Return to the Academy, Treasures in Succession!

Endless thick clouds shrouded the left, right, and rear, leaving only the road ahead visible.

A gate tower, several tens of feet high, bears four ancient characters carved on it: Great Dream Academy.

"It feels different this time when I come in."

"It seems I can see further and perceive things more clearly."

"This time I should be able to get something, right? Hopefully, it'll be a treasure directly, no need for some kind of ' Heart Questioning Platform..."

Silently thinking to himself, Zhao Xing strolled through the clouds and passed through the gates of the academy.

Just like the first time, many treasure troves flashed before my eyes.

The Reincarnation Hall, the Heart Questioning Platform, the Martial God Pagoda, the Secret Arts Repository, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, the Sacred Beast Palace, the Life Palace... pavilions, towers, palace complexes, covered walkways and sky bridges are arranged in a well-organized manner, with layered mountains and swirling clouds and mist, making it feel like being in a fairyland.

However, as they approached, these places disappeared into the clouds one by one.

Wait, wait quietly.

In his anticipation, a palace magnified in his eyes, shining with Golden Light, and finally settled completely.

"Hmm? This isn't the Heart Questioning Platform, it's... the Heavenly Craft Hall?"

Zhao Xing looked around the palace. He hadn't expected that after the Ranked Realm, he would not appear at the Heart Questioning Platform, but at the Heavenly Craft Hall.

"The Heavenly Craft Hall has many treasures, but they are scattered in many places. It depends on which side hall I enter."

Zhao Xing thought to himself, then stepped into the palace.

As soon as you enter, a cloud of mist surges up around you, then disperses, slowly revealing the real scene.

"Welcome to the Mysterious Machine Hall, student Zhao Xing."

A deep voice came from the clouds ahead, and then a strange beast slowly emerged.

It is as big as a bull, similar to Qilin, with thick, dark fur all over its body, bright and spirited eyes, a silver horn on its forehead, and it speaks human language.

Zhao Xing was slightly taken aback after seeing the appearance of the strange beast clearly.

Mechanical Beast Xie Zhi? I've actually ended up in the Mysterious Machine Pavilion?

"Greetings, Guardian." Zhao Xing quickly bowed.

He was no stranger to the Mysterious Machine Pavilion; this Xiezhi was the guardian, and it also had another name: the Dharma Beast.

The Xiezhi is highly intelligent, understanding human speech and nature. Its status as a national treasure has changed across many dynasties—sometimes as Qilin, sometimes a Dark Bird, sometimes a dragon, sometimes a phoenix. But the Xiezhi's position has remained constant; in every dynasty, it has been a national treasure.

It is also the guardian of the nation. Although what is in front of us is not a real Law Beast Xie Zhi, but Mechanical Beast, it contains the Beast Spirit Ceremony. Its body is made of Ninth Order materials, so it is no different from the real one.

The Law Beast Xie Zhi glanced at Zhao Xing and said, "You're only at the mid-stage of the Essence Gathering realm. The only place suitable for you to challenge is the Mysterious Machine Pavilion."

Zhao Xing listened quietly.

"The way of the heavens is to multiply and divide, and to explore the Source of Creation. The mechanisms Magic Array inside mainly test the students' wisdom and deductive calculation ability. The mechanisms and Magic Array combine the five elements and the heavenly stems Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches."

"The difficulty will double for each level, but the rewards will also double."

"If you can reach the end of the Mysterious Machine Pavilion, you will receive a 'rare treasure'."

The introduction to the Law Beast Xie Zhi.

Zhao Xing's heart was pounding.

A rare and precious treasure!

In addition to the first to Ninth Order, treasures are also classified into "rare treasures" and "peerless treasures".

The so-called rare treasures are treasures that are extremely rare within a thousand years of a dynasty, and their numbers are not many, at most a few dozen.

As for rare and priceless treasures, they are things that cannot be found in the world today and have been passed down from ancient times.

Why was Zhao Xing so agitated?

Because at this time, the Great Dream Academy had not yet been looted by Wu Emperor, and these checkpoints had not changed much!

He had overcome all these challenges in his previous life!

"The First Stage lies ahead: the Mysterious Machine Gate."

The Xiezhi breathed softly, and then the mist in front of it dissipated, revealing a uniquely shaped wooden door.

"The Mysterious Machine Gate has three locks. Opening them will allow you to pass the First Stage."

Suppressing his excitement, Zhao Xing cupped his hands in greeting and walked over.

The wooden door is five meters high and eight meters wide. Its unique design is due to the fact that it is completely embedded inside the wall, fitting together seamlessly.

Everything else was perfectly smooth, with no visible seams. At a height of one meter, there were three parts.

Two of them are protruding.

