Tuesday morning featured clearer weather, yet academic pressure remained intense. The first-year common room was crowded before sunrise as students hurried to prepare for Professor Ashcroft's essence flow quiz.
Patricia sat cross-legged on a couch with her cultivation manual open on her lap, softly muttering formulas. Around her, at least twelve other students did the same, forming a gentle hum of nervous repetition.
"Essence flow follows the path of least resistance unless actively directed," she recited. "Conversion efficiency drops as the complexity of transformation increases. Multi-element techniques require—wait, what's the exact wording?''
"—a proportional increase in control precision to ensure stability," David said from his spot on the floor, where he had somehow assembled a nest of textbooks and notes. "It's on page forty-seven."
"Thank you. You're a lifesaver," Patricia said as she quickly jotted down the correction in her notes.
