After explaining the functions of the star awakening orb, he looked at the vice principal and nodded.
"Let's begin. Step forward when I call your name. Mei Li!" the vice principal announced.
When the name was called, all the students turned their heads towards a certain direction.
There, stood a girl with long black hair and a beautiful face that could rival Sister Ying. Everyone looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Her face held no emotion, as cold and unreadable as ice.
She slowly walked to the podium like a swan among cranes. There was no hint of nervousness on her face. She exuded confidence.
The vice principal gave a knowing nod upon seeing this. He expected students with such demeanor. Those who could uphold the school's face with pride.
Wei Jian also nodded a little which made the vice principal even pleased.
"Put your hands on it," Wei Jian said.
Mei Li nodded and gently placed her hands on the orb. After a moment, it began to glow. The countless tiny stars that formed a nebula brightened and slowly spiraled inward, drawn into the orb's core.
They drifted in beautiful patterns, shifting as if guided by an unseen force, slowly forming the shape of a constellation.
And when the constellation was complete, an ice cold aura burst forth from her body, spreading rapidly across the surroundings.
The temperature in the square dropped with a suddenness sharper than rainfall, causing the gathered students to shiver uncontrollably, their breaths forming mist as they instinctively wrapped their arms around themselves.
Ice with pointy tips appeared on the podium and slowly spread out with Mei Li at the center.
"It's a vision…!" Someone pointed to the sky with a trembling hand. Maybe from the shock of the vision or from the ice cold air.
In the sky, a vision slowly unfolded. The vision was of planets covered with ice and a girl with snow-white hair stood in the middle of all this.
What the person said immediately drew everyone's attention towards the sky. They were shocked by what they saw.
The girl's appearance couldn't be seen clearly but you could tell she had a faint resemblance to Mei Li.
The vision in the sky lingered for a while before finally fading. The icy air, which had been steadily spreading and intensifying, seemed to receive a silent order. Slowly, it began to retreat, withdrawing to wherever it came from.
The cold air entered Mei Li's body and then disappeared.
The change wasn't over yet.
As the icy air surged into her body, the color of her hair began to change from the roots. Strand by strand, it turned a glacial white, until her entire head was as white as freshly fallen snow.
"Ahahah…!" The vice principal who witnessed all this couldn't hold himself back from laughing.
"Good! Good! Good!…" Wei Jian's eyes widened and he said 'good' thrice. You could tell how glad he was.
"I didn't expect a planet-level Job to be awakened today. It's been nearly two years since one last appeared from our very own Cloud City School."
"Planet level…?" The young man was surprised by what the principal said and slowly shook his head. "You underestimated the vision."
"Huh…!" The principal's eyes widened in shock. "What could possibly be greater than a Planet-level Job?" he asked.
The young man slowly shook his head and didn't answer. He turned his head towards Mei Li, who was surprised by the vision.
"You awakened as a mage, which is also your path," Wei Jian said. "Although the vision didn't show your strength, it showed your potential. Visions only appear when someone has an Aspect."
Mei Li still looked confused after hearing this.
"Think of your job as the path or profession you take." Noticing the confused look on Mei Li's face, Wei Jian explained.
"While there are other ice mages, none of them awakened with a vision or possessed an Aspect. An Aspect is the unique truth within your soul which shapes how your power manifests.
For example, since your Aspect is Ice, that means Ice is your truth. You'll naturally have greater affinity and control over other ice mages in anything related to ice, and that influence will grow as your strength increases.
There are also different kinds of aspects with different levels. Although I don't know what your aspect level is, I can tell it must be powerful…"
"Eternal Frost. My aspect is Eternal Frost," Mei Li said.
Wei Jian was shocked hearing this, but he still nodded. "You've passed the test, but there are still other tests waiting." He shook his head. "If it was up to me, you wouldn't need to take any more tests. But it's beyond my abilities. But with your talent, it won't be a problem. You can go down,"
"Okay, go down. You'll be our top student for the upcoming competition," the principal also added.
Mei Li nodded and slowly walked down. A path was quickly made for her. Her skin was emitting ice-cold air and every step she took would leave an ice footprint on the ground.
Some students looked at her like a competitor while others had reverence shown on their faces.
Just like that, the awakening continued. None had visions like Mei Li, but still awakened. Most had bright smiles on their faces, while some held their heads low.
"Okay, next one! Liu Kai!" the vice principal called out.
Liu Kai, who heard his name, first cast a glance at Wu Chen and walked out. Just like every other person, he put his hands on the orb and then it did the same.
"Earth Knight!" the Star Orb said.
"Hmm… Although it's not a planet-level job, it's a tier ten job. If you had awakened with an aspect, it would mean that two peerless geniuses appeared in a single day," Wei Jian said with pity.
"What am I even saying? One appearing is even something to be celebrated by all humans."
"The Earth Knight you awakened is a tier ten job. It's still as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon's horns. You've already passed the hard part, but there are still other tests to be taken. You can go down," the middle-aged man said.
Liu Kai slowly stepped down with his head held high and chest puffed out. He then glanced at Wu Chen with a provocative look. Something like 'If I catch you next time, you're dead!' kind of look.
"Wu Chen…!" the vice principal called out.
