Full-Time Mage: Starting with Obtaining the White Tiger Pendant

In This Room, Everyone Is Trash

Lu Jun waited for a few seconds, until the Curse Mark had seeped deep into all eighteen targets.

The fine, ink-green spiderweb stretched taut across the Beast Fighting Arena. The Summoning System mages and their Summoned Beasts had no room left to struggle, their soul stardust tightly sealed away.

The ink-green Curse Marks on several of their foreheads spread across nearly half their bodies, tracing ghostly spider patterns from their faces down to their necks and collarbones. They were savage and ugly, filled with Dark Aura.

Their skin burned with searing pain, their muscles seemed to be dissolving, and their internal organs convulsed. Their entire bodies felt unbearable, making them wish they were dead.

Fortunately, Lu Jun knew where to draw the line. He had used a torture curse rather than a life-stealing curse meant to kill enemies. They were merely suffering and could not unleash the Curse Mark's greatest destructive power.

Lu Jun slowly spread his five fingers apart. A faint ink-green thread was Vaguely Visible at his fingertips, like the strings of a puppeteer. Everyone's movements lay within his grasp for him to toy with as he pleased.

Snap! He snapped his fingers, then turned gracefully with his back to the Beast Fighting Arena and faced the audience. Like a magician, he slowly bent into a bow, one hand pressed to his chest, bringing the grand performance to a close.

In an instant, the Curse Marks on the nine people and nine beasts exploded. The ferocious monsters spurted blood on the spot, their massive bodies stiffening before slowly toppling flat onto the ground. The nine students also passed out, their bodies casually arranged by the spider threads into peaceful poses as though they had died serenely.

Everything happened without a sound. Amid the dim, interwoven shadows of the Beast Fighting Arena, it was like a puppet pantomime being performed in a theater—a silent film from a black-and-white television.

Lu Jun's face was mottled with shadow, making it difficult to see clearly. Against the grand backdrop behind him, he looked eerie and terrifying.

The entire student body fell silent, holding their breath as silence Permeated the air. Their Inner Hearts trembled with fear. They felt no warmth at all from Lu Jun's bow. Instead, alongside labels like butcher and ruthless figure, they added another: elegant madman.

An absolute taboo that could never be provoked.

After all, a brute was easy enough to deal with. But if he was also a schemer who wove traps in the dark, one might not even know how they died.

The viewers in the livestream probably saw things even more clearly. The special military-grade cameras could capture the soul threads of the Curse Element. Even those watching from home had their hands tremble in fright.

Then the livestream exploded, and comments began flooding the screen:

"666! I've watched the Beast Fighting Competition for so many years, and this is the First Time I've seen an entire class of Summoning System students Instant Killed by one person."

"Elegant! So elegant!"

"Huh, it's you again! Whoever said that Curse Element student was guaranteed to lose, get down and apologize to me properly. Time to settle accounts!"

"Apologize! Apologize!"

"Awesome! At the peak of magic, I stand proud over the world... what comes next again?"

At Jinyuan Apartment, Lu Mei was startled when she saw This Scene. In the end, she smiled like a fond aunt. That brat still loved showing off so much.

Backstage at the Beast Fighting Arena, Dongfang Ming was initially shocked, then complained, "Why is this year's Summoning System so useless? They had an Advancement Period Servant-level beast and still got Instant Killed."

In truth, he knew that although his cultivation had also reached Fire Element Intermediate Level, it was impossible for him to achieve what Lu Jun had done unless he possessed a top-grade Fire Element Spirit Seed.

Ding Yumian shook her head. She did not care that Lu Jun had stolen the spotlight alone. Her nature had never been to fight for anything. Like a secluded lotus quietly blooming, she waited for someone who appreciated her to come close and inhale her fragrance—or perhaps for no one ever to know of her, until she silently withered away.

