Level Three!

13,732 life points.

Without hesitation, Zhou Sining went all in, spending 7,000 on Spirit Essences to strengthen his Fire Element stars to the fourth level.

With Gangsha's 3.8-fold boost, Level Four Flame Burst could rival Fierce Fist: Heaven-Shaking Blast in single-target power if he activated his Domain!

That left him with 6,732 life points.

He spent 1,500 on three bottles of Beast Refining Blood and fed them all to the Flame Demon Tiger to make it stronger.

He exchanged 700 for 700 RMB.

He would hold on to the remaining 4,532 and decide how to spend it after military training ended.

By the time he finished, Zhou Sining had eaten his fill. He found a quiet spot and began meditating.

Over the remaining week of free-form military training, Zhou Sining's Gangsha flames put him in a league of his own. Unsurprisingly, he climbed to the top of the points leaderboard.

First among Ancient Capital Academy's five thousand freshmen!

He had secured a training spot in the Wild Goose Pagoda.

The academy was generous about it, too. After asking the students what they wanted, it immediately arranged for the three freshmen who had earned training spots to visit the Wild Goose Pagoda.

On the way to the Wild Goose Pagoda, Zhou Sining checked the System Shop.

[Zhou Sining]

[Life Points: 20.8 (self) / 15,800 (Demon Beasts)]

[Fire Element: Intermediate Level Two] [Innate Fire Element Devouring Seed] [Summoning System: Beginner Level 3] [Mind Element: Beginner Level 3]

[Demon-Slaying]

[Level: 7 (Intermediate Level / Advanced Level)]

[Current Draws: 27 (350 Life Points Required)]

[Permanent Items]

[1. Servant-level Spirit Essence, random quality. Life Points Required: 1,000]

[2. Spirit Seed of a chosen element. Life Points Required: 1,000]

[3. Spirit-grade Stardust Magic Tool. Life Points Required: 500]

[4. Spirit-grade Nebula Magic Tool. Life Points Required: 1,000]

[5. Random Magic Equipment, no stronger than Intermediate Level. Life Points Required: 1,200]

[6. 100 RMB. Life Points Required: 100]

[7. Life Points (self). Life Points Required: 20,000] (7 available; gone once sold out)

[Random Items (limit 3 purchases per day)]

[Soul-grade Nebula Magic Tool. Life Points Required: 1,500]

[Moon-Swallowing Giant Viper's Exotic Hide. Life Points Required: 10,000]

[Bone-Tempering Powder. Life Points Required: 600]

Looking over the items, Zhou Sining did not hesitate for long before deciding what to buy.

He spent 7,000 on seven Spirit Essences to keep strengthening his Fire Element stars. He wanted to learn Level Four Fierce Fist as soon as possible.

He spent 1,800 on Bone-Tempering Powder for the Flame Demon Tiger.

Then 1,500 on a Soul-grade Nebula Magic Tool. Who would train with a spirit-grade one when a soul-grade one was available?

That left 5,500. As usual, he first exchanged 700 for RMB to pad his wallet.

Next, he spent 1,000 on a Fire Element Spirit Seed.

[Artificial Spirit Seed: Jade Flame]

[Effect: Grants its absorber a twofold boost to flame power]

Zhou Sining tossed the jade-green Spirit Seed to Gangsha to swallow. Once they reached the Wild Goose Pagoda, he planned to absorb it completely in one go.

Unfortunately, Gangsha needed time to absorb each Spirit Seed and could only handle one at a time. Otherwise, Zhou Sining would have gone all in on them.

With a little luck, they might even help Gangsha break past the Spirit Seed stage and ascend to a Soul Seed.

Hmm... a Soul Seed...

Would that upgrade my talent into an Innate Soul Seed?

At the thought, Zhou Sining's heart beat a little faster.

If his talent upgraded along with it, he would become a Fire Element Calamity Victim!

He had only read as far as the part where Mo Fan brought Apas back to China and argued with Ling Ling. Still, after browsing the forums a few times, he knew a little of what happened next and had a good sense of how powerful Calamity Victims were.

Reality did not leave him much time to daydream, though. They had reached the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Having been there once before, Zhou Sining knew his way around. He headed straight for the second floor.

The Soul-grade Nebula Magic Tool provided a 60% boost to training speed. On top of that, he had the Speed-Control Magic Tool, the Soul-Consolidating Heart Chain, his exceptional control over fire, and his other training tools.

Together, they had already raised his training speed to roughly 2.5 times that of an ordinary person.

Add the second floor's fortyfold training boost, and that became a terrifying ninetyfold increase!

One day here was worth a full three months outside!

And since he had only three days to train in the Wild Goose Pagoda, the boost would not diminish over time. Even better.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhou Sining turned all his training tools up to full power and devoted himself entirely to his Fire Element.

In the Ancient Capital, the Fire Element was far more useful than the Summoning System or the Mind Element.

Besides, he liked the Fire Element more than the other two. It was his first, after all. How could he not favor it?

For an entire day, Zhou Sining focused on his Fire Element.

The effects of training at ninety times the usual speed were plain to see. Gangsha had finished absorbing Jade Flame and grown stronger, feeding a considerable amount of power back into the Nebula.

The white Fire Element Nebula, tinged with red, grew larger and larger. Its starlight grew brighter and denser.

Layer upon layer of starlight surged outward like waves, eager to break through the barrier holding it back.

At last, when that tiny world could no longer contain the starlight's drive toward a wider expanse, Zhou Sining held his breath and began battering the barrier.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

His mental power became a great wave that slammed against the invisible barrier.

About a month ago, he had left a small crack in it.

Now, with each successive impact, the crack widened and spread from that single point.

"Crack! Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

One crisp sound after another rang through his mind. Zhou Sining knew they were the footsteps of approaching victory.

His hunger for power drove him to keep striking the barrier, now covered in cracks.

At the very end, his excitement reached its peak.

At the heart of the Nebula, the wave formed from his mental power churned and swelled until it became a towering surge!

"Break, damn you!"

With his shout, the tsunami of mental power crashed into the barrier's weakest point!

"Crack! Crack!"

"Bang!!"

The barrier broke!

Freed from its confines, the white Nebula surged outward and soon filled the empty space beyond.

Its starlight was full, and its stars danced. Looking at the white cloud, now twice its former size, Zhou Sining felt joy from the bottom of his heart.

Fire Element, Intermediate Level 3. He had done it!

"Good. Keep the momentum going. Time to push the Summoning System and Mind Element through!"

Zhou Sining did not let up. Riding that surge of excitement, he turned his attention to the moon-white and pale-white Star Dust beside it.

Over the two days of training, the Summoning System and Mind Element Star Dust had grown fuller and fuller.

Less than a month had passed since they reached Beginner Level 3, yet they were already on the verge of breaking through to the Intermediate Level.

Advancing from Beginner to Intermediate was a breakthrough across an entire major level, far harder than advancing between minor levels.

Fortunately, Zhou Sining had already broken through once. He pushed himself, and in the little time left before he had to leave the Wild Goose Pagoda, he managed to advance both elements to the Intermediate Level at once.

Fire Element: Intermediate Level 3!

Summoning System: Intermediate Level!

Mind Element: Intermediate Level!

Freshman military training had only just ended, and he was already an esteemed Intermediate Mage in three elements.

Inside, Zhou Sining could not stop laughing.

College life, here I come. Time to show off, shut people up, and make everyone watch!