5: Chapter 5 The Day of Talent Awakening

"It's over, it's over, it's over!"

Lu Cheng was sprinting while checking the time on his phone; he was about to lose his mind.

7:46.

Today, however, was no ordinary school day.

It was the day for the unified talent awakening for the senior year!

Being late on a day like this was basically no different from oversleeping on the day of the college entrance exam.

He clutched his schoolbag and dashed past the street corner, the school gate already in sight, the black and gold sign of No. 3 High School shimmering in the morning light, dazzling his eyes.

Two security guards stood at the school gate, stopping a few students who weren't wearing uniforms to register them.

Just as Lu Cheng rushed over, he was grabbed and stopped by the pot-bellied middle-aged security guard beside the guard booth.

"Stop! What's with the running? Which class are you in?"

Lu Cheng slammed on the brakes, nearly sending himself into the green belt, and quickly squeezed out a smile: "Uncle, I'm Lu Cheng from Class 7, Senior Year. I really have an urgent matter."

The security guard looked him up and down, frowning.

"Lu Cheng? Why is it you kid again?"

Apparently, the original owner's face was already a key subject of observation in the school's security system.

Lu Cheng's mouth twitched, thinking that his reputation was truly ruined in every aspect.

"Uncle, the past me is already dead. Standing before you now is the newly upgraded version of Lu Cheng!"

The security guard: "..."

The younger security guard next to him couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter.

The pot-bellied security guard kept a straight face: "Stop the nonsense. Don't you know what day it is today? The awakening ceremony is school-wide, and the teachers have already entered; how dare you be late?"

Lu Cheng quickly pressed his palms together: "Uncle, give me a chance. I was upholding justice... no, that's not it, I was intervening in an injustice... also not it. Anyway, the situation is complicated. I'll write an eight-hundred-word apology letter for you later."

The security guard snorted coldly: "Eight hundred words? Can you even write that?"

"If I can't write it, I'll copy it out for you."

"Get in there!"

"Alrighty!"

Lu Cheng felt like he had been granted amnesty, grabbed his bag, and rushed inside. After running a few steps, he turned back and shouted: "Uncle, you look great today! You'll definitely awaken an A! Ah, no, I mean you'll get a promotion and a raise!"

"You brat!"

...

In front of the senior year teaching building, the crowd was buzzing.

Today was Talent Awakening Day, and the atmosphere across the entire campus was completely different from usual.

Along the playground, in the corridors, and at the stairwells, students were gathered in twos and threes everywhere.

Some were nervous with sweaty palms, some were flushed with excitement, and others were saying "let it be" while their legs were shaking like a sieve.

After all, in this era, talent was practically destiny.

Whether one could go far in martial arts, whether resources would be allocated to them, and even whether they could transcend class in the future, often depended on this very moment today.

As soon as Lu Cheng rushed up to the third floor, his homeroom teacher, Liu Haifeng, was already standing at the door of Class 7, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Lu Cheng!"

At this shout, the entire corridor went silent for a moment.

Lu Cheng paused his steps and turned his head with a dry laugh: "Teacher Liu, good morning."

Liu Haifeng stared at him, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"You still know how to show up? Do you know what day it is today?"

"I know, it's Awakening Day."

"If you know, why are you still late?!"

Lu Cheng thought for a moment and said earnestly: "Teacher, actually, I wouldn't have been late, but the world just holds too much malice toward me."

Liu Haifeng was almost amused by his anger.

Class 7 was an ordinary class, unlike the top martial arts classes where the elite gathered; discipline was already hard to maintain, and Lu Cheng had previously been the class's notorious problem student.

When he first entered tenth grade, he had top-tier grades in the school, but later he began to give up on himself, and his whole personality went astray.

"Enough talk, go in and sit down," Liu Haifeng said, suppressing his anger. "If there's a next time, don't bother coming to my class."

"Understood, don't worry, Teacher. Next time I'll try to find a more dignified way to be late."

How could Lu Cheng possibly make a guarantee to a teacher about something like being late?

"..."

Liu Haifeng took a deep breath and waved his hand: "Get in there."

Lu Cheng slipped into the classroom in a flash.

