Wang Daochuan had the other teachers arrange Crystal Cores around the training room.
They set out fifty Crystal Cores in total!
"These are all Crystal Cores from five-star First Tier Mutant Beasts."
"How much energy you can absorb depends on your Psychic Power and Superpower rank. The stronger your Psychic Power and the higher your Superpower rank, the greater your affinity for Spiritual Energy, and the faster you can absorb it."
The Superpowers that Espers awakened could be understood as their affinity for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
The greater their affinity, the more Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy they could absorb, and the stronger the Superpower they awakened.
Conversely, the higher someone's Superpower rank, the greater their affinity, and the more potent the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy they could absorb.
"Xixi, Zhou Fan, you two come to the front."
Wang Daochuan singled them out and called them forward.
These two were his prized students now.
Wang Daochuan wanted to observe their performance himself and see just how big a surprise they could give him today.
Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian walked to the front.
They sat cross-legged, two meters apart.
"All right, start absorbing Spiritual Energy."
At Wang Daochuan's command, everyone immediately settled in, closed their eyes, and began sensing the energy radiating from the Crystal Cores around them, drawing it into their bodies.
The moment Zhou Fan closed his eyes, he sensed the surging energy all around him.
But when he tried to draw that energy toward himself, he found that it barely responded to him.
That was because he had awakened a C-rank Superpower!
A C-rank Superpower's affinity for Spiritual Energy was limited.
More than half the people in the training room had C-rank Superpowers or higher.
Zhou Fan was utterly unremarkable here. His absorption speed was no different from everyone else's-slow.
By comparison...
Lin Qianqian beside him was completely different!
From the moment she began absorbing Spiritual Energy, the energy around her gravitated toward her of its own accord.
The affinity of an S-rank Superpower was enough to draw all the Spiritual Energy toward her without her needing to do much at all.
In fact...
The surging Spiritual Energy above Lin Qianqian's head had already formed a tiny vortex.
Huge quantities of Spiritual Energy streamed into her body without pause!
Wang Daochuan noticed the commotion.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"As expected of an S-rank Superpower. That affinity for Spiritual Energy is truly impressive!"
Lin Qianqian alone was now absorbing a tenth of all the Spiritual Energy in the training room.
That was an astonishing proportion!
"It looks like Lin Qianqian might have a shot at becoming our Southern District's Top College Entrance Exam Scorer this year!" Wang Daochuan nodded repeatedly.
Then he looked at Zhou Fan beside Lin Qianqian.
"Hm?"
He frowned.
The Spiritual Energy around Zhou Fan was barely stirring.
It was nothing compared to Lin Qianqian's!
"Zhou Fan's affinity for Spiritual Energy is a little low. A C-rank Superpower really does have its limitations."
Although Zhou Fan's overall strength was outstanding...
That did not change the fact that he had a C-rank Superpower.
When it came to affinity for Spiritual Energy, Superpower rank determined everything.
Even with S-rank Psychic Power, Zhou Fan could not break that rule.
"Zhou Fan is still at a disadvantage compared to Lin Qianqian," Wang Daochuan said with a sigh.
Judging by yesterday's combat training results, Zhou Fan had performed even better than Lin Qianqian.
But that was only temporary.
An S-rank Superpower's rate of growth completely outclassed a C-rank Superpower's in every respect!
Even if Zhou Fan had pulled ahead of Lin Qianqian for now...
As time passed, Lin Qianqian would inevitably leave Zhou Fan behind.
The gap between them would only grow wider.
"Why does it feel like Lin Qianqian is sucking up all the Spiritual Energy herself?"
"She really is. Look at the energy above her head. It's practically forming a little vortex."
"That's an S-rank Superpower for you. Absolutely ridiculous!"
"By comparison, Zhou Fan's performance seems a little lackluster today."
The others also noticed what was happening around them.
With Lin Qianqian ravenously drawing away the surrounding Spiritual Energy, many of them could do nothing about it.
What could they do? She had an S-rank Superpower.
They could not compete.
Not even close!
Lin Qianqian was absorbing Spiritual Energy at a furious pace.
She opened her eyes and glanced sidelong at Zhou Fan beside her.
His affinity for Spiritual Energy... is nowhere near mine.
Just as I thought, I'm stronger than him!
Lin Qianqian had kept telling herself that Zhou Fan was no match for her.
But Zhou Fan was, after all, the person she measured herself against.
She could not help caring at least a little.
Take yesterday's combat training, for example.
Although she did not think Zhou Fan's performance posed any threat to her...
Deep down, she still paid attention to him without realizing it.
Until now.
Her natural affinity for Spiritual Energy far surpassed Zhou Fan's.
That meant the gap between them would only keep growing from this moment onward!
The strength of one's affinity for Spiritual Energy determined how quickly one could absorb it.
If someone absorbed Spiritual Energy too slowly, their strength naturally would not amount to much.
With Lin Qianqian's current affinity for Spiritual Energy...
She could leave Zhou Fan behind without even putting much effort into cultivating.
Zhou Fan would not even be able to see her backside!
I'm bound to win this competition.
There's no need to scare myself.
Lin Qianqian slowly closed her eyes and continued absorbing Spiritual Energy.
Zhou Fan felt a little frustrated.
He was absorbing Spiritual Energy far too slowly.
Being slow was bad enough.
But he was sitting right next to Lin Qianqian.
And Lin Qianqian's absorption speed was absurd.
So much so that even his share of the Spiritual Energy was being drawn away.
He was getting caught in the crossfire!
[Ding! Excessively high surrounding Spiritual Energy concentration detected!] [Spend 100 Emotion Points to increase Spiritual Energy absorption speed by 10%!] [Spend 200 Emotion Points to increase Spiritual Energy absorption speed by 20%!]
Zhou Fan raised an eyebrow.
When it really mattered, he could always count on the mighty system!
System, crank my absorption speed straight up to the maximum! he shouted inwardly.
[Ding! 5,000 Emotion Points spent. Spiritual Energy absorption speed increased by 500%!]
"Holy shit, why did you spend all my Emotion Points in one go?"
By the time Zhou Fan realized what had happened, it was already too late.
The system had drained him dry.
A 500% speed boost was not the system's limit.
It was the limit of Zhou Fan's balance!
In the next instant!
Zhou Fan felt as though every part of his body had opened up.
The surrounding Spiritual Energy began rushing madly into him!
He drew in Spiritual Energy from across the entire training room.
The dense Spiritual Energy formed an enormous vortex above his head, pouring into his body in an endless stream.
"What's going on?"
"Holy shit! Why did Zhou Fan's absorption speed suddenly get so insane?"
Wang Daochuan's eyes widened in shock as well.
Everyone could see it clearly.
The Spiritual Energy vortex above Zhou Fan's head was now exactly the same size as the one above Lin Qianqian!
The two of them had drawn all the Spiritual Energy in the training room toward themselves.
In an instant, fierce winds sprang up, howling without end!
Their vortices seemed to be competing, neither willing to give in.
Lin Qianqian also sensed the disturbance beside her.
She opened her eyes, and her pupils contracted slightly when she saw the Spiritual Energy vortex above Zhou Fan.
[Confusion from Lin Qianqian +500] [Shock from Lin Qianqian +1,000]
Zhou Fan was stunned too.
Holy shit!
How was the Campus Belle giving him so many Emotion Points?!
Before you continue