By the time Su Yan got home, it was already around nine in the evening.
His three adoptive sisters were at home. The youngest had already gone to bed. The middle one, Su Erke, was sitting on the sofa watching a romantic soap opera, occasionally letting out a few silly laughs. As for the eldest, Su Yike, she was diligently studying in her room with great intensity.
After changing into a pair of house slippers, Su Yan strolled leisurely into the living room. Just as he was about to sit down on the sofa, Su Erke, who was on it, caught sight of him and shouted, "Su Yan, you dare to come back!"
"Why wouldn't I dare to come back?"
"Still playing dumb! You ran off for a date late at night, leaving us three sisters behind. You just wait and see if I don't tell Mom and Dad!"
Su Yan listened, momentarily stunned. Even this needs snitching? Damn, this sister is probably toxic!
"If you want me to keep quiet, that's fine too," Su Erke continued. "Just treat me to some chocolate cake tomorrow, and I'll pretend this never happened."
Su Yan's mouth twitched slightly. Good grief, after all that fuss, she's actually just fixated on that chocolate cake she saw on the way home this afternoon. But... how dare this brat try to pull one over on me? Does she really think her sickly older brother is such an easy target? Shouldn't I give her a taste of her own medicine?
Thinking this, Su Yan didn't say a word. He reached out, pinched his second sister's slightly chubby, baby-fat face, and began to knead it intensely.
"AH! It hurts! Stop!" Su Erke shrieked. She hadn't expected her brother to get tough with her. After a moment of shock, she reacted, whimpering and starting to scuffle.
Hearing the commotion outside, Elder Sister Su Yike, who was intensely studying in her room, realized her brother had returned. Without a second thought, she put down her pen and went to the living room. The memory of her brother punching an Advanced Level Solitary Wild Ghost and kicking the Semi-Advanced Level creature Li Hang left her deeply puzzled. Now that her brother was home, she definitely had to ask him what was going on.
Upon entering the living room, Su Yike walked up to her brother and pursed her lips. "Brother, what exactly happened today?"
At her voice, Su Yan momentarily let go of his second sister, who was practically asking for a beating, and turned to Elder Sister Su Yike. "What happened today?"
"About you punching an Advanced Level Solitary Wild Ghost to smithereens, and casually throwing away the Semi-Advanced Level creature Li Hang..."
Before Su Yan could answer, Su Erke, now free, chimed in curiously, "Yeah, Su Yan, how did you suddenly become so powerful?"
Seeing both his sisters so curious, Su Yan threw out the excuse he had prepared: "You both might not believe this! This morning, while I was walking downstairs at the hospital, I had a stroke of pure luck and found a rare and exotic plant full of Liuwei Dihuang Fruit. Without a second thought, I plucked them all and ate them one by one. Right after that, I suddenly evolved into an Advanced Level Being on the spot, and my physical abilities were instantly maxed out. Well, that's basically it."
Su Yike: "..."
Su Erke: "..."
After listening, both sisters fell silent. Their brother's explanation was too far-fetched, utterly lacking credibility.
"Brother..." Su Yike began, "you didn't take any illegal drugs, did you? Those things are extremely harmful to your body. And they're also illegal..." While speaking, Su Yike kept her eyes fixed on her brother's, trying to detect any unusual emotional fluctuations.
Hearing this, Su Yan smiled and then said slowly, "Yike, you're overthinking it. No matter how low I've fallen, I wouldn't touch illegal drugs. Not to mention, those things could lead to an untimely death. Who would mess with that for no reason?"
"But..." Su Yike was still worried and wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Seeing this, Su Yan felt somewhat helpless, then said softly, "Let's talk about it next time. I'll come up with a more believable story to tell you then."
Su Yike: "..."
Su Erke: "..."
With that, Su Yan offered no further explanation and sent his two sisters back to their rooms—one to sleep, the other to study.
"SIGH!"
