Chapter 72: The Revitalization of the Cultivation World Through Course Grabbing - 72% Progress

Su Xiaoyao had a feeling that many things had changed since Tianyan Academy set its official opening date.

Only three thousand people remained on the island, and the layout of the first level changed drastically overnight. The dormitories were transformed into spacious and bright mansions, and the students had the right to choose their own accommodations based on their grades.

Before opening up the housing options, Jun Huilian said that in the future, the little phoenix will move to the Wutong Forest and hopes that all students will take good care of the school's mascot.

That's a phoenix! The most favored divine beast by Heaven! It's an auspicious sign that spiritual energy will flow into your body if you walk within five meters of it!

So Su Xiaoyao decisively chose to take advantage of her good fortune. As the top scorer in the entrance exam, she was the first to move into the most luxurious mansion next to the Wutong Forest, and she and her friends agreed to choose nearby accommodations.

Helian Yi, who ranked second overall, shamelessly took over the spot that Shen Suxi had originally chosen, becoming her closest neighbor.

The other people's rankings were not low either, and those with higher scores were willing to give them face, since there was more than one area around Wutonglin.

They eventually moved in together as they had hoped, which was a good start.

After the move was completed, Su Xiaoyao once again marveled at the wonderful use of the island as a spiritual artifact.

She only mentioned it briefly when chatting with Jun Huilian on the intranet, and the next day, Bai Niang Qian Wei Lou moved to the roadside not far from their residential area.

Next door, a new stall selling steamed buns has appeared. The cultivator there used to be an ordinary person in Yongzhou who made a living by running a steamed bun shop. By chance, he cultivated the Dao and his steamed bun-making skills are quite good.

Su Xiaoyao had a premonition that the steamed bun shop would be very popular after 8 a.m.

Although the cultivators who come here have all practiced fasting, who can resist buying steamed buns when the other students are eating them?

Therefore, her ambition was rekindled, and she befriended the monk Baozi overnight, who offered to provide her with various breakfast recipes for bread and yogurt. He also planned to use the money he won from gambling to buy her a small shop in exchange for an investment agreement.

Just as the steamed bun cultivator was worrying about how to accumulate enough resources since she had no foundation, and whether selling steamed buns could revitalize her shop, the God of Wealth Su appeared out of nowhere and she gladly accepted the investment.

As usual, Su Xiaoyao waited for her share of the profits, and also received a free breakfast every day.

His business acumen left his friends in awe.

Su Xiaoyao took the lead, and many others were influenced by her and had similar ideas.

It's hard for the students who stayed not to be envious of Su Xiaoyao's exorbitant profits; they believe they can achieve the same level.

Previously, many people were anxious about whether they could pass the entrance exam. Few had the absolute confidence that Su Xiaoyao could stay, so they hadn't considered it. Now that they were sure they could stay, many shrewd people were planning to make a big splash.

However, the food industry already had Bai Niang Qian Wei Lou, which had a total of three thousand students and limited profit margins. So they cleverly avoided competition within the same industry and started selling other things instead.

Within three days, numerous shops and stalls appeared along this road, centered around the Bai Niang Qian Wei Lou (Hundred Brews and Thousand Flavors Pavilion), offering a complete range of products including magical artifacts, talismans, and clothing.

This area is showing signs of becoming a bustling downtown area. The university currently has only 3,000 students, but business will likely boom once it enrolls more students.

The once empty island gradually came alive with life. If anyone could reach the outer edge of the island, they would see a scene of prosperity, with students sweeping the streets and eating, creating a lively atmosphere no different from the outside world.

Su Xiaoyao sat on the second floor of her restaurant, overlooking the street, and sighed that where there are people, there is vitality. Just a few days ago, the pedestrians passing by were in a hurry and didn't even bother to take a second look.

"Thanks to you, this place has come alive again. I thought I would have to shut myself away and become a wild man after coming to the island. I'm so happy that I don't have to be cooped up and cultivate now." Shen Suqi rested her chin on her hand, enjoying the gentle sunlight.

"They would have found something to do even without me. It's only a matter of time before it becomes a bustling area." Su Xiaoyao didn't think she had made any impact. People's creativity when they have free time should not be underestimated.

