Jiang Lin: I Rely Entirely on Effort and Talent

Jiang Lin was somewhat surprised upon hearing the news.

Fourth place in the elite class... that meant fourth place in the entire grade, right?

A magic-based class student ranked fourth in the grade? What did he want with me?

Previously, Jiang Lin had asked Anya to inquire in the elite class if anyone wanted to spar, but he was actually looking for melee combatants who wanted to hone their swordsmanship.

That way, if the opponent suppressed their level, he would have a chance to put up a fight.

The opponent could refine their sword skills while he completed quests and earned rewards—it was a perfect win-win situation.

So, this magic-based student coming to spar with him was quite unexpected.

However, there was no use overthinking it now. They would cross that bridge when they came to it; if the opponent was coming, he would simply face them with everything he had.

"Understood, I'll keep that in mind!"

Jiang Lin nodded.

After all, if even Anya agreed that the person's character was questionable, he naturally had to be a bit careful.

...

Once the swordsmanship class ended, Anya took out the 【Light Blade】 skill book she had promised him.

Although she hadn't gone home the previous night, she had asked the family member who delivered her meals to bring the skill book along.

Just like before, it was only a loan; Jiang Lin had to return the skill book to Anya after he finished learning it.

Generally, skill books were quite expensive and could not be sold as pirated copies through methods like photocopying.

A skill book that could be used for learning usually didn't just contain simple text; it possessed the soul imprint of the transcriber and required many magical materials. The higher the grade of the skill book, the more expensive the materials and the more energy it consumed from the transcriber.

Not only that, many skills were protected by a "Command Curse," which prohibited the learner from teaching the skill to others without authorization, further limiting the possibility of rampant piracy.

While this restricted the spread of many skills and kept the prices of skill books high, it also protected the learners to some extent.

After all, if piracy were rampant and the quality of transcribers varied, transcription errors would easily occur. At best, one would learn the skill incorrectly and be unable to use it; at worst, it could lead to magic essence disorder, causing the user's body to explode.

Therefore, under the unified regulations of the human kingdoms, the sale of skill books was strictly controlled. Any individual or merchant found privately printing illegal copies would face very severe punishment.

Jiang Lin took the skill book from Anya and thanked her profusely once more.

"If Miss Anya has a need, I, Jiang Lin, will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

...

Back in the classroom, Jiang Lin couldn't wait to open the skill book. He planned to use his previous learning experience to see if he could understand it.

Ten minutes later...

Jiang Lin slammed the skill book shut and let out a long sigh.

Another ten minutes wasted!

If only he had used those ten minutes for cultivation instead!

Then, he looked toward Little Black at his side.

Little Black became alert. "What are you looking at me for? Don't you dare try any more of your little tricks..."

...

To the surprise of many students in the tail-end class, Jiang Lin wasn't completely glued to his seat today. Instead, during a break between classes, he ran out with his black cat and wasn't seen in class for the rest of the day.

No teacher cared about Jiang Lin skipping class. After all, besides Jiang Lin, there were many other students skipping class in that room. The teachers couldn't be bothered to manage the students of the tail-end class, leaving them in a state of neglect.

It wasn't until four hours later that Jiang Lin, having been thoroughly mocked by Little Black, dragged his exhausted body back to his seat.

Of course, his gains were quite substantial.

【Light Blade (uninitiated) → (initiated)】

The day's classes were nearing their end, and it would soon be time to head home.

However, during the very last period before school let out, Jiang Lin's homeroom teacher suddenly appeared at the back door and asked a classmate to call Jiang Lin out while he was meditating.

Jiang Lin stood up in confusion and followed his homeroom teacher, Lake, outside.

Arriving at the office, the teacher seemed a bit nervous. His eyes instinctively darted around before he asked, "Little Jiang, I heard your recent progress has been quite exaggerated."

Jiang Lin was puzzled. "What's wrong, Teacher? Is there a problem?"

"Your recent behavior has been a bit unusual, so I came to ask about it."

Lake cleared his throat and continued, "So, your recent progress... are you relying on something?"

Jiang Lin pondered for a moment. If he had to say, his progress relied on the system's rewards, but the system was, in essence, part of his own world-shaking talent.

So he answered frankly, "Naturally, I rely entirely on my effort and talent, as well as my own sweat."

