Chapter 88

Luo En walked past them, the other party hurriedly stopped the topic, glanced at him with complex expressions, and then turned and left, throwing themselves into their struggle for survival.

Arriving at the next course, this time, he arrived early and chose a seat in the front.

Before he could sit still, he heard the low discussion of several apprentices in the back row.

"Look, it's him, the one who performed prominently in Lord Eric's class just now."

A female apprentice with short hair deliberately raised her voice, looking at Mi La with provocation.

"Humph, another so-called genius?" Another voice carried its usual contempt: "Mi La, it seems you have another competitor, this time here to grab your spot."

Mi La's face changed slightly, but she soon returned to calm: "Everyone has their own path."

"Yeah, just like your path has been spinning in place." The short-haired female apprentice mocked:

"Didn't you say the same thing when Trish came back then? Now look at her, and look at you..."

"Shut up!" Mi La countered angrily:

"Aren't you also thrown several streets away by Trish? What did you use your upper-level 5th-star aptitude for? Don't think I don't know that you paid a great price to get a semi-finished zero-ring spell model?"

At this time, the front door of the classroom opened, and a middle-aged female high-level apprentice walked in.

She wore a dark gray robe with purple edges, expressionless, giving people an impression of being stern.

"I am Li Ya, and today I will teach you 'Spiritual Stability Techniques'."

Her voice was calm and powerful:

"The content of this course is more critical than Magic Circuit Optimization, because the stability of spiritual power directly affects the complexity of the spells you can master in the future."

The short-haired female apprentice's face sank, but since the high-level apprentice had already arrived, she dared not make a sound.

Luo En felt a bit funny; even in this kind of place, the conflicts of small circles unique to adolescence still continued.

What made him feel even more ironic was that these people were clearly in danger, but they were still consuming each other instead of huddling together for warmth.

In class, Luo En listened to the explanation with full attention. The content of this course was indeed as Li Ya said, more important than the previous one.

She explained in detail the principles of spiritual power fluctuations, common unstable factors, and how to use specific techniques to stabilize the spiritual field.

Like Eric, Li Ya would also arrange for apprentices to practice on stage.

When she was about to point one out at random, Luo En volunteered to walk to the podium without hesitation.

According to the instructions, he tried to construct a simple spiritual barrier to resist external interference.

This exercise was not easy for ordinary primary apprentices, but for Luo En, who had already mastered part of the content of "The Star Eater's Babble," it was easy.

【Spiritual Interference (Introductory) Experience +1】

"Good performance, apprentice Ra Er Fu."

Li Ya's evaluation was more direct than Eric's, "You seem to have mastered some kind of advanced meditation method?"

Luo En's heart tightened; he didn't expect his performance to be so obvious.

He quickly adjusted his emotions: "Just some basic exercises, Lord Li Ya."

Li Ya didn't seem to intend to pursue it, just nodded: "Keep it up, you have the potential to enter the second term of the course directly."

After the course ended, Luo En gained more than expected.

Not only did he get an increase in the experience of the spiritual interference skill, but he also learned several practical techniques to stabilize spiritual power, which would be of great help to his meditation and spell practice later.

Just as he was packing his notes and preparing to leave, the thin female apprentice walked over:

"Hello, my name is Mi La. Just now in class, your performance was really outstanding."

"Thank you, I just have some foundation." Luo En responded politely.

"I can see it." A trace of complex emotion flashed in Mi La's eyes:

"You remind me of Trish. She was like this when she attended class back then, and she could perfectly complete the mentor's requirements every time."

Her tone was both respectful and carried a trace of acid that was hard to detect:

"I entered the Black Fog Jungle three terms earlier than Trish, but now, she is already an intermediate apprentice, and I... am still repeatedly learning these basic courses."

Luo En didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only say: "Everyone has their own path, perhaps your advantage is elsewhere."

Mi La smiled reluctantly:

"Thank you, but here, spiritual aptitude and comprehension are the real passports. 5th-star aptitude, whether upper or lower, can only end up as peripheral personnel of the school. Unless..."

A group of apprentices suddenly surrounded them, their expressions carrying deliberate friendliness.

Mi La glanced at the group of apprentices walking toward them, frowned slightly, and whispered to Luo En: "Be careful of these people, they are not good things."

Then she walked away quickly.

"Hey, Ra Er Fu!" A tall apprentice greeted enthusiastically: "I'm Ya Lun. I saw your performance in class just now, it's really outstanding! How did you do it?"

Ya Lun was secretly happy; this new primary apprentice looked like a higher-quality target than the previous few.

