TN: Just a note, the title should more accurately be ‘exchanging knowledge for anything’ instead of IQ points. That’s because our MC has a lot of accumulated knowledge from his past lives.
The Realm of the Heavens
It was the results announcement day for the Realm of the Heavens Qualification Exam at Fuyao Academy.
Inside Class 3, Grade 5’s classroom, the students waited anxiously for the results to be posted.
One student clasped his hands in prayer and muttered, “Spirits of heaven and earth, Confucius, Mencius, all the sages, Jade Emperor, Buddha, Lord Guan, God of Literature, the Almighty…every god above and below, please bless me to make it into the top ten.”
His deskmate sat quietly, looking as if all hope had long since left him. He sighed and said, “You still have a shot. I’ve already planned to take the college entrance exam and enroll in the University of Real Life. The Realm of the Heavens clearly has nothing to do with me.”
The praying student dropped his hands and glanced toward the front of the classroom, where four or five students stood together. They had neatly styled hair, spotless uniforms, and carried themselves with poise, clearly top-tier elite students. He said with envy, “Those guys are a shoo-in for the top ten. They’re bound to qualify. Guess I’ll have to wait for the next round.”
His deskmate rested his chin in his hand, looking curiously at the elite students. “If they’re a sure thing, why do they all look so tense?”
“Because just qualifying isn’t enough. They probably want to place first.”
“That’s fine, but there’s no way they’ll get first place. That position’s already taken. Everyone knows it’s going to be Li Chuan.”
“Not necessarily,” the praying student countered. “Li Chuan’s not in great health. If he had a flare-up during the exam and didn’t finish the test, he might’ve slipped.”
Just as he finished speaking, someone in the classroom shouted, “The results are out!”
Everyone immediately opened the exam app to check their scores. Sure enough, the top name on the list was none other than the one they’d just been discussing—Li Chuan.
“Hell yeah! You’re number one!” A loud, bleach-blond student flung his arm around the student next to him and shouted loud enough for the whole class to hear.
The student he hugged—Li Chuan, the top scorer—was pale and delicate-looking, but far too thin.
He wasn’t short. About 1.8 meters tall and he should’ve been a handsome young man. But he was so thin his cheeks were sunken, his face had no flesh to it at all, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. Anyone could tell at a glance: this kid was seriously ill.
“What’s so great about being number one? Do you have to shout it across the room?” one of the elite students, a boy with glasses, muttered irritably.
The bleach-blond student, still clinging to Li Chuan’s neck, smirked. “Being first really isn’t that impressive. It’s just eight ranks higher than your ninth place. Just 150 points more than you. Just a nearly perfect score of 741 out of 750!”
The ninth-place student bristled. “Huang Jian, you didn’t even get the score. Why are you bragging? Besides, with Li Chuan’s condition, so what if he came first? Once he gets into the Realm of the Heavens, how long do you think he’ll last?”
Hearing this, Huang Jian’s expression changed. “The Realm of the Heavens is full of opportunities. Li Chuan’s smart. Once he gets there, he’ll find a cure!”
“Smart?” the ninth-place student snorted. “Sure, he’s smart. But how much brain capacity does he have left? If his condition flares up once or twice more, he’ll end up a vegetable!”
Huang Jian, furious at the repeated curses, lunged forward to fight him only to be held back by Li Chuan himself.
In the center of the conflict, Li Chuan slowly pulled Huang Jian back and calmly said, “You… shouldn’t… fight…”
But before he could finish the sentence, he froze.
Like a computer crash, he locked up completely, mind blank, unable to think or control his body.
“Oh no! He’s having another episode!” Huang Jian shouted. “Someone help me out!”
A tall, burly classmate rushed over. Together, he and Huang Jian lifted Li Chuan—one at the head, one at the feet—and hurried him out of the classroom.
In the hallway, Huang Jian yelled as he ran, “Old Jiang! Li Chuan’s having a flare-up! Unlock the infirmary!”
Moments later, a middle-aged man emerged from a nearby office, flanked by students. They took the elevator down to the infirmary on the first floor.
Huang Jian and the others placed the frozen Li Chuan on the bed and, with practiced ease, attached an oxygen mask while someone powered on the oxygen machine.
Meanwhile, Old Jiang had already prepared a hormone injection. He administered 10ml at once, then another 5ml every 10 minutes. On the fifth injection, Li Chuan’s eyes finally twitched.
“He’s back!” Huang Jian exclaimed with relief.
His head full of yellow hair bobbed closer to Li Chuan. “Oi, Li Chuan. Do you remember me?”
Li Chuan gave a slight nod and slowly replied, “Huang Jian.”
Then, looking at the tall student who helped carry him: “Yu Qichi.”
