"Excuse me, what brings you here?"
The dean looked curiously at the young man who had arrived uninvited.
Jiang Yu took one step forward. With him at the center, frost spread across the entire small courtyard, freezing it into a world of hidden ice.
"You're an Ice Mage at the Advanced level!"
At that moment, the department heads all sensed that something about Jiang Yu was different. Some of them couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.
The dean stared at the young man, his heart secretly filling with admiration.
There were far too many demons this year, weren't there? The special admissions quota wasn't enough at all!
"Hey, kid, have you even reached the Advanced level yet?"
"And you want to compare your Ice element to my Fire element?"
The man's voice rose with indignation.
Jiang Yu listened calmly. He merely found the dean's certainty amusing.
They're all so clueless. Do they really think the Lightning element is the strongest?
"Heh, all of you are pretty impressive. But there's only one spot in this year's rankings."
"Then let's see how you stack up against me!"
At these words, Jiang Yu immediately replied, "My second element is Summoning."
He didn't want to waste time dealing with these people, but that would be no different from letting them walk all over him.
After all, today he had to escort Mo Fan to the Demon Capital High School for a match.
At Jiang Yu's words, the old Summoning Department head, Cai Ming, immediately asked, "You've awakened your Summoning element? When did that happen?"
The dean and the other department heads were also stunned by Jiang Yu's answer.
The gap between Summoning Mages could be enormous.
A powerful Summoning Mage could be on par with a Mage of the same level, while a weak one...
Jiang Yu summoned the seven stars in the spiritual world that belonged to his Summoning element.
A silvery-white star cloud emerged, and a dimensional crack opened.
Just then, a small black dragon, about half a meter long, appeared.
The little fellow yawned, as if it had just been sleeping in some other dimension.
"Ha! You're only an Intermediate Mage, and you're bragging? Even a fake dragon is probably stronger than your summoned beast!"
The angry man immediately sneered.
He was picking on a Summoning Mage whose summoned beast was so tiny. What kind of strength could it possibly have?
But the dean and the others looked grave. He pointed at Jiang Yu and announced, "He's the final special admission candidate this year."
The announcement stunned everyone.
"Wait, what?!"
The man couldn't believe his ears.
But the dean quickly explained, "His Spatial element's energy is comparable to that of a Super Mage."
That sentence made the man's expression sink with disappointment.
Still, he refused to accept it.
The main issue was that he'd been humiliated. He was the illegitimate son of one of the four great families in the Demon Capital, after all!
Now he'd lost out to some nobody who'd only awakened one element...
"I'm not convinced. So what if my second element is the Wind element? I'm still stronger than him!"
His family had spent a fortune on Spatial Awakening Stones, and it had all been for nothing...
But the dean didn't bother with him. His gaze burned as he looked toward Jiang Yu.
"May I ask your name, young man? Which academy do you want to attend?"
"Jiang Yu. I want to enter the Summoning Department."
Jiang Yu gave his name.
The dean and a few other high-ranking officials were stunned for a moment. Then they hurriedly asked, "You're from Bo City? Are you the Bo City hero, Jiang Yu?"
"Yes," Jiang Yu replied.
Once Jiang Yu had answered, the man could no longer suppress his envy. He stormed out of the courtyard, his face ashen.
He looked back at the magnificent academy buildings, then at the young man who'd stolen his place. He clenched his fists in frustration.
Damn it. Who would've thought that the one who'd ruined my chances today would be that Jiang Yu!
He'd heard that the man was ruthless, capable of fighting through a tide of demons and monsters.
Worst of all, Jiang Yu had killed people from the Black Vatican! And not just one or two!
The man was furious at how bold and ruthless Jiang Yu was.
So what? There are other ways for me to get into Mingzhu Academy. I just have to put in more effort.
Back at the academy, the old Summoning Department head, Cai Ming, was still in shock.
That was because Jiang Yu had actually chosen the Summoning Department!
There were only four people in the Summoning Department this year.
The old man had been worrying about how they'd manage to meet the hundred-student target for the new student tournament. Now, at last, there was a glimmer of hope.
But it was only a glimmer.
Even if Jiang Yu was as capable as rumored, Cai Ming estimated that he could take on, at most, around forty people.
That was still a pretty conservative estimate...
Although Jiang Yu's record as the hero of Bo City was impressive, anyone with a bit of sense knew that there had to be some exaggeration.
After all, even an Intermediate Mage breaking through a demon horde was possible. And a Summoning Mage could certainly do that, too, if it was all to create a heroic image...
"I have something to discuss with you."
The dean spoke to Jiang Yu, who had just finished filling out the enrollment forms.
The two walked along the path on the Mingzhu University campus.
Jiang Yu noticed an elderly man beside him, wearing glasses and looking like a highly learned scholar.
"You're not only a Summoning Mage, are you? From what I know, you should also have the Fire element."
"Oh, I'm a natural-born Lightning Mage."
Jiang Yu made no attempt to hide the truth.
The dean looked at the young man with appreciation.
"Born with the Lightning element? The last time one appeared was a hundred years ago..."
"Make good use of that rare talent. With that gift, you could become one of the top ten in the whole country."
Jiang Yu said nothing.
The dean probably didn't know that his talents weren't limited to that one element!
The two chatted for a while.
The dean took quite a liking to the young man and even offered him some special privileges, such as permission to live off campus during his first year.
Jiang Yu happily accepted.
After all, he'd chosen the Summoning Department for a major reason: to keep a low profile.
And now he wouldn't even have to stay in the dorms.
At the end, the dean left Jiang Yu with a few words of encouragement for the upcoming new student tournament, then departed.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yu headed home.
He'd be escorting Mo Fan to the Demon Capital High School the day after tomorrow, so he'd take it easy for now.
On the way, Jiang Yu noticed that the girls in the Demon Capital were indeed more outgoing.
For instance, after he went to the Demon Capital High School today, several pretty girls had come up to chat with him.
... ...
The entrance ceremony at Mingzhu University began in a week.
The new student tournament would begin as scheduled, too.
Inside the hundred-person classroom of the Summoning Department, Cai Ming and the other department head looked worried as they watched the five students sitting in the room.
"Teacher, are we really going to have to compete in the new student tournament this year?"
A young man with dark skin asked.
He looked old for his age. He was the strongest demon hunter, and the most talented student in the Summoning Department.
"Heh." Cai Ming ruffled his hair and said, "The demons are tough, but what you'll be fighting in the tournament are the summoned beasts of other departments."
At this, everyone in the Summoning Department except Jiang Yu, who already knew, froze.
What? So I'm the one getting beaten up in the tournament?
The other four Summoning Department students shook with anger.
But before their anger could settle, Cai Ming threw out another bombshell.
"By the way, if any of you can defeat a hundred students from the other departments, your funding will be doubled!"
"That's a Mingzhu Academy tradition."
"Of course, there's a catch. If someone manages to take down all the summoned beasts, they'll get the silver badge in my hand."
Cai Ming took out a glass bottle that looked plain and ordinary. Inside was a black liquid shimmering with a faint light.
At that moment, something stirred in Jiang Yu's spiritual world.
In the other dimension, Little Tan seemed to have spotted some kind of rare treasure. It immediately rubbed its claws together excitedly.
You can sense something even in another dimension? You're quite the glutton!
"Fine. When the time comes, I'll let you have it."
Jiang Yu's words brought the little fellow back down to earth. It trusted that its master would get it for him.
Before you continue