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Chen Zhuo was not the only one who reacted quickly. Everyone present was a cultivator, and none of them was slow to respond. At the sight of True Person Luo's projected form, they rose together, bowed, and said in unison, "Greetings, True Person!"

True Person Luo nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Please, sit."

Only then did everyone sit down.

A mighty Golden Core Cultivator, and he was this amiable!

Chen Zhuo couldn't help feeling surprised. In the Immortal Estate, even among Qi Refinement students, undergraduates openly looked down on junior college students. Yet this Golden Core Cultivator showed no disdain for them at all!

Verdict: a good Golden Core.

True Person Luo said nothing more. He simply swept his gaze across every Qi Refinement student present.

When that gaze fell on Chen Zhuo, he felt as though a mountain had clamped down over him, leaving him struggling to breathe.

Then True Person Luo began calling on them one by one.

"Zhou Muqian, you've been slacking in your cultivation lately. Your Spiritual Qi is obstructed, and your primal yang is depleted. On the path to immortality, you must guard your heart. Don't fall for livestreams. Those streamers are all temptresses from Joyful Union Entertainment."

"Thank you for the guidance."

Hearing True Person Luo's words, an Innate Spiritual Root Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer in the front row looked ashamed.

Whether he was ashamed of neglecting his cultivation or of having his recent habit of watching adult streams exposed in public by True Person Luo... that was harder to say.

"Zhao Qi..."

And so True Person Luo went through them, commenting on each one.

Sometimes he encouraged them. Sometimes he criticized them.

He had the air of a true master of the immortal path.

Even Meng Yan received an assessment. True Person Luo praised his solid foundation and said he had a promising future.

Soon, he came to Chen Zhuo.

"Chen Zhuo?"

At the sight of Chen Zhuo, a trace of surprise entered True Person Luo's voice. After a moment's thought, he said only, "Your foundation is solid. Cultivate diligently, and contribute to the Immortal Estate in the future."

With that, True Person Luo assessed a few more students, then stepped away and vanished from the classroom in an instant.

He had been there for barely ten minutes.

Yet the whole classroom was buzzing with excitement!

"A Golden Core True Person! I actually spoke to a Golden Core True Person!"

"I'd only ever seen Golden Core True Persons on TV. I never thought he'd be so approachable. Our Immortal Estate really is something!"

"The True Person said I have a promising future! Maybe I really can achieve Foundation Establishment and become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

"..."

As the students whispered among themselves, Chen Zhuo couldn't help wondering.

What did that mean? Why did he pause at me? Why was he surprised?

But then...

Chen Zhuo looked up toward Meng Yan. Meng Yan was plainly even more excited than the others, almost as though he had survived a brush with death.

Uh.

There was clearly something wrong with him, wasn't there?

Did True Person Luo not see it?

"All right, let's get back to class."

After True Person Luo left, Teacher Qin's Sima Face returned. He said to the students listlessly, "Where did we get to last week?"

"Oh, right. Today we're studying the most basic elixir used by Ancient Cultivators: Qi Gathering Powder. It comes in powdered form. Ancient Cultivators generally dissolved it in water to make it easier to absorb. Those with higher cultivation usually inhaled it directly through their mouths and noses..."

Teacher Qin's face remained expressionless. "Nowadays, the advanced version of Qi Gathering Powder is called Myriad-Mechanism Essence-Nourishing Solution. One vial costs three hundred Spirit Coins, and it's more than fifty times as effective as Qi Gathering Powder..."

After class, Chen Zhuo left with a portion of Qi Gathering Powder.

Its quality was noticeably better than the Qi Condensation Pill from last time, though it did not seem as good as the Qi Gathering Powder he had received from Sijing.

But that was fine.

First, Chen Zhuo needed to see whether Li Changqing had any Spirit Stones.

If he did, Chen Zhuo would sell it to him. If not, he would bundle it with the other elixirs from Sijing and sell the lot to Jishi Hall.

After all, Chen Zhuo still had to write a usage report.

Naturally, he would give Li Changqing first refusal.

Usage reports mattered. If Chen Zhuo wanted to transfer from his appraisal program into a bachelor's program, or find a decent part-time job in the future, people would look at his monthly usage reports. The more detailed they were, the more they showed he was a good test subject who could be trusted to try better medicines.

His grades depended on it.

Of course, if Chen Zhuo wanted to apply for a Junior College-to-University Transfer and switch majors, perhaps by applying to the Sword Cultivation Academy, he needed to start preparing to practice the sword now.

After returning to his Cave Abode, Chen Zhuo contacted Liang Ningwan privately. Once he had exchanged for forty-five Spirit Coins, he got in touch with Yu Xia.

