Rongcheng's Jiang Ding

Rongcheng.

First High School, classroom.

Name: Jiang Ding

Chinese (Max 150): 109

Mathematics (Max 150): 70

Moral Education (Max 150): 137

Integrated Science (Max 300, Biology, Chemistry, Physics): 151

Liberal Arts Comprehensive (Max 100, History, Geography): 61

Bonus Electives--

Cultivation (Max 300): Bone Refining Realm Peak 50

Primary Weapon Elective (Max 60): Heavy Machine Gun: 17

Melee Secondary Weapon Elective (Max 40): Low-level Sword Art - Gale Three Slashes, 25

Combat (Max 150): 23

Total Score: 643

Back row, A clean-cut teenager stared at the mock exam results he had just received for a long time.

"My total cultural score is 850, but I only got 534,"

"My total cultivation bonus points are 400, and I only got 97. As for combat points, well, I can't beat anyone." Jiang Ding sighed.

"Sigh... If this continues, let alone getting into the Cultivation Department at Spirit Veil University, I won't even get into a regular third-tier university. Maybe learning a trade in vocational school earlier is the right path..."

The Immortal Sects, relying on spiritual veins across the globe, established thirty-nine universities.

Most of these universities' students were ordinary people. Only the Cultivation Department, with its twenty-year curriculum, taught cultivation knowledge, enabling students to master supernatural powers and potentially achieve longevity.

To get into the Cultivation Department of any university, factors like spiritual roots, cultivation level, or family background were irrelevant. Even the direct descendant of a Golden Core True Person was useless.

The sole criterion was the college entrance examination score!

In fact, you could disregard cultivation and electives entirely. Even if you were a waste in cultivation and martial arts, as long as your college entrance examination score met the admission line for the Cultivation Department of any university, you would definitely be admitted.

The Immortal Sects' college entrance examination was the greatest fairness for students worldwide!

Of course, there were very few individuals in the entire history of the Immortal Sects who could forgo the 550 cultivation bonus points and still get into a university's Cultivation Department.

Furthermore, besides admission into the Cultivation Department, cultivation bonus points had no other use.

The regular departments of universities only considered cultural course scores.

"Bone Refining Realm Peak!"

His deskmate said enviously, "That's still very good. You can withstand 800 jin of force. In ancient times, wearing heavy armor, you'd be an enemy to ten thousand men."

Li Junhao was short and thin, making his head appear large and his appearance somewhat comical.

"Nowadays, it's just a burst from a submachine gun," Jiang Ding shook his head and sighed, changing the subject. "What was your cultural score, 690 or 698?"

Rongcheng First High School was known as the cradle of Cultivation Department students. Apart from those like him who were admitted through special recruitment for Moral Education, everyone else had some real skills.

"701 points."

Li Junhao's envy vanished, and he said proudly.

"Exceeded 700 points?!"

Jiang Ding was surprised.

This was no small matter. Although cultural scores and cultivation scores were separate, they were not opposed but were interconnected and inseparable.

Chinese included a vast amount of basic knowledge and principles for talismans and cultivation techniques. A student who could write a good essay would have a profound understanding of talismans and techniques when they embarked on the path of cultivation in the future.

Mathematics explicitly included calculation and foundational knowledge related to formations.

The integrated science subjects of physics, chemistry, and biology, as well as the liberal arts subjects of history and geography, were all closely related to spiritual beasts, spiritual materials, artifact refining, spiritual veins, and so on in cultivation.

However!

Cultivation was a discipline that tightly combined theory and practice.

Without becoming a cultivator, one could not truly observe and practice what was in the books without magical power and divine sense.

It was like a eunuch drawing erotic paintings – everything relied on imagination. One could only calculate and deduce answers based on the principles, formation structures, and magical power circulation diagrams in the books.

Through a thick layer of cloth.

No matter how intelligent a person was, there was a limit. Even with talent and hard work, under such conditions, it was considered excellent for an ordinary person to score four to five hundred points.

"You can consider which TOP 2 university you want to attend," Jiang Ding said with a hint of jealousy.

Even the top ordinary scholars only scored in the six hundreds, which was already a promising sign for Pure Breeze University and Big Dipper University. There was a high probability of being admitted to these two top-tier academies of the Immortal Sects.

Of course, this was for the regular departments. The top cultivation geniuses would not compete with them.

Seven hundred points is a threshold.

It means that in the cultivation subjects, he can be on par with the top cultivation geniuses in some aspects.