One is shaped like a bull's head, and the other resembles a snake.

One is embedded inside the door, forming a plum blossom pattern.

"Shining Sun Plum Blossom Lock, Double Light Bull Head Clasp, and Wild Luo Serpent Walk Lock." Zhao Xing looked at the three locks and couldn't help but smile.

Although he was not an expert in mechanisms, he knew the answer.

They even know more than one solution.

I remembered it when I was a player, and I can still use it now because this type of mechanism lock does not involve the use of one's own energy.

Xiezhi also said, the test is the students' wisdom and calculation ability, as well as their understanding of the Five Elements Heaven Stems.

"The Shining Sun Plum Blossom Lock and the Double Light Bull Head Clasp are both Heavenly Stems Locks, while the Wild Luo Serpent Walk Lock is an Earthly Branch Lock."

"These most basic parts are combined into a lock in a unique way. Each part needs to be moved to its corresponding position in order to unlock it."

Zhao Xing first untied the ox-head knot.

He pushed with his left hand, adjusting the position of the bull's head buckle so that one bull's head moved downwards and the other bull's head faced him.

The wall seemed soft, allowing the bull's head to move freely inside, but it was impossible to pull it open with force.

Zhao Xing kept his left hand still and operated only with his right hand. He pulled the bull's head he was holding in his right hand back until it reached the "Shangzhang" position, which is one-third of the Kun position.

Then, the bull's head on the right side is gently turned upwards, and the bull's head on the lower side rotates accordingly, thus forming an up-and-down arrangement.

At this point, the ox's head in the lower Kun position has detached, but it is still not considered unresolved.

The bull's head from the Shangzhang needs to be moved to the "Chongguang" position, which is the "Zhen Position.

Then rotate downwards to two-thirds of the Zhen Position and try to pull outwards.

"Click click click~"

The two bull heads immediately retreated into the doorway, emitting a faint blue light, indicating that one of the locks had been unlocked.

"Using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches method is the fastest way to solve this; let's get one sorted out!"

Zhao Xing clapped his hands and walked to the other side of the Wild Luo Serpent Walk Lock.

The snake lock is horizontal on the door, about three feet long, and is made up of countless tiny round beads.

"The Wild Luo Serpent Walk Lock has 146 active beads and 9 fixed beads. There aren't many ways to combine them. Half of them are hidden inside the door, which is where the difficulty lies." Zhao Xing began to explore, searching for the location of the fixed beads.

The key to unlocking the serpentine lock is to find the nine stones and restore them to their Huangluo positions.

"Luckily, I'm all alone here, so no one's bothering me." Zhao Xing recalled some amusing incidents while unlocking the door.

This level is quite interesting; the snake lock will reset at midnight, ensuring that four fixed beads are exposed.

This is the initial difficulty of the First Stage.

However, if the first person on the day deliberately causes trouble by hiding the fixed bead, or if some fool gets frustrated and moves the movable bead randomly, then the difficulty for the next person to unlock it will increase, definitely causing frustration.

So every time it's midnight, there's a queue here, trying to be the first to get it sorted out, so as not to cause trouble for others and inadvertently cause them some trouble.

"Done!" After fiddling around for a moment, Zhao Xing put the nine fixed beads back in place.

Hiss~ The snake lock quickly retracted into the door, and at the same time, a blue light appeared in its original position.

"Not bad, quite talented." The Xiezhi nodded slightly as it watched Zhao Xing's movements. "It seems the First Stage won't be too difficult for him."

If the first two locks were solved so quickly, the last one should obviously not be a problem either.

Only one remains: the Shining Sun Plum Blossom Lock.

It is also the most difficult of the three locks.

"All nine plum blossom petals need to be restored once. Fortunately, the Heavenly Stems is only the Zhaoyang position, so it's much easier. If it were more difficult, with the Heavenly Stem corresponding to the Heavenly Stems and the Favorable Weather, it would be troublesome." Zhao Xing pondered for a moment, then gently touched one of the plum blossom petals.

After pressing down, a sound came from inside. Zhao Xing listened carefully and then continued with the second one.

The first step is screening.

One of the nine petals of a plum blossom must be located in the Zhaoyang position.

Since each petal needs to be restored, the first petal must be found and moved away. However, it cannot be moved randomly; the order of movement must be remembered. Otherwise, it is possible that only one petal will be restored after all the effort.

After finding the location, Zhao Xing began unlocking it.

Ten breaths later.

"Buzz~"

The plum blossoms lit up with blue light in turn, then expanded and bloomed.

"Click click click~"

The gate began to shrink to both sides.

First Stage cleared!

"Congratulations, student Zhao Xing, on passing the First Stage of the Mysterious Machine Hall." The Law Beast Xie Zhi approached. "You have received the reward of a fourth-tier 'Five Viscera Evil Purging Pill'."

