Passing the test

"Meow, meow, meow!"

Atop the glass apparatus, the big black cat stretched leisurely.

There was not a trace of greed for the Golden Corn in its eyes.

All they held was "hostility" toward a certain someone!

Whenever Lu Zhan grew hungry enough to gnaw on the table, the languid black cat immediately widened its eyes.

Unfortunately, before it could enjoy the show, Lu Zhan reined himself in again.

After this happened several times, the big black cat grew rather impatient instead.

"Little Black, don't underestimate our handsome young baldy. The hunger he's enduring right now is at least twice what an ordinary student feels!"

"If he can get through this, he'll have earned the right to call himself a little genius."

"To think my luck was so poor before, only for it to turn around now and bring me such a good student."

Su Yuyan rubbed the cat's head, her eyes full of admiration for Lu Zhan.

The Talent Assessment outside the Training Center could only determine whether someone possessed talent.

It could not accurately measure how great that talent was.

Only when Autophagy was activated for the first time did the differences in talent truly emerge.

However, although talent manifested through the intensity of Autophagy, that did not mean greater talent was always better.

If someone could not master their own talent, it gave them no advantage in becoming an Armored Warrior.

Su Yuyan had seen students with good talent before, but they lacked the willpower to match it.

The most recent cautionary example was Graham.

When Graham first activated Autophagy, its intensity had also far exceeded that of ordinary students.

But he had chosen to give up halfway, failing to realize his talent.

Afterward, he had shied away from difficulty and hardship, choosing shortcuts to "cheat" his hunger.

As a result, his talent had become indistinguishable from everyone else's.

Although Lu Zhan had still not passed the test, for some reason, Su Yuyan instinctively had great confidence in him.

Perhaps it was because Lu Zhan had left such a good impression on her when they first met?

Her judgment proved remarkably accurate. After enduring nine bouts of torment, Lu Zhan did indeed pass.

The hunger has finally disappeared!

It's not my imagination. The cells in my body returned to normal in an instant.

The hunger had arrived like a surging tide.

Yet when it receded, it vanished as swiftly as lightning.

It happened so suddenly that Lu Zhan felt an overwhelming sense of bliss.

Enveloped in that bliss, his mind went blank for a moment-or rather, entered a state of utter clarity.

Bzzz, bzzz!

In that state of absolute clarity, the Blood-Red Antenna deep within Lu Zhan's mind underwent an inexplicable change.

Lu Zhan had no idea what had happened to the Blood-Red Antenna.

But when he came back to his senses, he discovered that the antenna's blood-red color had faded considerably.

"Whew, whew, whew!"

Lu Zhan's success seemed to serve as a signal. The other students struggling through the ordeal also reached its end, one after another.

Seeing this, Su Yuyan immediately put away the glass apparatus and locked it inside the case.

Without the Golden Corn's golden radiance shining on them, Wen Shiyan and the others returned to normal as well.

My judgment was right after all.

Autophagy is ultimately a bodily instinct. Once the body has been purified to a certain degree, it automatically shuts Autophagy down.

Theoretically speaking, I achieved the best possible results from this training session.

Lu Zhan glanced at his arm and discovered that it had actually shrunk noticeably.

Yet the strength surging through his muscles made him feel as though he could easily tear apart the sheet-metal table before him.

Although Lu Zhan did not do that, he pressed down hard with his left hand.

The next instant, a sunken handprint appeared in the metal tabletop.

"Congratulations on making it through without losing control, Lu Zhan."

"I hope you keep up the good work and maintain that resolve."

"In future Gourmet Appreciation Classes, the hunger will only grow stronger each time."

Beside him, Wen Shiyan stared in shock at the handprint Lu Zhan had casually left behind.

Isn't his increase in strength a little too enormous?

Back when she had first managed the same feat, she had already attended four Gourmet Appreciation Classes.

Is Lu Zhan exceptionally gifted, or am I just that lousy?

"The hunger in future Gourmet Appreciation Classes will actually get stronger every time?"

Upon hearing this dreadful news, Lu Zhan shuddered reflexively.

If at all possible, he really did not want to go through today's ordeal again.

But to become an Armored Warrior, he had no choice but to press on.

The hunger growing stronger each time meant that, if Lu Zhan wanted to pass perfectly, he would have to challenge the limits of his willpower every single time.

Lu Zhan finally understood why so many students chose to take shortcuts.

Overcoming the limits of one's own willpower was truly agonizing!

"All right, that concludes today's Gourmet Appreciation Class!"

"You must have used up quite a bit of energy just now, so go have a big meal at the cafeteria!"

"Only by replenishing enough energy can you consolidate the transformation your bodies have just undergone."

"And while I'm at it, a word for a certain student: practicing Basic Combat today will get you twice the results with half the effort!"

At the front of the classroom, Su Yuyan had already packed everything away. Even the "ugly cat" was now dangling from her hand.

The students had long since grown accustomed to Su Yuyan never letting class run overtime.

But her final "reminder" made everyone turn to look at Lu Zhan in unison.

"Holy crap, is Ms. Su giving that baldy special treatment?"

"Why? Because of his unique hairstyle?"

"Aren't you overthinking it? It was probably just an ordinary reminder!"

"No way. Absolutely not. Everyone's reaction says it all."

After Su Yuyan left, the classroom immediately erupted into an uproar.

Some students had only just climbed up from the floor and were rubbing their heads.

Others held their jaws, trying to ease their toothaches.

But even more were gossiping about why Su Yuyan was giving Lu Zhan such special attention.

Although they already knew the little tip Su Yuyan had shared, there had been no need to address that final reminder solely to "a certain student"!

For some inexplicable reason, the scene felt familiar, as though they had experienced it before.

"Graham, if I remember correctly, you were the last student Ms. Su singled out, weren't you?"

"Except you're a hopeless case. Ms. Su was lamenting your wasted potential."

"Look, the bump on your forehead is bigger than anyone else's. That's how frustrated she is that you won't live up to her expectations!"

The chubby boy had only just gotten up from the floor, rubbing his head. Before he could fully gather his wits, he suffered another devastating blow.

If the speaker had not been Liu Shuang, Graham would have slapped him across the face.

Even insults should leave a man's sore spots alone!