"Principal Li, it seems your high school doesn't have many good prospects this year."
On the stage, an elderly man in a black suit adjusted his glasses and looked down at Zhang San, speaking slowly.
"If the graduating students from No. 11 High School are all of this caliber, forget about Wanya University; you won't even get many into average universities."
Hearing this, the man addressed as Principal Li turned pale with anger.
He was Li Yuan, the principal of No. 11 High School. Having his students insulted made him lose face as principal.
Furthermore, the university admission rate was closely tied to funding from the Ministry of Education.
Last year, because No. 11 High School produced a student with a seven-star talent who was admitted to Wanya University on a special exception, the Ministry of Education had provided No. 11 High School with a significant amount of financial support this year.
If they couldn't even produce a six-star talent this year, not only would No. 11 High School's educational resources be reduced, but they would also face reprimands from the leaders at the Ministry of Education. If no students with outstanding aptitude emerged in the future, things would become very difficult for No. 11 High School.
"Hmph, Principal Liu, don't be so anxious. The talent awakening has only reached the halfway point. Half of our students haven't awakened yet. A few high-star talents will soon come out and blind those dog eyes of yours that look down on people."
Although Li Yuan knew his students' talents weren't great, he refused to lose face in the verbal exchange.
At the same time, he silently prayed for a few students with better talents—he didn't dare hope for seven stars, or even six stars, but just a few five-star talents would give him something to report back to the Ministry of Education.
"Is that so? Principal Li, then I'll just wait and see."
Liu Qianlian took off his glasses, took out a small cloth, wiped them, and replied indifferently.
"Li Si, Water attribute, two stars..."
"Passerby A, Earth attribute, one star..."
"Passerby B, Metal attribute, two stars..."
"Passerby C, Fire attribute, one star..."
"..."
As the guiding teacher's voice fell, student after student stepped off the awakening platform.
Watching the students file past him one by one, Li Yuan's expression gradually grew darker.
The earlier classes were students screened by the school as having a high probability of awakening higher-star talents. If those earlier classes didn't awaken higher-star talents, he couldn't hold out much hope for the later classes.
"Oh? Why is Principal Li's face looking so dark? Talent isn't something you can just have whenever you want. I know you're anxious, Principal Li, but don't rush. Haven't the senior students finished awakening yet? Who knows, a huge surprise might be waiting for you at the end."
Seeing Li Yuan's face grow darker and darker, Liu Qingshan immediately spoke up to comfort him.
It would have been better if Liu Qingshan hadn't offered any comfort, but as soon as he spoke, Li Yuan's face turned even darker.
Anyone could hear that Liu Qingshan was just enjoying his misfortune.
"Well, this year our No. 24 High School isn't like your No. 11 High School last year, where only one high-star talent appeared. This year we produced three six-star talents! Although they're not as good as a seven-star, their advantage lies in their attributes: wind, lightning, and ice. As soon as these three little brats' attributes were detected, guess what? Many prestigious universities rushed to fight over them. I was driven crazy with busyness the past couple of days; even the director of the Education Bureau called me in for a private chat. As for what we discussed, that's strictly confidential. I'm sure Principal Li is a sensible person and won't press me for details."
Liu Qingshan treated Li Yuan like thin air, completely ignoring his face, which looked as dark as the bottom of a pot.
*Crack.*
The microphone in Li Yuan's hand was snapped directly in two.
In theory, a six-star talent was inferior to a seven-star, but rare attributes were a different story.
The seven-star student they had last year merely possessed the basic five-element attributes.
Furthermore, to a certain extent, rare attributes were much stronger than the five-element attributes.
As a result, a six-star rare attribute wasn't a seven-star talent, yet it surpassed a seven-star talent.
As for being called in for a talk by the bureau director, he could guess what it was about without even using his brain.
He had also been called in last year because of the seven-star talent student, and right after the college entrance exam, he had received a massive influx of funding.
"What's wrong, Principal Li?"
"Nothing. Let's keep watching, Principal Liu."
Li Yuan cast a sideways glance at Liu Qingshan, then turned his gaze back to the students below.
Who does he think he is, daring to share a stage with me, Li Yuan!
Were those three students from your school this year? Aren't they just children from prominent families who ran over to your school to hide from trouble?
Moyuan looked at his own school's principal and the principal of No. 24 High School talking on stage, and he didn't even need to guess what they were discussing.
It was probably about the three students with rare-attribute talents from No. 24 High School. In his past life, he had even run into those three little freaks.
"I wonder if it's Xue'er's turn yet? If everything goes normally, her talent should still be..."
"Holy crap, Boss, Boss, look, a jackpot—bah, no, wait, a high-star talent has appeared!"
Before Moyuan could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Di Fei. The next second, a piercing blue beam of light shot straight into the sky.
"It's a rare-attribute talent too!"
The corners of Moyuan's mouth curled up slightly, a fleeting smile crossing his face.
As the light subsided, the entire venue fell into a dead silence, followed an instant later by cheers.
The guiding teacher on stage was completely dumbfounded, standing frozen in place.
In all his life, he had never seen such a dazzling light; his eyes were almost blinded.
"Teacher, teacher, has my talent awakening finished?"
Lu Xueyi looked at the guiding teacher in front of her and softly reminded him.
"Huh? Talent? Oh, oh, oh, right, classmate, wait a moment."
The guiding teacher finished speaking, took off his glasses, and frantically rubbed his eyes.
"I'll remember next time to wear anti-glare glasses so I don't go blind."
"Hurry up and check what star-level talent and attribute this is."
A deep voice entered the guiding teacher's ears, carrying a trace of urgency.
"Right away, right away."
As soon as the guiding teacher heard it, he knew it was their big boss speaking. As for who the big boss was?
Needless to say, who else could it be but Li Yuan, the big boss of No. 11 High School?
Hurriedly putting his glasses back on, the guiding teacher checked the display on the crystal ball.
"Lu Xueyi, Ice attribute, nine stars!"
As the words fell, Li Yuan stood up excitedly.
Meanwhile, the expression of Liu Qingshan beside him changed drastically. Although he had some suspicions in his heart, he hadn't expected it to actually be true.
When that ice-attribute talent in his own No. 24 High School had awakened, the light it emitted didn't cause a commotion like this.
"Nine stars! This damn thing is nine stars! Did you hear that, Boss? That's two more stars than the Big Dipper!"
"Yeah, nine stars, and an ice attribute. As expected of Xue'er."
Moyuan crossed his arms, quietly watching the proud daughter of heaven on stage who was about to cause a nationwide sensation, sinking deep into his memories.
"Brother Mo, that's great! We can go to university together!"
"You can't go to this secret realm, Brother Mo. It's too dangerous."
"Brother Mo, even if the whole world doesn't believe you, I will trust you one hundred percent."
"Brother Mo, my father wasn't killed by you, right?"
"Brother Mo, I'm sorry, I wronged you. I hope we can meet again in the next life."
"..."
Recalling the events of his past life, Moyuan involuntarily clenched his fists.
"Xue'er, in this life, no matter who it is, no one will ever hurt you, and we will never be separated again!"
"I promise!"