23: Chapter 23: A Bunch of Ex-Girlfriends 23: Chapter 23: A Bunch of Ex-Girlfriends Next, Lanling didn’t cheat using Yao Xing anymore and arduously used his own spiritual power to complete the third step of enlightenment, controlling the dragon energy.
Indeed, it was very difficult, very difficult, very difficult…
Because the energy released in an instant was completely chaotic, made up of countless threads, and fleeting.
The first time, the second time, the third time…
Because the energy dissipated too quickly from the moment it was released, Lanling couldn’t capture any of it in his first ten attempts and came away with nothing.
Half an hour, two hours, four hours went by.
He didn’t know how many attempts he had made, perhaps a hundred, perhaps one hundred and one.
“Whew…” In the moment Yao Xing released energy, Lanling’s spiritual power fiercely captured it.
Finally, it wasn’t in vain anymore; he captured a thread of energy, though it was less than one hundredth of a percent.
But this was also an amazing breakthrough; the previous hundreds of attempts had amounted to nothing, which had really made his scalp tingle.
Yao Xing also let out a sigh of relief, if it could.
Because its energy was already very weak, although the amount of energy released was very small since it wasn’t to alleviate some extreme physical pain.
But after hundreds of releases, the consumption was significant, and it was nearly out of energy.
A moment later, Lanling asked, “At this rate, how long will it take for me to complete the third step of enlightenment?”
“You’ll need one month,” Yao Xing said, “It will take one month.”
Lanling asked, “And what if I use my consciousness to control it?”
“Instantly,” replied Yao Xing.
Lanling tried it, using his consciousness to control the power of Yao Xing.
“Swoosh…” The moment the power of Yao Xing was released, it was completely captured, then without the slightest leakage, he used his consciousness to move it to the Lower Dantian, then circulated it throughout his body, and finally returned it to his heart.
This Yao Xing was truly defying the heavens.
What would normally take a month, he managed in just an instant because of its presence.
Just then, the voice of Ye Jingyu sounded beside him: “That’s enough for today.”
When Lanling opened his eyes, he found it was already dark outside.
Time had passed too quickly; it felt like only a moment had gone by, yet half a day had already passed.
Upon opening his eyes, Lanling felt overwhelmingly tired, almost wishing he could lie down and sleep on the spot.
“How is your progress?” asked Ye Jingyu.
Lanling replied, “I just successfully caught the dragon energy with my spiritual power for the first time, and it was less than one percent before you woke me up.”
After he said this, he clearly saw Ye Jingyu let out a long sigh of relief.
For some reason, this result brought more covert delight to Ye Jingyu.
In the previous steps of enlightenment, Lanling had completed them in just half a day, which had truly scared him.
Where other supreme geniuses needed half a month, one month, Lanling only needed half a day.
This wasn’t genius; it was monstrous, it was abnormal.
This kind of monstrosity didn’t bring joy to Ye Jingyu, but unease and a faint sense of fear.
Now that Lanling had spent half a day just to make his first successful capture of the dragon energy, it eased her worries; after all, Lanling was still a normal human being.
“How would you rate this achievement?” Lanling asked.
“Very good, one in a thousand,” said Ye Jingyu.
“Alright, go have dinner.”
At the dinner table, big sister Suo Ningbing kept reminding Lanling that Suo Lun was not well-liked at school because he had toyed with too many girls and stolen a lot of girlfriends, so in class, he must be careful and try not to get into conflicts with others.
Lanling inwardly cursed Suo Lun as an asshole and couldn’t help feeling apprehensive about tomorrow’s class; he really hoped no rejected girlfriend would throw herself at him.
Early the next morning, Ye Jingyu drove Lanling to the Royal City Academy.
To reach the Noble Academy, one must first pass through the central axis of the Commoner Branch.
Lanling arrived early today, coinciding with the time when the children of nobility went to school.
Thus, he saw hundreds of ornate carriages roaming the streets, each bearing the crest of different families.
At this time, not a single commoner was allowed to pass through the main axis lane of the Civilian Academy.
When the carriages of nobles passed by, all commoner students could only stand by the road with bowed heads, silently waiting for the carriages to go by.
Lanling clearly saw the anger and humiliation in the eyes of these commoner students.
Even so, the noble students were not only indifferent but also laughed loudly, intentionally instructing the coachman to go slowly.
This was a direct provocation of hatred, and it happened every day.
With this going on, commoner students and noble ones would likely be entirely irreconcilable.
If it were only about commoner students, then it might not be such a concern, but one should realize that the commoner students of Royal City Academy were all elites who would one day hold important civil and military positions within the kingdom and wield its power.
Once they gained authority, would there be any good left for the nobles?
Lanling had looked over the records and had seen that many commoner elites had pledged their services under the nobles in the past.
