Taking Over as Class Monitor

Feeling the countless hostile gazes all around him, Li Mu felt a dull ache rising in his head.

Hao Meng's abrupt move to hand over the class monitor position had caught him completely off guard. Under the heavy hostility filling the classroom, Li Mu jogged up to the podium and grabbed Hao Meng by the arm.

"Senior, don't set me up like this. I'm just a new student, and you're making me class monitor right away? Isn't that pushing me straight into a pit of fire?"

Hao Meng had not expected the students' reaction to be so intense either. He slapped his forehead, seemingly realizing the key issue, then hurriedly raised his voice and shouted at everyone.

"Don't worry, everyone. Junior Li didn't use his status as the city lord's second son to force me to give up the class monitor position. I made this suggestion entirely for everyone's sake."

They had thought Senior Hao had finally realized that this was indeed inappropriate. Who would have expected such a pale clarification from him to immediately ignite the entire classroom once more?

"I get it, Class Monitor. That brat really did use his status to force you."

"Class Monitor, don't be afraid! We would rather die than submit. We support you!"

"You shameless Second Young Master of the Li family! I'd heard he was an idle wastrel who did nothing but drink flower wine, and I hadn't quite believed it. Now it seems the rumors were true after all."

At that moment, Li Mu even had the urge to strangle Senior Hao. On his very first day at the academy, he had somehow turned himself into a public enemy.

After another long bout of uproar, Hao Meng finally managed, with great effort, to quiet the agitated crowd once more. He gathered his thoughts and began to speak.

"Everyone knows Qinglan Academy's principles for allocating resources. Everything is judged by one standard: the likelihood of reaching the Core Formation Realm. Thus, most resources are supplied directly to the Heaven Tier Class, because the seniors there have the greatest hope of forming a golden core."

"The same goes for teaching resources. While the teachers treat everyone equally, when it comes to devoted cultivation, they will inevitably favor students who have a better chance of stepping onto the path of immortality. That is only human nature, and it is also something the academy must face if it wishes to grow stronger."

Hao Meng's words made every student of the Profound Tier Class look solemn. They knew that everything their class monitor had said was true. The path of cultivation was arduous beyond measure; if the academy wanted to nurture talent, it had no choice but to tilt its limited resources toward those with outstanding gifts.

"Moreover, the Mid-Year Grand Competition will be held two months from now. There will be a Class vs. Class Competition then, and according to academy custom, the proportion of resources allocated for the second half of the year will be determined by victory and defeat in those matches."

"Every year, the Heaven Tier Class takes fifty percent of the resources. The remaining fifty percent is contested between us and the Earth Tier Class. Yet for the past three years, we have lost every single match against them. In the end, the Profound Tier Class receives only around ten percent of the resources, despite having the largest number of students."

Every word Hao Meng spoke stabbed fiercely into the hearts of the Profound Tier Class students. There were nearly a hundred students in the class, most of them commoners. Even those born into Aristocratic Clans were from collateral branches or born of concubines. From childhood, they had seen all the coldness of the world and the law of the jungle in the Immortal Realm.

Pooling the strength of their entire households with their own talent and hard work, they had finally managed to enter Qinglan Academy to cultivate. They had thought the road to immortality lay close at hand, only to discover that the world within these high walls was just as cruel.

No matter what age Qinglan Academy students enrolled, they could cultivate at the academy for only six years. Once that term was up, they had to leave. Too many seniors in the Profound Tier Class had cultivated bitterly for six years without breaking through, then left the academy filled with resentment. Some continued cultivating alone in pursuit of that misty, elusive immortal path, but even more accepted their fate and gave up, willing to remain ordinary people for the rest of their lives.

"This is my sixth year since entering the academy."

Only then did everyone remember that Class Monitor Hao was already one of the academy's old hands. According to academy rules, if he could not break through to Core Formation this year, he too would have to leave the academy.

