Chapter 201: Chapter 80: A Gift and the Chaotic Era

Earth, after all, was a world of information that had already entered the 5G era. Although the physical fitness testing process wasn’t broadcast through official channels, and the students hadn’t brought their phones with them, the news still spread. Merely through professors relaying the information to one another, word that an Extraordinary Level genius had appeared in Hongzhou quickly circulated among all the major academies nationwide.

If only one professor had said so, everyone might have thought it was a joke.

After all, while a student’s Talent reaching the 100% upper limit was surprising, it wasn’t without precedent. In history, there had been a dozen or so geniuses who had achieved a perfect score, or even surpassed the limit.

But to say that the student’s Talent wasn’t just 100%, but could also affect the hourglasses of the other testers nearby—and even use the attractive force of his Spiritual Qi on the Spiritual Sand to lift the Spirit Sand Hourglass into mid-air and make it float—that was clearly getting a bit absurd.

And that’s not even mentioning him breaking through to the Extraordinary Tier on the spot. That was simply too outrageous.

However... similar news was coming from four or five different academies and dozens of different professors simultaneously.

Three people spreading a rumor is enough to make it seem real, let alone dozens. For a moment, the entire Transcendent community in Zhengguo was completely stunned.

In truth, plenty of geniuses had already appeared in this round of physical fitness testing. In the Hongcheng area alone, there were a total of four Dao Bodies with A Class Talent and over a dozen geniuses with B Class Talent. Even if the distribution wasn’t even across the country, it wouldn’t be surprising if the number of individuals with A Class Talent exceeded one hundred, or even several hundred.

It wasn’t surprising. Zhengguo had a population of over a billion, had long since eradicated illiteracy, made education universal, and ensured that the vast majority of its people were not malnourished. At the dawn of the Spiritual Energy Revival, such a massive, high-quality population base was the greatest resource pool for Transcendents. Any number of wondrous aptitudes and special Talents could emerge from it.

But, an Extraordinary?

This news was simply too unbelievable... Even the various geniuses from the Direct Lineages of the major academies—those who had cultivated the Dao of the Extraordinary from a young age and were now planning to make a stunning debut—were filled with doubt, shock, and disbelief upon hearing the news.

’If he really broke through to the Extraordinary Tier... then we’re not even in the same league.’

At the end of the day, they were all geniuses who had stepped onto the Dao of the Extraordinary at a young age. Even if they felt resentful, they had to admit one thing: the jump from the Awakening Tier to the Extraordinary Tier was a massive leap across a major realm. In an era where most of the younger generation were only at Tier One or Two of Awakening, and the very best had just reached Tier Three, if someone had already succeeded in Breaking the Realm, then no matter how badly they wanted to vie for the top rank, the best they could hope for was second place.

But even so, some people were still deeply unsettled.

At Celestial Capital Academy, a young man put down his phone. He took a deep breath to calm himself and thought, ’He’s only one step ahead for now... There are still six months until the Holy Ascension Selection Test. If my progress is smooth, it’s not impossible for me to succeed in Breaking the Realm and catch up!’

This young man’s aura was actually already at Awakening Tier Three. He just needed to train for a while longer to reach Perfection, and then he could begin attempting to Break the Realm and enter the Extraordinary Tier.

It wasn’t just this young man. Across Zhengguo, geniuses were either demoralized or inspired by the news, secretly clenching their fists and resolving to strive harder.

For genius students of this age, encountering another top student with better scores was not something they could accept. They would never willingly admit defeat, nor would they ever willingly admit that someone else was stronger. They always had to give it a try, to put up a fight. That was the ambitious spirit of youth.

"Even before the severing of Heaven and Earth, in all the millennia of the Divine Land’s history, an Extraordinary Tier of this age was exceedingly rare. Heh, a Holy Ascension Selection Test with an Extraordinary Tier participant... this is truly unprecedented. I imagine there won’t be many to follow in his footsteps, either."

So a professor remarked with a sigh.

At that moment, Su Zhou was naturally unaware of the storm he had caused throughout Zhengguo’s Transcendent community.

But he had long since guessed, and he knew full well what would happen after he revealed his strength.

Just like what was happening now.

Escorted by six very courteous White Emperor Guards, Su Zhou left the line of students. He was brought to the central monitoring room under tight, layered security.

There, he saw an old man who was both young and ancient.

"Hello, young man."

The Daoist Saint slowly rose from his seat. He strolled over to Su Zhou and spoke to him as an equal. "My surname is Zhang, and my given name is Qingyun."

He gazed with great interest at the genius before him. This was the young man said to possess Dragon Blood, the one who had advanced from the Awakening Tier to the Extraordinary in just five months—the one he himself had dubbed the ’world’s number one’ Talent. His tone was kindly. "Although I already know your name, I would still like you to introduce yourself."

As he spoke, the old man observed Su Zhou up close, and he couldn’t help but be inwardly astonished.

’Dragon Pupil, Spiritual Blood... In appearance, Talent, physique, and traits, this physical body is nigh-perfect. It doesn’t leak the slightest hint of Spiritual Qi. Even I couldn’t discern his realm at first glance.’

He could, of course, deduce Su Zhou’s current realm through indirect methods, like observing the fluctuations in the ambient Spiritual Qi. But that method was too slow and inefficient. It was completely impractical for combat or even everyday situations.

