C2 Where Did the Deities Come From?

Instructor Ouyang's lesson concluded swiftly, yet the profound shift in Wang Feng's understanding sent shockwaves through him that persisted until nearly the end of the school day.

"Gods, demons, buddhas, spirits, ghosts, and humans coexist on the First Land, their powers traditionally evenly matched. But have humans truly progressed to the point where they can now contend with the other five races?" Wang Feng clutched his head, bewildered. The knowledge from Earth he held in his mind was utterly irrelevant here. "What's really going on? The information I learned on Earth is completely useless!"

"Hey, what are you up to?"

It was only then that Wang Feng noticed his thigh had been pinched. Turning around, he saw his desk mate staring at him, utterly baffled. "Everyone's left. What are you still doing here? You've been out of it all day."

"Go where? Where could I possibly go?" Wang Feng mumbled, lost in a fog.

"Did you dunk your head in water or something?" His desk mate looked at Wang Feng as if he were looking at a stray dog. "Not going home after school—are you planning to ascend to the heavens or something?"

"Oh." Wang Feng rose to his feet leisurely, remembering that he must have a home and parents in this world. "By the way, you haven't told me your name yet."

"Are you seriously brain-drenched?" His desk mate had already packed up, waiting for Wang Feng, skepticism written all over his face. "Or are you just pretending to be clueless so you can drop out because you can't learn the word 'human'?"

Wang Feng fell silent, deciding it was better not to ask. With his desk mate's temper, provoking him could lead to trouble.

He figured that his original self was probably like his desk mate, not one for conversation. They walked in silence for a while, and Wang Feng noticed his desk mate didn't make any attempt to initiate a chat.

Just as Wang Feng was about to try and coax some information about this world from his desk mate, the latter stopped abruptly and said, "Wang Feng, I still can't figure out why you were intentionally causing trouble during Instructor Ouyang's class."

Wang Feng hesitated, at a loss for words. He had assumed he was still on Earth, not realizing that even writing a single character would be so challenging here.

"Do you realize how little time we have left? There are only two months until graduation. If you can't master the character writing, you won't be able to join us at the advanced school to study martial arts. Do you get that?" My deskmate's eyes conveyed a deep seriousness that jolted Wang Feng.

"Thank you for being upfront with me, but..." Wang Feng could sense his deskmate's genuine concern, a stark contrast to the usual jeers and taunts. He extended his hand without reservation. "Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Wang Feng. Pleased to meet you!"

"Hello, Gao Xuefeng." Caught off guard by Wang Feng's gesture, he began to introduce himself before realizing, "Wang Feng, have you lost your mind? Why are you speaking so erratically?"

"Not at all." Wang Feng struggled to hold back a laugh at Gao Xuefeng's puzzled expression.

"What's so funny?" Gao Xuefeng, seeing Wang Feng's lack of seriousness, felt frustrated. He had been earnestly trying to give Wang Feng a heads-up, but it seemed to be in vain. Just then, a passerby's comment grabbed Gao Xuefeng's attention.

"Hey, did you hear the big news? Wang Yunhe from the Fang family in Yuan City has been identified as having a unique Veiled Vein and got a direct pass to high school. I'm so jealous."

"Is that true? A Veiled Vein is incredibly rare, hardly seen in thousands of years. Our human race hardly ever has such individuals. It's just not fair to compare."

"But it's odd, isn't it? The Veiled Vein is an innate trait that should manifest by age ten, yet Wang Yunhe is already fifteen and was only just diagnosed..."

...

"Veiled Vein again..." Wang Feng couldn't explain why, but the term always stirred a sense of unrest within him.

"Don't overthink it. We're just average folks, not geniuses with a Veiled Vein. Our only option is to cultivate through writing characters. We can't measure up to them; all we can do is give it our all." Gao Xuefeng shook his head, amused by Wang Feng's fixation on the Veiled Vein. "As for you, the priority is to master the character writing. Got it?"

"I understand," Wang Feng said, doing his best to quell the unease in his heart. "Xuefeng, have you learned to write the character for 'human'? And have you developed any meridians?"

"Most people learn to write characters in elementary school, but you're an exception. You still couldn't write them in middle school," Gao Xuefeng said, somewhat at a loss for words. "Besides, I've already opened five meridians, so you should really focus on your studies!"

"Wow, that's pretty impressive!" Wang Feng felt the disparity for the first time and admired Gao Xuefeng.

"What are you trying to say? Are you mocking me?" Gao Xuefeng's face darkened. "Opening five meridians in four years is only considered average or below-average talent."

"Still, that's way better than me. I'm quite envious," Wang Feng deflected, steering the conversation elsewhere. "By the way, what else did we learn in elementary school besides writing the character 'human'?"

"Didn't you go to elementary school?" Gao Xuefeng gave him a look of disbelief. "For the first three years, we practice 'name' to understand ourselves. In middle school, we write 'human' to lay the foundation. In college, we study 'law' to cultivate martial arts. Are you having memory issues now? What is it, early-onset dementia?"

"Not at all. I've just been forgetful lately, forgetting lots of things," Wang Feng said, feigning distress as he beat his chest. "Right, why aren't there any Immortals?"

