Ch. 218 - The Ocean of Knowledge Has Already Consumed Me

Neither of them believed a word Chen Shu said.

Sure, the Slime could throw its weight around at school -- but fighting a Silver Overlord? It'd get one-shot, no question.

"Sigh... Nobody believes the truth these days!"

Chen Shu let out a long breath, packed up the grill, and faceplanted into his pillow.

He was asleep before his head stopped bouncing.

The next morning, bright and early.

The three of them finished breakfast and headed to class.

Teacher Liu spoke up. "Today is the exam. Your scores determine your rankings for the February competition!"

The whole class perked up at once. A few students even shot challenging glances in Chen Shu's direction.

So what if we can't beat you in Beast Taming -- can't we at least beat you on a written exam?

Sure, Chen Shu's Academic Written Track scores had been the highest in the entire grade last year.

But an entire semester had passed. Everyone had been studying.

Meanwhile, Chen Shu had been doing nothing but screwing around. How could he possibly keep up with the curriculum?

Chen Shu yawned, not giving a single damn.

The moment the test papers were handed out, options appeared before his eyes.

Ding!

[Option 1: Place dead last!]Completion reward: Title -- "The Unsupportable Bandit" [1]. Equipped effect: all System rewards permanently halved!

[Option 2: Top 10!]Completion reward: 10 Basic-rank Beast Taming True Pearls.

[Option 3: Top 5!]Completion reward: Wind Force skill +1 level.

[Option 4: 1st place!]Completion reward: the gaokao capstone problem answer + large quantity of Beast Taming Power.

Chen Shu's mouth twitched. Especially at that first option -- how the fuck was that a reward?

He picked Option 4 without hesitation. A large quantity of Beast Taming Power and the capstone problem answer were both incredibly useful.

Especially the latter. Even though Chen Shu had mastered all of the high school curriculum, the capstone problem wasn't something you could solve just by knowing the material.

The second-year final exam hadn't included a capstone problem -- that was the only reason he'd scored as high as 396.

Now it was different. With a capstone problem on the test, 380 would've been his ceiling at best.

Can the System predict the future?

Chen Shu rubbed his chin, then quickly figured it out.

It would probably be given to him on-site when the time came. A single answer wasn't worth burning a future-prediction ability on...

If he could nail the capstone problem, his gaokao Academic Written Track score would be near-perfect.

Combined with his Beast Taming Practical Track score, he'd be a lock for Huaxia Academy!

The test papers were distributed. Chen Shu shifted into gear immediately and started writing at a furious pace.

The knowledge the System had rewarded him was seared directly into his memory -- it wouldn't fade no matter how much time passed.

Teacher Liu walked over to Chen Shu's seat.

Not to watch him perform -- but to catch him cheating!

Here we go again with the act...

He shook his head and sighed.

"Hm? Hm?!"

But when he actually looked at Chen Shu's paper, he froze on the spot.

Chen Shu's pen was flying across the page at blistering speed -- like a machine, no pauses, no hesitation whatsoever.

"You actually know how to do this?!"

Teacher Liu stared, his expression pure disbelief, as he kept scrutinizing Chen Shu.

Chen Shu didn't answer. He was fully locked in.

An exam meant to take two hours -- he finished in thirty minutes. As for the capstone problem, he simply left it blank.

Only then did Chen Shu look up.

"Isn't this incredibly simple? Any person could do this, right..."

Every pair of eyes in the classroom swiveled toward him at once. You absolute bastard, that's genuinely despicable!

"Teacher, I'm turning in my paper!"

Teacher Liu snapped out of his daze and nodded almost on reflex.

Chen Shu shot out of his seat and vanished in a flash.

Teacher Liu sat down in Chen Shu's vacated seat and started going through the answers on the paper.

"All correct... all correct... Not a single mistake..."

He couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh. The speed, the accuracy -- it was almost inhuman. Better than he could've done himself.

No wonder this kid was so arrogant and still got to be class monitor -- turns out he actually had the goods!

The students around him heard every word of the teacher's muttering. Their chests tightened with frustration.

