4: Chapter 4 Take Care of Yourself

Ten minutes later, in the Class 7 classroom.

Noisy voices filled the entire classroom, as students who had just finished the awakening ceremony were still immersed in today's rating controversy.

Their topics invariably revolved around Xiao Qingwu of the SS-rank, Ye Feng of the A+-rank, and Lin Ye, that fallen genius from the pedestal who possessed an F-rank.

On the podium, the theory teacher, wearing black-framed glasses and carrying a gentle demeanor, put down his textbook, glanced at the restless students below, and gently tapped the blackboard.

"Quiet."

With just that single word, the noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

Everyone obediently straightened their bodies, save for Lin Ye, who leaned alone against the window seat with an indifferent expression.

His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the faint lingering miasma on his palms, exuding a sense of alienation all over his body.

There was no new lesson today; the teacher had specifically stayed behind to sort out the subsequent development directions for the students who had completed the awakening.

Many students looked uneasy, and someone raised a hand to ask hesitantly: "Teacher, if someone awakens an E-rank or even F-rank trash Divine Kingdom, does that mean they will completely have no way out for the rest of their lives?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole class's gazes subconsciously glanced towards Lin Ye in the corner, mixed with sympathy and subtle mockery.

Following everyone's line of sight, the teacher glanced at Lin Ye, then withdrew his gaze, speaking in a calm and gentle tone without the slightest bit of contempt: "The divine grace rating determines the lower limit, but it does not absolutely lock the upper limit."

"The Federation will never abandon any demigod; even an F-rank has its own way of survival."

He raised his hand and pointed at a shy girl in the class: "Take Su Yao in the back row for example. What she awakened is an E-rank Flame Rabbit, which has no combat ability whatsoever, but its meat is tender and its growth rate is extremely fast."

"In everyone's eyes, this is the most useless livestock unit, but she can completely take the logistics route, continuously producing meat to supply the Federation's pioneer army, and still obtain abundant resources to live a stable life."

The teacher continued to give examples, his voice clearly spreading throughout the classroom: "And there is a student in the next class whose Divine Kingdom is ordinary rocky terrain, and whose dependents are low-level stone men."

"Their combat power is low, but they can constantly mine ores and provide raw materials for the military industry."

"The Source Realm needs powerhouses who slaughter and fight, and it equally needs logistics with stable supplies."

"Not everyone has to rush onto the battlefield; a plain and stable life is also a way of living."

This string of reasoning was well-founded, pacifying quite a few students with low ratings and inner inferiority.

As his voice fell, the teacher's gaze once again involuntarily landed on Lin Ye by the window.

Those gentle eyes were filled with undisguisable regret.

Having taught for over a decade, he had never seen a student with such terrifying theoretical talent, yet he happened to stumble on his Divine Kingdom.

If it were an ordinary ruined god, he could still calmly counsel them, but Lin Ye was too special; this disparity of a fallen genius made even his heart ache with unbearable sympathy.

The teacher gently put down the lesson plans in his hand, slowly walked through the quiet classroom, and stepped by step arrived at Lin Ye's desk.

The whole class's gazes unanimously followed, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Lin Ye raised his eyes, his cold and clear pupils looking calmly at the other party, with no embarrassment or inferiority, acting as nonchalant as someone who hadn't just been judged as a ruined god.

The teacher was silent for a moment, and in the end only slowly raised his hand, gently patting Lin Ye's thin shoulder.

There were no extra words of comfort, no empty platitudes.

A thousand words ultimately turned into a low and helpless sigh.

He knew that any comforting words at this moment would appear pale and dazzlingly harsh.

A polluting F-rank divine grace was almost a locked desperate situation under the Federation's rules.

After patting the shoulder, the teacher did not stay long, turned around and silently walked up to the podium, and after a brief wrap-up, packed up his lesson plans and left the classroom.

Inside the classroom, the oppressive atmosphere still had not dissipated.

The surrounding classmates lowered their heads and whispered among themselves, their gazes occasionally glancing sideways at Lin Ye in the corner.

