This was the signal of a successful Skill Deduction!

"Unknown Skill Deduction successful. Please name it."

Fang Zhou opened his eyes and quickly reviewed the skill description in the Skills Bar on his attribute panel. Filled with excitement, he didn't hesitate to give this brand-new skill a resounding name.

"Name it Horror Aura."

[Horror Aura] (Apprentice Level, Mastery): Consumes Spiritual Power to channel ambient Undead Attribute energy, inflicting a negative emotional impact on a wide range of enemies at the mental level. It dredges up the deepest fears within enemies, causing them to panic and reducing their morale and fighting spirit by a certain degree. There is a chance for them to enter a Terrorized or Routed state. The skill's effect, duration, and range are determined by the user's Spirit Attribute and Skill Proficiency.

Fang Zhou carefully scrutinized his Skills Bar, his gaze finally resting on [Horror Aura]. He was filled with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

Based on the description, [Horror Aura] perfectly matched his initial vision. This skill was not only a control-type variant of the original Mental Shock. It also integrated Instructor Su Xinyan's deduction methods, drew on the reverse-engineered essence of the [Heroic Spirit Battle Banner]'s morale-boosting effect, and incorporated inspiration from the Skeleton Clone's [Horror Roar] skill.

In Fang Zhou's view, [Horror Aura] was potent enough to become a signature skill for the Undead Mage profession. In his vision, an Undead Mage was meant to be a terrifying profession, a one-man army who left desolation in his wake, a terror so profound that a hundred demons would weep in the night. A person's name casts a long shadow. It should reach a point where demons would lose the will to resist and simply flee at the mere mention of an Undead Mage. Only that would befit the rarity of the Undead Mage profession and the difficulty of its cultivation.

Horror Aura was just the first small step in enhancing the profession's intimidating power. At the Apprentice Stage, it was more than enough.

Fang Zhou stood up from the meditation mat and sighed softly. He looked around, but unfortunately, there were no suitable test subjects nearby. This meant he couldn't immediately test the true power of his newly deduced [Horror Aura].

When I get the chance, I'll invite Instructor Su Xinyan to experience this skill's effects for herself.

In addition, the laboratory for the Undead Mage research project group had rows of sturdy iron cages housing various low-level Demons. These creatures, once threats on the battlefield, were now research subjects awaiting their use in various experiments. To Fang Zhou, these Demons were more than just experimental materials. Their very existence was a valuable resource that he could use to test and perfect his Magic Skills. Fang Zhou decided that in the coming days, he would thoroughly test [Horror Aura] on these low-level Demons. He wanted to observe their specific reactions under the aura's influence—to see if they would tremble in fear, lose their will to fight, or even collapse completely.

「A week passed in a flash.」

Almost half a month had gone by since the arena challenge ended and the list of first-year Seed Students at Sea City School was confirmed.

As everyone expected, the second student among the first-years to break through to the Middle Rank of the Apprentice Stage, after Fang Zhou, was the second-ranked Meng Hongzhuang. Meng Hongzhuang had acquired the precious Natural Attribute Heavenly and Earthly Treasure, the Evergreen Fruit, through a trade with Fang Zhou. This Evergreen Fruit not only significantly enhanced her energy affinity with the Natural Attribute but also gave her cultivation speed a massive boost during the Apprentice Stage. Meng Hongzhuang's breakthrough was not surprising, given her renowned talent and relentless effort.

What was more unexpected, however, was that the one whose cultivation speed nearly matched Meng Hongzhuang's was not, as everyone presumed, the third Seed Student, Demon Hunter Ye Fan. Instead, it was Bai Xiaochan—the one originally considered an unremarkable Support Professional from the Chanting String profession.

This just went to prove one thing: pressure creates motivation. Under Fang Zhou's relentless pressure, Bai Xiaochan's potential had finally erupted. Since joining Fang Zhou's Undead Mage research project as an assistant, she had not only gained valuable practical experience but also enjoyed early access to the abundant Cultivation Resources provided by the group. All of this smoothed her path of cultivation. Coupled with the fact that her Meditation efficiency and cultivation speed were already top-tier among Apprentice-level Professionals, her current achievements did not come as a major surprise to Fang Zhou.

But for other equally gifted students like Ye Fan and Gu Zhiqiu, it was a bitter pill to swallow. They could accept losing to Fang Zhou; after all, his strength had long surpassed his peers, and his accomplishments were admirable. Losing to Meng Hongzhuang was also understandable, as she was one of the top Seed Students with formidable strength. But losing to Bai Xiaochan, someone they had originally dismissed as a slacker, was difficult to accept.

Unwilling to be left behind, Ye Fan, Gu Zhiqiu, and the others secretly resolved to begin a new round of arduous cultivation.

Under everyone's jealous, teeth-grinding glares, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang joyfully ran into Fang Zhou's bed.

Oh, wait, no.

It was his Simulation Pod in the Simulation Battlefield.

The moment his two assistants broke through to the Middle Rank of the Apprentice Stage, Fang Zhou had pulled them into a three-person team to begin a thrilling sweep of the Horn Demon Outpost. After re-uploading his projection, Fang Zhou updated his Equipment and Skills. He had known from the beginning that the [Horn Demon Outpost], unlike the solo-mode [Little Inferior Demon Camp], was a team instance designed for a three-person squad. Before, Fang Zhou had relied on his overwhelming combat power to single-handedly clear an instance meant for three.

But now, he had two reliable partners.

Once everything was ready, Fang Zhou's gaze turned to the two projections before him: Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang, displaying their avatars in the team lobby. Thanks to the Simulation Battlefield's advanced holographic technology, the projections were so vivid they were almost indistinguishable from real people.

For a moment, Fang Zhou's thoughts drifted.

If it weren't for the enormous threat of the Abyss and Demons, forcing the Human Alliance to pour all its resources and creativity into the military, this holographic biomimicry technology might have been widely applied to art. It would have become a favorite among connoisseurs of the human form. After all, such lifelike body simulation technology would undoubtedly be a visual feast for those with a taste for the risqué.

However, Fang Zhou soon shook his head, dismissing these stray thoughts. He opened the team interface and gently dragged Bai Xiaochan's and Meng Hongzhuang's names into the party member list. With that, the three-person team was officially formed.

However, they hit a small snag when it came to naming the team. Fang Zhou had intended to just pick a random name and be done with it. In his view, a name was a mere formality; what mattered was strength and teamwork. But to Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang, this was clearly not the right way to go about it.

Bai Xiaochan muttered from the side, "Fang Zhou, I finally get a chance to team up with you and clear the Simulation Battlefield! We're definitely going to leave our names on the speedrun leaderboard. If we don't think of a cool and awesome team name, wouldn't all the trouble you went to be for nothing?"

As she spoke, she put on a cute act, trying to wheedle him with a soft tone.

Meng Hongzhuang, on the other hand, took a different approach. She raised an eyebrow, tugging on one of her pigtails as she leaned in close to Fang Zhou. Then, she said in a deliberately provocative tone, "Master Fang Zhou, don't tell me you can't come up with a suitably epic name? If you can't, then just let us do it!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.