200: Chapter 200 The Geniuses Who Were Expelled for Failing Courses
The morning at the Heavenly River Sword Sect, for the first time, did not echo with the catchy tune of 'The Most Awesome Cultivation Style'.
In its place was a mournful, sorrowful erhu melody—'Two Springs Reflecting the Moon'—that seemed capable of shattering one's heart (performed personally by the Head Teacher, Big Yellow Dog, though he used a saw and a steel rod).
The atmosphere in the square before the Scripture Pavilion was heavier than at a funeral.
A massive red notice was posted on the bulletin board, its crimson color stinging the eyes of countless onlookers.
At the very top of the notice, several words brimming with Killing Intent were written:
[Tianhe Tutorial Class Phase One 'Bottom Elimination' List]
[Disposition Result: Advised to Withdraw (Expelled from the program, immediate repatriation)]
Beneath the red notice, fifty 'undercover spies' and 'poor students' from various major powers sat slumped on the ground, looking utterly devastated.
Among them were a Beast Taming Genius from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, a promising star observer from the Star Pavilion, and even several notorious tough guys from the Loose Cultivator Alliance.
In the outside world, they were Prodigies, existences looked up to by countless people.
But here, they shared only one common identity—academic failures.
"I won't go! I won't leave!"
A brawny, fierce-faced Loose Cultivator clung desperately to a stone pillar in the square, crying like a two-hundred-pound child.
He was a Golden Core Body Cultivator famed for his 'Invincible Iron Fist', a man who killed without batting an eye in his daily life.
But now, his hands—capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones—trembled as they clutched a test paper marked '58 points'.
"Teacher! Give me one more chance!"
The burly man roared towards the Scripture Pavilion, "I really tried! I studied 'Newton's Second Law' until I coughed up blood last night! I was only two points short! That gravitational acceleration g... I just used 9.8, not 9.80665, why did you deduct two points?!"
"Rules are rules."
Iron Pillar Zhao (current Physical Education Committee member and Deputy Security Captain), responsible for maintaining order, walked over expressionlessly, holding the palm used for physical wake-up calls.
"Carelessness is the bane of science."
"If this were calculating the trajectory of a Flying Sword, that tiny error of yours could slice off a teammate's head."
"You made your bet, now accept the loss. Time to go."
Iron Pillar Zhao reached out to pull the man.
In the past, the man would have thrown a punch long ago.
But now, not only did he dare not fight back, he instead clung to Iron Pillar Zhao's leg, smearing snot and tears all over his insulated uniform.
"Senior Brother Zhao! Brother Iron Pillar! We're both Body Cultivators, why are we so cruel to each other?!"
"Please, beg the Old Ancestor for leniency! I don't want to go back to being a savage!"
"Ever since learning 'Force Decomposition', I can't even hit people hard anymore (because I dissipate the force)! If I go back now, I won't even know how to fight! I'll be killed by my enemies!"
It wasn't just him.
A female undercover agent from the Joyful Union Sect nearby was also crying, her tears falling like pear blossoms in the rain.
"Wuwuwu... I've only learned half of 'Chemical Cosmetology'... My face hasn't finished its skin renewal yet..."
"If I go back now, my sisters will laugh at me! They're still using that lead-based rouge, while I've already witnessed the greatness of 'hyaluronic acid'! I can't go back!"
This scene made the onlooking 'passing students' sigh with emotion.
Purple Mansion Holy Son Xiao Tianjiao stood in the crowd, watching his expelled peers, and a strange sense of superiority actually rose in his heart.
He touched his still-swollen face (courtesy of Iron Pillar Zhao), then looked at the '60-point' test paper in his hand.
Suddenly, he felt that slap was truly worth it.
"Luckily I guessed that multiple-choice question right."
Xiao Tianjiao sighed, "Otherwise, I'd be the one crying while hugging that pillar right now."
Beside him, Ji Qingyue also looked fearful, clutching her 'Chemistry Notes' tightly to her chest as if they were her most precious possessions.
"So terrifying... Is this 'knowledge changes fate'?"
"Being expelled is even worse than having one's cultivation crippled."
