As dawn approached, Photographic Memory refreshed again, so Ian Song spent another two hours memorizing three more Eastern medical classics.
"Activate Mastery Insight!"
After recording six medical classics, Ian Song activated Mastery Insight to organize the medical knowledge stored in his mind.
Two hours later, Ian let out a long breath. Although he hadn't fully mastered all six classics, he was almost there. If he were to treat patients now, he'd be confident handling minor illnesses.
It was already four in the morning. He took out the black bag containing Hans's severed head, stuffed it into a travel bag, and jumped straight out the window.
The dormitory wall was over two meters high, but it couldn't stop him.
With a quick run-up, he pushed off with his back leg and sprang three meters into the air, easily clearing the wall.
Half an hour later, he reached a deserted spot in the suburbs, found a sharp stone, dug a pit in the woods, took the black bag out of the travel bag, tossed it in, and covered it with soil...
When he returned to the dorm, it was already past five, but he didn't feel sleepy at all.
On a whim, he opened the system interface:
Host: Ian Song
Level: 1
Physique: 500 points
Spiritual Power: 80 points
Skills: Martial Arts, Piano Master
Divine Arts: Photographic Memory, Mastery Insight, Clairvoyant Vision, Radiance of Life
Fame Points: 23,498
Ian Song quickly scanned the system interface, his eyes fixing on the Spiritual Power stat. It used to be only 75 points, but now it was 80.
"Meow-Meow, why did my Spiritual Power go up by 5 points? What's the reason?"
"It's the middle of the night and you won't shut up!" Meow-Meow grumbled. "Knowledge unlocks wisdom. You've absorbed a ton of new information lately, so your Spiritual Power increased by 5 points."
"Haha, you can even boost your Spiritual Power by reading—this is great!" Ian Song couldn't help laughing. He'd always felt he was a bit lacking in wisdom and only somewhat clever. After six lottery draws, he still hadn't gotten any skills or divine arts that improved his Spiritual Power.
Now that reading could raise his Spiritual Power, he decided to spend even more time studying.
Thinking this, he picked a popular novel from the shelf and carefully read a chapter, then closed the book and tried to recall what he'd read.
He couldn't remember everything, but he could recall seventy to eighty percent.
In the past, even recalling twenty or thirty percent would have been impressive!
After putting the novel back on the shelf, Ian's eyes landed on the Fame Points stat again. Satisfied, he nodded—thanks to today's preliminaries, his Fame Points had jumped to 23,498.
Although he was still far from the 888,888 points needed for the next lottery draw, he figured he'd reach it after the piano competition ended.
Just thinking about it made him feel extra satisfied.
But then the Darkworld Syndicate, Mystic Maiden Sect, and Nangong Family popped into his mind, making him a bit uneasy.
Given the system's usual style, the next lottery requirement would probably shoot up to at least half a million points. Pulling off a feat recognized by hundreds of thousands would be insanely difficult.
The next morning, after breakfast, Ian received several calls in a row, all congratulating him for taking first place in the piano competition preliminaries.
The first to call was Hannah Han, followed by Zach Zhang, Leo Li, and a few others. They all asked if he could get tickets—they wanted to watch the competition. So after hanging up, Ian called Zhen Yun to ask about admission.
Zhen Yun agreed right away and asked how many tickets he needed.
After thinking it over, Ian asked her for twenty tickets.
What surprised Ian most was that Shelly Song actually called to congratulate him. Her tone was still cool, but it was a good start, and Ian was genuinely happy.
Sure enough, Ian's foresight in asking for twenty tickets paid off. On the way to the conservatory, more classmates called, saying they wanted to support him.
When he arrived at the auditorium, he found Hannah Han and more than ten students from Grade 12, Class 9 had already arrived.
"Boss, I'm seriously more and more impressed by you!"
As soon as he saw Ian Song, Zach Zhang rushed over, flattering him: "You're smart, tough, and good-looking, plus you play piano so well. The girls at school are probably all falling for you!"
As he spoke, Zach Zhang deliberately glanced at the Grade 12, Class 9 group. Aside from Zach, Leo Li, Eric Xie, and Zhang Jun, everyone else who'd come was a girl.
"Ian Song, can you give me your autograph?"
A girl ran up to Ian Song with a pen and notebook, her face glowing as she handed them to him.
Her name was Rae Xiao. She was an average student—not the prettiest in school, but she dressed stylishly and always caught the boys' eyes.
"Sure."
Ian didn't hesitate. He smiled at Rae Xiao, took the pen and notebook, and quickly wrote: "Wishing classmate Rae Xiao greater and greater beauty — Ian Song."
With Rae Xiao leading the way, the other girls followed suit, all asking for autographs. Ian Song happily obliged them one by one.
"Ian's really popular!" a voice called out.
It was Zhen Yun. She handed Ian Song the twenty tickets. After thanking her, Ian gave the tickets to Zach Zhang to distribute to everyone.
Zhen Yun was busy coordinating the competition, so after a brief chat with Ian Song, she left.
Ian Song turned his attention to Hannah Han. He strolled over with a teasing smile: "Ms. Han, don't you want my autograph?"
After what happened two days ago, Hannah Han had felt awkward around Ian Song. But his joking tone relaxed her, and she pretended to scoff: "Don't flatter yourself. Who cares?"
Hearing this, Ian Song deliberately put on a wounded look: "Ms. Han, you've crushed me. You owe me compensation!"
"Keep dreaming."
"How about you cook for me again? Your food is just too delicious."
At the mention of cooking, Hannah Han's expression changed slightly, and her tone cooled a bit: "We'll talk about it later."
Seeing this, Ian Song felt a bit disappointed, but he understood Hannah Han's feelings. So he said, "I should head backstage now. See you later, Ms. Han."
After the preliminaries, only 200 contestants remained, so the backstage area was no longer crowded.
Suddenly, Ian Song noticed that many people were staring at the big screen backstage. He looked up and saw the PK Round match list displayed there.
Before the competition began, the organizers had explained the rules and process for each round.
The PK Round rules were simple: two contestants would go on stage together for a head-to-head match.
First, Player A would play three pieces, and Player B would immediately replay them. Then Player B would choose three pieces, and Player A would repeat them. Whoever made more mistakes would be eliminated.
The PK Round was considered the most exciting and most difficult stage of the piano competition, so it would last for three days.
Ian Song's number was 10, meaning he'd compete today. His opponent, also number 10, was named Evan Zhou.
"Ian Song, right? I'm Evan Zhou. I want to talk to you." Just then, a sharply dressed, confident young man came over, his manner proud as he addressed Ian.