After hearing Instructor Niu's report, everyone present had a strange look on their face.
It wasn't unheard of for the magic energy reserves to drop quickly in the past. This usually coincided with the appearance of a talented student. But this time, the rate of depletion was simply too fast. If they weren't certain the equipment was fine, they would have suspected the Energy Pod was leaking.
"Feng Hao? That name sounds familiar," Zhao Hao frowned in thought.
Instructor Niu quickly reminded him, "He's the auditing student who got in this year through a sponsorship."
"It's that kid?" Zhao Hao's expression froze as a vague image of Feng Hao surfaced in his mind.
To be honest, since he was just an auditing student, Zhao Hao hadn't paid him any mind. If Instructor Niu hadn't just reminded him, he would have completely forgotten they even had an auditing student this year!
Yue Linglong listened intently, a hint of doubt on her pretty face. "How long did you say he's been in there?"
"Today is the nineteenth day," Instructor Niu said with a wry smile.
"..." Everyone present was speechless.
Instructor Niu had expected this reaction and continued, "The kid rented it for a whole month, saying he needed to familiarize himself with the Dark Force Basic Secret Technique. I thought it was strange at the time."
Hearing this, the crowd's expressions grew even stranger.
What a joke. Who needs a month to get familiar with the Dark Force Basic Secret Technique? Besides, due to the unique nature of Dark Force Magic Masters, Feng Hao obviously wouldn't have any other Secret Techniques.
"Could he have allocated a large amount of his early-stage [Gene Essence] to his meridian root system?" an instructor asked in surprise.
"If he's an auditing student, that's certainly possible," someone chimed in mockingly.
Yue Linglong frowned slightly. Most people were prejudiced against auditing students, and she herself was no exception.
If she didn't know a bit about Feng Hao, she might have thought the same thing. "Feng Hao fought Xiyue Frost from the third year before. His strength... is decent. He doesn't seem like that kind of fool."
"Teacher Yue, you're not going to tell us he lasted ten minutes against Xiyue Frost without losing, are you?" a sarcastic voice called out from the crowd.
Yue Linglong shot a cold glance over and saw an effeminate-looking man with a scornful expression. It was Hu Mingshan, the homeroom teacher for first-year Class Two. Standing behind him was a student, Beixing Ran, the only daughter of Beixing Kuang.
"It's a fact," Yue Linglong stated forcefully.
Hu Mingshan threw his head back and laughed wildly. "Xiyue Frost is the number one student in the third year! Not even Zhou Chen could last ten minutes against her. An auditing student? Are you kidding me?"
"I heard that auditing student has been attending Class One. Class One is this year's 'rocket class,' isn't it? Surely Teacher Yue isn't using an auditing student to polish her own reputation?" a sharp-tongued female teacher sneered.
The moment she finished speaking, laughter erupted all around.
Zhao Hao stood by with a cold expression, not stopping the argument. After all, it was normal for teachers from different classes to be at odds with each other.
Hu Mingshan, buoyed by the response, sounded even more smug. "See? Everyone thinks this rumor is hilarious!"
"The people who were there know whether it's a rumor or not," Yue Linglong replied coldly.
Xiyue Yao, who was standing at the side, could no longer bear it and stepped forward indignantly. "I can vouch for it!"
On the other side, Miao Feng, who had come with his teacher, was also filled with righteous indignation and couldn't help but cheer for Xiyue Yao.
"Yao Girl, what exactly did Teacher Yue give you to make you slander your own sister?" Seeing Xiyue Yao speak up, Beixing Ran immediately stepped forward to mock her on her teacher's behalf.
"Hmph! The Xiyue Family, unlike you Beixing Family, isn't afraid to admit what we've done!" Xiyue Yao raised her head proudly.
"You damn brat, are you looking for a fight?" Beixing Ran had been at odds with Xiyue Yao since they were children and was instantly triggered by her words.
"You think I'm scared of you?!" Xiyue Yao didn't back down an inch.
In the past, being half a year younger than Beixing Ran, her strength had always been suppressed by her. But after taking an Experience Pill, she could finally hold her head high.
"Stand down!" Yue Linglong and Hu Mingshan shouted simultaneously, stopping them.
The two girls retreated resentfully, huffing and falling silent.
Dean Zhao finally spoke up. "From the sound of it, this Feng... what was it... Feng Hao seems to have caused quite a stir in the academy?"
Zhao Hao was indeed a little curious. In his many years of experience, those who caused a stir in the academy were usually outstanding students. After all, in any group, it's the exceptional ones who attract the most attention.
"Reporting to the Dean, similar rumors were indeed spreading among the students a while ago," a director next to him explained.
"Oh?" Zhao Hao looked slightly surprised and turned his gaze to a well-proportioned, middle-aged beauty beside him. "Teacher Yan, have you heard anything about this?"
Yan Feihong frowned lightly. As Xiyue Frost's teacher, she naturally knew the Dean was asking her for confirmation. After a moment's hesitation, she answered truthfully, "I did hear similar rumors before. I also confirmed it with Xiaoshuang, and it is indeed true."
As soon as she said this, the entire crowd was in an uproar.
Even Zhao Hao couldn't help but widen his eyes. "What did Xiaoshuang say?"
"Xiaoshuang didn't use her Secret Technique at the time, but for an auditing student who's only level fifteen to last over ten minutes without losing is indeed remarkable." Yan Feihong's expression was serious. "And according to Xiaoshuang, his fighting style is very strange. She couldn't find a single opening."
