During the week that the Spiritual Energy Revival grew ever more intense, Su Zhou’s life was rather uneventful. He lived a serene, Zen-like existence, his days consisting of nothing more than tending his tree (the Wisdom Tree), drinking tea (brewed from Spirit Plant Leaves), and Cultivation, just like a reclusive Immortal from the legends.

In the time before school started again, Su Zhou first stabilized his Cultivation, making all the necessary preparations to one day break through to the Extraordinary Realm. Afterward, he settled down to study.

Besides the subjects he needed for the Holy Ascension Selection Test, he also studied Extraordinary Knowledge under Yara’s tutelage.

Rune Basics, Spiritual Material Properties, Spirit Plant Traits, the Spiritual Power Circulation Principle, the differences and unique aspects of the five great Extraordinary foundations: ’True Spirit, Soul, Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Power, and Spiritual Qi’...

It had to be said, Yara was a truly great teacher. Its earnest instruction surpassed anyone in this world. No question could stump it. No matter how tricky Su Zhou’s questions were, or how much he played devil’s advocate, Yara would patiently break down the concepts and explain them logically, point by point. This was a far cry from its usual demeanor.

And as a student, Su Zhou was top-notch in the subjects that interested him. Though his questions sometimes seemed like he was just trying to argue, it was merely instinct; he truly had doubts, and Yara’s guidance was genuinely laying a solid foundation for his Extraordinary path.

"From the mortal level all the way to the late stage of the Extraordinary Tier—whether it’s Spirit Awakening, Awakening, or the Extraordinary realm itself—the process is all about enhancing the original body of the Cultivator’s Race and, based on that body, gradually undergoing a Transcendent Transformation."

Yara borrowed Su Zhou’s Spiritual Power to conjure three-dimensional outlines of a human body in mid-air. It was explaining to Su Zhou in detail the function of each organ and meridian pathway within most human Cultivation Methods.

And now, it was explaining the essence of Cultivation for most races across the myriad worlds to a diligently note-taking Su Zhou: "The leap from the Extraordinary Tier to the Commander Tier is a perilous one. The former can be described as a human with Spiritual Power Organs and an Extraordinary body, while the latter is a completely new species, every corner of its body having undergone a complete Transcendent Transformation."

"They have eliminated all the weaknesses of their former bodies, achieving their own ’prototype of Perfection,’ and have developed unique Divine Techniques and abilities of their own."

"Is that so? In that case, doesn’t advancement in the human Extraordinary Realm mean completely remodeling one’s body, replacing everything with Spiritual Power Organs except for the humanoid form?"

Hearing this, Su Zhou couldn’t help but scratch his head. He asked with great curiosity, "But in those web novels I’ve read, don’t they often have settings like, ’the human body contains a miniature world,’ ’the human body is a creation of heaven and earth, favored by the Celestial Dao,’ or ’the human body is naturally a perfect vessel, and one only needs to unlock its potential step by step’?"

"Favored by Creation, containing a miniature world, born perfect—such bodies do exist in the myriad worlds, but they do not belong to your kind of human."

Yara’s tone held no contempt or condescension; it was merely stating a fact. "They are the so-called ’Innate Extraordinary Races’—but are they truly innate? As far as I know, the vast majority of Innate Extraordinary Races are the Clans or descendants left behind by a Super Life that has reached the pinnacle of Cultivation. They are perfect Creations designed by a higher existence, so naturally, their starting point is higher than more than ninety-nine percent of natural races."

"But humans are not. If the human body were perfect, why does human vision have blind spots? Why do people have wisdom teeth? Why is the human reproductive system so abnormally designed, and childbirth so difficult? Why are the designs of the human heart and lungs inferior to even those of other creatures on Earth? There are too many problems, Su Zhou. Why do some people have allergic reactions? Or have nutrients they cannot absorb? If you were perfect, none of these problems should exist."

"It is because you are a species born of nature. You don’t need ’Perfection,’ you just need to be ’good enough’."

Having explained this, Yara met Su Zhou’s gaze. It returned the Spiritual Power Su Zhou had lent it, causing the three-dimensional human silhouette in the air to vanish. Then, it spoke calmly, "A natural Creation is bound to have all sorts of imperfections. To use acquired wisdom to modify and perfect it according to one’s own ideas—that is the meaning of ’civilization’ and the ’Extraordinary’."

"This is the essence of Cultivation. Moreover, science and technology are a form of Cultivation, and Extraordinary sublimation is also a form of Cultivation. Do not look down on any path, because the ’Dao and the Truth’ are everywhere, and there is no hierarchy among them."

Yara was extremely serious when it said this, and even Su Zhou was influenced, becoming more pensive than ever before as he fell into deep thought.

But soon, it wagged its tail at Su Zhou and laughed, interrupting his contemplation. "So, the more you have, the more can go wrong; the less you have, the less can go wrong. As long as you turn yourself into one long strip without all those messy organs and limbs, you’ll naturally become perfect!"

As it spoke, Yara coiled itself into a ring with considerable satisfaction—and it had to be said, there really was a sense of harmonious Perfection to it!

"So that’s what this was all about, huh?" Su Zhou had still been pondering what could be considered perfect, but now he understood what Yara meant and started laughing as well. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Yara’s point was simple—Perfection has no standard definition; it’s a matter of personal preference. For example, in Yara’s eyes, Perfection might just be a long strip coiled into a circle. But for him, what was the point of living if he became an Ouroboros?

