40: We agreed to go to school, but now it feels like a fight

The next day, on the Body Refining Department's plaza.

A group of students, dressed in loose training clothes, were performing the most basic physical and Move training as per Li Heng's requirements.

"Ha!"

"Hey!"

Shouts rose and fell, fists and legs interwove, and the scene looked vigorous.

But on closer inspection, most people's movements were soft and weak; rather than Body Refining, it looked more like an elderly health exercise.

In a corner, a slightly plump student named Zhou Tong was furtively leaning against a stone pillar, speaking on the phone in a hushed voice.

"Mom, I'm really in class, reviewing! Yes, reviewing!"

From the other end of the phone came a middle-aged woman's sharp voice of doubt.

"Reviewing? Zhou Tong, let me tell you, your scores are only enough for a private vocational college, and how could that school push your studies so hard? Are you messing around outside again?"

Zhou Tong looked helpless.

"Mom, I really didn't... Ouch!"

Before he could finish speaking, a classmate practicing a punch next to him couldn't control his strength and slammed his fist with a "bang" onto the stone pillar behind Zhou Tong.

Stone chips flew.

"What's that noise over there? Are you fighting?" His mother, Zhang Huilan, immediately became alert.

"No! No!" Zhou Tong was startled, quickly covered the phone's microphone, and glared at his classmate, "Between classmates... uh, sparring! Yes, a sports activity organized by the school to enhance student camaraderie!"

"Sports activity? Why does it sound like a demolition site? Quickly send me a video so I can see what kind of Immortal school you're at!"

"Mom, we're not allowed to use phones here, the signal's bad! I'm hanging up now, the teacher's calling roll!"

How could Zhou Tong let her see? He hurriedly hung up the phone after speaking and let out a long sigh.

This Immortal Cultivation is more tiring to hide than the college entrance exam...

At 2 PM, in the Alchemy Department's teaching hall.

Dozens of ancient bronze Pill Furnaces were placed in the center of the hall, and a faint herbal scent permeated the air.

Li Heng stood in front of the podium, looking at the students below who were full of curiosity about Alchemy.

"Alchemy is not about throwing herbs into a furnace and boiling a hodgepodge."

"Its core lies in fire control."

"Using one's own spiritual power as an lead, to generate Pill Fire, and then using Divine Sense as control, to adjust the heat. A difference of a hair's breadth leads to a thousand miles of error. Too much fire, the pill is destroyed. Too little fire, the medicine doesn't form."

After Li Heng finished speaking, he flicked his finger.

A wisp of golden flame appeared out of thin air at his fingertip, then precisely flew into the bottom of a Pill Furnace in front.

Whoosh—

Beneath the Pill Furnace, flames blazed, yet they were as stable as computer special effects, without the slightest flicker.

"Now, you all try to draw upon the spiritual power within your bodies and ignite the Pill Furnaces in front of you."

The classroom instantly fell silent.

All the students closed their eyes, imitating Li Heng, attempting to mobilize the faint spiritual power within their bodies.

Some turned red in the face, not even a spark appearing at their fingertips.

Some managed to squeeze out a tiny bit of spiritual power, which turned into a wisp of smoke and dispersed before even reaching the Pill Furnace.

Throughout the afternoon, except for a few exceptionally talented students who could barely make the bottom of their Pill Furnaces slightly warm, most people ended in failure.

When the class bell rang, the students were not discouraged; instead, their competitive spirit was ignited even more strongly.

"No way, I have to go to the library to check, there must be some trick!"

"Let's go, let's go, I don't believe I can't even light a fire!"

A large group of people surged towards the library, preparing to study late into the night to overcome the challenge.

Inside the library, the lights were bright.

Gao Ningning found a secluded corner and was engrossed in a classical text titled "Thirty-Two Methods of Fire Control for Beginners."

She was a delicate and quiet girl, choosing Alchemy because she felt this skill was the most stable and practical.

Suddenly, her phone on the table vibrated.

It was her mother calling.

Gao Ningning answered the phone, a sweet smile on her face.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then her mother's voice, suppressing a sob, came through.

"Ningning..."

Gao Ningning's heart sank.

"Mom, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Your dad... your dad he..." Her mother's voice choked, almost unable to continue, "Today's medical report came out... It's, it's liver cancer... late stage."

Boom!

The four words "liver cancer late stage" exploded in Gao Ningning's mind like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens.

The Jade Slip in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," and she froze in place, her ears buzzing, unable to hear anything.

How could this be?

Dad had always been in good health; a few days ago, he called and said he could climb five floors in one breath!

"Ningning? Ningning, are you listening?"

Her mother's tearful call pulled her back from the abyss of blankness.

"Mom... I, I'm here..." Gao Ningning's lips trembled, tears uncontrollably poured from her eyes, blurring her vision.

She could imagine how helpless and desperate her strong-willed mother on the other end of the phone must be at this moment.

The pillar of their family was about to collapse.

"The doctor said... said there's only three months left at most... What should we do... Ningning..."

Despair, like icy seawater, completely engulfed Gao Ningning.

Her hands and feet felt cold, her body was weak, and even her breathing carried a biting pain.

Just then, a thought flashed in her mind.

Immortal Cultivation!

That's right! I'm not a Mortal anymore!

I am a student of Kunlun Cultivation Academy! I am an Cultivator!

A disease that Mortals cannot cure, Immortals must have a way!

This thought, like a lightning bolt tearing through the darkness, instantly illuminated her world shrouded in despair.

Gao Ningning clenched her fists fiercely, her fingernails digging deep into her flesh.

She used all her strength to force herself to calm down.

"Mom! Listen to me!"

Her voice was a little sharp due to excitement, but it was filled with unprecedented strength.

"Don't panic! And don't tell Dad! Just tell him it's a minor ailment and he needs to recuperate well!"

Her mother on the other end was stunned.

"Ningning, you..."

"Mom, trust me!" Gao Ningning interrupted her, saying word by word, "The skills I'm learning now are precisely for situations like this! Give me some time, I will definitely find a way! I will definitely cure Dad!"

Her tone held an undeniable resolve that made her mother on the other end subconsciously stop crying.

"I... I believe you, Ningning, Mom believes you..."

"Good, Mom, take care of yourself and Dad. If you don't have enough money, tell me, and never give up!"

After hanging up the phone, Gao Ningning could no longer hold herself up. She collapsed onto the table, her shoulders shaking violently, but she bit her lip tightly, not letting herself cry out loud.

She couldn't fall apart.

After crying for more than ten minutes, she suddenly lifted her head and roughly wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

She stood up and rushed to the towering bookshelves, beginning to search frantically.