2: Chapter 2: Talent Reveals the Truth, Deceiving Teacher Su
Yun Zhuo's gaze held no ripple of emotion, yet it seemed covered in a layer of cold frost as it slowly swept across the faces of the two.
His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck with solid weight: "Do not look down on a youth's unfulfilled ambitions; for one day, he shall soar ten thousand miles like the Roc."
If I don't act cool after Awakening a System, wouldn't my Awakening be for nothing?
After speaking, his gaze fell upon Li Wanqing. It seemed casual, yet he enunciated every word with extreme gravity: "And what you owe me, Li Wanqing, I will make you return it with interest, down to the last cent!"
Li Wanqing rolled her eyes. "Isn't it just a single spirit origin stone? I've truly never seen a man as petty as you! When I have one in the future, I'll definitely pay you back!"
“Enough!” Zhou Libin glared at Yun Zhuo with an ashen face. “Did you treat everything I just said as wind passing through your ears? Student Wanqing said she’ll return it in the future, so she definitely will!
If you dare to keep harp on this matter, you can get lost right now!”
Su Qingyuan, worried that Yun Zhuo was going to act out again, hurriedly reached out and pulled him.
Given Yun Zhuo's current situation, pursuing the Martial Dao was definitely out of the question. He could only follow her path: take the college entrance exam and attend a liberal arts university. That was the only way out for his life.
If he were expelled from school at this time and couldn't take the exam, his life would truly be over.
“Yun Zhuo, say less. If you’re worried about Student Li Wanqing breaking her word later, you can have her write an IOU right now. The Principal and I will both be your witnesses.”
After saying that, she looked back at Li Wanqing. “Student Li Wanqing, since you said you'd pay him back, writing an IOU shouldn't be a problem, right?”
Li Wanqing glanced at Teacher Su, rolling her eyes inwardly. With a trash like Yun Zhuo, I'll be from a completely different world than him in the future; this IOU is useless anyway.
Li Wanqing scribbled an IOU twice and threw it at Yun Zhuo.
Yun Zhuo would tear this IOU up the moment he stepped out. Without strength, what use was a mere IOU? With strength, even without an IOU, she would still have to pay it back with interest.
“Student Yun Zhuo, do you want me to take you to the infirmary?”
On the way, Su Qingyuan's voice didn't betray much emotion, yet it carried a trace of hard-to-detect concern.
“Teacher Su is truly the goddess in our hearts. Not only is she beautiful, but she's also kind-hearted.”
Teacher Su rolled her eyes at him and reached out to support him. “Are you stupid? Li Wanqing is Chen Bo's War Princess now. If you keep being so thick-headed, you'll only suffer more in the future.”
Yun Zhuo looked up at Teacher Su and was momentarily dazed.
[Name: Su Qingyuan]
[Age: 22]
[Beauty Score: 97]
[Talent: Mortal Rank Medium Grade]
[Transformation Form: Little Electric Scooter (mortal rank has no second form; the first form is also a utility machine)]
[inlay slots: Nine (Inactive)]
[Applause Count: 0]
[Current Status: Currently worried about a forced marriage at home.]
This was the skill entry rewarded after Yun Zhuo activated the System—Breaking Delusion and Seeing Truth. Theoretically, he could see all information about a War Princess, but currently, he could only see these details through physical contact.
It could be upgraded, but it required money—or rather, charging—because the currency of this world was corrosion crystals, a type of crystal dropped from Mutated Beasts.
Just like magic cores.
“I'm telling you, kid, don't push your luck.” Teacher Su glared at him.
“Sorry.”
If a man doesn't push his luck, people might think he's lacking.
But right now, he was busy checking the System and had no heart to bicker with her.
In this world, War Princesses all have inlay slots where they can embed crystals or runes with various attributes to increase stats and combat power.
mortal rank has at most one, Earth Rank at most three, and Heaven Rank at most six.
For someone like Li Wanqing, an Earth Rank High Grade War Princess, there were three inlay slots.
Besides this, talent assessment also looks at the efficiency of absorbing Corrosion Energy; the higher the absorption, the higher the talent.
For a War Spirit Master, it depends on conversion efficiency and talent entries.
