Sensing the magic essence flowing slowly within his body, Jiang Lin stood up on the bed, somewhat skeptically, and hopped a few times. He found the magic essence flow exceptionally stable and firm, without the slightest sign of disorder.
Jiang Lin examined his internal state with some excitement, an uncontrollable smile spreading across his face.
Little Black looked at Jiang Lin with a bit of fear, its expression somewhat resembling a certain round-faced elderly man.
'This kid is acting crazy again, jumping and laughing. Could it be that his earlier coma was actually a reincarnation?'
Little Black thought back to a light novel it had scavenged from the backpack of a member of an all-nighter study group.
'Twenty Years Later, Jiang Lin Dies Unexpectedly, Returning to His Younger Self with a Supreme Treasure. Living a Second Life, He Will Slay His Enemies with His Own Hands and Defeat Everyone Who Looked Down on Him.'
'No, what am I thinking?'
Little Black felt as if it had been poisoned by the light novels of this world.
Ignoring Little Black, who was currently lost in feline contemplation, Jiang Lin sensed the efficiency of the 【Paladin Breathing Technique】 running automatically after breaking its limit.
Although it was only fifty percent of his original manual operation, it was already heaven-defying. After all, it could run every single second of the day.
At the same time, Jiang Lin discovered that as long as he diverted some mental power to control and guide it, and synchronized it with the breathing rhythm of the breathing technique, he could increase the passive efficiency to one hundred percent!
However, in this state, Jiang Lin couldn't engage in activities that were too complex, such as learning new knowledge or using skills he wasn't proficient in. But for traveling, eating daily meals, or exercising his body, it was no problem at all.
Seeing such results, Jiang Lin finally revealed a thoroughly satisfied smile.
Two lifetimes—not spent in vain!
Originally, Jiang Lin was just one step away from rank 4, but he had been delayed by the evil god incident, resulting in him not yet advancing.
So, after finishing his check and ensuring there were no other issues, Jiang Lin sat down cross-legged again and began to operate the breathing technique.
A moment later, Jiang Lin stopped the breathing technique and stood back up.
Just as Little Black was filled with confusion, it saw Jiang Lin pick it up. Jiang Lin then turned to leave, found the priest on duty to have his body checked, and subsequently left with Little Black.
"Kid, where are you going?"
Jiang Lin said without looking back:
"I'm afraid I'll miss the assembly time tomorrow morning if I stay here at the Temple to cultivate. I'm going straight to the Phantom Forest artificial secret realm on the west side of the city to wait for them."
If he didn't have the identity bracelet Salas had given him, Jiang Lin might have needed to wait at the school for tomorrow's assembly to receive one before heading out with the large group.
But now it wasn't necessary. He could head toward the Phantom Forest under the cover of night.
The night was as dark as ink, with sparse starlight dotting the vault of the sky.
Jiang Lin paced through the silent streets of Boulder City.
The alleys were empty, with the occasional sound of a patrolling guard's iron boots clicking against the cobblestones, echoing like the city's slow-beating heart.
The further west he went, the sparser the lights became. The closed doors of the workshops on both sides cast long, slanted shadows under the moonlight, with only the occasional magic crystal lamp emitting a dim yellow glow.
Jiang Lin walked along, adjusting his breathing as he went, trying to get used to this way of using the breathing technique.
The 【Paladin Breathing Technique】 operated on its own. The thin magic essence in the air turned into a trickling stream, eventually becoming a drop of liquid that dripped into the small bowl inside Jiang Lin's body, causing the water level to rise slightly.
"Hmm?"
Little Black finally noticed the anomaly.
"How can you use a breathing technique while walking?"
Finally hearing these words, Jiang Lin smiled inwardly.
But his expression didn't change in the slightest:
"When your proficiency in a breathing technique reaches a certain level, you can convert it from active to passive operation. Don't you know that?
"Oh, right. With your talent, you definitely wouldn't have access to knowledge of this level."
Hearing such familiar words, Little Black's nose almost turned crooked from anger.
(Angry Cat Face.jpg)
It remained silent, but its mind was racing:
'Could this guy really have been reincarnated?'
Little Black really wanted to pry Jiang Lin's brain open to see if some supreme treasure of heaven and earth was hidden inside.
After all, in the light novels it'd read, after the protagonist is reincarnated, they always have some treasure in their head that allows them to become powerful quickly.
Shaking its head, Little Black reflected on itself.
'Have I been hanging around this idiot for so long that I've been influenced too?'
To actually have such a ridiculous thought!
Little Black felt it was quite improper. The problem must lie with Jiang Lin.
It was all this idiot Jiang Lin's fault!
'Yes, that's exactly it, meow!'
Seeing Little Black silenced by him, Jiang Lin continued his journey with satisfaction, casually using his superlative 【Breath Concealment】 to hide the fluctuations of his magic essence absorption.
He had some impression of this artificial secret realm, and plus, he had specifically memorized the entire map of Boulder City before, so finding it was quite easy.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a distorted space shrouded by a magic barrier.
