Yunfan finally stopped, his Internal Energy returning to its normal cyclical flow through his body. The spark of starlight flickered one last time before disappearing into his forehead. As the sun streamed through the window, he realized that he had cultivated for the entire night.
Meanwhile, the Alchemy Emperor was examining Yunfan with awe. "The Divine Idol was still functional…"
"The Divine Idol must've been what enhanced your body. At higher levels, the effect must've been negligible so I never noticed."
Yunfan looked down at his body. Despite having essentially done extreme exercise for an entire night, his mind was completely awake. In fact, he felt more awake than when he had started cultivating; he felt like his awareness and consciousness had expanded in an indescribable way.
"I'm a little curious about how exactly my body has been changed," Chu Yunfan murmured.
"I'd tell you, but my Divine Sense can't pierce your necklace's protection. It's like you're not even here; it's really weird."
My necklace can hide me from Divine Sense? Yunfan shuffled that information into the back of his mine for later. He refocused on his body, musing about the mysterious changes which had happened to him. "When I reach Internal Observation, I'll know exactly what happened."
Internal Observation was the ninth minor stage of Physical Refinement. Like the name suggested, Internal Observation allowed the cultivator to develop a supernatural "Internal Sense" that allowed them to examine and increase control over their bodies.
He stood up and immediately staggered. He confusedly looked down at his body. His vision spun and he doubled over, clutching his empty stomach.
A sharp pang of hunger shot through his gut.
"O-oh. I might've used… a little too much Internal Energy."
His vision turned black.
***
Yunfan's eyes snapped open.
He was lying down on his bed, with pillows stacked high to support his head. He was wearing a loose T-shirt and sweatpants, which he didn't remember putting on. His blanket was drawn up over his legs.
"You fucking idiot!"
"Ow!"
Yunfan clutched his head, glaring at Chu Qingxuan. She fumed right back at him, waving her cane threateningly again.
"What was that for?!"
"I found you unconscious in the bathtub! I think me being a little pissed is more than justified!"
That's… I didn't even think about how she felt. She was probably terrified when she found me. He noticed that the corners of her eyes were reddened, likely from tears.
Without warning, Qingxuan hugged Yunfan. He was surprised for a moment, before his expression softened. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Qingxuan's
back.
"I th-thought you died, you s-stupid, reckless fool." Her voice trembled, but no tears came out.
He patted her back. "I won't die…"
Qingxuan pulled back, scowling. "How do you know that?! You could've died today! You're lucky that I found you! And I know you'll be risking your life on the frontlines in the future!
"How could you possibly guarantee your safety! Don't give me some cheap sentiment!"
Yunfan was briefly surprised, but then he smiled sadly; Qingxuan was already so mature for her age. Her frailty had forced her to put on a mature front. Yet at the same time, she was still so young. This is so unfair.
He drew her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
Qingxuan's eyes widened. She gave him a watery smile. "As you should be."
***
After drinking some chicken and ginseng soup to regain some of his strength, he left for school. On his way to the bus stop, he stopped by a convenience store to buy a Nutrients Pill. As the cashier was ringing up the Pill, the Alchemy Emperor curiously looked at the small, brown orb.
"It looks like shit."
"It does," Yunfan agreed. "It tastes like shit too."
Nutrients Pills were highly-processed and -compressed balls of easy to digest nutrient paste. There was actually no alchemy involved in its creation and was more akin to a stupid amount of calories compacted into a small orb.
Truly, the wonders of modern technology.
As he waited at the bus stop, he popped the Pill in his mouth. He grimaced at the flavor, which resembled unseasoned, dry ground meat mixed with a "health-food" fibre bar. While he got onto the bus, he began the process of converting the Nutrient Pill into Internal Energy. By the time he was at school, he was back to normal.
The classes that he had already aced became nothing more than a joke. Yunfan realized that he could read ten lines at a time and had memorization skills that rivaled photographic memory.
Combined with the Alchemy Emperor being able to covertly cheat off other peoples' answers and his already outstanding academics, Chu Yunfan knew he could become the top student in the liberal arts stream.
However, that wasn't how he wanted to live.
Yunfan breezed through the work. He spent the entire day eagerly awaiting his final class of the day: martial arts class!
However, there was another class that he was looking forward to. When Chu Yunfan entered the Ancient Zenith Script classroom, he noticed an unusual series of characters on the holographic screen in the center of the class.
As class began, the Ancient Zenith script teacher began explaining.
"Today, we'll be practing pictograph analysis! These are some characters that we haven't studied before. Based on commonalities and repeating patterns, try to guess what they mean."
She pointed at the first character at the top of the screen. "Who would like to make a guess about what this character means?"
Feng Deying boldly proclaimed, "The character has an unfamiliar structure and seems to mirror the shape of a mouth and tongue! I think that it is an onomatopoeia!"
