Can't Let Anything Keep My Employee from Working! The First Dividend!

Ji Changlin, Wei Yuan, and the others left the hall.

Only the teachers and dean of Second High School remained inside, chatting among themselves.

"I wonder which team from our school will manage a decent result this year?"

"I specifically told Liu Chuang to put together a team of five rare classes. They should be able to earn an A rating and salvage some pride for this year's students..."

"Excellent foresight, Dean!"

"Look! A team has a rating!"

At one teacher's excited cry, the dean and the others turned toward the trial rankings.

The first entry on the board had quietly changed.

[Trial rating rankings-First place: Yi Tian's team. Member: Bai Qiu Li. Current rating: D!]

"They killed ten ferocious beasts already? With only two people!?"

"It's Qiu Li! Isn't she a gardener? How did she do it?"

"Yi Tian!... Wait, which class was he in again?"

The teachers were astounded. Even a five-person team would struggle to kill ten ferocious beasts so quickly.

And Bai Qiu Li had still been a gardener before entering the secret realm.

"Maybe they picked off some weakened beasts?" one teacher suggested. "If they stumbled across two packs fighting and seized the chance to finish off the injured ones... It's a stretch, but that seems like the only explanation."

Yet no sooner had he finished speaking than the board changed again.

Before a second-place team had even appeared, Yi Tian's team's rating rose once more.

[...Current rating: D → C!]

"???"

The teacher who had just proposed that theory froze, and everyone else looked equally stunned.

"A C rating requires twenty kills. They finished that in just a minute or two!?"

"There's only one explanation. They're killing monsters incredibly quickly, maybe even in a single hit!"

"Wouldn't that take the stats of an epic class?"

But it didn't stop there.

Within a single hour, the rate at which Yi Tian's team's rating climbed had every teacher staring wide-eyed at the board, despite having given up hope of any impressive results this year.

Five minutes later, C → B!

Fifteen minutes later, B → A!

Thirty minutes later, A → S!

"Quick! Get the principal back here!!" the dean shouted, unable to contain his excitement.

"What has you so excited?"

Ji Changlin returned to the hall to find the teachers beside themselves.

The dean pulled him over to the trial rankings, and a huge S rating reflected in Ji Changlin's eyes.

"An S rating in less than an hour!!!"

Ji Changlin's voice rose, his whole body trembling with excitement... Not even the two epic-class holders who shared the best record in Second High School's history had managed this!

"Bai Qiu Li was definitely a gardener. There must be something special about Yi Tian's class!"

He clapped his hands and paced excitedly.

"Quick! Get the supervisor back here!!"

If the people outside could have seen the fighting inside the secret realm, they would have thought even more highly of that S rating.

Because Bai Qiu Li had earned that entire S rating with her sword, all by herself!

Yi Tian had done nothing but coast.

And aside from weapons, Yi Tian got first pick of all the equipment.

If the other boys had seen this, they would have risked their lives to punish that freeloader.

The school beauty, adored by countless admirers, had been turned into Yi Tian's foot soldier without the slightest consideration!

Even worse, the school beauty herself thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Whew! That felt great!"

Blood from a fiend dripped from her sword tip. Bai Qiu Li's face glowed with exhilaration as she shouted, utterly unconcerned with appearances.

"Once we cross this swamp, we'll reach the trial boss."

"Very good."

Yi Tian applauded in genuine admiration. Hiring one Bai Qiu Li was definitely more efficient than hiring a dozen ordinary people!

This girl was practically a teenage killing machine!

Not only was her swordsmanship sublime, but she was also ruthless against fiends, striking swiftly at their weaknesses and excelling at killing with the least possible expenditure of stamina.

"But are you really going to let me take all the experience?"

Bai Qiu Li had taken all the experience along the way, and she couldn't help feeling guilty toward Yi Tian.

Yi Tian, however, looked relaxed and happy. He waved a hand. "Just focus on killing monsters."

As her boss, he meant every word.

Every last bit of experience would be shared with him anyway.

What a joke!

Since when did the boss have to work?

Bai Qiu Li's mind, however, raced.

What does he mean?

Does he think I'm not working hard enough!?

Sometimes, a woman's train of thought was impossible to follow.

Bai Qiu Li raised her chin slightly, a hint of pride in her cool expression.

"Don't worry. I'll work harder than anyone!"

"?"

Yi Tian looked puzzled... Suddenly, he felt that this batch of employees was wonderfully easy to manage. They even manipulated themselves into working harder.

Bai Qiu Li surveyed the path ahead, then turned to Yi Tian with a serious expression.

