102: Chapter 102: This is called rules

There are no more questions.

What questions could Lin Yuan possibly have left?

He stared blankly at that steadily flowing virtual spiritual vein, then looked back at the glaring "one minute" timer on the screen, and finally, his gaze fell upon the girl who remained calm.

At this moment, the pride, resentment, and self-righteousness in his mind were like a punctured balloon, completely deflated.

The gap.

This was the true gap.

This was no longer a matter of who was stronger or weaker.

It was a difference in intellect and vision, as far apart as heaven and earth.

He had always thought that cultivation was about fighting and killing, pursuing more powerful moves, faster speeds, and flashier special effects.

He had treated cultivation as a way to cause destruction.

But the girl before him used a method he couldn't even imagine to tell him that cultivation could also be about construction and control.

She didn't seek that moment of prestige; what she wanted was absolute reliability and efficiency.

She didn't rely on brute force, but on calculations and processes.

Every time she acted, it was like a supercomputer, calculating everything in an instant—analyzing, modeling, and executing without a single mistake.

This... was the true "Dao"!

Something he had never seen before, yet closer to the essence of the world than any "Dao" he knew!

Having realized this, the pitiful shred of self-esteem in Lin Yuan's heart shattered completely.

But he didn't feel despair.

Instead, a longing, like someone who had been starving for centuries seeing a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, welled up from the bottom of his heart!

He wanted to learn!

He wanted to learn this "modernized cultivation" that he didn't understand at all, yet was powerful enough to make him tremble!

He finally understood that his talent was not capital for him to look down on others.

Talent merely gave him a higher stepping stone, allowing him to learn this true "Great Dao" faster!

"I... I was wrong..."

Lin Yuan looked up at Jiang Ning's projection; his voice was raspy, but the arrogance and defiance in his eyes were gone, replaced only by the reverence of a student looking at a teacher.

"I was dead wrong."

He struggled to stand up from the ground.

Then, he bowed deeply toward Jiang Ning's projection, his head lowered.

This bow was not to the strong, but to knowledge.

"Please... please... teach me."

His voice carried a slight tremor and an irrepressible excitement.

In the observation room, no one spoke.

The Genius Class students who had previously flattered Lin Yuan all lowered their heads, their faces burning with shame.

They had witnessed Lin Yuan lose twice and seen Jiang Ning's god-like operations with their own eyes.

They finally understood what Professor Chen meant when he said, "Looking good is worthless in the face of efficiency."

The flashy techniques they had pursued before were laughably childish in the face of true "engineering."

Like a group of children playing with mud mocking an engineer building a skyscraper.

It was humiliating; they were too ashamed to show their faces.

"I... I was wrong too," muttered a disciple from a prestigious family who had admired Lin Yuan the most. "I always thought we were born stronger than others and should learn more powerful things. Only now do I realize we haven't even learned the most basic 'safe construction.'"

"Yeah, compared to Instructor Jiang, we aren't even fit to be assistants."

"Let's start over; we all have to start from the beginning."

The simulation training ended, and Lin Yuan walked out of the training center without a word.

He didn't return to his luxurious private dormitory.

Instead, he went straight to the academy's logistics department.

"Teacher, I'd like to collect a set of standard student uniforms," he said to the teacher at the logistics department.

The teacher glanced at him, asked no questions, and handed him a brand-new set of blue overalls.

Lin Yuan took the overalls, took off his expensive custom suit, and threw it into the nearby recycling bin without a second thought.

Then, he put on those simple blue overalls, just like all the other ordinary students.

The moment he put on the overalls, he felt grounded.

He was no longer that high-and-mighty Heavenly Spiritual Root genius; he was just an ordinary student of Kunlun Academy.

He walked up to his former Genius Class companions, who were all watching him in silence.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Lin Yuan bowed again to everyone. "I was too stupid and arrogant, causing everyone to be humiliated along with me."

"Everything I said before was nonsense."

"Talent doesn't mean everything. Knowledge and rules are the foundation. What Instructor Jiang showed us is the true path."

"From today on, I, Lin Yuan, will start from the most basic apprentice level."

After speaking, he turned and walked toward the Ordinary Class group gathering nearby.

The students of the Ordinary Class watched this once-unbearably-arrogant genius walking over with his head down, wearing the same clothes as them, with complex expressions.

Lin Yuan walked up to them and bowed deeply for the third time to the teacher in charge and all the students.

"Teacher, fellow students, I'm sorry for before. I was too arrogant and hurt everyone."

"From today on, I am one of you."

"I don't know anything... please... teach me how to tighten screws, how to lay pipes, and how to read the simplest blueprints from the very basics."

His voice was incredibly sincere.

Seeing him like this, the "geniuses" who once followed him also walked silently toward the logistics department one by one.

Soon, they all changed into blue overalls and stood in the Ordinary Class lineup.

The so-called "Genius Special Training Class" disbanded itself in this manner on the very first day of school.

In the observation room, Director Zhao Lixin looked at the sea of blue below, watching those once-unruly young people standing obediently in line, feeling an indescribable emotion.

He turned to look at Jiang Ning beside him.

This young girl hadn't used any coercive measures or said a single harsh word.

She had completely transformed the mindsets of these troublemakers using undeniable facts and overwhelming skill.

She hadn't just taught a technical lesson.

She had truly established the rules and set the tone for this new academy and these prideful young people.

Director Zhao Lixin straightened his collar and gave Jiang Ning a solemn, standard military salute.

"Engineer Jiang."

"You are not just our Chief Consultant."

"You are the true... Chief Instructor of Kunlun Academy."