New Semester

After seeing that the forest had gone quiet, Tang Miao said softly, "Great Serpent, where can I find prey to practice on? Take me there!"

"Hiss, hiss~"

The Dark Serpent flicked its tongue and showed Tang Miao the way. Its senses were incredibly sharp, so finding Servant Demonic Beasts was no trouble.

A short while later, with the Dark Serpent leading him, Tang Miao spotted four or five Clawed Plague Rats foraging nearby.

But he had no interest in what they were doing. He sprang into action and cast Lightning Magic.

BOOM! Several rats dropped dead on the spot...

He had expected a fight, but he really hadn't expected it to be this easy.

At the same time, several glowing specks flew toward Tang Miao and entered his body. Then he noticed the Jade Pendant's illusory image had appeared in his hand at some point.

After absorbing them, Tang Miao was sure that his pendant had the same function as Mo Fan's. As for why it hadn't devoured that common-grade magic item, maybe it thought it was too low-level?

"Eek! Eek! Eek!"

Just as Tang Miao was pondering this, another Clawed Plague Rat suddenly pounced at him from behind! Tang Miao didn't have time to react, but the Dark Serpent had been keeping watch. Just before the rat could bite him, the Dark Serpent killed it instantly.

"Hiss, hiss~..."

After taking care of the Clawed Plague Rat's ambush, the Dark Serpent flicked its tongue and told Tang Miao, "When fighting in the wild, you must never let your guard down, even when the battle seems to be over!"

It had noticed the rat long ago, but the Dark Serpent hadn't intended to step in. After all, it wasn't going to follow Tang Miao around forever!

Tang Miao was drenched in cold sweat. The thing was weak, sure, but getting bitten by it would definitely have hurt...

"Phew~ Good thing I had the foresight to bring you along. Otherwise, even the weakest Clawed Plague Rat would've been enough to take me out..."

After calming down for a moment, Tang Miao spoke with the relief of someone who'd just escaped death.

"Hiss, hiss~"

The Dark Serpent seemed to be giving him a very poor review. It kept flicking its tongue and directing Tang Miao this way and that. It also told him that it couldn't stay there for long. If its presence was detected, the other side might start a war!

The Dark Serpent wasn't afraid, but if a battle broke out, all of Hangzhou would be in danger.

It guarded Hangzhou, and the other side might not dare to challenge it head-on. But if they invaded its territory, that would be another matter...

Tang Miao had killed the rats without the slightest difficulty. There was no point in staying, especially since the little rats didn't feel threatening at all.

He would've liked to get a Spirit Essence from one of them, but gathering enough for that was no easy task...

Going any deeper might provoke a war, so this so-called training session ended after just half a day.

On the way back, the Dark Serpent escorted him, and nothing went wrong.

"Ugh, this is so hard... I still have no idea how strong I am." Back home, Tang Miao lay on his bed and grumbled to the Dark Serpent.

"Hiss, hiss~"

The Dark Serpent's assessment seemed to be very, very poor...

Tang Miao was instantly annoyed!

The interspecies "fight" between man and serpent began all over again.

Just as the two of them were arguing, Tang Yue called.

"Hello..."

Before Tang Miao could get in a few sweet words, Tang Yue asked reproachfully, "Did you take that big guy out of the village?"

Tang Miao froze, confused. "How did you know?"

Tang Yue sounded helpless. "Uncle went back today. He noticed the Dark Serpent was gone, and you weren't home either. He couldn't sense either of you nearby!"

Tang Miao's head began to ache. He couldn't believe he'd been found out after being gone for less than a day!

He quickly explained what had happened.

After hearing him out, Tang Yue wasn't as angry as he'd expected. Instead, she asked gently, "Are you short on money right now?"

"I'm doing all right. It just feels like my cultivation's been a little slow."

Tang Yue continued, "I have eight million on hand. Should I transfer it to you?"

"Hiss~"

Hearing how wealthy she was, Tang Miao felt a pang of envy... But he still shook his head. "No need. Things should change once I reach Intermediate Level."

Tang Yue hesitated, then said, "I don't want you to become a hunter..."

Tang Miao had barely ever fought Demon Beasts. Tang Yue really wasn't comfortable with him taking on hunters' bounties. Even though she'd been saving that money to buy a magic item, she would've given it to Tang Miao without a second thought.

"I'm not a kid anymore, and you know how strong I am."

After hesitating for a while, Tang Yue said, "The ones you encountered today were the weakest Servant Level Demon Beasts."

"I know. Don't worry. I'm still waiting to make a baby with you. I'm not going to risk my life."

Once she realized she couldn't talk him out of it, Tang Yue thought for a moment and said, "When you reach Intermediate Level, I'll introduce you to a private Hunter Station!"

"Okay."

Tang Miao was new to all this, so it was good to have someone show him the ropes. He didn't refuse.

They chatted for a while longer. Not long after they hung up, Tang Miao received a message on his phone: eight million had been transferred into his bank account.

In his previous life, Tang Miao would've been over the moon... After all, it was eight million! He could've lived a simple, comfortable life without worrying about food or drink.

In this world, it would've been enough to live as an ordinary person too. But for a mage's cultivation, it was barely a drop in the bucket.

Tang Miao didn't bother replying. After all, the money was enough to cut the time it would take him to break through to Intermediate Level in half.

Though he'd insisted he was fine, Tang Miao ultimately accepted it.

Besides, what was the point of keeping score between husband and wife? Tang Yue already took care of his food, clothes, and other expenses anyway.

Another summer break passed in the dull routine of cultivation.

This was already the end of his third school break.

Quite a few people who had enrolled alongside him had already been eliminated. Some had awakened their magic, but without talent or abundant resources, they were bound to be left behind. Even if they worked hard, they were only wasting their time.

The students who remained trained even harder. Magic High School was different from university: students had only three years to cultivate there. Whether or not they could cast Intermediate Magic within those three years, they wouldn't even be considered for university if they couldn't reach the Intermediate Mage level.

Of course, some people might spend a year cultivating at home, break through to Intermediate Level, and then apply. Others simply chose to give up on becoming mages. After all, Demon Beasts were everywhere, but people inside the safe zones could still live without a care.

Some people in the central cities had never even seen a Demon Beast!