NOVEL WEB Chapter 467: Ascension to Level 5_2
"You finally arrived!"
Gu Yun's gaze held a trace of resentment. Because Wang Tao had not come before, Gu Yun had temporarily taken charge of the affairs of the Awakeners School. Not only did he have to preside over the work at City Hall, but he also had to run to the Awakeners School, basically leaving him no time to rest. Now that Wang Tao was here, he could finally hand over these tasks to him.
"You've worked hard!"
Wang Tao smiled and nodded his head.
His third Awakening and ascension to Level 5 were known only to Ding Yuqin and his close associates; other people were unaware, so Gu Yun's slight resentment was understandable.
Wang Tao did not explain; he and Gu Yun went to the principal's office together. Gu Yun handed him a list.
This batch had three thousand people who had passed through two rounds of screening, and they were all here. Some of them were from various major forces, the Six Major Legions, City Hall, City Defense Army, and so on; it was all noted here...
Gu Yun did not hide anything; he made everything clear.
"Mm."
Wang Tao was not surprised; this was normal. It would have been abnormal if they had not arranged for people to enroll.
"Let them all come out; I'll conduct the final round of screening."
"Alright!"
Gu Yun immediately gave the order, causing the quiet school to simmer with anticipation. They had been waiting here for two days, and the final round of screening was finally about to start.
Everyone was nervous; although passing did not necessarily mean they would become Awakeners, they still harbored some doubts about this so-called Awakeners School. But having come this far, no one wanted to be eliminated; holding onto even a sliver of hope was good.
Soon, all three thousand people had gathered in the school's square, standing in line. Despite the heavy snow falling outside, they were all Level 2 and Level 3 Ability Users, wearing thick clothing, so they weren't afraid of frostbite in the short term.
Wang Tao led a group of people onto the stage.
"Hello everyone, I am Wang Tao, the principal of Changhe Awakeners School."
Wang Tao greeted them briefly.
A murmur of conversation arose from below; they knew the principal was Wang Tao, but had never seen him. Now, seeing the figure standing out like a crane amongst chickens, they all felt an inexplicable sense of awe.
Wang Tao didn't waste words. After introducing himself, he immediately said:
"The third round of screening starts now. Everyone, stay where you are and do not move. Later, some people might come to ask you questions, just answer truthfully."
Having said this, Wang Tao looked at the people behind him.
These people were Awakeners from other forces, now serving as teachers at the Awakeners School.
"Begin."
"Yes!"
These teachers immediately began to use the questions they had prepared, as instructed by Wang Tao.
However, their minds weren't really on the questioning; instead, they felt a subtle pressure after seeing Wang Tao today.
You see, they were all Awakeners. Although Awakeners varied in strength, Wang Tao had not shown any signs typical of an Awakener. Yet still, they felt this pressure, which meant only one thing—Wang Tao had a strong physique, was a powerful System Awakener! If they didn't use their Abilities or Awakening, they figured they'd easily be overpowered by Wang Tao...
The principal truly deserved his role, not only rich in theoretical knowledge but also strong in practice!
These teachers reflected internally.
They did not know the full extent of Wang Tao and Starfire Society's strengths. They only knew Wang Tao's wealth of knowledge in Awakening, esteemed by many...
Wang Tao naturally knew none of what these teachers were thinking; he stepped down from the stage, pacing around the phalanx of three thousand people.
The question checking was, of course, a facade—merely Wang Tao's way to somewhat conceal his own abilities while keeping these people busy.
His spiritual power reached out toward the crowd, checking each person's Attributes as if casually glancing at flowers passing by.
Each person had a number on them. Whenever Wang Tao saw Hidden Attributes, he noted these numbers down as they passed.
Wang Tao knew people with Hidden Attributes were few, but he hadn't expected them to be this few.
Out of these three thousand, only about two hundred had Hidden Attributes, a ratio of almost 15 to 1, which included some people left from the previous day he had visited.
Gu Yun mentioned that tens of thousands had registered for this batch, and even if some potentially talented individuals were filtered out, there likely weren't many left... It was indeed the mark of an Awakening; without outside help, too few people possessed Hidden Attributes.
After feeling that it was about time, Wang Tao went back on stage and told them to return to the building. An hour later, the results were out.
None of the students knew exactly on what basis the principal was selecting them, nor did they dare to ask too much. They obediently returned to wait for the notification.
Wang Tao headed to his own office, where he compiled the registration numbers and names he had recorded.
It wasn't long before the list of two hundred was finalized.
Wang Tao handed the list over to Gu Yun.
"These are all of them. If you want to add someone, you may, but there's a high probability that those without potential won't Awaken."
Since the Awakeners School was funded by the City Hall, it was only right to give them some face.
"Oh my, from three thousand to just two hundred left!"
Gu Yun felt somewhat helpless. It truly was difficult to Awaken!
However, there was a silver lining to having fewer people. If all three thousand had stayed, the City Hall couldn't have afforded the resources necessary for their Ascension.
"The list includes people from our City Hall and other forces, so I won't add anyone else. Let's go with this one."
Gu Yun handed the list back to Wang Tao as it was.
"Alright."
Wang Tao notified everyone on the list, then turned to ask Gu Yun,
"Any major issues in the Cave?"
The City Hall had sent people there for a few days now, and there should have been reports coming back.
"They didn't dare to venture too deeply yet; they're still just roaming the perimeter. Aside from some Mutated Plants and other things, there's not much danger..."
"They're cautious not to delve deeper because of two troubling issues."
"One is that it's too dark inside. The light from the flashlights only reaches a few meters, severely affecting visibility. However, those with 'Night Devil Weapons' are quite popular now…"
"The second is that the black fog inside seems to disrupt radio signals, cutting off those inside from communicating outward. They can still send messages to the base after coming out, and they can communicate with each other inside, but not from far away due to poor signals…"
Hearing Gu Yun's words, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow.
He happened to have a batch of Night Demon Hearts he hadn't sold, as Qu Shilin, whom he had planned to ask for help, had gone into seclusion.
Now the price for Night Demon Hearts had probably risen again, but there was no rush to sell them, especially since many people would be going down to the Cave, which could also serve as a tool for their protection.
"Alright, I'll head back first. Let the students prepare; I'll take them to the Cave tomorrow."
"Ah? You're taking them all down? Isn't that a bit dangerous…"
Gu Yun was shocked, yet also furrowing his brows. These were students meticulously selected; if something happened to all of them, that would be a huge loss.
"Don't worry, our Starfire Society will all be there, and I still have quite a few Level 5 Night Devil Weapons…"
"Hisss! Level 5 Night Devil Weapons? And not just a few?"
Gu Yun was utterly astounded.
He hadn't even seen—no, he hadn't even heard of Level 5 Night Devil Weapons! Wang Tao sure kept them well-hidden!
But Gu Yun didn't pry further. He nodded immediately.
"Since you say so, then no problem. I wish you a triumphant return in advance!"
"Ha-ha, I accept your good wishes!"
Wang Tao laughed heartily.
The list was quickly published. Those who were filtered out left dejectedly, while those selected were beyond excited.
However, when they heard that they would be following the school teachers into the Cave the next day, their excitement halted abruptly—this was only the first day of class! Did it have to be this thrilling?
Nonetheless, no fools had been selected to stay. When Wang Tao prepared to leave the next day, not a single person was missing from the list.