Chapter 446: One Step to the Sky, Opening Ceremony (Combined Chapter, Seeking...)

Being Pseudo-Kings as well, the gap between them is vast; some Pseudo-Kings have only one Demon Beast in total, while others have as many as four or five.

A Pseudo-King like Xu Wenhua is barely in the middle tier, which is also the main reason he can only rank tenth in the Langya Kingdom, rather than fourth or fifth.

In the sky, the Three-Legged Fire Crow transforms into a scorching sun.

On the ground, the Cold Jade Rabbit turns into an ice mountain.

The high temperature and the cold air are clearly demarcated, each occupying half of the backyard.

During this month of special training, the Three-Legged Fire Crow and the Cold Jade Rabbit have each reached the peak of the Lord-rank.

As for Ning Bizhen's other Demon Pets, they have not yet reached the peak of the Lord-rank, so naturally, they cannot force a breakthrough.

However, Li Zhangsheng feels their chances are slim.

Even for a Demon Pet of Superior Quality, without the assistance of Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure to aid the breakthrough, the difficulty remains immense.

According to descriptions in books, for every forced breakthrough to the Demon King realm, a Superior Quality Demon Pet has a probability of less than 10%.

Additionally, a failed forced breakthrough carries side effects; besides needing a long period to reconsolidate the realm, the probability of the next forced breakthrough will inevitably decline.

This is only for Superior Quality Demon Pets; the probability of a forced breakthrough for Mid-grade Demon Pets is far lower than for Superior Quality ones, with the first attempt being less than 2%.

The probability of a Mid-grade Demon Pet forcing a breakthrough is completely negligible; unless one's luck is heaven-defying or they use Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure to assist the breakthrough, there is simply no possibility of becoming a Demon King.

This is why there are far fewer Pseudo-Kings than Sixth-Rank Experts; for instance, Zhang Kaishuo and Ning Wei have been Sixth-Rank for many years, yet not a single Demon Pet in their possession has reached the Demon King level.

With the Three-Legged Fire Crow and the Cold Jade Rabbit combined, the total breakthrough probability is less than 20%, which is the main reason Li Zhangsheng remains pessimistic.

The anomaly here naturally attracts many people's gazes, and some of them even guess Ning Bizhen's intention.

However, like Li Zhangsheng, they also hold a pessimistic attitude.

In the sky, the Three-Legged Fire Crow is all thunder and no rain; apart from its aura being slightly stronger, there are no signs of a breakthrough.

Soon, the Three-Legged Fire Crow retracts its flames and lands on the ground with a listless expression, its eyes filled with disappointment.

With this forced breakthrough failed, the probability for the next time will continue to slide.

Just as Ning Bizhen prepares to comfort the Three-Legged Fire Crow, suddenly, the Cold Jade Rabbit's aura surges, and a more intense, misty cold air radiates from its body, causing the temperature in the backyard to drop to the extreme.

Holy crap!

Li Zhangsheng widens his eyes, never expecting that the less than 20% combined probability would actually be hit by Ning Bizhen.

"Is she really a child of destiny?" Li Zhangsheng looks with suspicious eyes at Ning Bizhen, who is currently in a state of ecstasy.

Ning Bizhen's experiences over these past few years can be described as having divine inspiration, being blessed by heaven, having luck arrive at the right time, and turning misfortune into fortune.

Of course, while Li Zhangsheng is surprised, he also feels happy for Ning Bizhen.

However, just as the Cold Jade Rabbit breaks through, the restrictions in the backyard begin to show intense ripples, giving one the feeling that they could shatter at any moment, especially since the Cold Jade Rabbit's momentum continues to increase.

The process of the Cold Jade Rabbit's breakthrough is terrifying!

Once the backyard's restrictions shatter, it will affect people outside, among whom are many Low-tier students and servants.

Li Zhangsheng hurriedly takes out the Prohibition Hub and stuffs both the Cangxuan Earth-Fixing Pearl and the Cangxuan Water-Stabilizing Pearl into it; he had spent a great deal of money modifying this Prohibition Hub recently, allowing it to activate the energy of the two great pearls to significantly increase its defensive power.

The next moment, a yellow and a blue prohibition light screen expand, rapidly shrouding the entire backyard.

Among them, the earthy-yellow restriction is primarily for defense, while the water-blue restriction is a water curtain that uses the nature of flowing water to weaken attacks.

Originally, the water-blue light screen was on the outside and the earthy-yellow one on the inside, but under Li Zhangsheng's adjustment, the two swapped positions.

Furthermore, as the water-blue light screen weakens the cold air, a large amount of ice crystals emerge on it, directly causing the flow speed of the water to drop sharply; it is feared that before long, it will turn into a massive ice crystal shield.

At this time, the Cold Jade Rabbit's breakthrough has reached its end; the misty cold air originally dissipating from its body rapidly retracts, and the light of advancement permeates its entire body.

During this process, the Cold Jade Rabbit's appearance does not change much, but its aura has risen by more than one grade, bringing a suffocating pressure.

