Chapter 267: The Completion Plan?
With fresh credits credited to her account, Xu Zhi exchanged every single one for cores without hesitation.
The academy had a cafeteria, but she chose to return to her dormitory to eat—using the opportunity to absorb all the newly exchanged cores.
She truly had no intention of leaving even a single credit in her account.
In any case, she felt that even if her credits somehow dropped into the negative, the Light Institute probably wouldn’t expel her.
The [Lamp]-attribute cores worth over four hundred credits produced a remarkably noticeable effect after she consumed them. Or rather, the nine hundred-plus credits’ worth she had absorbed earlier had already done most of the work; this batch merely filled in the final sliver of extraordinary energy her circuit had been lacking.
The moment the cores transformed into energy and surged into her body, the golden threads quietly coiled along her circuit stirred again. Greedy yet obedient, they devoured all the energy and used it to stitch and refine her already exquisite circuit.
Under their influence, her circuit underwent another subtle transformation.
Originally, it had been intricate and delicate. Now, after these minute adjustments, it carried a faint sense of solemnity.
And at the exact moment the transformation concluded—when the circuit’s evolution completed—a vast force erupted from deep within her body, sweeping through her entire being.
The sensation felt strangely familiar.
Like—
Like when she had swallowed that strange fragment before.
Energy coursed through her, as though performing a hidden purification. Her circuit emitted a sacred pale-gold glow. Her spiritual power felt fuller, denser. As for physical changes, she couldn’t clearly sense them yet—but her intuition told her something had shifted.
Most noticeably, her extraordinary rank had risen again.
Level Six — Comprehension.
In fact, it wasn’t just Level Six.
She could clearly feel the abundant extraordinary energy inside her. If she casually consumed a few more cores, she could likely reach Level Seven with ease.
What was this?
Leveling up felt as simple as eating and drinking.
Xu Zhi considered the situation. The talent she had already displayed was more than sufficient. In the real world, extraordinary individuals seemed to advance with great difficulty. Would it be too excessive if someone advanced two levels consecutively?
Then she dismissed the concern.
These were still low ranks. If she advanced, she advanced. Others would naturally attribute it to her extraordinary talent.
With this breakthrough, the most obvious enhancement was to her Curse Speech.
Xu Zhi estimated that if she commanded someone now—so long as their “original” level wasn’t far above hers—it shouldn’t be difficult.
Yes.
Though she was currently only Level Six — Comprehension, when invoking Curse Speech as a command, she could directly affect any extraordinary individual who had not yet advanced to [Named].
The power of Curse Speech did not merely scale according to her apparent rank.
Beyond issuing commands, it had countless applications.
In theory, anything she could speak aloud could be empowered by Curse Speech.
Of course, circumstances mattered.
If she ignored the cost in extraordinary energy, rank, and spiritual strength—
At its simplest, she could declare that it would rain today.
More arrogantly, she could proclaim that the city would collapse before nightfall.
Or something even more catastrophic.
But the extraordinary energy and rank required for such declarations were astronomically high—far beyond her current reach.
Aside from that, Xiao Yi seemed to have been affected as well.
Although his rank showed no visible change in her perception, his body appeared to resonate with her circuit. Deep within his originally dark green pupils, faint flecks of gold now shimmered.
After all, Xiao Yi was not an independent life-form. When profound transformations occurred within Xu Zhi, he would inevitably be influenced.
With her rank increase, the amount of extraordinary energy her body could store had also grown. Xu Zhi sensed that she now possessed enough energy to construct a spirit body capable of existing for about two hours.
But now was not the time.
She had been paying attention. The upper levels did indeed provide information about the lower-layer Fog Season—one could even see it in the weather forecast. For now, the Fog Season still seemed some time away, though nothing was certain.
Before that arrived, it would be best if she could construct the circuit of [Moth].
A spirit body with the [Moth] attribute would carry no risk.
Even if she failed to complete it in time, she would still return to the lower-layer fog to see for herself what exactly lurked within.
Absorbing the cores had taken some time. It was now nearly the start of afternoon classes. Xu Zhi hurried out of the dormitory and headed toward the classroom.
The first afternoon class was Extraordinary Potions.
Her interest was moderate at best. Along her journey so far, she had scarcely relied on potions and did not yet fully grasp their importance.
The second class, however, intrigued her greatly.
Its name was [Divination, Fate, and Stellar Fortune].
The title sounded almost superstitious.
The Federation had always revered science. Before the emergence of extraordinary energy, everyone had been a materialist. Yet now, in this real world, students openly attended divination classes.
Xu Zhi found it fascinating.
She quite liked these mysterious, mystical-sounding things.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but as she walked toward the classroom, she felt even more furtive glances directed at her than before.
She hadn’t checked the forums and therefore didn’t know what had happened, though she could vaguely guess. Fortunately, she no longer feared others’ gazes. Ignoring the probing looks, she walked straight into the classroom.
The Special Recruitment Class was highly unique. Nearly everyone there was a prodigious talent in their own right, each carrying their own pride. In the morning, aside from the impulsive red-haired girl, no one had initiated conversation with Xu Zhi.
But the afternoon was clearly different.
The earlier class had been so surreal that the students no longer regarded Xu Zhi as someone on their level. Greeting someone who far surpassed oneself did not wound pride—it felt natural.
Thus, quite unexpectedly, Xu Zhi found herself receiving warmth from classmates who had previously been merely observing her.
She maintained a polite smile, responding perfunctorily. Fortunately, before her composure cracked, the teacher entered the room, allowing her to barely preserve her image of gentleness and virtue.
Probably.
The Potions instructor was a middle-aged woman. Her gaze also first settled on Xu Zhi. Without hesitation, she placed a full set of basic potion-making equipment onto Xu Zhi’s desk.
“The new student hasn’t attended previous classes and probably hasn’t purchased brewing tools yet. Consider this a gift from your teacher. I hope you’ll study well.”
Xu Zhi blinked.
There were benefits like this?
She smiled brightly and nodded. “Thank you, Teacher. I will.”
Even if she wasn’t particularly interested in the course, she would certainly learn it.
After all—
Who would ever complain about having too much knowledge stored in their mind?
