"Big dumbass!"
Jiang Yu stood there in a daze. He had no idea what Zhuo Jian meant by saying that.
Zhuo Jian didn't reveal much more. He simply said,
"You're not quite at the peak of the Spirit Domain yet. Come find me once you reach the High Order."
"I'll probably be back in Ningdu in a month or so."
Hearing that, Jiang Yu was stunned.
Did he mean Jiang Yu, who had awakened his talent, could break through to the High Order in just a month?
That was possible, maybe.
But breaking through to the High Order in a month, storing up star-point mana, and drawing power from the galaxy were all just the basics.
Having those things didn't mean you were guaranteed to succeed.
During the process of ascending to the throne, your mental strength, willpower, and even your courage all mattered!
Those who could break through the High Order on their first try were few and far between...
The pain of having one's soul ripped apart was not something an ordinary person could endure!
"What do I have to pay?"
Jiang Yu naturally wouldn't believe that a man at the pinnacle of the Empire's magic world would help him for a month for nothing.
"Hahaha!"
Zhuo Jian laughed loudly, looking at the young man before him with an appreciative gaze.
"You'll have to take part in the World Academy Championship..."
"Furthermore, I believe you'll make it into the top ten this time!"
That was Zhuo Jian's real purpose.
At the last World Academy Championship, the Empire had only placed sixteenth.
As for the championship?
They hadn't even dared to dream of it...
When Jiang Yu heard "top ten," he smiled faintly and held up three fingers.
"Top three."
"Really?!"
Zhuo Jian asked excitedly.
"Top three."
Jiang Yu nodded.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
"All right. Let's shake on it. I'll help you do what I can..."
"But I'll take your word for it this time, Jiang Yu!"
Zhuo Jian's eyes shone with anticipation.
He had already stayed in Ningdu long enough...
"All right. You should head to your dorm first. Registration for your freshman ranking starts today."
Jiang Yu nodded.
Zhuo Jian picked up a document from beside him and pondered over it.
The document read, "Demonic Elder..."
Jiang Yu walked toward a teaching building.
He wondered what Zhuo Jian might give him.
But he couldn't think of anything. He pondered for a long time and still came up with no answer.
He shook his head.
He'd find out when he broke through to the High Order anyway. There was no need to keep guessing.
Just then, Jiang Yu pushed open a door.
The activity room, which had been dead quiet for the past hundred years, was now filled with people waiting outside.
The moment they saw Jiang Yu arrive, Cao Fan hurried over to greet him.
"Jiang Yu, you finally showed up!"
"The only reason I came to Ningdu was to reach Ningdu Academy!"
Cao Fan answered smugly.
However, Zhuo Jian nearby looked rather displeased.
"Those guys from Ningdu Academy are so damn annoying. They insisted on making me kick things off with a taunt..."
Jiang Yu looked at Cao Fan's expression, then spoke with a frown.
"What happened?"
Before Cao Fan could reply,
an old man from Ningdu Academy came striding forward.
"Oh, so this is Jiang Yu, the academy's newest recruit. You'll be the first to go out and deal with the low-level monsters according to the agreed-upon number of magical beasts..."
"The low-level monsters are nothing compared to the elite demons and the Demonic Elder!"
"And the task our Magic Academy is best at is killing demons to protect the people!"
His words dripped with self-righteousness.
They made yesterday's victory seem all the less significant.
Professor Qiu Yu was the first to object.
"Let me make one thing clear: the purpose of this preliminary contest is to improve everyone's cooperation!"
"It's not about splitting everyone up until you can't even maintain the most basic team formations. How would that protect the people?"
Jiang Yu glanced at her, then fell silent.
That wasn't how the old man had explained it...
Cao Fan had guessed early on that this was going to happen.
"So for this preliminary contest, I've decided on two captains. You can choose freely. Each team will compete with three or more members."
"Furthermore, the process of the contest itself will depend on the two captains to decide..."
At this, the three academy leaders in charge of the Magic Academy all wrinkled their brows.
"I suggest that the captains be chosen from our academy's top students, Xu Zhenghe and Duan Changshang."
