New Threshold Calendar, Year 2096
Demon-Slaying High School
"Still asleep? When everyone else is flying through the sky, you'll be the only one running on the ground. Don't blame me for not warning you."
The sharp voice tore Lin Yuan out of his dream.
Before he could even open his eyes, someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard.
"Wake up! The line's already halfway to the school gate!"
Lin Yuan squinted one eye open.
A girl with silver-white hair stood right in front of him.
Her hair carried a cold sheen, like frost brushed over steel—clean, sharp, and unmistakable. Beneath it, crimson eyes reflected the morning light. Those eyes alone ensured she would never be mistaken for a gentle, quiet type.
More often than not, she resembled a cat that detonated at the slightest provocation.
If not for her temper, she would have long been crowned one of the school's idols.
"Hurry up!" Jiang Wushuang leaned toward the hallway, still shaking him. "If we're late, we won't even get a chance to show off today!"
She took public spectacle very seriously.
"Relax…"
Lin Yuan yawned and stretched lazily. "Awakening a bit late won't kill me. Demons don't eat students for breakfast."
"Keep talking and I might." Jiang Wushuang shot him a glare.
As they finally stepped into the corridor, a booming voice thundered from ahead.
"Jiang Wushuang! Lin Yuan! What are you two still doing in the classroom? Mining for gold?"
Their homeroom teacher, Xia Yun, stood beside the queue, arms crossed and brows knitted tight.
Several students turned to look. Whispering spread quickly through the back of the line.
"That's Lin Yuan, right? Dead last in middle school. His elemental readings were basically zero."
"Yeah. My cousin sneezes harder than his elemental output."
"I think Jiang Wushuang's worse."
"She's obsessed with showing off. Last time they handed out elemental enhancers, she drank her deskmate's too. Nearly sent the guy to the hospital."
"Came back claiming she trained with a Divine Throne. How did two troublemakers end up together?"
Two boys whispered eagerly, voices low but careless.
The next second—
A shadow slipped between them.
"Who are you talking about?"
Lin Yuan smiled, teeth bright and harmless.
"Sounded pretty confident just now."
The two boys instantly straightened, eyes forward, backs stiff. Sweat slid down their necks as if the words had never come from them.
"Not talking anymore?"
Lin Yuan tilted his head slightly. "Thought you said I had powerful backing. Funny—I didn't know someone was standing behind me."
He turned—
Thud.
His forehead struck something solid.
"…That's unfortunate."
For a brief moment, only one thought crossed his mind.
So there really is someone behind me.
Standing there was one of the officials overseeing this year's Awakening Ceremony—
Zero Seat · Fire Law Enforcer, Zhu Sha.
Flame-red hair swept back, features sharp as if carved from fire itself. One of humanity's living deterrents, a man demons privately referred to as a nightmare.
He looked down at Lin Yuan calmly.
There was even a faint smile.
"Nice black hair," Zhu Sha said casually. "If you don't line up properly, I might let everyone see what it looks like when it burns."
Fire flickered quietly in his eyes.
No one doubted him.
Jiang Wushuang's expression changed instantly. She reached out to pull Lin Yuan back—
"Double it for the next one."
Lin Yuan spoke first.
Calm. Almost absent-minded.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The air seemed to pause.
Zhu Sha's smile vanished.
Several students instinctively held their breath.
Then—
Nothing happened.
Zhu Sha merely studied Lin Yuan for a brief second before turning away.
"The awakening device has been fully repaired," he announced, walking toward the platform. "We don't have much time. If you want to run your mouth, do it after you're strong enough to back it up."
He paused for half a step, not looking back.
"Zero Seat doesn't punish potential. Only recklessness."
Then he left.
As if the confrontation had never existed.
"…Are you insane?"
Jiang Wushuang grabbed Lin Yuan's sleeve. "That was Zhu Sha! Fire Law Enforcer of Zero Seat! You're really not afraid he'll burn you alive?"
"A Fire Law Enforcer publicly torching a student over a noisy line?"
Lin Yuan shrugged. "That headline wouldn't survive review."
He added quietly:
"Besides. I said double it for the next one."
"…You actually think he'd do it?"
"Maybe." Lin Yuan replied seriously.
Jiang Wushuang opened her mouth—then closed it.
Ahead of them, the queue began to move.
"Come on," Lin Yuan said, nodding forward. "Didn't you want to show off?"
Jiang Wushuang stared at his back for a moment.
Then she stepped forward.
Unaware that, somewhere high above the awakening platform, Zhu Sha was watching the line—
And committing one name to memory.