Annual Assessment Arrives

"Were you the one in the eastern district last night?" Xu Dahang suddenly asked Jiang Yuan as he approached him.

He was more than eighty percent certain. The figure had looked exactly the same, but he really had not gotten a clear look at the person's face.

Jiang Yuan had not expected to be seen after all. He nodded, admitting it.

Xu Dahang was quite surprised. Holding Jiang Yuan's nearly blank résumé, he said, "I don't see any demon-hunting records on here. You're just a rookie. That's impressive!"

"But aren't you a Water element mage? Those wounds on that Giant-eyed Stinky Rat last night..."

Xu Dahang stopped halfway through. He pulled Jiang Yuan aside and asked, "The wounds showed signs of frostbite. You must have awakened the Ice element too. Are you an Intermediate level mage?"

Such a young Intermediate level mage.

Could he be from some prominent family?

The Ice element... could he be from the Mu Family?

A guess immediately formed in Xu Dahang's mind.

Jiang Yuan shook his head and explained, "I only awakened the Water element. The frostbite is related to my Innate Talent, not the Ice element."

"Innate Talent?!" Xu Dahang cried out.

Mages with Innate Talents were all heaven's favored geniuses. As long as nothing went wrong, becoming a High-level Mage would be easy for them.

With sufficient resources, even stepping into the Super level would not be difficult.

This kid had an Innate Talent?

To convince Xu Dahang and secure a steady place in the City Demon Hunting Squad, Jiang Yuan decided to reveal part of his Innate Talent.

He skillfully connected his Star Track and demonstrated the process of turning Water Guard into Ice Control before Xu Dahang.

Ice Control could not only defend; it could also transform into spears for attack.

It could attack and defend, and its power was quite considerable as well.

"Your Innate Talent is powerful, and you're still only a high school student. Yet you can connect your Star Track so proficiently." Xu Dahang immediately made the decision to accept Jiang Yuan into the City Demon Hunting Squad.

"Tell the people behind him to leave. We've already found the team member we need!" Xu Dahang ordered.

Ignoring the complaints of those in line, he pulled Jiang Yuan over and began introducing the other team members.

Only then did Jiang Yuan learn that Xu Dahang was the captain of the City Demon Hunting Squad that Mo Fan would join in the future.

The position of Water element mage he had taken was originally meant for a Water element mage named Xiao Ke.

After he finished meeting the team, Xu Dahang took out the Demon Hunting Squad identification and explained the City Demon Hunting Squad's rights and duties to him.

Becoming a member of the City Demon Hunting Squad also meant becoming a law enforcement officer in Bocheng, with quite a few privileges.

The duties were simple as well: deal with the demons that refused to follow the rules and came out at night to cause trouble.

After explaining the basics, Xu Dahang patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder. "You're officially a member of our City Demon Hunting Squad now. I'll notify you when a mission comes in. Just keep an eye out."

The City Demon Hunting Squad's missions were not particularly demanding, nor were they especially dangerous.

Moreover, Xu Dahang knew that Jiang Yuan was a student at Tianlan High School, so he would only assign Jiang Yuan missions at night.

Four months passed just like that, and the year came to an end.

During this time, Jiang Yuan raised his Beginner level Water element magic to Level Two. With his calm state of mind in battle, he could already face Servant level demons alone while hunting.

The Undead element had remained stagnant. Although its cultivation had not changed, its usefulness was no weaker than the Ice element's.

While carrying out missions, Jiang Yuan discovered that the Undead Space could collect not only Soul Essences, but Remnant Souls as well.

Most importantly, it could actually fuse Remnant Souls into Soul Essences!

It had been mentioned before that the Soul Essences inside the Undead Space could be taken out.

Even the Azure Dragon Pendant could only let Mo Fan use the Soul Essences it fused; he could not take them out for trade.

Jiang Yuan's Undead Space now contained two Servant level Soul Essences, along with several Servant level Remnant Souls.

However, his mind was not on the Soul Essences.

The Annual Assessment had arrived.

For many people, today was a day that would determine their fate. Those who failed to meet the assessment standard would be expelled from school.

Magic was no child's play. Since one had become a mage, one had to work hard and contribute to society.

Students who wasted resources like that should leave school as soon as possible!

The Annual Assessment was held at the school's Training Ground, with every class in the school taking part together.

The Training Ground was bright with sunshine, and the air was crisp and clear.

The students had already gathered together. Before them stood a semicircular examiners' table and a floating Star Sensing Stone.

By the time Jiang Yuan arrived, almost everyone was already there.

Mo Fan arrived last, after him.

"Jiang Yuan, has the assessment started yet?" Mo Fan asked.

"Not yet." Jiang Yuan shook his head and made some room for Mo Fan. "How's your control over your Fire element Star Particles?"

There was no need to ask. Like him, Mo Fan was already Beginner level in two elements.

Sure enough, Mo Fan patted his chest and said proudly, "When I, Mo Fan, take the field, how could a few measly Star Particles do anything but submit? Just watch me shine in the assessment!"

"By the way, Jiang Yuan, your Star Particle control is about ready too, right? Let's get an S rating together later!"

"Brother Fan is mighty! Brother Yuan is mighty!" Zhang Xiaohou chimed in at just the right moment.

"Hilarious. One useless trash who scored zero on the end-of-term Star Particle test, and another useless trash who did not even show up for it. You two pieces of trash want an S rating? Even your daydreams aren't this ridiculous."

That lingering voice of mockery rang out.

It was Zhao Kun San, Mu Bai's lackey, wearing an utterly punchable expression.

"Who are you calling trash? Zhao Kun San, is something wrong with your brain? No matter where we are, you always have to jump out and bark like a dog?" Zhang Xiaohou could not hold back any longer. He pointed at Zhao Kun San's nose and cursed.

"Heh." Zhao Kun San sneered. "I just can't stand you, especially you, Mo Fan. The young lady is here today, so stop dreaming about a toad getting to eat swan meat!"

Only when Zhao Kun San mentioned the eldest young lady of the Mu Family did Jiang Yuan notice Mu Ningxue in the distance, with her silver hair.

No wonder Mo Fan could never forget her. She truly possessed breathtaking beauty.

Mo Fan saw her too. Mu Ningxue had grown even prettier. He paid no attention at all to Zhao Kun San barking beside him.

But when a dog barked too much, it was bound to become irritating.

Jiang Yuan looked coldly at Zhao Kun San. His bearing was different from Mo Fan's.

Having dealt with plenty of demons during this period, he had long since risen above these students.

"Just take your assessment, Mo Fan. I'd like to see what rating you can possibly get!" Zhao Kun San felt a chill in his heart under Jiang Yuan's stare. His tone unconsciously weakened, and after tossing out that final remark, he ran off.

"If he'd kept barking, I would've started tearing into him. Lucky for him he ran fast," Mo Fan cursed.

"Mo Fan, I really want to see the look on your face when you're expelled in front of the entire school. Young Lady Mu Ningxue is watching from up there." Mu Bai finally found a chance to speak and smiled sinisterly.

Mo Fan shot him a sidelong glance. "Did you eat shit or something? Why does your mouth stink so badly? Stay away from me. Don't stink up the place."

As he spoke, he even covered his nose with one hand, as though afraid of being overwhelmed by the smell.