“We’re all classmates, no need to be so polite.” The girl finally let go, her expression casual as she said, “Everyone in our year knows this chair is broken. We only came over to warn you because you’ve just awakened and it’s your first time attending class.”
“Right, right, right.” The girl who had just pulled her up nodded. “Come on, there are empty seats in our row. Sit with us.”
“Okay!” Su Xi nodded, thinking to herself that there really wasn’t so much unwarranted hostility among girls.
The three of them led Su Xi to sit in the back row. To avoid making the new classmate feel left out, they deliberately placed her in the middle of their group.
“We’ve long heard that there are many talented individuals among this year’s freshmen, but we didn’t expect someone to awaken so soon—and from our Conceptual System at that.” The girl spoke with enthusiasm and a hint of curiosity. “By the way, I heard the Elemental System recruited a genius with a natural full affinity for fire. Do you know them?”
“Uh…” Fire affinity… Could that be Niuniu?
“Those guys from the Elemental System are getting way too cocky.” Another girl snorted discontentedly. “They’ve always been arrogant during the annual academy competitions, but this year, they’re practically floating on air.”
“They probably mock us as the ‘useless system’ again.” The last girl nodded, clearly holding a long-standing grudge against the Elemental System. “They should take a look at themselves—no matter how strong they are, can they compare to Senior Zhao Heng?”
“Exactly… Even if they all teamed up, they wouldn’t last a single move against Senior Zhao Heng.” The other two quickly agreed, their eyes shining with admiration.
This made Su Xi curious. “The senior you mentioned, who exactly is…”
“Huh? Junior, haven’t you heard of Senior Zhao Heng?” The girl paused, then explained excitedly, “He’s the strongest Transcendent in our system!”
“That’s right. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the strongest in the entire academy. No one can withstand a single move from him.” The three of them visibly grew more excited, looking as if they were about to spend hours talking about their idol. “Let me tell you…”
“Senior Zhao Heng is here!” Before they could finish, someone shouted.
Instantly, all three turned to look at the door. Not just them—almost the entire class fell silent, as if welcoming some important figure.
Su Xi also looked over. A tall, slender figure appeared at the doorway. Though wearing the same blue-and-white school uniform as everyone else, it seemed to glow softly on him. At first glance, the young man looked as if he had stepped out of the light. His face was more striking than any celebrity’s, with handsome features, deep-set eyes, and an aura that drew attention. His golden hair seemed to shimmer, and his eyes held a gentle warmth, though his golden pupils concealed an undeniable sharpness.
“Ah, Senior Zhao Heng!”
“Senior Zhao Heng is here!”
“Good morning, Senior Zhao Heng!”
“…”
Instantly, the classroom erupted into a commotion as everyone began greeting him. The three girls beside Su Xi even stood up to greet him in unison.
For a moment, Su Xi felt as if it wasn’t a classmate who had arrived, but a homeroom teacher.
“Hello, hello! Good morning! Thank you!” The other party smiled and nodded, appearing to be in a very good mood, responding to each person in turn until their gaze shifted toward their direction. Suddenly, their eyes paused for a moment, and even the smile on their face seemed to freeze briefly, but it quickly faded away, so fast it could have been an illusion.
The next moment, the person who had originally intended to pass by the doorway suddenly walked directly toward their row. “This… must be the student transferring to our department today, right? Hello! I’m Zhao Heng, a senior from the third department.”
“Ah? Hello, I’m Su Xi.” Are all the students in this department this enthusiastic? She instinctively reached out to shake their hand but, just as she was about to withdraw it, noticed that the other person tightened their grip slightly.
Huh? She looked up in confusion, but the other person had already let go.
“You’ve just awakened as a Transcendent. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me,” he said with an even gentler smile, looking every bit the model senior.
“Alright, thank you,” Su Xi replied politely.
The other person didn’t linger either. After nodding, he exchanged a few more words with others in the class before leaving, as if he had truly just been passing by and stopped to greet the new student.
Su Xi didn’t pay much attention to this little episode and simply sat back down, only to find three pairs of curious eyes fixed intently on her.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Why were they looking at her like that?
The three girls seemed even more astonished.
“Miss Su, did you know Senior Zhao Heng before?”
“Huh?” She was taken aback. “No, I don’t!”
“But… he actually came over to greet you on his own.”
“Exactly, exactly! Senior Zhao Heng never stops to chat with others when he passes by.”
“And, and… you actually dared to touch the senior’s hand! We’ve never even touched it…”
“No, it’s not…” Su Xi twitched her lips. What was all this about? “That was a handshake! It’s a courtesy… a custom from where I come from.” Suddenly remembering that this was the interstellar era, where handshakes weren’t customary, she quickly explained.
“Oh, I see! It seems the senior was just concerned about the new student.” The glimmer of gossip in their eyes finally faded, and then, as if remembering something, they added, “As expected of Senior Zhao Heng, not forgetting to care for the new student. You’re really lucky.”
As they chatted, the three girls began discussing the glorious deeds of Senior Zhao Heng, looking every bit like devoted fans.
Su Xi, however, was left puzzled. Was it just her imagination? She couldn’t help but feel that there was something odd about that senior named Zhao Heng…
That night.
Ever since the Divine Ability of that sphere appeared in her Consciousness Sea, Su Xi still had no real understanding of so-called Divine Power, let alone how to use it. After joining the Conceptual System, she had learned many methods for cultivating and utilizing Transcendent abilities in classes and information databases, but it was clear that none of these could be applied to Divine Power. As a result, she still had no combat capabilities to speak of.
However, Divine Power wasn’t entirely useless. At the very least, her body had undergone a certain transformation—her strength had increased, her mental energy had grown stronger, her hearing and vision had sharpened, and she didn’t even need to use her eyes to see the figure climbing in through the window.
Wait…
There’s a thief!
Su Xi’s heart tightened. She reached out and pressed the alarm on her Intellect-Brain, but as expected, there was no response. It seemed the signal was being blocked. She could only maintain the appearance of being asleep with her eyes closed, quietly using her Divine Power to sense the other’s position. This was a method she had discovered through repeatedly entering and exiting the Consciousness Sea during Meditation. Divine Power could be extended outward, though the range was very short—only about five or six meters.
The figure clearly had a specific target. Ignoring the pitch-black surroundings, it headed straight for the bedside, then stood still for a moment as if observing something. After a while, it raised a hand and formed what seemed like a hand seal, directing it toward Su Xi’s forehead. A faint glow emanated from its fingertips, about to land on her forehead.
Now!