Cultivation Manuals, Register and Claim Them! (Part 2)

All Six Fundamental Mind Arts were divided into levels, four layers each. But the Essence Cultivation Technique and Basic Fist Arts had no such divisions—in other words, they had only one layer. The layers of cultivation manuals were not assigned arbitrarily; specialized rules were used to assess them. From this alone, it was clear that the Essence Cultivation Technique and Basic Fist Arts were inferior in quality to the Six Fundamental Mind Arts.

Still, having trained both the Essence Cultivation Technique and Basic Fist Arts to the Excellent level gave Shi Tiexin a small measure of comfort. It seemed his diligent cultivation had not been in vain. It was just that he could not afford Body Nourishing Essence Food, so even an Excellent-level Essence Cultivation Technique could not display its full effect.

Essence Nurturing was the first stage of strength-art cultivation, and one's Essence Nurturing level was the fundamental measure of one's cultivation. With insufficient essence, even Basic Fist Arts could hardly display its power. In short, it was not that our troops lacked talent—it was that our troops lacked grain. Everything came down to having no money.

Then what about the Mind Arts? Other than Basic Mathematics, what levels were his other Mind Arts at?

The writing shifted and appeared again.

Basic Physics First Layer, Pass

Oh, Basic Physics was Pass too.

Basic Natural History First Layer, Good

Mm, Basic Natural History First Layer was actually Good. Sure enough, Heaven did not fail those who poured their hearts into their work.

Mm...

Hm?...

Wait a second...

Where were the words?!

Why had the words stopped?!

Damn it, there were Six Fundamental Mind Arts—six!

How many was this?

Mathematics, Physics, Natural History—only three! Where had Biology, Chemistry, and Rhetoric gone?

Were they all damnably unqualified?!

After all that, were my Biology, Chemistry, and Rhetoric not even qualified for the First Layer?! In this world, wasn't this situation called being "illiterate"?!

I... damn it... fuck!!

With a thud, Shi Tiexin flopped back down. His body struck the bed boards, making them groan mournfully. The guy in the lower bunk was startled awake, turned over, cursed a couple of times, and went back to sleep. Shi Tiexin paid him no mind, his heart sunk into utter dejection.

After working so hard for so long, only three of his fundamental Mind Arts had passed.

Only three!

The basic qualification for taking the Minor Provincial Examination was to cultivate both Mathematics and Rhetoric to a qualified Second Layer, while the other four subjects also had to reach a Good First Layer. If he failed to meet that standard, he would not even be qualified to take the Minor Provincial Examination.

Cultivating Mind Arts did not require eating Body Nourishing Essence Food, nor did it require tempering one's bones and muscles with Baleful Intent to build strength. On the surface, it seemed to consume less than cultivating strength arts. But how could anything in this world be so simple? Did one really think that after enduring untold hardships to obtain cultivation manuals, one could rest easy with a pillow beneath one's head and find the great path leading straight to Heaven?

Others had excellent teachers to guide them. Did I?

Others had money to hire high-level private tutors. Did I?

Others had Mind Art manuals of superior quality, profound yet easy to understand. Did I?

Others could afford Auxiliary Cultivation Manuals, greatly accelerating their Mind Art cultivation so that they advanced a thousand miles in a day. Did I?

Those things—those rich young masters, like that so-called Young Master Shen—probably lacked none of them and had them all. But I damn well had nothing!

It was not just those things. I did not even have a stable environment where I could cultivate Mind Arts without distraction. I still had to run myself ragged to survive. I still had to toil for food. I did not even have enough time to cultivate Mind Arts. How was I supposed to compete with those favored children of Heaven?

The Minor Provincial Examination was not far away, yet he truly did not even have the qualifications to participate in it.

What that guy had said really did make sense...

Shi Tiexin felt so stifled he could barely breathe. He lay on the bed for a long time, panting heavily. It was not until after six-thirty, when people gradually began getting up, that Shi Tiexin slapped his face and climbed out of bed. He had slept in his clothes last night, so there was nothing to put on today. Ignoring his roommates, he slipped on his shoes and headed straight out.

He left the foul-smelling Taigu Building and wandered idly through the campus in the faint morning light. To his surprise, quite a few students were already active in the vast school grounds.

The Trash Class dormitory area was full of people who loved eating, playing, and sleeping in, but the other areas were different. Looking around, he occasionally saw students sweeping, washing up, and grooming themselves in the morning breeze. By the time he reached the Middle Ancient Building district, he could already see students who had risen early to study. Some read books he remembered being called Chinese language textbooks, while others recited foreign languages Shi Tiexin could not understand. Yet whether he understood them or not, a feeling of vibrant youth and determined striving rushed straight at him.

Seeing these students eased Shi Tiexin's mood somewhat, and the bleakness on his face receded a little.

The atmosphere of this Sacred Land of Mind Arts was truly beyond comparison with Star Engineering Cadet School. Even though the facilities here were old and the conditions poor, the atmosphere of wholehearted learning, with everyone striving to outdo one another, was something those Star Engineering Federation cadets could never hope to match.

These before his eyes were the true Dragons Among Men. Seeing them inspired both admiration and delight.

That was right. Why was he still worrying about so much?

Though he did not know why, his consciousness had already come here and fused into one with this youth who was also named Shi Tiexin. Whether he would return, whether he could return—who could possibly know?

He had come to a brand-new world and entered a brand-new life. Then he might as well start all over again. Back in Tumubao, he had not possessed the conditions to cultivate properly. Even a First Layer Mind Art manual had required every ounce of his strength to obtain. But here, he had a complete set of manuals and did not need to worry about anything else.

That alone was an immense stroke of luck.

If he still did not strive forward now, if he was defeated and left behind by others again, then he could blame no one.

Besides... Shi Tiexin suddenly discovered an important problem—though he could not see what was happening in the private courtyard district, just within the Middle Ancient Building area, these students were not only hardworking, but every one of them was far stronger than him!

Never mind anyone else. Just listen to those reading aloud in the morning—their Rhetoric had all reached the Basic Third Layer, hadn't it? And every single one of them was at least Good. There seemed to be quite a few at the Excellent level as well.

Basic Rhetoric Third Layer, all students Good or above!

This damn standard was far too high!

And presumably, these students did not all specialize in Rhetoric. From the memories dissolved from the other consciousness, Fengming First High School valued science over the humanities. When choosing between humanities and sciences, the overwhelming majority chose science, while few chose the humanities. Shi Tiexin had already understood the concepts of humanities and sciences from the other consciousness, so he knew that what these students specialized in was not Rhetoric, but Mathematics, Physics, and the like.

Every last one of them was an expert!

No, he could not waste any more time. Shi Tiexin gathered himself and prepared to set off again, striding quickly toward the cafeteria.

Fengming First High School followed the principle of survival of the fittest. From top to bottom, it was divided into Elite Classes, Key Classes, Regular Classes, and a Trash Class that theoretically did not exist but in reality had always been there. These were not merely nice-sounding titles; they also represented real and tangible treatment.

Shi Tiexin had already engraved into his heart the difference in dormitory conditions between the Key Classes and the Trash Class. The other conditions likewise differed greatly across the various tiers.

Striding into the cafeteria, Shi Tiexin once again discovered the differences that were everywhere.

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