1 Have You Become More Knowledgeable Today?

It was early autumn. The summer heat had not yet dissipated, and the winter winds had not yet arrived.

A storm was brewing amidst the silence in Cherry Lake High School.

Ring…

The last class of the day ended.

Classroom doors opened. Loud voices gradually rang out.

In an instant, the campus was filled with an aura of vitality.

Basketball, handheld games, recreational clubs, secret couples.

Chasing, quarreling, holding hands, flirting.

The real day had begun.

However, the door to class 2-4 was still tightly shut.

That was because their last class was with their homeroom teacher.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

In front of the podium, Hu Chunmei, a lady who was over forty years old, fiercely slammed a piece of chalk on the blackboard.

"You're still distracted! You're still distracted!

"Out of 150 points for the math test in the monthly exams, the entire grade averaged 94.3. What about our class? 89.8! You didn't pass!

"I was so angry that I nearly got admitted to the hospital!

"And that was after Lin Yujing scored 148 and pulled the average of our class up by 2 points!

"Students, this is not just a little bad!

"Furthermore, I am a homeroom teacher as well as a leader for the teachers of this grade level. Even if you do not find this embarrassing, I do!

"I have to apologize to the students from the previous years as I have made a mistake.

"You are the worst class I have ever taught!

"You're an exception, Lin Yujing. You can study on your own. You don't have to listen to my lecture.

"I feel apologetic for polluting your ears by saying these words."

The students lowered their heads and remained silent. They were used to this.

Only Li Zheng, who was sitting in the second to last row, secretly clenched his fist.

He had been stirred by these words.

"I did not work hard enough. I only got 117.

"Even though I am second in class, there's a qualitative difference between my score and Lin Yujing's 148," he thought.

Li Zheng looked toward the window seat of the middle row as he thought about this.

The girl that sat there had long hair that covered half her face. Her white shirt was loose. She leaned on the wall with her legs slanted to the side.

She spun her white mechanical pencil between her fingers. It was as if everything that was happening in front of her was none of her business.

Unintentionally, she brushed her hair behind her ears to reveal her tranquil, even slightly pitiful, side profile.

As well as a white rubber earplug.

Several students, and even Hu Chunmei herself, noticed this.

Amidst the awkward atmosphere, Li Zheng's deskmate suddenly raised his hand. He had a mustache that was thicker than the hair on his head and weight that could rival his height. He looked like an old student who had been held back for many years.

"Teacher, I know why Lin Yujing is so good in her studies." He pointed toward Lin Yujing's ears and continued, "Because she never listens to the lesson."

"Liu Xin, get out!" Hu Chunmei's voice broke.

"Sure!" The male student's face lit up. He grabbed his bag and was about to leave.

"Sit down properly!!" Hu Chunmei roared again, "I'll send you to the P.E. department if you say another word of nonsense."

Liu Xin squirmed in fear and returned to his seat.

Hu Chunmei rubbed her chest and took a long time to calm down.

"Lin Yujing is different from the rest of you. Her superior intelligence is obvious, and it would be even more efficient for her to study by herself." Hu Chunmei took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose as she said, "Ordinary people should not learn from her. Learn instead from Li Zheng. He makes up for his weakness with his effort. He achieved the highest standard he could reach through his hard work. All I ask from you guys is to do that."

Several students turned their heads to look at Li Zheng.

Indeed, Li Zheng was a typical hardworking student.

He studied in class. He studied after class. He studied while he was eating. He even memorized vocabulary while he was using the toilet.

He had put in more effort than anyone else throughout his first year in high school and had achieved a rather decent score.

However, he was still very average.

This was probably the limit of an average person.

Though it seemed that Hu Chunmei had praised Li Zheng, it felt even more hurtful than if she had criticized him instead.

Li Zheng did not pay it too much attention, but Liu Xin beside him felt so upset that he started to grind his teeth.

He glared at Hu Chunmei like an old dog trying its hardest to be fierce.

