Study Demon Cultivation System

Li Zheng hurriedly came to his senses and stood up.

“I... I’m handing in my paper.”

“Hmm...”

Lin Yujing turned her head in surprise.

Seeing Li Zheng's test paper completely filled out, she could no longer maintain her composure. Her pen tip began to fly across the page, crazily speeding up her answering pace like she had gone mad.

Hu Chunmei looked at Li Zheng and asked,

“You answered all of it?”

“Mm.”

“Not going to double-check?”

Li Zheng had already checked it twice, but he felt too embarrassed to say so.

His speed was a bit too odd, and he usually kept a low profile. He absolutely hated people who showed off.

Like Lin Yujing—always putting on a show all day long.

She didn’t realize that her 360° genius aura, when she acted like that, inadvertently hurt those who weren’t as talented as her.

“There’s something going on at home tonight, so I’m skipping the check.”

Li Zheng replied calmly as he walked toward the podium.

From a distance, Hu Chunmei glanced at his test paper.

“This paper... definitely a passing grade. If there’s something at home, go ahead and leave.”

*Bang!*

Lin Yujing suddenly slapped her desk and stood up, clutching her paper as she jogged up to the front. She beat Li Zheng by a step and slapped her paper onto the podium.

Only after turning in the paper did she begin to breathe heavily and finally had a moment to wipe her sweat.

Her shirt was drenched.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Hu Chunmei asked with concern.

“If you’ve got a fever, you should head home. Or we can go to the hospital.”

Lin Yujing shook her head hard, then pointed firmly at her paper.

“Oh, right. I said I’d grade it on the spot.”

As she spoke, Hu Chunmei clicked out the red ballpoint pen and spread out the paper to start grading.

Checkmark, checkmark, checkmark—a full page of correct marks.

The more she graded, the happier she got.

As she graded, she mumbled under her breath.

“Look at this, look at Lin Yujing.”

“Finished in just over 40 minutes.”

“Multiple choice—perfect score.”

“Fill in the blanks—missed one... the number was right but missed a minus sign. Must’ve been rushing, probably forgot a step.”

“Long answers... this handwriting is a bit rushed. First question—correct. Second one—correct, correct, correct... hmm?”

Hu Chunmei suddenly frowned and pointed at the final question.

“Your approach is correct. You were almost there. Why didn’t you finish the derivation before handing it in?”

“...”

Lin Yujing tilted her head, quietly gathering her qi, saying nothing.

“She just wanted to be the first to turn in the paper.”

A short girl in the front row chuckled.

“After all, Lin Yujing is famous throughout the school for always handing in first.”

Even though she was stating a fact, her tone was laced with jealousy.

Lin Yujing slightly lowered her head at the comment but didn’t offer any rebuttal.

“Zhang Yue, you and that mouth of yours.”

Teacher Hu scolded.

“How much did you score? Half of Lin Yujing’s?”

“Hahaha.”

Liu Xin slapped his desk, laughing.

“And you, just woke up? Did you even score half of Zhang Yue’s? What is this, geometric progression?”

“...”

“Hahaha!” More laughter erupted.

Amid the boisterous laughter, a lively spirit finally spread through the otherwise miserable classroom.

At the podium, Hu Chunmei shook her head and handed the paper back to Lin Yujing.

“143 points. If this were a real exam, you’d still be first in the school. But you rushed too much. It’s fine. If you’re not feeling well, just let me know. I’m not heartless.”

“Mm...”

Lin Yujing took the paper with her head down, gripping it tightly, treating the sheet with no care at all.

After all, she hadn’t expected Li Zheng to hand in his paper in just over 40 minutes. If not for that, she was confident she could’ve scored full marks.

“Alright, you can go now.”

Teacher Hu nodded.

Lin Yujing slowly walked back to her seat, leisurely packing her bag, though her eyes kept glancing toward Li Zheng.

Li Zheng could feel it—she was preparing a smile, just waiting for the teacher to announce his score.

At the podium, Hu Chunmei grabbed Li Zheng’s paper and leaned over to start grading.

