Chapter 77: Chapter 74: A Grand Gesture
"There are a few things I still don’t get. When he attacks, he always keeps his eyes closed, and he always uses his left hand. What makes
most curious is that giant black case on his back." Di Cang chuckled, turned to Zhun Cang, and whispered, "Old Zhun, I’m thinking of taking a disciple... not a student, a *disciple*!"
"What? Old Cang, tell
you’re not joking! You haven’t taken a single disciple in all these years. I rember trying to convince you just last year. Why the sudden change of heart?" Zhun Cang was aghast. ’Did this old coot finally lose his mind?’
Di Cang ignored Zhun Cang, a smirk playing on his lips. "You’ll find out tonight if I’m joking. For now, your task is to send that kid nad Qing Lei to room 306 as well. The outer circle’s counterattack is about to begin. This ti, I’ll make that old hag pay!"
Bewildered, Zhun Cang led Qing Lei away. anwhile, the enrollnt test in the plaza had concluded. This year, the Imperial Academy accepted a total of 777 people: twenty-seven attribute martial artists and three special students.
Seeing that the enrollnt had concluded, Di Cang announced loudly, "Attention, students! This year’s enrollnt is officially over. I congratulate all of you who passed the test. But do not think that just because you’ve entered the Imperial Academy, you’re on the path to success. Your ti here will likely be even more grueling. I will remind you all one more ti: this place is not heaven. It is hell."
"Heh. And for those who didn’t pass, don’t lose heart. The academy’s age limit for enrollnt is twenty. You are still young and have plenty of opportunities. I look forward to seeing you among those who pass next year."
After his speech, the students who passed happily collected their dorm keys. The twenty-seven attribute martial artists, however, were led down a different path by a dozen or so instructors. At the end of that path was a luxurious villa, which was, unsurprisingly, their dormitory.
anwhile, Mu Chen and Little Tiger entered their dorm and began to make their beds. To Mu Chen’s surprise, the ordinary-looking dorm was incredibly spacious inside. In fact, the room was large enough to fit ten beds and even had a private bathroom.
Nodding, Mu Chen thought to himself, ’Worthy of the Imperial Academy. If these conditions are considered ’harsh’ for new students, then the academy’s facilities must be just as amazing as the rumors say.’
The dorm was fully equipped with everything they needed. Even the quilts on the beds were brand new, seemingly replaced by the academy’s logistics staff just a few days ago. For now, there were only three beds in the room. Mu Chen chose one by the window, where he could see the clear, blue sky.
Little Tiger chose the bed in the middle. According to him, it was closer to Mu Chen, to which Mu Chen could only give a helpless smile.
"Whoa! I’ve never slept on such a soft bed! It’s so comfy..." Little Tiger relaxed completely, flopping onto the bed in a spread-eagle position and shouting excitedly.
Suddenly, Little Tiger turned his head to Mu Chen and asked curiously, "Brother Mu Chen, why do you always keep your eyes closed? Doesn’t that an you can’t see anything?"
Hearing this, Mu Chen smiled faintly. "I’m a little special. I can see my surroundings clearly even with my eyes closed."
"Wow, that’s amazing! I can’t do that..."
As the two were talking, the dorm room door creaked open, and a figure walked in. Both Mu Chen and Little Tiger looked toward the entrance and saw a young man dressed in black martial arts attire.
This young man in black was none other than Qing Lei, who had also just passed the test. As Mu Chen and Little Tiger looked at him, Qing Lei noticed them too. He seed a little surprised upon seeing them.
Seeing it was Qing Lei, Little Tiger jumped up and exclaid, "Whoa! I know you! Weren’t you the guy testing on the stage next to mine? I’m Little Tiger! We’re gonna be dorm mates from now on!"
Hearing Little Tiger’s words, Qing Lei nodded slightly. "I’m Qing Lei. Fifteen years old. From... Gostan."
As he ntioned his city, a flicker of sothing passed through Qing Lei’s eyes before they cleared again. He gave Mu Chen a deep look, then turned and walked to the bed in the far corner. After briefly making his bed, Qing Lei sat down and imdiately entered a state of Cultivation. Before long, wisps of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi began to slowly seep into his body from his surroundings.
Seeing Qing Lei act this way, Little Tiger and Mu Chen exchanged a helpless smile. Little Tiger, being naturally competitive, also sat up and entered a state of Cultivation. Mu Chen, however, simply lay down and turned to gaze out the window. The weather was beautiful today. With sumr’s arrival, the sky was clear and bright, and clumps of white clouds drifted gently on the wind.
’I haven’t looked up at the sky like this in a long ti.’ For the past three years, he had lived every day on the edge of life and death. His life was nothing but Cultivation and Body Forging. Suddenly, a silver figure materialized in Mu Chen’s mind. It was clad in Steel Armor and radiated the pressure of an Emperor. But just as quickly, the silver figure dissolved into motes of silver dust and vanished from the world.
