Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"..."

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, the exquisite ceramic teacup in his younger cousin's hand shattered.

Burning with rage, he clenched his teeth and stared at the paper: "If you refuse the easy way, we'll do it the hard way. I'm going to find her right now!"

In his nineteen years of life as a Plutocrat Scion, which had been smooth sailing, he had never faced a slap in the face from a poor person.

"Calm down, what's that behavior?"

At this moment, Tan Junhao's voice rang out. His face darkened for just a moment before returning to normal.

"You grew up hardly ever seeing poor people. This Wen Jing is conceited about her talent, so it's only natural she's a bit arrogant. People like this are actually the easiest to handle. Treat her with courtesy, and she'll be loyal to you for life without costing many resources."

"Look at that guy from the Activities Department—hasn't he fallen for our president's act?"

"More likely, this person simply doesn't know how much power the student union wields!"

After lecturing his cousin a bit, Tan Junhao leaned back in his chair. "Isn't the welcome party in two days? We'll see what she's made of then."

"If her skills don't match her attitude... hmph..."

*

Besides the student union recruitment ad, Wen Jing also received a public task issued by the college's activity center.

This message was specially highlighted with gold effects, indicating it was a "main quest" that every student must fulfill in the college.

That was the Ancient Wilderness Exploration.

Each semester, a minimum of three Ancient Wilderness Explorations must be completed. Failure to do so would result in expulsion from the college.

At the same time, each completed exploration upon returning from the Ancient Wilderness would reward 1 credit and 1 point. The more explorations completed, the more rewards obtained.

The minimum of three times isn't too harsh. It seems to prevent students from avoiding the Ancient Wilderness out of fear.

After becoming an Awakener, if one stays away from the Ancient Wilderness for too long, a body that's been strengthened by high-dimensional energy will undergo irreversible genetic collapse.

But the Ancient Wilderness is extremely dangerous! Even seasoned Awakeners might never return from a particular exploration.

That's why genetic collapse is the second biggest killer of Awakeners, right after explorations.

Of course, Awakeners cannot enter the Ancient Wilderness without a cooldown. At least with her current compatibility, after one entry into the Ancient Wilderness, Wen Jing needs to wait six or seven days before she can enter again. This interval gets shorter as her compatibility improves.

"So the best value is 'registered exploration.' The academy doesn't encourage solo exploration..." Wen Jing mused.

Following the task info, she opened the college's activity center.

There, she saw various tasks, not only for the college's students but also open to outside Awakeners.

After all, an Awakener Academy on a planet serves not only as an academy but also as an Awakener activity center—where research, trading, and exchanges can take place.

Eager to earn points, Wen Jing immediately studied the tasks. But soon, she had to reluctantly log out.

Compared to other tasks in the activity center, registered exploration is basically a student perk.

Other tasks either ask for specific materials, require Awakeners meeting certain criteria to form teams for exploration, or need Awakeners with a certain Ability to assist in research... In short, none were within her current ability.

Just then, a new notification popped up on her terminal:

"Your reserved elective course [Secret Art: Energy Amplification] will begin in thirty minutes. Please head over to Teaching Building 17, Secret Technique Classroom 10."

Wen Jing's eyes lit up. She stood up from her chair, grabbed a nutrient solution on the table, and walked out the door.

"Gurgle..."

On the way, she gulped down the nutrient solution in a few mouthfuls, then tossed the empty bottle in a perfect arc, landing it precisely into a trash can by the road.

She only tasted this interstellar specialty—nutrient solution—for the first time after arriving at the academy. It had a faint taste, not good or bad, but hey, it's convenient and cheap.

However, only Awakeners can drink this stuff. If non-Awakeners drink too much, their digestive system will shut down, making it impossible for them to eat normal food. Only Awakeners, with their strong bodies, can handle such a potent drink.

So Zherang Academy doesn't even have a cafeteria; instead, it has various restaurants serving freshly cooked meals, which are upscale dining spots.

