"That flame... could it be the Shadow Fireball?"
The examinees below were stunned, and then burst into laughter.
Shawell wished he could find a hole to bury himself in, the blush on his face spreading all the way to his neck.
"What a shame... your written test scores beforehand were quite good... what a shame you're a 'dud'!"
The examiner shook his head regretfully.
The so-called "dud" referred to ordinary people with innately weak Spiritual Power. While they had no trouble using low-level spells, they became helpless when it came to studying anything more advanced, because their Spiritual Power simply couldn't support it—like a machine gun without gunpowder or bullets.
"What a shame..."
"Comprehensive evaluation: 0.1! Failed!" the examiner announced the result in a loud voice.
Amid the chorus of sighs, Shawell walked down from the stage in a daze, and then saw Wuyan approaching him head-on: "Don't be sad... everything will work out!"
Leilin keenly spotted a flash of relief in the other's eyes and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Other people have sons who screw over their fathers. You—an ancestor who screws over his own descendants—that's a rare one indeed..."
Leilin watched Wuyan put on his over-the-top performance and quickly earn Shawell's gratitude, feeling rather speechless.
"Next! Lei!"
With the examiner's voice rising a notch, Leilin stepped forward calmly and walked into the hexagram Magic Array.
"It seems... my earlier performance has already frightened you all and aroused suspicion?"
Leilin caught the look of uncertainty in the examiner's eyes and sneered inwardly.
"This Lei..."
Below, Wuyan also watched Leilin's retreating back: "Our organization didn't detect anything suspicious about this person at all... I hope he's a naturally-born genius. Otherwise..."
[Ding! Soul aura detection detected. Initiating disguise...]
Soon, inside the hexagram Magic Array, Leilin sensed a faint scan wash over him.
Leilin's Rule True Spirit contracted sharply into a single point, positioning itself in the gap between the Spiritual and Material Worlds. All his power concentrated within the True Spirit, making him appear outwardly like an ordinary person.
With the Chip's assistance and his own concealment, the other party couldn't discover anything at all.
"Everything normal? Looks like he really is a genius! Let's hope he can pass and contribute to humanity!"
Upon seeing the result, the examiner's expression softened somewhat—a rare sight.
"Intelligent Brain, draw the examination topic: Shadow Servant!"
The examiner glanced at the screen, his eyelid twitching, but he still read it aloud.
"What? That one? The so-called hardest Level 3 assessment—the Shadow Servant with a degree of intelligence?"
"It's over! In the rumors, even an engineer with a high-level technician's license can't necessarily cast it perfectly..."
The onlooking examinees below fixed their gazes on Leilin with open schadenfreude.
"Shadow Servant? Lei's luck is terrible..." Shawell had partially recovered from his shock by now and began worrying about Leilin inside the hexagram Magic Array.
"Shadow Magic Net authorization—begin!"
The examiner nodded, and the hexagram Magic Array around Leilin immediately emitted a faint white light. A wave of Magic Net power descended, and the mid-level Magic Net access—previously restricted like an impassable chasm—flung open in an instant.
[Ding! Mid-level Magic Net access captured... Initiating Magic Net virus implantation, backend manipulation. Parsing...]
"Since mid-level Magic Net access is open, there must be gaps in the high-level Magic Net as well. Chip! Begin attempting high-level Magic Net analysis..."
[Ding! Task established. Processing...]
The Chip faithfully reported back.
"Hm? What's happening?" In that instant, a wave of immense fear swept over the examining instructor, but by the time he recovered, nothing had happened.
In that brief moment of which he was unaware, the Chip had already obtained high-level Magic Net authorization and a backdoor from him—even he himself had been kept in the dark.
"As expected... the Shadow Magic Net is still very incomplete. It's only equivalent to the surface Magic Net of the
A sharp light flashed in Leilin's eyes. "After all, it's something
Almost beyond his control, a thought surged from the depths of Leilin's heart.
"If I were to cast the 12th-level Arcane Spell, [Avatar of Karsus], here... what would happen?"
The World of Gods was far too powerful. Even 8th-level peak Greater
But this place was different! The Shadow Magic Net couldn't compare to the real Magic Net, and its protector was only Shar with Medium God power!
Therefore, using this place as a testing ground to first verify the power and other reactions of this Arcane Spell seemed well worth anticipating!
After all, Leilin couldn't trust whether the Lord of
A dead will—could it possibly tear through the Crystal Spheres and crawl all the way here in an instant?