"I joined the Profound Tier Class two years ago. Everyone thought highly of me and made me class monitor, but over these past two years, I have failed in my responsibility. We are still the weakest class in the academy."

By this point, girls in the classroom had begun to cry softly, and even many boys had reddened eyes.

Ever since Hao Meng had come to the Profound Tier Class, he had fought several Earth Tier Class students alone in every Class vs. Class Competition. Each time, he fought until all his strength was spent before stepping down. Yet even so, he had never been able to bring the class a single victory.

"Therefore, I must hand this class monitor position to someone more capable. Junior Li may be a new student, but his strength is so great that even I feel inferior. Moreover, he comes from a distinguished family, so he will surely have better solutions in many matters than I do."

Hao Meng spoke with complete sincerity, and his words plunged every Profound Tier Class student into thought. Quite a few of them were old students who had already spent five years at the academy. Who did not want more cultivation resources? Even if they ultimately failed to reach the Core Formation Realm, a firmer foundation would still safeguard their future development.

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

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

Very quickly, all the students present reached a consensus. Looking at their burning gazes and Hao Meng's expectant eyes, Li Mu knew that 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, when dawn had barely broken, Li Mu climbed out of his bed in the academy dormitory. Ever since transmigrating, he had developed the habit of waking early every day to train in the morning. What he cultivated was the Li family's ancestral Qi Cultivation Method.

Among the Li family's inherited arts, two were especially famous. One was the Family Swordplay Ten Forms created by Qinglan Sword Immortal Li Yubai. The other was the Innate Art, passed down since the founding of the Li family. This Qi Cultivation Technique focused on building a solid foundation. It was divided into three layers and was a rare foundational technique 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 flowed from Baihui through Shanzhong, Shangqu, and Qihai, finally entering his dantian. That was one circulation. After completing twenty uninterrupted circulations, his morning training was finished.

The boost of five points of spiritual aptitude was plain to see. Ordinarily, cultivating the Innate Art to the first layer's Perfection took one or two years, yet Li Mu had cultivated for barely half a month and had already touched the ceiling of the first layer. He needed only to refine and condense the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in his dantian into a core to reach the Core Formation Realm. Such cultivation speed could be called unprecedented and unrivaled.

When Li Mu returned to the dormitory, he saw that Hao Meng was already up and practicing punches in the courtyard. He was using the Dragon Martial Saint Fist. His fist wind was sharp, his force fierce and unyielding, like dragons and tigers descending from the mountains, his might astonishing.

"What a fine fist! Senior, your fist momentum surges to the heavens, and its intent runs deep. This junior can only admire it."

Only after Hao Meng withdrew his fists did Li Mu clap and praise him. Senior Hao's accumulated cultivation was truly awe-inspiring. If he had not relied on the Simulation System's heaven-defying item to cheat that day, there was absolutely no way he could have received that punch.

"Senior, both your understanding of Fist Intent and the qi you have condensed are already incredibly profound. By all rights, you should have entered the Core Formation Realm long ago. Why haven't you?"

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

"Junior, you do not know. We absorb Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi and gather it within the dantian. Once the Yuan Qi stored there reaches a certain amount, we circulate the corresponding cultivation method and transform it into a golden core. Over these years, although I have continuously accumulated Yuan Qi, I have always felt it was insufficient to condense a golden core. That is why I have been unable to break through."

Hao Meng did not conceal anything and generously told Li Mu about the bottleneck in his cultivation.

His Yuan Qi was abundant, yet he could not form a core. Li Mu had never encountered such a situation before. Perhaps he could ask his father when he had the chance; maybe his father would know the solution.

Li Mu also quietly took Hao Meng's difficulty to heart. If he had the chance, he would certainly help Senior Hao find the root of why he could not break through.

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

Li Mu was eager to learn about the academy competition two months away. Although he possessed the Simulation System, he was not confident he could help the Profound Tier Class turn the tables, so preparing in advance was especially important.