Zhouku Academy was located in the western suburbs of Qiyue Country's capital. The terrain was open, and the area was vast.The east side connected directly to the capital's main thoroughfare, where reception rooms and dormitories were built. The north side connected to the forest. A small hillside there had the Weisai Pavilion, which offered an excellent view of the entire forest. The scenery was superb, so the old principal had taken it over as his office.The very center of the Academy was the training grounds. Disciples could be seen practicing boxing everywhere.The older ones were eight or nine, the younger ones only five or six. They threw punches while reciting incantations."The method is based on skill; skill finds its use through the method.""All phenomena are like the body, speech, and mind bound by the wisdom seal of the Vajra.""Wrong, wrong!" The Field Supervisor reached out to correct a young disciple's posture. "Punch with force, with decisiveness! How can you master theVajra Fist Techniqueif you're so soft and gentle?!"The young disciple pouted discontentedly. "Field Supervisor, we're following Senior Lucang's style. It's called 'using softness to overcome hardness'!""Using softness to overcome hardness?!" The Field Supervisor lightly tapped the mischievous one's head. "Your Senior Lucang could
use flight magic at six years old and has been the Academy's top ranker ever since! Can you do that? If not, practice honestly and sincerely!""But theVajra Fist Technique... the name sounds so old-fashioned. It's nowhere near as impressive as the spells and secret arts in supernatural powers!"The Field Supervisor swelled with rage, his beard seeming to bristle. "What nonsense do you speak?! 'He who practices this method enters the samadhi of essence and energy.' Without tempering the self, one cannot obtain magical power. Without power, how can one channel supernatural abilities or cast spells and secret arts? Even the greatest practitioners began by mastering the Vajra Fist Technique before they could hope to command such powers!"A little girl nearby heard this and muttered. "But... Sister Yeluo could communicate with spirits as soon as she entered the Academy. Field Supervisor, communicating with spirits counts as a supernatural power, right?"The Field Supervisor was speechless, momentarily unsure how to refute. After all, he couldn't blame the Academy for producing such a genius disciple! Thinking it over, he had a sudden inspiration and finally found a breakout."That disciple Bensheng, who passed the Land Trial the same year as Lucang, practiced theVajra Fist Techniquemore seriously than anyone. Even though his batch has already passed the Field Trial and doesn't need to come to the training grounds anymore, he still practices a set of fist techniques every morning at dawn. Shouldn't you learn from him?"The five- and six-year-olds were immediately intimidated. They whispered among themselves."Is that the deer Bensheng who used the Kunlun secret arts?""Secret arts? Even more powerful than spells?"However, the eight- and nine-years-old remained unmoved. "Hmph, Deer Bensheng isn't powerful at all. He still hasn't passed the Academy Trial."They mocked, "Because he can't understand the scriptures, hah aha.""Don't believe it? Go look at the Academy Trial rankings on the bulletin board. He's failed many times. He's still stuck in the classroom learning the Five Sciences! Unlike Senior Lucang, who's already mastered who knows how many spells!"The Field Supervisor, finally at his limit, reached out a large hand
and grabbed the bickering children."Alright, that's enough from all of you! Not another word—get back to your fist practice this instant!"A gentle summer breeze, carrying the bustle and play from the training grounds, blew south. This sun-drenched, green-lined area was the designated spot for the classrooms.Five spacious classrooms stood lined up. The scene was the same now as it had been every year for the past six.The first room was filled with the clear, resonant sound of recitation. Desks were piled mountain-high with scrolls and books, the disciples hidden within them, audible but unseen.The second room emitted a "ding-dong" clattering. Desks were littered with odd fragments, either of wood or carved grinding stones. Disciples, holding tools of various lengths, had their heads buried in their tasks, fully absorbed.The third room lacked proper desks, boasting only a few narrow beds and a whole wall of finely compartmented medicine cabinets. Disciples, dressed in white gowns and sporting white face masks, crowded around the beds. They listened as a similarly garbed Academy Supervisor lectured on the symptoms of the haggard patient lying there, watching as he worked miracles with his hands, using acupuncture to save lives.The next room was empty, with only a sign hanging on the door. It read, "Gone Star-Gazing."In fact, looking back, a sign also hung on the main gate of the entire classroom courtyard, reading "The Five Sciences and Arts." A crow was perched on it, taking a nap.Only the last classroom emitted pleasant teaching sounds."The Five Sciences are the essence of civilization in the Great Continent. TheSutra of Great adornmentstates: 'If one does not diligently study the Five Sciences, one cannot attain the wisdom of all modes.' The so-called Five Sciences are respectively: Philology, Arts and Crafts, Medicine, External Science, and Internal Science.""The first, Philology, explains words and phrases, distinguishing meanings and categories. The second, Arts and Crafts, covers skills, mechanisms, agriculture, commerce, and engineering. The third, Medicine, involves incantations to ward off evil, herbal medicine, and acupuncture. The fourth, External Science, determines stars and planets, traverses yin and yang. The fifth, Internal Science, investigates causes and effects, the wonderful principles of the Five Vehicles. This section will be tested! Must memorize!"
