Era of Mist

Shi Tiexin was stunned for a long time, lost in the aftershock of the information overload, unable to snap out of it until a hand slammed down on his desk.

SMACK!

A hand, its owner clearly at their wit’s end, slammed down in front of Shi Tiexin. The teacher appeared beside his desk, grinding his teeth in anger. "Young man, this is class! You’re in the prime of your youth, what are you daydreaming for? An inch of time is an inch of gold, but an inch of gold can’t buy you an inch of time. Hurry up and open your textbook and study!"

Shi Tiexin stared blankly at the teacher before finally jolting back to his senses. He’d been in a daze from looking at the diagram, but the slap had shocked him wide awake.

Shi Tiexin stood up.

He towered over the teacher like a mountain.

Seeing Shi Tiexin’s imposing figure and solemn expression, the entire class broke out in a cold sweat. ’Brother Tie isn’t going to hit the teacher, is he? That would be way out of line.’ The teacher himself was also a little panicked. He had just been walking around the room when he noticed this guy hadn’t even opened his textbook, causing the anger he’d been suppressing to flare up. But now, facing him directly, he felt an inexplicable pressure that made his heart pound.

’Look at him, he’s staring at me with those huge, bull-like eyes. It’s terrifying!’

Just as the teacher was about to take two steps back, on the verge of blurting out something in alarm, Shi Tiexin spoke.

"You’re right."

"Huh?" The teacher could hardly believe his ears. This delinquent, who looked like a gang boss, was actually yielding to him?

He didn’t know that Shi Tiexin was mulling over the words he had just said.

’An inch of time is an inch of gold... that makes so much sense!’

’If I could never go back, that would be one thing. I could just develop my skills here, practicing the Heart and Power Techniques step by step. Besides, it seems like this world doesn’t have the Martial Dao, so I have no competitors. But now I’ve suddenly realized that’s not the case at all! Even without a concrete timeline, I just know I can’t stay here for too long.’

’Since I can’t stay here, that preliminary provincial exam I’d tossed to the back of my mind has to be brought front and center again.’

’The qualifying test for the preliminary provincial exam is right around the corner!’

’Fengming First Middle School has such great resources, so many secret manuals, and such cheap supplementary texts. It’s now or never. And then there’s that inexplicable enlightenment—if this isn’t a case of ’an inch of time is an inch of gold,’ then what is? If I had the money, if I could just pay to add more time, I’d go bankrupt screaming, "Admin, top me up!"’

"Time is precious and cannot be wasted!" A fiery aura erupted from Shi Tiexin, like the progress bar from his cultivation last night. Even his eyes seemed to crackle with electricity.

He clenched his fist and declared with overwhelming, unstoppable momentum, "I must study against the clock!"

Then, ignoring the teacher completely, he plopped back down, took out his arithmetic flashcards, and buried his head, beginning to practice furiously.

The teacher stood by, stunned, completely baffled by what this kid was pulling.

’Did... Did I manage to reform him?’

’Did this delinquent kid really turn over a new leaf just because of a few words I said?’

’I didn’t even say that much! This is incredible!’

’And also, young man, this... this is Political Studies class. Why are you doing math problems? And elementary school math problems at that!’

’But... ah, whatever. I’ll let it go. He backed down, and his attitude is decent enough. Besides, as long as he’s studying, studying anything is better than not studying at all. I’ll be the bigger person and won’t press the issue—if I keep at it and he really does punch me, I’m the one who’s going to get hurt...’

With this inexplicable mix of feelings, the teacher resumed his lecture. As for Shi Tiexin, he was like a car with the pedal to the metal, speeding down the highway of arithmetic.

He had already been very focused, but now, under the pressure of an unknown countdown, his concentration reached a new peak.

SCRIBBLE, SCRIBBLE, SCRIBBLE. The tip of his pen was like a scanner probe, sketching out the correct answers as fast as he could think. That strange sense of enlightenment appeared again. This time, whether because he was more focused or because he had seen that diagram, Shi Tiexin finally understood where this feeling came from.

’This isn’t some unity of heaven and man, nor is it some cosmic truth being poured into my head. The reason I have this sense of enlightenment, this feeling of being carried to a higher rank by an expert, is entirely because of my counterpart in this possibility—because of this ’Champion Scholar Stone’.’

As he worked through the problems, fragments of memory began to dissolve into his mind. It was as if Shi Tiexin had suddenly merged with the Champion Scholar Stone, as if he could see the boy in elementary school, writing furiously and studying just as hard as he was now.

He saw the Champion Scholar Stone practicing over and over again, through spring and autumn, summer and winter, year after year, never once stopping the arduous work of honing his fundamentals. The reason the Champion Scholar Stone was the Champion Scholar Stone was precisely because he had used every single moment to build an unshakable foundation. It was because he had excelled beyond his peers, starting with basic arithmetic, that he was able to shock everyone in the high school entrance exams and become the First Guard Champion Scholar.

Shi Tiexin suddenly understood. Without this enlightenment, even with premium- and supreme-grade secret manuals and supplementary texts, it would be impossible for him to reach "Good" and look toward "Excellent" in one fell swoop. This was all the result of arduous cultivation, built up drop by drop of sweat. Even if there was a shortcut, the shortcut itself still required an accumulation of time and sweat.

And this enlightenment was precisely the Champion Scholar Stone showing him the path he had once walked. Only through hard work could a foundation be forged. And the Champion Scholar Stone had already worked hard, had already felt it, had already persevered. That was why Shi Tiexin could now experience the thrill of advancing by leaps and bounds.

Shi Tiexin suddenly realized that this was probably a reward for his fated mission. It was because he had beaten up Teng Chaoguo, letting the Champion Scholar Stone vent his frustrations and fulfilling his wish, that the Champion Scholar Stone had grown closer to him. That was why the Champion Scholar Stone was feeding his own foundation back to him.

Feeling the Champion Scholar Stone’s perseverance, Shi Tiexin was suddenly moved.

’You... and I... we really are the same person.’

’Our natures are the same.’

’Stubborn as a stone, hard as iron.’

’Don’t worry, Champion Scholar Stone. I won’t waste your gift. I won’t waste ’our’ hard work. I will carry your perseverance forward with me and shatter the shackles of fate.’

’I will definitely pass the preliminary provincial exam, and I will definitely help you fight your way back into the elite class!’

"Class dismissed!"

The teacher gathered his textbook, glanced at Shi Tiexin, and saw that the kid had actually spent the entire class studying with incredible focus. A sliver of fondness for this student suddenly bloomed in his heart.

After all, a prodigal’s return is worth more than gold.

’What was this kid’s name again? I should mention this to his homeroom teacher.’