Chapter 40: Ten Great Beauties

Volume 1: First Entry into Another World

“This… this is Grade A talent!”“My goodness, how many Grade A talents does our academy even have in total?”“Forget about our academy; even nationwide, Grade A talent is incredibly rare, isn’t it?”

People around him exclaimed in surprise. The testing teacher, who had previously been indifferent, now smiled broadly as he asked for the young man's information. That's just how the world is: if your strength is high enough, minor moral flaws count for nothing. Besides, what had just been said was only one person’s side of the story; no one knew the real truth.

Hong Xingying walked off the stage, brimming with smug satisfaction, reveling in the surrounding looks of shock and envy. He felt as refreshed as eating an iced watermelon on a sweltering summer day. At the same time, he secretly regretted his past choices, thinking, 'If I had known this, why did I stay at the Chu family all those years, toiling like an ox and a horse? No matter how well I performed, Miss Chu only ever treated me as a servant. If I had joined the academy earlier, I might now have the qualifications to be her equal.' At this thought, his resentment towards the person who had benefited intensified. He walked directly up to Zu An, his expression indifferent, and said, “Do you understand the difference between us now?”

Rage points from Hong Xingying: 66!

Zu An was somewhat puzzled. Logically, shouldn't Hong Xingying be feeling smug now? Why was he still generating rage points? Was this guy having some kind of hormonal imbalance?

“Next, Zu An!”

Hearing the teacher’s call, Zu An walked over. The teacher pushed a crystal ball towards him, saying coldly, “Men should defeat their opponents with their own strength. There’s no future in merely tattling.”

“Who’s the most powerful person in your academy?” Zu An asked with a chuckle.

The teacher was momentarily stunned, then subconsciously replied, “The Headmaster, of course.”

Zu An immediately followed up, “Then, if the Headmaster slapped you twice for no reason, what would you do?”

“I…” The teacher’s breath hitched. “The Headmaster is such a distinguished person; she wouldn’t do something like that. If she did, there would certainly be a reason.”

Zu An curled his lip. “If I were you, I would definitely report it to her superior. If you don’t even dare to tattle, what future do you have?”

Rage points from Ni Dian: 233!

“Don’t get worked up, don’t get worked up!” Another teacher, barely suppressing a laugh, pulled his colleague aside before telling Zu An, “Ahem, enough with the chatter, hurry up and take the test!”

Only then did Zu An drop his blood onto the crystal ball. Up close, he noticed faint, almost imperceptible lines on the crystal ball, which likely indicated some kind of magic array.

“What kind of talent could this guy possibly have?” Hong Xingying scoffed inwardly, but he still couldn't resist craning his neck to look.

“Holy hell, I’m blind!”

Shouts of surprise erupted one after another, and people around him hastily covered their eyes. It turned out the crystal ball had transformed into something like a sun, emitting an incredibly dazzling and blinding light. And visibly, the intensity of the light was still increasing. Then, with a bang, the crystal ball exploded, and only then did the dazzling light disappear, leaving behind only smoking black residue on the table.

“This… what just happened?”“Is this Grade A Superior?”“Impossible. Even Grade A Superior talent wouldn't make the crystal ball explode.”“Then… is it the legendary Over-rank?”“Over-rank is just a legend. Who has seen it in hundreds of years?”

A graceful figure passing by in the distance paused, the corner of her lips curving into a beautiful smile. “This Chu family son-in-law by marriage is quite interesting, indeed.”

The teachers in the academy were still discussing animatedly. Zu An stepped off the stage and approached Hong Xingying, saying, “Now do you understand the difference between us?”

Rage points from Hong Xingying: 999!

Hong Xingying’s hands and feet went cold, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion, anger, and shame. He couldn't fathom why things had turned out this way. It was supposed to be his moment to shine, yet in the end, he became a mere foil for the very person he had always looked down upon. 'Why is the world so unfair to me?' he thought.

Zu An cupped his hands and addressed the surrounding people, saying, “You humble me, everyone, you humble me.” The smug look on his face was like that of a street performer.

“Rage points from Wei Suo: 66!”“Rage points from Ma Zhu: 66!”“From…”

Looking at this series of incoming rage points in the system, Zu An suddenly felt that having so many adorable classmates constantly providing rage points made attending school seem like a rather good idea.

Just as he was feeling smug, a faint voice suddenly piped up, “Young Master-in-law, wasn’t your talent only Grade D Inferior when the Master tested you last time?”

Zu An looked back to see Cheng Shoubing staring at him with wide, innocent eyes, filled with confusion and guilelessness. 'This tactless fellow…' Zu An once again marvelled that this guy had managed to survive until now; it was nothing short of a miracle!

Upon hearing Cheng Shoubing’s words, Hong Xingying laughed heartily, as if a drowning man had grasped a lifeline. “I remember now, I remember now! He did test his talent before, and it was indeed Grade D Inferior…” He then proceeded to recount Zu An’s identity and his usual reputation in detail.

