Chapter 290: The Path Ahead
Xiao Lin, who quietly returned to the dormitory, did not realize that he had caused another uproar in the school. After all, the training hall incident could not be covered up, especially when freshmen who returned from there quickly spread news on the forum. The amount of people paying attention to Xiao Lin increased even more.
Unfortunately, Song Junlang and the president—the only two people who knew the truth of the matter—chose to remain silent. Even soph.o.m.ore year leader Chen Yu pretended not to know anything about it despite having some knowledge of what transpired.
With the deliberate cover-up from many individuals, the news dissipated quickly even though it threatened to kick up a storm. Except for the occasional private discussion, the incident began fading away from people’s memories amidst their confusion and incomprehension.
Since Song Junlang had mentioned in pa.s.sing that the president lent a helping hand, Xiao Lin felt that it was best to thank him. After returning to the dormitory, he received a communication request from the president, who had probably found out from Song Junlang that Xiao Lin had woken up.
The baby face in that virtual screen had as gentle a smile as ever, but the tiredness behind that smile was very hard to conceal and his voice sounded a little hoa.r.s.e. “Is your body okay?”
Xiao Lin nodded. “There’s nothing serious anymore, but I’m just a little tired. It’s strange though. This tiredness I’m feeling is a bit hard to explain.”
“Hehe.” The president’s expression become slightly odd and he waved his hand before comforting Xiao Lin, “You don’t need to go to cla.s.s these few days. Have more rest. Your mental strength is particularly low right now, my talent isn’t— Forget it, that’s not the point. The point is, you have that pa.s.s to attend cla.s.ses freely, right? I’ll have a word with some of your teachers.”
Xiao Lin thanked him again. In fact, those were not the questions Xiao Lin wanted to ask. What he really wanted to know was how the president suppressed the violent dragon blood in his body. Firstly, it could provide him with some experience in the future, after what Song Junlang said about the unpredictable time bomb in his body. Secondly, the president’s abilities had piqued his curiosity.
However, the president merely smiled and gave a few vague answers. When Xiao Lin noticed that the president was not too keen on saying more, he cut down on the number of questions. Ironically, it was the president who had more questions and began chattering incessantly about everyday life.
For example, the president asked detailed questions about Xiao Lin’s situation on Earth, such as his parents’ work, age, and even where he attended his kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and university.
“My apologies, I’m just casually asking. It’s fine not to answer if you find it inconvenient to do so. Don’t force yourself,” the president also knew that it was imprudent to be asking inquiring something that encroached on Xiao Lin’s privacy. In fact, there was plenty of information that could actually be pa.s.sed through the Earth Division, but he preferred to hear the answer directly from Xiao Lin’s mouth.
Xiao Lin did find it rather strange, as the president appeared to be acting slightly different from the norm. For Xiao Lin however, all that information was nothing secret. Xiao Lin grew up in a very ordinary family, and his parents were both honest commonfolk.
Xiao Lin reminisced while answering those questions and the president listened very carefully. From time to time, the president also willingly spoke of his own situation on Earth. Not only did it increase their cordiality with each other, it also eliminated all doubt from Xiao Lin’s heart.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Lin however, when the call was hung up, the president—who was alone in his office—quickly entered the recorded data into the central computer. After a quick search, the incomprehension on his face was even more evident that before.
“He really is from an ordinary family, and his parents don’t have any record of having been in this academy. How is this even possible? The strength of his soul is definitely not something an ordinary person would possess!”
...
The following period, Xiao Lin received well wishes from many other people, and he was surprised at his apparent popularity among the freshman students. However, he was happiest when Gu Xiaoyue showed concern for him, even though all she did was call him and hang up immediately after confirming that he was alive and well.
The discussion of the freshmen monitors’ strengths continued on the forum. At that point, there was less than half a month before the bet was set to end. He believed that no other monitor could reach that level except himself, so he did not hesitate to bet all his remaining redemption points.
He also had no intention of keeping up with the forum’s discussion. In contrast, he was more interested in his advancement to Black Iron-rank. Since he was temporarily unable to go to the training hall, he took advantage of the rest and meditated by sitting crossed-legged on his bed.
Xiao Lin had been able to quickly enter a meditative state, with the process taking only about five minutes. Such speed was commendable, as ordinary people often needed 10 to 20 minutes to succeed. On that occasion however, it was much faster. He entered the starry elemental world in just over a minute, and the elements within his perception were much clearer and larger in number than ever before.
30 minutes later, Xiao Lin reluctantly withdrew himself from the meditation and checked his personal information. He found out his Basic Meditation had upgraded directly from LV5 to LV6. In addition, his Basic Perception went up to LV4 from LV3, while Basic Fire Affinity and Basic Water Affinity had jumped directly from LV1 to LV3. The magnitude of that increase surprised him to no end. “Is this the Black Iron-rank’s power? It’s amazing!”
Xiao Lin initially thought that the so-called Black Iron-rank was merely an increase in attribute value, but it did not seem to be that simple. A 99-point total attribute value might only be one point short of 100-points, but the difference in strength was truly spectacular.
In the past few months, the teachers have often drilled in a particular concept to the freshmen: in Planet Norma, a difference in rank is practically insurmountable. While the difference between the Black Iron-rank and ordinary rank was only one rank and the same could be said with Bronze-rank and Black Iron-rank, the disparity between those gaps were enormous. One could attempt a challenge against any person on the same rank, but one must never bite off more than one could chew and attempt to go against someone of a higher rank. That was the kindest advice everyone gave to the freshmen.
Xiao Lin finally understood the truth behind that statement, but he suddenly remembered that Judge Academy’s Lilith could resist Silver-rank with only Bronze-rank. Furthermore, she went up against many enemies all by herself and still came out victorious in the end.
With that thought, Xiao Lin gained a deeper understanding of Lilith’s strength.
Unfortunately, Xiao Lin consulted Song Junlang and found out that the effect of those Super Tonic Pills was the same as other kinds of diet therapy. It had no effect once a person reached Black Iron-rank. In fact, the reason Song Junlang had been researching that for many years was very simple: he hoped that more and more freshmen could reach Black Iron-rank sooner, thereby allowing them to enter the New World earlier. It was actually quite important for a colony with a scarce number of people.
Black Iron-rank could be likened to a basic travel pa.s.s for all colonists. After reaching that level, they were considered to be on equal footing with everyone else on Planet Norma.
Xiao Lin was silently thinking of the path ahead of him. The dean had suddenly appointed him to a position and wanted him to reach Black Iron-rank as soon as possible. Those actions as a whole made him feel as though the dean was eager for him to go to the New World as soon as possible, rather than waiting for him to go after graduation.