The next morning, the first rays of the sun shone into the tail-end class.
After returning from reporting to the Temple, Jiang Lin acted as if nothing had happened, continuing his daily cultivation routine.
Staying up late had now become a habit for many. Even without Jiang Lin, many of them consciously stayed in the classroom until the sun rose the next day.
The student selling 【Mental Invigoration Potion】 had clearly made a killing, as a satisfied smile hung on his face.
At the same time, seeing his classmates studying so hard moved him as well. After a brief internal struggle, he joined the big family of all-night learners.
After all, seeing them work so hard made him feel a sense of guilt for being too slothful if he didn't join in.
Jiang Lin went out to buy breakfast and completed the daily task that had just refreshed.
Nowadays, every morning at dawn, his frustration-inducing task would automatically complete itself.
Clearly, this group of people studying all night was learning through a mix of pain and pleasure.
Among them, some truly felt that staying up late brought them gains, so they followed suit.
Others, however, simply saw everyone else staying behind after school and followed along, half-willingly pulling one all-nighter after another.
Humans are strange sometimes. Even if they don't want to do something, they feel a sense of dread if they aren't doing what everyone else around them is doing.
It was just like in his previous life; seeing classmates studying made him anxious if he wasn't doing the same.
Upon reaching working age, seeing others find jobs made him want to find one quickly as well.
When peers bought cars and houses, not doing so made him feel like he was falling behind, so he would grit his teeth and take out loans just to buy them.
Thus, most of one's life passed in such a half-forced, muddled state. Perhaps there would be occasional moments of clarity, but ultimately, one couldn't resist the pressure of the environment and the outside world. Under the supervision of others, they lived a life defined by common social expectations...
Jiang Lin collected his rewards, raising his physical strength and mental power to a new level.
【Stamina】: 6500→7500
【Mental Power】: 5300→6300
He had been able to release so many powerful sword qi strikes yesterday because of this irrational mental power and a physical constitution far exceeding those of his rank.
At the same time, he began rolling for today's skill upgrade.
He currently had two skills that hadn't reached max level: the proficient-level 【Basic Punching】 and the 【Stone Skin】 he had copied a few days ago.
Soon, the system locked onto the no-rank skill 【Basic Punching (Proficient)】.
In the next moment, a flood of memories surged into Jiang Lin's mind. His understanding and comprehension of basic punching rapidly improved, and the calluses on his hands grew thicker.
Upon reaching a certain level, the calluses fell off, revealing brand-new skin. However, this new skin was far tougher than when the calluses were present.
【Basic Punching (Proficient) → (Superlative)】
Having weathered the impact of the memory load from high-tier skills twice, a no-rank skill was a piece of cake for Jiang Lin. After only a brief moment of mental daze, he fully accepted the memories.
As the official school hours arrived, the students in the class gradually gathered.
Jiang Lin resumed his meditative breathing technique.
"Listen up!"
At that moment, the class teacher, Lake, walked in and scanned the students in their seats.
Seeing that nearly half of these formerly good-for-nothing tail-end students were actually studying or cultivating seriously, Lake felt quite gratified.
From what he had gathered yesterday, he knew this was clearly the influence of Jiang Lin's so-called all-night study sessions.
He cleared his throat and began his announcement:
"The mid-term exam is tomorrow. I just received the official notice that the exam will take place in the 【Phantom Forest】 artificial secret realm. We will gather at the school at 8:00 AM, and it will formally begin at 9:00 AM, lasting for 48 hours. This mid-term exam is a three-school joint exam, including our Radiant Junior Magic Academy, Boulder Junior Magic Academy, and Morning Star Junior Magic Academy.
"The exam rules allow for free practice teams of up to three people. You earn points by killing demonic beasts in the secret realm and gain half of another team's points by defeating them. If you are defeated by another team, you will lose your qualification and your points will be locked. The final grades will be assigned based on the point rankings.
