76: Chapter 76 Fu Enters the Campus

Monday morning, Chen Zhen opened his eyes right on time.

No alarm clock, no procrastination; his body automatically woke up at the preset time. He lay still, first using Internal Vision on his Dantian.

That dark blue spirit orb was rotating slowly, its speed stable. Stellar Energy and ordinary spiritual power intertwined into a magnificent two-colored torrent, surging within his body.

He sat up and scanned the room.

Cleaning Spell.

With 1 point of spiritual power consumed, an invisible wave swept through.

But this time, he deliberately mixed a trace of Stellar Energy into the Cleaning Spell.

The room instantly became clean as new, and the air was filled with a faint, crisp, and clear scent.

Like after rain, like deep in the mountains, like a bamboo forest in the early morning.

The leaves of the two spirit plants on the windowsill trembled simultaneously, as if nourished by this aura.

[Star Radiance Cleaning effect upgraded]

[Range: Whole house]

[Additional effects: Weak purification + Weak calming, duration 30 minutes]

Chen Zhen nodded with satisfaction.

Even cleaning can come with buffs.

This is what it means to integrate Cultivate into daily life.

He stood up and suddenly thought of something.

Talisman.

The System had given him the skill [Basic Talisman Art: Calming Talisman], but he hadn't used it much.

Before, it was because of insufficient spiritual power; drawing Talismans consumed too much, making it less efficient than using Spells directly.

Now that his spiritual power limit had risen to 215, with 15 points recovering every day, it could fully support daily use.

What if... he used Talismans at school?

With a thought, he took a stack of blank Talisman paper from his Storage Space.

He had bought it at the second-hand market last week—handmade, old-fashioned Talisman paper. The paper quality was rough, but its spiritual conductivity was good.

He picked up a brush, focused his mind, and poured spiritual power into the tip of the brush.

The first Talisman, Calming Talisman.

The brush moved like a dragon or snake, and the Talisman runes formed on the paper.

When the last stroke fell, a pale golden halo flashed across the surface of the Talisman paper.

[Basic Talisman Art: Calming Talisman (Success)]

[Effect: Calming +50%, duration 2 hours]

Chen Zhen looked at this Talisman and frowned.

50%, too weak.

He thought for a moment, activated [Star Core], and mixed a trace of Stellar Energy into his spiritual power.

The second Talisman, also a Calming Talisman.

The moment the brush fell, a burst of dark blue light erupted from the surface of the Talisman paper, lasting for three seconds before slowly fading away.

[Stellar Mind-Calming Talisman (Success)]

[Effect: Calming +200%, duration 4 hours, comes with weak purification]

[Quality: High Quality]

Chen Zhen's eyes lit up.

200%, four times that of a normal Calming Talisman.

He checked the time—6:20.

Still forty minutes until school.

He picked up the brush and started drawing Talismans in bulk.

Calming Talisman × 5, Spirit-Refreshing Talisman × 3, Heart-Clearing Talisman × 2, and one Protective Talisman he created himself.

Sealing Stellar Energy into the Talisman, it would automatically trigger when encountering danger.

After finishing the last Talisman, he looked at the system panel:

[Stellar Mind-Calming Talisman × 5]

[Stellar Spirit-Refreshing Talisman × 3]

[Stellar Heart-Clearing Talisman × 2]

[Protective Talisman × 1]

Spiritual power consumed: about 40 points, which would take two days to recover naturally.

But it was worth it.

He put the Talismans into his Storage Space, shouldered his backpack, and went out.

7:20, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Zhang Meng was making up homework in the back row. Seeing him enter, he called out as usual: "Help! Lend me your Chinese homework to copy!"

Chen Zhen threw his homework book over.

Zhang Meng caught it and buried his head in copying.

Chen Zhen walked to his seat and sat down.

Su Xiaoya, sitting in front, turned around. Her eyes were a bit dark, and she looked listless.

"What's wrong with you?" Chen Zhen asked.

"Insomnia last night." Su Xiaoya yawned, "Didn't fall asleep until past two; the whole day today is ruined."

Chen Zhen thought for a moment, took a Calming Talisman from his pocket, folded it into a small square, and handed it to her.

"What is this?"

"A Protective Talisman." Chen Zhen said, "Made by an elder back home, for calming the mind. Try putting it in your pocket."