[Default Nickname 9527]: Yu Xia! I have a few more sheets of Talisman Paper made from three-hundred-year-old Spirit Bamboo! But I don't want Spirit Coins this time. I'd like to trade for something instead. Do you have any higher-grade Talismans?

Yu Xia replied not long after he sent the message.

[Talk Someone Into Making Talismans, Get Struck by Lightning]: Higher-grade Talismans? What kind do you want?

Chen Zhuo thought for a moment, then began typing.

[Default Nickname 9527]: An offensive one. Something like that Sword Qi Talisman from before would be best. The stronger, the better! I have six sheets of Premium Talisman Paper.

[Talk Someone Into Making Talismans, Get Struck by Lightning]: Six sheets made from three-hundred-year-old Spirit Bamboo? You sure have a lot of this "family heirloom" Talisman Paper...

Yu Xia was clearly suspicious, but the quality of the Talisman Paper made it hard for her to refuse.

After hesitating a moment, Yu Xia began typing.

[Talk Someone Into Making Talismans, Get Struck by Lightning]: I have a complete first-tier, high-grade Sword Qi Talisman. It's the piece I was proudest of from last semester's final exam. I meant to keep it for myself, but for six sheets of Premium Talisman Paper, I'd consider trading it to you.

Chen Zhuo's eyes lit up. A first-tier, high-grade Sword Qi Talisman!

That was far better than the defective one he had bought before.

The defective one had already been so powerful. Wouldn't the complete version be powerful enough to reach the heavens?

[Default Nickname 9527]: What does it do?

[Talk Someone Into Making Talismans, Get Struck by Lightning]: Exactly what the official site says. I'm not a Foundation Establishment Realm talisman maker; I can't make a custom version. This Talisman lets you control the Sword Qi the way you'd control a Magical Artifact. Its power is on par with using a top-grade Magical Artifact, but it only lasts twenty seconds.

Twenty seconds of High-Grade Magical Artifact power!

Those words sent Chen Zhuo's heart racing.

In the Ancient Immortal Realm, only a Talisman Treasure could achieve something like that.

A Talisman Treasure was a special Talisman made by a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm or above, who drew power from their own artifact and sealed it inside. It could be used repeatedly, and its power was immense!

Such treasures were generally left to descendants or disciples for protection in life-or-death situations.

A low-level cultivator using one in battle could easily kill an opponent of the same level. It was as convenient to wield as an artifact, unlike an ordinary Talisman, which was relatively rigid and could only be triggered in a single direction.

And in the Immortal Estate, the method for making Talismans this powerful had already been made open-source.

Even an ordinary Talisman could do all that.

[Default Nickname 9527]: Deal! Same place?

[Talk Someone Into Making Talismans, Get Struck by Lightning]: Three this afternoon. Southeast corner of the Public Cultivation Plaza in University Town.

At three that afternoon, Chen Zhuo arrived at the Public Cultivation Plaza in University Town on time.

Yu Xia looked even more exhausted than last time. The dark circles under her eyes had deepened, her hair was a mess, and she had thrown on whatever clothes were at hand.

The moment she saw Chen Zhuo, Yu Xia hurried over. "I brought my end. Let me see yours."

With that, Yu Xia took out a Talisman pulsing with powerful Spiritual Qi and held it up for Chen Zhuo to see.

Yu Xia said wearily, "Once activated, the Sword Qi will circle within three feet of you. You can control it with your Divine Sense, but it'll only last twenty seconds. Keep that in mind when you use it."

"Is it really as powerful as a High-Grade Magical Artifact?" Chen Zhuo asked.

Yu Xia immediately straightened with pride. "My success rate at making Talismans might not be high, but I do produce a masterpiece now and then! I spent three whole days on this one, using the best Cinnabar and the purest Spiritual Qi. If it doesn't deliver, I'll compensate you tenfold!"

Seeing how confident she was, Chen Zhuo relaxed. He took out six sheets of Premium Talisman Paper and handed them to Yu Xia.

Yu Xia took the sheets and examined them carefully. The same heartbroken expression appeared on her face again. "Yes, they're all made from three-hundred-year-old Spirit Bamboo. The Spiritual Qi is very pure..."

After lamenting for quite a while, Yu Xia finally said, "If you have any more 'family heirlooms,' you don't have to bring me the Talisman Paper. Just bring me your 'family heirloom' three-hundred-year-old Spirit Bamboo. I'll pay a high price for it!"

What a waste of good material!

She would rather have the Spirit Bamboo than the Talisman Paper.

Chen Zhuo only chuckled and gave no answer.

He really could look into the price of Spirit Bamboo later.

Selling a small amount of raw material probably wouldn't cause any problems.

It was all for the sake of cultivating immortality!