After the commotion caused by Li Fengyuan, the classroom slowly settled.
Murmurs gave way to silence as Elder Meng began his lesson.
Shen Yuyan sat perfectly straight at her desk, hands folded neatly over her book, her expression composed—but her thoughts were anything but still.
She'd heard it.
That laugh.
That voice.
Li Fengyuan. Laughing?
Light! Unrestrained! Free!
It was bizarre.
She had been used to his smirks, his posturing, and those hollow declarations of "love" he'd recited like cheap poetry.
But this sound—genuine laughter—was foreign.
Unfamiliar and Wrong!
"Did something happen to him?"
Shen Yuyan whispered.
"Hm?"
"Li Fengyuan," she said, glancing sideways. "He's… different."
Xiao Mie followed her gaze to where Li Fengyuan sat beside Zhao Dazhu, casually leaning back, smiling like a fool.
A stark contrast to the image she had of him burned into memory.
"That?"
Xiao Mie snorted softly.
"I don't buy it," she muttered. "People don't just change overnight. You're not telling me Young Master Li got enlightenment in his sleep?"
Shen Yuyan didn't reply.
"He must be plotting something."
Xiao Mei said, "Maybe trying a new tactic?"
Shen Yuyan considered it.
She wasn't stupid enough to think a person can change completely in a second when just a moment ago, Li Fengyuan was harassing her.
Like Xiao Mei said, perhaps he is trying to change his tactics to make her look his way?
"Anyways, I hope he keeps this act up. It is much better than his usual self."
Xiao Mei said.
Whether Li Fengyuan was simply changing his tactics to attract Shen Yuyan, she didn't care. But she had to admit—the current Li Fengyuan was far more pleasing than his old self.
Polite and actually listens!
And to think that he was laughing and chatting with Zhao Dazhu like his best friend, much better than the one who seemingly looked down on him.
"Hahaha… "
Li Fengyuan's laughter echoed through the classroom, making everyone wonder just what good thing has happened to him.
Did Shen Yuyan finally accept his proposal?
Judging from earlier conversation between the two, it doesn't seem to be the case.
Then why?
No one knew.
Li Fengyuan's unrestrained laugh also disrupted the class but Elder Meng couldn't do anything other than endure.
But luckily for him, the laughter soon died down and he could focus on his lessons again.
Elder Meng stood at the front, tapping the jade pointer against the lecture stand.
His gaze swept over the seated students, lingering momentarily on Li Fengyuan, who had finally stopped laughing.
"Today's lesson will cover the path ahead of you—and what determines your worth as a cultivator."
Elder Meng's voice carried through the classroom. With a small flare of Qi, he drew a glowing character in the air:
Disciple!
"You are all at the first stage of cultivation—Disciple. This is the beginning of your cultivation path. Your task is to temper the body, open your meridians, and awaken Qi."
From under a black cloth on his desk, Elder Meng lifted a smooth, oval crystal mounted in dark-gold fittings. The crystal pulsed faintly with a soft, inner glow.
Several students sat up straighter.
"This is the Low-level Qi Testing Stone. It measures the density and purity of Qi in your dantian, giving a value between 1 and 1,000."
He set it at the front of the class.
"If you place your hand on the stone. The number that appears will determine your standing. The brighter the glow, the stronger the Qi. For example—" he raised one finger, "—1 to 100 points makes you a One-Star Disciple. 101 to 200 makes you a Two-Star Disciple, and so on."
Gasps rippled through the students.
"This applies to every stage," Elder Meng continued. "For example—Warrior Stage begins at 501 points. A Five-Star Disciple who breaks through will become a One-Star Warrior."
He drew the next glowing character in the air:
Warrior!
"The Warrior stage is the first truly practical rank of power, where your Qi can be used for combat, defense, and sustained techniques. There are Five Stars within each stage. Reaching the next stage requires both accumulation and refinement of Qi."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"Many of you will linger in the Warrior stage for years. Some might never rise beyond it."
Li Fengyuan leaned back, arms crossed loosely.
While he now knows that he has to study and work hard, these are the things that he already knows.
There was no need to waste time, paying attention to them. Rather he wants to figure out just how he can protect Liangzhuo City.
On the other hand, Elder Meng can only see that as the same behaviour of Li Fengyuan who always doesn't pay attention to his teaching.
Well, he didn't care as long as Li Fengyuan wasn't disturbing his lesson and disturbing those who wanted to genuinely learn.
Elder Meng flicked his wrist, summoning the next character:
Master!
"A Master begins at 1001 points—having condensed a stable Qi core. Above that comes Grandmaster, and higher still… the Lord, beings of such strength are very rare throughout the history of Liangzhuo."
Cultivation rank was very important, as it dictated the standing of a clan—and even a family of commoners could become noble if they had a cultivator of a certain rank.
For a family to become a noble family, they would need to have at least a Grandmaster in their family.
Those who are in Twelve's Noble Lineage, one would need at least 5 Grandmasters or at least a Lord in their family.
Li Clan being the former with the Clan possessing more than 5 Grandmasters which is honestly more common than having a Lord.
Liangzhuo City only has around 10 Cultivators who have reached the stage of Lord.
Those in the Five Great Clan have more than 10 Grandmasters and at least a Lord in their Clan.
Only then can one be eligible to be in the ranks of the likes of Five Great Clan.
As for the Stage above Lord, it is something that has been unseen for many decades in Liangzhuo City.