Era of Mist

First period was politics, and second was math. All the while, Shi Tiexin had been wrestling with his arithmetic problems. His math teacher, Teacher Chu, who was also the homeroom teacher for Class 28, noticed Shi Tiexin’s strange behavior, but he paid him no mind. In his opinion, it was already more than he could ask for that a punk from the "trash class" could just sit there quietly without causing trouble.

’At least he wasn’t screaming, shouting, disrupting the class, and then beating up his math teacher and homeroom teacher. What more could I ask for?’

He was quite content.

So, Teacher Chu finished his lecture and left the moment class ended. He wouldn’t extend the lesson by a single minute or say a single unnecessary word. The punks in the "trash class" weren’t worth the effort.

When the bell for the end of second period rang, Shi Tiexin let out a long breath and stood up. He stretched his sore wrist as he headed to the bathroom to relieve himself.

"So badass!"

"What a show-off!"

"Sick! Sick! Sick!"

In the interface before him, praise banners popped up flauntingly, one after another. Stars poured from the border with a RATTLE, all crashing into the progress bar. The icon for the supplementary manual’s usage progress filled up completely, blasting out three extra stars that also slammed into the progress bar.

The progress bar advanced relentlessly, pushing forward from around the seventy-percent mark. An hour and a half of focused study sent it surging toward the end. By the time Shi Tiexin reached the bathroom and began to relieve himself, the progress bar was hitting its final few ticks.

The "Comprehension" insignia on the left side of his vision suddenly erupted in a brilliant glow, shooting out several rotating pillars of light with a WHOOSH. Then, the entire insignia flew upward, plunged into the progress bar, and vanished completely.

’Looks like the "Total Comprehension" buff has run its course.’

But it had contributed its last ounce of power.

[Basic Mathematics First Realm Cultivation Progress has been raised to Excellent]

The progress bar flared with a blinding light, far more dazzling than the last time it had filled up. The word "Excellent" on the right side of the bar instantly expanded, covering more than half his vision, before slamming down to the left.

DONG! The world seemed to shake. The word "Excellent" replaced the original "Good," taking its place on the left side of the progress bar as the new starting point. A new, empty bar extended out to the right, and at its far end, a new word appeared.

[Profound]

A violent shudder wracked Shi Tiexin’s body. The bathroom before him suddenly seemed utterly mundane.

’Excellent! My Basic Mathematics First Realm has already reached Excellent! This speed is insane! It’s all thanks to you, Champion Scholar Stone!’

’And just as I thought, the realm beyond Excellent is "Profound." I always felt there had to be more levels, and now one has finally appeared. I even noticed the word yesterday when I was looking at the supplementary manual’s attributes. Now, that realm is beckoning to me.’

’Time to charge toward that realm without a moment’s rest!’

Shi Tiexin returned to the classroom. He sat down and pulled out a new workbook, ready to continue his cultivation. However, after opening it and taking a closer look, he frowned.

He suddenly felt that this workbook was too easy for him. ’Or rather, too bland.’ Looking at the simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems, he felt they no longer sparked any desire for a challenge. There was no kick to them. He was confident he would make zero mistakes on problems of this level, and practicing them further would likely bring no improvement.

He picked up his pen to try a few, and sure enough, his work was as smooth as flowing water. Problems that once required careful thought could no longer stump him in the slightest. He also discovered that the effectiveness of this kind of workbook had indeed diminished. He did three sets of exercises in one go, which should have yielded at least seven or eight stars, but this time, he only received a single one.

’Too slow.’

’Could it be that "Normal" quality supplementary manuals are no longer suitable for me?’ Shi Tiexin realized. He glanced at the unfinished workbook and ultimately put it down.

’Time is limited. I have to study in the most efficient way possible.’

Rummaging inside his desk, Shi Tiexin pulled out a new supplementary manual.

[Quality: Fine]

[Usage Progress: 0%]

[Attribute 1: High Difficulty. This supplementary manual has a high difficulty. It cannot be used without reaching the "Qualified" realm in Basic Mathematics First Realm. If used without reaching the "Excellent" realm, usage speed will be slowed according to skill level. In return, cultivation speed is further increased by 20%.]

This supplementary manual, titled *Advanced Arithmetic Drills*, was the very same "Fine" quality manual he had picked up and put down before. Back when he had just reached "Qualified," he’d been beaten senseless by the flood of high-intensity, high-difficulty problems and had fled in utter disarray. But now, only a day later, Shi Tiexin was about to take on the challenge once more.

Opening the workbook, Shi Tiexin steeled himself as if facing a great enemy and began to solve the problems.

’Hmm...’

’I can read this...’

’I can understand it—’

’I can do it!’

’These "high-difficulty" problems weren’t even that hard anymore!’

In that instant, Shi Tiexin’s heart filled with elation, and the movement of his pen became even smoother. He felt that this workbook was now perfect for him. It wasn’t so easy as to be boring, nor was it so difficult as to incur a speed penalty.

’It’s a perfect fit. It’s really, absolutely perfect!’

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK. Shi Tiexin squeezed his pen so hard it groaned, ramping up his speed as he charged relentlessly onward. Not far away, Zhou Nan was incredibly curious. He couldn’t understand how this boss could tackle elementary-school-level problems with the same intensity his own older brother had when playing *Fist King* at the arcade. He curiously craned his neck to take a look, and—’Whoa, my eyes are spinning! My head hurts!’

Instantly defeated, Zhou Nan stared at Shi Tiexin, a new kind of awe blooming in his heart. He had always been in awe of Shi Tiexin, but this was different. This was the reverence of a slacker gazing up at a god-tier student.

’I can’t even solve a single one of these problems, but the boss is blazing through a whole workbook!’

’He really lives up to his "Champion Scholar Stone" nickname. A god-tier student like him... is just terrifying...’

During fourth period, just as class was about to end, Shi Tiexin finally rubbed the bridge of his nose and halted his frenzied charge. ’I can’t go on. I’m exhausted.’ A full morning of high-intensity, high-focus cultivation was more than even he could handle. His cultivation levels for Essence and Psyche were still too low; one morning was his absolute limit. With his Psyche depleted, forcing himself to continue would only lead to countless mistakes and yield no results.

Stars flew out in a steady stream, and the progress bar rose by nearly twenty-five ticks. Even with the "Fine" quality supplementary manual, his speed had inevitably slowed down. Still, this rate of progress was acceptable. ’At this pace,’ he calculated, ’I can reach "Profound" in about a day. This is basically flooring it!’

’For now, though, I should take a break.’

Stretching languidly, Shi Tiexin relaxed his mind. The moment he did, he noticed something was off.

The teacher on the podium was still lecturing at an unhurried pace, but the atmosphere below had undergone a subtle shift. Some students were packing away their books and pens. Others looked restless and eager. One was even leaning halfway out of his seat, posed like a sprinter ready to bolt.

’What’s with these guys?’