"Hiss..."
The instant Lu Fang saw the stats clearly, he could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
Strong!
Too strong!
His original skill, "Spend a Thousand Gold," had advanced into "Ten Thousand Gold, Unbreakable."
Although the cost had risen from ten thousand gold coins to twenty thousand, that was mere pocket change to Lu Fang, whose fortune numbered in the hundreds of millions.
The key was the effect!
The duration had doubled to two seconds!
The shield's maximum value had also doubled outright, reaching a staggering two million points!
A two-million-point shield...
After all, that level 50 Hell Demon General today had only had two million HP.
That meant casually activating a shield was equivalent to putting a level 50 boss's health bar over Lu Fang's head!
What was more, the cooldown had changed from once a day to twice a day.
Satisfied, Lu Fang slipped the ring back onto his finger, feeling thoroughly reassured.
Night had fallen.
Lu Fang lay in bed, toying with the ring in his hand.
Once things quieted down, longing surged in like a tide.
He thought of his parents.
So much had happened today. He had awakened with an SSS-rank rating, single-handedly killed three level 100 experts, and secured the Guard Team's highest pledge...
The people he most wanted to share all this glory with were his parents.
"I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing."
Lu Fang rolled over and deftly dialed the encrypted number known only to his family.
Beep... beep... beep...
A monotonous ringing tone came through the receiver.
Once, twice, three times...
Until the call automatically disconnected, there was still only a busy tone on the other end. No one answered.
Watching his phone screen gradually dim, Lu Fang frowned slightly.
"Are they still busy?"
Earlier, during the awakening ceremony, his father had answered his call and transferred him money, but there had been no word from him since.
Logically, no matter how demanding the mission was, with so much time having passed, there should at least have been a reply.
Especially with such a major incident in Jiang City today. The Guard Team would certainly report the Blood Wolf Association's surprise attack. As pillars of Jiang City, his parents could not possibly have missed the news.
"Maybe they're in a signal-blocked area."
Thinking this, Lu Fang forcibly suppressed that trace of unease.
At the same time, in the abyssal rift.
Lu Tianxiong and Su Qingyu had just joined forces to kill a level 410 abyssal monster and were resting back to back.
"I wonder what class Fangfang awakened."
Lu Tianxiong spoke with some self-reproach.
"It's such an important day, yet we couldn't be there with him. Sigh."
Su Qingyu said with a smile.
"Let's finish the mission quickly and get home sooner."
"All right!"
Feeling that they had recovered sufficiently, the two were about to continue fighting.
Suddenly!!!
A spatial crack inexplicably opened before them.
"What's going on?!!!"
Their entire bodies tensed. They were about to flee, only to discover to their shock that they had been restrained and could not move at all.
"Oh? Are these two that person's parents?"
Gradually, a huge scarlet eyeball emerged from the crack, swiveling up, down, left, and right as it examined them.
"Come with me..."
Half an hour later.
The Jiang City Guard Team's central command.
Ji Xiuneng sat in his office, a pale blue encrypted light screen floating before him.
On it was the profile he had compiled on Lu Fang.
[Name: Lu Fang] [Age: 18] [Awakened class: Unknown mysterious class] [Beginner secret realm results: Cleared floor 15] [Final rating: SSS rank] [Time taken: 1 minute 17 seconds] [Special combat achievements: Killed three level 100 experts from the Blood Wolf Association] [Detailed account follows: ...]
Looking at the line listing the special combat achievements, Ji Xiuneng's heart could not help giving a violent jolt, even though he had already verified the scene himself.
This was simply too outrageous.
If he had not personally visited Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, seen the three Blood Wolf Association leaders' corpses with his own eyes, and heard the principal's and vice principal's testimonies with his own ears, he would absolutely have thought this report was nonsense written by some lunatic.
But facts were facts.
Ji Xiuneng took a deep breath and tapped the light screen.
[Confirm submission to the Dragon Nation Guard Team headquarters?] [Confirm.]
Buzz!
The encrypted files instantly turned into a streak of light, traveling directly to the Dragon Nation Guard Team headquarters through the highest-level military communications channel.
