Drawing

As the five of them left, the vortex-like energy barriers surrounding the enormous room slowly began to shrink.

A moment later, the energy barriers turned into tiny points and completely dissipated with a faint crack.

The vast room was now completely empty. No one would have imagined that it had once been filled with countless treasures capable of causing a sensation in the outside world.

Upon hearing the door open, one of the gray-robed figures suddenly twitched his sleeve. Xiao Ling and the others immediately sensed a vast, majestic invisible energy sweep over them. Its sheer power sent a chill through their hearts.

The invisible energy seemed to serve only as a scan. After lasting merely ten or so seconds, it receded like the tide until it vanished completely.

"Time is up. Leave now. Remember, you must not reveal a single word to anyone about what happened here today, including any information about the Library Pavilion." The hoarse, aged voice slowly echoed from the doorway.

Hearing this, everyone nodded, indicating that they would abide by the rules.

Seeing everyone emerge from the Library Pavilion, Hu Gan stepped forward with a kindly smile. "Did you all choose treasures that satisfied you? Surely no one came away empty-handed?"

Xiao Ling had no intention of hiding it. He directly took out the porcelain bottle containing the Seventh-tier Illusion Gold Fire and joked, "The academy must have bled heavily this time. Two Earth Tier Mid-grade Dou Techniques, two Earth Tier Mid-grade Cultivation Methods, and a seventh-tier beast flame. The academy is truly rich. Even the Royal Family of our Jia Ma Empire doesn't possess Earth-tier Dou Techniques or cultivation methods." The value of all their items combined was probably worth tens of millions of Gold Coins, and some items could not be bought with money at all—they could only be obtained through barter.

Hearing that, Hu Gan's mouth twitched. He said helplessly, "The rewards this time are indeed far more valuable than before, but you earned them. Don't worry, to the Headmaster, this is no more than a tiny bit that slipped from beneath his fingernails."

Xiao Ling nodded without comment. Mang Tianchi was an elder of the Thunder Clan, one of the Eight Ancient Clans, and his strength had already reached the Half-Saint level. His wealth was surely immense, so these things were nothing to him. Yet the patriarch of the Xiao Clan, also one of the Eight Ancient Clans, could only use an Intermediate Black Tier cultivation method. Why was the gap between people so vast?

Hu Gan swept his gaze over the five of them. Only after seeing that none had suffered any injuries did he clasp his hands toward the two gray-robed figures again, turn around, and walk toward the invisible doorframe that had been torn open by an invisible giant hand.

"Stay close to me. Don't touch those spatial folds, or even I won't be able to save you." Just before passing through the invisible doorframe, Hu Gan turned his head to warn them. Keeping his upper body still, he stepped forward and passed through the doorway with one foot. Xiao Ling and the others carefully followed behind him, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary movement.

As Xiao Ling and the others disappeared, the little valley hidden in some unknown location finally returned to its former tranquility. It would not open again until the following year's Inner Academy Selection Competition had ended.

Back in that room, Hu Gan securely shut the door he had opened earlier, then looked at the five who had just emerged. Stroking his beard, he smiled and said, "You've received your rewards. Next, you'll be heading to the Inner Academy to cultivate. Once you get there, you'll have to worry about not having enough Fire Energy. You must work together, or you may get bullied."

Everyone nodded, expressing their understanding. Xiao Ling did not care about that at all. He would first snatch a haul during the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, then rely on his Alchemy—his Fire Energy would basically be inexhaustible. As for being bullied, Xiao Ling had never even considered it. If anyone truly pushed him too far, he would just send Rayquaza in to fight.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you may all return. Report here in two days, and I'll take you into the Inner Academy then." Seeing that they understood, Hu Gan did not keep them any longer.

After giving a slight bow, they left the study. They chatted briefly on the way before each returning to their own courtyard to cultivate.

After returning to his room, Xiao Ling moved his thoughts and summoned the system panel.

"System, open my Personal Panel."

