Chapter Thirty-Nine: Cut Off at the Pass

“The day before coming to the academy, which was the day after you finished your talent test. How did you awaken?” Xiao Minghe asked.

“I honestly don’t know how it happened! I just went to sleep, and when I woke up, I had awakened. I have no idea about the process!” Yang Fan replied, a bit helpless and anxious. He really didn’t know how to explain it! There were things Yang Fan dared not reveal, especially the existence of the system—he wouldn’t dare to mention even a hint of it.

Although the system hadn’t shown much use so far, the few times he’d drawn prizes had given him plenty of benefits! Without the system’s lottery, Yang Fan might have died last time he faced the peak of a second-tier martial artist from the Dark Realm.

It was thanks to the system, the Thunder Fruit, and these eyes that Yang Fan had managed to escape death again and again!

“You slept and awakened? Kid, your luck really is something else!” Xiao Minghe said with a smile, his face full of disbelief.

Awakening after a nap wasn’t unheard of—once, the Fire King awakened his talent in exactly that way! But for some reason, Xiao Minghe just felt Yang Fan was lying.

Of course, these details weren’t important. Everyone has secrets, and Xiao Minghe wasn’t about to press for answers.

Zhang Weiguo hadn’t spoken a word since the beginning, just stared intently at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan felt cold sweat drip down his back. His heart was trembling—he was facing a super-strong figure, after all! The pressure was immense.

“Yang Fan, would you be willing to follow me in cultivation?” Zhang Weiguo suddenly spoke.

Yang Fan was stunned.

Xiao Minghe’s eyes went wide—was this guy trying to poach his student?

Yang Fan’s shock was palpable.

Zhang Weiguo, Vice President of the Magic City Cultivation Academy, Dean of the Combat Arts Division, nicknamed ‘Breaker Spear,’ a peak ninth-tier Martial King, ranked eighth on the Heavenly List—a super expert! He’d developed the Breaker Spear technique himself, which Shen Qinghe and Jiang Chao both studied.

This was an incredibly powerful figure, second only to the academy president, Zhang Daoyi, in terms of cultivation.

No one could deny Zhang Weiguo’s strength—it had been forged in blood.

Yang Fan was still reeling, when Xiao Minghe spoke up: “Yang Fan, I see you use a blade. Why not become my student? I also use the blade, and my self-created Tianhe Blade technique is quite good. If you follow me, I’ll teach you the full set.”

Yang Fan was still shocked, now deeply conflicted.

What did this mean? Had he suddenly become a hot commodity?

If he’d known exposing his thunder ability would bring such benefits, he’d have done it much sooner.

Happiness had come too suddenly—Yang Fan didn’t know what to do.

He knew Xiao Minghe, Vice President of the Magic City Cultivation Academy, a peak eighth-tier Sovereign, ranked first on the Earth List.

That number one ranking was truly prestigious.

The Four Lists—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow—corresponded to the third and fourth tiers for the Yellow List, fifth and sixth for the Mysterious List, seventh and eighth for the Earth List, ninth and tenth for the Heaven List, while the eleventh and twelfth tiers were legendary, not ranked, and no one qualified to place martial artists of those ranks.

The Four Lists covered all the world’s strongest. Xiao Minghe being first among eighth-tier Sovereigns globally was terrifying!

After expressing his intention to take Yang Fan as a student, Zhang Weiguo glanced sidelong at Xiao Minghe.

He said, “Old Xiao, he’s only a second-tier martial artist. What weapon he uses isn’t important. Even if he wants to practice the blade, I can teach him. Master one technique, and a hundred veins will follow—you know the principle.”

Xiao Minghe replied, “Dean Zhang, mastering one technique is indeed a principle, but specializing in one art isn’t wrong either.”

...

Yang Fan looked at the two powerful men—one a peak ninth-tier, ranked eighth; the other a peak eighth-tier, ranked first. His head was about to explode!

Who should he choose? He didn’t know! Whoever he picked, he’d feel regret and dissatisfaction.

It was too difficult.

While the two vice presidents were speaking and Yang Fan was torn, Zhou Haifeng returned!

Yang Fan felt a gust of wind, and suddenly he was floating in midair.

A large hand grabbed his collar and lifted him up.

Yang Fan looked at the owner of the hand.

Zhou Haifeng’s face was full of anger.

He said, “Boy, you’re good at hiding! You fried my daughter to a crisp. Competition, competition—do you know what competition means? Friendship first, competition second! Do you understand the spirit of sportsmanship? Zhou Ting treated you well, and I’ve treated you decently too. What are you trying to do?”

Yang Fan’s head hurt after hearing this. Zhou Ting had been good to him, but this old man had only met him on his first day at the Magic City Cultivation Academy and never since. Yet he claimed to have treated him well?

But then Yang Fan thought of Zhou Yiyi and felt a pang of guilt.

He really didn’t know the true power of the thunder ability in his body.

He had no choice—the thunder’s power kept increasing within him, yet he couldn’t sense the growth. Unlike his blood and qi cultivation, whose energy he could feel, the thunder in his body was only perceptible as a presence, not as power, unless he used it.

