Zhang Daosheng's All-or-Nothing Gamble

"How is that possible?!" Yan Feng was stunned.

These were tiles! A concrete floor! They were inside a building!

How had wood grown here?!

Yan Feng's fist struck the Wood Stockade Wall, sending a tremendous boom through the room.

Yan Feng's expression changed drastically.

Even Chen Dong, standing beside him, stared wide-eyed.

A shock wave rebounded from the Wood Stockade Wall.

Flames?! Repelled by wood?!

How was that possible? It made no sense!

"Attacking someone out of nowhere is rather rude, you know."

Ye Chen's voice rang out.

Only then did the two stunned men come to their senses.

"What the hell is that?!" Yan Feng roared.

Fire, countered by wood? If word got out, he would never live it down!

Ye Chen summoned more wood, slowly shaping it into a spike.

It was like creating a wooden blade with a ninjutsu technique.

Before their eyes, a gap slowly opened down the middle of the Wood Stockade Wall.

Ye Chen seized the opening and thrust the spike forward!

"Aagh!"

Yan Feng had no time to react.

The wooden spike pierced his right shoulder, and the searing pain tore a scream from his throat.

"That was a warning. There won't be a next time," Ye Chen said, his face dark.

His voice was thick with killing intent.

Chen Dong understood: if no one else had been there, Ye Chen... would have killed Yan Feng!

"You..." Anger surged through Yan Feng.

"What about me? Want one in your left shoulder too?"

Chen Dong hurried forward and stopped Yan Feng before he could say more.

"This time, Yan Feng went too far..." he said to Ye Chen.

As he spoke, he took two strange stones from his briefcase.

"Take these as an apology. We've made a mess of your home."

Ye Chen looked at the two stones. They were crystal clear.

The moment they appeared, the spiritual energy in the air grew noticeably denser.

So these must be the so-called Spirit Stones.

He nodded. "I'll let it go this time. But next time..."

The threat in his voice was unmistakable.

Yan Feng kept quiet, but he was still seething inside.

Once I'm back in Beijing, I'll find a way to kill you. You'd better stay out of Beijing too!

Chen Dong quickly pulled Yan Feng away, ready to leave.

"Ye Chen, we'll be in touch. We'll be going now..."

Ye Chen watched them leave with a smile. "Come again sometime!"

Chen Dong picked up his pace. He didn't even take the elevator, heading straight for the stairs!

Ye Chen's voice followed him. "Bring more Spirit Stones next time."

Chen Dong was mortified. Ye Chen had certainly left an impression on him.

Judging by the strength Ye Chen had shown,

his wood ability was no mere support ability!

It seemed more like... defense!

But where had that wooden spike come from? An Innate Ability?

Surely he couldn't have reached the Second Awakening Realm in just a few hours?

As Yan Feng left, his face was dark as a storm cloud.

Ye Chen knew perfectly well that Yan Feng would come after him.

But when that happened, there would be no witnesses...

After seeing them off, Ye Chen slumped onto the sofa.

"Whew. One technique was enough to drain almost all the spiritual energy from my body..."

"Good thing that guy backed down instead of attacking again."

"I need to raise my cultivation fast. At this rate, forget True Thousand Hands—I wouldn't even be able to use Wood Dragon..."

Ye Chen shook his head gloomily. He had thought he could become invincible right away.

What baffled Ye Chen even more was that no other university came knocking, even as the night wore on.

The path of awakening consumed enormous amounts of money, and without combat ability early on, earning it was hard.

For someone with a support ability, the way to make money was to heal people.

Minor injuries didn't need you; serious ones were beyond you.

Naturally, there wasn't much to earn.

No matter how good your talent was, you couldn't heal someone in the Upper Three Realms while you were still in the ninth stage of awakening.

The gap in cultivation was too great.

That was why the other schools prioritized talents with formidable combat power.

At Lan Lengshuang's home, for example, representatives of the three top universities of the Human Race were arguing heatedly.

Of course, Ye Chen knew none of this.

He was still studying the system he had been given.

When he opened the system interface, a countdown greeted him.

Myriad Heavens Gate available in: 12:23

The interface was so simple that Ye Chen understood at once: it was a countdown.

When the time ran out, he would get one chance to obtain an item from another world.

Still, Ye Chen was speechless. It was called a gate, but it was actually a prize wheel...

"Come on, this system doesn't feel complete... Shouldn't it give me some cultivation resources? What good are more talents without resources?"

At that thought, Ye Chen paused and took the two Spirit Stones Chen Dong had left from his pocket.

A cool sensation spread through his hand the moment he picked up the Spirit Stones.

Although he had already experienced the benefits of Spirit Stones before getting his hands on one.

Hold one in your hand and practice a breathing technique, and you could absorb the spiritual energy inside.

How did he know? Thank Baidu.

Meanwhile, Zanghai No. 1 High School was in chaos.

Representatives from universities everywhere had come to take a look. A small city had produced two people with SSS-rank talents.

Naturally, it had become famous overnight.

Zhang Daosheng was so busy he could barely keep up.

There were the three top universities, along with all the other academies.

After working until midnight, Zhang Daosheng began to think being a principal wasn't such a good choice after all.

He was a powerhouse in the Upper Three Realms, yet he felt exhausted?

Then he remembered something and took out his phone to make a call.

"Old Li, did you visit that Wood Element kid I told you about?"

The man on the other end didn't answer right away. "I forgot."

"???" Zhang Daosheng was dumbfounded.

"Someone from Beijing went to see him today. I figured I didn't need to go," Old Li added.

Zhang Daosheng fell silent for a moment. "Even if someone from Beijing has been there, I think you should make the trip."

"Kyoto has too many geniuses. I doubt they'll devote much effort to a support specialist. Raising one to the Upper Three Realms would cost a fortune..."

Li Mo considered it. Zhang Daosheng had a point.

Even if a Beijing university recruited Ye Chen, it was unlikely to offer him much.

Zhang Daosheng spoke again. "Our academy hasn't produced anyone who could stand among the finest in the Human Race in years..."

"I want to try. Even if Ye Chen remains a support specialist, I hope he can uphold Firmament Academy's name and become a healing 'god'!"

"I want... to make him the Human Race's first legendary support specialist!"

Li Mo drew a sharp breath. He knew exactly what Zhang Daosheng meant.

Zhang Daosheng had originally chosen Lan Lengshuang. Unfortunately, she hadn't chosen Firmament Academy just because he was her principal.

"Are you sure..."

"You want to stake that much on him?!"

Well, Li Mo, so much for your quiet, reserved image.

Zhang Daosheng smiled, his voice firm.

"I'm sure."