Hu Chunmei smirked, "Alright, I know that all of you are feeling indignant. You think that you are intelligent and would be able to pull up your grades if you all worked a little harder, don't you?

"Now, I'll pose you all a question to show you what ordinary is and what extraordinary is."

Mrs. Hu wrote down a number on the blackboard as she spoke - 64.

"64 people attended a ping-pong competition. The victor advanced to the next round while the loser got eliminated. This continued until a champion was decided. How many games were played?"

Unlike the boring process of going through the questions as before, this question brought out the energy in the students. They all lowered their heads and started doing their calculations.

Li Zheng moved his pen instantly and found the answer in seven to eight seconds.

"Li Zheng already has an answer," Mrs. Hu raised her hand and said. "Tell us about how you solved it."

Li Zheng said, "The first round has 32 games, the second has 16 games, the third…"

"Alright, stop it there, I understand." Mrs. Hu then scanned the class and said, "Does anyone else have another way of solving the question?"

No one replied.

"Alright, that's what's ordinary." Mrs. Hu then looked toward Lin Yujing. "Who can help her take out her earplugs."

"No need, I could hear." Lin Yujing then said without raising her head, "Finding a champion amongst 64 people means we have to eliminate 63 people. One game per person, so the answer is 63."

The students were dumbfounded.

"And that's called extraordinary." Mrs. Hu smiled with satisfaction, "Now, who still thinks that they are intelligent and do not have to listen to the lesson like Lin Yujing?"

There was a sea of silence.

However, Lin Yujing suddenly raised her head and glanced at Li Zheng with a faint smile. "My teacher for the primary school Math Olympiad already taught me this question. I merely have better educational resources than Li Zheng. I am not more intelligent than he is."

Snickers immediately rang out in the classroom.

The students thought, "Is she trying to be modest?

"No, she's showing off.

"Furthermore, she's showing off even after she was on the better end of the exchange just now.

"She is showing off even to the homeroom teacher, Hu Chunmei."

Hu Chunmei coughed to control the situation before she continued, "No matter, then I'll come up with another question…

"A clock takes six seconds to ring three times. How many seconds does it take for it to ring six times?"

Li Zheng immediately started to tackle the question.

At the same time, Lin Yujing said her answer, "Ten."

Hu Chunmei's expression changed, "Don't… Don't be too hasty… Think about it a little longer…"

She had not finished her sentence when Li Zheng put down his pen and said, "15."

Hu Chunmei became silent.

A moment later.

Lin Yujing suddenly let out an exclamation of shock. She covered her mouth in a fluster as she turned her body to look at Li Zheng.

She revealed her shame, knitted her brows, and glared at Li Zheng in one fluid motion.

She was not to be messed with.

However, Li Zheng did not display any unnecessary expressions.

Beside him, Liu Xin scratched what was left of his hair and said, "Don't six seconds for three rings make 12 seconds for six rings? Isn't this a primary school question?"

The rest of the students also provided a variety of answers.

Finally, Mrs. Hu made a conclusive statement.

"The correct answer is 15. Li Zheng is correct…" She began to draw an explanation on the blackboard even though her chest felt tight. "A clock ringing three times, ring… ring … ring, actually only has two intervals between the rings. We can calculate that the clock rings once every three seconds. Since there are five intervals in six rings, the answer is 15 seconds."

Even though Liu Xin did not fully understand the explanation, he slapped the table in shock and said, "Which means to say… Li Zheng is more intelligent than Lin Yujing!"

Snap!

The pencil in Lin Yujing's hand snapped.

Her hair still obscured her face. No one could see her expression, only her indignant trembling.

"One question… cannot determine anything…" Hu Chunmei suddenly slammed on her table and glared at the class, "How did we get sidetracked here? Average score! Average score!"

She took out a roll of test papers from under the podium after she spoke.

She was always like that. She was like Doraemon.

Hu Chunmei disregarded the plea for mercy in the students' eyes. She hummed as she gave out the test papers.

