Your Dream, I'll Crush It

The next morning, at the Star City Academy Restaurant.

After getting their food as usual, Feng Qi, Lin Ran, and Mu Qing sat at a table to eat.

After what had happened last night, Mu Qing's attitude toward Feng Qi had clearly changed. She no longer showed the same resistance as before.

Halfway through the meal, Lin Ran suddenly turned to Feng Qi.

"Brother Qi, are you free today?"

"What is it?" Feng Qi looked up curiously, his mouth stuffed with food.

"I'm teaching Combat Class One later. If you're free, come listen. You can point out my shortcomings afterward."

Seeing the anticipation on Lin Ran's face, Feng Qi instinctively asked,

"What are you planning to teach? Cultivation Method Studies? Art Method Studies?"

"After preparing last night, I decided on Art Method Studies. My understanding of Cultivation Method Studies is still shallow. I'm not even as good as the academy teachers, so I won't make a fool of myself."

"Since you know your knowledge of cultivation method research is limited, while you've achieved much more in art method research, why are you still determined to study Cultivation Method Studies?" Feng Qi could not help but complain.

"It's a dream. Besides, I think I can do it." Lin Ran grinned, his face brimming with confidence.

"Knowing a little about everything is worse than mastering one thing. I don't approve of that mindset." Feng Qi spoke earnestly, trying to change Lin Ran's world-harming ambitions.

"Brother Qi, you mean I should focus on chasing my dream, give up Art Method Studies, and devote myself wholeheartedly to succeed?"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Feng Qi was caught completely off guard and nearly choked.

Good grief, that interpretation was incredible.

If Lin Ran really did that, then Feng Qi would definitely bear part of the responsibility for all the foolish things Lin Ran did in the future.

"No, I mean you should focus on Art Method Studies. Since you don't have talent in Cultivation Method Studies, you might as well give up early. Besides, Art Method Studies are just as important. Although cultivation methods are the core that drives art methods, powerful art methods can also make up for shortcomings in cultivation methods."

"No. A real man should bravely pursue his dreams. I'm still young. I won't turn back until I hit a wall." Lin Ran immediately shook his head in refusal.

Feng Qi: ...

Lin Ran could run headfirst into a wall if he wanted. The problem was that when Lin Ran hit that wall, he would drag several million people along with him. That was impossible to deal with.

"Brother Qi, are you free or not?"

"Yes. I'll go with you after we finish eating." Feng Qi nodded.

Since he could not change Lin Ran's mind for the time being, he planned to take it step by step. For example, he could first praise Lin Ran's talent in art method research, then belittle his talent in cultivation method research, using the contrast to make him give up Cultivation Method Studies.

"Senior Sister, do you have class? Come too." Lin Ran turned toward Mu Qing, who was still eating with her head down.

At those words, Mu Qing suddenly stopped eating, then slowly raised her head. Her mouth was still full of food, and she looked adorably foolish.

She glanced at the smiling Lin Ran, then shifted her gaze to Feng Qi.

"Senior Sister, do you have class today?" Feng Qi asked curiously as well.

"No class."

"Then come listen with us."

"No. I never attend class!" As she spoke, a trace of loneliness appeared in Mu Qing's eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

Feng Qi keenly noticed it.

He suddenly realized why Mu Qing had said that.

As an outcast in the eyes of the other students, she became the center of attention wherever she went. No one wanted to spend time with her, and in class she would inevitably receive all sorts of strange looks. That was probably why she did not want to attend classes.

Thinking of that, Feng Qi did not insist any further.

He could not change the other students' attitudes toward Mu Qing right now. Making her come along would only be another kind of torment for her.

"Then let's have lunch together."

With that, Feng Qi picked up his tray and stood. Lin Ran immediately followed.

After leaving the Academy Restaurant, the two arrived at Combat Class One.

The students were already waiting. Hearing that Junior Lin Ran would be teaching again, they were all full of anticipation.

They had benefited immensely from the previous class, so this time they had all brought notebooks, prepared to record the key points Lin Ran discussed in real time.

After entering, Lin Ran walked toward the podium while Feng Qi headed for the student seats.

The moment they saw Feng Qi enter, smiles appeared on the students' faces.

That was how the world worked. Outstanding talents were always especially respected, because they were the pioneers who cleared a path through thorns on humanity's difficult road against Domain Creatures.

But then the students noticed that "Junior Lin Ran" had actually taken a seat, while the exceptionally handsome boy who had arrived with him walked up to the podium.

After setting down the lesson notes he had brought with him, he looked at the students below with a brilliant smile and said,

"Hello, everyone. I'm Lin Ran. I'll be teaching all my seniors from here on."

"Whoa!"

The students instinctively turned to Feng Qi, their eyes filled with confusion.

