Kill one monster, stack one poison, and I alone will poison my way across the world!

Chu Tian walked to the large mahogany desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Su Chen's gaze was drawn to something on the desk.

It was a brass hourglass that was half a meter tall.

The silver sand in the hourglass is flowing slowly, but strangely, the sand in the upper part seems to never run out, while the sand in the lower part disappears into thin air after accumulating to a certain height.

Space-type magic items?

Or is it some kind of self-circulating dimensional hourglass?

If you were to sell this thing, you could probably make a good amount of money.

"Don't bother looking at it. That's a defective item I picked up from an ancient ruin when I was young. It has no practical value."

Chu Tianxing unscrewed the thermos, blew on the few goji berries floating on the surface, and took a sip.

"Please sit down."

Su Chen pulled out the chair opposite him without any hesitation and sat down, turning his gaze away from the hourglass.

"Dean Chu, about the hidden mission you mentioned earlier..."

"No rush."

Chu Tianxing waved his hand, interrupting Su Chen, "Let's talk about something else first."

Chu Tianxing put down his thermos and looked calmly at Su Chen.

"I heard that the Poison Granny at the Assassin's Academy has agreed to take you in?"

Su Chen's heart stirred slightly.

Sure enough, information is shared among the higher-ups in this school.

Why is that old fox bringing up the poisonous old woman?

"The Poison Granny did indeed take me as her student and even taught me some techniques for using poisons."

Su Chen answered very smoothly.

"Um."

Chu Tianxing nodded. "Grandma Poison's expertise in poison and assassination is indeed top-notch. Learning from her will benefit your hidden profession."

He then changed the subject.

"But Su Chen, don't forget, your student status is registered with our Mage Academy."

Chu Tianxing leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped over his abdomen.

"You are a student at the Mage Academy. From now on, if you encounter any trouble at the academy, need any resources, or if someone tries to make things difficult for you..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Come directly to me. The mage academy is notoriously protective of its own."

"Thank you, Dean."

Su Chen nodded quickly.

"If there's a powerful figure to cling to, that's a fool's choice; who wouldn't want a free protective umbrella?"

"There's one more thing."

Chu Tianxing sat up straight. "You must participate in the annual academy competition."

"Academy Grand Competition?"

Su Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.

Looking at Su Chen's expression, Chu Tianxing patiently explained, "Every October, Sky Dome Academy holds a grand competition for the entire academy, in which students from all academies participate and compete for rankings."

"This is not a simple competition. The ranking of the competition will directly determine how much resources each college can receive from the university in the coming year."

Chu Tianxing tapped the table. "Not only that, the top performers in the academy's competition will represent Tianqiong Academy in the National College League. That's the highest-level student competition in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, and major guilds, the military, and even the central government will go to the event to select promising talents."

"If you win, you'll gain both fame and fortune, with extremely generous rewards. If you lose, it won't affect you much."

Chu Tianxing looked at Su Chen, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"The results of the Mage Academy have been lukewarm for the past few years. Normally, freshmen would not participate, but this year I am going to make an exception for you."

"I hope you can carry on the banner of the Mage Academy."

"..."

Su Chen knew perfectly well that the rewards for this kind of competition were definitely substantial.

"No problem, Dean. Is there an extra credit reward for getting first place?"

Su Chen got straight to the point.

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianxing not only didn't get angry, but instead laughed.

"If you can win the national championship, you can pick anything from the Mage Academy's treasure vault, not just academic credits."

"make a deal."

Su Chen agreed very readily.

The treasure trove of the Dharma Academy?

Although we don't know what's inside, as one of the top academies in China, Sky Dome Academy must have some good stuff inside.

Any item or equipment of epic quality or higher is a huge profit.

If it's legendary... wouldn't that be incredibly awesome?

Chu Tianxing's expression gradually became more composed, and his originally easygoing demeanor slowly turned into a calm and subdued one.

The air in the office seemed to thicken because of his mood swings.

"Alright, enough of the small talk. Now, let's talk about that urgent mission."

Chu Tianxing pulled up a virtual light screen and pushed it in front of Su Chen.

Several blurry photos were displayed on the screen.

The background of the photo is a desolate ruin, and you can vaguely see several huge monsters with twisted limbs wandering in the ruins.

"This is satellite imagery transmitted back by the military from Gaoshan City in northern Xinjiang Province the day before yesterday."

Chu Tianxing pointed to the monster in the photo, "Chimera Beast."

Su Chen's gaze instantly locked onto those monsters.

This disgusting patchwork design is indeed a characteristic of Chimera Beasts.

Just like the ones I encountered in the previous selection rounds.

"You still remember Xiao Ya, the cult member?" Chu Tianxing said.

"Of course I remember," Su Chen nodded.

"Military intelligence indicates that Xiao Ya is only a peripheral member of the Doomsday Cult, and they have a gathering place in the northern Xinjiang province."

"And in Takayama City, there have been frequent signs of Chimera Beast activity recently."

"We have reason to suspect that the Doomsday Cult is conducting some kind of large-scale ritual or experiment in Takayama City."

Chu Tianxing's expression became extremely serious.

"Gaoshan City has always been the northernmost border city in our country. Currently, it is located on the edge of enemy-occupied territory, and the situation is very complicated. It not only has high-level wild monsters, but also demons and various cultists."

"It's not convenient for the military and the academy to send a large number of high-level professionals directly, as that would alert them. We need someone strong enough to fight alone and familiar with the characteristics of Chimera Beasts to find out the situation."

Chu Tianxing looked at Su Chen, "You've fought against Chimera Beasts before, so you understand their mechanics. Moreover, your class characteristics are very suitable for surviving in complex enemy-occupied territories."

"This mission is extremely dangerous. I won't force you to take it; if you're not confident..."

"I accepted it."

Su Chen did not hesitate at all.

Enemy-occupied territory?

High-level monster?

Cultists?

The reward sounds pretty good.

Moreover, Takayama City...

Su Chen remembered the blacksmith named Jiang Buyu that President Zhang Ze had mentioned at the Tianhe City Professionals Chamber of Commerce. He happened to be living in seclusion near Gaoshan City.

Isn't that a coincidence?

Do quests and farm equipment along the way – kill two birds with one stone.

Although the Thunder Touch in my hand is not bad, it is ultimately just a transitional piece of equipment.

He desperately needed a decent weapon.

He has several epic-level equipment pieces, but his most important weapon is only gold-level, which doesn't make much sense.

Chu Tianxing saw that Su Chen agreed so readily, and a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes.

"Good lad, you've got guts. I'll send you the specific details of the mission and the military's contact codes. Get ready, we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Dean Chu."

Su Chen stood up, turned around, and left the office.