Wang Bengsun reached into his jacket and produced the dismissal letter — unstamped, unapproved. He held it out.
"Take it back. Come back to school tomorrow. The school cannot offer much in the way of cultivation resources, but it is still better than wasting away in this apartment."
Yan Xiao looked at the letter.
"Ding! A spider has been detected in the upper left corner of the room. Low Stage Qi Refining Demon Beast — the Shadow Fang Arachnid. Recommend immediate evacuation —"
Yan Xiao mentally told the System to be quiet.
He looked at Wang Bengsun.
He looked at the letter.
"...I'll think about it, sir."
Fortunately, he had successfully activated the System right after transmigration, giving him the motivation and hope to find a way back to his master.
It's just that...
His System seemed to have some malfunction, causing it to be erratic and crazy.
It mistakenly judged this Dharma Ending Era world as a xuanhuan cultivation world.
It even mistook small things for powerful demon beasts, and so on.
For example, that "Late Stage Qi Refining Demon Beast" from before.
It sounded incredibly powerful.
But in reality, it was just an ordinary cockroach — the kind you could stomp to death with a raised foot.
But!
Even if this System was erratic, the rewards it gave were real and tangible!
If the cockroach earned him 100 years of Qi Refining energy by being mislabeled as a Late Stage Qi Refining demon beast... then the rewards were calibrated to the misjudged rank, not the actual creature. At least, that was his theory. He would need more data to confirm it.
It was precisely because of activating the System — why would he go back to school?
With his System, he didn't want to waste time going back to school now. Besides, what legitimate cheater would attend classes at school?
Yan Xiao shook his head and set down the water cup in his hand.
"Mr. Wang! I appreciate your kindness, but going back to school is out of the question. I'm really doing well at home!"
He looked at Wang Bengsun with a serious expression.
Seeing that Yan Xiao still refused to return to school, Wang Bengsun felt a headache coming on. This wasn't the first time he had tried to persuade Yan Xiao. But this kid was like a stubborn ox, refusing to listen no matter what. It was like preaching to deaf ears.
"Didn't you just get rejected after confessing? Why are you slacking off at home? You don't even dare to go to school anymore."
"There are plenty of fish in the sea. Why hang yourself on one tree?"
"Think positively. You can't give up your future over such a small matter!"
Wang Bengsun continued to try to persuade him.
Yan Xiao: ???
Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.
What was all this about?
Indeed, the original owner liked that school beauty — liked her so much that he thought about her day and night, unable to extricate himself. He even had names for their children planned out. But that didn't mean he liked her now!
After all, some people like stinky tofu, but not everyone likes stinky tofu.
Moreover, only young people would like that kind of "ordinary," pretty-faced school beauty. Yan Xiao didn't want to sleep hugging a washboard every night.
Cough, cough... He got sidetracked, sidetracked.
After all...
School was not the optimal choice.
With the System, he didn't need to stay in school step by step.
As long as he kept completing System tasks, his improvement speed would definitely far surpass his peers, achieving the goal of overtaking them on the curve.
In short! The specific reason he took a leave of absence from school was not because of the school beauty named Qin Yue.
To put it bluntly, Qin Yue wasn't worthy!
But Wang Bengsun, hearing this, looked at Yan Xiao with a suspicious expression.
Why did he find it hard to believe? As a homeroom teacher and principal, he had seen too many students who were utterly devastated by "love." Given how desperately in love Yan Xiao was before, Wang Bengsun wouldn't be surprised if he went to jump off a building or commit suicide right now.
It was really hard to believe that this kid's current actions weren't because of that girl.
"What I'm saying is true. Can you, old man, stop imagining things?"
Yan Xiao was a bit helpless. Why did no one believe him when he told the truth? What was wrong with this old geezer? As a people's teacher, he was actually so gossipy.
"Alright, alright, I believe you, I believe you..."
