Chapter 86 - 84: Origin Node
Chapter 86: Chapter 84: Origin Node
The moment the score appeared, the entire crowd gasped in astonishment. Even the instructors present widened their eyes.
What did a score of 137 mean? 60 was a passing grade, 90 was excellent, and 100 was already a perfect score. Yet, Xiyue Frost had achieved a heaven-defying score of 137. Looking back at the assessments in recent years, this was absolutely unprecedented.
"Are you kidding me? The simulator must be broken, right?" someone in the crowd said, unable to believe it.
"137 points? How is that possible? You could kill me and I still wouldn’t believe it!"
Another student immediately stood up and retorted, "Believe it or not, you have to. Didn’t you see the instructors haven’t said a thing? It’s probably not a problem with the simulator. It just means this girl’s strength is far beyond our imagination."
"That goes without saying. Her gene level alone is enough to crush all of us. Tsk, tsk... Level thirty-six."
"By the way, does anyone know where this girl comes from? Share with the rest of us."
As soon as these words were spoken, a young man in white stood out from the crowd. He stood with a sword cradled in his arms. His looks were plain, but he exuded a heroic and imposing aura. "If I recall correctly, her name is Xiyue Frost. She placed fifteenth in last year’s Championship."
"Fifteenth in last year’s Championship? That doesn’t explain why she’s *this* strong, does it?"
"Yeah, my buddy placed ninth in last year’s Championship, but he’s not this monstrously strong!"
The young man in white’s gaze was sharp, his eyes full of profound meaning. "One can only say she has been accumulating her strength for a powerful release. Her progress is frighteningly fast. I was paying attention to her test scores for each subject just now, and all of them were well above the standard for ’excellent’."
"No way! That’s insane!" many students exclaimed in disbelief.
"You think I, Yun Jiansong, would lie to you?" The young man in white snorted, his aura flaring out instantly.
Hearing the name "Yun Jiansong," the crowd was once again thrown into an uproar. Many students familiar with last year’s Championship cried out in shock.
"Yun Jiansong? The champion of last year’s Championship? The Yun Jiansong who defeated all of North Wolf’s prodigies with a single slash?"
"Holy cow, aren’t the top three from every Championship directly recruited by the Five Great Factions? Why’s he here at the academy?"
"Who knows? Maybe he didn’t want to join one of the Five Great Sects so early?"
Unmoved by the crowd’s murmuring, Yun Jiansong kept his piercing gaze locked on Xiyue Frost.
Feng Hao, for his part, had also heard the students’ chatter. As Xiyue Frost walked over, he couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Is a score of 137 really that impressive?"
"Why don’t you try it yourself?" Xiyue Frost replied coolly, her voice dripping with challenge.
Feng Hao curled his lip in disdain. "Hilarious. Don’t you remember how I completely broke the Monster Simulator?"
Xiyue Frost’s brow furrowed. She was momentarily speechless and could only change the subject, turning to Houhuiyao beside them. "Who’s he?"
"Uh, I almost forgot to introduce you. This is Houhuiyao, a freshman in the alchemy department." Feng Hao introduced them, winking meaningfully at Houhuiyao.
"Oh." Xiyue Frost grunted softly, completely disregarding Houhuiyao. She turned directly to West Moon Ridge and said, "Grand-aunt, let’s move on to the next test."
Poor Houhuiyao, who had been about to strike up a conversation, was frozen solid by Xiyue Frost’s single, cold "Oh," leaving him speechless.
Although West Moon Ridge had the appearance of a noble lady, at heart she was a sly old fox. She saw through the exchange of glances between the two in an instant, glared at Feng Hao in annoyance, and said, "I’ll take Xiyue Frost to the last few tests. You take Miaomiao and look around."
"Fine." Feng Hao couldn’t be bothered to travel with Xiyue Frost anyway, so he agreed without hesitation.
After watching the two of them disappear into the distance, Feng Hao couldn’t help but turn and question his new acquaintance. "So, Brother Houhui, what happened to being fearless?"
Houhuiyao looked in the direction Xiyue Frost had gone, couldn’t help but shiver, and stammered, "Um... I don’t think that beautiful lady is my type."
"What a coward," Feng Hao sneered, curling his lip.
Houhuiyao gave an awkward smile and asked curiously, "Brother Feng, what’s your relationship with that iceberg?"
"She’s my future sister-in-law," Feng Hao said, clicking his tongue.
