"Whew—"
Chen Zhuo withdrew his stance and walked slowly over to Wang Heng. Looking down at him from above, he asked, "You've lost. Do you want to keep going?"
Wang Heng tried to speak, but no sound came out.
He desperately wanted to refute it, but he had no excuse.
Just then, the spiritual communication jade slip on the floor suddenly rang out.
Wang Heng had evidently triggered the speaker function by accident when he fell, and in an instant, Xiao Yu's clear, resonant voice carried across the entire classroom.
Xiao Yu: "Although your opponent is only at the second layer of Qi Refining, he possesses rich practical combat experience and exceptionally strong battle awareness. It is strongly advised that you concede defeat immediately to avoid further injury and the loss of immortal Dao potential."
Hearing this, Wang Heng flushed crimson in an instant.
The surrounding classmates froze for a moment before bursting into irrepressible laughter.
Even Meng Yan could not help but laugh out loud.
Chen Zhuo was taken aback as well, but then he shook his head, turned around, and walked back to his seat.
He had wanted to throw in a couple of taunts, but held his tongue.
After all, in the entire classroom, only Meng Yan and Liang Ningwan were cultivators with implanted spiritual roots like him. If he provoked public outrage, things would be difficult to resolve.
Besides, there was still a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining in the room.
Chen Zhuo returned to his seat and sat down calmly, as if nothing had happened.
Meng Yan leaned over, thoroughly thrilled. "Brother Chen, you're amazing! How did you pull that off? That's the fourth layer of Qi Refining!"
Chen Zhuo glanced at Wang Heng on the floor and said indifferently, "It was nothing. He was just too weak."
Lying on the floor, Wang Heng heard this and choked on his breath, his eyes rolling back as he nearly fainted from pure rage at that bastard Chen Zhuo.
*Damn it, how can this guy with an implanted root be so wicked?*
"All right, that's enough."
At that moment, the rather frail-looking cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining spoke up to cut in. "It was just a minor squabble. We're all classmates in the 895th class of the Elixir Appraisal major. We need unity. As the class monitor, I'll speak impartially—this matter ends here."
With that, the class monitor turned to Wang Heng and said, "Wang Heng, don't look down on classmates with implanted spiritual roots from now on."
Wang Heng had already climbed to his feet. Keeping his head down, he said nothing, but his clenched fists brought sharp, piercing pain...
It was as if he could hear someone murmuring words like *'Dou Qi, three duan.'*
*Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—do not bully the young and poor!*
Next, the class monitor turned to Chen Zhuo and said, "One can tell at a glance that Student Chen Zhuo's implanted spiritual root is of a very high grade. Everyone can afford to be friendlier toward Student Chen Zhuo in the future."
Hearing the class monitor say this, the others nodded in agreement.
Indeed.
Although layers one through three of Qi Refining were not considered difficult, they typically required around five years to complete.
For Chen Zhuo to reach the second layer of Qi Refining in just three months was proof enough that his immortal Dao potential was immense!
Wang Heng really lacked all discernment!
"Hello, Student Chen! I'm Chen Ye. Fifty thousand years ago, our families were one and the same! Let's add each other on our spiritual slips and expand our friends lists!"
"Student Chen, I'm Zhao Qi. My father is an assistant team leader on the assembly line at Factory No. 1. Could we get acquainted?"
"Student Chen Zhuo! Do you remember me? When Senior Sister Si held that meeting, I was in the adjacent classroom! Could you lend me ten spirit stones?"
"Looking for a CP, hit me up!"
"..."
Everyone suddenly grew lively.
Their clearance levels were insufficient to view Chen Zhuo's spiritual root grade.
Hearing the class monitor's evaluation, they naturally assumed Chen Zhuo's spiritual root grade had to be astonishingly high.
To be implanted with such a high-grade artificial root meant he had immense immortal Dao potential!
They had to make his acquaintance quickly so it would be easier to borrow money later.
Seeing this, Chen Zhuo did not hesitate either, promptly accepting friend requests from all the classmates crowding around him.
Adding friends was fine—what if a chance to borrow money came up in the future?
Naturally, it would not be lending money to them, but borrowing money *from* them!
Although the odds were they would refuse, if even one fool agreed to lend him some, he would come out way ahead.
"What's so great about him?"
Wang Heng nearly ground his teeth to dust. Having suffered a defeat, however, he could only tuck his tail between his legs and slink over to sit on the other side of the room. He muttered to a familiar classmate beside him, "If I hadn't been careless..."
The familiar classmate glanced at Wang Heng, instantly hunched over, picked up his spiritual communication jade slip, and whispered, "Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, give me your most truthful answer: a cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Refining who was just beaten by an implanted root cultivator at the second layer is sitting next to me trying to cozy up. Should I pay any attention to him?"
"Under no circumstances should you engage with him! One glance shows he is clearly here to borrow money! Your spirit stones are extremely valuable, so for the sake of your own future, you must never lend them to him! Unable even to defeat the second layer of Qi Refining, this person is already ruined; he will likely struggle even to graduate! I suggest you interact more with that cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining. Being able to cross realms and defeat a cultivator at the fourth layer indicates he is exceptionally gifted, at least..."
Xiao Yu's voice came through loud and clear, with zero tact or concealment.
The familiar classmate immediately turned to Wang Heng and said haughtily, "You, scram to the back. Don't talk to me. We're not close."
Ties severed.
Hearing this response, Wang Heng nearly fainted again.
"Fine, fine, Zhao Qi, just you wait!"
Wang Heng stood up, seething with rage. "I will definitely be back!"
With that, Wang Heng retreated to the very last row of the classroom and sat down in utter solitude.
*Endurance!*
Watching all of this unfold, Chen Zhuo sank into contemplation.
Why did modern cultivators seem so reliant on Doubao... ah, no, on Xiao Yu?
On second thought, Chen Zhuo felt that Xiao Yu truly was quite formidable.
Although he rarely used it himself—after all, the professional version cost money—the locally deployed version was still somewhat useful.
While inside the Spirit Bead World, Chen Zhuo needed it to help him identify things.
*Once I have more immortal Dao potential, maybe I can purchase a professional version...*
Chen Zhuo thought to himself. That way, he could use Xiao Yu in the Spirit Bead World to identify herbs and other items.
His own knowledge was limited; he certainly could not compare to an immortal intelligence like Xiao Yu.
Even if Xiao Yu was fond of telling little white lies on occasion.
Chen Zhuo exhaled softly.
The nourishing effects of the leopard meat were still ongoing. Combined with his earlier cultivation in the Spirit Bead World, he felt he was not far from reaching the third layer of Qi Refining.
Right then, footsteps sounded at the classroom doorway.
A cultivator dressed in the robes of an academy lecturer walked in. Seeing the chaotic state of the room, he knitted his brows.
"What's going on here?"
A student hurriedly stepped forward to explain.
After listening, the lecturer glanced at Chen Zhuo in surprise, then waved his hand. "All right, hurry up and sit down. Get ready for class."
The students returned to their seats one after another, though their eyes still darted toward Chen Zhuo from time to time.
Chen Zhuo, however, acted as if nothing had happened, opening his notebook to prepare for the lesson.
The major course was far more important!
He was genuinely curious about what a specialized class would be like.
This was an immortal Dao university, after all!
The curriculum was bound to be extraordinary!
Chapter 14