"... Shen..."
"...Yang Shen..."
"Yang Shen!"
The teacher's voice reverberated in the classroom as a boy with dark hair and eyes quickly snapped out of his daze.
"Ah! Yes?"
Yang Shen hurriedly spoke, stammering slightly.
He was a little disoriented.
The teacher glared, her eyes revealing her irritation.
"You need to pay attention! Your final exams are just around the corner!"
"Eheh... sorry teacher, I just feel a little light-headed."
Yang Shen gave a wry smile.
It seems his excuse was enough as she simply gave a "hmph" before continuing on with her lesson.
Meanwhile, Yang Shen was massaging his temples.
"What's... going on?"
A few minutes ago, he had woken up in the middle of a classroom with no explanation.
He remembered binge reading a novel before falling asleep after the last chapter.
Yang Shen surveyed his surroundings, the memories of the previous owner slowly assimilating with him.
After a moment, reality dawned on him.
He had transmigrated!
Moreover, the memories told him that this was the same class from the novel he had binge read that would soon get isekai'd into a cultivation world!
"Holy shit! I transmigrated into a novel?!"
Yang Shen had a look of bewilderment and amazement.
He had always wanted to get isekai'd into a fantasy world!
And into a novel he had recently read at that!
Didn't that mean he has future knowledge he can exploit?
Truly a dream come true!
Yang Shen took a breath.
"Calm down Yang Shen!"
While he was quite excited about his transmigration, he also knew the cultivation world, while magical and vast, carried immense danger like rogue cultivators, monsters, demonic practioners, tribulations, arrogant young masters that always want to cripple you, powerhouses who'd destroy a city from a minor grievance, evil spirits from immortals who want to possess a body...
The more Yang Shen began listing all the dangers, the more his face became pale.
"Okay, the cultivation world seems a bit perverted! Why are there so many dangers!"
Yang Shen lamented slightly.
"No matter! With my knowledge of the novel, I'm sure I can carve out a path for myself and reach Immortality, heheh."
Envisioning such a scene, Yang Shen drooled slightly.
The class went on silently.
Before Yang Shen knew it, class had ended and it was lunch time.
Most of the students had left the classroom, whilst the remaining ones chatted to their friends or shared their prepared lunch with each other.
It was at this moment that laughter could be heard.
"Oops, my hand slipped!"
A girl who was silently eating alone suddenly had a girl come up and knocked her food off her desk, spilling it all over the floor.
"Well, it shouldn't be a problem."
The girl who knocked the food over laughed.
"After all, piggys don't care whether or not the food is on a plate or on the ground, pftt~" The haughty girl covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.
Her friends beside her was also mocking the poor girl who took all the insults with her head down.
Seeing this, Yang Shen instantly felt some amusement. Not at the bullying, but at the fates of those people.
"To provoke the Divine Phoenix, they are truly courting death!"
In the cultivation world, that girl called Lin Yue had reached an unimaginable level in her cultivation and became one of the most beautiful cultivators to exist in all the realms.
However, all the young geniuses and powerful men felt it was a pity that she was solely focused on cultivation and loathed the idea of companionship, preferring to be alone in seclusion.
Naturally, being bullied had likely influenced her personality, and with her talent in cultivation, she was able to get her revenge. Moreover, she likely saw through all the two faced people who are only interested in her due to her beauty and talents—leading to her becoming a true ice princess!
"Heheh, if I make a good impression now I might be able to get carried by her in the cultivation world!"
Yang Shen nodded at that brilliant idea.
While she was not the stunning Divine Phoenix at this moment, it would be an investment with a millionth-fold returns!
Yang Shen got up and decided to play the hero.
With a casual smile, he strolled over, his gaze relaxed yet sharp.
"Wow," he said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Did I just witness a scientific breakthrough? I didn't know garbage could walk and talk."
The haughty girl's laughter caught in her throat.
"What did you say?" she snapped, her eyes narrowing.
"I said," Yang Shen repeated, "I didn't know that discarded trash from society could mimic human behavior so well. Truly impressive."
The girl's face twisted in anger while her friends glared at him.
"You must be Yang Shen," one of them muttered, recognizing him now. "The guy who never talks. What, finally grew a spine?"
Yang Shen chuckled, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"Actually, I read somewhere that to evolve as a person, you sometimes have to stand up to insects pretending to be tigers."
Yang Shen had a smile that was very punchable and provocative.
"Though in your case, even being called an insect would be a compliment."
The girl gritted her teeth. "Bastard, do you know who my boyfriend is? you'll regret saying those words once I tell him!"
