Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 340: Hiya, just casually studied and got into Ji University!

"The plan for the year lies in spring, and the plan for the day lies in the morning."

This, is an old calendar from the agricultural age.

The real situation nowadays is.

"The learning for a year, lies in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, during the winter and summer vacations."

"The learning for a day, lies in morning, noon, evening, and night, encompassing eating, pooping, and peeing."

"I admit, it doesn’t quite rhyme."

"But this is precisely the first step of the special training at our sect—"

In front of the living room dining table, Li Zheng wrote down the four characters for "time management" vigorously on the whiteboard.

Zhang Xiaoke was so scared that she spit out the fried dough stick in her mouth, "Master, instead of pooping and peeing, it seems better to say eating and drinking, pooping and peeing..."

"No, no, no. During eating and drinking, you should let your brain empty, let it rest, and occasionally speaking some thoughtless chatter to adjust is also fine," Li Zheng said seriously as he pointed at the whiteboard, "But when it comes to pooping and peeing, particularly pooping, due to various objective factors, it’s hard to relax. So, rather than wasting brainpower scrolling through social media, QQ Space, and trashy news during those 10 minutes to half an hour, it’d be better to use that time to study."

The hand of Zhang Xiaoke, who had just picked up the fried dough stick, trembled and fell again, "Master, can you still let me have breakfast or not?"

"This is part of time management," Li Zheng shook his head and smiled. "I’m already being very humane. Purely from a time management perspective, if you combine eating and pooping, drinking water and peeing all together, running in and out in parallel, you can easily save at least 30 minutes a day for studying."

"You... you’ve succeeded, Master," Zhang Xiaoke completely put down the fried dough stick, slumping her belly, "I won’t eat the meal, alright?"

"Hey, you also need to keep up with calories and protein, it’s essential not to miss out on meat, eggs, dairy, rice, and noodles," Li Zheng urgently raised his hand, "Okay, okay, okay, let’s skip over time management for now and talk about another study plan."

"But... I really can’t eat anymore, Master…" Zhang Xiaoke swallowed and picked up the fried dough stick again, "I don’t know why, but thinking about what you said, every time I eat a fried dough stick, I get a sense of something going in and out."

"...Um... that’s not good, I don’t like your current state," Li Zheng said, seeing Zhang Xiaoke’s distressed face and also massaging his chin, "Isn’t it supposed to be a joyful thing to come here to study?"

"I don’t know why, I was quite happy before I entered the door…"

"Was there some expectation that didn’t materialize?"

"Well, sort of," Zhang Xiaoke said, looking down as she adjusted her socks, "Originally... I was looking forward to happily studying all day with Master, to be relaxed and casual... who would have thought it would be such serious time management?"

Li Zheng frowned and said, "You’re not a child. If you really want to study efficiently, it has to be a bit dull in form. The fun comes from acquiring knowledge and solving problems."

"The truth is, I know all that... But if that’s the case, I might as well just study at school. The expectations for coming here were different…" Zhang Xiaoke stole a glance at Li Zheng and tentatively asked, "I would break down if I studied continuously like Master does. Could I, perhaps, study intensively for an hour and then take a ten-minute break to do something happy and relaxing? I need to relieve some pressure after all."

"I understand," Li Zheng nodded knowingly, pointing towards the bedroom balcony, "There’s a treadmill on the balcony. I’ll allow you to run for 10 minutes after studying an hour."

"Not that kind of thing!!!" Zhang Xiaoke closed her eyes and grabbed her hair, "I mean to play with Master! Reading manga, chatting casually, or playing games would also be fine."

"I get it, but those activities still consume brain power and are not truly restful," Li Zheng pondered, "Isn’t there an activity that only consumes physical energy while also being relaxing?"

Zhang Xiaoke’s expression tensed, then swelled, and after several transformations, she finally appeared prideful.

"Master, that won’t do, Jingjing came first, even if it’s just for studying, it’s not allowed. Despite appearances, I am a staunch supporter of pure love," she said.

"What does she have to do with this?" Li Zheng clapped his hands together and said, "Might as well do tasks instead."

"That’s even more out of the question."

"It’s an exercise task," Li Zheng pointed at the whiteboard, "Every hour I will set a target bet for you. If you complete it, you can order me to do an exercise task for 10 minutes. If you fail, I can command you to complete 10 minutes of exercise. You’ll feel great if you win, and even if you lose, you can lose weight. Plus, you can bet many times a day. Doesn’t that sound appealing?"

"Ah... um..." Zhang Xiaoke pondered seriously for a moment, then her eyes gradually narrowed, "Can I also make you do doggie jumps for ten minutes?"

