Powerful Families and Sects
"At dawn on March 5, Yin City time, a large-scale armed clash broke out in the central part of the West District, leaving 56 dead and 107 injured."
"According to reports, the incident was a disturbance caused by a rebel organization. Most of its members have been arrested and brought to justice. The identity of the organization's leader remains unknown, and he is still at large."
"On March 5, local time, the Yin City government issued a Class B wanted notice for the leader of the rebel organization."
"His identity is unknown. Based on the physical mutations caused by his talent, he will be referred to as Eight-Tailed Owl. Preliminary assessments place his strength at the Fourth-Realm Peak."
"To crack down on serious crimes, maintain social order, and protect the lives of people of all races, a Class B wanted notice has been issued for the suspected leader of the rebel organization, codenamed Eight-Tailed Owl."
"Members of the public who spot this individual are urged to report him immediately."
"On March 5, local time, the Yin City government and the Beastfolk government of the Lingyun River Rainforest jointly announced that they would form a joint search team to capture Eight-Tailed Owl, who was suspected of fleeing into the rainforest."
"Notice: This year's Awakening Conference will be postponed for one week due to fire safety hazards."
"Have you heard? This year's Awakening Conference was postponed because something happened at West District No. 1 Middle School."
"You mean that armed clash in the West District, right? I heard a bunch of powerful families got caught up in it."
"Serves them right! They bully men and women all the time. You can tell they were up to no good!"
"Really? But didn't the official announcement say it was because of fire safety issues?"
"Of course it's true! What school in the West District doesn't have a fire drill every semester? What fire safety issues could there be!
"I heard it from a relative. His kid's a senior at West District No. 1 Middle School!"
Gossip spread by word of mouth through the streets and alleys. Anyone who had gone out in the past two days was bound to have caught an earful of rumors about either "the Awakening Conference being postponed" or "the rebel organization."
After all, this was the annual event that decided the children's futures. Between the postponement and the serious incident, an official announcement alone could hardly put the conspiracy theories to rest.
Still, the chatter among ordinary people could not affect upper society. These announcements and notices were all meant to placate the powerful families and the various sects.
The upper echelons of the Human Race cared more about the families and sects, which possessed large numbers of awakened individuals and served as important "components," than the ordinary people they kept penned in.
As a race that relied on sticking together to survive, the Human Race had always formed cliques, from the twelve cities down to individual families and master-disciple lineages.
The more those long-established powers banded together, the more talent and resources they gathered, making it increasingly difficult for the ordinary people beneath them to rise.
It was the Human Race that fought bloody battles for its own kind, and it was also the Human Race that exploited the people.
The predatory gaze of the other races bound all humans together, creating a warped society.
It was not that no one wanted to change things, but that no one could guarantee the Human Race would not be devoured by the other races during the vulnerable period of change.
And so, even if someone changed their own fate through exceptional talent, they merely injected fresh blood into the upper echelons and were assimilated into an exploiter.
"There are only seven months until the unified entrance exam. If awakening is delayed and a student in this batch from the West District awakens a high-grade talent, what happens if their cultivation is held back?"
"Principals, please calm down." An authoritative voice came from the dais.
The noisy conference hall gradually quieted, and the respected elites of the education world in attendance managed to compose themselves.
The middle-aged man on the dais nodded in satisfaction before continuing.
"The higher-ups are well aware of your concerns. As compensation, they will distribute additional cultivation resources. Schools with students who awaken high-grade talents may claim what they need."
A buzz of discussion spread through the hall. The middle-aged man paid no attention to the hushed conversations. After conveying the higher-ups' decision, he turned and left, leaving the hall to the school administrators and their discussion.
The middle-aged man stepped out of the meeting room and immediately saw the row of classroom buildings opposite.
The meeting room's elevated position gave him a view of the students actually attending class in the rooms across the way.
What the higher-ups needed was to select new "components" who excelled in every respect.
