Shang Tragedy

Zhao Cheng's thoughts were relaxed, drifting freely, which allowed his mind to reach a state of extreme tranquility.

This state had an excellent restorative effect on his mental energy, sometimes even surpassing the benefits of sleep.

It was a small technique for mental recovery, with the only drawback being that it interfered with his classes.

However, one cannot have both fish and bear's paw; some things inevitably require trade-offs.

Real-world cultivation is not like the immortal cultivation found in many literary works, where one becomes more energetic the more they practice; rather, it is extremely draining on both mental and physical stamina, with the time and frequency of daily training being strictly limited.

Zhao Cheng's rapid progress in cultivation over the past six months was not unrelated to his decision to sacrifice his academic performance.

Of course, this "sacrifice" was not a total abandonment, but rather a redirection of classroom time toward an hour and a half of self-study every night.

Self-study naturally cannot compare to regular classes, and there is no such thing as getting high marks just by casually reading books, but it allowed him to keep his grades at a passing level.

Ring-a-ling!

The end-of-class bell rang, once again interrupting Zhao Cheng's thoughts.

On the podium, the teacher did not dismiss the class immediately, but continued lecturing with a calm expression, as if they hadn't heard the bell at all.

It wasn't until two minutes later, after the teacher had finished explaining the current point, that they leisurely announced the end of class.

As the teacher walked out of the classroom, it was as if a spark had landed in a pan of oil; the quiet room suddenly erupted into noise.

Some people turned their heads to chat with their seatmates, others turned their bodies to talk to the boys or girls behind them, and some even crossed half the classroom during those few short minutes to strike up a conversation.

As for the topics of conversation, they were diverse—ranging from studies to various news stories and celebrity gossip, though the latter certainly drew far more people than the former.

This sense of youthful clamor and liveliness is something rarely seen once one steps out of campus.

In his previous life, Zhao Cheng had felt a sense of melancholy after graduation, feeling as if everything had suddenly turned cold and the world had become a bit more frigid.

Unexpectedly, through various twists of fate, he was able to experience this liveliness once again.

Although the world is different, campus life in this life is not essentially distinct from his previous one.

If there is any change, it is that the men and women here are more vibrant and full of spirit compared to those of his past life.

This is a change brought about by the prevalence of cultivation, as the overall quality of humanity has improved.

"Old Zhao, did you hear? Senior Li Huang'er is going to film a new movie."

"They say it's a remake of Shang Tragedy, and Senior Li Huang'er is playing Da Ke'er. The character posters are already out online."

Zhao Cheng's seatmate, Zhou Yu, leaned in close and whispered mysteriously.

Zhao Cheng's seatmate was named Zhou Yu; while "Yu" implies lightness, unfortunately, Zhou Yu was anything but light.

Although he was only seventeen, he was nearly 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with thick hair and eyebrows and a square face. If he wore a serious expression, he would look full of upright integrity, clearly a man of justice.

For such a burly man who looked like he had "invincible" written on his face to be gossiping so secretively, paired with that knowing, suggestive smile, the contrast was off the charts.

"I'm telling you, someone leaked these posters secretly. The official announcement hasn't even been made yet; it's only because I have solid connections that I managed to get them."

"Look, she's absolutely stunning!"

Zhou Yu, looking like a loyal friend, held his phone screen in front of Zhao Cheng.

The photo on the phone was undoubtedly that of a beauty.

With a melon-seed face, willow-leaf eyebrows, and skin as white as snow, she looked ethereal. But what was most striking was not these features, but those eyes, as clean and pure as a clear spring.

Although Zhao Cheng did not follow celebrities, he had heard the name Li Huang'er.

In this life, two years ago, he had watched the TV series Divine Land Knight-Errant starring Li Huang'er, in which she played the Luo Goddess.

It was from that point on that Li Huang'er rose to fame, earning the nickname "Little Luo Goddess."

Crucially, Li Huang'er was also a student at Qingyuan Middle School, which was why Zhou Yu called her "Senior."

Even though Li Huang'er rarely visited the school more than a few times a year.

And every time she did show up, it would trigger quite a sensation.

Hearing Zhou Yu's words, a ripple of emotion stirred in Zhao Cheng's heart—not because of the big star Li Huang'er, but because of the movie Shang Tragedy.

After awakening his memories, out of curiosity about the extraordinary powers of this world, Zhao Cheng had searched for a great deal of information regarding them, finding a mix of truth and falsehood.

Yet everything, regardless of its veracity, pointed toward one dynasty: the Shang.

It is said that before the Shang, there was no such thing as cultivation.

It was only in the early Shang, following the descent of the Dark Bird, that extraordinary people appeared in the world.

This naturally piqued Zhao Cheng's curiosity.

As a transmigrator, Zhao Cheng was quite certain that the emergence of cultivation was absolutely linked to the era of the Shang.

It might not have been the literal descent of a heavenly Dark Bird, but that era had definitely undergone some profound changes.

Because Zhao Cheng discovered that in the history of this world, every historical figure prior to the Shang was exactly the same as in his previous world.

It was only with the appearance of the Shang and the subsequent emergence of extraordinary people that history suddenly veered off, heading in a different direction from his previous world.

In this life, as an ordinary person, Zhao Cheng had limited channels to understand history.

Especially the Shang Dynasty, which was far too ancient.

With Zhao Cheng's current capabilities, the most accurate information he could find regarding the Shang Dynasty was not some ancient text, but rather the film Shang Tragedy.

Because the screenwriter of this film was a stickler for detail and, in his own right, a renowned expert on Shang history within the country.

Under these circumstances, the content within the movie held more authority than many documents of dubious authenticity.

"She is quite pretty."

Zhao Cheng echoed. He wasn't lying against his conscience; she was truly beautiful, and he was merely stating a fact, which was completely different from complimenting someone on social media.

"Well, of course!"

Zhou Yu grinned, but his expression shifted instantly, as if he had donned a mask of agony. He wailed, "I just don't know which bastard will get lucky with a senior as heavenly as her in the future!"

"The high probability is that it won't be you."

Zhao Cheng replied casually.

"And what about the low probability?!"

Zhou Yu asked back with a laugh, performing a complete change of face right in front of Zhao Cheng.

"Hmm..."

"The low probability."

"In the low probability, you master a peerless sword technique, transcend the mortal realm, and become invincible throughout the world."

"By then, your temperament will surely be like a demon or a fiend, and you likely won't even look twice at such common, powdered beauties."

Zhao Cheng joked.

"Of course, with a woman in your heart right now, there is a one hundred percent chance you won't master any peerless sword technique."

"In summary, when you want to marry a senior, you aren't qualified to do so; when you are qualified, you won't want to."

Although Zhao Cheng was joking, there was a grain of absolute truth in his words.

If one's cultivation reaches a certain height, their temperament will be incomparable to that of an ordinary person—or rather, only those with an extraordinary temperament can reach such heights.