Cao Fan pushed forward Xu Zhenghe, the academy's most outstanding student, who had a rare and formidable talent.
"As for Mingzhe and you, I don't think you'll need me to say more."
"Next, we'll have the three captains for the match. You can discuss among yourselves."
Jiang Yu glanced at the three people behind him who had come from Mingzhe Academy.
Cao Fan, Zhuo Jian, Nie Bingxia, Jiang Hai, Song An, Bai Feifei, Mu Youxi, Ai Yutian...
He continued,
"As for the original teams, you can head out on your own."
Jiang Yu had only just finished speaking when a beautiful woman in white, carrying a long sword on her back, hurriedly stepped forward.
"Just so you know, the other captain from Zhenghe River is about to arrive!"
"He has a spirit beast with an ancient bloodline. One man can hold off an entire squad of mid-level monsters!"
"You'd better think carefully, Jiang Yu. He may be strong, but he's only one man!"
"If the white deer runs into danger, will you really be able to get there in time to save her?"
After speaking, Mingzhe's beautiful student fixed her eyes on Jiang Yu, her gaze full of provocation.
She was a new student at Mingzhe Academy, tall and slender, with long legs wrapped in tightly fitted pants that made her figure look even more striking.
She was a peerless beauty, too.
If it weren't for the fact that Jiang Yu had already been drawn to another beautiful woman...
Before she could finish her fantasy, a tall, imposing figure appeared at her side and gave her a hard kick.
"What the hell!"
The woman had been about to fly into a rage, but when she saw it was Jiang Yu, she could only turn away in frustration.
At that moment, Zhuo Jian said with a serious expression,
"All right, you can begin choosing your teammates."
With that, he turned to leave.
Mingzhe Academy's top students, Nie Bingxia and Jiang Hai, were the first to step out.
They couldn't wait to head toward the Ningdu Academy group.
They thought Lao Mingzhe's reasoning had made a lot of sense. If they were going to cooperate, they should stick together with the Mingzhe students.
What's more, there was the beautiful woman called Mo Xuelong, who looked down on everyone.
But Ningdu Academy's Lao Mingzhe and Zhenghe River were staring at each other in surprise.
They were clearly interested in the beauty. What good was having two teammates?
Just then,
that woman with skin as fair as snow and bones as delicate as jade, whose every move seemed to come straight from a painting, stepped forward.
"Captain!"
The students of Ningdu Academy exclaimed in unison.
But Mo Xuelong stopped walking and headed straight toward Jiang Yu.
She had come over to Ningdu Academy because of him.
She raised her head, those clear, ice-blue eyes fixed on him.
Even Jiang Yu, the captain of her academy, was just as clueless as everyone else about what was going on.
It seemed this peerless beauty had been drawn to Jiang Yu after all...
He should really tell her about his bubble technique sometime...
Because Mo Xuelong had joined them,
Xie Zhi and Xu Mingyue immediately stepped out from among the Mingzhe Academy group.
The scene fell silent once more.
No one from Ningdu Academy stepped forward.
Meanwhile, Nie Bingxia and Jiang Hai, who had gone over earlier, were already regretting it.
Every student at Ningdu Academy wore a grim expression.
They'd meant to poach the beauty in front of them. They hadn't expected their own captain to defect first...
The situation was suddenly rather awkward, but that was simply how Jiang Yu felt.
As Ningdu Academy's stern-faced Dean Shen laughed, Jiang Yu could no longer stay there. He went straight over to Ningdu Academy.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
Cao Fan slapped his hands together, his face full of delight, though no one knew what was going through his mind.
"The Ministry's mission to close the rifts and kill demons is a glorious one."
"Based on the number of rifts you've explored and the demons you've killed..."
"Furthermore, the team with the highest points will receive a special reward from the Empire's Academy!"
At this, the dispirited Xu Zhenghe's fighting spirit burned anew.
He refused to believe he was weaker than Jiang Yu, who had only two rare talents and a spirit beast!
When the time came, he would have to teach Jiang Yu a harsh lesson.
He believed Mo Xuelong would be won over by his strength, too. That was confidence.
After all, the Empire's Academy wasn't an ordinary organization...
Before you continue