This entry is suspicious.

At six o'clock in the morning, at Qinghe No.1 Middle School, Class 3 of Grade 11.

Before class even started, the classroom was in complete chaos. Some people were chatting, some were watching short videos together, and some were writing furiously to finish their homework.

Zhou Ran walked into the classroom and glanced around. Immediately, a dense barrage of destiny terms appeared before his eyes, making him dizzy. He quickly regained his composure, and the terms gradually disappeared.

"You have to be careful when using this ability in a crowd, otherwise you'll get confused before you even see the information."

He muttered to himself, went to his seat at the back of the classroom, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, and then turned his attention back to his classmates.

[Homework not done], [A loan of 120,000], [He likes him], [Has a crush on the girl next door], [Rich second-generation pretending to be poor], [Online female bodhisattva], [Gaming master], [Yangyan lineage]...

"My hair!"

Zhou Ran was dumbfounded: "Shen Moxuan is actually a rich kid? Li Ming is a rich second-generation pretending to be poor? This kid is quite cunning. Zhao Xiaotang acts like a bodhisattva online? She's so quiet usually, I never would have guessed. And Sun Jie, no wonder he opened his acupoints so quickly, he has a special physique."

You won't believe it until you see it; you'll be shocked when you do. I never imagined that many seemingly ordinary classmates had such unknown, even drastically different, sides.

It's absolutely jaw-dropping.

So easily seeing through someone else's deepest secrets gave Zhou Ran a feeling of having done something wicked, a mix of excitement, guilt, smugness, and secret pleasure... and a special sense of superiority.

But he quickly came to his senses, suppressed those chaotic thoughts, and silently warned himself: this kind of thing is ultimately wrong, and he should not feel any sense of superiority because of it; he must adjust his mindset.

Zhou Ran continued to observe the entries and discovered that some of them were not white, but gold, which was very eye-catching, just like the quest prompts in the game.

Items like "Homework not done" and "Loan of 120,000" are highlighted in gold.

"Resolving these types of events will grant you Fate Runes. Once you accumulate one hundred Fate Runes, you'll gain the qualification to draw an entry..."

Thinking of this, a thought suddenly popped into Zhou Ran's mind.

—So what do my destiny attributes look like? Can I gain destiny markings by resolving my own events?

Before class started, Zhou Ran rushed out of the classroom to the restroom and observed herself in the mirror.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... more than ten seconds passed, and there was nothing in the mirror.

"No? I don't have a destiny entry?"

Zhou Ran was stunned.

"That doesn't make sense. Is it because I died once? No, that's not right... If I didn't have the Fate entry, there couldn't be such a bloody event."

He frowned and pondered for a moment, secretly wondering, "Perhaps I can't see into my own destiny, or perhaps... I only see bloodshed in myself?"

"Or is it that the entries cannot be viewed through the mirror?"

Just then, a classmate came out of the restroom and went to the sink to wash his hands. Zhou Ran took the opportunity to observe him through the mirror, and immediately a series of fate-related words appeared on the other person's body.

"Okay, let's rule that out."

Just as she was pondering this, the school bell rang suddenly, and Zhou Ran had no choice but to suppress her many questions and quickly run back to the classroom.

Shortly after I sat down, a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved shirt walked into the classroom, stood on the podium, and prepared to start the lesson.

[Xue Jing], [Fifth Level of Qi Refining], [History Teacher at Qinghe No.1 Middle School], [Old-fashioned], [Midlife Crisis]...

"Today we'll continue with modern history. Everyone, please turn to page 89..."

A few scattered rustling sounds of pages turning filled the classroom.

Zhou Ran looked down and flipped through the book, his mind quickly flashing back to the historical knowledge he had learned in the past.

This world has been imbued with spiritual energy since ancient times, which led to the emergence of cultivators and the development of a flourishing cultivation civilization. However, the social structure remains in the ancient era, and there are no technological products to speak of.

Everything changed six hundred years ago.

A sudden cataclysm destroyed most of the world, immortals perished, the Great Dao declined, civilization collapsed, and the world entered a dark age, rife with chaos and where human life was as worthless as grass.

Even more terrifying, a force called "the Strange" has quietly descended upon the world. These things possess unimaginable power and are extremely difficult to kill, making the already dark and hopeless era even more cruel.

The Dark Age lasted for a hundred years before it ended. At that time, the path of immortality declined, but technology developed explosively at an incredible speed. Steam engines, electricity, computers... Civilization quickly entered modern society and merged technology with the path of immortality, giving birth to brand-new immortality technologies, and civilization flourished once again.

But the strange power has never disappeared; it still exists today, threatening the entire world.

The manifestations of bizarre forces are incredibly diverse, ranging from unusual celestial phenomena that can reverse day and night to all sorts of terrifying creatures... They are like maggots clinging to bones, infiltrating every corner of the world. While their numbers may not be ubiquitous, they are certainly rampant.

Its danger level is beyond imagination. Even high-level cultivators who can move mountains and fill seas and summon wind and rain can die tragically if they are not careful. There have even been cases of countries being destroyed due to strange events.

Therefore, countries such as the Tianhuan Federation and the Xianwu Empire have established response departments to deal with strange events and prevent the harm from spreading.

