I'm eighteen...

However, Yu Sheng soon turned his gaze to the bald head not far away.

This bald guy...

His build looked a little familiar, but Yu Sheng couldn't recognize him at all.

"Good thing Du's a decent guy."

"Most of the people at First High School are still keeping their emotions in check."

"But that's still no use."

"I keep feeling like those three old schem-no, those three principals deliberately brought this situation about. It's too obvious!"

Zhao Zicheng was the only person who could withstand the pressure of Yu Sheng's various verbal charms.

He soon regained his composure and continued.

Du...

Du Xu?

"You're thinking that big now?"

Yu Sheng quickly seized on the key point of the conversation, his gaze carrying amazement for the first time as he looked at Zhao Zicheng.

After just one assessment, he had come back able to analyze the principals' thought processes.

"He heard it from his dad."

The bald guy gritted his teeth and stood up anyway. After muttering that, he stood before Yu Sheng, looking terribly conflicted. "Well, the schools are merging anyway. I want to follow you!"

Yu Sheng scrutinized Du Xu seriously, his expression even more exaggerated than when he had looked at Zhao Zicheng. "You look much younger with your beard shaved off. Only thirty!"

"I'm eighteen..."

Du Xu's voice was muffled.

Yu Sheng answered him with his trademark silence.

"Anyway, they're already coming right to our school gates to push us around. Boss Yu, just tell us what to do!"

"I say we take down every one who comes. Knock them all flat."

"Once the schools have fully merged, the three of us will be the big bosses of Mobei City!"

Zhao Zicheng spoke again.

It had to be said that he always had drive, constantly charging toward the ideal in his heart. Even though the process had its ups and downs and downs and downs and downs, he still remained optimistic, positive, and eager to strive, fighting on time after time.

"Being a big boss..."

"Gets you a particularly horrible death."

With a trace of reminiscence, Yu Sheng seemed to recall one person after another from his memories before giving his fair assessment.

"Forget it. Class is about to start."

"Let's talk when we're back."

Zhao Zicheng felt a little dejected. Seeing Du Xu follow them into the school too, Yu Sheng was puzzled. "Aren't you at First High School?"

"They're merging anyway."

"I had him transfer early."

Zhao Zicheng explained.

"Now I know why the First High School students are coming to Second High School to fight."

Yu Sheng said quietly.

Zhao Zicheng stiffened for an instant. Seeing Du Xu's slightly puzzled gaze, he immediately changed the subject.

Back in the classroom, his classmates were still the same classmates.

Only the way they looked at Yu Sheng had changed.

Some gazes held admiration, some fear, and some... even envy.

One little classroom displayed all the different faces of life.

Liu Qingfeng appeared in the classroom precisely as the bell rang. He glanced in Yu Sheng's direction and began the day's lesson.

How to stay alert in the wilderness.

What kind of spot to choose when resting.

And some ways to use Awakening Objects after awakening.

For example, after awakening, how long an Awakening Object could be maintained depended on one's own energy.

An Awakening Object generally had nine sockets.

Crystals could be set into these sockets.

These crystals shared a common name: Demon Cores.

They were distinct from Demon Crystals.

Demon Crystals were merely crystals formed when the energy contained in a Demon Beast's corpse was refined and solidified after its death.

A Demon Core, on the other hand, was the very core of a Demon Beast's body.

If your Awakening Object was a tiger, and you fitted it with an eagle demon's Demon Core, there was a chance that the Awakening Object could evolve a pair of wings and gain the ability to fly.

However, that ability was of somewhat limited use.

Generally, after a person's Sixth Awakening, they could fly themselves by channeling their energy.

With each awakening, one could only socket a Demon Core from a Demon Beast of the same level. Of course, even Demon Cores of the same level differed in quality.

A Rabbit Demon was weaker than a Tiger Demon, after all, while a Tiger Demon was weaker than an evolved Divine Beast.

The Demon Clan also had its own ranks.

To keep awakening, one needed to absorb vast amounts of energy, painstakingly separate it out, and channel it through the Awakening Object into the Demon Core.

The moment the Demon Core was brimming with energy, one could undergo the next awakening.

And the more patterns an Awakening Object had, the more energy it could convert, and the faster its absorption rate.

Even though countless people had already spread this knowledge, Liu Qingfeng still repeated it meticulously from the podium.

"As people outside say, the higher the rank of the creature whose Demon Core you absorb, the stronger you'll be."

"But what I want to say is... that isn't absolute."

"What suits you is best."

"If a Demon Core isn't compatible with your Awakening Object, even if it comes from a Divine Beast cub, it will only have the opposite effect on you."

"So don't blindly pursue quality and let desire cloud your eyes."

"The road of awakening is long. Every step must be firm and steady!"

"Understood?"

Liu Qingfeng's tone was as stern as ever.

Most of the students, however, looked rather listless.

Was it necessary to keep bringing up knowledge they had heard so often their ears were growing calluses?

Seeing the students' reactions, Liu Qingfeng felt rather helpless.

Everyone understood the reasoning.

What they didn't know was that their own desires were the hardest thing to control.

When faced with a high-ranking Demon Core, everyone would think... What if?

The attributes aren't quite right, but what if I get a decent skill out of it?

Wouldn't I rise up and set foot on the path to invincibility?

After all...

An ability on par with a divine skill had an absolute effect!

And he had seen far too many geniuses ultimately ruined by this way of thinking.

Fortunately, the one thing that reassured Liu Qingfeng was that, unlike his habitual distraction during combat lessons, Yu Sheng listened attentively throughout.

Perhaps this was why Liu Qingfeng thought so highly of Yu Sheng.

He always felt he could see a shadow of his younger self in him.

Just as... thin.

He had wanted to boast about being decisive in battle, rational, and cautious too, but he really couldn't bring himself to.

"In one week, the three schools will merge."

"When the entrance assessment comes, the competition will be even fiercer!"

"If your results place you near the bottom, what awaits you may be..."

"No admission to any college."

"If you're lucky, you'll join the Guard Bureau or the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion, earn a salary and bonuses, and keep cultivating."

"If you're unlucky, you'll be reduced entirely to one of the people being served."

"Perhaps you think it isn't as serious as I make it sound, but what I want to tell you is..."

"This is the only chance in your lives to leap over the dragon gate without having to spend money."

"I only hope that, many years from now, when you look back and remember who you once were, you won't feel any regret."

The classroom fell utterly silent.

Although they were still young and did not yet know the cruelty of society.

At least...

They had begun to feel nervous.