Gu Han, Ruan Ya, and the other teachers went onstage and carried down the nine students who were "playing dead." After examining them, they found nothing seriously wrong. Their Spiritual Worlds merely needed time to recover. As for the corrosion on their bodies, the Healing System could easily handle it.

The head of the Summoning System said nothing. This student was truly incredible—he had slapped his face swollen.

A moment later, Dean Xiao slowly stepped onto the stage and announced the Summoning System's defeat. Half their resources had been taken away, and he was preparing to have Lu Jun, the student who had defeated ten opponents alone, say a few words.

By custom, the victor would usually offer some insincere remarks about how capable the opponents had been, how he had done his best, and so on—polite words meant to show high emotional intelligence.

Even the livestream viewers began leaving one after another, Too Lazy to listen to the nonsense that followed. Today had already been worth the price of admission. Though it had been "short," it had been exciting, and that was enough.

Many people eagerly opened major forum platforms, Tieba, Hupu, and the like, ready to leave ratings and discuss Mingzhu University, mages, Lu Jun, and so on.

However, Lu Jun Smiled, paused, and then said something shocking enough to leave no one at peace: "My thoughts? A bunch of trash."

Dean Xiao could not help but laugh when he heard that. He knew Lu Jun was planning to make a big splash. He had always encouraged such things. A university ought to Accommodate all kinds of groups, where all sorts of values could clash and develop into new Trends of Thought.

But the head of the Summoning System had been about to leave. Hearing those words, his face darkened as he turned around and demanded, "What did you say? Young man, you should know that there is always someone greater!"

Lu Jun wore a bright, sunny smile. "Hey, don't misunderstand. I'm not targeting the Summoning System. I'm saying everyone here is trash!"

As soon as These Words Came Out, they Spread Throughout the entire Beast Fighting Arena. The ten thousand students present erupted into an uproar, talking among themselves. Even though Lu Jun was a ruthless figure, they could not hold back any longer, their indignation boiling over.

"Fuck, who can stand that? Beat him to death!!"

The department head looked even uglier. His earlier reaction now made him seem like a clown who had taken it personally. Arrogant!

The livestream had originally begun to empty, but upon seeing This Scene, the comments started flying again at incredible speed. Some quick-witted viewers even took screenshots on the spot, turned them into GIFs, and posted them online.

Netizens were far too sharp. They immediately realized that an iconic moment and a new meme had appeared.

"Good, good! What a masterpiece! I knew Lu Jun was destined for great things."

"I'm dying! Everyone here is trash!"

"You really understand entertainment value."

"Don't be a mage anymore. Go livestream instead—the entertainment industry has lost a talent."

"The prophet has been silenced, but a mage like this still shouldn't livestream. Becoming a top-tier mage is the proper path."

"Everyone in the livestream, you are all my dads! (Funny)"

"Good! Good son, I accept you."

For a time, the livestream's popularity skyrocketed. Many viewers who had already left hurried back, and soon numerous Tieba users arrived after hearing about it. This originally niche circle gained enough popularity to break out of its confines.

At the very least, everyone in Magic City knew that Lu Ren Tu, the freshman whose name had spread through the neighborhood a month ago, had entered Mingzhu University and, as expected, caused a huge commotion.

Calling him heaven's chosen in such a public frenzy would not have been an exaggeration. He had not even entered university yet, and already the uproar was deafening.

"What kind of people went to the same school as me?"

Lu Jun continued fanning the flames. "So many useless people occupying the same resources is just a waste. Dean Xiao, defeating the Summoning System lets me seize half their resources. If I defeat everyone, can I seize all their resources too?"

Dean Xiao pondered. "There's no precedent, but it's not impossible."

"Good!" Lu Jun turned toward the stands, his smile unrestrained. "Then I'll defend the arena here today. I'll take all of you down, and I'll take all your resources!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the freshmen from the entire school burst into curses. "You're too arrogant! I might fear you in a one-on-one fight, but who's afraid of a group fight?"

