25 The Principal's Gift

Tang Mu said his goodbyes to the middle-aged uncle at the gym's entrance before leaving the building. Under the fire of the rising sun, he followed the familiar path and headed towards the 4th high school's office block that also housed the principal's office.

After a few minutes, he passed by the school's library. Just then, as he was about to turn and join the walkway leading to the office block, he saw about twenty students coming his way.

His eyes quickly lit up as he noticed two familiar figures within the ranks of the approaching group. They were Yao Tong and Yao Tinglin, the two pretty twins who had taken a stance with him against the annoying group of bullies from the 4th high school earlier that morning.

The sisters seemed to have already seen him from a distance. They hurriedly separated from the group and approached his position beside the library building while smiling.

"Brother Tang Mu!" Yao Tong, the talkative sister, was the first to speak. "Why are you here? Have you finished going through all the stages of the assessment?"

"Yes, I have," Tang Mu said, nodding. "What about you girls? Have you finished the first stage?"

"Yes, we just finished," Yoa Tong said. "Luckily, our results from the high school graduation exams were not bad, and we were among the first group to enter the virtual reality chambers. Otherwise, we might be like others who will have to line up for hours or even days before undergoing the first phase of the assessment."

Tang Mu's eyes flickered with a trace of doubt. "What kind of test did you go through? And why must some students queue for days before taking the test?"

Yao Tong sighed. "Basically, the test is a long questionnaire testing your attitude towards becoming a psionic. It relies on the virtual reality interface to probe your attitude by asking how you would react to different situations or how you feel about certain issues."

"However, the catch is that you can't lie. There's lie detection software installed in the virtual reality chambers. So, you have to answer the questions truthfully or risk getting an F in the first stage of the assessment."

"As for why students will have to line up, it's because of the limited number of virtual reality chambers available." At this, Yao Tong shook her head.

"Only about thirty students can enter at a time. And each group takes about thirty minutes to complete the first stage, meaning that the assessors will have to use about four days to assess the more than two thousand candidates who have turned up here for the Psionic Society's assessment."

"I see." Tang Mu nodded and glanced back and forth between the two twins. "Did you guys manage to find out the status of Yuan Cheng before you left?"

"That fatty is having it rough," Yao Tong answered with a smile. "His high school graduation results only rank in the upper middle range. He might have to wait until tomorrow before undergoing the first stage of the assessment."

Tang Mu laughed. "He should be cursing himself for not following my example and meditating before the assessment by now."

Yao Tong also laughed and glanced at Tang Mu with twinkling eyes. "Tang Mu! I really admire you. How did you notice that the first stage had already begun even before the supervisors arrived?"

"Honestly, I didn't notice anything," Tang Mu replied. "I just decided to meditate so as to calm my mind in preparation for the upcoming assessment. Luckily, the supervisor commended my efforts and passed me directly."

Yao Tong smiled. "So, you were lucky. But luck is also part of strength. How were the following tests, by the way?"

"They are similar to what the teachers described," Tang Mu answered. "There are tests for punching and kicking strength. There is also one for sprinting speed and another for willpower. The one for willpower will send you into an illusion world. You have to escape the illusion as fast as possible."

"Sister!" Just then, Yao Tinglin, the other twin, who had been quiet, interjected. She smiled shyly and said, "Time is tight. We must leave for the gym now. If we continue delaying, we might risk missing the other stages of the assessment."

"Ohh!" Yao Tong nodded and glanced at Tang Mu. "We have to go now. Can you give us your X-Global chat ID? It will make it easier for us to chat in the future."

"No problem!" Tang Mu readily agreed.

X-Global was just a web platform company that employed virtual reality interfaces to connect people from various areas. It also allowed communication between most celestial bodies under the Earth Federation using its self-developed high-speed quantum galactic network.

Tang Mu readily gave the twins his X-Global contact info before parting with them.

Tang Mu then continued on his way. He walked quickly through the seemingly-deserted school compounds and soon arrived before the five-story office block. He slowed down and approached the entrance before seeing a security guy armed with an electrolaser pistol guarding the place.

"Young man," the security guard said while giving Tang Mu a once over. "It's the holidays. Why have you run here to the principal's office?"

"I'm Tang Mu," he answered. "I have an appointment with Principal Cong Kai."

"Oh, you're Tang Mu." The guard smiled. "The principal mentioned you. Go on and enter. The secretary is not around because of the holidays. But you should be able to find your way to the principal's office since you have been a student here."

Tang Mu nodded and thanked the guard. He then walked into the building and took the lift to the top floor. He arrived within seconds before taking a deep breath and knocking on the principal's door.

"Come in," a deep voice sounded from inside.

Tang Mu took another deep breath. He straightened his uniform and combed his hand through his black hair. After making sure that everything was proper and in place, he pushed the door and walked into the spacious office space.

