Chapter 297: The Cup That Had Disappeared
After the selection concluded, all participating students were granted two days off.
Those who were selected no longer needed to attend regular classes. After two days of rest, they would begin centralized training in Building A, continuing until departure for the Lost Lands.
The seven official team members each received 2000 academic credits as a reward. Those eliminated were given 500 credits as consolation.
Before leaving, the school medical team examined every participant to ensure no lasting injuries remained. Only after being cleared were they allowed back to their dormitories.
Meanwhile, the final roster for the Lost Lands and the official league lineup was posted directly on the internal network.
Xu Zhi had already returned to her dorm and hadn’t checked the forums.
She had rushed home.
She needed to confirm whether a new “blood offering” had appeared in her bedroom.
She hadn’t even stopped to greet Qi Yanxin.
Only after entering her room and finding nothing unusual—no blood offering after nearly twenty-four hours away—did she finally exhale in relief.
But then—
A troubling thought arose.
Had she not been gone long enough?
Or had the “sender” known she wasn’t home and stopped delivering?
Neither possibility was comforting.
The former meant that anytime she left for long periods, there was a risk something would appear.
The latter meant her movements were completely visible to the other side.
Troublesome.
Frowning, Xu Zhi picked up her flowerpot and stepped into the living room—just as Qi Yanxin returned from her morning run.
Xu Zhi was still using Eye of Secret Insight, scanning for abnormalities.
When she looked at Qi Yanxin—
She noticed something odd.
The dominant Transcendent energy within her body had shifted back to [Forge].
Xu Zhi let out a soft sound of surprise.
Every person had a natural Transcendent affinity.
Ordinary people couldn’t awaken because their affinity was too low—they couldn’t resonate sufficiently with Transcendent energy to accumulate enough within their bodies to form circuits.
Ordinary people could be temporarily influenced by environments or Transcendents, causing short-term shifts in internal energy attributes.
But after some time, this would “metabolize,” returning to their highest-affinity type.
The degree of influence correlated with affinity.
The lower the affinity, the easier it was to be affected.
Qi Yanxin’s internal energy fluctuated constantly.
Which meant—
Her affinity was abnormally low.
Even lower than typical ordinary people.
“Did you meet anyone during your run?” Xu Zhi stepped closer.
Qi Yanxin blinked in surprise, then smiled.
“How did you know? I ran into the school shop owner. His wife takes classes with me, so we chatted for a bit.”
“Is the owner a Transcendent?” Xu Zhi pressed.
“Yes.” Qi Yanxin nodded. “His wife’s an ordinary person. She complains in class sometimes—she worries.”
Worries about what was obvious.
In this world, Transcendents and ordinary people were not equal—not even in lifespan. Stable marriage dynamics were rare unless the ordinary side had powerful backing.
Love?
The least reliable promise of all.
“How long did you talk? Did you meet anyone else?”
Xu Zhi’s questioning might have seemed intrusive to others.
But Qi Yanxin didn’t mind.
“Just a greeting. A couple sentences at most. I don’t really know anyone else.”
Just a few sentences—
And that was enough to influence her?
“Come here,” Xu Zhi said.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Though confused, Qi Yanxin stepped closer.
Xu Zhi reached out and grasped her wrist.
“Eh?”
Qi Yanxin stiffened—not from fear, but from something else.
Like a proud cat suddenly leaping into your arms—you’re afraid to move too much lest it flee.
Xu Zhi rarely initiated physical contact.
What was this about?
From Xu Zhi’s perspective—
Within ten seconds of contact, the faint [Forge] energy in Qi Yanxin’s body was swiftly displaced by [Lantern] energy flowing in.
…Ridiculous.
How low did one’s affinity have to be to be influenced so easily?
Xu Zhi released her wrist, expression unchanged.
Yet Qi Yanxin sensed something was wrong.
“What is it?” she asked cautiously.
“Nothing.”
Xu Zhi shook her head.
Her thoughts drifted to those in Cloud City who had been infected by the mist and turned into fanatics.
They were likely people with extremely low affinity—overly susceptible to environmental Transcendent factors.
Qi Yanxin’s resistance might be even weaker.
Most attributes weren’t inherently corruptive.
But Cup was different.
The Cup carried an intrinsic corrosive quality.
Those with weak resistance could easily descend into fanaticism.
Qi Yanxin—
If thrown into Cloud City’s mist—
Might not last thirty seconds.
“You’re not allowed to enter my room anymore,” Xu Zhi said decisively.
If another blood offering appeared and Qi Yanxin touched it—
That would be disastrous.
It was absurd.
With affinity this low—
If Cup still existed openly in the world, she likely wouldn’t have survived to adulthood.
“Okay. I understand.”
Qi Yanxin accepted easily.
After all, Xu Zhi was a Transcendent.
She was not.
Better to avoid causing trouble unknowingly.
Two days later, Xu Zhi headed to Building A for special instruction.
She had expected combat drills or team coordination exercises.
Instead—
The first lesson surprised her.
“For this first class,” the instructor began, “we will discuss the current political situation.”
Xu Zhi straightened slightly.
“You are all aware of the major incident in Minjiang during the festival broadcast.”
The seven selected students nodded.
No one had missed it.
A live-streamed religious attack.
Bloodshed.
Headlines for days.
“Recently,” the instructor continued, voice grave, “those cultists have been confirmed as followers of the long-disappeared—Cup.”
The room fell silent.
“Minjiang is now under alert status for harboring Cup believers and potentially enabling the revival of the cult. Multiple cities have dispatched military forces there to investigate.”
The Cup—Had returned.
