Volume One, Chapter Ninety: Digging the Trap

Running at a quick pace, Mote spotted the crowd gathered outside Gymnasium No. 3 from afar and unconsciously slowed his steps.

“G22020?” A ponytailed woman in a short-sleeved shirt and a peaked cap noticed Mote approaching and called out to him. Her voice was bright and lively; she was the same person who had summoned him over the public address system earlier.

“That’s me. Mote, Class Twenty, Second Year.” Tucking his notebook under one arm, Mote straightened up and answered.

“Well, look at you, kid. Having the entire assessment team wait for you alone—quite the grand air you’ve got there.” The woman patted his shoulder and teased him.

“Don’t go picking on the boy. Hurry up and start the test,” said a crew-cut man nearby, helping Mote out of the awkwardness. Then the group pushed open the doors and went into Gymnasium No. 3.

Before the ability assessment began, there was still some basic data collection. Mote cooperated fully and let the instructors handle him as they pleased. It was only that being watched and discussed by so many people left him feeling a little embarrassed.

“We’re all waiting for you to finish so we can call it a day and head home. Anyone with nothing better to do would naturally come over and take a look,” the woman in the cap said as she had Mote stand on the testing platform to measure his height and weight.

At her words, Mote’s lips twitched, and he answered with an awkward smile rather than a polite one.

Yet when he heard her announce his height, that fake smile became a genuine grin. He had not expected to have grown a little taller again.

Because everything had happened so hurriedly, Mote had not yet had time to read the notes Su Ziwen had copied into his notebook; he only vaguely remembered the precautions on Feng Shichu’s checklist.

The ability detection itself was fine, but the combat evaluation portion was genuinely troublesome.

“Oh? Not bad at all, kid. Your physical condition is pretty impressive,” the woman in the cap remarked at Mote’s excellent results.

Little did she know that this fellow, just as in every previous test, was only putting on a show and coasting through it.

If Mote truly let himself go all out, then on the standing jump alone, he could probably reach up and touch the roof of this very gymnasium.

“Come on, come on, let your sister see what realm you’re in now,” the woman said, twirling the pen in her hand as she watched Mote standing before the awakening resonance stone with keen interest.

The crew-cut man beside her remained silent, dutifully entering the student’s various data into the system.

Mote took a deep breath. He knew that this time, he would probably not be able to keep his strength hidden any longer. Extending his right hand, he pressed it against the cool surface of the resonance stone and slowly poured the energy within his body into it.

The awakening resonance stone, usually aloof and indifferent toward Mote, finally lit up in an unprecedented display.

The light first shifted from violet to blue, then from blue to green. The green radiance gathered and condensed, before finally settling into a rich, deep shade of emerald.

“Late stage of the embodied realm,” the crew-cut man said calmly, and then entered it into the system under Mote’s ability cultivation realm.

The pen in the woman’s hand fell to the floor, but she failed to react. Her mouth remained open as she stared blankly at the resonance stone shining with that deep green light.

The crew-cut man bent down and picked up the pen for her. After opening the cap, he confirmed that the nib had not been damaged by this spendthrift’s mishap.

As expected of a product from Aurora Light—quality was guaranteed. The pen had survived this ordeal.

Mote had already withdrawn his hand from the resonance stone. Looking back, he found that the surrounding instructors were all silently staring at the stone beside him.

He shifted two steps aside, and every gaze followed him at once. In everyone’s eyes there was unmistakable astonishment.

“Those responsible for the next combat evaluation should hurry over and get things set up,” the crew-cut man urged upon seeing that everyone around was still frozen in place.

The woman in the cap beside him finally came to her senses at that, stood up, and went to the combat room to prepare.

“What are you going for?” the crew-cut man tugged lightly at her sleeve and asked in a low voice.

“My hands are itching. I’m trading shifts with Zhiping.” The woman removed her cap, undid her ponytail, and then gathered her hair up again. Her brows and eyes were alight with interest.

“Follow the rules. Don’t do anything reckless,” the man reminded her with a headache. He knew he could not stop Gu Yichen once her curiosity had been stirred, so he could only repeatedly warn her not to play too rough.

After all, even among their ability university, many first- and second-year students had only just barely reached the perfection stage of the embodied realm. Yet this little fellow before them had only just entered his second year of high school, and he was already preparing to make a push toward his second awakening. It could be said that he was highly gifted indeed.

Though Lan Cheng did not know that more than a month earlier, Mote had only just completed his first awakening and pushed open the ability gate that had stood before him like an immovable boulder for seventeen years.

If he knew all this, even the usually steady Lan Cheng would probably have been flustered enough to call his mentor and report that he had found a monster at Tianshui High School in Qin City.

“Excuse me... is the next part going to be combat?” Seeing many people leave the gymnasium and head to the combat room to prepare in advance, Mote walked up to Lan Cheng and asked this crew-cut elder brother about the next steps.

“That’s right. But for you, the combat test shouldn’t be too difficult,” Lan Cheng said, looking down at the boy with a gentle smile to ease his nerves. “You only need to follow the rules and do what’s required. No need to worry about anything else.”

Hearing this, Mote felt his heart settle somewhat. Though he had originally thought the requirements on Feng Shichu’s checklist were a little exaggerated, hearing it from this older brother dispelled the doubts in his mind.

Wasn’t it just knocking the target down within a minute? If he put in a bit of effort, Mote still had the confidence to clear that challenge.

Lan Cheng and Mote exchanged smiles. One believed the other could easily endure a one-minute instructor assault; the other was equally confident that he could subdue his opponent within the allotted time. Though their thoughts were far apart, it did not stop the two of them from becoming interested in the challenge ahead.

“Bring him over,” came a voice from the intercom. Gu Yichen’s voice rang out from within.

“Mind the measure,” Lan Cheng said softly in warning, and Gu Yichen gave a response before disconnecting the line.

“Let’s go, little brother Mote. We’re heading to the combat room now.” Lan Cheng packed up the laptop, picked up the briefcase, and called to the other instructors who had been whispering in the corner before setting off toward the combat room.

“My name is Lan Cheng, a third-year student at East China Third Ability University.” Lan Cheng turned back and introduced himself to the boy. In his eyes, Mote could almost be regarded as a “quasi ability university student” who was certain to pass the ability advancement exam.

For students with such extraordinary talent in ability cultivation, even if their academic performance was not ideal, ability universities would still allocate a specific number of places each year to directly invite them to enroll.

As a member of the Third Ability University, Lan Cheng naturally hoped such an outstanding child would become his junior.

After all, judging by what Mote had achieved at this age, it might not be the ability university deciding whether he could enroll by then, but rather him choosing which school he wished to attend.