Chapter 9: You

Qi Refining 9th Layer!

At this cultivation level, in past Immortal Exams, he could have competed for the Top Graduate even across the entire Qinzhou Province, let alone just Xichuan.

Lin Mo suddenly realized—wait, this level shouldn’t have failed the Dao Academy’s direct admission review, right?

Then there’s only one possible answer—

Chu Wange refused the direct admission and told them off: “I’m taking the exam myself!”

Of course, this was all Lin Mo’s own speculation—he still didn’t know the real reason.

Geniuses think differently from ordinary people; maybe Chu Wange wants to win the Top Graduate title in this year’s Immortal Exam through her own strength?

Forget it, this free ride won’t work—I’ll rely on myself.

In the cultivation world, geniuses are everywhere, and protagonists are as common as dogs—but I’ve got my own cheat too!

Lin Mo shook his head, about to look away, when his eyes accidentally caught Chu Wange’s mock exam score interface:

[Candidate Name]: Chu Wange

[Written Exam Score]: 108 points (out of 1000)

[Immortal Exam Score]: 980 points (out of 1000)

…

Whoa~

Lin Mo’s pupils widened slightly.

Both the Immortal Exam score and the Written Exam score were shocking enough.

Not to mention that 980 in the Immortal Exam already surpassed last year’s Xichuan Top Graduate—how could her Written Exam score be this low?

In Old Li’s words, even if you threw rice on the keyboard and let a chicken pick answers randomly, it’d score higher!

I’m high-score, low-ability—you’re low-score, high-ability, huh?

Lin Mo muttered inwardly.

Qinzhou's written exam uses a unified provincial paper, but the content and core subjects differ from Lin Mo's past life.

The main subjects are Astronomy and Geography; electives include Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, and Literature.

Astronomy and Geography each account for 400 points; you may choose two electives, each worth 100 points.

The average Written Exam score for Senior Three students at Nanshan No. 4 High is over 500; ordinary students can easily score 300–400 with minimal effort.

For Lin Mo, most subjects weren’t hard—just relearning them—he could easily score full marks.

Geography wasn’t difficult either; though the Nine Continents were vast and rich, the high school curriculum wasn’t absurdly complex—memorization and understanding were enough for a high score.

The real challenge was Astronomy, requiring mastery of complex topics: celestial movements, meteorology, star patterns, lunar calendars, and advanced calculations.

This was the key subject for separating top scorers.

Scoring over half in Astronomy already made you a top student.

Only those consistently scoring above 300 were true geniuses.

I, sir, belong to the latter category…

A faint sense of superiority surged in Lin Mo’s mind.

With this score, even if he gave up the Immortal Exam, he could still enter a top university in Qinzhou, comparable to Tsinghua or Peking University in his past life.

But sadly, this was a cultivation world—cultivators were the elite.

Choosing a regular university would effectively cut him off from the cultivation path.

Chu Wange’s starting point was the ordinary’s endpoint.

Qi Refining 9th Layer was essentially the limit for a lone cultivator.

The reason was simple: only the Dao Academy possessed Foundation Establishment techniques.

No matter how wealthy or powerful you were, without the Dao Academy’s permission, you couldn’t learn Foundation Establishment.

Teaching Foundation Establishment privately was a violation punishable by the Heavenly Dao System.

Though, frankly, Lin Mo had no idea what the Heavenly Dao System even was… He shrugged, then turned back to look at Chu Wange—only to realize she had already left.

So fast!?

Lin Mo checked the time—it was nearly 6:30 PM. He jolted upright from his chair.

The cafeteria food was almost gone!

He frantically filled out his daily check-in record and sprinted toward the cafeteria.

…

…

Evening self-study time.

Lin Mo, still half-full, rubbed his stomach and had just entered Old Li’s office when he heard a familiar voice.

"Teacher Li, don't bother trying to persuade me!"

The firm rebuttal rang sharply through the classroom. Lin Mo followed the sound…

What a coincidence—he saw the “protagonist” again.

Ye Chen stood before Old Li’s desk, head held high defiantly, as if arguing something.

“Suck-suck~!”

Before Lin Mo could look further, two obnoxious dog barks came from beside him—he turned.

Sure enough, it was Zhang Dahai, the ungrateful brat, along with a few other losers who’d fought over red packets in the group chat that morning.

They were all crammed around a coffee table, copying cultivation essentials.

Lin Mo chuckled, stepped forward quickly, and squeezed in with them.

He raised an eyebrow and whispered:

“Dog Rich, what are you doing here? Are you really that desperate for a single cent?”

Zhang Dahai squinted and whispered back: “A cent is still money.”

I know you’re not just after it—you’re the type who’ll fight for a cent even when you know it’s pointless.

Well, of course—no surprise, Dog Rich!

Lin Mo muttered under his breath, then quickly turned his gaze to Ye Chen and Old Li—the atmosphere there was clearly tense.

After listening for a moment, he understood: they were talking about the arena match he’d just witnessed.

Old Li spoke solemnly:

“The arena was meant to encourage students to exchange cultivation methods—not to brawl and bully!”

Ye Chen sneered: “I just gave him a lesson—how serious could it be?”

Old Li frowned: “Parents of other students have already called, saying it might affect the Immortal Exam—isn’t this injury serious enough?”

“So what?” Ye Chen said coldly. “Teacher Li, cultivation is about competing with Heaven and with men! In the future, whether facing alien cultivators or secret realms, won’t we still face life and death!?”

“The arena is no different!”

At these words, not only did Old Li frown, but Lin Mo frowned too.

Bro, are you okay?

One’s an alien cultivator, the other’s your schoolmate—what’s the comparison?

Old Li sighed:

“You’re just too competitive! Cultivation isn’t just about the body—it’s about the heart too!”

“When sparring with classmates, you must know your limits. Regardless of anything, you bear some responsibility for today’s incident.”

Finally, Old Li lowered his voice and whispered:

“Besides, Xiao Zhu’s father is a logistics officer at the Dao Academy—you haven’t even passed the Immortal Exam yet!”

It was meant as a kind warning, but Ye Chen’s face darkened—he let out a cold laugh:

“Just a lowly Level One officer—what’s he worth? Even if his father comes after me, I won’t fear him. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don’t underestimate a young man…”

“Pfft!”

Lin Mo couldn’t hold it in—he burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha!!”

Zhang Dahai and the others copying nearby also couldn’t suppress their laughter, covering their mouths and giggling.

Ye Chen turned his head and glared furiously at Lin Mo.

Hey, I’m not the only one laughing—why are you glaring at me alone?

Lin Mo covered his mouth, forcing his facial muscles to stay still.

Besides, I’ve been trained—I only laugh when something’s truly hilarious.

Feeling the pressure from Ye Chen’s Qi Refining 6th Layer, he silently glanced at the [Luck Value: 1] lying in his panel, then raised an eyebrow and glared back:

You’re the one who calls himself “protagonist”?