Chapter 68: Starfall Iron Acquired

On the evening of July 8, the mysterious green-robed man still did not appear.

Xu Jin suspected the fellow might already be dead.

July 9 was the day the Dao Academy organized its disciples to enter the mountains to complete mundane tasks.

Early that morning, after finishing his morning cultivation, Xu Jin hurried to the Elixir Hall to replenish his supply of pills.

The energy-boosting pills given by the mysterious green-robed man, along with those seized during missions, had long been used up—he needed at least two per day, so one bottle lasted only five days.

A few days ago, Xu Jin bought another bottle each of energy-boosting pills and mind-clearing pills.

This morning, he discovered that only two pills of each type remained.

This mountain expedition for treasures would take at least three days—he needed to restock.

Upon arriving at the Elixir Hall, Xu Jin purchased one bottle each of energy-boosting and mind-clearing pills from the hall’s overseer, spending three hundred and fifty taels.

Adding this to his previous purchase, Xu Jin’s remaining balance of eighteen hundred taels from his last mission had now dwindled to less than eleven hundred taels.

Six hundred taels of that must be set aside for his sister Jiang Er.

By the time he returned from this mountain expedition, the timing would be just right.

That would coincide with Jiang Er’s one-month work term ending, and Xu Jin had already planned to keep her home, refusing to let her return—then negotiate with the employer, the Zhao household, and pay compensation if necessary.

If his father refused to spend the silver, it was simple—he’d just have to pay it himself.

The fundamental reason his father Xu Dajiang hesitated to spend silver was simply one word—poverty!

No family savings.

It was like having only ten thousand kuai: spending a thousand required careful thought; spending ten thousand demanded extreme caution.

But when you had a million or ten million, spending a thousand or ten thousand became as effortless as others spending one or two kuai—flung away without a second thought.

Why even think about spending one kuai?

“By the way, overseer, do you have premium energy-boosting pills?” After buying the pills, Xu Jin asked casually—he’d heard about this pill from Lu Xianbing the day before.

“We do, but not many—one hundred taels per pill. Would you like to buy a few?” Xu Jin was now one of the Elixir Hall’s biggest customers—he bought three or four hundred taels’ worth of pills every five or six days—and the overseer greeted him with a warm smile.

“How effective are they?”

“The elixir masters say the premium energy-boosting pill’s effect is double that of the inferior version,” said the overseer.

“Hmm, a bit expensive—could I take a look?”

Xu Jin asked this both to understand the premium pill’s effect and to see what it looked like.

“Of course.”

The overseer carefully retrieved a small vial, broke the wax seal, poured one pill onto a jade tray, and handed it to Xu Jin. “Only look—do not touch. It’s for ingestion.”

“Thank you, overseer.”

He glanced at it once—and lost interest, yet his heart raced with excitement.

This wasn’t a premium energy-boosting pill—it was a Starlight-Infused Energy-Boosting Pill.

He’d seen this exact appearance after leaving a regular energy-boosting pill in his Star Lamp for a day.

A faint, shimmering halo of starlight swirled around the pill, breathtakingly beautiful.

In an instant, Xu Jin saw a path to wealth.

By infusing ordinary energy-boosting pills, he could turn them into premium ones—a seventy-tael profit per pill.

Even if he made less, he’d still clear sixty taels.

But the problem was—he barely had enough infused pills for his own use.

“Oh, by the way, you’re heading into the mountains—would you like to stock up on Star-Replenishing Pills?” The overseer, seeing Xu Jin leave, quickly pushed his wares.

Xu Jin shook his head and waved him off, then left the Elixir Hall and headed straight for the Forging Hall.

The items he’d ordered a few days ago should have arrived.

As for Star-Replenishing Pills, he still hadn’t used up his current stock.

Moreover, his recent cultivation at the sixth level of Meal the Mist required little star force—he couldn’t even use up the second-tier starlight on the Star-Dou Platform each day, and had already accumulated eight strands, making Star-Replenishing Pills unnecessary.

“Overseer, has the meteorite iron I ordered a few days ago arrived?” Xu Jin asked as soon as he reached the Forging Hall.

“It’s here, it’s here—I’ll get it for you.”

Earlier, when Xu Jin killed the traitorous squad leader Ji Bochang, the latter’s first-tier star-weapon longsword had been assigned to him.

Xu Jin had initially planned to sell it to buy meteorite iron.

The Forging Hall sold such star-weapons for two thousand taels, but only bought them back for fifteen hundred.

If he could find a private buyer, selling it for eighteen hundred taels or more should be easy.

The Forging Hall also carried meteorite iron.

But when Xu Jin asked, they refused to sell.

It was a military-controlled material.

This frustrated Xu Jin deeply.

To upgrade his second-tier Star-Dou Platform to third-tier, other materials—fine iron, purple copper, silver, and gold—were easy to obtain with silver, but meteorite iron and first-tier star-jade tablets were nearly impossible to find on the open market.

Xu Jin had already inquired around Jinshan County City, especially about meteorite iron—officially, only Jinshan Dao Academy, Tianyang Branch, and Cangming Branch had any. Secret channels might exist, but he couldn’t find them.

