Chapter 59: Learning Literature and Calligraphy, Old Jia Encourages Study (Part One)

To master the first level of foundational rhetoric, you must hone four fundamental skills: "speaking, learning, joking, and singing"—ahem, I misspoke... but actually, it's not far off; that's essentially how it is. The four words "listening, speaking, reading, and writing" broadly encompass every aspect of foundational rhetoric cultivation.

The supplemental manuals for rhetoric are quite different from mathematics; you don't need to grind through endless practice problems. There are only so many characters, their pronunciations are fixed, and once you memorize their shapes and meanings, the rest depends on diligent practice. So, Shi Tiexin spent the entire morning immersed in two supplemental manuals: one was the Mandarin Phonetic Literacy Cards, and the other was "Wang Xingshun's Hard Pen Regular Script Practice Book."

When it came to this practice book, Shi Tiexin compared it with the rest and found it to be the best among his collection of supplemental manuals.

A masterpiece—this is a masterpiece-level supplemental manual!

Before seeing the attributes of this manual, he didn’t even know that "masterpiece" was a possible grade!

[Supplemental Manual: Foundational Rhetoric, First Level]
[Quality: Masterpiece]
[Attribute 1: Legacy of Masters. The script in this practice book is structured with rigorous precision, the strokes flow smoothly, and the style is dignified, forming its own unique school in the subtle details—truly bearing the legacy of calligraphy masters. Using this book to practice, cultivation speed increases by 30% for levels above "Excellent," and there is a chance to learn premium regular script at the "Advanced" level.]
[Attribute 2: Easy to Learn and Practice. This book is highly accessible, very friendly to beginners, reduces practice difficulty by 20%, and increases cultivation speed by 20%.]
[Attribute 3: Repeat Usage. Though there are only so many characters, practice is endless; it can be used in cycles, over and over.]

Look at those attributes—Shi Tiexin couldn't help but admit their superiority. No matter how many times he saw it, no matter how many times he ran his fingers over the pages, he felt this supplemental manual was simply extraordinary.

No penalty for slowing down, no punishment for high difficulty, only beneficial buffs! A 20% boost in basic speed, a 20% reduction in difficulty, another 20% speed increase for attribute improvement, and an additional 30% speed boost for levels above "Excellent"! In other words, once you reach "Excellent" in foundational rhetoric, this practice book alone can increase your speed by 70%!

And that's not all—the last attribute, "Repeat Usage," is truly unbeatable.

A masterpiece, indeed!

Have you ever seen a Desert Eagle that boosts power, increases firing rate, reduces recoil, improves accuracy, corrects trajectory, shoots through walls, and has infinite ammo?

No? Me neither.

But I have seen "Wang Xingshun's Hard Pen Regular Script Practice Book"...

With this practice book alone, you could trade it for a small house in Tumubao without any trouble. Though it’s only a supplemental manual for the first level of foundational rhetoric—not all four levels—once you’ve used it, that’s it. Yet such a masterpiece is rare and precious. Thanks to the "Repeat Usage" attribute, it can be passed down as a family heirloom, generation after generation.

Besides, what if Wang Xingshun becomes famous in the future? Should he rise to become a calligraphy master or grandmaster, the value of this practice book would far exceed its role as a supplemental manual.

Just look at the attribute "Legacy of Masters"—it’s not impossible.

Of course, none of this truly concerns Shi Tiexin. No matter how masterful the manual, he can’t take it back to Tumubao, nor can he trade it for a house. The only thing he can carry away is his cultivation of the mind, the knowledge and vital energy gained from the manual.

So Shi Tiexin spent the morning doing nothing but reveling in the pleasure of practicing calligraphy.

Literary and mathematical training stimulate different regions of the brain. After two days of intensive mathematics, even after a good rest, he felt a bit worn out. Switching to rhetoric was a refreshing change. In just one morning, Shi Tiexin felt his literacy, reading, and writing skills improve dramatically, with clear feedback on his progress bar.

When Shi Tiexin went to lunch, the stars came pouring forth. For three whole minutes, they never stopped—crackling like a faucet left running, endlessly streaming toward the progress bar.

[Foundational Rhetoric, First Level cultivation progress raised to "Good"]

But that was not the end.

The stars accumulated throughout the morning were like a bladder ready to burst—ready for a grand release.

Sure enough, the "Comprehension" badge took a leap into a field of brilliance, and the progress bar surged to its end, erupting in a burst of light.

[Foundational Rhetoric, First Level cultivation progress raised to "Excellent"]

"Glug glug glug glug..." Shi Tiexin tilted his head, flipping his hand to pour soup down his cavernous maw, the liquid cascading smoothly into his stomach as if a waterfall had opened in his throat. Shi Tiexin ate with ravenous speed, and while the inscription board was still flaunting his prowess like a lucky cat in various postures, Shi Tiexin slapped his knee and stood up.

Cultivate vital energy, then continue!

He felt good today—at the very least, he wanted to push the first level of foundational rhetoric up to "Excellent"!

Shi Tiexin strode off with enthusiasm, his whole body radiating the vigor of upward ambition. The four downtrodden fellows exchanged glances, uncertain what the big shot was so gleeful about.

But the chubby one quickly caught on, whispering, "Hey, did you hear? Brother Yang from senior year came back to school this morning. The Four Heavenly Kings held a summit meeting at King's Mountain!"

The second immediately chimed in, "Of course I heard—rumors are everywhere. Brother Yang is the top dog among the Four Heavenly Kings, always holding the position of East King. His return to school for a meeting at King's Mountain must be about abdication and succession. Did Brother Yang name his successor?"

The third shook his head, "I found out that Brother Yang didn’t appoint a successor. With one seat vacant among the Four Heavenly Kings, every class leader in first and second year will be vying for it. Who knows who’ll finally rise to the top?"

"If it were before, our Brother Guo would have..."

Mentioning this topic, the four fell silent. Now Teng Chaoguo had vanished entirely from campus—no one could find him or hear a word. The four were left wondering what had happened. But after that fiasco with chicken claws in urine, he certainly wouldn’t reclaim his throne as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

No more talk of Teng Chaoguo; the "Tiger of the Clean Streets" was now a thing of the past. The present and the future belong to someone else!

"By the way, do you think that guy wants to seize the throne?" The chubby one gestured toward Shi Tiexin’s departing figure. "The way he’s strutting, he must have his sights set on the Four Heavenly Kings. He took down Brother Guo, and with Fangtou Fiend shamelessly backing him, there’s no one in first year who can rival him. His chances of becoming a King are pretty high!"

The other three considered it—he had a point. If there were a favored candidate, this big guy was already the top seed.

If he truly became the new member of the Four Heavenly Kings, then... well, being bullied by him wouldn’t seem so disgraceful after all.