The pills weren't working? Ye Hao wondered! Shen Qingyi was also coming to class?!

Blue Star, Great Xia.

Deep in the Qinling Mountains, the mist-shrouded Taibai Academy.

Time passed quickly; three days had gone by since that entrance examination which had captured the nation's attention.

On the morning after the examination ended, under the gaze of thousands, the first opening ceremony of Taibai Academy was grandly held.

There were no tedious formalities.

At the ceremony, as the undisputed first place of the examination, Ye Hao took the stage to deliver a speech on behalf of all the freshmen.

Afterward came the speeches from the various Deans.

Whether it was the sharpness of Sword Dao Dean Li Fan, or the gentleness of Alchemy Dao Dean Su Qinghan,

Or even the eccentric spirit of Array Dao Dean Gu Zhiyun, they all left an indelible impression on these students who had just stepped through the gates of cultivation.

Their words were short and powerful, devoid of empty platitudes, containing only encouragement to grow stronger and expectations for the future.

But even so, it still made the more than three hundred students below feel a surge of hot blood, wishing they could start training right then and there!

Immediately following the ceremony was the most crucial class and department assignment ritual.

Initially, the academy master Lin Guohui intended to adopt a "free and democratic" approach, letting students choose the department they wanted to join based on their own interests.

After all, interest is the best teacher.

But after he consulted vice academy master Sikong Yang for his opinion, this idea was ruthlessly overturned.

Sikong Yang's reasoning was very simple:

"How many days have these students been in contact with cultivation? What the hell do they know about what suits them!"

"What if a natural sword talent runs off to refine pills because they think Alchemy is fun, or an array genius insists on learning to swing a sword? Wouldn't that be a waste of talent?"

"Our resources are currently limited, and talent is even scarcer; we can't afford such waste!"

To this, Lin Xiyue and the others also deeply agreed.

Thus, after a discussion, the high-level officials simply made a simple and crude decision—at this stage, there would be no division into classes or departments!

The three hundred and five students who passed the examination would directly form a "Super Experimental Class."

During this stage, the three deans—Li Fan, Gu Zhiyun, and Su Qinghan—would take turns giving them "general classes."

Once everyone had a basic understanding of the various directions of cultivation, and the deans had also figured out everyone's background and talent, they would then conduct precise streaming.

And today was the first official day of class for this "Super Experimental Class"!

...Deep within the academy, the student dormitory area.

The environment here was extremely superior, with lush green trees and abundant Spiritual Qi. Elegant individual courtyards were scattered throughout in an orderly fashion.

Compared to the crowded university dormitories outside, the conditions here were simply paradise.

At this very moment.

Inside the dormitory courtyard numbered 001.

Ye Hao was sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat in the training room, his eyes slightly closed, silently circulating the Basic Body Forging Art.

Beside him lay a dozen or so empty small porcelain bottles.

These were the cultivation resources that the academy had just distributed.

What they contained was precisely the Grade 2 Pill mass-produced from Su Qinghan's improved formula—the Crimson Blood Bone Forging Pill!

This was also the top-tier resource currently available in Great Xia that was most suitable for Body Tempering Realm Cultivators to temper their muscles and bones.

For a normal student, these Medicinal Pills would be enough to support efficient cultivation for a month.

But now... "Hiss... No..."

"Still no..."

Ye Hao tilted his head back and poured the last bottle of Medicinal Pills into his mouth, crunching and swallowing them like beans.

A moment later, he opened his eyes. Not only did his brow not relax, it furrowed even deeper.

He had now discovered an extremely serious problem.

That was... these Medicinal Pills seemed to have absolutely no effect on him?!

Never mind any rampaging medicinal power needing guidance,

Once this stuff entered his stomach, it was like a clay ox entering the sea—not even a splash was made, vanishing without a trace in an instant!

Other than a slightly bitter taste, it was no different from eating sugar beans!

"Strange..."

"Could it be that this batch of Medicinal Pills are defective? Or fake?"

Ye Hao looked at the empty bottle in his hand and subconsciously became suspicious.

But in the next second, he dismissed the thought himself.

"No... impossible!"

"Yesterday when we received the pills, Fang Yi, who lives next door, took one on the spot."

"That guy's whole body turned red, steam rose from his head, and his blood surged as if he were about to explode. It took him most of the night to digest the medicinal power of just that one pill!"

"He was the second place in the examination, with talent second only to mine."

"Even he was like that, which shows that the effect of the pills is definitely not a problem, and could even be said to be very potent!"

"But why..."

"Why is there no reaction at all when it comes to me?"

Ye Hao looked at his hands, completely baffled.

From yesterday until now, he had continuously popped over a dozen bottles of Crimson Blood Bone Forging Pills.

With this dosage, if it were Fang Yi, he would probably have exploded and died long ago, or at least bled from his nose until he was anemic.

But what about him?

