1: Chapter 1 Red Eye Disease? F-Rank Double Trash Talent!

Rumble...

The mechanical roar of the Starfall Awakening Device in operation vibrated the entire playground of Third High School.

Great Xia, Jiangnan Base City.

Under the gloomy sky, a dull, translucent energy barrier, like an overturned bowl, protected the entire city. Beyond the barrier, dull and shrill roars echoed from time to time—the abyss beasts lurking in the endless wilderness gnawing at the high walls.

On the playground, more than three thousand high school seniors stood in formation, the atmosphere so tense it was on the verge of solidifying.

"Heads up, everyone! Look at the barrier in the sky!"

Standing beside the dozen-meter-tall Awakening device, the chief instructor's rough voice blasted through the megaphone into every student's ears: "Remember those roars outside! Three hundred years have passed since the Great Shattering Era, and the abyss beasts still dream of chewing your bones to pieces!"

"What have humans relied on to survive until now? Martial arts! Blood qi! And this machine to activate the psionic talent within your bodies!"

"Today, you will awaken your talents, rated from F to SSS. It will decide whether you eat the flesh of exotic beasts in the future, or are eaten by them!"

"Next, Li Ming!"

A thin, weak boy walked onto the stage trembling, placing his hand on the Awakening device's crystal. The machine lit up with a faint white light.

"Low psionic affinity, E-Rank Talent [Strength Enhancement]. Next, Zhang Qiang!"

"D-Rank Talent [Elementary Wind Blade]. Next..."

Name after name was called out; some were ecstatic, while others wept bitterly. In this world where Martial Artists held absolute privilege, talent ratings were the most brutal class dividing line.

"Class 3, Senior Year, Su Chen!"

When this name left the instructor's mouth, the originally suppressed playground instantly fell into a commotion.

Everyone in unison turned their gazes toward the very front of Class 3's formation.

A straight-backed, black-haired youth calmly stepped out of the ranks. He did not tremble with nervousness like the others, nor did he look around in excitement. He simply looked straight ahead, walking up the steps toward the Awakening device pace by pace.

"It's Su Chen's turn! Our Third Middle School's civilian school hunk!"

"So handsome... I heard his blood qi value broke through 150 points last month? That's the standard for a quasi-Martial Artist!"

"Not only is he first in blood qi, but he also got perfect scores in martial arts theory classes for three consecutive years. With this kind of monstrous self-discipline, he will definitely awaken an A-Rank or higher Physical Body talent!"

On the rostrum.

The inspector sent by the military of Jiangnan Base City picked up his teacup, pointed at Su Chen who was walking onto the stage, and turned to the principal with a smile, "Principal Wang, is this the promising seedling you reported? His aura is very steady."

Principal Wang stroked his beard, his face beaming with joy. "You flatter us, Officer. This child is an orphan, born in the District D slums, but he is hardworking and resilient. Our school has already decided that as long as he awakens an A-Rank Talent today, we will immediately fast-track him into the provincial key elite special training class, and I will personally mentor him."

The inspector nodded. "To be able to temper his blood qi to this extent from a civilian background, he is indeed a tough character. Even if he can't awaken a high-level elemental talent, an A-Rank Physical Body enhancement would still make him a fine asset in the military camp in the future."

Meanwhile, within the student formations below the stage.

A few girls surrounded a pretty young girl wearing a custom martial arts uniform.

"Ruyan, your fiancé is going up on stage. Are you nervous?"

Liu Ruyan looked at the upright figure on the stage, a proud curve hooking the corner of her lips, and said softly, "I'm not nervous. He is an investment target I carefully selected. You all know that my family is a branch of the Kyoto Liu Family, and the elders have always looked down on civilians. But I saw it long ago; Su Chen's potential is immense."

The best friend beside her flattered, "Of course! Su Chen is handsome and strong. If he awakens an S-Grade Talent today, your Liu family elders will definitely invite him to marry into the family with a grand ceremony."

Liu Ruyan tidied her hair, her tone carrying a hint of certainty. "As long as he gets an S-Grade, even if I have to go on a hunger strike, I will force my family to agree to our marriage."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Su Chen had already stood still in front of the Awakening device.

"Place your hand on it, and clear your mind." The chief instructor looked at Su Chen, his tone softening slightly for once.

Su Chen nodded, raised his right hand, and pressed it against the huge sensing crystal in the center of the Awakening device.

One second. Two seconds.

"Buzz—!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted from inside the machine, and immediately after, an extremely dazzling green light shot up into the sky from the bottom of the crystal, instantly illuminating the entire playground.

