Exchange

Exchange

At the infirmary, the doctor first set Zhou Leng's bones and bandaged him. Deng Zhijue circulated qi and blood through Zhou Leng, clearing out hidden injuries.

Finally, Zhou Leng was pushed into the "Healing Demon Spirit Artifact."

The entire Healing Demon Spirit Artifact resembled an MRI machine, a large horizontal cylinder. Zhou Leng was pushed into the middle of it.

A humming sound rose. The large cylinder rotated, blue demon patterns flickering across its surface.

Zhou Leng only felt strange light envelop his entire body, and then the damaged parts of his body began recovering at a speed he could perceive.

It was Zhou Leng's first time sensing the power of a Demon Spirit Artifact.

Demonized Items referred to modern technology powered by magic crystals.

The core of a Demon Spirit Artifact was Demon Spirit Techniques.

It's Just That the Demon Spirit Artifacts of the Demon Spirit World had been influenced by Human Race technology from Blue Star. In recent years, they had incorporated a great many Blue Star concepts, and their forms had increasingly come to resemble Blue Star items.

When the treatment ended, Zhou Leng was pushed out, and the doctor handed him a blue medicine bottle.

"Drink it."

Zhou Leng took it and drained it in one gulp.

An indescribable bitterness Filled With his mouth, as though countless tiny people were holding brushes and scrubbing bile and coptis inside his mouth. Zhou Leng's face twisted instinctively.

"This is the Demon Energy Potion used alongside the Healing Demon Spirit Artifact. If you don't drink the Demon Energy Potion, you'll lose nearly half a year of your lifespan."

"Thank You, Doctor."

"All right. Don't overtrain for the next three days. If you eat Meat Medicinal Cuisine and Great Replenishing Pills, you can resume normal exercise a day early."

Zhou Leng bade the doctor farewell and walked out with Deng Zhijue.

"Thank You, Instructor."

Zhou Leng naturally knew that this kind of Healing Demon Spirit Artifact was extremely costly to use. Although the instructors had authorization to use it, there were certainly restrictions.

Deng Zhijue tossed him a Great Replenishing Pill. Zhou Leng caught it and swallowed it.

"Come on, let's collect your rewards. After class, don't forget to take the exam. I've already registered you. The Divine Script General Bureau will assign a Divine Script Expert to proctor it."

Zhou Leng returned to the Martial Arts Hall. The students of Class 01 gathered around him, clicking their tongues in amazement when they saw that only faint bruises remained on his body.

Before long, third and fourth place also returned. They had likewise received treatment, but its effects were far inferior to Zhou Leng's.

Head Instructor Huang Jingqiu came forward and presented rewards to the top four.

First-place Xu Kang'an received one Essence Replenishing Pill, two Qi Nourishing Pills, and Blood Replenishing Pills.

Zhou Leng received five Qi Nourishing Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills.

After collecting the rewards, Xu Kang'an asked Zhou Leng, "How many Essence Replenishing Pills have you taken?"

As they walked, Zhou Leng said, "I just finished my second one."

"So few?" Xu Kang'an could hardly believe it.

"Many students in our class haven't even taken one," Zhou Leng said.

"Let's trade." Xu Kang'an handed the Essence Replenishing Pill in his hand to Zhou Leng.

An Essence Replenishing Pill cost 100,000, while Qi Nourishing Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills cost 10,000 each.

Xu Kang'an added, "Taking three Essence Replenishing Pills eliminates the body's foundational hidden ailments. After that, every time you take one, it slightly strengthens your entire body. Do you know how many you need to take before they become almost ineffective?"

"I really don't know that," Zhou Leng said.

"One hundred. After that, they're only effective when you advance. Taking more brings no benefit. I've already taken the full hundred, so I might as well trade for your Qi Nourishing Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills."

"Fine!" Zhou Leng handed his Qi Nourishing Pills and Blood Replenishing Pills to Xu Kang'an.

Xu Kang'an said, "There's a concept in cultivation called 'Core Pills'—the most important pills at a certain stage. You have to take as many as possible, or they'll become a weak link."

