The year-end assessment officially began, with all 20 classes of the school conducting their tests simultaneously.
The testing process wasn't complicated—each student simply placed their hand on the Starlight Sensing Stone, and the examiners scored them based on the brightness of the light it emitted.
Each student was given three attempts, with their highest score recorded as the final result.
The test order was random, so Jing Wuji had no idea when his turn would come.
Closing his eyes, Jing Wuji calmly waited for his name to be called.
About half an hour later, he heard the examiner call out Mu Bai's name. Jing Wuji opened his eyes, gave him a deep look, and then closed his eyes again. After all, in the face of absolute power, no amount of flashy technique meant anything.
As luck would have it, Mu Ningxue and the school board directors arrived right at that moment.
Mu Bai placed his hand on the Star Sensing Stone, and instantly, white icy light radiated outward, filling the area around the stone.
The ice aura was so intense it almost overflowed, casting its glow onto Mu Bai's face.
"S!"
"S!"
"S!"
The three examiners immediately announced their scores—all S-rank!
"Big brother, what do you think?" Mu He asked with a smile, turning to Mu Zhuoyun.
"Not bad," Mu Zhuoyun replied, offering only those two words.
Mu Ningxue said nothing.
In truth, in a place like Imperial Capital University, where geniuses were everywhere, this level of talent barely caught her attention.
Mu Bai had expected this. He turned silently and walked into the assessment arena.
He was going to attempt a spell-casting test.
Standing still, Mu Bai took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began channeling his magic.
Skilled and practiced, he connected seven stars into a Star Path. A flash of icy-blue light burst forth as Mu Bai chanted:
"Ice Vines: Freeze and Delay!"
Flawlessly, without hesitation or interruption, Mu Bai executed the spell he had spent nearly a year perfecting.
His pupils took on a different color, and as he exhaled the breath of magic, white frost spread across the training dummy's body!
The frost rapidly covered it, like paint coating a statue—stunning to behold.
The cold spread wildly, filling the entire testing arena.
Creak… creak…
The spell didn't stop after freezing the dummy; the frost began to creep across the ground as well!
Yet the school leaders and examiners remained calm, a hint of approval flashing in their eyes.
"Not bad," Mu Zhuoyun said again.
Mu Bai didn't know if he had managed to impress Mu Ningxue, but he looked toward her nervously.
To his dismay, Mu Bai nearly lost it on the spot—Mu Ningxue wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on his class's direction.
Following her line of sight, Mu Bai felt like shouting, "Let it all end, I'm done!" and storming off the field.
Mu Ningxue… was looking at Mo Fan!
Mu Bai was utterly devastated.
"The performance was excellent. Stardust: S-rank. Spell Casting: B-rank," the examiner announced the final score.
…
"Next, Jing Wuji!"
Jing Wuji, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. Without a word, he walked to the testing area.
The whole class was puzzled—they couldn't even remember who this student was.
Mu Ningxue finally shifted her gaze from Mo Fan and looked toward Jing Wuji.
He's still the same as ever, she thought. How on earth did little sister Xinxia manage to change someone like him?
Jing Wuji placed his hand on the Star Sensing Stone. In an instant, pure darkness enveloped the entire stone!
"S!"
"S!"
"S!"
Three S-ranks again—announced instantly by the examiners.
Jing Wuji was slightly surprised. He had intended to hold back a little, but it seemed even his restrained output still hit the S threshold.
Looking below the stone, he quickly understood—it must be something about the stone itself.
Without delay, Jing Wuji walked into the arena. He would also attempt spellcasting.
"Shadow Step-through!"
A flash of dark light streaked across Jing Wuji's body. At that moment, he vanished—fading into the shadow beneath his feet.
Two or three seconds passed, and then—suddenly—a figure emerged from the shadow behind the training dummy, delivering a powerful kick to its head.
With just that single strike, the dummy's head flew clean off.
"Stardust: S-rank. Spell Casting: S-rank. This is quite possibly the first student in the school's history to achieve such a level," the examiner announced.
Jing Wuji, still expressionless, walked off the field—now with an extra stone in his hand.
Mu Ningxue stared at him in shock. She hadn't expected Jing Wuji to be this monstrous in talent.
Did people even understand what it meant to cast magic instantly?
A Thought to Star Path!
This was a level of talent she hadn't encountered—not even at the Imperial Capital University.
As Jing Wuji passed by Mo Fan, he whispered, "Go ahead with your test. The interfering factor has been eliminated."
Only then did Mo Fan understand why someone of Jing Wuji's strength had only produced an S-rank glow—it had been deliberately restrained.
"Next, Mo Fan!"
Sure enough, just as Jing Wuji had predicted, Mo Fan was called next.
Mo Fan stepped forward and placed his hand on the Star Sensing Stone.
In the next moment, crimson light surged from within the stone, as if it were about to catch fire, spreading around it and even overflowing from the edges!
The brightness of this light surpassed even that of Mu Bai's—and certainly more than what Jing Wuji had shown under the stone's suppressive effect!
"S!"
"S!"
"S!"
The three examiners instantly gave their ratings.
Mo Fan raised a cocky smile as he stepped into the casting arena.
A red glow shimmered around him, followed by the flicker of a Star Path.
"Fire Burst: Scorch!"
The entire casting process was flawlessly fluid. As Mo Fan chanted, a look of power and pride settled on his face.
An intense heat radiated from him like a tidal wave, slapping the cheeks of the hundreds of spectators—it was fiery and unmistakable.
Crimson brilliance dazzled the eyes; the heat shocked the soul!
A plume of flame roared to life in Mo Fan's half-clenched palm, like a beast eager to be unleashed.
"Take this!"
Mo Fan hurled the flame with force, and it blazed through the air with a fiery red tail, striking the practice dummy dead on!
The flames surged across the dummy, multiplying and intensifying until, within seconds, the entire figure was engulfed in a raging inferno.
"A!"
"A!"
"A!"
His spell-casting scores appeared instantly.
Mo Fan's performance was still stronger than Mu Bai's—but he was forever placed second.
Watching Mo Fan's confident expression, Mu Ningxue couldn't help but smile faintly.
the Imperial Capital.
Mo Fan was still as strong as ever—this kind of talent would count as a minor genius even in
Mu Zhuoyun observed Mo Fan's performance and nodded with satisfaction.
Their family happened to need a few more fire-element mages—it might be worthwhile to invest resources into training Mo Fan.
Although that brat had done something in the past that had enraged him, it had been a childish mistake. So many years had passed—it wasn't worth holding a grudge. Better to offer him a few benefits and put him to use.
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