Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

As the first university-level cultivator students, the freshman curriculum was rather simple: three theoretical courses and one practical combat course.

The three theoretical courses were "Ideological Morality and Current Affairs Policy," "Comprehensive Guide to Cultivation," and "Tactics and Strategy Studies for Cultivators." The first course needs no mention, the second, "Comprehensive Guide to Cultivation," mainly introduced "what is the Spiritual Energy Resurgence," "what are the Dantian, meridians, and acupoints," and "how to perform Qi Refinement."

The Qi Refinement technique was named "National Initial Edition Qi Cultivation Technique," but Yan Yu immediately recognized the content as Mei Yingxue's "Primordial Unity Scripture," which emphasized "independency from external objects." With sufficient aptitude, one did not need any resources for cultivation and could still maintain a high Qi Refinement efficiency.

The third course, "Tactics and Strategy Studies for Cultivators," mainly discussed the Three Arts and Five Spells. The Three Arts were "Shifting Technique," "Cloud Ascension Technique," and "Wall-Penetration Technique;" the Five Spells were "Metal-Element Impact Curse," "Wood Bending Charm," "Runescript," "Fire Blazing Charm," and "Earth-Element Sturdiness Curse."

As Chen Lingyun had said, among the key points in the current textbooks, the Three Arts were focused on "Shifting Technique," which allowed for super-fast movement "quick as a running horse," easily covering a thousand meters within a minute.

Among the Five Spells, "Earth-Element Sturdiness Curse" was highly recommended. Once activated, the entire body would be enveloped in hardened earth-element True Qi, which could perfectly defend against bullets and explosive shrapnel at the cost of continuous consumption of True Yuan during activation.

From this, it could be seen that military cultivators were still stuck in modern warfare thinking. The reason "Shifting Technique" and "Earth-Element Sturdiness Curse" were esteemed was because they provided "mobility" and "defense," maximally enhancing the combat capabilities of special forces.

However, cultivators are not special forces...

Though the students were all eager to learn, absorbing the knowledge like sponges, Yan Yu was somewhat disinterested. While others were busy taking notes, he was doodling aimlessly in his notebook with his pen.

Sitting in front of Yan Yu were Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin. The latter was attentively listening to the lesson, while the former, smiling, had not written a word in her notebook... Clearly, she had decided that her future learning plan would center around "Teacher Yan Yu."

Lin Ning sat to Yan Yu's left, her notebook filled with dense notes. Occasionally, she would glance over and notice Yan Yu scribbling on his notes, prompting her to remind him:

"I won't lend you my notes before the exams, you know."

Yan Yu was taken aback and responded:

"Who asked you?"

"Why aren't you taking notes?" Lin Ning's serious nature began to kick in, entering the beautiful girl's persuasion mode.

"Because it's pointless," Yan Yu replied, "The most important thing for a cultivator is practical combat. As long as the practical combat results are excellent, theoretical grades can even be ignored."

"But isn't it true that understanding the theory well can help with practical combat?" Lin Ning pursued the point unwillingly.

"That's indeed true," Yan Yu nodded thoughtfully, "So you should study hard."

"What about you?"

"With my strong combat ability, why do I need to study theory?" Yan Yu asked, seemingly confused.

Lin Ning was immediately frustrated and yet found herself at a loss for words.

She had seen his performance on the training field earlier and ultimately couldn't ignore the facts or deny them.

"What do you plan to do for this afternoon's training class?" Chen Lingyun suddenly sent a message, clearly having heard the conversation between the two in the back row.

"Just attend the class as normal," Yan Yu replied via text.

"Oh, not going to try playing possum?" Chen Lingyun's message came quickly, "Want me to deliberately get a few boys to give you a hard time, then you can reveal your strength and shock everyone?"

"Forget about it," Yan Yu replied, "Would you be pleased with yourself for coming in first place in a kindergarten?"

"Fair point," Chen Lingyun thought it over and realized it indeed made sense from Yan Yu's perspective, "So do you also see me as a kindergarten kid?"

"I see you as a little female demon," Yan Yu replied.

