3: Chapter 3 Zhang Wen is famous!

For the next three days, the campus forum was dominated by the hashtag #Zhang WenNineHeavensTribulationThunder#. At the Canteen's serving windows, people were constantly on their tiptoes, peering around for a glimpse of him. In the ancient texts section of the library, countless gazes pretended to casually sweep past his profile as he leafed through the 'Secret Manual of the Thunder Department'. Even the school board members, who were usually as elusive as divine dragons, lingered around while he trained under the guise of 'inspections'.

"Brother Zhang! Please, you must accept my apprenticeship application!" During the break, Wang Lei, a student specializing in sports, slammed a gold-embossed invitation onto the desk with a 'thud', sending the eraser in the pencil case flying three inches high. "My dad said that if I hang out with you, my early admission to the Federal Supernatural University is a sure thing!"

Zhang Wen was caught between laughter and tears as he prepared to decline, when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. Looking back, Xue Yuan was leaning against the back door of the classroom, a Wind Blade spinning at his fingertips, his icy blue gaze like an arrow dipped in poison. Since that day, this once-celebrated senior had not appeared in public again, yet fragmented rumors constantly drifted into Zhang Wen's ears—it was said he had gone mad on the rooftop, shredding an entire protective wall into a honeycomb.

When the school bell rang, Ding Siyi appeared carrying a stack of exercise books. She placed them gently on Zhang Wen's desk, the tips of her hair brushing against the back of his hand. "These are notes from previous top scholars; they might be useful to you." The moment the young girl turned to leave, Xue Yuan suddenly rushed out from the corner, a Wind Blade grazing the tips of Ding Siyi's hair before pinning itself into the adjacent wall.

"Ding Siyi! You really want to do this for this trash—" Xue Yuan's roar came to an abrupt halt. Zhang Wen had somehow blocked the way in front of the girl, the purple electricity coiling around his palm crackling as it ground the oncoming fierce wind into dust.

"Student Xue," Zhang Wen's tone was calm, yet it caused the surrounding temperature to plummet, "before I get struck to death by lightning, you'd better worry about whether your Wind Blades are tough enough." Behind him, Ding Siyi quietly gripped her skirt, looking at the boy's straight back as her heart fluttered like a trapped deer. Meanwhile, the spectating students in the distance had already pulled out their phones, aiming their lenses at this sudden confrontation—they knew a new campus legend was being born.

As the twilight gilded the security door, Zhang Wen had just pushed it open a crack when he was grabbed by the collar of his school uniform by his mother, Wang Guihua. The words '5th from the bottom of the grade' printed on his chest were particularly eyesore-inducing amidst the violent shaking. "You little brat! That 'Thunder Baby' on TV who was covered in blue light and blasted the principal out, was that you?!"

His father, Zhang Jianguo, rushed out of the kitchen holding a spatula, the 'Wife is Greatest' cartoon pattern on his apron still stained with oil. "Let me see! When did my son become a Thunder God? Back when you did your first-birthday grab, you clearly only held onto a broken calculator!" Before he could finish, the pot lid fell to the floor with a 'clang'. His eyes lit up as he pounced in front of the TV, pausing and zooming in on the replay of the Awakening scene. "Whoa! This lightning special effect is even more exciting than the private Legend servers I played when I was young!"

At the dinner table, Wang Guihua dumped an entire plate of Braised Lion's Head meatballs into Zhang Wen's bowl, her chopsticks clattering against the rim with a deafening noise. "Speak! Have you been secretly practicing cultivation behind our backs? You got a 28 on last month's monthly exam; were you intentionally holding back?" Zhang Wen was gagging on the meat, his eyes rolling back, only to hear his father slapping his thigh and laughing wildly. "I knew it! That time he forged his report card, he must have been practicing Lightning Control!"

Zhang Wen raised his hands, caught between laughter and tears. "Dad, Mom, I really didn't forge my report card." Wang Guihua suspiciously pressed a frying pan against his shoulder, while Zhang Jianguo stared intently at the pendant around Zhang Wen's neck. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "This thing glows! Old lady, quick, get our family's ancestral magnifying glass!"

Taking advantage of the moment his parents were frantically rummaging through boxes for the magnifying glass, Little Wen quickly escaped back to his room. The moment he locked the door, he could still hear his mother shouting from outside, "Little Wen! Tomorrow, get a bolt of lightning for your mom to play with! I'll definitely debut at the center position during square dancing!"

Moonlight spilled onto the desk through the gaps in the curtains. Zhang Wen slid down to sit on the floor against the cold door panel, listening to the sounds of rummaging and his parents' bickering from the living room—"Why can't I find this magnifying glass?" "You must have left it in a mess after using it to burn ants last time." He couldn't help but laugh out loud. He pulled out the jinglan pendant, which emitted a gentle blue light in his palm. At this moment, the world-shaking attention of the day and Xue Yuan's provocation were nothing compared to this sense of peace filled with the warmth of home.