Pingjiang Specialties

Sunlight streamed through the balcony, spilling across the bed.

It also woke Jiang Ran from his cultivation.

Another beautiful day.

"My cultivation has improved..." Jiang Ran opened his eyes, a faint glint of sharpness in them.

Last night, he had refined that incomplete strand of "True Qi." As expected, his cultivation had once again improved enormously.

"Ice-Lake Spirit-Water Qi" was almost the most fundamental water-attribute essence. It could be effortlessly refined into his own spiritual power.

In the span of a single night, Jiang Ran's spiritual power had increased again.

It had risen from one hundred and sixty-eight strands of spiritual power to one hundred and seventy-nine.

Do not underestimate those eleven strands. An increase of eleven strands was equivalent to more than a tenth of the total cultivation of someone at Qi Refinement Level One.

At this rate, he could fill an entire minor realm in ten days at most.

"Wonderful!" The desire in Jiang Ran's heart was almost ready to burst forth.

For many people, improving their cultivation was not actually difficult.

Especially for the wealthy tycoons and great Lineages of Heavenly Lu Kingdom. Pills, potions, and all manner of heavenly treasures could all increase one's cultivation. Forget one minor realm every ten days—even three realms in a single day was possible.

But the problem was that nearly every method came at a price.

Pills carried pill toxins, while potions built resistance.

Heavenly treasures did have very minor side effects, but every single one of them was exceedingly rare.

Jiang Ran's situation was entirely different.

True Qi's true purpose was Qi-Consuming Initiation. Raising cultivation was merely a supplementary nourishing effect.

It could be said that this was a spiritual treasure with truly no side effects whatsoever.

"Whether it is the Qi-Collection Method or the Qi-Nurturing Method, Grand Ruins Realm's inheritance must never be leaked." Jiang Ran remained vigilant inwardly, sternly warning himself.

Jiang Ran had been very well-behaved these past few days.

At least, in the eyes of the students in Class Three, he had been exceptionally well-behaved.

He had not skipped class for over a week.

Mainly because Grand Ruins Realm was too dangerous. That Qi-Consuming immortal from the Hundred-Yue Immortal Sect had refined several hundred miners in one stroke.

It had left the weak Jiang Ran with quite a psychological shadow.

It just so happened that, in preparation for the upcoming placement exam, the school had accelerated the teaching pace of every subject.

Jiang Ran was happy enough to live peacefully in Pingjiang. Staying a few extra days was no problem. When the next half-month deadline arrived, he only needed to hand in sixty jin of ore to pass.

Whether he climbed the rankings no longer mattered. Safety mattered most.

Two days ago, by refining True Qi, Jiang Ran had successfully filled his spiritual power to two hundred strands.

Two hundred strands of spiritual power did not mean Qi Refinement Level Two. He was still at Qi Refinement Level One and needed to break through before entering the next realm.

His rapid rise in cultivation could not be concealed. Rather than hiding it, he might as well be open and aboveboard.

Pingjiang No. 1 High School was a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons lay in wait. Most students with excellent grades and high rankings had entered Qi Refinement Level Two more than a year ago.

As for those ranked among the top hundred in their grade—the true academic elites—virtually all of them had broken through to Qi Refinement Level Three.

Academic elites and failures lived in two different worlds.

For academic elites, the cultivation ceiling for the college entrance exam was Qi Refinement Level Three, which meant they had to reach Qi Refinement Level Three to compete at the highest level.

To enter one of the ten great immortal cultivation universities, Qi Refinement Level Three was practically a hard requirement.

Jiang Ran had once been an out-and-out academic failure. Even if he was a late bloomer, a slow bird taking flight first, and had suddenly surged all the way to Qi Refinement Level Two, he still could not contend with the academic elites. At most, he had finally shed the identity of an academic failure.

Teacher Zhou's spellcraft class ran late again that morning, lasting until after one in the afternoon.

After meeting Tao Dapeng at Cafeteria No. 3 and finishing their meal together,

Jiang Ran headed straight for the Student Affairs Office.

