Chapter 579 - 361: Shameless
Chapter 579: Chapter 361: Shameless
Xu Yang sat down in his seat and looked up at Gu Qingfeng.
Under the expectant gazes of everyone present, he nodded. "That’s right."
It really was the Azure Dragon Dominating Body’s doing!
Gu Qingfeng’s expression immediately changed. During the Secondary Dragon Ascension’s physical test, Xu Yang’s physique was second only to Lu Wei and Tu Gang. He was almost on par with Yang Ao and even a notch stronger than Gu Qingfeng himself.
If Xu Yang was reduced to such a wretched state by the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, his own fate would likely be even more miserable if he attempted to cultivate it.
He wasn’t the only one; many who still harbored hopes for the Azure Dragon Dominating Body also looked grim.
With Xu Yang’s Body Refining Talent and a physique strong enough to beat Lin Jingyu to death, even he couldn’t withstand the domineering Azure Dragon Dominating Body. They would fare even worse.
"Is the Azure Dragon Dominating Body truly that overbearing?" Gu Qingfeng asked, unwilling to resign himself to it.
"I can responsibly tell you, Brother Gu, that it’s even more domineering than you imagine," Xu Yang replied.
Had he not first mastered the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture and taken his physique a step further, he truly might not have been qualified to cultivate the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. Another reason was that he had acquired the Azure Dragon mark. Without it, cultivating the Azure Dragon Dominating Body would have been even more difficult.
"Are your injuries serious?" The one who spoke was Du Ziming.
Xu Yang glanced at him. "Just minor injuries. I’ll be fine after resting for a few days."
He was telling the truth, but to Du Ziming’s ears, it sounded like a deliberate cover-up—a malicious attempt to lure him into cultivating the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. One moment he was saying the Azure Dragon Dominating Body was more domineering than Gu Qingfeng imagined, and the next he was claiming he only suffered minor injuries. Did he take Du Ziming for a fool?
"Look at the state of you. Who would believe those are minor injuries? I’m not falling for your trick and overestimating my abilities to cultivate the Azure Dragon Dominating Body," Du Ziming sneered.
The others deeply agreed. They assumed Xu Yang had suffered a huge loss and was deliberately downplaying his injuries to drag everyone else down with him. Since no one believed the truth, Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to explain.
"Don’t force yourself. If there’s a problem, go see Mr. Jin Yu immediately." Lu Ren, who sat beside him, warned, "To think the lesson from the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture wasn’t enough for you, and you went and touched the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. This is no longer the Purple Sun Sect. You need to learn to accept your own mediocrity."
In his view, Xu Yang simply couldn’t adapt to the reality of being just an ordinary genius after suddenly entering the Celestial Strategy Academy, which was brimming with prodigies. Thus, he was desperately trying to cultivate a powerful Cultivation Technique to prove himself.
"Someone thinks he’s Tu Gang," Huo Xiaochen remarked, his sarcastic voice ringing out to mock Xu Yang for biting off more than he could chew.
Xu Yang shot him a look. "At the very least, I had the courage to try. A freeloader like you doesn’t even have the guts to attempt it when a supreme Cultivation Technique is placed right in front of you. You’d better go hide beneath your wife’s skirts and stop making a fool of yourself here."
"You..." Huo Xiaochen’s face flushed red with anger. Xu Yang had poked a sore spot, and worse yet, he couldn’t even refute the claim. He was indeed living off a woman, and he truly didn’t dare to cultivate the Azure Dragon Dominating Body.
"What about me? If you have the ability, cultivate the Azure Dragon Dominating Body and show me. Then I’ll take back my words. If you don’t, then stop barking like a dog," Xu Yang continued.
Huo Xiaochen’s face grew even redder. He knew Xu Yang was deliberately goading him into cultivating the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, but he genuinely didn’t dare to accept the challenge.
Fortunately, Jin Yu arrived at that moment, and the classroom quieted down.
No longer bothering to provoke Huo Xiaochen, Xu Yang hurriedly circulated the Formless Thousand Illusions Skill to its limits, afraid that Jin Yu would notice he had mastered both the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture and the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. Thankfully, though Jin Yu’s gaze swept over him, he didn’t scrutinize his every detail like the old man in the Hidden Skills Hall had.
