Ch. 8 - What is the Human Race?

At this moment, the young man's face turned somewhat pale, tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and slowly lifted his head, he wore a smile."Thank you for the guidance, Senior. I will pass it on."

With these words, the young man turned and left with the others.

The old man's expression remained as cold as before; he closed his eyes again, the staff gradually dimmed, merging into the old man's body.

...

Unknowingly, a week had passed.

Looking at the completely depleted energy crystal, Yusheng stood up, cleaned up the room covered in dust, retrieved the traps at the door and windows then opened it and purified the slightly murky air inside.

Almost simultaneously, the phone began to ring.

"Hello, is this Yusheng?"

It was Liu Qingfeng's voice on the other end of the line.

Yusheng sat on the sofa and made a sound of acknowledgement.

Seeming accustomed to Yusheng's way of speaking, Liu Qingfeng continued, "Return to the school by tomorrow."

"Because of the incident in Xinhai City, the Mo Pavilion is attaching great importance to it. It seems to be related to some plan from the higher-ups, but I don't have the qualifications to know the specifics."

"However, people from the Demonslaying Pavilion will come to conduct an assessment of all apprentice-level disciples tomorrow."

"And they will allocate resources to the outstanding ones."

"This assessment is crucial since each school probably only has a few slots available."

"Whether you succeed or not, give it your all."

Liu Qingfeng provided a detailed explanation including the assessment process, time and potential issues, leaving no detail untouched.

Yusheng listened quietly.

"Okay."

He responded once more.

"Alright, then prepare well."

"Let me ask one more thing, why couldn't you reach your father on the phone?"

Liu Qingfeng asked with some confusion.

Yusheng thought carefully and replied, "It's probably because cell phones are not allowed in prison."

...

The line went silent.

After a few seconds, the call ended.

Undeniably, no matter how rational a person was, chatting with Yusheng for a long time would make their heart feel somewhat uneasy.

And as the person who communicated with Yusheng the most, Liu Qingfeng understood this even more thoroughly.

Putting the phone down, Yusheng stood by the window, absentmindedly gazing at the distant sky, lost in thought.

After a while, he snapped back to reality, flipping through the calendar on the wall and whispering, "There are... 312 days left." Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

As for the specific significance of this date, nobody knew.

...

The next day.

Back at school, Yusheng found his seat and sat down.

Most of the classmates in the class were still excited. Though they felt somewhat disheartened upon realizing that they were not as extraordinarily talented as they had imagined, destined to be the saviors of the world, they were once again overwhelmed by the excitement of embarking on this new journey.

After all, talent was just the starting point, not the destination.

Among the ten elders of the Mo Pavilion, the only one publicly exposed had only awakened with five stripes, they said.

With such a precedent, they could aspire to a bright future without much pressure.

To become the pillar of the Human Race, one person must stand against ten thousand demons.

It was truly inspiring.

Yusheng seemed to belong to a different world, sitting in a corner, feeling out of place.

Soon, Liu Qingfeng walked in with a serious expression and looked at everyone, saying, "There's been a change. I just received a notice that this time, not only members of the Demonslaying Pavilion will come, but also the Guard Division and the Reserve Division."

"And they've changed the assessment format."

"Each school will now nominate five students for an elimination-style assessment."

As Liu Qingfeng finished speaking, the classroom erupted with noise.

It seemed that everyone was yearning to be one of the five representatives from their school.

It's worth mentioning that in the entire Desert North City, there were only three junior high schools, meaning there would be only fifteen students in this assessment.

Even if only one round of eliminations took place, they would catch the attention of the higher-ups.

This was their path to the top.

Although they were young, they weren't foolish and understood the significance of this opportunity. At this moment, all eyes were on Liu Qingfeng.

"Our class..."

"On the principal's recommendation, Yusheng is selected."

Liu Qingfeng paused for a moment before speaking, his gaze falling on Yusheng with some puzzlement.

Although Yusheng was reclusive, his data in various aspects was still impressive.

As the class teacher, Liu Qingfeng was well aware of this.

However, what puzzled him was that this data should only be considered excellent within the school, and it seemed unlikely for Yusheng to be selected among the five, especially considering that even the principal had taken notice of him.

Was there someone in his family who had influence?

For a moment, Liu Qingfeng's thoughts spiralled.

Yesterday on the phone, Yusheng mentioned that his father was in prison. Could it be that Liu Qingfeng had misunderstood and his father worked in the prison?

And perhaps held a leadership position there?

But Desert North City was such a small place, and everyone knew each other. There were no people named Yu in the prison's leadership.

"Why him?"

"Yeah, everyone here is better than him!"

"There's something fishy going on!"

The students became excited, shouting in disagreement.

During the apprenticeship, the determining factor of one's strength was their physical resilience, but Yusheng's thin frame made him appear as if he were just an onlooker.

Why should he be selected?

For a moment, emotions ran high.

Liu Qingfeng gazed calmly at them, waiting for their emotions to settle before calmly saying, "You think it's unfair?"

"Indeed, I also don't know why Yusheng was chosen."

"But that's not a reason for you to protest."

"If Yusheng has exceptional strength, it merely proves that he's modest and reserved, something you all are not."

"Even if there is a hidden reason, like you suggest, so what?"

"Remember, all rights in this world are earned by our ancestors with blood and life!"

"If the day comes when the demons attack the city, are you going to shout at the demons that it's unfair?"

"If you feel injustice, then endure it, improve your strength so one day, you will break the rules in your eyes."

"Don't just yell here and look powerless."

As Liu Qingfeng spoke, his expression was serious.

Gradually, the students below fell silent.

"Yusheng, go to the principal's office."

"He wants to see you."

Liu Qingfeng's tone returned to normal as he looked at Yusheng and he said,

"Okay."

Yusheng nodded and stood up under the gaze of all the students. He pushed the door open and left.

"Remember, you don't have the time to daydream about the future!"

"Instead of dreaming impractical dreams, work hard to cultivate them. Even if you improve a little, it could save your life when a crisis comes!"

"Do those human elites you see on TV look glamorous?"

"Do you envy them?"

"Do you even know that beneath their glamorous appearance, they're full of scars?"

"These scars represent their perseverance!"

"If you only see their power and appearance, you will never understand what it means to be a human!"