Chapter 117: Hiding One's Strength Just to Show Off?

The moment Mu Ning began to describe the details of the mission, Sikong Xu and the others immediately perked up.

“Wait a moment.” Suddenly, someone interrupted Mu Ning.

Sikong Xu turned his head and saw it was Wang Zhen speaking up.

“Wang Zhen, is there something you want to say? If it’s about the mission, please wait until I finish briefing the juniors,” Mu Ning said, her aura of authority instantly radiating, leaving Sikong Xu momentarily stunned.

Although she was the team leader for this operation, she couldn’t disregard the opinions of her teammates.

“No, it’s not about the mission. You’ve already prepared everything perfectly on that front, team leader,” Wang Zhen smiled. In front of Mu Ning’s strong-willed demeanor, he always found it hard to speak assertively.

“Team leader?” Sikong Xu was taken aback. He knew all the members of this team were second-year students from Class C, but he hadn’t expected Mu Ning to be their class leader.

Here, the position of class leader was different from that in ordinary schools. At Dawn Academy, to become class leader, one had to be unanimously recognized by all classmates.

And how to gain such unanimous recognition? Naturally, that came down to strength. As such, each class leader essentially represented the strongest combat power of their class.

Sikong Xu himself was the class leader of first-year Class E, a position he earned by meeting the same criteria.

After all, he was the only student in Class E, so who else could claim to be the strongest?

“What is it that you want to say then?” Mu Ning asked Wang Zhen.

“I think we should get a sense of the juniors’ abilities. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, coordination might falter,” Wang Zhen said, glancing over at Sikong Xu and the others.

From the perspective of these second-year seniors, Sikong Xu and his group from the first year were seen as dead weight. After all, there were five teams from five second-year classes, but due to unlucky draws, only Class C’s team had to include first-year students.

Wang Zhen and the others felt a bit resentful. There was only one mission but five teams; carrying a bunch of dead weight would greatly reduce their chances of success.

Sikong Xu and Cao Dongcheng exchanged a look, about to respond, but Mu Qing beat them to it.

“Big sis, although you already know my strength, I’ll say it again just in case anyone thinks I’ll be a burden,” Mu Qing shot a sharp look at Wang Zhen, clearly picking up on the implication in his words.

“I specialize in fire magic, suited for ranged attack support. I have an A-grade talent ‘Celestial Fire Spirit,’ which allows me to master fire abilities in a short time and grants a 50% bonus to all fire-based skills. Just yesterday, I advanced to the high Dark Ember rank,” Mu Qing spoke proudly. Breaking into the high Dark Ember rank in less than two months since the school started was an achievement only about fifty students in the history of Dawn Academy had attained.

“Mastering magic? To develop a unique energy in such a short time is impressive…” Sikong Xu noted. To use magic, one must cultivate mana. So Mu Qing had already done that. Considering she had a second-year big sister backing her, it wasn’t surprising.

Then Cao Dongcheng patted Sikong Xu and stepped forward. “I’m Cao Dongcheng, also at the high Dark Ember rank. I can use fighting spirit and possess an A-grade talent ‘Berserk,’ which boosts my strength by 30% temporarily, though I weaken once the effect ends.”

Cao Dongcheng’s talent was interesting. Such a strength-boosting gift might not be significant for the weak, but for someone strong, the effect was profound—like the difference between 30% of 1 and 30% of 100.

“Surprising to have two freshmen reach high Dark Ember in under two months. This batch of students is quite promising. High Dark Ember, huh? Not bad—such strength means you won’t be dragging us down,” Wang Zhen said with a smile. Though there was still a considerable gap between the high Dark Ember and the Radiant Yellow ranks, such strength was enough for self-defense in dangerous situations.

Zhang Fang, Xu Jiarong, and Takada Tian also nodded in agreement, clearly acknowledging their abilities.

Finally, all eyes turned to Sikong Xu—the only one left to introduce himself.

Even Mu Ning glanced sideways, curious about this young man who might have received an S− rank evaluation. Such a rank was rare even among the many geniuses at the academy.

Feeling the gaze of several pairs of eyes fixed on him, Sikong Xu let out an awkward chuckle. He figured it was best not to reveal his true strength—after all, maintaining some mystery was part of the charm.

“My name is Sikong Xu. My strength is also at the high Dark Ember rank. I specialize in swordsmanship and don’t have any special talents...” His words were brief, but no one took him lightly given his stated ranking.

“Hmph, you reaching high Dark Ember must be because you cheated to get my credits and thus improved your power,” Mu Qing scoffed, clearly displeased that someone could match her level.

“Though we’re both high Dark Ember, I could still easily defeat you,” Sikong Xu retorted. It was just that she had lost some credits—was she really going to hold a grudge?

“Fine, then let’s have a contest. See who’s stronger!” Mu Qing challenged.

“Oh, bring it on. Don’t come crying if you lose,” a voice teased.

“You’re the one who’ll be crying when I beat you!” Mu Qing shot back.

As their banter escalated, Mu Ning finally intervened. “Qing, stop it. You were careless and got cheated—that’s on you. From now on, you’re on the same team. Internal conflicts among teammates are disgraceful.”

Mu Qing was rather intimidated by her older sister. Hearing this, she fell silent, though she shot Sikong Xu a resentful glare.

With Mu Qing quiet, Sikong Xu wasn’t about to stir trouble. He turned to Mu Ning. “Shall we move on to the mission details?”

Mu Ning nodded slightly. “The location of the dimensional rift has been identified. It’s in an alley on New Jin Road in the southern district of Jinling City. However, the rift has since disappeared.”

“If it’s gone, then what are we supposed to investigate?” Mu Qing asked from the side.

Mu Ning shot her a warning look and continued, “Although the dimensional rift has vanished, we’re not sure whether beings from other dimensions passed through it into our world. Our investigation will focus on any traces of activity left by such beings around the rift’s location.”

“Jinling City is so vast. Finding one or two beings from other dimensions sounds like finding a needle in a haystack… It’d be even harder if they took human form or were just regular humans,” Cao Dongcheng said, puzzled.

Indeed, searching for a few creatures in such a large city—even narrowed down to the southern district—was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.