Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast-Chapter 708: The Crowd Gathers as the Dragon Emperor Sleeps (II)

"Look! It’s Chen Chu!"

"That freak is back!"

As more and more people took notice of him, exclamations erupted across the seating area.

"I heard he joined an ancient ruins expedition three months ago. At the time, he was already at the Seventh Heavenly Realm. He must have broken through to the Eighth by now, right?"

"I think he's already past that. Li Hao entered the ruins too, and he’s now at the Eighth Heavenly Realm. With Chen Chu's incredible talent, he should have at least reached the Ninth Realm by now—maybe even its middle stage."

"Wow! Reaching the Ninth Heavenly Realm in one year!"

Many people couldn’t help being starstruck.

Whispers rippled through the martial arts section as students turned toward the back rows to catch a glimpse of Chen Chu, their faces a mix of curiosity, shock, and disbelief. Even students in the second-year section who had only met Chen Chu once before turned their heads, unable to suppress their curiosity.

Over the past few months, as upperclassmen from the southern battlefield gradually returned, the stories of Chen Chu sweeping through the southern battlefield, battling his way through dozens of martial arts high schools in a single day, had already spread far and wide.

At Nantian, aside from the newly enrolled freshmen, nearly everyone had heard of Chen Chu’s feats. The titles he held, including Ultimate Prodigy: Invincible Divine Might, were known through the school.

At that moment, a young man stood up, smiling as he approached Chen Chu. "Chen Chu, it’s been a while. You look even more impressive than before."

Chen Chu nodded with a smile. "Li Fei, you’re not doing too bad yourself. Your cultivation has advanced quite a bit in just a few months. With your talent, you should be able to break through to the Sixth Heavenly Realm before graduation."

Back when Li Fei had sold information to Chen Chu on the southern battlefield, he had only been at the late stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm. Now, he had reached the middle stage of the Fifth, making his talent above average among his cohort of students. After all, the third year had just begun.

Li Fei quickly shook his head. "My progress is nothing compared to yours."

Xia Youhui nodded in agreement. "That’s true, no one can compare. And it's not just our school, it's across all of East Xia, or even the entire Human Federation. No one can match Ah Chu’s cultivation talent.

"Even that monster An Fuqing has been left in the dust by Ah Chu, haha..." Xia Youhui grinned smugly as he spoke.

After all, since the start of school, An Fuqing had been untouchable, reigning at the top while everyone else could only look up in awe. It wasn’t until Chen Chu’s sudden rise that her dominance over Nantian’s first-year students was finally broken.

Then, Li Meng asked curiously, "Old Xia, sure, Chen Chu’s talent is unprecedented, but why are you so proud? His achievements aren't yours."

Xia Youhui grinned smugly. "Ah Chu and I are as close as brothers. If he’s amazing, that basically makes me amazing too."

The others shook their heads at Xia Youhui’s shamelessness. Just then, Ji Changkong’s squadmates, along with Zhang Ling and Zhang Baili, also walked over.

"Chen Chu, long time no see."

More third-year students began to stand up, each coming over to greet him one after another.

Seeing the audience in the stands come alive, with people crowding around the black-haired young man one after another and treating him like a celebrity, many of the new students were surprised.

"Who is that guy? Why are so many upperclassmen going over to say hi?"

"Yeah, he must be someone really strong. Those arrogant upperclassmen wouldn’t be acting so respectful otherwise. Also... he's seriously handsome."

"Handsome? He’s way beyond that. He looks like he stepped straight out of a painting." freewёbnoνel.com

In the lower section of the stadium, many first-year girls couldn’t take their gazes off of Chen Chu, their eyes sparkling at the sight of him. It was their first time seeing someone who looked that good.

Among them, a beautiful girl wearing a fox-ear “hairpin" beamed as she watched Chen Chu surrounded by the crowd.

On the main stage, the teachers also took notice of the commotion in the audience. Among them, Hong Zetian and Chen Qi immediately recognized the one in the middle of it.

"Chen Chu? He’s back?" Chen Qi was visibly surprised.

Hong Zetian’s face lit up with excitement. "Nantian’s super genius has returned!"

As the school director and an Eighth Heavenly Realm cultivator, Hong Zetian had always kept a close eye on Chen Chu. He was even aware of some of Chen Chu's experiences in the mythical world, including his breakthrough to the king level during seclusion.

His source? None other than his uncle, the Sky-Suppressing War King Hong Zhantian.

While the two teachers were still processing Chen Chu’s unexpected appearance, Li Hao, who had been basking in the admiration of the new students, froze. Wait... Didn’t that guy say he wasn’t coming back for the opening ceremony?

As Chen Chu gradually became the center of attention in the entire stadium, Li Hao, who had been sitting proudly for half of the ceremony, suddenly felt a headache coming on. Then, realization struck.

This guy... he must have already broken through to the king level.

While Li Hao was still in shock, Hong Zetian suddenly stood up. He was preparing to invite Chen Chu to the main stage to give a speech to inspire the new students. At the same time, he had decided that after the ceremony, he would take a photo with Chen Chu and display it in Nantian's Hall of Fame.

Just as he got to his feet, however, a divine soul presence descended upon him, enveloping him entirely. Chen Chu’s voice echoed in his mind.

Director Hong, don’t worry about me. I’m just here to visit. I have other tasks to attend to.

Hong Zetian paused, glancing toward the black-haired young man a few hundred meters away, still smiling as he chatted with his classmates. After a brief hesitation, he let out a sigh of regret and slowly sat back down.

On the main stage, Ji Changkong was also surprised. "He actually came back for the opening ceremony?"

Beside him, a young woman in a black formal dress, her sharp features carrying an air of authority, turned to him with curiosity. "Ji Changkong, who is that?"

"Chen Chu."

Hearing this, the woman froze for a moment. Then, she said, "Chen Chu? You mean the Chen Chu? The one who holds the Ultimate Prodigy title?"

As a third-year academics student, she had heard this name countless times over the past six months, and it was always associated with words like genius, monster, undefeatable.

Ji Changkong nodded. "Yeah, that’s him."

Looking at the black-haired young man, her gaze flickered. "No wonder he’s the pride of Nantian. Just sitting there, he exudes an unshakable presence, as steady as a mountain."

Before they could continue marveling over Chen Chu, the clock struck nine.

The young woman smiled, raised the microphone, and began speaking. "Respected teachers, fellow students, good morning. I am Zhang Jiayi, a third-year academics student from Class One."

"I am Ji Changkong from Class One, Third-Year Martial Arts."

"During this wonderful season, we welcome a new academic year and proudly hold the 2056 Fall Opening Ceremony to welcome our new students. Now, let us play the Federation’s victory anthem."

Woooo!

As Zhang Jiayi finished speaking, a deep horn resounded through the stadium. On the four massive screens, a colossal beast descended, shaking the ground and causing entire cities to crumble into ruins.

As the thousand-meter-long mythical colossal beast rampaged, slaughtering countless civilians, powerful figures soared into the sky. In an instant, a battle ignited. With the immersive visuals and the stirring music, the new students felt their blood surge with excitement.

Chen Chu was slightly taken aback by the spectacle. Last year’s opening ceremony had only featured the Federation’s victory anthem; there had been no cinematic battle sequences with colossal beasts.

It seemed the education system had indeed changed this year.

As Chen Chu pondered, the anthem quickly concluded. Zhang Jiayi, poised and graceful, held the microphone with a smile. "Next, the principal will deliver a speech."

The current principal of Nantian was not a cultivator, but an elderly professor with a kind and benevolent demeanor. Once Zhang Jiayi finished speaking, he stood up and walked onto the stage.