Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 343. Graduating to the Senior Class

"Are you sure, brother? If we don’t do anything, your position will be taken by her," Xin Wuming said.

"If it happens, it happens," Amon replied. "Rank is not everything. I only care because I want the best cultivation environment provided by the first-rank residence. If I can get it without taking too many risks, I will. It is not the case now."

"You mean... it is risky to deal with Sima Fang?" Xin Wuming asked.

"Have you checked her background like I asked you to?" Amon asked.

"Yes, although I didn’t discover much," Xin Wuming answered. "She came from a small clan in a border town called Cinder Ash Town. There is nothing noteworthy about either the town or her clan."

"I doubt a small clan can afford a group of skilled cultivators to protect their candidate here. There must be more to her than it looks."

"She managed to secure a spot in this academy not because of her clan. Her endorsement came from a different clan, which is the ruling clan of Cinder Ash Town. Can it be this ruling clan who provides her with the bodyguards?"

"We can’t say. What is sure is she is backed by an unknown group. Without knowing the identity of this group, it is not wise to antagonize them. We have enough enemies as it is. Stop all operations against her."

"Understood. I will send words to Gao Lan," Xin Wuming complied.

Amon left and went to carry out the mission he had taken. Since foul play and favor were not working, all he could do was work harder than the opponent. He planned to spend the rest of the months before graduation fully on missions.

*

Amon stuck with his plan. He concentrated on missions. Most missions he took were spirit beast hunting missions. He rarely took this type of mission. He chose this mission now because he was targeting a particular type of spirit beast. The spirit beasts he went for were the type known to have sturdy parts in their bodies that were valuable for blacksmithing materials.

Several spirit beasts fell into this category. Some, categorized between mid-superior to high superior beasts, were the Iron-plated Ox Beast, the one-horned Qilin, the Wide-eared Lion, and the One-footed Steel Crane.

The Iron-plated Ox Beast had a hardy hide as tough as steel. The bones of the Wide-eared Lion were excellent materials to make into weapons. As for the One-footed Steel Cranes, their value lay in their powerful beaks. He could make new durable knives from each of these materials, but the best material came from the One-horned Qilin.

The One-horned Qilin was a high superior beast. With his current power, Amon could fight a beast of this level. The most precious part of the One-horned Qilin was, unsurprisingly, its horn. The horn was not only extremely tough, but it also emitted disrupting energy that could disperse one’s aether upon contact. This ability didn’t disappear even after the beast died.

Amon managed to slay two One-horned Qilins during his missions. As for the other three types of beasts, he slew plenty of them. He gave the materials from these three types of beasts to Shi Hei, Vicious Faction’s leading smith.

Shi Hei’s mastery of smithing had improved these past few years. He had entered the Skilled level. Amon gave him the materials and asked him to craft new knives for him.

As for the horns from the One-horned Qilins, Amon went to Mu Sou. Mu Sou had an Expert-level Smith acquaintance. This acquaintance helped Amon craft his Jue Body Suit in the past. This time, he asked Mu Sou to request the Expert-level smith to craft weapons for him.

He gave the two horns to Mu Sou. He requested one horn to be made into knives while the other horn to be made into a dagger. His Swan Dagger was rather lacking now. It was only a mid-tier engraved weapon, after all.

Mu Sou asked for an exorbitant price for the service. After Amon gave him the bodies of the One-horned Qilins, he gave Amon a discount.

*

Months passed, and it was finally graduation day.

Unfortunately, Amon didn’t make much breakthrough in catching up to Sima Fang. Her academic points were still above Amon’s. In the end, Amon had to settle for the second rank.

"I’m sorry, friend Lin Mo," Sima Fang said. "I know you were stricken by unfortunate circumstances. What happened to your clan was a tragedy. If I was in your shoes, I would have fallen out of the top ten already. For you to remain at the second rank, you have my admiration. Of course, despite your tragedy, I cannot relent. I hope you understand."

"A win is a win. No need to give a fake apology," Amon replied.

Sima Fang chuckled. "In that case, I thank you," she said and stood at the first of the line.

Next to Amon was Wu Di, who was again in third place.

"I can’t help but notice something awkward between the two of you," Sima Fang remarked. "Aren’t you two friends?"

"We are not," Wu Di stated.

Amon didn’t say anything.

Tuang Yin, who had fallen to the ninth rank, could only sigh when she heard the exchange.

Similar to when they graduated from their Freshman years, they received inspirational speeches from the tutors. Their current graduation ceremony was headed by Principal Li Niang. After the ceremony, the principal brought the top ten students to their private residences while the tutors led the other students to their dormitories.

The hill that housed the top ten students was higher for the senior students. The houses themselves were also larger than their freshman and junior counterparts.

Different than before, Amon no longer stayed in the house on the peak. If Amon had dissatisfaction, his face didn’t show it. He entered his new residence without any expression. Sima Fang watched him enter the house while playing with the feather fan in her hand. Her face didn’t show a gloating expression. Her eyes were filled with contemplation instead.

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Inside his house, Amon studied his new residence. It was largely the same as the one he had during his senior years, only larger. He went down to the basement to feel the aether enhancement down there. It was indeed lacking compared to his previous residence, but not to a large degree. He figured this was an acceptable loss considering the circumstances.

It didn’t matter. He might experience a setback now, but if his plan worked, he could catch up on what was lost by the time he graduated from this senior class. He could even reap much more. Hence, he wasn’t too troubled by this shortfall.

He focused on something more productive. He took out his new dagger. Mu Sou sent him the new weapons earlier today, with a note congratulating him on his graduation day. Amon wondered if the weapons were finished earlier, and the eccentric man intentionally held these weapons only so he could give them to Amon on this particular day.

One of his new weapons was the improved swan dagger. When he gave Mu Sou the horns from the One-horned Qilins, he also gave him the swan dagger. He asked Mu Sou to use one of the horns to upgrade this dagger. Mu Sou’s smith acquaintance had the skill to recycle an existing item and improve it, like what was done with the Jue Body Suit. Amon requested the same treatment for his swan dagger.

The swan dagger itself possessed no exceptional attributes. It didn’t make a difference whether the swan dagger was used or if a completely new dagger was made. Amon asked to use the swan dagger because he was already accustomed to its handle. By recycling the swan dagger, he didn’t need to get used to his new dagger too much.

His improved swan dagger was the same for its hilt. Its blade was brand new. The blade emitted a soft red light that seemed to pulse. When Amon placed the blade on his arm, he could feel the aether in that arm become chaotic. This ability should make it easier for him to pierce through the enemy’s defensive arts.

Words of power were inscribed on the blade’s surface, increasing its sharpness and durability. This improved swan dagger was classified as a high-tier engraved weapon. He tied this improved swan dagger to the Xian Cloth wrapping his arm.

The other weapons from Mu Sou were a pair of knives following his designs. They were smaller than the swan dagger but double-bladed. The blade on one side was longer than the blade on the opposite side. Like the improved swan dagger, the blades on these knives also emitted soft red light.

On the surface of these blades were also words of power that increased their sharpness and durability. Amon proceeded to inscribe new words of power on available surfaces. The words of power he needed to add didn’t require much space, so it was no problem.

The new words of power were the ones required for his Flying Sword art. After finishing the task, he started to practice using the art.