Clang!
A resounding bell rang through the Class Hall. The flecks of golden light radiating from the class-change platform instantly converged, forming a portal of light!
"It's begun-the Apprentice Trial!"
Principal Ji Changlin surveyed the students, watching them being drawn into the trial portal one after another, his expression grave.
"I'm not asking for outstanding trial results this year. I only hope these children stay cautious and put safety first!"
As he spoke, he looked at Yi Tian and Bai Qiu Li. "Especially you two. Give up when you need to. Staying alive matters most!"
Yi Tian said nothing, merely making an OK gesture.
He stepped into the trial portal alongside Bai Qiu Li.
Golden light flashed, and the scene before them abruptly changed.
Wonder filled Yi Tian's face. It felt as though he had entered a new world in the blink of an eye.
They stood deep within an enormous forest. The sky was a murky gray, and mist shrouded their surroundings, making it difficult to find their bearings. Everything felt cold and desolate.
Although all the students had entered the same secret realm, each team landed at a random location. Only Yi Tian and Bai Qiu Li were here.
[Trial objectives issued!] [1. Kill at least 10 Ferocious Beasts to complete the trial for the entire team. The more monsters you kill, the higher your score.] [2. Cross Graymist Forest and reach the secret realm's exit to complete the trial for the entire team.] [Challenge objective: Find and kill the trial boss. (Danger!)]
Yi Tian looked at the mission panel that had popped up and noticed the two-hour countdown in its upper-right corner. Once time ran out, they would automatically be teleported out of the secret realm.
"So much to do, so little time."
He turned his head and suddenly noticed Bai Qiu Li beneath a dead tree, searching for something...
"What are you looking for?"
"Witherbud moss." Bai Qiu Li carefully examined the roots of one tree after another. "Neither of us is much of a fighter. If we want to pass, our only option is to find the exit."
"Rubbing witherbud moss on ourselves mimics the scent of dead plants, reducing the chance of a Ferocious Beast attacking us."
"There's no need for that."
With a sweep of his hand, Yi Tian activated his class skill, [Recruit/Invest], on Bai Qiu Li.
[Please select an investment opportunity: Legendary (20 funds)/Epic (10 funds)]
With a golden-potential recruit before him, Yi Tian decisively went all in, choosing to invest in a legendary class.
The next moment-
An employment contract appeared out of thin air in Bai Qiu Li's hands!
"What's this?" Bai Qiu Li blinked, bewildered.
She had never heard of having to sign a contract just to team up!
"I'm a responsible boss, you know. Of course I need a contract when I hire someone!"
Meeting Bai Qiu Li's confused gaze, Yi Tian reassured her, "Don't worry. Sign this, and you won't get cheated or lose out..."
But before he could finish, his expression abruptly changed.
"Watch out!"
A dark shape raced out of the forest mist, charging toward Bai Qiu Li like a gale sweeping across the ground.
Bai Qiu Li reacted with incredible speed. Planting both hands on the ground, she flipped backward, narrowly dodging the attack.
Ambushes like this were common in the mist-shrouded trial forest.
"A Savage Bone Bull Demon!"
"What rotten luck!"
As the dark shape came into view, Bai Qiu Li identified it instantly.
The next moment, having just evaded a lethal blow, she drew the ordinary iron longsword awarded to her by the school without the slightest hesitation and thrust!
Yi Tian silently admired her. After charging, a Savage Bone Bull Demon would be immobilized for about a second-the ideal time to counterattack.
That was the theory, anyway. Most people would be terrified after narrowly escaping a potentially fatal blow.
Very few could react and strike back immediately like Bai Qiu Li!
Clang-
The iron longsword struck the Savage Bone Bull Demon's hind leg, leaving only a shallow wound on its armor-like, dark-brown hide.
"Not enough strength!"
Although the Savage Bone Bull Demon was only a low-tier Ferocious Beast, Bai Qiu Li's strength was just 5, making it difficult for her to inflict any serious damage.
"Want more strength?"
As Yi Tian spoke, he suddenly felt like a devil tempting a mortal. "Sign it. A handprint works too."
"Will it give me some kind of buff?"
Bai Qiu Li looked puzzled. The contract didn't seem to contain any exploitative terms, so she assumed it was some sort of buff skill belonging to Yi Tian.
Seeing the Savage Bone Bull Demon recover from its immobilized state...
She pressed her handprint onto the contract where it said [Party B].
Boom!
In an instant, a brilliant golden pillar of light pierced the clouds without warning!
The Savage Bone Bull Demon had just regained its senses, only to stumble backward several steps in fright.
