Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 237: Everyone has an inner demon.

Monday is always a day when it’s tough to muster up energy.

First comes the unease.

(Because the weekend homework was sloppily done)

Next, the pressure is maxed out.

(Just 5 more days! Awls!)

These two emotions intertwine, ultimately numbing most people to the point where they lie sprawled across their desks like dead pigs unafraid of boiling water, allowing the new week to ravish them unchecked.

Only Li Zheng, with shining eyes, radiates the vigor of youth.

First comes absolute confidence.

(So happy that I wrote another thirty thousand words for my weekly journal and casually handed in 47 math problems that had me puzzled, the teachers better hold on.)

Next, the anticipation is maxed out.

(Just 5 more days! Awls!)

It has to be said, this world is too real.

School is just like society.

Some people wake up in agony, thinking about how to endure the day, how to fabricate stories just to get through the day’s word count.

Some people wake up happy, thinking about how to enjoy the day, how to pursue hobbies that will bring them friends worth toasting with.

And Zhang Xiaoke falls somewhere in between.

For her, school is half endurance, half enjoyment.

The real trouble is.

That the days are too alike.

Studying isn’t the problem, repetition is.

Watching Li Zheng looking cheerful sitting next to his desk, Zhang Xiaoke, who was resting her head on the table, yawned numbly and asked, "Master... how do you manage to not get tired of studying..."

"Eh?" Li Zheng suddenly raised his eyebrows, looking at Zhang Xiaoke with surprise, "This scene is very interesting."

"What?"

Li Zheng started to gesture with great interest.

"You see, isn’t the ’Analects’ made up of a bunch of dialogues like this?"

"For example."

"[Zi Gong asks about governance.]

"[The Master says, ’Food enough, weapons enough, and the trust of the people enough.’]

"Let me put that in classical style."

"[Xiaoke asks about studying.]"

"[Zheng says, ’Work hard, strive on, and stay strong.’]

"Haha, so fun."

Zhang Xiaoke looked at Li Zheng without a ripple of emotion in her heart, not crying, not laughing, neither joyful nor sad.

It’s a biological problem, definitely a biological problem.

The master is inherently a creature who never gets tired of studying.

Even his sense of humor is twisted.

"Not funny?" Seeing that Zhang Xiaoke was still listless, Li Zheng could only shake his head and say, "The experimental scores should be out, don’t you want to gather for another round?"

"Not at all." Zhang Xiaoke turned away, resting her head in another direction, "Master, I’m bored. Just thinking about having to go through this for over a year makes me lose all interest."

"Weren’t you determined to aim for T2?"

"I’ll strive, sure." Zhang Xiaoke slowly raised her hand, shielding the light from the window and sighed, "But oh, how boring it is..."

"Hmm... I understand..." Li Zheng asked, "Is it because by following the study plan I gave you, you feel like a machine, fixing BUGS day after day, getting more and more bored?"

"Eh?" Zhang Xiaoke suddenly sat up straight, slamming her hands on the desk, "Exactly, exactly, that’s the feeling, like I’m gradually becoming an emotionless machine."

"Hmm... I see, this must be a flaw in my system design, too utilitarian, lacking in human touch." Li Zheng pursed his lips in thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I can’t come up with any solution right now; don’t let your studies fill you completely, you should have some fun when appropriate."

"Decided, going to the kennel this weekend." Zhang Xiaoke nodded fiercely, licking her lips at the same time, "By force bringing one home, my parents can’t possibly throw it away again... huh huh... finally something to look forward to."

As soon as she finished speaking, a chill voice came from behind.

"I do not entirely agree with this." Jiang Qinghua, without lifting her head from memorizing English words, said, "At this stage, we are meant to become emotionless study machines. The less emotion someone has, the higher their learning efficiency, and the better future they can have."

"Pah pah pah!" Zhang Xiaoke turned around and retorted, "You’re still a few points behind me, why the heck are you chirping."

Jiang Qinghua just shook her head, "The reality is, if you don’t advance, you’ll fall behind."

"Fall behind my ass, since you’re talking reality, I won’t hold back either."

Zhang Xiaoke narrowed her eyes, her tone taking on a taunting edge.

"For many boys, the girls they meet in high school probably make up more than 80% of all the girls they’ll meet in their lifetime."