Zhou Ran silently reviewed this history in his mind, and then began to listen attentively to the lesson.

On his way to school, he studied the Book of Fate and discovered that the attributes on equipment could be removed, so he was not currently equipped with the [Exquisite Heart].

Without the boost from the vocabulary entries, my thoughts degenerated from a surging torrent into a trickle, and that feeling of ignorance and dullness regained its dominance. I had to concentrate fully to keep up with the teacher's pace.

After the class, Zhou Ran felt dizzy and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information he had received. It felt like the teacher wanted to cram the entire book into the students' brains.

After observing for a while, he found that a third of the students in the class were struggling just like him, and only a few were able to keep up completely.

If nothing unexpected happens, this third of the students will be gradually eliminated during their three years of high school, and in the end, they will not even be able to get into university. They will have to say goodbye to the path of immortality and become mortals.

The education system of the Tianhuan Federation is like this: everyone cultivates immortality, with layers of selection, survival of the fittest, and elimination of the unfit.

……

The next lesson is about practicing the exercises.

In the indoor training ground, forty-two students from Class 3 of Grade 11 stood in neat rows.

A tall and imposing man stood at the front of the line, his eyes sharp and his presence radiating charisma.

[Zhao Tieshan], [Ninth Level of Qi Refining], [Body Cultivator], [Some Martial Arts Talent], [Qinghe No.1 Middle School Kung Fu Teacher], [Retired Soldier], [Strict]...

Zhao Tieshan's gaze swept across the entire class like lightning, and the previously whispering group instantly fell silent.

"stand at attention."

Swish!

Forty-two people straightened their backs in unison.

Zhao Tieshan said in a loud voice, "This lesson will follow the same rules as before. Watch me demonstrate the Thirty-Six Forms for Opening the Mind, and then you can practice on your own."

In the crowd, Zhou Ran equipped the [Exquisite Heart] item, and that familiar sense of clarity surged in like a tide, making the world incredibly transparent in an instant.

He fixed his gaze on Zhao Tieshan and began to observe intently.

"First move: Opening up the heavens and creating the earth."

Zhao Tieshan lowered his waist and dismounted, slowly raising his palms. He did not deliberately circulate his true energy, but there was a faint flow of energy around his body. His arms were like embracing the sun and moon, slowly pushing outward.

As a body cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining, his understanding of the fundamental body-refining martial art, "Thirty-Six Forms of Opening the Apertures," had already reached its pinnacle.

The moves and the flow of qi and blood resonate with each other, and the form and intention are perfectly integrated. The transitions between each move are incredibly smooth, and the flow of qi and blood and breathing is completely unimpeded. From the first move to the thirty-sixth move, everything is perfectly natural.

The students were engrossed in watching, and Zhou Ran was no exception, as countless insights welled up in his mind.

He had watched Zhao Tieshan's drills countless times. He had only felt that the momentum was amazing, but he couldn't explain why it was so powerful. But now that he was equipped with the [Exquisite Heart], he finally understood the essence of it.

Before long, Zhao Tieshan stopped his stance and stood up.

"Did you see everything clearly?"

"Look carefully!"

"Then practice on your own, let's begin."

The group dispersed, and the students began practicing on their own.

Zhou Ran closed his eyes and went through everything he had just seen in his mind again. Every movement, the technique of exertion, the rhythm of breathing... was vivid in his mind, as clear as if it were engraved in his brain.

The theories in the textbook, the key points explained by the teacher, the subtleties in the demonstration, my own insights... all these experiences intertwined and corroborated in my mind, leading to a comprehensive understanding.

"Okay, I understand everything."

He took a deep breath and slowly raised his hand.

The first move: Opening up the heavens and creating the earth.

Compared to last night, his movements and breathing were not only more precise, but also possessed an indescribable charm.

Several classmates nearby caught a glimpse of it and were immediately stunned.

Zhou Ran's movements were fluid and seamless, bearing a striking resemblance to Zhao Tieshan's earlier demonstration.

A boy rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

Are you kidding me!

Why are his Thirty-Six Techniques for Enlightenment so standard?

As the movements continued, more and more people in the training ground noticed Zhou Ran.

"When did Zhou Ran become so amazing?" a girl with a ponytail asked in a low voice, her tone full of confusion.

"I don't know, wasn't he always at the bottom?" The boy next to him looked equally bewildered.

"Look at the angle of his waist twist, is that how Teacher Zhao taught him? Why can't I do it?"

"Holy crap, it's like he's a completely different person."

The murmurs grew louder, and soon even Zhao Tieshan noticed Zhou Ran, his eyes filled with surprise.

If I remember correctly, this student named Zhou Ran has always been at the bottom of the class, but the abilities he is showing now clearly place him among the top students.

Such a huge increase in a short period of time must have a reason; we'll have to find out later.

A dozen minutes later, Zhou Ran finished his routine.

He stood still, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and saw that all the students around him were watching him. He then made up his mind.

Great, everything is going according to plan.

"Zhou Ran, come with me for a moment."

Beside him, Zhao Tieshan tilted his head towards the corner of the training ground, wanting to talk to him alone.