"What are all these..."

Wang Yi stared at the English letters on the exam paper before him, feeling a throbbing headache.

Twenty-six English letters from A to Z. He recognized each individually, but combined like this, they seemed completely alien.

"I've been graduated for years. Why am I dreaming about exams? With all this overtime lately, can't even rest properly in dreams. This is too much." Wang Yi complained internally.

And it had to be English!

Since college graduation, Wang Yi hadn't touched English. His major didn't require passing CET-4. After all these years, his English vocabulary now mainly consisted of "How are you", "How old are you", F-words, S-words, and short sentences using these as subjects. Why these? Simply because they were most frequently used!

Pinching his thigh hard, he felt no pain - confirming this was indeed a dream.

Bored, he surveyed the environment. An empty classroom with six rows of four single desks each, spaced far apart. His seat was the fourth desk in the third row's rightmost column, next to a waist-high window overlooking a picturesque playground with swaying willows.

"A prime location boys would fight over," he mused. But why only twenty-four students? An elite class? He shook his head - "elite" had never described him in any aspect. Maybe residual ambition from his subconscious?

Wang Yi suddenly felt bitter. Fresh out of college, he'd been full of passion and ideals. But years of societal beatings turned the spirited calf into a workhorse. He'd endured damp basements, steamed buns with pickles, 996 schedules... yet still couldn't afford a toilet in the city.

"Time to wake up." Slapping his cheeks brought neither pain nor awakening. Sometimes dreams persist despite awareness.

He opened the window. Fifth floor! Striking a Superman pose (blushing at the cringe), he shouted "You jump, I jump!" and leaped.

The plummeting sensation usually woke him. His heart raced... He opened eyes to sunlight streaming through classroom windows. Panic struck - "I'm late for work!" Then realization - his basement had no windows.

The classroom was now full of teenage students taking exams. The blackboard read "Unit Quiz". A broad-faced teacher monitored from the podium.

Another dream layer? NPCs activated?

The exam paper now showed Chinese questions more baffling than English:

Blue Spirit Magic High 96th Grade First Semester History Unit 1 Quiz

Who was China's first "Taboo Mage"?

A: Qing Yuan Shang

B: Qing Yuan Zhong

C: Qing Yuan Xia

D: Qing Yuan Fang

"Yuan Fang! Definitely!" Wang Yi chuckled, recalling meme punchlines. He applied test-taking tricks: "Three long options, pick shortest (B)", "Longest option (B)", etc.

Bored, he stood abruptly, chair screeching. The teacher roared: "Wang Yi! Sit down!"

Undeterred ("My dream, my rules!"), Wang Yi flipped the bird and climbed the windowsill. With dramatic flair, he bellowed "Give me liberty or give me death!" and jumped.

Wind whipped his face... wait, pain?

CRACK!

His last thought: "Ffffuuuuu—"

Students erupted: "Wang Yi jumped!" "This test's so hard it made him jump!" "Teacher! Help!"

Medical staff arrived. A busty doctor in white coat lectured interns while mending his legs with green magic: "First reconstruct bones perfectly. Use bone clay for missing fragments. Bad alignment causes deformities..."

Wang Yi awoke mid-surgery to hear: "Rare live subject! Let's demonstrate appendectomy and..." Before blacking out again.

Final awakening in hospital bed. A beautiful woman in office wear sat beside him, peeling an apple.

"You're awake. I'm Bai Yu, your homeroom teacher." Her tone turned sarcastic: "You face-planted from fifth floor. Brains spilled everywhere. Medical Director Zhang barely saved you, though he warned you might turn vegetable. Seems he was right."

Wang Yi weakly protested: "Maybe... just amnesia?"

Wang Yi desperately searched his mind for the original owner's memories but found nothing. Without inherited memories and completely ignorant of this world, feigning amnesia seemed his best option. That jump had serendipitously given him the perfect excuse.

"Amnesia? Do you remember your name?"

"Wang Yi... I think?" He recalled the stern teacher shouting that name before his jump. Were shared names a default setting for transmigration, or some twisted joke by the god of crossovers?

Bai Yu pointed at the door plaque: "Can you read that?"

"Blue Spirit Magic High School Medical Ward, Room 1." Wang Yi read flawlessly—thankfully still Chinese.

"Who am I?"

"You're my homeroom teacher. You said so earlier."

"Good, not entirely brain-damaged." Bai Yu relaxed, biting into the apple she'd peeled earlier.

Wang Yi's eye twitched—that apple wasn't for him?

"For pure amnesia, high-level mind mages could help restore memories. Though their fees..."

Money? Out of the question! Even if possible, he couldn't risk exposure.

"Do I... have funds?"

"You're on our poverty assistance program."

"My family..."

"Martyr's orphan. That's your qualification."

"My inheritance..."

"Squandered. Including the state's bereavement pension." Bai Yu recited his file like an experienced teacher.

Wang Yi sighed. "Teacher, I'm starving. Can you lend me meal money?"

"The cafeteria's free for assistance students."

Finally, good news. Wang Yi gestured at his hospital gown: "Could you step out while I change?"

"New clothes are in the cabinet." At the door, Bai Yu paused when Wang Yi suddenly asked:

"Teacher... I must have exceptional magic talent, right?"

Cough! Bai Yu choked on her apple. After recovering, she mumbled: "You're... our school's pride!"

Cafeteria

Dressed in new clothes (including underwear—Bai Yu was thorough), Wang Yi found his phone and meal card. The smartphone resembled Earth models, fingerprint-unlocked.

His photo gallery revealed endless club scenes featuring himself—yellow-haired, surrounded by scantily clad women. "Disgraceful!" Wang Yi muttered while zooming in. Videos confirmed his playboy past—no wonder he'd blown his inheritance.

