Chapter One

Jincheng First High School, between classes.

Li Yunxian glanced at the countdown on the blackboard: seventy days until the college entrance exam. Her expression was tinged with helplessness.

She had spent nearly ten thousand years in the world of cultivation, and the knowledge required for the college entrance exam had long faded from memory. In the half month since her return, Li Yunxian had tried to catch up on exam materials, but it was clear she could never reach her former academic heights with so little time left.

However...

The world she inhabited now offered more than just the college entrance exam as a path forward.

Li Yunxian touched the watch on her wrist—a new addition since her return from the cultivation world. It could connect her to a holographic game world called "All Things."

She knew about the special class at school. Only after crossing back did she realize that the special class was reserved for cultivators.

Recently, she often overheard classmates discussing the upcoming Cultivator Academic Exam—a test exclusive to the special class, that is, to cultivators.

Words like "spiritual power," "talent," and "innate constitution" cropped up in their conversations—terms identical to those she encountered in the game.

If the game’s exchange shop really allowed her to trade for rare treasures to aid her cultivation...

Li Yunxian was pondering the prospect of redeeming materials that evening when a hand landed on her shoulder.

A bright, youthful face suddenly appeared before her. “Yunxian, come with me to the restroom.”

“Ah.” Li Yunxian was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t yet adjusted to being eighteen again, the perfect age for girls to go hand-in-hand to the restroom.

Fortunately, she recovered quickly, standing up and linking arms with her friend. “Alright, let’s go.”

As they walked down the long corridor, Li Yunxian heard a dull thud—something hitting the wall—followed by a groan.

Her expression instantly sharpened, and she strode quickly toward the source of the sound.

At the stairwell’s corner, she saw a frail male student drenched in water, his face bruised, being pinned against the wall by someone gripping his collar.

“What are you doing?” Li Yunxian demanded sternly.

Her face was small, still round with a hint of baby fat, and her long, thick hair lent her an air of innocence. Yet, as a former ancestor of the cultivation world, the authority in her voice was undiminished by her youthful appearance.

The bullies were immediately stunned, even the ringleader instinctively releasing his grip.

It took several seconds for them to react.

The leader, furious, barked at Li Yunxian, “Get lost! Mind your own business, or I’ll beat you too!”

His voice was louder than Li Yunxian’s earlier rebuke, but lacked her imposing presence. Instead, his outburst attracted the attention of nearby students.

Yet none dared speak out upon recognizing the notorious group, though they didn’t leave either.

Her friend, anxious, tugged at Li Yunxian’s arm. “Yunxian, let’s go.”

She lowered her voice to explain, “That’s Liu Chen from the special class. We can’t afford to get involved.”

“Someone once tried to help, but the special class students are really tough,” she added, her voice urgent.

Li Yunxian didn’t respond.

She didn’t know who Liu Chen was, but she could tell these were special class students.

Since her return, she’d learned what the special class, special university, and cultivators were—all simply cultivators.

Liu Chen before her possessed only the first level of Qi Refining.

The bullied student was also a beginner in Qi Refining.

Ordinary people couldn’t interfere with cultivators; regular teachers were powerless against them. The special class operated almost independently from the school’s governance.

But since others had intervened before, did that mean she could as well?

Li Yunxian considered this freely.

Whether she could overcome him was hardly a concern.

First level of Qi Refining—she... was extremely adept at defeating higher-level opponents.

When she first crossed into the cultivation world, she was an orphan with no backing. She advanced as a rogue cultivator, joined a small sect only after reaching Foundation Establishment, and eventually reached the Tribulation stage. Defeating the strong as the weak was routine for her.

She looked at Liu Chen.

Not to mention, Liu Chen’s posture betrayed a total lack of combat experience.

Still, Li Yunxian didn’t act immediately. She fixed her gaze on Liu Chen and asked, “Did this student do something wrong to warrant your treatment?”

“Three years and no progress, a worthless piece of trash, and now someone’s sticking up for him,” Liu Chen sneered. “I told you to mind your own business. If you can’t listen, you won’t need your ears!”

With that, Liu Chen raised his hand in a swift motion, aiming straight for Li Yunxian’s head.

The intent was unmistakable: he meant to cripple her ear.

No one expected Liu Chen to attack so suddenly, and cries of alarm erupted.

