**Chapter 61: Uncrowned King**
It wasn’t just the apprentices. Even the high-ranking wizards at the plaza’s edge, tasked with receiving the apprentices and recording data, cast scrutinizing, curious glances.
Amy and Victor’s hearts skipped a beat. After a moment, they realized the gazes weren’t on them but on the figure standing between them—Jie Ming.
Jie Ming noticed it too, initially confused, but understanding dawned quickly.
They were in the reward collection phase, following the announcement of the rankings.
By tradition, to maintain order, rewards were distributed starting with the first-place apprentice and proceeding downward.
Yet, at this moment, most apprentices remained rooted in place, none stepping forward.
They simply watched Jie Ming, their expressions complex.
These were the apprentices who had witnessed Jie Ming unleash his full might in the valley battlefield.
Rankings felt meaningless in the face of his overwhelming power.
An instinctive awe of his strength silenced even the proudest geniuses, compelling them to wait.
They subconsciously believed this rule-breaking powerhouse deserved to claim the first reward.
Even Bert Vera Augusta, the haughty first-place holder, stood still, her face brimming with defiance and challenge as she glared at Jie Ming.
Yet, despite her reluctance, she too refrained from stepping forward, tacitly acknowledging Jie Ming as the trial’s true victor.
“What did you do?” Amy whispered, nudging Jie Ming.
Victor looked at his classmate, bewildered, sensing he’d missed something crucial.
As two of the few apprentices who hadn’t joined the valley battle, Amy and Victor were unaware of Jie Ming’s earth-shattering feats.
Most logistics apprentices, like them, had made similar choices.
At this stage, logistics apprentices typically mastered only one or two auxiliary spells, ill-suited for combat.
“Nothing much, just a small accident,” Jie Ming said with a wry, amused smile.
He didn’t care much for rankings, but with everyone frozen in place, he decided to break the stalemate.
Ignoring the stares, he strode toward the high-ranking wizard distributing rewards.
Handing over his apprentice badge, Jie Ming stood calmly.
The wizard took the badge expressionlessly, swiping a finger to read its data.
A faint pulse of energy infused the badge, completing the reward transfer.
The reward for thirty-sixth place was a mere 1,000 academy points—hardly valuable.
For apprentices who fought tooth and nail for points, it might suffice, but for Jie Ming, it was worth less than the rare materials he’d collected.
Once Jie Ming received his reward, the tension in the plaza dissolved, as if an invisible shackle had been lifted.
The stifled atmosphere thawed, and apprentices began moving, heading to claim their rewards with excitement, calm, or disappointment, according to their ranks.
The plaza buzzed with activity again, but for Jie Ming, things had changed.
No longer the obscure, quirky lone wolf, he stood amidst gazes of awe, curiosity, respect—and barely concealed fear.
Apprentices whispered, pointing at him, murmuring about the terrifying power he’d displayed in the Limestone Realm.
His name, his rank, no longer mattered.
To those who witnessed the blood-soaked valley’s final battle, Jie Ming, the thirty-sixth-ranked apprentice, was the trial’s most dazzling and fearsome genius.
Yet Jie Ming himself merely pocketed his badge, hoisted his beast-hide sack, and acted as if the attention had nothing to do with him.
His mind was already elsewhere—on improving his talisman artifacts and crafting new ones.
Back in his academy laboratory, Jie Ming felt an unexpected sense of homecoming.
Rather than resting, he dumped the contents of his large sack onto the table.
The materials from the Limestone Realm were diverse, their forms varied, many pulsing with strange energies his current Analysis Technique couldn’t fully decipher.
Satisfied, he sorted his “spoils” meticulously before turning to the dulled talisman artifacts on his belt.
Of his ten fireball talisman artifacts, only the one used for testing had damaged runes. The rest were in dire condition—shells cracked, runes warped, core energies chaotic.
His flight talismans fared no better, most overloaded.
The defensive talismans, however, were largely intact, with minimal damage.
“What a shame,” Jie Ming murmured, touching the charred shell of a fireball talisman.
Though skilled in Alchemy Technique, repairing these heavily damaged artifacts, with their intricate runes and energy conduits, was beyond his current ability.
The trial had showcased the talismans’ formidable offensive power and mobility but also exposed flaws.
For instance, he couldn’t anticipate danger during large-scale ambushes.
In the Limestone Realm’s complex environment, he lacked effective scouting, relying solely on the passive perception of Analysis Technique and Alchemy Technique.
In resource-rich areas, these spells’ detection capabilities plummeted.
“Perception, tracking, stealth…” Jie Ming sat at his desk, fingers tapping absently. “The next talisman artifacts need to focus on these.”
Wizard systems had detection spells like “Magic Sight,” “Life Sense,” and “Energy Detection.”
But these required active casting, providing real-time results without sustained scouting, and their energy fluctuations were easily detected or disrupted by enemies.