Chapter 30: Teacher Shi Qian and the Thousand-Mechanism Art

Qingqing: What are you doing?

Chen Shu: Browsing the library.

Qingqing: On her first day of class, Xiaoxiao knocked a classmate unconscious. May I ask what your thoughts are on this?

Chen Shu: How did she hit them? Were they injured?

Qingqing: Knocked them down with one punch.

Chen Shu: Impressive, my little sister-in-law.

Qingqing:?

Chen Shu: She has quite your style.

Qingqing:?

Chen Shu: Alright, she's still a bit worse than you.

Qingqing: That's not what I wanted to hear.

Chen Shu: Then what is it?

Qingqing: I asked her, and she said you told her to hit them.

Chen Shu: Is that so?

Chen Shu: Oh, indeed, indeed.

He had completely forgotten, but whether it was true or not, he would admit it first.

Chen Shu: Is it serious?

Qingqing: Not serious this time.

Chen Shu: Xiaoxiao knows what she's doing; Xiaoxiao is very capable; Xiaoxiao is super smart.

Qingqing: I'm coming to settle the score with you tomorrow.

Chen Shu:?? Aren't you a violence addict yourself?

Qingqing: That's different.

Chen Shu: Oh, so the violence-addict older sister doesn't allow her younger sister to become a violence addict too? Such deep sisterly love, how touching.

Qingqing: Continue.

Chen Shu: I refuse!

Chen Shu: I'm going to keep looking for books.

After that, Qingqing didn't reply to him again.

Chen Shu scratched his head, only then remembering what it was all about.

Well, that deserved a beating.

A girl of only fifteen, on average two years younger than them, wanting to date someone and gathering a bunch of people—shameless, isn't it?

If he didn't beat them up, should he leave them to keep pestering her?

In this era, with technology so advanced, there are Cultivator teachers everywhere in school, so nothing serious can happen from a fight. And a student like Xiaoxiao, without exaggeration, is more precious in the eyes of the school administration than the entire class combined; they'll probably just pay some money, and it won't have much impact.

At most, it will cause a little more trouble for President Ning—

That would be just great.

Chen Shu continued to weave through the bookshelves.

Schools like Yujing Academy and Ling'an Academy have libraries with over ten million volumes; they are treasure troves, and you couldn't even imagine what kind of books you might find inside.

Out-of-print, obscure, limited edition...

Every genre and category, they have it all.

In ancient times, this would be an epic-enhanced Scripture Pavilion, but now that it's open for free, it is undoubtedly one of the most precious resources provided by modern universities to their students.

The flaw is that the vast majority of books involving restricted content have been removed.

Just the vast majority.

There are definitely fish that slipped through the net.

Some books only contain a small portion of relevant content, or mention a bit in passing, making them very easy to miss during censorship—a considerable part of the historical landscape we are familiar with is not provided by professional historical data, but by other books, picture albums, or even inscriptions and utensils. As a history enthusiast, Chen Shu is very skilled at finding content he is interested in within these materials that seem unrelated to the topic, just like finding Xia History within Yu History.

At the same time, among the non-restricted content, there is also a considerable amount of very profound material.

The Government only restricts Spells and other finished products that can cause direct harm to society, while for theoretical knowledge, as long as it doesn't involve secrets, it is not restricted.

Yujing Records

Biography of the Martial Sect

Secret Records of the Secret Sect

Radical Spell Theory

The Holy Ancestor Might Be a Transmigrator

My Cold School Beauty Girlfriend

These were all books Chen Shu had flipped through and found interesting; unfortunately, one person can only borrow two at a time.

Which two should he choose?

What a dilemma.

A longer title can't be wrong, right?

Chen Shu took the books to check them out, put them in his backpack upon leaving the library, then went to pick up a delivery, and bought a few bottles of fresh milk on the way, the kind that lasts a week.

Returning to the Dormitory, he put the milk in the fridge; the fridge was empty, save for his happy water.

Chen Shu looked at the fridge, then at the kitchen, and fell into thought.

Might as well get the kitchenware fully stocked.

"Creak..."

Meng Chunqiu pushed the door open and walked out, wearing modern clothing with traditional elements; he still looked very much like a young woman. He said to Chen Shu, "Brother Chen, back so late?"

"I wandered around the library for a bit."

"Oh my, why didn't you call me when you went to the library? I wanted to go wander around too."

"It was on the way, just on the way," Chen Shu said. "I bought some milk and soda; they're all in the refrigerator. Help yourself if you want to drink some, don't stand on ceremony with me."

"Brother Chen is generous."

"Do you always talk like this?"

"Yes, isn't it elegant?"

"……"

Chen Shu scratched his head and walked toward the bedroom.

Seeing this, Meng Chunqiu hurriedly called him to a stop: "Brother Chen, the school clubs have been recruiting new members these past few days. Is Brother Chen interested in any of them?"

"Not at all."

"Why don't you and I join the Ancient Poetry Club together? The Modern Poetry Club would also be fine. Then the two of us could discuss poetry and prose; how pleasant that would be."

"You should go find Jiang Lai."

"He is just a martial brute."

"I don't have much culture either."

"Sigh……"

Meng Chunqiu couldn't help but sigh, and said no more.

Jiang Lai was a boorish martial brute, and he hadn't expected Brother Chen to be a vulgar person too. But it couldn't be helped; in this era, people's hearts were restless, and there were fewer and fewer people who could settle their minds to appreciate the beauty of poetry and literature, or stop their footsteps to sniff the fragrance of wildflowers by the roadside.

The people of the world were all sour and foul, only he exuded the delicate fragrance of a poet; it was truly lonely in this world.

Especially in this Dormitory.

"Bang."

Chen Shu's room door closed.

It was almost time to choose the Martial Body Course.

The Martial Body Course was very important, its grade weighting basically equivalent to the most important major courses, and there were many types to choose from.

Compared to his previous life, the more distinctive ones included various famous saber techniques, Sword Technique, spear techniques, and other forms of Weapon Combat Technique, as well as Archery, modern firearm shooting, and so on.

Ordinary sports were also available.

Chen Shu intended to choose Archery.

The selection was successful.

……

Wednesday.

The morning was "Moral Cultivation" and "Elementary Runes", a full schedule, and the afternoon was also full, with the entire afternoon being "Fundamentals of Spell Principles".

The name written in the teacher column was: Shi Qian.

Chen Shu arrived relatively early and sat in a middle seat.

Because the Rune classes yesterday and today had left a deep impression on him, many students from other majors would come to audit the class. Most of them wouldn't sit in the seats, but a few would take the seats that should have belonged to students of the major; if one arrived late, there might not be a seat.

As he expected, this class was even more popular than the Rune class, and the classroom was packed.

Chen Shu also saw the senior who had received him.

What was his name again? He had forgotten.

Chen Shu waved at him and smiled.

One minute before class started, Teacher Shi Qian walked in.

Teacher Shi Qian and Chen Jiaoshou should be about the same age. Chen Jiaoshou had Chen Shu when he was in his thirties, so by that calculation, Teacher Shi Qian should also be over fifty. However, he looked even younger than Chen Jiaoshou, only in his early thirties, which was the prime time for a man—mature and steady, yet not overly weathered.

In Chen Shu's vague memory, he was exactly like this.

Just like the old gentleman in the previous class, Teacher Shi Qian didn't mind the students auditing the class, only scanning the room once: "Let's take attendance first. I ask all students to listen up: if you see students of this major sitting on the floor or standing in the back, please, non-major students sitting in seats, consciously give up your seats for them."

Chen Shu gave Teacher Shi Qian a mental thumbs-up.

Then, roll call began.

"Chen Shu."

"Here."

Chen Shu's student ID number was the first one.

Shi Qian looked up and glanced at him, nodded at him, said nothing, and continued to read the next name.

Roll call took a few minutes.

Teacher Shi Qian put down the attendance book and said to everyone: "The main point is to get to know each other. Actually, I don't care if you skip class. You must have your own things to do if you skip class; in this regard, I fully trust the personal judgments you make."

"Class begins now."

Teacher Shi Qian crossed his arms over his chest, leaned against the projection screen, and said very leisurely: "I will first talk about the study plan for this semester. I won't mention the theoretical knowledge; I know that what you are truly interested in is not these things."

"Choose one of two:"

"One is the foundation of modern Spirit Cultivator, a simplified version of the Thousand Machine Art."

"One is Spiritual Power Conversion, along with a relatively practical little Spell and its improvement methods. After the improvement, it might be the kind you like."

There was an immediate buzz of discussion below, and some students were already starting to get excited.

The Thousand Machine Art was a great Spell that had only appeared in modern times. It was complex and ingenious, drawing a clear line directly between Modern Cultivator and ancient cultivators—the difference between it and other Spells was like that between software and an operating system. The Thousand Machine Art engraved in the Spirit Sea could integrate other Spells, making the casting of Spells faster, simpler, and more intelligent. Furthermore, there would no longer be the situation where "a certain Spell hasn't been used for a long time, and I've forgotten it."

Born over a hundred years ago, the Thousand Machine Art had developed very rapidly due to its importance. Now, its functions were extremely powerful, powerful to the point of being dreamlike.

With the help of the Thousand Machine Art, you could make a Spell run automatically, or make a Spell trigger automatically, or even intelligently trigger and intelligently run, without having to spend effort controlling it.

This was an extremely exaggerated ability.

Spiritual Power Conversion is also very important and practical.

Most energy in this world is stored in the form of Spirit Power, and most machines and equipment also use Spirit Power, or convert Spirit Power into other forms of energy; so, can a Cultivator provide the Spirit Power within their own body for these devices to use?

The answer is yes.

But there must be a conversion process.

Because Spirit Power standards are not the same, different machines and equipment have different requirements for Spirit Power and its input; once you learn Spiritual Power Conversion, you will never have to worry about your Mobile Phone running out of battery, nor will you have to worry about your car breaking down on the road.

Especially for those traveling in recreational vehicles, as long as your cultivation is sufficient, you can be completely self-sufficient.

Teacher Shi Qian is very sincere.

These two choices—one leaning toward the combat power of ancient cultivation, the other leaning toward modern convenience—must both be learned eventually; it is just a matter of which comes first.

It is truly a bit hard to choose.

Chen Shu leans slightly toward Thousand Machine Art.

The method for Spiritual Power Conversion is more common and can be bought in Wide and Narrow Alley; he hadn't bought it before mainly because he had other things to do.

Thousand Machine Art can also be bought in Wide and Narrow Alley, but it is expensive and outdated; Chen Shu reckons that whatever is taught by a teacher at Yujing Academy is unlikely to be an outdated version.

"Quiet."

Teacher Shi Qian's tone is calm: "No rush, you can think about it slowly; in any case, you can't do it right now. If I gave it to you now, you wouldn't be able to learn it anyway. Listen to the lecture properly."

The classroom suddenly quieted down.

Chen Shu also calmed his heart.

Fundamentals of Spell Principles is not taught very deeply, only slightly above the level of Talent Academy, as it is a step-by-step process. However, Teacher Shi Qian explains it in great detail, leaving almost nothing out; for someone like Chen Shu, whose level is high but who relies mainly on self-study, it just happens to fill in those missing gaps, making his foundation more solid.

The class ends normally halfway through.

Nearly four hours pass by very quickly.

Five minutes before the end of class, Teacher Shi Qian's biological clock reminds him; he happens to finish a small section of content, so he stops and says to everyone: "Let's stop here for today. Everyone, take down my Mobile Phone number and instant messaging ID; if you have questions, you can consult me at any time—any question, you can consult me about any question. Only for students in this major, though; otherwise, there are too many people, and I wouldn't be able to do anything all day but sit there and reply to messages. I hope everyone understands."

Chen Shu always feels like he is implying something.

Is this the Ancient Spell Principles major rumored in the outside world? Are the teachers in this major always this bold? Openly going against national policy...

Love it, love it.

Shi Qian nods: "Four minutes left, let's end class early, otherwise the stairs will be very crowded."

Everyone cheers.

Although they are all quasi-Cultivators, they are still young men and women in their early twenties; the appearance of youth is truly beautiful.

Watching everyone cheer for the end of class, Shi Qian cannot help but smile, then he beckons to Chen Shu.

Chen Shu hurriedly packs up his books and walks over:

"Hello, Uncle Shi Qian."

"We finally meet; it's been many years, hasn't it?" Shi Qian, also holding a water cup, smiles at him, "Have you forgotten what I look like?"

"I really almost forgot; I was just a hair's breadth away."

"It's a good thing we added each other on instant messaging over the summer break; looking at the profile picture, you remembered, right?"

"That is indeed the case."

"Come on, I'll treat you to a meal."

"Okay."