The Magic Release Assessment

Zhang Xiaohou glanced at homeroom teacher Xue Musheng, then at their practical course teacher Tang Yue.

"Give it your all. Teacher believes in you." This time it was Tang Yue who spoke.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded and walked to the Star Sensing Stone.

He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and slowly sank into a state of Meditation.

The Star Sensing Stone's light was uneven, flickering in and out with each of Zhang Xiaohou's breaths. He was clearly nervous — the stone couldn't fully capture the energy of his stars.

But little by little, he was finding his rhythm.

Finally the light steadied. A cyan Wind Element radiance spread around the Star Sensing Stone, its brightness edging past He Yu's — nearly flawless but for a few brief flickers of instability.

"A!"

"A!"

"A+!"

The three examiners had come to different conclusions.

"Teacher, please let me try again." Zhang Xiaohou was plainly unsatisfied with that result, and entered the state once more.

This time he was far calmer. A dense, even light spread around the Star Sensing Stone — visibly stronger than He Yu's, with none of the unstable flickering from before.

The three examiners exchanged a look and nodded as one.

"A+."

"A+."

"A+."

"Final score: A+."

The moment the result was announced, the entire class erupted in envy and admiration.

"Holy crap — A+? That's a guaranteed seat in the elite class! Zhang Xiaohou always seemed so ordinary. Never would've guessed his cultivation was this outstanding. Totally misjudged him, completely misjudged him."

"That's incredible. If I scored an A+, my dad would buy me a car on the spot."

Xue Musheng and Tang Yue both smiled and nodded, approval evident in their eyes. Zhang Xiaohou had always been a student they believed in — this result was entirely expected.

"Student, we're finished. We'll be announcing the final—" The bald examiner was about to deliver the verdict.

"Teacher, I'd like to take the next part." Zhang Xiaohou's eyes were resolute, though his expression stayed a little shy.

"Are you sure?" The examiner seemed genuinely surprised.

"I know that students who rank higher in the annual assessment get longer access time to the Stardust Artifact, so I want to attempt the Release portion as well." Zhang Xiaohou said with certainty.

Xue Musheng and Tang Yue's smiles didn't waver — they had long known that Zhang Xiaohou had already reached the Release level.

The assessment consisted of two parts.

The first was the Stardust test. The vast majority of students needed only to pass this to continue their magic studies at the high school.

The second part was effectively designed for elite students. Out of over a thousand students, perhaps a hundred had already touched the domain of Release.

If a student could fully Release their element's skill during the assessment, their annual score received a significant boost.

In competition for the school's limited resources, every student in the annual assessment was pulling out everything they had — no more holding back.

Zhang Xiaohou's Release assessment did not go smoothly. Nerves got the better of him, and in the end he couldn't link all seven Wind Element Star Motes into a complete Star Trail.

Still, the examiners could tell — this was a student who had genuinely mastered Release, undone by nothing more than exam jitters. They awarded him some additional points in recognition of his performance.

He walked out of the assessment area with a trace of dejection, head slightly bowed.

Teacher Tang Yue, gentle as an older sister, patted his shoulder. "Don't be discouraged. With your score, you're definitely making the elite class."

"Teacher, I thought I'd already gotten it down solid," Zhang Xiaohou said. "I didn't think that even the slightest nervousness would cause my Star Motes to scatter inexplicably every time I tried to Control them, sending me back to square one. Teacher — how do you manage to Release a spell with just a flick of your hand?"

"Practice, naturally. But beyond that, one's mental composure is equally important. A qualified Mage needs not only a solid foundation but the calm to remain unshaken when it matters most."

Zhang Xiaohou nodded, half-understanding.

"Next up — Huang Feifeng."

"B!"

"Teacher, I scored an A! That was an A!"

"Keep complaining and your score gets cancelled."

"Next up — Luo Si."

"C!"

The student named Luo Si leaped into the air with pure joy. For a poor performer like him, scraping a C was practically cause for celebration.

Over in Class Eight's area, students were being assessed one after another. Most results were B's and C's; genuine A's were few and far between.

"Look, look — the school administration group is almost here!"

"They're at Class Seven's assessment area right now... the one being tested is that Lightning Element guy."

"Xu Zhaoting? That one's locked in for number one across the whole school."

"Not necessarily — I heard Mu Bai's cultivation is pretty impressive too!"

Mo Fan caught the chatter around him and glanced toward Class Seven's assessment field.

Sure enough — the cluster of school officials, and the unmistakable figure of Mu Ningxue, had made their way to this vicinity.

"Brother Mu Zhuoyun, this is one of our school's finest — outstanding in both character and academics. A Lightning Element Mage by the name of Xu Zhaoting. The moment he awakened the Lightning Element a year ago, I made it my personal business to watch his development. He's now in the Release portion of the assessment — do take a look."

That even the principal addressed Mu Zhuoyun with such deference said everything about his standing in Bo City.

"Ningxue, watch how this junior performs."

"Mm." Mu Ningxue gave a slight nod.

The Lightning Element — foremost among all the elemental systems. Its savage destructive power was enough to send other Mages scattering.

On the assessment field, Xu Zhaoting stood in his school uniform, steadying his breathing, managing the weight of every pair of eyes in the school trained on him. Since the day he enrolled, he had been its undisputed center of attention — that constant scrutiny had driven him to train without a moment's rest.

"Heed my command!"

"Foremost of the elements — Lightning!"

"Lightning Seal!"

The words fell. His hand rose.

Purple electric arcs erupted from nothing, wild as serpent-soldiers summoned to battle by their king — they writhed with a terrifying intensity, scorching the very air around them!

Release!

The arcs crashed down in a frenzy, slamming into the humanoid wooden dummy with everything they had.

The dummy shuddered violently. As the Lightning Seal rained blow after blow, the wood turned pitch-black — electricity crackled and spat, each branded strike lashing in, and in an instant the dummy had been blasted beyond recognition.

Across the surface of the training ground, black scorched furrows stretched in every direction. The sight was harrowing.

What remained of the wooden dummy had been reduced to a heap of black cinders.

The sheer dominance of the Lightning Element skill hijacked every eye on the assessment field. Even the elite students capable of performing their own Releases drew sharp, involuntary breaths.

*Good lord — Wind Trail, Water Domain, Fire Burst — they're all laughably outclassed. The Lightning Seal's raw dominance is something no other element can hold a candle to. It literally obliterated the dummy. That kind of destructive force...*

*If a person had been standing there, they'd be dead.*