Feng Jin had always believed that he was from an aristocratic family and that he had received the best education, which meant he wouldn't do anything rude under normal circumstances.
That was, until he met Jiang Pengji.
He coughed so hard that his face turned red. He quickly pulled himself together and reorganized his "crime scene." His face looked awkward.
"Lanting, Master Yuanjing is a master who has earned the respect of the whole world. How could you say something like this about him…?" Feng Jin couldn't say more about it because he couldn't find the right word to describe what she had suggested.
Jiang Pengji twitched her lips and said, "It's just a joke, but I rephrased it another way. I didn't mean to ruin his reputation. Why do you have to act like that? If I said this in front of his face, he might have actually agreed with me."
Feng Jin sighed. He knew there was no comparison in talking sophistry between him and her.
"Master Yuanjing is a man with great generosity and an open mind. He wouldn't mind being bothered by you."
Because of the injury to his right hand, he would have a hard time using a pen for a while. It was very unfortunate that he had missed the chance to attend the evaluation, but it had left him quite a bit of spare time. Jiang Pengji had to spend time with him by playing chess or chatting with him to keep him company.
No matter if one was a student from a poor family or a gentry clan member, who wouldn't want to strive for their career after years and years of study?
Feng Jin didn't say it, but he clearly didn't let it go so easily. He was very well aware of Jiang Pengji's good will.
"What are you doing?"
After a game of chess, Jiang Pengji told Taxue to prepare a table in the yard and laid some bamboo papers on the table.
"Do some reviewing. We are doing nothing anyway. Your attention is never on the game and I'm getting bored." Jiang Pengji kneeled on the bamboo coach. Taxue rolled up her sleeve and milled the ink stone for her.
Feng Jin couldn't hide his embarrassment when he heard that Jiang Pengji saw through him. He schooled his expression and change the subject. "Reviewing? Is it the assignment that Uncle Liu gave to you?"
As the General Evaluation Officer, Liu She went to the examination room to prepare. In order to avoid doing anything that might arouse suspicion, he did not plan on coming back before the end of the evaluation.
Feng Jin could tell how much Liu She valued Jiang Pengji; he must have been dedicated to focusing on her studies. It would be normal for him to give her some homework to do.
But Jiang Pengji replied, "No. I'm just reviewing Mr. Cheng's book collections."
Mr. Cheng was actually Cheng Cheng.
She had "made a deal" with Cheng Cheng earlier, which was such that she would provide the best quality bamboo papers and Cheng Cheng would make a copy of his book collection. There were, however, a large number of books in his collection for Cheng Cheng to copy, which was more than ten thousand rolls. It would take at least a year or two for him to finish.
Jiang Pengji couldn't wait that long. She had nothing else to do at the moment, so she decided to complete it herself.
The more she got involved in the society––the more she saw––they more she understood.
It was absolutely true that there were so many things that pissed her off, such as the undeveloped technology, illiterate people everywhere, savage customs, and gender discrimination. But she wasn't going to deny that there was some brightness in the current era, as well, such as the collective wisdom from their ascendants.
She went through a large quantity of Warcraft books and found that many parts of the books matched the knowledge she had already learned. It seemed rather coarse but the principles were mostly identical, only the current era was 10,000 or 20,000 years behind.
Jiang Pengji started to put away her contempt as she settled down to study the knowledge. If it wasn't for that, she didn't have to put such effort into tricking Cheng Cheng for his book collection.
"Man's nature at birth is good; nature is similar, but habits make men different. If there is no teaching, the nature will deteriorate…" Feng Jin sat next to her and watched her write that down. When he went through his memory, he didn't have any recollection of the words. They were short sentences, but there was a deeper meaning to them, which caught his eye. He asked, "Who wrote this? It is demotic and easy to remember, which is quite interesting."
After Feng Jin brought it up, there was a series of bullet screens flashing in the streaming room.
Laosiji Lianmeng: "Mr. Feng, this is Three Character Classic, the enlightened education of ancient Hua Country."
Yin Yuejia Zhuge Qinmo: "The author of Three Character Classic is Wang Yinglin in Song Dynasty. You wouldn't have any idea of who Wang Yinglin is."
Maorongrong Depidai: "I did some research. The author of Three Character Classic is Wang Yinlin."
Nongfu Shanquan Youdianxuan: "Wang Yinlin in Song Dynasty. But there should be no Song Dynasty in Feng Jin's dimension, right?"
The truth was, according to some viewers' analysis, the era she was in was more like the period of Wei Jin Two Dynasty.
Except for the answers, there were some bullet screens which stated, "It's the father's fault for not being able to raise their kids. A teacher's laziness makes students slack." 
It was a tangle of different bullet screens. Even Jiang Pengji, who had a good memory, nearly felt dizzy after them.
Jiang Pengji lowered her head, took a glance of the bullet screens, and kept writing.
"I don't know. The author is already untraceable. I just wrote it down out of interest."
The streaming was a bit off. It felt like they were having a festival.
When Jiang Pengji asked for their advice about if they could suggest some elementary education books, the whole room of viewers boiled. They might have no clue about the ancient books, but Google definitely did. They could finally pretend to be literate in front of their host.
Jiang Pengji wrote Three Character Classic on the first page of the book and titled the author as John Doe.
The reason why she didn't put the original author's name on it was because she didn't want anyone to track down who Wang Yinglin was… So how could she know who this Wang Yinglin was?
Feng Jin didn't feel odd about Jiang Pengji's answer. Cheng Cheng's boxes of books were many. He took a look at it once by chance and the books were very well organized, which indicated how much the owner cared about them. But there were a number of ancient books that were mutilated. Naturally it was going to be hard to find out who the author was.
"Mrs. Meng chose their neighbors. Is this talking about how Mrs. Meng moved three times looking for good neighbors?" Feng Jin stared at the short sentences. A big portion of them came from some familiar, historical stories.
Everyone who could read knew of the story about how Mrs. Meng moved three times for neighbors, but he had never seen anyone described it with only a few words. Feng Jin had a weird feeling, but it went away and he couldn't use words to talk about it.
Jiang Pengji twisted her eyebrows and complained to him, "You are being noisy."
Feng Jin's brows went down and he sat quietly next to her.
That's better.
Jiang Pengji kept working on her writing. The viewers in the streaming room thoughtfully looked for different versions with explanations for her, but it seemed like they didn't copy and paste from the same website, which lead to the content being messy and irrelevant. She had to edit and omit some of them, which wasted quite a few pieces of paper.
Some viewers were eager to help Jiang Pengji, but some of them were just having fun watching the show.
Nongfu Shanquan Youdianxuan: "I almost believed that the host was going to be someone different rather than just copying things down. Apparently you still can't avoid doing it."