"Exactly! There are thousands of us. We can take turns going up; sooner or later, he'll run out of magic energy and lose."

The Beast Fighting Arena erupted with outrage, the air permeated with the smell of gunpowder.

In the backstage area, Dongfang Ming's expression darkened. He exchanged cold looks with several familiar scions of great families. They all intended to make the arrogant Lu Jun suffer. That indiscriminate "trash" remark had included every one of them. How could they possibly tolerate it?

That's right, you were powerful. You faced the Black Vatican head-on and instantly defeated the Summoning System, but could you stand against human-wave tactics?

Lu Mei, his elder sister watching the livestream, had her lips slightly parted and her beautiful eyes wide. Was this really how her younger brother usually acted? He was so wild and arrogant.

But after glancing at the comments, she could not help laughing. It really was interesting. Her younger brother understood livestreaming—he had pulled off a huge stunt, carrying a certain irresistible air of "who else but me?"

Whether Lu Jun won or lost, as long as his performance was not too terrible, his name would spread far and wide.

The freshmen, meanwhile, did not find it surprising at all. Instead, they felt this behavior perfectly suited Lu Jun's "persona." It would not make everyone hate him like Mo Fan would be a year later.

How did that saying go again? A good person could do a thousand good deeds, but the moment they did one bad thing, the public would deem them unforgivable.

Yet if a bad person committed countless evil deeds, then did one thing that was not quite as bad, people would think they had improved. Naturally so.

Tang Yue in Hangzhou muttered to herself, "Is this really that exaggerated?"

She had not been particularly interested in a battle between beginner-level freshmen in the first place. If Lu Jun had not been the first to appear, she would not even have spared it a glance.

But Lu Jun had first drawn plenty of attention by challenging demons alone, then immediately followed it up by challenging the Summoning System alone, making people unable to stop watching. Now, challenging all the students across Mingzhu University's elements was an even bigger spectacle.

One wave of entertainment after another swept through the stream. Even she, who normally did not like watching ordinary people's livestreams, became immersed in it.

At that moment, inside the beast-fighting cage, Lu Jun summoned the Vibranium Heavy Sword. Standing in the Beast Fighting Arena, he calmly said, "Who's first? Come one at a time. Don't just talk big."

He was completely certain of himself. At first glance, Mo Fan would only challenge two hundred people a year later, while he was challenging several thousand—practically courting death. But that was not how the calculation worked.

First, Lu Jun did not need to fight all several thousand students. Defeating some of the braver ones would be enough; the timid ones remaining would collapse without a fight.

Second, he could use four elements. Among them, the Mind Element and Metal Element could be disguised. Unlike Mo Fan, who could only use two elements, Lu Jun also possessed several times more magic energy.

After all, his Metal Element was Intermediate Level Two, his Water Element was faintly approaching Intermediate Level Two, and his Curse Element was Intermediate Level One. His reserves were far more abundant.

Moreover, elements like Metal, Curse, and Mind held enormous advantages against mages. The Metal Element could easily take someone out by placing a sword against their throat. As for the Mind Element and Curse Element, there was no need to mention them—even Intermediate Mages would lose before they could cast a spell.

He would not be like Mo Fan, who had to fight bitterly whenever he encountered an Intermediate Mage, repeatedly casting Intermediate Magic just to crack a tough nut and consuming too much magic energy in the process.

"Does this count as taking Mo Fan's path and leaving him nowhere to go?"

Lu Jun muttered. A year from now, when people said, "Mo Fan arrogantly challenged every element and got mocked by everyone, but before you challenged every element, Lu Jun was already the Great Demon King."

He clicked his tongue. The image was too beautiful. He could not worry about that much. Raising four elements was too difficult; if he cultivated honestly, who knew how long it would take to break through?

Besides, Mo Fan probably did not need power so urgently. His path had already diverged from the original story.

Now that Lu Jun had shielded both Xu Zhaoting and Mo Fan from disaster and dealt with Yu Ang, he was instead in an extremely dangerous situation. He might truly have caught the Black Vatican's attention.

