9: Yehe

While secretly muttering to himself, “Please don’t Awaken any good Aptitude,” Long Yuan quickly walked into the detection room. Inside, he saw a glittering instrument. A powerful aura instantly enveloped him, and a prompt sounded: “Please insert your student ID card into the card slot, then lie flat on the Awakening platform!”

He paused slightly, then quickly inserted his student ID card into the glowing slot and lay down as instructed. A transparent cover slowly descended, completely enclosing him. Several forces locked his limbs and head, and another force seemed to enter his body, circulating within him. Following this, beams of glowing light continuously swept over his body, which also rotated constantly, a 360-degree scan without any blind spots. The strange force circulating within him made his whole body feel slightly hot, and his head a little dizzy…

After a while, the detection Awakening platform finally stopped. Words appeared on a light screen nearby:

Name: Long Yuan

Physique: 45

Qi and Blood: 45

Spirit: 100

Element: Mixed

Aptitude: Spirit-type

Overall Rating: F Rank

“Spirit-type? Does that mean I have a mental illness? It seems I haven’t seen any students with this direction before… However, my Rank is truly low, F Rank, even lower than Fatty’s E Rank. But what exactly is this Spirit 100 all about?!” Long Yuan was completely puzzled but quickly exited the detection room. In his opinion, his Rank was as low as it could get, so it shouldn’t attract anyone’s attention. It seemed his Dao of obscurity was promising.

But he was wrong!

Just a few steps out of the detection room, a figure blocked his way. He looked up and saw it was none other than Principal Lu Shijie!

“Principal?!” Long Yuan was startled.

“Long Yuan, right? Well done, come with me quickly!” Without explanation, Lu Shijie pulled Long Yuan to the stage and sat down. This scene not only confused Long Yuan but also stunned everyone on and off the stage!

Someone with an F Rank overall rating was actually qualified to sit on the same stage as Qin Gui and Luo Ying, who were B Rank, and the Ye Family siblings, acting as a mascot. This was truly perplexing. Moreover, judging by Lu Shijie’s expression, he seemed to value Long Yuan even more, letting him sit right next to him…

Long Yuan secretly thought, “This is not good.” He hadn’t expected the Awakening situation to completely exceed his expectations. Could it be that Lu Shijie had x-ray vision and saw through his ultimate secret?

Seeing this, Sun Donghao straightened his back even more and exclaimed excitedly, “I didn’t expect Long Yuan, a student from my class, to also Awaken an extraordinary Aptitude! Although his overall rating is only F Rank, his Spirit-type Aptitude is a rare sight!”

The students were somewhat enlightened upon hearing this. So the mystery lay in the Spirit-type Aptitude. Someone quickly asked, “Old Classmate, what’s so special about this Spirit-type Aptitude?”

“Haha, do you know that there’s a Martial Commander in this dynasty who has Spirit-type Aptitude?!” Sun Donghao said proudly.

“Wow!!!”

“Old Classmate, which Martial Commander is it?!”

“Great General Xu Yanran!!!” Sun Donghao gritted his teeth and shouted.

“It’s actually Great General Xu!!!”

“That’s someone from the Xu Family, the Great Ming Empire’s number one Family!”

“I’m dizzy…”

The surrounding students were all in a frenzy, because the Xu Family was indeed extraordinary. From the founding of the Great Ming Empire until now, they have always been the number one Family. Even several emperors of the Great Ming Empire were sons-in-law of the Xu Family. Who wouldn’t envy such a wealthy and noble Family?

Sun Donghao continued, “People with Spirit-type are extremely rare. Perhaps not even one in a hundred thousand Xuan Practitioners can be found. Remember, Xuan Practitioners, not ordinary people. This shows how incredibly rare they are. But as long as one appears and is properly Cultivated, they will certainly become a pillar of the nation in the future! This has been verified by numerous wars!”

