It wasn't that his superiors had graciously given him time off to rest—it was his own body, wrung dry by years of relentless toil, finally sounding its final alarm and protest.
...
Bluestone Third Middle School, Grade 12, Class 21 classroom.
The morning's chill was dispelled by the heat radiating from several dozen young bodies.
The math teacher, sporting a pair of thick-lensed glasses, walked up to the lectern with a large stack of white test papers. Chalk dust clung to the cuffs of his dark jacket.
"The official final exams are the day after tomorrow." He placed the test papers on the lectern. His voice wasn't loud, yet it cut through the quiet murmurs below.
"So, for this morning's double-period math class, we're going to do a mock test using last year's actual final exam. Think of it as a warm-up, but make sure you take it seriously."
"Listen up," he stressed, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Do your own work. No talking. I'll be grading and scoring these papers! You're all seniors now; it's time you learned the rules."
The RUSTLE of test papers being passed out filled the room, like the tide washing over a sandy beach.
Soon, a test paper covered in formulas and problems was spread out before each student—Bluestone Third Middle School Fall Semester Final Math Exam, Galactic Calendar Year 224.
'Finally, a class test,' Li Wen thought as he took the paper, his palm growing warm. 'I wonder how much [Scholar] EXP I'll get this time?'
It had been a week since his last Scholar upgrade, and his grinding for experience had never stopped.
He was also curious to see just how much his academic scores would improve, given how he'd been using his [Eternal Proof] ability to review and master the material.
'How far am I from my goal of breaking into the top ten and getting that scholarship?' The thought flashed through his mind for a moment before Li Wen cast it aside, gripped his pen, lowered his head, and began writing furiously on the test paper.
The first half of the multiple-choice section went exceptionally smoothly. Thanks to the solid foundation provided by his [Eternal Proof] ability, he could determine the correct answers almost without thinking.
However, starting from the second-to-last question of the multiple-choice section, the difficulty suddenly spiked.
Li Wen's brow furrowed slightly. After a few fruitless attempts at a solution, he decisively marked the question and skipped it for now.
Next were the fill-in-the-blank questions. It was smooth sailing at first, but the last few difficult problems combining geometry and algebra got him stuck again.
So… he turned his attention to the free-response questions.
The first long-answer question was a classic problem about function graphs and extrema. A gimme. He solved it with ease.
The second tested a combination of sequences and inequalities. It was moderately difficult, and Li Wen took his time to write out the steps in a clear, organized fashion.
For the third long-answer question, a comprehensive problem on analytic geometry, Li Wen managed to solve the first part.
But when he got to the fourth and fifth long-answer questions on solid geometry and the application of derivatives, the complex figures and symbols on the page seemed to mock him. He couldn't find a starting point; even the first part of the questions was a complete blur.
BRRRING— The crisp sound of the bell rang out like a saving grace.
The first class period was over.
"If you need to use the restroom, go now. The rest of you can continue working," the math teacher instructed, taking a sip of water.
The classroom fell silent. No one moved. More than forty heads remained buried in their test papers, the scratching of pen on paper the only sound to be heard.
Li Wen lifted his head, his eyes quickly and discreetly scanning his surroundings.
The few other students who were also pursuing the Martial Dao were in a similar situation. Their papers were filled in for the easy questions, but they were helpless when it came to the difficult problems, leaving large blank spaces on the page.
Any answers they had written were mostly just a jumble of formulas, thrown down in hopes of stumbling into some partial credit.
In contrast, the students who focused solely on academics were making steady, methodical progress.
Especially his desk mate, Wei Wu. Though the guy always joked that academics were his "side hustle," he was the undisputed number one student in Class 21.
His test paper was neat and his work flowed smoothly; he was already down to the second part of the final, ultimate challenge question.
A slight smile touched Li Wen's lips. 'I'd love to deal with you all as a regular guy, but alas… my abilities won't allow it.'
'Activate—[Absolute Focus]!' The moment he gave the command, an indescribable sense of clarity swept through his brain.
It was as if someone had hit the mute button on the bustling world. The math teacher, the figures of his classmates, the sunlight outside the window—all external information suddenly receded, becoming blurry and meaningless, as if viewed through a thick sheet of frosted glass.
The only thing left in his vision was the white test paper, covered in numbers and symbols, which now occupied the core of his consciousness with perfect clarity.
He felt as if he could clearly "see" the chains of logic and nodes of knowledge embedded within the questions. His brain began to analyze them with an unprecedented level of efficiency and precision.
The tip of his pen once again touched upon the tricky solid geometry question. His thoughts seeped into the core of the problem like ice-cold water.
...
BRRRING—
As the bell rang again, signaling the end of the second period, Li Wen, who had been completely immersed in the sea of questions, was abruptly pulled back to reality as if by an invisible thread.
"Phew…"
He let out a long, slow breath, releasing the pent-up air from his lungs as his taut nerves suddenly went slack.
His gaze fell upon the test on his desk. The math paper, which had previously been more than half blank, was now completely covered in neat, if slightly hurried, handwriting.
Under the ridiculously overwhelming processing speed of [Absolute Focus], all the difficult problems had been forcefully cracked.
"All right, pencils down. Exam's over." The math teacher on the platform set down his thermos. "Will the last student in each row please collect the papers?" His gaze habitually swept over the students in the back row of each group.