That afternoon.
After the combat training ended—
Zhou Yuan stood at the center of the field, scanning the crowd.
"Next, we will arrange a real combat mission."
The crowd stirred.
"So soon?!"
"We just awakened!"
Zhou Yuan's tone was calm.
"Precisely because you just awakened."
"What you need most right now is to understand reality."
"What you learn in books won't save you."
He raised his hand.
A projection screen appeared.
It displayed a map.
"Low-tier zone outside the city."
"Mission: eliminate wandering monsters."
"Solo execution."
The entire field erupted.
"Solo?!"
"That's too dangerous!"
Zhou Yuan glanced coldly.
His voice lowered.
"If you're afraid of dying, you may withdraw now."
"No one will force you."
Silence.
No one moved.
Lin Feng stood in the crowd.
Calm on the outside.
But his thoughts shifted slightly.
A real mission.
Perfect—
To test the Fire Spirit's limits.
"Departure time: thirty minutes."
"Prepare yourselves."
Zhou Yuan turned and left.
Half an hour later.
Outside the city.
Lin Feng stood at the entrance of the low-tier zone.
Students were entering one after another.
Some nervous.
Some excited.
Some pretending to be calm.
Lin Feng stepped forward without hesitation.
The forest was quiet.
The wind was faint.
A few minutes later—
A low growl came from ahead.
Lin Feng stopped.
His gaze sharpened.
Three gray-skinned monsters wandered nearby.
Not very strong.
But—
This was real combat.
"Get to work."
Lin Feng said softly.
The next second—
Buzz—
A fireball appeared.
The Fire Spirit spoke:
"Finally, a proper place."
Its tone carried faint excitement.
"Better than those weaklings at school."
Lin Feng: "…"
That's a bit harsh.
"Enough talk."
The Fire Spirit snorted.
"I'm going."
Whoosh!
The fireball shot out instantly!
Extremely fast!
The first monster didn't even react—
Boom!
Direct hit!
It fell immediately.
But the fight wasn't over.
The remaining two monsters reacted at once!
They roared—
And charged toward Lin Feng!
Lin Feng didn't move.
Because—
The Fire Spirit already did.
The fireball paused midair.
Then—
Split!
Two streams of fire shot out simultaneously!
The angles were extremely sharp!
Boom! Boom!
Both targets were hit!
Both monsters collapsed!
The entire process—
Less than three seconds.
Lin Feng stood still.
Not even taking a single step.
"Too weak."
The Fire Spirit said calmly.
"Not even a warm-up."
Lin Feng was about to speak—
When suddenly—
The Fire Spirit's tone changed.
"Wait."
"This one is interesting."
Lin Feng froze.
"What?"
The next second—
A larger monster stepped out of the forest.
Its aura was clearly stronger.
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.
Mid-tier?
Before he could react—
The Fire Spirit had already charged forward.
"This one's mine."
The fireball shot out at high speed!
Boom!
Hit!
But this time—
The monster only staggered.
It didn't fall.
"A bit tough."
The Fire Spirit sounded excited.
"Good."
The next moment—
The fireball stopped.
Then—
Compressed violently!
The flame darkened!
Lin Feng's pupils shrank.
This was no longer a normal fireball!
"Watch closely."
The Fire Spirit's voice dropped.
"This is how it's used."
The next instant—
Explosion!
BOOM!!!
A violent blast erupted!
Flames surged!
The monster was blown away!
It slammed into the ground—
And its aura vanished instantly.
Lin Feng froze.
That…
Was no longer the original skill.
"Not bad."
The Fire Spirit sounded satisfied.
But then—
It paused.
"Hmm."
"That consumed quite a bit."
Lin Feng's heart tightened.
"You okay?"
"Not a big problem."
The Fire Spirit's voice weakened slightly.
"But—"
"I need to rest."
As the words fell—
The fireball dimmed rapidly.
Then—
Disappeared.
Lin Feng stood in place.
The surroundings grew quiet again.
After a few seconds—
He slowly exhaled.
Only one thought remained in his mind:
—Did it just learn something new?
At that moment—
Several students arrived nearby.
They saw the monster corpses on the ground.
All of them froze.
"Who did this?!"
"I heard an explosion!"
"This level of power… isn't normal for us!"
Lin Feng stood there.
Silent.
He simply glanced at his hand.
A thought slowly formed—
…It's evolving.