The Western White Tiger, the Metal Element?!

On the school's grand field, homeroom teacher Xue Musheng said with a smile that he thought highly of this student. He was a member of Bo City's Mu Family, the nephew of Mu He, one of the family's heads, and also a school director.

Whether as a corporate wage earner or a teacher, he would have to rely on this student to produce results and curry favor.

The Awakening Stone was a thick, compass-shaped object floating in midair, with a distinct palm imprint on it. Mu Bai appeared calm, but he was just as nervous and uneasy inside as he placed his hand on the Awakening Stone...

Suddenly, the Awakening Stone began to shimmer with starlight. The radiance linked together into streaks of star marks, crawling onto Mu Bai's right hand like special blood vessels.

Then, a chill spread around his entire body, and a layer of transparent frost appeared on the compass.

"He awakened the Ice Element. As expected of a member of the Mu Family."

"Holy crap, the Ice Element is one of the systems mages most want to awaken. Its Primary Magic, Ice Vine, has both damage and control."

The first-year students cried out in surprise.

Lu Jun watched this from behind and was filled with emotion. Mu Bai, Mu Bai!

Others might not know, but he did. School director Mu He was nominally Mu Bai's uncle, but in reality, they were father and son. Mu Bai was Mu He's illegitimate son. At the same time, Mu He was also one of the Black Vatican's higher-ups—a true villain.

Three years later, Mu He would drive the Demon Beasts outside the city to annihilate Bo City in one fell swoop. He would also cause many other tragedies afterward, nearly becoming a fiend who slaughtered a million people.

After learning the truth, Mu Bai still stood on the side of justice and sacrificed family for righteousness. Born from darkness, his soul belonged to darkness, yet his actions were righteous and upright. He was a classic character who became three times stronger after being redeemed.

At this moment, Mu Bai let out a sigh of relief. He proudly fantasized inwardly, The Ice Element... I have the same Magic System as the Mu Family's little princess, Mu Ningxue. We can cultivate together in the future...

He glanced at Mo Fan at the back of the line and snorted. How could a white swan be sullied by a toad like that? The gap between them would only grow wider.

Thinking about what happened when they were children, Mu Bai's lips twitched. Mo Fan had actually dared to elope with Mu Ningxue. What had he been thinking? He had completely disregarded the consequences.

The children might not have taken it seriously, but the adults remembered it clearly. Mo Fan's father, Mo Jiaxing, had been fired, and Zhao Kunsan's servant family had been expelled from the Mu Clan because of it. Fortunately, they had not been completely eliminated; otherwise, they would have died in some corner long ago.

"Next, Qiu Yueying!"

"Next..."

Lu Jun saw some people awaken the Earth Element and others awaken the Wind Element. They were all among the seven systems of Elemental Magic. Even the Fire and Lightning Elements were rare.

Of course, he also saw a few students fail to awaken. They left in a daze. Awakening was not cheap. Even a Primary Awakening cost one hundred thousand, and only schools offered it for free.

The high school entrance exam was a means of selection. If one could not enter a magic high school, one could forget about learning magic. The cost was simply too high. It was not that the nation did not want everyone to awaken.

Even Mo Fan had only entered Tianlan Academy because his father had humbled himself and used Mu He's connections as a school director.

Before long, another girl in the line touched the Awakening Stone. Blinding golden light shone out, making her look extremely holy. Its visual effects completely overwhelmed those of the others.

Yet homeroom teacher Xue Musheng sighed sympathetically. "What a pity. It's the Light Element."

Lu Jun saw the girl in front cover her face and begin to cry. He was instantly speechless.

What was worse was that the students beside her were discussing it animatedly, mocking her with schadenfreude. "The Light Element? One of the most useless systems in the early stages. The Water Element comes next."

"There's no helping it. The Light Element's Primary Magic, Light Shine, is just a lightbulb. It has no offensive power at all. At most, it provides illumination. Even at max level, it can only make a Demon Beast go blind for a while."

