Ye Shaohua was different from everyone else in the Magic Continent. She was more daring and relentless than anyone else combined.
Most mages here were delicate and fragile, unless they practiced both magic and martial arts.
But Ye Shaohua was different. Back in the Beast Forest, she had the guts to take on a second-tier magical beast in close combat.
Her agility and techniques were honed through countless life-and-death situations, giving her a unique advantage.
Geniuses were already terrifying, but what was even more terrifying was a genius who worked harder than anyone else. As Ye Jin had once said, when a genius truly puts their mind to something, what chance do ordinary people have?
The Magic Tower was a divine artifact, filled with countless challenges. It evaluated each person’s performance and assigned them a ranking based on their achievements.
The first-year students were all curious about how far the first-ever person with 3S-level spiritual power could go.
“Lin Xiao, what brings you here?” Ye Shaohua’s mentor couldn’t help but laugh when he saw Lin Xiao.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao shrugged with a smile. “What can I do? The Grand Elder insisted I report Ye Shaohua’s progress to him as soon as possible. Don’t look at me like that—even that monster Ai Lin is here.”
He pointed to a red-clad woman standing about a meter away, surrounded by an empty space.
“Teacher, since you’re her mentor, do you have any idea how high she’ll rank this time?” someone asked, noticing Lin Xiao. Almost everyone gathered around, eager to hear the conversation between him and the mentor.
The mentor hesitated, then smiled wryly. “You’d have to ask her basic magic teacher. I only taught her earth magic, but she never attended my classes. On the other hand, she never missed a single session of the basic magic class, which most people skip. But considering Ye Jin, who can challenge opponents above her level, managed to reach the 355th floor, Ye Shaohua shouldn’t be far behind.”
“Ye Jin’s magic is indeed far superior to most,” another person chimed in, shaking his head. “I don’t think Ye Shaohua can surpass her, but she should at least make it into the top 400.”
As they spoke, Ye Shaohua’s ranking suddenly changed from 500 to 411.
Everyone was stunned, and even Lin Xiao looked disappointed.
“Only 411?”
“411?” Ye Jin laughed heartily. “Not bad for her.”
But Gu Hong’s expression changed. “Wait, she hasn’t come out yet!”
Not just him—others noticed it too. They all fell silent, staring at the golden ranking board.
Sure enough, half an hour later, the ranking changed again: Ye Shaohua jumped from 411th to 345th.
“It took her half an hour to reach 345. She must be exhausted,” Lin Xiao muttered, staring at the tower’s entrance. “She should be coming out soon.”
But ten minutes later, everyone fell silent again.
Ye Shaohua’s ranking soared from 345th to 278th in an instant!
In the first two changes, Ye Shaohua hadn’t used any magic. She relied solely on her basic combat skills and survival instincts. But after reaching the 345th floor, she realized that combat skills alone wouldn’t suffice against powerful magic, so she began using her three-element magic.
Everyone thought her two months in the Beast Forest were wasted, but only she knew that during those two months, she had advanced from an apprentice mage to a second-tier mage.
A second-tier mage typically ranked between 300th and 400th in the school.
But Ye Shaohua was a second-tier mage with mastery over three elements. When she was still a first-tier mage, she had single-handedly defeated a third-tier magical beast.
Now, as a second-tier mage, she could take on a fourth-tier magical beast.
What did that mean?
It meant her ranking would skyrocket!
221st—Ye Shaohua!
156th—Ye Shaohua!
121st—Ye Shaohua!
At the base of the Magic Tower, the crowd was speechless. Even the usually carefree Lin Xiao stared at the ranking board in disbelief.
Reaching the 200s was equivalent to being a third-tier mage, while breaking into the 100s meant she was on par with fourth-tier mages.
Even in the fourth year of Lien Academy, Ye Jin’s achievement of reaching the 355th floor in just over two months was astonishing. But who could have imagined that a freshman would break into the top 100?
When Ai Lin, with her S-level spiritual power, first arrived at the academy, she reached the 295th floor, which was already among the top five in history.
But Ye Shaohua? She had surpassed everyone’s wildest expectations.
“She’s still not out. Is she aiming for the top 100? That’s impossible. The top 100 requires the strength of a fifth-tier mage,” Lin Xiao murmured, his eyes filled with shock.
In truth, everyone instinctively thought it was impossible.
The top 100 were all seniors who had been at the academy for over five years, including Lin Xiao, who held the third spot due to his experience.
But as they watched the tower’s entrance, with Ye Shaohua still nowhere to be seen, a massive question loomed in everyone’s minds: Could this freak actually break into the top 100?
Just as they were pondering this, Ye Shaohua’s name refreshed again!
91st!
Ye Shaohua!
The top 100 rankings, which had remained largely unchanged, were now officially breached by a freshman!
In an instant, the name “Ye Shaohua” spread like a virus among the powerful families.
Especially for Ye Jin and Gu Hong, who stood frozen in place, unable to process what had just happened. “Ye Jin, your family… is truly terrifying,” Gu Hong said, taking a deep breath and looking at Ye Jin with a complicated expression.
Ye Jin’s mind was in turmoil. This wasn’t supposed to happen. How could it? She had taken Ye Shaohua’s成名玄典 (famous manual), so how was she even more powerful than in the book?
“Lin Xiao said you can go meet him now. I’ll take you there,” Gu Hong said, his gaze lingering on Ye Jin.
Ye Jin’s face lit up with joy. “Good, let’s go right away.”
She wasn’t surprised that Feng Liyun wanted to see her.
After all, they were both from the modern world. In this world, they were each other’s only family.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao knocked on Feng Liyun’s door, his voice urgent. “Boss Yun, I’ve arranged for Ye Jin to be brought here. She’ll arrive soon.”
Feng Liyun stood by the window, his eyes fixed on a three-inch-long blade in his hand. Even the summer sunlight couldn’t dispel the cold aura emanating from his snow-white robe.
Lin Xiao glanced at him and shivered. “I won’t wait for her. I need to report to the Grand Elder. Who would’ve thought this year’s freshmen would be so monstrous? Ye Jin reaching the 355th floor was shocking enough, but Ye Shaohua ranking 91st? That’s earth-shattering…”
He was about to leave when Feng Liyun suddenly turned around. His deep eyes locked onto Lin Xiao as he asked, word by word, “Who did you say ranked 91st?”