21 Power (2/2)
Davide came up to me and we greeted with a solid handshake.
”Dad said you were coming! I'm…”
He was interrupted by the man at the front of our group.
”You there! Get to your side!”
I paid him no attention.
”I'm so happy you're here!” I told Davide, a smile beaming spreading across my face.
”You there! The tall one! Come here!”
The tall one… was that me? I turned around to face him.
”Yes, you! Get over here!”
A murmur spread through the crowd, and it parted as I walked up to him. When I reached the raised stone, he looked down on me with disdain.
”Disobeying orders already? I don't care if you want to say goodbye to your little friend, you need to get into your group.”
”But Sir, this is my group!” I complained.
The man snorted in disbelief. ”Show me your ID.”
I was hesitant to pass it up to him. The whole crowd was watching, and father told me that my ID was different. If they all saw it…
Luckily for me, he stepped down from the stone, to stare daggers at me from closer up.
”Well?”
I hid my hands as best as I could and brought the license out of the storage ring. He snatched it from my hands, and read through the details, then handed it back to me.
He bent over and spoke to me in a threatening voice,
”Listen here, brat. I don't care who your daddy is. When you're in my school,” he paused for dramatic effect, ”You follow my commands. You speak when you're spoken to. Got it?”
I nodded, and in my best teacher's pet voice, I chanted, ”yes Sir!”
”Hm. Go back to your group.”
He stepped back up on the stone, and started shouting again,
”Eight plus entrants on this side!”
I walked back to Davide, and he greeted me with a worried expression.
”What was that?”
”Don't worry about it!” I laughed.
Truthfully, this situation was highly amusing. I had dealt with teachers like that my whole life, stuck in their own little world of self-importance. They were the easiest to handle.
In addition, the lady at the booth had worried me. I had thought that I might be feared by the teachers for being 'nobility', but this man's reaction put me at ease.
Plus, I didn't mind a bit of attention. I had done enough blending into the crowd in my past life. I wanted to stand out this time round.
I caught up a bit with Davide while we waited outside. After about fifteen minutes, the man on our side cleared his throat.
”Attention!” the chatter of the crowd died down, ”I am mister Wu. You will call me Sir. Eight plus entrants will be examined first. Follow me in an orderly fashion!”
Following in an orderly fashion was a bit much to ask from a rabble of nervously excited eight-year olds. We pushed up the stairs and around the corner, entering a massive hall.
Huge wooden pillars supported a ceiling covered with intricately painted wood panelling. Old wooden floorboards creaked under our weight as we flooded in.
At the front of the hall was a raised platform with two large pillars in each corner. The largest crystal I had ever seen, in this life or the last, sat proudly in a stone ring at the top.
It was slightly clouded, and hairline fractures spread across its surface.
Wu walked up to it, and the woman from the booth burst through a side door. She hurried up to him, handed over some sheets of paper, then ran off.
Wu turned to face us, standing next to the crystal, then spoke in a booming voice.
”You will be called up in groups of ten! Form an orderly queue to my right,” he pointed to a flight of steps at his right, ”and wait to be called up individually!”
From another side door, a slight old man with a large cane stepped through. Wu snapped to attention, clacking his heels and saluting.
”Sir!” he cried out.
The old man gave a dismissive wave and kept walking. Each tap of his cane echoed through the hall. With slow, purposeful steps, he walked up to the crystal.
He turned to face the crowd.
”Welcome!”
That single word cracked like thunder, electrifying every student. All the slouching eight-year olds bolted upright and turned to face him, me included. It was instinctual, I felt compelled by him.
”I am chairman Liu,” each word sent an electric chill up my spine, ”there are many applicants this year, so we have set the bar high. The entry condition is a qi force of 80.”
Groans spread through the crowd. Beside me, I heard a kid mutter to himself,
”No… Why…”
Similar sentiments spread between the kids.
”Emperor's scholars must have a qi force of 150, and a 90% affinity.” He tapped his cane on the floor, sending out a deafening crack, ”Let the testing begin!”