Eighteen years old.
Ten days ago, he was still an F-rank piece of trash.
Today, he went head-to-head with a Tier 2, Level 5 Blood Eye Cult rune master and held out until reinforcements arrived.
“You've done well enough. Forget about the counter-kill,” Shen Man said, her voice sounding serious for once. She still didn't believe Lin Yuan could have actually pulled it off.
“Though, I can't believe you managed to shatter his jaw. I could hear the sound from outside the mist. It was quite crisp.”
Lin Yuan smiled, but the movement tugged at the wound on his shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain.
“I was actually quite satisfied with that hit myself,” he admitted honestly.
Shen Man didn't say anything more. She turned around and waved toward the end of the street, where two medical personnel in white uniforms quickly ran over with a stretcher.
“Right shoulder burn; the area isn't large, but it's deep,” one of the medical staff reported to Shen Man.
“Most of his source energy is depleted, and he has very little physical strength left. There are several soft tissue contusions. No fractures or internal bleeding. Given his rounds of bone tempering, he should recover in two days with rest.”
Shen Man nodded.
As the stretcher was being lifted, Lin Yuan suddenly spoke up to stop her.
“Teacher Shen.”
Shen Man stopped and looked back.
Lin Yuan lay on the stretcher, tilting his head to look at her with an expression that was half-serious and half-joking.
“Those benefits you promised me yesterday at the recruitment site—that Magic City Academy’s lightning department is the strongest in the Dragon Nation, that I can hunt as I please in the Abyss Sea, that a dormitory will always be reserved for me, and that I get twenty percent off at the milk tea shop. Those still stand, right?”
Shen Man blinked.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't her usual lazy, slight curve of the lips, but an appreciative “you're something else” kind of smile.
“They stand. And there's more.”
She reached into her hoodie pocket, which seemed like a bottomless bag, pulling out all sorts of things.
She produced a folded piece of paper and unfolded it to reveal an admission benefit confirmation letter stamped with Magic City Academy’s official seal.
“You didn't look closely when you were filling out the form yesterday, did you?” She held the confirmation letter in front of Lin Yuan.
“I'll read the S-rank student benefits to you.”
She cleared her throat.
“Magic City Academy S-rank Freshman Benefits:
First: Full scholarship, with all tuition and accommodation fees waived.
Second: A detached villa with a private cultivation room.
Third: A monthly S-rank resource quota—including ten advanced Bone Tempering Pills and so on.
Fourth: S-rank library access, allowing the borrowing of all cultivation techniques and materials not open to the public.
Fifth: One-on-one guidance from a mentor, matched by the academy based on the student's ability type and combat style.
Sixth—A lifetime twenty percent discount at the milk tea shop. I added that last one personally.”
“There are also some benefits that require you to undergo an assessment at the school before the faculty can make a final decision.”
Lin Yuan stared at the dense list of terms on the confirmation letter and remained silent for several seconds.
“Why didn't you show me this yesterday?”
“You didn't ask,” Shen Man replied matter-of-factly.
“...”
“Besides, let me compare us with the other three for you.” Shen Man tucked the confirmation letter back into her pocket and walked slowly beside the stretcher with her hands in her pockets.
“So you know what a wise decision it was to choose Magic City.”
She held up one finger.
【Kyoto Academy, the conditions Qin Ruolan offered—tuition waived, a double-occupancy dorm, A-rank library access, and a rotating mentor system where you change mentors every semester.
Kyoto’s ice system is the strongest in the Dragon Nation, but you're lightning system. Going there would be a poor fit for your specialty.】
She held up a second finger.
【National Martial Arts Academy, the conditions Lei Meng offered—room and board included, plenty of physical training resources, and he would personally mentor you. Sounds good, right?
But the dorms at National Martial Arts don't have air conditioning. In the forty-degree heat of summer, you’d have to rely on your ability to cool yourself down. Plus, their theoretical courses are the weakest among the four great academies, and their library access is only B-rank.
Lei Meng is a good teacher, but his students all share a common trait—they can fight, but that’s all they can do. Do you want to be a thug for the rest of your life?】
A third finger.
【Shencity Academy, the conditions Ye Lin offered—direct entry into military status, graduating as a Second Lieutenant, the most opportunities for actual combat, and the greatest support from military resources.
But the price is your freedom. Students at Shencity Academy are soldiers from their first day. Obeying orders is their sacred duty. Every action must be reported, and every direction of your cultivation must be approved by superiors.
Could someone like you, who’s used to running wild in the wilderness, handle that kind of restriction?】
She retracted her three fingers and then pointed to herself.
“Magic City. Perfect for your specialty, strongest in lightning. Resources are guaranteed, and the combat opportunities in the Abyss Sea are no fewer than in Shencity.
High degree of freedom. We don't care about your secrets, and we don't care how you choose to get stronger.
The cafeteria is delicious, and the milk tea is twenty percent off.”
She looked down at Lin Yuan.
“You tell me, did you choose right?”
Lin Yuan lay on the stretcher, looking at the sky with a curve at the corner of his mouth.
“I chose right.”
“Louder.”
“I chose right.”
“Even louder.”
“Teacher Shen, my shoulder hurts.”
Shen Man nodded with satisfaction and patted his uninjured left shoulder with just the right amount of force.
“Recover well. I’ll come to pick you up in two days and take you to Magic City.”
As the stretcher was being lifted into the medical vehicle, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered something.
“Teacher Shen.”
“Hmm?”
“The conditions the other three offered Su Qingyue... they should be even better than what they offered me, right?”
Shen Man’s footsteps paused for a moment. Then she turned back, a meaningful smile appearing on her face.
“Of course. An S-rank Ice Phoenix, eighteen years old, with six rounds of bone tempering—even though you flipped her with a single spear strike, that's because you're a freak, not because she's weak.
The conditions the four academies gave her were all top-tier. Qin Ruolan even offered her a spot as the ice system chief disciple of Kyoto Academy.”
She paused.
“But that girl still hasn't made a decision. She's been to the recruitment sites of all four academies and talked to everyone, but she just hasn't signed.”
“Why?”
Shen Man glanced at him, her gaze carrying a sense of 'are you really this clueless or just pretending?'
“She said she wanted to know which one you chose.”
Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.
The rear doors of the medical vehicle closed, the engine started, and the chassis vibrated slightly.
Through the window, he saw Shen Man standing by the roadside, waving at him before turning to walk toward the other end of the street.
Her dark red hoodie was as conspicuous as a flag in the sunlight, the drawstrings on the back of her hood swaying as she walked.
Lin Yuan leaned back against the seat of the medical vehicle and closed his eyes.
The wound on his right shoulder was still throbbing with pain, and the feeling of emptiness left after overdrawing his lightning ability felt heavy.
But his mind was very clear.
The Blood Eye Cult’s target was Su Qingyue.
That rune master had said before he died that 'the others have already arrived.'
Even though Shen Man had led a team to take them down, since the Blood Eye Cult dared to target an S-rank ability user, they wouldn't just send one wave of people.
Today's group was just the vanguard; there would be more later.
Donghai City was no longer safe, and neither was Su Qingyue.
And the only thing he could do now was to become even stronger.
He still had a long road ahead of him.
Rate on N.U.
