Chapter 52: Fourth-Rank Magic Core (Part 2)

As soon as the elder in charge of the review finished speaking, everyone drew a sharp breath, and the entire venue fell into a deathly silence, so quiet that the sound of a pin dropping could be heard clearly.

This number even left Vice President Bai En, who was sitting at the head of the table, speechless. His eyes were fixed on the pile of second-rank magic cores on the table, his face a picture of shock. This number had already surpassed the previous top-ranked magic core collector, Bugattier.

After a long while, a student finally couldn't hold back and shouted loudly, "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible! How could someone who hasn't even reached the Saint level collect so many second-rank magic cores in the third area, even more than a dozen more than Bugattier, the top-ranked student in the academy? This is absolutely impossible! These magic cores must have been brought in from outside."

This comment stirred up a wave of opposition. The fact that Jianchen had collected nearly a hundred first-rank magic cores had already made many people jealous and feel very unbalanced. Now, he had even produced 118 second-rank magic cores, more in number than the first-rank cores, which was something the entire academy found hard to accept.

Below the stage, Bugattier, the top-ranked student in the Kagas Academy's top ten, looked at Jianchen's back with a shocked expression and muttered, "His strength is clearly not even at the Saint level. How could he have collected so many second-rank magic cores? Could it be that he really brought them in from outside?" This thought crossed Bugattier's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Before entering the forest, the academy had confiscated all the spatial items from the students and conducted thorough inspections. Moreover, there was only one entrance to the forest, making it impossible to bring magic cores in from outside.

Even if it were possible to bring magic cores in from outside, Bugattier believed no one would be foolish enough to bring in over a hundred second-rank magic cores at once, as it would certainly cause a stir in the entire academy, leading to an investigation.

Not far away, a girl with tattered clothes but a very beautiful face looked at Jianchen's back on the stage with a dazed expression and murmured, "How could a freshman who hasn't even reached the Saint level collect over a hundred second-rank magic cores?" Her soft and pleasant voice was filled with shock and disbelief.

On the other side, when Cheng Mingxiang heard the elder announce the number of magic cores Jianchen had collected, he opened his mouth in shock, his face filled with disbelief. However, his expression soon turned dark, replaced by anger. This time, the top three in the magic core collection would receive rewards, which, although not highly valued by those from powerful families, represented a great honor and a symbol of strength. Cheng Mingxiang had been in third place, but Jianchen's performance had pushed him out of the top three, which made him very angry. What he found even harder to accept was Jianchen's strength, which was below the Saint level.

"Changyang Xiangtian..." In an instant, Cheng Mingxiang's face turned extremely dark, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Jianchen.

In the crowd, Luo Jian also had a dark expression, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Jianchen on the stage, his gaze so fierce that it seemed he wanted to devour Jianchen.

Although Jianchen's current strength was weak, his "spirit" was very powerful. If someone looked at him with a normal gaze, he might not notice, but if someone looked at him with a particularly fierce gaze, he would immediately sense it. Therefore, Jianchen immediately sensed the resentful gazes of Luo Jian and Cheng Mingxiang. He turned his head slightly and, using his powerful spirit, easily found Luo Jian hidden in the crowd.

Seeing Luo Jian's dark expression, Jianchen gave a cold smile, not taking it to heart. He had taken all the magic cores from Luo Jian, preventing him from completing his task and even injuring him, so it was only natural that Luo Jian would bear a grudge against him.

However, when Jianchen's gaze fell on Cheng Mingxiang, his brows furrowed slightly, and a look of helplessness appeared on his face. He and Cheng Mingxiang had no deep-seated grudges. The minor conflict they had in front of the library was not enough to make Cheng Mingxiang hate him so much. The main reason was that Jianchen had pushed him out of the top three.

After all, achieving a top-three ranking in the competition among all the students was a great honor, especially for those from noble families, as it could significantly enhance their status.

If any other top ten student had pushed Cheng Mingxiang out of the top three, he would not have felt any resentment. However, this time, it was a freshman who had never been taken seriously and whose strength was below the Saint level, which was a great humiliation for Cheng Mingxiang, known as a cultivation genius in the Kagas Academy. He could not accept that a freshman who had just entered the academy could surpass him, leading to his resentment towards Jianchen.

Although there was also Tie Ta, Tie Ta was the dean's disciple, and despite Cheng Mingxiang's powerful background, he did not dare to offend the dean.

The elder in charge of the review took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He looked deeply at Jianchen and smiled, "Changyang Xiangtian, you have truly amazed me. I never expected that someone with strength below the Saint level could collect so many second-rank magic cores, surpassing the current top-ranked collector, Bugattier. It seems that the first place this time is yours." Saying this, the elder handed Jianchen a spatial belt and a medal of honor.

