A Great Harvest: An Intermediate Di Tier Dou Technique
Not using a cheat when he had one would be the act of a fool.
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed could also be considered a support cheat on the Dou Qi Continent.
Ye Qingzhou reinforced the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed with his soul power. The ball of pinkish-white flame in his sea of consciousness suddenly swelled, and in an instant, a layer of cleansing flame invisible to the naked eye filled this universe of stars.
His perception became clearer than ever in a flash. The countless stars around him were no longer blurry masses of light; each one displayed a unique texture and Qi to his eyes.
Some blazed like fire, some were heavy and still as earth, and some were sharp as metal.
His mind was clear, and his soul power grew keener and fuller under the purifying influence of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.
On the Dou Qi Continent, the attributes of Dou Qi originated from the soul. Now, his soul power merged with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, magnifying their affinity to the utmost and naturally resonating with the star most compatible with him.
"Now."
Ye Qingzhou raised a hand and pointed at a star.
The star exploded with a boom, turning into a streak of light that darted into his palm and condensed into a crimson-and-purple scroll.
Immediately afterward, this strange world began to warp, turning into a grayish-white space filled with mist in the blink of an eye.
"So once you place your bet, there's no taking it back. No wonder this counts as a test."
"It's both a test and an opportunity. It depends on a person's abilities and fate."
"Luck is part of strength too."
Ye Qingzhou put his thoughts aside and opened the scroll in his hand.
The line of words that met his eyes made his pupils abruptly contract.
Intermediate Di Tier Dou Technique: Crimson Firmament Startling Thunder Halberd.
"I never expected my first Intermediate Di Tier Dou Technique to come from Jia Nan Academy. Joining this faction was well worth it." Ye Qingzhou's dark eyes trembled.
Few people knew that Jia Nan Academy had countless ties to the Lei Clan, one of the reclusive Emperor Clans.
Mang Tianchi, the headmaster who founded Jia Nan Academy, was an elder of the Lei Clan. He would not reveal his Half-Saint cultivation until ten years later, but even if he had not yet reached the Half-Saint realm, he was not far from it. His cultivation was at least that of a Peak Dou Zun above the seventh transformation.
The library contained quite a few good Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, including a transitional Low Earth Tier cultivation method that even Xun'er considered decent.
Cultivation methods were harder to come by than Dou Techniques. The Mysterious Heaven Jade Token had been left by Mang Tianchi, so it was plausible for it to contain an Intermediate Di Tier cultivation method.
"This Dou Technique is practically tailor-made for me."
Ye Qingzhou gazed at the writing on the scroll. Every line carried a vigorous presence of intertwined lightning and fire.
The creator of this Dou Technique was an alchemist with lightning and fire attributes. Since his lightning power originated from the Wood Attribute, he had barely been able to practice alchemy as well.
While studying the conversion of power between the Lightning and Wood Attributes, the alchemist had the sudden idea of using fire as the source.
The core idea was to use Wood Attribute Dou Qi as the foundation, first building momentum like spring shoots sprouting and growing vigorously.
Then Fire Attribute Dou Qi would stimulate it and raise its temperature, turning the momentum of wood into fiercely burning flames.
Finally, the fire would be gathered into lightning and compressed to the utmost, unleashing a thunderous halberd strike to end everything.
"The senior who created this Dou Technique had the Lightning Attribute himself. He worked backward to derive the Wood Attribute, so he couldn't build up enough power, but he could unleash it directly."
"I have the fire and wood attributes, so I'm the one who can truly put the principle behind this Dou Technique to use."
Ye Qingzhou's breathing quickened slightly. The cultivation requirements for this Dou Technique not only matched his own Dou Qi attributes perfectly, but were also highly compatible with the Crimson Flame Bodhi Scripture he was currently cultivating.
It leaned toward the symbiosis of wood and fire, perfectly meeting the requirement of using wood as the foundation.
"What a windfall. This can definitely be my true trump card from now on."
"Besides, halberd techniques and spear techniques have things in common. I can adapt the Fire Python Heavenly Dance spear technique to use it too."