Yu Qichi chuckled. “I might be named Yu Qichi (Seven Feet Tall), but I’m not even two meters—just 1.95.”
Li Chuan gave him a faint smile, then turned to Old Jiang and softly said, “Jiang Changming… Teacher Jiang… thank you.”
Jiang Changming said, “Alright, no more talking. Get some rest. Don’t think too much. Don’t waste brainpower on unnecessary thoughts—we need to preserve what memory capacity you have left.
“There’ll be a school-wide award ceremony tomorrow for the top ten students who qualified for the Realm of the Heavens, but your condition is too fragile. I’ll ask the school to grant you early admission directly.
“Rest for now. I’ll bring your credentials later.”
Li Chuan obeyed, simply nodding in response.
Jiang Changming grabbed Huang Jian and Yu Qichi by the arms and dragged them out of the infirmary. “Don’t bother Li Chuan anymore—get back to class. Huang Jian, you were arguing in the classroom. You’re doing a self-reflection in front of the whole class!”
Huang Jian protested, “It wasn’t just me! He argued back too!”
“Then he can write one as well!” Jiang snapped.
The three of them bickered their way out, leaving Li Chuan alone in the hospital room.
Li Chuan let out a soft sigh.
He liked the roughhousing and friendly banter, but his brain couldn’t handle such noisy environments anymore.
He had been born with memories of his past life. In that previous life, he’d been an ordinary person in the modern world—good grades, good university, decent job. But on his second day at work, he’d died in an accident. A short and simple life.
In this life, realizing he still had those memories had made him incredibly happy.
The world’s tech level and curriculum were similar to his past life’s. That meant he could stand out with ease—he could always be top of the class. What a joy.
At first, he believed his memories were his golden finger—his cheat code to a perfect life.
But he soon learned they weren’t a gift at all—they were a rare and dangerous illness.
Li Chuan remembered everything from the moment he was born, down to the smallest detail.
He had once believed his memory was a miracle, that he was a genius among geniuses. But at fifteen, his body suddenly froze, his mind blanked out, and he couldn’t think or remember anything. At the hospital, he was diagnosed.
He had hyperthymesia—perfect memory—but limited brain capacity.
Normal people forget unimportant things to protect brain function. The brain needs room to think, to give commands, to process.
But Li Chuan couldn’t forget. His brain recorded everything, useful or not, until it exceeded the limits of human memory.
Just like a computer needs memory to run programs, a human brain needs space to think.
Too much memory meant too little processing space. If this continued, he’d become a vegetable from information overload.
Thankfully, although this world’s tech resembled that of his past life, it had one major difference—it was connected to a mysterious dimension: the Realm of the Heavens.
Said to be the meeting point of all universes, the Realm of the Heavens linked countless worlds. The human world was just one small part of it.
There were high-dimensional worlds with advanced science, divine realms with superhuman strength, ghostly dimensions full of the unknown—realms beyond imagination. Surely, somewhere in the Myriad Realms, there would be a cure for him.
To stay aligned with these realms and protect the human world, the three major nations sent talented individuals to the Realm of the Heavens each year.
Fuyao Academy, where Li Chuan studied, was Huaxia’s top training institution for this purpose.
It held two qualification exams annually, and the top ten scorers from each were granted access to the Realm of the Heavens.
After his diagnosis, Li Chuan’s family enrolled him in Fuyao Academy. With the knowledge he retained, acing the written exam was effortless.
But he ranked dead last in the physical test and failed the fitness requirements—ordinarily grounds for disqualification.
The academy’s board discussed it and agreed: Li Chuan’s memory was extraordinary. If he could find a cure in the Realm, his intelligence would guarantee future accomplishments.
And so, Li Chuan was admitted. After three years of study and hormone treatments to expand his brain capacity, he finally made it to the qualification exam.
But the expansion came at a cost: his brain consumed all his nutrients, leaving his body starved, muscles wasted, and his stamina dangerously poor.
One more episode, and he might not survive.
Even if he made it to the Realm of the Heavens, time was running out to find a cure.
Many students believed it was a waste to give someone in his condition a spot. Someone healthier could’ve used it better.
But Li Chuan didn’t agree.
He believed that when the car reached the mountain, there’d be a road. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
He slept peacefully in the infirmary and woke up refreshed. Then he ate all the nutrient packs nearby.
Still hungry, he rubbed his belly, climbed into his wheelchair, and was about to head to the cafeteria for more food.
Just as he wheeled himself to the door, Jiang Changming walked in holding a sleek, metallic case.
“Feeling better?” Jiang asked.
Li Chuan grinned. “Starving. Gotta find food. What’s that in your hand?”
“You’ve probably already guessed.” Jiang placed the case in his lap. “It’s your pass to the Realm of the Heavens. The Myriad Realms Ring.”
