Xu Fang asked, "Teacher, where's my target?"
Sun Rui Zhi burst out laughing. "How old are you, and you're already senile? Why would a lousy Light Element need a target?"
"Why are you always butting in? You sure talk a lot. Did a fly Demon Beast become a spirit or something?" Xu Fang cursed.
Sun Rui Zhi flew into a rage. "You've got some nerve! Say that again!"
"I said you're a fly Demon Beast that became a spirit!"
Sun Rui Zhi hadn't expected Xu Fang to actually say it. His voice rose sharply with anger. "You! Say it again!"
"..." Xu Fang took a step back and looked at him like he was a turd. "I said, do you have some kind of weird fetish?"
"I don't!"
"How can you prove you don't?"
"I..."
Sun Rui Zhi pointed at Xu Fang, stammering incoherently.
Xu Fang sighed. "Just as I thought. You really are a genius."
"All right." After enjoying the show, Qian Kuan stopped them, then made a call. "Bring a Magic Puppet over to the field."
A few minutes later, a staff member set up the puppet.
Standing opposite the puppet, Xu Fang circulated his magic energy. In his Spiritual World, a Golden Star Seed lit up. The next second—
"Fluorescence—Radiance—Purification!"
Light enveloped the puppet. The moment it touched, dense black burn marks appeared across its body—even though it could withstand several seconds of Thunder Seals without breaking.
The black burn marks multiplied, spreading unchecked across the puppet and turning it into their hunting ground.
This puppet didn't fare any better than last night's undead. Being burned to ash was its only fate!
Sun Rui Zhi, who'd been standing nearby waiting to laugh at him, had his mouth hanging open so wide it was almost dislocated. The sight before him had turned his worldview upside down.
That was clearly the Light Element!
Qian Kuan drew a deep breath, his gaze blazing as he looked at Xu Fang. "Could this be..."
"That's right, exactly what you're thinking!" Xu Fang cut in. "This is my Innate Spirit Seed. Its constant-temperature property lets it burn things like a flame."
"Good, good, good!"
Qian Kuan said "good" three times.
At that moment, Xu Fang was no longer just a brave young man fighting against the odds in his eyes. He was also a naturally gifted piece of uncut jade!
The Sun family's driver staggered back a few steps, grabbed his phone, and hurriedly reported to the family.
"Master, the young master's gotten into trouble again..."
Hearing the driver's words only made Sun Rui Zhi's already foul mood worse.
He was the one with boundless prospects—a Lightning Element Mage. So why was everyone fawning over that kid with the Light Element!?
"So what if you burned a puppet? What's so impressive about that? I don't even take real Fire Element Mages seriously. I could take on a whole crowd of guys like you!"
Sun Rui Zhi pointed at Xu Fang. "Come on, if you've got the guts, fight me!"
Sigh...
Xu Fang sighed. "Can't you rich kids come up with something original?"
Maybe it was because compulsory education only taught magic.
First Mu Bai, now Sun Rui Zhi. They were always threatening to fight, looking down on everyone. Couldn't they be gentle and humble, like yours truly, Xu?
They went straight to fighting.
Qian Kuan didn't stop them. He was curious to see how far Xu Fang, this Innate Spirit Seed prodigy, could go.
"Taste the power of thunder!" Sun Rui Zhi couldn't wait to teach Xu Fang a lesson. He'd even calculated where the lightning would strike.
Half a meter in front of Xu Fang. It wouldn't hurt him, but it would scare the piss out of him. Perfect!
"Thunder Seal—Serpent—"
Whoosh!
A blinding light suddenly appeared half a meter in front of Sun Rui Zhi. Waves of heat rolled toward him like a barrage of slaps.
Sun Rui Zhi's star orbit vanished from sheer fright, and his legs started trembling.
I've made my move. One-shot kill. What more is there to say?
Xu Fang asked, "Want to keep going?"
Sun Rui Zhi obediently shook his head.
"So we're done?"
Sun Rui Zhi obediently nodded.
