Chapter 6: Sword Art

Qin Shu patted Wei Jie on the shoulder, saying no more.

Before long, Old Zhou—the homeroom teacher—entered and scanned all the students in the classroom with his gaze.

When he saw Qin Shu, his expression was equally surprised.

Old Zhou’s full name was Zhou Ruifeng. He had awakened as a Golden Rank Spiritual Soul Earthly Berserk Bear, was in his thirties, at the Core Formation stage, and had a slightly irritable temperament.

However, over the past few days, his mood had been steadily improving.

Anyone whose class produced a God-tier Spiritual Soul student would be elated for a long time—perhaps even for life.

This alone gave Zhou Ruifeng ample bragging rights for years to come.

“Hello, everyone!”

“Hello, Mr. Zhou!” The class responded cheerfully, still basking in the afterglow of their narrow escape from peril.

Zhou Ruifeng sighed again. “In our class, eleven students awakened Bronze Rank Spiritual Souls. Currently, only Qin Shu remains alive.”

Out of eleven, only one survived—a fact that drew even more attention to Qin Shu.

“Remember, this world is cruel; death is inevitable. So, even if among you the highest rank is Gold, you must forge ahead courageously. At least aim to cultivate to the Void Transformation realm, where you can enjoy longevity spanning thousands of years. As for those with Bronze-ranked souls, content yourselves with living safely—it’s not so bad either.”

His final remark was directed specifically at Qin Shu.

Inside, Qin Shu let out a sigh. The Cyan Lotus Dao Seed just had to emit green light during its awakening—I couldn’t have helped it.

Wei Jie whispered slyly, “See, I told you so! At least it’s safe here; no need to risk venturing into the Abyss World. Even Old Zhou thinks this way.”

“Alright, students at the back, quiet down now,” the teacher interjected firmly. “We’re about to report our cultivation levels one by one. I’ll compile the data and then arrange your placements for September’s academic year.”

The classroom fell silent.

Awakened beings were directly assigned to universities based on their spiritual soul potential and current cultivation level.

Those with Starry Heaven rank or higher attended the Immortal District’s main campus, while those below Starry Heaven went to various branches in the Mortal District—a vast divide indeed.

There were no middle schools in the Immortal District; most students there came from families with deep scholarly roots.

This district-based system effectively divided people into nobles and commoners.

Awakening a Starry Heaven rank spiritual soul was akin to stepping through the threshold of nobility. Whether one could maintain that status depended solely on themselves.

“Class president, let’s start with you—release your aura,” instructed the teacher.

“Yes sir!” Zhao Zhe stood up, circulating his true qi within him.

“Excellent, Qi Refinement second stage. You haven’t consumed any medicinal pills, have you?”

“Reporting, sir, I have not.” Zhao Zhe lifted his head proudly.

Qin Shu furrowed his brow slightly. Qi Refinement second stage? That means he was only at first stage when entering the Abyss World. How did he survive?

Oh, right—I almost forgot. If you kill ten Qi Refinement monsters in the Abyss World, you can leave voluntarily.

So I basically dug my own grave.

Qin Shu mused happily to himself; after all, wasn’t the greater the risk, the greater the reward?

He had been passively returned due to the destruction of the Abyssal Fragment World, yet he’d exceeded his Foundation Establishment mission requirements.

For each monster beyond ten slain, upon returning to the present world, one would receive commendations from the World Will—mostly in the form of cultivation enhancements.

But not Qin Shu—he directly obtained an entire Abyssal Fragment World’s origin source. The World Will didn’t even give him a chance to draw rewards, merely managing to bring him back alive. Not wandering lost in the void was already generous on its part.

One could say that the World Will came out at a loss with Qin Shu’s Abyssal journey.

Now consider Zhao Zhe, who hadn’t consumed any medicinal pills but still managed to break through from Qi Refinement first layer to second—a clear indication that he too had surpassed his task.

After all, possessing a gold-tier spiritual soul likely meant significant support from his clan.

“Excellent,” Zhou Ruifeng said. “Assuming no unforeseen issues, you should be placed among the top ten academies.”

“My thanks to you, sir.” Zhao Zhe bowed respectfully towards Zhou Ruifeng.