Su Xiaoya took it and skeptically tucked it into her pocket.

Three seconds later, she froze for a moment.

"Huh?" She touched her pocket, "What is this? It's warm?"

"The effect of the Talisman." Chen Zhen said, "Keep it with you; it can calm your mind."

Su Xiaoya stared at him for a few seconds.

"Chen Zhen, do you believe in some kind of religion?"

"No."

"Then where did this Talisman come from?"

"Made by an elder at home."

Su Xiaoya wanted to ask more, but the bell rang.

She turned back and didn't ask again.

But Chen Zhen could feel her aura changing slowly.

From listless to gradually stable, and then... starting to become active.

[Stellar Mind-Calming Talisman in effect]

[Target: Su Xiaoya]

[Effect: Mind stabilized, fatigue relieved, focus +30%]

Chen Zhen looked away and opened his book.

The first class was English.

The English teacher was an old lady in her fifties, teaching slowly and methodically, with half the class dozing off.

Chen Zhen listened for a while and also felt sleepy.

But he didn't sleep; instead, he took a Spirit-Refreshing Talisman from his Storage Space, folded it, and put it in his pocket.

A cool aura instantly surged out from the Talisman, flowing through his meridians throughout his body.

His mind felt as clear as if it had been washed with ice water, and the English on the blackboard looked even clearer.

[Stellar Spirit-Refreshing Talisman in effect]

[Effect: Spirit +100%, duration 4 hours]

He looked down at his book, reading ten lines at a glance.

English vocabulary, passed.

Grammar points, passed.

Reading comprehension, passed.

By the end of the class, he had finished half of the English textbook.

The second period was Physics, Old Li's class.

Old Li was teaching electromagnetic waves today, and the blackboard was full of wave diagrams of electric field lines and magnetic field lines. Halfway through, he suddenly put down his chalk and scanned the classroom.

"Yesterday's problem, that solution of Chen Zhen's, did you all understand it?"

There was silence below.

Old Li called out: "Chen Hao, you explain it."

Chen Hao stood up and pushed his glasses.

"I understood it. He skipped two steps of basic transformation and directly simplified the magnetic field model into a geometric symmetry problem."

Old Li nodded: "Then why do you think he was able to skip those two steps?"

Chen Hao was silent for a few seconds.

"Because... he saw the essential structure of the problem at a glance."

Old Li smiled.

"Correct. It's not that he calculates fast, it's that he sees through it." He looked at Chen Zhen, "That approach, did you think of it yourself?"

Chen Zhen stood up: "Yes."

Old Li nodded: "Sit down."

He turned around and continued teaching.

But Chen Hao turned his head from the front row and glanced at Chen Zhen.

That look was different from before.

Not jealousy, but... awe.

At noon, Chen Zhen went to the cafeteria.

Zhang Meng dragged him in line, chattering all the way: "Are you on steroids today? You read a whole book in English class, got called out by Old Li in Physics, and got all the math homework right—are you even human?"

Chen Zhen ignored him.

After getting their food, the two found a seat and sat down.

Just after a few bites, someone walked over with a food tray.

Zhou Rui.

He sat opposite Chen Zhen and lowered his voice: "Master, I had a Breakthrough last night."

Chen Zhen looked up at him.

In [Internal Vision], Zhou Rui's aura had completely changed.

From a "clump of Chaos" before, it had turned into a "newborn point of light."

Although weak, it had already taken shape.

[Disciple Zhou Rui]

[Current Realm: Qi Refining Stage 1 (3/500)]

"How do you feel?" Chen Zhen asked.

Zhou Rui thought about it: "Very strange. There's something more in my body, constantly spinning. It makes me a bit dizzy."

Chen Zhen nodded: "Normal. It's like that right after a Breakthrough. You'll be fine after sitting in meditation for a few days."

Zhou Rui nodded and lowered his head to eat.

Halfway through, he suddenly said: "Master, that Talisman you gave me, I used it."

Chen Zhen was stunned: "When did I give it to you?"

Zhou Rui took out a small piece of paper folded into a square from his pocket.

It was exactly the Stellar Heart-Clearing Talisman that Chen Zhen had drawn in the morning.

