Chapter 36: A True Genius Exists

This day marked Fang Cun’s first class in the academy’s Study Pavilion.

Only he didn’t really do anything!

The elderly woman above was instructing the disciples in what she considered her most prized skill: Witchcraft and Gu. Unfortunately, notions like “Blue Glowing Armor,” “Wandering Corpse Insects,” and the “Six Desires Gu” sounded far too complicated. He couldn’t grasp a word. Since the Instructor Lingxiu permitted it, he simply sat among the other disciples, clutching the Classic of Spirits while reading it bit by bit.

As one of the Seven Classics widely known across the world, Fang Cun had already skimmed the Classic of Spirits when learning to read. He knew it contained truths about the spirits of all things in heaven and earth. He’d read it before, but those deeper ideas hadn’t truly sunk in. As for committing the entire text to memory? That possibility had never even crossed his mind…

Back in his previous life, even the top students didn’t memorize the entire textbooks, did they?

Three hours passed in a blur, and it was soon dismissal time.

The White Xiang Academy was quite different from his previous life. There were no rigid hourly lessons. Usually, students spent about three hours here, listening to the Instructor’s teachings. But even during those three hours, the Instructor wasn’t always lecturing. She often spoke for just half an hour or an hour before letting students study independently. Should any questions arise, the disciples could then approach their Instructor.

If an Instructor had business to attend to, it was normal for them to vanish without leave for three, five, or even half a month.

That black-robed elderly woman wrapped up her lecture on Gu Insects and vanished, leaving the entire Study Pavilion utterly bewildered. These Yuanzhi Pavilion disciples’ cultivation levels were still far too low. Hearing such advanced principles from the Classic of Spirits suddenly—how could they possibly grasp it all?

Back home at the Fang Residence, Fang Cun finished dinner and, as per his routine, returned to his room for cultivation.

Based on his recent habit, after converting one hundred units of merit, he’d normally practice the Art of Object Manipulation. This skill belonged to the Scripture of Arts discipline, requiring intensive practice and a deep understanding of the scripture’s principles. But thinking about the task the Instructor Lingxiu assigned him gave Fang Cun a headache. After some hesitation, he took out the Classic of Spirits instead!

In the Study Pavilion, he had already reread the entire Classic of Spirits a few more times and felt relatively familiar with it.

“If I must memorize the entire text in one day, I’ll need at least an hour just to commit one-third to memory!”

Fang Cun pondered briefly, then folded the corner of one page to mark where one-third of the Classic of Spirits ended.

He then began earnestly memorizing the text word by word.

Lighting a time-marking incense stick, Fang Cun dedicated himself fully to the task. But after half an hour, he knew the truth.

He couldn’t memorize it!

Forget one day. Frankly, Fang Cun felt reciting the whole thing vaguely within three days would be an achievement. He didn’t know if such a genius—capable of memorizing the entire Classic of Spirits overnight—actually existed. But one thing was certain: while he was quite clever, compared to them, he lacked that… freakish edge.

His intelligence was normal. Those others? They were abnormal!

Just as this troubled thought surfaced, a faint “swoosh” echoed in his ears—another deposit into his Alipay.

“Eliminated Fox Demon Stealing Mortal Essence!”

“Merit Awarded: One Thousand Eight Hundred!”

Staring at the shimmering light characters of the Celestial Merit Record appearing before him, Fang Cun was momentarily startled but quickly grasped the situation.

“Master Qin made his move?”

He had earlier sent Xiao Qingliu to deliver a… request… to Master Qin at the roadside tea shack outside the city. He just hadn’t expected it to be fulfilled now. The Fox Demon was dead. Unknown mortals had likely been saved from its grasp. So, the Heavenly Dao granted him this merit.

“Master Qin truly lives up to his reputation. No matter who the target is, none leave alive under his hand…”

“The only issue is that his fees are a tad expensive…”

“The Old Knives Gang over west of town only charges ten taels of silver per head. Regulars even get discounts!…”

Fang Cun mused privately, finding nothing particularly unusual. This outcome was within his expectations. Glancing back at the Celestial Merit Record, his previously remaining 1,500 units of merit had now swelled to 3,300. If he continued consuming 100 merit daily for cultivation, this would sustain him for over a month.

But the crux was that his current biggest worry wasn’t cultivation—it was another hurdle…

Fang Cun gave the merit count a fleeting glance before pushing it aside, still frowning over the Classic of Spirits memorization.

Yet at precisely that moment, an odd, unfamiliar sensation suddenly arose within him.

“Huaa…”

It was the sound of flowing water.

As it echoed, Fang Cun felt an abrupt, uncanny familiarity wash over him concerning the Classic of Spirits before his eyes. Hastily, he flipped through the pages. Scanning word by word, he realized the entire text now felt profoundly familiar. Every character, every sentence seemed deeply etched into his mind. He flipped a few more times, then suddenly closed the book, concentrating silently on recalling its content.

