Fang Zhou could imagine that Instructor Lu Hu must have made many efforts for him in places he couldn't see. For example, Instructor Su Xinyan had told him that her quick return from the Mythical Battlefield to the Sea City Military Academy was all thanks to Instructor Lu Hu begging and pleading with Principal Su. There was also no doubt that Instructor Lu had contributed behind the scenes for this new Undead Mage research project.

Fang Zhou was a person who believed in repaying kindness. As he looked at Lu Hu's towering figure, he couldn't help but wonder what he could do to repay Instructor Lu.

At that moment, Lu Hu finally reigned in his excitement. He smiled at Fang Zhou and said, "Fang Zhou, your performance lately has been simply outstanding. Although Principal Su hasn't said so explicitly, I can feel that your position as the number one Seed Student is set in stone. Everyone, from the instructors to all the first-year cadets, fully accepts and acknowledges this."

Fang Zhou nodded slightly. Just as he was about to express his gratitude to Lu Hu, he heard him continue, "However, being the number one Seed Student is both a great honor and a heavy responsibility. We are a military academy, not a typical university. You are soldiers, not mere students, and you will face various real combat missions in the future. As the number one Seed Student, you enjoy a greater share of the academy's resources, so the responsibilities you must bear are naturally more daunting. Although you have great potential, you must not become careless before that potential is fully realized."

Faced with Lu Hu's earnest counsel, Fang Zhou certainly didn't take it lightly. He asked with a serious expression, "Instructor Lu, what forms do these real combat missions mainly take?"

Lu Hu replied, "There are all sorts of them: killing Fierce Beasts, capturing Demon Worshipers, clearing out Spatial Fragments, and so on. The military academy will assign missions that match your strength and will do its best to ensure your safety. But this is actual combat on the battlefield, and every year, there are cadets who get injured or even killed for various reasons. Furthermore, for you Seed Students, there will be a round of special combat training soon after the final list is determined. The goal is to select the ten strongest individuals to form a Team to represent our Sea City Military Academy in the national military academies' Grand Tournament of New Recruits."

Fang Zhou wasn't afraid of any special combat training. Every day, his Skeleton Clone was experiencing real combat in the Undead Realm; his combat experience was on a completely different level from the other new cadets. However, a piece of information that Instructor Lu had unintentionally revealed piqued his curiosity.

He turned his head and asked, "The Grand Tournament of New Recruits? Is that a competition among the Longxia Federation's ten great military academies?"

Lu Hu nodded. "Yes, it's a long-standing tradition among our ten military academies. Besides competing for glory and establishing a pecking order, the tournament rankings also influence the proportion of resources allocated by the Federation for the following year. The higher the rank, the more resources an academy receives."

Fang Zhou nodded slowly. No wonder Sea City Military Academy places so much importance on selecting Seed Students; their strength directly determines the next year's budget.

He then asked, "So what was our Sea City Military Academy's ranking last year?"

Lu Hu shook his head slightly. "Our academy has consistently been mid-tier nationwide, fluctuating around 5th or 6th place. The only exception was a few years ago when a female cadet named Wen Jiu had her Awakening as a Flame Dragon Knight. We shot up in the ranks unexpectedly and took 3rd place. That's still the best result in our academy's history."

Hearing the familiar name Wen Jiu again, Fang Zhou asked in surprise, "Flame Dragon Knight is a powerful Profession capable of forming a contract with a Fire Dragon. She couldn't even secure first place with that?"

Lu Hu's expression turned solemn. "We had Wen Jiu, the Flame Dragon Knight, but other academies also had geniuses who awakened powerful Professions like Punishing Holy Sword, Cloud-Ascending Ascetic, and Master of Arcane. Moreover, the Grand Tournament of New Recruits isn't just about individual combat power; the team's overall strength is more important. Under Wen Jiu's command, achieving 3rd place was already an incredible feat. Fang Zhou, you must never underestimate the heroes of this world."

Fang Zhou nodded, a rare sense of excitement stirring in his heart.

At this point, Lu Hu's expression turned mischievous. "By the way, Fang Zhou, what kind of boasts did that girl Xinyan tell you last time?"

Touching upon Instructor Su's embarrassing secrets, Fang Zhou answered cautiously, "Instructor Su asked if I thought her hair looked nice, then said that it turned silver ever since she had her Awakening as an Undead Mage. She also mentioned that since I broke through to the Apprentice Middle Rank in a month, my talent was slightly better than hers, as she took a month and 'a few days' to do the same."

"HAHAHAHA!" Lu Hu burst out laughing and couldn't stop.

After a long while, he finally caught his breath and said, gasping, "Well, to a certain extent, she wasn't lying. Her hair really did become silver after her Awakening. However, it's not some symbol of talent for an Undead Mage. It's because when she had her Awakening at eighteen, she secretly dyed her hair silver behind Principal Su's back, claiming that the color matched the mysterious aura of a future Legendary Undead Witch."

Lu Hu wiped a tear from his eye and continued, "And as for her taking 'a month and a few days' to break through to the Apprentice Middle Rank, that's not exactly wrong either. It's just that 'a few days' might actually mean sixty or seventy days."

Even though he had half-expected it, Fang Zhou couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Lu Hu's explanation. Instructor Su Xinyan's ideas were certainly whimsical and unconventional; her actions could only be described as impulsive. Compared to her serene demeanor, like that of an ephemeral night bloom, it created an unexpectedly charming contradiction.

Given her status as a Golden Tier powerhouse, Fang Zhou was wary of knowing too many of Instructor Su's embarrassing secrets. He feared he wouldn't be able to treat her normally later, so he wanted to change the subject.

But Lu Hu had found a rare companion to share his amusement with. He winked at Fang Zhou again. "Principal Su has always wanted Xinyan to dye her hair back. The two of them have argued about it countless times. People say a daughter is a father's little comforter. But I think if Xinyan is a comforter, she's a drafty one with a wicked little heart. Because of all this, Principal Su has always had a problem with the Undead Mage Profession. Fang Zhou, you'd better be careful in the research project. That girl Xinyan, despite her appearance..."

Before Lu Hu could finish, a blurry shadow in the dark night sky let out a piercing shriek and charged straight down at him.

Alerted, Lu Hu quickly pulled Fang Zhou back several meters.

The shadow didn't continue its pursuit, instead hovering where Lu Hu had been standing, baring its fangs at him menacingly.

Lu Hu's expression turned bitter as he looked at it. "This is bad, really bad!" he lamented. "That's a Vampire summoned by Xinyan! She must have heard me bad-mouthing her."

Fang Zhou also came to his senses and carefully scrutinized the bat-like Undead Creature before him. The Vampire's wings made up roughly eighty percent of its body, their edges shimmering with a sharp, cold light that hinted at their offensive power. Its head was only about the size of an adult's fist, and pale Soul Fire burned within its eye sockets. Four sharp fangs protruded from its mouth, used to drain a target's blood and steal their Life Energy.

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