Rewards

When the four of them arrived before the judges' seats, Judge Zhong of the University Alliance was the first to stand. He took two steps forward, his face carrying a smile of encouragement.

He took four strings of necklaces from the tray held by an attendant beside him.

On closer look, hanging from each necklace was a small, transparent trophy, inside which a faint, almost imperceptible light seemed to flicker.

He handed the necklaces to the four of them one by one, smiling as he accepted their thanks.

"This is the symbol of the champions, the Chain of Hope," Judge Zhong explained, introducing the necklace. "Engraved inside is an Intermediate Level Light Magic, Light Blessing Protection."

"It can be released when you encounter life-threatening danger. However, it is a one-time use item. If you trigger it once, you'll need to stay vigilant afterward."

Hearing this, the group all nodded. Zhao Qingying and Mei Qian smiled even more brightly; defensive power like this was exactly what they lacked.

"Next is your choice of Magic Item. What Magic Item do you want?" Judge Zhong said. "We will reward each of you with a Magic Item powerful enough to support high-intensity battles between Intermediate Level mages. Of course, Wing Magic Items are excluded."

"Once you've made your choices, leave your addresses. We will send them to you along with the Nebula Spirit Vein this afternoon."

As Judge Zhong spoke, he gestured for the four of them to come to the table with him. From his seat, he took out a form and indicated for them to fill it in.

The form was very simple: name, phone number, school, mailing address, and chosen Magic Item.

Bai Mo first filled in the earlier information. When he got to the final section for the Magic Item, he hesitated a little.

When it came to Magic Items, there wasn't a single type he didn't need. But there was always an order of priority.

First, he ruled out a Shoe Magic Tool. He already had the Wind Element, so in terms of movement, he could be said to have nearly maxed out his speed already.

Next was the Focus Magic Tool. His Wind Element had Origin Wind, and the first effect of Origin Wind was the wind that guarded the mind. He called it Heart Guard.

That effect admittedly wasn't very strong right now. Bai Mo had tested it with Ding Yumian. It could block one mental attack, after which the protective wind needed an hour before it would rise again.

But once the Wind Spirit reached Warrior Level, that would be an Intermediate Level Mind Wall, and one that would continue to grow.

Last was the Shield Magic Item, because it was cheaper than a Demon-Slaying Tool and an Armor Magic Item.

A plain and simple reason.

After that, Bai Mo thought of his Sound Detecting Earrings. This kind of functional Magic Item was also pretty good, but its level was often difficult to categorize. He also couldn't be certain that the University Alliance's treasury didn't have any good ones, so he asked, "Elder Zhong, may I ask if there are any functional Magic Items? For example, ones that can enhance the power of elemental magic."

Hearing this, Elder Zhong glanced at a young colleague beside him. The young colleague immediately smiled and said, "There are. We do have Magic Items that strengthen magic, but their effects are generally between fifty to eighty percent, and they have limits on the number of uses. Anything better would exceed the scope of our rewards."

Bai Mo nodded. That was about the same as the functional Magic Items on the market. So he wrote the three words Armor Magic Item on the form.

A set of Armor Magic Items capable of handling high-intensity Intermediate Level battles would cost around fifty million.

Getting it for free felt amazing.

After they finished filling in the forms, Professor Zhou of Pearl Institute, who had been sitting beside them without speaking, took out four admission certificates and handed them to the four of them.

"Congratulations. You have already been admitted to Pearl Institute."

Then, seeing all four of them look toward him, Professor Zhou continued, "Which element do you want to join? I'll register it."

"Space Element." Seeing Zhou Tianyuan and the other two all glance at him, Bai Mo answered first.

He had considered whether or not to imitate Mo Fan's Summoning Element convention, but after thinking it over, Bai Mo still decided to join the Space Element.

First, one of the Space Element's teachers was actually Dean Xiao himself. This had surprised him greatly, but it also made him very happy. Dean Xiao was a master of formations. Although what he specialized in was the Water Element, that didn't mean his Space Element was weak.

At the very least, teaching Bai Mo would be more than enough for him.

Second, he was, after all, a member of the Bai Family and represented the Bai Family. If he truly plundered resources from every element the way Mo Fan had, wouldn't that ruin the Bai Family's reputation?

Third, he had also looked into it. The Summoning Element's beast arena convention was indeed an event that involved the entire Qing Campus, but the other elements also had their own internal activities. The rewards were usually provided by various alumni who had already graduated, and their quality generally wasn't low. They also didn't count as resources issued by the school.

Hearing Bai Mo's choice, Professor Zhou nodded. It was not unexpected.

Then he shifted his gaze to the other three.

"Water Element."

"Wind Element."

"Lightning Element!"

Once the procedure was complete, Bai Mo and the other three came over to Su Ning's side and heard her ask, "What Magic Items did you choose?"

The four of them looked at one another, then all said, "Armor Magic Items!"