Ye Qingzhou committed everything on the scroll to memory, and the surrounding mist immediately enveloped him.
The next moment, he returned to the central plaza.
The first-place ranking on the surface of the golden jade token before him had already been updated, its golden characters shining brilliantly.
First place: Ye Qingzhou (superior grade)
"Excellent. No one can possibly surpass me. That means I've already earned nearly two thousand Fire Energy points before even entering Jia Nan Academy, enough to cultivate on the sixth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower for a year."
The Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower had nine floors in total, at least on the surface. The seventh and eighth floors were used almost exclusively by the Inner Academy elders, while the ninth was a core forbidden area. Inner Academy students were only allowed as far as the sixth floor.
"A monster, a true monster."
"He's hardly inferior to Zi Yan, whom the First Elder brought back."
Mu Feng looked at the information on the golden Mysterious Heaven Jade Token, his heart surging.
It was possible to obtain a "superior grade" above the golden rating. That was much rarer than the previous two ratings, and the number of times it had appeared in Jia Nan Academy's history could be counted on one hand.
Some of the accompanying Jia Nan Academy Inner Academy elders and teachers nearby no longer knew what expression to make.
Three superior grades, with a golden rating from all three jade tokens without exception. His talent was unquestionably monstrous.
If such a person entered Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy, a graduate on the level of a continental overlord would surely emerge in the future.
"Ye Qingzhou, you've passed all three assessments." Mu Feng composed himself, raised his hand, and took out a special token, tossing it over. "Come here with this token in three days and return to Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy with the group."
"Anyone who passes the Mysterious Heaven Jade Token's gold assessment must go to Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy for further study. There's no going back on it."
As he spoke, Mu Feng's gaze sharpened. "As for the reason, I doubt I need to explain."
"I understand." Ye Qingzhou cupped his hands in salute. "I've long aspired to join Jia Nan Academy. I won't change my mind."
Passing the gold test meant accepting Jia Nan Academy's benefits, so naturally, going back on his word was out of the question.
He had no intention of going back on it anyway, not when he planned to lure Zi Yan away.
In any case, once he had studied there, he could simply apply to graduate early.
"Good." Mu Feng smiled. "The First Elder will personally give you your Fire Energy once you reach the Inner Academy."
Ye Qingzhou indicated that he understood, then turned to take his leave.
He did not stay to waste time watching the commotion. He called Ye Xinlan over and left at once.
This time, he had taken first place in the Mysterious Heaven Jade Token assessments. Let alone bringing Ye Xinlan along, bringing a few more people would not be a problem.
Not long after he left, Qiu Tao, who had been taking the test inside the black Mysterious Heaven Jade Token, finally came to.
His name appeared after Ye Qingzhou's in second place, with a silver rating.
But he did not look at it. The moment he opened his eyes, he looked toward the area in front of the white jade token, only to find no sign of Ye Qingzhou.
"What, did this Ye Qingzhou fail the assessment?"
"Or was his ranking so low that he was too ashamed to continue?"
Qiu Tao immediately began questioning him. Everyone who heard him wore a strange expression, and some wanted to laugh but did not dare.
The expressions of everyone from the Qiu Family were quite a sight. No one had expected Qiu Tao to start mocking Ye Qingzhou before waiting for the rankings to be announced.
But the people of the Ye Clan were waiting to enjoy the spectacle and had no intention of indulging Qiu Tao. Someone immediately burst out laughing. "You've only passed one assessment, while our Ye Clan's Young Master Ye Qingzhou has already passed three. You're the one who should be ashamed."
What!?
An expression of disbelief appeared on Qiu Tao's face.
He immediately turned and scanned the three Mysterious Heaven Jade Tokens in turn. Sure enough, he saw the name Ye Qingzhou at the very top of each one.
At that moment, Qiu Tian spoke through voice transmission. "Qiu Tao, there's a superior grade above the excellent grade. Ye Qingzhou got a superior grade in all three assessments, taking first place every time."
Qiu Tao: !!!