“670 points and you’re sulking like this?!”
Teacher Xiao Yuan was so angry she nearly punched Xinyue in the face.
“Xinyue, please sit down. With that score, you can fill out whatever you want. Please don’t mess with me like this.”
She glared fiercely at another student nearby and asked, “Xiaolin, how did you do? Let me help you plan your applications.”
“650.”
“?”
What the heck?
Are you all trying out the ‘academic genius pretending to be down’ trend this year?
“Then Qingchen…”
“651.”
“?”
Is this going to keep going?
How do you even teach these kids? Be honest, for goodness’ sake!
Who are you all trying to impress with those little cat-face expressions?
“Then Guangguang…”
“649.”
“Then…”
Teacher Xiao Yuan went down the list, asking one by one.
The more she asked, the more something felt off.
Maybe she was just too hopeful for her students to do well, and was dreaming an impossible dream?
She must not have fully woken up yet.
“Then what about Xiao Luo Xian?”
Hmm, yep, definitely not awake.
Just as Teacher Xiao Yuan was hesitating— wondering whether to slap herself awake or stay lost in this blissful dream— the classroom door was knocked.
Without her noticing, a large group had gathered outside!
They all carried an air of old-school scholarly authority, flanked by bodyguards, each one looking more imposing than the last.
Teacher Xiao Yuan was a little startled. “Excuse me, have you come to the wrong place?”
“Yun Luo Xian is in this class, right?”
“Uh… yes… what is this about?” Teacher Xiao Yuan’s face turned pale. She thought, that troublemaker Xiao Luo Xian—could she possibly be causing some big mess even in my dreams?
“I am the President of Huaqing University,” the foremost person said, “and I’m here to inquire about Yun Luo Xian’s enrollment intentions.”
Teacher Xiao Yuan’s mind instantly crashed.
Once the first had introduced himself, the others quickly followed suit.
“I am the President of XXX University.”
“I am…”
“I am…”
They rattled off the top-tier universities from her memory one after another, until she finally swallowed hard.
Then she slapped herself hard.
This was too ridiculous. She really needed to wake up, or her heart might not take it.
“Teacher Xiao Yuan?”
“Teacher Xiao Yuan, don’t do that, please!”
A few slaps later and still no awakening. Chi Xiao Yuan began to feel confused.
What’s happening?
Huh?
Who am I? Where am I? What was I supposed to be doing?
Hehehehehe, turns out I’m not just asleep—I’m crazy! Hahaha, well, being crazy isn’t so bad.
“May I be so bold,” the presidents all smiled politely at Chi Xiao Yuan, “to ask if this esteemed teacher, who not only cultivated the entire class into top university candidates but also nurtured a prodigy like Yun Luo Xian, might let us in? If you don’t step aside, that student is going to jump out the window.”
The presidents gestured toward me, now pressed against the window.
“Teacher Xiao Yuan! Don’t let her go! Stop her!”
I didn’t need Soul Perception Technique to know what was coming next— a swarm of old men buzzing loudly around my head, debating endlessly where I should go for further studies, each one arguing harder than the next.
“I’ll hand in the volunteer application form later! I’m out of here!”
With that, I opened the window and leapt out.
Midair, I melded with the sky and earth, landing elegantly in a superhero pose.
Then I sprinted away.
Not far behind, a cardboard box bounced along, chasing me like a wild beast locked onto its prey.
Seeing my and Cluru’s completely normal reaction, Chi Xiao Yuan finally snapped back to reality.
Wait, isn’t this a dream?
Not crazy?
Heavens!
Thank goodness.
In the end, I successfully evaded all those university presidents who came for the interview.
Quietly, I filled out the volunteer application form, wrote down Egg University, and slipped it onto Teacher Xiao Yuan’s desk.
The reason I chose Egg University was simple.
Egg University leads the world in Incubation Technology.
And that’s exactly what I need.
It’s my blind spot in knowledge.
“Are we going to keep hiding here?”
By a trash bin outside the school, Cluru and I hid inside the box, quietly watching the busy flow of Kangcheng No. 2 High School.
Seeing anxious people searching everywhere, passing right in front of our box, gave us a strange thrill.
“Yeah, better hide. Otherwise, it’ll be way too noisy.”
“You seem experienced.”
“Sort of.”
“Have you been hunted like this in a dream before?”
“No, in dreams I’m always the slow-witted mortal type—only fit to do menial tasks in a sect. But I do know someone like this.”
“Gender?” Cluru asked warily.
“Doesn’t matter. He’s long dead, killed by a rival.”
“…”
That sounded heavy again. Cluru felt a little guilty about her curiosity.
“We entered the sect the same year,” I recalled with some emotion, “Back then, I was talentless—a dim star alongside the bright moon. I envied him. He stood on the Ascending Immortal Platform, his palm touching the Talent Testing Stele. Rays of light burst from it, piercing through clouds and drawing the whole Nine Provinces’ attention.
People called him the once-in-ten-thousand-years genius of the Nine Provinces. Every major sect was mad to win his favor, offering countless cultivation resources.
