Chapter 14: A Leaping Advancement

Not long after, the sound of Old Li’s leather shoes tapping against the marble floor grew nearer. The once noisy chatter in Class Nine gradually faded like receding tides. Many students from the Support Department sat upright, solemn and silent.

Of course, this did not include Xia Qingxue. Having officially become a psychic, she no longer needed to undergo such attribute tests. Her studies would now focus on new content and training.

“Click!”

The classroom door swung open, the hinge emitting a soft, velvet-like creak. Dozens of eyes instinctively turned toward the entrance, fixed on Old Li.

“Ahem!”

Old Li cleared his throat, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over the students. Those caught in his sight instinctively looked away, unwilling to meet his eyes.

As the homeroom teacher, he knew clearly who had performed well and who had not this month.

“Students, before we begin the test, let us first congratulate Xia Qingxue on passing the Spirit Realm Trial and officially becoming an honored psychic of the Support Department.”

Soon, applause erupted throughout the classroom.

Old Li raised his hand to signal for silence, then continued, “Since Xia Qingxue has successfully passed the Spirit Realm Trial, she will no longer need to take weekly tests. Her student number will be canceled, and the former Number Two will become Number One. The students below will each move up one rank. Understood?”

“Yes, understood.”

The students responded.

“Very well. Let’s start with Number One and test the growth of their basic attributes,” declared Old Li.

Student numbers were not fixed; they were determined by strength and academic performance. Therefore, rankings changed to some extent after each monthly exam.

...

“Tang Shikai: Strength 3.8, Agility 3.6, Constitution 3.7, Spirit 8.8. Total of four attributes: 19.9. Not bad, almost reaching the 20 points required for the Spirit Realm Trial. His specialty has also improved nicely. Keep your state steady and be ready at any time for the trial.”

“Wang Senran: Strength 3.5, Agility 3.8, Constitution 4.0, Spirit 7.9. Total attributes: 19.2. His month-over-month growth is impressive. I suggest he start training his specialty level early; waiting until the attributes near their limits would be too late.”

...

“Chen Ran: Strength 2.4, Agility 2.2, Constitution 2.9, Spirit 6.6. Total attributes: 14.1. No growth compared to last month. How have you been spending this month? Do you still want to study properly? This month, I want you to train hard!”

Old Li scolded him with a tone of deep frustration. As a mentor, he could see that Chen Ran was merely coasting through the Support Department, just passing time for the subsidy. If he failed the Spirit Realm Trial again, he would just scrape by as an ordinary person for life.

Yet knowing this and understanding it didn’t prevent Old Li from feeling the need to scold him—it was a matter of principle.

“Next, Ye Mingqiu.”

“It’s... my turn.”

Ye Mingqiu stood up unsteadily, his steps wavering as he approached the front. Even Old Li on the platform was startled, thinking: What’s wrong with this kid? I noticed his condition was off before, but today it’s worse.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire class, Ye Mingqiu reached out and placed his hand on the testing stone. The stone slowly emitted a pale blue glow, transforming into data suspended in mid-air.

A murmur swept through the classroom. Even Chen Ran in the back nearly popped his eyes out.

Old Li’s eyes widened, his voice trembling as he announced: “Strength 2.7, Agility 2.6, Constitution 2.8, Spirit 9.4. Total attributes... 17.5? That’s an increase of 5.4 points from last month. How on earth did you do that? Could it be that you used banned substances?”

“Spirit Boost X6.”

“You increased your Spirit by 3.9 with this?”

“Yes.”

Old Li immediately showed respect. “No wonder you were chosen by the Director of Guidance. Your willpower is truly strong. You’ve earned your spot in the college preparatory team.”

“However, although your attribute growth is rapid, your specialty level is not high. Moreover, after using Spirit Boost, you won’t be able to use other potions for a long time. Make good use of this period to work hard.”

“Thank you, teacher,” Ye Mingqiu replied politely, then shakily returned to his seat and collapsed in exhaustion.

Damn, no more Spirit Boost tomorrow. The side effects get worse each day. Though its effect is powerful, my Spirit attribute is almost at 10. There’s no need to keep pushing it; anything beyond 10 is wasted. It’s better to focus on Strength to boost my combat power for the Spirit Realm Trial.

The monthly attribute exam was not complicated and soon concluded. After Old Li gave his evaluations and guidance to each student, he finally said, “High school is only the starting point of your lives. Work hard now, and you will suffer less later. Don’t let the confusion of your high school years haunt your entire life...”

“...But thankfully, there are many students in our class who have made great progress, such as Ye Mingqiu and Tang Shikai. Perhaps it won’t be long before they face the Spirit Realm Trial—the trial that will decide the course of our lives.”

“Incidentally, since Xia Qingxue has already passed the Spirit Realm Trial, she must have gained a lot of valuable combat experience. Now, may I invite Xia Qingxue to come forward and share her experience?”

Old Li smiled as he looked at Xia Qingxue.

“No problem.”

Xia Qingxue nodded confidently and walked naturally to the front. The teacher made way for her, and many classmates below showed expressions of envy. Passing the trial early in the first semester of senior year was undoubtedly a successful start.

She cleared her throat and began, “The so-called Spirit Realm Trial is more like a first-person game dungeon. It gives us an identity and tasks, allowing us to gradually adapt through the trial, complete the tasks, and ultimately gain a profession.”

“Before entering the actual Spirit Realm Trial world, we can freely choose the difficulty level. There are three options at the start: Easy, Normal, and Hard. The higher the difficulty, the tougher the trial.”

“I chose Hard. During the trial, I had to play the role of a cleric in a church, listening to prayers and baptizing those burdened with sins to cleanse their body and soul... The main difficulty of the task was that the village was infested with demons. These demons disguised themselves as humans and moved under the cover of night to kill.”

“I had to find traces of the demons within a limited time. I also couldn’t be alone with a demon, or they would detect my weakness and kill me. Their Strength and Agility attributes exceeded 10, making it nearly impossible to survive if caught by one.”

“I had to lead others to find the demons and fight with all my might to survive, allowing the Paladin to slay the demons and complete the mission.”

Xia Qingxue spoke vividly and engagingly.

‘So it wasn’t just about direct combat,’ thought Ye Mingqiu. Although the Support Department’s trial also involved combat, it generally didn’t require direct fighting—just survival. But once the difficulty rose, merely staying alive became a challenge.

Take Xia Qingxue’s final mission, for example. She had to investigate a demon whose Strength and Agility both exceeded 10—a task of extreme difficulty. One wrong step meant death. Even finding the demon and entering combat carried a high risk of death.

After all, her main attribute was Spirit. The demon would likely kill her instantly upon close contact.

This trial was truly a headache!

Ye Mingqiu looked down at his own basic attributes and fell into deep thought for a long time.