NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: School
I decided to go to school for 2 reasons.
I was too lazy to come up with a reason for skipping lessons as I was not supposed to know they were canceled and I did not want to meet any member of the Yu family yet.
I expected the nanny to go to my dear aunt to talk about my odd behavior of clearing the bedroom - I remembered to take back the table and chair before leaving -
Lucky me, I was a 10 year old spoiled and lawless child so any weird behavior needed no explanation. I was not planning to keep acting for long though. After the news of my parents' disappearance and the elders showing their true feelings toward me, I plan to make them kick me out as fast as possible. In the meanwhile, I have a few months to plan for the exit strategy.
I need to do an inventory of what my parents left me and see what can be used for protection. In my first life, I gave a few things out without figuring out what they were used for. This is how I lost one of my mother’s family heirlooms and gave up a golden finger without knowing.
Sh*t I was so stupid!
moving on
In my early years, I did not have many people I could trust. It was only when I lost most of my assets that I met some good people - I met more bad people but let’s forget them for now -
Or maybe they were good people because I was broke… who knows… I cannot trust them again if I was not sure. I cannot even trust the villain because we have a common enemy. I didn’t think I would ever meet him anyway even if I knew a few things about his life thanks to the trashy novel. Now that I think about it, the protagonist was a few years older than me and he should be weaker than before …
Forget it.
At this time, he was in another continent and I was much weaker than him with my level 3 of Qi Condensation. At my age, this was not a genius level but it was pretty good thanks to my late night cultivation - the reason of me waking up late every morning -
“Young Master Bai, we have arrived” Said the coachman
Contrary to most cultivation novels, most sects would accept disciples starting at 12 years old but there were few exceptions such as direct disciples who could be recruited even if they were younger. In our City, most kids had to go to the city school at 7 years old, be it poor or rich. The city lord believed in education for all - not only reading and writing but also basic cultivation -
The school even provided some common cultivation books for those who got none from their families. Those books were valid till 9th level of Qi condensation but most poor people would use those books until they were recruited into a sect. The Yu family had their own cultivation techniques polished by my father but I used my mother’s family technique as my abilities were - allegedly - the same as most descendants of the Bai family.
I did not recall the face of my parents anymore - even with my perfect memory recall - but I did remember promising my mother to NEVER share the Bai family's cultivation techniques with outsiders. So even if some of the Yu family members stressed out the fact that they were not outsiders, I never shared the technique with them. They resented me a lot because of it but with all my flaws, I kept that promise until the end
Because it was a public school, it was not ostentatious from the outside. The school was divided into 3 sections. On the left, the teaching section dedicated to those who did not pay tuition. They learned mostly how to read, write and some arithmetic.
On the right, it was the teaching section for the wealthy, basically those who pay big bucks. On top of learning how to write, read and arithmetic, kids can learn any of the five arts (calligraphy, chess, painting, music and poetry). Those 5 arts are optional but most parents tend to force their children to learn them as much as possible as the school teachers were famous in those fields.
The Right section was as big as the left one but had much fewer students so while the left section was always buzzing even during holidays, the right section was quiet and sometimes seemed deserted. None would think it was unfair as it was thanks to the tuition paid by the wealthy students that those on the left section can study for free
The 3rd section was in the middle of the school and formed an island. It was dedicated to cultivation theory lessons for graduate students. Any student from both the left and right section could go there as long as they pass the advanced final exam. After 2 months of the cultivation theory lessons, you could take the final graduate exam then leave school even if you were less than 12 years old. However, you need to leave the school at 12 years old regardless of which class you were in.
Most wealthy students would try to stay as long as possible on the right section instead of going to the cultivation theory section. The reason was that the cultivation theory was usually taught in their families so most preferred to perfect their 5 arts with famous teachers. The students from poorer families would chose to go to the 3rd section as soon as possible as they needed the cultivation knowledge to get better chances to be recruited in a sect
In my previous life, I chose the same as most rich kids and picked chess, calligraphy and painting. I got banned from school because I skipped the main classes without good reasons so even if I was good enough to pass the advanced exam, I did not get the diploma. Now, I was pretty sure that the teacher was bribed by my aunt. The city lord actually executed him for taking bribes less than a decade later.
By then my reputation was so bad that it was too late for me to restore it. Too bad those who bribed him were never found.
Currently my painting and calligraphy were so-so and I was still very bad at chess. The 5 arts were not helpful for my future and I lacked the motivation to improve them at this moment. My best bet was to pass the advanced exam to avoid that easy to bribe teacher - hoping my aunt did not reach him yet, not that she would dare before the news about my parents disappearance arrived -
Afterward, I would need to learn as much as possible in the cultivation theory section and use the library to do what I could not in my 1st life - even with my master’s help- Only with a good foundation could I finish polishing my personal techniques that I started creating before my first death
