Impact Art

Two sets of clothes.

The extra shoes could go over there too.

She needed a set of pajamas as well.

Should she buy toiletries online?

Should she bring her books? No, she would leave them here and take them over when she wanted to read them, then bring them back when she was done.

Ning Qing packed her things into a small suitcase one by one, then gently pulled the zipper shut.

Zhang Suannai leaned against the doorway and quietly poked her head out.

Ning Qing was still packing.

"This..."

She glanced at the Squeaky Pig on her computer desk. She would probably spend more time in the dorm, but after a moment's thought, she grabbed it and slipped it into her pocket.

As she headed out with her suitcase, Zhang Suannai clung to the doorframe and stared at her blankly.

"Wh-why are you packing?"

"I found a place outside campus."

"Huh?"

Zhang Suannai's expression went blank, but there was unease in it too. Her first thought was that she had been so annoying she had driven Ning Qing to move out. But Zhang Suannai was too embarrassed to ask, so she could only stare in silence.

Ning Qing stopped and looked at her—

What is she thinking?

Zhang Suannai grew inexplicably timid. She felt as if Ning Qing's gaze were questioning her and instinctively shrank back, hiding her eyes behind the wall. Still, she said stubbornly, "Once you leave, I'll have the place all to myself. Then nobody can stop me from partying in the room."

Ning Qing did not answer. She remained where she was—

What is she thinking now?

She avoided my eyes. She feels guilty. She thinks she's let me down...

Would anyone else see it that way?

Or only her?

But she's strong-willed.

She won't back down.

A little childish.

After thinking for a moment, Ning Qing looked away and pulled her suitcase out of the room. "I only found a place outside campus. I'll stay there on weekends. I decided to do this at least a year ago. I'll still live in the dorm most of the time."

The moment she finished speaking, she realized—

I've learned to consider other people's feelings too.

"Huh?"

Zhang Suannai immediately stopped hiding behind the wall. She straightened up and stared at Ning Qing. "Then why move out? The dorm doesn't cost anything."

"I'm not short of money."

"Are you dating someone?"

"That's not why."

"I knew it!" Zhang Suannai followed behind her, instantly back to full strength. "I've met lots of people like you. You focus on one thing and have no room in your head for anything else. You wouldn't date."

"..."

Ning Qing merely glanced at her and walked out the door.

When she saw Zhang Suannai still following, Ning Qing frowned. "Why are you coming with me?"

"I'm going too."

"What for?"

"To tag along and have a look."

"..."

"I'll carry your suitcase. I'm really strong!"

"..."

Ning Qing did not want to wrestle Zhang Suannai for it. She let her take the suitcase, then followed her down the stairs with her eyes half narrowed, studying both Zhang Suannai and herself.

The client had finally confirmed the task was complete.

He had only waited until today because he had been haggling with the company, trying to get Chen Shu to improve it further. The company kept refusing and told him this was as far as they could go. Yet once he finally confirmed completion, he still gave Chen Shu a five-star rating and wrote over a hundred words of praise.

It was not a question of being satisfied or not. He had simply asked for the moon and waited for a counteroffer.

Everyone wanted the best deal they could get.

That brought Chen Shu's accumulated account income up by 3,000. Part-time workers and the company split the payment fifty-fifty. Sound shady? Qidian did the same.

The money would not reach his bank account until next month, to make tax reporting easier.

Wang Yang: Another job came in.

Chen Shu: Does it pay?

Wang Yang: Why do you always say that? It's all you've said these past few days.

Chen Shu: /Please, a bite to eat.

Wang Yang: The fee is 4,000 per person. Your share is 2,000 before tax, but this one isn't something you can do from home. You'll have to go there and spend a day on it.

Chen Shu: Anything else?

Wang Yang: You're turning your nose up at it?

Chen Shu: That's not much money.

Wang Yang: It's not bad. It just isn't as much as your first job. Good jobs like this are rare, you know. If working with you these past few days hadn't been so easy, I wouldn't even offer it to you.

Chen Shu: I think making money with my brain is easier.

Wang Yang: This one's easy too. You basically won't have to do anything, and you'll get to hear a concert for free.

Chen Shu: What's the job?

Wang Yang: Fill in as a temporary bodyguard for a minor entertainer. She's coming to Jade Capital for the Mid-Autumn Gala and wants two cultivators as bodyguards. It's just one day, mostly to look impressive.

Chen Shu: What gala?

Wang Yang: They're recording the Mid-Autumn Gala. There'll be plenty of stars—Qin Sheng, Yi Du, Li Mo, and Highness Cinnabar too. If I didn't have work, I'd get myself a ticket.

Chen Shu: Highness Cinnabar? I used to like her quite a bit, but I've moved on now.

Wang Yang: To whom?

Chen Shu: Yu Ruo? Is she going?

Wang Yang: Haven't heard anything about that.

Chen Shu: Is it on Mid-Autumn Festival itself?

Wang Yang: No, they're recording it in advance.

Wang Yang: So are you taking it or not? If not, I'll give it to someone else.

Chen Shu: Being a bodyguard sounds a little challenging.

Wang Yang: Like hell it is. This is Jade Capital. There'll be police at the venue. You're just there to look the part. All you need to do is hold back fans at certain times.

Chen Shu: That sounds fine.

Wang Yang: [Link]

Wang Yang: Read the requirements yourself.

Wang Yang: Oh, it requires Repulsion Art. You know that one, right?

