"Well, to be fair, Wangquan Baye isn't actually that bad. However you look at it, he's one of the four most outstanding geniuses in the Wangquan family's entire history."
"Sure, his natural talent falls short of Wangquan Wumu, Wangquan Shouzhuo, and Wangquan Fugui, and he did eventually lose his Sword Heart, but his strength is still remarkable. He's one of the few most powerful people among the human race in his era."
Zhang Yu swallowed the bun in his mouth, glanced at Ye Xuan in the Wangquan Baye costume, then looked back down at the bun in his hand, and did his best to offer some kind of defense.
"Oh."
"So basically he's just the weakest of the four, right?"
Chen Hao blinked between the two of them, still chewing.
Zhang Yu was quiet for a moment, then forced out a response.
"At least he lived the longest."
"That's supposed to be comforting? That just makes it worse."
Ye Xuan rolled his eyes and shot back flatly.
Though, what Zhang Yu said wasn't wrong.
Wangquan Wumu, Wangquan Fugui, Wangquan Baye, and Wangquan Shouzhuo were the four greatest geniuses the Wangquan family had ever produced.
And yet one died far too young, one was plagued by illness, one lost his Sword Heart, and only one actually grew to reach his full potential.
In terms of raw talent, Wangquan Baye really did come last among the four.
*CREAK...*
The classroom door swung open and the homeroom teacher walked in, round belly leading the way. He was carrying a stack of exercise books, and his thick-framed glasses shifted slightly with each step.
"What is all this noise! What's going on in here!"
"I could hear you all the way from the floor below!"
He cleared his throat and let his gaze sweep across the room. He was just about to start in again when his eyes locked onto the back row.
Chen Hao was attempting to covertly stuff the rest of his bun into his mouth, while Zhang Yu was frantically covering his cup of soy milk with a textbook, cheeks still bulging with unchewed food.
"Hawkeye, Zhang Yu. Class has started and you two are still eating breakfast? Did you have Ye Xuan buy it for you again?"
The classroom went instantly silent, leaving only the sound of the two of them chewing. Both froze in place with puffed-out cheeks and half-swallowed buns, looking exactly like a pair of hamsters caught red-handed.
"Sir... there's a reason for this..."
Chen Hao forced down the bun with visible effort.
"Oh? And what reason would that be?"
Mr. Li raised an eyebrow and folded his hands behind his back, wearing the expression of someone who was genuinely very interested to hear it.
"We... we couldn't wake up in time..." Zhang Yu mumbled.
"Couldn't wake up?"
"If I recall correctly, you two and Ye Xuan all live off campus. His house is in the south part of the city, yours are in the north. He managed to get here on time. Why couldn't you?"
Mr. Li walked toward them, his tone sharpening with every word.
"Maybe Ye Xuan just doesn't need sleep?"
Chen Hao scratched his head and offered the answer with great care.
Laughter rippled across the classroom.
Even Ye Xuan couldn't hold it in. Only Hawkeye could say something like that with a straight face. Anyone else would never have dared.
Doesn't need sleep?
Even after merging the Wangquan Baye template, he had no ability anywhere close to that.
"No more excuses!"
"Starting tomorrow, bring your own breakfast!"
Mr. Li rapped on the desk.
"Sir..."
Chen Hao opened his mouth to protest, but immediately deflated under Mr. Li's sharp look.
"And you as well, Ye Xuan."
Mr. Li turned suddenly to face Ye Xuan, and every head in the class followed.
"Don't buy breakfast for them anymore. Use that time in the morning to sleep a bit longer instead."
"You're in year twelve now. Getting enough rest comes first."
"Other teachers might tell you to read more and sleep less, saying you'll have plenty of time to rest after graduation. I'm not like that. I want you to stay healthy while keeping your grades up."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted across the sea of colorful outfits in the room, and he let out a quiet, somewhat wistful breath.
"The times really have changed. All kinds of strange things are turning up these days."
"Supernatural powers are no longer just something people imagine. They've become real. I understand the appeal, I feel it too."
"But I don't want you spending too much of your time chasing after things like that outside of studying. The National Exams are almost here. I hope you'll all stay focused."
"That's enough on that. Let's begin the lesson."
"Yes, sir." The class replied in a scattered chorus.
What Mr. Li had said made perfect sense. But for people who hadn't yet been worn down by reality, it was hard to take those words fully to heart.
Even before the Spiritual Energy Awakening, very few students had any real passion for studying. After it, even fewer did.
You can't be young and also understand the value of youth at the same time.
Even Ye Xuan himself, after his past life memories had resurfaced, found that his mindset could no longer go back to what it once was.
"All right, let's get started!"
Mr. Li clapped the lectern, and the room fell quiet. He opened his lesson plan, though his eyes drifted, almost without realizing it, toward the window.
Outside, a crow sat perched on a branch, its black eyes glinting with a deep, ruby-red light.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Before long, a full hour of class had gone by.
*🔔🔔🔔!*
The break bell rang, and the room erupted back into noise.
Zhang Yu slumped in his chair with a hollow stare, looking as though his soul had just been slowly drained out of him.
"Why does every class period feel longer than it used to? Isn't it supposed to be forty-five minutes?"
"Because you're not on your phone, obviously. That's why time feels slow."
Chen Hao scoffed, then pulled a phone out from behind his textbook and waggled it in front of Zhang Yu's face with great self-satisfaction.
"Look what I've got here."
"What? How do you still have your phone?!"
"Didn't Mr. Li tell your mum to confiscate it at the parent meeting yesterday?"
Zhang Yu stared at the phone in disbelief.
"I have two. My mum doesn't know about this one." Chen Hao said, raising an eyebrow with considerable pride.
"Besides, I have a supernatural ability now. Mr. Li can't catch me on my phone anymore. The moment he even thinks about turning his head in my direction, I've already hidden it."
"Sharp eyes really do make life better. The name Hawkeye is well-earned."
Chen Hao narrowed his eyes with a deeply satisfied expression.
Life before the Spiritual Energy Awakening hadn't been like this. Back then, even when the homeroom teacher walked right up to him, he wasn't always quick enough to notice. Now, in the time it took Mr. Li to so much as glance his way, he'd already looked back at Mr. Li about eight hundred times.
"That is so unfair! Why is your power so useful! Mine lets me eat two extra bowls of rice, and that's literally it!"
Zhang Yu slammed his hands on the desk with pure, undisguised envy.
"Don't even bring up your 'rice bucket' power. Calling it Taotie doesn't change anything. A rice bucket is a rice bucket. It doesn't come close to my Hawkeye."
"Did you just say rice bucket? This is clearly a Taotie ability that breaks down food at high speed to extract nutrients and strengthen my body. Have you not noticed that I'm physically much stronger than I used to be?"
Zhang Yu bristled the moment he heard Chen Hao's comment.
He could mock his own power as much as he wanted. But he drew the line at letting Hawkeye do it.
"What good does it do you though? You're stronger now, and you still can't get to school earlier than me."
"How about you start bringing me breakfast from tomorrow?"
Chen Hao looked at Zhang Yu with an expression of genuine hope.
"... Fine, you're right."
Zhang Yu turned away. On the matter of buying breakfast for someone else, he would never agree.