Chapter 146

Xu Jin heard about Lu Kun being specially recruited as a core disciple by Great Dean Fang Shinan while queuing at the National Dao Academy's External Affairs Hall.

According to the rules of the National Dao Academy, each of the twelve Vice Deans has one quota to specially recruit an Inner Court disciple.

And each of the four Great Deans has one quota to specially recruit a core disciple.

But the special recruitment quota stops at the level of core disciple.

True Inheritor disciples can only be produced from the autumn examination and then promoted through internal assessment.

To be honest, Xu Jin had no good feelings for Lu Kun, and in fact, he disliked him very much.

For no other reason than that you, Lu Kun, were about to ruin my path; no matter what kind of person you are or how strong you are, I can only and must dislike you.

Xu Jin is not petty, but he is not broad-minded enough to only care about the big picture.

As for the process of Lu Kun being specially recruited by Great Dean Fang Shinan, Xu Jin could see that this should be Great Dean Fang Shinan's attitude, and it also had a bit of an intention to show the world why he didn't take the True Inheritor champion Xu Jin as a disciple, but specially recruited a failed candidate instead.

Xu Jin would not argue, and even less would he explain to anyone that he didn't apprentice to Great Dean Fang because there was no chemistry and it wasn't from the heart.

There was no need for that.

Just cultivate well.

But the next instant, Xu Jin couldn't stand still.

"Have you heard? The True Inheritor champion of this session, Xu Jin, is a top-tier lecher! Otherwise, he wouldn't have passed over several Great Deans and specifically apprenticed to the lowest-ranked Vice Dean, Liu Zhou Qingzhu.

What he's after is the senior sisters of the Liu Feiyan Hall, who are very beautiful."

"Damn, isn't the Liu Feiyan Study Hall inviting a wolf into the house?"

"More than that, it's simply inviting a wolf into a flock of sheep."

"A few senior brothers are already getting anxious."

"Otherwise, why would people call him a lecher! The Liu Feiyan Study Hall has only taken him as a male disciple in all these years, and he actually had the nerve to join."

"This guy is shameless."

Xu Jin's face turned completely black.

It was just a Great Dean specially recruiting an apprentice; how did his apprenticing turn into him being a lecher, and it even spread?

"Senior brother, why is this Xu Jin called a lecher? Did he do something?"

"Does he need to do something? Apprenticing to the Liu Feiyan Study Hall, if that's not a lecher, what is?"

"Everyone is saying so."

Xu Jin's face turned completely black.

Damn it, he had only been apprenticed to the Liu Feiyan Study Hall for exactly one day, and he hadn't even looked at many long legs, yet he had already become a lecher.

Later, he had to investigate carefully to see who was pinning this dirty label on him.

Xu Jin queued at the National Dao Academy's External Affairs Hall for a full quarter of an hour before it was his turn to enter.

This made Xu Jin miss the External Affairs Hall of the Jin Shan Dao Academy; back then, he had super VIP treatment, not only entering directly, but every time he went in, the Hall Master would receive him personally.

Coming here, he had to queue for a long time...

Hmm?

Suddenly, the manager who was receiving Xu Jin left quickly, and in came a man of medium height, slightly plump, with a handlebar mustache, a smiling face, and eyes full of shrewdness.

What attracted Xu Jin's gaze was not the man himself, but a string of shining gemstone beads that the middle-aged man was twirling in his hand.

A familiar scene.

Suddenly, it made Xu Jin think of many things from his previous life; there was a period when wearing and twirling beads became a trend.

"I am Ling Mao, the Vice Hall Master of the National Dao Academy's External Affairs Hall. It is a pleasure to meet the champion of this session; you are indeed a man of talent."

Xu Jin was stunned; a Vice Hall Master had actually come, so he hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.

The person in front of him wasn't putting on airs and looked like he was honored, but that should actually just be his professional instinct.

In terms of rank, the Vice Hall Master of the Great Chen National Dao Academy's External Affairs Hall is on par with the Vice Supervisor of the current Mountain Dean Dong Zhao, and perhaps his real power is even stronger.

