"Level 10 Meditation Mage?" Qian Jin looked at Gabriella blankly. It was not until this moment did he realize that Gloria, someone who possessed the ability to transform spiritual power into magic power, was much stronger than he had imagined and that it was impossible to have a full understanding of the mages' lap without being a member of them.
"Tell me your name." Andrews worked up his courage to look at Qian Jin. "A warrior student broke into our mages' domain and hurt one of our students today. So leave your name here. You will soon meet some other mage students who are capable of defeating you even if I have lost to you."
"He's is Qian Jin." Tence Matten tapped his palm with the folding fan, with a subtle smile worn on his face. "You will soon find his name in the warrior division's Hundred Battle Ranking List."
The other mage students stared at Qian Jin's back bemusedly. How could such a person be listed in the Hundred Battle Ranking List of the warrior division? They would just see it as a joke if told by someone else, however, it was Tence Matten, who hadn't been proven wrong in judging others ever since he joined the Punitive Expedition Academy and thus won the title of "fortune-teller", who held this opinion.
"Alas, you cannot leave this way." The instructor suddenly came to his senses and sprinted towards Qian Jin. "You will have to follow me to see the Principal even if you did that for self-defense. It won't matter if I haven't seen it, but now that it happens in my face I will have to step in."
Seeing the instructor running toward him, Qian Jin shrugged his shoulders. He wouldn't give a shit if it was Heyse Kinas who made this fuss, however, this instructor looked so bookish and upright, making it hard for him to deal with.
"Come with me. You have to see the Principal." The instructor clamped Qian Jin's arms and dragged him toward the Principal's office.
Walking behind this instructor whom he could beat down effortlessly, Qian Jin couldn't help sighing. Any candid and conscientious person was worth respecting. As such, Qian Jin couldn't bear to beat him.
Gabriella walked by Qian Jin's side quietly, having made up her mind to support Qian Jin in whatever he might say or do to the Principal since everything was brought about on her account.
Walking on the passage of the mage division, Qian Jin sensed the hostile intent coming from the mage students of all directions, so he bent down and whispered to Gabriella, "Are you living such a life every day?"
"Um."
Gabriella was still the type of quiet girl she used to be. Seeing the lowered face of Gabriella, Qian Jin couldn't stop feeling sympathetic for her. Over the past three months, this girl was suffered in silence all these mocking and bantering, the pressure of which might drive a lot to commit suicide directly.
What was Gloria doing then? Qian Jin frowned incessantly, wondering what Gloria was doing after bringing this unparalleled glory to Gabriella. Had she decided to hide in Gabriella's body watching her sister being bullied by nearly everyone around her?
"Let's move to the Torrent Battle Fort."
Gabriella shook her lowered head like a startled rabbit.
"It doesn't matter. I manage just fine. All these sneers mean nothing to me. I will become the greatest mage and dumbfound all those people who have once hurt me. I cannot withdraw. If I retreat, I will do my sister wrong."
Cannot retreat? Qian Jin looked at the timid-looking yet adamant Gabriella and recalled what his father said in his mind. "You cannot retreat, or else you will fail to live up to everyone who has sacrificed for you."
"All right, I have something for you." Qian Jin took out the magic core of the Sand Python from his warrior dimension and tucked it into Gabriella's hand. "Study it carefully. It might be helpful to you."
Magic? Magic core? Gabriella looked at the big magic core in her palm excitedly and conjectured that it might be taken from a high-level demon beast. Though the Punitive Expedition Academy had provided them with bountiful auxiliary materials to help improve their magic proficiency, none of those items could be compared with this magic core of a high-level demon beast.
Fabreidis once said that the odds of escaping a high-level demon beast for someone alone before reaching the saint level was ten percent at most and that of killing the demon beast was less than ten percent. After becoming a saint-level warrior, the possibility of defeating the high-level demon beasts might ascend to fifty percent.
What was this? Gabriella felt that the lines on the magic core felt strange. Upon close observation, she nearly burst out screaming. To ordinary people, the lines on the magic core were nothing but some eerie symbols, but to mages, the value of them was inestimable.
The arranged sequence of magic elements indicated that the possessor could learn the legendary innate-magic of demon beasts. Generally, the sequence of the born-magic elements was hidden in the innermost part of the magic core.