"I heard that some of you chose the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. Today, I’ll issue another cultivation task. Anyone who successfully cultivates the Azure Dragon Dominating Body will be rewarded with one hundred academic credits. This offer remains valid until you leave the Celestial Strategy Academy," Jin Yu announced.
This time, almost everyone remained indifferent. Only Tu Gang, Qi Ning, and a few other Spirit Bone Celestial Prides wore smiles on their faces.
"Sir, what about the True Martial Demon-Vanquishing Technique and the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique?" Huo Xiaochen asked.
Having failed to reach the Entry Level of his Spirit Bone Technique after so long, he was already planning to give up. He wanted to choose between the True Martial Demon-Vanquishing Technique and the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique instead. He wasn’t the only one; many others had the same idea.
"Although mastering the True Martial Demon-Vanquishing Technique and the Purple Extreme Heaven-Burning Technique is comparable to a Spirit Bone Technique, at least a dozen of you can achieve it. It doesn’t highlight anything special. Don’t expect to get credit rewards for something so ordinary." Changing the subject, Jin Yu continued, "Class begins now. Today’s lesson is on Spirit Medicine cultivation."
Spirit Medicine cultivation? Many of the students were taken aback.
Even those from poor backgrounds were now funded by various factions. Why would they need to learn Spirit Medicine cultivation? That was something for Pill Masters to learn. They were geniuses; how could they stoop to planting Spirit Medicines?
"Are you confused?" Jin Yu chuckled. "But this is exactly what you’ll be learning today. I know you all have backgrounds and don’t lack ordinary Spirit Medicines. But have you ever wondered how the Celestial Strategy Academy affords to support so many of you?
"The medicinal fields tilled in each of your courtyards—did you really think they were just taking up space? They are for you to practice on.
"In today’s class, you won’t just learn how to cultivate Spirit Medicines. After class, you must personally plant and nurture medicinal herbs. There will be inspections later. If you fail to follow instructions, your credits will be deducted.
"Of course, if you do well, there will be credit rewards. If the herbs you plant are elevated to Spirit Medicines, you can also sell them to the Academy."
Many faces instantly fell. Learning it was one thing, but they actually had to do the manual labor themselves. However, being able to sell them back to the Celestial Strategy Academy wasn’t a bad deal. It was another source of credits.
Under normal circumstances, the Celestial Strategy Academy wouldn’t use credits to purchase Spirit Medicines or Spirit Iron that students acquired outside. Since the students’ backgrounds varied wildly, if they could exchange anything for credits, some would simply empty their families’ Treasure Vaults into the Academy.
Xu Yang finally understood why even the flower beds in his previous courtyard had been used to grow medicinal herbs. As it turned out, the Celestial Strategy Academy would buy these self-grown herbs with credits.
Jin Yu continued, "Students of our Celestial Strategy Academy cannot be mere brutes who only know how to fight. Cultivating Spirit Medicines is a skill everyone must learn.
"The Academy has to support so many people. Did you really think those Cultivation Resources just appear out of thin air? We have to grow them ourselves."
The entire Celestial Strategy Academy, including students and teachers, totaled over a thousand people. The annual consumption of Spirit Medicines by this population was measured in the tens of thousands. Relying solely on foraging in the wild was absolutely impossible.
It wasn’t that most of the students couldn’t comprehend this logic; they just never expected the Celestial Strategy Academy to make them do something they previously deemed beneath them. Most of them never had to worry about resources, let alone farming them personally.
"I know you think this is a waste of your time. You believe that instead of cultivating Spirit Medicines, you should focus entirely on your cultivation. A Spirit Medicine that’s only a few years old truly holds little value.
"But you must realize that a Celestial Essence Martial Artist can live for two hundred years, even if they aren’t skilled in health preservation. If you start planting now and continue until you die of old age, will those Spirit Medicines still have no value?"