But to Li Yunxian, Liu Chen’s movement was painfully slow.

She even had time to observe the reactions around her.

She saw panic in her friend’s eyes and students rising in anger in the hallway.

Li Yunxian smiled lightly.

Slap—

A slender hand caught Liu Chen’s wrist.

It was Li Yunxian’s hand.

But she didn’t merely block him.

She leaned back, deftly dodging his attack, twisted her wrist, and redirected his force—

Using his strength against him!

Liu Chen, bewildered, lost his balance as Li Yunxian guided his momentum. He instinctively attempted to use a lightening technique, but failed.

His meridians were blocked.

When she seized his wrist, Li Yunxian had pressed his acupoint.

In the blink of an eye, before anyone grasped what had happened, Liu Chen—always so arrogant—let out a miserable cry as Li Yunxian pinned him to the ground.

“Now then, after three years, being taken down by a girl from the regular class—doesn’t that make you just as much a failure?” Li Yunxian asked him earnestly.

Liu Chen’s face flushed crimson.

He finally realized what had happened. Somehow, he had been spun around and knocked down.

“Damn you—” Liu Chen cursed, furious, struggling to retaliate, but suddenly felt something strike his back, a searing pain piercing his bones.

He screamed again, the intense pain perfectly disrupting his attempt to cast a spell.

After a few seconds, Li Yunxian withdrew her foot from his back.

She knew precisely which acupoints would hurt without leaving marks.

Perhaps the agony cleared his mind; this time, Liu Chen dared not utter a word. Twice now, his spells had been precisely interrupted—he felt something was off.

Seeing the crowd gathered, humiliation and fear mingled in Liu Chen’s gaze toward Li Yunxian.

He still wanted to retaliate, but her presence held him back. Ultimately, he blurted out a hollow threat to save face: “A real man doesn’t fight women. I won’t bother with you today, but next time, I won’t hold back!”

His lackeys only now realized what had happened, echoing his threats: “Just wait, we’ll deal with you next time.”

Li Yunxian narrowed her eyes and let out a soft laugh, stepping forward.

Liu Chen was startled, quickly smacking his lackeys on the head, afraid she’d expose his weakness further. “Enough nonsense. Leave.”

Seeing Liu Chen slink away so meekly, the onlookers were momentarily stunned.

After a while, a jubilant whistle rang out.

Like a drop of water in hot oil, excitement exploded.

They had despised these thugs from the special class for ages, but were always outmatched and mocked.

It was suffocating!

Now, someone had won!

And it was one of their own from the regular class!

The crowd erupted.

“Amazing!!”

“Fantastic!!”

“Sis, you’re awesome!!!”

Several students cheered, rushing toward Li Yunxian. She was soon surrounded, her hair tousled, a spit mark on her face.

She looked like a bedraggled cat, far more disheveled than when Liu Chen attacked her.

“What are you all doing here? Don’t you have class?” After some time, a teacher arrived to disperse the crowd.

“No class today!!” Driven by Li Yunxian’s actions, their emotions soared, and someone shouted happily at the teacher.

“Teacher, my sis was heroic! She deserves a commendation!”

“Sis, teach me that move!”

“Add it to the PE curriculum!” Various voices clamored, emboldened by their numbers, everyone shouting freely.

Finally breaking free, Li Yunxian wiped her face, speechless and powerless.

... She had never anticipated how much more exuberant modern teenagers were—especially at First High—compared to the reserved folks of the cultivation world.

The teacher, overwhelmed by the noise, ushered the unruly students back to class, though a smile crept onto his face, infected by their jubilation.

Since Liu Chen’s enrollment, the school hadn’t seen such good spirits.

The teacher turned back, looking at Li Yunxian’s innocent, adorable visage. It was impossible to tell she could so thoroughly teach Liu Chen a lesson.

But... it was a job well done.

The teachers, too, had suffered from Liu Chen’s bullying for far too long.

Yet duty required him to speak up.

“Are you aware the school rules prohibit fighting?” he said sternly to Li Yunxian.

She sensed from his tone that he was only going through the motions, so instead of answering, she looked at him pitifully.

She chose to report.

“Teacher, what should I do? Liu Chen threatened me, told me to wait. Will he do something to me?” she asked, feigning concern.

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