Too Reckless

Zhao Jianguo turned around.

Everyone crowded around the screen.

On the rankings, Su Mu's name was jumping upward.

178th, 165th, 150th, 132nd, 109th...

With every refresh, he climbed another stretch.

The number in the combat value column was also rising visibly.

1172, 1320, 1510, 1695, 1874...

"He's still building?" the bespectacled teacher said in surprise. "Don't rush. Let's keep watching."

Su Mu's ranking kept climbing.

From over a hundredth place, he rose all the way into the nineties, then the seventies, the fifties, the forties...

The discussion in the office gradually died away. Everyone stared at the screen, their eyes following every jump of that name.

When Su Mu's name broke into the top thirty, Zhao Jianguo couldn't help speaking up. "Switch the screen to Su Mu's instance."

The screen switched at once.

Onscreen, Su Mu was at the edge of Lion Camel Ridge, expanding the mountain bit by bit.

He poured out soul power as if it cost nothing, and the gray-brown earth continued to stretch outward.

"He's... expanding his territory again?" The female teacher's eyes widened. "Just how much soul power does he have left?"

"Judging by what he spent earlier, he should still have quite a bit. His soul power limit is 210 points, and he only used a little over fifty at the start."

The bespectacled teacher calculated quickly. "But that's not right either. Expanding by one square kilometer costs ten soul power. His area is already almost eight square kilometers, so that alone should cost seventy or eighty points."

"So he's used up almost all his soul power." Zhao Jianguo frowned at the screen. "He exchanged all of it for combat value."

"That's too reckless." The old mentor shook his head. "No matter how high his combat value is, it's useless without a means of attack. The combat strength provided by terrain and structures is illusory. It can only buy time; it can't kill monsters. Pouring all his soul power into area and terrain just leaves him with an empty shell."

Several teachers exchanged glances, their expressions also showing disapproval.

Onscreen, Su Mu had finished expanding Lion Camel Ridge and begun refining the mountains.

The female teacher suddenly spoke up. "He's shaping the mountains."

"That means he's burned up every last bit of the soul power he had left on the terrain."

The dean of students sighed. "I was thinking earlier that if he used that soul power to add trap cards or shape obstacles to support the E-rank card, he might still have a chance."

"Young people are still too impatient." The old mentor shook his head as well. "He must have wanted to use combat value to push his ranking up first. But the monsters in the trial grounds won't look at your combat value. Without creature cards or trap cards, how can he fight monsters with just two mountains?"

Zhao Jianguo remained silent.

On the screen, Su Mu had finished shaping the main body of Lion Camel Ridge.

Three peaks stood in an encircling formation, with a deep valley and clearly defined mountain paths. Judging by the terrain design alone, it was indeed a fairly mature defensive layout.

"The design really is good," the bespectacled teacher said objectively. "It's a shame there are no cards to support it. With a few creature cards to go with it, this terrain would actually be highly effective for defense."

"It's no use." The dean of students checked the time. "His soul power should be nearly depleted by now. Even if he has some left, he could squeeze out ten-odd points at most. What could he do with that?"

Everyone sighed again.

Zhao Jianguo glanced at the rankings. Su Mu's position had stopped at 36th.

"Not bad," he said. "Going from 178th to 36th shows how efficiently he builds. It's just a shame his foundation is too poor. His upper limit is limited after all."

The atmosphere in the office relaxed a little. Several teachers began gathering their things, preparing to leave.

The old mentor glanced at the screen again and suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

"What's he doing now?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing again.

Onscreen, Su Mu stood before Lion Camel Ridge, his gaze resting on the blue-gray lesser yaoguai as his lips moved slightly.

"He's naming the lesser yaoguai." The bespectacled teacher frowned. "Renaming a creature card takes quite a bit of soul power. Where did he get the soul power?"

"Wait." Zhao Jianguo suddenly spoke, his voice low. "He isn't naming the lesser yaoguai."

Everyone held their breath.

Onscreen, Su Mu's voice seemed to pass through the screen and reach every person's ears.

"This yaoguai shall be named Little Drill Wind."

The next moment, blue-black yaoguai aura filled the screen.

The formerly unremarkable E-rank mountain-patrolling lesser yaoguai transformed violently within the aura. He grew taller, scale patterns appeared on his skin, and the edge of his short saber gleamed coldly. An intangible baleful aura spread in all directions as though it had substance.

The data panel refreshed frantically.

Rank: E→A.

Combat value: 525→7172

A deathly silence fell over the office.

No one knew how long had passed before the female teacher managed to speak. "A... A-rank?"

"It jumped straight from E-rank to A-rank." The bespectacled teacher's voice was shaking. "Three ranks in one jump... That's unheard of in recorded cases of card growth."

"An E-rank creature card became A-rank just from a name change?" The dean of students rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

"Strictly speaking, Su Mu also named the mountain first."

Zhao Jianguo spoke. His voice sounded lower than usual, as if he were trying to suppress some emotion.

"He made a series of preliminary designs and only used 'renaming' at the end to complete the concept anchoring."

"But even so, going from E to A is still too outrageous."

The old mentor's lips trembled as he pointed at the screen. "This can only mean his degree of compatibility with this special theme is beyond imagination."

Everyone looked at one another.

And while they were still reeling from their shock, Su Mu moved again onscreen.

He began expanding Lion Camel Ridge anew.

Plots of land were pulled into the instance space one by one, and the mountains stretched outward again, expanding all the way from one square kilometer to eight.

"He's expanding it even more?" the female teacher couldn't help asking.

"Expand the mountain first, then name it, and finally rename the creature to anchor it. He calculated every step." Zhao Jianguo murmured.

The data on the screen refreshed again.

Combat value: 8900, 9100, 9500, 9900, 10300...

After Lion Camel Ridge had expanded to eight square kilometers and the height of the mountains had been adjusted again, Su Mu's combat strength index climbed steadily.

Most unbelievable of all, Little Drill Wind's attributes had doubled yet again.

HP: 9800.

Attack: 840.

Defense: 392.

Speed:: 770.

"So close... He was just a little short of breaking through to S-rank."

The old mentor's voice sounded as though it had been squeezed from his throat. "Peak A-rank. One more step and those would be S-rank attributes."

"An E-rank card grew to peak A-rank."