“Yes, Lord Deputy Head!” The four old men quickly bowed and paid their respects.
Only then did everyone realize that this seemingly younger man was stronger than the four old men. This was slightly inconceivable, but the higher one’s cultivation was, the longer one’s life expectancy would be, while the rate of aging would on the contrary be slower.
As such, in terms of real age, perhaps this middle-aged man was a lot older than Zhang Deman and the others.
Given the instructions of the Deputy Head, Zhang Deman and the others naturally did not dare to continue fighting, and quickly made arrangements for those who had passed the assessment to be brought to the student dorms of the Northern Institution. Meanwhile, the group including Ling Han, Ma Xing, Cheng Haofei, and Ji Yun’er was asked to stay back.
The top ten finalists were to be rewarded.
The rewards for the top seven were very simple: each person would receive a True Origin Stone. As for the top three, the rewards were much more substantial. Without a doubt, Ling Han was naturally the first, but the candidates for the second and third place, respectively, needed to be discussed.
Ma Xing, Cheng Haofei, and Ji Yun’er had all completed the challenges of the first six levels, and also passed the first two stages on the seventh level. Who ought to be in the second place, third, and fourth, respectively?
After a round of discussion among the higher-ups of the institution, it was decided that Ma Xing would be in the second place, while Cheng Haofei and Ji Yun’er were tied for third place. While this would require the Northern Institution to spend more resources on them, the Northern Institution was originally wealthy and imposing. Besides, they were cultivators of the Shattering Void Tier, after all, so the amount of resources they would consume was limited.
The top three students would get to enjoy great privileges.
For example, they would be given a chance to bathe in the Black Jade Pool once a month.
That wasn’t to let you wash yourself clean—Black Jade Pool was a Spiritual Pool, something naturally formed of the heavens and the earth, that would provide the topmost nourishment for the body and spirit of cultivators. Moreover, after being taken over by the Scarlet Heaven Academy, a lot of precious treasures had been added into the pool to further enhance its effects.
However, this pool would only be effective for those of the Shattering Void Tier and Mountain River Tier. It would have no effect for those of higher levels, or else it wouldn’t have been placed in the Scarlet Heaven Academy. Even if it wasn’t confiscated by the Imperial Clan, wouldn’t there still be the Nine Kings, Left and Right Ministers, as well as the Seven Generals?
Secondly, they would get two True Origin Stones every month as a reward.
Those were an item unique to the Immortal Realm. Due to the presence of high density of Spiritual Qi of the heaven and earth here, it was turned into an essence with the appearance of a jade, whereby its energy could be extracted to be used by cultivators. Whether for purposes of cultivation or restoration, it would be an excellent supplementary artifact.
Of course, using it to restore Origin Power would be too extravagant. As this item was extremely valuable, it was a treasure in itself.
In addition, True Origin Stone could also be used as currency to buy precious items as well as in exchange for gold and silver, but it was believed that only fools would do this.
Thirdly, there would be an extra Replenishing Spirit Pill each month.
Replenishing Spirit Pill could strengthen the spirit, and would be effective for the Shattering Void Tier and Immortal level. However, the Immortals were just too powerful, and the effects of the Replenishing Spirit Pill were just too pathetically little. Generally, the Immortals would consume the “Star Yang Pill”—its effect was much more powerful by countless times, but the degree of its preciousness would also be more excessive by countless times.
As long as one was a disciple of the Academy, one would get a Replenishing Spirit Pill every month. The third place candidate would get an extra one, the second would receive two, while the first be given three.
True Origin Stone and Replenishing Spirit Pill were immediately handed out, but entering the Black Jade Pool would have to wait until the following month. This was because the time allowed for the respective four Institutions to enter the Black Jade Pool had already been allocated earlier. The Northern Institution had already used up its time for this month.
After Ling Han and the others had gotten their rewards, they subsequently went to the place they would be living in for the next few years, or ten years, or even decades. Unless they were able to break through to the Immortal level, they would always be staying here.
Along the way, Zhang Deman was responsible for informing them of certain rules. For example, one shouldn’t walk into the territory of the other three Institutions for no reason… unless you were exceptionally strong. Else, you had to be prepared to be thoroughly thrashed.
The Academy would encourage its students to learn from one another, but in principle, it was forbidden for high-level students to battle with low-level students—unless the lower-level students had taken the initiative to provoke the former.
Finally, Zhang Deman said something very strange. “Also, there is a white cat here. You must not be tempted to provoke that cat by all means. You mustn’t hurt even a single strand of its hair, otherwise no one can save you!”
“Why?” Everyone was absolutely baffled.
Chapter 899 - The Cat That Mustn’t Be Trifled With
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“So powerful? What kind of cat is it?” Li Weiwei asked. She was the daughter of the Left Minister, so she was naturally bold, without much reverence towards Zhang Deman. She was not afraid that he would rebuke her.
Sure enough, Zhang Deman just smiled, and said, “I’m not sure what is so special about the cat, but its owner… hehe, that person would be our Lord Head.”
