At those words, Lu Wu approached the wooden dummies, choosing a distance farther away than anyone else's.
Everyone chose their own distance, and the judges would score them based on various factors.
Lu Wu did not mind those people discussing his dark history.
After all, they were not making it up out of thin air. What was there that they could not talk about?
Lu Wu had chosen to go last because he wanted to see how the others performed. Although none of the scores had been announced yet, he at least had a rough idea.
So far, Wu Xiaoxiao, Mu Nujiao, and Dongfang Qing of the Fire Element were the strongest-all three of them girls.
As for him, he needed to take first place without fully exposing his strength.
He swiftly controlled his Stars, finishing in just over a second, but did not immediately release his magic.
Only after waiting another two seconds or so did Lu Wu release Fire Burst.
A fireball flew from his right hand. Though small, it pierced straight through the weakest point of the first dummy-its neck-before flying onto the second dummy and blazing fiercely.
The first dummy's neck had already snapped. Its featureless wooden head fell to the ground, but some flames had caught on it, and it began to burn.
"..."
The sight stunned everyone around him, including those in the stands.
Standing behind Lu Wu, Mu Nujiao knew he had held back. Otherwise, he could have released his magic several times faster!!
Although a Star Path could serve as a sign of magic being released, a crimson Star Path had likewise appeared around Lu Wu just now.
However, if someone controlled all seven Stars without immediately releasing their magic, no Star Path would appear.
While everyone else was doing their best to show what they could do, Lu Wu was already controlling his score.
"Good lad! That Fire Element packs quite a punch!" Cai Jianwen was extremely pleased.
Although Lu Wu really did have a bad reputation, with serious problems involving skipping classes and fighting, he had not fallen behind in his cultivation.
Below the stands, Jia Wenshang's heart was blossoming with joy. Both his students ranked among the best!
"This fellow's good." Hei Guan looked at the broken dummy. In fact, only the first dummy's head had caught fire and burned away. Its body was still standing there.
The second dummy had already become a pile of ash.
The teacher from another school was also gaping. Lu Wu had cast his magic from farther away than anyone else.
Yet no one could match its power or accuracy, and his casting speed ranked slightly above the middle.
"That level of destructive power-so strong!!"
Wu Xiaoxiao was also extremely surprised. Just now, she had thought Lu Wu had traded for the last draw number out of fear, or even because he could not release magic at all and was afraid of being exposed.
Yet the moment this fellow made his move, he secured first place!
"Everyone, wait a few minutes. The staff are tallying the scores now, and we'll announce them shortly," Cai Jianwen said loudly as he watched a staff member take away the three judges' score sheets.
Now, the other schools would soon learn that a promising genius had emerged at Magic City Seventh Magic High School.
"Lu Wu, I didn't expect you to be this strong." Dongfang Qing came up to him. "Are you interested in joining the Dongfang Family? Our family rose through the Fire Element. Among Fire Element families, we rank among the top in the country."
Although she did not want to admit it, Dongfang Qing knew perfectly well that she was indeed no match for him.
If she could get Lu Wu to join the Dongfang Family, perhaps she could take charge of her own destiny instead of having her family decide it.
"Not interested." Lu Wu shook his head.
"Wow, he actually turned down the Dongfang Family! Brother Lu Wu-no, Boss Lu Wu-is so damn cool!" In the stands, Wu Ya'er loudly told the others, "That's my boss, Lu Wu! That's my boss!!"
Wu Ya'er was incredibly excited. Boss Lu Wu had definitely outshone Wu Xiaoxiao.
Everyone had seen it with their own eyes.
Wu Ya'er's voice left the other students speechless, but after this, all the first-year students knew that the fellow who skipped classes was stronger than any of them!
While Wu Ya'er kept exclaiming how outrageously cool he was, Dongfang Qing was somewhat puzzled. "If this is because of what happened with Liu Tong and the others..."
"Don't misunderstand. I just don't want to join any faction," Lu Wu interrupted her directly.
This girl certainly thought about a lot, but he did not take Liu Tong and those few others to heart at all.
As long as they did not provoke him again, he naturally would not do anything to them.
"Interested in the Great Sparrow City Military Department?" Hei Guan came over to Lu Wu and asked.
"The Great Sparrow City Military Department?" Lu Wu looked at the middle-aged man with a crew cut before him and answered without much hesitation, "No."
The Military Department was indeed a place that tempered people, but Lu Wu still preferred a life free of restraints.
"What a pity. You're a promising seedling." Hei Guan voiced his thoughts. "Come with us for field training this time."
Although Lu Wu had refused, Hei Guan did not want to give up.
Given his position, he would not force him, but he could create more opportunities.
"Sure, I can go take a look at Great Sparrow City." Lu Wu nodded.
Hei Guan shook his head, however. "We're heading to Bo City. It's better suited for your field training."
Great Sparrow City's Military Department was a major one, with quite a few cities under its jurisdiction. Among them, Bo City had plenty of demon wolves around it, making it suitable for these children's field training.
After all, the creatures around Great Sparrow City were the Demon Beasts of Mount Wuyi.
Things could easily go wrong there. It was better not to take students into danger.
"Anywhere is fine with me." Lu Wu was not picky. They were going for field training this time, and if an opportunity arose, he would let Little Fire out to run wild for a while.
Although Little Fire wanted to go out, he would not stay out for too long.
Besides, only once Little Fire became proficient at using Shadow Escape could Lu Wu use it together with him.
According to the system's explanation, he could perform Shadow Escape through the Shadow Demon, but he had yet to succeed.
Unable to find the cause, he naturally had to try everything.
The results were soon announced. Lu Wu deservedly took first place, earning four months of use of a Stardust Magic Tool.
The school's resources could not be exchanged. After all, this was the high school division, and the school only wanted to improve its students' cultivation speed and ensure a sufficiently high rate of advancement to further education.
The others all received a fair amount of time as well. Not many people had taken this assessment, and everyone who successfully released magic received some.
Of course, after receiving a Stardust Magic Tool, each person had to return it when their allotted cultivation time ended.
Assessments would be held every semester from then on, but the rewards would be considerably smaller.
Lu Wu did not intend to take his. When his homeroom teacher handed it out, he could just ask him to give it to Mu Nujiao.
But Mu Nujiao had her own, so she could wait until her own time ran out before collecting it.
The allotted periods could overlap anyway. Otherwise, there would not be a minor assessment every six months and a major assessment every year.
Once the assessment ended, Lu Wu left the training grounds.
Previously, the gazes around him had carried plenty of jealousy and hatred, but now there were noticeably fewer.
Lu Wu did not think fewer people were jealous of him. After all, Mu Nujiao, the school beauty, was walking beside him. It was far too difficult not to draw aggro.
The reason there seemed to be fewer gazes was that they were somewhat afraid.
After all, some people had taken photos of what had happened to Liu Tong. No one wanted a collapsed nose and teeth scattered all over the ground.
"Lu Wu, well done, well done! You've really brought honor to our class. I'll give you the Stardust Magic Tool tomorrow." Jia Wenshang came up to Lu Wu and immediately showered him with praise.
Behind Jia Wenshang, Wu Ya'er was frantically making gestures of worship, looking utterly devout.