To open the magic core without damaging the magic element? Nearly no one in the Zence Empire, the Demons or the Barbarians had that ability. Though there were large amounts of rune masters trying to encrypt it with all kinds of methods, no magic cores, even including those of the lowest-leveled demon beasts could be dismantled.
The value of the born-magic from a magic core of a high-level demon beast... Gabriella deemed it inestimable. Not to mention that there seemed to be more than one type of innate-magic on it. She thought maybe the value of all the resources she got from the Punitive Expedition Academy couldn't be compared with that of this magic core of the high-level demon beast.
"It's of no use to me so just take it." Qian Jin patted Gabriella on her hand. "Put it away. I hear that it has a certain value."
"Value? What value?" The Principal's voice filled with puzzlement came from the office. Seeing Qian Jin coming in, her eyes seemed to be lighted up, while at the sight of Gabriella, she put on an extremely affable look. "Gabriella? Is there anything to be fixed up by the academy's side?"
Qian Jin looked Isabella up and down while frowning. Judging from his last contact with her, this Principal wasn't an easygoing person. Especially in the face of those who were of no help to the school, she showed little patience.
On thinking of this, Qian Jin quivered slightly. Had she seen Gloria? Oh very likely to be. Or else she couldn't be treating Gabriella so nice.
"Principal." The instructor slumped into the sofa and pointed at Qian Jin. "This warrior student hurt Zhuang Yichen in Class One, Grade One of the mage division."
"He hurt Zhuang Yichen?" Isabella leaned across the chair leisurely and didn't show any surprise, knowing that for Qian Jin, who had already become a Level 3 Demon Capturer three months ago, to kill off Zhuang Yichen was as easy as pinching off an ant. To hurt him was nothing to be mentioned.
At least… Isabella tapped the handle of the chair softly with her finger. She knew something about this young man's temper. During their last encounter, he insisted on beating back Heyse Kinas fiercely irrespective of her explicit dissuasion.
Did he only hurt the mage student Zhuang Yichen alone? Isabella smiled. It didn't go too far for him to do so.
"You seem full of guts, to have been in two fights upon your return after leaving school for three months." Isabella lifted her wrist and pointed at the playground outside. "Go downstairs, and run one hundred laps around the large field without the help of warrior power. Then come back and make things straight with me."
To run one hundred laps without beckoning the warrior power? Having joined two fights? The instructor in military knowledge looked at Qian Jin who was walking out of the office unbelievably and quickly rose up. "Principal, I think it goes a little far to run one hundred laps without the help of warrior power. What about…"
"Professor Qiguo, say no more." Seeing Qian Jin jumping down from the window, Isabella waved her hands and smiled, "I know him to my fingertip the day I met him."
Qiguo was confounded for a second, and then wore a self-mockery smile and shook his head repeatedly. How could he have forgotten that this young female Principal was totally different from the former one? She was so well-informed of everything happening in Punitive Expedition Academy within no time as if the entire school had been grasped in her hand.
And the news of Qian Jin fighting with others twice in private on the same day had nowhere to hide.
"Principal…"
Isabella rose up, sat down by Gabriella's side and patted her on the shoulder softly, "Qian Jin..."
"That's all because of me…" Gabriella said.
"Take it easy. One hundred laps are just a piece of cake for him." Isabella patted Gabriella on her hands. "I also want to test him by this one hundred laps. He is one of the few students whose true strength remains unknown to me."
One lap, two laps…ten laps…thirty laps…
Qian Jin ran along the field leisurely, and every once in a while he would raise his head and have a look at the Principal's office. Over the past days, he had started to realize a lot of things. Save and except for the divine fighting technique, he was also in need of miscellaneous fighting techniques of all levels to enrich himself. Such had also been reminded by the old man in Four Seasons Valley upon his departure, but the reason for doing so was not expressed explicitly.
"These elderly people…" Qian Jin also remembered Uncle Blake. "Why do they love acting mysterious?"
All warrior and mage students walking by the spacious field were attracted by Qian Jin who was running alone recurrently. Generally, this field was used for warming up for a little while. For what was this guy running lap after lap here?
One lap, one lap… one lap… gradually some of them stopped walking, as they found that this warrior hadn't released any warrior power, yet his speed was changing from fast to low. It seemed that he was running using only physical strength.
Ten laps…thirty laps…some warrior students had stopped motionlessly to observe Qian Jin. To run with pure strength rather than warrior power was not that difficult, but to run that long without flushing, panting, or sweating was not attainable for ordinary warrior students.