"The Extraordinary is the sublimation of life, a leap of the mind. It’s a multiple-choice question with countless correct answers—a thousand different paths for a thousand different people. While there is a Great Dao that leads directly to the truth, one that can serve as a universal Order, a Transcendent will inevitably forge their own unique path as they grow stronger."

As a Transcendent who stood on the threshold between Awakening and the truly Extraordinary, Su Zhou understood why Yara was explaining these principles to him at this time: ’Decide what you want to become, then become it. Stay true to your original intention and don’t waver. You can’t just decide that A is perfect and become A, only to then decide that B is perfect and try to become B. You’ll only turn into a mishmash of things. Your only option then would be to scrap all your progress and start over, with no other possibility for advancement.’

’It seems the wisdom from the Wisdom Fruit really was all geared toward the Extraordinary aspects of things.’

Noticing that Su Zhou had so quickly grasped its meaning in this regard, Yara couldn’t help but nod in gratification. It continued, "Therefore, you cannot completely follow my path. You must have your own ideas. Only after you have understood the vast foundation of Extraordinary Knowledge and constructed your own foundation and system can you cultivate my ’Sacred Geometry Tier Two.’ Otherwise, even if your foundation isn’t a castle in the air, the best you could ever become is a second me, a second Holy Snake Spirit."

"To learn without thinking is to be confused. To think without learning is to be in danger. Learning and Cultivation, thought and practice, must all happen in tandem. Otherwise, you are nothing but a lost soul, destined to wander in a sea of suffering."

Yara’s words were simple and plain, the kind of grand principles even a primary school teacher could state. But having personally experienced so many battles, the words resonated with him deeply, and he understood them on a much more profound level than he had in all his past dozen or so years.

Soon, amidst this teaching, the heavy snow subsided, and the accumulated snow gradually began to melt.

And so, on the 17th—the day before school started, which also happened to be Aunt Wen’s birthday—Su Zhou personally paid a visit to the Shao Residence. He hinted that Shao Qiming should look into the Tang Family’s current situation.

"Wh-what?! The Tang Family’s upper management is suspected of bribery in bidding and secret collusion between government and business. Now the entire management team has been arrested... Hengcheng Safety Energy Company has been shut down by the authorities?!"

"No, wait. This is obviously a cover story!"

In his room, watching the recently released local news, Shao Qiming first shook his head in shock. Then he calmly looked up at Su Zhou, who couldn’t stop smiling. "You’ve already... paid them a visit?"

"You bet!" Su Zhou gave a proud thumbs-up and clicked his tongue twice. "They were just too weak, not nearly as strong as I imagined. They didn’t even have Exoskeleton Armor or machine gun barrages. I thought the difficulty would be at least on par with infiltrating the Umbrella Corporation during a biohazard."

"Even the military only equips its elite forces with Exoskeleton Armor. You expect a local Noble Family to pull out war-grade Military Equipment? And you’re comparing them to the Umbrella Corporation? The Umbrella Corporation is a megacorporation that can call in nuclear strikes! And you’re comparing a powerful local family to that?"

Even Shao Qiming couldn’t help but retort, but his words were followed by a stretch of silence.

After a moment, Shao Qiming let out a chuckle, which then grew into hearty laughter. "Haha, I really don’t know what to say... Truly, thank you so much. For these lungs that can laugh so freely now, and for the Talent from the Wisdom Fruit... I can’t say anything but thank you."

"Hey, what’s with the thanks between us? You’d be better off thinking about where you’re going to treat me to a good meal." Su Zhou waved his hand dismissively, clearly not minding at all. Shao Qiming laughed and replied, "Whether it’s necessary or not is one thing—that’s a matter of our relationship. But giving thanks where it’s due is another—that’s a matter of principle."

At this, he closed his laptop. "Remember, if you need anything, just say the word. As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll give it my all to help you."

Su Zhou didn’t stand on ceremony either. "Don’t worry, I will. When I’m ready to advance, I’ll probably need you to acquire all sorts of materials for me—so get your money ready!"

"If it’s a problem money can solve, then it’s not a problem."

「In this cheerful atmosphere, Su Zhou returned to campus.」

He could have easily skipped school entirely, studying at home with Yara teaching him Extraordinary Knowledge, and then just taken the Holy Ascension Selection Test. But interacting with people was also a form of Cultivation.

According to Yara, if an eighteen-year-old started living the reclusive Cultivation lifestyle of an eighty-one-year-old man, he’d inevitably become a psycho after a while, and it didn’t need a stiff, boring guy as its Contractor.

"Isn’t that right? Living a retired life before you’re even twenty... It’s so... enviable!"

Jokes aside, Su Zhou actually agreed with Yara’s reasoning.

But when he got to school the next day, things took a complicated turn.

For some unknown reason, the first and second periods for the third-year students were both self-study. The teachers were nowhere to be found. The whole class, relying on their reasonably good discipline, stayed at their desks and read. Still, the hushed discussions between deskmates couldn’t be completely suppressed.

"Did you hear? Apparently, several official cars from the major Academies came by today."

"Yeah, I saw them too. There are people setting up curtains over at the auditorium. No idea what’s going on."

"Could it be a test?"

Everyone was curious about what could have caused such a situation. A few of the bolder students even tried to sneak over to the main auditorium during the break to check things out, but they were stopped by school security and returned empty-handed.

And at the very beginning of the third period, an urgent announcement crackled over the school’s broadcast system: "All third-year students, please take your student IDs, paper, and pens, and proceed to the main auditorium to prepare for a test."

"After the test, there will be an important registration process."