The beaming golden rays of light shimmering through the window were what awoke Nn.


    His eyes squinted a little, not used to the sudden increase of light in the dim room.


    Just beside the window, he saw the one responsible—a young girl with a devilish expression on her face.


    "Awake yet?" Luna asked, smiling, as Nn groaned from his sleeping position.


    "Reduce the light a bit…" he tried to say, but quieted when Luna opened the ss window even wider.


    Nn could only roll his eyes at her.


    "It''s past 6:00 already. You''ll bete for ss if you don''t hurry," she said before leaving the bedroom.


    Nn groaned again but got up, heading straight to the bathroom.


    He wasn''t sure if there would be any punishment for beingte, but he doubted they''d receive any rewards, especially after being given some the previous day.


    Still, it wasn''t a good reason to be tardy, so with a slight rush, he prepared himself, grabbed his bag from the floor, and immediately left the room.


    At the table, Luna sat with a dish already set out.


    Nn raised an eyebrow.


    He had expected her to do it once, but didn''t think it would be a regr thing.


    "Someone seems surprised and...displeased?" Luna teased as Nn walked toward her.


    "I expected it just once. I don''t want to feel like I''m troubling you to do this every day…" Nn expressed honestly, and Luna shook her head.


    "You can''t trouble me. If I do it, it''s my choice. It''s you that shouldn''t get too ''addicted,''" she said, using his own words against him.


    Nn simply chuckled before quickly diving into the meal.


    Since he would be starting training soon and wouldn''t return home until around 9:00 p.m., he didn''t have much time to grab anything for himself and the food was more than a great option.


    In literal seconds, Nn was done, and he headed out of the room.


    ---


    Outside the dorm building, hundreds of other students were also moving about.


    It seemed that everyone had learned their lesson from the previous day''s event at the academy, with the majority hoping the same rewards would be repeated—but Nn doubted that.


    When they arrived at ss, they were early enough that the instructor wasn''t there yet.


    A few minutester, she entered, and much to the students'' disappointment, she said nothing special.


    ss began as usual.


    Another long session of exnations followed, this time focusing on how to break through to the next stage of cultivation: the Sacred Vessel Stage.


    The ss piqued everyone''s attention, except for Nn.


    Without ess to Divine Essence, the normal path of breaking through by amassing divine energy was essentially useless to him.


    But that didn''t mean he wasn''t paying attention. He was just as focused as the rest of the ss, memorizing every bit of information given to them.


    Who knows when he will need it or have his life saved by it. No information was useless.


    The ss continued for nearly three hours straight before the bell for break rang. The instructor left after giving them an assignment.


    From what Nn had heard, there was a cafeteria on the academy grounds where New Ascendants could spend their break, along with other leisure areas.


    But Nn wasn''t in the mood for that. He preferred to stay in ss instead.


    The majority of students immediately left after the teacher''s exit, leaving in twos and threes to gossip about the previous day''s event.


    Soon, silence returned to the ssroom, and Nn opened his notebook, trying to make sense of what had been taught.


    But soon, he felt an intense gaze on him—one that seemed to want to pierce through his clothes and look into his very core.


    Nn''s muscles automatically tensed and then they shook intensely, releasing a powerful fluctuation of energy that instantly tore apart the invasive wave.


    The pressure faded as quickly as it came, and Nn''s brows furrowed as he turned his head.


    While most students had left, there was one person remaining behind Nn.


    A young man with oiled and coily pitch-ck hair and a strikingly handsome face.


    His aura was refined, almost too good for someone who should be a New Ascendant.


    There was a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked back at him.


    But what drew Nn in were his eyes.


    They were like burning furnaces, giving the illusion that pure moltenva was bubbling within them.


    The young man raised his hand and waved at Nn, but Nn only looked at him for a moment before slowly turning his head back.


    His mouth moved as he muttered enough for the person behind him to hear


    "Don''t try that again."


    The young man had just tried to deep his perception into Nn''s body and he found that too invasive on his privacy without any sort of issues prompting the action.


    [Don''t you do that to Luna all night?]


    The system replied as Nn shook his head.


    Chapter Stay:


    ''Its not the same...''


    He had asionally checked Luna''s body with his perception but that was because he wanted to cure her of her illness.


    While he didn''t ask for her permission, he did it for a reasonable cause, different from what was done to him.


    Silence returned after his words, and Nn focused back on his notes.


    However, there was a sound of a desk shifting, and he noticed the young man walking past him toward the exit.


    Beside Nn''s notebook, a card appeared on the table.


    It was a ming red card with a special inscription.


    The sound of the door shutting echoed through the room as Nn moved his gaze, picking up the card.


    On the front of the card was a ming sun symbol. On the back, there were a few words:


    "Surya Kilovesky—One of yours."


    That was all.


    "What does that even mean?" Nn wondered.


    At first, he thought the figure was inviting him to some sort of cult, given the ming sun symbol, but he wasn''t sure anymore.


    Nn didn''t give it much more thought. He simply tucked the card into his pocket.


    He would give it attention next time—if it was worthy of it.