Monsters Die When Killed

December 7th, 2014. Winter. Heavy snow.

The sky above Hongcheng was shrouded in rare snow clouds.

This sweltering city, often likened to a furnace and where sub-zero temperatures were rare even in winter, was now experiencing a once-in-a-millennium super-blizzard, swept up in the chaotic atmospheric turbulence brought on by the Spiritual Energy Revival.

It wasn’t just this city. All of Southern Zhengguo, the entire world, was being affected by the unpredictable climate of Spiritual Qi. Earthquakes rocked North America, scorching winds and a blistering sun baked the ancient cities of Ross Country, the Central Plains of Fusang were inundated by a hundred days of heavy rain, and the European Union was forced to evacuate its cities along the Mediterranean Sea as a sudden rise in sea level swallowed them one by one.

And what descended upon Hongcheng were gray-black clouds, a damp, cold wind, the completely frozen Ganjiang River, and a cataclysmic super-blizzard that blanketed everything with an average of over 47 centimeters of snow.

If the local government hadn’t foreseen this terrifying weather shift and begun preparing for the cold snap two months in advance, this horrifying blizzard would have likely caused immense casualties. But as it was, hastily manufactured snowplows were now moving along major thoroughfares, clearing paths through the ice and snow.

Even so, all local schools and various non-governmental organizations were forced to suspend operations indefinitely until the blizzard subsided.

Some lamented, others rejoiced, but the vast majority of people were simply sitting at home, idly scrolling through their phones, occasionally glancing out the window at the blizzard that plunged the world into dimness.

But one person was a little different.

"Is this everything, Yara?"

With an enormous hiking backpack as tall as a person on his back, Su Zhou was fully geared up. He carried his long spear and wore a practical, light gray outfit that looked archaic but was in fact of modern design. His utility belt was laden with all sorts of emergency tools, including but not limited to a knife, pliers, tweezers, stimulants, bandages, and sealed white phosphorus.

For an ordinary person, this load might have been an unbearable weight of being, but to Su Zhou, it felt no different from carrying a school backpack.

"You really don’t need to bring so much. With your Extraordinary Power, starting a fire is simple. What’s the point of bringing sealed white phosphorus..."

Perched before a silver, handless pocket watch called the ’Celestial God Scale,’ Yara sounded exasperated. "It’s more than enough. Let’s get started now—on our first-ever trip to an Otherworld."

"Yeah!"

After receiving Su Zhou’s confident reply, the red Snake Spirit decisively aimed at the Celestial God Scale and exhaled a puff of cyan breath.

After being exhaled, the breath began to spread through the air, inch by inch, as if trying to sprout aerial roots from nothing and anchor itself in the Spiritual Qi of the Spirit Realm—but then it touched the Celestial God Scale.

Instantly, the small amount of cyan breath already stored within the seemingly dilapidated pocket watch began to resonate, emitting colorless ripples.

Then, the pocket watch generated an immense suction force. Like the Ruins, it instantly devoured all the cyan breath and broke it down.

An unbelievably vast energy then emanated from within it, yet it was confined to a three-foot radius. A silvery radiance flared, and Su Zhou saw incredibly profound Divine Patterns appear in the center of the watch face. Then, bit by bit, they condensed into a perfectly clear, cyan marking!

[—World Core Element · Immortality—]

[—Erosion Deviation Value 23.49%—]

[—High-Stability Derivative World—]

At the same time, Su Zhou suddenly heard the sound of a vast and ancient horn, like a war song, yet also like a farewell. As he focused on the sound, a round, crystalline sphere of cyan light materialized before his eyes, with the Celestial God Scale at its center.

Through the sphere of light, Su Zhou could faintly make out a scene of a snowy, forested mountain.

"Alright, let’s go!"

Su Zhou, who had already heard about the travel process from Yara, laughed heartily. Once the Snake Spirit had coiled around his arm, he fearlessly reached out and touched the sphere of light.

Then, Su Zhou suddenly felt his body go light. In a flash of silvery brilliance, he vanished, taking the Celestial God Scale with him!

「Two months earlier...」

Hongcheng First High School, Senior Year Division, "Spiritual Energy Class."

"To advance from the mortal world to Spirit Awakening, you need a sliver of Spiritual Power born from life itself—that is, from your body and soul."

A gentle voice echoed through the newly built, 1,500-square-meter Spiritual Energy classroom. One large Spirit Gathering Array and eight smaller ones supplied the room with Spiritual Qi at five times the outdoor concentration.

Four hundred high school seniors, all seventeen or eighteen years old, sat spaced apart from one another. Some were cross-legged, some were kneeling, some were lying down, and some had even brought small chairs. They all settled into whatever position they found most comfortable, listening to the lecture from the academy professor on the stage.

"Only when you possess a sliver of your own Spiritual Power can you be called a ’Spirit Awakening Level’ cultivator."

The speaker was an elderly male professor from Yuzhang Academy. Though he had white hair and a white beard, his complexion was ruddy, his physique robust, and his voice resonant. His gaze was unlike that of an ordinary old man—it was exceptionally sharp. Any student not paying attention would feel their head go numb when he looked at them.

Currently, half of the entire senior class of Hongzhou First High School was here for Spiritual Energy Class.

Cultivating Spiritual Qi could sharpen one’s hearing and sight, strengthen the body, improve memory and calculation speed, and enhance comprehensive thinking skills. It was more direct and reliable than any brain-boosting formula.

Therefore, ever since the Zhengguo Government officially announced the truth of the Spiritual Energy Revival, Spiritual Qi Science had rapidly caught up to other subjects, becoming the single most popular and important course, bar none.

