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Chapter 32: A Troublesome Arrival
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 09:55:14 +0000 UTC"Why are you hiding from me… Big Nephew?" the mysterious green-haired woman said, her voice laced with amusement.
"Sis Lily? Why are you here?" Ethan looked with a helpless, almost panicked expression at the person before him—his aunt, Lily.
He never called her "Aunt Lily"—she was only two years older than him and absolutely hated how it made her sound ancient. "Sis Lily" had become their awkward, but accepted, compromise.
Folks, who gets it? What kind of feeling is it to have an aunt who is just two years older than you and who especially, almost professionally, loves to bully you? Can you understand? In a normal family, the "bloodline suppression" of older siblings over their younger siblings is already ridiculously strong, let alone an aunt who is a whole damn generation older than you?
In the past, under her relentless oppression, Ethan had no power to fight back at all. Ethan recalled the traumatic experience of being raised and mercilessly bullied by Sis Lily when he was young, and his heart couldn't help but well up with a profound sense of grievance. Every time he had wanted to resist, he would be completely and utterly suppressed by her seniority as his aunt, leaving him helpless. Moreover, she would always think of all sorts of strange, elaborate tricks to mess with him, leaving him unable to ever fully guard against them.
Now, Ethan had already grown up. Although he was still a little instinctively afraid of her, at least he was no longer as completely defenseless as when he was a child. However, he still felt some deep-seated psychological pressure from her mere presence.
Speaking of which, in his original world, his aunt was a "once-in-a-century" academic genius in their family. She had been admitted to Pinnacle University with the top entrance exam score in the entire city. With her talent, she was bound to be a top student with a brilliant future. He just didn't know what she had become now in this new world of psionic abilities.
He muttered to himself under his breath, "Why is this woman here again? What a pain!" However, although he thought this, Ethan still didn't dare to let any of it show on his face. After all, her status as his aunt was there. He definitely didn't want to provoke her. And he certainly couldn't defeat her now that she had likely transformed from a mere academic genius into a terrifying psionic talent. He estimated that her current combat power was not something he could possibly provoke.
Thus, he could only brace himself and say, "Sis Lily, why did you come looking for me today? Is something wrong?"
Lily walked over, slinging her arm casually over his shoulder just like one of the guys, a mischievous grin on her face. "What's wrong, Ethan? I made a special trip to come and see my favorite big nephew during the summer vacation. Aren't you moved? Touched?"
"I… I wouldn't dare feel anything else!" he squeaked.
"Hmph!!!" Crack! Crack! She clenched her free fist, and a series of sharp, knuckle-cracking sounds could be heard. She said to Ethan in a tone that carried a distinct hint of danger, "I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that."
Ethan decisively chose to follow his heart (and his survival instincts). "Moved! I'm so incredibly moved! Thank you for your hard work, Sis Lily, for coming all this way just to see me. I’m overwhelmed with joy!"
Hearing this, Lily nodded with satisfaction and patted him firmly on the shoulder with her hand. "That's my good nephew. Let's go, back to the apartment. I've brought you a special gift."
Hearing that there was a gift, Ethan's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. "Coming, coming! This way, Sis Lily, please! Allow me to lead!" It was no joke; she was a top student at the prestigious Pinnacle University. Could the gift she brought possibly be anything less than extraordinary?
Walking back up the stairs, Ethan asked curiously, "Sis Lily, what kind of ability did you awaken?"
Lily tapped him lightly on the forehead. "Stinky kid, you even forgot this! Have you been hit in the head?"
Ethan, rubbing his forehead, indicated, "I didn't know in the first place, alright! You never told me!"
"I'm magnanimous, so I'll forgive you this time," she said with a grin. "The main thing is that I was busy with my own training during this period, so I really forgot to mention it. Hehe." The gift hasn't been received yet, Ethan thought to himself, first I'll suck up a bit! Flattery is key!
Lily stated casually, "The ability I awakened is a Legendary-rank Wind-attribute ability. Let alone here in New Veridia, there aren't many of those in the entire country."
Ethan’s eyes widened in shock. "Holy crap, you’re so badass!"
Smack!
Ethan’s head received a heavy, stinging blow.
Lily wagged a finger at him. "Use civilized language, no swearing!"
"Oh," Ethan agreed meekly, but his mind was already on other things. I was originally feeling a bit unworthy of being close friends with Marcus and Seraphina, given their family backgrounds. But now that my own aunt is this powerful… it seems they are the ones who are associating with someone of a higher status, right? Of course, Ethan only allowed himself to think this for a fleeting moment. He wouldn't really feel that his friends were not worthy of him. After all, they had their own incredible advantages and, more importantly, they were his friends.
When they got back to the apartment, Ethan quickly poured her a glass of water and said eagerly, "Sis Lily, what about that gift you mentioned?"
Lily laughed lightly, a pleasant, chiming sound. "All in good time. But before we get to presents, I heard something interesting from your father. Something about a ‘No-rank’ talent?"
Simon came over from the kitchen, overhearing her. "Don't listen to those bastards at the testing center! My son can't possibly have a No-rank talent! That bunch of guys are completely useless; they almost delayed my son's entire future!" Although some time had passed, Simon was still brooding over the fact that the initial awakening test had given Ethan a "No-rank" talent classification. You have to know, a person's innate talent is directly related to their future prospects. This all has to be recorded in their official psionic file. When the time comes and the admissions teachers from various famous universities see that talent assessment, they definitely won't even bother to consider him.
Lily patted his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry, brother-in-law. The record in his official file can be changed. As long as it's proven that it was truly a mistake during the initial test, an official testing problem, then all of his information can be renewed. And," she added with a confident smile, "I happen to know someone on the review board who can revise the file. When the time comes, after a re-test, maybe those university teachers will have to give him a second look because of this."
Simon’s eyes lit up. "It can be re-tested? But… I've never heard of that being possible."
Lily nodded. "Of course you haven't heard of it. If everyone who was unhappy with their result could get a re-test, then it would be chaos every single year. And since ancient times, there have been basically no verifiable mistakes with the Awakening Stone at all. If Ethan's result was really a mistake during his first awakening, then he would be the first such case in the city’s history. As far as I know, the Awakening Stone is usually stored in the Mayor's office for safekeeping. When the time comes, I'll take him over there for a re-test. I’m sure Mayor Thorne will give me some face."
