My Former Peak / Barbecue Beyond the Pass

Its movement speed was astonishingly fast; it could be said to be everywhere at once.

However, the process of "sinking" from its physical form into a shadow, or "rising" from a shadow, was relatively slow.

It took roughly as long as an ordinary person sinking beneath or emerging from the surface of calm water.

Once the pattern of that timing was figured out in Outcast circles, there were far too many ways to deal with it.

It was undoubtedly a critical weakness.

Still, all things considered, it was quite a useful Stand.

Qing He Miao also made a point of checking Black Sabbath's mouth.

Unfortunately, as expected, it was completely empty.

According to the original setting, there was no "Arrow" capable of activating a Stand in there.

It was only later that Diavolo supplied one and Polpo loaded it inside.

Still, that gave him an idea:

Although there's no "Arrow," if necessary, perhaps I could try putting other sharp objects or special items inside to increase its lethality?

And so, whenever he had spare time, Qing He Miao spent it in The Ravages of Time instance world, dealing with the Daoist temple, disaster refugees, and smuggling.

He occasionally cleared out some blind bandits or local tyrants, slowly accumulating experience points.

To make it easier to manage and record the vast amount of information on supplies and other matters in both worlds,

he even went out of his way to buy a USB drive in the main world. He often made spreadsheets and looked up information in private rooms at internet cafés, acting with caution and thoroughness.

Chapter 58: My Former Peak

Since the era was gradually moving on from card readers and memory cards to a time when USB drives were widespread and popular,

even in small county towns, it was easy to buy a suitable USB drive.

It was just that internet cafés were starting to become harder to get into.

Working without an internet connection was also rather difficult.

As for why Qing He Miao was so cautious by instinct?

Naturally, he was guarding against Er Zhuang, whose full name was Gao Yushan, a fellow disciple from the same lineage who might be the inheritor of Grand Luo Insight.

Although, as a respectable person,

Qing He Miao certainly wouldn't keep a diary.

Still less would he record anything about transmigration or the system on a USB drive he used online.

To anyone who didn't know the full story, it was all just a jumble of data.

But while he was at it, he still had to guard against her.

Coming back to the subject, his studies in the main world of The Outcast continued as usual.

Whenever he had free time during the holidays, he ran over to Grandma Guan's, continuing to receive the training and guidance of this Horse-Riding Immortal senior.

As his level rose, the Qi in his body and his various attributes also increased steadily.

He appeared around Grandma Guan quite often, and she seemed to think highly of him.

During the holidays, people in the business also frequently came to visit Guan Shihua, one of the Ten Elders.

Much of the time, he helped receive them.

Gradually, within the small circle of the Horse-Riding Immortal lineage Beyond the Pass, the name Qing He Miao also began to become known to some insiders.

He had built up a little reputation "in the business."

It was just that his name had yet to spread more widely through the Outcast World.

He also still hadn't had a chance to meet the Nadutong Company's regional head Beyond the Pass, the man known as Gao Lian the Incorruptible.

It seemed the regional head's job must keep him quite busy.

A year passed in what felt like an instant.

It had stirred up no waves, nor brought any great encounters.

The days flowed by, day after day, like a stream through a mountain ravine.

Except that, on this day, Qing He Miao sat in his usual seat by the classroom window.

At the lectern, the history teacher was explaining the course of ancient Chinese history in slightly accented Mandarin.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting warm patches of light on the desks.

Qing He Miao rested with his eyes closed, receiving the information from the lesson like a radio.

A system notification flashed clearly in his consciousness:

[After a teacher with a minor accomplishment in historical knowledge rigidly outlined and analyzed the successive changes of an ancient nation spanning a thousand years, your General History proficiency has increased slightly. Current proficiency: General History (Proficient).]

Suddenly, a faint, cool sensation flowed into his mind, as though certain fragments of memory that had gathered dust had been wiped clean and arranged in better order.

The underlying connections between different historical events, figures, and institutions also became clearer and easier to discern.

He opened his eyes instinctively and looked in surprise toward the lectern.

With his previous accumulation, he hadn't expected his proficiency to advance less than a year after starting high school.

Perhaps the changes in the material being taught and the teacher were also factors?

But that glance caused the history teacher, who had been speaking with great fluency, to stumble.

This student Qing often kept his eyes closed in class, looking perfectly at ease.

