Xu Zhou filled a bowl with food and took it back to his room after a quick stir.
He split a bit of his consciousness to control the speckled chicken to start eating.
The big rooster was initially a bit sluggish, but upon touching the food, it instantly became alert, pecking at the food wildly with its head bobbing up and down.
Xu Zhou realized he didn't need to focus much of his consciousness; the speckled chicken would eat autonomously, seemingly a form of muscle memory had developed.
Seeing this, Xu Zhou nodded slightly, not bad, it seemed he didn't need to worry too much about its feeding.
He left the room.
In the living room, his father Xu Tianhai and a pretty young girl were sitting at the dining table.
The girl was Xu Zhou's sister, Li Ruoxi, who was taking small bites of food with an air of quiet elegance.
Father looked at Xu Zhou concernedly, "Little Zhou, you're going to be divided into your field of study tomorrow, right?"
"Yes." Xu Zhou nodded and sat down on the chair.
Xu Tianhai asked in a serious tone, "Have you decided what you want to pick for your high school specialization?"
This world is different from Earth; high school specialization begins in freshman year.
It's not divided into arts and sciences, but into literature and martial arts.
The literary route focuses on culture, while the martial arts route follows the Martial Arts path.
The reason for early specialization in high school is because, in this world, one is considered an adult by freshman year, and only at adulthood can one engage with cultivation methods.
If they are exposed too early, it can affect development and even cause significant harm to the body.
Before Xu Zhou could speak, his sister Li Ruoxi said, "No need to make a decision too early."
"After the division tomorrow, you will undergo an awakening test, and if you fail to awaken, even if you chose the martial arts path, you'll be returned to the literary path."
She continued eating and added, "Of course, if you feel unconfident, you can directly choose the literary path."
Xu Zhou nodded, "Since Sister said so, then I must try the martial arts path."
Li Ruoxi glanced at him coldly, "Don't hold too much hope, be prepared to fail, that way you won't feel much if you do fail."
Facing such blunt words from his sister, Xu Zhou smiled, unsurprised.
Although Li Ruoxi was his sister, there was no blood relation; combined with her outstanding talents since childhood, she always held a bit of arrogance towards him, her frail and often-ill younger brother.
But Li Ruoxi's words weren't from arrogance, but heartfelt concern.
The better one's physique, the higher the chance of awakening.
In Li Ruoxi's mind, the weak and sickly Xu Zhou obviously had little chance.
Beside them, Xu Tianhai said seriously, "Xu Zhou, your academic scores are good, even if you fail to awaken, the literary path is a good choice."
Xu Zhou just smiled at his father's words.
"You never know unless you try; maybe I'll awaken successfully?"
Frankly, even if it was his former self, he would also choose the martial arts path.
His former life's greatest dream was to catch up to his talented and proud sister, and Xu Zhou, inheriting these memories, also had such an aspiration in his heart.
Having said that, Xu Zhou quietly ate without further comment.
Seeing this, Xu Tianhai hesitated, looking at his son with a trace of guilt in his eyes.
Since Xu Zhou's biological mother passed away ten years ago, Xu Zhou became somewhat introverted.
Xu Tianhai couldn't bear the loneliness and remarried Li Yanping, and during that time, he lacked attention for Xu Zhou, who then became even more withdrawn.
Now in the blink of an eye, his son is an adult but also has inherited his biological mother's physique, weak and sickly.
Therefore, Xu Tianhai always felt guilty towards Xu Zhou.
Seeing him choosing martial arts, he felt it was unsuitable and wanted to speak a few words of advice, but the words lingered on his lips, unsure of how to start.
What he didn't know was that Xu Zhou didn't care about any of this.
At this moment, Xu Zhou just wanted to quickly finish his meal and see how the big rooster was doing.
After dinner.
Xu Zhou walked into the room and saw the big rooster standing dazed on a pair of overalls.
When his consciousness wasn't split, it typically stayed in a dazed state.
Xu Zhou shooed the rooster away and picked up his overalls, his school pants which somehow got ruined by this chicken.
He didn't mind though and turned to look at the bowl on the ground.
"It's all eaten?" Xu Zhou was a bit surprised; the bowl was rather large, yet it was completely emptied.
It seemed this speckled chicken avatar had quite the appetite.
That night, Xu Zhou stayed by the speckled chicken's side.
What surprised him was that the big rooster had no urge to defecate at all.
"Could it be that everything it eats is fully absorbed?"
Xu Zhou glanced at the panel, noticing the net weight hadn't changed.
It really only gains a kilogram a day, just a kilogram... Xu Zhou thought thoughtfully.
...
At seven thirty in the morning.
Linjiang City No. 1 High School.
Xu Zhou walked through the school gates in a white school shirt, black overalls, and black leather shoes.
He was surrounded by high school students wearing the same style of uniforms, all looking vibrant and youthful, at an age that looked good without the need for beautification.
"I never thought I'd be in high school again." Xu Zhou felt a little nostalgic.
He opened the panel.
Avatar: Speckled chicken
Rank: 0
Net Weight: 4 kilograms
In the early hours of the morning, the speckled chicken gained another kilogram.
Compared to yesterday, it had grown two kilograms, but Xu Zhou didn't feel any enhancement, possibly due to its weakness.
Deep in thought, Xu Zhou walked towards the classroom, soon arriving at the door of Class 1-8.
The classroom was noisy, the students full of chatter.
Especially with the upcoming literature and martial arts division, many were passionately discussing.
As soon as Xu Zhou sat in his seat, his desk mate put an arm around his shoulder, "Xu Zhou, we're going to be separated!"
"Separated?" Xu Zhou turned his head in confusion.
This guy was Wen Yuehui, a boy with bronze-toned skin, looking full of reluctance.
Wen Yuehui sighed, "Yeah, we're about to specialize, and I'll be going to the martial arts path. Xu Zhou, what am I going to do without you!"
"..."
Xu Zhou was a bit speechless; this person was his best companion in high school, often because he let him copy his homework.
"I'm going into the martial arts path too," Xu Zhou said.
Hearing that, Wen Yuehui laughed, "Xu Zhou, don't humor me."
Xu Zhou shook his head, saying nothing more.
In Wen Yuehui's eyes, Xu Zhou was better suited for the literary path.
The martial arts path not only required a good physique but also consumed a lot of money and resources.
Decades ago, these were subsidized by the state, but now, unless you're a genius, most people don't enjoy those subsidies.
So students with poor family backgrounds or congenital diseases generally chose the literary path.
Xu Zhou's family wasn't poor; combined, his parents earned a little over ten thousand a month, but sustaining his sister's development had already lowered their standard of living.
Seeing Xu Zhou remain silent, Wen Yuehui's cheeky smile slowly faded, turning serious, "Xu Zhou, don't feel disheartened. The literary path also has good prospects now."
Xu Zhou nodded, "I know."
At this moment, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom.
He was dressed in a simple black tunic, with gray hair, medium-built, and a stern face, "Quiet."
"I believe everyone knows the specialization is next."
"Don't rush in choosing martial or literary. Regardless of your family background or physique, take the awakening test first."
"If you can awaken a high-level talent, then choose martial arts, even if your family background is poor, the school will try to subsidize you."
"Alright, I won't say more nonsense, everyone follow me."
With these words, he led the way out of the classroom.
The class was immediately abuzz.