Differential Treatment

Zhao Hong fell silent.

A deep sense of helplessness surged within him.

“I understand.”

After a long pause, he finally squeezed out these words through clenched teeth.

He slumped back into his chair, staring out the window with a complicated look in his eyes.

……

Su Qi’s first class ended in a way no one had expected.

When he staggered back to the villa, Liu Yuan was sitting on the carpet in the living room, completely absorbed in watching the holographic TV.

What was playing on the screen wasn’t a cartoon or a drama, but a live teaching broadcast.

The footage was unmistakably from the step-by-step classroom where Su Qi had just been teaching.

Moreover, it was a 360-degree, no-blind-spot, high-definition version that allowed viewers to freely switch angles and slow down the action.

Liu Yuan’s small face was filled with concentration as she repeatedly watched the moment when Su Qi extended his finger, slowing it down countless times.

“Brother, you’re back!”

Seeing Su Qi enter, Liu Yuan called out happily.

“Yeah.” Su Qi tossed his leftover milk tea into the trash and then flopped onto the sofa.

“Brother, that move you just did was amazing!” Liu Yuan’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “I watched it so many times. The spot your finger pointed to seems to be the core node where all the energy flows in that guy called Shi Lei!”

“You only used a tiny bit of strength to disrupt the energy circulation throughout his body, making him temporarily lose control over himself.”

“That’s way more subtle than just overpowering him with brute force!”

Liu Yuan analyzed excitedly, like a scientist who had just discovered a new continent.

Su Qi glanced at her, a bit surprised.

“You understood it?”

“Yeah!” Liu Yuan nodded vigorously. “Though there are still many parts I don’t get, I roughly understand the principle!”

Su Qi smiled and ruffled her hair.

“Not bad. Just basic moves.”

Looks like not everyone failed to understand.

At least his little sister got it.

A promising pupil indeed.

……

Meanwhile, in a high-level training room somewhere in the academy.

Shi Lei sat cross-legged, eyes tightly shut, his body trembling slightly.

He was replaying the scene from the classroom over and over in his mind.

Recalling that overwhelming, icy power that left him utterly defenseless.

Recalling that seemingly casual yet profoundly supreme finger movement.

After the fear came deep shock and... confusion.

He couldn’t make sense of it.

What kind of power was that?

It hadn’t even directly attacked him.

So why did the pinnacle power of the sixth rank, which he took pride in, feel as fragile as paper in front of it?

“Buzz—”

He tried to mobilize the source energy within his body to simulate the sensation.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reproduce that suffocating feeling of being “locked” by a higher dimension.

His power remained what he was familiar with—wild and strong—but it lacked a certain core element.

“Pfft—”

Under the strain of forced simulation, energy backfired inside him. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his complexion turning even paler.

“Damn it…”

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

He knew he had hit a bottleneck.

A cognitive bottleneck he had never encountered before.

If he couldn't break through this barrier, he might be stuck at the peak of the sixth level for the rest of his life, unable to advance even an inch.

And the key to breaking this bottleneck lay with that lazy young teacher who loved drinking milk tea and playing games.

"Source Flow Construction Method..."

He whispered the name, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions.

Perhaps it was time to let go of his ridiculous pride and sincerely, humbly seek guidance from Teacher Su.

...

In the days that followed, the atmosphere at Tianxing Academy grew strangely tense.

Su Qi’s "Source Flow Construction Method Practical Class" continued as usual.

Every class, he was unfailingly five minutes late, carrying a cup of milk tea, then sat down on the podium and started playing games.

From start to finish, he didn’t say a single unnecessary word.

The entire classroom was as silent as a grave.

But this time, no one dared to voice any objections.

All the students sat upright, eyes fixed on the figure playing games on the podium.

Some of the more perceptive students even began secretly recording, hoping to glean some secret, godlike micro-operation techniques from Su Qi’s gaming moves.

And Shi Lei, once the arrogant top student of the second year, had changed too.

He no longer sat in the front row but quietly took a seat at the very back of the classroom.

