Xu Yuan tried hard to recall the original owner’s study-related memories.
This recollection actually proved somewhat useful.
Countless bits of knowledge seemed to awaken, surfacing in his memory and giving him a few ideas on how to solve the question from before.
He flipped through the exercise book and, beneath the fill-in-the-blank question “The Three Principles of the Dao of Alchemy,” wrote: “Harmony of yin and yang; generation and restraint of the five elements; monarch, minister, assistant, and envoy.”
This process of practice, in turn, reinforced his memory.
It took a full dozen-plus minutes.
Only then did Xu Yuan sort through the high school knowledge of alchemy one by one and commit it to memory again.
It was actually rather thought-provoking.
He had originally thought that those experts who could fly through the skies and burrow through the earth only needed to stir their spiritual power, and they could casually unleash all sorts of wondrous techniques.
But that was not the case.
Just by looking at the single subject of alchemy, one could tell how vast and profound it was, as boundless as the sea.
—It was divided into basic theories and laws, materials science (spirit herbs, minerals, auxiliary materials, and so on), tools and pill furnaces (types of pill furnaces, knowledge related to artifact refining), essentials of alchemical incantations (types of pill fire, control of heat), pill formulas, and more.
It was practically a vast discipline with its own complete system.
If one acted self-important and arrogant before such a body of knowledge, then even with the ability for “competitions,” one’s future would be extremely limited.
Xu Yuan corrected his attitude, threw himself into it, and began writing seriously in the exercise book.
At times he wrote furiously; at times he flipped through his old notes and textbooks.
Time passed without him noticing.
Twenty-some minutes later.
Xu Yuan was drawing three types of alchemical hand seals in the exercise book.
Suddenly, he saw a tiny figure the size of a finger laboriously climb up from the edge of the desk.
The little figure was folded from yellow paper. It crawled across the desktop, making its way all the way to the exercise book.
It rolled over and unfolded its body.
—It was a talisman.
A message talisman.
This was the most basic kind of talisman. One could write something on it, fold it into human form, and have it report to the intended target.
On the talisman was a line of crooked writing:
“I got my hands on a good book. You wanna read it?”
This was—
Xu Yuan looked up.
A shifty-eyed fatty was sitting a few rows ahead, winking at him.
It was his sworn buddy, Zhao Afei.
—Wasn’t this just passing notes in class?
It seemed that no matter what world one was in, the habit of passing notes during class would never change!
Xu Yuan found it quite amusing and wrote on the talisman:
“What book?”
After writing, he flicked it lightly.
The talisman floated up, automatically folded itself into human form, clutched the backside Xu Yuan had flicked, turned, and left. It climbed down the desk, trotted briskly across the floor, and then climbed onto Zhao Afei’s desk.
Before long.
The little figure returned and unfolded once more:
“Thirty-Six Stratagems of Sweet Talk. You’ll know once you read it. It’s absolutely good. I specifically got it for you.”
Xu Yuan wrote:
“…Why would I read that!”
He looked up at Zhao Afei.
“Aren’t you going to write a love letter?” Zhao Afei sent another message. “If you’re writing a love letter to Yang Xiaobing, of course you need this kind of classic reference material.”
Yang Xiaobing…
Xu Yuan raised his head and searched through his memories.
He remembered.
Yang Xiaobing was that girl in the gymnasium.
She was indeed beautiful—the class belle as well as the school belle. Who knew how many love letters she received every day.
Her cultivation talent was also extremely high.
Yang Xiaobing had grown up together with the original owner and was a very good friend.
Even in the historical branch he had just created, she had been the only audience to witness his secret efforts.
With this relationship, Yang Xiaobing had always taken good care of the original owner.
But for some unknown reason, someone spread a rumor that Xu Yuan was going to confess to her.
In the end, it led to that scene in the gymnasium.
Yang Xiaobing returned the love letter.
The relationship between the two dropped to freezing point.
A trace of coldness appeared in Xu Yuan’s eyes.
This young master is the man who, three days from now, will be nailed hundreds of meters in the air, vying for brilliance with “Shanhe Bridge” while gazing out over the nightscape of the rivers and mountains!
