At that moment, the school administrators and students all turned their eyes toward a young woman.
Her sleek black hair was tied high, her slender brows looked painted in ink, and her eyes were as clear as a frozen lake-cool and breathtakingly beautiful.
Her loose school uniform could not hide her athletic, upright figure or her long, straight legs, which gave her a graceful, lively beauty.
Bai Qiu Li, the top academic prodigy of Qingshan No. 2 Middle School, its flawless campus beauty, and the dream girl of countless male and female students.
She ranked first in swordsmanship, martial skills, and academic subjects every year.
Countless teachers had openly declared that she would surely become a pillar of society.
Even Yi Tian could not help marveling. Compared with how unremarkable his predecessor had been at school, Bai Qiu Li positively shone.
Under everyone's gaze, Bai Qiu Li stepped onto the class advancement platform.
The next moment, a faint white pillar of light emerged around her...
"What? A life class-gardener!"
"Heaven envies the talented!"
"Does even working as hard as Bai Qiu Li count for nothing?"
The hall erupted into noise. Even the principal and the others, who had seen such scenes many times, could only sigh in regret.
"We often lament how unfair fate is, but I never imagined it could be this unfair!"
Ji Changlin looked pained. "Child..."
Seeing the result, Bai Qiu Li froze for several seconds, then closed her eyes, her heart turning to ashes.
[Life class-gardener].
In barely a dozen seconds, it seemed that Bai Qiu Li's entire life had been invalidated.
Like a blunt knife, it had gouged away ten years of her hard work and dedication.
Bai Qiu Li forced herself to straighten her back, ruthlessly held back the sting in her eyes, and managed a smile for Principal Ji Changlin.
"Principal, I'm fine."
She took a deep breath, clenching her trembling fingers tightly. "I'm fine..."
Talented prodigies fell into the mud across the country on this day every year.
Perseverance and hard work were merely tickets in fate's lottery.
On the other side of the platform, the dean of students sighed and crossed Bai Qiu Li's name off the list of students recommended for guaranteed admission to top universities.
Watching this, Yi Tian could not help sympathizing. In his previous life, he had also given everything he had, only for it all to come to nothing.
Perhaps this was simply fate's cruel joke.
With a thought, Yi Tian opened Bai Qiu Li's profile.
[Name: Bai Qiu Li] [Basic information: female, 18 years old, from Qingcheng, Great Xia; class: gardener] [Potential: gold (Mortal Hero)] [Life history: parents killed by other races; vowed to wipe out all other races; ranked first in swordsmanship in three consecutive interschool high school competitions, first in martial skills, first in the demons and other races general knowledge competition, first in the comprehensive simulated combat assessment...] [Investment opportunities: legendary class-Frostmoon Sword Immortal (20 funding points)/epic class-Ice Mage (10 funding points)]
Yi Tian's eyes lit up. Gold potential!
Two investment opportunities, with one to choose.
The long string of first-place rankings in her life history made it easy to imagine just how much sweat and effort Bai Qiu Li had poured into them behind the scenes.
After reading her profile, Yi Tian immediately settled on his first recruitment target.
Meanwhile, the Class-Change Ceremony drew to a close.
Principal Ji Changlin wore a worried expression.
Over eighty life classes, over seventy ordinary classes, thirty-six elite classes, twelve rare classes, and one failed advancement...
This year's graduating class had not achieved ideal results.
"It looks like we'll have to count on the other schools in this year's competition between the two races."
Ji Changlin shook his head helplessly, then looked at the students below, some sorrowful and others elated, and said solemnly:
"Class advancement is complete. The [Apprentice Trial] is about to begin!"
"As we've repeatedly explained in class, this trial will be quite difficult for you. It's best to form teams of five and work together to avoid casualties!"
"Students with life classes, and those whose class advancement failed..."
"You may choose to leave the Class Hall and forgo the trial. At least you'll stay alive."
As soon as he finished, the hall grew noisy again.
Almost all the students with life classes silently left the Class Hall in tears.
Leaving the hall meant they would be unable to level up for at least the rest of this year, leaving their prospects bleak... but as the principal had said, they would stay alive.
After all, life classes had almost no combat ability.
Nobody wanted a life-class student on their team dragging down their trial rating.
The rewards tied to trial ratings were crucial to a new class holder's start. Nobody would gamble with their future.
Even Bai Qiu Li, who ranked first in every subject, had nobody willing to team up with her.
Bai Qiu Li did not leave.
"Qiu Li, there's no shame in giving up. With a life class, entering the trial would be suicide!"
"That's right. Your grades are so good. Even if you can't pursue a combat class, you could still teach at the school in the future!"
Ji Changlin, the dean of students, and the others tried to persuade Bai Qiu Li to give up the trial.