Jiang Pengji got something called the Court Intrigue Stream System.
System: "Your goal is to become the most prestigious woman in the kingdom (the Queen)!" 
Jiang Pengji: "Okay, System. No problem!"
Years later, she met the target by becoming the most prestigious woman (the Empress).
Jiang Pengji: "Well done, no?"
System: "Why the hack did you fight on horseback? I want court intrigue among the King's women!"

#how a future general wins the ancient throne
#Her man watches in silence, the System watches with tears

I carefully packed up my stuff to head towards the medieval-like room again. Daniel announced that I would be paired up with Luke again while Ellen and Shelly exchanged partners with each other.


Since the change was permanent this time, I decided I would study really hard to get a nice upgraded room and an abundant amount of points.


The amount of points you had determined how luxurious you could live in school. In some ways, the school was getting rid of discrimination between the children who come from the top elite families in the first district. However, I scoffed at the idea since it was the source of all my miseries.


There was an exam tomorrow which determined how I would live for the next few years in middle school. I saw Luke already unpacking his stuff while I placed my stuff on top of the straw bed.


"Should we head towards the library?" I interrupted Luke from settling into the room.


Luke's eyes went round like he was genuinely surprised by my question. It did make sense that Luke knew I didn't like his intense study sessions with my frequent complaints and groans. But studying with Luke brought good results and I was tired of sleeping on a straw bed for the past month.


The table was topped with countless piles of books in the study room. I yawned as we ended up spending over forty hours from cramming all the materials that I had to catch up to from the past month.


By the time it was morning, I felt confident that we could at least avoid getting minus points from losing a night's worth of sleep.


I flipped over all my booklets and proudly handed them in to the examiner. My eyes gleamed with anticipation as I actually looked forward to the results unlike the previous times.


The results were projected onto the board for everyone to see as usual. However, everyone gasped and froze from surprise except for Luke and I.


The monitor displayed:


Helena and Alex: 100 000 points
Rika and Luke: 20 000 points
Michelle and Allan: 90 000 points


"Rika didn't get any minus points this time!" Alex gaped.




"As expected of Luke!" Daniel praised Luke after he unfroze himself from the shock.


"..." Allan, Ellen and Shelly looked back at me wordlessly.


'Was this really that surprising? Luke and I usually got a bit more than the amount of points in elementary school than the ones projected on the board,' I tilted my head in confusion.


"How should we spend the points?" I happily skipped to our room while leaving my surprised classmates behind.


I wanted to move into a good room right away so I could sleep without the moldy smell of the rock walls covered with a bit of moss.


"Well, since moving to a smaller but better room cost about 15 000 points, I think we should refrain from moving just yet-"


I clasped my hands while making myself look pitiful as I pouted, "Please~. I promise I'll study harder for the next exam that's one week from now!"


Luke gave in to my constant begging as he reluctantly decided to upgrade the room, leaving the rest of the 4800 points for our meals. But left the 200 points out to rent two straw beds to sleep on for the next week.


At this rate, everything was the same as the medieval-like room except for the modernly furnished washrooms and the cozy three metre squared room.


I wondered if there was a cheat in the dimensional library that would allow me to absorb all the materials instead of cramming it into my brain all the time. I checked if Luke fallen into a deep sleep later in the night with my mana.


I opened the dimensional library after looking around the room as I asked the guide for the nth time, "Is there any way I could absorb all the contents inside the books instead?"


[Since you're in middle school now and your brain is more developed. You have obtained the ability to absorb a maximum of two books per day!]


'Finally!' I internally screamed.


I knew there was a cheat in the dimensional library!


'But to think it would take this long. Since the exam next week was for sixteen subjects, it meant I had seven days left to study. I should absorb as much books as possible! Leaving me to only work on physical education and practicing my mana. Why couldn't god give me this ability earlier?' I conquered up a plan.


I picked two books that covered this week's materials for two subjects. I instantly felt the knowledge naturally filling up my head like it was being tattooed into my mind.


'So, this was how it was like for someone who studied regularly and thoroughly?' I grasped my hand with determination.


This was how I came to be in the mana practice room to learn to control my mana so that I could earn more points from the exam.


I always did well on my physical education exam, so there was no need to practice for that subject. However, having too much mana was a problem because it was harder to control.


I wondered what my problem was all this time. Why was my mana running out of control? It wasn't like I was putting way too much power into it with my visualizations.


