Jia Nan Academy Scripture Depository

The moment Elder Wang finished speaking, Yan Feng charged onto the platform like a brown bear, wrapped Jiang Donghua in a bear hug, and made as if to kiss him with that stubbly face.

"Get lost!"

Jiang Donghua pressed a palm against Yan Feng's chin and shoved him away with a look of utter disgust.

"Hahaha!"

Rather than taking offense, Yan Feng laughed even more wildly. He turned and roared at the other students below the platform.

"You hear that?"

"From now on, you're all my students! Whoever dares mess with Jiang Donghua—"

His pot-sized fist slammed into a pillar of the platform with a bang, leaving a dent in the forged iron.

"I'll teach him what it means to respect his teachers!"

The students below fell silent as cicadas in winter. A few of the timid ones had already shrunk their necks.

Jiang Donghua rubbed his forehead and sighed. This was hardly respect for one's teacher—it was clearly a bandit chief recruiting lackeys.

After roaring his fill, Yan Feng suddenly changed expressions. Rubbing his hands together, he sidled up to Elder Wang.

"Um... Elder..."

He waggled his eyebrows.

"Now that I've become a Yellow-grade Class Instructor, the Mysterious-grade Combat Skill you promised me..."

Elder Wang did not even raise his eyelids. He pointed his peachwood cane toward the west.

"Go pick one yourself at the Scripture Depository."

"Got it!"

Yan Feng grinned from ear to ear and turned to drag Jiang Donghua away.

"Come on, come on, let's go collect our reward with your master!"

Jiang Donghua shook off his hand.

"Who wants to go with you..."

Before he could finish, Yan Feng had tucked him beneath his arm like a chick and strode toward the Scripture Depository, humming a tune under his breath.

"Put me down!"

"No!"

The crowd below exchanged looks.

Liu Yuting muttered softly.

"Big Brother Jiang... is so pitiful..."

Liu Mingyu fought back a laugh.

"You'll get used to it."

Yan Feng carried Jiang Donghua for quite some distance. Only after turning through several corridors and confirming that no one was around did he set him down.

"Brat, quit making that ugly face."

Yan Feng rubbed his hands together, then suddenly turned serious.

"Besides you, there are four more who'll be collecting rewards with me."

He turned toward the plaza and bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Lin Xiuyuan! Zhao Wuchen! Ouyang Xue! Shi Lie! Get your asses over here!"

His voice carried Dou Qi, shaking the tiles along the corridor until they rattled.

Before long, four figures arrived one after another.

"What are you dawdling for?"

Yan Feng waved his large hand.

"The top five get rewards. That's Jia Nan Academy's rule."

The four exchanged glances, but eventually followed.

Their families had all told them that Jia Nan Academy possessed deep foundations. Even the scraps it let slip would be enough for a small clan to benefit from endlessly.

Jiang Donghua rubbed his aching ribs and asked in a low voice.

"What exactly is the reward?"

Yan Feng suddenly gave a mysterious smile.

"You'll find out when we get there."

He deliberately slowed down. Once the others had pulled some distance ahead, he leaned close to Jiang Donghua's ear.

"A Mysterious-grade Combat Skill. You can choose any one."

"A Mysterious-grade Combat Skill?!"

Jiang Donghua's pupils contracted sharply, and even his breathing stopped for a moment.

Even at the largest auction house in Black Iron City, the most ordinary Mysterious-grade Low-tier Combat Skill would be enough to make several great clans fight until their heads bled.

It was a treasure that could make Da Dou Shi experts jealous and even stir the desire of Dou Ling powerhouses!

Though Yan Feng had spoken quietly, which of the people present lacked sharp ears and keen eyes?

"No wonder..."

Lin Xiuyuan murmured under his breath, finally understanding why his father had repeatedly instructed him before he left that he absolutely had to place among the top five in the freshmen competition.

Ouyang Xue's fingertips trembled slightly.

Before her mother died, she had gripped her hand tightly.

"Xue'er... the Ouyang Clan's revival... depends on..."

