Lin Mo Received a Love Letter

Condensing a Golden Core is something quite straightforward to grasp.

But a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact? That’s a whole different story.

First off, anything that qualifies as a spiritual artifact is definitely not made from ordinary materials.

"My invincible system, what about the materials? I have no idea what can even be used for forging artifacts!"

Even if Lin Mo could get his hands on something like Adamantium, who’s to say Vibranium wouldn’t show up next?

Besides, even Vibranium shields can get chopped to pieces.

[Host, are you misunderstanding something? Who said materials are the core of a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact? A Lifebound Spiritual Artifact is forged and nurtured by binding it to the host’s own soul essence.]

"You mean... even a random stick could be cultivated into my Lifebound Spiritual Artifact?"

[......Host, when others summon their swords with a cry of ‘Sword, come!’, what are you going to shout? ‘Stick, come!’?]

Fair point. No flaws there.

Looking cool is a lifelong pursuit, after all.

Lin Mo pondered whether he should sneak into a military base and steal a rocket launcher.

Then, in battle, he could just shout, "Rocket, come! Eat this Stinger missile!"

Or maybe go for a dimensional collapse weapon? But how the hell would he even know what that is?

Then again, maybe that’s overkill.

[Host, stop daydreaming and focus on condensing your Golden Core first.]

-------The Most Useless Dividing Line Ever--------

After a long day, Chef Chu Lintian finally returned home.

She noticed what looked like letters sticking out of the mailbox on the first floor and unlocked it with her key.

Sure enough, she pulled out a thick stack of envelopes.

In 2012, many institutions still relied heavily on physical mail for communication.

So Chu Lintian made a habit of checking the family mailbox regularly.

Holding a pile of letters with no sender address or postage stamps, she frowned.

Back inside, she casually opened the first one.

"Wait, what are these?!"

Her eyes scanned the contents—accounting records.

She immediately tore open the other envelopes. "Just as I thought!"

Without hesitation, she gathered the letters and rushed into the study to cross-reference the data.

Hearing the commotion, Chu Miaomiao peeked out of her room, only to see the living room littered with envelopes and the study door firmly shut.

But she didn’t dwell on it, simply retreating back into her room.

......

Two weeks later, midterm exams rolled around again.

Though the number of subjects remained the same, some students, having identified their priorities, were less tense than before.

Some even willingly neglected certain subjects.

The only catch this time was that evening self-study sessions were still mandatory after the exams.

The reason? These midterms weren’t scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Since the last monthly exams had given students time to adjust, the evening sessions continued as usual.

At some point, teachers had also started using these sessions for lectures—likely to speed up the curriculum.

Many schools aimed to cover all new material by the first semester of the second year, prepping students for the intense pressure of the third year in the following semester.

By the third year, it was all about exam preparation.

While Chen Xiaoya lectured at the front, Lin Mo kept his head down, flipping through a Chinese reference book.

But Chen Xiaoya didn’t call him out—after all, Lin Mo’s math scores were impeccable.

He scored 150 not because his ability capped at 150, but because the test papers didn’t go higher.

So in her class, Lin Mo usually enjoyed free rein.

Chen Xiaoya only taught for one period before leaving—as the supervising teacher, she still had rounds to make.

At that moment, Jiang Yunlu turned to Lin Mo.

"Lin Mo, I heard you’re competing in the city-level Math Olympiad the day after tomorrow. Nervous?"

Lin Mo looked up. "Not really. But I’ve heard the provincial slots depend on quotas—even if you win at the city level, there’s no guarantee you’ll advance."

Jiang Yunlu blinked.

"I think a provincial first prize gives you extra points for the college entrance exam, right?"

Lin Mo nodded. "Ten points. But I’m aiming for the national competition."

If nothing else, the system had previously issued a mission: clearing any competition stage would yield a reward.

He had no idea what it would be, but hopefully something to boost his cultivation.

Though, the bonus points were a perk of the times—by 2015, such advantages would mostly vanish.

That said, the loss of points didn’t render competitions useless.

Top universities had special enrollment programs for competition talents, bypassing the standard exams.

Some joked that less than 50% of students at a certain prestigious tech institute got in through exams, but they overlooked alternative paths like competitions.

One thing was certain: elite universities wouldn’t accept mediocre candidates.

The city-level competition Jiang Yunlu mentioned was just a qualifier for the scarce provincial slots, filtered through multiple rounds.

During the evening self-study break, Fang Jun sidled over.

"Hey, Mo, that Qin Ran’s been keeping his head down lately. No trouble from him."

"What, you miss the drama?"

"Just saying. Who knows when he might pull something sneaky?"

Just then, a male classmate near the door called out,

"Lin Mo, someone’s here for you!"

The whole class turned to look.

The girl at the door was unfamiliar—no one from Class 8 recognized her.

Still, Lin Mo stepped out.

"Can I help you?"

He didn’t recall this petite, oval-faced girl, even from his past-life memories.

If Jiang Yunlu was a nine out of ten, this girl was a solid seven.

With makeup skills, she might climb a point or two.

"L-Lin Mo, hello! I’m Su Ziting from Class 3. I... I have a letter for you."

With that, she shoved the envelope into his hands, her face burning red as she bolted down the hall.

She didn’t even wait for a response.

A group of girls waited for her further down, giggling.

"Oho! Mo, finally got a love letter, huh?"

Fang Jun, ever the gossip, leaned out the window like a spy.

"What do you mean ‘finally’?"

Lin Mo pocketed the letter for now, planning to stash it in his desk later.

"It means someone’s finally mustered the courage to confess their feelings to you."

Fang Jun’s eyes flicked toward Jiang Yunlu, who was subtly clenching her fists.

Seeing Lin Mo keep the letter, Jiang Yunlu’s sanity points plummeted.

Lin Mo scanned the room—most classmates wore teasing or amused expressions.

Some things never changed.

One voice piped up, "Lin Mo, open it! It’s someone’s heartfelt words, after all."

But Lin Mo shook his head and stood.

"I don’t know what everyone’s thinking, but if it were me, I wouldn’t want a letter poured from the heart to become public entertainment.

If you wrote a sincere letter to someone you liked, would you want them to trample on it in front of everyone?"

His words silenced the classroom.

Some dismissed it, but others put themselves in that position—how would it feel to have your feelings mocked?

A few even flashed back to middle school humiliations.

Hearing this, Chu Miaomiao lifted her gaze, studying Lin Mo’s upright figure.

Lin Mo seemed to radiate with an ethereal glow.