It was the first day of school at No. 70 High School.
Oh, no, to be specific, it was the first day of Foundation Establishment high school nationwide.
Heiyu nation's education policy had always adhered to the "no rules, no order" motto. Based on a cultural heritage thousands of centuries old, this adage definitely wasn't just for show. Getting to school on time, attending morning classes, eating lunch, leaving school, wearing the compulsory school uniform… all of these had already long existed in well-preserved history books on school regulations dating back hundreds of years.
Last night, while Xero was eating his crispy noodle snack, the uniform had been sent to him via space delivery.
The school uniform was black, grayish and white, and looked like sportswear. There was even a specially printed word on the back of the uniform, a large "ADV" for the advanced class…
Although he had prepared himself mentally, Xero still couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath at the uniform style.
He understood the reasoning behind it.
It was normal for an established culture that was thousands of centuries old, or for promoting ethnic culture, or whatever… but couldn't their damn sense of style improve just a little?! What the hell was up with the "ADV" on the back of the uniform? A privilege for the advanced class?
Looking at it from all sides, Xero felt that the inspiration for the uniform was most definitely copied off the ancient prison for death row inmates thirty-five thousand years ago, which typically had the word "DEATH" on the front and back.
However, you couldn't say that there wasn't any improvements. Almost all the uniforms pockets were space storage, their capacities were so large they would almost never be filled. This was a true achievement in line with Heiyu nation's education policy, which for thousands of years had aimed to reduce the burdens on students.
Clearly though, this wasn't the main point.
For Xero, the heaviest burden was how he was going to face the worst f*cking day tomorrow.
From the Xero family's small villa in its mixed and rural area, it was ten thousand metōru to No. 70 High School. Almost as fast as the wind, Xero ran full steam along country lanes until he arrived at the school gate in under 1 minute.
After all, he had once ran forty-five thousand metōru to buy crispy noodle snacks when he was younger. For him, this distance of ten-thousand metōru was just too relaxing, his face wasn't red nor was he out of breath.
Just as Xero was about to turn a corner, he could hear a few people chatting from afar.
"I heard that a new student received SSSR+ yesterday?"
"That's right, Headmaster Aki. The student is called Xero, and has already joined the advanced class."
"I see… seems like this student is sure to accomplish much in the future. Is Student Xero a male or female student?" asked Headmaster Aki.
"A male student."
Headmaster Aki's expression was full of regret. "Ah, male students nowadays are already very perceptive. If this Student Xero was a female, I would most definitely not have a problem tutoring her in my office…"
Behind him, each and every one of the school leaders and officers sighed with regret all over their faces.
Xero: "…"
After tidying up his uniform, Xero calmly walked through the school gate, bowing without being recognized by anyone. This was because, when he had been running helter-skelter for No. 70 High School, he had already used one of the Three Thousand Eminent Dao — The Eminent Transfiguration Spell.
Compared with ordinary disguise techniques, the most biggest difference was that this powerful ability could altar appearances, DNA and fingerprints, and couldn't be detected by the most advanced technology.
On the other hand, this disguise technique was based on an ancient method of makeup application which would immediately be detected by any electronic eye on the street, swiftly triggering a police alert.
In this instance, Xero was able to successfully slip into the school after escaping the notice of the various leaders at the school gate… although it didn't take any effort, he felt that it was worth it.
For Xero, all cheers and applause were surplus.
From a young age, what he had always hoped for was a peaceful environment to study peacefully. Unfortunately, none of his f*cking wishes have come true.
Some people say when God closed one door, he inevitably opened a window.
In Xero's case, it was obviously a more wretched situation. God not only opened both the window and door for him, he even summoned a goddamn hurricane outside the window.
Grade One, Class Three was located on the first floor of the No. 70 High School building.
Location-wise, outside the front door of the classroom was the female bathroom, while outside the back door was the male bathroom. At the same time, it was the class closest to the school canteen. Every time school let out for lunch at noon, a horde of advances could be seen rushing ahead to the battlefield like pigs who had just been let loose, their tablewares raised. It was a majestic scene, beyond compare.
Unlike schools in the old days, there were now less courses and longer class periods, which were rigorously aligned with the trend of modern cultivation age. Fitness and strength training were a given, and basic courses like drawing talismans, producing spirit water, refining pills would take up all of Xero's time in Senior Grade One.
Senior Grade One was when students learned the important basics. Although Xero had already learned all of this while he was in the womb, he still had to pretend like he knew nothing, obediently attend every class, and get average grades.
It was a real pain in the urethra for him, constantly having to consider these negligible things.
Making friends (or companions) was Xero's weak point. No. 70 High School had two advanced classes, and there were twenty students in his class.
After an emotionally exhausting morning of selecting a class committee, he could only probably remember a handful of names.
The burden of it was the person who was unanimously elected class monitor, Peony Aoi. Huaguo Water Veil Group's Young Miss, who was at the late Foundation Establishment Stage, presented herself as the standard, beautiful, modern-day maiden. She did her utmost to display the image of a beautiful, elegant and graceful girl. But while she appeared perfectly flawless, there was enough drama in her heart to write an entire movie script that had never been seen in Heiyu nation.
The second was Super Ryo, who was in charge of the sports activities. He was at peak late Foundation Establishment Stage, and was one of the strongest young men with the most potential to break Golden Core Stage. Born into an old martial art family, Super Ryo was a muscular man obsessed with being fit and bodybuilding. He was probably the most energetic and ebullient person in the whole school, his blood always boiling at random things or another, leaving people strangely stirred up and moved.
The third was Knight Gen, the political science representative at the late Foundation Establishment Stage. His family operated a pet shop, which evolved into a soul beast business in his great-grandfather's generation. He frequently carried around a macaw named Rubie, and together they would put on a two-man show, sometimes critiquing current affairs, sometimes lamenting the state, and its people. He was also known as the gossip central for all classes. People had given him the nickname "Master of Rubie"
The fourth person was also the one Xero was most wary of, Shun Izumi. While it sounded like a girls name, he was a rough looking fellow who was one hundred and ninety centimeters tall. Like his name, he was a man of few words, and perhaps the most unremarkable in class. Most crucially, Xero realized that his Mind-Reading Ability couldn't be used on him, and he completely could not read the other boy's thoughts.
This type of situation was rare, and there were only two instances Xero would be prevented from reading minds. The first was if someone was carrying a powerful magic treasure that blocked out the signal from Xero's spirit energy. The second was if someone was pure and simple enough, that they did not have single scheming bone in them.
Whatever the case, in Xero's eyes, Shun Izumi was a ticking time bomb that could explode any time, which was completely prejudicial to his plan to hide his identity.
All in all, these were the four people around whom Xero was going to have to be especially vigilant.
After the period was over, the class was filled with large bursts of laughter and activity. Looking around his noisy environment, Xero couldn't help but sigh silently. Trying to hide his identity would be a real f*cking struggle in this hot wretched zone.
Glancing at the clock, Xero took out a book from his space pocket, About Talismans, and placed it on the table.
Just then, the bell for the next class rang.
Less than a second after that, a middle-aged woman wearing pink rimmed glasses and her hair up in a ponytail stormed into through the door and up unto the dais, slapping down a blue roll book in her hands. "I could already hear all of you in the corridor whilst I was in my office! You are the school's advances; making some much noise, need I remind you, whatever will you do next?"
This middle-aged woman was Aiko Hōtaru, the teacher-in-charge of Grade One, Advanced Class Three. At the same time, she was the fifth person around whom Xero needed to be more vigilant…