"Additionally, the theory classes exam will be held three days after the practical exam ends. Make sure to review on your own."
As he spoke, he scanned the students again.
"To prevent you from losing them, the school will distribute the identity bracelets for the exam tomorrow. Use today to find your teammates.
"The rankings will be based on the total points of the team divided by the number of members, using each person's average score. So, choose your teammates wisely."
After hearing the teacher's speech, Jiang Lin began to think.
Free teaming, huh... Then I definitely won't team up with these people in the tail-end class. They'll just hold me back...
Of course, if someone wants to 'pay' their way onto the team, that's a different story.
At this moment, his seatmate Tie Chen looked at Jiang Lin.
"Old Jiang..."
Jiang Lin became alert. "What? Don't even think about teaming up with me. You'll just hold me back."
Tie Chen's face darkened. "Ahem, do you remember... you promised me you'd use that move during the mid-term exam..."
Jiang Lin was speechless. This kid was still thinking about that.
"Yeah, if the opportunity is right, I'll use it on someone else. Don't worry, even though you were the first victim, you definitely won't be the last."
Hearing this, Tie Chen felt greatly relieved. "By the way, if we run into each other in the secret realm, don't attack me."
Jiang Lin nodded. "No problem. I'm not so degenerate that I'd do that."
Even if Tie Chen hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have attacked his own seatmate. After all, they were classmates.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the school.
Two familiar faces stood at the school gate.
They were Forest and Kenan, who had come to investigate after receiving the report yesterday.
Since they had received another report last night—and this time the whistleblower hadn't specified anyone as a secret cultist suspect—they had brought a special magic conduction tool today.
Forest held a crystal compass-like needle in his hand, though it didn't show any special effect as no magic essence had been poured into it yet.
Today, the two of them didn't appear on campus in their ivory-white mage robes as conspicuously as they had yesterday; instead, they were dressed in plain clothes.
Standing at the school gate, the place with the most foot traffic in the morning, Forest slowly poured his magic essence into the compass. After shaking slightly for a moment, the magic conduction tool showed no abnormalities.
"Nothing here."
Forest sighed.
This was normal. Without clear evidence, the magic conduction tools available to ordinary Temple staff for daily use were only at this level; they could only detect traces of an evil god's aura within a ten-meter radius.
They had carried this tool while interrogating Jiang Lin yesterday, but it hadn't detected anything then either.
Subsequently, the two began their slow detection journey.
...
Time passed quickly. After finishing the detection of the path leading into the school, they headed straight for the teaching building—the place with the highest foot traffic—and began checking it inch by inch.
After two class periods had passed, the two, who had almost lost hope and thought it was a malicious report, suddenly widened their eyes.
In a corner of the corridor on the top floor of the teaching building, the crystal compass in their hands began to spin wildly, flashing with a crimson glow.
There really was a trace of an evil god's aura remaining!!
The two looked at each other, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
They tested the area around the scent and found that only this specific zone could detect it.
Whatever. Even if they couldn't track it, it at least proved that there was definitely a secret cultist within Radiant Junior Magic Academy!
Immediately, they used a magic conduction communication device to send a message to the Temple headquarters in Boulder City.
At the same time, they headed to the principal's office to notify him to initiate a full lockdown.
...
The morning at Radiant Junior Magic Academy, which should have been a mix of the low chanting of magic spells and the rustle of reading theory points, was suddenly shattered by a whistle.
"All students, gather at the training grounds!"
Jiang Lin, who was practicing his meditative breathing in the classroom, was also roused by this notification.
Has the Temple detected the evil god's aura and started moving?
Jiang Lin pondered.
He looked out the window and saw a large number of knights in bright silver armor with cold silver badges on their chests pouring into the campus. They secured all the fences of Radiant Junior Magic Academy to prevent anyone from escaping.
Other students also noticed this scene.
"Is that the Paladin Order? What are they doing here?!"