"Mm!" Su Ning nodded, her face showing that this was exactly what she had expected.

"The rewards for the University Alliance tournament are all made by forging masters from Mingzhu Mage Tower, so you don't need to worry." As she spoke, she took out four cards and handed them over. "You led the school to win the tournament championship. This is the reward the school is giving you."

The four of them accepted them. Bai Mo glanced at the card in his hand, put it away, and followed Mei Qian in saying thanks to the school and the teachers. Then he asked curiously, "Teacher Su, how many benefits did the school get this time?"

He knew that this competition was tied to the resources the University Alliance would distribute to each high school the following year.

"A lot of benefits, but how would I know right now? The last time our school won the championship was the last time, over twenty years ago."

Su Ning glanced at him calmly. Today, she really had been sweating for them, but she hadn't expected Bai Mo to already be this strong. Many of the teachers in the school couldn't fight as well as him. So she added, "If you're curious, go ask the teacher who led the team last time."

"Who was it?"

"The one who teaches you demonology."

"Never mind, then. I'm not that curious." Bai Mo shook his head. The teacher for demonology class was a spry old man in his fifties from the northeast, and he could really talk.

His classes were a pleasure. He could always weave all kinds of demon knowledge together with strange folk rumors and ghost stories.

But chatting with him was torture. As long as you gave him an opening, for the rest of the time all you had to do was say "mm" and "ah," or nod.

He would talk about everything from east to west, north to south, then move on to family gossip and the affairs of the world. As for what you actually wanted to know, there was no guarantee he would not split it into several pieces and hide it inside all those long-winded speeches.

"Then let's go." Seeing that the people in the Arena Hall had almost all left, even that unlucky teacher who had been standing at the contestant passage exit just like her earlier—

had been treated by the medical staff and had led his students away, Su Ning said.

"Teacher, you go with them. I'm not going back to school." After Bai Mo finished speaking, he turned to look at Zhou Tianyuan and the other two. "See you next year at Pearl Institute!"

The four of them watched Bai Mo leave. Su Ning asked again, "What about you?"

"I still have some things in the classroom. Teacher, I'll go back to school with you," Mei Qian said. "After that, I won't be coming again."

"Me too," Zhou Tianyuan and Zhao Qingying said at the same time.

After leaving the Great Arena Hall, Bai Mo saw someone standing beside a stone bollard at the entrance to the Arena Hall.

It was Ding Yumian. Today, she had not left her hair loose as usual, but had tied it into a high ponytail. She wore a black high-collared, off-shoulder top, her pair of fair, pinkish lotus-root-like arms clasped behind her back, and there was not much expression on her face.

She looked a little less quiet and detached than usual, and a little more charmingly cute.

"Why are you here?" Bai Mo met her gaze, walked over to Ding Yumian, glanced at the few people from Mingzhu Affiliated High School standing far away and looking in this direction, then asked directly.

"To celebrate with you."

"That's good. Let's find a place to have lunch. It's almost noon anyway." As Bai Mo spoke, he walked out with her.

"Stop!"

A sharp shout rang out, clearly aimed at them.

But neither of them listened. You say stop and we stop?

"Hmph!" A sudden cold snort sounded, and a streak of frost struck the ground in front of the two of them. A gloomy voice followed right after. "I told you to stop. Are you deaf?"

Bai Mo glanced calmly at the ground, then turned around. He saw the leading teacher from Mingzhu Affiliated High School striding over with two students in tow, swift and aggressive.

"Was it you who leaked our battle plan to this brat?"

Lu Yuan's face was gloomy, even carrying a hint of severity. He stared darkly at Ding Yumian, who had stopped and turned around. In an arrogant tone, he immediately began scolding her head-on:

"You ungrateful traitor who bites the hand that feeds you. The school nurtured you, and never mind that you didn't join the team to repay it, you even tipped him off! You leaked my plan. The school's efforts were completely wasted on you!"

Behind him stood Lu Yilin and Ye Zi. Lu Yilin's face was full of agreement.

Ye Zi, however, took a step back, his face full of embarrassment, looking as if this had nothing to do with him and he wanted to put distance between himself and them.

If the teacher surnamed Zhou from Pearl Institute had not given him some instructions, he would never have been grabbed by this nepotistic teacher and dragged here to make some ridiculous accusation.

Yet in the face of Lu Yuan's unreasonable and discourteous tirade, Ding Yumian remained calm, as indifferent as a cool breeze brushing past her face.

But Bai Mo frowned. He knew this leading teacher. He was from the Lu Family. Was there something wrong with his brain? What did this have to do with Ding Yumian?

Bai Mo felt that everyone from the Lu Family had something wrong with them one way or another. No wonder the Red Demon had gone to their house.

But Lu Yuan's trash talk was clearly not finished yet.

"Confess honestly, you shameless, ungrateful—"