But before, Yang Fan hadn’t used it lightly, not wanting to expose himself.

This time, the exposure was a bit reckless, honestly.

His desire to win was overwhelming at the time.

He hadn’t thought about anything else—just wanted victory. Now, things had turned out like this, and he had no idea whether it was good or bad.

But seeing Xiao Minghe and Zhang Weiguo wanting to take him as a student, maybe things weren’t so bad.

“Old Zhou, let him down first,” Xiao Minghe said, trying to smooth things over. He still wanted to take Yang Fan as a student, after all. If Zhou Haifeng kept dangling him in front of Xiao Minghe, it was awkward.

“Yes, Old Zhou, let him down. Let’s talk calmly,” Zhang Weiguo also spoke up for Yang Fan.

There was no helping it—in this situation, if you wanted a student, you had to act.

Zhou Haifeng ignored them and continued to glare angrily at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan was sweating cold. What should he do? He didn’t know! He couldn’t beat them, and talking back didn’t seem wise.

“All right, enough. Put the boy down!” came a voice from outside the door, tinged with the weight of years.

Yang Fan was puzzled—the voice was oddly familiar.

Outside the door, an old man entered, dressed in white robes, with an ethereal presence. A stranger might have mistaken him for an immortal wandering the mortal world.

Yang Fan recognized this old man—the one who always sat with eyes closed beneath the Combat Arts Building.

The guardian of the Combat Arts Building.

Yang Fan had asked Tan Hao about the old man’s background, but Tan Hao didn’t know either.

Later, Yang Fan stopped visiting the Combat Arts Building, and the old man gradually faded from his memory.

But with the old man’s words, Zhou Haifeng reluctantly let Yang Fan down.

Zhang Weiguo and Xiao Minghe couldn’t persuade him, but the old man’s single sentence did.

Yang Fan was baffled by this turn of events.

“All right, Yang Fan, come with me. From now on, you are my student,” said the old man, turning to leave.

Yang Fan felt his mind wasn’t keeping up.

He glanced around—Xiao Minghe and Zhang Weiguo looked awkward and resigned. Zhou Haifeng’s face was as dark as coal.

Yang Fan grew more confused—who was this old man?

He was sure it wasn’t the president. President Zhang Daoyi, a tenth-tier Martial Emperor, had appeared at the freshman assembly, and looked nothing like this.

So who was the old man?

“Go on, go on. Boy, you’ve struck luck!” Xiao Minghe said, helpless but a bit excited.

Yang Fan didn’t know the old man’s identity, but Xiao Minghe certainly did.

Someone who could keep Zhou Haifeng in check, and make Xiao Minghe and Zhang Weiguo lose their competitive spirit—could his identity be insignificant?

Zhang Weiguo saw Yang Fan still standing there and kicked him on the backside.

Then, with a grumble, he said, “Hurry up and get lost!”

Yang Fan was booted out in a daze.

Inside, only the three remained.

They stared at each other.

Xiao Minghe said, “It’s over. No hope now. Old Li himself has come.”

Zhang Weiguo said, “I’m a bit unwilling. That boy’s luck is unbelievable. Old Li hasn’t taken a student in years, not since the last upheaval, when he locked himself in the Combat Arts Building and rarely left. Now he’s come out—does that boy have such great potential?”

Zhou Haifeng’s face was still dark: “I don’t care about his potential. I swear I’ll beat that little rascal. Look what he did to my girl! Ouyang Yunlei said it’ll be at least ten days, maybe half a month, before she can get out of bed.”

Xiao Minghe was surprised: “Ten days or half a month? Is his thunder ability so fierce? I know Ouyang Yunlei’s light ability well—if it takes that long to recover, that’s impressive!”

“Exactly. The boy’s thunder seems off, but Ouyang Yunlei won’t tell me what’s wrong. I don’t know either. But I suspect it’s not just ordinary thunder,” Zhou Haifeng said.

Zhang Weiguo, seeing them so engrossed, interjected, “Enough guessing. With Old Li teaching him, you don’t need to worry about Yang Fan anymore. Now, what about the freshman tournament? Will Yang Fan still compete?”

Xiao Minghe said, “Compete for what? With his thunder, is there anyone among the freshmen who can match him? He’ll take first place easily. The rest, we’ll see if any are worth nurturing. I’m determined to take a student this year, haven’t done so in ages, and now Old Li has snatched one from under me. I have to find another!”

Zhou Haifeng said, “Do what you want. Honestly, I think the sixth-tier tutors should take students and teach them individually. At most, let the seventh-tier professors take one or two. If we take students, it feels like forcing the seedlings to grow too fast.”

...

The crowd in the arena gradually dispersed.

But no one forgot what had just happened.

Awakeners—a term most people knew.

But those who had seen one were few.

Everyone wanted to find Yang Fan, to ask how he’d awakened.

At that moment, Yang Fan followed the old man toward the Combat Arts Building.