Heaven Rewards Diligence

Chapter 1

The Furnace stood far across from the High Tower. The High Tower was White Wizard territory, while The Furnace was the domain of Dark Wizards.

In the outer ring of The Furnace, Lynn and several dozen youths were brought here.

Their leader was a cold-faced Scarred Man. The scar stretched from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, and an icy aura radiated from his entire body.

Lynn wore a crude, thin robe wrapped tightly around his lean frame.

He followed silently among the group, without anything remarkable about him, deliberately making himself seem especially inconspicuous.

No one knew that he was not from this world, but a transmigrator.

He had transmigrated into the legendary Wizard World—and not into White Wizard territory, but Dark Wizard land.

They had only recently joined The Furnace. After several days of simple and brutal training, they had been led away by the Scarred Man.

Following the group, Lynn quietly gathered his thoughts.

As a transmigrator, he naturally possessed a cheat ability, just like countless predecessors before him.

He had no talent panel and no system chip, but he possessed an exceptionally special talent—Heaven Rewards Diligence.

Heaven Rewards Diligence meant that as long as he worked hard, he would certainly gain something.

During the previous training, Lynn had already deeply experienced the power of this talent.

When they had first begun learning wizard knowledge, everyone had suffered headaches from the complex and obscure material. Many had frowned in distress, utterly at a loss.

But Lynn was different.

He discovered that as long as he invested time and effort, that dull material quickly became clear and easy to understand.

In just a few days, while his companions were still struggling to figure things out, Lynn had already committed the training material to memory.

He could tell that it was not because he was smarter than others, but because the talent of Heaven Rewards Diligence was quietly taking effect.

Hard work was something anyone could do, but if hard work brought no reward, many people would stop moving forward.

But Lynn was different. Every bit of his effort would turn into tangible gains!

This talent convinced him that as long as he had enough time to grow, he would definitely stand out in this Wizard World and perhaps even become one of the powerful wizards!

However, ideals were full, while reality was painfully thin.

Lynn had thought the Scarred Man would take them to some sort of academy or classroom to begin systematic study and cultivation.

Yet what happened completely exceeded his expectations.

Led by the Scarred Man, they were brought to a massive Beast Field.

The Beast Field was thick with the stench of blood. Grim iron bars surrounded it, and inside were all manner of strange Magic Beasts.

These Magic Beasts were the Earth Rhino Beasts they had heard about during training.

Just as Lynn and the other youths stood there in confusion, the Scarred Man spoke. His gaze was icy, and his tone was completely flat:

"From today onward, your task is to raise these Earth Rhino Beasts."

He paused, his voice growing even colder:

"Remember, their life or death is tied to your own! Every cycle, we will rank the Earth Rhino Beasts according to their condition. The ten worst-performing Earth Rhino Beasts, along with their owners, will be torn to pieces and devoured by the remaining Earth Rhino Beasts!"

"Sir, isn't this a little..."

Before he could finish, one youth spoke up in confusion, wanting to ask whether there had been some mistake.

But before he could finish speaking, the Scarred Man's eyes turned cold. With a light flick of his finger, a ring of wizardry instantly enveloped the youth.

The next moment, the youth turned into a fat little pig.

What was strange was that the pig's face still bore intense human fear and despair.

The Scarred Man coldly glanced at the pig, his voice sharp as a blade:

"Was it your turn to speak?"

Then he grabbed the little pig and, without hesitation, threw it into the Beast Pen.

The Earth Rhino Beasts roared and pounced upon it, tearing and fighting over the pig as blood and flesh flew everywhere.

"Did you hear me?!"

The Scarred Man swept his gaze across the crowd, his eyes like an abyss that made it hard to breathe.

Everyone went pale. None of them even dared breathe loudly. They stood ramrod straight and nodded desperately, terrified of becoming the next target.

The Scarred Man snorted.

"One cycle is ten days. From now on, you will eat and sleep alongside your Earth Rhino Beasts. Ten days from now, I will return and see which pieces of trash are eliminated."

With that, he turned and left without looking back, leaving only a deep chill lingering in the air.

After the Scarred Man left, all the youths turned their eyes toward the Beast Field. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

They unconsciously swallowed and looked at the Earth Rhino Beasts lurking within the Beast Field.

During the several days of training, they had also learned that the Magic Beasts before them were called Earth Rhino Beasts.

Earth Rhino Beasts were low-level Magic Beasts, resembling a combination of crocodiles and wolves.

Their limbs were tall, their movements agile, and their bodies were covered in dense black scales that glimmered with a cold sheen.

Rumor had it that the bloodline of the intermediate Magic Beast, the Earth Dragon Beast, lay hidden deep within the Earth Rhino Beast's bloodline.

If enough powerful Earth Rhino Beasts could be gathered, special methods could even be used to draw out the Earth Dragon Beast's power from their bloodlines, thereby cultivating higher-level Magic Beasts.

These youths had once dreamed of becoming great wizards, believing they would cultivate in academies or classrooms.

But none of them had expected that they would come to a place like this to raise Magic Beasts!

And it was the kind that cost them their lives!

If they failed to raise them well, they would end up like that youth who had been turned into a pig, thrown into the Beast Pen, and torn apart and devoured by the Earth Rhino Beasts!

The youths were deathly pale, their bodies trembling. They could still see the bones and flesh of the little pig being gnawed on inside the Beast Pen.

Many could not endure it any longer. They collapsed directly to the ground and began to retch.

Among the crowd, Lynn's expression was grim. Judging by what the Scarred Man had just done, their group had one and only one choice.

They had to obey the Scarred Man's orders, because he truly could turn them into pigs and feed them to the Earth Rhino Beasts!

According to the Scarred Man's rules, every evaluation would eliminate ten Earth Rhino Beasts and ten apprentices.

And elimination meant being turned into pigs and fed to the victorious Earth Rhino Beasts. The very thought made one shudder.

Lynn looked around. This was a corner of The Furnace, transformed into a Beast Field where the wizards' Magic Beasts lived.

Wanting to escape from here was simply wishful thinking. One wrong step could get them eaten by a powerful Magic Beast.

Even if they somehow managed to flee the Beast Field, they could never escape the incomparably vast and complex Furnace.

Lynn withdrew his gaze. Since escape was impossible, he could only obediently follow the Scarred Man's orders and raise Earth Rhino Beasts here.

His mind raced as he considered how he could survive this "Life and Death Assessment" until the end.

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