24: Photographic memory

Jiang Donghua stood at the edge of the training grounds, gazing at the empty practice stage, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Doesn't this old fellow usually love drinking and bragging here? Why is there no sign of him today?"

Jiang Donghua looked around. Several students from the Yellow Rank Class were practicing their Dou Technique until they were drenched in sweat, but Yan Feng's distinctive rugged figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, has anyone seen Instructor Yan?"

Jiang Donghua stopped a passing student and asked.

"Instructor Yan?"

The student scratched his head.

"I saw him drinking here this morning, but then he seemed to leave in a hurry..."

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know. I just saw him running and glancing back, like he was hiding from something."

Jiang Donghua.

"?"

Hiding from something?

Could this old fellow actually be able to predict the future?!

He took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation in his heart, and turned to walk toward the academy's back mountain.

Besides loitering around the training grounds, Yan Feng occasionally went to the back mountain to hunt low-level magical beasts for drinking money. Perhaps he could catch him there.

However, when he arrived at the back mountain, he only saw a few Outer Academy disciples dragging a freshly hunted Crimson Flame Pig back toward the academy.

"Instructor Yan? We haven't seen him."

One of the students shook his head.

"But we did hear some movement in the woods just now, like someone running past in a panic..."

Ran past?

What in the world is this old fellow up to?

He gritted his teeth, deciding to go straight to Yan Feng's residence to corner him.

However, when he rushed to the instructor dormitory area, he found Yan Feng's door tightly shut, the windows wide open, and the curtains flapping loudly in the wind.

Where is he?

Jiang Donghua frowned and pushed the door open.

Ignoring the sign hanging on the door that read: 'Unauthorized Personnel Prohibited!'

Just as Jiang Donghua opened the door, he heard the sound from the window intensify.

The room was empty. On the table sat a half-finished jar of wine, the liquid still slightly swaying, as if it had just been put down.

The bed was messy, the blanket half-thrown off, and a single boot had rolled under the bed.

It looked like someone had just fled.

Jiang Donghua's eye twitched. He walked to the window and looked out. Among the distant academy buildings, a faint black shadow "whooshed" past with astonishing speed, vanishing at the edge of his vision in the blink of an eye.

What in the world is this old fellow hiding from?!

He stood by the window, staring at the empty academy grounds, and finally managed to squeeze out a single sentence.

"What the heck is going on?!"

Only Yan Feng himself knew why.

He originally cultivated Fire Attribute Dou Qi, which made his temper fiery. Furthermore, he was well into his thirties, unmarried, and had never touched a woman—to be precise, he was still an old virgin.

Yesterday, he had just borrowed a profound rank mid-level Dou Technique, the Burning Body Art, from the Scripture Pavilion.

That name alone made one's blood boil just by looking at it!

Yan Feng originally thought it was just an ordinary fire-type Dou Technique; at most, the name was a bit exaggerated.

But when he opened the first page and saw the small line of text, his entire body froze.

"This Dou Technique must be cultivated using a body of pure Yang energy. If the Yang energy within the body is excessive, it easily ignites the heart fire, causing the blood to boil and making self-control difficult."

"Minor symptoms include a flushed face; severe symptoms include... *cough*... It is recommended to have a bucket of cold water ready when cultivating."

What the hell kind of evil cultivation method is this?!

He forced himself to keep reading, but the more he read, the stranger it became.

The circulation path of this Dou Technique actually followed the meridians, rushing straight to the Dantian, and then all the way down... "Snap!"

Yan Feng slammed the manual shut, a layer of fine sweat seeping onto his forehead.

No way!

He absolutely could not practice this thing!

But the problem was, he had already borrowed it!

According to academy rules, borrowed Dou Technique manuals must be returned within three days, or contribution points would be deducted!

"Damn it, I should have read the summary first!"

Yan Feng gritted his teeth and decided to hide for now, waiting for this period to pass.

Just now, he had already sensed Jiang Donghua's aura. The moment he thought about opening the door, he felt the Dou Qi inside him subtly stirring, as if something had provoked it, causing an unbearable heat throughout his body.

"Crap! This wretched cultivation method can even have a passive effect?!"

Yan Feng's face changed drastically. Without a second thought, he immediately scrambled out the window and ran!

So, he wasn't hiding from Jiang Donghua at all!

He was hiding from the wicked fire within his own body!

On the other side, Jiang Donghua stood in the empty dormitory, completely baffled.

"Where exactly did this old fellow run off to?"

He scratched his head, then suddenly noticed the open manual on the table.

*Burning Body Art*

Jiang Donghua picked it up curiously. After reading just two lines, his expression instantly turned strange.

"Uh... this..."

He quietly put the book down, took two steps back, and turned to leave.

"Forget it. For the Medicine Cauldron... I'll have to find another solution."

This instructor, he couldn't rely on him for now!

Jiang Donghua slammed the door shut with a "bang," leaning against the door panel and heavily catching his breath.

He looked down at his own slender frame, then recalled Instructor Yan's broad, powerful physique, and immediately shivered.

"If I had just barged in earlier..."

A scene uncontrollably flashed through his mind.

Yan Feng, steaming all over, lunging forward with bloodshot eyes... "Hiss—"

Jiang Donghua gasped, quickly shaking his head to dispel the horrific image.

He looked down at the purchase list for the Medicine Cauldron clutched in his hand; the paper was soaked with cold sweat from his palm.

"It seems this hundred thousand gold coins..."

He swallowed.

"I still need to find another way."

Meanwhile, the *Burning Body Art* was quietly smoldering, the last line of small text on the page reading:

"Note: Virgins should cultivate with caution..."

Jiang Donghua could only return to his class first and make plans, checking the afk system in his mind.

[Host: Jiang Donghua]

[Realm: Two-Star Dou Zhe (426 / 2000)]

[Main Cultivation Method: Heaven Burning Art (profound rank mid-level)]

[afk Income]

Clone 1: 5 points/hour

Clone 2: 5 points/hour

[Current Total Income: 10 points/hour]

Switching the focus to elixirs.

[first-grade elixir: bone-mending pill Basic Mastery (0 / 100)]

Clone 1: 0.1 points/hour

Clone 2: 0.1 points/hour

Jiang Donghua suddenly opened his eyes, nearly jumping out of his seat.

"500 hours?! It will take over 20 days of afk to achieve Basic Mastery?"

Jiang Donghua stared at the system interface, then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"I'm so stupid! Instead of struggling with alchemy now, it's better to break through to the Dou Master realm first!"

Jiang Donghua leaned back in his chair contentedly, counting on his fingers.

"Once I reach the Dou Master realm, I'll gain an extra clone for afk cultivation."

Since he was in class, he couldn't just sit idle; he might as well properly read up on the knowledge of the Fighting Qi Continent.

Jiang Donghua stared at the *Atlas of Hundred Herbs* in his hand, his brow slightly furrowed.

He had just turned a page, yet the shape, name, and medicinal properties of every herb on the previous page clearly appeared in his mind. He even remembered the faint notes written in the corner with perfect clarity.

"Photographic memory?"

His heart skipped a beat. He quickly flipped through a few more pages, then closed his eyes to recall them. Sure enough, the content of every page was perfectly imprinted in his mind, without a single error.

"The afk system... has this kind of function too?"

He muttered to himself. In his previous life, he certainly didn't have such a heaven-defying memory.

Could this be a hidden benefit that the system provided after he transmigrated?