Lu Yun: "Are you kidding me, you..."
Lu Yun didn't even know what to say. Could anything be more absurd than this?
If he somehow actually managed to become a Spirit Master, it would only mean his luck was monstrously off the charts.
Another person emerged right behind Li Kaixin. Lu Yun recognized him—if he remembered correctly, his name was Zhao Hao, and he was Li Kaixin's... uncle?
"Yo, Chicken, did you pass?" Zhao Hao asked.
Li Kaixin replied, "Definitely, it's in the bag."
"Good enough. Let's go, time to hit the net cafe." Zhao Hao hoisted his backpack and walked off.
Li Kaixin, just about to follow, turned back to Lu Yun and asked, "You coming?"
Lu Yun waved a hand and said, "Count me out. My family keeps a tight leash on me. Maybe another time."
"Fine. Though there might not be a next time—who knows, I might just die at the Spirit Master College Entrance Exam," Li Kaixin said, shaking his head.
Lu Yun: "...What is this bizarre feeling of 'living is alright, but dying wouldn't be bad either'?"
Lu Yun headed out of the school grounds, preparing to go home.
Just as he approached a street corner, his Killing Intent Perception started pinging.
There were two signals right behind the wall.
Lu Yun frowned: "Who could that be?"
After pondering for just a few seconds, he guessed who it was.
Most likely Li Dezhi and Wei Xiaoxiao, those two clowns.
Lu Yun walked straight into the narrow alleyway and said, "Oh, look, there's another one."
The only guy whose presence wasn't flagged by his Killing Intent Perception was named Li Junjie. Although he was considered a bit of a delinquent in class, he had never done anything truly bad. He just liked smoking a cigarette, playing mobile games during class, and never forced anyone to do his dirty work.
The original owner had a pretty decent impression of him.
Looking at Lu Yun now with a flash of pity, Li Junjie said to his boss, Li Dezhi, "Bro, let's just forget it. Everyone's graduating soon anyway, and we're all going our separate ways."
Li Dezhi cracked his knuckles and said, "Precisely because we're going our separate ways, if I don't beat him up now, I'll never get the chance again."
With that, Li Dezhi and Wei Xiaoxiao flanked Lu Yun, boxing him in from front and back.
Helpless, Li Junjie muttered, "I tried my best, classmate."
Lu Yun had no time to deal with him right now.
Just then, two figures dropped down from the top of the alley wall—none other than Li Kaixin and Zhao Hao.
"What's going on here?" Lu Yun asked.
Zhao Hao explained, "Ugh, talk about bad luck. Our IDs still list us as seventeen, and a bunch of cops raided the underground net cafe. We had no choice but to scramble out the back door. Anyway, what's going on with you guys?"
Seeing Li Dezhi and Wei Xiaoxiao looking ready for a fight, Zhao Hao frowned as he asked.
Hearing that the police were in the neighborhood, Li Dezhi and Wei Xiaoxiao grabbed Li Junjie and bolted.
Suddenly, Li Kaixin chimed in: "I get it! Lu Yun refused to fetch water for Li Dezhi earlier, so Li Dezhi told him 'don't leave after school', and now he's brought a gang to ambush you."
"I didn't expect you to be so sharp," Lu Yun said.
"Are you kidding? I'm extremely smart," Li Kaixin retorted.
Lu Yun had a nagging feeling he'd heard that line somewhere before. Wasn't the last person who said that suffering from cognitive impairment?
"Let's go. We've got no choice but to head home. Our paths happen to overlap, so let's walk together," Zhao Hao suggested, signaling for Lu Yun to join them.
He was probably worried that Li Dezhi and his cronies might be lying in wait at some intersection up ahead.
Walking together would provide some mutual protection.
"I want to play a bit of a game. Can someone give me a hand?" Li Kaixin asked.
Lu Yun reached out to steady one of his arms, pulling him aside whenever an obstacle appeared in front of him.
