The Mighty Mage-Chapter 469: Exposing

Or was she trying to make sure that the lurkers know whom they have to target?

What a smart girl.

However...Gu Jin was scared.

She had more than enough preparation for all the attacks, and she nodded,

"Indeed, I am at Earth Rank Intermediate Stage."

(Apprentice --> Yellow --> Earth --> Black)

(Subcatergory: Intial --> Intermediate --> Advanced --> Peak)

In reality, Gu Jin was already at the Earth Rank Peak Stage.

However, she decided not to expose all of her trump cards.

Yet it came as of shock to everyone.

Even the geniuses like them were only at the Yellow Rank Peak stage. Though it may seem that there was only a stage difference, in reality, the difference would be considered as 5 years!

5 freaking whole years!

Everyone on the bus turned to look at Gu Jin with wide eyes.

"Earth Rank... Intermediate Stage?" Meng Hao dropped his bubble tea.

Zhao Lili blinked. "That’s... not possible."

Even the quiet Yun Qing looked up from her book, a hint of surprise in her calm eyes.

Zhou Lei opened one eye and mumbled, "Whoa. That’s scary..."

Bai Yu almost choked on his drink. "T-that’s five years ahead of us!"

Lin Yue narrowed her eyes and stared at Gu Jin with a serious expression. She didn’t say anything, but now she was clearly paying attention.

Han Xiaoyu gave a small laugh, though her fingers squeezed her cup just a little too tightly. "Wow... You’re amazing, Gu Jin."

"You are amazing, too. I didn’t see your competition video, but you did mine. This shows how attentive you are." Gu Jin praised back.

But if one heard her words carefully, they would realize that Gu Jin was pointing out that Han Xiaoyu had already conducted an investigation on everyone.

Everyone’s expression changed, and they looked at Han Xiaoyu with a meaningful look.

Han Xiaoyu’s smile froze for a split second.

Then she laughed again, but it sounded a little too high-pitched.

"Haha, well... I just like watching cool alchemists. It’s not weird, right?"

Gu Jin gave a small smile. "Of course not. It’s smart to do your homework."

Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp.

Han Xiaoyu sat back in her seat and sipped her bubble tea, but she didn’t say anything else for a while.

The bus rolled on.

Outside the window, the cities turned into forests, then fields, then tall mountains in the distance.

Inside the bus, things got quieter. Some students started reading or sleeping.

Gu Jin didn’t relax.

She closed her eyes and leaned back, but her senses were wide awake.

She could feel it.

A strange, light energy near the front of the bus.

It was very faint, like someone trying to hide it.

Gu Jin’s plant element sensed it first—it was not a normal energy. It had a sticky feeling, like glue mixed with thread.

Someone was using a small tracking artifact.

Her eyes opened a little.

She looked at the students near the front.

Bai Yu? He was too focused on formulas.

Qiao Feng? He was chewing chips like a squirrel.

Then... her eyes landed on the driver.

He looked normal.

Too normal.

She frowned slightly.

Even the driver is suspicious?

She made a mental note: Don’t let your guard down. Not even for one second.

The bus slowly pulled up to the training site.

It was a huge area surrounded by tall stone walls.

A silver gate opened automatically as the bus stopped in front of it. Inside, there were training grounds, tall buildings, and a forest in the back. It looked more like a secret military base than a school.

A big sign on the gate said: National Alchemy Training Camp.

The students stared out the windows in awe.

"Whoa... this place is huge," Meng Hao said, pressing his face against the glass.

"This feels serious," Bai Yu whispered, holding onto his bag tightly.

Zhao Lili rolled her eyes. "Of course it’s serious. Only the best get invited here."

The bus door opened with a hiss. A tall man in a black robe stood outside. He had short gray hair, a cold face, and a badge on his chest that said Instructor Liu.

"Out. Line up by the gate," he said in a firm voice.

Everyone grabbed their bags and started getting off the bus.

Gu Jin was the last one to leave. As her foot touched the ground, she felt the whole area hum softly, like there was a barrier around the place.

A protective formation.

All the students stood in a line. Some were nervous, others excited. A few looked like they already wanted to fight.