And someone actually spread rumors about me, and even wrote a love letter on my behalf?
Pah!
Do they really think their literary talent is better than mine?
“I have no use for this thing. Stop messing around.”
Xu Yuan wrote on the talisman.
“No, Brother Xu,” Zhao Afei wrote back in confusion.
“What?” Xu Yuan asked.
“You already sent word this afternoon, asking Yang Xiaobing to wait for you after evening self-study. And now you’re saying you’re not planning to write a love letter?”
Xu Yuan was just about to reply when he suddenly sensed something swaying outside the window. He immediately lowered his head, assuming the posture of someone wholly focused on solving questions.
He pinched the talisman in his hand and crumpled it into a ball.
Zhao Afei was quick-witted too. Seeing him like this, he immediately picked up his pen and began calculating on his scrap paper.
After a while.
That shadow gradually moved from outside the window to the classroom door, then walked in.
It was a tall, thin middle-aged man wearing thick black-rimmed glasses. A cigarette was pinched between his fingers, and his face was flushed red. One look and it was obvious he had just come back from drinking outside.
It was the homeroom teacher!
His gaze did not turn in this direction.
—He probably hadn’t noticed!
Xu Yuan subconsciously let out a breath of relief.
Passing notes during self-study—he had almost been caught by Old Liu.
If that book Thirty-Six Stratagems of Sweet Talk was found on Zhao Afei, things would blow up big time!
At this moment.
Xu Yuan found the feeling of his high school days again.
“All right, students, stop for a moment.”
The homeroom teacher’s resonant voice rang out.
In the classroom.
All fifty-some students stopped what they were doing and raised their heads.
“At nine o’clock tomorrow morning, the monthly exam will officially begin.”
“This time it will be a joint exam among eight schools. Some well-known universities will be sending people to observe.”
“I hope all of you will correct your attitudes and face the exam calmly. At the same time, you must also seize tonight’s time to make up for the weak points in your knowledge…”
The homeroom teacher began speaking at length.
He spoke for a full dozen-plus minutes.
Xu Yuan propped his cheek on one hand, eyelids drooping. The more he listened, the more he could not help wanting to sigh.
Damn it!
This was a cultivation world?
How was this any different from Earth? Tell me, what was the difference?
Perhaps the only difference was that the homeroom teacher did not teach Chinese, math, or English.
This homeroom teacher’s surname was Liu, Liu Mingdao. He taught talisman classes for two classes.
High school mainly had nine subjects.
—Sword, alchemy, talismans, artifacts, body cultivation, beast taming, soul, spiritual plants, and formations. Nine subjects in total.
Because these nine directions were the easiest for awakening qi sense.
One had to study them all the way until the college entrance examination!
It was even harder than on Earth.
But Xu Yuan’s heart suddenly stirred, and he slowly relaxed.
—I have already become a Qi Refiner.
That meant there would definitely be a university I could attend.
For example, a student talented in alchemy, in the process of doing exercises and practical operations, slowly found the feeling and could draw upon water, fire, and the five elements—
Then in one stroke, they would step into the Qi Refining realm!
Becoming a trainee Qi Refiner meant one could enter university!
Because they had studied the knowledge of all nine subjects in advance, not only would their strength meet university requirements, their foundational knowledge would also already be solid.
From another angle.
If one was not diligent in cultivation in ordinary times, had insufficient grades, and could never find the opportunity to break through—
Then one definitely could not get into university.
After graduating high school, if one had not entered the Qi Refining realm, it was more or less equivalent to being an ordinary person for life.
Then one would go to a vocational college and learn a professional skill to make a living in society in the future.
“—Talismans are the subject that values solid effort the most. As long as you study seriously, you will gain something!”
“If there are questions you don’t understand, come to the office and ask me.”
The homeroom teacher finally finished speaking and drifted away.
For quite a while.
No one in the classroom spoke.
The pressure was too great.
Only when Zhao Afei said in a voice neither too loud nor too soft:
“I heard universities have dual cultivation courses. That’s really worth working hard for.”
Only then did the atmosphere gradually ease.
Quite a few female students turned their heads and glared angrily at him.