Chen Shu: I do.

Repulsion Art, huh...

It was another non-regulated spell, the kind of trick cultivators used in ancient times when they walked forward and gently pushed everyone aside, or kept bystanders from getting close. Back then, though, it had only been a crude use of spiritual power: costly to use, weak, and hard to control. Everyone knew how to do it, and it had not even had a name.

Now it had been refined and upgraded into a proper spell. It even had a name: Repulsion Art.

Chen Shu did not actually know it.

He knew few spells. As before, he had spent his time on other things. When he had filled out his profile and claimed to know plenty of spells, he had been bluffing.

But he could learn a little trick like that in half a day.

He opened the link.

Job: Mid-Autumn entertainer bodyguard

Pay: 8,000 (two people)

Requirements: Cultivator (must know Repulsion Art), tall build, pleasant features, presentable appearance (neither too young-looking nor too old); men preferred; black formalwear required

Details: Meet the team at Munan Building at six a.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month. Travel to Imperial Capital Airport to meet the entertainer, ensure her personal safety and keep fans from harassing her, then accompany her to the hotel. If she does not go out, you may rest at the hotel. Head to the National Stadium at five p.m. From arrival through the performance and departure from the stadium afterward, ensure her personal safety and prevent harassment by unruly fans. Escort her to the car bound for the airport. Job complete.

Contact information: ...

"Ahhh..."

Chen Shu yawned. It did not sound like much work, but when dealing with people in entertainment, anything could happen.

That lot could be something else.

"Haah..."

It was all for the money.

Chen Shu: I'll take it.

After sending the message, he opened a browser and searched for Repulsion Art. He soon found the little spell in a certain notorious online document library. As expected, it charged for access, though it probably had not paid a cent to acquire the spell.

A whole fifteen yuan.

Get lost.

Chen Shu decided to make his own.

Rather than make Repulsion Art—that would be boring—he would go straight for its upgraded version, a super-simple First-Class Regulated Spell—

Impact Art.

Like Repulsion Art, this spell had been a little trick any cultivator could use in ancient times: it pushed people away. Likewise, the ancient version consumed a lot of spiritual power, packed little force, and was difficult to control precisely. Modern versions had improved on all of that. They were immensely powerful, even in the hands of high-level cultivators.

It could also perform the functions of Repulsion Art.

"The eighth day of the eighth month..."

Chen Shu murmured to himself. He had eight days left. That should be enough.

He opened his spell simulation software and got to work.

Birds chirped outside the window. On the balcony, Meng Chunqiu paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, doing who knew what.

In the blink of an eye, it was the fifth day of the eighth month.

After class, Chen Shu followed Shi Qian to his office again. He brought up the spell's rune structure on his phone and asked, "Professor Shi, I'm not sure what's wrong, but the burst of spiritual power in this spell never feels smooth. Everything else is fine, but this one thing feels strange whenever I use it. Could you take a look?"

Shi Qian took the phone, glanced at it, and looked thoughtful. "What spell are you making? Impact Art?"

"Yes."

"That's dangerous."

"Right..."

"What isn't smooth about it?"

"It's not exactly that it isn't smooth. The spell works normally. But according to my calculations, its actual force is slightly different from its theoretical output. It's as though roughly five percent of the spiritual power I put into it vanishes into thin air."

"Show me the whole thing."

"Sure."

Chen Shu pulled up the complete spell structure.

The spell was not especially complicated.

Shi Qian studied it carefully, his expression growing grave. After a while, he said, "There's a problem with the spiritual-power transmission section."

"How can that be? It supplies more than enough spiritual power for the spell."

"That's not the issue."

Professor Shi examined the other parts of the spell closely. Without taking his attention from them, he pointed to the runes in the transmission section. "It's here. These ones. These runes can't appear in the same spell as this rune that triggers the burst. There's a peculiar interference mechanism between them. You'll learn about it in your fourth year."

"That's a thing?"

"You've used too many Third-Level Runes in this spell. Ordinary spells don't use so many, so you probably never ran into it before." Shi Qian rummaged through a drawer, found a copy of A Deeper Look at Spell Principles, and handed it to him. "Take this back and read it."

"Okay." Chen Shu accepted the book. "Then I'll replace them with a set of Second-Level Runes..."

"That's your only option."

"All right. I'll go try it."

"Wait." Shi Qian stopped him. "Did you make this entirely yourself, or did you adapt an older version?"

"I made it myself."

"Did you use Repulsion Art as a reference?"

"No."

"Damn impressive. Go try it." Shi Qian waved him off, then added, "A spell is the sword in a cultivator's hand. Don't draw it lightly."

"Understood."

After Chen Shu left, Shi Qian rested an elbow on his desk and rubbed his temples.

He had already gained some understanding of Chen Shu's ideas and abilities in this area. But only after seeing a spell composed of more than half Third-Level Runes today did he realize that Chen Shu's grasp of Spell Principles might far exceed his expectations.

However simple this spell was, it was still a modern spell, and modern spells were far more complex than Ancient Spells.

In terms of design, Chen Shu's spell was already very close to the current military version. In terms of rune usage, with Third-Level Runes making up more than half of it, it had even surpassed the military version now in use.

Which one performed better was hard to say.

He was a prodigy.

And he had a strong inclination toward ancient cultivation methods.

Shi Qian fell into thought, crossed his right leg over his left, and swung it absently.