Chapter 25: The Final Day

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At the Tianfu Imperial Academy, the atmosphere in the conference room seemed to have frozen. Everyone’s eyes were locked firmly onto the holographic screen, fixed on the headline that had suddenly set the entire internet ablaze that afternoon.

The principal nodded gently, his eyes filled with undisguised approval. "Excellent! Our school's students still possess that indomitable spirit deep in their bones!"

He felt deeply gratified that the students he had nurtured had not been defeated by the string of recent failures and still retained a fighting spirit. This was a good thing!

However, this approval was soon interrupted by the vice-principal.

"This... is not a student from our school," the vice-principal said.

"What?" The principal was shocked. Not our student? Then who could it be, possessing such audacity?

The dean of students had already quickly verified the information and reported, "I just checked. This is a Taoist nun from the Cloud-Hidden Temple in District 11."

A female teacher nearby who enjoyed browsing forums frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Cloud-Hidden Temple? That sounds familiar."

"I remember now. I often saw the landlady complaining about that place on the forums because there’s no internet on the mountain, not even aerial vehicles can fly up there, and they are notorious deadbeats who can never pay their rent."

The dean nodded. "Exactly. Furthermore, a few years ago, three of their disciples went to the District 11 Federal Testing Hall, and their mental power levels were all Grade B."

"As for that Taoist nun, she hasn't even been tested, rarely leaves the mountain, let alone undergoes mental power training. She doesn't even qualify for military academy."

The female teacher looked at the photo on the website of Zhuang Yun holding up a "one" gesture. The sense of provocation felt oddly familiar.

She suddenly exclaimed, "It’s her! Zhuang Yun! She was quite popular on the District 11 missing persons and lost-and-found forums a while ago. She relied on her fortune-telling skills to help people find things. Old Master Chen’s hawk was recovered thanks to her."

As she spoke, the teacher opened the forum to show everyone the photos in Zhuang Yun’s space.

In the photos, Zhuang Yun was pictured with various animals and all sorts of miscellaneous knick-knacks, wearing a radiant smile.

The pinned photo was the one of Zhuang Yun with her head held high, gesturing "one," with a caption that was incredibly arrogant: "Fortune-telling and lost-and-found services; honest to young and old. I dare to call myself second, for no one is first."

Seeing this, the group felt even heavier: so she was just an unlearned, deceitful charlatan.

Her behavior today was likely a prank, or perhaps she was instigated by someone to specifically smear and mock this already crumbling school.

The principal sighed. "Let this matter pass. There are trending topics every day; it will soon be forgotten. There is no need to dwell on it." Yet, his words betrayed a hint of helplessness.

"Everyone sitting here has worked at this school for decades, so I won't beat around the bush."

The principal shifted his tone, his expression solemn. "If we finish last again in next year’s Winston Tournament, our school will be expelled from the league."

"Many young teachers have resigned, and I cannot stop them. But I hope that, for my sake, you will all take on this final responsibility. For the sake of our students, please give it your all and finish teaching this final year."

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After speaking, the principal bowed deeply to everyone.

Meanwhile, at the Pasa Academy, the participating team held an emergency meeting immediately after returning to the campus that afternoon.

The conference room was brightly lit, the atmosphere tense and grave. They conducted a comprehensive summary and reflection regarding their performance in this year's Winston Tournament.

The meeting lasted until the early hours of the morning.

After the meeting, a teacher asked Shangguan Mo what was going on with the trending topic.

A team member who hadn't left yet grew furious upon hearing this and blurted out, "We ran into someone from Tianfu Imperial Academy. A defeated foe, yet so arrogant."

Another member added, "If the captain hadn't stopped me, I would have retorted."

As they spoke, Zhuge Lan, who excelled at gathering information, had already projected the details of the "culprit," Zhuang Yun, onto the panel.

A nun from a dilapidated temple, a fortune-teller and helper for lost items—and crucially, she wasn't even a student at Tianfu Imperial Academy...

These labels left everyone puzzled: is she—mentally ill?

The teacher saw this and said, "Probably just a prank. Pack up and go get some rest."

With the moon hanging high, Shangguan Mo and Zhuge Lan walked side-by-side on their way back.

After giving a few instructions, Shangguan Mo told Zhuge Lan to look into Zhuang Yun’s background further.

Zhuge Lan asked, "What's wrong? Do you find her suspicious?"

"Yes," Shangguan Mo replied.

Zhuge Lan was used to the taciturn Shangguan Mo. "Alright, see you tomorrow."

Shangguan Mo looked up at the moon, a strange emotion stirring within him, and fell into deep thought.

It wasn't just "a bit" suspicious; it was highly suspicious.

When he looked at her that morning, he had exerted mental pressure on her, yet she hadn't shown any reaction at all.

Either her mental core was shattered, or her mental power was far above his—a level beyond Ultra-3S.

Moreover, she looked very young. If it were the latter, her future would be limitless.

At first, he thought it was the former, but her demeanor was so confident that it made him faintly feel a sense of—threat.

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Suddenly, Shangguan Mo chuckled and shook his head: What are you thinking? When anyone turns 15, as long as they are on the registry, the entire Federation conducts mental power tests. Once someone tests at even an S-grade, the major military academies fight over them.

How could a nobody like her just be wandering around? It must be that the tournament schedule has been too intense; he really needed to relax.

Shangguan Mo’s solitary silhouette gradually disappeared into the night, leaving behind dappled shadows of trees.

Zhuang Yun slept until noon.

When she woke up, she felt Wangcai curled up and sleeping against her neck—what a lazy bird!

Afterward, Zhuang Yun strolled to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Walking into the courtyard, she saw the four of them silently practicing their weapons.

"Master, you're awake! We didn't want to wake you this morning after you were running around all day yesterday."

"Master, there are pork buns in the kitchen that you love!"

"Alright, then."

She gnawed on a bun and opened her holographic interface, casually browsing the forums. Everywhere she looked, trending headlines on the Star-Net were highlighted in bold red letters:

Attention! Today is the final day for the Federation-wide mental power level test. The system will be fully shut down at 6:00 PM.

Her eyes widened. She grabbed the unfinished bun and ran to the courtyard: "You guys! Why haven't you gone to get tested?!"

The third senior brother said, "Ah? This... we were all Grade B when we tested in previous years. Even if we've been practicing internal energy with you for a month, Master, we probably wouldn't have reached Grade A so quickly."

The second senior sister added, "That's right, Master. We wanted to wait until next year."

In truth, they all felt it was impossible to improve mental power; it was essentially set by age 15. Going for the test every year was merely—inviting humiliation.

However, everyone hoped to give their all in practicing the Master's techniques so that when they reached their final test at age 18, they would have no regrets, even if they were still Grade B.

Zhuang Yun looked anxious. "How will you know if you don't go and try?"

Without further ado, Zhuang Yun led the three of them, rushing toward the testing hall.

By now, the hall was already packed with people waiting in line.