Ding. Opening the host's Personal Panel automatically.

Host: Xiao Ling

Gender: Male

Age: Ten and a half

Cultivation: Four-star Da Dou Shi

Soul Power: Mortal Realm Mid-stage

Dou Qi Attribute: Fire (mixed with a trace of Wood Attribute)

Cultivation Methods: "Fen Jue" (Black Tier Low-grade), "Tai Yi Hun Jue"

Dou Techniques: Black Tier Advanced Dou Technique "Swallow Return Strike", Black Tier Advanced Movement Technique "Wind Chasing Steps", Black Tier Advanced Dou Technique "Sky Burning Palm", Black Tier Advanced Dou Technique "Crimson Flame Fist", Earth Tier Low-grade Dou Technique "Blazing Fire Meteor"...

Flames: Fused Beast Flame

Items: Seventh-tier Illusion Gold Fire, Myriad Soul Banner, Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night, Dou Zun Relic Map, Infinite Cola Bottle, Imperial Extreme Pill, Sect Breaking Pill, Forget Worry Pill x15, Youth Preserving Pill x14...

Draws Remaining: 11

Seeing that he still had eleven drawing opportunities, Xiao Ling immediately used ten of them in a ten-pull.

"System, use ten drawing opportunities!"

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn a pair of Air Jordan 1s (Chicago colorway).

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn an Infinite Cigarette Case.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn 300,000 Gold Coins.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn 400,000 Gold Coins.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn 500,000 Gold Coins.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn a pair of suspender pants.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn one Pure Heart Pill.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn one Life Returning Pill.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn a Sect-grade Pill Recipe.

Ding. System drawing... Congratulations, Host, you have drawn one Life Devouring Pill.

Xiao Ling had no interest in the strange items, so he tossed them directly into the System Space. The Gold Coins were quite plentiful, though, so he took them out and placed them in his Storage Ring. Money was still useful when traveling. He then took out the pill recipe and several pills and began examining them one by one.

Pure Heart Pill: A Rank 7 Mid-grade Pill. Taking it while refining pills helps stabilize the mind, thereby increasing the success rate of alchemy.

Life Returning Pill: A Rank 7 High-grade Pill. As long as someone has not had their head directly severed or their heart shattered outright, this pill can save their life.

Life Devouring Pill: Allows a Da Dou Shi-level cultivator to reach the level of a Dou Wang in an extremely short time, but leaves the user with only three years of life remaining.

Looking at the pills before him, Xiao Ling found them largely useless for now. He would keep the Life Returning Pill for emergencies, while the Pure Heart Pill could be taken in advance when he refined high-grade pills in the future. The Life Devouring Pill could directly raise him to the Dou Wang level, and he was confident he could reach the Dou Emperor level within three years, but it was a pill that drained one's potential and life force. For the sake of a smoother road toward Becoming Emperor, it was best not to take it.

Sect-grade Pill Recipe: Records the refining method and required medicinal ingredients for the Rank 7 High-grade Pill, the Sovereign Extreme Pill. After taking it, a Dou Zong powerhouse can increase their cultivation by one or two stars. It can only be taken once in a lifetime.

After reading through the recipe, Xiao Ling was very satisfied. Although it was currently useless, refining it in the future could save him a great deal of cultivation time, and it could also be used to trade for other items.

After putting everything back into his Storage Space, Xiao Ling began absorbing the seventh-tier beast flame. His Dou Qi increased slightly, but the grade of the "Fen Jue" remained at Black Tier Low-grade. He could not help sighing. "Before breaking through to the Black Tier, beast flames could still help a little. After reaching the Black Tier, it seems that without Heavenly Flames, it'll be difficult for the 'Fen Jue' to increase in grade."

Shaking his head and no longer dwelling on it, Xiao Ling returned to his routine after absorbing the beast flame: cultivating, refining pills, riding Rayquaza, and laughing and chatting with his cousin and senior sister. His leisurely five-point routine continued, and two days passed in the blink of an eye.