The day after the welcome party marked the official start of the school term.
The new students were divided into ten classes. Class A had the fewest students—only sixty. The other classes had no fewer than eighty students, with the largest exceeding a hundred.
Su Cha couldn’t even remember the last time he brought books to class. Sitting properly at a desk now felt unfamiliar and awkward. Fortunately, the first class was about spiritual power, a subject Su Cha was very interested in.
The instructor appeared to be in his early thirties, tall enough that no student’s movement escaped his eyes from the podium.
“Spiritual power awakening is divided into three stages. The third stage is the most critical. Successful awakening significantly enhances physical ability and condenses a spirit form,” the teacher explained. “Of course, if one’s spiritual power is naturally strong, the spirit form may be condensed ahead of time.”
Most students in the class had already done so.
Su Cha was an exception. He hadn’t condensed a spirit form yet, but he was the only one in class who had entered the second stage of awakening ahead of schedule.
In his current condition, he could attempt to break through to the third stage. Since the time he fainted at Ji Tianjin’s home, his spiritual power had undergone a qualitative change—becoming more refined and inclusive. The third stage had two levels: shallow awakening and deep awakening. If one failed to enter deep awakening within a month after shallow awakening, it indicated mediocre talent and the awakening process would stop.
Su Cha wasn’t sure where he stood.
If one’s spiritual power was strong enough—like Ji Tianjin, who was already at S-rank before awakening—one would typically bypass shallow awakening altogether. Su Cha knew himself well enough to know he wasn’t skipping that stage.
The teacher closed the book, suddenly turning serious. “Next, I’ll try guiding you into the first stage.”
The typical age for awakening was sixteen, but the affiliated school prided itself on being ahead of the curve, and the students they admitted were capable of such early progress.
Before beginning, the teacher called on a student to answer a question. “What difficulties must be overcome during the awakening process?”
“All kinds of discomfort—limp limbs, splitting headaches. In severe cases, the pain is unbearable. One must not let their consciousness sink during the process, or they may self-harm or fail the awakening.”
The teacher nodded. “Do you have the confidence to overcome that?”
The student hesitated. “Have you heard the story of the Little Mermaid?”
If he could sit through that stage play, what couldn’t he endure?
Surprisingly, the teacher didn’t argue.
Su Cha: “…”
You people don’t understand the beauty of fairy tales.
After about twenty minutes of class, the teacher led the students outside. Along the way, they passed two other classes. The destination this time was heavily secured, requiring biometric identification.
Inside, the temperature was slightly higher. Blue light split into countless threads and fell across their bodies, making it feel somewhat like being inside a biological pod.
They entered the second-to-last perception room and received a helmet, one by one.
The usage didn’t need much explanation. The teacher emphasized potential issues they might face and repeatedly warned them not to remove the helmet rashly in case of adverse reactions.
“Use your spiritual power to track the patterns you see as best you can.”
Just then, another teacher walked in, glanced at Su Cha, and said, “You, come with me.” On the way, he explained, “You’ll be using the high-intensity perception room.”
Su Cha’s early awakening after fainting twice was no longer a secret.
In Perception Room 3, the students were generally one level above him. Su Cha, by comparison, looked particularly small.
He entered calmly, thinking to himself: In a few more years, I’ll be tall too.
Everyone here was attempting the third-stage awakening. The teacher repeated the same instructions and told them to put on their helmets.
The moment Su Cha put his on, a display screen lowered like a windshield. It felt more like watching a 3D movie. The video showed the formation of a planet—an explosion followed by creation—and a faint line spinning within it. Su Cha began tracing it with his spiritual power as instructed.
To be honest, it was a little boring.
He vaguely heard a low growl. Still tracing the line effortlessly, Su Cha turned his head toward the sound. “Hey, are you okay?”
The helmet blocked his vision, so he couldn’t see what was happening outside. But for the sound to reach him, the commotion must’ve been significant.
In the perception room, the better-off students clenched their fists tightly, their heavy breathing betraying their strain. The worse-off ones whimpered like beasts in pain. Su Cha seemed completely out of place—helmet on, casually turning his head around, even showing concern for others.
The line on the screen spun faster and faster, and Su Cha’s tracing speed matched it. Finally, he was the first to remove his helmet. “Teacher, I’m done.”