“Hiss—” The people below the stage were invigorated, wishing they could also Awaken a Spirit-type Aptitude.

As the discussions spread, everyone’s gaze towards Long Yuan also began to change, from the previous look of disdain for a good-for-nothing to one of immense envy, even bordering on admiration…

Duan Hu excitedly shouted, “Haha, he’s made it! My brother has made it! Long Yuan will be my strong backing from now on. If you want to cling to his coattails, you’ll have to come to me first!”

“Tch—” Everyone scoffed at the fatty’s daydream. If they wanted to cling to coattails, would they need to find him? Of course, they would go directly to Long Yuan and bombard him with all sorts of sugar-coated cannonballs. In everyone’s impression, Long Yuan was just an ordinary person, an insignificant presence. Now, he was just a nobody making a comeback, having Awakened a good Aptitude. Such a person was easiest to manipulate; as soon as the sugar-coated cannonballs hit, he would surely be engrossed…

“Alright, alright, everyone quiet down. Don’t disrupt the order of the training ground. Speaking of which, it’s still a bit regrettable. Long Yuan’s overall rating is too low after all, only F Rank…” Sun Donghao sighed slightly.

Duan Hu was startled and quickly asked, “Does that have anything to do with Aptitude?”

“Of course! Although Long Yuan’s Aptitude is very good, his overall rating is too low. This dictates that his future upper limit cannot be too high. You should know that Great General Xu’s overall rating is S Rank; that’s a true Dragon among humans!”

“It’s actually S Rank?!!!” Everyone was stunned.

However, thinking about it, it was quite normal. If she weren’t S Rank, how could Xu Yanran Cultivate to the level of a Martial Commander and become one of the pillars of the Great Ming Empire?

“So what will Long Yuan’s upper limit be?” Duan Hu asked.

“That’s hard to say. However, if resources are abundant, entering the Innate Rank shouldn’t be a problem. Our Great Ming Empire will specially favor people with such unique Aptitudes because their advantage on the battlefield is too great. So, even if it means piling on resources, they will be pushed to the Innate Rank!” Sun Donghao stated formally.

“Innate? Does that mean Long Yuan will have a chance to become a Martial Ancestor in the future?!” Duan Hu exclaimed excitedly.

“Indeed! It’s estimated that Martial Ancestor will be his upper limit, but his destructive power might even surpass that of ordinary Martial Ancestors, because people with Spirit Aptitude might not have strong combat power now, but they will truly be very strong in the future!” Sun Donghao explained.

“That’s great! Long Yuan is a future Martial Ancestor…” Duan Hu shouted triumphantly.

The others also felt a surge of envy, jealousy, and resentment upon hearing this. Why didn’t such good fortune fall upon them?

After a rare Spirit Aptitude appeared, it seemed Fengyang No. 1 High School’s luck was almost exhausted. The subsequent Awakenings were very calm, with no more good Aptitudes appearing until only the Ye Family siblings were left. Not even a D Rank appeared again, and many people didn’t even Awaken an Aptitude. One must know that this was Fengyang No. 1 High School, which gathered most of the county’s high-quality students, yet many still had no Aptitude. But this was the norm, showing how precious it was to possess Martial Dao Aptitude. However, Principal Lu Shijie’s smile couldn’t be hidden, because in his opinion, with two B Rank combat Aptitudes as a foundation, and a special Spirit-type Aptitude, this had already exceeded expectations!

In fact, in his opinion, even if only Long Yuan’s Spirit-type appeared in this detection, it would be enough, because such a special Aptitude, if even one appears, it is top-tier!

He looked at Long Yuan like a treasure, his smile almost overflowing from his receding hairline, making Long Yuan feel chills run down his spine…

At this moment, Ye Xuan finally finished her detection and walked out, and the announcement sounded: “Ye Xuan, Aptitude: Auxiliary-type… Overall Rating: A Rank!”

“A Rank?!!!”

“Wow!!!”