“Hmm!” Zhou Ruifeng nodded and continued, “Next.”

“Wang Qiangqiang, Qi Refinement first layer. Not bad. Just being able to survive is commendable.”

“Keshu, also Qi Refinement first layer.”

Most were at the first layer of Qi Refinement.

Qin Shu felt utterly deflated, realizing how conspicuous he now stood out.

“Wei Jie, it’s your turn.”

Wei Jie stood up, his chubby face wobbling as he did so. It wasn’t unattractive; rather, it gave him a certain charm.

If he weren’t so plump, one might consider changing ‘Wei’ to ‘Weidou’, implying a jade-like essence, and ‘Jie’ to ‘Jade’.

“Teacher, I’m also at Qi Refinement first stage,” Wei Jie said.

“Hm, good. You may sit down now.”

Zhou Ruifeng turned to Qin Shu. “Qin Shu, it’s your turn.”

Qin Shu sighed. His cultivation base was what it was; there was no hiding it now.

He circulated his true qi within, allowing the aura of the sixth level of Qi Refinement to spread out.

“Hm, sixth level of Qi Refinement.” Zhou Ruifeng began to unconsciously make note of it.

“Wait!” He suddenly looked up. “Sixth level of Qi Refinement? What have you been eating?”

The entire class turned their gaze towards Qin Shu.

Zhao Zhe exclaimed loudly, “How is that possible?”

“That’s right, how is it possible?” Wei Jie echoed.

“Yeah, this can’t be,” Zhou Ruifeng added dumbly, utterly shaken by the revelation.

It hadn’t even been a week since the awakening ceremony—was this progress truly achievable in mere days? Even cultivating a god-tier spiritual soul didn’t advance this rapidly!

Unless…

Zhou Ruifeng asked, “What exactly is your spiritual soul?”

“If I said I took a medicinal pill, would you believe me?” Qin Shu ventured tentatively.

Zhou Ruifeng pondered for a moment before nodding. “I see! Taking a medicinal pill to temporarily boost your cultivation by drawing on your spiritual soul’s potential, ensuring you could pass the Abyss trial—it’s quite a clever idea.”

That easily fooled him? Qin Shu was taken aback.

But Zhou Ruifeng continued, “While this approach is acceptable for Qin Shu as a matter of self-preservation, none of you should emulate it. You’re wise to have done so; please take your seat now.”

After Qin Shu sat down, Zhou Ruifeng wrote ‘179’ in the register but then promptly wiped it out.

Yangzhou Warrior God Academy had two hundred divisions, and it seemed Qin Shu had overestimated himself once again.

Setting aside his brush, Zhou Ruifeng asked, “Qin Shu, has Ye Yunqing been in touch with you recently?”

“No!” Qin Shu answered truthfully.

“Very well.” Zhou Ruifeng re-inscribed the number 179.

Before long, all students’ cultivation levels were recorded.

“Alright, that’s it for today. It also marks the end of your three years as classmates. If there’s a gathering tonight, don’t forget to invite your teacher.”

Everyone stood up in unison.

“Goodbye, Teacher!”

“Go on, shoo!” Zhou Ruifeng waved his hand dismissively.

Nightfall brought an organized class reunion, which Qin Shu attended as well.

It was quite ordinary, with no surprises or mishaps.

With over two months left before university classes resumed, Qin Shu felt confident he could reach Foundation Establishment by then.

So, would he be the sole Foundation Establishment powerhouse among the incoming freshmen?

That seemed entirely possible.

In the days ahead, Qin Shu devoted his mornings to cultivating Divine Sword Control and reserved evenings for Qi Refinement, managing his time efficiently.

Drawing inspiration from the Qingping Sword Pill’s unique properties, he visualized the profound essence within blooming Cyan Lotus Dao Seeds, creating a new sword technique:

The Cyan Lotus Sword Art.

However, he dared not practice it at home; its power appeared formidable enough that even his yard might not accommodate it safely.

He contemplated making a trip to the Abyss.

After achieving a cultivation breakthrough, entering the Abyssal Fragment World became inevitable.

But individuals could also enter voluntarily—it wasn’t unheard of, though admittedly risky.