“This guy must be looking down on us!”

“Sooner or later, I’m going to beat him!”

…

Subtly, Wen Yuncheng was developing the potential to become a boss.

Wen Yuncheng was challenged four to five times every afternoon. At first, only one or two of these challenges would generate aversion, but eventually, all of them did. Coupled with her mandatory two-thousand-meter workout each day, Wen Yuncheng reaped a bountiful harvest of experience points in just one short week.

Host: Wen Yuncheng

Race: Human

Age: 15

Class: Mechanical Master

Level: 11

Experience: 2115/2500

Points: 101

It wouldn’t be long before she could level up again. The only drawback was how slowly her points were increasing. Unfortunately, there were no mortal enemies here whom Wen Yuncheng particularly detested, and she couldn’t bring herself to beat someone up for no reason. As for Lin Jue? That guy seemed to have been hit hard by her defeat. He was now training desperately every day, vowing to reclaim his honor and return to A-Class during the final exams.

Wen Yuncheng’s thoughts: Challenge someone else to get back into A-Class, fine. Challenge me to get back into A-Class, dream on.

After a week of official student life, Wen Yuncheng had a general understanding of Star Academy’s facilities and buildings. She took some time to visit the forging and smelting building several times, purchasing a large batch of steel at the internal student price. She used it to repair her damaged mechanical armguard and assemble her newly acquired Mechanical Battle Armor and a C-01 Guardian.

The Mechanical Battle Armor was a set with the mechanical armguard. When worn, it was a suit of silver armor with no special functions—its only unique feature was probably its weight. Although it was battle armor made of steel, it wasn’t heavy at all. To Wen Yuncheng, wearing it felt like putting on a piece of slightly cool clothing. Of course, its hardness and defensive capabilities were at the level expected of standard steel armor.

In the system’s words, it had been processed and evolved using their methods.

The C-01 Guardian was a small, spherical robot with rollers installed underneath. Wen Yuncheng had painstakingly assembled it piece by piece, staying up late at night. Because the parts were so tiny and the assembly was so difficult, she had only managed to build one in a week. The C-01 Guardian consumed Wen Yuncheng’s mana as its energy source. The system had installed an energy conversion and storage device inside; as long as Wen Yuncheng touched the guardian, the system would intelligently convert her power, and it would be instantly activated. Although Wen Yuncheng hadn’t seen any circuits or modules while assembling it, 1947 explained that it handled all the optimization. This way, even if her blueprints were discovered, or if a C-01 was stolen and dismantled, no one on this continent could possibly replicate it.

The C-01 Guardian was not a self-destructing robot. It had two combat methods: first, it could compress Star Power (energy) and fire it as a light cannon. Second, it could materialize two Star Power swords (energy swords) for close-quarters combat.

Because of its small and cute appearance, watching it wave the two Star Power swords reminded Wen Yuncheng of a little fan at a concert, waving a pair of glow sticks to cheer on the performers. When not in combat, it had an extremely long standby time and could hibernate for months without issue. In an all-out battle, its energy would be depleted within two hours and would require timely replenishment.

Wen Yuncheng’s overall strength had undoubtedly increased by a large margin. But she wasn’t satisfied with this result. The reason was simple: she only had 4,000 Star Stones left. In response, 1947 had this to say:

[Isn’t it common knowledge that being a Mechanical Master is an expensive profession?]

What could Wen Yuncheng say? She could only smile and nod, contemplating a career in underground fighting (not really).

When it comes to making money, if you have the strength, the gambling-oriented Dueling Arena is undoubtedly the best choice. But Wen Yuncheng had an awkward problem: her abilities were one-of-a-kind.

In other words, even if she wore a mask, everyone would know who she was the moment she started fighting. Hiding her identity? Not a chance. This also meant… she would likely attract a lot of people trying to test or recruit her, and she would also draw some enmity.

The reason was simple: as long as she was strong enough and appeared in the Dueling Arena, others could easily deduce two things. First, she was short on money. Second, she had potential. The inability to hide her identity meant that her background, her everything, would be transparent to those influential figures.

“It’s so hard… without a powerful backer to cling to,” Wen Yuncheng sighed. If she had backing, she wouldn’t have to worry about people coming after her even if she fought for money. But if she had backing, she probably wouldn’t be worried about money in the first place. “I wish I could be sponsored…”

[??? How can you, a Long Aotian, have such thoughts!] 1947 was beyond furious. [Cub, I’m very disappointed in you!]

“Can’t I even run my mouth a little?” Wen Yuncheng pouted. “I’m broke, can’t you at least let me dream?”

[You could explain the situation to your mentor.]

“The class advisor handles this kind of thing?”

[Yan Ling.]

“Oh!~” Wen Yuncheng scratched her head, only now remembering she had a convenient teacher. But Yan Ling hadn’t contacted her at all these past few days. If she went to find her… wouldn’t it be awkward if Yan Ling didn’t remember her?

Forget it. For the sake of Star Stones, there was no room for embarrassment.

Wen Yuncheng took out the communication stone Yan Ling had given her. Watching it turn transparent, she heard a “Hm?” from within.

“Hello, Teacher. I’m Wen Yuncheng.”

—”If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

“Um, I want to compete in the Dueling Arena to earn Star Stones, but fighting will expose my identity. What do you think?”

