Chapter 58: Hanguang

A few minutes later.

Campus cultivation chamber.

“Jiang Jian.”

Shi Xuan suddenly spoke, “Liu Tiezhu’s origins are mysterious—be cautious.”

Jiang Jian asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I learned about his background through family channels.”

Shi Xuan, with Zhuyue Dao on his back, said gravely, “He entered the academy through a special channel, and the name he used is fake.”

“Beyond that, I don’t know anything else.”

Jiang Jian nodded: “I understand.”

Earlier, Jiang Jian had already sensed something odd.

Liu Tiezhu was sharp-witted, quick-thinking, and his Divine Gift was half-concealed.

He didn’t seem like an ordinary student.

“I’m going to cultivate.”

Shi Xuan turned and walked into another cultivation chamber.

The door closed.

Jiang Jian sat cross-legged on the floor; the room’s array activated.

Spiritual energy gathered around him, coalescing into an invisible, formless vortex.

The intricate patterns on Jiang Jian’s uniform sleeves glowed one by one, emitting a faint white light.

“It’s Thursday noon.”

Jiang Jian glanced at the time; he had already decided to stay in the chamber for two days.

“Until Saturday night.”

“Sixty hours.”

“The cultivation herbs are sufficient for now.”

In the corner of the room stood eight large crates.

Each was completely filled with cultivation herbs.

Time passed slowly.

The crates of herbs gradually diminished.

Jiang Jian cultivated the Shenque spiritual energy while also refining his second Divine Gift: “Dark Scent.”

Dark Scent, Level 3 Divine Gift, Intent.

As Jiang Jian activated spiritual energy and deepened his refinement,

the glowing orb of his Shenque point brightened, becoming increasingly brilliant.

Ten hours.

Thirty hours.

Sixty hours.

Cultivation knows no day or night.

For Jiang Jian, time passed swiftly.

Except for a few meal requests in between,

Jiang Jian trained diligently, fully immersed.

The spiritual essence in his Shenque point was no longer faint—it had become a magnificent pale red flow, quietly coursing through his meridians.

The dark-red luminescence was semi-translucent, about the thickness of a rope.

Each time it flowed through his meridians, it subtly strengthened his tendons and bones.

It was also slowly growing, nourished by the dense spiritual energy.

Two and a half days passed in the blink of an eye.

“Ding!”

Several messages chimed in succession.

Jiang Jian opened his eyes.

Deep within his dark pupils, flowing true flames flickered in and out.

The next second,

the faint glow of the patterns on his luxurious uniform dimmed one by one.

“The cultivation at Divine Gift University has only just begun.”

Jiang Jian murmured to himself, lifted his identity device, and opened the latest message.

“Identity device permission update notice: First-Year New Student status upgraded to First-Year Student status!”

“Permission upgrade detected: Sky Ladder Ranking Tournament unlocked!”

“Permission upgrade detected: Learning Task System unlocked!”

“Permission upgrade detected: Academy Campus Simulation Combat unlocked!”

“Permission upgrade detected: Lecture Replay Videos unlocked!”

“Permission upgrade detected…”

A continuous stream of alerts chimed on his identity device.

Jiang Jian stood up, packed the remaining herbs into his backpack, and left the campus cultivation chamber.

A few minutes later.

Jiang Jian had already boarded a sky pod and returned to his dormitory building.

“You’re finally back…”

The robotic butler smiled, its gaze indescribable. “In a week since enrollment, you’ve only slept here once.”

Jiang Jian set down his backpack and headed for the bathroom: “A bowl of pork bone noodles, a cup of mocha.”

The robotic butler walked toward the mechanical room, unsure whether to laugh or cry: “Compared to other colleagues, my job is surprisingly easy.”

As a creation of Divine Technology, the robotic butler wasn’t even a non-citizen.

But the Solar System Code contained a clause:

Ordinary technological creations, due to limited intelligence, could be treated entirely as tools.

Advanced technological creations possessing “quasi-self-awareness” must be treated as “sub-non-citizens.”

But only to that extent.

Under the suppression of Divine Technology, they could never truly attain “consciousness.”

They would forever remain at the level of “quasi-self-awareness.”