Mi~

The Cold Jade Rabbit opens its blue eyes and jumps into Ning Bizhen's arms, appearing docile, but the look it gives the Three-Legged Fire Crow contains undisguised smugness.

This is the first time the Cold Jade Rabbit has gotten the upper hand over the Three-Legged Fire Crow; how could it not be smug and carried away?

The Three-Legged Fire Crow glances at the Cold Jade Rabbit sideways with sharp eyes; like a biological instinct, the fur on the Cold Jade Rabbit's body stands up subconsciously, and it has an urge to shiver.

However, thinking that it is already a Demon Beast and can easily defeat the Three-Legged Fire Crow, the Cold Jade Rabbit is no longer afraid; it holds its head high and smugly raises its rabbit paw at the Three-Legged Fire Crow in a threatening gesture.

The Three-Legged Fire Crow's eyes spark with fire, but it is not a fool, so naturally, it has no desire to seek abuse and can only swallow its anger and turn its head to the side.

The Cold Jade Rabbit reveals a victorious smile, but when it sees Li Zhangsheng, it remembers that basket of Purple Jade Radishes.

It is inherently a petty creature and has not forgotten the scene from yesterday; it wants to use force to coerce Li Zhangsheng into returning the basket of Purple Jade Radishes that belongs to it.

Mi~

The Cold Jade Rabbit pulls a Purple Jade Radish from who knows where, pointing at the radish while baring its teeth and brandishing its claws at Li Zhangsheng in a show of force, looking as if to say, "If you don't give it to me, I'll use force to coerce you."

Previously, the Cold Jade Rabbit was not confident in defeating Li Zhangsheng's many Demon Pets, but now it is not afraid; it feels that even if Li Zhangsheng releases all his Demon Pets, they could not be its match.

Slap~

Li Zhangsheng is not the Three-Legged Fire Crow; he walks directly to Ning Bizhen and, with lightning speed, swings a palm, landing it heavily on the Cold Jade Rabbit's plump bottom.

The Cold Jade Rabbit is slightly stunned, and then its cheeks puff up high; its blue eyes glare at Li Zhangsheng, subconsciously wanting to give him a taste of its power.

Before the Cold Jade Rabbit can act, another slap greets it.

Slap~

The Cold Jade Rabbit jerks its head up, never expecting that this time it was Ning Bizhen who acted; it immediately pretends to be pitiful, one rabbit paw touching its bottom, revealing a look that says, "Why are you hitting me?"

Unfortunately, it is met with a stern, pretty face.

"Xiaoyu, I have to remind you again: from now on, Li Zhangsheng is also your master. In the future, whatever he asks you to do, you will obediently follow through. Do not always think about slacking off or doing the bare minimum; otherwise, I will cut off your carrot supply. Do you hear me clearly?"

To ensure the Cold Jade Rabbit learns its lesson, Ning Bizhen pats its bottom again after finishing her sentence.

Waa~

The Cold Jade Rabbit is teary-eyed, feeling extremely aggrieved, and lets out a wail, completely lacking the dignity of a Demon Beast, acting instead like a spoiled child.

The Cold Jade Rabbit feels very aggrieved; the Ning Bizhen of the past was not like this. Before, as long as it acted cute and rolled around, Ning Bizhen would always follow its lead and try her best to satisfy its demands.

But ever since Li Zhangsheng saved her, Ning Bizhen has changed.

"Come, here's a Purple Jade Radish for you!" Li Changsheng suppressed the laughter in his heart and handed a Purple Jade Radish to the Cold Jade Rabbit.

The Cold Jade Rabbit wanted to swat it away, refusing to accept charity, but the moment it thought of the deliciousness of the Purple Jade Radish, it truly couldn't bear to let it go. It had no choice but to endure it, snatching the Purple Jade Radish from Li Changsheng's hand, glaring fiercely at Li Changsheng, and taking a forceful bite.

Crunch—

Accompanied by a crisp sound, the Cold Jade Rabbit's cheeks bulged, its eyes instantly narrowed, and it became immersed in an ocean of delicious food.

By the time it finished eating the Purple Jade Radish, the Cold Jade Rabbit wanted to continue being angry, but it couldn't summon the feeling at all; the anger in its heart had completely dissipated.

So annoying!

Just like yesterday, Ning Bizhen once again lifted the Restriction on the courtyard to welcome the blessings of the various high-level officials and Instructors.

The high-level officials and Instructors of Yuanling Academy were all a bit numb; the day before yesterday, Ning Bizhen was still Fifth Rank, but she advanced to Sixth Rank last night, and who would have thought that after only one day, she had become a Pseudo-King.

In the entire Langya Kingdom, there were fewer than thirty Pseudo-Kings in total.

Apart from those three Kings, it could be said that Ning Bizhen had leapt to become a top-tier bigwig in the Langya Kingdom, especially since she was only 24 years old and still had great room for growth in the future.