Beast Taming? He crushed everyone. Academics? Just as monstrous. Was there any room left for the rest of them to breathe?

And the worst part -- you never even study, you son of a bitch!

A wave of despair and melancholy swept through the room.

...

"Chen Shu!"

Shen Wushuang snagged the fleeing Chen Shu in one swift grab.

"Skipping class in broad daylight again?"

"What?! No way! I finished the exam, so I came out for some fresh air..."

How am I this unlucky? Chen Shu cursed internally. Caught by Old Shen again, goddammit.

What he didn't know was that Shen Wushuang had been keeping tabs on him every second since the semester started.

A whole winter break had gone by, and Shen Wushuang thought he might finally catch a break this term. Now it was clear -- Chen Shu hadn't changed one bit.

"Follow me to the principal's office!"

Shen Wushuang turned on his heel and strode off.

Chen Shu had no choice but to follow.

...

Before long, the two arrived at the principal's office.

The principal took a sip of tea. "Teacher Shen, you really want Chen Shu as captain for the Beast Taming Competition?"

It was late February, and registration for the city-level Beast Taming Competition had already opened.

"Principal, there's nothing to think about. No one in the class can beat him."

Shen Wushuang's voice brimmed with confidence.

With Chen Shu's freak-of-nature Slime, he could pummel anyone he faced.

Sure, it was an F-rank Contract Spirit, but there seemed to be no ceiling on that thing.

God only knew how much stronger it had gotten over winter break.

"I'm aware of Student Chen Shu's abilities, but last year his advantage was mainly his Beast Tamer level..."

The principal's eyes were calculating.

He believed the reason Chen Shu had steamrolled every school last year was purely the level advantage of being a Rank 9 Beast Tamer.

Now that the second semester had started, all the real geniuses would've reached Rank 9 too.

Chen Shu's original level advantage had evaporated.

And then there was the other problem -- making Chen Shu the captain. The principal could already see Nanjiang Second High's reputation taking another nosedive...

This was literally reverse advertising!

"Principal, stop overthinking it. Our target isn't the city tournament -- it's the provincial."

Shen Wushuang continued, "I believe that with Chen Shu leading the team, we'll place well. At the very least, no worse than Sis Fang Si's year!"

"You have that much faith in him?"

The principal's eyes went wide. What Shen Wushuang was implying meant Chen Shu was a cut above even Fang Si.

"Relax! He's leading the team!"

Shen Wushuang was the homeroom teacher and had the final say. Coming to the principal was a courtesy notification, not a request for permission.

"Fine, then!"

The principal nodded with a sigh of resignation.

"I object!"

Chen Shu had heard enough to understand. Based on the principal's attitude, the old man actually seemed reluctant to let him participate?

"I need to study! No one can stop me! The ocean of knowledge has already consumed me!"

"..."

Shen Wushuang and the principal stared at him in unison. There he goes again with the bullshit...

Even if the dead-last student in the entire grade had said those words, they wouldn't have doubted it too much.

But coming from your mouth -- was that really appropriate?

The principal spoke with all the solemnity he could muster.

"Student Chen Shu, this competition represents honor for the school, and even more so, honor for you personally..."

Chen Shu's eyelids drooped shut. He'd begun to nap...

Shen Wushuang waved her hand and cut the principal off mid-sentence.

Reasoning with the Nanjiang Bandit is less effective than trying to educate a Fierce Beast. Probably better results with the beast, honestly...

She zeroed in on the only thing that mattered and said it outright:

"Name your price."

[1] "The Unsupportable Bandit" (扶不起的悍匪): Parody of the classical idiom 扶不起的阿斗 (fu bu qi de A Dou). A'dou was Liu Shan, last ruler of the Shu Han kingdom in the Three Kingdoms era -- so incompetent that even the legendary strategist Zhuge Liang couldn't save his kingdom. The phrase means "a hopeless case no one can help." The System swaps in "bandit" for "A'dou" -- essentially calling Chen Shu an irredeemable failure if he finishes last.