A dozen minutes later.

Jiang Jian dried his hair and stepped out of the bathroom in his pajamas.

A steaming meal was already laid out.

Jiang Jian sat on the sofa, eating while opening his identity device to review the Sky Ladder Ranking Tournament rules.

The Sky Ladder Ranking Tournament was a crucial component of cultivation at Divine Gift University.

There were few ways to earn credits; besides completing learning tasks, only the Sky Ladder ranking settlement provided substantial credits.

It spanned an enormous area—seventeen states under Linjiang Prefecture, totaling seventeen Divine Gift Universities.

The Sky Ladder Ranking Tournament was divided into three major zones by year level.

Jiang Jian’s zone was the first-year zone.

The first-year zone wasn’t just the 1,800 freshmen of Linjiang Academy.

It included all first-year freshmen from the seventeen Divine Gift Universities within Linjiang Prefecture.

Jiang Jian swiped his finger and opened the Sky Ladder Ranking page.

A soft beep sounded; a prompt window popped up.

“You must bind a virtual pod!”

Jiang Jian stood up, walked to the virtual pod, and entered its machine serial number.

“Binding successful!”

“You may now use the Sky Ladder Ranking System normally!”

The next second,

the virtual pod’s white light turned on, its transparent glass lid reflecting brilliant radiance.

Jiang Jian did not enter.

He sat back down on the sofa and continued eating.

Meanwhile, after binding the virtual pod,

the holographic screen of his identity device displayed detailed Sky Ladder Ranking information.

“Total students in zone: 42,720.”

“Your rank: None.”

“Estimated credit reward: None.”

Jiang Jian scrolled the screen to the credit reward interface; his gaze brightened slightly.

“Credits are settled weekly.”

The divine grants university credits, jointly allocated by the Linjiang Prefectural Office.

Each ranking bracket may claim credit rewards only once.

Rank 1: 3000 credits awarded.

Ranks 1–10: 2700 credits awarded.

Ranks 1–100: 2500 credits awarded.

Ranks 1–500: 2200 credits awarded.

……

Ranks 1–10,000: 200 credits awarded.

……

Entering the top ten thousand earns you credits.

Jiang Jian closed the holographic screen, gaining a preliminary understanding of the Ladder Ranking Tournament.

Seventeen divine universities, 42,720 new students.

For ordinary students, even the 200 credits for the top ten thousand are not easily won.

The campus forum was already bustling, almost entirely filled with Ladder Ranking Tournament discussions.

Many students had already entered the Ladder Tournament, beginning all-night pushes for ranking.

“This ranking tournament isn’t just about earning credits.”

Jiang Jian browsed the Linjiang online forum and saw countless heated threads.

Some threads had already reached tens of thousands of replies.

Students from different divine universities, once victorious, uploaded videos and wildly competed to one-up each other, arguing enthusiastically.

And Linjiang Academy, as the top divine university in the prefecture,

had a far more civilized atmosphere on its internal forum.

Many students from lower-ranked departments, even when defeated, typically uploaded their videos and carefully analyzed the reasons.

Numerous educational threads detailed important considerations within the ranking tournament.

“Clean up the dishes.”

After eating, Jiang Jian stood up from the sofa.

The robotic butler approached and picked up the tray: “Understood.”

Jiang Jian picked up Hanguang and placed it beneath the virtual pod’s scanning unit, then stepped directly into the pod and closed the glass lid.

“Enter the Ladder Ranking System?”

Lights flickered, and a prompt sounded.

“Yes.”

Jiang Jian tapped the holographic button.

Continuous beeping echoed.

“Identity verified!”

The scene before his eyes gradually blurred.

A few seconds later.

Jiang Jian opened his eyes.

He found himself standing on a combat platform.

The azure sky stretched endlessly; swirling clouds below filled him with serenity.

The platform’s floor was made of an extremely hard stone.

Carved upon it were vast, surging river patterns, emitting a faint glow at every moment.

Jiang Jian flipped his palm lightly.

A three-foot-long sword materialized.

“Hanguang has been simulated as a Level 2 divine weapon.”

Jiang Jian stared at the wooden sword in his hand, frowning slightly.

(End of Chapter)