Not only did he feel nothing, he even felt a bit hungry!

It was as if a bottomless black hole was hidden inside his body; no matter how much medicinal power was poured in, it was silently swallowed by that black hole.

"Could something be wrong with my body?"

Ye Hao couldn't figure it out.

He tried to circulate his blood and Qi, and found that although his cultivation was growing,

The speed wasn't as fast as imagined, and it hadn't advanced by leaps and bounds just because he popped the pills.

"Forget it... I won't figure it out by overthinking it myself."

"I'll just find an opportunity to ask Dean Li during class later."

After struggling for a long time to no avail, Ye Hao sighed and gave up thinking.

He knew very well that on this path of cultivation, he was currently a complete newbie.

When encountering such difficult and complicated problems, rather than getting stuck in a dead end himself, it was better to directly consult those true experts.

After all, there were several big shots presiding over the academy!

Just then.

A clear shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

"Monitor! Monitor, are you there?"

"It's almost time; Dean Li's Sword Dao class is about to start!"

"Shall we go together?"

Hearing the voice, Ye Hao snapped out of it and quickly responded:

"I'm here!"

"It's Fang Yi. Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll be right there!"

He quickly got up, tidied up the empty bottles on the floor, then adjusted his training uniform and pushed the door open.

Outside the door stood a tall, sunny, and handsome boy; it was indeed the second place of the examination, Fang Yi.

"Let's go."

Ye Hao went back inside to grab a standard-issue alloy longsword provided by the academy and hung it at his waist.

Then the two walked side by side on the wide tree-lined path, heading toward the Martial Arts Arena.

Along the way, many students could be seen wearing the same training uniforms and carrying longswords.

Every one of them was energetic and in a hurry, overflowing with a vigorous and upward vitality.

"By the way, Monitor, have you heard?"

As they walked, Fang Yi suddenly leaned in and asked with a mysterious look.

"Heard what?" Ye Hao was taken aback.

"About our vice class monitor!"

Fang Yi's eyes lit up as he lowered his voice and said:

"I just heard the definite news. In today's Sword Dao class, that vice class monitor... will also be attending class with us!"

"vice class monitor?"

"You mean... Shen Qingyi?!"

Hearing this name, Ye Hao's footsteps came to a sudden halt, and a look of clear surprise appeared on his face.

As for Shen Qingyi's great name, who in the entire Taibai Academy didn't know it now?

Because Lin Xiyue and the others hadn't intentionally hidden it, almost all students now knew,

That the poor school beauty who once triggered the frozen phenomenon at Donglin University had now soared to the sky!

Not only had she awakened some quite extraordinary Heaven-Defying Physique, but she had even been taken as a Personal Disciple by the honorary academy master and Great Xia's number one powerhouse, Lin Xiyue!

This kind of treatment was simply the envy of others!

"Hasn't she become Fairy Xiyue's Personal Disciple?"

"Logically, with Fairy Xiyue teaching her personally, isn't that much better than coming to a general class with hundreds of people?"

"Why would she still come to class with us?"

Ye Hao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Heh, I don't know about that. Maybe she wants to experience collective life?"

Fang Yi shrugged, then a flash of shock passed through his eyes.

"But Monitor, that's not the point."

"The point is... I heard that her current cultivation..."

Speaking to this point, Fang Yi swallowed hard and used two fingers to gesture.

"Is already at the Foundation Establishment Realm!!"

"What?!"

"Found... Foundation Establishment Realm?!"

This time Ye Hao was truly frightened, his voice rising several octaves.

"Are you sure you didn't get it wrong?"

"We're only at Body Tempering First Level!"

"She... she's already at Foundation Establishment?!"

What kind of cultivation speed was this?

Even a rocket wouldn't be this fast!

Body Tempering, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment... there's a whole major Realm in between!

"Absolutely true!"

Fang Yi nodded with a bitter smile.

" It is said that it was because of the awakening of her constitution.， Absorbed too much energy， It's done in one step.."

"Tsk tsk... is this the value of a special Physique?"

"Compared to her, our bit of talent is simply trash!"

"A Foundation Establishment Realm expert... she's more than qualified to be our teacher, yet she's actually our classmate..."

Listening to Fang Yi's lament, Ye Hao was completely stunned.

Although he knew a special Physique must be very strong, he never expected it to be strong to such an outrageous degree!

Compared with Shen Qingyi, his so-called "first place in the examination" was simply like a joke.

"The gap is too big..."

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in Ye Hao's heart.

"I really don't know what the academy master and the others were thinking..."

"Clearly Student Shen has this kind of strength, so why give the position of Monitor to me?"

"In terms of strength or status, isn't she more qualified than me?"

He looked at the longsword at his waist, then thought of his strange body that swallowed Medicinal Pills without reaction, and his heart couldn't help but be filled with mixed emotions.

"It seems... I'm still far from it."

"I must work even harder!"