The Power of Devouring Fierce Flames (Fog)

Jiang Mian took off her glasses and rubbed them, only to find those lines of tiny text still lingering in her field of vision, as if they had been carved directly onto her retina.

She seemed to have heard of this before.

Whether Awakened or Aberrants, once they awakened, something akin to a skill guide would appear—a product of some kind of rule.

Jiang Mian had never reached First Order before, so she had never activated this thing.

Though the words were crooked and twisted, looking like some unknown script, Jiang Mian could understand what they meant:

Please select your Initial Skill. Remaining Time: 30s

I · [Ignite]

Gain basic fire control. Designate a target within ten meters as ignitable "Fuel," drawing upon the energy released by its burning to nourish yourself.

II · [Tide]

Gain Basic Water Control, enhancing your physical attributes. In battle, Attack power gradually stacks with the number of attacks launched.

III · [Gale]

Gain Basic Wind Control, which can be used to empower yourself, increase speed, and cause attacks to carry Tearing Damage.

"Huh?"

Jiang Mian froze slightly. Li Hao had disgusted her just now and put her in a bad mood, yet she had unexpectedly crossed some threshold and fully entered First Order.

These three skills of hers... seemed to correspond to the initial forms of three different disasters.

Setting aside the numbers, their effects alone were already absurdly powerful for Awakened of the same tier.

With the first skill, as long as there was "Fuel," it could keep burning. She would not even need to invest much power herself—she only had to light the fire.

And whenever she needed to absorb a Calamity Core or something else, she could just set it ablaze and burn it away. It was absolutely a god-tier skill for growth.

The second one... enhanced physical attributes, but had no particularly outstanding feature. She would not consider it for now.

As for the third, its Attack power should be decent, and it could also be used to run away...

But during the first two tiers, those [Elemental] Path Awakened who controlled wind were generally weak beyond belief. Their damage was practically nonexistent, and only at Third-tier or even Fourth-tier did they undergo a qualitative transformation.

All things considered, Jiang Mian still chose the first.

It had Attack power, great endurance, and made it convenient for her to "commit crimes"... ahem, grow.

Even in the mid to late stages, this would still unquestionably be a god-tier skill.

At a flicker of Jiang Mian's thoughts, [Ignite] immediately responded to her will, giving off an orange-gold glow. The other two options, meanwhile, vanished in an instant as if consumed by flames.

Suddenly, her heart tightened, followed by waves of stabbing pain. The pain grew increasingly severe, evolving into agony she could barely endure.

No way...

She had only just reached First Order—how was she already beginning to form a Calamity Core?!

Wasn't this something only Aberrants in the late stages could possibly form?!

Could it be because her sequence was too high?

Jiang Mian had no time to think about any of that.

Her face instantly turned deathly pale, her vision repeatedly darkened, and both hands clutched tightly over her chest.

"Jiang Mian?"

The sudden change immediately jolted Wang Chen out of his own emotions.

She had been fine just a moment ago. How had things turned like this in the blink of an eye... Could she have Heart Disease?

His voice drew the attention of the other students. Another commotion broke out in the classroom, and the rest of the class crowded around as well.

"Jiang Mian, are... are you okay?"

The girl in the front row had only just returned. She had merely heard the other students talking and did not yet know what had happened.

The moment she turned around and saw Jiang Mian curled up, she jumped in fright.

"Her face looks terrible! Is her heart bothering her?"

"She's holding her chest... Is her Heart Disease acting up?"

"I've never heard her mention having that problem before?"

If you think This book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Just then, a tall boy—the class's academic representative, Chen Kang—pushed through the crowd and walked in.

"Don't crowd around her so tightly. Let her get some air!"

"Lin Xiaowei, you and Sun Ting take her to the Infirmary!"

He directly assigned the girls sitting in front of and behind her to help, immediately giving the chaotic scene someone to rally around.

"What's going on?! Your class is the noisiest on this entire floor!"

The commotion finally attracted the attention of the homeroom teacher on duty.

"Teacher Lin!"

Chen Kang briefly explained the situation to Lin Yun.

Lin Yun frowned slightly and hurried over to Jiang Mian's side, a gentle green glow blooming at her fingertips.

"Jiang Mian, can you hear Teacher?"

Jiang Mian raised her head with some difficulty. She had originally intended to endure it until it passed, but she hadn't expected even the Old Class Teacher to show up.

Then again, the commotion just now had been too great. It was only a matter of time before it drew a teacher's attention.

She knew Lin Yun was a Second-tier Awakened. Though her sequence rank was not high, she possessed a rare healing ability.

Sequence 181, [Myriad Spirits] Path, [Dispel].

"Teacher Lin..."

Her voice was somewhat hoarse. This time, there was truly no trace of acting in it. An ordinary Awakened's healing... she was still technically a normal human, so it should work.

Lin Yun gently raised her hand and placed it over Jiang Mian's heart.

Her ability leaned toward purification and could alleviate pain to a certain extent—such as cramps, heart palpitations, or phantom pain caused by missing limbs. It was a relatively versatile ability.

The glow gradually seeped into Jiang Mian's body, seemingly easing a small portion of her pain. At the very least, it allowed her expression to return to normal.

"Do you feel a little better?"

Lin Yun asked softly. Her ability was limited; it could only ease the pain, not eradicate it.

"...A little better. Thank you, Teacher."

Jiang Mian nodded, breathing lightly.

"Come on, be careful. Teacher will take you to the Infirmary to rest for a while."

After resting for a bit, Lin Yun helped Jiang Mian to her feet and arranged things as she did so. "Chen Kang, keep the class in order. Wang Chen, come with me. Tell me exactly what happened later—did Jiang Mian run into something just now?"

Outside the Infirmary, Wang Chen lowered his voice and recounted everything that had happened in full detail.

Lin Yun listened quietly, and the gentle expression on her face gradually darkened.

"How outrageous!"

Students who had awakened in the past did tend to become more flamboyant than before, but someone like Li Hao... he had never been any good to begin with, so no one could expect him to do anything decent.

Sometimes, she truly felt there was something seriously wrong with the current Awakened system. It looked only at talent and not at character. Sure, they were short on people, but they couldn't just recruit anyone, could they?

Ninety-nine percent of the reason the current environment was such a smoky, miasmic mess was because of this.

Back then, she had left to become a teacher because she couldn't stand the atmosphere in the government offices. Yet even the students were like this...

"Teacher understands. Go back first."

Lin Yun took a deep breath and composed her expression before walking into the Infirmary.

The school doctor had already given Jiang Mian a basic examination. Seeing Lin Yun enter, he explained a few things.

In short, Jiang Mian had an irregular heartbeat and might have a heart problem. He recommended that she go to the hospital for a thorough examination.

Lin Yun could not help but feel worried. She knew Jiang Mian's situation very well.

She had been the one to apply for Jiang Mian's subsidy before. Everything had been in order when she submitted the documents, and Jiang Mian was supposed to receive a First-level Subsidy.

Yet for some reason, it had been knocked down to the lowest Third Tier, with the amount cut by more than half.

She had felt guilty about it for a long time and had wanted to make up for it in other ways, but the child had refused.

And now this had happened too...