"Tsk tsk tsk, didn't expect a fresh and tender junior."
Watching the ice-cold Ye Xiaoxiao come on stage, Shen Xu grinned and laughed eerily.
This person was filled with a gloomy aura.
His face was gaunt, and his sunken eye sockets had heavy dark circles.
His skin was even paler, and a severe cough struck him from time to time.
His whole person looked frighteningly weak. If four old green onions were placed beside him, he could give the "Empty Prince" a run for his money*.
"Are you... sure you’re the same person as in the photo?"
Ye Xiaoxiao glanced at the battle photo displayed on the large screen.
On it was clearly a handsome man with a straight posture. Compared to the person in front of her, it was a world of difference!
"Hehe! Don't mind it. I couldn't pay back a loan a while ago. My instructor assigned me to work in the Joyous Union Sect for a period of time.
Junior, I see you have a good aptitude. Are you interested in a part-time job? My hourly wage is 3000. For you… I’d estimate you can get 5000 per hour.
If you're a student on a loan, you can give it a try. You can earn a year's tuition in one month."
Shen Xu looked Ye Xiaoxiao up and down while feeling that this girl's talent was excellent!
Especially her unique temperament of being pure as ice and clean as jade. If she worked part-time in the Joyous Union Sect, she would definitely be very popular.
'Joyous Union Sect temporary worker?'
'Alright, then that's fine!'
Ye Xiaoxiao came to a realization and then said.
"No need, let's start early. I'm in a hurry."
"That's really a pity."
Shen Xu sighed with regret, then lowered his body and drew his dagger from his waist.
Assuming an offensive stance, the tips of his fingers gradually sharpened.
"Junior, don't worry, I'm very fast."
Ye Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows speechlessly.
"Hehe!"
'You do look very fast...'
She sneered, then her expression gradually became serious as she slowly took a step forward.
Pfft!
In an instant!
A majestic black aura, with Ye Xiaoxiao as the center, spread out rapidly.
Immediately covering the entire arena!
"Domain-type skill? Or... a special item?"
Shen Xu's pupils contracted, and a strong sense of discomfort attacked him.
His whole body felt as if it had a fever and a cold, and he suddenly felt heavy.
He subconsciously glanced at his attribute panel.
And found that all of his attributes had actually dropped by as much as 20%.
His most proficient Speed attribute had dropped from 30 to 24.
"This woman’s not right!"
Shen Xu's brow furrowed slightly as he prepared for a quick battle.
He stomped heavily on the ground with one foot.
His body turned into an afterimage, instantly flashing in front of Ye Xiaoxiao!
"Paralysis Blade!"
He brought the knife up and then down while directly using a skill to stab towards the root of her thigh!
However…
Ye Xiaoxiao dodged him with a backward step.
"She actually dodged it?"
Shen Xu was slightly astonished. Even if his attribute was reduced to 24…
It shouldn't be something a newcomer Mage could dodge.
'Could it be... that this girl's class quality isn’t low?'
"A pity your combat experience’s too low. You didn't pull away from me in advance. At this position now, I can still attack you!"
Shen Xu reversed his grip on his dagger and threw it directly at her.
His dagger was enchanted with a paralysis effect. As long as it hit, it could make her lose her ability to resist.
Ding!
However, just as the dagger was about to hit Ye Xiaoxiao…
A skeleton minion suddenly emerged from the ground.
While blocking this strike for her, it swung the sword in its hand and slashed fiercely towards Shen Xu.
"Is this... a summoning-type skill?"
"Could it be that this girl deliberately set a trap for me?"
Shen Xu looked astonished. He didn't expect a newcomer to dare plot against him, a Level 10 veteran, in her first battle.
He subconsciously wanted to jump back to dodge…
But his ankle seemed to have been grabbed by something, making it difficult for him to move a muscle.
Looking down, he found another skeleton minion half-emerged from the ground, its cold, withered hand gripping him tightly.
"Damn it! There's another one? Doesn't this girl's summoning skill have a cooldown?"
While shocked, Shen Xu used a skill again.
"Shadow Clone!"
Instantly, two phantoms split off from his body.
The clones brought their knives down, directly piercing through the skulls of the two skeleton minions.
"Junior, your tactic isn’t bad, but a pity... when competing with me in numbers, you’re still a bit lacking."
Shen Xu revealed a cold smile.
He looked at Ye Xiaoxiao, who had already pulled away from him.
With a shake of his body, another two phantom clones appeared.
Counting the main body, a total of five Shen Xus stood in the arena.
"If I guessed correctly, your class quality should be SS-Rank!"
Shen Xu licked the corner of his mouth and drew another dagger from his waist.
"However... It's time to end this!"
‘Whoosh!’
Stomping heavily on the ground with one foot, Shen Xu turned into a phantom again and charged at Ye Xiaoxiao!
At the same time, the other four clones also surrounded her from different angles.
Sealing all of Ye Xiaoxiao's escape routes.
