Lu Shi got into the taxi and ran her hand over the smooth surface of the brooch.

Suddenly, the sensation disappeared, and the brooch vanished.

Huh, what's going on?

Just as Lu Shi was searching around, full of questions, a satisfied burp came from Xiao Jianjian's consciousness space.

"Little Scissors, did you steal the Hidden Demon Brooch again?" the little soul asked in the consciousness space.

"Burp. Hmm, although the portion was a bit small, the taste was still pretty good," Little Scissors replied contentedly.

"Damn it, are you unable to throw up again?" Lu Shi shouted angrily.

"Hmm, Master has learned to ask and answer his own questions." Little Scissors' voice had a slightly irritating tone.

"I'll fucking dump you!" Lu Shi blurted out in a fit of anger.

"Master, I know you're in a hurry, but don't worry. That thing's power is still there. I, Little Scissors, can perfectly replicate the magic weapon's power, and it's even stronger!" Little Scissors said proudly. "Now that I've eaten it, no one else can see the magic weapon anymore. It's like keeping your wealth hidden, isn't that great? Master, if you get any good magic weapons in the future, you can feed them to me. Although this magic weapon isn't as powerful as the Kunlun Mirror, even a fly is meat!"

I can feel the passive ability of the Hidden Demon Brooch still working on me.

Lu Shi felt relieved and took the initiative to try to release her invisibility.

In the space of consciousness, Little Scissors wobbled slightly.

Lu Shi disappeared in reality.

This startled the taxi driver, who nearly overturned the vehicle.

A second later, Lu Shi reappeared in the back seat and immediately used Mind Purification on the still-shaken driver.

The driver immediately came to his senses, steadied himself on the steering wheel, and said with lingering fear, "My lord mage, I'm so sorry! I think I just saw things."

"It's alright, just drive carefully." With a magnanimous wave of her hand, Lu Shi put on an air of superiority.

Yes, this invisibility feature is indeed very useful.

The taxi dropped Lu Shi off at the entrance of the magic school. As soon as Lu Shi got out of the car, the driver sped off without even asking for the fare.

Looking at the taxi that seemed to be avoiding a vengeful ghost, Lu Shi shook her head and walked into the school.

Great, only 7:59. This time I arrived just in time, a huge improvement from yesterday.

However, Lu Shi felt numb again.

The playground was packed with people.

All students from grades 10 to 12, along with all the teachers, were divided into square formations according to their classes and stood neatly in the playground, which was quite a sight.

Feng Tianxiao stood on the platform, his gaze immediately fixed on Lu Shi's entrance. Following his gaze, everyone else turned to look at him.

Instantly, Lu Shi became the center of attention. At that moment, she felt a bit like she was about to die.

Lu Shi quickly explained, spreading her hands:

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not late, look, it's just past eight o'clock."

This explanation drew laughter from the entire audience.

Fortunately, Wen Tianming, that warm-hearted guy, appeared again and led Lu Shi back to the class of Class 3, Grade 1.

Lu Shi protested, "I really wasn't late."

"Yes, you're not late." Wen Tianming reassured him warmly, "In live-fire training, everyone is used to gathering half an hour early. This is your first time participating, so it's okay if you arrive just in time. I won't laugh at you."

“But they will.” Lu Shi pointed to the group of students in Class 3 who were trying not to laugh.

"It's okay, you'll get used to it after laughing it off." Wen Tianming gave a mischievous smile.

At this moment, Feng Tianxiao's words came from the podium.

"Teachers and students."

"Today is yet another live-fire exercise."

"It's a familiar question: do you know why you become a magician?"

"That means no matter where you are in the magicians' ranks, never forget that our most important mission is to explore human development and protect humanity. Don't forget that outside your peaceful cities, there are countless magical beasts eyeing us covetously!"

"I hope that everyone can apply magical theories to practice through real combat and become a powerful and independent magician."

"The scoring rules will remain the same for this practical exercise. We look forward to all students achieving excellent results!"

"Let's go!"

As Feng Tianxiao finished speaking, all the teachers and students boarded the buses in order.

After everyone boarded, the bus, fully loaded with students and teachers, drove out of the campus and headed towards the safety boundary.

Class 3 of Grade 11 is the largest class, with 63 students and 11 teachers. They were divided into two buses.

Wen Tianming and Lu Shi were sitting in the first row. Wen Tianming was introducing them to Lu Shi.

“Teacher Lu, since this is your first time leading a team, you will only be assigned four students. They are the best students in Class 3. In the previous three practical exercises, these four students all achieved a ranking in the top fifty of the grade.” Wen Tianming pointed to the boys and girls sitting behind them.