Yang Shen shrugged and dismissed her.
"Okay."
His nonchalant reply seemed to get an even bigger reaction out of her as she insulted him multiple times.
Of course,Yang Shen was barely paying attention, yawning, and wondering about what unique foods he should try once he goes to the cultivation world.
After realising Yang Shen could care less about her and her authority, with a huff, the girl and her friends left, likely plotting on how to make Yang Shen's life miserable.
Too bad it's already checkmate for them, heheh—once they reached the cultivation world, their social status here would be as cheap as grass!
Lin Yue looked up at Yang Shen with wide eyes, stunned into silence.
Someone had actually stood up for her?
She wasn't used to this. Not kindness, not warmth. Not from anyone. Not even her parents.
Before she could say anything, Yang Shen casually walked over to his desk, picked up his lunch, and returned to her side with a calm expression, like none of what just happened mattered in the slightest.
He set the lunchbox down beside her, and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"
Lin Yue hesitated, then quietly shook her head.
"Thanks!" Yang Shen said with a smile, already digging into his food. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Want some?"
Lin Yue blinked. "…I'm okay."
"Take it," Yang Shen said, pushing some neatly wrapped dumplings her way. "You're hungry. And your food's all over the floor. Even pigs deserve better than that."
Lin Yue blinked again. Did he just insult her or compliment her? She wasn't sure, but... she took one dumpling and gave a faint nod.
"…Thank you."
Her voice was small, like a bird afraid of being chased away.
Yang Shen smiled faintly. Then, as he looked at her, he added with complete honesty, "You've got beautiful eyes, by the way."
Lin Yue froze.
She turned her face away slightly, hiding the light pink forming on her cheeks. She gave a shy nod, her voice even softer this time. "Thank you…"
"Humans really do like compliments," Yang Shen thought proudly. "Whether in modern society or cultivation worlds, praise is a universal treasure."
He continued eating, pleased with his cleverness. He was planting good karma! In the future, when Lin Yue ascended to become the Divine Phoenix, she'd probably say something like 'You were the first person who ever showed me kindness' and then personally protect him from some raging Heaven Stage cultivator trying to slap him into paste.
Truly a perfect plan.
The lunch break eventually came to an end. The bell rang, and students slowly returned to their seats. The noisy classroom fell into lazy silence.
Yang Shen leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head.
He was shamelessly ignoring the stare of a guy behind him who he guessed was that annoying girl's boyfriend.
Of course, he was also readying himself until that happened.
"It's almost time."
Yang Shen had a thoughtful expression.
"Soon... the portal will appear. "
A fracture in space-time would suck in everyone near it, sending everyone in the class to the world of cultivation!
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the memory of the novel guide him. It would happen during class. Right when the teacher began explaining quadratic functions, or was it something about political history? Didn't matter. The moment was fast approaching.
And just like fate had scripted it, the door slammed open.
Miss Cao Lian, the homeroom teacher, marched back in.
Sharp heels, sharp eyes, sharper tongue.
And, most importantly, a figure that could turn heads, or snap them. Her curves and features were simply that dangerous.
"Everyone, back to your seats! Lunch break is over! If I see anyone chewing gum, I'll personally make you write a three-thousand-word essay on the importance of oral hygiene!"
"Y-yes, Teacher Cao!"
Students scrambled.
Yang Shen lazily returned to his original seat with a slight grin.
Miss Cao Lian walked to the blackboard, flipping through her notes.
"Now then, let's resume from where we left off. Open your books to chapter thir—"
RIIIIIIP!!!
A sharp and loud sound reverberated, interrupting teacher Cao Lian's sentence.
The sound was ominous and unnatural.
Everyone froze.
And then—
CRACK!
Right above the teacher's desk, space itself fractured. Cracks in the air spread out like spiderwebs, glowing with an eerie purple light. The center began to swirl, twisting and distorting like a whirlpool made of stars.
Someone screamed.
"W-What is that!?"
"IS THAT A BLACK HOLE?!"
Before anyone could react, students were being pulled toward the center with violent force.
"EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE CLASSROOM!" Miss Cao Lian shouted, gripping her podium to stop herself from getting sucked in, her hair flying wildly in the wind.
But it was too late.
One by one, students were yanked into the portal with barely any resistance due to the power of the spatial fracture.
Yang Shen, the only one sitting calmy and awaiting his fate, simply stared at the cosmic horror with narrowed eyes, a faint smirk blooming on his face.
"Heheh! My journey to immortality begins now!"
Meanwhile, Lin Yue looked terrified.
It wasn't long before everyone, including Yang Shen, got sucked into the portal.