Taking Over as Class Leader

Sensing the hostile gazes from all around, Li Mu felt a dull ache in his head.

Hao Meng's move to make him class monitor had completely caught him off guard. Bearing the intense hostility in the classroom, Li Mu jogged to the podium and grabbed Hao Meng's arm.

"Senior, you can't do this to me. I'm just a freshman, and you're making me class monitor? Aren't you pushing me into a fire pit?"

Hao Meng hadn't expected such a strong reaction from the classmates either. He slapped his forehead, as if realizing the crux of the matter, and quickly shouted to everyone.

"Everyone, don't worry. Li Mu didn't force me to give up the class monitor position using his status as the second young master of the City Lord's mansion. I proposed this suggestion entirely for everyone's benefit."

They had initially thought that Senior Hao had finally come to his senses and realized his actions were inappropriate. However, his weak clarification immediately reignited the entire classroom.

"I understand now, Class Monitor. So this kid did force you with his status."

"Class Monitor, don't be afraid. We will never comply. We support you."

"Shameless second young master of the Li Family! I originally heard he was a good-for-nothing who only frequented brothels, a spoiled young master, and I didn't quite believe it. Now it seems it's true."

Li Mu felt like he could kill Hao Meng at that moment. On his first day of school, he had already made himself an enemy of everyone.

After a long commotion, Hao Meng finally managed to quiet the agitated crowd with great effort. He tidied his thoughts and began to speak.

"Everyone knows our academy's resource allocation principle: everything is based on the likelihood of achieving Core Formation Realm. Therefore, most resources are directly supplied to the Heaven Tier Class, because the seniors there have a greater chance of forming a Golden Core."

"The same applies to teaching staff. Although teachers treat everyone equally, they will inevitably lean towards nurturing students with a higher potential to embark on the immortal path. This is human nature and a situation the academy must face to grow and prosper."

Hao Meng's words caused the students in the Profound Tier Class to wear solemn expressions. They knew that what the class monitor said was the truth. The path of Immortal Cultivation was incredibly difficult, and for the academy to cultivate talent, it was inevitable that limited resources would be channeled to those with exceptional talent.

"Moreover, the academy's Mid-Year Grand Competition is in two months. There will be a Class vs. Class Competition, and according to academy tradition, the resource allocation ratio for the latter half of the year will be decided based on the competition's outcome."

"Every year, the Heaven Tier Class takes fifty percent of the resources. The remaining fifty percent is for us and the Earth Tier Class to compete for. In the past three years, we have lost every Class vs. Class Competition against the Earth Tier Class. As a result, the resources allocated to our Profound Tier Class are only about ten percent, even though our class has the most students."

Every word Hao Meng spoke struck a chord in the hearts of every Profound Tier Class student. Nearly a hundred people in the class, the vast majority were from commoner families. Even those from aristocratic families were mostly from collateral branches or born to concubines. These students had witnessed the harsh realities and the law of the jungle in the Immortal Realm since childhood.

After pooling their family's strength, their own talent, and their hard work, they had finally managed to enter Qinglan Academy to cultivate. They thought the path to Immortality was within reach, only to find that the world within the academy's walls was still cruel.

Regardless of their age upon enrollment, students at Qinglan Academy could only cultivate there for six years. Once their time was up, they had to leave. Many seniors in the Profound Tier Class had cultivated for six years without breaking through and left the academy with regret. Some continued to cultivate on their own, pursuing the elusive path to Immortality, but most resigned themselves to fate and gave up, content to live as ordinary people for the rest of their lives.

"This year is my sixth year at the academy, Hao Meng."

Only then did everyone remember that their class monitor, Hao Meng, was already an elder of the academy. According to the academy's rules, if he couldn't break through to Core Formation this year, he would have to leave the academy as well.

"I joined the Profound Tier Class two years ago, and you all favored me by making me class monitor. However, I haven't fulfilled my responsibilities in these two years, and we are still the weakest class in the academy."

At this point, some girls in the class began to sob quietly, and even many boys had red eyes.

Since Hao Meng joined the Profound Tier Class, he had single-handedly fought against several students from the Earth Tier Class in every Class vs. Class Competition. Each time, he would fight until he was exhausted before stepping down, but even so, he couldn't bring the class a single victory.