"The Five Viscera Evil Purging Pill can enhance your internal cultivation techniques, strengthen your organs, accelerate the recovery of Essence Gathering, and make spellcasting smoother."

"If you cultivate a technique that absorbs malevolent energy, you can also enhance the resistance of your five internal organs to malevolent fire."

After saying this, the Xiezhi opened its mouth, and a five-colored pill flew out from its belly.

Zhao Xing accepted it with both hands. "Thank you."

Looking at the Five Viscera Pill, he couldn't help but sigh. The Great Dream Academy was indeed high-class. The First Stage of the small test actually rewarded him with a fourth-grade pill.

If it had become the "Cloud Dream Academy" during the reign of Wu Emperor, then the First Stage would have offered only first or second-tier treasures as rewards.

One is elitist, the other is populist; naturally, their rewards cannot be compared.

"Do we still want to continue the challenge?" the Xiezhi asked.

"Yes, the students want to continue." Zhao Xing nodded.

"Whoosh~" The Xiezhi blew a breath forward, and it seemed as if a gale had risen around them, with clouds and mist churning.

Zhao Xing was also blown around by the wind, and when he finally came to a stop, the scene had changed drastically.

"The Second Stage: the Heavenly Mystery Box."

"There are four Heavenly Mystery Box in front of you, divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Inside are treasures of different qualities."

"The Heavenly Mystery Box has no lock or clasp; it is sealed with array patterns. If you are Mechanism Master, you can try to unlock it with the array patterns."

"If you want to break open the four Heavenly Mystery Box A, B, C, and D by force, you need your magic and martial arts skills to reach the initial Spirit Bridge, intermediate Spirit Bridge, late Spirit Bridge, and Spirit Bridge Completion."

The Law Beast Xie Zhi was referring to the cultivation realm of the Great Li Dynasty, also known as the Ancient Dharma Realm.

The Essence Gathering Realm corresponds to the Ninth Grade, and the Spirit Bridge Realm corresponds to the Eighth Grade.

The Essence Gathering is easy to understand: it means absorbing the vital energy of heaven and earth and Essence Gathering to cultivate oneself.

The Spirit Bridge Realm involves building a Spirit Bridge between heaven and earth within the dantian, connecting heaven and earth, allowing for a clearer understanding of the five elements' power between heaven and earth, while also accelerating the absorption of vital energy, ensuring its continuous circulation.

The characteristics of the realms are the same, only the names differ in different dynasties.

"Brutal attack, the Grade A box requires an attack standard at the peak of the Spirit Bridge Realm," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "It's a bit too difficult."

In his previous life, when he passed this test, the Grade A box only required the standard of the mid-stage of the Spirit Bridge Realm.

However, neither the Great Dream Academy nor the Cloud Dream Academy requires combat strength; as long as the single statistic of 'attack power' meets the standard, that is sufficient.

In other words, the destructive power of a single spell only needs to be enough to break down the box's defenses; it doesn't need to be comparable to the 'Spirit Bridge Realm' in all aspects.

According to the standards of the Great Zhou cultivation system, reaching the Nine Turns in a single mid-level spell or martial art is a sign of the Eighth Rank Realm.

The Eighth Grade rank, from top to bottom, is merely an expansion within the realm of mid-level spells.

At the Official Eighth Rank (the Spirit Bridge Completion), one usually possesses multiple mid-level perfected spells or secret techniques, or even self-created spells, breaking through the limit of the Nine Turns. Moreover, the combination of these techniques makes one more comprehensive, and naturally, one's combat power is higher.

Those who are at the lower Official Eighth Rank (late stage of the Spirit Bridge) will be able to use many mid-level Nine Turns spells or secret techniques.

From the Ninth Grade to the Eighth Grade, there is no qualitative change in one's vital energy; only the physical body becomes stronger. Of course, the difference between the eighth and ninth ranks is significant for martial artists, but the difference is smaller for magic-based professions.

As for whether a single spell Nine Turns can be considered as Eighth Grade combat power, that depends on the specific circumstances.

For example, right now, the four boxes, A, B, C, and D, are all made of special wood. If you only know "earth magic," you can only stare helplessly.

Because the element of wood overcomes the element of earth, even if you know seven or eight earth-based techniques and have all reached the intermediate level of perfection, you still cannot break through them by force.

"My lightning technique is only at the Nine Turns and not yet perfected. I wonder if I can break through it," Zhao Xing thought to himself. In terms of attack power, lightning technique is of course the most powerful. Although Icy Rain is at the maximum level, in this situation, what is needed is an explosive attack. Icy Rain probably cannot reach the critical value.

