Era of Mist

Dark tides were surging for the Celestial King’s throne. Countless hooligans wanted to become the new Celestial King. One after another, the big shots who ruled the trash classes all started making their moves, intending to fight for the position of overlord. But no matter which class’s big shot it was, they were all paying close attention to Shi Tiexin’s movements. The reason was simple: having just taken down Teng Chaoguo, Brother Tie of Class 28 was now in the spotlight, his name on everyone’s lips.

If this guy competed for the Celestial King’s throne, he would absolutely be a formidable opponent!

What if he doesn’t join the competition, you ask?

Are you stupid? How is that possible? We’re talking about the Four Celestial Kings! A title that lets you command all the hooligans, with none daring to disobey. Who wouldn’t want a title like that? With Brother Tie’s hardcore personality, there’s no way he would back down. That guy must be preparing a big move, aiming to shock everyone and secure his dominion in one fell swoop!

Just as numerous gazes, both open and hidden, were fixed on Shi Tiexin, another gaze was also watching him. However, the perspective of this gaze was completely different from that of the hooligans.

At noon, in the teachers’ cafeteria, two teachers were chatting.

"What? Not doing his homework, not paying attention in class?" SLAM! Someone slapped the table as if they’d been electrocuted, looking like sparks were about to fly from the roots of their hair to the tips. They ground their teeth and said hatefully, "That little bastard! Teacher Chu, don’t worry. I’ll go talk to him!"

Electric Old Jia was all charged up again.

For the entire afternoon, the students of first-year Class 3 and first-year Class 7 were walking on eggshells, wondering why Jia Guangsu was in such a foul mood again.

But Shi Tiexin was completely unaware of all this drama, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t have cared. Throughout the afternoon, bathed in the sunlight, Shi Tiexin was perfectly immersed in the world of calligraphy. A down-left stroke, a down-right stroke, one brushstroke, one line—he repeatedly practiced the Eight Principles of Yong. Shi Tiexin never knew that writing could be such a pleasing and intoxicating experience.

In the Era of Mist, technology was highly advanced, and there weren’t many opportunities to write by hand. Shi Tiexin had always thought that using handwriting to cultivate mind arts was just too old-fashioned and backward. But today, he suddenly experienced the profound depth and joy of practicing calligraphy.

This joy had little to do with the Champion Scholar Stone. Although the Champion Scholar Stone’s foundation in language was decent, it had never spent time specifically practicing calligraphy. When it came to penmanship, it couldn’t carry Shi Tiexin and help him rank up, so his cultivation progress slowed accordingly.

But Shi Tiexin didn’t care about that. He was in heaven, he was entranced, utterly lost in his calligraphy. The warm afternoon sun shone right on Shi Tiexin by the window, making him feel cozy and refreshed in both body and mind. His condition was superb. It even seemed to make the stink, a consistent feature of the trash-class building, barely noticeable.

Having blockages in his sea of consciousness was bad for everything else, but it had one upside. The flip side of his senses being dulled was that he wasn’t easily disturbed and could become completely immersed in his own world.

When the bell rang for the last class of the afternoon, Shi Tiexin stretched with immense satisfaction, a sense of languid fulfillment washing over him. Unlike being carried by the Champion Scholar Stone to rank up, this was a different kind of happiness. It was as if after his own sweat and perseverance, he had made tangible progress. There was even a joy in working hard together with the Champion Scholar Stone and improving together.

"The Celestial Dao rewards the diligent!"

The calligraphy board was swaying back and forth, and the progress bar shot up by more than fifty ticks with a ZZZT. That was not slow at all.

After dinner, he walked three laps around the athletic field, and the primitive vital essence in his lower abdomen increased by another three strands. Over the past two days, he had already accumulated more than twenty strands of primitive vital essence. His progress was incredibly fast. In fact, if he did nothing else and focused solely on cultivating his strength arts, the accumulation of primitive vital essence could be even faster. But Shi Tiexin had no intention of doing so. ’This is fine,’ he thought. ’I’ll just keep practicing as I go.’

And as his primitive vital essence increased, his energy levels also became more vigorous than before. Yesterday, after studying all day, he would have been yawning nonstop by this time. Today, he wasn’t sure if it was because he’d gotten used to the high-intensity studying or because of the rapid progress in his vital essence and mind-essence, but he could still hold on.

Shi Tiexin decided to go back to the classroom. While he was still feeling good, he would practice more calligraphy. He’d just do calligraphy for all three evening self-study sessions. During the late-night self-study session, he would find another one of his weaker subjects and start grinding it from the beginning. This way, not only would his efficiency and gains be high, but he could also rest his brain and cool down so he wouldn’t be burnt out the next day.

’Look at my plan! My time-management efficiency is top-notch!’

’Which subject gets the honor of my attention tonight?’

’Hmm... Biology. Yeah, biology it is. I skimmed it before and was shocked to find that this world’s junior high biology books actually contain sections on adolescent physiology and sex education. How thoughtful is that?!’

’Youth!’

’Physiology!’

’Sex! Ual! Knowledge!’

’Seeing those words, what fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy wouldn’t feel an itch? I’m telling you, it’s only because we didn’t have this kind of secret manual back in Tumu Castle—at least, I never got my hands on one. Otherwise, no matter how crude the manual, I could have wrung out a "pro~found~" understanding of physiology just from the dry text!’

’And then I think about the manuals here, and the "illustrated" attribute common to all those top-tier manuals... Charge, charge, charge! Charge to the summit!’

’What a great world for the flourishing of mind arts! Ohohoho~~’

’Old Tie is getting a little impatient! Ohohohoho~~’

Back in the classroom, he sat down, picked up his brush, and quickly cast aside his fanciful thoughts. Shi Tiexin became calm again. One of the great benefits of practicing calligraphy was that it could calm the mind. Stroke by stroke, Shi Tiexin conscientiously entered the zone, and the feeling just kept getting better.

’Maybe I can grind Rhetoric to the Profound level tonight?’

But good things are always met with setbacks. Just as Shi Tiexin was diligently practicing his calligraphy, a grim face appeared at the back door of Class 28, viciously staring at him. The gaze was one feared by all students: "The Homeroom Teacher’s Back-Door Stare."

Even though this person wasn’t Class 28’s homeroom teacher, the immense, oppressive aura of an elite teacher emanated from him, making the hooligans near the back door feel utterly uncomfortable.

It was none other than Jia Guangsu.

Looking at the giggling and laughing classroom of Class 28, Jia Guangsu couldn’t help but shake his head. ’The difference is too great. It’s really just too great.’

Although he was always roaring things like "You’re the worst class I’ve ever taught!" at Class 3 and Class 7, forget the elite Class 3—even the academic atmosphere of the priority Class 7 was light-years ahead of Class 28’s.

’Someone actually dares to secretly read a novel in class? If that were in my class, I’d go up and give him a "Dragon Wonton," followed by a serving of "Pickled Chili Rice" and a bowl of "Mapo Tofu"—that’ll teach him how to behave!’

’Sigh, the academic atmosphere here is truly worrying. In an environment like this, it’s difficult to maintain a rhythm of strict, self-disciplined study.’

’Right, I’ve been watching this kid for a while now. He hasn’t been laughing or fooling around. But what’s he fiddling with so secretively? It doesn’t look like he’s doing a test paper.’

’This won’t do. I have to call him out and give him a good talking-to!’

"Shi Tiexin, come out here for a moment."