Chapter 56

He saw Mu Ying.

Jiang Jian was slightly surprised and asked, “What is it?”

Mu Ying blinked and said, “Teacher Wu told me to tell you that when you get to the lecture hall, go see him in his office first.”

“Teacher Wu.”

Jiang Jian thought for a moment, recalling someone, “Is it Teacher Wu Hai?”

Mu Ying nodded: “Yes, him. Teacher Wu is a master of theology. Go quickly.”

Jiang Jian nodded, pushed through the crowd, and headed toward the office.

Wherever he walked, students from the First Academy stepped aside slightly; most wore smiles and greeted Jiang Jian.

After his battle with Shi Luohua.

Jiang Jian’s name had spread throughout all seventeen departments of the campus.

The brief dozen-second battle video was replayed repeatedly by many new students.

Even some lower-ranked department head instructors used this video as temporary combat material in training classes, breaking it down step by step for their students.

This indirectly proved that the First Academy was, indeed, the First Academy.

Although the academy had just opened, the combat strength of First Academy students had already completely crushed all other departments.

This made First Academy students feel a sense of pride.

Walking through campus, they felt superior to others.

“Teacher Wu.”

Jiang Jian climbed the stone steps and gently knocked on the door.

A gentle voice came from within the office tower: “Come in.”

The tower’s interior was elegantly decorated, with furniture that was very old.

This office room, like the lecture hall, was built during the academy’s founding centuries ago.

Behind a large, heavy wooden desk.

Wu Hai leaned back in his chair, glanced at Jiang Jian, and smiled strangely: “During the proctoring, I knew you’d end up in the First Academy.”

“But I didn’t expect.”

“That you’d already made your own cultivation plan so quickly.”

Here,

Wu Hai stood up, his smile fading. “Jiang Jian, have you been staying in the campus cultivation room these past two days?”

Jiang Jian nodded: “Yes.”

Wu Hai’s expression turned serious. “Your Shen Que spiritual essence has improved rapidly.”

“Among this year’s freshmen, no one is currently ahead of you.”

“But.”

Wu Hai said gravely, “You must understand that cultivation isn’t about isolating yourself.”

“Balance is the true path—know when to push, when to rest.”

He held a screen and walked beside Jiang Jian.

“This weekend, you should take on some learning tasks.”

“And participate in the Sky Ladder matches.”

“It will greatly help your cultivation.”

Jiang Jian replied, “I understand, Teacher Wu.”

Wu Hai frowned: “Also, don’t stay too long in the campus cultivation room.”

Hearing this,

Jiang Jian’s gaze flickered slightly, revealing just the right amount of confusion.

Wu Hai urged gently: “Cultivating inside does bring rapid progress, but it easily breeds dependence!”

“Once you grow accustomed to the abundant spiritual energy inside.”

“When you leave the room.”

“You won’t be able to focus on cultivation anymore.”

Wu Hai’s tone was sincere.

Previously, some students had lived in the campus cultivation room like fanatics.

But the result was always the same.

Once they left the room, they couldn’t even perform ordinary daily cultivation.

It’s hard to go from luxury to simplicity.

Accustomed to the endless, rich spiritual energy inside the room,

they faced the thin, terrifying starlight and barely perceptible celestial qi of daily life.

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t enter a cultivation state at all.

Jiang Jian fell silent for a moment, offering no clear response, only saying, “Thank you for your concern, Teacher.”

“It’s only natural.”

Wu Hai smiled. “By the way, I happen to have a learning task here—take a look.”

Saying this,

he handed the screen to Jiang Jian.

Jiang Jian took the screen.

“Learning Task: Repair Architecture.”

“Reward: 1200 credits.”

“Task Summary: Yichong Jiangcheng has existed for centuries, its structures infused with the spiritual energy of Tianzhu Mountain. Some buildings have mutated into demons. These demons are born innocent; they need only use their bodies to slowly repair the missing architecture, after which they receive an identity device and regain non-citizen status, allowing them to leave Yichong Jiangcheng.”

“Task Details: Supervise demons repairing architecture.”

“Task Notes: For those who show up but don’t work, urge them to speed up. For those who pretend compliance but secretly resist, forcibly strip their bodies to fill the structure. For those who openly resist, activate recording immediately and execute them on the spot for resisting supervision.”

“Task Basis: Linjiang Prefecture Inspection Order, Non-Citizen Protection Law.”

“Additional Reward: None.”

…

After reading the learning task, Jiang Jian looked at Wu Hai.

Wu Hai squinted, his smile ambiguous: “Remember the iron demon?”

Jiang Jian nodded: “That dummy with a body as hard as steel.”

Wu Hai reached out, took back the screen, and said, “I won’t hide it from you—every structure in there is made of mutated iron demons.”

“Iron is rare—it’s a material for crafting top-tier tech equipment.”

“But according to the Non-Citizen Protection Law, nearly all iron demons are protected.”

“Therefore,”

“Iron is scarce on the outside market.”

Wu Hai lowered his voice slightly. “If you can get me ten pieces of iron.”

“I’ll trade each piece for 200 credits.”

As he spoke,

his expression was peculiar.

Jiang Jian sensed something, smiled, and said, “Teacher Wu, there’s a question I’m not sure whether I should ask.”

Wu Hai said, “Just ask.”

Jiang Jian whispered, “Two thousand credits—even Department Head Zhang probably doesn’t have that much authority.”

He left the second half unsaid.

Wu Hai was only a theory instructor.

He absolutely had no authority to allocate two thousand credits.

Hearing this,

Wu Hai exhaled in relief and laughed. “I thought you were going to ask something else.”

“This is just standard practice.”

“Ten pieces of iron—I couldn’t possibly keep them all.”

Wu Hai pointed upward. “Someone important needs the iron.”

“Current learning tasks have all been assigned to first-year students.”

“Most freshmen are just starting cultivation and have low combat strength.”

“Among this year’s students, only you can accomplish this.”

Wu Hai looked at Jiang Jian, his eyes filled with expectation.

What greeted him was

a silence lasting several seconds.

Wu Hai’s expression shifted, fearing Jiang Jian would refuse. “Jiang Jian, I’ll pay you another 200,000 Alliance Coins as a bonus.”

Jiang Jian’s face showed struggle. “Teacher Wu, it’s not that I don’t want to help you—I’m afraid manipulating the learning task will violate the Non-Citizen Protection Law.”

Wu Hai clenched his teeth. “Jiang Jian, you can record everything. If anyone gives you trouble, just say I ordered you to do it!”

Wu Hai clenched his teeth: “Jiang Jian, you can keep the recording on the whole time—if anyone gives you trouble, you can say I ordered it!”

Wu Hai wasn’t worried about any of this.

Secretly manipulating unofficial citizens was something everyone had always done.

In such a vast academy, no one could escape responsibility.

Jiang Jian’s gaze was calm, yet a hint of hesitation still showed on his face: “But—”

Wu Hai’s expression darkened and cut him off outright: “No buts! Add another 100,000 Alliance Credits—300,000 Alliance Credits total!”

“The credit points can’t exceed 2,000. I really can’t go higher.”

“If you don’t want to take on this study task,”

“I’ll find another student.”

Hearing this,

Jiang Jian finally seemed to make up his mind.

He took the screen from Wu Hai’s hand, his expression solemn: “Teacher Wu, rest assured—I’ll do my best on this study task.”

(End of Chapter)