And secret channels would be even more expensive.

So Xu Jin appealed to Zheng Jiaoxi at the Forging Hall, requesting a piece of meteorite iron, vaguely concealing his purpose.

Zheng Jiaoxi gave the same answer: meteorite iron was military-controlled; every liang entering the Forging Hall had to be accounted for.

But since it was only low-level military-controlled material, loopholes existed.

Xu Jin could exchange his first-tier star-weapon longsword for it.

That way, the Forging Hall’s books balanced, and they could give him the meteorite iron.

What could Xu Jin say? He thanked Zheng Jiaoxi and immediately agreed to the exchange.

Without this, he had nowhere else to turn.

When he received the meteorite iron, Xu Jin was surprised—it was incredibly small and heavy.

A piece no bigger than a fingernail, pitch black, weighing exactly one liang.

“Thank you, overseer.”

After thanking him, Xu Jin asked, “Overseer, does your Forging Hall sell first-tier star-jade tablets? What’s the price?”

“First-tier star-jade tablets? Used for crafting insignias—they’re sold by the External Affairs Hall. Prices vary by grade—I recall first-grade costs one hundred taels per tablet, second-grade five hundred, and third-grade about a thousand.” The Forging Hall overseer replied.

“Thank you, overseer.”

Leaving the Forging Hall, Xu Jin mentally activated his Star-Dou Platform—and the meteorite iron vanished into it.

Xu Jin then headed straight for the Training Hall—the assembly time was near.

So far, he had a clear idea of the resources needed to upgrade his Star-Dou Platform from second to third tier.

He now had one liang of meteorite iron—worth nearly two thousand taels.

The other materials—a thousand jin of fine iron, a hundred jin of purple copper, ten jin of silver, and ten liang of gold—each cost just over a hundred taels, totaling no more than five hundred taels.

The biggest remaining cost was nine first-tier star-jade tablets—lowest grade would suffice—nine tablets would cost nine hundred taels.

In total, upgrading the Star-Dou Platform required at least another fourteen hundred taels.

With only eleven hundred taels left, minus the six hundred he must save for his sister and father, he had five hundred taels—enough to sustain his cultivation for only seven or eight days.

Thus, though the Patrol Star Captain’s monthly stipend was high, it only maintained a comfortable lifestyle—barely enough for cultivation.

Therefore, during this mountain expedition, Xu Jin must spare no effort.

After all, opportunities to enter the mountains under the protection of Dao Academy experts were rare.

Xu Jin arrived at the Training Hall carrying the backpack and tools he’d collected from the External Affairs Office yesterday—the hall was already crowded.

A dense sea of over three hundred people.

Every month, all disciples still training within the Jinshan Dao Academy participated in the mountain expedition.

Soon, Master Gan arrived first.

Master Gan, usually with three long white beards flowing, now wore a fitted martial outfit and carried a large backpack. Then came Master Zheng from the Forging Hall, two other instructors, and two Patrol Star Captains—Cui Tianqi and Zhang Yunliang.

Then, a sharp CLANG as the ground trembled—Ning Yuchan arrived.

Ning Yuchan’s attire today was striking.

Not her usual long gown, but a sky-blue martial outfit with tight sleeves, her long hair tied up with two white ribbons fluttering—elegant, spirited, and dazzling.

But what surprised Xu Jin even more was the appearance of the Supervising Officer Cao Chun, accompanied by two black-clad Inspectors, and finally, even the Deputy Headmaster Feng Shu arrived.

Instantly, Xu Jin realized the monthly mountain expedition was far more important than he’d thought.

It wasn’t merely about providing disciples with cultivation resources—it must have other purposes.

“The monthly mountain expedition is about to begin. Since new disciples are joining, I’ll add two extra points,” said Deputy Headmaster Feng Shu.

“Safety—safety comes first!

We take you into the mountains to gather cultivation resources and fulfill the Academy’s material quotas, but remember—we are not sending you to die.

Safety comes first.

If you encounter any danger you cannot handle, immediately send an emergency signal.

The instructors and overseers stationed across the four directions will arrive in the shortest possible time.”

“Otherwise, follow the Academy’s regulations—everything is in the booklet issued to you. But one point is critical.

Beware of others!” said Headmaster Feng Shu.

“Huh?” Many disciples looked confused—beware of others? Fellow disciples?

“With so many of our experts entering the mountains, the dangers deep within Daqing Mountain will drop dramatically—many wandering cultivators, even demonic cultivators, will take this chance to enter and gather herbs or treasures.

These people are of mixed quality, and wealth stirs the heart.

"If you encounter them, you must be extremely cautious—best to keep your distance, and if anything seems amiss, immediately raise the alarm and send a signal," said Vice Headmaster Feng Shu.

Only then did the disciples realize that those were the ones they needed to be careful of.

"Set out."

At Vice Headmaster Feng Shu’s command, the disciples marched out the mountain gate in large numbers, heading straight for Daqing Mountain.

(End of Chapter)