Li Kaixin opened a game icon, and Lu Yun clearly made out two words: Genshin Impact.
Gazing at his final remaining pink wish, Li Kaixin performed a direct single pull—and out popped a gold item.
Lu Yun watched with burning envy. As expected, this guy truly must be the Child of Destiny, right?
Back home, his older sister Xiao Qian was busy cooking dinner, while Xiao Chun was toying with a small box in his hands. Seeing Lu Yun return, Xiao Chun said, "Wash your hands and get ready to eat."
After dinner, Xiao Chun placed the box he had been fiddling with right into Lu Yun's hands.
"What is this?" Lu Yun asked.
"This is a Ghost Spirit Orb. It can convert Anomalous Energy into Spirit Qi, helping you become a Spirit Master. Do you know why the clearance condition for those Spirit Master Secret Realms is to make you stay inside for seven days?"
"Why?"
"It's to ensure you absorb enough Anomalous Energy. The longer you stay, the more Anomalous Energy you absorb. Back in the day, I stayed inside for three days and failed to absorb enough Anomalous Energy, which is why I'm only at Tier 2 (Peak) even now."
"Then what about the people who don't absorb enough Anomalous Energy?" Lu Yun asked.
"Usually, they aren't even issued a Ghost Spirit Orb to convert their energy unless they stay for more than three days. The higher the grade of the Ghost Spirit Orb, the greater the conversion ratio. As for those who stay under three days, unless their family is filthy rich, there is simply no way they can break into the tiers using a low-grade Ghost Spirit Orb.
And if you become a Spirit Master by entering a private secret realm on your own after the college entrance exam, you won't be eligible to apply to Spirit Controlling University."
Lu Yun finally grasped the underlying logic: the longer you stayed, the more Spirit Qi the Ghost Spirit Orb could convert, which indicated greater talent. Conversely, a short stay implied poor willpower and inferior talent, meaning no university would want you.
After all, every single minute you spent in the secret realm carried a crisis index that likely scaled exponentially.
"I've prepared an intermediate Ghost Spirit Orb for you. This is all I can do—take it and use it," Xiao Chun said.
Lu Yun fell silent.
Sensing what was on his mind, Xiao Chun stepped forward, patted his head, and said, "Your older brother isn't demanding that you achieve anything extraordinary as a Spirit Master. I just want you to be able to protect yourself once you become one, and that's enough. Your sister, I will protect."
In truth, by saying this, Xiao Chun was inadvertently piling immense pressure onto Lu Yun.
Whether he could even successfully become a Spirit Master remained a big question mark.
Making use of these past three days, he had been constantly diving into the Spirit Realm whenever he had a free moment. Under Sister Lin's gaze, which always carried the look of someone staring at an absolute fool, he finally... was no longer a "three-second man".
He was now a "five-second man"!
Because he kept plunging into the Spirit Realm the very second his "cooldown" reset over the past few days, the process drained his mental energy, leaving his overall state rather poor. Xiao Chun and Xiao Qian had been repeatedly advising him not to wreck his health just to vent his stress ahead of the Spirit Master College Entrance Exam.
Unable to refute them, Lu Yun could only answer that he understood.
Today finally arrived—the day of the Spirit Master College Entrance Exam. Xiao Chun and Xiao Qian had specifically taken time off work to personally escort Lu Yun to the testing site.
"Little brother, remember, your goal is to stay inside for as close to seven days as possible. Once the time is up, the secret realm will guide you toward the exit path. Just follow that path and walk straight out without looking back," Xiao Chun instructed.
"Yeah, I know, big brother," Lu Yun replied.
"Just the thought of my little brother having to stay in a place like that for seven days makes me worry sick," Xiao Qian murmured, watching Lu Yun's departing back with deep anxiety.
"Our little brother has grown up. Now is the exact moment for him to forge his own path, and it's time for us to let go," Xiao Chun said.