Maybe I should try casting mana while opening my eyes? I only closed my eyes because it was easier to visualize and it kept me from distracting myself.


I imagined a blazing fire dancing on top of a sleek dart heading towards the bullseye while opening my eyes. However, I covered my ears as it ended up creating an explosion as the entire target area ended up being swept up in ashes.


'Why?' I almost cried as I hopelessly toppled onto the ground.


After absorbing my books in secret, the next day, I went to the mana practice room to attempt to control my mana again.


However, I soon got kicked out by the teacher after I destroyed the target area again.


'What could I be doing wrong?' I went over the whole process in my head again.


'Maybe Luke would know the answer! I was told that Luke had huge amounts of mana that could even potentially come close to mine, but I never saw Luke's mana coming out of control like mine did.' I eventually came up with the idea to ask Luke.


I went to the library to find him studying for next week's exams with Alex. I knew he would be in the library because Luke was the type who would make sure that he would get perfect results on the exams to balance out my miserable results.


"Do you have some extra time today?" I bluntly went up to their table.


Luke looked up from reading his book, "Does it have to be now?"


"Well it can whenever you have extra time today." I shyly fidgeted with my hands behind my back.


"No, I'll go now. I'll meet you later Alex!" Luke immediately got up to follow me.


I led Luke to the field where I saw a few upperclassmen practice their mana.


"Can you tell me how you control your mana?"


"I don't know why my mana is always running out of control and I heard from the teacher that you also have a similar amount of mana that comes close to mine. But, I never seen your mana getting out of control," I confessed with my head down.

I was captured and put onto a stake to be lit on fire as part of the ongoing witch hunt conducted throughout the land. I had to do something. But, this life really sucked. 

This all started when I was accidentally killed by God. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill you. It was just that I was overworked lately by my superior and I just wanted some time to relax and vent my stress out," he confessed.

"So, while I was snacking, I accidently dropped one potato chip into the human realm where the child tripped over the potato chip onto a den of steep stairs." God guilty admitted.

So I reincarnated into the most adorable girl with the largest orange-speckled eyes that contrasted her pale white skin void of any imperfections.

'How could someone look this pretty?' I thought as I admired my new appearance.

I was nowhere close to this pretty in my previous life. Did God put me into this new vessel as an apology?

But some things were too good to be true.
***
"We can do this the nice way or the hard way," My fiancé’s brother started off.
"The nice way is where you willingly come with us back to the first district and the hard way is where we forcibly take you back, which would be hard for all of us," Lucius gave me a warning.
Why was my life so depressing? He practically meant I didn’t have a choice! 
***
Few months later, I was at a party that I planned to escape from my fiancé’s family.
"I still get to continue with my naps on the weekends?" I tried to confirm with them.
No one answered as I almost cried from giving up my rare nap times from the mess I got involved with. This life was too bothersome!

 

     "Well class, that concludes today's lesson. I'll see you all tomorrow! Have a great day."  Mrs. Wynn was already my favorite teacher; she was sweet and seemed super happy with what she taught. 

     In my old school I was never a fan of my teachers, they always seemed like they were miserable when teaching the class. It made me think that we kids meant nothing to them, and that our education didn't matter. But none of the teachers I had met seemed unhappy with their job.

     "Well now that you've seen all the classes, and met all the teachers, what is your favorite subject?" Malachi asked, seeming to enjoy the freedom the bell had just granted those who heard it. 

      "I think the w-writing rotation we h-have for the n-next twelve weeks. But I also l-like English and H-History." I Answered, stuttering horribly. 

     "I'm glad we enjoy the same classes. Sorry our annoying friend Melanie wasn't there." Malachi said loudly, as Melanie had just literally jumped out her classroom door. 

     "Takes one to know one." She said, as she landed, slipped and barely caught herself on the locker next to her. 

   "Well at least I know I will live the rest of the school year. Meanwhile you're going to have to work extra hard, to make up for the years your clumsiness will take away from you." Malachi said opening his locker as Melanie just stared in shock. 

     "Well-um.... I mean I..... shut up Malachi!" 

    Malachi just smiled while grabbing my books and placing them in our locker. The two of them never gave it a rest. They were always picking on each other. They made me laugh more than anyone had ever made me laugh before.

   "I'll gladly shut up, now that I got the last laugh." Malachi said while closing the locker and spinning the dial. 

     "Yes, I see. Mr. Perfect." Melanie said, in her usual sassy mood.

     By this time, I could hardly breathe; from laughing so hard. I had never known two people who picked on each other half as much as they did.

     "Well I better go, if I want to get a ride. See you all later." Melanie said as she gave me and Malachi a huge hug. And ran out the door, going down two stairs at a time.
     
     "Well I'll see you later, Lamia. My little sister is at the elementary school and I know she's probably dying to get home." he said as he grabbed his backpack and gave me a hug. 

      "O-ok, I'll s-see you tomorrow." I waved goodbye.

