Strengthening the Gloom Wolf Beast (Part One)

"Just you wait — next time I'll make sure that brat gets what's coming to him!" Lu Zhenghe glared daggers at Mo Fan, resentment piling up inside him.

"Hah," Lu Yiming said with a sigh. "I didn't expect them to have a trump card like that. Seems we underestimated Pearl Academy."

"I don't see what's so impressive about it," Lu Zhenghe muttered.

"Natural Dual Elements isn't impressive? So then what about someone who can only get by because of a single Shadowmark Berserker Wolf — is *that* supposed to be impressive?" Liao Mingxuan seized the opening immediately, going straight for the perpetually arrogant Lu Zhenghe.

"All right, winning and losing are part of the game," Lu Yiming said. "Besides, this bout was meant as a mutual exchange. The real centerpiece is the Field Expedition."

Students trained almost exclusively in academies and cities. Even those with real combat experience had only ever faced other Mages, leaving significant gaps in their abilities. Direct confrontation with Demon-Beasts through a Field Expedition was therefore indispensable.

A powerful Mage didn't necessarily need overwhelming strength — what mattered more was knowing how to survive in the wilderness where Demon-Beasts ran rampant.

A university-level Field Expedition was nothing like the small-scale military drills of high school. Students were dispatched directly beyond the Safe Zone — no teachers to accompany them, no hunters to offer protection. They had to overcome every obstacle on their own, had to face the Demon-Beasts on their own...

Deaths were unavoidable in expeditions like these, but that was something every Mage should have come to terms with on the day their elemental affinity first awakened.

News spread fast. When word of the draw got back to the school, the administrators could barely believe it.

Dean Xiao and Zhou Zhenghua, after hearing Gu Han recount the details, were overjoyed. Sending Mo Fan to the Imperial Capital had absolutely been the right call — the results were immediate and undeniable.

And with Mo Fan's Fire Element now public knowledge, the name "natural Dual Elements" spread quickly through university circles across the country. Where Mo Fan had once been Pearl Academy's biggest legend — a figure everyone within those walls talked about — he now shot to prominence nationwide, sparking a fierce debate over exceptional talent that swept through universities everywhere.

Students from institutions across the country began cataloguing the most monstrously gifted individuals from every region, assembling a nationwide talent ranking.

Both Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan, having shown their true abilities, made the list — burning topics in the talent discussion.

Mo Fan skimmed the rankings himself. His natural Dual Elements had placed him fifth; Mu Ningxue's natural Spirit Seed came in at ninth.

"Seriously? Natural Dual Elements only fifth?" Zhao Manyan exclaimed, phone in hand. "Let me see what talents are supposed to be more insane than that."

"The world's a big place — there's no shortage of freakishly talented people," Peng Liang said, glancing at Mo Fan. "Top five across all the universities is seriously impressive, okay? Think about how many so-called genius Mages are out there. Never mind the top ten — cracking the top hundred is enough to make you the envy of your generation."

"Talent is nothing more than a small gift the heavens bestow on a lucky few Mages," Teacher Qiu Yuhua said with a measured professional cough. "A gift without hard work still makes you worthless. I've seen no shortage of young Mages with earth-shattering talent — and how many of them actually went on to make a name for themselves? There's nothing to be envious about."

Gu Han said nothing to contradict him.

Talent was icing on the cake at best. What truly mattered was relentless cultivation.

Take someone like Mo Fan, with his natural Dual Elements — if he put in no effort, those three elemental affinities could actually become a burden, possibly preventing him from ever breaking through to Intermediate-Level Mage.

A three-element Mage who couldn't even reach that level... what good are they to anyone?

In the eyes of those from older generations, talent alone was never the true deciding factor.

"Next, you will venture beyond the Safe Zone for your Field Expedition," Teacher Ah Li Jing said. "There are absolutely no safety measures in place out there. If you find yourselves in danger, no one will be coming to save you."

"No protection at all?!"

"We'll issue each of you a light-magic signal pen. If you're trapped somewhere, we'll send out a rescue team... provided you're still alive."

"That's..."

The faces around the room went stiff.

"Every year, university Field Expeditions see deaths and injuries," Gu Han said, his tone unusually grave. "I want every one of you to enter this without even a trace of complacency. Don't take unnecessary risks. You might think that running into a few Demon-Beasts is something you can handle easily — but let me be perfectly clear: don't make things sound simple!"

"You all take Demon-Beast Studies, and teachers explain what lies beyond the Safe Zone," Qiu Yuhua added, unable to stay quiet. "But here's the truth — most of those teachers have never set foot outside the Safe Zone themselves. Do you honestly think what they've told you will be enough to save your lives when things go wrong? That's not very realistic. Be careful in all things. However many of you walk out, that many of you had better walk back."

All three instructors had abandoned their usual composure. Everyone understood that this Field Expedition was no joke.

Mo Fan himself had hunted Demon-Beasts in the city before, but he was no different from the other students in one respect: he had never ventured beyond the Safe Zone.

From the day he arrived in this world, he had been told countless times that beyond the Safe Zone was Demon-Beast territory — that even the most powerful Mages had to keep their heads down out there, because you never knew when you might cross paths with a monstrously powerful Demon-Beast, or an entire horde of them.

"The expedition will have a general direction, which we'll inform you of in due time. While you're here in the Imperial Capital, if you or your family have some savings, I'd strongly recommend purchasing a good piece of defensive Enchanted Gear — it could save your life."

Most of the exchange students came from capable families with connections, so nearly everyone already owned a piece or two of Enchanted Gear.

Mo Fan knew the money he had wouldn't cover another piece, so he didn't bother wasting time at the Imperial Capital's auction houses.

With roughly five days before the expedition departed, Mo Fan intended to use every one of them to strengthen his Summoned Beast.

The Gloom Wolf Beast had taken a blow to its pride.

During the sparring match, it had been utterly demolished by the Shadowmark Berserker Wolf. The two simply weren't in the same league.

They were both creatures of the wolf lineage — but that day, the Gloom Wolf Beast's innate pride had been ground into the dirt.

Mo Fan could sense how deeply the battle had shaken the creature. After careful thought, he made his decision: he would help the Gloom Wolf Beast advance to Battle-General-class.

It had been in the Ascension Phase for nearly a year now. Throughout that time, it had continued fighting in the Summoned Beast Plane, honing itself through constant battle. After a full year of tempering, Mo Fan was confident it had earned the right to ascend to a higher bloodline.

And now, spurred on by the Shadowmark Berserker Wolf, the Gloom Wolf Beast burned with the desire to shatter its Servant bloodline and become a stronger creature of the wolf lineage.

With a wolf this driven to better itself, how could Mo Fan bear to let it keep suffering such humiliation?

Besides, that Lu Zhenghe strutted around like he owned the place just because he had a Battle-General-class creature — nose practically pointing at the sky.

Mo Fan couldn't stand people like that, especially when this particular one spent every day shamelessly hovering around Mu Ningxue.

Once his own Gloom Wolf Beast reached Battle-General-class, he'd see just how much Lu Zhenghe had left to swagger about.