"It's huge!"
Wang Kai smiled slightly.
"Lin Yi, you know that our Guangling Martial Academy is the only official academy established by the Tianshan Sect in Guangling Commandery. Its ultimate goal is to cultivate super geniuses capable of passing the entrance examination to the Tianshan Sect."
"Including this year's class, it's been a full seven years since our Guangling Martial Academy produced a peerless genius who passed the entrance examination to the Tianshan Sect. That puts us at the bottom of the rankings among the dozen or so commanderies under Dongshan Prefecture. Just imagine, how could the Dean not be frantic?"
"So, in response to this situation, the Dean discussed it with the two Vice Principals a few days ago and decided to greatly increase the rewards for every important examination our class takes from now on."
"Take this Entrance Examination, for example. Originally, only students who ranked in the top fifty received a reward, and each of them got just fifty taels of silver."
"But now, anyone who makes the top hundred gets a hundred taels of silver, while those in the top fifty get even more—a full three hundred taels."
"Five hundred taels for the top twenty!"
"Two thousand taels for the top ten!"
"Three thousand taels for third place!"
"Four thousand taels for second place!"
"And first place gets a whopping five thousand taels of silver! Even to me, that's no small sum."
"What! Five thousand taels! Four thousand taels! Looks like the Dean is really digging deep this time!"
Hearing Wang Kai's words, Lin Yi was utterly shocked, and a surge of excitement rose in his heart.
Five thousand taels of silver—that was more than he'd ever dreamed of, because Wang Kai was simply too formidable.
With a Seventh Rank Limit cultivation level and Fifth Rank Great Accomplishment in Martial Skill, Wang Kai's overall strength was even slightly greater than that of the most ordinary Sixth-Rank Early Stage Martial Artist.
Forget his current Seventh Rank Early Stage cultivation. Even if he'd taken those two thousand taels from Li Long and broken through to the Seventh Rank Mid Stage, or even the late stage, he still wouldn't have been Wang Kai's match. He wouldn't be able to get his hands on those five thousand taels.
But even if he couldn't get five thousand taels, Lin Yi could still compete for the four thousand.
"After all, with my current Seventh Rank Early Stage cultivation and Sixth Rank Perfection in Martial Skill, I'm already among the top ten of the three hundred students in my year at Guangling Martial Academy."
"Over the next half month, as long as I find a way to earn two or three hundred taels and raise my cultivation to the Seventh Rank Mid Stage, then improve my Martial Skill a little more, making the top five will be a breeze. I'll have a very good chance at third or second place, too."
"If I really get second place this time and win four thousand taels, then my next talent will be secured!"
"And with a new talent, my chances of reaching the Profound-grade Genius standard this year will increase greatly!"
"In short, I need to make money! Make money! I have to earn enough to buy pills and improve my cultivation as soon as possible!"
At this thought, Lin Yi's heart instantly blazed with excitement. He then spoke solemnly to Wang Kai:
"Wang Kai, thanks for sharing this news. It really is wonderful news for me. But for that very reason, I'll have to push myself even harder from now on."
"After all, unlike you and the others in the top ten, who are temporarily stuck at the Peak Seventh Rank and unable to break through, I'm only at the Seventh Rank Early Stage. I still have plenty of room to improve within the Seventh Rank."
"Seventh Rank? Lin Yi, you've broken through to the Seventh Rank?"
Wang Kai first froze, then exclaimed in shock:
"Lin Yi, you've made incredible progress lately! Your Martial Skill has improved so quickly, and even your cultivation has advanced at a crazy pace. Could Aperture Opening really be that powerful?"
"Heh, more or less!"
Lin Yi smiled.
Aperture Opening was the excuse he used to explain his recent, dramatic surge in strength.
After all, there had been precedents of Aperture Opening on the Nine Provinces Continent since ancient times.
For example, some powerful experts had been mediocre in their youth and down on their luck as young adults, only to suddenly open their apertures in middle age. In a mere decade or so, they went from ordinary Eighth- or Ninth-Grade Martial Artists to the exalted rank of First Rank.
There were also powerful experts who had been feeble-minded as children, unable even to care for themselves, but one day suddenly opened their apertures and attained enlightenment, soaring to greatness from then on.
Of course, the most famous and powerful among these geniuses who opened their apertures was the legendary Martial Emperor.
It was said that the Martial Emperor had been incredibly frail at birth, and even as an adult had remained so weak that he couldn't beat an ordinary child of eleven or twelve from his tribe.
But one day, the Martial Emperor suddenly attained enlightenment and opened his apertures. In just a few short years, he created the path of martial arts from nothing and easily developed it to Above First Rank.
Compared to the Martial Emperor, Lin Yi's own achievements, while impressive enough, truly amounted to nothing.
After thinking it over, Lin Yi said goodbye to Wang Kai and prepared to leave.
But suddenly—
"Lin Yi, wait!"
Wang Kai abruptly called out to him.
"You said you need money. I just remembered that my family has a job I could recommend to you. It pays quite well and doesn't take much time. Would you be interested?"
"Oh? What kind of job?"
Lin Yi grew a little interested at that.
"It's simple. You'd transport medicine for my Wang Family's Medicine Escort Team."
Wang Kai smiled.
"Lin Yi, you should know that my Wang Family made its name through medicine. The very first ancestor of our family was a renowned physician in Guangling Commandery."
"Over the centuries, generation after generation of our ancestors built on that legacy. Our Wang's Pharmacy now has branches in many of the counties and towns under Guangling Commandery."
"Now it's late summer, almost autumn, and many medicinal herbs have ripened this season. So our Wang Family has organized teams to transport these herbs back to our headquarters for processing."
"So, as long as you join one of my Wang Family's Medicine Escort Teams, you'll naturally be able to earn some money."
"Oh, a Medicine Escort Team? It sounds pretty good. I'm just wondering how dangerous the job is, and how much it pays."
Lin Yi's interest was piqued, and he asked at once.
"Don't worry! Would I really lead you into a trap?"
"Medicine escorting is one of the most important branches of my Wang Family, so we don't skimp on security."
"Every Medicine Escort Team is led by at least a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist. Many of the other regular escort members are Seventh Rank Mid Stage, late stage, or peak. They're already quite strong."
"And with our Wang Family's reputation, the bandit strongholds outside the Commandery City wouldn't dare provoke us lightly. You can rest easy about your safety, Lin Yi."
"As for the pay? Each trip takes a Medicine Escort Team about two to four days, and the reward varies according to the Martial Artist's strength, ranging from forty to a hundred and fifty taels of silver."
"With your strength, Lin Yi, you'd probably earn around sixty taels for each trip. What do you think?"
"Sixty taels?"
Lin Yi's eyes lit up.
Sixty taels for each trip—and there were about half a month left before the Entrance Examination. That should be enough time for him to escort medicine four times, which would come to two hundred and forty taels.
If he converted all two hundred and forty taels into Qi and Blood Pills, it should be enough to break through to the Seventh Rank Mid Stage within half a month.
With his strength at that point, he'd have an excellent chance of taking second place in the Entrance Examination and winning the four-thousand-tael reward.
"Great! In that case, I'll join. Wang Kai, about how long will it take you to arrange for me to go?"
"It won't take long."
Wang Kai said confidently:
"After all, I'm a direct descendant of the Wang Family, and you're pretty strong too. I just need to speak to the Medicine Escort Team in my family later. You should be able to report for duty tomorrow. Just wait for me here at the academy."
"Sounds good! Then thanks!"
"No need to be so polite!"
Wang Kai smiled faintly, then left the Martial Arts Academy and headed toward the Wang Family.
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