Era of Mist

Out of the fifteen workbooks, nine had no attributes and six did. The workbooks with attributes generally had a single one; four were of Fine quality, and two were of Pinnacle quality.

The four Fine-quality workbooks had the "High Difficulty" attribute, which was similar to the "Abstruse" one he had seen before. However, the usage requirement was lowered to passing the first level of Basic Mathematics, the deceleration realm was lowered to "Excellent," and the speed boost was reduced to 20%.

Two Pinnacle-quality workbooks possessed the "Abstruse" attribute: one was titled "Extreme Drills in the Four Arithmetic Operations" and the other was "Fostering a Little Genius: Basic Mathematics Handbook." Both provided a total of 60% cultivation acceleration.

60%!

This was twice as high as the most incredible auxiliary cultivation manual Shi Tiexin had ever heard of!

It only had one attribute, but it was simple and brutal, all about accelerating, accelerating, and accelerating some more. It steamrolled everything!

Shi Tiexin looked at the "Little Genius" workbook. Despite its ridiculous cartoon cover, a booklet like this would be an incredibly valuable item back in Tumu Castle. If he used it to trade for a body-nourishing meal plan that boosted cultivation speed by 30%, this single book could get him enough meals to last for half a month.

He flipped it over to look at the back. How much did "Little Genius" cost?

Five point eight yuan.

Five point eight yuan for a Pinnacle-grade auxiliary cultivation manual that sped things up by 60%. ’Right, how much was my student grant again?’ He carefully communicated with his other consciousness and got a number—eight hundred yuan per semester.

With eight hundred yuan, how many "Little Genius" workbooks could he buy?

He could blurt out the answer—lots and lots and lots of them!

He couldn’t calculate it. He really couldn’t. Uh, that was a little embarrassing... ’But then again, this Old Tie’s Basic Mathematics is only at the ’Passing’ stage of the first level, so it’s normal that I can’t figure it out. Still, it’s definitely over a hundred books, no doubt about it. Going by the prices in Tumu Castle, this semester’s grant is an astronomical sum.’

WAAAH! Suddenly, a heroic passion burst forth, and he was pumped full of adrenaline. His motivation to test back into the elite class by the final exams was instantly maxed out!

’For the grant! For the eight hundred yuan! For over a hundred "Little Genius" workbooks, I have to fight my way back into the elite class by the finals!’

A conviction of certain victory rose in Shi Tiexin’s heart. The chunk of consciousness in his spiritual domain actually began to hum softly in response, shedding and releasing a few more fragments. Though Shi Tiexin didn’t understand why, he felt refreshed and clear-headed.

’Looks like the other big bro is giving me an assist. So what am I waiting for? Time to pick up a book and start my Mind Art cultivation!’

FLIP. Shi Tiexin’s eyes widened. During a high school study hall, he began to stare at an elementary school math book with absolute concentration.

At that same moment, on the eighth floor of Fengming First Middle School’s administration building, inside the seemingly ordinary principal’s office, Zheng Kaoming was saying with a solemn expression, "Principal Liu, today’s surprise inspection has been successfully completed, and a summary of the findings has been compiled for me. However, some of the problems that have surfaced must be taken seriously."

Fengming First Middle School had been uneasy these past two days.

Last night, someone from the key Class 7 had roared in the classroom and assaulted a teacher. This afternoon, someone else had fabricated lies to frame a classmate. Adding in the clues Zheng Kaoming had uncovered and the various reports from his informants, he felt that discipline had indeed grown lax recently and that a thorough rectification was necessary.

Therefore, Zheng Kaoming had organized all the teachers of the disciplinary office and all the students of the Student Council’s Wind Disciplinary Committee to conduct a major surprise inspection. Dealing with Shi Tiexin harshly was to make an example of him and enforce discipline. Similarly, this surprise inspection was to further tighten that discipline.

Lax discipline leads to a lax learning atmosphere. A poor learning atmosphere leads to poor grades. Fengming First Middle School had always staked its reputation on academic achievement. If their grades were to fall, it would shake the very foundation of the school. That was why Zheng Kaoming’s expression was so grave; he had decided to ask Principal Liu for permission to take some major actions.

For example, completely removing certain troublemakers to clear the air and restore order.

Principal Liu flipped through the inspection report page by page. Suddenly, his finger paused, and he raised an eyebrow. "Climbing the wall to go buy elementary school textbooks and workbooks? Our school really has all kinds of characters, doesn’t it."

"Ahem, ahem..." Zheng Kaoming couldn’t help but cough twice, his stern face twisting into a strange expression. "There was indeed such a student. After a thorough inspection, we found that he had only purchased elementary school books and workbooks, no contraband. Our teachers gave him a lecture and let him go without issuing a demerit."

Principal Liu gave a noncommittal smile, then looked at Zheng Kaoming. "Director Zheng, I know what you want to say. But you must understand, the existence of the ’trash class’ is necessary. The previous principal, Principal Wang, specially created the trash class, and in my view, it was a very wise move."

Zheng Kaoming frowned. "Principal, the trash class is a den of filth, where delinquent youths even form gangs. Extortion, beatings, bullying... although it’s hard to find evidence, these things definitely happen. Moreover, the trash class has formed its own clique and even seems to revel in it. They even have some ridiculous title internally, the ’Four Celestial Kings.’ It’s the biggest joke in the world. Why not disband such a class and expel the students? It would even raise the school’s college admission rate."

Principal Liu smiled and said lightly, "Director Zheng, we are educators. We can’t just look at admission rates. Our duty is to teach and nurture students, to help them become productive members of society. Every student has their own shining point. The students in the trash class must also have their own unique talents. We can’t just expel them on a whim. That would go against the teachings of the Great Sage and First Teacher."

Zheng Kaoming fell silent. Principal Liu’s words were high-sounding and politically correct, leaving him with no way to rebut. But Zheng Big Head wasn’t just square-headed in appearance; his temperament was also that of a man who couldn’t tolerate any nonsense. He said nothing, but that didn’t mean he agreed.

Principal Liu didn’t seem to mind. "Even putting all that aside, the very existence of the trash class helps cultivate Fengming First Middle School’s learning atmosphere. Forcing students to study, chasing them to study—neither can compare to having students want to study for themselves. This is easy to say, but students at this age have no real contact with society. Their understanding of the world is purely from paper."

"They have no concept of the actual difference between a top student from Jinghua University and a skilled excavator operator from a vocational school. They don’t know the value of a dollar, nor do they appreciate the value of an education. They don’t worry about making a living, so naturally, they don’t understand the pressures of survival. They might be able to eloquently lecture on grand principles, but in reality, they have no personal experience of them."

"They don’t know what great opportunities, what a bright future, how much change studying can actually bring them. They might say ’I study for myself’ a thousand times, but in their hearts, they still think, ’I study for my parents’ face,’ ’I study for my teacher’s bonus,’ or ’I study for the school’s reputation.’"

"We find this ridiculous. We know very well who one truly studies for, but they don’t understand, they haven’t experienced it. So no matter how much we say, their learning is passive. And the reason we at Fengming First Middle School have such outstanding results is that we do our utmost to turn that passive learning into active learning."