Wen Heng and Wen Xian were the first to leave, followed by San Pang and Cloud Beast. Who would go next?
Shiyu sat alone in the Villa until nearly midnight.
Her pensive contemplation was broken up by the noise of Lin Fan and the others returning.
One after another, they were carried into the house, bruised, broken but still filled with energy as they shouted. âWe won!â to Shiyu.
The loudest one was Feng Luo. He looked especially happy as he reported, âThose Fire Wolves guys are really great. Itâs too bad theyâre involved with that Patriarch Ge character.â
By now, they all knew two important factions were jostling for power within the Imperial Capital. The Imperial College stood by the Imperial family versus whatever mysterious group that Patriarch Ge has joined.
âNo problem, I have already made inquiries into it,â said Dong-Fang Zhen smugly. âThe Fire Wolves were hired by Patriarch Ge to perform a task. Now that they have lost to us, they have essentially failed their tasked and would not be allowed on stage again. Since they are coin hire, we could hire them too.â
âNot a bad idea. I think that Fire Wolf guy is really not bad. I wonder if the College would be willing to take him in as an elder?â
âOh, thatâs a great idea,â
âSpeaking of which, everyone improved a lot today. Our Cultivation level had increased and the strength is really different. We must all thank Xiao Shi for it. By the way, what was the thing you gave us just now?â asked Feng Luo.
At this, everyone looked over curiously. Aside from the College Champions, the people who had carried them in as well as the Dean, Elder Feng and Patriarch Liu were also there. They had all came to make sure the Champions got back safely and their injuries treated.
Shiyu, who had been busy dispensing medicine and medicinal wine blinked up at Feng Luoâs question. âRemember I have that Nascent Formation beast core? I refined that thing and cooked a Crystal Pork Shoulder with it. All it did is provide you with lots of Spiritual energy, how much you can incorporate into your Cultivation realm depends on your own body.â
âA Nascent Formation beast core?!â nearly everyone in the room, with the exception of a few, knew that Shiyu possessed the body of a [1] Nascent Formation Leopard. The Dean and the Elders exchanged a glance. Elder Gu had told them that this girl has this creature in her possession and that it had been the victim of a one-hit-kill.
[2a] Shiyu blinked back at them. Well, she has a Nascent Formation Leopard in hand, so surely it made sense for her to have a beast core of that level?
âHold it, youâre saying that you directly refined a beast core to pure spiritual energy?â the Dean immediately found a [3] loophole in her explanation.
[2b] It was natural for him to be sceptical since it went against the common sense of this world where beast cores, even high-level ones, could only contribute a minimal increase in spiritual energy.
âI have a way,â said Shiyu evasively.
âIs that why you need so many beast cores?â how could the [3] Dean forget about the mass purchase of beast cores just a couple of weeks ago? If this is the result this Shi girl could give, heâll consider the past effort well spent.
âYes,â
âI see,â [2c] [3] he had also purchased a lot of beast meat for her. However, since it did not look like the girl was willing to say anything else, he decided not to pursue the matter. Every Cultivator has their own secrets.
He had believed that the rift was solely responsible for the Championâs sudden increase in Cultivation. However, even taking the rift into consideration, [2d] it was a fact that the College Champions experienced multiple level-ups in one go happened only after this girl gave them something to eat.
Looks like in addition to great talent and Cultivation environment, having a friend with great backing is just as important. While this was good news, it still made him a little depressed to think that this little girl has the power to affect so much change compared to the combined effort of the elders⌠[3]
Wait, isnât this girl a College student? If he could convince her to share the secret behind maximising the Spiritual capacity of beast cores, wouldnât it be a boon for all his students?! By then, wouldnât the Imperial Collegeâs status increase once more?
Suddenly, his eyes became very fiery.
In fact, the eyes of Elder Feng and Patriarch Liu also became very fieryâŚ
Lying in a corner by himself, Liu Suifeng stared at the ceiling with a melancholic expression.
Just now⌠before the fight, the girl had asked if he wanted to eat that mysterious meat.
He had loftily refusedâŚ
His chest hurt, ah! Could he return to the past and kick himself in the head?!
Lin Fan blinked at the sight of all these elders staring at Shiyu and coughed purposefully. âAhem, excuse us, Dean. I believe itâs best for all of us to rest now. Perhaps we could postpone our discussions?â
The Dean cast one look around the various injured people in the Villa and sighed, âYes, have a good rest. Depending on your conditions, weâll decide on the next match three days later.â
âYes, thank you, Dean.â
Once the elders and various other people left, Lin Fan turned to the others, âDo not speak to anyone about this matter. The fewer people know, the better.â
âItâs fine,â said Shiyu. âPeople are bound to find out sooner or later. It happened right in the middle of the Central Square after all.â
The fact that they all broke through multiple levels after receiving something from her would be pieced together eventually.