Seeing Yan Xiao's "the more you explain, the more it sounds like a cover-up" look, Wang Bengsun didn't argue but nodded in agreement. He wore an expression that said, "I understand." After all, this kid was thin-skinned, so it was better to save him some face.
Yan Xiao: ...
He couldn't help but roll his eyes. What do you understand!
Afterward, the two chatted for a while longer. After confirming that Yan Xiao was unwilling to return to class, Wang Bengsun no longer insisted and left after a few words of concern. He still had class tomorrow and needed to prepare his lessons.
Bang!
After closing the door, Yan Xiao truly let out a long sigh of relief.
Phew... This old geezer... What was he thinking about all day long!
After his homeroom teacher Wang Bengsun left, Yan Xiao couldn't help but rub his stomach. He hadn't finished his noodles yet.
In front of the old wooden table, Yan Xiao slurped his instant noodles while deep in thought.
With the completion of two System missions, his own strength had increased significantly. He had already achieved a breakthrough to Qi Refining First Stage.
With his current strength, plus the combat experience from his previous world... he had no pressure fighting opponents of the same rank. Even against an opponent one rank higher, it shouldn't be a problem. But the specific situation would still depend on his real-time performance in actual combat.
After all... he hadn't truly fought anyone else in this world. As the saying goes: you don't know what a horse can do until you ride it. Taking a sip of the noodle soup, Yan Xiao then turned his gaze to the erratic and crazy System.
To be honest, he didn't know how this ghost System actually triggered missions. Judging by the misjudgment mission triggered by encountering a cockroach — from just now until now, Yan Xiao had seen no less than five cockroaches scurry past his eyes.
But no misjudgment mission was triggered! And the flies buzzing everywhere, the ants crawling around, and even the chirping birds outside... none of these triggered a misjudgment mission. He still hadn't figured out how the System actually triggered misjudgment missions.
However, in the very next second...
"Beep, beep, beep!"
"Warning, warning!"
"Mid Stage Foundation Establishment Beast detected in the city!"
"Range: 500 meters!"
"This demon beast is extremely dangerous. Host is warned to flee immediately, otherwise your life will be lost here!"
"Attention, attention!"
"Host, please flee immediately, otherwise your life will be lost here!"
Another mission was triggered! But when he heard the last prompt, Yan Xiao couldn't help but frown. Telling him to be careful? Could it be... this time the System wasn't acting up? Was that Mid Stage Foundation Establishment demon beast really powerful? And the location given this time wasn't near his home, but on a certain street in the city. Noticing this unusual aspect, Yan Xiao put down his chopsticks and began to consider whether he should run away.
After a slight hesitation... he still decided to go check out the mission target first. Although there might be danger this time, he didn't want to give up just yet. After all, the higher the mission difficulty, the more generous the rewards. If he could win, that would be best. If he couldn't win, Yan Xiao wouldn't stubbornly fight to the death with the opponent. He couldn't be bothered to continue eating his noodles. He immediately got up and went to the bedside.
This mission was not simple, so Yan Xiao had to be as fully armed as possible to deal with it. After grabbing the iron rod, he hurriedly rushed to the location where the Mid Stage Foundation Establishment demon beast had appeared.
Chengdu
Jinli Street
It was relatively close to Chengdu No. 1 High School. It was the busiest commercial street in this area.
At this moment, inside the coffee shop on Jinli Street, Qin Yue and her best friend An Lusi were sitting by the window, drinking milk tea and coffee.
"Hey, Qin Yue. Do you remember Yan Xiao, who confessed to you a few days ago?" An Lusi suddenly spoke. "I heard that after he failed his confession, Yan Xiao took a leave of absence from school!" As she spoke, she glanced at Qin Yue.
"Yan Xiao..." Hearing that name, Qin Yue's stirring of her milk tea paused. That somewhat thin figure seemed to reappear before her eyes... But Qin Yue quickly shook her head. She stopped thinking about an irrelevant person.