Lingmu Department office building. As soon as Henry Sutton arrived outside his counselor’s office, he saw two figures coming out—one was his counselor, Patrick Grant, and the other was a beautiful, fashionable silhouette: the top student of Class 1, Emily Thompson.

Emily Thompson also saw Henry Sutton. Although she was a top student, a pretty girl who had long held third place in the entire department, she still took the initiative to smile at Henry Sutton, her beautiful eyes flashing with a hint of excitement. “Henry Sutton?”

It had to be said, Henry Sutton’s looks were truly astonishing.

Not only did his facial features surpass the average pretty boy from his previous life, but as an Evolver who had cultivated a certain level of strength, his skin was almost flawless—no spots, acne, or scars. This was an advantage brought by the evolution of life itself. Add to that his height of 1.9 meters, long legs, and eight-pack abs, and Henry Sutton’s appearance was simply irresistible to young girls.

Henry Sutton nodded in greeting to Emily Thompson and then looked at Patrick Grant. The counselor was very polite. “Henry Sutton, is there something you need from me?”

“Mr. Grant, I want to sign up for the All-Star League and compete for the freshman spot on the school team.” He didn’t beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.

Patrick Grant, who had been smiling, was a bit stunned. Emily Thompson was also momentarily taken aback, then suddenly burst out laughing. After laughing, she awkwardly waved her hand. “Sorry, I... I... didn’t mean it that way.”

She hadn’t meant to let it slip; she just couldn’t help it and laughed instinctively.

Top three in the entire department versus someone ranked beyond fiftieth? That’s not just a small gap.

In this era of extraordinary beings who could fly and traverse the earth, with countless prodigies emerging, Earth was also home to a vast number of spiritual plants and precious medicines. These could be refined into pills, making it easier for the extraordinary to improve their cultivation and break through bottlenecks. They could bring the dead back to life, heal flesh and bones, and when one’s lifespan was about to end, a single longevity pill could grant decades more life.

This shows just how precious these pills are!

But in the extraordinary world, even the most powerful alchemists dared not offend the great spiritual wood masters. No matter how skilled you are at alchemy, you still need raw materials... Relying solely on what nature provides? The natural spiritual plants and medicines have long been eaten to extinction. With billions of people, Earth simply can’t withstand the strain.

The future prospects of the Lingmu Department are bright; its talents are rare and highly sought after in the extraordinary world.

Because of this, the elites of the Lingmu Department are the best of the best, and competition is extremely fierce. This competition isn’t just about theoretical knowledge from books, but also about practical skills and real combat.

What is real combat? They give you a half-dead spiritual plant and ask you to heal it, or an injured plant and ask you to nurse it back to health. No matter how rich your theoretical knowledge is, if your cultivation or techniques aren’t up to par, you can only stare helplessly.

The top ten in the year all combine theory with hands-on practice. Among the very best, as far as Emily Thompson knew, Henry Sutton was only at the second level of Spiritualization and hadn’t even really mastered the most, most, most, most important Wood God Technique of the Lingmu Department. He wasn’t very proficient in using it. Wasn’t it a joke for him to compete?

For comparison, Emily Thompson herself was at the peak of the third level of Spiritualization and had mastered more than a dozen techniques, seven or eight of which were essential for cultivating spiritual plants. The gap between her and Henry Sutton was not small.

In terms of theoretical knowledge, she also had the edge over Henry Sutton.

Even so, in all kinds of assessments and exams over the past year, Emily Thompson had only ever managed to get third place at best. The top two in the Lingmu Department were both super-genius types, which left her feeling a bit hopeless. She was signing up this time just to give it a try; if she lost, so be it, as long as she had no regrets.

So when she suddenly saw Henry Sutton coming to sign up as well, she couldn’t help but find it funny.

With Emily Thompson’s explanation, Patrick Grant also snapped out of his confusion and gave Henry Sutton a strange look. “Ahem, Henry Sutton, in theory, all enrolled students can sign up, but...”

Can’t you be a bit more realistic? Do you know what this is? This is the All-Star League for all university students in the entire Ming Empire. Even if you’re just signing up to compete for a spot on the school team, that’s still the goal of countless elite students.

It could be said that the only spot for freshmen is the most fiercely contested.

It’s not just the only spot for the year; it represents all four years of undergraduate study. If you can make the school team as a freshman, how terrifying is your potential? Even if you lose in your first year, you can still compete in your sophomore and junior years. If you succeed, you’ll definitely be a super seed, the treasure of the entire department.

“I’m not refusing your registration, just suggesting you think it through. Otherwise, it might be embarrassing for you.”

Someone whose cultivation and techniques are both pretty average—at least compared to the top ten or twenty in the department—if you compete now, others will see you as overestimating yourself, like a clown.

Patrick Grant found Henry Sutton’s actions laughable, but Henry Sutton was also a model student—so good-looking that even as a man, he couldn’t help but feel a fondness for him. His temperament and personality were the kind that made people worry less. He really didn’t want this good student to be eliminated easily and become the laughingstock of others, which could be a big psychological blow.

He was purely acting out of kindness, not wanting Henry Sutton to get hurt. What teacher doesn’t care about their good, obedient students?

Henry Sutton’s expression remained calm. “I understand that Mr. Grant means well, but I want to give it a try. Even if I fail, at least I’ll see how big the gap is between me and the others.”