Keith placed an ancient silver-thread scroll shimmering with a metallic luster on the table. Fine runes flowed across its surface, emitting faint ripples of space-time energy.
Jiang Lin's eyes lit up as he took the scroll. Touching it with his fingertips, he could feel the vast spatial energy contained within.
"Thank you, Vice-Dean Keith!"
Keith waved his hand dismissively.
"There is no need to thank me. This is the protection the academy owes to a true genius."
Jiang Lin carefully tucked the silver-thread scroll into his spatial ring. After chatting with Vice-Dean Keith for a while longer, he left the office.
Sunlight filled the corridor, casting the patterns of the stained-glass windows onto the floor like a layer of flowing glazed tile.
By the time he returned to the classroom, the lunch break was already half over.
Today, even more people stayed behind during the break to gnaw on dry rations. After learning that nearly half the class hadn't gone home the previous night, the atmosphere in the fifth-grade elite class grew even more subtle.
One could clearly feel the atmosphere of the elite class developing in an increasingly chaotic and distorted direction.
Neil and the others had already finished their food. Some were closing their eyes to practice their breathing technique, while others remained buried in thick tomes.
Jiang Lin sat in his seat, pulled his unfinished rations from his spatial ring, and began to chew while contemplating the task Vice-Dean Keith had given him.
Just then, Neil turned around and asked, "Old Jiang, what did the Vice-Dean want with you?"
Jiang Lin replied, "Vice-Dean Keith knows we're pulling all-nighters, and he was a bit worried."
Hearing this, the expressions of those nearby tightened.
"Is the school going to ban it?"
If the school banned it, the atmosphere of everyone striving together would vanish.
"No."
Jiang Lin shook his head, his golden eyes sweeping over the rest of the students in the classroom.
"The Vice-Dean isn't banning it. On the contrary, he hopes I can share my experiences more systematically."
After a moment of thought, he raised his right index finger.
Ah, he had an idea!
He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the entire class to himself.
"Ahem! Eyes on me, everyone! I have an announcement to make!"
Only after every student in the room was looking at him did he speak.
"I am a... cough, never mind...
"The Vice-Dean just talked to me about this matter of pulling all-nighters to cultivate.
"Since that's the case, let's talk about it properly!"
Jiang Lin's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly throughout the classroom.
Every student stopped what they were doing and looked up at him.
The sunlight from the window spilled onto his long golden hair, making it shine with a brilliance that was hard to look at directly.
"Regarding pulling all-nighters to cultivate, many of you might think it's desperate, exhaustive, or unhealthy."
Jiang Lin stepped slowly toward the podium with a steady gait.
"But what I want to tell you is this.
"For a genius, this is just a daily routine."
The classroom fell into a dead silence.
"Do you think you've been working hard?"
Jiang Lin's gaze slowly swept across the room. Every student felt as if those golden eyes could see right through their hearts.
"Practicing a breathing technique for eight hours a day? Reviewing your lessons for four hours after class? Adding half a day of extra training on the weekends?"
He shook his head.
"It's not enough. Nowhere near enough. If you truly want to become strong, you must utilize every single minute and second."
At these words, a deathly hush fell over the room. Everyone seemed to accept Jiang Lin's reasoning.
After all, he had already overtaken them to become number one; he was indeed qualified to lecture them.
But at this moment, someone couldn't help but speak up.
"But, people have to sleep eventually...
"Your situation is special, Jiang Lin. Your breathing technique has reached a level where it can replace sleep..."
Hearing this student's question, many others perked up.
They were the ones originally wavering on whether to pull all-nighters.
After all, according to their original growth trajectories, they wouldn't have a bad future anyway.
"And?"
Jiang Lin looked at him with a calm expression.
"Are you just giving up then?"
The student froze.
"It is a fact that my breathing technique has reached a high level. But do you think I reached it without effort?
"Do you think the strength I have now was achieved simply because someone said I had high talent?!"
Jiang Lin paused before continuing.
"When I first arrived last semester, my foundation in theory classes was almost zero.
"Every day, besides the physical and meditation training required to reach the rank-0 limit, I had to study herbalism, history, and magic theory.
"You've all heard the rumors that I never turn off my lights. I can tell you responsibly that since I came to Saint Brilliance Magic Academy, I haven't slept once!!"