In truth, the reason these undercover agents didn't want to leave was simple.
It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality.
Having witnessed the power of the 'railgun', who would still want to practice those sluggish Flying Swords?
Having experienced the thrill of 'Divine Sense skyrocketing', who would still want to meditate dully?
Having understood the truth that 'everything is mathematics', looking back at those mysterious and arcane Cultivation Techniques from before, they now seemed like... superstition.
They had been poisoned by something called 'science'.
This poison had no antidote; only doing problems could provide temporary relief.
"Silence."
Just as the scene was about to descend into chaos, the doors of the Scripture Pavilion slowly opened.
Li Mo, wearing a white lab coat and holding a thermos cup, walked out leisurely.
Behind him followed Big Yellow Dog, who had been playing the erhu.
"What's all this noise?"
Li Mo swept his gaze across the entire area, pausing for a moment on the fifty 'academic failures'.
"If you failed, you failed."
"The Tianhe Tutorial Class doesn't support freeloaders."
"Your foundations are too weak, your logic is a mess. Staying here would just be a waste of air (and teaching resources)."
"Old Ancestor!"
The Body Cultivator was still wailing, "We may be dumb, but we have strength! We can work! We can be your oxen and horses!"
"That's right! I'm willing to be a Servant!"
"I'll scrub the toilets! Just let me audit the classes!"
"I'll donate my Lifebound Treasure! Can it count as a sponsorship fee?"
Fifty former Prodigies, Elders, and tough guys were now humbled to the dust.
For a chance to stay, they were willing to sell their Souls.
Li Mo looked at these fanatical 'knowledge seekers', the corner of his mouth curling up in an almost imperceptible arc.
All of this was part of his plan.
This so-called 'bottom elimination' was nothing but **'hunger marketing'**.
Only by making them feel the pain of loss would they cherish it more (and pay a higher price).
"Sigh."
Li Mo let out a sigh, putting on an 'I'm in a difficult position' expression.
"Since you thirst for knowledge so much..."
"Although you don't meet the standards for formal students, heaven has a virtue of preserving life, and science teaches without discrimination."
"Alright then."
Li Mo extended three fingers.
"I can set up an **'auditor's section'** for you outside the classroom."
"Auditor's section?" Everyone's eyes lit up.
"But!"
Li Mo's voice turned cold.
"First, no dormitory. You can only sleep in the corridors or the square."
"Second, no textbooks. You'll have to copy them yourselves."
"Third, no right to ask questions. If you don't understand, figure it out yourselves. Don't bother the teachers."
"Fourth... tuition is doubled."
"Two Mid-Grade Spirit Stones per person per day, or equivalent value in spiritual materials or intelligence."
"Those who can't pay, get lost immediately."
These were practicallyUnfair terms (tyrannical terms).
Sleeping on the streets, no books, and paying double tuition?
If this were the mortal world, such a black-hearted boss would be hung from a lamppost.
But in the Cultivation World...
"I'll pay! I'll pay!"
The Body Cultivator was the first to jump up, pulling out a large handful of Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and stuffing them into Big Yellow Dog's arms.
"This is my entire fortune! Enough for a month! If it's not enough, I'll go rob... I mean, go earn more!"
"I'll pay too! Here's my hairpin! An Earth Rank Magic Treasure!"
"This is a Pill Formula I stole... ahem, found!"
The fifty 'academic failures' rushed forward, afraid that a second's delay would get them kicked off the mountain.
They cried tears of joy, as if they hadn't just obtained the privilege to 'sleep in the corridor', but a ticket to Ascension.
"Very good."
Li Mo nodded in satisfaction.
"Big Yellow, issue them their 'auditor passes' (basically just strips of cloth with 'provisional personnel' written on them)."
"Also, since there are more people now and the classroom can't fit everyone,"
"You few Body Cultivators, go tear down that wall over there and turn it into a floor-to-ceiling window."
"From now on, you'll listen from outside the window."
"Yes! We'll make sure to tear it down beautifully!"
The Body Cultivator roared excitedly, raising his fists to start demolishing the wall.
...
The disturbance settled under Li Mo's 'mercy'.