"In other words, high school is the best opportunity to find the ideal partner."

"Instead of putting all your thoughts into studying, it’s really not as good as spending them on love."

"If you don’t do well in high school, it might be your last chance to find a wife, Qinghua bro! What’s the point of studying so hard?"

Crack!

The lead of the pencil broke.

Jiang Qinghua’s face turned cold, and he fell into deep self-doubt.

His recently steadied dedication to his studies was now in disarray.

In this situation, he had no choice but to look up, seeking guidance from the only mentor—

Li Zheng.

Quick, tell me I’m not wrong!

"Hmm..." Li Zheng pondered, "This matter is relative. For different people, the same choice can lead to different outcomes. Although I like to study, I don’t dare to say that studying is the only path for everyone. Take Liu Xin, for instance..."

All three turned their heads to look, and Liu Xin was picking at his fingernails.

Li Zheng continued, "Liu Xin spends a long time picking his nails every day, probably over half an hour. I find such waste incomprehensible, but he seems very happy, engrossed in it, always carefully maintaining his nails just dirty enough to have something to pick at every day."

Liu Xin seemed not to hear what Li Zheng was saying, focused on picking his nails and occasionally letting out a silly giggle.

"So for Liu Xin, just let him be happy picking his nails," Li Zheng turned to look at Jiang Qinghua. "But as for you, Qinghua, once you’ve chosen a path, you should stick to it. Don’t let Xiaoke’s kind of thinking distract you, nor should you try to prove the reasonableness of your actions to anyone. Having crossed the rubicon, there’s nothing more to say. Just go for it."

With those words, Jiang Qinghua’s dedication to his studies solidified once again.

"Yes!" Jiang Qinghua flicked his head and loaded a new 0.7 lead, "Gentlemen are harmonious but different. Xiaoke, your view has its merits, but it’s irrelevant to me."

"Sss sss." Zhang Xiaoke pulled a face, slapped her literature book on the table, and let out a long sigh, saying, "It’s not easy to find someone as honest as Jiang Qinghua these days... Don’t look at me like that, Master... you’re even more honest, okay?"

The bell for class preparation rang. Tang Zhifei entered the classroom ahead of time, yawning and said, "The... *yawn*... final results of the Chem Competitions are out. Lin Yujing and Li Zheng are first and second in the whole city. Give them a round of applause..."

Scattered applause sounded; many were still clapping with their heads on the desks.

"As expected..."

"The others are so pitiful."

"Come see the demigods..."

In the languid atmosphere, Tang Zhifei walked up to Li Zheng and Lin Yujing and handed each of them a Chem Competition score sheet.

"This is the ranking Teacher Tao just got. You guys refer to it yourselves," he said.

After speaking, Tang Zhifei yawned again and went back to the front of the classroom to prepare for the lesson.

Li Zheng picked up the score sheet and could only smile wryly.

Once a person becomes a god, their extraordinary grades are no longer a cause for surprise.

Just like Lin Yujing before, who always sat unshaken on the throne of the gods, no one paid attention no matter how easily she scored full marks.

It was rather people like himself, who had struggled their way up, that were more shocking to others.

However, in truth, whether it was Lin Yujing or himself, or Wu Shu, Ou Xingzhuo, or Shi Yang, the effort expended and achievements gained after becoming ’gods’ did not diminish one bit.

It’s just that gradually, not many people came to affirm or encourage you anymore.

At that moment, Li Zheng suddenly felt a kind of loneliness.

The loneliness of a god.

He couldn’t help but look at Lin Yujing, who was seriously looking at the score sheet.

Master Ye had probably been trapped in such loneliness since kindergarten.

Only she knew about her own efforts.

Only she was aware of her own progress.

She could only encourage herself, affirm herself, and comfort herself.

Walking alone, accompanied only by loneliness.

So that’s how the years had been.

Li Zheng himself had also gradually shifted his mindset.

At least during high school, he also needed to start getting used to this kind of loneliness.

Hoping that there would be more ’gods’ in college.

The more gods there are, the more ordinary they become, and the more ordinary, the less lonely.

Li Zheng stopped thinking further and looked at the score sheet.

The Physics Association was incredibly efficient, and in fact, the experimental results had already been released at eight o’clock the previous night.

