Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 266 - 265 X is one foot tall, Y is one zhang tall

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After the excitement, the nerves leading up to the exam followed close behind.

Even the top students who had already signed assured admission agreements all went back to reviewing.

After all, the firm criterion for these agreements was to make it into the national team selection, which meant being among the top 50.

Without achieving this result, the agreement was as good as void.

As for the Lake Ying Duo, on the day before, they had been neck and neck, but on this day, they started to each fight their own battles.

Rumors had it that they had fallen out.

Although the reason was unknown, to a few people, this was good news.

Issues in romance could very likely affect academic performance.

On the other hand, because of the joint petition for retaking exams, the Competition Committee might also take it hard on them when grading, adding difficulty intentionally.

Furthermore, the questions in Set B could possibly lean towards the unusual, increasing randomness, and anyone could slip up.

All sorts of factors intertwined.

Almost every person in the top 20 was secretly exerting themselves, thinking that they might just have a chance.

Li Zheng, on the other hand, shut himself in his room alone and unleashed a hundredfold learning power, starting with Russia’s tricky problems, mainly tackling baffling and offbeat questions, honing his few weaknesses in a barbaric way.

He seemed to return to his original self yet with some differences.

For a long time before that, he had concentrated on mental training, restructured his fundamental understanding of theory, akin to cleansing the marrow and refining the bones.

Interestingly, after such a rise in realm, when turning back to go through the most basic problem sets, he surprisingly made decent gains.

After countless instances of problem-solving reinforcement, he felt that upon seeing a problem, before his mind even moved, his hand would start writing.

Of course, his mind must have already been working, only that he wasn’t aware of it, probably a state where he could solve problems using merely vegetative nerves and subconsciousness.

After surpassing the stage where ’achieving mastery through a comprehensive study of a subject’ and ’the heavy sword has no edge’,

he seemed to touch upon the realm of becoming one with the problem once again.

Indeed.

It is only by dedicating oneself to learning that one can break through.

One’s eyes should not be tainted by wealth and desire; the heart of study must be as enduring as the cold of winter.

As for the itch on my face.

To wash, or not to wash, the itch is there, neither increasing nor decreasing.

The itch is emptiness, and emptiness is the itch.

This no longer matters.

...

June 19th, morning.

Li Zheng entered the dining hall alone.

His steps were firm and resolute, yet with each step, lotuses seemed to bloom underneath.

Watching his state, which resembled that of the ocean-like eyes and the Buddha’s calm face,

those who initially wanted to join him for a meal at the same table all kept their distance again.

"What’s going on?"

"God Zheng... has he made another breakthrough?"

"Damn it... I was hoping to take advantage of him when he was in a bad state..."

A few minutes later, Lin Yu Jing arrived too.

Compared to Li Zheng, she was very normal.

Just sleepily rubbed her eyes as if she hasn’t fully woken up.

After filling her tray, she also habitually sat down opposite Li Zheng.

Seeing the way Li Zheng ate in silence, she finally woke up.

"Um..." Lin Yu Jing tugged at the tablecloth, "Don’t be mad... Sometimes you just need to sneak in some learning."

"Why would I be mad about something related to studying?" Li Zheng smiled indifferently, "I hope you do well on the test."

"..." Lin Yu Jing almost spit out her porridge, "You jerk, what’s wrong with you?"

"I’m perfectly fine," Li Zheng smiled gently.

Ha, want to mess with my focus in studying?

No chance.

Even if right now suddenly...

"Tch..." Lin Yu Jing pouted, raising her hand to put on her kitty hood.

Li Zheng’s eyes bulged, instantly filling with veins of blood.

A monster!

She would resort to such a tactic?!

Calm down, stay calm, must not lose my composure.

