Lin Xia rode the school bus to an abandoned ancient temple.
"Students, quiet down!"
Director Xie Feng cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
The next moment, Xie Feng gestured for things to begin, and several staff members started operating the electronic devices in their hands.
"Oh my god!"
The students all exclaimed in amazement.
The scenery around them began to blur, then slowly faded away.
The dilapidated buildings vanished, replaced by enormous gray pillars that towered into the clouds.
Everyone knew these were the Reinforcement Pillars they had learned about in class that morning.
"Don't rush to investigate the Reinforcement Pillars. First, focus on successfully obtaining a Summoning Card!"
Before the students could get a good look, Xie Feng pointed to the black vortex behind the pillars and said:
"This is a Black Iron-level secret realm, and it's the only one you'll be able to enter today!
"Don't let its low rank fool you. Every year, students go in and never come back...
"Even at Imperial University, it happens. Last year, two freshmen died in there."
Sadness and warning colored Xie Feng's voice.
He mentioned these tragedies because he wanted the students to take this seriously.
After all, every Awakener had to take the first step into a secret realm.
And this secret realm was the lowest-ranked and safest one available.
The students understood these things, naturally, and nodded to show they understood.
"Secret realms are separate spaces. At most, two people can enter the same space together...
"Next, come up one by one to draw a ticket. Anyone who draws the same number will enter the secret realm together!"
When Director Xie Feng finished speaking, a staff member set a yellow box on the table in front of him.
The students lined up.
Lin Xia knew the purpose of this arrangement.
It was to ensure fairness!
If they didn't use tickets to form groups, the strongest students would team up with one another.
That would make the first secret-realm trip extremely difficult for students with weaker starting abilities.
That was because everyone gained the same amount of experience in a secret realm. It wasn't divided among the group.
So no one would choose to clear the dungeon alone.
Doing so would only increase the risk of dying.
"Why are there so many people?"
Lin Xia looked at the densely packed crowd around the grounds and furrowed his brow.
They ranged widely in age.
The younger ones were about Lin Xia's age and were clearly upperclassmen from Imperial University.
Their faces were full of curiosity and anticipation as they watched the spectacle.
The middle-aged and elderly people wore expensive suits and polished leather shoes. Everything about them screamed wealth.
Only a small number were dressed plainly, with a scholarly air about them. They seemed to be teachers.
Lin Xia didn't recognize any of them, but he could tell they were all talking about him.
Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
Lin Xia turned around and saw Wu Ziyang.
"Where's that fatso? Why haven't I seen him?"
"He's sleeping in the dorm. He's not coming today. He said he's giving up on the secret-realm trip."
Lin Xia didn't think much of Wu Ziyang, so he didn't bother explaining further.
Wu Ziyang seemed to hear the displeasure in his voice and didn't say anything else.
But Wu Ziyang's question brought Lin Xia's thoughts back to half an hour earlier.
He had just finished washing up and returned to find that everyone else had left the dorm. Only Xu Jian was still fast asleep.
Seeing this, Lin Xia hurried over to wake him.
But Xu Jian said he didn't want to take part in the secret-realm trip and planned to give up.
His Awakening Ability was too useless, he said. He'd probably die in the secret realm, so he might as well stay in the dorm.
Lin Xia asked Xu Jian again what his ability actually was, but the only answer he got was "useless."
For a moment, Lin Xia even wondered if Xu Jian's ability had really turned into garbage...
Then he stopped pressuring Xu Jian. The school let students choose for themselves whether or not to enter the secret realm, after all.
"You're up."
The staff member's voice brought Lin Xia's thoughts back to the present.
He looked at the yellow box in front of him and was about to reach inside.
But the staff member gave him a knowing look and slipped a small piece of paper into his hand.
"What's going on..."
Lin Xia opened the paper, puzzled. It had the number [5] written on it.
Xie Feng had been chatting with the other students. When he saw that Lin Xia had drawn a ticket, he came over curiously.
"Lin Xia, you got number five."
He scratched his head, trying to remember something. "I think the other person who drew number five was..."
"Me!"
A man's voice rang out.
Lin Xia looked toward the sound and saw a handsome guy in a black T-shirt, about 185 centimeters tall, walking over.
"Right, right, I remember now. Meng Bo, it was you!"
Xie Feng beamed.
Meng Bo was the star student of Class One, and Xie Feng had personally chosen him to be class monitor.
That wasn't just because Meng Bo came from an influential family. He was also an SR-rank Awakener!
One of only two SR-rank Awakeners in this year's class!
Meng Bo ignored Xie Feng and stared coldly at Lin Xia, as if they had some deep-seated grudge.
Lin Xia didn't understand why the staff member had secretly given him that ticket, but he still greeted Meng Bo politely. As far as he was concerned, it made no difference who he teamed up with.
Hi, nice to meet you. Let's enter the secret realm together... I hope we get along.
Normally, Lin Xia would have said something like that. It was only polite.
But when he saw how hostile Meng Bo looked, he just said coldly, "Hello."
"Hello."
Meng Bo replied, but it was obvious he only said it because Xie Feng was standing nearby.
Even a rich second-generation kid had to behave in front of his homeroom teacher and make a good impression.
The next moment, someone called Xie Feng away.
Meng Bo immediately dropped the act, his face filling with disdain and contempt.
He put his hands in his pockets and stood there arrogantly. "You bastard! I saw you making those lewd gestures at Xiaoyu when I came to pick her up this morning... Are you looking to die?!"
"Xiaoyu... lewd gestures...?"
Lin Xia thought for a moment, then realized that the Xiaoyu this guy was talking about was Zhu Tingyu.
And the lewd gesture he meant was the flying kiss Lin Xia had blown her.
"Are you Zhu Tingyu's boyfriend?"
Lin Xia didn't get angry. He simply asked.
He wasn't unreasonable.
If Zhu Tingyu had a boyfriend and Lin Xia had made that kind of gesture to her right in front of him, then Lin Xia would have been in the wrong.
In fact, if this guy really was Zhu Tingyu's boyfriend, Lin Xia would sincerely apologize and give up on his feelings for her.
They were both men. No one wanted some other guy flirting with his girlfriend, right?
But!
If this guy wasn't Zhu Tingyu's boyfriend...
Then for him to insult Lin Xia like that...
Lin Xia sneered inwardly, a murderous intent rising in his heart.
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