It's a pity that in the three realms of body refinement—skin refining, muscle refining, and bone refining—to generate inner qi and return to the innate state, Li Junhao only barely reached the late stage of skin refining, earning him 10 points. His scores for practical combat electives in firearms and cold weapons were also extremely poor, with single digits of 5 points each, making his total cultivation elective score a mere 25 points.

"Sigh~"

The two exchanged glances, their faces etched with bitterness.

In the last ten years, even the lowest score requirement for the Cultivation Department at Spirit Veil University in their own province has been 842. They had absolutely no hope.

"It's really unfair."

Li Junhao secretly glanced at the dozen or so people in front of him.

"Their cultural scores are less than 400, but because of their innate spiritual roots, they don't need to train their bodies, generate inner qi, or return to the innate state. They can naturally cultivate immortal techniques from birth, becoming high and mighty Qi Refining cultivators. They gain over 200 points in cultivation without even studying, far surpassing us who study diligently until two in the morning every day."

Li Junhao's resentment was evident.

Jiang Ding knew that Li Junhao was actually very proud. Without spiritual power or divine sense, he had managed to achieve better cultural scores than most Qi Refining cultivators.

But this pride was shattered by the stark reality of the gap between them.

Whether it was their scores in school, their future social status, or even their lifespan, they were far inferior.

"...Fourteenth place, Zou Xiyuan, cultural score 411, cultivation score 377, total score 788."

The class teacher Guo Kui's usually stern face finally showed a hint of a smile, his head tilting slightly.

"Qi Refining second layer, an improvement from before. Continue with this momentum. There's still a year until the college entrance examination. If you can break through to the middle Qi Refining stage by then, or if your scores in geography, biology, history, and chemistry improve further, the Cultivation Department at Spirit Veil University is within reach!"

The reason for mentioning these specific subjects was that the purpose of education on Luminous Blue Star was to select cultivation talents. Chinese, mathematics, and physics were related to the principles of meridians and qi circulation in cultivation techniques, as well as talismans and formations, three extremely difficult related subjects that required both talent and effort to improve.

However, they had already finished the high school curriculum in the first and second years. With only one year left, unless a miracle occurred, it would be nearly impossible to significantly improve their scores in these three foundational subjects. They could only focus on other subjects.

As for moral character, this subject assessed their understanding and support for the Immortal Sect system. As long as they were normal people studying normally, without too many heretical thoughts and putting them down on paper, they could generally pass.

However, achieving a high score was also very difficult and subjective, with no specific answers. The scoring was done by the Central Array Spirit Computer, a repository of the wisdom of the Immortal Sect's sages, which would then assign scores based on its program logic, considering the exam papers, the student's past experiences, their online and real-world comments, and even their family's political background.

Over the years, there had been exam papers with high moral character scores, but they were generally all different. Countless tutors had spent countless nights studying them without finding any common patterns, making improvement very difficult.

This was also why Jiang Ding, despite his mediocre scores in both cultural and cultivation subjects, was able to enter the First High School.

The teachers and principal of the First High School were all supporters of the Immortal Sect. Their political awareness was extremely high, so how could they allow talented individuals to be left outside the school?

The gazes of the more than twenty people in the classroom all fell on a girl with some freckles, filled with a complex mix of envy, longing, and inferiority.

Spirit Veil University's Cultivation Department was within reach!

Jiang Ding's mood was also very complicated.

The advantages of cultivators were... too many!

In the Qi Refining stage, cultivation added 200 points. In the second layer of Qi Refining, it added 20 points. For firearms, subjects like heavy machine gun usage, precision shooting, long-range shooting, and suppressive fire, they could easily achieve the martial artist's maximum score of 30 points with the assistance of their divine sense.

--The remaining thirty points were for tank driving and combat. Martial artists without divine sense, even Innate martial artists who were said to be comparable to Qi Refining cultivators, didn't even have the qualification to participate.

"Tenth place..."

"Ninth place..."

"Second place, Wu Tianli, Qi Refining fifth layer, cultural score 730, cultivation bonus 467, total score 1197."

Swish!

Instantly, almost all eyes were drawn to him, including those who were also in the Qi Refining stage.

He was a handsome, confident, and sunny young man who nodded slightly, politely responding to his classmates.

"Qi Refining fifth layer!"

There was an uproar all around.

"Wu Tianli seems to have four spiritual roots—gold, wood, water, and fire. How could his cultivation speed be so fast?"

