Departure!

Time flowed like an arrow shot from a bow, carrying us farther and farther from the starting point.

"Your goal, the four of you, is simply to do your best. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves." Director Long patted Xie Xie and Tang Wulin on the shoulders, then looked at Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan. His hand lingered on Xie Xie's shoulder for two extra pats before he withdrew it. He stood in the corridor, with the principal's office door half-open behind him. Through the gap, the principal could be seen standing before the window, facing away from the outside. One hand was behind his back, while the other gripped a document so tightly that his knuckles had turned faintly white. Every one of them was a genius among geniuses. Recruiting them had undoubtedly been one of Eastsea Academy's wisest decisions in all its years.

Director Long and the principal saw eye to eye on this matter. When the two discussed it in the office, the principal read that document over three times before finally setting it on the desk and saying to Director Long, "Good thing we didn't let them get away." Director Long chuckled, rose to leave, and glanced back when he reached the door. The principal was still seated, both hands resting on the desk as his fingertips lightly tapped its surface, as if counting something. The two men were so excited that they almost felt they had met too late in life. They were just short of embracing and crying together.

They took a Soul Guidance Train from Eastsea City to Skysea City.

The seats in the carriage faced each other in pairs, with a row of small fold-out tables beside the windows. Tang Wulin sat by the window, with Gu Yue beside him. Xie