Chapter 54: Sinking Fish

The campus cultivation chamber is one of the most expensive places in the academy.

Cultivation time must be purchased with academic credits, and it is very costly.

Academic credits have many uses.

They can buy things unavailable outside.

Many students only come to the campus cultivation chamber

when they hit a bottleneck or plateau in their cultivation, and buy a bit of time.

So.

No one had ever thought to list the campus cultivation chamber as a delivery address.

Jiang Jian’s idea here was originally a sudden whim.

But once he thought of it,

Jiang Jian immediately changed his delivery address.

“10 units of cultivation herbs purchased successfully!”

“Your total expenditure this time: 5000 shopping credits.”

“Your remaining shopping credit balance: 29500.”

“Your goods will be delivered personally by vehicle within three hours.”

Jiang Jian swiped away the message.

He turned off his identity device.

Hours earlier, Jiang Jian had already purchased 16 units of cultivation herbs.

But those herbs were delivered to the dormitory building.

Achieving deep cultivation focus requires time.

Jiang Jian changed his delivery address, preferring to reorder and wait in the chamber rather than make another round trip.

His cultivation time had been renewed.

The chamber was once again filled with spiritual energy.

Jiang Jian did not deliberately wait for the cultivation herbs.

Instead, he sat on the floor and continued cultivating.

Time passed slowly.

The shadows and light outside the windows shifted.

Darkness gradually faded.

Dawn arrived.

Eight hours.

Jiang Jian only opened the door to receive the goods and retrieve the cultivation herbs.

For the rest of the time,

he devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

The spiritual foundation in the Shenque point

increased, bit by bit,

slowly yet steadily.

“Your cultivation chamber time has expired.”

“Please purchase more soon.”

The alert sounded.

Jiang Jian opened his eyes and looked out the window.

Golden-red sunlight spilled in.

It bathed Jiang Jian’s pupils, steeping them in golden radiance.

From noon yesterday to this morning,

eighteen hours of cultivation

had once again enhanced Jiang Jian’s perception and control of spiritual energy.

“Shenque point.”

“Like an insatiable abyss.”

“In the campus cultivation chamber,

one day of cultivation equals a hundred days outside.”

Jiang Jian sensed the spiritual energy in his Shenque point, his brow slightly furrowed.

“But the Shenque point is still empty.”

“It seems,”

“that all these days of cultivation

have merely laid a foundation.”

Jiang Jian stood up.

He packed his bag and left the cultivation chamber.

When he stepped off the elevator and exited the cultivation building’s gate,

Jiang Jian looked around—it was eerily quiet.

Only then did he realize:

fewer and fewer students were coming to the campus cultivation chamber.

Only a scattered few dozen remained.

A quick glance revealed many were from the First Academy.

Before the cultivation building, it was utterly deserted.

Nothing like the bustling crowds on the first day of school.

The first-year campus had 1,800 new students.

Most came to the chamber just for novelty.

After all,

this was a black hole that consumed academic credits.

Credits could buy many precious items on the academy’s platform.

Their acquisition channels were scarce.

To merely accelerate cultivation progress

and burn through precious credits—

to many students, this seemed foolish.

“No wonder,”

“ninety-nine percent of people

remain trapped for life in the Divine Bestowal Realm.”

Jiang Jian glanced at the silent building behind him and boarded the autonomous air pod.

“As humans, our lifespans are limited.”

“Cultivation is indeed difficult.”

“But,”

“the Surge Spring Realm—

they lack even the courage to look at it.”

“They dare not even imagine it.”

“In that case, saving their credits for other uses is actually the right choice.”

Inside the cabin,

Jiang Jian cultivated in silence, yet many thoughts passed through his mind.

“Linjiang Academy,”

“marketed as the top Divine Bestowal university in Linjiang Prefecture.”

Yet now,

of this year’s 1,800 students,

only a tiny few might ever reach the Surge Spring Realm.

“With my cultivation,”

“the Shenque spiritual foundation still creeps like a tortoise.”

“What about students with average talent? Their path must be even more hopeless.”

Thinking of this,

Jiang Jian suddenly thought of his sister, Jiang Zhao.

Her Divine Bestowal talent was Level 2: “Intent,” Spirit-Shadow Mind.

