12: Chapter 12 Going to School

Li Fan was walking slowly back along the street when a speeder skimmed across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that hit him right in the face.

"Damn, driving that fast? In a rush to reincarnate?" He waved his hand to clear the dust and cursed under his breath.

Upon reaching the apartment elevator, the number on the screen was frozen at the 32nd floor. After a brief pause, it slowly began to descend.

"Oh? Someone's already moved in?"

Li Fan raised an eyebrow. Only he and one other new resident lived on the 32nd floor. Besides, this was the residents' elevator; moving companies had to use the dedicated freight elevator.

Sure enough, when he arrived in the 32nd-floor hallway, the moving boxes that had been piled up were nowhere to be seen.

"That moving company is quite efficient."

With a light sigh, Li Fan didn't pay it much mind. He swiped his door open, ready to lie on his bed and surf the internet.

Early the next morning, Li Fan crawled out of bed. It wasn't because he'd slept early the night before, but purely because he had an 8:00 AM class today.

Even with the [Outstanding Talent] privilege in hand, he habitually took public transportation, swaying his way to Yan High School.

Yan High School, the top-ranked higher learning institution in the Yan Region. Li Fan had spent quite a bit of effort to get accepted back then.

The school's curriculum was divided into Liberal Arts, Sciences, and the Xuanhuan Department. Naturally, Li Fan had chosen the Xuanhuan Department.

It wasn't that he wanted to become some majestic Cultivator; he just hated that the Liberal Arts required memorizing too many clichés, and the Sciences required too much brain-twisting.

As long as one understood the basics related to Xuanhuan, even if one didn't become a Cultivator, one could find a related job in a Secret Realm after graduation and bask in the Spiritual Qi to live a few more years.

Because of this, the Xuanhuan Department had become the department with the largest number of students in the school.

The protagonist always makes his entrance last. Li Fan stepped into the classroom at the very last second, right as the bell rang.

The Xuanhuan Department's public lecture hall was absurdly large, comparable to a basketball court, with the podium set in the dead center.

He scanned the room, walked straight to an empty seat in the corner of the last row, and sat down.

"These days, you can even sit in the back row if you arrive late."

Li Fan sighed, then looked up at the podium, where the instructor was introducing a new student.

To be honest, with hundreds of people crammed into one classroom, he found such routine introductions meaningless. There was a good chance they wouldn't even speak a single word to each other throughout their entire college career.

"A classic that never gets old."

He curled his lip, not even bothering to look at who was on the stage. He pulled up his terminal and started playing a game on his own.

It wasn't until a game ended—with Li Fan suffering a miserable defeat in eighth place—that he caught sight of someone new beside him while waiting for the next match to queue.

The two weren't too close nor too far, both in the back row, one sitting on the far right and the other on the far left, with two or three empty seats between them.

Li Fan didn't pay much attention, because...

"Matched so fast? I'm definitely winning this round!"

He muttered to himself, his fingertips immediately tapping the screen as he dove into the next game.

"What game is this?"

A cold, feminine voice suddenly rang out beside him, causing Li Fan's hand to tremble and giving him a start.

"Seriously, lady? Are you trying to scare me like a ghost?" Li Fan finally looked up at the person beside him and was startled once again.

The woman before him had a thin veil covering her face, obscuring even her eyes and brows. Her clothes were excessively loose, wrapping her entire body tightly.

The only things exposed were a pair of fair, slender hands.

Even though Yan High School had no dress code, such an unconventional outfit was truly rare.

"Damn, you'd really scare someone to tears if you went out in the middle of the night."

Li Fan's two consecutive exclamations left the woman slightly stunned; she had never heard anyone describe her like that before. After a pause, she softly explained.

"Previously... my business was quite busy, so I never deeply explored these things. That is why I am curious."

Even through the veil, Li Fan could sense her curiosity and answered offhandedly.

"Cultivation Auto Chess. It's the most popular one right now. You've never played this?"

The woman fell silent for a moment, as if recalling something, then said softly.

"They seem to have approached me for an endorsement... So this is what the game is like?"

"What?"

Li Fan's fingertips were dancing rapidly on the screen, not paying attention to the woman's words.

