Attributes

"Duan Rui, Awakened Gun-type Soul Weapon Master, Blood Energy Value: 53 cal!"

"Huo Gen, awakening failed!"

"Song Wan, Awakened Wind Element Master! Blood Energy Value: 98 cal!"

"Whoa!"

The moment Old Fu said this, the classroom erupted.

"98 cal!!! Her Blood Energy Value is already that high right after awakening!"

"The minimum admission cutoff for martial schools is 95 cal. Our class leader is already set!"

"She'll probably get into a top martial school like Modu Martial School, right? Last year's minimum cutoff for the top schools was 135 cal. Our class leader still has a very good chance!"

Lin Shuguang also looked at Song Wan. He had barely known this female class leader in his previous life. The only thing he knew was that she had taken first place in the province in that year's college entrance exams.

Sure enough, geniuses shone wherever they went.

Of the fifty-three students in the class, only seven had failed to awaken so far. The success rate was so high that even Lin Shuguang began to feel a little nervous. He slipped a hand into his pocket and touched a banknote. Looking down, he discovered it was a hundred yuan. He paused, then silently put it away and went back to staring into space.

In this world, everyone had a chance to awaken their own destined soul, and a soul ring was an important item used to manifest it. The soul ring's grade affected both the success rate and effectiveness of the manifestation.

However, Blood Energy Value could also be increased through subsequent cultivation... That was also why everyone thought Song Wan could get into a top martial school.

Soon, Old Fu's voice rang out. "Xu Jie!"

"Here, here, here! Coming, coming!" Xu Jie hurriedly answered at the top of his lungs. As he stood, he glanced at Lin Shuguang, who was looking his way, and wore the tragic, resolute expression of a man marching to his death: Brother, I'll go on ahead.

As one of the last few left, the pressure he faced was easy to imagine.

Whoosh-

When Xu Jie placed his hand on it, unexpectedly, no dazzling light burst forth. What no one anticipated was that more than half the classroom was instantly plunged into utter darkness, as though the lights had been switched off. Everyone lost their sight.

In just an instant, everything returned to normal.

Old Fu's voice remained unchanged. "Xu Jie, special-grade spiritual body! Blood Energy Value: 51 cal!"

"To think a [Nightmare Body] would appear here in your Huai City. His Blood Energy Value is a little low, but his potential is still limitless! Congratulations in advance, Teacher Fu!" A rare, distinctive fluctuation appeared in the voice of the young man beside him.

Xu Jie was still standing there, utterly bewildered.

What just happened?

He turned his head and instinctively looked at Lin Shuguang.

Lin Shuguang was even more bewildered than he was.

Although he could not distinguish between these awakened physiques, the young man's attitude said enough.

"Lin Shuguang!"

Old Fu called the last person in the class. Looking at Lin Shuguang, he felt something odd for no apparent reason. He seemed to feel a certain fondness for this little fellow... Strange.

Old Fu's stare left Lin Shuguang feeling a little uneasy. Rubbing the tip of his nose, he walked forward, only for Xu Jie to grab him as he passed. With an air of mystery, Xu Jie quietly "reminded" him, "Old Lin, move it with sincerity and power it with love. You have to be sincere. That's what I just did. It works like a charm!"

Lin Shuguang: "..."

Quiet though he was, to Old Fu and the young man, who were already martial artists, it was no different from speaking right into their ears.

The young man chuckled, finding it amusing, while the corner of Old Fu's mouth twitched.

Finally, my turn.

Looking at the diamond-like crystalline stone before him, Lin Shuguang wanted to examine it a little longer. Unfortunately, with Old Fu watching him like a hawk from the side, he could only behave himself and reach down.

Warmth spread from his palm, gradually growing hot. Aside from that, there were no unusual signs, much less the dazzling light that had burst forth immediately for the others. It undoubtedly looked like his awakening was headed for failure.

Lin Shuguang felt his head grow heavier and heavier. The sensation was countless times stronger than what Old Fu had subjected him to earlier. In an instant, his awareness was nearly extinguished. Just as he was about to lose consciousness-

"Awakening conditions triggered... Top-up successful..."

