Study Monster Cultivation System - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: I Can Help With Your Studies

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“I heard that youngsters nowadays all use Bali Bali. There’s everything on there. Can you teach me how to use it?”

“There are cat videos, but I will not tell you that,” Li Zheng thought.

The old man teased Li Zheng for a bit, but could only give up with a bitter smile when he saw that Li Zheng would not look up.

Li Zheng quickly forgot about him. He observed his rate of recovery as he read.

The energy recovery rate was dynamic.

For example, the same action of flirting produced two completely different values for both Lin Yujing and Sun Xiubin.

In front of him, the speed of Li Zheng’s energy recovery also differed slightly based on which novel he was reading.

Simply put, Li Zheng recovered his energy a little faster if he read a novel that he liked, up to a maximum of 1.7.

The recovery rate was lowered drastically if he read literature that was dry and hard to understand. The lowest value he reached was 1.2.

It could thus be observed that the effects of recovery were positively correlated to Li Zheng’s subjective experience.

The most important indicator Li Zheng had to consider when choosing a relaxation activity or a skill to spend coins on was that it had to make him like the activity more and immerse himself deeper into the activity.

Li Zheng was deep in thought when the sound of a basketball being dribbled rang out from the hallway.

A rotund figure slid past outside the door.

However, the figure returned soon after and stared at Li Zheng, “You haven’t left?”

The figure had thinning hair and a thick mustache. He was 17 but looked 37.

It was Liu Xin.

“It’s a rare occasion. I am relaxing and reading for leisure.” Li Zheng waved the magazine and asked, “Class is over?”

“Yes. Mrs. Hu was suddenly feeling very nice. She released us and said that we could complete the paper at home.” Liu Xin smiled as he spun the basketball. He said toward the students who had rushed over behind him, “There’s a strange phenomenon. Even Li Zheng is starting to relax. We have to win our basketball competition.”

A tall boy jumped over and snatched the basketball. He looked toward Li Zheng and smiled, “It is Li Zheng. How is that relaxing? Come, come, come, follow us and play some basketball.”

The person who spoke was the class monitor, Jiang Qinghua. He was an excellent student who was equally developed in intelligence, morals, sports, arts, and labor. Even though his grades placed him only at the third in class, he was much more active in other areas than the top two students.

Liu Xin snatched over the basketball in a hurry when he saw Jiang Qinghua invite Li Zheng, “He has never played basketball. Why are you causing trouble?”

“There are not many people today. We can’t form a team with just the two of us.” Jiang Qinghua then pouted to Li Zheng, “Come, you’ll learn as you play.”

Liu Xin knitted his brows and said, “The competition is next week. Why aren’t Chen Sen, Zhao Yonghui, and the others here to practice?”

“It seems like there’s a new game that has just been released. They have been talking about it for the entire day and were anxiously finding somewhere to play.” Jiang Qinghua rushed, ” What’s the matter, Li Zheng. Hurry if you want to come.”

“There’s no need to rush him. He even skips gym class. He’d apply to be exempted from gym class if he could,” Liu Xin turned to leave as he spoke.

“I’ll come.” Li Zheng was already packing his bag.

“What?” Liu Xin froze.

“Not bad, not bad. We have a new member.” Jiang Qinghua laughed, “We’ll wait for you at the court. Come quickly.”

Li Zheng retrieved his student card after he checked out the two magazines. He did not dare to take another glance at the old man before he followed his two classmates to the court.

The basketball court was still crowded even though lessons had been over for a long time. Almost every hoop was packed with people.

Basketball was a relaxation activity that Li Zheng was raring to try but had not dared to engage in.

After all, he had only played basketball occasionally during gym class and was a complete novice. His skills were worse than some of the girls.

Logically, he was only worthy of grabbing a ball and practicing his shooting at a place where no one was around.

However, the basketball court was always packed.

He had to play with a team if he wanted to play.

With his abilities, he would be violently bullied if he forced himself onto the court. His energy regeneration rate would be a negative number.

Thus, the logical tactic was to–

Latch himself onto a strong team.

