Chapter 5: The Gutter of Geniuses

The building for Class F was located at the far edge of the Academy, tucked between the spirit-beast stables and the trash compactors. While the Class A tower was a soaring spire of glass and light, Class F was a crumbling stone block that smelled of damp moss and neglected dreams.

Lin Ran stood at the entrance, her broom slung over her shoulder like a warrior’s spear. She pushed open the heavy wooden doors, which groaned as if they hadn't been oiled since the First Era.

The classroom was chaos.

A group of "Elite" students from Class B, wearing polished silver pins, were currently standing on the desks. They were tossing old scrolls and ink bottles at a small group of four students huddling in the corner.

"Come on, 'Trash'! Show us your power!" a tall boy with a sneer shouted. He was holding a girl by her ponytail—the girl with the "leaking" mana Lin Ran had sensed earlier. "I heard if we poke you enough, you might actually spark like a broken battery!"

"Please... stop..." the girl, Li Wei, whispered, her eyes red.

Lin Ran stepped into the room. Slap. Slap. Slap. The sound of her flip-flops echoed off the high, vaulted ceiling.

The Class B students froze. The tall boy, whose name was Chen Feng, looked over his shoulder. When he saw the girl with the "ugly" face and the janitor’s broom, he burst out laughing.

"Look at this! Did the school hire a new midget to clean the gutter? Get out of here, sweeper. This is Academy business."

Lin Ran didn't leave. She walked to the nearest desk, wiped away a layer of dust with her finger, and tasted it. "Too much salt in the air. This building is built over an ancient salt-mine prison. No wonder you juniors are so thirsty for attention."

"What did you say?" Chen Feng jumped down from the desk, his hands glowing with a faint blue aura. "Do you know who I am? My father is the Head of the Disciplinary Committee!"

"And my 'father' was the one who invented the concept of 'discipline,'" Lin Ran replied, her voice dropping an octave. She leaned her broom against the chalkboard. "But he used it on demons and gods, not on spoiled brats who play with blue lights."

"You’re asking for it!" Chen Feng lunged, his fist aimed directly at Lin Ran’s face.

Lin Ran didn't even blink. As his fist came within an inch of her skin, she simply exhaled. A tiny puff of air, infused with 9,000 years of "Corpse Breath," hit his knuckles.

CRACK.

Chen Feng’s aura shattered like a glass ornament. He felt as if he had punched a mountain made of frozen iron. He let out a strangled howl, clutching his hand as he collapsed to the floor.

"Noise is forbidden in a place of learning," Lin Ran said. She turned to the other Class B students, her golden eyes narrowing. "Pick up your trash. And by 'trash,' I mean your leader. Get out before I decide to use your uniforms to mop the floors."

Terrified by the sudden, bone-chilling pressure, the Class B students grabbed their sobbing leader and scrambled out of the room.

The "Trash" Disciples

The four Class F students looked at Lin Ran as if she were a ghost. Li Wei, the girl with the leaking mana, stepped forward, her voice trembling.

"You... you’re the one everyone is talking about. The Lin family’s Eldest Miss. Why did you help us?"

Lin Ran looked at the four of them: Li Wei (the Mana Leaker), a boy with thick glasses who was shaking (the Scaredy-Cat), a girl who looked asleep on her feet (the Siren), and a boy with bruised knuckles.

"I didn't help you," Lin Ran said, grabbing a nearby chair and sitting on it backwards. "I just hate people who waste good dust. Now, tell me... why is the most talented group of people in this school sitting in a gutter?"

"Talented?" The boy with glasses, Han Dong, stammered. "We’re failures. My spirit-sense is too high; I can hear everyone’s heartbeats and it scares me. Li Wei’s mana is broken. We’re just... trash."

Lin Ran laughed. It was a rich, dark sound. "You’re not trash. You’re just unpolished relics. Han Dong, your 'fear' is actually Omniscience. You aren't scared of heartbeats; you’re hearing the rhythm of the world. And Li Wei? Your mana isn't leaking. You’re a Human Spirit-Well. You’re a battery that could power this entire city for a century if you just knew how to close the tap."

The students stared at her. Nobody had ever spoken to them like this.

"I'm bored," Lin Ran announced, leaning her head on her hand. "And I need a few people to help me 'sweep' this school. If you want to stop being victims and start being my lackeys, show up at the 'Forbidden Garden' at midnight. Bring snacks. Spicy ones."

She stood up, grabbed her broom, and began to head for the door.

"Wait!" Li Wei called out. "What are you going to do now?"

Lin Ran looked over her shoulder, the black veins on her face glowing with a faint, dangerous violet light.

"I’m going to go see the Head of the Disciplinary Committee. I heard he has a very expensive collection of 'Ancient Vases' in his office. I think it’s time they were... dusted."

The Shadow in the Hallway

As Lin Ran left the Class F building, she felt a familiar presence. Mo Jue was leaning against a stone pillar, his arms crossed over his military vest.

"You’re already recruiting an army, Ancestor?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.

"I’m recruiting janitors, Junior," she corrected. "The world is dirty. Someone has to clean it."

"The Disciplinary Committee won't take kindly to you breaking Chen Feng’s hand," Mo Jue warned, stepping into her path. "They are planning to 'arrest' you tonight for assault."

Lin Ran walked right up to him, her face inches from his. She could smell the cold, metallic scent of his aura—the seal she had placed on his bloodline generations ago.

"Let them come," she whispered. "I’ve been looking for a reason to see the inside of the Academy's dungeon. I heard the walls are made of 'Spirit-Sucking Stone.' To everyone else, it’s a prison. To me... it’s an All-You-Can-Eat buffet."

She patted his cheek with a hand that felt like ice and silk. "Go back to your military, Junior. This is school business. And tell your greedy uncle that if he keeps sending spies to follow me, I’ll start sending them back in pieces small enough to fit in an envelope."

Mo Jue watched her walk away, a rare, genuine smile touching his lips. "An All-You-Can-Eat buffet... She really hasn't changed at all."

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