Sure enough, the instant his mind turned towards it, the entirety of the Classic of Spirits gushed forth vividly into his consciousness. Commit it to memory? Utterly mastered. This notoriously dense and complex scripture was now held flawlessly, not just sequentially. He could recall any single starting point word and continue freely. Exaggerating a bit—it felt like he could recite it backwards.

“What’s going on…?”

Fang Cun understood something had occurred. He swiftly summoned the Celestial Merit Record in his mind.

His heart skipped a beat when he looked closely.

The original 3,300 units of merit had reduced to 300! A loss of 3,000.

……

“So merit has this kind of incredible use before…”

Previously, Fang Cun only knew merit could transform into Innate Qi. He hadn’t imagined that with sufficient merit and clear intent, he could expend merit to instantly stamp entire esoteric texts into his mind in a flash…

This was genuinely unexpected. But what could be done? The Celestial Merit Record hadn’t come with instructions!…

The only frustration was: “The cost is way too steep!”

Three thousand merit!

That was nearly a month’s worth of cultivation resources…

Merit equivalent to almost two Fox Demon lives… spent just to memorize a single text?

A strange expression flickered across Fang Cun’s face.

He vaguely wondered if the massive toll stemmed from violating natural order.

For now, reason eluded him. Yet he began to suspect the true value of Celestial Merit might far exceed his imagination.

……

Arriving at the academy the next day, the Instructor Lingxiu predictably appeared before Fang Cun’s desk right on time.

She didn’t speak more. Instead, her gaze drifted downwards, knuckles rapping lightly on his desk. “Well?”

Hidden expectation had filled the Study Pavilion. Disciples pretended to focus on their own texts, yet peripheral stares subtly tracked Fang Cun. Countless minds echoed the thought: “Offending Lingxiu, the academy’s most terrifying figure—even a fabled genius like Fang Cun would suffer…”

Fang Cun sighed. Rising respectfully, he admitted, “Memorizing the entire Classic of Spirits in a single day was truly taxing…”

The Instructor’s eyes turned ice-cold. “If you failed to memorize—”

Her chilling tone visibly delighted nearby pupils. Expressions immediately grew vibrant.

Fang Cun hastily interjected, “But by pouring sweat and toil into it, this disciple ultimately… barely succeeded!”

“Hmm?”

The elderly woman’s grim face snapped towards him. Harsh eyes flickered with something indefinable.

Stunned disbelief instantly swept through the Study Pavilion. Students openly gaped.

The Instructor Lingxiu fixed Fang Cun with a cold stare. “Since memorized, recount it then!”

Fang Cun nodded. He cleared his throat, feigned concentration, then began slowly reciting: “Heaven and Earth gave birth to all creatures possessing Yin and Yang. The fusion of Yin and Yang birthed the spirits of all beings… Spirits are a heavenly gift—a single thought tethered to the divine soul, capable of sensing and influencing all things amidst continuous transformation…”

With the Classic of Spirits indelibly imprinted in his mind, recitation posed no difficulty. Fang Cun deliberately avoided startlingly high performance. Reading at moderate pace, he paused occasionally—seemingly effortfully recalling specific sections. Just when others expected him to falter, momentum resumed seamlessly. Each word flowed smoothly.

Surrounding gazes turned increasingly intricate.

He actually memorized it all?

Details of Fang Cun’s brother, Fang Chi, once piercing brilliant talent during his own academy days, were old stories everyone knew by heart. Yet Fang Chi belonged to an older generation. Extraordinary feats were anecdotes heard, never witnessed—until now. Seeing Fang Cun memorize the entire Classic of Spirits within two days? Genuine admiration, mixed with desperate awe, welled within them.

The Classic of Spirits contained nearly ten thousand words! Who knew how long memorizing that typically took?

The elderly woman listened expressionlessly. Initially calm, witnessing Fang Cun’s steady recitation without hesitation, she abruptly waved her hand. Her expression darkened now—an unreadable emotion simmering. What resided behind her eyes wasn’t pleasured.

“Start reciting from the Spirit Enlightenment section!”

She shot him a sharp look and spoke curtly.

Fang Cun paused mid-flow. He appeared to search his memory briefly before smoothly shifting: “Enlightenment of spirit refers to perception. Requires…”

Spectators’ emotions intensified shock tenfold. Their faces became masterpieces of astonishment.

Abruptly, she interrupted him once more: “The Second Passage of the Spirit Refining section!”

Fang Cun pretended mild recess of thought before perfectly articulating the requested passage.

Though intentionally measured with occasional delays, not a single word misaligned or slipped.

Collective spirits sank visibly around him. The disciples joining the academy two years ago had initially dedicated most effort towards memorizing the Seven Classics. Naturally, they endured similarly torturous memorization phases of the convoluted Classic of Spirits. Comparing arduous struggles spanning weeks or months against Fang Cun finishing mere one day? Utterly disheartening.

Whap!

Suddenly, a disciple violently slammed his scripture onto his desk—too discouraged to keep learning.

Damn it!

So, true genius really does exist like legends say!