"Can you teach me how to play?" The woman's voice was light and soft, carrying a hint of pleading.

Li Fan didn't even look up, his tone impatient.

"Can't you see I'm trying to combine a three-star? Wait, wait, I'm busy." He then added, "Add me as a friend first, and we'll talk after I finish this match."

The game was at a heated point when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder.

Li Fan instinctively assumed it was the veiled woman beside him and waved his hand without turning his head.

"I already said wait a moment. Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Ahem."

The woman's soft cough came from the left, while the hand tapping his shoulder was on the right.

Li Fan realized something was wrong. His heart skipped a beat, and he slowly looked up, instantly plastering an awkward smile on his face as he looked at the person behind him.

"Teacher, listen to my explanation. If I say I was... studying, would you believe me?"

It was the school's patrol teacher. The instructor on the podium was still lecturing with great enthusiasm and hadn't noticed the commotion over here.

This wasn't the first or second time Li Fan had been caught slacking off by this patrol teacher; he could already imagine being scolded severely.

But to his surprise, the patrol teacher's reaction was completely different from before.

Not only was he not angry, but he smiled and patted Li Fan's shoulder again, his tone kind.

"I believe you, of course I do. Keep up the good work and continue improving your Aptitude."

Li Fan was stunned, almost forgetting that he was now in the Xuanhuan Department, no longer the ordinary student he once was, but a genuine top student.

He immediately took the hint, cupped his fists, and said with a sincere expression.

"It's all thanks to the teacher's cultivation!"

The patrol teacher nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this and turned to leave.

On his personal patrol terminal, Li Fan's Aptitude information was displayed: Classified, disclosure not permitted.

This was the Yan Region government's protection policy for students with high Aptitude. As long as one's Aptitude ranking was within the top 10,000 in the Yan Region, the information would be encrypted.

Aptitude was different from test scores; every year at the end of the term, there were students who made rapid progress.

As long as it wasn't too Heaven-Defying, the patrol teacher was used to it.

After the teacher left, Li Fan no longer had the heart to play games. He began surfing the internet, completely forgetting about teaching the veiled woman how to play.

"There are only ten days left until the school exam, everyone must not slack off." On the podium, the teacher's voice suddenly rose a few decibels. "The 《Yunling Technique》 must be practiced diligently every day. A slight deviation, and your ranking will fall behind by tens of thousands!"

Hearing the words 《Yunling Technique》, Li Fan raised an eyebrow. He casually opened his personal terminal, flipped through his study materials, and sure enough, found this Cultivation Technique.

Looking at the information on the screen, he realized he hadn't opened this page in over eight hundred days.

"It was useless to me before, and it's still useless to me now," Li Fan muttered.

Don't let the ordinary name of the 《Yunling Technique》 fool you; it actually belongs to the same mysterious set of Cultivation Techniques as the 《Heling Technique》 and the 《Yiling Technique》.

The government provides them for free to all Cultivators.

The effect is also quite Heaven-Defying; this Cultivation Technique can improve Innate Aptitude through hard work after birth.

A Low Grade Spiritual Root can be cultivated to Medium Grade, or even High Grade. Therefore, it is the core advanced Cultivation Technique for Xuanhuan students in high school, and even in university, it remains a top priority.

Although the government provides it for free, Li Fan didn't have a Spiritual Root before, so he couldn't use it at all.

Now that he has a top-tier Spiritual Root, he naturally has no use for it.

He listened absentmindedly as the teacher continued to lecture.

"Students with the necessary means at home can apply to the government for a Spiritual Root and, with the help of the 《Yiling Technique》, allow themselves to possess dual Spiritual Roots."

"If you already possess two Spiritual Roots of the same grade, you can also use the 《Heling Technique》 to fuse them into one."

"However, remember: they must be compatible Spiritual Roots, otherwise it is extremely easy to suffer from Qi Deviation."

Listening to these words, Li Fan didn't care at all. These methods to improve Aptitude were all useless to him.

Just then, the veiled woman beside him suddenly spoke in a low voice, her tone filled with a hint of doubt.

"Don't you think this set of Cultivation Techniques is missing one?"

Li Fan looked up at her, his face full of confusion, signaling with his eyes: Are you talking to me?

