Chapter 30

This is mainly due to his lack of cultivation knowledge. After all, ordinary people might not be able to advance a single level even after cultivating for several months or even years. Someone as tenacious as Mei Hua Shi, who diligently practiced for over twenty years, ended up with about the same result as what he achieved in one night. If this were to be known, his rate of progress would be considered astonishing.

Of course, apart from the effect of the keyboard, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is indeed no ordinary cultivation technique. It takes a unique path, allowing one to level up by taking beatings, with effects far surpassing those of ordinary cultivation methods. This led to Zuan An's misconception that the Primordial Qi Fruits were not very effective.

He continued to draw prizes, and once again drew Primordial Qi Fruits. In the end, he used up 22,200 Anger Points, leaving him with only 69 Anger Points, and drew a total of 16 Primordial Qi Fruits.

"Am I only going to draw this thing from now on?" Zuan An was somewhat disdainful, calculating that it took about 14 draws on average to get one Primordial Qi Fruit.

I wonder if the winning probability is one in ten or one in twenty. If it's the former, my luck must be really bad. If it's the latter, it proves that I have good character.

Hmm, I'm so handsome, it must be the latter.

Zuan An swallowed the Primordial Qi Fruits one by one. He found that it took 3 fruits to fill the fourth array, 5 fruits to fill the fifth array, and 8 fruits to fill the sixth array, using up all the Primordial Qi Fruits.

Zuan An couldn't help but swallow hard. The number of Primordial Qi Fruits needed to fill the arrays seemed to follow the Fibonacci sequence.

As a keyboard warrior, he knew a little about all sorts of highbrow things on the internet, which he could use to boast on forums. He knew that many natural phenomena follow the Fibonacci sequence, such as the arrangement of pine cones, pineapples, leaves, the number of sunflower petals, beehives, dragonfly wings, the golden rectangle, the golden ratio, and logarithmic spirals.

Now, even this golden finger follows the Fibonacci sequence. Could it be that it aligns with the fundamental laws of the universe?

However, Zuan An couldn't be happy at all, because the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence get larger and larger. If it really follows this pattern, the number of Primordial Qi Fruits needed later on would be astronomical.

He suddenly remembered that he had taken a few Bone Washing Pills before. Fortunately, they improved his aptitude; otherwise, he would have needed even more.

It seems that getting beaten is more effective.

Zuan An compared the speed increase from being whipped by the Wailing Whip and the speed increase from eating Primordial Qi Fruits. He felt that getting beaten seemed to improve his speed faster, even when his aptitude was at the lowest level.

In the end, he had to console himself that this thing could steadily increase his level, which wasn't bad. He couldn't always go around asking women to beat him.

He wanted to get a drink of water, but as soon as he picked up the cup, he crushed it. Zuan An blinked, taking a moment to realize that his strength had suddenly increased so much.

He kept experimenting and gradually got used to the changes in his body, figuring out his strength.

When he was at the third rank of the second level, he had the strength of about four ordinary adult men. Now, at the sixth rank of the second level, he had the strength of about twenty adult men.

Zuan An suddenly thought of something and wrote down a series of numbers, looking complicated: It really is the Fibonacci sequence. The sum of the first six numbers is exactly 20.

"What are you doing?" At that moment, a sinister voice came from the doorway.

Zuan An looked up and saw Old Man Mi standing there, his face still as wrinkled as a dried orange peel, and his body so thin that he seemed to be about to be blown away by the wind.

"You're here, sir." Zuan An didn't dare to underestimate him, feeling that this old man was full of mystery and danger.

Why do I feel danger? Is it because he's so ugly?

He certainly didn't dare to say that, even if he wanted to earn Anger Points. He had to consider whether he would be beaten to death.

"Hmm, your strength seems to have improved again." Old Man Mi looked at him with some surprise, wondering how he could have improved so quickly. It seems that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is indeed powerful.

"I got into a few fights today." Zuan An said with a simple, honest expression.

"Hit me with a punch and see." Old Man Mi didn't suspect anything, mainly because he couldn't think of any other way for him to level up.

"This... it's not a good idea." Although Zuan An thought the old man was a master, the frail old man looked like he might break easily. What if he accidentally hurt him?

"Don't worry, hit me with all your strength. You won't hurt me." Old Man Mi said calmly.

"Alright, here it goes." Zuan An thought it over and decided not to worry. He swung a punch at the old man's chest, but he didn't use his full strength, only about a third. As a keyboard warrior, he couldn't reveal all his cards. He had to hide behind the computer screen... no, no, no, surviving until the end is the key.

He also wanted to test a hypothesis.

As expected, Old Man Mi raised his trembling hand and effortlessly blocked the punch. "Not bad, not bad. You're almost at the fourth rank of the third level."

"Really?" Zuan An showed a surprised expression, but in his heart, he thought, as expected, others can't tell your exact level just by looking. Last time, he only determined his level after seeing him punch.

