As a seasoned bookworm with years of reading experience, Su Hao was well-versed in the subject. He knew of dozens, even hundreds, of golden finger types. But when it came to himself, he didn't dare hold out too much hope—lest the disappointment be greater. It took him a few seconds to confirm that the sudden sound wasn't from his phone but from within his own mind.
Holy crap! He was excited!
Su Hao focused his attention and seemed to see a glowing screen. There was content on it: a 3D character model about as handsome as he was, with crisscrossing road routes beneath its feet. It looked like a map. Maybe... an AR mobile game interface? In the upper right corner of the screen, there was a prominent line of text: [Intel Points: 1]. But when Su Hao concentrated and poked at it, nothing happened. At the bottom of the interface were two circular icons: [Spirit] and [Bestiary].
He tapped on Spirit—nothing. He tapped on Bestiary—it showed silhouettes of various shapes, all in shadow. Su Hao was completely baffled, unable to make sense of anything. "This interface might be related to spirits... and Intel Points should be the key 'currency.'" He kept trying but still couldn't find a way to use the Intel Points. There were no question-mark prompts or instructions either. Only after repeated attempts did he roughly determine that reading textbooks or magazines about spirits for a sustained period could earn him Intel Points.
...
The next day, early in the morning, Su Hao washed his face and brushed his teeth, wolfed down the meat buns and milk tea his mom had prepared, hopped on his bike, and headed out. He visualized the mobile game interface in his mind—the Intel Points in the upper right corner now read "3." It wasn't a hallucination. The golden finger was still there, just with an unclear function. Su Hao shifted his focus, yawned, and pedaled his way to Ancheng People's Hospital.
The hospital was on Fengrong Road in the city center, not far from his home—a five- or six-minute bike ride away. By the time Su Hao arrived, it was already late. From a distance, he spotted a familiar big round face—Liu Ren. Liu had a bowl cut, looked fair and chubby... well, he wasn't fat overall, just had a round face and a bit of a potbelly. Right now, Liu Ren was both excited and nervous.
"Hey, Su Hao, do you think I'll pass the soul power test? What if it doesn't even hit 1?" "Most people pass the pre-senior-year screening, don't they?" "You know it's 'most,' but out of a hundred, there are always five or six who fall short. Others might not care, but I'm determined to become a spirit master! So what if..." Liu Ren grew anxious again. Su Hao patted him on the shoulder, summing it up as 'pre-test anxiety syndrome,' much like exam nerves. But with the soul power test, passing or failing was up to fate, or waiting a few more years—he hadn't heard of any supplements that could boost soul power.
Just then, Su Hao noticed more and more classmates. Even though he didn't recognize most of them, he knew their uniforms. He was wearing one too—school rules, after all! "There are way too many people!" Su Hao found it odd. Looking around, he saw hundreds of students in uniforms. "Didn't our senior year only have three spirit classes last year, with just over a hundred total?" "That's normal," Liu Ren said. "If we go to the hospital or another official institution for a soul power test, it costs at least two thousand. But the school's group test is only five hundred. Most people aren't planning to enroll in the spirit program, but for five hundred bucks, it's a no-brainer—you get an official certificate, and if you ever want to contract a spirit later, it'll come in handy. Who wouldn't come? And today, it's only classes one through eight from our grade. If the whole grade showed up, well, heh." "Wait, isn't this common knowledge?" Liu Ren squinted suspiciously, noticing Su Hao's dark circles. "A little fun is fine, but too much harms the body and mind, kid. Pace yourself." "Get lost—"
Having figured it out, Su Hao mercilessly shoved Liu's big face away, earning a glare in return. Hmph. Men.
...
Under the organization of the homeroom teachers, the No. 1 High School students were led to the soul power testing department. There were five testing rooms, so the process wasn't slow. But as Class Eight, the last one, Su Hao still had to wait outside for a long time. Results came out in real time. Occasionally, students would go in and come out with unchanged expressions. It wasn't like testing for cultivation aptitude—soul power strength wasn't that critical. Many had no plans to contract spirits anyway; a high score was nice, a low one didn't matter. Maybe a few who didn't meet the standard forced a smile—since results weren't announced unless they chose to share—and the official test sheets would be distributed by the school later.
Liu Big Mouth knew a lot of people and couldn't sit still. He ran around gathering intel on other classes. "Did you hear? Class Five has a freak with a soul strength of 2.1!" Among the hundreds ahead of Su Hao, most had soul strengths between 1.0 and 1.1, with a few at 1.2 or 1.3—pretty common. Anything above 1.3 was rare; so far, only Class One had a 1.6 and Class Three a 1.8. Liu Ren said excitedly, "That 1.8 from Class Three isn't a big deal, but breaking 2.0 is different..." Su Hao didn't really know—he'd only skimmed the basics overnight. Luckily, Liu the Blabbermouth didn't need prompting and kept rambling on, so Su Hao reluctantly played the listener.
"Contracting a juvenile spirit requires a soul strength of 1.0. Above 2.0 means you can contract two spirits at once, giving you a higher starting point. The soul power feedback from two spirits also lets a spirit master grow faster—basically, the strong get stronger!" That also meant you'd have to afford raising two spirits. Su Hao told himself he wasn't jealous at all! Really, why would a cheater like me fear the lucky ones?—even if his cheat hadn't been activated yet.
Time passed, and soon it was their turn—the soon-to-be senior Class Eight. Liu Ren went in first, heading to Room Three. Su Hao waited a bit before being called to Room Five. As he entered, he saw two doctors in white coats: one middle-aged, around his mom's age, and the other younger, probably a recent graduate. Taking up most of the room was a massive pure-white machine. Following instructions, Su Hao sat in the designated spot and put on a silver-gray headband. Electrode patches were attached to his temples, arms, and other spots, connected by wires—kind of like an EKG machine, but with some spirit-related black tech. It gave Su Hao the creeps.
"Don't worry, soul power tests rarely have issues," the middle-aged doctor reassured him. So they do have issues occasionally? Su Hao felt even more uneasy. The test itself had no special sensation, and he didn't need to do anything—just told to stay calm and breathe slowly. After about a few dozen seconds, the doctor said, "All done," and the young assistant removed the headband.
"1.38, not bad, young man." "Huh? Oh, thanks, doctor." Su Hao was stunned for a moment before snapping out of it. Saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie. The world had changed, with spirit masters as a mysterious profession, and his family supported him in applying to spirit universities. But if he failed before even starting, Su Hao would be devastated. Luckily, he not only passed the 1.0 threshold but scored 1.38—coincidentally the first three digits of his phone number, even if it didn't sound great. With the soul power test passed, he could finally contract a spirit, right?