Cong Kai, the aged principal, looked up from a holographic projection on his desk. A smile flashed across his slightly wrinkled face, causing him to look like a typical doting grandfather.

"Tang Mu! You're here. Come and have a seat."

Tang Mu was a bit surprised by the principal's warm attitude. He had often heard that the old guy was a no-nonsense man. But here he was, smiling like the most harmless white-haired grandpa selling vegetables by the roadside.

"Greetings, Principal Cong Kai." Tang Mu pushed his surprise aside and gave the principal a deep bow.

The old principal nodded and smiled. He observed Tang Mu a while longer and said, "You're really a talented young man. The psionic energy around your body is in constant turbulence. You must be a few steps away from unlocking your base chakra and becoming a rank-one psionic."

"Unlocking the first chakra isn't easy," Tang Mu retorted and sat down. "I think I still have a long way to go."

The principal smiled and changed the topic. "I know you're here to collect your reward for breaking through to the pseudo-rank-one level before the assessment. As a runic engineer, I can only reward you with runic weapons. Tell me! What kind of weapon would you like to use in the future?"

Tang Mu remained silent while calling out to Little Green in his mind. "Little Green. Can I bring weapons into the painting worlds of the Star God Celestial Gallery?"

"Yes, you can bring in cold runic weapons like swords, axes, and bows," Little Green directly conveyed her thoughts on a spiritual level. "However, the painting world will automatically reject technological weapons like runic snipers and canons."

"Imagine if you were allowed to bring such weapons into the painting dimension. You might just clear the whole level with just a few psionic bombs. Such practice goes against the intent of the Star God Pagoda. It won't allow apprentices to develop their abilities in the painting worlds."

"Oh!" Tang Mu answered in his mind. He quickly considered which cold weapons would best bring out his abilities while ensuring his safety within the painting world. Finally, after a few more seconds, he settled for one option and returned his attention to the principal.

"Sir! I prefer using a bow and arrows."

"Oh, interesting," the old principal said with a smile. "I think I have a few rank-one runic bows and several quivers of special arrows in my cabinet. Give me a moment. I'll get one set for you."

The principal rose from his seat and opened a large wall cabinet behind his desk. Immediately, several glittering weapons, including swords, sabers, bows, and runic pistols, were all displayed in front of Tang Mu's eyes.

Tang Mu held in his stupefaction and quietly watched the principal take out an exquisite longbow with golden runic patterns adorning its pitch-black surface. Then, the old guy also picked a quiver of arrows before placing it on his desk.

"This is a handy runic bow of the Death's Whisper series," the principal said after settling back in his seat. "Embedded on its string and body surface are rank-one electromagnetic runes that mimic a shooting principle similar to an ancient rail gun."

"When you supply the runes with psionic energy, they will produce a magnetic field that will accelerate any arrow you shoot to speeds of 2 to 3 km/s or, in other words, Mach 5.8 to Mach 8.7 velocity. But, of course, such lethal functionality will have to wait until you unlock your first chakra and advance to rank one."

The principal smiled kindly at Tang Mu before continuing, "You should know that only after becoming a true-blue rank-one psionic will you be able to transmit your psionic energy into runic weapons. Only then will you be able to activate the runes of this Death's Whisper bow and use it at maximum capacity. As for now, you can only use it as a normal bow."

Tang Mu nodded and glanced at the longbow and quiver of special arrows with shining eyes. "Principal! These are big rewards. Thank you very much. I will use the bow and arrows well."

The principal nodded and pushed the bow and quiver of arrows toward Tang Mu. "You deserve the rewards. Take them and use them well when you join university. You can find a few archery bags in the main cabinet of the lobby outside. Pick one on your way out and use it to store your new bow and quiver of arrows."

"Thank you, sir," Tang Mu said.

He picked up the longbow and noticed that it weighed around 80 kg. But to Tang Mu, this wasn't heavy. He could unleash a fist packed with more than 1000 kg of force. So, carrying the bow, even while sprinting, wasn't a big deal to him.

Next, Tang Mu picked up the quiver of special arrows and rose from his seat. He thanked the principal again and exited the office.

He selected a slender leather archery bag from the collection in the lobby cabinet outside the principal's office. After carefully placing his new weapon and quiver of special arrows inside, he threw it over his shoulder and quickly exited the office block.

"Little Green!" He called out in his mind as he traversed the school's main walkway while heading toward the main exit. "Today night will mark the end of the seventh day since I last entered the painting world. The star orb should have already accumulated enough energy to transfer me back. Is that right?"

"Yes, that is true," Little Green answered. "You can enter the painting world again tonight."

"Great!" Tang Mu gave a silent cheer. He was now more eager to leave the school and return to the hostel. He wanted to make some good preparations before entering the painting world again.