As the teaching words indicated, the previous four classrooms were: one for Philology (culture), one for Arts and Crafts (engineering), one for Medicine (healing), and one for External Science (astronomy). These four sciences broadly covered people's livelihoods and society, nurturing talents that enabled Qiyue Country to achieve its current thriving prosperity."And this last science, Internal Science, is specifically designed for cultivating supernatural powers. Supernatural powers are the general term for spells, secret arts, and immortal arts. Practitioners who subdue demons and aid the world all rely on supernatural powers. You've seen the Court Supervisors' Tattered Robes, right? Those are symbols of powerful supernatural powers! Ah, no need to take notes for this part!"This Internal Science classroom wasn't as messy and informal as the previous ones. Here, every inch was arranged with extreme order.In the front and back corners stood ancient candle stands shaped like auspicious beasts, burning sandalwood whose subtle fragrance refreshed the mind and body. Between the windows and doors hung several portraits of Venerables. Every cushion, desk, scroll, and brush in the room seemed meticulously placed, arranged with an almost severe orderliness..The only pity was that the teacher on the platform was no lofty practitioner, but an ordinary mortal woman. She looked quite young; her cheeks still rounded with youth. Compounded by a gentle disposition, she lacked any air of authority.As she spoke, she kept glancing towards a corner of the classroom. "Internal Science teaches scriptures. Just as theVajra Fist Techniquelays the foundation for magical power, scriptures lay the foundation for 'techniques.' Learning the scriptures allows one to comprehend a wide variety of spells and secret arts. Moreover, scriptures are vast and profound, containing countless principles. So, during Internal Science class, Instructor Xiao Bai hopes everyone can listen attentively... Of course, everyone has been doing very well all along. However, there is one person I must mention... Ben... Bensheng!"Instructor Xiao Bai strained to raise her voice, but her soft, delicate tones were no match for the white-haired boy sleeping like the dead in the corner.Things could not continue this way. She thought of Bensheng's Academy Examination results... If he kept scoring like this, her performance evaluation would surely be marked as a failure. She was
just an ordinary mortal; if not for her phenomenal memory, she would never have been promoted exceptionally to the rank of Academy Instructor.Empowered by this thought, her courage surged. She snatched up a writing brush and hurled it with all her might at Bensheng.The brush struck his head softly. A single tuft of his carefully managed white curls sprang upright instantly. He opened his bleary eyes.Six years had passed since he was that adorable little white deer. Now, the contours of adolescence were settling in. His frame was sturdier, his complexion deeper. Those large, sapphire-blue eyes remained unchanged, save for the utter confusion now clouding them, as if he had no clue what Instructor Xiao Bai was saying from the lectern.Instructor Xiao Bai's face flushed crimson. Finally, she mustered the courage to deliver a "ferocious" rebuke: "You... please... go stand outside the door as punishment!"A gentle breeze drifted through. Now mostly awake, Bensheng covertly smoothed down the rebellious lock of hair and glanced back into the classroom. Instructor Xiao Bai was copying the scripture characters—which were different from standard writing—onto a scroll to be passed around.She explained them with perfect clarity, making them large and simple, even providing mnemonics.But if Bensheng looked at them for more than a second, the characters would begin to shift, growing blurry, swirling... He shut his eyes, fighting off dizziness and the throbbing in his head. Seizing the moment while Instructor Xiao Bai was deeply engrossed in her lecture, he hunched his shoulders and slipped out of the classroom.THUD!The classroom door shuddered from a violent impact, startling the crow perched atop it awake. Seeing the boy lying unconscious below, it sighed in resignation and flew down."Golden Thread Crisps are the premier delicacy of Six Dusts Street! A bestseller for ten glorious years, their popularity never wanes! Sixty thousand sold every year! Line them up and they'd circle Zhouku Forest twice!"The capital of the Seven-Leaf Country was a hub of wide, accessible roads where people and horses wove through spacious, well-ordered streets, all exuding an air of serene tranquility. Yet, even
here, the spontaneous gatherings of common folk had given birth to a back alley that never slept, pulsating with worldly life—Six Dusts Street.Most of its residents were from foreign races and diverse clans, resulting in a motley mix where the refined and the rough, the noble and the base, coexisted, creating a vibrant atmosphere starkly different from the capital's calm. In time, it became a must-visit destination for any traveler in the Seven-Leaf Kingdom.Out-of-town visitors, their brains thoroughly captivated by the catchy, ear-worming sales cries, murmured in amazement. Their local guides remained unimpressed. "A pastry that sells for a few days is fresh and trendy, a novelty with some cleverness. One that sells for a month boasts masterful craftsmanship and superb taste. But for ten years... Boss Lady, you're exaggerating! Who could possibly fancy eating the same thing for a decade?!""Of course there is!" The proprietress smiled, her lips curving to reveal two prominent white rabbit teeth. She jerked a thumb casually over her shoulder. "Him!"Bensheng sat