"Where did he go?" Gu Jin muttered as she left the office.
Her heart tightened with unease.
However, there was no one to answer her.
"Is he in some kind of danger?" She softly asked herself. "Or maybe he is trying to prank me?"
As soon as that question came to Gu Jin’s mind, she shook her head. Though at times, Long Yifan acts airheaded, the reality is that he remains rational most of the time.
So he could never play such a prank.
Gu Jin called Long Yifan again, however, no one picked up her call like the last time.
A part of her felt a bit worried, but soon, her calm side took over, and she muttered softly,
"No... he is fine... he will be fine. I don’t need to feel worried."
Along the lines of Gu Jin didn’t realise that she was telling a part of her not to feel anything.
For Gu Jin, it was an uneventful month.
She mostly focused on her cultivation and spending time with her family.
Once she went through all the concepts and topics and even took an extra lecture to study ahead, she planned to venture the Lightning Mountain.
Lightning Mystic Seed was what she lacked currently.
Her cultivation had seemed to reach a bottleneck, and without the mystic seed, she wouldn’t be able to cross the threshold of Tier 3 of the thunder element.
With that thought, she applied for leave.
However, her application was declined, causing Gu Jin to frown.
Seeing her frown, Master Qiao chuckled and explained,
"Though I want to approve it, the semester exams are coming in just 2 weeks. You need to be present."
Looking at the beautiful woman with red eyes and black hair, Master Qiao sighed in his heart.
For some reason, in the past month, Gu Jin always had a strange kind of emptiness in her eyes.
It was as if a part of her was missing. At first, Master Qiao tried to get Gu Jin talking. However, as time passed, he realized that even Gu Jin didn’t know about her condition, so there was no way she could realize what was wrong with her.
’Sigh. Such a good seedling. I heard that she is upset because of that brat named Long Yifan’s sudden disappearance. God knows what he’s doing. But if he dared to find some other woman behind Gu Jin’s back, I would break his teeth!’
Gu Jin was a one-in-a-millennium genius when it comes to alchemy. He would never want her to go down the drain.
"Semester exams?" Gu Jin muttered in confusion, snapping Master Qiao back from his daze.
Master Qiao, sensing Gu Jin’s question, explained,
"Yes. The semester exam is a ranking-based exam, and the bottom 10 rankers of the ranking system are either kicked out of Beijing University or are transferred to some affiliated branch university of Beijing University.
Gu Jin’s brows furrowed slightly. "Kicked out or transferred?"
Master Qiao nodded seriously. "That’s right. And for the top 10 rankers, there will be a special reward. I heard the top 3 might even get to enter the Heavenly Tower for training."
Gu Jin’s expression changed slightly at those words.
It was a tower graced by the god of the magic World.
There is a total of 100 levels in Heavenly Tower. With each level cleared, the challenger would get some unique resources. To enter the tower, one not only needs a pass but also must be a Super Rank Mage.
As long as she gets the chance to enter the tower, she might even gain resources related to the dark fire element or even the necromancy element.
She couldn’t use her connection to find the resources of these elements, purely because it would put her and her family in danger.
But now... a chance was given to her. How could she not grab it?
"Alright. I will keep your word in mind and attend the exams." Gu Jin nodded. She wanted to get more details about the exams.
Seeing her so interested, Master Qiao heaved a sigh of relief. In such a long while, she was finally showing interest in something. So he decided to give her some more information,
"This time, more rewards might be added so the competition would be fierce. Also, you might be strong, but I have come to know that some of the students are going to use artifacts too, and that too of Soul Grade, and one of them even has a Semi-God grade artifact."
Gu Jin frowned when she heard Master Qiao’s words.
Sure enough, good things can’t be easy to obtain.
Gu Jin’s fingers curled slightly.
Soul Grade artifacts... and even a Semi-God grade? That wasn’t something ordinary students could get their hands on.
"Are those even allowed in the exams?" she asked.
Master Qiao gave a helpless shrug. "Technically, there are no strict rules against it. The academy wants to prepare students for real-world challenges. That means allowing them to use what they have—even artifacts."
"I see," Gu Jin said softly, her eyes narrowing.
It was clear now—this exam wouldn’t be just about skill or talent. It would be about power, preparation, and connections. Some students came from powerful clans or had backers who could provide them with rare items. She had to be ready for anything.
"But don’t worry," Master Qiao added, noticing her silence. "You’re not weak, Gu Jin."
Gu Jin gave a small nod.
..................................
In the next 2 weeks, Gu Jin continued to cultivate, but it was as if she had reached a bottleneck and couldn’t raise the cultivation base of any of her elements.
On the day of the exam, Gu Jin was getting ready in her room when the door of her room was knocked.
She turned her head slightly. "Come in," she said.
The door opened, revealing Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu standing together, holding a long, polished wooden box wrapped in red silk.
Behind them, Gu Jichun peeked over Mr. Gu’s shoulder, grinning mischievously.
Gu Jin blinked in surprise. "Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?"
Before either of them could answer, Gu Jichun quickly slipped inside and chimed in, "Take a guess, Gu Jin! What do you think is inside the box?"
Gu Jin glanced at the box with a puzzled expression. "Maybe... something to eat?"
Gu Jichun burst out laughing, holding her belly. "You’re seriously silly sometimes, sis. No! It’s not food!"
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow. Before she could say more, Gu Jihu walked in, calm and composed as always.
"It’s something related to artifacts," he said simply, adjusting his sleeves.
Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it a defensive item of some sort?"
Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu exchanged a glance before nodding.
Mrs. Gu stepped forward, her voice soft and warm. "I heard from your mentor that you’re taking the semester exam seriously... and that you wish to be in the top three. We wanted to help, even if just a little."
Mr. Gu placed his hand on Gu Jin’s shoulder. "We know how fierce the competition will be. Without proper equipment, even the strongest talent can get overwhelmed. So..."
"...we bought something for you," Gu Jihu finished.
But what caught Gu Jin’s attention was how he had said "we" — not "they."
She stared at her family, realization dawning on her. "Wait... you all chipped in?"
Jichun nodded proudly. "Yup! Even I gave up my new shoes fund."
Gu Jin’s lips parted, but no words came out. Her gaze shifted back to the box. Something was off.
Why would they all need to chip in just for a basic artifact? Unless...
A thought came to her suddenly.
Maybe... the artifact’s rank is very high.
As if reading her mind, Mrs. Gu carefully held out the box to her. "Open it, Jin’er."
Gu Jin hesitated, her fingers brushing over the smooth red silk before untying it and slowly lifting the wooden lid.
Inside, laid neatly on black velvet, was a stunning set of armor.
It shimmered faintly under the light, changing color subtly like the scales of a dragon—deep black with traces of electric blue veins running along the edges.
It wasn’t bulky but sleek, almost like it had been crafted to match her build perfectly. A soft, glowing symbol sat at the center of the chest plate—one she didn’t recognize at first glance.
Gu Jin stared at it, her expression unreadable. She had never seen anything .
"This... what kind of armor is this?" she asked quietly.
Mr. Gu smiled gently. "Try it on."
Still silent, Gu Jin took the armor piece by piece and began putting it on. As the final piece clicked into place, something strange happened.
A wave of energy pulsed through her body.
It was as if the armor wasn’t just protecting her... it was amplifying her.
Gu Jin’s red eyes flickered with a faint light as she looked down at her hands, now glowing faintly with mana lines.
"This armor... it’s not ordinary," she whispered.