Reborn as the Candle Dragon, I became the strongest academy guardian beast.

At dawn, Su Chen slowly opened his pair of golden vertical pupils.

What came into view was an unfamiliar environment.

The space sphere was placed on a soft bed, with pale pink curtains beside it, and a faint, elegant fragrance wafting in the air.

Good morning, teacher.

A lazy voice came from the side. The blankets stirred a few times, and a fluffy head popped out.

"here it is……"

Su Chen was taken aback: "How did I end up in your house?"

Xu Liyue sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Her long hair was disheveled, and her face still had a blush from just waking up. "Teacher fell asleep yesterday, so I brought you back with me."

Su Chen fell silent for a moment.

He then suddenly remembered what had happened last night.

Originally, he only wanted to pretend to be asleep to test the three people's ability to react.

I never imagined that when I closed my eyes and opened them again, it would be the next day!

Fortunately, as long as he doesn't say anything, no one will know...

"You handled yesterday's matter very well."

"It's getting late, take me back to school." Su Chen said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

He had a vague feeling that his body had grown again since yesterday.

This small sphere of space could no longer contain his body.

……

"Click."

Upon returning to Azure Dragon Academy, the spatial sphere shattered.

Su Chen once again revealed his massive and majestic body.

At 8:00 a.m., students began to arrive at the school one after another.

"Don't you feel like the guardian beast seems to have gotten bigger again?"

"It's not just a little bit like it, it's definitely gotten even bigger than yesterday!"

"The guardian beast's length is now approaching sixty meters..."

Quiet discussions could be heard from time to time on campus.

After a while, many people stopped being afraid of Su Chen's presence, gradually got used to it, and even developed a sense of closeness to him.

Since clearing the Insect Nest dungeon, three rising stars have emerged in Azure Dragon Academy.

Lin Fan, Xu Liyue, and Chu Yunfeng.

These three people have one thing in common: they are all students personally taught by the guardian beast.

This made Su Chen's image increasingly mysterious in everyone's mind.

After a while.

Lin Fan and Chu Yunfeng also arrived at the school one after another.

After assigning the three of them their training tasks for the day, Su Chen headed to the office building.

A huge shadow was cast down through the principal's office window.

Su Chen's deep voice came:

"Old Zheng, help me look up two things."

……

"Old Su, here are the documents you requested."

A dozen minutes later, a crack appeared in the space, and Zheng Yuanshan walked out, holding two documents in his hands.

One document contained detailed information about the Lu family; the other was a list of students.

Su Chen nodded slightly and slowly lowered the snake's head.

The Lu family is a century-old martial arts family in Ningchuan City, with more than ten martial arts schools under their control and considerable strength.

[Lu Tianxiong, Lu Shaoming's father, is a sixth-level, first-tier martial artist. He is ruthless, unscrupulous, and vengeful.]

[Lu Hongxuan, grandfather of Lu Shaoming, is a sixth-level, eighth-stage martial artist. Unlike the father and son of the Lu family, Lu Hongxuan is upright and righteous. In his youth, he participated in the fight against the beast tides several times, and his military exploits were outstanding. He is highly respected in Ningchuan City.]

Zheng Yuanshan remained silent for a moment, then finally couldn't help but ask, "Old Su, why are you suddenly asking me for information about the Lu family?"

"I just heard some news: Lu Shaoming, that carefree playboy from the Lu family, is dead. There's no trace of him, neither alive nor dead. Could it be that..."

"I killed him," Su Chen said bluntly.

Zheng Yuanshan was stunned, clearly not expecting Su Chen to answer so readily.

But soon, Zheng Yuanshan shook his head and smiled: "Forget it, he's dead. You must have your reasons for killing him."

"Let alone the fact that Lu Shaoming has vanished without a trace, the Lu family wouldn't even suspect Qinglong Academy. Even if they did, Qinglong Academy might not be a match for them!"

As he spoke, Zheng Yuanshan gave a soft shout, his aura no longer concealed, and was revealed.