"They've locked down the school? Did something big happen?!"
"Could there have been a murder?"
"Probably not. If it were a murder, they wouldn't make us go to the training grounds; they'd tell us to lock our doors and windows and stay in our classrooms."
"Then is it possible they found a secret cultist? I heard this is the treatment places get when a secret cultist is discovered..."
"Don't worry about it, just go. I don't want to be mistaken for a secret cultist!"
...
Few students had ever seen such a spectacle. Discussions, exclamations, and the sounds of bumping into each other while running blended together.
Many teachers also had grim expressions. After receiving the notice, they worked hard to maintain order while soothing the restless students, guiding the flow of people toward the training grounds.
These teachers had already passed the Temple's preliminary screening, clearing them of suspicion of being secret cultists.
Little Black hopped onto Jiang Lin's shoulder.
"Tsk, tsk, quite a spectacle. It seems your Temple really wants to drive us secret cultists to extinction."
Jiang Lin asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Little Black said confidently, "Of course. If you aren't discovered, I won't be either."
Jiang Lin nodded. "Better be. If you are detected, don't blame me for selling you out."
Subsequently, Jiang Lin also followed the crowd to the training grounds with Little Black.
"Who do you think that secret cultist is?" Jiang Lin asked.
"How should I know? I can only sense the presence of another evil god's aura, not who it specifically is.
"Its aura was only exposed for a split second, leaving behind a few traces. If you hadn't reported it in time, those traces might have dissipated into the air in a few more days."
Little Black shrugged, then added, "By the way, I've broken through to level 1 and entered the stage of a transcendent creature."
Jiang Lin nodded. "Mhm, cherish it. This is the closest your strength will ever be to mine."
Hearing Jiang Lin's words, Little Black was momentarily stunned.
He had originally wanted to show off his superiority, but this guy didn't take the bait and even countered with his own flex?
"Not much strength, but your trash talk is quite something," Little Black mocked.
"Next, I'll show you what a real gap in talent looks like!"
Jiang Lin remained silent, no longer bothering with Little Black.
Arriving at the training grounds, Temple priests and other staff had already begun setting up temporary divine magic detection arrays.
Knights in sharp armor guarded the perimeter and key points of the training grounds, preventing any secret cultists hidden in the crowd from launching a sudden attack while cutting off any chance of escape.
The preliminary screening for the students had begun.
Priests holding crystal balls that emitted a soft light stood with solemn expressions, chanting incantations as they guided each student through the audit.
"In the past week, have you come into contact with any items or rituals of unknown origin?"
"Has your mental state fluctuated abnormally? Have you heard voices that don't belong to reality?"
"Have any strange things happened around you recently?"
"Hmm? Collective all-nighters? Tell me more about that..."
"..."
The screening process was long and oppressive, the air thick with tension.
However, most students had a clear conscience, so they watched the Temple staff around them with curiosity.
Similarly, since they didn't have to attend class, many students were quite excited, whispering with their classmates and lightheartedly discussing gossip and rumors.
That's how many students were; as long as it didn't happen right next to them or to them directly, they wouldn't feel much of an impact.
However, unlike these noisy and disorganized students, there was a special group in the third-year tail-end class that seemed completely out of place.
Clearly, this was the all-night study group led by Jiang Lin and consisting of members like Tie Chen and Dean.
They seemed to have blocked out all the noise and flightiness around them, seriously focusing on their own tasks.
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged on the ground, absorbed in practicing the 【Paladin Breathing Technique】.
Tie Chen sat on the ground with a thick copy of 《Fundamentals of Magic Potions》 spread across his knees. His fingers flipped through the rough pages, his brow furrowed as he muttered to himself, memorizing common exam points.
At the same time, many people from the all-night group walked toward them, wanting to get closer to enjoy a better learning atmosphere.
This scene caused those around them to watch with eyes wide in disbelief.
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