“So he’s that good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Chu family?”“What son-in-law? He’s a live-in son-in-law!”“How could someone like Miss Chu take a liking to him?”“Perhaps he has some special talent?”A group of men exchanged knowing, lewd smiles. Some women also murmured among themselves:“He looks quite handsome, actually. Not as bad as the rumors say.”“Nonsense, otherwise how would Chu Chuyan have taken a fancy to him?”“What’s the use of Chu Chuyan being capable and powerful if she can only marry such a good-for-nothing husband?”“Hehehe…”

The testing teachers had clearly heard the rumors about the Chu family’s son-in-law. The teacher named Ni Dian sneered, “I knew it. It seems the testing ball was faulty. Since the Duke himself tested him before, there’s no doubt about it. Zu An, Grade D Inferior talent, you’re assigned to the Yellow Class.”

The academy was divided into three grades, and each grade had four classes—Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow—assigned based on talent. Someone like Hong Xingying would certainly be in the Heaven Class, as would the one with Grade B talent just now. And Wei Suo, who had Grade D Middle talent, would naturally be assigned to the Yellow Class, like a pair of suffering brothers with Zu An. Another teacher was about to say something but suddenly twitched an ear, looking towards the beautiful figure in the distant woods. He secretly nodded and said nothing more, and so the matter was settled.

Zu An had been troubled by his talent being exposed, which meant he couldn't 'play low' anymore. Seeing them arrive at such a conclusion now, he was naturally pleased and didn't argue.

“A crow is a crow, after all. It can’t become a phoenix even if it flies onto a branch.” Hong Xingying came up to him, snorted, and then turned to leave, as if speaking another word to Zu An would lower his own status.

Zu An had one less thing to worry about and couldn't be bothered to argue with Hong Xingying. He simply told Cheng Shoubing, “I’m in school now. You can go back on your own.”

“Young Master-in-law, did I say something wrong just now?” Cheng Shoubing asked, somewhat nervously.

Zu An smiled and patted his shoulder. “No, no, you said exactly what I wanted.”

Cheng Shoubing immediately beamed with joy. “Young Master-in-law, you’re so good to me.”

Zu An immediately pushed him away. “Speak properly. Don’t be so overly affectionate in the future.”

At this point, a staff member came to lead them into the school. Along the way, the staff member reminded them, “Magic arrays are operating around the school. Although their main purpose is to prevent external intrusion, you shouldn’t run around carelessly, lest you trigger an an array and encounter danger.”

Zu An secretly clicked his tongue. Fortunately, he hadn’t officially entered the school grounds yesterday, otherwise, he would have triggered who knows how many arrays by now. He wondered what kind of arrays existed in this world—were they perhaps like the formations laid out by Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic, on Peach Blossom Island?

“How dangerous could it be?” Zu An asked tentatively.

“You’ll find out later,” the staff member replied with a cryptic smile, as if having seen through his thoughts.

Next, they walked through a large open space that resembled a school playground from his previous life. However, what was more striking was a group of teenagers squatting in a row on the ground.

“Squat properly! Let’s see if you dare to be late again!” A middle-aged man held a ruler, glaring fiercely at the group of teenagers on the ground. The middle-aged man had a somewhat bald head, a typical 'Mediterranean' (balding crown with hair around the sides). Yet, he stubbornly combed the hair from his sides across to cover the bald spot in the center. Unfortunately, there wasn't much hair on his sides either, so the hair in the middle was so sparse that his scalp was clearly visible.

As if sensing Zu An’s gaze, the middle-aged man turned his head and glared at Zu An. “What are you looking at?!”

'Oh, my temper!' Zu An immediately bristled. Just as he was about to retort, the boy named Wei Suo quickly came over and tugged his sleeve. “You absolutely mustn’t offend him!”

Zu An paused, then couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Is he very powerful?”

Wei Suo lowered his voice and said, “That man is Lu De, our school’s Disciplinary Director. His nickname is ‘Bright Peak.’ He’s extremely strict with students on a daily basis. Did you see the disciplinary ruler he used to hit that student?”

“I did,” Zu An replied subconsciously, having noticed a student howling loudly after being hit by the ruler.

“The character ‘De’ (virtue) is engraved on that ruler, so he usually claims he ‘subdues people with virtue’ when disciplining students. Getting hit by that thing hurts even more than the Chu family’s Second Miss’s ‘Whip of Wails.’ He’s not like that gate-guarding teacher from earlier; he holds great power. You absolutely must not provoke him,” Wei Suo warned.

“What era are we in that corporal punishment is still a thing?” Zu An grumbled relentlessly. “Doesn’t anyone supervise him?”

“Keep your voice down, keep your voice down,” Wei Suo quickly said, covering Zu An’s mouth in fright. “Aside from the Headmaster, he’s the most powerful person in the school. Who dares to rein in a dignified Sixth-rank expert? Moreover, there are many cultivators in the academy, and they’re all arrogant and prone to causing trouble, so a powerful person like him is needed to suppress them. The authorities also tacitly approve of this.”

Zu An mumbled, “Oh,” then suddenly asked curiously, “Aren’t you also a new student? How do you know so much? You even know about the Chu family’s Second Miss’s ‘Whip of Wails’?”

“Of course! Before coming here, you naturally have to gather intelligence,” Wei Suo said smugly, as if sensing admiration in Zu An’s eyes. A desire to show off immediately arose, and he nudged Zu An’s shoulder. “Do you know about the top ten beauties on our school’s 'Beauty Roster'?”