It was already half past five when Sorata set off. The shortest route from Sakurasou to the station was a ten-minute walk, requiring him to go straight through a street called Red Brick Commercial Street.
The technology in this world was at the stage when smartphones had just come out. Red Brick Commercial Street was lined with various shops from the 1980s, full of retro charm, and Kanda Sorata had grown up on this street since childhood.
Just as he walked into the street, people from the shops on both sides kept greeting him, from fishmongers to vegetable sellers. By the time he crossed the long street, he was even holding a croquette given to him by an old lady.
While eating the croquette, Sorata arrived at the station ahead of time.
The station was called Geidai mae Station, but it was still a ten-minute walk to Suimei University of the Arts after getting off. Moreover, the station only had one ticket gate, and residents living on the opposite side had to cross a level crossing and go around to take the train.
Seeing that there was still time, Sorata found a place to sit outside the ticket gate, leaned lazily against the circular iron railing, and began to think about his current situation.
Although Sorata looked listless, he still kept a bit of attention on his surroundings to avoid missing the person he was supposed to pick up, because he knew that the photo Sengoku Chihiro had given him was indeed a deceptive photo.
Sorata's mood while waiting was very calm. Even though Shiina Mashiro, who would appear according to the plot, would become his girlfriend in the future, his mind did not waver in the slightest.
After all, the current him was no longer the former him. How could he be moved by the sight of a beautiful woman like an ordinary high school boy? He had seen many stunning ethereal fairies, light elf queens as perfect as if sculpted by the Creator, saintesses from cultivation holy lands, and goddesses.
The quality of this body was average. Both physical strength and constitution were similar to ordinary high school students, but the mental strength should be about three times stronger than ordinary people due to the stimulation of the true spirit's awakening.
There was thin energy wandering between heaven and earth. It was speculated that there must be extraordinary power beneath the surface of this world's society, but because the cultivation environment was too poor, even if it existed, it should not be very strong.
However, the harsh cultivation environment had also restricted the recovery of his strength. He had tried several immortal martial arts and cultivation techniques before, and although they could be cultivated, the effect was several times lower than expected.
Even relying on the few True God level cultivation techniques he had, reaching the peak of the elemental stage was estimated to take about ten years, let alone advancing to the Ancient God level.
After waking up, while sorting out his memories, Sorata had been distracted by observing and studying the surrounding environment. He had even tested several powerful cultivation techniques he knew while chatting with Kamiigusa Misaki.
What was a bit troublesome for him now was choosing which cultivation system to follow. Whether due to the external environment or his own reasons, he was not used to the feeling of emptiness and lack of power in his body.
Moreover, Japan's modern peaceful society was superficially very safe, but many people died in earthquakes, tsunamis, and car accidents every year, not to mention the unknown forces hidden beneath the surface of society.
Sorata did not want to be accidentally hit by a drunk driver one day when he went out, or encounter a ghost or something and be caught off guard. Would that not be a laughingstock?
So he was already thinking about how to quickly cultivate self-defense power to deal with accidents or supernatural events.
This environment was also not suitable for magic element meditation and cultivation. It seemed he still had to go back to his old ways. After thinking for a long time, Sorata decided to take the path he was most familiar with, using the power of bloodlines to transcend the mortal realm.
For Sorata, who had once reached the peak using the power of bloodlines, he had long since understood the fundamental mysteries of bloodline power and could condense various bloodlines he knew out of thin air.
Speaking of bloodline power, he began to consider which bloodline would suit his current situation. It needed to be one that could ignore the external environment and differences in world rules, quickly grant powerful strength without affecting future potential.
Witch Clan bloodline? No, the concentration of spiritual energy in this world was insufficient to condense even the lowest level Witch Clan bloodline imprint, and there was no innate evil energy to absorb and quickly increase strength.
Next, Sorata rejected many kinds of Primordial God level bloodlines and thought about the Star Titan. After fusion, the body absorbed the endless power of the stars in the universe to increase strength. The juvenile Star Titan was already tens of thousands of feet tall and possessed the power of a God level being.
However, to condense the Star Titan bloodline imprint, a piece of star essence gold was needed as a guide to attract the power of the stars, and the degree of fusion with human bloodline was low. Sorata frowned and rejected this plan.
Speaking of absorbing the power of stars... A smile appeared on Sorata's face as he looked at the sparse figures at the station.
He remembered that Superman's Kryptonian bloodline characteristic was infinite physical evolution, and ordinary Kryptonians were no different from ordinary people before absorbing the power of the yellow sun. The requirements for condensing the bloodline imprint were not high.