"What are doggie jumps?"

"Hey, they are similar to frog jumps. I just like to watch these cute actions."

"Okay, then it’s settled."

"Hehe~~~"

"Your happiness is truly simple…" Li Zheng nudged towards the food on the table, "Can we continue eating now?"

"Yes, I’ve got my appetite back."

"Then let’s skip over time management and address another fundamental issue now."

Li Zheng cleared his throat and became serious again.

"All students, are of four types."

"Eager to learn and enduring in study, is known as Study Demon."

"Eager to learn, but impatient, is known as Study Rascal."

"Reluctant to learn, yet enduring, is known as Study Craftsman."

"Reluctant to learn and impatient, is known as Study Trash."

"The eagerness here doesn’t refer to the willingness to study, but rather the aptitude for learning."

"Take the people around us for example."

"Lin Yujing is naturally smart, but she can’t handle intense tedious study, so while she appears to perform well academically, her knowledge lacks depth. She’s all bark and no bite—an academic peasant."

"In contrast, Qinghua and Bixia are academic artisans, Liu Xin is an academic dreg, and Mengxi is an almost top-tier student."

Zhang Xiaoke got increasingly excited, swallowed her fried dough sticks in two bites, and raised her hand to ask, "So, master, what about you?"

"Just an academic artisan." Li Zheng couldn’t help but stand with his hands behind his back, "However, once an academic artisan reaches a certain level, they become a Study Demon. This involves a second job change, where a top-tier student can become a Study God, an academic peasant can become a Study Immortal, and an academic dreg can become a university level dreg."

"Wow!"

"Titles aren’t the key point, the key is that each type of person has different study methods."

"So, how do you rate yourself?"

"Haha!" Zhang Xiaoke licked her lips thinking about it, "I would definitely be an academic peasant~~~ although I can’t compare to Jingjing, who’s well-known nationwide as a big academic peasant, I’m just a local small-time academic peasant~~"

"No, you’re underestimating yourself," Li Zheng’s expression tightened, and he knocked on the blackboard furiously, "You’re a top-tier student."

"?!?!" Zhang Xiaoke’s tongue couldn’t come back to her mouth.

"Before you came to Lake Ying, you were indeed nothing but a study doggie, but that was because..."

"Wait... what’s a study doggie?"

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

"It’s the result of an academic peasant being demoted. That’s not important. What’s important is that, initially, you didn’t adapt to the intensity of study at Ren Da Fu, and you also lost your human dignity. Your main motivation to study was to do some very dog-like things, and there, one misstep led to another, and in the end, you really turned into a dog."

Zhang Xiaoke’s expression visibly began to relax a bit: "When I was at Ren Da Fu... I just planned to get good grades by following the teaching schedule like I did in junior high... But those people... were too exaggerated... Can you imagine what it would be like if a class had one Liu Xin and 40 Jingjings..."

"!!" Li Zheng’s eyes bulged, "Wouldn’t that be totally awesome?? 40 times the happiness! I couldn’t even dream up such creativity."

"You can go die!!"

"Ahem, back to you." Li Zheng picked up a black marker and drew three upward curving lines on the whiteboard, each rising steadily before accelerating upward and then gradually leveling off, resembling the last 30 years of economic growth.

But the specific curvature and duration of the rapid growth differed for each of the three curves.

Li Zheng pointed to the first curve.

It had a relatively high starting point, a steady increase, and began to level off earlier.

"This is Mengxi’s performance curve after using the learning software. After an initial explosive improvement, the growth rate fell within three months. From this change interval, we can see that once Mengxi reached around 640 points, it became very difficult for her to make further progress from tailored exercises."

Then came the second curve, with a lower starting point, a slower increase, and an earlier leveling off, but the rate of progress after that was higher than the first one.

"This is Qinghua’s curve. After using the learning software, his explosive improvement lasted less than two months, stopping at 610 points. But after that, it’s been a steady, long-term progress, with hope of reaching around 640 points by the college entrance exam."

Lastly, there was the third curve.

It looked like a seductive cobra.

"This is yours. Your curve shows that your improvement lasted nearly a year, only slowing down a month ago. But that’s not your fault. At the 670-point mark, even I have limited exercises to offer, making it difficult for the software to have the same effect as before."

As he spoke, Li Zheng dropped the marker.

"That’s why I need to organize this special training."

"Don’t be so self-satisfied, you pretend-study doggie who’s actually a top-tier student."

"Even if you participated in a subject contest, with a bit of effort, you could reach Qi Yingnan’s level."