The results of the Jijing Area Chem Competitions had also been settled—

[First Place: Lin Yujing, Total Score 378]

[Second Place: Li Zheng, Total Score 327]

[Third Place: Gu Jianfeng, Total Score 300]

To an outsider, these results might seem normal, with the only anomaly being that the first place was too strong, scoring 378 out of 400 and completely crushing the second and third places. It seemed like Jijing had produced another figure on the level of Wu Shu.

Yet, those in the know were taken aback by the outcome.

They saw that Lin Yujing scored 77 in the experiment, Li Zheng 25, and Gu Jianfeng 0.

```

In other words, Li Zheng’s experiment turned out to be crap, and Gu Jianfeng didn’t even show up for the exam.

But even with such leniency, these two brothers still ranked second and third.

Therefore, it was not Lin Yujing who truly crushed everyone else.

It was the collective force of these three that crushed the masses.

As for who among the top three is the strongest, those in the know wouldn’t dare to hazard a guess.

Moving on.

[Fourth place: Qi Yingnan, total score 283]

On the surface, his gap with Gu Jianfeng might not seem large, but in reality, he scored a high 68 in the experiment, yet still trailed Gu Jianfeng by a good 20 points.

And then...

[Thirteenth place: Duan Peipei, total score 242]

The moment Li Zheng saw this ranking, he was thrilled and genuinely happy for her.

But soon, he had some concerns.

The number 13 is quite mystical.

It’s exactly the number of people in the provincial team.

Without a doubt, Duan Peipei would also be selected for the provincial team.

But no matter who judged, she was out of reach for national gold and silver.

Plus, eligibility for the provincial team in the physics competition is already enough to get T2 score reduction.

Moving higher up could require an immense effort for possibly the same number of points, but it would inevitably impact the university entrance exam.

Duan Peipei had once dejectedly said her journey in physics had come to an end.

But now, fate had opened a small path for her.

Right now, she must be feeling a mix of joy and worry, happily troubled.

Li Zheng continued scrolling down, coming across three or four members of the group; he felt genuinely happy for them as well.

Unfortunately, this list only included the 51 people who got first in the province; there was no way to tell if Shi Bao’er was last in the rematch.

Overall, everyone’s results were quite good, and they pretty much got what they worked for.

Although class was in session, Li Zheng still covertly checked his group chat.

In this physics competition, the Dragon Pearl Group had a total of 7 members obtain first place in the province, and 4 entered the provincial team, truly boosting our group’s prestige.

But at that moment, everyone was discussing something else.

[Shi Yang: I’m on the plane, to hell with Prague! This time I’m going to cause a big scene, you all better be prepared.]

[Zhuo: I’ve never been to Europe, just wondering, does Prague have public toilets?]

[Wu Shu: Shouldn’t you be more worried about the plane first?]

[Li Zheng: I don’t think they allow you to bring sodium blocks on the plane.]

[Qi Yingnan: Congratulations Li Zheng, you played with mud and still got second place!]

[Li Zheng: I’m not talking anymore... I still need to work on my mindset.]

[Wu Shu: I checked the score, Lin Yujing scored 7 points higher than I did last year.]

[Zhuo: Queen, there’s no such thing as eternal power.]

[Wu Shu: So you’re eager for the new queen’s coronation?]

[Zhuo: Ah, the teacher just confiscated my phone.]

[Shi Yang: Aren’t you sending me off? Why did the topic change?]

[Shi Yang: Seriously, I’m going to make some big news, don’t forget to watch the live broadcast during the awards.]

[Wu Shu: Alright, I wish you success and the triumphant victory.]

[Zhuo: I’ve got a really bad feeling about this, listen to me, Shi Yang, don’t cause trouble... Overall, our group discipline is more important than personal freedom...]

[Shi Yang: Hey, mind your own business, I’m turning off the phone.]

[Wu Shu: @Zhuo? Didn’t you get confiscated?]

[Zhuo: Let’s change the subject, @Li Zheng, have you run 5 kilometers in under 18 minutes yet?]

[Li Zheng: That’s a bit abrupt, Brother Zhuo.]

[Zhuo: ...Suddenly feel like listening to the lecture, catch you later.]

[Wu Shu: @Li Zheng, you should ask Shi Yang what’s going on later, it’s an international stage meant to showcase youth vitality and elegance, don’t let him stir up trouble.]

[Li Zheng: I asked during the national Chem Competitions training camp, but he wouldn’t tell me.]

[Wu Shu: Sigh, what can you expect, that’s Shi Bao’er for you.]

Putting down his phone, Li Zheng took a long breath.

Shi Yang, that asshole, was already charging towards the final showdown at the IChO.

And he, himself, was far from a place of comfort.

Now, knowledge and approaches were no longer the primary problems.

