37: go home

Zhou Jin, who had originally just wanted to try his luck, was completely stunned when he suddenly heard Xu Yan's reply.

However, years of teaching experience as a senior teacher allowed him to quickly regain his composure. It was just an early admission to one of the Eight Great Academies; it wasn't like he hadn't encountered it before.

Regaining his senses, Zhou Jin smiled and said to Xu Yan, "Since you have already participated in the assessment, there are some things I can tell you directly. After the upcoming Campus Competition ends, I will take the top three students to participate in the assessment. Based on the previous performance of your Shadow Light Spider, I was very optimistic that you would secure one of those three spots.

However, what I didn't expect was that your performance during this period completely exceeded my previous expectations. You didn't even need to compete for those three assessment spots; you already secured a special admission slot to the Third Academy on your own.

Since that's the case, our previous agreement is directly voided. You can arrange your own schedule for the coming period and don't need to return to school specifically. Regarding the Campus Competition and any subsequent competitions that might be held, I will discuss it with the Principal and prepare an extra champion reward for you. You can choose either a physical prize or a direct cash equivalent."

As he spoke, the smile on Zhou Jin's face became even more pronounced.

After chatting briefly with Teacher Zhou Jin and confirming that he didn't need to make any more trips to school, Xu Yan greeted his familiar classmates like Lin Yuan and Zhang Cheng, and then left.

Sensing the various emotions displayed by the students watching Xu Yan's departing figure, Zhou Jin lightly coughed to draw their attention to himself, and then spoke:

"Alright, Student Xu Yan entered this Secret Realm long before the beast tide even began. After such a long period of combat experience, his strength is definitely one of the best among your cohort. You have already fallen behind him, so if you want to catch up, you must work even harder."

In the end, to prevent the students from losing their psychological balance, Zhou Jin did not inform them that Xu Yan had been admitted early by the Third Academy, one of the Eight Great Academies. Instead, he used Xu Yan to set a goal for them to pursue.

Although, in Zhou Jin's heart, these students might never even catch a glimpse of Xu Yan's back in their entire lives, just like he hadn't back in his day.

But even so, he had to give them enough motivation to strive and pursue. The outcome is not yet decided; who can truly predict the future?

Xu Yan returned to the hotel and sorted through his gains, realizing that the items he acquired were perhaps not worth the time he spent exploring the Secret Realm.

Because of this, Xu Yan decided that it was time to leave the Secret Realm.

After more than twenty days of combat and exploration, aside from the S-Rank contract from the Third Academy and various resources, Xu Yan and Zhu Yan's strength had also grown significantly.

Zhu Yan's strength, thanks to constant battles and the effect of the shadow stone, grew from Soldier Rank 7 to Soldier Rank 10, reaching the limit of the Soldier Rank. It was now attempting to break through to the General Rank using the power of the remaining shadow stone.

In terms of skills, no new skills were acquired, but the proficiency of all existing skills reached the Mastery level. Even the skills with the highest proficiency were still some distance away from the next stage, Minor Accomplishment.

Regarding Life Seeds, the Dodder Seed had fully matured, increasing the enhancement effect to 50%, and a new Cork Tree Life Seed had been devoured.

Life Seed: Cork Tree

Status: Seedling (Second Stage)

Enhancement Effect: Recovery Speed +20%, Fire Resistance +10%

Mutation Effect: Poison Resistance +10%, Poison Duration -10%

After the third Life Seed, the flesh and blood essence of Soldier Rank exotic beasts were basically ineffective, and the flesh and blood essence of General Rank beasts could not yet be utilized. For now, growth could only rely on time.

As Zhu Yan's strength increased, aided by the feedback from the contract and Xu Yan's own diligent cultivation, Xu Yan's mental power also reached Soldier Rank 9.

Xu Yan decided to leave because, on the one hand, resources in the Secret Realm were indeed dwindling, and the exotic beasts provided almost no pressure to Zhu Yan. The time spent was completely disproportionate to the gains, making continued stay a waste of time.

On the other hand, his mental power had reached Soldier Rank High Grade, and the fluctuations caused by his awakening and contracting his first spiritual beast were gradually stabilizing.

Furthermore, backed by his father's farm and being a profitable Breeder himself, he wasn't short on resources. Thus, Xu Yan planned to start looking for and contracting his second spiritual beast.

Once the thought arose, Xu Yan began packing up the items he had stored in the hotel room during this period, putting them all into his storage device.

The next day, after sleeping until he woke naturally, Xu Yan checked out at the front desk. After sending a message to Lu Ming, Zhou Jin, and others who were still in the Secret Realm, he rode his Wind-Treading Steed to the teleportation point at the Secret Realm exit, presented his credentials, and left the Secret Realm where he had stayed for over twenty days.

After leaving the Secret Realm, Xu Yan didn't linger in Molin City. After buying some local specialties based on the guide he checked on his phone last night, he boarded a plane and set off on his way home.

The plane landed, and Xu Yan returned to Ning City, riding his Wind-Treading Steed back to his family farm.

Upon returning home and entering the living room, he found his father brewing tea and chatting with another middle-aged man beside the coffee table.

Seeing Xu Yan arrive, Xu Du waved, signaling Xu Yan to come over.

Following the signal, Xu Yan walked over and heard Xu Du's voice.

"Come, Old Wang, this is my son, Xu Yan. He's in his third year of high school this year. He was out on an experience trip, and I didn't expect him to return exactly today by coincidence.

Xiaoyan, this is my good friend, his surname is Wang. Just call him Uncle Wang."

Hearing Xu Du's introduction, Xu Yan followed suit and called out "Uncle Wang." He then received a series of compliments and a welcome gift from the man—a Customization Card from the Ning City Mechanical Institute.

According to Uncle Wang, holding this Customization Card allows one to go to the Ning City Mechanical Institute and customize a Preliminary Mechanical Creation according to one's own specifications.

Afterwards, Uncle Wang chatted briefly with Xu Du again before bidding farewell and leaving, giving the space to the father and son reunited after the traveler's return.

After Uncle Wang left, Xu Du thoroughly examined Xu Yan from head to toe, then said with a smile, "It looks like your twenty-plus days of experience yielded significant gains. Not only have you reached Soldier Rank High Grade yourself, but your Shadow Light Spider is also about to break through to the General Rank."

Hearing Xu Du's words, Xu Yan proudly replied, "Of course," and then began telling Xu Du about his experiences during this period.