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She was covered in the thick sap from the exploding Star Plant, held a small, gleaming knife in her left hand, and was bathed in a sacred Sunlight Shield, laughing...

It appears radiant, but is actually wicked!

Everyone shuddered, a chill creeping up their spines for no apparent reason.

Clinking and jingling...

A crisp sound of a hard object hitting the ground.

A Star Core shimmering with a faint blue light lay on the ground, alongside several other light green and white Star Core.

The quality of Star Core can be easily distinguished by its color.

White is the most common, green is relatively excellent, while blue... represents rarity.

Someone exclaimed, "My God, a rare Star Core has really appeared!"

"Not only were there rare Star Core, but also a lot of excellent-grade Star Core... My god, this time there were so many Star Core dropped, three times more than usual!"

This overturned their understanding; for ten years... no, for over twenty years, every entry into the Tree Tower had been recorded...

First, the probability of a rare Star Core appearing in the first layer is very low; on average, it's lucky if it appears once every ten times.

Of course, even with such a low probability, the scions of aristocratic families in the Star Magic Department are still eager to acquire it. For those below the Third Grade, having a rare Star Skill will make their subsequent advancement much smoother.

They could also buy appraised Star Core, but with the same rare Star Skill, the compatibility and growth potential would be greater if they comprehended on their own. Even if it only increased by about 30%, it would be crucial for scions of Invincibility among their peers.

Secondly, the Star Core production of the first-level Tree Tower is always consistent because the Star Core nurtured is fixed; 20 Star Plant can produce about four or five Star Core.

This is already two to three times the output of the Astral Realm.

But this time, eight Star Core fell!

One is rare, three are excellent, and four are common.

This time, the first level of the Tree Tower not only yielded more resources, but also produced a rare Star Core...

In terms of quality alone, this harvest is equivalent to the output of the previous year!

At this moment, everyone's mind was filled with Li Yang's words. "Because this is the correct way to use the Tree Tower."

Is what she said true?!

Why?

The Star Magic Department students present all had a strangely unified thought process: Li Yang did indeed know a lot about the Tree Tower, but even bigger questions soon arose.

The most shocked person was undoubtedly Chu Runxi. His mind was in complete chaos, almost unable to think calmly. A torrent of words surged within him, but he couldn't organize them into sentences, only able to mutter helplessly, "Impossible... How could this be... Why..."

Li Yang answered him, "Because this is the Tree Tower of the Agronomy Department."

The calm, understated voice resonated throughout the entire first floor of the Tree Tower.

The ten-man team was struck dumb.

Li Yang bent down and picked up the Star Core from the ground. She glanced at the rare Star Core and immediately received a system notification: [Unknown Star Core detected. Consume lifespan for identification?]

Li Yang's lips twitched. "You really are omnipotent, Tongzi."

I just don't know how much of my lifespan it will consume.

She didn't rush to authenticate them, but instead picked up the remaining coins one by one.

The students from the Star Magic Department snapped out of their daze. It was Ying Qi who spoke up, saying, "Li Yang, I admit you're very capable, but you can't just spout nonsense!"

Li Yang looked at Ying Qi and said calmly, "Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you can go back and ask your elders."

Ying Qi: "..."

Li Yang suddenly laughed, looked at her and asked, "Ying Qi, if I'm not talking nonsense, then wouldn't you be slandering me?"

Ying Qi was clearly someone who would explode at the slightest provocation. She immediately retorted, "Impossible! The Tree Tower is the iconic building of the Star Magic Department! The Dean himself placed it within the Star Magic Department, how could it possibly belong to the Agronomy Department!"

Li Yang simply countered, "If you've slandered me, shouldn't you apologize to me?"

Ying Qi: "..."

Shen Shangchi forward, smiling, and said, "There might be some misunderstanding here, Li Yang. Don't worry, we'll look into it when we get back."

After saying that, he looked at the Star Core in Li Yang's hand and said, "This is our team's spoils of war, according to the rules..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Yang picked out four ordinary white Star Core and handed them to Shen Shangchi, saying, "These are yours."

Shen Shangchi's smile vanished. He stood still, refusing to accept the four white Star Core.

Chu Runxi exploded, saying, "Li Yang, what do you mean?!"

Li Yang said, "Oh, didn't your teacher explain this clearly to you? This was one of the conditions for inviting me to the Tree Tower..."

"What invitation! Who invited you! You clearly pulled strings and used connections to squeeze in..."

"If I hadn't activated the Tree Tower correctly, would we have been able to harvest so many Star Core this time?"

Chu Runxi was speechless.

The expressions of the others also changed constantly.