The teacher took his helmet and checked it silently.
[Perception training complete]
Nothing else was displayed. Normally, after completing this training, there would be a prompt showing how much the awakening progress had advanced.
From the teacher’s reaction, Su Cha had already guessed something was off. He himself had sensed it—a mental shackle that could only be forced open with spiritual power and demonic energy.
“Your case is rather unique.”
Su Cha nodded. “I understand.”
Teacher: “I’ll discuss it with the other instructors. That’s all for today.”
Near the door, a boy lay half-reclining, clearly exhausted after just removing his helmet. He was drenched in sweat and looked drained. Seeing Su Cha stroll past him like nothing had happened, he swallowed hard. “Treasure boy… teach me.”
Was there some pain-free secret?
“……”
In the morning, there was a large class session—only one course on spiritual power—and after completing it, the students didn’t have the energy for any other classes. At lunch, only Ji Tianjin came to the cafeteria.
His awakening had gone quite smoothly, and he brought Su Cha a piece of news: “Around seven o’clock yesterday, Wolenson was attacked. Members of the Investigation Department were also injured to varying degrees.”
Su Cha’s hand holding the chopsticks tightened. Just as the principal had predicted, the Investigation Department had begun to take action.
“Our performance had just started around that time.”
Xie Rongjue had still been sitting in the audience then, yet somehow managed to smile, leave a bouquet of flowers, and calmly orchestrate a self-directed operation.
“Is Wolenson dead?”
“Severely injured.”
Su Cha swallowed the last bite of food, pondering why the Investigation Department would leave Wolenson barely alive.
“Don’t just focus on the Investigation Department,” Ji Tianjin reminded him. “This morning, a major media outlet brought up the issue of guardianship, with several conglomerates fanning the flames behind the scenes.”
Su Cha wiped his mouth. “Isn’t this kind of gossip supposed to be ignored?”
“If it involves powerful figures, there’s bound to be waves.”
Ji Tianjin said slowly, “My father received word that the Empire’s list of Top Ten Youths might be altered. They’re planning to replace you with Zhou Zhiyuan.”
Zhou Zhiyuan had demonstrated impressive combat abilities during the Ten Schools Tournament. Over the past two years, his popularity had been rising. Replacing him would definitely stir controversy.
“The Top Ten Youths are backed by corporate sponsors. If the judges believe you have more potential than Zhou Zhiyuan, it wouldn’t necessarily count as foul play.”
In terms of potential, Su Cha wasn’t inferior to anyone.
Su Cha frowned. “That could be a problem.”
Public opinion isn’t fair. Swallowing too many contentious benefits at once was bound to backfire. While speaking, he searched online for news about himself and found, unsurprisingly, plenty of unfavorable rumors.
Suddenly, Su Cha softly exclaimed, “Huh. About ten minutes ago, when Shen Ningze was registering at the school, his spiritual power went out of control at the school gate.”
He sensed something was off. The way the news had blown up was suspiciously fast. Based on what he knew about Shen Ningze, if it wasn’t a coincidence, then something fishy was definitely going on.
Su Cha abruptly grabbed Ji Tianjin and bolted toward the dorms.
The two of them sprinted across campus, Ji Tianjin being dragged along and drawing lots of stares. Su Cha’s silver hair streamed in the wind, brushing against Ji Tianjin’s clothes, creating a tickling sensation through the fabric.
“Do you have a flyer?”
“Yes.”
As the words fell, the dorm building came into view.
Li Huai was busy today. Several students had been sent back in near-collapse, and he had to keep his spiritual power covering the entire building to prevent accidents.
“Instructor, could you approve a leave slip for me?” A student, pale-faced and unsteady from the dizziness brought on by awakening, was preparing to skip the afternoon class. He needed approval from both the administrator and the infirmary.
“Instructor, could you approve a leave slip for me?” Almost simultaneously, another voice came from outside. Su Cha burst into the admin room, panting, and said, “I’m heading to Yuxiong Academy’s front gate to awaken—back in a flash.”
Li Huai couldn’t help asking again, “What are you doing?”
Su Cha: “Going out to awaken.”