In the end, he chose the sect with the best benefits and was granted elder status upon entry.
That was my lifelong goal at the time. He directly stood at the finish line I dreamed of.”
“Then why…” Cluru asked confusedly.
“He was too dazzling, so dazzling that when he matured, he could rewrite the cultivation world’s landscape and elevate his sect to the top ranks. So… he had to die.”
“…”
“One sect wanted to protect him, a thousand wanted to kill him. This kind of genius has only one ending from birth— he and his sect were wiped out just three days after revealing his talent.”
“No matter his future potential, no matter what legend he was about to write, he died. That was the end.”
Cluru didn’t say a word.
She looked worried.
Because the current situation… felt eerily similar to that ill-fated soul.
“Ninety-nine out of a hundred geniuses will die young. The reasons are countless—too early success makes one arrogant and careless, leading to a wasted life.
Or after some success, they obsess over past achievements, trapped in repetitive cycles and unwilling to boldly innovate, endlessly recycling the same old self.
Some, due to their differences, are targeted and marginalized by the mediocre. Hearing enough mediocre words, they begin doubting themselves, thinking the mediocre path is the right one, and end up cutting off their own talent, blending in with the crowd.
Even with perfect character and environment, jealousy can lead to conspiracies that erase them—overpowered by power, influence, or family status.”
Cluru grew more troubled the more she listened.
She bit her lip softly. “Maybe we should go back to the basement.”
Feeling her worried gaze, I laughed and pulled one of her tentacles to rest behind my head. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just a mortal, not some genius. I won’t get arrogant or doubt myself.”
“But there will be bad people…”
“There will always be bad people. We just knock them down.”
Night fell gradually.
Outside, the exhausted presidents and professors of various universities were panting, as if they had scoured the entire city but still hadn’t found their runaway target.
The quiet night breeze of Kangcheng wiped the sweat from their bodies, cooling their fervent hearts.
They stood at Kangcheng No. 2 High School’s gate, looking at each other.
Finally, they all rubbed their waists and laughed self-deprecatingly to the sky.
“To have every top university president chasing their tails, searching until their backs are strained—that alone is legendary.”
“Seems like we were too enthusiastic and didn’t consider their feelings.”
“Let’s just call it quits. Forced grapes aren’t sweet.”
They finally understood.
“Alright, let’s disperse~~”
Everyone left calmly. The farce ended. Everything returned to normal.
Cluru and I finally climbed out of the stifling box.
“Phew~”
I was soaked in sweat, my thin white shirt sticking tightly to my skin, my delicate skin and bra straps barely visible.
“Glug.”
Where did that swallowing sound come from?
Was there a third person hiding in this alley?
My spirit sense found nothing…
“Hey, you really are here!”
After a while, Xinyue ran over and found us.
As soon as she saw the box outside the school, she immediately guessed our hiding spot.
Everyone at Kangcheng No. 2 High School was familiar with that box, but they all wisely kept silent.
“Uh… Xiao Luo Xian, you’re dressed a bit lightly.” Sister Xinyue took off her coat and draped it over my shoulders, wrapping me up.
That seemed to make her shiver from a chill down her back.
“Strange, it feels like a gaze full of resentment is watching me.”
Getting back on topic, I thought for a moment and said, “No big plans for the summer vacation… What about you guys? Normal people after college entrance exams usually do what? All-night gaming? Traveling?”
Xinyue: “Learning to drive.”
“…”
Xinyue looked full of grievance. “My parents signed me up for driving school, saying I should get my license over the break.”
Condolences.
“They said, ‘Since you don’t have academic pressure now, get things done quickly. Once you’re in college, you won’t have time…’ So they scheduled a ton of random stuff for me.”
Xinyue ranted helplessly. “It’s so ruthless! I did so well, and didn’t even get a reward!”
“Where’s the driving school?”
“In Tianhai City. We leave tomorrow… Xiao Luo Xian, Cluru, can you come with me? Boohoo.”
Xinyue’s eyes welled up, looking like a crying kitten.
Since Egg University is also in Tianhai City, this trip actually sounds doable.
We were supposed to report there too.
Besides, Xian Luluy Pharmacy should open a branch, and they’ll probably open more chains in big cities soon to support the huge expenses of cultivators.
“Well, okay then…”
“Yay~~!”
I pulled out my phone and started booking plane tickets—one for me and one for Cluru.
“So, the same flight, M05376, departing at noon, right?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
[Order Confirmed]
○
Just as the order went through, somewhere in Tianhai City, someone narrowed their eyes at the screen.
They composed their expression, pretending nonchalance, then left the office and made a call:
“The target is about to depart. Flight M05376.”
“Shoot it down?”
“That new son-in-law… Young Master Yun personally handling it?”
“Good! Perfect! With the Jiaolong Beastmaster involved, it’ll be foolproof!”
“I’ll ensure the flight takes off on time.”
“Understood.”
“Understood.”
“Hmm! Awaiting good news!”
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