Can Handsomeness Put Food on the Table?

Fire Spark?

Flames burst out from within. If this wasn't Fire Spark Burning, I'd eat this wooden dummy!

As a Fire Mage himself, Xu Fang had rarely practiced outdated single-target spells since reaching the second level of the Beginner Stage, but he still knew what they looked like.

Tang Yue's Fire Spark was about as powerful as his own single-target spell, roughly twice as strong as an ordinary mage's. It was obvious she had a Spirit Seed.

"That's all for the demonstration. You can practice on your own now. Try to connect your Star Track as soon as possible and master your magic." Tang Yue's lively eyes curved into a smile.

"Your annual assessment is only half a year away. I don't need to explain how important it is. Students who fail will be asked to leave the school, and the rest will be reassigned to different classes based on their performance.

"Those placed in the top class will receive far more resources and attention than students in the regular classes. Many magic universities even use this as a criterion when evaluating applicants. If you don't work hard at the Beginner Level, you'll only regret it when you reach the Intermediate Level."

"Teacher Tang Yue, will you teach everyone in the top class?" Mo Fan asked.

"Mm. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll teach the top class's practical lessons after I'm done teaching you." Tang Yue nodded slightly.

She glanced at Mo Fan with interest. The boy sure was fired up.

"Teacher Tang Yue, I, Mo Fan, will be following you from now on. If you need anything, call me at 138..."

Before Mo Fan could finish, the others drowned him out with jeers.

Their old acquaintance Zhao Kun San was the first to leap in: "Mo Fan, you haven't even mastered a single Star Seed. What makes you think you can get chummy with the teacher?"

Mo Fan cursed back, "I've got this handsome face, that's what! Zhao Kun San, not to put too fine a point on it, but go look in a mirror. You're so fat you don't even have eyes anymore—they've been squeezed shut by all that flesh. Even the piggy bank at my house looks better than you! You're like some kind of..."

Xu Fang supplied, "A lion's head bun that came to life."

"Haha, that's it!"

Zhao Kun San was so furious that even his rolls of fat trembled.

Tang Yue kept her warm smile. She had seen her fair share of Black Vatican freaks while working for the Judgment Society. By comparison, Xu Fang and Mo Fan's antics at school were practically adorable.

"Oh, right, I nearly forgot. If any of you can fully control all seven Star Seeds, you can come see me privately. I'll set aside some of my personal time to give you extra lessons."

"Woooooow!"

The class erupted in a chorus of howls, like wild donkeys in July.

Time flew by, and before long, another semester had passed.

"This lousy weather forecast! If you can't do your job, just say so! That expensive magic equipment can't even predict a rainstorm?"

In the dorm, a few boys in old undershirts crowded around the window, watching the dark clouds roil outside and the sudden downpour.

What the hell? It had been sunny just that morning...

"This rain keeps blowing into the dorm. Zhang Xiaohou, aren't you a Wind Element mage? Blow it away!" said Lu Xiaobin, one of his roommates.

"You're a Water Element mage. How come I never see you talk to the water elements and ask them to stay out of the dorm? You still use an umbrella just to go to the cafeteria. Aren't you embarrassed?" Mo Fan snapped.

Lu Xiaobin's face turned red, then white, but he couldn't come up with a comeback.

The annual assessment was today, but he'd only mastered four Star Seeds. He was still a long way from releasing magic.

"Look over there!" The dorm leader suddenly pointed at the school gate. Everyone followed his gaze, their eyes going wide.

It was Zhou Min, the Fire Mage from their class. A crimson Star Track circled her, and the rain evaporated in the rising heat before it could reach her.

An umbrella?

Not a chance.

"The violent girl's the only one in our class who can use Fire Spark. The top spot'll probably go to either her or Mu Bai," the dorm leader said enviously.

"Hehe, I'm not that great..." A boy on the upper bunk by the bathroom chuckled from under his covers.

Lu Xiaobin said, exasperated, "Zhang Kai, Zhou Min doesn't give a damn about you. What are you grinning for?"

"What do you know? This is what it means to watch over someone quietly. One day, when Minmin gets tired and looks back, she'll realize I've been here all along..."

Zhang Kai was lost in his own fantasies, unable to pull himself away.

There was no point arguing with a lovesick fool. The others turned back to the window. This time, Mu Bai had arrived. He stepped out of a black luxury car that was obviously expensive, wearing a shirt embroidered with Winter Plum Blossoms. He looked like quite the gentleman.

That outfit alone had won him plenty of admirers among the girls, and now he was showing off his skills, too.

As the rain fell from the sky, it turned into tiny ice pellets when it neared him. He brushed them away with a casual wave of his hand.

Hearing the girls screaming from the dormitory, all the boys clenched their fists.

Seeing how well his display was going over, Mu Bai grew even smugger. He deliberately slowed his pace, turning the school gate into a runway.

The screams grew louder. Mu Bai lifted his chin, showing off his handsome jawline.

"So handsome!"

That's right. Keep praising me.

"Xu Fang, you're so handsome!"

Mu Bai: "???"

He turned his head, and his eyes immediately widened.

Xu Fang was holding an umbrella, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and beach shorts that had cost less than two hundred yuan altogether. His clothes were nowhere near as carefully chosen as Mu Bai's.

And yet, those bargain-bin clothes were glowing!

The torrential rain turned into a well-behaved, clingy kitten before Xu Fang, shimmering with a golden halo as it slid smoothly past him.

My special effects are better than yours.

Compared with Xu Fang strolling through the radiant rain, Mu Bai's "Young Master Ice" look—the one he'd practiced in front of a mirror for a whole week—made him look like a clown.

He lost focus for a moment, and his Star Track wavered. The cold rain slapped him right in the face.

Mu Bai: "..."

The boys in the dorm were laughing themselves silly. They loved seeing Green Tea Man Mu Bai get humiliated.

As for Xu Fang?

Can handsomeness put food on the table? Light was light. No matter how fancy you made it, you'd still end up as a light bulb!

For many people, the annual assessment was a nightmare, because they might be expelled from school and would have no face to show their parents.

But it couldn't be helped. Humanity had limited resources, and it was impossible to satisfy everyone.

At least they'd given it a try and found out where they stood.

What about those who hadn't gotten into a magic high school and hadn't even touched an Awakening Stone? Weren't they even worse off? What if one of them had the potential to cast Forbidden Magic?

The rain had stopped. After the magic formation dried the athletic field, the students lined up by class under their teachers' guidance.

"Whoa, the school leaders and trustees are here. I'm so nervous."

"Mu Ningxue, mighty exam goddess, please bless me with an outstanding performance!"

"You always cram at the last minute. What have you been doing all this time?"

In front of the noisy student formations stood a semicircular row of examiners' tables. A Star Sensing Stone floated above them.

The Star Sensing Stone looked a bit like a black pebble about the size of a watermelon. It was the most important instrument in the students' assessment.

Just like at the awakening ceremony, the students only needed to place their palms on the enormous Star Sensing Stone. The examiners could then judge the results of their year's cultivation by the brightness it emitted.

Not only was the process similar, but the results were, too.

This stone could very well determine the students' fates. The light it emitted would decide whether they could keep studying and earn better opportunities, or pack their bags and find another path.

Their homeroom teacher, Xue Mu Sheng, gave them a pep talk before the assessment:

"The strength of your Stardust's light represents the amount of magic energy within it. It also represents a year of hard work and sweat! Class 8, the time has come to prove what you've achieved this year. Let the light of your Stardust guide you toward a brighter future!"