Cultivating Literature and Martial Arts, Racing Against Time! (Part 2)

During the first political class and the second math class, Shi Tiexin was wrestling with his arithmetic problems. Teacher Chu, the homeroom teacher for Class 28 and the math teacher, also noticed Shi Tiexin's unusual behavior, but he didn't intervene. In his opinion, it was already a great feat for a delinquent from the garbage class to sit there obediently without causing trouble.

At the very least, he wasn't shouting during class to disrupt order and then beating up the math teacher who was also his homeroom teacher. What more could he ask for?

He was quite satisfied.

So, Teacher Chu finished his lecture as usual and dismissed the class without delay, absolutely not holding them a minute longer or saying an extra word. The delinquents from the garbage class weren't worth his time to drag out the lesson.

When the bell for the end of the second class rang, Shi Tiexin also let out a long sigh and stood up. He stood up, stretching his sore wrists, and headed to the restroom to relieve himself.

"So awesome!"

"Show-off, can you still sit still?"

"Amazing!"

In the interface before his eyes, signboards kept popping up ostentatiously, one after another. Stars flew out from the borders, all hitting the progress bar. The icon representing the usage progress of the Auxiliary Cultivation Manual was completely filled. This time, it had exploded three extra stars, all of which hit the progress bar.

The progress bar kept surging forward, from around the seventy-mark all the way forward. An hour and a half of focused study sent the progress bar rushing towards the end. By the time Shi Tiexin reached the restroom and started to relieve himself, the progress bar was in its final few markers.

The "Insight" badge on the left side of his vision suddenly blazed with light, shooting out several rotating beams of light before flying upwards and disappearing into the progress bar.

It seemed the "Complete Insight" buff had run its course.

But it had contributed its final strength.

[Basic Mathematics First Layer cultivation progress has been raised to Excellent]

The progress bar suddenly lit up with a strong light, more dazzling than the last time it was filled. The word "Excellent" on the right side of the progress bar suddenly enlarged, obscuring more than half of his vision, and then it slammed down towards the left.

Thump, the earth shook. The word "Excellent" replaced the original "Good" position, anchoring itself on the left side of the progress bar, becoming the new starting point. A phantom empty bar extended to the right, and at the end on the right, new text appeared.

[Profound]

Shi Tiexin trembled all over, and the restroom before him instantly lost its appeal.

Excellent! His Basic Mathematics First Layer had reached Excellent, what speed! All thanks to you, Scholar Stone!

Moreover, the realm above Excellent was indeed "Profound." Shi Tiexin had always felt there must be further realms, and now they had finally appeared. Yesterday, while observing the attribute descriptions of the Auxiliary Cultivation Manual, Shi Tiexin had already noticed this term. Now, this realm was beckoning to him.

Then he would charge towards this realm without delay!

Shi Tiexin returned to the classroom and sat down, taking out a new practice booklet to continue his cultivation. However, after opening it and looking closely, he frowned.

He suddenly felt that this practice booklet was too simple for him. Or rather, too bland. Looking at these simple additions, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions, they no longer aroused his desire to challenge himself; he felt no excitement. Moreover, he was confident he wouldn't make any mistakes on problems of this level, and further practice would likely yield no improvement for him.

He picked up his pen and tried a few problems. As expected, his movements were fluid and smooth. Problems that previously required careful thought were now not difficult for him at all. Furthermore, he found that the effectiveness of practicing with such booklets had indeed decreased. He completed three sets of practice problems in one go, which should have given him at least seven or eight stars, but this time it only gave him one star.

Too slow.

"Could it be that ordinary quality Auxiliary Cultivation Manuals are no longer suitable for me?" Shi Tiexin realized with clarity. He looked at the unfinished practice booklet and ultimately put it down.

Time was limited now; he had to learn in the most efficient way possible.

Rummaging through his desk drawer, Shi Tiexin pulled out a new Auxiliary Cultivation Manual.

[Quality: Fine]

[Usage Progress: 0%]

[Attribute 1: High Difficulty. This Auxiliary Cultivation Manual has a high difficulty. Users who have not reached the Qualified realm for Basic Mathematics First Layer cannot use it. Users who have not reached the Excellent realm will have their usage speed slowed down based on their level. Correspondingly, it further increases cultivation speed by 20%.]

This Auxiliary Cultivation Manual, named "Advanced Four Basic Arithmetic Operations Practice," was the fine-quality manual he had picked up and put down before. At that time, having just reached Qualified, he was overwhelmed by the intense, high-difficulty problems that flooded out, and he fled in disarray. But after a day, Shi Tiexin would once again launch his challenge.

Opening the practice booklet, Shi Tiexin felt as if he were facing a great enemy and began to solve the problems.

Hmm...

He could understand...

He could comprehend—

He could do it!

These high-difficulty problems were surprisingly not difficult for him anymore!

Shi Tiexin felt an immense sense of joy in his heart, and his movements became even smoother. He felt that this practice booklet was just right for him now. It was neither too simple, making him feel bored, nor too difficult, imposing a speed penalty on him.

It was just right, truly just right!

Crack, crack, crack, Shi Tiexin clenched his pen, increasing his speed and charging forward. Zhou Nan, not far away, was particularly curious. He didn't know why this big shot could exude the same intensity as his older brother playing "King of Fighters" in an arcade while doing elementary school problems. He curiously poked his head over to take a look, and oh my, his eyes spun, and his head hurt!

Zhou Nan, who was instantly defeated, looked at Shi Tiexin and couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. Although he had always been in awe of Shi Tiexin, this time it was different—it was the awe of a slacker looking up to a top student.

He couldn't solve any of these problems himself, yet this boss was filling up a whole notebook!

The nickname "Scholar Stone" wasn't just for show; this top student was truly terrifying...

During the fourth class of the morning, as the period was about to end, Shi Tiexin finally rubbed his nose bridge and stopped his frenzied charge. He couldn't anymore; he was too tired. A whole morning of high-intensity, high-concentration cultivation was too much even for Shi Tiexin. His Spirit and Thought Energy cultivation levels were still too low; a morning was his limit. With his Thought Energy depleted, forcing himself to continue would only lead to mistakes and no effect.

Stars flew out in a continuous stream, and the progress bar rose by nearly twenty-five markers. Even with the fine-quality Auxiliary Cultivation Manual, the speed had inevitably decreased. However, this progress was still within acceptable limits. Calculated, reaching "Profound" in about a day was like driving a race car!

As for now, he would rest.

Stretching his arms, Shi Tiexin relaxed his profound focus. As he relaxed, he noticed something was amiss.

The teacher on the stage was still calmly lecturing, but the atmosphere in the classroom had subtly changed. Some people were packing up their books and pens, some were eager to try, and some even half-leaned out of their seats, adopting the posture of athletes preparing for a sprint.

What was going on with all these guys?

Finished writing, going to coax the kids~