paranoianovel Chapter 53 Divine Sense
Chapter 53 Divine Sense
"Yes, Qingshan Martial Arts Academy and our academy have a competition every year, usually in December. Ten students from each grade, from first to third year, will participate, and points will be awarded based on the number of matches they win."
"Those with higher scores can get a larger share of the Qinbei Prefecture education budget in the next year, not only in silver, but also in terms of cultivation techniques, resources, weapons, and teachers."
As he spoke, Xu Ruian sighed, "Our academy has lost for three years in a row. If we don't turn this situation around, not only will the headmaster be held accountable by the Ministry of Rites, but we teachers will also have a hard time."
"I'm telling you all this so you have a clear idea of what's going on. With your abilities, you'll definitely be selected for the final round if nothing unexpected happens. Now that we're at the cafeteria, let me treat you to breakfast first."
Lu Lin paused, "Um, I, I've already eaten."
"Eat your fill my ass! I've been your age before, you little brat, trying to eat me to death! And you're putting on an act with me? Eat! Today you're going to eat your fill and show me what a big eater you are."
Xu Ruian's words left no room for argument, and Lu Lin could only nod in agreement.
Steamed buns were served one basket at a time, noodles were brought out one bowl at a time, and Lu Lin accepted all the monster meat soup offered to him.
Xu Ruian initially appeared calm and collected, letting Lu Lin eat as much as he wanted.
But as he ate, Xu Ruian realized something was wrong.
Finally, after Lu Lin patted his stomach and let out a burp, Xu Ruian said in a low voice with heartache, "Lu Lin, do you know how much you ate? A full three hundred small doses!"
"Hiccup, three hundred small merits?" Lu Lin knew he had eaten a lot, but he didn't expect to have eaten this much.
Three hundred small merits are equivalent to half a month's income for an ordinary student. Even though Lu Lin is the class monitor, it would still be painful for him to spend the money on one meal.
"Alright, I'd better transfer the small favor I owe you to you as soon as possible, otherwise I'm afraid you'll bankrupt me."
Xu Ruian took out his Master's Token and gave Lu Lin 34,500 minor merits.
Selling monster meat to the academy will fetch a lower price than outside. If Lu Lin's twenty-three rams were sold on the black market in Jinshan Prefecture, he could easily earn at least forty thousand taels of silver.
But Lu Lin would have to carry it himself. Not to mention, if Lu Lin entered the fog zone without permission from the academy, the government, or the city guards, his fate would be extremely grim.
When I arrived at the classroom, almost all the students had arrived.
When Lu Lin entered, the classroom was silent for a moment, then erupted in chaos.
"Class monitor, you're amazing! You single-handedly took down the top students from classes 13, 14, and 15."
"I came back late yesterday, otherwise I would have gone to cheer for the squad leader even if a knife was held to my throat."
"You didn't see it, class monitor. My rival was assigned to Class 14. When he came out of the dormitory this morning, he had to lower his head when he saw me. Their class monitor is Li Wansong."
Fang Heng looked at Lu Lin meaningfully.
He knew Li Wansong, who was an opponent of similar caliber to him, yet he and a few others were easily defeated by Lu Lin.
He knew Lu Xishan even better; Lu Xishan's strength was enough to consistently rank in the top ten, or even the top five, among this year's freshmen, yet he was still defeated by Lu Lin in just two moves.
It seems that without many older brothers by her side these past few years, she has become a bit arrogant.
Then let's start extra training today!
Lu Mo rushed up and gave Lu Lin a bear hug. "Big brother, you're amazing, you're strong, you're simply my idol. Big brother, I'm not exaggerating, the only thing I can do for you from now on is to take care of your breakfast, lunch and dinner."
Lu Lin looked at him. "Are you sure?"
Lu Mo was taken aback by the question, a bad feeling rising in his heart. "Are you sure, brother? Do you have a huge appetite?"
"Hehe," Lu Lin patted his shoulder and walked to his seat, "I ate a breakfast of 300 small coins this morning."
"ah?!"
Lu Mo's eyes widened, bigger than a bull's. "Three hundred? A small merit!"
Of all these people, only Chen Hongzhi and Chen Hongming didn't understand what had happened. The brothers lived in a two-person room, which was conveniently not next to any of the other students.
I went to bed early after I got home last night and had no idea what had happened.
Lu Lin said a few words to them briefly, and Chen Hongzhi gave him a thumbs up in admiration.
A moment later, Xu Ruian came in.
"Class, before we begin class, I have something to tell you."
Xu Ruian told everyone that they would be fighting against Qingshan Martial Arts Academy at the end of the year. Each class would nominate three people for three months of intensive training, and then the best of the best would be selected to determine the final ten spots.
However, the students were not very enthusiastic about signing up.
With four experts—Lu Lin, Fang Heng, Lü Mo, and Jiang Yao—they didn't even dare to hope for this opportunity.
"Students who join the special training program can earn an extra..." Xu Rui'an paused, his gaze sweeping across the classroom, "...one hundred to five hundred minor merits each day."
"What?! Even if you only get 100 small merits a day, that's still 3,000 small merits a month!"
"So many? Does that mean I can finally have the freedom to eat any kind of monster meat?"
"Haha, if I had that many merits, I would make the class monitor my underling and give him ninety-nine merits a day."
Xu Ruian smiled as he saw the atmosphere become lively.
Education is all about motivating students.
Even though the headmaster, Li Songtao, hadn't told him how many small rewards he would give to the students every day, once he said it out loud, as long as more people believed it, the headmaster could only reluctantly accept it.
Now that we've finished discussing the important matters, let's begin the lesson.
The academy's cultural courses are divided into seven subjects: court affairs, military affairs, economics, people's livelihood, martial arts, literature, and art.
These seven courses are all core courses. Even the seemingly insignificant literature and art are courses that Xu Ruian repeatedly emphasizes and requires students to pay attention to.
"Don't underestimate literature and art. The Great Liang Dynasty has been established for a thousand years. There is a huge gap between the proportion of students from our Mozhu Academy and Qingshan Martial Academy who have advanced to the Five Organs level."
"Thirteen to six means that our Mozhu Academy will advance thirteen times to the Five Organs level, while Qingshan Martial Academy can only advance six times."
"This is statistical data from across the country. It varies slightly across the fifteen prefectures. In Qinbei Prefecture, it's alright, with a ratio of 11 to 8, but in some prefectures, it might reach 20 to 5 or 20 to 6."
"Why is this the case? Students from the academy who study literature have such a high chance of being promoted compared to students from the martial arts academy who focus on martial arts training."
When it came to the key points, all the students listened intently, afraid of missing a single word.
"Because of God!"
"It is neither a god nor a myth, but a divine thought!"
"Experience life more, pay attention to every blade of grass, every flower."
Gain experience in government service, understand each case, and get to know each family.
By communicating with ancient masters through books, cultivating one's character through music, calligraphy, and painting, harmonizing with mountains and rivers, and experiencing the changing seasons, one can gradually develop spiritual awareness.
"And divine sense is the key to entering the Five Organs level."
"The Divine Stones you seek are nothing more than disposable items."
"But literature and art, life experiences and insights, are your own things that you can use for a lifetime."