"It's like this: the Grand Master previously instructed that all the star cores you brought back from the Fire Splendor Star Domain have been counted. Just heard you were here, so I rushed over to settle the account with you," Ling Mao said while twirling his beads.

"Sorry to trouble you, Hall Master Ling."

Xu Jin was here this time because he originally intended to exchange the fourth-tier Green Jade Scepter for some starlight from the Star-Plucking Tower, and then buy pills for cultivation.

Because Xu Jin's Dao Merits and starlight were both bottoming out.

The two hundred plus Dao Merits he had accumulated before were already bottoming out after renting a B-grade courtyard for a year and getting a canteen meal card for his sister.

Originally, he had over four hundred strands of starlight in the Star-Plucking Tower, which could be considered a considerable fortune.

But wealth is something that accumulates slowly and is spent too quickly.

So-called spending money like water is about this.

Yesterday, he bought a bottle of One-Qi Star-Returning Pills and two bottles of Four-Mystery Star-Restoring Pills for Ning Yuchan to nourish; a bottle of Four-Mystery Star-Restoring Pills sold for forty strands of starlight, so two bottles were eighty strands.

But one One-Qi Star-Returning Pill sold for a staggering ten strands of starlight, so one bottle was one hundred strands of starlight.

For Ning Yuchan's safety, Xu Jin gritted his teeth and bought them.

But in the end, there was a small surprise; Xu Jin bought two more One-Qi Star-Returning Pills for his own use, making up two hundred strands of starlight, saving two strands of starlight, and paying 198 strands of starlight.

The title of Plain Field Starlight is still somewhat useful.

With wealth shrinking significantly, Xu Jin intended to exchange the fourth-tier Green Jade Scepter for some starlight from the Star-Plucking Tower, but he didn't expect the Dao Merits to come down.

"Xu Jin, you handed in a total of three hundred and forty-four third-tier star cores. Among them, there are nine third-tier upper star cores, with a base of 54 Dao Merits; ninety third-tier middle star cores, with a base of 360 Dao Merits; the rest are all third-tier lower star cores, with a base of 490 Dao Merits.

Among them, 93 star cores were rated as middle-grade, gaining an additional 186 Dao Merits.

The total Dao Merits gained from the star cores you handed in is 1090," Vice Hall Master Ling Mao said.

This made Xu Jin a little disappointed; although 1090 Dao Merits is not a small amount, after a life-and-death battle, he only got this much, which wasn't enough for a month of cultivation, and not even enough for one climb of the Heaven-Ascending Stairs.

To say he wasn't disappointed would be a lie.

It feels like these Dao Merits are much harder to earn than silver.

This trace of disappointment on Xu Jin's face was still grasped by Ling Mao.

"Don't be anxious; this is not the final Dao Merit data!"

In Xu Jin's surprised expression, Ling Mao continued to calculate for Xu Jin, "According to the military merits of our Great Chen, they are divided into five levels, from first-tier to fifth-tier, which are Minor Merit, Great Merit, Distinguished Merit, Extraordinary Merit, and Unsurpassed Merit.

In many star domains or special environments, the spoils of war will all receive bonuses based on the merit level.

According to the base merit, multiplied by the tier, is the final total number of Dao Merits you obtain.

Calculated according to the rules, Xu Jin, your merit in recovering the Fire Splendor Star Domain is an Extraordinary Merit, and the final total you obtain is 4360 Dao Merits. If there is no objection, I will allocate it to you now," Ling Mao said.

"No objection."

Over four thousand Dao Merits, worth over forty thousand taels of silver, seems to be acceptable.

"Xu Jin, don't be anxious; this is just the Dao Merits you obtained from your spoils. The real reward is still to come. The Grand Master has already reported the battle report to the imperial court; it is estimated that in a few days, the result will come down," Ling Mao said.

"Xu Jin, since you are here, I will issue your cultivation resources as a True Inheritor disciple for this month together. From now on, as long as you are still a True Inheritor disciple, it will be issued to your Star-Plucking Token every month."

"Thank you, Hall Master Ling."