"His spiritual root attributes are quite good, possibly very close to three spiritual roots."

"Three spiritual roots! Excluding those from outside the realm, this is almost top-tier talent..."

Jiang Ding listened silently to the discussions around him, feeling like a transparent person.

More than ten thousand years ago, Luminous Blue Star was a planet without spiritual energy. Even after intersecting with the cultivation world for over ten thousand years, the local spiritual meridians and spiritual roots were still extremely scarce. Four spiritual roots were already very rare, appearing only about once in every eighty to ninety thousand people, let alone three spiritual roots, two spiritual roots, and the legendary Heavenly Spiritual Root.

A four-spiritual-root cultivator, known as a pseudo-spiritual root outside the realm, was already considered a genius on Luminous Blue Star.

"Securing a spot in the bottom fifteen universities' Cultivation Departments, with the middle twelve universities within reach, and even the upper twelve universities are not entirely out of the question," Guo Kui said with a beaming smile.

It was known that among the thirty-nine universities with Cultivation Departments, the middle twelve were usually only attainable by three-spiritual-root cultivators.

"I will work hard, teacher," Wu Tianli said earnestly.

Everyone knew what he was referring to.

The upper twelve universities, including Pure Breeze University and Big Dipper University, had a nickname: the Land of Golden Cores!

According to statistics from past students, the probability of students from the Top Twelve Universities becoming Golden Core cultivators is ten to several times greater than that of all other schools and rogue cultivators combined!

"This..." Guo Kui encouraged, "Keep it up, I believe in you!"

The Cultivation Departments of the Top Twelve Universities are also known as the Twelve Dao Palaces. Each Dao Palace has a Nascent Soul True Monarch in quiet cultivation. Even native cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots find it incredibly difficult to get in; only the most exceptional geniuses in both academics and cultivation can enter.

Cultivators from beyond the realm have a specific name for students of the Top Twelve Universities.

Registered Disciples of Nascent Soul True Monarchs!

In the eyes of cultivators from beyond the realm, the status of students from the Top Twelve Universities is equivalent to that of registered disciples of Nascent Soul Ancestors. They are treated as equals in any interaction.

As you can imagine, the difficulty is immense.

Basically, out of hundreds of millions of people in a province, only about a hundred students each year are qualified to enter the Top Twelve Universities.

"First place, Hua Bing! Qi Refining Level 6, academic score 723, cultivation bonus 479, total score 1202."

Numerous admiring gazes turned towards the woman in the center of the front row. She had tanned skin, a handsome and heroic appearance, and a commanding presence like an older sister.

"There's a high probability of getting into the Top Twelve Universities, with a small chance of entering the very Top Twelve Universities."

Guo Kui made his judgment based on his professional experience.

She was only 5 points behind Wu Tianli on the surface, but people are different. With Three Spiritual Roots and the dedicated training from her Foundation Establishment father, she was already at the peak of Qi Refining Level 6, on the verge of entering Qi Refining Level 7 and becoming a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator at any moment.

Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators experience a minor qualitative change in their spiritual power and divine sense. This is the foundation that allows them to crush early and mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

An extra 10 points in the bonus isn't much. The increase and minor qualitative change in spiritual power and especially divine sense can slightly improve a cultivator's calculation ability, memory, and divine sense scanning precision – these are crucial abilities.

This leads to a slight increase in learning ability.

Scores in subjects like Chinese, Mathematics, Physics, and Biology are likely to see a small, comprehensive improvement. If the improvement is significant enough, entering the Top Twelve Universities might not be out of the question.

"These are students with spiritual roots. For other students, please do not be discouraged." Guo Kui shifted his gaze from Hua Bing to Jiang Ding, Li Junhao, and other mortal students, saying sternly:

"Compared to cultivators, who have extremely difficult and slow cultivation paths, even those with peerless talent need years of step-by-step accumulation. Based on the experience of the teachers, after the third year of high school, the cultivation of exceptionally talented youths with a solid foundation will experience explosive growth."

"Any citizen of an Immortal Sect, within twenty-four hours of birth, has an Innate Warrior cleanse their body and bones with at least thirty-year-old Great Medicine. Within three days, a Qi Refining stage cultivator will cleanse their meridians with Essence Condensing Liquid."

"In terms of aptitude, any citizen of an Immortal Sect would be considered a genius in some lower-level worlds that only possess martial arts heritage!"

