Chapter 45: Day and Night

Facing the students’ varied glances.

Zhang Jian’s expression remained unchanged as he said sternly, “Top ten receive extended access to the campus cultivation chamber.”

“Top twenty receive cultivation herbs.”

As his words fell.

Instantly, communication alerts chimed on many students’ identity devices.

Beep.

Jiang Jian’s gaze flickered as he opened his identity device.

“You have received a reward: 3 hours of campus cultivation chamber access.”

“You have received a reward: 5 units of cultivation herbs.”

Beside him.

Liu Tiezhu smiled and said, “I’ve got two hours!”

Shi Xuan checked his message and said, “I’ve got one hour and only two units of herbs.”

Liu Tiezhu shut off his device and looked at Jiang Jian: “Normally, campus cultivation chamber time can only be bought with academic credits.”

“Teacher Zhang is really generous.”

At that moment.

The top twenty students, having seen their rewards, all wore pleased expressions.

The rest, who received no reward, suppressed their smiles, eyes filled with envy.

No one mentioned elimination again.

“Class dismissed.”

After distributing the rewards, Zhang Jian said not another word.

He turned and climbed the gangway, boarding a flying pod that departed the training ground.

“Jiang Jian, heading to the campus cultivation chamber?”

Liu Tiezhu turned his head.

“Yes.”

Jiang Jian paused a moment, then replied, “Good—I’ve never been there before.”

Liu Tiezhu tapped his identity device to summon a drone pod: “Cultivating inside is truly like advancing a thousand miles in a day.”

“If you buy time with credits, it costs ten credits per hour.”

“The chamber is lined with intricate arrays that greatly accelerate cultivation.”

As he spoke.

Liu Tiezhu and Jiang Jian boarded the pod in turn.

“I’m coming too.”

Shi Xuan, carrying Yueyue Dao, followed them aboard.

But after sitting down, his gaze drifted, fixed on the window.

As if burdened by some thought.

The pod activated.

Minutes later.

It halted before a towering building.

“We’re here.”

The cabin door opened; Liu Tiezhu leapt out first.

Jiang Jian stepped down from the pod, and immediately, noise surged around him.

Before the building’s entrance.

Many students came and went, bustling and noisy.

“On campus, this is the only cultivation chamber.”

Liu Tiezhu said, “Seventeen departments, eighteen hundred freshmen—all sharing this one building.”

“That’s why it’s so crowded.”

As he spoke.

A robotic butler approached the entrance, its mechanical voice announcing: “Please input desired cultivation time.”

Liu Tiezhu stepped forward, swiped his identity device: “Two hours.”

Beep!

A blue light flashed on the robot’s chest.

“Detected remaining time—deducted.”

“No academic credits consumed.”

“Room automatically assigned.”

“Please enter the elevator.”

Liu Tiezhu waved at Jiang Jian and walked straight into the main elevator: “I’m going to cultivate.”

Before the building’s entrance.

More than a dozen elevators, over twenty robotic attendants.

Jiang Jian opened his identity device and held it before the robot: “Three hours.”

After verification, the robot stepped aside.

“Detected remaining time—deducted.”

“No academic credits consumed.”

“Room automatically assigned.”

“Please enter the elevator.”

Jiang Jian turned his head and glanced back.

Shi Xuan stood still, holding Yueyue Dao, lost in thought.

Seeing this.

Jiang Jian fell silent for a moment, said nothing, and boarded the elevator.

Clank.

The elevator doors sealed shut.

The building was vast.

Seconds later.

The elevator doors slowly opened.

Before him stood a steel alloy door.

A faint glow shimmered on his identity device.

The door seemed to sense it, sliding open to either side.

Beyond lay a corridor.

“Your assigned cultivation room: third door on the left.”

The voice came from his identity device.

Jiang Jian followed the instruction to the room’s entrance.

“Remaining cultivation time in this room: 3 hours.”

As the reminder sounded, the door opened.

Jiang Jian stepped inside and immediately sensed—

All around the room—

Were surging qi!

The Shenque point’s qi circulation surged with sudden, fierce vitality!

Clank!

The door sealed tightly behind him.

Jiang Jian wasted no time, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

He immediately activated the Jing Ling Zhen Fa and began cultivating.

The qi at Shenque churned and accelerated—its flow at least tripled!

“Oh, the cultivation herbs.”

Jiang Jian suddenly remembered.

He rummaged through his bag and pulled out ten units of cultivation herbs.

“Extras included in the resource pack.”

“Ten units of cultivation herbs.”

Jiang Jian picked one up, tore open the paper wrapping.

Instantly—

A fragrant, herbal scent filled his nose and mouth.

“Cultivation herbs are brewed from precious plants.”

“When ingested, they strengthen qi reserves and boost cultivation speed.”

"The effect lasts about sixty minutes."

He thought of the description of the cultivation herb.

Jiang Jian directly placed the herb into his mouth.

Cool and slightly bitter.

After a dozen seconds.

The herb’s potency dispersed through the meridians.

Jiang Jian felt heat rising all over his body.

"This is cultivation!"

Jiang Jian closed his eyes and sensed the boiling qi in his shenque.

The Pure Spirit True Method had been pushed to its limit!

Qi surged and circulated at breakneck speed.

The herb’s potency was being consumed at a frantic rate.

Around his body,

the gathering qi was consumed even faster.

Even the array buried in the room

emitted a continuous hum, activating at full power!

Boom!

Unconsciously,

thin strands of blood-red flame blazed fiercely around Jiang Jian.

Crimson flames flickered in and out, burning with ferocity.

The air around him was scorched inch by inch, emitting a piercing sizzle!

"This cultivation speed..."

"This is what I want!"

Half an hour later, Jiang Jian suddenly opened his eyes!

Even his pupils spun with blood-red vortices!

"The cultivation herb was supposed to last sixty minutes."

"This is only thirty."

Jiang Jian frowned slightly.

In just half an hour,

the herb’s potency had been completely exhausted.

He reached for his bag and tore open another packet.

He swallowed another cultivation herb.

The potency spread, and the shenque qi surged like a tide.

Jiang Jian activated the Pure Spirit True Method and continued cultivating.

At the same time, he estimated his resource consumption.

"One hour consumes two doses of herb."

"Five hours, and these ten doses will be gone."

"Professor Zhang Jian of the department awarded five cultivation herbs, but they haven’t arrived at the dormitory yet."

He pondered for a moment.

Jiang Jian picked up his identity device, logged into the academy platform, and found the campus cultivation room: "Purchase two hours!"

Beep!

A faint glow flickered.

The identity device delivered a prompt.

"You are purchasing two hours of cultivation room time."

"Cost: 20 academy credits."

"Confirm?"

Jiang Jian tapped confirm.

Academy credits were precious.

Every credit expenditure required repeated verification.

"Purchase successful!"

"You have spent 20 academy credits."

"Your remaining credits: 1100."

Meanwhile,

the spotless cultivation room lit up its screen.

"Remaining cultivation room time: 4 hours 30 minutes."

Jiang Jian tore open the remaining eight doses of herb and placed them on his bag.

Amid the hum of the array,

he began cultivating again!

Cultivation Building, Central Control Room.

"What’s going on with this room!"

The staff member frowned, staring at a corner of the monitor screen.

The large screen displayed surveillance feeds from over a hundred cultivation rooms.

"This room’s array has been running at maximum capacity!"

He stared at the screen, baffled.

(End of Chapter)