"Do they let you use a High-tier Pill Furnace for the college entrance exams?"

Ding Dawei was so angry his beard stood on end.

"I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stressed this in class! Homework must be done using a standard-issue Alchemy Furnace for the entrance exams. You’re not allowed to use any High Grade Pill Furnaces. And you, as the class representative, knowingly broke the rule and set a bad example?"

"Teacher, I was wrong!"

Chen Che had no idea how the man had figured it out.

But in a situation like this, you should never be stubborn.

Because when a teacher calls you out, it means he already has ironclad proof.

So, you have to show a good attitude while admitting your mistake, claim it was a one-time thing, and promise it will never happen again. If you’re a good actor, you can even play pitiful and bluff your way through it.

"On my way home from school yesterday, a Pill Furnace shop was having a big promotion where you could use one for free. I’d never seen such a High Tier Pill Furnace before, so I just gave it a try. I’ll never make a mistake like this again!"

Just as he expected.

As soon as Ding Dawei heard this, his expression softened considerably. He earnestly said a few things along the lines of, "I’m doing this for your own good," "You have good grades, so don’t get lazy," and "Just don’t do it again."

He didn’t even make Chen Che write a self-criticism essay or redo the homework. He just let it go.

"Teacher Ding, I’m a little curious. How did you know I used a High-tier Pill Furnace?"

Chen Che was curious.

"You haven’t come into contact with High-tier Pill Furnaces before, but there’s no harm in telling you ahead of time."

Ding Dawei took a sip of Spirit Tea, smacked his lips, and reverted to his previous amiable, talkative self.

"When refining Pills, High-tier Pill Furnaces don’t just improve the yield of the finished product. They also enhance the medicinal effects and add other bonuses. I can tell the difference with a single taste."

"And this batch of Pills you refined is of exceptional quality. I could tell at a glance that it’s completely beyond your current skill level."

"We usually prohibit the use of High-tier Pill Furnaces to prevent students from becoming overly reliant on their tools."

Only then did Chen Che understand the reason.

It was like a struggling student scoring twenty or thirty points higher—that was fine. But for them to suddenly jump to first place in the grade? Anyone could tell they must have cheated.

"You should spend more time studying Alchemy Techniques and skills. Those are what’s most important. Once you’ve mastered enough techniques and skills, you’ll see a huge improvement when you use high-tier tools!"

"Teacher Ding, where should I start learning then?"

Chen Che thought of the Bamboo Slips in the Alchemy Room.

"Start with the textbooks; that’s the knowledge covered in the curriculum. Once your skill level is high enough, you can try to master some knowledge that goes beyond the curriculum." Ding Dawei waved his hand. "I’ll send you a book list later. Find some extra materials, practice on your own after class. You can go back now!"

"Teacher Ding, I have one more question." Since he was already here, Chen Che wasn’t going to leave just like that.

"Hmm?"

"I was looking up some information online yesterday and came across a picture of a rather unique Pill Furnace. When I was about to ask for details, the person had already deleted the picture. Luckily, I saved it. Could you tell me what Tier this Pill Furnace is?"

As he spoke, Chen Che pulled up the photo of the Pill Furnace on his phone and showed it to Ding Dawei.

"Huh, I’ve never seen this type of Pill Furnace. Could it be a product from before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall? I can’t be certain without seeing the real thing to compare. But just based on its appearance, it’s at least Tier Two High Grade, possibly even Tier Three High Grade."

Ding Dawei frowned and studied it for a long time before coming to a conclusion.

He didn’t seem to doubt the picture’s origin.

All sorts of strange and unusual photos pop up on the internet. Maybe it was some second-generation Immortal showing off their wealth, or an excavated Ancient Pill Furnace, or a family heirloom from some Cultivator.

"Thank you for your trouble, Teacher Ding."

After thanking him, Chen Che walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Although he didn’t get a definitive answer, he was still quite satisfied.

The value of this Pill Furnace was even higher than he had originally expected.

