Chapter 1

In a dormitory of about twenty to thirty square meters, two beds were placed against the walls on either side. Apart from the beds, the room was sparsely furnished, with two storage cabinets and two desks. At the back of the dormitory was a bathroom.

In the September weather, the autumn sun was still scorching. Sunlight penetrated the glass window, illuminating a young man sitting against the head of the bed, his forehead covered in sweat. The young man, oblivious to his sweating, stared intently at his outstretched hands.

Those hands were fair and slender, with nothing particularly unique about them. The young man stared straight at them for a few minutes before gritting his teeth and calling out, "Record of Destiny."

Suddenly, a jade scroll appeared in his empty palm.

He then said, "Store," and the translucent and lively jade scroll vanished into thin air.

"Wen Chang Seal."

The young man called out again, and a magnificent seal appeared in his right hand. The seal was exquisitely crafted, looking like fine jade but far more lustrous and transparent. Touching it felt warm and comfortable, like human skin.

After saying "Store," the Wen Chang Seal also disappeared.

"Is this really true? It's too incredible, too incredible."

Confirming that it was real, the young man clenched his fist in excitement, his eyes filled with agitation, unable to express his emotions.

The young man's name was Huang Jingyao, 24 years old, and he had been a Chinese teacher for the second year at Ancheng No. 1 High School. However, that was his former job now.

After graduating from Ancheng Normal University and passing the unified teacher recruitment exam in Ancheng, he entered the city's No. 1 High School with excellent results. However, after one year, at the start of the new semester, he offended a senior middle school teacher and was subsequently subjected to various forms of pressure.

The offense was not complicated. In the large office, everyone worked together. Once, a student who had committed a mistake knelt before the senior teacher, He Peijun, and cried, begging him not to inform the parents. He Peijun helped the student up but coldly refused. The student knelt again, and his cries were heart-wrenching. Unable to bear it, Huang Jingyao interceded, knowing from the conversation that the student's offense was not serious—just smoking in the toilet.

The student's repeated kneeling and heart-wrenching cries were only to avoid informing the parents. Huang Jingyao spoke up, and He Peijun, feeling embarrassed and angry, pointed at him and shouted, "What are you?" Huang Jingyao was stunned and tried to explain, but He Peijun continued to curse him. After being cursed a few times, Huang Jingyao, unable to tolerate the insults, punched He Peijun.

This created a deep grudge.

From then on, he faced pressure from multiple directions, mainly from the grade head. He was assigned all the dirty and tiring tasks, and whenever a teacher in the entire grade took leave, he was personally designated by the grade head to substitute.

A class lasted 45 minutes, and a class's Chinese lessons plus three morning study sessions totaled ten periods a week. Huang Jingyao, responsible for two classes, had twenty periods a week. How many classes were there in the entire grade? Over thirty in the second year, with more than ten Chinese teachers. Regardless of who took leave, he was always the one assigned to substitute. Some teachers even took turns or collectively took leave to ensure he had to substitute.

After a week, Huang Jingyao had lost over ten pounds. Originally 175 cm tall and weighing around 70 kg, his standard build became thin.

This was not all. In the large office, He Peijun repeatedly humiliated him, and others around him added their own sarcastic and strange remarks, assigning him various tasks. After Huang Jingyao lost a lot of weight, he fell seriously ill. When he asked the grade head for leave, it was denied.

Huang Jingyao erupted on the spot, shouting, "I quit!" and successfully "resigned," which was the smoothest resignation process.

So, he was no longer a teacher at No. 1 High School.

Faced with such a situation, he didn't know how to vent. During his illness, he ignored his health and went to a nearby small restaurant, ordering two stir-fried dishes and a whole bottle of Niu Lan Shan Erguotou, drinking until he was drunk. He didn't remember how he got back to the dormitory, as he had blacked out.

When he woke up today, he couldn't remember anything else, but a series of thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind.

The thoughts were like someone speaking in his heart, clear and understandable. Once he understood, he realized he seemed to possess some extremely incredible abilities.

His left hand could summon a jade scroll called the Record of Destiny, and his right hand could summon a seal called the Wen Chang Seal.

The Record of Destiny controlled the writings of all scholars in the world.

The Wen Chang Seal controlled the fortunes of all examination officials.

Even if Huang Jingyao didn't fully understand the significance, just having these items appear and disappear at his command was enough to shock him.

He suspected he was dreaming or hallucinating, which is why he pinched his thigh multiple times, causing pain. Due to these changes, he had forgotten that he was still seriously ill and had drunk a liter of Erguotou the night before, yet he felt no signs of illness or hangover.

"One hand controls the writings of scholars, the other controls the fortunes of examination officials? I don't fully understand the former, but the latter seems more comprehensible. Where did these things come from? What happened last night?"

