Chapter 28: Special Invitee (Minor Revision)

Chapter 28: Special Invitee (Minor Revision)

In the cafeteria, someone's chopsticks clattered to the floor at just that moment.

The sound rang out loud and clear.

The blue-haired guy still had one earbud in, probably listening to music to regulate his mood.

He tried to intimidate Xu Qingran with his piercing gaze and overwhelming presence, but unlike others, Xu Qingran wasn't swayed by his intimidating mental domain. In fact, his dark, menacing gaze rivaled that of any E-type.

Fierce and ruthless, with a bloodthirsty edge.

Xu Qingran was also sizing him up.

The system's mini-encyclopedia popped up again: "Ji Huaixiu, 18 years old, from one of the prominent families of the Silver Dragon Battalion. Two years ago, after being classified as an E-type, he was sent to the Tower of Evil for training and only 'graduated' from it earlier this year, joining the Grandis Military Academy."

"He's a special invitee, just like you."

Xu Qingran chuckled.

A little punk who's still wet behind the ears, not even comparable to that old fox Shen Tingyu.

On the other side of the table, Ji Huaixiu's thin lips were pressed into a tight line.

He recognized Xu Qingran, the notorious love-struck drama queen of the Silver Dragon Battalion. He was shocked to find someone like him in the same place.

Of course, what surprised him the most was how different Xu Qingran's personality and demeanor were from the rumors.

Ji Huaixiu wasn't old, nor had he seen countless people, but the person across from him didn't seem like the type to cry over love. Instead, the ferocity in him seemed more like—

A mirror image.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the sensitive nerve in Ji Huaixiu's brain was plucked. His mood instantly soured to the extreme. He shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with a menacing red light, but before he could move, the metal table was slammed down with a resounding crash.

The deafening noise reverberated through the cafeteria, even causing the kitchen staff to pause their work and peek out to see what was happening.

Xu Qingran, who had intruded into his mental domain, had his hand pressed on the table, staring at him with a gaze that could kill: "Does smashing the table add flavor to the food?"

"I smashed it for you first—don't mention it."

Ji Huaixiu: "..."

He slowly lowered his hand, which had been about to slam the table.

Among this semester's freshmen, there were two E-types.

Ji Huaixiu also knew who the other one was. To prevent any unnecessary clashes, their dorm rooms and assigned cafeteria seating were placed far apart, so they rarely crossed paths.

But he hadn't expected Xu Qingran to show up.

His hand, hanging at his side, clenched with an audible crack.

His face dark, he spoke in a cold tone: "You shouldn't be here."

Xu Qingran stretched out his long leg, hooked a stool, and sat down.

He speared a piece of radish and put it in his mouth, his face expressionless as he asked, "If I don't eat here, should I go to your house?"

He chewed a few times, about to add that if he wasn't allowed to eat in peace today, he would make Ji Huaixiu's life miserable for the entire academic year. But then he saw Ji Huaixiu suddenly look at him with a mix of shock and anger.

Ji Huaixiu's eyes were bloodshot, his voice icy and brimming with rage: "You invaded my domain field, and now you want to come to my home?!"

"Your soul isn't even fully formed yet, and you're already throwing your weight around. This is not how an E-type should behave!"

"...?"

Xu Qingran was totally thrown off by him.

Was that what he meant?

Regardless of the meaning, the two in the corner of the cafeteria eventually started fighting.

The surrounding students scattered like leaves in the wind, making space for the two big shots to fight. They initially thought the seemingly fragile Xu Qingran would get his ass handed to him by Ji Huaixiu, waiting to laugh at this clueless person, but their faces slowly morphed into looks of stunned disbelief.

The one who started the fight was Ji Huaixiu, and after a long time of fighting, he still hadn't managed to get the upper hand on Xu Qingran. In the end, it was still him who missed a punch infused with spiritual energy and hit the wall.

