Chapter 56: A Good Excuse
[Time for class!] The system notification awakened him, and he quickly got up from the bed. Nolan carefully tucked in the sheets before leaving for the bathroom.
It was a habit of his that he had carried over from his previous life, and it stemmed from a simple belief.
Every day in his previous life had always been bad, but at least Nolan knew if he made his bed before leaving for the day, he would come home to a well-made bed that would kiss and hug him, faintly telling him, it\'ll be okay.
So why not?
That was his belief, and now it had persisted in his present lifetime.
The shower was cold yet hot at the same time, and though soaking in the tub was incredibly appealing, Nolan knew that would waste too much of his time.
So he quickly used the shower, washing off the blood and impurities of his evolution from yesterday.
Now, he felt like a newly born child, filled with an invigorating amount of energy.
Donning his new clothes that perfectly sized up his muscular frame, he opened the door, bouncing down the stairs before joining the crowd of students who were all moving to their various classes.
Only now did he feel like he was officially a student of the academy.
And while he walked through the students, the majority remained silent and stopped talking.
Nolan knew they would eventually get over it. At least, for now, they weren\'t mocking him anymore.
The first session of the class began, with Instructor Tiamat calling out the students\' improvements and also marking the assignments she had given in the last class.
Thankfully, her last class was the one with Nolan, and he had also been able to do the assignment.
Such an improvement made the instructor give him quite the intense stare, which he pretended not to see. Surprisingly, Nolan got a score of 65%.
It wasn\'t the best, but also not the poorest.
Then she began assessing the students, scanning their cultivation bases and announcing to the class those who had been able to break through, to further push the remaining students.
And even Instructor Tiamat screamed in shock when she looked at Nolan deeply and found out the undeniable truth.
"Nolan Gottschald. Cultivation stage is at the Heavenly Disciple Stage..." She announced in disbelief, and the roars of surprise that followed from the entire class were deafening as a couple dozen gazes snapped towards Nolan, who maintained his poker expression.
Inside, however, was a contrast to what he showed outside.
When each student was asked how they broke through to the Heavenly Disciple stage, Nolan\'s answer was the simplest.
"All these years, I have been gathering energy to attack my Dantian, and finally just yesterday, I woke to find all the energy gone and my Dantian having cracked up already."
"The energy was not only enough to break open the core but fill it and make it break through twice as I reached the Celestial Initiate stage and even the Heavenly Disciple."
"It is just as surprising to me, but I\'m not much surprised considering I\'ve been gathering energy for the last three years."
"It should at least do something substantial..."
Nolan explained his point, and truly it was jaw-dropping even to the teacher.
Just as Nolan explained, one way to break through was to gather energy and try to break open the Dantian.
The Dantian was incredibly hard, and therefore some would have no choice but to water it down with their divine essence for months before they finally cracked a hole and therefore broke through to the next stage.
But who would have thought, Nolan had been gathering energy for the past three years, just to break through today.
\'So that was why he is trash. He has just been gathering his energy around his Dantian, waiting for the perfect moment to break through all at once!\'
The thought ran through the minds of the students, and the same could be said for Instructor Tiamat, who found it more than admirable.
Not many would wish to suffer for three years just to achieve success in one night.
Nolan\'s success seemed like luck as he suddenly became strong in one night, but hearing that he had been gathering energy for the past three years where he had suffered relentless bullying and unfairness, his strength now seemed justified, and without a doubt.
[You successfully fooled them all...]The system said to Nolan.
Truly, this was the answer Nolan had planned in his head throughout yesterday night.
How would he explain his strength? He had found the perfect reasonable lie, but he couldn\'t go ahead telling everyone that.
But who would have thought he would be given such an opportunity by Instructor Tiamat?
Nolan knew he need not bother himself as the news of how he had broken through would soon pass through the entire academy, and the same for the reasons why he had been trash all this while.
Now he had an explanation for his overnight success and could avoid suspicious gazes on him.
It was safe to say, his plan really worked.
Class continued as usual, with Instructor Tiamat soon leaving the class and break arriving. Yet still, Nolan remained in his seat, not leaving for the break.
The break finished, and soon classes began once more, with a new teacher, and this time, he got quite useful information which he recorded down.
Class ended, and Nolan was pleasantly surprised by the change in gaze.
Those who had disdained him for being trash were now looking at him and shaking their heads in amazement.
Now they admired him. His crazy, intense resilience for three years.
To allow himself to be bullied, all just for today.
It was unbelievable of him, and Nolan felt quite the gazes from even the staff members had considerably changed.
Now they knew he was no longer trash and, if anything, incredibly smart and cunning, taking even the academy off guard.
Three years later and Nolan finally got recognition for his resilience, for the pain he had gone through silently for three years.