Chapter 8

"I don't recognize these words," Andre answered bluntly.

Qin Yi pursed his lips speechlessly, then gestured for Andre to move him into the space.

In the empty yet luxurious palace, a few plain middle school textbooks lay forlornly on the gold-brick floor. Qin Yi squatted down and flipped through them, then said to Andre, "I'll teach you now..."

"..."

As expected of a higher being called a god. With nothing more than a shared soul-magic transfer, Andre easily became familiar with those complicated square characters.

Qin Yi asked in confusion, "Didn't you say you no longer have Faith Power? How can you still use magic?"

"Having no Faith Power only means I can't cast high-level spells that require Divine Power, such as the Great Prophecy Technique and the Great Translocation Art. Low-level spells like these are no obstacle for me," Andre explained simply. "It's like martial arts masters in your world. Even if they lose all their martial strength, they won't lose the ability to eat or walk."

He had recently become obsessed with wuxia novels, and some of their expressions naturally slipped into his speech. Qin Yi could only proudly conclude that Chinese kung fu truly had boundless charm.

"But how old are you, anyway?" Qin Yi suddenly thought of this question. Through his interactions with Andre these past few days, he had discovered that this god, whom he had imagined to be powerful and wise, did not seem all that—mature.

"I'm 361 years old. I'm almost an adult," Andre said proudly.

"Then how old do you have to be to become an adult over there?" As Qin Yi listened to Andre, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. Though that age sounded ancient to him, he still found Andre terribly unreliable.

"Five hundred," Andre answered.

Just as I thought. Qin Yi quietly sighed. In other words, although the god before him had lived for more than three hundred years, by human standards, he was only a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old brat.

"Why are you asking that?" The ball of black mist that belonged to Andre asked curiously from atop the throne.

"Nothing, just asking." Qin Yi continued, "Remember, on the day of the exam, I'll put all the books related to memorization into your space. Then I'll just ask you directly whenever I have a question."

Qin Yi had suddenly remembered that besides Chinese, the entrance exam also included geography and politics, both of which required rote memorization.

"Fine!" Andre agreed helplessly. However, out of a sense of inner righteousness, he still added quietly, "But cheating is wrong."

"I know that too." Qin Yi was equally helpless. "But we have another saying here: existence is truth. Put another way, if no one sees it, it might as well not exist."

Author's note: Awoo.

Being a tyrant is wrong~~~~

I Want to Become a God (Revised)

June 22nd was the day of the citywide high school entrance exams. Qin Yi took leave from school that day, then entered the examination hall with Qin Rong, carrying his admission ticket and exam supplies. His slender, delicate frame, noticeably smaller than the other thirteen- and fourteen-year-old boys, drew sidelong glances from the surrounding parents and students. Those who knew the Qin brothers could not help pointing and whispering, their words full of astonishment and mockery—

After all, the history of the younger Qin boy never passing a single test during five years of elementary school had become the best example for parents around the Qin family to use when educating their children. Just as a negative example.

Ignoring everyone's gossip, Qin Yi suppressed his irritation at being pointed at and followed the crowd to his examination room. His room was at Seventh Middle School, Qin Rong's school. It was relatively familiar territory, making it easier for him to perform well. But that small advantage meant nothing to Qin Yi. His greatest reliance was Andre in his mind, along with the textbooks spread throughout the palace.

Qin Yi found his seat and sat down. Looking at his watch, he saw that there were about ten minutes left before the exam. He looked around, but did not recognize anyone. Feeling bored, he got up and left the classroom. After asking around for the restroom, he relieved himself, then walked down the corridor to Qin Rong's examination room.

Qin Rong was checking his exam supplies at his desk. He had always been cautious, and had prepared three of everything: carbon pens, pencils, erasers, even rulers. When he saw Qin Yi poking his head around at the doorway, he frowned in displeasure and got up to walk over.

"The exam is about to start. Why did you come over?" Qin Rong asked flatly.

"I was bored, so I came to see you." Qin Yi tilted his head and answered with a smile.

"Go back and check your pens, paper, and scratch paper. Calm yourself down; the exam is about to begin. Don't be nervous, but don't be careless either. Do the questions you know first, then think about the ones you don't understand. Remember to check your paper after you finish. You're fine in your other subjects, but the humanities are a little weaker. Still, I've seen you studying hard these past few days. Even if those subjects drag down your score, you should still clear the minimum cutoff. Since you've decided to take the exam, take it seriously. I believe in you," Qin Rong said calmly.

"Mm!" Qin Yi did not know what to say, so he could only nod seriously. Then, under Qin Rong's watchful gaze, he returned to his own examination room. Ever since they were young, whenever Qin Yi wanted to do something, Qin Rong had always supported him wholeheartedly. And after doing everything he could, he would always calmly say, "I believe in you." Though Qin Yi had always disappointed Qin Rong's expectations, the feeling of being trusted had never faded.

That was why Qin Yi truly wanted to work hard in this life, to make up for Qin Rong's disappointment in his previous life.

A ringing bell interrupted Qin Yi's thoughts. The invigilator entered carrying a large stack of papers. After briefly explaining the exam rules, he handed out the test papers.