Shen Suqi waved her hand: "That's not right. Without you taking the lead, who would dare to run wild on the Dao Ancestor's territory? Everyone would rather be more low-key and work harder so that the Dao Ancestor can see them. But because you and Jun Laiye opened this restaurant, other students saw that the academy's rules are not lifeless, and that you can still attract the attention of the Dao Ancestor and the stewards by being unique. That's why they relaxed and had some novel experiences."

“Yes, you have a lot of influence.” Xu Lingyou nodded. “Xiao Yao, do you remember when someone on the intranet asked you, ‘Why do you have the leisure to open a restaurant? Don’t you feel like you’re wasting your time?’ How did you answer?”

Su Xiaoyao recalled for a while and finally brought up that very ordinary little thing: "I remember one thing, I think I said it was because we need to balance work and rest."

She's survived three times already, so she wouldn't risk her physical and mental health by practicing recklessly; she has her own pace.

“You have a next line,” Shen Suqi whispered a reminder.

Su Xiaoyao stroked her chin and tried to recall carefully, but even after searching through every nook and cranny, she couldn't fully remember what she had said.

I still can't help but remind them about the 996 work schedule.

【Xiao Yao, what do you say?】

Because we need to balance work and rest, if I had the opportunity, I'd love to get my hair permed before studying.

996's tone was so perfectly imitated that it finally made Su Xiaoyao recall the scene from that time.

That day, after delivering food, she was bored, so she moved a bamboo chair, shook her legs, and sunbathed. She also picked up her communication stone to surf the internet.

After the final three thousand people were selected, the intranet was also updated, anonymity was removed and it was changed to an intranet exclusively for university students, so that real-name information could be seen on each person's homepage.

Using the nickname "Xiaoyao Jushi" (逍遥居士), she first went to the gambling den to collect debts, then opened a webpage to chat.

Almost everyone knows that "Xiaoyao Jushi" is Su Xiaoyao, so she wasn't surprised when someone asked her a question in a series of comments. She just replied casually, regardless of whether it made sense or not, saying whatever came to mind.

"Later they began to study what kind of technique perming hair was," Xu Lingyou said.

"Huh?" Su Xiaoyao blinked, incredulous. "I just said it offhand."

Xu Lingyou smiled and said, "You came in first in the assessment. Everyone is paying attention to what you say, and everyone wants to learn some useful techniques from you."

Shen Suqi added: "There are also people secretly observing your whereabouts to confirm that you are indeed balancing cultivation and play, thus guessing whether proper relaxation makes it easier to concentrate during cultivation."

Su Xiaoyao was dumbfounded: "No wonder I've been followed everywhere I go lately. I thought it was because I'm a huge fan of my looks."

Shen Suqi teased, "Now that you know your influence, what do you think, the renowned Hermit of Leisure?"

“Yes.” Su Xiaoyao’s eyes widened. “Letting Xiao Jiang open a barbershop should be a good way to make some money.”

The word "haircut" is easy to understand, and Shen Suqi rolled her eyes.

Su Xiaoyao thought about it more and more and it seemed feasible, her eyes shining brighter and brighter: "Xiao Jiang's mutated lightning spirit is already rare, and there are even fewer people who can control it as precisely as he does. If he were to start a hair perming business, he would make a fortune!"

"Spare Jiang Yun! Just because you said the role of an assistant is to provide emotional value to the leader, he's still reciting workplace jargon. This straightforward kid has been completely fooled by you, and even Wang Yikun couldn't handle it." Shen Suqi grabbed Su Xiaoyao's arms and shook her back and forth, trying to bring her back to her senses.

Su Xiaoyao said dejectedly, "Oh yeah, he's a grade assistant now, and he has to run food delivery for me in his spare time. He doesn't have time to do anything else. It's so annoying. I wish he could be in two places at once."

Shen Suqi's expression was incredibly rich: "No wonder you make money."

That's outrageous.

“A Nascent Soul cultivator can create an avatar; you should urge him to cultivate.” Helian Yi, who was sipping tea nearby, was enjoying the spectacle.

As soon as he spoke, Su Xiaoyao's attention was diverted. Her eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. She turned to Shen Suxi and asked, "Speaking of which, Helian used to be the number one person below the Nascent Soul stage. Why don't people praise him so much?"