"Qi Yingnan is the baseline unit for subject contests, hovering around the cutoff for direct university admission."

"1 Gu Jianfeng is roughly equivalent to 27 Qi Yingnans, and 1 Shi Yang is equivalent to 21 Qi Yingnans, roughly speaking."

"Why suddenly mention so many Qi Yingnans... hmm... maybe I miss him a bit..."

However, at that moment, Zhang Xiaoke was staring at the curves, caught in a state of self-shock.

"Master... you really... think so highly of me..."

"It’s your performance that proved it," Li Zheng examined the curve, "So, what do you want to say when you meet your old Ren Da Fu classmates after sneaking into Ji University?"

Zhang Xiaoke instantly stood up, her face beaming with brilliance, poised with pride: "Hey, I just studied casually and got into Ji University!!"

With such a massive driving force, the first day of special training began.

Unlike previous software-based practice, this time Li Zheng personally prepared and explained the lessons. Based on the backend analysis, he had summarized all the possible areas for Zhang Xiaoke’s improvement and crafted original questions for on-the-spot challenges.

As the saying goes, one can attempt more than a million problems, but creating them is like having a divine touch.

Li Zheng also realized that creating questions was as natural to him as breathing, and that devising difficult questions was as exhilarating as taking a deep breath.

Through this second spell of teaching, Li Zheng gradually came to appreciate how refreshing it was to teach a bright student.

Watching Zhang Xiaoke’s Academic Power obviously increase, Li Zheng couldn’t help but let out a proud smile befitting a teacher.

To encourage her, and to entice the dog into the game, Li Zheng’s bet for the first hour was quite simple. Zhang Xiaoke easily met the target and won, thoroughly enjoying watching Li Zheng do frog jumps for 10 minutes and even suggested that subsequent bets be doubled to 20 minutes.

Then… she never won again.

By six o’clock in the evening, the day’s accomplishments were already quite substantial.

[Academic Power: 98→103]

Treadmill running at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour, 8 kilometers.

Head-clutching frog jumps, 20 minutes.

Free Fighting training with the teacher: 40 minutes.

With the last session ending.

Zhang Xiaoke lay flat on the ground, face down, like a crawling reptile, utterly dejected.

"Ah, I’m dead…"

Li Zheng squatted next to her, smiling as he stroked her fluffy head, "Hang on for two weeks, and you can not only get into Ji University, but you can also slim down."

"Teacher… Do you do this every day, with this intensity…" Zhang Xiaoke asked with tears in her eyes.

"The intensity of the exercise is about the same, but the intensity of the studies is a few times more," he said.

"No wonder… you’ve driven Jingjing to seclusion…" Zhang Xiaoke struggled to support herself, wiping saliva off the table with her hand and trying to step forward, only to stiffen, "Ow… It hurts… so bad…"

"That’s all it takes for you to start complaining?" Li Zheng said with a scornful smile. "How long has it been since you last moved?"

"Even then, I can’t handle you doing this to me!"

"I haven’t even started yet. Do you want to join me tomorrow…?"

"No way!! I can’t take it anymore!"

As they were arguing.

A man, with a serious expression on his face, stood outside the door, the keys hanging mid-air in hand.

In college, he had cleared space for his roommates more than once.

Now, married and with a family, his son finally comes home.

And now he might have to clear space for his son again…

The man, in the end, took his keys back.

He turned, went downstairs, and walked toward the neighborhood garden.

This was probably his fate.

Of course, even sitting on a wooden bench in the neighborhood garden, he wasn’t playing with his phone.

Instead, he kept a close eye on his apartment’s entrance.

About ten or so minutes later, a girl in black stockings came out, hobbling.

Her legs seemed slightly unable to close, and she walked with a pronounced bow-legged stance.

She also held her waist.

Miserable, like a doggie that had been cast out of the pack.

The man’s expression grew even heavier.

What to do!

Should he speak up?

The Heart of Order told him that his son should be like him, touching only one woman in his lifetime, although this was very… There was nothing regrettable about it! It was an honor, a man’s honor.

The Heart of Chaos told him not to meddle in young people’s affairs, as this was a generation of openness and freedom, and moreover, the girl’s little meaty legs were indeed…

Stop!

The man grabbed his head forcefully.

The Heart of Order then told him to guide his son toward a healthy, loyal marriage.

The Heart of Chaos countered, stop lying to yourself, those meaty legs and moaning sounds, I want them all!

Stop!

The man’s grip grew tighter.

At last, he returned home with complicated feelings.

As soon as he got through the door, Li Zheng came out to greet him. "You’re back early today?"

