The fruit is called Yuán Guǒ, a name that’s pretty straightforward and easy to understand. It usually grows in places rich in spiritual energy, is sweet, and can replenish spiritual power when eaten, though the effect is weak. The main advantage is that it’s free of impurities, so you don’t have to spend extra time getting rid of any after eating.

This time, the spiritual energy that leaked from the peak not only nourished a snake demon but also produced this thing. The Yuán Guǒ tree is surrounded by companion plants that provide natural cover, making it hard to spot. To get your hands on it, you need a bit of effort.

Manager Mèng looked down at the two fruits in the person’s hand, his eyebrows slightly raised as he repeatedly confirmed whether this was the disciple he had known before.

Not getting a response, Lín Zhúshēng stretched his hand forward, peeking over to give a puzzled look.

The fruit was almost completely in front of him, and just before the person’s arm got tired from holding it up, Manager Mèng timely took it over, momentarily unsure how to react, he could only scratch his head and say thanks.
【Mèng Cái’s Favorability +5 (35/100)】

The moment the fruit was taken, a prompt popped up in Lín Zhúshēng’s line of sight, and his eyes curved into a smile even more.

The previous 30 favorability points were roughly equivalent to meeting someone on the road and, if there was no eye contact, pretending not to see them and walking away. Now, with 35 points, it meant he would actively greet them if they crossed paths.

In a way, this was a leap forward.

He had completed another task. The snake demon, the plants, and the small gift were all taken care of, and with the favorability points boosted, he was satisfied as he pulled his hand back, planning to leave directly.

Before he could take off, Manager Mèng called him back. He carefully placed the two unexpectedly obtained fruits on the windowsill, turned around, and went back inside. When he came out again, he was holding a piece of clothing and a small cloth bag.

The clothing was a servant disciple’s outfit, and the bag contained rewards for storing and transporting the red snake demon. Although there were more rewards for killing the snake demon, this bag was quite heavy and looked very substantial.

Glancing down at the frayed sleeves and pant legs of his current outfit, Lín Zhúshēng felt it was indeed necessary to change clothes, so he accepted them.

The clothes were free; disciples could come here to change when their original clothes were damaged. The large sect wouldn’t charge disciples for something as basic as clothing.

Manager Mèng said, “Also, the academy over there, the teacher asked me to inform you that you’ve missed quite a few classes. If you want to make up for them, you’ll need to start attending from tomorrow.”

His hand holding the clothes paused, and Lín Zhúshēng looked up, “Teacher?”

Alright, he didn’t even know about the teacher’s existence. It was clear he was the kind of disciple who hadn’t set foot in the academy since entering the sect.

Manager Mèng dutifully explained, “To be promoted to an outer disciple, you not only need to meet the requirements for your aptitude but also pass the academy’s tests.”

To participate in the tests, you also had to meet the class attendance requirements.

This meant that if he wanted to move up, he not only had to earn credits but also fill up his class hours.

“?”

In this game, he actually had to study. Lín Zhúshēng’s eyes widened, and one hand quickly poked the little cat hiding in his clothes several times.

He knew that both inner and outer disciples had cultural classes to cultivate their character and prepare them to become the next generation of leaders, but he didn’t expect even servant disciples had to attend.

In the game, a cutscene could easily resolve the issue of attending classes and taking tests, but he couldn’t do that now; he had to learn for real.

Studying in the game was even more fantastical than entering the game itself, and no one had told him about this when he came here.

“…”

The little cat played dead, not moving at all.

With a twitch of his eye, Lín Zhúshēng gave the little cat a light slap, politely nodded his head, agreed to the situation, chatted for a bit, and then suggested leaving.

Since he couldn’t go back, he could only study and had to find books.

He hoped the books were still there. Holding the clothes and the bag in one hand, he grabbed his hiking stick with the other, said goodbye, and walked back, avoiding the red snake in the middle of the path.

The sun began to set, and the mist in the distance gradually rose. Golden light filtered through the tree shadows, illuminating the way back.

Fortunately, Manager Mèng’s place wasn’t far from where he lived, and despite being a person who usually didn’t exercise, he managed to get home just before his stamina ran out.

“Creak—”

The door to his room opened, and the sunlight slanted in, brightening the interior. The little cat, who had been in the clothes all day, was the first to sneak inside, dropping the two herbs it was holding onto the table before collapsing beside it, not moving anymore.

Lín Zhúshēng plopped down on the floor, propping himself up as he exhaled a couple of breaths, finally feeling a bit relaxed. He looked down and took out everything he had on him.

He hadn’t just picked the two Yuán Guǒs for Manager Mèng; he had saved several for himself, stuffing them into his sleeves.

The sect’s clothes looked plain and ordinary, but they were surprisingly spacious. Even with so many fruits stuffed inside, they didn’t look out of place from the outside. Only he knew how heavy the load was, almost like a weight training session.

The fruits with leaves rolled out of his sleeves, rolling a couple of times before he manually stopped them from rolling too far.

He also took out the extra herbs, clearing a slot in his backpack.

He casually opened the reward bag Manager Mèng had given him, and inside was a simple and direct stash of silver coins—about fifty pieces when he counted roughly.

Great, a painless income. He happily stuffed the coins into his backpack, clapped his hands, and turned his gaze to a pile of things beside him.