A night-shift worker saw Jiang Lin. Seeing him looking at the barrier, the worker assumed he was an adventurer coming to hunt and shouted at him:
"This place is temporarily closed. Come back in a few days. Several schools are coming here for an exam tomorrow and have rented it for a few days."
Seeing that someone was actually on duty, Jiang Lin shouted back:
"Uncle, is this the artificial secret realm 【Phantom Forest】?"
The night-shift worker replied:
"That's right, this is it. Also, who are you calling uncle? Am I that old?"
Jiang Lin thought he had misjudged and quickly apologized:
"Sorry, big brother. It's too dark to see clearly. I'm a student coming for the exam tomorrow. I was afraid of being late, so I came early."
"You're a student?! Cough, cough, well, I misjudged... wait a minute, why did you come so early if you're afraid of being late? The sun hasn't even been down that long!"
Because it was dark, the night-shift uncle hadn't seen Jiang Lin's appearance clearly and thought he was a professional adventurer who had already started working. He didn't expect the other party to be a student, much less that they would arrive at this hour.
It... wasn't even midnight yet, right?
Why come so early?
The night-shift uncle was puzzled, but Jiang Lin walked toward his duty room.
"I can cultivate anywhere, anyway. Staying at school isn't as good as coming straight here,"
Jiang Lin explained.
As the night-shift uncle watched Jiang Lin approach, he became alert:
"Cultivate anywhere? Don't you rest?"
As he spoke, the night-shift uncle had already quietly gripped his guard whistle, ready to call the patrolling soldiers at any moment.
In the middle of the night, anyone would be nervous if such a strange youth suddenly appeared.
However, Jiang Lin seemed completely unaware of how frightening he was to the man, talking to himself:
"Rest? Big brother, don't you know? Once your breathing technique proficiency reaches a certain level, you don't need to rest anymore."
The uncle looked full of confusion and doubt, but Jiang Lin continued.
"Oh, right. Only those with enough talent can reach this level in a junior magic academy, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it. After all, very few people can reach this stage."
Jiang Lin spoke with feigned nonchalance.
Now that his 【Paladin Breathing Technique】 had broken its limit and become passive, Jiang Lin was in a great mood. He could pull over a passing dog and chat for a few minutes.
And because he had the passive cultivation buff, Jiang Lin didn't feel too much guilt about not cultivating for the moment.
The uncle looked at Jiang Lin suspiciously, as if saying:
'Are you some kind of genius?'
"Ahem, let me introduce myself. I am the number one student of Holy Light Junior Magic Academy."
Jiang Lin cleared his throat and said.
Well, being the last one is still a kind of number one.
Hearing this, the uncle looked at Jiang Lin in shock.
Holy Light Junior Magic Academy was considered one of the stronger academies in Boulder City. Was this guy actually the number one of Holy Light?
He never expected the other party to have such strength.
The uncle was just an ordinary person. Although he had studied in a junior magic academy before, he had no talent. He couldn't progress past rank 4 and ultimately failed to get into a middle magic academy.
So, the uncle chose to become a security guard, having avoided thirty years of detours.
And now, Jiang Lin had specifically turned on his superlative 【Breath Concealment】, so with the other man's level, he couldn't detect Jiang Lin's true strength. He simply assumed the boy was so much more powerful than himself that he couldn't sense him.
If the other party wanted to harm him, he probably wouldn't talk so much nonsense, and the boy was just a half-grown kid; what bad intentions could he have?
Thinking of this, the uncle let go of the guard whistle, his tone softening considerably.
He guarded the secret realm entrance every day and had some contact with adventurers. He knew that exceptionally talented students had limitless futures.
He didn't doubt the truth of Jiang Lin's words. After all, the behavior of arriving at the secret realm entrance a day early out of fear of being late fit his stereotype of these geniuses perfectly.
Geniuses who were different from ordinary people always had some quirks that he, as an ordinary person, simply couldn't understand.
"So you're a top student from the Holy Light Academy. I'm the night guard here. You can just call me Old Luo,"
he said to Jiang Lin.
Actually, if it were someone else, he wouldn't have bothered. He'd rather spend the time reading the light novel in his hand. But since the other party was the number one student of Holy Light Junior Magic Academy, he was afraid that neglecting him would lead to retaliation.
"Say, Brother Luo, can you introduce me to the situation of this secret realm?"
Jiang Lin got to the main point.
Actually, all that posturing earlier was just incidental. Jiang Lin sought out this man mainly to learn about the exam venue.
This world wasn't like his previous life; there were no communication devices like cell phones or computers to obtain information quickly.
Knowledge could only be understood through word of mouth or by consulting books.
Now that he had run into a staff member of the secret realm and wasn't in a hurry, he might as well ask.
