Despite rushing all the way, Yang Hao still arrived late. By the time he sprinted to school, class had already begun. Seeing Instructor Yang standing on the podium, Yang Hao felt his scalp tingling with dread.
Out of all the teachers, Yang Hao feared Instructor Lan the most. Though he looked calm and scholarly behind his glasses, Instructor Lan actually possessed top-tier primordial energy and was an expert in object manipulation. Even scarier, he never showed mercy to students he disliked.
Yang Hao was one of those students. Since entering the academy, Yang Hao had struggled terribly with object manipulation, unable to even control a single feather, always lingering in the beginner’s class.
Sure enough, as Yang Hao tried sneaking into the classroom from the corner, a teaching rod accurately struck the back of his head, levitating and whipping him repeatedly.
“Late again! Once more!!!” Instructor Lan, with both hands in the posture of object manipulation, skillfully directed his rod to strike Yang Hao all the way to his seat.
“I’ve told you countless times,” Instructor Lan said, filled with disappointment, “object manipulation is the most important course here. If you can’t even master this fundamental skill, you’ll end up as a laborer.”
Just as Yang Hao had barely settled into his seat, a loud “boom” erupted from his desk. Dust and debris scattered everywhere, and Yang Hao was covered in paper scraps, looking utterly disheveled. In his hand was a textbook that had exploded into pieces, apparently modified into an explosive device.
The entire classroom burst into laughter. Yang Hao glared angrily at those nearby. There was only one person capable of turning his textbook into a bomb—his desk mate Amanda. Born into a renowned tech family, she had chosen to study the rarely pursued field of engineering instead of more conventional interests. Girls nowadays were busy with makeup and fashion, so who else but Amanda would tinker with machines like this?
Dressed in a tiny tube top and denim hot pants, Amanda’s desk was surrounded by small autonomous robots. These mechanical assistants were extremely hostile toward Yang Hao, clanking their pincers threateningly at him, warning him not to mess with their master.
Even at his bravest, Yang Hao wouldn’t dare provoke Amanda—she was the craziest woman in the universe. If angered, she might very well turn him into a cyborg during his sleep.
Unfortunately, while Yang Hao chose to let Amanda off the hook, Instructor Lan had no intention of doing the same. Already furious about Yang Hao’s tardiness, the explosion incident only intensified his rage.
“Yang Hao! Do you want to get expelled?!” Instructor Lan stared at him, clearly indicating that this student couldn’t remain at the academy any longer.
Yang Hao obediently raised his hand. “Reporting, sir! I don’t want to be expelled!”
“You’ve failed all four basic subjects. It’ll be difficult for you to stay here,” Instructor Lan waved his fingers, causing the rod to hover menacingly above Yang Hao’s head, showcasing his incredible object manipulation skills. “If you can’t at least lift that feather in front of you today, I’ll immediately write a report to the principal recommending your expulsion.”
“Today?”
Yang Hao stared blankly as Amanda handed him a feather from beside him.
Good grief, what material was this feather made of? While others had small, fluffy pieces about the thickness of a finger, this one was clearly modified—nearly the size of Yang Hao’s palm, with its shaft and vanes replaced by metal wires. It was obvious Amanda was playing a prank on him.
What made it worse was that Instructor Lan pretended not to notice: “Good. Now, lift this feather and make it fly at least ten centimeters high.”
“Me?” Yang Hao stammered. Even intermediate object manipulation students might struggle to lift something like this, let alone someone like him who couldn’t even pass the beginner’s test.
But there was no turning back now—Instructor Lan had already opened his terminal, ready to write the expulsion report at any moment.
“You idiot, if someone tells you to play, just play. What’s there to fear?” Hun Yuanzi suddenly appeared beside Yang Hao, whispering in his ear.
“But I really can’t do it,” Yang Hao muttered under his breath.
“Did you forget about the pill you took yesterday? Haven’t you noticed a warm feeling in your body?”
Yang Hao shook his body slightly, and indeed, he felt a faint warmth flowing gently from his dantian upward through his body. Unlike yesterday’s painful sensations, this warmth was extremely pleasant.
“I do feel it, but what does that mean? Don’t tell me the aphrodisiac poison hasn’t been cured yet?”
“You idiot, that aphrodisiac has already been transformed into true energy, giving you greater strength than others. That’s why you can jump higher and run faster. Making a feather fly is nothing.”
“Really?” Doubtful yet hopeful, Yang Hao focused all his attention on the metal feather and shouted loudly: “Hai!!!”
He made the object manipulation gesture powerfully. The entire classroom fell silent, everyone watching in astonishment.
Yang Hao grinned at the iron feather, but no matter how hard he tried, it remained as motionless as if it were asleep.
“This isn’t working!” Yang Hao was sweating profusely, silently calling for help from Hun Yuanzi.
Before Hun Yuanzi could respond, Instructor Lan’s rod struck again: “What are you doing? You haven’t even used your primordial energy! Do you think just making gestures counts as object manipulation?”
Struck by the flying rod, Yang Hao finally realized his mistake. All fundamental techniques relied on primordial energy, so when manipulating objects, he first needed to project this energy outward.
Yang Hao had only the form, not the energy, so naturally, the feather wouldn’t move.
Understanding this, Yang Hao regained his confidence. He crossed his hands, fingers pointing upward, and thrust them toward the sky, channeling his primordial energy outward: “Fly!!!”
With this powerful shout, the iron feather—absolutely impossible to lift before—shot upward like a rocket. Everyone saw only a black blur streaking skyward before it vanished completely, leaving only a small hole in the ceiling revealing the blue sky outside.
It looked as if Yang Hao had propelled the feather straight through the ceiling.
Instructor Lan stared in disbelief at the tiny hole in the ceiling, as if it were irrefutable proof that what had just happened was real.
It wasn’t just others who couldn’t believe it—even Yang Hao himself was stunned. He knew his own abilities best—struggling to lift a normal white feather was hard enough, so how could he suddenly launch something like a rocket?
He’d heard that at the highest levels of object manipulation, one could even control entire spacecraft. Could it be that he was approaching that level?
“Not bad. Not bad at all,” Hun Yuanzi said proudly. “No wonder you’re my disciple—you’ve got talent even before proper training.”
“Hey! What’s going on? What exactly is this ‘true energy’ you mentioned?” Yang Hao asked eagerly.
“True energy is just true energy. Not knowing such a basic term—how uninformed,” Hun Yuanzi yawned. “I’ll take another nap. That spicy girl beside you seems interested in you, you know?”
“Like hell she does! Don’t sleep yet—tell me!” Yang Hao was desperate for answers, but Hun Yuanzi simply ignored him.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage