Chapter 77: Stealing the Exam Papers?

After the exam ended, the tension that had gripped my nerves finally eased, leaving me with an unexpected sense of exhaustion.

The test itself was simple enough not to make me nervous; it was the atmosphere in the classroom.

It felt as if a flood was about to hit, a looming disaster that made everyone involuntarily anxious and restless.

“Amazing.”

It had been a long time since I’d experienced something this intense.

“No wonder those old cultivators in the sects like to undergo worldly trials… After so long in cultivation, they become indifferent to everything. It’s the mortal world’s chaos that truly stirs the seven emotions and six desires.”

“The exams are over. Little Luo Xian, what are your plans now?”

Xinyue looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to do something interesting.

Like live-streaming fortune-telling, live-streaming fortune-telling, or live-streaming fortune-telling.

But my answer disappointed her.

“Alchemy.”

The money from the pharmacy gave me plenty of resources, and more money meant I could buy more herbs I couldn’t afford before.

With those herbs, I could refine new potions.

Every cultivator is like a medicine jar; taking pills can improve cultivation, enhance the condensation of spiritual energy, strengthen divine sense, raise spiritual root grades, and deepen Dao comprehension.

To take every single potion until full resistance is built requires a massive amount of resources.

“Everyone’s done with exams. Don’t you want to relax a bit?”

“I’m not tired.”

“…Boring.”

Xinyue left disappointed.

For the next few days, the school was closed for cleaning, so Cluru and I had to live in the basement.

With the money from the pharmacy, I installed new light bulbs, replaced the bed and bedding, and patched up the leaking corners.

Several ventilation ducts ensured fresh air, and a newly built restroom with drainage made bathing possible.

There was even a small kitchen for boiling noodles.

The new basement still looked a bit shabby, but at least it was healthy to live in.

It had gained a touch of warmth.

I sat on the bed refining pills, while Cluru quietly watched me work.

Life quietly went on like this, in this sunless place, we lost track of time, not knowing how long we had silently persevered side by side.

Until the phone woke us up.

【Where are you two? The results will be announced in an hour!】 Xinyue’s voice carried barely restrained excitement.

So it was already time for the scores to be released.

【I’ve arranged to stay up with some classmates, eating barbecue at the Baidao stall while waiting for the results. Want to join?】

“Don’t want to go…”

【Really? Everyone’s looking forward to you coming!】

“Really not going.”

【Alright then…】 Xinyue hung up disappointed.

I snapped out of my pill-refining state, and Cluru was resting her head on my lap, fast asleep.

Suddenly, a light flickered from the little sheep hairpin on my head.

【Streaming fortune-telling while waiting for the results, I will reveal the location of the ‘Dao Intent Spirit Grass’.】

?

Bai Ze, are you my stomach worm? How do you always know what herbs I need?

Dao Intent Spirit Grass is a rare herb used to strengthen divine sense.

The principle behind this pill is special; it’s only effective for those in the Qi Refining Stage, but the materials are difficult to find even for those in the Golden Core.

What’s worse is that the strengthening effect is percentage-based.

Each pill increases current divine sense strength by 10%, up to three pills.

For ordinary Qi Refining practitioners who haven’t even developed divine sense, what’s the use of an extra 10%?

I have no idea which crazy senior came up with this formula.

Except for reincarnators like me, who naturally have strong divine sense, this pill is basically useless for others.

But for me now, its use is enormous.

“Alright then, just one divination today.”

Though my divine sense was already strong, I wasn’t confident enough to face the ancient gods head-on. Strengthening it further wouldn’t hurt.

The live stream began.

[Host, you finally came back!]

[We’ve been waiting for you so painfully!]

[Do you know I open your stream every day looking for you?]

Even when you’re offline, you’re in the top ten for popularity. Everyone chats in your black screen room and even pre-tips to book your next stream.

[There are tens of thousands of reservations!]

Ridiculous.

I shook my head. “I was busy with the Entrance Exam before. Just finished, so now I have time.”

[Shocked! Little Luo Xian is actually a candidate this year?!]

[So young too! Is she the legendary genius?]

[Fun fact: Little cultivators in the Immortal Spirit Era are common. Many rare Immortal Spirits’ children are directly sent to prestigious universities.]

[By the way, this year’s test was really tough. How did you do, host?]

“Did… okay.”

I wanted to finish quickly and log off to relax, so I hurriedly brought the topic back on track.

“Alright, just one divination today. Let me check your gift order first.”

The gift history was so long it took me half an hour to scroll back to the last book points.

“Okay, next up is this person…”

Connecting video, the face on the other side was ordinary and peaceful.

“No illness or disaster recently. Go on your adventure with peace of mind.”

I gave the person a calming pill; they left satisfied.

“Hmm, one divination done. That’s it for today’s stream. Goodbye everyone.”

[???]

[??]

The screen flooded with question marks mixed with a few thank-you messages for the host taking time out of their busy schedule to humor us.

I calmly looked at the end stream button, ready to click.

Then, a video call request popped up on my phone.

It was Xinyue.

I sighed and accepted.

“What’s up?”

[Little Luo Xian, you streamed secretly without me, I’m mad!] Xinyue scolded, full of righteous anger.

There was still half an hour before the results were announced. The background behind Xinyue was a barbecue stall.

Several classmates from Erzhong sat around her, waving greetings at me through her phone.

I hadn’t exited the divine sense observation state, so naturally I could see their facial features.

“Hmm… want me to spoil your results?”

[NO!!!]

Hands thrown up.

“Then why did you call me?”

[Told you to come out and have fun! Come on, come on~ Let’s wait for the results together.]

Hard to refuse such enthusiasm.

I glanced at the live chat.

[Though we’re excited about Little Luo Xian’s fortune-telling show, today is really important for her.]

[Maybe no fortune-telling today, host should just check the results directly.]

[Agreed, we’re all curious about her score.]

“Alright then.”

Stretching, Cluru and I headed to Xinyue’s Baidao stall.

The barbecue here tasted great, and Cluru and I both enjoyed it a lot.

“Well worth the trip,” I said sincerely.

“See? This is the treasure spot I found.” Xinyue said proudly.

The stall echoed with the girls’ laughter.

Since returning to Earth, I’d always been busy— becoming stronger, seeking revenge… Suddenly experiencing this ordinary, relaxed atmosphere was unexpectedly moving.

“Get ready to refresh the page! Just a few seconds left! Please, heavens, please—”

Like drawing cards, everyone at the table held up their phones reverently.

Nervously tapping the refresh button.

“Wow! 650!”

“670!”

“666! Jackpot!”

Good news kept coming, and the classmates nearly embraced in tears.

A few days ago, the Spirit Association had announced that all university admission cutoffs would be lowered by over 80 points this year, to accommodate those absurd, unsolvable questions.

Erzhong students’ scores had completely surpassed the thresholds for prestigious schools, with room to spare.

Even they couldn’t believe their own scores.

Mock exams had only been in the 300s and 400s.

[??? Host, what school are you at exactly?]

[With this difficulty, all over 600?? Not even Donghuang First High School got these scores!]

[I just checked. Our top scorer got 550. I’m at a provincial key school!]

[Host’s whole class getting into Huazhong?]

Looks like the Body Tempering Pills worked well.

I watched my classmates cheer and hug, then looked down at my own phone.

【It’s coming, host’s score… about to be revealed!】

“There’s really nothing to expect. Barring accidents, it should be full marks.”

[Yeah right!]

[Look look!]

I smiled faintly and pressed refresh.

Then froze in shock.

Looking at the score displayed, silence fell around.

400.

Only the live chat was filled with bursts of laughter.

[The host knows how to put on a show.]

[Turns out I’m the weakest in the whole class.]

[Everyone, forgive her. After all, the host is still a kid!]

“No.”

I shook my head. “You should have seen my fight with Yazhe. I scored 300 in martial tests alone. 450 in written tests. There’s no way I only got 100. This isn’t right. I was sabotaged.”

I looked at Cluru.

She showed her phone.

Sure enough, 400.

Someone must have stolen the rest of our answer sheets and only left one behind.

The culprit was smart enough not to steal all; leaving one sheet made the score look normal.

Otherwise, with our perfect 300 scores in the martial test, plus the written 300, it would be obvious something was wrong.

Even if you guessed on every multiple-choice question, you couldn’t get zero.

So the other person left one to make it seem like a normal performance.

Our papers were definitely stolen.

“In my view, the answer is obvious.

But for those unaware, the situation looks totally different.”

[Host is questioning the fairness of the Spirit Association’s exams?]

[Little Luo Xian, stop! You can’t say that!]

[It’s impossible for the Entrance Exam papers to be tampered with. If you did badly, you did badly. Don’t make excuses.]

[You’ll lose followers.]

“It was stolen,” I insisted, “I know my score. It should be full marks.”

[Full marks… haha…]

[Academics: ? I’m not even as good as a high schooler.]

[Oh no, the host’s lost it. Not only crazy, but stupid too.]

Because this involved the Spirit Association’s exam fairness, and because I claimed full marks, almost no one believed me.

I was trapped, unable to defend myself.

Just then, the phone rang again.

A strange number.

At this hour, a telemarketer wouldn’t be this persistent.

So, in front of the viewers, I answered.

The other party got straight to the point.

[This is the Xianling Research Institute of Donghuang District. Hello, are you Miss Yun Luo Xian?]