Chapter 27: The Troubles of a Genius

2:30 PM.

Chen Shu arrived at Martial Cultivation Hall No. 2.

This was an indoor venue reinforced with runes; it was large and fully equipped, showing that a significant investment had been made—Martial Cultivator used to be one of the ace majors at Yujing Academy, but in recent years, the state's regulation of Martial Cultivators had become even stricter than that of Spirit Cultivators, and many teachers had been transferred to the Military Academy, so such a fine venue had gradually become somewhat over-functional.

Current civilian Martial Cultivators are simply Martial Artists with a Spirit Sea.

If they don't think of other ways themselves, one can only say they are slightly stronger than traditional Martial Artists, but that strength is limited, and it is not certain they could beat modern Martial Artists.

The venue was crowded with many people; on the left side of the entrance was the testing area for the Daoist Cultivation Department, where a snake-like line of about sixty or seventy people was waiting. Next to the table at the very front stood an extremely crude, handmade sign with a printed sheet of paper stuck to it, bearing the six large black characters for "Traditional Cultivation Academy"; upon closer inspection, it actually read "Limited Funding."

"Should have known to come twenty minutes later."

Chen Shu joined the back of the line unhurriedly and took out his Mobile Phone to start playing a game.

One round ended; he carried, but lost.

Chen Shu looked up at the front; having shuffled along with the line while playing, he had actually reached the very front, so he hurriedly closed his Mobile Phone and tilted his head to look ahead.

There were two testing stations at the front of the line.

Each station had a table, two teachers, a computer, a testing machine the size of a shoebox, a card reader, and a water dispenser.

When it was your turn, you went to whichever side was free.

Students would first swipe their card to confirm their information, then place their hand on the testing machine to begin the test.

The teacher would say "Alright," and then they could leave.

The entire process took very little time.

It had a bit of a nucleic acid sampling vibe.

Seeing this model of testing machine, Chen Shu relaxed slightly.

He had gained a detailed understanding of the Cultivator testing equipment commonly used in different domestic settings: this type of testing machine was higher-end than the ones used when he was at Talent Academy, and its functions were more complete than the testing machines used during the Great Exam that only measured Spirit Power Talent. It was an active test that could simultaneously measure data such as Spirit Power Talent, Spirit Power Quality, and total volume, and based on this, calculate the Spirit Sea rank; it could also provide a simple recommendation on whether one could take an Opening Agent.

However, they could not see the test results; those would only appear on the computer in front of the teacher, then be recorded into the system, and could be queried later.

"Alright, next."

It was Chen Shu's turn; he walked to the testing station on the left and consciously followed the process.

He placed his hand on it, the testing machine beeped twice, and a surge of Spirit Power forcefully rushed into his body, instantly disappearing, only to reappear from nowhere a few seconds later and return to the testing machine.

Two more beeps, and the test was complete.

"Hah~~"

The female teacher yawned, feeling somewhat sleepy; she glanced at the test results and felt a headache coming on.

"Sigh..."

She then picked up the testing machine.

"Bang bang!"

She tapped it twice on the table.

Only then did she say to Chen Shu:

"Do it again."

"..."

Chen Shu placed his hand on it again.

"Beep beep!"

It was exactly the same as before; this suddenly appearing special Spirit Power was at least at the Intermediate Stage level, and he was completely unable to resist it, nor could he even track it.

"Beep beep!"

"Eh?"

The female teacher looked at the screen, scratched her head, and said to another teacher nearby, "This testing machine seems to have a problem; the data has become very strange. Use yours first."

She then said to Chen Shu, "Go over there."

"Okay..."

Chen Shu obediently walked to the other side, simultaneously feeling around in his pocket; he had actually forgotten to bring a mask, which really shouldn't have happened.

The troubles of a genius are always hard for ordinary people to understand.

"Beep beep!"

"Beep beep!"

"Teacher Fu, come over and take a look."

The two teachers huddled together, eyeing the data, both feeling it was very strange, but they remained calm, as they had seen their fair share of storms.

