Chapter 1 Although Innately Deficient

Although innate deficiencies can be compensated through post-natal cultivation of extraordinary systems, outstanding aptitude in certain systems can still lead to growth, transforming into a master specializing in one or several extraordinary systems.

Many of today's official super-powered individuals are of this type.

However, powerful abilities offer a higher starting point and greater potential. Compared to cultivation aptitude, which requires time to prove, the observing guests from various institutions are naturally more focused on the high-potential abilities of the present.

The arena match ended in defeat, and the subsequent team competition between the two sides failed to create a significant gap. Ultimately, War Flag secured victory in this round with a superior total score.

However, Crown's score in this round exceeded 50, surpassing Gemstone's total score.

After three matches, War Flag had the highest total score, successfully claiming the championship.

Crown came in second.

Gemstone faltered this time, getting badly beaten twice, and was relegated to last place.

The total scores achieved by the three departments in the competition will be converted at a certain ratio and included in the final evaluation of the semester. The conversion ratio for the freshman competition's total score is not high, and it is not a decisive factor in the overall semester assessment.

The freshman competition ended in the afternoon. With the rankings settled, the academy held a simple awards ceremony.

The teams from the three departments followed their leading instructors to the stage, where Dean Lu Zhongsu and Vice Dean Shen Xinqin presented medals to the outstanding freshmen.

Li Xiaoyin, with a perfect undefeated record, unsurprisingly received the championship medal for the arena competition, grinning like a husky.

Zhou Jing's arena record was eight wins and one loss, including defeating six S-level core members, a highly valuable achievement, ranking him second. He also received an award, earning a silver medal in the freshman competition's arena match.

The academy's awards are formal honors recognized by various institutions and will be recorded in the files, enriching one's resume.

As freshmen who had only been enrolled for a month, all the participants in the freshman competition, at the very least, received a participation award, already exceeding the resumes of other freshmen.

Zhou Jing's freshman arena runner-up was the first honor in his super-powered individual file, adding considerable luster to his resume.

This award also came with practical rewards, such as a bonus of 200,000 Nassau, extra credit points, and priority use of certain cultivation grounds this semester, among other things.

Zhou Jing wasn't particularly short of money right now, with over ten thousand in his account, but the 200,000 bonus more than doubled his savings.

Li Xiaoyin, as the arena champion, received an even higher bonus, taking home 500,000... The academy was generous with its money. Even a freshman competition had a considerable bonus, giving Zhou Jing a new appreciation for how easy it was for super-powered individuals to earn money.

In addition to the money, among the various rewards for the runner-up, Zhou Jing was more concerned with two items.

One was the opportunity to custom-order a piece of equipment from the Equipment R&D Department at a 30% discount, submitting his own requirements for them to manufacture.

This was one of the academy's paid services. The Equipment R&D Department was a legitimate official institution, and super-powered equipment R&D was a long-term project in cooperation with the Superpower Academy.

Students could spend money to custom-order equipment, with no restrictions on the type: melee weapons, firearms, mechanical devices, magical artifacts, and magical items were all acceptable. As long as you dared to propose it, the Equipment R&D Department dared to build it, pricing it according to the final product's effectiveness.

This service was generally needed by mystical-type students. Maniacs like Zhou Jing, who chose martial arts courses, rarely used it.

However, a 30% discount opportunity was rare. He might need it in the future, or at worst, he could sell it to other students.

The second reward that Zhou Jing valued was the subsequent right to purchase gene serums, developed for use by super-powered individuals' assistants.

Super-powered individuals were the bosses, and the assistants were bound to them, sharing both honor and disgrace.

Xu Lingyun and Zhang Xiao had only used basic gene serums, which only had entry-level enhancement effects. If they wanted to continue strengthening, they needed their boss to obtain the right to purchase more advanced gene serums.

There were many channels to obtain purchasing rights, and the academy competition's rewards were one of the simplest paths for students to access.

"Not bad, there are practical benefits. It wasn't a waste of fighting."

Receiving the medal from Vice Dean Shen Xinqin, Zhou Jing was happy in his heart.

Shen Xinqin smiled gently and encouraged him, "You performed very well. Keep up the good work."

Zhou Jing nodded, accepting the applause and congratulations from many students.

With only over ten thousand students in the entire school, this freshman competition had a total of one hundred and fifty contestants displaying their strength in front of the entire school, making them all minor celebrities.

The one who left the deepest impression on everyone was naturally Li Xiaoyin. And Zhou Jing's outstanding performance was also remembered, regarded as a strongman among the freshmen.

In particular, many people learned from the forum that Li Xiaoyin and Zhou Jing were childhood friends who ultimately swept the top two spots in the freshman arena competition, both being experts. This relationship made the crowd talk, creating a popular topic.

One by one, the outstanding performers received their awards, and then Dean Lu Zhongsu gave a speech about the successful conclusion of the competition. This simple awards ceremony ended, and the ten thousand people left the drill ground in an orderly manner under the guidance of the staff.

