137: Chapter 138 Six Divine Chairs Snatch the Child, Thirteen Breaks into the Heart of the Formation

[Six Divine Seats vessels will be re-cultivated from those who have not yet obtained a class.]

Just as the system's voice faded, six beams of black light rose from Jiangcheng's South District.

Class Awakening Hall.

Three hundred and twenty-six teenagers, whose awakening had been interrupted due to the shutdown of the class interface, were now all sitting inside the array.

Their eyes had turned completely black.

Six shrunken Divine Seatss hung below the dome, like six nails searching for a heart.

[Record Seat adapter screening in progress]

[ruling seat adapter screening in progress]

[replacement seat adapter screening in progress]

[recycling seat adapter screening in progress]

[correction seat adapter screening in progress]

[continuity seat adapter screening in progress]

“They aren't just grabbing people at random.”

Thirteen stared at the communication screen, his expression grim.

“Those who haven't awakened don't have a fixed class yet.”

“To the Divine Seatss, they are like blank sheets of paper that can be written on at will.”

Qin Shanhe deployed all the academy's remaining vehicles outside the training cabins.

“Normally, it takes twenty minutes from here to the Awakening Hall.”

Zhou Heng had already climbed into a vehicle.

“Things aren't normal right now.”

Thunderous light exploded from beneath the wheels.

Shen Tingxue spread frost over the road ahead, forcefully suppressing the vehicle's sideslip as it turned at high speed.

Chen Ye handed Lin Shoushan over to the academy's medical team, then squeezed into the back seat while clutching his folding shield.

The Medical Instructor grabbed him.

“Your injuries—”

“There are over three hundred unawakened kids inside.”

Chen Ye broke free from the other's grip.

“No way in hell I can just lie down.”

Lin Shoushan leaned against the stretcher, his face pale.

After losing his position as Chief Designer, even maintaining consciousness had become difficult for him.

But before Lin Jin got into the vehicle, he still raised the blood-stained wrench and tapped the car door.

“You can't just smash the automatic array in the Awakening Hall.”

“The class naming is halfway through. Forcefully dismantling it will tear apart those children's names as well.”

Lin Jin looked back.

“How do we shut it down?”

“There are twelve mechanical locking pins beneath the main array.”

Lin Shoushan took a breath.

“First, cut the power to six of them, then reverse the central calibration dial.”

“Remember, if the order is wrong, the Divine Seatss will descend immediately.”

Thirteen was already sitting inside the vehicle.

When Lin Shoushan saw him, his lips trembled slightly.

“You stay behind.”

Thirteen looked up at him.

“You've kept me behind for eighteen years.”

“It's not up to you to decide this time.”

The car door slammed shut.

Lin Shoushan watched the departing vehicle, unable to tear his gaze away for a long time.

Fifteen minutes later.

The vehicle crashed through the barricades outside the Awakening Hall and skidded to a halt in the middle of the plaza.

There were no monsters outside the hall.

Only hundreds of parents.

They were blocked outside by a black barrier, crying, pounding, and slamming against it, but they couldn't cause even a single crack to appear.

A woman knelt on the ground, repeatedly calling out her daughter's name.

But inside the hall, there was no response.

Gu Changye's people had already arrived ahead of them.

He himself was trapped in the Processing Bureau by the [Recycling] Seat, and could only command through communications.

A dozen or so blockade officers were trying to tear open the barrier.

With each attack, a line of text floated onto the barrier.

[External interference will be factored into awakening risk]

No one dared to launch a forceful attack again.

Lin Jin got out of the car, took one look, and said:

“It's using the people inside as a shield.”

Chen Ye gripped his shield.

“Then how do we get in?”

Thirteen walked up to the barrier.

Black light swept over his body.

[Class Information: None]

[Awakening Record: None]

[Unregistered Lifeform]

[Does not constitute external class interference]

Surprisingly, the barrier did not block him.

Thirteen stepped one foot into the hall and looked back at Lin Jin.

“It doesn't recognize me as a class holder.”

“I can go in.”

Lin Jin grabbed his shoulder.

“You going in alone isn't saving anyone.”

“It's delivering the seventh vessel.”

“Then use my identity to open the door.”

Thirteen didn't pull away.

“Follow behind me.”

The five of them huddled closely together.

Thirteen walked at the very front, Lin Jin gripped his shoulder, Shen Tingxue's Ice Line wrapped around everyone's wrists, Chen Ye shielded both sides, and Zhou Heng entered last.

The black barrier scanned continuously.

[Unregistered lifeform carrying appendages]

Chen Ye's face darkened.

“Who's an appendage?”

Lin Jin said in a low voice:

“Get in first before you curse.”

The barrier hesitated for two seconds.

In the end, it judged all five of them as unrecognizable 'anomalous carry-ons' on Thirteen, failing to trigger the class block.

The inside of the hall was terrifyingly quiet.

Three hundred and twenty-six teenagers sat in a circle within the giant awakening array.

