There are about four months left until the Awakening ceremony next semester. To successfully awaken, one must raise their Mental Energy to the minimum required level.
As for whether I can obtain the crystals or Quenching Spirit Liquid needed to accelerate Mental Energy cultivation, I can only take it one step at a time.
Whether I can gain a foothold in this new world depends on these four months.
Pulling back his thoughts, he listened to Teacher Xue continue: "Speaking of Awakening, our No. 5 High School has over a thousand students in each grade, but only about one-tenth can truly enter the Ranks of Martial Artists. High Schools No. 1 through No. 4, which Rank ahead of us, have slightly higher Awakening rates due to the higher quality of their student intake, reaching up to about twenty percent."
"Awakening is a crucial life event for everyone sitting here. I hope you all can make good use of the final four months to work hard on improving your Mental Energy. Even if the hope is slim, at least you will have fought for it and won't have regrets."
"To help students understand their Mental Energy progress, the school has spent a fortune equipping every class with Mental Energy testing equipment. Just by touching the device with your hand, your Mental Energy value can be tested in a short time."
"Everyone, please come forward to test according to your student ID. Only when your Mental Energy value exceeds 100 is the minimum Awakening requirement met. The higher it is, the higher the probability of Awakening, and naturally, the greater the chance of Awakening a high-Rank Special Ability. As for the Special Ability system and Rank classifications, I believe most of you are still not very familiar with them."
"Lü Ziming, you tell us."
Lü Ziming stood up when his name was called. Shen Han looked over and saw a young man full of pride.
"On Lan Star, common Special Abilities include Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, Darkness, and Ice. The vast majority of Martial Artists awaken in one of these ten elements. Once you awaken a corresponding elemental Special Ability, you can Cultivate the matching Martial Arts Techniques and Cultivation Methods."
"Of course, some people awaken an element that doesn't belong to any of those ten; these are called Variant Special Abilities. Variant Special Abilities are extremely rare, with hardly anyone among a million people Awakening such an ability."
"Special Ability Ranks are divided into nine levels: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Most Martial Artists awaken abilities from E to A Rank."
"The higher the Rank, the faster one can Cultivate the corresponding Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills, and the higher the efficiency of resource utilization during cultivation. On average, a higher-Rank Special Ability is twice as efficient as a lower-Rank one in terms of cultivation speed and resource utilization."
"Additionally, the Special Ability Rank is related to a Martial Artist's potential. Martial Artist Ranks from low to high are Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Martial Spirit, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Ancestor, Martial Venerable, Martial Saint, Martial God, and Martial Deity. Only those who awaken a B-Rank Special Ability or higher can Cultivate to become a Martial Ancestor powerhouse; the limit for an A-Rank Special Ability is Martial Venerable, and so on."
"Mhm, very good." Xue Yixiang nodded with satisfaction. "However, these things are still very far from you. Right now, the most important thing is to improve your Mental Energy. Only by Awakening a Special Ability can you truly come into contact with this world of Martial Artists. The world of Martial Artists is much broader than you imagine."
"Now that the Mental Energy tester is set up, everyone can first understand your own level, allocate your time and resources, and strive to raise your Mental Energy above 100 before the Awakening ceremony."
"Place your hand on the testing device and begin meditating according to the rhythm of your usual meditation training. The tester will soon sense your Mental Energy intensity," Xue Yixiang added.
"Lü Ziming, Mental Energy 85."
"Wow—" The audience below broke into an uproar.
"It's already 85 at this time. Increasing by 1 to 2 points of Mental Energy per week, it will definitely exceed 100 by the day of the Awakening ceremony. This is equivalent to securing an Awakening spot in advance."
"Yeah, as expected of our class's top student."
"Ziming-baba, carry me—"
"Li Zhenqiang, Mental Energy 71."
"Zhu Yunzheng, 63."
The audience below became lively again.