’If I could explain where it came from, I’d really love to show it to Old Ding and see if it’s actually a Tier Three Pill Furnace.’

As he was thinking, Chen Che suddenly noticed several girls huddled together in the hallway, whispering and glancing at him from time to time. Then, one of them, a girl with a pretty face and a curvy figure, walked over and blocked his path.

"Senior."

"Hmm? Can I help you?"

Chen Che asked with a frown.

This was school. If this were Yunzhou and someone dared to block him, he would have run them through with his sword long ago.

"This is for you!"

The girl’s face was red as she shoved something into his hand, then immediately turned and ran off.

Chen Che froze for a moment, then realized she had given him a pink letter folded into the shape of a heart.

Over the past few days, all the students in the school had gradually completed their combat assessments.

No heaven-defying freshmen had appeared, and the third-year seniors had improved their strength considerably after a summer of Cultivation.

By the last match today, Chen Che’s grade ranking was fixed at seventh, and his school-wide ranking was 841st. Still, this was an improvement of about 150 places from last semester. Such a drastic jump caused an uproar among many of the third-year seniors.

At the same time, his battle was featured in the ’Six Continents Campus Monthly’. It was even said that the provincial newspaper had approved it for the second round of review, with only the final review remaining.

The combat classes for the second-years, and even the third-years, were all analyzing his fight.

For a time, Chen Che became quite a celebrity at Xianmen First Middle School. Younger female students would give him flirtatious glances as he walked through the school, and some third-year senior girls even wanted to drag him to the Martial Arts Arena for a sparring match.

"Master Chen!"

Just as Chen Che was wondering what to do with the letter, a timid voice called out from behind him.

He turned around and saw Huang Zhongfei staring at the letter in his hand, his eyes filled with longing.

Before he could speak, the other boy said directly:

"The Demon-Slaying Sword. For one week."

"Deal!"

After getting the letter, Huang Zhongfei pretended to go to the bathroom. He returned to the classroom, sat on his desk, and sighed dramatically while holding the letter. "It’s so troublesome being this popular. I just went to the bathroom for a minute, and someone gave me another love letter. And it’s a first-year, no less..."

He glanced at Qi Fengzhu, who immediately understood and pulled out a calculator. "Our class president is awesome! It hasn’t even been a month since school started, and two girls have already confessed to him!"

A large group of students who didn’t know the truth crowded around, clamoring to see the contents of the letter.

Lin Yi just glanced over and asked in a low voice, "You gave it to him again, didn’t you?"

"How did you know?" Chen Che said with a smile.

"With that ridiculous attitude of his, he’s basically forfeited his right to find a partner at this school," Lin Yi said decisively. "The freshmen girls aren’t blind. How could any of them possibly fall for him?"

...

Over the next few days, Chen Che first scanned the Alchemy Techniques left behind by the Cave Master into documents and organized them.

As for the Pill Formulas, he chose to set them aside for now. It was a task akin to ’panning for gold in shit’—immense, detailed, and tedious work that not only offered no short-term benefits but would also slow down his Cultivation speed. He could only work on it when he had spare time.

As for the techniques, he prepared to study and research them one by one, comparing them with his textbooks.

Ding Dawei truly lived up to his reputation as an excellent teacher; the book list he provided was exceptionally detailed.

It not only included all the Alchemy Techniques that should be mastered within the high school curriculum but also recorded their origins and evolutionary processes in great detail. To his surprise, Chen Che discovered that the content on the Bamboo Slips was strikingly similar to texts from before the ’Calamity of Heaven’s Fall’, as if they were the original manuscripts.

By combining the two, the Alchemy Techniques that were once difficult to understand and required rote memorization suddenly became clear.

Meanwhile, thanks to the support of the abundant Spiritual Qi in his Cave Mansion, his Cultivation speed hadn’t slowed down much. He had already reached the Mid-stage Fourth Layer.

「In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.」

It was time for him to contact Ding Fei again.