Chapter 99: Star Chasing Journey (Nineteen)
"What? Is your Hanshan Academy afraid?"
Kuang Bowen had, after all, studied Sky Craftsman for three years to become the Chief, and he couldn't stand someone being promoted so soon after entering the Academy and specializing.
He was curious about what kind of Genius it was, but he also felt that a newcomer couldn't possibly compare to him, a Senior.
Perhaps Hanshan Academy's reputation was merely an empty name.
This was Kuang Bowen's deepest thought; he had always resented Chaosui Academy being suppressed by Hanshan Academy.
Are the Ten Great Academies really that powerful?
It's nothing more than a reputation accumulated over many years.
Many Disciples from their Curriculum Assessment could successfully challenge Disciples from Hanshan Academy.
Although Chaosui Academy was a second-rate Academy, in terms of diligence, it was no less than the Disciples of the Ten Great Academies. Why should they be divided into different ranks and scorned by the world just because of their Academy background?
It was said that even the Imperial Examination would prioritize Disciples from the Ten Great Academies, simply because of the academic legacy, and the examiners were also basically from the Ten Great Academies.
At a young and impetuous age, he couldn't stand the injustices of the world, so Kuang Bowen decided to come and see for himself.
The kind Disciple, seeing his stubbornness, shook his head and said, "It's not fear; it's just that Senior Sister Liu simply doesn't have time."
"Senior Sister Liu has always felt that these competitions and challenges are just a waste of her time. She said that she studies Sky Craftsman not to compete for fame or fight with others."
Kuang Bowen sneered, "Then what is it for?"
Let's see what excuse she can come up with.
"Let me tell you, let me tell you!" another Disciple who loved to join in the fun eagerly replied, "Senior Sister Liu said, of course, it's to earn money for retirement! If you compete with others, you'll have to consume Materials to make unplanned items, wasting both money and time!"
"Wasting time means shortening your life; that's what Senior Sister Liu said," the Disciple added, "So if someone wants to die, just let him get first place."
Kuang Bowen was dumbfounded; he never thought it could be put that way, and, it actually made sense?
"Then how did you all recognize such a new Disciple as the Chief?" Kuang Bowen was still puzzled.
The Disciple said, "You can tell."
"Yes, our teachers all said that Senior Sister Liu looks different from us ordinary folks at first glance." Another Disciple nodded, not caring if the analogy was appropriate.
At the time, Kuang Bowen was still very confused, and he returned home without any gain, inexplicably.
It wasn't until later, when the joint examination of the two Academies arrived, that he finally understood what "you can tell" meant.
The test question at that time was to create an image-recording Mirage based on Ling Shangshu's blueprints.
Liu Sheng's Artifact Refining ideas and Artifact Refining techniques were different from theirs; she could always find unexpected entry points, elevating the original design to the next level.
Finally, she made a Mirage that could fly in the air and take aerial photos, and its clarity and color far surpassed what everyone else had made.
Even his teacher said that this girl was born to optimize Spiritual Artifacts.
"Then what about designing Spiritual Artifacts?" he asked at the time.
"My child, starting from scratch is incredibly difficult, and not everyone can become Ling Shangshu," his teacher said, shaking his head.
"To add the final touch is already extremely difficult, after all, what we teach are Spiritual Artifacts that have been refined and perfected over generations since God Manifestation First Year."
"I think she's still a bit lacking," his teacher concluded.
Who would have thought that because of this one sentence, Kuang Bowen gave up the study of Sky Craftsman and focused on cultivation.
If she couldn't do it either, what was the point of him continuing to learn?
He didn't just want to add the final touch; he wanted to step into an untouched realm.
Exploring the Weird Domain now could be considered that.
He just didn't expect her to come too; he immediately recognized her by her car repair technique.
After all, he always dreamt of that examination, then woke up drenched in sweat.
...
"You are wrong."
Wen Weilan sat beside Kuang Bowen, listening to the whole story, her gaze fixed on Liu Sheng's direction ahead, and she shook her head, saying.
"What am I wrong about?"
"Adding the final touch is not meaningless; only by continuously adding the final touch can one know how to make a true flower."
Upon hearing this, Kuang Bowen's head buzzed, and he stood with his mouth agape for a long while.
He somewhat understood, yet seemed not to.
But before he could clear his thoughts, he suddenly heard Liu Sheng outside the car shout loudly, "Everyone, don't move!"
"The stars in the sky... are moving, yes, they've aligned into a line."
Wen Weilan was greatly alarmed, worried about Liu Sheng's safety outside, but since the tour guide Li Mingzhu said not to move, it was best not to move.
Chen Shanyuan, sitting next to Old Wang, also immediately reacted upon hearing this: "Everyone, absolutely do not move!"
"Bowen, Jun An, Liu Weiwei, Yu Jinling, Song Ru, look after the common people around you. They are disoriented now, don't let them move randomly."
"She Chan, take care of yourself," he then said to Liu Sheng.
"Okay, it's quite interesting watching the changes in the starry sky from here."
Liu Sheng's voice drifted over, seemingly from a very distant place, yet she was clearly at the front of the car, outside the door, as if separated by a barrier.
...
Liu Sheng looked up at the sky, indeed finding it very interesting.
It was her first time seeing such a celestial phenomenon.
The stars, which usually moved slowly in the night sky along a predetermined trajectory at a speed imperceptible to the human eye, now looked like tiny diamonds stuck to a black piece of paper, aligning straight along the crease as the paper was folded in half.
No, it should be that they were moving in one direction, forming a dazzling band of light, and the darkness beyond the light band appeared exceptionally deep.
Something seemed to be hidden in that darkness.
Since she couldn't move now, she simply sat cross-legged on the ground and took out "Elementary School Learns Quantum Mechanics" to continue reading.
"Sister, Sister, aren't you worried?" Doll Tree asked.
"Why should I be worried?"
"This kind of celestial phenomenon is completely abnormal!"
"This is fine, isn't it? In our world, there's a giant face in the sky."
"Really?! I really want to see it!" Doll Tree immediately became interested.
"Then you'll have to leave here, but unfortunately, you don't know anything."
Liu Sheng said coldly, turning to the next page, looking at the book with the eyes on her tentacles, while maintaining her posture of looking up at the stars.
"Who said I don't know..." Doll Tree pouted, but suddenly covered her mouth.
"You really don't know."
"Hmph, never mind, you can think about it yourself." Doll Tree slumped down in disappointment, some of the leaves on her head withered, and the bare branch poking out from her head also looked much rougher.
"But, you don't need to go out and look. I think the sky here is actually pretty similar," Liu Sheng said softly, looking at the sky, "It feels like everyone's routines are pretty much the same, except there's more... quantum mechanics here."
Doll Tree didn't understand, and looked up fearfully, but besides that band of light, she couldn't see anything else.
"How high is the sky, after all?" Liu Sheng continued to murmur to herself.
She stretched out her hand, spreading her five fingers towards the sky, as if trying to touch the firmament.
But she couldn't touch it; it was out of reach.
Liu Sheng watched the band of light, intermittently obscured by her palm, gradually becoming distant between her fingers, slowly scattering back into the original myriad of stars that filled the sky.
She placed "Elementary School Learns Quantum Mechanics" to the side and looked around.
Nothing seemed different around her; it was still the same wilderness, and the same dilapidated flying car behind her.
And the obedient Doll Tree sitting beside her, always propping her chin and curiously watching Liu Sheng.
Wen Weilan's concerned voice came from inside the car: "Is it over?"
Everything was no different from just now.
But Liu Sheng just felt that something had quietly changed.
What was different?