exactly where she pointed, a large gauze patch stuck to his forehead. He and Ananda, the boy and the bird, were devouring the pastries with ravenous intensity. They were a walking advertisement."He's been eating them for six years."Having successfully made a large sale, the boss lady saw her customers off with cheerful glee. Swaying her hips, she walked over, sat down at Bensheng's table, and kicked him."Brat, you skipped class again, didn't you?"Bensheng turned a deaf ear, his face the very picture of shamelessness."Ananda, why don't you stop him?"Ananda replied with a pained expression, "This old one cannot deter him..."The boss lady fretted, "Ai, what are we going to do with you? Look at that top student, Young Master Lücang. Noble bloodline, superb innate talent, handsome, and diligent in his studies. The pundits are practically singing his praises from the rooftops. You passed the Land Trial alongside him back then, but now? One soars in the heavens, the other crawls on the earth."Bensheng finally retorted, stung. "Just you wait! I'll beat him someday!""Honestly, my expectations for you aren't that high, but this
skipping class...""It's not 'skipping'! I keep telling you, it's for...""For a Serendipitous Encounter!"A young, childish voice rang out from the shop entrance. It was a boy wearing a sleeveless undershirt, his hair tied in twin topknots with red string, managing to look both adorable and fierce. "I won't let you talk about Big Brother Bensheng like that! You have no idea how amazing he is!""Hey!" The boss lady eyed him with amusement. "Brat, do you even know what a 'Serendipitous Encounter' is?"The top-knotted boy wagged his head knowingly. "A Serendipitous Encounter is a thrilling and wondrous experience that vastly broadens one's horizons! A single one can be worth a hundred years of cultivation! See how powerful it is!""Hmph! Serendipitous Encounters? Heaven and Earth have existed for tens of thousands of years—how many people have actually had one? That's just nonsense made up by storytellers!"The boy pulled his eyelids into a monstrously large grimace at the boss lady, making her bare her rabbit teeth in mock fury."Little Mile!" Bensheng laughed and beckoned him over."Big Brother Bensheng, don't listen to her! She has no talent herself, so she must be jealous of you!"The boss lady clicked her tongue, marveling at the pair. "One is six, the other is twelve. With such an age gap, how did they become so close? Hey, Little Mile, blink twice if Bensheng has you tied up somewhere."Mile chuckled triumphantly. "My dad and mom told me to stick close to Big Brother Bensheng and learn from him! That's why we're so tight!"His parents were the very commoners who had watched the Land Trial years ago. Using the mirror's convenience, they had witnessed the marvels of "Passing Through Walls" and "Path Beneath the Feet" from start to finish."Follow him?" The boss lady snorted. "He's Zhouku's most famous dropout! He's failed the Academy Exam seven times in a row! With the Court Exam approaching, it's still up in the air whether he'll even graduate! Following him? You'd be better off working for me. I, at least, am a proper graduate of Zhouku Academy!"The boss lady 'swished' as she shook out a clean, gray cloak and spread it on the seat before sitting down again. "What are you staring at? Never seen an Original Robe before?"
Bensheng and Mile crowded in with admiration, peering at the robe near the boss lady's seat. Bensheng suddenly realized the robe's material and size seemed identical to the one Gautama had given him all those years ago.Could it be that Gautama was also an Academy graduate?"It really is an Original Robe!" Mile's face was full of envy as he reached out a small hand to touch it. "Boss Lady, when did you graduate from Zhouku? I thought you couldn't use supernatural powers?"The boss lady grinned, her rabbit teeth showing. "Oh, that was hundreds of years ago! Beast-folk not learning supernatural powers is nothing to be ashamed of. I've hardly seen any beast-folk who can use them... Besides, the Five Sciences and Arts have five disciplines. I just specialized in a different one to graduate! I'm a rabbit of many talents, not like this silly little deer, Bensheng.""Then why don't you go out to subdue demons and aid the world?" Mile asked, forming a hand seal with practiced solemnity. "If you can't subdue demons without powers, you could still help people!"The boss lady waved a dismissive hand. "Forget it. I know my own limits. I'm perfectly content living a stable life as a simple commoner. Besides, having come to a wonderful place like the Seven-Leaf Country, who'd want to go to other nations? If I didn't need to graduate from the Academy to stay here, I wouldn't have even bothered putting in the study effort."Bensheng was taken aback. "So... you're not going back to your homeland?""Homeland?" The boss lady said it lightly, almost airily. "For 'people' like us, what homeland is there left?" Swaying her hips, she went back to work, leaving Bensheng sunk deep in thought.Without the resolve to abandon your homeland, you cannot leave... Back then, everyone—Gautama, Second Uncle—had understood this better than he did. But now, having finally abandoned his home, burning all bridges to come here and study, he was being stymied by mere Internal Science texts.If he couldn't pass the Academy Exam, he couldn't cultivate supernatural powers. When he—useless and incompetent—was ultimately expelled, all his grand talk about growing strong and driving the humans out of Lumbini would become empty boasts.Six years had passed. He had accomplished nothing.Bensheng groaned in frustration, clutching his head. Ananda watched him silently, saying nothing.