Ye Wei had a long dream— he dreamt of the first year of the era, of a divine mountain descending from the heavens; dreamt of gazing upon the mountain's Daoist vision, realizing the divine script, and creating three thousand magical arts. He dreamt of divine swords and sacred bones, and dreamt of celestial scrolls preaching to the world!
The dream felt as if it spanned thousands of years, ethereal and profound.
Meanwhile, Lin Ziyan was still explaining the divine patterns. Her teaching was vivid, drawing on stories and analogies to help the students understand the attributes of divine script and the greatness of the Terran race's three ancestors. All the junior students were listening attentively—except for Ye Wei, sitting in the very last row.
"When is he going to wake up?"
Lin Ziyan glanced at Ye Wei, who had been sleeping there for a while now. Her clear eyes flashed with a trace of displeasure. She was putting so much effort and passion into her lesson, yet Ye Wei's attitude was like playing the lute to a cow—pointless and frustrating.
Even in irritation, her graceful elegance remained, making her presence captivating.
A few boys sitting to Ye Wei's left also glanced at him with visible disgust. Sleeping during Miss Zi Yan's class? Unforgivable!
"Ye Wei, that idiot, actually sleeping in Miss Zi Yan's class! He's embarrassing all of us!"
"Looks like last time's lesson wasn't harsh enough!"
A thirteen-year-old boy, eyeing the sleeping Ye Wei coldly, spoke with chilling disdain. This was Xiao Qi, the top student in the junior three class. A five-star apprentice, his father was a senior tutor at Nanxing College—and like many others, he was an admirer of Miss Zi Yan.
Xiao Qi was highly talented. With his father being a senior instructor, he had grown up surrounded by advanced teachings. His mastery of divine pattern theory far exceeded most of his peers, and even Miss Zi Yan had praised him, which only fueled his confidence—and his ego. As Miss Zi Yan's self-proclaimed "guardian," seeing someone sleep through her class ignited his fury.
"Ye Wei the fool... sleeping through Miss Zi Yan's class? Xiao Qi's definitely not going to let that slide," some students whispered, their expressions filled with glee.
Ye Wei was only a one-star apprentice, while Xiao Qi had already reached five stars. The difference between them was immense—like heaven and earth.
In the ten-star apprentice system, the first four stars offer little physical benefit—mostly slight improvements in strength and endurance. But once someone reaches five stars, things change drastically. The body begins to harden under the influence of vital energy; strength and speed see a significant boost.
Xiao Qi was already at that level, while Ye Wei remained at the beginning. The gap between them was like clouds to mud!
Sitting beside Ye Wei was Cao Ning, one of the few classmates who still treated him kindly. He nudged Ye Wei with his elbow, trying to wake him—but Ye Wei continued to sleep, completely unresponsive, like a log.
Still asleep? Cao Ning was dumbfounded, and could only give a wry smile. "Brother, I'm trying to save you, but seriously—you're out cold. I can't help you this time."
Meanwhile, Ye Wei remained lost in his deep dream. Countless divine runes swarmed into his mind, threatening to overwhelm his sea of consciousness. In the dream, Ye Wei saw his sea of knowledge gradually change—golden light began to shimmer, and countless mysterious symbols floated across the space.
Was the red-level sea that had always plagued him finally changing?
But the sea of consciousness was divided into levels: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. A golden sea? He had never even heard of such a thing! Though his knowledge sea was still predominantly red, a glimmer of gold had appeared.
Boom!
Suddenly, a thunderous noise echoed within his mind, as though his consciousness was about to explode.
"Ah—!"
Ye Wei suddenly jolted awake, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. His head pounded, and his fingers pressed to his temples as he tried to gather himself. He stared blankly at the familiar classroom, slowly regaining awareness.
But by then, every student was already staring at him.
Ye Wei, seriously? Sleeping in Miss Zi Yan's class—and now yelling in your sleep?
"He's way out of line!"
"Crazy!"
Everyone was puzzled. Ye Wei had always been obedient and quiet. What happened today? Was he trying to get Miss Zi Yan's attention?
"Heh, Ye Wei's done for…"
Some kind-hearted students felt bad for him. They saw Xiao Qi's face darkening with rage, and they knew trouble was coming. As Miss Zi Yan's self-appointed protector, Xiao Qi's temper was flaring.
The mixture of laughter and sympathetic sighs filled the classroom, but Ye Wei was still dazed, his mind spinning.
Inside his head, hundreds of thousands of divine runes were still echoing and swirling violently. It felt like his skull might burst. But as the chaos began to subside, Ye Wei's gaze slowly focused again.
"What was that divine mountain in the dream? What happened to my sea of knowledge?"
"Why did I fall asleep? And why did I have such a strange dream?"
Confusion and disbelief filled Ye Wei's eyes. Something had shifted deep within him—his entire state of mind felt subtly changed.
At the front of the class, Miss Zi Yan had paused her lecture. Her patience had worn thin. She could tolerate someone dozing off quietly, but yelling out and disrupting the lesson? That crossed the line.
"Stand up!"
Her crisp voice cut through the room, slightly stern now. Her gaze fell on Ye Wei.
Ye Wei realized she was addressing him and quickly stood up.
"What's your name?"
Zi Yan looked at Ye Wei, her brows slightly furrowed, clearly unhappy. She had worked hard to prepare this lesson and genuinely cared about teaching these students—yet someone like Ye Wei had interrupted her class. Sleeping was one thing, but shouting on top of it?
"Ye Wei."
Ye Wei lifted his head slowly, still a bit dazed as he responded. Memories began to return to him. Lin Ziyan—the star student of Nanxing Academy, a ten-star apprentice soon to become a full-fledged warrior. The goddess of the Academy. Today's substitute teacher!
Looking at the elegant Miss Zi Yan, with her soft fragrance and flowing lavender hair, Ye Wei finally snapped out of his haze. Right… we're in class!
"This kid's still not fully awake…"
Zi Yan examined Ye Wei. He was a bit taller than her, slightly lean, but his features were sharp and clear. His deep-set eyes had a calm, collected aura.
Sleeping through class and shouting out—Miss Zi Yan, who normally had a gentle temperament, couldn't help but feel angry.
Though she was just a substitute teacher for this class, she had poured her heart into teaching. She had not given up on any student—not even Ye Wei, who was widely regarded as a hopeless case. When a tutor gives up on you, it means you've truly been written off. But as long as the tutor still teaches you, there's still hope.
Yet Ye Wei… seemed beyond help. And now he had even disrupted her lesson.
"Ye Wei, come to the podium," Lin Ziyan said, looking directly at him.