Chapter 53: Mastering Both Literature and Martial Arts, Racing Against Time! (Part 2)

First period was politics, second period mathematics. Shi Tiexin spent the entire time wrestling with his arithmetic problems. The math teacher, who was also Class 28’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Chu, noticed Shi Tiexin’s unusual focus but didn’t bother him. In his eyes, if a troublemaker from the “junk class” could sit quietly without causing trouble, that was already a rare feat.

At least he wasn’t shouting during the lesson, disrupting order, or beating up the math teacher—who was also the homeroom teacher. What more could anyone ask for?

He was quite satisfied.

So Mr. Chu finished his lesson, swiftly left the classroom as soon as the bell rang, never dragging out the class nor wasting a single extra word. The troublemakers of the “junk class” weren’t worth his time.

When the bell for the end of the second period rang, Shi Tiexin let out a long breath and stood up, stretching his sore wrists as he walked toward the restroom.

“Amazing!”

“Xiu’er, can you still sit still?”

“Awesome!”

On the interface before his eyes, congratulatory message boards popped up in succession. Stars burst from the borders, colliding with the progress bar. The icon representing the auxiliary record’s usage progress was completely filled, and this time three extra stars exploded, all hitting the progress bar.

The progress bar surged forward, moving rapidly from around the seventy mark. An hour and a half of concentrated study sent the progress bar racing toward its end. As Shi Tiexin reached the restroom, the bar approached its final few notches.

On the left side of his vision, the “Enlightenment” badge suddenly radiated with dazzling light, releasing several spinning beams before rocketing into the progress bar and vanishing completely.

It seemed the “Complete Comprehension” buff had run its course.

But it had offered its last bit of strength.

[Basic Mathematics First Tier cultivation progress advanced to Excellent]

The progress bar flared with brilliant light—this time even more dazzling than when it had last been filled. The word “Excellent” on the right side of the bar expanded instantly, covering most of his view, then slammed to the left.

Boom—the ground trembled. The word “Excellent” replaced the previous “Good” position, presiding over the left side of the progress bar as the new starting point. A phantom empty bar extended to the right, where a new label appeared.

[Profound]

Shi Tiexin shuddered three times, and the restroom before him suddenly felt utterly dull.

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He had reached “Excellent”! His Basic Mathematics First Tier had so quickly become excellent, all thanks to you, Scholar Shi!

Moreover, above “Excellent,” as he had suspected, the next realm was indeed “Profound.” Shi Tiexin had always thought there must be further levels, and now they had finally appeared. Yesterday, when checking the auxiliary record’s property description, he had noticed this term. Now, that realm beckoned to him.

Then, without pause, he would charge towards it!

Shi Tiexin returned to the classroom, sat down, and took out a new practice book to continue his cultivation. But as he flipped it open and looked over the problems, he frowned.

Suddenly, he felt the practice book was too easy for him—or rather, too bland. These simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems could no longer spark his desire for challenge; he simply couldn’t get excited. He was confident he wouldn’t make mistakes at this level, and further practice would likely offer him no improvement.

He picked up his pen and tried a few problems—his hand moved smoothly and effortlessly. Questions that once required careful thought now posed no difficulty at all. He also noticed that working through this practice book yielded diminished effects: after completing three sets of exercises in one go, which should have earned him at least seven or eight stars, he received only one.

Too slow.

“Could it be that ordinary-quality auxiliary records are no longer suitable for me?” Shi Tiexin realized, glancing at the unfinished workbook before finally setting it aside.

With limited time, he had to study in the most efficient way.

He rummaged through his desk and pulled out a new auxiliary record.

[Quality: Premium]

[Usage Progress: 0%]

[Attribute 1: High Difficulty. This auxiliary record is quite challenging; it cannot be used until Basic Mathematics First Tier reaches the Passing realm, and usage speed will be reduced unless at the Excellent realm. Correspondingly, cultivation speed is increased by 20%.]

This practice book, titled “Advanced Arithmetic,” was the premium auxiliary record he had once picked up but put down. Back then, fresh from passing, he had been overwhelmed by the barrage of high-intensity, high-difficulty problems and had fled in defeat. But now, a day later, Shi Tiexin was ready to challenge it again.

He opened the practice book, steeling himself as if facing a formidable foe, and began solving problems.

Hmm…

He could understand…

He could grasp—

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He could solve them!

Even these challenging problems were no longer difficult!

Shi Tiexin was instantly filled with exhilaration, his hand moving with increasing fluency. He felt this practice book was just right for him—not too easy to be boring, nor too hard to slow him down.

Perfect—absolutely perfect!

Click, click, click—Shi Tiexin gripped his pen so tightly it crackled as he sped through the exercises. Nearby, Zhou Nan watched in curiosity, wondering why the big boss could tackle elementary problems with the same intensity as a champion in an arcade game. He craned his neck for a look—oh dear, dizziness and a headache struck!

Instantly defeated, Zhou Nan gazed at Shi Tiexin with newfound reverence. He had always respected Shi Tiexin, but this was different—now it was the awe of a struggling student toward an academic overlord.

He couldn’t solve a single problem, yet the boss was filling the whole book!

The nickname “Scholar Shi” was well-earned; truly, a terrifying academic prodigy…

During the fourth period that morning, as the lesson neared its end, Shi Tiexin finally rubbed his nose and halted his furious charge. He couldn’t go on—it was exhausting. After an entire morning of high-intensity, focused cultivation, even Shi Tiexin had reached his limit. His levels of energy and mental power were still too low; the morning was already his maximum. With his mental power depleted, forcing himself further would only result in mistakes and no progress.

Stars streamed out in succession, the progress bar rising nearly twenty-five notches. Even with the premium auxiliary record, the speed inevitably slowed. But this progress was still within acceptable limits; at this rate, he could reach “Profound” in about a day—a true sprint!

For now, it was time to rest.

He stretched, relaxing from his intense focus. As he did so, he noticed something odd.

The teacher at the podium lectured calmly, but the atmosphere below had subtly changed. Some students packed up their books and pens, some looked eager to move, others even half-rose from their seats, poised like athletes ready to sprint.

What was wrong with these people?

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