Chapter 120: Cousin Li Bin! Conspiracy!

"Bing-ge?"

Song Qiuyun also noticed the young man, a look of surprise brightening her lovely face.

"Wait for me here a moment."

The young man turned to his team members, then walked straight up to Song Qiuyun, a teasing smile on his face:

"Young Lady, what a coincidence, running into you here."

"Bing-ge, if you keep calling me that, I'll start using your nickname too."

As if reminded of some long-buried embarrassment, Song Qiuyun quickly cut him off.

"Haha, Xiao Yun, you're just as easily teased as ever."

The young man laughed, then frowned slightly in confusion:

"But aren't you supposed to be studying at Magic University? What are you doing here in the Demon Cave?"

"It's a study trip, Bing-ge—aren't you a graduate of Qingjing Institute of Esoteric Abilities?" Song Qiuyun retorted.

"Study trip?"

The young man blinked, then suddenly realized:

"Of course— it's already November. Top universities would be scheduling study trips now."

"Exactly."

Song Qiuyun beamed as she introduced Xu Jingming:

"Jingming, this is my cousin Li Bin, graduate of Qingjing Institute of Esoteric Abilities.

He's currently captain of the Twelfth Squad of Glory Squad."

The Song family is vast, but most of its younger members grew up together and are close.

This cousin, Li Bin, is one of the relatives she gets along with best.

"Vice-captain, vice-captain."

Li Bin cleared his throat and hastily corrected himself.

If the captain heard that, he'd be forced into brutal extra training.

"Alright, alright, Vice-Captain Li—I get it."

Song Qiuyun stretched out the words teasingly, then continued introducing Xu Jingming:

"This is Xu Jingming, my classmate and friend."

"Xu Jingming?"

Li Bin had already noticed the young man's unusual aura; hearing his name, his eyes lit up:

"You're the S-rank from Magic University? Honor to meet you."

Before speaking, Li Bin had carried himself with calm, refined aura and a cold, imposing presence.

But the moment he opened his mouth, the whole image collapsed—he now grinned excitedly and reached out to shake Xu Jingming's hand.

As if Xu Jingming were some rare exotic creature.

"Bing-ge, you've got some pretty good intel—how'd you even know that?"

Song Qiuyun was genuinely surprised.

Her cousin had always seemed unreliable; she never expected him to know about Xu Jingming.

"Xiao Yun, you have no idea—top-tier squads have been watching Xu Jingming since day one, waiting for him to graduate so they can recruit him.

Glory Squad's no different. As vice-captain, I've heard that name dozens of times."

Li Bin blurted out, then his gaze swept between the two:

"Huh? Just the two of you out alone?"

"What? Is that a problem?" Song Qiuyun raised a delicate eyebrow.

"No problem! Of course no problem!"

Li Bin waved his hands dramatically, then immediately gave Xu Jingming a thumbs-up:

"Brother Jingming! Impressive! This is the first time I've ever seen Xiao Yun go out alone with a guy!

Coincidentally, my uncle's family still needs a suitable son-in-law—I think you'd be perfect..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Bin sensed Song Qiuyun's murderous glare.

"Cough, cough—Brother Jingming, let's chat another time."

"Also, wish you both great success on your Magic University study trip."

"I've got things to do—I'm off."

With a cough, Li Bin decisively bolted.

"Your cousin's kind of interesting."

Watching Li Bin lead his team away, Xu Jingming thought of his high school buddy Zhang Hao.

Both shared a similar goofy streak.

If they met, they'd probably become good friends.

"He's okay—just sometimes unreliable."

Song Qiuyun exhaled deeply.

If Li Bin had stayed any longer, he might've said something even more outrageous.

"Let's go back to the training hall."

"Alright."

As Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun returned to the training hall and resumed their training,

in a secluded villa within the Shun'an Supply Base complex,

A thin man in a gray robe, with a blood-moon emblem on his back.

Cradling a bone as white as jade, he floated motionless in the center of the villa's living room.

"Grand Archbishop, I've returned."

A middle-aged man entered the villa and knelt on one knee before the gray-robed man.

The gray-robed man slowly opened his eyes, and a deep voice spoke:

"Have you confirmed all the intelligence?"

"Report, Grand Archbishop: confirmed. Mo Da's S-rank has indeed reached Second Stage Upper Tier."

The middle-aged man said with respectful deference.

"They were still Awakeners during the Wu Ke Gaokao—less than half a year has passed, and they've already reached Second Stage Upper Tier..."

The gray-robed man's eyes gleamed with sharp light. "If such a monstrous talent is allowed to grow, it will deal us the gravest blow possible."

In one month, my Tianming Sect will reveal our existence to the world.

Let all three elite students—including Xu Jingming and the S-rank from Yin Du—become offerings to our sect..."

The gray-robed man's voice carried a bloodthirsty killing intent, then a small black device appeared in his hand:

"Also, divine blood will emerge from the Demon Cavern. This is the Divine Blood Indicator. You are to arrange personnel for its recovery."

"Remember: do not use the name of the Tianming Sect."

"Understood, my lord."

The middle-aged man bowed respectfully and withdrew, carrying the device; the villa soon fell silent once more...

On another front, Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun returned to the training room.

They no longer sparred, but trained separately.

They only left after receiving a notice to assemble for a meeting at five p. m.

The assembly meeting was held on the square in front of Shun'an Supply Base.

Besides the freshmen from Mo Da, the freshmen from Jincheng Institute of Psychic Abilities and Qing Jing Institute of Psychic Abilities had also arrived.

The three schools together had nearly three thousand freshmen.

Yet standing on the square, no one felt crowded.

At the very front of the square, besides Deputy Principal Hearing Ling Shuang, there were two other people: a man and a woman.

Their auras were equally powerful—they must be the team leaders from the other two universities.

"Hello, students of the three schools. I am Xu Ping, Deputy Principal of Qing Jing Institute of Psychic Abilities."

"This study trip, aside from..."

The meeting was hosted by the Deputy Principal of Qing Jing Institute of Psychic Abilities.

The content was much the same as what Hearing Ling Shuang had explained at the school.

Rankings will be determined by the level, quantity, and species of demons slain; all students within the top 1,000 of the three schools will receive rewards.

The higher the rank, the more generous the reward.

The top three may freely choose one combat technique from the combined archives of the three schools.

Additionally, this is a joint reward from the three schools.

There are also separate rewards offered by each school upon achieving a rank.

For instance, Mo Da will award ten thousand academic credits directly to the student who achieves first place overall.

Of course,

All Mo Da freshmen knew: this reward could only possibly be claimed by Xu Jingming.

And with the S-rank from Qing Jing Institute of Psychic Abilities present, that chance remains uncertain!

"Also, let me reiterate: all footage of you slaying demons inside the Demon Cavern will be recorded by the smart wristbands just issued."

"If the smart wristband detects cheating, and it is confirmed by human review, you will face severe punishment..."

At this moment, all three schools' freshmen

Had each received a smart wristband designed to record the number and species of demons slain, and tally scores.

Unlike the Wu Ke Gaokao, rankings would not update in real time.

After all, Demon Cavern No. 7 was vast and expansive; signals could not cover it entirely.

Scores and rankings would only appear after returning to the supply base and submitting the smart wristbands to the scoring machine.