Chapter 111: Zhao Jian

“Bring me the communications.”

Jiang Jian glanced at the remaining time and sat down again on the ground.

It was already 5 a.m.

Breaking through the barrier felt fast but was in fact slow.

In truth, an entire night had already passed.

Ji Xue finally snapped back to awareness.

Fear still lingered in its eyes.

Its spirit monster power was not weak.

But that tiny sword qi was terrifyingly powerful.

Ji Xue’s spirit monster protective barrier crumbled like paper before the tiny sword qi.

“Unread communications have increased to over four hundred.”

Ji Xue scrambled forward on all four limbs to stand before Jiang Jian. “Many of them are urgent.”

Jiang Jian, still cultivating, said: “Read them.”

Time in the cultivation chamber is precious.

Even after breaking through the barrier, Jiang Jian had not paused his cultivation.

Ji Xue asked: “Shall I start with your sister’s messages?”

Jiang Jian frowned slightly: “No matter whose message, just speak. Don’t waste time.”

“Understood.”

Ji Xue shrank its neck. “Your sister asked if you’ve been taking your medicine on time.”

Jiang Jian took his bag, pulled out a Solid-Soul capsule, and swallowed it. “Reply to her now: I’ve taken it.”

Ji Xue blinked, then continued: “Your sister asked whether you’ll join the Two Prefectures Forum, and if so, whether you’ll enter the team competition or the individual one.”

“Team competition.”

Jiang Jian said.

The Two Prefectures Forum.

It was an academic exchange between Shaoshuizhou and Hanjiang Prefectures.

Divided into “Literary Debate” and “Martial Debate.”

Literary Debate was open only to third-year students.

Martial Debate was open to every grade.

Within it, there were two categories: “Team Competition” and “Individual Competition.”

Over the past week,

the Divine Gift University Joint Forum had been flooded with news about the Two Prefectures Forum.

Hanjiang Prefecture had twenty Divine Gift Universities.

Their combined strength clearly surpassed that of Shaoshuizhou.

Even so,

Shaoshuizhou’s seventeen Divine Gift Universities

still saw overwhelming student participation.

Because

the ranking rewards for the Two Prefectures Forum were simply too generous.

Across both prefectures, one hundred thousand freshmen.

Regardless of final ranking,

just participating granted a basic participation reward.

Moreover,

every rank tier reached brought significantly greater rewards!

Even more coveted were

the rewards within them,

which included rare resources impossible to obtain under normal circumstances!

Your sister says she joined a competition team—all girls—and they’re one member short. She asked if you want to join.

Ji Xue continued.

Competition teams could form freely across different Divine Gift Universities, as long as they were within the same prefecture.

Jiang Jian frowned slightly.

He opened his identity device and directly called Jiang Zhao’s real-time communication.

Having Ji Xue sort unread messages was meant to save time.

But now,

Ji Xue’s slow, word-by-word delivery was too tedious.

“Jiang Jian.”

The call connected; Jiang Zhao’s voice came through. “I got Shu Xue Sword.”

Jiang Jian asked: “Is it usable?”

“Usable? It’s incredible,” the girl exclaimed. “I’m almost the top student in the academy.”

“By the way, I sent you dozens of messages. You didn’t read any of them, did you?”

Jiang Zhao’s tone shifted. “I saw on the forum you don’t have a competition team.”

“Want to join mine?”

On the Divine Gift University Joint Forum,

many powerful competition teams had even posted publicly, inviting Jiang Jian to join.

Jiang Jian shook his head. “Come join me. Just you and me.”

Jiang Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Just the two of us?”

Jiang Jian nodded. “Yes. That way we get five-person rewards.”

“But I already promised my friends.”

Jiang Zhao hesitated. “And they’ve helped me a lot. If I leave now, it’d be awkward.”

The next second, she added, “If you insist, I’ll follow you.”

Silence for several seconds.

Jiang Jian asked: “Have you tested your cultivation essence? What’s the percentage?”

His sister replied: “Tested two days ago. Thirteen percent in Divine Gift Realm. Already considered top-tier in my school.”

“Not bad.”

Jiang Jian said, “Here’s what I suggest: stick with your friends for now. Don’t worry about ranking—just treat it as experience.”

Hearing this,

Jiang Zhao chuckled. “Don’t underestimate our team. One of my friends is a Level 4 talent from another school. We’re not weak.”

