Margaret Broke Out in a Cold Sweat

Margaret was going through one of the rare moments of torment in her life.

The atmosphere in the examination center was suffocating, leaving her hardly daring to breathe.

Headmaster Nico and the teachers from the question-setting team stared dumbfoundedly at Jia Xiu in the projection without even blinking.

If anyone else had done this instead of Jia Xiu, Margaret might have found it amusing.

But it was Jia Xiu who had done it!

The student she intended to recruit had pulled off a heaven-defying stunt during the second round of the entrance examination, right under the watchful eyes of the entire question-setting team and even Headmaster Nico.

"I, the Sun Lord, demand payment!"

Was that something a normal person could say?

Was he a genius or a madman?

Or both?

Once he enrolled, when she took him to academic conferences and the other spellcasters in the field saw Jia Xiu—

"Well, well, if it isn't the payment guy?"

Then they would look at her. "Oh ho, isn't this the Sun Lord's mentor?"

Ah—how embarrassing!

Margaret shook her head. That scene was too terrifying; her toes were already curling in embarrassment. She quickly forced it from her mind.

Now was not the time to think about the future.

What mattered was whether the headmaster would cancel Jia Xiu's examination qualification in a fit of rage.

Probably not. In the previous two batches, one had filed taxes and another had committed robbery, yet neither had been disqualified. Jia Xiu had only "slightly" exploited a loophole. There was no way he would be disqualified, right?

Then again, that tax filer and robber were both top-tier "talents" too. Who knew which unlucky mentor would have to take those two on later.

Just thinking about it made her want to laugh.

The headmaster and the members of the question-setting team had been frozen for ages without saying a word.

Margaret anxiously rubbed her hands, not knowing where to look.

The strange atmosphere continued for several minutes.

Then, Headmaster Nico's cheerful laughter suddenly broke the silence.

"Hahaha! Registering as the Sun Lord and then taking a cut through the Adventurer Association—how did he even think of that? I like this kid."

Margaret looked at the headmaster, who had suddenly burst out laughing, and found it even stranger.

Did he really like the kid?

If he liked Jia Xiu, then why was he gritting his teeth and yanking out his own beard after laughing?

He had clearly been so angry that he could not hold it in and ended up laughing!

The last person Jia Xiu had driven half-mad was Professor Piyede, and he still had not recovered.

Every day, he muttered strange formulas as he walked down the road.

Rumor had it that he had recently been studying some method of infinite descent, which had let him glimpse a sliver of light leading toward the answer.

Could Jia Xiu have turned the headmaster into that too?

At that moment, the leader of the question-setting team spoke. "But if Jia Xiu does this, then theoretically, he's taking money from the other examinees and increasing everyone else's difficulty, isn't he?"

"It seems so."

The adjusted rules fully followed the Adventurer Association's regulations, and the Association would never take a loss.

Naturally, the dungeon owner's cut would not be deducted from the Association's share. It could only be borne by the adventurers.

But in this examination, the amount earned directly determined whether one passed and one's final ranking.

Jia Xiu's move was effectively an automatic five-point deduction from the answer sheets of every examinee in his batch except himself.

An extremely hatred-inducing move.

Headmaster Nico rolled the beard hairs he had pulled out into a little ball and toyed with it in his hand.

"But in the end, it was our design that made Jia Xiu's approach possible. So calculate this batch's scores as though that five percent had not been deducted."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Don't make this public for now. Let the other examinees hate him for a while first. Hehehe..."

In the Phantom World.

Ben, a novice spellcaster from Zhenxin Town, happily ran out of the dungeon. His small bag was filled with goblin ears, proof that he had completed his commission.

As an examinee with very limited strength, he knew he had no hope of competing for the rankings. His only expectation was to earn enough to reach the passing line.

After spending a long time selecting commissions at the Adventurer Association, Ben had found what seemed like the perfect way for him to pass the examination.

Hunting goblins.

After deductions, each one was worth 15 Hel. Two hundred of them would be enough for 30 crowns.

Such a good commission could not be found in the real world. In ordinary villages and towns, goblin-hunting commissions only existed during the first few years, when a settlement was still small.

Before long, all the goblins within human territory would be cleared out.

But in this Phantom World, goblins respawned.

Two hundred sounded like a lot, but if he gritted his teeth and worked hard, it was not impossible to gather enough in three days.

Carrying his spoils, Ben jogged to the Association. He had to make every minute count and hunt as much as possible.

The Association was packed with people and filled with noise. It seemed like they were shouting something about the Sun Lord dying.

Ben had no interest in joining the commotion.

He walked up to the counter. "I'm here to submit a goblin-hunting commission."

"Certainly." The staff member smiled professionally. "You have submitted fifteen goblin left ears and will receive a commission of 2 crowns, 13 Hel, and 75 cents."

"Wait!" Ben immediately interrupted. "Why is it such an odd amount? Isn't it 15 Hel per goblin?"

"Because an additional five percent cut for the Sun Lord has been added to the commission. This is the Sun Temple. Under the rules, the owner receives a share of any adventuring income generated here."

"The Sun Lord? Where did this Sun Lord come from? It didn't say anything about that when I accepted the commission!"

Ben did a quick calculation. Losing five percent meant he would need to hunt ten more goblins. Time was already tight; even five more would have been hard to accept.

Wait, he suddenly remembered that the other examinees had been shouting for the Sun Lord to die.

The Sun Lord was here?

Ben hurriedly squeezed into the crowd and found everyone gathered around a table. Beside it sat a masked person leisurely drinking coffee.

He was still wearing the robe provided to the examinees.

He was an examinee?

"You're the Sun Lord?" Ben demanded.

"Unworthily, that would be me."

Jia Xiu answered calmly, utterly unaffected by the cries of "Sun Lord, die!" around him.

"What gives you the right to become the Sun Lord?"

"You tell me."

"You cheated!"

"The Eye of Detection is right behind me."

"You—you're shameless! I challenge you to a duel!"

"Let me remind you, the city guard system has been optimized. You won't be able to run now."

Ben gritted his teeth.

He did not have time to waste here. He still had to hurry back to the dungeon to hunt goblins.

Wait, he could get this man's identity and settle the score after the examination was over.

"Who are you?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"You don't dare say, do you?"

Jia Xiu smiled faintly.

"Since you have asked so sincerely."

The surrounding examinees immediately fell silent, waiting for Jia Xiu to announce his name. They were all waiting to settle the score with him.

"Then I shall mercifully tell you."

His smug, punchable tone drew even more hatred.

"I am the true great hero who roams divine kingdoms, treads through hell, hates that the heavens have no handle and the earth no ring, and oversees Larven and all the surrounding cities; the son of the Baron of Creekwood Town, Folen Territory, Iris Kingdom.

"Hannash—"

"Pfft..."

At the proctor's seat, Margaret, who had been drinking water, sprayed it out in one mouthful.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

No wonder he was wearing a mask. So this was what he had been waiting for.

Her windpipe aching from choking, Margaret had only one thought now.

What kind of student had she recruited...?