“Oh my goodness!!!”

“An A Rank actually appeared! How many years has it been since an A Rank student appeared in our Fengyang County?”

“Not sure, it’s been many years, right?”

“The Ye Family has struck gold!!!”

“This is a cow going to heaven, incredibly awesome!!!”

Ye Xuan’s face bloomed with a dazzling smile. An A Rank overall rating was enough for her to stand out from the crowd, except for that unknown Spirit-type…

Lu Shijie stood up again and led her to his side. Treasures, they were all treasures. Fengyang No. 1 High School had truly hit the jackpot this time. In Fengyang County, if they claimed to be second, no one would dare to claim to be first!

Previously, Fengyang County had produced three A Rank students, who were all scouted by Advanced academies not long after, skipping middle school entirely and going straight to Advanced academies. This was the power and treatment of an A Rank overall rating!

The entire venue was in an uproar, countless envious gazes fell upon this girl with an impressive figure and beauty. All sorts of schemes were quietly brewing…

“Brother, it’s your turn!” Ye Xuan said to Ye He with a smile.

“Congratulations, little sister! Since you’ve already Awakened an A Rank Auxiliary Aptitude, you’re definitely a future Martial Commander. Of course, I can’t fall behind!” Ye He said confidently, rising and striding towards the detection room…

The entire venue fell silent for a moment!

Those few minutes were truly agonizing, but as soon as the announcement sounded, the crowd erupted!

“Ye He, Aptitude: Combat-type… Overall Rating: S Rank…”

“Wow!!!!!”

“Oh my god!!!!!”

“I’m dizzy, dizzy…”

Many people, upon hearing the appearance of S Rank, felt their legs go weak, almost unable to stand steady…

Lu Shijie excitedly stood up again, being the first to applaud, and gestured for everyone to join him in clapping and cheering. Suddenly, the entire Fengyang No. 1 High School turned into a sea of joy. Whether they had high or low Aptitude, or no Aptitude at all, whether they were students, parents, or school staff, everyone offered their enthusiastic cheers to Ye He:

“Ye He! Ye He!! Ye He!!!” …

“S Rank! S Rank!! S Rank!!!” …

Under everyone’s gaze, Ye He slowly walked out of the detection room, looked up at the sky, spread his arms, and murmured. Suddenly, his legs “thumped” as he knelt on the ground, his posture as if embracing the heavens. At this moment, it was as if the entire world belonged to him! His! His!! His!!!

S Rank! In the Great Ming Empire, this was a future Martial Commander, a pillar of the nation, the backbone of the Family, and a reliable great patron!

With such Aptitude, and the added resources of the Ye Family, Ye He was destined to become a prominent figure in the Great Ming Empire in the future. It was likely that even the Great Ming Royal Family would eagerly seek to curry favor with him, attempting to recruit him into the imperial Family, to guard a region in the future and extend his prestige throughout the land…

On the stage, Qin Gui, Luo Ying, and Ye Xuan looked at Ye He, who was kneeling towards the heavens, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, and their faces openly showing envy…

Long Yuan, witnessing this scene, finally gained a more tangible understanding of the Martial Dao’s status and importance in the Great Ming Empire. Even someone as proud as Ye He, upon learning he had an S Rank combat Aptitude, was so excited that he knelt down to thank the heavens. This showed how much pressure he had endured since childhood and how high his expectations for himself were. Now that his dream had come true, he acted this way, but those present believed it was only natural. Clearly, in their perception, possessing such an Advanced Aptitude was absolutely a gift from the heavens, that the heavens had bestowed this good fortune upon him…

“Huh?! Why is it so bright in the sky?”

“Yeah, did Ye He’s prayer work?”

“So beautiful! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a bright light before?”

“Is this the celestial phenomenon that occurs after an S Rank combat Aptitude appears?”

“Very possible…”

“It seems even the heavens are celebrating for Ye He…”

……