"Principal, I want to sacrifice that thing."
Fang Xiu was genuinely stunned.
If it had been any other question, he might not have known how to answer. But Yue Tianrui's question was simply too easy to answer.
"What? Is this question that hard to answer? Sacrifice requires your own judgment."
Seeing Fang Xiu freeze, Yue Tianrui assumed he was struggling with the question. That was only natural, of course. In Yue Tianrui's view, this wasn't a particularly easy question to answer either.
"Well then, tell me this: if you were to make your first sacrifice, what would you sacrifice? And to which deity would you make it?"
Without waiting for Fang Xiu to reply, Yue Tianrui changed the question.
"This!"
Fang Xiu pointed at the string of seemingly ordinary beads hanging around Yue Tianrui's neck.
This gesture caught Yue Tianrui off guard, leaving him momentarily dazed.
"Sacrifice it to whom?"
Yue Tianrui hesitated for a moment before asking out of curiosity.
"To the Goddess of Life."
Fang Xiu had already used his system to inspect them beforehand. The string of beads around Yue Tianrui's neck was far from ordinary. Every single bead was an Awakening Monster Crystal brimming with immense vital energy. These crystal cores had all been produced by plant-type beasts, imbuing them with formidable life force.
If they were sacrificed directly to the Goddess of Life, he would undoubtedly receive her favor in return. Of course, due to the differing grades of these crystal cores, the amounts of vital energy they contained varied in strength. The rewards he could obtain probably wouldn't be overwhelmingly generous, but the deity certainly wouldn't look down upon them or rain down any punishment.
"This... it seems your eye is quite sharp. This string of beads looks ordinary, but it's actually forged from the monster crystals of various plant-type beasts."
Yue Tianrui hadn't expected Fang Xiu to have such a discerning eye.
"Logically speaking, the vital energy contained within them makes them a decent choice for an offering to the Goddess of Life. It's just that the quality of these items isn't exceptionally high, so they might not necessarily guarantee a reward."
Although he wasn't a Sacrificer, Yue Tianrui was still a powerhouse above level sixty. His knowledge and experience vastly surpassed Fang Xiu's, and he had at least some understanding of a Sacrificer's rules.
"Shall I give it a try?"
Fang Xiu stared at the string of beads around Yue Tianrui's neck. He was rather curious what kind of reward he would get if he sacrificed this item to the Goddess of Life. He wasn't demanding an incredible reward; as long as he was allowed to perform a sacrifice, anything would do.
"This... ahem! Aside from this, is there anything else you'd like to sacrifice?"
Yue Tianrui's expression turned slightly awkward. This item had been with him for many years and held a very special significance. He was genuinely reluctant to let Fang Xiu use it for a sacrificial experiment.
"Yes, there is!"
Fang Xiu nodded. He had only asked casually; he hadn't insisted on sacrificing the principal's beads.
"Anything! As long as it's not this necklace of mine, you can sacrifice whatever you want!"
Having just rejected Fang Xiu, Yue Tianrui decided to be generous this time. Otherwise, how could he maintain his dignity as principal?
"That!"
Fang Xiu pointed at the testing machine he had used earlier.
"The Awakening test machine? Very well. Although it's extremely expensive to manufacture, there's no problem using it for a sacrifice."
Yue Tianrui followed Fang Xiu's finger with his gaze. Seeing that it was merely a testing device, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The machine was costly, but the school could still afford to lose one.
"No, I mean that Awakening Monster Crystal on the Awakening Formation!" Fang Xiu shook his head.
Expensive though the machine was, no deity would care for it. If he sacrificed it and managed to anger a deity to the point where they demanded an arm and a leg in return, it wouldn't be worth it at all.
"Uh... that..."
Yue Tianrui never expected that Fang Xiu would set his sights on the Awakening Monster Crystal. That was no ordinary monster crystal! If that crystal were removed, the entire Awakening Formation would instantly lose its function entirely. In other words, this single crystal could destroy an entire Awakening Formation.
One had to know that such an array could only be constructed by a powerful formation master, and the expenses involved were astronomical. Moreover, formation masters capable of laying down an Awakening Formation were exceedingly rare. As for that Awakening Monster Crystal itself, it was far from ordinary—a single piece of it was worth more than the entire string of beads around Yue Tianrui's neck.
Yue Tianrui hadn't anticipated that Fang Xiu would want to sacrifice *that*.
"Never mind, Principal. Let's just pretend you never said those words!"
Fang Xiu could see that Yue Tianrui was practically bleeding from the heart.
"This..."
Yue Tianrui hesitated. If he refused to give it, would Fang Xiu think he was a principal who didn't keep his word? He had just made a grand, magnanimous gesture with a wave of his hand—was it all just for show?
Yet if he actually handed it over... it was of immense value, and there was no telling if they could manage to set up a replacement within a year.
"Don't worry, I won't think the principal doesn't keep his word, nor will I think you were just putting on airs."
Fang Xiu looked at Yue Tianrui and said very earnestly.
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, but once he did, Yue Tianrui felt even more awkward.
"Who says I don't keep my word? Isn't it just an Awakening Monster Crystal? I'll go get it for you!"
Ultimately, Yue Tianrui couldn't resist Fang Xiu's reverse psychology. He turned around directly and walked toward the Awakening Formation.
"I only want that specific one, nothing else!" Fang Xiu added.
That's right, he only wanted the crystal from when he had undergone his awakening just now. He had tried to use the system to inspect other monster crystals just a moment ago, but none of them yielded any information. This meant that even for identical items, you couldn't just grab any random one and use it for a sacrifice. Two Awakening Monster crystals might have roughly the same quality, but when it came to actual sacrifice, Crystal A might work while Crystal B might not.
Therefore, Fang Xiu only wanted that specific piece!
"Got it!" Yue Tianrui said helplessly as he walked up to the front of the Awakening Formation.
At that moment, a student had just stepped out from inside. Upon seeing Yue Tianrui, the student was filled with a burst of joy.
"The principal came to welcome me in person? Could it be that my talent is exceptionally powerful?"
The student's heart soared with delight. After all, several Grade-A talents had already appeared earlier, along with one Grade-S and one Grade-SSS. Surely it wouldn't hurt if he awakened a Grade-SSS talent too, right? Otherwise, there was no way to explain why the principal had suddenly come out to greet him. There must have been some astonishing phenomenon just now, and he simply hadn't seen it himself.
With that thought, he looked toward the responsible teacher with an expression full of anticipation.
"An Ziming, right? You have no talent."
The teacher hadn't expected the principal to walk over. After carefully inspecting the data on the machine and double-checking it several times, the teacher finally made the announcement.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
For An Ziming, this news struck like a bolt from the blue!
However, neither the teacher nor Yue Tianrui paid him much mind.
"Alright, the remaining students, head to the next room. There's something wrong with this Awakening Formation," Yue Tianrui said calmly.
"Right, there must be something wrong! I am definitely Grade-SSS!"
An Ziming was the first to snap back to reality. He hurried excitedly toward the neighboring Awakening Formation.
"Is... is everything alright, Principal?" the teacher in charge of the awakening asked with a strange expression.
Without answering, Yue Tianrui walked straight up to the Awakening Formation.
Under the shocked gazes of the teacher and the surrounding students, he reached out and grabbed the Awakening Monster Crystal. With a firm yank, he snapped it right off!
Then, acting as if nothing had happened, he walked back over to Fang Xiu!