It was Monday.
The office workers seemed to be satisfied with their new office. It was clean and luxurious. They walked around the office carefully not to damage anything. The production field looked good too. It was organized better than the one in the Asan factory.
Gun-Ho had the first meeting with managers and directors at the new building in Jiksan Town.
"How many employees did we lose due to the moving? I understand that there are some workers who said they wouldn't be able to commute to our new location."
"We have all of the office workers, but many of lady workers in the production field quit the job. We lost about 30 workers from the production field only."
"It shouldn't cause any problem to the production. Please post a job advertisement to fill the vacant positions immediately. We will have to encourage younger people to apply for the jobs, so please list the benefits we could provide them with the job posting."
"Yes, sir. We will state that we provide lunch, commuter shuttle, a bonus of 400%, and financial aid for their children, etc."
"Director Yoon, you can start demolishing the factory in Asan City."
"The factory in Asan City?"
"Yes."
"The Asan factory is old, but it still can be used. We don't have to demolish it. Why don't we just remodel it instead?"
"No, tear it down please."
"Umm, okay, sir."
"In Asan City, we will build a new factory that would look exactly the same as the factory here. That factory will be used for a joint venture with Lymondell Dyeon once it is confirmed."
"Did you say a joint venture, sir?"
"It hasn't been confirmed yet, but Lymondell Dyeon is reviewing our application to do a joint venture with them."
 
When the meeting was over, Gun-Ho received a call again from his family. They said they set up the meeting with that elementary school teacher for this coming Saturday. Gun-Ho's mother added,
"I decided to make you marry someone by the end of this year."
After mother, Gun-Ho's sister called. She gave Gun-Ho the place where Gun-Ho was supposed to meet with the girl.
"You will have to come to the café at Ramada Songdo Hotel this Saturday at 2 pm. The school teacher lady will be there. You should come without question, okay?"
Gun-Ho didn't know what to say, but he felt curious at the same time.
"Who knows? Maybe I will meet a lady who I've always dreamt about."
Gun-Ho didn't want to upset his family, so he said yes that he would come to see the girl. Gun-Ho thought that he would have to meet Chairman Lee after he met with the elementary school teacher.
 
Two books written by Japanese authors were published by GH Media. These books were about self-development. President Jeong-Sook Shin sent these two books to Gun-Ho's office.
They were thin books with about 250 pages.
"Who would read a book like this?"
Gun-Ho called for an accounting manager; she was a lady who Gun-Ho thought might be interested in reading a book like this.
"We just published this book by GH Media. Who do you think would buy this kind of book to read?"
"Wow, it's a new book. It's still warm."
The accounting manager smelled the book.
"People prefer to read a thin book like this these days. If a book is thick, they don't want to even pick it up from a bookshelf."
"Really?"
"Can I try it first?"
"Of course, go ahead."
The accounting manager seemed to be excited to take the book with her.
 
It was Saturday.
Gun-Ho drove to Ramada Songdo Hotel in Incheon. There were three ladies sitting at the café while waiting for Gun-Ho.
"Hey, Gun-Ho, over here."
Gun-Ho's sister recognized Gun-Ho first. There were two other ladies sitting with his sister; one was in her 40s and the other one was in her late 20s or early 30s. Gun-Ho could know intuitively that the lady in her 40s was Jeong-Ah's homeroom teacher and the other younger lady was the one who Gun-Ho was supposed to meet with.
"Hello."
"How's traffic? Please have a seat here. This is the lady I was talking about."
The older lady made such a fuss.
"Oh, you look so handsome. I was wondering who would be that good-looking man entering the café, and it was the person we were supposed to meet here."
Gun-Ho's sister seemed to get her hair done for today, and she was wearing a very colorful outfit. She certainly looked different than those days when she worked at a factory with depressed face. She looked more like a lady from a loyal family. Money did some magic.
The young lady in her early 30s looked up to Gun-Ho quietly. Gun-Ho was looking down at her while still standing. She didn't look very attractive to him.
Gun-Ho's sister introduced two ladies to Gun-Ho.
"This is Jeong-Ah's homeroom teacher, and this lady here is the one who I talked to you about. She graduated from Gyeongin National University of Education. She is very popular in school. Students love her."
"Nice to meet you."
Gun-Ho said placidly.
Jeong-Ah's homeroom teacher said,
"Your brother looks different from you. I thought he was a movie star. Sir, you are running your own business, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"What sort of business do you have? I've heard from your sister that you have an auto parts factory."
Gun-Ho's sister stopped her there.
"Let's stop here. We'd better let them talk to each other alone."
"Oh, that's right. Haha. I just wanted to get to know him. He is so handsome."
Jeong-Ah's homeroom teacher stood up to leave along with Gun-Ho's sister.
"Okay, we will leave you two here then. Good luck to you two."
After two ladies left the scene, Gun-Ho was sitting with the lady who was in her 30s. Gun-Ho couldn't think of anything to talk about with her.
"Please have some tea."
"Okay."
The lady seemed that she didn't know what to say either because she was just fiddling with her cup of coffee.
"Did you study the Chinese language in college?"
"No, I majored in accounting."
"I was told that you went to a college in China."
"Yes, that's correct."
Gun-Ho felt like people sitting at the next table were glancing at them. Gun-Ho wanted to leave the café. Gun-Ho started fiddling his cup of coffee as well without saying a word.
Gun-Ho thought he had to say something because otherwise, he could look so rude to her.
"Is Incheon City your hometown?"
"No, my hometown is Suwon City."
"Do you commute from Suwon then?"
"I stay in a OneRoomTel during weekdays in Incheon and go back to my home in Suwon on weekends."
"Oh, I see."
Gun-Ho couldn't find any other question to make a conversation with her, and he let out a slight sigh.
'I wish the lady who is sitting in front of me was Mori Aikko.'
Gun-Ho thought of Mori Aikko who was smiling at him.
 
