Chapter 239: Another Encounter

Chapter 239: Another Encounter

Because it involved a Warrior-related test, the process was much more troublesome than the Mage test. For the Mage test, it was enough to just check for the relevant talent and potential. As for strength, it would show during the test itself, ending everything in one go without any extra steps.

For the Warrior test, however, they needed to test not just speed, but also strength, reaction, stamina, and various other physical factors. After waiting nearly fifteen minutes, Zheng Yichen looked at the watch’s constantly ticking second hand. The Bionic Alchemical Avatar, synchronized with Zheng Yichen’s emotional state, let out a long yawn.

Fifteen minutes. At this speed, how long would a normal enrollment take? Or perhaps, because it was for a special admission student, the testing steps were more troublesome.

When it reached seventeen minutes, Lily came out holding a test report sheet. The results would be kept confidential by the instructor, but if the student chose to disclose them herself, then that wasn’t their concern anymore. Lily handed the test report directly to Zheng Yichen. He took it and glanced at it.

Strength Rating: Excellent+. Speed Rating: Excellent+. Stamina Rating: Excellent+… Mana Rating… None!

“What does this mean? So bad it broke the lower limit?” Zheng Yichen asked Lily, looking at the report. Most of the results were Excellent, and some even had extra plus signs, clearly exceeding the test’s standard level. But the Mana rating… that was a bit awkward.

Lily nodded lightly and tugged at Zheng Yichen’s sleeve. “Apart from the Mana, isn’t this a bit too flashy? I didn’t even go all out.”

“No… this is just right,” Zheng Yichen said, putting away the test report. While her test results might be extremely excellent overall, if these combined results weren’t good enough, just the single Mana rating—a bottom-breaking “None”—could determine some of Lily’s future prospects.

Warriors needed Mana too, and in later stages, Mana was a crucial factor for Warriors to unleash superhuman strength. Without this power, even with excellent physical conditioning, in the eyes of a school focused on the future, it would only mean an early advantage. Compared to supernatural power, the gap between human strength and such power seemed to widen more and more as time went on.

Unless Lily could cultivate a power like Battle Qi. After all, Battle Qi was more like something ‘derived’ from a powerful body. Mana relied on one’s own body and Mental Energy to be actively channeled, whereas Battle Qi was passively channeled and used through personal will.

This active and passive distinction might not seem like much, but it separated the two power systems. Actively channeled Mana could interfere with external Elemental Power, while passively channeled Battle Qi struggled to do the same.

Lily’s body was great, but cultivating Battle Qi was too unreliable. Having a good body didn’t guarantee success in cultivating it. However, having a sufficiently strong body was a hard requirement. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a relatively small proportion of Battle Qi Warriors, and not many Warriors took this path, even though that power was nearly invincible in close-quarters destruction.

Therefore, for Lily to have sufficient development, she needed to show some of her potential. Displaying physical qualities beyond just Excellent, even without any Mana, could make the school believe she could forge a path in Battle Qi. Only then would she receive better training. Otherwise, once labeled as having insufficient potential, even if the Academy didn’t have to cover her tuition or anything, she would just become an ordinary student. For ordinary students, standing out was much harder. This wasn’t some novel where hidden geniuses lurked among ordinary students. Top students received extra treatment, and the gap between them and ordinary students would only grow wider and wider.

Lily had the conditions to get better training. Zheng Yichen had enough financial resources to support her in receiving such training from the Academy. Why give up this advantage for the sake of keeping a low profile?

Not using suitable resources when available would be stupid, right?

“You could have performed even more excellently, actually.”

Zheng Yichen looked at the instructor who walked out of the testing room. The man nodded towards Zheng Yichen. “This child is outstanding. That special admission notice you obtained was worth it.”

Since they could pay the tuition in full, this instructor naturally understood the special admission notice was obtained through other means. But he didn’t mind. There were quite a few such students every year. And… the school was quite welcoming to this type of top student. Investing in students from poor backgrounds required upfront investment, and that was only if everything went smoothly. If something happened someday, that investment would obviously be wasted.