Now that they can no longer prevent people from finding out, her only option was to quickly breakthrough to Divine Condensation Level as soon as possible. So long as she reached Divine Condensation, she would be in no danger within the Ninth Realm. If she really did encounter some people who could break the Dao of Suppression and increase their power, she could still flee into her Saintâs Dwelling.
The only thing that worried her now was implicating the people around her. What if the people who wanted her secrets threatened her friends and family?
Therefore, when Lao Er later came to her and asked for permission to leave on a training journey, she did not stop him.
âItâs your future, so you get to decide. I believe you must have thought things through, so Iâll support you. However, leaving the College and making your way alone is going to be difficult. Why now?â
âI donât want to be the one to hold sister back,â Lao Er said a little helplessly. âIf I continue to stay within the College, I donât think Iâll ever improve. Also, I donât want to keep hiding under other peopleâs wings.â
When he was young, he had been taken in by grandpa and elder sister. Itâs about time he man up and be the one to protect them.
âIâd been meaning to leave for some time now, but delayed my leaving because I wanted to know the result of this competition. Now that the tournament has ended, I know that Brother Lin Fan and the rest are all very strong. Sister, with them to protect you, I feel very reassured. My Cultivation might be low, but sister must believe me. I will return safely.â
âThe young eagle is about to fly off on its own. Still, why donât you stay another night? You can leave first thing tomorrow. Also⌠are you going to leave alone?â thus far, her friends had been leaving two by two. For some reason, she had a feeling that this pattern should repeat itself again.
Lao Er hesitated, âShould be just meâŚâ
âWho says so? Iâve already packed my stuff. Iâm going with you,â Xiao Shu suddenly appeared with a smile. âI, too, want to see the world outside. Shi Jin, are you willing to take me with you?â
Lao Er suddenly looked a little flustered. A suspicious blush stained his cheeks, âBut, it will be dangerousâŚâ
âAm I supposed to stay home forever just because itâs dangerous? If you donât want to take me with you, Iâll just go on my own,â
âAlright, alright, we can go together,â
Shiyu, the person stuck to the side, was unexpectedly fed a lot of dog food.
âHowever, before we leave, I have a debt to collect,â said Xiao Shu.
Shiyu paused, âOh right, no problem. Weâll go with you and get it done tomorrow.â
Thatâs right, she must accompany Xiao Shu to collect her debt. That is, everyone within the Villa should come and make sure Xiao Shu redeems her debt.
The next day, while they were on their way to collect debt, Tan-Tai Chu had arrived at the border of the Eastern Martial KingdomâŚ
[Gumihou: Uh oh⌠I wonder if they will remember to make use of Uncle Wang?]
Gumihou is keeping track so that you donât have to ~
<table>Original Purity Stage 8 ćäť Become immortal Stage 9</tbody></table>
[1] Adjusted Detail for Logistic Purpose: Everyone kept talking about beast core, beast core, forgetting that it came attached with a whole Spiritual Beast. Also, talked a bit about Wen Heng as Shiyuâs âbackerâ.
[2] Deleted stuff:
[a] âSure enough, it is a person with a big background. It is not surprising that she could get her hands on a Nascent Formation beast core.â
Since you already mention Elder Gu, the guy who had personally seen the beast with his own eyes, surely the above statement is moot? Anyway, even if you want the others to feel impressed by Shiyu, the excuse should still stay within sensible IQ level.
[b] âHe canât be blamed for his ignoranceâ
The Dean canât be blamed for his ignorance, but Gumi still didnât like Shiyuâs condescending attitude. Please observe Note 3.
[c] âNo wonderâŚâ No wonder their Cultivation went up so quickly
The connection is⌠again, this statement is just there to make the Dean sound like an ignoramus. Delete.
[d] âThe progress of the other students were slower than Lin Fanâs group even with the riftâ
âŚbased on the fact that you have already said that Cultivating directly below the rift has the highest spiritual saturation⌠isnât it normal for other students to progress more slowly?
[3] USMiC â Dean: He runs an entire College and has the ability to get the Imperial family and a few heads of families to get together to form a tournament to raise the strength of his students. At least do him the courtesy of letting him keep his IQ.