Zhou Jing picked up his things, said goodbye to his temporary teammates from this competition, and met up with his three buddies outside the arena.

Xu Lingyun approached, grabbing Zhou Jing's arm and refusing to let go, saying with a cheap smile:

"Brother Jing, your performance today was truly heroic. It made me wet."

"I don't believe you. Take off your pants and prove it."

Zhou Jing curled his lips and pulled his hand away in disgust.

"Yo, here you go." Li Xiaoyin held two newly bought bottles of drinks, throwing one over.

Zhou Jing took the drink, casually took a sip, and raised his chin at her, teasing, "The champion is really stingy. Is treating me to a bottle of drink all it takes?"

"How could that be! I got the bonus, so today we're going to the cafeteria's VIP room to order dishes. This sister is treating!"

Li Xiaoyin patted her chest, speaking boldly.

"Sister Yin, don't pat anymore. It's not that big to begin with. If you keep patting, it'll be flat," Xu Lingyun kindly reminded.

Li Xiaoyin's eyes instantly turned sharp as knives, giving Xu Lingyun a fierce glare.

Zhang Xiao took out his phone and handed it to Zhou Jing, saying, "Brother Jing, I recorded all your battles. Do you want me to send them to you later?"

"Yeah, thanks for the trouble." Zhou Jing glanced at it and nodded with a smile.

Before the start of the competition, he had instructed Zhang Xiao to record the matches, preparing to study them carefully later to see where he was lacking.

Especially when fighting Li Xiaoyin, he was severely restrained. He wanted to carefully figure out a way to break through it, to see where he could improve.

Naturally, he was a bit depressed when he lost, but now he had adjusted his mindset, feeling calm and ready to turn this defeat into his own experience... After all, although he had experienced the trials of the alien beast world and was very capable among his peers, there was still room for improvement.

"By the way, I can now purchase subsequent gene serums. Do you want to use them?"

Zhou Jing asked Zhang Xiao.

Zhang Xiao thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "We're still in school right now, so I'm mainly focused on studying. I'm not in a hurry to continue strengthening. It's quite troublesome to retrain control, and gene serums are quite expensive."

Seeing this, Li Xiaoyin also remembered and turned to look at Xu Lingyun, "Then what do you say?"

"Same here." Xu Lingyun shrugged and said with a smile, "My martial arts course is getting better and better. Sudden strengthening wouldn't be a good thing."

"Alright, tell us when you need to strengthen," Zhou Jing nodded.

It was already close to evening. The four of them chatted and laughed, following the crowd all the way to the cafeteria, booking a private room and eating a hearty dinner.

Zhou Jing returned to his dormitory, put the medal in the cupboard, admired it for a while, and then turned on his personal terminal, browsing the academy forum as a form of entertainment.

After watching for half an hour, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Opening the door, he was surprised to see that it was Deng Yunjie who had come to visit.

"Brother Jie, what's up?"

Zhou Jing welcomed him in, asking curiously.

"Haha, I'm here to chat with you. Congratulations on getting the runner-up in the arena competition. This is a great start to your academy career. When I first enrolled, I only got a consolation prize in the freshman competition, far worse than you."

Deng Yunjie had his collar open, looking laid-back and smiling as he sat down. He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, casually handing the cigarette case to Zhou Jing, shaking it to indicate that he should take one.

"Thanks, I don't smoke," Zhou Jing waved his hand in refusal, sitting down on the chair next to him.

Hearing this, Deng Yunjie took back the cigarette case, casually putting the cigarette behind his ear, and smiled, "That's a good habit. You should keep it up."

"I'll try," Zhou Jing shrugged.

Deng Yunjie clicked his tongue and said casually, "It's getting late, so I won't waste your time. I'll get straight to the point. Your A-level potential assessment has been reviewed and will be changed in the next two days. You'll enjoy the corresponding benefits then."

"Thanks," Zhou Jing smiled.

Because of his "ability mutation", he had submitted an application to reassess his potential before the competition. At the request of the instructors, it was officially changed after the competition.

From then on, his file would be A-level potential, at least squeezing into the ranks of high potential.

The substantial benefit was that his monthly subsidy would increase from 9,000 Nassau to 15,000 Nassau.

However, with his current abilities, being rated as A-level potential was already the limit. Going higher was unlikely, unless he "mutated" again.

Deng Yunjie stroked his chin and said, "Also, you performed outstandingly in the freshman competition. I want to ask, are you interested in joining the Crown Society?"

Zhou Jing blinked, "Are you planning to recruit new members?"

"Yes. You also know the nature of the Crown Society. It's a group composed of leading figures in the department. We don't recruit people easily. Through this competition, we think you have a promising future and the potential to become a leading figure, so we're extending an invitation to you."

Deng Yunjie smiled.

Each department had similar organizations, gathering the core figures of a department. Members received more resource allocation, gained resume enhancement, could participate with the instructors in deciding the department's development, lead teams to participate in departmental competitions, and so on.