Those with exceptional talent would not lose it because their awakening was delayed, nor would they fail to control their Psychic Energy because they had less time.
They could still distinguish themselves in the unified entrance examination for higher education institutions and sects.
With that thought, he calmly surveyed the distant classroom buildings, at once familiar and unfamiliar, then hurried away.
He still had matters related to the unified exam to coordinate and had no time to spare for the unawakened.
West District No. 1 Middle School.
Lilacs swayed in the warm spring sunlight. Around seven in the morning, students arrived one after another. Their laughter and running sent ripples through the air, shaking petals loose in a soft shower.
A week had passed since the armed clash. West District No. 1 Middle School had suspended classes for three days after the incident, then returned to its usual calm.
If not for the postponement of the Talent Awakening Ceremony, perhaps most people would not have paid attention to the news that day, and most speculation linking it to the serious incident had also died away.
Much less the students, whose sources of information were limited to school and home.
This time, though, the students of West District No. 1 Middle School, at the heart of the incident, perhaps knew more than anyone else among the ordinary public.
"Man, why did the Lin Family have to do that? They really tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it."
"Maybe Lin Feng's talent was average and he couldn't support the family's future, so they decided to take a desperate gamble."
"That can't be right! Lin Feng's grades are amazing!"
"Hard to say. The school tests theoretical knowledge and Psychic Energy reserves. Who knows if the family's resources were what got him there?"
"I already thought there was something wrong with the Lin Family!"
"What? You've got gossip? Let's hear it!"
"The Lou Family was brought down by the Lin Family and other rising families working together. Maybe they ate a small fish, got a taste for it, and wanted to eat a big one too."
"Damn, no wonder Lou Shisui went missing!"
"Don't make stuff up. First off, the Lou Family was no small fish before it fell. And can one gang preying on another even compare to betraying the race?"
"One gang preying on another? Dude, you've got some nerve saying that!"
On the basketball court of the dull, closed-off campus, the rare serious incident became the best topic of conversation between classes. Even more "details," some true and some false, spread from the classes of those involved.
Things like Lin Feng having a fierce look in his eyes, the young master of the Lin Family being arrogant and overbearing, and Lin Feng and Lou Shisui having held a grudge against each other for a long time...
A campus horror story even emerged: Lou Shisui had been buried under the sports field and turned into a vengeful spirit.
The theory that Lou Shisui was the mastermind was another of these rumors, though it was relatively obscure.
"Maybe Lou Shisui was the mastermind all along!"
A short-haired girl with black hair sat chatting with her best friend under a banyan tree by the sports field. A little excited, she whispered her theory:
"Think about it. His family was wiped out, people were always picking on him, and he was all alone. Doesn't it make sense that he'd drag the whole Lin Family down with him? Come to think of it, that guy's a badass!"
"Holy shit! No wonder they say going dark makes you three times stronger! That's awesome!"
?
When I type this question mark, it's not because there's something wrong with me. It's because I think there's something wrong with you.
"Wait, girl, how did you get to them taking each other down with them?" Her best friend thought about it for ages but couldn't make sense of it, so she whispered the question.
"I've been watching those two for a long time. Lin Feng was always hanging around Lou Shisui, and he often mocked him nearby while thinking he was being really sneaky. Whenever Lin Feng came close, Lou Shisui would secretly look up and glare at him."
"Isn't that a sign he was about to go dark?"
"I can't even. All I heard was someone swallowing his pride."
"Right? That's him biding his time!"
"Huh?"
That's too ridiculous.
Her best friend racked her brain so hard that she broke out in a sweat despite the cool spring day.
"Anyway, Lou Shisui was the mastermind! I'm writing about it for the urban legends section of tomorrow's school paper!"
The short-haired girl made her announcement enthusiastically. Her approach was unconventional, but inspiration had struck. Her formula was completely wrong, yet she had actually filled in the right answer!