Growth

The lessons flew by, and the school bell soon rang for lunchtime.

The bright sunlight caused a lot of the running students around Tylem to frown in sweat.

Like most schools, the Ivla students were no different with their varying desires and priorities. The majority had dashed to the school cafeteria, while another horde of students had gone straight to the field, basketball courts, or swimming pool. There were also those who just chilled in their classrooms.

Tylem had come up with many possible ideas regarding Onel's downfall, and out of them all, one in specific stood out particularly. A devilish smile crawled onto his lips.

Nevertheless, since he was not sure of the entire situation and structure of Onel, it was all guesswork. Honestly, none of the ideas were awful except for the most primitive one where he would just resort to using his physical might to fight off Lynne's harassers. Undoubtedly, this method would just create more trouble.

Charging into unknown territory headfirst with nothing but brute force was a fool's errand, Tylem thought.

Walking to the sickbay, Tylem went to visit Kaden. Usually, the chubby boy would have returned home upon being badly hurt, but instead he wished to talk to this new mysterious brother of his.

The school nurse let Tylem pass through without much trouble. Knocking twice, he asked, "Kaden?"

What Tylem didn't expect was to see the door suddenly fling open without warning. In front of him was a recovered chubby boy, a big dumb smile across his face. It seemed like he was waiting for him?

"Bro, I'm just too touched." Kaden faked a tear. "During lunchtime, where one should be resting with a plate of delicious food, your first priority was instead to check up on how I'm doing."

"You're fine?" Tylem questioned, raising a brow. That was a bit too quick, right?

"Heh, my parents have continuously praised me for my quick regenerative abilities. I guess it's a perk from god for being so handsome?" Laughing, Kaden reasoned while pointing at the heavens.

"How about it. Let's hit the cafeteria first?" Kaden motioned for Tylem to leave the sickbay with him while ignoring the school nurse who was visibly surprised at his liveliness.

"Uh, sure." Tylem serenely let Kaden drag him out the door; he was still trying to discern if the boy was okay. Seconds later, the chubby boy panted.

"Lord Grandpa, you're actually making me carry you? If we keep this up, I'm scared to even imagine the massive line at the cafeteria." Kaden 'knelt' before this great figure.

"Fine, let's go." Tylem smiled. Regardless if Kaden was faking his health, it was normal for children his age to recover fast; furthermore, recovering from pain would help the youth grow up to become a fine young man.

"Bro, about time. I'll race you there. Be sure to keep up!" Launching a pose, Kaden took off like a rocket.

Naturally, even though there was a massive crowd ahead of him, where it would be easy to get lost and separated, Kaden knew that Tylem would be able to keep up.

That warmup incident had left a massive impact on Kaden's impression of Tylem. Later, the godly situation with Colt had done nothing but increase the respect he held for him.

* * *

The massive cafeteria had a luxurious design, and the entire building smelled of delicious delicacies that an average person could only find within a top restaurant.

Truthfully, the fine fragrance did suit the design though. Instead of resembling a school cafeteria, it was much closer to that of a high-quality restaurant. This month, the cafeteria took on an ancient spring theme with peach blossoms.

There were even many waitresses attending to the tables of a select few students. These waitresses were awfully deferential to mere middle schoolers. It wasn't everyone who managed to receive this special treatment though. Rather, you needed to order certain dishes.

The first thing Tylem tried to do was to see if Lynne was present within the cafeteria. However, it was to no avail. Then, he looked around with a curious expression.

[I wonder how much it cost for Auntie and Uncle to send me here.]

Kaden was patient with Tylem despite the line growing even bigger. In the cafeteria, it wasn't required to pay upfront; instead, the employees would take nothing but your student ID card.

If Tylem said Emily's tender treatment hadn't moved him, it would be a lie. Perhaps, all the hardship he had experienced in his past life was all leading up to this one fate-changing encounter.

Emily and Weston have provided nothing but the best for him.

"I know it's your first time here, bro… but let's line up first." Kaden whispered.

"Mn." Tylem apologetically nodded while following Kaden to the line. There were roughly fifteen students ahead of them. It wasn't too bad. Upon ordering, the students would be designated a table.

Standing in line, it didn't take long for Tylem and Kaden to reach the front. While waiting, he had taken out the silver student ID card that the Dean had provided him. The male server had scanned the cards and respectfully nodded.

"Hey, so we'll both have the special Greek Lambchop with balsamic reduction. Oh yeah, and our drinks will be the mango bubble tea." Kaden straightforwardly ordered with the appearance that he had done this a million times. Of course, he had first asked for Tylem's opinion before ordering.

Hearing the main course names once more, Tylem was still in wonder. Oddly enough, it wasn't the grand school buildings that had ended up impressing Tylem; instead, it was the fancy delicious food.

It was food he had never seen nor tasted before in his last life, except for inside some magazines.

For Beijing's top private school that offered the very best resources to its students, it wasn't that unusual. Especially when one took into account that the children of the nation's wealthiest families attended Ivla.

Sitting in this very cafeteria, there were Ivla students who were the heirs to massive multibillion-dollar empires. Wielding such a great deal of power and influence in the capital, it wasn't a surprise that Onel, the famous society comprised of Ivla's very best, could straightforwardly rule with an iron fist.

The parents of these children had a million ways to get rid of someone in this 'law-controlled' world, making their enemies disappear without a trace. Climbing to the very top in Huaxia, such dirty work was necessary. It was crucial to be a part of both the light and dark side.

"Over here, pal." Kaden had received their table number, and the two promptly sat down. Finally, having finished their order, the two of them could relax for a while.

For a moment, Tylem was lost in the grand sight. Right now, he had finally realized what exactly he was dealing with. Even though the Onel society was just a group of children, their power was much greater than that of most adults.

Unconsciously, up to this point, Tylem had still somewhat looked down on these middle schoolers just because he was a little bit older than them, even though he had recognized that the situation was dangerous and required care.

[Can I even help myself, much less Lynne?]

The task in front of him seemed insurmountable like the world's tallest mountain. Tylem was becoming a bit uneasy, and it was hard to control his thoughts, but seconds later his mind returned to its normal tranquility.

"Shua."

The Spiritual Qi within Tylem nourished his mind, providing him endless comfort.

That's right… even though he was just an average eighteen-year-old youth in his last life, he was now a mythological cultivator who went against the heavens and had reincarnated.

In front of these thirteen-year-old young masters and noble misses, Tylem's status as a cultivator was the ultimate trump card that he possessed; his mental age was not much older than these seventh graders.

It was a measly five-six years. Though the number was unimportant.

However, the pain and hardship he had gone through to reach this point was something unimaginable to these children; his experience was levels beyond them. He wasn't the least bit inferior.

Wasn't it just some wealth and status? In the future, he would obtain the means to rise above everything.

Not to mention these children, with enough time, even their parents would be helpless against him.

Once again, Tylem was growing.