Because old students would graduate sooner or later, such core groups would also recruit promising new students and cultivate them into future leaders.

The benefits were obvious. Zhou Jing thought about it, feeling that there was no reason to refuse, but out of caution, he asked:

"If I choose to join, what do I need to do?"

Deng Yunjie smiled and explained:

"You're still a freshman, so now you only need to bury your head in training and enjoy the benefits that the Crown Society brings, such as priority use of various training equipment, private guidance from instructors, and so on. When you reach your second and third semesters and your strength grows, you'll need to take on responsibilities, participate in departmental events, and strive for honor for us.

Also, if you're willing to join the Crown Society, you can't transfer to another department."

Zhou Jing asked curiously, "Besides me, did you invite anyone else this time?"

Deng Yunjie nodded, "This time, we plan to recruit two new members, one is you, and the other is Ding Qiu."

"Aren't you planning to invite Tang Liu and Wu Fan?"

"They still need further observation." Deng Yunjie shrugged, "Currently, only you and Ding Qiu meet the Crown Society's expectations... So, are you interested?"

Zhou Jing pondered for a moment and slowly nodded, "Okay, I'll join."

Such a good thing was naturally best accepted.

Deng Yunjie laughed and patted Zhou Jing on the shoulder, encouraging him, "Study hard. I'll graduate after this semester. In the future, the Crown Department will be handed over to you young people."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing just smiled shyly, not saying anything big.

He had already decided to stay in the Crown Department, as for what would happen in the future, he would have to take it one step at a time.

At this moment, Zhou Jing remembered something and asked curiously:

"Speaking of which, there are three departmental competitions each semester. Now that the freshman competition has passed, what about the mid-term competition in two months and the end-of-term league in five months? Is there anything to say about them? Do I need to participate?"

Deng Yunjie immediately laughed and waved his hand, saying:

"Haha, you don't need to worry about this. The mid-term and end-of-term competitions are not limited to grades, and are fought by the old students, with the most intense battles. You freshmen basically have no chance to play. You just need to watch. You might not even participate in the next semester."

"I see," Zhou Jing nodded.

The freshman competition was a stage specially reserved for rookies to peck at each other, while the mid-term and end-of-term competitions were real departmental wars. Whoever was strong would go up. Naturally, the graduating seniors had the most advantageous strength. It would be a waste for the freshmen to go up.

He was just a cute newbie and didn't need to worry about it yet.

At this time, Deng Yunjie tapped on the table and said seriously:

"Since we're talking about this, I'll give you some advice. Academy life is very rich. In addition to departmental competitions, there are many small competitions and activities in the academy, participated in by individuals or teams, and the winners receive rewards... But you shouldn't focus your energy on these activities now, because the competitors in these activities are almost all old students. It's a waste of energy for you freshmen to participate.

Your most important task right now is to spend all your time on cultivation and training. The academy has given each student the opportunity to choose three superpower knowledge courses, right? Be sure to make use of it and strive to fully clarify your growth direction and lay the foundation by the end of the first semester.

If you study a superpower knowledge course for a long time and then realize that you're not suitable and switch to another system, you'll waste the valuable study time in the academy... When you enter society in the future, you won't have such good conditions as the academy, allowing you to acquire superpower knowledge at a very low cost and concentrate on studying."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing's expression also became serious, "I'll keep it in mind."

Deng Yunjie nodded and stood up to leave, "Okay, I've said what I needed to say. I still need to talk to Ding Qiu. I'll leave first."

"I'll see you out."

Zhou Jing stood up and escorted Deng Yunjie to the door.

At this moment, Deng Yunjie seemed to remember something and suddenly turned back, saying:

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, because of your outstanding performance this time, those people from various institutions who were invited to watch should have noticed you. Some institutions may reserve your file and send you an employment appointment. You can choose to accept an appointment, and then you can take professional courses related to this institution, which is equivalent to pre-employment training, and even have early internship opportunities. If your GPA meets the standards after graduation, you can directly join the company."

Zhou Jing blinked and asked, "What happens if I don't accept an appointment?"

"Nothing will happen. You'll just graduate normally and look for a job freely. If you have good grades and a thick resume, people will still prioritize choosing you."

Deng Yunjie spread his hands, adding:

"My personal suggestion is that if you haven't decided what kind of job you want to do in the future, you don't need to worry about this. If you've determined your career plan, then accepting an employment appointment and taking professional courses in advance will be beneficial for your promotion and development in an institution... Think about it yourself."

After saying that, Deng Yunjie strode away.

Zhou Jing closed the door, his eyes changing.

He had the ability to traverse the Star Realm, so perhaps the Exploration Bureau was the most suitable unit for him.

If he could accept their employment appointment, he might become a formal member after graduation. That didn't seem bad...

The only uncertainty was whether the Exploration Bureau would send him an appointment.