No one stepped forward to talk to him, deliberately maintaining a distant spacing, as if getting stained by a trace of miasma would bring misfortune.

Su Yao looked timidly at Lin Ye, clutching her hem tightly, wanting to step forward to comfort him, but was quietly pulled back by a classmate beside her, leaving her with no choice but to give up helplessly.

Right in the noisy and awkward atmosphere, a cold and fair figure ignored everyone's gazes around her and walked straight towards the corner by the window.

It was Xiao Qingwu.

She had shed the chill from the awakening, wearing a clean school uniform with a sharp and neat high ponytail.

Her cold brows and eyes carried not a shred of extra emotion, and she stepped through the gaps between desks and chairs, stopping beside Lin Ye's desk.

This scene instantly caused the whole class to fall into dead silence.

Everyone's pupils shrank sharply, staring in disbelief at this scene.

Who was Xiao Qingwu?

The coldest iceberg goddess of Cangnan No. 3 High School, naturally indifferent and disliking social interaction.

In her two years of high school, the classmates she had actively talked to could be counted on one's fingers.

Even Ye Feng, with his superior family background, had only ever gotten a few perfunctory responses in exchange.

Yet at this moment, she had actually taken the initiative to walk towards Lin Ye, the school's universally recognized F-rank ruined god.

By the window, Lin Ye raised his eyes, his indifferent sight meeting her clear, icy pupils.

"Your Divine Kingdom has a problem!"

Xiao Qingwu had no extra small talk; her voice was cold, delicate, and clear only to the two of them.

Her tone was firm, without a shred of hesitant probing.

"Others can only see the Miasma Wasteland and inferior Scavenger Hounds."

"But I know that your divine domain is definitely not as simple as it looks on the surface."

She slightly tilted her head, her gaze straightforward and sharp, seeing straight through Lin Ye's deliberately disguised calmness: "The Ice Spirit Thread I probed just now was crushed by a hidden, terrifying force."

"That kind of foundation is definitely not something an F-rank polluting ruined god can possess."

"You are hiding something!!!"

Three short words, landing crisply.

As Xiao Qingwu's voice fell, the air grew quiet enough to hear the soft rustling sound of phoenix tree leaves falling outside the window.

Lin Ye raised his eyes, his cold and clear gaze crashing into her sharp pupils.

He neither admitted nor denied it, merely parting his thin lips slightly to spit out a sentence devoid of emotion: "Mind your own business."

His tone was distant, carrying a coldness that kept people a thousand miles away.

Xiao Qingwu's brow slightly furrowed, and just as she wanted to say something, the class bell suddenly rang sharply.

She gave Lin Ye a deep look, stayed no longer, turned around, and walked straight back to her seat, her back still cold and solitary.

The hanging hearts of the whole class dropped back into their stomachs, and the buzzing sound of whispers arose once again.

The gazes looking at Lin Ye held a few more parts of inquiry, and even more sympathy and disdain.

Lin Ye couldn't be bothered to care, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the psionic smartphone in his school uniform pocket as he calculated serious matters in his heart.

And at this moment, outside the classroom door.

Ye Feng, who had not walked far, happened to turn back and, through the glass window, took in this entire scene inside the classroom.

Sunlight fell on his profile, yet it could not reflect a shred of warmth.

That face, which originally carried arrogance and smugness, instantly turned gloomy and distorted.

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The gilded psionic bracelet on his wrist grew intensely hot, and the restless psionic energy squirmed faintly beneath his skin.

Extreme jealousy, like a poisonous vine, frantically wrapped around and gnawed at his heart.

Two years.

A full two years.

He had racked his brains to get close to Xiao Qingwu, giving gifts, striking up conversations, deliberately creating chance encounters, being humble and deliberate, yet what he got in return was always indifferent ignorance and distant avoidance.

Xiao Qingwu was even stingy enough to refuse to give him a direct look.

And now she actually went to look for a piece of trash!

This made Ye Feng jealous to the point of driving him mad.