Teacher Li stared at Lin Xu, who had a calm and composed expression, and gave him an ugly smile.

It wasn't that I was happy, but rather that I was so angry I laughed.

"Lin Xu, are you really that confident? Just because you think you have some talent, you dare to look down on powerful clans? Have you forgotten what you learned in the textbooks? Most of the island lord's three talents influence each other. With two talents already so poor, do you still think the third talent can defy the heavens?"

Lin Xu chuckled and said:

"Does Teacher Li not dare to gamble? As a member of a powerful family, does he not even have this much courage?"

Wang Lei and his group were overjoyed to see Lin Xu daring to provoke him like that.

They mocked Lin Xu for being naive and foolish, daring to so provoke the dignity of the powerful clan.

But on the surface, Wang Lei frowned and said angrily:

"Lin Xu, don't be so arrogant. Who is Teacher Li? Do you think you're qualified to gamble with him?"

Looking at Lin Xu's calm expression, Teacher Li's angry smile intensified.

An ordinary citizen!

Just an ordinary citizen!

Even if he becomes the island lord, he'll still just be a commoner!

They're still treating him like this!

A sharp glint flashed in Teacher Li's eyes as he took out a fist-sized brown gem from his personal storage space:

"Lin Xu, since you want to gamble, this is a ley line gem crystal! I can use it as a wager. As long as your third test score is over 10, I'll give it to you!"

"You won't have to pay any price for betting with me, but if you lose, you'll have to bow and respectfully address any powerful family you encounter as 'Sir'! Are you willing to agree?"

When Wang Lei and the others saw the gemstone, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

These people looked on with envy and greed.

They deliberately pestered Teacher Li today in order to curry favor with her and get some similar financial aid.

Especially these kinds of leyline gems are their target.

However, Wang Lei and the others did not expect that the gem in Teacher Li's hand was so big and looked to be of such excellent quality.

Lin Xu also saw the ley line gem.

This stuff is considered top-quality among primary mineral resources.

This type of leyline gem can be integrated into the island's foundation and rocky terrain to create a leyline core.

An island with a high-level ley line core can harness a certain degree of earth power. It can be used to change the terrain and adjust the height and depth of the base. If combined with other elemental cores, it can also generate combined effects such as endless fertility, endless water, and endless light.

More importantly, if the Earth Vein Core is paired with the North Wind Core, it can create an island airflow.

In the early stages of island ownership, island movement relied on island air currents.

With this feature, the island can move according to the island owner's will, which is an extremely important ability, whether used to evade or pursue enemies.

Looking at the earth vein core, Lin Xu estimated that its quality was at least level 3, which was the highest level that an early-stage island lord could possess.

With this, his island will possess the power of the earth's veins.

However, after looking at the gemstone, he shook his head:

“Teacher Li, I am willing to accept your bet, but I don’t want the complete ley line core. I hope you can exchange this core for ley line fragments of equal value, the more the better.”

Even a level 3 ordinary ley line core can only provide 30 points of ley line power, enough to power an island 3000 meters long and wide.

However, Lin Xu possesses a superposition system.

If you were to stack more and more tiny fragments of the earth's veins, the effect would likely be far better than a single, complete gem.

Therefore, the lower the price and the greater the quantity of resources, the more valuable they are to Lin Xu.

"Exchange fragments?"

Teacher Li frowned:

"You, Lin Xu, are a top student, aren't you?"

Lin Xu smiled:

"Doesn't Teacher Li know my grades?"

Teacher Li snorted coldly:

"Since you have good grades, you should understand that no matter how many low-value fragments you have, they can't compare to high-quality cores! Moreover, of the island lord's three talents, it's difficult for any one talent to exceed the other by 10 points. You seem to not even know these two basic facts. I really don't think you're a top student!"

Lin Xu smiled:

“There are always exceptions in the world. Besides, the knowledge in textbooks is neither comprehensive nor realistic; it's just a tool for passing exams. Does Teacher Li, as someone from a powerful family, not even understand this?”

Teacher Li's expression was somewhat unnatural.

As a teacher, he naturally knew that powerful families, parliaments, and nobles had censored and distorted textbook knowledge in various ways, and that many real-world situations had long been concealed.

Therefore, what's in textbooks really doesn't represent anything.

But Lin Xu is an ordinary citizen and an orphan. Where did he get such insight?

Teacher Li gave Lin Xu a deep look:

"Okay, I'll exchange this core for core fragments of equal value. This level 3 core can be exchanged for at least 300 ordinary fragments. But if you really want to exchange 300 fragments for a level 3 core, you're dreaming. Are you really willing to accept this kind of gamble?"

"certainly!"

Lin Xu's lips curled up, suppressing his excitement.

Meanwhile, Wang Lei and his group looked at the core with a mixture of envy and mockery towards Lin Xu.

What an idiot!

Instead of using a high-level core, they're going for a fragment!

They went to great lengths to try and get their hands on the core information from Teacher Li.

I never expected that Lin Xu, that fool, would refuse such a good thing right in front of him!

Looking at the core, Wang Lei couldn't help but shamelessly say:

“Teacher Li, I prepared some fragments in order to exchange for your core. Others also have them. How about we use these fragments to exchange for this core with you, so that you can fulfill your bet?”

Upon hearing these words, Teacher Li's gaze turned icy, and she glanced indifferently at Wang Lei and his group.

"Do you think I'm a fool?"

He just made it clear that 300 fragments wouldn't even get you a complete core. These commoner students are really taking advantage of him, thinking he's a sucker, trying to exchange a bunch of junk for something good.

Wang Lei and the others froze.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xu couldn't help but chuckle.

Wang Lei and his group looked grim. Wang Lei glared at Lin Xu and said angrily:

"What are you laughing at? You're just a mere island lord, practically an ordinary person, yet you dare to be disrespectful to us official island lords? I bet you're dreaming if you think you can test your talent and turn your life around! You'd better apologize to Teacher Li and get out of here right now!"

Lin Xu squinted at Wang Lei and his group.

Although he didn't care about what these people thought, he was still angry when people pointed fingers and laughed at him.

Noticing Lin Xu's expression, Wang Lei chuckled:

"What, Lin, you're not convinced? If you're not convinced, you can challenge us, especially during the newbie testing period. You can try to find our coordinates and fight us for the island master position! Do you, a trashy three-talented island master, have that kind of courage?"

Lin Xu smiled and shook his head:

"You think you can target me during my newbie phase? You think you're worthy?"

Wang Lei's face stiffened, then he flew into a rage:

"Lin Xu, don't be so arrogant!"

Lin Xu chuckled:

"I'm not being arrogant, I'm just stating a fact. There's no need to gamble with you guys during the newbie phase. Instead, let's continue the bet with Teacher Li now. You say I'm a three-talent waste, so let's bet on the value of my third talent, just like Teacher Li did. Do you have the courage?"