Chapter 27

While she ate the cheapest synthetic food at school, others drank nutritional supplements like water every day.

Before midterms, top students would come to "spar" with her, intending to injure her...

But later, as she went further and grew stronger, all that noise vanished without a trace, like a passing breeze.

Unless they made a scene right in front of her, those people would not even earn half a glance from Wen Jing.

The restaurant manager did not know the circumstances. Seeing only that Wen Jing had not taken her anger out on her, she heaved a sigh of relief.

In fact, she privately sided with Wen Jing, especially after learning about her background from the boss, which made her sympathize with her all the more.

The manager instinctively glanced around. After making sure no one was paying attention, she lowered her voice with a sense of shared indignation. "It may be hard for you to find work on campus from now on. This is an outside contact our boss provided. If you need to earn money or even points, you can contact this person. They're trustworthy."

As she spoke, the restaurant manager sent Wen Jing someone's contact details.

From her mysterious expression and the emphasis she placed on "outside," Wen Jing instantly understood what she meant-a black market?

If she could even earn points there, it had to be a black market involving transactions between the Awakened.

That was perfectly normal. Where there was light, there was shadow. On an entire planet this vast, the academy's official marketplace naturally could not be the only one.

The student council's reach could, at most, extend through the academy, not into the black market outside it. So although the owner of Deep Space Vortex had fired her, they did not want to offend her either. To stay on good terms with both sides, they had given her this black-market connection.

"I understand. Thank you."

Wen Jing nodded, accepting the goodwill, then glanced at the black-market contact information the restaurant manager had sent-

AAA Express Delivery Old Wang.

Another seven days passed in a flash.

During that time, Wen Jing browsed the points store, pinching every point, and finally purchased an elective course-[Combat skill: Level One Energy Shield].

The elective cost 5 points and awarded 10 credits upon completion. Its good "value for money" was not because it was difficult, but because it was widely applicable and received a "special subsidy" from the academy. It was a basic combat skill that practically every Awakened knew.

Back aboard the Set Sail, Tainuo and his personal guards had raised energy shields to resist the black hole released by the Empire's raiders.

Of course, the name made it clear: since there was a Level One Energy Shield, there were also levels two, three...

The Level One Energy Shield course was affordable, but the prices for the higher-level shields multiplied.

Energy shields had always been known as "an Awakened's first combat skill." In this elective, nearly everyone Wen Jing encountered was a fellow winter-intake student.

"Wow... that's so strong!"

In class, Yu Yang and the others gathered around Wen Jing, watching her effortlessly change the shape of the energy shield she had released.

[Mastered "Combat skill: Level One Energy Shield," Skill points +2]

The Level One Energy Shield was not difficult. Wen Jing had mastered the skill back in the first lesson. In subsequent classes, she practiced the advanced application the instructor had described: freely adjusting the shield's shape to minimize consumption.

The most elementary energy shield was a naturally radiating sphere. That was the first step for every Awakened who learned the combat skill.

Yu Yang and the others had taken two more lessons than Wen Jing. Now, in their fifth lesson, they had only just managed to produce spherical shields.

Of course, that was actually a normal student's learning pace.

Seeing this, Joel, the shield instructor, stepped forward and launched into his practiced sales pitch. "Wen Jing, with talent like yours, you really should sign up for my Energy-Shaping Weapon class. I guarantee you'll be able to learn it!"

As one of the basic applications of projecting energy outward, energy shields could be considered a prerequisite for combat skills of the same type. Joel, the instructor for this course, taught not only energy shields but also the more advanced combat skill, "Energy-Shaping Weapon."

Wen Jing declined just as smoothly. "Instructor, I'm a little short this month. How about giving me fifty percent off?"

"Well, the academy has its rules and regulations. We're not allowed to offer private discounts. Besides, instructors have to eat too..." Joel looked troubled, then his eyes shifted as he proposed, "Why don't you try the Trial Tower?"

"If you clear it with a high score, you can get a discount, and I receive a subsidy for that discount. It's a win-win!"

Recalling the advertisement she had seen after her first attempt at the Trial Tower, Wen Jing nodded. "Sure. I'll go when I have time."

Yu Yang and the others watched enviously as Wen Jing dealt with the instructor.

Joel might have been making a sales pitch, but they were all students, so why did he only approach Wen Jing and not them? It all came down to the gap in talent and strength.

"Wen Jing, what have you been busy with lately?"

Only after Joel left did Yu Yang and the others come closer to chat again.

Wen Jing counted them off. "Working, going to class, practicing secret techniques, and I made a trip to the Ancient Wilderness."

The first few items sounded perfectly natural to them, but their eyes widened at the last one. "You've already been to the Ancient Wilderness?"

