Awakening Ritual

Lin Yu and Zhu Fugui walked into the classroom. Lin Yu's strange appearance, complete with sunglasses, left the classmates staring blankly.

"Lin Yu, what kind of new look is this? You're wearing sunglasses to the Awakening Ritual? You really come up with the oddest things. Is there some new saying behind it?"

Class monitor Yu Sisi looked curiously at Lin Yu's sunglasses and teased him. As one of Banyan City No. 1 High School's top students, Lin Yu had good grades, was handsome, and had no airs about him. He was extremely popular in class, so harmless jokes like this were commonplace.

"Over the weekend, I went to Blind Liu by the overpass to have my fortune told. He said that as long as I wore sunglasses during my awakening, I'd definitely awaken successfully—and even awaken a high-level ability."

Lin Yu said it with a straight face, looking so sincere that Yu Sisi nearly believed him.

"Keep making things up. As if I'd believe that."

Yu Sisi rolled her eyes at Lin Yu.

"Believe it or not. Don't blame me later for not warning you, Class Monitor."

Lin Yu laughed it off and headed for his seat in the last row. As for why he sat in the last row, one look at his six-foot height was enough to explain it.

At that moment, Lin Yizhong entered with a solemn expression. He swept his eyes across the classroom, and when he spotted Lin Yu, a smile clearly appeared in his eyes.

"Quiet down, everyone!" Lin Yizhong stepped onto the podium and motioned for the students to settle down.

"Today is the day of awakening. We have prepared for this day for nine years. At this moment, there is no room for wavering or retreat. All that remains is to charge forward without hesitation. I believe every one of you will awaken successfully."

"Alright! No more nonsense. Follow me to Sky-Leaping Hall. Success or failure will be decided today."

After saying that, Lin Yizhong led the fired-up students toward Sky-Leaping Hall.

Sky-Leaping Hall had been built specifically for the Awakening Ritual. Its name carried the meaning of a fish leaping over the dragon gate and soaring into the sky, and it could hold more than a thousand people.

By the time Lin Yizhong led his class to the venue, other classes were already lining up and entering in an orderly fashion.

"Teacher Lin!"

A voice called out to Lin Yizhong as he directed the students into line. Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Yizhong frowned and looked over.

Luo Yongjun, the homeroom teacher of Class 2. There were over three hundred senior students at Banyan City No. 1 High School, divided into eight classes. Lin Yizhong led Class 1, the key class, while Class 2 was the secondary key class.

"Teacher Luo, you're here." Lin Yizhong relaxed his brow and greeted him blandly. Luo Yongjun had started teaching at Banyan City No. 1 High School at the same time as Lin Yizhong. Both were fourth-rank Guardians, and their strength was nearly equal.

"Teacher Lin, last year your key class had fewer awakeners than our secondary key class. If you still can't make it this year, why not give Class 2 the title of key class?"

Luo Yongjun had always disliked Lin Yizhong. He believed Lin Yizhong had only become the key class's homeroom teacher because he had a good daughter. If not for his daughter's S-grade talent, how could the position of key class homeroom teacher ever have fallen into his hands?

"That isn't up to you. If you can get the principal to give you the key class title, I won't object. But for now, you should focus on being Class 2's homeroom teacher."

"Lin Yizhong, don't think having a good daughter means you can rest easy! This year, I'll apply to the school to give Class 2 the title of key class!"

Luo Yongjun said furiously. He had coveted the title of key class homeroom teacher for far more than a day or two, but he had never been able to wrest it away from Lin Yizhong.

"Can't help it. Who told you my daughter was so capable? With just a little teaching, she got into Longhua No. 1 Martial University. Ah, it's my fault for giving birth to such an outstanding daughter! If you think it's unfair, why don't you go have an S-grade daughter too?"

Lin Yizhong had no intention of indulging Luo Yongjun. If he wanted to be the key class homeroom teacher, he needed the ability to back it up. This year, Lin Yizhong held an unbeatable trump card. Even if everyone else failed to awaken, as long as Lin Yu was there, Luo Yongjun becoming the key class homeroom teacher would be nothing but a fool's dream!

"You..." Luo Yongjun nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Enough with the 'you, you.' Stop bothering me if there's nothing important. Do you even know what day this is? If the awakening gets delayed, neither of us can bear the responsibility!"

After saying that, Lin Yizhong could not be bothered with Luo Yongjun any longer and continued maintaining order in the class. Luo Yongjun's expression changed. If something really went wrong on an occasion like this, forget becoming the key class homeroom teacher—he would be skinned alive by the principal. At the thought, Luo Yongjun shuddered violently. He shot Lin Yizhong a fierce glare, then lost all interest in picking a fight and hurried off to maintain order.

Lin Yu and the others entered the hall with the crowd. At a glance, they spotted the massive stone stele standing on the stage. The entire stele was black, its surface carved with mysterious patterns and exuding an ancient, weathered aura. Protected by a barrier, it glimmered with black light.

"Daddy, hurry... I can sense enormous energy inside that stele. It's definitely enough to make a Legendary Robbery Token!"

9527's excited voice rang out in Lin Yu's mind.

"Don't rush. It hasn't started yet. It's not going anywhere anyway. Today, we're definitely robbing that Awakening Stone!!!!"

The moment 9527 mentioned the Legendary Robbery Token, Lin Yu's eyes behind his sunglasses had lit up completely. He could barely restrain himself from rushing up to claim it for himself. But when he looked at the row of big shots seated in front, his improper thoughts were immediately extinguished. It was not time to make a move yet. If he went up now, he would probably be slapped to death.

"Everyone, take your seats first. Don't make too much noise. Our class will be the first to go up later, so adjust yourselves."

