Chapter 2: Sixty Years of Buddhas and Dragon-Elephants

It was unclear how much time had passed before Wang Donglai gradually regained consciousness.

"Old Wang, Old Wang, wake up! Meng-ma is here!"

A hurried voice rang in Wang Donglai’s ears.

"Meng-ma?"

Wang Donglai’s mind instantly began to ponder who this Meng-ma was. And who was this somewhat familiar voice beside him?

The next second, Wang Donglai jolted.

He lifted his head, opened his eyes, and quickly scanned his surroundings.

What appeared before Wang Donglai was a metal multimedia podium, behind which was a massive blackboard. Hanging above the blackboard were eight large characters: "Study hard, make progress every day." In the bottom right corner of the blackboard, a list of text was written.

Today’s Schedule: Morning Reading (Chinese), History, Chinese, Geography, Chinese, Math, Politics, Math, English, Math, Geography, Math, Chinese, English, History, Politics.

College Entrance Exam Countdown: 98

"What is this? Did I transmigrate?!"

Wang Donglai first stared blankly at the words on the blackboard, then turned his head to examine his surroundings.

At a glance, he saw nothing but incredibly youthful faces.

"Senior year of high school?"

As a hardcore novel enthusiast, how could Wang Donglai not recognize that these were his high school classmates?

Combined with the information on the blackboard, there was no doubt he had transmigrated, returning to his senior year.

Just as Wang Donglai was dazed, a young woman in a skirt walked to the classroom door and stood there. Her face was grim, her gaze extremely stern. She swept her eyes across the classroom, and only after the room fell silent did she walk in.

"What’s with all the noise? I could hear you from far away. The whole floor is quiet except for you lot. What time do you think it is? The college entrance exam is right before your eyes. If you don't want to study, then drop out immediately; don't stay here and affect others!"

Stepping onto the podium, the young woman slammed the Chinese textbook in her hand onto the multimedia desk, sending white chalk dust drifting into the air.

In the previously quiet classroom, only the scolding voice of the homeroom teacher, Meng Fang, could be heard.

After saying this, Meng Fang sat on the stool beside the multimedia podium, her expression returning to calm.

Following Meng Fang’s reprimand, Wang Donglai finally came fully to his senses.

It seemed he really had transmigrated back to his senior year.

Just as Wang Donglai regained his focus, Meng Fang noticed him sitting in the second row, her thin eyebrows knitting together slightly.

"Wang Donglai, what are you spacing out for? Did you go steal cows last night instead of sleeping? You’re so drowsy!"

With Meng Fang’s scolding, the atmosphere in the classroom became even quieter; you could hear a pin drop.

As for Wang Donglai, once he reacted, he hurriedly grabbed the Chinese textbook in front of him and flipped it open.

"Ding-dong!"

"Host has successfully activated the Super Reading System. Soul binding complete."

"Host read 'Chinese · 1', experience points increased by one."

"Reading detected, reading category bound."

Three consecutive electronic sounds rang in Wang Donglai’s ears. At the same time, a transparent light screen appeared before his eyes, displaying his information.

【Host: Wang Donglai】

【Attributes: Physique 8, Wisdom 7】

【Level: One】

【Reading Category: High School Compulsory】

【Skills: None】

【Abilities: None】

Looking at the transparent light screen, he realized it appeared and disappeared according to his thoughts.

Wang Donglai knew that only he could see this screen, and that this was his golden finger for his rebirth: the Super Reading System.

After satisfying his initial excitement, Wang Donglai asked in his heart

"What exactly can the Super Reading System do?"

As soon as this question appeared, new information emerged on the light screen.

【By reading books, the host can obtain rewards, including but not limited to attributes, abilities, skills, and more.】

【Note 1: The host has selected the 'High School Compulsory' category. Rewards will only be granted for reading books within this category.】

【Note 2: Leveling up will allow the host to add more reading categories.】

Just as Wang Donglai was pondering the information on the screen, Meng Fang’s tone shifted from its previous severity to something more gentle.

"There are only 98 days left until the college entrance exam. I don't want to repeat how important it is. Getting into a university versus a vocational college is a completely different matter."

"Some of you have good family conditions; even if you don't go to college, you'll have money to spend when you return. Others come from the countryside; if you don't get into college, you can only go out and work. So, I hope those of you who don't want to study won't affect those who do. Be quiet during class. If you want to sleep, put your head on the desk. If you really don't want to stay in the classroom and feel stifled, you can have your parents come and ask for leave. I will sign the note."

"For these last 98 days, let's part on good terms. Don't force me to lose my temper with you in these final moments!"

Meng Fang’s words brought Wang Donglai back from the surprise of obtaining the system.

Wang Donglai felt deeply moved by these words.

In his previous life, when he heard this, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but he felt Meng Fang’s words were harsh and felt some resentment.

However, having been reborn, Wang Donglai understood the care hidden within her words.

Anshui County only had one high school, housing over a thousand students from the entire county.

Divided by arts and sciences, the science "rocket classes" were classes one and two, the key classes were three and four, and the parallel classes were five, six, and seven.

The arts "rocket classes" were eight and nine, the key classes were ten and eleven, and the parallel classes were the three that followed.

Beyond that, there were two art classes and two sports classes.

The criteria for class placement were simple: based on the scores of the major arts and sciences exams.

The better the grades, the higher the ranking, and the earlier the class.

Wang Donglai’s class was class fourteen, the very last arts class.

The top student in the whole class was only ranked around 100th in the arts stream, and the second-place student dropped to nearly 200th.

Even so, the undergraduate admission rate for the entire Shuiyang County High School was only about fifty percent.

This meant that in Wang Donglai’s class, only about three students would likely get into an undergraduate program.

And that was exactly how it turned out; in the exam 98 days later, only three people in the class made it into an undergraduate program, while the others went to vocational colleges.

Wang Donglai was one of those three, having just barely crossed the line.

From this, one could see how poor Wang Donglai’s class was. It had all kinds of students: those who fought, dated, gambled, spent time in internet cafes, or just slacked off.

There were very few who studied seriously.

Meng Fang’s words were simple: she wanted to warn those who didn't want to study and create a better environment for those who did.

Do your best and leave the rest to fate!

Wang Donglai could understand Meng Fang’s mindset. As the homeroom teacher of the worst arts class, she didn't need to worry about the school's performance bonuses. Being able to safely guide this batch of students to graduation was enough.

Any extra sense of responsibility could only be used to warn the slackers for the sake of the students who still wanted to learn and get into college.

"Now, begin morning reading!"

Having been a homeroom teacher for two years, Meng Fang still held some authority. At her command, the sound of soft recitation immediately filled the classroom.

And at this moment.

A system notification sounded in Wang Donglai’s ears once more.

"Ding! The first main quest has been activated!"

"Main Quest: Please get into any university. Rewards will be determined by your college entrance exam score; the higher the score, the higher the reward!"