"Dean Ning, congratulations, congratulations! I never expected that after just one night, you would give us another massive surprise by becoming the second Pseudo-King of our Yuanling Academy. I believe that before long, our Academy will be able to return to its peak period!"

Xu Wenhua's face was full of smiles, his entire old face wrinkled together, giving the impression that he was even happier than Ning Bizhen.

The addition of a Pseudo-King to Yuanling Academy had much greater significance than a Sixth-Rank Expert; it could absolutely increase the Academy's appeal to excellent students by a large margin.

After Xu Wenhua finished speaking, the remaining high-level officials and Instructors also offered their blessings one after another.

Among them, Dean Lu Qian sighed in his heart, and under his control, a Mental Barrier appeared, enveloping Xu Wenhua, Zhang Kaishuo, Ning Wei, and Ning Bizhen.

Lu Qian spoke up: "Principal, I feel that Dean Ning is more suited to hold the position of Dean of the Combat Academy; I am willing to swap with her."

In this world, strength is respected. If Ning Bizhen continued to serve as the Combat Academy Vice Dean, Lu Qian would feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, and it might even affect his reputation.

Most importantly, the positions decided last night had not yet been announced. If things remained as they were, it would very likely cause an uproar—a Pseudo-King acting as a subordinate to a Sixth-Rank was truly hard to accept.

"That wouldn't be good, would it?"

Ning Bizhen wanted to refuse, but she couldn't find a reason.

Xu Wenhua frowned and thought for a moment. As if he had made up his mind, he said: "Everyone, how about this..."

After Xu Wenhua finished speaking, the other four all approved of his suggestion.

Due to the Mental Barrier, Li Changsheng could not hear what the five high-level officials were discussing, though he could roughly guess some of it.

When the Mental Barrier disappeared, Xu Wenhua and the others left one after another. There was only half an hour left until the opening ceremony, and they still had some preparations to make.

Not long after, Li Changsheng headed to the Multi-functional Training Ground located next to the Teaching Building; the opening ceremony would take place at 8:00 AM.

As for Ning Bizhen, she had to attend with the four high-level officials.

By the time Li Changsheng arrived, there was less than ten minutes left until the opening ceremony.

As far as the eye could see, it was filled with dense crowds of heads, likely numbering four or five thousand, with First and Second Rank students making up the majority.

After a winter break, the number of Third-Rank Students at Yuanling Academy had grown quite a bit, with over a hundred people reaching the Third Rank level, though most were third or fourth-year students.

Besides the students, there were also over a hundred Instructors maintaining order.

Li Changsheng navigated the familiar path to the Class 1(1) formation. Ever since the Academy Exchange Tournament, the students of the Elite Class had returned to their respective classes.

Upon seeing Li Changsheng, his classmates hurriedly and enthusiastically greeted him, wanting to latch onto this big shot.

Compared to a month ago, there was one more Third Rank in the class; this time, the one who advanced to Third Rank was Xu Xiangzhi.

Additionally, more than half of the students in Class 1(1) were now Second Rank.

Zhao Shuyi stared at Li Changsheng for a long while, her eyes filled with a sense of frustration. She hadn't expected that after just one month, Li Changsheng would have advanced even further, reaching the Fourth Rank.

Although Zhao Shuyi had also made progress during this month, it was completely incomparable to Li Changsheng. She still only had two Elite Demon Pets, and her Mental Power was far from reaching its peak; it would take at least half a year to advance to the Fourth Rank.

If her luck was bad, it might even take a year or two.

Zhao Shuyi simply couldn't imagine that by the time she advanced to the Fourth Rank, given Li Changsheng's monstrous rate of progress, he might have already reached the Fifth Rank, or even the Sixth Rank.

"I must work harder; I cannot let him pull too far ahead!" Zhao Shuyi clenched her delicate fists, silently cheering herself on.

Soon, the time reached 8:00 sharp.

On the podium not far away, five figures appeared without warning, radiating an extraordinarily intense pressure.

The originally noisy scene fell silent, and everyone looked at the five people on the stage with eyes full of awe and envy.

This pressure dissipated as quickly as it appeared. Xu Wenhua, standing in the middle, called out: "Everyone, after a month of winter break and rest, in this early spring where the cold still lingers, we welcome a new semester full of hope and challenges.

A year's plan starts in spring; spring is the season for cultivation and, even more so, the season for sowing. Only by sowing the seeds of hope with diligent effort can one obtain a satisfying harvest.

Last semester, we reaped a bountiful harvest and reclaimed the glory that originally belonged to our Yuanling Academy. I hope that this semester, students will continue to build on their successes and bravely scale new heights."

Clatter, clatter~

When Xu Wenhua paused, enthusiastic applause erupted at the scene.

Once the applause gradually died down, Xu Wenhua continued: "First, congratulations to Instructor Lu Qian and Instructor Ning Bizhen for completing their advancements. They are stepping down from their Instructor positions and officially serving as high-level leaders of our Academy. The specific positions are as follows..."

(End of chapter)