Era of Mist

Watching Shi Tiexin scribble furiously, Gu Shaohuai’s first impulse was to report him. He could say Shi Tiexin had broken school rules by scheming his way into a restricted area and should be severely punished—ideally, reported directly to the dean’s office. But the problem was, how would he extricate himself from the situation? After all, he was in the exact same boat.

But after a moment’s thought, Gu Shaohuai suppressed the urge to report him.

Shi Tiexin had already been relegated to the trash class. Reporting him wouldn’t accomplish much. It couldn’t damage his confidence any further, nor could it crush his fighting spirit—you might as well try to get a rise out of someone in a vegetative state by cursing them out.

Therefore, Gu Shaohuai decided the best course of action was not to alert his prey, but to observe Shi Tiexin instead. ’He walked right into my sights. Would it be my style not to investigate thoroughly? If I find out this Champion Scholar Stone is showing any signs of making a comeback, then, hmph, hmph, hmph, he can’t blame me for being ruthless!’

He’d vaguely heard there was some trouble in the trash class today, something about a few delinquents getting into a particularly nasty fight. The students in the key classes didn’t pay much attention to the details. In fact, it was rare for any commotion from the trash class to capture the attention of students from the key or elite classes.

But Gu Shaohuai felt this was perfectly normal.

’Hmph, trash from the trash class should stay where they belong—rotting into compost at the very bottom of society. But before you mold over completely, contributing to my grand plan is the highest honor you’ll ever achieve.’

’If this Champion Scholar Stone really thinks he can defy the odds and pull off some zero-to-hero comeback stunt’—Gu Shaohuai mentally calculated the cash he had on hand—’it’s more than enough to give him the full treatment!’

’So, what is this Champion Scholar Stone actually up to? He looks so absorbed in his studies...’

Gu Shaohuai glanced around, then stood up from his seat and pretended to head to the restroom, taking a roundabout path toward Shi Tiexin. He kept an eye on Shi Tiexin as he walked, trying not to be noticed. Seeing that Shi Tiexin was completely engrossed and showed no sign of looking up, he grew bolder and walked closer.

’I’m going to find out what you’re up to, you bastard!’

Luckily, Shi Tiexin was sitting near the aisle. Gu Shaohuai tiptoed up behind and to the side of him, stretched his neck, and peered over. He froze, thinking he must be seeing things. He rubbed his eyes, wiped his glasses, then stood on his toes and craned his neck to look again. No, he wasn’t mistaken. It was exactly what he thought it was.

An elementary school math textbook. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division!

A sense of utter absurdity washed over Gu Shaohuai. ’What the hell? What on earth is this Champion Scholar Stone doing? Why is he doing elementary school problems? Is this some kind of trick? A smokescreen?’

Forgetting all pretense of stealth, Gu Shaohuai stretched his neck again for a closer look. He saw that Shi Tiexin’s scratch paper was covered in dense calculations—all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It definitely wasn’t an act. Just then, Shi Tiexin finished the last of a third-grade math book, then pulled another workbook from his bag and kept going.

In that instant, Gu Shaohuai’s sharp eyes caught a glimpse inside the bag. There were a dozen or so books in there, all of them workbooks on basic arithmetic. He got a clear look at the one on top: it was called *Little Genius* something-or-other and even had a cartoon on the cover.

’There’s no mistaking it. This Champion Scholar Stone is actually studying elementary school math!’

At this point, Gu Shaohuai abandoned his restroom pretense. He could barely resist a cold, disdainful snort as he turned and walked back to his own seat.

’No need to worry about this Shi Tiexin anymore.’

’No need to investigate him further, no need to even think about him. He’s a complete lost cause.’

’Instead of reviewing his actual coursework, he’s wasting time on basic arithmetic. It looks like the Champion Scholar Stone couldn’t handle the pressure and has finally snapped. Little Genius? More like Little Lunatic!’

’He couldn’t even handle a little setback like that, and he thinks he can compete with me? Pfft!’

’As expected, my path to glory is completely unobstructed.’

Shaking his head smugly, Gu Shaohuai walked away, thoroughly pleased with himself.

Shi Tiexin, for his part, hadn’t noticed a thing. He too was lost in his own world of enjoyment, though it was a pleasure he could never share with anyone else.

He had completely finished the problems in the "Study-Practice Integration" book. The icon on the right side of his vision filled with light, then, with a ZING, it flashed brightly, shooting five stars toward his progress bar. Amidst a series of CLINKING sounds, the bar extended by another one-twentieth, much to Shi Tiexin’s delight.

’It seems that completing an entire set of exercises provides an extra boost to my Heart Skill cultivation.’ Of course, Shi Tiexin wasn’t sure if this was true for every auxiliary manual, or if it was a special effect unique to this supreme-grade Heart Skill Secret Manual.

’Either way, it doesn’t matter,’ Shi Tiexin thought. ’If all the books do this, great. If not, so be it. I’m on a roll right now. A five-star boost is nice, but I can earn that much progress myself with just a little more time.’

He glanced at the time. It was past ten o’clock, yet not a single person had left the elite class study hall.

’As expected of the Heart Technique Sacred Land. Diligence itself is a form of cultivation here!’

’I can’t fall behind, then!’

Shi Tiexin set aside the "Study-Practice Integration" book and pulled out a workbook. After a moment of consideration, he decided against grabbing the premium workbook with the "High Difficulty" attribute, opting instead to build a solid foundation from the basics.

’After all, my current skill level is just past ’Good,’ still a long way from ’Excellent.’ The premium workbooks might increase my cultivation speed—which would probably mean getting more stars in my field of vision—but the problems are much harder. My speed on each question would decrease, and I’d be more likely to make mistakes. All things considered, the regular-quality workbooks are a better fit for me right now.’

’I’m just a beginner who’s finally getting the hang of Heart Skill cultivation. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. The most important thing is to know my limits and take things one steady step at a time.’

’Besides, I have the auxiliary manuals right here. They’re not going to grow legs and run away. What’s the rush?’

’Alright, let’s go, go, go! Back to the problems!’

TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK. The hands of the clock moved relentlessly. Time flowed on. Shi Tiexin studied. Gu Shaohuai schemed. In that same span of time, both felt they had made great gains, but the nature of those gains could not have been more different.

At eleven o’clock, Gu Shaohuai packed his things and left. He had other targets to scout and needed to go observe the situation in the key class. He deliberately walked past Shi Tiexin and saw that he was, indeed, still doing elementary school math. He let out an arrogant, disdainful smirk and strutted away like a proud rooster.

By eleven-thirty, people had begun to pack up, some taking a drink of water, others heading to the restroom, and still others leaving in a hurry. Shi Tiexin, however, relied on his massive bladder capacity and remained seated, as immovable as a mountain.