Chen Shu didn't have many other thoughts, just feeling a bit awkward and troubled, so he hesitated and organized his words, saying, "Actually, is there a possibility that I am that kind of, you know, the rare kind, um, genius."

"Possible, let's verify."

"The one behind, come up."

A boy waiting behind walked up, followed the process, and tested once; everything was normal.

"Alright, you can go."

"You two can both go."

"Thank you, teacher."

Chen Shu left the place unhurriedly.

By the time he returned to his dormitory, he was already able to check the test results; the efficiency was ridiculously high.

Name: Chen Shu

Student ID: 50201011001

Department: Traditional Cultivation Academy

Major: Spell Principles

Class: 20th Level, Class 1

Spirit Power Talent: 1000/1000

Spirit Power Quality: 3f

Spirit Power Total: 3f

This world has English letters, though they aren't called English letters, nor are they called Latin letters; they are called Pinyin letters, first created by Shengzu and carved onto the Saint Character Stele. Perhaps Chen Shu is the only person in the whole world who knows where their true origin lies.

There are two problems with this test result—

First is the Spirit Power Talent:

A perfect score of 1000 points, set according to the talent standards of the Emperor Wuzong from two hundred years ago; it is more authoritative than the Spirit Power Talent results of the Great Exam, more detailed in its divisions, and naturally, stricter as well.

As far as Chen Shu knows, very few people can get a perfect score. Many big shots who have already made a name for themselves and graduated from Yujing Academy only had a Spirit Power Talent of nine hundred-something on their entrance tests. And regardless of whether students had eight hundred-something or nine hundred-something, if you look at their Great Exam results, the Spirit Power Talent item is, in all likelihood, a perfect score.

Some people are just able to score perfectly.

Others are only because the perfect score is only that high.

Chen Shu's score is still quite a Surprise.

Second is the anomalous data:

Chen Shu's Spirit Power Quality and Spirit Power Total are both 3f. These two items are complex to calculate, and this simple equipment cannot measure them accurately, so it can only provide a rough level.

3 represents a Third-stage Cultivator.

f is the lowest level among Third-stage Cultivators.

Many newly promoted Third-stage Cultivators are 3e; only those with poorer talent would be 3f.

For a genius with a perfect talent score, what kind of bizarre operation would lead to the Spirit Power Total and Spirit Power Quality of the Spirit Sea being only 3f?

Skipping a stage?

Impossible, at least not at a Low Tier.

When everyone opens their Spirit Sea, whether a genius or a mediocrity, the size of the Spirit Sea cannot differ by more than 10%. It is only as subsequent cultivation progresses that the gap might widen. Theoretically, a super genius could potentially have a Spirit Sea larger than a mediocrity who has just entered the Eighth Stage when reaching the Seven-Tier Peak.

But that is only in theory.

In reality, mediocrities cannot reach a High-Tier.

As for newly enrolled Third-stage Cultivators, that is not so rare.

This is Yujing Academy.

Chen Shu sighed; like a salted fish such as himself, once he has troublesome matters, he feels very weary at heart.

It will take Qingqing coaxing him to be okay.

……

Evening.

People entered the classroom one after another.

Following the habits of his past life, Chen Shu sat in the second-to-last row and roughly scanned the room; the ratio of men to women was about 2:1.

The two male students in the front row were quite outgoing; in just a short while, they had become familiar, reported their names and Dormitory areas to each other, and were chatting with a sense of novelty as they found topics to discuss.

A tall, thin male student asked, "When did you go for the test yesterday?"

"A little bit past two-thirty."

"Then did you see a big shot who shocked even the teachers?"

"No, what big shot?"

"I heard it too... it's just that there's a student in our department who took the test, and they tested three times in a row; the teacher couldn't believe the results and thought the equipment was broken."

"And the result?"

The other student also appeared very interested.

"The result was that it wasn't broken."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true!"

"What does that person look like? A man or a woman? Are they tall? Could they be in our class?"

"A man, I heard he's actually quite handsome."

