alertness they had before. Cheng Ming was in charge of staying up front in order to protect An Luo, Gu Xiaoyue, and Chen Dao. Meanwhile Xiao Lin stayed at the back. No matter what happened, they would have enough time to react.


    Time passed by the way it always did.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right.¡± Cheng Ming suddenly stopped as he turned around with some suspicion. Looking at the others, he said, ¡°Have I gotten the route wrong?¡±


    There were no watches allowed there, but everyone could already grasp the time somewhat. They took about half an hour to enter, but their way back had already taken an hour, and yet they still had not seen the gate.


    Cheng Ming felt a bit ashamed and upset, as he was the one leading the way; he naturally felt that it was his mistake. The graveyard had formerly been an orc weapon depot, so its construction was very crude, and there were not many detours. They had made plenty of marks as they passed by key roads in order to prevent themselves from being lost. Furthermore, everyone had a map.


    ¡°No, you did not.¡± Xiao Lin, who had been walking behind, sighed before pointing not too far away. In a corner that was filled with spiderwebs, a few white bones were still lit with fire.


    ¡°That was a mark I made before this, and I¡¯ve already seen it three times.¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s words caused everyone to reveal curious expressions.


    ¡°Do you mean we¡¯ve encountered a ghostly wall?¡± Chen Dao said with a strange expression.


    Xiao Lin red at that dumb guy, but thinking about it in detail, the graveyard was indeed filled with ghosts from a foreign world. Could they really have been toyed with by ghosts?


    It was only that they were not sure if it was the work of the British or something inherent to the graveyard.


    Suddenly, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s voice was heard again. ¡°Have all of you felt like, from earlier on, our connection with the resurrection towers has been disrupted?¡±


    Her words shocked everyone!


    All of them felt like cold water had been sshed on them!

 Chapter 679 - Trapped In The Grave (2)

    <h4>Chapter 679: ?Trapped In The Grave (2)</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s perception might not have been as high as Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s, but his overall attributes were higher. Furthermore, he was the one with the most experience in the New World out of all of them, and had interacted with resurrection towers the most. He did not feel it earlier, but immediately closed his eyes to feel it after Gu Xiaoyue said that she no longer sensed it.


    After a few minutes, Xiao Lin opened his eyes again with an ugly expression on his face.


    The others got the final answer from Xiao Lin¡¯s face, and all of their faces turned dark. Even Chen Dao, who had been so optimistic, did not seem to have anything to say.


    In the end, was the main reason they dared to venture into the New World without any worries because they could resurrect themselves through the resurrection towers?


    ¡°How is this possible? I¡¯ve never heard of the resurrection towers losing their effects.¡±


    ¡°Could it be the British folk being up to something?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t Lifewaterponentse from the British colonies?¡±


    Cheng Ming and An Luo started to think up all sorts of possibilities in their panic. They might not have been dumb, but they rarely interacted with the New World and did not have much information. There were many secrets that even those in the New World did not have the possibility of knowing without being at a certain rank, let alone students in the academy.


    However, Xiao Lin coincidentally knew a lot, the reason being that he was one of the people who had experienced it himself, the other being the powerful demon of Judge Academy, Lilith.


    Back then, Xiao Lin and Lilith had been surrounded by a mysterious fog in Wildfire Town, and they had witnessed the resurrection towers being corrupted. This was definitely Asabanor¡¯s doing. That high priest from a fallen country refused to die. Even though there had not been news about him for a long time, Xiao Lin believed that the guy would not rest so easily.


    Xiao Lin did not expect that Asabanor would make a move on him and the British opponents during the semi finals, but he still had a head full of questions.


    Asabanor was an incredibly hard opponent to deal with, and he had a very deep seated grudge. However, that grudge he had was targeted at the colonists and the academies. Song Jung had consoled Xiao Lin before, asking Xiao Lin to not worry too much because the various academies would definitely work together to deal with Asabanor.


    Xiao Lin had naturally rxed after that. After all, he was only a first-year student, so these kinds of matters were far above what he could do.


    However, the problem still fell back to him despite that.


    After going into this deep state of thought, Xiao Lin sighed and told everyone apologetically, ¡°I think I¡¯ve dragged all of you into this, so I¡¯m sorry. I suspect the opponent is after me. I think that the British have already been dragged into this as well, I¡­¡± He could more or less guess why Asabanor was targeting him. It was not because of who he was, but probably because he had an SS-rank talent, which was already enough to cause the whole world to go crazy.


    ¡°What are you saying?! We are friends, and I¡¯m not someone who would ignore a friend in need!¡± Chen Ming interrupted Xiao Lin¡¯s words, patting his shoulder. That north easterner¡¯s straightforward attitude dispelled a bit of the heavy atmosphere.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Stop saying you¡¯ve dragged us into this. You¡¯ve helped us quite a lot before this. I¡¯m not someone who doesn¡¯t repay favors!¡± Chen Dao recovered his usual demeanor.


    ¡°You are our year leader.¡± An Luo¡¯s words were much simpler, but the meaning was clear. At that moment, he was willing to listen to Xiao Lin¡¯s orders without any conditions.


    ¡°You are the leader of this temporary team. If you¡¯re not confident, then we won¡¯t ever make it out of this.¡± Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s tone was still cold, but in her brilliant eyes, a rare apologetic and tender sh could be seen. She knew that Xiao Lin worked so hard in this tournament for her sake because she wanted the final reward to cure her sister¡¯s ailment.


    Xiao Lin was touched, and his eyes circled all of them. He only saw trust on their faces. Xiao Lin took a deep breath, swallowing the words he was about to say. That was right, it was not the time to wallow in misery, nor was it the time to give up.


    So what if the British have all died? So what if there were no resurrection towers? So what if their opponent was the crazed and cunning Asabanor?!


    Even if it was not for himself, for the sake of hispanions who trusted him, Xiao Lin would get them out of the graveyard and back to Dawn Academy, no matter what!


    Xiao Lin had already faced Asabanor a few times. Putting aside their skill, he understood his opponent¡¯s personality. That undying predator was currently operating without them having any information, so they were at a disadvantage.


    ¡°We can¡¯t be walking around blindly anymore. Even though I don¡¯t know what our opponent has done, if he¡¯s so confidently sealing us, then I believe that we won¡¯t be able to leave easily with our current skills. Compared to us so casually wasting our energy, why don¡¯t we face this change by not changing!¡± After a short time thinking about it, Xiao Lin quickly made his decision.


    That decision was agreed on by everyone, and it was definitely the most appropriate one. In truth, everyone already expended quite a bit of energy so far, especially Chen Dao, who had defeated most of their opponents. His mental fatigue had umted quite a bit.


    Xiao Lin and the others quickly turned around, finding an empty weapon storage location before starting to rest. Before this match, they had been allowed to bring in some basic restorative medicines, and they did not bother to save any. All of them started to use what they had, trying to recover to their best states.


    Xiao Lin had not expended that much, so while the others were resting, he kept watch. There were three ways into that weapon depot. Even though he had already lit up each entrance with mes, temporarily chasing away the darkness and cold, under the influence of death energy, the mes were not very stable, and seemed to flicker.


    They had chosen this ce because of the possibility of danger. It would allow them to escape through another route at any time. They were facing an unknown opponent, so they did not think that making a move so waywardly was a good idea.


    During that period, Xiao Lin hadposed himself and told the others about Asabanor. Even though this was a secret that was not allowed to be told to anyone other than the higher-ups of the academy, Xiao Lin would naturally not adhere to that rule with the current situation. Furthermore, after the dean changed, Xiao Lin still had a deep-seated mistrust toward the current dean of the academy.


    He did not want to ce his fate in someone else¡¯s hands. Even though he was still very weak, Xiao Lin still needed to work to grasp his own fate.

 Chapter 680 - Trapped In The Grave (3)

    <h4>Chapter 680: Trapped In The Grave (3)</h4>


    They rested for about half an hour. That time frame had not been enough for everyone to recover to their peak, especially Chen Dao who had expended more energy. However, it was obvious that their foe hiding in the dark did not n on giving them the chance to rest anymore.


    ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± Xiao Lin shouted in a low voice. Sword aura started to form on his de as he sent out a strong me. With a power Gu Xiaoyue had given him, it had immediately covered all three entrances, and the heat had only dispersed the coldness in the air.


    Boom!


    They heard a wail amongst the explosion which caused Xiao Lin to break out in cold sweat. He was someone who was experienced in fighting the undead, and could make out the cry of a banshee. That was considered an upper-middle ranked undead. If they had closed in, then An Luo and Cheng Ming, who had lower levels of perception, might have fallen to them.


    ¡°Damn! Why are there such high-leveled undead here?!¡± Chen Dao¡¯s perception had also sensed the danger. He had been prepared to attack, but was stopped by Xiao Lin. Wasting his mental strength at that point was not a smart choice.


    More undead started to run in through the entrances. It was different from those unintelligent, zombie-like basic undead that they had faced before. In front of them were undead that were at the level of at least Bronze to Silver rank. Other than banshees, there were also ck nights and high-ranked skeletal soldiers and mages.


    The appearance of long-ranged magical attacks caused Xiao Lin and the others to have an even harder time defending themselves. Their current abilities could not hold back to many undead.


    ¡°There¡¯s one passage without any undead!¡± Cheng Ming had a shield in front of him and was basically the tank of the team.


    The others were silent for a long time. They had obviously seen it. There were three entrances to the weapon depot. Even though the undead surged in, the strange thing was that they only used two of the passages. Thest one waspletely empty, but it was quiet enough to cause them to shudder.


    It was obviously an escape route intentionally left for them, but the question was if Asabanor would really be so kind. Even the others who did not understand Asabanor¡¯s personality knew that there would not be something so easy.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a trap!¡± Chen Dao said.


    Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes behind Chen Dao. The guy was speaking the obvious; even an idiot could guess that. The final passage was definitely not as safe as it looked.


    ¡°But it seems like it¡¯s our only choice!¡± Xiao Lin said bitterly.


    For the moment, the weapon depot was still safe. The monitors were all already at least at Bronze rank, and all of them had shocking talents. On top of their amazing teamwork and Gu Xiaoyue as the core, Chen Dao and An Luo provided cover from long range and Xiao Lin covered for any blind spots. They had no openings.


    Their formation, even when faced with so many high-ranked undead, quickly stabilized after the initial chaos. They still showed very high levels of ability, and had slowly controlled the situation. The only ones that could actually get close to them were the ck knights that were incredibly strong in terms of defensive capabilities.


    Cheng Ming would only have to stall the ck knights for a few seconds at most, and Xiao Lin would use Miracle, shifting his attributes to strength to kill off the ck knights.


    However, their expressions did not improve. All of them knew that it was not a good idea to hold off such an army with just the five of them. No one knew how many undead there were, and the moment they expended all their strength, the formation would crumble.


    They could only retreat.


    They had to use that final passage Asabanor had left for them and plunge into the trap voluntarily!


    ¡°Asabanor really is cunning!¡± Gu Xiaoyue said. Being as smart as she was, she immediately saw their opponent¡¯s goal.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± Xiao Lin decisively made the decision as the leader. Since Asabanor had set up a death trap, then he would break through that death trap.


    Since Xiao Lin had made the decision, the others chose to follow. Even though An Luo still seemed a little uncertain, they all knew that they had to be united at that moment. Even if it was the wrong decision, they still had tomit to it.


    They were fighting against time.


    The team went through that empty entrance based on their earlier formation. Xiao Lin still remained at the back, but just like they had expected, after all of them entered the passage, the undead behind them seemed to have received orders, and immediately stopped chasing them. They were retreating in waves.


    Of course, Xiao Lin understood that, if they went back at that moment, the undead would definitely return.


    They were much more rxed without the undead chasing after them, and could not help but slow down their speed. After all, the battle earlier might not have been long, but it had still been at quite a high level. Even Xiao Lin had been forced to use Miracle and Ruin, let alone the others.


    ¡°Don¡¯t slow down!¡± Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows from behind them.


    Behind him, he could see in the dim light that the fog was slowly creeping toward them. Even though the speed was not quick, and it was as if it was deliberately controlled, there was no doubt that they would be enveloped in the fog within half an hour if they slowed down.


    ¡°What is that fog?¡± Cheng Ming asked. The others noticed something was wrong as well, but no one knew what that dense fog was.


    Chen Dao even tried to go closer to see, but Xiao Lin immediately stopped him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t touch it. It will probably have a very strong decaying effect that we can¡¯t deal with right now.¡± Xiao Lin shook his head, thinking about the fog that he had encountered with Lilith in Wildfire Town. He even spected that the resurrection towers losing their effectiveness might very well be rted to it. Even though he was not certain, he would not take the risk.


    Everyone could guess that Asabanor was using that method to force them to keep going, unable to retreat. No one knew what awaited them at the end of that long passage.

 Chapter 681 - Asabanor’s Reappearance

    <h4>Chapter 681: Asabanor¡¯s Reappearance</h4>


    The further they walked in the passage, the dimmer it became. The surrounding temperature was also constantly dropping. It was still Spring in the New World, so the temperature was not high, but it would absolutely not drop to that degree.


    After Chen Dao coughed a few times, heined again, ¡°I remember that the New World should at least be over ten degrees right now, so why is it so cold?¡±


    ¡°Because of all of the death energy,¡± Xiao Lin said. He was more sensitive toward death energy than the others, and his eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper because of it. Death energy was an incredibly cold and sinister energy, and the waves of undead had already caused him to realize something. Normally, being able to summon an undead army of such a scale meant that there would definitely be an incredibly dense death energy nearby.


    However, the grave was a venue both the British and Dawn Academy had chosen, which meant that the high-ranking members of both sides had repeatedly made sure that it would not exceed the level of danger that the students could handle.


    What had Asabanor done to the grave?


    Everyone had a dark shadow looming over their hearts because they had already verified that the resurrection tower had lost its effects. No one wanted to die because of that.


    Thankfully, the undead army had stopped appearing behind them, but that mysterious fog was speeding up. Xiao Lin knew that Asabanor had probably gotten impatient, and was using that to urge them forward.


    Even though they were frustrated, they could only increase their speed.


    Time seemed to slow down. Even though they had nothing like a watch, everyone could feel that they had already been walking around in that narrow, cold and dark corridor for too long.


    ¡°Is it an illusion?¡± Cheng Ming frowned.


    ¡°No.¡± Xiao Lin shook his head.


    ¡°It might be a feat of time or space magic, bending time or space to change the location. No, that¡¯s not right. Space and time magic would cause very strong fluctuations in space and time, and no matter what, the ce we¡¯re in is still a graveyard. With my perception, I would definitely be able to feel it,¡± Gu Xiaoyue mumbled, but quickly fell deep in thought. Even if she was quite intelligent, the situation in front of them had still exceeded her scope of understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s astrology! It¡¯s an astrology spell!¡± Xiao Lin might not understand it that much, but Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s words caused him to think of something. He remembered something Song Jung had told him before: that Asabanor was a famous Astrologian, and that profession was equal to an astronomer on earth.


    ¡°What does that have anything to do with our situation?¡± Chen Dao asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know.¡± Xiao Lin continued shaking his head. He felt like he was missing something, but he had way too little information. Ever since the new dean was appointed, there were too many restrictions on him, so he did not know as much as he used to know.


    ¡°Basically, we should just continue moving forward!¡± Chen Dao gave his conclusion helplessly.


    That was fine; there was no need forplicated thoughts at that point.


    The end of the passage would probably just end up with a battle. No matter what plots the opponent had, as long as they won, everyone would be able to leave!


    Xiao Lin forced the doubts in his mind aside, and once again focused himself. He could not afford to be distracted at all. Even though Xiao Lin was just Bronze-ranked, he still had his own trump cards. Furthermore, with the information he had, Asabanor wasa still just in a spirit state after leaving the blood moon, and his powers were limited.


    If they faced off, Xiao Lin was confident that he could defeat Asabanor, but he could not afford his energy to be depleted by an undead army before that.


    No matter how long the passage was, there was still an end. After an unknown amount of time, everyone¡¯s vision started to brighten, causing them to shut their eyes before reopening them in rm. After that, they quickly got back into formation, but the sight before thempletely stunned everyone.


    In front of them was an incredibly empty cemetery; there were countless coffins and gravestones. Some of them were exposed while some of them were half buried in the ground. The passage had disappeared the moment they stepped out of the entrance. Of course, they were not shocked because of that. Even though the space distortion was a high-leveled spell, it had been within their expectations.


    The real reason they were shocked was that, above the cemetery, in the dark night sky, a blood red moon was hanging in the air, looking incredibly strange and sinister.


    The moon was incredibly huge, muchrger than normal. Everyone could vaguely see three spots of light, that looked like stars, on the blood red moon. One of the stars seemed to glow in a blue light, and behind the blue light was a burning orb that looked like a ball of fire. The third spot seemed to be dim, but was surrounded by the red glow.


    The three spots seemed to form a straight line, andpletely aligned with the blood moon, which shocked them immensely.


    ¡°Wee. I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time.¡± A low voice was suddenly heard, and all of them had goosebumps. The voice was way too close, as if someone was talking right next to them. Almost immediately, Cheng Ming¡¯s sword aura red and Chen Dao¡¯s me magic shot out, shooting right at the empty night sky.


    With the explosions that followed, An Luo quickly attacked as well, but they were quickly stopped by Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes as he had already noticed that, in the empty space, the ck figure that floated in the air still looked very vague, but it was obviously the high priest of that fallen kingdom.


    It was Asabanor.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. He¡¯s currently a spirit, a form of pure energy. And he seems to have protection spells, so don¡¯t waste your strength,¡± Xiao Lin said lightly,pletely at ease.


    The fact that Asabanor dared to stand in front of everyone so openly meant that he was definitely prepared. They did not know what he did, but the earlier onught of attacks merely passed through his body, not causing any harm.


    ¡°You stray dog, you actually dared toe unto Dawn Academy¡¯s territory. Are you not afraid that you¡¯ll lose your life here?¡± Xiao Lin mocked as he walked forward, shielding everyone.


    He had noticed Asabanor¡¯s words. It was only ¡®you¡¯, and not ¡®all of you¡¯. The meaning behind it was obvious ¡ª the opponent¡¯s goal was only Xiao Lin in the end, and the others were merely unluckily pulled into this. So, Xiao Lin hoped that he could shift Asabanor¡¯s focus on himself. In the worst case, he could at least gain some time for the others to run away.

 Chapter 682 - Crazy Plan

    <h4>Chapter 682: Crazy n</h4>


    At that moment, Asabanor looked more like a vague image without any material form. Of course, that was just like the information that they had. After returning from the Final Lands, Asabanor was just in a spirit state. A spirit state could evade most forms of damage, but as long as the energy was strong enough, it could still cause damage to the creature.


    So, Xiao Lin was still quite confident. He shielded everyone else, and prepared to block any attacks from his opponent as he observed Asabanor, waiting for a chance to kill his foe off in one blow. He believed that it would be possible if he used Ruin.


    However, Asabanor did not attack immediately; the figure in the sky seemed to have expressions of contempt in his dim pupils and he rasped, ¡°You¡¯re right. With my current state, if I didn¡¯t have borate preparations, I would not have dared to step into your territories. I have to admit, in these years, you¡¯ve done well. Your growth has been even more shocking than I expected. Even if I had a material body right now, I might not be able to beat the best experts that you have.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re afraid, then get lost!¡± Chen Dao immediately shouted excitedly in his usual candid manner.


    Asabanor¡¯s words did indeed have a sense of admitting defeat behind them, but Xiao Lin was still on alert. He understood Asabanor more than the rest of them. He was someone who would not give up no matter what. Asabanor¡¯s words caused the worries in his mind to be even clearer.


    Asabanor¡¯s voice was still spreading. It was obvious that Asabanor did not n on attacking them here. Other than defending, he did not seem to have any intentions of fighting, yet his words seemed to mock them even more. ¡°If I can¡¯t beat you, then I just have to leave. So, I invited you over today just to say goodbye to all of you.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Lin, no! That! That is!¡± Gu Xiaoyue suddenly shouted out in shock. Her voice was in great disbelief.


    Xiao Lin immediately retreated a few steps, and after looking back, he noticed that the usually calm Gu Xiaoyue was losing all herposure. She stared at the blood moon in the sky, her eyes full of shock as her body trembled slightly. It was the first time Xiao Lin had ever seen that woman look so shocked.


    Not needing the others to ask, Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s shaky hand pointed up at the moon in the sky as she continued to shout in horror, ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s Earth! It¡¯s our Earth!¡±


    Following the direction Gu Xiaoyue was pointing, everyone looked up again. Everyone had noticed the three dots on the blood moon, but no one had realized what it was, and they probably had felt that it was just a ploy by Asabanor.


    Yet, when they looked again, Xiao Lin noticed as well that the three points had started to rapidly expand. The blue dot did look more and more like Earth, and that small, lightless orb looked like the Earth¡¯s moon. As for that burning orb¡­ Was that not the Sun?


    While the others were still in a state of shock, the others were the first to react. He realized where the unsettling feeling on his mind hade from.


    Asabanor was clearly preparing to bring the mes of war to Earth!


    It was a ruthless means of revenge. That man did not just have a strong will for revenge. He also had an insane and intelligent mind. Since he could not defeat the colonists in the New World, then he would just attack right at the roots. Even though Asabanor did not know anything about the history and background of the colonists when his kingdom had fallen, as an astrologian, after his fervent recent efforts, he had definitely learned a lot more.


    For instance, Asabanor had found their homeworld, which was Earth. He knew that not everyone on Earth had the abnormal abilities that the colonists had. Most of the people on Earth had bodies that were easily destroyed, so attacking Earth became a real possibility.


    It was an unbelievable and crazy n, but Xiao Lin still found it hard to believe. Song Jung had talked to him at length about the New World¡¯s astronomical location. Even Dawn Academy¡¯s Earth Division¡¯s observatory did not hide it, but in recent years, the observatory had tried to find the New World in the universe.


    That task was something almost every academy was doing, even though most of them did not hold out much hope for it. However, after a long time, they did get some clues. Of course, it was a secret, but with Song Jung¡¯s connections, that fact did not matter at all.


    Actually, the answer was meaningless, because the that the New World was on was extremely far away from Earth. Song Jung did not say how far, but he had described the distance as insane. It would need them to cross dozens of sr systems just to get there. So, unless they used some special wormholes, it was impossible to cross between the twos.


    Yet, Asabanor had managed to do it, and in Xiao Lin¡¯s shock, he was still suspicious. No matter how crazy that man was, it was not something just one person could do when the collective efforts of so many academies could not do so after so many years of research.


    The three dots in the blood moon that represented Earth, the moon, and the Sun were slowly moving. When theypletely turned into a straight line, a shocking amount of energy shot out, and the ground started to shake, as if it were a grade-twelve earthquake. Even though Gu Xiaoyue had quickly cast support spells to help everyone maintain their bnce, it could still notpletely prevent the effects.


    ¡°That¡¯s a ripple in space.¡± Gu Xiaoyue quickly reacted. Her tired face had an expression of heartache. Spatial magics were above her abilities.


    ¡°If Asabanor wants to return to Earth, why does he need us?¡± Chen Dao said anxiously. The others had those questions in their minds as well. Everyone had already understood the meaning behind Asabanor¡¯s words earlier, but they still did not understand what it had to do with a few first-year students like themselves.


    Asabanor did not leave them in confusion for that long. With the increase in the shaking, he was still slowly floating in space, coldlyughing to the displeasure of everyone. ¡°You are thest part of my n. It¡¯s just a pity that constructing a wormhole is far more difficult than I thought. I really have to thank you, as if it wasn¡¯t for all of you, the passage might never have been made! Hahaha!¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart slowly sank alongside that crazedughter. Those words had contained too much information, and hadpletely shattered the doubts that he had.

 Chapter 683 - Gradually Resolved Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 683: Gradually Resolved Doubts</h4>


    Asabanor¡¯s words were filled with mocking. He did not thank ¡®you¡¯, but instead said, ¡®all of your¡¯. Yet, Xiao Lin did not think that he was referring to the five of them. Among the five of them, the only one with value to Asabanor was probably only himself.


    In truth, when Xiao Lin guessed that the situation was set up by Asabanor, he had already started to be filled with doubt and concern. Even though the tournament was not much of a secret between the academies, but with the secrecy between the colonists, the information could not possibly have been revealed to the natives of the New World. Even lower-ranking members of the academy would not be able to have known anything about the location of the tournament.


    From the current situation, Asabanor not only managed to learn about it, he had even known about it for a long time. No matter if it was the blood moon in front of him, or those undead troops, they were not things that could be easily achieved, and would definitely need a long time and many resources to prepare.


    And this was Dawn Academy¡¯s territory!


    The fact that Asabanor could set up a trap like that, waiting for Xiao Lin and the others to jump in, was not something Xiao Lin believed could have been done in secret, even if he could tell the future.


    Unless someone from Dawn Academy had intentionally hid the information, or, even more horrifyingly, Asabanor was working with certain people and gaining help from Dawn Academy!


    Xiao Lin felt like a child. The moment he started to specte in that direction, he found out he had no way of stopping it. It might have sounded crazy before, and possibly unbelievable, but the reality in front of him left him no room for doubt.


    To be able to do something like that, while being able to hide it so well, meant there were very few in Dawn Academy who could be the suspects. After eliminating the rest, Xiao Lin could easily guess which person was the most possible culprit, but he still found it hard to believe. He definitely needed the answer.


    ¡°Who¡¯s helping you?!¡± Xiao Lin shouted loudly. Around him, countless rocks were slowly floating up due to the gravitational suction of the blood moon. Gu Xiaoyue was still maintaining their bnce with magic, but it seemed to be helpless.


    The situation in front of them left them without any means to advance or to retreat, so it was quite hopeless. They could not attack Asabanor, and did not have the ability to leave that cemetery. Around them, a wave of undead surrounded them and was preventing them from leaving.


    Chen Dao and Cheng Ming were already out of ideas, and everyone¡¯s gaze fell on Xiao Lin. As the leader that had helped them escape many difficult situations, the miracles that Xiao Lin had produced so far caused them to ce their final hopes on him.


    Asabanor looked at everyone in amusement. Xiao Lin was not worried that the guy would deliberately conceal anything or lie, because at that moment, the truth was the thing that would impact Xiao Lin and the others the most.


    Sure enough, Asabanor slowly spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t you already have the answer in your heart? In your territory, without the help of your leader, how could I be standing here?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?!¡± Chen Dao shouted angrily.


