'This bathroom... is too big,' Ja Sun had the seat down and sat on the marbled throne while gazing at the wide bathroom. The area in front of him flashed and his reward appeared in front of him.
[Objective: Successfully enter Spirit Hall and find a place to stay as a member.
Mission Rank: D
Mission Rewards: Feather of Seraphim
Time Limit: 7 days.]
[Status: Complete.]
Since Ja Sun had low information on Spirit Hall, he couldn't add additional objectives but seeing the finger-long feather, Ja Sun hid it inside his spatial tool quickly.
Right now, he had many spatial tools. Two of them could store plants, too. The only difference was that one of them cannot store a plant of thousand-year-old category and higher while the other one can. These two items expended Ja Sun's merit points the most but it was worth it. Aside from that, he purchased another spatial tool with space as large as the ring he robbed from the woman with a fire dragon.
Standing up, Ja Sun walked out of the bathroom and gazed at his lavish stay. The dormitory actually had an apartment-like style with a personal kitchen, a living room to host guests, and two bedrooms. Leaning on the comfortable leather sofa, Ah Yin read the scroll in her hands with a strange expression.
"Is that the scroll Master spoke about? Our training routine?" Ja Sun inquired casually. He wasn't a kid. A youth like him, despite getting a master, will not lose his head over traditions and whatnot. The essence of this relationship lied in standing up to Qian Daoliu's expectations enough times so that he can build a rapport with him.
He didn't even feel strange that he and Ah Yin lived together. They had separate rooms, after all.
Nodding, Ah Yin rolled the scroll and tossed it towards Ja Sun.
Sitting in front of Ah Yin, Ja Sun began reading the contents and nodded. After digesting the information of Dragon's Observation, Ja Sun's insight into cultivation could be considered extremely high. It may not be at a level so divine that he can understand any and every variation, but at the very least, he could trump Qian Daoliu's experience of cultivation.
What Ja Sun valued in this relationship are resources.
True, he can get resources from his trait, but is that any reason to not try and want more? His speed in cultivation will become extremely amazing once he added both these resources together.
"Master will properly inspect our bodies in three days and develop a routine unique to us. What about it?" Ja Sun looked curious.
The duo had perfectly made sure to not speak a single word about Evil Title or his name. Why his current moniker— Ka-ul, wasn't considered a lie, only Ja Sun knew.
"Nothing," Seeing Ja Sun so relaxed, Ah Yin shook her head slightly and leaned back. A small smile touched her lips as she felt the comfort of the sofa.
"We... really are in the Spirit Hall!" She sighed in amazement.
In her life, locating within the Spirit Hall was the last thing she saw herself doing. But here they were. Ja Sun's use of Blue Silver Emperor's Core to propel Ah Yin, and Ah Yin's presentation of herself pulled Ja Sun to a height the two of them could not have imagined.
Leaning back on the sofa, Ja Sun closed his eyes and tossed the scroll back to Ah Yin.
"What are you doing?" Ah Yin sighed.
"Resting."
"I thought you would want to explore Spirit City and the Academy," She stated. This was in line with Ja Sun's nature.
Opening his eyes, Ja Sun looked at Ah Yin, "Do you want me to? Maybe you were hoping that I will ask you to accompany me."
Ja Sun's smirk did look a little annoying. With a smirk of her own, Ah Yin crossed her arms and sighed, "Sure. There's no doubting that staying with you brings me far more benefits. Any woman would want a resourceful guy like you."
"Really?" Ja Sun's expression froze and he slightly touched his cheek.
'It seems that she really has fallen for me... sigh,' Ja Sun sighed internally but his smile only grew wider.
"It is sad that you look so happy," Ah Yin finally chuckled and Ja Sun's heart was suddenly gripped with shock.
"You... played me," Ja Sun narrowed his eyes.
"Exactly. I sucked the benefits out of you," Ah Yin shrugged before standing up, "Come on, let's go. We can rest later."
"Oh, together?" Ja Sun inquired.
"Yeah, we're going out together to see the spirit city, what now?" Ah Yin looked at him strangely and Ja Sun almost choked.
"Nevermind, you heartless leech."
"How am I a leech?" Ah Yin scoffed.
"All you know is how to suck!" Ja Sun grinned as he hurriedly stopped the door from slamming on his face.
