It was undoubtedly a chaotic day.
The old order had been shattered. The graduating students, in particular, had been so tightly wound for so long that they were now rebelling with all the more force.
The teachers of every subject wore themselves hoarse, repeatedly emphasizing that studying was still important and would remain central to their future lives. But in the feverish atmosphere, hardly anyone was listening.
By the end of it, some students had even started setting their exercise books on fire in class.
"Forget this damn question drilling, forget this sea of practice problems, forget exams!"
"I'm going to be the master of the New Era! I'm going to defy fate and change my destiny!"
When one person dared to make the first move, plenty more followed.
More and more students started acting out: some tore up their books on the spot, some climbed onto their desks and threw their arms up in a cheer, and some crouched down and howled like wolves...
Although Jiang Yue was reluctant, he had no choice but to step in and restore some order.
A lot of these people might have been fence-sitters, but six years as class monitor had given him enough presence that hardly anyone dared bare their teeth at him.
"Classmates, I understand how everyone feels. Things have changed so quickly that none of us had time to prepare. Some of you are excited, some disappointed, some hopeful, and some sad. These are all normal reactions."
"Take me, for example. I'm pretty disappointed. I've spent the whole day wondering just how much my reputation as a top student is worth now."
That wasn't what Jiang Yue really thought, of course. With his intelligence, he simply knew what to say to get these people to listen.
For instance, he could poke fun at himself.
Sure enough, when Jiang Yue made light of his top-student status, the mood in the classroom cooled considerably.
"I checked our enrollment list. Every single person in this class is eighteen or older now. We're all adults. The Physical Test results might bring about enormous changes, but right now, no one knows how much things will really change. And here's something more important: not standing out in this test doesn't mean you won't get another chance. The leader himself said the Physical Test is a long-term project. Today, Zhang San might be lucky; tomorrow, it could be Li Si; the day after, maybe Wang Wu..."
"Even if you never manage to stand out in the Physical Test, wouldn't that make it all the more important to get a good education?"
"Besides, there's no proof that doing well on the Physical Test means you can stop studying. No matter how strong your arms and legs are, if you haven't armed your mind, you'll still lose to someone on equal terms. Right?"
"I can see everyone's pretty worked up, and it would be difficult to settle down and study. To be honest, I couldn't do it either. So here's my suggestion: if you're really too excited, go blow off steam on the sports field after school. Play soccer, basketball, run laps—do whatever you want!"
"I'm not singling anyone out here! But setting fires in class is absolutely not okay. If this place catches fire, dozens of lives could be at risk. Even if some of you did well on the Physical Test, you haven't evolved to the point where you can survive being tossed into a furnace, right?"
That last bit made everyone laugh.
The students who had burned their exercise books were actually a little frightened themselves.
There was nothing else in the classroom, but there were plenty of books. They were highly flammable, and if a fire broke out and someone died, even if you didn't burn to death at the scene, you'd still end up behind bars for life. You might not even get the chance to go to prison—you could be executed instead.
Just then, Deputy Director Shao returned to the classroom.
"Students, the school leaders have just finished a meeting and made a decision. Given that everyone is unprepared for the arrival of the New Era and needs time to adjust, school will end early today. Evening study is canceled as well. Classes will resume as usual tomorrow. You need to get your mind back on track. You've already completed 95 percent of your six years of middle school. You're right at the finish line, so you can't let up at this critical moment. Get into a good university, and the Physical Test will continue there. The better the university, the better your prospects will naturally be. Right now, you shouldn't slack off—you should work even harder. Competition in the future will only get fiercer!"
"All right, you're dismissed!"
A speech from a deputy director carried more weight. Old Sun might not have gotten the same response.
Old Sun spoke to the students from the heart; Deputy Director Shao knew how to work a crowd.
Each had his own style.
As Jiang Yue packed his schoolbag, someone darted over to his desk. "Li Yue, the Awakened Ones in our class who did well on the Physical Test are getting together tonight. Want to come?"
Li Yue tensed up and shook her head. "I... I'll pass."
"Come on! Li Yue, we'll all be part of the same circle from now on. You can't keep hovering on the outside, can you? Brother Yifeng is organizing it. Wang Shen and I are both going."
"I have to study." Li Yue wouldn't budge.
"Don't be like that! At least do us the courtesy of showing up. We'll be the faces of our class from now on. If you don't come, it'll make us look divided."
Li Yue wasn't eloquent enough to come up with a sharp reply. Her face flushed as she gripped her pen tightly, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. But anyone with eyes could see she really didn't want to go—not at all.
"Ziyang, it looks like Li Yue really can't make it. Why not let it go?" Jiang Yue had stayed out of it so far. Li Yue had been invited, and he couldn't make the decision for her.
