There were exactly 40 people on the field.
With the rule of ten students per class, they could be divided into exactly four classes.
Lin Xia searched the crowd, trying to find a familiar face.
His efforts paid off.
Before long, he spotted Zhu Tingyu on the other side, her expression cool and distant.
She wore loose athletic clothes and had her hair tied up in a high ponytail.
Her look stood out against the other girls, who had all dressed to the nines.
Even so, all sorts of boys had gathered around Zhu Tingyu, who wore no makeup.
But when the boys tried to strike up a conversation, she seemed to have hit the mute button. She didn't say a word, just scanned the area as if searching for someone.
The next moment, Zhu Tingyu's gaze met Lin Xia's.
She shot him a fierce glare, then turned her head and resumed staring coldly ahead, motionless.
"Wow, so... she was looking for me in the crowd?"
Lin Xia couldn't help smiling.
Pang Pang, who was eating potato chips, saw Lin Xia grinning at thin air and curiously followed his gaze.
When he saw the breathtaking Zhu Tingyu, he burst out laughing and patted Lin Xia on the shoulder.
"Forget it. Someone that gorgeous isn't someone we should be pining for!
Look at all those designer clothes she's wearing. They've got to cost tens of thousands, right?
Tsk, tsk, tsk. We couldn't afford to keep her!"
"Pighead, you say that like she'd be into you just because you had money."
Wu Ziyang had only caught the last part. He sneered and made a pig snout at Xu Jian. "Don't you usually look in the mirror?"
Just like that, the two of them started flinging a steady stream of insults at each other's mothers.
They didn't quiet down until someone cleared their throat on the stage.
"Hello, students..."
The four people on the stage began introducing themselves one by one.
A few minutes later.
Director Xie Feng swept his arm, and a virtual screen appeared high in the air.
It displayed: [40/40].
"Grouping students by their entrance ranks was just a rumor we put out!
The Imperial University's class assignment ceremony is simple. We use an elimination system. The last ten students standing will be Class One!"
His words sent a wave of uproar through the crowd!
Even Lin Xia drew in a sharp breath.
Didn't Director Xie mean they were about to have a massive brawl with all 40 of them?
Although it was supposedly an individual battle, who knew if they'd all gang up on one person once it started?
So class assignments weren't based on the grade of one's Awakening.
They were based on... popularity?!
"Gulp!"
Lin Xia swallowed.
He could feel several pairs of hostile eyes fixed on him.
Lin Xia swept his gaze around and confirmed his suspicion.
Zhu Tingyu and Liu Yucheng were glaring at him from either side!
What's more, he noticed that the foul-mouthed Wu Ziyang was looking at him with a strange expression, too!
"Do you think this field is here for you to play soccer on?"
Director Xie Feng gave a malicious smile. "Imperial University doesn't offer such easy entertainment!"
The students looked at one another, confused.
Only Lin Xia seemed to have realized something.
He first bent down and touched the grass, then looked up at the clouds, his expression grave.
"What are you looking at?" Xu Jian asked curiously.
"These clouds... something's off."
The next moment, before Pang Pang could react, an Energy Bullet coalesced in Lin Xia's palm.
"Y-you-you, what are you doing?!"
The sight left Pang Pang stammering in fright.
Zhu Tingyu and Liu Yucheng also frowned at Lin Xia's actions.
"Okay, I admit the balding director is pretty ugly, but that's no reason to fire at him, is it?" Wu Ziyang said quietly, eyes wide.
"Whoosh—!"
Lin Xia didn't explain. He raised his hand and fired the Energy Bullet.
The students immediately looked up and cried out in surprise!
But Director Xie Feng looked pleased.
He quickly picked Lin Xia out of the crowd.
"Bang!"
The Energy Bullet didn't shoot straight up to the clouds.
It was stopped in midair by an invisible barrier.
At that point, everyone on the field was looking at Lin Xia.
"The place we're in isn't a field at all. It's the Otherworld."
After speaking, Lin Xia looked toward the teachers on the raised platform.
His face showed no emotion, but he was deeply shocked inside!
Normally, entering the Otherworld meant being transported there.
But... Lin Xia couldn't remember being transported at all!
The other students were just as shocked!
Zhu Tingyu and Liu Yucheng couldn't understand how Lin Xia had recognized the Otherworld, and they seemed a little unwilling to accept it.
Wu Ziyang said nothing. He never admitted that anyone else was better than him.
Meanwhile, Pang Pang Xu Jian gave Lin Xia another thumbs-up.
"He's Lin Xia, an SSR Awakener," a female teacher whispered into Director Xie Feng's ear.
Hearing this, the smile on the director's face grew even brighter.
Then he announced that the students would have five minutes to move around and warm up.
As soon as he finished speaking, the students on the field began warming up.
The minutes ticked by.
The five minutes passed quickly.
By then, the students on the field were no longer standing so close together.
The 40 students had spread out, dividing the whole field between them.
"The class assignment ceremony begins now!!"
At Director Xie Feng's shout,
the field instantly became a dazzling blur!
All kinds of transformations and summoned creatures appeared one after another.
Zhu Tingyu's armor covered her body.
Liu Yucheng's golden, flowing figure was especially eye-catching.
Pang Pang didn't transform. He sat in a corner, looking completely resigned as he munched on snacks.
Wu Ziyang's clothes turned into the white robes of a xianxia drama, and two long swords appeared out of nowhere in his hands.
[Heartless Sword Demon] [Grade: SR] [OVR: 78]
"Heartless Sword Demon...?"
Lin Xia tried to figure out Wu Ziyang's awakened ability from those four words.
But he failed.
The name alone didn't tell him anything.
"Gulp!"
Lin Xia swallowed again.
He saw Liu Yucheng and Zhu Tingyu slowly making their way toward him.
"No way..."
Lin Xia's expression turned serious.
The next second, the two of them leaped at him from different directions at the same time!
What's more, out of the corner of his eye, Lin Xia saw Wu Ziyang crouch and spring from the other side. The Twin Blades in his hands flashed coldly as he flew toward Lin Xia, too!
"All right... bring it on!"
Lin Xia gave a casual shrug, muttered to himself, clenched his fists, and began powering up!
A powerful surge of energy rose around him, tearing up the grass nearby.
That drew the attention of everyone on the raised platform.
"Interesting. Is one person about to face three S-rank-or-higher Awakeners?"
Director Xie Feng watched with an entertained expression. "This guy sure is... 'popular'!"
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