"Hello, Teacher. I'm Jiang Ran from Senior Year Class Three. I'd like to apply for a cultivation room."

Inside the Student Affairs Office, a plump male teacher rose to his feet.

"A cultivation room?"

"Private cultivation rooms are rather tight at the moment. Go take a look at the public area over there."

The plump teacher frowned but did not directly refuse Jiang Ran.

It was not that he did not want to give Jiang Ran a room. At this critical juncture, most of the private cultivation rooms had already been reserved in advance by those "good students" ranked in the top hundred of the grade.

Jiang Ran, at Qi Refinement Level One, clearly belonged among the "poor students." There was simply no way to give him a cultivation room.

"Teacher, my spiritual power is overflowing. I think I'm about to break through," Jiang Ran answered calmly.

"Hm?" The plump teacher froze for a moment.

Then he examined Jiang Ran seriously once more, spiritual light flashing through his eyes.

"Huh... I nearly misjudged you."

"You really do need to enter seclusion and break through immediately."

"Jiang Ran from Class Three, right?"

"Yes, Teacher."

The plump teacher pondered for a moment, then took out his phone. "Wait a moment. I'll call your homeroom teacher."

Jiang Ran could not hear the contents of the call.

But he could see the astonishment on the plump teacher's face.

"Jiang Ran? Which Jiang Ran?"

"The Jiang Ran from your Class Three. This kid's cultivation is quite solid. I reckon one attempt will be enough for him to break through to Qi Refinement Level Two."

"Old Yang, are you sure you haven't got it wrong?"

"Why would I lie to you..."

"Fine, fine. Use my points to swipe it. You must find him a better room."

On the other end of the call, Sun Jun, the Class Three homeroom teacher, wore a face full of astonishment.

He could not have been more familiar with the name Jiang Ran. A regular among the bottom five in class, and the only impoverished student in the class as well.

"Last time, I heard Wang Changhai say Jiang Ran had finally gotten the knack of it and improved quite a bit. I didn't expect it to be true."

"That's good too. If he can get into college, the kid will suffer a little less in the future..."

The plump teacher led Jiang Ran into the building behind the Student Affairs Office.

Eighty percent of the rooms in the entire building were cultivation rooms.

Jiang Ran was brought to the top floor.

As far as the eye could see, wooden doors stood shut one after another. Even through the formations, he could occasionally sense surging spiritual energy.

Those who could enter seclusion here to cultivate were all academic elites.

"This is it. Go in." The plump teacher pointed at the door marked [1806] and tossed Jiang Ran an iron plaque.

"There is a formation in the room. You don't need to replenish the Spirit Stones yourself."

"I can only give you three days. Three days at most—you must come out on time."

"Thank you, Teacher!" Jiang Ran was exceedingly polite.

The plump teacher waved casually and gradually walked away.

Pingjiang No. 1 High School's best cultivation rooms truly were extraordinary.

Unknown crystals were embedded in all four walls, glittering brilliantly.

A closer look revealed dense formation patterns beneath his feet, continuously swirling.

Once the formation was activated, the Spirit Stones hidden throughout the room came alive, and the concentration of spiritual energy immediately soared in a straight line.

"What luxury..." Jiang Ran took a deep breath. Every cell in his body leapt with joy, and a trace of longing flashed through his eyes.

A cultivation chamber and environment like this could increase cultivation speed by at least half.

Ordinary people like him could only be specially permitted to use it for a few days when they stood on the verge of a breakthrough.

But for those truly wealthy second-generation immortals, it was probably something too insignificant to mention.

"Huh..." Jiang Ran's gaze shifted, and he suddenly spotted a translucent screen resting on the table.

He picked up the screen and was immediately drawn in by the images and words that appeared.

[Spirit Root Rental---(Mid-Grade)]

[Spirit Root Rental---(High-Grade)]

[Spirit Root Rental---(Top-Grade)]

...

[Spirit Root Rental---(Earth Spirit Root)]!