    ¡°Our leader¡­ Does he mean the dean?¡± An Luo was uncertain.


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Cheng Ming was quite shocked, and immediately denied it.


    ¡°It would be impossible if it was the old dean, but don¡¯t forget, our dean has changed.¡± Gu Xiaoyue had a helpless look in her eyes.


    With his guess finally being confirmed, Xiao Lin¡¯s body trembled with anger. He had never liked the new dean, but he still chose to respect the person out of principle. After all, the man was still Dawn Academy¡¯s dean. Even though their methods were different, they were still working for the benefit of Dawn Academy.


    However, he had chosen to work in cooperation with Asabanor. Did that mean that his goal was getting rid of Xiao Lin? Putting aside everything else, what good would it do for Dawn Academy to get rid of an SS-rank talent holder?


    Xiao Lin did not understand, but Asabanor quickly continued with an answer, ¡°It seems like you still don¡¯t understand, stupid invader. The long period of peace has caused all of you to be too naive. I can¡¯t help but say that I quite admire your new leader.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you hated us to the bone, and wanted nothing more than revenge? Yet you actually chose to work in cooperation with our people? Your position is a joke.¡± Xiao Lin tried to slide in some insults.


    Asabanorughed, and hisughter was incredibly grating and horrible under his spirit state. ¡°You¡¯re wrong! My goal was never revenge, but to revive my country! My country, my citizens, will never be buried in history just like that!¡±


    Xiao Lin finally understood. He helped that former high priest finish the rest of his words. ¡°There are no absolute enemies, only absolute benefits. You used this world to exchange our Earth with our dean! You want to use Earth as the new ce for your kingdom!¡±


    ¡°However, Xiao Lin, that makes no sense. The New World was already our colony, so how could a dead spirit like that use the New World to exchange anything with the dean. You must be overthinking it!¡± Chen Dao still did not understand, but he did not want to talk to Asabanor, so he turned to look at Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Not our colonies; our shared colonies with other countries.¡± Gu Xiaoyue took a deep breath. She was forcing herself to remain calm. She knew that her losing herposure was not due to Asabanor, but rather concern for her sister. If Xiao Lin¡¯s guess was right, and Asabanor wanted to use Earth to revive his kingdom, then everyone on Earth would be a ve to that madman.


    Xiao Lin sighed bitterly. ¡°Gu Xiaoyue is right. The old dean worked together with the rest, and developed the New World together. However, the new dean would rather fight against the other academies over the resources in the New World. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯d be so ruthless. The participants from the British Royal Academy should all already be dead. They did not die in the hands of any outsiders, but our own people. What a disgrace!¡±


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath, continuing, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, a war is about to erupt in the New World.¡± No matter what Asabanor gave to the new dean, the fact that the dean had sacrificed an SS-rank talent holder like Xiao Lin meant that it was definitely something extraordinary.


    ¡°I have a final question. Why me?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the final key to opening the wormhole. The power of thew in your body is a mysterious power that can ignore thews of the universe. That is a power that countless people can only dream of. No matter. After tonight, that power will belong to me!¡±

 Chapter 684 - Hopelessness

    <h4>Chapter 684: Hopelessness</h4>


    The short answering session ended there. Asabanor no longer nned on answering any other questions, and Xiao Lin did not n on asking any either. He already knew what he should do. Of course, the news would definitely cause shocking waves if it spread, but it was already fine, because the dead did not speak.


    No matter if it was Xiao Lin, Cheng Ming, Chen Dao, An Luo, or Gu Xiaoyue, or even the British team, Asabanor had never nned on letting any of them leave the ce alive.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, we absolutely can¡¯t allow him to reach Earth! Absolutely not!¡± Gu Xiaoyue shouted loudly. All of their expressions were anxious when they saw the Earth, the moon and the Sun form a straight light.


    Everyone knew what allowing Asabanor to reach Earth would mean. No matter how weak Asabanor was, to a normal person from Earth, he was an unrivaled existence. With Asabanor¡¯s army of undead, Earth would turn into hell.


    Among those people were Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sister, and Xiao Lin¡¯s family and friends. It did not matter if they decided to stay in the New World or not; the rtionships they had were something they could never forget or cast aside.


    Without needing anyone else to say anything, Xiao Lin immediately activated his Ruin state. His eyes were determined as he unleashed his Phantom Steps. Using his incredibly quick footwork and the gravity from the blood moon, Xiao Lin seemed to easily leap into the air.


    Gu Xiaoyue had quickly used the support spell ¡®Wings of Flight¡¯ after regaining herposure, and two faint green wings materialized on Xiao Lin¡¯s back, allowing him to maintain his bnce despite the howling winds and debris in the air. It might not have been a high level spell, but it was enough for him.


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re in a spirit state, I don¡¯t believe you can stand up to this!¡± Xiao Lin did not hold anything back in his anger as he unleashed all of the elemental sword aura in his body. It was a strike that had used all of his power, and it turned into a sea of mes, illuminating the whole cemetery. The surrounding undead troops started to cry out in agony and retreat.


    ¡°You¡¯re stronger thanst time. You really are someone with the power of thews. You have even more potential than Ivan. If you had enough time, maybe¡­¡± Asabanor¡¯s crazed expression had a sliver of curiosity and praise to it, but he did not finish his words because if he agreed that the boy in front of him had potential, he would have to live on. However, in his eyes, Xiao Lin was already a dead man.


    Boom!


    The tremors on the ground grew even more intense, and massive amounts of stone and soil started to float in the air, slowly revealing a vibrant red color under the ground.


    ¡°Despicable creature, what did you do?!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly stopped his attack, and the mes in the air suddenly dissipated. He could feel the strength in his body start to disappear, and in a moment, he did not seem to even have the power to raise his arm.


    What was even more strange was that Xiao Lin ended up in a position where he could do nothing. In the middle of the air, he could not advance, nor could he retreat. Even though there seemed to be an intense gravitying from the blood moon, on the ground, the red patterns that slowly emerged seemed to unleash an equal amount of force. The two forces shed and maintained a strange equilibrium.


    Chen Dao and the others could finally not be concerned about being sucked into the moon. When the suction beneath their feet started, they fell back to the floor, and could finally let out a sigh of relief. However, the moment of silence was like the calm before the storm.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right!¡±


    ¡°What shocking power!¡±


    ¡°That pervert, what¡¯s he trying to do to Xiao Lin?!¡±


    ¡°We need to think of something!¡±


    The others finally found that something was wrong. In the equilibrium of the two forces, there was a third, massive power that was being unleashed. That power waspletely different from the other two, andpletely different from anything else they knew. The power did note in explosive waves, and was more like a drizzle.


    The origin of the power was Xiao Lin¡¯s body!


    ¡°It¡¯s a God¡­ A God Sealing Array. Asabanor, you really think highly of me. You¡­ You actually used this formation against me!¡± Xiao Lin looked back in his struggle, and seemed to make out something from the red patterns on the ground as shock appeared on his face.


    Under the soil and the graves, there was an extremely big blood-colored magical formation. The scale of the magical formation was unimaginable, and once again confirmed that Asabanor was working with the new dean. No matter who it was, they would never be able to do all of that under the watch of Dawn Academy.


    Xiao Lin might not know much about magical formations, but he happened to know about the one in front of him. When he and Silverlight went back to the era of Antis, they had used that formation. It was called the strongest sealing technique, and they had sealed Poseidon into the sands of time.


    However, he never expected that the formation would appear again in the New World. Despite the tense atmosphere, Xiao Lin could not help butment in his mind that Earth really had been rted to the New World during ancient times. Otherwise, such a formation would not have appeared both in ancient Antis and here.


    ¡°Oh? You even know of this formation. Even a hundred years ago, only a small amount of people knew about it. It is an ancient formation that has been lost for tens of thousands of years.¡± Asabanor was surprised yet again, but he quickly regained his calm and smiled coldly. ¡°Since you know, you should know that you can¡¯t escape. You¡¯re mistaken about something though. After I changed the formation, it¡¯s no longer meant for sealing, but breaking seals. It unleashes sealed energy.¡±


    Asabanor had a crazy look on his face. It was the result of his years of research in the Final Lands, and it was finally about to bear fruit. He could not help but say a few more words, ¡°The power ofws. Since the creation of the world, it is the most mysterious form of power. No one is worthy of wielding the powers of creation. Do you understand what I mean? No matter if it¡¯s Ivan, you, or that little girl, you can only hold it, but you can¡¯t wield it because it¡¯s not something that can be controlled. It is merely power that has been sealed, and all of you are only the vessels!


    ¡°The power of thews is a source of unlimited energy! It is a power that can traverse universes. That¡¯s right, I want to use this reverse sealing to unleash the power sealed inside you, and using that power as a source, it will send me and my troops right into your home!


    ¡°As for you, if a vessel has sealed up energy that is more than it can take, then the only result is that you will crumble apart like ss. It might be a pity, but this is your end! The power ofw is not something you invaders should have!¡±

 Chapter 685 - Core Of The Formation

    <h4>Chapter 685: Core Of The Formation</h4>


    As far as they could tell, all of Asabanor¡¯s ns had been clearly revealed. Using Xiao Lin as a focus and using the reverse sealing formation to extract the power within Xiao Lin¡¯s body. It was true that the power did not belong to Xiao Lin, and was actually a part of his SS-rank talent. As for how strong that power was, even Xiao Lin did not know.


    However, since Asabanor was so certain, it meant that Asabanor understood it well. The power to traverse the universe was impressive and horrifying.


    Setting aside Asabanor¡¯s mentality and which side he was on, Xiao Lin could not help but be impressed. Even though he was aplete lunatic, he had done something so many people from all the academies had failed to do.


    Chen Dao and the others did not understand Asabanor¡¯s words, but they still understood the final part.


    ¡°Xiao Lin will die!¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°We have to think of something! We have to save him!¡±


    ¡°Once again, of course!¡±


    Chen Dao and An Luo were the first tounch their attacks. Chen Dao¡¯s me spells and An Luo¡¯s arrows all had incredibly high long-ranged killing potential, but unfortunately, within the so-called strongest sealing formation, their attacks meant nothing. Their attacks were dispersed the moment they shot it out, and no matter how hard they tried, there was nothing they could do.


    In the end, they were still only Bronze-ranked students, and even Xiao Lin¡¯s power in his Ruin state could not do anything to break the formation, let alone their meager attacks.


    Asabanor had definitely noticed their actions in the air, but he merely looked at them with disdainful eyes, as if he was looking at a few ants. He did not care about them at all, but after a few seconds, his eyes suddenly widened as he suddenly snorted in cold derision. ¡°Know your ce, little girl!¡±


    Chen Dao and An Luo were busying themselves, but Cheng Ming and Gu Xiaoyue, who had no long-ranged attacks, did not stay idle. After calming down, Gu Xiaoyue once again used her intellect. Even though she knew nothing about the God Sealing Array, she had not been studying the whole year for nothing.


    ¡°Cheng Ming, listen to me, every magical formation has a core. As long as we break the core, even if we can¡¯tpletely destroy the array, the effects would greatly decrease!¡± Gu Xiaoyue said in a low voice to Cheng Ming.


    ¡°Wait for me. I¡¯ll call the other two over.¡± Cheng Ming had wanted to call Chen Dao and An Luo over as well.


    ¡°No, let them continue to distract Asabanor¡¯s attention. We only have one chance!¡± Gu Xiaoyue stopped Cheng Ming.


    Cheng Ming did not mind as he scratched his head. He nodded as he said, ¡°Alright! I know you¡¯re smarter than I am, so I¡¯ll listen to you. Only, are you sure where the core is? You said it as well, we don¡¯t have many chances, so if we make any mistakes, we¡¯ll draw the attention of that old pervert. ¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue pointed to the center of the blood-red formation that was a hundred meters away. There was a grave that was vaguely visible. Because of the sand that was flying around, it would easily be missed if one was not looking for it carefully. Cheng Ming rubbed his eyes and looked toward where the girl was pointing before he finally saw it.


    Gu Xiaoyue smiled softly. ¡°Every formation has their weak points. Even though I admit that Asabanor is an extremely careful person like Xiao Lin said, he still failed to fool me. That gravestone had felt wrong to me earlier on. Even though it¡¯s not very eye-catching, hiding in a cemetery, the fact that it remains unmoving despite the forces around us is extremely unusual. So, I¡¯m very certain that the core is there!¡±


    Cheng Ming wiped away his sweat and did not know if he should praise Gu Xiaoyue for her eyes or her intelligence. No matter what, he was not someone who used his brains a lot, and he trusted hispanion. Even though Gu Xiaoyue had deliberately left some things out, Cheng Ming knew as well that regardless of whether or not he would seed, he would still be taking an immense risk, so he still agreed, without a hint of hesitation.


    Gu Xiaoyue was taken aback. The intelligent woman had indeed deliberately concealed the risks. For instance, the fact that it was the core meant that there would definitely be an incredibly strong energy field nearby. Even if Cheng Ming managed to get near it, it would be an incredibly difficult obstacle.


    However, there was nothing Gu Xiaoyue could do. She wanted to save Xiao Lin, and wanted to save Gu Chengyun, who was on Earth. Even though it had been a year in the academy, Gu Xiaoyue onlypletely trusted Xiao Lin. The others, such as Cheng Ming and Chen Dao, were still regarded with some care despite the trust.


    She never expected that Cheng Ming would unconditionally choose to ept such a risk at such a time, so it stunned her for a moment before she mumbled to Cheng Ming¡¯s back, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Cheng Ming waved it off, indicating that he had heard it before raising hisrge shield and moving forward. He had even thrown the sword in his hand aside since the additional burden would affect his speed. Furthermore, he felt that his strength was no longer of any consequence at that time, so it was better to reduce his burden.


    ¡°Know your ce!¡± Asabanor coldly snorted. ¡°Do you really think the God Sealing Array is something you can easily touch at your level?¡±


    Asabanor did not want to care about those ants, but seeing as Gu Xiaoyue had easily found where his core was had insulted his dignity. He waved his arms, and the undead army around the formation slowly started to move again.


    ¡°Chen Dao! An Luo! Stop them!¡± Gu Xiaoyue had given up on her image, and started to shout loudly.


    With Xiao Lin captured, Gu Xiaoyue had turned into the temporary leader. Chen Dao and An Luo exchanged a look. Even though they had not gotten briefed about the situation clearly, they both still chose to trust in Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s assessment.


    Even though their physical abilities and intelligence attributes were decent, it was still hard for the two of them to face the undead army alone. Thankfully, the God Sealing Array did not care for friend or foe, and the undead army had been affected as well the moment they walked into the aray, their strengths immediately decreasing by over half. Some of the weaker skeletons had crumbled, not being able to stand the force.


    Asabanor¡¯s eyes twitched in the air. He had wasted a lot of time on the high-level undead army, so it had pained him quite a bit. He had nned on using them as the base of his kingdom¡¯s revival on Earth, so he had not nned on using them so easily.


    However, even someone as crazy as Asabanor had their dignity. He would not let just any random person find the core of his formation. If there was anyone who did, then he would just have to kill them.

 Chapter 686 - Last Resort

    <h4>Chapter 686: Last Resort</h4>


    Chen Dao and An Luo were already fighting the undead army, and both sides were at a deadlock. Under the God Sealing Array, they could not showcase even half of their skills, and it took quite a lot out of them to use. Even though the restrictions were equal on both sides, the undead army¡¯s unending numbers were the greatest advantage.


    Asabanor understood that as well. Even though he did not care about thebat ability of the few of them, he still chose the most reliable method at that moment: using his numbers!


    However,pared to An Luo and Chen Dao, Cheng Ming was the one under the most pressure. The so-called strongest magical formation was no joke. Earlier, they did not feel much since they were not moving, but the further he headed toward the center, the more pressure he felt from the energy. It felt like he was continuously increasing the burden on his body.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s face was already slowly reddening. As someone who was able to enter the New World and someone whose physical strength was quite exceptional, even amongst the monitors, he had been quite confident in his endurance. However, only ten meters in, he started to understand that he was mistaken.


    Even if it had been changed by Asabanor, the God Sealing Array was still a formation meant to seal gods. Xiao Lin had seen it once before, so he knew of the power of that formation. However, the others did not have the same experiences as Xiao Lin, and even someone as smart as Gu Xiaoyue seemed to have underestimated the power of the formation.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s footsteps had noticeably slowed down. Each step he took came with an unbelievable pressure, and everyone else could see how he was doing.


    Gu Xiaoyue was anxious, and Chen Dao and An Luo were shocked. Xiao Lin sighed. They were all intelligent people, and after a brief moment, they quickly understood how much Cheng Ming was taking on.


    What shocked them was that Chen Ming had only slowed down for a few dozen seconds before his footsteps slowly started to get firmer, and it even felt like he was constantly speeding up.


    ¡°Cheng Ming¡­¡± Gu Xiaoyue was speechless. After that, she rapidly turned around, no longer looking at Cheng Ming¡¯s struggling back as she focused on Chen Dao and An Luo. The wand in her hand rapidly danced around again, cing a few support spells on the two of them.


    ¡°Our task is protecting Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming!¡± Gu Xiaoyue regained herposure again.


    An Luo and Chen Dao exchanged a nce, feeling as if Gu Xiaoyue had grown up. However, it was not the time to think about that. Xiao Lin was trapped, and Cheng Ming was suffering an immense burden. They naturally had no reason to hold back, and Chen Dao¡¯s fire spells started to get more intense, and An Luo¡¯s arrows became more urate.


    Each of them were working hard in their own way, and Xiao Lin was just as anxious as any of them. However, at that moment, he had be a burden to them, and he did not like that feeling.


    It was despicable!


    Xiao Lin frantically did everything he could. The feeling was very strange. He could clearly feel the energy constantlying out of his body, but he had no way of using that power. Anytime he used any force, the power he exerted would be cleanly absorbed by the array beneath his feet.


    Only if he used a tremendous amount of energy in a short amount of time, strong enough that the God Sealing Array could notpletely absorb it, could Xiao Lin have the chance to retaliate, even if it was just for a second or two.


    His power in his Ruin state was nothing in the God Sealing Array, and Asabanor had already seen his power under his Ruin state. With how careful that crazed man was, there was no way Asabanor was not prepared for it.


    Above Ruin, there was only Myth.


    If Ruin was able to increase Xiao Lin¡¯s power by more than ten times, then Myth would at least be fifty times! That power was something that could even defeat the Sea God Poseidon. Even if it was not Poseidon in hisplete state, it was still a terrifying power.


    Yet, the side effects of Myth were hard to imagine. Song Jung¡¯s words still rang in his mind. Power was sacrifice. The greater the power and, the more the power exceeded the limits of one¡¯s body, the greater the damage it would deal to the self. It could even cause irreversible damage, and could even damage the soul.


    Even though it was a new power that Xiao Lin had, he had only used it once before. The cost of using it had been a few dozen years of his life span. Even though Song Jung¡¯s experimental potion had helped Xiao Lin with the side effect, it did not mean Xiao Lin could continue using it.


    Song Jung had always been a carefree person, but a carefree person like that had given Xiao Lin such a strict warning before he left: never to use Myth again, or the consequences would be dire!


    Xiao Lin would definitely not doubt the truth behind that warning, and would definitely not think that Song Jung was deliberately making it more serious than it was. With his understanding of Department Head Song, the fact that Song Jung had said it so earnestly meant that the severity of the matter was probably worse than what he said.


    Myth¡­ To use it or to not use it?


    Xiao Lin suddenly smiled lightly. The question yed in his mind for a moment, but the answer was actually simple.


    He would definitely die if he did not use it, and it would even affect the entire Earth. If he used it, the worst that could happen was death, but he would at least have the chance to save others before he died.


    ¡°What?¡± Asabanor finally frowned in the air. He noticed that Xiao Lin had stopped struggling. In truth, he enjoyed watching others struggle in vain.


    Did he finally give up?


    Asabanor thought about it, and felt that his n was definitely perfect, so he shook his head. He had thought that the man he ced some regard to would have brought him even more excitement.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Continue being that way, and be my stepping stone. At least you have the right for me to remember you. After I revive my country, I might even have someone write a record of you. After all, you have the right as someone who holds the power ofws. You¡­ What have you done?!¡±


    The calm Asabanor finally had a change of expression. His raspy voice suddenly sharpened as he asked loudly, ¡°What did you do?!¡±


    There was only determination left on Xiao Lin¡¯s face. At that moment, be it the blood moon or the power in the God Sealing Array, they had all started to undergo minor changes.


    Activating Myth required a bit of time; he first needed to condense all the power in his body before exploding it outward in a short amount of time. Yet, as he prepared to start, Xiao Lin was surprised to notice that this time seemed different than thest.

 Chapter 687 - Myth Makes Another Appearance!

    <h4>Chapter 687: Myth Makes Another Appearance!</h4>


    Unlikest time, Myth seemed to need an exceptionally long time to prepare. Last time, Xiao Lin had condensed all the power within himself, but it was different this time. Other than the power within Xiao Lin¡¯s body, he was also condensing the power around him, which was also the power that had been released by the God Sealing Array.


    In name, the power that had been unleashed was obviously Xiao Lin¡¯s as well, or at least his SS-rank talent¡¯s. It was the power ofw as Asabanor called it, but Xiao Lin had only been able to use less than a thousandth of that power.


    If it was at any other moment, Xiao Lin would have given up on using Myth the moment he felt himself losing control because the energy was too strong. It was like a huge wave that was crashing down on him. Even someone who could ride the waves like him would be drowned instantly. It was a power that could swallow everything.


    Power was sacrifice.


    However, at that moment, Xiao Lin no longer cared. His expression turned into one of determination as he threw away all reservation, not hesitating to pour in all the energy into Myth.


    Gu Xiaoyue and the others could also feel that power that they had felt never before. In that state of equilibrium, the power felt like it hade out of nowhere. Even if they did not know why, they could guess that the source of the power was Xiao Lin.


    They seemed to have realized something, and when they looked at Xiao Lin, other than the shock and awe in their eyes, there was also undisguised concern.


    Xiao Lin looked back as well, but he only looked at Gu Xiaoyue. After that, he used all his might to gently mouth a few words. However, the tremendous power had blocked his voice, yet Gu Xiaoyue, who was also looking at him, suddenly sobbed. As intelligent as she was, she naturally understood those words.


    ¡®I love you. Goodbye.¡¯


    ¡°Myth!¡±


    The next second, before Gu Xiaoyue could even react, tremendous waves of energy started to fill up the whole space. Xiao Lin finally regained his movement in the air, and his eyes had a faint golden glow to it. In the middle of his forehead, a blue light appeared.


    Xiao Lin first looked at the undead army around the cemetery before casually waving his hand. Then, as if he was casually using his sleeve to wipe a table, an intense white energy swept through the whole army. In less than a second, all of the undead, be it the mid- or high-leveled ones, were all turned to dust.


    What a strong me!¡± Chen Dao widened his eyes. As someone who used me magic as well, no one else would understand as much as him how powerful Xiao Lin¡¯s attack was.


    ¡°The basis of fire magic is temperature. I¡¯ve read in the library before that the highest leveled me spells, due to thepression of energy, will all materialize in white. It¡¯s the temperature of the stars,¡± Chen Dao mumbled in shock.


    ¡°However, we seem to be fine. Could the mes be able to differentiate friend from foe?¡± An Luo remarked as well. The mes seemed to have swiped right past them, but An Luo did not feel burned at all, let alone injured.


    ¡°Because, the current him is no longer someone at our level,¡± Gu Xiaoyue said as she swallowed. Her blurry eyes were fixed on Xiao Lin in the air. It was filled with wistfulness, sadness, and determination.


    With the extermination of the undead army, they were temporarily safe. Chen Dao asked, ¡°What do we do now? Do we help Xiao Lin?¡± The woman¡¯s tears also caused him to feel uneasy.


    Gu Xiaoyue wiped her tears, forcing herself to calm down before she said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. He doesn¡¯t need our help right now, but we have something else to do. We have to help Cheng Ming. We have to destroy his formation, so we can¡¯t let his hard work and sacrifice be in vain. Absolutely not!¡±


    The word ¡®sacrifice¡¯ left An Luo and Chen Dao stunned, but Gu Xiaoyue said nothing else. Just like she said, Xiao Lin had his own goal, and they had been tasked with something that they needed to do.


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate at all after wiping away the undead, and immediately rushed at Asabanor in the air. Even without Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s support magic, under Myth, his control over his power allowed him to easily fly and float.


    ¡°I see. sSo it¡¯s a shield that is formed by distorting space.¡± Xiao Lin nced at Asabanor and immediately understood his opponent¡¯s tricks. Xiao Lin mocked, ¡°No wonder Chen Dao¡¯s attacks were useless earlier. You¡¯re still a coward in the end. Do you only dare to hide behind a shield?¡±


    However, Xiao Lin was still shocked, despite his words. Shields normally merely used energy fields to protect the caster, so shields would usually break by themselves as long as the energy field was slowly depleted or the user¡¯s strength was drained.


    However, a shield that bent space was something at apletely different level. It used space topletely protect oneself, and was even stronger than Absolute Defense. It felt impossible to ovee other than with an immense surge of power. It was no wonder Asabanor seemed to be unworried. That spell was close to a forbidden spell because there was too much risk when it came to bending space. It was one thing to be swallowed yourself, but it might even involve people or objects nearby. However, Xiao Lin was someone who had been to the restricted section of the library, and had seen the relevant information before.


    Xiao Lin had not been able to see the truth earlier, but after activating Myth and absorbing an unbelievable amount of energy, his power was nowhere near his usual state. The shield did not manage to escape his eyes, even though, at the moment, he did not know what level he was at. Silver? Gold? Or maybe even higher?


    Asabanor¡¯s pale face had a look of shock, and his sharp raspy voice quickly said in anger, ¡°So what?! So what if you¡¯ve seen through it?! This is a shield that I have researched for hundreds of years. If you know how powerful this is, then you¡¯d better give up¡­¡±


    Boom!


    Before the high priest could finish speaking, a white ball of energy shot out. He did not even have the time to dodge, and in a sh, the right side of his body was gone.