"Weekends? I have no concept of weekends.
"Vacations? During the summer break, aside from six days away on business, I spent all my time cultivating."
He no longer hid his aura, letting everyone feel his divine and powerful presence.
"You see my strength now, you see that I can fight to a draw with Teacher Groot, a 4th-rank.
"But do you see the sweat I've poured out behind the scenes?!
"Talent determines the ceiling, hard work determines the floor!!!"
Hearing this, the person who had raised the objection fell silent.
Every word Jiang Lin spoke struck their hearts like a sharp sword.
It was true. Although Jiang Lin's talent was high, if he didn't work hard, no amount of talent would be useful.
They were the same. Even with high talent, if they just lay in bed and didn't cultivate, their levels wouldn't go up on their own.
Jiang Lin's voice was calm, yet every word hit home.
"My talent might be higher than most of yours, but if I didn't work hard, I might still be stuck at rank-0, worrying about passing my theory classes."
You could hear a pin drop in the classroom.
Then, another student stood up.
"Jiang Lin, does that potion cycle you mentioned have side effects? We want to know the truth—the whole truth!"
"Yes,"
Jiang Lin answered frankly.
"Any act of forcibly changing your physiological rhythm comes with a price.
"Using a Mental Invigoration Potion for five consecutive days will cause mental haze and a decrease in magic control. The high content of silver moon dew in the clear grass reagent puts a certain burden on the heart. While calming flower and vitality mushroom are gentle, long-term dependence will affect the body's natural recovery mechanisms.
"But—"
His tone shifted.
"The choice is entirely in your hands.
"Whether you choose to overextend your body slightly in exchange for a brighter future, or steadily follow your original path!
"However, do not forget—if you aren't making progress, the people around you will be!
"I only hope that when that time comes, you will still stand by the choice you make now!
"Furthermore, you are perfectly free to find higher-grade alternatives or potions with fewer side effects. That is your business.
"Or you could simply train your breathing technique to the same level as mine!
"That way, the dilemma solves itself!"
Jiang Lin's words were like a heavy hammer striking every student's chest.
The classroom fell into a long silence, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing.
Then, someone spoke up.
"Jiang Lin is right. Who among us in the Saint Brilliance Magic Academy elite class isn't a genius who crushed their peers in every way? If we don't even have this much resolve, how can we call ourselves geniuses?"
"I need to get stronger... The resources the academy gives us are limited, but time is fair. I choose to go one step further."
"It's just pulling all-nighters, isn't it? Since we're at Saint Brilliance Magic Academy, we have to live up to the name!"
More and more people began to voice their resolve, and the look in their eyes began to change.
Those who were still hesitant now had gazes that gradually became firm.
A thin boy with glasses sitting in the back row pushed his frames up. His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly through the room.
"I come from a merchant family. My parents used most of their savings just to send me here. I can't... I can't waste this chance."
The girl next to him nodded with reddened eyes.
"My family are commoners. Before I got the scholarship, my brother gave up his studies to go work so I could afford the tuition. I can't let them down."
A single stone had stirred a thousand ripples.
The oppressive atmosphere in the classroom was broken as students spoke out one after another.
"I was ranked fourteenth at the end of last semester. I want to break into the top ten!"
"I want to place in the National Youth Adventurer Competition!"
"I'm going to make my family proud of me!"
"I don't want to see my parents putting on forced smiles in front of nobles anymore..."
All sorts of voices merged into an indescribable force.
The emotions in the classroom were like kindling being lit, with flames dancing in every pair of eyes. Those who were originally just shocked by Jiang Lin's power were now truly beginning to consider their own paths.
Jiang Lin stood quietly before the podium, the burning flames in the eyes of his peers reflected in his golden gaze.
He seemed to see the Boulder City of the past, seeing those figures gritting their teeth under the dim glow of magic crystal lamps.
He seemed to see a rising sun slowly ascending.
The rising suns of the dawn will eventually shatter the darkness!
Jiang Lin said nothing more. He simply walked back to his seat, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his breathing technique.
But this time, no one in the classroom felt surprised or out of place.
Instead, everyone was doing the same thing—opening their books, picking up their pens, or closing their eyes to enter a state of cultivation.