Instructor Liu walked slowly in front of them.

"Welcome to the National Alchemy Training Camp," he said. "From this point on, your past achievements don’t matter."

"Your rank, your background, your family name—none of it matters here. Only strength. Only skill."

He looked at each student with sharp eyes.

"You will train, compete, and survive. And some of you... will be eliminated."

Zhou Lei raised a sleepy hand. "Uh... eliminated like... sent home, right?"

Instructor Liu gave him a blank stare. "Sure. If you make it that far."

Zhou Lei slowly lowered his hand.

A chill passed through the group.

Gu Jin stayed calm.

Instructor Liu continued, "You will be divided into teams. Each team will share a dorm, train together, and take missions."

He pulled out a scroll and read the names.

"Team One: Meng Hao, Zhou Lei, Zhao Lili, Bai Yu, Han Xiaoyu."

Han Xiaoyu clapped her hands. "Yay! Let’s go, Team One!"

Instructor Liu raised one eyebrow, then continued.

"Team Two: Gu Jin, Yun Qing, Qiao Feng, Lin Yue. "

Gu Jin’s eyes flicked toward Yun Qing.

She gave a soft smile and nodded politely. "Let’s do our best."

Qiao Feng, the chip guy, waved. "Cool. I’ll try not to slow you down."

............

Gu Jin didn’t say anything. She simply nodded and followed the rest of her new team. As they walked toward their dorm building, she felt that strange sticky energy again.

She frowned and stopped.

Yun Qing paused and asked,

"What happened?"

Qiao Feng asked lazily,

"Let’s! My legs are killing me, and I just want to sleep!"

"There is something wrong with the dorm." Gu Jinn said in an uncertain voice.

Yun Qing tilted her head and asked softly, "What do you mean, Gu Jin? What’s wrong?"

Gu Jin frowned, her eyes scanning the dorm’s entrance. "I don’t know... It just feels strange. There’s something off about that place."

Lin Yue crossed her arms and sighed. "You’re overthinking it. It’s just a building, Gu Jin. Don’t be so jumpy."

But Qiao Feng, who had been lazy and carefree the whole time, suddenly became serious. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Gu Jin.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Gu Jin met his eyes and nodded firmly. "I’m sure."

Without another word, Qiao Feng sat down right there on the ground. He crossed his legs and leaned back against his bag.

"I’m not going in," he said simply.

Lin Yue groaned. "Ugh, you two are impossible! It’s a dorm, not a monster cave."

She rolled her eyes and walked straight to the door.

Yun Qing hesitated, looking at Gu Jin, then at the building. She bit her lip, but in the end, she followed Lin Yue.

"I’ll check it out," Yun Qing said. "If I don’t come back in five minutes, send help."

Gu Jin’s eyes stayed sharp. "Be careful."

The moment Yun Qing and Lin Yue stepped through the dormitory door, whoosh!

A sudden gust of icy wind burst out, and in a blink, the two girls disappeared.

Since Gu Jin and Qiao Feng were out, they didn’t know what had happened to Yun Qing and Lin Yue.

Meanwhile, Yun Qing and Lin Yue found themselves no longer inside the dorm. Instead, they were standing waist-deep in a freezing cold river in the middle of a thick, misty forest.

"Aaaah! Cold! Cold! Cold!" Lin Yue screamed, splashing around.

Yun Qing gasped, hugging herself. "W-Where are we?!" frёewebηovel.cѳm

They both looked around wildly — and there, on the other side of the river, they spotted the members of Team One.

Meng Hao, Bai Yu, Han Xiaoyu, Zhou Lei, and Zhao Lili were all soaking wet too, shivering and looking just as confused.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Lin Yue shouted.

Zhao Lili waved her arms. "We don’t know! We walked into our dorm and then bam! Here we are!"

Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the mist.

It was Instructor Liu.

His black robe barely moved in the cold wind, and his face was as cold as the water they were standing in.

"You all fell for it," he said in a low voice. "A simple formation trap, placed on the dorm entrances."

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"What?!" Meng Hao shouted. "Why would there be a trap on the dorm?!"

Instructor Liu’s sharp gaze swept over all of them, and he smirked.