"Holy shit! How did Zhou Fan's absorption speed suddenly get so fast?"
"Fan's finally getting serious!"
"Fan's freaking awesome!"
Quite a few people had thought Zhou Fan's performance earlier was pretty average, nowhere near as impressive as he had been during yesterday's combat training.
But now.
Zhou Fan had proved them wrong yet again!
[Shock +1] [Shock +3] [Admiration +1] [Respect +2]
Wang Daochuan's eyes gleamed, and he couldn't stop marveling.
"Excellent, excellent!"
"Zhou Fan really is another prized student of mine!"
The only thing worth complaining about was how much this guy messed with everyone's heads.
His absorption speed hadn't been anywhere near this fast at first.
Just when everyone had thought his performance would be nothing special this time.
Then.
He suddenly kicked into high gear!
Did he seriously have to pick whatever approach would get the biggest reaction every single time?
"Feels like Zhou Fan's catching up from behind!"
"His absorption speed is about the same as Lin Qianqian's. Are those two going to suck up all the spiritual energy?"
The spiritual energy throughout the training room swirled around the two of them.
Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian were absorbing it at the same speed.
Equal-sized vortices of spiritual energy formed above them, constantly expanding as though competing with each other.
"How did this guy's absorption speed suddenly get so fast?" Lin Qianqian kept an eye on Zhou Fan as she absorbed spiritual energy.
She was the one with an S-rank superpower!
So why couldn't she pull ahead?
I have an S-rank superpower!
There's no way I'm losing to you!
Lin Qianqian gritted her teeth and began absorbing at full power.
Meanwhile, besides absorbing spiritual energy, Zhou Fan was also keeping part of his attention on his emotion points.
[Defiance from Lin Qianqian +1000] [Shock from Lin Qianqian +1000]
Wait!
Aren't these numbers a little too big?!
Why is Lin Qianqian giving me so many emotion points?
Everyone else only gives a few at a time.
She keeps giving hundreds or thousands!
Are her emotions really that intense?
In the end, all the spiritual energy in the surrounding Crystal Cores was drained dry.
Half of it had been absorbed by Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian alone!
Both of them successfully advanced to first tier, 3-star!
Esper ranks were divided, from lowest to highest, into first tier, second tier, third tier, fourth tier, fifth tier, sixth tier, and seventh tier.
Each tier was further divided into 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star.
Everyone else was still at first tier, 1-star.
Since Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian had absorbed the most spiritual energy, they had advanced straight to first tier, 3-star!
"Hahaha! I never expected both of you to reach first tier, 3-star at the same time."
"Excellent, excellent!"
Wang Daochuan burst into a satisfied laugh.
Just what he expected from his prized students!
Wonderful!
The other students, however, looked rather gloomy.
How could they not?
There had only been so much spiritual energy to begin with, and they could have split it evenly.
Instead, those two freaks had sucked up half of it, leaving the other half for all the rest of them to share.
They'd gotten seriously shortchanged!
Sure enough, one person's joy was another person's sorrow.
"So this is the power of a first-tier, 3-star Esper?" Zhou Fan clenched his fists, clearly feeling how much stronger he had become.
Wang Daochuan clapped his hands, signaling everyone to gather.
"That concludes today's indoor training. I'm sure you've now gained some experience in absorbing spiritual energy."
"Yesterday's combat training and today's spiritual energy absorption training were the last two training sessions our school arranged for you before the college entrance exam."
"But your current strength is still nowhere near enough to take the exam."
"True Espers aren't made through training alone. Only by repeatedly facing real combat and honing your strength in battle can you eventually grow into a true Esper."
"An Esper who relies on training alone will only have flashy moves with no substance, unable to withstand a single blow."
Wang Daochuan spoke with a serious expression, and all the students listened attentively.
"Going forward, the school will continue to provide training facilities. You can choose the appropriate training programs according to your needs."
"Only after completing a week of training will you be allowed to leave the city and hunt real mutant beasts in the wild!"
At the end, he added one more thing.
"Xixi, Zhou Fan, starting today, the two of you no longer need to attend the school's training sessions."
Everyone else let out a chorus of "Whoa!"
They still had to train for another week.
Yet Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian were exempt right away.
Wasn't this favoritism a little too obvious?
"What's all the fuss about? Once you reach first tier, 2-star, you won't have to attend training either," Wang Daochuan said sternly.
The school's training was only meant to help them familiarize themselves with their superpowers more quickly.
But to develop real fighting ability, they had to fight bloody battles against actual mutant beasts!
"All right, that concludes today's training. Dismissed."
The crowd dispersed.
"Zhou, you've got it so good!" Zhao Qiu ran over.
"I'm still at first tier, 1-star, and you're already at first tier, 3-star."
"I'm so jealous you can leave the city now."
"You have an A-rank superpower. It won't be long before you can leave the city like me," Zhou Fan said.
"Hehe, forget all that for now. You've got to treat me to dinner tonight!"
"No problem. How about chicken leg rice and a bottle of iced black tea?"
"Holy shit! For real, my generous benefactor?"
The two left with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Lin Qianqian watched Zhou Fan's retreating figure, lost in thought.
"Xixi, what are you spacing out about?" Li Mengyao walked over and followed Lin Qianqian's gaze to Zhou Fan's back.
She immediately gave her a knowing look. "Girl, don't tell me you're falling for him?"
Lin Qianqian said, "What the heck?"
"Oh, come on, I get it. Zhou Fan's pretty handsome, and his performance actually puts him on par with you."
"If it were me, I'd definitely fall for him too. It's totally normal."
"I think you should be bold and make the first move. With your looks and strength, you've definitely got this."
"Just wear a cute little skirt with black stockings-I hear guys love that combination."
"Then invite him to dinner and a movie, and he's yours!" Li Mengyao had taken on the role of strategist, offering Lin Qianqian advice.
"What are you even talking about? I'm not interested in him at all."
She wanted me to wear a skirt and black stockings to seduce... no, to invite Zhou Fan to dinner?
What was she thinking!
Her only connection to Zhou Fan was that he was her bound target.
Beyond that, they had no relationship whatsoever.
The main thing was that Zhou Fan's performance over the past two days had given Lin Qianqian a slight sense of crisis.
What if I really couldn't beat Zhou Fan when the time came...
No!
That was absolutely impossible!
I have an S-rank superpower.
And I have a system backing me up.
How could I possibly lose to a mere C-rank superpower?
Unless Zhou Fan had a system too.
But how was that possible?
Everyone knew a world could only have one system.
Since I got the system, that means I'm the chosen one!
Zhou Fan was destined to bow before me!
Before you continue