Gun-Ho felt pressured that he had to say something to the lady.
"How long have you worked as a teacher?"
"It has been five years."
"You get used to teaching children by now then."
The lady lifted her head and laughed. It was the first time Gun-Ho saw her laughing. Gun-Ho didn't think his wife had to be pretty, but he really didn't like this lady who was sitting in front of him. It seemed that the lady knew Gun-Ho wasn't attracted to her.
"Maybe we should be going now."
"Sounds good."
Gun-Ho stood up and then the lady stood up to leave. She was surprisingly short. Mori Aikko was short, but this lady was way shorter than Mori Aikko.
"It must be hard to teach children, right?"
"No, it's okay. It's doable."
The lady seemed to be disappointed. She expected Gun-Ho to ask her to have dinner or take a walk or something, but he didn't suggest anything. Gun-Ho felt sorry for her because all he could think of was Mori Aikko.
"Maybe I am too into a geisha. I might lose my opportunity to meet a great girl because of a geisha."
Gun-Ho then thought,
"Nah. I want a girl who is at least average looking and a bit taller than her."
Gun-Ho asked the lady.
"Where are you heading to after this meeting?"
"I need to meet with my friend. I am heading to Bupyeong District."
"Oh, you do? I am supposed to meet with my friends in Seoul too."
Gun-Ho laughed and the lady laughed along with him.
That was the end of Gun-Ho's first meeting with a girl, set up by his family, and that didn't go well.

This is the story of a poor young man whose poverty even shreds apart their family willing to climb his way through society and into the top. A very realistic novel that moves away from fantasy and sci-fi and focuses solely on the issues of society and life.

"Gather in front of the palace at six o'clock tomorrow morning and set off with the troops! Dismissed!" Ren Baqian waved his hand at the people below, and the students immediately leaped away like alpacas released from their reins.
Yes, they leaped.
A bunch of students would be tagging along for the fireworks show.
Ren Baqian had always been reiterating to the students why they were learning and what this knowledge could be used for!
He didn't want them to immediately become officials after they graduated!
Although the court of Dayao also lacked new blood that had undergone basic education, he needed them more. 
Ren Baqian turned his head and saw the two sword masters standing in the distance. 
"You have been waiting for a long time," he greeted them with a smile.
"You exaggerate, Your Highness!" Du Mengyang and Ling Du replied politely.
"Have you read the books? Did you learn anything?" He looked at the two and asked what he was most concerned about.
"Apart from chemistry, the rest are okay!" one of them replied.
"Everything except for biology! I get angry when I read that humans evolved from monkeys. How could our ancestors be monkeys? Who is this Charles Darwin? I must make him pay the price for spouting nonsense!" The other man was quite annoyed.
The two weren't really dispirited. In fact, Ren Baqian had already told Du Mengyang and Ling Du to pick what they liked and what they were good at.
"Oh, Charles Darwin… I'm not sure if his coffin still exists…" Ren Baqian pondered over this and thought that it would be pretty difficult for him to pay the price for spouting nonsense!
He had actually revised the current teaching materials twice and had erased a lot of information about Earth. Most people wouldn't be thinking about the outside world after reading them.
However, these were just small issues. Du Mengyang and Ling Du were happy for the most part.
They actually took back quite a number of books. In addition to a simplified dictionary, which was revised according to the characters of this world, they also took math books that were at an elementary school level and algebraic geometry books that were at the high school freshman level. There was also a physical chemistry book for high school sophomores and a biology book for their first semester. 
The two actually memorized so much information within just one month that it was extremely remarkable.
"It's good that you two have learned something. I'm about to leave the city tomorrow and would like to ask you some questions to gauge your situation." Ren Baqian suddenly burst out laughing.
"Please ask, Your Highness!"
"Come to my office!" He led Du Mengyang and Ling Du into his office, briefly flipped through the previous exams, and circled out a few questions for them. For each subject, there were ten fill-in-the-blank questions worth 40 points and six short-answer questions worth 60 points.
Two hours later, Ren Baqian looked at the papers they handed in and was overjoyed.
Both of them scored an average of above 80 points.
It was unexpectedly good for Du Mengyang and Ling Du to score above 80 marks in several subjects after just one month of learning.
Ren Baqian was already certain that these sword masters were unbelievably talented in learning!
"Congratulations, you two!" He smiled.
"Looks like we are qualified!" Du Mengyang and Ling Du smiled as well.
"Now we can talk about things in detail!" Ren Baqian sat back and said to them. "What you guys have read are the materials that I plan for the 13 and 14 year old youths to learn. It's just a small part of the sea of knowledge; a small river where the water doesn't even reach your knees."
The two raised their eyebrows and felt a little surprised.
Du Mengyang and Ling Du learned these subjects very quickly, but they knew in their hearts that most of these had already exceeded the scope of geniuses.
For instance, elementary school math was pretty easy, but most of the high school level algebraic geometry was beyond what scholars had learned.
It was needless to mention physical chemistry.
"There's still a lot of knowledge to be learned later. I hope you can obtain a deeper knowledge and use it as the basis for doing things. Regardless of whether it's research or teaching, the duration of the contract is 20 years. After all, this knowledge isn't easily spread to others. If you want to leave before the contract term ends, the cost will be huge. I hope you can understand this.
Of course, I'll give you adequate rewards.
You will have an abundance of supplies, a stable life, and all the materials that you need.
In addition, you'll also have money, women, and power. As long as you can give me what I want, I can provide what you need… After all, the knowledge and skills that you possess will all be used to serve the nation! This is true no matter if you are in Great Xia or Dayao."
"Your Highness, in my honest opinion, Lan City isn't our planned objective! Even if we agree, the others might not," Du Mengyang replied.
They didn't care about other aspects. All they wanted was to live the life they yearned for in a flourishing area, not spend the rest of their lives in a place of hardship and poverty like Lan City.
"Have you seen the streetlights?" Ren Baqian pointed outside.
"These streetlights are truly incredible!" Du Mengyang and Ling Du highly appreciated them. Even the capital of Great Xia was unable to have bright lights shine through the entire city at night. 
In fact, except for a few streets, Great Xia's capital was dark at night.
However, even though these streetlights could bring brightness, Lan City lacked too much.
"You two don't have to worry about this. In five years' time, Lan City's prosperity will reach a level where people will want to spend the rest of their lives here. After all, this is the capital of Dayao. These streetlights are only the beginning. Countless merchants will be coming in and out, and the supplies will be abundant enough to entrance people. All of this can be achieved.
We can make a five year contract! If Lan City can't reach a satisfactory level within five years, you can then move to the former Yun Nation to live. Everything you want will be over there. However, before all this, there must be a price to pay for living the life you want. Five years isn't that long," Ren Baqian replied indifferently. He was very confident about this.
Du Mengyang and Ling Du looked at each other and thought that this condition was indeed acceptable.
Besides, according to what they understood about Lan City these days, there had indeed been a lot of changes over the last two years.
This included the streetlights, the clock tower, and the items sold in the royal shops that couldn't be found anywhere else.
It wasn't impossible to say that Lan City would reach a fairly prosperous level in a few years.
As for the issue of the aboriginals not being friendly enough, Du Mengyang and Ling Du didn't really care.
Judging from the information the pair had obtained, Ren Baqian had spent a lot of time on these changes.
People from the Yun Nation and Jing Tribe could now at least walk freely on the streets.
Du Mengyang and Ling Du believed that these changes would happen. 
"We are only signing the agreement with you! Not with the imperial court!" The two noted another point.
"Sure." Ren Baqian nodded.
He understood their concerns.
After all, he wasn't an aboriginal either, so Du Mengyang and Ling Du could naturally trust him with some matters. Neither of them had much confidence in dealing with the aboriginal barbarians in the imperial court.
"How many people do you want, Your Highness?"
"The more the merrier! It would be better if all the sword masters could make this place their home!"
"We can only say that we'll try our best. Also, we need to go back to contact the others." 
"In that case, I hope that you will not reject the company of my staff. As far as I know, the opinions in your organization aren't unified. Your decision may affect some people, and not everyone will be pleased with it. My men will mainly be responsible for your safe return!" Ren Baqian explained.
"Thank you for your trouble, You Highness!" Du Mengyang and Ling Du looked at each other. Although this move might not be without the intention of surveillance, what he said also wasn't without reason.
…
Ren Baqian was quite happy when he returned to the palace. Their performance had confirmed his theory. With the addition of this group of people, many things could be done much more easily in the future.
This would involve more than 100 talented academics!
In this era, people like this could play a huge role.
He wondered how much impact there would be on this world if he brought another 100 academics from Earth!
Even if they were limited by vision and insight, their talent was their greatest strength.
In a year or two, they could learn what others needed decades to achieve. After that, they could make tremendous contributions.
Besides, making a deal with these two Spirit Wheel sword masters was like breaking through a wall. It would be much easier to deal with the rest of the people.
Ren Baqian had put in place another piece of the future's puzzle.
Li Yuanzhu was a representative of strength, while Du Mengyang and Ling Du would be representatives of productivity and technology.


