32: During freshman registration, this stone discriminated against me!

The academy square was named "God of War Square."

The name was domineering, and the ground was indeed paved with a high-strength alloy, durable enough to withstand being crushed by a tank.

Currently, at the most prominent position in the center of the square, stood a giant black stone stele as tall as a three-story building.

This was an extremely rare "heavenly meteorite obsidian," specifically used to test the talent potential and current energy intensity of Martial Artists and ability users.

Every freshman, regardless of their admission channel, had to undergo their first assessment here, commonly known as "checking the quality."

At this moment, a long line snaked in front of the stone stele.

"Wang Long, Strength-type ability, B-Rank! Next!"

"Chen Miaomiao, Water Element Affinity, A-Rank! Not bad!"

A senior student wearing the academy uniform with a "Student Union" badge pinned to his chest was holding a roster, directing the crowd with an arrogant expression.

His name was Zhao Gang.

That's right, he was the cousin of Senior Simp, who had experienced an "intimate encounter" with the Stone Lions at the Gu Family's entrance.

As a collateral descendant of the Zhao Family, he fared quite well in the academy. Relying on his cousin's influence, he looked down on the freshmen with his nose in the air.

Today, he had specifically applied to handle freshman reception with a clear goal: to give Gu Fan a harsh welcome.

Although his cousin Senior Simp was still in the hospital removing the "hickey" left by the Stone Lion, the Family's order had already arrived: in the academy, as long as he wasn't killed, mess with Gu Fan as much as possible!

"Next... Gu Fan!"

Zhao Gang intentionally raised his voice. Amplified by the loudspeaker, it instantly echoed throughout the entire square.

The noisy crowd fell silent in an instant.

Countless gazes turned simultaneously toward the youth who was just about to buy a grilled sausage nearby.

"He's Gu Fan? That legendary Trash of an abandoned young Master?"

"He looks quite handsome, but unfortunately, he's just a flashy but useless silver-tipped spear."

"I heard he got in through connections with the City Lord's Mansion? And with a special full scholarship? On what grounds!"

"Shh, keep it down. I heard this guy is a bit weird. Even the Lin Family's eldest Young Miss suffered at his hands before."

Discussions rose and fell, mostly filled with disdain and doubt.

Among those who could enter the War God Academy at eighteen, who wasn't a favored child of heaven? What they looked down on most were "connected individuals" who entered through the back door.

Malice.

A large amount of faint but dense malice converged toward Gu Fan like raindrops.

[Malice Points +1... +1... +2...]

Gu Fan watched the numbers jumping in his vision, feeling overjoyed. This wasn't a registration scene; it was practically a money-giving scene.

Ignoring the pointing and whispering around him, he strolled to the stone stele and glanced at Zhao Gang, who had a mischievous smirk.

"Senior, I recall my admission letter stating that special recruits are exempt from the entrance exam, right?"

Gu Fan pointed at the pitch-black giant stone. "I shouldn't participate in this kind of manual labor, right? In case I break it, I'm afraid you won't be able to afford the compensation."

"Pfft—"

Bursts of laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Break it? Who does he think he is? This is heavenly meteorite obsidian; even a Grandmaster's full-strength strike would only leave a white mark!"

"This Gu Fan is not only Trash but also brainless. What kind of big shot is he trying to pretend to be?"

Zhao Gang laughed so hard he doubled over, tears almost coming out.

"Gu Fan, you're truly humorous."

Zhao Gang wiped his eyes, his face suddenly turning cold. "Special recruits are indeed exempt, but that's for the standard process. As a Student Union officer, I have the right to suspect your admission qualifications are inflated. To be responsible to other students, you must test!"

"Unless... you admit you're a piece of Trash and get out of the academy right now!"

Zhao Gang's words were truly malicious.

He not only took the moral high ground but also used reverse psychology to put Gu Fan on the spot.

By now, the malice in Zhao Gang's heart was boiling.

[As long as this kid dares to put his hand on it, I'll activate the hidden Formation inside the stele to make him a public laughingstock or even cause internal injuries from the backlash! Cousin will surely reward me!]

[Ding!]

[Detected 'Intentional Humiliation and Plotting' malice from 'Zhao Gang'.]

[Malice Rank: B+ (A petty person in power is the most arrogant).]

[Backlash triggered! Multiplier: 60x!]

[Backlash target locked: The medium of this malice—the heavenly meteorite obsidian testing stele.]

[Generating random effect... Detected that the host's "qualifications" are being questioned, and the opponent highly values the authority of this stone.]

[Congratulations on selecting: Spiritual Awakening (Anthropomorphic · Super Simp Version).]

