Chapter 71: Chapter 70: A Hot Commodity in the Eyes of the Knight Students

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Pei Ze was speechless.

’Killing a heretic at the level of a Peak Grand Knight is only worth 50 merit points. Doesn’t that mean I’d have to kill a full forty of them to exchange for a spot in the Realm of Truth?’

’It’s questionable whether the Hand of Deep Resentment even has that many Peak Grand Knights.’

’As for the Drunkards worth 1,000 merit points, they must be powerhouses on the level of a Legendary Knight.’

’A Legendary Knight, after all, is a powerful being capable of threatening even an Official Wizard.’

’Even for someone like me, killing an enemy of that caliber wouldn’t be easy.’

’As for the Priests... those are beings that only Official Wizards can handle.’

’It was obvious that both the Priests and the Drunkards were carrots on a stick, meant only to motivate the Wizard Apprentices. They were for looking at, not for eating.’

"Wizard Apprentices like us can only handle the Demonized and Demon Cultivators. Besides that, we can also get a small number of merit points by completing missions posted by the City Guard Army."

Gu Lin spread her hands, looking a bit helpless.

"Unless you get extremely lucky and run into a severely injured Drunkard, getting three or four hundred merit points by the time the suppression campaign ends would be considered pretty good. You can forget about redeeming any of the top items on the list."

Pei Ze sighed inwardly and remained silent. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He knew Gu Lin was telling the truth.

’Looks like gathering enough merit points for a spot in the Realm of Truth won’t be so easy after all.’

’Well, at the very least, redeeming a few bottles of Evil Illusion Potion wouldn’t be too bad. Or if I really push myself, I could aim for a Tier One Witchcraft Artifact.’

"Alright, don’t overthink it."

Gu Lin interrupted Pei Ze’s thoughts, smiling as she looked behind him.

"First, let’s pick your companions for this operation."

’Companions?’

Pei Ze was slightly taken aback. He turned to look and only then did he realize that all the Knight Students in the hall were staring at them without blinking, their eyes burning with fervor, as if they were looking at some kind of rare treasure.

"What’s going on?" Pei Ze asked.

Gu Lin spread her hands and said, "It’s about teamwork. More than thirty Knight Academies from Chenxi City are participating."

"Every apprentice participating in the suppression campaign can choose two Knight Students to form a team and operate together."

Seeing Pei Ze frown slightly, Gu Lin smiled and said, "Don’t look down on them. Everyone here is a senior student from a Knight Academy, and every single one has reached the Great Knight Realm. Having their help when fighting heretics will make things much easier."

This time, Pei Ze was truly astonished.

’These people look like they’re only seventeen or eighteen, yet they’re all Grand Knights?’

Until now, all the Grand Knights he had met were in their thirties or forties. He had never encountered a Grand Knight under the age of twenty, let alone several hundred of them at once.

’Do the Knight Academies really have that many geniuses?’

Gu Lin noticed his surprise and said with a smile, "Most of these people are former students who were eliminated from the Wizard Academy. They may not have the aptitude for being a Wizard, but the foundation they built during their time at the Wizard Academy is enough for them to have impressive development on the path of a Knight."

"Besides, many of them have parents who are Wizard Apprentices. Their family’s resources aren’t enough to make up for their lack of aptitude and let them become Wizard Apprentices, but it’s more than enough to support their rapid advancement on the path of a Knight. It’s common for second-year students in the Knight Academies to advance to Grand Knight, and in recent years, there’s even been a genius student who graduated as a Legendary Knight."

Only then did Pei Ze understand.

’That makes sense,’ he thought. ’Most of those eliminated from the Wizard Academy already have physiques at the level of an Apprentice Knight or even a Knight. Their starting point is naturally higher than those who enter the Knight Academies through normal channels, so it’s no wonder their training progresses by leaps and bounds.’

’If their parents are Wizard Apprentices, it’s even better. They could use their savings to buy a few physique-enhancing potions, making advancement to Grand Knight a breeze.’

’Take the Dragon Blood Potion, for instance. Three or four bottles are enough for a Peak Knight to break through and become a Grand Knight.’

"What about the companions you’ve chosen?" Pei Ze asked, looking behind Gu Lin.

The girl waved her hand and said, "I only got here a little before you. I haven’t picked anyone yet."

After a pause, she added meaningfully, "Besides, before you arrived, these Knight Students weren’t exactly eager to team up with other Wizard Apprentices."

Pei Ze was slightly taken aback by her words.

Before he could figure out what she meant, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Lord Pei Ze, my name is Su Ya, from Giant Whale Academy. I possess the strength of a Senior Grand Knight. I wonder if I might have the honor of following you on this mission?"

Pei Ze turned his head to see a tall, slender young woman.

She had a beautiful, innocent-looking face and fair skin. She wore well-made, form-fitting leather armor that accentuated her curvaceous figure, and her pair of ruby-like eyes gazed at Pei Ze with a fiery intensity.

Su Ya’s action seemed to flip a switch. Instantly, more students stepped out from the crowd and hurried before Pei Ze to recommend themselves.

"Lord Pei Ze, my name is Haocheng, from Flame Academy. I possess the strength of a Senior Grand Knight..."

"Lord Pei Ze, my name is Zhan Fangyi, from Black Stone Academy..."

"Lord Pei Ze..."

A crowd of people gathered around Pei Ze, scrambling over each other to introduce themselves.

The dozen or so people were, without exception, all Senior Grand Knights.

Gu Lin watched this unfold and couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

’Wizards almost always recruit followers. They can serve as guards in battle and help with various chores, freeing up more time for Meditation and experiments.’

’And for the Knights who become followers, it’s an opportunity they could only dream of.’

’Wizards are such noble beings. Even the scraps of resources that slip through their fingers are enough to make a Grand Knight’s strength skyrocket.’