Students like Lily were more stable. After all, the more genius students a school had, the greater its reputation became. All schools tried their best to attract those excellent students to join.

“Should I take the test again?” Lily asked in a low voice.

“…” The instructor standing nearby twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. Take it again? What did this little girl mean? Did she hold back during the previous test? He stared at Lily for a moment, confirming she genuinely wanted another try, then waved his hand. “No need for that trouble. Your evaluation has already exceeded the limits. Exceeding further on that basis won’t significantly affect the overall evaluation.”

He wasn’t saying this to brush Lily off because it was troublesome. It was the truth. After all, Lily’s body didn’t have a trace of Mana, nor could she harness external power to cultivate Mana. She had a Mana-less constitution. Perhaps it was this flaw that gave her a stronger physical advantage over others. But!

Lacking special power meant her future development was ultimately limited. Possessing special power was a key credential for breaking the limits of physical growth. Therefore, even if Lily’s physical evaluation was even more excellent, until it was certain she could cultivate Battle Qi, the Academy’s regard for her would always be stuck at a certain threshold.

She would be a top student surpassing ordinary ones, but not a genius, or rather, a genius with a flaw…

“…” Lily looked at Zheng Yichen with faint dead-fish eyes. This guy pretended to know so much earlier, and now he got proven wrong.

“Ahem, I never went to school myself, after all. I only learned many of the ins and outs from books. Discrepancies are normal! Um… How does school accommodation work?” Zheng Yichen coughed lightly and asked the instructor.

“Two types. First, the regular dormitory. Second, apartments shared by a small number of two or three students.” Mentioning separate residence, the instructor paused and added, “Students in apartments are usually top students.”

“Then the apartment,” Zheng Yichen decided directly for Lily. Birds of a feather flock together. Top students together would obviously have more common topics. Lily had already performed excellently enough. Putting her in a regular dorm would be like a crane standing among chickens. Perhaps some top students also lived in dorms, but Zheng Yichen considered something else: dorms had many people…

Lily’s final choice for the Disguise Skin wasn’t the little boy’s, but the girl’s. However, that thing was, after all, something Zheng Yichen made for the first time. With many people around, it was hard to avoid accidentally exposing some flaws, raising suspicion for no reason. Apartments had fewer people. Lily could just act a bit reclusive, have less contact with roommates, naturally avoiding more chances of being discovered.

“Of course, apartments require an extra fee.”

“No problem with money!” Zheng Yichen waved his hand grandly. The revenue from the Magic Potion market sales kept increasing his assets daily. Mere tuition and such were completely trivial matters.

“In that case, follow me,” the instructor nodded. He took out a small booklet from his pocket, flipped through it. “Two-person share or three-person share?”

“Is there a four-person one?”

“…Yes.”

“Oh, then give us a two-person one. I know what you want to say. The two-person one is more expensive, right?”

The instructor leading the way simply showed Zheng Yichen the back of his head, no longer bothering with this guy, focusing on leading the way. Though annoyed by Zheng Yichen internally, he was still professional. He didn’t maliciously pick a location with poor terrain either, just followed the records in the booklet to find the nearest currently vacant apartment. “Here it is. Remember the unit number. Get the key at the registration office. Are you going to keep following her?”

Zheng Yichen scratched his head. “Can’t I leave after she registers?”

“You can. Outsiders just can’t stay overnight in the Academy. By nightfall, unidentified people will be expelled. Now, you’re on your own.”

“Seems there’s nothing else. If you encounter trouble at school, go to the Bar and look for Qin. I’ll know soon after.” After Lily registered and received her ‘student ID’ and key, Zheng Yichen said to her. Regarding Lily’s study arrangements, the registration staff explained in detail. Clearly, while checking the place, Lily’s test results had been reviewed and processed.

“Mm, I’ll work hard,” Lily said, looking up at Zheng Yichen with a serious little face.