He didn’t cross his arms with a smug expression anymore.

Instead, he pulled out a blank notebook and a pen.

Every class, he stared intently at every move Su Qi made—whether sipping milk tea or swiping his phone screen—with utmost seriousness. Occasionally, he scribbled notes and sketches in his notebook, as if trying to decipher some ultimate secret manual.

His classmates watched in stunned silence.

“Lei, what... what are you doing?”

“You don’t understand,” Shi Lei said without turning his head, his voice hoarse. “Every single action from Teacher Su contains profound universal truths. We were just too shallow-minded to see it before.”

His companions exchanged bewildered looks.

They glanced at the crooked stick figures and meaningless arrows in Shi Lei’s notebook, wondering if their top guy had finally lost his mind.

Meanwhile, Lin Jing in the corner quietly observed everything.

She realized that although Teacher Su never actually taught anything, the learning atmosphere in the classroom had never been stronger.

Everyone was trying, in their own way, to understand and get closer to this seemingly lazy but actually unfathomable teacher.

That, in itself, might be an even more brilliant form of “teaching.”

That day, after the bell rang signaling the end of class,

Su Qi shut off his game as usual, stretched lazily, and prepared to leave.

Just as he reached the classroom door,

A figure mustered the courage to stop him.

It was Lin Jing.

“Tea… Teacher Su,”

The girl’s voice trembled slightly, her cheeks flushed.

Su Qi paused, looking at her with a hint of surprise.

“What’s up?”

“I... I have some questions, and I’d like to... ask for your guidance,” Lin Jing lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper.

The students who hadn’t left yet all perked up, ears straining, necks craning.

Finally, someone dared to ask a question!

“Oh?”

Su Qi raised an eyebrow, eyeing the timid-looking girl in front of him with keen interest.

“Ask.”

His tone remained as lazy and indifferent as ever, revealing no hint of emotion.

Lin Jing took a deep breath, as if summoning all her strength, then lifted her head to meet Su Qi’s gaze directly.

“Teacher Su, I want to know—what is the true nature of ‘Yuanliu’?”

Her voice was soft, but in the pin-drop silence of the classroom, it sounded remarkably clear.

Every student who hadn’t yet left held their breath.

That question was crucial.

It was the very doubt that lingered in all their minds.

What exactly was this mysterious “Yuanliu Construction Method”?

Su Qi didn’t answer immediately.

His gaze lingered on Lin Jing for a few seconds, as if trying to see right through her.

“Your strength is mediocre.”

Suddenly, he spoke, uttering a comment that seemed completely unrelated.

Lin Jing froze for a moment and instinctively nodded.

She was indeed an average student in the academy—neither strong nor weak, hardly noticeable.

“Your talent is poor, too. Only at the fourth stage.”

Su Qi added casually, as if commenting on the nice weather today.

Boom!

Those words exploded like a bomb in everyone’s mind.

Too blunt!

Too harsh!

To say a girl’s talent is poor in front of so many people?

Does this teacher even have a filter?

Many of the girls’ faces flushed with indignation.

Lin Jing’s face turned pale in an instant. She bit her lip tightly, her eyes instantly reddening.

Though she knew her talent was average, hearing it stated so plainly by a teacher in front of everyone felt like being stabbed with needles.

In the back of the classroom, Shi Lei furrowed his brow.

Though Su Qi had also put him down before, Shi Lei couldn’t deny Su Qi’s overwhelming strength.

But this—wasn’t this going a bit too far?

Just when everyone expected Lin Jing to burst into tears and run away, or for Su Qi to say something to ease the tension, his next words sent everyone’s thoughts into a tailspin once again.

“But your ‘heart’ is purer than anyone else’s.”

Su Qi gestured toward the students in the classroom—some shocked, some angry, some sympathetic.

“They come to my class for opportunism, some out of curiosity.”

“Only you truly want to learn something from me.”

His gaze returned to Lin Jing.

“So, I will answer your question.”

The room erupted in whispers.

What did that mean?

Special treatment?

On what grounds?

We all paid tuition!