'Shoo shoo shoo~ Shoo shoo~'
However, just as he was about ten meters away from Ye Xiaoxiao.
Black halos of light appeared on the ground, and countless pale, withered hands reached out from underground.
A large number of skeleton minions roared and twisted while crawling out from the ground one after another.
Each of them held a shield and armor on. They breathed out white mist, and their eyes glowed with a sinister green light.
They quickly formed a human wall, blocking Ye Xiaoxiao’s front.
At a glance, they were densely packed, like a well-trained army.
"Holy shit!"
Shen Xu was startled.
He hurriedly braked, wanting to retreat.
However…
He had just taken half a step back when he suddenly felt something sharp pressing against his back.
He turned his head subconsciously to look, and his pupils contracted violently.
Behind him, at some unknown time, stood a dense crowd of skeleton soldiers pointing their swords at him.
"This is fucking hacking! A Level 1 can summon so many monsters?"
Cold sweat soaked his back.
Shen Xu and his four clones stood back-to-back while being slowly approached and surrounded by the dense army of skeleton soldiers.
Until they were encircled in a ring.
In the face of the massive human sea tactic, he appeared so weak and helpless.
"Senior, didn't you say that you wanted to compete with me in numbers?"
Ye Xiaoxiao crossed her legs while sitting on a high chair formed by skeleton soldiers.
Her eyes narrowed slightly while looking down at him, a sneering smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"Junior, you really are..."
Shen Xu swallowed his saliva and took a deep breath.
He put away his daggers with an arrogant look.
And then...
With a 'Thud', he and his four clones knelt on the ground!
"Mom! I surrender... Please don't hit my face."
'To have such a move, she must be the child of an aristocratic family!'
'Calling her Mom isn’t a loss!'
'Moreover...'
'I still have to go work part-time at the Joyous Union Sect. If my face gets damaged, my salary will be reduced!'
On the other side…
In the viewing stands.
Looking at the dense skeleton soldiers in the arena, the entire audience was silent.
Even the judges on the central platform stood there dumbfounded, their mouths open wide enough to fit an egg.
Zhou Minjun and Ji Baixi were even more stupefied.
It wasn't that they hadn't seen summoning-type classes before.
But to be able to summon a skeleton army at Level 1 was truly a first for them.
'Damn it! Damn it!'
'Zhou Minjun actually still has this kind of student in her hands?'
Shen Xu was defeated.
Ji Baixi's shapely brows furrowed tightly, her chest heaving with anger.
Undoubtedly, this student's Class Card was absolutely SSS-Rank without a doubt!
'No, that's not right!'
'This power, even among SSS-Rank Class Cards, is considered the top tier.'
'If this person entered the Special Grade Class as Zhou Minjun's student…'
'Then my plan to mess with her would be ruined!'
"I miscalculated. But I'm very curious… Where did you find such a talent? And her class, why have I never seen it before…?"
Ji Baixi took a deep breath. After adjusting her emotions, she turned to look at Zhou Minjun.
But she was surprised to find that the shock on the other woman's face was even more exaggerated than her own.
'Could it be…?'
'She didn't know beforehand either?'
'Then whose player is Ye Xiaoxiao?!'
Not only was Ji Baixi shocked, but Zhou Minjun's mood at this moment was even more complicated.
She remembered Ye Xiaoxiao telling her before that her Class Card was given to her by her brother.
At that time, she even mocked her brother for cheating his sister.
Thinking about it now...
This was a real brother!
But then again…
What kind of terrifying god did Ye Xiaoxiao's brother contract?
"Looks like I still have to talk with her brother. If possible…
It would be best to let Ye Xiaoxiao participate in the national competition."
If Ye Xiaoxiao entered the Special Grade Class, it meant that she had the qualification to participate in the national competition.
According to her class's current power, as long as her level went up.
Getting a high rank was absolutely not a problem!
Even... winning the championship!
If that was really the case…
Then she would be the champion's instructor, and she would receive the honor of a gold medal for instructors.
There would definitely be many people coming to find her for tutoring!
At that time, the huge loan she incurred during her civil service exam period could finally be paid off.
A double harvest of money and fame!
"But... I just don't know what price her brother will ask for."
After all, she was someone else's player. If she wanted to take Ye Xiaoxiao to participate in the national competition…
She would have to pay a rental fee to her brother.
Of course, in the national competition, there were indeed many homeroom teachers who rented players from others to take part.
After all, the national competition was a contest between the various major academies.
Since they were all students, most of their levels fell between 1 and 35.
They also represented the honor of their respective academies.
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*This is a direct reference to a famous character from Stephen Chow's movie "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons”. In the movie, Prince Important, sometimes referred to as “Empty Prince” by Chinese netizens, is a sickly-looking but powerful swordsman that is so weak and sickly that he had to be carried around on a palanquin by four elderly women. These four are often jokingly referred to as “old green onions” by Chinese netizens.