But his grades had always been good and quite consistent, and many teachers had also heard the rumors.

So most of them didn't bother him.

Besides, even if they occasionally did, he wouldn't listen.

But why had he suddenly opened his eyes today?

Had the teacher said something wrong?

Or was there a mistake on the blackboard?

The history teacher pondered for a moment without showing it, then turned and quickly scanned the key points he had copied onto the blackboard.

He recalled what he had just said as well, and after confirming there was nothing wrong, felt somewhat reassured.

Only when he saw Qing He Miao return to his usual appearance did the history teacher breathe a complete sigh of relief and continue teaching, a little baffled.

What he naturally didn't know was that,

not long afterward, Qing He Miao's General Literature and Science Fundamentals abilities also broke through in proficiency one after another in the same way.

As these three core knowledge-based abilities taught in modern schools all returned to the "Proficient" level,

the Forgetfulness status in his status bar, which he had carried since the start of his transmigration, finally vanished in an instant.

Qing He Miao could clearly feel that he had finally fully recovered the peak condition he had been in during high school in his previous life.

In some respects, he was even better than before, because the system had fixed his abilities in place.

That also meant he could handle his current studies with ease, at least.

Even if he stopped attending classes from now on, getting into an undergraduate program based on his overall grades would basically pose no problem.

Later on, if I try pushing for the "minor accomplishment" realm, could I compete for the top score on the college entrance exam?

The thought flashed through Qing He Miao's mind, only for him to dismiss it himself.

It wasn't impossible, but it would be of little use to his future and held little meaning.

After all, he was acting as though having a slightly more impressive diploma would let him withstand one more slap from the Old Celestial Master.

Knowledge itself was useful.

But spending his time and effort on his studies was no longer what he sought.

Time continued to pass, and in the blink of an eye, he was in his second year of high school.

One autumn night, the bell rang to end evening self-study, and a stream of students eager to fly home poured out of the school building.

Qing He Miao packed his schoolbag and walked out with the crowd at an unhurried pace.

That schoolbag, dangling from his hand like a meteor hammer, was really something.

The corridor was brightly lit, while outside the windows, night had deepened.

As he passed through a corridor connecting two school buildings, he happened to glance at the shadows on the building opposite out of the corner of his eye.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed to see a figure standing silently between the two buildings opposite.

The figure blended into the night, its outline indistinct and difficult for an ordinary person to spot, yet Qing He Miao sensed it.

The figure seemed to notice Qing He Miao looking at him.

He moved slightly, then vanished soundlessly into the darkness, so quickly that one might have wondered whether it had been an illusion.

An odd expression appeared on Qing He Miao's face, but he didn't stop.

Without betraying anything, he continued downstairs with the crowd, but at a fork, he turned onto a route that students in the high school grades wouldn't normally take after school.

The crowd quickly thinned. Once no one was around, he found a blind spot in the surveillance, pushed open a window with a swift motion, and nimbly climbed out.

Still hanging outside, he took the opportunity to close the window again.

Then he landed without a sound, and with a few leaps, arrived near the spot where he had glimpsed the figure.

The narrow passage between the two buildings had a concrete floor, with some discarded building materials and fallen leaves piled there.

No one usually came here, and now it was completely empty, with no one in sight and no obvious traces left behind.

However, just as he focused his senses, something happened!

A large hand shot out without warning from the shadows behind and to his side, like an iron clamp, its five fingers hooked as it swiftly seized his shoulder!

[Subjected to a grappling attack by LV28 Horse-Riding Immortal Deng Youcai. A minor abnormal status has appeared. A destructive power check will be performed. Check failed. Suppression and other statuses will follow.]

Though startled, Qing He Miao didn't panic. His shoulder muscles instantly tensed and dipped slightly as he tried to dissipate the force, while his feet shifted rapidly in an attempt to break free.

But his opponent was immensely strong. Once he had Qing He Miao in his grip, he gave him no chance to break free completely, immediately twisting his waist to apply force in a textbook over-the-shoulder throw!

His center of gravity pulled off balance, Qing He Miao went with the motion. Not only did he refrain from resisting the sideways force of the throw, he used it to speed up his own sideways flip!

In the split second before his body was slammed hard into the ground, his right leg swept backward like a whip, kicking the calf of his attacker's supporting leg with a heavy blow!

Chapter 59: Barbecue Beyond the Pass