This was the third Spiritual Energy Class, and today’s teacher was from Yuzhang Academy. The instructors for Spiritual Energy Class always came from different academies, varying by region, but any professor chosen to represent an academy undoubtedly possessed Extraordinary Power. They embodied a powerful and illustrious heritage that had been passed down since ancient times.

For some prefectures, the selection of academies might be limited, but for Hongzhou, the options were rather plentiful. Not to mention the two Daoist academies that had already had their turn—Zhengyi and Pure Bright Academy—there were still the two great Confucianism academies, Tantai and White Deer Grotto Academy, waiting in line.

For the local students, this was a fortunate dilemma.

Yuzhang Academy was Hongzhou’s local official academy. It belonged to the Magic System and typically didn’t get involved in the factional rivalries between the various sage schools. This old professor’s lectures were particularly balanced and impartial. He was currently explaining the key points of the [True Origin Condensing Breath Technique], the Cultivation Method being popularized by the Zhengguo Government.

The [True Origin Condensing Breath Technique] was the most straightforward, simple, balanced, and gentle Spirit Awakening Cultivation Method. It had no special effects, and its cultivation speed was nothing extraordinary. However, in terms of stability and reliability—the worst that could happen from cultivation deviation was a stomachache for two days—it was second to none. This was why it was popularized by the government for mass Dharma Cultivation.

This breath technique had another characteristic: because it was so generic, it could be seamlessly integrated with the vast majority of Cultivation Methods in Zhengguo. After all, how could there be any integration issues with something as simple as absorbing external Spiritual Qi to stabilize the Spiritual Power circulation in one’s body?

Unless, of course, those exclusive Cultivation Methods were a little *too* exclusive.

At this moment, all four hundred people in the room had settled into their most comfortable positions and entered a state of meditation. They then began to sense the surrounding Spiritual Qi, attempting to draw it into their bodies and transform it into their own Spiritual Power.

’Even with the Spirit Gathering Array boosting the Spiritual Qi concentration, it would be pretty good if a dozen out of these four hundred could sense Spiritual Qi by the end of the semester.’

The old professor from Yuzhang Academy scanned the classroom, musing to himself, ’And this is in modern society, where diets are good, malnutrition and physical defects are rare, and everyone is literate, possessing sound bodies and souls.’

’In ancient times, you might not find one in forty thousand.’

Normally, by the third Spiritual Energy Class, a student with decent talent should be able to begin Introducing Qi into the Body, attempting to merge it with their Life Force to create Spiritual Power with their own personal brand. The old professor narrowed his eyes and activated his Spiritual Vision. To his delight, he discovered five students surrounded by swirling Spiritual Qi, like small vortexes. ’The Hundred Schools of our Zhengguo have successors!’

To discover five talented Seeds among four hundred students right at the start of the course was already above the national average.

Being able to achieve Introducing Qi into the Body after just three lessons made them geniuses in the conventional sense. Without a doubt, these first five to awaken would receive preferential treatment with resources in the future.

Of course, the world doesn’t just have geniuses.

WHOOSH, WHOOSH—

The sound of a raging Spiritual Qi gale was roaring from a corner of the classroom.

The old professor from Yuzhang Academy sighed, unsure whether to be pleased or vexed, and turned to look at the corner of the room.

Because over there, a raging ’Spiritual Energy Vortex’ was swirling.

At the center of this Spiritual Energy Vortex, one could see a handsome young man with sharp brows and bright eyes. He had a heroic and beautiful appearance, yet for some reason, he gave off a surprisingly unapproachable air. He was sitting cross-legged, and while his posture wasn’t standard, it was perfectly natural.

RUMBLE—

The vortex of Spiritual Qi swirling around him was so intense it created a thunderous roar in the Spirit Realm, churning up the Spiritual Qi Flow in half the classroom.

If he hadn’t been placed on one side of the classroom, with the other three hundred and ninety-nine students occupying the other side, it’s likely no one else would have been able to practice at all.

"Hey, hey, are you recording this? The velocity of this Spiritual Qi Flow!"

"Recording loud and clear! His Spiritual Qi intake and output speed is several hundred times the standard value! Damn, this kid is terrifying!"

At that moment, four other men, who appeared to be Tutors, were gathered around the massive Spiritual Qi vortex. Their faces were flushed with an excitement they couldn’t contain as they recorded data. Judging by the emblems on their clothes, they were from the other four major local academies in Hongzhou, all present and accounted for, aside from Yuzhang Academy.

"Su, excuse me, could you perform ’that’ again?"

A relatively young-looking man from Zhengyi Academy—likely just an Apprentice Lecturer and a Transcendent—asked in a very friendly tone, his face flushed.

He was holding a special Spiritual Energy Camera inscribed with a Cloud Pattern Talisman, pointing it at the young student called ’Su’.

Everyone else watched with anticipation.

"Alright."

Hearing this, ’Su’ gave a resigned smile and closed his eyes under everyone’s expectant gaze.

Then, the massive Spiritual Energy Vortex, which had been spinning clockwise, abruptly reversed its direction and began to spin rapidly counter-clockwise!

"Whoa!"

"Amazing!"

"As expected of someone with an Innate Dao Body! He can easily do things we can’t!"

Seeing this physics-defying scene, the four Transcendents from the academies couldn’t help but cheer.

But Su Zhou, caught in the middle of it all, could only let out a long sigh.

’I should have hidden my talent a bit more... Novels always say you should get rich in secret. I never paid it much mind, thinking that while being high-profile was bad, just acting naturally should be fine, right?’

’But now it seems that being low-key might not make you rich, but at least it gets you some peace and quiet.’