What Three Months? Three Hours!

The Spirit Radiance Crystal shattered upon contact. A wisp of gray light, like a living mist-serpent, spiraled up from the fragments and shot into Lin Yi's brow like an arrow in an instant!

"Ugh!"

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

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

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

He was putting his all into the simulation, mimicking the tearing sensation he felt when his soul first touched 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, then giving it a vicious twist.

Time seemed to freeze. 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 do you feel?"

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

Lin Yi blinked slowly, as if organizing the explosive information in his mind.

"It's like... someone shoved every textbook from elementary math to advanced calculus into my brain all at once."

Lin Yi spoke in fragmented sentences on purpose. "It seems like rote memorization for now; it'll take time to study and understand it. Yeah, it's a completely alien system."

This analogy shocked the few prospective university students present.

Class monitor Zhou Yuxuan was particularly astonished. Having studied university-level material in advance, he knew the difficulty of advanced calculus, and his face was full of surprise.

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

Zhou Yuxuan's college entrance exam 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 don't think it's that difficult. Hold on, 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; the sounds of moving or dismantling chairs were kept to a minimum, and even the soft clinking of metal was done with extreme caution, for fear of disturbing his learning process.

Nearly three hours flashed by.

A narrow band of sunlight, filtering through a 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 a duration he had carefully calculated. Combining it with anecdotes he'd heard in his past life about Star Core Level geniuses, he had set a standard for himself.

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

His standing up instantly drew everyone's attention, and their work stopped almost in unison.

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

With concern on her face, she reached out to hand him the bottle. "Do you want to replenish some water? Why don't you rest for a while before...?"

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

She looked up abruptly, only to realize that everyone was staring 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 currently frozen halfway there, her face wearing 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, and fled back to her transcription station as if flying.

If not for the fact that everyone was currently shrouded in the shadow of a life-or-death crisis 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 must have already made contact.

Since returning to the banquet hall, based on 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 bloodshot eyes, ashen faces, and a dazed look—like Chen Yu's girlfriend, Su Xiao—it was highly probable that their relatives had already met with misfortune.

"Xiao Yi."

His uncle Zhou Jianjun's voice interrupted Lin Yi's thoughts.

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

Seeing Lin Yi look over at the sound of his voice, 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 to avoid being impetuous. Since you know the method, there's no rush. Take it slow; don't ruin your health."

Lin Yi didn't answer immediately. He 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 still slightly hoarse:

"It's fine, Uncle. I feel like I've barely managed to learn it! In a little while... 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 threw a punch into the air. He didn't think twice about the difficulty involved, simply assuming out of habit that Lin Yi could handle anything related to academics.

Most of the others didn't have a deep understanding of advanced mathematics, and combined with Lin Yi's consistent "top student" aura, they mostly just looked surprised and impressed, finding it all perfectly logical.

Only those of Lin Yi's peers who also had decent grades felt a bit skeptical.

Zhou Yuxuan, a fellow top student, was stunned at first, followed by a flash of suspicion:

How could he have learned it already?! Even a genius has to have a limit. Could it be that he... misunderstood the standard for "learning" it? Maybe he just barely touched the surface. Is it actually not that hard to understand?

Subconsciously, he tried to find an explanation that would allow him to accept something that defied his understanding.

"Wait!"

Zhou Jianjun's brow had never relaxed. He stepped forward in two strides and pressed his hand onto Lin Yi's shoulder. "Your face is still pale. Slow down and catch your breath! You don't look like you're fine at all."

Lin Yi forced a grin, revealing a weary and slightly irritable bitter smile:

"I really do 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 have a bad feeling about this, 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 was responsible for keeping a constant watch on the activity outside the window, in addition to helping craft the clubs and shields.

Hearing Lin Yi call his name, the face that had been somewhat relaxed from the previous topic immediately darkened.

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

"Something's wrong. Damn it, it's very wrong! Fuck, there are a few of them gathered nearby refusing to leave, and from what I just saw, there's one more!"

"As I thought." Lin Yi's eyes narrowed, the weariness on his face instantly replaced by gravity. "Just as I guessed. It's highly likely that the beast that ran off earlier brought this trouble!"

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 know that successfully cultivating source energy can significantly strengthen one's physique, and that is going to be crucial for us moving forward!"