In the next few hours, Eva and Derek encountered several more magic beasts — mostly massive squirrels and giant rats.

By the time they reached a certain point, Eva was already exhausted from all the walking and fighting. She stopped, breathing heavily, and looked at Derek. "If we go any deeper, we'll run into stronger magic beasts. Why don't we leave that for next time? I'm already feeling pretty tired after all this walking and battling."

"Sure," Derek nodded.

With that, they exited the forest and returned to their respective rooms after exchanging goodbyes. Just before leaving, Eva turned back with a smile and said, "I'll meet you again tomorrow."

Derek went straight to his room, took a quick shower, and came out feeling refreshed. Coincidentally, Art stepped out of his room at the same moment.

"Hey, Derek! Heading for lunch?" Art asked.

"Yeah," Derek nodded.

"Let's go together. I was just about to head there too."

They started walking toward the dining hall, and on the way, Henry joined them.

"So, what have you two been up to since morning?" Henry asked.

"I checked out the training and cultivation rooms on the fourth floor today," Art said excitedly. "They're incredible! The Qi absorption rate there is twice as fast."

"Yeah? For me, it's five times faster since I can use the elite-class cultivation room," Henry said with a smug grin. "I wish you guys were in the same class too — it would've been more fun."

"Yes, that would've been great and beneficial too," Art agreed. "The more we can advance our cultivation realm before graduation, the better. You'll probably have the chance to break through at least one realm before you leave… maybe even two. But I can't say the same for me and Derek."

A brief silence fell among them as they continued walking. Then, out of nowhere, Henry spoke again. "Though it's nearly impossible, there actually is a way to get promoted to the elite class."

"There is?" Art asked, surprised.

Derek also turned toward Henry, clearly intrigued by what he was about to reveal.

"Every six months, there's a competition," Henry explained. "Students form groups of five and participate. The top three teams each receive access to an A-rank cultivation treasure for one month. And if any member of those teams is from the normal class, they're immediately promoted to the elite class."

"R… really?" Art asked in astonishment.

"Yes," Henry confirmed. "But don't get your hopes up too high. Students from all years can participate, and usually, the strongest fourth-years team up to make sure they secure a spot in the top three. After all, an A-class cultivation treasure is extremely valuable."

"What's a cultivation treasure?" Derek suddenly asked curiously.

Both Henry and Art stopped and looked at him, completely stunned.

"You don't know what cultivation treasures are?" Henry asked in disbelief.

"Nope," Derek replied casually, as if it wasn't anything important.

That left both of them speechless. From their point of view, everyone knew about cultivation treasures — afterall, the entire world's power hierarchy revolved around cultivation.

Still, Art decided to explain, already used to Derek's lack of knowledge about many things.

"Well, cultivation treasures are basically accelerators," Art said. "If you wear them while cultivating, your Qi absorption speed increases dramatically. That A-class treasure you'd get if your team places in the top three, it boosts your cultivation speed by twenty times. Just imagine wearing that treasure which is most of the time a pendant or a bracelet, while cultivating inside an elite-class cultivation room. You'd be absorbing twenty times multiplied by five times faster. That's a hundred Qi per second! Do you even realize what that means?"

Derek's mind reeled in disbelief. "It's… it's that powerful?!"

"Yeah," both Henry and Art replied at the same time.

'Why did I never know about such treasures? Even Vanessa never mentioned anything like this. What a shame! If I had something like this before, I surely would've advanced much further in my past life. I need to make sure I get that treasure — at least for one month every six months,' Derek thought to himself.

"So, do you plan to participate in the competition?" Henry asked, noticing Derek's thoughtful expression.

"Who would be foolish not to?" Derek replied calmly.

"Well, actually, quite a few," Henry said. "The reward might be incredible, but the risks are just as high. The competition has multiple stages, and one of them is a survival test. There are even records of students dying during that phase."

"R… really?!" Art exclaimed, swallowing nervously. He wanted to grow stronger but not at the cost of his life.

"Yes," Henry confirmed. "That's why hardly anyone from the first or second years dares to participate. Even among the third and fourth years, not everyone joins — many lack the confidence."

"Well, that's how it should be," Derek muttered under his breath. "How can anyone expect to gain something without having the guts to risk losing something in return?"

Before long, they arrived at the dining hall. As they pushed open the doors, the warm aroma of roasted meat, freshly baked bread, rice, seasoned vegetables, fruits, and various beverages filled the air, making their stomachs growl.

They soon found an empty table and sat down. Derek, having trained and fought in the forest earlier, was starving and immediately began eating. The other two quickly followed his lead.

But just as they were digging in, a voice came from nearby — cold and condescending.

"So the rumors were true after all. Henry, I can't believe you're mixing with someone like him."

All three turned their heads toward the source of the voice. Henry's expression darkened; he already recognized the tone even before seeing the face. And when his eyes fell on the speaker, his suspicion was confirmed.

It was Leo, another boy from one of the legacy families. He looked at Derek with open disdain before turning his gaze back to Henry.

"Aren't you afraid your family will scold you when they find out who you've been spending time with?" Leo asked, his voice dripping with arrogance.

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