The Trump Card Is About to Be Exposed

Ah! Li Junshan was completely stunned. He stood there dumbly for a long while before coming back to himself and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Randolph, then my spiritual force cultivation hasn't made any progress all this time—is that because of this book?"

"That's for sure," Randolph said. "This book was clearly adapted from hearsay. The beginning isn't wrong, but problems start later on. I'd guess the rest was all made up out of thin air."

As he spoke, Randolph walked to the lectern at the front and rummaged around, then found a transparent crystal ball glowing all over with a milky-white light. He carried it over to Li Junshan, set it on the desk, and said, "Place your right hand on the testing orb and focus your spiritual force."

Li Junshan did as he was told. He calmed his mind until his thoughts were clear and empty. Suddenly, the crystal ball began giving off a faint blue glow.

"Mm, not bad. Your spiritual force has already reached the level of a Great Summoner." Randolph smacked his lips and put the crystal testing orb away.

"Great Summoner?" Li Junshan was confused. He asked, "Mr. Randolph, didn't you just say this booklet was wrong? How did I become a Great Summoner?"

"The beginning was right, but the later contract sigils and hand signs were all wrong, and the method for cultivating spiritual force wasn't precise enough either," Randolph said. "You were already a Great Summoner to begin with. You can summon level-six magical beasts."

Li Junshan grew even more muddled. Ever since he had learned summoning in Windfire Town, his summoning technique had only broken through once, and after that, it had never improved. Could he really have broken through to Great Summoner in one go?

"That's not right." Li Junshan was baffled and said, "I tried before in the Falling Moon Mountains. When I tried to summon a Great Water Rhino Beast, my spiritual force was almost drained dry, but I still couldn't succeed. Later, I used the method of forced summoning, threatening the life of a young Great Water Rhino Beast, and only then did I finally succeed."

"Forced summoning?" Randolph glared at him and said, "Forget a Great Summoner—even a Summoning Saint Master or a Summoning Imperial Master might not necessarily succeed when summoning magical beasts. What it tests is patience and spiritual force. You were clearly already a Great Summoner. You occasionally succeeded in summoning a level-six magical beast, so how is that forced summoning? Forced summoning refers to summoning above your level. There have been examples like that before, but most of them ended up dying from the soul backlash of their summoned beasts. And you actually dared to think of doing it."

"Summoning magical beasts above level six is extremely difficult, but the success rate is much higher with young beasts. You've seen Sedern's and Nancy's two level-six magical beasts. Those were young beasts their families paid a huge price to buy from the Mercenary Guild. They fed them the best food every day, played with them, and spent two years before finally summoning them successfully."

"When we encountered the Black Dragon in Windfire Town, that mage who had the level-nine magical beast Golden-Eyed Magic Eagle only had strength equivalent to that other warrior. It was truly baffling. Hearing this now, that mage probably subdued the Golden-Eyed Magic Eagle in much the same way as Sedern and the others." Li Junshan thought this silently and had nothing to say.

Back then, Fate, that half-baked fellow, had said it that way too. Since Li Junshan did not understand, he had believed it. He had not expected that he was already a Great Summoner and had possessed the ability to summon level-six magical beasts all along.

"What about your spiritual space?" Randolph nearly forgot this crucial question and asked, "Just now, I saw that you could summon two magical beasts. How large is your spiritual space? Can you sense it?"

Li Junshan wanted to ask him for guidance, so he probed, "I can't say clearly. The feeling is very mysterious. It seems about the size of our academy, I suppose. There's no way to describe it precisely."

"What?" For the first time, Randolph showed a shocked expression in front of Li Junshan. He involuntarily stood up, his face full of astonishment.

"As large as George Academy?" Randolph was somewhat disbelieving and asked again.

"It should be." Li Junshan suddenly regretted it a little, but since the words were already out, he naturally could not flatly deny them, so he could only nod.

Randolph slowly sat down, looking at Li Junshan with a complicated gaze. Only after a long while did he ask, "How many summoned beasts can you summon in total right now?"

"Uh, at most ten. But a few were lost when I was training in the Falling Moon Mountains, and I haven't encountered any suitable magical beasts since, so I haven't summoned any more." Li Junshan tested the waters as he spoke. Randolph's expression made him uneasy.

"Your spiritual force is limiting you." Randolph frowned tightly, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"I haven't had time to read your file yet. Who is your father? Is he in Auston City?"

Li Junshan shook his head and said, "My father is in Floro City. He's a viscount. This time, my coming to George Academy was arranged by Marquis Sweet."

"Marquis Sweet." Randolph repeated the name and pondered for a long while. Then he looked up at Li Junshan and said, "You go back first. It's the first day today, so there won't be class."

Li Junshan bowed slightly to him, turned, and walked out.

"This place isn't suitable for him." Watching Li Junshan's back disappear beyond the door, Randolph murmured to himself. Then he got up and walked out. He went all the way to the school gate, stopped a carriage, and climbed in.

"To the Lyon District."

The coachman agreed readily and drove the carriage away from George Academy.

Li Junshan wandered around the academy a few times. Feeling somewhat bored, he headed straight toward the dormitory area in the western district. From far away, he saw an extremely imposing building, fully six stories tall and spanning a great distance.

The dormitory manager was an elderly old man. Only after Li Junshan showed his student certificate did the man let him in.

The management of George Academy's dormitory building was very simple. Every dorm room door had a small, simple magic array, and only the special student certificate produced by the academy could open the door. Clearly, they had done a good job protecting the students' privacy.