As the standoff continued, Qi Yingnan sat down with her bowl in hand.

```

"Hey, why didn’t you wait for me? Weren’t we supposed to come together after I was done?" Qi Yingnan sat down with gusto, looking Lin Yujing up and down, "Aren’t you hot dressed like that in the middle of summer, and wearing a hat too?"

"…" Lin Yujing’s face stiffened.

"The air conditioning in the exam room might not be strong enough later, and if you want to change, it’ll be too late." Qi Yingnan chuckled with a deep-fried dough stick in her mouth, "Take my advice and go change into a short-sleeve. It’s cute to dress up, but there’s a time and place for vanity, right?"

"Deserved a 51!" Lin Yujing’s face flushed as she snatched off her hat and started to eat, "Still exam 51! 51, 51, 51!"

"Ah…" Qi Yingnan paused, then turned to Li Zheng, "I thought… we were close enough to joke around…"

"No problem, it’s okay." Li Zheng took a deep breath, his eyes full of gratitude as he patted Qi Yingnan on the back, "We should joke like this more often."

...

At nine o’clock sharp, the theory retest for the Chem Competitions began at Zhe Da.

Li Zheng scanned the paper as usual first.

The quality of this paper was indeed not as good as the previous one.

There was less innovation in the questions, and a heavier emphasis on calculations.

As for the last question, it also involved extracting part of a major paper and solving it on the spot.

This time, the content was based on an award-winning paper about neutrino oscillations, which seemed even more difficult than the previous finals’ ultimate question, and it was an area where Li Zheng’s knowledge was relatively weak, so it looked like he would have to allocate more time to tackle it head-on.

After sizing up the difficulty of the ultimate question, Li Zheng didn’t dare to underestimate this paper and started to furiously solve the problems.

Having lost the support of Huihu Middle School, the monitoring staff for the retest had dwindled, and because the venue had been moved to a Zhe Da lecture hall, the monitoring area was much larger.

With staff coming in and going out, the three invigilators in the classroom didn’t dare to slack off and all started to move around swiftly.

But ultimately, the patrol pattern evolved into a spiral orbit centered around Li Zheng and Lin Yujing.

No helping it, the two of them were working way too fast…

Almost more than twice as fast as the average pace.

The finals questions indeed demanded quick speeds, but not this quick.

With this calculation ability, they could have won awards in math competitions.

Even though Li Zheng was already that fast, he only finished the answer to the last question five minutes before the end.

This was the result of achieving unity with the questions.

It seemed that the ease of the last exam was greatly due to lucky coincidence with the final question.

After a slight check of the writing format and units, the end-of-exam bell rang accordingly.

As the papers were collected, there were the usual groans throughout the classroom.

It seemed even more tragic than the previous session.

"What is this, a calculus competition or what?"

"Middle school biology logic plus artificial intelligence computation capability..."

"Ha-ha, I just outlined the methods for questions three and four. I didn’t even calculate them. I saved the time for the last question, and then… for the last question I didn’t even have a method…"

"No one could’ve gotten a full score this time, right… not even a computer could manage it…"

Qi Yingnan quickly broke through the crowd and rushed to Li Zheng’s side, "How did it go?"

"The calculations truly were too extensive; I only had five minutes to check them."

"Fuck, you managed to finish this killer paper?" Qi Yingnan cursed on the spot.

"How about you?"

"I didn’t calculate the fourth problem, and I only wrote half of the last one." Qi Yingnan quickly glanced towards Lin Yujing who was sitting still, "Hey? She doesn’t look so good."

"Heh, who cares about her."

"Should I go ask?"

"Hmm… go ahead, quickly."

Qi Yingnan ran around for a bit then quickly returned with a happy expression, "Ha-ha-ha-ha, Lin Yujing didn’t finish either."

"Don’t believe her," Li Zheng said as he packed his stationery and waved his hand, "It’s all tricks, all tricks. She solves on average 3% faster than me."

"But she said there really wasn’t any simple solution to that paper and that she wasted a lot of time looking for an ultra-simple approach, only to end up having to go back to the hard calculations."

