"By the way, Senior Brother Pengfei," Fang Zhou asked, "did you happen to record the coordinates of the cave in the Fierce Beast Mountain Range where you found this black magic bottle? If so, could you share them with me? Once I advance to the Black Iron rank and am qualified to enter the Fierce Beast Mountain Range for trials, I'd like to go search that area myself. Who knows, I might find something."

Yue Pengfei was slightly taken aback but immediately agreed. "Of course, I have the coordinates. I'll share them with you right away."

He quickly opened his personal terminal, swiping his finger across the screen to send the precious coordinate information to Fang Zhou.

"Junior Brother Fang Zhou, we thoroughly swept the cave where we found the magic bottle," he added. "Besides a floor covered in the corpses of Bloodthirsty Bats, there was nothing else inside or out. I doubt you'll find anything."

Fang Zhou nodded. "Thanks for the heads-up, Senior Brother. It was just a whim, really. After all, even in the Mythical World, Undead Attribute artifacts like this black magic bottle are incredibly rare. If I find something, it's my good fortune; if not, it's just fate. It's no big deal if I come up empty-handed. But if by some chance I do find something, it would be a huge boon for an Undead Mage like me."

After successfully trading for the black magic bottle with the Evergreen Fruit, Fang Zhou exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Yue brothers, Pengfei and Lingyun. He then bid them farewell and walked briskly toward the cafeteria.

「Sea City Military Academy, Cafeteria」

Paying no mind to the comments and exclamations from Yue Lingyun and Yue Pengfei behind him, Fang Zhou was enjoying his lunch with gusto. At the same time, his fingers danced across the screen of his personal terminal.

[Ordinary Apprentice] (Fang Zhou): "Instructor Xinyan, I got an Undead Attribute artifact from a third-year senior. It looks like a black magic bottle. I've figured out how to use it, but my Spiritual Power isn't strong enough to activate it fully. I was hoping I could get your help. Would it be convenient for me to come to your lab now?"

After sending the message, Fang Zhou looked up from the screen and gazed out the window. Soon, his personal terminal vibrated, and a reply from Su Xinyan popped up.

[Undead Mage is Invincible] (Su Xinyan): "An Undead Attribute artifact? That's a rare treasure! No problem, come on over. I'll be waiting for you in my office. But before you do, send me a picture of the bottle. Let me get a sneak peek."

Fang Zhou opened his personal terminal and carefully removed the black magic bottle from its brocade box, placing it under the device's holographic scanner. He then transmitted the holographic projection to Su Xinyan.

Composing himself, Fang Zhou stood up, ready to head to the Undead Mage research project lab. However, just as he was about to step out of the cafeteria, two familiar figures caught his eye.

It was Meng Hongzhuang and Bai Xiaochan, his two lively and energetic assistants.

At that moment, Meng Hongzhuang waved her arm, her voice as crisp as a bell. "Big Brother Fang Zhou, you haven't been checking your personal terminal! We've been waiting for you on the trading channel for ages!"

Fang Zhou paused, then remembered and pulled out his personal terminal. On the trading channel, messages were popping up one after another, like a string of firecrackers.

"Senior Sergeant Fang Zhou, the apprentice mage hat and two apprentice rings you listed on the trading channel have been sold. Please follow the prompts to complete the transaction."

The messages were about the equipment he had listed for sale. They had been purchased and were just awaiting his confirmation to complete the delivery.

Just then, Bai Xiaochan bounded over like a cheerful little bird. She circled Fang Zhou a few times, her eyes gleaming with pride.

"Fang Zhou," she said, her voice laced with a hint of wanting credit, "I bought one of the apprentice rings that was enhanced to its limit! Meng Hongzhuang snagged the other two items. As soon as you hand over the equipment to us and confirm the transaction, you'll earn 90 contribution points."

The previous night, while exploring the trading channel, Fang Zhou had thoughtfully put up his apprentice-level equipment for sale. These items had accompanied him through many battles but had become somewhat outdated with his recent growth in strength. For his three assistants—Bai Xiaochan, Meng Hongzhuang, and Shen Ziwei—this gear was extremely cost-effective. Wanting to help them improve, Fang Zhou had even sent a notification to the [Undead Mage Support Team] chat group to make sure they saw the listings first.

It seemed Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang had been quite proactive. They had already scraped together enough contribution points to buy the three pieces of apprentice equipment, which he had meticulously enhanced to their limits, making them a superb value.

Fang Zhou was naturally pleased with this result. He took out a Space Storage Capsule and handed the apprentice mage hat and two apprentice rings to Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang.