    ¡°Give up? Yes? You should tell yourself to give up!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s expression was cold. In his open palm, another ball of energy started to materialize as he mocked, ¡°Don¡¯t you know what kind of energy I¡¯m using right now?¡±

 Chapter 688 - Asabanor’s Threat

    <h4>Chapter 688: Asabanor¡¯s Threat</h4>


    Asabanor fell silent for a moment before clenching his teeth. He spat out a few words, ¡°The power ofw!¡±


    Xiao Lin added for him mockingly, ¡°That¡¯s right, and even if it¡¯s not aplete version, it¡¯s already approaching it. It¡¯s the power of creation, and all of this was given by you. I¡¯m so grateful to you!¡±


    Asabanor was speechless. It was right, Xiao Lin¡¯s words might have been grating, but it was the truth. This time, he had messed it up. The reverse God Sealing Array, coupled with the blood moon that only appeared once every few hundred years¡­ Using that opportunity, he had sessfully moved the power ofw, which was also known as the strongest power. He had thought that he would be able to open a wormhole to Earth with that.


    Asabanor thought about what would happen if Xiao Lin ended up wielding all of that power instead. After all, even though he was just a vessel, Xiao Lin was still the owner of that power. If he really managed to wield it, then even the high priest at his peak would be annihted instantly.


    That spection was just a passing thought, and quickly dispersed after he thought about it for less than ten seconds.


    Asabanor might not be an SS-rank talent holder, but his research onws did not lose out to anyone. Furthermore, he had interacted with Ivanovich before, who was the first person to wield thew among the academies, so Asabanor knew very well that, other than Gods, it was practically impossible topletely master that power.


    However, despite his numerous ns, Asabanor still missed some key information. He did not know about Myth, and the old schemer quickly regained hisposure. His stubbornness and fervor did not allow him to easily give up on reviving his kingdom.


    Asabanor¡¯s destroyed body was rapidly recovering. To be precise, he did not actually have a physical body, and was merely a ghost. Of course, it was a ghost that was even more powerful than a regr or even high-ranked undead creature. So, as long as his spirit was not destroyed, he would not die from an injury like that.


    Xiao Lin raised his eyebrow, not surprised at all. He looked around, and the energies that had been bnced temporarily due to the blood moon and the reverse God Sealing Array were raging again. It was a raging storm that stemmed fromw, and even Xiao Lin did not know how much power there was.


    However, he was surprised to notice that the vortex of energy did not cover too far of a distance. It stopped around a thousand meters away, and seemed to encounter a limit. Xiao Lin could immediately tell that it was due to some space-time spell that probably only appeared in forbidden books that could separate a certain space and time from the real world. This meant that the cemetery they were in might still be in the New World, but it was also a separate world.


    Of course, Xiao Lin could also tell that the arrangement was probably not Asabanor¡¯s initial intention. The fanatic had probably hoped to use the storm of energy to destroy Dawn Academy¡¯s colonial territories as well, but the new dean would definitely not have allowed it. It might have been part of the negotiations of that deal, and even the books that contained theponents for this forbidden spell were probably provided by the new dean.


    He coldly snorted, ¡°I have to say, the space-time spells you¡¯ve researched are quite impressive. If you had been given to a guy I know as a sample, he would probably happily dissect you for study.¡±


    Asabanor¡¯s body had alreadypletely recovered. He did not understand Xiao Lin¡¯s words about a certain department head dissecting him, but he could still guess that it was not anything nice. However, he had be much more careful, and he pulled his distance away from Xiao Lin. Even though he did not know if that distance was safe, he at least felt like he would have a little more time to react.


    Even though he would not die, no matter how injured he was in his spirit state, spirits were still a form of energy, and even the highest levels of energy could run out. And now, he was sure that Xiao Lin had the ability topletely exhaust his energy.


    ¡°I admit, the power you have is the power ofw, even if it¡¯s notplete and still too immature, a far cry from the true power of creation, it¡¯s stillw. I would only be able to oppose it with a power ofw of the same level. I understand that much.¡± Asabanor¡¯s sharp voice was heard again.


    Xiao Lin merely smiled coldly, knowing that Asabanor still had more to say.


    Sure enough, Asabanor¡¯s voice was raised again,ughing. ¡°But so what?! You¡¯re still a mortal in the end, and you have the filthy blood of the invaders. There¡¯s no way for you topletely use this power. I might not know how you raised your ability to this degree, but do you think I couldn¡¯t tell? You¡¯re already at your limits! I¡¯m very curious¡­ How long will your body be able tost? Even if I don¡¯t do anything, you¡¯ll definitely die!¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent.


    He knew that he could not hide the fact from that cunning high priest. Even though he had tried his best to show how pleased he was, he never expected to be seen though so easily.


    Myth¡¯s burden on the body was immense, far greater than anyone could imagine.


    After using Mythst time, the power it provided was only enough for one sh. Just with that devastating sh, it almost killed the iplete Poseidon, and hadpletely exhausted Myth.


    This time, because of therge amounts ofw integrated within thanks to this separated world, it had lowered the energy he consumed, which was why Xiao Lin could maintain Myth for longer. It was already a great increase fromst time. Even his casual wave that destroyed all the undead troops did not use up too much power.


    However, just like Asabanor said, it was only a matter of time. Myth was not a power that Xiao Lin could control at his level. With the power ofw coursing through his veins, it was not something a normal human could control. Xiao Lin was putting his life on the line, and racing against time!


    Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s silence, Asabanor seemed to have found a weak point, and was even more pleased. ¡°Then, let me guess. The power you have right now can actually kill me. Even if it¡¯s just for a short time, I admit that the power is enough! Yet, you haven¡¯t, and I¡¯m still standing here. That strike was just to scare me, right? What are you afraid of? What is scaring you? Yes? Let me answer it for you! You¡¯re afraid of this blood moon! It¡¯s a passage that I opened, so only I can close it!

 Chapter 689 - Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 689: Negotiation</h4>


    Xiao Lin¡¯s palm was still open, and the energy in his palm still glowed. After entering Myth, the lower-leveled skills he had no longer meant much to him. Those attacks of pure energy were far simpler and more effective.


    ¡°Close the wormhole!¡± Xiao Lin coldly shouted.


    Just like Asabanor said, Xiao Lin could definitely have killed off that despicable man easily, but his final goal had not been to kill Asabanor. Or rather, after entering Myth, he realized more of the truth, causing him to not be willing to casually make his attack.


    Asabanor turned a deaf ear, and slowly gained his confidence. ¡°It seems like you have noticed it as well. That¡¯s right, the blood moon isn¡¯t just here this time. It¡¯s in your hometown as well. I heard that it is a rare sight that only happens once every few hundred years. Even with the power of yourw, there¡¯s no way to go against thews of the universe!¡±


    ¡°You despicable bastard!¡± Xiao Lin clenched his teeth. Of course, he was not just targeting Asabanor, but also his new dean. Earth¡¯s astronomical phenomena was definitely something that the old man had revealed to Asabanor.


    That was why Xiao Lin was stuck in a difficult spot. Even if he killed Asaabnor, he had no way of stopping the wormhole from opening because the reverse God Sealing Array had already absorbed quite a bit of energy. The wormhole had actually already opened from the blood moon¡¯s end. If he was not wrong, then there would probably already be supernatural phenomena happening on Earth.


    So what if he killed Asabanor?


    Then, the wormhole would forever be formed. Even if Asabanor and his undead army would not advance toward Earth, there were too many countries or races that hated the colonists from Earth. When the time came, they would be warding off thousands of enemies. It would not be something they could defend against.


    ¡°Close the wormhole! I can forget killing you! Otherwise, you can take that dream of reviving your kingdom to hell with you!¡± That was the only condition Xiao Lin could give, but he actually did not hold out much hope for it because his opponent was aplete lunatic that never yed by the usual rules.


    ¡°What if I disagree? Hell? Ah, I was in the Final Lands for so long. Do you think that wasn¡¯t hell?¡± Asabanor shouted. That man really was insane.


    Xiao Lin narrowed his eyes. He could feel Asabanor¡¯sck of restraint because he really did not have much time left. Even with the absorbedw, Myth¡¯s duration was still limited. He knew that, and Asabanor definitely knew it. That man was just trying to use Xiao Lin¡¯s doubt and hesitation to stall for time.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression turned cold, and the power in his hand suddenly increased by several times, bing incredibly bright, like a burning star. He coldly snorted, ¡°Oh? It seems you¡¯re quite happy with dying. If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s nothing else to say to you. You should go ahead and die.¡±


    That sudden movement scared Asabanor, and he unconsciously retreated even more. However, Asabanor knew that there was no meaning to that distance, as he could clearly feel Xiao Lin¡¯s unbridled killing intent, so he quickly said, ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t you want to close the wormhole anymore?¡±


    ¡°I naturally have my ways of closing it,¡± Xiao Lin slowly said. His face was unusually calm, not revealing what he was thinking.


    ¡°What is your way?¡± Asabanor asked.


    ¡°It has nothing to do with you!¡± Xiao Linughed coldy. After that, the power in his hand shot out, and crackled like electricity, giving Asabanor no time to react.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! We can talk about it!¡± Asabanor suddenly shouted out. He did not try avoiding it, and knew very well that it was not possible.


    Almost at the same time, Xiao Lin¡¯s palm closed, and the energy ball suddenly exploded right in front of Asabanor. The bright light and the waves of energy dispersed. Even if Asabanor had a shield that distorted space, even if Xiao Lin managed to hold back at thest moment, that level of power still ended up colliding with Asabanor.


    The waves of energy slowly dissipated, and only half of Asabanor¡¯s body was left. He clenched his teeth as he stared at Xiao Lin. ¡°You were actually serious! Do you really not care about your home world anymore?!¡± If Xiao Lin had just been half a secondter, Asabanor would no longer have existed. The confident Asabanor had finally experienced the threat of death, and finally lost hisposure. He might not be afraid of death, but his ambition of reviving his country still caused him to be wary.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s expression did not change. ¡°Stop pretending. This level of injury won¡¯t do anything to you! It seems like you still haven¡¯t grasped the situation. Your analysis was right, but do you actually think I won¡¯t kill you?¡±


    Xiao Lin smiled nonchntly, continuing, ¡°You¡¯re right, I am almost dead. The power in my body is only temporary. Once the time ends, my body won¡¯t be able to withstand this power. So, what would Earth have to do with me after that? I only need to drag you to hell with me!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    Asabanor was furious, but he no longer dared to make any casual moves. Xiao Lin now had an attitude of not caring of what would happen if he died.


    ¡°What do you want to discuss? I¡¯ll give you ten seconds. Otherwise, you can just die. You no longer have any chances.¡± Xiao Lin saw that Asabanor was not speaking, and let out an impatient expression.


    Asabanor¡¯s face was uncertain, and he suddenly let out a sly smile. ¡°In truth, I have no way topletely seal the wormhole. Of course, I¡¯m not lying to you, as these are the rules of the universe in the end. I¡¯m merely taking advantage of the situation, but can¡¯t control it. I can¡¯t do it, but you can, and you just need me to provide you with the method.¡± After that, he paused, deliberately trying to stall.


    ¡°Speak up, faster!¡± Xiao Lin started to condense another ball of energy.


    ¡°To close the wormhole, you¡¯ll need to enter the wormhole yourself, and use your flesh and blood as the seal. That way, the power in your body can change the power of the universe. Only, do you dare do so? Do you know what entering the passage of time and space would mean?¡± Asabanor asked, pleased.


    Xiao Lin thought for less than a second before coldly smiling and saying, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare? My condition is simple. I need you to go with me, or else I would rather just kill you here! You, do you dare?¡±


    Xiao Lin kicked the ball back into Asabanor¡¯s court.

 Chapter 690 - Entering The Wormhole

    <h4>Chapter 690: Entering The Wormhole</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the middle of the air, Asabanor and Xiao Lin stared at each other, both of them trying to see how sincere the other party was. Asabanor was the first to avert his gaze because he could not see anything from Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes, and he was worried that Xiao Lin would see through his lies.


    ¡°Do you not dare?¡± Xiao Lin smiled mockingly, pressing on.


    ¡°Fine. I have always wanted to know what the river of time and space looks like anyway!¡± Asabanor seemed to be finding a reason for himself, so it did not seem like it had been forced by Xiao Lin¡¯s threats. However, he was still only mocked by Xiao Lin.


    ¡°Xiao Lin! No!¡±


    ¡°The wormhole is like an endless sea. The moment you enter, you¡¯ll forever be lost inside!¡±


    ¡°Because of that, you can¡¯t enter it!¡±


    ¡°You absolutely cannot go in!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue and the others had naturally heard Xiao Lin and Asabanor¡¯s conversation, and they were incredibly anxious. They hurriedly shouted out their objections. Even if they did not understand time and space, they had been sternly told repeatedly whenever they went between Earth and the New World that space and time were ever changing, and was like an endless sea. If someone fell in, they would never be able toe back.


    Even more terrifyingly, those who entered the river of time and space never really died. In fact, death would be considered an escape. They would not be able to die, and would continue to be lost in space and time, bearing an unending sentence. That was something even more terrifying than death.


    Xiao Lin sighed. He obviously understood that logic because of his intelligence and his experience, but it was already something he no longer cared about. The moment Myth ended, his body would be unable to bear the power inside and he would die anyway.


    He forced himself to ignore Gu Xiaoyue and the others, worried that he would falter, and also worrying that he would use up valuable time if he continued. So, Xiao Lin no longer said anything, and the tip of his feet stepped on the empty space. He suddenly moved next to Asabanor, and he then reached out and lightly pped the space in front of Asabanor.


    The sudden white light almost caused Asabanor to shout in fear, but this time, Xiao Lin¡¯s goal was not him, but the spatial shield in front of him. Suddenly, the shieldpletely disappeared.


    Asabanor looked at Xiao Lin deeply. He obviously knew that the shield was not omnipotent, and a strong enough amount of energy would be able to break the distortion of space. He knew as well that Xiao Lin definitely had that amount of energy. What really shocked him was that Xiao Lin had actually already advanced his control of the power to an unimaginable level!


    Asabanor suddenly celebrated in his heart. Thankfully, Xiao Lin was about to die very soon. Otherwise, if Xiao Lin had been given enough time to grow, that man might really have be the first person to fully control the power ofw since the creator of the power. He was suddenly filled with a bit of horror. Thankfully, that would not happen!


    Xiao Lin was a bit confused by the change in Asabanor¡¯s expression, but he did not pay it any mind. Before Myth disappeared, with his absolute power, he was not afraid that Asabanor would pull some tricks. He pulled Asabanor¡¯s cor. Even though Asabanor was a spirit, if he condensed energy in his palms, he could touch spiritual power.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s much more convenient.!¡± Xiao Lin was satisfied with his ability to control that energy, and then he dragged Asabanor and flew toward the blood moon.


    Asabanor was immediately infuriated, and his entire body trembled from the rage. The position he was in was reminiscent of that of a dog. He was the high priest, but he was actually being dragged around like a dog; the humiliation he was suffering was even worse than death.


    However, Asabanor did not dare to voice his anger, as those with absolute power could do whatever they wanted. He suppressed his anger, and coldly smiled. He tried to shift the topic by saying, ¡°Do you need me to tell you about the corridor of space and time? Entering with your body ispletely different from using the spatial carriage.¡±


    Xiao Lin let out a cold snort; that man even knew about the spatial carriage. It seemed like the new dean had revealed a lot of information. He had basicallypletely revealed all of Earth¡¯s secrets. Even though he was incredibly angered, he could not help but be curious. He wondered what Asabanor had given in exchange to move the new dean so much.


    Asabanor was once again embarrassed and angered by being ignored. He decided to just shut up. He wanted to see Xiao Lin make a joke of himself. The river of time, even though he had never entered it before, he felt like he had researched it more than anyone else, including anyone from Earth.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s focus was not on Asabanor at that moment. He waspletely inexperienced with the situation. Even though Lilith and himself had entered the blood moon in New Washington, it was different this time. Thest time, they had only gone into an isted space that was within the New World¡¯s moon, where the difficulty was much lower.


    This time, it was different; it was using the power of the moon to forcibly tear open space and allow him to enter the corridor of time. Even though the colonists were no strangers to that corridor, because they would always need to go through it to travel between the New World and Earth, it was like Asabanor had said ¡ª it waspletely different.


    The spatial carriage allowed them to travel back and forth from two fixed coordinates. The coordinates were like a track that allowed the carriage to move with a path. If they entered with just their physical bodies, the coordinates would be impossible to find because that would be like finding a needle in the middle of the ocean.


    Of course, they were not actually entering the moon. Even if Xiao Lin knew how to turn his power into a shield, he did not know if he could directly enter outer space. Even though he had some excitement at the thought, it was not the time to do so. He merely dragged Asabanor¡¯s spirit and slowly flew further into the sky.


    When they were ten thousand meters above the ground, the air began to get thinner and thinner. Thanks to the shield, Xiao Lin was not affected too much, and in the sky, they were already covered in the light of the blood moon. It enveloped them like a fog, and it was as if they were dreaming. Being covered in the fog, he could vaguely see a golden light. That was the entrance of space and time. Asabanor had used an immense amount of power to rip open that opening.


    ¡°You should think about it. Once you enter, you¡¯ll never be able to return!¡± Asabanor smiled coldly.


    Xiao Lin nced at him, his intuition telling him that the cunning high priest would definitely not have admitted defeat so easily. Bringing him into the river of time, Asabanor definitely did not have any good intentions.. However, he had no other choice, so he coldly snorted, ¡°You should worry about yourself!¡± After that, he increased his speed, and with a sh, he disappeared into the golden entrance.

 Chapter 691 - Time and Space

    <h4>Chapter 691: Time and Space</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    No one knew who was the first to name the river of time and space. It might have been the first people to traverse the passage from Earth. However, it was just like its name; time and space did look like a golden river. The river flowed in many directions, and it was endless.


    It was something everyone could see when they were in the spatial carriages, and Xiao Lin had already been on the spatial carriages more than once. Furthermore, he was different from everyone else. He had truly stepped into time and space before. Back then, he and Silverlight had gone through time and space to witness Antis being destroyed by Poseidon.


    Initially, that was just something like watching a movie, and yet, the sudden developments had been unimaginable. Not knowing anything, Xiao Lin had shattered the wall of time, and had truly traveled to the past. They had even sealed the god of the sea, interfering with the flow of time.


    No, Xiao Lin always believed the fact that that had been how history actually moved. Only, no one would ever know if the chicken came before the egg.


    Stepping into that corridor again, Xiao Lin could not help but think about the past. He stopped for a moment, and let out a sigh. He remembered Silverlight, that woman who came from Antis. It was a pity that she met her end, and even passed on thest of her power to him.


    As for Asabanor, after entering the river of time and space, Xiao Lin had already started to slowly let go of his cor. However, Asabanor had instantly held onto the corner of Xiao Lin¡¯s sleeve. The man might be crazy, but he was no idiot. He knew that being in a spirit state in the flow of time would be like being a grain of sand in the sea. He would be washed away at any moment.


    He could only rely on Xiao Lin who had absorbed the power ofw in his Myth state to temporarily maintain himself. Xiao Lin knew that as well, which was why XIao Lin ignored the man.


    Asabanor was extremely shocked; he was shocked at how majestic the river of time looked. It was something he had spent almost his whole life researching. As someone who had never been in a spatial carriage, he was like a child who had got on a train for the first time. Even being as crazy as he was, he could not disguise the shock in his eyes.


    What really shocked Asabanor even more waas Xiao Lin¡¯s calmness, and also the third eye that had suddenly appeared on Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead.


    Asabanor stared at that silver eye, and insanity and jealousy burned in his eyes. He finally calmed down again. With the difference in power, he could not do anything at that moment.


    Xiao Lin seemed to notice something from Asabanor¡¯s expression, and he touched his forehead, and he thought about Silverlight before he sighed. That eye represented the power of time and space. Before, he could notpletely use the power despite inheriting it. Yet, either because of the power ofw or the fact that he was in the river of time and space, he was finally able topletely open the third eye that he had inherited.


    ¡°So this is the true appearance of the river of time! Time and space, space and time¡­ It really is an appropriate name for it!¡± Xiao Lin had a strange look on his face as he remarked curiously.


    In truth, the river of time was not empty, as there were countless sand-like fragments that were the size of rice, constantly flowing. Thanks to the third eye, the scene in front of him hadpletely changed. They were no longer grains of sand, but very small orbs of energy.


    The orbs of energy were not big, and could be said to be too small to even ount for. Xiao Lin reached out and touched it. The surface was very soft and smooth. Asabanor followed his lead, and tried to reach out, but to his anger, his hand merely phased through the orbs of energy, not touching anything.


    Asabanor was an intelligent person, as he knew that it was not only due to his spiritual form, but more so because of the third eye on Xiao Lin¡¯s forehead. Of course, he did not ask about it, since he knew that Xiao Lin would not tell him the truth, and he did not want to seek out his own embarrassment. However, Asabanor was not idle, and his eyes constantly moved, as if he was thinking about something.


    Xiao Lin did not want to focus on the high priest, and his focus had beenpletely captured by those orbs of energy in front of him. His hand could touch those orbs physically, but in just one or two seconds, he immediately removed his hands, as if he had touched something hot.


    What amazing power!


    Xiao Lin knew the principles ofpressing energy, but he had never seen a feat ofpression that was at such a shocking level. That feeling was like someone hadpressed a whole into the size of a football; the density was unimaginable.


    However, Xiao Lin could guess what those orbs of energy were. Each orb probably contained memories or moments of history. More precisely, they were time ¡ª time that had a physical form. The power of time was unlimited, which was how the sand had such an inexhaustible amount of energy.


    What he could infer from that was that changing history and time was not something unimaginable. As long as they could enter the river of time with enough power, they could forcibly interfere with those orbs of energy and change them. It was only that the power was incredibly shocking, and was at the level of destroyings. To be able to do that, one would have to be no different from a God.


    Thinking about that, Xiao Lin smiled bitterly, as there was never an end when it came to power. After he absorbed the power ofw and entered his Myth state, even him, who was always careful, could not help but feel like he could control everything. He estimated that he was at least at Gold-rank or above.


    However, when he witnessed the power within the sands of time, he suddenly felt incredibly miniscule. Even after absorbing the power of thew, he was still shockingly far from having true power.


    However, Xiao Lin did not realize that, even if that was the case, he was still using his eye and interacting with a power of a higher level. It was something most of the colonists, even those stronger than him, never had a chance to do.


    ¡°Asabanor, I more or less understand what you meant now. Sealing the passage really is something only I can do. It has nothing to do with the amount of power needed; the power ofw is actually something like a switch in the river of time.. You¡¯ve really calcted everything well!¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.

 Chapter 692 - Xiao Lin’s Madness

    <h4>Chapter 692: Xiao Lin¡¯s Madness</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Asabanor snapped back from his thoughts, and he was incredibly curious when he heard Xiao Lin¡¯s voice because within the corridor of time and space, other than time and space, nothing else could be transmitted, including sound. When he saw the energy around himself and Xiao Lin, he was no longer surprised.


    Even though Xiao Lin could not change the sands of time and space like a god, he could still do something as simple as summoning up energy bundles to allow for sound to be transmitted. That was an ability only restricted to close distance, and even Xiao Lin could do nothing about it if the distance was too far. Of course, this power that he could manage was already very impressive.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand how to do it. Then, I won¡¯t have to waste too much spit. Looking at you, you won¡¯t be able to maintain this state for much longer. You should hurry up!¡± Asabanor looked at Xiao Lin as he urged him on.


    Xiao Lin coldly snorted as he thought for a moment. Asabanor looked a lot calmer than earlier. With his understanding of the mad man, the guy definitely had a n.


    ¡°Are you not afraid that I¡¯ll kill you instantly? After all, I already know how to seal the passage. Even though you opened it, this passage isn¡¯t something you can control at all. You merely know the method,¡± Xiao Lin suddenly said.


    Asabanor slyly smiled. ¡°My life is already in your hands. In truth, what¡¯s the difference between being dead or alive in this river of time and space? Even if you don¡¯t kill me, once you can no longer maintain this state, I will lose the protection of your energy, and never be able to escape the vast expanse of time and space. It¡¯s a punishment worse than death. I would rather you kill me right now and give me some respite!¡±


    Xiao Lin frowned and did not answer. He merely looked at Asabanor. Even though he was not afraid of that high priest with his current power at all, in terms of experience and knowledge, he could notpare with that old man that was hundreds of years old.


    Xiao Lin started to get a headache. He had nned on killing Asabanor before Myth ended; that was something he naturally came up with. Asabanor was worth more to him as a dead man, but the guy seemed to not care about being dead or alive at all, and it did not seem to be something that was faked.


    That caused Xiao Lin to hesitate. He could not help but think that Asabanor¡¯s n was for Xiao Lin to kill him. It was possible that the guy had some way to absorb Xiao Lin¡¯s power right before the attack hit Asabanor.


    Even though it did not seem very realistic, and nothing Xiao Lin knew could ever do something like that, he could not help but be cautious since he was facing Asabanor.


    ¡°You have a few minutes left at most,¡± Asabanor said calmly.


    Xiao Lin could not help but remark to himself that Asabanor really was intelligent. In such a short amount of time, Asabanor was already able to analyze his power, and make such an urate assessment. It was correct as well; he could only maintain Myth for five or six more minutes at most.


    However, Xiao Lin did not express it, and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in no rush too.¡± Asabanor shrugged.


    The two of them stared at each other again, but they could not make out anything from the eyes of their counterparts¡¯.


    Xiao Lin knew that he could not allow the matter to continue to be dyed, and that he needed to make a decision. Yet, Asabanor¡¯s confidence felt as if he knew what decision Xiao Lin would make.


    He could not wait any longer.


    Xiao Lin took a deep breath as he finally made a decision. He suddenly cut off the energy connection with Asabanor, then he threw himself into the river of time. At that moment, he sank into countless golden sands, and the sands were uncountable pockets of time and space.


    Asabanor¡¯s reasoning was simple. If the passage was an unending river, and the main connection was the Timesand, then what Xiao Lin needed to do was cut off the river. Of course, cutting off the river was something impossible; it was like someone trying to cut off the whole ocean.


    However, Xiao Lin could at least cut off that small river that flowed toward Earth,pletely cutting it off! In order to do that, he would need to find out which passage was the one that headed to Earth, and the key to that was the sands of time. Each sand was a pocket of time and space.


    Some of those pockets belonged to the New World, and some of them belonged to Earth. There were also countless ones that belonged to unknown spaces. He needed to urately find the ones that belonged to Earth. Only then could he cut off those that flowed toward Earth and he could use that to shut off the passage.


    That was something only Xiao Lin could do.


    The moment he started, there was no way for Xiao Lin to escape anymore. Then, he would have no way of controlling Asabanor. Normally, Asabanor would disappear into the river of time and space without his protection.


