Afterwards, the two of them were arranged to sit at the very back.

Beside Xu Yi was a playmate he knew. The two exchanged glances and quickly started to play around, even the children in front joined in chattering.

The topics discussed were none other than where to find mulberries, where the bigger bugs were, where to find crabs, where shrimp were, how they caught a fish...

There were girls here too, and their topics were about what they had woven with grass or what embroidery they had learned.

Lin Qianxuan only felt out of place.

Once everyone had arrived, Xu Ningyuan had the children greet him, calming the noisy classroom, and began teaching them to read.

Although they were all in the same classroom, they learned different things.

The older ones in the front already knew a few hundred words, starting to learn to write essays, and perform basic arithmetic.

While the younger ones in the back were still learning simple words.

Children like Xu Yi and Lin Qianxuan, who had just arrived, could only hold a polished charcoal pencil to practice strokes and write the simplest words on bamboo slabs.

After giving some instruction and seeing that they could barely write, Xu Ningyuan set targets for them, requiring them to fill up the entire bamboo slab with writing.

Lin Qianxuan's ability to control had now been downgraded, even though he had a more mature mindset, the characters he wrote were still quite ugly.

One could only say they looked slightly better than Xu Yi's.

Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry, gradually improving through practice.

Writing did not expend much energy, only used up pencils.

After writing a few strokes, Xu Yi started doodling on the bamboo slab, and Lin Qianxuan told him, "If you don't want to write, give me the pencil."

Although charcoal pencils were made by burning wood, they weren't supplied infinitely. These newcomers only got one pencil every few days.

Sharpening the pencil lead and fitting it into a bamboo tube was a meticulous skill, a task for the "higher grade" students. If it weren't for Xu Ningyuan's insistence, they wouldn't like doing it, and once used up, it was gone.

When they grew older, they would have to learn to make their own pencils.

Currently, the most they could do was brush the small bamboo slab they used for writing.

"Why should I?" Xu Yi retracted the pencil a bit, somewhat unhappy.

Although he didn't care much for the things in his hand, he wasn't happy about giving away his things, even if it was to his brother.

"I'll write for you," Lin Qianxuan said.

"Hmm... well, alright then!" Xu Yi nodded.

He felt he was getting the better deal.

Lin Qianxuan took the pencil and began writing carefully.

Though he had a juvenile body, an adult's mindset and a broader perspective were always useful.

He could always spot errors instantly and then correct them, soon writing characters that resembled the intended form.

Although not skilled yet, at least one could recognize the characters.

After completing the writing assignment, he started to seek guidance from the older children, who, if shown a little respect, were happy to play the role of a teacher and diligently instruct Lin Qianxuan.

This allowed Lin Qianxuan to learn higher grade content ahead of time.

In just half a day, he used up two pencils completely. However, Lin Qianxuan had already thoroughly learned the curriculum intended for a week or even a month.

Only his fingers were a bit sore.

Although he applied some exertion techniques and didn't press too hard, after all, they were children's fingers that had written too many words.

Fully concentrated, he memorized all seventy-five initial course characters.

It was an essay about a child yielding to an elder.

A story about etiquette, it also subtly showcased societal norms.

But the things written in books always tended to portray the positive, whereas reality wasn't quite as good.

Judging from what Lin Qianxuan heard from his parents and other villagers, in this feudal society, many people were still struggling to survive from day to day.

Productivity was one aspect, but the human mind and natural disasters were another.

The principle of man is to take from what is lacking to further those who have more.

Human society has always been about exploiting the lower class to satisfy the upper class.

Of course, overall, as the cycle goes on, eventually it must return to the Heavenly Dao; the more the upper class extorts, the harder it becomes to sustain, leading to collapse and a new beginning.

This problem is almost unsolvable.

In the current situation he saw, unless there was an entity with absolute control exerting relative fairness, the system may last longer; otherwise, it won't last more than a few hundred years.