"Go, brother. You don't have to be nervous. Even if you're trash, I'll still protect you…" Sister Ying said, trying to cheer up Wu Chen.
Wu Chen's lips twitched when he heard this. He took a deep breath and walked towards the podium.
Wei Jian didn't have a good impression of Wu Chen the moment he saw him. He could see that Wu Chen's body was far weaker than the rest. And what could a person with such a weak body awaken?
Although Wu Chen's studies were top-notch, his body was the weakest in his class. And that's one of the things getting him bullied and belittled by others in his class like Liu Kai.
After getting on the podium, Wu Chen looked at the Star Awakening Orb and was amazed by its magnificence.
"Put your hand on the orb," the man said.
Wu Chen was also shocked by the man's attitude. Although the man behaved indifferently towards others, there was something off with the way he spoke to him. But he didn't dwell on it.
He put his hand on the Star Orb and the same thing happened like everyone else. The stars entered the orb and tried to make a constellation.
Then that's when something strange happened. The stars in the orb kept flashing faster and faster. A second or two later, it started trembling and making weird noises.
The orb began to glow so intensely that the stars within became a blur of light, impossible to distinguish.
"Huh…! What's wrong?" Wei Jian wrinkled his brow. He was really worried.
"Crack…!" Cracks started to appear on the orb and before you knew it—
Bang!
The Star Orb broke into pieces, causing a loud bang to ring out. Countless star shards appeared on the floor, stars disappearing and dimming.
Time seemed to stand still and Wu Chen's eyes turned blank.
"Why is it so... quiet?" Wu Chen asked, yet the words didn't echo, but were absorbed, like sparks into the great unseen.
At first, all around him there was nothing. There was no lighy and form or even, only a blank void, vast and lifeless
Then, threads of light, thin as hair, emerged from the darkness.
One by one, they twisted into strands of shifting code, glowing sequences that shimmered with unknown meaning.
From those strands, the beginnings of traits emerged.
A claw, but no species to wield it.
A wing, featherless, twitching, lost without air.
A heartbeat echoing in the silence, though no body held it.
They drifted like abandoned blueprints, waiting to be chosen, rewritten, or rejected.
Everything and anything had been formed or was still evolving.
The place was so infinitely vast that its end couldn't even be seen
Wu Chen floated through the space like a wisp of smoke. He had no body, just thoughts and awareness. Time didn't seem to pass here.
Every time he drifted past a shape, plant, beast, or spark of light, he could feel how it was built. Genes, traits, instincts… all weaving together like threads in a living pattern.
That sensation alone defied the reality of his existence there.
"What is this place…?"
He asked, still roaming and observing aimlessly
"This is what you are."
A flood of memories surged into his mind. He now understood why his body had always been weaker than everyone else's.
"Omnigen Sovereign!" He muttered
"So… this place is called the Source Genome. Where anything can be born. No… I'm not just in it, I am it."
As he accepted the truth, everything began to change.
The lights, strands, and shapes unraveled.
Formed or unformed, all returned to raw code and folded in on themselves.
Then, a soft glow appeared.
A small, glowing sphere floated in front of him which was calm, quiet, and waiting.
He reached forward to touch it only for the sphere to suddenly rush toward him and sink into his chest.
It didn't hurt.
But the moment it entered, something deep inside him stirred.
It was as if the place he had wandered through… had simply returned to where it truly belonged.
The void shuddered and world of silence began to crack.
Back at the square, everything was quiet, not even a soul spoke.
"No job appeared. No aspect. No rating… What even was that?" Someone said breaking thr silence
"What…!" Wei Jian's eyes popped out and he immediately released his pressure.
Everyone fell to the ground, unable to resist.
"Boy! Do you know what you've done?" Wei Jian shouted at Wu Chen, his pressure crushing the air like an invisible storm.
"What's going on? Why is my body like this?" Wu Chen was confused. His body was flat on the ground with the sound of bones creaking.
"I'll repeat again, boy. Do you know what you have done? Do you know how priceless the Star Orb is?" He increased his pressure once again.
"Brother…!" Sister Ying shouted, trying her best to resist the pressure. But it was like an unmovable mountain was pressing on her.
"Huh!" Wu Chen looked back only to see Sister Ying almost flat on the floor. Her hands were trying their best to support her, beads of sweat falling from her forehead.
"Sister…!" Wu Chen's eyes widened. Then, as realization struck, they turned cold, locking onto Wei Jian.
"Why are you doing this?"
His scalp went numb and he felt like he was facing death itself. He forcibly suppressed it.
"Snort! You'll know after I take you back for your crimes!" He growled and then stretched out his hands to pick Wu Chen up
"Sigh! My body is too weak after all," he sighed, feeling the force pressing down om him "Is seems like the higher my realm, the more genomes I can inscribe into reality itself."
If he tried to use more power than his body could handle, it would explode.
"I need energy… just to see what I can make. But where do I even start to get myself out of this situation?" he wondered.
"Hmm…" His eyes shifted to the shattered remains of the Star Orb, its once radiant core now slightly a dull remnant of what had been.
Looking at the star shards, he saw countless strands of light shifting through different shades. Most were incomplete, only a pitiful few were whole. Even the ones that were whole had different structures.