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The spacious front courtyard.

"Sit."

Jiang Ding pointed at the bench opposite him.

Han Lin sat down uneasily.

"Um, is your family a family of herbal gatherers?" Jiang Ding asked.

"Yes, Boss. Since my maternal great-grandfather's time, our family has worked for the Seven Profound Sect. Two generations even served as stewards, and because of that, we were implicated as well..."

Han Lin's voice was low.

Jiang Ding fell silent.

In this kind of society, there were far too many unfortunate things. This was not the first time he had seen them.

"Boss, our family was just unlucky."

Han Lin gathered himself and forced a lighter tone.

"How much do you know about Blue Fluorescent Butterflies?"

"Their wings are tough and can't be torn apart. They glow at night and look very beautiful. The prefectural government buys them for one tael of silver per ten wings," Han Lin answered without hesitation. "I heard they're specially supplied to the important people in the capital for making dresses and skirts."

"They're just too nimble—hard to spot, hard to catch."

Jiang Ding calculated based on the test data in the library.

"I want five hundred thousand pairs—five hundred and fifty thousand, or even more. I'm willing to buy them at a premium, even double the price, but they must be alive. Do you think it can be done?"

Five hundred thousand pairs was the quantity needed for one bottle of Dao Body Prototype enhancement potion. It could increase the speed at which the Dao Body Prototype—namely, the Young Eagle Innate—condensed several times over, and the final increase in aptitude would be greater as well.

The extra one-tenth was considered the processing fee for refining 'Blue Gold 2413.'

This rare potion could not be mass-produced. It had to be extracted by someone at the level of an Alchemy Master, and hiring one required a great many spirit coins. Besides, they might not even have the time.

Paying with rare high-end materials was a form of payment many Alchemy Masters were willing to accept.

And that was under the circumstances of the Immortal Sect, where knowledge and technology were shared, high-end technical talents such as alchemists and Array Masters were plentiful, and labor costs had been reduced enormously.

In the Outer Realm Cultivation World, hiring someone of that caliber would be impossible without adding sky-high spirit stones, spiritual treasures, and a personal favor to the bargain.

For those lacking strength, a single misstep could even cost them their lives.

"It... should be possible."

Han Lin hesitated. "I know many uncles and elders who catch Blue Fluorescent Butterflies. If we can offer another ten or twenty percent, they'll be more than willing to sell them to us."

Should.

Jiang Ding nodded. "Go rest. At this stage, it's best not to practice your punches more than twenty times a day. Also, make sure to eat more meat and vegetables. Don't be stingy with that expense."

After saying that, he slowly closed his eyes. Internal force circulated within him, his aura uncertain and dim, yet at times exceptionally conspicuous.

During breaks from cultivating the Minor Breath Concealment Technique, Jiang Ding silently recorded the difficulties he encountered on his miniature computer, intending to ask Teacher Zhang Dingjun when he attended class.

"Yes, Boss!"

Han Lin cast a reverent glance in this direction, then returned outside the shop to practice his punches again. He merely lowered his voice and no longer shouted "hey, ha."

When he arrived at the classroom, Jiang Ding rubbed his sleepy eyes. Sure enough, Li Junhao was already doing problems.

Having slept for only a little over three hours yesterday, he was still not used to it.

However, with the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art at Lesser Mastery, he estimated that he would adapt within at most a week. Four hours of sleep a day would be enough.

"Now this is rare. You actually stayed up late."

As a god of studying through the night, Li Junhao saw through Jiang Ding's condition at a glance. His pen never stopped moving as he spoke in surprise.

Ring-ring!

The class bell rang, and Homeroom Teacher Guo Kui entered the classroom carrying a large stack of test papers.

"We will now hand out the midterm report cards and Moral Character exam papers."

"Since the principal has urgent business, everyone's Combat Exam score will be calculated as 75 points at fifty percent."

Guo Kui looked over the students below and revealed a faint smile. He seemed to be in a rather good mood.

"Rank thirty-one: Zhou Dong, 627 points."

"Rank..."

"Rank nineteen: Li Junhao, 815 points."