In his excitement and confusion, Huang Jingyao remembered that he had been drinking alone, and his consciousness had become increasingly blurred. When he woke up, he was on the bed in the dormitory.

He patted his head, still unable to recall anything. Huang Jingyao then went to his desk and opened his laptop, trying to input "Record of Destiny" and "Wen Chang Seal" but got no results. However, when he typed "Wen Chang," he found information about the Wen Chang Emperor, a deity revered by the Han people and Taoism, who controlled the fortunes of scholars.

After reading more about the Wen Chang Emperor and his subordinates, Tian Long and Di Ya, Huang Jingyao's mind was blown.

He was dazed for a long time before regaining his senses, his expression constantly changing. If he had found such information before, he would have ignored it, but after the changes in his hands, he was at a loss.

"Click~"

After being dazed for a long time, when the dormitory door was opened from the outside, another young teacher in his twenties stepped in, accompanied by a strange laugh, Huang Jingyao suddenly woke up.

"Xiao Huang, are you feeling better? Young people have good health; a good sleep and you're all better."

When Huang Jingyao looked up, he saw a young man with a square face, wearing a white shirt, gray trousers, and black-rimmed glasses. The man spoke, but his eyes behind the glasses carried a mocking tone.

"Teacher Li, how did I get back last night?" The young man was Huang Jingyao's roommate, also a teacher for the second year, but he had entered No. 1 High School earlier. His name was Li Hui. Before Li Hui could answer, Huang Jingyao's body trembled, and a flash of shock appeared in his eyes.

A thought appeared in his mind again.

"Can check learning talent. Do you want to check?"

The thought was like a baby's babble, which Huang Jingyao had heard before but forgotten due to the shock. Now, it startled him again, "Who are you?"

No one answered, and the same thought appeared in his mind, asking if he wanted to check Li Hui's learning talent.

Huang Jingyao was speechless. Just as he was about to say something, Li Hui laughed, "How did you get back? You were in a daze when you came back, and you didn't respond when I called you. You just lay down and fell asleep. You're lucky; I got up at six this morning, and you slept until 11."

Li Hui was an English teacher and had morning study sessions. He and Huang Jingyao usually got up at the same time, but now his words carried a strong sarcastic tone, especially since Huang Jingyao was no longer a teacher at No. 1 High School.

Ancheng was a prefecture-level city in Donghua Province, home to Ancheng Normal University, a second-tier institution with a good reputation in the province. However, the most famous school in Ancheng was No. 1 High School.

No. 1 High School was a provincial model high school, one of the top high schools in the province, with a great reputation, high status, and good benefits. The annual public high school teacher recruitment exam was already very competitive, with countless teacher candidates vying to pass this narrow bridge, and the competition was no less intense than the civil service exam. No. 1 High School in Ancheng was even more important, with countless candidates vying to join.

However, very few could actually pass the exam. Huang Jingyao had excelled in his studies at Ancheng Normal University and passed the recruitment exam with solid skills. Li Hui, who was older, had entered the school through connections a few years earlier and had not yet obtained a fiscal quota in Ancheng, making him part of the "career quota army" among teachers.

Li Hui usually carried a sense of seniority and mixed feelings of envy and resentment towards Huang Jingyao. Their personalities were very different, and even after living together for over a year, their relationship was not good.

Despite Li Hui's sarcasm, Huang Jingyao ignored it, his mind swirling with various thoughts. Who was the voice like a baby's babble? What did it mean to check learning talent? How could he check it?

Could it be through the Record of Destiny? But if he checked, would he have to take out the Record of Destiny? If it appeared out of nowhere, wouldn't it scare Li Hui or make him think Huang Jingyao was a monster?

As he thought, Huang Jingyao's left eye blurred, and he saw a faint, ethereal cloud appear in front of his left eye. The cloud looked extraordinary, elegant, and transparent, and it seemed invisible to Li Hui.

The cloud swirled and formed a vertical cloud wall.

The cloud wall displayed a large amount of text. The text was neither simplified nor traditional Chinese, nor was it in clerical or seal script. It had a unique, ethereal, and elegant aura. Huang Jingyao was sure he had never learned or seen it before, but he understood it immediately, comprehending all the meanings without any obstacles.

Chinese learning talent: 2.

Math learning talent: 2.

English learning talent: 4.

...

Chinese, math, English, history, politics, geography, and other subjects taught in school were all listed, each with a precise number indicating the talent level.

These were already shocking, but what was even more shocking was below.

Business talent: 1.

Interpersonal talent: 5.

Teaching talent: 2.

...

There were dozens of talents listed, and as Huang Jingyao read them in shock, another thought appeared in his mind, the same baby-like babble, "Talent check complete. You can consume literary qi to enhance various talents."

Enhance various talents?

Huang Jingyao was so shocked that his scalp began to tingle.