    However, Xiao Lin suddenly thought of an even better choice. At the final moments, he suddenly took out a portion of power from his body and used it to bind Asabanor, who still had not drifted that far away. With the power of Myth, it was quite simple for Xiao Lin to do something like that.


    ¡°What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me now?¡± Asabanor¡¯s calm face changed a little; the difference in their power meant there was no way for him to fight back.


    Xiao Lin smiled coldly. ¡°Kill you? No no no, that would make it too easy for you. The moment I seal off the passage, I will forever be sealed here. It¡¯s quite lonely, so why don¡¯t you apany me?¡±


    ¡°What! What?! You! You mad man! You¡¯re crazy!¡± Asabanor¡¯s expression was shaken, and after losing hisposure, he realized what Xiao Lin wanted to do.


    ¡°Hahaha! I can¡¯t believe that even you are willing to admit I¡¯m crazy at the final moments. It¡¯s my honor!¡± Since Xiao Lin had already made the decision, he no longer cared, and enjoyed Asabanor¡¯s words like a prize.


    ¡°You want to absorb me? Xiao Lin! You actually want to absorb me! Do you know what kind of punishment it is for two souls to fight for eternity?!¡± Asabanor¡¯s body was shaking; it was shaking in fear. It was the first time he had ever revealed an expression like that. Even when Xiao Lin had just used Myth, he never had that expression.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I want to absorb you. I won¡¯t kill you, nor will I let you go. I want to be bound to you forever. I¡¯ll watch over you forever.. Only then will I be able to rx!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s words were filled with determination.

 Chapter 693 - Absorption

    <h4>Chapter 693: Absorption</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Everything in the world had energy, and energy was split into three main types, elemental, life and death. Spirits were part of death energy. Everyone had a soul, and even due to the New World¡¯s necromancy, death was not as permanent as on Earth.


    However, that did not mean that the soul was as capable as it was before death. Based on the New World¡¯sws, a soul would slowly be converted into life energy, which preserved the bnce of the world.


    Thatw existed within the New World, but a river containing thatw did not exist on Earth or in the New World. After death, no one knew what happened to the soul. Song Jung did not know, and Xiao Lin did not know, but after absorbing a portion of the power ofw, Xiao Lin had a feeling that, even if he died at that moment, his soul would not lose consciousness as it normally would, nor would it turn into life energy.


    Everyone¡¯s soul was different, but from the base qualities, it was all death energy. As long as there was a powerful enough outside force, absorbing a soul was not an impossible feat. In necromancy, there was even a spell for that purpose, but it was a very evil and dangerous spell.


    After absorbing another soul, either the attacker¡¯s power would bepletely converted into the other¡¯s own, or the two souls would fight each other like a two-headed animal. Furthermore, these two heads would also be enemies that would never be able to part. Just like Asabanor said, it was the greatest punishment.


    Asabanor panicked, no matter how cruel Xiao Lin was to Asabanor, he never expected that Xiao Lin would be willing to be just as cruel to himself.


    Asabanor started to resist with all his might. After being captured by Xiao Lin, it was the first time he struggled so hard, even if the efforts were in vain. However, that also meant that he was at his wit¡¯s end.


    Xiao Lin was not moved by it, and he knew that tying the mad man to him forever was definitely the best choice. That way, even after he died, he did not need to worry if Asabanor had other other schemes. At least his rtives on Earth, as well as Gu Xiaoyue and the others, would be safe.


    Being in the river of time and space, Xiao Lin continued to work hard looking for the fragments that belonged to Earth as he used a portion of his energy to pull Asabanor toward himself. It took a bit of effort, but Xiao Lin hung on.


    He quickly found Earth¡¯s space and time pockets. It was actually not that hard because Earth and the New World had already formed a passage earlier on, so a lot of the fragments that were already formed tens of thousands of years ago. Even though it was very sparse whenpared to the whole river of time, the amount was not little. With Xiao Lin¡¯s current power, all he needed to do was find the first one, and the rest became easy.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start!¡± Xiao Lin turned around for onest look, as if he wanted to look past the unending river of time, to find the New World, and find Gu Xiaoyue from that world. However, it was only just a pipe dream.


    Xiao Lin renewed his focus, and he started to absorb those fragments within himself. It was so he could turn himself into a spigot ¡ª a spigot that could open and close the passage. Of course, it was not something his soul or body could do, and it required the power ofw to pull off.


    On the other end, he was still constantly pulling at Asabanor¡¯s soul. He had thought that it would be much easier than closing the passage, but Xiao Lin quickly realized something was wrong. He had thought that it would only take a few dozen seconds at most, and his power would be able to pull Asabanor in close. After that, once his Myth state ended, their souls would bepletely merged before they were sealed behind the spigot.


    However, Myth was already almost at its end, yet Asabanor was still struggling. The struggle even seemed to get stronger. However, Xiao Lin knew that Asabanor definitely did not have the power to do that. Not only that, as the pulling got stronger, he started to feel an incredibly familiar feeling from within Asabanor.


    ¡°That feeling. Asabanor, you really are a cunning guy!¡± Xiao Lin frowned in thought, and suddenly realized.


    The Shard of Creation!


    That familiar feeling was actually a Shard of Creation! That was the earliest clue Ivanovich had left Xiao Lin. The Shards of Creation were scattered throughout the New World. As for how many there were and where they were, no one knew. Xiao Lin merely adopted an attitude of getting them only if he stumbled upon them, and had never deliberately searched to collect them.


    However, he never expected that Asabanor would have a shard as well. No, from that feeling, it was definitely not just one shard!


    As for how Asabanor did it, that was no longer important. Xiao Lin was starting to be scared as he suddenly understood Asabanor¡¯s n.


    Those shards were the guy¡¯s final trump card, and the way he could ensure he would continue advancing to Earth. However, Asabanor himself would not be able to use those shards because they could only be used by SS-rank talent holders. If Asabanor could use it, it would probably only be for a second or two.


    Xiao Lin suddenly realized it. The key might just be himself.


    Just now, it did not matter if he chose to kill Asabanor or to let Asabanor off; he would definitely have to use the power ofw. At that moment, Asabanor would be able to use the Shards of Creation.


    Even if Xiao Lin closed the passage then, he would have died in vain. Asabanor would use the power of the shard to head to Earth at the moment the passage closed. Even though he did not know how the bastard did it, the shards definitely had that ability.


    However, Asabanor never expected that Xiao Lin would choose to absorb him. More importantly, Xiao Lin also had shards within his body, causing Asabanor to be unable to control his own shards anymore.


    ¡°No matter! Even though it¡¯s a bit of a surprise, the results aren¡¯t bad. As for the shards, let¡¯s leave them here too!¡± Xiao Lin quickly activated the shards in his own body. He had the power ofw, and even if he did not have absolute control, he was still much stronger than Asabanor.


    The shards had a power to mutually absorb themselves. Once the shards started to pull together as well, Asabanor¡¯s soul could no longer put up a struggle. All that could be seen was countless golden glowing lights within that sinister gray cloud of his.. The glow constantly attacked his soul, causing his soul to form various strange shapes.

 Chapter 694 - Soul Split

    <h4>Chapter 694: ?Soul Split</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Xiao Lin! You¡¯re ruthless! I¡¯ve lost this time! However, remember, this is still not the end. I¡¯ll be back! I¡¯ll absolutelye back!¡±


    Asabanor¡¯s shouts could be heard. Even though his voice could not be transmitted after losing Xiao Lin¡¯s energy shield, due to the mutual pull of their souls, the two of them were connected by energy, and because of that, Xiao Lin could immediately feel what the guy was doing.


    Asabanor really was a crazy man. At the final moments, Asabanor had withstood a pain that a normal person would never be able to stand and split his soul into two!


    As the purest form of death energy, souls could naturally be split up. However, it was something practically impossible for someone to do themselves. Just like how a live person would never be able to slowly cut their own limbs apart. There was not just physical pain, it was a mental torture that practically no one could withstand.


    However, Asabanor had done it, and with how familiar he seemed with it, it was obvious that it was not the first time he thought of it. It was probably something he had nned for a long time.


    ¡°He really is a crazy man!¡± Xiao Lin could not help but curse as that happened. That was definitely Asabanor¡¯s final escape n. Xiao Lin had to admit that he underestimated that man¡¯s ruthlessness.


    Being ruthless to the self was true ruthlessness.


    Xiao Lin dared to seal himself, but Asabanor was obviously not a good person either.


    Asabanor used thest of his energies to split most of his soul apart. The portion that remained was the one that carried the Shards of Creation, and it seemed to have used up most of his power. That was the final, most desperate choice, but only with that could he survive. The parts that remained, due to the suction of the shard, would never be able to be brought away.


    What he had left might still have all of Asabanor¡¯s will and memories, but he was incredibly weak. He could not even maintain a human form, and only had a vague shadow that was the size of a fist. It was pitch-ck, and constantly flickered like ghostfire. The shadow slightly shook, because it had left behind most of his power. Without the shards of creation, even if Xiao Lin reacted and tried to use his power to catch the shadow, it would already be toote.


    The shadow sped away from Xiao Lin¡¯s vicinity. Even in the endless river of time, even if Xiao Lin had managed to control the power ofw, Xiao Lin could not spread his power too far. Furthermore, with the flow of the sands of time, the shadow seemed to shrink in a sh, andpletely disappeared from sight, dispersing into the countless gold sands.


    Xiao Lin could notpletely get rid of Asabanor despite having made the most ruthless decision. As for where Asabanor would flow to, he could no longer find out. Based on normal logic, that soul¡¯s power would only be able to drift around forever; it was no different from being exiled.


    However, after having encountered Asabanor numerous times, there was no way for Xiao Lin to be sure. He did not know for sure if that crazy high priest had some final card to y, allowing him to escape the river of time.


    However, even if he really had the ability to escape, that ck shadow was way too weak. Even if was to start gathering death energy again to grow, to return to the state he was would need at least a hundred years.


    As for what would happen hundreds of yearster, it was no longer what Xiao Lin could care about.


    However, after absorbing the portion of the soul that Asabanor had given up on, Xiao Lin did not have time to feel it when Myth reached its limits.


    After the surge of power rapidly started to recede, all the fatigue and exhaustion seemed to hit Xiao Lin at the same time. The third eye on his forehead rapidly closed without the power to keep it open, and even disappeared. His ck hair turnedpletely grey and white, and his eyes, ears, nose and mouth all started to spurt out immense amounts of blood. The blood bled into the river of time, and immediately disappeared.


    It had finally ended!


    Xiao Lin lightly took ast sigh. He could feel his eyes getting very tired, and his sight became very blurred. His ten fingers started to lose all feeling as well. He understood that it meant that all his senses were going away. His body was alreadypletely destroyed.


    He did not even have the power to raise his hand. Xiao Lin knew that his body was probably like a piece of ss that was full of cracks. With just one touch, the ss wouldpletely shatter, and his soul would forever remain here, serving as the seal to block the New World from going to Earth.


    That was a result he had expected. When it actually came, Xiao Lin actually felt much more at peace. His consciousness slowly blurred, and he suddenly thought of a lot. Ever since he entered the academy, he had gotten to know so many people. Song Jung, Cheng Ming, and Gu Xiaoyue¡­ He thought about everything that had happened.


    From being a normal person, he had been given responsibilities and burdens that were hard for anyone else to imagine. Xiao Lin had sometimes felt like he had no room to breathe with the increasing pressure that was being put on him, but he did notin, nor could he, because he had those he cared about, and someone he loved.


    Yet, now all of the burdens and pressures no longer existed. At the final moment, Xiao Lin felt a relief that he had never felt before. All his experiences in Dawn Academy started to rey in front of him like a projector, up till that admission letter that he had received at the start.


    If he were to do it again, would he regret it?


    Did he regret receiving that admittance letter?


    If that admittance letter had really been sent to him by his future self through some unknown method, then would the current him do it again?


    Was the future going to hold everything he had just experienced?


    With that final question, Xiao Lin¡¯s vision thoroughly darkened, and right before his consciousness fell intoplete chaos, he seemed to hear a voice from deep inside his heart.


    ¡®It¡¯s still not the end!


    ¡®Your future will not stop here!¡¯


    ¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s still not the end!¡± In the cemetery, Gu Xiaoyue crazily rushed toward the center of the formation. Even though the wormhole seemed to already be closed, going toward the power that remained in the Reverse God Sealing Array was still incredibly dangerous for them.


    Chen Dao and An Luo were standing by Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s sides and protecting her.. Even though they did not have much strength left, they could still block those intense winds for Gu Xiaoyue, but it was still for just a moment.

 Chapter 695 - Gu Xiaoyue’s Efforts

    <h4>Chapter 695: Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s Efforts</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As for Cheng Ming, he had already arrived at the center of the formation before them. He had carved up a path for Gu Xiaoyue and the others. The core of the formation was an ordinary looking gravestone. It looked very old, and Cheng Ming¡¯s methods were simple ¡ª he sent a punch right at it.


    With that punch, Cheng Ming¡¯s fist was immediately split open. The gravestone only had a mild crack on it. However, he was ted, as the extreme hardness of that stone meant that there was definitely something strange about that. It meant that Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s guess had been correct; that was the core of the God Sealing Array.


    So, Cheng Ming took out the shield on his back, and started hitting the gravestone with it over and over. His shield had just been changed just for the sake of the tournament, so the quality was very good. After a few dozen hits, there was somewhat of an effect. The scar on the gravestone gotrger andrger, but Cheng Ming¡¯s shield was rapidly getting destroyed.


    Finally, the shield could no longer endure it, and the whole shield did not seem to have any spot that was undamaged. Cheng Ming did not mind, and threw the shield away before he continued to use his fists. This time, his fists had a faint golden glow to it. The energy he used was the best he had, but he could not hold onto it for too long.


    However, Cheng Ming no longer cared about all that. Each punch he made was with his full force. Even though the golden glow protected his fist, it used a lot of his energy.


    The gravestone continued to crack.


    Gu Xiaoyue and the others finally arrived through the energy storm. The price they paid were heavy injuries on An Luo and Chen Dao. The two of them had basically used their bodies to protect Gu Xiaoyue, who did not have any ability to advance by herself.


    However, their powers were limited, and when they arrived at the core of the cemetery, Chen Dao could no longer hold back and he spat out mouthfuls of blood. His face was an abnormal red hue, and he forced out a smile. ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, the next part is all on you. You can¡¯t leave Xiao Lin stranded!¡±


    An Luo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his physique was even worse than Chen Dao¡¯s. Before he could even speak, he copsed to the ground. Chen Dao was not much better off either, but Chen Dao¡¯s talent was stronger, so it allowed him to hold on for a fraction longer.


    Cheng Ming¡¯s condition was not much better; he did not even have the energy to look at the two other injured students. His entire body was filled with serious wounds, and his outer coat had already turned into a cloak of blood thanks to the energy storm. The golden glow on his arms was gradually weakening. He looked up with a tired face and told Gu Xiaoyue, ¡°There¡¯s only a little left. Stand back for now!¡±


    Gu Xiaoyue nodded and followed his words.


    Cheng Ming took a deep breath, stood up abruptly, and raised his right fist; the dim golden light once again became radiant again. With a shout, he mmed into the gravestone that was already full of cracks. After a few seconds, the gravestone finally fell.


    After the light faded again, Cheng Ming copsed to the floor, but his physique was quite good, so he was not in as bad of a state as Chen Dao and An Luo. He still had some strength, and he was incredibly curious as well, so before Gu Xiaoyue came up, he looked around, trying to see what the core of the formation was.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Cheng Ming was dumbfounded.


    Gu Xiaoyue moved forward. Even though she did not know much about the God Sealing Array, with her intelligence, her understanding of the formation was better than anyone else. Hearing Cheng Ming¡¯s exmation, she got more worried. After all, she could not guarantee that she could actually do something.


    Yet, when she walked to the broken gravestone and looked into it, Gu Xiaoyue was stunned for a moment as well. Through the gap was a sealed room that could only fit in one person. In the room was a counter, and on the counter was aputer?


    Computer?


    That was right, it was aputer, a notebookptop to be precise. There was also an obvious Lenovo brand logo on theputer.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that? Are we in the wrong ce?!¡± Chen Dao had forced himself to take a few steps forward, and could not help but curse at the strange sight.


    They had spent all that thought and effort looking for the core of the formation, wanting to use that formation to reopen the passage. Even if it were just for a moment, they still hoped that they could allow Xiao Lin toe back.


    ¡°No! There¡¯s no mistaking it! This is it!¡± Gu Xiaoyue regained her calm. ¡°I saw books rted to this in the library before. High-leveled magical arrays require very high levels of knowledge, and controlling them is immensely hard. So, a senior thought of a way to use calctors to handle the various important points in magical formations. It¡¯s basically like coding, using codes to control the whole magical array¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on!¡± Chen Dao stopped her, awkwardly saying, ¡°We don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying at all. Just tell us, will you be able to handle the formation?¡±


    Cheng Ming merely nodded, not understanding anything as well. High level knowledge like that was something they had never heard of before, and only Gu Xiaoyue had interacted with it before thanks to her frequenting the library and her intelligence.


    ¡°Yes! I can do it!¡± Gu Xiaoyue answered very quickly and resolutely, ¡°If it is a magical formation, I might need to rely on my luck, but if it¡¯s coding¡­¡±


    Before she even finished speaking, she ran inside the room in the gap. She did not have the time to exin in detail, but Gu Xiaoyue¡¯s confidence on her face already gave Cheng Ming and Chen Dao the answer. They exchanged a nce, and both dragged their wounded bodies over, lying down next to the fainted An Luo and the gap.


    They still did not know what had happened to Asabanor, or if there would be any other undeads turning up to disrupt them. However, even if there were, unless they died there, no one would be able to disturb Gu Xiaoyue. Even though it had just been a year, at some point, they had already treated Gu Xiaoyue as a friend that they would fight to the death with.


    In the dark room, there was only the glow of theptop. On it were various numbers and symbols rapidly shing. Even though it was a traditional Lenovoputer, there had already beenplete changes. For instance, the keyboard waspletely different, and the alphabets on it had all been swapped to basic magical symbols.


    ¡°I can do this! I can do this!¡± Gu Xiaoyue mumbled, her eyes shing in determination as her nimble hands started to rapidly type away on the keyboard, the clear sound of tapping reverberating around the narrow room.

 Chapter 696 - Lunar Eclipse That Is About To End

    <h4>Chapter 696: ?Lunar Eclipse That Is About To End</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    On Earth¡­


    On the mountain peak, the Earth Division of Dawn Academy¡¯s peace was heavily disrupted after the appearance of the blood moon. The employees might have already known about that astrological phenomenon, but it was still something that only happened once every few hundred years, so they could not help but start to chatter among themselves in low voices.


    The telescope outside the building was alreadypletely facing the surface of the moon, and was being broadcasted on a monitor on the screen so that everyone could see it. For the Earth Division that was never in need of money, the telescope hade at a very high price. The uracy and quality came without saying, but there was nothing much to see on the Earth¡¯s surface, and they had all already gotten tired of the mountainous regions on the moon.


    Only Mao Tianying was getting more and more nervous; his eyes were fixed on the central monitor, and he constantly looked at his watch, mumbling to himself, ¡°Hurry up! Hurry up and end!¡±


    As long as the blood moon ended, it would mean that the night would continue to be peaceful and uneventful, and he could continue living his carefree lifestyle. Of course, that was the future he hoped the most for.


    Time passed second by second, minute by minute.


    As the blood moon slowly disappeared, Mao Tianying¡¯s face slowly rxed, and he would asionally talk to the few other employees. The cheerful division head was back, and the atmosphere in the office became much more rxed. There were a lot more conversations going on.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the news say that this is a miracle that only happens once every two hundred something years? It¡¯s such a rare asion, so why isn¡¯t the division head treating us all to a meal?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we were ordered here for emergency overtime. Now, I only have instant noodles to eat.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, you can all go into the city, and you can eat whatever you want. Everything will bepensated!¡± Mao Tianying was incredibly happy.


    ¡°Do we only get to choose food? I canceled a date with a girl to be here.¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s overtime pay will bepensated in triple, no, thirty times!¡± Mao Tianying waved his hands in an exaggerated manner. He eyed the blood moon that was about to end. There was only a little crescent moon left on the blood moon, so his mood was good. He might not have a lot of powers as a division head, but in terms of overtime pay, he had the right to make the decisions.


    ¡°I love you, Division Head!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡±


    The office broke out in cheers. Everyone¡¯s focus also slowly shifted away from the monitor. Even though the blood moon was rare, money was even more attractive. To those of them who were willing to stay on Earth instead of going to the New World, they naturally wanted more money to live a morefortable life.


    The strict office had finally returned to the usual atmosphere, and they no longer needed to sit at their desks in somber moods, so it became much noisier.


    However, since the overtime order had been issued, there was no way for them to leave that night, so everyone¡¯s gazes shifted back to the screen in boredom. The telescope had managed to capture the final moments of the blood moon, and the astrological miracle was quickly going to end.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± A woman of about twenty years of age suddenly eximed curiously, but her voice did not attract much attention.


    ¡°Zhang, what did you notice?¡± Mao Tianying had heard it. Even though his mood was not bad, he was still observing the monitor for any little changes. He would onlypletely rx when the blood moonpletely ended.


    ¡°Ah, there must be something wrong with my eyes. I seemed to have seen a mosquito flying out of the moon.¡± That woman was quite honest, and repeated what she had seen.


    The others shifted their gazes over, but when they kept on erging the image of the moon; they did not see anything, and the moon remained to be a deste mountainous region.


    ¡°You must have been mistaken!¡±


    ¡°Haha. Could there be mosquitoes on the moon?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s winter now. There aren¡¯t even mosquitoes on Earth.¡±


    The whole officeughed.


    The woman could not help but blush, and she felt like she had made a big deal out of nothing. She hurriedly waved it off. ¡°It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s toote, and my eyes were ying tricks on me. Ah, it¡¯s been so long since we worked overtime.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss what we¡¯re going to eat tomorrow. It¡¯s so rare for the division head to be treating us.¡± Someone who was not interested in the eclipse at all turned the topic around.


    However, Mao Tianying¡¯s eyebrows immediately furrowed. He motioned for everyone to keep quiet. ¡°I have to issue a task first. Everyone, pull out all the recordings and pictures, and find that mosquito Zhang mentioned! No, not just that time period earlier. Check out the whole blood moon¡¯s duration!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± They felt quite strange, not understanding why Mao Tianying was making such a big deal out of that so-called ¡®mosquito¡¯. In truth, all of them still did not understand the reason behind the sudden overtime order.


    Mao Tianying looked at theirck of a reaction, and could not help but feel a headacheing on. He felt like he reallycked authority as a division head. He could not help but emphasize, ¡°If we can¡¯t find it tonight, don¡¯t even think about the thirty times overtime pay!¡±


    The group suddenly got much more serious. No matter if they were chatting away or making coffee, all of them tossed aside what they were doing and sat in front of theirputers.


    Mao Tianying shook his head ruefully; it seemed like money had more power than he did. However, that was fine. As long as they could get rid of that final worry, everything would be fine, and nothing else was more important. He looked up at the monitor. The blood moon hadpletely ended at that point, and now he just had one final remaining worry, which was that ¡®mosquito¡¯ from earlier. Then, he would be able to talk to his superiors.


    The office was busy again, but because of the allure of overtime pay, everyone¡¯s enthusiasm was high, and the work was naturally much more efficient.


    The recording of the whole blood moon had been stored in theputer. Everyone divided the work among themselves, and searched through it thoroughly. Not long after, there was a result.


    ¡°Division Head! Zhang was right, there actually was a mosquito. No, it¡¯s a suspicious ck dot to be more precise. Iit just looks like a mosquito.¡± Someone had immediately shouted out after noticing it.


    Mao Tianying did not wait for the picture to be printed out. He immediately rushed over, narrowing his eyes and looking at it for a moment. After constantly erging it, the ck dot in the recording turned into a blurry ck shadow, but it was hard to determine what it was.. However, from a few photos, they could confirm that the thing had definitely suddenlye out of the blood moon, and it was not just something that happened tond on the lens.

 Chapter 697 - Broken Passage

    <h4>Chapter 697: Broken Passage</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Division Head, it¡¯s on these pictures as well, and it looks a bit strange.¡± Another person had noticed it as well, and when Mao Tianying went over, the man pointed at a few pictures, saying, ¡°Look, that ck shadow is very obviously moving. It doesn¡¯t seem to be blown by the wind, and I¡¯ve checked the direction of the winds. It doesn¡¯t make sense. From its movement, it seems to be alive¡­¡±


    After that final conclusion, the office suddenly fell silent because those words had caused some of them to have goosebumps. They all looked at each other, and did not know what to do. Even though they were all part of Dawn Academy, and were all ambitionless folk, the situation was too far out of their scope of understanding.


    Mao Tianying frowned as he was at a loss as well. That strange figure was also not within his expectations. After thinking for a moment, he helplessly shook his head, ¡°Whatever, this is not something we can handle. Compile these pictures into a report and hand it over to the academy to handle. Everyone¡¯s work is not bad. The overtime pay continues!¡±


    The confirmation of continued overtime pay caused them to cheer, and they started to shift their focus over. Yes, no matter what the dark shadow was, it would naturally be analyzed and solved by those that were better than them. Even though they were not that capable, after so long, everyone had faith in Dawn Academy¡¯s capabilities.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be dyed, so everyone, put in some more effort andpile the report right away. Then, we can have it sent over to Dawn Academy!¡± Mao Tianying immediately let out a sigh of relief. What he expected did not happen, such as some unimaginable catastrophe, but that ck shadow still caused him to be nervous.


    With the help of overtime pay, their work was incredibly efficient. They managed topile the report in just half an hour and ce it on Mao Tianying¡¯s desk. The division head looked through it, edited a few parts, then signed his name after making sure there were no issues. He said, ¡°Send it right to the school through trans-spatialmunication.¡±


    The others were stunned. Based on normal procedures, documents were supposed to be sent through the trans-spatialmunication lines right to Dawn Academy. That was because that method ofmunication that transcended space and time needed a lot of energy stones, so it would not be used so easily unless it was an emergency. Most of the time, they would send someone to go to the academy through the spatial carriage, or even hand it to anyone that was here on an errand for the academy.