Even though Liu Xin was plump, he was very slippery.

He was a large, yet agile contestant on the court. People were afraid to bump into him when he charged around with the ball. They would be covered in his sweat if they touched him slightly and would feel disgusted even after they washed it off.

Thus, he was often successful in breaking through an opposing team’s defense.

Jiang Qinghua was the prince of basketball in the class. Even though his abilities could not be compared to the students on the school team, it was more than enough to deal with the amateurs in school.

Li Zheng only had to make the effort to saunter around the court, frequently pass the ball, and silently follow the pace of the game if he was on the team with these two powerful players.

“Yes, adopting the attitude of a supporting role and walking toward victory with the team seems like a decent way to relax,” he thought.

The three of them walked to the side of the basketball court.

There was more than the average number of people today, probably due to the basketball competition next week.

Jiang Qinghua handled the ball as a warm-up while he observed the surroundings.

“Eight hoops, eight half-courts, countless people,” he thought.

“Knowing where to play is an art.”

There were always more people than hoops at the court. It was improbable that only two teams would be playing at every hoop.

Typically, there would be three to four teams “catching waves” together.

“Catching waves” referred to a continuous game of king-of-the-hill.

The victors remained on the court while the losers rested. Another team would take their place and the cycle continued in that manner.

Thus, powerful teams could dominate the court and continue playing throughout the session.

Weaker teams would quickly be defeated and could only challenge the defending champions ten, or even thirty minutes later.

“Don’t be anxious…” Jiang Qinghua bounced the ball and surveyed the area, “Let’s find a weaker court and strive for continuous victories.”

“There seem to be only two teams here.” Liu Xin pointed toward the nearest court.

“That’s not good. They are all year threes. I’ve played with them before. They’re too wild.” Jiang Qinghua pouted at Li Zheng and said, “They could flip Li Zheng over.”

Li Zheng hugged his chest and trembled when he heard that.

He thought, “That’s not good.

“Even though my body can heal, I cannot get back the time to study once it has passed.

“I cannot take that risk for the sake of relaxation.”

Li Zheng suddenly hesitated when he saw the bunch of wild students on the basketball court.

At this moment, two girls who were young and immature emerged from out of nowhere. They carefully shuffled to Jiang Qinghua’s side.

“Brother, we’ve been waiting for a long time.”

“Go and play quickly. My phone is charged and ready to film you.”

These two rather adorable girls had to be first years.

It seemed like they came to watch Jiang Qinghua play every day.

They even called him “Brother” and themselves his “Godsisters.”

Li Zheng felt a little pity.

The first year was a new starting point. It was the time to set a foundation.

It was a pity for them to be addicted to watching basketball.

Liu Xin subconsciously moved to Li Zheng’s side when the two juniors appeared.

He scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. He seemed very uncomfortable. He did not have his usual confidence.

Li Zheng could understand what Liu Xin was feeling.

It was just like Lin Yujing’s insufferable arrogance in the exam hall.

Jiang Qinghua’s charisma on the court could also injure someone else by accident.

Li Zheng could see that Liu Xin wanted to speak to the two girls but did not dare to. He was afraid that he would stumble on his words, embarrass himself, and become unpopular.

“He thinks too much,” Li Zheng thought.

“With his face, there’s no longer much room for him to embarrass himself any further.”

Though, Liu Xin did not think that.

“Hey, let me tell you. I guarantee that there’ll be girls chasing after me after we finish playing in the basketball competition next week.” Liu Xin rubbed his nose as he smirked. “I’ll introduce you to them when that time comes.”

“You should study if you have the time,” Li Zheng shook his head and said, “Mrs. Hu seems to be sick. Don’t anger her any further.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll ask about it tomorrow.” Li Zheng had only heard this from the old man at the library and was not in a position to comment further.

He pounded on Liu Xin’s shoulder and smiled, “You brought me along to play basketball, and I can help you with your studies. I’ll go through the test paper we did just now after we are done with basketball.”

“Brother Li, no! Can I not bring you along to play?”