A few breaths later, Xu Jin saw 4860 Dao Merits arrive in his account, and his mood was very comfortable.

Just by virtue of this basic monthly income of five hundred Dao Merits, this True Inheritor disciple is worth it.

According to the rules of the Great Chen National Dao Academy, True Inheritor disciples enjoy the support of 500 Dao Merits of cultivation resources per month, which can be enjoyed for at most three years, while core disciples enjoy the support of 200 Dao Merits of cultivation resources per month, and Inner Court disciples only have 100 Dao Merits.

This is the most basic; one year is 6000 Dao Merits, and if you count the two times of climbing the Heaven-Ascending Stairs given per year, it is 26000 Dao Merits.

According to Mountain Dean Dong Zhao, counting various resources, not counting teachers, the cultivation resources the Dao Academy invests in one True Inheritor disciple per year are about 50,000 Dao Merits, while core disciples only have 20,000 Dao Merits per year, and Inner Court disciples have about 5,000 per year.

This can be considered a very large investment.

Fifty thousand Dao Merits per year, converted to silver, is five hundred thousand taels.

It can be called a huge sum!

This level of support is something even the richest man in Jin Shan County cannot do.

Don't look at the richest man in Jin Shan County having assets of over one million taels of silver, but what he can spend in a year is only ten or twenty thousand taels.

No wonder even second-generation local officials like Lu Xianbing are desperately fighting for it; these are all benefits of real gold and silver.

It's just that these Dao Merits come fast and go fast.

When he left, the 4860 Dao Merits Xu Jin had just obtained had 2760 left.

Xu Jin bought a total of three bottles of ordinary Star-Refining Pills and three bottles of top-grade Star-Refining Pills.

And this amount is only enough for Xu Jin to cultivate for half a month at most.

Up to this point, Xu Jin's wealth in the Star-Plucking Tower has shrunk significantly again.

【Dao Merits: 2760】

【Starlight: 246 strands】

It is worth mentioning that when he left, this Vice Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall, Ling Mao, took the initiative to add Xu Jin as a friend, and let Xu Jin contact him directly when he comes to the External Affairs Hall, so that things can be done faster and more conveniently.

Xu Jin happily added him as a friend.

Xu Jin knew that this was another human-relationship investment.

But since the other party values Xu Jin's potential and he can obtain some convenience, why not?

Most of the returns to this person in the future will just be incidental.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Jin arrived at the Great Chen National Dao Academy's Star-Plucking Square; this is the location of the Great Chen Star-Plucking Tower in the real world, and the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm of the Star-Plucking Tower is right here.

The benefits of being a True Inheritor disciple were reflected again.

Because of the large number of people using the Star Power Secret Realm, core disciples and Inner Court disciples all need to come to make an appointment in advance, while True Inheritor disciples can come and enter at any time.

Inside the Star Power Secret Realm, no matter what tier it is, there is always a spot reserved for True Inheritor disciples.

"Junior Brother Xu, you are from Jin Shan Dao County, so you should be the same Junior Brother Xu from the Jin Shan Dao Academy that I know, right?" The senior brother who received him suddenly smiled when he took Xu Jin's identity waist token.

"You are... Senior Brother Wu Dong?" Xu Jin suddenly remembered the senior brother he had met in the Star-Plucking Tower before.

"I didn't expect you to still remember me!" Meeting a netizen, it was another long chat, and they got along quite well.

Wu Dong also told Xu Jin many things and even gossip about the Star Power Secret Realm.

The Star Power Secret Realm is actually the real-world Star-Plucking Tower.

Different floors have different star power concentrations, but entering them requires paying a fee.

This so-called payment is not the disciples paying the Dao Academy.

Rather, the Dao Academy has to pay a price to the Star-Plucking Tower.

According to Wu Dong, the Dao Academy has to provide a massive amount of resources to the Star-Plucking Tower every year to obtain the use of many functions.

Otherwise, this Star Power Secret Realm would have long been opened to disciples instead of being restricted.

For the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm, True Inheritor disciples also have benefits. True Inheritor disciples at the Refine Star Realm and below receive five hours of cultivation time in the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm per month, core disciples receive two hours, and Inner Court disciples receive one hour.

