This parallel world's Earth is enormous. The Ming Dynasty's rooster-shaped map stretches from the northern frontier to the South Sea, spanning hundreds of thousands of li—each li being five hundred meters. Beneath this vast expanse lies an endless proliferation of humanity, and generation after generation, this massive population base has produced a never-ending stream of geniuses.

In the past, Henry Sutton had always been confident and delighted in his status as a top student at Evolution High, full of hope for the future. But after a single disaster, he suddenly realized—what did all that mean? Even if he became a second-level Wood-type cultivator, in the eyes of those powerful aristocratic families, he was nothing but an ant they could crush with a wave of their hand.

Thinking of his mother crying on the phone, begging him not to do anything foolish, Henry Sutton once again felt like crying. He truly could not bear even a single plea from his mother.

“Super Scholar System successfully activated. Would the host like to enable the system?”

Just as Henry Sutton was grieving, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind. He looked around in confusion, then used his Wood God Technique to scan his body...

Dozens of seconds later, the system's voice sounded again. He hesitantly asked in his mind, “System?”

In his previous life, on a technology-based Earth without spiritual power, he had read many novels and knew the concept of a system—but this was a parallel world!

The system's voice sounded for the third time. Henry Sutton was silent for a few seconds before choosing to activate it. The next moment, a transparent floating frame appeared before him, suspended in midair. Henry Sutton could see it with his naked eye, but when he tried to sense it with his spiritual power, there was only emptiness before him—his cultivation technique could not sense the existence of the floating frame at all.

Super Scholar System: Host Henry Sutton.

Spiritual Wood evolution path.

Cultivation: Second level of Spiritualization.

Technique: Wood God Technique (Grade 3)

Spells: Spirit Nurturing Technique Level 0 (Basic), Wood God Technique Level 0 (Introductory), Vine Flight Technique Level 1 (Introductory), Flower God Technique Level 1 (Introductory).

Spiritual Plant Cultivation Level 0 (Proficient).

Spiritual Plant Improvement Level 0 (Basic).

Spiritual Botany Level 0 (Proficient).

Soil Science Level 0 (Basic).

Auxiliary Spirit Studies Level 0 (Proficient).

Comprehensive Evaluation: Academic Theory Level 0, 89; Practical Ability Level 0, 57 (PS: full level is 100 points).

……

Are these his own stats? Henry Sutton was at a loss for words. After all, he was a top student at Jiangzhou University, a second-tier college—how could all his subject knowledge be at level 0?

After a brief exchange with the system, Henry Sutton suddenly understood: Level 1 was already considered an excellent level among students at Evolution High, and this referred to the level of a senior about to graduate.

At the graduate level, reaching level 2 meant being an elite in the relevant field within a city. Level 3 qualified one to be a lecturer at an Evolution University. Level 5 was at the national level—a top expert in the field. Level 6 was a national-level authority.

Level 7 was world-class, and level 8? That was legendary. Throughout Earth's history, the few level 8 greats could stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Einstein or Professor Yuan from his previous life's technological Earth.

Within each academic or spell level, there were three stages: Introductory, Basic, and Proficient. Because spells and academic knowledge involved so many complex aspects, the system provided a comprehensive evaluation.

Henry Sutton's theoretical knowledge score of 89 wasn't bad, but his practical ability was 57—not a passing grade!

“Ding. As a scholar, the host should not waste his life. Move forward, scholar—the library and the Spirit Nurturing Garden are your best battlefields.”

“Newbie gift pack mission: Spend more than 10 hours per day in the library and Spirit Nurturing Garden for one week. Reward: randomly upgrade one spell or academic subject by one level.”

This new Earth was vast, but a day was still 12 shichen or 24 hours. In the East, the countries surrounding the Ming Empire all used the Ming calendar, with shichen (ancient Chinese hours) for timekeeping. The Lighthouse Empire, however, used the Gregorian calendar and 24-hour time.

After the Ming Dynasty integrated with the international community, the Ming region still used shichen to divide the day, but within each shichen, minutes and seconds were also adopted—an innovation by Emperor Chongzhen.

Henry Sutton still found it hard to believe that he actually had a system!

Sitting in his dorm room for half an hour, after chatting deeply with the system for a while, the despair and grief in his eyes suddenly gave way to a glimmer of unprecedented brightness.

A system?! Even if he didn't know whether this Super Scholar System was as powerful as those in the novels he'd read in his previous life, it was still an opportunity. Why not give it a try? If it worked, would he still have to endure the oppression of the Xu family, to the point of self-harm just to vent his pain?

Would he no longer have to feel so powerless and helpless?

Thinking of this, Henry Sutton grabbed his student card and rushed to the library.

This was a massive building over ten stories high, with each floor covering several thousand square meters.

Swiping his card to enter, Henry Sutton headed straight for the third floor, where the books and classics on the Spiritual Wood path were kept.

The interior of the library was nothing like the 21st-century tables, chairs, or lighting of a non-spiritual Earth. Instead, the tables and chairs were all naturally grown plants, arranged in rows. Around the desks and seats were all kinds of green leaves and flowers. Many plants emitted their own light, making the place as beautiful as a fairyland.

Henry Sutton walked to the rows of bookshelves, picked out a copy of [Essentials of Soil Science], and sat by a window to read.

Chapter 003: Hopelessly Addicted to Studying

A week later, after persisting in studying more than 10 hours a day, Henry Sutton finally heard the system notification.

“Ding. Detected that the host has been hopelessly addicted to studying for an average of over 10 hours a day for a week. Special newbie reward granted, randomly upgrading…”