"Ha." Helian Yi slammed down his teacup.

Su Xiaoyao, having successfully flirted with him, smiled like a cat that had just stolen some fish.

Shen Suqi, however, offered a more thorough explanation:

"Don't underestimate the significance of your first place. Ordinary geniuses might not even be selected among these three thousand people. Those who remain are all outstanding individuals, the best of the best among geniuses. At this point, whether it's spiritual roots or luck, the differences are not significant. Yet you managed to win first place, which naturally attracts a lot of attention."

As she spoke, she gestured towards the area below the window with her chin: "Take that girl at the steamed bun shop, for example. Someone has studied her; her single-spiritual-root talent is a dime a dozen on the island, and she comes from an ordinary background. Yet, she has exceptionally good luck, with a secret realm every three steps and an inheritance every five. You can probably tell that she often daydreams; she's probably one of the chosen ones. With such extraordinary luck, she still doesn't rank in the top 100 out of 3,000 people. That shows how complicated the rankings are."

Su Xiaoyao's thoughts drifted away: "When I woke up, Lao Xiao had dropped to third place on the Long Aotian ranking list."

"Hey, hey, hey, why do you always go off-topic?" Shen Suqi waved her hand in front of her eyes. "Anyway, you're the focus of the whole island right now. Any little thing you do will attract attention, especially since everyone's bored before classes officially start, so you're even more likely to get noticed."

"This is a great business opportunity, but it's a pity we can't do live-streaming sales." Su Xiaoyao lamented, pounding her chest in frustration.

"You really love doing business," Shen Suqi exclaimed.

"Of course, doing business is great."

Su Xiaoyao flipped her palm over, revealing a top-grade spirit stone of excellent quality. She circulated her spiritual energy and absorbed all the spiritual energy contained within it in just one breath.

“I wouldn’t have been this extravagant before.”

After chatting for a while, Shen Suqi looked out the window and suddenly became excited.

She pointed outside and tugged at Su Xiaoyao's sleeve: "That tailor shop has opened, do you want to go and get a suit made together?"

"Great! I've been struggling in the secret realm every day while I was outside the island, and I haven't bought any new clothes in ages." Huangfu Mian was drawn in.

A delicate blush rose to her cheeks, and she said with a hint of shyness, "School starts in seven days, and I want to make a good impression on my teachers."

"Is it to leave a good impression on the teacher, or on Lin..." Dai Kui smiled and winked at her, but before she could finish speaking, her mouth was covered.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Huangfu Mian's cheeks turned even redder, her eyes darted around, and her voice unconsciously became more stern. "Oh dear, the start of school is such an important event, of course I should dress nicely. Besides, I should prepare two extra outfits for going to class every day."

"Are you sure?" Su Xiaoyao asked, her expression puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Shen Suqi asked curiously.

"Listen to me, just buy one outfit to wear when school starts, you won't be able to wear it later." Su Xiaoyao stroked his non-existent beard mysteriously. "Instead of buying clothes, why not design a pajama set with me that you can wear out? I guarantee we'll make a fortune."

She had already started to consider the feasibility. She wondered if cultivators in the cultivation world would like cartoon pajamas. Perhaps changing the patterns to Pixiu, golden dragon, and phoenix would make them a bestseller.

"What do you mean?" The others turned to look at her curiously.

"You don't understand, 8 AM can unleash the laziness of all humanity!" Su Xiaoyao declared emphatically. "Even the most diligent humans will become exhausted in the face of 8 AM!"

"What do I think I am?" Shen Suqi said dismissively.

Su Xiaoyao has been saying "I don't want to start school at 8 a.m." a lot lately, and over time they all know that "8 a.m." means starting school at 7 a.m.

“Xiao Yao, you don’t know this, but we usually wake up at 5 a.m. to cultivate. Senior Brother Xu even practices swordsmanship at 3 a.m., and it’s considered late to leave home at 7 a.m.,” Huangfu Mian said.

"Yes, Helian Yi learned a secret technique to entice you, so his spiritual energy is still circulating even when he's sleeping." Shen Suqi bluntly exposed her friend's secret.