After what had happened at the welcome party, the winter-intake students from ordinary backgrounds had all developed a much better impression of Wen Jing. Even though they rarely had opportunities to interact with her, they privately regarded her as the leading figure in their class.

That was even more true for Yu Yang and the others, who had been fortunate enough to meet Wen Jing first. At first, they had tried to find opportunities to grow closer to her, only to discover that there were none. Absolutely none.

Wen Jing was not hard to get along with, but her schedule was packed every day. Apart from public lectures and electives like this one, they never saw her at any of the recreational spots freshmen frequented.

The university had even done away with dining halls, eliminating the last place where she might have appeared.

When they tried inviting her out and received a reply that she was practicing secret techniques, how could they dare disturb her? Naturally, they never found an opportunity.

After becoming Awakened, with a ceiling on their potential now in place, even Yu Yang and the others, who had competed their way through School District Planet, had undergone a change in mindset. They had begun to vaguely resemble the university students of Wen Jing's previous life.

It was not quite giving up, but they were no longer in the do-or-die frenzy of their secondary school days.

Now that they heard Wen Jing had already visited the Ancient Wilderness, they were all astonished. They could understand talent combined with hard work, but this was working so hard she was risking her life!

Wen Jing nodded. "Yes. I'm going again after class today."

The only reason she had not gone earlier was that her "cooldown" had not finished.

Was this the world of a study god?

Deeply shaken, they could only exchange looks before saying, "Then... stay safe."

"Of course." Wen Jing waved at her classmates. The moment class ended, she sprinted all the way to the Ancient Wilderness Exploration Registration Center.

"Hello... you, you're here again?"

The registration center employee wore the same expression as Yu Yang and the others upon seeing Wen Jing. Seriously, wasn't this freshman pushing herself far too hard?

"Yes. Please register me." Ignoring the employee's surprise, Wen Jing spoke rapidly.

She was in a hurry-she had to watch the time when crossing over in the afternoon. It would be bad if she delayed until nightfall.

"Yes, of course." The staff member snapped out of it, realized this as well, and hurried to register her.

A moment later, Wen Jing stepped onto the platform.

Whoosh!

The figure on the platform vanished. This time, following the pull of the Gravity Silk's trail, Wen Jing entered the Ancient Wilderness to find a familiar giant tree trunk and hollow before her.

Using Gravity Silk, the little blue-purple bug glided gracefully toward the tree hollow where ants were coming and going-

Big ants, she was back!

Chapter 27

Tugging on her Gravity Silk, the little blue-purple bug drifted over beside the tree hollow where the big ants were active.

The next instant, she picked her spot and dropped from above, ruthlessly pouncing on an ant that had just emerged from the hollow.

Wen Jing was now about the same size as the big ants. The blow sent this one staggering, and it retreated several steps before steadying itself.

No longer the creature she had once been, she opened and closed her mouthparts, hopping from side to side on the branch as she issued a domineering declaration of war:

"You, you, you, and you! Come at me! I'm taking on ten today!"

The big ant, which had been walking along minding its own business only to receive an inexplicable kick, instantly flew into a rage. It pushed off with its hind legs and lunged at Wen Jing with its mandibles.

"Scrubs! Scrubs! Scrubs!"

It was not just the ant she had struck. Several nearby big ants that had originally been heading elsewhere also paused, then immediately changed direction in unison and charged at the brazenly provocative Wen Jing.

In the blink of an eye, five or six big ants had surrounded the little blue-purple bug.

Clack, clack, clack!

Rather than retreating, Wen Jing advanced, once again unleashing her insect martial arts and plunging into battle with the big ants.

On her last visit, when she had been smaller, she had already gained an initial grasp of fighting in her insect body. Now that her body had grown and all her basic attributes had improved across the board, the combat strength she could bring to bear far exceeded her initial state, when she could only trade blows evenly with a single big ant.

She had deliberately started this fight to adapt to her new body.

Even after growing larger, the little blue-purple bug had lost none of her agility. She was even faster than before.

Bam!

With a collision, she dodged the ant mandibles attacking from behind while twisting sideways into a kick. Using the recoil, she bit down on the ant diagonally ahead of her, causing the ant pouncing from the side to collide with the one she had kicked away.

A one-on-one fight had its own approach, and fighting off multiple attackers had another.

Handled properly, the attackers could instead get in one another's way.

The commotion of the battle brought more and more ants swarming over. Wen Jing had only just driven back the ants before her when the next wave of fresh ants took their place.

The fight grew steadily harder, but Wen Jing did not retreat. Instead, she fought with ever greater vigor.

Last time, she had focused entirely on adapting to combat in her insect body. This time, she began consciously applying the energy-control techniques she had learned in her human body to her insect form.