"Among the four phases of qi, blood, body, and strength in the Qi and Blood Realm, the true Core Pills are Essence Replenishing Pills and Body Strengthening Pills. Once you've taken one hundred Essence Replenishing Pills, or advance to the Body Tempering Stage, you can take Body Strengthening Pills. The theoretical limit for Body Strengthening Pills is also one hundred."

"Other than those two types of pills, Meat Medicinal Cuisine is actually the most important. We generally record the number of Core Pills used in our Martial Path Diaries."

Zhou Leng calculated inwardly. Essence Replenishing Pills were 100,000 each, Body Strengthening Pills were 200,000 each, one hundred of each—that was 30 million...

"Others might not understand why I traded you an Essence Replenishing Pill, but you should understand," Xu Kang'an said.

"We should do as Martial Saint Zhao said: reduce internal strife and unite against those outside," Zhou Leng said.

Xu Kang'an nodded heavily. "See you around."

Zhou Leng looked at the Essence Replenishing Pill in his hand.

He had thought that he would not take first place in this entrance exam and would not receive this Essence Replenishing Pill, leaving him no choice but to endure until the Monthly Exam. He had not expected Xu Kang'an to take the initiative and trade.

After taking this Essence Replenishing Pill, his old injuries would basically be healed.

Then he could make an all-out push for the Blood Circulation Stage.

However, he needed to save up an Essence Replenishing Pill and ten Blood Replenishing Pills in advance for the Blood Circulation Stage.

After lunch, Zhou Leng attended Martial Path class with the other Martial Arts Hall Students.

Teaching at the Martial Arts Hall was vastly different from high school and university. They read theory books on their own and watched videos for the instructional content themselves.

There were only a few large classes each week, which required all four classes to attend together.

Today's classes were all held in the Martial Arts Hall. The instructors taught at the front while selecting students to demonstrate.

After one class, every student was covered in bruises, and some had even been beaten until they bled.

The final class was Deng Zhijue's Internal Energy Class.

After teaching, Deng Zhijue also explained many matters concerning cultivation at the Martial Arts Hall.

"People say Martial Arts Hall Students only attend classes for half a day. That's both right and wrong."

"You have practical demonstration classes in the morning, but in the afternoon, you still have to cultivate in the Martial Arts Hall."

"Whether it's physical training, true qi cultivation, or sparring practice, you must meet a certain time requirement to earn credits."

"Under this model, the average growth rate of Martial Arts Hall Students is faster than that of Martial University students at the same level."

"As for cultivating External Techniques and Moves, that depends entirely on yourselves. Then Demon Worshippers and Demon Sea Demons will help you test the results."

"Arrive half an hour early tomorrow morning. We'll elect the Class Monitor, as well as committee members for each individual Martial Path subject."

"Every month, the Martial Guard Bureau sends some Martial Path cases to the Martial Arts Hall. The instructors will lead some outstanding students in assisting with the cases."

"Not only will there be bonus credits, you can also earn Battle Merit. Whether in the Martial Guard Department or the Demon City Army, you can exchange it for corresponding resources."

"You must remember this: Battle Merit will be your most precious resource in the future."

"If there's anything you don't understand, ask me directly. If I have time, I'll answer, and every week I'll post some answers to questions..."

When it ended, Deng Zhijue led Zhou Leng into the Proctoring Room.

Zhou Leng took out his Student Card and electronic ID. After his identity was verified, he sat down at a computer desk.

Not long after, an image was projected onto the blackboard ahead.

It looked like a laboratory. A young woman with long hair sat in a chair.

She wore a white lab coat. Her black hair fell like silk, faintly lustrous and smooth, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses without lenses rested on her nose.

Amid the plain clothing and surroundings, her vivid red lips and cold, indifferent eyes were particularly striking.

Deng Zhijue said, "This is the proctoring expert."

"Hello, Teacher." Zhou Leng greeted her politely, though he felt surprised inside.

Becoming a Junior Divine Script Researcher was not difficult, but intermediate and advanced qualifications were extremely hard to obtain. Expert-level status required multiple major research achievements, and people were generally at least forty before reaching it.

This Divine Script Expert picked up her proctoring certificate, shook it, and put it back down.

Zhao Nandi, Divine Script Research Expert.