Chapter 192: Chapter 76: Good Looks Count as a Superpower, Too?

"And then what? Wait for you to give us the whole ’the tables have turned’ speech?" Hearing this, someone immediately retorted, "That act might’ve worked if you’d started it over a decade ago."

"You want to show off and put everyone in their place now? Too late for that!"

And so, a joyous atmosphere filled the auditorium, inside and out.

After Su Zhou broke the ice, the atmosphere gradually became lively again. Not long after, everyone had arrived—seventy-one people in total.

’If all the schools have about the same number of people, the total number of participants in Hongcheng’s screening this time might exceed 2,800, maybe even break the 3,000 mark.’

Once everyone was gathered, they set out.

The one leading the group this time was none other than the old professor from Yuzhang Academy who had taught their Spiritual Energy Class a while back.

His surname was Zuo, and he seemed to hold a part-time position in the government. After a brief discussion with the military officer leading the escort at the school gate, the seventy-one students were divided into three groups and boarded three armored buses waiting outside.

"A military escort, and even the buses are specialized armored transports... Why all the tight security?"

Su Zhou was talking with Shao Qiming at the time, but before Shao Qiming could reply, Professor Zuo overheard his question and answered with a smile, "It’s simple. Rather than dealing with regrets, punishing staff, and shifting blame after an incident, it’s better to put in the extra effort from the start to ensure there are no problems from beginning to end. This world is still quite peaceful, but there are already quite a few troublemakers getting restless."

Perhaps because he held Su Zhou in high regard, Professor Zuo shook his head and added in a low voice, "Of course, security has been exceptionally tight recently. That’s mainly because a very serious case involving a Cultivator occurred over in the neighboring Xiang State. A lot of people died. And the Transcendent who committed the crime still hasn’t been found, with no tracks or clues. A nationwide alert was issued, so naturally, security has been ramped up."

"I see," the wanted Transcendent, Su Zhou, nodded slightly, putting on a look of sudden realization.

’So it’s all because of me... Now that I think about it, it’s a little embarrassing.’

Engines roared. With armored vehicles clearing the path, the armored transport buses drove down the highway, heading north and gradually leaving the city.

The journey was calm, without any incidents. The professors leading the group didn’t ask for silence, but perhaps due to nervousness or anxiety, the students who had been chatting so eagerly in the auditorium were all quiet, most of them silently staring at their phones.

The bus was unusually quiet. The only sound was the wind whistling past the windows as the scenery flew by.

Su Zhou had also planned to check his phone, but he quickly noticed that there were Transcendents positioned all along their route.

From the school gate to the outskirts of the city, official Transcendents were hidden in stakeout positions, or tailing them from the front and back in civilian vehicles.

’I have to say, the security precautions are truly top-notch, and the resources they’re pouring into this are immense.’

Before long, they arrived at a camp on the edge of Meiling. It appeared to be a converted military barracks.

The camp was enclosed by walls made of smooth, specialized bricks. A giant LED screen at the entrance displayed the words ’Hongcheng Spiritual Gas Constitution Screening Camp,’ along with phrases like ’Welcome’ and ’Please Remain Calm.’

Two tall, imposing black towers, resembling high-voltage power pylons, stood on either side of the camp’s entrance. A distinct Spiritual Light could be seen flickering on them, spreading along the strange patterns etched into their bodies.

In the distance, two more nearly identical towers could be faintly seen on the other side of the camp.

The four towers were positioned at four points, enclosing the entire camp.

Setting aside the camp’s rather cyberpunk-style decorations, Su Zhou, Shao Qiming, and all the other students who had undergone Spirit Awakening were slightly startled. They noticed that the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the surrounding area had suddenly increased significantly!

"Those are Spirit Gathering Towers, used to increase the concentration of Spiritual Qi over a large area."

As if sensing Su Zhou’s confusion, Yara, who had shrunk down and was hiding in his ear, explained softly, "But it seems the Spirit Gathering Towers in your world have a rather unique construction. They use high-precision Rune processing and repeated inscriptions to replace the function of most Spiritual Materials—this is one of the prerequisite technologies for a spiritual civilization to make a great leap forward."

’As for why they need to energize the Spiritual Qi, the answer isn’t hard to guess. It’s probably to temporarily raise the Spiritual Qi concentration to the level it will stabilize at in the future, after the Spiritual Energy Revival. After all, many people who can’t sense Spiritual Qi might just be missing that tiny little push needed to activate the Talent within them. Their Talents aren’t necessarily bad, just unawakened.’

