"To get in, it seems you don’t just need Talent, but you also have to pass a special test and get excellent grades in the ’Spiritual Energy Class.’ I meet all the requirements. I want to go to one of those three Cultivation Academies."

After hearing this, his parents, who had been wondering what Su Zhou was about to say, sighed in relief. "We were wondering what you were going to say. So it’s just this."

Su Zhou’s Talent had been apparent since the start of the school year. No one thought his aptitude or grades would be an issue.

"But, son," although he felt reassured, Su Beiluo still frowned slightly and asked, "aren’t those professors very optimistic about you? Places like Zhengyi Academy and Yuzhang Academy also have related Transcendent courses, and their quality is definitely not bad. There’s probably no need to insist on going to one of those special Cultivation Academies, right?"

"That’s right." Ning Shiyu also put down her soup spoon and asked seriously, "Staying local should be fine. That Professor Zhang from Zhengyi Academy even spoke to me specifically, saying the academy’s Cultivation courses are definitely among the best in the country. If you were willing to join, they’d offer you a full scholarship."

"Well, how should I put it... It’s mainly for my childhood dream and family tradition."

Su Zhou chuckled, though he wasn’t just spouting nonsense. His expression might not have been serious, but his tone was. "In other Academies, the Spiritual Energy Class isn’t a primary course. You’re there to specialize in Cultivation, without touching on any other subjects. After you leave the Academy, you’d just be an engineer with Cultivation, a diplomat with Cultivation, or a programmer with Cultivation. If you want to learn combat-oriented Magic Techniques outside of your profession, you still have to teach yourself."

"But the three Cultivator Academies in the Celestial Capital, Modu, and the Western Capital were specifically established to ’manage Transcendents.’ The students who graduate from there become personnel specifically responsible for this area. In other words, they’re like the armed Patrols, military officers, and related researchers of the Extraordinary Realm. They have more career options and a richer heritage to draw from."

"To put it another way, the Extraordinary courses at other Academies treat the Extraordinary as a supplement to a profession. But at a Cultivation Academy, the Extraordinary *is* the profession."

"...So that’s how it is." Su Zhou had explained it very clearly, and it was easy for them to understand. Su Beiluo and Ning Shiyu studied their son intently, then smiled. "In that case, weren’t you born for this?"

Their expressions were both filled with gratification. Ning Shiyu even picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of food on Su Zhou’s plate. "Since this is your choice, we won’t interfere... You’ve always been more independent and opinionated than other kids. We trust your judgment—not to mention your Talent is so good. Mom’s not worried at all."

"Alright, eat up, eat up." Su Beiluo also ladled a bowl of soup for Su Zhou and, as if casually, gave his head a firm ruffle.

’The texture... it doesn’t feel like hair, more like steel rebar?’ For a moment, the sensation in his hand startled him. ’This kid’s physical constitution... The Spiritual Energy Revival has had such a huge effect on Su Zhou?!’

’If it were anyone else, I’d definitely advise them to think it over before deciding their future. But Su Zhou, my son... I feel that if he wants it, he can definitely do it.’

After that, the family continued their meal, and the conversation livened up a bit.

Ning Shiyu briefly mentioned the research going on at the hospital. Due to a confidentiality agreement, she couldn’t say what kind of creature it was, but the progress was quite smooth. She might even be able to get promoted to professor and chief Physician next year because of it. While this drew admiration and joy from the other two, it also prompted Su Zhou to make a very Zhengguo People remark: "I wonder if that thing is tasty."

Then, Su Beiluo turned on the TV, letting the sound of the news make the house feel a bit livelier.

But the international news, filled with reports of chaos abroad like "Widespread Transcendent Riots in Mosigo, Several Cities Under Martial Law" and "Mutated Extraordinary Monster Appears in Zhu Country’s Ganges River, Causing Nearly a Thousand Deaths," made the Patrol officer shake his head. "Even though things are more chaotic overseas than here, to be honest, there’s been a lot of crime by Transcendents lately."

"There are many Transcendents who’ve had an Awakening of some minor special ability, or who have decent Talent and quickly developed Spiritual Power through Cultivation. They’re unwilling to obey laws and regulations, and they won’t register with the authorities. During the heavy snows a while back, a lot of things were difficult to handle, but they just kept using their abilities to commit crimes. Not only are they hard to detect, but they’re also extremely difficult to capture. It’s only because the snow has been so heavy lately that the criminals don’t want to come out, so things have quieted down a bit."

What Su Beiluo was describing was the new normal, a predicament for Patrols all over the world. Just as something like Martial Arts couldn’t appear in a classic detective novel, the emergence of Extraordinary Power brought immense difficulty to pursuing criminals.

For example, say a man is murdered in a locked castle, his skull shattered. Normally, you could find the culprit by tracking down the murder weapon—whatever was used to crush a man’s skull. But if you introduce Martial Arts into the equation, and the killer actually used a Taiji Cannon Fist or a Great Vajra Palm to land the fatal blow, then as long as he doesn’t demonstrate the move in public, there are no leads to follow.

This was precisely what troubled Su Beiluo. Superpowers were varied, as were bloodline Talents. If a randomly Awakened Transcendent chose to commit a crime, they would be incredibly difficult to catch before an entirely new field of Extraordinary criminal investigation could be developed.