Three days of vacation quickly passed, and when we returned to school and resumed normal classes, everything felt as calm and ordinary as usual. The broken glass in our classroom had been replaced, yet it seemed that no one noticed the change.

The results of the midterm exams were about to be announced, and the expressions and conversations of my classmates were filled with anticipation. However, some students, like Cao Kui and Cheng Fan, wished the results would never come out.

As for me! I answered the exam questions naturally, writing only what I knew. I didn’t care about my grades, whether I was expecting good results or not. To avoid attachments, one must first let go of attachments—look at my calm state of mind, ha ha!

I heard from some students who were on good terms with the teachers that during our holiday, almost all the school teachers went to a big hotel in the provincial capital to eat and drink, while also grading the papers. When I heard this, I suddenly understood, no wonder I hadn't seen any teachers around the school in the past few nights.

Cao Kui had somehow gotten his hands on several martial arts manuals. During our morning training session, he was punching and kicking, causing Cheng Fan to scold him for being both boring and insane.

Cultivating in stillness and doing nothing—this is the way of the Tao. The way is everywhere, natural in its movement and stillness, from beginning to end. Ever since I began cultivating, everything has been going smoothly. I haven’t taken any magical pills or devoted myself to intense training, especially after I formed my inner elixir.

During these days, my cultivation wasn’t about circulating grand energy; instead, I focused on using the Thundercloud Seal to absorb special spiritual energy from the world to power my Xuanhuang Flag.

Every time the Xuanhuang Flag absorbed the special energy, it emitted an arcane golden light, covering the mysterious characters floating in my mind. Then, the characters would release an ancient, solemn energy that constantly tempered my mind.

In just a few days during the holiday, I could clearly feel the changes in both my inner elixir and my overall aura. My inner elixir, once the size of a pea, had now grown to the size of a quail egg, and my entire aura had become increasingly tranquil.

What puzzled me was that occasionally, I heard faint, low roars from two different sources in my sea of consciousness, like the roar of a tiger or the roar of a dragon. The sound seemed familiar, almost like I had heard it during the violent storm in my hometown, Jiushizhang, last summer…

One morning in class, when the teachers entered the room, they were all holding thick stacks of exam papers. The first thing each teacher did when they entered was to look at me strangely.

Sigh! I knew my results would catch their attention. If I had known, I wouldn’t have done so well. I thought to myself.

As a cultivator, if I can’t face this small issue, how can I face the ethereal Dao?

“Zhang Santong? 98 points, who did you copy from?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Who is Zhang Santong? 89 points, how did you know the exam questions in advance?”

“Zhang Santong, 99 points, how is this possible? After class, come to my office and explain…”

“…”

Throughout the morning—physics, chemistry, mathematics, and politics—not one of my scores was below eighty, but all I got were suspicious looks from teachers and surprised gazes from my classmates.

I improved, what’s wrong with that?

During the break, Cao Kui slapped my shoulder hard, saying, “Kid, did you take Viagra before the exam? How did you suddenly become so amazing?”

That made me sweat!

I had to pick up my middle school textbooks and start studying again. Was it easy for me? Haha, I didn’t really do much. There was no need to explain myself.

My desk mate, Xiaoman, and my cousin, Zhang Fuhong, were both full of surprise. Xiaoman asked me, “Zhang Santong, you were really studying hard this time? You weren’t just pretending?”

Pretending? For whom? Sigh! I just had a good burst of luck and answered the exam honestly. Hehe!

I gave a half-smile and didn’t bother to respond to her.

At lunchtime, after everyone finished eating, the students began discussing class and grade rankings. I kept hearing my name mentioned. It seemed that now, all the students and teachers were going to see me in a new light.

Today, Zhang Yu was especially happy! How did I notice? Amitabha Buddha!

Whether my results were from cheating or I had known the questions in advance, the other students didn’t really care. They weren’t making a fuss. They were more concerned about their own grades.

As for my excellent results, they only led to suspicion from the teachers and didn’t cause the principal to intervene. There was no talk of me being a top student destined for a prestigious university.

In this large, important school, Zhang Santong’s sudden outburst of results caused little stir. It only provided a new topic for conversation!

In the afternoon, when the Chinese exam results were announced, I surprisingly scored 99 points, placing first in the class. This once again shocked my classmates, but I still appeared calm, as though it wasn’t even my result.

From my classmates’ perspective, I could clearly see my own shadow. In the past, they seemed to treat me as if I didn’t exist. Now, everything had changed just because of my good grades. Student life, the pursuit of learning!

If my third uncle and my parents knew about my grades, they’d probably be very happy, right? Actually, this was also the reason I gave my best effort in the exam—to stop my family from worrying about me.

After making progress in my cultivation, my family became a source of pain. Cultivation aims to seize the heavens' and earth’s creations for immortality, but what about them? Sigh! I’ll think of a way to deal with that later.

Although my grades had changed, my behavior in class remained the same. I closed my eyes to rest, read random cultivation books, and drew new talisman formulas with a cinnabar brush…

After school in the evening, I stayed behind, had dinner with Cao Kui and Cheng Fan, and then continued researching some advanced talismans in the corner of the classroom. Most of the students stayed for self-study, creating a great atmosphere for learning!

At 10 p.m., while immersed in my talisman research, my cousin woke me up. I realized that all the students had gone home. Sigh, I had been too focused.

When my cousin and I were leaving the school gate, I suddenly felt a fluctuation in my sea of consciousness. I stopped, concentrating to capture the subtle sensation.

It was my desk mate, Xiaoman.

Ever since I entered her spiritual realm at Yaoshuigou, I’ve been able to sense her emotions from a distance. This time, I clearly felt her panic and helplessness. Her frightened face and lifeless eyes appeared vividly in my mind.

I only had one thought: Poor Xiaoman must have encountered that mummified corpse searching for souls.

Should I go rescue her?

Would I help that beautiful desk mate who looks down on me?

They say cultivators should not concern themselves with good or evil, nor with human desires or heavenly principles. Everything is like the reflection in a mirror—simply responding when it comes.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to check it out. The mummified corpse incident, the cycle of karma, it’s also my affair. Cultivators value karma, so I’ll take a look and understand it!