HPDBC Chapter 89 Onlookers
Chapter 89 Onlookers
What Song Chen didn't know was that from the moment he entered the apartment, the people outside had been constantly on their minds.
Three middle-aged people, two men and one woman, dressed in the uniforms of teachers from Tianhai University, stood next to the osmanthus tree downstairs in the apartment building, looking up at the window of Song Chen's room with the light on.
The leading man was about fifty years old, with gray hair and wearing gold-rimmed glasses. His aura was calm and restrained, at the peak of the fourth rank, making him a top-tier fighter in any base city.
His name is Han Zhongming, the vice dean of the Martial Arts Academy of Tianhai University, the top professor of swordsmanship, and four of his students have won the national college martial arts competition.
"His Qi and blood are very stable. He should be taking those Qi and blood essences that the school gave him. For his age, his composure is impressive."
The female professor next to me was about forty years old, with short hair, sharp features, wearing a black training uniform, and her hands in her pockets.
She is Qin Ruolan, the vice dean of the Superpower Academy, a fourth-tier lightning-type superpower user, and ranks among the top lightning-type superpower users in the entire Great Xia Dynasty.
Her gaze fell on the window of Song Chen's room, and tiny arcs of electricity flickered deep in her pupils.
"His ability is also lightning-based, no, it's already at the A-level."
"This child's ability level is different from what's written in the file."
"Who doesn't have a few secrets?"
Han Zhongming smiled, then sighed, "I originally wanted to go up and talk to him tonight and take him as my disciple, but you see he's cultivating, it wouldn't be appropriate to disturb him abruptly."
Qin Ruolan glanced at him: "You want to take him as your disciple? His swordsmanship is already at the grandmaster level, what do you want to teach him?"
Han Zhongming was taken aback by her words. He opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he finally said, "Even master-level swordsmanship can be refined to perfection..."
"Stop arguing," another male professor spoke up. He was the oldest, with completely white hair, but he was vigorous and stood there like an old pine tree.
He is Zhou Heming, an honorary professor at the Martial Arts Academy, at the early stage of the fifth rank, and one of the most senior professors at Tianhai University.
"Let him cultivate first. We can talk about taking on disciples after his class placement exam. All the professors in the school will be there then, so there will be plenty of opportunities."
The three people stood under the osmanthus tree for about ten minutes, and then left.
As he left, Han Zhongming glanced back at the window with the light on, his eyes filled with the kind of reluctance an old man has when he sees a promising talent.
Not long after, another group of people arrived.
This was a group of upperclassmen, led by a boy who was about 1.9 meters tall, with a buzz cut, a square face, and wearing a black tactical vest that revealed his two thick arms.
His name is Tie Jun. He is a senior in the martial arts academy's genius class, a fourth-level beginner, and the vice president of the Tianhai University Student Union. He is extremely famous among students in Tianhai City.
He stood downstairs at the apartment building, arms crossed, looking up at Song Chen's room window, pausing for a long time.
"Brother Tie, just how strong do you think he is?" a tall, thin guy next to him asked.
Tie Jun did not answer immediately, but just looked at the faint light on the window.
"Third tier, he's already at the third tier."
The people behind him gasped at the same time.
"Wait... isn't he at the peak of the second tier?"
"That data was from a few days ago; he's been improving it for the past three days."
Tie Jun did not answer. He turned around and walked out of the tree-lined path.
"Let's go, don't disturb his cultivation. There will be plenty of opportunities to see him make a move during the class placement exam."
Several people followed behind him, looking back as they walked.
A girl with a ponytail walked at the very back. After a few steps, she stopped, looked back at the window, and then jogged to catch up.
Her name is Shen Bing. She is a junior in the elite class at Tianhai University and has countless suitors, but she has never been interested in anyone.
Her heart was pounding, not from nervousness, but because she had just caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the windowpane.
The silhouette was more handsome than any boy she had ever seen.
After that group left, another group arrived.
A group of freshmen stood outside the turnstiles downstairs in the apartment building. There were about twenty of them, mostly girls.
Unable to get in, they could only stand outside the turnstiles, craning their necks to look into the tree-lined path.
Some people were carrying insulated bags filled with breakfast; some were holding notebooks with the words "Song Chen" written on the cover; some were standing there without anything, as if waiting for someone.
"What if he doesn't come out all day?"
"I don't know... but I want to wait for him, even if it's just to see him once."
"Do you think he might already have a girlfriend?"
"So what if we are? We're not married."
"You're being too..."
"What? In this era, is there a problem with the strong being paired with the strong?"
……
A few girls chattered quietly.
A girl with her hair in a bun leaned against a pillar next to the turnstile, holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold, her eyes fixed on the direction of the tree-lined avenue.
Her name is Lin Shiyin. She comes from a base city in the south. Her family is in the business of psionic materials. She has been living a life of luxury since childhood, and boys line up to pursue her.
But she never looked at those people directly. She thought those boys were too soft, lacking spirit and ruthlessness, like flowers in a greenhouse.
Song Chen was different; he fought for days and nights in the beast tide, and he was the most manly person she had ever met.
Time passed day by day.
On the first day, people came and went in a constant stream downstairs from the apartment building.
There were professors, students, school newspaper reporters, teachers from neighboring colleges, and officers who had come from other fortresses to rest in Tianhai City.
Everyone comes for different reasons, but their expressions when they leave are similar: they look up at the window, then leave quietly.
No one rang the doorbell, no one knocked, no one tried to disturb him. Not because they didn't want to, but because they dared not.
The energy fluctuations emanating from behind that window were too strong. On the first day, they were intermittent, like a river that had just thawed.
By the first night, the fluctuations had become calm and sustained, like a river that had flowed for thousands of years.
The next day, fewer people came.
The professors aren't coming; they're preparing the venue and procedures for the placement exams.
The older students aren't coming either; they have classes to attend and training to do.
But the number of people outside the turnstiles hasn't decreased; those freshmen, those girls, they're still there.
They waited from morning till night, from night till late at night, and then came again the next morning.
Someone asked them, "Aren't you tired?"
They said, "It's tiring, but he doesn't seem tired while cultivating inside, so what's a little waiting for us?"
The next evening, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, the window of Song Chen's room lit up, and a blinding blue-white light shot out from the gap in the curtains, illuminating the entire front of the apartment building as if it were daytime.
The light lasted for about three seconds, then slowly dissipated.
But the fluctuations of qi and blood leaking from the window cracks almost made several first-level freshmen outside the turnstile lose their footing.
They were too powerful, so powerful that their bodies instinctively reacted with fear.
An old soldier who happened to be passing by the East District saw the light, stopped, and lit a cigarette.
He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, the smoke mingling with the morning mist.
"These freshmen are really something else."