Only after finishing all this did Ji Xiuneng lean back in his chair and let out a long breath.
Beside him, the deputy captain had held back for a long time, but finally could not resist speaking.
"Captain, with the abilities Lu Fang displayed today, he probably doesn't even need to take the college entrance exam, does he?"
Ji Xiuneng glanced at him.
The deputy captain swallowed, his eyes filled with shock and envy.
"Once word of this record gets out, won't all the class advancement universities go crazy trying to recruit him?"
Ji Xiuneng fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"That's true."
"I'm afraid even the Dragon Nation's five top class advancement universities will offer him direct admission."
The deputy captain drew in a sharp breath.
"The five great schools..."
As soon as those words were spoken, even the air in the office seemed to grow heavier.
The Dragon Nation's five top class advancement universities.
Abyss Suppression Academy.
Heavenly Martial University.
Stars Academy.
Divine Mechanism Institute.
Holy Spirit Academy.
They were sacred grounds in the hearts of countless class holders.
For an ordinary student, getting into a key provincial class advancement university was already enough to bring honor to their ancestors.
Anyone who entered a first-rate class advancement university in the Dragon Nation could be called a genius.
As for the five great schools?
They were places ordinary geniuses could not even hope to enter.
Gathered there were the most monstrous talents in the entire Dragon Nation, the seeds of those who would one day guard the nation's borders, wage war in the abyss, and stand at humanity's pinnacle.
Every year, tens of millions of awakened people across the country competed in the college entrance exam.
Only a few thousand could truly step into the five great schools.
Every single one was a monster who had fought their way out of their respective provinces and cities.
The deputy captain stared blankly, unable to stop himself from murmuring.
"That's every class holder's dream..."
"If I'd gotten into one of the five great schools back then, even just to sweep the floors, my dad would've given me a whole page to myself in the family genealogy."
Ji Xiuneng shot him a glance.
"Keep dreaming."
"Even the floor sweepers at the five great schools are at least level 200 life-class holders."
The deputy captain: "..."
That hurt.
Ji Xiuneng looked back at the light screen, a trace of complexity flashing through his eyes as well.
Was he envious?
Of course he was.
What class holder had not dreamed of entering the five great schools when they were young?
Unfortunately, reality was cruel.
Talent, class, resources, combat achievements-not one could be missing.
Even Lu Fang's parents, Lu Tianxiong and Su Qingyu, who had been once-in-a-century geniuses in Jiang City back then, had still failed to get into the five great schools.
They had ultimately attended a first-rate class advancement university in the Dragon Nation.
That was already dazzling enough.
But now.
Their son probably would not even need to take the exam.
The five great schools would extend olive branches of their own accord.
It would not even be a matter of Lu Fang begging to join a school, but of which school could offer terms that satisfied him.
At this thought, Ji Xiuneng could not help giving a bitter chuckle.
"That kid really is even more of a monster than his parents."
The deputy captain was just about to respond.
Suddenly.
Ring, ring!
The red encrypted communicator on the desk rang without warning.
Ji Xiuneng's expression shifted slightly.
This communicator was not on an ordinary line.
It would only ring for emergencies of the highest level involving Jiang City.
He answered immediately.
"This is Ji Xiuneng."
The next second.
A low, hoarse voice came from the other end.
After hearing only a few sentences, Ji Xiuneng's expression froze.
His whole body seemed frozen in place.
The color drained from his face at a visible speed.
Noticing something was wrong, the deputy captain asked tentatively.
"Captain, what's wrong?"
Ji Xiuneng did not answer.
His fingers gripped the communicator tightly, his knuckles white and his lips trembling slightly.
A few more seconds passed.
The call ended.
Clack.
The communicator slipped from Ji Xiuneng's hand and hit the desktop with a soft sound.
The deputy captain's heart lurched.
In all his years serving under Ji Xiuneng, he had never seen this expression on his captain's face.
It was not shock.
Nor was it anger.
It was a terror that verged on collapse.
"Captain, what exactly happened?"
Ji Xiuneng slowly raised his head, his voice unbearably hoarse.
"The sky has fallen."