In the VIP section, Chu Wentian watched Luo Bing with a complicated expression.
As an educator, he naturally held a great deal of affection for this diligent, hardworking boy.
However, what the others believed wasn't entirely prejudice either.
Compared to sheer effort, whether one could awaken high-quality spiritual power depended far more on inherited bloodlines and the deep accumulation of family resources passed down through generations.
Powerful Beast Tamers from commoner backgrounds were exceedingly rare.
Students from prestigious families possessed natural advantages that ordinary people couldn't even imagine.
Compared to becoming an average Beast Tamer, Luo Bing might actually be more suited for scientific research.
The thought left Chu Wentian feeling regretful.
"Xiao Luo, you can do it!"
Just as everyone else was pessimistic about Luo Bing's chances, Cheng Shiya stood up without caring about the occasion and cheered for him.
Seeing the school belle go all out, the crowd immediately drowned in another wave of sour envy.
"Damn it… I'm so jealous!"
"Always top of the class, and now even the school belle cheers him on every day."
"If I had the school belle cheering for me, I'd be full of motivation and awaken an S-rank Guardian Spirit Beast on the spot."
Ignoring the jealousy around him, Luo Bing smiled and nodded at Cheng Shiya.
Then he calmed his mind and focused on the machine's operation.
The next instant—
Whoosh!
The massive screen displaying the data erupted in dazzling, radiant light.
At the same time, grand, majestic music rang out.
The effects were exactly like pulling an SSR in a mobile game.
The crowd was stunned by the spectacular scene, all of them wearing expressions of disbelief.
"Th-this is…!"
"No way… with this level of spectacle, could it really be S-rank talent?!"
"I'm done… don't tell me he's about to flex again?"
"It must be because Luo Bing is unprecedented trash, so the machine's reaction is weird! That has to be it!"
"Spiritual victory method? Let's see if my Luo God slaps your face later, bro."
Amid the shocked exclamations, the testing pod's broadcast sounded once more.
"Luo Bing—S+ Rank Ocular Spiritual Ability. Detailed data unavailable."
S+!
The moment those words were spoken, the entire school fell into dead silence.
In nearly a thousand years of spiritual development, the most talented spiritual awakeners humanity had produced had only ever reached S-rank at the start.
Anything beyond that came only through post-awakening cultivation and evolution.
Yet this guy—
He started at S+.
Even more astonishing, No. 9 Safe City hadn't produced an S-rank awakener in over five hundred years.
This was a matter of civic pride—how could they not be excited?
Spiritual practitioners were divided into six major stages:
Mountain Bronze, Radiant Silver, Glorious Gold, Star Eclipse, Setting Sun,
and finally, the strongest stage bestowed with an honorary title—
The King.
Each major stage was further divided into nine minor tiers.
While talent quality wasn't everything, higher awakening grades generally meant higher potential.
In other words—
Starting at S+, Luo Bing had an extremely high chance of becoming a King,
an existence utterly out of reach for ordinary people.
The moment people imagined him growing into a figure who could cover the sky with one hand,
those who had just been cold and dismissive instantly swarmed toward him.
"Luo God! Remember me? We used to secretly watch Romance of the Three Kingdoms together when we were kids!"
"Bingbing, I've actually liked you for a long time… I was just too shy to say it."
"Luo God! I'm your fan—can I get an autograph?"
Even the old security guard at the school gate grinned and shouted,
"I knew this kid was something special since he was little!"
What was even more outrageous—
Some girls straight-up slipped hotel key cards into Luo Bing's hands.
He didn't even have the chance to refuse.
Only Chu Wentian seemed to notice something off. He let out a soft, regretful sigh.
Not a Beast Taming talent… but an ocular talent?
That meant Luo Bing couldn't become a Beast Tamer.
Ever since it was discovered that Beast Tamers could grow alongside their contracted spirit beasts—and even contract multiple ones—their profession had shown overwhelming advantages compared to other spiritual paths.
As a result, the Federation heavily promoted Beast Tamers as the mainstream spiritual profession.
After several generations of nationwide genetic optimization, almost all newly awakened spiritual users were now Beast Tamers.
Accordingly, all supporting industries—spiritual potions, spirit equipment forging, cultivation manuals—had completely shifted toward serving Beast Tamers.
Without becoming a Beast Tamer, there was no complete training system.
Even with S+ talent, what difference did that make compared to an ordinary person?
…
Back at the seats.
Watching Luo Bing enjoy the treatment of a victor, Huang Tengfei's face twisted with jealousy.
"Impossible! The machine must be malfunctioning!"
In a daze, he ignored the teachers' attempts to stop him and rushed back into the awakening pod.
The AI calmly repeated the exact same announcement.
"Then it's not the machine—it's you cheating!"
Huang Tengfei pointed at Luo Bing and shouted.
Luo Bing didn't bother responding to the madman.
Everyone else had long been sick of Huang Tengfei's arrogance backed by family power. Now that he'd fallen, they naturally kicked him while he was down.
"Gone crazy? My Luo God awakening S+ is child's play!"
"Simps always end up with nothing—serves you right for inflating market prices."
"Only Cheng Shiya had real vision, choosing the future King instead of you. Too bad I didn't make my move earlier."
"Weren't you the one who mocked Luo Bing for being an orphan?"
"Shut up already!"
Huang Tengfei nearly fainted again. After security dragged him back to his seat,
Luo Bing finally returned to his own.
Cheng Shiya immediately congratulated him.
"Not bad, bro. Your future's looking bright."
Then she gave him a resentful look.
"With talent like that, you're probably going to have endless romantic luck. You'll forget all about me, your confidante."
Luo Bing chuckled.
"Forget that. Do you still remember our bet?"
Seeing how shameless he looked, Cheng Shiya rolled her eyes.
"All you think about is taking advantage of me."
"What, regret already? Just tell me—did my S+ talent press your A-rank under it?"
"I'm not someone who goes back on my word," she said, hands on her hips, pretending to be magnanimous.
"But with so many people around… I'm embarrassed."
Her flushed cheeks completely betrayed her.
"Alright then. Come with me."
With that, Luo Bing took her delicate hand and led her away from the seats toward a secluded corner.
After awakening, students were free to move around anyway.
At that moment, Huang Tengfei had just barely regained consciousness. The instant he opened his eyes, he saw his goddess being led away.
His overactive imagination immediately went wild.
When his thoughts reached a certain critical point, the sense of being utterly cuckolded overwhelmed him.
Unable to hold it in, Huang Tengfei passed out again in sheer rage.
"Heh, awakening a divine beast really got Young Master Huang excited."
"Of course. That's a rare B-rank Guardian Spirit Beast. I'd faint too if it were me."
Meanwhile—
Luo Bing brought Cheng Shiya to a damp, shadowy path.
"Don't go any deeper… it's kind of scary," Cheng Shiya said softly.
Her face flushed as she reluctantly pulled her hand out of Luo Bing's warm grip.
"There's no one around now," Luo Bing said with an expectant, mischievous grin.
"You can honor the bet."
"…Dad."
Covering her rosy face shyly, Cheng Shiya lowered her proud head and mumbled the two words.
"Cough, cough. Xiao Luo… I need to have a word with you."
Behind them, Chu Wentian had appeared at some point, looking extremely awkward.
Clearly—
He had heard something he really, really shouldn't have.
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