    To those in the office, trans-spatialmunication was something they had not encountered in several years. However, everyone had undergone training before, and even though it was a bit foreign, they still quickly managed to restart the device. They took out the stored energy stones, and after the set up wasplete, the report was converted into magical runes before being sent over.


    Mao Tianying did not operate it himself and merely sat at his desk, deep in thought. Lately, a lot of things have been happening both at the academy and in the New World. That caused him to feel uneasy. Of course, what happened there had nothing to do with him, but he was worried that it would disturb his peaceful life if it started to involve Earth.


    Just as Mao Tianying was thinking about his worries, a very unsettling voice shouted out, ¡°Division¡­ Division head! This isn¡¯t good! It¡¯s not good!¡±


    A few people started to barge inside. It was the ones he had ordered to send the report. Mao Tianying¡¯s heart suddenly pounded, and he said angrily, ¡°What are you shouting for?! Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s the middle of the night? What happened? Speak up properly!¡±


    ¡°Division Head, the trans-spatialmunication device isn¡¯t working. We can¡¯t establish a connection!¡±


    ¡°Not only that, the spatial carriage¡¯s wormhole won¡¯t open!¡±


    Thosest words caused Mao Tianying¡¯s tense mental state to fall apart. He staggered and almost fell down. Ignoring his stature, he rushed over, grabbing the man¡¯s cor as he shouted angrily, ¡°What did you say? What do you mean the wormhole isn¡¯t opening? Who asked you to do that?!¡±


    ¡°Division Head, the trans-spatialmunication device wasn¡¯t working earlier, and we thought that there must have been a problem with the power from the wormhole. You know we¡¯re a small ce, and both devices use the same power source. In the end, we noticed that the wormhole can¡¯t open at all!¡± The man who spoke had an incredibly strange look on his face.


    Mao Tianying no longer bothered listening to him. He pushed him aside as he ran over to where the spatial carriage was.


    The wormhole was actually a huge circr arc. Next to the door was the spatial carriage. Normally, as long as they activate the passage, the door would immediately summon a void in thin air, which was the wormhole.


    However, no matter what Mao Tianying did, including a few final kicks out of frustration, the door would not move at all. There was none of the familiar golden sand, nor was there the river-like passage.


    Mao Tianying¡¯s face paled incredibly. He suddenly issued an order, ¡°Contact the US, Ennd, Russia, and all the other Earth Divisions. See what the situation is like. I hope it¡¯s just on our side. Otherwise¡­¡±


    Otherwise, it would be a major problem.


    Their group might not want to wage war in the New World. Even if they nned on retiring on Earth, they still needed the academy¡¯s strength behind them. Otherwise, with their miniscule powers, would they be able to face the rapidly changing situation?


    They quickly got the answers from the various other academies. The calls all went through next to Mao Tianying. In truth, they did not even need to make the callster on, and they had started to be contacted by the other divisions. As Earth Divisions, they all naturallymunicated between one another.


    After each call was hung up on, Mao Tianying¡¯s face would pale even more. It was not a malfunction, nor was it a coincidence. Currently, every single Earth Division had lost ess to their wormhole, and it had all seemed to happen at the same time, which was when the blood moon ended!


    What happened?


    No one knew, and all of the academies were anxiously gathering information. Those of them who were part of the academy that were on errands on Earth were quickly contacted, but even they did not know what was happening with that unprecedented situation.


    Without trans-spatialmunication and without the spatial carriage, it meant that Earth and the New World, and the academies, could no longer be in contact. Everyone believed that it was only the beginning of something strange¡­

 Chapter 698 - The Night Everything Changed

    <h4>Chapter 698: The Night Everything Changed</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    That night would prove to be impossible to forget, both for those on Earth or on the New World.


    The blood moon on Earth had already disappeared, and the moon had recovered to its silvery white splendor. The phenomenon that only happened once every two hundred odd years finally ended, and to normal folk, the night passed by calmly and normally. Only many yearster would everyone start to understand that the night had been a turning point in history.


    In another manner of speaking, the wheel of history finally started to move forward that night.


    Only very few newspapers reported strange happenings, such as there being ghosts in a cemetery or some strange monsters appearing deep in the mountains, but all that news was quickly buried due to theck of evidence.


    The Earth Division had been filled with anxiety and confusion, but they quickly decided that they had to figure out a way to deal with the sudden situation. Mao Tianying had hurried to board a ne to America early in the morning. The result of interacting with the various other divisions was that they needed to hold a meeting between all the branches. The various people in charge would be in attendance. Due to Judge Academy¡¯s position, it was decided that the meeting would be in America.


    When they first heard that all forms ofmunication had been closed off, Mao Tianying and the others had been in a state of panic. After all, they were merely ambitionless folk who had gotten used to listening to orders from the main branch. When they suddenly lost the people behind them, it was unavoidable that they would be caught off guard. Yet, after the constant calls with the other divisions, Mao Tianying¡¯s mind thought of a saying.


    When the tigers leave the mountain, the monkeys be the king.


    The division heads, who never had much authority, had suddenly been handed the power to determine their own lives, and possibly even the fate of the world. That anticipation even caused the ambitionless Mao Tianying to admit that he was getting a little excited.


    Even though those people were considered average in skill within the various academies, or even among the weaker ones, they were only on Earth because they felt that they did not have much room to grow in the New World, and decided to live a peaceful life on Earth. However, without the constraints of the academies, their powers were still quite impressive on Earth.


    Mao Tianying had a lot of thoughts on the matter while he was on the way to America. In the end, everything needed to be agreed upon by all of the academies collectively. After all, they had to first make sure that they were still stable internally.


    Compared to the peacefulness on Earth, the New World was already in an uproar.


    Almost at the same time as the disappearance of the blood moon, Dawn Academy¡¯s new dean used a high-levelmunication method to issue a war announcement to the various academies: ¡®In view of the long-term scheming from the Weier Union in robbing the merchant caravans of Dawn Academy, Dawn Academy has decided tounch a war against them. We hope the other academies will understand.¡¯


    The moment that announcement came out, almost every academy was stunned.


    The Weier Union was a country of humans that were situated at the south of Dawn Academy. Even though the country did not have muchnd, it was a verymercial kingdom. No matter if it was in terms of lifestyle or spending, the locals had slowly been influenced by Earth. The locals were very intelligent when it came to business, and their early assimtion had allowed them to benefit greatly from many businesses between the academies and the New World. The royalty of the kingdom had very full coffers.


    Most importantly, everyone understood, even the youngest children among the natives, that the Weier Union¡¯s ability to so boldly expand their businesses was because the kingdom¡¯s royalty had the support and protection of both the American Judge Academy and the Royal British Academy. As a price for that protection, both the academies would gainrge amounts of money from Weier¡¯s royalty every year.


    If the history of the colonists on the New World could be split into two parts, then the first part saw the colonists using military might to suppress and attack enemy kingdoms to obtain territories, wealth, and people. After umting the basic resources, and after all the academies had sizable territories, the limited poption of colonists meant that wars like that no longer happened.


    Furthermore, with the naturalization of citizens, and the allure of the profits that could be gained, many natives had both passively and actively seeked coboration. So, in the recent hundred years, there were fewer and fewer military actions from the colonists, and economic control had taken its ce. A portion of them had termed it bloodless colonization.


    The Weier Union represented just that, but the most insulting thing was, as a border country to Dawn Academy, they should have been under Dawn Academy. However, the academy was still in the process of recovering from the war against the orcs back then, and could not do anything but watch as the Americans and the British took the opportunity to make the first move and annex the whole union. Furthermore, thanks to the collective alliance that the academies had signed, Dawn Academy could do nothing about it.


    Yet now, Dawn Academy seemed to be ignoring the treaty and dering war on the Weier Union. Everyone knew that the true target of the deration of war was actually Judge Academy and the Royal British Academy. After all, as a country that submitted to the academies, the Weier Union hadpletely abandoned their military in order to appease the academies. They only had the most basic peacekeeping troops, and there was definitely no way to stop the advancement of Dawn Academy with just that alone.


    If the Americans and the British did not interfere, then the Weier Union would fall eventually. The money the two academies would lose was not too important, but if such a thing happened and they ignored it, it would definitely cause a very long chain of consequences.


    However, if they did not ignore it, unless Dawn Academy decided to retreat, then the three academies would be fighting each other. That would be a disastrous result, especially since the wormholes had been sealed, and the Royal British Academy¡¯s first-year students were still lost within Dawn Academy¡¯s territories thanks to the tournament. No one would believe that the two incidents were not linked.


    The future of humanity, the future of the whole world, had been plunged into a state of disarray that night.


    As everyone¡¯s hearts filled up with anxiety, very few of them remembered that, in that graveyard, a young girl and a few injured students were working hard trying to save theirpanion.


    On a hospital bed, a white-haired dean looked out into the sky. He looked extremely skinny in his white patient¡¯s robe, and his pale face had no trace of blood flowing in it. At that moment, he did not look like the once majestic dean, but an old man at the end of his life. He stared at the stars for a very long time before letting out a sigh. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll bet my life on this, and help you onest time. I¡¯ll consider it as returning Ivan a favor.¡±


    That night, not one person slept.

 Chapter 699 - Xiao Lin’s Dream (1)

    <h4>Chapter 699: Xiao Lin¡¯s Dream (1)</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin felt like he was dreaming. It was a very, very long dream. In the dream, he entered an academy by the name of Dawn Academy. That academy was very magical, and was like a novel or a movie. It taught magic, swordsmanship, and various other amazing powers. After learning those abilities, they were sent to colonize a foreign world. It was apletely new world, and the humans of Earth had a position of absolute power there.


    That dream was very long, and very realistic. He could even clearly remember the various people he got to know in the dream. The mysterious old dean, the carefree Song Jung, the honest Cheng Ming, the jovial Chen Dao, and even that indifferent and unforgettable Gu Xiaoyue. They learned together, grew together, fought together and faced difficulties together, establishing rich friendships and feelings.


    The dream was too realistic. It was so realistic that Xiao Lin did not feel like waking up. He wanted to stay in the dream forever, and stay with his friends in the dream. However, all dreams have to be woken up from, and even Xiao Lin himself had forgotten how far the dream had gone when he suddenly opened his eyes.


    He was awake.


    In a rented house that was not toorge, the eye-piercing light caused Xiao Lin to narrow his eyes, which were unustomed to it. He tiredly rubbed his eyes, stretching as he looked around his surroundings.


    It was the room he had rented. After graduating, he worked at a real estatepany. However, he was fired after two months. After that, he rented a cheap room and started the long process of finding a job.


    For some reason, the room seemed incredibly foreign to him, as if he had not seen it for a long time. On theputer screen that was ced on the desk, was the image of a lost game. He seemed to remember continuously losing a few games right before he slept, which was why he stopped ying out of anger. He had nned to take a short nap, but why did he feel like that was already a very long time ago?


    Xiao Lin stood there for a moment before shaking his head ruefully, thinking that he was just too tired. He nced at his phone, and it was ten minutes past eleven. He suddenly felt incredulous; he had finished his games at eleven, which meant he had only been asleep for ten minutes.


    Such a long dream had only been ten minutes?


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered something, and immediately had a thought. He remembered that, in his dream, that mysterious academy called Dawn Academy had given him a letter of admission at this time. He was filled with anticipation, excitement, and happiness. He forgot to even put on his shoes, and jumped off the bed as he ran to the front door with his bare feet.


    Bang!


    Abruptly opening the door, there was no one in the dark corridor. There was only the sound of a mild breeze. He felt dissatisfied, and used his phone¡¯s shlight to sweep the corridor a few times, checking basically every nook and corner. He did not even see a single piece of paper, let alone an admittance letter.


    He returned to his room in disappointment. Xiao Lin smiled at himself in self-mocking, silently cursing himself for his absurd notions. It had clearly just been a dream, and now he had to face reality after waking up. And the reality was, this was a world dictated by science. There was no Dawn Academy, no admission letter, no New World, and definitely not magic and swordsmanship.


    It was time to sleep; he still needed to continue looking for a job the next day.


    Xiao Lin consoled himself before switching off theputer and the lights. Hey back down on the bed. In his groggy head, he suddenly had a moment of doubt. Could such a realistic dream just be a dream?


    After waking up the next day, Xiao Lin had already thrown the confusion from thest night to the back of his head. He did not want to dwell in daydreams the whole day. After all, he was being pressured to look for a job. Xiao Lin¡¯s family was very average, and he had spent too much of his family¡¯s money in his life. He definitely did not want to continue being a freeloader after graduating.


    After a few days of hard work, Xiao Lin finally found a passable job. Of course, the job was only passable because his expectations were very low. Xiao Lin knew very well that his resume was not the best. He went to a low-tier school and had a low-tier specialization, and he did not know how to talk or tter others. So, even though it was a job that only paid him over two thousand a month, he only needed to sit in the office every day, so it was quitefortable.


    After that, Xiao Lin¡¯s life went back to normal. He had always been an ordinary and average person. There was joy to that life, working nine to five every day. Even though the sry was not high and there was very little room for advancement, the steady life gave him more free time to read, game, and move about during the weekends.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s days went by quitefortably, and that dream those nights ago had beenpletely tossed aside by him. Of course, there were the asional spices added into the peaceful life. For instance, in the Spring, there were suddenly a few days straight of torrential rains, causing everyone on Earth to discuss it. Many meteorologistsmented on the abnormality of the situation.


    Xiao Lin even saw many rumors on some forums on the Inte. There were talks about monsters appearing in the Pacific Ocean, and even people who imed that the rain was a sign of Poseidon¡¯s return, or even Antis resurfacing. There were even talks about it being the end of the world. All sorts of news spread to every corner of the Inte.


    At that moment, Xiao Lin once again thought about that realistic dream. Even though it was a long time ago, he could still remember that Antis and Poseidon seemed to have appeared in the dream. His ordinary life finally had something different to it, and Xiao Lin could feel some form of anticipation, even though he did not know what he was anticipating.


    Xiao Lin started to pay attention to the news and reports rted to the matter, but the rain had continued for a week or so before it stopped, and the government seemed to have suppressed news regarding the matter. After that, all of the forums were wiped clean. Anything to do with mythology or the end of the world seemed to all disappear.


    There were no legends, and no apocalypse. Xiao Lin¡¯s days returned to normalcy, and he felt disappointed again. However, after the disappointment, he still continued with his life. After the incident, his luck seemed quite good. Due to some changes in hispany, he, who had always maintained a low profile, was promoted, and his sry increased by quite a bit.


    If no surprises happened, then Xiao Lin would continue with his life like that. After a few years, when he had more money, he would find another ordinary woman who was like him. That woman did not need to be that pretty, and he did not even need to like her that much.. As long as she was a good person and nice to get along with, then the two of them would spend their lives together.

 Chapter 700 - Xiao Lin’s Dream (2)

    <h4>Chapter 700: Xiao Lin¡¯s Dream (2)</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Somehow, three years passed. Ever since that mysterious dream, three years passed by in a sh. In those three years, Xiao Lin no longer had any simr dreams, and he slowly started to stop talking about it. After all, he was not someone who tended to daydream.


    His job was not bad, and his position and sry was constantly increasing. Even though he was still far away from being a true white cor elite, Xiao Lin was someone who knew how to be content with what he had. ording to his ns, after two years, when he had a bit more money, and with the help of his family, he nned on buying a house in the suburbs and making the down payment. Then, he would be like most of the homeowners in the country, paying for the mortgage every month.


    Even though it was not what Xiao Lin truly wanted, it was still the regr life of a regr person. In recent years, his family had set up a lot of blind dates for him, but it neversted that long. It was not that Xiao Lin wanted better, or that the women did not like him. His excuse to his family was that he was still young, and he still wanted to focus on his career.


    However, Xiao Lin never told anyone the real reason. In his consciousness, he always felt like there was a shadow in his heart. There was a very, very vague figure, and he did not know who it was or how he knew them, and he even already forgot the general shape.


    However, Xiao Lin could never forget that blurred image. He felt that he would regret it his entire life if he did not wait for that person. Yet, the rtives in his family were pressuring him, and he knew he was getting older and would need to find a woman to spend the rest of his life with eventually.


    Xiao Lin started to feel like he was at a loss. His life continued, and he went to work every day, gaming at night and drinking with friends during the weekends. His life was as uneventful as usual, but for some reason, he was starting to feel frustrated.


    Xiao Lin started to hesitate. He told himself that he just had topletely forget that figure in his mind, and his life would be back to normal. However, he could never muster up the determination to do that. It was like he was cutting up his own flesh, and he could not bear to do it, even though he did not know the reason why.


    ¡®What am I hesitating for?


    ¡®What am I so frustrated about?


    ¡®Why do I feel like something is missing from my life?¡¯


    Xiao Lin¡¯s temper started to get a little bad. He knew that it was not good for him, and he even thought about looking for a therapist for the issue. His friends consoled him as well, and encouraged him to take a long vacation. They felt that Xiao Lin was just letting his work stress get to him.


    Xiao Lin felt like that might be the case. In truth, he regrly had some strange feelings when he was younger, getting a sense of deja vu that he could never figure out the source of. When he grew up, the feeling started to lessen.


    He felt like his frustrations could have originated from there, so Xiao Lin epted his friends¡¯ kind suggestions, asking for a long vacation from hispany before going on holiday and visiting various tourist hotspots to try to improve his mood.


    However, it did not achieve the desired effect. Unlike usual, without the burdens of work, his calm heart instead started to think about it even more. Thinking about even more blurred figures, blurred people, and blurred events.


    Both the people and the events all had a thick sense of familiarity, but it felt extremely foreign and distant, as if it was apletely different life that had nothing to do with him. But yet, why was he so fixated on it?


    Xiao Lin felt like he was going mad. He felt like he might have developed some form of schizophrenia, so he went to various hospitals and went through countless tests, all to no avail.


    Half a year passed just like that, and there were still no improvements. Xiao Lin sat in a hotel alone, exhausted. He looked at the sun outside. He spent his days like thattely. He was working hard to remember, but he could not recall it. He felt like something was missing in his life, but he could not say what it was.


    Then, a piece of news got his attention. A blood moon was about to happen. It was a phenomenon that only happened once every two hundred odd years. The papers and the media had already been talking about it for a few days, but Xiao Lin only suddenly noticed it then. The television in the hotel was always on, but he did not have a habit of watching it. He was just afraid of staying in a quiet environment, worried that it would cause his thoughts to wander, so he just kept it on to have more noise in the room.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart suddenly had a strange feeling, as if he had seen a blood moon at some point. However, he quickly shook his head and denied it because the news made it very clear that it only happened once every two hundred odd years. He had not even been born thest time it happened, so it was definitely a mistake on his part.


    However, Xiao Lin still decided to look at the lunar eclipse. It might have just been to relieve some boredom, or maybe to verify his strange feeling. His luck was not bad, and the city he was in had been having very clear weather over the past few days. There was even a mountain nearby, so on the day of the lunar eclipse, he carried his bag and brought enough food and water up the mountain.


    The mountain was not a famous tourist destination, and the surrounding area was not that developed, so there were not that many people there. He had heard before that there was an observatory on the top of the mountain, but it was never opened to the public.


    Xiao Lin tried to head over to the observatory, but he was rejected. However, that was fine, as the lunar eclipse did not need to be seen through a telescope, and he was not that interested in astrology anyway, only doing it to relieve some boredom.


    Xiao Lin found an empty space on the mountain top alone. As night fell, therge round moon hung in the sky. It was bigger than usual, and bathing in the silver light of the moon, the feeling in his heart intensified.


    He had definitely seen the same moon before at some point, but he could not remember when. Xiao Lin tried very hard to remember his past, but there were no empty patches to be filled. He would have been morefortable if it was just memory loss, but now it seemed like someone was forcibly changing his life.


    The lunar eclipse finally started, and Xiao Lin¡¯s thoughts were thrown into greater disarray. He had just been looking at the moon out of boredom, but he never expected it to make himself even more frustrated. The head splitting feeling caused him to be unable to endure it anymore, and he curled up on the floor, constantly trembling.. More and more fragmented memories started to float in his mind, but they were all bits and pieces, missing anything to tie them together, and causing him to be unable to process them.

 Chapter 701 - His Own Choice

    <h4>Chapter 701: His Own Choice</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The entire lunar eclipse, Xiao Lin spent it in pain and helplessness. The blood moon looked very beautiful, but it hurt his eyes to look at it. The memories in his mind started to frantically rise like a raging tide, and it could not be controlled.


    He was incredibly scared. He felt that those memoriespletely belonged to someone else. However, it seemed like a voice was telling him in his mind that it was his real life, his true life.


    The blood moon continued, and slowly reached its end.


    When there was only a small crescent moon left, Xiao Lin was much calmer than earlier. Those surging memories came quickly, but also left quickly. It was as if the memories in his mind were affected by the lunar eclipse, and also disappeared along with the eclipse.


    Xiao Lin had felt like his chaotic thoughts were due to the lunar eclipse, and he hoped that the end of the eclipse would allow him to not feel the torture anymore. However, he felt somewhat reluctant. Those memories seemed to feel incredibly precious to him, and once he missed them today, he would never get them back.


    What could he do?


    In his helplessness, Xiao Lin recalled the dream he had that night all those years ago. The Dawn Academy in his dreams seemed to be simr to the memories that were rising up within him. The various connections caused his mind to think about it more and more, and he could no longer be sure that those dreams and his memories were not real.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s head started to hurt again with the sh of reality and his memories. He was already incredibly weak from all that torture, and he copsed into the mud, his eyes suddenly losing focus.


    In his trance, Xiao Lin could not help but be thankful for the fact that, if he could really experience that dream, and could really go to Dawn Academy and the New World, would that not be a better choice?


    However, what could he do?


    How could he actually experience thepletely new life that he dreamed about?


    An admittance letter!


    He needed an admittance letter!


    At that moment, a voice suddenly reverberated in his heart. It was a voice that belonged to him, but even he was shocked.


    That was right! He did receive an admittance letter in his dream, which led to all the memories. So, all of that started from that thin piece of paper. However, after he woke up, Xiao Lin remembered that he had looked all around, but never found the letter.


    If there was no letter, then he should just write it himself.


    In the darkness, that vague voice could be heard again. Even though it was very simr to his voice, it was still obviously not his. This time, Xiao Lin was more awake than earlier, and he shouted loudly, ¡°Who¡¯s talking?! Who are you?!¡± He suddenly opened his weak eyes, but was immediately shocked by the scene in front of him.


    At some unknown point of time, he was no longer on that mountain. He was surrounded by multicolored lights, and the lights constantly changed, as if he was dreaming. Xiao Lin tried to reach out, but he could not feel anything physically. He seemed to be surrounded by clouds and was drifting softly. The lights never stopped moving, and seemed to be flowing in a certain direction like water, while he seemed to be carried along with the flow.


    ¡°I am you, and you are me.¡± The voice answered him. This time, Xiao Lin noticed that, even though the voice sounded like it came from inside him, the source was actually the radiant lights. He wanted to push the bundle of light away to see who was talking, but other than flowing with the light, there was nothing he could do at that moment.


    ¡°Where is this ce?! Where are you taking me?¡± Facing that mystical and unknown situation, Xiao Lin felt like his entire world view had been rewritten, and he asked the question with some fear.


    ¡°This is a point in time. You¡¯ll naturally understand what this ce is in the future. I want to bring you to a crossroads in time.¡± That voice lightly sighed.


    After it spoke, Xiao Lin suddenly felt like the flow of the light in front of him started to speed up, and the bundle of light started to disperse, and like a movie that was suddenly being fast forwarded, the chaos in front of his eyes caused him to go dizzy. He shut his eyes, and once he felt like his surroundings had stopped moving, he reopened them again, but he was once again stunned.


    The lights hadpletely disappeared, and what reced them were dim yellow streetmps. He was standing in front of a red security door, and the narrow passage wasa small and dirty. This ce was incredibly familiar to him. Back when he had just graduated and was still looking for a job, the room he stayed in was right behind the door.


    No, it was not the past ¡ª the sound istion was not great there, and Xiao Lin could hear the sounds of games being yed inside. That voice that was scolding his teammates was clearly his own voice.


    There was another Xiao Lin behind the door! Before Xiao Lin could say anything, that mysterious voice could be heard again.


    ¡°The future, you can choose it yourself! This is your final chance. Once you make your decision, you¡¯ll only be able to face the reality, no matter if it¡¯s good or bad. A crossroads in time is something incredibly rare in the river of time, so you won¡¯t be able to change it anymore.¡±


    After that, the voice disappeared. Xiao Lin felt like the other person hadpletely disappeared from his side. In his right hand, at some point, materialized a very thin piece of paper. He looked at it, and under the yellow glow of the streetmps, the paper had a fewrge words on it.


    ¡®Dawn Academy Admittance Letter. Admission ¡ª Xiao Lin!¡¯


    ¡°What do I do?!¡± Xiao Lin loudly asked, but there was no response. That voice had already left him, and the final choice was in his hands.


    Xiao Lin did not ask anymore. He knew what he had to do, and what consequences there would be. In his chaotic memories, he actually already had the answer in his mind.


    Tearing apart the letter would mean that this life would be back to normal. He would be a normal and ordinary working ss man, passing his life just like that. Furthermore, he believed that those strange dreams and memories would never appear again. Just like that mysterious voice said, once he missed out on this, he would never have the chance to change it again.


    Xiao Lin should have torn the letter apart. That normal but peaceful life was what he had been fighting for the past few years, but his hands trembled holding the letter, and the familiar yet foreign people in his memories shed in his mind.. Tearing that letter apart would bepletely saying goodbye to that dream, and he would forever forget it.

 Chapter 702 - The End Of An Era

    <h4>Chapter 702: The End Of An Era</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The choice was ultimately in his hands.


    Would he rip the letter apart, or hand the letter to himself?


    Would he choose afortable and peaceful life, or a future filled with turbulence?


    Xiao Lin struggled and hesitated. The thin letter in his hands felt incredibly heavy at that moment. The scenes in his mind constantly shed, and finally settled on that vague figure.


    In a sh, Xiao Lin suddenly calmed down. Not for his future, and not for his past; for that figure that he could never remember clearly, yet never forget, he knew what he should do.


    Xiao Lin stepped forward, knocking on the red door as he said, ¡°Open the door! Delivery!¡± After that, he left the letter at the front of the door.


    He had still been wondering if he needed to hide anywhere if the him from inside came out, but the moment the door opened, Xiao Lin did not even have the chance to see his other self when his entire body was once again swallowed up by the light.