Zhao Yuanzhen sat to Yan Yu's right, watching him persistently texting with Chen Lingyun and couldn't help but puff up her cheeks, silently taking offense:

"...Today I listened to the lecture, this thief ignored his companion the whole time, just chatting idly with another woman, I'll remember this grudge! If one day I can turn the tables and take charge, I'll definitely seal his glib tongue, rendering him unable to speak a word!"

The morning was for theoretical classes, and the afternoon was for practical classes. There were two hours of rest at midday, and as soon as the dismissal bell rang, everyone rushed to the cafeteria, ready for lunch.

Yan Yu found a four-seater table and sat down first.

Chen Lingyun came over and took a seat across from him effortlessly, with Su Yunjin sitting beside her, and Lin Ning next to Yan Yu, just like the seating arrangement last night.

Until Zhao Yuanzhen came over with her dinner plate and saw that the area next to Yan Yu was already filled with beautiful girls, she was instantly bewildered:

"What about me?"

"Just find a place to sit anywhere," Yan Yu said helplessly.

Even though we're dual cultivation partners, we don't have to stick together even while eating, right?

"I think, it's better for us girls to sit together," Chen Lingyun suddenly said with a smile, picking up her dinner plate and standing up.

Su Yunjin and Lin Ning also stood up and, together with Chen Lingyun and Zhao Yuanzhen, the four girls found an empty table not too far away and sat down.

Yan Yu suddenly found himself alone but didn't seem to mind (of course, he was not going to fall for the girls' play-hard-to-get strategy), as he calmly continued to eat.

"Hey, Yan Yu!" Qiu Ze arrived with two other guys, carrying their dinner plates and taking their seats opposite and beside him.

"Qiu Ze." He nodded in greeting.

"Look over there." After chatting for a bit, Qiu Ze suddenly gestured for everyone to look at Chen Lingyun's table and chuckled, "Those four girls, they all look pretty good."

Starting a conversation with the topic of beautiful girls is a tried-and-true method among guys who have just met.

The effect is quite simple and effective, after all, admiring beauty is a common topic among all men. The risk is that if the girls in question were to find out they were being rated, it might lead to a collective decrease in their favorability towards those men.

"Indeed." Another guy commented, "The smallest one, she has a particularly sweet smile when she laughs."

Yan Yu bit his lip hard, trying not to burst into laughter so much that he sprayed his food out.

"Uh, Yan Yu, what do you think?" Qiu Ze saw him looking like he was struggling to hold something in and thought he had something to say but was too shy, so he quickly encouraged him to speak.

"I'm pretty close with them, so I can't really comment," Yan Yu managed to swallow his food and replied calmly.

Qiu Ze was a little confused by his response, while the guy beside him laughed and teased him, "We all just started school yesterday, and you're already well-mixed in today, huh?"

"Right," Yan Yu admitted with a nod.

His response silenced everyone as they assumed he was just showing off and didn't argue with him.

When Yan Yu saw the change in their expressions, he knew what they were thinking, so he decided to take out his phone and call Chen Lingyun.

Qiu Ze and the other two guys hadn't quite realized what was happening when Chen Lingyun's voice came through the phone:

"Hello?"

Yan Yu turned on the speakerphone and said:

"I'm having dinner with some new classmates, and we've come across a topic I want to hear your opinion on: who do you think is the prettiest at your table?"

Qiu Ze and the other two boys finally realized who he was calling, and their jaws dropped in unison.

Wait a second, don't tell me... you're not actually...

"Aesthetic appreciation is quite subjective, and the points that women care about usually differ greatly from what guys think," Chen Lingyun's cheerful voice came from the phone, "If you really want my opinion, I personally prefer the type like Lin Ning, whose appearance and personality are contrary..."

"Hey!" Lin Ning's protest suddenly erupted, "I told you not to call me 'Little Lin Ning'!"

"Got it," Yan Yu replied, "Pass the phone to Lin Ning, I'll ask her opinion..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Qiu Ze grabbed his arm, his face filled with a pleading sadness:

"Boss, stop showing off your magic skills! Don't we believe you already?"

"Please don't ask any further! It's social suicide! They've already started looking this way!"