[Effect Description: Since someone thinks you aren't worthy of touching it, let this stone tell you itself who the real boss is.]

Gu Fan sighed helplessly as he listened to the prompts in his mind.

"Fine, since the senior insists, I'll reluctantly give it a touch."

"But let me warn you first, if anything happens, I'm not taking the blame."

As Gu Fan spoke, he reached out his right hand.

Zhao Gang stared intently at Gu Fan's hand, his finger already quietly pressing the controller hidden in his sleeve, ready to spring the trap.

The gazes of the entire crowd were focused on that hand.

Five centimeters... three centimeters... one centimeter... the moment Gu Fan's fingertip barely touched the surface of the stele.

"Buzz—!!!"

A strange vibrating sound suddenly rang out.

The originally pitch-black and hard testing stele suddenly emitted an eerie pink glow.

Immediately after, the hard stone surface actually began to soften and deform rapidly, like ice cream meeting hot iron.

Under the horrified gazes of the crowd.

The three-story-high giant stone twisted and reorganized at extreme speed, eventually turning into the shape of a massive palm.

Furthermore, this palm did not attack Gu Fan.

It maintained a "thumbs up" gesture and gave Gu Fan a little wave.

It wasn't over yet.

A line of glowing golden characters actually appeared on the stone's surface: [SSS+ Rank! Universally Invincible Super Handsome Guy! Welcome home, my Master!]

The whole place was dead silent.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to have stopped.

The roster in Zhao Gang's hand fell to the ground, his mouth agape in shock.

"What... what the hell is this?!"

While Zhao Gang was questioning his reality, the stele that had turned into a giant palm moved.

As if it had its own consciousness, and seemingly to show its loyalty to Gu Fan, it suddenly rotated its "wrist." The giant thumb curled in, turning into a flat palm, and slapped Zhao Gang fiercely.

It was extremely fast, carrying the sound of whistling wind.

This slap wasn't an attack but a gesture of disgust, as if shooing away a fly.

"Slap!"

A crisp sound of a slap rang out.

Zhao Gang had no time to react. He flew through the air like a swatted tennis ball, tracing a parabola for dozens of meters before sticking to a lamppost at the edge of the square in a spread-eagle shape and slowly sliding down.

Another line of text appeared on the stele: [Where did this fly come from? How dare you buzz at my Master? Scram!]

After doing all this, the stele seemed a bit shy. The pink light flickered before it quickly reverted to its original black obelisk form.

It was as if everything that just happened was a collective hallucination.

Except for Zhao Gang, who was stuck to the lamppost with highly swollen cheeks.

Gu Fan withdrew his hand and looked at the stunned crowd with an innocent face.

"Um... I told you not to let me touch it."

Gu Fan shrugged, his tone full of helplessness. "This stone seems a bit... improper? Is it discriminating against that senior?"

"That was a thumbs up just now, right? Wasn't it?"

Many in the crowd swallowed nervously.

This was way too ridiculous!

That was heavenly meteorite obsidian! It's an inanimate object! How could it hit people? And even have text bubbles?

Who on earth was this Gu Fan? Could his talent really be so high that it made a stone come to life?

Meanwhile, in the crowd at the corner of the square.

A youth wearing a faded grey robe and carrying an ancient sword wrapped in cloth strips was staring intently at Gu Fan.

He had handsome features and exuded an aura of unyielding determination.

Xiao Fan.

One of the Children of Destiny in this world, he possessed all the standard equipment of the "Trash Counterattack" genre: a mysterious ring, an Old Man in the Ring, a tragic past, and an unyielding pride.

"Master... can you see through this person?"

Xiao Fan asked silently in his heart, his gaze solemn.

After a while, an old and trembling voice came from the simple ring on his hand.

"I... I can't see through him."

"Xiao Fan, take my advice and stay away from this person."

"The Karma threads on him... are too chaotic. He's like a... hedgehog covered in thorns. That stone just now was clearly forced to twist its will by some extremely high-level Law."

"This boy is even more sinister than you, a Man of Destiny."

Xiao Fan was startled upon hearing this.

But the Battle Intent in his eyes grew even stronger.

"Sinister? Then it's even more interesting."

"I, Xiao Fan, have never feared a challenge in my life. Since this Gu Fan is being praised so highly, he can serve as my whetstone!"

At this time, Xiao Fan did not know.

That not far away, Gu Fan's gaze also happened to pass through the crowd and fall upon him.

[Detected high-value target 'Xiao Fan'!]

[Karma Entanglement: Extremely High.]

[Current Malice/Battle Intent: 60% (This is a top-quality leek growing beautifully).]

Gu Fan looked at the deep purple-red number above Xiao Fan's head, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening.

"Finally meet you, my... good roommate."