Li Zheng’s mood, though, was quite indifferent, so much like Ou Xingzhuo from back in the day.

"Stop it, it’s all a smokescreen. Let’s wait for the results."

"Fine…" Qi Yingnan leaned in and said, "She also asked about you."

"Oh? What did you say?"

"I told her you left half a question undone, and she seemed pretty happy about it."

"Good, she’s got brains." With that, Li Zheng gathered Qi Yingnan, "Come on, let’s go bowling."

...

It was as if they had a do-over, just like with the retest, the trio’s bowling outing also seemed to have restarted.

Only this time, everyone was talking less.

No one could really enjoy themselves before the results came out; they were all distracted, occasionally glancing at their phones to see if the scores were in.

It felt stifling.

Then, at 5:10 PM, all three of them stood up simultaneously.

The results were in!

Bowling and such were instantly forgotten, and the three of them didn’t even chat before they changed their shoes and got into the elevator.

In the elevator, the atmosphere inevitably became even more oppressive.

Qi Yingnan struggled to bear it and attempted to mediate, "You two don’t need to be like this, so what if you didn’t get perfect scores? You should still be very securely in first and second places."

Neither of them said a word, each glancing at the other before turning away.

Qi Yingnan weighed his options and, although he felt he should defer to the girl, it seemed brotherhood was a bit more important.

He then shook his head and said, "Sigh, this time Li Zheng missed an entire long answer question, and I’m afraid this will widen the gap."

Lin Yujing’s expression lifted slightly, but she also didn’t speak, just holding it in, forcing herself to stay silent.

Seeing her like that, Li Zheng also let out a sigh, "If I lose this time, I’ll have no choice but to be thoroughly convinced, ’A demon’s tricks can’t beat the pathway to immortality.’

Upon hearing this, Lin Yujing actually felt a bit sorry for Li Zheng and gently tugged at his sleeve, saying, "Ay, ay, this test was really annoying, I didn’t do well either~~"

"Sigh, we all had the same paper, a loss is a loss." Li Zheng pursed his lips, "If I’ve lost, don’t look at me like that, it’s really hurtful."

"Not at all, not at all," Lin Yujing hurriedly giggled and waved her hands, "Don’t look so pitiful, I won’t even have the heart to call you trash anymore."

"Sigh, go ahead and call me that. The loser is already trash, can’t deny it."

During the entire conversation, Qi Yingnan’s expression grew increasingly tense.

Finally, he couldn’t hold back anymore and looked at Li Zheng with grievance, "Give it a rest... I haven’t even signed a contract yet..."

"Right, right, sorry," Li Zheng also felt quite aggrieved, "I’m afraid I did so poorly that I won’t even make it into the top 50, and if that happens... that recommendation... that recommendation... that recommendation... it should still be possible, right? Being first in the Chem Competitions ought to be enough."

Fuck... enough!"

Ding ding.

The elevator reached its floor, and as soon as the doors opened, they could hear the buzzing chatter in the corridor.

The three of them said no more, took a deep breath, and silently walked over, squeezing their way in.

Maybe they arrived too early this time, as the surrounding people didn’t give them the look of pilgrims, all crowding inward.

But there was still some information to be had.

Cheers had already erupted at the front and were spreading back through the rows.

"Hahaha, Huihu has shown its weaknesses!!"

"Only one person made the top 50!"

"Serves them right! Thankfully Jingji hasn’t signed yet."

"Any Huihu people here? Let me read out the rankings for you!"

Amidst the rising and falling voices, Li Zheng and his companions finally squeezed up to the announcement board.

Li Zheng, as usual, looked immediately at the top of the list, his eyes following suit with a wide stare.

[The 36th National High School Physics Competition Results (Preliminary) Announcement]

(Maximum theoretical score: 280 points)

(Maximum experimental score: 120 points)

(Maximum total score: 400 points)]

[First Place]

[Li Zheng, Jijing, Lake Ying Middle School.]

[Total theoretical score: 278.8. Ranking: 1]

[Total experimental score: 86.1. Ranking: 2]

[Overall total score: 364.9.]

[Second Place]