    It was as if he was falling into the abyss; aplete sense of weightlessness caused him to quickly lose his bearings. Then, everything slowly turned into a blur as he fell unconscious.


    This time, he was dreaming again, and this stream was extraordinarily clear. He dreamt that he opened the letter, entered Dawn Academy, learned various skills and headed into an alien world. He met even more people, and the vague figure in his start slowly started to clear up. He then took part in the semi-finals of the tournament, met Asabanor, entered the river of time, and drifted into space after Myth ended.


    No, this time it was not a dream; they were all things he had actually experienced. It was definitely not an imagined dream!


    When he opened his eyes again, Xiao Lin noticed that he was floating in the river of time, and countless golden sands of time were surrounding himself. In front of him stood the figure of an old man with white hair and a pale expression, but it did nothing to hide the sharp glint in his eyes.


    ¡°Dean!¡± Xiao Lin cried out in surprise, but he quickly noticed that he could not talk. In the river of time, after losing his Myth state, there was no way for him to transmit his voice. The old man in front of him was Dawn Academy¡¯s dean. Even if he was only the former dean, strictly speaking, in Xiao Lin¡¯s heart, he would forever be the dean.


    The dean smiled and sighed, and his voice quickly reached Xiao Lin¡¯s ears, ¡°Stupid child. You still chose this path in the end.¡±


    Xiao Lin suddenly remembered that dream. After waking up, he already treated the scene where he did not get the letter earlier as a dream. Even though he was full of questions, it seemed to be rted to the dean.


    The dean saw Xiao Lin¡¯s confusion, and slowly said, ¡°That was not a dream. It was a divergence in time. The river of time is limitless, and each river diverges. Those are also branches of reality, and it was a reality where you did note to Dawn Academy. You could have chosen to live peacefully in that world, and it was the only chance you had to choose again. Are you sure you don¡¯t regret it?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood it then. He silently looked at the dean¡¯s bright eyes, but did not say anything. His gaze already said all he could.


    He did not regret it.


    ¡°I understand.¡± The dean sighed. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll send you back. However, after this, it will all be up to you.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s eyes suddenly felt a little wet as he seemed to understand something, because the dean¡¯s bright eyes were dimming. He seemed to feel the life in the dean¡¯s body rapidly dispersing.


    ¡°Stupid child, don¡¯t think too much. I was already a dead man, and if thest bits of my life can save someone who still has a future, I can die happy. You have to remember that, when you go back, the New World and Earth¡¯s benefits are one and the same. The enemies we have to face are the same, which is why I¡¯ve always tried to resolve the hate between the two parties. It¡¯s unfortunate that I couldn¡¯t do enough. I¡¯ll have to leave it to the future generation now. There are still those with the same ideals in Dawn Academy. Go look for them, then go look for what Ivan left behind. Find the very fabric of this world, and when the timees, all your questions will be answered, not only in the New World, but even on Earth¡­¡±


    The dean¡¯s words were speeding up, and in the end, they suddenly stopped. He still had a lot to say, but he did not have enough time. His life was just like a candle that was on itsst legs. He finally reached the end, and he took a deep breath, summoning his long staff and waving it at Xiao Lin. A ray of light shot out from the three gems on the staff and enveloped Xiao Lin within.


    ¡­


    At the same time, Gu Xiaoyue was at the end of breaking the code. Even though the Reverse God Sealing Array wasplicated, she still managed to forcibly unlock the formation¡¯s core through coding.


    Boom!


    Outside, a suddenly shocking sound caused Chen Dao and Cheng Ming to jump with shock. When they looked up, in the sky, a gigantic formation slowly formed. The center of the formation was a golden passage.


    ¡°Gu Xiaoyue, you seeded! The Reverse God Sealing Array is activated again!¡±


    ¡°Even the wormhole was activated!¡±


    As the two of them cheered, Gu Xiaoyue was at a loss. She climbed out of the dark room, and when she looked at the lights in the sky, her expression was confused. She might have reactivated the Reverse God Sealing Array, but she could do nothing about the wormhole. Even just now, she felt that someone had helped her even with the Reverse God Sealing Array, or it would not have been so smooth.


    However, no matter what the reason was, they seeded.


    ¡°Will Xiao Line out?¡± Cheng Ming asked.


    Gu Xiaoyue shook her head. It was already outside her scope of understanding.


    ¡°Look!¡± Chen Dao suddenly cried out, his eyes fixed on the sky.


    In the middle of the formation in the sky, in the wormhole, a ck figure suddenly shot out. It was very fast and very vague, but it had still caught Chen Dao¡¯s attention.


    However, the figure did not drop nearby. Like a meteor, it rapidly fell somewhere far away instead. It was just a sh, and practically no one noticed it that night.


    At seemingly the same time, within Dawn Academy, the news quickly spread. The former dean had passed away that night. Considering the fact that Dawn Academy was in a state of war, the new dean chose to keep the news a secret.


    An era had ended just then.

 Chapter 703 - Meeting Song Junlang Again

    <h4>Chapter 703: Meeting Song Jung Again</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Unending darkness¡­ An endless slumber.


    When Xiao Lin reopened his eyes, the dazzling sunlight forced him to narrow his eyes. He wanted to sit up, but felt a soreness all over his entire body. It was so painful that he did not even dare to move his fingers. He quickly recovered his blurry memories. Asabanor and himself being trapped in the river of time, as well as the strange dream he had when he was on the brink of death. In the end, he met the old dean before appearing where he was.


    Thinking about that, Xiao Lin could not help but sigh emotionally. That admission letter had actually been given to hum by himself; he just never expected it would be in that method. He did not know what a crossroads in time was, so it could be some power the old dean had. As for that mysterious voice, it could only be himself, his future self. Only, those things would only be known by him in the future.


    Xiao Lin looked around. It was currently noon, and he was lying in a sandy alley. It was very windy nearby, but he happened to be in a dense forest. It was Spring in the New World, so there was still quite a lot of greenery.


    Xiao Lin felt a bit strange, as he did not have any memory of what happened after he left the river of time. He had thought that he would have dropped back into the cemetery, but he ended up in apletely foreign ce instead. He did not know what had happened to Gu Xiaoyue and the others. Just as he was filled with confusion, a blurred figure appeared in the sandstorm, walking toward himself and causing him to get nervous.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake? That was quick, the potion was more effective than I thought!¡± Before the person could be seen, hiszy voice could already be heard.


    Xiao Lin finally rxed himself. If he met an opponent at that moment, he would have been easily exterminated by them. Thankfully, it was someone familiar, so he struggled to sit up, but he gave up in the end and sighed. ¡°Department Head Song, why are you here?¡±


    The person was Dawn Academy¡¯s Logistics Department Head, Song Jung. He had simple, casual attire on, a linen shirt with long pants. He had a straw hat on his head, and looked like a local native farmar. After looking at Xiao Lin, whom he had not seen in a long time, Song Jung was not that enthusiastic. He shrugged andmented, ¡°Why am I here? That¡¯s a long story, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the time to talk about that. You should hurry up and drink this. This road is used by quite a few people, so if you¡¯re found by the dean¡¯s people, it¡¯ll be a lot of trouble.¡±


    Xiao Lin was immediately on alert, and finally noticed the sk in Song Jung¡¯s hand. Inside was a reddish-green liquid, and when he saw that Department Head Song was nning on forcing him to swallow it, remembering all the past experiences he had, he hurriedly shouted, ¡°Hey hey hey! What do you mean by hurry up and drink that?! You need to tell me what that is first; I won¡¯t drink it if you won¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not something you can decide. Do you really think the river of time is a ce you cane and go to as you please?¡± Song Jung¡¯szy look suddenly became very stern, and his voice lowered. ¡°Entering it with a normal person¡¯s flesh body will result in many side effects. You won¡¯t understand if I exin it, but it¡¯s like being exposed to radiation. If you don¡¯t treat it in time, it will cause irreparable damage to your body, and it might even cause your whole body to be paralyzed, so don¡¯t regret it when that happens!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Xiao Lin was dumbfounded. Fine, he was clueless when it came to space and time, so Song Jung¡¯s terrifying words caused him to be rendered speechless.


    Song Jung nodded with satisfaction, and took advantage of Xiao Lin¡¯s distracted state to walk over and force Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth open. He then poured the potion inside.


    Xiao Lin almost gagged, but he still forced himself to swallow it. After smacking his lips, he realized that the potion tasted better than he thought. It even had a faint sweetness to it, and the effect was very fast. The soreness around his body quickly diminished and he could at least move his body a little after that. He managed to force himself to sit up.


    ¡°Oh, the potion is really effective. I thought that you would take at least half a day before you could stand up. Could it be because your body has been directly exposed to the power ofw?¡± Song Jung mumbled to himself, looking like Xiao Lin as if he was looking at ab rat.


    Xiao Lin got goosebumps when he saw that. He felt like ab rat that could do nothing about his situation, so he quickly shifted the topic, curiously asking, ¡°You said that I absorbed the power ofw. Did you know what happened that night? Who told you?¡±


    Song Jung looked at him like he was an idiot. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anyone say anything about it. I saw it for myself, so I naturally know what happened!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin was shocked, and wanted to lunge forward, but his body was still sore, so he widened his eyes as he asked, ¡°Do you mean you were present then? Why didn¡¯t you do anything?!¡±


    Song Jung raised his hands innocently, asking, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d have been able to help in that situation? Furthermore, even though I was around, I was quite far from you. That was a Reverse God Sealing Array! Do you think I¡¯d have been able to even get close with my current power levels?¡±


    Xiao Lin fell silent, he knew that Song Jung was right. Song Jung might have been very strong in the past, but he would not have been able to do anything with his current level. Xiao Lin asked, ¡°What about Gu Xiaoyue and the others?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; they were quickly saved by the academy¡¯s people.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. He did trust Song Jung a lot when it came to that. Thinking about it, he said, ¡°I saw the old dean in the river of time. He¡­¡±


    His words stopped there, and Song Jung helped him finish with a calm tone. ¡°The old dean has passed.¡±


    Xiao Lin had a long moment of silence after that.


    ¡°It¡¯s not because of you. He did not have much longer anyway. Saving you here was just something he did on the way. Furthermore, I think that saving you allowed him to depart happily.¡± Song Jung somberly consoled him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that important.¡± Xiao Lin smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Who isn¡¯t? The wheels of fate had slowly begun to turn again, and all of us are a cog in that wheel. We can¡¯t miss out on anyone!¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡± Xiao Lin remembered the old dean¡¯s words about wanting him to look for what Ivan left behind, but he did not know what it was, or where.


    ¡°You should just recover for now. I wasn¡¯t scaring you earlier. This is a road that heads to the Weier Union, so the dean¡¯s people might walk past. Oh, I forgot to tell you, we¡¯re currently in a state of war with the Weier Union.¡± Song Jung exined the overall situation.


    Xiao Lin was stunned. Having learned the history of the New World, he naturally knew that the Americans and the British were the ones behind the Weier Union!

 Chapter 704 - Heading For Weier Union

    <h4>Chapter 704: ?Heading For Weier Union</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Has the dean gone mad? Does he not know that the ones behind the Weier Union are the Americans and the British?!¡± Xiao Lin shouted in disbelief


    ¡°Of course he knows.¡± Song Jung had an emotionless expression as he continued, ¡°Do you really think he¡¯s dering war on the Weier Union?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. ¡°He¡¯s targeting Judge Academy and the Royal British Academy?¡± He remembered the earlier rumors he had heard. Unlike the old dean, the current dean seemed to be more interested in fighting over the territories with the other colonists. However, it was reasonable if one thought about it further. In the current era of colonization, the resources of the New World were no longer enough to be divided. If they wanted to continue expanding their profits, they would have to look after themselves.


    Only, due to the alliance regtions, no one dared to make any public moves. Of course, there was no shortage of conflicts in the dark. That was not limited to Dawn Academy. For instance, Xiao Lin was almost killed when he went to Judge Academy, but public confrontations like that had never been seen before.


    It was no longer just a conflict. It was a deration of war.


    The new dean wanted to start an internal war!


    ¡°What were the reactions from the Americans and the British?¡± Xiao Lin hurriedly asked. He thought of Lilith, that woman who was called the Demon Queen, and also the only person other than him who was an SS-rank talent holder, and her skills far exceeded his. If their academies dered war, then he would be enemies with Lilith.


    ¡°The higher-ups are still deliberating it and the British¡¯s foreign affairs department is talking up a storm, but there are still no concrete movements. However, they do not have any other choice. This time, the British really encountered a string of rotten luck. Not only did their rookies with potential all disappear, their main officials seemed to have been on Earth recently, and ended up being cut off by the closure of the wormholes. Now, their internal departments are in disarray, so they don¡¯t really have the ability to bother about us.¡± Song Jung seemed a bit thankful at their misfortune.


    Xiao Lin was stunned again. He did not know about the closure of the wormholes, but he was more concerned about the Americans. Sure enough, Song Jung quickly sighed. ¡°Judge Academy is a bigger problem. I¡¯ve heard from some informationworks that there are many cries for battle internally. Even though they haven¡¯t dered war, they¡¯ve already started to mobilize their forces, including Lilith.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mood was a bitplicated. Even though he had not interacted that long with Lilith, the two of them had still gone through the Final Lands together. Furthermore, that woman was incredibly straightforward, so they had some sort of friendship with one another, and because of that he found it hard to imagine what he would do if they became enemies.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That won¡¯t happen.¡± Song Jung cleverly saw through Xiao Lin¡¯s doubts. ¡°We might be going to the Weier Union, but I won¡¯t make you participate in the war. With your current state, there¡¯s nothing much you can do anyway, and we have other matters to attend to.¡±


    Even though Song Jung did not exin any further, Xiao Lin trusted him quite a lot. Not having to face Lilith caused him to breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, Song Jung was right. With how he was at that moment, he would just be dominated by Lilith if he faced her.


    After resting for a moment, Song Jung¡¯s potion was incredibly effective, and Xiao Lin started to regain his ability to walk. Even though he was still not that fast, under Song Jung¡¯s insistence, the two of them departed.


    Song Jung found Xiao Lin the night before, and the two of them were already there the whole morning. After Dawn Academy¡¯s deration of war, that road would definitely see people moving past it very soon, so it was dangerous to stay there.


    Song Jung also gave a description of the situation at the academy. After the incident the night before, Gu Xiaoyue and the others were quickly saved. In Song Jung¡¯s words, the speed that the rescue team showed up was amazing. Xiao Lin could understand the hidden meaning behind those words. It meant that the dean had already ced his men there. What happened the night before, including to Xiao Lin, was definitely the result of the dean and Asabanor¡¯s deal, even if even Song Jung knew nothing of the contents of the deal.


    Yet, they did not find Xiao Lin, and did not cause Gu Xiaoyue and the others that much trouble. The dean sent out an internal order, ordering for a search for Xiao Lin in Dawn Academy and the colonist territories nearby. It was under the guise of rescuing Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin could tell that it was not that simple.


    He already knew of the dean and Asabanor¡¯s secret deal, so the dean would naturally not allow himself to run amok outside. Even if he had an SS-rank talent, the best result Xiao Lin could hope for was probably eternal imprisonment, only being used when needed.


    So Xiao Lin could definitely no longer return to the academy. Thankfully, even though the old dean was dead, the new dean still did not haveplete control of the academy. Even though he had done some cleaning up before, Song Jung had said before that the academy still had many people who carried the old dean¡¯s will, so they would not truly obey the dean¡¯s orders, and would at least merely go through the motions.


    Comparatively, Xiao Lin was more worried about another problem, which was the shutting down of the wormholes. It was something that he heard from Song Jung, and no matter if it was from the New World or the academies, all the wormholes heading to Earth had been sealed off. The connection between the academies and the New World was still fine, and no one knew the reason for the closures.


    Xiao Lin had nothing to hide from Song Jung, so he gave an overview of what had happened in the river of time. Song Jung fell silent for a long time after that, and he finally shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell right now if you have anything to do with the closure of the wormhole, but I suspect it¡¯s some arrangement by Asabanor. Of course, that would definitely have something to do with our new dean, but that¡¯s no longer something we¡¯re worried about right now.¡±


    Xiao Lin nodded. Song Jung had been bringing that up from the start, so everything else, even the dean¡¯s passing, was treated with indifference, so Xiao Lin could not help but be curious.


    ¡°The Shards of Creation¡­ How many do you have right now?¡± Song Jung asked calmly.


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin was taken aback. He had never told anyone about that before, but since it was Song Jung, he was toozy to ask how that guy knew. He thought about it and said, ¡°Not many. I¡¯ve never gone looking for them. However, I managed to get quite a few from Asabanor in the river of time.


    ¡°Are you saying that what Ivan left behind that the old dean mentioned are the Shards of Creation?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and no.¡±


    Xiao Lin was confused, and asked in exasperation, ¡°We¡¯re already at this stage. Can you stop ying around?¡±


    Song Jung was helpless. ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t know either. The shards aren¡¯t important. What¡¯s important is what will happen after you finish collecting them. That¡¯s not something that I know.. Yes, once we find a safe ce, let me check out how many shards you have already.¡±

 Chapter 705 - Aftereffects Of Myth

    <h4>Chapter 705: ?Aftereffects Of Myth</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin and Song Jung followed the path to a nearby forest. As it approached the evening, there started to be more and more people on the path. All of them were fully armored, and the ones heading to Weier Union all obviously looked like people from Earth. They were all Dawn Academy¡¯s troops, and the ones heading out were all Weier natives.


    Song Jung told Xiao Lin that, because the Royal British Academy and Judge Academy did not react immediately, everyone in Weier Union was very pessimistic about the war, so arge number ofmoners were escaping, and even the merchants wanted to run. However, even with the wealth they had, Dawn Academy quickly sealed off the borders, and strictly prohibited merchants from escaping.


    ¡°The dean¡¯s intentions are obvious. This war had two goals. First, they want to drag the British and the Americans down, and if they fail to do that, then they intend to take over the businesses within the Weier Union in order to bolster the finances of our academy.¡±


    ¡°With a better economic state, it will be easier for us to prepare for war.¡± Xiao Lin sighed. After Song Jung¡¯s exnations, it was easy to see that, no matter if it was the New World or Earth, war was fought with the might and money of a country. War meant using various equipment andrge amounts of magical tools. They all used uprge amounts of money.


    Dawn Academy¡¯s financial power was considered average among the academies. Back then, the war against the orcs had consumed too much of Dawn Academy¡¯s resources, and allowed a lot of other academies to catch up to them. After Dawn Academy managed to recover, the territories that they should have gone after had already been snatched away by others.


    Song Jung nodded helplessly. ¡°So, the British and the Americans are quite passive now, not knowing whether to fight or not. I can¡¯t help but admit that, even though our new dean is quite heavy-handed, he¡¯s quite an effective leader. If it was the early stages of colonization, having a dean like that might not have been a bad thing for Dawn Academy.¡±


    Xiao Lin looked at Song Jung with some suspicion. Was that guy not part of the old dean¡¯s inner circle?


    Song Jung shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not defending him. I¡¯ve never participated in the academy¡¯s politics. I¡¯m only telling the truth. It¡¯s a pity that the new dean is in the wrong era. If he continues doing what he¡¯s doing, it will cause the New World and the academies to weaken, and when that timees¡­¡±


    Song Jung suddenly stopped speaking, causing Xiao Lin to clench his teeth. He could not help but say, ¡°What would happen then?¡±


    Song Jung no longer wanted to continue, shaking his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know; it¡¯s all just the old dean¡¯s spection. Now that the old dean is gone, there¡¯s probably no one left who knows the whole truth, and we¡¯ll only be able to know more after gathering all the Shards of Creation.¡±


    The two of them moved toward the Weier Union, and their journey was quite smooth. Xiao Lin changed into the native clothes that Song Jung had brought along. The Weier Union¡¯s attire was not that much different from Earth¡¯s, so no one noticed anything odd during their journey.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s body recovered very quickly, causing Song Jung to be very intrigued. With how the guy¡¯s eyes sparkled, Xiao Lin was worried that he would be experimented on while he was asleep.


    However, Xiao Lin quickly suffered a new blow. His power seemed to bepletely gone! In truth, he had felt it when he woke up, but he had just left the river of time, and was still incredibly weak after his brush with death, so he did not dwell on the matter too much, thinking that he would quickly recover. However, with his body slowly recovering, that weakening feeling became more and more pronounced. He finally understood that that was how it felt to lose his power.


    ¡°Is it a side effect of your potion?¡± Xiao Lin stared at Song Jung.


    ¡°Powerless people will never feel this sense of weakness, but if someone powerful loses their original power, they will feel that they¡¯re weaker than a normal person,¡± Song Jung said with a sense of self-mocking.


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment, remembering that Song Jung was once a Gold-ranked warrior or maybe even higher. His fall to his current situation was also a result of him losing his power.


    Song Jung did not look back as he continued with a calm tone, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already exin the reason to you very clearly? Such an immense power like your Myth ability means sacrifice. I warned you before, but you still ended up using it.¡±


    Xiao Lin was stunned again. Of course he remembered Song Jung¡¯s warning. After the first time he used Myth, even though he managed to gain back the lifespan that he lost with Song Jung¡¯s mystical potion, the guy had sternly warned him that using Myth again would lead to irreparable consequences.


    ¡°You¡¯re actually quite lucky. Based on my spections, if you used Myth, your best results would still have beenplete death. Remember, it¡¯splete death; not even your soul would remain. However, you actually managed to live. God knows why, but losing your power is already the best result you can get.¡±


    ¡°Are they lost forever?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Is there a way for me to start over?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Is there really no way this time? I don¡¯t mind regardless of how disgusting or how bad the side effects of the potion are!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    This time, Song Jung could no longer give a clear answer. It had exceeded the scope of his research, and Xiao Lin naturally understood that. In truth, he had not nned on surviving after using Myth, so being alive was already incredibly fortunate to him. However, without his strength, even if he really returned, he was no different from a cripple.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already looked into it while you were unconscious. You should be around ck-Iron rank in strength right now, but all the powers you had have probably all disappeared. As for your talent, I¡¯m not sure about that,¡± Song Jung continued.


    Xiao Lin asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I lost all my powers? How did I manage to stay at ck Iron rank? Surely that¡¯s not what a regr person from Earth should have.¡± As for his talent, he had no way of checking at that moment.


    Song Jung raised his hands up and said, ¡°That¡¯s hard to exin, but I¡¯m guessing that it has something to do with the power ofw. ck Iron-rank is the barest minimum in this world, and you absorbed a portion of thew back then, so it might have caused you to seep into this world¡¯sws, allowing you to maintain the lowest level of power allowed in this world.


    ¡°Basically, nothing is certain, because there are absolutely no prior examples to refer to. You might be able to rely on the power ofw, including the Shards of Creation, but don¡¯t hold out too much hope. After all, the more hope you have, the greater the disappointment.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s head swam as he listened, but no matter what, it was better than having no hope at all.. As for the Shards of Creation that he did not care much about before, he finally started to ce a lot of importance on them.

 Chapter 706 - Frontier Town

    <h4>Chapter 706: Frontier Town</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Weier Kingdom was a kingdom that was rich with history in the New World. Thousands of years ago, that kingdom had been constantly expanding, taking up an immense amount of territory. Only,ter on, there were various internal problems, causing their majestic country to not even manage to hold on for a century before they were overturned by a military coup.


    However, the Weier Kingdom had been quite fortunate. During the rebellion, one of the members of their royalty managed to escape. After a few twists and turns, they managed to establish a new country. Even though it was not as strong as it used to be, it was still an impressive story, and it formed the current Weier Union. After that, they constantly met a lot of tribtions, and the country had been on the brink of annihtion countless times, but that weak country mysteriously managed to survive.


    And then, the colonists from Earth appeared, exhibiting extraordinarybat skills,plete with mystical technology, finally giving the Weier Union¡¯s royalty a chance.


    It could not help but be said that the country¡¯s people were all very astute. They knew how to survive in the cracks that the strong left behind, and protect themselves in the biggest way possible. That was the main reason they managed to survive destruction.


    The Weier royalty had thought that they made an intelligent choice. In the recent years, they had also been researching the colonists from Earth, and they knew very well that the British and American academies did not have much of a rtionship with Dawn Academy, and determined that Dawn academy would not dare to offend them easily. However, they were wrong this time, and incredibly so. Dawn Academy did not mobilize easily, and when it did, it shocked everyone.


    Even though it was only the second day after the deration of war, the Weier capital had already been surrounded. Dawn Academy had made a lot of preparations, and had established various magical posts around the city, never allowing anyone out of the royal capital. Anyone who dared to venture outside would be immediately dealt with, but the academy did not rush to attack the city. Even though the two sides had a very unique difference in ability, and they would be able to conquer the city in two days at most, or even induce a surrender earlier than that, Dawn Academy¡¯s goal was obviously not that simple, so they never attacked.


    Song Jung and Xiao Lin¡¯s target was not the royal capital, as they were not dumb enough to head into a web that would capture them immediately. Their final goal was a little town that was all the way at the border that was called Frontier Town.


    Frontier Town was not big, and was only the size of a low-tier country back at Dawn Academy. The poption was not thatrge either, and the little town was considered a meaningless existence in Weier decades ago. It was distant and devoid of any valuable resources, nor did it have any special products.


    However, after the power of the colonists stabilized, the town slowly gained the attention of the colonists. There was not much of a reason other than the fact that Frontier Town was an ancient town, and the town had thousands of years of history. It was the only town in Weier Union that still preserved the remnants of the kings back in the past.


    Of course, that did nothing to change the old and deste state of the town, and the local natives did not really have much respect for cultural objects. In their eyes, broken down things should be reced with the new. The fact that Frontier Town could be preserved for so long was just because many of the ancient buildings had deep foundations, meaning getting rid of them neededrge amounts of money and manpower, something that the poor town could not afford. So, it was slowly preserved.


    To the colonists who were fascinated with history and culture, Frontier Town was a very valuable ce to explore. Not only that, but those schrs who wanted to research the history of the New World ced a lot of importance on Frontier Town.


    The Weier Union¡¯s royalty that was slowly bing ustomed to the way of life of Earth had a stroke of genius, and decided to spend some money in converting the ce into a tourist destination. In recent years, they had managed to make quite a lot of money from the colonists from the small town.


    During the journey, Xiao Lin quietly listened to Song Jung talk about the town, and could not help but remark that this kingdom was filled with talented merchants. He also slowly guessed why Song Jung was bringing him to that town.