"Mm, a new batch of attending physicians started today so I can relax a bit." The man glanced at his son while taking off his shoes and asked offhandedly, "Hey, did someone come over today?"

"Yeah, the college entrance exams are coming up, so Xiaoke came here to study."

"Just, studying?" Li Yi swallowed hard and asked.

"We did some activities to relax and de-stress as well."

"Oh...I get it..." Li Yi shook his head, "It’s indeed pretty relaxing... But... you’re strong, others might not be able to handle it... When I saw her leave, she could hardly close her legs..."

"Hey, it’s just the first day like this." Li Zheng waved his hand and laughed, "She’ll come here every day for the next two months. I’ll train her every day, and in a couple of weeks, you’ll see her come out leaping and energetic."

"Two months? Coming every day?" Li Yi’s eyes bulged in shock, "Then... you won’t be able to take it either!"

Li Zheng, a professional marathon runner, simply laughed it off, "I’m very strong. Even ten times more wouldn’t be a problem."

"..." Li Yi thought for a long time, unable to imagine what ten times would look like. He diverted the conversation, "Ah, it’s Zhang Xiaoke, right? I’ve met her mother; she’s quite a beauty."

"Right..."

"Of course, Lin Yujing’s mother... she’s also a great beauty."

"..." Li Zheng felt the atmosphere turning strange, "Why are you suddenly rating other people’s mothers..."

"Come, sit down." Li Yi, having changed his shoes, walked to the sofa and beckoned Li Zheng over, "We haven’t had a chat in a long time."

"Don’t make it so formal..."

"Sigh, let your dad speak his heart out for a bit."

"...Okay."

As the father and son took their seats, the atmosphere grew even stranger.

"Son, life is full of tough choices to make." Li Yi gesticulated, "For instance, if Zhang Xiaoke’s mother and Lin Yujing’s mother were both in front of me, I would find it hard to choose too. I understand your situation... It’s okay, you’re young..."

"No no no, I think there’s a problem with your situation..." Li Zheng’s expression grew serious, "Stop bringing up these weird questions. You would choose Ning’er."

"Hey! What does she have to do with this? Go stand over there." Li Yi waved his arm dismissively, "Right now we’re talking about Mother Lin and Mother Zhang."

"...Can I, maybe not talk about this?" Li Zheng said, backing off a little.

"No, this is very important. We have to make things clear." Li Yi grabbed Li Zheng firmly, "Listen, son, people make mistakes. If I were your age and was already with Mother Lin, I might occasionally lose control and stray with Mother Zhang. I understand that, but it doesn’t mean it’s forgivable."

"But I don’t understand..." Li Zheng felt like he was listening to a horror story.

"Just listen to me." Li Yi said gravely, "Some mistakes cannot be forgiven. If I hadn’t seen today and said nothing, in the future, you’ll make bigger mistakes, turn it into a habit, become a scumbag. Let me put it this way, if it were me, I would have to make a choice when making a mistake: either apologize and break up with Mother Lin, officially be with Mother Zhang, or cut ties with Mother Zhang, come clean to Mother Lin, and accept the unforgiving consequence. That’s what a man should do."

"Shouldn’t you be coming clean to Mother Ning?" Li Zheng grabbed Li Yi’s shoulders, "Stop it, Dad... Let’s kneel down and apologize together... Isn’t it good to be alive?"

"Didn’t I tell you it has nothing to do with An Ning? This is a man to man conversation." Li Yi nodded earnestly, "If it were me, I would choose to cut ties with Mother Zhang and be honest with Mother Lin. Do you think I’m correct, Dad?"

"No! I think you should come clean to Mother Ning."

"Why are you so stubborn!"

Meanwhile, as they argued...

A woman stood outside the door, her expression grave, her hand with the key suspended in midair.

Unlike the man.

Of course, she inserted the key into the lock.

"Eh, you’re back." Seeing her, Li Yi quickly got up, "Um, we ran out of soy sauce, would you mind getting some?"

While speaking, he kept making eyes at her, signaling that he wanted to have a heart-to-heart with his son.

"If we’re out of soy sauce, we’re out." An Ning stared straight at Li Yi as she walked towards the kitchen, "Having a kitchen knife is enough."

Li Yi’s eyes flickered. "Wife, what do you mean by that?"

"Stop talking!!" Li Zheng rushed to the kitchen door and yelled, "Kneel down fast!!"

That night, the family didn’t have dinner.

Only at eight o’clock did they clear the air.

Everything was back to normal, harmonious and happy.

Only now, Li Yi’s knees were no longer so healthy.