Chapter 100: Prayer to the Gods

Your cultivation chamber time has expired.

A notification sounded.

In the room, the flow of spiritual energy slowed.

Until it ceased completely.

Suddenly,

Jiang Jian opened his eyes.

A thread of spiritual light spilled from his pupils and slammed into the cultivation chamber wall!

CRASH!

The wall tiles shattered and collapsed; the embedded array trembled violently!

Several seconds later,

the room’s array stabilized.

Fragments of stone continued to fall from the wall.

“My control over spiritual energy is still not refined enough.”

Jiang Jian frowned slightly.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The sharp, icy spiritual light from before had vanished.

One hundred hours of steady cultivation brought substantial gains.

After slaying the mountain spirit,

Jiang Jian would, during cultivation,

repeatedly recall and meticulously reflect on the battle.

After one hundred hours of reflection,

not only was his Shenque spiritual essence more stable and solid,

Jiang Jian also realized

that if he encountered the mountain spirit again,

he could adapt on the fly and respond with a far more perfect strategy.

Though he might not necessarily be able to kill it alone,

he was certain that now, he could hold his own against the mountain spirit for a considerable time.

Beside him,

Ji Xue glanced at the fallen wall plaster, flicked its tail, and whispered, “When you came back, your credits were settled.”

It raised its identity device, claw tapping.

A message from five days ago appeared.

“You received a Ladder Settlement reward: 2700 credits.”

“Your remaining credits: 8150.”

Ji Xue dismissed the message, saying, “The day after settlement, you were removed from the Ladder ranking.”

“Among first-year students now, you have no rank.”

“In two more days, credits will be settled again.”

“If you don’t fight again, you won’t get this week’s settlement reward.”

Ji Xue reminded him.

“I know.”

Jiang Jian stood up. “What time did Gu Qi arrange?”

Ji Xue opened the identity device. “Six in the evening.”

Jiang Jian checked the time.

Three in the afternoon.

“Back to the dormitory complex.”

Jiang Jian stepped out of the cultivation chamber.

Unintentionally, he noticed

far fewer students were coming here to cultivate.

The cultivation building was shared by the entire first-year campus.

All 1,800 first-year students had to come here to use the cultivation chambers.

But here,

until he exited the elevator and boarded the aerial pod,

along the entire way,

he had seen only a dozen or so students.

“By the way,”

inside the pod, Ji Xue tapped the screen.

“Gu Qi sent you a set of clothes.”

Jiang Jian asked, “What kind of clothes?”

Ji Xue held the screen before Jiang Jian: “It’s custom-made by the faction.”

On the holographic screen,

a mid-length black robe appeared.

The robe was exquisitely crafted, its fabric deep black as an abyss.

Gold trim adorned the collar and sleeves, emitting a faint, subtle glow.

On the left chest, the Linjiang Academy emblem was embroidered as well.

Only this time, the flowing river motif was stitched with gold thread, using expensive luminescent material.

The entire outfit looked elegant, magnificent, and imposing.

Jiang Jian’s academy uniform was already well-made.

But compared to this black-and-gold faction robe from Gu Qi, it instantly paled.

“Gu Qi checked your measurements from your enrollment records.”

“Had it tailor-made by a renowned master.”

Ji Xue stared at the holographic screen, claw tapping. “Gu Qi said, in his faction, fewer than ten people are allowed to wear this set.”

The aerial pod halted before the dormitory complex.

Jiang Jian returned to his apartment; the robotic butler immediately approached.

“Welcome back.”

Its screen displayed today’s menu. “What would you like to eat?”

“Not hungry.”

Jiang Jian shook his head, set down his bag, and walked straight into the bathroom.

Ji Xue flicked its tail, shut the door, stared at the menu, and grinned. “I’ll have this, that, and this.”

“Understood.”

The robotic butler’s eye twitched, recorded the order, and turned toward the mechanical room.

A dozen minutes later,

Jiang Jian bathed, dried his hair, and changed into the faction robe.

The gray fox was wolfing down food.

Its peripheral vision caught Jiang Jian.

It froze.

The next second,

it forgot to swallow its food, stared at Jiang Jian, and couldn’t speak for a long moment.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Jian walked to the sofa, fastened Han Guang Sword, and picked up his bag.

Beneath the black-and-gold cuffs, his fingers, pale and slender, instantly captured Ji Xue’s gaze.

“Nothing.”

Ji Xue cleared its throat. “I suddenly think Yin Yin isn’t good enough for you.”

Jiang Jian was speechless, opened the door, and stepped out.

The elevator was empty.

The particle glass shimmered, bright as a mirror.

Jiang Jian gazed quietly at his reflection.

The gold-threaded black robe framed his pale, exquisitely beautiful face, scattered light glinting across it.

Spiritual energy in his Shenque surged, circulating silently.

No matter where or when, cultivation never ceased.

Leaving the dormitory complex,

Jiang Jian opened his identity device and summoned a small unmanned aerial pod, inputting the destination: Wuchong Jiangcheng.

The Cross-Border Flyer is a reward given to Anmin Guards.

Taking it out would be too conspicuous.

At Gu Qi’s invitation, Jiang Jian had no intention of drawing unnecessary attention.

He had only one goal.

That was the ten-hour trial pass for the Training Special Chamber.

“Five-Reign Jiangcheng, Combat Arena, destination confirmed.”

A mechanical voice sounded.

By the window, Jiang Jian leaned against the comfortable seat.

Suddenly, he thought of the old floating cars in Guangling City.

Guangling City had no expensive unmanned flyers.

All the old floating cars required manual piloting.

Compared to the bustling Five-Reign Jiangcheng on Tianzhu Mountain, Guangling City seemed like a city from a hundred years ago, backward to the extreme.

The unmanned flyer suddenly accelerated, entering the Tianzhu Mountain track, weaving through countless streams of flying craft toward Five-Reign Jiangcheng.

The window's filtration and ventilation system brought a touch of cool air into the cabin.

Jiang Jian sat quietly, cultivating.

His long eyelashes trembled slightly; a breeze stirred the strands of hair at his forehead.

Soon.

The flyer descended into Five-Reign Jiangcheng.

Like a nimble bird, it darted through the towering steel forest.

“Combat Arena, arriving soon.”

A cold mechanical voice sounded.

Jiang Jian opened his eyes and gazed ahead.

The flyer passed beneath the underside of a floating metropolis, then shot upward rapidly.

Sunlight blazed, bathing the earth.

Countless towering structures reflected brilliant light.

After flying over another floating island, the flyer burst through the cloud sea—the view ahead suddenly opened wide!

At the edge of the dense steel city.

A massive circular structure was firmly embedded at the center of the floating city.

The circular structure held countless private boxes and seats.

Every so often, a landing pad appeared, for arriving and departing flyers to dock.

“Box 1375.”

Jiang Jian checked his comm, activated his identity device, and entered the command again.

The flyer suddenly accelerated, heading toward the southern side of the circular structure.

A few minutes later.

The flyer landed on the landing pad.

Jiang Jian stepped down the gangway, identifying the zone numbers of the surrounding boxes.

“Box 1375 is over here.”

A few seconds later.

Jiang Jian precisely located the box, secured his backpack, and climbed the wide staircase.

Though called a box, this structure resembled a luxurious villa built atop a cliff.

Thousands of such villas dotted this vast architectural complex.

“Junior Jiang Jian.”

At the villa’s entrance, Gu Qi descended the steps wearing his faction’s black robe, smiling.

“Welcome to the Qishen Faction.”

(End of Chapter)