In the conference room, Su Tiankuo and the freshman instructors were monitoring the preparations for the Simulation Battlefield. For these high-ranking officials of the Sea City Military Academy, the Simulation Battlefield was also an excellent opportunity to discover potential talent, so they naturally paid it close attention.
Suddenly, a technician in charge of operations and maintenance let out a cry of surprise.
"Reporting to the Principal! A student has flagged that he is unable to enter the [Little Inferior Demon Camp] because he has already broken through to Apprentice Middle Rank, exceeding the power limit."
"What?" Su Tiankuo paused, thinking he had misheard. "Apprentice Middle Rank? How is that possible?"
The other instructors also expressed their disbelief upon hearing this.
Chen Qingshan said in shock, "The fastest record in our Sea City Military Academy for breaking through to Apprentice Middle Rank is two and a half months, isn't it? I remember that female student had Awakened the [Flame Dragon Knight] Profession and signed a life-pact Contract with a young Fire Dragon, sharing double the Cultivation speed. That's why she was able to advance so quickly."
Beside him, Shen Hongyu murmured, "That's right. That child, Wen Jiu, was an extremely rare exception. Looking at the academy's history, it generally takes an ordinary student four to five months to break through to Apprentice Middle Rank."
Lu Hu had a premonition. He quickly stood up and asked, "What's this student's name?"
The technician replied, "Fang Zhou. He Awakened the Undead Mage Profession."
Upon hearing this familiar name, Shen Hongyu and Chen Qingshan exchanged glances, while Lu Hu excitedly slapped his thigh.
"Haha, if it's Fang Zhou, then that makes sense. His compatibility with the Undead Mage Profession is inherently high, so it's excusable for him to cultivate a bit faster."
He then turned his head to the side, looking at a slender figure in the corner dressed in a floor-length black gown. "Hehe, Xinyan, what do you think? I wasn't lying, was I?" he boasted. "I remember it took you three or four months to break through to Apprentice Middle Rank back in the day. Fang Zhou's Talent seems to be much greater than yours!"
This woman was none other than Su Xinyan, who had rushed back to Sea City Military Academy from the Mythical World.
She rolled her eyes at the smug Lu Hu. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Su Tiankuo say, "Since Fang Zhou has broken through to Apprentice Middle Rank, just let him enter the Simulation Battlefield for that rank."
The technician's expression became troubled upon hearing this. "But we never anticipated that a student would break through to Apprentice Middle Rank within a month," he said hesitantly. "To conserve Energy, we didn't activate the Apprentice Middle Rank Simulation Battlefield today. Activating it on short notice would require at least a full day of preparation. Furthermore, if we let this student skip the [Little Inferior Demon Camp], he'll miss his chance to earn the first-clearance and speed-run rewards for this battlefield."
Lu Hu immediately interjected, "That's unacceptable! It's completely unfair to Fang Zhou! He managed to break through to Apprentice Middle Rank so quickly—we should be rewarding him, not depriving him of his rightful benefits!"
Su Xinyan, Chen Qingshan, and Shen Hongyu also nodded slightly. Lu Hu had a point. The strong should enjoy more resources in proportion to the greater effort they exert.
Su Tiankuo pondered for a moment before asking, "Then is there any way for Fang Zhou to enter the [Little Inferior Demon Camp]?"
The technician replied, "There's only one way: we would have to suppress Fang Zhou's projected power down to the Lower Rank Apprentice level. Only then could he enter the [Little Inferior Demon Camp]."
Lu Hu said with some dissatisfaction, "Breaking through to Apprentice Middle Rank is a testament to Fang Zhou's own ability. Why should we suppress his power?"
The technician gave a wry smile. "Instructor Lu, we have no choice. The rules are the rules."
Su Tiankuo waved his hand decisively. "In that case, contact Fang Zhou first. If he agrees to your proposal, then suppress his power and let him enter the [Little Inferior Demon Camp]. Let's see what this young man Fang Zhou is truly capable of in a fight!"
Fang Zhou quickly received a response from the military academy's technicians through his personal terminal. After some thought, he accepted the solution proposed by the technician.
What does it matter if my power is suppressed? Even if my Spirit Attribute is throttled to the Lower Rank Apprentice level, my Skill Proficiency isn't just for show.
Soon, after some back-end processing, Fang Zhou's projection was suppressed to the Lower Rank Apprentice level. This time, when he touched the Teleportation Gate, he was no longer blocked.
This small hiccup didn't affect Fang Zhou's mood. He waited a few more minutes and then entered the Teleportation Gate with the main group.
「...」
After paying the 1 Contribution Point entry fee, the Easy difficulty [Little Inferior Demon Camp] officially began.
A wave of dizziness washed over him. When Fang Zhou opened his eyes, he found himself standing on a grassy field.
"ROAR! Humans! Flesh!"
A roar immediately drew his attention.
Thirty meters in front of him was a dilapidated camp, from which a monster was staggering toward him.
The monster was dark red, naked, and stood about 1.3 to 1.4 meters tall, like a child. It had digitigrade legs with goat-like hooves, small bat wings on its back, and a small pair of horns on its forehead. In its hand, it clutched a trident cast from iron. It had the typical appearance of a Little Inferior Demon, except this one was covered in wounds and its aura seemed extremely faint.
*Task: Kill the gravely wounded Little Inferior Demon and destroy the Little Inferior Demon Camp.*
Fang Zhou's eyes narrowed. So those are the conditions to clear the instance. There was no time to lose. His heart was set on the first-clearance and speed-run rewards.
Facing the crazed Little Inferior Demon as it Charged forward with its iron trident, Fang Zhou remained cold and composed. He held his Magic Staff, already predicting the creature's path.
Skeleton Flying Spear!
A Skeleton Flying Spear, coalesced from bone and Negative Energy, instantly materialized. It tore through the air, shooting straight for the Little Inferior Demon's head.
Startled, the Little Inferior Demon flapped its wings, trying to leap out of the way of the Skeleton Flying Spear. But it was too late. The creature was heavily injured, its wings were damaged, and its Agility Attribute was greatly reduced. The Skeleton Flying Spear was simply too fast, rendering its efforts futile.
Possessing the triple-damage properties of Armor-Piercing, Corrosive Poison, and Death Energy, the Skeleton Flying Spear's attack power absolutely exceeded 100. This meant it could directly shatter the Little Inferior Demon's Scale Armor defense.
With a sickening squelch, the Bone Spear pierced straight through the Little Inferior Demon's head. The Negative Energy clinging to it instantly corroded the monster's body, annihilating its soul.
Without hesitation, Fang Zhou immediately cast [Summon Skeleton].
Forty Skeletons appeared at his call. Under Fang Zhou's command, they charged directly into the Little Inferior Demon Camp. His [Summon Skeleton] Skill had already reached [Perfection] proficiency. Combined with the bonus from his [Domination Skeleton] Skill, these Skeletons' Four-dimensional Attributes were vastly improved.
Under the assault of the Skeletons and Skeleton Flying Spears, the fragile camp structures quickly collapsed and shattered, leaving the entire camp in ruins.