"Please fill out these forms."
Aisha placed two forms in front of Jiang Yuan and Lin Qingyan.
The two of them said nothing and picked up their pens to fill them out.
After finishing, Lin Qingyan glanced at Jiang Yuan's form.
Just as she'd expected.
He was a high school senior taking the college entrance exam, just like her.
First High School, Class Three? Wasn't that an ordinary class?
When had a student like him come out of an ordinary class?
Aisha brought over two cups of tea and set them in front of them. "No need to rush. Take your time."
"Have you eaten? Would you like to eat here?"
Aisha was generous with her kindness.
Given the aptitude the two had shown, becoming top-tier experts was only a matter of time.
There was a saying in the Age of God Abandonment: the best investment was to hitch yourself to a genius.
Especially before they rose to prominence.
"No need," Jiang Yuan said, handing over his form. "Is this all right?"
"So your father's in the military. But I don't remember there being any commanders surnamed Jiang in Nanjiang City," Aisha said after thinking it over.
"My dad isn't a commander. He's just a sentry on guard duty."
Aisha froze.
A sentry?
How could an ordinary family with a sentry for a father afford supplements and cultivation methods? How had they managed to raise such a genius?
Lin Qingyan was also watching Jiang Yuan from the side, growing more and more astonished.
His breathing rhythm was flawless. His aura was calm and well-contained; unless you watched closely, you couldn't sense the fluctuations in his vital energy. Even the four prodigies in S Class couldn't reach that level.
Jiang Yuan looked at Lin Qingyan, and their eyes met again.
"You've been watching me for a while. Is something wrong?"
A trace of awkwardness crossed Lin Qingyan's face. She looked away, adjusted the brim of her hat, and said coolly, "Nothing. I was just curious how an Assassin managed to deal over forty thousand damage. As far as I know, there are only four students with S-rank talents at the Martial Arts High School..."
"Student Jiang," Aisha said, looking at his form. "Did you write down your talent incorrectly? It says E-rank here..."
"I didn't get it wrong. I awakened an E-rank talent." Jiang Yuan admitted it without hesitation.
Aisha was stunned.
Lin Qingyan also clearly froze.
E... E-rank talent?
Even with her experience, she found it hard to believe.
An Assassin with an E-rank talent had dealt over forty thousand damage...
What kind of international joke was this?!
Seeing that Jiang Yuan didn't seem to be joking, Aisha couldn't help sighing inwardly.
"What a shame."
A Class-Transferred Warrior could still become strong if their profession was ordinary, but if their talent was poor, they were destined never to become a powerhouse.
And to become a top-tier expert, both talent and profession had to be exceptional!
"Your registration is complete. The one-hundred-thousand-yuan subsidy will be deposited into your accounts later."
By the time Jiang Yuan and Lin Qingyan left the Martial Artist Association, the rain had stopped.
Steel skyscrapers lined both sides of the street. Giant screens on the buildings advertised new varieties of medicine and smart home appliances. Aircraft streaked across the sky, while neon lights shimmered in puddles on the ground, lending the scene a dreamlike quality.
There was also a barbecue-and-liquor shop by the road not far away, where some office workers drank, chatted, and bragged.
After taking a deep breath of the fresh air following the rain, Lin Qingyan looked at the scene before her with rare nostalgia.
She hadn't seen a scene like this since the college entrance exams in her previous life...
Remembering the disaster that would soon sweep over a million people, Lin Qingyan lowered her head. Her stunning face beneath the brim of her hat was clouded with gloom.
She knew what would happen, but with her current strength, she couldn't stop it.
She couldn't tell anyone, either. If doing so changed the course of fate, she couldn't begin to predict the consequences.
For the future of all humanity, the only thing she could do was grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Noticing the change in the atmosphere around her, Jiang Yuan couldn't help glancing at her.
Lin Qingyan pulled up the hood of her jacket and tucked her hands into its pockets, walking alone and clear-eyed through the rain-washed street.
After walking ten meters, she glanced back at Jiang Yuan and said coolly, "Why are you following me?"
Jiang Yuan looked at her, speechless. "I'm not following you. I'm going to the Tier-One Abyss in the south of the city."
Lin Qingyan was startled. "You are too?"
"..."
They both fell silent, neither expecting such a coincidence.
They'd both planned to register as warriors, then head into the Abyss to kill monsters and make money.
They said nothing more. Walking one behind the other, they made their way to the Terminal Building and waited for the train together.
While they were waiting, Lin Qingyan asked, "Are you planning to go into the Abyss alone, without a weapon or any preparation?"
"Yeah."
Lin Qingyan gave a cold laugh. "I'm telling you now: the Abyss isn't as simple as you think. Don't overestimate yourself. Even a Tier-Three Martial Artist could lose their life in a Tier-One Abyss."
Jiang Yuan looked at her, speechless. "You say that as if you have plenty of experience. What about you? It's your first time too, and you haven't made any preparations either."
"I'm different from you. Forget it. I'm only warning you. If you want to get yourself killed, go ahead." Lin Qingyan finished coldly, then fell silent.
Jiang Yuan found her completely baffling.
Soon, the Sky Rail arrived.
They boarded and sat facing each other, each keeping quiet.
Jiang Yuan was thinking about comprehending the Visualization Method.
The method Xu Yihan had taught him was called the Morning Dawn Visualization Method. It required him to watch the dawn each morning to temper his spirit. It wasn't particularly profound, but it had helped Jiang Yuan understand what visualization meant.
Meanwhile, as Jiang Yuan and Lin Qingyan made their way toward the Tier-One Abyss, back at the Martial Artist Association, Aisha placed their files in front of Branch President Chu Xiong.
"Branch President, these are the files of the two high school students who registered as Tier-One Warriors today. They've applied for the Genius Fund."
"Oh? Aside from those two from the Qin and Xia families, there are other high school students who became warriors before the college entrance exams? Let me see." Chu Xiong picked up the forms, interested.
"Lin Qingyan, the illegitimate daughter of someone at the White River Group? She awakened an A-rank talent and is a healer. Tsk, tsk. It seems everyone underestimated her."
"Jiang Yuan, an ordinary Assassin with an E-rank talent and a combat rating of forty thousand?!! Are you sure there wasn't a mistake?" Chu Xiong looked up at Aisha in surprise.
"We tested him twice. There's no mistake." Aisha smiled wryly.
"Is that so..." Chu Xiong gazed at the files in his hand, his eyes deep and unreadable.
"Send them the subsidy, and give each of them an additional Genetic Spirit Fluid."
Aisha was surprised, but still nodded. "Yes, understood."
Before you continue