But Fang Ziyang's words had clearly taken a turn for the worse. He was trying to guilt-trip her, claiming that refusing to go meant she wasn't a team player.
That was an attempt to slap a label on her.
Jiang Yue had to speak up and help Li Yue out.
Fang Ziyang glanced at Jiang Yue and chuckled. "Monitor, how do you know whether Li Yue can make it or not? This doesn't have anything to do with you, does it?"
Bam!
Mao Doudou slapped the desk. "Fang Ziyang, I've had it with you. Who do you think you are? You invite someone, and they have to go? I'm formally inviting you to eat shit. Are you going?"
"Mao Shijiu, who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to speak here?"
"I'll speak if I damn well want to! Take a good look at yourself. Stick a scallion up your nose and you think you're an elephant? You just took a physical test. Now you're the face of our class? You think you deserve that?"
Anyone with eyes could see the confrontation unfolding.
Still, no one was in a hurry to pick a side.
To them, this was a clash between the old and new powers in the class. When immortals fought, little shrimp were better off staying out of it.
The immortals themselves weren't fighting; their two proxies were.
Fang Ziyang was something of a big deal in class, with a family that was quite well-off. He'd never thought much of a country bumpkin like Mao Doudou.
If Mao Doudou hadn't been on good terms with the class monitor, Jiang Yue, Fang Ziyang probably wouldn't even have given him a second glance.
Now that Mao Doudou had dared to challenge him, Fang Ziyang couldn't stand it.
"Come on, let's go to the sports field and see what you've got. I want to find out what a 20 percent increase in physical fitness feels like."
Fang Ziyang had been a key player on the class basketball team even before. He was naturally athletic, and after a 20 percent increase in physical fitness in such a short time, he had every reason to be confident.
Mao Doudou looked just as strong and sturdy, but Fang Ziyang now saw himself as an Awakened One, while Mao Doudou was just a nobody who'd gotten an average result on the Physical Test.
In front of an Awakened One, wasn't a nobody supposed to kneel, tremble, and sing in surrender?
"Let's not fight." Jiang Yue had finished packing his schoolbag. He gently pushed Fang Ziyang aside as he stood gesturing by his desk. "Coming through."
It looked like a light push, but Fang Ziyang's body seemed to have been hit by an irresistible force. He stumbled backward, step after step, until he was four or five meters away.
"Let's go! Doudou, Da Bing Cuisine Restaurant. All of you can come—I'm paying tonight."
Jiang Yue acted as if he hadn't seen Fang Ziyang stumble several meters backward. He didn't show off, didn't put on airs, and didn't look intimidated. He simply smiled and walked toward the classroom door.
"Hey, Monitor, count me in! I haven't had a decent meal in days," Tong Di called, pushing up his glasses.
"Monitor, how could I miss out on food and drink?" Wang Xiawei, his roommate, quickly rolled up his schoolbag and followed.
Fang Ziyang was left standing there, dumbstruck. He couldn't decide whether to get angry or let it go, and the whole situation was deeply awkward.
To be honest, he was just as confused as everyone else.
When Jiang Yue pushed him just now, he hadn't felt any deliberate force. It really had only been a light push. Yet he'd stumbled back so far, as if he were putting on an exaggerated performance just to make Jiang Yue look good.
For a moment, he couldn't figure out whether he was just weak or Jiang Yue had been hiding his true strength.
There was no evening study, so Li Yue silently packed her schoolbag. She didn't join Jiang Yue's get-together or pay any attention to Fang Ziyang's invitation.
Her solitary figure seemed to tell everyone, I just want to be a quiet little nobody.
People were complicated. A lot of them might have fawned on the powerful and crowded around the desks of the few Awakened Ones earlier.
But after seeing Fang Ziyang take a loss in that confrontation, many of them were secretly pleased.
Why?
The new order had only just begun to shift, and Fang Ziyang was already grandly declaring himself the face of the class and forming his own clique, as if he meant to exclude everyone else.
They were all young people around the same age. Who could stand that sort of smug, self-important attitude?
And wasn't he supposed to be an Awakened One who'd done well on the Physical Test? Hadn't his physical fitness improved by 20 percent? How come one light push from the monitor sent him flying like a kite made of paper?
And he still dared to call himself an Awakened One? Pah!
Had everyone been fooled by these people? Maybe the whole Awakened One thing was just an empty boast.
In any case, Jiang Yue's push had given quite a few people a thrill and helped restore their sense of balance.
The monitor was still the monitor, after all.
So, should they go to the monitor's get-together?
Looking at Du Yifeng's stormy expression, most people decided to play it safe, take neither side, and wait to see what happened.
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