Full-Time Mage: Starting with the White Tiger Pendant

Seeing no serious injuries or aftereffects, they diverted to the Hunter's Alliance to process the magic wolf materials and hand in the quest for a small profit.

Then, Lu Mei spent three million to rent a Nebula Magic Tool for half a year, and auctioned off the Servant-level Essence Soul for a gain of five million.

Since the Magic Association had its own Soul Jar for storage, Lu Jun could simply transfer the items from the White Tiger Pendant without any risk of exposure. Even if discovered, with Lu Mei's status as an Intermediate Mage, she could handle it.

Back home, Lu Mei held a Starlight Bracelet in her hand and said with a smile, "At most half a year, and my Earth Element will reach Intermediate. Dual-element Intermediate!"

She had originally planned to rent one for her younger brother as well, but Lu Jun refused. Jokingly, the White Tiger Pendant was far more useful than this.

His Metal Element could also push toward Intermediate, roughly half a year. Then he'd need a few more months to control the forty-nine stars. At the latest, by the end of his sophomore year, he would be a first-level Intermediate Mage capable of releasing Intermediate Magic, with a second awakening to boot.

By high school graduation, at the very least, he'd be dual-element first-level Intermediate and dual-element third-level Basic.

That would be enough to survive the Disaster of Bo City!

Lu Jun clenched his fists. Even Mo Fan had only barely reached dual-element Intermediate by graduation, still unable to release magic. If not for devouring the Earth Sacred Spring, at eighteen he'd be at most dual-element third-level Basic.

"The Earth Sacred Spring... pity the original work clearly states it's the power of the Azure Dragon Totem, completely unrelated to my White Tiger Totem. No need to set my sights on it."

He sighed, knowing such opportunities were rare and hard to come by.

Time flowed, and two months passed. During that period, Lu Jun and his sister hunted demons several more times, with average luck—they only wiped out two nests of One-Eyed Magic Wolves.

They never encountered another Servant-level Essence Soul. Even so, the material fees scraped together amounted to a few million. Over the entire summer break, after expenses, they had saved up a hefty ten million.

Afterward, it seemed their arrogance had caused massive losses to the One-Eyed Magic Wolf packs, drawing their vigilance. The wolves even mistook it for a military purge from Bo City and began to retaliate, triggering a Level 3 Orange Alert.

With no other choice, the siblings stopped their operations. On one hand, the wilderness demons were on guard; on the other, they needed to rest and recuperate.

Prolonged slaughter had added a hint of indifference to Lu Jun's eyes, a Killing Aura. If this continued, he risked losing himself, becoming numb to life. He needed some time to cultivate his mind and body.

Just in time, the second year of high school began.

Lu Jun returned to school. The summer break had been fruitful, but his Water Element magic still hadn't broken through, stuck at Basic Level 2. He had used it far too rarely, relying on his Metal Element to carry him through.

As for improving his Water Element, he had a plan in mind, but that would have to wait until Intermediate. Basic-level Water was still too weak.

At Tianlan High School, Lu Jun, Mo Fan, and Zhang Xiaohou gathered together, all having made it into the Advanced Class.

Mo Fan looked Lu Jun up and down and clicked his tongue. "Old Lu, I feel like you change every semester. You've got this aura that makes people take you seriously without you even saying a word."

Lu Jun said nothing, slumping into his chair, closing his eyes to look inward at his Spiritual World.

Two star dusts gleamed brightly, azure blue and platinum white shining in harmony. The Metal Element star dust was clearly two sizes larger, squeezing the Water Element star dust to the side.

He delved deeper into the White Tiger Pendant. On the blood-colored lake, two candle-flame-sized, deep blue souls flickered. During the last two nest-clearing operations of the summer, though he hadn't obtained a Servant-level Essence Soul, killing over a hundred magic wolves had gathered enough Remnant Souls to synthesize one.

Now, Lu Jun held two synthesized Servant-level Essence Souls.

