Chapter 13
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After the match ended, Xu Jintang and the other two gradually climbed down from the arena.
Song Duoduo looked around curiously. “Sister Shiyi didn’t come to watch our match today?”
Song Tianqi explained, “She said she’d come once we made it into the top eight. The earlier rounds weren’t worth watching.”
Just then, Jiang Lu approached them with a broad smile and welcomed the three of them. “Not bad. You showed the spirit of our Class One right from the opening match.”
Their victory in the arena had been an utter steamroll.
Watching it had left everyone feeling considerably refreshed.
Xu Jintang nodded. “Teacher, we’ll head back and rest first so we can prepare for the next round.”
Jiang Lu waved agreeably. “Go ahead.”
Xu Jintang turned and beckoned to the other two. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Song Duoduo quickly caught up.
Song Tianqi, who had been surrounded by classmates praising him, immediately ended his conversation and hurried after the two girls.
On the way back to the dormitory, Song Duoduo suddenly ran off, apparently to find out something.
When she returned, she lowered her voice and pulled Xu Jintang aside to share the information. “I finally found out! Our homeroom teacher and Teacher Jiang from Class Two have always hated the sight of each other because, when they were young, they both pursued the same girl. In the end, our homeroom teacher won. Ever since then, the two of them have been at odds over everything. Whenever they see each other, they look as if they’d like nothing more than to strangle one another.”
Xu Jintang was stunned. “No wonder the atmosphere between them seemed so strange just now.”
Song Duoduo nodded solemnly. “It took me a lot of effort to dig this up. It’s absolutely reliable.”
Xu Jintang clicked her tongue. “The grudge of losing one’s beloved wife—truly irreconcilable.”
“Hey, don’t tell anyone else. If our homeroom teacher finds out I’ve been gossiping about him, he’ll drag me to the office for another lecture.” Song Duoduo reminded her in a whisper.
“Don’t worry. I know how to keep my mouth shut.” Xu Jintang immediately gave her a serious promise.
“Were you two just talking about Jiang Lu?” A voice suddenly came from behind them.
The smiles on Xu Jintang and Song Duoduo’s faces stiffened.
They turned around and saw Jiang Shiyi standing opposite them. Neither of them knew how much of their gossip she had overheard.
Jiang Shiyi hesitated for a moment, then glanced at them both. “I heard you, but I have no interest in gossiping about other people. I won’t spread it.”
Song Duoduo gave an awkward laugh. “That’s good.”
Then she remembered something and quickly added, “By the way, Sister Shiyi, we won our arena match.”
“Yes, Song Tianqi just told me.” Jiang Shiyi nodded, her gaze shifting to Xu Jintang. “If you can win the championship, I’ll give you a reward in addition to the academy’s prize.”
Song Duoduo’s eyes widened. “You prepared a reward for us too, Sister Shiyi?”
“My reward won’t be any worse than the academy’s. Do your best.” With that, Jiang Shiyi withdrew her gaze and turned to enter the dormitory.
Xu Jintang watched her back disappear inside before finally looking away.
“Class monitor, let’s really give it our all. If we win the championship, we’ll get two rewards!” Song Duoduo’s voice was filled with excitement.
A spark of interest rose in Xu Jintang’s heart. “Yes. Let’s do our best.”
After seeing Song Duoduo off, Xu Jintang returned to the dormitory, crossed her legs, and sat beside the bed to continue cultivating.
Her cultivation speed was simply too slow. She had no choice but to devote more time and energy than others to making progress.
Nearly four hours passed before the amplification inscription’s effect faded.
Xu Jintang stopped cultivating and slowly opened her eyes.
“Brother Dragon! I think my mental strength has improved!” Realizing that she had made progress this time, Xu Jintang hurriedly called out in excitement.
Woken by the disturbance, the Ice Soul Dragon circled once within her spiritual sea. Seeing that the spiritual sea had grown slightly more substantial, it replied, “Not bad. There’s definitely been some change.”
Xu Jintang was somewhat excited. “If I continue cultivating at this pace, is there any chance I can reach the second rank before the joint examination?”
The Ice Soul Dragon was silent for a while. “It’ll be difficult. Although you’ve made some progress this time, there’s still a long way to go before your spiritual sea is completely filled.”
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Xu Jintang immediately deflated. “All right.”
“Even if you can’t reach the second rank, first-rank strength is enough for you to challenge opponents above your level. The previous simulated battlefield training was quite effective. When you have the chance, you can try challenging a second-rank demon beast.”
Xu Jintang rallied a little. “All right. I’ll try a second-rank demon beast next time!”
Darkness descended outside the window.
Xu Jintang left the dormitory and headed toward the academy cafeteria.
Halfway there, she received a communication from Song Duoduo.
“Class monitor, are you going to the cafeteria for dinner?”
“Sure. I just left the dormitory. I’m waiting for you by the flower bed.”
After replying, Xu Jintang ended the call and sat on a bench beside the flower bed to wait.
Before long, Song Duoduo’s petite figure came rushing over.
“Class monitor! I’m here. I happened to run into Song Tianqi downstairs just now. He’s going to eat too.”
Song Tianqi followed behind her, walking over with a beaming smile. “I’ll join you.”
Xu Jintang stood up and brushed the dust from her trousers. “Let’s go.”
The three of them walked side by side toward the cafeteria.
When they reached the entrance, they happened to run into Xu Bohan and his two teammates coming out.
Xu Jintang paused, but before she could say anything, Xu Bohan cast her a cold sidelong glance. He then led his team straight past them and walked away without looking back.
His aloof bearing made it clear that he did not even consider them worthy of a proper glance.
“I’m so sick of him. Why does he act cool all the time? He behaves as if they’re so impressive.” Song Duoduo muttered helplessly.
