Chapter 108: Prison

"This jade."

Ji Xue stepped forward, studying it closely. "It's strange."

Jiang Jian put the white jade away. "Indeed peculiar."

"Keep eating."

Eating.

But in Jiang Jian’s mind, other thoughts arose.

Shi Xuan’s mother was clearly dead.

Yet inside the black box, Shi Xuan claimed he had found his mother.

This matter reeked of something unusual.

But.

Shi Xuan said no more.

Jiang Jian, likewise, had no intention of pressing further.

"Something’s arriving soon. You check and receive it."

After eating, Jiang Jian picked up Han Guang and walked toward the virtual pod.

Before Ji Xue lay many tasks.

Hearing Jiang Jian speak, he hastily swallowed his food. "Alright, I’ll inspect it carefully."

The virtual pod activated.

Jiang Jian placed Han Guang on the scanning unit and entered the pod.

"Verification successful!"

The virtual pod emitted a soft hum.

The scene before his eyes fragmented and reassembled.

"Total number of district students: 42,720."

"Your ranking: None."

"Estimated credit settlement: None."

On the holographic screen, the rankings had been cleared.

Jiang Jian flipped his palm lightly.

A simulated Han Guang sword appeared in his hand.

"Begin matching!"

The holographic screen spoke again.

"Detected high historical ranking. Matching priority elevated."

Hearing the prompt,

Jiang Jian raised an eyebrow.

Last week, when he was kicked out of the rankings,

he had settled credits at rank 3.

He’d assumed he’d have to fight his way up from tens of thousands.

But now,

elevated matching priority would save considerable time.

"Match successful!"

On the opposite side of the Suspended Rock Arena, a figure appeared.

"Jiang Jian from Linjiang Academy!"

Seeing Jiang Jian’s face, the man’s expression turned horrified—he immediately chose to surrender!

"I’m only 800-something! How did I get matched against a prodigy like this?"

Amid his complaints, the figure dissolved into light.

"You won this ranking match!"

"Your ranking: 891."

"Special notice: You have won 35 consecutive matches!"

Jiang Jian stared oddly, then tapped to continue matching.

"Match successful!"

On the opposite side of the Suspended Rock Arena,

the figure appeared—and vanished again instantly.

"I surrender!"

Jiang Jian’s Han Guang aura had barely slashed a few meters

when the Suspended Rock Arena erased it entirely.

"You won this ranking match!"

"Your ranking: 532."

"Special notice: You have won 36 consecutive matches!"

The holographic screen flickered faintly.

Jiang Jian’s ranking surged instantly.

It settled at rank 532.

"Two more wins."

"That should be enough."

As he pondered, Jiang Jian tapped match again.

A few seconds later,

"Match successful!"

This time,

the figure across the Suspended Rock Arena did not surrender.

Instead, he greeted Jiang Jian.

"Jiang Jian, how did you drop down here?"

"I remember you were rank 3 just a few days ago."

Hearing the voice,

Jiang Jian studied him for a moment.

He recalled: this was Xu Yu, who took the entrance exam alongside him.

"I haven’t fought the ladder rankings these past few days. Got kicked out."

Jiang Jian held Han Guang and spoke softly.

Xu Yu smiled. "No problem. I believe you’ll climb back up fast."

"Your cultivation essence is already the highest among this year’s freshmen."

"Qi Ming, Zuo Lu, Lu Tingting—all with Level 4 innate talent—barely surpassed 20% of Divine Bestowal. You're already at 37%."

The next second,

Xu Yu’s figure dissolved—he chose to surrender outright.

"You won this ranking match!"

"Your ranking: 229."

"Special notice: You have won 37 consecutive matches!"

Jiang Jian gazed at the spot where he vanished, eyes thoughtful.

Xu Yu’s tone had been strange.

There was something indescribable in it.

Perhaps Xu Yu, seeing Jiang Jian—his fellow entrant—far surpassing him, felt a complex, unspoken emotion.

"Continue matching."

Jiang Jian did not hesitate—he tapped match again.

No matter what Xu Yu felt,

it had nothing to do with him.

"Match successful!"

BOOM!

A blazing fireball, trailing flames, hurtled toward Jiang Jian!

Behind it, dozens of flying blades shrieked through the air!

On the arena,

Jiang Jian’s face remained expressionless. He raised Han Guang and slashed!

BOOM!

A brilliant white sword light surged upward, sweeping through.

The fireball and flying blades were swallowed whole.

The momentum continued, sweeping outward.

The massive Hanging Stone Arena was cleared completely.

“You have won this round of the ranking match!”

“Your rank: 117.”

“Special Notice: You have won 38 consecutive matches!”

He glanced at the ranking.

Jiang Jian tapped the holographic screen and exited the Ladder System.

Even if this rank slowly dropped over a week, it wouldn’t fall below the top 500.

The virtual pod lid opened.

“The goods have arrived!”

Ji Xue held a box, looking at Jiang Jian. “I checked it—it’s Li Family’s No. 9 Auxiliary Array.”

Jiang Jian picked up Han Guang and walked to the box.

The box was sealed with a simple forbidden array.

Only the recipient’s identity device could unlock it.

Ji Xue had already opened it once using an auxiliary identity device.

“The No. 9 Auxiliary Array comes with its own energy core.”

“It’s a single-use item.”

Ji Xue said, “One array should last about a few dozen days.”

Jiang Jian nodded lightly: “Take the array and the cultivation herbs to the campus cultivation chamber.”

With that, he fell silent.

Jiang Jian packed his bag, fastened Han Guang, and walked toward the balcony.

After becoming familiar with campus regulations,

he no longer needed to go downstairs every time he went out.

He could simply input a command.

Directly summon an unmanned aerial shuttle to the balcony.

Very convenient.

“Here it comes!”

Ji Xue, carrying a pile of items, leapt onto the boarding ramp.

Spiritual energy swirled around him, steady and secure, not a single item falling.

Jiang Jian glanced at it, saying nothing.

The aerial shuttle rose and sped swiftly toward the cultivation building.

A few minutes later,

Jiang Jian entered the campus cultivation chamber with Ji Xue.

“How long will you be cultivating this time?”

Ji Xue asked, arranging the items neatly in a corner.

Jiang Jian sat cross-legged on the floor, activated his identity device, and logged into the academy platform.

“You are about to purchase 150 hours of cultivation chamber time.”

“Cost: 1500 academic credits.”

“Confirm?”

Jiang Jian swiped the screen and tapped confirm.

“Purchase successful!”

“You have spent 1500 academic credits.”

“Your remaining academic credits: 6650.”

At the same time,

the chamber’s array roared to life!

“Your remaining cultivation chamber time: 150 hours.”

The notification sounded.

Pure spiritual energy flowed in continuously.

“For the next week,

we will cultivate here for 150 hours.”

“The night before the Two Academies Debate, go to the specialized cultivation hall and train for 10 hours.”

Jiang Jian looked at Ji Xue and said softly, “Prepare meals in advance—I’ll eat only once a day; the rest is up to you.”

Hearing him speak,

Ji Xue automatically replied: “Alright, I understand.”

Yet his thoughts were complex and hard to fathom.

“Cultivating this long—it’s like being locked up again.”

He sighed inwardly and gathered a box of cultivation herbs.

His gray claws moved swiftly, arranging stacks of paper-wrapped herbs neatly beside Jiang Jian.

So Jiang Jian could reach them effortlessly when needed.

(End of Chapter)