Spirit City, as described, was simply made for Spirit Masters. Most of the items couldn't even be used by ordinary men and women. There were even plenty of essence tools on sale but the storage-type essence tools couldn't compare with Ja Sun's in size or quality. Just the belt he had robbed from Yu Xiaogang was much higher in quality than any other product he could find.
The most amazing fact, however, was that the city only held Spirit Masters. Even the employees in various establishments were all spirit masters. What depressed Ja Sun was that there was no 'nightlife' in the city.
He may not be here for the strip clubs but it is always satisfactory to know that they are present. The duo returned only after exploring half the city. With their tokens already present in their rooms at the time, they now held an official position in Spirit Hall and could enter or exit the academy with ease.
---
The next days, Ja Sun could be seen silently cultivating. After constant battles, this period of recuperation was quite treasured to him. Instead of training any aspect of his combat system, Ja Sun simply meditated to calm his spirits. Though he wouldn't admit it, even his nerves were taut yesterday. That could also be the reason why the two of them really seem to enjoy their time out exploring the city.
Now, Ja Sun's senses were calm and collected. His room had all the luxuries he could ever want. The wardrobe was already filled with clothes but none of them could match his robes or gauntlets. In fact, Ja Sun was sure that other elders had observed and realized that his equipments weren't casual. But, in Spirit City, who doesn't have a secret? It was just like Qian Daoliu stated and Ja Sun agreed. Just as long as he kept the display to the minimum.
Taking a towel, Ja Sun took his bath and walked out while drying his hair with the towel. Ah Yin was already ready. The uniform of the Spirit Academy is silver in aesthetic. Men would wear a silver jacket with a dark shirt and silver pants. The color wasn't bright or brilliant, but down to earth. Still, Ja Sun kept his robe on. There were no regulations that he needed to wear the uniform. All he needed to do was pin the academy badge to his chest and he was good to go.
Ah Yin, meanwhile, wore the uniform. A narrow jacked covered her top with a white blouse accentuating her comely front. From her waist flowed a pleated silver skirt and underneath, she wore a white slex, the fabric of which stretched slightly and revealed her skin color through the gauze-like material. Calf-lengthed silver boots properly tied and her hands wearing a pair of sleek white gloves. Instead of tying her hair, Ah Yin let it flow and she also looked at Ja Sun who had a strange expression.
"What?" She scowled.
"Nothing. I never took you for a goody-two-shoes," Ja Sun mumbled.
"I just want to experience my first academy correctly," Ah Yin snorted.
"That's right, you never did join any academy back then," Ja Sun smiled and took out a thin booklet, "Here. Your journal."
The journal which held Ah Yin's thoughts and experiences finally settled in Ja Sun's hands after a long time but seeing that the two of them would learn a lot of things that they didn't ordinarily know, Ja Sun decided to return it.
Gazing at the journal, Ah Yin shook her head after a moment's thought. Her voice faint and she sighed, "Keep it..."
"It's..." Ja Sun blinked.
The journal didn't have any value to him or her... but seeing her expression, Ja Sun's carefully cultivated instincts indicated that keeping it is the best course of action he can take. Silently, at that.
Ah Yin's expression softened momentarily and standing up, she beckoned Ja Sun to leave with her. The scroll provided last night already described the general rules of the academy but Ja Sun and Ah Yin, in the truest sense, were still considered rogues due to their experiences.
Qian Daoliu made it clear that for them, and other rogues recruited from the war, there will only be one classroom and one teacher. Spirit Masters under the age of 30 and recruited during the war will all be present in this class so the numbers would be astonishing. With the directions already laid down, Ja Sun and Ah Yin walked around the academy's area. Their appearance attracted plenty of attention.
After all, in this academy, there were more youths who still lacked proper tempering. But as they saw Ah Yin and Ja Sun disappearing into the restricted area of the academy while showing their tokens, most of their expressions changed and they finally focused on other things.
This wasn't the first time they had seen someone disappearing into the restricted regions, and almost all these new 'students' had an aura around themselves that made other students not want to socialize with them.
The entire Spirit City was completely civilized with tall infrastructures. Even the hill in the center of the city was used in the aesthetic of the city. But the Spirit Academy held almost the tenth of this large city. It is to be known that the size of the Spirit City could accommodate five Heaven Dou Cities quite easily.
