Grade Competition

The sun was shining brightly that day.

After lunch, the four brothers from Dormitory 1987 were all dressed in the academy's standard-issue sky-blue robes. Having trained for a long time, Lin Feng's tall, slender figure looked especially charming in the robes.

The four brothers were walking along, chatting about all sorts of things.

"By the way, Lin Feng, I heard you've been getting pretty close to a little girl from the Wind Department lately!" George said with a grin.

Lin Feng didn't try to deny it. There was no need to hide anything from his brothers.

"Second Brother, her name is Dilia. She's in my class."

"Come on, 'in your class'? I'd say she's about to become our little sister-in-law! Haha, Third Brother, you've beaten us to it." Yale joined in, teasing Lin Feng.

"No wonder. Third Brother's exceptional in both Earth and Wind, and even has intermediate talent in Fire, but I've never seen him attend any Earth or Fire classes. He never misses a single Wind class, though." Hearing the other two tease Lin Feng, Reynolds, the youngest of the four, joined in too. Under Yale's influence, the innocent young Reynolds had already been led astray.

Since they'd already called him out, Lin Feng stopped hiding it and simply admitted, "So what if I have? We're all brothers, but I'm the only one with a girlfriend. I'm already ahead of you. You'd better hurry up and find someone."

Lin Feng's retort left George and the others feeling rather awkward. Yale in particular had been the loudest of them all. He'd declared on the first day of school that he was going to find himself a girlfriend from Ernst Academy, but more than half a year had passed and he hadn't made a move.

Nearly another month passed.

Inside the Wind Department's first-year classroom.

"Lin Feng, you're here." As soon as Lin Feng sat down, a very cute girl took the seat beside him.

Lin Feng glanced at her and smiled. "Dilia, you got here pretty early. There's still quite a while before class starts."

After spending more than half a year together, Dilia was no longer as shy as she'd been when they first met.

"I knew you'd get here early," Dilia said, her eyes narrowing with a smile.

As they chatted, time flew by. Before they knew it, class had begun.

"All right, that's the end of today's lesson. But before you leave, there's something I need to tell you." Teacher Trey smiled.

The students below began whispering among themselves.

"The older students already know this, but Ernst Academy has a tradition: during the last month or two of every year, we hold the 'grade competition.' It's the liveliest time of the year for the whole academy. Those who win the competition also have a better chance of being named outstanding students when they graduate. By then, I expect all four great empires will be eager to recruit you." Teacher Trey smiled.

The students immediately grew excited.

Ernst Academy was filled with geniuses. And geniuses had one bad habit: they rarely acknowledged anyone as their better!

That was why the annual grade competition was a chance for them to make a name for themselves. Nearly nine out of ten students paid attention to it, and anyone with a bit of skill would sign up.

"Our Wind Department will naturally be competing too. If you'd like to enter, come tell me." Teacher Trey smiled, though his gaze turned toward Lin Feng.

"Teacher, I'd like to enter!" Quite a few students immediately began signing up excitedly.

"Good." Trey took out a sheet of paper and a quill and began recording their names. But after writing down more than a dozen students, he noticed Lin Feng and Dilia still chatting below, with no intention of coming up to register.

Trey walked over.

Lin Feng looked up and immediately greeted him respectfully. "Teacher Trey." Dilia beside him also bowed respectfully.

Teacher Trey nodded with a smile. "Lin Feng, this grade competition is a great opportunity to get some experience. I expect nearly all the top students in the first year to take part. Why aren't you signing up? You don't get opportunities like this often."

"I'm not interested," Lin Feng replied bluntly.

Teacher Trey was taken aback.

"Lin Feng, you may not know this, but there are rewards for winning the grade competition," Teacher Trey added, trying to tempt him.

Lin Feng couldn't help but curl his lip. He knew perfectly well that the competition offered rewards, but they weren't the gold coins he needed. They were improvements to one's living arrangements, so he had little interest in competing. With his current strength as a sixth-level mage, even sixth-year students would have a hard time defeating him, let alone first-years. He had no interest in having a grown man like himself fight a bunch of little kids.

"I'm not taking part," Lin Feng repeated.

Teacher Trey was starting to get anxious. He was a sixth-year student himself, and if he could get his students into the top three, he'd earn a reward and make himself look good. Young people cared about their pride.

But if Lin Feng didn't want to participate, there was nothing Trey could do. He couldn't force him, after all.

Dilia, sitting beside Lin Feng, was also puzzled by his decision. She didn't understand why he would pass up such a chance to gain both fame and fortune.

The academy held the grade competition with great fanfare, but it didn't disrupt Lin Feng's routine. He continued to train diligently.

The grade competition.

The students of Ernst Academy were all the pride of heaven!

Every match was thrilling. In the first-year events, fireballs, lightning, and Wind Blades flew back and forth. The third- and fourth-year matches were even more spectacular, with all kinds of support and area-of-effect spells. Shattered Stone, for instance, sent dozens or even hundreds of boulders crashing down, while lightning struck one bolt after another.

The fifth- and sixth-year matches were even more astonishing.

One dazzling spell after another appeared, accompanied by the continuous rumble of terrifying explosions. The spectators cheered in waves, and the atmosphere reached its peak. Almost everyone in the academy had gathered there.

The grade competition lasted nearly a month. It was the liveliest and most frenzied month of the year at Ernst Academy. During all the excitement, Lin Feng watched only a few fifth- and sixth-year matches. Most of the time, he quietly trained by himself.

"This competition even forbids you from deliberately killing your opponent. What kind of competition makes you fight with your hands tied?"

Under Doehring Cowart's influence, Lin Feng had come to look down on these showy competitions too.

"Lin Feng, your task right now is to train hard and build up your strength. As for combat experience, once you pass this year's academy test, I'll take you into the Magical Beast Mountain Range. You can gain it through genuine life-and-death trials at the edge of the range," Doehring Cowart advised.