Chapter 29: Is There Any Justice Left

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Volume One: First Steps into Another World

This was mainly because he lacked common cultivation knowledge. Ordinary people might train for months or even years without advancing a single rank. Even tenacious individuals like Plum Blossom Twelve, who had diligently practiced for over twenty years, achieved results comparable to his one night's progress. If word got out, his speed of advancement would be truly astonishing.

Aside from the keyboard's influence, the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture was indeed extraordinary. It took an unconventional approach, allowing one to upgrade by taking hits, and its effects far surpassed those of typical cultivation techniques. This led Zu An to mistakenly believe that the Vitality Fruits weren't very effective.

He then continued with the lottery draws, again winning Vitality Fruits. In the end, he used up 22,200 Rage points, leaving only 69. He had drawn a total of 16 Vitality Fruits.

"Will I only be drawing these things from now on?" Zu An muttered, a hint of disdain in his voice. He calculated that, on average, he got one Vitality Fruit every 14 draws.

He wondered if the winning probability was one-tenth or one-twentieth. If it was the former, his luck was too terrible; if it was the latter, it meant he had decent luck.

"Well, since I'm so handsome, it must be the latter."

Zu An swallowed the Vitality Fruits one by one. He found that filling the fourth array required 3 fruits; the fifth array, 5 fruits; and the sixth array, 8 fruits. This perfectly used up all the Vitality Fruits he had.

Zu An couldn't help but swallow. The number of Vitality Fruits needed to fill each array… could this pattern be the Fibonacci sequence?

As a 'keyboard warrior,' he had a superficial knowledge of various sophisticated concepts online, just enough to brag about on forums. He knew that many natural organisms exhibited traces of the Fibonacci sequence, such as the arrangement of pine cones, pineapples, and leaves, the number of sunflower petals, honeycombs, dragonfly wings, the golden rectangle, golden ratio, and equiangular spirals.

Now, even this 'cheat' ability followed the Fibonacci sequence. Could it be that all these things secretly conformed to the fundamental laws of the universe?

However, Zu An couldn't feel happy at all. This was because in the Fibonacci sequence, the numbers grew larger and larger further along. If it truly followed this pattern, the number of Vitality Fruits needed later on would likely be astronomical.

He suddenly remembered that he had also taken several Marrow Cleansing Pills earlier, which fortunately improved his aptitude. Otherwise, he would probably need even more fruits.

From this perspective, getting beaten up seemed more effective.

Zu An compared the speed of his advancement when he was previously whipped by the Lamenting Lash to the speed gained from eating Vitality Fruits. He generally felt that getting beaten improved him faster, even when his aptitude was still at the lowest D-grade.

Ultimately, he could only console himself that a stable increase in cultivation was good enough. After all, he couldn't keep asking women to beat him up every time.

He wanted to pour himself a glass of water, but as soon as he reached for the teacup, he crushed it in his hand. Zu An blinked, taking a moment to fully comprehend. How had his strength suddenly increased so much?

He then continued to experiment, slowly getting used to his body's changes and roughly understanding his strength.

Previously, at Rank 2, Stage 3, he possessed strength roughly equivalent to 4 ordinary adult men. Now, at the peak of Rank 2, Stage 6, his strength was equivalent to 20 adult men.

Zu An suddenly thought of something. He took out paper and pen and listed a sequence of numbers, his expression turning complex at the end: "It really is the Fibonacci sequence! The sum of the first six numbers is exactly 20."

"What are you doing?" Just then, a sinister voice came from the doorway.

Zu An looked up and saw Old Man Mi standing there. His face was still as wrinkled as a shriveled orange peel, and his entire body seemed so frail that he looked like he could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"You're here, elder," Zu An said, yet he dared not underestimate the old man in the slightest. He always felt this old man was full of mystery and danger.

*Huh, why do I feel a sense of danger? Is it because he's too ugly?*

Of course, he dared not voice such thoughts. Even if he wanted to earn Rage points, he had to consider the risk of being beaten to death.

"Oh, your strength seems to have increased again," Old Man Mi said, staring at him with a mix of surprise and uncertainty. He had improved so quickly again? It seemed the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" was truly formidable.

"I got into a few more fights when I went out today," Zu An replied with a guileless expression.

"Try punching me," Old Man Mi said. He wasn't suspicious; he simply couldn't conceive of any other way Zu An could have upgraded.

"This... isn't a good idea," Zu An hesitated. Although he believed the other party was a master, this frail-looking old man seemed so weak. What if he accidentally caused a problem?

"Don't worry, just hit me with all your might. You can't hurt me yet," Old Man Mi said calmly.

"Alright, I'll hit you then." Zu An thought, *What am I worrying about?* So he threw a punch at the old man's chest.

However, he didn't use his full strength, only about a third of it. As a 'keyboard warrior,' how could he reveal all his trump cards? Hiding behind a computer screen... *Pah, pah, pah!* Surviving to the end was the true path to victory.

Moreover, he wanted to use this opportunity to verify a conjecture.

As expected, Old Man Mi tremblingly raised his hand and effortlessly blocked the punch. "Not bad, not bad. You're almost at the peak of Rank 3, Stage 4."

"Really?" Zu An showed a surprised expression, but secretly thought, *Just as I suspected.* It's difficult for others to tell your exact rank just by looking. Both this time and last time, he only determined my stage after seeing me throw a punch.

Of course, if someone's rank was much higher than yours, roughly judging your grade by observation wouldn't be a big problem.

"With your cultivation speed, it's not impossible for you to reach the Grandmaster realm someday," Old Man Mi said, his eyes full of smiles. He had initially thought Zu An was useless, but unexpectedly, he had found a good prospect. This also greatly shortened the time until he could seize control of Zu An's body.

