"Pfft—!"
"Hahahahaha…!"
Bai Xuan couldn't hold it in anymore. The moment he burst out laughing, it was like something snapped—soon, the entire class followed, laughter erupting everywhere.
Seriously, this early in the morning and it's already this hilarious?
Trying to show off a magic trick, only to get completely outplayed—and calling the other guy a rival? That was just too much.
…Wait. Hold on.
Since when did these two even learn magic? And why did their "magic" feel… off?
Sun Qiang, however, hadn't noticed anything strange. He just looked around in annoyance.
"What's so funny?!"
"We're laughing at your 'rival,' of course," Bai Xuan replied with a grin. "Calling Lele your destined enemy? That's a new one."
"Tch. It's just magic. Who can't do a couple of tricks?"
"Watch closely—your bro Bai will show you how it's done."
As he spoke, Bai Xuan reached out and grabbed the eraser floating in midair. Three seconds later, the originally plain white eraser shimmered—like it had been coated in gold dust—radiating a dazzling golden glow.
"…Huh?"
Sun Qiang's eyes widened again, his face full of confusion.
Seeing his stunned expression, Bai Xuan couldn't help but laugh again.
With his authority over nature, he could manipulate all kinds of elements. Naturally, metal was included.
Although his current control wasn't very strong, the variety made up for it.
And more importantly, he could feel it—his power was growing. Rapidly.
As a Child of Nature, he didn't even need to train. Just being surrounded by nature was enough for his abilities to evolve at an incredible speed.
Of course, that only applied while he remained on Earth. Once he left, the growth would slow down—or even stop. Still, whatever abilities he had already mastered would remain usable.
That was something the chat group had informed him of last night.
"Cough… Well, since things have come this far, I guess there's no point hiding anymore."
"I originally wanted to live among you all as an ordinary person… but all I got in return was distance."
"So, fine—I'll come clean."
"I'm actually a Flame-Flame Fruit user."
"Fire—rise!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another student stood up. A flame suddenly ignited in his palm, and the surrounding air grew noticeably hotter.
"Well, since none of you are hiding anymore, I won't either."
"Sigh… Who would've thought such a small class would have so many superpowered individuals? But I'm not normal either."
"You're all showing your cards now—how can I keep pretending?"
"Damn it, I was planning to stay low and develop quietly… but now I've got no choice!"
"The world has changed—I can't hide my identity any longer!"
"With thunder, I shatter the darkness!"
"Winter has come—ice shall never decay!"
"Wait, what the hell?! Are elemental powers really this common?! Then why did I get beast transformation?!"
"You're a guy and you got beast transformation? And it's a rabbit? What a waste!"
"Hey! You think I wanted this?!"
As Bai Xuan and the others revealed their abilities, the entire classroom descended into chaos.
Telekinesis. Wind manipulation. Flames. Ice. Lightning. Beast transformations.
And strangely enough—elemental powers were the most common?!
Sun Qiang, who had thought of himself as the chosen one, was completely dumbfounded.
The emotions in his eyes shifted from excitement… to pride… to confusion… to disbelief… and finally—
utter despair.
"So… all of you awakened powers too?"
"This isn't how the script is supposed to go! I thought I was the main character!"
"Since when are superpowers this cheap?!"
He collapsed onto his desk, lifeless.
This wasn't just failing to show off—it was full-on social death.
He hadn't just failed to act cool—he had become the class joke.
Meanwhile, others who had secretly believed they were the "chosen one" quietly looked away, feeling awkward.
At the same time… they were grateful.
If Sun Qiang hadn't taken the spotlight, the one dying of embarrassment might've been them.
After all, who could've imagined that superpowers—something that only existed in novels and movies—would suddenly become this common?
Most people would've believed they were special.
Especially them—high school seniors. Who even had the time to read enough novels to prepare for this kind of situation?
Zhang Weiyang and Bai Xuan, however, were different.
But even they weren't the most shocked.
The truly stunned ones were those who hadn't awakened anything.
They stared at their classmates in confusion, watching them casually use all kinds of powers.
What… is this?
Wasn't this supposed to be magic tricks?
You mean… this is real?!
Seven-star alignment can awaken superpowers?!
Then why didn't I awaken anything?
Did the world just evolve behind my back?
Bai Xuan glanced around.
Out of forty-three students, about fifteen hadn't awakened anything.
Which meant the awakening rate was actually quite high.
As for why some didn't awaken?
Simple. If some people could awaken… then naturally, others couldn't.
Nothing strange about that.
"From what I can see, about half our class has awakened abilities," Bai Xuan said calmly.
"And just like Weiyang said—it's because of last night's seven-star alignment."
"According to the logic of novels, this kind of astronomical phenomenon usually marks the return of spiritual energy."
"And if that's the case, there's no way it only affects a few of us—it should be the entire Earth."
"So what comes next is obvious."
"A brand-new era."
"An era of global evolution."
"And we… are the witnesses of this era. Maybe even its pioneers."
"When you think about it like that… we're actually pretty lucky."
The class monitor couldn't help but sigh, his eyes filled with excitement.
Not just him—everyone who had awakened powers felt the same.
At this moment, their hearts were filled with anticipation.
They couldn't wait to carve out their own place in this new era.
As for those who hadn't awakened?
Every era has its ordinary people.
Maybe for them, it just meant continuing to live as they always had.
But the future…
was full of uncertainty.
And no one could say what awaited them.