Walking all the way, Wen Jing arrived at the classroom.

It was more like a big training ground than a classroom. The walls and floor were made of special alloy, looking super sturdy.

In the center of the training ground, a large instrument was placed.

Five minutes before class started, the room already had nearly sixty people. Not only first-year students were present, but also sophomores and juniors.

"She actually came..."

Soon, someone recognized Wen Jing—a fellow Plutocrat Scion from her class.

Those who had to hustle for points to take electives were the poor; the wealthy could just buy points at a premium if they wanted.

In fact, even ordinary-born students, if they signed a contract with a certain group or spent time earning credits, could exchange for points to take courses.

Awakeners were a group that earned money quickly but also spent it quickly.

"Isn't she from the population factory? How did she get enough points to buy a course so soon?"

"Has she signed with some group? I heard she cleared the first floor of the Trial Tower yesterday and got a D-grade evaluation. It's possible that some group signed her."

"Impossible. If she'd signed, I'd have heard about it."

"What's the point of signing an F-grade? She's just a flash in the pan. After a while, no one will hear that name."

Plutocrat Scions would woo civilian geniuses, but Wen Jing's potential was too low for anyone to bet on her future.

Moreover, the highest level among the Plutocrat Scions at Zherang Academy was E-grade, meaning they were not high in their family hierarchy. Signing her might offend ■■■ and the family behind him, making it not worth it.

Students from other years overheard, and many also cast glances at Wen Jing.

"Is she Wen Jing?"

"She looks pretty unremarkable..."

Just then, a tall, willowy woman walked into the classroom.

All the chatter in the room instantly died down.

It wasn't because she was the only one not wearing the school uniform, but because she gave off an undeniable aura of power.

The woman walked up to the podium, scanned the room, and began to speak.

"I'm your instructor for this course, Louisa."

The instructor wore a simple tank top and pants, with intricate, personalized designs shaved into her buzz cut. Combined with her wild features, she had a striking, almost exotic charm.

"Since there are new students attending for the first time, let me go over the rules of my class."

"First, do as I say."

"Second, no off-topic questions."

"Alright, let's start the lesson."

After laying out her brutally concise class rules, Louisa began teaching directly.

"The effect of the secret technique Energy Amplification only works on yourself. Its function is to improve the efficiency of energy's enhancement of the body, basically, one unit of energy does the work of several..."

Wen Jing listened with full attention, and so did everyone else.

Elective courses have no attendance requirement. When you buy it, it clearly tells you the total class hours. Each class requires students to book in advance, and the schedule is flexible. If you book and skip, you waste your own credits.

And if the purchased elective course is not passed in the final assessment, it won't add any credits. You can either drop it or spend credits to retake it.

This was the first elective Wen Jing chose after challenging the Trial Tower, costing her 10 credits.

It seemed like a great deal—after mastering it, it could increase her credits by a full 50 points.

But at the same time, the average pass rate for this course's final was only 23%.

This meant... an extremely high retake rate!

At that moment, many of the sophomores and juniors in the room were retaking it.

Those with strong talent might only need to retake it once or twice; those with average talent might need to retake it four or five times.

So, considering the cost of retakes, this course was not cheap at all.

However, that was for other people.

Louisa had everyone gather in a circle around her.

"Now, I will teach you a breathing technique. Follow my commands: exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale..."

The students present had undergone various trainings since childhood even before awakening. After awakening, their control over their bodies improved further, so they quickly achieved the correct rhythm and synchronized their breathing.

"Remember the frequency of this breathing technique, and apply that same rhythm to your energy flow."

Many new students attending for the first time immediately had their breathing disrupted: 'This is even worse than that one time you zone out in calculus and you're lost! Breathing and energy flow are totally different—how are they supposed to be the same?'

