Glorious God Throne

Chapter 88

If one were to say this world was a calm ocean, then the appearance of the Twelve Cities of the Heavenly Capital was undoubtedly like hurling a massive mountain into that ocean, stirring up huge waves and tsunamis, as well as persistent ripples spreading in all directions.

From the day the Hanguang Sword descended from the sky, the fate of this world and the destiny of all people were destined to be different.

Yao Country was the first nation to be baptized by the tsunami.

Initially, the Special Case Investigation Team had collected 73 martial arts techniques from the Sword Realm through dimensional travelers like Li Fufeng. And now, Yao Country was suddenly going to use martial arts techniques from the Sword Realm as martial arts textbooks for all students nationwide, opening martial arts classes in every school across the country!

In an extremely short time, this newly minted policy spread throughout the country and to the entire world.

Countless people were in a frenzy!

…

“What happened? Everyone seems especially excited today?”

“Are you living under a rock? Haven’t you heard the news about opening martial arts classes? It’s all over the internet now. That’s the legendary martial arts, you know! The roof-hopping and wall-scaling described in wuxia novels are nothing compared to this. It’s a power that can truly be called extraordinary!”

“Hehe, isn’t this like fantasy novels coming true? I heard that urban novels with extraordinary backgrounds have seen a rise in sales lately. You know, things like urban cultivation after rebirth, great swordsmen in cities, picking up heavenly extraordinary beauties, and especially the spiritual energy revival genre, which has hit peak sales. I couldn’t help but read a few. Who hasn’t fantasized about being a novel protagonist?”

“Speaking of which, now that we have spiritual energy revival and extraordinary powers appearing in the real world, do you think those extraordinary organizations from novels might actually exist? Our country must have an official extraordinary agency, right? That’s how it always is in novels. Now that they’re opening martial arts classes, if we have talent, do you think we might have a chance to join…”

When Bai Yi entered the classroom of Class 3, Grade 3 at Yuanyang City No. 9 High School, yawning, various clamorous human voices accompanied by colorful mental fluctuations washed over him like murky oil paint.

As one of the top three classes in the third year of No. 9 High School, and also one of the most disciplined classes, on any other day, even though it wasn’t yet time for the official start of class, all students would have conscientiously arrived early and proactively begun their day of study.

After all, in this peaceful society, this was one of the best ways for them to secure their future prospects.

And now, a completely different path had appeared. The “Lord of the Heavenly Capital” had opened the door of martial arts to everyone.

The classroom, which should have been filled with a thick atmosphere of study and solemn silence, was now full of curious anticipation, naive expectations, uninhibited discussions, and excited debates.

This made a certain person who mingled among them stand out particularly.

When everyone was cheering with joy, the person who responded perfunctorily and remained silent was conspicuous; among the pairs of eyes bright with expectation and excitement, the only pair that showed weariness and boredom, with obvious dark circles, was so out of place.

The deskmate next to him was still talking animatedly, spitting saliva in excitement. Bai Yi only nodded perfunctorily a few times in response. He propped his elbow on the desk, rested his chin in his palm, and lowered his eyelids, skillfully ignoring the “voices” that kept entering his ears and cerebral cortex.

…..So noisy.

The thought appeared from time to time, floating out once again.

…When would this world become a bit quieter?

“So, I really don’t like school after all.”

A somewhat childish complaint mumbled from the lips of the drowsy youth beside him, unexpectedly sounding a bit endearing.

“Eh?” Zhang Yun widened his eyes as he looked at the speaker.

“What’s with that expression? You look like you’re seeing an alien,” Bai Yi, who hadn’t completely closed his eyes, took in his deskmate’s dumbfounded expression and asked curiously, “Do I look like a good student who loves school and attending classes?”

“Ah, no,” Zhang Yun, who had finally reacted, hurriedly waved his hands, seeming at a loss for words. “That’s not what I meant.”

Meeting the youth’s eyes that opened with a yawn, Zhang Yun explained a bit awkwardly. “I just felt that you, Bai Yi, don’t seem like someone who would say such things. Although there are many students who dislike school, and I sometimes have thoughts of not wanting to go to school and complain about various aspects of it, I always felt… well, I always felt that you were different from us, always seeming so at ease.”

