Night passed, and a new day arrived.
In the classroom, Su Li was thinking about last night’s events.
Miserable, utterly miserable.
He climbed over the wall and walked from the Academy to You Xue’s house.
He stood at the door for a while, then walked back all the way.
It was so tiring, and he walked for a long time.
On the way back, he almost got caught by the security guard.
So what did he gain?
Only disappointment.
“Suge.”
The call pulled Su Li out of his tangled thoughts.
“Why are you so distracted?”
It was Cheng Yehai, asking with concern.
“Nothing.”
Su Li replied.
He was a little disappointed inside, but he didn’t want to show it.
“Sigh.”
Instead, it was Cheng Yehai who sighed.
Su Li looked at him with slight confusion.
“Your expression doesn’t look like nothing.”
Cheng Yehai’s expression was clearly unconvinced.
“Not to brag, but we’re brothers. I covered for you during last night’s dorm check.”
“Thanks.”
Su Li said.
Honestly, he also thought it was no big deal, but whenever he thought about it, he still felt disappointed.
Still, a person can’t keep dwelling on the past.
He had to move forward.
“It’s really nothing. I just cut ties with a close friend.”
Su Li said.
“A friend?”
Hearing that answer, Cheng Yehai scratched his head in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Li didn’t understand why he looked like that.
“Seeing you so down, I thought—”
“Thought what?”
Su Li still didn’t get it.
“I thought it was something like a lover. You really look like someone pining over love.”
Cheng Yehai spoke honestly.
Su Li paused, then furrowed his brows instinctively.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
They weren’t lovers.
They were childhood sweethearts, each other’s only family in this world.
That bond was much tighter than love, but in the end, they still separated.
“Hey hey, I’m talking nonsense, just nonsense.”
Cheng Yehai raised both hands in a surrender gesture.
“But Suge, you’re this sad over cutting ties with a friend. If it were a lover, wouldn’t you be crying your eyes out?”
Su Li shook his head.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“How about you try finding a girlfriend to change your mood?”
Cheng Yehai suddenly turned into a lousy strategist offering advice.
“Nonsense. I’m not in the mood.”
Su Li shot him a glare.
“Alright, alright.”
Cheng Yehai gave an awkward laugh, then suddenly turned serious.
“But we gotta go.”
“What?”
Su Li was confused.
“Next class is training. You were lost in thought earlier, so you definitely didn’t hear the teacher.”
“How many minutes left?”
“Two minutes. We’re gonna be late.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Su Li was exasperated.
“You were so down, how could I interrupt you?”
Cheng Yehai looked innocent.
“Besides, two minutes is enough. Run fast and we won’t be late.”
Su Li glared at him, then without another word, sprinted toward the training ground, with Cheng Yehai following behind.
***
As Cheng Yehai had predicted, they weren’t late.
The training class teacher was a scruffy, stubbly old guy who looked like he’d pull out cigarettes and booze any second.
A total slacker.
‘I thought it would be someone more serious,’ Su Li couldn’t help thinking.
“I’m your training teacher, Anbian Du. Pleased to work with you from now on.”
Anbian Du spoke in a carefree tone.
After saying that, he instinctively pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket, took one out, and stuck it in his mouth.
Then, under the shocked gazes of all the students, he stuffed it back in.
“Oh dear, oh dear, I forgot we’re in the Academy. That’s not a good look.”
But his tone clearly showed reluctance.
This guy seems pretty unreliable.
Su Li mentally tagged the seemingly irresponsible old man.
“Alright, no more chitchat.”
Anbian Du clapped his hands.
“Today is your first training class since enrollment. I won’t give you anything too hard. First, we’ll catalog the supernatural abilities you have, then test how well you’ve mastered them.”
He pulled out a list.
“Go in order of student number, one by one.”
Su Li’s class wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either.
It was mid-tier in the Academy.
Most students in the class had B-rank abilities, with a few A-rank ones.
A-rank was already considered top-tier talent, and above that, S-rank abilities were held by only two people in the entire grade.
In a world where strength was the real currency, having a powerful ability meant rising above the crowd, protecting yourself in a dangerous world, and gaining fame and fortune.
Su Li came from a barren village.
Traveling from such a remote place, he didn’t really have grand dreams.
He just wanted enough to eat, a comfortable life, and to protect his childhood sweetheart.
But now, that last wish didn’t need to continue.
In terms of the whole class, Su Li was probably the weakest.
His ability was called [Light Blessing], a somewhat special one.
Unlike other abilities, the Academy’s aptitude testing device couldn’t detect the rank of [Light Blessing].
Its specific manifestation was concentrating a dazzling beam of light that could interfere with others’ vision like a flash grenade.
Other than that, it couldn’t do anything.
So the reason he got into this class was that the Academy valued the unknown rank of [Light Blessing].
Soon, it was Alice’s turn to demonstrate her ability.
“Alice West?”
Anbian Du glanced down at the list.
“That’s right, it’s me.”
Alice said.
