A Thousand Miles a Day Cultivating Heart Arts (Part 2)

Should tonight just end like this?

How could that be? I'm on a roll right now, as if aided by a god. Wouldn't it be foolish not to seize every moment to cultivate?

Then, should I go back to the dorms to study tonight?

No, no, no. With that smell, even if I were completely focused, I couldn't stand it. That slight intoxication feels like a constant damage-over-time debuff. It would be hard to even enter a focused state studying there. Do you think those delinquents like smoking in the trashy classrooms for no reason? At least twenty percent of the reason is for that intoxicating smell, using smoke to cover up the stench.

Returning to the dorms is impossible. It's absolutely impossible to go back to the dorms to study. I can only bide my time in the study hall. Seeing the fervor of the fiery energy and the wandering lightning on the progress bar showing signs of cooling down, Shi Tiexin grew anxious. He had to find a place to continue his combo!

Looking left and right, maybe I could find a well-lit spot here, sit on the ground, and borrow light from the wall? The environment would be better than the dorms anyway.

But just then, another consciousness in his mental domain fluctuated. Shi Tiexin suddenly understood—Fengming First High School truly lives up to its name, implementing the gap in levels in every aspect. Besides these few study halls before him, there was actually a larger study hall used by the Elite Class, but people like Zhao Qingmiao simply couldn't access it.

That larger study hall wasn't far. Shi Tiexin decisively turned and led the two towards the Elite Class study hall. After climbing the stairs for a few steps and taking a turn, he arrived outside the door of a large classroom. This large classroom was bright and clean with excellent conditions. Glancing inside through the large windows, he could see that it wasn't just spacious, but the seats inside were actually cushioned. Just looking at them made his backside feel comfortable.

Shi Tiexin glanced at the entrance. Good, the security guard responsible for managing the classroom and verifying student identities wasn't there. He wondered if the guard had gone to the restroom. Shi Tiexin nodded to the two, then shouldered his bag and pushed the door open, entering the Elite Class study hall.

Having heard the name "Elite Class" for so long, this was Shi Tiexin's first real, close encounter with Elite Class students. And his first impression was—it lived up to its reputation.

Shi Tiexin's door-opening action wasn't too loud or too quiet. Even the best door would make some noise. But looking around at the densely packed Elite Class students, not many reacted. The vast majority didn't even have the interest to look up. Estimating, there were at least one hundred seventy to eighty people in this study hall, but besides the rustling of pages and the scratching of writing, there was almost no sound.

Looking from front to back, all one hundred seventy to eighty people had their heads down, so their appearances couldn't be seen clearly. Shi Tiexin couldn't help but sigh; these people getting into the Elite Class wasn't by luck, it was definitely by skill. If these people had the same vision as him, perhaps they would all have a blazing progress bar hanging above their heads.

These smart and hardworking fellows were the targets he wanted to catch up to. Within half a semester, he had to defeat all the students crammed into the study halls downstairs and enter this extremely focused small collective to complete his second Destiny Mission.

Difficult.

Then there was no time to waste. Starting with basic arithmetic, he would strive to catch up!

Shi Tiexin didn't pick and choose, plopping himself down in an empty seat. He took out the remaining two elementary school math textbooks and continued his "integrated learning and practice" journey. Before writing, Shi Tiexin glanced at the right side of his vision, at the icon representing the usage progress of the Auxiliary Cultivation Manual. Indeed, more than half of it was already filled with light.

It seemed that if he used up this entire set of books, the durability of this Auxiliary Cultivation Manual would be completely depleted. Once an Auxiliary Cultivation Manual was used, it became useless; using it again wouldn't have any effect. Because of this, Auxiliary Cultivation Manuals had become a major expense in Heart Arts cultivation, an investment like a bottomless pit.

But what was Shi Tiexin afraid of now?

Extreme training and the little genius were still waiting for me!

Swish, swish, swish, Shi Tiexin re-entered that focused state, once again inexplicably being led by a master to level up. The interface disappeared, no longer disturbing Shi Tiexin's attention, and Shi Tiexin was completely immersed in his studies, blending in with all the focused students around him.

This environment where everyone was studying intently truly made it easier to settle down. Looking at the students on either side would always give one the peculiar feeling that if they didn't study, they would be left behind, and not studying was a crime.

However, not everyone in this study hall was earnestly grappling with problems.

At the back of the study hall, Gu Shaohuai was stealthily observing several seats in the classroom.

As a student from the Key Class, he indeed didn't have the qualification to study in this study hall. But rules were rules, and enforcement was enforcement. Gu Shaohuai took out money to bribe the security guard at the door with cigarettes and tea, and then expressed his passion for learning. The guard let him in.

The security guard had to be on duty here until the early hours every day, which was also very tiring.

Gu Shaohuai had sneaked in, and he felt great right now.

On one hand, he thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being in the highest echelon, even if it was fake. It was like how he liked to deliberately walk up the stairs from the fourth floor of the teaching building in the morning. Like a proud rooster stretching its neck, walking up to the fifth floor amidst the envious gazes of others watching the "Elite Class prodigy"—and then secretly slipping back down to the Key Class.

Do you think doing this is meaningless?

Gu Shaohuai thought it was meaningful. He felt that showing off like this was incredibly satisfying. It was as if the very act of turning when stepping onto the staircase leading to the fifth floor from the fourth floor proved his superiority.

And tonight, his successful infiltration into the Elite Class study hall made him feel even better about himself. Looking left and right, he felt that he was naturally meant to be in the same echelon as these elites. Sitting here, although there was no one to show off to, his self-satisfaction made him feel incredibly good.

On the other hand, he did have "serious business" for sneaking in here.

"Begin reconnaissance on Target Three. Discovered a magazine of beautiful women secretly hidden in Target Three's desk drawer. Continue recording Target Three's behavioral patterns. Before the exam, I can guide the teachers from the academic affairs office to come over for a 'caught red-handed' situation. It should be enough to successfully eliminate Target Three."

Gu Shaohuai scribbled information in his small notebook, while his shifty eyes scanned left and right: "Continue reconnaissance on Target Four..."

While reconnoitering, Gu Shaohuai suddenly froze. Wait a minute, that big idiot next to Target Four... isn't that Scholar Stone?

How did he get into the Elite Class study hall?