Azure Dragon Empire, Qing'an Province, Huiping City.
Early morning, Huiping No. 1 High School.
For the first-year students, today was an exceptionally important day.
Even students from other grades had been given the day off.
Inside Class 9.
"Everyone, head to the experimental building. We'll proceed with the awakening ceremony one by one according to your student numbers."
Standing at the podium, their homeroom teacher, Old He, looked unusually formal today. The man, already past fifty, was dressed in a neatly pressed suit with a tie.
"Lastly, I wish all of you the best. May each of you awaken an ability you're satisfied with."
The entire class stood and began filing out, heading toward the ceremony site.
Ability ranks were divided into six levels, from weakest to strongest: E, D, C, B, A, and S.
According to imperial law, private awakenings were strictly prohibited.
All awakenings had to be conducted officially, individually, and every process would be recorded.
In the waiting line, Baili An stood at the very front.
On the surface, he looked calm. Inside, his nerves were anything but.
He had long since given up hoping for some kind of transmigrator advantage.
But at this moment, he still couldn't help but cling to a sliver of hope.
If he really did awaken something extraordinary, he would gladly trade twenty years of his deskmate's single life for it.
The door to the awakening room opened. A man in a black uniform stepped out and looked directly at Baili An.
"You, come in."
After Baili An entered, the door shut behind him.
Inside, there was another uniformed man, along with Old He standing to the side.
"Stand in the center," one of the men instructed briefly.
Baili An followed without hesitation. The process had already been explained countless times at school.
He stepped onto the platform.
It was covered in intricate, almost mystical patterns, glowing faintly in shades of blue and white. It felt like a blend of science and fantasy.
One of the uniformed men began operating the nearby instrument. Seeing the slight tension in Baili An, Old He spoke in a steady, reassuring tone.
"Relax. It'll be over soon."
Baili An nodded.
The preparations were complete. The man pulled down a lever.
"Starting now."
A low hum filled the room.
The platform began to vibrate. The patterns lit up with a soft blue glow as faint particles of energy rose from its surface, gathering and surrounding Baili An.
He felt as though he was being wrapped in warmth. His heartbeat quickened, and something within him seemed to break free.
He knew what was happening.
These special particles were guiding the extraordinary force within him, triggering the awakening of his ability.
In just over ten seconds, it was over.
The energy dispersed as quickly as it had gathered.
Baili An stood there, frozen.
"These…?"
In a place no one else could perceive, he seemed to be looking into his own inner world.
A vast gray void.
Within it, countless cards floated in orderly formation.
And on each card… a unique eye.
Could this be… his cheat ability?
He actually had one?
Yet in reality, his stunned expression alarmed Old He.
Old He didn't even have time to check the data on the screen before appearing in front of him.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
Baili An snapped back to his senses and instinctively shook his head.
"No. I'm fine."
Meanwhile, the man standing by the monitor frowned slightly as he read the results.
Name: Baili An. Age: 15.
Awakened Ability: Enhancement type, eyes. Not an Inheritor.
Initial Ability Strength: E. Newly formed spiritual energy has gathered in the eyes, but no significant evolution detected. No special abilities observed.
Growth Potential: Unknown.
Ability Rank: E.
Energy Attribute: None.
Particle Affinity: A+ to S.
Overall Evaluation: C+.
Conclusion: Initial ability rank is low, but affinity with spiritual particles is extremely high. A secondary awakening cannot be ruled out. Further testing recommended.
"…What a pity."
The man sighed, his expression filled with regret.
"With such high affinity, yet only an E-rank ability.
"With that level of compatibility, even a C-rank ability would have made him an excellent ability user."
As the threat of abyssal invasions grew more severe, the authorities had placed increasing importance on nurturing ability users, especially talented young ones.
He genuinely felt it was a shame.
When Old He returned with Baili An and saw the results, his expression shifted as well.
An E-rank ability.
Even D-rank abilities were more than twice as common as E-rank.
Online, people joked that even a stray dog would shake its head at something like this.
Old He glanced back at Baili An, only to find that he didn't look devastated.
If anything, he seemed… calm.
This kid really is resilient.
Despite the disappointment, Old He felt a sense of relief.
He had seen too many students lose all motivation after awakening low-level abilities, believing their lives were already decided.
"It's alright," Old He said, patting his shoulder.
"You're smart. You can still get into a top university through academics.
"And since your ability involves your eyes… at least you won't get eye strain easily. No need to worry about poor eyesight from studying too much. That's… a small advantage, I guess."
Baili An fell silent.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
If not for the ability he had just discovered, that "comfort" might have hurt more than it helped.
…
Walking along the school corridor, Baili An felt unusually light.
It almost seemed like he might start floating if he wasn't careful.
If he didn't need to maintain his image, he would have already picked up that stray cat he passed earlier and messed with it for fun.
An E-rank ability?
Didn't matter.
His cheat would handle the rest.
Or rather, his ability itself was the cheat. It just needed to be unlocked.
At the moment of awakening, he had seen it clearly.
Those cards floating within his inner world.
Each one bore a different eye.
Some eerie. Some radiant. Some impossibly intricate.
Among them were eyes he recognized from his previous life.
The Sharingan. The Rinnegan. The Six Eyes. The Tenseigan. The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. The Copy Eye. The All-Seeing Eye…
And many more he had never seen before.
Yet through the cards, he could understand their abilities.
It was a treasure trove beyond imagination.
And the key to unlocking it all was something called Source Essence.
The way to obtain it?
By killing living beings.
Almost immediately, Baili An thought of the monsters within the countless secret realms of this world.
As long as he hunted enough monsters and gathered sufficient Source Essence, those dazzling ocular abilities would become his.
The stronger the eye technique, the greater the cost.
If he wanted to grow stronger, it would have to be step by step.
Baili An had already begun to form a plan for his future.
His path in this extraordinary world…
Would begin with the Sharingan.