Fifth Rank, Ninth Level!

"Old Su, the tea you gave me the other day was incredibly effective!" Zheng Yuanshan exclaimed with delight. "I drank it for several days as you instructed, and my internal injuries have healed by nearly 50%. My cultivation level has also risen from the fourth level of the fifth rank to the ninth level of the fifth rank. At this rate, it won't be long before I return to the sixth rank!"

In an instant, Zheng Yuanshan seemed to have become twenty years younger, and his whole person looked spirited and energetic.

Zheng Yuanshan

Age: 46

[Realm: Fifth Rank, Third Level → Fifth Rank, Ninth Level]

[Martial Soul: Spatial Dagger (SSS Grade)]

[Qualification: Legendary (Orange)]

[Background: Principal of Azure Dragon Academy, formerly a sixth-tier, ninth-level martial artist. Ten years ago, he was severely injured in a battle against a city-destroying beast. Since then, he has been plagued by hidden ailments, causing his cultivation level to drop to the fifth tier and his strength to decline significantly. However, he has never given up his belief in revitalizing the academy.]

[Detection indicates Zheng Yuanshan's strength has significantly recovered. Congratulations, host, you have gained 10000 evolution points.]

[Congratulations, host! Your skill [Spatial Manipulation] has been upgraded from level 1 to level 2.]

Hearing the system notification, Su Chen narrowed his snake-like eyes in satisfaction.

The evolution points required to evolve to the Calamity level are far greater than before, requiring a full 10 evolution points.

Fortunately, Lin Fan and his two companions have gained nearly 20000 evolution points in the past few days, and with Zheng Yuanshan's return today, he only needs to obtain another 70,000 evolution points to evolve to the Calamity level!

Seventy thousand evolution points sounds like a lot, and in fact, it is quite a lot.

Relying solely on the return of evolution points would likely take at least half a month.

Su Chen decided to intensify his efforts and continue searching for new investment targets.

Thinking of this, Su Chen looked at the second document.

The second document was a list of students. There were only a few names, a total of just over fifty, but each person's martial spirit and life experiences were recorded in detail.

This document is a list of "poor students" that Su Chen had Zheng Yuanshan select.

Of course, these poor students are not ordinary poor students, but students whose martial spirit or martial arts talent is obviously good, but whose strength improves slowly or even regresses.

Su Chen carefully read through the information of these people, but most of them failed to pique his interest.

As he turned to the last page, Su Chen's snake-like eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.

Name: Kong Bowen

Age: 19

[Grade: Second Year]

[Realm Level: First Tier, Fifth Level]

[Martial Soul: Sword (Sword Name Unknown)]

[Detailed Information: Possesses a B-grade Martial Soul—the Sword Martial Soul. In the first six months after entering school, he cultivated to the eighth level of the first tier, ranking in the middle of the grade. Afterwards, his growth slowed down, and his martial arts and even his realm declined instead of rising, falling to the fifth level of the first tier. He was held back a year due to poor grades. He has bad habits and was once caught smoking in the toilet, receiving a major demerit.]

"Sword Spirit..."

Reaching the eighth level of the first rank in half a year shows that this student named Kong Bowen, while not exceptionally talented in martial arts, is certainly not lacking either.

A B-grade weapon spirit is still a fairly solid spirit. Although it can't compare to those chosen ones, you reap what you sow. As long as you work hard, you will definitely grow.

Moreover, according to the information, Kong Bowen is not a lazy student; on the contrary, his daily training time far exceeds that of most people.

Given all these conditions, why is it that his martial arts level has been slow to improve, or even regressed instead of progressing?

Su Chen couldn't help but feel a little interested.

Could it be that he also has a ring that the old man kept hidden?

Su Chen felt that this guess was highly unlikely.

After all, the chosen ones aren't as common as cabbages; they're not everywhere.

"Bring this student named Kong Bowen here. I need to meet with him," Su Chen said in a deep voice.