If disciples still want to cultivate in the Star Power Secret Realm, they can pay Dao Merits or starlight to cultivate.

For the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm, one hour consumes thirty Dao Merits or three strands of starlight.

"Junior Brother Xu, Vice Dean Liu gave you twelve hours of Third-Tier Secret Realm cultivation time; plus the five hours you enjoy as a True Inheritor disciple, you have a total of seventeen hours of cultivation time!

You'd better use up this kind of cultivation time early; if you can't use it up, it's best to apply for a freeze in advance. It would be a pity if it's wasted," Wu Dong said with envy.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu. Then how should I enter this Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm?" Xu Jin asked.

"Your Star-Plucking Token already has the permission. To enter the real-world Star-Plucking Tower, hold the Star-Plucking Token, go straight to the third floor, and when you see the light gate, you can step directly into it. Every hour, the Star-Plucking Token will give a reminder," Wu Dong said.

"Thank you!"

This Senior Brother Wu Dong, with a cultivation of the ninth layer of Refine Star, is a core disciple; he should be a disciple from an ordinary background, otherwise, he wouldn't be doing various tasks in the Dao Academy to accumulate Dao Merits.

Coming to the Star-Plucking Square to be on duty, four hours each time, and gaining ten Dao Merits per day, can also be considered a place to obtain Dao Merits daily.

Stepping into the real-world Star-Plucking Tower, if it weren't for the faint starlight under his feet, Xu Jin would have almost thought he had entered an ordinary high-rise building.

The stairs spiraled up, and when he stepped onto the third floor, Xu Jin held the Star-Plucking Token and stepped into the star gate in front of him.

The next instant, Xu Jin stepped into a space where starlight flickered.

The moment he stepped in, rich starlight rushed toward him; three times the star power concentration.

In an instant, Xu Jin had a feeling of returning to the Fire Splendor Star Domain.

He tried it; inside the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm, there were invisible star power barriers in all directions, and Xu Jin's range of movement was a space about three meters long, wide, and high.

As long as the star power within the space was absorbed by Xu Jin a little, it would be replenished immediately, but the concentration would not exceed three times.

The cultivation time here is precious; Xu Jin didn't dare to waste even a tiny bit and started practicing directly.

One hour later, the Star-Plucking Token shook slightly, reminding Xu Jin that the time was up; Xu Jin didn't leave and continued, anyway, there was time.

But in this hour of cultivation, the circling star light on Xu Jin's middle star palace's star core only increased by sixty-five strands.

The cultivation effect is about three times that of the real world.

Xu Jin previously cultivated for one hour in the real world, and the circling star light on the star core increased by about twenty strands per hour.

To tell the truth, it's not as good as the effect of a Star-Refining Pill.

But the effect is best when taking two Star-Refining Pills consecutively within half a day, and the third pill is wasted.

But when it's impossible to take Star-Refining Pills, this Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm is the best choice.

Cultivating for one hour is equivalent to cultivating for three hours in the real world; it can be considered a good place for liver cultivation, and also a good place for pay-to-win.

After cultivating for two hours, Xu Jin left the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm and went straight to the Liu Feiyan Hall.

According to what Liu Zhou Qingzhu said, he still has one hour of cultivation time in the Liu Feiyan Hall's Star-Gathering Hall every day; in the Star-Gathering Hall, the star power concentration is twice that of the outside world, so the cultivation efficiency should be twice as high.

It is estimated that one hour can cultivate over forty strands of star core circling star light.

However, when leaving the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm, Xu Jin's middle star palace's Star-Gathering star core was already circled by a thin layer of star light.

This is the 630 strands of star light accumulated from the effect of last night's evening lessons, this morning's morning lessons, and the two hours of cultivation in the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm, which also represents that Xu Jin's middle star palace's cultivation has officially broken through to the first layer of Refine Star.

But it is the early stage of the first layer of Refine Star.

And if he wants to engrave star patterns on this first layer of star halo, he must reach the peak of the first layer of Refine Star.

Theoretically, Xu Jin still needs at least four to five days to break through.

