It all started with one person becoming a shaman, but the Stand user...

That should be enough.

This allowed Qinghe Miao to cultivate a highly refined level of Buddhist internal energy and staff skills.

He put away the short staff that reached his eyebrows and returned the salute to Huigang, the martial monk who had come to spar with him:

"Thank you for your help, Master Huigang."

Today's sparring session has come to an end. The monk politely took his leave and departed.

Defeating higher-level opponents will increase your skill proficiency much faster than practicing alone.

Chapter 67 That Time When It Seemed Like a Divine Intervention

This so-called "Jingye Temple" did not appear in the original storyline.

But it still has some foundation.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been targeted by local separatist forces and wouldn't have been able to migrate so far.

It's even more impossible that such a second-tier martial arts manual would have been passed down.

A group of well-trained monks are simply the perfect targets for honing one's skills.

Thanks to these monks.

In a short period of time, Qinghe Miao's overall proficiency in the Lankavatara Vajra Treatise has steadily improved from the "beginner" level to the "proficient" level.

His skills with sticks and clubs improved by leaps and bounds, and he quickly reached the level of "mastery".

Without these high-level sparring partners, he would never have made such progress by relying solely on his own exploration.

As for Qinghe Miao's "mediocre performance" during sparring sessions, and even his repeated disadvantages, his strength may not have improved in a short period of time.

The monks did not develop any arrogance.

It was assumed that the abbot was focused on honing his skills and familiarizing himself with the techniques, and had not yet used any real methods.

Moreover, Qinghe Miao had memorized the essentials of the manual in the previous three days, made great progress in six days, and was able to perform it with considerable skill and authority in just over ten days.

Their displayed martial arts talent was enough to awe and wonder, leaving them with no room for further thought.

The training in the instance world has come to an end after a period of time.

With a shift in focus, Qinghe Miao returned to the familiar campus in the main world.

The atmosphere inside the senior high school building at Huaxia High School is completely different from that of any other grade.

In class, most students strained their eyes, keeping a close eye on the teacher's blackboard writing and explanations, afraid of missing any knowledge points that might be relevant to their future.

A suffocating sense of compulsion and exhaustion permeates their shared spirit.

The sound of the bell signaling the end of class was like a redemption, and the taut string seemed to loosen slightly with a "whoosh".

Some students breathed a sigh of relief and immediately collapsed onto their desks, instantly falling into a drowsy or blank state to catch up on sleep.

Some people couldn't wait to get up and start moving around in the narrow aisle.

Some people gathered together, speaking in hushed tones, discussing topics unrelated to studying, trying to steal a moment of respite from the heavy burden of their studies.

In any case, the atmosphere in the classroom after class is always a little more relaxed than during class, filled with a brief sense of relief, like a life being snatched from the jaws of death.

Several classmates who were usually familiar with Qinghe Miao naturally gathered around his desk.

The conversation quickly shifted to the content of a recently popular online novel.

"Hey, haven't you guys read that book, 'The Rebirth of the Dao Lord'? It says the protagonist ascends to heaven, and the world is layered!"

A boy wearing glasses pushed up his glasses and said enthusiastically:

"Qingmiao, you said you'd ascend to immortality, but what if you finally manage to get there, only to have to start from the bottom again, mining for immortal ore?"

"I think it's better to stay traditional. There's only one immortal realm. After ascending, you can live a carefree life. At worst, you can work for the Heavenly Court, which is also a form of being an official. Otherwise, what's the point of cultivating for so long?"

Another boy retorted.

"Maybe it's a parallel universe? Did Fei Sheng actually travel to another planet with a more advanced cultivation civilization?"

Someone else interrupted.

At this time, the development of novels was at its peak, and various websites in the industry were vying for dominance.

Every now and then a bunch of excellent works emerge, and all sorts of novel settings are already quite well-developed.

Most high school students of this age are probably in the period when their thinking is most active and their ability to learn is strongest.

Qinghe Miao no longer dares to reveal too many of his "extraordinary" abilities as recklessly as he used to.

At most, one can use an ambiguous attitude to discuss things similar to the settings in film and television works.

even so.

He consistently maintains top grades in his grade and is multi-talented.

She can hum a nice little tune, can perform magic tricks with ease, and is good at coming up with fantasy stories. She also has good physical fitness.

He still exudes a unique charm, making many classmates like to gather around him.

The campus is like a small society, perhaps a gene passed down from ancient times.

Children in schools are naturally inclined to stick together and form various small cliques.

A group of such "friends" gradually and spontaneously gathered around Qing Hemiao.

Of course, if some people like it, others will inevitably dislike it.

Just as the group was engrossed in their conversation, an unpleasant voice came from not far ahead:

"Can you please keep your voice down? Can't you see that other people need to rest and study?"

