Su Chen assumed a strange posture in his room, following the method from the book.
Gradually, he felt his heart begin to pound—THUMP-THUMP—faster and faster. He could even hear a sound like crashing waves in his ears.
His blood flowed with increasing speed, his body temperature rose, and his skin slowly turned crimson. Beads of sweat as large as peas trickled down his skin.
On his first attempt, Su Chen only managed to last for half an hour before a burning pain seared his throat. He had to gulp water straight from the tap for over three minutes before he felt any relief.
"Whew..."
He gasped for air, sensing the changes in his body, and was inwardly astonished. 'The efficiency of this half-hour of training is even higher than my previous four or five hours...'
'If I'd had this Training Technique sooner, I wouldn't have needed to huff and puff through hours of training every day just to reach my physical limit.'
At the same time, a panel popped up.
[Molten Stone Refining Technique -- Novice: 1%]
[The Scholar perceives new secret knowledge and feels joy. Lifespan Penalty Reduced: One Year.]
'Huh?' Su Chen's mind jolted. 'A whole year was taken off?'
'It seems I've met all the requirements to become a Professional.'
He scanned downward, and just as he expected, two large, brilliant golden words appeared after [Scholar]—Become Professional.
Su Chen couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation. He took a deep breath and decisively chose to become a Professional.
In an instant, Su Chen's pupils constricted. His mind became active as never before.
It was as if fireworks had exploded deep in his mind. Things hidden in the depths of his memory, long forgotten, came rushing back. His thoughts seemed to become much sharper.
[Scholar Class Instated]
[Professional Ability Gained: Scholar's Stance]
[Scholar's Stance: Proficiency gain rate +50%]
Su Chen's heart thumped wildly, and he silently clenched his fists.
'Yes, this is great! The Scholar class truly lives up to its name.'
'A direct boost to proficiency accumulation. Simple and brutally effective. I love it.'
Of course, this was just the ability shown on the panel. He could feel that his mental acuity and powers of observation had also improved to varying degrees.
After waiting for his Physical Strength to slowly recover, he began his spiritual training. The effects were indeed outstanding. He felt that the speed at which he could outline the Candle Fire had increased considerably.
He continued late into the night, only stopping reluctantly when he was on the verge of mental exhaustion.
[Candle Fire Spirit Training Method -- Mastery: 40%]
'It really did increase by a lot. Normally, training to the point of mental exhaustion would only increase it by 5-7% at most...' Su Chen thought, then drifted into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, he was startled awake by a continuous knocking at his door. It seemed the person on the other side wouldn't stop unless he opened it.
Throwing on some clothes, Su Chen opened the door. Three people stood outside, dressed in identical blue and white uniforms. The one in the lead stated expressionlessly, "Southwind Academy Inspection Department. Room check."
"Room check?" Su Chen's eyes narrowed as he leaned an arm against the doorframe. "As I recall, the school rules state that private dormitories are exempt from inspections."
The leader's expression flickered with surprise. Before he could speak, someone beside him piped up, "Cut the crap. This is a random spot check. Private dorms are included."
As he spoke, he moved to push Su Chen's arm away, but it felt like he was pushing against an iron bar.
"You..." The man's face changed slightly as he silently pushed harder, but Su Chen remained completely motionless.
"Are you sure you want to get involved in this?" Su Chen asked, his words carrying a deeper meaning.
The leader's cheek twitched. He watched as his companion's face turned beet red, now using both hands to push, yet Su Chen was still breathing evenly. The leader couldn't help but swallow hard.
'Isn't this guy a new student?'
'My friend here is about to become a Blacksmith, and his strength is astonishing.'
"Uh... I just remembered, there does seem to be such a rule. Sorry to have bothered you." He pulled his companion back and forced a smile as he explained.
"It's fine. Just remember it for next time." Su Chen was magnanimous. He watched them walk to the end of the hallway, then suddenly called out, "Tell Zhou Zhong to stop playing these childish games."
The three of them froze for a moment, then quickened their pace.
'So it really was him...' Su Chen muttered to himself. There weren't many people he had conflicts with. Qi Chuan probably wouldn't resort to such low-level tactics, and his relationship with Jiang He was still one of cooperation.
'Thinking it over, it seemed only Zhou Zhong would use such methods within the academy.'