Seeing Jiang Lin ask this, Old Luo found it strange but answered patiently:
"This Phantom Forest secret realm is an artificial secret realm. It's modeled after the environment on the outskirts of the real Phantom Forest hundreds of miles west of the city. The demonic beasts inside are much weaker than those in the real Phantom Forest, and the zones are clearly defined. You won't find rank-1 demonic beasts in the rank-0 area, or rank-2 demonic beasts in the rank-1 area.
"So the safety is relatively high. It's suitable for novice adventurers to practice and familiarize themselves with real combat scenes in the wild.
"Usually, many professional adventurers who have just graduated or members of newly formed adventurer groups come here to practice and coordinate. Earlier, I thought you were one of them."
Jiang Lin nodded thoughtfully, but Old Luo continued:
"However, holding an exam for students like you is a first. I heard it was learned from other big cities. I heard... some magic academies in those big cities can even use a secret realm exclusively for one school. How extravagant! These rich people really..."
Jiang Lin adopted an 'Indeed' personality:
"Indeed."
Old Luo observed Jiang Lin's expression when he condemned the villainous rich people.
'Hmm, his family should be quite wealthy. If he were poor, with the personality he showed before, he should have condemned them with me. Saying "indeed" like this is way too perfunctory.'
Thus, Old Luo believed in the "genius" label even more.
Thinking of the halo around the boy, Old Luo decided to say a bit more, so he lowered his voice:
"Additionally, since this is the first time the Phantom Forest artificial secret realm has been used for a school exam, mages have been coming here frequently these days to tune the array formations inside.
"I heard from other staff that they've temporarily moved out all the demonic beasts that were too high in level, clearing out the entire secret realm. And there's also a circle-by-circle elimination mechanism, which seems to slowly shrink the safe zone? It's said to be to make the students meet and have a competition."
Old Luo told him all the news he knew. Jiang Lin nodded silently:
"Thank you for telling me, Brother Luo. Oh, Brother Luo, do you have a map of this secret realm?"
Hearing this, Old Luo thought for a moment. After weighing his options and considering the other's identity, he took a map out of the drawer in the security room.
"This is a map marked with dangerous areas and different demonic beast biomes. We only have one copy in the security room. Take a look and give it back; this isn't easy to lend out."
There were plenty of basic maps, but this map was one summarized by their security room after so many adventurers had entered to train.
Usually, they would copy one onto a basic map and sell it to adventurers entering the exploration to make some extra money.
Jiang Lin thanked Old Luo, then took the map and began to memorize it.
Ten minutes later, he returned the map. Then, he sat down cross-legged and threw his whole heart and soul into the 【Paladin Breathing Technique】.
He didn't know if Old Luo's eyes were playing tricks on him, but as he looked at Jiang Lin sitting cross-legged on the ground in the dim light, he always had the illusion that the boy was glowing slightly.
'Is this what a genius is?'
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.
A pale white appeared on the horizon, dispelling the cold of the night and plating the distorted barrier at the entrance of the Phantom Forest secret realm with a layer of pale gold light.
Jiang Lin had sat there all night without moving an inch, still maintaining a steady, special rhythm of breathing.
Watching the darkness thicken, watching the dawn gradually arrive, and watching the sun slowly rise, Old Luo was truly shocked as he looked at this boy who hadn't moved a muscle.
'Even if you're sleeping, wouldn't it be uncomfortable to stay still for so long?'
Yet the other party acted as if nothing was wrong after all this time. It was truly astonishing.
Now, Old Luo finally understood the weight of that phrase, "I can cultivate anywhere."
'No wonder he's the number one. If I had been this hardworking back then...'
As the crowds gradually thickened, more and more people appeared on the roads of Boulder City. This massive entity began its own clumsy operation once again.
Soon, the first batch of students arrived.
These were all young and tender faces, making Old Luo reminisce a bit about his own younger days.
However, these weren't students from Holy Light Junior Magic Academy, but from Boulder Magic Academy. There were probably three or four hundred of them. Now, under the leadership of their respective class teachers, they found a place to stand and gather, waiting for the exam time to officially begin.
At this time, these students were all discussing the news they had heard after school yesterday.
"Hey, did you hear about what happened at Holy Light Magic Academy yesterday?"
"I heard! They say a cultist was so jealous of a student that he went mad and summoned an evil god into himself! He chased him down like crazy!"
"That's right! They say even the gold badge knights of the Temple were no match for him! They couldn't even stop him!"
"Yeah, it's too terrifying!"
"Hey, do you know there's something even more terrifying?"
"What?"
"That jealous student actually survived the pursuit of an evil god. And he's in the same grade as us..."
"Which means we'll run into him during the exam?"
"Yes, but I heard he was seriously injured and hospitalized. I hope he doesn't come to the exam."
"I hope so too. Even if he comes, it's better if I don't run into him. I can't imagine what kind of ruthless person he is..."
Just then, someone also noticed Jiang Lin, who was sitting cross-legged on the side of the road in meditative breathing.
Someone voiced a genuine confusion:
"What's the deal with that attention seeker over there?"
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