This was the mathematics exam. Qin Yi looked at the paper in his hands and carefully filled in his student number, school, and name. Qin Zhenguo had privately approached the principal of Seventh Middle School and had Qin Yi's student registration temporarily placed in Qin Rong's class. Seventh Middle School had initially refused, but after three thousand yuan was thrown at them, the principal opened every possible door. He even wished Qin Yi success in getting into his ideal school.

After filling in the heading, Qin Yi completed the paper at a speed that left no suspense. He was, after all, a student at a famous university in M Country. A 1995 middle school entrance exam posed no difficulty for him. After setting down his pen, Qin Yi checked his watch. There was still half an hour before they could hand in their papers. Bored out of his mind, he forcibly suppressed his impatience and checked the paper once, then lay on his desk and chatted with Andre.

"What are you reading?" Qin Yi looked at the ball of black mist lying on the ground in the palace, an open book spread before it.

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Andre replied.

"What's so good about that?" Qin Yi curled his lip. "When I have time, I'll get you some books by Jin Yong and Huang Yi. Those are the good ones!"

"Really? Then hurry up. I'm bored out of my mind being trapped in here every day," Andre said eagerly.

"Sure. I'll buy you some books after the exams." Qin Yi nodded.

"Oh, right." Andre suddenly remembered something. "Do you want to learn magic?"

"Me?" Qin Yi asked in surprise. "Didn't you say my constitution is special and I can't learn your magic?"

That had been shortly after Qin Yi was reborn. He had been deeply envious of the spells Andre could casually cast, and wanted to learn them himself. But after meditating for half a day, he had not sensed even a trace of magical elements.

"That's because what I study is divine arts, not magic. With your physical condition, learning it would easily make you explode. But yesterday, while I was bored and organizing the library, I found this. It should belong to your people. See if you can learn it."

As Andre spoke, he suddenly tossed a piece of white jade out from the black mist.

Qin Yi casually caught it. Looking at the completely snow-white jade slip, he was rather baffled. "There's nothing written on it."

"You probably need to send your divine sense into the jade slip. Haven't I taught you how to use divine sense? There's spiritual energy in my palace to act as a medium, so give it a try," Andre said casually.

"Fine." Qin Yi nodded helplessly and concentrated on the jade slip. A moment later, words from the slip clearly appeared in his mind. The characters were extremely complicated, perhaps clerical script or something similar. Qin Yi struggled to make out the opening title, Dragon-Controlling Art. He could more or less guess the meaning of the words that followed. But who would dare trust something that was basically a pirated copy?

Qin Yi said helplessly, "When summer vacation starts, I'll go learn clerical script. I have to figure out what exactly this says."

"As you like." Andre spoke indifferently. He had only found the item while bored. Since he thought the writing was useless, he had simply given it to Qin Yi. What happened afterward was none of his concern.

"By the way, can I show this jade slip to my brother?" Qin Yi suddenly asked.

"As you wish. But try not to let outsiders see it. I don't know whether there are still people in your world who cultivate this. If they see it, you'll be in trouble," Andre warned.

"I'll only show my brother," Qin Yi said. "By the way, can you really achieve immortality like the book says after learning this?"

"You mean eternal life?" Andre tilted his head. "How is that possible? Whether human or god, everyone dies eventually. But powerful gods have connected their fates to the universe they inhabit. As long as that universe does not perish, they will not die."

Qin Yi felt as if he were reading a fantasy novel. "Will I become like that someday too?"

"I don't know." Andre tilted his head. "There's a Divine Water Hot Spring in my bathroom. Go soak in it. Maybe you'll break through when your lifespan is about to end."

Qin Yi knew that it was probably something that could remove impurities from the body. Novels always wrote about such things. Still, he could not quite believe it. "Can I bring my brother with me?"

He asked cautiously.

"Can you guarantee that he won't reveal our secret?" Andre frowned. Though he had not yet reached adulthood, he had seen many close friends turn against each other over power and treasures. Qin Yi might be lazy, but he was still a good friend. Andre, who had been lonely for so long, could not bear to see him disappointed.

"He won't." Qin Yi answered with absolute certainty. In this world, anyone might betray him, but Qin Rong never would.

"Fine." Sensing Qin Yi's determination, Andre nodded. He had also seen Qin Yi's memories and had a good impression of Qin Rong. Especially since they were around the same age, Andre hoped Qin Yi would have more friends like him.

That night, after Qin Rong finished washing up, he looked at Qin Yi's mysteriously secretive behavior and was utterly speechless.

"Qin Yi, stop reading those pointless books. You're about to go mad from them." Qin Rong frowned disapprovingly. He knew that children their age liked reading wuxia novels and imagining themselves as the heroes within them. But Qin Yi had gone a little too far.

"Brother, I'm not lying to you. Come with me." Qin Yi reached out and grabbed Qin Rong's sleeve, silently contacting Andre in his mind.

Then, in the next second, Qin Rong looked at the incomparably luxurious golden palace before him and the constantly twisting ball of black mist in front of him. Though he barely maintained his composure, he was actually shocked beyond measure. He sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hello, I'm Andre," the black mist said.

"I'm Qin Rong," Qin Rong answered instinctively.

"Good. Since everyone is here, let's begin!" Andre said impatiently. He had suddenly remembered something: once Qin Yi could use magic and possessed the ability to protect himself, he would have a way to contact other planes and obtain Faith Power.