Xu Jintang gazed thoughtfully in the direction they had gone. “It looks like they’re heading to the simulated battlefield combat room.”
Song Duoduo froze and turned to look as well.
That direction did indeed lead to the simulated battlefield combat room.
“It’s already so late, and they’re still going to train?”
Xu Jintang withdrew her gaze. “They probably saw the effect of Song Tianqi’s ability and decided to increase their training.”
Song Tianqi proudly straightened his back. “I never thought the academy’s top students would actually feel threatened by me one day.”
“That won’t do. Why don’t we train too? There are still four arena matches before the finals. The opponents we encounter later will definitely grow stronger and stronger. We can’t afford to slack off.” Song Duoduo suddenly became wary.
Xu Jintang nodded. “All right. First-rank demon beasts are no longer much of a threat to us. This time, let’s try second-rank demon beasts.”
“Sure! Then we’ll go after dinner!” Song Tianqi agreed excitedly.
After quickly filling their stomachs, the three of them also headed to the simulated battlefield combat room.
Any student who had awakened a special ability could reserve the simulated battlefield combat room at any time. However, because activating the simulated battlefield consumed an enormous amount of energy, using it outside of classes and instructional sessions required payment.
The fee was one hundred star coins per hour.
“Should the three of us split the cost of the simulation pods?” Xu Jintang suggested.
Song Tianqi immediately waved his hand. “No need. I’ll pay. I can afford that much.”
Xu Jintang cleared her throat. “That… doesn’t seem right.”
“It’s fine.” Song Tianqi waved his hand generously again. “It’s really nothing. Don’t stand on ceremony with me.”
Everyone in the class knew that Song Tianqi’s family was wealthy. This amount was no more than a drop in the ocean to him.
Song Duoduo also took Xu Jintang by the arm and said with a grin, “Class monitor, let him pay.”
Xu Jintang did not argue further and nodded.
Once the payment was made, the automatic door to the combat room slowly opened.
At that moment, only one simulation pod inside the room was operating. Its hatch was tightly closed, and the red light above it flashed conspicuously.
It was probably being used by Xu Bohan and his two teammates.
Song Tianqi came to the simulated battlefield control console, rubbed his hands together, and looked up to ask, “Class monitor, should I change the highest demon-beast setting to second rank?”
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Xu Jintang walked to a simulation pod and opened its hatch. “Go ahead.”
Song Duoduo climbed into the simulation pod with a giggle. “Come on. Let’s enter the simulated battlefield.”
Two minutes later, the consciousness of the three of them was drawn into the newly configured simulated battlefield.
It was still the Blizzard Forest.
A vast mass of dark clouds gathered along the gray horizon.
“It’s so cold.” Song Duoduo shivered from the chill and curled up.
The simulated battlefield could even reproduce changes in the weather.
The overcast sky was also modeled completely after the real Blizzard Forest.
“Oh no. When I was setting the weather just now, I think I forgot to set it to clear skies. This… it isn’t going to rain, is it?” Song Tianqi gazed worriedly at the clouds overhead.
Xu Jintang rubbed her hands together and blew warm air into her palms. “It probably is. Let’s enter the forest and take a look. If it becomes unbearable, we can die and exit, then restart.”
Once they entered the forest, the three of them instinctively formed a triangular formation.
Their roles remained the same as before: Xu Jintang took the lead and scouted the way, while Song Duoduo and Song Tianqi stayed behind, ready to respond and provide support at any moment.
This time, their luck was good.
They walked for more than ten minutes without encountering a single demon beast.
The clouds overhead grew heavier and heavier. Before long, a light drizzle began to fall.
The rain gradually intensified, and a thin mist spread through the air.
“The rain’s too heavy. We need to find somewhere to shelter.” Xu Jintang raised a hand to cover her head, but the rain was simply too heavy to block. Before long, it had soaked her clothes completely.
Song Duoduo pointed west. “A cave should protect us from the rain. Let’s head that way. There are mountains over there.”
“Let’s go.” Xu Jintang quickened her pace and led them toward the mountains.
After nearly five minutes, they passed through the dense forest, and a cave two meters wide appeared before them.
Xu Jintang stopped and raised a hand to halt the other two. Her expression grew solemn. “There are demon beasts inside the cave—and more than one.”
Song Duoduo, who had just been about to celebrate, immediately wilted.
“Don’t tell me… we have to fight in the rain?”
Xu Jintang nodded. “The demon beasts inside have already heard us.”
She wrung out her completely drenched clothes, and a large pool of water streamed onto the ground. Her emotions gradually settled.
After using the power of her domain to investigate the cave, Xu Jintang shared the information with the other two.
“The demon beasts inside are a group of venomous green scorpions called Fierce-Spirit Green Poison Scorpions. Their leader is second rank. The other four are all first-rank demon beasts.”
“Their tails are poisonous. Be careful not to get stung.”
“Duoduo, use your ability together with Song Tianqi to take out the first-rank ones first. Then the three of us will fight the second-rank Fierce-Spirit Green Poison Scorpion together.”
Song Duoduo and Song Tianqi took a deep breath and nodded in unison. “All right.”
After assigning their tactics, the three of them spread out and took their positions.
A violent tremor came from inside the cave, shaking the surrounding ground.
Xu Jintang retreated half a step, two attack inscriptions clenched in her palm, and fixed a cautious gaze on the cave entrance.
“They’re coming out.” A trace of tension edged Song Duoduo’s voice.
This was the first time they had faced so many demon beasts at once—and one of them was even second rank.
As soon as she finished speaking, a vivid green scorpion nimbly crawled out of the cave.
It was small in stature, with eyes like two emeralds that glittered with cunning. Its tail arched high into the air, the slender poisonous stinger at its tip gleaming coldly.
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