Having never cooked before and with the cooking station still unrepaired, Master Lín’s dinner after a busy day was Yuán Guǒ.

After munching on a few to save his waning stamina, he finally had time to tidy up his ragged outfit, while the little cat helped him remove the leaves from his head.

After spending half the afternoon figuring out how to use the things in the room, Master Lín finally took a shower and changed into clean clothes before it got dark.

He had changed clothes, but whether he was wearing them correctly was another matter.

Wearing the same outfit but looking different, he looked left and right, feeling like he didn’t quite look the same as before, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was off.

Not understanding, he fumbled around for a while without results and decided to just wear it as it was. After passing out on the chair the previous night, he had already spent a day in the game and achieved one accomplishment. Now that he had changed clothes, he began to explore the room.

Not surprisingly, there wasn’t much in the room. The books were in the cabinet under the desk, still brand new.

The good news was that he recognized the characters on the cover, so he wasn’t illiterate here. The bad news was that the books were thick, stacked higher than a brick, and looked like they could crush him if they fell.

He picked up the “brick” and placed it on the table, then turned to the little cat, lowering his eyes to ask, “Do I have to read all of these?”

The little cat quickly searched its database, then glanced sideways, shifting a bit to the side, and then shifted again.

Lín Zhúshēng: “…”

Okay, he got it.

The game had turned into a study simulator. He sat down on the chair, casually turned on the lamp, opened the top book, crossed his legs, and started munching on a Yuán Guǒ while flipping through the pages.

The little cat squatted nearby, feeling a twinge of guilt for the player who was supposed to be enjoying the game but was now buried in study, temporarily acting as a study buddy, following along.

From squatting to lying down, its eyes went from wide open to half-open and then to completely shut, the little black furball sprawled on the table, not absorbing a single word.

The evening breeze was pleasant, cool, and carried the fresh scent of bamboo groves. The sound of bamboo leaves rustling in the wind accompanied the dim yellow light, creating a very comfortable atmosphere.

Studying was the best sedative, especially in this environment. Before the person could fall asleep, the cat had already dozed off.

“Crack—”

Taking a bite of the fruit, Lín Zhúshēng propped his face up and lightly flipped a page, glancing sideways. He poked the little cat’s head with a thin bamboo stick that had fallen from the window, and the little cat stirred, covering its head with its paws and flipping over.

Unable to hold back a laugh, he stroked the cat’s fur, pushed his long hair behind his ear, and continued to prop his face up while flipping through the book.

The night was quiet, with only the occasional sound of pages turning.

The little cat was the first to wake up the next morning.

The sun had come out before it did, and the person sprawled on the table was still asleep, with their face buried in the book, their body rising and falling as they slept soundly.

After a daze, the little cat finally realized what time it was, its eyes widened, and it frantically called out the person’s name.

The person buried in the book showed no reaction, breathing steadily.

“…”

Caught between continuing to wake them up and giving up, the little cat chose to punch the person’s face twice.

A very direct and effective method, Lín Zhúshēng woke up. Before he could get grumpy about being woken up, the little cat quickly informed him of the fact that he was going to be late for the academy.

He quickly retracted his grumpiness, his eyes still not fully open, and in a rush, he stuffed the book and the nearby fruits into one hand and dashed out the door in a second.

The little cat, forgotten, made an effort to jump onto him, returning to its special spot. Looking up, it could see the heavy dark circles under the person’s eyes and couldn’t help but ask, “What time did you sleep last night?”

Or rather, how late did this person usually stay up to end up like this?

Getting up early and starting to run, the night owl’s brain was still foggy, but his feet were already moving. As his brain slowly processed the information, he said while running, “If I remembered, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep on the table.”

If he had been aware of the time while sleeping, he would have gone to bed instead.

Who would have thought that a good person would enter this world for two days without ever touching a bed, spending two consecutive days in a chair?

He ran all the way down the mountain, passing by several buildings along the way, and took a shortcut through a peach blossom forest. Finally, he arrived at the academy at the far east of the outer peak.

The bad news was that the journey was too long, and he was still late. By the time he arrived, the long-bearded teacher was already giving a lecture in the classroom, and his fellow disciples were sleepily listening below. He could only audit from outside.

The good news was that after he shamelessly inquired, the teacher said that auditing from outside also counted as class hours, and considering his previous behavior of never attending classes, this time being late didn’t reduce his favorability points; instead, it increased by 2.

After all, even though he was late, at least he showed up.

Another piece of good news was that he actually had a companion who was also late and had to audit from outside.

By the wall outside the classroom, another person dressed in servant disciple clothing leaned against the wall, idly playing with a piece of grass in their hand, looking lazy and expressionless. Noticing him, they slightly turned their head.

A person with thick eyebrows and big eyes, long arms and legs, the gray disciple outfit contrasted sharply with the white wall in the light. The same outfit looked like two completely different things on the other person and on him.

After glancing at the other person, he looked down at the chaotic mess he had made of his outfit after a long day of fussing around, and Lín Zhúshēng thought for a moment.

In the midst of adjusting his clothes and hiding his mess, he chose to squat down generously right there, quickly placing the “brick” on the ground, and then leaned back without any regard for his image, turning into a lump of mud against the wall. The mud waved a shallow hand and friendly said, “Hello.”