Lu Shi turned around and, coincidentally, Zhou Rui and Wu Lie were right behind her.

"Oh, what's our class's ranking?" Lu Shi asked curiously. "How many students are in Class 1 and Class 2?"

As soon as the question was asked, Zhou Rui, who was sitting in the back, let out a cold snort.

“Teacher Lu, there are 21 students in Class 1 and 24 students in Class 2. In the last practical exercise, Zhou Rui and Wu Lie escaped from a Tier 3 magical beast and received extra points, ultimately becoming 40th and 41st place respectively. This is the best result in the history of the commoner classes,” Wen Tianming explained patiently.

Wow, that's quite a difference!

“However, Mr. Lu, this time, our Class 3 of Grade 1 is responsible for clearing the area within a hundred miles of the fortress. This is the area closest to the military region's garrison, so the risk factor is the lowest. Just consider this a chance to gain experience,” Wen Tianming said slowly.

“Okay,” Lu Shi replied sweetly.

I was thinking to myself that I should find an opportunity to go deeper into the area, and then see how things go.

...

The bus continued its journey, and after an hour and a half, it crossed a yellow marker on the ground. After that, everyone visibly tensed up.

It seems we have officially left the safety boundary.

Beyond the safety boundary lies a vast forest, through which a highway runs.

In this environment, the vehicle speed naturally can't be very high. The maximum speed is only 60 km/h, and the road conditions are not very good, with frequent bumps.

However, it's still better than walking on your own.

The teachers all looked warily at the trees on both sides of the window, fearing that some monster might suddenly jump out from there.

Wen Tianming comforted Lu Shi, saying, "Teacher Lu, don't be nervous. This is just outside the safety zone. There are many vehicles coming and going, and it's rare for monsters to run onto this road."

However, he had barely finished speaking.

"Waaah..."

With a long howl, a bear-like monster with a golden glow charged towards the bus.

What a cursed mouth!

"It's a Tier 2 Golden Stone Bear, an Earth-type magical beast." Information about this magical beast quickly appeared in Lu Shi's mind.

To Lu Shi's surprise, she suddenly realized that her mind was like a Warcraft encyclopedia, and she knew all kinds of Warcraft like the back of her hand.

I encountered a Gale Wolf in the warehouse before, and I could tell what kind it was just from its howl.

It seems this was her predecessor's strength. Being able to teach in the capital city, she didn't rely on the gimmick of being a natural dual-element white mage; her extensive knowledge of magical beasts was her greatest asset.

But now it belongs to me.

Just as Lu Shi was pondering, more than a dozen people jumped out of the bus in front of them.

They charged toward Jinshixiong with a clear division of labor.

Two earth-type mages blocked the attack head-on, two wind-type mages harassed the enemy from the left and right, and then three lightning-type and three fire-type mages unleashed their full power.

In just three minutes, the Tier 2 Golden Stone Bear screamed and collapsed to the ground, its entire body charred black, emitting wisps of blue smoke—all from being struck by lightning and burned.

"It's those magic fanatics from Class 2."

"They seem to have gotten even stronger; they managed to kill a Tier 2 defensive magical beast in such a short time."

Zhou Rui and Wu Lie whispered among themselves, their words filled with envy.

"Each student from Class 2 of Grade 1 will receive an additional ten points," Feng Tianxiao's voice rang out.

Cheers erupted from the bus ahead.

"Special reward: the top three students in this practical training will each receive a magical artifact!" Feng Tianxiao's voice rang out again.

"First place is definitely mine!" came an arrogant voice from the bus at the front.

“It’s Huang Shixuan, the young master of the Huang family from Class 1,” Zhou Rui whispered.

"Yes, I heard he's only 16 years old and has already advanced to become a mid-level mage, and even a violent elemental mage specializing in lightning and fire. It seems like he'll be the top student in the first year of high school without a doubt," Wu Lie sighed.

"Sigh, there are still several students from Class 1 who have reached the intermediate level, and quite a few from Class 2 as well. It seems we can't compete with them. I just hope we don't lose too badly," Zhou Rui added with a sigh.

Lu Shi looked at the magic teacher who was cleaning up the corpses on the ground and loudly addressed the students of Class 3 behind her:

“Don’t look so down, all of you.”

"It's just killing monsters! This time, Teacher Lu will lead you to first place."

She added in her heart:

"Time to hunt! I'll set a small goal for myself: absorb 1,000 grams of monster souls!"