    ¡°Does Frontier Town have a Shard of Creation?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very strange, though. Even though I haven¡¯t found out how to determine the location of Shards of Creation, how did you find out?


    ¡°Did the old dean determine the locations beforehand and tell you?¡±


    Xiao Lin asked a few questions, as if he had turned into a curious baby who had just entered the academy. Song Jung was a little exasperated, but he did notin. Even though Xiao Lin did not say it, Song Jung could acutely feel Xiao Lin¡¯s disappointment.


    It was the disappointment of losing his power. It was something only people who had experienced power knew about, especially those who were incredibly strong; it dealt a far greater blow to them.


    Xiao Lin was trying to shift his attention to something else, not wanting his disappointment to affect their travels. So, he tried to understand as much as possible, trying to see where he could help.


    ¡°Not shards, just a vessel,¡± Song Junalng answered after thinking about it.


    ¡°The shards require a carrier, and that would also let me know how many of the shards you¡¯ve collected. This was actually something that the old dean had gotten some historians to look into quietly years ago. They practically looked into all of the New World¡¯s history before finally locking into the Weier Kingdom thousands of years ago. It¡¯s a pity that the only ce that really held onto their history in the country is Frontier Town. So, hopefully we¡¯ll be able to find what we want there, or the research from all those years would have been wasted.¡±


    ¡°I thought I was the vessel?¡± Xiao Lin somewhat jokingly said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and wrong as well. More precisely, after thoroughly grasping the power ofw, you can actually turn into the vessel, but you¡¯re not currently one. Even the state you were in when you activated Myth and absorbed the power ofw was not it either.¡±


    Song Jung fell silent for a moment before continuing, ¡°I don¡¯t really know much of the general information. There are many things the vessels are called, but since we¡¯re in the Weier Union, we should just use their term. A few thousand years ago, it was called the Holy Grail; that was the phrase we found the most of in their history books.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s our target for this journey. If something like that exists in Frontier Town, then we must find it! If it doesn¡¯t, then we will look into other ancient sites until we find it!¡±

 Chapter 707 - Museum

    <h4>Chapter 707: Museum</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Xiao Lin and Song Jung arrived at Frontier Town in the evening. The little town was quite a remote ce in the Weier Union, but thanks to the development of their tourism in recent years, the ce had all the facilities needed. New hotels, clean streets, various shops, and even eye-catching merchandise.


    Only, due to the deration of war by Dawn Academy, the shops around had all chosen to close up. In truth, over half of the people around Frontier Town were those from various Earth academies, but Dawn Academy¡¯s motives for the war this time were vague, and could be targeting the other academies as well, so the people there could not help but be wary.


    As was the case for most territories under the colonizers, the Weier Union waspletely covered with resurrection towers, so no one was particrly worried about dying, but it was not impossible that they would be restricted in some other way. Furthermore, it was entirely possible for Dawn Academy to be even more ruthless, sending their troops to guard the resurrection towers and killing everyone after they resurrected until they ran out of lifespan, essentially spawn-camping them.


    Under such a horrifying atmosphere, Frontier Town was quite a depressing ce, as if night was about to fall. Of course, Dawn Academy¡¯s own schrs looked much more at ease, eating and drinking away like nothing was happening.


    Xiao Lin had thought that they would be staying in a hotel, but Song Jung had other arrangements. They were not in much of a mood to admire any tourist attractions. So, when it got a littleter, at the southeastern part of the town, they entered a museum that looked very aged.


    The museum was in a state of closure, and Song Jung had brought Xiao Lin the long way around before entering through a small door on the side, and they walked through the ce in a familiar manner.


    Even though it was during the night, the lights in the museum were all on. They were all high-level magicalmps. When Xiao Lin hastily walked past, he nced at a few of the objects on exhibit. They were mostly objects from thousands of years ago in the New World. The museum¡¯s target audience was naturally the people from Earth since the locals did not seem to be interested in things like that.


    Xiao Lin had once heard in a lecture before that the natives of the New World kept track of history as well, but due to therge amount of races and countries, as well as various forms of information being missing, their true history had actually beenpiled by the colonizers from Earth, and the various museums were the proof of that research.


    ¡°Later, you¡¯ll meet someone. It¡¯s the curator of this museum. Be mentally prepared. You¡¯ll probably need to spend some money.¡± Under the magical light, Song Jung said coldly.


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s head was full of sweat.


    Before he could ask anything else, Xiao Lin met the curator. They werepletely different from the image of museum curators in his mind. He was not some well-mannered historian, nor was he some archeologist that had various equipment to look at antiques on his body.


    He was an incredibly well-built, and bald Russian man. It was still early in spring, so the New World¡¯s temperature was quite low, but the man¡¯s upper body was bare as he held a bottle of unknown liquor. Xiao Lin could smell the thick smell of alcohol from far away, and possibly, because the Russian man had drank too much, his entire body emitted hot air.


    ¡°Oh? Song Jung! You little brat, how dare youe here! You haven¡¯t paid your tab fromst time! How dare youe here?!¡± The Russian man immediately widened his eyes when he saw Song Jung. His pronunciation was very good, and even had a bit of a northern ent, but the heat around his body started to redden like mes. It was the sign of a me battle aura.


    Xiao Lin immediately jumped in fright, as he had thought that the curator was Song Jung¡¯s friend, but the curator seemed prepared to fight the moment he saw Song Jung. Xiao Lin got ready to defend himself, but he could only smile wryly when he felt nothing. He was a powerless person.


    Song Jung did not look scared at all, and did not make a move to avoid anything as he opened his hands up and smiled. ¡°My old friend, you won¡¯t be able to get any money if you kill me. Aren¡¯t I here to return the money?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Return the money? You came here to pay me back? Let me tell you, the interest rate is very high!¡± The bald manughed coldly, but the fire around him dimmed a little.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll make sure I return all of your money. Not only that, I even found you a new business ¡ª something that will make you earn a lot of money!¡± Song Jung winked before moving aside, pushing Xiao Lin forward.


    The bald man narrowed his eyes and measured Xiao Lin. The mes around his bodypletely dispersed. He looked up curiously, nodding, ¡°Your academy¡¯s intelligence department has reached out to me, and I¡¯ll get quite a sum if I capture this guy. Even though it¡¯s not a lot for me, it¡¯s still better than nothing!¡± Saying that, he motioned to capture Xiao Lin.


    Xiao Lin widened his eyes. Why did he feel like he had been sold out to make up for a debt?


    Song Jung hurriedly stood between the two of them awkwardly, pulling away the man¡¯s hands before lowering his voice in a stern expression, ¡°Alexei, stop ying the fool. You know why I brought him here. Just tell us now. We need the Holy Grail.¡±


    The bald man, Alexei, had a look of surprise when he heard the words ¡®Holy Grail¡¯. He seemed to sober up quite a bit as he swept his gaze over Song Jung and Xiao Lin again. He said with some exasperation, ¡°Song Jung, you really are a rat. Only a handful of people know about that. Whatever,e in and we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    Alexei¡¯s office was very small and messy. The air was filled with the stench of alcohol, and the empty bottles on the floor were evidence of how much of an alcoholic that man was.


    Xiao Lin remained on alert as he was observing Alexei. Logically speaking, Weier was at the border of Dawn Academy, and had the Royal British Academy and Judge Academy as backers, so it was very strange for a Russian man to have a museum there. The Russian Voyna Akademiya was very, very far away from the Weier Union. However, it looked like that guy had adapted himself quite well, and from his fluent Mandarin, it was obvious that the man had been there for a long time.


    ¡°Give me back the money fromst time first, then we can talk business. Forget it otherwise!¡± Alexei gulped down more alcohol as he shouted loudly.


    Song Jung took out a card and threw it on the table as he said, ¡°Swipe it yourself. The extra money will count toward the rewards of this job.¡±


    Song Jung looked like it was nothing, but Xiao Lin widened his eyes. However he looked at it, that card was his own; he had left it at the academy before going for the tournament!

 Chapter 708 - Alexei

    <h4>Chapter 708: Alexei</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re not mistaken, that¡¯s your card.¡± Song Jung was honest about it. Seeing Xiao Lin¡¯s anger in his eyes, Song Jung did not hesitate to admit it.


    Xiao Lin was actually quite rich; he had a few hundred thousand New Dors in his card. As the sole form of currency of the colonists, New Dors were very valuable. His few hundred thousand was already equal to a few million back on Earth. Even the local natives were perfectly willing to use New Dors as a currency.


    However, Xiao Lin¡¯s anger quickly disappeared. That money was just a number to him. He knew that he would definitely be noticed by the new dean if he went back to use it, and he would end up getting tracked down. In this world, unlike on Earth, there were many things more valuable than money, and anything that could be solved with money was not a big issue at all.


    Additionally, it was obvious that Alexei was someone that could be solved with money. He picked up the card Song Jung handed over and put it into hisputer. After some motions, his eyes lit up, and a vibrant smile appeared on his face.


    After looking up again, Alexei took out two tall sses from his cab, and with his bottle that he had never let go of, he filled up the sses before filling up his own empty one. After that, he pushed it over, smiling as he said, ¡°Friends! Let¡¯s drink first!¡±


    Xiao Lin was surprised. That man had just been ring daggers at them, and in a few minutes, he was enthusiastically calling them friends. He really was a man who loved his money. However, Xiao Lin was not a good drinker, and that full ss of liquor made him tipsy just looking at it. As he hesitated and prepared to reject it, he suddenly saw a nce from Song Jung, as well as the slight shake of his head.


    ¡°The guy makes friends through drinks, so it¡¯s best that you don¡¯t reject it. Drink up!¡± Song Jung said in a low and steely voice.


    Xiao Lin immediately understood, and under the gazes of the other two, he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, taking up the ss and finishing it in one go. He gulped it all down into his stomach. He had been prepared to be unused to it and to even start coughing, but he did not seem to feel anything after gulping down the alcohol, not even the reddening of his face.


    Could that alcohol be fake?


    Was that Russian man drinking fake alcohol? Did they not all love their liquor?


    Or did he suddenly be good with alcohol?


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mind was filled with confusion, and Song Jung gulped down the alcohol as well. His face was unphased in just the same way, and he even had a polite smile on his face. Alexei was very surprised, and gave them an impressed thumbs-up gesture,ughing as he said, ¡°The Chinese are really good friends! This feels great!¡±


    After that, Alexei did not hesitate to gulp down his liquor, but unlike Song Jung and Xiao Lin, he seemed to have some difficulty getting it down, and was much slower. His face reddened as well.


    Xiao Lin curiously nced to the side, and noticed that Song Jung had taken advantage of Alexei¡¯s drinking to slip a small white pill pack into his pocket before pping the pocket closed, like nothing had happened.


    So there had been some tampering done!


    Xiao Lin sighed as he rubbed his temples; it was obvious that he had been able to down that liquor thanks to the medicine. Who knew when that guy had given him the medication.


    Alexei finished his drink, not knowing that he had been tricked. However, he was not in as good a state anymore, and started to sway a little. However, his consciousness was still very clear as he happily smiled. ¡°I should properly have a good drink with both of you one day! This isn¡¯t any regr alcohol; it¡¯s a very high concentration liquor that Voyna Akademiya had researched. Song Jung, you should know well that with the increase in our skills, the regr liquors back on Earth aren¡¯t as effective anymore, so the academy has gotten a few professors to research it.¡±


    Song Jung smiled and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but the other effect of the liquor is to increase morale, allowing exhaustedbatants to be able to fight to their full potential. Of course, this is all thanks to your academy!¡±


    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t bad either! Our academies have always been the staunchest allies!¡± It was unclear whether or not it was the alcohol talking, but Alexei had a sympathetic tone to his words.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯re forever friends!¡± Song Jung walked up and hugged Alexei, smiling. ¡°Then, old friend, can you tell us about the Holy Grail?¡±


    ¡°No problem! After all, I only chanced upon this information anyway, and I¡¯ve never verified it. There¡¯s no point in me trying to keep it to myself, so I¡¯ll give it to you!¡± Alexei agreed before opening the back door of his office to retrieve something.


    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Xiao Lin was stunned in the office.


    ¡°Remember, when ites to the Russians, there¡¯s nothing money and alcohol can¡¯t solve. If there is, then just add more!¡± Song Jung said in an educational matter.


    ¡°Was that few hundred thousand used just for the information?¡± Xiao Lin suddenly felt some regret for his money. He had thought that it would have gotten something more valuable.


    ¡°What else? Did you think that you could buy the Holy Grail with just that money? Furthermore, even now, what the thing looks like, whether it¡¯s long or round, is something that no one knows. Information is already the best we can get.¡± Song Jung shrugged.


    The two of them did not talk for too long before Alexei quickly came out, still swaying and looking like he was about to fall over at any moment. He did not bring out much. Other than the bottle in his right hand, his left hand clutched a transparent ss bead.


    The ss bead was very small, about the size of a marble, and it was notpletely transparent either. There were traces of wear and tear on the surface, which reflected its age.


    What was really surprising was inside the ss bead. In that small space, there was a vibrant and colorful glow to it. The glow came from a physical object. It looked quite sticky, and was a little like mercury. The object¡¯s color constantly changed. When the bead moved, the liquid moved, and the color of the glow would change with it.


    ¡°This is it. I found it by coincidencest time. If you really want to know about the Holy Grail, then the information is within, but truthfully, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll seed! You¡¯re not the first ones who have wanted to research this, but no one has seeded before..¡± Alexei ced the bead on the table, and it was picked up by Song Jung.

 Chapter 709 - Forbidden Objects

    <h4>Chapter 709: ?Forbidden Objects</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Song Jung put it in his pocket after a nce since it was not the time to conduct research. After that, he smiled and said, ¡°Old friend, could you let us stay the night? You know as well that our little friend here is being looked for by a lot of people. You¡¯re still from the Russian academy in the end, so they won¡¯t easily search your ce.¡±


    ¡°No problem!¡± Alexei seemed incredibly unrestrained.


    ¡°We might need some equipment, so could you help us with that as well?¡± Song Jung pressed for more without a shred of embarrassment.


    ¡°That¡¯s simple enough!¡± Alexei seemed to be drunk, and his eyes reddened as he pped his chest. ¡°You can take whatever you want from here! Friendship is the most important thing to us Russians!¡±


    Song Jung¡¯s eyes brightened up before he produced a contract. He pushed it over and said, ¡°You really are a true friend! However, even brothers have to be clear with their deals! Come, sign this document. I can¡¯t just not give you any money!¡±


    ¡°You Chinese are so troublesome!¡± Alexei membled. In order to show his trust, he did not look at it in detail, and merely threw a nce over at it. He had a bit of doubt in his eyes, as if he felt something was off, but his drunken mind did not want to bother with it, and he signed his name.


    Song Jung finally left the office with Xiao Lin in satisfaction, leaving Alexei who was snoring loudly.


    ¡°I feel like he¡¯ll definitely settle the score with you in the morning!¡± Xiao Lin finally spoke up, full of worry. That so-called document had been looked at by Xiao Lin.


    Song Jung said it was a deal, but it was more like robbery.


    There were various high-level equipment and potions and scrolls, and Song Jung bought it all for merely ten percent of the price. The prices were as good as robbery. Even though they needed to use all of those things in the end, Xiao Lin still sympathized with that Russian. Trusting Song Jung too much never ended well.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just me; he¡¯ll look for both of us!¡± Song Jung corrected Xiao Lin unhappily, rifying that they were aplices now.


    After a pause, Song Jung waved the paper in his hand, not hiding his pleased expression as he said, ¡°Furthermore, the contract is clear; he has toplete the deal whether he wants to or not!¡±


    Xiao Lin said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that Russian guy will recognize the deal.¡±


    Song Jung said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t dare to cause a scene. Your current status is equal to a fugitive. He¡¯s harboring a fugitive. If it gets reported, Dawn Academy might not do anything to him, but he¡¯ll never be able to do any business near the academy ever again.¡±


    Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°So you were using me as a shield. I feel like I really should distance myself from you.¡±


    Song Jungughed out loud, pping Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulder as he stopped smiling. He seriously said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll quit joking around. Don¡¯t worry, Alexei won¡¯t be able to wake up for the whole of tomorrow. Do you think the alcohol he¡¯s drinking is anything ordinary? That¡¯s a super strong alcohol that Voyna Akademiya spent five to six years trying to research, it¡¯s extremely expensive. The money he¡¯s earned in thest two years has mostly gone into that. By the time he wakes up, we¡¯ll already have left this ce.¡±


    Fine, even though it was not fair to Alexei, Xiao Lin had to admit that it was a good idea.


    Alexei might have been a museum curator, but as a ck market merchant, he had everything that he needed to have. To Xiao Lin, who had lost his powers, he needed equipment to protect himself. After all, even Song Jung¡¯s sliver of power at that moment was far more than he had.


    Song Jung ws quite familiar with the museum, and enthusiastically found a hidden door in a corner of the museum. Even though it was protected by a magical lock, Song Jung actually knew the password as well. After opening the door, there was a moderately sized room behind it that had various consumable tools inside.


    Watching as Song Jung took out a leather bag meant to store those things, it was obvious that this had been nned for a long time. Xiao Lin was speechless, but he did not interfere too much. Song Jung definitely knew better than him what potions or scrolls they needed.


    In his speechlessness, Xiao Lin looked around the messy room, and he suddenly realized something as he said in shock, ¡°These are all forbidden objects?¡±


    Song Jung was frantically shoving everything into the bag, and he did not even look up as he said, ¡°Obviously. If this guy was a regr merchant, why would he need a museum as a front? Forbidden objects just means that they¡¯re forbidden from being sold publicly. No matter where you go, the ck market has never stoppedpletely.¡±


    Just like forbidden spells and skills, forbidden tools were usually agreed on by the various academies. Most of those had higher effectiveness than other objects of the same rank, but they all had corresponding side effects, and some of the side effects were enough to cause death.


    Even funnier was that, other than a small amount of them that had existed in the New World before, most of them had been developed by the colonizers through a mix of Earth technology and the New World¡¯s magic. During the early days of colonization, those forbidden objects did produce good results, but as the various colonies started to stabilize, and when the colonies moved more for peace, they were quickly restricted by the academies.


    ¡°The ce we¡¯re going to will be dangerous, and I can¡¯t predict the level of danger. To you and me right now, we¡¯ll need these tools,¡± Song Jung saw theplicated expression on Xiao Lin¡¯s face, and said lightly.


    Xiao Lin sighed, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to console me. I understand. Power means sacrifice. This is all necessary.¡± He felt like he understood those words on a deeper level.


    That was right. Song Jung and himself did not have much in terms ofbat ability anymore, so regr potions and scrolls were limited in their use. Only those forbidden objects would be able to temporarily raise their strength. Of course, those objects were incredibly expensive on the ck market, so Song Jung had probably already nned everything out long ago.


    After emptying almost a third of the room away, Song Jung finally left. As they closed that hidden door, Xiao Lin turned around and looked at the empty room.. He suddenly felt like he should never step into Frontier Town again, or he would really be beaten up by that Russian.

 Chapter 710 - The Substance In The Glass Bead

    <h4>Chapter 710: ?The Substance In The ss Bead</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Even though Song Jung assured him again and again the alcohol¡¯s quality was assured, and that Alexei absolutely would not wake up until the next night, especially since it was universally known that the Russians were reliable when it came to their alcohol, Xiao Lin was still a little worried, and did not sleep well that whole night.


    Thankfully, Song Jung was not lying this time around. Before dawn, a blurry Xiao Lin was dragged out of bed by Song Jung. Looking at Xiao Lin¡¯s sleepy face, he rolled his eyes, ¡°I told you not to worry. Why didn¡¯t you believe me? When have I ever lied to you?¡±


    Xiao Lin mumbled to himself silently as the number was too high to count.


    Just as he was thinking about it, Song Jung produced a potion from somewhere and stuffed it straight into Xiao Lin¡¯s mouth. Xiao Lin did not manage to put up a defense in his fuzzy state, and gulped down a few mouthfuls, swallowing most of the potion.


    ¡°You! What did you make me drink?!¡± Xiao Lin eximed.


    ¡°An awakening potion. It¡¯s meant to keep you up. Otherwise, with how you are right now, you¡¯ll definitely cause troubleter!¡± After pausing, Song Jung added happily, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this potion is like a stimnt back on Earth. It never had many side effects before, and after my modifications, there are practically zero side effects.¡±


    It would have been fine if Song Jung did not say that, but Xiao Lin¡¯s expression changed immediately. ¡°What?! You¡¯ve modified it?!¡± His sleepiness suddenly disappeared. He did not know if it was because of the effectiveness of the potion or because he had been shocked awake by Song Jung.


    Nevertheless, after ten minutes, the two of them left the museum right before the stroke of dawn after hastily packing up their stuff. They left the museum silently. When they walked past the office, they could still hear Alexei¡¯s thunderous snoring. That man was really dead asleep. When he woke up, Xiao Lin and Song Jung would have long since left Frontier Town.


    Frontier Town was the picture of silence before dawn. Even New Washington and Dawn City did not have shops that opened through the night, let alone such a remote city. Even though the Weier Union had invested greatly in that ce, resources that consumed things like streetmps were still not widely used. The natives had a sense of fear for the dark.


    Walking in the empty streets, Song Jung said, ¡°We should celebrate that the city still has a lot of people from the other academies. Other than the Americans and the British, there are many others from the Russian academy and so on. Even if our dean wants to start an internal war, he¡¯s not dumb enough to fight all the academies at the same time, so in order to not cause any misunderstandings, not much has been done to Frontier Town.¡±


    That was why they could walk on that road in broad daylight. The other main cities in the Weier Union had all long since beenpletely sealed off by Dawn Academy. For regr folk, even walking on the streets was being monitored heavily, let alone leaving town.


    ¡°What is that ss bead?¡± Xiao Lin did not care about all of that, and he had been looking at the ss bead the whole way. It was the clue on the Holy Grail that Song Jung had painstakingly gotten from Alexei.


    Of course, Xiao Lin¡¯s power had beenpletely eradicated after using Myth, including all the skills that he had before. However, he was still at least at ck Iron-rank, and thanks to being at the weakest level of power, he was not worried that he would unleash too much energy and damage the ss orb.


    Song Jung understood what Xiao Lin was doing, and he curiously asked, ¡°How is it? Are there any results?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head.


    Song Jung paused for a moment. ¡°Is there no reaction at all? Surely not. How many types of energy have you tried?¡±


    Xiao Lin shrugged helplessly. ¡°Even though I¡¯ve lost all of my powers from before, I still have control of the three basic energies at ck Iron-rank. It¡¯s a pity; all three energies did not cause any reaction with the substance. Of course, maybe it¡¯s because my current level is too low, and the energy within the substance is too high for me to affect.¡±


    There were three types of energy in the New World: death energy, life energy, and elemental energy. Xiao Lin had already grasped death energy and elemental energy. Even though his power had weakened, he still maintained a basic control of them. Thanks to absorbing the power ofw, he had a connection with life energy as well.


    Of course, it was meaningless for Xiao Lin to grasp those energies, because he was only at ck Iron rank. For instance, the life energy he had just grasped was something unique to the elves; it had the power to cure anything, but with Xiao Lin¡¯s current power, he could not even cure an ant.


    Song Jung stopped, and the night sky did nothing to hide his shock. It was something incredibly rare on his face. After stopping for a long time, he said, ¡°Do you know what that means?¡±


    Xiao Lin shook his head. Even though he grasped the three energies, and understood what they meant, which was already rare among people his age, he still did not understand what Song Jung meant.


    ¡°Every energy in the New World adheres to thew of attraction, meaning that two simr energies, unless they had been strengthened by a form of spell casting, in a natural state, those simr forms of energy will absorb each other. It¡¯s aw in this world, like thews of physics on Earth! Unless a god changed thews of the world, this will never change!¡± Song Jung exined seriously.


    Xiao Lin finally understood, and he turned around with a shocked look on his face.


    Simr forms of energy absorbed each other only if the energies came from the same source, and in terms of this world¡¯s energies, the sources would definitely be either elemental, death, or life. Yet, since Xiao Lin had tried all three of them, and the ss bead¡¯s mysterious substance did not react, there was only one way to understand it, and it was a fairly shocking exnation.


    No matter what was in that ss bead, it was definitely not something born from thews of this world! And because of that, the substance did not adhere to thew of attraction!


    ¡°Thankfully, we managed to obtain this thing first. No matter what academy gets this, it would definitely stir an even greater internal war! The legendary Holy Grail really lives up to its name.. Even I¡¯m beginning to be filled with anticipation.¡±

 Chapter 711 - Tomb Raiding

    <h4>Chapter 711: Tomb Raiding</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ording to Alexei¡¯s words, Song Jung and Xiao Lin were not the first people who studied that object. There had been many people who had researched the bead before this, and it had existed within the New World throughout its history. So, other than those of them from Earth, even those immensely strong people among the natives had coveted it for a very long time.


    Regretfully, no one had managed to find out anything. Even those in history who had powers beyondprehension could not discover anything.


    Now, Xiao Lin and Song Jung knew that the reason was that the object was not born of this¡¯sws, and did not have any energy that the world knew of. The experts that studied objects that were only produced with this¡¯sws naturally had no way of solving it.


    They still had plenty of time.


    Xiao Lin had enough time to continue with his experiments, so he used another way, and tried to use the Shards of Creation in his body to get closer to the mysterious substance in the bead.


    In truth, he no longer knew how to summon the Shards of Creation within his body. Before this, he needed his body to be at a certain strength and skill for the shards in his body to react, and that strength required him to use Ruin at the very least, and it only had thergest reaction when he used Myth.


    However, Song Jung reminded him that Xiao Lin was different from before. After directly interacting with the power ofw, even for just an incredibly short amount of time, it did not mean that the power ofw was gone forever. Based on Song Jung¡¯s thoughts, once a person had that power, it would leave an imprint, and it was just a matter of how deep that imprint was.


    Of course, that was just his own spection, and how they would test it out would fall on Xiao Lin¡¯s shoulders.


    Using his power, which was his ck Iron-ranked power, the shards were as heavy as rocks submerged in the ocean, and did not react at all, so that path was closed off.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try meditation!¡± Xiao Lin said.


    Song Jung went along with it, and the two of them found an empty corner. Xiao Lin then started meditation under the veil of the night, while Song Jung kept watch.


    Despite losing his powers, he still easily entered a state of mediation, having learned how to do it before. There was nothing else on his mind other than the world inside.


    After using Myth, it was the first time he had used meditation since.


