The next morning, the sunlight filtered through the clouds and cast beams of light on the sports field of Cassell College.
Young men and women were doing warm-up on the grass field. Some couples were having sweet talks among themselves. As the girls in short pants jogged on the track, their sweat dropped onto the floor. A sense of youth permeated the place.
Chu Zihang and Lu Chen bumped into each other after they stepped out of their rooms, so they decided to jog together.
In order to keep himself physically fit, Chu Zihang would exercise every morning. This was the habit he had cultivated. If it weren't because he wasn't familiar with the facilities yet, he would be playing basketball now.
On the other hand, Lu Chen was trying to observe the physical strength of the mixed race humans so that he could get prepared for the test. At that moment, he was staring fixedly at the girls' thighs. Under the sunlight, their figures appeared to be well-balanced. However, he wasn't having any lustful thoughts.
He was observing their muscle mass and their rhythm when they exerted force so that he could figure out the maximum limit of their physical strength. This was a basic skill a Mystic Warrior should have.
However, he was disappointed to find that all of them were too weak. Most of them were even weaker than the hunched man he came across the other day. Even the stronger ones weren't significantly more powerful. On the other hand, Chu Zihang was definitely the strongest among these mixed race humans.
Chu Zihang saw that Lu Chen was gazing at those girls with skimpy outfits, so he thought that the latter was drooling over them. Nevertheless, he wouldn't despise Lu Chen for this because humans were probably the only animals that would lust after the opposite sex every single day in a year. He himself would also look at those pretty girls sometimes, and that was perfectly normal.
However, he had a lot of secrets in his heart, and he had a clear goal in mind, so he knew that he wouldn't want to look for a partner at this point in time. Also, from the corner of his eye, he observed that it was disappointment behind Lu Chen's gaze instead of lust. Seeing that, he was puzzled. Doesn't he fancy any of those girls here?
That was strange because the best students from all over the world had gathered in this college. There were soft-spoken ladies from the East as well as passionate girls from the West. Furthermore, there was also a small number of African beauties. Usually, the facial features of mixed race humans were delicate, so this was really the best place to look for a partner.
Just then, Chu Zihang realized that Lu Chen was staring fixedly at him, so he found it strange and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"I heard that mixed race humans have superb physical strength, so I'm just observing their power." Realizing that Chu Zihang had misunderstood him, Lu Chen explained himself as he didn't need to hide his intention.
"Can you figure it out by just watching them jog? They're just running leisurely, so they won't exert all their force." Even though Chu Zihang was asking a question, he had trusted what Lu Chen said. Hence, he wanted to know how the latter made the judgment.
"I'll observe the way they expend their force. Many things are involved, so I can't explain them clearly in a short period of time. However, I can tell you that you're the best among them," Lu Chen explained briefly.
"What about you, then?" Chu Zihang didn't feel elated because of his praise. Lu Chen was making a remark, so he definitely thought that he was way above the rest.
Chu Zihang knew that Lu Chen's blood lineage was estimated to be Grade A as well. However, judging from what Schneider had said, he came to the conclusion that their mentor had higher hopes for Lu Chen. He was an eighteen-year-old man, so it was normal that he was competitive.
"Me? I should be slightly stronger than all of you." Lu Chen put on a humble smile. He recalled that Finger accused him of showing off previously, and that was exactly what he was doing right now.
Hearing that, Chu Zihang fell silent. Although he hadn't known Lu Chen for a long time, he understood that the latter wasn't a conceited man. Hence, Lu Chen probably meant it when he said that he was stronger than them.
Although Chu Zihang was curious, he didn't keep asking. Everything would be clear after the test on the next day.
As the breeze whisked across their faces, the doves flew past above their heads. I've finally reached Cassell College. This is a new life for me. For some reason, Chu Zihang had a feeling that his life would be intertwined with the man beside him in the future.
***
"Oh, I forgot to ask you this question. How were you discovered by the agents?" After dinner, Finger took a seat on his bed and started typing on the keyboard. There was a spicy chicken wing in his mouth, so he couldn't utter clearly.
"I came across a dangerous mixed race human who was on a killing spree, so I decided to end his life." Lu Chen spoke in a tone that was as plain as a glass of water.
"Oh, my God. H-How did you do that?" Finger sat up straight on the bed in shock as his chicken wing dropped onto the keyboard.
"Was it difficult?" Lu Chen tilted his head and asked. This was a good chance to gauge the strength of mixed race humans.
"What grade was the dangerous mixed race human? It was the executive agents who discovered you, right? Did they tell you about it?" Finger asked curiously.
"They told me that he was Grade B. After he went mad, he also gained a special power," Lu Chen replied.
"Grade B humans are quite powerful as well. Furthermore, mixed race humans who have gone mad tend to be stronger, so even Grade A mixed race humans might not be able to defeat them. As for the special power you've just mentioned, it's the kotodama. Do you remember what it looked like?"
"A kotodama, right? It's hidden, but it's not totally invisible as I could see some dark smog in the air. That's how I found him." Lu Chen pondered upon this superpower called 'the kotodama'.
"It's the Dark Spirit. Its serial number is 69. It could reflect and change the trajectory of light, so its user could mingle into the environment. It's basically an assassin kotodama, so you were really lucky to have survived." Finger patted his chest as though he felt terrified upon hearing his story.
"Are there many kotodamas in the world? What exactly are they?" Since they have serial numbers, it seems that there are plenty of them, Lu Chen thought.
"In fact, every mixed race human has their own kotodama. By chanting the dragon language, we'll be able to activate the power within and release the kotodama. The organization has found 118 kinds of kotodamas so far. You'll learn more about this in class soon." Upon finishing his words, Finger put on an embarrassed smile. "As for my kotodama… As you can see, I've been downgraded to Grade E, so please spare me the embarrassment and not ask about it."
Lu Chen didn't mind that Finger wanted to keep the secret to himself. However, he was worried about the fact that every mixed race human had their own kotodama. He could pass the test using his own trick, but it would be a problem in the future if he didn't have his own kotodama.