Chapter 87: Frenzied Study

Three days later, at dawn, golden sunlight poured through the polished glass windows and spilled across the classroom.

"In the earliest recorded age, around three thousand years before the Planetary Era, someone accidentally invoked a power akin to rune analysis, deciphering and releasing the inherited factors within living beings. This marked the birth of totems."

On the podium, a young man in gold-rimmed spectacles was speaking with effortless ease.

The large lecture hall was packed with students, and even the corridor outside held a few people standing to listen.

"...Practice is the only path to true understanding. Totem inheritance studies arose precisely through the advancement of breeding and cultivation practices, and it is dedicated to examining the many traits, powers, and future directions of totems..."

"Five thousand years ago, our ancestors groped blindly as they first opened the door to the world of totems. Today, it has long since formed a systematic and scientific body of knowledge. You must remember that the existence of rune analysis merely makes manifest the knowledge you have mastered..."

As he explained, the teacher on stage also demonstrated rune analysis in a methodical fashion. The hour of class passed in the blink of an eye, and the students below watched him leave with reluctance.

This teacher was only a first-rank life spirit master. Judged purely by strength, many of those present could easily defeat him.

But in the study of inherited factors, he could absolutely crush more than ninety-nine point nine percent of the academy.

At the back of the classroom, a handsome white-haired youth was bent over his notes, writing furiously. Beside him sat a cute little white fox, quiet and attentive, its small head tilted as though it too were listening. It drew many glances.

Naturally, this was Xia Er. When the teacher finished, he closed his notebook, ignored a blonde girl who had been trying to draw near, and rose to leave the classroom.

Behind him, the girl stamped her foot in annoyance, while her companion looked on in astonishment.

Over these three days, he had risen early and stayed up late, studying with a diligence even greater than that of his past life before the entrance examinations.

Every day he went to three places without fail: the library, the classroom, and the Number One Trading District. Thanks to Firefly's charm, he had already become a frequent topic of idle conversation for more and more people.

Mollen Academy possessed the largest library in the world. Its collection was more than ten times that of the royal academy of the Harrison Empire, and among its vast trove of books, more than a tenth concerned life spirit masters.

Most of them were study notes left by predecessors, edited and published by the academy's specialized institutions, together with the research records of hundreds of thousands of life spirit masters across the centuries, and books written specifically for teaching.

Xia Er had discovered them and felt as though he had found a priceless treasure. He plunged into them headfirst, reading more than two hundred thousand words of research notes every day.

The notes left by Bruce could not even begin to compare, much less the fact that he was also trying to learn Mollen's top-tier techniques.

The great increase in his spirit and physique had also greatly strengthened his stamina and memory. After reading a book twice, he could basically memorize it.

"Day five, and my plan still hasn't begun at all..." Xia Er sat in the library, frowning lightly as he stared blankly at the spiral staircase before him.

The academy's collection was far too immense. Roughly speaking, it was divided into five separate libraries, each one occupying an area as large as a football field.

Those vast buildings were likewise covered with countless vines. Whenever night fell, the vines would emit a soft glow, and the same light would appear along the walls of the library, allowing students to continue reading at night.

Just then, Xia Er was surprised to see a translucent interface emerge at the edge of his vision. A line of flickering text appeared upon it, and after a moment it transformed into a new skill icon.

"Totem Inheritance Studies: Not Yet Learned."

Xia Er's lips curved upward. At last, his days of hard work had not been in vain.

The White Spirit from the modulator could only form skills related to totems or increasing strength, such as the basic sword technique and totem drawing.

Now, after his earlier study and these three days of hurried cramming, he had finally barely met the requirement to enter.

"Then let the improvement begin."

"White Spirit!"

His evolution points began to fall slowly, and the skill icon blurred before changing a little.

"Totem Inheritance Studies: Beginner."

Advancing to beginner level consumed only 0.5 evolution points. Xia Er instantly felt a vast flood of knowledge surging through his mind, but his spiritual power had long since surpassed that of ordinary people. To him, it was nothing at all.

"Continue!"

From beginner to proficient cost 1 evolution point.

From proficient to master cost 4 evolution points.

At this point, Xia Er no longer felt relaxed. It was as if dragons were rolling and raging within his skull, bringing a splitting headache. In an instant, sweat the size of beans broke out across his face.

When the pain finally faded, Xia Er was drenched through, as if he had just been hauled out of water.

Several people sitting beside him all looked at him with odd expressions, unable to understand what madness he was suddenly in.

They did not know that in those brief ten-odd minutes, Xia Er's mastery of totem inheritance studies had already become comparable to that of the teacher who had lectured earlier.

If others learned of such a horrifying feat, it would surely bring lethal disaster upon Xia Er.

"Are you all right?" A thin boy could not help coming over to ask.

Xia Er waved a hand. "Thank you. I'm fine."

By now, his face was very pale, sweat covered his features, and his eyes were ringed with terrifying bloodshot veins. But he had no connection to these people, and naturally they would not meddle in his affairs.

Xia Er raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then stood and left the library.

Master level was already enough for him at present. If he wanted to keep advancing, his spirit would no longer be able to bear it. Better to digest everything first and truly master this knowledge before anything else.

In the plan he had laid out, inherited factors and bloodline fusion were two of the most crucial foundations.

From these would branch further, more profound paths—directional inheritance, splitting and recombining inherited factors, bloodline alteration, totem reconstruction, and so on—forming a vast and astonishing totem system that only he could master.

Others did not have a cheat like White Spirit. A single discipline could easily consume years, even decades, and even geniuses might manage only two by their twenties.

But for him, once a skill icon had formed, it meant complete mastery, and from there he could reach a height others could never attain.

When it came to learning, he had absolute confidence.

...

After hurrying back to his lodgings, Xia Er slept for two hours, then went down into the basement.

"Since everything is ready, let's begin." He smiled at the diminutive totem that had been standing guard in the basement the whole time.

One source crystal after another shattered, the rune factory began to operate, and a faint gray-white radiance enveloped Yue Tong...