What three months, three hours!

The Spirit Shine Crystal shattered upon impact, and a wisp of gray light, like a living mist-serpent, spiraled up from the fragments before shooting into the center of Lin Yi's brow like an arrow!

"Urgh!"

Lin Yi let out a muffled groan, his body recoiling uncontrollably as he slammed into the cold wall with a loud thud.

This was, of course, merely a performance; given the strength of his soul, absorbing such a basic technique wouldn't even cause a ripple.

Yet, Lin Yi kept his eyes tightly shut, his brows knitted into a deep frown, and beads of sweat rapidly broke out across his forehead.

He was simulating with all his might, mimicking the tearing sensation he felt when his soul first encountered the Source Energy Guidance Technique in his past life.

Lin Yi remembered clearly that the feeling was like someone driving a red-hot iron rod deep into his temple... and then giving it a vicious twist.

Time seemed to freeze, and it wasn't until three minutes later that Lin Yi struggled to lift his eyelids, his pupils deliberately kept in a vacant, unfocused state, devoid of any luster.

"Xiao Yi... how are you feeling?"

His father Lin Ruiming's voice came as if through a heavy curtain, tinged with cautious hoarseness.

Lin Yi blinked slowly, as if sorting through the information exploding in his mind.

"It's like... someone took textbooks from elementary school math... all the way to advanced calculus... and shoved them all into my brain at once..."

Lin Yi spoke deliberately in broken sentences, "This... it seems like rote memorization; it will take time to learn and understand... hmm... it's a completely alien system..."

This analogy left the few prospective university students present deeply shocked.

Squad Leader Zhou Yuxuan, in particular, looked astonished. Having studied university-level content in advance, he knew the difficulty of advanced calculus, and he wore a look of surprise:

"Shouldn't you be able to learn it instantly? You have to study it yourself? Then... wouldn't it take at least three or four months to get started?"

Zhou Yuxuan's Gaokao score was even higher than Lin Yi's, and he had also been admitted to Qingteng University. Judging others by himself, he felt it would take at least three or four months to get started, unaware that many people... might never learn it in a lifetime.

"It's not too bad, actually..." Lin Yi raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his temple, "I feel... it doesn't seem too difficult. Wait... let me try to understand the most basic parts first."

He said no more and began his long, solitary exploration.

His brows furrowed and smoothed by turns; occasionally, he would gesture in the air, muttering something under his breath.

The entire Banquet Hall was subdued by the aura he projected. Everyone unconsciously lightened their breathing, and the sounds of moving or dismantling chairs were kept to a minimum. Even the soft clinking of metal felt cautious, as if they were afraid of disturbing his learning process.

Nearly three hours slipped by in a flash.

The narrow band of sunlight filtering through the gap in the heavy curtains shifted slowly across the floor.

Just about time.

Thinking this, Lin Yi took a deep breath, like a diver finally surfacing, and slowly but firmly steadied himself against the wall as he stood up.

Three hours—this was the time he had carefully calculated. Combining the rumors and anecdotes he had heard in his past life about Star Core level geniuses, he had set a standard for himself.

After all, just reading through the Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique in one's mind took about two hours; any shorter would seem a bit fake.

His rising instantly drew all eyes, and everyone's work stopped almost simultaneously.

Ye Qingyu, who had been keeping a distracted eye on his condition, subconsciously grabbed the half-finished bottle of water Lin Yi had left by his feet and trotted over.

With concern on her face, she reached out to hand the bottle to Lin Yi: "Do you want to replenish some water first? Rest for a while before...?"

Before she could finish, Ye Qingyu suddenly felt something was off.

She looked up sharply, only to realize that everyone was looking at her...

Lin Yi's mother, Zhou Jinghua, was also holding a full bottle of Mineral Water and had just walked a few steps closer. She was now frozen halfway, her face showing the same concern and a hint of helplessness.

The air seemed to stagnate for a moment.

Ye Qingyu's face turned red in an instant.

She shoved the water bottle into Lin Yi's hand, turned around quickly, and fled back to her transcription station as if flying.

If not for the fact that everyone was currently shrouded in the crisis of life and death and worry for their families, this would surely have elicited a wave of good-natured laughter.