"What are you all standing around for?"

Yan Feng suddenly shouted, breaking everyone from their thoughts.

"Keep up!"

After passing through several courtyards, the view before them suddenly opened up.

A nine-story octagonal tower stood at the center of a white jade plaza. Its glazed tiles refracted rainbow-colored halos beneath the sunlight.

Every brick and stone of the tower was engraved with profound runes, vaguely forming some enormous formation. Even more astonishingly, the entire tower floated three feet above the ground, with mist swirling beneath it.

"This is the Scripture Depository?"

Jiang Donghua was deeply shaken.

Such grandeur was likely beyond even ten thousand Black Iron Cities combined.

Three gray-robed men were playing chess on the stone steps before the tower.

There was not the slightest fluctuation of Dou Qi around them. They looked like ordinary old men.

Yet Yan Feng suddenly shrank his neck and even softened his footsteps.

"Shh~"

Yan Feng whispered.

"These three guardians are all Dou Wang powerhouses!"

Before he could finish, the gray-robed man in the middle suddenly looked up.

"Little Yan,"

the old man said with a benevolent smile.

"Even you brat have had such good luck this year."

Cold sweat immediately drenched Yan Feng, and he bent over like a shrimp.

"E-Elder Duan, you jest..."

Jiang Donghua's pupils shrank. To make Yan Feng, a Seven-star Great Dou Master, cower like this...

As he was thinking, the plaza suddenly grew noisy.

Hundreds of people were arriving one after another from every path, each group led by an instructor and consisting of five students.

Elder Duan, one of the guardians, suddenly tapped the chessboard.

"The time has come."

The mist around the bottom floor of the Scripture Depository slowly dispersed, revealing two massive doors engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns.

Elder Duan slowly rose to his feet. Though his body was thin and frail, at that moment he seemed to hold up the entire sky.

He coughed softly. His voice was not loud, yet every person present heard it with perfect clarity, as though it had sounded directly beside their ears.

"Listen carefully."

He spoke unhurriedly, his clouded gaze sweeping over the hundreds of students below.

"Within the Scripture Depository, you may choose Mysterious-grade cultivation methods, Mysterious-grade Combat Skills, rare medicinal herbs, finished pills, or even pill formulas."

He paused, and the corners of his mouth curved upward into a meaningful smile.

"However, students may go no higher than the third floor. Instructors may reach the fourth."

Another guardian took over, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping together.

"You have one hour."

"Whatever you choose, bring it out with you. Anything you cannot bring out will remain inside forever."

He narrowed his eyes.

Elder Duan smiled at the crowd's uneasy expressions and said leisurely.

"Does anyone wish to try secretly copying the manuals?"

"If you are discovered, you will die!"

Silence fell over the crowd. Even their breathing became cautious.

"Very good."

Elder Duan nodded in satisfaction and lightly waved his withered hand.

"Enter."

Rumble—

The instructors of each class immediately led their students forward in formation, afraid of wasting any time.

Yan Feng grabbed Jiang Donghua and lowered his voice.

"Brat, once you're inside, charge straight for the Mysterious-grade Combat Skill section! Don't waste time on the lower floors!"

Jiang Donghua nodded. His gaze swept over the students from the other classes, who were all eager to make their move.

"Go!"

Following the crowd, Jiang Donghua stepped into the Scripture Depository.

The moment he entered, the sight before him left him frozen.

The space within was far larger than it appeared from outside, as though it formed a small world of its own.

Countless spheres of light floated in the air. Each contained a scroll, a bottle of pills, or some rare medicinal herb.

The first floor was the most spacious. Spheres of light packed the area densely, but most emanated Yellow-grade auras.

"Don't mind those!"

Yan Feng urged from behind him.

"Go straight up the stairs!"

Jiang Donghua hesitated no longer. His figure flashed as he unleashed the Cloud-Chasing Steps at full power and rushed toward the stairway.

Seeing this, the other students accelerated as well. Figures flickered throughout the tower, and the competition instantly grew fierce.