Chapter 56: Fundamentals of Rhetoric, and the Four Heavenly Kings (Part Two)

No, no, calm down, I refuse to admit that I’ve been stumped by elementary school problems. Besides, no matter how difficult they are, they’re still just elementary-level calculations. What’s the point of being fast at arithmetic anyway? Is our Fengming First Middle School supposed to be some kind of kindergarten prodigy class? Would the exams ever include such monstrously tricky calculation problems?

Absolutely impossible!

If it’s never going to be on the exam, why should I waste my time learning it? Spending energy on this sort of nonsense—only an idiot would do that.

Besides, if you take a closer look, even that so-called Prodigy Stone hasn’t solved a single problem, has he?

Looks like he’s been stumped too, just giving up and dozing off here.

Ha! Can’t even solve elementary-level problems... He’s finished, this guy is absolutely finished—no threat at all, I can cross him off the “Target One” list in big red letters!

In a blink, Gu Shaohuai tossed aside the fact that he couldn’t solve the problem either and decided that Prodigy Stone was no threat at all. This objective was settled—no need to waste any more time on it. Better to start thinking about how to deal with Shen Xingye instead. With an air of smug satisfaction, Gu Shaohuai cast a contemptuous glance at the back of Shi Tiexin’s head and trotted off.

Shi Tiexin, meanwhile, was completely unaware of Gu Shaohuai’s arrival and departure. He was the kind of person who could study with absolute focus or fall asleep at a moment’s notice. When he studied, he was thoroughly absorbed; when he slept, nothing could wake him. Besides, in this sanctuary of the Mind Arts, there was no danger to be wary of. In this respect, Fengming First Middle School truly outshone any Star Union Academy for the children of officials.

For a whole hour, Shi Tiexin slept motionless, not stirring even once.

Not until half past ten, when someone got up to use the restroom and brushed past him, did he groggily lift his head. Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth and massaging his tingling, numb arm, Shi Tiexin yawned long and deep, finally feeling a bit more awake.

A short rest—yes, he felt better.

But even so, as Shi Tiexin glanced at “Little Genius,” he furrowed his brows and set the workbook aside. Despite the break, he still didn’t feel up to extreme math practice—he doubted he’d be able to manage it right now.

What should he do instead? Should he just go home to sleep and save his energy for tomorrow?

After a moment’s thought, a lightbulb seemed to go off above Shi Tiexin’s head. Right—if he couldn’t train at the highest level, he could still do some lighter studying. The County Scholar exam required six core Mind Arts, with the highest demands for math and rhetoric, both needing to pass the second tier.

Mathematics no longer worried him. With his current advanced mastery of the first tier, he felt confident that even if he returned to his old world and studied the second tier alone, he’d make rapid progress. With a solid foundation, reaching competence in the next level was only a matter of time.

As for the other four subjects—well, he couldn’t do anything about them yet; that rascal Zhou Nan still hadn’t brought over the manuals, so there was no way to practice them right now.

That left only one.

The first tier of Fundamental Rhetoric—his eternal sore spot. He hadn’t even reached “competent!” At least his first-tier math was competent; but rhetoric, not even that. The shame was enough to make even his thick-skinned self blush.

No, no more sleep—time to study! He’d tackle rhetoric, and not stop until he raised the first tier above “competent!”

Once resolved, Shi Tiexin wasted no time. He put away “Little Genius” and began rummaging through his bag for manuals. Soon, a hefty stack of elementary language textbooks appeared on the desk—six volumes in all, the complete first-tier Fundamental Rhetoric manual.

[Manual: First Tier Fundamental Rhetoric]
[Quality: Supreme]
[Attribute 1: Richly Illustrated. The manual is vividly illustrated, greatly lowering the entry threshold and reducing innate aptitude requirements by 20%.]
[Attribute 2: Thoroughly Annotated. The manual contains exhaustive notes, clearly explaining all key points and difficulties, increasing the speed of comprehension by 20%.]

Impressive.

Truly impressive. Both math and rhetoric manuals were supreme quality, first-class in every way. The “Richly Illustrated” attribute might not be as effective as “Step-by-Step,” but “Thoroughly Annotated” was far superior to “Integrated Practice.” These manuals truly deserved their reputation.

But the most astonishing thing wasn’t the manuals themselves, but this world.

Zhou Nan had managed to fetch them and get caught by the teacher all within a single class period, proving that such things were incredibly common here and easy to acquire.

In other words—supreme manuals were as common as dirt!

If the students at Tumubao Academy saw this, they’d probably faint from envy! Even that legendary Young Master Shen—have you ever seen supreme manuals lying everywhere?

I have.

And then there were those extraordinary supplementary guides—absolutely terrifying! Have you ever seen such guides? I have! And I bought a whole backpack full of them without a second thought.

Honestly, students in this world are blessed beyond belief—so envious, I could cry!

But now wasn’t the time for tears. Shi Tiexin pulled himself together, flipped open the manuals, and began to read carefully. In his field of vision, the comprehension progress bar for the manual appeared, but Shi Tiexin was used to it by now and let it run in the background while he focused on his reading.

Fundamental Rhetoric, at its core, was the art of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The higher your skill in rhetoric, the more convincing your speech, the more pleasing your writing. The first tier of Fundamental Rhetoric was all about recognizing characters and learning to write.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Who can’t recognize characters? Who can’t write? Well, maybe in this world, where knowledge is universal, these things really are simple. In a society that doesn’t just value but actively promotes knowledge, these are the basics everyone masters in their elementary years.

But in another world, knowledge is power—real, tangible power. Shi Tiexin didn’t know what things were like at the dawn of the Misty Era a century ago, but now, in the hundredth year of the Mist, no one would teach you for nothing. It was a world of fierce competition. If you wanted power, you had to pay a steep price.

Shi Tiexin couldn’t afford that price, so he never had richly illustrated, thoroughly annotated manuals. He had no way to find a mentor, which was why his Fundamental Rhetoric wasn’t even at the competent level.

But now, things were different.

Not only did he have supreme manuals, but he also had the Prodigy Stone in his mind, always helping him improve!

[Manual Fully Comprehended!]

Fireworks exploded in his mind. The comprehension bar instantly transformed into a progress bar for mastery. The words “Not Competent” sat at the left end, “Competent” at the right. Shi Tiexin saw that his starting point was around eighty—he wasn’t far from competence at all.