Rune Studies (continued)

Finally, the chief priest injected his True Qi into the Divine Arts Array, activating it. Soon, the True Qi transformed into divine power, from which seven-colored butterflies flew out, eliciting gasps of amazement from the students. Three minutes later, the seven-colored butterflies dissipated as their divine power was exhausted.

"The Divine Arts Array allows people without Divine Arts talent to draw upon the power of the gods. Even if you do not believe in the god at all, or do not even know the god's name, it will not prevent you from casting Divine Arts. However, in return, we must offer sacrifices. You can regard it as a transaction."

What I just used was the most basic Sleep Butterfly Art, which has the effect of inducing sleep. It's ineffective against targets with strong willpower, so it only requires the sacrifice of True Qi, not offerings. But don't underestimate this Divine Arts Array. There are many insomniacs in this world. If you master this Divine Arts Array, you can at least support yourself. Moreover, you can use it on yourself when you're too nervous to sleep for an important exam, and the effect is remarkable."

These words immediately sparked a heated discussion among the students. Although none of them suffered from insomnia, almost everyone had experienced the inability to sleep due to anxiety.

"Why didn't anyone teach me something this useful in high school? If I had known this Divine Arts Array for the college entrance exam, I could have scored more than ten points."

"Exactly! After the first day of the college entrance exam, I kept thinking about the questions from the day's test and couldn't sleep. I only slept for two hours that night, and I relied entirely on my Internal Cultivation to get through the exam the next day."

"If I secretly use this Divine Arts on a girl when I invite her to a karaoke room, wouldn't that be... hehe..."

"Sir, there is a potential criminal here! Please contact the Mohist Knight Guard immediately to arrest him. I personally suggest using the 'Transformation Canon' to prevent potential crimes."

"Ancient Seal Script is the script of the ancient Witch Race, while Demon Script are the script of the High Antiquity Demon Race. We can borrow power from the primordial spirits of the Witch Race and Demon Race races through Witchcraft Array and demonic Demon Arts Array. Well, primordial spirits are aggregates of consciousness, not personal gods; they have no emotions or inclinations, so don't feel guilty. Just learn them. Besides, the Demon Race nowadays basically don't understand Demon Script; their civilization has long since died out."

Due to the existence of the Eternal Barrier, neither of these two arrays is as effective as the Divine Arts Array. Therefore, this semester we will mainly focus on Divine Runes. Students interested in Ancient Seal Script and Demon Script can study them in the library during their spare time. We will still be studying them next semester anyway, so you can consider it a preview. Okay, that's all for today's class. Remember to hand in your homework."

As the bell rang, the classroom suddenly became lively. Many students picked up their books, tapped them on the desks, stuffed them into their bags, and left, accompanied by the sound of chairs being flipped over.

Si Ming sat in his seat, staring at the still-unerased blackboard, and sighed sincerely, "I've been listening to gibberish the whole time. Now I finally feel truly detached from the student group. I feel so out of place here."

Of course, it's not exactly a pity. Divine Arts Array require extensive prior preparation, which is far removed from Si Ming's impulsive fighting style. Forcing a combination would only backfire, but it inevitably gives the feeling of a predetermined timeline.

Without encountering the "Supreme Plain Decay True Scripture), Si Ming might have given up on the path of body refinement and instead studied divine talismans, combining Divine Arts Array with martial arts, embarking on a path where "knowledge is power," since Divine Arts Array can truly transform knowledge into tangible power.

Seeing Si Ming's sighing expression, Hao Shuai, sitting next to Hao Shuai, gave him a thumbs up, laughed heartily, and comforted him, "Don't worry, even though I've been attending classes, I still don't understand anything."

"What are you so smug about?!"

"Although Divine Arts Array look very cool, the most exciting part is the array itself, not the people. Divine Arts magicians can only ever play a supporting role; they can never be the main characters or steal the spotlight. Just look at the character assignments in TV dramas; Divine Arts magicians are always supporting characters. Even in female-oriented idol dramas, Divine Arts magicians are often portrayed as the second or third male lead, giving selflessly to the female lead and ultimately winning her over in the male lead's arms."

Si Ming asked in surprise, "Such insightful observations, how come you're so familiar with idol dramas?"

Hao Shuai scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I spent the entire winter break watching TV dramas with my girlfriend. We watched eight episodes in total. I feel like I could be a screenwriter by now."