"This swamp is hard to cross. One wrong step and you'll sink... Let me carry you!"

Yi Tian said, "???"

Bai Qiu Li had considered Yi Tian a support-class holder all along.

And most support classes had very low agility, hence her offer.

But if Bai Qiu Li really carried him across, what would become of his dignity as her boss?

"That won't be necessary."

With that, Yi Tian leaped up. With 50 agility, he skimmed across the swamp like a dragonfly touching water, as easily as walking on solid ground.

Bai Qiu Li looked astonished.

Why does it feel like his agility is no lower than mine?

Seeing that Yi Tian had already reached the opposite bank, Bai Qiu Li hurried after him.

The two reached the depths of Graymist Forest and immediately spotted a hideous fiend.

It was a troll standing four or five meters tall, its enormous body covered in rough, knotted muscle. Two sharp tusks jutted from its lower jaw, and its arms were as thick as tree trunks. The mere sight of it radiated power.

"A troll. A medium-sized elite fiend."

"High strength, but long intervals between attacks. Its size is another disadvantage. Weak points: eyes, back of the head, knees, and elbows."

In an instant, Bai Qiu Li recalled all the troll's weaknesses.

Then she stepped forward, sword in hand. "Boss, I'm going in!"

"Roar!" The troll spotted them and charged with a furious bellow, its footsteps shaking the ground!

Yi Tian had no doubts about Bai Qiu Li's abilities. Even if her stats fell a little short of the troll's, her skills and combat expertise could easily make up the difference.

An ordinary person who acquired a legendary class and a swordsmanship prodigy who acquired one had completely different levels of fighting power!

In just three or four exchanges, Bai Qiu Li severed the troll's right forearm!

For most huge creatures, joints were among their weaknesses.

But now, the troll had also gone berserk.

Bai Qiu Li had little stamina left. She held her breath and focused, her gaze turning icy as the cold gleam of her sword intensified.

"Cold Moon Sword Dance!"

Facing the roaring, charging troll, Bai Qiu Li seemed to merge with the moonlight. Her sword became a streak of white light, forming ten sword-dancing afterimages ahead of her.

Sword energy swept in every direction, cold light spilling everywhere.

In an instant, the sword-wielding afterimages, each in a different dancing pose, left trails of blood across the troll's body.

[Cold Moon Sword Dance: Condenses sword energy into 10 sword-dancing afterimages ahead, which dart through and slash all enemies within 1 second. Grants invincibility during the slashes and inflicts additional detonation damage upon completion.]

Pop!

The bloody lines burst open. Blood sprayed from the troll's entire body, its roar turning into a scream as it crashed heavily to the ground.

As the Cold Moon Swordsman's highest-damage skill, it dealt nearly fifteen to twenty times the damage of a normal attack!

Such was the terrifying power of a legendary combat class.

Feeling that her mana and stamina had bottomed out, Bai Qiu Li was just about to release a long breath...

But in the next instant, her pupils contracted.

"No kill notification!?"

Suddenly, the fallen troll opened its blood-red eyes. Summoning its last strength, it swung its left arm desperately, sweeping across the ground toward Bai Qiu Li!

"This boss really has a lot of health. Even that didn't finish it off..."

Watching from the sidelines, Yi Tian had already noticed.

The troll's dying counterattack wouldn't kill Bai Qiu Li, but it would at least leave her seriously injured, perhaps with broken bones. Yi Tian didn't want that.

It would keep his employee from working!

As the troll swung its arm, Yi Tian took out an iron axe dropped by one of the lesser monsters and hurled it like a javelin!

Bang!

With a rush of air past her ear, Bai Qiu Li, who had braced herself to take the blow, discovered in astonishment that the axe had killed the troll behind her on the spot!

His strength... Why does that seem higher than mine too!?

Bai Qiu Li was bewildered.

Meanwhile, a long series of notification panels appeared before Yi Tian.

[Trial secret realm boss-Troll slain. Your team's rating has increased from S to SSS!]

[Maximum rating reached. Automatically exiting the secret realm!]

[You have passed the novice trial. Class novice status removed. Accumulated experience released. Your level has increased to level 6!]

[Employee-Bai Qiu Li has reached level 6. Shared growth stats gained: Strength +60, Agility +72, Constitution +42, Spirit +48!]

[Employee Bai Qiu Li has placed first in Second High School's novice trial. You have received a "dividend": Funds +5!]

[Employee Bai Qiu Li has achieved an SSS trial rating, earning the honor: Best trial result in Qingcheng's history. You have received a "dividend": Funds +25, High-tier equipment mystery box ×1!]