Era of Mist

Chapter 167: Chapter 166: Ordinary Youth Gu Shaoqiu

”Shaoqiu, have you decided on a school?”

”Shaoqiu, are your injuries any better?”

”Brother Shaoqiu, how many days off do you have for the holidays?”

In the family courtyard of the Star Engineering United Group, a shy and harmless-looking young man was taking a slow walk in the garden. He was quite popular; all the adults and children he passed greeted him warmly. His face was still a bit pale from blood loss, but he was generally fine.

He smiled and responded to everyone he met, appearing polite with a touch of youthful awkwardness—the very picture of a boy next door.

The Minor Regional Exam was followed by a holiday, a long break of nearly three months until the school season began. The young man rested at home, taking a walk outside every day, rain or shine. Despite winning second place in the entire district in the exam, in the eyes of his neighbors, he hadn’t changed at all. He showed not a hint of arrogance, still the same shy, bashful, good kid from before.

The neighbors all sang his praises.

Of course, once he returned home, he was a completely different person.

”Young Master, I’ve conducted a thorough investigation. Shi Tiexin’s past life trajectory is completely traceable, and there are no issues.” The voice in the air appeared again. ”If there’s anything noteworthy, it’s that he has befriended Si Chongtian, the legitimate son of the Si Family and one of the Eight Sages of Luming from Luming Academy. But that is only a recent development.”

”An Imperial Scholar is nothing to speak of.” The young man slipped off his shoes as he entered, looking quite at home, but his gaze was indifferent and sharp. ”Have you finished investigating that Situ Zhennan from the Orphanage?”

”The investigation is mostly complete. He has a minor background, but he’s definitely a nobody, not a hidden pawn of some major figure.” The voice stated with certainty. ”That Shi Tiexin is likely just someone with a bit of talent. By the way, he chose the special prize from the calligraphy competition and has already left for the Upper City District today.”

”That makes things easier.” The young man looked as if he had everything under control. ”Control his information sources. When pushing information, news, and reading material to him and those he might come into contact with, lean heavily on tropes like ’poor boy meets a down-and-out master, obtains a divine technique, and rises to become invincible.’ Build up that atmosphere. Boys his age are most susceptible to such fantasies.”

”Yes.”

”Next, have Old Wen make contact with him, but don’t be too hasty.”

”Yes, Young Master.” The voice was full of confidence. ”Since he has already made his choice, he won’t be able to escape your grasp.”

”Go.”

”Your subordinate will see to it at once.”

The voice in the air vanished. The young man sat back down on the sofa, sinking into its comfortable cushions.

’Pretending to be weak is so exhausting... but it’s the only way to exist naturally without anyone paying attention. To find a path to survival from within death’s grasp, silently and without a trace...’

In the empty house, only the young man’s low muttering drifted through the air.

「Meanwhile」 KLANG, KLANG. A monorail traveled from Mu Yuan District toward the Upper City District. Shi Tiexin had ridden this monorail many times before, but his mood this time was completely different.

A little anticipation, a little anxiety, a little excitement.

He was at an age for chasing dreams, so how could he remain too quiet? It was just that before, he lacked the means to chase them. Now, he could look forward to the future.

In terms of money alone, writing name cards was enough to earn him a considerable income within a year. But many things weren’t just about money. Gangs, of course, had their own irreplaceable benefits. For example, the unique martial arts and Secret Techniques of each gang.

On the Minor Regional Exam’s tournament grounds, Shi Tiexin had keenly felt that his basic boxing skills were no longer up to snuff and needed an upgrade. Although there were martial arts that could be bought and sold on the market, the cheap ones were said to be mediocre, while the effective ones were very expensive.

Shi Tiexin didn’t know exactly how expensive they were, as he’d never been to a shop that sold Cultivation Techniques. But he had heard that gangs often had exclusive skills that were not available on the open market.

Besides, becoming a gang member also provided a good income. Writing name cards was a hot business for now, but what about when the trend cooled down? He still needed to eat and have a place to live. Not to mention, the tuition for Tumu First Orthodox School, where he was heading, was probably not cheap. He needed a long-term, stable source of income.

And just how good the benefits of a gang were depended on how good the gang itself was.

He felt the letter of introduction in his pocket. A special prize officially issued by the Cultural Affairs Department shouldn’t be too shabby.

’A top-tier gang in the city... I wonder what they do? I’m actually a little excited!’

As his mind wandered, Shi Tiexin thought back to the Minor Regional Exam a few days ago.

After repeated use, his Chamber Detonation technique had reached the ’Good’ realm, but he really couldn’t use that move casually. Getting slapped around by those things had left his shoulder looking like it had been cupped—a mess of purple bruises. Still, his recovery rate was up by a quarter. Even though his shoulder looked terrible, it didn’t hurt as much as it did at first.

The final rankings for the Minor Regional Exam’s golden list were set: first place, Shi Tiexin; third place, a kid named Gong Tengfei.

Gong Tengfei had basically won by just lying there. He’d been beaten so badly by the second-place winner that he couldn’t even stand up after leaving the secret realm; he could only lie down. However, because He Chong had been beaten so badly he could barely even lie down, Gong Tengfei won by default, snagging the third-place Celestial Golden Light for free.

The second-place winner, the guy who felt strangely familiar to Shi Tiexin, was listed on the golden list under the name—Gu Shaoqiu.

Gu Shaoqiu?

For some reason, that name also seemed a bit familiar. Whenever he heard it, a face he felt like he’d seen before but hadn’t paid much attention to would flash through his mind.

’Maybe I met someone similar in another worldline. It’s no big deal, just something to keep a casual eye on.’

The most important thing to focus on was the Celestial Golden Light!

So, how much Celestial Golden Light did Shi Tiexin get for winning the championship title of the Mu Yuan District’s Minor Regional Exam? The answer would shock you—a whole sixty points!

Huh?

That number... doesn’t it feel a little underwhelming? It’s not a small amount, by any means, but for first place, it doesn’t seem like quite enough.

Consider Fengming First Middle School, where getting first in the whole school earned forty-five points. This was fifteen more than that. But that time, the points were split among four people, whereas this time it was only three, and Shi Tiexin should have gotten the lion’s share. Besides, that was just a regular test. This was the Minor Regional Exam, which had the same status as the high school entrance exams in that other worldline.

The Champion Scholar of a district’s high school entrance exam only gets sixty points of Celestial Golden Light?

Compared to the other worldline, it felt like the amount of Light for winning the Minor Regional Exam was a bit lacking.

Shi Tiexin mulled it over and figured there were two possible reasons.

First, while the students at Fengming First Middle School didn’t have cultivation bases, the school’s standing in the Nanzhili high school education system was undeniable.

The absolute standard of the students was incomparable due to the differences between worldlines, but in relative terms, Mu Yuan District was just one of nine districts in a small Space City of eight million people, and one with a relatively low level of education at that.

Nanzhili, on the other hand, was a prosperous and wealthy region within the entire Donghua Country, with a population of over three hundred million. The students at Fengming First Middle School were all top contenders selected from the high school entrance exams across this population of three hundred million—the true cream of the crop.

Therefore, the exams at Fengming First Middle School awarded more Celestial Golden Light.