That morning, Dao Heart class was in session.
The Dao Heart teacher was a squinty-eyed young man who looked not yet thirty. His clothes were a little shabby, and he had an utterly ordinary name: Wang Liang.
"Everyone, today we're having a little Dao Heart quiz."
As soon as they heard there would be a quiz, the students' faces fell. Su Yuan, meanwhile, secretly felt a little eager. He really wanted to know how he would score in Dao Heart now.
"Please unlock your phones and hand them over."
Teacher Wang suddenly added.
The students: "???"
Was this quiz really going to be that strict? They had to surrender their phones before the test!
But the next second, Teacher Wang explained:
"Don't worry. I have no interest in confiscating your phones. This quiz is just a little unusual, and your phones will serve as the test materials."
Only then did the students relax a little. They handed in their phones one by one, and soon the teacher's desk was covered with screens glowing brightly.
Then Teacher Wang drew a Treasure Sword. He held it horizontally in one hand and pointed at the phones on the desk with the other. The phones immediately flew up like butterflies, screens facing upward, and settled steadily on the blade.
More than twenty phones lay across the three-foot blade, covering it completely.
"Today's Dao Heart test is simple. Each of you will come up and hold this sword while I open the splash ads for the same app on all these phones at once."
"If your mind is calm enough to keep the blade perfectly still, without making a single splash ad redirect, you'll pass this Dao Heart test with a perfect score."
Teacher Wang smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Hiss—"
A chorus of sharp intakes of breath immediately rang out.
As expected, squinty-eyed people were monsters! What a vicious way to give a test!
Those were splash ads! Even the slightest wobble could send you straight into the ad's app! And this test required them to hold steady more than twenty splash ads at once. It was absurdly difficult!
"Su Yuan, you'll be first."
Teacher Wang suddenly looked toward Su Yuan in the crowd.
"Me?"
Su Yuan paused in surprise. He found it a little odd, but this was just what he wanted. He nodded and walked up to the podium.
Teacher Wang opened his eyes a little wider. As he looked at the utterly unremarkable young man before him, he wondered why Yue Lin had specifically told him to pay extra attention to Su Yuan in Dao Heart class.
Was there something special about Su Yuan?
As he wondered, Teacher Wang handed him the Treasure Sword and said:
"Tell me when you're ready, and I'll begin."
Su Yuan nodded, took a deep breath, and focused all his attention on the sword in his hands. His mind was completely empty of everything else.
Teacher Wang extended a hand. More than twenty threads of spiritual power surged from his palm and precisely touched the surfaces of the phones on the blade all at once.
The next instant, every phone screen was filled with splash ads.
At that moment, the slightest shake would send any of the phones straight into an ad's app! The danger was immense!
Yet in the face of such a perilous challenge, Su Yuan and the sword in his hands remained utterly motionless, as though time itself had stopped.
Everyone in the class held their breath, watching tensely until the splash ads ended.
Had he done it?
Even now, none of the students could believe what they had just seen.
Teacher Wang smiled faintly.
"Su Yuan, you get a hundred!"
In that instant, the whole class erupted into thunderous cheers!
"Holy crap, there's no way to roast him! He really was steady as an old dog!"
"When did Su Yuan's Dao Heart get so firm? Did he ever go to rehab?"
Su Yuan smiled, returned the Treasure Sword to Teacher Wang, and strode down from the podium.
On the podium, Teacher Wang watched Su Yuan return to his seat with a deep, unreadable gaze.
But soon he turned his attention to the other students and had them come up one after another for the test.
The results were naturally disastrous. The splash ads redirected one after another, provoking a string of anguished cries from the students.
At noon, Su Yuan charged into the cafeteria and cleared away all the food the students had left behind. Once most of them had gone, he dragged the leftovers into a corner and activated Demonic Cultivation Technique · Finger Spirit.
A Blue Pill appeared in Su Yuan's hand once again. Its effects were exactly the same as those of the previous Blue Pill.
"Good grief, the cafeteria food really must be laced with something potent. I get a Blue Pill every single time."
Su Yuan grumbled inwardly.
Still, having another reliable farming spot was a good thing for him.
He deftly swallowed the Blue Pill, then temporarily stashed the leftovers he had drained dry in the cafeteria. Just then, Chen Nuoyi walked through the cafeteria doors.
They exchanged a glance, understood each other without a word, bought a huge basin of food, and sat down to eat together.
"Su Yuan, what exactly is that money-making job you mentioned? It's almost afternoon already. When are we going to earn some money?"
Chen Nuoyi asked anxiously.
Su Yuan smiled mysteriously.
"Don't rush. Let's eat first. You'll find out when we're done."
"If everything goes smoothly, we won't just make a good amount of money—we'll solve our food problem for good, too."
After hearing that, Chen Nuoyi silently sped up.
After they finished eating, there were still more than ten minutes before afternoon classes. Su Yuan took Chen Nuoyi straight to the entrance of the cafeteria kitchen and asked a kindly-looking middle-aged chef surnamed Li:
"Chef Li, is the cafeteria hiring? We're both students from poor households, and we'd like to work in the school cafeteria after class."
At that, Chen Nuoyi's pretty face immediately tensed up.
Work in the school cafeteria? She... she couldn't cook!
Chef Li didn't notice the change in Chen Nuoyi's expression. He smiled warmly and said:
"The cafeteria's sales have been falling lately. We've indeed been thinking of hiring some more chefs. If students from our own school are willing to work here, we couldn't be happier."
"But, young man, you'll have to cook something as a test before we can hire you. How are your cooking skills?"
Su Yuan replied confidently:
"Don't worry, Chef Li. I have a family recipe. Can we do the cooking test after class? As for the ingredients, please get me some live geese, ducks, and the like. The higher their cultivation level, the better—and they absolutely have to be alive."
Chef Li considered it for a moment, then nodded.
"There are already a few live geese in the kitchen. If you want to give it a try, come by this afternoon."
That was what he said, but Chef Li wasn't entirely convinced.
The few big white geese in the kitchen were all spirit beasts at Qi Cultivation Level 6, or even Qi Cultivation Level 7. Ordinary students couldn't even beat them. How was this kid supposed to stew them?
He figured the kid would give up after getting a beating from the geese.
And if he really did have the skills, there was no harm in letting him work in the cafeteria.
"Then it's a deal!"
Su Yuan waved cheerfully at Chef Li and hummed as he left the cafeteria.
Chen Nuoyi, following behind him, was already sweating profusely.
"Coach, is the big-money job you were talking about really just being a cafeteria chef? But I can't cook at all! I can even mess up grilled meat."
Su Yuan chuckled.
"Class Monitor, being a chef isn't just about technique. You also need the power to slay demons and vanquish evil!"
"I have the technique, and you happen to have the power. With our swords combined, we'll make one proper chef!"
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