"The green light has reached the top! This is a sign of an A-Rank or higher talent!"

"Holy shit! The green light is still getting stronger! It's turning into gold! Could it be S-Grade?!"

A burst of exclamations erupted from the crowd. On the rostrum, Principal Wang even stood up directly in excitement, and the military inspector also put down his teacup, his eyes narrowing.

Liu Ruyan clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh, her eyes filled with wild joy: "S-Grade... It really is S-Grade! I won the bet!"

However, just as everyone was preparing to cheer for the birth of a top Genius in Third Middle School...

An abrupt change occurred.

The pillar of light, which was about to turn into gold, suddenly flickered violently twice in mid-air like a short circuit. With a "crackle" sound, the green light instantly extinguished.

Replacing it was an extremely eye-piercing, crimson blood-light representing a warning!

The warning lights spun frantically, and a piercing siren echoed throughout the playground.

Everyone's smiles froze on their faces.

Immediately after, a cold and emotionless synthesized female mechanical voice came from inside the Awakening device:

"Gene scan complete."

"Psionic affinity: 0."

"Awakening result: F-Rank Physical Mutation [Localized Skin Hardening]; F-Rank Mental Mutation [Red Eye]."

"Comprehensive evaluation: No cultivation value, trash level."

Dead silence.

The entire playground fell into an absolute, dead silence that lasted for a full ten seconds. Even a needle dropping on the ground could be heard clearly.

"Clack."

On the rostrum, the purple clay teacup in Principal Wang's hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. His old face instantly turned from ruddy to ashen, and his lips trembled.

Below the stage, the wild joy on Liu Ruyan's face completely froze. Then, as if she had been slapped, her face turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with disbelief: "F-Rank? Red Eye? What... what kind of talent is this?"

After a brief silence, the playground suddenly erupted with a roof-raising burst of laughter.

"Red Eye? Hahaha! That's hilarious! What kind of bizarre mental mutation is this?"

"Can it be cured with a couple of eye drops at the hospital? In the future on the battlefield, is he going to glare the exotic beasts to death by infecting them with Red Eye?"

"And that Localized Skin Hardening! Isn't that just a turtle shell talent? No, a turtle shell can at least block a blade. What can his localized hardening do? Go to a construction site to move bricks and save on gloves?"

"And this guy was the school's number one? After all that, he's just a purebred trash with zero psionic affinity!"

Ridicule, sneers, and kicking-him-while-he's-down remarks surged like a tsunami. The classmates who had just looked at Su Chen with worshiping eyes didn't even bother to hide the disdain on their faces now.

On the rostrum.

The military inspector shook his head, sat back down in his chair, opened the roll book, and crossed off a name. "What a pity. No matter how high his blood qi is, without psionic affinity, he is destined to be just an ordinary person in the end. Principal Wang, is this the elite you wanted to fast-track?"

Principal Wang felt that his face had been completely dragged through the mud. He slammed the table fiercely, turned around, and roared at the senior year class teacher behind him, "What a great student you've brought up! Get him down right now! Don't let him embarrass us on stage!"

Class 3's teacher was a middle-aged, balding man. He had originally prepared a speech about "famous teachers produce brilliant students," but now he only felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a dead fly.

Flustered and exasperated, he rushed onto the stage and snatched the "Elite Class Token" from the chief instructor's hand, which was originally meant to be awarded to Su Chen.

"Su Chen! What are you still standing up there for? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?!"

Pointing down the steps, the class teacher coldly announced, "From today onward, you are removed from the top-tier class. Report to the logistics class by yourself this afternoon! The logistics class is mainly responsible for transporting supplies and ammunition to the front line. You can only do manual labor now. Get down!"

Facing the laughter of nearly three thousand people below the stage and the class teacher's expulsion...

Su Chen withdrew his hand from the crystal.

He did not argue, did not flush with anger, and certainly did not scream in despair.

He merely gave the class teacher a very calm look, then slipped his hands into the pockets of his martial arts uniform and walked down the steps without a word.

From the clouds of being the school's number one to falling into the swamp of being called cannon fodder, it took less than a minute.

But no one knew that at this very moment, Su Chen actually didn't hear the surrounding laughter at all.

Deep in his mind, a cold mechanical voice that only he could hear was echoing:

"Low-dimensional energy stimulus from the Starfall Awakening Device detected..."

"System underlying logic activating..."

"Current loading progress: 99.7%..."

"99.8%..."