"The Immortal Sect's decision to allow martial artists to participate in the college entrance examination is not merely to serve as a foil for those with spiritual roots!"

Guo Kui's tone was very serious.

"On the contrary, the vast number of educated ordinary people are the most important cornerstone of the Immortal Sect. The future achievements of the most outstanding students among them will not be inferior to those with spiritual roots in any way."

"Many great experts of the Immortal Sect also lacked spiritual roots, but that did not stop them from dominating the heavens and the earth!"

Many students without spiritual roots were invigorated, regaining hope.

Jiang Ding pursed his lips.

He noticed the phrase 'exceptionally talented' in Teacher Guo's words.

It made sense.

To cultivate immortality as a mortal, if one isn't a dragon among men, how could they possibly hope?

"Alright, since the results of the last mock test are out, those who have improved should not become complacent, and those who have regressed must work harder to live up to their youth."

Guo Kui set aside the class's grade report, rubbed his shiny scalp, and opened the Ideological and Moral Character textbook.

Ever since the emergence of the extraordinary, Ideological and Moral Character had leaped to become a core subject comparable to Chinese and Mathematics, with a total score of 150 points. It was very important. A low score was acceptable, but failing to even pass was a very serious problem.

While it might not prevent them from being admitted to a university, it would directly close off many future opportunities.

"Recite the [First Law of the Immortal Sect] with solemnity. Begin," Guo Kui instructed.

The sound of reciting echoed through the classroom.

"First Law of the Immortal Sect!"

"All knowledge within Luminous Blue Star, including that of public and private institutions, personal knowledge; patented and unpatented; cultivation knowledge and non-cultivation knowledge; all knowledge from the past, present, and future that will be created or discovered, belongs to all citizens!"

"Any citizen who has not been deprived of their political rights, upon application and proof of their ability to comprehend the knowledge, may read any knowledge or inheritance on Luminous Blue Star!"

"If the knowledge is within its patent period, a patent fee approved by the Central Array Spirit Computer must be paid!"

Jiang Ding and the others recited loudly with solemn tones, not missing a single punctuation mark or pause.

As for their thoughts, they had none.

Because they had started learning this on their first day of preschool. Literacy was the same; these were the first characters most citizens of the Immortal Sect learned.

"If any institution or individual violates the First Law of the Immortal Sect and refuses a legal citizen's legitimate request to read, the citizen shall immediately report it to the local Immortal Sect institution and the Array Spirit Computer at their registered domicile."

"Institutions or individuals who repeatedly ignore warnings and still refuse to fulfill the First Law of the Immortal Sect shall have the military at their registered domicile carry out strict material and soul destruction procedures under the supervision of the Central Array Spirit Computer."

The reciting voice fell silent.

"I will not elaborate on the importance of the First Law of the Immortal Sect. I, your junior high and elementary school teachers, have mentioned it many times. It is a mandatory exam for the college entrance examination, with even its placement, question types, and score predetermined."

"This is a free 15 points, a gift! But!"

Guo Kui's expression turned stern. "This time, we actually had two students misspell a single character! This was a transcription, with no variations, just copying!"

The anger of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator caused a gale to sweep through the classroom.

The book pages rustled loudly, and only the sound of breathing gradually became clear.

"I won't say who it is."

Guo Kui calmed himself and said sternly, "I am grading the papers now, and you still have a chance to correct them. Once you reach the college entrance examination, the Central Array Spirit Computer will grade them, and everything will be set in stone. All these years of hard work will be wasted."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

In front of a furious late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, all the students answered obediently.

"Good, now we will continue with the previous example problem, the first confidentiality regulation triggered by the words 'Luminous Blue Star Legal Citizen' in the Immortal Sect's First Law."

"Question one: If an exchange student composed of true disciples from the Immortal Sect's extraterrestrial ally, the Five Elements Heavenly Sect, obtains temporary citizen status at customs, then, if there is an opportunity to converse with them, what knowledge can be exchanged, and what is strictly forbidden to be leaked, to avoid triggering the [Immortal Sect's Great Curse]?"

"For this, you can refer to the Customs Regulations, Temporary Citizen Authority Details..."

On the podium, Guo Kui spoke eloquently, extending from the example problem to reality, and then returning to theory. The students below quickly took notes.

The difference was that mortal students like Jiang Ding wrote like the wind, their sweat flying, while cultivators like Wu Tianli in the front row held a jade slip and recorded with their divine sense and magic power, easily and leisurely, yet with far greater efficiency.