This place is a country called Spirit City. And the area held by the Spirit City is astonishing. The mansion-like front is simply the area where most students would find themselves and hang out in. The academy itself is divided into various areas and all these structures seem to form a mini Spirit City in the way that the forested, restricted area is surrounded by these infrastructures.
Unlike other schools, academies, clans, and their sects, the Spirit Academy tends to accept many spirit masters. Of course, the attention paid to the weaker and less talented spirit master is also quite low. The number of students in the academy easily ranges close to a thousand if not two. And because of the attractiveness of the rewards to the seeded individuals, the competition is the highest in this Academy when compared to the other schools of the Continent.
Calmly traversing the forest, the duo had already observed a distinct lack of any animal or insect. There were only trees, flowers, and various bushes. Reaching the middle of the forest, Ja Sun and Ah Yin found a large clearing filled with people. Seeing them, Ja Sun's eyes brightened and he glanced at Ah Yin mockingly.
"Shut up," Ah Yin spoke even without looking towards him. After all, she stood out. Not because of her beauty, no. In fact, there were plenty of beautiful girls in the group. While a few kept their masks on, it was quite easy to be distracted by their figure. Everyone had their own style of dressing. But dressed in silver uniform, Ah Yin stuck out like a sore thumb.
But feeling her spiritual fluctuations, many turned their gazes from her.
These were the ones recruited during the war. Rogues to the extreme. Caution filled them and even if they were lucky to survive their matches and ended up joining Spirit Hall, they didn't wish to test their luck again.
Presently, Ja Sun had already worn his mask within the forest. Both of their appearances attracted a little attention but there were more to come.
Ja Sun saw an extremely burly individual arriving in the clearing. His half-naked body was completely scarred.
The duo also saw a young couple rushing in with messy hair and flustered expression. Their breathing was still rough and their bodies dampened with sweat. Accidentally matching each other's gazes, Ah Yin and Ja Sun froze for a moment.
"There's a bush right behind us," Ja Sun offered generously.
"Should I call someone to take care for you, then?" Ah Yin looked away while she continued to lean against the tree.
After a few more minutes, suddenly, the situation changed.
*Step*
*Step*
In the forest, hearing a step echo was a strange matter but this is what happened. The number of individuals present in the clearing suddenly felt their world and view turn grey. Ah Yin and Ja Sun were no exception but they also understood what was going on.
'A domain!' They both looked at each other again.
Within this domain, everyone felt a sliver of dominating killing intent. But it was too weak when compared to Bibo Dong's intent that she revealed while standing a foot away from the duo.
Yet, this time, the duration was far longer.
The first ten minutes, Ja Sun and Ah Yin were fine. A few had collapsed, but the situation was quite normal.
The next twenty minutes, Ah Yin's breathing was slightly rough. But she could still resist it. Many others had fallen but when considering the number of men and women present in the clearing which easily numbered in hundreds, the situation didn't look so bad.
After thirty more minutes, Ja Sun still leaned against the tree silently. Ah Yin was sitting on the ground cross-legged and had her eyes closed, her forehead covered with perspiration.
Less than 20% of the original number remained. With each passing minute, the killing intent would grow by a notch, after all. So, the ones who survived by now either had high cultivation, determination, or mental energy.
Finally, the sound of the footsteps grew faint. The grey world was removed and the sky regained its color.
"Huff!"
The clearing rumbled with a simultaneous release of turbid breath and Ah Yin opened her eyes. Her situation was vastly better than others. After all, how many Spirit Kings at the peak of rank 60 were inside the group other than her?
None!
By now, Ja Sun had seen many people he recognized. The six girls from Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. The others, Ja Sun remembered from the Extreme Missions except for the first set of siblings that claimed to have committed Patricide.
The most concerning issue was the deadly glare set on him the moment the domain of killing intent was lifted.
A pair of black gem-like eyes stared in his direction. Pitch-black, straight hair flowing down her back and her round face scrunched in anger. Although she didn't wear a crimson battle-robe, the dark, almost black, battle robes revealed draconic heritage due to the scaly patterns of the sleeves on her arms and the top of the 'robe' had an ample cut of the neck.
"What's with her?" Ah Yin inquired calmly, "Used her and threw away?"
