External, hallway, Synchronization

 On that same day at the Flow Pavilion, Classes A-1, A-2, and A-3 were gathered in one of the hallways. These hallways were used for various tests, training sessions, and evaluations over the years. This included the students present there.

The supervisors were on alert, as is customary. After all, where there's a crowd, there's always the possibility of unforeseen events or even actions by ill-intentioned individuals using some underhanded trick.

Not that anything of the sort had happened before at the Free Feathers Martial Arts School during the classes for the new students. After all, these students were, at their core, still children. And for a child to deceive an adult is already difficult, let alone an adult cultivator whose senses are sharp and perception keen. Such incidents were only part of fanciful fiction tales that circulated among students during class breaks.

The pavilion in question was large enough to accommodate all three classes. It was well-lit with natural light. Some training equipment placed in the background was visible, as were several posters offering various job opportunities that lined one of the walls, creating a sort of private request bulletin board.

Although the Free Feathers Martial Arts School provided individual and team missions for its students, the school also allowed students to offer missions unrelated to the school itself.

It's worth noting that not all martial schools in the city supported this type of conduct. They preferred to maintain their authority somewhat monopolized, ensuring that only they could dictate where human strength would be employed through specific missions that only the school could provide.

As a result, some families, clans, and organizations sent their heirs or subordinates to the Free Feathers Martial Arts School. They did so not only because of the excellent teaching environment and values provided by the school but also for the chance to acquire labor for riskier tasks—ones that were ignored or rejected by members of their own organization.

Only four martial schools adhered to this tradition, and Free Feathers was one of them. Of course, the school received a portion of the mission payment commission directly from the requesting organization as an agency fee, and if something happened with one of the contracted students the organization would have to pay a heave sum to the family as a compensation.

The walls were in the hallways that extended through the pavilions. It was known as the 'External Walls' among the students—a casual name referring to the place where they could get tasks and missions unrelated to the school.

Inside that specific hallway, the students were gathered and organized into blocks, with each block representing their classes. Each class was accompanied by a teacher responsible for attendance and guidance.

Six intriguing devices were arranged at the front of the hallway—small platforms that could accommodate one person at a time. Around these platforms, Flux Crystals were positioned, hovering above strange inscriptions that made no sense to the students. Despite lacking doors, the devices resembled small cabins. On the side of each apparatus, a rigid band was affixed to the left.

The six devices were divided among the classes, with each class assigned two. This arrangement streamlined the measurement of each student's synchronization rate, considering the martial training sessions in the Martial Pavilion later in the afternoon.

In pairs, the students were called by the evaluating teachers, and their synchronization rates were tested swiftly and simply.

The students stepped onto the small platform, putting into practice the state of Flow Attunement. Next, they absorbed the Flow from the atmosphere, as they had learned in previous classes.

By observing the local flow movement and reading the students' bodies, the rigid band displayed symbols that the teachers interpreted and recorded in each student's file. The entire operation took no more than a minute, depending on how easily the student entered the Flow Attunement state.

The rapid measurement unfolded, reports were filled out, and the students were dismissed for the break between classes.

Kizaer's class, A-2, had already released more than half of its students. The average synchronization rate ranged from 1% to 1.5%, which was quite good, considering that the first step of the skin stage corresponded to only 5% of complete bodily synchronization.

Still, a few students managed to reach the 2% mark, prompting the teachers to add some additional notes to their files. After all, it's better to maintain control over the classes' development so that these students can eventually be separated from the rest and redirected to more advanced classes with more difficult techniques for them to cultivate

At that moment, the responsible teacher called another pair. "Student Ethan and Student Wang, approach and step onto the platform. Put your methods for achieving flow attunement into practice and perform your breathing exercises to absorb the Flow from the atmosphere."

Both students ascended the platform, and after a few seconds, the devices came to life. The Flux Crystals emitted a soft and gentle light, and each student's rigid panel displayed different symbols.

"Student Ethan, Flow Synchronization Rate: 2.5%. Student Wang, Flow Synchronization Rate: 2.6%." The teacher declared, promptly making the necessary annotations in the students' files.

Ethan wore a small smile of personal pride, but his gaze revealed subtle hints of disappointment. After all, he trailed behind Wang by just one-tenth. Wang, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the result. He left the hallway and headed toward the main courtyard to meet with acquaintances.

Despite having a higher Flow Synchronization Rate than Ethan, Wang showed no apparent emotion. Wang hailed from a humble background, a resident of the West District. Everything he possessed in life had been hard-earned through laborious work. These tasks, many of them exhausting, forced and pushed his young body to develop its potential, resulting in rapid advancement of his flow synchronization.

Ethan was well aware of this, and the slight disappointment stemmed from the fact that he belonged to an aristocratic family and had greater access to resources and training environments than Wang. Yet, he had been surpassed by him. Ethan wasn't foolish enough to harbor resentment toward Wang's achievement; after all, the two matters were unrelated.

Ethan left the hallway in silence and headed to the courtyard. However, unlike his usual routine after the morning classes, Ethan didn't join his friends at the courtyard. Unnoticed by others, he followed the same path Wang had taken.

The evaluations continued, and the teacher called out two more names: "Student Ruth and Student Ciona, approach and step onto the platform. Put your methods for achieving flow attunement into practice and perform your breathing exercises to absorb the Flow from the atmosphere," he instructed once again.

Both students followed the instructions. Under the gentle glow of the Flux Crystals, their Flow Synchronization Rates were verified.

"Student Ruth, Flow Synchronization Rate: 1.8%. Student Ciona, Flow Synchronization Rate: 2%," the teacher declared. However, as he began making notes, something particular caught his attention.

Ruth was part of the student body that had never received any martial training. She had only started her Flow Cultivation training less than four days ago, yet she already had a 1.8% synchronization rate? This was an important matter to examine more closely because two possibilities could be flowing through Ruth's life at that moment.

The first scenario was that Ruth had a natural talent for flow attunement, dramatically increasing the speed at which she achieved synchronization during each training session—an encouraging sign. If this hypothesis were confirmed, Ruth's progress would be closely monitored by some supervisors, and she might even be invited to become a disciple of a senior professor at the college.

The second scenario, however, was more complicated. Ruth might have a congenital issue related to her flow attunement. She shouldn't advance too far in Flow Cultivation because the congenital problem would affect the attunement leading to incorrect synchronization of her body with the Flux.

Contrary to what one might expect, individuals with this congenital issue experience much faster synchronization rates than their peers. However, over time, their lives become constantly endangered.

Those with this congenital problem tend to die young, and some of these fatalities can be quite painful.

This condition can easily be mistaken for common illnesses. The only difference is that when the symptoms manifest, any Flow Cultivator can sense the affected person's body irregularly absorbing Flux, leading to meridian damage and, ultimately, death at some point.

In any case, the teacher made the necessary observations, and Ruth's file would be reviewed by administrative figures that resides inside the administrative pagoda to ensure her case wouldn't be neglected. Given both possibilities, all we can do for now is observe and monitor young Ruth's development.