"There are five major ranks, and each rank only allows one fixed spell. A Beginner Mage has only one skill, and it's the useless Light Element. What a waste. Even an ordinary person could kill a Light Element mage one-on-one."

Lu Jun knew this was a misconception of the early stages. People in small cities had limited knowledge—even teachers were like this. Every Magic System possessed world-destroying power once cultivated to its peak. The systems differed only in rarity, not in superiority.

So he spoke up. "The Light Element isn't weak. After reaching the Super Rank, its Super-Rank Magic, Sacred Judgment: Demon-Slaying Sword, is known as the strongest single-target skill. Anyone of the same rank will certainly die from one strike. The Lightning and Fire Elements can't compare."

The moment he finished speaking, the whole field fell silent in astonishment. Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and the others looked over, clearly hearing this knowledge for the first time.

Xue Musheng frowned and asked uncertainly, "Student Lu, where did you hear that?"

Lu Jun was speechless again. He answered casually, "The Library. The Magic Association makes all magic below the Super Rank public. Anyone interested can look it up online."

The Magic Association was the true highest authority in the world. It managed everything related to magic, progressing downward from continental level to national level and below.

The girl was overjoyed and rekindled her determination to work hard. She repeatedly thanked him, while quite a few girls in the class looked at him with admiration.

Xue Musheng was a teacher who had just been lectured by a student, and he could not save face. He could not help saying, "You know it's the Super Rank, right? How many people in the world can reach the Super Rank? I've taught so many classes, and it's difficult to produce even one Intermediate Mage."

What he said was true. "There are no useless Magic Systems, only useless mages" was purely a fallacy—there was absolutely no hidden implication.

Without the early stages, how could there be a later stage?

But Lu Jun could not be bothered to show these idle magic teachers any respect. He calmly retorted, "Doesn't the teacher know that the Light Element's Primary Magic isn't powerless? It simply hasn't been used against the right target."

"Dark Magic is instantly lethal against opponents of the same rank before the Light Element. Our Ancient Capital has long suffered the disasters of the Undead Empire. In that place, Light Element magic is the most popular."

The Ancient Capital was the ancient Chang'an of his former world, the imperial capital of several dynasties. It had originally been buried beneath countless tombs. In the Magic World, it had become a realm of undead Demon Beasts. Everyone knew that undead creatures and light had been natural counters to each other for twenty years of webnovels.

Xue Musheng no longer dared to speak. He felt that his student had completely crushed him in breadth of knowledge.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were broadening their horizons. They whispered to each other, "Who is this guy? His bragging is even stronger than Mu Bai's."

At last, it was Lu Jun's turn. He took a deep breath and felt slightly nervous. His awakened talent and Magic System would determine his future plans. I hope they're powerful enough. Otherwise, when disaster strikes in the future, I'll only be able to stand by and watch.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Soon, Lu Jun closed his eyes. His Spiritual World was empty and pitch-black. There was nothing there, and everything had become void. At that moment, a gentle magical energy traveled from his hand, following his arm directly into his mind.

Then, as if possessing some mysterious power, it suddenly caused a light drizzle to fall within that empty Spiritual World.

Normally, closing one's eyes meant seeing nothing, but magical energy directly manifested the Spiritual World.

Lu Jun saw a tiny patch of stardust appear in the void. Compared with the entire dark universe, it was extremely dim and small as dust, shining with a blue radiance.

Blue stardust represented the Water Element he had awakened. As for the others...

Red stardust represented the Fire Element.

Cyan stardust represented the Wind Element.

Brown stardust represented the Earth Element.

Golden stardust represented the Light Element.

Purple stardust represented the Lightning Element.

Just as Lu Jun thought it was over, the Awakening Stone transmitted another surge of magical power. He immediately rejoiced. Innate Dual Elements... No! It's most likely Dual Elements Per Tier.

Western White Tiger, Metal Element?!

Innate Dual Elements and Dual Elements Per Tier were both Innate Talents, but their meanings were completely different.

The former meant awakening two Magic Systems at the Primary Level. Afterward, one would return to normal at the Intermediate Level, with one system per tier. In other words, compared with others, one merely had an additional system.