Quite a few people looked over in surprise. His improvement was far too great, nearly a hundred points.

"Congratulations," Jiang Ding whispered, happy for him. Li Junhao was widely acknowledged as the hardest-working person in the class.

"Thanks."

Li Junhao's eyes glimmered with tears. This score was only a few dozen points short of the Score Line for the local Spirit Veil University—his dream of cultivating immortality was within reach.

But he quickly calmed down.

"There's a lot of padding in this score. I can't get 75 points in the Combat Assessment; I usually bring up the rear with 5 points."

"Eighteenth place..."

"Fourteenth place, Zhou Xiyuan, 834 points."

A stir went through the crowd, including many Qi Refining Stage students. Quite a few could not help looking toward Jiang Ding's seat.

Even now, his name had not yet been called.

People often said that ordinary people's scores could surpass cultivators'. Had it finally happened to Class One today?

"Thirteenth place, Zhao Yuanye, 857 points."

"Twelfth place..."

Name after name fell, yet Jiang Ding's name was still absent even at tenth place. Many began to wonder whether Guo Kui had gone senile, whether even a Ninth Level Qi Refining cultivator's divine sense could become muddled.

"Ninth place."

Guo Kui paused, checking the score sheet again and again.

"Jiang Ding, 892 points."

He glanced at Jiang Ding and sighed. "I also looked over your papers from the other subjects. Unless something major happens, Spirit Veil University here in our area should be within reach."

"But don't get cocky."

Guo Kui's tone turned stern. "This is only a midterm exam set by the school itself. Don't think that getting a little achievement means you can relax and stop taking the college entrance examination seriously."

"The more accomplishments you have, the more you must strive to improve yourself."

He had always had a favorable impression of Jiang Ding. After all, there were not many students in all of Qian Province who could score 141 points in Moral Character.

To the Central Array Spirit Computer, such students represented strong political reliability and would receive preferential treatment in many invisible respects.

"I understand, Teacher."

Jiang Ding nodded, going up to the podium to collect his score sheet and exam papers. He did not show much excitement.

As his comprehension improved, and with inner force as a tangible reference, his across-the-board progress in subjects such as Language Arts, mathematics, and geography had been expected.

Guo Kui nodded as he watched Jiang Ding's steady demeanor.

Little did he know that the shy boy before him had dared to kill even enemies in another plane. Naturally, he would not become so carried away over a bit of improvement in his grades.

"Damn! 892 points!"

"What did he get last time again? Six hundred something?"

"Fuck, he jumped more than two hundred points in one go. Is this the explosive growth teachers talk about for senior-year martial artists?"

It took the students quite some time to confirm that what they were seeing was real, and they could not help buzzing with discussion.

"Breaking through to the Inner Qi Realm does give a small boost to academic subjects, but this explosive growth is just too unreasonable!"

"How many academic points did Sun Xiao gain when he broke through again?"

"Sixty points."

Sun Xiao's face darkened. His increase had already been considerable, but beside this, it was simply too ugly to look at.

"Quiet!"

Guo Kui slapped the desk, forcefully bringing the room under control.

"Eighth place, Gongsun You, 906 points. Spirit Veil University is within reach."

"Seventh place..."

"First place, Hua Bing, Qi Refining Level Seven, 1,292 points. The Top Twelve Universities are within reach!"

Eighth through second place were much the same as usual, with little difference between them. But when it came to Hua Bing, the gap suddenly widened to nearly a hundred points. He was only a little over one hundred points away from the perfect score of 1,400!

Everyone was stunned.

"Heaven-defying!"

"Qi Refining Level Seven—his divine sense has undergone a slight qualitative change. Sigh, people really can't be compared."

"Is our class going to produce a Golden Core True Person?"

The classroom erupted. A score close to 1,300 meant he was on track for the Twelve Dao Palaces—a Golden Core seed, a true child favored by heaven.

Guo Kui watched the scene with a beaming smile and did not stop them.

To teach a Golden Core seed was glory enough for him. If Hua Bing could attain Golden Core in the future, then even after Guo Kui's death, perhaps several generations of his descendants might receive a share of that lingering grace.