Blood-replenishing pills work quickly, but their effects also fade quickly.
After resting for a few minutes, Zheng Qing's burning sensation subsided significantly.
He pulled out his pocket watch.
It was 4:10 PM.
Wizards came and went in Four Seasons Square, and the market was still bustling.
Zheng Qing looked at these strange sights with reluctance.
He knew he should leave.
Most of the items listed on the inventory were already in the gray bag.
He should go home as soon as possible and preview those thick textbooks.
Then he remembered the upgrade exam Thomas had just mentioned.
“Do first-year students also have to take an exam to advance to second year? And if I fail, will I be advised to leave?” Zheng Qing caressed the spell book in his hand and sighed melancholically, “I feel like I don’t understand anything. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if I failed and was sent home?”
“You are in Nine Provinces College, and exams are a basic rule of your College. So don’t expect to advance from first year to second year without an exam,” Thomas cruelly dispelled a glimmer of hope in Zheng Qing’s heart, “Of course, there are other ways.”
Zheng Qing’s eyes immediately lit up, and he looked at his interviewer with hope.
“You can choose to transfer Colleges during the midterm, provided your credits meet the transfer standard. But as far as I know, the credit requirements for transferring are higher than for upgrading. And in Nine Provinces College,” Thomas shrugged, “most ways to earn credits are still through exams.”
Zheng Qing lowered his head in frustration and stuffed his brand-new spell book into the gray bag.
He had heard many stories about transferring Colleges in University from his grandfather.
For example, some Universities have a First University, and also Second-tier, or even Third-tier Colleges.
Some students with richer backgrounds and resources, but less than ideal college entrance exam scores, would be arranged by their elders to first enroll in a Second-tier College.
Then, through some operations, they would transfer majors or transfer into a First University.
How could a Little Wizard like him, like a floating duckweed, have the capital to operate a high-level project like transferring Colleges?
“If you fail the upgrade exam, you won’t be immediately advised to leave. The school generally gives students one or two chances. Of course, the credit requirements for such a repeater to take the upgrade exam in the second year will be a bit higher. I heard there’s a male student named Nicholas in Nine Provinces College who has been in his first year for three years already.”
Zheng Qing clicked his tongue.
Failing the exam was already embarrassing enough.
Failing the exam and then enduring others’ strange looks and discussions, re-studying with younger students from a lower grade—how much courage would that require!
And what kind of pressure must that student who had been in his first year for three years be under!
“I hate being watched by others,” he mumbled, “like watching a monkey show.”
“I asked you before, what is a Wizard?” Thomas stopped, staring at Zheng Qing with his emerald-green eyes, looking very serious, “You said, a person who solves problems with extraordinary power is a Wizard. That understanding is good, but it’s not enough.”
“Historically, a Great Wizard once said this: I think, therefore I am. If magic represents mystery, the unknown, and power, then a Wizard possesses mystery, possesses the unknown, and possesses power. To think, and then to be able to do. That is a Wizard.” Seeing Zheng Qing deep in thought, he added, “You must learn to abandon the logic in your mind. Magic is illogical.”
Zheng Qing shivered.
Thomas’s phrase, ‘Magic is illogical,’ was simply too overbearing.
He felt his breathing tremble.
Not from cold, not from fear.
But from excitement.
“Some people spend their entire lives only able to conjure a few small fireballs; but some people, when very young, can create astonishing celestial phenomena. These are differences in potential. First University recruits you based on your potential. There are thousands of Tricksters gathered in Beta Town, some of whom can perform tricks that would even dazzle true Wizards. But those are, in the end, just tricks.”
“You only need to learn how to control your power, and why to do so. Not how to accumulate power. The accumulation of power is a lifelong endeavor and will not significantly improve during the few years at school. For you, perhaps you won’t be able to cast Advanced Spells like others when you first arrive at school. But you can understand what the Professors say. That’s enough.”
Zheng Qing stared into Thomas’s emerald-green eyes, nodding, and finally couldn’t suppress his curiosity, “I always feel like I’ve seen you somewhere—before today, of course—do you have any impression?”
“Wizards are quite curious, but right now we have other things to consider,” Thomas avoided his eyes and looked towards the street, “The atmosphere on the street seems off.”
Zheng Qing held his shoulder, stood on his tiptoes, and looked towards the end of the street.
Indeed, the street in the distance seemed a bit chaotic.
“Neon lights are flashing over there!” Zheng Qing squinted and asked strangely, “Are neon lights on before dark? The Wizarding world is really strange!”
Thomas didn’t speak; he pulled out his brown spell book, flipped through it with a rustle, and slapped it hard.
A pale blue light curtain appeared around the two of them.
Zheng Qing stood firm, suddenly enlightened.
In just a blink of an eye, vibrant colors spread across the entire street.
It was as if evening lanterns were just lit, and neon lights bloomed one after another.
All the Wizards on the street were enveloped in these shimmering light curtains.
A piercing roar, accompanied by the colorful flashes, sounded urgently.
The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
Zheng Qing nervously watched the distance.
A pair of scarlet eyes shone exceptionally bright on the dazzling street.
...
...
Pigs are comfortable animals.
They are accustomed to huddling together after eating and drinking their fill, lazily enjoying the gentle sunlight.
At this time, even if you poke them with a stick, you will only get a grunt of complaint.
Wild boars, however, are dangerous animals.
Experienced hunters always say, “one boar, two bears, three tigers.” They have thick hides, immense strength, yet are reckless and irritable.
Against a cautious tiger, a hunter can still find ways to maneuver; against a headstrong wild boar, there aren’t many good options.
If you accidentally provoke them, these narrow-minded brutes will chase you over four or five mountains.
When he was young, Zheng Qing spent some time living in the mountains with his teacher every summer.
He listened to the hunters in the mountains talk about the terrifying nature of wild boars, and this left a very deep impression on him.
He had never seen a berserk wild boar.
But based on years of influence from television documentaries, he felt that what was roaring and rampaging down the street in Four Seasons Square was a berserk wild boar.
Berserk is a state of irritability.
Zheng Qing had appeased berserk stampeding cattle before.
The best way to deal with them is to calm them down.
He pulled out a stack of yellow Talismans from the gray bag in his arms.
Tranquility Talisman.
Specifically for calming the mind and concentrating.
Specializing in various forms of agitation, restlessness, and explosive dissatisfaction.
This was Zheng Qing’s most proficient Talisman.
When he felt annoyed practicing calligraphy, he would always stick one on his forehead, which was incredibly effective.
Previously in the mountains, it only took him three Talismans to subdue that berserk yellow ox.