Seeing this, he didn't hesitate. He guided the Essence Souls to nourish his Metal Element star dust.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The two deep blue souls sank into the platinum star dust and were instantly refined. A warm, moist energy was released. Two platinum stars expanded with a 'pop' and a 'pop', growing from the size of a pinky finger to that of a thumb.

Lu Jun felt a cool clarity in his mind, refreshing his spirit and sharpening his memory and focus. His total magic energy also increased. The platinum star dust's luster grew noticeably brighter, and the sword scar running through the star dust was nourished as well.

"Not bad. I'm only [five Essence Souls] short of Basic Level 4. Maybe I can gather them over two or three breaks. Basic Level 3 gave me something like [Sword Qi]. I wonder how strong Level 4 will be. Given the Metal Element's killing power, it probably touches the threshold of Intermediate Magic."

He nodded in satisfaction, but a sudden commotion by his ear made him open his eyes.

On the podium, the Advanced Class homeroom teacher was Old Xue. Since his previous class had produced outstanding results, including talents like Lu Jun, he was still in charge.

Now, over a hundred top students were excited, including Mu Bai and the others. It was almost time to distribute the [Stardust Magic Tools]. Whoever held them longer would make greater progress.

Xue Musheng didn't drag it out. "We will allocate the usage time of the Stardust Magic Tools according to your rankings in the Annual Assessment. The higher your rank, the longer you can use them."

"Of course, our school is very humane. Every quarter, we will conduct another test and re-rank. The distribution of the Stardust Magic Tools will change with the new assessment."

Then, Lu Jun witnessed another exasperating scene.

Director Xue said sternly to Mo Fan, "Mo Fan, as the class's top student, you should have the longest usage time for the Stardust Magic Tool. However, given your disrespectful behavior during the Annual Assessment, your usage time will be reduced from one month to ten days. This is your punishment!"

Both commoners and aristocratic students gloated. "Oh, from a month to ten days. That's a huge loss. If he'd just held back his arrogance back then, that month would have been enough to pull far ahead of everyone else."

"If he'd just bowed his head and agreed to join the Mu Clan, he might have gotten even more!"

"Yeah, why bother having so much backbone?"

But Mo Fan still looked utterly unconcerned, not realizing the severity of the problem.

With the first-place Mo Fan punished, the beneficiary was naturally Lu Jun, who came in second. But since he had the White Tiger Pendant, he looked down on this paltry Stardust Magic Tool.

So he simply privately traded the usage rights to Mu Bai. For the next two years, a flat million. Honestly, it was overpriced, but there was no market for it.

Why not Mo Fan? Heh, the guy was broke! Besides, as Lu Jun expected, Mo Fan would soon unlock the Azure Dragon Pendant's function.

Mu Bai was quite surprised at first, confirmed it several times, grit his teeth, and paid. Secretly, he mocked Lu Jun for being clueless. With more Stardust Magic Tool time, his cultivation speed would skyrocket.

Since the top two were both messing around for various reasons, Mu Bai felt that in the next assessment, he would overtake both Mo Fan and Lu Jun.

Mu Bai felt the advantage was his!

Chapter 26: Scamming Mu Bai?

The new semester began. Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed. The semester was nearly half over.

Lu Jun had been focusing all his energy on the Water Element during this time, and finally, nourished by the White Tiger Pendant, he broke through to the third level of Water Shield · Cycle.

That evening at home, his sister Lu Mei sat quietly on the sofa cultivating, a faint apricot glow flickering around her as the star bracelet on her delicate wrist shimmered—she was meditating on the Earth Element.

Splash!

Outside in the courtyard, Lu Jun controlled the star particles. A streak of azure blue starlight traced through the air, drawing away the vast water vapor. Countless droplets converged, weaving into several unceasing streams of flowing water, shimmering and bright, guarding his body.

He touched it with his finger, and the swift current erupted with a powerful impact, actually bouncing his hand back with some pain.