On the other hand, Xu Qingran, who had casually set his food tray on the next table, didn't even break a sweat, with only a few red marks from Ji Huaixiu's spiritual energy scratches on his body.

There was no contest in spiritual energy between the two at this point, but in terms of fighting experience, the just-adult Ji Huaixiu was no match for Xu Qingran. Xu Qingran even seized the moment during Ji Huaixiu's pause to pop a piece of sweet and sour pork into his mouth.

Onlookers: ...What a show-off!

Xu Qingran paid no mind to the stares.

He was really hungry.

Ji Huaixiu, panting lightly, pulled back his hand, even more shocked.

He had seen Xu Qingran at a banquet a few years ago. Back then, he was timid and spineless, the Xu family brushed him off, and he only dared to trail after Lu Cheng, bursting into tears when teased.

...Who would've guessed that such a softie could turn into an E-type.

At this thought, Ji Huaixiu felt a surge of excitement coursing through him. Just as he was about to continue the fight, aiming to crush Xu Qingran into dust as soon as possible, a booming shout suddenly erupted from the cafeteria entrance: "What's all this noise?!"

A middle-aged man entered.

Brimming with energy, his jet-black hair gleaming, he wore the high-level uniform exclusive to Grandis Military Academy. He quickly zeroed in on the spot where all eyes were glued, and upon spotting the blue-haired youth in the corner, his already stern face twisted into an even darker scowl.

He strode over to the chaotic corner, eyeing the group of people who had vacated their seats and were standing to the side.

Then he shot a look at Ji Huaixiu, who was tight-lipped and defiant, and Xu Qingran, who was quietly eating, sticking out like a sore thumb in the chaos, and barked again in a commanding voice: "What's going on here?!"

Xu Qingran glanced up, his cheeks stuffed with food: "Eating."

The blunt answer gave the man pause.

He whipped around to face Ji Huaixiu with a fierce glare: "Kid, school hasn't even officially started, and you're already stirring up trouble?!"

Ji Huaixiu, who had just been strutting around like he owned the place, now hung his head, meekly without a word of protest.

Xu Qingran found the whole thing intriguing.

The system explained: "This man is Ji Huaixiu's biological father, named Ji Guojun, the supreme commander of the entire military defense of Azure Star, and also one of the major instructors at the military academy."

Xu Qingran raised an eyebrow, stirring the pot with Ji Guojun: "Yes, General Ji, since you're here, let's judge this fairly."

"Look, it's the time for everyone to report to school, the cafeteria is packed, and this classmate is hogging the whole table. I just wanted to come over to eat, and he got mad at me, look at that kicked-over stool, and the hole in the wall... all from his tantrum!"

Ji Huaixiu's head jerked up upon hearing this.

Xu Qingran pouted and pointed to the red marks on his skin that had been accidentally grazed by Ji Huaixiu's psychic energy: "Look, he still wants to hit me, and he hits hard."

"If I weren't so tough, I might be laid out flat by now."

Ji Huaixiu was speechless.

?

Ji Guojun glared at the young man beside him with a blank stare and scolded angrily: "Did you forget what your mom told you back home?"

"What? You wanna go back to the Tower of Evil for another round?!"

The 'Tower of Evil' is a real nightmare for a lot of E-types.

Seeing his kid freeze up and go blank-eyed at the mention of the term, Ji Guojun's heart softened a bit. But he kept a straight face and reminded him: "You signed up with the academy, so stick to your role and do your part."

"Take a page from Tingyu's book; he's got it down."

Ji Guojun showing up stopped the next round of drama.

After speaking, he left. Ji Huaixiu watched him leave, looked down, and slowly unclenched his fists.

Shen Tingyu?

Only fellow E-types get how scary it is for someone like him to go against his own instincts.

Ji Huaixiu withdrew his gaze and saw Xu Qingran waving to his roommates, calling over the three others who were holding plates in the distance and didn't dare to move. The empty corner now had three new presences, making his skin crawl.