However, over the last few decades, more and more elite commoner students had been joining the royal family, even if the positions offered were lower and the salary was less.
Now, not just in the military, but across various counties and even within the imperial cabinet, the presence of commoner elites could be seen.
The royal family’s strategy of replacing nobles with commoner elites was starting to show results.
If the royal family managed to completely revamp the ruling class, the end of the traditional nobility was imminent.
Lanling, as an outsider, could see this clearly, yet ironically, these noble students continued to revel in humiliating the commoner students daily.
After entering the Noble Academy, Ye Jingyu brought Lanling to his classroom.
Ye Jingyu was exceedingly beautiful, especially his voluptuous figure, which attracted lewd gazes from countless noble students along the way, with some even murmuring insults about a fresh flower stuck in cow dung.
Upon entering the classroom, Lanling was surprised to find that the set-up was not much different from university classrooms on Earth.
It was also a stepped lecture hall with a blackboard and chalk.
Of course, if one were to note any differences, it would be the lavishly elegant desks and chairs.
Of course, all this was no coincidence.
It was clearly the work of the previous Earth-transmigrator, Dragon Emperor.
Not just the layout of the classrooms but even the entire educational system bore a striking resemblance to universities on Earth.
He had leaped over the imperial examination system and adopted the higher education academy system to cultivate a plethora of professional talents.
Naturally, by professional talents, he meant those in literature, martial arts, arts, and politics.
This Dragon Emperor must have been an arts student on Earth as he had limited engagement with the sciences; hence, the Royal City Academy had virtually no courses in that area.
As class time approached, noble students gradually entered the classroom.
By then, Lanling fully sensed the poor popularity of Suo Lun, as the boys who came in either ignored him or looked at him with scorn.
As for the girls, they seemed to avoid him as if he were something loathsome.
Occasionally, a few girls who glanced his way were filled with coldness and hostility—these women had obviously been abandoned by Suo Lun after a dalliance.
Consequently, when class started, a peculiar sight emerged: in the large classroom, all areas were packed, except the five seats surrounding Lanling were devoid of occupants.
The entire class, both male and female, were ostracizing him.
A moment later, the instructor arrived.
He was a middle-aged man with a scholarly appearance, with every inch of his instructor’s robes neat and in order, and every hair combed perfectly in place.
Although he did not appear to be very old, he already had quite a few strands of white hair.
This was Instructor Xiuyan, Suo Lun’s strategy instructor.
He was a commoner by birth but had already achieved a high position not only as an instructor at Royal City Academy but also as the national policy advisor of the kingdom’s cabinet.
As he reached the podium, his first glance at Lanling caused a slight pause since Suo Lun, the prodigal son, had not shown up for a long time.
“There are one hundred and thirty-nine days left until the final graduation exam, and then you will complete your six years of study,” Instructor Xiuyan said.
“Of course, for you, the final examination is just a minor hurdle.
It’s not like the Civilian Academy, where the graduation exam can be a matter of life and death, a golden gate that could determine their Destiny.”
Then, Instructor Xiuyan’s gaze landed on Lanling.
“Of course, this final examination will determine the Destiny of someone present here.
Suo Lun, you know I am talking about you.
If you fail the final exam, it means losing your family’s foundation of two hundred years.
I hope you can now regret and reflect on your past six years of folly.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the other noble students immediately burst into laughter, filled with schadenfreude.
Lanling immediately said coldly, “What are you laughing at?
It’s my turn today, but it might as well be your families’ tomorrow.”
These words made many people present change their expressions slightly, and Instructor Xiuyan looked surprised.
Then someone sneered, “Our families don’t have deadbeats like you.
Full of ignorance, weak as a chicken.”
“Suo Lun’s strength is just so-so,” someone said with derision.
Lanling replied coldly, “How do you know?
Have you tried it, or have your family’s women tried it?”
At his words, the classroom burst into laughter, and the person he had retorted to instantly flushed red.
Yet, some people were secretly surprised.
They knew that the old Suo Lun was skilled at picking up girls but also somewhat of a scoundrel.
When under collective attack by the boys, he used to keep his head down, pretending to have heard nothing, while letting others ridicule him.
No one expected the current Suo Lun to be so sharp-tongued.
In fact, back on Earth, Lanling had been just such a person.
As an orphan, he was often mocked and bullied.
Despite his kind nature, he believed in an eye for an eye.
Whenever someone cursed him, he had to curse back.
If someone hit him, he would hit back.
Just then, someone outside said, “Suo Lun, your fiancée has sent a message for me to deliver to you.”
At these words, all the male students present were filled with boundless jealousy and resentment.
Everyone knew that Suo Lun’s fiancée, Gui Qinshao, was the beauty queen of Royal City Academy.
Although she had already graduated, the school was still full of her admirers.