Ding ling...

"You must remember the knowledge points taught in this class, and you need to do more practice problems when you get back..."

Two hours later, Guo Kui closed the textbook, still wanting to continue, and left the classroom.

The moment he left, whistling sounds erupted everywhere, and figures disappeared rapidly.

The fastest were naturally the cultivators who had enhanced themselves with the Wind Riding Art, disappearing like a wisp of smoke in an instant. Students with lower martial arts realms couldn't even see when they left.

Next were naturally the three Inner Qi Realm martial artists in the class. Although Inner Qi was far inferior to the magic power of cultivators, it was more than enough to crush a group of Body Refining martial artists.

Finally, it was the turn of peak Bone Refining Realm martial artists like Jiang Ding. With a push of one hand, he sprinted towards the training room under Li Junhao's envious gaze.

From 4 PM to 6 PM was the training class.

In the training area, as expected, the top 10 training rooms were already occupied by various powerful individuals. Jiang Ding, the student, swiped his student card at the entrance of training room number 41, and the steel door slowly opened.

Students behind him showed regretful expressions and rushed to the adjacent training room, number 42.

Luminous Blue Star had only interacted with the cultivation world for a little over ten thousand years. The spiritual energy was thin, and resources were scarce. All the spiritual energy had been collected by the Immortal Sect, leaving only enough spiritual energy in the outside world for cultivators to barely maintain their breathing and circulation.

Of course, Jiang Ding was just a martial artist; he couldn't sense spiritual energy, nor could he use it.

What they were actually competing for was the 'Essence Condensing Bone Strengthening Soup' provided by the Immortal Sect's Ministry of Education for the third-year peak Bone Refining students in the training rooms. Developed by the Immortal Sect's Academy of Sciences and brewed from hundreds or even thousands of medicinal ingredients, it was meticulously crafted. Although produced on a large scale, its effects were not inferior.

In some low-level small worlds, it could be considered a heavenly treasure, and obtaining it required both strength and opportunity.

The earlier the ranking of the training room, the better the effect of the Essence Condensing Bone Strengthening Soup.

If they were cultivators or martial artists of a lower realm, what they received would also be different, perhaps the spiritual energy concentration of that number, or a tonic soup that nourishes tendons and bones.

The door opened, revealing a space of over a hundred square meters. There was a weapon rack beside it, with various weapons like sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. In the center was a gnarled root of a banyan tree twisted into the shape of a hand, with a bowl of milky white thick soup held in the palm, emitting a rich aroma.

Stepping into the training room, the metal door slowly closed behind him.

A blue light screen, like a postcard, slowly unfolded.

[Name: Jiang Ding]
[Student ID: 1246215]
[Realm: Peak Bone Refining]
[Last Training Subject: Sixty-eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art (Proficiency 32%)]

Below the light screen was a virtual figure composed of meridians and threads. Every muscle, bone, and skin was clearly labeled and could be freely magnified or shrunk.

The skin and muscles were mostly at 100%, while some areas, such as the skin of the armpits, scalp, facial muscles, and intestinal muscles, which are difficult to train, were at 12%, 46%, and 0% respectively.

No matter how much one trained, these areas were extremely difficult to reach. One could only perfect them after developing Inner Qi and using it as an aid.

Overall, most of the skin and muscles had reached their current limits. The training room's computer was connected to the Rongcheng Array Spirit Computer, equivalent to the clone of a Deity Transformation Great Expert's clone assisting in observation and confirmation, ensuring absolutely no errors.

The real difficulty lay in the spine.

The limbs, ribs, sternum, and outer skull were all at 100%. Only the spine showed 60% in very few places, with most areas at 1% or 2%, indicating extremely low refinement.

Jiang Ding knew the reason.

"Sixty-eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art (Proficiency 32%)."

He sighed.

The Sixty-eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art!

This cultivation technique had a very ordinary name and was only the lowest level among 'Classic Cultivation Techniques.' It was a technique for young children among mortals to learn, and it looked very trashy.

In reality, it had a reputation in dozens of worlds, including the cultivation world.

The Number One Foundation-Laying Divine Technique of All Realms!

No one disagreed!

Because this cultivation technique had an extremely terrifying effect: if a mortal could successfully break through to the Innate realm using it, they would forge a 'Dao Body Prototype,' and their cultivation aptitude would be close to the top-tier Four Spiritual Root aptitude.

It could be called defying fate!

Chapter 2 was blocked and is being unblocked.