Just as he was about to lose his temper, the boy named Xu Qingran, as if anticipating it, gave him a cold look: "Eat up or beat it."

"If you're not here to eat but to start something, I'll risk it all to join you in a Tower of Evil freak-out."

Ji Huaixiu: "..."

The mention of the 'Tower of Evil' doused the fire in his heart like cold water.

Only frustration remained.

·

Two days flew by in a flash.

The dorms started filling up, and across from Xu Qingran's room, four particularly noisy big men moved in. They were loud as hell, and they didn't like to close the door, so their laughter and chatter could be heard through the corridor.

Someone even hauled in a speaker from back home, and every night it was bumping.

In the room, the others were at their desks, unusually quiet, glued to their phones or tablets.

Zhang Zhihe noticed only Xu Qingran was on his phone, scrolling and gossiping online, and asked him: "Ran Shao, not gonna reach out to family or friends? You might not get to talk to anyone outside for a month."

School starts tomorrow, and after midnight, all gadgets gotta be turned in, only getting them back for two days at month's end.

Xu Qingran kept his eyes on his phone, not responding.

He had no love for family, just plans to cash in on the inheritance and take them all out.

As for friends.

He went through the original owner's contacts—mostly strangers, with Lu Cheng being the only close one.

At this thought, Xu Qingran suddenly let out a silent chuckle.

Upon closer inspection, his fate seemed quite similar to that of the Xu Qingran in this world.

Both were fated to live alone.

Lost in thought, a message suddenly appeared on his phone.

Xu Qingran opened it and found it was from Auntie Song.

"Auntie Song: Mr. Xu, I just heard from the young master that you've gone to a very prestigious school and won't be back for a long time. The young master told me to tell you not to worry about him and that his homework has improved. He asked me to send it to you."

"Auntie Song: [Picture]"

It was a math problem.

33+33=6666.

Xu Qingran couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

At least the numbers were correct; there was some progress.

"Auntie Song: Mr. Xu, if you come back during the holidays, remember to let me know so I can prepare your favorite dishes in time! Oh, and Xiao Zhang also said, if you come back during the holidays, remember to let him know in advance so he can pick you up from the Celestial System!"

Xu Qingran sat motionless in his chair for a while before slowly typing a reply.

"Okay, thanks."

As he closed the chat, he happened to see Shen Tingyu's name again.

While browsing online earlier, Xu Qingran had learned that the medical school had cleared him of the cheating scandal. If the gossip was accurate, then the only person in the Golden Wing Battalion who knew about this was Shen Tingyu, who had coincidentally gone with him to the medical school that day.

There were ten minutes left until midnight.

Xu Qingran finally opened the chat and sent Shen Tingyu a message: "?"

A minute later, the other person replied with the same: "?"

Xu Qingran didn't bother to explain further and just sent two words.

"Thank you."

His thoughts were all over the place, and he didn't feel like getting into a long explanation. Only after sending the message did he realize that Shen Tingyu might not get what he meant.

But the reply came back quickly.

"You're welcome. But you owe me one."

"[Smile]"

Xu Qingran stared at the system's default smiley face and was once again both amused and annoyed.

He immediately shot back with a sarcastic: "[Smirk]"

Then he powered off his phone.

That jerk, not worth giving any respect.

After midnight, the dormitory robots showed up right on time to collect the items.

Xu Qingran was the last one in the dormitory to submit his box. Just as he watched it being carried to another room, Ren Ping called out from behind, asking, "So it's decided then? So, Xu Qingran, you'll be the fourth in our dorm from now on?"

He turned around, calmly inquiring, "What's the criteria for this ranking?"

Ren Ping chuckled and said, "We just had an arm-wrestling match; the strongest one becomes the dorm leader."

"Xu Qingran... you're the youngest here, and we're pretty big and strong, so arm-wrestling with you seems like bullying," Ren Ping, being straightforward, spoke his mind, "No worries, you can be the youngest, and we'll look out for you from now on!"