The Heavenly River Sword Sect's income had doubled once again.
And they had gained fifty free Advanced laborers (demolition crew).
But Li Mo didn't feel relieved.
He returned to his top-floor office and set down his thermos cup.
The smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented gravity.
He looked up at the sky.
The originally clear, boundless sky now had a faint layer of haze, though no one knew when it had appeared.
It wasn't clouds.
It was a kind of... gray, depthless mist.
"It's here."
Li Mo murmured to himself.
On his System panel, a line of red warning text was flashing frantically.
[Warning! Warning!]
[High-dimensional rule invasion detected!]
[Codename: Logic Lock.]
[Attribute: Karma Law / Memetic Weapon.]
[Effect: Deploys 'Cognitive Miasma' to all intelligent beings in the target plane.]
"Squeak? (Boss, why did the sky turn dark?)"
Squeak grabbed Li Mo's sleeve uneasily; its sharp intuition told it something was wrong.
"I feel like... there's something extra in my head?"
"What extra?" Li Mo asked.
"A... question."
Squeak tilted its head, its eyes becoming somewhat dazed.
"I'm thinking... if this biscuit is round, why can't it be square? If it were square, would its taste change? If the taste changed, would it still be a biscuit?"
Li Mo's heart tightened.
It was here.
This was the attack method of the Logic Lock.
It didn't kill directly.
It implanted an **'unsolvable paradox'** into your brain.
It made you doubt common sense, doubt logic, doubt Karma.
Until your thoughts fell into an infinite loop, your brain crashed, and you became an idiot.
"Ah!!"
A sudden scream came from the classroom downstairs.
It was Money Abundant, the 'Abacus Master' who had just won the calculus championship.
He clutched his head, rolling frantically on the marble floor.
"Wrong! Wrong!"
"Why does one plus one equal two?"
"If there are two ones, how can they guarantee they are completely identical? If they're not identical, how can they be added?"
"If they aren't added, then what is two? Does two even exist?"
"My abacus... why does my abacus have beads? Are the beads round? What is round?"
Immediately, more screams erupted.
"Fire isn't hot! Fire is cold! I can feel it, that's the temperature of loneliness!"
"Swords aren't for stabbing, they're for eating! This sword looks very crispy!"
"Who am I? Am I a brain in a vat? Or a pre-programmed routine?"
Panic spread through the Heavenly River Sword Sect like a plague.
Those top students who had just built their 'scientific worldview' bore the brunt of it.
Because they thought the deepest, they suffered the greatest impact.
Their logical edifices were being forcibly dismantled by this bizarre 'lock'.
Even Xiao Tianjiao knelt on the ground, staring blankly at his own hands.
"My hand... is a wave function... It's collapsing... No, it's turning into a chicken foot..."
The entire Sect instantly transformed from a 'Hengshui Academy' into an 'Arkham Asylum'.
"Impressive."
Li Mo stood by the window, feeling the cold, invasive force trying to drill into his mind.
But he remained unaffected.
Because he had [True Sight] and [Rationality Valve] (an early-stage trait).
And more importantly... he was a Transmigrator. His Soul did not belong to this plane; it wasn't governed by this Heavenly Dao.
"So this is the method of the Upper Realm?"
"Since you like to think so much, I'll give you an unsolvable riddle to puzzle over until your heads burst."
Li Mo let out a cold laugh.
"Want to play philosophy?"
"Want to play idealism?"
"Fine."
"Then I'll play with you."
Li Mo turned around and pulled out a pitch-black book from the deepest part of his bookshelf—one that had never been opened by anyone.
The cover of this book had no title.
Only an... eye.
"Pass down the order."
Li Mo's voice, amplified by the Formation, forcibly pierced through the mad ravings and exploded in everyone's minds.
"All those who can still move."
"Assemble in the square immediately."
"Today's physics class is canceled."
"We're changing to—a philosophy class."
"The topic for the first lesson:"
Li Mo paused, his voice becoming ethereal and sacred.
"I think, therefore I am."
"Since the world is false and logic is chaotic,"
"Then use your thoughts to redefine this world!"