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ED Note: It seemed that Zhang Yuan hadn't learned her lesson after being humiliated by Wu Liang's ferocious roar. I absolutely cannot wait for the inevitable showdown between her and Ling Qingxue!
Back at Linjiang Middle School, Ling Qingxue finally relaxed.
She wouldn't be entering the Green Forest alone for a long time, so even if Lei Tianbao wanted to kill her, he wouldn't have the chance.
But if she pushed him too far, he might reveal the existence of the Star Stone to everyone.
Given the rarity of such a high-grade Earth-level treasure, someone with ulterior motives might target her.
Therefore, her best course of action was to use the Star Stone immediately!
With Lin Lang's Vitality Pill in her storage ring, plus the spiritual medicine Zhao Xin had promised her, breaking through to the First Rank peak shouldn't be difficult.
As she walked out of Liu Qingshan's office, she found Zhao Xin waiting outside.
"Qingxue, did Lei Tianbao hurt you?" Zhao Xin asked with concern.
Ling Qingxue shook her head slightly. "No, thank you for your concern, Miss Zhao."
Zhao Xin smiled. "You can call me Zhao Xin, and I'll call you Qingxue. Well, I want to use the City Lord's Mansion's resources to help you deal with Lei Tianbao. Given his personality, he probably won't let this go."
"The Principal has already agreed to deal with Lei Tianbao for me, so the City Lord's Mansion doesn't need to intervene."
"That's fine then."
Zhao Xin then took out a wooden box and several jade bottles and handed them to Ling Qingxue.
"These are the spiritual herbs I promised you, Qingxue. I've also prepared several bottles of first-grade Vitality Pills for you. I hope these will help you break through to the First Rank peak as soon as possible."
Ling Qingxue glanced at Zhao Xin before accepting the items.
"Also, my father has agreed to let you enter the City Lord's Mansion's low-level secret place. The secret place opens next month. Is the time convenient for you, Qingxue?" Zhao Xin asked.
Hearing this good news, Ling Qingxue was overjoyed.
"Thank you. I'm fine with the time."
"Okay, I'll send someone to pick you up then. We can train together. I've been into that secret place a few times." Zhao Xin said with a smile.
After saying goodbye to Zhao Xin, Ling Qingxue headed towards her dormitory.
She understood why Zhao Xin was being so friendly. Everyone who could get into one of the top thirty martial arts universities in the country would at least become a Fifth Rank martial artist.
With the talent Ling Qingxue had displayed, there was a high chance she could reach the Sixth or even Seventh Rank—a very good investment opportunity.
Even if the investment failed, the worst that could happen was a loss of resources, which was insignificant to the City Lord's Mansion.
Ling Qingxue needed resources now— she needed to use all the resources she could get to improve her strength.
She really needed to be prepared for the national martial arts examination in four months.
And her goal was already set—Beiming Martial Arts University!
Beiming Martial Arts University was one of the top three martial arts universities in the country, possessing abundant resources. More importantly, she had a very close friend from her previous life at Beiming Martial Arts University.
"Beiming Yan, let me see what you were like during your university days."
As she reminisced, Zhang Yuan blocked her path, a mocking expression on her face.
"Ling Qingxue, you really are lucky. But the principal can only guarantee your safety within the school. Are you planning to never leave the campus again?"
Ling Qingxue glanced at her indifferently.
"My affairs are none of your business."
Zhang Yuan's expression instantly turned cold.
"Stop pretending! You've offended the Thunder Mercenary Group; you're as good as dead!"
A slap lashed out, sending her flying.
Wu Liang jumped off Ling Qingxue's shoulder, his body suddenly growing to the size of a ferocious tiger, his aura comparable to a Second Level early-stage magical beast.
Zhang Yuan covered her face and got up, about to retaliate, but she was startled by Wu Liang.
Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, her legs trembled, and the Armored Mantis standing at her feet vanished in a flash, completely forgetting its owner.
"Roar!"
Wu Liang roared, the ferocious sound causing Zhang Yuan to wet herself on the spot.
Giving her a disgusted look, he walked past her with Ling Qingxue.
Zhang Yuan slumped on the ground, trembling, and remained in shock for a long time.
"This is impossible! That egg was just an ordinary beast egg. How could it have reached this level in such a short time? It must be fake, yes, it's fake!"
The magical beast egg Wu Liang was born from was one she'd found in a stray dog's den outside the city—just an ordinary, unremarkable egg.
Moreover, its life force was weak; it probably didn't even have any bloodline. It couldn't possibly have grown to this extent.
She got up from the ground, her eyes filled with resentment.
"You bitch, watch how I teach you a lesson in the mock exam!"
She despised people like Ling Qingxue, who clearly lacked any talent yet were incredibly pretentious; belittling Ling Qingxue gave her a greater sense of superiority.
Anyway, people could also die in the secret place...
Zhang Yuan snorted coldly, then went to teach the cowardly Armored Mantis a lesson.
...
Back in the dormitory, Ling Qingxue and Wu Liang collapsed weakly onto their beds.
They had covered more ground in one day than in the previous five days combined, and had nearly died several times.
This state of weakness was truly frustrating.
Wu Liang scratched his head, harboring deep resentment towards Lei Tianbao.
"Wait till I upgrade my skills, I'll definitely kill him!"
But after saying this, Wu Liang felt a little hesitant.
"Little Xuexue, we can't leave Linjiang Middle School now, and my talent requires me to devour large amounts of magical beasts, ores, and spiritual herbs. How are we supposed to get revenge like this?"
Ling Qingxue exhaled, her expression returning to calm.
"Revenge isn't necessary. Our only goal is to increase our strength!"
"You mean we're not going to get revenge?" Wu Liang asked.
"Revenge is inevitable, but not now. Going to get revenge now would be like throwing an egg against a rock. As for resources…"
Ling Qingxue smiled.
"The mock joint exam the day after tomorrow will be held in our Linjiang Middle School's secret place. We can stay there for ten days, and we can also enter the City Lord's Mansion's secret place next month."
"Besides, to give us a final push in our senior year, the City Lord will open Linjiang City's only intermediate-level secret place for the top ten students in our grade to practice. Also, Commander Zhang from the City Lord's Mansion will teach us martial arts techniques. These are all great opportunities for us!"
Secret places were special small worlds, also containing magical beasts and spiritual herbs. Since they were not always open, the resources within were considerable.
As long as they could make good use of the resources in these three secret places, their strength would definitely increase significantly.
Furthermore, they had also found an unexplored secret place in the Green Forest.
By going in before the national joint examination and reaping rewards, Ling Qingxue was very confident that she could reach the Second Rank peak, greatly increasing her chances of being admitted to Beiming Martial Arts University.
Normally, it was difficult for a mere Second Rank peak martial artist to enter Beiming Martial Arts University. After all, it was one of the top three martial arts universities in the country. However, she believed in Wu Liang's bloodline's innate talent.
Having broken through to the Second Level peak, Wu Liang possessed absolutely terrifying strength. Even if not invincible, he definitely was a dominating presence.
"Only four months left, I have to push myself one last time!"