Plus, the similarity between Kryptonian genes and human genes was over ninety percent, so after condensing the imprint and fusing it into the body, the transformation speed of the bloodline from virtual to real should also be very fast.
The Kryptonian bloodline was a miraculous bloodline with a high upper limit, reaching the power of a golden Superman or a thought-based Superman with multiversal Primordial level strength, and a very low lower limit, almost the same as an ordinary person.
When his strength was about to reach its peak, he had descended into the DC universe and encountered a golden Superman who had been in a supergiant star for an unknown amount of time. That golden Superman's strength was so terrifying that he could shatter galaxies with a single punch of his physical body, solidify time with a thought, and extinguish supergiant stars with a breath. Even if Sorata had unleashed his hidden strength at that time, he could only fight him to a draw.
In the end, to obtain the other party's essence blood for research, Sorata had paid a great price to reach a deal with that golden Superman.
Thinking of this, Sorata decided to condense the Superman bloodline imprint as a means to improve his strength in the early stage. It just so happened that his true body had once fused with the golden Superman's essence blood, so he was no stranger to the Superman bloodline.
As for Superman's early weaknesses, such as kryptonite and low magic resistance, Sorata had many ways to solve them.
Just as Sorata made his decision, a tram pulled into the platform. Because it was during the spring break, there were not many people coming and going, just twos and threes getting off the train.
While Sorata was looking for someone, he saw a familiar face. The other person also saw Sorata sitting outside the station, looked surprised, and walked over.
"What are you doing here? Waiting for me?"
Mitaka Jin said with a smile, then shook his head in self-denial before Sorata could even speak. "No, that is impossible."
Mitaka Jin lived in room 103 of Sakurasou and was a third-year student in the general studies course at Suiko High School. He was a well-known off-campus emperor at Suiko, rotating between the homes of several girlfriends six days a week.
He was tall and slender, over one point eight meters, which was considered tall in Japan and full of presence. With handsome features and medium short brown hair, he wore neat glasses that gave him an intellectual impression, exuding a gentle and refined aura.
"What is that you are holding? It smells good." Mitaka Jin said, craning his neck to look at the bag in Sorata's hand, a childlike curiosity appearing in his mature eyes.
"Oh. An old lady gave me this croquette when I came from Red Brick Street earlier." Sorata did not show any special reaction and casually gave the remaining croquette to Mitaka Jin, who looked like he wanted to eat it.
"Hmm, thanks. I only had breakfast today." Mitaka Jin said, taking the croquette unceremoniously and eating it with relish.
"Wow, this tastes good. Sorata, you are amazing. People just give you such delicious snacks when you walk by. I am so envious." Having eaten his fill, Mitaka Jin offered a flattering remark with a hint of teasing.
Sorata smiled and replied without any pretense, "Not at all. How can this compare to Jin Senpai, who can make women pregnant just by walking down the street?"
"Hey hey. Do not slander me. I always use condoms," Mitaka Jin retorted.
"Uh... you do not need to tell me that. You should probably say that to Senior Misaki, and should you not be more mindful of your surroundings when talking about this?" Sorata shrugged, looking at the passersby around them who had heard their conversation and were giving them strange looks.
"Wow, this croquette is really delicious. Where can I buy it?"
Sorata heard Mitaka Jin's intention to change the subject and smiled without saying more about Misaki. "This croquette is from the bakery in the middle of Red Brick Street. Aunt Saga would be very happy if she knew you praised her."
"By the way, since you are not here to pick me up, what are you doing here?" After finishing the croquette, Mitaka Jin looked at him curiously.
"This." Sorata took out the photo from his pocket.
Mitaka Jin exclaimed in surprise, "What a cute little girl."
"Yeah, she is quite cute," Sorata nodded.
"Your sister?"
"No."
"No? Could it be... I know. Sorata, it is not too late to go to the police and turn yourself in."
"As expected of a scriptwriter, Jin Senpai, your thought process is truly amazing. However, this girl is someone Chihiro Sensei asked me to pick up," Sorata said with a faint smile, returning Mitaka Jin's teasing without politeness.
Just as the two were chatting, a black taxi pulled into the taxi stand, only a few meters away from them. A girl wearing the Suiko High School uniform got out.
The girl was tall and somewhat slender, with smooth light yellow hair draped over her shoulders and skin as white as snow. Her eyes added a touch of maturity to her appearance.
After getting out of the car, the girl quietly sat down on a bench by the nearby round flowerbed. Her delicate features were expressionless, and an invisible light seemed to radiate from her body.
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