At that exact moment, in Ha Lu's room, the sound of a heavy punch echoed. Ha Lu was venting all his fury on a punching bag, grinding his teeth. "Lin Fang. That worthless peasant dares to make me lose face again."
He collapsed into a chair, dripping with sweat, his eyes calculating. Brute force had failed, and academy rules couldn't stop him. He needed a special method. A dark idea flashed in his mind and a sinister smirk twisted his lips. That's right. He relies on nature magic and summons to show off, doesn't he?
Ha Lu grabbed a letter, handing it to his subordinate. "Take this letter to my uncle on the front lines immediately. Let's see just how long he can stay so smug."
He then barked another order at his lackey. "Just say that all the nature system mages on rotation at the battlefield need to return to the academy as soon as possible."
Holding the letter, his subordinate asked nervously, "Sir, are you planning to use the nature masters to pressure him?"
Ha Lu just crossed his arms, a smug grin spreading across his face. "Exactly," he said. "Those old-timers are obsessed with the purity and rules of nature magic. Let's see how arrogant Lin Fang can be when he has to deal with them."
Meanwhile, in another part of the academy, inside Vera's room, she lay on her bed, recalling Lin Fang's battle, completely stunned. What an absolute monster. His understanding of natural power is practically baked into his instincts.
She sat bolt upright, her face a mask of pure determination. Tomorrow. No — right now. I have to write a letter telling those old relics to get back here immediately.
Moments later an adorable messenger bird took to the skies, carrying a letter sealed with a bright red lipstick kiss. Vera stood by the window, gazing into the distance with a mischievous glint in her eye. Oh, you ancient fools, she thought. If you don't come back, your lifetime achievement awards are going right out the window.
For several days straight, Lin Fang had been inside the instance. He stood on a rocky outcrop, looking down pensively at his massive wolf warrior. He was just calmly training and fighting inside the dungeon, grinding away.
The leaderboard kept updating, and the name Lin Fang dominated every top spot with razor-thin clear times. The fastest: ten minutes and twenty-eight seconds.
When Lin Fang stepped out of the instance portal once again, the surrounding crowd was just floored.
One person exclaimed, "He cleared it solo, and he's that fast? Does he think this dungeon is his own backyard or something?"
His friend chimed in. "Jeez, he's out again. How many runs is that for today?"
But another group, totally used to the scene, looked bored out of their minds, not even bothering to count any more. Another guy just yawned. "Let's go. Let's go. This is so dull. Watching him farm a dungeon is less exciting than watching someone literally farm."
Ignoring all the chatter, Lin Fang walked up to a man and said cheerfully, "Mr. Chen, I'm here to exchange these for my rewards."
The man called Mr. Chen spoke to him seriously. "Lin Fang, your accumulated points are more than enough to apply for a promotion. Staying in the lower house doesn't really offer you much at this point. I strongly suggest you apply for a promotion to the upper house."
Lin Fang looked a little surprised, repeating the words. "Promotion to the upper house?"
Mr. Chen began to explain that the Extraordinary Academy was split into an upper and a lower house. The lower house cultivated basic talent, like his current Storm Academy. "But the Sunwheel Academy — that's where the best of the best from all the lower houses gather. That's the upper house," he continued. "Join the Sunwheel Academy, and the rewards you can get, whether in quality or variety, are far beyond anything here. That's where a genius like you truly belongs."
Lin Fang fell into deep thought, a new resolve flashing in his eyes. The Sunwheel Academy. The upper house, huh?
A moment later he looked up with a brilliant smile. "I understand. Thank you, sir."
Without a second of hesitation, Lin Fang immediately headed for the academy's mission hall. At the front desk he announced clearly, "Hello. I'm here to apply for a promotion to the Sunwheel Academy."
The female staff member smiled professionally in return. "Name, academy branch and your point certificate, please."
Lin Fang calmly slid his card over, and his information instantly lit up the large screen. Lin Fang. Nature department of the Storm Academy. Current accumulated points: 30,135.
The surrounding crowd instantly erupted. "Oh my god, over thirty thousand points."
Someone recognised him. "If I'm not mistaken, that's the master who's been farming the Dark Gloom Forest like a madman."
Another person couldn't believe it. "Just how many times do you have to clear the dark forest to get that score?"
After confirming the information, the staff member handed Lin Fang a scroll. "Points confirmed. No errors. Lin Fang, this is your promotion quest scroll. Complete the mission and get it approved, and you will officially become a member of the Sunwheel Academy."
Holding the scroll in his hand, Lin Fang walked along, lost in thought. After this promotion, does this mean I can finally exchange for gold-tier supplies?
A female student passing by overheard him and explained, "That's right. Right now you're in the Storm Academy. You can only use points to get supplies from bronze to silver tier. After you get promoted, you can exchange them for rare gold and platinum tier items."
Lin Fang replied politely, "Thanks a lot."
He unrolled the scroll to check it out, murmuring to himself. "All I have to do is go to the city's outer defence line and find something. The location is really close to the manor, so it shouldn't be too difficult. But I need to grab something else first."
With that, he strode down the sunlit hallway toward his next objective.