As for Ye Qingyu, Lin Yi remembered that in his past life, her parents had both survived the first wave of the impact. Seeing her relatively relaxed demeanor now, she had likely already been in contact with them.

During this time back in the Banquet Hall, according to Lin Yi's observations, those who still had the spirit to participate in conversation were highly likely to have family members who were still safe.

As for those with red eyes, ashen faces, and a dazed look—like Chen Yu's girlfriend Su Xiao—it was very likely that their relatives had already met with misfortune.

"Xiao Yi..."

Uncle Zhou Jianjun's voice interrupted Lin Yi's train of thought.

Zhou Jianjun had been silently observing Lin Yi's learning progress. He watched Ye Qingyu's hurried retreat and thought back to Zhou Yuxuan's "three or four months" assessment, a look of worry surfacing on his face.

Seeing Lin Yi turn toward him at the sound, he set down the half-finished wooden handle of a short hammer, brushed off the dust, and said in a somewhat comforting tone:

"Xiao Yi, the most important thing in learning is not to be impatient. Since you know the method, there's no rush for this moment... take it slow, don't ruin your health."

Lin Yi didn't rush to answer. He first picked up the water bottle Ye Qingyu had shoved at him, tilted his head back, and took a deep gulp. Only then, as if he had caught his breath, did he reply in a voice that was still a bit hoarse:

"It's fine, Uncle. I feel... like I've barely managed to learn it! In a moment... I might be able to try... practicing this so-called 'source energy'..."

Learned, he learned it?!

This sentence was like a stone thrown into a calm pool.

"Holy crap, that's cool! As expected of Brother Yi!"

As a poor student, Chen Yu punched the air with force; he didn't think twice about the difficulty involved, simply assuming out of habit that if it concerned academics, Lin Yi could definitely handle it.

Most of the others didn't have a deep understanding of advanced mathematics, and coupled with Lin Yi's consistent "top student" halo, they mostly just showed expressions of surprise and admiration, feeling it was only natural.

Only those few peers of Lin Yi who also had decent grades felt a bit of doubt in their hearts.

Especially Zhou Yuxuan, who was also a top student; he was stunned at first, then a trace of suspicion flashed through his mind:

How is it possible... he learned it just like that?! Even a genius should have a limit... could it be that he... misunderstood the standard for "learning" it? Perhaps he only just touched the surface... is it actually not that hard to understand?

Subconsciously, he tried to find an explanation that he could accept for something that overturned his understanding.

"Wait!"

Zhou Jianjun's brows had not relaxed for a moment; he stepped forward in two strides and pressed down on Lin Yi's shoulder, "Your face is still pale, take it slow and catch your breath! Do you look like you're fine to me?"

Lin Yi forced a grin, revealing a tired yet slightly irritable bitter smile:

"I... really want to lie down and rest for three days and three nights... but Uncle..." His tone shifted abruptly, his gaze sweeping toward Chen Yu by the window, "I feel... uneasy... A Yu!"

Lin Yi raised his voice slightly, "How is the situation outside? Any movement?"

While everyone else was busy with their assigned tasks, Chen Yu, in addition to participating in the crafting of short clubs and shields, also shouldered the heavy responsibility of keeping a constant watch on the movement outside the window.

Hearing Lin Yi call his name, Chen Yu's face, which had been slightly relaxed due to the previous topic, immediately sank.

He subconsciously licked his dry lips, leaned back toward the narrow gap in the curtains, and scanned outside vigilantly for a moment before pulling his head back, his voice low and muffled:

"Something's wrong... damn it, very wrong! Fuck, a few of them have gathered nearby and won't leave, and I just saw another one show up!"

"As I thought..." Lin Yi's eyes narrowed, the fatigue on his face instantly replaced by gravity, "Just as I guessed... there's a high probability that it's trouble brought on by that beast that ran off earlier!"

His fingers tightened unconsciously around the water bottle.

"That's why I have to hurry; I can't wait any longer!"

His tone was resolute, "From the information in the Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique I obtained, I know that successfully cultivating source energy can significantly strengthen one's physique, which is... vital for what comes next!"