In a world where its inhabitants can destroy a city wall single-handedly, the empress has a kirin as her pet, and the imperial palace of Great Xia has a pool containing a dragon. There is also a Sword Mountain where spirit swords occasionally leave in search of a master .

Bootlicking the empress, Ren Baqian ascended to the apex of life.　　

Winter break was only a few days away now, and this knowledge, coupled with the thought that everyone would be moving up a grade, increased the excitement in the classroom. The children were excited for the start of another break, while teachers dreaded the soon-to-come increase in paperwork. Diligent teachers would have already finished editing last year's student records and writing up student evaluations and progress reports, but most usually ended up procrastinating until the end of the year, resulting in a mountain of paperwork that now included everything that normally came with, well, the end of the year. Student records, after all, pertained to every student in the school, and there was even more paperwork involved for students graduating or moving up a grade. The decreased number of students meant that more experienced teachers made quick work of their papers, freeing enough time for them to plan out their break, but the others were left to slave away day and night trying to balance lesson plans and paperwork.

The teacher in charge of Class 1-3 was no different, and dark circles had settled under her eyes for quite a few days now. Nevertheless, she had still spend last evening sitting in her living room to watch TV, disregarding her pile of laundry and increasing paperwork, all because one of her own students, the school's celebrity and her own little pain in the neck, was making an appearance, all thanks to her tip to the broadcasting station. She felt almost obligated to watch, and honestly, she relished the opportunity to rest her tired mind and body. Even more honestly, she felt much too lazy to do anything.

Still, sitting there in front of the TV, waiting for the program to start, she felt a bit like some sort of mastermind, and she felt good knowing that this was her student. Perhaps all her colleagues or even parents would come to her tomorrow to ask all sorts of questions about her teaching methods, about how she taught a prodigy, or how prodigies studied. Maybe they'll even ask about what it's like to deal with a prodigies and all the pros and cons.