For someone with a life class and no team, entering the trial meant almost certain death.
But Bai Qiu Li was stubborn. Or perhaps this was the last thing she could refuse to surrender.
"I think this may be my only chance in life to enter a dungeon."
"Principal, please let me."
Becoming a gardener meant saying goodbye to her dream. She wanted to seize this one chance at the trial, if only to give some meaning to the past ten years of effort.
Ji Changlin fell silent.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from the distant crowd.
"What a poser. If you awakened as a gardener, just accept being a pretty ornament..."
The voice was quiet but especially grating, like a sharp thorn piercing its victim's heart, making Bai Qiu Li's breathing quicken slightly.
Ji Changlin exploded in anger, his eyes widening as he roared:
"Who said that? Get out here!"
The old man's voice cowed everyone in the hall. The pressure of a high-level class holder made the mocker's legs tremble.
A girl from Bai Qiu Li's class lowered her head, afraid to meet Ji Changlin's eyes.
Sometimes, girls could be a hundred times crueler to other girls than boys were to other boys.
Yi Tian reflected on this as Ji Changlin said coldly:
"Have you forgotten all the rules of the Class-Change Ceremony?"
As his words fell, a boy in the front row spoke in a firm, ringing voice:
"All citizens of Great Xia are compatriots, and after class advancement, they are comrades-in-arms!"
"After the Class-Change Ceremony, no one may mock or belittle another person's class in any form. We must stand united against our common enemies!
Violations will result in a severe warning at minimum, or expulsion and disqualification from university entrance examinations and military enlistment in serious cases..."
With every sentence the boy spoke, the girl who had mocked Bai Qiu Li grew a shade paler.
Ji Changlin abruptly took two steps forward, his voice brimming with anger:
"Today, Great Xia faces demons sowing chaos beyond its borders and other races entrenched within! The nation shelters you all, not so you can stand here envying and ridiculing each other!"
His voice rang like a great bell. Turning toward the girl, he said in bitter disappointment:
"You've merely received a tiny scrap of favor from fate. What right do you have to mock anyone?"
"Much less someone who works hard!"
"Principal, I was wrong..."
The girl was so frightened that her voice shook with tears.
"I... I have a rare class, Principal!"
Mentioning her rare class finally gave her the courage to raise her head.
Ji Changlin stared straight at her, then snorted coldly and turned away.
"A severe disciplinary warning, and a thirty-percent deduction from your class holder allowance!"
"Do it again, and you'll be expelled immediately!"
The hall fell utterly silent. Nobody dared plead for her.
This was Great Xia's ironclad rule of a hundred years. Class holders could fight to the death or curse each other until spit flew, but they could never mock another person's origins or class!
Because those were not things anyone could choose.
Yi Tian could not help feeling a little admiration. This was what a nation at war ought to look like.
Within a few short minutes, the matter was settled.
As the Apprentice Trial drew closer, Yi Tian quickly approached Bai Qiu Li.
At that moment, worry returned to Principal Ji Changlin's face. He looked at the stubborn Bai Qiu Li again and said:
"Qiu Li, I respect your choice."
"But entering the trial alone is far too dangerous. Go find a team!"
Yet how could finding a team be easy for someone with a life class?
Bai Qiu Li shook her head. "Nobody will want to team up with me..."
"I do! I do!"
A boy's clear voice cut through the crowd. Yi Tian walked over and sent Bai Qiu Li a team invitation.
Ji Changlin looked surprised. "Yi Tian? Didn't your class advancement fail? Why haven't you left?"
"No, no, it didn't fail. My class is just a little unusual."
Yi Tian explained, then turned toward Bai Qiu Li's stunning profile. "Shall we?"
She considered it for a few seconds, then decisively accepted his invitation. After all, this was her only choice.
"If you can form a team, then your class advancement really didn't fail!"
Ji Changlin nodded. He was a little curious about Yi Tian's class, but the Apprentice Trial was about to begin. It was time to give the teammates a chance to talk.
Bai Qiu Li faced Yi Tian and said seriously, "Since we're teammates now, I need to make something clear first."
"I'm a gardener, and I only have five points in base attributes..."
Her current attributes made her practically dead weight. By explaining in advance, she also hoped to make Yi Tian think his decision through.
But Yi Tian waved her off without hesitation. "No need to say more."
"I believe in you."
At those words, the principal and the others were stunned... Was this boy risking his life and future to pursue romance?
A flicker of emotion stirred in Bai Qiu Li's clear eyes.
Before her class advancement, people had often believed in her. But since she had become a gardener, this was the first time she had felt such powerful trust.
Remembering the contents of her profile, Yi Tian spoke with even greater conviction:
"You might not believe this."
"But I believe in you more than anyone here-even more than you believe in yourself!"
Before you continue