"Tsk..." Su Chen turned and went back into his room. He pulled the Shadow-avoiding Robe from his bed, put it on under his clothes, and followed the three from a distance as they went downstairs.
After many twists and turns through the academy grounds, they arrived at a secluded grove behind one of the buildings.
From afar, he could see that the three had already met up with Zhou Zhong. He couldn't tell what they were discussing, but he saw Zhou Zhong yelling loudly, looking extremely annoyed.
The three men just listened helplessly. After a long while, they hurried away, leaving Zhou Zhong alone.
"...Astonishing strength?" Zhou Zhong murmured to himself. "Could it be that his physical Talent is good? No wonder Jiang He arranged for him to enter the academy. There's a secret here..."
His eyes glinted with a sort of excitement. "But this is even better. If I can subdue him, it would probably be..."
THWACK!
A sharp pain exploded on the back of his head. Before Zhou Zhong could react, his eyes rolled back, and he fell stiffly to the ground.
Su Chen retracted his hand under the Shadow-avoiding Robe, inconspicuous in the shadows of the grove.
Glancing left and right, he quickly stripped the guy's clothes off.
'Killing him would be going too far; it would be troublesome if it attracted the attention of the City Lord. This is just to teach him a lesson.'
Not long after, a piercing scream echoed through the grove.
Meanwhile, Su Chen was already back in his dorm, holding two small red glass vials filled with a viscous red liquid. He observed them carefully. 'This stuff... it looks like...'
This was what Zhou Zhong had been carrying. The guy was clearly no simple character.
He thought hard, and a flash of realization crossed his eyes. "Blood Circulation Potion!"
He remembered now. He'd seen it mentioned when he was cramming information in the library.
He had long since forgotten about it, but after becoming a Scholar, his thinking and memory had improved significantly, allowing him to recall it.
"An F-level Potion. It speeds up Physical Strength recovery and increases the efficiency of physical training..." Su Chen mused. "Did Zhou Zhong also choose a physical-type class?"
"Good stuff..." Su Chen grinned, then downed one in a single gulp and began circulating the Molten Stone Refining Technique.
He wasn't sure if it was because he was more skilled or due to the Potion's effects, but he entered the state much faster. He even had a long, thin straw in his mouth, leading into a large bucket of water beside him.
The training efficiency had indeed increased significantly. Su Chen trained until the world went dark, for a full twelve hours.
He drank both Blood Circulation Potions, and even the remaining Nutrient Liquid was almost completely consumed.
The Warrior loan was finally paid off, and the black countdown timer behind his class name disappeared. This truly made Su Chen feel like he could breathe a sigh of relief.
[Warrior: 15%]
[Molten Stone Refining Technique -- Novice: 55%]
Su Chen could feel a distinct increase in the strength within his body.
"The development efficiency is on a completely different level now..." Su Chen couldn't help but exclaim. The combination of the Training Technique and the Blood Circulation Potion was nearly ten times faster than his previous bitter training.
"Resources are so important..." Su Chen sighed. He couldn't even find a place to buy something like a Blood Circulation Potion, unlike Zhou Zhong, who could carry two bottles with him at all times.
"I'm so jealous..." Su Chen glanced at his Nutrient Liquid. His consumption today had been too great; only one tube was left. He would have to go buy more tomorrow.
...
"I didn't see anything... I just felt a pain in my head, and then I didn't know anything..."
In the dean's office, Zhou Zhong's face was ashen. He couldn't help but say, "Teacher... this wasn't a prank, it was a robbery! Both of the Blood Circulation Potions I had on me were stolen!"
"I was saving those to become a Professional!"
"Teacher!" Fury welled up in Zhou Zhong's heart as he shouted, "You have to get justice for me!"
"Do you have any suspects?" The teachers in the dean's office looked at each other. Zhou Zhong's father held a high position, so they couldn't afford to be dismissive.
But that particular grove just happened to be one of the few places in Southwind Academy without surveillance cameras.
"I..." Various figures flashed through Zhou Zhong's mind. There were quite a few suspects, actually.
But Zhou Zhong said with near certainty, "To be able to knock me out in one blow, it must have been a Professional. I suspect... Zhang Hengyu!"
"It must have been him! He was afraid I'd become a Professional and take his spot!"