Chapter 3: Who Am I? Where Am I? (Part Two)

The crowd standing in a circle nodded in agreement, each person chiming in with their own comment.

"Yeah, that's right. Roaring in class? The administration is definitely going to punish him."

"Will he get a demerit?"

"A demerit is nothing—he might even get expelled."

"Come on, really? Just for shouting once? He didn’t do anything, and they’d expel him for that?"

"Who knows? Principal Liu just took office, and they say every new official has to make a splash. Maybe this is his first act."

"Sigh, he’s just another poor soul driven mad by pressure."

"What’s this, anyway? Out of thousands fighting for the college entrance exam, the top students in middle school become nobodies in high school. Happens all the time, doesn’t it? If he can’t handle even this much pressure, how fragile must his mind be?"

The chatter buzzed around him, but Shi Tiexin’s face remained expressionless. His thoughts were in turmoil, like two great tides crashing into each other.

Looking at his surroundings, listening to the voices, everything felt by turns strange and familiar. One moment, he was filled with deep regret and confusion, wondering why he’d suddenly snapped, flipped the desk, and shouted like a madman. The next, he was gripped by fear—at what had happened to him, at how he’d ended up in this place, so similar yet so unlike a historical drama.

His thoughts surged like waves, breaking out here and there, chaotic and hard to untangle.

In a daze, he heard the bell for class. The students scrambled back to their classrooms. The next teacher arrived, glanced at him curiously, saw that he stood there motionless and made no attempt to explain himself, and, shaking his head, ignored him and went in to begin the lesson.

"Class has started."

"Stand up!"

A sudden rustle as everyone stood.

"Good morning, students."

"Good—mor—ning—teacher!"

"Be seated!"

Chairs scraped as everyone sat down.

"Today we’re covering high school physics. Electricity and magnetism. Turn to page seventy-six in your textbooks..."

The teacher’s voice drifted into his ears, and suddenly, it was as if a small patch of light flickered on, bringing a little clarity to his muddled mind.

Physics?

Physics—one of the six fundamental mind arts. Basic physics consisted of four layers: basic mechanics, basic electromagnetism, basic optics, and basic energetics. Mastering it enhanced one’s control over strength.

To be eligible for the Minor Provincial Exam, you needed to reach the second tier in two of the six core mind arts—mathematics and rhetoric—and at least the first tier in the other four: chemistry, physics, biology, and natural history. Mind arts were rarely taught, yet here was a lecturer openly teaching the second tier of physics right in the classroom!

If only he’d mastered even the first tier of physics, just listening in would have been hugely beneficial. But now? He couldn’t even understand a word. What a wasted opportunity.

...

Wait—what was he just thinking?

Six fundamental mind arts? What were those?

Natural history, rhetoric—what were those supposed to be?

Math, physics, chemistry, biology—aren’t those just the science subjects you have to take in high school?

And besides, I’ve already studied ahead on electricity and magnetism in physics—how could I possibly not understand these basics?

...

Understand? Even the second tier of mind arts? Let me try—huh, I actually understand a little.

What about the first tier? Do I understand that?

...

First tier?

Does that mean basic mechanics?

Let me think—it includes basic forces and motion, right?

That’s simple stuff, all mastered back in middle school. There’s nothing hard about that.

...

Wait—what the hell?

No way! This is insane!

Is this... me?

But...

Who... am I...

A fog rolled through his mind, something pressing to burst forth, but always just out of reach. In this haze, classes ended and began, began and ended. Time slipped by unnoticed, and when dinner time arrived, Shi Tiexin was still standing there, completely lost.

Until someone appeared before him.

His homeroom teacher, old Jia.

Old Jia walked up to Shi Tiexin with his hands clasped behind his back, scrutinizing the student who hadn’t moved all afternoon. Some of his anger abated; it seemed this kid wasn’t deliberately defying him after all.

But seeing those blank, sleepwalking eyes and the wooden, lifeless face, old Jia’s fury flared anew. He barked:

"Shi Tiexin! Look at you—tall as you are, once a champion of the First Guard, and now what have you become? I know it’s stressful, but can’t a man shoulder even this much? So you fell out of the honors class—so what? Every year, a few drop out of the honors class!"

"Clench your teeth! Grit your way back in!"

"Staggering around like a drunk all day—have you given up on yourself? Are you worthy of those who nurtured you, worthy of your own past efforts? What a disgrace!"

"You—"

Old Jia was roaring now, his anger boiling over, berating Shi Tiexin up one side and down the other. But when he raised his hand, about to strike, he held himself back. Staring deeply into Shi Tiexin’s dazed eyes, he sighed, suddenly drained.

"Forget evening study. Go back to the dorm. Sleep if you want to sleep, study if you want to study, do whatever you like. I’m done with you."

Shi Tiexin’s eyes flickered with a glimmer of awareness.

Sleep?

Yes, he should sleep—his mind was a mess. Maybe rest would help.

He tried to move, but after standing rigid for so long, his first step wobbled and he stumbled right into old Jia. Towering over his teacher, Shi Tiexin toppled like a building collapsing, crashing into him.

With a thud, old Jia was caught off guard, his legs buckled, and his face turned red as he struggled to hold Shi Tiexin up.

"Spineless weakling! Useless brat!" old Jia exploded, finally losing it and thumping Shi Tiexin’s back with his iron palm. But Shi Tiexin, lost in a fog, barely noticed. He straightened up and staggered away, not even glancing at the teacher he’d nearly flattened.

Old Jia ground his teeth until they creaked, and finally roared after him, lion-like:

"You good-for-nothing, get yourself something to eat—!"

Leaving the lion’s roar behind, Shi Tiexin wandered out of the teaching building, alone across the empty athletic field toward the dorms beyond. As his foot touched the rubber track, the bell for evening study rang out.

Something stirred in his heart. He turned and looked back at the teaching building. It was night, and the sky was dark, but every classroom shone with light, each student bent over their books. Building after building, students beyond counting. The whole vast campus was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Lost in a haze, Shi Tiexin felt a faint awareness.

Am I... in a sanctuary for mastering the mind arts?

He lifted his eyes to the central teaching building, where, atop the roof, a row of brilliant red characters blazed in the night, lit up and dazzling.

"Knowledge changes destiny. Learning shapes the future."

Those bright red words seemed to strike deep into Shi Tiexin’s heart. His expression grew solemn, a realization dawning within.

Yes, this truly is a sanctuary for mastering the mind arts.

Phoenix First High School.