’And a high-concentration Spiritual Qi environment could very well be what awakens those Talents.’

The bus stopped, and the team entered the camp. The Soldiers guarding the entrance checked their school affiliations and student IDs again before letting them through one by one.

Su Zhou could also sense professional Transcendent guards both inside and outside the camp. Stationed around the camp’s exterior and interior were several battalions of armed Patrols and Soldiers.

Even further away, in the mountains, Su Zhou could sense several massive presences, like Exoskeleton Armor... Based on intelligence from a recent military parade, that should be one of Zhengguo’s new elite armored units, the ’Five Emperors Guard.’

The Exoskeleton Armor Guards, named after the Five Directions and Five Emperors, wore armor inscribed with Spirit Patterns and equipped with the most advanced technological weapons. They were a creation born from the perfect fusion of the Extraordinary and modern science. Even an ordinary soldier, once they learned how to use it, could instantly become a minor superman.

After all, by ancient standards, the effects of a single set of Spiritual Energy Level Exoskeleton Armor were at least equivalent to a combination of more than a dozen individual Spiritual Artifacts. It made one sigh in admiration—the times had truly changed.

Inside the camp were rows of accommodations resembling motels, arranged in long strips. Forty-two of these accommodation strips circled a large central field, where many people were already busy moving various pieces of equipment.

That was probably where the constitution screening would take place.

The team from No. 1 High hadn’t arrived particularly early; more than half of the other groups were already there.

Not far from No. 1 High’s designated area, Su Zhou spotted a familiar face—Professor Zhang Fucheng was there, leading the team from the middle school affiliated with Zhengyi Academy.

Upon seeing Su Zhou, the two made eye contact. Professor Zhang gave a friendly smile as a greeting, but for some reason, his heart skipped a beat. He felt an inexplicable, instinctual affinity for the young man, and the Thunder Technique within him began to stir restlessly.

’Huh? What’s going on?’

This gave him a small shock. Zhang Fucheng’s first instinct wasn’t to connect it to Su Zhou, but to subconsciously examine himself, though he found nothing. ’Strange, very strange. I’m certain I’ve already stabilized my Cultivation... Hmm, I must just be a bit tired from overworking recently.’

’I’ll go back to the Academy for a period of quiet Cultivation after this screening is over.’

Two students, a young man and a young woman, stood behind Professor Zhang. It seemed Zhang Fucheng had just been giving them some instructions.

Su Zhou glanced over and couldn’t help but let out a soft sound of surprise, causing Shao Qiming beside him to follow his gaze, though he didn’t see anything unusual.

He thought to himself, ’They’re both at the Awakening Tier?’

’Well, it’s not that surprising. Zhengyi Academy is a major academy with its own Extraordinary Inheritance. These two are probably from a Direct Lineage, born with superior Talent and taught by their families since childhood. They must have accumulated a deep foundation, so it’s only natural they would advance after the Spiritual Energy Revival.’

At that moment, the two students also looked over at Su Zhou. The male student had a somewhat round, kind-looking face with a mole under his right eyebrow. The female student had shoulder-length hair and delicate, refined features, but her gaze was quite aggressive, sweeping over like a sword as if she were scrutinizing everyone.

The two of them were also quite curious. They wanted to see just how much of a ’genius’ this person their senior professor was always praising really was.

But one look left them somewhat disappointed. At first glance, aside from being rather handsome, Su Zhou had no other particularly striking features.

Generally speaking, people with special physical Talents would have a more robust build than their peers, or other strange characteristics, such as higher-than-normal muscle density or peculiarities in their bones and blood.

As for the Soul, the female student was a prime example. It wasn’t that she was deliberately scanning others with that scrutinizing gaze. Rather, she was born with a powerful Soul and had cultivated her family’s Heart Sword Technique, the Spiritual Sword of Three Feet. Since she hadn’t yet mastered it to the point of perfect control, her Soul Power would occasionally flare up, making her seem aggressive.

And as for Spirit Talent, it went without saying. Their every word and action, every single move, could cause fluctuations in Spiritual Power and create Anomalies around them.

But on the surface, Su Zhou displayed none of these traits. His build was average, his Suppression wasn’t strong, and his Spiritual Qi was completely restrained... Aside from his good looks, he seemed quite ordinary.

’Could it be that being handsome is also a Superpower?’