When water flows, besides its endless self-repair, it also contains abundant kinetic energy. Even if a demonic beast could tear through the defense, before the Water Shield shattered, it would unleash a strong repulsive force, knocking back Servant-level Demonic Beasts and buying a moment to catch one's breath.

It could be said that the third-level Water Shield was indeed a decent defensive skill.

Lu Jun nodded in satisfaction, surveying his Spiritual World. The two Stardusts were evenly matched, both having reached the Elementary third level. For someone his age—seventeen in nominal years—this was truly terrifying.

Just as he was about to rest, he suddenly received a call. Opening his communicator, he was surprised to find it was Mo Fan.

What's the matter?

Meanwhile, a little earlier in time, Mo Fan was on the teaching building rooftop, fiddling with the newly acquired Stardust Magic Tool, preparing to attempt cultivation.

But then the little loach around his neck reacted, directly swallowing all the energy from the Stardust Magic Tool. He was dumbfounded and quickly shook the Azure Dragon Pendant.

The little loach refused to spit it out, instead using the Servant-level Essence Soul to revive itself, gaining the same function as the Stardust Magic Tool.

"Holy crap, you're screwing me over."

Mo Fan exploded, constantly telling himself to calm down.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to call Lu Jun. In the original story, he would have called Tang Yue. As a Fire Element mage, Tang Yue had taught them Fire Element students for a while and had a mysterious background—she might have been able to solve it.

But now that Lu Jun was around, Mo Fan preferred to trust a friend rather than a teacher he barely knew.

Besides, Lu Jun's sister was one of the few Intermediate Mages in Bo City. If she communicated with the school, she could definitely suppress the issue.

So Mo Fan answered the call and blurted out, "Dad, come save your son."

At the same time, in the courtyard, Lu Jun couldn't hold it together at Mo Fan's first words. His forehead was full of black lines, and he vaguely guessed the reason, but he didn't hold back verbally: "Come on, you wouldn't call me 'Dad' unless something big happened."

"Today you just got the school's Stardust Magic Tool assigned to you. Let me guess—you didn't break it, did you?"

"Holy crap, you even guessed that. Are you a prophet..." Mo Fan yelped on the other end, then let out an awkward laugh. "Hehehe, I mean, a father knows his son."

"So you're dragging me into this mess, huh." Lu Jun was speechless. This guy's skin was really thick—he really needed to learn from that.

At the same time, an idea struck him. He thought of a good plan and said into the phone, "Don't move. I'll be there in a bit."

Lu Jun put on his clothes, told his sister he was going to school, and left.

About ten minutes later, he arrived at the school rooftop. As soon as they met, Mo Fan said gloomily, "You're here. The wind on the rooftop is strong, the night is cold. I feel like jumping off."

Hearing this, Lu Jun's mouth twitched. He said impatiently, "Stop acting. Let me see what's going on."

Then Mo Fan spilled everything.

Lu Jun understood. Rubbing his forehead, he explained, "This little loach of yours is no ordinary thing. It's a magic tool that can be upgraded. Don't worry about anyone taking it—it's already soul-bound, so no one can steal it. But from now on, be careful not to mention it to others."

Hearing this, Mo Fan finally realized the truth. He now understood the relationship between the Stardust Magic Tool, Essence Souls, and the Soul Jar. "So what do we do now?"

"I have an idea." Lu Jun showed a 'sunny, cheerful big boy' smile and said, "I have some Remnant Souls on hand. I can place a Servant-level Remnant Soul into this Stardust Magic Tool."

"Then temporarily disguise it as intact. It can still emit a gentle warmth, but at most it'll last a few days before the energy is completely drained."

"Before that, you hand it over to the next user. I think it's Mu Bai, right?"

"Oh~" Mo Fan, already cunning, had guessed what he was up to. It was nothing but framing someone and making them take the blame. He exchanged a glance with Lu Jun, and they both grinned slyly.