"These three pieces, although originally of Gray Inferior quality, have been through Refinement to +1 and augmented with Level 1 Gemstones. Their true value far exceeds their price. Getting them for 30 contribution points each is an absolute steal for you two."

Bai Xiaochan gently stroked the apprentice ring in her hand, her red lips parting slightly in a charmingly sweet smile. She nudged Fang Zhou's arm, her voice taking on a coquettish and reliant tone. "Fang Zhou, you're the best. Next time you have any treasures to get rid of, you have to remember me. I'm your number one fan, you know."

Not to be outdone, Meng Hongzhuang stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Fang Zhou's right arm, her voice full of confidence. "Don't forget about me, Big Brother Fang Zhou! I have way more contribution points than Bai Xiaochan. Whatever you want to sell next, you have to ask me first. Let's get stronger together so we can team up for trials and missions in the future."

Fang Zhou tapped his personal terminal, and a striking line of text appeared.

"Senior Sergeant Fang Zhou, congratulations on completing the transaction. 90 contribution points have been credited to your account."

While not a large sum, the 90 contribution points covered the 50 points he had just spent to acquire the black magic bottle from Yue Pengfei. For Fang Zhou, however, this was just a drop in the bucket. His personal terminal displayed an astonishing figure: a fortune of nearly 2,500 contribution points. An income or expense of less than 100 points was barely enough to register on his radar anymore. His sights were now set on higher-tier, Black Iron-level Skills, each of which cost hundreds of points to redeem. Compared to that, these minor transactions were trivial.

Of course, Fang Zhou didn't let this go to his head. He gently withdrew his arm from the warm, soft embrace of Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang.

"Xiaochan, Hongzhuang," he said seriously. "You can't afford to slack off on either front. You need to improve your own strength while also completing the research tasks for the Undead Mage project. You have to focus on both, and do both well.

"I should be advancing to Upper-Rank Apprentice soon. I hope you two can push yourselves to reach Middle-Rank Apprentice before I do. That way, I can lead you on raids in the Horned Demon Camp to challenge the speedrun leaderboards for all difficulties.

"That's a huge source of contribution points, enough to let your strength and status take a massive leap.

"Of course, I won't deliberately slow down my cultivation to wait for you.

"If you haven't met the requirements to join by the time I break through, you'll have no one to blame but yourselves."

The two assistants, who had been basking in a playful mood, instantly straightened up, their cheeky smiles vanishing.

After all, if they failed to latch onto Fang Zhou's powerful coattails before he broke through to Upper-Rank Apprentice and missed the chance to raid the Horned Demon Camp with him… all those rich first-clear and speedrun rewards would be gone. They would seriously cry their hearts out!

Realizing the urgency, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang nodded repeatedly, ready to dash off. Just as they turned to leave, however, Fang Zhou caught Bai Xiaochan's eye and gave her a meaningful look.

Having been working with him for a long time, Bai Xiaochan instantly understood his signal. She patiently unstrapped the small apprentice's lyre from her back.

As her slender fingers danced across the strings, the melodious notes of Lullaby flowed out, nourishing his soul, restoring his vitality, and quietly accelerating its recovery rate. Immediately after, the rousing strains of the Song of Triumph rang out. His Spiritual Power surged like a fountain, and his handsome face radiated with an unprecedented vigor.

Satisfied with the two important buffs, Fang Zhou released Bai Xiaochan with a gentle wave, signaling that they could go.

In his heart, he sincerely hoped Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang would become as strong as possible, both as his research assistants and buff supports, and as future teammates for the new recruit tournament. For that to happen, he had to lead the charge, setting a pace so intense it would shame these slackers into action.

Once Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang's figures disappeared from sight, Fang Zhou stretched lazily and started down the path toward the Undead Mage research lab.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Standing before Instructor Su Xinyan's office, Fang Zhou gently rapped on the door.

"Come in."

Fang Zhou slowly pushed the door open. Inside, Instructor Su Xinyan was lounging on a sofa, dressed in a silvery fishtail gown that made her look like the most mysterious mermaid of the deep sea. The cup of blood-red fruit wine in her hand glinted enticingly in the light. Her eyes were hazy and her cheeks were flushed; she was clearly a little tipsy. Yet the slight intoxication did nothing to diminish her charm, instead adding a layer of irresistible allure.

The air was filled with a heady, intoxicating aroma—a mix of wine, fruit, and Instructor Su Xinyan's unique personal scent.

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