Cultivation was tedious.
Over the next few days, Xu Yuan was like a programmed bot, repeating the same routine every day.
Aside from taking the six stray cats to the River Bay Villa District where Lin Yuan lived, all he did each day was go to the base to cultivate, coach the others on their martial techniques, then go home and cultivate some more.
What Xu Yuan hadn't expected was that, even by Thursday, nobody at No. 3 Middle School was talking about anyone dying. It had him starting to wonder whether his judgment had been wrong.
Maybe it wasn't that a beast ranked ahead of him had suddenly dropped dead, but that one had actually turned over a new leaf and done good deeds.
"That couldn't be, could it?"
At eight that evening, Xu Yuan finished cultivating and walked out of the base, muttering as he scrolled through the group chat history.
Like a magician, Fatty produced a bun from who knew where and stuffed it into his mouth. "Couldn't what?" he mumbled. "Brother Yuan, is there a question you can't do? Ask me! I know how!"
As mentioned before, martial arts students also had to take academic exams. This Friday, which was tomorrow, was the day of the literature exam.
So this week, the martial arts students weren't just grinding away at cultivation; they were grinding away at their books too.
Xu Yuan hadn't taken it seriously, though. With Little Blackie around, academic exams weren't a problem at all, okay?
He could just have Little Blackie come along to school and lie on the windowsill during the exam. Wouldn't everything the students by the windows wrote on their papers be right before his eyes?
If all the examinees by the windows were poor students, he could just have Little Blackie slip into the exam room and find a top student.
Little Blackie was just an ordinary black cat, after all. Who would care?
Even taking ten thousand steps back, if Little Blackie got thrown out of the exam room, he could still help Xu Yuan cheat by flipping through books.
The thought of a black cat frantically flipping through books was pretty exciting.
Of course, it would be best if it didn't come to that, because Xu Yuan might not find the answers even with the books.
"Huh, Brother Yuan, Luo Yaoxi's here to see you again."
Fatty poked Xu Yuan with a finger as he spoke.
Xu Yuan looked away from his phone screen and saw Luo Yaoxi walking toward them.
Come to think of it, Xu Yuan hadn't seen the girl since last Saturday. He had even guessed that she might have been placed under tight protection.
"Long time no see." Xu Yuan smiled in greeting.
"Xu Yuan, I have something very important to tell you!"
The moment Luo Yaoxi spoke, Xu Yuan froze. "What is it?"
Luo Yaoxi pressed her lips together and glanced at Fatty.
"What are you looking at me for?" Fatty looked utterly baffled.
"Nothing. Just eat your bun."
Xu Yuan patted Fatty's shoulder and took the initiative to walk a few meters to the side.
Luo Yaoxi hurried after him, then spoke before Xu Yuan could ask. "I know what that symbol is now. Teacher Niu said it's the God Worship Cult's Divine Mark!"
Huh? Niu Gang was actually willing to tell Luo Yaoxi about the God Worship Cult now!
Xu Yuan grew interested. "What else did Teacher Niu tell you?"
He had planned to ask Lin Yuan or Niu Gang himself before, but he hadn't seen Niu Gang at all, and Lin Yuan had become a contender on the Beast Ranking, so he had held back from asking.
Although he preferred to believe Lin Yuan was a good person, what if he wasn't?
If his luck was rotten to the extreme and Lin Yuan happened to be a hidden follower of the God Worship Cult, then if he asked what the God Worship Cult was and Lin Yuan said, "I'm one of them," that would be one hell of a joke.
"Teacher Niu said he doesn't know much either. He only knows that the God Worship Cult likes abducting geniuses, and every genius they've taken has disappeared!"
Luo Yaoxi's little face was utterly grave. "Your martial arts talent is so high that you might become a target for the God Worship Cult too. You must be careful!"
Xu Yuan tensed, but immediately felt that something wasn't right.
Word of his extremely high martial arts talent had spread long ago. If he was going to be targeted, they probably would have targeted him already.
Perhaps this God Worship Cult was only interested in people with high Divine Talent?
"Wait, why would Teacher Niu tell you all this? Didn't he refuse to say anything before? Have you already been attacked?"
Xu Yuan keenly picked up on something.
Luo Yaoxi nodded. Without hiding anything, she told Xu Yuan everything that had happened that night, from beginning to end.
After listening, Xu Yuan finally resolved the question that had lingered in his mind for days.
Sure enough, his guess hadn't been wrong. A beast had dropped dead. Turning over a new leaf was simply impossible!
But the beast Niu Gang had hammered to death had actually gone from an ordinary person to a Divine Martial Artist. That was rather astonishing.
Could the God Worship Cult allow people without Divine Talent to cultivate?
Then how many followers must this cult have?
For some reason, Xu Yuan suddenly felt a chill down his back.
This world seemed even more dangerous than he had imagined!
"Xu Yuan, I have to go back. You must be careful, okay?"
Having said what she wanted to say, Luo Yaoxi prepared to leave.
"Wait, you could've just told me all this on Heavenly Messenger. Haven't you bought a new phone yet?"
Xu Yuan called her back.
Luo Yaoxi nodded, looking just a little embarrassed.
The moment Xu Yuan saw her expression, he understood.
It wasn't that she hadn't gone to buy one, but that the girl's family might not be very well-off.
At that thought, Xu Yuan suddenly realized that the red envelope seemed to carry even more weight now.
But why hadn't Niu Gang bought the girl a phone? A few thousand yuan wouldn't even count as a single hair off nine oxen to him, would it?
Not bothering to think too deeply about it, Xu Yuan asked directly, "Will you be going back to school with us for the exam tomorrow?"
"Teacher Niu said I don't need to take the exam."
"What about the day after tomorrow? Are you still coming to watch the challenge matches?"
"Yes."
"OK, head back, then."
Luo Yaoxi paused. "What's OK?"
"Nothing. Just a catchphrase."
"Oh, all right. I'll head back, then. You must be careful!"
Only after reminding him once more did the girl turn and jog away.
"Brother Yuan, what were you two talking about just now? Is she going to let you copy her paper during the exam?"
Fatty came over and asked in a lowered voice.
With that brain of his, this was the most confidential topic he could think of.
"What are you thinking? What do you think tomorrow's exam is? It's the college entrance exam for martial arts students. You think they'll give you a chance to copy someone's paper?"
Xu Yuan said.
He added inwardly, I'm the exception. I've got cheats.
"Then what are you going to do, Brother Yuan? You only got nine points in literature last exam."
"That was because I couldn't be bothered to write. If I perform normally, ninety points is a piece of cake!"