The former had no Good Impression of Mu Bai because of the Annual Assessment matter and was more than happy to screw him over.

As for Lu Jun, he had other considerations. At this time, Mu Bai was actually broke. The one with real money was his father, Mu He, the head of the Black Vatican and the mastermind behind the plot to destroy Bo City.

Hehe, Mu He would definitely step up to pay compensation. So in reality, he wasn't screwing Mu Bai—he was screwing Mu He.

Who knew how terrified he had been over the past year? His intense cultivation wasn't without reason, given the Disaster of Bo City looming. This bastard deserved to be taken down a peg.

The Black Vatican was a terrifying enemy, entangled in the official roots, pervasive everywhere. Even the purest Adjudication Court had been infiltrated, let alone some Imperial Court institutions.

Lu Jun pondered deeply, as if seeing a vast Black Curtain covering the sky, but he dared not act rashly, relying only on himself to break the deadlock.

In truth, he also knew which major figures in the original story were clean. Unfortunately, he couldn't meet these big shots. Even if he went to visit, most of them had Black Vatican Members planted around them. (Details will be explained later as the plot unfolds.)

Think about it—a major figure wouldn't personally step forward just because some little Elementary Mage said something. They'd most likely delegate to subordinates to look into the specifics first.

This was a very realistic situation. Those busy with a thousand affairs wouldn't act on mere hearsay.

By then, the situation would be... Black Vatican: "Who are you in the court? Why are you reporting me?!"

Lu Jun shook off the thoughts in his Minds, took a Deep Breath, and set to work stuffing the Remnant Soul into the Stardust Magic Tool.

Actually, the specific operation wasn't that simple, but he had the Earth Element, which seemed to give him some talent for magic tool structures. After fumbling around, he got it done.

Mo Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Thanks, Old Lu."

"It's okay." Lu Jun smiled warmly, extending a hand and saying, "That'll be one Servant-level Essence Soul."

At that, Mo Fan froze, his forehead darkening as he said, "You might as well sell me. What's the difference between this and compensating for the Stardust Magic Tool?"

"Hahaha, just kidding. I'm hoping you'll become a dragon so I can ride your coattails."

Lu Jun was just speaking offhand, not taking it seriously. A Remnant Soul was worthless anyway—consider it an investment in Mo Fan.

Mo Fan waved him off with disgust. "Scram, scram. When I strike it rich, I'll pay you back a hundred Essence Souls."

The night was dark and the wind high. The two left the rooftop, no traitor in sight.

A week later, it was Mu Bai's turn to hold the Stardust Magic Tool. Without the slightest suspicion, he brought it home.

After a few days of use, it broke, as expected. He mentioned it to his mother, who eventually begged for help from 'Uncle.'

No words that night. Mu He: "No matter. I'll handle it."

So School Board Member Mu He donated a million to the school. Tianlan High School reported the matter to the relevant authorities, the Stardust Magic Tool's damage went through the reimbursement process, and the Magic High School Alliance issued a replacement.

And so the matter passed, known to no one but Mo Fan and Lu Jun.

The only one who suffered was Mu Bai. He still hadn't settled the score from the previous Annual Assessment, getting chewed out by the Two Family Stewards, and then on top of that, the Stardust Magic Tool broke.

Though being a student meant no serious consequences, Mu Bai realized in despair that after graduating high school, he would likely never receive the family's support again—no different from an ordinary commoner.

Lu Jun: That family of yours isn't worth keeping. Cut loose and take off early.

Chapter 27: Half a Year Passed

Since that incident, half a year had flown by in the blink of an eye. The first semester of sophomore year was over.

The Advanced Class sophomores had no winter break—they were going on a field expedition, which would count toward their College Entrance Exam Total Score.

Early in the morning, a crowd of students buzzed with excitement, chattering away. Only Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou among them looked around, frowning. "On a day this important, where the hell did Lu Jun go?"