Feng Deying was Class 7's vice-monitor. He had platinum blonde hair, golden eyes, and altogether pleasing features. He was known for his wealthy background, which he obnoxiously flaunted. He was also the main reason few people dared to approach Tang Siyu; he was completely infatuated with her and possessively pushed away anyone who was interested in her.
Tang Siyu frowned, before speaking her mind. "This pictogram has the features of an animal, such as the 'leg' symbol being integrated into the character. I believe that this character means some kind of animal."
The teacher did not have any reaction to either explanation. She turned to scan the class. "Any other guesses?"
Yunfan raised his hand. She nodded at him and he took a deep, contemplative breath.
"I think this character means a very large, ferocious reptile!"
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "How do you know? That's a very specific answer."
"Tang Siyu noticed the 'leg' pictogram that's often used in characters that mean animals. However, she missed the 'cold' pictogram, which has two alternate meanings: an animal that lives in the cold or is cold-blooded. However, the unique structure of the rest of the character is structured to resemble scales on a lizard! This suggests an animal that is cold-blooded and has scales!"
A hint of excitement flashed across the teacher's face. She encouraged him some more. "And how do you know that this is supposed to represent and large, dangerous reptile?"
"The angular structure of the pictogram! Just like the characters 'blood,' 'sword,' and 'conflict,' this character uses sharp strokes that are associated with danger!"
"Impressive!" she exclaimed. "This character was actually from a tablet that the liberal arts students at Federation University have recently deciphered. Your analysis was very clear and correct!"
Everyone was impressed, but not very surprised; Yunfan had always been an exceptional academic.
However, Feng Deying's face was twisted with embarrassment. While Tang Siyu had at least been somewhat close, his guess was completely wrong. Chu Yunfan noticed his dark expression and saw the blonde boy repeatedly glancing towards the silver-haired class monitor.
***
When he entered the training hall, he was one of the first students to arrive. He sat down at the meditation area and began fervently cultivating; he wanted to break into the seventh minor stage of Physical Refinement as soon as possible to qualify for the martial arts stream.
While he was cultivating, more students began streaming into the classroom. Several students decided to warm up in the sparring ring. Interested by the small crowd that was gathering, Yunfan stood up and walked over.
His sharp eyes quickly picked Gao Hongzhi out of the crowd and he moved to stand next to him.
"Mu Zhenfei and Di Ming are fighting,"
Hongzhi explained. "Who do you think will win?"
"Don't you think it's a little below the third highest cultivator in our class to comment on a sparring match of his juniors?" Yunfan jibed.
"You're making me blush," Gao Hongzhi chuckled. "Personally, I think Mu Zhenfei will win. He's got a naturally powerful build."
Mu Zhenfei and Di Ming were both at the peak of the sixth minor stage, on the precipice of reaching the seventh minor stage and being accepted into the martial arts stream. While Di Ming was lithe and a little shorter than Chu Yunfan, Mu Zhenfei stood about ten centimeters taller than Yunfan and was built powerfully like an ox.
Everyone else around them nodded with Gao Hongzi. Mu Zhenfei's physique was definitely impressive.
However, Yunfan shook his head. "That may be the case, but if Di Ming targets Mu Zhenfei's weaker lower body, he could win in three moves."
In his head, he was already simulating the battle. He'd been in the same class as both students for several months and knew their skill levels well. Furthermore, his perception had reached a whole new level; he could tell that Mu Zhenfei had neglected training his lower body.
The students around him scoffed. He's just being a contrarian to attract attention. However, they didn't dare voice such thoughts in front of Gao Hongzhi.
Both Mu Zhenfei and Di Ming burst into action in the ring.
Mu Zhenfei's flurry of blows immediately suppressed Di Ming, preventing him from taking the offensive.
Forced to move and deflect blows constantly, Di Ming was unable to muster a counterattack.
The fierce snapping and popping of their Joint Popping cultivation filled the arena.
The other students smugly stared at Yunfan, who saw their arrogant expressions out of the corner of his eye. He sighed. Why do you all care so much? It's not that serious…
Di Ming had completely lost the initiative. Mu Zhenfei was slowly herding him into the corner of the ring.
Suddenly, Di Ming's leg whipped out and slammed against Mu Zhenfei's right calf. One move!
Mu Zhenfei faltered, staggering backwards slightly.
Di Ming followed up with a vicious stomp-kick, causing Zhenfei's leg to dislocate. Mu Zhenfei crumpled to the floor. Two moves!
Within moments, Di Ming had Mu Zhenfei on the ground. His foot snapped forwards, stopping inches from Zhenfei's face. Three moves!
A brutal defeat in just three moves, exactly like Chu Yunfan had foretold!
The crowd was silent as they stared at Yunfan.