Bright sunlight shone over the sprawling Chuanhai Academy. Li Chen had arrived early that morning.
There did not seem to be many students around, though. Li Chen was puzzled. Had he arrived late today?
Just then, a voice drifted over from behind him. He turned to look and saw that it was Teacher Yu.
Teacher Yu carried a shoulder bag and leisurely sipped a cup of soy milk. Even he was a little surprised to see Li Chen there, and he teased, "Turned over a new leaf today? You actually came so early?"
Gone was Teacher Yu's usual imposing manner at school. He was warm and approachable now, as though he were talking to a close friend.
Li Chen replied, "Yeah, I came a little early today. I'm not late."
Teacher Yu smiled, understanding what Li Chen meant. "You really aren't late. That's a rare sight, and there won't be another chance to see it. Have you decided which academy to attend?"
In his eyes, the Imperial Capital Academy was the better choice. As he remembered it, the Imperial Capital Academy was competitive, and only competition could produce good students. Still, he might end up as an opponent of the Imperial Capital Academy in the future.
But that did not stop him from guiding his current students toward the Imperial Capital Academy.
Li Chen thought for a few seconds. "Me? I'll probably go to Canglan."
"Canglan?" Teacher Yu was surprised. He had not expected Li Chen to choose Canglan. Had he chosen it because the talent he awakened was poor?
He hurried to reassure him. "Canglan is good too. At least there's not as much pressure as at the Imperial Capital Academy."
Li Chen nodded and said nothing more. He knew perfectly well that Teacher Yu was comforting him. Teachers naturally understood their students' feelings inside and out, but he had an S-rank talent. Didn't Teacher Yu know that?
Although Canglan Academy ranked second in the country, it recruited basically anyone with talent, no matter how terribly poor their awakened ability was. It gave students who had awakened poor abilities or whose talents were too low a path forward, but it was also because of this inclusiveness.
The strength of the Sequence Users throughout the academy was unbalanced, and it was known as the perennial runner-up.
The two walked through the campus in silence, each with his own thoughts. One was about to go to another academy to continue his studies, while the other was thinking about how to whip Canglan Academy's new students into shape.
Just then, Teacher Yu seemed to remember the awakening the day before. He broke the silence and asked, "You passed out in the awakening room. Did something strange happen during your awakening?"
"After all, no one should pass out during an awakening. It's the first time I've seen it happen, and I'm rather curious."
Teacher Yu was indeed curious. During an awakening, the Awakening Stone simply stimulated the energy in a person's body until it burst forth, completing the awakening. Students who had no energy in their bodies naturally could not awaken.
Li Chen frowned. "Passing out was just an accident. It might have happened because the ability I awakened was too strong. Teacher Yu, have you heard of Vector?"
"Vector?" Teacher Yu immediately thought of a codename on a certain ranking list, but he still found it hard to believe. After all, that person had said it was B-rank at the time. Had he misheard?
Li Chen nodded and continued, "I can control any kind of energy, including changing its course or even its state."
Without explaining further, Li Chen raised his hand slightly. A gust of wind instantly shot from his palm, scattering the fallen leaves on the ground.
He had only awakened his ability a short time ago, and this was all he could do. Once he could perfectly control this power, perhaps he would not even need to lift a hand to form an invisible field around himself.
Teacher Yu looked at Li Chen in shock. He could tell at a glance that this was definitely not a B-rank ability. Then he suddenly remembered that Chenlong Squad had said his ability was B-rank the day before, which was why he had not doubted it. Now he understood, and many things came to mind.
Teacher Yu spoke with a serious expression. "Yesterday, I didn't know your ability was S-rank, so I recorded it as B-rank. I can change it back for you now, but there are advantages and disadvantages. You should know what people often say: most geniuses die young, and at the hands of other humans. This has happened many times."
"I'll give you the choice: appear before others with an S-rank ability, or hide your ability and wait for an opportunity."
"You can also choose to change your choice of academy."
The public eye naturally meant all of humanity. After all, the emergence of an S-rank ability would cause a major stir in human society.
Teacher Yu was being direct. He meant that Li Chen's ability was strong, and he did not have to waste his talent at Canglan Academy. Going to the Imperial Capital Academy would be better.
Li Chen remained silent. He knew the strength of his own ability, and Teacher Yu was indeed right. A genius who appeared in the public eye before he had grown strong was most likely to die young. Countless bloody examples had proven it.
After thinking for a few seconds, Li Chen spoke without hesitation. "Teacher Yu, there's no need to change my ability back. You once said in class that geniuses are geniuses because they have talent. Since I chose Canglan, I won't change my mind. Besides, I don't like the atmosphere at the Imperial Capital Academy."
"But..." Teacher Yu had just started to say something more when Li Chen waved a hand and interrupted him.
"Aren't academies all just academies? There's no distinction between good and bad, is there? Their teaching methods are the same anyway. One is just a little more aggressive, while the other is more laid-back."
"And as my own person, I have the right to choose my own life."
Li Chen's words left Teacher Yu deep in thought. He was not wrong. Academies were indeed all academies, and their teaching methods were actually the same. It was only because the people in them were different that they chose other methods of instruction.
That was also why Dean Gu had asked him to go straighten out Canglan Academy: to change its current atmosphere.
Teacher Yu smiled. "Since that's your choice, I won't try to persuade you any further. After all, it's your path, not mine, to walk. I was the one who failed to see it. I never expected you to have awakened an S-rank ability."
To him, being a teacher meant guiding his students onto the right path, but he could not change what others thought.
Before they knew it, they had reached the teaching building, and their conversation ended there.
After all, one was a student and the other a teacher, and they each had their own things to do.
Before long, nearly all the students who had awakened had arrived at the academy, though today they had come to say goodbye.
Li Chen sat in his usual seat by the window, lost in thought, when Su Zhe's voice sounded beside him.
Su Zhe stood in front of him with a large bag of buns and teased, "Chen-ge, why have you been coming so early these past few days?"
"I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!"
Li Chen smiled in response and looked above Su Zhe's head. His aura had grown considerably stronger and was much murkier than when he had first awakened yesterday. As expected of the Get Stronger by Eating talent—its growth potential was truly frightening.
Su Zhe offered him a bun and whispered, "Chen-ge, want one? It's stuffed with monster meat."
"My dad had the nanny make these. You know how expensive monster meat is now."
As he spoke, he made a point of looking around, afraid someone might snatch his buns.
"Monster meat filling?" Li Chen was a little shocked, but when he thought of Su Baozi's family, his doubts quickly faded.
Monsters arose in the Black Mist beyond the border. They had no reason and only attacked places inhabited by humans, seeking to devour them all.
Naturally, some monsters were edible, but they were very difficult to capture, and even their meat was hard to preserve. The border was too far away. Even for a Sequence User who had awakened a spatial ability, bringing a piece of monster meat into the country intact was very difficult.
Let alone getting to eat a bun stuffed with monster meat.
Seeing that Li Chen still had not taken a bite, Su Zhe urged him, "Chen-ge, eat! This stuff is really nourishing!"
"I ate this, and my physical strength has already gone up."