Lake stared into Jiang Lin's eyes, seemingly trying to see if there was any sign of a guilty conscience.

Unfortunately, he didn't possess the ability to peer into people's hearts.

Thus, he continued, "Additionally, I heard you've been leading many students to stay up all night recently. What's that about?"

Jiang Lin was even more confused. "Cultivating all night, of course. There are only 67 days left until the Middle Magic Academy recruitment. Our foundations are all too poor. If we don't give it our all, how can we possibly get into a Middle Magic Academy?"

Hearing this, Lake was slightly surprised.

Although he was the homeroom teacher, he really hadn't paid much attention to this group of students in the tail-end class. He only now realized that so many people in the class were working so hard to reach the Middle Magic Academy.

After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Then, besides the students in our class, it seems like many students from other classes have started staying up late with you. How do you explain that?"

Jiang Lin answered without a second thought, "They obviously realized the benefits of staying up late to cultivate!

"The night is such precious time; how can it be wasted on sleep?

"We originally spent at least a third of our day sleeping. So if you don't sleep, it's equivalent to having half as much time again as before every day.

"Besides, the daytime is filled with various trifles in addition to cultivation, so the night is the exclusive time that belongs to each of us, allowing us to spend and use it as we please.

"Plus, as adventurers, we won't die suddenly from staying up late. At most, we'll just be a bit dazed. There's no need to worry about mental issues at all. If you really can't hold on, just use a bit of magic potion to invigorate your spirit!"

Lake fell silent again upon hearing this.

Finally, he asked, "Then... you shouldn't be worshiping any evil god or anything like that, right?"

Jiang Lin shook his head as if it were obvious. "Of course not. I'm a paladin; how could I believe in something like an evil god?"

He really didn't. After all, his relationship with Little Black was at most one of cooperation and transaction; there was no faith involved.

Lake let out a long sigh of relief and then spoke to the empty air, "I've finished asking what I needed to. You two can come out now."

Jiang Lin was startled.

Two men wearing floor-length ivory-white robes then walked in from the doorway. One was middle-aged and the other was a young man; they wore bronze and silver badges on their chests, respectively.

Jiang Lin recognized them at a glance as magic-based practitioners from the Temple.

"The God of Arcane shows favor. This young paladin did not tell a single lie during the conversation just now."

The middle-aged Temple staff member spoke first.

At the same time, a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"It seems this young and hardworking paladin has no ties to an evil god."

The homeroom teacher, Lake, nodded in agreement. "Exactly. I told you Jiang Lin isn't that kind of person!"

Seeing Jiang Lin's bewildered expression, the middle-aged man explained, "Let me introduce myself. I am Forest, a staff member of the Boulder City Temple. This is my badge."

As he spoke, he pointed to the silver badge on his chest.

"We received a report that a student at your school was suspected of colluding with an evil god and had influenced a large group of students. We came to investigate and eventually narrowed our suspicion down to you, Sir Paladin.

"While you were talking just now, we used a 【Truth-telling Spell】, which can detect your mental fluctuations to see if there is any intent to lie.

"After testing, this student is very frank and sincere, so he is tentatively cleared of suspicion."

Hearing this, Jiang Lin finally understood the situation.

But he was still puzzled.

Who on earth would report him to the Temple...?

Jiang Lin thought about it carefully but didn't feel like he had made any enemies.

He was just an honest, simple, and hardworking paladin. How could he have offended anyone?

However, Forest continued, "But this isn't over yet. We'll have to ask you to come with us to the Temple later. Under the inspection of the statues of the seven great gods, we will completely clear your name."

Jiang Lin's brow furrowed slightly.

If that were the case, wouldn't he lose a lot of cultivation time?

The person who reported him was truly despicable!

Jiang Lin frowned, and Forest, observing this keenly, asked, "What is it? Is there something inconvenient for you?"

Jiang Lin shook his head and said, "No, I was just thinking that going back and forth to the Temple will waste a lot of my cultivation time. The person who reported me definitely has impure motives. They are utterly detestable!"

A silence fell over the office.

Lake looked at the obsessed Jiang Lin and really wanted to say that in his current state, if the Temple hadn't come to test him, Lake would have suspected Jiang Lin was possessed by an evil god himself.

