Magic College Entrance Exam, Earth Fiend

Night fell, and Zhou Sining returned to the hotel.

Su Zhe, who had been out taking care of business, was back too.

"How did it go? What element did you awaken?"

Zhou Sining's mouth twitched. He had only just calmed down, and now his emotions were stirring again.

Su Zhe: "???"

"It's nothing. It's a secret. I don't want to say."

"Hey, so you're playing mysterious now." Su Zhe laughed, but did not press him.

The two returned to the Ancient Capital the next day. After a few days of rest, Ancient Capital No. 3 High School opened on schedule.

With the second half of senior year underway, every magic high school in the Ancient Capital suspended duty assignments, leaving students all their time to study and cultivate.

After all, the college entrance exam did not test duty attendance or the number of Undead killed. It tested academic knowledge and magic cultivation.

Regional policies were one thing, but they could not override the rules of the college entrance exam.

Having already reached the Intermediate Level, Zhou Sining was not worried about the exam.

Compared with an exam he could handle easily, killing Undead to earn Life Points mattered more.

Since the school would not assign him duty, he simply took leave to cultivate at home.

He reviewed theory while finding time to kill Undead at the Outer City Wall.

He went about once every two weeks and earned nearly ten thousand Life Points each trip.

Over three and a half months, he went seven times, earning seventy thousand Life Points.

Added to the nineteen thousand or so he already had, his savings reached a staggering ninety thousand!

A full ninety thousand Life Points!

He managed to equip himself with an expensive set of Magic Equipment, while also acquiring a Spirit Level Nebula Magic Tool and an Array diagram.

Finally, he redeemed the Crimson Blade: Burning Heaven he had longed for.

He spent the remaining seventy thousand Life Points to exchange for lifespan.

[Zhou Sining]

[Life Points: 10 (own) / 12 (Demon Beast)]

[Fire Element Intermediate Level One] [Innate Fire Element Devouring Seed]

[Demon-Slaying]

[Level: 6 (712/15000)]

[Current Lottery Draws: 20 (300 Life Points required)]

Looking at his ten years of life, Zhou Sining could not have been happier.

Ten years!

That was a whole ten years of life. At last, he no longer had to live on edge.

And he now owned plenty of Magic Equipment and Magic Artifacts.

His Magic Artifacts included a Spirit Level Stardust Magic Tool, a Nebula Magic Tool, the Soul-Consolidating Heart Chain, the Soul-Consolidating Necklace, a Spirit Level Nebula Magic Tool, a Speed-Control Magic Tool, a Mana-Recovery Magical Artifact, and a Soul Vessel.

His Magic Equipment included Wind Blade Slash, the Nether Separation Shield, two Fire Element Star Chart Books, Nether Battle Armor, the Flying Lightning Boots, a Beginner Defensive Array diagram, and the Crimson Blade: Burning Heaven.

With equipment like that, even the children of the greatest families and Great Clans could not have obtained so many resources all at once.

As for the system, reaching level six had added little compared with level five.

All it added was a "Random Spirit Seed," a "Spirit Level Nebula Magic Tool," and two chances to exchange Life Points for lifespan.

That meant he now had only one chance left to exchange for lifespan.

But he was no longer worried about his lifespan.

With so much Magic Equipment and so many Magic Artifacts to help him, his magic cultivation had gone smoothly too.

By now, Zhou Sining could cast Beginner Magic in one second.

He could also complete a Star Map in three seconds.

His Fire Element Nebula had even touched an invisible barrier. He had tried to break through it several times, leaving countless cracks across it.

Just as a breakthrough came within reach, the college entrance exam arrived.

Even in this world, the magic college entrance exam remained the fairest path most magic students had to change their futures.

That was why the entire society paid close attention to it. Everyone was tense, and everyone made way for the exam.

At a time when all of society was on edge, perhaps the students taking the exam were the most relaxed.

For students in the Ancient Capital especially, the exam content seemed downright kind.

Theory and a magic assessment were far easier than risking their lives killing Undead at the Outer City Wall.

As for how well they scored... well, at this point, it no longer mattered.

He finished the written exam without a hitch, then had a day off.

Back home, Zhou Sining plunged straight into his Nebula.

The barrier was already riddled with cracks and on the verge of collapse, as though the slightest push would shatter it.

Under normal circumstances, he could never have cultivated this quickly. His Nebula could not have neared Intermediate Level Two in just half a year.

But he had been both lucky and unlucky.

On one hand, the system had solved his shortage of cultivation resources.

On the other, since he had failed to awaken a second element, he could devote all his energy to the Fire Element.

Gangsha had also greatly strengthened his control over flames, giving him an exceptional affinity with his Fire Element Stardust.

Cultivation came almost effortlessly, and his progress was astonishingly fast.

Should I try breaking through again?

He had nothing else to do anyway, so he might as well try once more.

Zhou Sining sat cross-legged on his bed, held his breath, and steadied his mind. For who knew how many times now, he focused on breaking through the barrier.

Within his chaotic Spiritual World, his white Fire Element Nebula stood proud, burning fiercely like an eternal sun.

But that heat was not enough. Zhou Sining needed it to burn brighter and fiercer still!

Whenever he thought about his failed awakening, anger surged through him.

Without a second element, his flames had to burn twice as bright, twice as strong, and twice as fiercely if he wanted to keep up with ordinary Dual Elements mages.

That was why he had spent the past three and a half months repeatedly trying to reach Intermediate Level Two.

Anger swallowed part of his reason, and his emotions surged.

He concentrated every thought on his Fire Element Nebula, hammering the entire cloud with his Spiritual Power.

The Nebula would use that force to expand, like a cosmic nebula claiming the surrounding dust and endless darkness, spreading its light farther afield.

To make that happen, mages had to strike at the barrier again and again with their minds.

If Spiritual Power was a wave, it had to crash through the surrounding wall of endless dark Chaos. Once those shackles broke, the Nebula would expand, its Magic Energy would swell, and its Stardust would rise to a new level!

The two Nebula Magic Tools and the Soul-Consolidating Heart Chain flashed faster and faster, signaling that the breakthrough had reached its critical moment.

His Spiritual Power became a surging tide, spreading outward from the center of the Nebula.

The farther it traveled, the higher and fiercer the wave grew.

This was Zhou Sining's last chance to break through this time. Every hope rested on this one blow.

Break! Zhou Sining roared inwardly.

Rumble!!!

The rolling tide gathered into a towering wave, then crashed with overwhelming force against the fractured wall of Chaos!

Bang!

Crack!

With a sharp snap, the wall of Chaos dissolved into scattered starlight.

In the blink of an eye, the white Fire Element Nebula doubled in size. Its starlight grew denser, like a thick quilt of cotton.

Zhou Sining's eyes flew open. The white Nebula suddenly expanded in his pupils, then rapidly collapsed, finally condensing into the deepest corner of his vision.

He had reached Intermediate Level Two!

His Magic Energy had doubled, and he could now cast Earth Fiend, a spell twice as powerful as Fierce Fist: Heaven-Shaking Blast.

The magic assessment was tomorrow.

At the thought, one corner of Zhou Sining's mouth curled into an arrogant, confident grin!