[Lin Yujing, Jijing, Lake Ying Middle School.]

[Total theoretical score: 265.4. Ranking: 2]

[Total experimental score: 87.6. Ranking: 1]

[Overall total score: 353.]

At this instant.

Li Zheng gently covered his forehead.

And burst into laughter as heavy as a barbell.

"Haha... haha... hahaha..."

After so many years.

Who knew how he had lived through these years?

Who knew?

She knew!

Li Zheng slowly turned his head.

He didn’t want to turn too quickly.

He wanted to savor the process, every millisecond.

Still, he quickly saw Lin Yujing, who was in a state of complete stupor "~".

"Ay, ay, did you really not do well?" Li Zheng joyfully approached Lin Yujing, "What now, can’t even bear to call me trash anymore, can you?"

"Zh… Zh… Z…" Lin Yujing, her feelings of shame and embarrassment intertwined, clenched her fists and glared at Li Zheng, "You lied… you said you left half of the problems unsolved…"

"Oh? Did I lie? When did I say I didn’t finish half of the problems?" Li Zheng innocently brought over Qi Yingnan, "Ying Bao’er, did I say that?"

"No…" Qi Yingnan, seeing Lin Yujing’s murderous look, hastily retreated, "Don’t drag outsiders into your family affairs… It has nothing to do with me…"

"Ugh uuuu…"

"Besides, so what if I lied?" Li Zheng chuckled, "Who was it that pretended to be asleep and sneakily reviewed? Who was it?"

"Uuuuuu…"

"Come on, let’s do some mental arithmetic, how many points are we apart?"

"…"

"Ah, 11.9 points, huh, that must be more than all the points we were behind before combined, right?" Li Zheng frowned, resting his chin in his hand.

"Zh… Z…"

"Too bad, not even your cat-ear hoodie could shake me." Li Zheng nodded calmly, standing with his hands behind his back, "But, it’s not your fault, you tried hard, after all—"

"Magic is always one foot higher than the road."

Li Zheng gently patted Lin Yujing, saying, "So, let’s solve the problems together in the future, no more sneaking around."

"I’ve explained many times…" Lin Yujing yanked herself away from Li Zheng with force, "It wasn’t sneaky… I just couldn’t focus… I just wanted to calm down by doing problems…"

Li Zheng was taken aback.

Suddenly, his right cheek began to itch again.

Wait a second…

Could it be…

Cold-blooded.

Was it him?

In his daze, Lin Yujing, with a wronged expression, said while wiping her eyes, "You won, I won’t call you a loser anymore."

"…" Li Zheng suddenly felt something was off.

In his mind flashed the eight big characters he had seen over and over—

Friendship first, competition second.

If I’ve lost the friendship, what use is this first place??

Li Zheng hurriedly grabbed Lin Yujing, "Don’t don’t don’t, you should still say it."

"Not saying it, not saying it." Lin Yujing waved her hands in despair.

"Say it, say it."

"Can’t say it… What’s this about one foot high, some foot high whatever?"

"Magic…magic is one foot high, the road is one foot taller."

"That’s not right, say it more clearly."

"Zheng is one foot high, Jing is one foot taller?"

"Loser!" Lin Yujing chuckled, then quickly vanished into the crowd, "A loser will always be a loser."

Fuck!

Li Zheng instantly held his head.

He’d been tricked again!

"Hahaha! 39!!" Qi Yingnan suddenly hugged Li Zheng excitedly, "We slaughtered Huihu dogs, I’m freaking 39!!!"

"You’re hugging my abs, get lost!"

"Hahaha, I’m so happy, even if you’re a rooster I wouldn’t let go."

Li Zheng finally had to use force to break free.

Only then did he have the time to check the rankings behind him.

The third place was still Du Zicheng, but with only 231 points in theory, it seemed the massive calculations had done him in too.

Huang Lingqi scored 221, moving up to seventh.

Continuing to scan down, still no sign of Huihu until the 47th place.

Yao Xiaoqian, theoretical score, 198.

"Phew…" Only then did Li Zheng finally feel at ease.

That way, even if she was suspected, she could completely ignore others’ thoughts.

On the contrary, she became the only student from Huihu this year to be directly selected for the national team on merit alone, and even from Huihu’s perspective, she could be considered the only light in the darkness.

"Thank you."

A voice quietly appeared at Li Zheng’s side.

Turning his head, he realized it was Yao Xiaoqian herself.

She was looking up at the bulletin board, tears swirling in her eyes.

This time, they were not tears of grievance.

She was shining all over.

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