Era of Mist

A golden certificate of merit appeared in his vision, along with the cultivation progress bar for Basic Rhetoric. Shi Tiexin sat calmly on the edge of a flowerbed, watching the group of old men practicing their calligraphy and the chirping water birds flying to and from the lake’s edge. With a thought, a brilliant golden light suddenly burst forth from the certificate.

SHIIINE! The golden light shone upon the Rhetoric progress bar. Shi Tiexin once again sensed the existence of that chasm-like barrier, and then even more clearly felt the Celestial Golden Light dismantling it.

The Celestial Golden Light was like a powerful drill, boring through every obstacle and carving out a golden path!

The old men nearby didn’t react, as if nothing at all were happening to Shi Tiexin.

’They... they must truly be unable to see what’s happening in my vision,’ Shi Tiexin thought. He didn’t know the exact reason, but he felt that no matter how much these old men were reclusive masters, they couldn’t possibly turn a blind eye to the Celestial Golden Light.

When the Celestial Golden Light had descended from the heavens, he had been at Fengming First Middle School, after which the system had stored it away in its entirety. Now that he was drawing it out from his vision to use, it seemed the Cultivators of this world couldn’t detect it either.

’What exactly is this vision?’

’Where did it come from?’

’And why is it attached to me?’

Doubts surged in Shi Tiexin’s mind, but he immediately suppressed them. ’Whatever the case, I have no right to investigate the reasons behind any of this right now. I’m not some peerless master who can survey the world from on high. The system is hardly something for a guy like me to worry about—a guy who was only good enough to be a security guard on the pretty-boy squad.’

’The only thing I need to do now is use the system’s functions to make a huge splash.’

KACHA! The final, perfect chasm completely collapsed and shattered under the radiance of the Celestial Golden Light. The progress bar finally ticked past the last mark. Amidst an explosion of light, the word "Perfect" slowly rose, never to fall again. With a SWOOSH, it flew into the azure sky and became a mysterious, ancient star.

This star resonated with the one from the first level of Basic Mathematics, symbolizing the rock-solid foundation Shi Tiexin had laid in Basic Rhetoric.

[Basic Rhetoric, First Layer: Cultivation progress has reached Perfect.]

[Attribute Activated: Feel +1]

The text appeared as expected, only to be shoved aside by a giant cue card.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star... oh, wait, just two little stars in the sky~~~ Only two? Isn’t that a little lonely? Come on, let’s get a few more!"

It was as if someone were holding the cue card and shoving it toward the camera. The card expanded twice with a DUANG! DUANG! sound, then reluctantly disappeared.

’A little on the low side? Heh, it’s not wrong. It really is a bit low.’

Shi Tiexin glanced at his progress in the other four subjects and nodded, satisfied. After this period of learning in his dreams, his progress in these four areas was quite pleasing. Champion Scholar Stone had been a science genius, so for physics, chemistry, and biology, a proficiency of ninety-five was far from his limit. As for Natural History, which had always been a headache, he was now advancing by leaps and bounds thanks to Liu Qigang’s words and the occasional tidbits of information from Little Dog.

’Before the local qualifiers, I can definitely get a few more stars.’

’It’s just... it seems I’m running low on Celestial Golden Light.’

’I’ll check the reserves in the certificate. Twenty-five units left. Basic Rhetoric also cost ten. If they all cost ten units, I can get two more subjects to the Perfect level at most.’

That reminded Shi Tiexin of something. When Rhetoric had reached the Perfect level, an extra attribute called [Feel +1] had appeared.

’When Basic Mathematics reached Perfect, the attribute it activated was Comprehension, which I understood. But what does "Feel" even mean? What is it for? What aspect of my abilities does it enhance?’

Shi Tiexin racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out, so he promptly set the matter aside. ’Rhetoric is a core subject on par with Mathematics. The attribute it activates can’t be some minor stat; it must have an important function. Besides, it’s not like figuring it out would change anything. A single point probably won’t lead to any earth-shattering transformations.’

’Anyway, the point has been added, and it’s not going anywhere. An increase is always better than no increase, so even if I don’t understand it, it’s definitely a good thing.’

And now—Shi Tiexin slapped his knees and shot to his feet. He looked toward the Cultural Affairs Bureau outside the park. ’The most important thing to do now is go to the Cultural Affairs Bureau and register for the competition!’

Three minutes later, Shi Tiexin was inside the Cultural Affairs Bureau. After completing the simple registration process, he got in line to wait.

That’s right. There was a line for the calligraphy competition.

In Champion Scholar Stone’s timeline, calligraphy competitions had been a rather niche and unpopular affair. Most of his memories of them were from his elementary school days. From middle school onward, schools no longer hosted them, and they didn’t have much of a social impact, either.

But this timeline was different.

Rhetoric was one of the Six Basic Heart Techniques, a path of cultivation that could directly grant power. For anyone who wanted to become a scholar, an academic, or an even greater talent, Rhetoric was a required field of study. Moreover, its potential was extremely high and its applications many and varied. It was a broad path to the top, so a great many people cultivated it seriously.

Just look at those old men in the park—they were retired, but they still hadn’t given up on cultivating their Rhetoric, had they?

With a hundred-thousand-point reward on the line, countless people had come to register for the competition. Perhaps experts of the Third Layer Heaven looked down on such a paltry sum, but Shi Tiexin was sure the prize was attractive enough even for figures at the Second Layer.

So, even though the Cultural Affairs Bureau had set up more than a dozen writing tables, you still had to wait in line for your turn to display your talent.

Shi Tiexin stood in line, unable to see what was happening past the wall of people in front of him. But from time to time, he could sense powerful auras flaring up. Those piercing auras of brilliant talent permeated the entire hall. As expected, there was no shortage of experts at the Sharp Qi Realm here.

If he had come to compete right from the start, Shi Tiexin would have been incredibly dejected and anxious, feeling as if the nice pile of cash waving at him was about to be snatched away by someone else.

But now, his heart was perfectly calm.

Practicing calligraphy calms the mind.

The line was long, but Martial Artists were decisive and didn’t dawdle. Before long, it was Shi Tiexin’s turn.

A staff member collected the previous person’s calligraphy, and a fresh sheet of blank paper appeared before Shi Tiexin. He took out the cheap brush he used to make money and pay off his debts, spread his arms, and put the brush to paper.

He was going to write the *Thousand Character Classic*.

Before the brush touched the paper, his mind was filled with countless techniques. The moment it landed, his mind became a vast, empty expanse.

He didn’t know if it was the effect of the +1 to his Feel, but as he officially began to write, Shi Tiexin suddenly forgot every established method of calligraphy. He didn’t know what he was writing, nor did he know what he was thinking. In a hazy trance, an image of the short man from the recent local qualifiers flashed before his eyes. He remembered the man’s final move during his desperate, do-or-die charge.

He had thought the feeling had subsided, but unexpectedly, the raw emotion of that technique still echoed in his heart.