DEM Chapter 23: Su Yuan, Did You Go to Rehab?

Morning, Heart of the Dao class.

The Heart of the Dao teacher was a squinting young man who looked under thirty, dressed slightly sloppily, with an ordinary name: Wang Liang.

“Students, today we’ll have a small Heart of the Dao test.”

Upon hearing about a pop quiz, the students’ faces immediately fell, but Su Yuan felt a spark of anticipation, eager to see what his current Heart of the Dao score would be.

“Please unlock your phones and hand them over.”

Teacher Wang added abruptly.

The students: “???”

Was this pop quiz so strict that they had to confiscate phones first?
But the next moment, Teacher Wang explained, “Don’t worry, I have no interest in taking your phones. This test is just a bit special, and the phones will serve as props.”

The students relaxed slightly and handed over their phones one by one. Soon, the teacher’s desk was covered with glowing screens.

Then, Teacher Wang drew a treasured sword, holding it horizontally with one hand while pointing at the phones with the other. The phones floated up like butterflies, screens facing upward, and settled smoothly on the blade.

The three-foot sword held over twenty phones, completely covering its surface.

“Today’s Heart of the Dao test is simple. Each of you will come up and hold this sword while I simultaneously open the splash screen ads on all these phones.”

“If your heart is calm enough to keep the sword perfectly still, preventing any ad from redirecting, you’ll pass this test with a perfect score.”

Teacher Wang said with a squinting smile.

“Hiss—”

A collective gasp filled the room.

As expected, squinting eyes meant a monster! What a ruthless method for a test!
Splash screen ads! Even the slightest tremble could trigger a redirect to the ad’s app! And this test required keeping over twenty ads steady at once, it was outrageously difficult!

“Su Yuan, let’s start with you.”

Suddenly, Teacher Wang’s gaze landed on Su Yuan in the crowd.

“Me?”

Su Yuan was slightly taken aback, finding it odd, but it suited him just fine. He nodded and walked to the podium.

Teacher Wang’s eyes opened a fraction, observing the unremarkable boy before him, wondering why Yue Lin had specifically asked him to pay extra attention to Su Yuan in Heart of the Dao class.
Did Su Yuan have something special about him?

With this in mind, Teacher Wang handed the sword to Su Yuan and said, “Get ready, I’m starting.”

Su Yuan nodded, took a deep breath, and focused all his attention on the sword in his hands, clearing his mind of everything else.

Teacher Wang extended his hand, and over twenty threads of spiritual energy emerged from his palm, precisely tapping the screens of the phones on the sword’s surface.

In the next instant, every phone screen was filled with splash screen ads.

At that moment, the slightest shake would send the phones straight into the ad apps, a highly perilous situation!
Yet, despite the danger, Su Yuan and the sword in his hands remained utterly still, as if time had frozen.

The entire class held their breath, watching the scene tensely until the ads finished.

He succeeded?
Even now, the students couldn’t believe their eyes.

Teacher Wang gave a slight smile, “Su Yuan, 100 points!”

The classroom erupted in a tidal wave of cheers!

“Holy crap, no way to hate on that! Steady as a rock!”

“When did Su Yuan’s Heart of the Dao get so solid? Did he go to rehab or something?”

Su Yuan smiled, returned the sword to Teacher Wang, and strode back to his seat.

From the podium, Teacher Wang’s gaze lingered on Su Yuan’s retreating figure.

But soon, he turned his attention to the other students, calling them up one by one for the test.

The results were, predictably, disastrous. Ads redirected one after another, prompting wails of despair from the students.

At noon, Su Yuan rushed to the cafeteria, collecting all the leftovers from the students’ meals. Once most students had left, he dragged the leftovers to a corner and activated the Demonic Technique · Spirit Finger.

Another blue pill appeared in his hand, with effects identical to the previous one.

“Man, the cafeteria food must be laced with something strong to consistently produce blue pills.”

Su Yuan mentally grumbled.

But regardless, having a reliable source for these pills was good news.

He expertly swallowed the blue pill, stored the drained leftovers temporarily in the cafeteria, and just then, Chen Nuoyi walked through the cafeteria doors.

Their eyes met, and with an unspoken understanding, they bought a large tray of food and sat down to eat together.

“Su Yuan, what’s this money-making gig you mentioned? It’s almost afternoon. When are we going to start?”

Chen Nuoyi asked eagerly.

Su Yuan gave a mysterious smile, “No rush. Let’s eat first, and you’ll find out afterward.”

“If things go smoothly, we’ll not only make a decent amount of money but also solve our food problem for good.”

Hearing this, Chen Nuoyi silently sped up her eating.

After finishing, with just over ten minutes before afternoon classes, Su Yuan led Chen Nuoyi to the cafeteria kitchen’s entrance and asked a kind-looking middle-aged chef surnamed Li, “Chef Li, is the cafeteria still hiring? We’re both scholarship students and would like to work here after school.”

Chen Nuoyi’s pretty face instantly showed a hint of nervousness.

Work in the school cafeteria? She… didn’t know how to cook!
Chef Li, not noticing her expression, chuckled, “The cafeteria’s revenue has been dropping lately, so we’re indeed planning to hire more cooks. We’d be thrilled to have our own students work here.”

“But, young man, to pass the hiring process, you’ll need to do a cooking test. How’s your cooking?”

Su Yuan said confidently, “Chef Li, don’t worry. I’ve got a family recipe up my sleeve. Can we do the test after school? For ingredients, please prepare some live geese or ducks, the higher the grade, the better. And they must be alive.”

Chef Li thought for a moment and nodded, “We’ve got a few live geese in the back. If you want to try, come by this afternoon.”

He said this, but inwardly, he was skeptical.
The big white geese in the back were all sixth or seventh-layer Qi Refining spirit beasts. Most students couldn’t even handle them, let alone cook them.
He figured this kid would give up after getting beaten by a goose.

But if he actually had the skill, hiring him wouldn’t hurt.

“Deal!”

Su Yuan waved cheerfully at Chef Li, humming a tune as he left the cafeteria.

Chen Nuoyi, following behind, was already sweating profusely, “Coach, is the big money-making gig you mentioned being a cafeteria chef? But I don’t know how to cook at all! I even burn barbecue.”

Su Yuan chuckled, “Class monitor, being a chef isn’t just about technique. You need the strength to slay demons and beasts too!”

“I’ve got the technique, and you’ve got the strength. Together, we’re the perfect chef!”

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