"You threw it over when you walked in the door." Zhou Rui said, "I thought it was a paper ball, but when I opened it, it was a Talisman."

Chen Zhen thought about it; he did seem to have casually thrown something to Zhang Meng in the morning, and Zhang Meng didn't catch it, so it fell on the floor.

So it was picked up by Zhou Rui.

"How was the effect?"

Zhou Rui was silent for a few seconds.

"When I was meditating last night, I couldn't calm down. My mind was messy, thinking about this and that."

He put the Talisman back in his pocket, "Later, I put this Talisman under my pillow, and very quickly, I calmed down. Then that force rushed out by itself, and it was done."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

Heart-Clearing Talisman, helpful for Breakthroughs?

He noted this discovery.

The third period in the afternoon was PE.

Today was the 1000-meter test.

The boys stood at the starting line, each with a worried face.

Zhang Meng was warming up on the side, scolding while warming up: "I'm a dignified PE student, and I actually have to run a 1000-meter test with you guys; it's too demeaning."

Chen Zhen stood at the starting line without warming up.

The whistle blew.

A group of people rushed out.

Chen Zhen didn't rush, running at a steady pace.

After one lap, he started to accelerate.

Two laps, he had already caught up to the first group.

Three laps, he was already twenty meters ahead of the second place.

In the last hundred meters, he activated [Star Core].

Stellar Energy surged into his legs, and his speed instantly soared to the limit.

When he crossed the finish line, the second place was still fifty meters away.

The PE Teacher pressed the stopwatch, took one look, and his eyes widened.

"3 minutes and 5 seconds."

There was an uproar below.

"3 minutes and 5 seconds? Isn't that the full score for the physical exam?"

"Damn, Chen Zhen, are you human?"

"How was he so fast in the last hundred meters?"

Chen Zhen didn't speak and walked to the sidelines to drink water.

This was still the result after he had suppressed it a lot.

Zhang Meng ran over, panting: "You... damn... did you... take drugs?"

Chen Zhen glanced at him.

"Practiced by running every day."

Zhang Meng rolled his eyes.

But Chen Hao was standing on the side, thoughtful.

He remembered that when Chen Zhen ran 1000 meters in his second year of high school, it took him four and a half minutes.

His Physique had improved by leaps and bounds.

After school, Chen Zhen packed his bag and prepared to leave.

Su Xiaoya called him.

"Chen Zhen."

Chen Zhen turned back.

Su Xiaoya took the Calming Talisman out of her pocket and returned it to him.

"Here, give this back to you."

Chen Zhen was stunned: "You don't need it?"

Su Xiaoya shook her head: "I used it all day, and I felt especially energetic in the afternoon; I wasn't sleepy at all. This thing... is too miraculous."

She looked at Chen Zhen, her eyes complex.

"I don't know where you got it, but it's definitely not ordinary."

Chen Zhen took the Talisman and put it in his pocket.

"As long as it works."

He turned and left.

Su Xiaoya stood where she was, watching his retreating figure.

A girl next to her leaned over: "Xiaoya, what were you talking to Chen Zhen about?"

Su Xiaoya withdrew her gaze and smiled.

"Nothing."

At 7:00 in the evening, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, with six spirit plants surrounding him.

He took out the Talismans he had drawn today and checked them one by one.

Calming Talisman × 5, two were used, three remained.

Spirit-Refreshing Talisman × 3, one was used, two remained.

Heart-Clearing Talisman × 2, one was given to Zhou Rui, one remained.

Protective Talisman × 1, still there.

He thought for a moment, folded the Protective Talisman, and put it in his pocket.

Give it to his mother tomorrow.

The remaining Talismans were kept for backup.

He closed his eyes and began to Cultivate.

The Dantian spirit orb rotated slowly, Stellar Energy and ordinary spiritual power intertwined, surging into the meridians of his whole body.

[Cultivation progress: Qi Refining Level 4 95/1800]

It had increased by 15 points since the morning.

He opened his eyes and looked at those few spirit plants.

The largest wild soul-calming grass had a flower bud that was already one-third larger than it was in the morning, and the pale purple petals were vaguely visible.

[soul-calming grass flower bud status]

[Estimated blooming time: within 12 hours]

Tomorrow morning, he would be able to harvest the first calming flower.