This small magic array was extremely simple, and with so many students in the academy to serve as free labor, it was a measure that killed two birds with one stone.

It was already evening. Many students were going up and down in the corridor. Li Junshan walked to the fifth floor and took out his student card, just about to open the door, but the door opened on its own. Fate stood in the doorway, smiling somewhat awkwardly.

"Master, I just saw you coming up."

"The dormitory management in the academy is quite considerate." Li Junshan walked in, took the tea Fate poured for him, and said, "This is good too. No need to worry about others coming in whenever they like. You can set up a magic spirit-gathering array in the room. When you have nothing to do, you can meditate inside it."

Fate nodded and said, "Master..."

Before he could finish, Li Junshan interrupted him and said, "If you're willing, just call me by my name. I've corrected you so many times. You're not my slave, and this is the academy, so why call me Master?"

Seeing Fate look troubled, Li Junshan waved his hand and said, "Forget it. If you don't want to call me by name, just call me Young Master."

"Young Master." Only then did Fate's face relax, and he said somewhat excitedly, "The empire's number one academy really is extraordinary. That magic instructor explained things in a simple and profound way. Compared to my previous instructor, he was far, far better."

"As long as you gained something." Li Junshan nodded and said, "I saw that among the magic students, there are plenty older than you. Don't feel any pressure either. Just study earnestly."

"Mm." Fate nodded. Seeing Li Junshan lying on the bed with his eyes half-closed and looking a little sleepy, he quietly walked to his own bed and sat down to meditate, no longer disturbing him.

Early the next morning, after Li Junshan woke up and washed, he bid farewell to Fate and walked toward the summoner class. When he entered and looked around, a few students were sitting sparsely inside, but Randolph was nowhere to be seen.

"Young Master Nicholas."

Suddenly hearing someone call him, Li Junshan turned back and saw Bernie standing outside the door, looking at him with a smile.

"Mr. Bernie, why are you here?" Li Junshan was somewhat curious.

"The Marquis asked me to invite you back," Bernie said respectfully.

"He used to address me casually, but now he's switched to a respectful form." Li Junshan found it a little strange. He also felt that Bernie's gaze toward him was somewhat different from before, as if there were a bit more respect in it.

Following Bernie out of the academy gates, Li Junshan and Bernie boarded a carriage and headed toward the south of the city.

"Does the Marquis need me for something?" Li Junshan felt a little puzzled and could not help asking.

"You will know once you return," Bernie said, looking at Li Junshan with an impeccable smile.

Li Junshan also felt that his question had been somewhat abrupt, so he said no more. Before long, the carriage stopped, and Li Junshan and Bernie got out and walked into Marquis Sweet's residence.

They walked all the way to the sitting room. Bernie gestured for Li Junshan to go in, then stayed guard outside. Li Junshan knocked on the door, and only after hearing permission did he push it open and enter.

The moment he saw the middle-aged man in white robes in the hall, Li Junshan was shocked. He almost turned and fled.

"Nicholas, don't be afraid," Marquis Sweet said. "Come in."

His heart pounding violently, Li Junshan lowered his head and took a few deep breaths, then slowly walked inside.

That middle-aged man in white robes was none other than the mage Laurat, whom Li Junshan had met in the barren mountains north of Windfire Town.

There were four people seated in the hall. Apart from an old man sitting in the center, the other three were Randolph, Sweet, and Laurat, whose expression was complicated.

The old man in the center suddenly laughed a few times and said, "Nicholas, hmm, how old are you this year?"

Li Junshan was a little baffled, but he answered, "I'm about to turn fifteen."

"Fifteen." The old man smiled. "Not bad. Just the age of a youth. You don't know me, do you? Heh, I am Aldrich. According to the family hierarchy, you should call me Grandfather."

"Duke Aldrich." This information flashed through Li Junshan's mind, and he was startled again.

Aldrich Harriman was the current head of the Harriman Family. He had once been a famous military commander of the empire, but now that he was old, he had long since left office and retired. It was said that over ten years ago, he had already reached the rank of War God.

"Greetings, Grandfather. Nicholas did not know it was you. Please forgive my rudeness." Li Junshan had not expected this seemingly somewhat slovenly old man to be the family head. Great waves churned in his heart, but his face remained respectful.

"Sit." Aldrich waved his hand. Seeing Li Junshan sit stiffly in the chair at the very end, he then looked at Laurat and said, "If you hadn't come looking for me, I truly would not have known our family had produced such a genius—possessing a Black Dragon summoned beast at only fifteen."

Laurat's expression looked rather ugly. He forced a smile and stared fixedly at Li Junshan.

"Nicholas, I heard from Mr. Laurat that in the barren mountains north of Windfire Town, you obtained a peculiar Black Dragon summoned beast, as well as a Black Dragon egg. Is that true?" Aldrich asked Li Junshan, a sharp gleam flashing through his seemingly cloudy eyes.

"Yes."

At this point, there was absolutely no way to keep hiding it, so Li Junshan could only admit it.

"How did you do it?" This time it was Laurat who fired off questions like a string of firecrackers. His burning gaze fixed on Li Junshan as he said, "Mr. Randolph said you only have the strength of a Great Summoner. How could you possibly summon a Black Dragon? What was that monster that crawled out of the Black Dragon's belly? And when I arrived, there was a magic beast egg in front of the Black Dragon with its top opened, and a dead, strange little magic beast with many claws on the ground. What was that all about?"