Era of Mist

"Take time off? What for?" The dean grew agitated. "Don’t you realize you’re building a reputation for the entire Orphanage, creating a brand for us? If you do well, I can keep recommending others. But if you screw up, this whole path might be cut off! You’re not just working for yourself; you’re working for everyone who comes after you. How can you ask for time off at a moment like this?"

Shi Tiexin frowned. "I have an exam."

The Minor Prefecture Exam was approaching, but the qualification test for it was even sooner. He would have to take half a day off for that, one way or another.

"An exam..." Situ Zhennan was at a loss for words. After a moment, he sighed. "Stone, don’t blame me for being blunt. Every year, I do everything I can to send a few kids to the Star Worker School, but so far, not a single one has made it through. Forget passing the Minor Prefecture Exam, not one has even managed to qualify."

"Every year, our Orphanage has to pay exorbitant tuition fees, yet we see no results. Not only do we get no results, but our kids also end up making enemies with the children of the Star Worker Union, which makes things even harder for the Orphanage. Those second-generation brats are always in the wrong, so their parents won’t make trouble openly, but they’ve done plenty to trip us up behind the scenes."

"Sometimes, it even puts me in a very awkward position."

"It doesn’t matter if I’m embarrassed. What’s my pride worth? But what about those who come after? Their path is getting narrower and narrower, and soon they might have no path at all. That’s why the number of spots we send each year is decreasing. In your year, Stone, there were five spots. This year, there are only two."

Shi Tiexin listened quietly. Only after the dean finished speaking did he interject, "What are you trying to say, Dean? That I shouldn’t take the exam?"

"I’m trying to say... I’m trying to say..." Situ Zhennan was speechless again. He stared at Shi Tiexin for a long time before saying dejectedly, "Alright, alright. When the time comes, I’ll talk to the leadership at the security company and get you half a day off for the exam! But you’d better remember this, Stone: if you don’t even pass the qualification test, you’ll be a total embarrassment to them."

"If you don’t take it, no one will know you could have. But if you take time off and then fail to qualify, you’ll become a joke! And if you become a joke, our whole Orphanage becomes a joke with you, and that path gets even narrower."

"Stone, you can’t just think about yourself. It hasn’t been easy for the Orphanage to raise you. Of course, it hasn’t been easy for you to work so hard either. I have to consider the big picture, but I don’t want to crush your dream. So, assess yourself honestly. Can you pass the qualification test?"

’Can I pass the qualification test?’

’Before, I was completely confident. I had basically mastered all the subjects, except I hadn’t started cultivating the second level of Mathematics and Rhetoric. The plan was to start on the second level as soon as I got back. If time was tight, I could even use the Celestial Golden Light to level up directly. I would have made it no matter what.’

’But I never thought I would end up in debt.’

’Now that I’m in debt, I have no choice but to work. Otherwise, a drop in my credit rating will have a long-term impact on my future. And once I start working, my time for cultivating my mind arts will naturally be squeezed. Whether I can reach the qualified second level before the test is now a big question.’

’But...’

But no matter how big the question mark, Shi Tiexin wouldn’t back down.

’I didn’t fight with all my might just to give up! Champion Scholar Shi Han didn’t study through summer and winter just to give up! And he definitely didn’t pass his learning experience and memories on to me just so I would give up!’

’Even if I’ve fallen into an abyss, I must still fight to soar without pause!’

’Now that I’m on the final step, how can I retreat without a fight?’

Shi Tiexin gazed at Dean Situ and said with conviction, "I can."

Situ Zhennan stared back at Shi Tiexin, an internal battle seemingly raging within him. After a long moment, he slapped his bald head. "Alright. I’m glad you have this confidence. Okay then, it’s settled. But even if you don’t rank well in the Minor Prefecture Exam, you absolutely must pass the qualification test. As long as you pass it, you’ll be the first in the history of the Orphanage to do so, and the security company will also look at you in a new light. Understand?"

"I understand."

This principle was written clearly in the motto of Fengming First Middle School—natural selection, survival of the fittest.

"Alright then, you can go. Be at the Xiongan Security Company at 7:30 tomorrow morning and find Captain Chen. Tell him I sent you—and do a good job for me. Remember, make a big splash! A big splash!"

Shi Tiexin nodded solemnly. "No problem."

No matter what, for himself, for those who came after, and for the Orphanage that raised him, he would absolutely succeed.

The time in Tumu Fortress Space City was synchronized with Earth time.

Across the various regions and planets of the solar system, the lengths of rotation and revolution all differed. To standardize time in the space age, and more importantly, to align with human circadian rhythms, all timekeeping methods were synchronized with Earth’s. As for which of Earth’s time zones to sync with, that was left for each city to decide for itself.

Tumu Castle’s time system, and even its seasonal system, was bound to the East Eighth Time Zone and the 35° North Latitude position.

It was already afternoon when Shi Tiexin left the hospital. On the sky-rail train, he had already seen the simulated sunset. After returning to the Orphanage and talking with the dean for a while, it was already dinnertime when he came out.

Arriving at the large cafeteria, he saw a dense crowd of people. The daily consumption of food at the Orphanage was indeed enormous. It was a good thing this was an agricultural city where produce was cheap; otherwise, they really couldn’t afford to feed so many people.

Shi Tiexin picked a piece of meat from his tray.

He didn’t eat it right away, but instead observed the piece of meat carefully.

It was square, about the size of his palm. In terms of volume, it was incomparably better than the small meat shreds in the trash class meal plan. Even the large skewers he ate before returning would take two or three to equal the amount of meat in this single piece.

All around him, all the children, boys and girls, were digging in, their mouths greasy as they chewed. They seemed to be enjoying it immensely. The meat really wasn’t bad; in terms of taste, it was quite decent.

But what Shi Tiexin didn’t understand was why the amount of Essence and the essence-nourishing effect provided by such a piece of meat was still far inferior to the trash class meal plan at Fengming First Middle School.

He observed it for a long while but couldn’t figure it out. Shi Tiexin opened his mouth and ate the piece of meat. He sat silently for a moment, then let out a long breath—he wasn’t wrong. It was just like before. This kind of meat was indeed far behind that of the other timeline in terms of nourishing his Essence.

’What could be the reason for this?’

’No, perhaps now isn’t the time to get to the bottom of it; I don’t have the spare energy to think about these things. But a very real problem is that if the speed of nourishing my Essence is slow, the recovery speed of the false core in my lower abdomen will also be slow.’

’I used up a lot of Essence in that group beating earlier, and now the false core is only the size of a mung bean. The false core is constantly drawing Essence from the food in my stomach, but after a whole meal, it only grew by a negligible sliver.’

’It seems the ordinary food in Tumu Castle is really no good.’

’In that case, I’ll put strength arts aside for now and focus on my mind arts first.’