Of course, this was not closely related to him now. He was merely a child and couldn't think that far ahead.

With diligent study and a frugal lifestyle, over a month passed quickly.

In the private school.

Xu Ningyuan looked at Lin Qianxuan writing an essay and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Under Lin Qianxuan's intentional or unintentional display, Xu Ningyuan had actually already noticed this extraordinarily talented child, but previously he just remained observant without finding anything particularly special.

Not until Lin Qianxuan completed the entire foundational course content of the private school in just over a month under his watchful eyes did he start to feel something was off.

"He's only three years old!"

Xu Ningyuan couldn't stop feeling shocked.

Although there were stories of children who understood a thousand characters by three and could recite long passages,

he hadn't witnessed it personally, so it always felt a bit exaggerated.

When he was young, he heard tales of those exceptional people and only thought that he was just lacking some opportunity; now that he saw it with his own eyes, he realized people truly vary.

He didn't want to waste Lin Qianxuan's talent. But for farm children, merely being literate is the limit; to go further requires resources these families can't support.

Even if he could recommend him to accompany reading in the county academy, Xu Wang's family couldn't afford the expense.

Unless Lin Qianxuan could show himself to be so outstanding that the academy was willing to spare no expense to nurture him.

Xu Ningyuan decided to give it a try.

"Xu Zhi!" Xu Ningyuan suddenly called out.

"Teacher?" Lin Qianxuan turned and asked, "Is there something you want, sir?"

"How long have you been practicing writing?" Xu Ningyuan asked.

"Over a month," Lin Qianxuan replied.

"Have you learned all the hundred-word essays in the private school?" Xu Ningyuan asked.

"Yes, sir, I've memorized them all," Lin Qianxuan nodded.

Hearing this, the other students were a bit surprised.

While Xu Ningyuan said, "Are you sure you're not blustering?"

"I wouldn't dare, teacher!" Lin Qianxuan replied.

"Let's see. Go to the front and write that most difficult essay, 'Asking', for everyone to see. Then I'll believe you," Xu Ningyuan handed Lin Qianxuan a charcoal pencil.

Of course, Xu Ningyuan knew Lin Qianxuan could write it; he was setting the stage for Lin Qianxuan.

Every legendary figure must have a legendary beginning, right?

"Yes, teacher."

Lin Qianxuan took the pencil and stepped towards the large wooden board at the front of the private school.

Due to his height, he had to stand on Xu Ningyuan's stool to write on it.

However, Xu Ningyuan wasn't bothered, even actively helped move the stool so he could reserve his energy to write a couple more characters.

Lin Qianxuan didn't write quickly nor forcefully, but each character stroke was very clear, carrying a sense of realm within them; one could say "the characters have structure."

Gradually, he finished writing the entire 300-character 'Asking', leaving it on the wooden board, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Teacher, I have finished writing," Lin Qianxuan said.

In the entire classroom, from children aged twelve or thirteen to those five or six, everyone was stunned.

They didn't even know what kind of attitude to use to express their feelings upon witnessing this scene.

They simply felt shocked and amazed.

"Well done; now that you've mastered these, the private school's lessons aren't enough. I have some books; going forward, you don't need to come to the private school anymore but directly to my home. I'll personally arrange new lessons for you," Xu Ningyuan said.

"Thank you, teacher," Lin Qianxuan bowed respectfully.

Xu Ningyuan nodded with satisfaction; he didn't seek rewards for his actions, but Lin Qianxuan's understanding and manners pleased him greatly.

After one bow, Xu Ningyuan let Lin Qianxuan return to his seat.

At the same time, Lin Qianxuan suddenly saw a notification.

[Notification: By writing an essay in class and showcasing your talent, you have achieved the 'One in a Hundred' level milestone [Outstanding Literary Talent].]

[Outstanding Literary Talent: Calligraphy +1. (Note: Your performance was impressive, although the audience didn't quite understand what was impressive about it.)]

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