Houhuiyao was stunned speechless. It took him a long moment to recover, and he looked at Feng Hao with a face full of envy and jealousy. "No wonder you know so many beauties but never make a move, Brother Feng. So you’re already off the market! By the way, where is she? Let your bro here get a look!"
"Your ’sister-in-law’ is still a second-year at a junior academy. But given that girl’s personality, she’ll probably skip a grade and come to the Five Provinces Academy to find me next year." Speaking of Xi Yueyao, Feng Hao couldn’t help but feel a bit wistful. ’It’s only been a few days since I saw that girl Yaoyao, and damn, I really miss her.’
However, an exclamation from Houhuiyao instantly shattered the sentimental atmosphere. "Damn! You’ve got some... unique tastes, Brother Feng!"
"You’re fucking asking for a beating, aren’t you?" Feng Hao snapped, kicking out at him. "Now lead the way. To the Celestial Secret Tower."
"Alright, alright, alright. Just don’t forget about me when you’re treating those three beauties to dinner tonight." Houhuiyao gave a sleazy smile and scampered ahead to lead the way.
"..." Feng Hao was instantly speechless.
’Damn it, this guy has a one-track mind for beautiful women. What a fucking weirdo.’
With Houhuiyao leading the way, Feng Hao quickly familiarized himself with the layout of the Five Provinces Academy. Along the way, he also visited all the major departments of the main campus. To sum it up in one word: Big! Very big! Incredibly big!
They walked from morning until afternoon before finally arriving at the legendary Central Square of the main campus. The Celestial Secret Tower was built in the center of the square.
The massive square stretched out as far as the eye could see, paved with gray-white flagstones that created a majestic and imposing atmosphere. Because the semester hadn’t officially started, there weren’t many people around, only a few janitors could be seen scattered about, sweeping.
As he neared the square, Feng Hao sensed waves of dense magical energy. A seemingly endless stream of it was emanating from the area.
But when he actually stepped into the Central Square, the sight that greeted him left him utterly stunned.
There, in the center of the square, stood a colossal spatial rift. It was as deep and terrifying as a black hole, resembling a giant, vertical eye glowing with a dark, violet light and emanating powerful spatial waves.
"What is that?" Feng Hao asked, his breathing quickening.
Houhuiyao was taken aback. "Brother Feng, you’ve never seen an Origin Node before?" he asked in surprise.
"So this is an Origin Node?" Feng Hao murmured to himself, a glint in his eyes. He’d heard Yue Linglong talk about Origin Nodes and Origin Secret Realms before, but he’d never imagined an Origin Node would be this breathtaking.
It was as if some immense power had violently ripped a hole in the fabric of space. Standing below it, he felt as insignificant as an ant.
"Everyone’s stunned the first time they see it. You get used to it after a while." Houhuiyao said with a faint smile, starting to walk toward the huge pavilion on the other side. "Let’s go check out the Celestial Secret Tower first."
Feng Hao hurried to follow, the shock in his heart taking a long time to fade. He exclaimed in amazement, "What kind of powerhouse could possibly create such a divine spectacle?"
"You’re overthinking it, Brother Feng. No matter how strong a person is, they can’t create an Origin Node." Houhuiyao chuckled in spite of himself. "The reason Origin Nodes are called Origin Nodes is because they connect to the Cosmic Origin. Only the Cosmic Origin Law can manifest them."
"You even know about the Origin Law?" Feng Hao asked, stunned.
"Of course not!" Houhuiyao said, exasperated. "I just heard it from my dad."
"Tell me more," Feng Hao asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Okay." Houhuiyao agreed with a light chuckle and began to explain. "According to my dad, the universe is constantly growing and expanding, and the Origin Law is gradually taking control of it. Regardless of whether it’s an Innate Planet or an Acquired Planet, once it’s assimilated by the Origin Law, an Origin Node will form. It gets infused with magical energy, which allows the life forms on that planet to cultivate and evolve."
"The Fifth Ring Star Realm we’re in now was formed by the expansion of the Origin Law. In fact, our Fifth Ring Star Realm is the youngest compared to the other Inner Ring Star Realms." Houhuiyao explained this all very coherently, even if he didn’t fully understand it himself.
Feng Hao listened, completely stunned. His entire worldview had been overturned. He couldn’t help but ask, "What do you mean by Innate and Acquired Planets?"
"Uh... my dad didn’t mention that part, so I didn’t ask," Houhuiyao said, looking awkward.