"If only," Ja Sun scoffed and answered, "Remember the girl I told you about. The one with fire dragon martial soul chasing Violet?"
"That's her?" Ah Yin hummed in realization and Ja Sun nodded.
Seeing the beautiful blue-haired girl standing close to the extremely familiar figure, Liu Erlong frowned deeper. But in the end, she snorted and stood up, silently sitting on a large rock with her legs crossed. However, her gaze never left Ja Sun as if a predator already locked onto its next target.
"I think she's interested in me," Ja Sun stated in low voice.
"Interested in devouring you, maybe," Ah Yin instantly realized her mistake and knew Ja Sun would capitalize on it, "I'd let her devour me whole happily," he chuckled.
At this moment, a figure appeared from one of the passages to the clearings.
It was a figure draped in a violet cloak and with golden seams and a glittering gold mask on her face.
"Follow me," her melodious yet sweet voice spread out and she turned around. Silently, everyone began following her, leaving those who had already fainted.
The individuals present in the forest wouldn't care about one another unless they knew someone before reaching the academy.
From the opposite direction to where the group slowly walked away, a group of guards marched in and silently took all the fainted individuals out.
Their fate was already set to be ordinary within the academy.
On the other hand, Ja Sun and Ah Yin kept a distance from everyone. In fact, the group following behind Bibi Dong didn't turn out to be a vertical one but a horizontal one. Many climbed the trees and kept ample space between each other as Bibi Dong didn't mind any of it. Their destination wasn't the academy grounds or any of its facilities but strangely, it was another clearing.
Ja Sun's expression was strange at this point. From rock to every blade of grass, he had remembered the previous clearing. With his Fiery Golden Pupils, it was an involuntary action. But this clearing was exactly the same. Bibi Dong silently waited until everyone gathered around her once again.
"Remember these rules. Breaking any of these rules will instantly get you killed. This is the Spirit Academy so everyone best understands this point."
Though the speaker behind the mask was a woman, everyone took her seriously. How couldn't they understand that the previous attack was her doing?
"First, no killing. Second, no raping. These two rules are the most important ones in the Spirit Academy and even in this test. There will be eyes on you from every direction, so attempted murder and **** will be considered as breaking this rule and the offender will be executed."
Her words were spoken calmly. In fact, although most of the men and women present were murderers, it was hard for them to be considered rapists. Usually, most of the criminal spirit masters are found in the bounty list of the Spirit Hall and since none of them were executed in the war, the chances were nonetheless low.
"To enter my tutelage, you have to exit this restricted domain of the Academy. You have until tomorrow dawn. The rest will be dispersed into various other classrooms for the next year.
Use any means possible to escape the forest except for the two methods forbidden by the rules."
Saying this, Bibi Dong's body shot away with an extreme speed as if she simply teleported away. But with enhanced eyesight, Ja Sun's gaze followed her movement, however, she disappeared still.
Ja Sun's brows were locked. Since his eyes were immune to illusions, this situation indicated a more physical restriction.
"Let's retrace our steps," Ah Yin suggested.
"Can't you communicate with plants? Ask them for directions," Ja Sun spoke in a low voice.
"Just for this? No. I like non-fatal challenges," Ah Yin looked around. Everyone was confused and for a period, others didn't dare move easily.
If it was as simple as retracing the step, Bibi Dong wouldn't have given the time until tomorrow's dawn.
But, Ja Sun thought for a moment and calmly retraced his steps with Ah Yin. She wasn't willing to use her advantages, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing either.
A few individuals followed their actions. Some began walking towards the direction where Bibi Dong left. And others stayed in the location for a bit longer before moving. Liu Erlong belonged to this group. She glared in Ja Sun's direction before focusing on her own task.
"Hmm, this forest is strange," Ah Yin narrowed her eyes.
"Thank you for the expert analysis," Ja Sun chuckled.
"No, I meant that the terrain is arranged artificially to confuse us," Ah Yin exhaled as they still hadn't reached their previous spot when they had already walked for a longer period than before.
"Like a puzzle," Ja Sun's expression brightened. Maybe, he was also willing to look around using his most basic senses. This was the first time he had encountered such a location, after all.
"Let's stop for a while and try to return to the second spot. If we cannot reach it, we will find another method," Ja Sun turned around once again and Ah Yin nodded in agreement.
***
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