022 Genius

She was not only skipping class and late, but she had also walked straight into her homeroom teacher's lecture.

Seeing that sour, blackened face, Qu Zhanyi really wanted to turn around and walk away, but Xu Xinyou’s body lacked the nerve. She could only manage a stiff, "Report."

"Come in."

The homeroom teacher didn't give her a hard time and continued with the dull, tedious lesson. Having no textbook and no interest in listening, Qu Zhanyi slumped over her desk to finish her nap. However, before she could even fall asleep, the teacher called her up again.

"Follow me."

Though reluctant, Qu Zhanyi did not want to make a fuss over such trifles.

Inside the office, Teacher Qin and Teacher Yang were still at their usual spots, while the Dean of Students sat in the inner corner, a small charcoal brazier set before him.

Qu Zhanyi sidled up to the brazier and turned to the two teachers. "Can you confirm now that I didn't cheat?"

Teacher Yang nodded. "You did very well—922."

Teacher Qin Shoucheng asked her, "If you knew it all, why didn't you take the exam seriously before?"

"Because when I first enrolled, a teacher told me I was annoying and urged me not to always try to show off."

Qu Zhanyi brought up the past deliberately to stir up trouble for the homeroom teacher. As for whether it was true, the homeroom teacher might not even remember. She only knew that this girl was truly unlikable—neither smart nor diligent, always looking as if she were half-dead. Such students were usually ignored, but if they made a mistake, they were highly likely to receive punishments far beyond what they deserved.

The homeroom teacher’s face turned ghastly. Although she realized her own error, she was unwilling to admit it. Instead, she scolded Qu Zhanyi, "Don't always blame the teachers; look at your own problems instead."

The Dean of Students chimed in, "Teacher Zhao is right. You are a student; taking exams is your duty and your job." He suddenly shifted his tone. "However, having said that, it is true that we teachers haven't done our jobs well enough. I apologize to you."

With that, he handed Qu Zhanyi an application form. "There is a selection exam for top-tier students in the third year. You should participate as well and try to win an award to prove yourself."

"Very well, thank you, Teacher."

Qu Zhanyi took the application form, putting on an act of being obedient and sensible. The teachers were satisfied with her performance and, after a few words of praise, let her leave the office.

In the hallway, the system finally could not help but speak up:

[The system cannot comprehend the host's exam results and requests an explanation from the host.]

"That is not the tone one uses when asking for a favor."

[Please explain the exam results, and the system will restore the deducted morality points as a reward.]

Qu Zhanyi was satisfied with this and told the system: "It’s very simple. The content of the exam was too easy. Actually, I could have done even better, but for the sake of long-term development, I intentionally left a few questions blank."

[Error detected. Xu Xinyou does not possess such a reservoir of knowledge.]

"I am not Xu Xinyou."

[The system cannot understand the host's meaning.]

"It means that while Xu Xinyou may lack such knowledge, I, Qu Zhanyi, the Demon Princess, am a polymath who knows everything from the stars above to the geography below."

[Potential error detected. The host's soul should not possess knowledge of this world.]

"That is why I need to enhance and amplify Xu Xinyou’s memories."

[The system requests that the host explain more clearly.]

Qu Zhanyi felt quite smug. Instead of immediately explaining the reason, she mocked the system: "You still have much room for improvement!"

[The system has failed to understand the host's meaning and requests a clearer explanation and description.]

Qu Zhanyi wandered aimlessly. At the stairwell, she hesitated for a moment and chose to ditch class.

[Warning: It is still class time. Please return to the classroom, or you will be punished.]

Facing the system’s warning, Qu Zhanyi turned a deaf ear and ran toward the school exit. Only after leaving the school did she reluctantly explain: "I naturally have my reasons."

[Please explain the reason for truancy.]

"To find a quiet place to explain why I was able to score so high."

The system was rendered speechless.

[Please return to the classroom...]

"It's already too late."

Qu Zhanyi looked back to see the school gates had already closed. Several others who had tried to follow her out were scolded and retreated in dismay. Knowing that punishment would be futile, the system could only issue a warning and let it go. It then continued to press her about the exam.

Qu Zhanyi replied:

"There were four key points to this exam. The first, and most important, is the definition of formulas. Although Xu Xinyou’s grades were mediocre, she did put in some effort; however, her knowledge points were severely overlapped and covered, which was the root cause of her poor performance. After amplifying her memory, I not only possessed her surface-level memories, but even her deep-seated ones became clearly visible."

"Second are the practice problems, which allowed me to understand the general application of the formulas."

"Third are the written symbols; with enhanced memory, this part was naturally a breeze."

"The fourth point, and the most difficult, is that the first three only ensured a passing grade. To stand out, one must extend that knowledge into reality. Moreover, relying solely on Xu Xinyou’s knowledge reserve is far from enough. Fortunately, the rules of this world share commonalities with the Demon Realm, though the descriptive methods and written symbols differ greatly. But since I possess both the memories of the Demon Realm and Xu Xinyou, it was hardly a difficult task for me."

[However, Xu Xinyou’s brain capacity does not support such massive data processing.]

"True. But how could that possibly stump me? Before I was sealed, I was one of the few geniuses in the Nine Heavens and Ten Realms. I was proficient in astronomy, arithmetic, divination, and sorcery, possessing the ability to hear the laws of all things. By the age of seven, I had already read thousands of scrolls..."

[Then how were you sealed? And by whom?]

*Crunch.*

A molar in Qu Zhanyi’s mouth shattered. Her eyes turned sharp and gloomy.

"You had better watch your tongue. Remember this, 17: although you have the means to sanction me, I am no rabbit to be toyed with."

[The system cannot understand the host's meaning. Please rephrase the question.]

Qu Zhanyi laughed in anger, the desire to drag out the person behind the scenes and give them a beating growing even stronger.

She ducked into a narrow alley at Xinjie Square. After five or six steps, she turned left, went upstairs, and entered a somewhat decrepit internet café.

This was one of the few places Xu Xinyou frequented. Every Friday after school, she would come here to rent a computer for two hours, download a few movies, and browse entertainment headlines.

Qu Zhanyi had no interest in such things; she had come to acquire knowledge. According to Xu Xinyou’s memories, the computer was a vast database containing all the knowledge of this world, from the past to the present. Anything could be looked up online.