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“Huh, Brother Ye, you’ve really dressed up!” Another person was reflected in the mirror. He was tall and swarthy with a square-face. He was wearing a casual set of warrior’s robes.
This was one of the Grizzly Bear Society platoon leaders he’d turned, Li Hu, Anti-Upheaval’s second platoon leader.
He was an eighth stage sky supreme and one of the top hundred students in the academy.
“Brother Ye has quite a few fans. Of course he has to dress accordingly!” At that moment, a red-lipped, white-toothed pretty boy strode into the room. Although he looked a bit effeminate, he was once a platoon leader of the Grizzly Bear Society, and was now Anti-Upheaval’s first platoon leader.
He was called Luo Zi, and just like Li Hu, he was an eighth-stage sky supreme. His ranking on the school leaderboards was even higher.
“Hee hee, you jealous?” Ye Zichen stopped fiddling with his clothes and turned around. He wore long black robes with Anti-Upheaval’s emblem pinned to his chest.
When he turned around, Xue Mo’s face inexplicably reddened, and she averted her gaze.
“Not me. I pursue the limitless great dao. I have no time to worry about those ordinary women,” said Luo Zi arrogantly. “Brother Ye, I advise you not to waste too much time on them either.”
“What kind of person do you think I am? I’m only dressing like this for hope that when the head of the Grizzly Bear Society sees me at the welcoming ceremony, he takes it easy on me on account of my clothes and doesn’t hit me too hard.” Ye Zichen shrugged.
“Pang Zheng!” Luo Zi and Li Hu exchanged solemn glances. They knew exactly what Ye Zichen was trying to convey.
During this new school year, the Grizzly Bear Society had suffered devastating losses, and it was all thanks to “The Excavator” Ye Zichen messing around behind the scenes. Pang Zheng was undoubtedly gnashing his teeth with loathing.
“That’s why you invited is to attend the welcoming ceremony with you, isn’t it?”
“Of course! I put my own neck at risk to recruit you. If you just sit back and relax and take my resources while I take all the blame, what will I do?” Ye Zichen arched his brows.
“We’ve joined Anti-Upheaval, so we’re all on the same side now. Even if you didn’t invite us, we’d come with you. It’s just….” Li Hu wanted to say something, but couldn’t quite find the words.
Luo Zi took the initiative to fill in the blanks. “If Pang Zheng makes a move against you, the two of us can’t stop him.”
Li Hu nodded. “Luo Zi’s right. Pang Zheng has been a half-step diviner for a while now. I’m afraid that in the entire academy, only Sword Immortal Jiang Wei can stand up to him.”
Ye Zichen already knew all that, but he smiled nevertheless. “That’s why I invited our Society Head too!”
“What am I supposed to do? I only just became a sky supreme. Both Li Hu and Luo Zi are stronger than me!” exclaimed Xue Mo.
“That doesn’t matter,” said Ye Zichen, his gaze containing hints of a deeper meaning. “You’re still the head of our Anti-Upheaval Society, so out of respect for you, Pang Zheng won’t dare attack me. Don’t you think?”
Xue Mo didn’t know what he was trying to say, but she didn’t want to linger on his intense gaze any longer.
“Alright then! The ceremony is just about to begin. Let’s hurry over!”
…
Skyspan Academy’s welcoming ceremony wasn’t overly exceptional. Long-time students got on stage and say a few vapid words of encouragement, followed by the teachers. Finally, the students split into different classes. After that, anyone who wanted to could take the stage.
“So it’s over, just like that?” Ye Zichen couldn’t help but arch his brows at the departing teachers.
“What else did you want? Every time school starts, millions of new students show up. Do you really think they can afford to hold an enormous welcome party for everyone?” Xue Mo speechlessly rolled her eyes. “In truth, the core of the ceremony is our free time. It’s a great opportunity to show off for various geniuses who want the school to prioritize them and allocate them extra resources.”
As expected, as soon as Xue Mo finished her explanation, a new student leaped onto the stage, took out his crystal card, and offered it to the instructor responsible for grading talents.
Anyone with elite-level talent was placed into elite classes, while geniuses took genius-level classes.
Beneath the elite level, everyone was just an ordinary student.
After watching this go one for a while, Ye Zichen didn’t see any unparalleled talents appear.
“Hey, Society Head Xue, how is talent classified here?” asked Ye Zichen.
“Unexceptional, Ordinary, Capable, Elite, Genius, Saint, and Unparalleled. Anyone with saint-level talent is all but guaranteed to become a diviner. As for unparalleled talents…. The God Realm hasn’t seen one in tens of thousands of years. Accord to legend, every last one of them is destined to become a ruler,” said Xue Mo, her eyes filled with longing. “Why do you ask? Hey? What’s your talent level?”
“How could my talent be anything but exceptional?” Ye Zichen snorted and crossed his arms. “Would you believe me if I said I was a ‘genius?”
“You?” Xue Mo’s eyes filled with disbelief.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. Well, let me tell you the truth. I’m actually an unparalleled talent, a peerless monster!” “Oh.” Xue Mo didn’t even look at him. She simply glanced pointedly at Li Hu and Luo Zi. “Let’s go and let this monstrous unparalleled talent enjoy himself.”
They nodded and left with her. Ye Zichen rushed after them and said,” What are you doing? Don’t you believe me?”
“Brother Ye, quit dreaming! Wake up already! We’re all just ordinary people. There’s no point in pretending. So long as we work hard enough, we’ll still have the opportunity to become a diviner, or even a ruler!” Li Hu patted him on the shoulder.
Ye Zichen said aggrievedly, “I really am though! It’s just that I prefer to keep a low-profile so I didn’t tell the academy.”
“I got it, I got it. In truth, I’m an unparalleled talent too, I just didn’t want to let the school know,” chimed in Luo Zi.
Hey, you guys! Just you wait… I’ll show you!” Ye Zichen felt someone flustered, but just as he was about to pull out his crystal card and show them, Xue Mo and the others crossed their arms. Their expressions seemed to say…
You still won’t let this go? Fine!
“Society Head Xue, to think I’d run into you here.” At that moment, they heard a voice from behind. They whirled around and saw Pang Zheng leading a group of Grizzly Bears.
Ye Zichen stopped reaching for his card and looked at them intently.
“Li Hu, Luo Zi, not bad! You only just joined Anti-Upheaval, and here you are, telling jokes already. I can only blame myself for being blind enough to unknowingly raise two such ungrateful jackals.” The speaker was the Grizzly Bear’s first platoon leader, Chen Yinian.
Aside from Pang Zheng, he was the Grizzly Bear’s strongest expert, a ninth-stage sky supreme. He was the first of their platoon leaders Ye Zichen had met with. However, he only cursed Ye Zichen out, and even kicked him. Twice!
“We’ve made our choice. Besides, while it’s true that we enjoyed the Grizzly Bear’s resources, we also put in time and effort,” snorted Li Hu.
“You still have the audacity to say…” Chen Yinian’s face darkened, and he took a step forward.
Just like that, the atmosphere at the ceremony took a sudden turn.
