Chapter 30: Bai Ye Has Been Spying on Her
Shen Tang was just about to activate the equipment when the door was pushed open again.
Three young women in training uniforms walked in. The one in the lead had short, chestnut-colored hair, sharp features, and a poised demeanor. Her two companions behind her were just as capable.
"Apologies, Instructor Shen. The duty handover took longer than expected."
Shen Tang nodded. "Zhou Ying, Zhao Qian, Li Wen, fall in. The test is about to begin."
The three quickly walked to the reserved spots at the front of the line.
Their arrival instantly made the atmosphere much more serious. Many of the trainees’ eyes followed them, especially Zhou Ying, with a mix of curiosity, envy, and even a hint of awe.
Before taking her position, Zhou Ying’s gaze swept across the entire group, pausing for a fraction of a second on Yun Sheng before moving on.
Yun Sheng noticed that glance.
She didn’t know why this guide, who clearly seemed to be a higher Level than the rest of them, would look at her, but being noticed was definitely not a good thing.
Her heart tightened, and she grew more vigilant.
Murmurs rose from the surrounding trainees as the topic of conversation shifted to the three newcomers.
"Zhou Ying, I heard she’s a C-level. Her comprehensive evaluation is really high, and she’s already doing an internship. Why is she here?"
"The other two are also top-tier among the D-level guides..."
"With them here, the standards for this training session are probably going to be high..."
"Quiet," Shen Tang’s voice cut through the noise again. "Everyone is here. The test will now begin. All of you, do your best. The longer you last and the higher your synchronization rate, the better your score will be."
She scanned the room, confirming that everyone was in position.
"Ready... Activating standard training spiritual field, intensity one, for five minutes. Begin!"
HUMMM...
A low hum sounded as an invisible yet tangible spiritual pressure washed over the entire space like a tide.
The test had officially begun.
The other trainees were all working hard to mobilize their spiritual power to match the frequency.
But Yun Sheng couldn’t.
She didn’t dare use her "stolen" power. She could only endure it with her own pitifully small amount of native spiritual power.
The result was a feeling like a power drill was churning inside her head. A cold sweat broke out, and she was so nauseous she wanted to vomit. Her spiritual landscape felt like it was about to shatter.
Just as she was about to give out, a thread of spiritual power from somewhere deep inside her body "twitched" on its own.
Thanks to that inexplicable twitch, her crumbling spiritual landscape barely managed to hold together.
But Yun Sheng still couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t actively touch or adjust it; she could only give up all resistance and let that power carry her along.
For the full five minutes, she held on for dear life, not daring to have a single stray thought, terrified that the fragile stability she’d found would fall apart again.
Time was up. The humming stopped.
"Test complete. Comprehensive scores have been generated."
Shen Tang began to announce the results in ascending order.
"Zhang Ming, D+."
"Wang Hao, C-."
"Liu Ya, C."
...
Most of the trainees’ scores were concentrated between C and C+, which was in line with the general standard for preparatory trainees. The occasional D+ or C- was also within the expected range.
Then, Shen Tang announced the next name.
"Zhao Qian, comprehensive score, B-."
Zhao Qian’s face immediately darkened.
’B-?’
This score was far below her expectations; it was a blow. Her fingers clenched into fists as she stared intently at Shen Tang, clearly unable to accept it.
"Li Wen," Shen Tang continued, "comprehensive score, A-."
Li Wen gave a slight nod, seeming relatively satisfied with her score.
Shen Tang continued reading out the scores, but her pace slowed noticeably this time. Her gaze lingered on the screen for a longer moment, as if double-checking.
"Yun Sheng, comprehensive score, A-."
"A-?!"
"Same as Li Wen? That can’t be right!"
If Li Wen’s A- was within everyone’s expectations, then Yun Sheng’s A- was a bit hard to swallow.
Zhao Qian snapped her head up, her face flooded with disbelief, followed by intense humiliation and rage.
’I only got a B-, yet this "useless trash" who can’t even manifest her spiritual body scored higher than me?’
This was the greatest mockery imaginable!
"Impossible! That’s absolutely impossible! How could she get an A-? The machine must be broken! Or... or there’s something wrong with the data!"
Her accusation was immediately echoed by many other trainees who were just as incredulous.
"Yeah, that’s ridiculous!"
"Senior Sister Zhao only got a B-, what right does she have to an A-?"
"She looked like she was in agony during the test! Her spiritual power fluctuations were so weak you could barely feel them!"
The crowd was in an uproar, and all their accusations were aimed at Yun Sheng.
Li Wen also glanced sideways at Yun Sheng, her eyes filled with scrutiny and a trace of confusion.
Zhou Ying, however, remained calm, though her gaze shifted between Yun Sheng and the agitated Zhao Qian, her expression thoughtful.
Faced with these almost unanimous doubts, Shen Tang’s expression grew grim.
"Quiet! The scores are generated by the system according to a standard algorithm. In theory..."
"Theories have loopholes, and they can be tampered with!"
Zhao Qian turned directly to Yun Sheng, her gaze sharp as a knife.
"Trainee Yun Sheng, I’d like to ask how you achieved this score when you can’t even externalize your spiritual body and your guide hormone levels are extremely weak. During the test, did you use any unauthorized external support devices, or... other illicit means?"
The question was incredibly direct, practically an accusation of cheating.
All eyes focused on Yun Sheng, waiting for her answer.
Yun Sheng lifted her head, her face devoid of expression.
"I didn’t use any prohibited devices or methods. As for why I got this score, I don’t know either."
"You don’t know?" Zhao Qian was so angry her voice changed pitch. "You think you can just brush this off with ’I don’t know’? Do you take us for fools? We will never accept this result!"
She turned to Shen Tang, her tone firm. "Instructor Shen, I suspect she’s carrying a prohibited device capable of interfering with the spiritual field’s sensors. I demand an on-the-spot inspection!"
"Search her!" a trainee immediately chimed in.
"Yeah! Check her!"
"We won’t accept this otherwise!"
A chorus of agreement erupted, and everyone’s gaze was fixed on Yun Sheng like nails.
Shen Tang’s expression was as ugly as it could be.
Searching someone without evidence was a serious violation, and the consequences would be dire.
But with the crowd in an uproar, if she couldn’t provide an explanation, the training couldn’t continue, and her own authority would be in jeopardy.
Just as Shen Tang was caught in a dilemma, inside the monitoring center not far from the training room, a massive screen was displaying real-time feeds from various areas of the Tower.
One of the screens showed the very standoff happening inside the preparation room of the Seventh Training Base.
Luo Cheng stood slightly behind Bai Ye and asked in a low voice, "General, the situation is getting a little out of control. Should we intervene?"
Bai Ye did not answer immediately.
His gaze was fixed on Yun Sheng’s face on the screen.
Right now, her face showed none of the teary-eyed vulnerability from that night in the car, nor the panic or anger one would expect from being surrounded and accused. It was a little too calm.
Bai Ye had never let go of his suspicions about Yun Sheng. There were too many mysteries surrounding her.
His fingertip tapped silently on the edge of the cold console as an inscrutable glint of light flashed deep in his eyes.
Beside him, Luo Cheng observed quietly.
’I can’t figure out the General’s attitude at all.’
The General’s attention on Yun Sheng was obvious, yet now, as he watched her being mobbed by the crowd and facing the humiliation of a search, he was merely watching in silence.
’Does the General care about her, or not?’