Neil looked at the golden figure by the window and suddenly understood something.
Jiang Lin never asked anyone to follow him. But by standing there, he was a benchmark, a mirror that allowed everyone to see the distance between themselves and the 'limit.'
"So... is this what light is?"
Neil murmured to himself as he took out the potion ingredients he had bought today from his spatial ring.
He silently began taking his medicine.
Over the next few days, the fifth-grade elite class of Saint Brilliance Magic Academy underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.
Every morning at six o'clock, the classroom was already full of students.
Dry rations and refreshing potions were laid out across the desks. The sound of pages turning and the magic ripples of breathing techniques intertwined, creating a unique classroom atmosphere.
Jiang Lin still sat in his seat every day, as immovable as a mountain.
He only went out in the morning to collect his medicinal food and step on some ants.
However, he was no longer alone.
Almost the entire elite class had chosen the same schedule as him.
Someone had even ordered a batch of animal skin sleeping bags and put them in the storage room.
Students who really couldn't hold on could choose to take a short nap before continuing the fight.
But so far, no one had used them.
Some even suspected that some jerk had provided them with bad intentions, wanting them to relax and let their guard down.
Then, while they were sleeping, that person would overtake them!!
How truly detestable!
A wicked devil has disguised himself as my classmate!!
Calendar pages turned one after another until it was the second week of the term.
Moonlight poured through the windows of the fifth-grade elite class like liquid silver, stretching every hunched figure into a long, quiet shadow.
It was currently eleven o'clock at night.
All thirty-four students were present in the classroom.
There was no conversation, no noise.
Only the scratching of nibs on parchment, the occasional soft flip of a page, and the faint magic ripples from a dozen breathing techniques created a silent web in the air.
Jiang Lin was still in his old spot by the window.
Three sets of limit-broken breathing techniques operated silently within him like three precision-synced engines. The energy from the medicinal food was efficiently converted into stamina and mental strength; not a single wisp of magic essence was wasted.
Within a three-meter radius around him, the air seemed clearer than elsewhere, and even falling dust would consciously avoid that domain.
At that moment, a powerful aura leaked out from the back row by the window.
This scene... felt somewhat familiar...
For some reason, the classmates remembered that five days ago, a similar aura had appeared in the classroom, after which Jiang Lin went from level 20 to level 21.
But only five days had passed. Even if Jiang Lin's breathing technique proficiency was high, surely he wouldn't go from level 21 to level 22 this quickly...
The powerful aura in the back row became increasingly obvious. The air seemed to freeze as magic essence converged madly toward the window seat.
All the students stopped what they were doing, holding their breath as they looked toward the corner.
Some stared blankly, murmuring to themselves, "Is he breaking through again? He just reached level 21 five days ago!"
"What the hell? He tells us to work hard, and then he goes up a level in five days?"
"Where's the mental health representative? I'm starting to feel a bit unwell..."
"The mental health representative isn't doing well either. Why is my neck so itchy?"
"My neck kind of wants to play tug-of-war with the rafters..."
Right then, the magic around Jiang Lin erupted. A pale gold halo expanded from beneath his feet, quickly sweeping through the entire classroom.
Everyone felt a gentle yet powerful pressure, like a breeze passing over them, yet carrying a heavy weight.
—Jiang Lin, level 22.
Only five days since his breakthrough to level 21.
"Is this... is this what a true genius is?"
Rex bit his lip and clenched his fists, the veins on his arms bulging.
Thinking of his own improvement speed, he felt inferior to even use the word genius.
After completing his breakthrough, Jiang Lin opened his eyes and glanced around. He suddenly remembered the rising-head rate regulations enforced by school leaders during evening self-study in his previous life.
And so, he spoke up.
"Such a small fluctuation was enough to make your hearts waver and your minds wander. This shows you haven't entered a deep state of cultivation yet. You're still not focused enough!
"As geniuses, we must remain unfazed even if Mount Tai collapses before them. No matter what happens around us, it must not disrupt our state of cultivation or study!
"Only by doing this can you adjust your learning and cultivation to their maximum speed!"
Hearing this shocking statement, everyone began to reflect.
Had they really not been doing well enough...
Rate on N.U.
