After the Trial, Discussion

Lu Qing was quite moved as well.

If they were handing out Spirit Stones, the rest could be set aside.

"But it looks like the losses were heavy."

Lu Qing silently watched those Heaven's Prides who had once been radiant and imposing, now each one grimy and bedraggled, their bodies splattered with blood. Quite a few were clearly seriously injured at a glance.

Compared to their high spirits when they had first entered the Trial Micro-Realm, all Lu Qing could say now was that he recalled the spiritual radiance he'd seen when he left.

"Could they have rushed over there then too?"

Thinking about it that way, it was no wonder most of them had been badly hurt.

Lu Qing had heard clearly about that Senior Brother Chang. He remembered him somewhat because the man was an Earth-grade Genius.

He had to thank that information jade slip. The names of newly admitted disciples and gifted prodigies were all recorded on it.

Lu Qing had found his own name among those with Superior Aptitude as well, though not many people paid attention to him.

This year's circumstances were simply too unusual.

"Fortunately, my gains weren't bad."

He had broken through a minor realm, so naturally he was in a good mood. His comprehension had improved as well, and the speed at which his cultivation technique circulated and absorbed spiritual energy had increased by a fair bit.

After calculating it all, he felt he ought to start looking for a Foundation Establishment Spirit Item in advance.

That was a long-term goal for now. In the short term, what Lu Qing needed to do was first obtain a sum of Spirit Stones.

After the purple-robed elder dismissed them.

Spirit beasts cried out in the sky.

Only then did the many disciples begin discussing things among themselves.

"Ugh, what rotten luck. Who would've known there'd be such terrifying demon beasts inside?"

One disciple looked deeply aggrieved.

"Yeah. I was pretty far away at the time. What exactly happened over there?"

Someone whispered quietly.

"I saw that those geniuses who left earlier all seemed to be injured."

"Well, I heard it was originally because of a guardian demon beast. Its strength aside, a strand of spiritual radiance formed within its body was actually a Foundation Establishment Spirit Item, one exceptionally compatible with many of our Dao Academy's superior cultivation techniques."

"So that's why."

There was no need to say the rest. Many disciples immediately understood.

Lu Qing instantly understood why a mere demon beast around the First Layer of the Qi Nourishment Realm had caused three parties to confront one another there.

It turned out that what they said aloud and what they truly had their eyes on were probably not the same thing.

"Luckily, I don't need to worry. The Profound Heaven Origin Scripture is peaceful and profound in cultivation, like the flowing water of all things, ceaselessly giving rise to life. Its requirements for a Foundation Establishment Spirit Item aren't strict. Any of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—will do."

Though he thought this, he had no intention of summoning the White Crane Boy.

Instead, he headed directly down the mountain. At a turn by a chain bridge halfway down, he went to the neighboring mountain, where a city stood atop it.

It was the very city that had filled Lu Qing with amazement when he first arrived.

This was the Dao Academy's Cultivation City.

It was also the place most disciples frequented in their daily lives.

The city was entirely built from a kind of gray stone whose texture could not be discerned. Under the sunlight, the stone looked cold and stark. Yet the city gates embodied the meaning of reaching in all directions, with no fixed entrances or exits.

As long as one took out their disciple jade token and verified their identity, they could enter and leave freely.

It was Lu Qing's first time here, and he had not come merely in passing.

He had come to accept a mission.

The missions in the Jade Token Space were all synchronized through this Cultivation City.

However, Lu Qing had yet to find a suitable and satisfactory mission there.

So, since he had rarely come to the main Dao Peak region of the Dao Academy, he might as well search for an offline mission here.

Most disciples hurried along with purpose. Although there were far more people in the streets and alleys than usual.

Lu Qing did not disturb anyone. He headed straight for his destination, following the map in the jade slip to the Mission Hall within this Cultivation City.

The Mission Hall looked no different from the Jade Token Space.

Along the way, Lu Qing had only looked around when entering. After sweeping his gaze across the surroundings, he realized that the Cultivation City was not entirely removed from the mortal world, nor was it completely different from it.

At the very least, inns still existed here, though their spiritual energy was dense, and they surely held wonders within.

"My purse is empty."

Lu Qing did not look any further. After roughly memorizing the layout along the way, he accepted a Spirit Plant mission.

There were only a handful of people in the offline Mission Hall.

When Lu Qing entered, the missions in the Spirit Plant District were dazzling enough to make one's eyes swim.

[Azure Cloud Blessed Land: Recruiting two Qi Nourishment Realm disciples to weed. Compensation negotiable.]

[Water Cloud Grotto-Heaven: Need one disciple skilled in Water Cloud Art to watch over my Spirit Field for seven days. Spirit Stones negotiable.]

[Outer Academy Mission: Recruiting Spirit Plant disciples year-round. Mission details as follows...]

Lu Qing looked around and saw that while some missions came from the Outer Academy, quite a few had clearly been posted by senior disciples.

Once someone confirmed their interest, a trace of aura would appear, allowing them to contact the poster privately through their jade token and settle the details.

This place was clearly much more extensive. Quite a few missions had not appeared in the Mission Hall listings before.

Lu Qing checked the time and found that those were basically missions that had only just appeared.

"Looks like even if our jade tokens are magical artifacts, their communication and synchronization can't happen every moment."

Lu Qing looked over a mission. He did not choose somewhere too remote.

From what he had seen so far, the cultivation atmosphere displayed by the Profound Heaven Dao Academy was undoubtedly grand and magnificent.

Yet the divination sign from last time, along with the situation at the Servant Academy, still made Lu Qing feel that he could not place all his hopes on the Profound Heaven Dao Academy.

It was impossible for it to keep watch over every disciple at all times.

After all, in cultivation, disciples and their sects were meant to nourish one another. The Profound Heaven Dao Academy covered far too much land. A lake one flew over high in the sky might be called a lake, but how was it any different from a shallow sea? Yet such lakes, nestled amid the layered peaks of the Dao Peak Mountain Range, were like droplets of water adorning the landscape, making it seem anything but vast.

"This one, then."

Lu Qing looked at a mission.

[Spirit Plant Garden beside Shallowwater Lake of the Outer Academy: Recruiting several disciples to assist the Spirit Plant Garden in watering Water Lotus plants along the outer perimeter.]

Lu Qing opened the listing and found that someone had already accepted it. Since it was recruiting several disciples, Lu Qing chose to accept it as well.

This Spirit Plant Garden was located by Shallowwater Lake. His Dao Peak was very close to this place, so travel would not require spending any additional Spirit Stones.

When he had cultivated before, he had studied the Minor Cloud Rain Technique. Thanks to his Superior Aptitude, he had already gotten started with this spell.

"First, the Outer Academy will issue the reward according to standard mission rates, so I won't have to worry about what sort of employer I might encounter. Second, it's close by. Third, I can take this opportunity to cultivate this spell to the Minor Accomplishment stage."

"The spiritual energy in a Spirit Plant Garden is also denser than on an ordinary Dao Peak."

He had only just broken through, so he was not especially pressed for time.

After accepting the mission, Lu Qing summoned the White Crane Boy and left the Cultivation City.

Early the next morning.

After cultivating through the night, Lu Qing felt a faint sense of clarity in his ears, nose, eyes, and mind.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian flowed through his entire body with greater harmony.

After another night's cultivation, the medicinal effects of the spirit fruit he had consumed had thoroughly merged into his foundation.

He picked out some items that conflicted with his cultivation technique and were useless to his current realm, then chose to submit them.

He had no idea what kind of magical artifact the disciple jade token was made from.