    Entering the meditative world, Xiao Lin was shocked. His meditative world had been a vast universe before, littered with countless stars ands. Now, his meditative world was still a universe, but it was a vast and empty one, like a dead gxy.


    The stars around him seemed incredibly far away, at distances that were impossible to reach. He could only see the light, but could not feel the warmth. Even though he tried to throw his mental strength over there, there was no way for him to interact with those stars that represented the elements at all.


    It caused Xiao Lin to feel a little depressed. He had thought that he would quickly be able to get back his former strength through training, but if he could not even reach his mental strength out, then it would be impossible for him to get back to even a regr level in a short amount of time, at least magically.


    After a moment, Xiao Lin exited the meditative world, and he looked exhausted. He was no longer in the same state he was before, and his current mental strength could not support meditation for too long.


    Xiao Lin shook his head at Song Jung, indicating that there were no results.


    Song Jung was not surprised. He did not hold out much hope anyway. He added, ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t have to research anything. We¡¯re not schrs, so we just have to find the thing. So, let¡¯s go to the ce where this thing was dug out!¡±


    When Xiao Lin was meditating, Department Head Song had already made his own ns.


    Frontier Town was a key city in the ancient Weier Kingdom. Other than the buildings that were visible on the surface, there were countless buildings that had been buried under the ground in its long history. Other than those ancient and abandoned buildings outside the city, there were also iplete records that indicated one or two ancient tombs in Frontier Town.


    Before the colonizers arrived, the tombs had already been looked at before. However, due to theck of information, there was no way to get any more information about it, such as the tombs¡¯ locations and the tombs¡¯ owner.


    It was only after the colonists arrived, bringing more advanced techniques, did the excavation of the tombs start progressing. However, thanks to the special nature of the Weier Union, only the British and the Americans had been allowed on that project. The two academies continued for over ten years before announcing that they were indefinitely suspending the excavation, and prohibited anyone else from doing it in private.


    However, just as Song Jung said, rules were made to be broken. Just like those forbidden objects they stole from the museum, after Judge Academy and Royal British Academy¡¯s restrictions, it actually ended up attracting even more people out of curiosity. It was not a stretch to say that Frontier Town¡¯s rapid development was arge part because of them.


    In recent years, private excavations never stopped, but because private excavations had limited capabilities, very few people were actually able to explore whole tombs. Most of them stopped after a bit, and what they managed to excavate mostly ended up in the ck market for a wide range of prices. If they were lucky, they might stumble upon something like an ancient potion recipe, and they would profit greatly. If it was just some shattered vases, then they would be very unlucky.


    Alexei¡¯s museum was like a fence for objects of that nature, and Alexei relied on those ancient items to make his fortune.


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that you know where this ss bead was from?¡± Xiao Lin said after listening quietly.


    ¡°I do! I even have the map.¡± Song Jung pulled out the map, pleased with himself. Needless to say, it had also been swiped away from Alexei¡¯s museum. However, there were traces of ckened blood on the corner of the map, filling Xiao Lin with an uneasy feeling.


    Xiao Lin looked at the map, but did not really understand it. However, it was obviously made in the style of a modern map from Earth, so he curiously asked, ¡°Who made this map?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not important. The map maker¡¯s already dead.¡±


    ¡°How did they die?¡±


    ¡°I said it earlier. These underground tombs are not safe at all. Even the natives of the world know to ce many traps around their deathbeds. Even though we still don¡¯t know why the Americans and the British stopped their excavations, my guess is that they wanted to avoid those dangers,¡± Song Julng answered.


    Xiao Lin was stunned. There was no need to mention it, but their next stop was definitely going to be tomb-raiding.. If even thebined forces of two academies felt that it was dangerous, then the two of them were definitely far too weak to attempt it.

 Chapter 712 - Inside The Tomb

    <h4>Chapter 712: Inside The Tomb</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The truth was not much different from what Xiao Lin expected. They used about an hour to reach the excavation spot that Song Jung talked about. Xiao Lin had to admit that the guy really had a lot of informationworks. Even though he said that the excavation had been a secret that had practically eluded all of the academies. Otherwise, such a shocking thing would never have fallen into private hands.


    However, Song Jung somehow got that information, and the guy was even pleased to say that practically everyone else who knew about it was dead. It caused Xiao Lin to suspect that Song Jung had killed off anyone who had the information after obtaining it.


    No matter what, no matter how big the risk was, since they were already there, Xiao Lin no longer had any path to retreat. The weather on the day was not bad, the moon was dark and it was very windy, which suited their purposes.


    ¡°Basically, what I can be sure of is that it¡¯s a tomb. No one knows who it belongs to, but it¡¯s certain that it has not been discovered yet, or at least, it¡¯s a tomb that rarely gets visited. We¡¯re quite lucky, logically speaking, a tomb of this scale would have been very difficult to escape the notice of the academies. However, thanks to the fact that it had not been that long, and with the matter of Dawn Academy¡¯s deration of war, everyone has been too busy to care about something like this.¡±


    Taking advantage of the night, Song Jung quickly busied himself as they talked. They were situated next to a dumpsite near Frontier Town, and it had arge amount of the town¡¯s wastes, but the people who had discovered the tomb first had made a mark there, which Song Jung easily found. It was next to a hole that had obviously new digging marks next to it, but the entrance had been covered up.


    Xiao Lin ced a few magical scrolls at the entrance. The scrolls were the ones they took from Alexei¡¯s museum, and they looked quite high-level. It was not his anyway, so he did not feel any pity using it. In order to make sure it worked, Xiao Lin nned on cing two more, but was hurriedly stopped by Song Jung.


    After that, they pulled away and waited for the explosion. The sudden explosion lit up practically half of the night sky, and even though Xiao Lin seemed to guess something from Song Jung¡¯s face, and went as far as possible as they could, the explosion still swept past the two of them, causing their faces to be covered in ash.


    ¡°Do you understand now? If you had used those two extra scrolls earlier, we¡¯d already be next to a resurrection tower!¡± Song Jung said loudly.


    Xiao Lin looked at the scroll in his hand, and carefully put it away. Fine, those things were definitely restricted for a reason. During times of peace, they were practically killing devices. cing it in any city would cause a lot of trouble for any academy.


    ¡°We have to hurry up. Even though there aren¡¯t any troops garrisoned nearby, there are still sentries. Such argemotion will definitely be reported, but they¡¯ll only arrive at noon tomorrow at the earliest,¡± Song Jung said.


    ¡°So we only have one night and one morning?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s enough!¡±


    Song Jung seemed very confident. Xiao Lin kept on feeling that the information the guy had was more than Xiao Lin knew. However, that was a good thing. If they dragged it for too long, there was a very big possibility that it would be discovered by Dawn Academy.


    The entire dumpsite had practically been blown up, and there was arge crater in the center, revealing a dark cave. After Song Jung casted a floating spell on the two of them, he threw two glowing orbs into the cave before jumping in. Those were basic spells that Song Jung had at his level.


    After going down, using the light from the orbs, Xiao Lin looked around. They were in a narrow stone room, and the walls had many lively drawings on them. It looked very much like ancient New World designs. After looking around for a moment, Xiao Lin nodded. ¡°It really is a tomb.¡±


    Song Jung turned around and looked at him, smiling with praise. ¡°It looks like you remember your history lessons!¡±


    Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. Of course, all of that was basic knowledge from their history sses. Normally, the New World¡¯s ancient tombs would always have those drawings on the wall to illustrate the life of the owner. It was meant to show the owner¡¯s glory, so Xiao Lin easily recognized the patterns.


    Anyone who was able to be recorded in this manner would definitely have been an impressive figure when they were alive. It was a pity that Xiao Lin knew very little of the history of the ancient Weier Kingdom.


    The first stone room did not have anything of value inside. Of course, it was possible that those things had already been stolen by someone. After all, the tomb had been visited at least once before.


    This section of the tomb seemed to be made entirely of stone rooms. The next rooms they went into were all already open, seemingly telling Xiao Lin and Song Jung that they were not the first people to be here.


    Of course, the benefit of that was that Xiao Lin could rx a little, not needing to worry about any potential traps of monsters. In truth, the tomb was filled with dense and fresh death energy, and normally, undead beings were easily produced in such an environment.


    Song Jung did not seem to be worried about that matter, and he seemed to have expected that there would not be much in the first two rooms, or at least nothing that they wanted. So, he constantly threw out the orbs of light the whole way, and Xiao Lin followed behind. The two of them advanced very quickly.


    After about over twenty minutes, the two of them had passed by a countless number of rooms. Thankfully, the paths did not branch, so they did not need to worry about getting lost. They would asionally see some funerary objects, but they were not worth a second nce. Xiao Lin was more interested in the drawings on the walls, but Song Jung¡¯s goal was not there, so he did not have a chance to look at them in detail. In his rush, he did not make out much.


    Song Jung patiently exined to him, ¡°A lot of the information about the ancient Weier Kingdom isn¡¯tplete, and it¡¯s hard to tell who the person depicted in the drawings are. However, that¡¯s not important, but this area of the tomb is a little different. Do you feel it?¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment before answering in realization, ¡°It¡¯s too empty?¡±


    That was right! Other than the drawings on the walls, the rooms were practically empty. Xiao Lin had thought that it had been stolen away by tomb raiders, but all of the rooms were like that. It was definitely suspicious since it would be incredibly difficult to move all of that with just the power of one person.


    Song Jung nodded. ¡°There are far too few funerary objects, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any defenses at all. Even the local natives know that anyone notable should naturally install some traps or obstacles in their tombs, so that the living would not disturb their rest. Those traps are far greater than what we would see on Earth, especially of those who were powerful when they were alive.. The various magical traps would even threaten someone above Gold rank if they entered alone.¡±

 Chapter 713 - Phoenix Robe

    <h4>Chapter 713: Phoenix Robe</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    So why was that tomb so special?


    If it had not been for the drawings on the walls depicting the life of the departed, it would have been hard to be sure that this was a tomb. Of course, there was another exnation for it, which was that there might be something deeper within the tomb that was enough to protect the ce, causing any tomb raiders to retreat.


    With that suspicion in mind, Song Jung and Xiao Lin advanced even more carefully. The whole way, they met no obstacles until they stumbled upon a corpse.


    It was a dried-up corpse that had been there for an unknown amount of years. It wore a red robe that had long sleeves. No other details could be made out. The old corpse still had skin on its skull, and there were bunches of remnants of a long grey beard. Its weak body was wrapped in the dark red robe, and the cuffs and cor of the robe were engraved with mysterious golden letters. The letters were arranged in a straight line, and was some form of special magical array


    To the left of the corpse, in its jointed, dried-up skeletal hands was a staff that had mysterious characters engraved on it. The staff was about as tall as a grown man, and on the top of the staff was a crystal orb, but the orb had already lost all its luster.


    ¡°This guy was a mage.¡± Xiao Lin concluded before he retreated a few steps hastily. Thinking about it, he still did not feel that safe since the distance was not enough when it came to mages, so he hurried to a corner of that room.


    Song Jung came to the same conclusion as he did, and the guy was more afraid of dying than Xiao Lin was. Rubbing his chin, Song Jung said, ¡°How long do you think this guy has been dead for?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely not one of ours,¡± Xiao Lin said. Since it was not a colonist, then it was a tomb raider from the New World. Unless they brought the corpse back to the academy to be experimented on, it was very hard to determine what year it died.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Song Jung narrowed his eyes and observed it, mumbling to himself as he did.


    Xiao Lin looked at him asking, ¡°How do you think he died? It¡¯s definitely not a natural death, so was it a trap? Poison? However, it¡¯s strange. I can¡¯t feel the fluctuation of any elements around here. In this tomb, other than death energy, it¡¯s really hard to feel the other energies. I¡¯m even wondering if it¡¯s possible to use magic here.¡±


    Song Jung nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right about that.¡±


    ¡°What? What am I right about?¡±


    ¡°Thest sentence.¡±


    Song Jung pointed to the front. At the end of that room, the wall waspletely sealed. It was different from the other rooms they had been in before. It meant that they were already at the end of the passage.


    Xiao Lin took out that ss bead. ¡°So this thing was actually found on his body. This guy somehow got this thing when he entered the tomb back then, but he ended up dying here.¡±


    ¡°Other than that, what do you think is strange about this unlucky fellow? Take a closer look.¡± Song Jung had figured out even more, but he seemed to want to test Xiao Lin, so he did not reveal it immediately.


    Xiao Lin frowned and looked at everything again. Like any dead person, the corpse did not seem that odd, but the robe on the corpse was quite different. After so many years, the robe might be full of dust, but it was still in a rtively pristine state.


    It was evident that the robe was nothing ordinary, and could even be something above Gold rank. That was because, even if it was a Gold-ranked tool, any magic stored within would have been eroded after a few hundred years. Only something that was even higher-leveled would be able to have its magicst even longer than that.


    Not only that, Xiao Lin¡¯s gaze fell on the cor of the robe again. Those golden letters were quite dazzling. Even though it was hard to understand, Xiao Lin was somewhat proficient in the ancientnguage. He gave it a good look, ascertaining theplicated patterns on that robe. Of course, the patterns were not just decorations. As a magical item, each pattern could possibly be part of an incredibly strong magical array.


    After a moment, Xiao Lin looked back, saying with a strange and uncertain look, ¡°A Phoenix Robe? I¡¯ve read about it in the library before.¡± Of course, that information hade from the restricted area of the library.


    Song Jung let out a rare earnest look of praise, nodding as he said, ¡°It looks like your foundations are pretty solid. Yes, you¡¯re right, this robe is called a Phoenix Robe, and it¡¯s a Legend-ranked magical item. A lot of academies really want something like this, but it¡¯s a pity that the method of producing Phoenix Robes has already been lost. We¡¯ve only found records about it in the New World¡¯s history records, so it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen the real deal.¡±


    Something that could be ssified as Legend rank definitely held enormous power. The Phoenix Robe was so sought after by everyone because the robe had a very special effect, which was that it could give the wearer one chance at resurrection! When the wearer¡¯s life was threatened, the Phoenix Robe would unleash a special form of power that would have it take damage that the wearer¡¯s soul would have taken instead.


    Just that one effect alone was enough to put the Phoenix Robe as a Legend-ranked object! After all, even though the colonists had resurrection towers now, it needed the consumption of lifespan to be used. No one would mind an additional chance at resurrection.


    That corpse was definitely no ordinary mage, and was probably incredibly strong and had deep pockets. Wearing the Phoenix Robe over meant that he had probably expected the level of difficulty of the tomb, or he would not have easily used such a rare and valuable object. Even though the Phoenix Robe could allow a person to resurrect, there was only one chance to use it, and the Phoenix Robe wouldpletely disappear after resurrection.


    However, that guy still died, and the robe on his body was perfectly fine, meaning the Phoenix Robe¡¯s resurrection had not been able to activate in time.


    ¡°No wonder the tomb raiders only dared to venture so farst time. If we advance even further, the risk will be hard to imagine.¡± Song Jung sighed.


    ¡°Why did they not take the Phoenix Robe away?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°Because he already took the ss bead. It¡¯s something far more valuable than the Phoenix Robe. From my understanding, they usually won¡¯t be too merciless, and will always leave something behind for the dead as a form of atonement.¡± Song Jung shrugged.


    ¡°So are we going to continue advancing?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    Song Jung looked at him, asking, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Xiao Lin looked on, nodding his head in determination. ¡°We have to keep advancing!¡±

 Chapter 714End - Final Chapter (End of Novel)

    <h4>Chapter 714: Final Chapter (End of Novel)</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    No matter how dangerous going deeper into the tomb was, it was something they had to do.


    Xiao Lin and Song Jung both understood that, and as they prepared to move forward, Song Jung suddenly shouted at Xiao Lin, ¡°Hold on.¡±


    At Xiao Lin¡¯s confused face, Song Jung walked over to the corpse, knelt down, and started to strip it.


    Xiao Lin was curious at first, and his expression turned strange. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say to respect the dead earlier?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He might have said that, but Song Jung¡¯s movements did not slow down at all.


    ¡°What are you doing, then?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? I¡¯m stripping it. I told you earlier that this is a Phoenix Robe. It¡¯s something that can save your life!¡±


    Xiao Lin was speechless, but he had seen how shameless Song Jung was before. Only, with how familiar that guy seemed to be with his movements, why did he feel like it was not Song Jung¡¯s first time raiding a tomb?


    The Phoenix Robe was quickly taken off. Song Jung was obviously well-versed in this regard. After that, he threw the robe right at Xiao Lin¡¯s disdainful face and asked him to put it on.


    ¡°This is for you to protect yourself. It might be able to save your life at an important time.¡±


    Saying that, Song Jung started to move forward, not looking back as he walked deeper into the tomb.


    Xiao Lin widened his mouth. Even though he was apprehensive about putting on something that belonged to the dead, he still quietly put the Phoenix Robe on as he stared at Song Jung¡¯s departing back.


    The Phoenix Robe could give him one chance at resurrection, and Song Jung had given that chance to him. He could not betray that kindness.


    The tomb was very deep, and the further in they went, the darker it got. That darkness was different from regr darkness. It was a pitch-ck darkness that even the light could not pierce through, be it from torches or the orbs of light Song Jung produced.


    And Song Jung and Xiao Lin could both feel that they were slowly walking further underground. The tomb was nted, and the deeper rooms were all beneath the ground.


    It was simr to the structure of a pyramid, so what did the deepest part at the end hide? Xiao Lin and Song Jung were both filled with anticipation because of that.


    They had been a little worried that the tomb would have various traps and mechanisms hidden within, but after going forward for so long, they did not encounter any traps at all.


    They did not know if it was because the earlier tomb raiders had already cleared up all the traps, or if the tomb¡¯s traps had all lost their effects after such a long time.


    No matter what, it was quite good news for them.


    Just like that, time slowly ticked away.


    Xiao Lin and Song Jung talked less and less to each other, and the inside of the tomb was incredibly quiet, only the soft sounds of footsteps and the thumping of their heartbeats could be heard.


    Xiao Lin did not know how much time had passed, but he started to feel tired. Even though there was no way for him to know the time, by rough estimations, they should have walked for at least two or three hours.


    Their pace was quite quick. Even though they were not running, they were still walking at a very brisk pace.


    Even at that speed, there did not seem to be any trace of the end of the tomb.


    How big was the tomb?


    Could it be heading straight underground?


    ¡°Department Head Song, are you sure we¡¯re going the right way?¡± Xiao Lin finally asked.


    Yet, the question did not get an answer.


    In the dark tomb, Song Jung merely continued to show his long back, which was not too far and not too near to Xiao Lin. He did not talk and did not turn around.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s heart started to race, as he could feel like something was wrong.


    The Song Jung in front of him suddenly felt very foreign, but he had no power at all. He should have realized it earlier, yet he only realized it just now.


    ¡°You¡¯re not Song Jung! Who are you?!¡±


    Xiao Lin did not hesitate tounch an attack. He was only at ck Iron-rank now, but he was notpletely devoid of any ways to attack; it was just that his attacks were only good for probing.


    Song Jung still did not turn around, nor did he make any moves.


    When the attacknded on Song Jung¡¯s body, Song Jung rippled and disappeared, and the space around Xiao Lin started to twist and distort.


    ¡­


    Xiao Lin suddenly opened his eyes, and was greeted with Song Jung¡¯s concerned gaze.


    He looked around in confusion. He was still in the room with that corpse, and he had the Phoenix Robe on. After looking at Song Jung for a moment, Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief.


    That was the real Department Head Song. After interacting with him for so long, Xiao Lin was certain about that.


    ¡°Was it a hallucination?¡± Xiao Lin asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and it¡¯s not a regr illusion either.¡± Song Jung had a concerned expression on his face, ¡°Now I know why the tomb raiders have never been able to get to the final room despite so many tries after all these years.¡±


    ¡°What happened? Stop ying around!¡± Xiao Lin seemed anxious. He could tell that Song Jung definitely knew a lot more. He could already tell a few days ago. It was something that guy always did. He would never reveal the full picture.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, the next step of the way, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to go with you.¡± Song Jung¡¯s expression was suddenly calm, but his words caused Xiao Lin to feel like something was wrong.


    ¡°What do you mean? Are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s because only you can walk the next part of this journey. It¡¯s a destination that only you can reach.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡±


    Song Jung rubbed his temples, sighing. ¡°Do you still not understand? Actually, I¡¯ve already read the journals of the tomb raiders that had been here before this. ording to them, there¡¯s nothing in this tomb at all; it¡¯s like a maze that goes on forever. Yet, just now, you entered an illusion. Do you understand what I mean now?¡±


    Xiao Lin understood. ¡°You¡¯re saying that past the illusion is where the real tomb lies.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but only you can enter the illusion. In truth, up until just now, I did not feel any form of illusory power at all. So, I think that only you can take that path.¡± Song Jung had a heavy expression on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s at the end of the road?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°What will be in that ce?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Will it be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you know?!¡± Xiao Lin was getting frustrated.


    ¡°You should just stay true to your heart. Do what you want to do. That should be enough.¡±


    Song Jung gave Xiao Lin a heavy push after those words, and before Xiao Lin could say anything else, his eyes blurred again.


    When his vision returned to normal, Xiao Lin was standing in that tomb again. Only, Song Jung was not next to him, and there was no corpse on the ground.


    He understood that he was back in the illusion.


    This time, he no longer hesitated, and continued straight, going deeper into the tomb.


    The deeper he went, the darker it got around him. The torch in his hand was no longer enough to illuminate the darkness, and he just threw it away instead.


    The tomb¡¯syout was quite simple anyway. Each room was connected, and even by closing his eyes, he would still be able to continue. When he mustered up his determination, Xiao Lin realized something.


    It was possible that light was actually muddling his eyes.


    Without the light, in the darkness where he could not even see his fingers, Xiao Lin did not feel afraid at all, and his footsteps became even more determined.


    Just like that, he walked ahead one step at a time, and time moved forward second by second, minute by minute.


    No one knew how much time had passed; it might have been an hour; it might have been a day; it might even have been a year.


    Then finally, in the darkness in front of Xiao Lin, light suddenly appeared. It was a pure white glow.


    He felt no happiness or sadness, and merely quickened his footsteps. When he touched the light, he suddenly felt an incredibly strong power surge forward.


    Xiao Lin could not reach it in time, but of course that did not matter at all. With his ck Iron-rank powers, there was no way he could fight back, so he could only look on as the white and intense light swallowed him whole.


    As the light dissipated, Xiao Lin forced his eyes open again, and he was shocked to notice that he was no longer in the tomb, but instead surrounded by streams of colorful lights.


    However, he was naked at that moment. Xiao Lin immediately understood that the Phoenix Robe had saved his life, which was why he was able to live on, and get past that white light.


    Where was this?


    ¡°This is the beginning and the end of the world.¡± An old voice could suddenly be heard.


    ¡°You can hear my thoughts?¡± Xiao Lin was shocked.


    ¡°Because I am you, and you are me.¡±


    Xiao Lin was silent for a moment before he suddenly got anxious. ¡°You were the one who gave me that admission letter?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°You brought me to Dawn Academy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°You caused everything to happen?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°Then who are you? No, I¡¯ll ask it this way instead, who am I?!¡±


    ¡°If I tell you that you were a god in your past life, a god that created and destroyed everything, would you believe me?¡± the old voice said slowly.


    Xiao Lin smiled coldly, ¡°Proof?¡±


    ¡°There is none.¡±


    Xiao Lin paused for a moment. ¡°Then how can I believe you?¡±


    ¡°What of it? Your past life is your past life, and you are you.¡± The old voice resonated again. Its voice carried a thick sense of exhaustion.


    ¡°In truth, everything you¡¯ve experienced, I¡¯ve experienced as well. No matter if it be love, friendship, sadness or happiness. I¡¯ve experienced it all. It is like a loop, constantly repeating itself. I can tell you what happens after this. Dawn Academy sparked a war between the academies, and the whole world is quickly pulled into it, including Earth. There¡¯s no need to say what happens in the war, but the end result is destruction. There is never a victor in war; both sides always suffer heavily.


    ¡°Your friends, your family, they will all perish in this war!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Xiao Lin immediately shouted aggressively, ¡°If that¡¯s the future, then I will stop it all from happening!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t stop it!¡± That voice seemed to get angry, ¡°Because I¡¯ve already experienced the same thing countless times. How many times do you think I¡¯ve seen myself in this same manner already?!¡±


    Xiao Lin immediately calmed down. He could vaguely guess the answer.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you are very smart. You really are my past self. Everything you¡¯ve experienced is just the recycling of time. The future me, which is you, mastered the power of time. You managed to distort time, twisting the future and the past, but this result never changes.¡±


    Xiao Lin was suddenly stunned. He did not suspect the other man¡¯s words. In truth, he had long suspected that the letter was given to him by his future self, and it was his future self that guided him to this point.


    Everything was a loop. So, was everything destined for destruction?


    ¡°Is there no other way?¡±


    ¡°There is.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the way?¡±


    ¡°Allow everything to return to its original state, andpletely change the timeline. The source of all this sadness is just because of this foreign world. Without it, everyone¡¯s lives will revert to the most original path. All of this will need the two of us together to aplish. With the shards in your body and mine, we can do it. However¡­¡±


    ¡°However, what?¡±


    ¡°However, after we do that, I willpletely disappear. Of course, that is of no consequence. And you will lose everything you have right now. Do you understand what I mean?¡±


    Xiao Lin had a conflicted look on his face. Of course he understood. The most important thing to him was not his strength, but his memories. His memories with his friends, Gu Xiaoyue, Song Jung and everyone else.


    If everything was reverted to its original state, then it meant that they would never be able to meet again.


    ¡°What is your answer?¡± The voice could be heard again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that!¡± Xiao Lin¡¯s answer left no room for debate.


    After so long, Xiao Lin was actually tired as well. It was possible that this was the decision that the dean and Song Jung had wanted him to make.


    A wormhole that transcended time and space should never have existed in this world.


    Xiao Lin¡¯s vision started to blur. He could feel the Shards of Creation in his body rapidly leaving himself, finally condensing in the air.


    The radiant light of creation shone brightly, enveloping the whole space andpletely covering the world.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end it this way! This might be the best ending.¡±


    That was Xiao Lin¡¯s final memory.


    The academies no longer existed. The wormhole that connected Earth to a foreign world was forever closed, and Earth finally returned to its normal path.


    As for whether or not the wormhole would reopen again¡­ That was a story for another time.


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