“Would that be Lord Yan Dongqi, Head of Northern Institution?” Li Weiwei asked again.
Zhang Deman shook his head in reply, saying, “No, it is Lord Fu—Fu Hui!”
At this moment, everyone’s expression was filled with awe. Even Li Weiwei was gaping slightly, revealing an expression full of reverence.
Fu Hui was the head of the Scarlet Heaven Academy, not the Northern Institution! He was an elite of the Heavenly Body Tier, but no one knew the details about his cultivation level, as this elite tended to spend most of his time cultivating in seclusion.
This was precisely the reason why the four major Institutions of the Scarlet Heaven Academy tended to do things their own way, giving rise to fierce competition amongst the Institutions.
The four main Institutions also had their respective heads, known as Heads of the Institution, but their cultivation level was at the perfection level of the Sun Moon Tier. Within the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, they could be considered the top elites.
However, one shouldn’t look at it as if it was only a difference of one level between the Sun Moon Tier and Heavenly Body Tier—the gap of this one level was extremely large. Forget about the One-star or Two-star geniuses, even a Five-star genius wouldn’t be able to cross over and break through the barrier of such a level.
Even though Li Weiwei, Ma Xing, and others were super geniuses, none of them would dare to say that they could step into the Heavenly Body Tier in the future—even reaching the Sun Moon Tier would already be extremely difficult.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that among each batch of students recruited once every five years, about 90% of them could step into the Mountain River Tier. After all, those who were recruited were already geniuses themselves. However, only one-tenth of them could possibly reach the middle levels, while those who could attain major accomplishment would only be about 10%, and the rest that might be able to reach the level of perfection would be one in a thousand. At most, there would only be one in ten thousand who could step into the
Sun Moon Tier.
However, how many students were recruited each time?
Therefore, it was considered quite normal not to have anyone reach the Sun Moon Tier in one or even in a few batches of students.
With such a comparison, one should know just how formidable those of the Heavenly Body Tier were.
“The white cat is the pet of Head Fu, who likes it very much. So, even if the white cat loosens its bowels on your head, you must endure it! In the past, someone had slapped the white cat. That person was then crippled by Lord Fu and expelled!” Zhang Deman said solemnly.
“Hey, could that’ve been the Seventh Young Master of the Ai Clan?” someone queried.
“His surname was indeed Ai; he was called Ai Song.” Zhang Deman nodded in response.
“The Ai Clan might not be a top-ranking clan, but it is also quite high-ranking among the second-class clans. Lord Fu actually didn’t even give them any face, hiss!”
“Never provoke the cat!”
Everyone gave a cold shudder. There was none who didn’t think that ‘since that cat mustn’t be provoked, and giving it a slap would face such miserable consequences, then if one was to grab a handful of its fur, what kind of miserable fate would await that person?’.
Most of the people would stay in the dormitory arranged by the Academy, but a small number of people merely strolled around the Academy, and would return to stay in their own homes at night. Descendants of influential officials, such as Li Weiwei, would naturally choose whether to come to the Academy or not depending on their mood.
Ling Han finally had his own home. The Scarlet Heaven Academy was massive. Everyone was given their own courtyard. Even though it wasn’t very big, there was a garden, a living room, and a bedroom. It could be said that even though it was small, it was completely furnished with all necessities.
He was very satisfied. After sitting for a while, he began to consider his next move.
Making money!
He had first defined a goal. Of course, it wouldn’t be gold and silver, but rather the True Origin Stones. It was the hard currency of the Immortal Realm, just like the gold and silver of the small world.
With money, one could buy all kinds of resources.
How to make money?
Ling Han stroked his chin. Subconsciously, he took out the food in the Black Tower and started cooking. A few days ago, when he was staying in the Left Minister’s Residence, he remained very low-key, cultivating in seclusion, but now, this place was his territory, so his mind suddenly relaxed a lot.
He had spent too much time with Hu Niu—he would also begin thinking about food when he had nothing else to do.
‘Alas, I wonder how Hu Niu, my parents, Helian Xun Xue, and my son are doing right now.
‘Hey, can the food in the Black Tower be taken out for sale?’
This ought to be feasible. The food in the Black Tower was so delicious that even the Immortals would drool over them. After all, the Immortals were only more powerful in strength, and weren’t pure-minded monks with scant desires.
Otherwise, why would there be so many strong people remaining in the position of power?
However, which restaurant would let the bills be settled with True Origin Stones? And if he wanted to deliver the food straight to the households of high-ranking officials or local tycoons, he would need to have the right connections.
‘That’s right!’ Ling Han clasped his hands together. ‘Isn’t Li Weiwei the right connection?’
If the daughter of the Left Minister wanted to do business, then who would not give her face? Anyway, the ingredients in the Black Tower didn’t need any capital, so even if the profits of the sales were to be divided equally with Li Weiwei, it wouldn’t matter much. After all, the one with the connection would be king.