The program lasted 50 minutes, with Lucid appearing in a twenty minute clip. And yet, the more Hee Yeon watched, the more confused she felt. This wasn't the child she knew. The whole time, she mumbled to herself, "He's not like that. He's much more..." and scratched her head. The Lucid she knew was much more vibrant, more clever, and asked questions that she could never have imagined. He displayed a genius that had baffled her, and yet onscreen, he appeared to be no different from any smart kid on the block. After being introduced as a first grader with a keen interest in physics, he had passed a preliminary test with flying colors, which was amazing, yes. But then the IQ test results were revealed, and he had scored lower than most other children who were labeled as prodigies. Then they cut to a science high school teacher explaining some theories, and then went on to show Lucid being excited about an experiment. Hee Yeon knew that he was excited over the precise numbers and calculations, but the audience had no way of knowing that, and simply thought the experiment must have looked cool to a child his age. All in all, the program had done nothing to convey just how amazing and extraordinary Lucid was.

The science teacher had gone on to end the interview with a rather puzzled look.

"It's normal for elementary school children to be curious about their surroundings and and to want to learn more about science." he had said.

But it wasn't normal at all! He was the only one in Hee Yeon's class to even care about anything like that!

"But it's wonderful to see this curiosity being taken to the next level, to the point that he would take on more advanced topics in an effort to lean more about what he wants to know. That's not that common. The fact that he's still in elementary school is really quite a surprise." The interview continued.

But he wasn't just any elementary schooler! He's in first grade! He only started receiving education last year!

"Given his passion and willingness to learn, I'm sure we can expect great things from him. I, for one, am rooting for him."

Why won't they just admit that he's a genius? That he was amazing, a true marvel, and that everyone as a society should help him prosper??

Hee Yeon quickly grew bored. Perhaps her expectations had been too high, or perhaps she had mistakenly thought that she knew more about him that she actually did. The program ended like that, on a very, very boring note, and Hee Yeon found herself browsing through the program's forums, eager to see if others thought the same way.

"Is that the library kid from social media? He's cute."
"Is he mixed? Look at his nose. Damn."
"His eye color looks really strange. Is it because of the lights? Or am I going crazy?"
"A child who's into physics? That's sorta boring as a topic, isn't it? And today's show seemed really forced. Stop pushing kids to fit your definition of a prodigy."
"Do elementary schoolers really not know linear equations? Like, is he really the only one?"

Hee Yeon hadn't thought of it before, since she had grown accustomed to it, but it seemed that people were more interested in Lucid's looks. Most of the posts were about how good-looking he was, and the few posts that discussed his intelligence all seemed to agree that he didn't qualify as a prodigy.

In actuality, there weren't that many posts to begin with. Had the show failed to attract people's attention? Hee Yeon regretted her decision to watch it in the first place. She could have gotten so much done. Like her laundry, for example. Sighing to herself, she sat at her desk, once again focusing on her paperwork.

****

"Come on, Jang. We have a lot more children lined up. Let's get ready for the next episode."
"We just have to make sure the next episode is better. Don't let it get to you, and don't be so disappointed."
"Views aren't everything. We did well to show the issues with today's education system. It's alright. Don't sweat it."

The last to visit him had been Nayeon, the youngest writer. She looked like she was about to cry, apologizing with a trembling voice. They had avoided hitting the lowest views since the birth of the program, "Looking for Prodigies," but when compared to last week's episode of a child figuring out car models simply from the sound of the brakes and helping the police identify stolen cars, the views had dropped by 4%.

"You have nothing to apologize for." said Jang reassuringly. "It's my fault for not capturing it right."

Of course, their program relied much more on the topic and story themselves than on presentation, but that didn't mean that he could blame Nayeon for the episode flopping. If they had focused on his looks in the first place, the views would have been much higher, so in the end, it really had been an issue of presentation. Jang knew this was a reach, and he felt angry at how unfair this all was, but he also knew that it couldn't be helped. With the end of the year approaching, he would have to move mountains to schedule another shoot, and it was difficult to clean this mess up, as no one had predicted this would happen. Because it had been so unexpected, though, Jang had been able to get out of this without so much as a reprimand from the higher ups. That didn't make him feel any better though, and he couldn't bring himself to leave the editing room.

****

"Sir, I got it."
"Good. So, this is the footage?"

A man, roughly in his early 50's, received a file and a USB from his secretary.

"Yes, sir. We stopped it from going on air, in exchange for an advertisement. It's taken care of." The secretary reported, pushing up his gold-framed glasses. Given the nature of their product, airing an advertisement during a time where their main demographic was busy was nothing short of throwing money in the wind. Still, it was a necessary cost in order to carry out more secret dealings with broadcasting stations. This time was no different. The footage in question would have seriously hurt the company's reputation, so buying it out was a great gain for them. For the station, they clipped out a less than satisfactory video in exchange for an ad, resulting in a great gain there, as well. That Jang wouldn't be penalized for the drop in views was just a bonus.

"Did you get it analyzed?"
"Yes, sir. We've already conducted the first round of testing, comparing that footage to the video we got from the high school."
"First round?" the man asked, looking up at his secretary from the pile of documents in the file.
"I mean, the report was baffling for us all, sir. It was a general consensus that one analysis wouldn't be enough to fully comprehend the situation."
"So?"
"We will conduct more in-depth analyses and experiments. Our research team is on it, sir."
"What happens if the footage is real?"
"The experiment was only conducted three times, so the validity of the results is dubious at best. But if we were to assume they are accurate... Then whatever they used is seven times more effective than our product, sir."
"Seven times..."
"If even a second of that footage had been broadcasted, it would have caused enough uproar to flip our entire industry around."
"That data, though... It can't possibly be real, can it?"
"No, sir. Even our researchers are doubting it. We tested all the products they used even before the episode aired, and it just isn't plausible that such results would pop up all of a sudden. But we can't dismiss it, either. We have a few people determined that the footage is unaltered and real."
"..."

