Chapter 31: Cultivation Craze

An hour later, Su Chen filtered out some trivial questions and focused on answering some common ones.

For example, questions about body posture, hand gestures, and sensing Spiritual Qi, and the like.

Finally, Su Chen reminded them that after completing the Opening Spirit, there will be a muscle‑and‑marrow cleansing.

Then, amid the audience's reluctance, Su Chen resolutely ended this livestream.

After turning off the stream, Su Chen massaged his temples and slumped into his chair, a wry smile on his face as he said, "Alas, streaming isn't as easy as imagined; being a teacher isn't that easy either. Their questions are truly bizarre."

Pang Jinlong watched the just‑ended stream with excitement, utterly convinced that the streamer was the mysterious person he had met.

He had just followed Su Chen's method to perform the Opening Spirit and found his progress unusually fast; at this rate, he estimated he could finish the Opening Spirit in about ten days.

"Could I be a genius among geniuses?" a bright gleam flashed in Pang Jinlong's eyes.

Suddenly, he recalled what had happened that day and the filth on his own body, and a faint suspicion rose in his heart.

At that thought, Pang Jinlong opened his phone and sent a message to the streamer known as White-Haired Immortal.

Early the next morning, Su Chen opened his eyes from meditation, feeling refreshed, stood up, and headed toward the washroom.

After a short while, Su Chen, full of vigor, walked into the living room but saw no sign of Qin Ziyang.

He knocked on Qin Ziyang's door, and a weak voice drifted out from inside.

"Come in."

Su Chen opened his eyes and beheld a scene that left him speechless.

Qin Ziyang sported two dark circles under his eyes, his once‑handsome haircut now a messy nest, and his gaze was vague, as if unable to focus on Su Chen.

"You kid, didn't I tell you not to stay up late at the beginning?"

Su Chen let out a helpless laugh and scolded.

"Hurry up, you'll be late for school."

He didn't reproach Qin Ziyang, for in his previous life his first cultivation attempt had been the same; it wasn't just cultivation, there was excitement and agitation as well.

In English class, the female teacher entered the classroom carrying a stack of test papers.

She set the papers down, pushed up her heavy black‑framed glasses, scanned the room, and when her gaze fell on Su Chen, a long‑missing smile appeared.

The students below showed shocked expressions; they hadn't expected the famed Extinction Master to smile, and they silently speculated what had happened.

"Zhang Xiaoya, curl your hair for a moment!"

…

"This time I want to especially commend a few people. Li Yang has improved a lot, scoring ninety‑three this time; keep it up…"

"Finally, the main commendation goes to Su Chen, who scored 135 this time."

As soon as the words finished, the previously murmuring sounds erupted loudly.

"Su Chen? No way…"

"He can't possibly understand English, can he?"

"He guessed his twenty points last time; could it be cheating?"

"Su Chen may be strong in sciences, but English should be impossible for him, right?"

…

Even though many people deliberately lowered their voices, the sounds still reached Su Chen's ears clearly.

The muscle‑and‑marrow‑cleansed Su Chen's five senses had already been greatly enhanced, yet he remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard.

Qin Ziyang, however, clenched his fists upon hearing it and was about to stand up instantly.

Su Chen patted his rising body, gave a slight smile, and Qin Ziyang, seeing that, refrained from any rash move.

The female teacher seemed to deliberately give the class time to discuss; five minutes later, she clapped twice, and the classroom fell silent at once.

"Su Chen's grades are fine; I personally verified them yesterday,

you should learn more from Su Chen, make good use of after‑school time to fill your gaps. If Su Chen works harder, being recommended to Heaven Sea or Qingbei is also possible…"

Hearing this, Su Chen felt a slight stir in his heart.

In recent days he had been pondering how to reasonably skip school, since cultivation was his priority, and a recommendation was undoubtedly an excellent option.

…

Three days later, Su Chen returned home, collapsed heavily onto his bedroom bed, and let out a satisfied groan.

During those three days many things happened; through his effort he finally secured a spot for recommendation to Qingbei, though it still awaited selection and approval.

Even so, Su Chen's name resonated throughout Qingshui No. 1 High.

Meanwhile, Su Chen's livestream never paused; the viewer count exceeded five hundred thousand daily, and on the final day it even reached over a million simultaneous viewers.

In just a few days, the tips Su Chen received topped a million.

The government took a hands‑off approach, showing no special reaction, seemingly tacitly permitting it.

Now the internet is flooded with news of Spiritual Qi revival and White-Haired Immortal, and many have even captured footage of sword‑flying immortals.

The whole world has thus been swept by a cultivation craze; many people have stopped attending classes, and the world has already felt some initial impact.

"Ding—ling—ling…"

Su Chen opened his phone and saw a call from Qin Ziyang, which surprised him.

After the first livestream, Qin Ziyang disappeared the next afternoon; he was said to be on leave, yet he didn't reply to messages and his phone was unreachable, leaving Su Chen puzzled.

Just as the call connected, Qin Ziyang's complaining voice came through.

"Ah Chen, you've really ruined me!"

Su Chen was a little stunned, not knowing what had happened; after all, lately he had only been livestreaming from Qin Ziyang's rented place and hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.

"Was that White-Haired Immortal you?"

Qin Ziyang asked directly.

Su Chen was slightly taken aback; after all, he livestreamed daily from his room and taught him techniques, so guessing some things was only natural.

Moreover, Su Chen never intended to hide it from him, so Su Chen admitted it without hesitation.

「Yeah, what's wrong? 」

Qin Ziyang gave a bitter smile: 「Someone came looking for me the afternoon after you finished your livestream. I don't know exactly what organization it was, but it sounded like some kind of Safety Bureau. 」

「They brought me to a place and asked about the livestream. I originally wanted to take the blame for you, but I didn't expect that one of the old men would immediately see that I'm not the White Cat Immortal from the livestream. 」

「Later I realized they seemed to have no ill intent, so I told them about your situation. 」

By the end, Qin Ziyang felt a bit ashamed.

Su Chen thought for a moment, then understood the full story; at the same time, he silently reminded himself that he must never be so careless again.

「It's fine, you just got home? Will they come looking for me? 」

Su Chen comforted him with a word, then asked.

As for them, Su Chen wasn't afraid; he clearly knew that there are many such people in special departments of the state.

However, their cultivation levels aren't high; they rely on the scarce spiritual jade left on Blue Star to cultivate.

Moreover, even if they really had ill intent, Su Chen could use a shuttle to escape.