Chapter 25: The End of Summer Vacation

The training during the winter break that starts at the end of the first semester of sophomore year is mandatory for every magic high school student. It is a requirement enforced by the nation to cultivate the qualities of mages and is included in the total score for college entrance exams, accounting for a significant proportion.

Generally, elite classes undergo this training first, while regular classes might only participate toward the end of sophomore year or even mid-junior year.

Lu Jun was exempted from the training and was overjoyed. After experiencing so much, he found the training unappealing. It was pointless and a waste of time; he preferred to spend the winter break hunting demons and earning money.

However, Zhan Kong's words carried a deeper meaning. What did he mean by "concealing information"? Indeed, if he didn't participate in the outdoor training, he wouldn't need to reveal his skills in front of classmates and instructors, allowing him to hide his strength until college.

Wait, he glanced at Zhan Kong. This handsome uncle had a meaningful gaze. Lu Jun muttered to himself, "Could he be imagining me as a calamity survivor and intentionally looking after me?"

Only calamity survivors would possess the ability to kill servant-level demons at this age.

After a moment, Lu Jun decided not to explain. This arrangement worked well for him; he could quietly grow stronger. He considered that he owed Zhan Kong a small favor and thought about the man's future tragedy. With such character, he was worth saving.

After leaving the Snow Peak Mountain outpost, the siblings headed straight to a hospital in Bo City for a full-body checkup. Hunters had to prioritize their health. Many young mages neglected this, only for the consequences to surface in middle age, leaving them half-disabled.

Upon confirming no severe injuries or aftereffects, they went to the Hunter Alliance to process the materials from the demon wolves and complete their missions, making a small profit.

Soon after, Lu Mei spent three million renting a Star Cloud Magic Tool for six months and auctioned off the servant-level soul essence, earning five million.

The Magic Association had its own soul containers, so Lu Jun only needed to transfer the essence from the White Tiger Pendant without exposing himself. Even if someone discovered it, Lu Mei's status as an intermediate mage could handle the situation.

Back at home, Lu Mei held a Star Brilliance Bracelet in her hand and smiled brightly. "In at most half a year, my Earth element will reach the intermediate level—dual-element intermediate!"

Originally, she had wanted to rent another one for her brother, but Lu Jun refused. Jokingly, he thought, "The White Tiger Pendant is far more useful."

His Metal element could also push toward the intermediate level, likely within half a year. He planned to spend a few more months mastering the 49 stars, so by the end of sophomore year, he would be a Level 1 Intermediate Mage capable of casting intermediate magic, with his magic awakening for a second time.

By the time he graduated high school, he would at least be dual-element Level 1 Intermediate, with dual-element Level 3 Beginner mastery!

He would have no problem surviving the Bo City Disaster!

Clenching his fists, Lu Jun thought about how Mo Fan, by the time he graduated high school, was only barely dual-element Intermediate and couldn't even cast magic yet. Without the Holy Spring, he would have been at most dual-element Level 3 Beginner at 18.

"The Holy Spring, huh? Unfortunately, the original story clearly states it's linked to the Azure Dragon Totem. It has no connection to my White Tiger Totem, so it's not worth pursuing."

He sighed, knowing that opportunities like this could only be stumbled upon by chance.

Time passed. Two months later, during which the Lu siblings hunted demons multiple times, their luck was average. They only managed to eliminate two lairs of Wolves.

Though they didn't acquire any more servant-level soul essences, the materials they collected still earned them several million yuan. By the end of summer break, after expenses, they had accumulated a fortune of ten million yuan.

However, their boldness seemed to have alarmed the Wolf clans. The significant losses made the wolves mistakenly believe that the military from Bo City was conducting a cleanup operation, prompting them to retaliate. This escalated into a Level 3 Orange Alert.

Reluctantly, the siblings had to cease their activities. On one hand, the wilderness demons had grown more vigilant; on the other, they needed time to recover.

Prolonged killing had made Lu Jun's gaze colder and infused him with an aura of bloodthirst. At this rate, he risked losing himself and becoming indifferent to life. He needed time to cultivate his character and temper his mindset.

Conveniently, sophomore year began.

