"Qi Refining Fifth Layer!"

"Wasn’t he just at the Mid-stage Fourth Layer during the last monthly exam? How did he get so fast? Did he use pills?"

"Most likely!"

The moment Li Xiaoshuang spoke, the classroom erupted.

On Earth Element Star, mainstream education had mixed views on the "pill-reliant" path.

While consuming large quantities of pills could rapidly increase one’s Cultivation, it led to having an empty Realm without the corresponding strength. It was like a bloated person who appeared strong and mighty but was just a hollow frame.

However, using pills appropriately for a Realm Breakthrough was encouraged.

"Quiet!"

Li Xiaoshuang shouted in a deep voice, forcefully bringing the class under control before turning to look at Chen Che.

"I just broke through yesterday!"

’He’s a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and I’m not wearing a Jade Token to conceal my Realm.’

’The students might not be able to tell, but that doesn’t mean the teacher can’t.’

Hearing this, Li Xiaoshuang put down the test paper and sized Chen Che up carefully.

Seeing this, the students in the front row silently took a step back.

The next moment, without any warning, Li Xiaoshuang’s right hand moved, and he struck out with his palm.

’Is this a test?’

Chen Che reacted instantly. With almost no hesitation, he flipped his right hand over to meet the incoming palm.

’An opportunity to exchange blows with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator is incredibly rare.’

Li Xiaoshuang’s palm strike seemed light and soft, appearing to have no force behind it. But the instant their palms met, Chen Che felt a terrifying surge of True Essence, like a tidal wave from a great river, crashing down on him.

He immediately activated his Dantian to its absolute limit, his True Essence surging out recklessly to resist the furious tide of True Essence.

BOOM!

Their True Essences collided.

In an instant, a violent airflow erupted from between them, sweeping out in all directions.

"WHOOSH!"

As the strong wind swept past, the students in the front row felt their faces being scoured as if by knives, their ears filled with the WHOOSHING of the wind.

The facial muscles of a few students standing close by were distorted by the blast.

’Is this the True Essence of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?’

Chen Che was shaken to the core.

Although he knew Li Xiaoshuang was powerful, it was only when they truly exchanged blows that he understood the terror of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

No matter how he resisted, the opponent’s True Essence was like the collapse of Tai Mountain—vast and endless. Even if he mobilized his entire Cultivation to resist, it was still like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot. It felt as if the teacher could completely overwhelm him with True Essence with just a single thought.

"Very good! Your True Essence is dense, and its quality is very high."

Just as Chen Che was about to be overwhelmed, Li Xiaoshuang slowly withdrew his right hand and nodded in approval.

"It seems you’ve put in the hard work and didn’t rely on external forces to reach the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Go back to your seat. Class is about to start!"

"Yes!"

Chen Che nodded, took his test paper, and walked back to his seat.

Hearing Li Xiaoshuang’s praise, the students broke into another round of discussion.

"So awesome!"

"So he didn’t rely on pills!"

"His Cultivation speed is just too fast, isn’t it? He had just entered the Qi Refining Fourth Layer at the start of the semester, and now he’s at the Fifth Layer in just two months?"

Huang Zhongfei sat at his desk.

’Something felt off.’

’He’d clearly gotten first place in the class, so why didn’t he feel the slightest bit of joy?’

...

Back at his seat, Chen Che looked directly at his ranking on the report card.

Top three in the class, 19th in the entire grade.

Same as last time.

As for his school-wide combat ranking, it had dropped to nearly 900th.

But this was normal. The first lesson for third-year students was to condense their Divine Sense. Once their Divine Sense was awakened, their combat abilities would increase dramatically.

Among the second-years, however, he was still stably in the top ten of his grade.

"However..."

’If I can condense my Divine Sense ahead of schedule as a second-year, my strength will also increase significantly.’

Chen Che thought to himself.

「After class.」

Li Xiaoshuang called Chen Che to his office. He first praised him, then said with concern, "I know you are diligent and hardworking, but remember to balance work and rest. If you cultivate too frantically, you will deplete your foundation and affect your future progress."

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher."

’Chen Che wasn’t going to deliberately explain himself in the face of someone’s well-intentioned concern.’

’Over time, it would only make their goodwill disappear.’

"Very good. At the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, you’re guaranteed to reach the Middle Stage by December... and with your strength, you should be able to defeat someone at the Sixth Layer!"

Li Xiaoshuang tapped his fingers on the desk, slowly calculating.

"Is something happening in December?"

Chen Che heard the unspoken implication in his words.