As the two were talking, the male student in the back row suddenly leaned over, draped his upper body across the desk, poked his head out from between them, and asked impatiently:

"How handsome are we talking?"

"Just handsome, that's all."

"Hurry up and elaborate!"

"Uh..." The tall, thin male student hesitated for a moment, but still said, "I only heard about it too."

"It's fine, go ahead and say it!"

"I... I didn't hear anyone describe it specifically either."

"You can imagine, you can imagine it too!"

"This..."

The tall, thin male student was a bit confused and at a loss.

The male student next to him came to his rescue, sighing, "Our academy really is full of hidden talents..."

That male student nodded quickly: "Yeah!"

"Boring..."

Chen Shu sat back in his original seat.

The two in front of him looked at each other, then glanced back at him obscurely; looking at this male student who was a little handsome but not that handsome, they had a vague guess in their hearts—

This classmate might be into men!

It's best to stay away from him in the future.

Not until a young woman of medium height walked in, wearing a shy smile, and asked everyone to be a little quieter, did the classroom immediately return to silence.

This was their class assistant.

Yujing Academy does not have titles like head teacher or counselor; there is only a class assistant, who is hired from the outside. The class assistant does not teach, but mainly resolves miscellaneous matters for everyone, handles some personal or study-related problems, fulfills some notification duties, and has no real power.

The class assistant is named Xia Yunyun, and she looks to be in her twenties.

Xia Yunyun turned on the Wall Projector and began to introduce them to the school and a series of things regarding their campus life and studies over the next five years.

Chen Shu didn't really want to listen, so he took out his Mobile Phone.

Chen Shu: Qingqing, have your entrance test results come out yet?

Qingqing: Yes.

Chen Shu: You can't just say one word.

Qingqing: Yes, they have.

Chen Shu: Be more forthcoming.

Qingqing: Full marks for talent.

Chen Shu: That's impressive.

Qingqing: Are you having a class meeting?

Chen Shu: We are.

Qingqing: We are having one too.

Chen Shu: Why aren't you listening carefully? / accusing

Qingqing: Why aren't you listening carefully? / accusing

Chen Shu: I suspect you didn't even retype that, you just clicked copy and paste.

Qingqing: I long-pressed and forwarded it.

Chen Shu: This is so boring.

Qingqing: Me too.

Chen Shu: Are there any male classmates in your class peeking at you?

Qingqing: I haven't noticed.

Chen Shu: Is there anyone more handsome than me?

Qingqing: I haven't looked.

Chen Shu: Are you blind?

Qingqing: I don't care.

Chen Shu: Let's play chess, get online.

Qingqing: Okay.

Xia Yunyun's speech ended, and the next part was the segment for electing a class monitor; only one class monitor would be chosen, nothing else.

The classroom was very quiet, and no one went up to the stage.

"Does no one want to be class monitor?"

Xia Yunyun seemed to be a class assistant for the first time, and she was a bit at a loss.

Finally, the tall, thin male classmate in front of Chen Shu stood up, walked to the front of the stage, and bowed to everyone: "Hello everyone, my name is Wang Weixin, a local of Yujing."

"I know everyone is here to study, not to be the class monitor."

"I also know that my grades are probably among the worst of all the students in the class. My father is a soldier who earned a first-class merit, so I got extra points and was able to get into Yujing. When it comes to talent and grades, I might not compare to you all; you will all be big shots in the future, and I definitely won't be. However, I'm a person who quite likes socializing, and I'm quite active, so why don't I be the one to run errands and do the chores for everyone? If I'm elected, feel free to come to me if you have anything you need in the future, and when you all become big shots one day, please remember to look out for me."

A round of applause broke out.

Chen Shu clicked his tongue in amazement—

Look at that guy, how is he so good at talking? Meanwhile, his own girlfriend, whom he hadn't even started dating yet, could talk someone to death.

Qingqing: Where are you?

Qingqing: Are you pretending to disconnect because you're losing?

Chen Shu: *Cough*—ptui!