The secretary cleared his throat and straightened up a bit.

"For now, we should leave it to our researchers. I will report their findings as soon as we get more information."
"Do they know?"
"The other company? No, sir. It's a stroke of luck that we found out about it in the first place. Remember Director Park's son? He was there during the experiment, and he contacted us as soon as he realized something was off."
"I'll have to meet up with him, have a drink or something." the man grumbled, tapping the USB against the desk as he thought. "Oh, and figure something out for a scholarship. And tell those researchers that I want results quick."

So many requests, and all over the place, too. The secretary bowed his head in understanding and left the room.

****

Winter break brought along another exciting event: Christmas. The institute was alight with decorations and fairy lights, having been set up as early as the beginning of December. The small, decorative trees were covered in lights, and the hallways inside were lined with paper flowers and garlands. All in all, Christmas was no different in the institute than in any other part of the city. The many volunteers and welfare facilities helped set up a wonderful Christmas spirit, and the children were also spending their days in a flurry of excitement and anticipation for their presents and other fun events.

Lucid was also enjoying himself. The TV program had renewed his interest in physics, and he was now looking forward to studying more in-depth about it. Still, the filming itself had been a dull affair. He found it much too inefficient, what with having to go from place to place and wait around for this and that. If only he had spent that time reading, then he could have at least learned new things.

But something even more exciting than all that had appeared at the institute.

"Whoa, look at that. So many!"
"Are there comic books here?"
"Ugh, only plaster face reads this stuff. Whatever."

A library opened inside the institute.


<Clash (6)> End.

A boy who was living an ordinary life in another world suddenly came to the present world.

Social systems, way of life and morals... They have all changed.

How will the boy try to survive?

What kind of life will the boy live?

Bai Wu leaped into Xu Lan's arms, the way a homesick swallow made a dash for its nest. He buried his face in Xu Lan's chest and murmured, "Papa, I miss you."
"Haha, how're your studies coming along? Did you obey the teacher's instructions?" As he swayed along with Bai Wu in the midst of their embrace, Xu Lan patted Bai Wu's back and asked.
"The teacher complimented me and said that I'm intelligent! My classmates play basketball after class too. This time around, I held back!" Bai Wu smiled happily with his front teeth showing.
"Mmm, good boy. Keep this up. You must be friendly and tolerant to your classmates, got it?" Xu Lan started reading parenting books lately. He was determined to be a good father.
"Uh huh! Got it!" Bai Wu shouted his reply with conviction.
"Haha, come. Let me have your bag. What do you want for dinner? Noodles with eggs and tomatoes or stir-fry rice noodles with vegetables?" Xu Lan asked as he reached for Bai Wu's bag.
"Papa, can we not have noodles, please? I'm too full for it. Here, touch this if you don't believe me!" Bai Wu pouted as he guided Xu Lan's hand to his stomach. "Look, I'm so full."
"When did you eat? You had a long day and I wanted to replenish your nutrients. I guess I'll have to finish the cake up by myself," Xu Lan said with frustration.
Bai Wu's eyes lit up after hearing about the cake. He started licking his lips.
"I want! I want cake! Papa, can we have cakes for dinner tonight, please?" Bai Wu pleaded with Xu Lan.
"You just said you're full. You shouldn't overeat, it'll make you feel sick," said Xu Lan, who was trying very hard to hold back his laugh.
"I want! I'm hungry! Papa, touch again! I'm really hungry!" Bai Wu pulled his shirt up and exposed his thin waist in the air.
Xu Lan stifled a laugh and scratched his head. However, from Bai Wu's point of view, Xu Lan was considering if they should have cakes tonight.
Xu Lan was holding his laughter back so hard that it was starting to hurt. He could not even speak without bursting into waves of laughter.
From there onward, Xu Lan found Bai Wu's second weakness — dessert. The first time Bai Wu had dessert was when Shen Xiang gave him a chunk of bitter chocolate. Xu Lan could not understand why Bai Wu fell in love with something so bitter.
"Eh? Bai Wu, you're still here? Ah! Mister Xu, are you here to pick Bai Wu up?" Bai Wu's teacher greeted politely.
"Uh huh. Thanks for the hard work." Xu Lan nodded as he reached for Bai Wu's wandering hands.
"What a great coincidence, I wanted to talk to you about something. Before I could call you, you showed up here," said the teacher.
Xu Lan passed the bag over to Bai Wu, instructing for him to stay at the same spot. Xu Lan walked toward the teacher with a big frown, wondering what kind of problem did the little guy cause this time.
"Mister Xu, here's the thing. You told me that Bai Wu never had any formal education prior to this, right?"
The teacher asked in confusion. She seemed to be in shock after Xu Lan answered in affirmative.
"Through my lesson today, I can tell that Bai Wu is extremely intelligent with strong learning abilities. I was planning to start with basic pinyin, but he memorized everything after seeing the PowerPoint slides. I had to change my curriculum on the spot and teach him the elementary school curriculum instead."
Bai Wu made great progress, not only that it rattled the teacher, but it also took Xu Lan by surprise.


A young boy named Bai Wu was saved and adopted by a thirty-something police sergeant named Xu Lan. It was love at first sight for Bai Wu, and once he started getting older, his heart yearned for a taste of the forbidden fruit - the romantic love of his adoptive father. The question is, will Xu Lan ever reciprocate? With deranged serial killers, parallel dimensions, time warps, dragons, and a bit of ancient black magic, Bai Wu and Xu Lan are caught in a series of crazy adventures while discovering what they truly mean to each other. This is a story of lust and madness!

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