Era of Mist

Chapter 237 -236: A Casual Race During a Study Break

His grades in four subjects quickly improved from failing to passing, and then from passing to good. Just as he was halfway through the “Good” rating for all of them, the powerful roar of an engine suddenly erupted from outside the classroom.

“Hm?” Sakuragi Kenji turned his head. He could instantly tell from the sound. “That’s a nice bike!”

“Of course it’s a nice bike.” Shi Tiexin grinned and stood up. “Come on, let’s go take a look.”

Outside the classroom, on the school’s athletic field, a pitch-black, imposing, heavy motorcycle was being unloaded from a large truck.

“Boss, look! The bike’s fixed!” Guobing waved cheerfully in their direction, a trademark goofy grin on his face.

“Excellent!” Shi Tiexin gazed happily at his motorcycle. It had been a while. Seeing it again stirred a nostalgic thrill in his heart. He put it in neutral and revved the throttle. ROAR! ROAR! The eight exhaust pipes spat flames, the sound absolutely earth-shattering as it echoed across the deserted campus.

‘That’s the stuff! My baby’s back!’

“Tell Ah Fei to start arranging races again.” Shi Tiexin stroked his old partner. “Set up matches with the top-ranked racers. I’m going to challenge my way up the ladder, all the way to Fujiwara Jizhen.”

Sakuragi Kenji stood to the side, his expression complicated. “You want to become the Car God?”

“No,” Shi Tiexin said decisively. “I’ll only be the Black Venerable.”

‘Not the Car God, only the Black Venerable?’

Sakuragi Kenji’s expression grew even more complex, a distant, reminiscent look in his eyes.

“What about your studies…?”

“I’ll just have to take some time off when needed.” Studying was important, but so was the Celestial Golden Light.

Sakuragi Kenji figured this was probably the end of Shi Tiexin’s academic journey. ‘Once a guy gets a taste for something like street racing, his concentration flies right out the window, and there’s no calling it back.’

‘Perfect. Now I can just take the money and be done with it.’

But Sakuragi Kenji wasn’t happy. Instead, he felt a sense of loss, of pity…

The Black Venerable had returned, and the races were on again. With the restoration of the Harley, the streets were buzzing once more. In the street scene, those who controlled vast power were called kingpins, while those with superb racing skills were called experts. There was usually a clear line between the experts and the kingpins, because once someone became a kingpin, very few would continue to risk their lives on a track where life and death were decided in a split second.

Everyone thought the Black Venerable would be the same.

But reality proved to everyone that the Black Venerable was different.

The next day, at 7:55 PM, Shi Tiexin neatly finished the workbook he was on and calmly handed it to Sakuragi Kenji.

“Could you please grade this?” Shi Tiexin said as he stood up.

“Off to a race?” Sakuragi Kenji looked at Shi Tiexin. “Why don’t we just call it a day? You can come back tomorrow.”

“No need. Wait here, don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back; it won’t take long.” With that, Shi Tiexin strode out the door. A moment later, the deafening sound of an engine thundered across campus, rapidly fading into the distance.

Listening to the fading roar, Sakuragi Kenji began flipping through the workbook.

‘Excellent, as always.’

No, judging by the quality of this workbook, he was even better than before. To complete such difficult problems to such a high standard in so little time… his progress was remarkable. Moreover, his handwriting was neat and meticulous; the few mistakes he made weren’t from carelessness.

Even when he encountered a new concept he didn’t understand, he would clearly write out the parts he did know. The moment you opened the workbook, you were hit with the unmistakable aura of a top student.

‘If you’re this good at studying, what are you doing street racing for?’

‘Is street racing really something a top student should be doing?!’

Sakuragi Kenji shook his head, feeling that this top student was seriously neglecting his true calling.

‘Then again, I can’t say I don’t understand. In times like these, being a good student isn’t necessarily as useful as being a good fighter.’ Looking at the workbook in his hands, Sakuragi Kenji felt a growing sense of pity for Shi Tiexin. ‘In a time of peace, a perfect student like him would have a brilliant future. *Sigh*, damn this era!’

His mind was a swirl of emotions as he unhurriedly graded the exercises, already thinking about the next day’s lesson. Even though Shi Tiexin was from the Eastern Realm—theoretically, an “enemy nation”—he couldn’t help but admire the young man’s ability and character. ‘He always keeps his promises,’ he thought. ‘So if I promised to teach him well, I must do just that.’

He hadn’t been thinking for long when the earth-shaking VRMM VRMM VRMM of an engine grew from a distant roar to a thundering presence, speeding onto campus.

“Hm?”

THUD, THUD, THUD. Amidst the heavy, vigorous, and distinctive sound of footsteps, Shi Tiexin pushed the door open and re-entered the classroom.

Sakuragi Kenji asked, confused, “Did you forget something?”

“Nope.” Shi Tiexin took off his sunglasses, sat back down at his desk with an imposing air, and said casually, “Race is over.”

“Over?!” Sakuragi Kenji stared blankly at the wall clock. He had been gone for less than twenty minutes, barely longer than a recess break.

That was hardly enough time to run to the local convenience store and back.

And now this big lug was telling him an entire street race was already over?

‘He looks so calm and collected, there’s no way!’

“That fast?”

“It was nothing. My opponent was just too weak.” Shi Tiexin picked up his pen, a look of faux humility on his face. “Anyway, Teacher Sakuragi, can we move on to something more advanced? The current material is too simple.”

His Basic Mathematics, Second Layer, had already reached a rating of Excellent 86. The Profound Realm was just within reach. With the boost from his strengthened Mind Force, his learning speed had indeed increased significantly.

「The next day.」

8:25 PM.

“Teacher Banze, I need to step out for a moment.”

「The day after that.」

8:12 PM.

“Teacher Dazheng, I’m going to go stretch my legs. By the way, we’ll need to adjust the lesson plan. It’s too slow for me again.”

「And the day after that.」

7:22 PM.

“Teacher Sakuragi, I—”

“Go on, go on! Quick trip!”

Shi Tiexin nodded and left with a THUD, THUD, THUD of his boots.

This time, however, Sakuragi Kenji didn’t just wait. The chatter among the teachers over the past few days, combined with the legends spreading from the streets, had been bombarding him from all sides. His curiosity was at an all-time high, and Sakuragi Kenji decided that today, he would see for himself.

He secretly followed Shi Tiexin, jogging as he strapped on a helmet. Glancing around furtively, he wheeled a heavy motorcycle out from a hiding spot. Sakuragi Kenji swung a leg over the bike, stroking its frame with a familiar, nostalgic touch, then twisted the throttle and shot off.

‘Today, I’m going to see for myself what’s really going on!’

‘Going out and winning one impossible fight after another during his study breaks, day after day… He’s like one of those heroes from the epics, slaying a mighty general before his wine has a chance to cool. It’s terrifying!’

VROOOM! Sakuragi Kenji sped along, determined to tail Shi Tiexin closely. But he quickly discovered he couldn’t even keep up, and in the blink of an eye, he was left completely in the dust.

Fortunately, he already knew the location of the race. As a veteran racer himself, he had a web of connections in the street scene; getting that little piece of intel was as easy as asking.

The only thing he couldn’t bring himself to believe were the exaggerated descriptions from his informants.