A Coincidental Meeting on the Same Path, Heading to the Abyss

"Please fill out these forms next."

Aisha placed two forms in front of Jiang Yuan and Lin Qingyan.

The two said nothing, picking up their pens and beginning to fill them out.

After Lin Qingyan finished, she glanced at Jiang Yuan's form.

As expected.

Like her, he was a high school senior.

Class 3 of the First High School—wasn't that a regular class?

Since when did a regular class produce a guy like this?

Aisha brought over two cups of tea, set them down before the two, and said gently, "No need to rush, take your time."

"Have you two eaten? Would you like to eat here?"

Aisha was not stingy with her kindness.

Given the aptitude the two had displayed, becoming top-tier powerhouses was only a matter of time.

There was a saying in the Age of God Abandonment: the best investment is to cling to the thighs of geniuses.

Especially before they rose to prominence.

"No need," Jiang Yuan said, handing over the form. "Is this sufficient?"

"So your father is in the military. But I recall there being no commander with the surname Jiang in Nanjiang City," Aisha said after a moment of thought.

"My dad isn't a commander; he's just a sentry responsible for guard duty."

Aisha was stunned.

A sentry?

How could an ordinary family from a sentry background afford to buy supplements and cultivation methods? How on earth did they manage to raise such a genius?

Lin Qingyan was also observing Jiang Yuan from the side, and the more she looked, the more surprised she became.

His breathing rhythm was too perfect; his aura was so restrained and steady that one couldn't even sense the fluctuations of his blood energy without careful observation. Even the four prodigies in the S-class couldn't reach this level.

Jiang Yuan looked toward Lin Qingyan, and their gazes met once more.

"You've been watching me for a while now. Is there something you need?"

A flash 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 people in Martial Arts High School with S-rank talents..."

"Student Jiang."

Aisha looked at the form and couldn't help but say, "Did you write your talent wrong? It says E-rank here..."

"I didn't write it wrong. I awakened an E-rank talent," Jiang Yuan admitted candidly.

Aisha was dumbfounded.

Lin Qingyan was also visibly stunned.

E... E-rank talent?

Even with her experience, she found it somewhat inconceivable at this moment.

An E-rank talent assassin class dealing forty thousand damage...

Are you kidding me?!

Seeing that Jiang Yuan didn't seem to be joking, Aisha couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

What a pity.

One had to know that if a transferred martial artist had an average class, it was one thing, but if their talent was lacking, they were destined never to become a powerhouse.

As for becoming a top-tier powerhouse, both talent and class needed to be top-notch!

"The paperwork is complete. The one-hundred-thousand-yuan subsidy will be deposited into your cards later."

By the time Jiang Yuan and Lin Qingyan walked out of the Martial Artist Association, the rain in the sky had stopped.

Steel skyscrapers stood on both sides of the street, and the massive light screens on the buildings played advertisements for new types of potions and smart home appliances. Flying vehicles zipped through the high altitude, and the neon lights reflected on the puddles on the ground, filled with dreamlike colors.

Not far away, there was a roadside barbecue stall where some office workers were drinking and bragging.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh air after the rain and looking at the scene before her, Lin Qingyan felt a rare sense of nostalgia.

She hadn't seen a scene like this since after the college entrance exam in her previous life...

Thinking of the disaster that would sweep through millions of people before long, Lin Qingyan lowered her head, her beautiful face under the brim of her hat shrouded in a layer of gloom.

She knew what was going to happen, but with her current strength, she couldn't stop it at all.

She couldn't speak of it, and she couldn't predict what kind of impact it would have if the trajectory of fate were altered because of it.

For the sake of all humanity's future, the only thing she could do was become stronger as quickly as possible.

Noticing the change in her aura, Jiang Yuan couldn't help but glance at her again.

Lin Qingyan pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, shoved her hands into her pockets, and walked down the rain-slicked street, looking lonely and clear-headed.

After walking ten meters.

She turned her head to glance at Jiang Yuan behind her and said coldly, "Why are you following me?"

Jiang Yuan looked speechless. "Who's following you? I'm going to the Level 1 Abyss in the south of the city."

Lin Qingyan was startled. "You too?"

"..."

Both of them fell silent, not expecting such a coincidence.

They were both thinking about registering as martial artists and heading into the Abyss to kill monsters for money.

Without another word, the two walked one after the other, headed to the terminal, and waited for the transport together.

While waiting, Lin Qingyan spoke up, "Do you intend to just head into the Abyss alone like that, without weapons or any preparations?"

"Yeah."

Lin Qingyan sneered, "I'll tell you in advance: the Abyss isn't as simple as you think, so don't overestimate yourself. Even a Level 1 Abyss can claim the life of a Tier 3 martial artist."

Jiang Yuan looked speechless. "You say that as if you have a lot of experience. What about you? Aren't you doing the same for the first time, without any preparation at all?"

"I'm different from you. Forget it, I was just giving you a heads-up. If you want to throw your life away, suit yourself." After saying this coldly, Lin Qingyan stopped speaking.

Jiang Yuan just felt it was inexplicable.

Soon, the Sky Rail arrived.

The two boarded, sat opposite each other, and remained silent.

Jiang Yuan was thinking about comprehending the visualization method.

The one Xu Yihan had taught him was called the Morning Dawn Visualization Method, which required observing the dawn every morning to temper one's spirit. Although it wasn't particularly profound, it helped Jiang Yuan understand what visualization was all about.

On the other side, while Jiang Yuan and the other were on their way to the Level 1 Abyss.

At the Martial Artist Association.

Aisha placed the files of Jiang Yuan and Lin Qingyan in front of the branch president, Chu Xiong.

"Branch President, these are the files for the two high school students who passed their Level 1 martial artist registration today. They are applying for the Genius Fund."

"Oh? Aside from those two from the Qin Family and the Xia Family, there are other high school students who became martial artists before the college entrance exam? Let me see." Chu Xiong said with interest, picking up the forms to review.

"Lin Qingyan, the illegitimate daughter from the White River Group? Awakened an A-rank talent, a healer... tsk tsk, it seems everyone underestimated her."

"Jiang Yuan, ordinary assassin, E-rank talent, combat power of 40,000?!! Is there a mistake?" Chu Xiong looked up at Aisha in surprise.

"It was tested twice, I guarantee there's no error." Aisha said with a wry smile.

"Is that so..." Chu Xiong stared at the file in his hands with deep eyes, lost in thought.

"Send the subsidies to them, and add a portion of Genetic Spirit Fluid as well."

Although Aisha was a bit surprised, she nodded. "Yes, I understand."