Teacher Su actually had as many as nine inlay slots, a number that had never appeared in existing records.
Although they were in an inactive state, if he used the System's activation function to help her reactivate these slots, would he be able to improve her talent?
However, it was so expensive. Opening the first slot cost a hundred, the second a thousand, and so on. By the ninth slot, it would be a one followed by ten zeros. The required corrosion crystals would probably outnumber the hairs on his body.
But nine slots... if he could truly improve talent by opening slots and make her his War Princess, wouldn't he hit the jackpot?
But how could he convince her to form a contract with him? And it had to be a death pact; he didn't want to pave the way for someone else again.
Eh? Why did I say 'again'?
Forget it, that's not important. What matters is that in my past life, I was a beast of burden worked to the bone, working overtime and staying up late to earn a pittance.
In this life, with the System, no mortgage, and no car loan, if I don't live wildly, how could I face my System Daddy?
In the school clinic, the doctor prescribed some medicine for Yun Zhuo and told him to rest for a while before going back to class.
Just as the doctor left, Su Qingyuan, seeing that his complexion had improved, prepared to turn and leave, but was hurriedly called back by Yun Zhuo.
“Wait a moment, Teacher Su!” He reached out from the hospital bed. “Are you just going to leave like this?”
“Is there something else?” Su Qingyuan stopped, her face expressionless.
“I have a secret in my heart I want to tell you.”
“What secret?”
Seeing that his words had successfully piqued her curiosity, Yun Zhuo deliberately lowered his voice. “Teacher Su, actually, I’m not a mortal rank War Spirit Master.”
The War Princess Training System had a War Princess matching function. His current War Spirit Master talent would depend on what kind of War Princess he could contract, and also on how much money he had in his pocket.
Matching an Earth Rank Lower Grade cost a thousand, Medium Grade ten thousand, and so on up to Heaven Rank High Grade, which was a small fortune.
Su Qingyuan glanced at him and said in a flat tone, “Could the awakening formation be wrong?”
“Teacher Su, don't the books say human Awakening is because of a silicon-based virus? Why is there still an awakening formation?”
“This...” Su Qingyuan was momentarily at a loss for words. This was something everyone took for granted, and she had truly never thought about it.
“Actually, I’ve awakened a War Spirit Master talent. My talent is Training Mastery.”
Yun Zhuo lied. But isn't so-called 'high emotional intelligence' just knowing how to tell lies?
Anyone can tell a lie, but some feel their conscience prickling when they do, so they're called people with low EQ.
What he needed to do now was to secure an opportunity to show off.
Conscience could be set aside for now.
“Training Mastery? Never heard of it.”
“It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of it. To put it simply, I can increase a War Princess's talent grade by activating their hidden inlay slots.”
Su Qingyuan frowned, her eyes filled with obvious suspicion.
Could this kid have gone crazy from the shock of Li Wanqing? First, a never-before-heard-of Training Mastery, then unheard-of hidden inlay slots; he was practically weaving a fairy tale.
“Student Yun Zhuo, I know what happened with Student Li Wanqing today was a big blow to you.”
She softened her tone, speaking with a bit of comfort: “How about I give you a leave of absence? Go home and rest, and stop talking nonsense here.”
Yun Zhuo saw that her gaze was one of suspicion, not disdain. This meant she wasn't content with being an ordinary War Princess either.
This immediately boosted his confidence as he continued to bluff, “Teacher Su, everything I said is true. You have hidden slots. If you don't believe me, I'll help you activate one as a trial.”
Su Qingyuan was amused by his serious look, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, which carried a hint of coldness. “Fine, activate one and show me.”
“No problem, but I don't have that much money right now. Can you transfer me a hundred first? Oh, and it has to be cash.”
“...” The smile on Su Qingyuan's face vanished instantly, and she turned to leave. “Fine, I still have classes. If you're okay, go home and rest. I'll grant you a day's leave.”
“Wait a minute, Teacher Su, you don't even want to try for just a hundred bucks? Do you want to wear that Suppression Collar for the rest of your life?
I heard those collars have a remote control function. If you forget to pay the fee one day, they'll just shut you down. Do you want to live in fear like this for the rest of your life?”