A blank class book hovered in front of each person's chest.

The six Divine Seatss moved slowly above their heads.

With every person they passed, several lines of assessment appeared on the blank books.

[Obedience: High]

[Emotional Attachments: Clearable]

[Personality Plasticity: Excellent]

[Adaptation Failed]

They weren't selecting the ones with the strongest talent.

But rather the ones easiest to turn into tools.

Directly in front of the array, a gray-haired old calibrator was pinned to the console by black lines.

The F-grade calibrator class before his chest had just recovered, yet his hands were being forced to continuously input awakening commands.

[Confirm candidate's voluntary awakening]

[Confirm candidate's acceptance of system class allocation]

[Confirm candidate can be cultivated as a stable vessel]

The old man's fingers were already worn bloody.

Yet he kept repeating a single phrase:

“Do not confirm.”

“Not a single one.”

Each time the black lines tightened, his spine bent a bit lower.

Chen Ye rushed forward, smashing the support bracket next to the console with his shield.

“Old man, do you not want your hands anymore?”

The old man raised his blood-covered face.

“Hands can be discarded.”

“But I cannot blindly press those words.”

Shen Tingxue's Ice Line spread along the black lines. Instead of directly freezing the old man's body, she sealed the six ports pinning him down one by one.

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear bypassed the three hundred-plus teenagers, repeatedly striking the power nodes at the top of the hall.

The first one.

The third one.

The fifth one.

He avoided the crowd directly below each time.

“Where are the underground locking pins?”

The old calibrator raised his hand with difficulty, pointing in six directions of the awakening array.

“Twelve pins.”

“The black ones were added by the Divine Seatss later.”

“The silver ones are the original array.”

Lin Jin glanced at the ground.

The twelve locking pins were arranged in an alternating fashion, a mix of black and silver.

If the wrong one was pulled, the Divine Seatss would obtain a complete descent path.

“Shen Tingxue, freeze the black pins, don't pull them.”

“Zhou Heng, cut the six power lines above.”

“Chen Ye, divide the crowd into six zones to prevent them from trampling each other when the array collapses.”

The three immediately split up.

Lin Jin rushed toward the central calibration dial.

His right hand could no longer bear the Hand of Rules, so he could only use his left hand to grip the rusty wrench, unscrewing the casing bolts one by one.

Thirteen stood at the edge of the array, looking at those three hundred-plus pairs of black eyes.

One of the girls suddenly looked up.

A name had already appeared on the blank book before her chest.

[continuity seat Reserve Vessel]

[Compatibility: 91%]

The girl's lips parted slightly.

“I am willing...”

Thirteen slammed his hand down on her class book.

“Are those your own words?”

The girl's eyes were unfocused.

“The system has determined... this is the path most suitable for me.”

Thirteen stared at her.

“What is your name?”

The girl did not answer.

The blank book floated with text in her stead.

[Name does not affect vessel functionality]

Thirteen's gaze instantly turned cold.

He had heard this sentence for eighteen years.

He directly tore away the class book from the girl's chest.

The paper let out a sharp shriek, and black lines instantly wrapped around his arm.

[Unregistered lifeform interfering with vessel cultivation]

[Re-evaluating]

[Detected a blank individual of higher purity]

The six Divine Seatss stopped simultaneously.

In the next second, they all turned toward Thirteen.

Lin Jin abruptly looked up.

“Thirteen, back out!”

Thirteen did not retreat.

He walked into the very center of the awakening array and opened his arms.

“Don't you like those without classes?”

“I don't even have a file.”

“Come at me.”

Six beams of black light descended simultaneously.

The Record Seat wanted to write a past into him.

The ruling seat wanted to decide his future.

The replacement seat attempted to erase his newly formed personality.

The recycling seat locked onto his body.

The correction seat recalled his candidate number.

And the continuity seat wanted to re-cultivate the traces left on him by the seventh divine remnant.

Thirteen's knees slammed heavily into the array core.

The wound on his chest that had just healed tore open again.

But as The Six Seats all locked onto him, the blackness in the eyes of the three hundred and twenty-six teenagers rapidly faded.

The girl was the first to regain consciousness.

She looked around in terror.

“Where is this?”

Thirteen grit his teeth and looked at her.

“Tell me your name first.”

“What?”

“Forget about the class.”

“Say what your name is!”

The girl froze for half a second, her voice trembling.

“Tang... Tang Xiaoman.”

The torn blank book before her chest lit up once more.

This time, what appeared first was not a class.

But her name.

[Tang Xiaoman]

Seeing this, the old calibrator's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.

“The old awakening program!”

“Before the class system was fully automated, the first step of awakening wasn't choosing a class!”

“It was stating one's own name!”

With all his strength, he slammed down on a dust-covered red button next to the console.

There was no psionic glow.

Only a raspy, old-fashioned broadcast rang out.

“All awakening participants, please first confirm your own name.”