He spoke more smoothly as he continued, finally revealing a smile that Bai Yi found a bit foolish. “Anyway, hearing you make such down-to-earth complaints, it feels like the distance between us has suddenly lessened a lot.”

“Oh?” Bai Yi looked with interest at this deskmate he hadn’t gotten familiar with in three years, curiously repeating, “Distance?”

For someone who was always passively receiving others’ emotions, all the people around him were nothing more than indiscriminate sources of mental radiation pollution, and mobile ones at that.

However, some pollution sources had murky colors and foul odors, frantically rapping in his brain, filled with all kinds of resentment and curses. Others had bright colors and moderate auras, and though noisy, at most they were just some unrealistic fantasies.

This deskmate was the one he had chosen among the pollution sources with the lightest color and most comfortable aura.

Even when the other person was at their most emotional, the impact on Bai Yi’s brain was at most like playing a loop of hot-blooded shonen anime BGM in his mind – who knew why this seemingly gentle and timid guy would have so many chuunibyou and passionate thoughts!

Bai Yi, who had been on extended leave from school, rarely came to school, but every time he did, he would be surrounded by his deskmate’s weird hot-blooded BGM mental waves playing in surround sound, even blocking and weakening the mental impacts from other pollution sources around him.

Now, hearing Bai Yi’s question, the other person’s eyes clearly lit up, and the emotional waves radiating outward once again started frantically playing shonen manga BGM in Bai Yi’s mind.

“That’s right! You probably don’t know this, Bai Yi? You’ve always been far ahead in the grade’s poll for ‘Who is the person with the most distance,’ holding the top spot for three years without dropping!”

The strange deskmate straightened his back and introduced Bai Yi to himself with an oddly proud tone: “And you know what? Many female students secretly call you the ‘Manga Boy,’ and in the ranking of ‘Who looks most like they’ve walked out of a manga,’ you’re also in a league of your own, with no comparable rivals!”

Bai Yi froze for a moment: “…”

Putting aside who was so bored as to create such rankings, and that even more bored people would actually participate in voting, just the fact that he, as a deskmate, was on the list… why did his tone sound so proud, as if taking pride in Bai Yi’s achievements?

“Hey, but Bai Yi, you really are amazing!”

It was only when Zhang Yun earnestly refuted that Bai Yi realized he had already spoken his inner complaints out loud.

“Is being on two hard-to-describe rankings considered amazing?” Bai Yi narrowed his eyes, realizing that chatting with this deskmate really made it easy to lose control of his sarcasm.

“It’s not just that,” Zhang Yun waved his hand and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “It’s because you’ve always had this mysterious aura. You applied for home-schooling less than two months after entering high school, and it was actually approved. You only come to school for monthly exams, and even though you always look sleep-deprived and in poor spirits, you still rank first in every subject…”

He counted on his fingers as he listed. “Don’t you think these characteristics really sound like standard manga protagonist traits? And it’s more like a shoujo manga protagonist. If it were a shonen manga, this setup would be more fitting for a male supporting character around the protagonist…”

“But you know what? I think their imagination isn’t wild enough. Maybe you’re actually a superhero manga protagonist who’s busy saving the world and only comes to school in your spare time!”

Zhang Yun declared solemnly.

Bai Yi froze again: “…”

…In a way, this guy had actually guessed correctly.

However…

“Are the students really that free? Is it because they don’t have enough homework?” Bai Yi voiced a sincere question from the depths of his soul.

Zhang Yun: “It’s mainly because your looks and grades are too outstanding, and you’re rarely seen on normal days. When people have time to gossip, it’s hard not to be curious about you. Some say they saw you being cornered by school bullies when you first entered high school, so you must have been depressed, that’s why you chose to study at home despite your excellent grades. But you do look like you’re not in good health, many girls on the forum feel sorry for you, calling you a depressed genius beautiful boy. Others say they’ve seen you bossing around the head of the school bullies outside school, and he seemed afraid of you. Anyway, you’re so cool and a bit scary, just like an anti-hero protagonist in a hot-blooded shonen manga. Oh, and before, every time you came to school for monthly exams, a black car would pick you up punctually at the school gate. The driver was said to be wearing a black suit, though it seems that hasn’t been seen this semester. Now people are spreading rumors that you’re the young master of a fallen black society family… On the school forum, scripts with you as the protagonist have kept half of the novel section alive.”