Louisa, sitting in the center with her eyes closed, didn't even move her eyelids and said coldly, "If you can't get it, you idiots, just keep doing the breathing until it becomes second nature."

The hardest part of this course is that it tests your intuition.

Besides retaking, many students just dropped it after one semester.

After all, although this course grants a lot of credits, it can only be applied to close combat to enhance physical skills. It's not like there aren't other techniques and skills to boost your power.

After a while, Louisa stood up.

"Anyone who's got the hang of it, go test your amplification on the device over there."

She took some retaking students to the device, leaving the rest to keep meditating on the feeling.

Time passed minute by minute.

Wen Jing sat cross-legged on the floor, earnestly trying to sense how to control the energy flow.

She completely skipped the stage Louisa mentioned of 'making the breathing instinctive.'

Because with her proficiency panel, once you achieve something, it's locked in forever—you never lose it. So the moment she learned the breathing technique, it was as if she had already made it an instinct.

The hard part came next.

For an awakener, using energy to strengthen the body is instinct, like holding a hose—you just point it and turn the flow on or off.

But what this secret technique required was to make the water flow oscillate according to the frequency of the breathing technique while flowing to a designated location—the difficulty skyrocketed.

Energy volume, energy direction... Wen Jing immersed herself in trial and error.

Then, in a flash of inspiration, a subtle insight struck her.

The energy she was channeling gave the faintest tremor.

Perhaps other people learning this secret technique had experienced the same moment during practice, but for them it vanished in an instant.

But Wen Jing was different.

"Secret Technique: Energy Amplification Technique — Proficiency: 20%"

...

"Amplification intensity 130%? Not bad, that's a breakthrough. Next, you need to match the frequency to the breathing rhythm and increase the amplitude."

Beside the testing device, Louisa nodded to a student who had just finished testing.

Upon hearing this, the student clenched their fist excitedly and let out a breath.

"Third time retaking, and he'd finally broken through!"

Nearby, other retaking students showed envious looks; this pace was actually pretty good for this course.

One student hesitated, then gritted their teeth and stepped forward. "Instructor, I'd like to test."

Louisa nodded. Under her gaze, the student nervously reached their hand into the device.

After a moment, the machine lit up red.

The student's expression instantly stiffened, like they'd lost a parent.

"Still haven't got it. Looks like you need a personal 'experience.'" Louisa raised her fist and slowly threw a punch at him: "I'm using only a tenth of your energy—watch closely—"

The student was obviously expecting this; nervously raising both arms, they mobilized energy to block.

"Bang!"

With a heavy thud, the student flew back and slammed into the wall over ten meters away.

Everyone's scalp crawled. Those who were on the fence immediately decided to wait until next time; there was only about ten minutes left of class.

Just then, someone stepped forward.

"Hmm?"

All eyes in the room instantly fell on that figure.

Not only did someone dare to step forward at a time like this, but this person also came from the freshman section!

Louisa saw Wen Jing approaching from the freshmen's side, raised an eyebrow with interest, and warned, "Come back when you're confident, or you'll end up slammed against the wall."

Wen Jing simply nodded and walked without hesitation to the testing device.

"Strike the testing device with your palm," Louisa instructed.

Wen Jing reached her hand into the device, feeling as if she was reaching into quicksand.

It seemed to be another advanced technology incorporating primeval materials.

After a moment of curiosity, she channeled energy to strengthen her palm and pushed forward.

Under everyone's burning gaze, the device glowed green and displayed a number: 150

Amplification strength: 150%!

After a brief silence,

Louisa was the first to snap back to reality. Dropping her previous nonchalance, she suddenly leaned close to Wen Jing and asked with surprise, "What's your name?"

Meanwhile, the taut string of tension in everyone else's hearts snapped at that moment.

Are you kidding me?!

Is this the progress someone can make on their first attempt at learning energy amplification? Then what about all those times they retook it? Just a waste of time?

At this moment, every student present experienced what the students on District Planet had once felt.