Something's Off About Zhou Zhe

Chu Yuan did not sleep all night, practicing while keeping an eye on the time.

It wasn't until past midnight that the system panel in his mind finally changed as expected!

He watched with his own eyes as the conversion count ticked from 0 to 1.

He couldn't wait to take out the Martial Arts Pills that Huang Bo had given him today.

He picked up a bottle of Blood Qi Pill and was just about to have the system convert it when he suddenly remembered something.

He poured the pills from several jade bottles and stuffed them all into the Blood Qi Pill bottle—a little exploit of the system's mechanics.

After all, the system didn't specify how many pills could be converted at once.

"Convert!"

Converting...

Obtained Qi Gathering Powder *5!

Remaining daily conversions: 0!

"..." Chu Yuan felt a bit regretful; the exploit hadn't worked.

Perhaps he hadn't gone about it the right way.

He didn't dwell on it too much and emptied the stuffed jade bottle, revealing the five pills at the bottom that emitted a faint, glowing light.

Although they were called Qi Gathering Powder, they were still in the shape of pills.

He took one in his palm, and aside from sensing the abundant spiritual energy within, he couldn't see anything particularly special about it.

Chu Yuan stopped overthinking and swallowed it directly.

In an instant, a massive surge of spiritual energy spread throughout his body.

The various sounds from outside the window drifted clearly into his ears; in the kitchen, his mother was cooking.

It sounded like she was frying eggs.

From Chu Ying's room came the faint sound of soft snoring.

Chu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, a streak of light flashing across his pupils before vanishing.

Looking at his small room again, it felt different than before; he could even see the shapes of the tiny dust particles on the floor with perfect clarity.

Sharp ears and bright eyes—this was truly having sharp ears and bright eyes.

Feeling the spiritual power flowing like a babbling brook within him, he was quite satisfied.

According to the Foundation Establishment Method, he should now be at... the third level of Qi Refining!?

Going from a beginner to the third level of Qi Refining had taken a mere single night!

The cost was the consumption of those five Qi Gathering Powders he had converted... Could it be that he wasn't just a martial arts genius, but a cultivation genius as well?

After this night of practice, no new impurities had been expelled from his body.

Just as he was feeling a bit smug, his mother's voice called out from outside the door: "Yuan-yuan, Ying-ying, get up and eat!"

After washing up, he sat at the dining table.

Chu Ying held a steamed bun in one hand and chopsticks in the other, but she suddenly wrinkled her nose and leaned in close to Chu Yuan to sniff him twice.

"..." Chu Yuan pushed her head away with a look of disgust.

"Brother, are you wearing perfume?"

"Are you sick?"

Han Cui didn't mind the two of them messing around at the table; there had never been many rules in this house.

She just followed suit, sniffing the air, and laughed: "There is a fragrance."

Chu Yuan paused, put down his chopsticks, and lifted his arm to smell it.

Perhaps he hadn't noticed it before, but now he could indeed smell a faint, fresh scent.

However, it wasn't the smell of perfume; it was more like plants, and something else... if he had to describe it, the scent of nature?

Having a guess in his heart, he explained: "It might be because of the pills I took yesterday."

"Your skin has gotten better, too!" Chu Ying stared at his arm, continuing to marvel.

"Alright, alright, eat your food and keep your mouth shut."

Although Huang Bo had said he could practice at home, very few people actually did so.

The auxiliary effects of an Energy Gathering Array were simply too great! And this thing wasn't something an ordinary person could afford to set up—not to mention the consumption while active, the materials for the array alone cost over a million yuan!

Chu Yuan naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity to fleece the system.

Just by the name, one could tell what this thing did; perhaps it could even gather spiritual energy?

Furthermore, he had another idea. Since the system could convert cultivation techniques and medicinal pills... could it convert arrays as well?

If it could, Chu Yuan had already guessed its name:

Spirit Gathering Array!

No matter which cultivation novel one read, this thing always existed!

He still had to find a way to get his hands on a set... but he currently lacked the capital. Even his early-stage cultivation resources were sponsored by the school.

Arriving at school, it was just as he had expected: everyone chose to cultivate on campus.

Quite a few people were secretly watching Chu Yuan, wanting to see if he would cause another sensation today.

As the clock struck eight-thirty, Huang Bo took two transparent crystals and slotted them into the holes above the blackboard.

There were no strange phenomena, but the concentration of a certain energy within the classroom began to increase!

Students who had already mastered the Essence Tempering Technique felt this most profoundly!

"Don't waste time, start cultivating!

The Energy Gathering Array will shut down for an hour at noon; that time is for you to eat." After giving these instructions, Huang Bo sat down and began scrolling through videos on his tablet.

The month before the college entrance exam was always his most relaxed time; he only needed to sit in the classroom and watch over the array.

However, he still glanced at Chu Yuan, his expression somewhat complex.

The transfer student from the Li Family that the principal had mentioned had already enrolled in the class next door... and Chu Yuan's support quota had yet to be decided.

Resources were secondary; the principal could simply give the resources provided by the Li Family to Chu Yuan.

But this quota would be useful in many situations down the road.

Could the value of a first-class scholarship really be the same as a second-class one?

Chu Yuan had already entered a state of cultivation by this time.

His guess had been slightly off from reality... the Energy Gathering Array primarily gathered the type of energy needed by martial artists!

As for the increase in spiritual energy concentration... it was only about ten percent.

Still, even a mosquito's leg is meat; one shouldn't complain about the quality of the food when begging for a meal.

The classroom was deathly silent; not even a single person went to the restroom.

It wasn't until noon, when they sensed the energy intensity gradually dropping, that everyone began to end their cultivation.

Some went to the school cafeteria to eat, while those with better conditions brought their own lunches made from exotic beast ingredients, similar to medicinal meals.

Chu Yuan didn't have those conditions, so he naturally went to the cafeteria to grab a bite; he hadn't reached the stage of fasting yet.

However, upon returning, he saw a familiar scene... his classroom was surrounded again?

As he walked up, someone shouted angrily, "Chu Yuan!"

Looking up, it was the burly, not-so-bright-looking boy who had been scolded away by Yang Yi yesterday.

Chu Yuan frowned. "Something up?"

The boy said righteously, "You dared to play me yesterday? We aren't done with this."

Chu Yuan felt something was fishy. Settling old scores? This guy was afraid of Yang Yi yesterday, so why wasn't he afraid after a night?

He asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Apologize!"

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry." Chu Yuan said casually, pushing past him to head toward the classroom.

A look of astonishment flashed across the boy's face. This wasn't right... a martial arts genius, how could he have no hot-bloodedness at all? He just apologized like that?

But after snapping out of it, he actually raised his foot and kicked toward Chu Yuan's back.

"You motherf—"

Hearing a gust of wind strike from behind, Chu Yuan's expression turned cold.

With a speed that the students present couldn't even track, he twisted his body and kicked back!

The two legs collided, and a crisp sound of bone cracking rang out!

"Ah! My leg! My leg!"