The Giant-Eyed Blood Rat opened its gaping maw, ready to swallow Song Jie whole!
Seeing this, Mu Ningxue was about to unleash her magic when Song Jie raised both hands and shouted—
"Glorious Light!"
"Double Burst!"
In an instant, two golden rays erupted from his palms and shot toward the Giant-Eyed Blood Rat!
Before the creature could react, the golden light struck it head-on!
With a deafening boom, the Giant-Eyed Blood Rat was blown to pieces, its body hurled backward as blood splattered across the pavement.
Witnessing the scene, Mu Ningxue's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Was that… Light magic?"
The second Giant-Eyed Blood Rat had already been frozen solid by her earlier spell.
The driver, who had been trembling in the back seat, peeked outside. Seeing that the danger had passed, he scrambled out of the car, pale-faced and shaking.
"Miss, are you alright?" he asked nervously.
Mu Ningxue shook her head, then turned her gaze to Song Jie. If not for him, they would have died here tonight.
"Thank you for saving me," Mu Ningxue said softly, genuine gratitude flickering in her usually cold eyes.
In her eyes, Song Jie had always been talented—but still a step below true prodigies like herself. After all, she studied at the Imperial Capital Academy, the top institution in the nation.
But in that moment, she realized she was wrong.
"It's nothing," Song Jie replied calmly. "You only ran into this because you offered me a ride."
Even so, his heart was still pounding.
Demons… real demons.
Only after facing one in person could someone truly understand their horror.
Yet, surviving this battle had also given him a strange sense of courage—
perhaps even confidence.
"We killed two Giant-Eyed Blood Rats. If we report it, we should get a decent commission," Mu Ningxue reminded him.
The city's safety was handled by the City Hunter Squad, and they received commissions for every demon they exterminated.
Ordinary citizens could also claim bounties if they killed demons and reported it.
"That makes sense." Song Jie nodded and pulled out his phone to make the call.
No matter how small the reward was, it would still be a welcome sum.
He usually lived off part-time jobs and school stipends—so any extra money was worth it.
Every citizen had the Hunter Squad's emergency number saved in case of a demon attack.
Before calling, Song Jie looked at Mu Ningxue and said, "Mu Ningxue, could you keep what you saw tonight a secret?"
Mu Ningxue hesitated briefly, then nodded. She didn't ask why—she simply agreed.
Before long, the City Hunter Squad arrived in their armored vehicle.
"Oh my god…"
Someone gasped as they saw the mangled corpses of the Giant-Eyed Blood Rats.
"Are you two alright?" asked Xu Dahuang, a burly man stepping forward.
"We're fine," both Song Jie and Mu Ningxue replied in unison.
Xu Dahuang immediately recognized Mu Ningxue. With her strength, it wasn't surprising that two Servant-level demons had been slain—but seeing a Light Mage with her was unexpected.
Mu Ningxue spoke, "Captain Xu, please give the bounty for these two Giant-Eyed Blood Rats to Song Jie."
Song Jie blinked, a bit surprised. He realized she must be thanking him for saving her earlier, so he didn't refuse.
As the eldest daughter of the Mu Family, she clearly didn't care about money.
Xu Dahuang nodded. "Leave your contact info. Once the paperwork is processed, the commission will be transferred to your account."
He was relieved that no one had been injured tonight. It was nothing short of a miracle.
After everything was settled, Mu Ningxue left, while Song Jie returned home.
At the Mu Family estate, Mu Zhuoyun immediately approached her.
"You two took quite a while. What happened?"
Mu Ningxue briefly explained what had occurred but didn't mention Song Jie's secret.
"You ran into demons? Are you both unharmed?" Mu Zhuoyun asked anxiously.
"We're fine," she said calmly, then added,
"Father, Song Jie is definitely someone worth recruiting. Investing in him wouldn't be a loss."
She said no more after that—she had promised to keep his secret.
A basic Light-element spell that could kill a Servant-level demon…
That was simply beyond belief!
What she didn't know was that Song Jie's "Glorious Light: Double Burst" had already reached the power of Intermediate-level magic.
Otherwise, killing that demon so effortlessly would have been impossible.
A Few Days Later
Time passed quickly. After the class shuffle, Song Jie trained diligently every day.
"Ding!"
'Congratulations to the host for obtaining one transformation point!'
'However, since both of the host's current magic skills have already undergone six mutations and cannot evolve further, this transformation point will be lost.'
"What the hell?!" Song Jie shouted in frustration.
He couldn't save it!
If that was the case, wouldn't future transformation points just disappear for nothing?
"System… you're so inhumane!"
Grumbling helplessly, Song Jie clenched his fists.
"If I can't store them, then I'll just train harder! I'll reach the third level of Basic-tier within a year!"
He made up his mind and threw himself into cultivation.
A few days later, the classroom door opened.
A graceful figure walked in, her heels clicking softly against the floor.
She wore a black professional suit, her deep V-neck blouse subtly revealing her cleavage. Her long, slender legs were wrapped in sheer black stockings—an irresistible contrast of allure and authority.
"Students," Tang Yue said with a faint smile, her eyes scanning the room.
"A trial awaits you."
The class instantly buzzed with chatter.
"A trial?"
"What kind of trial?"
"Teacher Tang Yue, we haven't heard about this before!"
Tang Yue raised a finger to her lips.
"Quiet."
Her calm yet commanding tone immediately silenced the room.
"As mages, you'll inevitably face demons in the future. This trial is designed to let you experience that danger firsthand."
The students froze.
Face… demons? For real?
Most of them had only seen them in videos or textbooks—never in real life.
Tang Yue continued, "Next week, you'll be the first group to participate in this practical trial."
"Next week?! That soon?!"
"I'm not ready yet!"
"Are we seriously going to fight demons?!"
The class erupted again, everyone panicking—everyone except Song Jie.
Having already fought demons himself, this kind of trial didn't scare him anymore.
Zhang Xiaohou leaned over nervously. "Brother Jie, why aren't you worried? We're actually going to face demons!"
"I've already seen demons," Song Jie replied casually.
"What?! You've already seen demons?!" Zhang Xiaohou shouted, causing nearby students to look over in shock.
"Song Jie, is that true?" a girl asked timidly. "Were they really that scary?"
"They were," Song Jie said seriously. "One bite could swallow two people whole."
"Ahhh! That's terrifying!!" The girl squealed, covering her face in fear.
Zhao Kunsan rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. Stop bragging. If you'd really seen demons, you'd be dead already!"