Feeling the Silver Crystal lying quietly within his Storage Ring, a pang of pain shot through Mu Chen’s chest. That was the Demon Core of Iron Armor Steel Fang, his first brother... Suddenly, the silver figure swirled and transford into the face of a stunningly beautiful young woman. Her breathtaking face held a sorrowful expression, as if she were trying to tell him sothing.
’Sister, Chen’Er has arrived...’
The afternoon passed in this silent atmosphere. Gradually, both Qing Lei and Little Tiger finished their Cultivation.
"Ah, I’m so hungry! Brother Mu Chen, Brother Qing Lei, let’s go eat!" Shaking himself out of his trance, Little Tiger rubbed his stomach, looking drained.
Mu Chen smiled faintly and rolled out of bed. With a single motion, he hoisted the giant black case that had been resting by his bed onto his back. Normally, when he was outside, he would even sleep with it on. But in the dorm, he worried it would seem too strange to Little Tiger and Qing Lei—not to ntion whether the bed could even handle the weight. So, he had taken the case off before lying down.
’It also lets my body relax a bit. Alternating between tension and relaxation is the best way to strengthen the body. Constant strain will only over-tighten the string until it snaps.’
Little Tiger and Qing Lei both saw Mu Chen’s giant black case. Little Tiger, ever the curious one, imdiately shouted in surprise, "Brother Mu Chen, what is that thing? I see you carrying it all the ti. It’s all black and looks really heavy."
Qing Lei also looked at Mu Chen with a questioning gaze. Mu Chen glanced sideways at the black case on his back and said softly, "It’s sothing my Master left for . An inheritance of sorts, I guess."
At this, Mu Chen’s expression grew lancholic. The Profound Old Ghost’s slumber was a constant weight on his heart. He knew there had to be a way to Awaken his Master again; he just hadn’t found it yet.
Mu Chen’s explanation was vague. Qing Lei understood that Mu Chen must have his own story and didn’t press the issue. Although Little Tiger was curious, he didn’t ask any more questions either. Instead, he grabbed Mu Chen and Qing Lei and dashed out of the dorm. It was safe to say that Little Tiger was the most outgoing one in their room.
Dragged along by Little Tiger, Mu Chen and Qing Lei exchanged helpless smiles. Although Qing Lei’s smile was quite forced, Mu Chen knew it was still a genuine one.
The Imperial Academy’s campus was vast—easily the size of several towns. However, the dining hall wasn’t too far from their dorm. With a boost from Little Tiger’s Divine Power, Mu Chen and Qing Lei arrived in front of the dining hall in just over ten minutes.
It was a large, white building that looked extrely high-class from the outside. The dining hall had three floors, each capable of holding nearly ten thousand students, even though the entire academy, from first to sixth year, had no more than six thousand students in total.
As for why it was built with three floors, the academy had a specific design: the first floor was the dining area for ordinary students, the second was for attribute martial artists, and the third... only students of the Holy Hall could enter.
At this point, most people would wonder why the high and mighty core students of the Holy Hall would eat in the sa building as the ordinary students of the outer circle. In truth, this was one of the academy’s thods to motivate the outer circle students to cultivate harder. Experiencing the pressure from the Holy Hall’s core students every day would naturally foster feelings of defiance and resentnt, which in turn would greatly stimulate the students’ ambition. Mu Chen deeply admired this arrangent. ’Pressure breeds motivation.’
Looking around, they saw students already trickling into the dining hall. Urged on by Little Tiger, Qing Lei and Mu Chen had no choice but to follow the crowd inside. As ordinary students, their dining area was on the first floor.
Upon entering the dining hall, the decor left them dumbfounded. Even though it was only the first floor, the entire hall was filled with countless neatly arranged tables and chairs. That wasn’t the most shocking part. What truly amazed them was that the floors and tabletops were all made from the incredibly precious Vajra Jade. This type of jade was astronomically expensive; a normal person would be able to show off for ages with just a single piece. ’To think the Imperial Academy actually used it for flooring and tables... It really is the number one academy in the Xuanling Empire!’
’If the first floor was decorated like this, what about the second? Or the even more luxurious third floor?’ Mu Chen didn’t dare to imagine.
"Wow, so much good food!" Little Tiger exclaid, completely ignoring the lavish decor as if it were trash. His eyes were fixed solely on the delicious food.
Finding a secluded spot, Mu Chen and Qing Lei sat down first. There was no need to order in the dining hall. During enrollnt, the academy had already recorded the ideal al for each student.
All you had to do was give your na to receive your al. Mu Chen and Qing Lei had intended to go themselves, but Little Tiger volunteered, insisting on getting the food for all of them. Mu Chen couldn’t win the argunt with Little Tiger, so he had to agree.
Taking advantage of the mont, Mu Chen scanned his surroundings. Many of the surrounding tables were already filled with students, all of them sizing up the other freshn. Since the first floor was for the ordinary students of the outer circle with no year-level divisions, Mu Chen saw many students who looked to be seventeen or eighteen, and even so around twenty years old.
And among these students, Mu Chen’s appearance was the most striking. Never mind his unusual long blue hair; the giant black case on his back alone was enough to draw everyone’s attention. In just a mont, quiet discussions about him had broken out all around.
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