Yi Tian couldn't help marveling. "A legendary class awakening really does make a huge scene."
"I'll have to be careful if I change someone's class outside a secret realm in the future."
Ripples stirred in Bai Qiu Li's eyes, normally as still as a frozen lake. Bathed in golden light, she stood utterly stunned.
The girl who could normally react to a Ferocious Beast's ambush in a fraction of a second took a full five seconds to register the panel's notification chime.
[You have accepted the 'Boss's' recruitment offer. Your original Gardener class has been replaced...] [Class changed to legendary class: Cold Moon Swordsman (Apprentice)!]
"Am I dreaming...?"
Bai Qiu Li stared blankly at her hands. Throughout her ten years of diligent study and training, she had often dreamed of this moment.
Yet now, at her most desperate hour, it had become reality!
Bai Qiu Li hadn't cried even when she became a Gardener and her dream shattered. Now, however, two trails of tears silently slid down her cheeks.
Even an Autobot would shed a couple drops of gasoline at a scene like this.
The odd thought crossed Yi Tian's mind. Then he looked at the Savage Bone Bull Demon, which was about to flee in terror, and suggested:
"How about killing it before you cry?"
At his words, Bai Qiu Li opened her eyes and raised the iron longsword once more.
From several meters away, a streak of icy sword energy tore through the mist. Amid the bull demon's agonized howl, it sliced the creature in half, frost forming along the cut.
One swing. An instant kill!
Killing it with a single ranged strike showed that both Bai Qiu Li's compatibility with a swordsman class and the attributes of her legendary class were far greater than Yi Tian had imagined.
He opened the employee panel and checked Bai Qiu Li's attributes:
[Employee - Bai Qiu Li] [Class]: Cold Moon Swordsman (Tier 0) (Apprentice) (The investment opportunity displays the class name after Tier 4. The current name is the Tier 0 class name.) [Quality]: Legendary [Level]: 0 [Strength]: 35 [Agility]: 40 [Constitution]: 25 [Spirit]: 30 [Class talent: Cold Moon Art] [Class skills: Cold Moon Sword Dance, Moonshadow Step, Cold Light Sword Soul]
Yi Tian sucked in a sharp breath... With attributes like these, was a legendary-class holder even human?
Her starting attributes were already more than three times those of an ordinary class holder!
Even the strongest rare class among this year's seniors had only about half her attributes.
She also had one more skill and one more talent than a rare class!
No wonder every country nurtured legendary-class holders like precious treasures. With attributes and skills like these alone, their future achievements were bound to be extraordinary.
Legendary classes really were absurd!
Meanwhile, Yi Tian received several notifications:
[You have successfully recruited Employee - Bai Qiu Li and gained her attributes: Strength +35, Agility +40, Constitution +25, Spirit +30!] [You have gained the following talent/skills: Cold Moon Art, Cold Moon Sword Dance, Moonshadow Step, Cold Light Sword Soul!] (Employees' attribute growth and newly acquired class skills are also shared.) [Employee - Bai Qiu Li has killed the Ferocious Beast Savage Bone Bull Demon. You share the experience gained: Experience +30!]
Yi Tian nodded without a hint of embarrassment.
"Luckily, my class is even more absurd..."
At the same time, almost every student inside the secret realm saw the golden pillar of light soaring into the sky!
The pillar piercing the clouds was far too dazzling against the gray forest. It was impossible not to notice.
Elsewhere, another team had also killed a Savage Bone Bull Demon.
The boy leading them was Liu Chuang, whose rare class was [Storm Fighter]. His right arm was covered in blood, and he grimaced from the pain of the bull demon's earlier charge.
"Lin Yu, hurry up and heal me!"
The girl he called was none other than Lin Yu, the one who had mocked Bai Qiu Li back in the hall. She was a rare-class Priest.
It was precisely because of her rare class that she had joined this team with such high average combat strength.
"With five rare-class holders, we're practically the strongest team in our year!"
"Let's try to break First High's trial score record!"
Liu Chuang's injuries slowly healed under the healing spell. "Then we won't just get a reward from the principal-we can secure guaranteed admission too..."
Lin Yu's eyes burned with excitement at his words. Much of her jealousy toward Bai Qiu Li stemmed from that guaranteed admission spot at a prestigious university!
Now Bai Qiu Li had no hope whatsoever, while she had a chance!
"Holy crap! What's that?"
The towering golden pillar of light instantly caught Liu Chuang and the others' attention!
"They say danger and opportunity go hand in hand in secret realms. Could this be our opportunity?"
"Whatever. We can't find our bearings in Graymist Forest anyway. Let's fight our way over and take a look!"
Before you continue