Xu Yang had actually harbored the thought of growing his own Spirit Medicines for a long time, but he simply hadn’t had the opportunity to learn the trade. After all, he had considered it before. Since he possessed immortality, growing a Spirit Medicine for a mere decade might be meaningless. But what if he grew it for hundreds or even thousands of years?
The value of a thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine would be unimaginable.
He might not need it, but Xu Qing certainly would!
Jin Yu spoke for a while longer before explaining some precautions for cultivating Spirit Medicines. Finally, he imparted a Secret Technique to everyone.
The Secret Technique was the Yunling Technique. It could elevate ordinary herbs into Spirit Medicines, increase their Spirituality, and accelerate their growth.
[Yunling Technique: Uninitiated (0/1000)]
A faint light flickered before Xu Yang’s eyes, and the Yunling Technique appeared on his status panel.
"The first ten people to reach the Entry Level in the Yunling Technique will be rewarded with ten credits. Similarly, the first ten to reach Perfection will also receive ten credits," Jin Yu announced.
Those who had initially been reluctant suddenly piqued with interest upon hearing about the rewards. Afterward, Jin Yu explained the Yunling Technique from start to finish once more before dismissing the class.
"In a month, I will inspect the progress of your herb planting. If your medicinal field is empty, ten credits will be deducted.
"Those with questions regarding their cultivation may come forward to ask. The rest of you are dismissed."
The crowd stood up sparsely. Some remained in their seats, clearly having questions to ask.
"Sir, I wish to challenge the twenty-sixth ranked Xu Yang. However, his Cultivation has yet to break through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer."
Xu Yang, Sun Tao, and a few others had just stood up to leave, but hearing Du Ziming mention his name, Xu Yang had no choice but to stop. The rest of the departing students mostly halted as well.
"Challenge Xu Yang? Why didn’t I think of that?"
"Xu Yang is currently suffering from the backlash of the Azure Dragon Dominating Body and is at his weakest. How clever."
"Du Ziming really will do anything for credits. Isn’t he afraid of being ridiculed for an unfair victory?"
"Xu Yang is in trouble now."
A flurry of whispers echoed through the room. The few students ranked below Xu Yang immediately felt a pang of regret. After Xu Yang was injured, they hadn’t completely dismissed the idea of picking on the weak, but they worried it would ruin their reputations. To their dismay, while they were still hesitating, Du Ziming had struck without a second thought.
"You shameless coward! To think you’d challenge Junior Brother Xu while he’s injured!" Sun Tao was instantly furious. "Du Ziming, if you have the guts, wait until Xu Yang’s injuries are healed before fighting him! What kind of hero issues a challenge when his opponent is hurt? If you’re so eager to fight, challenge me, Sun Tao!"
"I’m not challenging Xu Yang just because he’s injured. Has Brother Sun forgotten that I already mentioned this when we were at your courtyard?" Du Ziming replied.
He was still somewhat wary of Sun Tao’s talent. The current Sun Tao might not be as strong as him, but with Sun Tao’s Comprehension, he would shore up his weaknesses sooner or later. Therefore, facing a furious Sun Tao, Du Ziming spoke with relative politeness.
"This challenge is within the rules. Although Xu Yang is injured, he isn’t forced to fight Du Ziming immediately. He can delay the match for up to a month." Jin Yu spoke up, then looked at Du Ziming. "Since your Cultivations are not on the same level, you can give me ten credits, and I will suppress your Cultivation to his tier.
"Are you certain you wish to issue this challenge to Xu Yang?"
Ten credits? Du Ziming did the math. Winning against Xu Yang would earn him thirty credits. Even after deducting the ten, he would still net twenty. If he didn’t challenge Xu Yang now and waited until Xu Yang lost to someone else and dropped in rank, challenging him later would be meaningless.
"I am certain!" Du Ziming cupped his fists.
Since things had already reached this point and he had offended Sun Tao regardless, there was no point in hesitating.
"Shameless!" Sun Tao gritted his teeth.
"And what about you, Xu Yang? Now that someone has challenged you, you cannot refuse. However, you have the right to decide the time, provided it does not exceed a month," Jin Yu said, looking at Xu Yang.