"Ning Xuan, this won't take much of your time. We just need to run a simple spiritual power control test. It'll be over in a few minutes," Teacher Zhao said, looking at her earnestly.
"Alright... let's go." He was one of her teachers, after all. Since Teacher Zhao had put it that way, Ning Xuan felt she had to agree.
Ning Xuan followed Teacher Zhao to the testing room, where a dozen or so teachers from the Advanced Academy were already waiting. This test was normally conducted at the end of the Second Year of High School to determine if a student could advance to the third year. Most third-year students began using the Alchemy Furnace, which was impossible without precise spiritual power control.
Just like when her Spiritual Power Value was tested last time, Ning Xuan put on a helmet-like device. A virtual screen appeared in front of her. When the countdown ended, a picture of a vast, starry sky appeared. The first task was to connect identical stars with lines. Ning Xuan found this test, which was similar to a tile-matching game, quite interesting. She found and connected the matching stars, finishing quickly. The next task resembled a high-speed racing game. She had to pilot a Flying Car through various aerial environments, dodging obstacles and rerouting on the fly in response to unexpected events. The goal was to reach the finish line. The third task was like a fishing game, where she had to use Spiritual Power Threads as a fishing rod to catch all the fish in a virtual pond.
Ning Xuan had expected many more tasks, but it ended after just the third one. A line of text popped up on the virtual screen: *All Tasks Cleared. Time: 2 minutes.*
Ning Xuan took off the helmet. Teacher Zhao came in with a complex expression on his face and said there was another test. She put the helmet back on and continued.
While Ning Xuan began the second test, all the teachers of the Advanced Academy's Alchemy Department outside were in an uproar.
"Dean Wang, even if her spiritual power control is strong, she's only D-level with a value of 56. Making her take the C-level test is asking too much. It could easily crush her confidence and might even damage her Spiritual Sea!" a refined-looking, middle-aged man said.
"Passing the D-level test with a perfect score in two minutes? Even a third-year student with a B-level Spiritual Power Level might not be able to manage that. Her Spiritual Power Value absolutely cannot be 56. It has to be at least five or six hundred!" Dean Wang said firmly. He didn't suspect an error in her file, but rather speculated that Ning Xuan's Spiritual Power Value had grown rapidly in a short time.
"Look, Dean Wang! She's already on the third task, and she hasn't made a single mistake!" another teacher exclaimed excitedly.
"Keep it down! Don't let her hear you!" The group instantly lowered their voices. They all stared intently at their side of the virtual screen, watching her progress and growing more excited by the second.
"Dean Wang is right. Her Spiritual Power Value must be at least five or six hundred, maybe even higher! There's no way it's under 100!"
Teacher Zhao watched this unfold, feeling a mix of pride and sorrow. He was proud because this was one of his students, but sorrowful because he knew she wouldn't be for long.
With her level of spiritual power control, Ning Xuan would have no problem using an Alchemy Furnace. A promising talent like her would definitely be snatched up by the third-year teachers.
The C-level test consisted of seven tasks. The final one was rather complex, with chaotic patterns, and Ning Xuan had to put in a bit of effort.
Dean Wang saw the notification on the virtual screen: *All Tasks Cleared. Time: 10 minutes!* The faces of the crowd showed utter disbelief.
"Should we... have her try the B-level test?" someone proposed.
"No, that's too dangerous! We should have her Spiritual Power Level re-tested first. Let's see what her current Spiritual Power Value actually is before we do anything else!" another teacher retorted.
"Right, right, right. It's getting late," Teacher Zhao said hurriedly. "I'll go with Ning Xuan to get tested tomorrow! Don't worry, Dean Wang, I'll report the results to you as soon as I have them!"
Ning Xuan had already taken off the helmet and left the testing room. "Teachers, may I go now?" 'I feel so agitated right now,' she thought. For some reason, she was starving, and a strange restlessness was surging through her body.
"You may, Ning Xuan. Remember to come to school tomorrow!" Dean Wang said with a quick smile.
Ning Xuan stumbled slightly as she left the room. Seeing her pale face, Chen Nan rushed over to support her. "Contractor, what's wrong?" he asked with concern. He had wanted to go in with her but she had stopped him. He figured nothing could go wrong at school, so he hadn't insisted. 'But seeing her like this... what did they do to her?'
"Do you have a Flying Car? Take me home. As fast as you can!" Ning Xuan felt as if her blood was starting to boil.
She had never felt like this before, but she remembered what the staff had told her during her initial spiritual power assessment. After one's spiritual power awakens, their Companion Spirit will awaken within a year. They had advised her to stay in a safe environment during that time, get plenty of sleep, and maintain proper nutrition. Because of that, she had researched the common circumstances surrounding a Companion Spirit's awakening, as well as the signs that precede it.
According to her research, the year following one's spiritual power awakening was a period of rapid, natural growth. Most people awakened their Companion Spirit between six and nine months later. The phase just before the Companion Spirit's awakening was when spiritual power grew the fastest.
The signs of an impending awakening included boiling blood, a ravenous appetite, and a restless feeling throughout the body—symptoms that matched her current state exactly.
Sitting in the Flying Car piloted by Chen Nan, Ning Xuan felt her temperature rising. Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest. Her hands were trembling, her palms burning as if on fire. She felt every cell in her body screaming for destruction; 'Everywhere I look,' she thought, 'should be nothing but ruins.'
Ning Xuan took a deep breath. Something inside her was reawakening, seeping into her bloodstream. She began to circulate the Clear Heart Technique. Her body, which had never responded to it before, actually reacted. Ning Xuan sensed a special energy, similar to Spiritual Energy, break free from her blood and merge into the faint, almost imperceptible meridians within her!
Under Ning Xuan's control, this energy struggled upward along the faint meridians, advancing toward the crown of her head, inch by inch. Unfortunately, there was too little of it. It quickly dissipated, merging into the meridians. The once-faint meridians now seemed a little brighter.
This minuscule change did nothing to alleviate her current predicament. Her blood was still boiling, threatening to incinerate her from within. It felt as though something was trying to tear free from her physical shell and be reborn into the world.
"Contractor, are you alright? We're here!" Chen Nan's voice sounded distant and hazy, but Ning Xuan knew he was right beside her.