However, tonight's evening lesson cultivation is a variable.

"Junior Brother is here!"

"Junior Brother is here!"

"Junior Brother Xu is here!"

"Hello, Senior Brother Xu."

Just entering the Liu Feiyan Hall, all kinds of pleasant greeting sounds were endless, which Xu Jin found very pleasing to the eye.

Especially these women who were cultivating, their postures were vigorous; some had the power and beauty of a female leopard, while others were like strong pines, all kinds of uprightness.

Except for those who were naturally burly, like Second Senior Sister Tang Chuo, who was the best among the burly ones.

As for the others, there wasn't one with a bad figure.

If this were a photo, it would really be full of long legs, not a single fake photo!

There were two junior sisters with particularly good figures, and Xu Jin even followed them with his eyes for several breaths.

Hmm, purely appreciating beauty!

The benefits of being a True Inheritor disciple were reflected again in the Liu Feiyan Hall's Star-Gathering Array; no need to queue, he could enter to cultivate directly.

Not beyond Xu Jin's expectation, with twice the star power concentration, Xu Jin increased by forty-two points of circling star light in one hour.

"You are Xu Jin?"

Just when Xu Jin finished cultivating and was about to leave the Liu Feiyan Hall's Star-Gathering Array, a pair of breathtaking long legs blocked Xu Jin's path.

Looking again, it was a spirited woman wearing dark red tight-fitting clothes, carrying a long spear on her back, wearing combat boots, light dark red armor, about the same height as Xu Jin, and with sword-like eyebrows flying straight to her temples.

It's just that her chest was slightly flat; I don't know if she was born like that or if it was pressed by the armor!

"You are..."

"This is Senior Sister Yang Miaozhen," the Inner Court disciple on duty hurriedly introduced.

"Xu Jin has met Senior Sister."

"Hmm, how is the cultivation efficiency?" Yang Miaozhen suddenly asked.

Xu Jin was a bit puzzled and looked up at Yang Miaozhen; in his Mingji Star Pattern induction, Yang Miaozhen's cultivation was in the Condense Star Realm, but it was a bit blurry, and he couldn't sense it clearly.

Could it be that this Yang Miaozhen also cultivated star patterns that hide her aura?

"Is Senior Sister asking how many strands of star core star light you cultivated in one hour in the Star-Gathering Array?" Second Senior Sister Tang Chuo's thunderous voice sounded from the side.

"Met Second Senior Sister!"

"In the one hour I just cultivated, I increased by thirty-three strands of star light." After thinking about it for a while, Xu Jin reduced his cultivation efficiency by thirty percent.

Originally it was forty-two strands, but he only reported thirty-three strands.

It was mainly to hide his divine soul cultivation of the seventh layer of Refine Star.

The divine soul cultivation of the seventh layer of Refine Star still had a relatively large boost to cultivation efficiency.

"Wow, so amazing!"

Second Senior Sister Tang Chuo exclaimed like thunder, "My divine soul is about to forge a star, and now cultivating for one hour only increases by twenty-eight strands of star light; you are worthy of being a True Inheritor disciple."

Senior Sister Yang Miaozhen also nodded with satisfaction, "Indeed, it seems that the talent of this True Inheritor disciple is indeed higher than ours; I have already forged a star with my divine soul, but cultivating for one hour can only increase by thirty-two strands of star light."

Xu Jin was a bit puzzled and didn't quite understand what this Senior Sister was doing by blocking him here.

A show of force?

Or wanting to compare something?

Or emphasizing her status?

Or preparing to suppress Xu Jin?

Or education?

But looking at it, it didn't look like any of them, and he couldn't figure out what they were doing.

"Since Junior Brother Xu's cultivation talent is higher than we imagined, then I can rest assured! Starting tomorrow, before you break through to the late stage of Refine Star, I will give my one hour of cultivation time in the Star-Gathering Array every day to you, Junior Brother Xu."

Xu Jin: "????"

This turn of events directly left Xu Jin dumbfounded.

Xu Jin was originally thinking of defending himself, hoping not to lose face; he didn't expect that as soon as the words turned, this Senior Sister directly gave him cultivation time!