```

Mentality, mentality, mentality!

A man must stand firm even when the mountain crumbles before him without changing his expression.

No matter what someone wears or does.

One must ensure not to be distracted, but to stay devoted to the test paper in front of them.

"Calming Incantation," come forth!

…

Before he knew it, class had ended.

Li Zheng felt someone push him, forcing him out of his meditative state.

Upon opening his eyes, it was the very personification of his inner demons—Lin Yujing herself.

Li Zheng had thought she was there to gloat about her victory in the exam, to strut and cause trouble with triumph.

However, Lin Yujing’s face was filled with concern.

"Hmm... Are you okay?" Lin Yujing shook her report card, frowning as she scrutinized Li Zheng’s Buddha-like demeanor, "Are you sick?"

Li Zheng closed his eyes again, "Yes."

"What’s wrong? Is it serious?"

"A heart issue, very serious."

"…Speak human." Lin Yujing raised her hand and smacked Li Zheng’s head.

"Shh." Li Zheng raised his hand and hushed her, "You’re disturbing my study."

"Wow!" exclaimed Zhang Xiaoke, jumping up from beside him, "After waiting for half a year, I’ve finally heard Master say that."

Lin Yujing was initially angry, almost shouting the words "start war."

But upon reflection, she realized that Li Zheng’s seemingly insane remarks actually contained a logical chain.

"Oh!" Lin Yujing’s mouth gradually formed an "O," "Are you saying that you did poorly in the experiment because of me?"

Suddenly.

The Buddha’s heart quivered.

"I...I didn’t say that... I didn’t..." Li Zheng fumbled for words with his eyes closed.

"Hahaha!" Lin Yujing covered her mouth to laugh, "So the real passion isn’t for bunny girls, huh~~"

The Buddha’s heart collapsed, and in one thought he turned into a demon.

Li Zheng sprang to his feet and declared, "It is bunny girls! My hobby is bunny girls!"

"Got it, got it~~~" Lin Yujing laughed merrily as she swung her water bottle and floated out of the classroom.

Half the class was staring at Li Zheng.

They hadn’t heard the rest and didn’t know about it.

They only caught the words "bunny girls."

Most people understood completely.

"Li Brother, no shame in that." Liu Xin picked at his nails as he chuckled, "That’s a pretty mild preference."

Li Zheng could only pound the desk and sit back down in frustration.

Everyone else thought he was flustered and embarrassed from revealing his strange proclivity, but only Xiaoke, who had followed him for a long time, could sense his real trouble.

"Master, what’s really going on?" Zhang Xiaoke asked earnestly, "Is there anything that could stump you?"

"Nobody’s perfect; everyone has their Achilles heel..." Li Zheng rubbed his forehead, "Leave me be, I’ve got a way to overcome it."

"Oh come on, don’t just sulk; Master, you sometimes need help from others too, right?" Zhang Xiaoke asked with a single eye widening in a smile, "Tell me, Master, how can I help you."

Li Zheng was about to decline, but then he thought maybe Zhang Xiaoke could really be of assistance, so he began to instruct her.

"So here’s the thing…"

"Come after school…"

"I will prepare XX and XX…"

"…"

"In the future, it might be a daily necessity."

"Let your family know you’ll be home late."

"Thank you for your effort."

Zhang Xiaoke’s mouth grew wider the more she listened, almost blurting out the word "pervert."

But after all, she had spent a long time with her Master.

Her Master was strange, no doubt, but not in the way she initially thought.

She had to set aside her ’dirty’ glasses and put on her ’studious’ glasses to truly understand her Master.

With that, Zhang Xiaoke was half terrified, half excited as she nodded.

"If it can help Master overcome his inner demons, I’ll agree to anything."

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