Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The President, Su Ruobing

Under the complicated gazes of the many students, Li Chang’an left the field and followed Cao Shuran to the personal information registration office outside the exam grounds.

At the registration office, a group of teachers had also heard the commotion from the field. They were now standing at the entrance, watching and trying to figure out what had happened.

However, the distance was too great. Even by craning their necks, all they could see was the golden light soaring into the sky, and they still couldn’t tell what had happened.

So when they saw Vice Chairman Cao Shuran personally escorting a student to the information registration office, they were all stunned.

Then, all eyes fell on Li Chang’an.

Clearly, they were all curious about what kind of score this young man had achieved to merit a personal escort from Vice Chairman Cao.

Once inside the Reincarnator Association’s premises, Cao Shuran visibly relaxed. He looked at the staff at the registration office and casually asked, “Where’s the Chairman?”

“The Chairman?” The staff member he’d asked was taken aback for a moment, then replied instinctively, “Isn’t the Chairman at Linjiang First High School?”

Hearing this, Cao Shuran raised his wrist to check the time, then turned to Li Chang’an. “Li, please wait a moment. The Chairman should still be on her way. Let’s get your information registered first. After this, you’ll be an Official Reincarnator, and you’ll be able to receive a monthly stipend from the Reincarnator Association!”

Li Chang’an nodded.

The Reincarnator stipend was among the most minor of their many benefits, but even so, the basic monthly payment was five thousand Rebirth Points!

Five thousand Rebirth Points! Most ordinary people couldn’t save up that amount even after working hard for a whole year, yet Li Chang’an would get that much deposited into his account every month for doing nothing.

And this was just the starting F-Level benefit. If his Evolution Level or Citizen Level rose, the monthly stipend would continue to rise as well.

He took his citizen ID from his pocket and handed it to the staff member, who had returned to his station. The staffer swiped the card, and Li Chang’an’s personal information was instantly synchronized with the Reincarnator Association’s massive database.

When the staff member in charge of registration saw that Li Chang’an’s first reincarnation rating was ’S-Level,’ his eyes nearly popped out of his head. His gaze darted back and forth between the rating information and Li Chang’an himself, a storm of emotions churning within him.

’No wonder Vice Chairman Cao personally escorted him. So this kid got an S-Level rating!’

’Is this year’s reincarnation assessment this competitive?’

’To think an ordinary high school with unremarkable results in previous years actually produced such a heavyweight!’

The personal information registration process wasn’t complicated. After waiting a few minutes, Li Chang’an received a message from the Reincarnator Association on his personal terminal.

Just then, a tall young woman with a cool, aloof temperament rushed into the registration office. Her features and figure were both of the highest caliber.

Following behind her were the portly Principal Wang of Linjiang First High School and Director Tian, whose hair was thinning on top.

The moment he saw the woman, a slightly fawning smile appeared on Cao Shuran’s face as he hurried to make introductions. “This is the Chairman of our Linjiang Reincarnator Association, Su Ruobing—Chairman Su. And this is the biggest dark horse of this year’s reincarnation exams, Li Chang’an!”

Hearing his introduction, the woman’s cool gaze fell upon Li Chang’an. Seeing he was alone, she seemed to relax and extended a delicate hand. “Hello, Li. My name is Su Ruobing. I’ve come to invite you to join the Linjiang Reincarnator Association!”

He gazed at the delicate, pale, and seemingly boneless hand before him.

Li Chang’an found it impossible to associate such a hand with the title “Chairman of the Reincarnator Association,” but he quickly reached out his own. “Hello, Chairman Su!”

As for her invitation to join the Linjiang Reincarnator Association, he wisely didn’t respond immediately.

Generally speaking, after an ordinary person obtained a permanent Rebirth Mark, they would join the local Reincarnator Association, which would then assign them a territory to govern and its corresponding responsibilities.

With his current results, however, Li Chang’an would be a hot commodity for any local Reincarnator Association, no matter where he chose to go.

Therefore, he was in a perfect position to negotiate his terms.

Su Ruobing didn’t seem surprised by Li Chang’an’s silence.

After smoothing back her long, straight black hair, she strode to a long table and sat down. “Li,” she said, “you can state your demands directly. As long as it’s within my power to do so, I will grant it.”

She spoke directly, naturally exuding the aura of someone in a position of power.

Yet, Li Chang’an still didn’t answer right away. After a moment of thought, he spoke, “Chairman Su, I haven’t done my homework, so I don’t know what conditions to ask for. I’d like to wait and see what terms recruiters from other prefectures might offer. That way, I can get a better sense of what I’m worth right now!”

He wasn’t lying.

Before the reincarnation process started, he genuinely hadn’t expected to get an S-Level score, so there was no way he could have prepared in advance.

Thus, he had to compare offers from various parties to get a clear picture of his own value and maximize his gains.

But as soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the room instantly turned rigid.

Standing not far away, Principal Wang wiped away a cold sweat, deeply afraid Li Chang’an had offended someone. He hurried out to smooth things over, saying, “Since Chang’an hasn’t decided what he wants, why don’t you give him some time, Chairman, to think it over carefully!”

As he spoke, Principal Wang pulled Li Chang’an out of the information registration center.

Once they had found a deserted corner, Principal Wang asked in a low voice, “Do you plan on staying in Linjiang?”

In the Main World, Linjiang Prefecture was an above-average city, but it couldn’t compare to the truly top-tier ones.

It had a respectable number of Reincarnators, and they weren’t weak.

But it was no match for the true first-tier cities.

With a score like Li Chang’an’s, even in a first-tier city, he would be an honored guest of the various factions. The terms Linjiang could offer would struggle to compete.

That’s why the first thing Principal Wang asked in private was about Li Chang’an’s plans for the future.

If Li Chang’an had no intention of staying in Linjiang, then there was nothing more to discuss; he could just wait for the recruiters from the major cities to come calling once the news got out.

After a moment of thought, Li Chang’an nodded. “As long as the terms Linjiang offers aren’t too poor, I’ll likely choose to stay here.”

Principal Wang was clearly satisfied with this answer and said at once, “That’s the right decision! Let me tell you a secret: don’t be fooled by Chairman Su’s age. She’s a Princess from a top-tier Reincarnator Family in Kyoto. If you can get into her good graces, a meteoric rise is just around the corner. Your prospects won’t be any worse than moving to a major city!”

The corner of Li Chang’an’s mouth twitched. He said, somewhat exasperated, “Principal, wouldn’t you say I’ve already made it?”

Hearing this, Principal Wang slapped his thigh. “Hey, you can’t look at it like that!”

He then glanced behind him and, seeing everyone studiously minding their own business as if they hadn’t heard a thing, lowered his voice and said conspiratorially, “Look, Chairman Su is so young and beautiful. If you manage to win her heart, wouldn’t you be set for the rest of your life?”

When Li Chang’an seemed unmoved, Principal Wang pressed on. “Don’t think you can just rest on your laurels after becoming a Reincarnator. On the contrary, as long as you have any ambition to climb higher, every single step forward will consume an enormous amount of resources!”

“Instead of struggling blindly like a headless chicken, it’s better to make the right choice just once, don’t you think? That’s all I can say. The rest is up to you to figure out!”

…