Chapter 679: Tower of Ten Thousand Demons
In the annual assessment for White-Rank students, an unexpected dark horse emerged: a non-specialist from outside the Holy Continent claimed first place.
It was a shocking upset.
The key point was that this non-specialist hadn't even studied a single day at the so-called world's strongest academy, Assar Academy.
This was what left the Professionals of the Holy Continent speechless.
To be clear...
Assar Academy, as the strongest academy in the world, boasted battle instructors whose lowest level was 160.
Some of its more renowned and powerful instructors were well over level 170.
The teaching lineup was nothing short of luxurious.
And yet?
These Professionals, personally trained by top-tier instructors, lost to an outsider!
What made it even harder to accept...
Was that this outsider was a non-specialist!
Oh!
My heavens!
Anyone who lives in this world of classes understands what being a non-specialist means!
Not having a class is almost synonymous with being a waste.
The series of disadvantages that come with not having a class are insurmountable.
First, non-specialists receive significantly fewer attribute points with each level-up compared to others.
Second, they cannot learn advanced skills.
Finally, even upon reaching level 100, they cannot obtain the overwhelmingly powerful passive skill "Order's Bestowal."
Considering all this.
Non-specialists are regarded by many as no better than trash!
Yet this so-called "trash"...
Outperformed all the White-Rank students present!
And instantly killed a level-121 advanced demonic soldier!
Not to mention completing a 1v3 feat before that!
Could this really be the power of a non-specialist?
"Could this guy have altered his class information? Pretending to be a non-specialist but actually a tier-4 hidden class?"
"That's possible! I watched his battle recording. He only used Shield Counter and an SS-tier universal debuff skill, so his class remains unclear..."
"Speaking of that Shield Counter, it's equally shocking. I never imagined its super armor mechanism could be so high! Even the advanced demonic soldier couldn't withstand it! I suspect he's in the Warrior class!"
"..."
When news of this assessment spread.
It sparked countless speculations.
The first reaction from everyone at Assar Academy was that he must have used some method to conceal his class information.
Everyone knew you could set your personal information to private.
Ling Zhan's displayed status as a "non-specialist" was undoubtedly altered to mislead others.
How could someone without a class possibly be this strong?
This theory gained widespread support.
After all, no one wanted to admit they were outclassed by someone without a profession.
They would rather believe he hid his class information than admit they lost to a non-specialist outsider.
The debate raged online.
But Ling Zhan, the person at the center of it all, was lying quietly in his private villa, reviewing detailed information about the academy.
Most White-Rank students aimed to advance to Blue-Rank and join the Holy Knights.
Joining the Holy Knights granted numerous privileges.
It also allowed access to a wealth of valuable resources.
Most importantly...
Joining the Holy Knights qualified one to enter the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons.
The Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons was a special secret realm that every tier-4 level-100 powerhouse dreamed of entering.
It was extremely dangerous but held resources that even tier-4 level-100 Professionals found irresistible.
No wonder Orpheviel, Xili, and others worked so hard to excel in the assessment and advance.
As the first-place scorer, Ling Zhan should have been eligible for advancement, but his level was too low.
The Holy Knights required all members to be at least level 120.
This was because the monsters in the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons started at level 120.
Furthermore...
The Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons was filled with randomly appearing legendary "wilderness secret realms."
As everyone knew.
Every Professional wandering in the wilderness had a chance of encountering unknown secret realm entrances.
With good luck, one might find a resource-rich realm to harvest.
With bad luck, it could be a deadly monster-infested realm, where death was a common outcome.
The wilderness secret realms in the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons offered extraordinarily generous rewards. Even if one encountered a dangerous monster realm, the rewards for clearing it were substantial, including massive experience gains for tier-4 level-100 Professionals.
Leveling up wouldn't be an issue.
This was one of the reasons tier-4 level-100 Professionals dreamed of joining the Holy Knights.
At present.
Ling Zhan's top priority was to reach level 120.
Then he could explore the legendary Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons.
To see if the powerhouses there were truly as formidable as rumored.
"The 5,000 academic credits from this assessment are just enough to enter the academy's Tower of Ten Thousand Demons."
"I'll head there tomorrow..."
Ling Zhan thought calmly.
The Tower of Ten Thousand Demons.
Similar to a dungeon secret realm.
But the monsters in the tower were all captured from the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Demons.
It was said that the top floor of the tower housed a level-180 red-named boss, a commander-level entity from the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.
This boss had been captured and sealed by a dozen top-tier powerhouses before being suppressed in the tower.
To date, no academy student had dared to set foot on the top floor of the Tower of Ten Thousand Demons.
Ling Zhan's reason for entering was simple: it was perfect for leveling up.
5,000 academic credits wouldn't even buy a ticket to a level-100 secret realm dungeon.
Normally, other students wouldn't choose the Tower of Ten Thousand Demons for leveling.
Because the monsters there were exponentially stronger than those in dungeons.
But for Ling Zhan, this was ideal!
He even wished the tower's monsters were so terrifying that everyone feared them!
The stronger the monsters, the more experience they provided!
With that thought.
Ling Zhan cleared his mind and fell peacefully asleep.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning.
Ling Zhan, ever disciplined, woke up, had breakfast, and completed his system-assigned daily training.
Only then did he leave his villa, heading toward the Tower of Ten Thousand Demons.
It was evident...
As Ling Zhan walked through the campus, many students turned their gazes toward him.
Clearly, after yesterday's assessment, Ling Zhan had become somewhat famous among the White-Rank students.