"Ding, congratulations to the host for upgrading his talent to A+!"
The next moment, Lin Yu's spirit jolted, and white light enveloped his body, blinding Zhao Ke beside him.
Lin Yu felt a surging power within him, causing him to groan in comfort.
After a while, the white light receded, and Lin Yu opened his eyes.
"Lin Yu, are you alright?" Zhao Ke asked worriedly.
Lin Yu smiled, "I'm fine. My talent almost underwent a metamorphosis, but it didn't succeed!"
Zhao Ke was stunned.
She looked at Lin Yu as if he were a monster.
Didn't you just undergo a talent metamorphosis?
It's only been a few days, and you're about to have another one? Even with cheats, it wouldn't be this fast.
However, hearing that Lin Yu's metamorphosis failed, she became worried again.
"Although it didn't successfully evolve to S-class, my talent ability has been enhanced!" Lin Yu said with a smile.
"Let me show you my current talent ability!" Lin Yu said, dispelling his clones.
Then, he summoned them again.
With a flash of white light, twenty clones appeared around him.
"I can now summon twenty clones, and each clone's combat power is ten percent stronger than my main body!"
This meant he had twenty clones, each more powerful than himself.
If anyone else knew about this, envy and hatred would be the least of their reactions.
Most people only had a slim chance of their talent undergoing metamorphosis when their combat power broke through. For someone like Lin Yu, whose talent improved without breaking through combat power, it was extremely rare.
Zhao Ke quickly went from surprised to delighted.
"That's great, that's great! If you get stronger, we can go to the same university in the future!" Zhao Ke said.
Lin Yu smiled, "I hope so!"
Lin Yu wasn't particularly fixated on attending university. With his system, he could grow stronger anywhere; it was just a change of hunting grounds.
"It's getting dark, let's go back!" Lin Yu said.
"Okay!"
Upon returning to the city, they visited the Awakened Guild, completed their missions, and received a reward of 100,000 star coins. The two said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
In the following days, Lin Yu and Zhao Ke went out hunting every day, leaving early and returning late. Lin Yu's combat power broke through again, reaching the late stage of Tier 2.
He was incredibly busy, the thrill of getting stronger consuming him.
Zhao Ke also benefited greatly, her control over her skills improving, and her combat power increasing slightly.
Meanwhile, major factions began to place Lin Yu's information on their desks.
The Li Family.
The third son of the Li family patriarch, known as the Third Young Master, was currently looking at an investigation report.
"This Lin Yu, despite having A-class talent, his combat power is comparable to S-class talent. Interesting!"
"However, he offended Li Wu. Given the personalities of Li Wu and Li Cong, they won't let this go easily!"
"He has offended our Li family. If we ignore this, it will undoubtedly diminish our family's prestige!"
"Shadow Black, go to the dark market and clear the way. Facilitate Li Wu and Li Cong so they can place a bounty on Lin Yu!"
As he spoke, ripples appeared in the air behind him, and a man dressed in black walked out.
"As you command!"
.........
Hospital.
Li Cong struggled to turn over and said to Li Wu, "An ungentlemanly act is not to be left unavenged. This incident cost me my job and brought shame to the Li family. Li Wu, go to the dark market and issue a bounty. I want Lin Yu's head!"
Li Wu was also filled with resentment and nodded, "Don't worry, Uncle. Offending our Li family will surely cost him his head!"
.........
Principal's Office.
The principal put down his pen and asked, "What has Zhao Ke been doing recently?"
Secretary Qian, swaying her voluptuous hips, walked over and said, "She's been with Lin Yu, taking on many missions and hunting outside the city!"
The principal seemed surprised, "It seems Zhao Ke and Lin Yu have a close relationship!"
*Knock, knock, knock!!!*
He tapped his knuckles lightly on the desk, contemplating and weighing the pros and cons.
"Secretary Qian, go tell the people below not to make things difficult for Lin Yu. Try to facilitate his activities at the school!" the principal suddenly said.
Secretary Qian hesitated for a moment, "Is Lin Yu really that important?"
The principal smiled, "Lin Yu himself isn't that important. What's important is Zhao Ke. An SS-class talent who has been offered early admission to ten major academies, and is even top-tier among SS-class talents. We must not neglect her!"
Secretary Qian suddenly understood, glanced at him, and nodded, "I'll do it now!"
The principal sighed, "Go quickly!"
............
Weapon Shop.
The shop owner's white beard trembled slightly, as if sensing something.
He walked out of the shop, closed the door, and headed towards the outskirts of the city.
From a place Lin Yu and Zhao Ke could not see, a pair of eyes were watching them.
However, these eyes held no malice, but rather considerable goodwill.
The old man stroked his beard and frowned, "This Lin Yu is also a piece of raw jade. He already has Tier 3 combat power so quickly. His improvement speed is comparable to Zhao Ke's. It seems to be due to his clone talent."
"It's a shame that an Awakened with less than S-class talent has a harder time entering the Chaos Element Academy than climbing to heaven!"
"As for Zhao Ke, her potential is boundless. In just a few days, she has awakened five skills."
"Given time, she will surely be the pillar of the Lightning Department at our Chaos Element Academy!"
"We cannot let anything happen to her, or this old man will lose face completely!"
...........
Dark Market.
Within the black market, there is a dark market dedicated to murder and robbery.
At this moment, a bounty with a generous reward appeared on the bounty board of the dark market.
"It's a kill order! It's been a while since one appeared!"
"To kill a mere A-class talent student, and with such a high reward? I'll take it!"
Soon, someone accepted the mission, and not just one person.
In their eyes, this was a free mission.
After accepting the mission, these assassins immediately headed out of the city and ambushed in the rocky forest outside the city gate.
This was the only way back to the city, making it a perfect spot for an ambush.
.........
The Bai Family.
Bai Family Study.
With a creak, the door opened, and a young man in white entered.
"Dad, you were looking for me?" Bai Xiaosa said.
He had just been cultivating when he was suddenly called away, his tone impatient and somewhat resentful.
Bai Qianlang smiled, "You brat, you're still angry with your old man. I'm looking for you to tell you some bad news."
Bai Xiaosa was indifferent. What bad news could there be? His father was always there to shield him, so he wasn't worried at all.
"Lin Yu has had a bounty placed on him in the dark market. The reward is very generous, five hundred thousand star coins!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaosa hurriedly asked, "No one has accepted the mission yet, right? Let's quickly pay to cancel it!"
If no one accepted the mission, the bounty could be canceled by paying a fee. According to the rules of the dark market, after canceling a bounty, the same bounty could not be posted again within a month.
This meant that for a small sum, one could guarantee a month of safety.
"It's too late. A group of assassins has already left the city."
Bai Xiaosa's heart sank halfway. He recalled the scene from a few days ago when they were drinking together.
A pang of pain shot through him. He said, "Dad, you can save him, right?"
Bai Qianlang saw Bai Xiaosa's expression for the first time and was moved, "I can save him, but it will mean offending the person behind this, and it will require a certain price!"
"Dad, as long as you help me save him, I'll listen to everything you say from now on!"
Bai Qianlang said, "I'll save him for you, but you must listen to me and go to Dongxu Academy in advance!"
"I... I promise you!" he gritted out.