"Xian? What's that?" Gao Xuefeng was taken aback, having never heard of such a thing. "Are there races other than our six clans?"

This world was truly bizarre, filled with all sorts of beings, yet lacking Immortals.

Was this a deficiency of the world, or was there simply no system for cultivating immortality?

Wang Feng found it hard to believe. On Earth, gods, demons, immortals, ghosts, and the like were central to the Eastern mythological cultivation systems.

Looking at Gao Xuefeng's bewildered expression, it was clear that this world was completely unfamiliar with the concept he had mentioned. It was as if he had never even heard of it before.

"Ahaha, I don't know either. I was just spouting nonsense, maybe something from a dream," Wang Feng admitted, unable to explain the unfamiliar concept to Gao Xuefeng.

The school was astonishingly large. Despite being set in a fantasy world, it bore an uncanny resemblance to an Earthly middle school.

Wang Feng and Gao Xuefeng were intent on getting to school quickly. Before they realized it, they had reached the school gates. Gao Xuefeng turned to Wang Feng, who was still trailing behind him, and asked, "Why are you still following me? We're not headed the same way."

What a predicament! They weren't on the same path, and he didn't even know where his home was.

Just then, a beautiful girl approached, the epitome of a loli.

Could it be that his original self was so handsome that he had been taken in by a wealthy young loli?

Wang Feng watched as the girl handed him a card that looked like a bank card, feeling as if a stampede of alpacas was running through his mind. He stepped forward, pulling Gao Xuefeng aside to whisper urgently, "Xuefeng, do you know who this is? Why is she giving me this?"

"You're telling me you don't know?" Gao Xuefeng released Wang Feng's hand, his disbelief palpable, "The only beloved daughter of the City Lord Luo of Luohua City, Luo Xiaoxiao, and you don't recognize her? Has a demon stolen your soul?"

"No, I've already told you my memory is faulty," Wang Feng replied, catching a glimpse of the girl's displeased expression. He grabbed Gao Xuefeng's arm again, pressing for answers, "But does she know me? What exactly is our relationship?"

"That's impossible! Luo Xiaoxiao is the belle of our school. Even with a poor memory, you should have heard of her. Have you really never heard of her?" Gao Xuefeng let go of Wang Feng, leaving him to stand disheveled in the wind.

"She's already like this at thirteen or fourteen? She's no different from twenty-first-century Earthlings," Wang Feng mused, eyeing Luo Xiaoxiao's modest figure with a mix of admiration and shock at his predecessor's precociousness. To think such a young kid could be so forward; it was almost monstrous.

"Get it for me," Luo Xiaoxiao demanded, her anger flaring as she noticed Wang Feng's reluctance to acknowledge her.

"Is this a bank card?" Wang Feng mumbled, hesitating to accept it.

"Wow, I never thought Wang Feng would have the nerve to snub the school belle!"

"The school belle is going to crush that fool Wang!"

"All that's left for that fool Wang is his empty bravado."

"Thank goodness our human race has implemented seven years of free education. Wang Feng might as well stick to collecting bottles."

The students at the school entrance, sensing drama, naturally started to crowd around.

"There's 100,000 Human Origin Coins in here. We have nothing to do with each other now," Luo Xiaoxiao declared, her face turning a shade of purple. She tossed the unregistered bank card onto Wang Feng and stormed off without a backward glance.

"What in the world is this?" Wang Feng muttered, rubbing his chest and fighting back tears.

The onlookers were clueless. "Wow, what's happening? Why did she give Wang Feng so much money?"

"Don't be so quick to judge. A fool might just have his own luck. It's because he's simple-minded that he ran to help when Luo Xiaoxiao was being robbed by slum thieves... And Luo Xiaoxiao, with her strength, could've easily handled those thieves, but because of this incident..."

"You don't understand. This is about cutting ties with karma. Any entanglements with others can greatly affect your cultivation. The school belle obviously wants to cleanse herself of any connections."

"I see. Talking about karma, huh? Are you planning to switch to practicing Buddhist cultivation techniques?"

Wang Feng was indifferent to the gossip swirling around him. Just as he was about to return the bank card to the school belle, he narrowly escaped being hit by a car.

Bang!

"Whoosh, crackle!"

The fierce wind whipped up flames, and Wang Feng hastily backed away, the gasps of the onlookers ringing in his ears. He was terrified of becoming disabled. "What's going on now?"

"Wow! Luo Xiaoxiao's brother, Luo Junhao, has come to pick her up! I'm so jealous of her family's wealth! That Thunderclap motorcycle is so fierce and impressive! Rich kids really are in a league of their own."

"I've heard Luo Junhao has mastered the Thunder Meridian to the fifth level of the Martial Meridian. And he's just a sophomore—truly a prodigy! Only a fifth-level Martial Meridian genius could handle a self-operating magical artifact like the Thunderclap motorcycle!"

"And that's not all! Luo Junhao has mastered three different cultivation paths and has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Apparently, he clinched the top spot in a recent competition, skyrocketing to fame!"

"Wow! Mastering three cultivation paths? And he's surpassed two battle levels? I thought one could only cultivate a single technique from another race. That's incredibly impressive—it's almost hard to believe."

"I can't wait to start university! I want to delve into the cultivation systems of gods, demons, ghosts, and devils too!"