He needed to raise his strength as quickly as possible. That was why he had made such a bold and crazy move.

Yet after Lu Jun finished provoking them, all the freshmen below fell into a strange state. They were clearly indignant, but for a long time, not a single person stepped forward.

Everyone knew Lu Jun could not possibly defeat several thousand people, but they also knew that reputations cast shadows. Whoever went up first would only be a stepping stone, paving the way for the victors behind them—and would lose in an especially humiliating fashion.

They all wanted to be the final straw, the one who claimed the top honor. Naturally, they quietly waited for the first brave soul to step forward.

After waiting for a long time, the livestream chat began spamming complaints. "That's it?! This is all Mingzhu University has?"

"I'm dying laughing. No wonder he dared to taunt them to their faces. They really are just a bunch of trash."

"What a disappointment. One of the country's top universities, yet not a single real man in sight."

"Tch, a bunch of keyboard warriors. If you're so capable, go up yourselves. Lu Ren Tu not only faced the Black Vatican head-on, you also saw his performance just now."

"Fun fact: this Curse Element mage is also a freshman."

"The gap is way too huge."

In the Beast Fighting Arena's backstage area, Dongfang Ming and several other scions of great families who appeared to be Intermediate Mages exchanged looks, seemingly wanting the others to go first.

Ding Yumian, standing nearby, remained calm and emotionless. Resources like Stardust Magic Tools no longer meant much to her, and she had no desire to join in this commotion.

Outsiders' evaluations, such as calling her trash, could not stir her heart in the slightest. She had no desire to contend with the world.

Very soon, a warrior finally stepped forward first. He was one of the hundred outstanding representatives backstage, and also a scion of a great family.

He was a handsome man from a collateral branch of the Bai Family—Bai Zhengfeng. He swept his gaze across the crowd and sneered, "Every one of you is thinking of picking peaches. Put bluntly, you're still afraid. How can anything great be accomplished with a bunch of insects like you?"

"A brave man draws his blade against the stronger. Don't you realize that only the first person to step onto the stage can claim the greatest fame? People will only remember the first."

Bai Zhengfeng shook his head. This duel had evolved into one person challenging several thousand. No matter the outcome, they had already lost. Even if someone picked the peaches at the very end and defeated Lu Jun, others would merely call it luck.

Only the first person would leave a deep impression on everyone.

He strode toward the Beast Fighting Arena. When the spectators outside and the viewers in the livestream finally saw someone step forward, the atmosphere heated up.

"Not bad. This kid's got guts—a real man."

"Indeed. He's far better than those useless lot."

"What the hell? He's just cannon fodder. The ones acting as cushions are getting impatient."

Lu Jun watched Bai Zhengfeng slowly Walked over and listened as he declared passionately, "Since none of you are willing to go first, then I will! Maybe I'm bound to lose, but as long as I'm willing to risk everything, I'll dare to drag the Butcher down from his horse!"

"Failure may run through one's entire life, but today is not the day to admit defeat!"

"If one of the brothers behind me wins, then it'll all be worth it!"

The entire school's students were Eager to Move. One older student shouted, "Brother, once you finish your challenge, I'll go right up."

Young people were naturally hot-blooded. Spurred on by Bai Zhengfeng, every one of them Wish One Could immediately take the field and fight three hundred rounds.

Seeing his opponent ignite the fighting spirit of all the freshmen and make his own challenge more difficult, Lu Jun did not feel annoyed. Instead, he grew excited. This was much more interesting.

He wanted to crush everyone in all four directions fair and square.

"What's your name?"

"Bai Zhengfeng!"

Hearing This, Lu Jun Smiled and Recalled the original novel. A year later, there had been someone in Mo Fan's class named Bai Cangfeng. The two were probably clan brothers.

He said calmly, "Good. I'll remember your name. Now, get eliminated!"