Chapter 18: I Guarantee You’ll Awaken an S-Rank Talent

A warm hand landed on her shoulder.

Raising her head blankly, Lu Qingqian saw Fang Qingchen’s handsome face backlit by the sun.

A heartwarming smile hung on his face.

His star-bright eyes gave her an indescribable sense of reassurance.

“Lu Qingqian, don’t be nervous.”

“You drank my milk tea. I guarantee you’ll awaken an S-rank talent.”

“If that’s not enough, I’ll make up whatever’s missing.”

Although his tone carried a teasing note, as though he were joking, for some reason, after hearing his words, the tension in Lu Qingqian’s nerves suddenly eased by quite a bit.

She was no longer so nervous.

“What a braggart.”

“But... thank you.”

Lu Qingqian raised her head and muttered softly.

Then she quickly lowered it again, hugged her schoolbag, and walked past Fang Qingchen.

“I’m going up now. Your batch should be next after this.”

“You... do your best too.”

Watching Lu Qingqian, who had already stepped onto the Awakening Platform and was taking deep breaths, Fang Qingchen rubbed his chin in puzzlement.

“Why do I feel like she’s not as withdrawn as she was in my previous life?”

“She’s actually pretty talkative.”

In his previous life, he had hardly paid any attention to Lu Qingqian at all.

Even though they had been deskmates, they had barely exchanged more than a few words until graduation.

He had always thought she was an autistic girl.

It was not until later, when he learned about her family background by chance, that he finally understood.

But now, it seemed... she was actually alright?

He no longer looked at Lu Qingqian. Instead, he glanced at the huge clock embedded in the school building.

11:12 a.m.

“In my previous life, it should have been around this time too.”

Fang Qingchen’s gaze deepened as he looked toward the eastern sky.

On the stage, Lu Qingqian had already made her preparations.

She extended both hands, about to touch the metal sphere.

But at that very moment, waves of alarmed cries suddenly erupted across the sports field.

The students surged toward the eastern side of the field like a tide.

Lu Qingqian and the others on the stage, who had been just about to awaken, had no idea what was happening.

The moment they turned to look, they were instantly stunned by the wondrous sight in the distance.

To the east, a dazzling golden pillar of light, as if forged from pure gold, shot straight into the sky and did not stop until it had reached several hundred meters high.

Golden radiance spread everywhere, brilliant and resplendent.

It left all the teachers and students of Linjiang No. 7 High utterly shocked!

Every teacher and student had seen such a golden pillar of light in instructional videos before.

This was the light emitted by an Awakening Altar when an S-rank martial talent was awakened!

Almost no one could believe their own eyes.

That golden light was so blinding, so dazzling.

Chen Guorong’s eyes widened even more. Abruptly, he shot to his feet from his chair.

“It’s... Linjiang No. 1 High!”

He still could not quite believe it.

His body swayed, and with one step into empty air, he instantly passed through the many flying cars circling above No. 7 High’s sky and appeared in midair.

When he looked toward No. 1 High, it was exactly as he had expected.

That golden pillar of light had indeed originated from No. 1 High.

And from a bird’s-eye view in the sky, it was even more breathtaking.

The brilliant golden radiance emitted by the pillar of light had actually turned every building within several kilometers around No. 1 High golden as well.

It looked like a vast palace of gold.

A spectacular sight beyond compare!

“So someone at No. 1 High has awakened an S-rank talent!”

“Even ten genius students with A-rank talents can’t compare to a single heaven-chosen with an S-rank talent!”

“This year, our No. 7 High is going to lose the Linjiang Martial High Joint Exam again!”

“Sigh!”

His expression turned extremely ugly.

Competition among the city’s major martial high schools was fierce, and they used all kinds of methods to fight for top-quality students.

Those in the upper class who controlled vast resources were naturally willing to send their children to the very best schools.

And the annual citywide Martial High Joint Exam was precisely the moment when each martial high school’s strength and foundation were tested.

Although what kind of martial talent one awakened was, for the most part, a matter of luck, that said—a school that continuously produced students with S-rank talents, was it not also a treasured land blessed with superb feng shui and converging fortune?

What was more, last year, No. 1 High had already produced a student who awakened an S-rank talent.

That student had overwhelmed all the martial high schools in the city and helped No. 1 High become the city’s number one key martial high school.

Not only that, its momentum had been unstoppable.

In the provincial Martial High Joint Exam held in the second half of the school year, it had represented Linjiang City’s martial high schools and won a top-three provincial ranking.

That had made Linjiang No. 1 High the only Provincial Special-Key Martial High School in all of Linjiang City.

At the same time, it had also received a massive tilt in teaching resources from the province.

Many high-ranking officials, wealthy businessmen, and martial arts experts from surrounding cities and counties had all sent their children to study at Linjiang No. 1 High.

As for the citizens of Linjiang City, they took pride in having children from their family admitted to No. 1 High.

This year, his No. 7 High had produced two promising seedlings with A-rank martial talents.

He had originally thought they would finally be able to hold their heads high.

Yet unexpectedly, before it had even begun, it was already over again.

He shook his head and swept a stern gaze across the students on the field.

“There’s nothing to look at. Don’t envy others. The most important thing is to do your best.”

“All students, return to your places now. Do not make a commotion.”

“Each class teacher is to maintain discipline in their own class.”

“The awakening will continue.”

The moment he spoke, his deep, powerful voice drowned out the clamor of the entire field.

Only after he saw the students gradually restore order did he descend back to his seat.

And then he saw that Elder Lin, who was sitting beside him, had already smashed the teacup in his hand.

His expression looked extremely ugly.

Clearly, one of his political rivals must have gone to observe the ceremony at No. 1 High.

No wonder he was in a foul mood.

On the sports field, the atmosphere was plainly no longer as heated as before.

It had become rather heavy and subdued.

There was competition among the major martial high schools, and likewise, the students were competing against one another.

For many students whose martial talents did not even reach C-rank, an S-rank talent holder was just like that golden pillar of light piercing the sky—something impossible to surpass, something they could only look up at!

A great mass of clouds drifted over and blocked out the sun, casting a layer of shadow across Lin Wanxing’s cold and lofty face as well.

The moment an S-rank talent appeared, her A-rank talent immediately lost its brilliance.

That made her extremely displeased.

That feeling of being the center of everyone’s attention had lasted far too briefly.

“It’s fine. We’re not even from the same school anyway.”

“At No. 7 High, I’m still the most dazzling genius!”

She comforted herself inwardly.

The awakening continued.

Seemingly stimulated by the golden radiance of that S-rank talent, whether on the stage or below it, especially among the students who had not yet awakened, after that brief moment of disappointment, they became even more excited.

Each of them was fantasizing that they were the next favored child of heaven!

Lu Qingqian also withdrew her gaze.

She took a deep breath and pressed her hand against the metal sphere.

The sphere was cool to the touch, and it gave her mind a sudden jolt of clarity.

Yet, as if guided by some strange impulse, she thought of the words Fang Qingchen had spoken earlier when he was cheering her on.

I guarantee you’ll awaken an S-rank talent...

When she recalled how serious Fang Qingchen had looked while saying those words, a faint smile, rare as it was, flashed across her lowered, pure little face.

She slowly closed her eyes and resigned herself to fate.

“You big liar.”

At the instant she closed her eyes, the blue light covering her entire body suddenly trembled violently!

Then, under the stunned gazes of all the teachers and students in the entire school, it silently transformed into gold!

Almost at the very same moment!

Golden light burst forth like a rainbow, turning into a golden pillar that shot straight into the sky and illuminated all directions!