Pie falling from the sky?

"Senior Sister, this is not very good..."

"I'm letting you cultivate, so just accept it and cultivate well!"

Speaking of this, Yang Miaozhen suddenly turned around, took out her long spear, pointed at Xu Jin, "But if you let me see you being lazy in cultivation, don't blame me for teaching you a lesson then!"

"Exactly!"

The Second Senior Sister also took out a pair of small golden melon hammers from her waist, shook them in the wind, and with a flash of starlight, good heavens, they directly turned into a star-light heavy hammer that was over four meters long, with the hammer head alone exceeding one meter in diameter; a terrifying aura immediately rose from Tang Chuo.

Boom!

The entire Liu Feiyan Hall rumbled and shook when this pair of hammers slammed down. While Xu Jin was lamenting the good construction quality of the Liu Feiyan Study Hall, Second Senior Sister Tang Chuo waved this pair of hammers as if they were weightless and shouted at Xu Jin, "Junior Brother Xu, if you dare to be lazy and not cultivate well, I'll find you to be a sparring partner!

Also, my one hour of Star-Gathering Array cultivation time every day is also given to you!"

What a fierce threat!

"Nonsense!"

Senior Sister Yang Miaozhen glared at Tang Chuo fiercely, "You have just condensed your star, and it is the time to increase your cultivation! Besides, even if you give it, Junior Brother Xu doesn't have that much time to come over to cultivate every day."

"Oh, yes, then I won't give it."

Second Senior Sister Tang Chuo was like a deflated ball; the giant hammer turned back into small golden melon hammers, and the terrifying momentum was also retracted.

"Alright, Junior Brother Xu, go in and hurry up to cultivate! Cultivate well; we can no longer let Master be sad!" After Yang Miaozhen finished speaking, she leaped with starlight and moved away instantly.

"Right, can't let Master be sad anymore; I'm also going to cultivate hard!" Second Senior Sister Tang Chuo waved her fist and rumbled into the Star-Gathering Array.

Xu Jin was stunned.

Can't let Master be sad?

What is the situation?

He asked a few Inner Court disciples, but none of them knew, so Xu Jin could only step into the Star-Gathering Array to cultivate again.

It seems only those core disciples know, so he can only ask when he has the opportunity.

This Star-Gathering Array's cultivation time cannot be frozen; if you don't come to cultivate, it's gone; use it on the day, and it ends on the day.

This day passed, and Xu Jin just cultivated.

But it was extremely fulfilling.

After dinner, Xu Jin came to his meditation room and began his evening lessons.

The one he took out to consume this time was a once-nourished Star-Refining Pill.

After a quarter and a half of an hour, the medicinal effect was exhausted, but a look of joy appeared on Xu Jin's face; the circling star light within the star core of the middle star palace increased by over one hundred and fifty strands.

The next instant, Xu Jin took out another once-nourished top-grade Star-Refining Pill and consumed it.

After a quarter and a half of an hour, the circling star light of Xu Jin's middle star palace's Star-Gathering star core directly increased by over three hundred strands.

Others, even if they took three top-grade Star-Refining Pills consecutively, wouldn't have such a cultivation effect.

One evening lesson increased the circling star light by over four hundred and fifty strands; morning and evening lessons combined were nine hundred strands, plus the Third-Tier Star Power Secret Realm and the Star-Gathering Array, over one thousand one hundred strands of star light per day easily.

Two days, at most two more days, and Xu Jin's cultivation would be able to easily break through to the peak of the first layer of Refine Star.

If it comes to pay-to-win, who can pay more than Xu Jin!

And starting tomorrow, Xu Jin's Practice Arena can provide Xu Jin with a steady stream of once-nourished Star-Refining Pills and once-nourished top-grade Star-Refining Pills.

After preparing the emergency pills for Ning Yuchan to fight in the Star River Battlefield, Xu Jin can even nourish twice-nourished or thrice-nourished top-grade Star-Refining Pills for himself to consume in the future.

That kind of pay-to-win is the real top-tier pay-to-win!

(End of chapter)