Moreover, the systems of Great Li and Great Zhou are different, and he doesn't know if it will work.

The so-called array pattern is the password to unlock the box.

In the art of mechanisms, array patterns are a more advanced application technique.

These Heavenly Mystery Box from the Wu Emperor's era that he was familiar with, so the 'passwords' are naturally not the same either.

"Cloudcalling!" Zhao Xing pointed, and clouds immediately appeared overhead.

Because magical understanding is rooted in the soul, one can also cast spells within the Great Dream Academy.

If the vital energy undergoes a qualitative change in the future, one can also bring their own combat power into the challenge through more advanced Guiding Talisman and Soul-Soothing Talisman.

"Guiding Thunder!"

A bolt of lightning fell from the clouds.

Knowing that his lightning magic was not yet perfect, Zhao Xing could only work on improving his control techniques.

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!"

Nine bolts of lightning struck the same spot on the mystery box in succession, attempting to break it open.

"Has it broken through?"

Zhao Xing looked closely and found that the Heavenly Mystery Box only had a charred spot, and it was still a long way from being broken open.

"Forget it, no need to waste time on this level."

Zhao Xing quickly gave up on cracking the Grade A box.

Even if you don't get the highest reward in the Second Stage, you can still try it again later.

"Boom!"

Two bolts of lightning easily broke open the two boxes, C and D.

As for the Grade B mystery box, it took a little more time.

What's in the box?

The mystery box wasn't big, only half a meter long, and had thick ankles, so it couldn't possibly hold anything large. What came out of it were three small items.

However, the quality of the item is not judged by its size.

As soon as Zhao Xing broke through, three orbs of light floated in front of him.

"Wind Crystal Earring, Upper Third Tier, made from Wind Crystal Jade, a specialty of Wind River Grotto Heaven. Wearing them can enhance hearing."

"Earthly Fiend Pill, Upper Third Tier, contains an Earthly Fiend, which can be used to cleanse the internal organs."

"Giant Whale Pill, a mid-grade fourth-tier pill, is made from the flesh and blood of a deep-sea giant whale combined with third-tier herbs. After consumption, it can enhance physical strength and grant immense power. In particular, it can improve lung function. After consuming the Giant Whale Pill, a cultivator at the Essence Gathering Realm can dive to a depth of a thousand meters underwater using only their physical body."

The voice of the Xiezhi rang out, introducing the three treasures one by one.

I don't know if it's because of brute force, but these three are basically things used by martial artists.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing also began to wonder: We're all practicing physical training, so why is my Agricultural Official a high-ranking official) going down the path of physical strength?

But the rewards are really good; for just the Second Stage, they give such good stuff.

Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh, "The elites of Great Li are really eating well."

It's important to know that these three items have unique functions in the third and fourth tiers; they're not common items.

The Earthly Fiend Body Training and Giant Whale Strength Enhancement also come with an underwater effect. As for the Wind Crystal Earring, they can even enhance hearing, making them quite practical.

"Student Zhao Xing, do you wish to continue to the third challenge?"

"Yes, the student wants to continue." Zhao Xing broke through the Grade B box and thus gained the qualification to continue.

If you only pass levels C and D, you won't be able to proceed to the third level.

"Buzz~"

The clouds and mist churned again, and Zhao Xing felt himself being blown away by a gust of wind. The next moment, he found himself between two walls.

"The third level is called the Mechanical Maze."

"The maze has many mechanisms, some visible and some hidden, and they are all movable. You need to find the patterns to deal with those mechanisms and move around in the maze."

The Xiezhi explained, "If you enter the maze through the entrance and emerge within four hours, you will receive a fourth-tier treasure reward."

"Those who emerge within two hours will receive a Tier 5 treasure reward."

"Those who emerge within one hour will receive a Tier 6 treasure reward."

"If you do not emerge within four hours, you will be considered to have failed the challenge."

Zhao Xing blinked. Mechanical Maze, the highest reward was actually a sixth-tier treasure?!

This is far superior to the Cloud Dream Academy during Wu Emperor's reign!

During Wu Emperor's reign, the highest reward was only a fourth-tier treasure!

He wondered if the Mechanical Maze had been simplified. If it hadn't, it meant the difficulty was the same, and then he would really strike it rich this time... Zhao Xing was a little excited.

The Xiezhi looked at Zhao Xing with some confusion in its eyes, wondering what he was so excited about. Was he afraid?

In response, the Xiezhi specifically explained, "The Mechanical Maze is not dangerous. You can go and explore it with peace of mind. At most, if you fail, you will be unconscious for three days. There is no need to worry about your safety."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Guardian."

"Go in."

"Yes." Zhao Xing stepped into the maze.

The Xiezhi blew a breath, and the Mechanical Maze immediately came to life.