Just as he entered the door, an exaggerated voice rang out from the back row.

"Yo, isn't this our Class 7's top celebrity making a grand finale entrance?"

Lu Cheng looked up and chuckled.

The speaker was a tall, thin boy with very fair skin, a high nose bridge, slightly deep-set eye sockets, and natural blonde hair that shone dazzlingly in the morning light; his features were as exquisite as if he had stepped out of a fashion magazine.

No matter how you looked at him, he was a proper mixed-race handsome guy.

But as it happened, his name was Ma Dachun.

Putting this name and this face together had the destructive power of a nuclear bomb.

Lu Cheng threw his schoolbag onto the desk, sat down next to him, and deliberately drew out his voice: "Morning, Dachun."

Ma Dachun's face turned green on the spot.

"WTF?! You try calling me that again?"

Lu Cheng looked innocent: "What's wrong, Dachun? Didn't your parents give you that name, Dachun?"

"Shut up!" Ma Dachun gritted his teeth, "Please call me Charles, thank you."

"Charles?" Lu Cheng looked him up and down, "Weren't you calling yourself Arthur a few days ago?"

"This is the English name I just changed to. It's about style, it's about an international vision, it's about flying, do you understand?"

"Oh." Lu Cheng nodded, "Alright, Ma Dachun."

Ma Dachun was so angry he nearly flipped the table.

"Lu Cheng, I told you, today is Awakening Day, I don't want to see blood."

Lu Cheng patted his shoulder: "Stop pulling out that broken English of yours, it's neither Chinese nor English. You're so handsome, having a rustic name is just a balancing mechanism."

"Get lost."

While the two were bantering, the discussion in the classroom grew louder and louder.

"I heard that people in the key classes have already done their mental compatibility tests in advance, and Zhou Lize has a high probability of getting an A-rank."

"Really? A-rank? That would mean he can go straight into the city's key training list, right?"

"No kidding, A-rank is already very strong. The whole school might not even produce a few in a year."

"What about Su Wan? I heard her blood-qi affinity is terrifyingly high."

"She's in Class 1, the school beauty and academic genius. It would be normal if she really awakened a high-level talent..."

"If beauty could be linked to talent, then why would there be handsome guys and beautiful women working as prostitutes in the world?"

"If I could get a C-rank, I'd thank the heavens."

"Stop dreaming. You'd be lucky to get a D-rank."

Various voices mingled together; the air was filled with tension and restlessness.

Lu Cheng leaned back in his chair, calmer than most people.

Talent was no longer very important to him. If nothing unexpected happened, according to his script, he would probably awaken a very crappy talent and then be mocked by some villains.

Just then, Liu Haifeng walked into the classroom and clapped his hands on the podium.

"Quiet!"

The whole class quickly quieted down.

Liu Haifeng looked around and said in a deep voice:

"Today is Talent Awakening Day, and it is also one of the most important milestones in your lives.

Later, everyone will go to the comprehensive training hall to conduct the awakening test in order of student ID.

Remember, no matter the result, you are not allowed to make noise, cause trouble, and even less are you allowed to use malicious words or actions because of others' talent levels."

Speaking to this point, his gaze specifically paused on a few troublemakers, finally landing on Lu Cheng's face.

Lu Cheng: "..."

No, why are you looking at me?

"Additionally," Liu Haifeng continued, "after the awakening is finished, preliminary class assignments will be made based on talent levels and basic data, and the first strength test will be arranged. Do you all understand?"

"Understood!"

"Let's go!"

...

Inside the comprehensive training hall, it was already filled with senior students.

Silver-white awakening instruments were set up in the center of the venue, like miniature metal pods, with teachers and school doctors nearby responsible for recording data.

On the high platform, school leaders and teachers from the martial arts group were almost all present.

Class 7 was arranged in the back positions. As soon as Lu Cheng and Ma Dachun sat down, they heard someone in the front row calling names; the testing had already begun.

One student after another went up.

"D-rank talent, enhanced vision."

"E-rank talent, acute sense of smell."

"C-rank talent, strength enhancement."

Some cheered, some were disappointed, and some burst into tears on the spot.

Soon, it was Class 7's turn.