Dazzling Brilliance

Ring, ring, ring!

As the class bell rang, a woman walked into the classroom with light, cheerful steps.

She looked about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. She was not tall, only around five foot one, but her features were delicate and pretty.

She was at the very height of youth, yet perhaps to make herself seem more authoritative as a teacher, she had deliberately put on an old-fashioned black business suit and black-rimmed glasses. Even so, she could not hide the youthful innocence on her face.

One look was enough to tell that she was a homeroom teacher fresh out of university, here as an intern.

There were quite a few girls in the class who looked more mature than she did.

Of course, the woman was only the class's life advisor, mainly responsible for the students' daily lives and arrangements. She had no real authority at all.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down a little."

At the podium, Xu Wei smiled faintly, and her two deep dimples seemed to smile along with her.

Hearing her voice, the drowsy Lin Feng looked up. The first thing he saw was that smile, and without realizing it, his originally irritated mood gradually calmed.

"It's so good to see you again!"

If, in his senior year, Yage had made him hate school, hate the classmates around him, and even hate everything in the world, then this homeroom teacher alone was the only memory he cherished from that dark time.

"Lin Feng, you have to keep at it. Even though you failed on Awakening Day, Teacher believes you can still get into a good university."

"How are you feeling today? If you have any worries, you can tell Teacher."

"Why have you become so quiet? You should talk more with your classmates."

Those caring words seemed to still echo beside his ears.

From elementary school to high school, and even university, Lin Feng had never held much affection for any of the teachers who had taught him.

In the Great Cultivation Era, calling teachers candles or gardeners would only sound laughable.

In a society where Might Makes Right, teachers and administrators only cared about two kinds of students.

The first were cultivation geniuses, because they affected their performance evaluations.

The second were students with influential family backgrounds, because they could bring them benefits.

For students like Lin Feng, who lived in Anbian Residential Area and, though hardworking and academically excellent, were not geniuses, concern was an exceedingly rare emotion. Sometimes, they were even discriminated against.

This was not just how Lin Feng felt. It was how all students from Anbian Residential Area felt.

Without cultivation talent, many children from Anbian Residential Area were not even very willing to attend school.

Xu Wei alone was an exception.

That pure smile of hers carried not the slightest stench of worldly profit.

She cared for and looked after every student equally.

As far as Lin Feng knew, her family circumstances were poor. Her mother had died young, her father was disabled and unable to work, and she had a younger brother still in high school. She was the family's only hope. Yet even so, she would still take what little salary she had and use it to help students from struggling families.

That old-fashioned business suit, in their eyes, might have been the finest and most expensive clothing she had ever worn.

Yet this good teacher, less than half a year after becoming their homeroom teacher—two months from now—would leap from this teaching building on a pitch-black night.

The conclusion given by the school and the police was: suicide.

Lin Feng simply could not believe that someone with such a clean smile would commit suicide.

She still had a disabled father and a younger brother who needed her help. What reason could make her abandon everything and leave this world?

It was not just Lin Feng. No one who had known Xu Wei believed it. The students jointly signed a petition and went to the school administration, but it was all in vain. The matter was quickly suppressed and did not even make the news.

To protect Xu Wei, and to have the strength to stand against everything when the time came, Lin Feng felt that his plans had to be moved forward.

"Alright, before class begins, I have an announcement for everyone."

Xu Wei adjusted her glasses and said, "Awakening Day has ended. Assessment will begin next Wednesday. The top one hundred students in the school can enter the advanced classes. Everyone, work hard and give it your all. Try to get into an advanced class."

The moment she said this, the classroom erupted into discussion. Still, everyone had clearly been prepared for it, so they were not surprised.

There were still three months until the college entrance examination. The school would provide special attention and intensive training to students in the advanced classes, hoping to get a few more students into the Nine Elite Joint Schools.

For a key high school, there were assessment standards to meet. Those standards directly determined the government funding subsidies the school could receive the following year, as well as personnel arrangements among the school leadership. Thus, the school attached immense importance to them.

"Brother Feng, looks like we have no hope," Gao Hai said gloomily.

Although he had refined the second-rank Mighty Demonic Ox and could receive ten bonus points, with his Body Cultivation Stage Six strength and academic grades, his overall score could not even rank among the top thousand in his grade, let alone earn him a place in an advanced class.

"Don't worry. Brother Feng will carry you to the skies."

Lin Feng patted his shoulder in consolation.

To him, the resources provided by an advanced class were merely a drop in the bucket. As for pre-exam guidance, did he need it?

Those so-called intensive training sessions meant nothing to him.

It would be more accurate to say that he should be guiding those teachers.

"Alright, stop discussing it. Class is starting."