“Once the name is confirmed, you may proceed to class identification.”

In the hall, more and more teenagers opened their eyes.

They were confused and terrified, not even knowing what had happened.

Shen Tingxue stood on the east side of the array, her Ice Key pinning down two black locking pins.

“Don't look at the chairs above your heads.”

“State your names!”

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear shattered the last power node.

“Start from the first row!”

Chen Ye used his shield to separate the chaotic crowd, shouting at the top of his lungs:

“One by one!”

“Your parents have been shouting outside for ages!”

“Don't let a few broken chairs answer for you!”

“Tang Xiaoman!”

“Zhao Chen!”

“Jiang Xiangnan!”

“Su He!”

One name after another echoed inside the hall.

At first, it was chaotic.

But soon, it grew more and more synchronized.

On the three hundred and twenty-six blank class books, their respective owners' names were written one after another.

Not grades.

Not compatibility.

Not Divine Seats numbers.

Just names.

The six black chairs vibrated simultaneously.

[Number of blank vessels decreasing]

[Independent identity anchors rapidly generating]

[Cultivation conditions obstructed]

However, the pressure borne by Thirteen suddenly intensified.

The Six Seats stopped trying to select anyone else.

They wanted to force all authority into his single body.

On his shoulders, back, and arms, six different black patterns gradually emerged.

“Lin Jin!”

Thirteen's voice was already distorted.

“Not done yet?”

Beneath the central calibration dial, Lin Jin finally spotted the twelfth silver locking pin.

It was encased in a layer of black casing, disguised as a Divine Seats circuit.

His father's warning had been correct.

Once the order was wrong, The Six Seats would descend immediately.

Lin Jin stuffed the blood-stained nut into the center of the calibration dial.

He gripped the wrench with his left hand and reversed it three turns.

The first turn.

The twelve locking pins loosened simultaneously.

The second turn.

The awakening array switched from automatic to manual mode.

Halfway through the third turn, the six Divine Seatss suddenly shrunken completely.

Giving up on the cultivation process, they transformed into six black nails, piercing directly toward the space between Thirteen's brows.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou rushed into the array, dragging 002.

“Can I strike it?”

Lin Jin didn't look up.

“Don't strike Thirteen!”

“Sever the cultivation connection between the Divine Seatss and the awakening array!”

Teacher Xu Wenzhou raised 002 with both hands.

The six black nails had already pierced the skin of Thirteen's forehead.

Blood flowed into his eyes.

Yet Thirteen stood unyielding at the core of the array, refusing to fall.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou aimed at the single point where the six connections intersected and brought it down heavily.

“Children come to awaken classes—”

“Not to become chairs for gods!”

Bang!

The six connections severed simultaneously.

At that exact moment, Lin Jin completed the third reverse turn.

Crack!

All twelve silver locking pins popped up.

The main array of the Awakening Hall powered down.

Losing their support, the six black nails stopped less than an inch away from the space between Thirteen's brows.

Shen Tingxue swept her Ice Key across.

Cold light froze all six black nails.

Zhou Heng thrust his spear through the ice, pinning them to the dome.

Chen Ye rushed into the array core, catching Thirteen as he collapsed backward.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Using your body like this right after you just grew it?”

Thirteen's face was covered in blood, but he smiled as he looked at the three hundred-plus teenagers who had regained consciousness.

“At least this time...”

“The one sitting inside was me.”

The black barrier outside the hall shattered with a bang.

The parents flooded in like crazy.

Cries, shouts, and names intertwined.

No one cared whether their child would be S-grade or F-grade in the future.

They only wanted to make sure that they were still there.

Lin Jin slowly stood up, leaning against the calibration dial.

The final result emerged in the center of the hall.

[Divine Seats Vessel Cultivation: Failed]

[Independent identities of the three hundred and twenty-six awakened confirmed]

[This awakening is postponed; subsequent class selection will not be affected]

Chen Ye let out a long breath.

“Is it resolved?”

Lin Jin looked up at the dome.

The six frozen black nails were shattering on their own.

Not because they destroyed them.

But because the remote end had actively given up on them.

In the next second, all the screens in the Awakening Hall lit up simultaneously.

The screens did not show Jiangcheng.

It was a nationwide class awakening network map.

Four hundred and seventy-six Awakening Halls were flashing with black light at the same time.

[Jiangcheng node cultivation failed]

[Remaining nodes continue to execute]

[Currently completed cultivation nodes: 125]

[Divine Seats reserve vessels born: 674 people]

At the northernmost part of the map, an Awakening Hall had turned completely black.

A youthful figure, far more solid than Jiangcheng's Six Seats, slowly rose from the black light.

Six class insignias hovered before his chest simultaneously.

His first words traveled through the national awakening network, entering Lin Jin's ears.

“Failed specimens of Jiangcheng, please do not continue to resist.”

“We have already proven—”

“Children are more suitable to become gods than adults.”