Shi Lei’s fists clenched involuntarily.

He admitted he came to stir trouble at first, but now, he genuinely wanted to learn!

Why lump him together with those opportunists?

Su Qi ignored the reactions around him and continued looking at Lin Jing.

“You asked me what the essence of Yuanliu is?”

“I will tell you right now.”

“Yuanliu is not a technique, nor a skill.”

“It is a kind of ‘qualification.’”

"A kind of qualification that allows you to communicate with the world on the deepest level."

"When you possess it, you no longer simply drain energy from the outside world; instead, the world willingly 'lends' its power to you."

"Your body becomes the perfect vessel for energy, and every breath you take is a moment of cultivation."

He spoke slowly, his voice soft, but each word struck like a heavy hammer, pounding deeply into everyone's hearts.

A qualification to communicate with the world?

The world willingly lending you power?

Every breath is cultivation?

This... this was such an exaggerated, unbelievable theory!

It completely shattered their understanding of the two words: 'cultivation.'

Lin Jing listened in a daze, feeling as if a door to a new world was slowly opening right before her.

"Th-then... I..." Her voice trembled with excitement. "With my poor talent, can I really... really obtain this kind of 'qualification'?"

"Of course," Su Qi answered decisively.

"I already said, talent doesn’t matter, the heart does."

He stretched out his hand—not just his index finger this time, but his entire palm.

He gently placed his palm on top of Lin Jing's head.

"Clear your mind. Don’t resist."

His voice seemed to carry a kind of magic, instantly calming Lin Jing.

She closed her eyes and followed Su Qi's instructions, emptying all distracting thoughts.

The next moment, a warm, vast power surged from Su Qi’s palm, flowing instantly through every inch of her body.

Lin Jing’s body shuddered violently.

She felt as if she were soaking in a warm, soothing hot spring.

No, even more comfortable than that.

She felt like a feather floating in the air.

Or like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

She could "see" every meridian and every cell inside her body.

She could "hear" the energy particles in the air singing joyfully.

She could even "feel" the earth beneath her feet breathing steadily.

At that moment, the entire world became incredibly intimate, incredibly vivid.

An unprecedented, indescribable enlightenment surged in her heart.

So this was the "Source Flow."

So cultivation could be like this.

Meanwhile, the other students in the classroom were dumbfounded, staring at the scene.

They saw Lin Jing’s aura skyrocketing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

From mid-fourth stage to late fourth stage!

In less than a minute, her strength had forcibly jumped an entire sub-level!

"I... I can’t believe this!!"

"Is this... an enlightenment blessing?!"

"This must be fake! There’s no way someone could boost their strength like this!"

"This defies science! No, this isn’t just supernatural—this is a miracle!"

The students went wild, feeling their entire worldview shattered and ground into dust beneath their feet.

Shi Lei stared at Lin Jing with burning eyes.

He had worked tirelessly for years, endured countless hardships, and used countless rare treasures just to barely reach the peak of the sixth stage.

But now, a girl he had always looked down on—an average, unremarkable student—had, right before his eyes, accomplished in less than a minute what had taken him months to achieve!

Jealousy!

Envy!

Regret!

A whirlwind of emotions, like a spilled bottle of mixed spices, churned wildly within him.

He regretted it.

He regretted why he had been so impulsive back then!

Why had he provoked this unfathomable teacher in such a foolish way?

If... if only he had, like Lin Jing, held a pure heart eager to learn back then, would he be the one standing here now, receiving this “miracle” baptism?

Su Qi withdrew his hand.

The halo of light enveloping Lin Jing gradually faded away.

Lin Jing slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze no longer held the previous timidity and quietness; instead, it shone with confidence and a brilliance never seen before.

She felt the surging yet gentle power within her body, as if she had been reborn.

“I... I...”

She was too overwhelmed to speak, only staring at Su Qi with tears welling up in her eyes.

But these were not tears of grievance—they were tears of emotion, of joy.

“How do you feel?” Su Qi asked.

“Great...” Lin Jing nodded vigorously. “Better than ever before!”