After arranging for the students to sit down, Lin Yizhong gave a few brief instructions and then stood quietly to one side, waiting for the Awakening Ritual to begin.

Lin Yu sat calmly in his seat, propping his chin on one hand as he stared blankly at the stone stele onstage out of boredom.

About ten minutes later, once the teacher at the entrance saw that everyone had arrived, he slowly closed the doors of Sky-Leaping Hall.

A white-haired old man slowly walked to the front of the stage. He had kind brows and a gentle face, with a benevolent smile.

He was Murong Hongchen, the principal of Banyan City No. 1 High School. He had been a genius in his youth, but unfortunately, he was ambushed by magical beasts in a secret realm and his foundation was damaged. He could never advance another step, so he had no choice but to retreat behind the scenes and dedicate himself to teaching.

"Students, today is the most important day of your lives. I know you are all excited and anxious right now. I have a saying for all of you: In battle, courage is everything. Strike with full force at the first drumbeat; at the second, your spirit wanes; at the third, it is exhausted. When the enemy is exhausted and we are full of vigor, that is why we prevail. Students, show your best selves and give it your all!! I wish you great fortune on your martial path!!"

"Finally, I hereby declare the Awakening Ritual open!!"

Amid a round of applause, the old principal returned to his seat.

"Yu Sisi, Wang Yuan, Cai Yuning, Zhang Ye, you four get ready!"

Lin Yizhong called out four names from the form in his hand. The Awakening Stone could accommodate four people undergoing the Awakening Ritual at the same time, and as the key class, Class 1 was always the first to begin.

The four students Lin Yizhong called were all a little stunned. Though they had been mentally prepared, they had not expected to be the very first group.

"Teacher... I-I'm nervous."

Yu Sisi no longer had her usual confident demeanor. She was so nervous that she could barely speak properly.

"Don't be afraid. You have to believe that you can do it!"

Even as their homeroom teacher, Lin Yizhong had no better method at this point. He could only encourage them softly.

Under Lin Yizhong's encouraging gaze, the four walked nervously to the Awakening Stone. Seeing how tense they were, the instructor beside the stele smiled faintly.

"Relax. You're awakening, not going to the execution block. Don't be so nervous."

"In a moment, put your hands into the barrier. It will cut a small opening in your palms, and it may hurt a little. Bear with it, then place your palms against the Awakening Stone. Understand?"

"Understood!!"

The four separated and stood around the stone stele. Following the instructor's directions, they extended their hands into the barrier. Yu Sisi felt a sharp pain in her palm and knew it had been cut open. She immediately pressed her palm against the stele. The moment it touched the stone, the blood flowing from her palm was absorbed. Then, the stele emitted a dazzling light. After a short while, the light gradually faded, and the stele returned to its ancient, unadorned appearance.

The instant the light disappeared, phenomena appeared around Yu Sisi and Zhang Ye. A miniature rabbit radiating cyan light floated above Yu Sisi's head, while a small green dagger appeared above Zhang Ye's. The other two had no phenomena appear.

The moment the phenomena manifested, the seated students erupted into an uproar.

"That Yu Sisi has cyan light!! That's A-grade! I'm so jealous!!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect the first group to awaken such high-grade abilities!"

"The other one is impressive too. B-grade! I'd be satisfied if I could awaken a B-grade talent!"

Everyone who awakened successfully could manifest their talent ability. Upon successful awakening, the phenomenon would appear automatically, though afterward they could choose whether to reveal it or not.

The known talent abilities came in eight colors: white, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, corresponding respectively to F through SS grades. As for the legendary SSS grade, no one had seen one so far. After all, humanity had only inferred the existence of such a grade from the magical beasts.

As for the types of awakening, people had classified them into four major categories: natural, weapon, transformation, and mysterious.

Different awakened abilities manifested in different forms. Transformation types were generally various animals or plants. Weapon types directly took the form of weapons. Natural types were conglomerations of elemental energy—for example, a fire type would be a burning flame. Mysterious types had no fixed form of manifestation; any appearance was possible.

The cyan-glowing rabbit Yu Sisi had awakened was an A-grade transformation type.

The instructor beside the stele brightened at the sight.

"That's enough. Take your hands out. Yu Sisi, A-grade transformation type. Zhang Ye, B-grade weapon type. Wang Yuan and Cai Yuning, failed."

"Go down for now. Those who awakened successfully, remember to find your homeroom teacher and register your information."

Yu Sisi and Zhang Ye walked down with excited expressions, while Wang Yuan and Cai Yuning followed behind with dejected faces, their eyes full of envy as they looked at the two ahead of them.

"Teacher Lin, I succeeded! I succeeded!"

The moment Yu Sisi saw Lin Yizhong, she was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She grabbed him and jumped up and down.

"Alright, alright, don't get too excited. Go back to your seats first. You two should first familiarize yourselves with the talent information in your minds. As for you two, don't be too upset. Get some rest first."

"Okay, Teacher!"

The four replied with different emotions in their hearts.

"Cheng Yong... you four, go up!" Lin Yizhong continued calling four more students.

"Old Murong, not bad this year. You got high-grade awakenings in the first batch—an excellent start!"

Ji Xuejun sat in the front row with one leg crossed over the other, speaking bluntly to Murong Hongchen.

The old principal first looked helplessly at Ji Xuejun's sitting posture, then a benevolent smile appeared on his face.

"Yes. I hope we get a few more good seedlings this year! Our Banyan City hasn't produced a talent above S-grade for two years now!"

The last time an S-grade talent had appeared in Banyan City was two years ago. It had sparked a scramble among the major Martial Universities, but unfortunately, there had been no such grand occasion in the past two years.