Xu Wei clapped her hands and tapped lightly on the display blackboard.

This was the Great Cultivation Era, and every course at Jiangxin Middle School revolved around one core goal: becoming a martial artist and learning how to hunt demonic beasts.

College entrance examination scores were divided into three sections, for a total of 750 points.

Part One: Academic scores, 200 points.

The academic scores here were not traditional subjects such as language, mathematics, or physics.

Those basic subjects had already been completed in middle school. Instead, these were subjects related to the world of martial artists, such as common spiritual herbs, types of demonic beasts, and their weaknesses.

Part Two: Physical constitution scores, 350 points.

Physical constitution scores were based on the level of one's blood vitality, and accounted for nearly half the total points.

Part Three: Practical combat scores, 200 points.

A martial artist could not merely possess strength without combat ability. Practical combat mainly tested one's mastery of fighting techniques.

According to the admission standards of previous years, scoring 580 out of 750 points was enough to enter one of the Nine Elite Joint Schools.

Reaching 660 points was enough to enter one of the Three Hero Academies.

In the test half a month ago, Lin Feng's academic score had been 189, his physical constitution score 212, and his practical combat score 150, for a total of 551 points—insufficient for admission to the Nine Elite Joint Schools.

Lin Feng's academic score had already reached its limit. A score of 189 placed him among the top ten in the class.

A practical combat score of 150 was also considered high. The main problem was that his physical constitution score had severely held him back.

For a student like Lin Feng, who had no resources, physical constitution was the hardest score to improve.

Even with three months remaining, the improvement would be limited. The gap would likely remain more or less the same.

Gao Hai's grades were even worse, barely over five hundred.

Therefore, for most of the students, they already had a fairly clear idea of what university they could enter in the future.

Besides these three areas, students could also receive bonus points for special talents, such as mastering a martial art, archery, swordsmanship...

Or certain special skills.

As far as Lin Feng knew, some students in the class had earned certificates as junior potion apprentices or junior artifact-refining apprentices... These could also earn bonus points for certain university majors, though the amount varied from university to university.

Becoming a Demon Spirit Master also earned bonus points.

Refining a first-rank demon spirit earned five bonus points. Refining a second-rank one earned ten, and so on. Refining an Earth Ranking Demon Spirit could earn up to fifty bonus points.

The senior-year schedule consisted of academic subjects in the morning and physical training in the afternoon.

Xu Wei's class was Plant Spirit Recognition.

This course mainly introduced various plants that martial artists could use in the wilderness, as well as all kinds of heavenly treasures and earthly wonders.

Though he was very sleepy during this class, Lin Feng still tried hard to remain awake. However, his mind was not on the lesson.

Second period: Demonic Beast Recognition.

This course mainly introduced the types and weaknesses of demonic beasts, supplemented by videos demonstrating techniques for hunting them.

The students were clearly interested in this course and understood its importance. After all, for martial artists, hunting demonic beasts was the most basic skill. If they did not study seriously now, they might pay for it with their lives in the future.

The bloody scenes made some of the girls scream from time to time. The noise woke the drowsy Lin Feng. He glanced up once, then went back to sleep.

When it came to hunting demonic beasts, he was already master-level. Hundreds, even thousands of demonic beasts had died by his hand. In this city, there were probably not many more skilled than him.

Lin Feng did not listen to any of the morning lessons. He slept through the entire morning, and his condition was naturally noticed by his classmates. In their eyes, Lin Feng could not bear the blow of failure and had begun to give up on himself.

In their eyes, Lin Feng's future no longer held much hope.

Ring, ring, ring!

Only when the dismissal bell rang did Lin Feng slowly open his eyes.

He had not been awakened by the noise. He had been awakened by hunger.

He had not eaten his fill that morning. The aftereffects of the Evil Sealing Seal had begun to show: blood loss and depleted blood vitality had left his body in an extreme state of hunger.

"Come on, let's eat."

Lin Feng patted Gao Hai's shoulder and said.

Just as the two stepped out of the classroom, a graceful figure blocked their path.

"Lin Feng, I have something to discuss with you."

Yage stood before Lin Feng with a serious expression. Lin Feng noticed that the girl was somewhat different today—at the very least, different from yesterday.

Although her clothes had not changed and she still wore the same blue-and-white school uniform, her temperament had changed.

Yage had always been beautiful, but her cultivation talent could only be considered above average. Living in Anbian Residential Area, compared to the true favored children of heaven, she had always carried a trace of insecurity. But now that she had refined the eighth-rank Bewitching Butterfly and signed with Juxing Club, that trace of insecurity had vanished without a shadow.

Overnight, the girl had undergone a transformation. She had become confident and resolute, even more dazzling than before.