Back in her room, Elder Sister Su Yike couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. My brother wasn't considered some kind of exceptionally talented evolution prodigy back then, but getting into an Evolution High School was still no problem for him. But everything changed last year when he caught the attention of a Fox Demon. My brother went from being a star evolution student everyone looked up to, to an ignored, sickly underachiever. This drastic turn of events undoubtedly created a huge psychological gap and instantly destroyed his enthusiasm for life. However, everything changed when he came back from the hospital. His former listless and sickly image was gone, replaced by that of an evolution genius even more brilliant than before. It was completely out of the blue. First, he went from being a top student to a sickly one, and then from a sickly one to a genius, his abilities far surpassing those of his peers. Su Yike found all of this unbelievable. Such bizarre things, both happening to the same person within the span of just one year. It always felt like something wasn't quite right.
As time ticked by, second by second, it soon became ten o'clock at night.
At this time, Father Su and Mother Su, after working overtime for the whole day, finally came home.
As soon as Mother Su entered the house and saw her son, she rushed over without even taking off her shoes, asking with concern, "Son, Erke told me you were discharged and came back this afternoon. How are you feeling? Any discomfort?"
"Mom, don't worry, I'm feeling great now. I could even take down a tiger."
"Take down a tiger, huh?" Mother Su responded. "If you could just live a long and healthy life, Mom would be very happy."
After mother and son exchanged a few words, their father, Su Mingrong, spoke in an even tone, "Yan, Dad has something to discuss with you."
"Dad, go ahead," Su Yan replied.
Su Mingrong habitually lit a cigarette and took a drag before speaking unhurriedly, "Here's the thing. Your homeroom teacher called me today. He said that registration for the college entrance examination begins next Monday. He mentioned that considering your current situation, whether you apply for the Evolutionary Sciences or the Cultural Sciences, your chances of advancing to higher education are very slim. So, your homeroom teacher suggested that you skip the exam and directly apply to one of the three major schools."
Having said that, Su Mingrong took another drag from his cigarette and silently waited for his son's answer.
Hearing this, Su Yan asked, "Dad, these three major schools you mentioned, are you referring to Xindongfang, Lanxiang, and Beida Northern Bluebird?"
"Yes, that's right." Su Mingrong stubbed out his cigarette and continued, "According to your homeroom teacher, all three schools will come to our school to recruit students in advance. If you sign up early, you can get a discount on the tuition, and upon graduation, you'll be given priority in job placement. Dad thought it sounded quite good, but I don't know what you think, so I also wanted to ask for your opinion..."
Before Su Mingrong could finish, Su Yan, who was sitting opposite, interrupted him directly, "Dad, I only want to apply for the Evolutionary Sciences."
In this world where evolution is revered, not pursuing the path of evolution means settling for mediocrity for the rest of one's life. And Su Yan was never someone who would settle for being average. Moreover, with his current abilities, while he might not guarantee becoming the top scorer in the Evolution University entrance exam, getting into a top-tier Evolution University? Wouldn't that be a walk in the park?
Su Mingrong hadn't expected such a decisive answer from his son. After a brief pause, he asked, "Are you... sure?"
Lighting another cigarette, Su Mingrong took a drag and then spoke slowly, "Yan, Dad knows you're not satisfied, but given your current health condition, it's really not realistic to aim for an Evolution University.
"Besides, society is vast, and there are so many professions. As they say, every trade has its master; there's no need to fixate on just one path.
"And your dad also asked around about the three major schools. I learned that Lanxiang Institution has a pretty good Kai Tian Pi Di Machine program.
"I've heard that the more capable students there can even pilot Kai Tian Pi Di Machines to battle Rare creatures. It sounds very promising.
"So, do you want to reconsider and perhaps enroll in Lanxiang Institution or something similar?"
Hearing this, Su Yan didn't immediately answer his father's question. Instead, he stood up, walked away from the sofa, and retrieved an alloy box.
Then, under the astonished gaze of his parents, he crushed the alloy box in his hand into a solid iron sphere.
Afterward, he said calmly, "Dad, I'll lay my cards on the table. I'm actually an Advanced Level Being. For the Evolution college entrance exam, just having hands is enough."
...