Zheng Yichen coughed lightly. Being looked at like that by a Loli made him a bit uncomfortable. He felt like a father somehow. Putting down the suitcase containing quite a few daily necessities, Zheng Yichen reached out and patted Lily’s head. “Anyway, study hard, don’t be impatient. Don’t rush to research and fill in the framework for martial arts. Just lay a solid foundation first. Don’t forget, you have time others don’t. Taking it steady step by step is definitely the right way.”

Lily nodded. Mentioning time brought a slightly resentful look to her little face. True, her time was much longer than an ordinary person’s. Even after others had died for over a dozen generations, she might just have gone from a real Loli to an undying old Loli. She wasn’t worried about living a long time. After all, the young man before her was a dragon in his true form, whose lifespan was also despairingly long for ordinary people. The biggest problem was not growing up!

Just think about it. Having an adult mind in the future, yet being seen as a child forever—who could stand that for long?

Where to go next? After leaving the Academy, Zheng Yichen glanced back at the school’s signboard. Kachi Academy… Uh, right, there was that Olin Academy before, wasn’t there?

Seemed these Academy names were all named after someone. Zheng Yichen had checked information about Olin Academy before. Historically, there really was an Olin, an extremely powerful individual, the founding principal of Olin Academy… Probably this Academy in Kaja was the same.

“Go check out the Bar?” Zheng Yichen scratched his cheek, then shook his head. He’d definitely go to the Bar often in the future, and he just went, no need to go there now. In that case, while there was still some time before dark, might as well go wander somewhere else.

Muttering to himself, Zheng Yichen aimlessly wandered around inside Kaja. If he came across something delicious, he tried it. If he found something fun, he gave it a go. Time passed quickly like this. When he snapped out of it, the sky had completely darkened. He looked at the things he was carrying in both hands… Uh… How to say it? Did he have the potential to be a shopaholic?

Shaking his head, he slung the two bags over his shoulder and leisurely walked towards the city gate. In a little while, anyone wanting to leave would be questioned. Just as he stepped out of Kaja’s city gate, the corner of Zheng Yichen’s eye twitched slightly. He saw a somewhat familiar figure. His mind let out a huge internal “what the heck!”, but on the surface, he controlled this Alchemical Avatar, looking at the woman entering the city with a slightly curious gaze…

Deya, the Saintess of the Sanctuary Church. Speaking of which, the Saintess in the Sanctuary Church wasn’t a special symbol, but more leaned towards a ‘profession’. By the way, the Sanctuary Church called itself a church, but actually, they didn’t believe in gods… Doctrines? Mainly promoting world stability—did that count?

It might sound fake, but it really was like that. Promoting world stability, not guaranteeing world peace. The meaning was simple. They mainly targeted existences that affected the stability of the entire world, like Witches, Cults, and such. As for wars between countries, the Sanctuary Church took no responsibility. Fight all you want. Even if brains splattered all over the battlefield, it had little to do with them, as long as no one was crazy enough to think about destroying the world.

Zheng Yichen was curious. How did such a special church get established and grow to its current scale? Thinking deeper, it was probably the Sheng Tang Church’s doctrine that made it so readily accepted by people universally, including nations which didn’t show extra hostility towards the Sanctuary Church.

After all, they didn’t interfere with your government. And with the Sanctuary Church’s existence, those nations could spare some energy targeted at Cultists, focusing more on expanding their national borders and development.

The Saintess leaned towards a ‘profession’, so when Deya appeared in Kaja, though people looked at her with great respect, it wasn’t like the kind of support given to royal family members on outings—sincere or not, their status was there. Those inferior, even if inwardly scornful, when commoners faced such situations, what could they do besides showing support?

Revealing their true feelings according to their hearts? That would be asking for death.

Only after Deya’s figure completely disappeared from Zheng Yichen’s sight did he let out a slight sigh of relief. Mm-hmm, this Bionic Alchemical Avatar, a product I invested more effort in, was indeed reliable. As for why Deya appeared in Kaja again, as long as it had nothing to do with him, Zheng Yichen wasn’t curious at all!