Helian Yi waved his fan and sneered, "If you continue to be so lazy, you'll have to hand over the first place in the next assessment to me."

“Naive children.” Su Xiaoyao shook her head and sighed in a condescending tone, “Back in my day, before I had any spiritual power, I would get up at 5:30 to wash up and be in the classroom at 6:15 to start morning reading. I had classes six days a week, and on the only weekend I would wake up early because of my biological clock. I was basically a high school student who got up early every day of the year. But in less than a month, I was tamed by the 8 a.m. routine. You are all so naive!”

"They're all excuses," Helian Yi said with a haughty, raised head.

He snapped his fan shut: "Let's go. We'll each have three sets of clothes made. I'll cover the cost."

"Great! Long live the young master!" Shen Suqi's eyes lit up.

"A fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal," Su Xiaoyao immediately stopped sighing and was the first to stand up, looking energetic and ready to set off.

"Young Master Helian, this way please." She flashed her signature toothy smile.

These two people were just calling each other "Helian" and "Helian Yi" a moment ago, but now they're addressing each other as "Young Master" and "Young Master" with respect.

Helian Yi had always been aloof and considered power and money to be external things, but at this moment his vanity was satisfied like never before.

It's good to be rich; he was a bit pretentious before.

"We can't forget Senior Brother Xiao and Junior Brother Jiang in the kitchen." Xu Lingyou quickly took out his communication stone.

He exclaimed "Ah!" after activating the communication stone.

The others looked over, puzzled.

"Hurry, hurry, we need to register for classes! I almost forgot about something so important! It was my junior brother Jiang who reminded me!" he said hurriedly.

I almost forgot, all these people gathered here today to compete for the course.

So many people were chatting and yet none of them remembered the important matter.

Shen Suqi slapped her forehead and quickly took out the spirit-gathering talisman she had prepared beforehand.

Dozens of talismans were piled up casually, as if they were worthless, creating a spectacular scene.

She said indignantly, "Just in case I drew too many, if ten aren't enough, I'll use twenty."

"This talisman gathers spiritual energy, can it really enhance the university's network signal?" Shui Fan picked up a talisman and examined it.

“The medium for internet transmission on our island is spiritual energy,” Su Xiaoyao said.

Qi Xiu published his professional opinion, and Shui Fan no longer had any doubts.

He tucked two bills into his pocket: "Lend them to me. I always feel like my internet isn't fast enough. My online friends can always send messages a fraction of a second faster than me."

"It's not that the internet isn't fast enough, it's that your merfolk react too quickly," Su Xiaoyao complained.

Unless one is a powerful being who has exchanged hundreds of blows in a single breath, who could possibly notice a fraction of a breath's time? Only the beastmen possess such keen senses.

"There's always room for improvement..."

Shui Fan abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Time to register for classes has arrived.

While everyone else was typing furiously, Su Xiaoyao remained calm and unperturbed.

"Take my advice, don't be greedy and choose too many things," she said at the right moment.

However, he did not receive the usual response he received.

Everyone was focused on vying for classes.

She glanced at her friends, then looked out the window at the other students who seemed to have pressed the pause button and were lingering to grab their classes, feeling a surge of superiority.

Don't you silly kids know that you have to pay tuition to attend classes? The tuition is earned in the form of academic credits.

She studied it carefully.

The course she had her eye on, Introduction to Instrumentation, required a full 100 points, while the equivalent 100-point task in the Task Hall was to collect 1,000 Tianshan snow lotuses.

One thousand! That's worth ten thousand high-grade spirit stones!

But they have to use tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones to exchange for several dark and dreary elective courses. What's the difference between spending money to suffer?

Su Xiaoyao smiled wickedly, having seen through everything long ago.

She waited for them to figure out how to skip class.

And she...

Su Xiaoyao looked down and switched the communication stone screen, anonymously posting a status update in a hidden group chat:

[Professional tutoring, disguise and cross-dressing, online 24/7. Feel free to message me privately. Love you!]

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Author's note: I'll work hard today, but I need to take a day off tomorrow because I have to give a performance review and write a monthly report.

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 01:04:04 and 23:33:37 on February 28, 2024!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Fu (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!