The Upcoming Awakening Ritual

"Boss, this is the surveillance footage from Arena No. 3. Take a look first—I'm going to help Old Song!!"

Wang Defa rattled it off in one breath, set a USB drive on Ji Xuejun's desk, then bolted out of the office like his ass was on fire.

Ji Xuejun plugged the USB drive into her computer with a puzzled expression and opened the surveillance footage.

The recording was short, and Ji Xuejun finished watching it quickly.

"This Lin Yu looks like a student. I wonder which Martial University he's from. His ability can actually absorb attacks—pretty interesting!!"

Ji Xuejun muttered to herself. She was quite curious about the man's ability in the video. An ability that could absorb attacks would be godly if used well. She just didn't know what level his talent was. It would be a shame if it was low-grade!!

"Forget it. Once he contacts Wang Defa, we'll decide what reward to give him! Right now, the priority is catching those rats hiding in the dark!!"

Thinking of those cultists, Ji Xuejun's face immediately darkened.

"Just let me catch you, Eternal Night Church!!"

Ji Xuejun said through gritted teeth.

Lin Yu and the others hurried home without stopping. When he opened the door, he was startled by how lively the house was. Zhu Wansan and his wife, as well as Lin Yizhong and his wife, were all there.

"Xiaoyu, hurry up and let me take a look!"

The moment Lin Yizhong saw Lin Yu open the door, he rushed over in a single stride, grabbed him, and tried to inspect his eyes.

"Old Lin, why are you so worked up? Let Xiaoyu come inside first!!"

The speaker was Lin Yizhong's wife, Wu Xiaoting, who was also a teacher at Banyan City No. 1 High School.

"Right, right... Hurry inside!" Lin Yizhong pulled the two of them in and slammed the door shut. Lin Yu was helplessly dragged into the living room by his homeroom teacher, where he took off his sunglasses and let the elders get a good look!

The families had always been close. They could be said to treat Lin Yu as one of their own. Faced with their questions, Lin Yu gave them a rough explanation. He even briefly demonstrated the Rinnegan's Banshō Ten'in, satisfying their curiosity.

Only after quite a while did the elders finally calm down.

"Xiaoyu, what do you think? Should I contact the school right now? You awakened without using an Awakening Stone—the first SSS-grade ability user in all humanity. You'll definitely be admitted to a Martial University early! You won't even need to take the college entrance exam!"

Lin Yizhong looked at Lin Yu and spoke with certainty!

"Damn, how could that work? If I don't take the college entrance exam, how am I supposed to carry out my robbery plan? What about my mission?!"

Lin Yu had no interest whatsoever in guaranteed admission. Wasn't the Legendary Robbery Token good enough or what? He immediately dismissed his homeroom teacher's suggestion.

"Uncle Lin, there's no need to tell the school! I still want to see whether I can awaken again through the Awakening Ritual!! And I'm taking the college entrance exam too. Otherwise, wouldn't all these years of preparation have been wasted? I want to earn my own way into a Martial University!"

Lin Yu said with a righteous expression.

"Mm! That works too! Besides, with your strength, the college entrance exam should be a piece of cake for you!!"

Lin Yizhong thought it over. As Lin Yu's homeroom teacher, he knew his foundation very well. Lin Yu had always been good at academics, and now he had awakened an SSS-grade talent and gained the strength of the second rank. The martial exam would be even less of a problem. The college entrance exam really would be as easy as eating and drinking for Lin Yu.

From noon until night, Lin Yu's home was exceptionally lively. The men drank and chatted nonsense while the women caught up on family matters, and everyone was happy.

True affection was rare in this world. Lin Yu had never experienced such a warm and joyful scene in his previous life. I swear I'll protect this precious family bond in this life. Looking at the harmonious scene before him, Lin Yu silently made up his mind.

That night, Lin Yu saw Lin Yizhong and his wife off. Before leaving, the drunken Lin Yizhong kept grabbing Lin Yu and babbling nonsense. It took quite some effort to get his homeroom teacher into the car, and Lin Yu secretly wiped away a cold sweat.

"I never expected Uncle Lin, who's usually so stern, to become such a chatterbox when he's drunk!!"

Lin Yu shook his head. There was still another heavyweight drunk sprawled out inside. Luckily, Zhu Wansan's family lived right across the hall, or it really would have been difficult to get him home.

After busying himself for quite a while, he finally sent everyone home. Lin Aiguo had also drunk himself senseless and was already lying unconscious on the bed.

"Son, go get some rest early."

"Got it, Mom. You should get some rest too."

The next day, Lin Yu obediently stayed home and spent the entire day duo-queuing in the Rift with Fatty. He had wanted to visit a secret realm, but without the identity of a Guardian, he couldn't go even if he wanted to.

Generally, one had to undergo official certification after awakening to become a Guardian. Lin Yu had not yet been certified. Although he possessed second-rank strength, he was still unofficial. Only after certification would he become a formal Guardian.

Monday finally arrived. Early that morning, Fatty Zhu came over to call Lin Yu. Usually, Lin Yu was the one calling him. Perhaps because it was the day of the awakening, Zhu Fugui had unusually gotten up early.

After breakfast, Lin Yu put on his sunglasses and headed for school.

When they arrived, Lin Yu discovered that banners had already been hung at the school gate. "A Warm Welcome to Leaders of All Levels from Banyan City for Their Guidance!" The large gilded characters gleamed brightly across the banner.

"Even in another world, you can't escape bureaucracy!!" Lin Yu looked speechlessly at the banner hanging high above the school gate.

Still, Lin Yu could understand it. The Awakening Ritual was the most important event of the year, and big shots from every field were watching closely. No one knew whether this batch of students might produce a future powerhouse. It was always good to build goodwill in advance when you had the chance. Those big shots understood that perfectly!

And as the best junior Martial University in Banyan City, Banyan City No. 1 High School naturally had all the big shots showing up in person.

Since the big shots had come in person, how could the school not show some kind of response??

Lin Yu and Fatty Zhu slowly entered the school along with the other students. Looking at the excitement and nervousness the students could not hide, Lin Yu truly felt as though he were entering an exam hall in his previous life.

"Good thing I have 9527. Otherwise, I'd be one of them too!!!"

Lin Yu sighed. The existence of 9527 had become his strongest support, allowing him to stop worrying about awakening.

"That's right. With me here, Daddy doesn't need to worry. Isn't it just a little awakening? We're going to rob Awakening Stones!!"

9527's slightly smug voice rang out in Lin Yu's mind.

"Yeah, yeah... You're the best. But are you sure there won't be any accidents when you rob the energy from the Awakening Stone later?"

"Don't worry, Daddy... 9527 definitely won't screw you over," 9527 vowed solemnly.

"It had better be like you say. Otherwise, I'll dismantle you sooner or later."

Lin Yu still remembered how unreliable 9527 had been back then. What kind of system spirit had to read the manual just to understand its own system functions? No one was that unfamiliar with their own job except 9527.

As Lin Yu walked along, he noticed that patrols around campus were far tighter than usual. On the short stretch from the school gate to the teaching building, he encountered several teams of security personnel in plain sight alone. Who knew what other measures the school had prepared in secret to ensure the Awakening Ritual went smoothly?

This world was not only plagued by magical beasts; there were also all kinds of cult organizations with sinister intentions. The Eternal Night Church, which had created "human bombs" at the arena before, was just one of many such cults. If a cult pulled the same stunt during an event this important, no one could bear the losses.