The speaker was a boy who usually had pretty good grades.

He was frowning, a workbook on the table, his face clearly showing displeasure. His words conveyed a sense of moral superiority, implying that he was speaking on behalf of everyone and criticizing them, which was quite unpleasant.

They were all young men, just seventeen or eighteen years old, how could they possibly endure this?

Surrounding Qing Hemiao, one of the more hot-tempered lackeys immediately raised an eyebrow, ready to retort:

"You're such a pain..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qinghe Miao raised his hand to stop him.

Qing Hemiao glanced at the impatient man, feeling nothing in particular, and simply nodded in response:

"Okay, we'll be careful. Everyone's working really hard at this time, so we'll try our best not to disturb others."

Every school has people like that, and such things happen all the time.

When we were kids, we might have thought it was worth talking about.

However, if we broaden the scope to the entirety of one's life, or even a single stage or semester.

They all treated it as a normal thing and didn't react much.

Qinghe Miao made a gesture, spoke reasonably and logically, and still had considerable authority.

His classmates, who were surrounding him, decided not to argue any further, their expressions softened, and they lowered their voices.

However, the other party, who got what they wanted, felt a little frustrated. They let out a soft "heh" and replied indifferently:

"Yeah, it's because none of us have your talent. You manage to maintain such good grades so easily every day, that's amazing."

This kind of malice is very common in society.

The reason is as simple as it gets.

This person's grades are actually quite good.

But only he himself knows how much he sacrificed for this achievement.

In contrast, Qinghe Miao often appears to be resting with his eyes closed during class, and he is often nowhere to be found.

However, after each exam, the results remained remarkably stable, consistently ranking in a good position.

Such strenuous efforts may not yield the desired results, while others can achieve things effortlessly.

It's hard not to find it an eyesore.

Those surrounding Qing Hemiao were naturally unconvinced, and one of them retorted in the same tone:

"That's Qingmiao's skill and talent. You're not just jealous, are you?"

The other person raised their head again, a flash of anger crossing their face, but they quickly suppressed it and said:

"Tch, everyone's grades are pretty good, who's jealous of him? It's just that nobody thinks that we're all here to go to school, but some people seem to be doing nothing all day and yet get excellent grades. Isn't this kind of 'talent' unfair to everyone who works so hard every day?"

After these words were spoken, many students fell silent.

"It's fair..."

Qinghe Miao did not explain the other party's accusations. Instead, he looked at him with a sigh and a smile.

Where does absolute fairness come from?

Chapter 68 Critical Period

Qinghe Miao recalled her past life's struggles at the bottom of society.

Even if you join the same company, some people will get promoted faster than you.

When it comes to interpersonal communication, some people are exposed to it from a young age and become very familiar with its intricacies.

When someone fires you on a whim, where is the fairness? When someone withholds wages or refuses to pay, where is the fairness?

He studied diligently for over a decade.

Upon graduating from university, I immediately discovered that all the knowledge I had acquired was useless.

How should fairness be reflected?

Going back even further, the endless stream of refugees during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period must have had a different perspective.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of a teenager is that he or she believes in or is willing to believe that there is such a thing as fairness in the world.

"This kind of thing is actually hard to say and hard to explain."

Qinghe Miao's tone softened, and he spoke with a smile:

"People can't choose their birth. Some people are born stronger than others, some are just quicker-witted, some are just born into wealthier families... There's nothing we can do about it. It's all arranged by fate! There's no point in complaining about it, and this is just the beginning."

The other person felt a little uncomfortable under his strange expression and looked away.

Qinghe Miao didn't take it to heart, rubbed his hands together, and suggested:

"Discussing this has yielded no results. How about this, I'll pose a question, and we can all use it to exercise our brains?"

This proposal immediately aroused the interest of many people, who nodded in agreement.

At this point, it's naturally difficult for the other party, who initiated the conversation, to refuse.

"So, let's assume that in the future, a person's salary... let's say it's neither too high nor too low, let's say it's five thousand yuan a month. Then, over a year, that's sixty thousand yuan."

Qinghe Miao looked around and said clearly:

"Let's assume we have another house, and let's say it's worth 500,000. The normal age for a person to graduate from university is around 22."

In other words, even if an ordinary person graduates smoothly and finds a job in their first year, and receives their salary on time and in full, it is still difficult to achieve the same result.

To buy a house outright, you'd need to work tirelessly until you're thirty, without spending a penny. After that age, there are still life plans to make. So, what's the answer to this question?

The question was thrown out, and the surrounding students all looked thoughtful.

This question is not complicated.

The answer can be obtained with simple division.

The students around them were at their mental peak; many could arrive at the answer in an instant if they did mental arithmetic.