Qin Cheng was stunned. He had spent a long time and a great deal of energy, using family connections, just to uncover a few hidden secrets.
But now, Wang Xuan had deduced even more purely through his own observations—he suspected there might be another path, one that truly touched the supernatural.
"So, the old arts are just being discarded like that?!" Qin Cheng was deeply unwilling to accept it.
When he first uncovered those secrets, he had been thrilled, believing he had finally glimpsed the truth. He thought studying the old arts was the key to accessing supernatural power.
It was at that moment he resolved to devote himself to the old arts, determined to persevere through any hardship along the way.
But now, hearing that there might be another path to the supernatural, it was like a bucket of cold water extinguishing the fire in his heart.
It took a while for Qin Cheng to come back to his senses, clearly shaken.
What had the new planet, Nova, discovered? Besides mysterious phenomena, had they truly found a path leading to the extraordinary?
If so, the implications would be earth-shattering—both in terms of ideology and real-world change.
Qin Cheng spoke with grave seriousness, "Right now, the opportunity to go to Nova is more precious than ever. If we can touch the supernatural and stay at the cutting edge... anything you imagine might become possible!"
The two of them talked while having breakfast.
"These special ingredients shipped from deep space… we're really running out. At first I thought they tasted awful, but now I'm starting to miss them."
They both sighed with emotion.
Though the ingredients were rare and outrageously expensive, once combined and cooked, they actually didn't taste all that great.
Qin Cheng asked Wang Xuan if he had approached the old professor who taught them the old arts, to see if there was any way to still make it to Nova.
Wang Xuan shook his head. Although the professor liked him, he didn't have that kind of power. He was only brought in to teach the old techniques—he wasn't involved in the project beyond that.
"So what's their selection criteria, exactly?" Qin Cheng asked in frustration. He felt it was unfair to Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan thought for a moment and said, "I think it might have to do with things like a sensitive mind, or the ability to unleash potential far beyond normal human limits—in other words, people who've slightly touched on the mysterious."
He had seen the list of those selected in the first round and based his assumption on that.
For example, there was a pair of twin sisters in their class who frequently had strange sensory connections. When the younger one was startled or scared, the older one would feel a sudden tightness in her chest.
Once, while the elder was peeling an apple and accidentally cut herself deeply, the younger one—who was in a completely different city at the time—experienced pain in the same finger at that exact moment.
There was no scientific explanation for it.
During the student selection process for the experimental class, both sisters were picked right away.
"What about He Qing, then?" Qin Cheng asked, puzzled.
From what he remembered, He Qing was quiet and down-to-earth, not one to speak much.
It was said that He Qing wasn't even interested in the old arts at first—he only signed up because he heard it would guarantee a good, high-paying job after graduation.
Qin Cheng couldn't understand how someone like that—who had obvious reservations—was still selected.
"Something happened to He Qing when he was fourteen," Wang Xuan said. "He saw his younger brother about to be hit by a speeding car. He rushed in and shoved his brother out of the way, but the car ran straight over him instead."
"But he wasn't hurt—just had dark marks on his body where the tires rolled over him."
Everyone had been stunned. Unable to explain it, they eventually concluded he must've triggered some sort of mysterious human potential in that moment of life and death.
The investors behind the old arts research project had thoroughly investigated this childhood incident of He Qing's, showing how deeply they'd looked into their candidates.
Each of the selected students had something unique about them. For instance, there was a girl with an extraordinary sense of perception. Her most famous incident was when she was about to board a flight but suddenly felt intensely uneasy—as if something was wrong with her heart—and rushed to the hospital instead.
That flight ended up crashing.
"No way! We had someone like that in our class?!" Qin Cheng's jaw dropped. He had never heard that story before.
Wang Xuan was also contemplative. He, too, had been momentarily dazed when he first heard about it. But aside from that girl, the rest of the selected students and their cases were more or less within reason.
…
That same day, the final list of students heading to Nova was confirmed—no new names had been added.
Some students in the experimental class had remained behind, hoping for a last-minute chance. Now that the list was final, they were crushed.
Some had expected this, but it still stung.
Wang Xuan remained calm. He had anticipated this outcome for a while.
Qin Cheng sighed in sympathy for his friend. Wang Xuan had mastered the old arts to an impressive degree, only to be cast aside because the supernatural forces at the edge of deep space had shown just a sliver of potential—and a new path had emerged.
Nova had chosen the extraordinary—and completely abandoned the old arts!
Qin Cheng and Wang Xuan talked about their classmates who had already left. There was a feeling of melancholy.
Wang Xuan was luckier in some ways. Staying on Old Earth meant he could still reunite with them someday.
Qin Cheng asked, "Aren't you going to see your girlfriend one last time? She's about to return to Nova. If you don't go now, you might never get another chance."
Wang Xuan shook his head. "We've been separated for over a year now. I'd rather not go. I don't want her family to misunderstand or trouble her. It's better for us to part in peace."
Qin Cheng sighed. That ex-girlfriend from Nova had always been a source of pressure for Wang Xuan. Her family was domineering and had come to Old Earth multiple times to warn him directly.
"Do you think it's possible that her family had a hand in you not being selected?" Qin Cheng suddenly asked. "Maybe they wanted to suppress you and block your way to Nova."
After all, her family wasn't ordinary.
Even though the old arts were now being abandoned, back in the early days, some families had sent their children from Nova to study them—clearly preparing to access supernatural powers. Those kinds of people must have had serious connections.
"No way," Wang Xuan replied. Despite limited interactions, he knew her family's character. They weren't like that. And besides, it had been over a year—they had no more connection.
Also, the old arts research project was backed by major conglomerates. No one would dare meddle with it casually.
Night fell. The stars lit up the sky. The two friends spoke freely about everything.
"In a few days, I'll be heading to New Moon," Qin Cheng said. "I'm conflicted, Wang Xuan. I really hope you get another chance to go to Nova, to walk that new path and touch the supernatural. But at the same time, I feel like the way they discarded the old arts—like tossing out trash—it's just… wrong. We were all abandoned!"
He calmed his emotions, then continued, "So maybe I hope even more that you'll achieve something great in the old arts. If those ancient myths were true… wouldn't that be something? If one day, you could use the old arts to fight against supernatural forces—to suppress the so-called extraordinary beings on Nova—then they'd realize what a mistake they made abandoning this path!"
He had once doubted the old arts, but now he hoped that the myths of past eras had some basis in reality and could one day be revived.
But after cooling down a bit, he sighed heavily. All of that was unrealistic. Those legends had no solid foundation.
Wang Xuan looked up at the starry sky. Had Immortals or ancient myths ever truly existed?
He shook his head. Even if there were solid evidence that those legends were real, it would only serve to inspire those who came after. To him, it made no difference.
Because he didn't believe in immortals or gods. His study of the old arts had never been driven by those myths—he simply loved to explore, to see how far the path could go.
Whether Immortals had existed or not didn't matter to him. His conviction was firm—he would verify this path through his own actions.