Totally forgetting that the so-called youngest among them had openly challenged an E-type in the cafeteria just the day before.

Xu Qingran shut the door and locked it with a sharp click.

Turning to the other three dorm mates with clear yet foolish looks in their eyes, he said, "Arm-wrestling is dull, how about a real fight?"

...

Ten minutes later, Zhang Zhihe, Ren Ping, and Liu Xingwen were lined up, dragging their chairs together.

They passed their bottled water to Xu Qingran, who stood over them, looking down, and said, "Boss, please have some water! From now on, you're the leader of our dormitory quartet!"

As they spoke, their faces contorted in pain.

Mainly because their bodies were sore.

They genuinely apologized for underestimating Xu Qingran.

This guy was simply a terrifying human weapon, like a fighting AI, always able to accurately pinpoint their weaknesses. Though they didn't have many visible injuries, their whole bodies were aching, and their spiritual energy flow had sped up to heal internal injuries.

The three of them thought—

Are all the rich kids this intense nowadays?! Living in luxury doesn't hinder their fighting skills, does it?!

Xu Qingran, feeling satisfied and justified, took the water they offered and accepted the title of boss.

Be the youngest? No chance. He only wanted to be everyone's boss.

After a night, the military academy cadets finally started their official training.

There were still many cadets in the new academic year, and the academy split everyone into different gathering spots to listen to speeches from seniors and officers on the big screen in the square. Ji Huaixiu's father, Ji Guojun, was also present, sternly laying out the rules.

Given the empire's dire situation and serious external threats, everyone only had one year to train. If they couldn't pass the ultimate assessment after one year, they wouldn't graduate and officially join the military. The learning projects covered a wide range, from basic survival to learning to use spiritual energy weapons, combat mechs, and more.

Xu Qingran was very interested in all of it.

Before officially entering the learning project arrangements, everyone had to undergo an entrance assessment for initial grading. The assessment items included spiritual pool level evaluation, physical fitness, reaction, spiritual energy control, endurance, flexibility, etc.

Based on the final assessment results, classes were divided, with higher-level classes having more intense training, and the difficulty of assessments each quarter would also be higher. But correspondingly, if one could pass the quarterly assessments and graduate excellently, those students would have higher position ranks.

Special invitees like him could even directly become team leaders.

The military academy did not officially announce who the students with special invitations were, but everyone could more or less guess that they were the highly talented individuals who had already made a name for themselves before even enrolling. After all, most highly talented individuals would show extraordinary abilities from a young age.

Only someone like Xu Qingran, who emerged halfway, was unexpected.

Even so, it didn't stop him from being one of the most watched people in the academy. With the heat from the hot search and word of mouth from those around him, even those who hadn't caught the gossip before now knew the famous Xu Qingran.

The first assessment item was the spiritual pool level test, and his spiritual energy undoubtedly became a matter of great concern for everyone.

The spiritual power evaluation machine is set up in the grand hall, with a big screen that shows the test results right away. The military's minimum requirement is a B-level, and in the Grandis Military Academy, which gathers almost all top students, even an A-level is pretty hard to come by.

So, if Xu Qingran's spiritual pool level is below A-level, he's bound to get laughed at.

After all, they don't believe that a young master from a wealthy family, who was just an F-level not long ago, could pull off a medical miracle to get that good.

Xu Qingran stepped coolly into the scanner's range.

As the system blared out, the corresponding information appeared on the screen:

"Xu Qingran; Student ID: SIS09219; Soul state stable; Soul type undetermined; Spiritual pool level - A-level."

Everyone was blown away.

Holy smokes!

He's actually got an A-level!

The students in the hall who saw this result all had one thought.

— Yo, Young Master Xu, where'd you score that level-up potion? Hook us up with the link?!

Of course, what's even crazier than Xu Qingran now having an A-level spiritual pool is his super short student ID and the three golden letters 'SIS' before it. When this student ID appeared, even the usually stone-faced big shots on the side turned to look.

