On the way.
At those words, the corner of Ji Xiuneng's eye twitched violently.
He made entering the highest-level conference room in the Jiang City Lord's Manor sound as casual as going out for groceries.
Just how powerful was this man?
Han Qianshan hurriedly spoke.
"How would you like us to assist you, sir?"
The man in black looked at him.
"Pull up Lu Fang's complete file."
Without the slightest hesitation, Han Qianshan immediately accessed his city lord privileges.
Soon, encrypted documents appeared one after another on the screen of light.
Everything about Lu Fang, from his birth to his enrollment, from his family relationships to his class awakening, from the incident at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School to his Frost Cavern clear, had been compiled into a file.
The man in black merely raised his hand and tapped.
All the information turned into a tiny point of light, which he gathered into his palm.
The entire process took less than ten seconds, and he turned to leave.
Han Qianshan hurriedly spoke.
"Sir, as for Lu Fang..."
The man in black paused.
"Don't tell him for now."
"And keep this quiet."
"Above all, don't tell anyone I was here."
His gaze swept over Han Qianshan and Ji Xiuneng.
His eyes were clearly calm, yet both men felt a pressure welling up from the depths of their souls.
"Understood?"
Han Qianshan immediately bowed.
"Understood."
"Not a single word will leak from Jiang City."
The man in black nodded.
The next second.
His figure simply faded before their eyes.
There was no glow from a teleportation array.
There were no fluctuations from space being torn open.
Like a drop of ink falling into water, he vanished without a sound.
Silence returned to the conference room.
Yet Ji Xiuneng and Han Qianshan remained speechless for a long time.
A layer of cold sweat had already seeped down Ji Xiuneng's back.
Only after a long while did he look at Han Qianshan.
"City Lord, just who was that?"
Han Qianshan drew a deep breath, his eyes still filled with profound shock.
"Heavenly Dragon."
Ji Xiuneng's brows knitted tightly.
"Heavenly Dragon?"
Han Qianshan glanced at him.
"It's only natural that you don't know."
"That name was never something ordinary class holders were qualified to encounter."
Ji Xiuneng's heart sank.
Han Qianshan spoke slowly.
"The Dragon Nation has five great academies, sacred grounds in the hearts of all young class holders."
"But above those five great academies, there's a place that truly stands among the clouds."
"That's Heavenly Dragon."
Ji Xiuneng's pupils contracted slightly.
Han Qianshan continued.
"Heavenly Dragon doesn't recruit publicly."
"Nor does it participate in any public rankings."
"It isn't part of a university, the regular military, or the local administrative system."
"It answers only to the Dragon Nation's highest leadership."
"Every single person there is a monster selected from countless powerhouses."
"Even the finest graduates of the five great academies merely qualify to take part in the selection."
Boom!
It was as though a thunderclap had exploded in Ji Xiuneng's mind.
The finest graduates of the five great academies.
Only they qualified to take part in the selection?
What did that mean?
The five great academies were already the pinnacle for the Dragon Nation's young class holders.
Those who graduated from them were already geniuses countless people looked up to.
Yet Heavenly Dragon actually conducted another round of selection from only the very best of those geniuses!
This was no sacred ground.
This was a sacred ground above sacred grounds!
Ji Xiuneng's voice had grown somewhat dry.
"No wonder..."
"No wonder nobody from the five great academies came."
Han Qianshan nodded, his gaze complicated.
"If Heavenly Dragon has taken an interest in Lu Fang, the five great academies naturally wouldn't dare compete for him."
"Or rather, they're no longer even qualified to make a move."
Ji Xiuneng felt his scalp tingle.
Just last night, he had been speculating that the five great academies would fight like mad over Lu Fang in the future.
Now it seemed they had still underestimated Lu Fang's significance.
An unprecedented light suddenly flared in Han Qianshan's eyes.
"If Lu Fang really passes Heavenly Dragon's assessment and gets selected..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"Then Jiang City will definitely have hope."
