The next morning, when Wang Teng arrived at the classroom, he immediately sensed that something was off.
There were far too few people in the room.
He usually arrived right on time. Under normal circumstances, almost everyone should have already been there by now.
"Wang Teng, I didn't expect you to come so early!"
Zhang Jianguo, who had already taken a seat on the podium, brightened the moment he saw Wang Teng.
"Good morning, Teacher."
Wang Teng replied politely.
"You're probably wondering why it's like this today, aren't you?"
Zhang Jianguo stood up, walked over, and sat down in front of Wang Teng's desk, clearly in the mood for a chat.
"Yes."
"I've seen this plenty of times."
"They probably went off to meditate last night. Some of them even tried controlling their stars."
"Curiosity doesn't stop. Even if I tell them that at this stage they should only meditate—and only attempt star control after things stabilize…"
"They won't listen."
"Once they see the stars inside their Stardust, their hands start itching. They won't be able to resist trying to control them."
"With insufficient spiritual power, they're bound to suffer for it."
"So it's perfectly normal that they couldn't get up today."
As Zhang Jianguo spoke, his expression was filled with certainty.
He had been through the same thing himself back then—unable to suppress his curiosity.
"What about you?"
Seeing the curiosity in Zhang Jianguo's eyes, Wang Teng shook his head slightly.
"I only meditated yesterday. After a bit more than an hour, I got unbearably sleepy and went straight to bed."
"Hahaha, you…"
Zhang Jianguo burst out laughing.
After just a few sentences, he could already roughly infer Wang Teng's personality.
He had taught too many students—reading people was something he was quite good at.
"Magic high school is very different from what you learned before."
"Or rather, after Awakening, cultivation becomes the focus. Before Awakening, theory was the priority."
"After all, becoming a proper Mage takes a long time—especially when resources are severely lacking."
"Among the students I've taught, plenty couldn't even release magic after a full year."
"Some even dropped out because of it… sigh."
Zhang Jianguo sighed helplessly.
He himself had gone through the same struggle. With no resources, all one could do was grind away with time.
Reaching the peak of the Basic Tier was already considered quite good.
After that, it was all about finding opportunities—hunting demons or taking odd jobs—to slowly build up savings.
Only then could one buy resources to break through to the Intermediate Tier.
And at that stage, one had basically reached the ceiling for ordinary Mages.
After all, the second Awakening at the Intermediate Tier required money.
For resource-starved ordinary Mages, it took years to save up enough.
As for the Advanced Tier…
A Stellar River Vein was an insurmountable chasm. Even with money, it was hard to obtain—let alone without it.
With that kind of money, it was better to get a Spirit Seed. That way, even at the Intermediate Tier, one could surpass most others.
"Especially since your element is something as rare as the Psychic Element."
"I'm honestly not sure how to cultivate it quickly. You'll have to rely on yourself."
"In your daily routine, you should prioritize cultivation."
"Classes right now are mostly about deepening knowledge. Whether you attend or not isn't that important for you."
"After all, most of the foundational material was already covered back in middle school."
"Anything more advanced simply doesn't exist in a small city like this. You'll only find it in major-city magic academies."
"Classes are mostly there to fill your spare time."
"Without Stardust magic tools, you can't cultivate for long anyway."
"Other than the occasional practical lesson, your entire first year should focus on cultivation."
"I'm telling you all this so you can arrange your time wisely."
"And here's something that's not exactly a secret."
"In a year, all classes will be reorganized."
"There will be elite classes, and resources will be allocated to them."
"Ordinary classes won't get those resources."
"Resources are distributed from the top down, step by step."
"This is an opportunity you can seize."
Zhang Jianguo said all this because he genuinely didn't want such a rare Psychic Element student to wither away.
As one of the two students in his class with rare elements, Wang Teng deserved attention and reminders.
If that still wasn't enough—then there was nothing more he could do.
Wang Teng looked at him, a subtle emotion flashing through his eyes.
To be honest, he was quite moved by Zhang Jianguo's words.
Revealing information about a year later this early was significant—information itself had value.
Unfortunately, Wang Teng had no intention of standing out here.
His true goal was entering Pearl Institute of Magic.
If he shone too brightly in Bo City, what if the Mu family took notice?
And then there was the Black Vatican lurking in the shadows.
All of that would be trouble for him.
And Bo City itself held little value for his future.
So Zhang Jianguo was destined to be disappointed.
"I understand, Teacher. I'll keep it in mind."
Wang Teng replied earnestly.
That settled it—he would be skipping classes soon…
"Good."
Zhang Jianguo stood up with a smile and walked away.
He had given the necessary reminders. That was enough to repay the favor tied to his bonus.
Wang Teng remained seated. After waiting for about half an hour, only a few students trickled in.
Still not even half the class.
He thought about it. Sitting here doing nothing felt pointless.
He might as well go to the library.
So he stood up, left the classroom, exited the teaching building, and headed toward the school's large library.
"Quite a lot of people here…"
As Wang Teng walked along, he noticed many students coming and going—some even eating breakfast as they walked.
…
"Why are you here?"
A soft voice sounded from behind him.
Leaning against a bookshelf, Wang Teng turned around and saw someone he hadn't expected.
"You're Mo Fan from Class 8, right?"
"You know me?"
Mo Fan's face lit up. He hadn't expected to run into someone who recognized him—especially from another class.
It seemed his reputation had spread quite a bit.
"Yeah. We're neighboring classes after all."
"And the Fire Element is a powerful one. Not many awaken it."
"You're impressive too. Psychic Element magic—that's extremely rare."
"I remember your name is Wang Teng, right?"
Mo Fan looked honored.
His recent experiences hadn't been great. Magic was the only thing that gave him confidence now.
Being praised for his element—especially by someone with a rare Psychic Element—made him feel genuinely satisfied.
"Mm."
Wang Teng didn't show much enthusiasm. His gaze quickly returned to the book in his hands—A Treatise on Demon Anatomy.
This book went into considerable depth on demons.
It paired perfectly with another book titled A Treatise on Human Anatomy.
Seeing Wang Teng's attention shift away, Mo Fan understood that he didn't want to chat.
"Suspicious guy…"
Mo Fan glanced at the book's cover and muttered inwardly.
He had skimmed through that book before.
It was filled with content about demon flesh, structure, internal organs, bones, the composition of demonic power, and more.
The material was extremely heavy—and packed with dense academic terminology.
Just looking at it gave him a headache.
Since it wasn't required knowledge, he had only flipped through a few pages before giving up.
What he needed to make up for was more basic, comprehensive knowledge.