SIS, short for Specially Invited Student.

A Specially! Invited! Student!

"Wow—"

In the hall, someone who'd been eating up all the gossip finally lost it and let out a colorful curse, disregarding their image.

The once-mocked F-level loser, who was ridiculed by everyone in the Silver Dragon Battalion for months and would be brought up again and again even a decade later, is now an A-level, just scraping into the elite, and is actually a specially invited student?!

What's the big deal about being a specially invited student?

In the year when the military academy produced many talents, the Grandis Military Academy handed out a max of 20 special invites, and in some years, they might not even issue 5. This year's a standout with loads of hot prospects, with new generations from the Silver Dragon and Golden Wing families joining the military, and it's said that only a dozen or so invitations were issued.

Compared to the tens of thousands of students, the worth of this invite speaks for itself.

Graduate, and the royal family cuts you a check for 100 million coins! Wealth and status are all within reach!

Now, Young Master Xu, who they thought was total garbage, actually entered with a special invitation!

The students were in tears.

It turns out that Young Master Xu's interview was not just boasting; he was just telling it like it is!

What on earth is going on?

How does an A-level snag a special invite?

The crowd was puzzled, suddenly remembering the gossip about Xu Qingran being taken to the Tower of Evil. In less than a month, he was out, which wasn't surprising at the time since his soul was not yet fixed, and he was probably just taken to the outer tower for a routine process before being released.

Now, thinking about it, it's downright chilling.

...Could it be that Young Master Xu also participated in the legendary arena activities?

When Xu Qingran calmly walked out of the testing chamber, he noticed that the students sitting in the front row, including Ji Huaixiu, were all looking at him. It had been a couple of days since he arrived at the school, and this was the first time these proud, high-talented individuals had given him a proper glance, their eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity, their expressions serious.

An A-level student who participated in the arena.

Clearly, both the Tower of Evil and the academy had given him quasi-E-type status. Most importantly, he had indeed won in the perilous arena with his A-level spiritual energy. Regardless of spiritual power, he was likely a formidable opponent in other skills.

Several of them thought to themselves.

If they knew that Xu Qingran had only a B-level spiritual power when he entered the arena, they would probably be even more shocked.

After the students from various places completed their spiritual energy level assessments, they began to group according to their spiritual energy levels for the subsequent project evaluations, comparing their results with their group members.

The grueling assessments continued for another two days.

The back-end staff responsible for monitoring and following up on the A-level group's results fell silent as they looked at the data.

Xu Qingran, who had been the least favored by everyone since his enrollment, actually stood out in most projects, even achieving outstanding results! Whether it was combat, endurance, reaction speed, mobility, and agility—all crucial battlefield skills tied to talent—he far exceeded the average level of A-level students.

These results could even compete with the double S-level students!

What brought down his overall score was his lack of control over spiritual energy and his physical fitness.

The physical fitness part wasn't bad, just not as outstanding as other projects, maintaining an average A-level standard.

However, his control over spiritual energy still needed improvement.

Now they truly believed that Xu Qingran had risen from being a weakling, as he had not undergone formal training before, leading to inadequate use and control of spiritual energy. But with his other abilities, as long as he could improve his current shortcomings, his rise was indeed imminent!

The officer in charge of back-end data supervision sighed, "Who would have thought that just a couple of months ago, I was mocking this young master for being useless, nothing compared to his brother."

"Alright, the assessments for each group are almost done. It's time to arrange the final comprehensive test groups based on their average scores."

"What about Xu Qingran?"

The officer glanced at the scores on the table and replied, "The A to S-level sessions are almost done. If he really has to go up against double S or triple S-level students, it's still a bit too much."

In a small corner outside the corridor, a soldier wearing a military hat glanced in the direction of the score data room before retracting his upper body and speaking into the communicator to the person on the other end, "Hey, I've taken care of everything."