Seeing the woman nod slightly, Li Fan answered offhandedly without even thinking.

"Missing what? Three books in a set, they form a complete System perfectly well."

"Then where do the Spiritual Roots come from?" the woman pressed, her voice dropping even lower.

"After applying, the government issues them, obviously. Do you even need to ask?" Li Fan raised an eyebrow.

The two chatted back and forth like this, until the veiled woman asked the final question.

"Then where do the government's Spiritual Roots come from?"

Li Fan's fingertip hovered over his terminal screen, and he fell silent.

Seeing him not speak, the veiled woman slowly voiced her speculation, her voice turning a bit colder.

"I think there must be a Duoling Technique, it's just that the government has hidden it and hasn't made it public."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan's heart jolted, and he began to think carefully.

Thinking about it this way, the woman's words were actually quite logical, and a sense of lingering fear suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart.

It was fortunate that when the System arranged his Spiritual Root back then, it didn't do anything too outrageous; otherwise, he would probably have already restarted his life by now.

He turned his head to look at the woman and lowered his voice.

"I say, us chatting about this in public like this, isn't it a bit inappropriate?"

"Besides, with our Spiritual Roots, even if this Cultivation Technique really existed, it's unlikely anyone would take a fancy to them, right?"

Li Fan waved his hand, signaling her to stop talking. His life was important; he still wanted to live a few more years.

The woman beside him fell silent. The veil concealed her expression, making it impossible to guess her thoughts.

Seeing this, Li Fan asked tentatively.

"What, is your Spiritual Root... very good?"

The woman didn't answer, so Li Fan had to smooth things over, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"What are you afraid of? Let alone whether this Duoling Technique actually exists. Even if it did, the restrictions must be immense, otherwise things would have been in chaos long ago."

The woman nodded slightly, as if agreeing with his statement.

Li Fan didn't think too deeply about it. He was a slacker by nature; as long as his cultivation reached the Golden Core stage and he learned The Unpredictable Heaven, he could just coast for the rest.

These conspiracies and schemes were none of his concern.

Moreover, the Xuannü Civilization was entirely encouraging toward cultivation. Aside from the restrictive laws issued by the Xuan Gui Department, there were no limits on cultivation and Breakthroughs.

After a long time, the teacher on the podium finally began to wrap up.

"That's all for today's class. Everyone, make sure to diligently practice the 《Yunling Technique》 after you go back."

"The next class is scheduled for the day before the school exam. We will mainly cover the precautions and exam rules for the school exam. Everyone must attend."

As soon as the words fell, Li Fan immediately stood up and walked toward the door, ignoring the veiled woman.

It was just a chance encounter, chatting about some idle topics; there was no need to say goodbye specifically.

As for the class on the day before the school exam, he didn't plan on coming either.

He had already learned the rules and precautions for the school exam while surfing the internet. Coming to class today was just a habit from the past.

Now that he was a top student in the Xuanhuan Department, skipping a class wouldn't hurt.

"Finding a place to eat something good and going home to slack off—doesn't that sound great?"

Li Fan stretched, calculating in his mind.

However, just as he walked out of the classroom door, someone behind him called out to him.

Li Fan instinctively thought it was the veiled woman, but when he turned back, it was their class monitor.

"Li Fan, want to go out and grab a meal together later?" The class monitor walked over with a smile and patted his shoulder. "Next time we meet will be the day before the school exam. Everyone will be busy preparing for the exam by then, so they probably won't have the energy for this."

A large group of students poured out of the classroom, surrounding the class monitor and laughing; they were all agreeing to go to the dinner.

Li Fan scratched his head, ten thousand times unwilling in his heart.

He hated these kinds of group dinners the most—noisy and chaotic. It was better to just lie at home, so he started to refuse.

"I still have some things to do, so..." Li Fan frowned, just about to find an excuse to decline, when a familiar mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind.

[strongest face-slapping system has...]

Li Fan's heart tightened. So, as long as I refuse, I'm going to trigger a face-slapping plot?

He sighed heavily, swallowing the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue, and forced a reluctant smile on his face as he nodded.

"Fine, let's go together."

He agreed with his mouth, but he was calculating in his heart.

"I'll find a chance to sneak away later."