Jianchen chuckled, reached out to take the items from the elder, and said, "Teacher, you flatter me. It's not certain who will get the first place yet. After all, there's still Tie Ta behind me, and he has no fewer magic cores than I do." As he spoke, Jianchen transferred all the magic cores from his spatial belt to the table.

Hearing Jianchen's words, the elder gave him a meaningful look, smiled, and remained silent.

After Jianchen put all the second-rank magic cores on the table into his spatial belt, he walked down from the stage. Then, Tie Ta came to the desk and took out all the second-rank magic cores from his spatial belt.

Since Tie Ta had entered the third area with Jianchen, the magic cores they collected were equally divided, so the number of magic cores in his spatial belt was almost the same as Jianchen's. After the elder in charge of the review counted them, Tie Ta had 127 second-rank magic cores, just one less than Jianchen.

When the elder announced the number of second-rank magic cores Tie Ta had, the entire venue was once again stunned into silence.

Below the stage, Jing Mingyue, the fifth-ranked student in the Kagas Academy's top ten, stood there in a daze, her eyes somewhat vacant. She, who had originally been in second place, was now pushed down by two freshmen, a result she found hard to accept. After all, she had put in a lot of effort to collect those magic cores, and she could not imagine how two freshmen, whose strength had not even reached the Saint level, could collect so many magic cores.

At this moment, a very beautiful girl came to Jing Mingyue and affectionately put her arm around her waist, chuckling, "Sister Jing, didn't you expect it? You, who were in second place, were pushed down by two freshmen who just entered this year."

Hearing this, Jing Mingyue sighed and smiled bitterly, "I really didn't expect it. These two freshmen, whose strength is below the Saint level, have so many magic cores that they even pushed our top-ranked student, Bugattier, to third place. I really don't know where they got those magic cores. Could they really have brought them in from outside?"

Hearing this, the girl giggled, "Sister Jing, you're wrong. I believe those second-rank magic cores were obtained through their strength, not brought in from outside."

Jing Mingyue's expression changed, and she turned to look at the girl with a puzzled look, asking curiously, "Xiao Le, why do you say that?"

The girl smiled mysteriously, a look of pride on her face, and then lowered her voice, "Sister Jing, I met them in the second area and spent a day with them. Don't underestimate them; they are very powerful, especially Changyang Xiangtian. He killed several first-rank magic beasts with a broken iron rod, piercing their throats."

"Really?" Jing Mingyue's eyes showed a hint of surprise, clearly not fully believing it.

"Of course, I saw it with my own eyes; it couldn't be fake," the girl said confidently, raising her head. "Also, that night, we were attacked by over twenty green wolves, and they killed all of them without much effort."

"What? You mean they killed over twenty green wolves?" Jing Mingyue's face showed a look of shock. Although her strength was at the advanced Saint level, she would only have been able to run away from over twenty first-rank magic beasts, let alone kill them.

The girl nodded vigorously, "Yes, Sister Jing, I saw it with my own eyes. Although Changyang Xiangtian and Tie Ta haven't condensed their holy weapons, their strength is no less than that of a Saint. That's why I'm sure the magic cores they have are not brought in from outside."

Hearing this, Jing Mingyue lowered her head in thought. She did not show any dissatisfaction at being pushed out of the top three by Jianchen and Tie Ta, which showed that she was not a petty person.

After the magic core review, the award ceremony began immediately. The top three in the collection of first-rank and second-rank magic cores would receive the same rewards. The first place would receive a fourth-rank magic core and a medal of honor made entirely of purple gold. The second and third places would receive a third-rank magic core and a medal of honor made entirely of gold.

Although these medals were not very valuable, the honor they represented was significant, so even the noble students with powerful backgrounds coveted them.

Since Jianchen and Tie Ta were the top two in the collection of both first-rank and second-rank magic cores, they both received double the rewards. The third place in the collection of first-rank magic cores was still Mu Tian, and the third place in the collection of second-rank magic cores was Bugattier, the top-ranked student in the Kagas Academy's top ten.

After the award ceremony, Jianchen had two fist-sized magic cores in his hand. Feeling the surging and pure energy within the fourth-rank magic cores, a smile of joy appeared on his face. With these two fourth-rank magic cores, plus the total of 200 first-rank and second-rank magic cores in his spatial belt, he had enough to last for a long time. According to Jianchen's estimate, he wouldn't have to worry about magic cores for at least a year.

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End of Chapter 52