"Your brother has indeed had a bit of glory recently, but there's still a big gap between A-level students and double S, triple S, or even E-type students. Besides, those incoming students have almost all undergone strict training since childhood, not something that can be compared to someone who just picked up some basic skills outside."

"If he's placed in the hell-level group, he's definitely going to get crushed."

Xu Qingan smiled sweetly on the other end of the communicator, but his tone was worried, "Although I'm grateful that you're willing to help me vent, even if my brother gets injured, it shouldn't be too serious, right?"

"It's just the school's entrance exam, what could go wrong? This isn't entirely for you. Several of us brothers are quite dissatisfied. Why did he get the special admission to enter? Back in elementary school, he was just a scaredy-cat who would wet his pants!"

Xu Qingran had too many highlights recently, whether it was his fellow students or those who had worked hard to graduate and secure small positions in the academy. There would always be a small group of people who felt envious and resentful. It was impossible for them to believe that the once weak Xu Qingran could be so capable, thinking he just got lucky and benefited from the Shen family's help.

"Anyway, he's been making things difficult for you recently. As friends, we're definitely on your side! Don't worry, several of us are now working in the academy. We'll definitely take good care of your brother in the coming year!"

After finishing his conversation with them, Xu Qingan hung up the communicator.

The smile on his face slowly turned into a grimace.

Xu Qingan was different from Xu Qingran. He had been cheerful and gentle since childhood. Having no strong background and relying on his mother, he understood the importance of building good relationships and networks. He also discovered that he seemed to have a natural charisma, making people willing to play with him and unconsciously protecting him as the weaker party.

So over the years, he had used this to expand his social circle, taking advantage of the fact that people tend to sympathize and be less guarded against the weaker party, becoming the pitiful but hardworking and positive child in the Xu family.

Originally, everything was fine, even Lu Cheng, whom Xu Qingran loved the most, had been won over by him. But recently, Xu Qingran had changed, no longer caring about others' opinions, determined to walk the path of infamy, and even revealing the events from before.

The network he had painstakingly built, those still in the process of being established, and the less solid relationships, all began to show signs of distancing themselves from him.

Although there were still people willing to trust and help him, and if absolutely necessary, he could still obtain some desired assistance through the underground dealings he cooperated with Boss Chen, he gradually felt a growing sense of unease.

What he wanted was everything going smoothly like it used to, where everyone was genuinely attracted to him, liked him, and sincerely stood on the same side. Not because Xu Qingran himself was also radiant, thus involuntarily provoking malice, wanting to challenge that light!

Xu Qingan clenched his fists, seething with resentment.

The feeling of losing the effortless control he once had was not the result he desired!

·

After two days of minor assessment tasks, the most nerve-wracking part for the students was actually the comprehensive assessment on the third day.

Everyone would be divided into groups of one hundred based on their performance.

Similar to arena rules, these one hundred people would be dropped into a huge venue for combat. Whoever could defeat everyone and climb to seize the final descending colored blossom would become the top student in their respective class group in the grading assessment.

This would bring them great convenience and benefits in their subsequent studies.

The only two differences in the rules were the prohibition of using psychic abilities and fights to the death. As the instructors put it, the psychic pool class is an innate gift to the gifted, and what they want to see is if they can still become strong, qualified warriors after abandoning this gift.

Each venue would have many guards armed with psychic guns watching. Anyone who violated the rules would be immediately taken down with a psychic gun, and all assessment results would be revoked.

At that moment, screens of various sizes throughout the hall displayed the names of different venues.

But the screen where Xu Qingran stood attracted the largest crowd.

Not only because the list included this year's only two Type E users, including Ji Huaixiu, but also because among the one hundred participants, there were 60 triple S-level and 38 double S-level students. This lineup was nearly as impressive as the list for another Type E user's venue next door.

The only difference was that in the venue headed by Ji Huaixiu, there was also an out-of-place A-level Xu Qingran.