Chapter 91: The National Top Scholar's Reward, the Great Sumeru Ring

The poison on the dagger was extremely potent; in just a few seconds, a strange purple hue spread across the woman's face, and she breathed her last.

"A toxin capable of killing a level 50 class-advancer instantly requires at least a level 40 poison master to concoct. To dispatch two class-advancers above level 40 at once, and to be able to scare a level 50 class-advancer into committing suicide—the backing behind this must be truly massive..."

He Yunfeng narrowed his eyes, his expression so gloomy it could drip water.

In Shencheng, the number of factions with the guts and the capability to pull off something like this could be counted on one hand.

Combined with the fact that Ye Lin had offended Wu Shaoqi in the Top Scholar Secret Realm, it was practically obvious who had sent this female assassin and who was behind it all.

Shencheng, the Wu family!

Ye Lin stood by in silence; he also wanted to see how He Yunfeng would handle this matter.

"Ye Lin, rest assured, I will definitely give you an explanation for this! I will certainly make Wu Shaoqi apologize to you in person," He Yunfeng said, taking a deep breath.

Hearing the word "apologize," Ye Lin nearly laughed out loud.

Wu Shaoqi had hired someone to kill him, and the consequence was merely to offer an apology.

This punishment... was perhaps a bit too severe.

"Um, City Lord He, perhaps we should forget about me joining Shencheng. If I really stay in Shencheng, I'm afraid I won't live for a month," Ye Lin said.

He Yunfeng was stunned upon hearing this, then gave Ye Lin a deep look.

"These guys from the Wu family..."

He Yunfeng suppressed the surging anger in his heart; he knew that the situation Ye Lin described was very likely to be true.

Yet, he could not move against the Wu family; once the Demon race attacked, the Wu family would be a vital force in defending Shencheng.

"Since that is the case, I respect your choice," He Yunfeng sighed helplessly.

Between a Forbidden Spellcaster who had not yet grown up and the powerful Wu family, he clearly chose the latter.

After He Yunfeng left, the results of the Top Scholar Secret Realm trial were soon announced.

With his ranking of first in level and his achievement of repelling the Demon race's royal bloodline, Ye Lin was the undisputed National Top Scholar!

Once this news broke, some were happy while others were worried.

Mi Xue tore down Ye Lin's door and rushed in excitedly.

"Ye Lin! You're the National Top Scholar! The National Top Scholar! You've brought glory to your ancestors!"

Ye Lin: "I'm an orphan."

"Uh..." Mi Xue felt a bit awkward, then hurriedly changed the subject. "Anyway, it's just amazing! I actually teamed up with the National Top Scholar to clear a secret realm! I can brag about this for the rest of my life! Come on, let's take a photo together!"

Mi Xue grabbed Ye Lin and took a photo.

When Wu Shaoqi learned the news, his anger surged instantly, and he swept everything off his desk.

That Ye Lin could become the National Top Scholar meant that the assassin he had sent had failed.

Because dead men do not become National Top Scholars.

"Why couldn't a level 50 assassin kill a level 25 one? What a piece of trash!" Wu Shaoqi was furious.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dignified middle-aged man pushed open his door and walked in.

Upon seeing this middle-aged man, Wu Shaoqi's expression immediately turned fearful.

"Dad!"

"Do you still see me as your father?" The middle-aged man snorted coldly, reprimanding him with a look of disappointment. "I don't care that you found people to deal with that Ye Lin, but why are you so stupid?"

"Dad, what did I do?" Wu Shaoqi looked blank, still unaware of what had happened.

"What did you do? You're an idiot! I should have just wiped you on the sheets! The assassin you hired went to assassinate a Top Scholar right in front of City Lord He Yunfeng—tell me, aren't you an idiot?"

Wu Shaoqi was berated severely by the middle-aged man, and only then did he realize the gravity of the situation.

"Dad! What should I do now?" Wu Shaoqi asked hurriedly.

The middle-aged man wanted to slap the Wu Shaoqi before him to death, but remembering he was his own flesh and blood, he held back.

"You are a direct descendant of the Wu family; He Yunfeng will at most give you a light punishment, he won't do anything to you. Pack your things now and come with me to offer a humble apology to He Yunfeng! Don't cause any more trouble for me!" the middle-aged man barked sternly.

Wu Shaoqi was like a wilted eggplant, not daring to refute a single word, though his resentment toward Ye Lin in his heart grew even deeper.

Soon, Ye Lin received the National Top Scholar's reward, presented to him personally by City Lord He Yunfeng.

The National Top Scholar's reward was very simple: just two items.

One legendary-grade skill scroll, and one legendary-grade piece of equipment!

When He Yunfeng announced the contents of the reward, almost everyone present looked at Ye Lin with extreme envy.

A legendary-grade skill scroll and legendary-grade equipment! These were almost the highest-tier rewards possible.

After all, beyond skills and equipment, the next levels up were Forbidden Spells and Divine Artifacts.

As for Forbidden Spells, unless a normal person carried a blood feud, they wouldn't dare to practice them even if they obtained one.

Divine Artifacts were even more so; the second news of you possessing a Divine Artifact spread, the next second several masked robbers above level 90 would appear to rob you. These things were too precious—an innocent man is innocent, but his treasure makes him guilty.

Ye Lin stepped forward and claimed his reward.

He stuffed the legendary-grade skill scroll directly into his pocket without even looking at it, then immediately began to study the ring equipment, which was of legendary grade.

[Great Sumeru Ring]

[Grade: Legendary]

[Attribute: Mental Power increased by 100%] (Refinable)

[Skill 1: Sumeru Hides the Mustard Seed]

[Sumeru Hides the Mustard Seed: The wearer can absorb energy-based attacks into the Great Sumeru Ring and convert the energy into a temporary Mental Power bonus.]

[Skill 2: Mustard Seed Contains Sumeru]

[Mustard Seed Contains Sumeru: The wearer can open the storage space within the Great Sumeru Ring; the size of the storage space is directly proportional to the wearer's Mental Power strength.]

"Hiss!"

After seeing the attribute bonuses and skills of the Great Sumeru Ring, Ye Lin couldn't help but gasp.

This Great Sumeru Ring doubled his Mental Power, came with a rare spatial attribute, and could absorb energy-based attacks to convert them into temporary Mental Power.

Ye Lin couldn't help but imagine a scenario where a powerful mage was bombarding him, throwing countless skills at his head in an attempt to wipe him out.

Yet, after a round of output, the opponent would find that not only was he not dead, but he had used the Great Sumeru Ring to absorb those skills one by one, converted them into a Mental Power bonus, and then used a Forbidden Spell to instantly kill the opponent.

With this thing combined with his Undying Body... wouldn't he just get stronger the more he was beaten?