There was no mockery intended, but that matter-of-fact attitude was exactly what drove people mad.
Wang Yixing's face flushed red at once.
He gritted his teeth.
"Don't get cocky yet. We'll see!"
With that, he turned and stormed back to his seat.
He made his chair clatter loudly.
Jiang Xia leaned over and lowered his voice.
"Brother Fang, that was badass."
"I was just telling the truth."
The chatter in the classroom gradually grew louder.
"Hey, who do you think will awaken the stronger class, Lu Fang or Wang Yixing?"
"Hard to say. Both of Lu Fang's parents are level 400, and Wang Yixing's dad is level 400 too. Their genes are ridiculously strong."
"I hope I awaken as a mage. A fire mage would be so cool. Just raise your hand and cast Fireball."
"Mages burn through too much money. Assassins are better, coming and going without a trace."
"Stop dreaming. We'd be lucky just to awaken a combat class. If I end up a gardener, I'll have no choice but to go home and grow flowers."
Everyone was discussing it.
Their voices were full of anticipation for the future, but also fear of the unknown.
This was the dividing line.
Awaken a powerful class, and you would rise straight to the top, becoming someone above the rest.
Awaken a trash class, and you could only struggle at the bottom, seeking protection.
It was cruel, and it was reality.
At eight o'clock sharp.
Footsteps sounded at the door.
Their homeroom teacher, Old Zhang, walked in.
The classroom fell silent.
Old Zhang waved a hand.
"Everyone, stand up. Head to the gymnasium."
A rustle swept through the room.
Everyone stood up.
Lu Fang and Jiang Xia walked in the middle of the line.
Out on the field, lines from the other classes were also converging on the gymnasium.
A dense sea of heads stretched before them.
Their footsteps were disorderly, but no one spoke.
The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.
The closer they got to the gymnasium, the stronger that oppressive feeling became.
It was like the calm before a storm.
Jiangcheng No. 1 High School's gymnasium was enormous.
Rows of lights hung from the high domed ceiling, illuminating the interior as brightly as daylight.
The gymnasium was already packed.
The entire senior year, over a thousand students, was gathered there.
At the very front stood a raised platform.
After a few brief remarks, the principal got straight to the point.
"The awakening ceremony will now begin."
"Come forward when your name is called."
"In groups of ten, enter the ten awakening rooms at the back."
"Each person has a maximum of five minutes."
"First group: Zhang Wei, Li Lan, Zhao Qiang..."
The names were called out one by one.
Those whose names were called visibly trembled, then walked stiffly out of their lines.
They approached the ten rooms.
The doors opened, they entered, and the doors closed again.
A deathly silence filled the gymnasium.
Everyone stared at those ten doors.
Lu Fang could feel Jiang Xia trembling beside him.
"Don't be scared."
Lu Fang reached out and patted Jiang Xia's shoulder.
Jiang Xia took a deep breath and forced a smile.
"I'm not scared. I'm not scared..."
He said he wasn't scared, but his teeth were chattering.
A few minutes later.
The door to Room One opened.
Zhang Wei, who had entered earlier, walked out.
He held a hoe.
It was the starter equipment that came with awakening, and also a symbol of his class.
Zhang Wei hung his head dejectedly, his eyes red.
"Farmer..."
Someone murmured.
A wave of regretful sighs rose from the crowd.
Farmer was a typical life class. From now on, he could only farm and tend spirit plants.
Immediately afterward, the people in the other rooms began coming out one after another.
One held a spatula.
Another held scissors.
Another held a shortsword, his face flushed with excitement. He was a warrior.
Joy, anger, sorrow, and delight were all on full display at that moment.
Time ticked by.
Batch after batch went up and came back down.
Most received life classes or ordinary combat classes.
Occasionally, one or two rare classes, such as elemental mage, drew a chorus of exclamations.
"Next group: Jiang Xia, Wang Yixing, Liu Bo..."
The principal's voice rang out again.
Jiang Xia shuddered.
"It's my turn. It's my turn."
He muttered to himself and glanced at Lu Fang.
"Brother Fang, I'm going."
"Go on. Good luck."
Lu Fang nodded at him.
Wang Yixing stepped out as well.
As he passed Lu Fang, he paused.
"Just watch."
Wang Yixing sneered.
"I'll show you what a genius is."
With that, he strode toward the awakening rooms.
Jiang Xia entered Room Three.
Wang Yixing entered Room Five.
The doors closed.
Lu Fang's gaze settled on the door to Room Three.
He was actually quite worried about Jiang Xia.
Though Jiang Xia usually acted carefree, he was sensitive. If he really awakened a useless class, it would certainly be a heavy blow.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Suddenly, the door to Room Three opened.
Jiang Xia rushed out.
He held a wooden longbow, and a quiver had appeared on his back.
His face brimmed with wild joy.
Before he even returned to the line, he couldn't help jumping up.
"Brother Fang! Brother Fang!"
Jiang Xia shouted, completely ignoring the looks from everyone around him.
"Sharpshooter! I'm a sharpshooter!"
A stir ran through the crowd.
"Sharpshooter?!"
"He's so lucky. That's a powerful ranged damage class."
"He won't have to worry about finding a party for dungeons now."
Seeing Jiang Xia's excitement, Lu Fang smiled too.
Sharpshooter was indeed a good class.
With proper development, its damage would be explosive in the late game.
Jiang Xia jogged all the way over to Lu Fang, so excited that he could barely speak coherently.
"Brother Fang, did you see? I've got a bow! I have a combat class!"
He held the wooden bow up in front of Lu Fang to show it off.
Though the bow was roughly made, a faint glimmer flowed across it.
"I saw. Congratulations."
Lu Fang was genuinely happy for him.
Just then.
Boom!
A tremendous crash rang out, like a thunderclap exploding right beside their ears.
The entire gymnasium shook.
Everyone jumped in fright and instinctively covered their ears.
Lu Fang abruptly looked up.
His gaze locked onto Room Five.
That was the room Wang Yixing had entered.
A dark cloud had appeared out of thin air above Room Five.
The cloud churned, purple lightning flickering within it.
Crackle.
The sound of electricity was clearly audible.
"What's happening?"
"It's a phenomenon! His awakening triggered a phenomenon!"
"My God, what class is this?"
Cries of astonishment rose one after another.
The principal's eyes widened too, and he leaned forward from the platform.
Usually, only awakening a special class or an extremely powerful hidden class could trigger a heavenly phenomenon.
The dark cloud did not last long.
A few seconds later, a thick bolt of lightning struck down, plunging straight into Room Five.
Then the phenomenon dissipated.
The door to Room Five slowly opened.
Wang Yixing walked out.
His appearance had changed dramatically.
Every strand of his hair stood on end as though he had been electrocuted, and wisps of blue electrical arcs coiled around his body.
He held a longsword.
Rather than an ordinary iron blade, it was deep blue throughout, with flashes of lightning occasionally streaking across it.
Wang Yixing walked very slowly.
With every step, electricity seemed to flow through the floor beneath his feet.
His expression was arrogant to the extreme.
He basked in the thousands of gazes fixed on him.
Those gazes were a mixture of shock, admiration, and jealousy.