Chapter 18: Ke Lu, the Straight-A Academic Superstar

The midday dismissal bell rang at Liaocheng No. 1 Senior High School.

"Class dismissed."

"Stand up."

"Goodbye, teacher—"

The final "Goodbye, teacher" was a ragged chorus.

Boys in the back row hunched like coiled cheetahs, poised to pounce.

As soon as the bell chimed, the entire school building erupted in chaos. Countless students surged out of classrooms, racing toward the cafeteria.

Ke Lu sat in her seat, watching as a group of newly Awakened students from the Melee and Defense Classes, emboldened by their enhanced physical abilities, leaped directly from the third-floor windows.

The bizarre spectacle made Ke Lu turn her head in surprise.

"Ke Lu, Su Rou, please come to my office."

Just as Ke Lu was about to invite Su Rou to lunch, Teacher Liu, their homeroom teacher, called out to them.

After a few days of studying at the school, Ke Lu had formed a positive impression of Teacher Liu.

Knowing they were new and unfamiliar with everything, he had personally shown them around campus and explained the curriculum.

Since Ke Lu and Su Rou weren't in a rush to grab lunch, they waited until the hallways emptied before leisurely heading to the teachers' office.

The office was plainly furnished, with the teachers' desks arranged in neat rows and columns, each cubicle separated by partitions.

As the two students entered, Teacher Liu was lifting a steaming cup of red tea from his desk and taking a gentle sip.

"Ah, you're here," Teacher Liu said, opening a drawer and pulling out two small booklets. He handed one to Ke Lu and the other to Su Rou.

"Based on my observations over the past two days, I've found that both of you have an excellent grasp of theoretical knowledge."

"In yesterday's diagnostic test, Ke Lu even achieved a perfect score across all subjects. That's truly commendable."

Pfft. A teacher behind them, who had been drinking water, choked on the words, spraying water across the table. He frantically used his Spirit Power to dry it.

"Wait, a perfect score in every subject?! Who is this?!"

"Perfect scores on the skill assessments too? You've mastered all the basic skills?"

The teacher leaned forward, peering at Ke Lu as if she were a rare and precious specimen.

The skill assessment tested students' memorization of skill execution methods.

No school taught students how to use skills after their Awakening.

Instead, students were taught the fundamentals beforehand. After Awakening, they simply needed to try channeling their Spirit Power to activate the skills.

Then came continuous practical training until the College Entrance Examination.

The skill assessment required students to completely memorize how to execute all the basic skills of their own profession, as well as recognize the basic skills of other professions.

For example, trying to get a frail Support Class to understand how a towering, muscular Melee Class warrior generates power...

Unsurprisingly, the students dubbed this subject "the twisted curriculum."

Teacher Liu glanced at the grade rankings and clicked their tongue. "Before you arrived, that Demon Race exchange student, Gu Yunfan, had been dominating the top spot, outscoring second place by several dozen points. Now that you're here, you've left Gu Yunfan in the dust by the same margin."

[Notification: Acquired Red-Tier Faction clue: Gu Yunfan.]

Ke Lu maintained a poker face, but mentally noted the name.

"Alright, alright, let's get back on track," Teacher Liu said, pointing to the booklets they had been given. Their expression suddenly turned serious. "While your theoretical knowledge from your previous schooling in the mainland is excellent, you're severely lacking in practical combat experience."

"Or to put it another way, have you ever even engaged in real combat?"

Ke Lu and Su Rou both shook their heads. Su Rou's beautiful eyebrows furrowed into a "川" shape. "Teacher, we only recently awakened. How could we possibly have any combat experience?"

"Just as I suspected. That's precisely the problem," Teacher Liu said with a knowing look, snapping their fingers.

"We've always scheduled a heavy emphasis on practical combat and physical training. Even before your Awakenings, we drilled you in combat techniques, requiring at least eight hours of gym training per week."

"If you were to face them in combat, I guarantee your performance in the arena—or even during the College Entrance Examination—would fall far short."

Ke Lu thought back carefully. It was true that her previous school had never offered any practical combat training.

Here, classes were divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with their class's combat training scheduled for the afternoon.

Su Rou suddenly burst into laughter, her eyes curving into crescent moons as if struck by an amusing thought.

"I can't vouch for everything, but I'd bet anything that the boys from our old class would get completely 'slaughtered' here in every aspect."

This remark immediately piqued Ke Lu and Teacher Liu's curiosity. "Hmm? Why do you say that?"

Su Rou deftly pulled out her phone, tapped a few times on the screen, and displayed a class photo. "Look, these are the boys from our old class. Physique-wise... most were just average, with only a few decent builds."

Then she switched to a lively girls' group chat, scrolling through secretly saved "reference images" with a sly grin.

"According to our incomplete statistics, over half the male students at Liaocheng No. 1 High School have clearly defined abdominal muscles."

"Moreover, it's nearly impossible to find a truly obese male student at this school."

"It seems their regular exercise routines are indeed yielding remarkable results."

This unexpected angle left Ke Lu and Teacher Liu momentarily speechless.

Teacher Liu instinctively patted his own soft belly, his expression complex: Since graduating from university, I've let myself go a bit...

Ke Lu remained silent for a long moment, finally commenting with a hint of exasperation, "Truly... an observation angle I never would have imagined."

"Alright, let's get down to business," Teacher Liu said, pointing to the booklets in their hands.

"Now that the students have awakened, the school's Secret Realms are ready for use."

"This booklet lists the Secret Realms available for student use at our school."

"Each Secret Realm has protective measures set up by Education Bureau experts. If your life is threatened, you'll be teleported out immediately."

Teacher Liu swiveled the computer screen to show them:

"As Support and Healer Class students, you'll obviously need to team up with other classmates."

"However, you're not yet familiar with your classmates, and most groups have already been formed."

"Given your unique circumstances, I suggest you join some of the stronger groups. They can guide you."

Teacher Liu's suggestion was genuinely considerate, and Ke Lu saw no reason to refuse.

The computer screen displayed the class's various groups.

Teacher Liu pointed to the screen. "Here are the current groups in our class. Take a look and let me know which one you'd like to join. I'll reach out to them."

Ke Lu's gaze drifted across the images of her classmates.

When she saw one particular image, her gaze froze, and an almost imperceptible smile curled the corner of her lips.

"Shi Lei, Demon Race exchange student, Melee Class, A-Rank Talent."

These weren't the primary reasons Ke Lu chose him.

What truly piqued her interest was the red dot the System Panel had marked on this classmate.

[System Notification: Red-Tier Faction Clue Acquired: Shi Lei.]

Truly, it's as they say: "Wear out your iron shoes searching in vain, only to find it effortlessly."

She had expected finding clues to a Red-Tier Faction to take a long time, but two had been discovered through sheer coincidence.

However, both individuals turned out to be members of the Demon Race, suggesting this faction was inextricably linked to them.

Still, Gu Yunfan lacked a good reason to approach them.

Though they were the top two students in their year, the school didn't have honors classes; all were parallel, so the pair weren't in the same class.

Since Shi Lei was in her class, Ke Lu decided to approach him first.

Ke Lu tapped the screen lightly twice, her voice brimming with determination: "Teacher, him."

"Shi Lei..." Teacher Liu frowned slightly. "This student has a rather... thorny personality. He might be difficult to work with."

"Should you consider someone else?"

"No need," Ke Lu reaffirmed. "I choose him."