Chapter 22: Stage Two: Unlocking...

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【Hunyuan Palm: A palm strike that unleashes a fierce, powerful attack, with different effects at each stage.
Stage 1: Can knock enemies back several yards.
Stage 2: Unlocking...
Stage 3: Pending unlock...
Stage 4: Pending unlock...
......】
"Uh..."
Seeing the gray, locked stages listed below, Di Qiu fell silent. Did it have to be such an immersive experience?
However, seeing that there were ten stages in total meant she would have to complete ten stages of cultivation tasks.
Her current status, "Slightly Accomplished," was presumably Stage 2.
Di Qiu stood under the pavilion for a while, waiting for the breeze to dissipate the heat, before slowly walking back to her dormitory.
The room was unexpectedly empty. Her roommate's quilt was folded neatly; perhaps that girl had also gone out early for exercise.
On her way back, she had noticed that everyone seemed to rise early. Below the dormitory building, many were practicing punches just like her, while others were out for a light jog.
After taking a shower, Di Qiu took out the bread she had bought in town, swallowed it in hasty bites, and then strolled downstairs toward the assembly point. She took the opportunity to familiarize herself with the campus along the way, as she hadn't had time to look around yesterday due to the tight schedule.
Following the map, she wandered around. Besides seeing students wearing uniforms, she also spotted many—like herself—wearing casual clothes. It was easy to identify them as newly awakened ability users who had just finished their initial testing and were here for newcomer training.
However, this was a scene that repeated every year, and the senior students were long accustomed to it.
Essentially, the ability users training here were S1 level or below. Those at S2 and above were arranged into separate, secret training programs, and their abilities remained strictly confidential.
As for life at the academy afterward, she heard it was optional, depending on one's own wishes.
Riding a campus-provided bicycle, Di Qiu arrived at the training department before nine o'clock. She had expected a large building, but it turned out to be a single-story structure resembling a basketball court.
By the time she arrived, a crowd had already gathered.
Some outgoing people were already forming small groups, though most stood by themselves, waiting.

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Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a black uniform carrying a briefcase walked toward the crowd. He raised his hand to check the time and announced, "Time is up, everyone come in."
His voice was resonant and loud, carrying across the entire area.
Di Qiu stood to the side, observing. This demeanor immediately reminded her of how she had rushed to the Bureau of Micro-Phenomena office just in time yesterday. Looking at the man’s iconic watch, she wondered if this was simply the typical style of the Bureau.
Di Qiu followed the flow of people into the classroom.
"Before we begin, let me introduce myself. I am your instructor for this training session, Fang Ming."
Fang Ming stood at the podium. After waiting for all the students to take their seats and settle down, he placed his briefcase on the table before him with measured movements and pulled out a laptop.
As he introduced himself, the two large characters "Fang Ming" appeared on the white screen behind him.
Fang Ming stood to one side, allowing the students to see the characters clearly, and then continued slowly:
"I am also the teacher responsible for leading you through the gates of the world of abilities. I will be in charge of your progress bars throughout this summer. If you have any questions, you can find me in the 125 Newcomer Group; I am the group owner. You can also message me privately, and I will reply when I see them."
"I believe that among those sitting here, some of you may have come into contact with abilities early on, have heard about them, and have even learned how to control your own.
Of course, there are also those who only discovered their abilities upon graduation and are still ignorant regarding abilities and the 'Anomalous.' That is perfectly fine. Starting today, we will spend two months helping you gain a proper understanding of abilities and the Anomalous."
"Before that, I wonder, would you mind letting me know your names so we can establish a good teacher-student relationship?"
Fang Ming looked at the dense sea of heads below and smiled gently, waiting for the first person to take the lead.
Faced with an unfamiliar environment, the first reaction of everyone was to look at one another, hesitating.
What they were hesitant about was not their names, but their abilities and levels.
They were all on the same path by being here, but they were not starting from the same line.
Exposing one's ability level was one thing, but the nature of the ability itself was what mattered.
This concern made everyone indecisive.
Nevertheless, on the first day, no one wanted to let the teacher down, and eventually, someone volunteered to stand up.

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When Fang Ming saw a newcomer stand up, he smiled slightly and nodded in satisfaction. Before the student could speak, he felt it necessary as a teacher to offer a reminder:
"Of course, students, you don't need to introduce your abilities or levels during this first round. We will discuss those later; there is no need to rush."
With this reassurance, everyone settled down. The boy who had stood up first spoke calmly: "My name is Lin Yi, I am fourteen years old. I hope that all my brothers and sisters from across the country will look after me."
After he finished, he sat down. Fang Ming smiled and said, "Brave student Lin, you have made yourself known to the teacher. Fourteen years old, at the prime of youth—very good."
With someone having bravely set the example, the rest began to stand up one by one to introduce themselves.
The introductions of several hundred people took quite some time.
Those sitting in the back listened to the introductions in the front, though they could mostly only hear voices and see the backs of others' heads without being able to see their faces.
Di Qiu, by coincidence, was sitting in the middle of the sixth row. Among so many people, she had a good student's seat, and her turn to speak fell in the middle of the process.
When she stood up, she gave a standard introduction: "Hello everyone, my name is Di Qiu."
She sat down immediately after. There was no need to say more; the school already had her file information, and if the teacher wanted to know about her situation, he would check it himself. As for where she came from or her age, Di Qiu felt it unnecessary to elaborate.
After she finished, the girl sitting a few seats to her right in the same row stood up. Di Qiu turned her head and realized this person seemed to be her roommate.
In that brief moment, she also saw Grandma Fang sitting next to her, who appeared to be closing her eyes in meditation.
"My name is Meng Congling. I hope we can all learn from each other during our time at school." She turned slightly and bowed, allowing those around her to take note of her.
After Meng Congling sat down, the others followed.
Until the very end, Fang Ming checked the roster on his computer. He had matched everyone's faces to their names, but one person was still missing.
He smiled, scanned the room, and reminded them, "We have six hundred and forty-six students enrolled. Could it be that someone is late?"
The room fell silent. Some people turned to look around, and finally, all eyes landed on the elderly woman with white hair at the very back.
The identity of the person was quite obvious.