Ji Xiuneng let out a long breath.
"This kid..."
"He's just too damn terrifying!"
Lu Fang spent the entire following day at the Class Center.
10:10 a.m.
[Lava Ruins · Hell difficulty] [Solo clear] [Time: 34 minutes, 12 seconds] [Rating: SSS]
Previous all-time fastest record: 4 hours, 5 minutes.
11:30 a.m.
[Poison Mist Swamp · Hell difficulty] [Solo clear] [Time: 37 minutes, 56 seconds] [Rating: SSS]
Previous all-time fastest record: 4 hours, 41 minutes.
1:00 p.m.
[Bone Graveyard · Hell difficulty] [Solo clear] [Time: 32 minutes, 9 seconds] [Rating: SSS]
Previous all-time fastest record: 3 hours, 58 minutes.
2:20 p.m.
[Thunder Canyon · Hell difficulty] [Solo clear] [Time: 41 minutes, 33 seconds] [Rating: SSS]
Clear records were broken one after another at a frenzied pace.
Every time Lu Fang entered a dungeon, he only just met its minimum entry level.
He entered a level 13 dungeon at level 13.
A level 20 dungeon at level 20.
A level 25 dungeon at level 25.
And every single one was on Hell difficulty.
Every clear was solo.
Every rating was SSS.
Every clear shattered the Jiang City Class Center's all-time record by a huge margin.
Liu Cheng stood at the dungeon entrance, staring blankly at the screen of light.
"He went in again."
He had been shocked since morning, and by now, he could no longer muster any more shock.
In a single day, Lu Fang entered dungeons sixteen times in succession.
Even though the EXP required to level up grew increasingly outrageous, Lu Fang still powered his way to level 40!
When the news reached the City Lord's Manor, Ji Xiuneng and Han Qianshan were discussing Jiang City's defensive arrangements.
The communicator rang.
Ji Xiuneng answered.
After listening, he remained silent for a long time.
Then he hung up expressionlessly.
Han Qianshan glanced at him.
"Lu Fang again?"
Ji Xiuneng nodded.
"Yes."
Han Qianshan rubbed his brow.
"What level dungeon did he clear this time?"
"Thirty-nine."
"..."
"That kid must already be level 40, right?"
"He probably is."
The conference room fell silent again.
He had only awakened yesterday.
Today, he was level 40.
What kind of leveling speed was that?
How long did a normal newcomer need to go from level 1 to level 40?
Even a genius with a full party, every resource available, and nonstop dungeon runs would need at least several months.
But Lu Fang?
One day.
And that single day had passed right under their noses.
After a moment of silence, Han Qianshan suddenly asked.
"What's Jiang City's record for the fastest first class advancement?"
Ji Xiuneng quickly answered.
"Six months."
"The record Lu Tianxiong set back then."
Han Qianshan looked out the window.
"The first class advancement requires level 100."
"How long do you think it'll take Lu Fang to get there?"
Ji Xiuneng thought for a moment.
"Half a month?"
The moment he said it, even he felt it sounded a little absurd.
The first class advancement in half a month.
In the past, that would have been sheer lunacy.
Yet when it came to Lu Fang, he actually felt it was rather conservative.
Han Qianshan shook his head.
"I'd say ten days."
The corner of Ji Xiuneng's mouth twitched.
"City Lord, you dream even bigger than I do."
Han Qianshan gave a wry smile.
"It's not that I dream big."
"It's that this kid defies all reason."
Ji Xiuneng had no answer to that.
Indeed.
Lu Fang's existence was already beyond what conventional logic could explain.
For everyone else, leveling meant fighting monsters, resting, coordinating, recovering, and reviewing.
For Lu Fang, leveling meant entering a dungeon, running through the map, clearing it, coming out, and moving on to the next one.
To him, dungeons weren't so much danger zones.
They were more like an EXP assembly line.