"My name is Su Zhou. The ’Su’ for ’to awaken,’ the ’Zhou’ for ’daytime.’"

After announcing his name, Su Zhou’s eyes also widened. He gazed with great interest at the old man before him. The old man and the young man just stood there in the monitoring room, sizing each other up.

As he approached the monitoring room, Su Zhou had already sensed a powerful Spiritual Qi Source inside, one that was slowly churning the surrounding Spiritual Qi like a giant vortex.

The closer he got, the stronger his instinctive sense of danger became. It was identical to what he had felt back when he was only at the Awakening Tier, facing the National Preceptor and the Demon Emperor!

The old man before him wore a Pure Yang Scarf, beneath which his hair was pure black. He was squinting, a kindly smile on his face. Although a few wrinkles remained on his features and his long beard was streaked with silver, it was clear that vitality was overflowing from every part of his body. These few superficial signs of age were the clearest possible evidence of the Rejuvenation Anomaly.

Gazing at the man, Su Zhou saw the Spiritual Power around the old man’s body practically solidify into deep blue armor. Combined with the unique and distinct perception that Thunder Technique users shared, he was one hundred percent certain: the man before him was clearly an Extraordinary Level Thunder Technique user!

In that case, the answer was all but certain.

The man was very likely the current headmaster of Zhengyi Academy... the reigning Daoist Saint!

The Thirty-Six Saints Central Committee governed, and its members rarely used their real names, going by their corresponding Holy Seat titles instead. The name of an Academy’s headmaster was classified information on par with that of Zhengguo’s top leaders. Unless one was authorized personnel, it was basically impossible to know.

And Zhengyi Academy was presumably the specialist in all things electrical. Professor Zhang Fucheng, who hailed from Zhengyi Academy, was an expert in the Five Thunders Technique, which meant the Daoist Saint’s mastery could only be far greater.

’I can’t believe Uncle Shao was right... A real big shot actually came for the inspection!’

’After confirming this, Su Zhou actually grew more interested. Having experienced the Divine Wood World and interacted with the leaders of the Hundred Schools and the Three Saints of another world, he was hardly intimidated by such a title. ’So does this count as being granted an audience with a member of the Central Committee? Doesn’t feel all that special... Hmm. At least the Suppression from Earth’s Daoist Saint feels stronger than the Demon Emperor’s!’

’In fact, much stronger!’

"Heh, you youngster. It’s one thing to use your Spiritual Vision to size up other Cultivators, but a stare like that is quite rude."

Seeing that Su Zhou wasn’t the least bit timid and was even casually sizing him up with Spiritual Vision, Zhang Qingyun couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. He thought to himself, ’This kid is incredibly proud... That gaze just now, he was clearly assessing my strength.’

’Interesting. Does he see me as a goal to surpass, or as prey? Is this the instinct of his Dragon Blood? Such powerful aggression, such an offensive nature. He has none of the awe or restraint a normal person would feel.’

While thinking this, he offered a light-hearted reminder, "Although my realm isn’t that much higher than yours, you should still show some respect for your elders."

"My apologies. I’m not very familiar with the etiquette. That was indeed rude of me."

Su Zhou retracted his gaze and readily bowed his head in apology—his stare had indeed been rude. But then he looked up, a hint of excitement in his eyes, and asked directly, "May I ask why the Holy Seat summoned me? Is there something you wish to tell me?"

"I wanted to see for myself what the most brilliant Talent since the founding of Zhengguo was like... and now I have. You are indeed remarkable. We will soon have another comrade on our path." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Zhang Qingyun laughed heartily. Without further ado, he turned and gestured for his secretary to step forward. A middle-aged man in a Profound Ink Daoist Robe, carrying a small bag, came to his side.

Casually pulling a small jade vial from the bag, Zhang Qingyun handed it directly to Su Zhou. "Originally," he said, "I came on this inspection tour planning to personally meet the local student with the best Talent and award them the first-place prize. Of course, that prize was just some pills useful for accelerating Cultivation at the Awakening Tier. For you, who have already reached the Extraordinary Tier, they’re useless."

"However, seeing that you possess Thunder Power and perhaps even the Celestial Dragon Bloodline capable of summoning Wind and Thunder, I’ve had a change of heart. I’ve decided to simply gift you this pill, one that I normally take myself. I hope you will continue to strive and reach even greater heights in the future!"

"This... is too valuable!"

Taking the jade vial, Su Zhou could tell with a single glance what it was. The vial in his hand undoubtedly contained a Spirit Pill, one that had gathered a massive amount of high-density Spiritual Qi and various Thunder Attribute Extraordinary Traits. Moreover, its Pill Grade was exceptionally high!

For a pill like this, let alone the craftsmanship and the channels needed to obtain it, the required Spiritual Materials alone would be so precious as to be beyond any monetary value!

"So you can tell how precious it is? Not bad. It seems I still underestimated your Spiritual Vision Power."

Zhang Qingyun hadn’t expected Su Zhou to be able to perceive the power contained within the pill through the sealed jade vial. But he wasn’t bothered by it, simply smiling calmly. "As for it being precious... for an eighteen-year-old Extraordinary Tier genius, this is nothing of the sort."

"After all, in the chaotic times to come, you are the true hope for the future."

"Chaotic times?" Hearing those words, even the surprised Su Zhou couldn’t help but look up. He repeated the phrase in confusion.

"Chaotic times?"