An Lin wiped the tea from his face with helpless resignation.
After that, under An Lin's utterly sincere and overly serious gaze, Xu Xiaolan finally—reluctantly—accepted the devastating truth:he couldn't cultivate at all.Not even a little.
Xu Xiaolan thought for a moment, then took out a small cultivation manual for basic breathing techniques from her storage ring.
"This is the breathing technique book I read when I was three. Here, it's yours."
With that, she generously tossed the manual to An Lin.
An Lin: "…"
Night fell quiet, stars spread like an ocean, but inside one of the houses, the lights still blazed.
An Lin was carefully reading the cultivation manual, while Xu Xiaolan patiently answered the endless stream of questions he threw at her.
To An Lin, the world of cultivation was completely new—every concept felt unfamiliar.
Like:Which meridian should the gathered energy pass through?How should the mind technique circulate?What level of force should one apply to guide the energy?
An Lin listened with extraordinary seriousness and asked questions with extraordinary enthusiasm, even taking notes from time to time.
As for Xu Xiaolan… as the genius prodigy of Shilong Prefecture, teaching An Lin how to cultivate felt only marginally easier than teaching a monkey to do the same.
Good heavens… he couldn't even tell his own meridians apart!How did this man survive eighteen years of life!?
He didn't even know how to redirect energy!?
Even if you've never eaten pork, you must have at least seen a pig run!
Xu Xiaolan was about to lose her mind. She explained every fundamental concept, word by word, occasionally using hand gestures to assist.
An Lin, meanwhile, looked confused.Then more confused.Then geometrically confused…
That night became a painful, unforgettable memory for both of them.
After what felt like an eternity, An Lin left Xu Xiaolan's house full of gratitude.
Xu Xiaolan, on the other hand, thanked the heavens for finally removing this walking disaster from her sight.
Still, An Lin gained a lot tonight—he finally learned how to cultivate!He finally knew how to breathe in heavenly energy!
As soon as he returned to his room, he sat down eagerly to meditate.
During meditation, he could feel himself growing stronger, very slowly, but undeniably.At least… there was hope.
"Sigh, the road from trash to genius really is full of hardships."An Lin couldn't help sighing as he meditated in his room.
The next day, An Lin's student life at the Celestial United University officially began.
The university was founded by the Heavenly Court itself, created specifically to train cultivators.
Countless geniuses from across the Nine Provinces gathered here.
Most students who entered the school were elite prodigies of the cultivation world.
And within the school, the strongest of them all were the students of Class One—the geniuses among geniuses.
Most rising stars of the cultivation world came from this very class.
Most cultivators in the Nine Provinces spent their entire lives stuck at Body Refinement Stage Five.
But the students of Class One?Their lowest realm was Stage Eight.Except for An Lin…
To be honest, being in the same class as such a group of monsters put massive pressure on him.
The teaching building was constructed entirely from top-grade jade spirit stones, filled with dense spiritual energy.
Because of this, students' realms would subtly improve just by attending class.
If not for the formation restricting direct absorption of the spirit stones' energy, the entire building would probably collapse by the next day.
Nervous, An Lin stepped into his classroom.
The "geniuses mocking the trash" scene he imagined did not happen.
The geniuses looked at him, yes, but mostly with curiosity.
After all, the reputation of "Most Powerful Nepotism Student An Lin" had spread throughout campus on the very first day.
Luckily, he wasn't the biggest star of this freshman batch—only the third.
And who were the top two?
According to Xu Xiaolan, they were also recipients of the True God Recommendation Letter.
In past years, sometimes not even one new student had such a letter—it was that rare.
A True God Recommendation Letter wasn't just an admission notice; it was recognition of one's strength, granted by the supreme gods of the cultivation world.An honor beyond compare.
Anyone who received one was an absolute monster-level prodigy.
This year, the other two monsters were:
Xuan Yuan Cheng, early Spirit Nurturing Stage, son of the sect master of Myriad Spirits Immortal Sect.Su Qianyun, early Spirit Nurturing Stage, princess of the Aoki Imperial Clan of Purple Star Province, rumored to be a cultivation fanatic.
After Stage Ten of Body Refinement came Spirit Nurturing.How difficult was Spirit Nurturing?
Most Class One geniuses stayed five years until graduation and still couldn't reach it.
Once one reached that stage, they could ascend to the Heavenly Court and be recognized as a "Little Immortal."
And these two?They entered school already at that level.
The entire university exploded over the news.
An Lin entered through the same True God Recommendation Letter as they did—but now he felt… embarrassed.Extremely embarrassed.Like he wanted to dig a deep hole and crawl into it.
Naturally, Class One's geniuses were far more interested in Xuan Yuan Cheng and Su Qianyun.An Lin, the "nepotism case," received no mockery—but no extra attention either.
That alone was enough to let An Lin breathe a sigh of relief.Harmony mattered most.
He sat at the back and quietly read the breathing manual Xu Xiaolan gave him.
Before long, gasps filled the classroom.Even with his eyes closed, An Lin knew it had to be one of the prodigies.
Sure enough, a girl walked in.She wore star-patterned robes; her long black hair fell to her waist; her blue eyes shimmered like a dream.
The moment An Lin saw her, he couldn't look away.
Calling her "devastatingly beautiful" felt like an insult.In short, she was destined to be the top campus goddess of Celestial United University.
Facing the envious gazes of the class, Su Qianyun remained expressionless.She walked to a corner, sat down, and closed her eyes to meditate.
"Heaven is so unfair. Being a genius is one thing—why does she also get to look like that?"Xu Xiaolan huffed beside him, brows raised.
"What, jealous?" An Lin chuckled.
"Read your book, dummy!" she snapped.
Soon, another round of gasps swept through the classroom, mixed with the excited screams of several female students.
A young man walked in—star-like eyes, elegant features, moving with a natural grace, his smile warm as spring wind.
It was none other than Xuan Yuan Cheng, the son of the sect master.The moment he entered, he captured everyone's attention.
He greeted the class politely, then chose a seat at the very front.
An Lin considered himself fairly handsome.But compared to Xuan Yuan Cheng's brilliance…he had to admit—he was "slightly inferior."
This time, it was Xu Xiaolan who couldn't look away.
Even after Xuan Yuan Cheng sat down, she continued staring intently at his back.
An Lin sighed sorrowfully as he looked at the genius.
"Sigh… the type of person I hate most is exactly someone like him.Able to eat with his face,eat with his talent,
and eat with his father's status…"