Deleting the evidence, he checked contacts: "Dad," "Mom," "Bai Yu," and strangers. A message pinged from "Class 3-1 Unruly Crew" group chat:

@(Gifted Little Blondie): "Elder E! Still breathing?"

Wang Yi deduced "Elder E" derived from "Yi." His username needed changing—he hated being a blond delinquent. The front camera confirmed his spiky golden hair—a budget Super Saiyan.

Group Chat

Mighty_Hao: "@GiftedLittleBlondie E-ge! Alive?"

Zombie_King: "Still owe me 3k! Death won't clear debts!"

Mighty_Hao: "I'll cover it! Unlike you tightwads!"

Zombie_King: "Fatso! Toilet after class!"

Study_Lover: "Stop! Wang Yi had an appendectomy and... eyelid surgery during teaching."

Mighty_Hao: "E-ge's incomplete now?!"

Zombie_King: "@GiftedLittleBlondie Jumping over duel with Wu Guan? Just forfeit!"

Realization

Wang Yi's eyebrows rose. A duel? Of course. In this magic world, his troubles were just beginning.

Fighting someone in a duel seemed utterly cringeworthy. But when Wang Yi remembered his current identity - a fifteen/sixteen-year-old delinquent with bleached hair - it suddenly felt perfectly reasonable.

"Damn it, how many landmines did Wang Yi leave for himself?

Grass (a type of plant)!

But this Zombie King’s connections aren’t bad—he actually managed to mediate the situation. As for Qi Xiaohao, he seems like a wealthy, mouthy brat with no backbone.

Judging by the tone of the messages, my relationship with these people must be pretty good. They all seem genuinely concerned about me.

The chat continued. Zombie King Jiang Chen successfully steered the conversation back to the duel.

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “Bullshit! My Bro E is no coward!”

Loves Chestnut Rice: “My friends are all saying the duel between Wang Yi and Wu Guan is over Fang Yu. Is that true?”

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “Of course! Wu Guan dared to steal Bro E’s girl. He’s asking for a beating!”

Studying Brings Joy: “Wu Guan is an attack-type mage. He’s mastered basic spells like Fireball and Thunder Spear, and might even have rare-grade magic up his sleeve. His burst damage is insane—perfect for solo fights.”

Loves Chestnut Rice: “Plus, Wu Guan’s academic scores are always top five in the freshman year!”

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “Attack mage? So what? I’m one too! Once Bro E learns a spell, he’ll crush that bastard!”

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “Top five grades? Can he kill Bro E with test papers? Good grades don’t justify stealing someone’s girl!”

Zombie King : “Stop sugarcoating. Wang Yi’s just obsessing over Fang Yu. If Fang Yu actually liked Wang Yi, I’d eat my own shit upside down!”

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “Screenshot saved! Bro Wang, I wanna see this!”

Loves Chestnut Rice: “Screenshot saved! Bro Wang, I wanna see!”

Studying Brings Joy: “Vulgar! But… screenshot saved! Bro Wang, I wanna see!”

Untamed Sapling: “Screenshot saved! Bro Wang, I wanna see!”

Untamed Sapling: “Also, using phones during class? All four of you—5,000-word reflections due in my office tomorrow.”

Studying Brings Joy: “No problem. Anyone need help? Same price: one low-tier magic crystal. Established shop, fair prices.”

Zombie King : “Who the hell added the teacher to this group? Are you insane?!”

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “@Untamed Sapling, Teacher, I’m sorry! I’ll hand in the reflection—just don’t call my parents!”

Loves Chestnut Rice: “@Studying Brings Joy, Brother Jiang Yue, discount please QAQ.”

Domineering and Mighty Qi Xiaohao: “@Studying Brings Joy, Old Jiang, handle my reflection. Deduct from my balance. Do one for Lily too.”

Loves Chestnut Rice: “Thanks, Brother Xiaohao! (Heart)”

Under the teacher Bai Yu’s threat, the group finally fell silent.

Wang Yi, who had been lurking, felt a suffocating weight in his chest. What kind of cursed life is this?

No inherited memories, no money, no family, and now a magic duel? In a world where people sling fireballs and lightning? How am I supposed to fight that?

Maybe he could back out and ask Jiang Chen to mediate? But Wang Yi’s original personality wasn’t the type to surrender. If I act too out of character, they’ll notice.

The duel was in a week. Maybe he could cram magic lessons? His friends called him a prodigy—maybe it wasn’t just empty praise. If all else failed, he’d forfeit. Surely students wouldn’t kill each other over a duel… right?

As Wang Yi agonized, Bai Yu leaned back in the principal’s office, sipping blue soda and smirking at her phone.

The door swung open. Principal Bai Jingting, a stern 60-year-old man with a gold “Principal” badge, strode in.

“Grand-Uncle,” Bai Yu greeted, hastily sitting up.

“At school, address me by title,” Bai Jingting chided, flicking his hand. The soda flew into the trash.

“Wasteful!” Bai Yu protested, rubbing her forehead after bumping into an invisible barrier.

“Cultivate harder if you want to defy a Transcendent Mage,” Bai Jingting said dryly, settling at his desk. “How’s the student who jumped?”

“Physically healed, but…” Bai Yu hesitated. “Brain damage. Memory loss. His personality… feels different. Like he’s another person.”

Bai Jingting’s grip tightened. “Another person? Do you recall the Liyuan Campaign?”

Bai Yu paled. The catastrophic battle where a mind-controlled general destroyed an entire army. “You think Wang Yi’s been… invaded by a psychic-type Sacred Beast?”

“His parents were soldiers who died in Leyuan. Orphans are prime targets.” Bai Jingting’s voice darkened. “Or perhaps I’m overreacting. But we can’t ignore the risk.”

The room fell heavy with unspoken dread.