During the wait, Xiaomian finally gathered the courage to walk over.
She held a photograph in both hands.
It was battlefield footage captured from the magic screen during the World College Tournament.
Jiang Che stood at the center of the arena, his pitch-black trench coat dyed a dark gold by the setting sun, golden-white embers drifting down behind him.
"Um... Councilor Jiang Che, could you give me an autograph?"
Jiang Che lowered his head and glanced at the photograph.
Even he had never seen footage from this angle.
He took the pen, signed his name on the back of the photo, and handed it back to her.
Xiaomian held the photograph in both hands, her face so red it looked ready to steam.
Watching this, Jiang Che wondered if he had really become that famous.
Just then, Guo Liyu walked over carrying a completely black Awakening Stone.
Dim gray patterns flowed across the stone's surface, while strands of dark-purple light could vaguely be seen drifting within it.
"This is the best curse-element Awakening Stone in the Pearl Magic Association's vault."
He carefully placed the Awakening Stone in Jiang Che's hand, then took half a step back and rubbed his hands together.
"There's no charge. After all, having you come here to awaken is already the greatest honor for us."
Jiang Che nodded without declining and headed for the Awakening Room.
The door of the Awakening Room slowly closed behind him.
The soundproof arrays and magical energy barriers within the four walls lit up at once, shutting out every sound from outside.
The curse-element Awakening Stone lit up with dim gray patterns in his palm. In his spiritual world, Curse-element Stardust blazed to life.
The moment that bleak, profound patch of stardust formed, it produced a strange resonance with his Undead-element