“Not bad, Li Zheng. In such a short time, you managed to fill the entire paper.”

“Nice, even the multiple choice are all correct.”

“The fill-in-the-blanks—spot on, didn’t miss a thing. Scored all the points he should. Accuracy is worth praising.”

“Long answers... hmm...”

“This question... it can be solved like that?”

“Hold on, let me check the teacher’s guide.”

“Mm...”

“This formula... did I even teach this? Wait, let me check the syllabus...”

In the end, she had no choice but to call for external reinforcements.

“Old Zhao, still at school? I’ll send you a photo of the test paper on WeChat... I’m not sure about this question... his method looks right, but I don’t quite get two of the steps... it’s probably correct, but it might be beyond the syllabus... no, not Lin Yujing—it’s another student...”

After sending the photo, Hu Chunmei was already dripping with sweat.

She put down her phone and pointed at the paper, her voice trembling.

“This... your solution to the final question might be beyond the syllabus, but I’m not sure. The head of the teaching research group is reviewing it. If he approves, you’ll have... full marks.”

*Nngh!*

The entire class gasped.

Even though it was just a test paper Hu Chunmei had improvised, getting a full score in math was still legendary.

Even Lin Yujing had only ever scored full marks three times.

Li Zheng, however, felt nothing.

After all, it was an open-book test, the types of questions had just been covered, and the knowledge points were very basic.

He had simply reviewed the textbook carefully and understood it thoroughly.

“What if it is beyond the syllabus?”

Li Zheng asked.

“Then I’ll have to deduct 5 points—145.”

*Thud!!*

A cartoon-themed rocket water bottle fell to the ground.

Lin Yujing froze at her desk, completely at a loss.

The smile she had been brewing for so long... became hard to recover.

“That complexion...”

Hu Chunmei hurriedly directed.

“Quick, someone take her to the hospital!”

“No... I’m fine.”

Lin Yujing covered her mouth, picked up her water bottle, grabbed her bag, and dashed out of the classroom.

At that moment, Hu Chunmei’s phone rang.

She looked at it and couldn’t hide her surprise.

“The head of the teaching group says that, although your theorem is technically beyond the syllabus, your derivation on the paper shows all the steps, and all the knowledge used falls within the syllabus... This counts as an on-the-spot derivation, so it can be awarded full points.”

With those words, Hu Chunmei wrote a big “150” on the paper.

“Even though this paper was pretty simple, getting a perfect score is still rare. This deserves praise.”

Hu Chunmei smiled as she handed the paper to Li Zheng.

“Very well done. Keep this steady pace, and aim to give Lin Yujing a little pressure during the midterm.”

“You flatter me, Teacher. It’s mostly because your test design was brilliant—it opened up my thinking.”

Li Zheng accepted the paper with both hands, and, to avoid others hearing, lowered his voice.

“In the future, I hope you can make more of these excellent test papers.”

Hu Chunmei chuckled behind her hand.

“Oh, it’s not that excellent—I made it on the fly, just out of frustration with them.”

Li Zheng seized the opportunity.

“About earlier... my family stuff isn’t that urgent after all. Could I stay a bit and study on my own?”

Hu Chunmei nodded in approval. Her mood had improved significantly by now, and she picked up her phone again to keep discussing the question with the head of the teaching group.

Within her smile, the students seemed to glimpse a sliver of hope, and all secretly cheered.

Getting called to the principal’s office—or even to bring in parents—often depended on the teacher’s mood.

Li Zheng had managed to cheer her up. His chances of survival today had just improved dramatically.

Li Zheng walked back to his seat from the podium, as though making a pilgrimage.

And it wasn’t just because he’d saved them all.

More importantly—he was the only human who had genuinely defeated Lin Yujing head-on.

Even more rare was that Li Zheng had absolutely none of that nauseating show-off vibe.

From start to finish, he had been completely genuine, plainly revealing his hard work.

From him, everyone could feel what true humility was. What true steadiness looked like.

He had none of the arrogance of a top student, nor the divine aura of a genius.

Only the quiet perseverance of a regular human being.

Except for that slightly demonic laugh just now... which was a bit worrying.