"Just the content on cultivating Postnatal low-grade spirit plants alone requires fifteen low-grade spirit stones. That's outrageously expensive." Zhang Wan secretly clicked his tongue.
Simply obtaining the inheritance required more than a year's worth of cultivation resources. The subsequent initial investment would require at least three or four low-grade spirit stones as well.
Mastering a cultivation technique costs an astonishing amount.
However, when he heard that the other inheritances were even more expensive and required greater initial investments, Zhang Wan's mood improved somewhat.
After learning this, Zhang Wan also understood that he had no way to obtain the Spirit Planter inheritance in the short term.
If he wanted to get it, it would take at least another year.
If he lost several more matches in the arena during that time, it would be pushed back even further.
But he was still only a sixth-level student in the latter semester. He still had to spend more than four years at the academy, giving him plenty of time to accumulate spirit stones and exchange them for an inheritance.
There was no need to rush.
In the days that followed, Zhang Wan attended literary classes every morning, cultivated on his own or watched matches at the Heaven-Class Training Ground in the afternoon, trained his second sister Zhang Lingshu in the evening, and occasionally invested experience points into his three martial skills and cultivation.
His days were exceptionally fulfilling.
Soon, the latter semester of level six had passed. At the same time as he advanced to become a level-seven student, his four-year-old third brother Zhang Yan also entered the Beginner Martial Arts Academy.
Zhang Wan directly brought his third brother to the separate courtyard. There were plenty of rooms in the house; even several more people could fit. With only the three siblings living there, it seemed exceptionally spacious.
After leaving home, Zhang Yan would have to live at the academy for several months before he could return.
But unlike the other level-one students, he did not feel homesick.
His eldest brother and second sister were by his side, so he did not have much sorrow over parting. In fact, he was even a little excited.
Yet before Zhang Yan could immerse himself for long in the excitement of leaving home and seeing the outside world, he was tormented by the packed training schedule Zhang Wan had arranged for him until he cried out in misery.
He cried even more miserably than those level-one students who lived at the academy alone.
Zhang Wan was very satisfied with his third brother's cries.
His vitality was vigorous, and he was clearly made to withstand being put through the wringer!
After entering the latter semester of level seven, Zhang Wan had accumulated a full twenty-two low-grade spirit stones.
Eighteen of them were cultivation resources distributed by the sect during the period from the latter semester of level six to the latter semester of level seven.
The extra four were his winnings from the arena matches.
From when he began participating in arena matches during the latter semester of level six until now, he had taken part in quite a few fights.
There had been wins and losses, but overall, he had not lost out. He had even earned four low-grade spirit stones.
His gains had been enormous. From having little combat experience at the beginning, he had now become a veteran, and his real-combat experience had skyrocketed.
His mindset had also undergone a tremendous transformation.
At first, his blood would run hot. Sometimes, excitement and fury would even cloud his mind, causing him to lose his composure.
Now, although he still experienced such emotions, they could no longer affect his judgment.
In the midst of fierce clashes, he could always ensure that a part of his mind remained calm and rational, preventing him from making the wrong decisions because of his various emotions.
It was not just him. Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, and Xu Hui had all made great progress as well.
Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui remained unrivaled leaders.
He and Xu Hui, meanwhile, ranked in the second tier, with little difference between their strengths.
However, unlike him, who had saved all his spirit stones, Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, and Xu Hui had not kept theirs.
Xu Hui had retained a few, but he was also constantly using spirit stones to cultivate.
Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui, meanwhile, had used all the spirit stones they received to improve their cultivation.
But with the support of their elders at home, they had never been short of spirit stones.
As a result, Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui's cultivation had advanced at lightning speed. They had already cultivated to the late stage of the first Postnatal layer.
Zhang Wan estimated that the two of them might have a chance to break through to the second Postnatal layer before becoming level-eight students.
Xu Hui was slightly behind, having only just cultivated to the middle stage of the first Postnatal layer.
Zhang Wan's cultivation was the same as Xu Hui's.
To maintain the same progress without using spirit stones was naturally because Zhang Wan had constantly calculated Xu Hui's cultivation progress and used experience points to cheat his way forward.
The students of their same class, however, were somewhat behind.
Although several had also cultivated to the middle stage of the first Postnatal layer, their combat prowess was completely incomparable to Zhang Wan's and Xu Hui's.
At the same time, the number of Postnatal students in their class had also increased.
Since advancing to level seven, dozens more people had broken through to the Postnatal realm.
Zhang Wan maintained a state of knowing them without being familiar with them.
He devoted all his energy to cultivation and raising his second sister and third brother. The time he had left was only enough to maintain his relationships with Xu Hui and the others, along with several higher-level Postnatal students he had met during this period.
He truly had no time to make friends with more classmates.
But that was not important.
It was enough to maintain a state of acquaintance. If he needed them in the future, he could naturally become familiar with them quickly.
Compared to that, cultivation and strength were the most important.
After saving enough spirit stones, Zhang Wan found a time to take three days off together with several other students from the Beginner Martial Arts Academy who also planned to visit the mountain gate's Inheritance Hall. They traveled together toward the mountain gate.
They did not take a flying boat.
It was not that they could not afford one; it was simply unnecessary.
Spending spirit stones on that was genuinely extravagant for them.
After spending some ordinary silver and relying on their identities as outer-sect disciples of the Jade Bone Sect, Zhang Wan and the others rode rune carriages for more than half a day before finally arriving at the location of the Jade Bone Sect's mountain gate.
Even with Zhang Wan's weak cultivation, he could clearly sense that the entire mountain gate was protected by a gigantic formation.
The powerful pressure it emitted nearly suffocated him.
Fortunately, Zhang Wan had changed into disciple robes in advance, and his disciple token hung from his waist. Otherwise, he truly feared that the formation would mistake him for an attacking enemy and blast him into dust with a single strike!
Following the steps, Zhang Wan and the other outer-sect disciples arrived before the mountain gate.
The outer-sect disciples guarding the sect's entrance verified Zhang Wan and the others' identities before letting them in.
But they also warned them that, as outer-sect disciples, there were many places they were forbidden to go.
If they accidentally went somewhere they were not allowed to enter and were slapped to death by a powerful sect member, no one would pursue that powerful member's responsibility on their behalf.
Zhang Wan and the others already knew this. They had made thorough inquiries before coming.
Therefore, after entering the sect, the group directly followed the directions given by the fellow disciples guarding the entrance and hurried toward the Inheritance Hall. They had not the slightest desire to explore any other place.
They were terrified that they might accidentally trespass into the territory of some sect heavyweight and be slapped to death.
The Jade Bone Sect's mountain gate was somewhat larger than the Beginner Martial Arts Academy, but not by much.
Zhang Wan and the others soon reached the Inheritance Hall.
The Inheritance Hall occupied a rather large area, several hundred square meters in total. It had also been built into a seven-story structure, with each floor three meters high.
After looking around outside for a while and listening to the disciple guarding the Inheritance Hall explain the rules, Zhang Wan and the others entered.
The group each had different goals. After entering the hall, they split up to search for the inheritances they wanted.
"The first floor of the Inheritance Hall contains travelogues and anecdotes collected by the sect. They can be borrowed and read for free. The sect uses them to broaden its disciples' horizons and enrich their knowledge."
"The cultivation-method inheritances are stored above the second floor." Zhang Wan went straight up to the second floor and began searching for the Spirit Planter inheritance.
Before you continue