“…”
Li Huai approved the first student’s slip first. Curiosity got the better of the student, and he kept looking back until Li Huai gave him a warning glare that finally made him leave without turning around again.
Su Cha kept speaking: “Shen Ningze lost control of his spiritual power at Yuxiong Academy. The comments say it might be a premature awakening.” His tone turned serious. “They didn’t send him to the hospital right away. He’s still at the school gate. Something’s definitely fishy.”
Li Huai’s expression didn’t change. “Shen Ningze’s spiritual power is fragile. The cause of the awakening is unknown. Even if he loses control, it won’t do much damage. Moving him rashly might agitate him.”
Su Cha bluntly said, “Still seems suspicious to me.”
Li Huai frowned. “So what?”
“Whether it’s a scheme or not—if he’s awakening, then I’ll awaken too. We’ll awaken together.”
“…”
Is awakening something you can just do on a whim?
Ji Tianjin, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: “The shallow awakening stage isn’t too risky. Why not let him give it a try?”
Su Cha nodded like a pecking chick.
Li Huai knew this too. Being overly gentle was both a strength and a fatal flaw.
“Go ahead.”
He agreed so quickly that Su Cha was stunned. Once he confirmed he really had the two leave slips, he didn’t bother asking why and pulled Ji Tianjin along in a whirlwind departure.
After they left, Li Huai made a call, then called the principal to explain: “My spirit form is following him. Nothing major will happen.”
Principal: “Some teachers have already reported that the perception room is useless for him. Letting him try this might be good.”
Before hanging up, Li Huai casually added, “By the way, I also informed the Investigation Department.”
The principal stayed quiet, waiting for an explanation.
“He passed out twice in the Investigation Department and achieved Stage Two awakening. Sending him there now—just treat him as a lucky charm.”
“…”
***
Yuxiong Academy
This school didn’t rank highly in the Imperial Capital—standard and unremarkable.
At this moment, the school gate was cordoned off, preventing anyone from approaching. Inside the barricaded area, Shen Ningze was trembling all over. His spiritual power had turned into particles, wildly drifting around him out of control. During the awakening process, sedatives couldn’t be administered—it was all up to him to endure.
The Yuxiong principal was away today, and only teachers and medical staff stood nearby.
Sweeping his eyes around discreetly, Shen Ningze sneered inwardly. Thanks to Su Cha’s existence, when someone as spiritually fragile as him suddenly awakened, nobody found it too odd.
Luan Zheng’s side had received word—the Emperor had sent troops to assist Fog Star in striking at star pirates, indicating diplomatic relations were on the horizon. All Shen Ningze needed now was for everyone to believe he had awakened a rare ability—to distort space. Once the Fog Star delegation heard the news, their impersonation plan would be halfway to success.
Being a test subject brought built-in notoriety; reporters were already gathering.
“Let me through! I’m his friend!”
Shen Ningze struggled to open his eyes and saw Su Cha.
The other boy was even parroting the same line he’d once used, wearing the same worried expression, looking like a distressed family member, projecting pure devastation.
Fortunately, Su Cha was held back by Yuxiong staff to avoid disrupting the awakening process.
Shen Ningze lowered his eyes to hide his mocking expression. He didn’t know why Su Cha had come—but whatever the reason, it was stupid. The latter already had a bad reputation due to the media; showing up here only made him look like a joke.
Especially now that school had officially started. Those naive excuses wouldn’t work anymore. Leaving campus recklessly would only give people ammunition.
Unsurprisingly, the surrounding reporters picked up on this and took photos of Su Cha and Ji Tianjin.
Sensing the timing was right, Shen Ningze prepared to demonstrate his space-distorting ability per the plan.
“Ningze!” Su Cha suddenly shouted, nearly scaring the soul out of him.
Shen Ningze’s temple throbbed. The next second, he felt unfamiliar, frenzied spiritual particles swirling around him.
Someone nearby noticed something was wrong and shouted, “Not good! This kid seems to be having issues too!”
Su Cha calmly pushed toward the third stage of awakening, his spiritual power leaking out. He turned to the watching teacher and said, “Quick, set up another barricade.”
Shen Ningze looked up in disbelief. Their eyes met, and Su Cha earnestly said:
“I’m awakening with you.”