With Dual Elements Per Tier, however, reaching the peak of cultivation meant having five additional systems. This was not simple addition or subtraction, but multiplication.

Lu Jun's guess was indeed correct. The fusion of his parallel-world counterpart had not been a simple transmigration. Two origins had been superimposed, bringing twice the joy. The same was true for Mo Fan, and for him as well.

On the grand field, he could barely contain his excitement. The Magic World was far too dangerous. No amount of cheating was excessive. Take Mo Fan, for example. In the future, he would possess all Forbidden Spells and become humanity's strongest, yet before the other Demon Beasts, he would rank at most among the top twenty.

The Demon Beasts of the Extreme South, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Kunlun Mountains, the Ancient Capital, the northern Asian snowfields, Egypt, the Sahara, the Amazon... Every one of them was terrifying. Even after the protagonist Mo Fan became invincible, he still could not resolve a single one of those threats.

But before Lu Jun could celebrate, the White Tiger Pendant around his neck bloomed with platinum light. A sharp force shattered the energy transmitted by the Awakening Stone and replaced it, following his arm into his Spiritual World.

Buzz!

A sharp platinum radiance streaked through the void of his Spiritual World like an unsurpassed flying sword, cleaving the world open and creating a patch of stardust that shone with platinum light.

Thus, in the dim universe, blue and platinum stardust reflected each other's brilliance.

The sudden change caught Lu Jun completely off guard. He stood there dumbfounded. Even with his knowledge, he could not determine what system this suddenly appearing platinum stardust belonged to. White resembled the Summoning System of Dimensional Magic somewhat, but its radiance was far brighter.

He soon received his answer. The White Tiger Pendant around his neck transmitted a series of messages. This system was a new Magic System that had never appeared in the Original Timeline. It was called the Metal Element—the metal of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. According to its classification, it should belong to the broad category of Elemental Magic.

"That makes sense. The White Tiger of the West represents metal, and metallic substances make up the vast majority of the planet. The Original Timeline had all kinds of magical metals, and even the Lightning Element existed, yet there was no Metal Element. That really is strange.

"The Plant Element, which is the wood element, exists too. It's classified under the broad category of White Magic."

Lu Jun barely steadied his mind and examined this unexpected system.

Outside, the entire class saw misty water vapor surrounding his body, while the Metal Element remained restrained and did not reveal itself.

Seeing this, Lu Jun glanced around and relaxed slightly.

This is great. The most frustrating thing about the Magic World is humanity's infighting. Talented people are either targeted by the Black Vatican and influential families, or treated as heretics by certain authoritarian factions within the Magic Association and dealt with directly. And that's without mentioning a one-of-a-kind Metal Element like mine.

Innate Dual Elements and the Metal Element—either one was a land mine.

The black and white sides were both forcing geniuses to their deaths. No wonder humanity could not resist the Demon Beasts.

Xue Musheng noticed Lu Jun's changing expression and comforted him. "The Water Element is average. Its Primary Magic, Water Shield, has decent defensive power."

For some reason, the moment he opened his mouth, he had a vague feeling that he would be slapped in the face.

Sure enough, Lu Jun smiled. "The Water Element is great. Sea Monsters run rampant in coastal areas, and Magic City and Hangzhou aren't far from here. The Water Element is quite valuable."

He was secretly delighted. Knowing the future trends, he understood that the Water and Ice Elements were the true answers for the current version.

Ten years later, the glaciers of the Extreme South would melt, raising global sea levels. Coastal regions would be almost completely submerged, and countless ocean Demon Beasts would invade. Mo Fan could do little more than delay them—partly because of his strength, and partly because he was a complete landlubber.

Since he had awakened the Water Element, the coastal regions of the future would be filled with opportunities, with abundant Water Element resources appearing everywhere. His chances of survival would also be much higher.

However, at the Primary Level, it truly was not a good system. He would have to reach the Intermediate Level before gaining a skill that combined control and destruction.