In his daze, Lin Shuguang felt as though he heard a mechanical voice.

That very voice brought his awareness back. Immediately afterward, a sharp pain struck between his eyebrows.

Lin Shuguang instinctively opened his eyes and discovered, to his amazement, that everything before him was crumbling away like yellow sand, replaced by an unfamiliar scene.

Countless divine runes were engraved upon a vast palace built from sacred stone and precious pillars, all proclaiming its majestic grandeur and unfathomable depths.

An immortal palace!

Yet at that very moment, a divine saber cleaved down from the heavens as though cutting through eternity!

In an instant, the immortal palace shattered, and everything around it was utterly annihilated!

The sight set Lin Shuguang's mind reeling.

What an overpowering slash!

As soon as that thought passed, the scene changed in an instant.

Lin Shuguang appeared in the classroom once more. His eyelids twitched, and only then did he realize that opening his eyes earlier had not meant opening them in reality. He found it quite astonishing.

As his eyes opened now, he happened to see the space before him split apart as though torn by an invisible force. Like spring water trickling forth, a saber hilt slowly emerged.

"He did it!" Cries of surprise rose around him.

"I didn't think Lin Shuguang could actually awaken successfully too. I underestimated him."

Just then, Old Fu's voice rang out. Even when faced with Song Wan's Blood Energy Value of 98 cal or Xu Jie's special spiritual body, his expression had never changed as it did now. "Lin Shuguang, Awakened Blade-type Soul Weapon Master, Blood Energy Value... 9 Ka."

9 Ka!!!

Instantly, the room fell silent. Then whispers erupted all around him.

"Holy shit, that's just tragic! Even with a soul ring, a Blood Energy Value of 9 Ka wouldn't let him maintain his manifestation for a minute, would it?"

"One cal gets you three seconds of manifestation at most. Tsk, tsk, the legendary quick shot. Tsk, tsk."

"The lowest admission cutoff for martial schools is 95 cal. If you were fifty or sixty short, you'd still have a chance to make a push for martial school over the next six months, provided you were willing to spend money on supplements. There are plenty of inspiring examples of that in history... But Lin Shuguang is way too far off. Unless a miracle happens, he can forget about martial school altogether."

"If an awakened person can't become a martial artist within a year, their blood energy will slowly dwindle until it reaches an ordinary person's level... Lin Shuguang has become a living joke."

The classmates looking at him were full of sympathy and amusement. That included those who had failed to awaken. They looked at Lin Shuguang as though they had found solace, with more than a hint of schadenfreude. What's the difference between your awakening and not awakening at all?

Among them, Xu Jie alone did not mock him.

He had just been worrying that Lin Shuguang might fail to awaken. When he saw the saber hilt, he had finally relaxed, thinking that even if Lin Shuguang's Blood Energy Value was not as freakishly high as Qiao Xia's, it should at least be about the same as his own. After all, Lin Shuguang was much fiercer than he was in their usual fights and such.

But this... a Blood Energy Value of 9 Ka???

He cautiously looked at Lin Shuguang, afraid that he would feel humiliated.

Holding the soul ring, Lin Shuguang stood motionless with his head lowered. To others, this looked like a sign of utter dejection.

Old Fu said nothing. The young man beside him, however, chuckled after hearing the mockery around them. "Awakening still puts you one step closer to a miracle than not awakening. Young man, good luck." With that, he patted Lin Shuguang's shoulder, put away the awakening stone, said goodbye to Old Fu, and promptly left.

Xu Jie also came forward then and put an arm around Lin Shuguang's shoulders, comforting him. "It's all right, Old Lin. At least you've awakened. At the very least, you're now qualified to apply to martial school. Don't worry. Your buddy will have your back from now on."

Yet Lin Shuguang did not move.

At that moment, he was wholly absorbed in the Attribute Panel that had appeared the instant he awakened.

[Name]: Lin Shuguang

[Blood Energy Value]: 9 Ka;

[Skill]: Basic Body Refining Technique LV1;

[Destined Soul]; Slaughter Blade (Black Iron);

(Description: of little use)