Chapter 123: Trial Difficulty Upgraded—How Can You Go Without a Stakes?

"Old Xu…"

"I know this kid's a freak, and I know he's the strongest in this year's Long Xu Ban."

"I know about those Flame Pillars, Spiral Dragon Bullets, Quicksand Domains… even that Fire-Earth combo technique—I'm aware of all of them. To master these skills in such a short time is already insane."

Principal Guhe changed the subject, his finger jabbing hard at the document paper:

"But these new additions on here—aren't they a bit too much?"

"Thunder Chain Prison? Earth-Shaking Thousand Rock Spears? Dead Thorn Rock Spear? And now new Thunder-Fire combo techniques? Even special techniques have shown up?"

"You're telling me this is a freshman?"

Principal Guhe turned his gaze to Xu Wenchang, eyes blazing:

"Old Xu, be honest with me—is this kid just messing around on the form, or did he hold back during the big exam?"

"Hahahaha."

Xu Wenchang burst into laughter, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

It felt like the monster he'd raised had finally scared someone else—his heart felt oddly satisfied.

"Principal, I didn't fill out the form randomly, and he didn't hold back during the big exam—he really couldn't do those things back then."

"The Thunder Chain Prison? He just unlocked it yesterday on the train, to deal with the beast surge."

"As for the rest… he learned them all today."

At these words,

Principal Guhe's mouth dropped open, his aged face etched with shock.

After a long pause, he finally spoke:

"In one day, he mastered this many techniques? Including combo techniques and special techniques?"

"No, is Lin Mo even human?"

Xu Wenchang shrugged, expression utterly matter-of-fact:

"Well, that's just how geniuses are."

"Genius?"

Principal Guhe frowned, rebutting:

"Old Xu, have we seen few geniuses? That space user Ye Kong from this year—he's genius enough, right? And he only knows five techniques."

"And Chen Tianming from a few years ago—he was astonishingly talented back then, but how long did it take him to unlock his first combo technique? A whole month!"

"Look at Lin Mo! He learned this whole pile of techniques in one day—and threw in a special technique on the side!"

"You call this genius?"

"Tell me, which genius is like this? This is just… just…"

Principal Guhe struggled for a long time, unable to find a suitable word to describe it.

Xu Wenchang watched the furious Principal Guhe, and said slowly:

"So, Principal."

"Before Lin Mo, those so-called geniuses were just… ordinary people with a bit of talent."

Principal Guhe: "…"

He fell silent.

Though the words stung, crushed the ego,

he looked at the skill sheet on the desk and had to admit—Xu Wenchang was right.

Principal Guhe stared at the skill sheet for a long time, then finally spoke:

"You're right. Before meeting Lin Mo, they were all geniuses. But after meeting Lin Mo, there's only one genius."

"Huh…"

Principal Guhe exhaled deeply and sank back into his chair.

His expression regained some calm, but the shock still burned in his eyes:

"Old Xu, tell me in detail—what exactly happened today?"

Xu Wenchang nodded.

Then,

he briefly recounted everything that had happened that day.

After hearing Xu Wenchang's account,

Principal Guhe leaned back in his chair, silent for a long while.

Much later,

he shook his head with a bitter chuckle:

"Perfect absorption in one try, and after a single night's sleep, he unlocked the Thunder-Fire combo technique…"

"Looks like the Oni Clan of Ying Country is in for a rough time at the 30-level World Battlefield."

The two men exchanged a knowing smile.

After a brief silence,

Principal Guhe seemed to remember something and changed the subject:

"By the way, Old Xu."

"Isn't the 'Freshman Trial' the day after tomorrow?"

Xu Wenchang paused, then nodded:

"Yes, at nine a. m. the day after tomorrow."

"As usual, twenty Long Xu Ban freshmen will fight two hundred elite second-year students from regular classes."

At this, a relaxed smile appeared on Xu Wenchang's face:

"To be honest, in previous years, the freshmen of Long Xu Ban have never won this trial — after all, the level gap is right there, and their teamwork isn't in sync."

"But this year, though…"

Xu Wenchang chuckled, "With that kid Lin Mo, plus that space-type Ye Kong, and the Han sisters."

"I kind of feel sorry for those 200 selected senior students."

However.

Principal Guhe frowned slightly and gently shook his head.

"Old Xu, do you think a trial with no suspense at all still has any meaning?"

Xu Wenchang was taken aback:

"Principal, you mean…?"

Principal Guhe stood up, hands clasped behind his back, and paced the office:

"The original intention of the freshman trial is to let them feel the cruelty of the battlefield ahead of time."

"It's to make them understand how tiny an individual's strength is when facing a numerical advantage, to force out their potential, to teach them teamwork."

"If Lin Mo alone can casually wipe out those 200 senior students, then what's the point?"

Principal Guhe stopped pacing, turned around, and gazed at Xu Wenchang: "What we're training are warriors who will go fight on the Myriad Nations Battlefield."

Xu Wenchang looked at Principal Guhe, his heart skipping a beat:

"Principal, you don't mean to…"

The corner of Principal Guhe's mouth lifted slightly, "How about this — let's change the rules for this year. The entire second-year class… all of them, come at it together."

"Cough cough cough…"

Xu Wenchang was so startled he coughed repeatedly, "The entire second-year class? Principal, you're not joking, are you?"

"20 people against 2,000? That's a freaking hundred-fold gap in numbers!"

Principal Guhe waved his hand and said lightly:

"Stay calm, stay calm."

"Old Xu, think about it — is there any fairness to speak of on the Myriad Nations Battlefield?"

"You can run into an ambush at any time, facing enemies several times or even dozens of times your number — that's commonplace."

"Besides, I want to see where Lin Mo's true limit lies. Can he still create a miracle?"

"I also want to see whether, in such a desperate situation, prideful geniuses like Ye Kong and Han Mengyao can set aside their arrogance and truly learn to fight around a core."

"That's what's interesting. A trial without any suspense — what's the fun in that?"

Xu Wenchang opened his mouth, wanting to argue, yet felt Principal Guhe made sense.

But…

2,000 people!

If each of them tossed a single fireball, it could drown them!

"This… this is just too crazy…"

Xu Wenchang muttered to himself.

Principal Guhe smiled:

"No madness, no survival."

"Since this is a class of 'Gods Descending,' then it deserves the treatment of Gods Descending."

Saying so.

Principal Guhe flipped his wrist.

A violent aura of thunder instantly filled the entire office.

Xu Wenchang instinctively looked over.

He saw, suspended above Principal Guhe's palm, a fist-sized blue crystal.

The crystal was translucent throughout, with countless tiny thunder serpents swimming and colliding within it.

Xu Wenchang's pupils contracted sharply, and he blurted out: "A Thunder Element Fragment? Where did you get it?"

"Hahahaha, you don't need to worry about that. Luck was pretty good the past few days."

Principal Guhe let out a great laugh.

Xu Wenchang didn't bother asking where it came from either — just at this moment, bringing out this fragment…

"Principal, you mean to…?"

Principal Guhe gave a slight smile:

"Since the difficulty has been raised, how could it do without some decent prize?"

"This Thunder Element Fragment will serve as the ultimate reward for this trial."

"Whoever wins, this fragment is theirs."