That bastard already has a girlfriend... That makes sense. He went to the Barbarian Continent too. After improving his skills, although he can't compare to Ke Chajing and the others, he's good enough to be a regular starter. As long as he has one or two great performances, it won't be hard for him to attract girls.

Seeing Hao Shuai's expectant look, Si Ming immediately swallowed his words and pretended not to notice.

I'm not going to ask, I'll make you sulk.

Sure enough, after a while, Hao Shuai started fidgeting, like he had lice. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he pulled out a photo and said, "This is my girlfriend from last semester."

Si Ming glanced at her and saw that she was indeed quite pretty, with an oval face, a tall and slender figure, and a charming appearance. However, she had a bit of the look of an internet celebrity from his previous life. Of course, internet celebrity faces were still a rarity in this world, and it wasn't easy to be naturally born with such features.

"Not bad, it's alright."

"No way, boss, your standards are that high?" Hao Shuai thought of the girls surrounding Si Ming's looks and changed his tune, "Okay, you're a man who's made a name for yourself on the world stage, your level is definitely different from someone like me who's still in the state tournament. I only need Xiuxiu."

Si Ming couldn't help but look at him with new respect. This guy usually had a flirtatious way of talking and seemed to be a womanizer, always ready to "forget his friends for the sake of women." But he turned out to be a loyal man.

"Since you've met them, cherish them."

"Of course! I buy her breakfast every morning, treat her and her roommates to meals on weekends, buy her gloves and scarves when it's cold, install air conditioning in her dorm when it's hot, and remind her to drink more hot water during her period. I take meticulous care of her. Now everyone calls me the perfect boyfriend," Hao Shuai said proudly, patting his chest.

Si Ming stared at the other person for a while, then asked in a low voice, "Have you slept with her?"

Hao Shuai blushed and said somewhat awkwardly, "These things also depend on the atmosphere. It's best to let things happen naturally, you can't force it. I plan to give her a good celebration on her birthday next month, and then just let things flow naturally... hehe... Boss, you can't tell anyone, not many people know about this."

"Not many people... so you've told others?"

Si Ming was speechless. If this matter reached the ears of a third party, how could you expect others to keep it a secret? The advice, "I'm only telling you, don't tell anyone else," is the most useless advice in the world.

Hao Shuai said earnestly, "They're all good friends and brothers. I trust them, just as I trust our boss wouldn't betray me."

"No, I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Please don't believe me."

Si Ming hesitated, then looked at the other person's happy face and knew that it would be useless to pour cold water on him at this time. Besides, it's better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage. Things might not be as he thought. At least Hao Shuai was his official boyfriend, not some backup plan. It's normal for lovestruck fools to act like this.

After thinking for a moment, she gently reminded him, "Love isn't a tug-of-war; you can't win by just pulling hard on one side. Don't just think about moving the other person by giving unilaterally; you also need to let the other person give something. Moving forward together, supporting each other, is much faster than one person carrying the other."

It's a pity there are no pay-to-win games in this world, otherwise it would be more appropriate to use pay-to-win games as a metaphor for everything. When you invest a lot of money in a game, you become more reluctant to give it up. On the contrary, you can throw away free games as soon as you want.

"That's not true. In terms of martial arts, I am indeed inferior to you, Si Ming, but I am confident only in matters of the heart."

Hao Shuai said seriously, "Women are meant to be cherished. Many women appear strong on the outside, but are actually quite vulnerable inside. She doesn't care how much money you give her, but she will always remember the flower you mischievously stole from the roadside flowerbed and placed in her hand. When you cross the street, as long as you hold her hand tightly, she will feel safe. There are many women in the world—beautiful, gentle, intelligent, cute... but no matter what type of woman she is, her desire for happiness is the same. So they wait for a man to appear, waiting for that man to treat them well."

Si Ming asked blankly, "Which magazine did you read that on?"

"The Beauty"

"Isn't this the number one best-selling women's magazine? They wrote that to attract female readers, why are you getting involved?"

"Only by trying to see things from a woman's perspective can you truly understand her thoughts."

"Then you should dress as a woman."

"..."

Seeing Hao Shuai looking thoughtful, Si Ming quickly said, "Hey, hey, I was just joking. You absolutely mustn't try it. If you awaken some strange fetish and go down a Road of No Return, I'll be guilty of a terrible crime."

"Haha, no way. With my looks, if I dressed up as a woman, I'd just get arrested by the police."

"So you really imagined yourself dressed as a woman?"