"These are questions that have been made this afternoon. They are still warm.

"Start doing them now. You can leave after you are done.

"I will mark them on the spot. Those who fail cannot leave. They'll have to get their parents to fetch them!"

Holding them back in school, administering a test, and calling their parents.

Three consecutive fatal strikes.

Sad moans spread throughout the classroom in an instant.

Li Zheng was an exception.

He rubbed his hands together, raring to go.

He thought, "This came at the right time. I was worried about not having enough practice questions.

"These were created by Mrs. Hu. They are new questions that I have never seen before."

He was curious and excited.

"Classmates at the front, pass it back faster," Li Zheng thought.

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle…

The test paper was still warm from the photocopier when it arrived in Li Zheng's hands.

As always, Li Zheng unfolded the paper and laid it flat, then closed his eyes and took a gentle sniff.

"Yes…" Li Zheng thought to himself.

"The familiar fragrance of ink.

"It comforts the heart and refreshes the brain."

Li Zheng felt his fatigue disappear with this physical representation of a studious aura.

"Hey…" Liu Xin swallowed. "Do you like to study or to lick test papers?"

"That's too much of an exaggeration." Li Zheng steadily lifted his pen. "Mrs. Hu is right; an ordinary person has to do things the way that an ordinary person does them. Furthermore, it has been proven just now that as long as you are steady, there's a chance that you can surpass a genius like Lin Yujing."

Creak!

The sound of someone scratching on a table.

Li Zheng turned his head to see that Lin Yujing was glaring at him. At the same time, she tapped on the paper fiercely with her pen and groaned repeatedly.

Li Zheng smiled and shook his head.

Studying was not for competition against others, but for improving oneself and building up the country.

Lin Yujing clenched her teeth and raised her hand to reveal her little cartoon astronaut watch. She then extended her index finger and made the sign for the number one.

Following that, she dug out a black rubber band from her pencil case and gathered her long hair with a serious expression before pulling it back.

She tied a ponytail.

Li Zheng gasped.

Tests, monthly exams, even the mid-year exams had come and gone. She had not needed to put her hair up in a ponytail during any of those occasions.

Only the final exams that would be reflected on her report card were worthy of her tying up her hair.

Lin Yujing was serious.

Under this tense aura, Li Zheng's expression also gradually turned stern.

He realized that Lin Yujing's motive was not to compare grades.

This was for her pride. Her pride as a Study God.

Li Zheng then closed his eyes and raised his arm.

He started to do a wellness exercise for his eyes.

Liu Xin glanced between the two of them. He did not understand what was going on. "What are you two doing?"

"She said that the competition would start in one minute." Li Zheng then lowered his voice and said, "Whatever, occasionally challenging an opponent that I cannot beat and experiencing the feeling of answering questions under pressure is also a decent form of practice."

"I can't afford to get involved, I can't afford to get involved. You two can compete on your own…" Liu Xin placed his face on the table. "I'll take a nap. Wake me up when my mother comes."

Li Zheng did not speak.

He went through the second part of the eye wellness exercise...

Words suddenly appeared in his field of vision just as he was massaging his Sibai acupoint.

[Have you become more knowledgeable today?]

[Study Monster Cultivation System, binding...]

Li Zheng abruptly opened his eyes. He noticed that the words were still there. There were more of them now.

[According to the capacity of your brain, the initial baseline of your study efficiency will be set at 28 times.]

[Energy remaining for studying today: 26 hours.]

[You will enter an exhausted state after you deplete your energy and will be unable to study.]

[Please use the functions of the system and relax appropriately to regain your energy.]

[You can also increase your study efficiency by completing missions and increasing the upper limit of your energy.]

[Binding is complete. The next step is to guide you and help you understand this system.]

Something that looked like an experience bar appeared. "0/26" was written in the middle of the bar, and the magnification was noted behind that as "28".

[Guidance has begun. Please enjoy the study process and finish using your energy for today.]