The Annual Assessment Arrives

"Was that you in the East District last night?" Xu Dahang walked up to Jiang Yuan and suddenly asked.

He was over eighty percent sure—the silhouette matched perfectly, but he hadn't gotten a clear look at the face.

Jiang Yuan hadn't expected to be spotted, so he nodded, admitting it.

Xu Dahang was taken aback, holding Jiang Yuan's nearly blank resume. "I see no hunting records on your resume—you're just a rookie. Pretty impressive, though!"

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

Xu Dahang paused mid-sentence, pulled Jiang Yuan aside, and asked, "The wounds had frostbite marks. Did you awaken Ice too? Are you an Intermediate level mage?"

An Intermediate level mage this young.

Could be from some noble family.

Ice element—maybe the Mu family?

Xu Dahang's mind raced with guesses.

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

"Innate Talent!?" Xu Dahang exclaimed.

A mage with an Innate Talent was a child of destiny—as long as no accidents happened, becoming a High-level Mage was a breeze.

With enough resources, stepping into the Super level wasn't too hard either.

This kid had an Innate Talent?

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

He smoothly connected his Star Track and demonstrated the process of turning Water Guard into Ice Control right in front of Xu Dahang.

Ice Control could not only defend but also form spears for offense.

Both offensive and defensive, with considerable power.

"Your Innate Talent is strong, and you're just a high schooler, yet your Star Track connection is this smooth." Xu Dahang made the call on the spot, taking Jiang Yuan into the City Demon Hunting Squad.

"Tell the people behind to leave—we've found our member!" Xu Dahang ordered.

Ignoring the complaints from those still in line, he pulled Jiang Yuan aside and started introducing the team.

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

His Water element mage position was originally meant for someone named Xiao Ke.

After meeting the teammates, Xu Dahang handed over the squad's credentials and explained the rights and duties of the City Demon Hunting Squad.

Becoming a member meant becoming a law enforcer in Bocheng, with plenty of privileges.

The duties were simple: deal with unruly demons that came out at night causing trouble.

Once the basics were covered, Xu Dahang patted Jiang Yuan's shoulder. "Now you're an official member of our City Demon Hunting Squad. When a mission comes down, I'll notify you. Just keep an eye out."

The squad's tasks weren't heavy or particularly dangerous.

And since Xu Dahang knew Jiang Yuan was a student at Tianlan High School, he only assigned him night missions.

Four months passed like that, and the year-end arrived.

During this time, Jiang Yuan raised his Beginner level Water magic to the second tier. With his calm state in battle, he could now face Servant level demons alone while hunting.

The Undead element remained stagnant—its cultivation hadn't changed, but its usefulness was no weaker than Ice.

Because during missions, Jiang Yuan discovered that the Undead Space could collect not only Soul Essences but also Soul Remnants.

Most importantly, it could fuse Soul Remnants into Soul Essences!

As mentioned before, Soul Essences from the Undead Space could be taken out.

Even the Azure Dragon Pendant's fused Soul Essences could only be used by Mo Fan himself, not traded.

Now, Jiang Yuan's Undead Space held two Servant level Soul Essences and several Servant level Soul Remnants.

But his mind wasn't on Soul Essences.

The Annual Assessment had arrived.

For many, today was a fate-deciding day—failing the assessment meant expulsion from school.

Magic wasn't a game. Once you became a mage, you had to contribute to society.

Students who wasted resources were better off leaving school early!

The Annual Assessment was held at the school's Training Ground, with all classes participating together.

The Training Ground was sunny, with clear skies and a fresh breeze.

Students had already gathered. In front of them sat a semicircular examiner's table and a floating Star Sensing Stone.

By the time Jiang Yuan arrived, most people were already there.

Behind him, Mo Fan was the last to show up.

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

"Not yet," Jiang Yuan shook his head, shifting aside a bit to make room for Mo Fan. "How's your control over the fire Star Particles coming along?"

He didn't need to ask—he knew Mo Fan was also at the Beginner level with two elements, just like him.

Sure enough, Mo Fan thumped his chest and said smugly, "With yours truly Mo Fan on the case, those little Star Particles better bow down and obey. Just watch me crush it in the assessment!"

"Speaking of which, Jiang Yuan, your Star Particle control is pretty much there too, right? Let's grab an S-rank together later!"

"Brother Fan's the man! Brother Yuan's the man!" Zhang Xiaohou chimed in at just the right moment.

"Hilarious. A loser who scored zero on the end-of-term Star Particle test, and another loser who didn't even show up for it. Two wastes of space thinking they can get an S-rank—you can't even dream that big."

The nagging, sneering voice came out of nowhere.

It was Zhao Kun San, Mu Bai's lackey, wearing a face that begged to be punched.

"Who are you calling a loser, Zhao Kun San? Do you have a screw loose? Everywhere we go, you pop up barking like a dog!" Zhang Xiaohou couldn't hold back, pointing at Zhao Kun San's nose and cursing.

"Heh," Zhao Kun San let out a cold laugh. "I just can't stand you guys, especially you, Mo Fan. The young lady's here today, so don't even think about a toad lusting after swan meat!"

When he mentioned the Mu Family's young lady, Jiang Yuan finally spotted Mu Ningxue not far off, with her silver hair.

No wonder Mo Fan could never stop thinking about her—she was truly a stunning beauty.

Mo Fan saw her too, thinking to himself that Mu Ningxue only grew more gorgeous with time, completely ignoring Zhao Kun San's yapping beside him.

But too much barking always gets on your nerves.

Jiang Yuan stared coldly at Zhao Kun San. His demeanor was nothing like Mo Fan's.

Having dealt with plenty of demons lately, he was already on a whole different level from these students.

"Go ahead and take your test, Mo Fan. I'll be watching to see what rank you two get!" Zhao Kun San felt a chill under Jiang Yuan's gaze, his tone unconsciously weakening as he threw out one last line and scurried off.

"If he kept barking, I was about to lay into him. Good thing he ran fast," Mo Fan cursed.

"Mo Fan, I really want to see you get expelled in front of the whole school. Miss Mu Ningxue is watching from up there, you know." Mu Bai finally found his chance to speak, grinning slyly.

Mo Fan shot him a sidelong glance. "Did you eat crap or something? Why's your mouth so foul? Stay away from me, don't stink me up."

He even waved a hand in front of his nose, acting like he was afraid of getting contaminated.