Chapter 223: True Genius

A simple announcement immediately caused a huge stir among the Class of 5012.

Ring, ring, ring!

Before Chen Mobai even left the office, his phone wouldn't stop ringing. Ming Yihua, Yun Yangbing, Wang Xingyu, and other classmates he knew called him almost simultaneously.

Having no choice, he could only answer them one by one.

Others who couldn't get through to him all started chatting excitedly in the "Divine Transformation Class" group chat.

Ming Yihua: Holy cow, Old Chen, you're awesome!Lu Zixuan: So incredibly cool! w(Д)wGong Ranran: Treat us! Treat us to a meal!Wang Xingyu: I have to interject here; I deserve a third of the credit for this. He wouldn't have progressed so quickly without my Qi-replenishing spiritual water.Li Zimo: I've never seen anyone as shameless as the person above.Wang Xingyu: Do you still want the elixirs I refine in the future?Everyone: ...

Chen Mobai: Tonight, at our usual spot, let's all get together.

At this moment, Chen Mobai finally finished his calls and chimed in, immediately drawing a flurry of likes and cheers.

In the library.

Zhuang Jialan and Si Guanyu, who were researching materials to repair an ancient talisman, saw the campus network pop-up appear on their phone screens, and couldn't help but look shocked, stopping their work.

"He actually succeeded in Foundation Establishment so quickly?"

The refined Zhuang Jialan adjusted her glasses, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised, her words revealing a hint of dejection she didn't even realize.

"Last semester, we caught up to his grades, and this semester, we even surpassed him. We thought his talent had reached its limit, but it turns out he was just focusing on Foundation Establishment."

Si Guanyu sighed.

However, he didn't know that after Chen Mobai took the Qi Awakening and Enlightenment Elixir, he had only studied the talisman creation course content up to the third-year level.

Even so, Chen Mobai barely managed to score one point more than these two talisman-making academic elites at the end of the semester, just enough to retain his position as first in third year.

After entering fourth year this year, Chen Mobai's grades began to plummet across the board, falling to the bottom ranks in two monthly exams.

At this point, some people had already started to doubt Chen Mobai's talent.

Especially Si Guanyu and Zhuang Jialan, who had passed the Second-Tier Talisman Master examination this year.

The Immortal Sect's Second-Tier Talisman Master assessment was notoriously strict.

After applying, each person would receive ten randomly generated second-tier talismans. They were required to find textbooks and tutorials to practice, then create the talismans on-site at the examination hall a year later.

The time limit was one day and one night. Successfully creating eight out of ten talismans counted as passing the assessment.

Over eighty to ninety percent of Second-Tier Talisman Masters were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Those who could become Second-Tier Talisman Masters while still in the Qi Cultivation realm were essentially geniuses in the Way of Talismans.

Si Guanyu and Zhuang Jialan had applied last year, and after passing the assessment this year, they completely eclipsed Chen Mobai's prominence in the Talisman Creation Department.

Some people had even removed Chen Mobai from the "Ten Talents of Wuqi" for the Class of 5012, and bestowed the title of "Talisman Creation First" upon them.

"He sees things more clearly than all of us," Zhuang Jialan said with emotion. She had originally been quite pleased with herself for passing the Second-Tier Talisman Master assessment, but now, after seeing the news of Chen Mobai's successful Foundation Establishment, she only felt that such achievements were so minuscule and illusory.

"After repairing this ancient talisman, I will fully devote myself to cultivating the Threshold Method."

Si Guanyu also understood this principle. The average attainment of the Threshold Method at Wuqi Daoist Academy was typically in the sixth year, so they previously thought there was no rush since they hadn't fully grasped it yet.

But after Chen Mobai became the second student in the Class of 5012 to successfully establish his Foundation, a sense of urgency spontaneously arose.

After all, Zhongli Tianyu was too far beyond them. Even if he made rapid progress, they had no real comparison or feeling of it.

But Chen Mobai, over these four years, had spent every day with them and attended classes together every week.

This immense impact of success from someone close to them ignited a surge of fighting spirit within them.

"I can definitely be the third person in our class to achieve Foundation Establishment!"

Just then, Chen Mobai also appeared in the Talisman Class group chat, sharing his location.

He was treating them to dinner tonight to celebrate his successful Foundation Establishment.

"Are we going?"

"Yes, I'm going to eat my fill at his expense!" Zhuang Jialan said, waving her small fist with a hint of indignation.

On the Sword Control Department's training ground, two bright, snow-like flying swords, like blazing thunder and lightning, continuously clashed under the control of two young men, sending out brilliant sparks and muffled rumbles.

After about twenty to thirty clashes, one of the practice flying swords let out a whine, fell from mid-air, and plunged straight into the ground.

"Your sword skills have reached the introductory level. Your spiritual sense is a bit weak, your sword control technique is proficient, but your application is a bit rigid, and your judgment in offense and defense needs work. You require more practical sword combat."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Zhai."

A talented second-year sword master, after pulling out his flying sword, respectfully bowed to a horse-faced young man.

He was Zhai Jianbai, one of the "Ten Talents of Class of 5012" who was equally famous as Chen Mobai. He was known as the top swordsman, and considered the most likely person to achieve Foundation Establishment after Zhongli Tianyu.

It was said that during one of his sword practices, he entered a profound and sublime realm, and with a swing of his sword, unleashed "Sword Qi Rainbow," the third realm of sword cultivation.

Although after unleashing that sword strike, he had to recuperate for three full months to recover, he was personally recognized by Director Zuo Gong, a Core Formation sword cultivator and head of the Sword Control Department, as an "unparalleled sword cultivation genius!"

"Alright, let's have another sparring match. This time, I'll use fifty percent of my strength..."

Just as Zhai Jianbai was about to instruct the junior he favored again, a female swordswoman with tied-up hair ran over from the sidelines, holding her phone.

"Senior Zhai, there was just a campus network pop-up."

Zhai Jianbai was about to say, "What's so special about campus network pop-ups? Aren't they just nonsense from the leaders?" Then, his excellent eyesight, honed by sword practice, caught sight of the content on the phone screen.

Congratulations to our school's Class of 5012 student Chen Mobai on successfully achieving Foundation Establishment.

Chen Mobai?

This guy, he's the top student in the Talisman Creation Department, isn't he?

Faster than me, even?

I thought I was the first person in our class to comprehend the Threshold Method.

"Senior?"

Seeing Zhai Jianbai's strange expression, the two people nearby gently called out.

"Let's stop here for today. I'm heading back first."

After saying this, Zhai Jianbai put away his practice flying sword and left the training ground.

"It's said that every so often, there's a 'Golden Era,' where many peerless heroes and chosen ones gather in the same class. It seems our Class of 5012 is the recent golden age of our Daoist Academy."

"I believe Senior Zhai can definitely catch up to this Chen Mobai!"

The young sword master from the Sword Control Department's tone was a bit weak when he said this.

That was a true genius—first in Talisman Creation, first in Puppet Crafting, and first in Agronomy.