—”I’m free the day after tomorrow. Meet me at the academy’s main gate at eight in the morning.”

The connection cut.

Wen Yuncheng stared at the stone, which had returned to its blue color, still a bit slow to react. This Teacher Yan Ling… was way too easy to talk to, wasn’t she? If she had asked for Star Stones directly just now, would she have agreed? …But Wen Yuncheng couldn’t bring herself to say those words.

Alright, from this day forward, she was a person with backing, too~

“If you win, we split the Star Stones. You get nine parts, I get one. If you lose, you bear the full cost.”

The moment they met at the academy gate, Wen Yuncheng heard her straightforward teacher say this. Her energetic smile instantly froze on her face.

“What? You think you can borrow my name without paying a little interest?”

“Yes, yes, of course! You one, me nine. That’s very fair,” Wen Yuncheng quickly replied as she came to her senses. She did a quick calculation and realized it was indeed fair. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Yan Ling to work for her for free.

“There are very few Layer 1 Star Practitioner contestants in the Dueling Arena, so you’ll most likely be matched against Layer 2 or Layer 3 opponents. Judge the situation for yourself. If you can’t win, surrender quickly. Don’t get crippled and have nowhere to cry. Of course, if you win, you’ll earn more Star Stones.”

Tickets for matches in the Star Practitioner tier were a flat one hundred Star Stones. The venue took a cut of five Star Stones, and the winner would receive 195. One could also arrange private matches with a self-determined prize amount, from which the venue would still only take a five Star Stone cut.

Tickets for the Star Warrior tier came in three price points: five hundred, eight hundred, and one thousand, which could be freely chosen. The venue would take cuts of 10, 15, and 20 Star Stones, respectively. One could also arrange a private match for over one thousand Star Stones, from which the venue would still take a 20 Star Stone cut.

And so, Wen Yuncheng found a way to earn money during her weekend break.

She started by tentatively signing up for two matches. Ordinary Star Practitioners, when faced with her bizarre abilities, were usually defeated before they could even react. Wen Yuncheng even wore a mask for show, but just as she netted a profit of 285 Star Stones, not even counting Teacher Yan Ling’s cut, her identity was completely exposed.

After her third match ended, she was resting in the lounge waiting for the next round when the door was pushed open. A minor elder from a small sect near the Imperial Capital entered, looking arrogant, likely here to recruit people. But upon seeing Yan Ling sitting on the sofa, he gave an embarrassed smile, said, “Sorry, wrong room,” and left.

After a few more waves of similar visitors, the lounge finally quieted down.

“Teacher, is your background really powerful?” Wen Yuncheng asked, a little curious.

“So-so,” Yan Ling said. “My family is just relatively rich.”

“Can you reveal a little bit?”

Yan Ling glanced at Wen Yuncheng, somewhat speechless. “Fine. I’ll tell you if you reach the Star Warrior rank before Qiu Fei’s disciple.”

“Sure, what’s the big deal? I cultivate quickly. Teacher, you can just tell me now.” Wen Yuncheng figured that Qiu Fei must be another teacher. Yan Ling wasn’t a picky person, so for her to say that, the other teacher’s disciple must be a new student of the same age. A new student? Among the new students, her cultivation speed was simply unmatched!

“Tsk, you’re certainly ambitious. My family owns an auction house. The Star Auction House in the Imperial Capital,” Yan Ling said with a slight smile. “But they only support me in my cultivation. They don’t give me money for other expenses.”

“…Teacher, what do you think of the practicality of my mechanical armguard?” Wen Yuncheng snapped out of her brief astonishment and immediately asked.

“It’s alright.”

“Then what do you think about me cooperating with your family’s auction house to sell them?”

“Not a good idea,” Yan Ling said. “I don’t have the authority.”

“…” Hope, shattered. Wen Yuncheng let out a wail. She had thought she’d found a great way to make money.

“You can contact the teachers at the academy’s forging and smelting building,” Yan Ling said. “They’re very interested in your mechanical armguard. You can also sign a contract with them for a deal, either selling the finished products or the blueprints, as a one-time sale or for a share of the sales profits. Academy teachers can’t cheat students. You’re better off going to them than cooperating with an auction house.”

“The academy can sell equipment?” Wen Yuncheng was a little surprised. She had thought the academy only sold cheap and practical materials.

Yan Ling nodded. “Alright, enough with the questions. Rest for a bit, then get back to your matches.”

Wen, the emotionless competition machine: “Understood.”

Wen Yuncheng stayed at the Dueling Arena until nine at night. During that time, her convenient teacher, Yan Ling, treated her to a meal at a hotel outside—three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup. It was neither extravagant nor wasteful.

“We’ll settle the cut once a month. Just give me what you think is right. If anyone gives you trouble in the future, mention my name. If that doesn’t work, contact me.” Yan Ling watched Wen Yuncheng eat like a reincarnated starving ghost, not even lifting her head, feeling quite speechless. She paused, then said, “Can you have some manners? When Qiu Fei recommended you to me, she didn’t say you were a reincarnated starving ghost.”

“What? Qiu Fei recommended me?” Wen Yuncheng’s head shot up, her face a mask of confusion. “Didn’t you… contact me and take me as your disciple because of the old gatekeeper?”

1947: I told you that old man was just an ordinary person!