"Therefore, I must hand over this class monitor position to someone more capable. Although Li Mu is a freshman, his strength is so great that even I am inferior to him. Moreover, he comes from a prestigious family, and he will surely be more resourceful than me in many matters."

Hao Meng's words were very sincere and caused all the Profound Tier Class students to fall into deep thought. Among them were many who had been enrolled for five years. Who wouldn't want to obtain more cultivation resources at the academy? Even if they couldn't achieve Core Formation in the end, a more solid foundation would still be a guarantee for their future development.

"Class Monitor, no matter what decision you make, we will support you."

"That's right. Since even you acknowledge Li Mu, we'll listen to you."

Soon, all the students present reached a consensus. Seeing their fervent gazes and Hao Meng's expectant look, Li Mu knew he had no reason to refuse.

Thus, on his first day at the academy, Li Mu officially succeeded Hao Meng as the class monitor of the Profound Tier Class.

The next day, as dawn broke, Li Mu climbed out of bed in the academy dormitory. Ever since his transmigration, he had developed the habit of waking up early for morning exercises, practicing the Li Family's ancestral Qi Cultivation Method.

There were two famous cultivation techniques passed down in the Li Family. One was the Family Swordplay Ten Forms, created by the Qinglan Sword Immortal Li Yubai. The other was the Innate Art, passed down since the founding of the Li Family. This Qi Cultivation Method focused on solidifying the foundation and was divided into three layers. It was a rare foundational cultivation technique for before the Nascent Soul Realm.

Facing the rising sun, Li Mu sat cross-legged and circulated the Innate Art, drawing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi into his body. It would naturally flow through the Chest Center, Stomach Bend, and Sea of Qi acupoints before finally entering the Dantian. This was one cycle. After continuously circulating it for twenty cycles, his morning practice was complete.

The five-point spirituality bonus was evident. Generally, it took one to two years for the Innate Art to reach the Perfection of the first layer. However, Li Mu, after only half a month of cultivation, had already touched the ceiling of the first layer. He only needed to refine and condense the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in his Dantian into a Golden Core to reach the Core Formation Realm. Such a cultivation speed was unprecedented.

Returning to the dormitory, Li Mu saw that Hao Meng had also woken up and was practicing boxing in the courtyard. He was practicing the Dragon Martial Saint Fist. The fist winds were sharp, and the intent was fierce, like dragons and tigers emerging from the mountains, exuding astonishing power.

"Excellent fistwork! Senior, your fist momentum is overwhelming, and your artistic conception is profound. I am in awe, junior."

Only after Hao Meng finished his fistwork did Li Mu clap and praise him. The depth of Senior Hao's cultivation accumulation was truly admirable. If he hadn't cheated using the system store's heaven-defying items that day, he would have been absolutely incapable of blocking that punch.

"Senior, I see that your understanding of Fist Intent and the condensed aura are already very profound. By all rights, you should have entered the Core Formation Realm long ago. Why is it?"

After hesitating for a moment, Li Mu still asked the question in his heart. He genuinely hoped that Senior Hao could break through his bottleneck.

"Junior, you don't know. We absorb Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi and condense it in our Dantian. When the absorbed Yuan Qi reaches a certain amount, by circulating the corresponding technique, we can refine it into a Golden Core. For years, although I have continuously accumulated Yuan Qi, I always felt it wasn't enough to condense a Golden Core, so I have been delayed in breaking through."

Hao Meng did not hide anything and generously told Li Mu the bottleneck he encountered in his cultivation.

Abundant Yuan Qi, yet unable to form a Golden Core. Li Mu had never encountered such a situation. He might have to ask his father for advice; perhaps he would know a way to solve it.

Li Mu also quietly noted down the difficulty Hao Meng was facing. If there was an opportunity, he would definitely help Senior find the reason for his inability to break through.

"Senior, yesterday in the classroom, you kept mentioning the Mid-Year Grand Competition and the Class vs. Class Competition. Can you explain it to me in detail? Since I have taken over as class monitor, I have a responsibility to seek benefits for the Profound Tier Class. This competition, I think, is a good opportunity."

Li Mu was eager to know about the academy competition in two months. Although he possessed the Simulation System, Li Mu was not confident in helping the Profound Tier Class achieve a turnaround. Therefore, preparing in advance seemed particularly important.