At dusk, when school let out, dark clouds blanketed the sky, and a sudden downpour began.
Neither Yu Xian nor Nora had brought an umbrella, so the two stood shoulder to shoulder in a corner of the school gates, gazing up at the sky together.
Although Yu Xian could easily have teleported home or conjured a spatial bubble to keep the rain off, he had come down with a sudden case of wanting to avoid using his transcendent abilities today. And while Nora could have summoned an umbrella with a single phone call to her bodyguards, she had just so happened to forget their numbers.
"Rain is nice!"
Watching the patter of falling raindrops, Yu Xian blurted out the words with no preamble.
"Mm. It feels like Silver City hasn't seen rain in a long time."
Nora gave a soft smile and looked up as well. Even though the sky was choked with gloomy clouds, her heart was bright with sunshine.
The two lingered quietly, gazing at the sky and stealing glances at each other, their eyes parting the instant they met. Whenever classmates walked by, they would immediately avert their gaze—looking at the sky, at the ground, at the wet leaves, or at the colorful umbrellas that blossomed like flowers in the rain.
Gradually, the students cleared out.
The heavy rain cordoned off the bustling world beyond the school gate, leaving them feeling as though they were the only two people left under heaven and earth.
"By the way, Nora, do you plan to go to college after high school?" Yu Xian could smell the unique fragrance wafting from her. Watching the steady drip of rain, his gaze settled on a glistening leaf, and on a sudden whim, he asked the question aloud.
From the corner of her eye, Nora glanced at him and nodded. "Of course. I want to test into Yanjing Vocational and Technical College."
"Yanjing Vocational and Technical College? I remember the cutoff last year was somewhere around six hundred points. How many points are you short right now?" Yu Xian looked at her with newfound respect. He had never expected the dazed girl to aim for the pinnacle of Huaxia's academic institutions.
Yanjing Vocational and Technical College—formally known as Yanjing Transcendent Vocational and Technical College—was Huaxia's only transcendent university.
Furthermore, its president, Zhang Daoqin, was the strongest Dragon-rank expert in Huaxia. Not only was he a qi refiner of the highest caliber, but he also cultivated paths as a martial artist, an immortal cultivator, an alchemist, and a formation master. Versed in the cultivation systems of virtually every transcendent discipline, his strength was unfathomable, earning him foreign acclaim as one of Huaxia's three pillars of the nation.
Yu Xian knew this so well because Yu Lie, head of the Qilin Division, was one of Zhang Daoqin's disciples. A glance at Yu Lie's resume made it clear who his teacher was.
"The academic courses total 360 points, and I can get around 330. But the combat courses... are still quite far off."
At the mention of her grades, Nora lost some of her confidence. Her academic scores were actually decent, especially among Transcendents, but she had never once passed the combat courses.
The combat curriculum was divided into three subjects: Individual Combat, Team Combat, and Combat Strength Assessment.
Individual Combat was worth a total of one hundred points. Nora was permanently dead last, having never scored higher than twenty points.
Team Combat was worth one hundred points. Because no one was willing to team up with her, she had always received a flat zero.
Combat Strength Assessment was worth one hundred points. Thanks to awakening her Blood Flame, Nora's raw destructive power was formidable, allowing her to take ninety points every time.
Yu Xian tallied the numbers in his head and did not know whether to laugh or cry. Nora's total score hovered around 440 points—a staggering 160 points below the cutoff.
"If your combat scores are that low, you probably won't get in, right?" Yu Xian looked at her, unable to resist stating the obvious.
Nora nodded. "Mm, I'm over a hundred points short. But luckily, I've saved up a lot of pocket money. Under Yanjing Vocational and Technical College's regulations, one point can be bought for ten million. I only need to spend around 1.4 billion to pass."
"..."
Yu Xian was struck speechless. What had he been about to say just a moment ago?
Oh, right.
He had originally planned to offer her tutoring.
Individual Combat came down to practice and repetition; he was confident he could boost her score. Team Combat was not impossible either. When they had dealt with the aberrant worms at school together, their cooperation had been seamless. At worst, he could sit the exam alongside her, partner with her in Team Combat, and lock down at least ninety points. With both of those scores raised, paired with her solid academic baseline, her chances of getting in would be quite high.
He had never imagined she was simply prepared to buy her way into Yanjing Vocational and Technical College with 1.4 billion.
The world of the filthy rich truly lay beyond his comprehension.
Oblivious to the shock she had delivered, Nora gazed ahead with shining eyes full of longing. "If I can attend Yanjing Vocational and Technical College, I'm certain I'll become a Snake-rank expert by the time I graduate."
If she were to grind away the years through standard methods, advancing to Snake rank would take at least two centuries.
She could not wait that long.
That was why she had to 'test' her way into the college, where she could grow at a far faster pace.
"You want to become stronger that badly?"
Snapping back from his shock, Yu Xian looked at her determined expression with curiosity.
Truth be told, Nora had never spoken of such matters before, and this was the first he had learned of her immediate goals.
"Mm. Because my father said that once I reach Snake rank, he'll stop interfering in my private life and won't assign guardians or bodyguards to follow me anymore.
"When that time comes, I'll truly be free.
"I can visit my mother whenever I want, travel wherever I want, and meet whoever I want," Nora said earnestly, nodding.
Her mother was from Huaxia, and she had never married Marcus; Nora's existence was purely accidental.
"Is your mother living in the country right now?" Yu Xian asked.
Nora glanced at him. "Mm. She should be working in Ice City."
Ice City.
That was in Heilongjiang...
So far away!
Yu Xian pondered this and could not help sighing inwardly. No wonder it was so hard for Nora and her mother to meet.
In the old days, before transcendent creatures ran rampant, hopping on a flight made traveling between Silver City and Ice City effortless. Nowadays, flights were exceedingly rare; every journey required a Tiger-rank powerhouse to escort the aircraft, and ticket prices were absurdly steep. Furthermore, modern planes were no longer the passenger airliners of the past that could seat hundreds, but small crafts capable of carrying only twenty to thirty travelers.
For Nora's mother to visit her was no simple undertaking.
*Luo Qi really deserves to die!*
Yu Xian finally understood why Nora despised Luo Qi so much.
If someone dared to keep Yu Xian from seeing his own mother, he would do everything in his power to kill them.
Just then, the rain tapered off.
Neither of them made a move to leave.
Glancing at the puddles on the ground, Yu Xian offered an invitation. "Want to grab a bite? I know a place vampires can eat at too."
Nora agreed at once. "Mm, I just happen to be hungry."
The two exchanged a smile and walked side by side out of the school gates.
Chapter 80