Chapter 12: Official Cultivators?

Time flew by swiftly.

Most of the students in the entire senior year were burdened by a heavy weight in their hearts.

To relieve this pressure, all they could do was study relentlessly.

In these final days of preparation, every student had made significant progress.

Especially Zhou Chen, who left every teacher in disbelief.

He almost always scored full marks in every exam.

If there were another mock test, it was hard to imagine what score he could achieve!

Cai Yamong had also made great strides.

Although not nearly as astonishing as Zhou Chen’s seemingly supernatural improvement, Cai Yamong’s grades were already excellent, so even a one-point increase was an achievement.

Watching Zhou Chen, who had once needed her guidance in mathematics, now walk up to the podium with another perfect math score, her expression was complicated.

Previously, she had scored 145, now Zhou Chen had surpassed her.

Cai Yamong had initially approached Zhou Chen for help with a Chinese language problem as an excuse to get closer to him and tutor him.

Yet unexpectedly, Zhou Chen ended up helping her more than she helped him.

Now she was confident she would score above 710 on the college entrance exam and gain admission to a prestigious university in the capital without any difficulty.

“All right, everyone, quiet down,” the homeroom teacher Gu Zhaoyue said from the podium, about to speak.

“Tomorrow is Saturday. You can rest well for two days, get enough sleep, and adjust your state to peak condition for the upcoming college entrance exam. Make your final preparations!”

Gu Zhaoyue went over the exam process in detail and distributed the admission tickets before dismissing the class early.

“Zhou Chen, stay behind for a moment,” Gu Zhaoyue called after him.

In the teachers’ office.

Zhou Chen was puzzled, wondering why he was being asked to stay.

The person who came to talk was not Gu Zhaoyue but the principal of City No.1 High School.

A gray-haired man wearing glasses.

“Zhou Chen, I’ve reviewed all your recent exam papers.”

“To be honest, if you can maintain this form, you very well might become the top scorer in the entire Xiangnan Province!”

“But one thing puzzles me. Just a month ago, your grades were only mid to lower tier in the class. Ever since that act of bravery you did, it’s like you’ve been supercharged—your academic progress has been extraordinary.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

There was no way Zhou Chen would reveal anything.

He casually replied, “Nothing much, I just suddenly wanted to study and then things clicked. Maybe I’m just naturally gifted. If there’s nothing else, I’d like to go home now.”

Seeing Zhou Chen’s indifferent tone, the principal didn’t press further.

“All right. The school pledges that if you become the top scorer in Xiangnan Province, you will receive a substantial reward.”

“Don’t feel pressured. Just perform as you normally do.”

Zhou Chen nodded and, without caring what the administrators thought, turned and left the office.

Now he had the standing to speak on equal footing with the principal, for his future title as top scorer in the province—and perhaps even nationwide—was his true capital.

Today Gu Zhaoyue had a meeting, so Zhou Chen had to walk home alone.

Just as he stepped out of the school gate, a luxury car pulled up before him.

“I’ll give you a ride.”

The back window rolled down, revealing Cai Yamong’s stunningly beautiful face.

As usual, Zhou Chen refused her straightforwardly.

“No thanks. Sitting for too long isn’t good; walking is better.”

Cai Yamong got out of the car.

“Then I’ll walk with you. I have something to talk to you about.”

Zhou Chen refused again.

“Maybe another time. The college entrance exam is coming soon, and I have some things to think over.”

Cai Yamong watched as Zhou Chen’s figure grew more distant, remaining silent.

After a long moment, she murmured, “Am I really that repulsive to you?”

...

During this period, Zhou Chen had kept a low profile, refraining from sending out his soul-devouring insects to bars.

After all, the authorities had begun paying attention to these matters and would inevitably increase inspections on bars.

If he continued to act recklessly, the government would undoubtedly intensify surveillance and investigations.

If his soul-devouring insects were detected by advanced technology, it would bring trouble.

However, the soul-devouring insects were not idle.

With the shared Eye of the Insect Hive, Zhou Chen could control seven soul-devouring larvae from home, continuously siphoning soul energy.

His soul strength had now reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement, not far from the Foundation Establishment stage—just in time for this summer break.

Zhou Chen sat at his desk reviewing his lessons.

At the same time, he used the shared Eye of the Insect Hive to command the soul-devouring larvae to seek suitable targets.

Six of the larvae’s targets were livestock at the vegetable market, animals in the suburbs, and petty thugs.

One larva was still present in that bar.

Zhou Chen was somewhat persistent.

He had previously discovered not only modern cultivators but also the existence of spiritual stones.

Though his cultivation of the Dao Heart Demon Seed did not rely on spiritual energy from spiritual stones,

spiritual stones were far more than mere aids to cultivation.

They served as power sources to maintain array formations.

Grinding them into powder allowed the crafting of talismans.

Carving inscriptions onto spiritual stones transformed them into magical artifacts, perfect for self-defense among ordinary people.

“Oh?”

In a luxurious private room, Zhou Chen sensed once again a soul energy far stronger than that of ordinary people.

A modern cultivator!

This person was well disguised, pretending to be an ordinary guest.

Yet his sharp gaze swept through the crowd, searching for the mastermind behind the madness causing people to become mentally ill.

“An official agent?”

Zhou Chen thought for a moment, guessing this person was likely a cultivator from the Yanhuang government.

Where there were evil cultivators, there must be those representing official justice.

This was probably someone from an official organization, suspecting the culprit behind the madness was also a cultivator employing unfathomable methods.

His guess was correct, but he would never suspect that Zhou Chen was committing crimes through controlling strange insects.

To be honest, Zhou Chen very much wanted to command his soul-devouring insects to devour the soul of a modern cultivator, as it would greatly bolster his own soul strength.

To kill a modern cultivator, he would need to control more than three level-one soul-devouring larvae,

and strike only when the enemy was off guard.

Zhou Chen refrained from rash action, instead absorbing the soul energy of petty thugs and scoundrels.

It was a pity that the young man with the spiritual stone hadn’t appeared in the bar for some time.

Zhou Chen didn’t know if he had been sent to a rehab facility or had died.

Saturday came.

Zhou Chen went with his parents and sister to the hospital to have his stitches removed.

The wound had healed, but due to its depth, it left an unsightly scar on his chest.

“It’s nothing. A scar makes a man more manly!” Zhou Xiang comforted him, patting his shoulder.

Zhou Chen paid no mind to the scar. As a cultivator, he had ways to remove it in time.

“Well, I’ll go back to review now.”

On the bus ride home, Zhou Chen suddenly sensed a familiar soul fluctuation.

“It’s him!”

It was the modern cultivator who had previously taken the spiritual stone from the bar.

Originally, Zhou Chen had planned to use the soul-devouring insects to consume his soul, but his insects were instead killed by shock.

This man drove a very ordinary sedan and had just pulled into the hospital.

On the passenger seat lay a bouquet of roses.

Zhou Chen didn’t worry about him.

Once all seven of his soul-devouring larvae reached level one, he could kill him effortlessly.

With only two days left before the college entrance exam, he decided to focus on his studies first.

...