Everyone ascended, but I didn't get on board

Chapter 144 Di Zifan's Abnormality

"Damn system, is there any way to detoxify?" Qiu Ci asked anxiously.

[Master, mental toxins cannot be neutralized, only cleansed.]

"How do I clean it?"

"The system comes with the most comprehensive antivirus program, capable of targeted virus removal, but it requires a subroutine to enter the target's primordial spirit," the system said, circling around the socially anxious Jing.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's run an antivirus scan!"

【Good master! 】

The next moment, the small ball of light split in two, splitting into a beam of light the size of a fingertip that flew into the space between the eyebrows of the socially anxious Jing.

Qiu Ci also made a hand seal, protecting his primordial spirit while instructing, "I will now help you clear the toxins from your primordial spirit. No matter what you hear later, remember not to resist, understand?"

"Okay." The socially awkward person nodded and sat down obediently, but the next moment they heard a strange voice in their mind.

[Ding! Subroutine is ready. Virus intrusion detected. Antivirus program has started. Please wait...]

Socially anxious Jing was startled, but then he felt as if a clear stream had been injected into his originally exhausted primordial spirit, which felt as if a huge mountain was pressing down on it. This made him feel relaxed all over, and even the continuous loss of spiritual energy stopped. Some kind of power was gradually removing something heavy from his primordial spirit.

Although the process was slow, he did not feel any pain. Instead, he felt a long-lost sense of ease, as if he were immersed in warm water. His consciousness became increasingly hazy, and he eventually fell asleep comfortably.

Qiu Ci caught the person who had fallen over, helped them lie down, and pulled the blanket over them. Seeing the other person's increasingly calm expression, and glancing at the system's cleanup progress bar, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister Xiaoci, is Senior Brother Jing alright?" Zhen Yi asked worriedly.

"It's alright." Qiu Ci gave him a reassuring look and said in a deep voice, "You'll be fine after sleeping for three or four days."

He had been poisoned for so long that the toxins had almost spread throughout his entire body, making it difficult for even the system to cleanse him. She dared not imagine what would have happened to Jing, the socially anxious person, if she had returned a few days later, or if Master Chai hadn't reminded her to come and check on him.
He'll probably die silently, and even the dean and the others won't be able to find out why.

Thinking of this, her face darkened instantly. She gave Zhen Yi a look and they both left the room.

The two sat down on a stone bench in the courtyard before speaking in a low voice, "Tell me about that Di Zifan."

Zhen Yi's face also darkened, his previous relaxed demeanor replaced by a serious expression. "Sister Xiao Ci, what I said is true. That Di Zifan is really suspicious. I investigated him after Senior Brother Jing was injured."

He seemed to have thought of something, and frowned, saying with some hesitation, "He was originally from a small town in Wuhe County in the Northern Desert. For the first ten years or so, he was unknown and had no reputation. It was even said that he had no spiritual roots and had never cultivated before."

"No spiritual root?" Qiu Ci was taken aback. "Yes." Zhen Yi said with certainty, "At first I also thought I had asked the wrong person, but after inquiring several times, it was the same. The people in that town all said that it was because the test was wrong back then, so they couldn't detect his spiritual root. But I think that he may have really not had a spiritual root in the first place."

"How to say?"

“Because there are too many strange things about him,” Zhen Yi continued. “Before he left Wuhe County, he acted like an ordinary person, but after he left, he seemed to have suddenly become enlightened. Without anyone’s guidance, he formed his core in three years.”

"Three years..." That's indeed a bit fast, but it's not like there aren't any geniuses like that.

“At first, I also thought he had some kind of extraordinary encounter, which is why his cultivation progressed so quickly.” Zhen Yi frowned and said, “But later, by chance, he killed a fifth-order Nascent Soul stage demon beast at Jiayang Mountain, a level above his own.”

"Jiayang Mountain?" Qiu Ci felt the name sounded familiar.

“There is a place at the foot of Jiayang Mountain where the academy grows spiritual plants,” Zhen Yi explained. “Students often go there to tend to the spiritual plants. Di Zifan saved those students, and it was because of this that Master Li, who manages the herb garden, recommended him to join Shuangxing Academy midway through his studies.”

"I see." There are two ways to join the academy: one is the admissions every five years, and the other is through the recommendation of a master. Each master in the academy has only one recommendation slot, and Di Zifan used the latter. "Did he request to join the academy himself?"

"Yes."

Qiu Ci frowned even more deeply. "Since he is from the Northern Desert, why didn't he go to Xinglan Academy? Why did he come here instead?" Logically speaking, Xinglan Academy is in the north, which is closer to him. Moreover, Xinglan Academy mainly focuses on swordsmanship and magic, which is more suitable for him to cultivate swordsmanship.

"Sister Xiaoci noticed something was wrong too, right?" Zhen Yi's expression brightened, and she began to recount her story like a floodgate opening. "It seems he came specifically for the academy. Not only that, but what's happened after he arrived is also very strange. According to the students of Sword Pavilion, he doesn't usually attend classes. He only went to the first month's classes for new students two or three times. But whenever it comes to duels, he can easily defeat his opponents."

"..." Can you learn without attending classes?

"At first, some senior students in the academy thought he was too arrogant and reminded him that it was not easy to join the academy and that he still needed to cultivate diligently. However, he directly challenged that senior student and defeated him using the sword technique that the master had just taught him the day before."

"The sword technique you just taught?" Qiu Ci frowned. "You can't teach a whole set of sword techniques in one day, can you?"

“Yes, the master only taught the first few moves,” Zhen Yi continued, “but Di Zifan mastered the entire sword technique.”

"..." Qiu Ci found it even stranger. She had also taken the beginner's class at the Sword Pavilion. Usually, the entire cultivation technique wouldn't be taught to students in one day; there was always a gradual process, which made it easier to grasp its subtleties. Of course, it was also easy to know the entire technique in advance; one could simply exchange it for contribution points at the library.

However, academy contribution points can only be obtained by completing academy tasks. New students cannot accept tasks for six months, so they rely entirely on attending classes to earn contribution points. Di Zifan, who frequently skips classes, should not have any contribution points. So where did he learn his entire sword technique?
"Not only that," Zhen Yi continued, "Ever since he formed his Nascent Soul, he has always been able to produce some high-grade pills or talismans whenever he goes on a mission. But he has never gone to the academy to exchange for any items, and he even has some strange magical artifacts that the senior brothers and sisters in the Artifact Pavilion have never seen."

"Have you checked his pills and talismans?" Qiu Ci asked.

"Hmm." He nodded. "Leaving aside the pills, every talisman master's talismans have their own style and markings, but his don't, as if they're deliberately hidden. There's something else, and I don't know if I'm overthinking it."

"what's up?"