Strengthened Just a Little (Please Read!)

The apartment was finally set up.

There wasn't much to do on campus before the welcome ceremony.

This period was mainly for freshmen to get familiar with the campus and learn about their college's curriculum.

Take the Summoning System college, for example—aside from key courses that had to be held in classrooms, the college left plenty of free time for students to train their summoned beasts on their own.

The Undead element, which was quite similar to the Summoning System, followed the same teaching model.

However, as the sole student in the Undead element, Jiang Yuan naturally received some special attention.

Ding-dong~

The crisp doorbell rang.

Jiang Yuan opened the door, and Qin Yun slipped in like a gust of wind, flopping onto the sofa without a hint of the composure expected from a college mentor.

"Teacher Qin." Jiang Yuan was a bit puzzled, wondering why Qin Yun had shown up at this hour.

"I've got a huge piece of good news—want to hear it?" Qin Yun wore a mysterious smile, deliberately dragging it out.

Good news?

Jiang Yuan grew even more confused and blurted out, "What good news? Did the poverty relief funds our Undead element applied for finally come through?"

"Poverty relief? What poverty?" Qin Yun was taken aback, then quickly caught on. "Is our Undead element really that poor?"

"Which college in the entire Pearl Institute spends more resources per student than ours? Don't ever think that again, got it?"

Qin Yun's eyes widened. To defend the Undead element's dignity, his words reeked of self-deception.

But he didn't dwell on it and soon continued, "Since you've joined our Undead element, I've prepared an enrollment gift package for you as your mentor."

"I bought it with my own money just for you. When the welcome ceremony comes, don't let our Undead element lose face."

Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

An enrollment gift package? That was awesome!

But what did Qin Yun mean by not losing face at the welcome ceremony? Was he supposed to participate in that Beast Taming Competition too?

"Teacher, what exactly is in this gift package?"

"Don't rush." Qin Yun stood up. "This gift is related to your Undead element major—it'll boost your undead strength."

"Before I give it to you, I need to see your undead. You've already performed an undead summoning, right? What did you summon from the Underworld?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and replied, "I did. It's a Bone Soldier."

"A Bone Soldier—one of the most common undead. No problem, though. Strengthening a Bone Soldier is relatively simple. Have you strengthened it yet?" Qin Yun pressed.

Jiang Yuan raised his right hand, pinching his thumb and index finger together to show a tiny gap. "Just a little bit."

"Alright, come with me to the training ground now. I'll take a look at your Bone Soldier first, then give you the gift package." Qin Yun said.

So secretive about handing over a gift package.

Jiang Yuan grumbled inwardly but followed Qin Yun out.

Pearl Institute had plenty of training grounds—aside from the public ones, each college had its own dedicated spaces.

Jiang Yuan followed Qin Yun to the Summoning System college's training ground.

"Hey, Old Qin, what brings you to the training ground?" A middle-aged man greeted Qin Yun warmly.

This man was a Pearl Institute teacher named He Hui, one of the instructors in the Summoning System college.

Beside him stood a long-faced male student, also a freshman in the Summoning System college, named Wang Liting.

He Hui looked at Jiang Yuan beside Qin Yun, his face breaking into a smile. "Is this the only Undead element freshman you recruited this year? Congratulations—at least the Undead element has a successor."

In response to He Hui's greeting, Qin Yun only gave a few cold replies, making it clear the two didn't get along.

Once Qin Yun led Jiang Yuan away, He Hui's face darkened instantly. "Hmph, an Undead element freshman. I still don't get why the school keeps the Undead element around—it's a pure waste of resources."

"Exactly. How can the Undead element compare to our Summoning System? Dealing with those undead all day, they reek. If I ever run into that freshman on campus, I'll challenge him to a duel and show him how useless the Undead element is." Wang Liting's tone was flippant, his face full of mockery.

"Liting, you need to understand something. In life, you can't let your emotions show too much, or you'll ruin big plans." He Hui scolded.

A truly savvy person knows how to hide their emotions.

Like a venomous snake—striking the enemy fatally when they least expect it!

"What big plans could a duel with him ruin?" Wang Liting shrugged it off.

He Hui let out a cold laugh. "The Undead element is under the Summoning System college, so they enjoy the college's resources. That means they have to participate in some activities too."

"For example, the Beast Taming Competition in a few days—the Undead element has to send someone. But that's fine. There aren't many freshmen in the college anyway. The Undead element guy can serve as cannon fodder and help weed out some opponents first."

"It's just a Beast Taming Competition—I can handle it alone." Wang Liting said arrogantly.

A flicker of displeasure passed through He Hui's eyes, and his tone turned stern. "Do as I say. Your uncle won't steer you wrong."

"Fine." Wang Liting agreed on the surface, but inside, he remained unimpressed.

In this Summoning System college, he looked down on everyone.

His head was full of the idea that he was the best in the world—unfortunately, he lacked the strength to back it up, a severe case of self-awareness disorder.

"Huh? One Thought Star Track?" He Hui suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Off in the distance.

A star track formed from gray Star Particles materialized beside Jiang Yuan.

Qin Yun was utterly stunned—he definitely hadn't misseen it.

Jiang Yuan had just pulled off a casting speed only high-level mages could possess: one thought star track!

But the shock was far from over.

The moment the star track completed, a flash of gray light burst forth, and a dense surge of Undead element energy erupted.

A massive figure slowly rose from within the glow.

A skeletal body over three meters tall forced Qin Yun to crane his neck upward, his heart filled with awe.

"This undead of yours isn't normal, is it? Is this a Warrior level undead?!!"

"And that aura... pull it back, pull it back now!" Sensing the overwhelming presence radiating from the Three-eyed Underworld General, Qin Yun's face changed drastically as he urged hurriedly.

The next moment, the Three-eyed Underworld General vanished from its spot, returning to the perpetually gray Underworld.

It glanced around in slight confusion.

Huh?

Wasn't I just summoned a second ago?

On the training ground.

Qin Yun's eyes were wide as he stared at Jiang Yuan. "You little rascal, you call this 'a little enhancement'?"

"Since the day I was born, I've never seen an Undead element mage your age with a Warrior level undead."

"And it's a Great Warrior level, isn't it?" Qin Yun's voice dropped to a near whisper at the end, audible only to the two of them.

He had no intention of letting He Hui and Wang Liting, watching from afar, know exactly what level Jiang Yuan's undead was.

Sure, the Warrior level was already out in the open, but the gap between a minor Warrior and a Great Warrior was still very clear.