“Choosing an impractical development path, disregarding your own capabilities, will only leave you trailing behind others.”
Professor Yuan, having sat for a prolonged period, seemed a little uncomfortable. He twisted his neck while speaking.
“Generally, a suitable long-term development direction can be broken down into many short-term objectives. By consistently achieving these short-term goals, we can gauge whether the overall direction truly suits us.”
“Furthermore, throughout this process, everyone must continuously make appropriate adjustments to their ability’s development direction, based on their progress and personal feedback.”
He paused, then continued, “Even the most suitable development path for your ability is only ‘most suitable’ relative to your current state. Once you advance to the Gold Rank or Turbid World Rank, and your ability undergoes a fundamental transformation, that optimal development path will inevitably shift.”
“This is crucial, and you must always bear it in mind.”
Yuan Fei emphasized with a pointed reminder.
Finishing his explanation, he rose to his feet. “After all this talk, your minds might believe you understand it already, but this is merely theory. There’s still a long way to go from theory to practical application.”
“Allow me to demonstrate using my own ability.”
Yuan Fei removed his suit jacket, placing it aside, revealing a robust chest that even his shirt could not conceal.
“My ability is quite simple: it’s [Folding].”
He bent down to pick up a prayer mat, holding it flat in his palm.
No sooner had he spoken than the prayer mat snapped in half down the middle, folding together like a sheet of paper.
“It’s precisely this: taking anything I touch and folding it in half, like paper.”
The new students watched intently, their minds already churning with how this so-called [Folding] ability could possibly be developed.
‘Yuan Fei, who folds mountains and oceans… truly, there are only misnamed people, never misnamed nicknames. But I never imagined Professor Yuan’s ability would be so simple,’ Huang Xiu mused, nodding her small head, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
She had witnessed Professor Yuan take action during the re-examination, though it had only been a fleeting glimpse.
Nevertheless, she had secretly marveled at his power, watching him cleave that old man in two with a single palm strike.
Yet, she hadn’t anticipated that Professor Yuan’s ability was so straightforward, simply folding objects.
‘To develop such a simple ability to the point of ranking fortieth on the Global Hundred Saints List, Professor Yuan must be the true genius!’
Huang Xiu momentarily struggled to suppress her urge to comment.
“Do you all perhaps think my ability is rather ordinary, just… this?”
Yuan Fei offered a self-deprecating smile.
“After all, folding things, especially only objects I can touch, is something that can often be done with one’s hands.”
No one in the audience was foolish enough to actually respond with a simple ‘yes, it’s ordinary.’
To be a professor at Tiandu University already attested to the extraordinary nature of the middle-aged man before them.
Moreover, some had already realized that Yuan Fei’s name seemed familiar, as if they had seen it somewhere.
A female student suddenly reacted, her face alight with excitement.
“Professor Yuan, are you *that* Professor Yuan from the Hundred Saints List? The one ranked fortieth?”
“That’s me,” Professor Yuan replied, tilting his head back with a sigh. “I was still very young then, and didn’t quite understand the principle of ‘not concealing one’s talents.’ ”
“Hiss!” The new students collectively gasped, almost exclaiming, ‘This person is terrifying!’
There wasn’t a single new student who didn’t browse the general chat forum, or who hadn’t seen the highly-ranked post on the Hundred Saints List.
Even Huang Xiu, notorious for being a ‘Leopard Head—Zero-Cost’ player, couldn’t resist spending a yuan coin on it.
“If time could flow backward, and I could do it again, the outcome would certainly be different,” Professor Yuan lamented with a sigh.
Huang Xiu, intimately familiar with Professor Yuan, already knew what was coming. She immediately cried out in her mind, ‘Don’t answer him!’
Alas, it was merely a silent shout. The new students, true to form, took the bait and chorused, “What would the outcome be?”
“If I were to do it again…” Professor Yuan’s expression suddenly turned cold. “I would kill even more ruthlessly.”
After saying this, he added with a smile, “Hmm, I might even be in the top thirty by now.”
“Woah!” The audience was filled with starry-eyed admiration.
Even Huang Xiu, who had anticipated this, was nearly blinded by the overwhelming aura and dazzling light emanating from him.
‘Damn it, Professor Yuan is showing off…’
She now seriously suspected that Professor Yuan’s sole reason for teaching this class was to impress the new students.
Of course, this was just a joke; surely no one would be so bored as to take a job just to show off, right?
“Alright, back to the main topic. How did I develop my [Folding] ability?”
Professor Yuan raised a single finger. “When I was a Mercury Rank novice, my primary development focus was on the ability’s intensity: specifically, the size, weight, and strength of the objects I could fold.”
“From starting with wooden boards, iron sheets, and stone slabs, I progressed to steel plates; from a mere 1kg to 10kg; from only being able to fold textbook-sized objects, I gradually advanced to folding objects the size of a dining table.”
“Of course, even now, folding intensity remains my main development direction. This is also the direction I recommend everyone prioritize at the beginning, as it’s the most universally applicable,” Professor Yuan advised.
‘It’s similar to what I thought: first focus on the ability’s intensity. But there’s a difference between focusing on quantity and focusing on quality. These seem to intersect, but in reality, they are parallel paths,’ Huang Xiu mused, understanding that the best choice was to pursue both.
However, aiming for both was almost impossible with her current level. To pursue quality meant she had to inject more Void Energy into the plants during their alteration.
Transforming plants to be stronger through large infusions of Void Energy, like the Sophora tree giant and the Blade-Slicing type, would reduce the maximum number of altered plants she could control.
After all, the Void Energy required to alter one Sophora tree giant was enough for her to alter more than twenty regular plants.
Moreover, the Void Energy capacity of most plants wasn’t actually very high. Huang Xiu sighed inwardly.
Based on her experience using her ability for over a month, generally, larger plants could withstand more Void Energy.
But what could be larger than a tree?
As for the idea of injecting a little more Void Energy into each plant, that would only waste it.
After all, a slight increase in Void Energy would result in a negligible improvement in combat power.
‘This is truly difficult!’
Huang Xiu was troubled, listening intently to the lecture, hoping Professor Yuan’s class might offer her some answers.
Professor Yuan pointed to the center of the training room. “AI system, please deploy some dummies for me.”
A cold, mechanical voice echoed from the training room’s speakers.
“[Permission command received. Dummies initiating.]”
*Crack!*
The wooden floor in the center of the training room suddenly split open, and two entirely white dummies emerged from beneath the ground.
“This is one of the training room’s functions,” Professor Yuan explained to the students, turning his head. “You can also use it, but outside of class, you’ll need to report it in advance.”