Of course, if someone is much higher in level, they can roughly judge your level.

"With your cultivation speed, becoming a Grandmaster one day is not impossible." Old Man Mi's eyes were full of smiles. He thought Zuan An was a waste, but now he found a good seedling. This would greatly shorten the time until he could possess a body.

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

"Yes." Zuan An looked gloomy, thinking that the private school would be full of relatives from the Chu family's secondary branches. His status as a赘婿 (zhuixu, a man who marries into a family and takes on the family name) would surely bring a lot of trouble, just like in the novels he had read.

He wasn't afraid of trouble now, but he felt it was a waste of time, as he had many things to do.

"When you get to the academy, find a young man named Wei Hongde. No matter what, you must get along with him and become his friend." Old Man Mi said slowly.

"Wei Hongde?" Zuan An was taken aback. "Who is he? Is he your relative? What's the purpose of getting close to him?"

"That's none of your business, and don't reveal my identity to anyone," Old Man Mi's face showed a smile, but it looked somewhat sinister, "I teach you divine techniques and ask you to do this for me. Is that too much to ask?"

"Of course not, I will definitely try my best to get close to him." Zuan An's smile was as sincere as it could be, but he was curious. How could there be someone with a different surname in the Chu family's private school? Could he also be a赘婿 (zhuixu)?

"Rest well then." Old Man Mi patted his shoulder and left, trembling.

After Old Man Mi left, Zuan An went to sleep, thinking about how to get Yu Yanluo's belly band. He racked his brain, but couldn't come up with any ideas. He cursed Doctor Ji and fell asleep.

The next morning, Cheng Shouping came to wake him up and brought him breakfast.

Zuan An suddenly found him more likable, thinking that having a little book boy to serve him wasn't bad.

After breakfast, Zuan An was dragged to school by Cheng Shouping. He had no choice but to go and deal with it, looking for a chance to slip away.

"Hey, why are we leaving the Chu residence?"

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

"Oh~" Zuan An was puzzled. Why did the Mingyue Duke set up the private school so far away?

However, when he saw the magnificent school buildings, he was stunned. The school gate was tall and imposing, with the words "Mingyue Academy" written in a flowing script, each character seeming to emit a sword-like aura. The various school buildings and structures stretched endlessly, giving him the illusion of being back at his university in his previous life, but this place was much larger.

"The Chu family's private school is this big?" Zuan An was bewildered.

"What private school?" Cheng Shouping was also puzzled.

"Isn't Mingyue Academy the private school set up by the Mingyue Duke?" Zuan An realized his understanding might have been off.

"Don't say that, sir. It could bring trouble to our master," Cheng Shouping's face turned pale, and he quickly pulled him aside to explain, "Mingyue Academy is a direct educational institution under the Ministry of Rites, the highest of the Nine Ministers, specifically for training talents for the government..."

After his explanation, Zuan An understood the situation. In this world, from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers down to the village elders and officials, all positions were held by cultivators.

To prevent these positions from being monopolized by aristocratic families, who had a natural advantage in cultivating their descendants, the state vigorously promoted cultivation schools, making education accessible to all, including commoners.

Everyone, whether from noble families or common backgrounds, must obtain a school registration in a county-level cultivation school to be eligible to take the three-level exams: the county exam, the provincial exam, and the imperial exam.

The names were similar to those in his previous life, but the content was entirely different. In his previous life, they tested the Four Books and Five Classics, while in this world, they tested cultivation.

The first-level exam was conducted by the county school in the city, such as Mingyue Academy in Mingyue City. The county school would select a group of outstanding students through exams.

After passing the county school, one could then go to the provincial capital to take the provincial exam, competing with other talented students from the same province. Those who passed the provincial exam would have the qualifications to become officials, though they could only hold low-level positions.

Most would choose to continue to the capital to take the provincial exam, competing with the best from other provinces for membership.

Those who successfully obtained membership would take the imperial exam, personally presided over by the emperor. A good ranking could lead to a meteoric rise. The emperor, the strongest in the world, could give a single piece of advice that would surpass years of hard cultivation.

Of course, these were the paths of the elite, but many more were eliminated at the county school level. These people would either continue to strive or switch to civil service. The officials, being cultivators, were more concerned with cultivation and often delegated mundane administrative tasks to clerks and advisors.

These were often the failures from the county school or those with no cultivation talent, but it was still a good career path.

Chu Zhongtian's arrangement for Zuan An to attend Mingyue Academy clearly intended for him to follow this path. The academy would teach practical subjects like mathematics, law, and regulations, in addition to cultivation.

"Sir, don't just stand there. Let's go in," Cheng Shouping reminded him, "I'll wait for you at the school gate after class."

Zuan An: "..."

Damn, he was an adult, and after finally finishing school in his previous life, he had to go back to school in this world. Was there no justice in the world?