"Hmm! Both are Magic Nets! So [Avatar of Karsus] has a high probability of success. I just need to write the Shadow Magic Net research program into it, and it'd be best to act after conquering all ten layers of the Magic Net..."
Having figured this out, Leilin's mood instantly improved.
Even if Shar wasn't the embodiment of the entire Shadow Magic Net, the two were absolutely inseparably connected. Therefore, the destruction of the Shadow Magic Net would cause horrifying damage to her.
Right now, Leilin essentially held a killer weapon in advance, able to threaten at any time: "Don't come any closer! Come any closer and I'll unleash my ultimate move!!!"
"But... how to convey this deterrence to Shar, that's also a problem!"
Even nuclear weapons had their greatest deterrent power before launch. Leilin certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to act without a word.
"Lei! Are you ready to begin?"
However, the examiner outside seemed to have misunderstood: "If you're not confident, you can choose to give up. After all, safety is the most important thing..."
It had to be said—this examiner was quite protective of ordinary human geniuses.
"Oh, thank you, but no need!"
Leilin politely waved his hand and casually connected to the Shadow Magic Net.
"Whoooo..." A dense column of black smoke rose from beneath his feet, slowly taking the shape of an ordinary person. The proportions of the limbs were perfect and coordinated, but the facial features were blurred and indistinct.
"My Lord..."
A hoarse voice emanated from the Shadow Servant as it knelt on one knee in salute to Leilin.
"This level of intelligence... it's the highest-grade Shadow Servant!"
The examiner's face broke into an eager smile: "Lei! Comprehensive evaluation: 1! Outstanding performance!"
"Wah..."
The crowd below fell utterly silent, and it took a long while before a tremendous roar of cheers erupted—even more thunderous than for the previous successful candidate.
After all, the previous person had barely scraped by, while Leilin had achieved a perfect score!
"Lei... he's really something..."
Shawell looked at Leilin, the center of all attention on the stage, and a faint sense of inferiority surfaced in his heart.
"What are you talking about?" Wuyan casually threw an arm around his shoulder. "Sure, you don't have talent for controlling the Magic Net or casting spells, but maybe you have strengths elsewhere! Didn't one of the original inventors of [Swift Shadow] happen to be a dud? But who could deny his contributions?"
'That's right! I still have my university diploma to earn, and Snake Bite Fist!' Shawell thought to himself, clenching his fists.
Seeing this, a look of gratification flashed through Wuyan's eyes.
...
After receiving his freshly minted high-level license and politely declining the earnest solicitation of the official organization, Leilin left, citing the need for some time to consider.
Then, he headed straight to the [Swift Shadow] shopping mall. Although he could now cast Shadow Spells directly without the device, a necessary cover was still required.
"Purchasing [Swift Shadow] Model 5? Please present your license!"
The sales clerk was the same one he had met before, and there was obvious shock in her eyes: "Last time we met, his authorization only qualified for the lowest-tier Swift Shadow, didn't it? Could it be that now..."
"Mm." Leilin casually handed over his freshly minted license. After she verified it on the computer, her eyes blazed with fervor.
Not just this sales clerk—several nearby attendants crowded over, stars in their eyes.
Leilin had no doubt that if he put in a little effort, winning all of them over would be entirely possible.
However, Leilin had no time for that now. He ignored the wistful gazes behind him, settled the bill, and left the mall directly.
As for where the money came from?
For Leilin, this had never been a problem.
'Ding! Welcome, customer, to [Swift Shadow] Model 5! Your current account balance: 3,000,000 Sherles...' After equipping the latest [Swift Shadow] and binding his account, Leilin's communicator flashed wildly, receiving several messages in succession.
"Hello! Lei! Wanxiong City is honored to be the place where you obtained your title. Your identity information and authorization have been updated. As a First-Class Imperial Citizen, you enjoy complimentary access to public facilities, Shadow Magic Net overdraft limits, visa-free entry, and other benefits. For details, please inquire..."
Following this communication, there were several more messages clearly from private enterprises, all courting Leilin with offers of monthly salaries reaching hundreds of thousands of Sherles.
"No wonder those civil servants become like that—turns out high-level technicians are equivalent to nobles here?"
Upon seeing this, Leilin couldn't help but lament that no matter how much technology advanced, there were always class distinctions among humans.
But as for all of this, Leilin had absolutely no interest. He couldn't even be bothered to reply.