Ling Han nodded. In addition, he could also concoct alchemical pills such as this Replenishing Spirit Pill, which would be extremely popular amongst those of the Shattering Void Tier and Mountain River Tier, and it would not be bought with gold or silver, but with True Origin Stones!
Alchemy was his old business, and he was the best at it. In his past life, there was no knowing how much he had earned from this trade. Even the proud and arrogant Sword Emperor and the Setting Sun Saber Emperor at that time also had to bow their heads to him.
This was also one way of doing it.
Letting Li Weiwei help in liaising with the customers was putting his life in the hands of another, after all. That kind of young miss… there was no knowing when she might change her mind. Meanwhile, concocting alchemical pills would be different. Once the pills had been refined, how could he possibly be afraid of not being able to sell them?
Yi, where was that barbequed meat that he had put on the grill?
Ling Han had just released the Gold-seeking Rat from the Black Tower. Now that he had brought this little guy, his talent was indeed very helpful. But when he turned around, the two pieces of meat on the grill that were nearly roasted had gone missing.
He couldn’t help but be surprised. That meat was practically stolen from right under his nose without him realizing it. The other party’s movement was extremely fast, and the actions were also very nimble; it was quite astonishing.
However, when his eyes swept across the vicinity, he almost choked.
On the wall of the courtyard, a fat white cat was seen having a hearty meal, and what its mouth was nibbling… was naturally the roasted meat that Ling Han was missing.
Zhang Deman’s words immediately flashed through Ling Han’s mind. ‘The big white cat!’
F*ck, it wouldn’t be such a coincidence, right?
Ling Han’s mouth slightly twitched. On his first day of entering the Academy, he had already met the legendary white cat that couldn’t be provoked? ‘This cat is so vile to steal things the moment it appears!’
The big white cat also realized that it had been “caught” by Ling Han, but it didn’t show any fear like a thief being caught in the act. Instead, it cried out ‘meow’ towards Ling Han—its voice wasn’t loud, but carried the hint of a tiger cub’s soft roar.
It nibbled at the meat again, bearing a vile expression as if saying, “Come and bite me if you dare.”
Ling Han felt a sudden urge to strike it, only to remember that it wasn’t without reason that the former senior brother disciple couldn’t help but hit this big white cat. He snorted, and said, “Little thief, I will forgo this one meal. I’ll consider it as my treat to you. However, don’t think you can steal again!”
This big white cat was merely in the Shattering Void Tier. Even if its body was agile and its speed was amazing, as long as Ling Han remained vigilant, he would definitely not let the other party succeed again.
“Meow!” The white cat cried out arrogantly, which meant ‘if I want to eat, then could you stop me?’ It picked up the rest of the meat and left abruptly with a leap.
Chapter 900 - Fine, As Long As You Pay
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On his first day of entering the Scarlet Heaven Academy, a fat white cat came and put on airs to establish its authority.
Ling Han gave a sigh. ‘This isn’t a good start!’
After a good night’s rest, he went to attend class the next day. On this day, a teacher would come to explain to them some secrets regarding the cultivation of the Shattering Void Tier. On one hand, he had some interest in the subject, and on the other, he wanted to meet with Li Weiwei in order to discuss with her about doing business. Naturally, he wouldn’t be cutting classes.
He arrived neither too early nor too late. By the time that he had arrived, he saw that about one-third of the seats in the classroom had already been occupied.
The classroom was large enough to accommodate about 500 people. This batch of newly recruited students was less than 500, so the place was sufficient to accommodate all the new students.
“Senior Brother Ling!”
“Brother Ling!”
&nbs
p; “Ling Han!”
Upon seeing Ling Han, quite a lot of people came up to greet him and appeared to be exceptionally warm. Only a minority of talented individuals showed indifferent expressions, apparently not willing to fawn over Ling Han.
This was something quite normal for everyone. A Four-star genius… how many were there in the entire Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire?
More importantly, the assessment of the White Star Tower included up to Five-star genius, which meant that Ling Han was qualified to climb to the highest level of martial arts.
Perhaps, he would be an elite of the Heavenly Body Tier a million years later.
Of course, given that a period of a million years was really long, innumerable changes could happen in between—perhaps Ling Han would have already died by then?
This was also the reason why some people held themselves to be above politics and worldly considerations. After all, at present, only Ling Han’s talent had been exhibited. There was no knowing how strong he would be in actual combat. If they had known that Ling Han had been equally matched against Xu Ran’s spirit, then a lot of people would likely change their minds immediately.
Ling Han just smiled and nodded his head in greeting towards everyone.
He had always been a person who would return the kindness of others tenfold, but if the other person were to walk all over or provoke him, he would absolutely show no mercy.
“Humph! Shameless!” The Luo Brothers came as well. Naturally, they wouldn’t be bothered to suck up to Ling Han; both brothers bore fiery gazes.
Who would have thought that an insignificant ant of a small world would actually seize first place in the assessment this time?
“Hahaha!” Luo Ba suddenly faced upwards and let out a few howls. Whom this was directed at was obvious.
“Senior Brother Luo, what do you mean by this?” someone asked.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 460