“Level 3 talents receive support packages from the Prefectural Office.”

“Though the Surge Spring Realm is hard, it is not beyond reach.”

“But Level 2 talent—”

"Fully cultivating the spirit essence in the Shenque Point has become vastly more difficult!"

And a Level 1 talent...

Jiang Jian’s expression was blank, thinking of Zhao Jianxue from Guangling City.

"No matter how hard you try, it seems pointless."

"Train until you die."

"It’s still hard to fully cultivate the Shenque Point’s spirit essence."

Even with a Level 1 talent...

The differences are enormous, depending on the type.

Even the best "Shu"...

Can only guarantee you’ll land a decent job, be slightly better than ordinary people, and earn Alliance Coins easily.

But...

Facing the distant Spring Surge Realm...

A Level 1 talent is still far too weak.

Only wealthy families and aristocratic heirs can afford expensive second talents using massive amounts of Alliance Coins, reducing the impact of their innate talents.

After all...

A Level 3 talent orb, even the cheapest "Ti," costs over a million Alliance Coins.

Commoners simply cannot afford it.

"These letters are all from Jiang Zhao."

Jiang Jian set aside his thoughts, opened his identity device, and checked his unread emails.

A girl’s pleasant voice rang out.

"Jiang Jian, how’s your illness? Have you been taking your medicine on time?"

"Jiang Jian, my cultivation is going well—I’ve already sensed the spiritual energy!"

"But spiritual herbs are so expensive—one dose costs 500 Alliance Coins, and I don’t want to spend money on them."

"Jiang Jian, I really don’t want to spend Alliance Coins on spiritual herbs!"

"I bought one on the first day of school—it did nothing, and it broke my heart."

"Also, no one goes to our academy’s cultivation chamber."

"Many classmates are making friends, chatting, socializing."

"The food here is cheap and delicious."

"Jiang Jian, I’ve made new friends—my roommate."

"Cultivation is so boring. Every time I decide to train, I have to force myself."

"Theory classes are interesting—I love them."

Anhe Academy isn’t single apartments—it’s dormitories.

Dozens of images attached to the message arrived one after another.

Jiang Jian read through every email from Jiang Zhao.

He fell silent for a moment.

Jiang Jian replied: "Do you still have enough money?"

A few seconds later.

A notification sounded.

Jiang Zhao directly called a real-time communication.

Jiang Jian tapped to accept.

"The 50,000 Alliance Coins you gave me last time? I haven’t even spent half."

Jiang Zhao, just woken up, sounded drowsy: "Jiang Jian, you’re up so early."

Jiang Jian said softly: "Didn’t I tell you to buy spiritual herbs?"

Jiang Zhao said: "They’re so expensive—500 Alliance Coins per dose. Do they even work? I bought one before and felt nothing."

Jiang Jian fell silent.

On the other end, Jiang Zhao’s tone turned concerned: "Jiang Jian, you said after the Divine Bestowal Ceremony you haven’t had another episode—but you still need to take your medicine on time, just in case!"

Jiang Jian nodded, his tone growing slightly solemn: "Jiang Zhao."

Jiang Zhao paused: "What?"

Since childhood...

Every time...

Jiang Jian spoke in this tone...

Jiang Zhao knew she could no longer act on impulse.

"Don’t let the money I gave you rot in your account—spend it on spiritual herbs."

Jiang Jian spoke softly: "It’s not that the herbs don’t work—it’s that you’re not focused on cultivation."

"Without small steps, you cannot reach a thousand miles."

"Cultivation is inherently a matter of long-term accumulation."

"Don’t be stingy—spend it all, then ask me for more."

"As for the cultivation chamber..."

"If you have enough credits, try to go as often as you can."

Hearing this...

Jiang Zhao whispered: "Okay."

Jiang Jian ended the call without saying more.

His younger sister Jiang Zhao listened to him.

But Jiang Jian knew better.

Cultivation is an act that must come from within.

A hint is enough—more words are useless.

No matter how much others say, it’s never as effective as doing it from the heart.

Dum!

A notification sounded.

Another email from Jiang Zhao.

"Jiang Jian, I’ll work hard at cultivation."

Below the email was a photo.

The girl, in pajamas, leaned against her bedpost, giving a victory gesture.

(End of Chapter)