Especially the talent shown in the classroom, he could definitely extract more value from him.

The few wandering intermediate apprentices outside have become more and more picky about "sources" recently, so they must find some better "prey."

The one last month was still easy to deal with, just an ordinary primary apprentice, easily lured to the edge of the wilderness.

The school's law enforcement team seemed completely indifferent to this, which made Ya Lun even more convinced that his actions were safe.

Apprentices disappear mysteriously every month, who would care about a few more corpses?

Luo En responded to Ya Lun's question out of politeness: "Just some luck, plus practicing more in normal times."

"Too modest!" Ya Lun enthusiastically patted Luo En on the shoulder, the force a bit too deliberate, a trace of calculation flashing in the bottom of his eyes:

"Like a genius like you, there must be some special cultivation method, right? Can you share it?"

Other apprentices in the classroom noticed that Ya Lun's group was looking for targets again, and many of them flashed a trace of fear, but no one warned.

A few people even deliberately accelerated the speed of packing things, for fear of being involved.

A thin, weak apprentice with glasses lowered his head and walked toward the door, exchanging a look with his companion: "Another unlucky guy."

"Deserves to die, who told him not to have eyes."

The companion responded indifferently, without the slightest sympathy in his eyes: "Mind your own business to live longer, this is the first lesson I learned in the Black Fog Jungle."

Luo En avoided the other party's overly intimate contact without changing his expression, feeling the dangerous aura emanating from this group of people.

He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was.

"Nothing special, just basic meditation techniques, the kind every apprentice knows."

"I heard you are an assistant at Lady Ailan's herb shop?" A thin, small apprentice next to Ya Lun interjected:

"That old woman is famous for being picky. To be favored by her, your potion-making must be very outstanding, right?"

"Just doing some odd jobs." Hearing the other party's disrespect for Lady Ailan, Luo En's tone began to get a bit impatient:

"Organizing materials, cleaning utensils, etc., can't be counted as any serious student."

Ya Lun's smile remained, but his eyes became colder: "Why not join our collection mission this week? We happen to be short of someone who knows potion-making. The proceeds are split equally, absolutely fair."

"Sorry, I have to prepare for the potion master certification exam recently, I'm afraid I can't spare much time." Luo En politely refused.

"Potion master certification?" A trace of confusion flashed in Ya Lun's eyes, then he returned to enthusiasm:

"That's even better! This collection will just allow you to accumulate some practical experience. Don't worry about time, the mission can be completed in half a day at most."

This person clearly didn't understand the gold content of the potion master certification.

Several apprentices around also echoed, they were all members of Ya Lun's small group, and each of them had already been stained with blood.

Other apprentices in the classroom tried their best to maintain an attitude of turning a blind eye.

Another apprentice also leaned closer: "I heard that the income from working in the herb shop is good. You must have saved a lot of magic stone fragments, right? You can invest more in equipment for this mission, and the return will definitely be higher."

Several apprentices around gradually surrounded Luo En, forming a semicircular encirclement.

Ya Lun saw that Luo En was still unmoved, and reached out to forcibly pull him: "Listen, kid, don't be ungrateful—"

Before he finished speaking, a cold light flashed in Luo En's eyes.

The heat of the Corona Breathing Method surged in his body, and the body control brought by the sword technique that was close to the proficient level exerted an amazing effect at this moment.

His right index finger trembled slightly, but carried amazing force, accurately poking at the junction of Ya Lun's chest and abdomen.

That was the special strength he had practiced hard to master recently, perhaps a sign that he was not far from breaking through to the proficient level.

This special strength passed out through his fingertips at this moment, reaching several inches inside the other party's body.

Ya Lun's movements stopped abruptly, his face turned pale instantly, and his whole person froze in place, as if frozen.

He could feel a strange force exploding between his chest and abdomen, directly shattering his breathing rhythm, making his chest burn so much that he couldn't even say a word.

"I said, I don't have time." Luo En calmly withdrew his finger, his gaze sweeping over the few people around: "I hope you can understand."

Just then, footsteps came from the corridor.

The apprentices surrounding Luo En all turned their heads to look in unison.

Li Ya was standing at the door at some point, holding a few pieces of paper in her hand, seemingly returning to get something.

She glanced at the scene here, her brow furrowed slightly.

"Lord Li Ya!" Ya Lun's companions' attitudes immediately underwent a 180-degree turn, their voices full of respect and fear: "We were just chatting with the new classmate."

Li Ya did not respond, just glanced at them faintly.

Just this one glance made Ya Lun's companions sit on pins and needles, no longer having the arrogance they had just now.

(End of chapter)