"Good." Xu Fang turned to Qian Kuan. "Teacher Qian, are there any other tests?"
"No, that's it. You did very well..." Qian Kuan looked at Xu Fang as if he were some kind of monster.
From linking the star orbit to releasing the magic, had it even taken three seconds?
It was no exaggeration to say that plenty of Intermediate Mages couldn't cast that fast!
"Your casting speed could even count as a separate Innate Spirit Seed," Qian Kuan said with a sigh.
Of course you had to work hard in the world of magic, but talent mattered even more. If you were knocked down before you could make a move, what was the point?
Even at Gudu Academy, where experts were as common as trees in a forest, Xu Fang's talent would rank in the top five!
It was summer vacation, so there weren't many people at school. And with just over a month until classes began, Xu Fang applied for a dorm room right away.
Qian Kuan arranged a top-tier dorm for him: a double room with a small living room and bathroom.
Xu Fang went off campus to buy bedding, a washbasin, and toiletries. As soon as he returned to the dorm, he saw a bulging package on the floor.
A guy was bent over, huffing and puffing as he made his bed. He looked pretty clumsy.
"Hi, I'm your new roommate. I'm Xu... you?"
Sun Rui Zhi managed to force out a smile that looked worse than crying. "Yeah, it's me."
"What a coincidence." Xu Fang didn't think much of it and walked over to the empty bed to make it.
Watching him, Sun Rui Zhi remembered his father's blistering lecture over the phone and the light that had nearly purified him. His expression shifted several times before he suddenly stood up.
Smack!
He planted a hand on Xu Fang's mattress.
Xu Fang looked at him. "What is it?"
"Your quilt's way too stiff. Looks like cheap stuff," Sun Rui Zhi said.
Xu Fang was baffled. "What's it to you?"
You could mind everyone else's business, but you couldn't control when someone took a dump or farted. And this guy, who couldn't even tell a mattress from a quilt, had the nerve to criticize him?
Sun Rui Zhi turned and opened the bulging package on the floor. "I happened to have an extra set of bedding... You can use it."
Xu Fang: "..."
When Xu Fang didn't say anything, Sun Rui Zhi grew anxious. "It's new! The sheets are woven from Wind Spirit Silkworm silk. One set costs over a hundred thousand. I can't even bring myself to use it!"
So?
Xu Fang couldn't figure out what his genius friend was thinking, so he decided not to bother. It'd be a waste to turn down something nice.
"Then I'll keep it."
"Great!" Sun Rui Zhi picked up the Wind Spirit Silkworm silk bedding to make Xu Fang's bed, but saw him heading out. "Where are you going?"
"To the cafeteria for lunch."
"The cafeteria food's awful. You can eat that? I always have a private kitchen deliver my meals." Sun Rui Zhi pulled out his phone. "I'll have them send an extra portion."
Now Xu Fang finally got the picture.
His genius friend wanted to apologize but couldn't bring himself to say it. So he was all talk and no follow-through, dropping hints from the sidelines, like that ugly-eyed yellow dog back home.
Lunch arrived soon after.
The private kitchen's food was extraordinary. It was beautifully prepared, and there was plenty of it, filling the table with its rich aroma.
"Holy crap..." Sun Rui Zhi's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Was that a Red Sky Pigeon? They'd stewed the whole thing?
And that—beef tendon from three cows, Commander-level ingredients, stewed until tender and springy. He only got to eat that during the holidays!
Even the Ancient Capital oil-splashed noodles looked like they had a story behind them. Maybe the flour was some precious ingredient seized from the territory of a Demon Beast tribe...
"You guys usually eat this well?" Xu Fang asked in surprise.
"Y-yeah, pretty much. Hurry up and eat."
Sun Rui Zhi was practically drooling. For the first time, he looked at Xu Fang with pure gratitude!
When you accepted someone's hospitality, you couldn't exactly be ungrateful.
After sleeping under a quilt that its owner had been too reluctant to use and eating a meal he'd never usually get to taste, even plain-looking Sun Rui Zhi seemed handsome to Xu Fang.
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