After laughing for a while, Old Man Mi continued, "Oh, by the way, I heard you're going to Brightmoon Academy tomorrow."

"Yes," Zu An replied, looking glum. There would undoubtedly be many relatives from the Chu family's side branches at the private school. His status as a live-in son-in-law was sure to attract a lot of trouble, just like in the novels he used to read.

Now, he wasn't afraid of trouble, but rather felt it would be a waste of time. After all, he still had many things to do.

"Then, once you arrive at the academy, find a young man named Wei Hongde. No matter what method you use, you must build a good relationship with him, ideally becoming his friend," Old Man Mi said slowly.

"Wei Hongde?" Zu An was startled. "Who's that? A relative of yours? Is there a purpose to getting close to him?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with that, and don't reveal my identity to anyone," Old Man Mi said, a smile appearing on his face, though his appearance made it seem somewhat sinister. "I've taught you a divine martial arts manual; asking you to do this for me isn't too much, is it?"

"Of course not too much. I'll definitely try my best to get close to him," Zu An replied with a smile as sincere as could be, yet curious in his heart: *Why would there be someone with a different surname at the Chu family's private school? Could he also be a live-in son-in-law, just like me?*

"Then you should get some good rest," Old Man Mi said, patting his shoulder before shakily departing.

After seeing Old Man Mi off, Zu An lay down and began to ponder how he could acquire Yu Yanluo's bellyband. Unfortunately, he racked his brain until he felt bald in spots, yet still couldn't come up with a solution. Amidst a string of curses directed at Divine Physician Ji, he drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Cheng Shoubing came to wake him up and also brought him breakfast.

Zu An immediately found him much more agreeable, thinking that having such a young attendant waiting on him hand and foot didn't seem so bad.

After breakfast, Zu An was practically dragged to school by Cheng Shoubing. There was no helping it; he'd just go along for now and find a chance to slip away later.

"Huh, why are we leaving the Chu manor?"

"Brightmoon Academy is in the east of the city."

"Oh," Zu An said, somewhat puzzled. Why would Duke Brightmoon arrange his family's private school so far away?

However, when he saw the magnificent school buildings before him, he was instantly stunned. The academy's main gate was tall and imposing, with the characters 'Brightmoon Academy' written in elegant, flowing script. Each character seemed to exude a sword-like aura. Looking around, various dormitories and buildings stretched on endlessly, as far as the eye could see. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to his university in his previous life, yet everything before him was far larger than any campus he had ever known.

"The Chu family's private school is this big?" Zu An asked, utterly bewildered.

"What private school?" Cheng Shoubing looked equally confused.

"Isn't Brightmoon Academy the private school opened by Duke Brightmoon?" Zu An realized his previous understanding might have been mistaken.

"Young Master, you mustn't speak so carelessly; it could bring disaster upon our master," Cheng Shoubing said, his face paling as he hastily pulled Zu An aside to explain. "Brightmoon Academy is a direct educational institution under the Grand Minister, the head of the Nine Ministers of the imperial court. It's specifically for cultivating talent for the imperial court..."

After his explanation, Zu An largely understood the situation. It turned out that in this world, all officials, from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers down to village-level elders and wardens, were cultivators.

To prevent official positions from being monopolized by aristocratic families—who naturally had an advantage in cultivating their descendants—the state heavily promoted cultivation schools. These schools were open to all, regardless of background, meaning commoners could also attend.

Everyone, whether noble or commoner, had to gain student status at a county-level cultivation school to be eligible to participate in the three-tiered unified examinations: the Provincial Examination, the Metropolitan Examination, and the Palace Examination.

The names were similar to ancient China in Zu An's previous life, but the subjects tested were entirely different. In his previous life, it was the Four Books and Five Classics; in this world, it was cultivation.

The first level of assessment was conducted by the county academy in one's city. For example, Brightmoon Academy served as Brightmoon City's county academy. The county academy would select a group of excellent students through a selective examination.

Only after passing the county academy could one qualify to go to the prefectural capital and participate in the Provincial Examination, competing with other talented students from various counties and prefectures within the province. Cultivators who passed the Provincial Examination gained the qualification to become officials, though this level typically only allowed them to hold low-ranking minor posts.

Therefore, most would still choose to continue to the capital to take the Metropolitan Examination, competing with other prodigies selected from various prefectures for membership spots.

Those who successfully obtained membership spots would then participate in the Palace Examination, personally presided over by the Emperor. Achieving a good rank there was akin to skyrocketing to success. Furthermore, the Emperor was the strongest person in this world, and a single word of guidance from him could be worth years of arduous cultivation.

Of course, these were the life trajectories of chosen prodigies. However, many more people were eliminated at the county academy stage. These individuals either continued to strive for advancement or transitioned into civilian roles. Officials at various levels were cultivators, primarily concerned with cultivation matters. They were often too disinclined to personally handle many mundane governmental affairs, so they would recruit subordinates and advisors to assist.

These were often individuals who failed at the county academy or had little talent for cultivation, but it still offered a good career path.

Chu Zhongtian's arrangement for Zu An to come to Brightmoon Academy clearly indicated his intention for Zu An to take this path. Besides cultivation, the academy also taught practical subjects like economics, arithmetic, and legal statutes.

"Young Master, don't just stand there, hurry in," Cheng Shoubing reminded him. "I'll wait for you at the school gate after class."

Zu An: "..."

*Damn it,* he thought. He was already so old! In his previous life, he had finally finished school, and now in this world, he had to go to school again? Was there any justice left?

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