"Zhu Yunzheng? Isn't he the Young Master of the Zhu Family, one of the Three Great Families in Yang City?"
"Yes, yes, yes, that's him. I didn't expect him to have 63 Mental Energy. Although it can't compare to Lü Ziming's powerful 85, it's at least decent. Plus, with the Zhu Family's massive business and influence, the resources they give him for cultivation to improve Mental Energy must be far higher than what the rest of us get. Before the Awakening ceremony, the Zhu Family will likely spare no effort to pull his Mental Energy above 100."
"That's for sure. I hate pay-to-win players, boohoo... I'm also around 60. If my family doesn't get me some resources, there's really no hope for Awakening."
The students went up to test one by one. Finally, as it neared the end, it was Shen Han's turn.
"Liu Yu, 78."
..."Sun Tianyang, 49."
"That's it? There's almost no possibility of Awakening. He was just talking big and mocking us earlier."
Li Muhua ridiculed from the side. Looking at that number, Sun Tianyang completely wilted, unable to muster any energy to retort.
"Hua-zi, go on. Good luck," Shen Han encouraged.
"Li Muhua, 61."
"Hua-zi, don't lose heart. If you work harder these few months, there's still a chance."
Shen Han encouraged.
"It's my turn," Shen Han said, stepping onto the stage with a bit of trepidation.
After all, this was his first test in this different world. He reached out and slowly touched the device, then closed his eyes to begin meditating, but his heart just wouldn't calm down.
"Heaven bless me, please give me a chance. I've finally come to this world and seen how different and interesting it is. If I don't even get a chance to awaken in the end, I'll be crying myself to death."
The machine hadn't given a value yet.
One second. Could I be the child of destiny with 100+?
Five seconds. What's going on? Is this a joke? Heavens, give me a chance.
Ten seconds. Could it be that I really don't have any Mental Energy at all? Even a 1 would be fine—
Is this machine broken? The atmosphere is getting a bit awkward...
"Don't be nervous, keep a calm mind. The worst thing during a test is too much internal fluctuation. Just treat it as a small quiz. Even if the result isn't ideal, you still have four months to improve."
Xue Yixiang encouraged from the side.
Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to calm his inner anxiety. Shen Han placed his palm on the testing device once more.
He closed his eyes and began adjusting his breathing according to the rhythm of his usual meditation training. Gradually, a hint of warmth came from the machine.
"Finally, a reaction?"
The numbers began to jump, and Shen Han felt a sense of relief.
"Shen Han, 68."
Although it was an unsatisfactory value, at least he saw a good amount of hope. If he had some lucky encounter in the next four months or worked hard enough, Awakening wasn't entirely impossible. Shen Han secretly cheered himself on.
According to normal cultivation progress, there was still quite a distance to the minimum of 100 Mental Energy needed for Awakening in four months. Furthermore, to awaken a higher-Rank Special Ability, even more Mental Energy was required.
It was said that those who awaken at A-Rank or above have at least 120 Mental Energy.
It seemed that in the next four months, he couldn't just rely on regular meditation training to improve his Mental Energy. He would also have to find a way to get Spiritual Crystal Stones and Quenching Spirit Liquid.
"It's okay, Han-ge. At worst, we can awaken privately once our Mental Energy hits 100 in the future and become a Social Martial Artist. If that doesn't work out, we can do something else together."
Li Muhua patted Shen Han's shoulder to comfort him, his tone also revealing a hint of unwillingness.
Social Martial Artists, as the name implies, are Martial Artists who failed to awaken through the school education system. Because they haven't received professional training from a school, they have to spend a lot of time and energy earning the resources needed for improvement. There's quite a gap in strength between them and those from formal education.
"It's fine, I'll find a way."
Shen Han responded. Having finally transmigrated, he couldn't just live a mediocre life in disgrace. Especially after seeing this wonderful and diverse different world, he had to make something of himself and not lose face for transmigrators.