Returning to school, Lu Jun reflected on the fruitful summer break. Unfortunately, his Water element had yet to break through, still stuck at Level 2 Beginner. It was used too infrequently, with his Metal element carrying most of the load.

He had plans for improving his Water element, but those required reaching the Intermediate level first. At the Beginner level, the Water element was still too weak.

At Tian Lan High School, Lu Jun, Mo Fan, and Zhang Xiaohou reunited, all of them placed in the elite class.

Mo Fan scrutinized Lu Jun from head to toe and clicked his tongue. "Old Lu, how is it that you seem to change every semester? You've developed an air of authority."

Lu Jun said nothing, slumping into his chair and closing his eyes to inspect his spiritual world.

Two star dusts glowed brilliantly, their blue and platinum hues complementing each other. The Metal-element stardust was clearly two sizes larger, crowding the Water-element stardust to the side.

He delved into the White Tiger Pendant. Two ghostly blue soul fragments, the size of candles, shimmered above the blood-red lake. During the final two hunts of the summer, while they hadn't obtained servant-level soul essences, killing hundreds of demon wolves had gathered enough fragments to synthesize one.

Now, Lu Jun possessed two synthesized servant-level soul essences.

Without hesitation, he directed the essences to nourish his Metal-element stardust.

Buzz! Buzz!

The two ghostly blue soul fragments merged into the platinum stardust, instantly being refined. A warm energy spread throughout, and two platinum stars expanded from the size of pinky nails to thumb nails.

Lu Jun felt a refreshing coolness in his mind, invigorating his spirit. His memory and focus improved, his total magic capacity increased, and the brilliance of the platinum stardust became even more dazzling. The sword mark crossing the stardust was also nourished.

"Not bad. Just five more soul essences to reach Level 4 Beginner. Maybe I can gather them over the next two or three breaks. With the Metal element's offensive power, Level 4 should rival the strength of Intermediate-level spells."

He nodded in satisfaction but was soon interrupted by the chatter around him. Opening his eyes, he saw excitement brewing.

At the podium, the elite class teacher, Old Xue, who had previously guided a class of outstanding students—including Lu Jun—was once again in charge.

The elite students, including Mu Bai, were visibly thrilled. The time had come to distribute the Star Dust Magic Tools, and whoever had more time with one would progress further.

Old Xue didn't waste time and said, "The allocation of Star Dust Magic Tools will be based on your annual assessment rankings. The higher your rank, the longer you can use the tool."

"Of course, our school is very considerate. Each quarter, we will conduct a new assessment, re-rank the students, and adjust the allocation accordingly."

What followed left Lu Jun speechless.

Old Xue sternly addressed Mo Fan: "Mo Fan, as the first-ranked student in the class, you should have had the longest time with the Star Dust Magic Tool. However, due to your disrespectful behavior during the annual assessment, your time has been reduced from one month to ten days as punishment."

Both the commoner and aristocratic students jeered, "Oh, one month reduced to ten days? That's a heavy price. If he'd held back and behaved, he could have gained a massive advantage."

"If he'd just agreed to join the Mu clan, he might have gotten even more!"

"Yeah, why bother having so much pride?"

Mo Fan, however, remained nonchalant, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation.

With Mo Fan punished, Lu Jun, as the second-ranked student, benefited. But possessing the White Tiger Pendant, he found little value in the Star Dust Magic Tool.

So, he privately approached Mu Bai and traded the usage rights. Over the next two years, he sold them for one million yuan as a package deal. Honestly, it was overpriced, but supply was limited.

Why not sell to Mo Fan? Ha! That guy's broke! Besides, as Lu Jun expected, Mo Fan would soon unlock the Azure Dragon Pendant's functions.

Mu Bai was surprised and confirmed multiple times before reluctantly paying up, secretly mocking Lu Jun for his short-sightedness. With the Star Dust Magic Tool, his cultivation speed would soar.

With the top two holders out of contention for various reasons, Mu Bai felt confident he could topple both Mo Fan and Lu Jun in the next assessment.

Mu Bai was ecstatic, thinking, "The advantage is mine!"

[For additional 40 chapters you can visit Patreon.com/ALLISWELL123]