Towards the end, Zhang Yun smiled a bit embarrassedly. After all, he had contributed quite a bit to many of these scripts.

“Anyway, you really look mysterious, Bai Yi! Just like those special characters with a story in manga!”

Bai Yi froze for the third time: “…”

…So, this is the reason why you guys use me as the protagonist to create all kinds of scripts?

…I thought you were just a bunch of ordinary pollution sources, but who knew you were actually rare talents in the scriptwriting world!

He finally understood why the mental waves emitted by this deskmate when excited would automatically play BGM in his head – this guy’s brain was full of drama.

“You should write a book,” Bai Yi seriously suggested. “I think your novel would definitely be popular.”

Zhang Yun actually seemed to be considering it. “Hmm, if I don’t have talent in martial arts, becoming a novelist in the future wouldn’t be bad. But, I’m really curious about those things spread on the forum…”

Probably realizing that Bai Yi wasn’t as unapproachable as imagined, but rather quite easy to talk to, he rested his head on his arm and looked at Bai Yi with blinking “I’m curious” eyes. “By the way, Bai Yi, you’re not really some fallen black society heir, are you? If it’s convenient to tell me, just consider it as me accumulating material for my future novelist career. Don’t worry, I can keep a secret, I absolutely won’t tell anyone else!”

Bai Yi tilted his head to look at him. “You really want to know?”

“Really, couldn’t be more real. Please, just satisfy my curiosity a bit!” Zhang Yun nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining.

Under his expectant gaze, the youth in front of him suddenly smiled slightly. He said in a casual tone. “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you then. There’s actually nothing special. I did get approval for home-schooling due to psychological reasons, but it had nothing to do with those school bullies. They did corner me once back then, but after I reasoned with them, they had an epiphany and decided to turn over a new leaf. Later when we met outside school, they were all very grateful to me…”

The morning sunlight gently fell through the window, illuminating the smile at the corner of the youth’s lips. Zhang Yun heard him sigh troubledly, “I also advised them that there was no need to take it too seriously, I just did a small, insignificant thing. But every time they see me, they act like they’re seeing their life mentor. It must have been misunderstood by passing students.”

“…As for the person who often came to pick me up by car, he was actually a psychologist. The condition the school gave when approving my application was to have me talk with that doctor every now and then. We agreed on the time to be after each monthly exam.”

“Eh?” Zhang Yun gaped in astonishment.

… It didn’t sound as legendary as those scripts. But did he end up digging into Bai Yi’s privacy?

He didn’t know what to say for a moment. He wanted to ask what the psychological reason was, but he was worried about invading privacy. In the end, he just opened his mouth, “So the doctor from last semester didn’t come to pick you up because…” Had Bai Yi already recovered? That would be great…

“He had some minor psychological issues and was temporarily hospitalized.”

Zhang Yun: ??

He stared blankly at the smiling face of the youth in front of him.

… Something seemed off?

Ten seconds later, he reacted, his expression changing from surprise to realization, and finally to horror. It was like listening to a heartwarming story that suddenly turned into a ghost story at the end, giving the audience a massive shock.

“—H-h-hospitalized?!”

“Oh my.” Bai Yi blinked at him gently, smiling as if he had succeeded in playing a prank, “Did I scare you?”

“Huh?” Although something felt off, Bai Yi’s tone when speaking to him had indeed become much more intimate than before. So, was this… a prank between friends?

“I was just joking earlier.”

As expected… Zhang Yun let out a sigh of relief.

Then he heard Bai Yi explain in an overly cheerful tone.

“… Actually, that doctor is seriously ill and has been hospitalized for half a year, so he can’t come to see me anymore. Anyway, I just had a minor problem with insomnia, and it’s pretty much better now.”

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