At this point, the young man beside Forest spoke up with a stern face, "You didn't know to work hard before, and now you're trying to race against time. What's the point?

"Looking at the magic essence fluctuations around you, you're only at level 3. It took you three whole years to reach this level. In these remaining sixty-some days, it's impossible for you to reach the minimum standard for a Middle Magic Academy."

This person was named Kenan, a rank-2 mage and an intern member of the Temple. The bronze badge on his chest indicated his status.

As a young and noble Temple staff member, he naturally looked down on ordinary students like Jiang Lin who had little talent.

After all, in three whole years, the boy hadn't even reached level 5. He could forget about the remaining few dozen days.

No matter how hard he worked, he would only end up as another face in the crowd.

The boy would have at most these few dozen days left to have any connection with the Temple. Once the exams were over, he would return to the ranks of ordinary people.

Forest gave Kenan a reproachful glare, signaling the young man to shut up if he didn't know how to speak properly.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Lin spoke up and asked, "Might I ask your name?"

"I am Kenan, a rank-2 mage. Why? Are you dissatisfied?"

Jiang Lin shook his head. "No, just recording it."

As he spoke, he actually pulled out a small, old-looking notebook from his person.

Jiang Lin flipped to a page in the middle and began writing with a pen: "Kenan, rank-2 mage of the Boulder City Temple, mocked my talent and sweat, saying I definitely wouldn't get into a Middle Magic Academy."

As he wrote, he muttered the words softly.

Everyone watching was completely baffled.

"What is that?" Kenan asked.

"This is the notebook I use to record key knowledge points. Sometimes my memory isn't great, so I need to flip through these things often to review," Jiang Lin answered matter-of-factly.

Kenan's face darkened instantly at those words.

"Then what's the point of writing my name down? Do you actually plan to take revenge on me later?"

Jiang Lin shook his head. "It's just to record today's humiliation and review it at any time."

Kenan shook his head, not wanting to bother with this any further. After all, the gap between them meant they were destined to be from different worlds.

However, Jiang Lin was relentless.

"Someone who is only a few years older than me and whose level is only slightly higher than mine isn't worth my specifically seeking revenge. Before long, relying on my effort and talent, I will surpass such a person."

Jiang Lin spoke to himself, but the provocative intent was quite obvious. Everyone present could clearly sense it.

"What do you mean? You look down on me?"

Kenan felt that this paladin definitely had something wrong with his head.

After all, as an inferior, one should just keep such thoughts in their head. Saying it out loud like this was a complete provocation.

And with talent like his, what could he possibly gain by provoking Kenan?

"Don't disbelieve it. I don't ask for the same level. As long as you suppress your level to the level you were at my age, you will definitely not be able to defeat me."

Jiang Lin continued his arrogant provocation.

Actually, the reason Jiang Lin was doing this was very simple.

The moment Kenan said the first mocking word to him, the system had issued a quest.

【Temporary Quest】

【Any random nobody dares to provoke you? Where is the Demon Lord's prestige?】

【Requirement: Teach the opponent a harsh lesson and let them know they messed with the wrong person.】

【Reward: Level up a designated skill to max level】

Normally, Jiang Lin might have just pretended not to hear and endured it.

But since the system had spoken, he naturally couldn't let the guy off.

Moreover, the system's evaluation of the opponent was "random nobody," not a "heaven's favored daughter" like Anya. Presumably, Kenan hadn't been that strong when he was the same age.

Plus, with his homeroom teacher and the other Temple member watching, Jiang Lin wasn't afraid of the opponent using underhanded tricks.

Thus, the scene just now unfolded.

"Good, good, good. Old Forest, give me a few minutes. Today, I'll let this sightless boy see what the gap in talent really means!" Kenan said.

Hearing Kenan's words, Forest, as the elder, thought for a moment and didn't stop him.

As an onlooker, he also saw that the paladin's provocative intent was more obvious.

After all, even if you were going to record it in a notebook, you could have done so in private. Writing and reciting it right in front of the person was clearly looking for a fight.

He didn't know why this paladin had such a short fuse.

Since both parties involved wanted to fight, he would just watch from the sidelines as an elder and ensure nothing went too far.

So, after a brief pause, he said, "This is a matter between you young people. Just watch your step."