Li Yang continued, "One of the conditions is that the spoils of war be divided equally among the departments."

Ying Qi was a straightforward person, and immediately retorted, "Then you didn't divide it equally either!"

Shen Shangchi was overwhelmed and didn't want to say anything more. He understood that this was a premeditated scheme, and he didn't want to get involved.

The rare Star Core was certainly tempting, but Li Yang was no simple woman either. Before he could find out the truth, he didn't want to offend her... or the powerful figure behind her.

Li Yang said, "There are 8 in total. I'll give you 4. That's called an equal distribution."

Everyone: "..."

Chu Runxi said, "Why should we listen to you? You hand over the Star Core, or else..."

Li Yang silently activated his Hidden Shadow and chuckled, "Is this what the Star Magic Department is like? The older generation monopolizes other people's secret treasures, while the younger generation bullies the weak with numbers. Oh, no... Senior Chu, are you planning to kill and rob?"

Her voice was faint and ethereal, yet no one could see where she was.

Chu Runxi went crazy, saying, "We need to block the exit, don't let her..."

"Alright," Shen Shangchi stopped Chu Runxi, saying, "What are you trying to do, senior? This isn't a life-or-death arena. If you hurt a classmate, you'll face military punishment and expulsion."

Chu Runxi jolted awake, and his feverish mind finally calmed down.

Ying Qi suddenly turned to look at Shen Shangchi and asked, "What exactly is this Tree Tower...?"

Shen Shangchi shook his head and gently shushed him.

Their actions shocked the other students.

No way...

No, no, impossible...

How could their Star Magic Department building be the obscure and neglected Agronomy Department?

Once the seed of doubt is planted, many things become complicated.

Why is it called Tree Tower?

This really does have a distinctive "agronomic" flavor.

Li Yang's seemingly suicidal actions after entering the Tree Tower were actually the correct way to use it.

Why is Star Plant relentlessly pursuing her?

How could she know the layout of the Tree Tower so well, even though she had never been inside its first level?

Why did the first level of the Tree Tower, which normally only produces 4-5 ordinary Star Core, drop a full 8 today, including one rare Star Core?

Good heavens, the more they thought about it, the more terrified they became, and they didn't dare to breathe.

Even after calming down, Chu Runxi felt a chill run down her spine and her palms were covered in cold sweat.

No wonder the teacher repeatedly emphasized—don't let Li Yang take action.

Could it be... not to leave her empty-handed, but rather...?

It's over, Chu Runxi thought he was doomed!

-

Li Yang was the first to emerge from the Tree Tower.

More students gathered around the Tree Tower, clearly because the news of Li Yang's connections getting into the Tree Tower had spread like wildfire throughout the Star Magic Department.

As soon as Li Yang came out, everyone cast complicated glances at her.

Some were jealous, some were unhappy, and some were making shady speculations...

Only Fang Chuyun was genuinely worried about Li Yang. She stepped forward and asked, "How are you? Are you alright?" The Tree Tower was very dangerous, after all, there were 20 First Grade Realm Star Plant inside.

Li Yang said gently, "It's nothing."

Fang Chuyun looked her up and down, and seeing that she was indeed normal, he felt relieved and asked, "How was the harvest? Did you get the Star Core you wanted?"

Li Yang opened her palm and showed the four Star Core to Fang Chuyun, saying, "Not bad, one of them is a rare Star Core, but it hasn't been appraised yet, so I'm not sure if it's suitable for me."

Fang Chuyun: "!" Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Gasps of astonishment rose from the crowd, and someone exclaimed, "My God, a rare Star Core has appeared!"

"Their luck this time is absolutely incredible! Of the four Star Core that dropped, one is rare and three are excellent... Did they really only go to the first floor? More likely, they went to the second or third floor!"

At this moment, the rest of the ten-person team came out one after another. Compared to Li Yang's gentle demeanor, even Shen Shangchi and Ying Qi in the ten-person team looked obviously off.

Chu Runxi was in the worst condition. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were torn, and his pale face was filled with fear and despair. He was nowhere to be seen as the clean and cheerful person he used to be.

The students watching were all startled, keenly sensing that something was amiss.

Ying Qi strode towards Li Yang. Shen Shangchi, who had grown up with her, realized something was wrong, but it was too late to stop him...

Ying Qi said to Li Yang, "I will investigate. If the Tree Tower really belongs to the Agronomy Department, I will apologize to you!"

Li Yang: "..." This girl is really straightforward. She was still thinking about where to start when she blurted it out.

This effect is much better than Li Yang himself said.

In an instant, silence fell over the area outside the Tree Tower.

The students who had gathered there originally wanted to see who had connections, but they never expected to hear such shocking news.