Saving Up Spirit Stones

"It's just that cultivating low-grade spirit plants alone requires fifteen low-grade spirit stones, which is incredibly expensive," Zhang Wan secretly marveled.

Just obtaining the inheritance required over a year's worth of cultivation resources, and the subsequent initial investment would be at least three to four low-grade spirit stones.

Mastering a cultivation technique was astonishingly costly.

However, upon hearing that other inheritances were even more expensive with higher initial investments, Zhang Wan felt a little better.

Knowing this, Zhang Wan also understood that he wouldn't be able to acquire the Spirit Planter inheritance anytime soon.

It would take at least another year.

If he lost a few arena wagered battles during this period, the time would be pushed back even further.

But he was still only a student in the latter half of sixth grade and had to stay at the academy for over four more years, giving him ample time to hoard spirit stones and exchange them for the inheritance.

There was no need to rush.

In the days that followed, Zhang Wan attended academic classes every morning, cultivated on his own or watched duels at the Heaven-tier training ground in the afternoon, and in the evenings, he trained his second sister, Zhang Lingshu. He also occasionally invested EXP into his three martial skills and cultivation.

His days were quite fulfilling.

Soon, the latter half of the sixth grade passed, and as he advanced to seventh grade, his four-year-old third brother, Zhang Yan, also entered the Beginner Martial Arts Academy.

Zhang Wan directly brought his third brother to their independent courtyard. The house had many rooms, enough to accommodate a few more people. With just the three siblings living there, it felt quite spacious.

Zhang Yan would be living at the academy for several months before returning home.

However, unlike other first-year students, he didn't miss home.

With his elder brother and second sister by his side, he didn't feel much sadness about leaving home; in fact, he was a little excited.

But before Zhang Yan could revel in the excitement of seeing the outside world, he was tormented by Zhang Wan's packed training schedule, crying and wailing.

He cried more pitifully than those first-year students living alone at the academy.

Zhang Wan was quite pleased with his third brother's cries.

His voice was full of spirit; he was the type who could withstand hardship!

After entering the latter half of the seventh grade, Zhang Wan had accumulated a total of twenty-two low-grade spirit stones.

Eighteen of these were cultivation resources distributed by the sect from the latter half of sixth grade to the latter half of seventh grade.

The extra four were his earnings from arena wagered battles.

Since he started participating in arena wagered battles in the latter half of sixth grade, he had fought in quite a few matches.

He had wins and losses, but overall, he hadn't lost; he had even profited four low-grade spirit stones.

His gains were substantial. From having little combat experience at the beginning, he had become a veteran, and his practical combat experience had skyrocketed.

His mindset had also undergone a massive transformation.

At first, he would be filled with excitement, and sometimes his judgment would be clouded by exhilaration and anger, causing him to lose his composure.

Now, although he still experienced these emotions, they no longer affected his rationality.

In intense confrontations, he could always maintain a calm and rational state of mind, preventing him from making wrong decisions due to various emotions.

It wasn't just him; Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, and Xu Hui had also made significant progress.

Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui remained at the forefront.

He and Xu Hui were in the second tier, with little difference in strength.

However, unlike him, who saved all his spirit stones, Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, and Xu Hui did not keep theirs.

Xu Hui still had some left, but he was constantly using spirit stones for cultivation.

Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui had used all the spirit stones they received to improve their cultivation.

But with the support of their elders at home, they never lacked spirit stones.

As a result, Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui's cultivation progressed at lightning speed, reaching the late stage of Postnatal First Layer.

Zhang Wan estimated that these two might even break through to Postnatal Second Layer before becoming eighth-grade students.

Xu Hui was a little behind, having just reached the middle stage of Postnatal First Layer.

Zhang Wan's cultivation was the same as Xu Hui's.

Being able to maintain the same progress without using spirit stones was naturally because Zhang Wan had been using EXP as a cheat, always keeping track of Xu Hui's cultivation progress.

The students in the same cohort as the four were a bit further behind.

Although a few had also reached the middle stage of Postnatal First Layer, their combat power was nowhere near that of Zhang Wan and Xu Hui.

Furthermore, the number of Postnatal students in their cohort had increased.

Since advancing to seventh grade, dozens more had broken through to Postnatal.

Zhang Wan maintained a relationship of acquaintance but not familiarity with them.

His energy was focused on cultivation and nurturing his second and third siblings. The remaining time was only enough to maintain relationships with Xu Hui and others, as well as some senior Postnatal students he had met during this period.

He simply didn't have time to make more classmates.

This wasn't important either.

Just maintain this awareness for now. When the time comes to use them, you'll quickly become familiar.

In comparison, cultivation and strength are the most important.

Once he had saved enough spirit stones, Zhang Wan found an opportunity. After taking three days off with his classmates who also planned to visit the mountain sect's Inheritance Hall, he set off with them.

They didn't take a flying boat.

It wasn't that they couldn't afford it, but rather that it was unnecessary.

Spending spirit stones for that purpose was truly a luxury for them.

Using some mortal silver and leveraging their status as outer disciples of the Jade Bone Sect, Zhang Wan and his group traveled for more than half a day by rune carriage, finally arriving at the Jade Bone Sect's mountain gate.

Even with Zhang Wan's weak cultivation, he could clearly feel that the entire mountain gate was protected by a massive formation.

The powerful pressure emanating from it almost made him suffocate.

Fortunately, Zhang Wan had changed into his disciple attire beforehand and had his disciple token hanging from his waist. Otherwise, he truly feared the formation would mistake him for an intruder and blast him into dust with a single strike!

Following the steps, Zhang Wan and the other outer disciples arrived before the mountain gate.

The outer disciples guarding the sect's entrance verified Zhang Wan and the others' identities before letting them in.

However, they were also warned that as outer disciples, there were many places they couldn't go.

If they accidentally wandered into areas they weren't permitted to access and were killed by a powerful figure within the sect, no one would hold that figure accountable.

Zhang Wan and the others were aware of all this; they had inquired about it before coming.

Therefore, upon entering the sect, the group directly followed the directions given by their fellow disciples guarding the entrance and headed straight for the Inheritance Hall. They had absolutely no intention of exploring other areas.

They were afraid of accidentally stumbling into the territory of some powerful sect elder and being killed.

The Jade Bone Sect's mountain gate was larger than the Beginner Martial Arts Academy's, but not by much.

Zhang Wan and the others soon reached the location of the Inheritance Hall.

The Inheritance Hall occupied a considerable area, spanning several hundred square meters and rising seven stories high, with each floor being three meters tall.

After observing from the outside and listening to the rules explained by the disciples guarding the hall, Zhang Wan and his companions entered.

Their goals varied, and once inside the hall, they separated to search for the inheritances they desired.

"The first floor of the Inheritance Hall contains travelogues and anecdotes collected by the sect. They can be borrowed for free and are used by the sect to broaden disciples' horizons and enrich their knowledge."

"The martial skill inheritances are stored on the second floor and above." Zhang Wan went directly to the second floor, searching for Spirit Planter inheritances.