Of the seven elemental systems, only the Lightning and Fire Elements possessed purely destructive skills from the Primary to the Super Rank. Destruction was the most direct way to display extraordinary power, so it was no wonder they were the most popular.

They were the main damage dealers, after all. Everyone fought to take the spotlight in games, let alone in reality.

"Survive until the late game, then I'll make the Lightning and Fire Elements call me Dad."

Lu Jun encouraged himself and wondered whether the never-before-seen Metal Element would give him some pleasant surprises.

Before long, nearly everyone in the class had finished awakening. Zhang Xiaohou still awakened the Wind Element, a Magic System with excellent evasion.

At last, it was Mo Fan's turn. Lu Jun deliberately took a glance during his awakening. Sure enough, purple lightning first flickered, followed by a blaze of fiery red light.

Innate Dual Elements—the violent Lightning and Fire Elements.

Unfortunately, the scene was overshadowed by the radiance of the Lightning Element awakened by Xu Zhaoting, a student from the neighboring class. Everyone ran over to watch the neighboring class, conveniently overlooking Mo Fan.

"The Lightning Element! Only one person in a thousand awakens it. It's the foremost of the elemental systems. I'm so jealous!"

"Waaah, kill me! Why did I awaken the Water Element? Why didn't I get the Lightning Element? Don't stop me, I'm going to the rooftop!"

"The corpses of the Light Element are already covering the ground below."

"..."

Lu Jun shook his head. His luck was simply too good. His current actions were not enough to trigger a butterfly effect, but the future was hard to say.

Yet in this Magic World, knowing the future was useless. Everything depended on one's own cultivation, and opportunities could not be forced. People with different Magic Systems could not even make use of the same opportunities. Besides, disaster treated everyone equally.

Mo Fan looked left and right and discovered that no one had noticed. His face darkened at first. Such a good opportunity to show off had slipped away. After thinking it over, however, he felt that it was better not to reveal his Innate Dual Elements.

But while scanning the area, he suddenly saw Lu Jun staring straight at him, and his expression stiffened.

When the homeroom teacher finally reacted, he looked at Mo Fan happily and said, "The Fire Element! The Magic System second only to the Lightning Element. There are probably only thirty or forty students in the entire school who awakened it."

Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan looked terrible. This kid was far too lucky. His good brother Zhang Xiaohou immediately jumped in to tease him.

Mo Fan was not happy at all. After coming down from the platform, he walked over to Lu Jun, hooked an arm around his shoulder, and led him to a corner.

"Student Lu, you didn't see anything, right?"

Hearing Mo Fan whisper close to his ear, Lu Jun felt like laughing. He glanced at the tiny Black Loach Pendant hanging around Mo Fan's neck. It was the size of a pinky and completely inconspicuous. On the surface, however, he coldly said, "Call me Big Brother."

"Big Brother, Big Brother, Big Brother!"

Mo Fan's shamelessness had reached the point where he no longer felt anything. He said it repeatedly.

"Call me Dad!"

Seeing this, Lu Jun said it casually. Mo Fan immediately tried to blurt it out without hesitation. Lu Jun was startled. "Hey, hey! You really were going to say it?"

He had underestimated the thickness of Mo Fan's skin.

"Hehe." Mo Fan laughed awkwardly. "Brother, don't tell anyone."

"I have no interest in gossiping."

Lu Jun shook Mo Fan's grasp off his shoulder and said calmly, "As long as you don't reveal it, I'll never tell anyone."

"Besides, your situation is called an Innate Talent."

Mo Fan was puzzled. "Innate Talent?"

"That's right." Lu Jun explained, "There are always people in the world whose talents differ from ordinary people's. Magic is the same. There are many kinds of Innate Talents, and yours is merely one of them."

"You know Mu Ningxue from Bo City, right? She has an Innate Talent too. She was accepted into Imperial Capital University early."

"I see." Mo Fan fell deep into thought. His originally arrogant attitude restrained itself slightly. Then he sighed. That simple, troublesome girl from his childhood had already become so formidable. He could not afford to fall behind either.