“Alright,” Jiang Jian replied. “I’m hanging up.”

The girl asked: “Did you take your medicine on time?”

Jiang Jian said: “I took it. Didn’t Ji Xue tell you?”

As soon as the words left his mouth,

silence fell on the other end.

A few seconds later,

Jiang Zhao spoke again: “Jiang Jian… so all my messages to you are being replied to by your pet?”

She was clever.

From just a few fragments, she immediately deduced much.

“Jiang Zhao, I’ll reply to you myself next time.”

Jiang Jian glanced at Ji Xue and ended the call.

“I told you to reply to my sister that I took my medicine. Why didn’t you send it?”

Jiang Jian said softly.

Ji Xue whispered: “You told me to keep reading the messages.”

Silence for a moment.

Jiang Jian opened his identity device and checked the message list himself.

A flood of messages popped up.

Liu Tiezhu: “Jiang Jian, you said on the message you’re leaving the team—is that true?”

“I’ll find new teammates then.”

“Lu Tingting from Wangchuan University joined our team.”

Plus a Level 3 talent from another school.

“Too bad you’re not here.”

…

Shan Ye: “I saw your message about leaving the study group.”

"Jiang Jian, don't let Shi Xuan affect you."

"We're here with you."

"The new squad is set up."

"But if you want to come back, the three of us can leave the squad and join you."

"Whenever you're ready, you can."

……

Yin Yin: "Classmate Jiang Jian, did you also receive the black box?"

"Don't overthink it—leaving the squad is fine."

"If you want to come back, you can return anytime."

……

The message about leaving the study squad.

It was sent by Ji Xue a few days ago, at Jiang Jian’s request.

Looking at these messages.

Jiang Jian swiped the screen, replying to each one in turn.

Instantly.

More messages came in.

Jiang Jian’s fingers slid downward, continuing to read.

Zhang Jian: "Classmate Jiang Jian, the supplemental resources have been delivered to your dormitory building—remember to collect them."

"I hope you achieve a high ranking."

"Registration is about to close—don’t forget to sign up."

Three consecutive messages, spaced a week apart.

The most recent message was sent an hour ago.

"Registration for the Two-Fu Discourse ends at 6 a.m."

Jiang Jian opened the academy platform.

At the center of the platform appeared a brand-new interface, exquisitely ornate.

It depicted a vast river.

In the middle, there was a clear break.

Yet the two halves remained faintly connected.

Symbolizing that Linjiang and Hanjiang were once the same source centuries ago.

He tapped into the Two-Fu Discourse interface.

A prompt sounded.

"Please select your registration category."

"Special note: In the Two-Fu Discourse, each student may claim only one ranking reward, based on their highest category ranking."

Below were four options.

The two "Literary Discourse" options.

Were grayed out, indicating they were unselectable.

"Martial Discourse" was divided into Squad Martial Discourse and Solo Martial Discourse.

Both buttons glowed brightly.

Jiang Jian reread the rules and tapped the Squad Martial Discourse registration button.

The Martial Discourse rules clearly stated:

A combat squad may have at most five members.

If the squad has four members,

then the five rewards are divided equally among the four.

And so on.

This rule had existed for a long time.

The reason:

To accommodate squads that, due to sudden circumstances, lacked members and could not be replenished.

However,

over the centuries,

during so many Two-Fu Discourses,

very few had formed four-member squads.

Because,

over a month into the term, everyone was a freshman.

Under such circumstances,

each additional member greatly increased the squad’s overall combat power!

Assuming similar Shen Que spiritual reserves,

a four-member squad and a five-member squad had a massive combat gap!

Yet in the history of the Two-Fu Discourse,

there had indeed been a few instances of four-member combat squads.

Each of the four members was a prodigy.

Their coordination was flawless, their combat power formidable.

Beyond those, all other combat squads were fully staffed with five members.

"You are not in a squad—unable to register for Squad Martial Discourse!"

A prompt sounded.

Jiang Jian raised an eyebrow.

Only then did he realize he had not yet formed a squad.

In the upper-right corner were three buttons.

"Form Squad," "Join Squad," and "Search Squad."

Jiang Jian swiped and tapped "Form Squad."

"Please name your combat squad!"

Jiang Jian selected the default name and confirmed immediately.

"Formation successful!"

"Combat Squad: Jiang Jian’s Combat Squad."

"Squad Size: 1 member."

(End of Chapter)