"December is when the combat competition is held. I wanted to mention it to you last time, but you hadn’t reached the Fifth Layer yet, and I was worried it would affect your Cultivation, so I didn’t say anything."

Li Xiaoshuang nodded, not hiding anything.

"Each class teacher can recommend one student. The top three in the class can participate directly. Aside from that, any student who wants to participate can sign up themselves. In my opinion, you can win a city-level award at the very least."

The Alchemy Dao had competitions, so naturally, combat did as well.

In addition, there were also corresponding competitions for Arrays, Talismans, and Artifact Refining.

Of course, the other Hundred Skills of Cultivation also had them, but they weren’t as significant as these five.

"What’s the benefit of winning a city-level award?"

Chen Che’s interest was piqued.

Li Xiaoshuang: "A city-level certificate."

Chen Che: "..."

"That’s all for a city-level award. However, if you can make it into the top ten of the Immortal Sect competition, you can get direct enrollment into the Four Great Daoist Schools."

"For real?"

"Of course, it’s real, but it’s not that easy to achieve. The competition process starts with city-level selections, then moves on to the provincial level, and finally ends with the Immortal Sect Grand Competition."

Seeing Chen Che was clearly tempted, Li Xiaoshuang smiled.

"However, in past competitions, those who made it into the top ten of the Immortal Sect Grand Competition were at the Foundation Establishment Realm, at the very least. Although the three rounds of competition span nearly a year, are you confident you can defeat a Foundation Establishment Cultivator within a year?"

"..."

A bitter expression appeared on Chen Che’s face.

Before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall, prodigies like that only appeared once or twice a century, and every one of them was a future Nascent Soul grandmaster capable of establishing their own sect. If too many appeared at once, it would signify an era of chaos brought on by prodigies.

It would even be called a "Contest of a Great Age."

But after cultivation became available to all, the Immortal Sect managed to dig up all of these monstrous talents.

And what’s more, a new batch of such students appeared every year. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Don’t be discouraged. If you work hard on your Cultivation, you still have a chance to win a provincial-level award."

"What’s the benefit of a provincial-level award?"

"A provincial-level certificate."

"..."

"Don’t overthink it. For most students, reaching the provincial level is already their limit. Even if the top prospects from the Four Top Daoist Schools participate in this kind of competition, they aren’t guaranteed to place!"

Li Xiaoshuang smiled and patted Chen Che’s shoulder comfortingly.

"Because the level of specialization required is incredibly high! It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s even harder than getting into the Four Greats."

’I see.’

’The Four Greats look at your overall performance, while the competition focuses on a single specialty.’

’In fact, that makes it even more difficult.’

An idea struck Chen Che. "Teacher Li, I want to try condensing my Divine Sense ahead of schedule. If you have a chance, could you give me some pointers?"

’If talent isn’t enough, I’ll just have to use a cheat to make up for it.’

’Even if I’m just there to make the prodigies look good, I’m going to give it my all. Even if I fail, it might increase my chances of getting into the Four Greats.’

"That will affect your current academic progress!"

Li Xiaoshuang hesitated. "After all, it’s very time-consuming..."

"If it affects my current grades, I’ll stop immediately!"

Chen Che promised.

’He had already obtained the Yingyue Flower. It wouldn’t be long before he could start working on the Concentration Incense Pill Formula again.’

’Condensing his Divine Sense was going to happen sooner or later.’

Li Xiaoshuang didn’t agree immediately; he was still considering it.

"Chen Che, have you considered joining my Class Three?"

Just then, Yan Jun, the head teacher of Class Three, walked in. Nowadays, every time he saw Chen Che, his first words were an attempt to poach him. "Huh... When did you break through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer? Looks like your scores are going to improve dramatically on the next monthly exam!"

"Hello, Teacher Yan. I broke through yesterday!"

Chen Che replied.

Yan Jun was very pleased, his expression animated. "Share some of your cultivation insights with me, so I can share them with my students tomorrow and have them all learn from your methods."

"Uh... relentless daily Cultivation, without a moment of relaxation!"

Chen Che forced out an explanation, steeling himself.

"That’s it?"

Yan Jun was still a bit skeptical.

"Of course that’s it..."

Li Xiaoshuang chuckled, not showing the slightest doubt as he helped Chen Che out of the awkward spot.

"It’s not like you don’t know how hard Chen Che cultivates. It’s only natural for his Realm to advance quickly. It’s not like he has a private Cave Mansion with a Spiritual Qi density of over 200, right?"