“Dual cultivation isn’t what you think it is,” a male voice rang out. “For example, when cultivating alchemical methods, you need a large quantity of spiritual plant materials to refine pills.”
“That requires finding a Dao partner who practices spiritual plants so you can cooperate with each other.”
“That way, there will be materials for alchemy. After the pills are refined, you can sell them, and then provide money to buy seeds for the spiritual plants.”
“That is what dual cultivation is. It is not what you’re thinking.”
“Zhao Afei, if you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense and drag down the level of our class for no reason.”
Xu Yuan glanced over.
The person speaking was Li Tao. His grades were quite good too, but he just liked showing off and lecturing others.
Sure enough, Zhao Afei’s face flushed red. He clenched his fists, as if he might charge over at any moment.
“Li Tao.”
Xu Yuan spoke.
Li Tao turned to look at him.
“Zhao Afei is good at alchemy. When he mentioned dual cultivation, he was originally thinking of finding someone who practices spiritual plants so they could earn money together,” Xu Yuan said. “What did you think he meant?”
“Wasn’t he just—” Li Tao got halfway through before reacting and immediately shutting his mouth.
“Go on,” Xu Yuan asked calmly. “In your imagination, what other meaning do you think dual cultivation has?”
Li Tao could not say anything.
Meeting the amused gazes of the other boys, he somewhat regretted why he had stepped on Zhao Afei.
Zhao Afei was good at alchemy.
A weakling, nothing more.
But Xu Yuan was a reckless fool who practiced sword arts and body arts.
If he really provoked him, Xu Yuan would directly pin him to the ground and beat him up.
That would not look good.
Li Tao muttered under his breath, lowered his head, and began doing questions.
The classroom slowly quieted down again.
Zhao Afei gave Xu Yuan a thumbs-up.
Not long after.
The bell for the end of class rang.
It was already ten o’clock at night.
Everyone chatted in twos and threes as they packed their things, preparing to leave the classroom.
Suddenly.
At the classroom door, a slender figure leaned in and glanced at Xu Yuan.
She wore a washed-pale blue-and-white school uniform. The collar was slightly loose, revealing a swan-like neck as fair as lychee flesh.
Her long high ponytail made her look especially spirited.
—Her looks were simply unbeatable.
Just looking at those eyes like rippling water was enough to make one’s heart thump.
It was none other than Yang Xiaobing!
Many male students slowed the pace at which they packed, wanting to look at her a little longer.
She beckoned to Xu Yuan and mouthed:
“You were looking for me?”
“Yeah.” Xu Yuan smiled, strode out, and went downstairs with the girl.
Walking through the campus.
The early autumn night already carried a chill.
If it were any other day.
The original Xu Yuan, with his blunt, careless personality, would definitely have said things like, “Wear more clothes, are you cold, how about putting on my jacket?”
But now.
Xu Yuan said not a single unnecessary word.
“They’re all saying you’re writing a love letter? To me?”
Yang Xiaobing asked half-jokingly.
Looking at the other students on the tree-lined campus path and the vague, intermittent glances they cast over—
Xu Yuan suddenly thought of many things.
—Three days later, she came to return the love letter and was mistakenly kidnapped by the criminals!
Might as well be direct.
Settle this matter now.
Xu Yuan lowered his voice and said:
“I don’t have the habit of writing love letters before exams.”
“—But I heard someone is going to impersonate me and write a love letter. I wonder which lowlife is that despicable.”
Yang Xiaobing was startled, then also lowered her voice and said:
“That is possible. After all, I’ve already turned down a lot of invitations and was preparing to participate in the group battle with you during the monthly exam.”
The monthly exam was divided into two parts.
Individual exam and group battle.
The individual exam was a written test.
The group battle was a live battle in teams of four, and its score accounted for sixty percent of the total grade!
Xu Yuan immediately understood.
According to the original owner’s memories, Yang Xiaobing had originally intended to bring him along to participate in the group battle.
In that case, the original owner would definitely have obtained a decent score.
After the love letter incident occurred—
Yang Xiaobing seemed to have given up inviting the original owner in order to avoid suspicion.
The original owner had neither reached the first layer of Qi Refining nor had friends to help him in the exam.
He only received a very poor score.