Lin Ran continued at that moment,

"I know everyone has many questions. I won't go into the specific reasons, but in short, the person who taught you last time was Senior Feng Qi, the one sitting in the corner on the right side of the classroom. I'm the real Lin Ran."

"My abilities may not compare to Senior Feng Qi's, but I've achieved a little in Art Method Studies. Next, I'll explain some of my research findings in Art Method Studies."

With that, Lin Ran opened the first page of his lesson notes.

The students in the classroom were still in shock. Although they now understood they had mistaken the two of them, their gazes toward Feng Qi remained full of curiosity.

If he was not Lin Ran, then who exactly was he? Why had they never heard of him before?

But soon, Lin Ran's lecture drew their attention.

"We all know that casting art methods requires us to draw upon the spiritual energy within our bodies, trace Spell Trajectories outside the body, and then cause the spiritual energy to undergo a qualitative transformation and erupt with power. But I've always felt that the process of casting art methods is far too cumbersome. You have to draw energy, then trace trajectories. In short, it's a hassle. So I considered a question: could the process of casting art methods be drastically simplified? To that end, I developed a prototype for a simplified casting method. I call it the Seal Incantation Stream..."

Starting from his complaints, Lin Ran's explanation gradually became more professional, and he introduced an extremely novel concept for casting art methods.

The Seal Incantation Stream!

Upon hearing this, every student looked stunned. Some even cursed Lin Ran inwardly, believing he was simply bragging and being unrealistic.

But Feng Qi was different. The moment he heard Lin Ran mention the "Seal Incantation Stream," he thought of the information he had seen in the Database.

The evaluation had specifically highlighted the "Seal Incantation Stream" created by Lin Ran.

He simply had not expected Lin Ran to have already formed the prototype of the Seal Incantation Stream at this point.

The detailed explanation of the Seal Incantation Stream that followed caused an uproar among the students.

Even Feng Qi was astonished by what Lin Ran described.

Lin Ran proposed an entirely new concept for simplifying the process of casting art methods. In essence, it used hand seals to rapidly form Spell Trajectories.

During the lecture, Lin Ran introduced twelve hand seals he had developed at this stage. Each could be combined with the others, and every hand gesture represented a spiritual energy movement trajectory. For example:

Zi: Overlap the thumbs, with the left thumb on top. Spiritual energy traveled from the Youmen acupoint to the Qi acupoint.

Ox: Hold the right hand horizontally and the left hand vertically. From the Sky Piercer acupoint to the Water Division acupoint.

Yin: Extend the thumbs of both hands. From the Cloud Gate acupoint to the Central Palace acupoint.

Mao: With the right hand, extend only the little finger while lightly curling the other four fingers into a fist. From the Heavenly Pool acupoint to the Sun and Moon acupoint.

Chen: Overlap the thumbs, with the index fingers of both hands underneath. From the Origin Pass acupoint to the Hidden Bone acupoint.

Si: Interlock all five fingers. From the Hundred Meetings acupoint to the Heavenly Pillar acupoint.

Horse: Spread both elbows and point the index fingers of both hands toward each other to form a triangle. From the Divine Court acupoint to the Bright Eyes acupoint.

Wei: Extend and overlap the thumbs upward, with the left thumb on top. From the Wind Pool acupoint to the Chest Center acupoint.

Shen: Hold the little finger and thumb parallel. From the Dove Tail acupoint to the Spirit Gate acupoint.

You: Bring together the index and middle fingers of both hands, forming a triangle before the chest. From the Sea of Qi acupoint to the Origin Pass acupoint.

Xu: Place the right fist in the left palm. From the Crooked Bone acupoint through the Period Gate acupoint, then back to the Crooked Bone acupoint.

Pig: Bring the front ends of both palms together, then extend them flat downward. From the Gate of Life acupoint to the Tailbone acupoint.

These twelve seal gestures were, in truth, twelve spiritual energy movement trajectories. With only one gesture, the spiritual energy within the body would rapidly circulate along a fixed trajectory.

Different hand seals could also be combined, and the process required no conscious activation, greatly improving the efficiency of casting art methods.

The concepts Lin Ran proposed and the content he explained left the students present dumbfounded. The contempt in their hearts had completely turned into admiration.

"He really pulled it off." Feng Qi smiled as he watched Lin Ran continue his eloquent explanation.

Lin Ran's achievements in art method research had been recorded in history and could not be concealed.

If Lin Ran had not switched to cultivation method research for the sake of his dream several years after joining the Tiger Soul Research Institute, his achievements in Art Method Studies would have been even more brilliant.

He might even have become a historical figure capable of standing alongside Wang Jinsheng.

And what Feng Qi needed to do now was make Lin Ran focus on the path of art method research and abandon those unrealistic ideas.

"Your dream—I'll crush it."