As one of the few A-rank ability holders in the class, most of the students knew her ability, including Su Li.
[Shadow of the Wind King].
An ability that could control the direction of air currents in the atmosphere.
All phenomena related to air flow were within her control.
“Show us your ability.”
Anbian Du said casually.
Alice turned around, facing the dummy standing far off on the training ground.
Then she swept her right hand through the air, and an invisible wind blade shot out.
A clean, slanted cut appeared on the dummy’s chest, the cross-section as smooth as if cut by the sharpest blade.
Alice lifted her head proudly.
Her golden hair, catching the faint light, fell behind her, revealing the soft white skin of her neck.
The line went silent for a moment.
“You have a very good grasp of your ability.”
Anbian Du rarely put away his lazy expression.
“But using that attack takes a lot of energy, doesn’t it?”
Alice hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Seeing this, Su Li was a bit surprised.
He didn’t expect the teacher to see through it at a glance.
Maybe this teacher really had some skill.
“So from now on, you need to train your magic power reserves. Even though you’re far ahead of the other students, you can’t slack off.”
Anbian Du said a few random words and sent Alice back to the line.
Next up was Su Li’s good roommate, Cheng Yehai.
Coincidentally, Cheng Yehai also had an A-rank ability, but unlike Alice, he was recognized by the whole class as a half-baked user.
Because Cheng Yehai’s ability was called [Rewind], a powerful one that could reverse time.
But unfortunately, he could only rewind about three seconds around himself.
And the ability’s consumption was also astonishing.
He could only use it once or twice a day.
Luckily, Cheng Yehai was an extremely optimistic person.
He lived by the creed that attacking him was pointless because he had no way to fight back, so he could slack off without any psychological burden.
Anbian Du looked at the ability listed on the paper with interest.
“Ability is Rewind? Interesting. Show us, Cheng Yehai.”
“Okay.”
Cheng Yehai stood in the test area a bit helplessly, still holding an unfinished bottle of soda.
He let go.
The bottle fell, and the water inside spilled from the mouth, splashing everywhere.
Just as the bottle was about to hit the ground, Cheng Yehai raised his right hand.
No warning.
No strange light.
No unusual sound.
The bottle vanished.
In reality, the bottle was already back in Cheng Yehai’s hand, the condensation beads on its surface still distributed as they were three seconds ago.
“I’m done.”
Cheng Yehai’s face was pale, his voice trembling.
“Three seconds?”
Anbian Du asked.
“Three seconds.”
Cheng Yehai took a breath.
“Not even 0.1 seconds more.”
Anbian Du nodded and commented.
“Though this ability of yours seems a bit underwhelming, if you train it properly, it might play an unimaginable role. After all, it’s an ability that controls time…”
Anbian Du stroked his chin in thought.
“For example, activate it after a teammate is suddenly attacked, and you can restore them to full strength. Or, at the moment an enemy launches a fatal attack, rewind that strike. Even if you can dodge and deviate by a few centimeters, it’s enough to save a life.”
“So train hard, kid.”
“Got it!”
Cheng Yehai had never received such a comment before.
He answered enthusiastically, then returned to the line.
And the last one to demonstrate was Su Li.
“Su Li, ability Light Blessing, rank… unknown?”
Anbian Du muttered.
“Interesting. Show us.”
Su Li paused, then said.
“I should mention beforehand that everyone might need to close their eyes, because the ability I release could be harmful to eyesight.”
Anbian Du nodded, then turned to the students.
“Close your eyes. If that’s not enough, turn around.”
Then he looked back at Su Li.
“I’ll be fine. Show me.”
Anbian Du’s tone was casual.
Su Li raised his right hand.
Light Blessing activated.
A blinding white light burst from his palm, like a miniature sun suddenly rising under the dome of the training ground.
The light wasn’t a beam—it spread like a sphere, exploding indiscriminately in all directions from his right hand.
Every corner of the training ground was illuminated, the metal surfaces of the targets reflecting glaring bright spots.
The students who had closed their eyes and turned around still felt the light.
Through their eyelids, the world went from dark red to a searing white.
“About 9,000 lumens.”
Anbian Du made a judgment.
“Anything else?”
Su Li shook his head.
“It seems similar to the manifestation of [Blaze].”
Anbian Du thought.
“Maybe your ability hasn’t been fully developed yet. Keep working hard.”
Su Li nodded and returned to the line.
Though this ability might be useless for now, having it had already brought him great convenience.
If he were just an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have come to this Academy.
He’d be homeless, wandering the slums.
Not enough to eat, not enough to wear.
He’d gain nothing and protect nothing.
He really didn’t think that far.
He just wanted to make himself better, wanted to make You Xue also…
And now Su Li was alone.
It was impossible not to feel resentment.
But as for the extent, it wasn’t that strong.
Just disappointment.
A little disappointment.
Very disappointing.
That was all.
So…
‘Forget her. Forget the childhood sweetheart who had been with him for so long.’
Su Li said to himself.