With this confirmation, Zhao Hao fell silent, while the surrounding crowd was already buzzing with discussion:
"The rumor is actually true? Aren't auditing students all Muggles?"
"Level fifteen... I'm not even as good as an auditing student, for fuck's sake!"
"Don't get discouraged, man. I heard that auditing student is already twenty. Level fifteen at twenty years old, no wonder he couldn't pass the test."
"That's not the point, okay? The point is he can fight Xiyue Frost! How many people in the entire third year can fight Xiyue Frost?"
"Hmph! He's only strong now. In a few more years, I'll definitely be stronger than him."
"Exactly. No matter how strong he is, isn't he still just self-taught?"
...
At this scene, Hu Mingshan's and Beixing Ran's faces were ashen. The same went for the few people who had been mocking Feng Hao earlier.
Over on Miao Feng's side, he was soon questioned by his homeroom teacher. "Miao Feng, is that senior brother of yours really that amazing?"
"Of course my senior brother is amazing," Miao Feng said with a proud look. "And his Alchemy Techniques are even more incredible!"
On another side, the silent Elder Gu couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Chen, in the same situation, how confident would you be?"
"I'm not entirely sure of Xiyue Frost's strength," Zhou Chen said, pondering. "If she held back her Secret Technique and I went all out, I should have a decent chance of winning."
"It's good that you're confident." Elder Gu nodded in satisfaction.
Although he was well aware that Zhou Chen was underestimating Xiyue Frost's strength, as long as he had that confidence, it was only a matter of time before he surpassed her.
As for Feng Hao, Elder Gu had never given him a second thought...
After the brief commotion, everyone's gaze returned to Simulator One. It was hard to imagine what kind of frenzied slaughter could cause such a massive energy drain.
"How much of the magic energy reserve has been consumed?" Zhao Hao asked the technician, his expression grave.
"Nearly a year and a half's worth," the technician stammered.
Everyone was stunned once again. A series of sharp intakes of breath could be heard in the equipment room.
Zhao Hao did a rough calculation, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. "Is there any way to stop it?"
"We can only wait for his access time to end, or for him to come out on his own."
Zhao Hao's face darkened. "Is there no other way?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"There is," the technician hesitated, "we could dismantle the Energy Pod to force the simulator to shut down. But that would cause permanent damage to the internal Magic Pattern Matrix."
"..." Zhao Hao was silent, his teeth grinding. He was sick with heartache over the cost.
A year and a half's worth of consumption—that was nearly a million Magic Crystals! And this guy still had eleven days of access left. If this continued, it would cost at least another million-plus Magic Crystals. But if they forced it to stop, the cost of a damaged simulator would be even greater!
At this moment, Zhao Hao wished he could drag Feng Hao out right now and expel him from the academy. How much the hell did he even pay for his sponsorship?
"What on earth has this guy been doing in there to cause such a massive drain?" Zhao Hao finally managed to choke out.
Instructor Niu, sweating profusely, said, "This usually only happens when a large number of simulated monsters are killed. But the rate of consumption this time is just unbelievable. I'm afraid only a High-tier Spellcaster Mage like Teacher Yue could produce such an effect."
"You're saying he has enough Magic Power to kill simulated monsters nonstop?" Yue Linglong mused.
"That's right." Instructor Niu nodded with a wry smile.
Yue Linglong grew even more curious. The only reason she had such an ability was because of the [Qi Condensation] effect from her evolved spiritual root system, which allowed her to maintain sufficient Magic Power. On top of that, she needed to have powerful enough attacks.
But Feng Hao was only level fifteen. 'How did he do it?'
The same question was on everyone's mind.
"Look, the pod door is opening!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
Everyone instinctively looked toward Simulator One. The heavy metal door slowly slid open, revealing a drained figure. It was Feng Hao, fresh from crazily grinding his skill proficiency.
After twenty days of arduous struggle, Feng Hao looked like he was about to collapse. It couldn't be helped; the tedious and boring task of grinding skill proficiency would do that to anyone, let alone grinding for twenty days straight!
When he saw the magnificent welcoming committee outside the door, he was completely dumbfounded. "What the—? What's going on?"
"Teacher Yue! Xiaomiaozi! Yaoyao! You're all here?" Feng Hao said, pleasantly surprised. "Huh? Dean Zhao is here too? And so many other teachers?"
Seeing everyone just staring at him without a word, Feng Hao felt incredibly awkward. He gave a dry laugh and asked, "Um... is there some kind of event today?"
Feng Hao stood there stunned for a long moment, but still, no one spoke.
'What's happening? Did I see a ghost?' Feng Hao was completely baffled. He felt uncomfortable all over and instinctively wanted to leave.
Just as he lifted his foot to leave, Dean Zhao's icy voice rang out, "You just try taking another step!"
Feng Hao turned back, stunned, and asked speechlessly, "Dean Zhao, what on earth are you all doing?"
"Cut the crap and start talking!" Zhao Hao barked through gritted teeth.
"Talk about what?" Feng Hao asked, completely puzzled.
"What did you do in the simulator?"
"Honed my Secret Technique, what else?" Feng Hao was completely clueless. "Oh, right. I almost forgot."
Hearing that last part, everyone was filled with anticipation. However, what happened next left them all flabbergasted.
Feng Hao strode up to Instructor Niu, took out his access card, and said, "Uh... I still have ten days of access left. Could you refund it to me in Magic Crystals?"
After he spoke, the area once again fell into a dead silence. Feng Hao could clearly feel that something was off about the atmosphere.
"Ahem... why is everyone looking at me like that?" Feng Hao asked, feeling a little guilty for some reason.